Daily Archives: November 23, 2014

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Synesthesia Annotated Bibliography Karen

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Annotated Bibliography

Cytowic, Richard E. “What Color Is Tuesday? Exploring Synesthesia – Richard E. Cytowic.” YouTube. YouTube, 10 June 2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkRbebvoYqI>.

Richard Cytowic is a well-known neurologist who has written and taught about synesthesia and was trained at Duke University, London’s National Hospital for Nervous Diseases and George Washington University. The author’s thesis is that synesthesia is beneficial for memorization and already a way in which people think. The author’s intended audience includes students and individuals interested in neurobiology and synesthesia.

Cytowic’s bias is trying to educate people about synesthesia and may not be including all of his opinion on its benefits and how there may be counter-arguments to this information. The strength of this video is that it explains the content with a lot of detail, explaining it visually so that it is easy to comprehend. Another strength is that with authority he can outline the results of his research. Yet, the source is limited as it is too short for Cytowic to expand on missing pieces of the research or specific results to prove this theory. It furthers the argument made for our final project because it mentions that people are predisposed to think in this way, and having a tool to boost this ability would therefore be successful. The video is relevant because gives more insight in to how synesthesia works, thus becoming a source of inspiration for the apps for the project. Moreover, it gives insight into the human brain and how the average person would transition well into utilizing synesthetic functions to learn. However, the source is not directly related to education and may be to general to draw any strong conclusions from.

Massy-Beresford, Helen. “How We All Could Benefit From Synesthesia.” The Guardian. The Guardian, 26 Apr. 2014. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2014%2Fapr%2F27%2Fbenefit-synaesthesia-brain-injury-mental-decline>.

Helen Massy-Beresford is a freelance reporter, who writes about business, travel, lifestyle, science and technology and health. In the article How We All Could Benefit From Synesthesia, Massy-Beresford argues induced synesthesia could help with memorizing and learning information. She draws upon various compelling research results conducted across different universities and the predictions they have for the implications to further this argument. The author’s intended readers are those interested in neuroscience, health, ageing, psychology, biology and medical research, as seen through the topic tags that have been used for this article.

Massy-Beresford is not a researcher but a reporter on the findings and she seems to be fascinated by the results, which could imply that she may be overrating the possible repercussions of this research and she may not know the pitfalls of the studies. A strong factor of the article is that she draws upon quotes of authority figures in the scientific arena and explains the experimental process that the researchers went through to reach these conclusions.  Although, the article falls short of proposing counter-arguments or aspects of the research that could be limited to draw any grand relationships between learning and synesthesia. Another weakness is that the article fails to demonstrate the research and the specific method that was used to conduct the experiments. This article furthers our argument that memorization can be helped by inducing synesthesia on the non-synaesthete population. Although, it focuses more heavily on the results on how it can help the elderly and it doesn’t have evidence on how it can affect child education. Nevertheless, the article does mention the possible effect and future investment on pedagogical research because of scientific belief induced synesthesia can be beneficial.

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Synesthesia Annotated Bibliography

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“Reading with Your Ears: Readers’ Advisory and Audio Books.” Reference & User Services Quarterly. Vol. 37–50. American Library Association. 318–323. Web.

 

The author, Katie Mediatore, is library professional and has worked with a number of library associations. She specializes in reading trends and programming for adults. Mediatore explains the format preferences for listeners as well as what makes audio books so appealing to people who use them. She does this by proposing why people would need or want to use audio books as opposed to traditionally reading text. By using various examples and situations in which the user may prefer audio books, Mediatore is able to show that this medium is perhaps more relevant than previously thought. The casual nature of her writing suggests that her book is meant for the average reader and does not strive to be overly intellectual.

Due to her role as a library professional there may be a slight bias or over exaggeration on the popularity of audio books. She makes it sound as if audio books are more common place when in reality, it is probably more of a niche market. The strengths of this article is that it provides a number of reasons why someone would choose audio books in particular over reading. However, a weakness is that is does little to come up with theories about why audio books are still overshadowed by more popular mediums like books or kindles. In addition, her examples are highly theoretical, and there is no scientific support for her arguments. As a result, there is appears to be a lack of solid research and few quantifiable facts that can bolster her claims. The article still however definitely falls in line with our thesis because it shows how utilizing one of our other senses, hearing, has positively affected a number of people’s reading experience. With this, it is easy to claim that fully using synesthesia will garner the support from a number of readers. While the article focuses only on audio books and the sense of hearing instead of synesthesia as a whole, it still holds relevance by closely examining one particular form of medium that strays from the traditional reading experience.

 

Adam, Halley-Prinable. The Oculus Rift and Immersion through Fear. Bournemouth University, 2013. Web.

 

Halley-Prinable is an expert at using C++, Lua and Python. He primarily works as a game programmer but also works as a contract programmer to work on any project. In this book Halley-Prinable claims that the Oculus Rift may have a greater potential to be more immersive than a regular computer screen monitor. By attempting to quantify fear through heart rate monitors and using test subjects, he shows the extent of immersion from the Oculus Rift. The author’s intended audience is probably gamers although its research exceeds that of just gaming. It calls into question the idea of a true virtual reality and the effects that is has on people.

Being a game programmer, Halley-Prinable may be too quick to praise the Oculus Rift and want to promote the new gaming device. The strength is that the author uses a scientific approach to come up with an experiment that measures the effect of the Oculus Rift in a way that is more than pure speculation. Due to the nature in which he conducted his research, there are many arguments that are backed up with facts instead of unsubstantiated, bold claims. The weakness, however, is that it emphasizes the emotion of fear while ignoring any other effect the Oculus Rift could potentially have. Another weakness is that it mostly focuses on the difference between the Oculus Rift and a normal computer screen monitor. Comparisons to other mediums of engagement are largely ignored. It is also important to note that not all experiments are perfect. There will never be a perfect control and test group. Certain individuals may be more prone to fear than others resulting in swayed results. This book supports our theory that creating an experience that fully utilizes our sense can create a positive, immersive experience for all users. Despite the fact that the Oculus Rift only triggers the sense of sight and sound, the information provided still shows studies of levels of immersion that can help support our argument for a product rooted in the idea of synesthesia.

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Annotated Bibliographies: White Space

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Joram, Elana, Earl Woodruff, Mary Bryson, and Peter H. Lindsey. “The Effects of Revising with a Word Processor on Written Composition.” National Council of Teachers of English 26.2 (1992): 167-93. JSTOR. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://ezproxy.library.nyu.edu:2100/stable/40171302>.

Elana Joram, Earl Woodruff, Mary Bryson, and Peter H. Lindsey, the authors of this journal, are all professors and a part of the National Council of Teachers of English.  As they are all educators, this journal article has the bias of educators; they are looking at the word processor as a way of improving the writing process. The article is very focused on the idea of a word processor verses the traditional pen and paper, and  the negative and positive affects of the word processor.  Because of this focus, the article seems to have been written by educators, for educators.

This article claims that word processors improve writing by making the revision process easier and simpler. Word processors make surface revision easy- they tell you when you spell something wrong, when your grammar is incorrect, etc. While they improve writing on the surface, they also discourage creativity. The National Council of Teachers of English composed a study in which they addressed the question of  whether word processors improve or detract from written composition. Word processors would either improve composition because make you revise through the writing process, or the revising would interfere with the composing process and detract from the final piece. They predicted, and later found to have predicted correct, word processors would get in the way and detract from the composing process. It was found that students focus more on surface level corrections when writing on word processors, while when they write with paper and pen they are less likely to correct small errors and focus on the piece of writing as a whole. The one weakness of this article, which clearly stood out, is that it is rather contradictory. It starts off saying word processors improve writing, and ends saying that they detracts from the writing process. This aside, this article is still beneficial to the creators of White Space because it highlights positive and negative aspects of the word processor.

Dalton, David W., and Michael J. Hannafin. “The Effects of Word Processing on Written Composition.” The Journal of Educational Research 80.6 (1987): 338-42. JSTOR. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://ezproxy.library.nyu.edu:2116/stable/27540262>.

This article was written based off of a study done by the Journal of Educational Research. Dalton and Hannafin are both professors of educational psychology. Since they are both educators, the piece is heavily focused on how the word processor affects students rather than how it affects humans as a whole. The piece is a a psychology heavy study and was likely written for other psychologists studying education.

The article discusses the idea of how writing skills are approached- holistically or reductively. The holistic approach focuses on the process of writing rather than minute mechanics while the reductive approach focuses on punctuation, syntax, etc. The article claims that the holistic approach is more beneficial for low achievers who tend to be preoccupied on form rather than substance. Word processors have an effect on each of these approaches. In this study, there is a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group used word processors to complete written assignments three times a week while the control group used the traditional method of a pen and paper. The results of the study show that the use of the word processor had little impact on high achieving students, but was effective for low achieving students. I would say the weakness of this study is the date- it was conducted in 1987. However, this can still be helpful to the creators of White Space because the goal is to create a more simple word processor. If we do more research on what the word processor used at this time was, we will be able to see exactly how this affected those that were a part of the study and the benefits and detriments.

Purcell, Kristen, Judy Buchanan, and Linda Friedrich. “The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing Is Taught in Schools.” Pew Research Center’s Internet American Life Project. Pew Internet, 16 July 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.

This article is based on a survey done by Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers to see how today’s digital tools have impacted student writing. Purcell is the director of research at Pew Research Center’s Internet American Life Project and Buchanan and Friedrich are teachers. The teachers saw how digital technologies and social networking greatly affect teen’s personalities and creativity and how it encourages writing in more forms. The survey was given to teachers and is therefore has the bias of educators.

The majority of teachers surveyed believed that digital technologies have been beneficial to student’s writing processes. They believed that these technologies allow students to share their writing with a wider audience, encourage personal expression, and encourage collaboration among students. However, the survey also showed the concerns educators have with students using digital technologies. Since short-form writing has become so prevalent in the live’s of teenagers, this manages to slip into formal writing. Students tend to use informal language in formal writing assignments. Students are also more likely to slip into short-form writing styles if they are multi-tasking, like if they are writing a paper while simultaneously on social media. This study is helpful for the creators of White Space because of the distraction mode feature. The distraction mode shuts off the internet which, according to this study, would improve the writing styles of students.

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White Space Annotated Bibliography

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Byfield, Bruce. “Linux.com.” Online Word Processors: A Hands-On Comparison. N.p., 5 Sept. 2006. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. <http://archive09.linux.com/articles/114171>.

Bruce Byfield discusses word processing in his article “Online Word Processors: A Hands-On Comparison.” This article, written for people looking for information and advice on which word processors to use, compares four online word processing applications: ajazWrite, ThinkFree Online, Writely, and Zoho Writer, in the following categories: interfaces, basic formatting tools, advanced formatting tools and unique features, and document export and administration. Byfield outlines how each word processor addresses these word processing needs and compares their performance. At the end of each section Byfield declares a verdict, stating which processor he believes does its job the best in each category. In his conclusion Byfield makes a general comparison the word processors and is quick to point out that online word processors were still in their early stages, as the article was published in 2006. Byfield claims that online word processors were a regression, that their simplicity and reliance on the internet made them less efficient than other word processors.

Bruce Byfield is a computer journalist focusing on free and open source software. He has written over 1,200 articles for a variety of online journals and other websites. His past work includes working at as a university English professor and technical writer, as well as communications, marketing, and design consultant. His bias in “Online Word Processors: A Hands-On Comparison” is that of a person who is well-versed in word processing technicalities and has expectations for maximum efficiency in the programs he uses. This article has some weaknesses in that it is a short article and does not provide outside resources for the reader to go to to find more information. While its 2006 publishing date could be seen as a weakness because word processing has changed significantly since then, I believe it can be seen as a strength for our project. Seeing reviews of word processors in their early days can be very informative to the creators of White Space as they decide which features people have found most and least appealing in word processors throughout the years. Part of White Space’s goal is to give users the option to revert to a simpler software if needed, and this article provides ample information about older word processors and their relationship with the internet. Use of this source in our research would strongly support White Space’s thesis that the ideal processor takes the best from word processors already available.

Collier, Richard M. “The Word Processor and Revision Strategies.” College Composition and Communication 34.2 (1983): 149-55. JSTOR. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/357402?ref=no-x-route:eae95b932ea3538933238188507e6a01>.

In his 1983 article “The Word Processor and Revision Strategies,” Richard Collier outlines a hypothesis about the way using a word processor will affect the editing process for students. The intended audience was fellow educators that were possibly looking to incorporate word processing into their curriculum. Collier predicts the word processing revision process will be difficult for those who are less computer-savvy and that they will stick to smaller revisions and only use the simplest features in the processor. He then tests his hypothesis on four female writers between nineteen and thirty-two years old, asking them to revise handwritten essays on word processors. Collier finds that the revision process was very difficult for those who were less computer-literate, but resulted in more active revisions and slightly longer, more experimental essays. He decides that his hypothesis was wrong because the changes in the essays were not as significant as he had predicted. At the end of the article Collier claims that word processing has a long way to go before it is an efficient process, but if students learn how to use it well they will benefit from it immensely.

Since the article was published by The National Council of Teachers of English, I can deduct that Collier was an English educator. His bias is that of an educator; he wants word processing to be a tool that enhances student writing. One weakness of this article, which basically outlines an experiment in word processing, is that Collier only tested four students, all of which were adult women. This does not provide a wide scope for the way word processing was used by students, it just gives a narrow glimpse into Collier’s classroom. The early article publication, 1983, limited the processing software that Collier could use as well. However, this article gives an interesting insight to the way people expected word processors to develop. In a time when word processors were still very new and had almost no precedent, Collier provides an academic’s goals and wishes for the future of the word processor. For White Space it is essential to go back to the original goals and intentions of word processors in order to find out what is needed to apply to its design.