Week 9- Tutorial Task

part 1 
Essay Plan


The question that I chose for my essay is: 
       -Does the extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people.   What are the most recent papers? Clarify what both sides of the argument claim and only then offer your reasoned opinion based on facts.

http://www.techaddiction.ca/video_game_addiction_pictures.html

          
I chose this topic for my essay because it really sound appealing to me and this is a major topic in the world today. Kids of all ages play play video games of all sorts, and the health effects of the video games are always in debate. Some may say that video games have no health effect of the kids for the reasoning that it is all a non-fictional. However others argue that manner video games do effect a child's health both mentally and physiologically. There are many scholars that have argued from each side and there are numerous resources and scholarly articles that back up each opinion. I will look into this writing and write about each standpoint in my essay. After that I will then draw my own conclusion based upon the research that I have come across.     




part 2 
Political Participation Via the Internet


This week we were given the task to look into and participate in some different aspects of politics that exist online today. Here are some of the questions and tasks....


1. Sign an e-petition
      After a little searching I came across a petition that calls for an immediate change in the Family Law Amendment. Currently this amendment is making its way through parliament, however in many people's mind it is taking way too long. This petition calls for immediate change therefore no more innocent children can be abused without the proper punishments for his or her abuser. 


   If you too would like to sign the petition here is the link-  
    http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/urgent-change-for-our-children/sign.html


2. Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.
    For this one I decided comment on an article about how an Australian was part of a Ponzi scheme that stole over $400 million  from online poker players, worldwide on FultTiltPoker.com.  This article caught my eye because I played online poker back in the US and while I was most personally affected, it did affect because this let to all poker sites to be frozen and closed down. I personally didn't have a lot of money in it, but my account was frozen none the less. Check the article out for yourself....
http://www.news.com.au/business/website-gambled-on-ponzi-scheme/story-e6frfm1i-1226143105717


3. What is Barak Obama up to today?
   From what it seems Mr. Obama has been busy as usual in the past week and will be in the upcoming week. The current topic and issue at hand has to do with the United Nations and whether to except Palestinian as a state or not. In this upcoming week he will meet with both Palestinian President Mahmound Abbas and some Israeli leaders as well. 

                                                 Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has vowed to go to the United Nations to ask 

                                                    that Palestine be recognised as a state Photo: AP

   Reference: "Barack Obama to Meet Palestinian and Israeli Leaders over UN Bid." The Telegraph. 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011 <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/8778072/Barack-Obama-to-meet-Palestinian-and-Israeli-leaders-over-UN-bid.html>.


4.What are the Australian Government's plans to censor the internet (the so-called "Clean Feed")?
   Within the next year the Australia internet providers will begin to "filter" what people can see and what they cannot. In theory ISP providers will block internet data such as child pornography from it users. The Government has yet to put this on paper and sign in because they keep changing the language of it, however Telstra and Optus, the two largest ISP providers in Australia, has volunteered to begin to filter the internet content made available to its user my this time next year. 


Reference: Foo, Fran. "Telstra and Optus to Start 'clean Feed' to Block Child Pornography Web Pages."The Australian. 10 Aug. 2010. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/telstra-and-optus-to-start-clean-feed-to-block-child-pornography-web-pages/story-e6frgakx-1225903166489>.


5.When will the NBN get to your place? What are the benefits? 
  There is no exact date to when the National Broadband Network will be up and running in the Gold Coast. The Government has announced that a majority of the major cities in Australia will get the NBN within the next eight years. According to the Gold Coast City Council some of the benefits of the new service is- 

• connect 90 per cent of all Australian homes, schools and workplaces with broadband services, with speeds of up to 100 megabits per second - 100 times faster than those currently used by many households and businesses
• connect all other premises in Australia with next generation wireless and satellite technologies that will deliver broadband speeds of 12 megabits per second
• directly support up to 25,000 local jobs every year, on average, over the eight (8) year life of the project

Reference: "Broadening Broadband - Connecting Your Place." Gold Coast City Council 22 Mar. 2011. http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard.aspx?pid=4026 

6 .Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are.

   The Mayor of the Gold Coast is: Mayor Cr. Ron Clarke MBE 

   

The State Representative for Southport is: Mr. Peter Joseph Lawlor MP 

   

The Federal Representative for Queensland is: Senator Hon Joe Ludwig 

References: Gold Coast City Council - http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard2.aspx?pid=346

                     Gold Coast City Council -  http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/attachment/factsheets/fs357_government_members.pdf

                 Parliament of Australia- http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/senators.asp?id=84N