Jayson’s report basically poses the question: "Are there really gender differences in driving?" He hoped to answer his question by searching through past generational studies and examining people’s recent experiences. Jayson took ideas and quotes from Generation 7. Some students from Generation 7 said that they believe that there are no gender differences because they feel the studies done on gender differences may have been biased to make women and men look more aggressive than they really are. And then there are other students that feel that women, elderly people, and people of ethnic background cannot drive. And there are still other students who think that women are not perceived as aggressive, but in actuality they are very aggressive. Jayson also wrote that there is a difference between the terms stereotypes, norms, and expectations. Stereotypes are "stigmatic and discriminatory labels that are placed on people". But he does not give a meaning for the terms norm and expectation. After posting opinions from Generation 7, Jayson posts some other peoples opinions from newsgroups and databases and gives his own comments about what those people said about gender differences. Jayson found many different views and feelings on the topic of gender differences in driving.

My Reaction to this Report:

Overall, I feel that this report was okay. I feel that it was just okay because it seemed that all Jayson did was list down people’s feelings about gender differences and then comment on them instead of finding out an answer to the question he asked in the very beginning of the report. In my opinion, the report would have been much better if he had actually done some research on his own to try and find out the answer to his question, rather than just writing down his opinion about other peoples’ feelings. But I did enjoy reading all of the opinions in this report. They were very entertaining.

Comparisons:

I compared Jayson’s report with another students report about Gender Differences in Driving. Craig Kawamura wrote the report I compared Jayson’s with. I found that these reports were very similar. I even saw that both reports had some of the same people’s comments on them. They were both interesting to read because of all the opinions, but I don’t think that either of them did a really good job finding out if there really is a gender difference in driving.

I chose this report because I found that the way people drive on television is very dangerous and if real people tried to imitate what they saw on television, the results could be extremely dangerous. For example, on many television shows drivers speed and drive recklessly without even thinking about the consequences. If all drivers did the same thing, the road would be even more dangerous than it already is. This topic interests me a lot, which is another reason why I chose it.

How I Found this Report:

I also found this report by just browsing through past generations reports. Basically, I found this report by chance. I was searching through Generation 6 (I also like the number 6!); I saw it and just clicked on the link. The topic is one that I would like to know more about.

Kristy’s report was about trying to see what kinds of effects television has on driving behavior. Kristy says that an average person watched television for about six to seven hours a day. And that when they watch this much television, they look for role models in the shows they watch. She says that children are more susceptible to being influenced by television than adults are. And when people watch television, they try to identify with characters they admire by imitating them. Kristy says that television portrays many negative driving behaviors and she has found these negative behaviors in cartoons, commercials, music videos, television series, and movies. So basically in almost everything that is aired on television. Next Kristy writes about specific shows and what kinds of negative driving behaviors they portray. For example, she writes about a cartoon called Tiny Toon Adventures. She gives the date and time of the program and says that in one particular scene the main character, Buster Bunny, buys a bike from a salesman. The bike can drive itself and it can fly and it can also ride down the sides of buildings. She says that this cartoon portrays a bicycle as a toy and that children may actually believe that their own bicycles are able to perform in the same way. She also says that adults may also be influenced because they may also believe that a bicycle is a toy and then they may not give their children the proper attention he/she needs when riding a bike. The rest of the report is similar. She writes about specific cartoons/music videos/series, what kinds of negative behaviors they portray, and why children and adults may be influenced by these shows.

My Reaction to this Report:

I thought that this report was great. It was very easy to follow and extremely interesting to read. I really liked the fact that she listed the date and time of the shows she reviewed. I also liked how she described and worded things. I liked how she used different types of programs instead of just concentrating on one type like just strictly commercials. While reading the report, I thought that she put a lot of time into it.

Comparisons:

I compared Kristy’s report with Brian Carey’s report. I think that Brian’s report was also interesting. I liked the fact that he had lots of pictures and links because in my opinion, that is better than just all text. The content was pretty much the same. They both looked at movies/television that portrayed driving in dangerous ways and they both had many of the same opinions. But I think that Kristy’s was a little easier to read. But overall, I thought that they were both well written.

I chose this report because everyone I know (except for one of my friends, because he doesn’t have a radio in his car) listen to music while they drive. My family and my friends all listen to music while they drive. I asked them why and they said that there’s nothing else better to do and it makes driving in traffic seem more tolerable when you listen to music you like. I think that it is very interesting that so many people like to listen to music when they drive, and I really want to know if music has an effect on the way people drive. Because if it does, I have to get one of my friends to stop listening to rap music when he drives!

How I Found this Report:

Just like the first two reports, I found this report by just searching through past generations reports. I found this report in Generation 11.

Summary of Marilyn’s Report:

In the first part of Marilyn’s report she took past generations comments and opinions about music and driving, posted them and then put in her own comments. One idea is that when drivers listen to music they don’t realize just how fast they are going because they are caught up in the music. Marilyn wrote that she thinks it depends on the individual and how they react to the music they listen to. She said that some drivers may drive more aggressively when listening to upbeat music and other drivers may not. Another idea was that listening to rock music speeds up your heart rate and then you end up driving faster because there is a lot of adrenaline flowing through your body. And one student also said that when he drove without any music at all, he seemed to be able to control his driving better. Marilyn’s response was that she agreed that music affects the way people drive. (Her opinion here contradicts her opinion on the previous idea.) She lists a few more students’ ideas and her opinions on them. They are all pretty similar. Then in the next section she searches Usenet and the Web. Many of these peoples’ comments are similar to the students’ comments about how more upbeat music makes you drive faster and how slower music makes you drive slower. Lastly, she compares herself to other students. She said that she was the only in her class to her report on this particular topic. And she also said that she had a hard time finding information. She concludes that doing a report on music and drivers is not a good topic because there is too much information out there.

My Reaction to this Report:

I didn’t really understand the whole meaning of this report. All she does is list peoples’ opinions and then comments on them. In my opinion, it really isn’t reporting on something. This page is just a whole bunch of comments. Another thing that bothered me was that she contradicted herself a few times. For example, in one of her comments she says that the music doesn’t really matter, it is the individual that matters. And at the end of her report she says that she had a hard time finding information, but then right after that she says that doing a report on music and drivers is not a good idea because there is too much information out there. I think that if she had more of a focus to her paper and stopped contradicting herself, then her report would be a lot better.

Comparisons:

I read a couple other reports from other generations having to do with music and driving and they were all kind of the same. They had other students’ comments on music and its effects on drivers, and they also had comments from newsgroups. I feel that the other pages I looked at were a little more focused than Marilyn’s.

I chose this report because I know a lot of people who tailgate as a way to get back at drivers. And yet, these very people get really upset when other drivers tailgate them! I want to see what others think about this behavior and whether it is fair or unfair. I feel that tailgating is a very interesting behavior and the fact that so many drivers tailgate makes it even more interesting to me. So I chose this report because I want to find out if other drivers feel the same way I do about tailgating.

How I Found this Report:

Again, I found this report by just looking through all of the past generations reports. I found Holly’s report in Generation 8 and the word tailgating caught my attention. I wanted to use reports from all different generations.

Summary Of Holly’s Report:

Holly gives a definition of the word tailgating. She says that it does not mean camping out with beer, pupus, and friends at a sporting event. Tailgating means "following too close to another car with the intention to coerce or punish the other driver when you think they have done something wrong to you." Then she gives a definition of what she thinks driving behavior is. To Holly, driving behavior includes the affective domain, the cognitive domain, and the sensorimotor domain. Next Holly lists thoughts from previous generations. One idea from a previous generation is that tailgating is an unjustifiable behavior regardless of the situation. And tailgating is a form of harassment. Another idea was that people may not think that they are tailgating another driver, but that driver may have a different idea and they may feel that they actually are being tailgated. Holly said that after she read other generations feelings about tailgating she believes that tailgating is a topic that not many people paid much attention to. Holly agrees that tailgating may be a moral issue but she disagrees that tailgating is not a big problem because everyone does it. Next she talks about whether or not tailgating is a moral, ethical, and spiritual issue. She says that she doesn’t really know the "right" answer to this question, but in her opinion, she believes that tailgating is a moral issue. Then she writes about a mini-experiment she performed. For two days while driving, she tried to tailgate other drivers to see how it made her feel. She wrote that she ended up feeling more upset and frustrated when she did tailgate someone. Her conclusion states that she believes that tailgating is morally, ethically, and spiritually wrong and that it is not justifiable.

My Reaction To this Report:

I thought that this report was interesting and easy to follow. I like how she gave others’ comments and then agreed or disagreed with them. But I think that she should have placed her opinions directly after the report she was commenting on instead of lumping them all together after she listed all the students’ comments. But overall, I really enjoyed reading her report.