Article Summaries (revised!)

The Dangers of Driving While Distracted

Several articles address the issue of the dangers caused by people, especially teenagers, text messaging and using hand-held devices while driving. Lawrence T. Lam, in The Journal of Safety Research, explains that the huge proportion of injuries and deaths as a result of automobile accidents, and the problem of drivers' distraction with an emphasis on the effect of the age of the driver, are of growing concern. Lam reports that the chances of a traffic accident were six times as likely if a driver talks more than 50 minutes per month, and that the risk of such an accident was four times as likely when a cell phone was being used. In-vehicle distraction is a major cause of traffic accidents, especially among drivers in their early 20's using cell phones and among older drivers whose cognitive abilities are impaired already (Lam). These problems should be addressed either with new legislation or with better education and the spreading of awareness.
A study in Australia by researchers Walsh, White, Hyde, and Watson, indicated that most drivers realize the risks associated with the use of their cell phones, and despite Australian laws forbidding this behavior, continue to use them. Experiments put in place measured almost eight hundred subjects' perception of risk, and planned behavior related to cell phone use while driving. The results revealed that younger participants were far more likely to text message while driving, and since young drivers and businessmen are the most likely to be involved in traffic accidents, their cell phone use increases their chances even more (Walsh). The article advocates a stronger sense of general disapproval to be motivation for people to put away their cell phones while driving; most drivers who perceived acceptance of their habits or judged the benefits of texting to outweigh the risk of crashing, were far more likely to use their phones while driving.
The article from the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics argues that adolescents should be studied and better educated, because many young adults grasp concepts like the dangers of driving while drinking or while distracted, but few seemed able to properly discern what behaviors were most hazardous to their driving. Researchers investigated the problems by engaging 443 youths to write survey questions about what affects the safety of teen drivers, analyzing the different laws and demographics of certain states and areas, studying over five thousand high schoolers' responses, and narrowing the study down to a few classes per school for more specific questions (Ginsberg). Results showed that adolescents viewed driving under the influence of alcohol as the greatest danger, followed closely by text messaging or using a handheld device, which ranked more dangerous, according to students, than even racing, road rage, passenger distractions, loud music, speeding, inexperience, or not wearing seatbelts. Also, students with lower grades, students who didn't wear seatbelts, and students who drink regularly perceived many fewer options, including text messaging, as dangerous or affecting driver safety (Ginsberg). The group of pediatricians and researchers used the study to better understand why so many deaths and injuries due to automobile accidents happen among teenagers, as well as adolescents' own views as to what is most dangerous behind the wheel and how driver education could more effectively warn of these dangers.
Another study in Australia by researchers Walsh, White, Hyde, and Watson, indicated that most drivers realize the risks associated with the use of their cell phones, and despite Australian laws forbidding this behavior, still continue to use them. Experiments put in place measured almost eight hundred subjects' perception of risk, and planned behavior related to cell phone use while driving. The results revealed that younger participants were far more likely to text message while driving, and since young drivers and businessmen are the most likely to be involved in traffic accidents, their cell phone use increases their chances even more. The article advocates a stronger sense of general disapproval to be motivation for people to put away their cell phones while driving; most drivers who perceived acceptance of their habits or judged the benefits of texting to outweigh the risk of crashing, were far more likely to use their phones while driving.
Paul Green, of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, suggests that drivers are easily distracted by phones and hand-held devices, which divert more attention from the road, and compel the driver in a much different way, than do other tasks, and that the use of such has contributed to more crashes Green analyzes the compulsions of the average person to answer a ringing phone and to complete a secondary task (such as texting) before refocusing on the primary task (driving), even though this multitasking habit greatly reduces concentration and safety of the driver and everyone else on the road. He concludes that a solution such as a workload manager is necessary to correct some of the danger from distracted driving, due to telephones and hand-held devices, on the road today.
The articles agreed that the use of text messaging, cell phones and hand-held devices impair the ability to drive. More research should be done in order to emphasize the growing problem of drivers' distraction. The safety of drivers themselves, as well as others on the road, is in greater jeopardy if the popularity of text messaging and hand-held devices continue to grow without restrictions and education against the habit.

Survey...

Here's the most recent link to my survey...
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=VuLyKPywzke6AmOpu5Azvw_3d_3d

“Inside the heart of each and every one of us there is a longing to be understood by someone who really cares. When a person is understood, he or she can put up with almost anything in the world.”
-Ed Hird

Godin vs. Shirky

Godin and Shirky’s videos on Ted.com were thought-provoking and interesting, providing opinions and different messages using a very similar format.
The tone of the videos was perhaps the biggest difference between the two. Godin seemed more inspirational and frantic, urging the audience to go out and make a change. Shirky appeared to be more calm and organized, illustrating his points clearly and insistently. Godin’s ideas were centered around change: people who have inspired change, how technology changes the way ideas are created and spread, and the benfits of change. Shirky was relaying the message that our generation is experiencing the biggest increase in expression and interaction in human history, and that we should react to make the best of it. Both Godin and Shirky pointed out how the Internet has affected the way everyday people interact. Godin emphasized how leadership and the Internet connect and unify people with similar ideas, taking the concept as far as giving his audience “permission to lead” and urging anyone listening to challenge the status quo. Shirky’s approach was less aggressive. He pointed out that the Internet has become the medium of all media, creating both groups and conversations, as no other media could. He called the Internet the “site of coordination,” where the audience can suddenly communicate back, as well as to each other.
The presenters pointed out progress that has happened over time: Godin illustrated change from factories to TV ads to leadership online as methods of influencing the consumer, and Shirky showed pictures of the printing press, telegraph, photos and movies, radio and TV, and the Internet to illustrate changes in communication.
Both speakers’ videos featured the speaker on a stage, with some kind of slideshow behind them and an audience in front. Godin and Shirky used their slideshows to illustrate their points, keep the audience stimulated, and draw attention to certain points. However, Godin used his slides mostly as comic relief, showing a little girl with a pirate patch on her eye along with examples of tribes, and pictures of balloon animals as an opening asking what people do for a living. Shirky’s, on the other hand, were less distracting and more informative
The structure of Godin’s presentation was slightly choppy, but his lists were effective and memorable. Shirky, on the other hand, used specific stories as examples for his eloquent assertions. The speakers’ closing statements illustrated their messages well. Godin finished with a firm instruction: “Create a movement. Start. Do it. We need it.” Shirky’s measured conclusion asked how we can best make use of a changing media environment.
If one day Godin and Shirky were locked in a room together, they would enjoy discussing the effect of the media on the world today. They would reflect excitedly on the possibilities and potential created by the Internet. Godin would no doubt try to challenge Shirky to create his own movement, and Shirky would congratulate him for spreading his ideas so well online.

Screenshot and Reflection

First of all, the screenshot I saved is pretty girly. It also looks cluttered, even though only two windows are open. It's strange to see the screen as a picture, knowing that the Start button or the Back arrow are useless when the screen is only an image.

Composing anything on a computer makes writing significantly more complicated, while at the same time streamlining every thought we record. The image is packed full of tabs, symbols, links, and highlighted words available to be clicked and followed to other screens. In that way, composition in digital spaces is far more distracting. I realized a while ago how much longer I take to type a paper than to write the same thing by hand because of everything else I'm tempted to explore. So much is available digitally, competing for attention. On the other hand, when composing on a computer, this availability is immensely helpful. Students today have dictionaries, references, pictures, calculators, and ways of communicating at our fingertips. In a way, composition is more streamlined on a computer, with files saved neatly, everything the same size and font if we choose.

We better understand how we compose, and what is involved, by doing just that: composing. Not until we have tried to write a paper with six windows open, boxes flashing, or music playing can we understand how it affects writing. The only way to know what it's like to record your thoughts as a blog, for example, is to sign up for one.