Effects of Violent Video Games on People of Different Ages

by Nicholas C. Delos 

It’s easy to be confused as to what the scientific findings are on video games and violence.  What is somewhat clear is the cause for such confusion.  That is not to say that all studies on the subject are inconclusive, in fact, they are pretty near all over the map.

One study of 387, 12 to16 year-olds, found frequent video gamers self-reported increased playing time correlated with aggressive behavior.  Another, on 117 undergraduates found no correlation between violent video gaming and increased violence.  Still another, by Kestenbaum & Weinstein on 208, 11 to 14 year-olds, found aggressive video games actually had a calming effect.  Still worse, many studies fail to factor out sources of error such as whether more violent people are attracted to violent video games.

Such common errors in studies would seem to indicate that the study is a new field.  That is, however, quite wrong.  Only ten years after “pong”, the first video game to gather widespread popularity, was released in 1972, early studies on violence and video gaming were well underway.

That is not to say video games are harmless. Studies of the effects of violent video games on younger children are more conclusive. Such studies generally show an increase in violent behavior during normal play among children who play or view violent video games. Additionally, many psychologists fear that the increased exposure to violence could lead to additional desensitization to violence similar to that found after prolonged exposure to graphic violence on the television. Video gaming has also been found to be addictive, and the long periods of screen use associated with gaming can lead to increased rates of near sightedness.

Additional information from scholarly sources

The Effect of Playing Video Games

Warriors Outplay Most Dominant Team in NBA

by Gareth Bossard   

The NBA playoffs have gotten off to an unusual start due to the Golden State Warriors three to two lead over the dominant Dallas Mavericks. Dallas finished with the best record in the NBA this season – 67 wins and 15 loses – whileGolden
State barely made it over .500. The Mavericks are desperately looking for answers in order to avoid being looked at as the duds of the NBA.

Baron Davis, standout guard for the Warriors, has been making his opponents look foolish. Dribble penetration into the lane is coming at will and if Davis is stopped, which usually does not happen, the rest of the team is wide open and has been knocking down shot after shot.

 

In game four, Baron seemed to be looking to demoralize the entire Maverick team with his hard nose play. At half time, he knocked down a half court shot to tie the game and gave the Warriors the momentum leading into the second half. If that was not enough, to end the third quarter,
Davis picked off a pass and dribbled the length of the court for a two handed slam.

 

This series is not all about Baron Davis however. He is looking for his teammates and they have played a crucial role in their success as well. The Dallas Mavericks have helped the Warriors with their soft and lackadaisical play. Failure to box out has lead to numerous second chance points, and lack of defense has hurt too.

 

As the series heads back to Dallas, the Mavericks are hoping to take advantage of their home arena. Home court advantage will help, but the Mavericks will need a 180 degree turn if they want to overcome the scrappy, and now, confident Golden State Warriors.

Check out pictures from the series here

Music Industry Hot and On Fire

by Eliana Diaz 

A welcome surprise came from our favorite Canadian rocker chick, Avril Lavigne, who graced us with her new song “Girlfriend”. This song is described by Lavigne herself as being “fast, fun, young, bratty, aggressive, confident, cocky in a playful way…all the good stuff.” .“Girlfriend,” gained Lavigne her highest single debut (number five) and her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as her highest ever position on the UK Singles Chart (number 2).

For all of our Hip-Hop and R&B lovers out there, there’s no need to fear.  Timbaland, famous for his producing skills and collaborations with Missy Elliott, has his new hit “Give It to Me” which features two very prominent artists, Nelly Furtado, and everyone’s guilty pleasure, Justin Timberlake.  Unknown to most people, “Give It to Me” disses many other musicians in its lyrics. Each of the three featured artists have a single verse in the song separated by the chorus which is sung by Nelly Furtado (Furtado’s verse takes a blow at Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas while Timbaland’s verse is aimed at fellow producer Scott Storch.).

 

Lest we not forget the powerhouse combo of Beyoncé and Shakira with their hit, “Beautiful Liar”.  The song’s musical structure mixes heavy hip-hop beats with Middle Eastern music, which are the characteristic sound of Beyoncé and Shakira, respectively.  It holds the distinction of having the largest upward movement on the Billboard Hot 100, moving 91 positions from 94 to 3 the week of April 7, 2007.  Beyoncé has stated the song is about female empowerment, in keeping with the theme of the album.  The protagonists sing about being charmed by the same man; instead of fighting over him, they decide not to start drama or waste their time.

So, whether you’re up to singing about pains of boyfriends or up to dancing and partying like a rockstar, you’ll be sure to hear these songs more on the radio, and on the go! 

Billboard Top 100 Page

Cardinals Say Farewell

by Ashley Armitage 

On Sunday, the Cardinals lost another player, Josh Hancock.  Hancock died when his car hit the back of a flat bed truck. Earlier in the year, the Cardinals lost a player due to a heart attack. The game between the Cubs and the Cardinals is postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. On Thursday, the team will fly out to
Tupelo, Mississippi for the funeral.

The manager of the Cardinals said he remembered the phone call he received saying that Hancock was dead. He said that people should pray for his family and the teammates, and pray they make it through okay.

The accident:

The Ford explorer driven by Mr. Hancock plowed into the back of the flatbed tow truck, Hancock was killed instantly and the truck driver (whose name was not yet released) did not receive any injuries. The autopsy was performed, and no sign of alcohol or any type of drug was found. Some say he could have been tired others say he was sad and depressed, but the team said he had no reason to be depressed and that he seemed happy. Who knows why he crashed, but the team is very distraught.

 

To learn more, click here

Techs Light Up the Stage

by Alex Crowder

           

The spring musical for the school, “Grease” has ended. The actors as well as Ms. Harris have finally been able to relax after the ending of the massive production. Of course, with a very good show, there are techs who work just as hard to see that everything is set together right for the shows performance. While there is a tech class, and that class is mostly responsible for the operation and the construction of the set for the musical, there is also a way for you to volunteer for helping out.

           

The techs have already worked hard on various shows such as Shakespeare in
Hollywood, where they built the steps and constructed the fountain or the center of the stage. The play for Halloween, “10 Little Indians,” consisted of doors and frames built buy the techs, as well as furniture brought from Scott Obechain’s house. The painting, and the set up was done entirely by them, as well as the lighting, the sound, and the sound set up, although the sound did require a little extra help.

           

Given the magnitude of the play, Scott Obechain’s, the tech director, had the size of the set fit the size of the play. In other words, it was big. They made a full size diner for the burger palace with steps going up the back, a front for the school, a full room with a bed for Marty’s room, and a platform for the Hand Jive Contest. The work on these set pieces took roughly a month to make, and while they were brilliantly built, the deadline for the play came too fast. But despite this handicap, they managed to get the play sets ready, painted, and mobile for easy access during the plays. There were six shows in total, most of which were pulled off by a total of 8 techs, not including those in the sound booth, and others working on the microphones and lights. Still, including those, there were 11, and it was a major achievement to make the show go as smoothly as it did.

Into the Clouds

by Michael Shannon 

The Skycar Volantor developed by Moller International, is capable of vertical take-off and landing much as a helicopter, and flies from point of departure to destination much like an airplane. However, the Skycar Volantor is uniquely qualified to travel short distances on the ground, just like an automobile. All of this and incredibly, its easy to fly! Actually, a computer does the flying. The pilot only has to move the controls in the direction he or she wants to go, so that little skill is required. The Moller Skycar is a Volantor capable of these remarkable achievements through the use of an arrangement of proprietary technologies. Favorable power to weight ratio is the basic qualification for VTOL. However, in order to create a safe, environmentally responsible and economically feasible method of transportation, Moller International had to take into consideration a number of components including airframe and engines.

From its inception, the M400 Skycar Volantor has been designed to minimize both direct and indirect costs. The Skycar uses an engine that can burn almost any kind of fuel from diesel to natural gas, so that worldwide refueling can be accommodated by what is locally available. Using gasoline, the M400 can be expected to get over 20 mpg. With a range of 750 miles, the logistics associated with refueling the sharp-range helicopter can be eliminated. The
Rota power engines have only two major moving parts, weigh less than 80 pounds, and occupy less than one cubic foot. The bulk of the remaining technology is electronic and replaceable in modules as the onboard redundant systems identify a failed or failing component. Vehicle size greatly affects ground mobility and parking space required. The Skycar with its component size can be stored in a space the size of a standard single car garage. The landing gear on the vehicle makes road ability possible for short distances. Initially  introduced as the M400, four-seat model, the Skycar technology has the ability to be both scaled up to six passengers, M600, or scaled down to a one seat passenger, M100. This allows a cost efficient vehicle size to accommodate a variety of military, paramilitary, and commercial transport missions.

No matter how well an engine is designed, it has the potential to malfunction at some point during its lifetime. The possibility also exists that something outside the pilot’s control, like bird digestion, could cause an engine or lift fan to fail.

 

Click here to learn more about the Skycar

Girls JV Soccer loses 3-0 to McLean

by Katie Busch

Last Friday South Lakes girls JV soccer lost to McLean by three goals. Anyone who has been following our JV soccer team knows that we haven’t had much of a season. Having only won one game against Stuart, (which wasn’t even a district game) it appears that the   girls JV soccer is out of luck.

At the game last Friday, the girls were without subs due to issues with attendance at practices. For most of the first half the girls were able to play competitively against McLean, considering their disadvantage. It wasn’t until the end of the first half when McLean was able to make their first goal.

At the beginning of the second half, McLean was able to get two quick goals, both of which should have been called off-sides. The defense having played the entire game was fatigued towards the end of the second half causing McLean to easily overpower them with their constant substitutions. McLean’s inaccurate shooting prevented them from making any more goals during the second half.

 

Considering that many of the other girls JV soccer team’s defeats have had more points on the scoreboard, this was a good game for our JV team.

German Exchange (GAPP Program)

By Anna Zogby

This summer, a group of German students from our school are participating in the GAPP foreign exchange program.  This means that they will be traveling to Germany for three weeks this summer while also staying with a German host family. 

Maybe even last year you met some of the exchange students that came from the same town and schools they will be traveling to.  For those who don’t know what a foreign exchange program is, it is a group usually funded by the country or state that sends their students to another country for an educational experience.

Different countries participate in different exchange programs to send their students from their country to stay with a family and attend school with a student from another country.  The purpose is usually to understand a language better or maybe to study abroad for class credits.  The GAPP students are going to experience what it’s like to live with a German family, attend a German school, speak German with native Germans, as well as keep track of how much American money their Euros are worth.

The group plans to travel from Braunschweig through much of south eastern Germany in areas such as Berlin, Munich, Lubeck, and
Frankfurt.  Some of the methods of traveling include by airplane, train, car, walking, and even bicycling.  A lot of students usually don’t get this kind of opportunity because it’s so expensive, but thanks to a lot of research and negotiating by Frau Finley, it will not be painfully expensive for the GAPP group. 

The trip will last from June 23^rd-July 17^th.  Even though that interferes with the 4^th of July, they will still show their American pride by celebrating Independence Day there.  Currently the drinking age there is 16, but they will still have to follow the legal age limit of the
U.S. which is 21.

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Are You Attending Prom ’07?

By Caroline Murphy

Lately, most of the talk around South Lakes has been about the 2007 Prom, which will be held on May 11.  Like many previous years, the prom will be held at the Sheraton in Reston.  Prom is a great experience, but it takes a lot of planning and compromise to make it perfect.  Many students get in arguments about where and what time they are going to eat, and what time they are going to arrive at the dance.

Much of the time, friends tend to go in groups of ten or more people, in which case they have to agree on a restaurant.  In order to seat this many people at a restaurant the people in that group have to decide where they wish to go to dinner weeks before prom night so they can make reservations.

Many students, especially seniors, like to have a limo take them to the restaurant where they are eating, and then from the restaurant to the hotel in which the prom is held.  Unfortunately, not all students can have the luxury of the limo, because limos are very expensive. 

Lisa Andariese, Junior, said, “my friends and I are going to wait until next year to rent a limo because they cost so much money.  Plus, next year will be our senior prom, and we want to go all out.”

On a normal night, limos cost a lot of money to rent; but on prom night, limo companies charge extra because there are so many people, and they need to be taken to two or three different places.  Most students who rent limos rent them for a couple hours.  The limo will take them to dinner, wait for them to finish, take them to the dance, and then take them home after the dance.

Here are some Websites that might help you plan your perfect prom:

Restaurants:

Maggiano’s

M & S Grill

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood

Olive Garden

Limo Services:

Limousine Virginia

Fairfax Limo

DC Livery

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Will There Be Progress From Tragedy?

By Andres Ruiz Morris

After the April 16^th shootings at VT, the nation has again revitalized the debate over gun control, which until last Monday’s heartbreaking shootings, has been on the back burner of mainstream political debate. At the center of this broad debate is the argument over whether college students should be allowed to carry guns on campus.

Again, the events of April 16^th have polarized the nation, leaving very little middle ground in this specific debate. Those who favor gun rights on campus argue that the shooting could have been prevented if one of the students had been allowed to carry a gun to prevent the shooter from killing 32 people.

On the other side of the debate are those who feel allowing students to carry guns would only be fueling a fire that would only increase the possibility for another incident similar to that on April 16^th. In the larger sense many feel that loosening gun laws in a nation that is relatively lenient on the issue of gun control would open even more doors to criminals and those who could be a potential threat to others.

Seung-Hui Cho, the killer at VT, even though he had a rather prolific history of mental illness was able to pass the regulatory background check in Virginia. What many hope to happen from this ignited debate is a deeper look into the gun fetish of the United States, where it is so easy in certain states (Virginia being one of them) for those with questionable backgrounds to purchase not only sporting weapons but even semi- automatic rifles and pistols.

Reporter for The Center of Public Integrity, Jim Morris (who is in the process of putting together an expose on the gun industry in the US) said “From personal experience, the first hand of the availability of firearms that are manufactured for the use other than “sport” is staggeringly liberal, I personally feel the nation should rethink our general approach to firearms in the United States.”

Back to April 26, 2007