Syllabus for Psych 409a (WI)  Fall  2002

Instructor:  Dr. Leon James, Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii  Gartley 213A
Telephone contact and messages (call during normal office hours): 261-2382   
e-mail:  leon@hawaii.edu  Walk in office hours: Before and after classes (M, T, R)

Course Description:  Driving Psychology
Focusing on the component skills of driving behavior and their developmental stages, including adaptive techniques that are effective and successful for driver self-improvement. Students publish their reports on the Web, give oral presentations in class, and participate in an online class forum discussion on various research topics. Includes computer lab where students can do their Web work and can receive help in Web publishing. This is a WI course and requires more writing than the average class. Students will publish a minimum of three reports and will make the requested changes when the instructor reads the drafts. Students also read each other's reports online and make appropriate suggestions.

Required textbook:  Leon James and Diane Nahl (2000), Road Rage and Aggressive Driving (Prometheus Books: Amherst, NY)

GRADES: APPROXIMATE VALUE OF ACTIVITIES

15 points

Class oral presentations

5  points

Participation in class discussion

10 points

Timely participation in the electronic Forum Discussions (minimum: 2 per week, every week)

70 points

Appearance, content, and quality of your Web site containing your reports and projects (Annotated bibliography report=25; Research report=30; Book review report=15)

Average grade=C || Doing well everything required on time=B || Going creatively beyond the instructions=A

A=100-85 points; B=84-70 points; C=69-60; D=59-50; F=49-0

Roll call is taken at the start of each class. Absence Penalty: - 3 points per absence. Also: - 1 point for entering after class starts (talk to instructor after class to change your absence penalty to a late penalty.) Late Work Penalty: - 1  point per day late (no maximum).   See Due Dates on the Web at: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy17/g17duedates.html

Grading Policy:    (1) The grade of A cannot be earned unless you submit all work on time and show evidence of having gone beyond the instructions in a creative way.  If you have more than 15 penalty points you cannot receive a B. To receive a passing grade in this course you must submit all required work.   (2) If technical reasons prevent you from uploading any required work, you must submit on time a typed or printed version of it to the instructor.  Always keep a back up copy of your files on a separate disk besides your hard drive.  (3) You can apply for regrading a report after you submitted your last report. Send request to Dr. James by email. To be valid, your request must indicate: (a) name and pseudonym; (b) class; (c) report name and Web address; (d) prior grade; (e) what significant improvements you've made.

(4) If you take more than one course with Dr. James, either in the same or a prior semester, you must modify report 1 and 2 so that you do not repeat the same work twice. Please consult with the instructor in class when planning the alternative.

Class Structure: Every class is made up of three portions. First Portion: instructor answers your questions about doing the reports, and lectures on the topic. Second Portion: student gives scheduled oral presentation, and class discussion follows. Third Portion: Lab work in Saunders 635, reserved for this class.

Computer Lab:  Times when the computer lab is reserved for this class: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays: 2:30 to 3:30 Saunders 635Important: A personal password is needed to access lab computers.  So you MUST register as a Lab User during the FIRST TWO WEEKS of the semester at:
http://webdata.soc.hawaii.edu/lab_user   (Note that there is an underscore in the address between lab and user)

The G17 Class Web Page to access all course information is at:  
 
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy17/g17classhome.html

The Instructor's Home page is at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/leon.html