Nintendo Wii versus Microsoft Xbox-

As of April 29, 2008, five scholars of the Wheeling Jesuit University wrote a concise article differentiating between the effects of playing Microsoft Xbox versus Nintendo Wii. The title of the article is Nintendo Wii vs. Microsoft Xbox: Differential Effects on Mood, Physiology, Snacking Behavior, and Caloric Burn. The article summarizes a study that involved 27 participants to play both Nintendo Wii and the Microsoft Xbox. During the activities, performanc, mood, cognition, physiological measures, and snacking behavior was monitored, measured, recorded, and then compared. The study demanded that each participant play a boxing game from both of the systems as well as complete a control condition in which no game was played. In each of these instances, as Actiwatch monitor was worn in order to record the caloric burn. The overall conclusions and results of this study prove that playing the Wii system has better benefits of the two. in necessitates one to think more, use more physical strength, and eat less snacks; which results in a larger caloric burn.

The purpose of this article is to compare the two similar systems. I agree with the results in the sense that the Wii is an overall more active video game system. Most of the Wii games require actual movements of the player. As for Xbox, the games are played solely by controllers. Although the Wii leads to a greater physical performance, I do not think that is overbears the Xbox enough. Playing Xbox requires hand-eye coordination, quick thinking, immediate reflexes, and problem solving. Although there is no call for movement, it is still a mental exercise that is beneficial to humans. The two systems use different abilities and talents so the results of this experiment will differ. The experiment is not an ethical way of stating which system is more strongly linked with obesity. Yes, the Wii does require a child to move and act upon demand, but it is not enough to say it is not linked with obesity like Xbox may be. A child who is obese and plays the Wii most likely plays other types of video games; as well as having other issues as far as not getting enough exercise.

The three articles on text messaging discuss different topics yet all agree that text messaging is only a positive part of society today. Press Release by Red Oxygen compares use of text messaging in the US to the use of text messaging in Europe and Asia. The US only has a 40% use of text messaging while Europe and Asia have up to 80 and 90 percent usage rates. The article does say that the US is on it's way to increasing that percent. For example, American Idol now requires the audience to vote via text messaging. One reason to explain why text messaging is not growing as quickly as expected is because of how much computers have taken over. The Instant Messaging and the email was the "the next best thing" in the past decade or so. Text messaging has a lot to compete with. As time goes on, more types of people are being introduced and becoming addicted.

In the article Thumbspeak, David Crystal, who is a linguist, states and supports the fact that text messaging is not destroying the English language. Some individuals became concerned that people were losing their sense of spelling because of the commonly used abbreviations and transformations of words. It has been proven that those who type incorrectly most likely know how to spell correctly and are just trying to fit within the 160 character limit. Crystal also compared text messaging to a game. People text when they are right next to each other or about pointless things more often then about important things.

The third article is about emoticons. It talks about how you can express emotions thoroughly through text messaging. The article also described the use of them. It included experiments about emoticons. It was a very lengthy article and went in depth but it included unnecessary information. I did think it was interesting to read about something that seems so simple and second nature. I did not realize that so much experimenting and research went into simple smiley faces that text messagers use all the time.

It is important to read and look into scholar articles. The provide the American Society with statistics, comparisons, proven facts, and explanations. The experts are the ones who study topics and issues important enough to be concerned by Americans. They do not leave out the truth and their information is based on special knowledge. It is important to keep in touch with scholarly articles in order to keep up with the society and be informed about the ideas that humans are faced with daily. It is the best way to look up information you are unsure about due to the validity and expertise.