College and Video Gaming - Research Memo

Main: How are students attending an undergraduate or postgraduate school affected by the expansive world of video gaming?

1. Of course, not everyone enjoys playing video games. Do you notice any difference in the characteristics of those that do play video games and those that don't; such as age, major, sex, status in community?
2. Occasionally, a highly anticipated game is released and normally this occurs towards the end of the year. It is known that their is a large number of students (or non-students for that matter) that tend to stay home the next day so they can stay up all night, plying into the next day. A perfect example would be Grand Theft Auto 5, a game receiving high ratings (rated at a 96%), just released August 17th. Do you notice a change in your fellow students in areas such as topics they discuss during/before class, sleeping patterns, study habits, ability to complete assignments on-time?

Liberal Arts Research Interview

For this interview, I was paired with a fellow CIS classmate, Lauren Joyce.

Lauren responded to the first research question regarding liberal arts--

"How do undergraduate students attending a liberal arts college describe their decision in choosing to attend their college?"--with a list of pros and cons.

Pros

• Exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, beyond their major
• Small class sizes
• Relationship with professors, rather than just a number
• More help when needed – Professors are willing to make other accommodations for the student
• The professors actually teach the course – not a TA
• Live on campus or near campus – creates a sense of community
• Two-year exploration before declaring major

Cons

• Could be as much as 4x’s (or more) more expensive than public school in the same state
• Usually smaller - Less options for living situation/meal plans

"How do undergraduate students attending a liberal arts college describe the benefits they expect, as a result of attending their college?"

• Provides an excellent foundation for graduate study
• Prepares students to work in a variety of jobs
• Degree is appealing to employers.
• May have better company connections because of the smaller college community – or internship opportunity
• Creates graduates who are equipped with the skills to become valuable community members
• Learned more while enrolled from small class sizes & professor (instead of TA) that they were better prepared for a job in their field
• Internships – were able to get a job at the same company or gained experience in the internship that helped land a job in their field easier than an applicant that didn’t.

"How does attending a liberal arts college change undergraduate students?"

Enables students to:

• Be more reflective about what they believe
• Be more conscience of their choices
• Be more creative and able to solve critical problems
• Be more conscience of their feelings and emotions
• Think for themselves
• Open their minds up to learning new things
• Be more socially effective
• Look at the larger picture

“It heightens students' awareness of the human and natural worlds they inhabit” Harvard Admissions.

Reflective Blog #7

Should SMS be accepted as a new language and taught in schools?

This is insane!! First off, SMS already has been causing many problems in society, whether it involves SMS while driving, SMS while in school, or just during inappropriate times, in general. Yes, it is nice that most people know the abbreviations in SMS, but that wont necessarily help you in a car accident.

In school, that is another story. It should not be taught because it is clear that SMS causes attention issues while in the classroom setting. Additionally, if we taught SMS in schools, students might think that it is acceptable to start using SMS where it is not acceptable; or possibly using SMS when they should not be, such as on papers or homework assignments.

Overall, being honest here, the second you start using SMS, you are doing it most of the time unknowingly, or completely avoid it and type out the full words in your text. So no, we should not....that is stupid....very, very stupid.

Reflective Blogging #6

To what extent do relationships that are formed online and remain virtual differ from ones that are formed as a result of meeting in person?

There is quite a difference between relationships that are formed online and relationships that are formed as a result of meeting in person. The biggest difference, in my opinion, is the amount of disclosure between the two participating individuals in the relationship.

In a relationship formed online, you would think information disclosed would be smaller than in a relationship formed as a result of meeting in person, but in reality, it is the complete opposite. I say this because many people that decide to have a virtual relationship, do so because they don't feel as comfortable in person. This leads to disclosing more information to their significant other over the internet, so by the time they actually meet each other in person, they already know what to expect.

In a relationship formed as a result of meeting, you find information disclosed is a bit more general or broad. This supports the mystery of your relationship allowing you to discover more about yours significant other as you go along--strengthening your relationships through those experiences. 

Network Tour Goals

1. The overall network design is: 2 connected servers for network

1. router, switch, iron port, server, shared database (dericci)
2. router, switch, iron port, server, shared database (sondregger)

when it fails at one point, it sends message over to the other server. They are both connected to each other safeguarding the transfer of messages or packets (i.e. connecting to the web or sending mail).

2. The approach used is what will efficiently improve the network connection for all users. For example, we use all fiber active cables to ensure a more secure connection and is more efficient for our school to use. They also use heated floor/section and a cooled one to help circulate.

3. Iron ports, fiber-optic cables, backups after every day.

4. There are many necessary skills: knowing what/how the average network works. How to back storage up, how to trouble-shoot, network security, and im sure there are plenty of other skills.

Reflective Blogging #5

Describe how using social networking technologies changes how you communicate with your family and friends. 

Social networking technologies have certainly changed the way everyone communicates with their family and friends. It became noticeable with the use of mobile phones in the 90's but not nearly as much. The 90's in general brought forth a lot of social networking technologies such as (mainly email) but MySpace paved way for the biggest social network alive today, FaceBook. 

FaceBook, smartphones, VOIP, and many other technologies have made communication convenient and efficient for those willing to learn how to use them. Before, we had to rely on simply calling or emailing friends or family, or we would have to meet in person to have a conversation. Nowadays, I can talk to my step brother who lives in Colorado over Skype or FaceBook IM. So, these new technologies may sometimes cost a little money, but there are many free versions available to all. 

Convenience comes into play because it makes it easy to communicate with friends and family who may lives thousands of miles away.

Reflective Blogging Question #4

• Consider the impact of personal networking devices, in terms of the environment. What do you think are the biggest areas of immediate impact?  How about long term impact?
• First off, personal wireless devices utilize electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in the non-ionizing bands of the electromagnetic spectrum in their creation. The wireless infrastructure pumps continuous small amounts of radio-frequency radiation (RF) into the ambient environment.
• Ever since the invention of wireless networks, we has human beings have infused the Earth's surface with a layer of artificial energy exposures. The problem is that we do not yet know how this will effect the future of planet Earth. But one thing we can assume is that species of plants and animals have been having an alarmingly high extinction rate in the past decade. There are many outlying factors other than just the possible influence of RF.
• As wireless technology continues to improve, associations like CTIA, believe that wireless technology will improve environmental impacts in a variety of different ways:

1. Reducing material and energy used in production processes
2. Reducing energy consumed by products while in use
3. Using recycled or other lower-impact materials
4. Maximizing the use of existing products and systems
5. Safely reusing, recycling, or disposing of products or components

A statement made by www.bsr.org regarding the future of wireless technology: "The application of wireless technology has exciting potential in a wide range of areas, especially in its ability to reduce environmental impacts. New applications on the horizon, such as those enabled by machine-to-machine communications, could fundamentally change the way we live, work and play. We are hopeful that the wireless industry, with the right level of government involvement, will help make this a reality."