Driving Personality Make-Overs Is it for Me? Do I Really Need to Change? by Jocelyn Manibusan (G11)

"This relates to driving personality make-over in that our attitudes about driving, aggression, and other drivers affect our driving behavior. If we have negative evaluations of another driver's actions, then we might behave in a negative manner. For instance, if a person suddenly cuts into my lane, causing me to make a sudden break, I could respond in two ways. If I evaluated such an event in a negative manner, then I would probably honk my horn, tailgate the other driver, show obscene hand gestures or yell at the driver. On the other hand, if I evaluated the situation in a positive manner, then I would probably leave things as it is and continue on with my driving without letting it bother me."

"I thought that this experiment would be easy. How difficult would it be to change my driving behavior? As it turned out, it was a challenge for me to change my behavior. The most difficult part of it was acknowledging my flaw, telling myself that my behavior was wrong and that I could do better. My initial goal was to complete this experiment so that I could write the paper. However, as time went by and the more thought I gave to the experiment, my goals changed. I wanted to do this for myself. I had to take actions for my own behavior."

Being a Driving Buddy--Teaching a Maui Girl to Drive on the Streets of Honolulu by Corey Egami (G11)

Being a Driving Buddy: What It's Like by Jocelyn Minibusan (G11)

"While browsing through the generational reports I came across two definitions of what it means to be a driving buddy. The first definition was from Dustin Telles, G10. He defines a driving buddy as someone who helps someone to improve some aspect of their driving. It is not someone who is trying to impose their will and their ideas on someone else but rather to help that person change a negative behavior into something positive. The second definition that I came across was from Chris Murakami, G6.   He defines a driving buddy as an individual riding as a passenger who provides the driver with a critique of his driving skills and suggests ways in which it could be modify into something more appropriate. ...  For the first day of this mini-experiment my sister Ding and I decided to go shopping at Ala Moana Mall. I told my sister that she could drive like she normally does and all that I would do is observe her and ask some questions pertaining to her driving behavior."

"Ding was not offended by any of my evaluations and I was hopefully that it was a sign that she will be willing to modify her driving behavior in day 2 without any resistance. However, Ding did show resistance when I suggested that she modify her behavior and practice more safe driving behavior. In the beginning of day 2, I suggested that Ding wore her seat belt. but before she wore her seat belt she complained about how she feels uncomfortable and strangled whenever she wears her seat belt. The origin of this resistance comes from a habit of not wearing her seat belt and getting away from it. ...  I just basically reminded her that she made a promise that she will modify her driving behavior into something more proper and safe. It is crucial that Ding acknowledges this resistance and try to overcome it in order to allow herself to begin to wear her seat belt."

The Speed Limit Debate:   How Do I Stand? by Cherisse Eguchi (G11)

A Literature Review of Music and Driving by Leon Mosher

"It is possible that while driving, the words and views expressed by DJ's may have a profound effect on your emotions and thus be projected towards our behavior and driving on the road. I've never experienced this but I do realize how it is quite possible. The solution to dealing with this problem is the same as with music: self control. It is important to not let your emotions take over your attention while driving."

Driving Personality Make-over:  Is it for Me? by Cherisse Eguchi (G11)

"My personality traits with regards to driving: I am very organized, hardly ever late, I drive a clean, neat car. Driving habits: I always put on my seatbelts and I am an advocate of seatbelt usage. I am also also an advocate of infant/toddler carseats and will push the issue despite the fact that people who don't utilize them get irritated at me. My feelings of driving buddies: I hate when people tell me how to drive. I hate it when people point out parking spaces, tell me if there is a police officer on the side of the road, when people remind me to check my gas and oil, if they tell me to over-take a car, or if the cuss in the car. Reaction to other drivers: This is what I will try to find in my mini experiment. I want to see what types of reactions I have to different situations I encounter on the road and hopefully find out why I reacted one way and not differently. I definitely think that my mood affects my attitude, and any attitude changes may be a direct result of another factor that is influencing my attitude and thus behavior."

The Speed Limit Debate How do I Stand? by Craig Kawamura (G11)

Report on How Drivers Communicate: Verbal or Non-Verbal by Craig Kawamura (G11)

Tailgating Behavior: Fair or Unfair? by Hyechin Kim (G11)

"Driving can turn the mildest manner person into the incredible hulk. This report made me realize that I should control myself     more when I'm driving."

Portrayals of Driving Behavior on TV, Good or Bad? Seeing is Believing by Hyechin Kim (G11)

"Taco Bell Day: Thursday Date: 4/22/99 Time: 2:25 p.m. Channel/Network: 2/Fox Name of Program: Taco Bell Commercial Type: Commercial Description of situation: The Mother is driving home from Taco Bells and the Taco Bell's mascot, the Chihuahua is chasing after her in a bus.  Description of Bad Driving Behavior: The mother is driving really fast. She makes turns with out slowing down and the dog is following the mother in a bus telling the driver to drive faster. They speed through residential zone without braking and the mother and the bus stop suddenly in front of her house."

My Experience with Newsgroups Searching for Driving Issues by Hyechin Kim (G11)

"It was interesting to see two different points of view come out on this topic, even though the the two main debaters were survivors of accidents caused by someone running a red light. One is for running yellow lights and the other against."

Collecting Data on How Drivers Communicate with Each Other by Valerie Iinuma (G11)

"Making room in one’s lane for another driver can sometimes be an irritating situation, especially during heavy traffic times. However, this is a rare situation where drivers have the opportunity to display good will and kindness on the road. The most simple way of letting drivers know it is okay for them to change lanes is to simply slow down and make room for the other car. Using hand gestures, like waving the "go ahead" signal was also commonly used and very effective. The lane change was often followed by a wave of "thank you" or "shaka". There are also situations where the driver does not want the other car coming into the lane. This is usually communicated by speeding up to the car in front to close the gap. The driver’s intention is communicated effectively using this method. Although not very happy, the other car is definitely made aware that changing lanes will not be allowed in this particular situation."

My Experience with Newsgroups What's Goes On Here... by Valerie Iinuma (G11)

"In this discussion, the two writers are complaining about slow drivers in the left lane of the freeway. Mr. Fun makes an assumption that people who complain the most about aggressive drivers are the incompetent and stupid drivers who stay in the left lane. This is his attempt at making the rationalization that aggressive drivers are competent drivers. By the way Mr. Fun expresses his opinions, it is likely that he truly believes he is one of those aggressive and proficient drivers. When he comes across slow drivers, he usually comes up behind and passes them. Coming up behind and passing a car is definitely characterized as aggressive driving behavior. Mr. Fun justifies this behavior because slow drivers have the choice whether to remain in the fast lane or not."

Being a Driving Buddy What It's Like... by Sheri Lieberman (G11)

"Being a driving buddy means, looking out for the safety and well-being of someone you care about, by making him/her more aware of proper driving etiquette. It is not about having an excuse to point out your friend's flaws, rather it is constructive criticism that will hopefully open this person's eyes to the harsh realities of road rage and what they can do to help eradicate this problem. Being a driving buddy is enabling your friend to drive with a little aloha."

Gender Differences in Driving Norms. Are Men More Aggressive Drivers Than Women? by Sheri Lieberman (G11)

"After I collected and tabulated all of the surveys, I found the mean aggression level, standard deviation, and range for males and females. Males had a mean aggression level of 54.35, a standard deviation of 28.12, and a range of 103. Females, on the other hand, had a mean aggression level of 42.12, a standard deviation of 19.62, and a range of 60. Males on the average, demonstrated higher levels of aggression while driving and also had more variability within the group. The results, therefore, supported my hypothesis that males are more aggressive drivers than females. Perhaps testosterone and stereotypes, such as women being more passive than men, are indeed key factors in aggressive tendencies. It is also interesting to point out that males on the average seemed to experience less pressure from other motorist to drive aggressively than females, as if their aggression is innate. Females also responded more frequently to feeling compassion for other drivers and experiencing fear while driving, reinforcing the stereotype that women are more nurturing and cautious. In conclusion then, it appears to be that gender differences in aggression can be attributed to both biological and social factors."

My Experience with Newsgroups: Informative Intellectual Debates or Recreational Wrestling Matches by Sheri Lieberman (G11)

"This exercise allowed me to investigate several topics that I became acquainted with throughout out this course. I first became interested in road rage after Dr. James gave us an interesting lecture one day. I decided to select this topic because I was curious to see what others opinions were on this matter. My second topic choice came about because I had done my oral presentation on the Y-2K problem. As I was gathering information for my oral report, I realized what a controversial topic this was. I knew I would be able to find some great examples of flaming on this issue, thus it became my second topic selection. Finally, I decided on my third topic as result of some our weekly online discussions. Students had some very interesting things to say and various explanations for their beliefs."

The Speed Limit Debate: Its purpose, the consequences of speeding, and other related factors by Sean Marrs (G11)

The speed Limit Debate by Kyle Michibata (G11)

"I strongly feel that speed limits were created for a reason, and that some rhyme or reason went into their creation. While some of them may seem too slow, it is important to keep in mind the abilities of other drivers. Some drivers, and their cars (I question some of the cars on the roads, not necessarily the drivers), cannot go as fast as I would like them to. For this reason, I feel that we should not tamper with the speed limits, and just adapt to other drivers around us. Many individuals have said that other drivers go too slow, and that the speed limits should be raised. This simply reflects the "me first" attitude that prevails in our society. We think about ourselves before we think about the big picture. This further convinces me that we must keep the speed limits the way they are."

Collecting Data on How Drivers Communicate with Each Other by Kyle Michibata

"Overtaking another vehicle is never a very safe thing to do, so communication becomes vital. So as not do become redundant, we will define overtaking as moving over a dotted (or in some cases, solid) yellow line as a means of getting in front of another vehicle.

This first method of communication is to signal and move into the opposite lane when it is clear. The yellow line should be dotted. A dotted line means that there is adequate visibility to allow you to overtake another vehicle. Examples of places where this may take place is on Kamehameha Highway heading towards Haleiwa. When I worked as merchandiser for a beverage company, I often had to take this route to service my stores. During the day, and especially during the night, vehicles are often overtaking other vehicles. I did observe that tourists were commonly the ones being passed by. They tended to drive slower (which was usually the speed limit) to view the scenery, and local drivers would pass them by to get towards their destination."

Driving Cartoons: Going Loony Over Driving Toons!  by Sean Marrs (G11)

How Music and Driving Affects Me by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"Music has been an important part of my life since I was a little girl. I was brought up listening to all types of music in my home. From Oldies, to Hawaiian, to Filipino, to the many other types of music that is played on the radio, I've had a great deal of exposure to music. I have to have music in the background, no matter what I'm doing, but of course not when I'm studying for a major exam. In general, I enjoy listening to music because it calms me and makes doing certain tasks more pleasurable. Especially when I'm driving, music is a necessity. Volume plays a role particularly when I'm driving a stick-shift. In those cases, the music has to be at a low volume so I can "hear the engine". I tend to become overwhelmed if the volume is too high. It's difficult for me to concentrate on driving and my surroundings when volume is too high. When I'm driving an automatic vehicle, volume doesn't really matter to me. Not having to be concerned with shifting gears is one less thing I have to worry about."

How Music Affects Drivers:  Cruise Control or Lose Control?  by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"I don’t agree with Mr. Shintani on his view that music affects the way he drives. He made it evident to me that even before he puts music on in his car, he already has the intent on driving fast. He seems to be just using music as an excuse to reinforce it. The same goes with his intention to drive slow. I notice that a lot of people use music as a scapegoat. He made a few very good statements with research to back them up, but it does'nt’t justify his own driving behavior."

The American Psychological Association, and their take on aggressive driving Reviewed by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"In their short presentation on "Car wars: taming drivers' aggression", by Scott Sleek, they provide a definition of aggressive driving, and discuss the behaviors that define the words. They provide a little background on the history of aggressive driving and explain, in general why people feel the need to speed, and offer ideas for promoting safer driving behavior."

Becoming a Driver and Ex-Driver by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"My second oral presentation was done on Chapter 6 of Beyond Traffic Safetyby J. Peter Rothe, Transaction Publisher, New Brunswick, New Jersey, copyright 1948. The chapter entitled, "Becoming a Driver and Ex-Driver" focuses on what it means for both teenagers and senior citizens/elderly drivers to obtain and lose their drivers' licenses; and how it affects their lives."

Surveillance on the Roadway by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"With the advancement in technology, many methods of surveillance have emerged as well. In "Beyond Traffic Safety" by J. Peter Rothe, Transaction Publishers, 1994, Chapter 13 discusses the advancement of these methods. The first section of the chapter talks about how uses of intervention devices have come a long way since your normal "walking a straight line, balancing on one foot, and touching the nose with the index finger". Other devices have been introduced, like speedometer readings and in 1960, traffic radar. Furthermore, the chapter talks about the pros and cons of radar detectors in various states. A particular focus of the chapter was on a newer device known as the Photo Radar Camera. What it does is simply takes a picture of an oncoming speeding vehicle and driver. A negative is produced and records the speed of the car, the date, and the time. A picture is developed and sent to the owner of the vehicle along with a letter 10-14 days after the event. An important issue to address is that the owner of the vehicle is penalized, whether he/she was driving the vehicle or not. This has been a topic of controversy, as described in a Supreme Court hearing in Paradise Valley, Arizona. The chapter also discusses 5 advantages to the Photo Radar Camera; the first and most important being that it can accurately identify a speeding vehicle."

Report on How Drivers Communicate: Sending the Right Messages or Sending Mixed Signals? by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"Communication on the road is very important. In my report, I discussed a little about verbal, but mainly non-verbal communication. I think that future generations could improve on this report by first understanding the aspects of communication on the road. I feel that future generations will be able to gather more information by thinking of new ways to research this topic. There is always room for improvement. In regards to driving, I think that the most important point to remember is to always make your intentions clear to other drivers by using signal lights and by using hand gestures. Driving will be more pleasant on the road for yourself and for other drivers. Common courtesy is also important in driving. No matter what mood a driver may be in, common courtesy and common sense should always be practiced."

Tailgating Behavior:   Fair or Unfair? by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"I agree with Mike Silva that tailgating is'nt’t justifiable. Of course, there might be times when you’re on the road and don’t expect there to be traffic. However, in those cases, I don’t feel that it gives a driver the right to pressure others. As much as possible, I think that time management should be practiced. When you need to be at a certain place at a certain time, plan ahead and get a head start. Be prepared for the unexpected and give yourself leeway time. This way you avoid aggressive driving behavior.

I agree with Terence Nakamatsu on his take on individuals having "personal space". In general, we do tend to take it personally when our space is invaded. It’s also true that we define our own personal space. For example, in certain cultures, when people walk together, they walk very close to each other, or may walk hanging on to the other person. And in other cultures, it would'nt’t be considered normal."

How Music Affects Drivers: Music and Drivers by: Marilyn Ortal, G11

"I must agree with Mr. Haimerman that the loudness and beat of the music affects us. For example, when doing aerobics, fast beat music causes your heart rate to go up which causes you to burn calories. Would you listen to classical music to burn calories? Most likely not. When doing stretches the music slows down so that we can get out heart rates down to base line. My point is that there is a relationship between music and the way you behave."

Definitions of Traffic Psychology:  How I Stack Up by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"I’ve had a few close calls as a pedestrian. I almost got hit walking in a crosswalk, and I had the right of way. I then realized how much danger even pedestrians can be in. Traffic Psychology can teach pedestrians to be more self-responsible. For example, although the traffic light may give pedestrian the right of way, always take caution and look both ways to make sure that the cars come to a complete stop. I’ve been in situations where the driver kept on going and wasn’t aware that pedestrians had the right of way."

Tailgating Behavior: Fair or Unfair?  by Christopher Flores (G11)

"I think that tailgating is unethical if done on purpose. If a person thinks that you are driving close to their car but you don't think you're too close it still is tailgating in the other person's mind but I don't think it is unethical because you are not doing it on purpose. You should however be paying enough attention to see that the person is taking offense to your being to close if he does and then react by backing off.

I think you should always give the other person the benefit of the doubt. I feel that it is wrong to tailgate without giving the other person a chance to move or some time to get out of the way. It is really very subjective and depends situation to situation. If someone is tailgating for no good reason then I would say it is uncalled for. But if someone is obviously causing a traffic hazard because he is going too slow for traffic I think it is okay to let him see you on his bumper so maybe he will realize that he needs to speed up. I don't however endorse the continued tailing, just give him a chance and if he still refuses to move then you should go around and not provoke him."

Being a Driving Buddy: The Backseat Driver by Jayson Nakasone (G11)

"In conclusion I found that he was very open to criticism and directions. At first I thought that it would be hard to criticize one of my close friends because of that whole ego thing. I feel that I have really made a difference in his life and that he has begun to become a better driver because of me. Not only better, but less stressed and therefore will be happier. This activity has also made me think about my own driving and how I can improve on that. I am getting better at bringing together the cognitive, affective and sensorimotor domains into one and I hope that I have done the same for him. This activity is something that everyone should try at least once because you are not only helping someone but you are also helping yourself. A note to the future generations about this, maybe it might be better if there are more than two experiences. There is still more to learn than just observing them in certain situations. The more situations there is, the better."

DWI Activism in Cyberspace: Spreading The Word by Christopher Flores (G11)

"One interesting article I found here was about findings of a survey done on young people who were pulled over for DWI in Austria.   Some interesting facts were discussed. Most of the young people did not know that they were legally intoxicated when pulled over.  They found that the BAC rose after midnight.  They were using the a .01% BAC for their limit for underage drivers.   This lower level was the type of activism they were advocating.  The page is supported by the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy.  I think this article is convincing in that it shows how immature and inexperienced young people are in drinking behaviors and driving behaviors.  I think it is vary important to hold young drivers to a higher standard until they are able to realize the consequences for their actions and choices.  By stating the findings of this survey on young people and presenting it to their peers I think kids are more likely to take the message to heart."

"Street Risks" Reviewed by Christopher Flores (G11)

"The book "Beyond Traffic Safety" was written by J. Peter Rothe  and published by Transaction Publishers of New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1994.  Chapter four was titled "Street Risks" and was basically about the risks that are assumed by one who gets behind the wheel of a car.  It goes on to look at the attitudes and beliefs of different groups of drivers and what the experts think about them.

These Experts have the assumption that drivers have an optimal level of risk compared to the acceptable risks in society.  They also say that drivers tend to rely more on preference rules, those that have been culturally and socially internalized, than they do on laws and formal definitions of risks.

The data in this chapter was taken from three studies Rothe conducted in Canada.  The first was done on 150 young drivers, the second was done on 130 elderly drivers who have been involved in a injury causing car accident, and the third was done on 200 drivers who say they are regular seat belt users.  Rothe came up with four basic rules on risk taking from the data he collected in these studies."

The Speed Limit Debate: Does it Matter by Jayson Nakasone (G11)

"I think my attitude towards the law is critical. There are many times when I think they can do more than they do or that they aren't totally objective when it comes to giving out tickets or enforcing the law. I have this attitude because I know that having more officers on patrol or them enforcing the laws will not change the way people want to drive. So in other words, I think that they waste their time.

I would have to say that my attitude is consistent with my driving behavior. I try to stay within 10 miles of the speed limit most of the time. I feel that my reaction times are good enough to handle most any situation at that speed. At times when my judgment tells me that a faster speed can be used and still be safe I will. I always pay attention to the road conditions including wind and rain."

How Drivers Communicate The Importance of Communication by Karla Hampp (G11)

"Car Communication" is when someone uses their car to communicate what they are thinking, according to Kristin Evert's (G7) Report "Physical Driver Communication" is facial expressions, hand gestures and verbal communications done while in the car to communicate. She doesn't really mention why or how she came across these particular predictions. During the course of her observational study, she found no real hard evidence to support her predictions. The study was too small. She does state some recommendations for a better driving atmosphere in her report. She recommends that people be taught (especially at an early age) not only how to deal with Road Rage, but also taught common courtesy. She came up with a little acronym: R.I.P. = Rethink-Implement-Practice. She explains that rethinking must occur in order to change our attitudes towards being more positive. Implementing those actions that would promote positive attitudes, and practice them to make them easier."

Gender Differences in Driving: Society's Effect on Our Driving by Karla Hampp (G11)

"As long as I can remember, there has been differences among genders. From the time I was a child, I could see similarities between sexes, as well as their differences. The differences by far out weigh the similarities. I would look at the way my grandparents acted as well as my parents. That was probably the first examples I had experience with. Also, going to school, in elementary, the girls hardly got along with the boys. They were too different at that time. They liked different things. Now, as I have grown up, what should be the difference with driving. I certainly believe that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. We are two separate worlds. This can be applied to any aspect of life: why not driving? I don't want to make any generalizations, but in my experiences, women drive a little more safer than men do. I think this either has to do with the motherly instinct, or the fact that men have testosterone. Or both. I know media has a lot to do with they way boys grow up to drive. When someone is driving crazy in a movie, it will 90% of the time be a male. Boys grow up thinking this is either cool, or the norm. How sad. Bottom line is that there are differences in genders, and we as a people try day in and day out to get past these differences and live in "harmony". Here is an article about gender issues (if you are interested). It has to do with the way we conceptualize gender itself."

Rothe:  Beyond Traffic Safety, Chapter 7: Constructing Traffic Laws Reviewed by Karla Hampp (G11)

"This chapter was about how traffic laws are constructed. Laws are made to ensure the welfare of every road user. Toady's laws emphasize control of driver individualism for the safety of all drivers and for efficient mobility. The chapter states that there is two types of drivers: The Individualist and the Collectivist. The main difference between the two is that the individualist is concerned with only himself when driving. He doesn't think of the well-being of other drivers, and is only concerned with his own internal laws (what ever that may be for that person.) The Collectivist driver is concerned with other drivers, and follows traffic laws for the safety of all road users.

As society industrializes and becomes more complex, laws are necessary to regulate, assure order, bring predictability and coherence to human behavior as well as improve mobility, creating a functioning roadway. There are 3 groups of laws. The 1st group are laws of "position". Some examples of these are distance between moving cars, lane changes, direction, and speed. The 2nd group are laws of "presence at intersections". These pertain to stop signs, rights of way, traffic signals. The 3rd group are laws of "drivers/vehicle appropriateness". These include driver intoxication, driver disabilities, wearing seatbelts, having insurance/license, safe brakes, lights, tires, etc."

National Saferide Activities Reviewed by Karla Hampp (G11)

"Question:  "Do you support the thought of the saferide programs? What kind of organizations would you come up with to reduce the number of accidents among college students?"   Answer:  I do support the idea of saferide activities. However, I believe that the Group Ride approach (actually providing a ride for students) is better in comparison to the designated driver approach (promoting designated drivers among groups), simply because out of a group, no one really likes to be the odd man who can't drink throughout the night. Provided rides are a good idea, and I myself would use them, especially in Hawai'i, where it is hard to find parking."

Tailgating Behavior: Fair or Unfair? by Don Huynh (G11)

"I don’t think tailgating is fair or ethical because it infringes upon the rights of other people driving on the road. I think proper and fair driving comes when drivers take into account how other drivers on the road are driving and then trying to be more understanding instead of trying to just impose your will on another driver by driving too close behind to scare him/her. Scare tactics or aggressive tactics meant to intimidate another driver are just wrong. It all comes down to treating others how you’d like them to treat you, and if your driving behavior committed against another driver is something you wouldn’t want done to you, you shouldn’t engage in that particular behavior.

When it comes to tailgating, I think many people unintentionally do things like follow another driver too closely or speed more than the rest of the drivers on the road. However, there is a great distinction between unintentional tailgating and intentionally engaging in a behavior to impose your will on another driver, to intimidate or scare another driver, and to make another driver know that "he can’t mess with you." Those types of behavior that stem from the intention of disrespecting another driver are all wrong and highly unethical. I’m only afraid that too many people nowadays aren’t as respectful or empathic with other drivers. I think the only way tailgating behaviors will be eliminated is if all drivers are aware of how they’re driving at all times and consciously make an effort to be understanding of other drivers and to be respectful and courteous."

How Music Affects Drivers by Don Huynh (G11)

"Wilfred Lee is convinced that music has a strong effect on drivers. He feels that fast and loud music makes a person’s heart beat faster while slow music relaxes a person, mellows them out. He comments that for him, he can’t drive fast while listening to mellow music such as classical music. He cites research that has determined classical music can calm children in their mothers’ womb. So his conclusion is that maybe classical music is the answer to aggression on the road.

I think the question of whether music has an effect on a driver is without a doubt, easily verifiable through drivers’ experiences music. As each of the people who have commented on this site have stated, they are all affected by music affectively in some way. Music at the very least serves to make a person more calm or happy or more pumped up or even irritable. But whether that then leads them to behave a particular way is uncertain as some of the comments (Kristin Evert’s in particular) reflect on music not leading to a behavioral alteration. Most interesting to me were the comments made by both Mr. Sasabe and Chris Burlem about how driving without music allows them to concentrate better on the road. This is a point that I agree with totally, as my own experience leads me to concur with Mr. Sasabe and Chris Burlem on the benefit of driving without music. But at the same time, music’s calming effect as many comments by students have attested to can’t be ignored."

Road Rage in Newsgroups by Don Huynh (G11)

"In most cases if the territory is "invaded", if someone stands too close, our social education tends to result in defensive body language rather than physical aggression. The car is an extension of this territory. Indeed, the territory extends for some distance beyond the vehicle, again providing room for the defender to prepare to fend off or avoid the attack. If a vehicle threatens this territory by cutting in, for example, the driver will probably carry out a defensive maneuver. This may be backed up by an attempt to re-establish territory - in spite of the rationalizations we used to account for our behavior, flashing head lamps or a blast on the horn are, perhaps, most commonly used for this purpose.

However, this may not always succeed in communicating the full depth of our feelings. As it is usually difficult to talk or even shout to the offending driver other non-verbal communication (offensive gesticulations) may be employed."

Rothe:  Licensing Strategies, Common Sense, and Public Interest Reviewed by Don Huynh (G11)

"I think the main reason test scores on the written and driving test do not accurately predict driving performance is that when people take the driving test, they know the traffic regulations well enough to score high on the written portion of the test. Also, they know how to follow those regulations to a tee while driving during the driving portion of the licensing exam. Of course, after receiving their licenses, they aren’t being watched for very strict adherence to the traffic regulations, so they will drive a bit more recklessly, using their own judgement to determine what types of driving behaviors are feasible in specific situations. With inexperienced drivers, their lack of experience can equal to poor judgment of how to drive safely, which can lead to poor driving performance."

Rothe: The Emergence of Traffic Sociology Reviewed by Don Huynh (G11)

"I think the biggest problem we face in driving today is that the number of drivers with their cars on the road is so great, there will be a great many problems arising from that (traffic congestion, potential for more conflict between drivers, more drivers means more incompetent drivers on the road). When Rothe mentions "diversity" he means the various classes of drivers on the road (i.e. elderly drivers, teen drivers, male/female drivers, SUVs drivers, sports car drivers, aggressive drivers, safe "prototype" drivers etc.). The implication of this is that the due to the great diversity of drivers on the road there will be a great potential for drivers of differing driving styles to get involved in conflicts on the road as they may disagree with each others’ driving styles. Traffic sociology differs from driving psychology in that traffic sociology examines driving from the social standpoint (i.e. social, economical, political class of the driving population in relation to government  policy) while driving psychology examines how and why certain behaviors and habits are present, the cognitive aspect of driving in relation to driving performance."

Speedtrap Registry Reviewed by Don Huynh (G11)

"I think that the way the police are handling speeders right now by setting up speed traps is fine. I think the speed traps serve to "scare" drivers into speeding at reasonable rates in the areas they are set up in. As for the second question, I think that speed alone doesn’t kill, it is the other factors accompanying the speeding such as road conditions, the driver’s skill level, etc. Last question, I think that punishment should be combined with re-education as punishment alone doesn’t educate the drivers as to why they shouldn’t be driving the way they are. Re-education alone doesn’t prevent the people who don’t believe what they’ve been educated on is beneficial to them. So the combination of the two ensures that those who still break the rules after re-education are dissuaded from doing so while helping others who can learn and change from re-education."

Gender Differences in Driving: You're Driving me Nuts! by Ike Matsunaga (G11)

"This is an exchange where a woman is responding to a man who takes the machismo point of view to driving. He openly puts women down, and he definitely gets a response here. However, I was more dumbfounded by what the woman said. She definitely is our of the stereotype of women drivers. She gives "Powerful Pierre" a powerful response.

One woman shared how she is able to change her oil etc. and how she feels great about it. She is a woman who is taking an active part in breaking society's stereotypes. Another thing that came up within this discussion is the idea that there should not be any such thing as a "woman's car." One woman in this exchange was concerned about being able to handle certain RVs. The response that she got from Mark was that gender does not disqualify women from driving any vehicle."

How Music Affects Drivers: Are We Really in Control? by Ike Matsunaga (G11)

"The topic of music and driving is a very difficult one on which to find specific information. Extensive research has lead me to several articles that at best are related to music as it affects drivers. While these articles and studies have been helpful in gaining a better understanding about how music affects people in a general sense, there has been very little or no research done on how music affects people specifically as they drive. My understanding of the research done on the affect of music upon people is that it has effects on a person's physical state. Heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate all have been shown to be affected by music. Another conclusion I have reached as a result of reading the research is that the type of music also plays an effect on the overall human condition. Music affects what people perceive and how they interpret the world. Music can also change a person's mood. Other research also implies that music preference is influenced by personal values and the reference groups in which a person finds identity and a sense of belonging. The topic of music as it affects drivers is very complex, and it needs to be researched further."

"Claim Making and the Drive for Greater Control" From J. Peter Rothe's "Beyond Traffic Safety"  Reviewed by Ike Matsunaga (G11)

"Traffic researchers basically come up with the same conclusion, that drivers are largely to blame for traffic accidents. One way these researchers compile evidence and statistics is by collecting information from police accident reports. One study compared accident reports done by police to those done by hospital emergency rooms. It was found that police reports consistently left out certain kinds of information (demographic, social, crash factors, and severity of injuries incurred). Furthermore, Rothe argued that police handle their investigations of accidents in an automatic fashion. Another problem with obtaining all vital statistics and information from police is that they have other duties to handle other than traffic accidents. In certain areas of the United States police try to handle reports quickly in order to better serve the public. The problem is that trying to rush through reports can allow for details to be overlooked."

A Review of Drivers Behaving Badly by Ike Matsunaga (G11)

"The site contained links to twenty students' reports from prior generations (17 from G7 and 3 from G6). Each student's report contained ratings for movies, cartoons, and car commercials in which they observed portrayals of bad driving behavior. The content of this page is intended for any driver or parent concerned about what their children view on television. Some general observations I acquired from looking over this site was that certain programs and commercials were more prevalent in the ratings than others. For cartoons, The Simpsons was clearly the most popular among the DBB ratings. As for commercials, Nissan seemed to have the most ratings. The listings for movies were pretty balanced.

I think that DBB scenes influence people's affective component (their feelings) most. People see bad driving scenes that look cool, and they want to imitate them. These people are trying to accomplish a certain image, and they think that driving a certain way will help make them what they want to be. Teenagers would probably be the most at risk for being influenced, but anyone who is looking to gain an image could be subject to adopting reckless driving behaviors. I think the DBB site was set up to inform parents of what could happen if DBB scenes are viewed and processed in a harmful way by children. So many things can go wrong when a child is being reared, it is important to be involved and monitoring the progress of children. Any DBB scene has potential for damaging effects on children."

Driving Personality Makeovers- Here's Some Attitude by Ike Matsunaga (G11)

"Driving personality make-over is the process of changing the way we feel, think, act when driving. Adele Kimura sees a driving personality make-over as a way to change the feeling that a person feels when threatened by another driver. . Cherilyn Okazaki said that it consists of two parts, self witnessing and behavior modification. It not only is limited to driving, but in real life too. I believe and agree that it consist of self witnessing and behavior modification.

There are many different concepts that I can discuss that I have learned about in my other psychology classes. However, I will only discuss three. These three are driving norms and attitudes, self assessment, and self modification. Lets discuss the first, driving norms and attitudes. This is where when driving you do what everyone else is doing. For example, when driving on the freeway you will notice that people tend to drive between 10 to 15 miles per hour over the speed limit. This is considered a driving norm, or the norm of what the majority of everyone else is doing. Another example that I can give you is one that we discussed in class, the left lane is the driving norm for faster traffic and the right lane is a driving norm for slower traffic. Now that we know what driving norms are, let me say how this helps you to do a personality makeover. By knowing the norms, you can keep up with the flow of traffic and also prevent people from getting irritate with you or you getting irritated with them. Knowing the driving norm also helps you to feel more comfortable.

The second concept is self assessment. This is where you carry around a note pad or a tape recorder and you keep track of the way that you are feeling while driving. This will help you to realize what irritates you and what doesn't so that you can do a personality makeover. The reason that this concept is important for a makeover is that you need to know what needs to be makeover before you can do a makeover. This to me seems common sense. The third and final concept that I will discuss is on self modification. This is where you change the way you do things to a more healthy and prosperous way. The reason that this is important to a personality makeover is simple, the word make over. Modification is basically the same thing as a makeover. Therefor you cannot do a makeover without doing a self modification."

Music and Driving: What Rocks Your World by Ike Matsunaga (G11)

Summary of Excerpts: In the preceding excerpts, the individuals involved are talking about the various ways in which they have had reactions to music while driving. There also some examples of how not listening to music affects some individuals better than music itself. They all came to the same conclusion that music or lack thereof affected their driving skills.

Volume of Music: First, Mr. Sasabe discussed his reaction of speeding in correlation to the volume and genre of music he listened to while driving. Mr. Shintani, Brian Haimerman, and Wilfred Lee wrote in agreement with this fact. Mr. Haimerman even gave physiological evidence to this point. Tempo of Music: I agree with this issue. Many times I have seen people listening to high tempo music tend to do things in a more aggressive and urgent manner. This may lead to frustration at slower people and the road rage that follows. The tempo of music highly contributes to how hyper and excited you get.

Slower Music: Another issue brought up is similar to the first, but it relates to slower music. Kristin Evert brings up the point that slow music could make her sleepy. Mr. Shintani brings up the point that the playing of classical music helps to reduce the amount of violence when played in malls. Mary Ford wrote that she listens to slower music to mellow herself out. Tami Hashimoto writes that music helps her mellow out, but she neglects to mention what type of music does that. Wilfred Lee brings up the point that it is difficult to drive fast while listening to classical music. He also points out an interesting fact he heard, that babies in the womb become calmer when when mothers listen to classical music.

I agree with some of what people wrote, but I also believe that some of their information is misleading. If I am irritated when I get into my car, some Hawaiian or reggae music will mellow me out, but it won't make me sleepy. Classical music tends to make me mellow, but it also irritates me. In general, slower music does affect attitudes while driving, but it is unique to each individual the extent of the music's power.

Turning it Off : Mr. Sasabe also brought up the point of having the radio off leading to a meditative state. This goes along to the fact that louder, faster music causes more aggressive driving. Mr. Miyoshi and Cris Burlem also agree that turning off the music helps.

To a point I agree with this issue. I do think that music helps me to clear my mind while driving, but then I start thinking about other things. This tends to distract me from my driving, which can cause an accident. In addition, when I don't listen to music while driving, I tend to dwell on whatever emotions I am feeling at the time. If I am angry, I just think about how angry I am. If I am tired, I just get more tired. Most people turn their radio's off when they do not want to hear music, so I can understand why the people above write that not listening to music leads to a meditative state in them."

J.P. Rothe's "Beyond Traffic Safety" Chapter 7 Reviewed Jayson Nakasone (G11)

"Traffic is patterned behavior. It is a collection of rules, socially approved boundaries which drivers operate their vehicles. One boundary is responsibility. Responsibility thought of in 3 ways: personal, social, legal. Personal responsibility focuses on individual feelings, motives, wants, goals. Driving is also decision making. Once someone chooses to drive in a certain way, he/she must accept the consequences. People are authors of their own behavior and are often labeled speeders, drinking drivers, risk takers. The chapter also talks of social responsibility that refers to obligations people meet everyday while playing different roles-mother/child, bus driver/parking. Drivers adjust their behaviors according to the responsibility they share to maintain patterns of joint action. Legal responsibility is like a social contract between drivers and the state. It's expected, if the driver chooses irresponsible driving, they should accept expected costs of an accident or change to an alternative conduct. Assumption: drives within limits of law are error free drivers, who don't have accidents, not responsible for the accident. Fault may be considered part of normal behavior or it may be a momentary act of inattention or distraction. Traffic safety may not lie in foolishness of drunk driver, but the failure of auto industry to construct an automobile assuming they will be foolish or drunk and not construct the vehicle as so."

J.P. Rothe's "Beyond Traffic Safety" Chapter 10 Reviewed Jayson Nakasone (G11)

"In chapter 10 Rothe discusses impaired diving and the influences contributing to it. Rothe discusses impaired driving and how it becomes labeled as a problem. He mentions the medical model and how doctors measure the alcohol content in the blood. While this is a logical way to determine how drunk a person is, I do not agree that impaired driving is a medical problem. I think that the problem is that doctors have created a disease model for just about everything today. Doctors look at an alcoholic and label him as an individual with a disease. I do not see an alcoholic as a person with a disease because alcoholism is something he has done to himself. The alcoholic can stop drinking with the help of rehabilitation and therefore solve the problem of his alcoholism. A person with a real disease such as cancer can not stop the disease himself. The only thing he can do is pray that doctors and medicine can save his life."

Gender differences in Driving:subjective or concrete? by Jason Thompson (G11)

"Historically women have been the more timid of the sexes. Men are usually more dominant in many aspects of society. History does change however. Women are increasingly becoming more and more outspoken and equality is being reached in many ways. Michele Rodino in the department of communication at the University of Washington has written an article discussing many issues about gender differences and communication. She discusses aspects of language, speech, and online differences. I found the online differences to be interesting. Offline, men usually are the dominant speakers in a discussion or debate. Men talk the most and interrupt the most. Men usually lead the discussion. Women’s speech is usually in a superpolite way. Online however it has been found that women and men enter comments at the same rate in discussion and chat rooms. Women sometimes dominate or form conversations around themselves. I feel that women are still a shy in person and that these findings are due to partial or complete anonymity."

What is Traffic Psychology? Definitions!!! by Jason Thompson (G11)

"As a driver I feel that I am not the best character. As a person I am usually in such a great mood. In affective ways I am happy and relaxed. Often when I get behind the wheel everything changes. Many a time I will be in a rush for work and no matter what happens someone seems to get in my way. I have to drive through Waikiki everyday. If you know what that is like half the cars are in no rush to get anywhere and the other half are like me, they just want to get through without catching the lights. The traffic lights go in a wave action and it is possible to go through without catching a single light if you go at the right speed, which I have found to be about 40. Yes this is a little fast but when I am late all I care about is watching out for police.

Since taking this class I started to self analyze myself and I found that the fact is I am already emotionally, and cognitively disturbed when I enter the car. I found that I was always rushing and that I need to make sure I get a head start to work. I found that this was hard because I don’t enjoy going to work always and I seem to always wait till the last moment. I found one way that seems to work marvelously. I do enjoy walking through Waikiki looking at all the waves and longboarders and people on the beach, so I decided that I would no longer park at the hotel that I work at but instead park down the road near the park. I would get to park for free and enjoy watching the activity at the beach on my daily stroll. I found that personally this was a great motivator to go to work early. Now I go about fifteen to twenty minutes early and walk by the beach to see if any of my friends are cruising or going surfing. Then at the last minute I speed walk to work."

Report on How Music Affects Drivers by Jason Thompson (G11)

"I feel that music can have a large and diverse effect on my emotions, attitudes, and physical states. Yet my emotions, attitudes, and physical states can also have a large and diverse effect on the music I listen to if I choose to listen to music. When I am excited or angry I will tend to put on faster music that fits the physical state of arousal I am in. When I am calm I will tend to change the station from a song like one of Metalica’s to something more singable and rosy like easy listening. Rap is to be listened to when I feel invincible like a gangster. Other times I may be in a care free mood. A mood where any one thing or any one experience could change it from either positive or negative or vice versa. A song might come on which evokes feelings of hate, or anger in me. This will in turn speed up my heart rate and other parts of my sympathetic nervous system that is active when I am excited or scared. I thus feel that our emotion has an influence on our driving and music might be a partial factor in controlling emotion. We cannot pigeonhole one type of music as being the culprit since many people react differently to different stimulus."

The Speed Ethos J.P. Rothe's "Beyond Traffic Safety" Chapter 7 Reviewed by Jason Thompson (G11)

"There are two questions Roth asks concerning speed limits. What is a safe speed? And how does a safe speed relate to the limit. He argues that the only way to prevent any Highway fatalities is to reduce all freeway traffic to 5 miles an hour. This however would not be realistic or conventionally efficient at all. It would be faster to ride a bicycle.

What is a safe speed is a question that lawmaker, engineers and politicians have all tried to figure out. "From an engineering perspective sagely effect of speed limits is largely unknown." Design speed is what engineers refer to. " Speed at which on a good day with good weather and low traffic density, a driver with average ability is able to drive safely without losing control. The idea is to set the speed limit at the 85 percentile of the design speed. Accident risk greatly increases at speeds above and below this percentile rank. Roth argues that they have no proof of this 85th percentile being the safest and that this speed is no longer relevant with the greater technology in car manufacturing."

Trust in motoring   J.P. Rothe's "Beyond Traffic Safety" Chapter 2 Reviewed by Jason Thompson (G11)

"The idea of trust in standardized behavior, for example staying on the right side of the road. We follow standardized markings that we take for granted that everyone will follow like, lanes, intersections, roadway markings, signal lights, traffic signs etc. When variations happen that shatter the certitude of these driving routines or standardized behavior, for example, reckless driving. These things are usually taken in stride and assessed by drivers as the other driver being inconsiderate or stupid. It does not usually shatter basic trust. They still maintain their ontological trust that drivers will stop at stop sign, will drive on the right hand side of the road and will not stop and park on the freeway in the middle lane.  Fiduciary Trust: The belief that people can be trusted because they also want to uphold, community standards and that they also have a moral obligation to defend individual and community interests."

Newsgroups for Drivers Analyzed by Alma Valvieja (G11)

"Date: 1999/02/06    Forum: aus.bicycle   Road rage doesn't occur for no reason. It happens in response to someone doing something silly or even dangerous. For example, rude or incompetent driver dangerously cuts off another driver. The victim is angry and abuses the perpetrator. Result: the victim is accused of road rage. People who commit road rage are providing a valuable service to all of us in letting errant and dangerous drivers know that their conduct is unacceptable. We should be rewarding people accused of road rage for this valuable service. Their accusers should forthwith be sent to driver re-education camps or if the incident was bad enough, charged with dangerous driving.

This whole hysteria against road rage is a classic case of punishing the victim. What Lance seems to be saying is that road rage is a behavior everyone should do because it lets other drivers know that the victim is a bad driver. But, can we honestly say that the victim is the aggressive driver here. The person who commits the crime is the guilty person not the victim. Through my eyes, Lance is saying that a murderer is innocent because the person he/she killed was a burglar to prove to others that he was wrong to steal. No matter what a person does on the road it is not your place to prove them wrong or prove to others that they were wrong."

Laying Down the Law by Alma Valvieja (G11)

"I also think that anger has a lot to do with how we drive on the road. One weekend ago I had a chance to test myself in how I drive on the road with loud music blasting and it really made me turn into an aggressive driver by speeding and cutting turns. I don't usually drive here in Oahu and when I did, I felt so in control and when someone cuts in front of me, I react by behaving like a maniac by seeking revenge. Now I know why I did such a risky move because of my anger towards the person who cut me off on the road. What I also found interesting from this article is the attempt that states tried to pass bills that were introduced. Out of 23, only 2 were passed. The reason for this could be the unbelievable laws that would make the roads safer. The bills were a bit too extreme and were for only situations that occur once in a blue moon."

To Enforce or Not to Enforce That Is The Question Policing Traffic Laws by Alma Valvieja (G11)

"This section describes the way police officers approach truckers and motorists. When a police officer approaches a trucker, they engage in a friendly conversation to lighten the mood of the situation or to establish a sense of businesslike manner. Police officers usually pull over truckers for investigation to see their rig, tires, lights, what they are carrying, what’s in the cab and to check their log books. Whenever a police officer sees anything suspicious they tighten the inspection. The length of the encounter depends on three factors: 1. the impression of the trucker, 2. the condition of the truck, and 3. the reputation of a certain carrier regarding safety. Motorists were treated differently by police officers because of the respect officers need from the public. Usually a driver is pulled over, they will most likely get a ticket no matter what’s the driver’s excuse. In general, this section talks about how police officers and drivers act when they both encounter with each other on the road. This section were mainly stories or situations given by officers who encountered with a trucker or motorists who disobeyed the law and what was expected from the driver."

Do We Really Know What We Are Watching by Alma Valvieja (G11)

"March 25, 1999 Thursday Night   KITV 4/ABC  T.V. Commercial:  Summary Commercial starts with a man in the driver seat playing with his power windows on his new red convertible car in which he won from McDonald’s. Narrator of the commercial explains how to win a car like this and ends with a statement saying, ‘what you do with it is entirely up to you’ and the commercial ends with the winner playing with his windshield wipers, lights, locks, etc.

It's Representation:  This commercial influences children and drivers on their style of driving as that they could do anything they want to do with a car. Either if it is just playing the music too loud while driving or breaking the law, hey it is entirely up to them according to the commercial. The type of car was a sweet cherry red convertible fully loaded. In order to play with a car, drivers are influenced to purchase a sports utility vehicle just like the vehicle shown in the commercial.

My Thoughts:   This McDonald’s commercial has influenced my driving by influencing me that it is okay for me to play with the power windows without a care in the world. It has also made me realize that I could speed up to 100 mph because I can do what ever I want to do because it is my car. This commercial also motivated me to not take care of the vehicle in which I am driving. Since it is okay for the guy in the commercial to do what ever he wants to do with his new car, then I could too."

CyberPsychology

Social Psychology of Web Architecture Cyberspace: The Final Frontier by Monica Che (G11)

"I've come to realize that with the birth of cyberspace, we have inevitably create two worlds for ourselves, the real world, and the virtual world.  To those who are in touch with both, it all seems logical to have a home in both worlds.  We can try and rationalize (like Dr. James pal) that these are just a bunch of folders and files that are connected to the internet, and it is just near prepostrous to relate that to your own home that you reside in.   Yet, at the same time, can't we rationalize that our "real" home is just a bunch of wood planks, concrete and nails that are use to put together an enclose space for us to call home?

What makes our cyber homes different from our "real" home is that we can't touch it; what we CAN do in cyberspace is experience the cyber world through our eyes.  We are constantly visually stimulated with images and pretty little animated icons, and it is the style and the info that makes a site enticing enough for us to stay and visit.  This leads me to the next section of Dr. James paper, Informational Content of Home Pages."

A World of Love...And How To Get There by Monica Chen (G11)

"Though the connection may seem somewhat vague, I can understand how Mr. Rossman relate the development of morality to our perception of god as we develop mentally and emotionally. In my opinion, the majority of values that are instilled within us come from our belief systems. Our morality depends on our beliefs which are developed through our perception of the world, life, relationships, and even god. Ultimately, we all want to reach some sort of salvation, the key to happiness. In the web site Mr. Rossman writes that when we reach stages six and seven, we discover that God doesn't punish and has no need to do so (you can find it on this section.) This is what he consider as salvation, and ultimately, we are in made in the essence of God."

Life On The Screen: Chapter 2 The Triumph of Tinkering by Monica Chen (G11)

"Question:  Why is she talking about the "culture of simulation?" What does this phrase mean?  Answer:  When I looked up a synonym for "simulate," I got words such as "fabricate," "pretend," and "fake." I think that when Turkel speaks of the present computer culture as the culture of simulation, she is referring to the fact that computer programs nowadays are design to be more closer to life, whether it is visually, or auditory. Video games such as SimSeries is basically a simulation of real life (a bit exaggerated, but still real enough). Programmers want their users to interact with and to immerse into the programs that they have created. I think that is what has made computers become more and more an essential element in our lives, the fact that we are able to project a part of ourselves into our computer, and be able to get a response."

Getting Hold of Cyberpsychology Cyberspace: In the Eyes of the Beholder by Monica CheN (g11)

"Cyber-psychology, in my own definition, is therefore the study of users behavior in cyberspace.  Unbeknownst to the majority, there are so many psychological aspects to clicking on links, creating web sites, interacting in chat rooms, and other actions that we take while we are in cyberspace.  For example, in Dr. James article Cyberpsychology: Principle of Creating Virtual Presence, he states that, "An individual's cumulative lifetime bookmarks or history file constitutes a spiritual biography of that person." We are where we link ourselves to.  Every site we visit can tell an observer how we are and what we like, thus in a way, creating us as individuals.  This is what cyber-psychology studies, our behavior and attitude towards cyberspace."

What are Virtual online communities? What is their purpose? by Craig Kawamura (G11)

My Experience with Newsgroups Something to Talk About: Love and Long Distance Relationships by: Marilyn OrtaL (G11)

"I think that people react in newsgroups because they all share something in common. In the newsgroups, people can voice their opinions or share ideas. Some of them consider their newsgroup a family. There are a few people that I have met that needed some advice on their relationship, and I really thought that that was interesting. I reacted on some of their messages because I could understand how the person felt in that situation."

Private Eye: Internet Detective by: Marilyn Ortal (G11)

"The Internet Detective tutorial, teaches you skills to evaluate an Internet resource by looking for clues; asking questions, and considering the motives of people publishing on the Internet. It is very easy to become "lost in Cyberspace", the Internet Detective helps you to be clear about your purpose, orientate yourself within cyberspace, get clues about the context from URLs (uniform resource locators), and establish the type of resource you are looking at."

Report on the Psychology of Virtual Online Communities Online Communities by: Marilyn Ortal (G11)

"Virtual online communities are a part of what we call Cyber culture. A culture that has its own unique characteristics and rules which governs its establishment and existence. It is similar to face-face communities in that there are rules that governs the interactions between people. Virtual communities are similar to face-to-face communities in that they need active members to keep the virtual community alive. Virtual communities works the same way as face to face communities because it provides an opportunity for people to interact among one another. In a virtual community, you can choose to participate in discussions or not, just like in face to face communities where one can choose the group of people he/she wants to have a discussion with. I believe that an evolution in cyberspace of virtual communities has already begun. With the advancing technology that we have today, there are new and creative ways of inventing means of communicating, like virtual communities."

The Making and Breaking of a Web Page:  From Sucky to Savvy by Hyechin Kim (G11)

"Would you rather the web page that you're looking at to be more or less sophisticated? Why?  I think it would depend on the content of the web page. If it was a personal web page I would like to see more personal touches to bring out the author's personality. However, if it was a business or a government's page, then I would like a little sophistication."

Disappearance of Internet Etiquette by Hyechin Kim (G11)

"Halland states that when communicating on the internet, we set up a relationship with other people in which the people get less human and the machine gets more human. And this is how the three signs of internet regression (flaming, flirting, and giving) come into play. We flame the other person as if they had no feeling like a machine. We flirt with the machine as if it was a person. And often we're open and giving toward the computer because it is open and giving to us. the machine becomes us, and we become the machine."

Social Psychology of Web Architecture Living the Life of a Web Designer by Valerie Iinuma (G11)

"The Sucky List:   Blinking text | Background Music | Loud Backgrounds | Frames | Large Image Maps | Construction Signs |  Scrolling Marquees | Javascript Alerts | Ticker-Tape Status.
The SavvyList:   Flexible Widths | Thumbnail Graphics | Height & Width Tags | ALT Tags | Contact Info | Be Unique!

The Technology Source Site Summary by Valerie Iinuma (G11)

"The author displays some interesting statistics. These statistics are indicators that our education system is changing.
- The amount of information in the world is doubling every 18 months. At a recent World Future Society Conference (1995), it was reported that the present information technology revolution is growing more than a million times faster than the historical evolutionary rate of humans and their systems.
- Within the next 25 years the population of the earth will increase by 33%. The global population was 2.8 billion in 1955 and is 5.8 billion now. It will increase by nearly 80 million people per year and reach approximately 8 billion by the year 2025
- The available data storage on a microchip doubles every year to 18 months. In 26 years, the number of transistors per chip has increased more than 3,200 times- from 2,300 on the 4004 in 1971 to 7.5 million on the current Pentium® II processor."

Web Review Site Summary by Valerie Iinuma (G11)

"The article recommends that all system administrators practice some simple rules:
- Turn off unwanted host service and web server features.
- Use a firewall to protect the internal network.
- Isolate the server and limit access to the server.
- Keep all server software up to date and apply security patches when they become available.
- Be paranoid about anything that modifies server data.
- Understand how everything works."

Social Psychology of Web Architecture: Becoming a Web Designer by Jocelyn Manibusan (G11)

"The hardest thing that I encountered in creating a web page was being organized and creative. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce an appealing and eye catching web page that would attract web surfers. The goal of a web page is to attract visitors and provide information that would be useful and entertaining that visitors will want to return or recommend it to others. This report will explore some of the issues about web design. I will visit the web page of two prior generations alumni who have similar experiences with me in creating a web page. Then, I will discuss the contents of Jeff Glover's web page which is filled with information about how to create a savvy web page and what you should avoid if you don't want a Sucky page. Also I will explore the psychology of web pages through the words of Dr. James. Lastly, this report will include a brief description of my experiences as a web designer and how it has influence my life."

Web Site Popularity by Jocelyn Manibusan (G11)

The topic of my presentation is on Web site Popularity. The web site that I reviewed was searchpositioning.com. This site is intended for individuals who want to increase the popularity or traffic to their web site. ...   To create a doorway page for your web site you will need to fill out a form that ask for keywords that describe the content of your web page. It is recommended that you use 3 or more keywords to describe the content of your web page because often people searching on the web hardly use on one key word when searching for something. You will also fill in your URL address and which search engine you are going to submit your doorway page to. You can create as many doorway pages as you want to describe the content of your web page or for submission to different search engines."

Reviewing the Millennium Project on the Web by Jocelyn Manibusan (G11)

"The Millennium Project is an international and global collaboration that provides for early warning and analysis of global issues, developments, opportunities, and strategies for the millennium. The purpose of the Project is to assist in organizing future research, renew and improve global thinking about the future, and to make their results available through a variety of media for consideration in public policy, professional and advance training, and in public education. ... The danger of information technology and the Internet include credit and bank fraud, manipulation and exploitation of information, the difficulty in establishing the authenticity of information, pornography issues, privacy and property rights, the creation and spread of viruses, and a new medium through which students can cheat."

Dyson Chapter 6 Intellectual Property by Sean Marrs (G11)

Women's Pages on the Web Reviewed by Leon Mosher (G11)

Psychology of   Computer Viruses:  From Michaelangelo to Chernobyl How They Affect Everyone!   by Albert Ne (G11)

Newsgroups:   What They Are and What They Can Do For You by Russ Muramatsu (G11)

"How can future generations use my document for studying newsgroups? I think first of all students can see a sampling of what a newsgroup actually is and what happens at a newsgroup. They will be able to experience the interaction that occurs between the participants. Secondly, students will have a running explanation along with the samples so they can better understand various terms as well as the motivation of the posters. I think one way future generations can improve upon my generation's report is to go back and look at all the previous generations' newsgroups reports and observe whether or not the norms of the newsgroup communities seem to have changed or remained relatively the same. By norms I mean the type posts, topics, behaviors, etc. that are deemed as acceptable and unacceptable."

Social Psychology of Web Architecture: a student's perspective by Russ Muramatsu (G11)

"A major part of my the Internet is so amazing and is going to change our lives is because of the wealth of information that it makes available to us and just a click of a button. Whereas before to get information on companies if you were interested in buying stock, for instance, you would probably have to write to them or go to a broker. Nowadays with the Net their are virtually hundreds of sites with information on all the companies. This empowers the individual investor who can now compete with the large institutional investors. Another example has to do with just researching a topic for a paper or presentation. As a college student I know from experience the amount of time it takes to research a topic, as well as the frustration involved. Previously you would have to drive all the way to the library to look up information. Now you can dial in to the libraries Web page and search for journals and books on-line. The amazing aspect is that the information arrives so fast. Just imagine requesting information from a computer half-way around the globe and receiving it in just seconds. Simply amazing -- it is truly a virtual teletransporter."

The Misunderstood Virus:   An Introduction to Computer Viruses by Russ Muramatsu (G11)

"Another misconception is that viruses are inherently evil. Most people upon hearing the word computer virus conjure up images of malicious attacks on innocent computer users. The truth is that viruses, as are any technology, neither inherently good or bad. They are neutral. It is the users of the viruses that can use them for good or bad purposes. That being said the most common use for viruses is for some malicious intent whether it be to cause physical damage to a system or to play a practical joke."

The Psychology of Computer Viruses by Jason Thomson

"The significance of computer viruses is that they are real and annually they do cause a lot of data loss, a lot of wasted time and money, and they are irritating. I?m not sure if they actually spread and propagate like a virus. I understand that is possible to write in commands to systematically have them invade one site and then another and another, so in that way they spread with intent like a biological virus has. A biological virus spreads from one organism to another with the intent of living off of it and a byproduct is that it usually kills the organism. This is also true of a computer virus. It is meant to inhabit another computer system and change the normal programming of that system."

Life on the Screen by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"In summary, the article discussed an interview with Sherry Turkle done by Howard Rheingold. She talks about her book, "Life on the Screen," and describes how technology has had a significant impact in our lives today. Turkle's main discussion topics included: the nature of windows, our dependency on technology, our lost of identity through virtual reality, and computer addiction."

Sheri Turkle and Technology by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"My second presentation was on the Note on Method: The Inner History of Technology from our class textbook by Sherry Turkle, "Life on the Screen"., which was published by Simon & Shuster in 1995.

It was a short summary on Turkle’s work history, and also included a little about her background as well. Aside from Life on the Screen, Turkle wrote another book in 1984, "The Second Self". In both books she explored how the computer has shaped our ways of thinking and feeling. However, "Life on the Screen" emphasized this view in regards to human identity."

The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom? by Juliet Baptista (G11)

"I think that surveillance should be placed in factories, warehouses, etc., but not so much in an office setting. Dr. James had a good point about companies have the right to place these cameras wherever they feel they need/want to. Personally, I don’t agree with that. Where does that leave our right to privacy? Candra stated that "the word ‘privacy’ will become extinct". I agree with her. I feel that this wouldn’t happen if surveillance systems wouldn’t be misused."

Social Psychology of Web Architecture: A Learning Adventure by Juliet Baptista (G11)

My Overall Reaction to the Newsgroups by Monica Chen

"Overall, I think newsgroups are good ways for people to interact and gain knowledge through. I went through many newsgroups and through their messages, and I can say that I've learned a lot just by reading the messages that were posted. Newsgroups seems to serve their participants on many different levels. One can participate for social reasons, political reasons, for education, or even to make business transactions. Unlike a chat room, newsgroups allows one to take their time to think out what they want to say. Being a first timer, I didn't realize that there were so many newsgroups out there! In the beginning I felt overwhelmed by the numbers of newsgroup, but once I got to look through a couple of them, I found myself sitting in front of the computer for hours on end. I do regret that I didn't participate in any of the newsgroups, perhaps in the future I'll find enough courage to do so."

Social Psychology of Web Architecture Cyberspace: The Final Frontier by Monica Chen

"So you want to build your own homepage that everyone in the virtual world can see in all its glory but you don't know where to begin and what the etiquette are. Well, technically, there are none. But if you want to have a site that is both pleasing to the eyes and informative in your own rights, then I suggest you go and check out Sucky to Savvy by Jeff Glover. When I first started looking through his pages, I said to myself, hey what makes this guy the authority on Web Design, and who's this guy that's bold enough to tell us what is "Sucky" to "Savvy"? But as I read on, I realized that this man does not proclaim himself as the master of all web design, but instead as he puts it, "While we cannot all agree on what's ultimately sucky or not, "Sucky to Savvy" tries to be fair in its assessments. As attitudes change so will this site.

In the beginning of this class, I was struggling. It appeared that I have forgotten practically everything I have learned about web design from my previous computer class. I was in the same boat as most of my fellow classmates. I had to start from square one. The endless typing and researching just on the codes alone to make a table, or frames were frustrating. Yet, at the same time I found it exhilarating to see my accomplishments (when I got it right). To think, there will be millions and millions of users that will eventually stumble into my site and see my oh-so-glorious masterpiece! As I progressed, tasks got easier, I found myself sitting in front of the computer for hours on end. Time became irrelevant. And now, I have a new found respect for all the web masters out there. This class has taught be not only the social and psychological influences that the Internet has on us, but it has also taught me the technological aspect of web design. I'm pretty sure that I know twice (if not three times) more about web design now than I ever did before."

Report on the Psychology of Computer Viruses: An Ounce of Prevention by Shehla Korff

"For Future Generations, you will always have newer and scarier viruses and more threatening hoaxes. Please feel free to use this document for any of your reports. As I stated in my homepage, this site is a culmination of quotes, paraphrases and interpretations from and of other sites and reports from prior generations. That is what a generational curriculum is all about."

The Who, What, Where and Why of Virtual Communities by Shehla Korff

"Founded by Steve Hassan, a mind control and cult phenomenon specialist, this site contains current news topics, information about Steve Hassan, other online resources, a list of cult groups (from Amway and Scientology to Jehovah's Witnesses to World Wide Church of God) and links to those sites, or anti-sites, I should say. Steve Hassan dedicates his time to preventative education. By training law enforcement officials, counselors, teachers, and families of cult victims, he has been able to put his Strategic Interaction Approach, a non-coercive method of protecting and rescuing cult members, to good use. This site should be of interest to anyone who is interested in cult mentality, mind control, and prevention."

Affective Computing Reviewed by Shehla Korff

"I agree that research in the area of human emotions is a good thing. In order for specialists to be able to effectively treat emotional disorders, they need to understand the underlying mechanisms of emotions. I had heard of smart rooms and smart cars before reading this site, so I wasn’t totally surprised by the extent to which MIT and other research facilities have taken Affective Computing. For example, the Lexus will remember up to two drivers’ preferences for seat and mirror positioning and music preferences. Think of what your house could remember about you.

Question:  Do you think there would be social controversy in dealing with affective computing, such as how can computers discriminate individual's unique emotion?  Answer:  I believe there will be controversy surrounding affective computing and its devices once the progress has gone so far that the items are marketable to the public and businesses. Rosalind Picard favors very strong encryption of the emotional histories of the users so that they are the only ones who can access that information."

"TinySex and Gender Trouble": A Chapter Summary from Life on the Screen by Sherry Turkle by Shehla Korff 

"I feel that MUDding simulates life and allows players a freedom of expression that may not be possible in their real lives. Some people will take the positive qualities from their characters and internalize them to make them their own. Others on the other hand, can use MUDding to experiment with harmful behavior. An example of this is the Columbine High School Massacre which took place on April 20, 1999. I will not discuss the killers or their motives in this section. You may click on the link if you need more information.

Virtual Sex is when 2 or more players type descriptions of physical, verbal and emotional actions and reactions. Turkle explains something called "fake-lesbian syndrome" whereby men adopt online female personae in order to have sex with women. Some have sex as non-human characters, as well as having sex with one person or in groups. All of these behaviors are considered by the majority of the society as abnormal; therefore, online "virtual sex" is a safe environment to experiment with one's sexuality. Tim's wife Janet feels that virtual sex is infidelity because it involves the intimacy of conversation during sex (224). Rudy broke up with his girlfriend. He thought she could be a lesbian because she plays men having sex with women. Martin and Beth feel that since virtual sex does not involve the body, it is not cheating. Beth explains that online sex is just like reading a steamy romance novel."

Attitudes Driving Newsgroups--A Community Forms by Shehla Korff

"A community has formed within this one topic thread. The original poster does not comment in the original thread because she wants to know what others think about the remark. However, Isavant posts 6 of the 18 original messages. Most of his are criticizing the other posters and he never quite gets around to answering Chenno's original question, What type of person could say this. He presents an ego centric personality, and he must be at the center of all the attention. His rudeness and abrasiveness did not seem to stop others from feeding into his need for attention. They, in their responses, are not rude or profane in their attempt to belittle him."

Search Engines:   The Student is the Teacher by Synthia Lopez

"The exercises for this course incorporate all of the basic skills that are necessary for becoming an active member of the larger community of web users. I think I had to learn how it felt to be part of the generational curriculum community in order to want to continue to expand my use of this technology. I wouldn't feel so strongly about continuing my use of the computer if I had not felt the joy in publishing or the empowerment in knowing that someone else will be touched by my work. Once I made order out of the chaos I was able to move ahead."

Social Psychology of Web Architecture: Building Pages that Last by Synthia Lopez

"Web page designers do have control over the information that is displayed and presented to the public. Publishers are virtual gods in the sense that they can create numerous connections between information, people, and places. Architects of the net are responsible for creating a new world where the pathways are meaningful and do leave a lasting impact once they reach people's minds. The main idea is that designers have the ability to affect people in some way and to guide them through cyberspace via websites, homepages, and links. The possibilities are endless, which I find fascinating, and anyone can do it once she makes the first step of setting up a page.

"We live in each others brains, as voices, images, words on screens. We are multiple personalities and we include each other" (Rheingold comment in Turkle, p.257 Life on the Screen). Our actions on the internet, including our publications on the web, is an extension of our brain into the brain of others."

Getting Hold of Cyber-psychology:  The World of Interconnectedness I am large; I contain multitudes. -Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass by Synthia Lopez

"This is how I understood Spiritual psychology and how I was able to relate it to transpersonal ideas. The fluidity of cyberspace lends itself to non-traditional perspectives, research and methodologies for investigation. "As we sense our inner diversity we come to know our limitations. We understand that we do not and cannot know things completely, not the outside world and not ourselves" (Turkle, p.261). A flexible self can ideally value diversity and comprehend limitations and feel the interconnectedness of all people. Maybe a spiritual or less rigid understanding of behavior and the mind can bring people together and realize the importance of our incompleteness with out the connections we have with others in mind and spirit. My question is: How do you merge science with spirituality--Can you still do statistics?"

My Review of Sherry Turkel (1995), Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet by Synthia Lopez

"Cyborg Dreams":There is value in understanding oneself in several ways with access to all aspect of oneself. We become decentralized and people as a process instead of as an end finished product. The metaphors are everywhere as in her example of the changes in psychotherapy---the "psyche" as a story subject to revision. Everyone is having cyborg dreams--this recent trend of the morphing, fluid self is popping up in many places. Kids games and toys to AI researchers merging human and machine. The sense of collective identity is changing as computers and humans merge on realms like the internet "'The internet is like a giant brain...its developing on its own."

Getting to Know Newsgroups by Wing Man

"This is the first time I have ever browsed newsgroups.  What I have found were all kind of information and they are suitable for all kind of people to join with.  Any sort of problems, the discussion community are willing to help each other and the response are kind of fast.  Most of the replies that I've saw on the newsgroup are with several days or even a couple hours.   This explain that there is a high and fast circulation in the newsgroup.  The people inside the newsgroup also act differently as I have observed.  They are either having a desire to ask and learn, and some of them are really getting excited about what they've said.  They wanted to expressed themselves to the public."

Web Design Issues by wing Man

"I feel that the generational pages are improving with the amount of information which it is gathering. As the next generation come in the data from which this new generation comes into contact with is bigger and allows for the ideas to develop into better ideas. Or maybe the thinking of the past generations were leading to the wrong outcome the next generation with a fresh outlook on things may bring light to the wrong lead and correct them. As each generation puts their data onto the internet, people around the world can see the progress which the students are making in collecting data and defining things in their own view."

The Quality of Emergence by Jayson Nakasone

"The artificial intelligence in a computer follows a certain set of rules. This brought up the first problem in trying to say that computers and human brains are the same. Human brains do not work on a set of rules but learn from experience. One person, Lady Ada Lovelace said this about computers," computers do what you tell them to do, nothing more, nothing less." This brings up the point that computers cannot think on their own. Humans gain knowledge from being in the world and learning through experience. The main difference about human brains and computers in the physical difference. Human brains are biological and computers aren't. Being biologically alive makes the human brain special and they knowledge gained can be wider than something that has ceilings on the learning variety. The chapter sprung new ideas of how similar the human brain and computer are. There are obvious differences between humans and computers, but when we look at the underlying structure of both, the similarities seem to pile up."