Report 1:
Monitoring My Information Behavior

Julia Geraghty

Instructions for this report are at:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/409a-g22-report1.htm

Tasks 1-5 : Creating Report 1

Section A

Introduction:

My name is Julia Geraghty and I am a great baker because I do not follow directions well. This may sound rather odd and somewhat contradicting to you. Yes, baking is like a science and you need the right equations for your cake, pie, etc… for it to come out correctly. Possibly I have just been lucky, however I think that swaying from the exact instructions allows to you add a touch of yourself in everything you do. On the other hand, if I continually think like that I will receive a poor grade in this class and never learn how to really follow directions “properly.”

In the rest of report one I am going to discuss how four prior generation students felt, thought did, and what they concluded after performing similar “step by step” tasks. I will also use their experiences and apply their insights to my own feelings about report 1.

(i) During her first attempt at Report 1 (My Coping With New Information Behaviors), Hae Lin Han felt that she did not have any need to read over all of the instructions, and she quickly proceeded to Task 1.

(ii) Soon after she realized that she had made a mistake, she became overwhelmed and thought that she was going to have lots of pressure passing this class. She then felt that she needed to slow down and categorize this class into due dates. Next she became disappointed with her self then took a step back, and realized that she had been rushing in to assignments.

(iii) She then let her sensorimotor self take over and she did just think that she should do the tasks more carefully, but she attempted to modify the habit

(iv) I am surprised to realize that I am not the only one to feel like Hae Lin Han did. I felt very overwhelmed when I first read the instructions of Task 1. I asked myself, “What is a ‘task’ or a ‘report’ anyway? And how am I supposed to know what these terms mean? It’s only the second day of class!” Now that I realize that I let myself blame before I attempted, I feel foolish and ready to step up to the task.

(i) Carol N. Ohta explained in her report titled Developmental Patterns for Learning the Intranet feels that even with the marvels of the World Wide Web one can feel frustration, confusion, doubt, and anxiety. She also feels that the frustration may cause stress within your own satisfactions of the outcome of the site, or task you are preparing. Therefore, you will continue to work until you feel that it is perfect, only to realize that you have not even yet completed the task at hand.

(ii) She thinks that the best conclusion to these problems is by using the time you are given and doing the best job you can with that allotted time. In other words, one she try to finish the original task before attempting to prefect an unfinished job.

(iii) She proceeded to accomplish her tasks on time and she learned to cope. She coped by facing her problems and finding solutions over the process of this course.

(iv) I feel that Carol was dead on when she said that “coping” is the number one thing you need in this class. Granted, I have not finished all of the tasks or reports, but I feel that by coping with your stress, facing your problems head on, and dealing with your frustrations in a sensible is the key to achieving success in this class as well as in life.

(i) Similar to the others, in Sean Arakaki’s research report Developmental Learning Theory of the Internet, he felt confused, overwhelmed, and some what angered by they seemingly easy task that was given to him.

(ii) However, rather than letting his frustrations take over him, and immediately thinking that he was going to do a poor job, Sean used these tasks as a challenge. Mentioned that he had the mentality that “if someone else can do it, so can he.” It seems to me that Sean wanted to prove to everyone, as well as himself, that these tasks were going to be easier than everyone one else thought.

(iii) In spite of his initial feelings, he let his thoughts prevail and he worked through his difficulties and came to the conclusion that through his successes in this class that within his cognitive domain is his expanding knowledge of computer and task following skills. Also, within the sensorimotor domain is his application of these skills within a college and work environment.

(iv) Sean’s observations allowed me to open my eyes at look at the entire task at hand. I have to focus on the current task (like Carol explained), however to reduce my frustrations I have to keep in mind that there will be an end. Not just an end to the project, but also an end that will lead me to a new beginning of understanding my mental processes and what affects them.

(i) At the top of Shawna Honeycutt’s page Developmental Patterns for Learning the Internet; there is a large icon that says, “Lost in Space!” That, like myself, is a wonderful way to sum up what she was feeling. She said she thought she was computer savvy, until she attempted the “simple” undertaking of Task 1. She mentioned that she felt alone; because she thought she was the only one have trouble understanding the assignment.

(ii) After the shock wore off, she began thinking about how to go about these “Tasks”, however because she was still overwhelmed she began do search, and search, and search for icons to put up on her website. It made her feel like she was accomplishing something, however in reality it was just a form of procrastination that later set her back.

(iii) Once she realized that her mind, and her mouse, kept wondering off, she took time to step back, take a deep breath, and continue. This form of stress relief allowed her to stay on task, and before she knew it she was typing away and finishing Tasks faster, and better than ever.

(iv) I think that taking small increments of time out of a task is very important in keeping your head clear. I did Task 1in two days because in the middle I began to find myself going to the kitchen to get food (although I wasn’t hungry), talking with my roommate about pointless topics, and any other useless chore that would get my mind off the real task at hand. So I saved my work, went to bed, and now I feel refreshed and glad that I waited to finish the rest of it today. I am going to have to keep Shawna’s advice in mind when completing future tasks because I can defiantly see myself becoming way to involved in the simple duties like icon hunting!

Section B

(1a) Abstract of article “Women's collective constructions of embodied practices through memory work: Cartesian dualism in memories of sweating and pain.”

The research presented in this paper uses memory work as a method to explore six women's collective constructions of two embodied practices, sweating and pain. The paper identifies limitations in the ways in which social constructionist research has theorized the relationship between discourse and materiality, and it proposes an approach to the study of embodiment, which enjoins, rather than bridges, the discursive and the non-discursive. The paper presents an analysis of 25 memories of sweating and pain, which suggests that Cartesian dualism is central to the women's accounts of their experiences. However, such dualism does not operate as a stable organizing principle. Rather, it offers two strategies for the performance of a split between mind and body. The paper traces the ways in which dualism can be both functional and restrictive, and explores the tensions between these two forms. The paper concludes by identifying opportunities and limitations associated with memory work as a method for studying embodiment. Click here to retrieve this article.

(1b) Summary of article: This article’s goal is to further look into six structures of a woman’s psyche using sweating and pain. It goes on to describe the limitations that social reconstruction theory limits the relationship between spoken words and actual physical beings. It offers the idea that there is not a bridge between reason and intuition. It is a split between the physical body and the mind. A woman’s accounts of the sweating and pain are shown in the article to be conditions of dualism, or as two as two fundamental entities.

(1c) Opinion: I guess I never thought of the discursive and the non-discursive as being two completely different entities. I guess I always assumed that there had to be a link, or a bridge between one’s mind and body. I can see where tensions many arise when discussing the functionality and restriciveness of dualism, but I am glad that it also focuses on not only the limitations of memory work, but also the opportunities and advancements.

(2a) First paragraph of article “Swedenborg and His Influence”

The year 1988 marked the tricentennial of the birth of the Swedish scientist, theologian, and revelator Emanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg and His Influence consists of 25 papers originally presented at a symposium held by the Academy of the New Church, which is founded on Swedenborg's teachings. The subject matter of these papers is as varied in content as were Swedenborg's activities in life. He had a long career as a scientist and inventor who made important contributions in the mining and metallurgical industries, devised a method for navigation based on the position of the moon, made contributions to the theory that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny in biology, founded and edited the first scientific journal in Sweden, and was undoubtedly among leading scientists in eighteenth century Europe. Click here to retrieve this article.

(2b) Summary: Emanuel Swedenborg was not only a scientist, but he was also a theologian and revelator. He wrote many important papers, 25 in total. Their subject content varies greatly, likely due to his many professions and ideas. He is considered one for the leading scientists in Europe.

(2c) Opinion: I found this article a little difficult to find, because the page numbers were not stated very clearly, however I did manage to find it after a few trails. I had never heard of Emanuel Swedenborg until today, and I am amazed at his accomplishments and contributions to science.

Section C

(i) Hans Jurg bluntly stated that he felt fear, frustration, an information overload, and possible addiction. He felt that because of these feelings he might develop a phobia of the Internet.

(ii) He then realized what he was feeling, and he thought that he seems to get too upset about little mistakes that hinders with the process.

(iii) To combat this problem he restricted himself from web “surfing” so he would not sway his mind from the task at hand, and he began to accept his mistakes as ways of getting to know the Internet.

(iv) He concluded that these tasks helped him grow up, and learn how to follow directions without having to have someone baby him, and rescue him at each little stumble.

(v) I need to use Hans’s observations and realizations to lower my frustration level. I need to realize that Dr. James is helping us by giving us specific directions but not supervising or “babying” us as we complete our work.

(i) Michelle Alonzo did not seem to feel the frustration that many of the other students, including myself did. She said she felt amazed and entranced by the progression of the past generation’s web pages.

(ii) She thinks that there are some negative aspects to cyberspace, but there are even more positives.

(iii) She tried to take the positives of cyberspace (i.e. taking a class about Japan from a Japanese teacher when living in Wisconsin) and also look at some of the negatives (anti-social behavior) and find a positive balance.

(iv) She concluded that cyberspace is a growing part of today’s society and we should not be afraid to use it. However, we cannot let ourselves become obsessed. We need to keep social and physical contact intact, but also allow cyberspace to teach us things that were previously impossible.

(v) I see myself sometimes engrossed in cyberspace that I do not even notice the hour hand on the clock ticking by. She makes a very good point, when realizing that with the growing number of people involved in cyberspace, that there is likely going to be an increase in people who become obsessed. I also liked how she was fascinated with the amount of information. If I become frustrated when doing these tasks I need to step back and appreciate that I have this source available to me.

(i) Shane Akagi felt very anxious and rather depressed when he tried to complete his tasks.

(ii) He began to get very angry and cursed his professor for giving him such difficult tasks.

(iii) Then sat back and put the situation into perspective. He also said that a long hot shower helps him relax, and when he returns back to his work he feels more motivated and creative.

(iv) He concluded that depression and anxiety could be lowered if one-steps back, thinks about the situation, and takes a little time away from the task to relax and notice that he/she is having a problem with the task at hand.

(v) I agree with Shane completely. I actually was getting rather frustrated with this work, but I just went into the kitchen, ate some tortilla chips, called a friend, and now that I’m back at my computer my brain feels much more refreshed and clear.

(i) Ryan Mitsui explained that he believes there are three phases to learning the Intranet. First he said that there is the phase of confusion. Where one feels confused and disoriented, like anyone would feel when working at a new skill.

(ii) The second phase involves thought. It is when you are thinking that this is too difficult and you want to just give up and quit. He said that many people think that this phase is similar to frustration, however in reality frustration is the result.

(iii) He goes on to explain that you need to keep pushing on, and not give in during phase two. Finally, phase three, or the Spider Man Phase, occurs when one has finally mastered the skill they have worked so hard to achieve.

(iv) He concluded that if you can get past phase one and phase two, phase three will reward you by allowing you to become familiar and comfortable with the Internet so you will not have to waste your precious bumbling around and causing anxiety within yourself.

(v) I like how Ryan sets up the three phases. It makes me feel like I will someday get to phase three, and that there will be a reward at the end of all of this confusing and frustrating work.

Section D

http://www.dann-online.com/copper_mailboxes_with_style_dann.htm

The stand and the mailbox do not come together however, they are both from the exact same website (found above this paragraph) and easily can be purchased together.

My mother rides dressage and we own horses, so I felt that the picture on the side of the mailbox was appropriate for my family. This web site also provides an engraving of one’s family name and address.

Section E

(i) Jacquelyn Lim felt very overwhelmed by Task 2 and she felt overly angry, and she felt like it was the computer’s fault that things were not working as smoothly as she had first thought.

(ii) She thought that “Why deal with all of this when I’m pissed off?” She then had a full breakdown of her cognitive thinking and affective behaviorism.

(iii) In response to her feelings and her thought, she felt the best way to solve her anger was to throw her mouse across the room.

(iv) She then immediately realized that that was not the best solution, so she left her computer and came with an open mind. She realized that if she were to get angry like this again, then her mouse might brake; yet another set back. So she calmed down, looked at her notes, and long and behold the password that she had previously gotten so angry over, was written on the first page on in red ink.

(v) I think that I can learn a lot from Jacquelyn. I was beginning to become extremely frustrated when I was searching for a mailbox. I wanted to find a site where I could buy a post and a mailbox together. After much searching, I decided to not give up and I changed search engines. Viola! Google rocks!

(i) Renae Mendez made a table that showed how her frustration levels rose and/or lessoned over the time of accomplishing a task. She felt that she had scored rather low, and was pleasantly surprised by these findings.

(ii) She then thought about her scores, and concluded that it was probably because she would only allow herself to work on the task for allotted amounts of time (i.e. stopping after one hour no matter what).

(iii) She realized that this was a positive and helpful way to keep herself on task without going overboard and becoming so angry and flustered that she would quit altogether.

(iv) Overall, she continued to do these tasks following the same work-rest-work-rest process, and she then tired to apply it to other areas of her life.

(v) I think it is great that Renae was able to figure this process out before she became overly angry at the system and although at times, I have already became rather angry, I have taken advice from others and I feel that I might have skipped much of the frustration that I would have otherwise encountered.

(i) Jill Umetsu thought she knew a little about the computer. She knew how to use her email and Netscape to search and browse the web. However, when she first began to attempt to set up a web page she became over whelmed and frightened.

(ii) She then realized that she only knew how to use those programs because they were user friendly and in reality she did not know much about it at all.

(iii) She first wanted to drop the class, thinking it just was not right for her nor was it was she had been expecting. However, instead she stuck it out and now feels very proud of herself for accomplishing something she never thought she could do.

(iv) She gives advice to students to get a modem for your house, which I did. I think that is a good investment. Although it can get pricey, if you share it with roommates, it is extremely handy and helps out with every class, not just Psychology 409.

(v) I like how Jill reminds us to try and try again, and remember by the time you accomplish something you did not think you could do, you will have gained self-confidence and a sense of self worth.

(i) Shane Cobb felt scared, like all the other, but not for long.

(ii) He then thought about this fear and thought “I can do this” and “I’m going to take pleasure learning one thing at a time.” He also saw one of his friends quit, and he did not want to fell like he gave up on himself.

(iii) So he began with little things, like email and web surfing and worked up to larger things like web page creating!

(iv) He really encourages students to stick this class out, not give up, and do the tasks at a steady one-by-one pace.

(v) I admit I never thought of dropping this class, basically because it was past the deadline, however I may have had second thoughts afterward. I’m glad that Shane reassures me that I choose the correct decision.

Section F

(i) Ginger Andrews’s Report 2 was very fun and interesting to read. She used many examples that allowed me to relate to her findings. She explains that she felt that it was frustrating. Ha, go figure. We haven’t heard that word before.

(ii) But she goes on to explain that it is frustrating because you know you can do it hypothetically, yet initially you cannot make everything work. She uses the analogy of a baby learning to walk. There are lots of little failures, but someday you know you will be able to run.

(iii) She decided to work collectively and remember that she is not alone. She is not the only one going through these tough times, and if she keeps her head up she will hopefully be one of the secedes.

(iv) In short, she says remember that there are other having difficulties, if not more, than you are at any given moment. She also says, don’t just realize they are out there; use their mistakes and experiences to help you achieve your goals.

(v) I really enjoyed Ginger’s Report. She made me understand that once these tasks and reports are finally over, I will not only feel better about myself but I will have helped others accomplish their tasks in the future.

(i) M. Heather Piper bluntly states that she felt fear, frustration, anxiety, computer addiction, and irritation. She felt fear of deleting something, fear of the unknown, and fear of doing something wrong. She felt frustrated at her computer, at the screen, at herself, and even at the search engines.

(ii) She thought that this was just a part of surfing the web.

(iii) Instead of just believing what she previously thought she took an ICS class and learned how to use the computer, and more specifically the search engines effectively.

(iv) She explains that when you calm down and learn how to use the search engines efficiently you will know how to filter through the untrue information to get the information that you are seeking. She also says that the more confident you feel about researching on the internet the ore you will want to search on the internet, and this will become a live long skill.

(v) All of the previous Reports that I have read talk about keeping the future in mind. They say that in the future I will feel good that I have accomplished these tasks. However, M. Heather Piper is the only one who mentioned that these skills would stay with me for a long time, if not forever. I think that is the most valuable encourager of all.

(i) Hae Lin Han’s Report 2 discusses the complications of her Weekly Research Report. Although she discusses her progresses, I’m going to discuss her errors so I can learn from them. She explains that her biggest error was logging onto WebCT. She first felt calm, trying to use some of the lessons she’s learned in this class, but then after failed trial after failed trail she became angry.

(ii) During her anger she kept thinking about the upcoming due date which made her feel even more hatred towards WebCT and her computer.

(iii) After a momentary lapse of losing control, her cognitive skills kicked in and she began thinking logically again. She stepped back, took a breath, and asked the computer for help.

(iv) Well, as we could have all guessed, it worked and she received her password easily. She still has not figured out what she was doing wrong, but instead of pondering over it she just assumed it was human error.

(v) I think I can learn a good lesson from Hae Lin. Sometimes stubbornness gets in the way of accomplishing a goal. Sometime you just have to realize that you did something wrong, and let someone (or something) else help you along in the process.

(i) I found Carol N. Ohta’s Report One interesting because she spoke about different frustrations. They were not necessarily frustrations with the computer and the class; they were most based on frustrations with herself. She begins to explain that she would get angry because she didn’t feel that her home page was as creative as many of the other students.

(ii) She said that they continually thought of good ideas, but she could not settle one. Therefore, her homepage was never good enough for her own standards.

(iii) So to combat her feelings of worthlessness (ok that’s a strong word, but you get the idea) she decided to take Dr. James’s other class to prove to herself that she could do this all again and better.

(iv) She says that many people may find her crazy for doing this, however she warns us to just wait until the class is over! She says we will want to expand on our web page go further and do better than we have ever imagined.

(v) I do not really have a say on her ideas quite yet, because I’m obviously still in the class. However, it is going to be interesting for me to see how my feelings change over the course of the semester.

Section H – What I Have Learned…

To be completely honest I am extremely glad that this Report One is over with. If I had to tell one more summary about how someone felt or thought I might burst. Finally, I get a chance to tell how I felt!

I was quite angry at the beginning. I had studied abroad the previous semester and I just moved into a new apartment that was not Internet ready yet. I know, I know… there are computers available on campus, but let’s be real here. How great are those computers? Also after the library flooded, Hamilton is not open 24 hours anymore. I actually dropped one of my classes because the was daily required Internet work, and I did not want to make my grade suffer due to my (as my dad calls it) “Computer Curse.” For some reason I decided to stay in Dr. James class. Maybe it was because we had MLK day on the second day of class, or maybe it was the “computer gods” coming to my rescue.

Anyway, I stayed in the class and VIOLA! I have made my own web page! Granted, my computer did breakdown a couple times, and I am now good buddies with the ITS kids, however I did it all by myself.

I truly thought that I was possibly going to have a panic attack and this class was going to be the one class I dreaded doing work in every week. After week one surprisingly went rather smoothly, and after reading and speaking with students from past generations and students from my current class, I thought, “If they can do it so can I.”

I have learned many things about my study habits and myself in the past seven weeks. Please refer to Section I for the three ways I used to control my temper with the computer.

By the way, remember how I mentioned that I was a great baker at the beginning of this report? I still believe I am, however I never thought how good I could be if I actually followed the directions of a recipe! Maybe after this class I’ll become the next Julia Child.

Section I – My Advice…

To keep my temper under control I used three techniques:

1. Take breaks anytime you feet yourself becoming tense, however if things are going smoothly shut off your phone, Instant messenger, etc… and keep going until you are (a) done, or (b) angry. If (a) occurs first you will obviously be done and hopefully happy with yourself. If (b) occurs first, then go watch TV, talk with a friend, go for a walk, eat a snack, etc… Anything that will not take up too much time, but can calm you down and prepare yourself for the process of completing the task at hand.

2. Remind yourself that you will be done sooner or later, and the sooner you are done the sooner you can do something else. It is kind of like when I was young on Christmas Eve. I would go to bed early; because I knew the sooner I would go to sleep the sooner I would wake up to find presents under the tree.

3. Finally, do not be too hard on yourself. This is not a competition with the other students in the class. Yes, you want to do a good job and receive a good grade, but it is more of an internal quest not a fight for the finish. Do the best you can, and if you feel you can do better then go back at the end and add, edit, paste, or delete. Do not waste your time at the beginning.