My Selection #1 Aaron Takahashi Psy 409b fall '96
Web Search Engines (Report 3)
I skimmed the whole thing over, and it wasn't that long. This is important because I tend to lose my attention after so many screenfulls of writing. At first, the title of the report did not sound that interesting, but as I looked at the content, I thought that it was going to be an informative page for me, a page that would give me more knowledge about using the web.
Aaron's report contained information about what a search engine actually is. At the top of the page he listed three search engines (Excite, Lycos, and Metacrawler), and he gave a brief description of each one. In the first section of his report he gives a definition of what a search engine is. He also points out that there are different types of search engines that operate in different ways, but their primary function is the same, to help you find information. In the second section of his report, he shares his first experience using a search engine. He called this attempt a "no-brainer" search, that is, he just typed his topic of interest into the space provided and clicked on the search button. He says that this type of search usually gives you a bunch of information that you don't really need. Also in this section of this report he gives helpful hints on how to get the results you want as you use search engines. In the third section of his report, he provides some links to students in past generations who share their experiences using search engines including Nicole Gustie's experience with Web Crawler and Christina Kealoha's experience with Excite. Robin Miller's site provides helpful hints for people who want to get an edge on surfing the net. The next section of his report contains Aaron's comparison between doing a search on Excite and Lycos. He explains how he used "Boolean Logic" and the "exact word command" to refine his search I order to cut down on the number of "hits". Finally, he concludes his report with his own evaluation of his learning experience.
I learned a lot of things by reading this report. It was very informative as I had expected. I thought his links helped me in gaining knowledge about how search engines work. I'm looking forward to trying some of the searching techniques. I know how it feels to search for something on the net and find practically nothing. This is a very beneficial site.
4) In comparison to others in Generation 4
Aaron's Report was just as good as any other report in his generation. I found that his explanations of different search engines were more thorough than those of his classmates. The design of his report was simple and easy to navigate. I was able to scrollthrough the whole report. Some of his classmates designed their reports so that all the sections of their reports were like separate files that were accesible through links on the main page. This format makes you feel like you're reading several reports instead of just one. The reports were all pretty good, but I enjoyed Aaron's style.
My Selection #2 Tami Hashimoto Psy 459 G7
Children's Self-Witnessing Reports as Road Users
This report took me a little longer to choose because all the reports in Psy 459 G7 have similar topics. They are all basically writing about the same thing. As I skimmed over this report, I noticed that it grabbed my attention. The introduction reads, "Are You a Dangerous Driver?" This seems like a very challenging statement, and it pushed me to read on and find out if I was a dangerous driver.
Tami's report was about self-witnessing as a driver. She took it upon herself to bring a tape recorder with her into the car as she went driving. She did this on two occasions. On her first self-witnessing journey she found herself swearing at the irritating things that other drivers do on the road. She felt tense and angry at the end of her road trip. On this occasion she also found herself singing a lot. She thought that it might have been an unconscious way to calm herself down. When she listened to the tape at the end her driving session, she decided to make some changes in her driving behaviors. The second time she went out with her tape recorder proved to be more successful. She was more aware of the things that she was saying and she managed to keep herself calmer. She attributed this success to self-witnessing, and recommends that everyone try it. Tami was also inspired by Cara Lucey's report in generation 6 to do a self-witnessing exercise with her cousin Nikki. Tami's younger sister drove them around while Tami interviewed her 7 year old cousin. Tami was impressed by her cousin's knowledge of safe driving behavior. She thinks that exposing children to self-witnessing will make them better drivers in the future.
I'm not so convinced about the idea of self-witnessing. I think that it is easy to manipulate your own actions if you are trying to pay attention to them. You can force yourself to say nicer things while you're on the road. I think that the simple fact that you are aware that you are recording yourself makes you more cautious of your own thoughts and actions. I think that it would be more beneficial to have a passenger randomly record you when you are not aware of it. However, having another person in the car with you can also change the responses you make toward other drivers as well. Perhaps the notepad and pencil technique would work better. This way, you say and do what you want and record it later when you're finished driving. However, I do think that it is a good idea to have children examine their own thoughts and ideas about good driving behavior. Children are teachable and they can learn what it means to drive well even at a young age.
4) In Comparison to Others in Generation 7
This report was very brief and to the point, it was not long and tedious. The layout was simple, but the content was good. Many of the other reports in this generation were long and discouraging to look at. What makes that even worse is that the topics were all too similar. Although Self-Witnessing was a popular topic in this generation, being short and to-the-point proved to be effective in attracting my attention. Another common topic was that of drivers behaving badly. The reports on this topic were far too extensive to read through.
My Selection #3 Kyle Kaneshiro Psy 409a G10
The Speed Limit Debate: How do I Stand?
I was a G10 member and part of the 409a class (Kyle's class). Sad to say, I was unable to complete all the work. However, this time I feel that I know what it takes to do better. Being a member of this course and generation influenced my decision to find a report from G10. I thought the topic of Kyle's report would be interesting to read about. I wanted to know what I would find out about the speed limit argument. Once again, the length of the report was a plus, it was not discouraging to look at. And as I briefly looked over the report, the links contained within looked like they would be of interest to me.
Firstly, Kyle provides some thoughts from students in prior generations in regard to the speed limit debate. An interesting fact was presented here by Shane Cobb-Adams pertaining to the establishment of speed limits in the 70?s. Apparently, according to Mr. Cobb-Adams, they were imposed for reasons of gas conservation. Next Kyle gives his opinion about speeding. He states that he believes that obeying the speed limit is generally the safest thing to do. He says that his actions are congruent with his beliefs and that he tries to obey the speed limits simply because speeding is against the law. The next section of the report lists, describes and provides links to a few sites on the web that discuss speeding in some way or another. There are even more links to web sites in his pro and con section that either aim to support or abolish speed limits. Also contained in the report are some Driving Psychology Facts about speed limits compiled from different web sites. After being informed, Kyle felt that speed limits in certain areas should be increased, but until then, drivers should obey the law. He also gathered opinions of other drivers in newsgroups and found various standpoints on the issue of speeding. And finally, based on some of the data he found in his research on this topic, he concludes that speed limits should be increased in certain areas in order to increase the flow of traffic.
I think this was an extremely worthwhile report to read. It is rich in resources and, it makes research just a little bit easier because of all the links it provides. I also learned a few things here and there by reading this report. I had no idea that increasing the speed limit could actually make any roadway safer.
4) In Comparison to Others in Generation 10
I was impressed by all the links provided on this page. I think Kyle?s report is top notch in the sense that it provides such easy access to so many other pages. It makes learning and research easier and more accessible.
My Selection #4 Ryan Shintani G8 Psy 459
Instruction for the Report on How Music Affects Drivers: Will we be tuning in or tuning out?
I chose this report because I am a music lover, and I wanted to see what people have to say about the way they are affected by music when they drive. I also know that this topic is also one of our options for the reports that we have to do in this class. I thought that choosing a report on this topic might provide me with useful information and links to sites that could help me in my research should I chose to do a report on music and driving.
This report was an attempt to gain an understanding of the effects of music on drivers. First of all, Ryan provided some quotes of fellow students with whom he participated in an e-mail exchange about whether or not music affects driving. One of the conclusions of the class was that driving without music actually made them calmer, and they noticed a difference in their driving. Ryan also said that he began a discussion on the effects that different types of music had on drivers. He states that classical music is soothing for him, and it takes the edge off traffic. On the other hand, rock music tends to make him drive considerably faster (10-20 miles over the speed limit). Furthermore, he shared a personal experience in which he was speeding; he was going 90 in a 50 mph zone. He attributed this to the music that he was listening to at the time (?Jump? by House of Pain).
In the remainder of the report Ryan disclosed a few of the sites that he visited while he searched Excite and Altavista. On these search engines he found discussion groups about music and also a chat room within a site called icq.com that pertained especially to music. He also used the search engine on the Dr. James home page to search the prior generations. He found only a few reports that related to his topic on music and driving. However, he did find a few that gave an analysis of Dr. Cohn?s home page. Apparently Dr. Cohn claims to have cassette tapes that contain relaxation techniques and soothing music that helps tense drivers relax. Ryan felt that it was only a money making scheme and that people can just make their own tapes containing mellow music in order to calm themselves down.
I thought this report was well done. He had good examples of the affect of music on drivers, and even his personal experiences were interesting. As I expected, I found a few sites that I will have to keep in mind when I do my report on music and driving. He stated in the conclusion that he hoped his report could be used as sort of a stepping stone to better evidence of the effects of music and drivers. I believe that his report was just what he hoped it would be.
4) In Comparison to Others in Generation 8
This report is actually as good as the others in the same generation on this topic. What I like most about Ryan?s report is the way that he expresses his opinions and shares his experiences in his report. I was pretty impressed by the students in this generation and their works about music and driving.
