Nitro Crossing
Did your group think all the way through the problem before beginning?
Our group thought through most of the problem before we began. We attempted to eliminate most of the obstacle by hoisting people into the air before they grabbed the rope. Also, someone else would hold on to the rope as it was being readied for the person to grab on before they began swinging, thus they would be able to get their desired high positioning. We also analyzed the loop at the bottom of the rope, and reasoned (albeit incorrectly) that it would be unable to support people for the most part. However, it was realized that if pressure was put on one side, it might be possible to go across it properly with a foot in the place. However, this was not the preferred mechanism. Someone relatively tall would go first to make sure he could get across. Also, tall people would go at the very end, that way they could just jump up and grab the rope themselves as they were swinging across. Furthermore, someone would have the Nitro handed to them as they were swinging across, and they would in turn hand it off to someone at the end. Finally, they would return for another swing to get themselves across the obstacle.
What role in the group did you play?
I primarily played the roll of participant. I did make the observation that people would be best off grabbing high, and a tall person could probably get across by himself and thus should be used as the final person. However, many other people made these observations simultaneously. I did notice that they were going to fast at one point, and ensured that they would slow down before I went across. After swinging across I watched other people go across.
How did you feel about the group's interaction with each other?
For the most part the groups interaction was optimal. However, at one point in the activity, the group began hurrying at a much too fast rate of speed. Unfortunately, this caused a couple of people to be 'killed' as they were unable to obtain the proper hand grab, and catch their balance before they were able to swing across the bridge safely. Luckily, this was soon corrected, and the group began to function as a more cohesive unit.
How could your communication to your group have been improved?
As mentioned above, the communication could have been improved, if everyone made a check to the readiness of the person being sent across before he or she was actually sent across. Also, there were a couple of instances where people were talking at the same time. Luckily, this was at a bear minimum in this activity. So, the primary means of improvement were just a few minor checks on the excess talking and improving some other general communication.
Spider Web
What does it mean to be a good follower?
Being a good follower entails listening to the advice of others, and doing what they need to be down to carry out the task at hand. However, it does not mean blindly doing something that you know to be harmful. Instead, it also requires the observation of the hazard and the reporting of it to those above you so that they may help you to make a good decision in the future outcome of the activity. In this activity, everyone depended almost absolutely upon the other people to push them through, and gave them advice. If the person traveling through headed the advice of others and moved their body in the proper manner to ensure that they would not touch the wire, they would be able to survive, if they failed to, they would probably hit the wire and come crashing down to their death. Also, they must be careful when coming through to do the desired thing, whether to sit still as someone would bring them through, or to 'crawl' across the ground with their hands as they made it through the web. The people escorting them through the web also needed to be good followers, all following the central chain of command to ensure that the person made it safely through.
How can you improve your ability to follow?
My ability to follow could be improved by not silently questioning the people in authority. When they time is right, it is best to verbally question those 'leading' in a constructive manner that they might take into account the question proposed and either provide an answer for it, take it into account and modify the activity, or do nothing. It depended on the rush and the need of the situation what they will do. Sometimes time constraints prevent the complete process from being carried out thus making it unnecessary to carry out the process (and in fact it might even be detrimental to the operation.) Also it is important to not be rushed and not to do things that I want to do that go contrary to the given plan. Thus I need to increase the silent leadership aspects to increase the following abilities, and follow to the best of my abilities, even when I cannot see clearly what is ahead.
Track Walk
I could have done this better if...
If I would have concentrated on the activity to a greater extent as I was moving across the track. Also, at first, I looked at it, and it seemed to be ultra simple and a piece of cake to carry out. This overconfidence may have hurt me as I began to cross it and found myself hurrying up to make sure I made it there safely. Also, I got slightly egotistic as a started the crossing. I thought I might be heavily embarrassed if I failed to make it across. Embarrassment is a not a good emotion to use when carrying out an activity such as this. Instead the desire to succeed should be the overwhelming force to keep you going through the activity, no matter what the other people around you think as you are going through it. Also, if I would have concentrated to a greater extent on each individual step, and moved slowly across the boards, keeping my balance through the entire process it would have been easier. I wouldn't be required to 'jump' from board to board as I did. The great momentum was a help in ensuring that I made it, but it also posed some risks. at one instance, I nearly missed a board, and would have gone crashing to the ground. Luckily, I was able to barely latch on to it with my foot, and thus was able to survive to the next activity. Finally I reached the end. It would also have been helpful if there were other people along the track to help me along as I was carrying out the journey. Originally, I thought other people would merely be a waste of space and time. However, as it turns out, the activity was much more difficult than I had originally anticipated, thus the other people along the course would have been a great help to making it safely across, and would have made the activity as a whole much easier than it was. It would also have saved a few lives in the process.
This would have been more challenging for me if...
It would have been much more challenging if the lengths of board were longer, or if the boards were stretched to a greater height. Also, if the boards had a greater incline, the activity would have been much more challenging. Across the first section I was able to walk comfortably with a shuffle step. However, near the end, I just used the forward momentum to rush across the board to the support where I would be able to regain my balance on a great surface area of stability. If these things were eliminated, then the course would be much more challenging, for there would be no place to stop before regaining balance and proceeding to the next step. Also, bigger gaps between the boards would add a much greater degree of difficulty as it would be necessary to ponder a way to hold your balance at the end of the board (with still a minimal amount of surface area to support you.) Then, with your balance at the optimal level, you could begin to 'jump' across to the next board, making sure you carried the entire jumping process out in a safe manner such that you wouldn't seriously injure yourself in the process. Also, thinner boards would make the track walk much more challenging by making balance even more imperative.
Mohawk Traverse
What is cooperation?
Cooperation is the overall dependence of everyone on everyone else. From doing this activity on the previous outing, we knew some of the basic theory needed to get safely across. In this activity, everyone depended upon the people around them to keep an anchor that would allow them to survive the activity. If someone failed to properly anchor, then a great number of people could come crashing to their death. The first person must set out to accomplish their goal, with a degree of faith that the people behind them will anchor them, and keep them from falling to the death. They must be willing to reach out, and not stay locked to the tree. They must depend on the other people to keep them from falling away to the utter reaches of death. Also, the people must stay bunched together until there are enough people there to make a successful bid to reach out across to the next tree. Then, the people nearest to the tree must also be careful not to put a sudden jerk outward that would have to be absorbed by the people on the outward chain. Thus, it became imperative that the anchor people would gradually let the people move outward. Also, near the end when there was a fallout of people in the middle, there were two of us that needed to get from tree to tree. The only way we could make this was by an all out sprint, using each other as anchors to make it. We managed to succeed holding each other up. However, by the time we reached the rope tree. The people at the end grabbed the rope, and we failed to communicate the need for the rope at our end, and they failed to observe our uncommunicated need, thus we fell to our deaths due to the lack of communication, and the lack of cooperation at the end. However, through the entire group cooperation we were able to get a great number of people across the obstacle. Thus cooperation encompasses the heading of other peoples wisdom, the desire to help others and see what they need, along with the overall group cohesiveness needed to accomplish the task at hand.
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