Hi all,

I'm a student doing some interpretive research about hybrid cars and hybrid car users. I'm trying to understand hybrid car practices and online interactions as a communicative system. Could you please take a look at the file attached, and give me your feedback on how viable my interpretations are. I would appreciate it very much.

Regards,
Id'est

Attached Files

Research_Hybrid.doc (463.0 KB, 8 views)

I am sorry, this is all very complicated for me. When people buy hybrid cars, they are looking for low fuel costs, low pollutant emissions, the latest technology, or all three. For a time, there was a reasonable concern that the novel systems could lead to increased maintenance costs.

However, people took that chance, and all that could be made were purchased. An overwhelming proportion of the buyers were very satisfied. The maint concerns have affected only a very few.

Prius (and almost certainly other hybrid cars) have turned out to be the cheapest transportation, with all costs included. If fuel costs increase in the future, this cost differential will increase.

Many internet postings do indeed focus on how to drive for the highest fuel economy. Roughly speaking, these efforts can reduce you from 22 cents per mile total cost to 21. Or thereabouts. By saying this I mean no disrespect to those who are always looking for the best way to drive. I happen to believe that Prius makes driving so simple, that it leaves people looking for something else to do. That 'other' includes posting to these groups.

DAS

At over 50 pages, neither the initial posting nor the first paragraph clearly stated what this paper is about. So in memory of Douglas Adams, the answer is 42.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

If you want honest feedback please post your paper in .pdf format. Word files are notorious for having embedded macro viruses. Given the source of this document is unknown, I have no inclination to expose my computer to a potential issue.

Good point about the word virus. I have a Mac, which tends to be less at risk, but I'm wondering if there is a good way have it scrubbed?

When I get home, I'll forward it to my hotmail account and see if their virus detectors sound an alert.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

AVG scanned it clean

I actually want to read this. I cant do it right now though, its 50+ pages and I need to get some shut eye.

Whats the deadline?


Oh, and I made a pdf for you. I made it with open office in case anyone is wondering.

Attached Images

Research_Hybrid.pdf (311.3 KB, 13 views)

Thanks for converting to .pdf.

Be prepared. It's not the easiest of reads, but it does provide some thought provoking ideas.

Thanks Qslag for converting it to pdf. file

Chilly, no deadlines, take your time.

Bob Wilson,
Re the objectives, your quiry is a relevant but one of the difficult questions to answer. I would say that my purpose in general was to understand how sustainability meanings are reflected in conversations of hybrid car enthusiasts who are assumed by me to be acting as a coherent purposeful system.

Some people find it too nebulous. Sorry, I couldn't make it more simpler than this.

That's some seriously heavy reading, but I'd like to try to get through some of it. What discipline spawned such a work? It almost reads like some form of philosophy...just not the form I encountered in my intro classes.

No offense meant, but is English your first language? I found a lot of bad spelling, misuse of words, and broken sentences (mostly fragments) in just the first few pages of the paper. I think you're too concerned with impressing everyone with big words, and not concerned enough with clarity and readability. Read Hemingway. He gets his point across with very few 4-syllable words.

BTW -- before you write me off as a bimbo, I have a BA in Biology, an MBA, and I work as an Oracle DBA. So I have read my share of technical papers. But this one gets lost in its own words. Oh, and I started my career as a legal writer, so I know how to take crappy pedantic writing and make it readable.

Just what are you trying to say? That we hybrid drivers have formed our own 'system' or 'community' based on our difference from non-hybrid drivers? I think that's where those 50-plus pages are heading, but it's not clear.

Sorry to be harsh. It's Friday, and I'm tired, and I have little tolerance for people who think we'll all be impressed by the thickness of their prose.