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My Newsgroups File My Report1: How Music Affects Drivers My Report2: Live Fast, Die Young?
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Table of Contents Report 1 Report 2 Report 3 Report 4 Reactions to My Classmates? Generational Reports Suggestions for Future Generations by Kendra Morgan G7
by Juliet Baptista Psy 459 G11 Reason for Choosing Juliet?s Report Steps that Led Me to Juliet?s Report Reason for Choosing Juliet?s Report I chose to summarize this report because it involves a topic in the field of traffic psychology that interests me. I have often wondered what effect music has on a person?s ability to drive safely and found several ideas and thoughts on the subject in Juliet?s report. Steps that Led to Juliet?s Report I started browsing the generational reports in the index from last to first, beginning with the reports already done by the students in my current class. After reading through several generations I went back to the beginning of my search to take a look at the ones that interested me the most. Landing on Juliet?s report was originally a random event that led me to read into the effect of music on driving ability. Juliet began her report with reactions to several e-mail posts she read regarding different peoples? opinions on how music affects their respective individual driving habits. The basic conclusion she seemed to draw from reading these opinions was that music is not an excuse for poor driving habits but that it may be a factor. Other factors she proposed include the person?s state of mind while operating the vehicle, the time of day and traffic conditions, and the level of self-control the driver is able to exhibit. Juliet then went on to describe the role music plays for herself when she is in command of a motor vehicle. Music has always been a part of Juliet?s driving routine, even during childhood as a passenger. The issue for her is not whether the music is playing or not, but how loud. At times excessive volume can be a distraction for her (i.e. when driving a stick-shift and trying to hear the engine noise) but silence caused a level of anxiety for her which might also be distracting. My Reactions to Juliet?s Report I agree with Juliet that music is a vital part of the driving experience. It is true that volume and listening selection create an ambient mood inside the vehicle which can either be conducive to a mellow approach to the road or serve as a dangerous distraction. Juliet?s page was well presented visually and her report was well-written and concise. Juliet?s report was fairly typical of all the reports I read in that she presented the information in accordance with the guidelines of the classwork instructions. Her colors and fonts set her page apart and attracted the browser?s attention to the information she detailed.
Report 2 - Tailgating Behavior: Fair or Unfair? Reason for Choosing Holly?s Report Steps that Led Me to Holly?s Report Reason for Choosing Holly?s Report I chose this report because I was in fact the subject of a tailgater?s aggression recently while riding my motorcycle. Holly?s report was the first one on the subject that I ran across in my random browsing through the generations and offered a diversity of viewpoints on the moral implications of the behavior. I read through her report hoping to gain an understanding of why driver?s feel compelled to engage in such obviously dangerous and threatening behavior on the road. Steps that Led me to Holly?s Report After being tailgated myself and browsing through each generation of reports, I landed on Holly?s page which was displayed attractively and seemed to present the information I was interested in. A definition provided by Dr. Driving began Holly?s report on the subject of tailgating. She discussed the fact that tailgating is an aggressive and punitive behavior and outlined the three domains to driving behavior which come into play when engaged in the action of tailgating, these being the affective, cognitive and sensorimotor. Holly provided several viewpoints from previous generations regarding the moral implications of tailgating behavior which provided conflicting opinions regarding whether or not tailgating is actually a moral issue. While some students felt that the punitive aspect of the behavior makes it a moral issue, some felt that other reasons such as being in a hurry were not a question of morals at all. Holly herself believes that tailgating is a moral issue and that it is wrong. While not much thought is given to the subject by the typical driver and police rarely issue citations for the violation, Holly explains that tailgating is serious, harmful, and dangerous. She makes the valid point that two wrongs do not make a right and that following someone too closely as punishment for some perceived infraction becomes a moral issue when the choice is made to risk the lives of other road travelers. Holly admits that she too is guilty of tailgating and that previously she had not given the matter much conscious thought. While her behavior is often conscious, she rarely delved beyond the immediate action and her own justification into the potential consequences or moral implications of her decision to follow too closely. In response to her research on the topic, Holly performed a two day experiment on her own driving habits paying close attention to the three domains mentioned above. She discovered that tailgating is a choice, and outlet for aggression that can be better served through more appropriate coping mechanisms such as "stress balls". My Reactions to Holly?s Report I have difficulty assigning moral value to any behavior as morals are a completely subjective concept. I am in no position myself to tell anyone what is right or wrong but I believe that people, when presented with objective information, can make more responsible decisions that do not endanger their own lives or the lives of the object of their frustration. Tailgating and its associated "road rage" is common and taken for granted as part of the driving experience. I do not believe that most people who participate in this phenomenon have the intention of killing the object of their frustration, but that they do not consider the very realistic possibility that they may in fact do so. Holly did an excellent job promoting self-awareness as a key solution to this problem. Is tailgating wrong? In my opinion that is a moot question. Tailgating is misguided and inappropriate and responsible education is crucial to its understanding and prevention. The information in Holly?s report seemed pretty standard in comparison with other reports on different subjects that I viewed. She presented the facts and opinions based on the guidelines of the class assignment and organized them in an easily accessible fashion. I particularly enjoyed the way her page stood out from the others with animated graphics and colorful display.
Report 3 - How Drivers Communicate With Each Other: by Jayson Nakasone Psy 459 G10 Reason for Choosing Jayson?s Report Steps that Led Me to Jayson?s Report Reason for Choosing Jayson?s Report To be honest I chose to use Jayson?s report because his homepage was plastered with photos of Bob Marley. While looking through the titles of his reports, I came across the subject of driver communication and it occurred to me that the only communication on the road I am conscious of is the extended middle finger and the shaka sign, seeing as how drivers in Hawai'i rarely tend to use their horn or turn signals. Steps that Led Me to Jayson?s Report Again, this report appeared to me through random browsing of previous generations. I was clicking around what seemed to be an endless supply of reports to choose from when I landed on a page with Bob Marley all over it which led me further into exploring Jayson?s site. I read all three of his reports and decided on discussing his report on driver communication. Like the other reports, Jayson began his with an overview of previous generations? thoughts on the subject which detailed common communication techniques. These techniques included vehicular communication (horns, blinkers, engine revving, and distance from other vehicles), verbal communication, and non-verbal communication (gestures and facial expressions). Jayson then went into detail on communication techniques used in various common driving situations. When merging, Jayson reports that drivers tend not to communicate much with one another. The turn signals, while not often employed, tend to be the most common indication from a driver that he or she intends to merge, though it is often deemed unnecessary by the driver who assumes his intentions are obvious. Some drivers signal to others who wish to enter their lane by slowing down to create a space for the other driver to merge into, most often resulting in a friendly shaka gesture from the other driver to indicate thanks. Jayson goes on to discuss the communication of drivers? intent to make a turn and says again that little communication is used in these situations. Blinkers are the most common tool, as is the tapping of the brakes. Brake lights are a vague communicator as they really only show intent to slow but do not indicate why or how much. The issue of right of way is often communicated by a wave of the hand to allow another person entry or by speeding up to assert their position on the road and disallow entry into their roadspace. When drivers change lanes, they may use their turn signals (often ineffectively after they have already initiated the maneuver), turn their heads to check the blind spot, or stick their arm out the window (usually employed during heavy stop and go traffic). My Reactions to Jayson?s Report Clear and effective communication between drivers on the road is critical. I have not personally observed a great deal of such cooperation on Hawai'i?s roads which often leads me to communicate my frustration by hollering at people, waving my fists around and revving my engine. While the techniques Jayson outlined are indeed the most common and understood practices, they are often unused or used inappropriately. Like Jayson pointed out, too often drivers signal their intention post hoc which is completely useless. When the car in front of you hits the brakes, begins to turn, then signals, it is a wasted effort. The law states that lane changes and turns must be signaled one hundred feet in advance of the anticipated movement. When I ride my motorcycle, I like very much to know what the person on four wheels in front of me plans to do before they actually do it to allow myself time to react. Drivers in Hawai'i by my own observation tend to be fairly good about hand gestures. The wave to let people merge or make a turn is often seen and appreciated, as is the grateful shaka sign. This is simply polite and creates more of a cooperative driving environment. There was nothing particularly special about Jayson?s report that set it apart from the rest. Apart from his excellently displayed homepage, the visual presentation of the report itself was a bit difficult to read due to his color choice and layout. The information presented, however, was very well done.
Report 4- Portrayals of Driving Behaviors on TV: Reason for Choosing Kendra?s Report Steps that Led Me to Kendra?s Report Reason for Choosing Kendra?s Report I chose this report because I have often taken issue with censors and the like who would hope to manipulate media output to suit their own moral agenda. I expected to find that Kendra would illustrate how the big bad evil television media is destroying civility and safety on America?s roads and was eager to take issue with her. Steps that Led Me to Kendra?s Report This was a late-night-I?m-bored-I?ll-mess-around-on-the-internet find. When I finished sending my email and surfing around, I decided to be a responsible student and look around the 459 homepages. I found Kendra?s report in G7 and decided to take a look at it. Kendra began with an introduction to media portrayal of driving behaviors and the audience?s tendency to passively participate and absorb the information they are presented. She explains that this can be harmful when reckless and dangerous driving is modeled for the viewer by characters or actors that are admired and respected. She then summarized three reports from G6 on the same topic and began her own investigation of the subject. Kendra approached the subject of bad driving habits portrayed in the media by observing and rating ten examples of bad driving on a three part scale. Programs were given a 1-10 rating, with 10 being the worst based on the driving behavior?s prominence throughout the course of the program, how realistic the scene was or how easily the behavior was reproduced, and the danger involved. She rated movies, television serials, and children?s cartoons. The movie "Speed" received her highest, and therefore worst rating of all, earning a 9 on her scale. Television serials in general seemed to represent the worst portrayals of driving. Children?s? cartoons scored low because of their low realism rating. Kendra summarized her findings and concluded that there were not as many instances of poor driving habits in the media as she had initially figured. This she considered hopeful, though she realizes that the few bad influences tend to stick out and linger in people?s minds. Responsible driving is not exciting and therefore not as memorable. Modeling is a very powerful influence, according to Kendra, and when the media does not portray realistic consequences for driving behavior it may lead to unrealistic expectations by the viewer when he or she gets behind the wheel and consequently influence poor driving decisions. My Reactions to Kendra?s Report I believe that people are ultimately responsible for their own actions. Just because Beau and Luke Duke fly their Dodge Charger through a construction site and up a ramp to cut off another driver does not necessarily influence t.v. watchers to behave badly on the road themselves. Modeling is indeed a powerful influence, but television viewers are usually aware that the driving they see on t.v. is done by stunt men in controlled situations. I believe more harm is done to a driver by watching and observing actual behaviors on the road than on television where these behaviors are accurately regarded as being real-life. Kendra was very well organized and analytical in her approach to the topic. The information she presented was interesting and clearly thought-out. Her text formatting could have been better as all of her report text was centered, and her title was a bit misleading as it referred only to television when she in fact used the cinema in her examples as well.
Reaction To My Classmates? Generational Reports The reports that have been uploaded are simple and to the point. They served as a very handy guideline for me as I have been very slow in getting this project completed
Suggestions For Future Generations Do not think that a once-a-week class won?t be time consuming. Start early and it won?t be difficult at all, but if you wait till the last minute like me you will have a very stressful semester?s end. It is also very helpful if you have internet access convenient, like in your own home so that you can take a more leisurely approach to the work. The work is actually fun, but not under a strict deadline. |
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