Научно-прктская работа по английскому языку на тему Компьютерная и мобильная зависимость.

МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБЩЕОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ
УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ «СРЕДНЯЯ ОБЩЕОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНАЯ ШКОЛА №3»
С. АСТРАХАНКА ХАНКАЙСКОГО МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОГОРАЙОНА ПРИМОРСКОГО КРАЯ
ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКАЯ РАБОТА
«Компьютерная и мобильная зависимость»
Предмет: английский язык
Учитель английского языка
Пелюшенко Лариса Николаевна
с. Астраханка
2016
CONTENT
INTRODUCTION 3-4
CHAPTER I. COMPUTERS IN OUR LIFE 5-7
1.1 Advantages of using computers 5-6
1.2 Disadvantages of using computers 6-7
CHAPTER II. THE OPINION POLL IN ASTRAKHANSKAYA SCHOOL 8-9
1.1 In favour of computers 8
1.2 Against the computers 8-9
CHAPTER III. ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION 10-12
1.1 Re-cap of physics 10
1.2 Blue light exposure 11
1.3 Sitting and posture 11-12
CHAPTER IV. HEALTH PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH TECHNOLOGY USE
TIPS HOW TO AVOID THEM 13-15
CHAPTER V. MOBILE PHONES IN OUR LIFE 16
CHAPTER VI. POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF CELL
PHONES 17-19
1.1 Positive effects 17
1.2 Negative effects 17-18
1.3 Nomophobia 18
Conclusion 19
The list of used sources and literature 20
appendix 21-28
Introduction
Our life would be boring without computers and mobile phones. It’s difficult to believe that two devices can provide people with entertainment, news, music, education, communication, can supply you with different recipes, can inform you about the weather etc. With the appearance of computers and mobiles many things have lost their importance. People don’t watch TV anymore, don’t go to the cinema or to the theatre.They don’t listen to the radio, CD- or MP3-player. They have stopped buying newspapers and magazines. Many people take on-line classes, visit different professional courses or webinars. Thus, computers and Internet have become an integral part of every family. Computer is a powerful tool. It helps people to find necessary information, to create colorful presentations, to write articles and poems, to calculate large numbers, to save and edit photos, to keep documentation and, of course, to surf the web. Internet is the main stream of information nowadays. It informs us, entertains and educates. We find everyday news online, educational resources, films, music and a large number of different games. Everyone can find something to his or her own taste there.
I decided to choose the theme «Computer and Mobile Dependence» because it always interested me a lot. To my mind, it is very actual nowadays. I wanted to know more about it, to clear up all pluses and minuses of using these super modern devices.
I tried to mention all the advantages and disadvantages of using computers and mobile phones; they are presented in my work.
Besides, I led a questioning in order to clear up the opinions of my classmates and other pupils of our school in favour of computers and against them.
Having worked at this theme, I came to know about electromagnetic radiation from computers and cell phones and their dangerous influence on us. I told about it to all people I know and love.
I composed some diagrams and graphics in order to show the reasons of such strong dependence of people from computers and mobile phones. They are presented in the Appendix and in my presentation.
In my work I also analyzed health problems, associated with technology use and gave approximate practical tips of avoiding them.
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I think that the situation is very serious. Computers are practically irreplaceable and we can’t live without them anymore. They are everywhere: at our homes, schools, at work, in our cars. It is very possible that the next stage of the human revolution is some kind of superb half human and half machine. But I hope, it is not in the closest future. But the truth is that computers will rule the world sooner or later.
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CHAPTER I
COMPUTERS IN OUR LIFE
Nowadays, we cannot imagine our life without computers and the fact is that they have become so important that nothing can replace them. They seem to be everywhere today. Since 1948 when the first real computer has been invented our life has changed so much that we can call it real digital revolution.
First computers differed from today’s ones. They were so huge that they occupied whole rooms or buildings being relatively slow. They were not faster than modern simple watches or calculators. Nowadays they are also used by scientists and they may also be as huge as the old ones but they are millions times faster. They can perform many complex operations simultaneously and scientists practically can’t do without them. Thanks to them people has access to enormous amount of information. Gathering data has never been simpler than now. They are not only used in laboratories but also on the factories to control production. Sometimes computers manufacture other computers. But computers are being used not only in science and industry. Thanks to them modern medicine can diagnose diseases faster and more thoroughly. Computers have become irreplaceable in banking system too. They control many operations. All data is stored on special hard disks and paper isn’t used in accountancy any more. Furthermore, architects, designers and engineers can’t imagine their work without computers. These machines are really everywhere and we depend on them also in such fields as criminology. They help police to solve crimes and collect evidence.
Moreover, computers are widespread in education. Except their classic tasks such as administration and accountancy they are used in process of learning. Firstly, they store enormous amount of data which helps students to gain the information. Secondly, thanks to special teaching techniques and programs they improve our skills of concentration and assimilation of knowledge. They have become so popular that not knowing how to use them means to be illiterate.
Advantages of using computers
Computers improve our lives. They are very useful in office work, we can write texts such as reports and analysis. In comparison with old typewriters when using computers we don’t have to worry about making mistakes in
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typewriting because special programs helps us to avoid them and we can change them any time. When the text is finished, we can print it in as many copies as we want. At least but not at last, we can communicate with the whole world very fast and cheap using Internet.
Computers are user-friendly. We can watch videos and listen to the music having only PC. We don’t need video player, TV and stacking hi-fi any more. Moreover, we don’t have to buy PC’s which can take much room due to their other necessary components and wires. We can always buy laptop or palm top which is even smaller and use them outside anywhere we want.
Computers save storage place. Only imagine how many trees have to be cut and how much paper would have to be used to store information which is on hard disks today. Data stored on just one CD in paper form would use room of dozens square meters and would weight thousands of kilos. A nowadays technique of converting data from paper to digital form has also tremendously developed. You can simply rewrite the text using a keyboard. If you are not good at it you can use a scanner to scan necessary documents. At least there are special devices which can transfer our voice into text. Thanks to computers banks, private and governmental companies, libraries and many other institutions can save millions of square metres and billions of dollars. Nowadays we have access to billions of information and due to the computer’s capabilities we actually don’t need to worry not only how to store them but also how to process them.
Computers can calculate and process information faster and more accurate than human. Sometimes there is false information in mass media that due to the computer’s mistake something has failed. But it’s not the truth because machines cannot make mistakes by its own. Sometimes its short circuit, other time it’s hardware problem but most often it is a human’s mistake, someone, who designed and wrote the flawed computer program.
1.2 Disadvantages of using computers
Very often computers break down. The biggest problem is when our hard disc
breaks down because of the data stored on it. Other hardware is easily
replaceable. But there are many ways of avoiding consequences of losing our data, for example, by saving it on CDs. Except hardware
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failures there are also software ones. For example, for many years
Windows Operating System was very unstable and that’s why many other Operating Systems were written. Now the most common are
Linux, Windows XP, MacOs (for Macintosh computers).Except of unstable operating systems another and, maybe, the main threat to our data are computer viruses. There are billions of them and every day new ones come into being. If you have the Internet connection you have to be particularly careful and download anti-virus programs. Fortunately, there are also many of them and most of them are freeware. You have to remember to download updates.
Computers are rather dangerous to our health. The monitors used to be dangerous for our eyesight. Nowadays due to technological development they are very safe. But there are other threats to our health than damaging our sight. Working with computers and permanent looking on the monitor can cause epilepsy, especially among children. Very often parents want to have a rest and don’t draw enough attention to how long their children use computers. These negative effects also concerns television screens.
The next dangerous threat that you can become a computer addict. If you spend most of your free time using computer you should go to consult a psychologist.
Violence and sex. The main threats to younger users of computers are Internet pornography and bloody games. The presence of sexual content or level of violence should be properly marked. There are many extremely blood games such as “grand theft auto”, “quake” etc. For example, in GTA you are a member of mafia and to promote in crime hierarchy you should kidnap people, steal cars, robe banks etc. As a bonus you can also run over pedestrians. There are also many games in which you are a soldier and your mission is to kill as many enemies as possible. The other threat to our children is Internet pornography. The availability of sexual content is enormous and you can do practically nothing to protect your child.
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CHAPTER II
The opinion poll about advantages and disadvantages of using the computer, led in Astrakhanskaya school
I led the questioning among the students of our school, asking them to enumerate all advantages and disadvantages of using the computer and here are different opinions of the respondents
1.1 In favor of computers:
Computers save a lot of time and money;
2) People are sharing innovations between countries because of computers and Internet;
3) The world is developed faster;
4) We can store a lot of information and we can keep authorized access too;
5) We can make presentations for different subjects;
6) We can easily book tickets for travelling to any country of the world;
7) We can watch different interesting films and play video games;
8) We can easily create documents;
9) We can easily store and retrieve data without much risk;
10) We can communicate with our friends, relatives and classmates;
11) We can find our favorite melodies in the Internet;
12) We can exchange various recipes;
13) We can find a job and earn money;
14) People can find each other in the Internet fall in love and marry;
15) We can help ill children;
1.2 Against the computers:
Many people are living in virtual world because of computers;
Because of computers unemployment is increasing;
People are not utilizing their thinking capability;
Writing skills are degrading as many people, especially teenagers, don’t want
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to write on a paper;
Because of video games in computer, many children are addicted to computer and are being distant from real games;
People are becoming lazy by depending too much on computers and are being distant from physical activities;
Your information may be stolen by hackers;
Working with computer every day causes stress, visual problems, headache and other serious problems with health;
Terrorists can use Internet for involving young men into their groups;
Having analyzed this questioning, I came to the conclusion that without computers it wouldn’t be possible for the world to become a global village. The invention of computers is a boon for us. We should utilize technology to compete with this rapid world. But too much dependency on anything is good for nothing. Every coin has too sides. It’s up to every person to decide: to receive benefit from it or to damage health.
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CHAPTER III
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
1.1 Re-cap of Physics
I decided to clear up the real danger from electromagnetic radiation. I used to think that the dangers of electromagnetic radiation were overblown until I really started researching it. We are only beginning to uncover many problems with EMR and what we know so far can be very scary. The good news is that there are ways to protect against the harmful effects by limiting the time we spend on these devices, not using them close to our bodies and shielding our bodies from them when possible.
There are several types of radiation emitted from many computers especially laptops and they come with different risks.
In the course of my investigation I came to know that because of the nature of energy, radiation is exponentially stronger the closer you are to it. Its strength actually decreases radially as you move away from it. In physics it follows the inverse-square law. The intensity is proportional to ½ distance squared. This means, if you are 2 inches away from the source, you experience ¼ the amount of radiation exposure as you would if you were just 1 inch away from it. If you are 4 inches away from it, you now experience 1/8 the amount of radiation you would have if you were just 1 inch away. This is why a lot of cell phone manufacturers recommend you keep your cell phone at least several inches away from your body at all times. The defender pad puts some distance between my lap and the computer and is shown to block all of the frequencies oh heat from the computer.
Personally I got my defender pad and use it any time, while using my laptop and I advise all my friends to do so. I also use an earthing mat under my arms if I’m sitting at my desk and using a computer as there is some evidence that the grounding effect of an earthing mat can help.
There have been some preliminary studies on the effects of grounding on cortisol levels and inflammation and I am confident that research in this area will continue. What fascinates me most is the testing done in thermographic imaging, which basically shows a heat map of the body.
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1.2 Blue Light Exposure
There is a lot of research showing that blue light after sunset can disrupt circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin production but recent studies are showing that this has even more serious consequences.
Think about it, until the invention of electric light bulbs, people relied on the sun for the majority of their light and used only natural sources like candles, campfires and lanterns after dark (all orange lights).With the dawn of modern electricity, we suddenly had the ability to stay up with lights on for many hours after sunset.
With computers, TVs, tablets and phones, this use has extended even more and these new technologies are especially high in blue light. Electricity brought many benefits, but it also gave us the ability to mess with circadian rhythm and our sleep cycles. Researches have known for years that shift workers and those who are regularly up late at night are at a higher risk for various cancers but more recent research shows that even recreational exposure to blue light for a few hours at night can have a negative effect.
Some researches even promote the theory that the disruption of natural circadian rhythm from blue light after dark is a big contributing factor to the rise in obesity and chronic disease. There is even evidence linking this disruption of the sleep cycle to higher rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems.
1.3 Sitting and Posture
Many famous doctors from different clinics tell that sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death.
Further they explain that sitting not only increases the risk of obesity, but also the risk of cancers (like lung, endometrial, breast and prostate), heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and many, many more. Their research and an analysis of many recent studies show that each hour we spend sitting takes about
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21 minutes off from our lives (smoking only shaves 11 minutes off from our life. The jury is still out on how many minutes each donut takes away).Here are some of the reasons why:
We burn less than 50 calories per hour when sitting (compared to standing);
Sitting for long periods can reduce insulin sensitivity and increase risk of insulin resistance;
Sitting in front of the monitors too much for an extended time can reduce bone density;
Sitting can cause the muscles to atrophy or tighten in certain places and lead to such problems as back pain;
Sitting for long periods causes the muscles to release less of the enzyme Lipase which controls proper breakdown of fats; a simple solution is to stand when using a computer. I have tried to work in such a way several times but found out that it was too inconvenient.
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CHAPTER IV
Health problems associated with technology use.
Tips how to avoid them
With increasing number of computer users, the number health issues are also growing at a rapid pace. If you work in front of a computer for a few hours that too once in a while you may not be at a health risk. But if you spend about 4 hours or more every day, then you should probably keep a check on some health issues:
Musculoskeletal problems: Muscle soreness and muscle fatigue are the most common complaints of regular computer users. Back pain, chest pain, pain or numbness in arms, shoulder and feet top the list. These types of problems mainly occur because your posture while using the computer is not correct. Either you are sitting on an uncomfortable chair or your workstation is not supportive of correct posture.
Practical tips:
Adjust your chair and desk such that your screen is either at your eye level or lower. Sit with your back straight and legs perpendicular to the floor with feet resting flat on the floor. Your elbows should rest at the sides.
Take mini breaks from work and stretch a bit or go for a short walk.
Vision problems: Bright light and bad glare or flickering image can strain your eyes. Constantly focusing on the screen without blinking can cause dry eyes. Computer vision syndrome is another problem that you may suffer from.
Practical tips:
Adjust the contrast and brightness so that your eyes are not strained. You can tilt your screen to avoid glare.
Maintain a proper distance from the screen. Look away from the screen intermittently. Don’t forget to blink.
Headache: Because of increased muscle tension or pain in the neck at the base of the skull, headache is common problem with computer use. Moreover, prolonged use may affect eye power which needs vision correction. This can also lead to headache.
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Practical tips:
Keep your neck straight when in front of the computer. Constantly looking down or stretching the neck sideways can also cause pain. Take breaks in
between and circle your neck a bit to release the strain.
Get your eye power tested if headache is a common problem with computer use.
Repetitive stress injury: Pain in the neck, shoulder or anywhere from the shoulder to fingers may indicate repetitive stress injury. When you use your muscles in an awkward position, you may experience stiffness, pain or swelling in that area. For example, twisting the wrist to use the mouse or specific typing technique that causes stretching of fingers or pressure on the wrist can turn really painful. One of the disorders that affect the fingers and wrist is carpal tunnel syndrome.
Practical tips:
Adjust the mouse besides the keyboard. Move your entire arm, while moving the mouse. Don’t just move your wrist by fixing it at one position. Typing should be gentle. Do not fix your wrists in a certain position while typing.
Relax your arms or stretch when you are not typing or using the mouse.
Obesity: Studies have shown that prolonged use of computers, especially among children, is the major contributing factor of sedentary lifestyle and childhood obesity.
Practical tips:
Adults who work for 7-8 hours should avoid spending time on computer after reaching home. Your body and mind both need to relax. Join a gym or go for evening jog and stay physically active.
Try to play outdoor games or to take up a hobby. Involve your friends and, if possible, classmates into extra-curricular activities.
Set limits for yourself to playing computer games non-stop.
Stress disorders: Technology has a huge impact on our behavior and emotions. Prolonged computer use along with other factors like poor health, work pressure and job environment can make you susceptible to stress. Moreover, the longer you uphold the stress, the more susceptible
you become to other health issues mentioned above. It can also lead to loss of concentration, dizziness and weariness.
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Practical tips:
Be proactive.
Take necessary measures to beat stress before it affects your health.
Try natural measures. Of course, these are only recommendations
because nobody can guarantee any specific results and the results can vary from person to person.
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CHAPTER V
mobile phones in our life
People have invented many useful devices. One of the most interesting and widely-used inventions is the telephone. The modern phone that we use today is the result of work of many people. The first person to have patented the telephone in 1876 was Alexander Graham Bell. He is credited as the inventor of this practical device. Other scientists who also worked on telephone invention were Elisha Gray, Antonio Meucci, Thomas Edison and some others. The 20th century was the era of phone development and modernization. Rotary telephones were replaced by touch-tone dials and other sophisticated features. Modern phones are presented mostly by mobiles, which support IP telephony and Wi-Fi. It is almost impossible to find a person nowadays who doesn’t have a personal mobile phone. These phones have become highly popular over the last years. They are rather compact, handy and easy to carry around. Mobile phones allow us to make instant calls, send text messages, play games, listen to music, take photos, and check an e-mail and so on. Thus, they have replaced not only landlines but also personal computers, MP3-players and cameras. However, there are many people in the world who are against mobile phones. Doctors claim that this device has a bad effect on people’s health. It can damage our eyesight and immune system. The signals that are sent from mobiles can be harmful. Some people also believe that phones prevent people lively communication. And, it is true. With the appearance of mobile phones and computers people meet up with friends less often. In my opinion, telephone is a very useful and important device. We simply can’t live without it in the modern world, even though it is not safe for health. The only solution is to try to use it less in everyday life.
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CHAPTER VI
Positive and negative effects of cell phones
1.1 Positive effects
Cell phones have become a very important part of our daily lives. It is very difficult to imagine our life without a cell phone as most of our work is done using them.
The first positive point of mobile phones is communication. With mobile phones you can communicate with anyone from anywhere at any time. Nowadays, the smartphones which are coming are small in size and light in weight which makes them very easy to carry. You don’t need to sit beside the receiver as your mobile phone is not attached with anything.
If you are using a smartphone, you can take advantage of it in your studies or your business. The smartphones which come with Android, Apple iOS and Windows Phone operating system come with educational apps which can be used while you are in college. If you are in business you can install applications like Skype which will help you in communicating with your clients.
Mobile phones have become a source of unlimited entertainment. The things which we never thought would be present in a mobile phone are now possible. Smartphones have come into existence which not only help you in making calls but also help you to stay entertained by allowing you to play games, listen to music and do lots of other stuff. Mobile phones even come with special apps for kids to increase their brainstorming which is pretty good.
1.2 Negative effects
It is true that mobile phones can help the students in studies but only if they use them wisely. Most of the students become additive to mobile phones and are always found playing games, chatting with their friends and watching movies and other stuff. If the students are busy keeping their eyes on mobiles at all times they won’t get time for studying which would lead to poor grades.
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Mobile phones lead to a lot of accidents. A lot of people do their daily work, drive while talking on mobiles. There is high risk for accidents if you are talking on the mobile phone and driving as you are giving your half attention to the mobile call and are having half attention on the road.
1.3 Nomophobia
Nomophobia is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. It is, however, arguable that the word «phobia» misused and that in the majority of cases it is only a normal anxiety. Although nomophobia does not appear in the current DSM-V, it has been proposed as a «specific phobia», based on definitions given in the DSM-IV. According to Bianchi and Philips (2005) psychological factors are involved in the overuse of a mobile phone. These could include low self-esteem, when individuals looking for reassurance use the mobile phone in inappropriate ways, and extroverted personality, when naturally social individuals use the mobile phone to excess. It is also highly possible that nomophobic symptoms may be caused by other underlying and preexisting mental disorders, with likely candidates including social phobia or social anxiety disorder, social anxiety, and panic disorder.
The term, an abbreviation for «no-mobile-phone phobia», was coined during a 2010 study by the UK Post Office who commissioned a UK-based research organization to look at anxieties suffered by mobile phone users. The study found that nearly 53% of mobile phone users in Britain tend to be anxious when they «lose their mobile phone, run out of battery or credit, or have no network coverage». The study found that about 58% of men and 47% of women suffer from the phobia, and an additional 9% feel stressed when their mobile phones are off. The study sampled 2, 163 people. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed cited keeping in touch with friends or family as the main reason that they got anxious when they could not use their mobile phones. The study compared stress levels induced by the average case of nomophobia to be on-par with those of «wedding day jitters» and trips to the dentist. Another study found that out of 547 male, undergraduate students in Health Services 23% of the students were classified as nomophobic while an additional 64% were at risk of developing nomophobia. Of these students, 77% checked their mobile phones 35 or more times a day.
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CONCLUSION
I chose the theme “Computer and Mobile Dependence”, as, to my opinion, it is very actual nowadays.
There is no doubt that computers and mobile phones have forever changed the way we live. Millions of people use it every day, whether they study, work or travel around the world. From the one hand, we discover lots of benefits of these devices, from the other hand they, unconditionally, have their drawbacks.
Having analyzed all written above, I came to the conclusion that the advantages of the Internet and the use of mobile phones greatly overweigh the drawbacks. As far as I am concerned, I can’t imagine my life without these modern devices. They help me to get in touch with my friends who live far away, to be abreast of the news in the world, to book tickets online, to purchase different goods at e-shops and to find all useful information like rare books, encyclopedias or dictionaries. I don’t have to sit for hours in the libraries and rewrite all necessary information. Besides, the Internet helps people to improve the language skills. They have a brilliant opportunity to practice English every day.
I cleared up that the Internet promotes dating. As it is known, many people find their beloved over the Internet. And finally, the Internet in computers and mobiles helps schoolchildren with their school work. When the pupil needs to write a report, the Internet is the best assistant.
However, grown-ups should install parental control programs which protect their children from viewing offensive pop-ups. Besides, the sources of information should be reliable. In my opinion, they should not have access to the Internet without adult supervision.
It is true, that computers and mobiles may have a negative impact on society. For instance, some people get addicted to the Internet, indeed. It means that they spend too much time in front of the computer and not enough time doing everyday things like cooking, meeting with friends or doing the work about the house. Most of addicted people prefer to sit at home like couch potatoes, playing different virtual games instead of going out or doing sports. They live in the virtual world. In my judgement, addicted people, like some my classmates, should seek professional psychological help.
I think that aims, which I set at the presentation of my research work, are achieved and all the tasks are done in the full volume.
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THE LIST OF USED SOURCES AND LITERATURE
“English for Exams”, Rostov-on-Don, “Fenix”, 2015
“English for Repeating”, Saratov, “Iris-Press”,2014
“Learn and Practice”, Moscow, “Iris-Press”, 2015
Internet Resources
www.hongkiat.com
www.sciencedirect.com, 2012
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov,2014
http://www.wikipedia.org
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APPENDIX

I led the opinion poll among the pupils of our school. I asked 5 questions. Here are the results.
Question 1: What make is your phone?

Question 2: Do you feel constant need in your phone?

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Question 3: Do you need your mobile phone at school? What for?


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Question 4: Do you know about the harmful influence of mobile phones?

Question 5: Have you any dependence from your mobile phone ?
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The opinion poll was led among the students of the 9th,10th and 11th grades. 6 questions were asked.
Question 1: How many times a day do you play computer games?

Question 2: What do you use computer for?

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Question 3: In what period of a day do you use your computer?

Question 4: Can you go without your computer the whole day?

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Question 5: Do you often use your computer for studies?

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Question 6: Can you imagine your life without computer?
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