Literature Review

From the literature available, there are two views concerning video games and violent behaviour. One side is that many people are being injured and sometimes even killed, as a result of the actions taken by some people who play video games. This is shown in the recent newspaper article of James Callaghan, who lost to his brother on a video game and then started attacking and threatening people in the street. He ended up killing a 65 year-old woman (Taylor, 2009). However the impact that violent video games can have on players, can depend on how much time they play, “greater that exposure to violent games will result in violent behavior” (Wagner, 2004).

On the other hand video games can have a good effect on players. “There's evidence that playing video games can have a positive effect on social life” (Rubens, 2007). This means that people can gain social skills from playing video games. Also the violence which does occur as a result of video games, is on average the same of violence linked to T.V and Movies (Wagner, 2004).

So there are two sides to video games, one being a violent side and a beneficial side to playing.

Video Games and Violence

Mind Map:

Question to be answered by my paper:

Do Video Games Encourage Violent Behaviour and Cause Crimes to be Committed?

Learning Styles:
When I took the VARK Questionnaire, my outcome was that I had a Kinesthetic learning style. This means that I am best learning when I am physically carrying out the activity, rather than reading, seeing or listening about it. According to the VARK website (“www.vark-learn.com”) I learn best by using all of my senses, so I remember real things that happened. I think this is right as I like to carry out activities that I have learnt about, for example when learning about coding, I like to actually use the techniques I learn. I also do not learn much from reading and seeing, however I am not bad at learning from listening to someone, as I think I have good listening skills. This is why my second highest scoring style in the questionnaire was Aural, who are learners who learn best when listening.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
• I am well organised
• I am very good at working to deadlines, and I am able to prioritise certain projects
• I am good at writing essays and reports

Weaknesses:
• I am not a very confident person, when I am not around people I know
• I do not have clear career goals
• I am not very good at giving presentations

Opportunities:
• I can learn various types of new software
• I can learn from the vast amounts of resources that are now available, for example the library
• I can get involved with many clubs and societies

Threats:
• Student Loan and various forms of debt
• My part-time job getting in the way of university work
• Having to travel to university everyday

Learning Line:

Reflection:
Primary School
At primary school I learnt basic skills as a child. This includes skills such as communication skills, as I communicated with new and different people. I also learnt basic numeracy and literacy skills, along with learning some new sports.

Secondary School
Here I learnt how to communicate better by doing presentations to the class and various talks. I learnt the basics for more subjects during the first three years, a few of which I continued to study further during my last two years at secondary school (my GCSEs). Within this these subjects I learnt how to read, write and speak in French. I also learnt to more sports, for example cricket and athletics. Lastly my grammatical skills improved throughout my English GCSEs.

Sixth Form
During this time I took three A-Levels in two subjects of my choice, meaning that I learnt these subjects in much more detail. I furthered my communications skills as I had to more presentations to a wider audience and also took part in various discussions. In addition I learnt to work to deadlines, which improved my organisational skills. I learnt very useful project management skills, as I studied a unit on project management for my ICT A-Level. My A-Levels meant that I had to research and use various sources, so these skills were also improved.

Learnt to Drive
Passing my driving test has given me more confidence and means that I can easily travel to work and university.

Part-Time Job (Fed Ex)
This job has improved my communication skills further, as I have to communicate with different departments, in different ways within Fed Ex. This includes both written and verbal formats. My organisational skills have also improved as I have to prioritise specific shipments.

University
I am hoping that university will give me all the necessary skills that I require to get a job when I leave. This includes skills such as Web Design, Coding and Programming, and various skills to help when I start work.