Teens Use of Drugs Essay - 597 Words

Many people have distorted views in this day and age. One of which, I believe, is the way people look at drugs, as well as, drug users. Being that it is now the year 2000, drugs have been around quite a long time. We should all know whats going on, and I think most do. However, I think most are too ignorant to admit the obvious. Like, why teenagers use drugs. Most try to come up with excuses such as, â€Å"they’re depressed† or â€Å"peer pressure.† This is wrong, a distorted view.Teenagers get bored very easily. In life we all go through our droughts. Times in life when we have absolutely nothing to do. When this occurs, it seams like the minute hand on the clock is counting hours. At this point, teens feel they have nothing better to do with†¦show more content†¦They experimented once, probably out of pure curiosity, and enjoyed themselves. These teens are very unique people, though. They stepped out of the â€Å"norm,† and they tried something new. This isn’t a good thing, to play around with drugs. However, that does show a sense of boldness. Trying something new, all by oneself, can be a scary thing. It’s just the same as a young one smoking his/her first cigarette. He/she is either all alone or with friends, again it is all curiosity. In doing this, many begin to smoke regularly, as with drugs many become regular users. Most teens find the â€Å"high† they receive from these drugs, fulfilling. Giving them a sense of happiness, or control in an otherwise all too regular world. Drugs can bring out many traits in oneself. Teens find they can do things, they thought they couldn’t. With all these drugs, teens often become reliant. Needing, or rather wanting the high, just to be out of the â€Å"norm.†Then there are the parents. Many parents use drugs daily. When teens see their most prominent role models taking drugs, they begin to think it’s OK. Role models have an impact on everyone’s life. With teens, they see their parents daily, and many follow in their parent’s footsteps. Whether it’s in an occupation or in the use of drugs. They figure if their parents are doing it, it can’t be all too bad.What most people don’tShow MoreRelated Teens, Drug, and Alcohol Use Essay593 Words   |  3 PagesTeens, Drug, and Alcohol Use There is no simple answer to why a teen might begin using drugs or alcohol. Many times, it is a combination of several things. They may turn to drugs to escape stress or loneliness or to overcome shyness in social situations. They may want to be seen as grown up, or they may simply be curious. Teens often want to be like their role models as well; so, if their favorite music group or a cool friend at school uses drugs or alcohol, they may also use drugs or alcoholRead MoreAddiction Prevention: The Dangers of Drug Use Among Teens1474 Words   |  6 Pagesregarding the dangers of drug use among teens in our community, and to encourage parents to become aware of the hazards using illicit substances. I began by providing a survey to current middle school students regarding the use of illicit substances on our campus. This wasnt my first choice of how to start. I wanted to create a presentation informing our community of the top five most consumed drugs in America, that would inform tee ns about the dangers that alcohol or drugs possess. Then later onRead MoreEssay about Drug Use and Abuse by Teens504 Words   |  3 Pages Drug addiction is becoming a major problem amongst teenagers. Nine out of every ten adults say that teachers should inform students about drug use. USA Today Many people don’t even realize that they use drugs. Alcohol is a drug. It is the most popular drug in America. People also don’t realize that alcohol is addictive until it’s too late. Alcohol is also very dangerous. On September 13, 2000, I witnessed a crash by my house. A guy skidded across the road and ended up on my neighbor’s lawnRead MorePreventing Drug Use Among Young Teens Essay2012 Words   |  9 PagesAbstract Drug usage in the United States and the world can be considered as one big problem. This following document includes many sources that include information about helping prevent drug use among society. Using drugs can cause many problems to one such as mental, social, and law problems as well. Most drug use starts at a fairly young age, and is also influenced by friends or even family. Although there are many ways out there to help people stay off drugs or even get off of them, not allRead MorePromoting A Drug Awareness Program For Teens1695 Words   |  7 PagesPromoting a Drug Awareness Program for Teens Teen drug use/abuse is common. According to the U. S. Department of Health Human Services, the most common drugs teens use are alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and prescription drugs (2016). Other drugs used are inhalants, over-the-counter medications, and other illegal drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. The use of drugs and alcohol increase the risk of injury or death. According to WebMD, alcohol and drug abuse is a leading causeRead MoreEssay on Dysfunctional Families and Drugs852 Words   |  4 PagesWhy do teens use drugs? Many reasons contribute to adolescent drug use. It may be stress, peer pressure, or even the difficulty coping with the ills of school life. Teens use drugs because they have no true guidance. The absence, of certain vital components such as, someone to talk to, morals, values, or even responsibility forces teens to use drugs. One major contributing cause of adolescent drug use and abuse is a dysfunctional family, a family that does n ot provide all of the above. Read MoreArgumentative Essay On Drug Abuse1366 Words   |  6 Pages(2009) explained that drug abuse towards marijuana, Vicodin, amphetamines, cough medicine, and sedatives are a growing problem in teens. Various types of drugs are used by teens for numerous reasons, including recreation, relaxation, relieving pain, or because the teen population has depicted the use of drugs as â€Å"cool†. Drug abuse in teens is a behavior that can cause many consequences to develop in one’s life. Casa Palmera Staff (2009) pointed out that drug abuse in teens can cause severe healthRead MoreTeenage Prescription Drug Abuse Essay1427 Words   |  6 PagesPrescription Drug Abuse Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfillRead MoreMarijuana Effects Teens and Their Mind Essay740 Words   |  3 Pagesthat marijuana effects teens and their mind. Marijuana is a tobacco-like substance produced by drying the leaves, stems, flower tops of the Cannabis sativa (Indian Hemp) plant (Fact Sheet, 1). It is smoked or eaten to get hallucinated and receive pleasure. It grows just about anywhere. It is illegal in some countries but in others it is used for medical purposes (Encarta, 1). Some names that it is called a joint, nai l, pot, Mary Jane, hive, etc. (Fact Sheet and Facts for teens, 1). Marijuana staysRead MoreThe Purpose Of This Paper Seeks To Analyze The Effects1208 Words   |  5 Pageseffects of prescription drug abuse. In the first article identified the author seeks to identify the differences between peer and parent influence on the misuse of prescription drug as it relates to ethnicity. The second article to be investigation into prescription drug use misuse and drug problems as it pertains to motivational context. The third and final article seeks to education young adults on medical prescription drug use. A parent’s attitudes regarding substance use may help to clarify practical

The Epic Of Gilgamesh, Gods And Man - 858 Words

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gods and man had a rather straightforward relationship, where the gods rule over the humans, but were not all powerful, and where the humans worshiped the gods, but didn’t fully fear them. The gods are very similar to humans in how they behave and by their appearances, the primary difference is god have more power than the humans do and that the gods are immortal. In like any form of religion, the humans feel gods are all powerful, that the gods should use their power to protect and guide them, and that in return the humans would provide sacrifices to whichever god helped them or that they worship. The humans believe the gods to be all powerful and all knowing, however the gods are not like this. The gods don’t have as much power or knowledge that humans believe them to have, this is shown when: Ninsun went into her living quarters. She washed herself with the purity plant, she donned a robe worthy of her body, she donned jewels worthy of her chest, she donned her sash, and put on her crown. She sprinkled water from a bowl onto the ground. She †¦ and went up to the roof. She went up to the roof and set incense in front of Shamash, she offered fragrant cuttings, and raised her arms to Shamash (Gilgamesh Tablet 3, Lines 35-45). This quote shows that Ninsun, a goddess and Gilgamesh’s mother, does not have as much power as humans assume gods or goddesses would have. If gods and goddesses were all-powerful, then Ninsun would have likely helped her sonShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of the Epic of Gilgamesh Essay1122 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Epic of Gilgamesh The epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest primary document discovered in human history dating back to approximately 2,000 B.C.E. This document tells a story of an ancient King Gilgamesh, ruler of Sumer in 2,700 B.C.E. who is created gloriously by gods as one third man and two third god. In this epic, Gilgamesh begins his kingship as an audacious and immature ruler. Exhausted from complaints, the gods send a wild man named Enkidu to become civilized and assist Gilgamesh to matureRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh And The Book Of Job Essay1191 Words   |  5 Pagesinstead get told in different forms. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Job are a quest for immortality and deal with the realization that death is final and will come for everyone. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Job have a similar main theme of immortality and context, but the Book of Job has a more optimistic and friendly world view. These two stories are very similar in their context because they occur close together in history. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written around 600 B.C.E. but theRead MoreEpic Of Gilgamesh : The Epic Hero1641 Words   |  7 PagesGilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian hero, featured in the famous tale of â€Å"The Epic of Gilgamesh†, who embarks on a perilous quest for immortality. This idea, â€Å"†¦touches on the most fundamental questions of what it actually means to be human†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Homer 33), and gives us light into the minds of the people during the era. Gilgamesh’s tale gives us a glimpse at how the people of that day viewed a â€Å"hero†, and allows us to reflect upon what we consider a â€Å"hero† today. Using the Epic Hero Cycle, I will analyzeRead MoreEssay about Comparing The Epic of Gilgamesh with The Odyssey1262 Words   |  6 Pages The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and histor ians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, TheRead MoreGilgamesh704 Words   |  3 Pages2016 Essay #1 Epic heroism usually denotes to an individual of highest social class such as great kings or leaders. Epic heroes are outstanding fighters, sometimes carrying some divine powers. To show his heroic elements, the hero must confront some supernatural enemies, quests, war, or adversity. The Epic of Gilgamesh depicts most of these characteristics of epic heroism. The description about his birth to the journey and adventures in his life meets the characteristics of an epic hero. AlthoughRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh By William Shakespeare876 Words   |  4 Pagesstory, known as the world’s oldest written tale, is The Epic of Gilgamesh. This poem happens to be from that very time period in Mesopotamia and it clearly exhibits the values and views of the people from that era. It achieves this through Gilgamesh’s behavior at the beginning of the tale, the way in which women are perceived, and the heavy role played by the gods throughout the entirety of the epic. The first way in which The Epic of Gilgamesh succeeds in portraying the ideals and principles ofRead MoreThe Epic of Gilgamesh Essay1522 Words   |  7 PagesThere are many vices and virtues displayed in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale from ancient Babylon. Its hero, Gilgamesh the king of Uruk, is two-thirds god and one-third man. Throughout the epic, which consists of three stories, the character of Gilgamesh is developed. This is accomplished by changing the vices he possesses at the start of the epic, and replacing them with virtues he receives by its completion. â€Å"A virtue is a quality of righteousness, goodness, or moralRead MoreComparing Genesis And The Epic Of Gilgamesh940 Words   |  4 Pagesand The Epic of Gilgamesh have striking similarities in the sense of creation and the great flood, the interactions between the divine beings and humans differ greatly. One matter that impacts the entire relationship between gods and humans in both accounts is that the gods in the epic are not almighty beings like God in Genesis since they cannot control each other’s domain. Because of this, they must travel from place to place and work with other gods to carry out a certain task. The gods in TheRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh Essay Essay982 Words   |  4 PagesThe Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from four thousand years ago, from ancient Mesopotamia. It was written on clay tablets, and even if some part of sentences were not able to be recovered, the tale is understable. It is the oldest Epic found, and still one of the most famous too. While the stories are made of different Gods, cows talking, King with perfect strength, giant monsters, it seems hard to find similarities between the Epic and the 21st century. Yet by reading closely the passage fromRead MoreEssay on Epic of Gilgamesh971 Words   |  4 PagesTitle: Gilgamesh Type: Epic Author: Anonymous Theme: The central idea of Gilgamesh was the greed that he had to receive eternal life. Gilgamesh was a selfish person who was half god and half man and wanted to keep his youth after seeing Enkidu die. Gilgamesh knew his destiny was not to receive eternal life because he was half man. He decided to go against the odds to fight against not having eternal life searching for the secret despite what the Gods told him. Exposition: The story

Saladin 6e Chapter 12 Nervous Tissue Free Essays

Nervous System Set 2 Study online at quizlet. com/_6rnj1 2. What are the classifications of neurons? 3. We will write a custom essay sample on Saladin 6e Chapter 12 Nervous Tissue or any similar topic only for you Order Now What are the four types of neuroglia in CNS? 4. What are the two types of fast axonal transport? 5. What are the two types of neuroglia in PNS? 7. What do brain tumors arise from? 8. What do schawnn cells do in PNS? 9. What does the neuroglia or glial cells do? 10. What guides microtubules along axon? 11. What is anaxonic neuron? 12. What is anterograde transport? 13. What is astrocytes? 14. What is axonal transport or axoplasmic flow? 1. What are schwann cells? envelope nerve fibers in PNS. produce a myelin sheath multipolar, bipolar, unipolar and anaxonic oligodendrocytes, ependyal cells, microglia and astocytes Fast anterograde and fast retrograde. Occurs at a rate of 20 to 400 mm/day Schwann cells and satellite cells. masses of rapidly dividing cells. meninges (protective membrane of CNS), Metastasis from nonneuronal tumors in other organs. Often glial cells that are mitotically active throughout life spiral repeatedly around a single nerve fiber. support and protect the neurons. Prevents neurons from touching eachother and gives precision to conduction pathways motor proteins (kinesin and dynein) carry materials â€Å"on their backs† while they â€Å"crawl† along microtubules many dendrites but no axon. Help in visual processes movement away from the soma down the axon maintain structure. â€Å"nerve growth factors† secreted by astrocytes promote neuron growth and synapse formation 0. 5 to 10 mm/day. always anterograde. moves enzymes governs speed of damged nerve fibers. two way passage along an axon 16. What is bipolar neuron? 17. What is dynein? 18. What is pendymal cells? 19. What is fast anterograde transport? 20. What is fast retrograde transport? 21. What is Initial segment? 22. What is Internodes? 23. What is kinesin? 24. What is microglia? 25. What is multipolar neuron? 26. What is myelin sheath? 27. What is myelination? 28. What is neurilemma? 29. What is nodes of Ranvier? 30. What is oligodendrocyes? 31. What is retrograde tran sport? 32. What is Satellite cells? 33. What is the trigger zone? 34. What is unipolar neuron? one axon and one dendrite. motor proteins in retrograde transport line internal cavities of the brain. Secretes and circulates CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) â€Å"transport† moves mitochondria, synaptic vessicles, other organelles toward the distal end of the axon for recycled material and pathogens – rabies, herpes simplex, tetanus, polio virus. The short section of nerve fiber between the axon hillock and the first glial cell the myelin covered segments from one gap to the next motor proteins in anteograde transport. (supply) â€Å"soldier† small, wondering macophages formed white blood cell called monocytes one axon, multiple dendrites. Most common, most neuron in brain and spinal cord an insulating layer around a nerve fiber. s segmented production of the myelin sheath. thick outermost coil of myelin sheath. contains nucleus and most of its cytoplasm. gaps between the segments of myelin sheath form myelin sheathes in CNS. forms an insulating layer that speed up signal conduction movement up the axon toward the soma surround neurosoms in ganglia of PNS. provide ele ctrical insulation around soma. Regulate chemical environment of the neuron the axon hillock and initial segment single process leading away from the soma. Sensory from skin and organs to spinal cord 6. What are tumors? 15. what is axonal transport? How to cite Saladin 6e Chapter 12 Nervous Tissue, Essay examples

OPEC and the Global Market-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Provided a Historical Account of OPEC and Its Power in Controlling the Global Petroleum Supply. Answer: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental organization and was created in Baghdad at the Baghdad conference on 10th to 14th September, 1960 by 5 countries Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia (Carbaugh, 2017). Later on, ten other countries Qatar, Indonesia, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Gabon, Ecuador, Libya, Angola, Nigeria and Algeria joined them; however, the membership of both Ecuador and Gabon had been suspended by their own request in the year 1992 and 1994, respectively (Griffin Teece, 2016). Out of this context, the essay discusses about one of the member countries Saudi Arabia and investigates the dynamics that OPEC economy has faced over the last ten years and also analyzes its effects in terms of Saudi Arabias jurisdiction. OPEC has its own headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland; however, after a few years, they had moved it to Vienna, Austria. This organizations main objectives is to build up an uniform and well coordina ted petroleum policy in order to secure stable prices for the oil producing member countries and also provide an efficient oil supply to the other nations. Like prices of other goods, oil prices have also experienced a tremendous price swings over a decade based on the changes in demand and supply of crude oil especially after the American involvement with Iraq and rapidly increasing oil demand from China. This combination has led to a drastic rise in the oil price to US$147/bbl in 2003-2008 (Kilian Hicks, 2013). Meanwhile, in May 2008, Indonesia had been withdrew its name from the OPEC list for the reason of which OPEC could not be able to fulfill their net production quota (Kilian Hicks, 2013). Eventually, poorer nations have started pressurizing to cut down the production in order to maintain the earlier revenue. However, Saudi Arabia did not support this proposal as their strategy was to be partnered with the most worlds most powerful economic nations to ensure a steady and rapid flow of crude oil. In fact, Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Yamani had warned the other economies that high oil prices can lead to a reduction in oil demand. On the other hand, Saudis major concerned was that unreliable and expensive supply of crude oil can lead other nations to develop alternative fuels and thus gradually slower their demand for the crude oil which will eventually led to the downfall of the OPEC economy (Yousef, 2013). During 2014-2015, when China saw a rapid downfall in their economic growth, US oil production was nearly doubled as compared to the 2008 quota (Yousef, 2013). In this scenario, Saudi Oil Minister, Ali Al-Niami stated to rebalance the OPECs long-term market share with the profitability of Americas shale oil production. In the next year in 2015, Indonesia rejoined the export organization; and as per the Paris Climate Agreement thousands of world leaders were agreed to lower the carbon emission. In this market pressure, OPEC Reference Basket was down to US$22.48/bbl as compared to 2014 (Kilian Hicks, 2013). In 2016, oil glut was slightly lower and that helped OPEC to further increase their oil pric e to $40 and thus regained their market share globally (Kilian Hicks, 2013). Saudi Arabia, the country which is heavily dependent upon the oil production has been tremendously suffering from the oil crash since 2014 (Venn, 2016). Even in recent days, the country is trying hard to expand its economy by producing other commodity, however, still focused on raising the oil price in order to restore their major source of income. Since that time, the Kingdom had tried to increase the oil demand by slashing its production; however this plan is totally dropped when US started producing doubly the amount (Painter, 2012). Higher demand on crude oil prices, winter weather in the United States and Saudis promises to work hard toward the price stabilization had sent West Texas Intermediate to produce at the $42 and Brent Crude at the rate $44 (Painter, 2012). Oil prices were drastically fallen to $43/bbl until when OPEC announced their plan to handle the oversupply that led to a gradual increase in oil revenue (Painter, 2012). This rise in revenue helped to ease Saudis bu dget deficit from 366 billion riyals in 2015 to 297 billion riyals in 2016, 44% below the expected rate (Venn, 2016). In recent times, OPEC cannot be operated as cartel and literally has no power to curb the oil production. It is only Saudi Arabia who has the power on its own. However, unlike the oil market, Saudi does not have the similar market for the rest of the commodities. On the other hand, in order to fulfill the gap between net revenue and spending, the Kingdom had been trapped by the international investors thereby slower the economic growth rate. Therefore, Saudi government is trying to find out ways to recover their economy. The government is currently trying to maintain finances to be more transparent and also trying to maintain budget deficit by 2020. Moreover, oil-importing countries should stop being fearful of OPEC. Various legislations especially NOPEC bills in the US may be useful for marking political points; however, it has a small implication in the global oil markets. References: Al Yousef, N. (2013). Demand for oil products in OPEC countries: A panel Cointegration Analysis.International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy,3(2), 168. Carbaugh, R. J. (2017). International Economics. 14.Aufl., South-Western (Cengage Learning). Griffin, J. M., Teece, D. J. (2016).OPEC behaviour and world oil prices. Routledge 99(1), 24-39. Kilian, L., Hicks, B. (2013). Did unexpectedly strong economic growth cause the oil price shock of 20032008?.Journal of Forecasting,32(5), 385-394. Painter, D. S. (2012). Oil and the American century.The Journal of American History Venn, F. (2016). The oil crisis. Routledge.

Holocaust A Debate on Bioethics free essay sample

A paper which discusses the legitimacy of using the data collected from medical experiments done in Nazi concentration camps The paper explores the arguments of five scholars Robert L. Berger, Benjamin Freedman, Velvl W. Greene, J. Katz and Robert S. Pozos on whether it is ethical to use data collected from experiments done to prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. The paper examines which of the five scholars presents the most convincing argument while also presenting significant moral dilemmas related to the subject. During the Nazi regime, certain groups of people were targeted, not only for execution, but also for dehumanization. People such as the Jews and the Sinti and Roma were subjected to treatment more brutal than that of animals. In concentration camps such as Dachau and Aushwitz-Birkenau, inmates were forced to play the parts of guinea pigs in horrific experiments. For example, in Dachau, male prisoners became human subjects in experiments that involved a torturous procedure including being submerged in an ice water bath for periods as long as seven hours. We will write a custom essay sample on Holocaust: A Debate on Bioethics or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The scientists running the tests claimed that the results were going to be applied in the cases of German soldiers suffering from hypothermia. Much of the data from these experiments were recovered and later published raising a bioethical debate concerning whether or not it was appropriate to use such information.

Albert Einstein, Developer of the Theory of Relativity

Albert Einstein, Developer of the Theory of Relativity Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879–April 18, 1955), a German-born theoretical physicist who lived during the 20th century, revolutionized scientific thought. Having developed the Theory of Relativity, Einstein opened the door for the development of atomic power and the creation of the atomic bomb. Einstein is best known for his 1905 general theory of relativity, Emc2, which posits that energy (E) equals mass (m) times the speed of light (c) squared. But his influence went far beyond that theory. Einsteins theories also changed thinking about how the planets revolve around the sun. For his scientific contributions, Einstein also won the 1921 Nobel Prize in physics. Einstein also was forced to Flee Nazi Germany after the rise of Adolf Hitler. Its no exaggeration to say that his theories indirectly helped lead the Allies to victory over the Axis powers in World War II, particularly the defeat of Japan. Fast Facts: Albert Einstein Known For: The General Theory of Relativity, Emc2, which led to the development of the atomic bomb and atomic power.Born: March 14, 1879 in Ulm,  Kingdom of Wà ¼rttemberg,  German EmpireParents: Hermann Einstein and Pauline KochDied: April 18, 1955 in Princeton, New JerseyEducation: Swiss Federal Polytechnic (1896–1900, B.A., 1900; University of Zurich, Ph.D., 1905)Published Works: On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light, On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, Does an Object’s Inertia Depend on Its Energy Content?Awards and Honors: Barnard Medal (1920), Nobel Prize in Physics (1921), Matteucci Medal (1921), Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1926), Max Planck Medal (1929), Time Person of the Century (1999)Spouses: Mileva Marić (m. 1903–1919), Elsa Là ¶wenthal (m. 1919–1936)Children: Lieserl, Hans Albert Einstein, EduardNotable Quote: Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of na ture and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Early Life and Education Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany to Jewish parents, Hermann and Pauline Einstein. A year later, Hermann Einsteins business failed and he moved his family to Munich to start a new electric business with his brother Jakob. In Munich, Alberts sister Maja was born in 1881. Only two years apart in age, Albert adored his sister and they had a close relationship with each other their whole lives. Although Einstein is now considered the epitome of genius, in the first two decades of his life, many people thought Einstein was the exact opposite. Right after Einstein was born, relatives were concerned with Einsteins pointy head. Then, when Einstein didnt talk until he was 3 years old, his parents worried something was wrong with him. Einstein also failed to impress his teachers. From elementary school through college, his teachers and professors thought he was lazy, sloppy, and insubordinate. Many of his teachers thought he would never amount to anything. When Einstein was 15 years old, his fathers new business had failed and the Einstein family moved to Italy. At first, Albert remained behind in Germany to finish high school, but he was soon unhappy with that arrangement and left school to rejoin his family. Rather than finish high school, Einstein decided to apply directly to the prestigious Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. Although he failed the entrance exam on the first try, he spent a year studying at a local high school and retook the entrance exam in October 1896 and passed. Once at the Polytechnic, Einstein again did not like school. Believing that his professors only taught old science, Einstein would often skip class, preferring to stay home and read about the newest in scientific theory. When he did attend class, Einstein would often make it obvious that he found the class dull. Some last-minute studying allowed Einstein to graduate in 1900. However, once out of school, Einstein was unable to find a job because none of his teachers liked him enough to write him a recommendation letter. For nearly two years, Einstein worked at short-term jobs until a friend was able to help him get a job as a patent clerk at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. Finally, with a job and some stability, Einstein was able to marry his college sweetheart, Mileva Maric, whom his parents strongly disapproved. The couple went on to have two sons: Hans Albert (born 1904) and Eduard (born 1910). Einstein the Patent Clerk For seven years, Einstein worked six days a week as a patent clerk. He was responsible for examining the blueprints of other peoples inventions and then determining whether they were feasible. If they were, Einstein had to ensure that no one else had already been given a patent for the same idea. Somehow, between his very busy work and family life, Einstein not only found time to earn a doctorate from the University of Zurich (awarded 1905) but found time to think. It was while working at the patent office that Einstein made his most influential discoveries. Influential Theories In 1905, while working at the patent office, Einstein wrote five scientific papers, which were all published in the Annalen der Physik (Annals of Physics, a major physics journal). Three of these were published together in September 1905. In one paper, Einstein theorized that light must not just travel in waves but existed as particles, which explained the photoelectric effect. Einstein himself described this particular theory as revolutionary. This was also the theory for which Einstein won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. In another paper, Einstein tackled the mystery of why pollen never settled to the bottom of a glass of water but rather, kept moving (Brownian motion). By declaring that the pollen was being moved by water molecules, Einstein solved a longstanding, scientific mystery and proved the existence of molecules. His third paper described Einsteins Special Theory of Relativity, in which Einstein revealed that space and time are not absolutes. The only thing that is constant, Einstein stated, is the speed of light; the rest of space and time are all based on the position of the observer. Not only are space and time not absolutes, Einstein discovered that energy and mass, once thought completely distinct items, were actually interchangeable. In his Emc2  equation (Eenergy, mmass, and cspeed of light), Einstein created a simple formula to describe the relationship between energy and mass. This formula reveals that a very small amount of mass can be converted into a huge amount of energy, leading to the later invention of the atomic bomb. Einstein was only 26 years old when these articles were published and already he had done more for science than any individual since Sir Isaac Newton. Scientists Take Notice In 1909, four years after his theories were first published, Einstein was finally offered a teaching position. Einstein enjoyed being a teacher at the University of Zurich. He had found traditional schooling as he grew up extremely limiting and thus he wanted to be a different kind of teacher. Arriving at school unkempt, with hair uncombed and his clothes too baggy, Einstein soon became known as much for his appearance as his teaching style. As Einsteins fame within the scientific community grew, offers for new, better positions began to pour in. Within only a few years, Einstein worked at the University of Zurich (Switzerland), then the German University in Prague (Czech Republic), and then went back to Zurich for the Polytechnic Institute. The frequent moves, the numerous conferences that Einstein attended, and preoccupation of Einstein with science left Mileva (Einsteins wife) feeling both neglected and lonely. When Einstein was offered a professorship at the University of Berlin in 1913, she didnt want to go. Einstein accepted the position anyway. Not long after arriving in Berlin, Mileva and Albert separated. Realizing the marriage could not be salvaged, Mileva took the kids back to Zurich. They officially divorced in 1919. Achieves Worldwide Fame During  World War I, Einstein stayed in Berlin and worked diligently on new theories. He worked like a man obsessed. With Mileva gone, he often forgot to eat and sleep. In 1917, the stress eventually took its toll and he collapsed. Diagnosed with gallstones, Einstein was told to rest. During his recuperation, Einsteins cousin Elsa helped nurse him back to health. The two became very close and when Alberts divorce was finalized, Albert and Elsa married. It was during this time that Einstein revealed his General Theory of Relativity, which considered the effects of acceleration and gravity on time and space. If Einsteins theory was correct, then the gravity of the sun would bend light from stars. In 1919, Einsteins General Theory of Relativity could be tested during a solar eclipse. In May 1919, two British astronomers (Arthur Eddington and Sir Frances Dyson) were able to put together an expedition that observed the  solar eclipse  and documented the bent light. In November 1919, their findings were announced publicly. After having suffered monumental bloodshed during World War I, people around the world were craving news that went beyond their countrys borders. Einstein became a worldwide celebrity overnight. It wasnt just his revolutionary theories; it was Einsteins general persona that appealed to the masses. Einsteins disheveled hair, poorly fitting clothes, doe-like eyes, and witty charm endeared him to the average person. He was a genius, but he was an approachable one. Instantly famous, Einstein was hounded by reporters and photographers wherever he went. He was given honorary degrees and asked to visit countries around the world. Albert and Elsa took trips to the United States, Japan, Palestine (now Israel), South America, and throughout Europe. Becomes an Enemy of the State Although Einstein spent the 1920s traveling and making special appearances, these took away from the time he could work on his scientific theories. By the early 1930s, finding time for science wasnt his only problem. The political climate in Germany was changing drastically. When  Adolf Hitler  took power in 1933, Einstein was luckily visiting the United States (he never returned to Germany). The Nazis promptly declared Einstein an enemy of the state, ransacked his house, and burned his books. As death threats began, Einstein finalized his plans to take a position at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey. He arrived at Princeton on Oct. 17, 1933. Einstein suffered a personal loss when Elsa died on Dec. 20, 1936. Three years later, Einsteins sister Maja fled from  Mussolinis Italy  and came to live with Einstein in Princeton. She stayed until her death in 1951. Until the Nazis took power in Germany, Einstein had been a devoted pacifist for his entire life. However, with the harrowing tales coming out of Nazi-occupied Europe, Einstein reevaluated his pacifist ideals. In the case of the Nazis, Einstein realized they needed to be stopped, even if that meant using military might to do so. The Atomic Bomb In July 1939, scientists  Leo Szilard  and Eugene Wigner visited Einstein to discuss the possibility that Germany was working on building an atomic bomb. The ramifications of Germany building such a destructive weapon prompted Einstein to write a letter to  President Franklin D. Roosevelt  to warn him about this potentially massive weapon. In response, Roosevelt established the  Manhattan Project, a collection of U.S. scientists urged to beat Germany to the construction of a working atomic bomb. Even though Einsteins letter prompted the Manhattan Project, Einstein himself never worked on constructing the atomic bomb. Later Years and Death From 1922 until the end of his life, Einstein worked on finding a unified field theory. Believing that God does not play dice, Einstein searched for a single, unified theory that could combine all the fundamental forces of physics between elementary particles. Einstein never found it. In the years after World War II, Einstein advocated for a world government and for civil rights. In 1952, after the death of Israels first President Chaim Weizmann, Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel. Realizing that he was not good at politics and too aged to start something new, Einstein declined the offer. On April 12, 1955, Einstein collapsed at his home. Just six days later, on April 18, 1955, Einstein died when the aneurysm he had been living with for several years finally burst. He was 76 years old. Resources and Further Reading â€Å"The Year Of Albert Einstein.†Ã‚  Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 June 2005.â€Å"Albert Einstein.†Ã‚  Biography.com, AE Networks Television, 14 Feb. 2019.Kuepper, Hans-Josef. â€Å"The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein.†Ã‚  Albert Einstein - Honours, Prizes and Awards.

Impact of the Internet on Thinking by Alan Greenblatt Essay

Impact of the Internet on Thinking by Alan Greenblatt - Essay Example This paper illustrates that researchers have studied and expressed views on social, psychological, intellectual and physiological perspectives that are summarised and quoted in this report. Greenblatt begins his survey giving examples of instances of the impact of Internet use as a pervasive and addictive influence on people’s lives. Although the compulsive use of electronic media is quite unlike an addiction to chemical substances, China and South Korea already recognize it as a public health concern. Greenblatt quotes Nicholas Carr as expressing concern that the Internet can have ‘bad effects on our brains’. Jonah Lehrer argues that such ‘concerns are overstated.’ Research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found the majority of technology experts disagreeing with Carr, who held varied opinions on the merits of the Internet. One interesting finding was that some believed that it helped create a â€Å"hive brain† enabling ‘peopl e to share thoughts and come to collective solutions to complex problems’. Robert Thompson is concerned that the ‘flood of information’ leaves people no ‘time for contemplation’ and ‘deeper reflection’. Paul Saffo says that video games ‘stimulates and strengthens parts of the brain’, but worries that such technology ‘causes ... people to... concentrate on the immediate at the expense of the long-term’... Elias Aboujaoude cites an increase in attention deficit disorder, though this may not be directly related to Internet use. However, he is certain that ‘those who spend a lot of time online have shorter attention spans’. The conclusion to this section is that with increasing availability of electronic media, the responsibility is on the individual to choose wisely as to how much time to spend on the Internet. Greenblatt points to historical resistance to new inventions leading to improved communicati on from the time of Socrates. The 15th-century invention of printing, and more recently the telegraph, the telephone and the postal service, all raised concerns, but the world has embraced and accommodated to such changes. Greenblatt explores the current situation and says that the Internet has ‘not finished evolving yet’, and forecasts that in the future people would learn to ‘disconnect’ from the Web. He concludes by quoting Aboujaoude as pessimistic about our capacity to understand the effects of the Internet ‘on our brains’, while Levy postulates two possible scenarios for the future. Either ‘we slow down and better modulate all this’ or ‘we adapt to these changes’ adding that we may not be ‘at the limit’ yet. The three basic questions that intellectuals and social critics have posed are: 1) Is the Internet making us smarter or stupid? 2) Is it addictive? 3) Does it affect our attention span? These que stions are dealt with above. 1) Carr (for) vs. Lehrer (against); 2) Aboujaoude (for) vs. Rainie (Pew Internet & American Life Project) (against); 3) Gentile (for) vs. O’Reilly (against).

Plot summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Plot summary - Essay Example This occurs when an action by the protagonist produces an effect that contravenes the expected effect. For instance, in Oedipus Rex, the reversal occurs when Oedipus hears about Polybus’ death and this seems to be good news, but it is disastrous in actual sense. The second principal part of the plot according to Aristotle is the recognition also known as the anagnorisis. It is at this point of the play that a character learns about certain facts, which prompt him to hate or love another character. For instance, Oedipus unknowingly kills the king of Thebes only to learn later that he is his real father. The third element of a tragic play is the final suffering or pathos. This is a destructive act that leaves the hero of the tragedy in pain. In Oedipus Rex, the protagonist removes his eyes; a rather painful process. There are other elements of the plot like the two stages, that is, the unraveling and the complication. The latter encompasses every aspect of the play up to the point where the main character encounters positive or negative fortune. In contrast, the unraveling takes place from the turning point to the play’s

American Dream Concept in Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

American Dream Concept in Literature - Essay Example The ideals lay shattered, and values became irrelevant or became impotent, exposing the hollowness of the American Dream. Thirty years later, Barbara Ehrenreich embarked on a similar journey of discovery, but did it herself, actually living out the life of the working poor to discover how it actually felt. Her book, â€Å"Nickel and Dimed† published in 1971 is almost a piece of investigative reporting. For three months, she actually waited on tables, cleaned hotels, and homes, and worked at Wal-Mart in Florida, Maine, and Minnesota because they were the highest paying un-skilled jobs she could find as a mother in her late 50s working for the first time, at "mothers hours." Affordable housing was a myth that forced her to live in cabins, trailer parks or weekly motels. The people behind Americas dressed up service economy had no place to go back to at night. The degradation was appalling, with numerous drug tests and surprise purse searches. So-called personality tests were actually designed to reject assertive candidates who could be potential misfits in the organization. Organizing a union was ruled out when even talking to co-workers was a crime labeled â€Å"time theft†. â€Å"Associates†, not workers, waited on â€Å"guests†, not customers, surviving on a bag of chips divided between lunch and dinner, or cold cuts out of a grocery bag in a motel room. Social welfare agencies were of no help either, manned by compassionate but exhausted people who really had nothing material to offer. Later, in 2006, through her book â€Å"Bait and Switch†, she explores the world of the white-collared unemployed, with college degrees, marketable skills, and impressive resumes, but equally vulnerable to financial disaster.

Reviewing Theories Of Deborah Stone On Policy Making Politics Essay

Reviewing Theories Of Deborah Stone On Policy Making Politics Essay I name my answer to question as Idea and Deborah Stone, I want go through her book and explain why ideas are so important. According to Deborah Stone, ideas will help people to define alliance, strategic considerations also ideas will help people to get the legitimacy and draw policy boundaries. (Deborah, P 34). According to Deborah Stone, ideas will decide who will be affected, how will they be affected and will they be affected legitimately (Stone, P.34). In the first Chapter, Stone starts her analysis at the city-state (the Greek term polis) level. The public policy is considered as an attempt to achieve a certain community goals (Deborah, P 21). However, due to the fact that everyone has his own understanding of ideas, therefore the political community has become a place for internal debates over who will be affected, how will they be affected and will they be affected legitimately(Deborah, P 34) . The policy-making process has thus become a continuous interaction between the conflict and cooperation. In Stones model, individuals may pursue their goals through collective action. The motivation is not only based on self-interests but also based on public concerns. This is because the public interest is be related to the goal of survival (Deborah, P 33). However, when there is a contradiction between self-interest and public interest, the policy process will be more complicated (Deborah, P 33). When the group is motivated under common ideas, the group will get more strength, and there will be a balance between private interests and public interests in the conflict. Stone directly uses the idea as the core concept of this book. In her construction of polis community vs market individual(Deborah P 33) model, ideas have become the focus. Stone tries to use struggle of idea to explain all stages of policy-making process. Policy-making is followed by a continuous constantly struggle to fight for the classification of standards, types of boundaries, and guide people to conduct the ideal typical definition. The struggle of idea can be seen in several policy levels. According to Stones theory, idea defines what people want from the policy; it is the foundation for people to cognize and understands what the policy is. Idea provides a relationship between advocators and advocacy coalitions; Idea provides causal relationship for these people and groups, and ideas will be reflected to their policy objectives through their actions of obtaining support. And these people with the shared idea will persuade decision-makers to meet their preferences. As mentioned above, Stone sees idea as a constantly changing dynamic and resources of construction. And by given different interpretations of ideas, the concept of the ideas will also change. She points out that the politics of policy is to choose the interpretation (Deborah P 75). Stone argues that the authority to interpret idea is the key factor in the policy-making process. Only legitimated idea can be transformed into policy. And using the legiti macy, peoples knowledge or behavior can be changed. And policy change can also be made through this interaction of ideas. Ideas affects how people cognized politics, and the change of politics will also feedback on ideas. To Stone, idea is not static; idea is an ongoing of constructing and reconstructing process of concepts. Now I will try to exam whether Deborah Stones idea theory can fits with other policy process theory. In the punctuated equilibrium theory, Baumgartner and Jones also argue that idea is a potential power in the policy making process. According to their book Agendas and Instability in American Politics, a powerful supporting idea is associated with the institution (Baumgartner and Jones, P 7); In page 16, they also writethe tight connection between institution and idea provides powerful support for prevailing distribution of political advantage. These statements mean that idea will help people understand what is at stake and how will they be affected (Stone, 2002), policy advocators will use institution arrangement to make their idea be legitimate. Also, in order to gain more power those policy actors will manipulate images and ideas. To Baumgartner and Jones, ideas are important because they provide some potential undergirding institutional arrangements; and the struggle of idea is the struggle over legitimate institution arrangements. In the book Agendas, alternatives and public policies, Kingdon also discusses the importance. In order to make useful policy suggestions, participants in the policy process are competing to develop new ideas; and they are trying to provide their ideas in the form of potential solutions to policy makers. According to Kingdon, policy entrepreneurs lie in wait in and around government with their solutions [already] in hand, waiting for problems to float by to which they can attach their solutions, waiting for a development in the political stream they can use to their advantage (Kingdon, P 165). Shared ideas make policy entrepreneurs into alliance; and these alliances are trying to make their ideas become legitimate. Kingdons primal policy soup (Kingdon, P 139-143) model provides us a picture of how decision makers accept idea through coherent narrative process (ideas are flowing in the streams just as molecules flowing in the soup). According to Kingdon, a policy community creates a sh ort list of ideas. If the ideas can go through the selecting process, softening up process and if they can pass the exam by specialists and policy makers, they may finally become policies. The whole process can be viewed as a continuing struggle of ideas. In this case, ideas are not only competing with other ideas, they are also struggling to survive in this primal soup. I also think Kingdons policy window model is another improvement to Deborah Stones arguments. People are now struggling to make their idea in front of the policy window at the correct time. This model discovers that the during the policy process, critical time is also important for ideas struggling. However, I think there are also some theories which do not fully support Deborah Stones argument. In the garbage can model, because the nature of unclear, policy is not necessarily to be the consequence of the ideas struggling. In Kingdons Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, he describes that as garbage can into which various kinds of problems and solutions are dumped by participantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ removed from the scene (Kingdon, P 85). In some sense, Deborah Stones Struggling of ideas assumption is more based on a goal-oriented policy making process, in order to make it work, there should be a clear policy goal from all participants; while the classical garbage can model is more like a method-oriented policy making process, it doesnt require a clear goal or solution at the beginning. In the garbage can model, people are not fighting with each other over ideas in the final solution selecting stage, however it is still correct to say that each solution in the garbage can is a result of deliberative idea thinking. I think there is a slight difference between Deborah Stones theory and the garbage can model. Another policy theory which doesnt fully consistent with Deborah Stones theory is the incrementalism theory. According to Lindblom, the incremental policy process is more relied on former existing policies. According to this model, the policy environment generally remains stable. Because the incremental nature of the policy, the new policy will inherent the policy environment from previous policy, if the former policy has resolved the struggling of idea, then there will be less struggling of ideas in the new policies. Since the policy environment is stable, it will be unlikely for us to speculate a violently struggle over ideas. The last policy process theory I want discuss in the context of struggling over idea is the advocacy coalition framework (ACF) theory. The central idea of this theory is that people or groups with the same beliefs (core/policy/secondary) will form a coalition. I think Sabatiers concept of belief is similar to Deborah Stones concept of idea. Especially, I think the concept of policy belief is playing the role of idea in the policy process. I think his core belief is rooted even deeper than idea. The core belief will sometimes become unnoticeable. And using the ACF model, we can find out that the policy process is a competition among different policy beliefs, and I think this observation is close to Deborahs struggle over ideas the essence of policy making.'. But it does not mean that the change in the secondary belief level is also a result of struggling, according to Sabatiers theory, such change is more like the result of an incremental learning process. In conclusion, I think Deborah Stones argument is useful for us to understand some policy process. However, by using different theories we should also notice whether policy processes are struggle over ideas should be analyzed in situations. The Punctuated-Equilibrium model, ACF model and Multiple Stream model indicate that Deborahs argument is valid. In the P-E model, the change of existing idea or appearance of new idea will bring turbulence to the policy process; in the ACF model, the learning process can change beliefs at different level, and these changes will bring feedbacks to the policy process; in the M-S model, policy entrepreneurs will using the opportunity to propose their ideas, and when critical time is come, the coupled stream will become policy. Incremental Model suggests that policy process is not necessarily linked to struggling when the time span of the policy is very short. There could be no struggle when the whole policy process is already fixed. However, I think the origin/first policy in the incremental model is a result of idea struggling. The Garbage Can model suggests that the choosing process within the policy process may appear as a random process, it is not necessarily to be the consequence of the idea struggling.

The Tragic Downfall of Shakespeares Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

The Tragic Downfall of Macbeth Macbeth, at the beginning of the play, seems to be a very loyal and honorable person. However, his character is changed by the influences of several factors. These factors have an influence on Macbeth, but he is responsible for his own destiny. The influences of the witches' prophecies, the influence of Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth's ambitions, are they key factors that lead to his tragic downfall. The witches (or "weird sisters" as they are often called) are responsible for putting the idea that Macbeth would become king of Scotland in his head, but in the end, it's Macbeth's decision to fall for and make this idea happen. As a result of this idea, Macbeth's curiosity of how he could become king of Scotland comes into play. "One can wonder if Macbeth ever had a chance of doing what was right after he met with the witches." (courseworkhelp) As the play progresses, Macbeth slowly relies more on the witches prophesies. They are clearly evil and deceiving and they slowly lead to the corruption of his character. Macbeth creates his own misery when he is driven by this own sense of guilt. This causes him to become insecure as to the reasons for his actions, which cause him to commit more murders. He would never have thought seriously about killing King Duncan without the witches influence. However it's more realistic to believe that Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's ambitions, and his own responsibilities lead to his downfall, not just the witches. They really never had the power to affect the future of the play. Lady Macbeth is shown early as an ambitious woman who can manipulate Macbeth easily. It is shown in the line "That I may pour my spirits in thine ear" (1.5.26). She manipulates his self-esteem by playing with his manliness and his bravery. When Macbeth is thinking of not following through on his plan to kill King Duncan, Lady Macbeth scorns him when she hears of his change of plans. She becomes successful in altering his ambition and appears to be the dominating individual in the relationship. Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to be a great and powerful man she loves him and her only ambition is to help him gain the throne.

Comarative Analysis of Video Games

Comparative Study of Video Gaming Systems Final Report Due Date: August 10, 2011 Table of Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Research Data†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17 Conclusions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦24 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 25 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 27 List of Figures Graph 1. 1: Role-Playing Games Bar Graph Graph 1. 2: Adventure Games Bar Graph Graph 1. 3: Platformer Games Bar Graph Table 1. 1: Xbox 360 – Hardware SpecificationT able 1. 2: Xbox 360 – Total Games in Preferred Genres Table 1. 3: Wii – Hardware Specification Table 1. 4: Wii – Total Games in Preferred Genres Table 1. 5: Playstation 3 – Hardware Specificaton Table 1. 6: Playstation 3 – Total Games in Preferred Genres Table 1. 7: Comparing Costs Table 1. 8: Comparing Hardware Specifications Table 1. 9: Comparing Games Offered pt. 1 Table 1. 10: Comparing Games Offered pt. 2 Table 1. 11: Comparing Target Demographic Table 1. 12: Comparing Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches Table 1. 13: Comparing Movie-Playing Features Table 1. 14: Overall RankingTable 1. 15: Retail Locations and Prices Introduction Pascal, after remodeling your house and adding a bonus/entertainment room, you mentioned that you would love to buy a new video gaming system. The last video gaming system that you owned was a Nintendo 64, which pales in comparison to the systems available today. Since owning a Nintendo 64, your experience with playing video games has been limited to playing MMORPGs (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Games) on your personal computer. I have been researching your options and am constantly considering your preferences and restrictions.Your primary preference is game genre, with your most preferred genre being Role-Playing. Several other genres that you are interested in are Action, Adventure, Platformers, and Strategy. Your only real restriction is a spending limit of $700 for your entire gaming setup. Other preferences that have been noted are the system’s Blu-Ray capabilities, and that the system targets a mature audience. The three most prominent video gaming systems on the market that fit your preferences are Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii, and Sony’s Playstation 3. The following criteria are being used to evaluate your options. Cost * Hardware Specifications * Games Offered * Target demographic * Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches * Movie- Playing Features The remaining contents of this comparative study will be organized into the several sections. RESEARCH DATA will be presented organized first by option and then by evaluative criteria. Each of the evaluative criteria will be compared in the RESULTS section by showing the results for each option side-by-side. These results will be totaled and a final CONCLUSION will be made. Finally, I will make a RECOMMENDATION as to the most appropriate course of action.Research Data Microsoft Xbox 360 Cost: $199. 99 – includes a 4GB console with built-in wi-fi, one wireless controller, A/V cables, and a one-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold. Hardware Specification: The following table shows vital hardware specifications that are important to your gaming preferences. Table 1. 1: Xbox 360 – Hardware Specification * Media Type| * DVD| * CPU| * 3. 2  GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon| * Internal Memory| * 4 GB Flash| * RAM| * 512 MB| * Online Services| * Xbox Live| * Onlin e Multi-Player Services| * Yes| * Connector Types| 1 x AV cable port,5 x USB 2. , 1 x Kinect port,1 x HDMI output1 x SPDIF output,1 x Ethernet| * * Games Offered: The following table shows how many Xbox 360 games are offered in your three most preferred genres. Table 1. 2: Xbox 360 – Total Games in Preferred Genres Genre| Titles Available| Action| 563| Role-Playing| 108| Strategy| 48| The following images show compiled game review scores by genre to show which console does best for several preferable genres. The results have been split into two types for each console. The lighter shaded color bars show the average score for all games for the specified system in that genre.The darker shaded color bars show the average score of just the top 5 best-scoring games in that genre for the specified system. Graph 1. 1: Role-Playing Games Bar Graph Graph 1. 2: Adventure Games Bar Graph Graph 1. 3: Platformer Games Bar Graph Target Demographic: The target demographic of the Xbox 360 is most easily identified and quantified by looking at the ESRB ratings of the most popular game titles. The following is a list of the number of Xbox 360 titles offered for each ESRB game rating. EVERYONE – 303 Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older.Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. EVERYONE 10+ – 213 Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes. TEEN – 535 Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. MATURE – 491Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. RATING PENDING – 149 Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game's release. ) Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches: The ten most common hardware malfunctions and glitches for the Xbox 360 are as follow: * 3 red flashing lights, also known as â€Å"Red Ring of Death† * Open tray and/or disc error messages * No video or only audio DVD laser replacement * DVD drive replacement * System freezes, dotted video or similar issues * 1 red light, E74 * 2 red lights * Stuck DVD tray * White screen Most of these issues must be dealt with by professionals and will be costly. Self-repair is a possibility, but is not recommended. Most systems run into issues eventually, but the Xbox runs into hardware problems more frequently than the other options. Movie-Playing Features: The Xbox 360 is capable of playing the following types of multimedia discs (list does not include Blu-Ray): * Xbox 360 Discs * Xbox 1 Discs * DVDs * CDs * DVD-R * DVD+R * DVD-RW * DVD+RW * CD-R CD-RW * Dual Discs Nintendo’s Wii Cost: $149. 99 – includes one remote controller, one nun chuck controller, one wheel controller, one sensor bar, and Mario Kart for Wii. Hardware Specification: The following table shows vital hardware specifications that are important to your gaming preferences. Table 1. 3: Wii – Hardware Specification * Media Type| * Flash Memory Card, * Nintendo Wii Disc, * Nintendo GameCube Disc| * CPU| * 729 MHzIBM PowerPC â€Å"Broadway†| * Internal Memory| * 512 MB| * RAM| * 512 MB| * Online Services| * Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, WiiConnect24,| * Online Multi-Player Services| * Yes| Connector Types| (4 pin USB Type A),4 x Game controller,Component video output,Composite video output,S-Video output,2 x USB| * Games Offered: The following table shows how many Wii games are offered in your three most preferred genres. Table 1. 4: Wii – Total Games in Preferred Genres Genre| Titles Available| Action| 593| Role-Playing| 33| Strategy| 32| Also, see the graphics and information in the section Microsoft’s Xbox 360 – Games Offered. Target Demographic: The target demographic of the Nintendo Wii is most easily identified and quantified by looking at the ESRB ratings of the most popular game titles.The following is a list of the number of Wii titles offered for each ESRB game rating. EVERYONE – 916 Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. EVERYONE 10+ – 355 Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoo n, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes. TEEN – 374Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. MATURE – 57 Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. RATING PENDING – 61 Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game's release. ) Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches: Three common hardware malfunctions and Glitches for the Wii console are as follows: * Power Supply Issue * WiConnect 24 Issue * Dual Layer Wii Disc Problem All of these minor issues are covered by warranty and do not occur on the same scale as other video gaming system. The most common issue relating to the Wii system occurs when an excess of light interferes with the Wii Remote. Movie-Playing Features: The Nintendo Wii is only capable of playing Wii and GameCube discs and does ot support the playing of DVD or Blu-Ray Discs. Sony’s Playstation 3 Cost: $299. 99 – Includes access to the Playstation Network at no charge, 160GB harddrive, and one wireless controller. Hardware Specification: The following table shows vital hardware specifications that are important to your gaming preferences. Table 1. 5: Playstation 3 – Hardware Specificaton * Media Type| * Blu-Ray| * CPU| * 3. 2 GHz IBM Cell Broadband Engine (8-core)| * Internal Memory| * 160 GB HDD| * RAM| * 256 MB XDRAM| * Online Services| * Playstation Network| * Online Multi-Player Services| * Yes| Connector Types| 2 x USB,1 x Ethernet,1 x HDMI output,1 x PlayStation 3 AV output,1 x SPDIF output| * Games Offered: The fol lowing table shows how many Playstation 3 games are offered in your three most preferred genres. Table 1. 6: Playstation 3 – Total Games in Preferred Genres Genre| Titles Available| Action| 536| Role-Playing| 117| Strategy| 33| Also, see the graphics and information in the section Microsoft’s Xbox 360 – Games Offered. Target Demographic: The target demographic of the Playstation 3 is most easily identified and quantified by looking at the ESRB ratings of the most popular game titles.The following is a list of the number of Playstation 3 titles offered for each ESRB game rating. EVERYONE – 481 Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. EVERYONE 10+ – 186 Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more car toon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes. TEEN – 529 Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older.Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. MATURE – 373 Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. RATING PENDING – 145 Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game's release. ) Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches:The five most common Playstation 3 hardware malfunctions and glitches are as follows: * Yellow light of death (3 red light beeps) * Not reading games/blu-rays * No video * Stuck discs * No power Doing self-re pair is very difficult on the Playstation 3 is highly discouraged. Most of these issues are not easy fixes and require the replacement of key components. Movie-Playing Features: The Playstation 3 is capable of playing the following types of multimedia discs (list includes Blu-Ray): * Playstation 1,2, and 3 Discs * Blu-Ray Discs * DVDs * CDs * DVD-R * DVD+R * DVD-RW DVD+RW * CD-R * CD-RW * Dual Discs RESULTS Comparing Costs The following table shows your three options with their prices and a ranking based on affordability. Table 1. 7: Comparing Costs Option| Cost| Ranking (1-Best Option)| Microsoft’s Xbox 360| $199. 99| 2| Nintendo’s Wii| $149. 99| 1| Sony’s Playstation 3| $299. 99| 3| BEST OPTION: All Because you have already identified that your spending limit is $700 for a gaming setup, none of these options go against your cost preference. Cost is not a preventative factor in purchasing a video gaming system based on this information.However, if you decide th at you would like to readjust your spending limit given the substantial difference between your limit and the prices of the systems, the Wii is your best option. Comparing Hardware Specifications The table below lists the hardware specifications for each option, and also includes the online capabilities of each system and their respective networks. Table 1. 8: Comparing Hardware Specifications | Options| Hardware Specification| Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3| * * Media Type| * * DVD| * * Flash Memory Card, * Nintendo Wii Disc, * Nintendo GameCube Disc| * * Blu-Ray| * * CPU| * * 3.   GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon| * * 729 MHzIBM PowerPC â€Å"Broadway†| * * 3. 2 GHz IBM Cell Broadband Engine (8-core)| * * Internal Memory| * * 4 GB Flash| * * 512 MB| * * 160 GB HDD| * * RAM| * * 512 MB| * * 512 MB| * * 256 MB XDRAM| * * Online Services| * * Xbox Live| * * Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, WiiConnect24,| * * Playstation Network| * * Online Multi-Player Services| * * Yes| * * Yes| * * Yes| * * Connector Types| 1 x AV cable port,5 x USB 2. , 1 x Kinect port,1 x HDMI output1 x SPDIF output,1 x Ethernet| (4 pin USB Type A),4 x Game controller,Component video output,Composite video output,S-Video output,2 x USB| 2 x USB,1 x Ethernet,1 x HDMI output,1 x PlayStation 3 AV output,1 x SPDIF output| * Ranking| 1| 3| 2| BEST OPTION: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Because your preference is to play online Role-Playing Games, the focus of the hardware specification criterion has to be online capabilities. When it comes to online game-play, Xbox 360 has the technical specifications to make it the best option.One of the most important specifications in a system is its processor speed. The Xbox 360 boasts a 3. 2  GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon processor, which is the same speed as the Playstation 3, but far superior to the Wii. When it comes to intense online game play with potentially dozens of other players, it is important to have a processor that can keep up. To keep the whole system running smoothly and minimize lag time, it is also important to have a substantial amount of RAM. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 have 512 MB or RAM, while the Wii only has 256 MB.At this point, the Xbox and Playstation 3 are nearly equal in terms of specifications that lean toward online gaming. What really pushes the Xbox 360 in the lead is their network: Xbox Live. As of 2011, Xbox Live has over 30 million users worldwide. Most of the games that are played on the Xbox Live network are geared toward your gaming preference of Role-Playing and Adventure games. However, due to the massive size of the network and the sheer number of users, even a less popular category like Strategy is available for multi-player gaming.According to Michael McNeilly, an experienced Xbox 360 online gamer, â€Å"There is really nothing like the Xbox Live network out there. The network for PS3 is okay, but it isn’t nearly as big and has a lot of bugs that still haven’t been worked out. † Michael Mcneilly has played all of the other systems extensively, but due to his love for online gaming, he chose the Xbox 360. Ralph Jones, an avid Wii owner and player, explained to me that he really has no need to play online. He mostly enjoys the physical nature of the Wii’s gameplay, and doubts that the Wii is even capable of serious online gaming.According to Kyle Johnson, an avid gamer and owner of all three options, the Wii is not a competitive option in terms of online gaming. When asked about the Playstation 3 and its online gaming community, Kyle explained that there is a reason that the Playstation Network does not have a subscription fee. It is not adequate when compared to Xbox Live, and the number of users sometimes makes it hard to play the less popular games online. Clearly, the Xbox 360 offers the best of both worlds. It has a massive online gaming community and also boasts a powerful 3. GHz processor. With processor speed and RAM that are equal to the Pl aystation 3 and far superior to the Wii, the Xbox Live community is what gives the Xbox 360 the top ranking and makes it the best option in terms of hardware specification. Comparing Games Offered Table 1. 9 lists a calculated average of the two figures previously provided in graphs 1. 1, 1. 2, and 1. 3. These figures were mean game-review scores of all games in three genres, and mean scores of the top-five best-selling games for the three genres. Table 1. 9: Comparing Games Offered pt. 1 | Options|Genre| Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3| Role-Playing Games| 79. 4| 72. 7| 71. 75| Adventure Games| 76. 1| 76. 7| 77. 9| Platformer Games| 76. 2| 72. 2| 76. 2| Ranking| 1| 3| 2| Table 1. 10 shows how many games are available for each system in your most preferred genre: Role-Playing Games. Table 1. 10: Comparing Games Offered pt. 2 | Options| Genre| Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3| Role-Playing Games| 108| 33| 117| Ranking| 2| 3| 1| BEST OPTION: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Based on the averages found for all five relevant genres, the Xbox 360 is the best option for the Games Offered criterion.Even though the Playstation 3 has a slightly higher total number of Role-Playing Games available for sale, it does not outweigh the fact that the Xbox 360 scored significantly higher on overall game-review scores. It is generally more important to have higher-rated games than a greater quantity of lower-rated games. For this reason, the Xbox 360 is the best choice for the Games Offered criterion. Comparing Target Demographic Table 1. 11 displays your three options and the total number of ratings received for each rating category out of all games available for each system. Table 1. 11: Comparing Target Demographic Options (Number of Ratings)| Rating| Microsoft’s Xbox 360| Nintendo’s Wii| Sony’ Playstation 3| Everyone| 303| 916| 481| Everyone 10+| 213| 355| 186| Teen | 535| 374| 529| Mature| 491| 57| 373| Rating Pending| 145| 61| 145| Ranking| 1| 3| 2| BEST OPTION: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Based on all of the games available for each gaming system, the Xbox 360 has the most games with ratings in the Mature and Teen categories. Since you, Pascal, are an adult and prefer the types of games that are most commonly rated Teen and Mature, the Xbox 360 gets the top rank for the Target Demographic criterion.Sony’s Playstation 3 comes in second with a comparable number of games in the Teen and Mature rating categories, but they are not quite as high as the Xbox 360. Nintendo’s Wii has least number of ratings in each of those categories. The Wii has a staggeringly low number of games in the Mature category at 57, and roughly 150 less games in the Teen category than the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. This makes it clear that the Xbox 360 is geared toward an adult audience, and will likely have more games that suit the preferences of an adult. The Playstation 3 is a close second, but still offers significantly less games in the Mature catego ry.The Wii seems to be geared toward a younger, less mature audience, and will likely have the least number of games that will fit your preferences. With all of this considered, it is clear that the Xbox 360 is the best option for the Target Demographic criterion. Comparing Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches Table 1. 11 shows all of the common hardware malfunctions and glitches for each option. This table also assigns a ranking (1 being the system with the overall least severe hardware problems relative to the other options). Table 1. 12: Comparing Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches | Options| Microsoft’s Xbox 360| Nintendo’s Wii| Sony’s Playstation 3| Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches| *Complete System Crash – â€Å"Red Ring of Death†*Basic Hardware Failure (eg. DVD tray and laser failure)| *Power Supply Issue*WiConnect24 Issue*Dual-Layer Wi Disc Failure| *Complete System Crash –â€Å"Yellow Lights of Death†| Ra nking| 2| 1| 3| BEST OPTION: Nintendo’s Wii Based on this table and other research, I have identified Nintendo’s Wii as your best option for the Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches criterion. Even though the Wii does run into problems occasionally, they are rarely as severe as they are with the other options.All of the problems listed for the Wii are covered by warranty and are not worthy of complete system replacement. Alternatively, the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 both commonly run into full system crashes, which render the system unusable. Kyle Johnson, an avid gamer and owner of all three options, has never run into a problem with his Wii, but has experienced full system crashes on both his Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The only reason the Xbox 360 is ranked higher than the Playstation 3 is because self-repair on the Playstation 3 is strongly discouraged.Kyle Johnson and Michael McNeilly have both performed minor repairs on their Xbox 360’s, but have neve r dared to open up their Playstation 3’s. With all things considered, Nintendo’s Wii is the best option for the Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches criterion. Comparing Movie-Playing Features Table 1. 13 below shows all of the media discs played by each option, and whether or not that option satisfies your preference of having a built-in Blu-Ray player. Table 1. 13: Comparing Movie-Playing Features | Options| | Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3|Media Discs Played| * Xbox 360 Discs * Xbox 1 Discs * DVDs * CDs * DVD-R * DVD+R * DVD-RW * DVD+RW * CD-R * CD-RW * Dual Discs | * Wii Discs * GameCube Discs| * Playstation 1,2, and 3 Discs * Blu-Ray Discs * DVDs * CDs * DVD-R * DVD+R * DVD-RW * DVD+RW * CD-R * CD-RW * Dual Discs | Satisfies Preference? | No| No| Yes| Ranking| 2| 3| 1| BEST OPTION: Sony’s Playstation 3 Based on the media discs that each option offers, Sony’s Playstation 3 is the obvious choice for the top rank in the Movie-Playing Features criteri on.The Playstation 3 is capable of playing both DVDs and Blu-Rays, while the Xbox 360 is only capable of playing DVDs. The Nintendo Wii, however, cannot even play DVDs. Because you have identified that you prefer a video gaming system that has a built-in Blu-Ray player, the Playstation 3 is the best option for the Movie-Playing Features criterion. CONCLUSIONS Table 1. 14 lists the rankings of each of the six evaluative criteria used throughout this report. In order to come to an overall conclusion as to which option to select, I have assigned reversed point values to the previously determined rankings.If, for instance, an option received a ranking of 1, it would be valued a 3. A ranking of 2 receives a value of 2, and a ranking of 3 is valued a 1. The total number of points will be shown at the bottom of the table along with the final ranking. The video gaming system with the highest number of points will be ranked as 1 and will be your best option. Table 1. 14: Overall Ranking | Op tions| Evaluative Criteria| Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3| Cost| 1| 1| 1| Hardware Specification| 1| 3| 2| Games Offered| 1| 3| 2| Target Demographic| 1| 3| 2|Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches| 2| 1| 3| Movie-Playing Features| 2| 3| 1| Total Points| 16| 10| 13| Overall Ranking| 1| 3| 2| RECOMMENDATIONS It has been determined that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is the best option, and I would like to recommend to you several retailers where it is available for purchase. The price is universal when bought new, but may vary depending on bundling and other promotions. I have prepared a table showing three popular retailers, the nearest location, and the price of the Xbox 360 4GB system. Table 1. 15: Retail Locations and PriceRetailers and Locations| Price| GameStop(425) 895-833116475 NE 74TH STRedmond, WA 98052| $199. 99| Target(425) 482-641013950 NE 178th PlWoodinville, WA 98072| $199. 99| Walmart(425) 741-94451400 164Th St SwLynnwood, WA 98087| $199. 99| Throughout my research I b egan to realize that the final outcome would depend heavily on how much any criterion was valued. Based on your personal preferences, the best choice is the Xbox 360. However, if you decided that you valued having a Blu-Ray player above everything else, then the Playstation 3 would be the best option.If you decided that the only way to play Role-Playing Games was to use a remote and a nun chuck, then the Wii would be the best choice. It all depends on the valuing of any particular criterion. If you are interested in doing further research, the bibliography lists all sources used. My personal interviewees may be available if you would like to ask them questions, and all of my other sources have a variety of useful and reliable information. Based on everything I have learned from this report and my personal experience with the system, I believe that the Xbox 360 is the best choice for a video gaming system.Bibliography â€Å"Console at Nintendo – Wii. † Nintendo Wii Cons ole. Web. 07 Aug. 2011. Dotree, Phil. â€Å"3 Common Wii Technical Problems. † Associated Content from Yahoo! – Associatedcontent. com. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"ESRB Ratings Guide and Definitions. † Entertainment Software Rating Board. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"How to Fix Common Xbox 360 Problems: Same Day Repairs, Low Prices. † Same-day Xbox Repair. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. Johnson, Kyle. Owns All Three Options, Personal interview. 29 July 2011. Jones, Ralph. Wii Owner, Personal interview. 30 July 2011. McNeilly, Michael. Xbox 360 Owner, Personal Interview. 0 July 2011. â€Å"Microsoft Xbox 360 Slim Specs (4GB) – Consoles – CNET Reviews. † Product Reviews – Electronics Reviews, Computer Reviews ; More – CNET Reviews. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"Nintendo Wii Specs (original, Wii Sports Bundle) – Consoles – CNET Reviews. † Product Reviews – Electronics Reviews, Computer Reviews ; More – CNET Revie ws. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"PlayStation 3 – 160 GB System. † PlayStation – PS3. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"Playstation 3 Search – GameStop. † Games for PS3. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"Sony PlayStation 3 Slim Specs (160GB) – Consoles – CNET Reviews. Product Reviews – Electronics Reviews, Computer Reviews & More – CNET Reviews. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. Towell Justin, Games Radar UK, â€Å"Which console does best and worst in each genre? † 09 Aug. 2011. â€Å"Wii Search – GameStop. † Games for Wii. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"Xbox 360 4GB Console – Xbox. com. † Xbox 360 – Official Site – Xbox. com. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"Xbox 360 Game Search – GameStop. † Games for Xbox 360. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. â€Å"Xbox 360 4GB Console – Xbox. com. â₠¬  Xbox 360 – Official Site – Xbox. com. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. [ 2 ]. â€Å"Microsoft Xbox 360 Slim Specs (4GB) – Consoles – CNET Reviews. † Product Reviews – Electronics Reviews, Computer Reviews & More – CNET Reviews. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. . [ 3 ]. â€Å"Xbox 360 Game Search – GameStop. † Games for Xbox 360. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. . [ 4 ]. Towell Justin, Games Radar UK, â€Å"Which console does best and worst in each genre? † 09 Aug. 2011. [ 5 ]. Towell [ 6 ]. Towell [ 7 ]. Towell [ 8 ]. Towell [ 9 ]. Towell [ 10 ]. GameStop [ 11 ]. GameStop [ 12 ]. â€Å"ESRB Ratings Guide and Definitions. † Entertainment Software Rating Board. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. . [ 13 ].Xbox 360 Game Search – GameStop [ 14 ]. ESRB [ 15 ]. Xbox 360 Game Search – GameStop [ 16 ]. ESRB [ 17 ]. Xbox 360 Game Search – GameStop [ 18 ]. ESRB [ 19 ]. 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Johnson [ 64 ]. McNeilly, Michael. Xbox 360 Owner, Personal Interview. 30 July 2011. [ 65 ]. Johnson [ 66 ]. Johnson [ 67 ]. McNeilly [ 68 ]. Jones [ 69 ]. Jones [ 70 ]. Johnson [ 71 ]. Johnson [ 72 ]. Johnson [ 73 ]. Johnson [ 74 ]. Johnson, McNeilly

Comarative Analysis of Video Games

Comparative Study of Video Gaming Systems Final Report Due Date: August 10, 2011 Table of Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Research Data†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17 Conclusions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦24 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 25 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 27 List of Figures Graph 1. 1: Role-Playing Games Bar Graph Graph 1. 2: Adventure Games Bar Graph Graph 1. 3: Platformer Games Bar Graph Table 1. 1: Xbox 360 – Hardware SpecificationT able 1. 2: Xbox 360 – Total Games in Preferred Genres Table 1. 3: Wii – Hardware Specification Table 1. 4: Wii – Total Games in Preferred Genres Table 1. 5: Playstation 3 – Hardware Specificaton Table 1. 6: Playstation 3 – Total Games in Preferred Genres Table 1. 7: Comparing Costs Table 1. 8: Comparing Hardware Specifications Table 1. 9: Comparing Games Offered pt. 1 Table 1. 10: Comparing Games Offered pt. 2 Table 1. 11: Comparing Target Demographic Table 1. 12: Comparing Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches Table 1. 13: Comparing Movie-Playing Features Table 1. 14: Overall RankingTable 1. 15: Retail Locations and Prices Introduction Pascal, after remodeling your house and adding a bonus/entertainment room, you mentioned that you would love to buy a new video gaming system. The last video gaming system that you owned was a Nintendo 64, which pales in comparison to the systems available today. Since owning a Nintendo 64, your experience with playing video games has been limited to playing MMORPGs (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Games) on your personal computer. I have been researching your options and am constantly considering your preferences and restrictions.Your primary preference is game genre, with your most preferred genre being Role-Playing. Several other genres that you are interested in are Action, Adventure, Platformers, and Strategy. Your only real restriction is a spending limit of $700 for your entire gaming setup. Other preferences that have been noted are the system’s Blu-Ray capabilities, and that the system targets a mature audience. The three most prominent video gaming systems on the market that fit your preferences are Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii, and Sony’s Playstation 3. The following criteria are being used to evaluate your options. Cost * Hardware Specifications * Games Offered * Target demographic * Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches * Movie- Playing Features The remaining contents of this comparative study will be organized into the several sections. RESEARCH DATA will be presented organized first by option and then by evaluative criteria. Each of the evaluative criteria will be compared in the RESULTS section by showing the results for each option side-by-side. These results will be totaled and a final CONCLUSION will be made. Finally, I will make a RECOMMENDATION as to the most appropriate course of action.Research Data Microsoft Xbox 360 Cost: $199. 99 – includes a 4GB console with built-in wi-fi, one wireless controller, A/V cables, and a one-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold. Hardware Specification: The following table shows vital hardware specifications that are important to your gaming preferences. Table 1. 1: Xbox 360 – Hardware Specification * Media Type| * DVD| * CPU| * 3. 2  GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon| * Internal Memory| * 4 GB Flash| * RAM| * 512 MB| * Online Services| * Xbox Live| * Onlin e Multi-Player Services| * Yes| * Connector Types| 1 x AV cable port,5 x USB 2. , 1 x Kinect port,1 x HDMI output1 x SPDIF output,1 x Ethernet| * * Games Offered: The following table shows how many Xbox 360 games are offered in your three most preferred genres. Table 1. 2: Xbox 360 – Total Games in Preferred Genres Genre| Titles Available| Action| 563| Role-Playing| 108| Strategy| 48| The following images show compiled game review scores by genre to show which console does best for several preferable genres. The results have been split into two types for each console. The lighter shaded color bars show the average score for all games for the specified system in that genre.The darker shaded color bars show the average score of just the top 5 best-scoring games in that genre for the specified system. Graph 1. 1: Role-Playing Games Bar Graph Graph 1. 2: Adventure Games Bar Graph Graph 1. 3: Platformer Games Bar Graph Target Demographic: The target demographic of the Xbox 360 is most easily identified and quantified by looking at the ESRB ratings of the most popular game titles. The following is a list of the number of Xbox 360 titles offered for each ESRB game rating. EVERYONE – 303 Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older.Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. EVERYONE 10+ – 213 Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes. TEEN – 535 Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. MATURE – 491Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. RATING PENDING – 149 Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game's release. ) Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches: The ten most common hardware malfunctions and glitches for the Xbox 360 are as follow: * 3 red flashing lights, also known as â€Å"Red Ring of Death† * Open tray and/or disc error messages * No video or only audio DVD laser replacement * DVD drive replacement * System freezes, dotted video or similar issues * 1 red light, E74 * 2 red lights * Stuck DVD tray * White screen Most of these issues must be dealt with by professionals and will be costly. Self-repair is a possibility, but is not recommended. Most systems run into issues eventually, but the Xbox runs into hardware problems more frequently than the other options. Movie-Playing Features: The Xbox 360 is capable of playing the following types of multimedia discs (list does not include Blu-Ray): * Xbox 360 Discs * Xbox 1 Discs * DVDs * CDs * DVD-R * DVD+R * DVD-RW * DVD+RW * CD-R CD-RW * Dual Discs Nintendo’s Wii Cost: $149. 99 – includes one remote controller, one nun chuck controller, one wheel controller, one sensor bar, and Mario Kart for Wii. Hardware Specification: The following table shows vital hardware specifications that are important to your gaming preferences. Table 1. 3: Wii – Hardware Specification * Media Type| * Flash Memory Card, * Nintendo Wii Disc, * Nintendo GameCube Disc| * CPU| * 729 MHzIBM PowerPC â€Å"Broadway†| * Internal Memory| * 512 MB| * RAM| * 512 MB| * Online Services| * Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, WiiConnect24,| * Online Multi-Player Services| * Yes| Connector Types| (4 pin USB Type A),4 x Game controller,Component video output,Composite video output,S-Video output,2 x USB| * Games Offered: The following table shows how many Wii games are offered in your three most preferred genres. Table 1. 4: Wii – Total Games in Preferred Genres Genre| Titles Available| Action| 593| Role-Playing| 33| Strategy| 32| Also, see the graphics and information in the section Microsoft’s Xbox 360 – Games Offered. Target Demographic: The target demographic of the Nintendo Wii is most easily identified and quantified by looking at the ESRB ratings of the most popular game titles.The following is a list of the number of Wii titles offered for each ESRB game rating. EVERYONE – 916 Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. EVERYONE 10+ – 355 Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoo n, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes. TEEN – 374Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. MATURE – 57 Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. RATING PENDING – 61 Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game's release. ) Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches: Three common hardware malfunctions and Glitches for the Wii console are as follows: * Power Supply Issue * WiConnect 24 Issue * Dual Layer Wii Disc Problem All of these minor issues are covered by warranty and do not occur on the same scale as other video gaming system. The most common issue relating to the Wii system occurs when an excess of light interferes with the Wii Remote. Movie-Playing Features: The Nintendo Wii is only capable of playing Wii and GameCube discs and does ot support the playing of DVD or Blu-Ray Discs. Sony’s Playstation 3 Cost: $299. 99 – Includes access to the Playstation Network at no charge, 160GB harddrive, and one wireless controller. Hardware Specification: The following table shows vital hardware specifications that are important to your gaming preferences. Table 1. 5: Playstation 3 – Hardware Specificaton * Media Type| * Blu-Ray| * CPU| * 3. 2 GHz IBM Cell Broadband Engine (8-core)| * Internal Memory| * 160 GB HDD| * RAM| * 256 MB XDRAM| * Online Services| * Playstation Network| * Online Multi-Player Services| * Yes| Connector Types| 2 x USB,1 x Ethernet,1 x HDMI output,1 x PlayStation 3 AV output,1 x SPDIF output| * Games Offered: The fol lowing table shows how many Playstation 3 games are offered in your three most preferred genres. Table 1. 6: Playstation 3 – Total Games in Preferred Genres Genre| Titles Available| Action| 536| Role-Playing| 117| Strategy| 33| Also, see the graphics and information in the section Microsoft’s Xbox 360 – Games Offered. Target Demographic: The target demographic of the Playstation 3 is most easily identified and quantified by looking at the ESRB ratings of the most popular game titles.The following is a list of the number of Playstation 3 titles offered for each ESRB game rating. EVERYONE – 481 Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. EVERYONE 10+ – 186 Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more car toon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes. TEEN – 529 Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older.Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. MATURE – 373 Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. RATING PENDING – 145 Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game's release. ) Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches:The five most common Playstation 3 hardware malfunctions and glitches are as follows: * Yellow light of death (3 red light beeps) * Not reading games/blu-rays * No video * Stuck discs * No power Doing self-re pair is very difficult on the Playstation 3 is highly discouraged. Most of these issues are not easy fixes and require the replacement of key components. Movie-Playing Features: The Playstation 3 is capable of playing the following types of multimedia discs (list includes Blu-Ray): * Playstation 1,2, and 3 Discs * Blu-Ray Discs * DVDs * CDs * DVD-R * DVD+R * DVD-RW DVD+RW * CD-R * CD-RW * Dual Discs RESULTS Comparing Costs The following table shows your three options with their prices and a ranking based on affordability. Table 1. 7: Comparing Costs Option| Cost| Ranking (1-Best Option)| Microsoft’s Xbox 360| $199. 99| 2| Nintendo’s Wii| $149. 99| 1| Sony’s Playstation 3| $299. 99| 3| BEST OPTION: All Because you have already identified that your spending limit is $700 for a gaming setup, none of these options go against your cost preference. Cost is not a preventative factor in purchasing a video gaming system based on this information.However, if you decide th at you would like to readjust your spending limit given the substantial difference between your limit and the prices of the systems, the Wii is your best option. Comparing Hardware Specifications The table below lists the hardware specifications for each option, and also includes the online capabilities of each system and their respective networks. Table 1. 8: Comparing Hardware Specifications | Options| Hardware Specification| Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3| * * Media Type| * * DVD| * * Flash Memory Card, * Nintendo Wii Disc, * Nintendo GameCube Disc| * * Blu-Ray| * * CPU| * * 3.   GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon| * * 729 MHzIBM PowerPC â€Å"Broadway†| * * 3. 2 GHz IBM Cell Broadband Engine (8-core)| * * Internal Memory| * * 4 GB Flash| * * 512 MB| * * 160 GB HDD| * * RAM| * * 512 MB| * * 512 MB| * * 256 MB XDRAM| * * Online Services| * * Xbox Live| * * Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, WiiConnect24,| * * Playstation Network| * * Online Multi-Player Services| * * Yes| * * Yes| * * Yes| * * Connector Types| 1 x AV cable port,5 x USB 2. , 1 x Kinect port,1 x HDMI output1 x SPDIF output,1 x Ethernet| (4 pin USB Type A),4 x Game controller,Component video output,Composite video output,S-Video output,2 x USB| 2 x USB,1 x Ethernet,1 x HDMI output,1 x PlayStation 3 AV output,1 x SPDIF output| * Ranking| 1| 3| 2| BEST OPTION: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Because your preference is to play online Role-Playing Games, the focus of the hardware specification criterion has to be online capabilities. When it comes to online game-play, Xbox 360 has the technical specifications to make it the best option.One of the most important specifications in a system is its processor speed. The Xbox 360 boasts a 3. 2  GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon processor, which is the same speed as the Playstation 3, but far superior to the Wii. When it comes to intense online game play with potentially dozens of other players, it is important to have a processor that can keep up. To keep the whole system running smoothly and minimize lag time, it is also important to have a substantial amount of RAM. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 have 512 MB or RAM, while the Wii only has 256 MB.At this point, the Xbox and Playstation 3 are nearly equal in terms of specifications that lean toward online gaming. What really pushes the Xbox 360 in the lead is their network: Xbox Live. As of 2011, Xbox Live has over 30 million users worldwide. Most of the games that are played on the Xbox Live network are geared toward your gaming preference of Role-Playing and Adventure games. However, due to the massive size of the network and the sheer number of users, even a less popular category like Strategy is available for multi-player gaming.According to Michael McNeilly, an experienced Xbox 360 online gamer, â€Å"There is really nothing like the Xbox Live network out there. The network for PS3 is okay, but it isn’t nearly as big and has a lot of bugs that still haven’t been worked out. † Michael Mcneilly has played all of the other systems extensively, but due to his love for online gaming, he chose the Xbox 360. Ralph Jones, an avid Wii owner and player, explained to me that he really has no need to play online. He mostly enjoys the physical nature of the Wii’s gameplay, and doubts that the Wii is even capable of serious online gaming.According to Kyle Johnson, an avid gamer and owner of all three options, the Wii is not a competitive option in terms of online gaming. When asked about the Playstation 3 and its online gaming community, Kyle explained that there is a reason that the Playstation Network does not have a subscription fee. It is not adequate when compared to Xbox Live, and the number of users sometimes makes it hard to play the less popular games online. Clearly, the Xbox 360 offers the best of both worlds. It has a massive online gaming community and also boasts a powerful 3. GHz processor. With processor speed and RAM that are equal to the Pl aystation 3 and far superior to the Wii, the Xbox Live community is what gives the Xbox 360 the top ranking and makes it the best option in terms of hardware specification. Comparing Games Offered Table 1. 9 lists a calculated average of the two figures previously provided in graphs 1. 1, 1. 2, and 1. 3. These figures were mean game-review scores of all games in three genres, and mean scores of the top-five best-selling games for the three genres. Table 1. 9: Comparing Games Offered pt. 1 | Options|Genre| Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3| Role-Playing Games| 79. 4| 72. 7| 71. 75| Adventure Games| 76. 1| 76. 7| 77. 9| Platformer Games| 76. 2| 72. 2| 76. 2| Ranking| 1| 3| 2| Table 1. 10 shows how many games are available for each system in your most preferred genre: Role-Playing Games. Table 1. 10: Comparing Games Offered pt. 2 | Options| Genre| Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3| Role-Playing Games| 108| 33| 117| Ranking| 2| 3| 1| BEST OPTION: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Based on the averages found for all five relevant genres, the Xbox 360 is the best option for the Games Offered criterion.Even though the Playstation 3 has a slightly higher total number of Role-Playing Games available for sale, it does not outweigh the fact that the Xbox 360 scored significantly higher on overall game-review scores. It is generally more important to have higher-rated games than a greater quantity of lower-rated games. For this reason, the Xbox 360 is the best choice for the Games Offered criterion. Comparing Target Demographic Table 1. 11 displays your three options and the total number of ratings received for each rating category out of all games available for each system. Table 1. 11: Comparing Target Demographic Options (Number of Ratings)| Rating| Microsoft’s Xbox 360| Nintendo’s Wii| Sony’ Playstation 3| Everyone| 303| 916| 481| Everyone 10+| 213| 355| 186| Teen | 535| 374| 529| Mature| 491| 57| 373| Rating Pending| 145| 61| 145| Ranking| 1| 3| 2| BEST OPTION: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Based on all of the games available for each gaming system, the Xbox 360 has the most games with ratings in the Mature and Teen categories. Since you, Pascal, are an adult and prefer the types of games that are most commonly rated Teen and Mature, the Xbox 360 gets the top rank for the Target Demographic criterion.Sony’s Playstation 3 comes in second with a comparable number of games in the Teen and Mature rating categories, but they are not quite as high as the Xbox 360. Nintendo’s Wii has least number of ratings in each of those categories. The Wii has a staggeringly low number of games in the Mature category at 57, and roughly 150 less games in the Teen category than the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. This makes it clear that the Xbox 360 is geared toward an adult audience, and will likely have more games that suit the preferences of an adult. The Playstation 3 is a close second, but still offers significantly less games in the Mature catego ry.The Wii seems to be geared toward a younger, less mature audience, and will likely have the least number of games that will fit your preferences. With all of this considered, it is clear that the Xbox 360 is the best option for the Target Demographic criterion. Comparing Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches Table 1. 11 shows all of the common hardware malfunctions and glitches for each option. This table also assigns a ranking (1 being the system with the overall least severe hardware problems relative to the other options). Table 1. 12: Comparing Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches | Options| Microsoft’s Xbox 360| Nintendo’s Wii| Sony’s Playstation 3| Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches| *Complete System Crash – â€Å"Red Ring of Death†*Basic Hardware Failure (eg. DVD tray and laser failure)| *Power Supply Issue*WiConnect24 Issue*Dual-Layer Wi Disc Failure| *Complete System Crash –â€Å"Yellow Lights of Death†| Ra nking| 2| 1| 3| BEST OPTION: Nintendo’s Wii Based on this table and other research, I have identified Nintendo’s Wii as your best option for the Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches criterion. Even though the Wii does run into problems occasionally, they are rarely as severe as they are with the other options.All of the problems listed for the Wii are covered by warranty and are not worthy of complete system replacement. Alternatively, the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 both commonly run into full system crashes, which render the system unusable. Kyle Johnson, an avid gamer and owner of all three options, has never run into a problem with his Wii, but has experienced full system crashes on both his Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The only reason the Xbox 360 is ranked higher than the Playstation 3 is because self-repair on the Playstation 3 is strongly discouraged.Kyle Johnson and Michael McNeilly have both performed minor repairs on their Xbox 360’s, but have neve r dared to open up their Playstation 3’s. With all things considered, Nintendo’s Wii is the best option for the Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches criterion. Comparing Movie-Playing Features Table 1. 13 below shows all of the media discs played by each option, and whether or not that option satisfies your preference of having a built-in Blu-Ray player. Table 1. 13: Comparing Movie-Playing Features | Options| | Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3|Media Discs Played| * Xbox 360 Discs * Xbox 1 Discs * DVDs * CDs * DVD-R * DVD+R * DVD-RW * DVD+RW * CD-R * CD-RW * Dual Discs | * Wii Discs * GameCube Discs| * Playstation 1,2, and 3 Discs * Blu-Ray Discs * DVDs * CDs * DVD-R * DVD+R * DVD-RW * DVD+RW * CD-R * CD-RW * Dual Discs | Satisfies Preference? | No| No| Yes| Ranking| 2| 3| 1| BEST OPTION: Sony’s Playstation 3 Based on the media discs that each option offers, Sony’s Playstation 3 is the obvious choice for the top rank in the Movie-Playing Features criteri on.The Playstation 3 is capable of playing both DVDs and Blu-Rays, while the Xbox 360 is only capable of playing DVDs. The Nintendo Wii, however, cannot even play DVDs. Because you have identified that you prefer a video gaming system that has a built-in Blu-Ray player, the Playstation 3 is the best option for the Movie-Playing Features criterion. CONCLUSIONS Table 1. 14 lists the rankings of each of the six evaluative criteria used throughout this report. In order to come to an overall conclusion as to which option to select, I have assigned reversed point values to the previously determined rankings.If, for instance, an option received a ranking of 1, it would be valued a 3. A ranking of 2 receives a value of 2, and a ranking of 3 is valued a 1. The total number of points will be shown at the bottom of the table along with the final ranking. The video gaming system with the highest number of points will be ranked as 1 and will be your best option. Table 1. 14: Overall Ranking | Op tions| Evaluative Criteria| Xbox 360| Wii| Playstation 3| Cost| 1| 1| 1| Hardware Specification| 1| 3| 2| Games Offered| 1| 3| 2| Target Demographic| 1| 3| 2|Common Hardware Malfunctions and Glitches| 2| 1| 3| Movie-Playing Features| 2| 3| 1| Total Points| 16| 10| 13| Overall Ranking| 1| 3| 2| RECOMMENDATIONS It has been determined that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is the best option, and I would like to recommend to you several retailers where it is available for purchase. The price is universal when bought new, but may vary depending on bundling and other promotions. I have prepared a table showing three popular retailers, the nearest location, and the price of the Xbox 360 4GB system. Table 1. 15: Retail Locations and PriceRetailers and Locations| Price| GameStop(425) 895-833116475 NE 74TH STRedmond, WA 98052| $199. 99| Target(425) 482-641013950 NE 178th PlWoodinville, WA 98072| $199. 99| Walmart(425) 741-94451400 164Th St SwLynnwood, WA 98087| $199. 99| Throughout my research I b egan to realize that the final outcome would depend heavily on how much any criterion was valued. Based on your personal preferences, the best choice is the Xbox 360. However, if you decided that you valued having a Blu-Ray player above everything else, then the Playstation 3 would be the best option.If you decided that the only way to play Role-Playing Games was to use a remote and a nun chuck, then the Wii would be the best choice. It all depends on the valuing of any particular criterion. If you are interested in doing further research, the bibliography lists all sources used. My personal interviewees may be available if you would like to ask them questions, and all of my other sources have a variety of useful and reliable information. Based on everything I have learned from this report and my personal experience with the system, I believe that the Xbox 360 is the best choice for a video gaming system.Bibliography â€Å"Console at Nintendo – Wii. † Nintendo Wii Cons ole. Web. 07 Aug. 2011. Dotree, Phil. â€Å"3 Common Wii Technical Problems. † Associated Content from Yahoo! – Associatedcontent. com. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"ESRB Ratings Guide and Definitions. † Entertainment Software Rating Board. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. â€Å"How to Fix Common Xbox 360 Problems: Same Day Repairs, Low Prices. † Same-day Xbox Repair. Web. 04 Aug. 2011. Johnson, Kyle. Owns All Three Options, Personal interview. 29 July 2011. Jones, Ralph. Wii Owner, Personal interview. 30 July 2011. McNeilly, Michael. 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