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My Selection Number 1
Suggestions To Future Generations
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My Selection
Number 1
My Selection Number 1 was on a report
by Cheryl
Andaya, generation 5. This report looks at Traffic Psychology
Resources On The Internet: The Concern About Road Rage.
What I Liked About Report 1
I liked the fact that Ms. Andaya started out
with an introduction which gave us some idea of what she will be talking
about. The fact that she talks about Dr. Driving and his wife Dr.
Nahl who are experts in the field of traffic psychology and whose hard
work and dedication has made a lot of information on rad rage available
to the public. I thought this added a certain richness to her report.
I also liked the way she compared herself to people that she had interviewed
while doing research for this report.
Steps That Led Me To This Report
I searched all the generations to find out
topics that I thought would interest me. My first step was to look
at the award winning section because I wanted to see what was so special
about their reports that it merited an award. I also wanted to get
ideas for my own report so that I could perfect it. There were a
lot of topics that interested me but the topic of road rage really stuck
out in my mind. I also thought that such a compelling topic would
be a great opening to my project.
A Brief Synopsis Of The Report
The topic of road rage is one that is becoming
more popular in the minds of people not only in the U.S. but everywhere
in the world. Road Rage has to do with the unhealthy emotions and
frustrations which results from the selfish actions of motorists on the
roads.
Road Rage also invplves taking unecessary
risks on the roads, the need for speed and people being impatient, irritable
drivers. I understand that many people lead very busy lives and that
they have important deadlines to make and so they tend to drive in some
altered state of consciousness where they think that they are the only
ones on the roads and they tend to care only for themselves. However
this not a good excuse to act irresponsibly on the roads. Everyone
needs to take an active part in making our roads safe.
Ms. Andaya talks about Dr. James and Dr. Nahl
and the books they have written on road rage. Dr. James is the infamous
Dr.Driving and has his own website that contains a magnitude of information.
She gives mention to one of the books they have written called the Inner
Power Of The Wheel where we learn that the way we drive is related to our
emotional and psychological personality. By reading this book people
can become aware of their emotions and in turn be aware of their actions
on the streets.
In the report she states that road rage tend
to more prevalent in the cities where there is a lot of traffic.
I totally agree with that. Most of my years have been spent driving
in New York City and I think this is where I got my aggressive driving
behavior. It is especially stressful to drive in Manhattan where
cars are constanly double-parked, taxi drivers act like they own the streets
and pedestrian believe that they have the right of way even when they don't.
One learns very quickly that it is take or get taken.
Ms. Andaya talks about the three step program
which basically states that through awareness we will be able to modify
our actions. The steps state that it is better to drive with a clear
state of mind than to drive with anger and frustration possibly causing
an accident. Also people have the opportunity to do a driving makeover
with the choice of self-assesment and possibly changing ones way of driving.
Dr.Driving states that "expressing anger is
not healthy and wholesome for the mind." I tend to disagree.
I think that it is o.k. to express anger as long as it is done in a responsible
way. If people keep their anger bottled up, then they are liable
to explode at the wrong time example on the freeway. Also the suggestion
to make animal noises if someone acts stupidly on the freeway is in a sense
an expression of anger however, it is done in a more passive way.
Critique Of Report
I thought that this was a very good report
on the concerns of road rage. It was interesting the way she incorporated
her own feelings about the different issues. Also by comparing herself
to people she had read about, it gave the reader more insight on what kind
of driver Ms. Andaya might be. I also think that she spent a lot
of quality time on the report thereby making it informative.
Comparison To Other Reports
In comparison to other reports I think that
by breaking her report down in sections it made it easier to follow.
Also the fact that she read books by Dr.Driving gave her first hand informaition
on her topic.
My Selection
Number 2
My selection number 2 was is on a report written
by
Brandi
Ashby. She is a student from generation 7. Her topic was
on How Drivers Communicate With Each Other.
What I Liked About Report 2
I liked the fact that she seemed really enthusiastic
about doing this project. I also liked the method that she used-direct
observation which gives firsthand accounts. Also she gave feedback
on what she thought about other peoples' reports.
Steps That Lead Me To This Report
I am really interested in how drivers communicate
with each other so while I was looking for topics, this one really caught
my attention. It is very interesting to see people's facial expressions
and the various forms of nonverbal communication that they use on the roads.
A Brief Synopsis Of The Report
Ms. Ashby's report was on How Drivers Communicate
With Each Other. In the report she talks about the verbal and nonverbal
methods that drivers use. It could be the simple honking of a horn
to say hi or even as extreme as giving someone the finger.
Her report was on three main points.
Making room for another in ones lane, yielding the way and making turns.
To collect her data, she drove all around
the island and used a tape recorder so that she would have accurate informaiton
for her report. She observed that generally in Hwaii people tend
to drive with the " aloha spirit" and so they are a lot kinder. I
tend to disagree with her because I have been cut off too many times by
a reckless driver. I also think that Oahu is too congested and this
has a lot to do with the difficulties experienced while driving.
However, I do think that this might be the case on the smaller islands.
While in Maui I noticed that people were a lot kinder and they were not
in a big hurry to get to destinaitons. I believe the aloha spirit
is more present there.
I really liked the part where she said that
it takes 5-7 seconds for a simple act of kindness. I also believe
tjat showing kindness causes a domino effect wherby in return someone will
show kindness to you. In a sense like karma.
In her report she talks about how irritating
it is when people do not indicate when making turns. I think this
is my biggest pet peeve. Indicating should be second nature to us.
I've gotten so carried away that I find myself indicating in the parking
lot at the grocery store or mall. People should really make a conscious
effort to indicate. It would definitely solve some of our unecessary
problems on the roads.
Ms. Ashby also talked about our faces being
an open book where the rest of the world can read our emotions. I
think this is a very valid point and was also brought out in class where
Dr.James says that we have a private and public face, but it is really
important to always have a pleasant public face thus driving with the aloha
spirit.
Critique Of Report
I thought that this was an excellent report.
It was relatively short but very informative. I thought the part
on reccomendations where she talked about going on television to help make
people more aware of road rage was a really good idea. However, I
thought that she should have discussed what happens when you get the nonverbal
cues mixed up an the consequences of this.
Comparison To Other Reports
Ms. Ashby's report like most of the others
I have read was very informative. The part on additional information
where one can click on a link and get more information added richness to
her reporrt.
My Selection
Number 3
My report number 3 was
written by Andrew
Shapiro. His topic was on "The Effectiveness Of Gestural Communications
Involving Drivers Requesting The Right-Of-Way." It basically deals
with the "I WAS HERE FIRST" attitude.
Things I Liked About Report 3
I thought the article was very well written.
Me. Shapiro was very direct and to the point. The article was short
but it gave enough information to its readers. I also liked the method
that he used to gather his information-stake out at an intersection.
I also thought that the way he incorporated the California Driver's Handbook
and other materials relevant to his topic.
Steps That Led Me To This Report.
I chose this report
because this is a relevant issue to road rage. I think that gestural
communications among drivers can often be misrepresented thereby conveying
the wrong message and thus resulting in road rage. I thought
that by reading this report, it may give me some ideas when I was ready
to do my own reports. This report also caught my attention because
I saw the percentage signs and I wanted to find out what they were the
percentages of.
A Brief Synopsis Of The Report
Basically this report
was about what happens when you approach a four way intersection and who
gets the right of way or what nonverbal communications were used when motorists
arrived simultaneously at the four way intersection.
In his study Mr. Shapiro
notes that it was important for motorists to be aware of the other drivers'
mood so as to provide a greater level of road safety and avoid unecessary
confrontations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
state that people get behind the wheel of an automobile and they
basically take their frustrations out on anyone at anytime. This
is portrayed when people speed, tailgate, run stop signs and red lights,
weave in and out of traffic and make unsafe lane changes, just to state
a few.
He also noted that it
is up to us as individual motorists to be defensive drivers and arm ourselves
with patience and knowledge of nonverbal cues. I think this is a
bit hard to do because these cues are constantly changing and it is so
easy to get these cues mixed up. I think it is more important to
be courteous on the roads.
What he noticed was
that many motorists abided by the courtesy or common sense rule.
However, there is the ever present obnoxious, impatient male who needs
to make his presence known by revving his engine or failing to stop completly
at the stop sign. Generally the aggressive, impatient drivers are
males. He also noticed that the most prevalent gesture was the "
finger beckon" introduced by Dr. Desmond Morris in Body talk. As
we have learned in class, this may not be the best gesture to use because
the motorist being waved on may not look to see that it is safe and may
end up in a serious accident and in return sue the "waver." He also
noticed that increase in population especially in Stockton where he did
his observation, will cause an increase in aggressive drivers. He
states that courtesy, politeness and attentiveness should be key and will
promote safer driving.
Critique
Of The Report
I thought this report
was excellent. He incorporated a lot of information that I had not
even thought about. The fact that he used figures gave the reader
more insight on the subject matter. It also helped to break the monotony
in the report. I also thought that Mr. Shapiro's report was kind
of portraying the image that this is an ideal society by saying that all
we need is courtesy, politeness and attentiveness to have a safer driving
environment. Althought I think that this is true, I think it is really
important to be a little assertive so that one does not get pushed around
on the roads. If we tend to be too polite, I think that we probably
would find that it would take a long time to arrive at our destinations.
Comparison To Other Reports
This is the first report
that I have seen that incorporates arithmetic data in the information.
I think that by doing this it breaks up the monotony and it is a good tool
for getting and keeping the readers interested. Also the fact that
it was so short but informative definitely left the reader feeling satisfied.
My Selection
Number 4
My report number 4 was
written by Shane
Cobb-Adams. He was a student in generation 6. His topic
was on Developmental Patterns For Learning The Internet.
What I Liked About Report 4
I thought that the report
was very short. At first I was not sure if it would be informative,
but Mr. Cobb-Adams made links to all the sources that he used so that the
reader could go here for reference.
Steps That Led Me To This Report
It really caught my
attention because being computer illiterate myself, I wanted to see what
he thought the patterns of development were for learning the internet.
I think a big part of it is fear and realizing that the computer will not
fight. I also think that a person really need to make a conscious
effort and show a willingness to learn
A Brief Synopsis Of The Report
Mr. Shapiro starts this
report by saying that there are three domains of human behaviour.
The Affective Domain (feelings), the Cognitive Domain (thinking) and the
Sensory Motor Domain (doing). He basically gathered his information
from talking to students in his generation and recorded their answers.
In the feeling phase (affective domain) people complained about feeling
frustrated, lost, confused and anxious. I can really empathize with
them because this is how I felt at the beginning of this class and even
now. It is really hard when you're not used to something and then
suddenly you are totally immersed in it. I causes a lot of negative
emotions to arrive.
In the thinking phase
(cognitive domain) students noted thoughts of thinking that something catastrophic
will happen if they push the wrong button. This is a really delicate
issue because it means that we have to be careful so as to not erase input
that we already have or this may cause some major strss. In
the sensory-motor phase, this is where we actually go out and do it and
basically face the consequences. It is important to take the direct
approach to our fears so as to overcome the. In fact, we all no that
we need to practice to become perfect.
In conclusion, Mr. Shapiro
noted that learning the interned is easier when we are able to benefit
from the experience of others. Reading about the mistakes and succeses
enables us to gain a better understanding and in turn will cause us less
frustration.
Critique Of Report
I thought the report was very informative.
I liked the way he include advice from other people that have gone through
it. I thought that it was important that he noted that it is o.k.
to take a look at other peoples reports and learn from their experiences
so as to save a lot of time and frustration
Comparison Other Reports
Compared to other reports
it was releatively short. However, I did not think that it was lacking
in any way. I think the links that he made to the source of his information
more than compensated for the lenghth. In fact lenght is not important.
Content is.
How Does My
Report Fair With Others In My Generation
I think I did a good
job of completing the assignment. I think that it may not be as lenghty
but it is very informative. Also as soon as I learn how to make it
a bit more fancy I will do so. I think that so far this class has
been incredible in terms of how much I've learned. In fact it has
really taught me a lot about trial and error and that patience is indeed
a good virtue.
Suggestions
To Future Generations
I really believe that
it is necessary to plan ahead. Do not take for granted that deadlines
are far away because somehow things have a way of creeping up. Do
not get frustrated and stressed because it serves no purpose but to make
you unhealthy. Patience is key and do not be afraid to ask questions.
Also remember to drive with the "aloha spirit."
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