My Oral Presentation of Generation 7 sample 2
Dana Rho's A Lurker's Perspective
Introduction:
On Your Mark·Get Set·Go!
Summary
She begins her report by saying how she likes to observe people interact. Then she loves to try and determine their mindset and their attitudes toward various topics. She was happy to discover that newsgroups are just another way for her to observe opinions and attitudes. She feels that even though newsgroups are excellent ways to express oneself people often ăforget that behind each message is a living, breathing individual. The positive side to this is that people often become ăhonestä. She believes that many people say what they really feel when they post on a newsgroup. They also have the time to think about what their going to say and this led to a very nicely done posting. This form of communication, newsgroups, is very effective and may also be easier for some types of people, since there is no face-to-face contact.
My
Comments
She then goes on to explain how she conducted her research on newsgroups. She used the Dejanews search engine and used the keywords ăaggressive driversä. This led to almost 100 messages. She learned from lurking in the newsgroups that some had their own personalities (sarcastic, negative). She then says that newsgroups all agree on the fact that aggressive driving does exit, is getting worse, and affects everyone. She also noticed that newsgroups discussing this subject often are emotional. She ends this section by saying that newsgroups are a good and safe way to discuss opinions.
The
main point of her introduction is to say that she has learned that newsgroups
are effective communication tools which express ideas honestly and emotionally
especially when it comes to aggressive driving.
My
initial reaction to her introduction is that I agree. I see no reason to disagree with what she has said.
Newsgroups are a great way to communicate with many people and not have
to worry about being afraid to speak up.
This
intro relates to this courses topic and focus because it deals with newsgroups,
which are a good way to discuss our focus, which is emotional intelligence for
drivers.
How Newsgroups are Described in the Generational curriculum: Seeing Through the Eyes of Others.
Summary
In
this section she says how she read other students newsgroups reports.
The reports were done by May Rose Isnec, Jay Sakoda, and Skye Nakayama.
The reports called ă The Social Psychology of Newsgroupsä dealt with
what the ătrials and tribulations of becoming newsgroup participants.ä All of these students choose various newsgroups to follow.
When they did choose newsgroups all of them were scared to post a
message. Dana says how they all
reported being scared of a negative response or no response.
They all got positive responses though which led to their posting of more
messages. According to Dana each of
these students had a positive experience with newsgroups.
Dana says that their reports helped inform her about newsgroups.
She sees how newsgroups are useful but she doesnât know if she could
become a long-term news grouper.
My
Comments
The
main point of this section of her report was to show what she learned from
reading others newsgroup reports. She
learned that a lot of people are new to newsgroups and most are scared when they
first attempt to stop being a lurker and post a message.
Fortunately, this information helped to make her a little less scared of
being a news grouper.
My
reaction to this part was that I found it funny. Because I have been on newsgroups many times and been
on discussions on chat rooms, which also use message boards.
I have participated in so many newsgroups that I actually forget if I was
afraid to post my first message. But
now I have no problem with posting my opinion.
I
agree with Dana that many people are scared to post on a newsgroup; I think that
the number of lurkers must be a lot greater than the number of posters.
I for one enjoy participating in discussions on the web.
I think that finding out that someone else is scared about posting would
help someone who wants to post a message.
This part relates to the course because in this course we have to read other people discussions and even participate. I often respond to peopleâs postings on coolboard even if it wonât give me any points or wonât fulfill the requirement of my three weekly postings, just because I enjoy adding to the discussion.
Attitudes and Newsgroups: Show Me The Attitude!
Summary
Danaâs
next section describes the many different attitudes that she has discovered on
newsgroups. These are 1) The I-Know
Everything and You-Know-Nothing Attitude, 2) Boredom and Indifference, 3)
Couldnât Care Less, and 4) Letâs Solve the Problem!
These attitudes are pretty well described just by their titles, so I
wonât go into much detail there. But,
Dana does say that all four of these attitudes can be found just about anywhere
including the ăreal world.ä She
concludes this section by saying that she sees more of the negative attitudes
showing up on newsgroups. This
negativity shows that many people are either feeling helpless, hopeless, or
irritation regarding aggressive driving. This
leads to as she calls it a ăme firstä view of society.
If this view continues she believes that everyone will suffer unless we
all learn to relearn and reform.
My
Comments
The
main point of this part is that there are many different attitudes on newsgroups
many of which are on the negative side, which will lead to the downfall of
society unless we do something about it.
I
agree with her, because I have seen all of these attitudes.
The only thing that I disagree on is that I believe that the
ăcouldnât care lessä and the ăboredom and indifferenceä should be
grouped into one. I guess the
reason I feel this way is because if people are really bored and indifferent
they usually donât even post. The
people who donât care usually post messages because they want to let people
know that they are grouchy. Iâm
not really sure about seeing society as becoming so ăme first.ä
If it has become this ăme firstä I guess I didnât really realize it
had gone this far. I thought that a
lot of people still did want to solve the problems, maybe the ones who do care
donât post their thoughts as much as the negative thinkers.
This
relates to our course because it shows how many people do lack emotional
intelligence and how many of them donât even realize it or donât care.
Is There a Moral Crisis in Driving Attitudes?: Crash and Burn or Sunday Cruising?
Summary
In
this section Dana gives a brief summary of Dr. James ăCongressional
Testimony.ä According to her, Dr.
James gave this testimony to Congress in 1997, and presented theories on causes
of road rage, how drivers reform themselves, and what changes should be made for
the future. The gist of this
testimony is that people become road ragers as soon as they are born.
They learn from their parents and he suggested many ways to prevent being
ăborn into road rage.ä He also
said that defensive driving courses do the opposite of what they are supposed to
do, that is they promote a negative mentality.
Dr. James ways to become a better driver are 1) Quality Driving Circles,
2) Reformed Drivers Ed., and 3) CARR (Children Against Road Rage).
Dana concludes by saying that Dr. Jamesâ programs, if properly
implemented, would help with aggressive driving and also reform peopleâs view
on life in general.
My
Comments
The
main point of this section is to describe Dr. James suggested programs and state
that they will enable people to gain emotional intelligence in driving and in
life.
My
initial reaction to this section was that these solutions do sound like they
would improve aggressive driving.
I
do agree with her, but she didnât discuss the obvious problem of implementing
these programs and getting people to participate in them.
I believe that many people donât even know that they have a problem
with their driving. This will make
it very difficult to get people to reform.
One way that I believe would force everyone to participate was to make a
QDC required by all drivers. Dr.
James suggested this. And I also
believe that even though it would be a big project to enforce this mandatory QDC
it would be very beneficial. I
honestly feel like being in a QDC has made me think about my own driving
actions.
This part relates to our course because it talks about ways to fix the problems that we are dealing with in our QDC. I believe that Dr. James suggestions could solve many of the problems which are brought up on the QDC.
Conclusion: Tying it All Together
Summary
Dana concludes her report by saying that she has learned that newsgroups are good communication tools that enable anyone to exchange and promote ideas. She also says that while physical prejudice is not possible there is still prejudice based on a personâs attitude. She also says that newsgroups can still be led by one strong presence whether it is a good one or a bad one. Finally, she thinks that newsgroups become a virtual community that affects people beyond the Internet world.
My
Reaction
Her
main point is pretty much everything I just said. Nuffâ said.
My
initial reaction to her conclusion is that it is pretty thorough and is a good
explanation of newsgroups.
I fully agree with her that newsgroups are great communication tools and that prejudice does still exist. Except I had one thing to add, when I used to go online. People were still prejudice against because of where they are from or their skin color. Names often explain a lot about a person and even if they donât people usually do find out personal information about other people they see regularly. From my experience there is still prejudice. I was on a chat and a Caucasian person began insulting my friend and me because both of us are from Hawaii. My friend wasnât too kind about his remarks either. They were, redneck based, of course. This occurred because we both knew where the other was from.
My Reaction
I felt that my class presentation went over pretty well. Since this was my first oral presentation I was kind of scared and very, very nervous. I think I must have stuttered about a hundred times. But, besides that it went pretty good. I wrote my notes the way I talk, so that helped me out greatly. Plus after the presentation it was a simple matter to cut and paste my notes for this webpage.
The discussion session after my oral went rather smoothly also, but I would suggest to any future oral presenters to have a short list of possible questions and your answers. That would help you out greatly. I hate when I get stumped and everyone is looking at me.
Question
Do you think the information being circulated in newsgroups are reliable?
Answer
To tell you the truth, I use newsgroups to look for information alot, involving stocks, shopping sites, homework, and even for fun. The one thing that I have realized is that a lot of people will give you information that is not very accurate or reliable. The best thing that I have found out is to read everything that is posted and then do your own research. For example, I was once looking for information on a company known as TheTaxPeople. They supposedly sell tax breaks using a multilevel marketing theme. I used four different newsgroups to find information on them. And I then researched the information that was given to me. This was easy because many people gave hyperlinks or told me where they got their information from.
Question
From your prior personal experiences with newsgroups do you feel it has helped you in any way, if so how? Do you feel it could help other people?
Answer
Hmm, I'm not really sure if newsgroups have helped me in anyway, besides making a lot of my school reports alot easier. Because even though the information may not be fact, it always helps to hear what others have to say. Hint, hint, newsgroups are great for English when you have to analyze some boring and long story or analyze a stupid poem. Just post your query and someone will probably answer you.
I feel that newsgroups could help people in becoming more comfortable in discussing subjects that they would be afraid to discuss in person. For example, say a guy loves to watch a girl cartoon, say Sailor Moon, he would probably be scared to talk about it to another guy. But, he could easily talk about it on a newsgroup and noone would know who he was.
Question
Speaking as a psychology major, how would you describe newsgroups? Why are they popular? What do they get out of participation?
Answer
Wow, this ones no fair. That's three questions! Hehehehe, I'll try to answer this one as best I can. As a psych major I would describe newsgroups as a place in which people can participate in a supposedly nonbiased and open environment. This means that people are free to act however they want, let out steam, or talk peacefully.
I feel that newsgroups are popular because many people love to discuss and talk about things. For example, while surfing the net for a class report or for news on stock, I sometimes spot a newsgroup and get wrapped up in the discussion. Then I feel obligated to make a post. I notice that the same people go back everyday and post everyday on newsgroups, but I usually just make one post and only come back to see the response. Newsgroups are an excellent way for people to talk about anything and everything without worrying about who's listening, what the subject is, or how long discuss the subject.
Hmm, I assume the question is asking what do people get out of participation in newsgroups? probably not what newsgroups get out of people participating. Oh well, I'll answer both. I feel that people get a sense of community out of newsgroups or just let off steam. For example, when I went to a newsgroup on MSN community known as The Tax Corner, sorry forgot the URL, the same people would post their comments everyday. Some people even sounded like they knew each other. That is pretty amazing, kind of like a chain pen pal letter. And I like to let off steam when I'm bothered by a subject, by making a post on newsgroups bitching about it. It helps, especially when you get positive responses. I know, I know, it's bad to rant. But I just can't help myself sometimes. Almost forgot, newsgroups put up ads on their sites and they hope that all of the people who participate in these newsgroups will click on these ads. Because everytime they click on an ad, the newsgroup provider gets some income. 'Nuff said.
Question
How do you compare Newsgroups and chatrooms? Do they have different social and communicative functions?
Answer
I feel that newsgroups are for people who seriously want to talk about a subject. The problem with chatrooms, at least from what I see is that most of the people on them just want to met people or flirt a little. Not many people try to flirt on a discussion board.
I feel that newsgroups and chatrooms do have different social and communicative functions. A chatroom is just like having unreal wonder phone. You can talk to as many people at one time as you can manage. Trust me I've talked to six people at one time. So I feel chatrooms are for the social butterfly, whereas newsgroups are for someone who wants to get an answer to a question or seriously discuss something. The people who post on newsgroups don't really want to hear about your hair color or your age.
Question
Why do you think so much people just lurk in newsgroups?
Answer
Okay, this question was asked, in different ways of course, many times so I will attempt to answer to the best of my knowledge. I feel that people lurk in newsgroups because sometimes, like in my case, they are just passing by. Or other times, just by reading previous postings you can find many answers. There may be some people who are afraid to post, which I feel would be a strong reason for lurkers, or a small majority just may not have anything to say.
Question
Can you really tell how a person is feeling if you can only see their words?
Answer
This is going to be the last question for me, I'm getting tired. *yawn* Honestly I believe that the answer is yes and no. Yes I would be able to really tell how a person was feeling by their words, if they properly knew how to express themselves by their words. Hmm, I hope that made sense. For example, I think that I am good at expressing myself by my words when it comes to newsgroups, because I know the proper use of capitals, punctuations, stretched out words, spamming, multiple word use, asterisks, quotes, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Well my point is that some people know how to write their feelings, whereas others have no clue. They just type away and don't even realize that someone else may interpret their posts in a negative way when it was not meant that way. For example, a officer in the Air National Guard, which I am in, once sent an e-mail to the whole unit talking about a fundraiser or something. He typed the whole e-mail message in capital letters. The next day he got a ton of negative e-mail responses from annoyed people. The reason why everyone got annoyed is that it hurts the eyes to look at all CAPITAL LETTERS. Capital letters represent shouting and it is not acceptable to continuously use them. So my overall point is that if everyone knew how to properly express themselves by words, I would be able to tell how they were feeling.
I looked at the other student's in the generations reports and I feel that they all did a very good job. I feel lazy compared to them. Nah, I believe that everyone has done a very good job. I neglected to mention any names with the class questions, but I have decided not to. Especially since, I for one don't enjoy seeing my name attached to any questions. I hope that doesn't matter much. The one thing that I seem to be missing when I look at other student's pages is a cool background. I still choose not to use one because it is really hard to find one that doesn't make my eyes sore when I have to read the report. Many past generations have made bad decisions when using backgrounds. The backgrounds and fonts don't complement each other very well.
Suggestions for Future Generations
I'm sorry everyone but I'm gonna be like everyone else and say "Don't procrastinate and start early." The reports may not be that difficult, but there is alot of work and effort involved. It will take you quite awhile so make sure you don't put it off. I for one was slacking and had to stay up all night, the day before Dr. James graded the web pages in the middle of the semester. Trust me it's not fun. If any of you future generation guys read the previous paragraph believe me don't use dumb backgrounds and fonts. It just hurts people's eyes and makes the page unenjoyable. A dark red font doesn't look nice on a red background. Kden laters everyone.
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