Syllabus Psych WI/O/409a G22 Spring 2005 Dr. Leon James, Instructor

Instructor: Dr. Leon James, Professor of Psychology
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) at Gartley 213A.

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 exchange email on course 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 two 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 textbooks: (1) Leon James and Diane Nahl (2000). Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare. (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books) (2) Peter Rothe, Editor (2002). Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer. (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press).

GRADES: APPROXIMATE VALUE OF ACTIVITIES
40 points	Three class oral presentations -- 10 points each = 30 points
	Ten typed one-page outlines of assigned readings for oral presentations -- 1 point each = 10 points
25 points	Appearance, content, and quality of your Web site containing your Home Page, your oral Outlines, and Report 1 totaling approximately 15 pages.
35 points	Appearance, content, and quality of your Report 2 totaling approximately 15 pages, and the remaining oral Outlines.
A+ =95 points; A =94-90; A- =89-85; B+ =84-80; B =79-75; B- =74-70 C+ =69-65; C=64-60; C- =59-55; D=54-50; F=49-0

Attendance is taken at the start of each class. Absence Penalty: - 3 points per absence. Being late for class: -1 point each incident. Late Work Penalty: - 3 points per week late (maximum = -9 points per report). Due Dates are given in the instructions for report 1 and 2.

Grading Policy: (1) If technical reasons prevent you from uploading any required work on time, you must submit a printed version of it to the instructor to avoid a late penalty. Always keep a back up copy of your files on a separate disk or CD not just on your hard drive.

(2) You will receive email from the instructor with your grade for each oral and for each report, along with recommendations on how to improve them. You can apply for re-grading of the two reports after you made the recommended revisions. Send your request to Dr. James by email leon@hawaii.edu To be valid, your request must consist of these separate lines: (a) your first and last Name, and the Pseudonym on your reports, if any; (b) class (409a, 409b, 459); (c) the Web address of the report you are requesting for re-grading; (d) grade received for the report being re-graded; (e) list or describe what improvements you've made that were recommended. Note: Unless your email request contains numbered points (a) through (e) above, your request cannot be considered.

(3) For publishing your work on the Web, you are allowed to use a Pseudonym that is registered with the Instructor by email. To be valid, your request must consist of these separate lines: (a) your first and last Name; (b) the Pseudonym you will use for your Web published reports and your folder name; (c) class (409a, 409b, 459). Also, you can delete your own published files during the semester, or request they be removed from the Web after the semester, and at any other time in the future (just email the instructor: leon@hawaii.edu).

(4) If you take more than one course with Dr. James, consult him in class for an alternative to report 1, which is similar in the three courses. You must not do Report 1 twice. One alternative is to do one of the reports that were done by generations G16 to G20. After you made your choice, you need to get the instructor's approval in class.

Class Structure: Every class is made up of three portions. First Portion: instructor answers your questions about doing the oral presentations and the written reports, and discusses the topics of the course. Second Portion: several students give the scheduled oral presentation of 10 minutes (for details see Instructions for Oral Presentations). A general discussion follows. Be prepared to speak up in class. Third Portion: Optional Lab work in Saunders 635, reserved for this class from 2:30 to 3:30.

Computer Lab: Times when the computer lab is reserved for this class: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays: 2:30 to 3:30 Saunders 635. A personal password is needed to access lab computers. You must register as a Lab User during the second week of the semester. Instructions are given in Report 1, Task 1.