Introduction

The main purpose of this report is to comment on various Generational reports written by prior students.  There are at least 12 generations that I was able to choose from and looking through all of them can be very overwhelming.  However, the assignment can be done with the help of time, patience, and prior knowledge on what interests you.  By looking through the different topics, I had some idea of what I wanted to focus on.  I knew that I wanted reports written on music, cartoons, children, and communication, which all of these reports involve driving (that is what the class is about).  In this report, I will try to answer why I choose this report, how I?ve obtained it, a summary, my reaction, and the comparison with its? fellow generational reports.
 
 

Selection 1:  Children?s Self-Witnessing Report as Road Users
 
 

I.  Why I chose this report?

I choose this report because of its content.  I have always enjoyed being around children and I have a three year-old niece, so therefore, I knew I wanted to read a report on them.  I was very curious of how children view driving and the small boy in this report caught my attention.  In addition, I like the fact that this report is simple and easy to understand.  The organization and how everything flows from one subject to another are a big plus.  It seems that I have always like reports that have organization, which I think everyone would also prefer.

II.  How I was able to obtained it?

Selecting a report from the generations can be very difficult because there are so many to choose from.  However, because of my interest in children I thought it would be very interesting if I was able to find a report on how do children view road rage.  I was able to find many reports on the subject and then narrow it down to two, Gary Uno and Akira of G6.  Both of the two reports were interesting, however I chose Akira?s report because of her actual experience with a child.  I think it would be very interesting to learn from a child?s perspective of another race besides mine about driving.

III.  A summary of the report.

The report is about children?s self-witnessing as road users.  According to the report, ?self-witnessing is the process of building your own inventory of your feelings, thoughts, and actions in traffic.?  It is recommended that in order to keep track of these domains, an individual should carry a tape recorder or note pad to log what is happening while driving.  As a passenger, children also experience self-witnessing.  Therefore, it is important to assess a child on how much knowledge they know on the traffic rules.  Otherwise, negative actions done on the road (i.e. tailgating, speeding, or running red lights) may seem alright because they see others do it and eventually may grew up thinking this way.   It is wise to educate children while they are young.  For example, the report mentions that Japan provides a traffic education for their children.  They are taught how to walk or ride on their bicycle safely down the busy street and that pedestrians should be respected the most on the road, then bicycles or scooters, and cars should be the last to be bossy on the road.   Teachers also show many videos of car accidents and traffic rules to enhance the material they are teaching to their students.  Overall, Akira feels, ?teaching Self-Witnessing at an early age will be very helpful for them because by the time they get their own driver?s licenses, they will be probably doing it unconsciously.   At the same time, it will be important for educators to put effort in continuing the program all the way until they become adults, making corrections and judgements as they grow up.  Children are good in learning new things, and it gets difficult when they get older, so it is perfect that they learn good skills early on and keep it throughout their driving career."
 

IV.   My reaction

I found the report educational and very interesting.  I like the fact that Mr. Akira was able to add in his bias against children. He personally feel that children are ignorant when it comes to traffic.  However, because of his bright and intelligent nephew from Japan he was able to turn his negative opinion to a very positive one.  I feel children should never be look down upon on how little they knew about traffic because of their age.  We (or I) may think they are not as knowledgeable and aware about the rules and regulations we have in our road, however, if we were to question them about it we become aware that we are mistaken.  Children are very aware of their observation in their surroundings.   As adults, we have the responsibility to teach them what is right and wrong.  Moreover, because children spend a great deal amount of time on the car then why not teach them also about what is acceptable in our society when it comes to driving.  I very much agree with Mr. Akira with his comment about teaching our children at a young age because they are good at learning new things and it gets difficult when they get older.  I personally think that the lesson(s) they acquire at a young age will affect them as they get older.

V.  Comparison with other G6 reports

Many of the other reports have similar style and very much stick to what the instruction of the report said.  They did not try to experiment with the topic, which I think made this report stand out for me.
 
 

Selection 2:  Driving Cartoons

I.  Why I chose this report?

I choose this report simply because it deals with cartoons.  I have always been a big fan of cartoons whether it is animated shown on TV/movies or printed on magazines/newspaper.  The title ?Driving Cartoons? got my attention.  The five cartoons included are very humorous and the message behind each cartoon delivers.  In addition, I like the fact that the author tried to incorporate how cartoons could be used in Driver?s Ed manuals.

II.  How I was able to obtained it?

This report was one of the very few reports that I first landed on when I was browsing through the generational files.  I think this was under Special Awards for All generations, which I would recommend as a good place to start from especially if you do not have any cues of topics to report on.  Because it is under this site, it tends to give you the sense that these reports are better than the others reports.
 

III.  A summary of the report

 The main purpose of this report was to see if driving cartoon is an effective way to educate drivers on the common mistakes that people do on the road.  According to the report, driving cartoons are an effective way of communicating driving skills because (1) they work to catch people?s attention through visual stimuli, (2) the lack of knowledge required to look at one, (3) the way they make people laugh and smile, and (4) is by causing the realization of one?s own faults.  By knowing whom driving cartoons can work for and how they can affect people, driving cartoons can be put to good use (e.g. creating cartoons especially for children and drivers? education manuals).  They become useful teaching aids for both children and adults with the teaching of proper behaviors and skills.
 

IV.  My reaction

This report is one of the most enjoyable reports I have viewed and read.  The five cartoons illustrated in the report are very humorous and at the same time very real that it got the message across to me.  I like the fact that the author made it very simple and easy to understand.  However, I wish that she had researched a little more and provided us (readers) some information on how cartoon has actually been used to educate drivers.  I got the impression that the things she said in her report were her own opinions and not from reliable resources.  I think that if she did provide us some studies done to support her views than I believe she would have influence her readings much more.  However, I agree with her proposal to incorporate driving cartoons into drivers? education manuals by placing them throughout the text and that children could be taught good driving behaviors by recognition of good and bad driving habits through cartoons.  I feel that because each of us have our own learning style and those of us who learn better through visual aide will greatly learn from these drawing of cartoons.
 

V.  Comparison with other G6 reports

She has one of the most simple and easy to read reports.  Her simplicity of color (yellow background), font (Times New Roman), and icons (two to enhance her page) are good to the eyes.  Overall, I like the appearance of her web pages and is better than compared to some reports that had too many things included in the report.
 
 
 

Selection 3:  Music and Drivers: What is Your Mood?

I.  Why I chose this report?

I am a music lover and I cannot see myself be deprive of it.  Whether I am doing something or not I always surround myself with music.  I even prefer listening to the radio rather than watching television.  Therefore, I knew I wanted to read a report done on the subject.  This report I have obtained seemed to have the things I was looking for.  It is a very long written report that may have taken a long time to research on and write about.  I think that it is a well research subject and I definitely give credit to the author for doing a good job.
 

II.  How I was able to obtained it?
There is so many reports done on this subject therefore, I had some difficult time in deciding which one I wanted.  It was a topic that took the longest time when compared to the other reports that I have selected.  I even missed this particular report because there were so many report that I just randomly picked the ones that I could look at.  However, one of my classmates did an oral presentation on this report and I liked what she reported on.  I decided to follow up with the report to see it for myself.  I liked what I have read and so this became my third selection.
 

III.  A summary of the report

Does music influence our driving behavior?  According to the report, ?music has always been a great interest to many people in general.  Moreover, there are some music that is controversial, such as rap and heavy metal.  Thus many studies try to prove how music can have a negative effect on people, for instance, heavy metal music have subliminal messages to kill.  Therefore, there are extensive materials on music and people, but there are very few information on how music affects drivers.?  On the other hand, this report can be concluded that music does affect our driving behavior and driving mood from the support of many e-mails of people relating to the subject.  Many have said that music can affect their driving behavior by the type of music (i.e. rap, rock and roll, reggae, slow rock), the level of liking/disliking the music, beat & rhythm (i.e. slow vs. fast), and the state of mood we are at while listening to music.
 

IV.  My reaction

Personally, music has always been a part of me whether I am at home relaxing and doing homework or in the car driving.  I know that I need music and therefore, I can relate to the people that are in this report.  Some of have said that they need to listen to music while driving to keep them company, which I do too.  Many have said that different types of music affect people in different ways.  I agree with this comment because I believe each of us have different taste in music and whatever that may be is affected by what we consider good vs. bad music to listen too.  For example, I prefer listening to Hawaiian and Reggae music to keep me wide-awake while driving, whereas many of my friends would consider listening to hip-hop to get the same effect.
 
 

V.  Comparison with other G8 reports.

I think that Holly Ishikawa has one of the best reports written on this subject.  Her report is well researched on.  It seems to me that she had spend a deal amount of time because she did not only get her resources on the web but also on books and journals.  In addition, I like the fact that she commented on each posting.
 
 

Selection 4:  How Drivers Communicate?

I.  Why I chose this report?

I was motivated to pick a report on the topic of communication on the road as a curiosity.  I wanted to know how drivers actually communicate while driving; do they use a lot of hand coordination, facial expression, or instead use mainly the parts of a vehicle (i.e. signs and horn) to communicate with other drivers.  I chose this report because of its simplicity and content.
 

II.  How I was able to obtained it?

This is one of the reports I stumble upon while I was searching through the generational reports.  When I saw the title ?How Drivers Communicate?, I knew then I had to add this topic to my list.  However, there was another report on the same topic that came after and I liked it.  It took a bit of my time selecting which of the two I would prefer reporting on.  In the end, it was this report that got my vote.
 

III.  A summary of the report.

Communication is an essential part in of our lives.  When we drive, we are constantly communicating with our fellow drivers.  Without clear understanding of signs and signals being portrayed on our road, accidents may occur more readily.  Therefore, to enhance our driving understanding we must understand what is trying to be communicated.  There are many forms of communication being performed, whether through the aide of our vehicle or just simple with us.  According to the report, honking and blinking would be one form.    Facial expressions (i.e.. dirty looks or lip movement), aggressive overtake, and extending the arms above or out of the window (i.e., wave) are the latter form of communication done on out highway.
 

IV.  My reaction

I agree that we are in constant communication with other drivers on the road. If we do not have clear understands of the information that is being relay back and forth with one another, then accidents occur much more.  Therefore, it is important that we deliver our messages clearly as possible (i.e.. turning our signal light ahead of time before we are ready to make a turn) so that the other drivers will be aware and recognize our actions on the road.  On the other hand, it is also important that as the receiving side are alert of any unseen and sudden information that we may acquire and be able to acknowledge them.
 

V.  Comparison with other G9 reports

One of the better reports I have seen in this generation.  The overall appearance is good.  This report does not contain many spelling and grammatical mistakes, whereas other reports I have read had a lot.
 
 

Conclusion

I know that looking through the various Generational reports may be intimidation and overwhelming because there is so many to choose from.  You will need to invent some time to do a good report.  It will take many hours to finally decide your selection.  However, I think that it is worthwhile to be browsing through the different reports.  It is somewhat educational and interesting; how people?s minds have change or retain throughout the years.  Overall, I think that it is the sense of relief and satisfaction that will be the reward of doing this assignment.