The Natural and Perceval, The Story of the Holy Grail Essay -- Literar

The novel The Natural is written by Bernard Malamud. Bernard was a famous author mainly known for writing short stories and novels. He was considered one of the great American Jewish authors of the 20th century. Bernard was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants and he had a brother named Eugene. Unfortunately, Malamud entered his adolescence when the Great Depression began. The Natural is one of his more famous books, which was written in 1952. This novel is about a baseball prodigy named Roy Hobbs. He has a bat that he made himself, which he calls Wonderboy. Roy plans to join the major leagues and break all the records. However, his plans are put on hold when a woman he meets shoots. After fifteen years after the tragedy Roy goes back to baseball and is drafted to the New York Knights. Along his journey to becoming a superstar he is distracted from his goal by the women in his life. The Natural is very much similar to the mythological story of Percev al, the Story of the Holy Grail. Roy Hobbs is comparable to Perceval, Pop Fisher to the Fisher King and the pennant to the Holy Grail. Roy Hobbs and Perceval are similar because they are both the main characters of their own stories. Both their parents had some sort of natural talent. Perceval’s father was a great knight and Roy’s father was a baseball player. They then passed their gifts on to their children, which are Roy and Perceval. â€Å"Roy Hobbs is the Perceval figure of the Natural. Hobbs is a â€Å"natural† both in his ability to play baseball and in his simple and naà ¯ve manner.† (Source 4 Page 1) Perceval and Roy have special talents and are good at what they do. Perceval can fight and he leads his army to victory. â€Å"Perceval does battle with 20 of ... ... back to life again. Roy’s team was losing countless games in a row and Perceval’s kingdom has been suffering for numerous years. Nevertheless, Roy ends up not obtaining his goal and fails many people while Perceval finds the Holy Grail and is a hero among his kingdom. In conclusion, there are many characters, items and symbols in The Natural that are similar and related to the ones in Perceval, the story of the Holy Grail. Roy and Perceval are related because of their natural talents in baseball and fighting, the type of parents they come from and the same goals that they share. Pop Fisher and the Fisher King are parallel due to the related kind of illness they both have and the type of situation they are in. The pennant and the Holy Grail are comparable because they are the important treasures and goals that each of the main characters seek and hope to obtain.

East Asian Economic Crisis :: essays papers

East Asian Economic Crisis A large economic downturn in East Asia threatens to end its nearly 30 year run of high growth rates. The crisis has caused Asian currencies to fall 50-60%, stock markets to decline 40%, banks to close, and property values to drop. The crisis was brought on by currency devaluations, bad banking practices, high foreign debt,loose government regulation, and corruption. Due to East Asia's large impact on the world economy, the panic in Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, and other Asian countries has prompted other countries to worry about the affect on their own economies and offer aid to the financially troubled nations (Sanger 1). The East Asian crisis has affected almost all of the Asian nations, but the three hardest hit countries are Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea. The panic began in Thailand in May of 1997 when speculators, worried about Thailand's slowing economy, exces sive debt, and political instability devalued the baht as they fled for market-driven currencies like the American dollar. Indonesia's economy soon fell soon after when the rupiah hit a record low against the U.S. dollar. Indonesia is plagued by more than $70 billion worth of bad debts and a corrupt and inefficient government. Thailand and Indonesia also suffer from being overbuilt during real estate booms that Reven2 were the result of huge influxes of cash by optimistic foreign investors. South Korea faltered under the weight of its huge foreign debt, decreasing exports, and weakening currency (Lochhead 4-5). Other major countries touched by the crisis are Japan, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Japan's economy is burdened by $300 billion in bad bank loans and a recession. Chinese banks may carry bad banks loans of up to $1 trillion. The banks lend 66% of China's investment capital to state-run industries that only produce 12% of China's industrial output (Manning 2). Malaysia and the Philippines are both faced with devalued currencies and lowered stock markets (Lochhead 5). The implications of the Asian financial crisis are many. A declining Asian economy will reduce demand for U.S. and other countries' exports. The devalued currencies of East Asia will make Asian imports seen cheap and will lead to increased American imports, thus increasing our trade deficit (Lochhead 2). A worldwide banking emergency could result if the embattled Asian economies failed to pay back their loans to the U.S. and other countries (Duffy 2). If the Asian economies fall further, in a desire to raise cash, they might sell the hundreds of billion dollars of U.S. treasuries they now own, leading to higher interest rates and an American recession (Lacayo 2).

Critical Reflections on Health Behavior Change Essay -- SES Impact Upo

The health behavior that I chose to modify for the better was to consume more water each day. My goal for the week was to drink 70 ounces or 8.75 cups of water each day. I chose this as my health behavior change because I know how important it is to consume water, yet I have always struggled with consuming an adequate amount each day. While growing up, I drank mostly milk and different types of juices while neglecting to drink any water unless it was before, during, or right after a sporting event. Although milk and juice are not necessarily bad for me, I know they should only be consumed in moderate amounts. As I became older and found an interest in fitness and nutrition, I realized the many benefits to drinking water. Some of the benefits include helping with weight loss, maintaining balance of bodily fluids, keeping your skin looking young and acne free, increasing brain activity, and most importantly keeping you hydrated. Most of the time I am dehydrated and I know this just by looking at the color of my urine. In the past, I’ve noticed that when I do not drink enough water I feel fatigued and have occasional headaches. When I feel fatigued I have little energy, so I usually just lay in my bed and either watch T.V. or browse the internet on my laptop. However, I soon began to realize that if I keep neglecting my body such a vital factor in keeping me a live, then I will continue to always feel fatigued and waste valuable time where I could be working out, meal prepping for the week, or catching up on my studies. Studies have shown that by not drinking enough water, a person can not only become fat, but they can also suffer many health issues. Some of these issues include asthma and allergies, high cholesterol, bladder... ...amilies may tend to go to fast food venues more often than not because of the convenient access, but also because the food is cheap. Nonetheless, every fast food venue allows free cups of water which means that even people living in a low socioeconomic area still have access to clean water. However, there access to clean water is still limited since they have to actually go to a fast food restaurant to get water instead of just being able to drink from it at home. Works Cited "Clean Drinking Water." UNICEF. United Nations Children's Fund, n.d. Web. 22 May 2015. Krueger PM & VW Chang. 2008. Being Poor and Coping with Stress: Health Behaviors and the Risk of Death. American Journal of Public Health 98:889-896. Mercola DO, Joseph M. "What Happens to Your Body Within an Hour of Drinking a Coke." Mercola.com. Mercola, 12 Jan. 2008. Web. 22 May 2015.

Realism and television Essay

Question : Discuss realism by considering a television program that has realistic qualities. In your discussion specifically refer to Chapter 14 of the textbook, ‘Documentary and â€Å"reality TV†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ, by Branston and Stafford (2006). Realism plays an important role in the success of a good television program. The ability to relate and appeal to the senses of the target audience is an essential characteristic of any media form. This essay explores how realism is perceived in television today with reference to both reality and documentary genres of television. The remainder of the essay will present a case study of a television program which demonstrates realistic qualities. What is Realism? It has been argued that we are living in a ‘postdocumentary’ culture, a time of talk shows, reality t. v, game shows and the persuasion of celebrity (Branston, Stafford 2006: 455). When we refer to ‘realism’ within the context of television it conjures up a multitude of meanings. For example, realism may indicate that the program is ‘realistic’ because of the subject matter, like that of a documentary. Moreover, a television program could be considered ‘realistic’ because it features. Unscripted ordinary people in contrived situations, like Big Brother. One thing is certain, realism, or the illusion of realism, is very prevalent in television today. Reality tv? Distorted Realism†¦ Flick on the television during peak times on a week night and it’s pretty difficult to avoid reality television. From home makeovers to celebrity fit clubs, the popularity with ‘so called’ reality television is astounding. But is reality tv just another highly produced product of the culture industry? More often that not, these reality programs are highly constructed to attract viewers. As Andrejevic. questions, â€Å"Why is Reality tv pretending that it’s real, so that we may cannily believe it’s phony, when it accurately portrays the reality of contrivance in contemporary society? â€Å"(Andrejevic 2004). These programs are clearly not an accurate representation of how most people live. It seems the message of reality television is that ordinary people can become so significant that millions of people will watch them, and as a result, ordinary people are considered potential media stars. Ordinary people watch these programs, see people like themselves and imagine that they too could become celebrities by being on television (Reiss 2001). This is evident by the large number of reality tv stars that have gone on to have careers in the media. For example, Elizabeth Hassleback from the first series of the reality tv program Survivor is now a co-host of the popular talk show in the US â€Å"The View†. ‘Reality tv’, definitely has it’s fair share of critics. It has been blamed of damaging our youth’s perception of what reality truly means, even going to the extent of accusing it of being and abusive and exploitative of children in shows like, ‘Wifeswap’ and ‘Trading Spouses’ (Schlessinger 2004). The perception of what is fact and fiction in regards to television is no longer a clear margin (Study guide 9:5). Semiotic codes (study of signs) in television represent a kind of ‘language’, and we all learn how to decode these signs and symbols in to explain what we see (Herrman, 2000). With any luck, the viewers of these reality programs can distinguish what is true reality and not when they are watching these programs. Documentaries – The Art of Performing Just like news, documentaries are recognized as reproducing the truthful version of the story to the audience. With the popularity of the reality tv culture it has been argued that these types of shows have tainted the significance of documentaries (Branston, Stafford 2006:. 455). Documentaries have the ability to showcase complex subject matter with an accurate and credible approach. It has been argued that a documentary is a â€Å"performative act whose truth comes into being only at the moment of filming†(Bruzzi 2000:6). Moreover, documentaries portray a ‘real’ perspective according to the film maker themselves, just as reality tv, documentaries are constructed to a certain extent. In other words, the audience assumes the point of view from where the camera shooting. Branston and Stafford suggest in the example of Micheal Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 where there were key issues that were not mentioned like the role of Israel, which in effect, persuades the audience in a certain position (Branston, Stafford 2006: 469). Of all the genres of television, documentaries still continue do the finest duty of relaying an accurate interpretation of ‘real-world’ issues with minimal construction. Case Study: â€Å"Intervention†(Mondays 9. 30am, Channel 115, Foxtel). The television program which I have chosen to critique in relation to it’s realistic qualities is ‘Intervention’. It’s a powerful and transfixing US-based series in which people confront their addiction and seek a route to recovery. The series profiles individuals whose dependency on drugs, alcohol or other compulsive behavior has brought them to an all-time low and estranged them from their family and loved ones. The addicts featured in the series believe they have signed up to participate in a documentary on ‘addiction’. Each episode begins with a brief introduction to the subject, and then he or she is followed around by a camera crew. The program ends with a surprise intervention that is staged in which they are confronted with a life-altering choice: rehabilitation or risk losing all contact with the loved ones who instigated the intervention. Often, other tactics are used to persuade the addicted person into treatment, which vary depending on the situation. Interviews with the subject, as well as family members or friends who have agreed to participate, are interspersed throughout. The Intervention falls under the reality tv genre of television and can be described as an ‘information programme’, as it uses true stories to educate the audience on the subject matter (Branston, Stafford 2006:474). The show has more the feel of a documentary than a reality TV program, although predominately factual there a certain aspects of the program that are clearly constructed. The producers and creators of the program make the rules, they create the setting, they film it according to specific guidelines as to what they think are going to provide good television. So Why Is ‘Intervention’ So Realistic? There are a number of characteristics that this television program possesses which contributes in creating a sense of realism for the viewer: 1). Subject Matter ‘Intervention’ is the dramatic and disturbing insight into the day in the life of an addict that features graphic footage of addicts shooting up on television has prompted some controversy. â€Å"It makes prime-time sport of vulnerable, desperate people and their spiral to the bottom,† wrote Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe. All though it’s ugly to watch, unfortunately the reality of addiction and the dysfunction it creates is very real for many families. Most viewers would know someone who it has been impacted by the power of addiction. According to Addictionintervention. com, the interventions that are staged on the series represent a realistic and account of what actually takes place during a professional intervention. http://www. addictionintervention. com/intervention/interventiontv_response. asp 2) Drama-documentary ‘Intervention’ series utilizes a ‘drama-documentary’ style which combines elements of documentary and drama (Branston, Stafftord 2006:456). This hybrid genre produces a very authentic sense of reality for the viewer, absent are the contrivances of most reality shows. Moreover, the participants of the show are ordinary people with real addictions, there are no million dollar prizes, no mansions, no bachelors, or games. According to the series, millions of people struggle with addiction, so the subject matter is a very real problem existing in society. There are no actors or re enactments, these are ‘real’ people going about their life. ‘Intervention’ demonstrates the characteristics of a documentary by presenting the strict facts of the event but also the program has the ability to raise the larger issues associated with addiction, such as family disintegration. Unfortunately the stories that are told are true, it’s something that we would like to believe does not exist in this world, but we all know that it does. 3) Camera Angles The series is shot in a documentary-style, which makes it less refined and more credible (Branston, Stafford 2006:458). The participants bring an honesty and rawness to the show that supersedes the blatant expectations that are all too common to reality programming. The unrehearsed reaction to the intervention from the addict is completely unpredictable. Sometimes the addict agrees to the treatment but more often than not the addict runs away, so without warning the production crew are unexpectedly running down the street. The scrabbling footage adds to the authenticity and legitimacy of the program (Branston, Stafford 2006: 458). 4) Unscripted Narratives ‘Intervention† does not use a narrator, instead, the subject and his loved ones tell the story, with occasional text commentary, which contributes to the realism. The leading characters of the program are ‘ordinary’ people from working class backgrounds, which is very relatable to a broad audience (Branston, Stafford 2006:460). The unscripted narratives between the addicts and their families generate a sense of normalcy, quite often they have to bleep out language when arguments get heated. The music is very limited in the program, there is some intense music just before the intervention which makes for an element of drama. 5) Format The ‘Intervention’ series, has the identical structure in each program. The first half hour profiles the individual, the next 20 minutes focuses on the intervention itself, the last 10 minutes focuses on the follow-up of the individual. There is no set, no staging, the program is filmed on location, meaning where ever the individual lives. The program is filmed in the home of the individual and the intervention, usually takes place at a nearby hotel. The fact that the program could be filmed anywhere is a factor in producing a sense of realism. 5) Not Always a Happy Ending The ‘Intervention’ program does not always have a happy ending, which contributes in creating a sense of honesty for the audience. In a recent episode of ‘Intervention’, the featured addict did agree to go to a rehabilitation facility but was kicked out not long after for breaking the rules. Unfortunately he went back to living on the streets and still struggling with his drug addiction and still estranged from his family (Intervention, aired 20/4/2007, 10pm,A&E channel). This program reiterates that sometimes real life is not pretty, and some situations cannot be resolved in a 60 minute episode. Although the ‘Intervention’ program is a cutting edge and controversial, the fact of the matter is, addiction is a very real issue in today’s society. According to the National Drug Strategy, the tangible social costs of drug use in Australia were estimated to be $18. 3 billion from in 1998-99. With these statistics like this, addiction should be a matter certainly worthy of attention. (http://www. aihw. gov. au/publications/phe/sdua04/sdua04. pdf) In conclusion, it’s apparent that there are still some programs on television that are able to give a ‘realistic’ insight into certain subject matters. After all, the television is our interaction with the outside world, media should continue to focus attention on these social problems to generate awareness and education with this type of programming. Bibliography Andrejevic, Mark ‘Reality TV:The Work of Being Watched’ Lanham MD: Rowman &Littlefield, 2004 1-20 Branston, G. and Stafford, R. , 2006. ‘Documentary & ‘Reality tv’, in The Media Student’s Book, 4th ed. , Routledge, Abingdon, UK, and New York, pp. 455-478 Herrmann, Stefan ‘Do we learn to ‘read’ television like a kind of ‘language’? May 2000http://www. aber. ac. uk/media/Students/sfh9901. html Reiss S, Wiltz J ‘Why America loves reality TV’ – Feature – Brief ArticlePsychology Today, Sept-Oct, 2001 http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_5_34/ai_82261905 Schlessinger, L ‘Realism in family television? ‘ October 27, 2004 http://www. worldnetdaily. com/news/article. asp? ARTICLE_ID=41125.

Further Reflections on the Public Sphere Essay

The text is about relationship of state and civil society, the origins of and prospects for democracy and the impact of the media. A kind of rethinking of Habermas’ first major work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere published in 1962 and translated into English in 1989 which describes the development of a bourgeois public sphere in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as well as its subsequent decline. Habermas admits, his theory has changed since then and he reminds readers of these changes. 1.The Genesis and Concept of the Bourgeois Public Sphere The public sphere (Ãâ€"ffentlichkeit ) is an area in social life (standing in-between private individuals and government authorities) where individuals can meet to freely discuss public matters, exchanged views and knowledge and through that discussion influence political action. A vibrant public sphere serves as a positive counterweight to government authorities (are out of the state control) and happens physically in face-to-face meetings in coffee houses and public squares as well as in books, theatre etc. The public sphere emerged first in Britain and in the 18th century in Continental Europe. The newspapers, reading rooms, freemasonry lodges and coffeehouses marked the gradual emergence of the public sphere. Habermas mentions Geoff Eley’s objection to his earlier depiction of bourgeois public sphere is an idealized conception. Habermas admits now the coexistence of several competing public spheres and groups, that were excluded form the dominant public sphere – the so called „plebianâ€Å" public sphere (like Jacobins, Chartist movement). Habermas influenced here by Guenter Lottes and greatly by Mikhail Bakhtin, who opened his eyes to the culture of common people as a violent counter project to the dominant public sphere. Habermas now views quite differently the exclusion of women as well. Habermas asks himself – were women excluded from the dominant public sphere in the same fashion as the common people? He answers himself with „noâ€Å" – the exclusion of women had structuring significance, as it was happening not only in the public sphere, but also in the private sphere. At the end of this chapter Habermas summons up: his bourgeois public sphere was formerly conceived too rigidly. In fact, from the very beginning a dominant bourgeois public collided with a plebeian (and female) one. As a result, the contrast between the early public sphere and the today’s decayed public sphere is no longer so deep. 2.The Structural Transformations of the Public Sphere: Three Revisions This chapter traces the transition from the liberal bourgeois public sphere to the modern mass society of the social welfare state. Starting in the 1830s, a transformation of state and economy took shape. Clear borderlines between public and private and between state and society became blurred, as a result of interventionist state policies. The increasing re-integration and entwining (mà ­senà ­ se) of state and society resulted in the modern social welfare state. In the subchapter 1 Habermas deals with the impact of these developments on the private sphere. Civil society was formerly totally private, there was no difference between social and family life. This changes with the emancipation of lower strata (workers), a polarization of social and intimate sphere arrives. Habermas describes a dispute among two schools in the 1950s, that of conservative Carl Schmitt school (and Ernst Fortshoff) and Marxist Wolfgang Abendroth, that influenced his considerations at that time, though today he distances himself from his approach. In the subchapter 2 Habermas is concerned with changes in the structure of the public sphere and in the composition and behavior of the public. The infrastructure of the public sphere has changed due to changes in media, advertising and literature that has become oriented to new social groups (workers) as well as due to the collapse of the liberal associational life. Since the 1960s, when Habermas book was published, the opportunities for access to public communication became even more difficult. The public sphere is today dominated by the mass media., which turned the critical public into a passive consumer public and caused a decay of the public sphere. Nevertheless, Habermas says his old concept of a unilinear development from a „culture-debating to a culture-consuming publicâ€Å" was too simplistic and pessimistic. Habermas explains this by general situation of media effects studies at that time – he relied on Lazarsfeld’s behavioristic research and had no information brought later by Stuart Hall (audience does not simply passively accept a text). Subchapter 3 deals with the legitimation process of mass democracy and two diverging concepts of public opinion – an informal, nonpublic opinion and a formal quasi public opinion (made by mass media), that often collide. 3.A Modified Theoretical Framework The mass democracies constituted as social-welfare states can continue the principles of the liberal constitutional state only as long as they try to live up to the mandate of a public sphere that fulfills political functions. It is necessary to demonstrate how it may be possible for the public to set in motion a critical process of public communication. Habermas asks himself, weather there can emerge a general interest of the kind to which a public opinion can refer to as a criterion. Habermas could not resolve this problem before. Today he is able to reformulate the question and give an answer. The ideals of bourgeois humanism function today as a utopian vision, which makes it tempting to idealize the bourgeois public sphere too much. Therefore Habermas suggests the foundations of the critical theory of society be laid at a deeper level and beyond the threshold of modern societies. In the 1960s Habermas believed that society and its self-organization was a totality (celek) controlling all spheres of its life. This notion has become implausible today – e.g. economic system of a society is regulated independently through markets. Later emerged his dual concept of society – the internal subjective viewpoint of the â€Å"lifeworld† and the external viewpoint of the â€Å"system†. The aim today as he sees it is to erect a dam against an encroachment (naruÃ… ¡ovà ¡nà ­) of system on the lifeworld, to reach a balance between the social-integrative power of solidarity (lifeworld) and money + administrative power (system). Communicative action serves to transmit and renew cultural knowledge, in a process of achieving mutual understandings. It then coordinates action towards social integration and solidarity. This can be met in traditional societies. Less often in posttraditional societies with their confused pluralism of various competing forms of life. Habermas criticizes Rousseau for his utopian concept of the general will of citizens in a democracy as a „consensus of hearts rather than of argumentsâ€Å". Habermas sees the solution in the process of public communication itself. Therefore democracy is rooted in public reasoning among equal citizens. State institutions are legitimate only when they establish a framework for free public deliberation (debata). Such a rational debate is the most suitable procedure for resolving moral-practical questions as well. The question remains how such a debate can be institutionalized so that it bridges the gap between self-interest and orientation to the common good (between the roles of client (private) and citizen (public)). Such a debate must meet two preconditions: presumption of impartiality and ability to transcend initial preferences. These conditions must be guaranteed by legal procedures (institutionalized) and they themselves shall be subject to the law. New institutions should be considered, that would counteract the trend toward the transmutation of citizens into clients (i.e. toward alienation of citizens from the political process). Democracy shall be not restricted only to state institutional arrangements. They shall interplay with autonomous networks and groups with a spontaneous flow of communication, that are the one remaining embodiment of the altogether dispersed sovereignty of the people. Democratic public life cannot develop where matters of public importance are not discussed by citizens. However, discourses do not govern – the responsibility for practically consequential decisions must be based in an institution. 4.Civil Society or Political Public Sphere Political public sphere is characterized by two processes: 1) the communicative generation of legitimate power 2) manipulative power of mass media. A public sphere need more than just state institutions – it requires a populace accustomed to freedom and the supportive spirit of differentially organized lifeworlds with their critical reflection and spontaneous communication – voluntary unions outside the realm of the state and the economy (church, independent media, leisure clubs etc.) They are not part of the system, but they have a political impact, as was seen in totalitarian regimes, e.g. in the communist states of Eastern and Central Europe. In Western-type democracies these associations are established within the institutional framework of the state. Habermas asks himself the question, to what extent such a public sphere dominated by mass media can bring about any changes. This can be answered only by means of empirical research. He concludes with reference to a study No Sense of Place by J.Meyrowitz, who claims that electronic media dissolve social structures and boundaries (like in primitive societies). Habermas disagrees – new roles and constraints arise in the process of using electronic communication.

Effects of Online Games to the Students Essay

As time passes by, technology continues to evolve. Because of technology, new things were created that sustains and lightens human work. Computers were created because of technology. Computers were the greatest thing ever invented by man itself. In the modern age, computers have become a part of man’s life. Almost all the things around us were made by computers with the aid of modern machines. From the edited books, design, special effects in movies, and televisions etc., were all made by computers. Along with the evolution of technology, computers continue to upgrade as well until the time that computer has now become a part of man’s everyday life that are hooked to computers. Computers can now edit documents to your PC, play mini games, search information you need using the internet, save documents to your PC and play online games. It’s like an all-in-one gadget that can do all the things you want anytime you need it. From 1990 to the present year, online games had a big impact to us especially teenagers. Online games have many genres, including FPS games, MMORPG, Casual games and multiplayer games. A game will become an online game if it involves in using a computer or a series of computers with one player in each computer to battle it out with other players using the Internet depending on the game genre. Games have always been a popular pastime, but with the advent of computer games they have become even more pervasive. Despite all this progress, we may still stop and ask what makes a game. Because computer games are a subset of games, everything we can say about games in general applies also to them. Nevertheless, computer games are also computer programs, and, therefore, lessons learnt in software construction can be applied to them. A third perspective to computer games is subjective and it concerns finding out what features the players expect from a computer game. A dictionary defines ‘game’ as ‘a universal form of recreation generally including any activity engaged in for diversion or amusement and often establishing a situation that involves a contest or rivalry. A computer game is carried out with the help of a computer program. This definition leaves us some leeway, since it does not implicate that the whole game takes place in the computer. For example, a game of Chess can be played on the screen or on a real-world board, regardless whether the opponent is a computer program The world of online gaming is basically all about community. Gaming has gained such popularity that it could now be considered as practically mandatory. Being great and skilled at playing these video games gives individuals several social benefits. Gaming communities have proven to be powerful, profitable, and at the same time, very fragile. Based on studies and research conducted, gaming has become one of fastest growing in the entertainment sector. It has surpassed the achievements of full-length films, revenue-wise. Gaming is truly a social activity and the mere act of playing games has been directly linked in the establishment of relationships as well as social hierarchies throughout history. Games could be engrossing for many different reasons. Online games or video games are those that could be played over some kind of computer games to those games that incorporate complex computer graphics with virtual worlds that are populated by a lot of players simultaneously. A lot of the video games today have their own associated online communities and these make online games a true social activity that goes beyond the single player games. Online gaming has really made it mark, being an innovative feature of the Internet which would surely be staying and developing in the many, many years to come. In the past, only those who were willing to spend expensive fees and put up with a hard setup process made up online gaming communities. Today, though, a lot of people are getting into, even the younger generation, which raises some negative implications as well on its effect on students. Background of the Study Development of technology brought many things that people do not have many years back. One of those things was online gaming that was provided by the internet. Online Gaming is one of the widely used leisure activities by many people. Teenagers who were playing these online games said that they were playing online games just for fun, to keep away from the heat of the sun, without knowing that there were a lot of effects of playing these games that are more than what they think. Playing online games enabled the mind of the players to be more active, especially those puzzled based-games. It helps the players to come up with decision tight situations, especially those adventure games that kept the players to be alert, active and strategic. Playing online games made the players experience different feelings because it was as if the players really are the one taking the challenges. Despite those benefits, playing online games also brought negative effects, it requires much of the playerâ €™s time, leaving school activities and homework unattended. The Internet has pervaded our society rapidly. It has been major means of communication, used for the exchange of information, for news and for shopping, and now one of the most popular online contents is the game. Online gaming was mainly concentrating on gaming over the internet, where an amount of money is bet on the prospect of a player or group of players winning. Those types of games were usually referred to by the websites as games of skill, and include chess, backgammon and solitaires. Online gaming is a technology rather than a genre, a mechanism for connecting players together rather than a particular pattern of game play. Online games are played over some form of computer network, now typically on the Internet. Some of the advantages of playing online games are, the ability to connect to multiplayer games, although single-player online games are quite common as well, and the ability to build the confidence of the individual in the game that they have used to play. Some of the disadvantages also on playing online games were; the students may be too much hooked on this game and may have insufficient time to study their lessons that their teachers taught them. In the year 2008, most high school students have played a lot of online gaming, and it is very popular. Online games were inspired by video games. The first video and computer games, such as NIMROD (1951), OXO (1952), and Space war! (1961) were for one or two players sitting at a single computer which was being used only to play the game. Later in the 1960s, computers began to support time-sharing, which allowed multiple users to share use of a computer simultaneously. Systems of computer terminals were created allowing users to operate the computer from a different room than where the computer was housed. Soon after, Modem links further expanded this range so that users did not have to be in the same building as the computer; terminals could connect to their host computers via dial-up or leased telephone lines. With the increased remote access, â€Å"host based† games were created, in which users on remote systems connected to a central computer to play single-player, and soon after, multiplayer games. Online games can give us positive effects and benefits to us students, but on the contrary we notice that the students spend more time in playing online games rather than it in such a productive way. Online gaming is an emotionally draining and time-consuming activity. To create more time for the computer, gaming addicts neglect sleep, diet, exercise, hobbies, and socializing. They let their own health go as they do not get the proper rest and nutrition they need. They may suffer a number of health problems from back strain, eye strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and repetitive stress injury. In this study, sophomore students of College of Business in Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) are the respondents. We chose them as our respondents because we see that most of them are addicted in online games. They are given an opportunity to answer and evaluate themselves whether they can handle playing online games and at the same time can do other important activities. It is for the reason that we are interested in taking a more serious look in the effects of online games particularly to the sophomore students of Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) who are the role models of freshmen students. Theoretical Framework Game theory is a study of strategic decision making. More formally, it is â€Å"the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers.† An alternative term suggested â€Å"as a more descriptive name for the discipline† is interactive decision theory. Game theory is mainly used in economics, political science, and psychology, as well as logic and biology. The subject first addressed zero-sum games, such that one person’s gains exactly equal net losses of the other participant(s). Today, however, game theory applies to a wide range of class relations, and has developed into an umbrella term for the logical side of science, to include both human and non-humans, like computers. Classic uses include a sense of balance in numerous games, where each person has found or developed a tactic that cannot successfully better his results, given the other approach. Early discussions of examples of two-person games occurred long before the rise of modern, mathematical game theory. The first known discussion of game theory occurred in a letter written by James Waldegrave in 1713. In this letter, Waldegrave provides a minimax mixed strategy solution to a two-person version of the card game le her. James Madison made what we now recognize as a game-theoretic analysis of the ways states can be expected to behave under different systems of taxation. In his 1838 Recherches sur les principes mathà ©matiques de la thà ©orie des richesses (Researches into the Mathematical Principles of the Theory of Wealth), Antoine Augustin Cournot considered a duopoly and presents a solution that is a restricted version of the Nash equilibrium. The Danish mathematician Zeuthen proved that the mathematical model had a winning strategy by using Brouwer’s fixed point theorem. In his 1938 book Applications aux Jeux de Hasard and earlier notes, Émile Borel proved a minimax theorem for two-person zero-sum matrix games only when the pay-off matrix was symmetric. Borel conjectured that non-existence of mixed-strategy equilibria in two-person zero-sum games would occur, a conjecture that was proved false. Game theory did not really exist as a unique field until John von Neumann published a paper in 1928. Von Neumann’s original proof used Brouwer’s fixed-point theorem on continuous mappings into compact convex sets, which became a standard method in game theory and mathematical economics. His paper was followed by his 1944 book Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour. The second edition of this book provided an axiomatic theory of utility, which reincarnated Daniel Bernoulli’s old theory of utility (of the money) as an independent discipline. Von Neumann’s work in game theory culminated in this 1944 book. This foundational work contains the method for finding mutually consistent solutions for two-person zero-sum games. During the following time period, work on game theory was primarily focused on cooperative game theory, which analyse optimal strategies for groups of individuals, presuming that they can enforce agreements between them about proper strategies. In 1950, the first mathematical discussion of the prisoner’s dilemma appeared, and an experiment was undertaken by notable mathematicians Merrill M. Flood and Melvin Dresher, as part of the RAND corporation’s investigations into game theory. Rand pursued the studies because of possible applications to global nuclear strategy. Around this same time, John Nash developed a criterion for mutual consistency of players’ strategies, known as Nash equilibrium, applicable to a wider variety of games than the criterion proposed by von Neumann and Morgenstern. This equilibrium is sufficiently general to allow for the analysis of non-cooperative games in addition to cooperative ones. Game theory experienced a flurry of activity in the 1950s, during which time the concepts of the core, the extensive form game, fictitious play, repeated games, and the Shapley value were developed. In addition, the first applications of Game theory to philosophy and political science occurred during this time. In 1965, Reinhard Selten introduced his solution concept of sub game perfect equilibria, which further refined the Nash equilibrium. In 1967, John Harsanyi developed the concepts of complete information and Bayesian games. Nash, Selten and Harsanyi became Economics Nobel Laureates in 1994 for their contributions to economic game theory. In the 1970s, game theory was extensively applied in biology, largely as a result of the work of John Maynard Smith and his evolutionarily stable strategy. In addition, the concepts of correlated equilibrium, trembling hand perfection, and common knowledge were introduced and analysed. In 2005, game theorists Thomas Schelling and Robert Aumann followed Nash, Selten and Harsanyi as Nobel Laureates. Schelling worked on dynamic models, early examples of evolutionary game theory. Aumann contributed more to the equilibrium school, introducing an equilibrium coarsening, correlated equilibrium, and developing an extensive formal analysis of the assumption of common knowledge and of its consequences. In 2007, Leonid Hurwicz, together with Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics â€Å"for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory.† Myerson’s contributions include the notion of proper equilibrium, and an important graduate text: Game Theory, Analysis of Conflict (Myerson 1997). Hurwicz introduced and formalized the concept of incentive compatibility. Modern game theory began with the idea regarding the existence of mixed-strategy equilibria in two-person zero-sum games and its proof by John von Neumann. Von Neumann’s original proof used Brouwer’s fixed-point theorem on continuous mappings into compact convex sets, which became a standard method in game theory and mathematical economics. His paper was followed by his 1944 book Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour, with Oskar Morgenstern, which considered cooperative games of several players. The second edition of this book provided an axiomatic theory of expected utility, which allowed mathematical statisticians and economists to treat decision-making under uncertainty. This theory was developed extensively in the 1950s by many scholars. Game theory was later explicitly applied to biology in the 1970s, although similar developments go back at least as far as the 1930s. Game theory has been widely recognized as an important tool in many fields. Eight game-theorists have won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, and John Maynard Smith was awarded the Crafoord Prize for his application of game theory to biology. Game theory, is a branch of applied mathematics that provides tools for analysing situations in which parties, called players, make decisions that are interdependent. This interdependence causes each player to consider the other player’s possible decisions, or strategies, in formulating his own strategy. A solution to a game describes the optimal decisions of the players, who may have similar, opposed, or mixed interests, and the outcomes that may result from these decisions. Although game theory can be and has been used to analyze parlour games, its applications are much broader. In fact, game theory was originally developed by the Hungarian-born American mathematician John von Neumann (http://www.gametheorysociety.org/)

John Locke on Property Essay

Natural reason suggests that human beings have the right to preserve themselves the moment they are born. An individual can utilize everything that he sees around him to preserve himself. He can drink if he is thirsty; he can eat if he is hungry. Nature, which God gave to the world, is the individual’s source of materials for his preservation. Locke emphasized that the world was given to the whole humanity by God. This, for Locke, is nothing but common knowledge (Locke 11). Locke questions how an individual can actually own a thing. He finds it difficult to understand why, when God has given the Earth to His children, men would search for things on earth and label it as their own. Since it is difficult to find a part of the Earth which an individual can own and call it his â€Å"property†, then the only easy way to solve this dilemma is to have the world owned by a universal monarch. This, then, would only be possible upon the belief that Adam owns the world because god gave it to him. As Adam has the world, it also means that his heirs own the world, too (Locke 11). Since this clearly is not the case in today’s world and in today’s society, Locke promises that he will explain how an individual claim a part of what God has given mankind, and that, with no single express compact of all people (Locke 11). As God has given mankind a whole world, it also means that along with this, He has given mankind a reason to use this world to their convenience and best advantage. The world are has everything that a man needs to survive. It has air, water, food and shelter. It contains that things that an individual needs to live a comfortable life. Whatever is found in this world all help in supporting the life of an individual (Locke 13). Although the food found on earth, including the animals or the predators that feed on them, are all qualified as properties of mankind (since nature produces all them), the fact alone that they are included as part of the earth means that even the predators are necessary for the survival of mankind – even when these beasts harm the quality of living of an individual. There will always be a way for a man to know how a harmful beast may help him. Whatever way this is, he has yet to figure out, but the fact remains that a harmful beast is indeed beneficial since it is a part of the world that God gave him (Locke 14). For Locke, the meat and the fruit which an individual feeds on are both considered occupants of the earth. No other individual will have the right to own that particular meat or particular fruit before it can support his life. No one has a right to something if the benefits are yet undiscovered (Ishay 116). The earth is indeed common to all the people living in it – to all its occupants. Then again, each individual has a property of his own. He is the only person who can practice his rights on that certain thing since he is the only person owning it. His hands do the working. His body does the laboring. Because of all these, whatever he produces rightfully becomes his property. Whatever thing nature has provided, which he, in turn, takes away from the state, becomes his property, as soon as he mixes his labor with it. Whatever it is that he takes away from the state which was placed there because of nature eliminates the right of other men, as long as he was able to own it through his hardships and labor (Ishay 116). Labor is indeed an important factor in this case, since labor is something that mankind cannot question. Labor is the unquestionable property of the man who is laboring. The man laboring is the only man who has the right to his products (Ishay 116). Whoever is being supported and benefited by the fruits of his labor has definitely appropriated these fruits for him. The question of Locke now, is when exactly did this fruit became his own? If, for example, an individual harvests the apple that came from the tree he himself planted, when exactly did he own the apple? Was it from the time when he digested the apple, since it is believed that as he is nourished by the fruit of his labor, he can start calling this his own? Or was it from the time when he picked the apples from the tree (Ishay 117)? What marks the difference between the common man and himself is labor. Labor defines what nature cannot. If an individual makes use of what nature has given him, and he, in turn, starts to benefit from it, then he owns the fruit. The man is able to own things as he extends what a nature can do to support his life. Here is where the concept of private right comes in (Ishay 118). Another dilemma is realized from this perspective, since will one not have a right to that apple which he appropriated for himself if mankind did not allow him to? Does he need the consent of other men to make the apple his property? Would this be considered robbery, since whatever is found on this earth is a property of all men (Boaz 123)? Then again, John Locke argued that consent from other men is not even necessary in the first place. If an individual always waits for a go-signal from other men so that he can start owning and eating an apple, then he will end up being starved. What is common in mankind, or common in â€Å"commoners†, is the act of taking something away from this world to make it his property. Nature leaves something in the state, and commoners remove it out from there. As an individual removes it from the state, it starts to be his property. Without such property, then the individual will be of no use to the world. Taking something which an individual may consider his property is not dependent on whether or not commoners will allow him to (Boaz 123). The grass is in the lands to be eaten by a horse. A servant sees a turf which he may cut. All people can see ores, and all of them have right to the meat. An individual can do everything that he can, and thus exhibit acts of labor, to produce something that can benefit him. As a product of his labor, his prize is to own it as its property. He does not need to consult other men; more so, need their consent. The moment an individual removes something from the state is already a manifestation of a labor being enacted. There is a struggle, a difficulty, and an action taking place as an individual takes something away from the state. From this point exactly, an individual owns a thing (Boaz 123). John Locke’s main argument when he said that property is prior to the political state; he was referring to the law of reason. This law is what makes the deer a proper of an Indian, only if this Indian went his way into killing the deer. Once he exerted effort and enacted labor into killing the deer, then he has every right to eat the deer. The deer used to be a property of the world, and of everyone. Killing it is also a right of every person. Then again, whoever has the reason to go first and bestow his energy, labor and power to kill the deer, is the same person who owns the meat. Reason is what defines a person’s property, according to John Locke. Whatever it is that is found in this earth is a property of everyone, and everyone has the right to owning it. Then, again, labor, when fueled with reason, is what makes and what allows a person to own something and start calling it his property (Boaz 124). For John Locke, it is effortless to imagine and think how labor can start and prescribe a person’s property, considering the fact and the supposed challenge that may be faced since this property used to be a property of all mankind, and this property of mankind is coming from nature – the nature itself being an entity that belongs to everyone. The limits of a property are defined by how we spend it. For John Locke, arguments and conflicts regarding property and owndership may be eliminated if we see things his way (Boaz 125). Through John Locke’s view in property, he suggests that convenience and right go along together. He has his right which is his reason enough to employ his labor on a property common to mankind. Once he goes through challenges to own it to his convenience, then there should be no room left for conflict and quarrel. Whoever went his way to experience challenges just to reap what he saw, has every right to own the fruits of his labor (Boaz 126). Works Cited Boaz, David. The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Readings from Lao-tzu to Milton Friedman. Free Press, 1998. Ishay, Micheline. The Human Rights Reader: Major Political Essays, Speeches, and Documents from Ancient Times to the Present. CRC Press, 2007. Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. Kessinger Publishing, 2004.