Video game essay Essay Example for Free

Video game essay Essay Are video games bad for you? Sure, parents and adults will tell you they are bad, but how are they bad for you? Many will tell you that video games hurt your eyes and damage your nerves. They may even tell you video games make you more violent, but they cannot provide any evidence to back up their opinions. Nor do they realize the real problem—which is not video games themselves—but the addiction that drives many gamers to play video games to the exclusion of all else. In this essay, I will show that video game addiction is the real reason why video games are bad for you. Video game addiction leads to poor performance in school and insufficient physical inactivity. Video game addiction can have a negative effect on academic achievement. For example, a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology indicates that the more a student plays video games, the worse their academic performance is in school. A second study by Argosy Universitys Minnesota School on Professional Psychology found that video game addicts argue a lot with their teachers, fight a lot with their friends, and score lower grades than others who play video games less often. As these sources suggest, video game addicts obsessive gaming comes at a cost to their academic performance and relationships with those around them, ultimately leading to poor performance in school —and life. Video game addiction also leads to physical inactivity and related health problems. This occurs because obsessive gamers sacrifice a balanced lifestyle so they can spend all their free time playing video games. Instead of going out and rollerblading, playing hoops, or hanging out with friends, they sit in front of a screen for hours and hours. Consequently, they do get the exercise they need. The Center for Disease Control recommends 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. When these gamers do not get this exercise, they are abusing their bodies and risking developing heart disease and other cardiovascular problems; they even run the risk of becoming obese, which further increases the chances of cardiovascular problems and could result in them developing diabetes. As I have shown in this essay, video game addiction leads to poor performance in school and physical inactivity. The urge to play games can drive gamers to neglect their studies and injure relationships with those around them. Their desire to play video games can cause them to disregard healthy levels of activity, leading to health problems and even obesity. The key to keeping the negative influence of video games in check is one word: control. If gamers can balance video games with the rest of their lives, video games can be a fun, entertaining diversion; but when video games take over their lives, they are left with a life that is not worth living. This type of addiction develops when gamers obsess over the video games they play. As result, they As this evidence indicates, video game addiction promotes physical inactivity, putting gamers at risk of obesity, heart disease and other health problems. Thus, students addicted to sacrifice homework and study to whatever game they are currently obsessing over, This results in excessive physical inactivity, which puts gamers at risk of developing heart disease and other cardiovascular problems, or becoming overweight. by spending all their free time playing. as gamers spend all their free time playing their games. Without the required levels of physical activity, these gamers risk developing cardiovascular problems, such as The Center for Disease Control and American Heart Associatoin.

The warmth of human emotion :: essays research papers

The Warmth of Human Emotion Heat and warmth are usually depicted as elements of comfort and security. This warmth is what people crave to achieve this comfort. In Evelyn Lau’s â€Å"Family,† the heat and warmth give deeper meaning in regards to human emotion. The contrasting images of ice and cold as well resemble the abstract human emotion in the short story. The elements are used in such a way as to satisfy the hunger of emotional warmth in regards to the characters Zoe and Douglas. As the story unfolds there is a sense of coldness surrounding the community. The setting stage for the action is in fact a community in a cold winter. Through warmth is how one reaches one’s own comfort level. It is noted to the extent that one must almost search for the warmth inside one’s self to achieve this comfort. In the case of Zoe she achieves warmth though emotional stability. Both Zoe and Douglas do search for this but by intention are both quite different. As the friendly relationship between the two progresses, it soon evolves into a hot and steamy relationship full of adultery and deception. Lam 2 Zoe in the case of the relationship is the one who seems to crave this warmth. It is soon noted that her attraction towards Douglas becomes almost too great for her to control herself. Even though she knows that the man she desires is a well-respected man with a wife and children, she feels compelled to satisfy her own desire, thus deeming herself as being selfish. Yet at this point, as she is acquainted with the wife, Ellen, she still thinks about the warm touch of Douglas’ hand and how she is drawn to his warmth. As Zoe is left alone by herself, thoughts of sexual depictions come into her mind. As cold as she feels she pictures Douglas and his Wife in a cuddling scenario in the master bedroom. At this point she feels somewhat jealous of the fact that Ellen is his wife instead if herself. By occupying her mind with images of Douglas â€Å"wrapp[ing] his arms around his wife, her stomach and, her breasts† (Lau 1153), Zoe feels even more compelled to satisfy her desire f or Douglas. Her craving for Douglas’ emotional warmth becomes too unbearable for her as she watches the dead animals hung up in the organic-foods market. She â€Å"resist[s] the urge to lean forward and stroke her fingertips down the grain of their feathers and fur, towards the belly warm as the belly of a sleeping man† (Lau 1154).

Motivation and Unionization

Political philosophers, sociologists, economists and psychologists have been formulating theories to account for social organization. Man is a social being, one if his basic needs is to belong, and so it is but natural to him to organize institutions, organizations and groups. Motivation is a general term referring to the regulation of need-satisfying and goal-seeking behavior (Atkinson et al., 1993). Economists and political philosophers have studied social organization motivations basically to understand their role in commerce and industry, particularly labor organization. Unionization is act of forming labor unions, which are groups or organizations that are organized to represent the labor work force as a collective, whose objectives are to protect workers from unjust labor practices, to improve working conditions, and to look after the general welfare. Unionization is often viewed as negative from the perspective of management. Managing unions can only be done if there is through understanding of the motivations behind it. It is the objective of this paper to understand the concepts of motivation and unionization and to deduce an appropriate proposition to the management of labor unions. Understanding Unionization Industrialization fathered labor unions. Unions were to begin with organized to monitor pay levels and increase and working conditions and through it safety regulations were developed, and standardized, child labor was abolished, and work day and work week were shortened, and started non-wage benefits like pensions and health insurance (Feinman, 2006). Basically, unions gave workers bargaining power against unfair labor practices, safety measures in the lack of protective labor laws and allowed a venue to voice concerns of workers. Unions are not oppositions to management but a safeguard when workers become unheard, ignored or disregarded. The statement that â€Å"A company that deserves a union gets one† is not absolute but it is undeniable that it can greatly influence workers to organize unions. Unions may be organized even if there are optimum working conditions but the original motives for forming unions in the 19th century can be very become the motives for forming them today. It has to be recognized that unionization has significantly suffered a decline in the last 30 years (Clemens et al., 2003). Feinman (2006) reasons that the decline in unionization is the development of automation in factories, thus lessening those engaged in the industry, but there are still sectors that are in need of unions, particularly the service sector, to represent worker needs and concerns. Understanding Leadership and Motivation Leadership is a powerful motivator. Bad leadership can trigger unwanted responses in the workforce causing them to form defensive groups that may be having an attitude range of indifference to hostility. Confidence in management allows for open communication channels facilitating the discussion and resolution of concerns or disputes. Sound directives from management lead to responsiveness to company culture and inspire loyalty to the company. When workers feel secure, properly represented and involved in the company, the desire for collective action is not as significant (Dong-One and Voos, 1997). Sound leadership and motivation is able to guide the members of the organization towards the accomplishment of the major goal which is profits, efficiency and effectivity of the company. To achieve these, one has to be able to manage labor relations well. So, if workers turn to union organization as a means of communication and solving their concerns, considering the decline in unionization by workers, it may very well mean indeed that leadership and motivation strategies that are being implemented is not effective or enough to develop optimum labor relations. Deserving a Union What kind of companies has labor unions? Labor unions are present in all industries. The popular notion is that unionization is that it is only common blue collar workers but the reality is that even white collar workers need the protection against unfair labor practices, lack of labor legislation and oppressive conditions. The presence of unions does not increase labor liabilities, it only unifies the individual responsibility or management to workers. Surprisingly, there are even situations where the organization of a union should be encouraged by a company. Labor organizations have two faces according to Dong-One and Voos (1997) that â€Å"unions possess both a collective voice face and a monopoly face†. In the event that there are several groups in the workforce who have various concerns, it is to the benefit of management for workers to unionize into one group instead of the company having to deal with several groups instead (Flanagan, 1999). It can also make easier the assessment of workers’ dispositions and moods. In one way it can also contribute to labor stability, workers and management are bound by the collective bargaining agreements that are established thus providing specifics for operations, alleviation of concerns and improvement of the company as a whole. Conclusion The suggestion that if proper leadership and motivation techniques are employed and desirable policies devised, workers will not want to unionize is not absolutely conclusive. Workers may still not unionize even if their working conditions are less than desirable when there are legal impediments to do so or there is too much risk associated with the act of unionization. Conversely, workers of companies with good management may still opt to unionize in the vent that they desire an organized representation of themselves, unionize as a means if creating other institutions like cooperatives or lobby groups, or are required by the company or the state to unionize. The statement that â€Å"a company that deserves a union gets one† implies that the organization of labor unions a consequence is also misleading. It suggests that unionization is purely a deterrent to a company. Unionization can improve communication between workers and management, allow management greater access to workforce conditions, and promote the company as a preferred employer thus enhancing public image. There exists a duality in the existence of labor unions in their benefit and burden to an organization. It is important to understand that since individual motivations drive the organization of labor unions, there is no real straightforward judgment on its worth or price. Equally as influential in the organization of labor unions are macroeconomic factors that stem from national labor policies, service and product demands and national productivity. It is therefore the conclusion of this paper inefficient leadership and motivation is a significant factor in the formation of unions but it is not a conclusive reason for it is important to consider other contributing factors that can either encourage or inhibit unionization. Reference Atkinson, Rita L., Atkinson, Richard C., Smith, Edward E., Bem, Daryl J. (1993). Introduction to Psychology, 11th edition. Orlado, FA: Harcourt and Brace Publishers Bertola, Giuseppe (1999). Microeconomic Perspectives on Aggregate Labor Markets, in Handbook of Labor Economics vol.3B, Amsterdam: North-Holland, pp.2985-3028. Blau, F.D. and L.M. Kahn (1999). Institutions and Laws in the Labor Market, in Handbook of Labor Economics, Vol. 3C, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1399-1461. Clemens, Jason, Karabegovià ¦, Amela and Veldhuis, Niels (2003). Unionization: The Facts Please. Dong-One,   Kim and Voos (1997). Unionization, Union Involvement and the Performance of Gain Sharing Programs. Feinman, Robert D. (2006). Does Unionization Matter?. Retrieved on August 18, 2006 from http://robertdfeinman.com/society/unionization.html. Flanagan, R.J. (1999), Macroeconomic Performance and Collective Bargaining: An International Perspective, Journal of Economic Literature 37, 1150-1175.      

Why Do You Sweat - Evaporative Cooling - The Heat Index

Most people know sweating is a process your body uses to cool down. Your body is always trying to maintain an even body temperature. Sweating reduces body heat through a process known as evaporative cooling. Just like getting out of a pool in the summertime, a small wind will be enough movement across your wet skin to create cooling. Try This Simple Experiment Wet the back of your hand.Blow gently across your hand. You should already feel a cooling sensation.Now, blot your hand dry and use the opposite hand to feel the actual temperature of your skin. It will actually be cooler to the touch! During the summer, humidity in certain areas of the world is very high. Some people even refer to the weather as muggy weather. High relative humidity means the air is holding a lot of water. But there is a limit to the amount of water air can hold. Think of it this way...If you have a glass of water and a pitcher, no matter how much water is in the pitcher, you simply cannot make a glass hold more water. Just to be fair, the idea of air holding water can be seen as a common misconception unless you look at the full story on how water vapor and air interact. There is a wonderful explanation of the common misconception with relative humidity from Georgia State University. Relative Humidity is a "Glass Half Full" Going back to the idea of evaporative cooling, if there is nowhere for the water to evaporate to, then it stays on your skin surface. In other words, when the relative humidity is very high, there is only a little room in that glass for more water. If the Heat Index is High in Your Area... When you sweat, the only way you cool down is through evaporation of water from your skin. But if the air is holding too much water already, the sweat stays on your skin and you get little to no relief from the heat. A high Heat Index value shows a small chance of evaporative cooling from the skin. You even feel like it is hotter outside because you cant rid your skin of the excess water. In many areas of the world, that sticky, humid feeling is nothing more than... Your Body Says: Wow, my sweating mechanism is not cooling my body very well because the high temperatures and high relative humidity combine to create less than ideal conditions for the evaporative cooling effects of water from surfaces. You and I say: Wow, it is hot and sticky today. I better get in the shade! Either way you look at it, the Heat Index is designed to keep you safe in the summertime. Keep on alert for all signs of summer heat illnesses and know the danger zones!