Are video games educational Essay Example for Free

Are video games educational Essay Video games are something that many people all around the world play. But are video games educational? The answer is yes, video games develop many of our skills, give us the relaxation we need and as technology is developing the number of educational and social aspects of games are increasing greatly. While video games are typically cast off as a waste of time and simply recreational activities, when it comes down to it, video games are actually one of the best and most successful ways to encourage teenagers to learn. The reason simply is that it is a fun way to learn. In video games, there are constantly problems and puzzles that need solving in order to move onto the next stage of the game. These problems makes us think with an open mind and can sometimes take a long time to overcome these challenges, but aspects in games such as these, which are found nearly in every video game, help our brains work faster. Although many games are created with the specific purpose of being educational, many video games which seem to be pure fun have hidden educational purposes and help our problem solving skills, reflexes and persistence. Some games are set in a historical era, such games broadens our knowledge of history and can pique our interest of historical matters. Even simple games such as Tetris help us gain skills in problem solving and quick thinking. Teenagers who play video games have been found to have better, more developed memory and playing these games makes the brain work hard and in turn helps the teenagers hone their skills. It makes the player think hard to solve problems and look at things with different views and perspectives in order to get the answer. It works the brain in many different ways and generally a gamer is good at overcoming challenges and problems thanks to playing games such as these. The idea may seem a slight oddity, but it subconsciously is helping young adolescents use their brain more efficiently and help them view their life with an open mind. Playing games can also drastically help with hand-eye coordination; developing greater mental focus and help young adolescents multitask with more ease. It has also been stated by some, that video games promote and glorify violence. I believe that this statement is fundamentally incorrect and that it lacks the necessary evidence needed to prove that this theory is true. Researchers that have observed teenagers reactions to violent video games such as, ‘Grand Theft Auto’ to test if the theory that such games can trigger aggressiveness or depression. The results of these tests have found that a majority of the reactions from the young adults differ greatly from that which was the expected one. Playing video games shockingly had a slight settling effect on a vast amount of the teenagers and helped reduce any negative or aggressive behaviour that they may have had before playing. As people, we have freedom of rights and should have the ability to play whichever games we like. Video games are not promoting violence outside of the game. It provides an escape from reality and focuses solely on entertaining the teenagers of our generation. Playing video games are good for young adolescents in multiple ways. When a teenager is stressed, playing games is an effective way to help them relax and escape from realities. Everyone has the right to relax and have fun once in a while do they not? Today’s generation have many different ways to have fun and enjoy themselves, and it is only fair that they should have the choice to spend their leisure time how they please. It is a good way to spend leisure time and it provides plenty of entertainment for people of all ages. While playing video games has in the past been condoned, with technology developing as fast as it currently is, the educational benefits in the games are sky rocketing. In time will this change our perspective on video games? A high percentage of today’s generation play video games and spend a considerable amount of time on the internet, is this going to shape and change the future of our society? Video games are often seen as an unsociable act but in fact many games of today are actually multiplayer or more commonly give you the opportunity to play with other people online. The evolution of technology and how far it has come in recent years is astonishing. The features in games which allow you to communicate with other through gaming consoles are effective in making friends or allies in a game. On different gaming consoles there are now plenty of options you can use to communicate or play with friends such as Xbox Live, PS Vita Party and many others. These are brilliant, because it does not cut the player off from the outside world and successfully makes gaming more enjoyable. The bottom line is, playing video games are a positive and educational way to spend leisure time. While there are some games, made entirely to entertain, from every game played, you learn something new. Video games are stimulating for the brain, a great way to relax and good for social interaction. Is it not better to learn while doing something that you love, compared to being stuck learning with outdated techniques and uninteresting classes? Today’s generation is changing and technology has already become an enormous part of society, should we not begin to include more technology into our education system seeing as it both impacts and benefits the younger generation so greatly?

science of ozone :: essays research papers fc

THE SCIENCE OF OZONE Ozone, though similar to oxygen chemically, is composed of three molecules of oxygen and is usually blue in color with a very strong odor. The atmosphere contains less ozone than the common oxygen. While out of every ten million air molecules, there exist about two million molecules of normal oxygen and only three molecules of ozone. Most of these ozone molecules are typically concentrated in the Stratosphere, the atmospheric layer that runs roughly from ten kms to about fifty kms in altitude. Even though the amount of ozone in the atmosphere is small, it plays a vital role in the atmosphere. The ozone layer protects the Earth and everything on it by absorbing the sun’s UV radiation. When the ozone is not at an atmospheric level and is at ground level, ozone proves to have toxic effects. ‘Inhaling fairly low amounts of ozone can result in signs and symptoms such as coughing, congestion, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest pain in otherwise healthy people. People with already existing asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, and emphysema may find their conditions worsen while inhaling ozone. Breathing ozone may also increase the risk of getting certain lung diseases. People can recover from short-term exposure to low levels of ozone. However, breathing high levels of ozone or breathing low levels of ozone over a long period of time may have more damaging and longer-lasting effects.’ Ozone has also been found to have positive effects on people. It has proven to be a very purifying substance. Doctors are now aware that it has three powerful properties: 1. It stimulates the immune systems through production of natural cancer-killing proteins called cytokines. 2. It improves oxygenation (delivery of oxygen to starved tissues) and metabolism. 3. It is a powerful antibiotic when applied locally. Ozone is made naturally in the atmosphere or artificially by using high voltages or ultraviolet rays. Ozone and Oxygen work together efficiently to prevent the ultraviolet radiations reaching the earth’s surface. The ultraviolet radiations with shorter wavelengths, such as wavelengths less than 242 nm, have sufficient energy to break the O-O covalent bonds in the oxygen molecules and are thereby used up by the oxygen molecules. < 242 nm O2 (g) Â ® 2O (g) Similarly, ultraviolet radiations with higher wavelengths, for example more than 242 nm to 320 nm, are used up in breaking the bonds between the oxygen atoms in an Ozone molecule. 242-320 nm

External Factors and the Real Estate

Assignment 1. 3 External Factors and the Real Estate Industry By Karen Chapman 11 November 2012 Assignment 1. 3 Index: 1. The demographic environment: 1. 1Cultural diversity trends and developmentsPage 3 1. 2Demographics of own area, vs. national demographics and trendsPage 3 2. The economic environment: 2. 1 The current economic environmentPage 3 2. 2 Socio-economic factorsPage 4 3. The political environmentPage 4 4. The technological environmentPage 5 5. The competitive environmentPage 5 6. The legal environment: 6. 1 Regulations pertaining to property ownershipPage 5 . 2 Regulations pertaining to land use controlsPage 6 6. 3 Other rules and regulationsPage 6 ConclusionPage 6 ReferencesPage 6 Assignment 1. 3 Introduction: The real estate industry is hugely affected by external factors, which have the effect of either having a positive or negative impact on us as real estate agents. When the economy is good houses sell and buyers are able to qualify for bonds. When the economy is in a downturn then houses stay on the market for a lot longer. Buyers are more reluctant to take the plunge and buy property.Repossessions increase and banks often become more reluctant to grant bonds. 1. The demographic environment 1. 1Prior to the repealing of the Group Areas Act the residential housing market was segmented by race. Each race group was legally only allowed to stay in certain areas and neighbourhoods. After the repealing of the Group Areas Act and the democratisation of South Africa after our first free and fair elections for all races in 1994, different race groups and ethnicities started living together in the same neighbourhoods for the first time.With South Africa being welcomed back into the international community we also now have more clients from around the world. This has also resulted in a major paradigm shift for estate agents – from serving one race group previously we are now dealing with clients from every race and ethnicity from both South Afric a and around the world. To be successful and effective, estate agents have had to learn to be sensitive to, and understand, different cultures and their customs.Buyers and sellers have also had to learn to be more tolerant towards the different cultures and norms of their neighbours. 1. 2The demographics of my â€Å"farm area† are representative of the national urban demographics and trends. 2. The economic environment 2. 1 The world economic crisis has also negatively impacted on the South African economy and this had had a direct negative impact on our housing market. Due to cut backs and layoffs many homeowners are finding it difficult to meet their bond commitments and as a result many homes are being repossessed by the banks.Buyers are also experiencing difficulties in obtaining bonds from banks one of the main reasons being that South African banks appear to fear further repercussions from the global credit crisis and continued job losses (up to 400 000 before the year end) House prices have continued to fall. Absa's senior property analyst Jacques du Toit said house prices dropped further in nominal terms in June, by 4,4% year-on- Assignment 1. 3 year, while in real terms, prices were down by 11,1% year-on-year in May. But the residential market is expected to improve early in 2013Mortgage stress has increased from 55 000 in the second quarter of 2011 to 155,000 in the second quarter of 2012. Severe mortgage stress, where bondholders are over 4 months in arrears, has almost doubled in a year and increased sharply in June to over 72 000 home owners from 55 000 in the first quarter. Despite the lower interest rates there are more sales in execution than ever before. Currently there are approximately 4 500 houses per month which are being sold forcibly through legal channels which includes sales in execution, insolvency sales and bank's voluntary distressed sales channels. . 2 With the global economic meltdown, retrenchments and unemployment have be come more and more of a reality in South Africa. With the increased unemployment levels, bondholders have become more hard-pressed to make payments and this has led to an increase in defaults and consequently repossessions. Other homeowners have tried to sell their properties as they have become more financially strapped. This has resulted in an over supply of properties on the market (a buyers market) and as a result some buyers are able to negotiate more favourable/lower prices on houses.Many buyers are also reluctant to buy because of economic uncertainty. (job loss/retrenchment). Banks stringent lending criteria have also prevented potential buyers from obtaining loans. The net result being that the property market has been severely negatively impacted. 3. The political environment: The change in the political environment in South Africa has also resulted in a change in the real estate industry. Agents had to previously deal with clients from one race group e. g. but with the re pealing of the Groups Areas Act we now deal with clients we previously never dealt with i. e. ifferent race groups, ethnicities and nationalities In 20 years, South Africa has achieved many successes, including greater political stability and greater economic freedom. Research Worldwide. com has just published results of its annual survey, which showed that property investments in South Africa showed an actual total return of 15,1% last year. South African commercial real estate outperformed sixteen other major countries. The real estate boom in South Africa and low interest rates continues to encourage homeowners to feel confident and spend buying those houses for sale, farms for sale and commercial property for saleAssignment 1. 3 4. The technological environment: Technology has become an integral part of Real Estate over the past few years. Property software programs have played – and will play an increasingly important role in the future of Real Estate. To remain competit ive real estate agencies need to use the latest technology to benefit their business. The real challenge is to find a software application (programme) that supports all facets of the industry, cutting out the need to duplicate day-to-day work.The world wide web enables estate agents to operate globally as properties can be viewed from anywhere in the world. An agent can create a virtual office in his car with a laptop, 3G connection and a cell phone. 5. The competitive environment: The real estate industry has often been perceived as an unprofessional industry because there have been no entry standards for those wishing to join the industry. However, this is changing as all real estate agents are now required to obtain the FETC: Real Estate Level 4 qualification to enable them to practice as agents.This has benefits for both the industry and clients – the industry will have knowledgeable and qualified/professional agents which will enable both buyers and sellers effectively. Qualified agents will be in high demand in the industry. 6. The legal environment 6. 1 Regulations pertaining to property: There are a number of acts that govern property ownership in South Africa: Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 Makes it possible for different persons to each own a portion of a building Companies Act 61 of 1973 Share block shares must be transferred in terms of the Companies ActShare Blocks Control Act 59 of 1980 Controls the operation of Share Block schemes Housing Development Schemes for Retired Persons Act 65 of 1988 Regulates the development and alienation (sale or lease) of accommodation in schemes which are â€Å"Housing Development Schemes† as defined by the Act The Estate Agencies Affairs Act 112 of 1976 Safeguards the interests of members of the public in their dealings with Estate Agents The Estate Agencies Affairs Board is a regulatory body established by the above Act. Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981

Perception And Perception Of The Conscious Mind - 1581 Words

The conscious mind is a widely debated, undefined phenomenon. It can and has been simplified to three manifestations, the conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious, however, it is yet to be fully agreed upon what consciousness actually is (Corsini Wedding, 2011). Block (2005) describes two very different types of consciousness; access consciousness and phenomenal consciousness. Phenomenal consciousness, similar to Searle’s (2000) qualitativeness, refers to a subjective ‘feeling’ which conscious states provide. Whereas ‘access consciousness’ is made available in consciousness through other cognitive processes. This mysterious phenomenon has many other integrating related terms such as perception and awareness. These terms could be†¦show more content†¦There is the view that much like awareness and perception, attention is simply another term for consciousness, yet it has also been described as a completely distinct process (Allport, 1980; Crick Koch, 1990). The relationship of attention and consciousness is still a subject of strong debate today. Posner (1994) believes that attention is the study of consciousness, much like Treisman Gelade (1980) who suggest that theories related to consciousness will be theories linked to attention. As it is very difficult to examine and empirically test an undefined phenomenon such as consciousness, attention it has been suggested is the closest proof of it can be empirically examined (Taylor, 2003). However, it has been suggested through this testing that attention can occur without consciousness and vice versa (Koch Tsuchiya, 2007). This undermines the view that attention is a function of consciousness Koch Tsuchiya (2007) examined attention and consciousness as a method of proving they are distinct processes. Participants were asked to either perform either a central or peripheral task or both tasks simultaneously. The dual task paradigm was used in this experiment which refers to a procedure that requires a person to complete two tasks at the same time in order to disassociate single tasks, which in this instance was attention and consciousness. In Koch Tsuchiya’s study participants were presented with a centre attentional focus