Content Analysis: An Examination of Web-based Orientation Materials

If a person wishes to be up to date on what is going on the world around them, in all facets and walks of life, then they must spend a considerable portion of time merely skimming the water of each pool of knowledge, never having the time to truly sink their feet in. This correlates directly back to the massively increased availability of information and writings, whose shoulders Birkerts puts the blame of our loss upon. Nicholas Carr cites a study done on the “behavior of visitors to two popular research sites” which gives its users an even larger degree of online texts.

Nicholas Carr’s Is Google Making Us Stupid? explains the impact the Internet is having on his (and others) patience with in depth reading habits, and possibly the way their brain is processing information. The old days of having to spend hours researching a subject are long gone because of the Internet. Having such a powerful tool available at any time can be a good and bad thing wrapped up in the same package. Over the last couple decades, home computer and smartphone ownership has been on a steady rise with most homes now having multiple devices. Therefore, having unlimited information available at all times has become a reality.

In his writing, Carr explains how his mind has become much more erratic since his use of the internet. “I get fidgety, lose the thread, [and] begin looking for something else to do,” Carr says (572). The availability of information that people have these days is astonishing, and their intake of it is even more considerable. In connection to the information people have access to in our day and age, it has promoted a culture of disinterest and boredom. You are able to see this clearly in a study of online research habits, conducted by scholars from University College London. The subjects displayed “a form of skimming activity,” jumping from source to source. They normally would read no more than one or two pages of a book or article before they would go to another site, seldom returning to any source they had already viewed.

As time progresses in our technologically propelled era and the internet continues to provide as the largest network source of information, our intellectual perception of information takes on a more distinctive and less analytical approach than before. The use of the internet has seized control over the vast connection of neural pathways in our minds, influencing our experiences and essentially hindering our natural ability to apply cognitive thinking.

There is no denying the incredible library of knowledge the internet has made readily available for all to use. Having such a resource is transforming modern society in many ways, as it brings insight and news across the world at a moment’s notice, all the while enhancing educational and technological advancements. However, according to Sven Birkets, an American essayist and literacy critic, in his essay, “The Owl Has Flown”, it is not without fault as observations are to be made on how this new resource has transformed people’s intelligence and wisdom. The author theorizes that the large, almost unlimited, library that is now being offered by services such as the internet, reshapes the public’s knowledge. Knowledge is transformed to be horizontal or insubstantial compared to the much deeper lateral understanding pertaining to older generations because of the amount of time they spent dwelling on a much smaller set of resources. This observation made by Birkets in the late 90’s is expanded upon, and modernized by Nicholas Carr, an American writer and author, in a more inflicting and self-reflecting article for The Atlantic magazine entitled “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains”. Carr does not just blame the Google search engine in this claim, but the internet as a whole on how it impacts concentration and our ability to contemplate. These cognitive impacts are observed and explained in more scientific terms by Eric Jaffe, a regular Observer

In his essay, “Is Google Making us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr discusses societies dependence to easily accessible information. Since the inception of the internet and search engines, information has been accessible to us instantly. Although instant access to information is a desirable advancement in technology, it comes with questionable consequences. From his own personal experience, Carr explains that since this invention, his brain feels as if it has been tinkered with. Carr explains that his brain does not work the way it used to, that it’s very hard for him to become engrossed in books, articles, or essays. As he continued to try to become engrossed in these readings, he found that his thoughts would wander and he would become restless after just a few

In his Is Google Making Us Stupid?, Nicholas Carr contends that the overload of information is “chipping away his capacity for concentration and contemplation”(315). He admits with easy accessibility of information online, the process of research has became much simpler(Carr 315). Yet such benefit comes with a cost. Our brains are “rewired” as the cost of such convenience(Carr 316). As the result, “we may well be reading more today than we did in the 1970s or 1980s...but it’s a different kind of reading, and behind it lies a different kind of thinking”(Carr 317). Carr argues the forming of such habits can prevent us from deep reading and thinking. In fact, he provides may evidences in the

The internet that so many of us have come to depend on is a vast trove of information that is readily available to all of us. Having access to all of that information is an amazing thing but we should also consider what we may be loosing because of the way that we consume that information. Is reading these short bites of information one after another causing us to loose the ability to actually focus on one longer piece of text and contemplate its meaning? This is the question that Nicholas Carr looks at in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”

I feel as though Nicholar Carr succeeded in demonstrating the importance of how the Internet changes our brain’s ability to absorb information. The opposing views of his claim would be that there is not a change in our thinking or that the Internet is not what is responsible for that change. My position is most closely aligned with Carr’s. I believe that the Internet’s convenience has altered the expectations we have for how easily information should be presented. We prefer information to be short, to-the-point, tidbits that are easy to

First, this struggle starts out with just a want of convenience. Many people want convenience so they turn to technology. More often than not, I find myself reaching for my phone for pretty much everything. Recently I was trying to figure out how to pronounce a word. Instead of finding a dictionary or just asking someone I got my phone out and googled it. I don’t go to the books much anymore. I just reach for what I have on hand, which is always my phone. Also, Carr states, “The advantages of having immediate access to such and incredibly rich store of information are many, and they’ve been widely described and duly applauded” (Carr 589). He gives his readers a sense of just how much information there is to be had and how it is there in a flash when we need it. There is really no waiting around for information anymore when it is there immediately. Another example of how we turn to convenience is the digital

employee orientation will cover topics that may answer questions about getting started with our company. You will receive an email invitation with the link to Webex and the phone number to dial into the conference call.

One of the points the author focuses on is how technology poses a threat to our minds. In the article, Carr explains how his brain “now expects to have information the way the net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles” (4). This shows that our brains have been wired to obtain knowledge at a fast, almost instant pace, deterring users from reading books or even multiple paragraphs. This phenomenon was put to the test by a study from University College London, where data

as to whether organizations are likely to find better solutions to information overload through changes to their technical systems or their social systems. With the research I conducted and along with my experiences in the workplace, I have concluded that information overload can be improved through changes to technical and social systems. I will also present evidence that will go against my position on information overload. I am also tasked to rebut the position of the counterargument, showing how inadequate the counterargument is, against my original position.

The new hires are exposed to history, values, principles, mission and culture of the company, and emphasized on team work and sometimes customer service

The initial onboarding process to any new business or job is a very important first impression of what to expect from an organization as a new employee. The onboarding process is one effective way an organization can ensure success from a new hire by assisting those employees with adapting to their new organizational culture and co-workers. The onboarding process will also give new employees a better understanding of policies, procedures, safety information, access to resources, and what’s expected from them as new employees. Managers have an important role to play in the onboarding process as well. By ensuring new hires receive a thorough onboard, mangers can build professional relationships to ensure employees stay with the