Report 1:
Monitoring My Information Behavior
By: Kyle Santos
Instructions for this report are at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/409a-g22-report1.htm
Section A
With this Report, I begin my journey through the world of driving psychology with Dr. Leon James. I figured this class would be interesting being that I grew up here in Hawaii and I think this state has a very broad spectrum of driver personalities. This is a small class and I feel discussion will be an important variable in our semester experience, which is an aspect I am really looking forward to.
My first task was to read all instructions for Task 1 and next register as a lab user with the College of Social SciencesÕ computer department. This task was rather simple and straight-forward and within a couple of minutes I received my confirmation email and account info. I next had to review and report on the experiences of prior generations whom undertook similar tasks.
1. Hae Lin Han
(i) Hae Lin starts out by informing the reader of her perceived novice status at computers. She felt overwhelmed by the breadth of the syllabus and she, in a usual pattern, skimmed over the instructions given on both the syllabus and task 1.
(ii) As I said, when she undertook the task, she was aware of the fact that she thought she was a novice at computers. This brought on feelings of anxiety when undertaking tasks she was unfamiliar with (lab user registration, for instance). However, her anxiety lead her to be a bit more cautious when performing the task and that to her was a blessing in disguise.
(iii) She, all-in-all, failed at subtask 1, but learned from it. As I said, she skimmed over the instructions and later understood the importance of discontinuing that habit. Next, she did the second part of task 1 which was to register as a lab user. Evidently, that went pretty smoothly and she even redid the registration Đdue to her anxiety- to confirm that everything went well. Finally, she sent the email Dr. James informing him of her email address. She incorrectly interpreted the instructions for this task and sent Dr. JamesÕ email address as the subject, as opposed to the text Ōmy email addressĶ. I found this oversight to be amusing, as did she. She figured out her mistake and corrected the problem.
(iv) She concluded that she made a few errors, but they allowed her to understand a few important facts about her habits and tendencies. I gathered from her conclusion that the mistakes she made only gave her greater insight to her own processes and that will give her the confidence to succeed at upcoming tasks.
(v) She definitely made a few familiar mistakes. I have a tendency to skim through instructions and readings quite frequently. I need to be a bit more analytical with my own thought processes and hopefully I wonÕt make the same mistakes twice.
2. Jill Umetsu
(i) Jill was very intimidated by computers. She obviously had not before done much outside of email and word processing. This is not terribly uncommon, especially in 1996.
(ii) She felt very intimidated at first. She was overwhelmed by the speed of the class and her lack of understanding of computers. She even felt like dropping the course because she felt she couldnÕt keep up.
(iii) She did her tasks as instructed and soon she had faith in the fact that if she followed instructions step-by-step, she would succeed. She had some problems when it came to the home page setup, but she persevered through hard work and patience.
(iv) She concluded that the learning of the internet is a complicated process. She evidently understood it wasnÕt going to be easy, but I donÕt think she anticipated the complications she had. At the end of the day, she appears to have much more confidence with the system of learning computers in general and I think she will have an easier time learning and succeeding at even complicated computer-based tasks.
(v) Although she didnÕt say it verbatim, she made a good point about being patient and not letting yourself get overwhelmed by what appears to be a complicated task. Any task can be made much simpler if you break it down and do it step by step, which is something I have a hard time doing once in a while.
(i) Jacquelyn was a bit irritated with the detail-oriented nature of the class. She didnÕt like having to keep notes on herself and she felt self-accounting was more of a hindrance.
(ii) She thought that the assignment was rather straight-forward and simple. She also thought the instructions were a tedious read. Because of this, she quickly glanced over the instructions and hastily completed the assignment.
(iii) She accomplished part one of the task rather quickly as she had done a similar thing for another class. She then dropped a quick email to Dr. James, which when returned to her stating it was incorrectly done, caused her much distress. She returned after some quiet-time and re-read the instructions. She completed her assignment this second time.
(iv) She concluded that she definitely needed to slow down and read instructions more carefully as to avoid making ŌsimpleĶ mistakes.
(v) I am also guilty of reading too quickly and not taking my time. This seems to be a common problem, so I will take it seriously.
(i) He felt very proud of the goals he accomplished and the skills he acquired while taking Psy 459. He felt more comfortable and successful with many areas of the computer.
(ii) He thought that a positive frame of mind is essential to success in whatever you do. Being happy and positive makes you more productive, whereas being negative will lead you to negative actions that are non-beneficial.
(iii) He read what others before him had done, noting their mistakes and learning from them. Coupling that with a good sense of self-evaluation and positive thinking, he was able to feel good about his progress and success.
(iv) He concluded that if youÕre patient, put in the time necessary, and keep a positive frame of mind, you can be successful. Getting through difficult things can be very rewarding.
(v) I have stated I am pretty impatient, but I also do occasionally fall victim to the negative thought pattern issue. It is definitely true that if I donÕt think I can do something, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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 identifying opportunities and limitations associated with memory work as a method for studying embodiment.
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=12787719
Summary: The article states the Cartesian dualism is a definite framework for how women account for their experiences. However, the author feels that while the mind-body split may very well be a constant organizing structure, it is not necessarily efficient in capturing the essence of experience. In other words, we separate our experiences into mind and body, when to be truthful to our experiences we would need to understand they exist (mind and body) both separately and singularly.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; June 1990, vol.29, Issue 2, p277, 2p
Paragraph 1:
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.
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rlh&an=9604085487
Summary: This article is about Swedish scientist Emanuel Swedenborg. It goes into detail about the life and love of Swedenborg. He undoubtedly left quite the impact on the scientific world and the article discusses many of his various contributions to science.
Section C
(i) She feels that her work is a bit unsophisticated, yet understands that the technology and understanding of the internet is (was) still new and not universal understood. She was also frustrated because there are some failures which are necessary for the greater good of your understanding.
(ii) First off, she thinks Martha Stewart can walk on water and that blinking text is not a good idea. IÕd have to agree on the later point. She also thought the idea of pioneering a rather unknown concept like personal web pages is something to be proud of and while her site may lack superior design qualities, the fact that she did it when not many other were means something to the future. She also thought the collectivist approach could be very helpful because two heads can sometimes be better than 1.
(iii) She basically visited a bunch of student websites and analyzed them. Her critiques are what make up the majority of her website.
(iv) She concluded that failures are what we learn faster from. Also, teamwork and collaboration can aid you in the breadth and depth of your understanding.
(v) I would have to agree with her conclusions. I definitely appreciate the good lesson only utter failure can teach you. Teamwork and the sharing of ideas is what most advancements in our world is built on; it certainly has itÕs place in my life.
2. Ryan Mitsui
(i) I guess Ryan went through phases of confusion (over the complicated and not obvious task of working the internet), resistance (where he wanted to give up on the internet all together), and confidence (where he succeeded and gained more confidence to expand his knowledge even further).
(ii) To get through those stages, he thought it was important to continually strive to persevere. He understood that they were all passing phases of frustration and he could logically work his way through them.
(iii) He apparently got a lot of help and asked a bunch of questions to better understand what he felt his weaknesses were.
(iv) Success is built on perseverance. In his mind, you canÕt ever give up and the best way to understand something is to get help from others. He also said that it is best not to wait until the last minute to do something because getting past the feelings of frustration would be even harder with extra pressure.
(v) I am a procrastinator, for sure. I need to be more organized in my thought process about work and motivate myself to be more timely with my tasks.
(i) Christine had feelings of stress, anxiousness, depression and joy. Learning this new technology was unnerving to her, but she got better and came to feel lucky to have a better understanding of internet and its capabilities.
(ii) She thought the expanse of the world wide web was a great reward for learning the ins and outs of computing. She had feelings of frustration waiting for web pages to load and that lead her to analyzing her own material.
(iii) She analyzed her own feeling while learning the internet and realized all the anxiety that she was feeling. She noted that she was definitely not alone in these feelings and that others had useful tips to share and learn from.
(iv) She concluded that the internet has so much potential for learning and fun that it is definitely worth investing some time in. But being a part of a community learning together made the experience just a bit easier. She also stated not to wait until the last minute to do everything.
(v) Much of the same as in previous cases. Shared knowledge is important and so is not procrastinating.
(i) She felt that learning the internet was actually the most difficult thing she had ever done. She later felt extremely happy when she finally got the concept of the internet later on in his class.
(ii) She thought that taking the class was going to be easy because she had learned in a previous class. However, she had not practiced her skills since that class and found out soon enough that you need to practice to maintain your understanding. Motivation is an important tool in getting you through those tough times.
(iii) She got together some info from other people and relearned what she may have forgotten. She remained patient and got through it.
(iv) She concluded that despite the process of learning the internet being so difficult, it was a very rewarding experience. She also emphasized the importance of not procrastinating and being patient.
(v) I feel that the most rewarding things we can have in our lives are often times the most difficult to deal with at first. Great challenges reward greatly.
Section D
http://store.houseandgardenaccents.com/yhst-3947296315461/sr-cop-pheas.html
Pheasant
Copper-Wrapped Mailbox
This is truly a handcrafted work of art. Each copper wrapped
mailbox is designed and created by an artisan who carefully produces each piece
by hand. The beautiful designs are permanently embossed into the copper.
Dimension: 8" (W) x 22" (L) X 10.5" (H)
Construction: The mailbox is galvanized steel with an embossed copper sheathing wrapped around it.
Finish: Left untreated, the copper will change to an antique finish or green Verde patina over time. The door, flag and bottom of the mailbox are finished in a dark green enamel.
Section E
(i) Michelle felt quite surprised and amazed at the rapid progress each generation had made. She also though it was ŌneatĶ to be a part of a cyber-community.
(ii) She had apparently been a part of a previous generation and used her prior knowledge to deal with issues she now faced.
(iii) She took what she learned from this generation and applied it to things she did in her previous generation and found things she could improve on. She did observe other websites and learned from them as well.
(iv) She concluded that there is much to learn from cyberspace and that it is a great addition to the things we already have in our lives.
(v) Far less emphasis is being placed on the tangible world these days. I have learned only recently the joys of sitting around and enjoying a good book. This is a tumultuous time for education.
(i) Kai was very worried about a great deal of things. Some sources of anxiety for Kai were too much info, dependency, and incompetence.
(ii) Kai realized that frustration and fear will only keep you from attaining your goals.
(iii) He put his goals ahead of his fears and attacked each problem logically by remaining task oriented. He also kept his frustration level under control.
(iv) He felt that, again, procrastination is the downfall of many students.
(v) Again, I agree, and I procrastinateÉ I must fix that.
(i) She felt frustrated and alone in her frustrations. She also had a lot of stress. Finally, relief when she could just type in info.
(ii) She thought she was computer savvy, but found she got very confused and frustrated. But she learned and finally thought that all her learning prepared her for what tasks she had to endure.
(iii) She learned the difficult tasks and used this knowledge to smoothly sail through the rest of the tasks.
(iv) She concluded that persistence is the key to success.
(v) I couldnÕt agree more; you canÕt succeed if you give up.
4. Hae Lin Han
(i) She had feelings of interest and confidence. She also felt irritation with WebCT.
(ii) She could more easily learn if she was interested in the topic at hand.
(iii) She dealt with her WebCT problem (password issue) logically with the aid of her self-evaluating skills and solved the problem easily.
(iv) Frustration can lead to human error very often and if you take a step back and analyze the situation, you stand a better chance of succeeding.
(v) This is very true and is something I try to keep in mind when I get frustrated.
Section F
(i) She felt frustrated with the work she was doing and even angry.
(ii) She thought she was getting a bit out of control with her emotions and knew that was not going to get the work done any quicker.
(iii) She analyzed the situation and herself and took a cool, collected approach to her work.
(iv) Patience is a virtue, and she learned that you can accomplish so much more, in a much more efficient way, if you are patient.
(v) I can completely relate to the way she felt and understand how frustration and impatience can only make things worse.
2. Ranae Mendez
(i) Renae felt some anxiety and about her inexperience with the internet. Her lack of experience led to frustration and stress.
(ii) As Renae did more searches, she grew more confident and she was now meeting the goals sheÔd set for herself.
(iii) She analyzed the prior generationÕs reports and learned from them. She also made sure she put the most effort into her assignments as she could.
(iv) She concluded that she had to motivate herself to learn better and perform better. She needed to ask questions when confused and work harder when she didnÕt enjoy what she was doing.
(v) I have real motivation problems from time to time, and they also get in the way of my progress as a person.
3. Carol Ohta
(i) Carol felt overwhelmed with the workload and intimidated by the assignments.
(ii) She blamed her problems on the workload and did not put a lot of time on her own to learn what the assignments were trying to teach her.
(iii) To fix this, she spoke with the instructor and other students, learning what she was doing wrong.
(iv) She concluded that to understand what you donÕt know, you need to be patient and not be afraid to ask for help.
(v) Asking for help is often difficult for me, but when I do, I always understand things just a bit differently than I think I would otherwise.
4. Carol Ohta
(i) Carol felt very intimidated and lost initially. The idea of the internet apparently intimidated her.
(ii) She thought she was not really learning anything real, just what others had done and otherwise just surfing the net.
(iii) She tried to learn by working at learning. She spent more time in the lab and asked for help from the Professor.
(iv) She concluded that the internet is a useful tool and well worth the effort of overcoming her fear and learning a seemingly complicated task.
(v) I often have feelings of giving up on things I am confused or tired of. But in the end, that leads to just a bunch of wasted time.
Section
G
1. Carol Ohta
(i) Carol was intrigued by the progress each generation made. She got frustrated when things did not work out as she wanted them too.
(ii) She thought it was interesting how each generation improved upon the previous one. She also thought it was unfair that the summer session only did 2 reports. More importantly, she said that her understanding her use of the internet revolves around her understanding of what she wants to get out of it.
(iii) She basically reviewed a bunch of student websites and critiqued them.
(iv) She concluded that the acquisition of knowledge from the internet is a good thing in her life.
(v) I think itÕs a great idea for web designers, professional or not, to look at what they consider a well-designed website and learn from it.
(i) She appears to be confident in what she learned. She at times felt overwhelmed and stressed out, but she obviously appears to have dealt rather well with it.
(ii) She thinks time management is important for not being stressed. Allowing yourself ample time to do the assignment makes life easier.
(iii) She analyzed othersÕ writings and gave some feedback and advice.
(iv) She concludes by saying that you should be time-smart, hard working, not afraid of asking others for help, and work on what you donÕt know.
(v) SheÕs all right!
(i) She was fearful and frustrated with the internet searches.
(ii) She thought the internet was too expansive and made it easy to get frustrated.
(iii) She attacked her weakness by practicing more. She even took an ICS class to better her understanding. ThatÕs commitment.
(iv) She concluded that you canÕt get any better at something by quitting. Practice makes everything just a bit easier and adds a bit of confidence to your attitude.
(v) Practice makes things all that much easier.
4. Sean Arakaki
(i) Sean was frustrated and stressed by his failed attempts. He felt that he was competing with his classmates.
(ii) The class competition motivated him to work harder.
(iii) He adopted the attitude that he had no excuse to fail if others could succeed.
(iv) He concluded that you need to find motivations for yourself so you can persevere through the pains of learning.
(v) I have become a recent believer in the Ōif you can do it, so can IĶ mentality. It is very true.
Section H
Report 1 is really about self-reflection. I have spent a lot of time understanding the difference between what I think, feel, and do. It is true that a lot of students go through similar ordeals when learning. I, for instance, didnÕt think I was learning anything while doing this report. I guess the learning was far more passive for me. It was not until I neared the end of writing this that I realized I was making many of the mistakes the other students were talking about. I even procrastinated finalizing this report, even with the voice of the students ringing so loudly in my ear. I now know that I need to understand myself a bit more than I do. The only way for me to achieve that is to spend some time analyzing why I do what I do.
Section I
Some advice, huh? Well, please, do not wait until the last minute to write your reports. If you do a week to week schedule, like instructed, you will save yourself a lot of problems. Also, read thoroughly all you are supposed to. The instructions sometimes change a little and the other generation reports will teach you a lot about what you do and do not do. Be open to a little self-criticism.