Our group decided to separately assess the occurrence of behavior chose for our research problem, then compare and contrast our findings. Behavior was to be observed for frequency during a 30 minute time frame, and was conducted on different days at different times.
Cherise conducted her research between the hours of 11:00- 12:00pm and recorded the following results: * The facial expressions of the persons walking and texting, had a smile on their faces and the few who obstructed the path of someone else, smiled at that person on realizing they had. The physical appearance most observed was walking with heads down while using their devices. Verbally, most persons who had obstructed or almost obstructed others apologized for doing so while continuing about their business. There was no observation of anyone losing their balance; it was observed however that some persons actually collided with other pedestrians, while some had to try to avoid collision with vehicles.
Julie conducted her research between the hours of 5:30-7:30pm, and recorded the following results: * It was observed that most persons, whether pedestrians or drivers, had smiles on their faces while using their devices. Physically they conducted their movements/business with their heads down. Given the time of day, verbal responses were not easily seen so as to be recorded. Pedestrians were often seen stumbling; drivers couldn’t be properly assessed in this area. It was observed pedestrians often trying to avoid a collision with others.
Leanne conducted her research between the hours of 3:30-4:30pm, and recorded the following results: * Persons were moving around with smiles on their faces and some persons seemed upset also, while using their devices. Drivers were also observed using their devices whether talking, texting or just checking them in the process of driving their vehicles. Physically persons were generally distracted as they were looking into their devices and not in the direction they were travelling. Verbally most persons appeared apologetic if they either obstructed or collided with others, few continued on their path without saying a word to the other person. Most persons although mostly paying attention to their devices, moved along without loss of stability or balance, few were observed stumbling having miss-stepped off the sidewalk or stumping their toes. Some drivers being unaware of what was happening in front of them (someone crossing the road, etc) were seen braking suddenly or pulling sharply to regain control from hitting/brushing the curb. There was minimal obstruction to others observed when pedestrian traffic was light (most persons were in class), however between 3:55 and 4:15 when more persons were moving between classes incidences of obstruction to others significantly increased.
Generally it can be concluded that persons although distracted my their devices, were most often being pleasantly distracted hence the smiles that were observed and exchanged even though at times slight physical encounters occurred. On the other hand for both pedestrians and motorists, being distracted by their devices too often resulted in physical collisions between persons and loss of diligence on the road in relation to other drivers and pedestrians who were also maneuvering in the same environment, at time presenting near misses for dangerous collisions between the pedestrians and the vehicles. Therefore it can be reasonably concluded that use of the devices not only endangers the user of the device but those around them to physical hazards that could be otherwise avoided if attention was directed moreso to the physical environment than to their device.