Report
1
Monitoring My Information Behavior
By: Brandi McWade
Instructions for this report are at
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/409a-g22-report1.htm
Task 1
Section
A
I did not know what I was getting myself into when I
registered for Psychology 409. There
was nothing written up in the course description about the use of a computer or
Internet. Fortunately, I feel confident
in my computer skills to be able to succeed in performing the tasks for this
psychology course. I have grown up with
a computer and can’t remember the first day I began to use one. I basically taught myself all that I know
simply through experience and frequent use.
However, I have never attempted to create my own web page which I think
will be the most difficult tasks to accomplish for me, but on the other hand I
am excited to be able to learn something new.
In this report, I will be stating
what students from past generation felt, thought, did and concluded about
similar tasks that they completed. I
will also use their advice and apply their insights to my own knowledge and
assignments.
I.
Hae Lin Han felt very
frustrated and overwhelmed with the class syllabus and the first task she had
to complete of registering as a lab user and sending an email to the
professor. She felt less motivated the
more she read the syllabus because it seemed so complicated.
II.
She thought the class was
too hard and there was too many things she needed to do in order to pass the
course.
III.
She sorted the tasks into
one due date at a time. She stated that
she thinks she rushes into doing things, with out really knowing what she is
supposed to do.
IV.
Hae Lin Han later concluded
that if she concentrates on only certain sections or portions at a time, she is
able to stay calm and focused.
V.
I felt myself become very
overwhelmed as well when I read the syllabus for my course because I had never
experience a class with what seemed like so much work. I had also not expected to be using the
Internet as much. I also used this
technique and attempted to organize the tasks, reading assignments and
presentations so I knew what to focus on at a particular time instead of all at
once.
I.
Sean felt confused and frustrated with his computer
when he attempted his first task.
However, he had the mentality “if you can do it, so can I!”
II.
He thought computers are like women because “Both
require enormous amounts of patience, both are phased learning processes, which
usually begin with the pressing desire to quit, and just when you think you’ve figured
it all out something new pops up and you’re back where you started.”
III.
He refused to give up and let his peers
succeed.
IV.
Sean concluded that the majority of the student’s
who take this course end up experiencing the same developmental phases of uncertainty
and frustration, clarity and motivation, mastery, and reflection.
V.
I agree with him in regards to computers requiring a
lot of patience and something new always seems to happen right when you think
you figured everything out. After
reading his report, I felt a little more comfortable with the course, knowing
that all the other students are most likely experiencing the same frustrations
that I might.
I. Jacquelyn proved to have a little bit more complications with
her task 1. Her task was to first
register as a lab user, which she completed fine, but then she simply had to
email the instructor, which she some how messed up. She had a lot of resentment towards the assignment and couldn’t
understand what she was doing wrong.
She became ridiculously frustrated with assignment and even threw her
mouse across the room.
II.
She
thought there could be no other explanation for the problem other than the
assignment was just “dumb.” She thought
the tasks were too detailed and overwhelming.
III.
She
went back and read the instructions over and over. Finally Jacquelyn completed the task correctly. She concluded that it was in fact human error
that was the problem the whole time.
IV.
She
learned that she has to slow down and focus when she is reading
directions.
V.
I
could learn a lot from her mistake of misreading directions, and always
remember to re-read them.
I.
She felt intimidated
by getting online because it seemed like such a complicated task. She was frustrated with the long waits at
the computer lab and the slow dial up connections.
II.
At the beginning of her report, she stated that she
has absolutely no experience with computers except word processors and thought
the class was going to be hard and that it wasn’t right for her.
III.
Each week
she spent more and more time on the computer and her attitude about the web
began to change and she thought of it as a positive thing.
IV.
Jill concluded that after much frustration, her
attitude about computers changed and she was able to overcome her fears of the
Internet. She said it turned out to be quite easy that her initial stage of
doubt and negativity was due to ignorance.
V.
I was able to relate to the part when she talked
about creating her own web page. This
is the only part of this class that I am worried about because I have never
attempted to make my own web page before.
I am comfortable with computers, but still don’t know how to do
that.
Task 2
Section B
British Journal of Social Psychology; March 2004, vol. 43 Issue 1, p99, 14p
ABSTRACT:
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 identifiying opportunities and
limitations associated with memory work as a method for studying embodiment.
Basically, the article explores the idea of dualism between
the mind and body. The article analyzes 25 different memories of women
experience of sweating and pain. The article
concludes that there is a relationship between memory and embodiment. This abstract seemed difficult to understand
and I didn’t really get a good idea of what the whole article will be about.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; June 1990, vol.29, Issue 2, p277, 2p
1st PARAGRAPH:
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 m
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.
Overall, the article is about the Sweedish scientist, Emanuel
Swedenborg. Swedenborg was one of the
leading scientists in eighteenth century Europe. The article discusses his various contributions to the world
through his invention, discoveries and teachings. This article did not have an abstract, but the first paragraph provided
enough insight for what the article would be about.
Section
C
I.
At the beginning, Renae felt fearful and frustrated
with internet searches. She felt that
the only thing that kept her motivated was the deadlines for the class so she
would pass the course. She felt that
stressful situations and time constraints kept her from being able to enjoy the
internet or find interest in it.
II.
Renae thought she became more confident and
motivated as she did more internet searches.
She also thought she held high expectations for herself.
III.
She stated that she made herself spend more time on
her searches so they were complete and to the standards of the course.
IV.
She realized that if she needed help, it was her job
to go out and find it, not the professor’s.
She concluded that over time, she became a more experience “searcher”
and was able to surf the internet much easier.
V.
Renae helped me a lot because I realized that I cant
keep asking my professor for help because he just refers me back to the
instructions of what I have already read! I know now, that I can ask other
students for help, or just make my own decision on things that are not clear on
the guidelines.
I.
Carol felt very overwhelmed since she was taking two
other Psy 400 classes. She felt
pressured by the deadlines and frustrated with her computer account because it
always gave her problems.
II.
She thought that the class had too much work and
that the computers and programs didn’t always cooperate.
III.
She sought out help from her instructor and other
students.
IV.
Carol concluded that she can be patient and always
ask for help from others. Also, she
learned that she has to work hard to get the grade that she wants.
V.
I learned to never fall behind in this class because
the assignments will just pile up. I
have actually considered trying to get ahead of schedule so I don’t feel so
pressured by the deadlines for all of the tasks and other assignments.
I.
At first he was overwhelmed by the topics and all
the different commands that he had to learn. But he believed if the other
students could do it, so could he.
II.
Shane thought that the internet was easier for him
because he was given the benefit of reading other’s experiences. He thought he learned a great deal from being
able to read other student’s failures and successes.
III.
He put extra time in everyday using the computer. He
made himself have a positive attitude about the computer and believed that he
could get an “A” in the class.
IV.
Shane concluded that he learned a lot about what it takes to
be successful with computers. He also
concluded that in order to succeed, you have to get rid of your negative
thoughts and believe that you could get a good grade if you work at it.
V.
I learned
a lot about how negative thought can affect my overall grade. I realized that no matter how frustrated I
get with this course and how much time I spend doing work for this class, I
need to keep a positive attitude so that I will get the grade that I deserve in
the end.
I.
Ginger felt this class was very “draining” and time
consuming.
II.
She thinks that her work benefited by giving herself
enough sleep, ample time to complete her tasks and taking breaks.
III.
She worked with her classmates collectively to solve
problems. She also learned from her classmates mistakes.
IV.
She believes that “together, everyone achieves
more,” and that she got a lot out of this class. She concluded that whenever one in the class works together, they
could succeed at anything.
V.
I learned to ask others for help because chances
are, someone in my class will know how to help me.
Task 3
Section
D
This
Trout Fish Copper is handcrafted in Berkshire County, Massachusetts of hand
hammered copper, and wrapped around a steel rural. It holds up to 18
letters/spaces of personalization. Both sides of it are identical, showing both
the personalization and the design. It comes fully assembled and ready to
install on your post or mount.
http://www.decorative-mailboxes.net/buy-42789.aspx
Section E
I.
Shawna felt “lost in space, cyber space
that it.” She felt it was hard to keep her
mind on doing her reports and got lost in surfing the web.
II.
She thought she was good with computers,
but this class proved her wrong. She
also stated that she thought that
she would never make it “and that the system would eat her alive.”
III.
She was able to overcome her stress and
feeling of lost, to get her work done.
She said it got a lot easier once she forced her self to sit down at the
lab and just type what she needed to get done.
She realized she had to become “best friends” with her computer and spend
any free time trying to get her report done.
IV.
Shawna concluded that she needed a good
fifteen hours a week to set aside to get her work done on time for her
course. She also realized she can’t
keep putting things off until the last minute.
She stated that when she felt overwhelmed, she would take a break and
walk around to clear her mind and focus on what she needed to get done.
V.
I learned that Dr. James’ course requires
a lot more time than it may seem at first.
I can use Shawna’s advice and not procrastinate to get my work done on
time, otherwise I will just end up behind.
I.
Michelle felt that she noticed a difference
in the technology and techniques through each generation. She felt being able to review the other
generation’s work really helped her with her tasks. She also felt that this new technology is causing
the human race to become lazier.
II.
She thought that there are negative and
positive aspects to cyberspace. She
thought that cyberspace takes control of some people’s lives and may replace
social physical contact in the future, which would be horrible. On the other hand, cyberspace provides the
amazing technology for people to gain knowledge, advertisement, health services
and communication.
III.
She tried to focus on all the positive
aspects of cyberspace and stopped analyzing the negative.
IV.
She concluded that we should not replace social physical contact with
the communications occurring on the Internet; it is best to use both ways.
V.
I
definitely agree with Michelle’s idea that people tend to take technology too
far and human interaction is often replaced with it. However, there is no denying the fact that it has provided
unlimited knowledge and services to the public population. I will use her suggestion of focusing on the
positive to be able to get through the course without questioning its value.
I.
Ryan felt that learning the Internet can
be broken down into three phases: confusion, resistance, and the spiderman
phase. He felt that learning the
Internet can be quit difficult in the beginning but eventually becomes easy.
II.
He thought that it is a lot easier to
learn the Internet in a class or “cybercommunity” because you can figure things
out together.
III.
Ryan used the previous generations to
guide him and give him ideas of how to get things done fast and
efficiently. He also always asked
questions if he didn’t understand something.
IV.
He concluded that it was good to know
that other students were going through the same problems that he was and that
he probably would have given up if he were doing it alone. He also stated that since technology moves
so fast, we may not be able to apply his techniques or ideas to our time
because there may be an easier way of doing things now.
V.
I can understand Ryan’s idea of quickly
developing technology applying to my generation because I think my generation
has much more experience with computers and don’t have nearly as many
complications as past generations.
I.
Heather felt frustrated when she did
searches on the Internet and couldn’t access sites that had really good
descriptions because the site was no longer available. She also experience stress and anxiety due
to procrastination and fear of the unknown.
II.
She thought that the Internet can often
become overwhelming. She also thinks
that we all experience these emotions while dealing with new material and that
we need to be in control of our emotions.
III.
She practiced searches on the Internet to
get more efficient at identifying valid information and filtering through all
the unnecessary data on the Internet.
She also took an ICS class that helped her learn how to use search
engines properly.
IV.
Heather concluded that going through
these emotional phases is all part of becoming information literate. She stated that the most important part is
not to quit and with practice, the overwhelming feeling will disappear. She also concluded that being able to
understand these steps will help you get through the steps.
V.
Heather gave me much insight into
understanding the stages of emotions that I am going through in this course and
that I am not alone. Her website also
provided many other student’s ideas of stages that I may encounter as well. I have experienced the same anxiety and stress
that Heather described due to time limit.
She has helped me become more aware of my emotions.
Task
4
Section
F
I.
Michelle felt that learning the Internet
was one of the most difficult things she’s ever had to do. She had never been taught how to use it
before and was very unmotivated to learn it in the class. But she felt a great sense of accomplishment
when she succeeded at her task and could look back on her work on the web.
II.
She thought the worst part of the course
was due to how much she procrastinated.
Michelle also thought that Dr. James did a good job with familiarizing
the students with the Internet.
III.
She suffered the consequences of
procrastinating and got a lot of help from other students in the class.
IV.
Michelle concluded that the struggling, frustration,
and perseverance, really paid off because she ended up excelling in the class.
V.
I can relate to Michelle’s sense of
accomplishment and realize that at the end of the class I will actually feel
good about my hard work and perseverance.
I.
Christine felt frustrated when her links
and icons weren’t working on her web page.
She also felt stressed over the pressure of time. Christine experienced irritation when
waiting for her web page to load.
II.
She thought she was privileged
to have the opportunity to learn the Internet in a cyber-community.
III.
Christine took out a lot of her fancy
stuff on her web page so she didn’t have to wait for it to load. She also realized that it was beneficial to
learn in a group because of the vast amount of information on the web that others
can look up and help you with.
IV.
She concluded that she is very
impatient when it comes to waiting for pages to load up.
V.
I can learn from Christine’s frustrations over the
time of web pages loading. I will
remember to keep my graphics basic so that it will not take long to load.
I.
Ginger felt that her work and advice
would be useless in the future because technology is changing so quickly. She felt the class was very detailed
oriented and time consuming.
II.
She thought that the Internet was very
frustrating because she knew her tasks could be done hypothetically, but could
never get them to work initially. She
thought it was good that she was in a cyber-community because it gave her the
sense that she was not alone.
III.
She teamed up with another student and
split the work so they saved time. They
collaborated and exchanged information so she had more time to work on the
details.
IV.
Ginger concluded that altruism will help
you in a group situation and that sticking out any problem will result in sense
of pride and euphoria.
V.
Ginger provided me with insights into the
frustration of the Internet. I realized
I could team up with others in my class to relieve some of pressure of all the
work and be able to ask them for help.
I.
Carol felt scared when she found out the
class was going to involve using the Internet.
She felt the computer was challenging and frustrating.
II.
She thought the computer was hypnotizing,
and a waste of time. She got lost in
the cyber world. She thought there was
too many steps to creating web pages and too many details to the reports.
III.
Carol spent all her time in the computer
lab trying to learn the Internet. She
eventually learned because she refused to give up hope. She learned to overcome her resistance
to achieve a new experience.
IV.
She concluded that she still considers
herself computer illiterate because technology is always changing and she can’t
keep up. She is proud to say she was able to overcome her fear of the Internet
and realizes that the Internet can be a very useful tool.
V.
I learned from Carol that the computer is
very time consuming and can suck you in.
You loose track of time and feel very drained after spending hours
working in front of a screen.
Task 5
Section G
I.
She felt she has made a lot of progress
since her first report, however she still managed to make many errors on her
second report. Her main problem this
time was consistently not being able to log into her WebCT account. She became so frustrated and stressed out
that she reported slamming her mouse on the desk numerous times and swore at
the computer. She felt like she had
lost control of herself.
II.
She thought all the errors were
ridiculous and entirely her own fault because she could never remember her password
or user name. But, she thinks she would
not have gotten so angry if she wasn’t on such a strict time schedule for the
class.
III.
Finally, after many attempts, she decided
to seek help from the computer and WebCT sent her a new password in an email so
she was able to log in.
IV.
She concluded that after a short loss of
control, that the problem was due to her own mistake. She realized she can’t blame the computer or WebCT. She also realized that if she continued to
waste her time and energy being stressed out and angry, that she would never be
able to finish the assignments on time.
V.
I could learn a lot from Hae Lin
Han. She made me aware that getting
frustrated and angry will not solve the problem. She also made me realize that sometimes we make human errors and
that the best thing to do is allow someone to help us.
I.
Jacquelyn experienced the same problem of
not remembering her WebCT password and therefore felt frustration and an
unnecessary loss of time. She became so
angry that she threw her mouse across the room and decided to give up on
attempting to do the assignment.
II.
She thought that she would have been able
to complete the task with no problem since she had been introduced to WebCT
before. She thought that it was the
computer’s fault that she wasn’t able to log in and that the assignment was
“dumb!”
III.
Jacquelyn calmed herself down and started
going through her notebook to look for her login information. When she found it, she realized it was her
own fault and it was immature to react the way she did.
IV.
She concluded that she needs to change
her reaction behaviors in order to be more productive and efficient in the
world. She also stated that her frustration and anxiousness took over and she
was not able to take control.
V.
I learned that remaining clam is the best
way to solve a problem. You are able to
think more clearly and logically if you don’t let your emotions take over. This behavior is important in any situation,
not just when completing a school assignment!
I.
Carol felt that she improved greatly from
all of her mistakes that she made on her first report. However, she still felt frustrated and
irritated when things didn’t work for her.
II. She thought her expectations for her homepage were overwhelming. She had so many new creative ideas of what she wanted her website to look like, but didn’t really know how to do it. She thought all the other students had better homepages than her.
III. She accepted the fact that she still needs practice with the Internet and that someday she will be able to create the extravagant website she wants.
IV. She concluded that she needs to find out what she really wants to get out of what she is learning and what she wants to find in the cyber world.
V.
Carol gave good advice that I could use,
such as not procrastinating and to always start your assignments early. She also made me think that I will probably
want to take another course next semester with Dr. James because although his
work takes a lot out of you, you still feel a great sense of accomplishment
when it is completed.
I.
Kai stated that he felt fear, frustration, an information
overload, and possible addiction to the Internet. He was afraid that this might cause him to develop a phobia of
the Internet.
II.
He finally came to terms with his
emotions and realized that he gets too worked up about little things which
keeps him from completing his work.
III.
Kai decided to limit his web surfing so
that he would be able to stay focused and finish his assignments.
IV.
He concluded that his mistakes were a way
of learning the Internet. He also
stated that the tasks allowed him to learn how to read directions and correct
his own errors without the help of someone else. He felt his assignments allowed him to grow.
V.
Kai has made me realize that I need to
look past the errors and frustration that I have encountered to see that it is
a positive learning experience. These
tasks are only made to help us learn and grow.
Section H
Report
1 was a serious of tasks that ultimately lead me to become more technologically
and Internet competent. Before this
report, I believed that I was more than capable of accomplishing any computer
task, however I know now that everyone can learn something new. The tasks were created to teach students how
to become acquainted with the Internet and be able to navigate and search the
World Wide Web successfully. Although I
breezed through most of tasks, I did experience a lot of frustration when I was
instructed to create my own web page. I
am very proud of my work, and get a great sense of triumph when I scroll
through the many pages that I have written and personalized for this
course. I am excited that I can walk
away from this class knowing that I have attained a new skill and have become
much more acquainted with the Internet.
I will definitely use my knowledge and continue to update my web page or
even create new ones.
Section I
I
have learned a lot while completing Report 1 and I would like to pass my
knowledge onto future generations because I know the past generation helped
me. My first and most important tip
would be to manage your time! Never put
off or forget to do an assignment! This
course may not be difficult, but it is very time consuming. You don’t want to fall behind because you
will never be able to recover from the stress.
Another piece of advice is to always read the directions very
carefully! They are written to cover
any problem you will most likely encounter along your way and are very
specific. Also, you should ask other
students for help or reference other generation’s work. Other students were able to provide me with
insights and made me aware that I am not alone.