Category: A14: Annotated Bibliography

1.  “APA Review Confirms Link Between Playing Violent Video Games and Aggression.” American Psychological Association. N.p., 13 Aug. 2015. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

Background: The article discusses how a study done by the American Psychological Association concludes that there is a correlation between playing violent video games and an increase in aggression. There is also a decrease in empathy among gamers.

How I Used It: I used this evidence to establish that while there is a link between increasing aggression and violent video games, there is no link between violent video games and increasing aggressive behavior that directly involves criminal activity or violent offenses. Aggression is a broad term and does not always mean physical altercations. It could be as simple as lying or throwing a tantrum.

2. Fraser, Mark W., James K. Nash, Maeda J. Galinsky, and Kathleen M. Darwin. “The Making Choices Program: Social Problem- Solving Skills …” University of North Carolina. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Background: This document establishes what aggression exactly is. It is defined as “a persistent pattern of behavior that causes or threatens harm to other people.” Forms of aggression include verbal, physical, instrumental, reactive, proactive, overt, covert, and indirect.

How I Used It: I used this document to explain that while video games may increase aggression, there are so many forms of aggression that it is not a clear indication of video games leading to violent offenses. Violent video games may only increase the chances of throwing a tantrum or lying to somebody.

3. Greitemeyer, Tobias, and Christina Sagioglou. “Subjective Socioeconomic Status Causes Aggression: A Test Of The Theory Of Social Deprivation.” Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology 111.2 (2016): 178-194. PsycARTICLES. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.

Background: This was a study performed to see if socioeconomic classes determine how aggressive someone can be. Through the study, it was found that a lower socioeconomic class generally led to a higher level of aggression among individuals.

How I Used It: I used this study to show that there are other things that increase aggression that would come off as unflattering to those involved with it. These same people may want to blame video games to avoid accusations on themselves. In this instance, it would be the government since their systems have led to many people being stuck in the working class, which in turn would lead to their increase in aggressive behavior.

4. Welsh, Jennifer. “‘Negative Parenting’ Starts Aggressive Personalities Early.” Live Science. N.p., 26 Oct. 2011. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.

Background: This study shows that negative parenting when a child is still an infant will lead to an aggressive personality later on.

How I Used It: Parents tend to blame video games for a child’s aggressive behavior, but it may just be a way of diverting attention from them. This study proves that a parent who is poorly raising their child, specifically earlier on, will have a more aggressive kid. This may raise concern about the parent, which is why they would want to get rid of the attention and pin any crimes on video games.

5. Entertainment Software Association, “Essential Facts About Games and Violence,” http://www.theesa.com, 2008

Background: This is a graph showing the increase in video game sales while showing the slight decrease in violent crime offenses.

How I Used It: I used this evidence to prove that the correlation between video games and violent crimes is seemingly illogical. If more people are getting their hands on violent video games and these games are supposedly increasing violent behavior, then the rate of crimes should be going up. However, that is not the case.

6. News, ABC. “Did Video Game Drive Teens to Shootings?” ABC News. ABC News Network, 06 Sept. 2003. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.

Background: This is an article about William and Joshua Buckner who shot at cars which led to deaths and injuries. They had claimed that Grand Theft Auto inspired them to perform the crime which in turn led to the increased belief that violent video games were causing more crimes.

How I Used It: I used this article to establish that there are often instances of the criminals themselves claiming that the games are what caused them to commit the crimes.

7. Fleck, J. R. (2011). Why we blame others: An examination of scapegoating (Order No. 1492807). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (862344967).

Background: An essay about why people will blame others for the actions that they committed. In the essay, James Fleck explains that people will blame others as a natural reaction to avoid having negative attention on themselves.

How I Used It: I used this essay to invalidate the testimonies of William and Joshua Buckner, and people like them who will claim that video games are why they committed the crime. This essay shows that blaming is something everyone does to avoid negative attention. It does not have to be true; it just has to work.

8. Adam Thierer, MA, “Video Games, Ratings, Parental Controls, & Public Policy: Where Do We Stand?,” http://www.pff.org, Apr. 2008

Background: This is a graph indicating the increase in video game ratings awareness and whether parents utilize them. It shows that their awareness and usage is increasing over time.

How I Used It: I used this graph to show that for the most part, the youth are being protected from violent video games. While I do not believe they lead to aggressive behavior, this shows that most youth are not even playing games with content that is too mature for them.

9. “A Timeline of Video Game Controversies.” National Coalition Against Censorship. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

Background: This is a timeline indicating the most notable instances of video game controversies, most of which dealing with real world violence.

How I Used It: I used this timeline to establish the history of violent video games and the belief that they lead to violent behavior.

10. Kerstetter, Jim. “Why Do We Blame Games for Real-world Violence?” CNET. N.p., 26 Feb. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

Background: Out of 2278 US adults, a third say they will let their child play anything that they want. Whether it is violent or too mature for the kid does not matter to them at all.

How I Used It: I do not believe that violent video games lead to criminal activity, but I do believe that bad parenting may have more to do with it. The fact that these parents have little care for what their child plays, may also mean they are negatively parenting them.

Annotated Bibliography

1.CK”s Baseball 4U, B. C. (2014, February 27). What’s the Difference between Baseball and Softball? Retrieved October 30, 2016.

Background: This website article post has quick and easy to read bullet points of clear differences of the two sports. It provides measurements for each sports field and equipment. It also provides categories that each sport has, then a bullet point for each with how they are different.

How I Used It: I used this in my Definition Argument. I provide facts that I found from this website to my assignment. It helped me notice more differences that I haven’t seen before between these two sports. This helps support the claim that these sports are very different, but still have the same aspects.

2.H. (2014). Difference Between Tennis and Badminton. Retrieved November 23, 2016. 

Background: This is also an article with quick and easy facts about the two sports. There is also a table that as the same aspects of the sports, but states how those aspects are different. There are bullet point to that make the article straight forward and easy to take facts out of.

How I Used It: I used the sports badminton and tennis to support my argument. To enhance my claim, and make it more clear, I compared another pair of sports that are very similar but are different in difficulty levels. This website was used to support my claim and to persuade the reader. I also used this same article to fine rebuttals to the argument. It helped me claim that because two sports are similar, neither can be more difficult. Each sport has aspects that make them both difficult.

3. Mann, B. A. (2011, September 30). Baseball vs. Softball. Retrieved October 30, 2016.

Background: This is another website article that explains for facts about the two sports. It has some aspects that other articles do not talk about.

How I Used It: I used this website to enhance the claims I have made in my argument.

4.The Difference Between Baseball & Softball | iSport.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2016

Background: This article includes many statistics about both of the two sports. The author makes claims about baseball and softball. It also makes other claims that the other articles don’t bring up. This article also provides many measurements and statistics.

How I Used It: This article helped me support my claim, and helped me use facts and numbers to provide in my paper.

5. A Women’s Softball Pitcher vs. the Top Baseball Hitters…Who Wins? (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2016.

Background: This article produces scenarios about a professional softball pitcher that pitches to some of the best baseball hitters. It also makes claims about how the pitcher and hitter work. The author also states how the hitter went through with each pitch they faced on the softball pitcher.

How I Used It: I used this to support my argument that the batters were expected to not do as well as most people think they should, since they are professional batters. I also used claims and facts that the article made in my argument.

6. Tinley, S. (2014, July 24). Why MLB hitters can’t hit Jennie Finch and science behind reaction time. Retrieved November 06, 2016.

Background: This article explains how batters approach hitting off of professional softball pitcher, Jennie Finch. It gives much background about Finch and her pitching history. This article states another scenario that Finch strikes out multiple MLB batters.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Levenson, Richard L. “Why Departments Need to Develop Mental Health Programs for Cops” PoliceOne. PoliceOne.com, 27 June 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article examines the idea that in a predominantly male culture that emphasizes toughness and a suck-it-up mentality, officers are forced to withhold their emotions and resort to detrimental methods of coping with their stress, including alcoholism, drug use, risk-taking behaviors, etc.

How I used it: This article helped me discover that a police officer’s health, confined by cultural beliefs, is not being dealt with in a healthy, productive matter. I used this article to demonstrate the impact of cultural influence in law enforcement, which has a negative impact intellectually and physically on a police officer’s performance.

2. Patton, Mary Claire. “Suicide leading cause of death among police officers.” KSAT. Graham Media Group, 19 Apr. 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article focuses on a study conducted by Badge of Life, a national surveillance of police suicide, that lists the amount law enforcement officers who have committed suicide in 2015 as a result of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It also highlights the emotional effects that a distraught officer has on his or her family. The overall well-being (of police officers and their families) is put in jeopardy by offering little assistance to help officers cope with their anxieties.

How I used it: Since this article focuses entirely on the death toll of police officers, I used it as a basis for my argument that officers are not getting the type of support they need to be efficient in their line of duty.

3. University at Buffalo. “Impact of Stress On Police Officers’ Physical and Mental Health.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 September 2008. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article gives statistical analysis of how an officer’s stress level can put him or her at risk for several health complications, such as high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease. It also shows that suicidal thoughts are three times higher in law enforcement than in other municipal workers.

How I used it: I used the evidence of this source to demonstrate that health complications and suicidal tendencies among law enforcement officers are becoming more prominent because of high levels of stress.

4. Robinson, Holly M. “Psychological Reports.” Duty-Related Stressors and PTSD Symptoms in Suburban Police Officers81 (1997): 835-45. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1997. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article focuses on a study conducted by Cleveland State University that says 63% out of the 100 suburban cops surveyed stated that critical debriefing periods following a life threatening scenario fail to help them cop with their stress or emotional trauma. The article states that police officers often feel alone and isolated despite the exponential funding that Assistant Employee Programs have received in 1997.

How I used it: This survey is extremely useful because it supports my claim that officers are not given the proper care needed to maintain a level of stability in a highly stressful job. I used this to expose the flaws in Assistant Employee programs by using this survey. The evidence is clear that these programs don’t do their job and there is clearly room for improvement.

5. Allmers, Gary. “Employee Assistance Programs.” Personal interview. 11 Nov. 2016.

Background: This personal interview explains the lack of support that police officers receive from Employee Assistance Programs. This interview specifically examines the disconnect between a therapist and a police officer. It uses first hand incite to examine the lack of understanding that therapists, who fail to relate to a mass shooting or a murder, have for police officers.

How I used it: Quite often, police officers feel lonesome in their line of duty from the lack of understanding between a therapist and an officer. Gary Allmers felt that he was not getting the support he need from a therapist. He needed to talk to someone who could relate to the position he was in, such as a retired police officer. This obviously is a major flaw in law enforcement, which I exposed with the help of this interview as it uses first hand insight into the emotional uneasiness among police officers.

6. Freed, Betsy B. “Aversion to Therapy: Why Won’t Men Get Help?” Pacific Standard. Pacific Standard, 25 June 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article discusses the shame that police officers feel when they reach out for help from a therapist, family members, other police officers, etc. It focuses on the negative stigma surrounding therapeutic facilities in police departments and on police officers who neglect to receive help due to the ignominy that comes along with it.

How I used it: I used concrete examples of police officers that refused to seek out help because of the stigma of appearing weak. The evidence is clear that police officers whose lives are being damaged from their incapability to seek out help are at a detriment to themselves and others around them.

7. Mooney, Chris, Indre Viskontas and Chris Mooney, Erika Eichelberger, Jaeah Lee, Inae Oh, Russ Choma, AJ Vicens, and Andy Kroll. “The Science of Why Cops Shoot Young Black Men.”Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article examines the origin of racial prejudices. Prejudice draws on many of the same tools that help our minds figure out what’s good and what’s bad. In evolutionary terms, it’s efficient to quickly classify a grizzly bear as dangerous. The trouble comes when the brain uses similar processes to form negative views about groups of people.

How I used it: It is entirely possible that police officers learn to be suspicious of individuals that the general public do not fear. I used this evidence to show that police officers react to certain cues on account of the race of the suspect. Police officer have developed reflexes that we don’t have, causing them to react faster or with more force than we would.

8. Levs, Josh. “Column Defending Cops in Ferguson Sparks Online Fury.”CNN. Cable News Network, 20 Aug. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article from CNN covers the fatal shooting of Michael Brown and puts into question whether officer Darren Wilson was within his rights to shoot Michael Brown. It provides specific examples of police officers who defend officer Darren Wilson by stressing that law enforcement is constantly under heightened scrutiny even when they are acting in self defense.

How I used it: I used concrete examples of police officers that have been in similar situations as officer Darren Wilson and support his decision. The evidence is clear that victims who show signs of aggression should be dealt with in a forceful manner. The fact that Michael Brown may not have had a weapon in no way diminishes officer Wilson’s fear for his life. I also used officer Darren Wilson as a strong anecdote to help the reader understand the point I am trying to make.

9. Willman, Elizabeth A. “Alcohol Use Among Law Enforcement.”The Journal of Law Enforcement. 2.3 (2008) 1-4. Print.

Background: This journal discusses the prevalence of alcohol in law enforcement. While this journal does not fixate on Employee Assistance Programs, there is a large portion of it that suggests that alcoholism in law enforcement is the result of police officers not receiving the necessary support they need to help cope with their trauma.

How I used it: I used this journal to stress the growing problem of alcohol abuse in law enforcement. This journal helped me discover the most common reasons of why alcoholism is so prominent among police officers. The journal highlights exactly how large of a problem alcohol is in law enforcement by using statistical data to prove how many officers have used alcohol as a method to cope with their problems rather than seek out help, something I proved in my essay on a larger scale.

10. Gustafson, R.D. Timi. “Keeping Your Emotions Bottled Up Could Kill You.”The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article from The Blog focuses on a study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Rochester found that suppressing emotions may increase the risk of dying from heart disease and certain forms of cancer. This evidence confirms earlier studies conducted by these Universities that have linked negative emotions like anger, anxiety, and depression to the suppression of emotions.

How I used it: I used this to show the emotional and physical effects that occur as a result of Employee Assistance Programs failing to accomplish their goal to help police officers deal with their stress. This obviously is a major flaw in law enforcement itself, which I exposed with the help of this article as it offers incite on the damaging effects of a failing support system.