Currently in my second year of a three year Bachelor of Media & Communications in the Creative Industries Faculty.
I am interested in foreign languages and aspire to build a greater mental library of cultures and languages.
In addition, I pursue music as a favourite pastime. I am currently playing in a four piece funk rotation band and will be playing trumpet with Sunnybank Brass Band.
Singer, D. G. and Singer J. L. (2005) Imagination and Play in the Electronic Age, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 0674017455.
This book is an unbiased observation of how contemporary media, in particular television, video games and computers, effects the imagination and behaviour of children both positively and negatively. Dorothy and Jerome Singer, who are a Senior Research Scientist and a Psychology Professor respectively, are both observers of children’s behaviour and use case studies and anecdotes, some of which they conducted themselves, to support and explore their hypotheses. This book provides that pretend play and imagination serves a crucial function to the cognitive and emotional life of a child. Considering this, the implications of electronic interactive play are considerable. Particular topics explored are children’s heroes and role models, reading/radio/television and the imagination, violent themes in play, TV and video games and the internet. In the latter topic, an interesting and frequent scenario is described where a user of an online game became addicted to the point where the game and its content intrude other facets of the user’s life. As the availability of computers increases, issues like addiction and parallel identities have become critical.
Springhall, J. (1998) Youth, Popular Culture and Moral Panics: Penny Gaffs to Gangsta Rap, 1830-1996, Honk Kong: MacMillan Press, ISBN 0333660838.
Springhall primarily addresses the issues of violent behaviour in youths and whether modern media is corrupting youths. He provides comprehensive examples of specific past forms of juvenile entertainment, and how they have generally evolved through the centuries. The first of these examples is the Penny Theatre, essentially theatre of the early to mid-19th Century for the working-class that often dealt with crass if not completely taboo. The second deals with gangster films of the 1930s which caused a moral panic in America and Britain, where respectable citizens believed the films were the cause of an increase in juvenile delinquency and were similarly denounced by American censors. The third section describes the mass youth culture of comics of the 1940’s and 50’s. The final section on the 1980’s and 90’s deals with mass media, in particular videos, gangsta-rap and computer and video games. This tracing of the evolution of entertainments suggests that all youth generations have forms of violent and vulgar entertainment, challenging the notion that harmful entertainments have only emerged through the electronic age.
Calvert, S.L., Jordan, A. B., and Cocking. R. R. (ed) (2002) Children in the Digital Age, London: Praeger Publishing, ISBN 0275976521.
Children in the Digital Age is a collection of articles and studies concerning the cognitive, emotional and behavioural effects of interactive media on children, in particular issues of internet use and interaction are discussed. This collection of essays is divided into five sections. The first section is Media Usage Patterns, which concerns survey statistic and studies on the impacts of computer use on child and adolescent development, such as internet uses, time spent, demographic variations, social development and behaviour. The Behavioural Effects of Media concern online identity construction using the example of MUD’s, issues of health, access and content, violent games and aggression. The Cognitive Effects of Media section concerns online forums and politics, educational media such as children’s television and educational games. Finally, a section on Family and Consumer Media models concerns childhood development of consumerism, internet commercialism and the role of the internet in the home.
Jagodzinski, J. (2004) Youth Fantasies, New York: Palgave MacMillan, ISBN 1403961646
Youth Fantasies discusses fantasies and reality in relation to youth, investigating notions of youth, both in its ordinary and post-modern meanings, using many references to movies, mythology, fine arts and philosophical concepts, especially Lacanian psychoanalysis which uses concepts of the real and the empty whole, or “w(hole)�?. Jagadzinski takes an unconventional approach in his exploration of the topic, in addition to his varied reference points, he often using a satirical writing style in his presentation of argument. In the third section of the book the topic Cyberspace as Obsessive Interpassvity is explored, focussing on the psychic investments youths have in video games and the internet. Particular topics in this section are media violence and youth, the zeal and sensationalisation attached to youth media violence, gender, media interactivity, cyber capitalism, virtual communities and compartmentalized identity.
Livingstone, S. (2002) Young People and New Media, London: Sage Publications, ISBN 0761964665.
This book describes how changing media environments are effecting childhood and youth. Livingstone explains that children and young people are a distinctive and sizable market segment who will lead the way in the use of new media and that households with children are growing in their number of ICT’s, making the topic of youths and new media an important one. The text is written in a clear, concise and informative style as well as providing useful statistical analyses, which provides for a good introduction and exploration into domestic issues of youth and new media. Young People and New Media is written observationally based on statistics and research rather than being argumentative. The focuses on the habits and behaviours of children while directly interacting with new media, rather than the future implication of new media use. Through the chapters, issues that are discussed consist of childhood, youth and the changing media environment, diffusion and appropriation of new media (for example, 'are computers the new television?'), leisure and lifestyle, private and public lives in media rich homes, media use in the context of the family and changing literacies with the advent of new media.
Potter, W. J. (2003) The 11 myths of Media Violence, London: Sage Publications, ISBN 0761927352.
The 11 myths of Media Violence challenges pre-existing beliefs of the effects and consequences of media violence. The book is especially concerned with the distressing escalation in violent crimes and behaviour in America in only the past few decades. Potter argues that after decades of public criticism, congressional hearings and research into media violence, violence still persists in society because of public perception are faulty and limited by misinformation, which therefore leads to popular misconceptions. This book is written in a one media violence myth for each chapter format and attempts to dispel these myths through statistics and anecdotal examples. In many of the chapters, Potter provides that a breakdown in understanding occurs between the government/researchers and the general public. An example of such a breakdown is evident in Chapter 6 Myth 5: Violence in the Media Reflects Violence in Society, where researchers identify Tom & Jerry and Funniest Home Videos as media violence, to which the general public do not relate. Other myths addressed are that the media are not responsible for the negative effects of their violent messages, children are especially vulnerable to the risks of negative exposure, and that violence in the media reflects violence in society. These myths are explained, explored and challenged in an easy, well set out and readable topic sections.
Buckingham, D. (ed) (1993) Reading Audiences: Young people and the media, Manchester: Manchester University Press, ISBN 0719038707.
Reading Audiences: Young people and the media is a collection of studies into how the media are used by youths, as a source for learning identity, such as femininity and masculinity, peer group interactions, and ethnicity. While this book does not include chapters on the interactive electronic media, subjects of child to teenage entertainment preferences and attitudes towards the media they engage with are relevant useful to contemporary media issues.
Galloway A.R. (2004, November) “Social Realism in Gaming�?, Game Studies, retrieved August 11, 2005, from http://www.gamestudies.org/0401/galloway/
In this article, the notions of reality gaming is explored, with the advent of games such as America’s Army there has arisen issues of the blurring of reality and the gaming world, especially with events such as the Columbine Massacre. Through games like the politically charged America’s Army, youths are introduced to a glorified version of the military as not mere spectators but engaged with, the implications of this crossing of the real and the realistic are discussed. Notion of realism are explored, comparing game subjects, i.e. ordering pizza and watching TV (The Sims), to visual representation, storming an enemy base (SoCom). While SoCom’s 1st person perspective graphics are physically more realistic, The Sims is closer to the reality of gamers. With references to the Columbine Massacre, Galloway suggests that impacts of realistic games are high, provided that the player experiences the themes of the game itself.
Rejeski, D. (2002, September 23) “Gaming Our Way to a Better Future�?, The Adrenalin Vault: The Developer’s Corner, retrieved August 11, 2005, from http://www.avault.com/developer/getarticle.asp?name=drejeski1&page=1
Gaming Our Way to a Better Future is an article which contest the concerns over child violence, social isolation and gaming from the perspective of a game developer. As Rejeski is not a researcher or academic, provides for a refreshing, qualitative and informed insight into issues of the effects of video/computer games on youths. This article takes the stance of games as a positive medium for education and moral reinforcement. Rejeski views games a way for which to develop "topsight" or an understanding of the big picture. In effect, games provide a medium which places users in dilemmas that necessitates ingenuity to succeed and balance important tradeoffs. These develop skills that are important to reliable decisions making. The article also suggests games not only for education for youths but also adults and praises the uses gaming technology for aviation training.
K, Oliver. “The Effect of Violent Internet Games on Children and Juveniles�?, Crime Research in South Africa, retrieved August 11, 2005, from http://www.crisa.org.za/downloads/webviol.pdf
Olivier study into the effect of violent internet games on children and juveniles takes a firmly negative stance on violent internet games. The article is concerned with the worrying growth crime and death rates in youths in America, she attributes this to violent television programs, video games and online gaming. Evidence from quantitative and qualitative research has been used to support this argument. Of these research materials, interesting hypotheses are revealed, although these are quite generalised and in some cases merely postulated. Such examples of information are the false messages received through gaming, warning signs of impact from violent games and eventual effects of exposure.
Matthew Hsu 13:33, 26 Jul 2005 (EST)
