Communication Skills

MARKET REPORTS

2011-04-04T04:36:00.000-07:00

A market report is a written document that provides a detailed account of the businesstransactions that have taken place in a peaticular market during a given period of time. It is a type od business reports. There are various kinds of market, such as, oil , shares, rubber, gold, silver, tin, copper, tea, coffee, and every market issues its report on daily basis.

The report covers the following information:

Tone of the market
The governing factor or factors affecting the market
Opening rate
Closing rate
Previous days or weeks rate
Volume of business
Index points
Fluctuation in prices
Forecast
In case of a stock market, special mention of active shares is given.

Advantages/Functions of Market Reports

It exhibits the volume of business transacted in a particular market during a given periiod of time.
By going through it, one can have the information of the flictuation in the rate of different shares and commodities and their opening and closing rate. This knowledge helps the investor whether to purchase, sell, or hold particular shares.
The report speculates future movement of prices.
It provides basis for decision making.
It serves as a medium of advertisement for a company.
The report provides sufficient materials for learning.
A market report influences demand and supply of a commodity.
It is a valuable tool for research purpose.
It provides general knowledge to the reader who can gain insight of various commodities, economies of countries around the world, and changing trends of the world economies.
On the basis of information contained in it the investor is properly guided and can gain from right investment or avoid losses.
It facilitates businessman to adjust their business plans in line with the need of time.

Speaking to an Audience

2010-10-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

Communicate Complex Ideas Successfully

Speaking to an audience can be fun and exciting. However, lack of preparation or not clearly defining the presentation's goals and its audience can make even the best-intended presentation a complete disaster.
Preparation – The Key to Successful Speaking...

To ensure your presentation is effective, first determine your objective. Ask yourself:

* Why am I giving the presentation?
* What do I want the audience to take away from the presentation?

Second, determine your audience. Their familiarity with the presentation topic will determine the level at which you present your speech.
How to Structure Your Presentation

Once you have determined your presentation's objective and overall goal, as well as the audience, it's time to structure your presentation. You will need to start this process by determining the length of the presentation.

Take the allotted time and break it into smaller segments, with each segment tackling a specific task (all of which reflect the overall objective of the presentation). For example, the fist segment should be the presentation introduction. In this segment, you should give an overview of your presentation, or a short summary of your speech, explaining the topic, why you are covering this topic, and what you hope to accomplish.

The next segment should tackle the first item on your agenda, with the following segment tackling the following item on your agenda, and so on.

Once you have developed the introduction and outlined the following segments, spend some time thinking about the conclusion of the presentation. The introduction of the presentation and the conclusion of the presentation are the most important parts and should have the strongest impact.
Achieving Clarity and Impact

Keep your presentation short and simple. Your audience will not remember every point of your presentation, so highlight the most important parts. The longer the presentation, the higher the risk of boredom.

When in doubt, use the "tell 'em" structure:

* Tell them what you are going to tell them (For instance, “In this presentation I will show you…”).
* Tell them the key points, expanding and illustrating each one, clearly and concisely.
* Tell them what you have told them (For instance, “In closing…” or “In summary…”) and conclude.

Reinforce Your Message With Visual Aids

Next, consider the use of visual aids. Slide projectors, data projectors, video machines and computers should be tested out beforehand to make sure they are operating correctly and that you know how to use them.

Make sure you do not cram too much information onto any single visual. A good rule of thumb to follow is to keep each visual to six lines or less. Also, make sure any type or graphics are large enough the audience can see it clearly (from all seats) and make sure the colors used are easy on the eyes, taking into account the lighting.

A sad fact is that much of your authority will be judged by the quality of your slides – you need to make sure that their design supports the style of your message.

Overheads should be clearly marked and arranged in order beforehand. Flip charts should be prepared in advance when possible. When used during the presentation to take notes, make print large enough for all participants to see.

When using these various visuals, do not turn your back to the audience. Position yourself so you can use the visuals while facing your audience.
Arranging the Room

If possible, visit the room in which you will make the presentation well in advance. Determine seating (circle seating encourages interaction, rows of seats discourages interaction, etc.) and determine how the visual aids you choose will work. Consider lighting, space, even the temperature of the room. Consider placing notepads and pencils at each seat if participants need to take notes. Or, you may want to have glasses at each seat with a few pitchers of water if the presentation is going to last more than half of an hour. If you do this, make sure you allow time for bathroom breaks.

While you do not need to memorize your entire presentation, make yourself very, very familiar with it through several practice runs. Rehearse the presentation in its entirety as often as you can before delivering it to a live audience. The more you rehearse, the more confident you will be and the more fluent you will seem to your audience – if you know your subject matter and have adequately prepared, you will be able to deliver your message loud and clear.

When in doubt or nervous, stay focused on your purpose - helping your audience understand your message. Direct your thoughts to the subject at hand. The audience has come to hear your presentation and you will succeed!
Tips and Techniques

Tips to help make your presentation a smashing success:

* Avoid too many statistics and confusing information in your presentation. Instead, put this information in a handout for participants to refer to at a later date.
* If you forget your words, pause for a moment and remember your objective. While the words may not come right back to you, this will help keep you on track and may even help you to think of additional thoughts and ideas your audience will benefit from hearing.
* Visualize yourself succeeding.
* Begin by breathing.
* Before the presentation, focus on the needs of the audience.
* Take a public speaking course at a local college or university. These are oftentimes offered as night courses and are usually very inexpensive, while providing you with important skills that will enhance your confidence in this area.
* Videotape yourself going through the presentation. All you need to do this is a video camera and a tripod. Then, run through the video and make changes according to your thoughts on the taped presentation.

Better Public Speaking and Presentation

2010-10-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

Ensure Your Words Are Always Understood

Think of the last really memorable talk or presentation that you attended. Now, was that easy to do, or did you really have to rack your brains to remember one? Sadly, too many presentations are easy to forget. And that's a big problem because the only reason the presenter gave the talk was to communicate something to you!

However, there are three basic things that you can do to ensure that your verbal messages are understood – and remembered – time and time again.

Although somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, these are:

* Understand the purpose of the presentation
* Keep the message clear and concise
* Be prepared
* Be vivid when delivering the message
Understand what you want to achieve
Before you start working on your talk or presentation, it's vital that you really understand what you want to say, who you want to tell and why they might want to hear it. To do this, ask yourself: Who? What? How? When? Where? Why?

Who are you speaking to? What are their interests, presuppositions and values? What do they share in common with others; how are they unique?

What do you wish to communicate? One way of answering this question is to ask yourself about the ‘success criteria’. How do you know if and when you have successfully communicated what you have in mind?

How can you best convey your message? Language is important here, as are the nonverbal cues discussed earlier. Choose your words and your nonverbal cues with your audience in mind. Plan a beginning, middle and end. If time and place allow, consider and prepare audio-visual aids.

When? Timing is important here. Develop a sense of timing, so that your contributions are seen and heard as relevant to the issue or matter at hand. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent. ‘It’s better to be silent than sing a bad tune.’

Where? What is the physical context of the communication in mind? You may have time to visit the room, for example, and rearrange the furniture. Check for availability and visibility if you are using audio or visual aids.

Why? In order to convert hearers into listeners, you need to know why they should listen to you – and tell them if necessary. What disposes them to listen? That implies that you know yourself why you are seeking to communicate – the value or worth or interest of what you are going to say.
Keep it simple
When it comes to wording your message, less is more. You're giving your audience headlines. They don't need to and are usually not expecting to become experts on the subject as a result of hearing your talk.

If you're using slides, limit the content of each one to a few bullet points, or one statement or a very simple diagram.
Be prepared
Preparation is underrated. In fact, it is one of the most important factors in determining your communication successes. When possible, set meeting times and speaking and presentation times well in advance, thus allowing yourself the time you need to prepare your communications, mindful of the entire communication process. By paying close attention to each of these stages and preparing accordingly, you ensure your communications will be more effective and better understood.

Of course, not all communications can be scheduled. In this case, preparation may mean having a good, thorough understanding of the office goings-on, enabling you to communicate with the knowledge you need to be effective, both through verbal and written communications.
Unforgettable delivery
Your delivery of your speech or presentation will make or break it, no matter how well you've prepared and crafted your clear, concise message. Some useful tips for keeping your presentation vivid include:

* Use examples to bring your points to life
* Keep your body language up-beat – don't stay stuck behind a rostrum
* Don't talk to fast. Less is more here too. Pauses are effective.
* Use a variety of tones of voice
* Use visual aids.

Active Listening

2010-10-27T02:39:00.000-07:00

Hear What People Are Really Saying

Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness, and on the quality of your relationships with others.

We listen to obtain information.
We listen to understand.
We listen for enjoyment.
We listen to learn.

Given all this listening we do, you would think we’d be good at it! In fact we’re not. Depending on the study being quoted, we remember a dismal 25-50% of what we hear. That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers or spouse for 10 minutes, they only really hear 2½-5 minutes of the conversation.

Turn it around and it reveals that when you are receiving directions or being presented with information, you aren’t hearing the whole message either. You hope the important parts are captured in your 25- 50%, but what if they’re not?

Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you will improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade negotiate. What’s more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings – all necessary for workplace success. )

Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. By understanding your personal style of communicating, you will go a long way towards creating good and lasting impressions with others.

The way to become a better listener is to practice “active listening”. This is where you make a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, to try and understand the total message being sent.

In order to do this you must pay attention to the other person very carefully.

You cannot allow yourself to become distracted by what else may be going on around you, or by forming counter arguments that you’ll make when the other person stops speaking. Nor can you allow yourself to lose focus on what the other person is saying. All of these barriers contribute to a lack of listening and understanding.
Tip:
If you're finding it particularly difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words mentally as they say it – this will reinforce their message and help you control mind drift.
To enhance your listening skills, you need to let the other person know that you are listening to what he or she is saying. To understand the importance of this, ask yourself if you’ve ever been engaged in a conversation when you wondered if the other person was listening to what you were saying. You wonder if your message is getting across, or if it’s even worthwhile to continue speaking. It feels like talking to a brick wall and it’s something you want to avoid.

Acknowledgement can be something as simple as a nod of the head or a simple “uh huh.” You aren’t necessarily agreeing with the person, you are simply indicating that you are listening. Using body language and other signs to acknowledge you are listening also reminds you to pay attention and not let your mind wander.

You should also try to respond to the speaker in a way that will both encourage him or her to continue speaking, so that you can get the information if you need. While nodding and “uh huhing” says you’re interested, an occasional question or comment to recap what has been said communicates that you understand the message as well
Becoming an Active Listener .
There are five key elements of active listening. They all help you ensure that you hear the other person, and that the other person knows you are hearing what they are saying.

1. Pay attention.
Give the speaker your undivided attention and acknowledge the message. Recognize that what is not said also speaks loudly.
* Look at the speaker directly.
* Put aside distracting thoughts. Don’t mentally prepare a rebuttal!
* Avoid being distracted by environmental factors.
* “Listen” to the speaker’s body language.
* Refrain from side conversations when listening in a group setting.

2. Show that you are listening.
Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention.
* Nod occasionally.
* Smile and use other facial expressions.
* Note your posture and make sure it is open and inviting.
* Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like yes, and uh huh.

3. Provide feedback.
Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect what is being said and ask questions.
* Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. “What I’m hearing is…” and “Sounds like you are saying…” are great ways to reflect back.
* Ask questions to clarify certain points. “What do you mean when you say…” “Is this what you mean?”
* Summarize the speaker’s comments periodically.
4. Defer judgment.
Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message.
* Allow the speaker to finish.
* Don’t interrupt with counter-arguments.

5. Respond Appropriately.
Active listening is a model for respect and understanding. You are gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down.
* Be candid, open, and honest in your response.
* Assert your opinions respectfully.
* Treat the other person as he or she would want to be treated.

Key Points:
It takes a lot of concentration and determination to be an active listener. Old habits are hard to break, and if your listening habits are as bad as many people’s are, then there’s a lot of habit-breaking to do!

Be deliberate with your listening and remind yourself constantly that your goal is to truly hear what the other person is saying. Set aside all other thoughts and behaviors and concentrate on the message. Ask question, reflect, and paraphrase to ensure you understand the message. If you don’t, then you’ll find that what someone says to you and what you hear can be amazingly different!

Start using active listening today to become a better communicator and improve your workplace productivity and relationships.

How Good Are Your Communication Skills?

2010-10-27T02:13:00.000-07:00

Speaking, Listening, Writing, and Reading Effectively

Communication skills are some of the most important skills that you need to succeed in the workplace.

We talk to people face to face, and we listen when people talk to us. We write emails and reports, and we read the documents that are sent to us. Communication, therefore, is a process that involves at least two people - a sender and a receiver. For it to be successful, the receiver must understand the message in the way that the sender intended.

This sounds quite simple. But have you ever been in a situation where this hasn't happened? Misunderstanding and confusion often occur, and they can cause enormous problems.

If you want to be an expert communicator, you need to be effective at all points in the communication process - and you must be comfortable with the different channels of communication. When you communicate well, you can be very successful. On the other hand, poor communicators struggle to develop their careers beyond a certain point.
Making a Great First Impression!
It takes just a quick glance, maybe three seconds, for someone to evaluate you when you meet for the first time. In this short time, the other person forms an opinion about you based on your appearance, your body language, your demeanor, your mannerisms, and how you are dressed.

With every new encounter, you are evaluated and yet another person’s impression of you is formed. These first impression can be nearly impossible to reverse or undo, making these first encounters extremely important, for they set the tone for the all the relationships that follows.

So, whether they are in your career or social life, it’s important to know how to create a good first impression. This article provides some useful tips to help you do this.
Be on Time
Someone you are meeting for the first time is not interested in your “good excuse” for running late. Plan to arrive a few minutes early. And allow flexibility for possible delays in traffic or taking a wrong turn. Arriving early is much better that arriving late, hands down, and is the first step in creating a great first impression.
Be Yourself, Be at Ease
If you are feeling uncomfortable and on edge, this can make the other person ill at ease and that’s a sure way to create the wrong impression. If you are calm and confident, so the other person will feel more at ease, and so have a solid foundation for making that first impression a good one. See our section on relaxation techniques to find out how to calm that adrenaline!
Present Yourself Appropriately
Of course physical appearance matters. The person you are meeting for the first time does not know you and your appearance is usually the first clue he or she has to go on.

But it certainly does not mean you need to look like a model to create a strong and positive first impression. (Unless you are interviewing with your local model agency, of course!)

No. The key to a good impression is to present yourself appropriately.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and so the “picture” you first present says much about you to the person you are meeting. Is your appearance saying the right things to help create the right first impression?

Start with the way you dress. What is the appropriate dress for the meeting or occasion? In a business setting, what is the appropriate business attire? Suit, blazer, casual? And ask yourself what the person you'll be meeting is likely to wear - if your contact is in advertising or the music industry, a pinstripe business suit may not strike the right note!

For business and social meetings, appropriate dress also varies between countries and cultures, so it’s something that you should pay particular attention to when in an unfamiliar setting or country. Make sure you know the traditions and norms.

And what about your personal grooming? Clean and tidy appearance is appropriate for most business and social occasions. A good haircut or shave. Clean and tidy clothes. Neat and tidy make up. Make sure your grooming is appropriate and helps make you feel “the part”.

Appropriate dressing and grooming help make a good first impression and also help you feel “the part”, and so feel more calm and confident. Add all of this up and you are well on your way to creating a good first impression.
A Word about Individuality
The good news is you can usually create a good impression without total conformity or losing your individuality. Yes, to make a good first impression you do need to “fit in” to some degree. But it all goes back to being appropriate for the situation. If in a business setting, wear appropriate business attire. If at a formal evening social event, wear appropriate evening attire. And express your individuality appropriately within that context.
A Winning Smile!
“Smile and the world smiles too.”* So there’s nothing like a smile to create a good first impression. A warm and confident smile will put both you and the other person at ease. So smiling is a winner when it comes to great first impressions. But don't go overboard with this - people who take this too far can seem insincere and smarmy, or can be seen to be "lightweights"
Be Open and Confident
When it comes to making the first impression, body language as well as appearance speaks much louder than words.

Use your body language to project appropriate confidence and self-assurance. Stand tall, smile (of course), make eye contact, greet with a firm handshake. All of this will help you project confidence and encourage both you and the other person to feel better at ease.
Almost everyone gets a little nervous when meeting someone for the first time, which can lead to nervous habits or sweaty palms. By being aware of your nervous habits, you can try to keep them in check. And controlling a nervous jitter or a nervous laugh will give you confidence and help the other person feel at ease. Again, see our section on relaxation techniques for help with this.
Small Talk Goes a Long Way…
Conversations are based on verbal give and take. It may help you to prepare questions you have for the person you are meeting for the first time beforehand. Or, take a few minutes to learn something about the person you meet for the first time before you get together. For instance, does he play golf? Does she work with a local charitable foundation?

Is there anything that you know of that you have in common with the person you are meeting? If so, this can be a great way to open the conversation and to keep it flowing.
Be Positive
Your attitude shows through in everything you do. Project a positive attitude, even in the face of criticism or in the case of nervousness. Strive to learn from your meeting and to contribute appropriately, maintaining an upbeat manner and a smile.
Be Courteous And Attentive
It goes without saying that good manners and polite, attentive and courteous behavior help make a good first impression. In fact, anything less can ruin the one chance you have at making that first impression. So be on your best behavior!

One modern manner worth mentioning is “turn off your mobile phone”. What first impression will you create if you are already speaking to someone other than the person you are meeting for the first time? Your new acquaintance deserves 100% of your attention. Anything less and you’ll create a less than good first impression.
Key Points
You have just a few seconds to make a good first impression and it’s almost impossible ever to change it. So it’s worth giving each new encounter your best shot. Much of what you need to do to make a good impression is common sense. But with a little extra thought and preparation, you can hone your intuitive style and make every first impression not just good but great.

Formla Language:

2010-09-23T21:41:00.001-07:00

We use formal language when we are dealing with serious business affairs. The situations which call for it include the follwing:
 Application for job
 Letters to public and utility companies
 Business letters
 Business reports and memos
 Oral and written reports
 Class discussion
 Formal reports

FORMAL AND INFORMAL LANGUAGE:

2010-09-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

There are two type if standaed language. The language we speak at home, with friends is informal. It is like casual clothes which people use on informal occasions. Formal language, on the other hand, is used in offices, businesses, anf oother formal occasions. It is like a suit or dress for public and formal situations.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

2010-09-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

When two persons get together communication skills are required. Professors, leaders, doctors, politicians, teachers, singers, professionals, religions leaders, all require effective communication skills for success in their career.
The following communication ability and skills are required for success in business career.
 Must be able ti communication effective with all levels of management.
 Must have substancetial experience, training in oral and written communication and demonstrate good writing skills.
 Be able to prepare special analyese, researsh reports, and proposals.
 Need ability to compose effective correspondence.
Must have ability to communication and sell ideas, firm, and produces.

Life blood of the organization

2010-08-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

Communication is life and life is communication. It start with birth and continues till death. The very success of an organization is built with built upon effective communication. It establishes relationship between the superior and the subordinate, and the quality of relationship resolves around the nature of communication.
The business of an organization is run on interchange of information, plane, ideas, proposals, use of data; and conducting discussions, meeting, and research which are all different forms of communication.
In an organization the manager has to read, speak, write, listen, observe, and supervise that all are media of communication. He uses letters, reports, proposals, and memos for written communication.
Business firms must send information about their goods and services to consumers and customers. They do so by advertising, publicity, personal selling, and other sales promotional techniques. Managers must know the financial position and income and expenditure of their firms. They maintain journals, ledgers, trial balance, worksheets, and prepare balance sheets, income statements, and budgets. Accounting is an extremely important branch of communication.

Conclusion

2009-11-06T22:48:00.001-08:00

Open communication climates encourage employees through supporting them, through allowing them to participate in decision making, and, through trusting them, which assures the integrity of information channels. Ultimately, the openness of any communication climate depends upon the character of the participants. Openness often demands courage because the communicator operates with lowered or eliminated defensive barriers, even when standing up to verbal assault. Because open communicators have to articulate their positions in meetings, public arenas, and in print, they must be secure individuals, confident in their own positions, ability, and authority. Yet, while open communication climate may make formidable personal demands, such openness ultimately rewards both the individual and the organization in providing an environment where people thrive and enterprise flourishes.

Communication Barriers

2009-11-06T22:47:00.002-08:00

Open communication climates derive from the nature of the people participating in the information transactions. Barriers to open communication ultimately spring from an individual's unfavorable past experiences. Our nature and background shape our values, beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and expectations. Because our sense of self-worth and dignity evolve from these, we often erect barriers to defend them from attack. Some people have deep-seated psychological needs for these defenses; others have short-term tactical needs.
People may hide behind defensive barriers because of deep-seated feelings of inadequacy. Employees, for example, whose egos cannot tolerate criticism simply will not share information that exposes them to personal critique. Unable to assert themselves, they refuse to voice opinions, make suggestions for improvement, take the initiative in forming tasks, lead project teams, cold-call customers, correct wayward employees, or perform any of the myriad chores that could oust them from their silent withdrawal into psychological safety.
If such people somehow rise to supervisory or management levels, they are usually comfortable only in giving unquestioned orders and directives, in tending to routine, and in operating within thoroughly controlled, self-protective, situations. In an open communication climate, these people withdraw by erecting defensive barriers that establish a safer and more predictable environment.
For people without deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, defensiveness may be marked by the need to close down communication because information-sharing poses some kind of short-term, tactical disadvantage or discomfort. In a meeting, for example, employees may remain silent because speaking out will make them vulnerable. They may be asked to elaborate and not have the facts at hand. They may be forced to defend an unpopular decision. They may lack confidence in their vocabulary or logical skills to engage others in the give-and-take of robust debate. Or perhaps they fear they will be caught in error or that someone will belittle them for asking a stupid question or making a silly comment. Rather than say anything and appear the fool, they choose to say nothing. Unfortunately, such defensiveness can have serious ramifications for the organization. In protecting themselves, employees may put everyone at risk by withholding information crucial to a sound decision.
A person truly open in communicating with others must continually guard against erecting these defensive barriers, whatever the cause, for self-defense ultimately inhibits honest exchange of information. Such honesty, however, does not come easily for any of us. How courageous, for example, the supervisor who sits in a staff meeting and listens to blisteringly honest criticism of the working conditions, salary, operational dysfunctions, amenities, safety issues, procedures, and level of management support. Few people actually enjoy such forthright discussion of shortcomings.
But lowering defenses, and encouraging honest information exchange, is the only way to guarantee a climate in which truth can thrive. And, while the risks in an open communication climate can be high, the rewards can be great. Typically, these rewards include increased worker morale; prompt notification of, and solutions to, problems; a sense of collaboration, as all work together to articulate operations and policies; and an increased empowerment of employees, who come to see themselves as central to the success of the corporate enterprise.

Trusting Environments

2009-11-06T22:47:00.001-08:00

All parties in information exchange must tell the truth as they perceive it. They must also ensure that information is correct. Credibility is any employee's greatest asset. A reputation for carelessness, lying, deceit, or manipulation undercuts all future messages. The result of credibility is trust; it underpins all human relationships. Employees have to believe their information sources. If, for example, at weekly meetings, the staff hears contradictory information about project plans, decisions, or salary, they will dismiss all information because they cannot confidently choose which to believe. If one week they are told the start-up date is November 14, the next week November 20, and following week November 7, they will understandably dismiss all the information as not credible.
Repeated instances of passing such contradictory information will corrupt the integrity of the communication channel. People quickly dismiss information sources that prove to be wrong or untrustworthy. For the communication climate to remain open, the information must be true and the source trusted. Belief in the source's ability to convey accurate information and to follow through with appropriate action is thus essential in maintaining open communication.

Participative Environments

2009-11-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

Employees have to feel that what they say counts for something. The best suggestions for improving production processes, for example, come from employees who work everyday on the assembly line. Sales people know what the customers want because they are in daily contact. Customer service representatives are acquainted firsthand with the technical and functional problems that can spell future marketing disasters. All these employees have valuable information that must be shared with the organization's decision makers. The information will be shared if employees feel management regards them as legitimate participants in the enterprise. Employees know they are valued participants when their suggestions are implemented, their questions answered, and their concerns recognized.
Sometimes, however, employee participation is not actively deterred by management but rather by the corporate structure, the competitive business environment, or environmental regulatory agencies. Highly formalized, bureaucratic organizations, for example, through their complex reporting procedures, encumbering paperwork, and labyrinth of regulatory guidelines, tend to discourage active participation and thereby stifle the free flow of information. For instance, if the paperwork in implementing an improvement is overwhelming, employees rarely submit suggestions. People opt for the path of least resistance. If the burden always rests with the action initiator, few will initiate action. Thus, bureaucratic systems discourage participation by imposing penalties on initiative. It's easier to do nothing and suffer a tolerable inconvenience than to pursue corrective action and incur an intolerable cost of time, patience, and energy.
Taking action is the key, therefore, to encouraging employee participation. Those for whom the message is intended must act upon the information they receive. Managers, supervisors, and team leaders must listen to grievances, complaints, or suggestions and respond both in word and deed. Communication that results simply in talking about situations but in doing nothing about them is a waste of everyone's time. Open communication puts both sides at risk, however, because in the process of recognizing employees as participants, supervisors must open themselves up to criticism, must explain their actions, and must actually correct difficult situations. And as participants, supervised employees must be willing to articulate difficulties for which they share responsibility with management. Ultimately, employees and supervisors must work collaboratively to ensure successful implementation of communicated intentions.

Supportive Environments

2009-11-06T22:45:00.000-08:00

In supportive environments, employees convey information to superiors without hesitation, confident that superiors will readily accept it, whether good or bad, favorable or unfavorable. A worker, for example, who reports an EPA violation in the company's disposing of hazardous waste must be assured of management's support. If employees think that reporting regulatory violations to their superiors will brand them as whistleblowers, thereby endangering their jobs, they will probably say nothing. But because supportive superiors are seen as non-threatening, perhaps even nurturing, employees will usually open up to them and share unpleasant or dangerous information.
Fear, shame, and pride encourage people to keep their mouths shut if they feel vulnerable or unsupported. In a meeting, for example, an individual may not tell the group that product delivery will be late because the receiving agents were not notified in time. A late delivery date puts the whole marketing plan in jeopardy, resulting in millions dollars lost and in eroded market share. With so much at stake, the employee's self-protective reaction to say nothing, in a non-supportive climate, is a rational choice to safeguard employment.
Communication closes down in non-supportive environments because information poses a threat. In supportive environments, employees communicate more readily for a number of reasons: The reporting mechanism accords them dignity and respect. They have no need to fear reprisals for sharing bad news. They are rewarded for being forthright. And they are appreciated as vital sources of information crucial to the organization's success.

Introduction

2009-11-06T22:44:00.000-08:00

Communication, through both formal and informal channels, is the lifeblood of any organization. In reading about communication environments, channels, processes, systems, and hierarchies, we sometimes lose sight of the essence of the communication act: it is profoundly human. At the center of every organization are people held together by slender threads of cooperation. These threads are maintained by people sharing information with each other. The result is a delicate network of human relationships linked through communication.
In these networks, information is a commodity. It has value, can be exchanged, and is crucial to the success of launching a project, selling a product, or marketing a service. Unfortunately, people sometimes refuse to exchange this crucial information. They often erect barriers to shut out others in situations they consider hostile. Most communication mishaps in organizations can be traced to these barriers. They impede information exchange and thereby disrupt the orderly flow of activity. Because of barriers, people fail to inform others of a meeting, a project deadline or a client need; they neglect to compliment co-workers on a job well-done; they even lash out at others for little or no reason.
Often these barriers, resulting in a closed communication climate, cause lost business, damaged reputations, endangered goodwill, and general unhappiness. Research shows that an open communication climate is desirable because it enhances human relationships, which occasion increased morale and productivity.
After reading this article, you should have a clear understanding of
the nature and benefits of open communication climate;
the definition of supportive environment, participative environment, and trusting environment; and
aspects of defensive barriers that affect communication,
Communication climate can be defined as the internal environment of information exchange among people through an organization's formal and informal networks. Communication climate is open when information flows freely; closed when information is blocked.

Tachyon

2009-11-06T22:43:00.001-08:00

A tachyon (pronounced /ˈtækiˌɒn/; Greek: ταχύς, takhus, "swift" + English: -on "elementary particle") is a hypothetical subatomic particle that travels faster than the speed of light. The first description of tachyons is attributed to German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld; however, it was George Sudarshan[citation needed], Olexa-Myron Bilaniuk, Vijay Deshpande and Gerald Feinberg (who originally coined the term in the 1960s) that advanced a theoretical framework for their study. Tachyonic fields have appeared theoretically in a variety of contexts, such as the bosonic string theory. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon is a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon is constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph. Therefore, it cannot slow down to subluminal speeds. Even if tachyons were conventional, localizable particles, they would still preserve the basic tenets of causality in special relativity and not allow transmission of information faster than light,contrary to what has been written in many works of science fiction.

Today, in the framework of quantum field theory, tachyons are best understood as signifying an instability of the system and treated using tachyon condensation, rather than as real faster-than-light particles, and such instabilities are described by tachyonic fields. According to the contemporary and widely accepted understanding of the concept of a particle, tachyon particles are too unstable to be treated as existent. By that theory, faster than light information transmission and causality violation with tachyons are impossible on both grounds: they are non-existent in the first place (by tachyon condensation) and even if they existed they wouldn't be able to transmit information (by Feinberg's analysis).Despite the theoretical arguments against the existence of tachyon particles, experimental searches have been conducted to test the assumption against their existence; however, no experimental evidence for or against the existence of tachyon particles has been found.

Evanescent wave coupling

2009-11-06T22:42:00.002-08:00

In optics, evanescent wave coupling is a process by which electromagnetic waves are transmitted from one medium to another by means of the evanescent, exponentially decaying electromagnetic field.

Coupling is usually accomplished by placing two or more electromagnetic elements such as optical waveguides close together so that the evanescent field generated by one element does not decay much before it reaches the other element. With waveguides, if the receiving waveguide can support modes of the appropriate frequency, the evanescent field gives rise to propagating wave modes, thereby connecting (or coupling) the wave from one waveguide to the next.

Evanescent wave coupling is fundamentally identical to near field interaction in electromagnetic field theory. Depending on the impedance of the radiating source element, the evanescent wave is either predominantly electric (capacitive) or magnetic (inductive), unlike in the far field where these components of the wave eventually reach the ratio of the impedance of free space and the wave propagates radiatively. The evanescent wave coupling takes place in the non-radiative field near each medium and as such is always associated with matter, i.e. with the induced currents and charges within a partially reflecting surface. This coupling is directly analogous to the coupling between the primary and secondary coils of a transformer, or between the two plates of a capacitor. Mathematically, the process is the same as that of quantum tunneling, except with electromagnetic waves instead of quantum-mechanical wavefunctions.

Group velocity

2009-11-06T22:42:00.001-08:00

The group velocity of a wave is the velocity with which the overall shape of the wave's amplitudes — known as the modulation or envelope of the wave — propagates through space.

For example, imagine what happens if a stone is thrown into the middle of a very still pond. When the stone hits the surface of the water, a circular pattern of waves appears. It soon turns into a circular ring of waves with a quiescent center. The ever expanding ring of waves is the wave group, within which one can discern individual wavelets of differing wavelengths traveling at different speeds. The longer waves travel faster than the group as a whole, but they die out as they approach the leading edge. The shorter waves travel slower and they die out as they emerge from the trailing boundary of the group.

Superluminal communication

2009-11-06T22:41:00.000-08:00

Superluminal communication is the term used to describe the hypothetical process by which one might send information at faster-than-light (FTL) speeds. All empirical evidence found by scientific investigation indicates that it is impossible in reality.

Some theories and experiments include:

* Group velocity > c experiments
* Evanescent wave coupling
* Tachyons
* Quantum non-locality

According to the currently accepted theory, three of those four phenomena do not produce superluminal communication, even though they may give that appearance under some conditions. As for tachyons, their existence remains hypothetical; even if their existence were to be proven, attempts to quantize them appear to indicate that they may not be used for superluminal communication, because experiments to produce or absorb tachyons cannot be fully controlled.

If wormholes are possible, then ordinary subluminal methods of communication could be sent through them to achieve superluminal transmission speeds. Considering the immense energy that current theories suggest would be required to open a wormhole large enough to pass spacecraft through it may be that only atomic-scale wormholes would be practical to build, limiting their use solely to information transmission. Some theories of wormhole formation would prevent them from ever becoming "timeholes", allowing superluminal communication without the additional complication of allowing communication with the past.

The no cloning theorem prevents superluminal communication via quantum cloning. However, this does not in itself prevent faster-than-light or superluminal communication, since it is not the only proposed method of such communication. But, consider the EPR thought experiment, and suppose quantum states could be cloned. Alice could send bits to Bob in the following way:

If Alice wishes to transmit a '0', she measures the spin of her electron in the z direction, collapsing Bob's state to either |z+>B or |z->B. If Alice wishes to transmit a '1', she measures the spin of her electron in the x direction, collapsing Bob's state to either |x+>B or |x->B. Bob creates many copies of his electron's state, and measures the spin of each copy in the z direction. If Alice transmitted a '0', all his measurements will produce the same result; otherwise, his measurements will be split evenly between +1/2 and -1/2. This would allow Alice and Bob to communicate across space-like separations, potentially violating causality. But violation of causality is not sufficient as proof of no superluminal communication. So superluminal communication remains an open issue.

Concept Development and Experimentation

2009-11-06T22:32:00.002-08:00

In a crisis management context involving multinational civilian and military actors, Strategic Communication combines internal and external communication processes at all levels based on mission-specific, superior guidance. It involves the understanding and engaging of foreign and domestic audiences within a comprehensive approach.
Communication is not an optional add-on to coalition operations. It must be employed from the beginning and shape both the design and implementation of crisis management activity.
The following prospective assumptions (hypotheses for concept development) describe the conceptual approach to Strategic Communication:
- Common Guidance Issued: If there is common guidance for coalition information activities issued by strategic-political authorities, then contradictory messaging by coalition partners will be minimized.
- Leadership-Driven: If Strategic Communication is leadership-driven, then it will become effective throughout all levels of involvement ('vertical dimension').
- Network of Experts Established: If there is a network of communication experts established at the earliest stage of coalition-building (or even before), then consistent implementation of Strategic Communication by all partners will be facilitated ('horizontal dimension').
- Common Identity Promoted: If a common coalition identity is promoted through internal communication along the coalition's vision, then coalition external communication efforts can purposefully assist the achievement of a desired image and credibility.
- Narrative Shared and Implemented: If a coalition narrative is shared and implemented by all partners, then targeted messaging by coalition partners will be consistent.
To summarize the basic requirements for implementation of this approach to Strategic Communication, a "3 Layers / 3 Pillars" model is proposed. 3 bottom layers constitute the foundation of this model:
1. a systemic and comprehensive understanding the information environment is a condition that enables communication practitioners to tailor communication efforts to audiences and design culturally attuned information activities. This notably involves the understanding of audiences from their various perspectives, including the requirement of 'strategic listening'. But systemic understanding involves much more than just an audience perspective: it is the system-of-systems approach to analysis and assessment, which should promote a better apprehension of complex communication situations;
2. communication must be understood as a process of creating and conveying meaning through symbolic interaction – verbally or non-verbally, intentionally or unintentionally – with perception and interpretation of actions playing a pivotal role;
3. communicators need to understand the strategy or vision of their organization in order to be able to craft adequate messages and advise effective activity to get these messages across in support of mission objectives.
Once these foundations are created, 3 pillars depict the pro-active process requirements of Strategic Communication:
1. communication must be integrated throughout all processes from planning to execution of activity. Planners and operators; leaders, managers, supervisors and employees – they all need to consider the information environment and understand the possible information effects of their actions;
2. consulting, education and training efforts should assist leaders in accepting their key role in the organization's communication. When senior executives ignore the importance of communication – and the necessity of their own active, personal leadership in it – they seriously undermine the value of major initiatives of their organization. Ineffective communication can sow dissension, heighten anxiety and confusion, alienate key individuals or groups, and damage management's credibility with critical audiences both inside and outside the organization;
3. harmonization of internal and external communication efforts is paramount for the development both common identity and desired image of the organization, and is thus a major prerequisite for effectiveness and ultimately achievement of objectives or mission accomplishment.
On these foundations and pillars builds Strategic Communication, which incorporates several processes but needs to be taken care of as a function in order to be implemented consistently and become effective.

Public administration application

2009-11-06T22:32:00.001-08:00

Educational institutions are responding to the perceived need for new ways of planning, developing, and implementing communication programs. In the last two years, a growing number of educational institutions offer programs in strategic communication, usually at the master's level. Prospective students can search the Internet for available programs.

Commercial application

2009-11-06T22:31:00.000-08:00

Strategic Communications in Commercial Environment is the non-military application of strategic communication principles and techniques are a new way for organizations to respond to a changed business landscape that results from today's networked communication environment. Back in the day, organizations could segment publics and audiences and target unique messages to each one. Employees, investors, partners, citizens of local communities, potential buyers and consumers could each receive messages that were not widely known or shared by the other groups. Now, all potential publics and audiences can access information about the organization. Providing dissimilar, even contradictory information is no longer possible and may even be problematic. Consumers see information targeted to investors and partners, employees see messages sent to members of the community. In short, with little effort, almost everyone can see almost everything.

Within organizations, the need to integrate communication efforts is moving the authority for creating messages from silos (media relations, investor relations, public relations, advertising, sales and promotion, community relations, corporate training) into corporate headquarters. When organizations adopt strategic communication processes, the message-originating departments -- although they were never fully autonomous -- must report to corporate communications units that issue guidelines for all organizational communication programs and efforts.

The term "strategic communication" means more than just getting the right message to the right people...and so on. It also means ensuring that communication programs meet the objectives of the organization. In order to meet those objectives and to obtain sufficient evidence to suggest that a program can or will meet them, SC is typically supported by a detailed research plan. Once the objectives are clarified, research to define audiences, to measure current attitudes, and to test ways to change those attitudes must be undertaken. Once the coordinating unit develops concepts, there will be focus groups and/or surveys to identify the most effective concepts. Final messages are also tested. The early research that shapes the message is called "formative evaluation." After implementation of the communication program, "summative evaluation" takes place. This research answers the questions: Did the program reach its goals? What effects did the campaign have? What remains to be done?

Research support for communication programs has long been a facet of advertising and, more broadly, marketing campaigns. In the commercial marketplace, sales are often the measurement for success and failure. In PR, the metric has generally been "clip files," the number of mentions in the editorial press: the more clips and the more influential the publications, the better. The underlying assumptions of strategic communication begin by rejecting these silos and adopting more robust measurements at all stages of program development, implementation, and post-campaign evaluation.

Defence application

2009-11-06T22:30:00.002-08:00

The recently approved NATO Policy on Strategic Communication defines Strategic Communication as "the coordinated and appropriate use of NATO communications activities and capabilities – Public Diplomacy, Military Public Affairs, Information Operations and Psychological Operations, as appropriate – in support of Alliance policies, operations and activities, and in order to advance NATO's aims" (SG(2009)0794). "It is important to underline that Strategic Communication is first and foremost a process that supports and underpins all efforts to achieve the Alliance's objectives; an enabler that guides and informs our decisions, and not an organization in itself. It is for this reason that Strategic Communication considerations should be integrated into the earliest planning phases - communication activities being a consequence of that planning"

Application objectives

2009-11-06T22:30:00.001-08:00

Strategic Communication (SC) provides a conceptual umbrella that enables organizations to integrate their disparate messaging efforts. It allows them to create and distribute communications that, while different in style and purpose, have an inner coherence. This consistency can, in some instances, foster an echo chamber that reinforces the organizational message and brand. At minimum, it prevents contradictory, confusing messaging to different groups across all media platforms.

History of strategic communication

2009-11-06T22:29:00.002-08:00

Strategic communication at its nascent ancient application begun with the first attempts to transmit knowledge through writing either to the following generations, or to locations remote to its origin. The need to increase the distance and speed of transmission may have been one of the factors behind the domestication of the horse which remained the primary mode of communication until the invention of the semaphore, and later the telegraph. The business management reference for Strategic Communication may be the concept of Integrated Management Communication.

Strategic Communication

2009-11-06T22:29:00.001-08:00

Strategic Communication can mean either communicating a concept, a process, or data that satisfies a long term strategic goal of an organization by allowing facilitation of advanced planning, or communicating over long distances usually using international telecommunications or dedicated global network assets to coordinate actions and activities of operationally significant commercial, non-commercial and military business or combat and logistic subunits. It can also mean the related function within organisations that takes care of internal and external communication processes.

Imagining Science’s Public(s)

2009-11-06T22:28:00.002-08:00

Many criticisms of the PUS movement have emphasised that this thing they were calling the public was somewhat of a (unhelpful) black box. Approaches to the public changed with the move with the move away from PUS. Science communication researchers and practitioners now often showcase their desire to listen to non-scientists as well as acknowledging an awareness of the fluid and complex nature of (post/late) modern social identities. At the very least, people will use plurals: publics or audiences. As the editor of Public Understanding of Science put it in a special issue on publics:
We have clearly moved from the old days of the deficit frame and thinking of publics as monolithic to viewing publics as active, knowledgeable, playing multiple roles, receiving as well as shaping science. (Einsiedel, 2007: 5)
However, Einsiedel goes on to suggest both views of the public are ‘monolithic’ in their own way; they both choose to declare what something called the public is. PUS might have ridiculed publics for their ignorance, but PEST romanticises its publics for their participatory instincts, intrinsic morality or simple collective wisdom. As Susana Hornig Priest (2009) concludes in her recent introduction essay on science’s contemporary audiences, the job of science communication might be to help non-scientists feel they are not excluded as opposed to always included; that they can join in if they want, rather than that there is a necessity to spend their lives engaging.
The process of quantifiably surveying public opinion of science is now largely associated with the PUS movement (some would say unfairly[13]). In the US, Jon Miller is the name most associated with such work and well-known for differentiating between identifiable ‘attentive’ or ‘interested’ publics (i.e. science’s fans) and those who do not care much about science and technology. Miller’s work questioned whether American publics had the follow four attributes of scientific literacy:

* Knowledge of basic textbook scientific factual knowledge.
* An understanding of scientific method.
* Appreciated the positive outcomes of science and technology
* Rejected superstitious beliefs such as astrology or numerology.
n some respects, John Durant’s work surveying British publics applied similar ideas to Miller. However, they were slightly more concerned with attitudes to science and technology, rather than just how much knowledge people had. They also looked at public confidence in their knowledge, considering issues such as the gender of those ticking don’t know boxes. We can see aspects of this approach, as well as a more ‘PEST’ influenced one, reflected within the Eurobarometer studies of public opinion. These have been running since 1973 to monitor public opinion in the member states, with the aim of helping the preparation of policy (and evaluation of policy). They look at a host of topics, not just science and technology but also defence, the Euro, EU enlargement and culture. Eurobarometer’s recent study of Europeans’ Attitudes to Climate Change is a good example. It focuses on respondents’ ‘subjective level of information’; asking ‘personally, do you think you that you are well informed or not about…? rather than checking what people knew.

Scientific Literacy

2009-11-06T22:28:00.001-08:00

Writing in 1987, Geoffery Thomas and John Durant describe the various reasons for increased Public Understanding of Science as follows:

* Benefits to Science – This is the ‘to know is to love’ argument, and perhaps mixes up the word ‘understanding’ with ‘appreciation’. It suggests that increased PUS will lead to more funding, looser regulation and more trained scientists.
* Benefits to National Economics – This argues that to compete economically we need trained scientists and engineers, which more PUS will provide.
* Benefits to Individuals – This is based on the sense that we live in a technological society, and assumes that we must know some science to negotiate it (e.g. knowing about surface tension helps us kill spiders).
* Benefits to Democratic Government & Society as a Whole – This train of thought emphasises that a scientifically informed electorate equals a more democratically run society.
* Intellectual, Aesthetic, and Moral Benefits – These arguments assume science is good for the soul in some way and increased PUS will lead to a populous of happier and more fulfilled individuals, perhaps equating science with the arts or religion.
Such arguments are quite old. As are rebuttals of them. For example, writing in 1952, I. Bernard Cohen points out a set of ‘fallacies’ in arguments for improved science education:

* Fallacy of Scientific Idolatry – ‘believing scientists to be lay saints, priests of truth, and superior beings who devote their lives to the selfless pursuit of higher things’.
* Fallacy of Critical Thinking – understanding science does not necessarily give you this transferable skill, as ‘may easily be demonstrated by examining carefully the lives of scientists outside of the laboratory’.
* Fallacy of Scientism – science is not the best or only way to solve problems.
* Fallacy of Miscellaneous Information – ‘the belief in the usefulness of unrelated information such as the boiling point of water, the distance in light years from the earth to various stars, the names of minerals’.
Most of the key criticisms of PUS come from 1990s work from scholars in Science and Technology Studies. For example Steven Hilgartner (1990) argues that what he calls 'the domanant view' of science popularization tends to imply a tight boundary around those who can articulate true, reliable knowledge. By defining a deficient public as recipients of knowledge, the scientists get to contrast their own identity as experts. The process of popularisation is a form of boundary work. Understood in this way, science communication may explicitly exist to connect scientists with the rest of society, but its very existence only acts to emphasise it: as if the scientific community only invited the public to play in order to reinforce its most powerful boundary (see also Bucchi, 1998).Similarly, in his seminal study of Cumbrian sheep farmers.

Different approaches to science communication

2009-11-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

Concerns over the public’s relationship with science have been around as long as we have had a concept of professional science (indeed, some would argue, earlier). Notable examples include the foundation of the Royal Institution and the British Association for the Advancement of Science as well as the building of science museums across the world. Generally, these projects have been motivated by worries over the lack of public funds for science, a perceived need for more trained scientists and/or concerns that non-scientists have been misled by the claims of pseudo-science or new age beliefs.
Science communication can be a very controversial area, as the various norms and motivations of a multitude of groups bustle for dominance. For example, activist groups and scientists may all clash over science policy (e.g. on issues of animal experimentation). Similarly, journalists and scientists might argue over the best way to simplify complex ideas for a non-expert audience, or disagree over what angle a news story should take (see also news values). People working in science communication often find themselves challenged to answer some quite philosophical questions on the nature of democracy, expertise and scientific realism.
Today, there are a multitude of terms associated with science communication, many with rather unfortunate acronyms. For example: PUS (the Public Understanding of Science), PEST (Public Engagement with Science & Technology), PAWS (Public awareness of science), scientific literacy, popular science, science outreach, science and the media, or science in society.
Each term tends to be associated with particular ideas about the way science should or does relate to the rest of society. For example, the Public Understanding of Science (PUS) movement is generally associated with a rather didactic approach, assuming non-scientist publics are deficient in scientific knowledge which will improve their lives. A 1985 report by Walter Bodmer for the Royal Society is often credited as mobilising people in the UK around this approach. In the USA the term scientific literacy is more often used to describe a similar approach, often associated with the work of Jon Miller (e.g. 1983), whose work testing how well the public matched understand science formed the basis for the National Science Foundation’s biannual science indicator surveys from the 1970s onwards.
In contrast to PUS and scientific literacy, science communicators who stress the word ‘engagement’ are more likely to respect non-scientist’s own knowledge (and lack of it) and feel there is worth in getting scientists and publics to talk with each other. The House of Lords Third Report on Science and Society from 2000 formalised such ‘a new mood for dialogue’ in UK science communication. Soon after, a highly influential report from the think tank Demos, See-Through Science popularised the need for ‘upstream’ engagement which emphasises the need for the public to be involved at an early stage of science policy development.

Science communication

2009-11-06T22:26:00.000-08:00

Science communication generally refers to media aiming to talk about science with non-scientists. It is sometimes done by professional scientists (then often dubbed outreach' or 'popularization') but has evolved into a professional field in its own right.

Partly due to a market for professional training, science communication is also an academic discipline. The two key journals are the Public Understanding of Science and Science Communication. Researchers in this field are often closely linked to Science and Technology Studies, but they may also come from the history of science as well as mainstream media studies, psychology, sociology or literature studies. Agricultural communication is considered a subset of science communication from an academic and professional standpoint.

All sorts of people call the work they do ‘science communication’, and it can be a very loosely applied term. Generally, it involves some discussion of science with non-scientists. Scientists communicating to one another, for example through scholarly journal articles, is a form of science communication, but the term is usually applied to more ‘public-facing’ work

Communication modelling

2009-11-04T12:02:00.002-08:00

Communication is usually described along a few major dimensions: Content (what type of things are communicated), source / emisor / sender / encoder (by whom), form (in which form), channel (through which medium), destination / receiver / target / decoder (to whom), and the purpose or pragmatic aspect. Between parties, communication includes acts that confer knowledge and experiences, give advice and commands, and ask questions. These acts may take many forms, in one of the various manners of communication. The form depends on the abilities of the group communicating. Together, communication content and form make messages that are sent towards a destination. The target can be oneself, another person or being, another entity (such as a corporation or group of beings).

Communication can be seen as processes of information transmission governed by three levels of semiotic rules:

1. Syntactic (formal properties of signs and symbols),
2. Pragmatic (concerned with the relations between signs/expressions and their users) and
3. Semantic (study of relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent).

Therefore, communication is social interaction where at least two interacting agents share a common set of signs and a common set of semiotic rules. This commonly held rules in some sense ignores autocommunication, including intrapersonal communication via diaries or self-talk, both secondary phenomena that followed the primary acquisition of communicative competences within social interactions.

In a simple model, information or content (e.g. a message in natural language) is sent in some form (as spoken language) from an emisor/ sender/ encoder to a destination/ receiver/ decoder. In a slightly more complex form a sender and a receiver are linked reciprocally. A particular instance of communication is called a speech act. The sender's personal filters and the receiver's personal filters may vary depending upon different regional traditions, cultures, or gender; which may alter the intended meaning of message contents. In the presence of "communication noise" on the transmission channel (air, in this case), reception and decoding of content may be faulty, and thus the speech act may not achieve the desired effect. One problem with this encode-transmit-receive-decode model is that the processes of encoding and decoding imply that the sender and receiver each possess something that functions as a code book, and that these two code books are, at the very least, similar if not identical. Although something like code books is implied by the model, they are nowhere represented in the model, which creates many conceptual difficulties.

Theories of coregulation describe communication as a creative and dynamic continuous process, rather than a discrete exchange of information. Canadian media scholar Harold Innis had the theory that people use different types of media to communicate and which one they choose to use will offer different possibilities for the shape and durability of society (Wark, McKenzie 1997). His famous example of this is using ancient Egypt and looking at the ways they built themselves out of media with very different properties stone and papyrus. Papyrus is what he called 'Space Binding'.

Oral Communication

2009-11-04T12:02:00.001-08:00

The first step in planning an oral presentation involves acknowledging two fundamental differences between oral and written communication. One essential goal of oral communication is to make personal contact with the audience, and to help connect them to the content. Reading a written report aloud is not usually an effective strategy for engaging with the audience. The needs/preferences of the audience play an even larger role in oral presentations than in writing. The content of presentations should be prepared with this goal in mind. Second, oral presentations are fleeting (or time-sensitive). If readers get lost or stop paying attention for a few minutes, they can always flip back a few pages. Listeners, on the other hand, usually can’t interrupt the speaker and ask that s/he start again and go back a few minutes. Once words are uttered, they vanish. Presenters can account for the fleeting nature of oral presentations by making sure that the presentation is well organized and by making structure explicit in the talk, so the audience can always knows where they’ve been and where they’re going.

Nonviolence

2009-11-04T11:53:00.000-08:00

The name "nonviolent communication" refers to Mohandas Gandhi's philosophy of ahimsa or nonviolence. However, unlike Gandhi, Rosenberg endorses the use of protective force—the use of force to keep injury from occurring, so long as it is not punitive, i.e., force applied with the intention to punish or harm someone for a past deed. Rosenberg says the desire to punish and the use of punitive measures only exist in cultures that have moralistic good/evil worldviews. He points out that anthropologists have discovered cultures in many many parts of the world in which the idea of someone being "bad" makes no sense. He says such cultures tend to be peaceful and do not rely on punitive force to correct maladaptive or harmful behaviors. One example of such a culture is the Semai people in Malaysia.

Formal vs. colloquial

2009-11-04T11:52:00.002-08:00

When using NVC to communicate, one may use either formal or colloquial NVC. In formal NVC, one explicitly uses the steps of the processes for empathy and honest self-expression, and may overtly use words such as "feel" and "need." This may be well-received and effective, or may be experienced as odd and stilted. As an alternative, one may use colloquial or "street" NVC, in which the language is naturalized and may be considered NVC regardless of form so long as it springs from an awareness of needs and an intention to connect.

Formal NVC is primarily used in teaching NVC and among NVC practitioners. Mastering formal NVC is recommended as a prerequisite to full effectiveness in speaking colloquial NVC.

Empathy

2009-11-04T11:52:00.001-08:00

Empathy, as practiced in NVC, is sometimes called "deep listening". It involves the listener connecting with the essential core of an individual's experience and offering a kindly energy of presence. The empathy process offered by NVC is often referred to as "giving empathy." It is more accurately a procedure that supports the development of true empathy.

This process involves listening for, and sometimes guiding the other person towards describing:

1. Observations as to what happened,
2. Feelings evoked, sometimes guessing what feelings might be, if the other is (for example) in blame mode,
3. Needs both met and unmet, although the unmet needs are most likely to be provoking the feelings involved

(Note: in Empathy mode, the "Request" step for the OFNR model is omitted.)

The empathy process for another may be conducted out loud, as an interaction with that person, or silently, as an inner approach to awareness of that person's experience.

Empathy brings about understanding of the needs of the one "receiving" empathy, and also relieves emotional charge. Emotional charge is often uncomfortable and is a barrier to being able to hear others clearly and respond in a flexible fashion. Thus, empathy may be used to relieve distress and increase understanding and readiness for hearing.

Programs

2009-11-04T11:51:00.002-08:00

Rosenberg has used the concept of nonviolent communication in peace programs in conflict zones including Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Colombia, the Middle East, Serbia, Croatia, and Ireland. The approach also has been used in projects of Restorative Justice; bringing prisoners, victims of crime, police and other interested parties together for healing and reconciliation. NVC is recognized by the government of Israel and several NVC training schools have been founded there. The theory has much in common with concepts used in mediation and conflict resolution and is used by some mediators in their work.

OFNR process model

2009-11-04T11:51:00.001-08:00

The NVC model has three or four steps depending on the mode of use.

1. Observation
2. Feelings
3. Needs
4. Request (optional, depending on mode)

The two modes of use of the NVC model are

1. empathy, including both self-empathy, and empathy for another, and
2. honest self-expression, including "please" (request) and "thank you" (gratitude)

Focuses

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In NVC, priority is given to creating a high quality of connection to oneself, and between people. It is observed that without connection, effective communication cannot occur.

Maintaining a focus on needs is a central premise. Needs, as the term is used in NVC, are underlying motivations that are universal, in that we all experience the same needs, even if at different times and to different degrees. Thus, needs serve as a basis for understanding each other's motivations at a level at which it is easy to be sympathetic to those motivations.

Needs are distinguished from strategies, which are specific plans to try to meet needs. If people interact only with an awareness of strategies, it is easy for people's strategies to come into conflict. Operating from an awareness of needs increases flexibility, insofar as there are typically many strategies that could lead to a given need being met. NVC practitioners also tend to find that it can be deeply satisfying to be aware of needs.

Nonviolent Communication

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Rosenberg gave the following definition of nonviolent communication at Lausanne, Switzerland, in September, 2003:

"Language, thoughts, communication skills and means of influence that serve my desire to do three things:

* to liberate myself from cultural learning that is in conflict with how I want to live my life.
* to empower myself to connect with myself and others in a way that makes compassionate giving natural.
* to empower myself to create structures that support compassionate giving."

Higher Graphic Communication

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The higher course is formed by the study of 3 units; two technical graphics units and desktop publishing. 30% of the assessment marks come from a thematic presentation which pupils work on throughout the year; these range from manual desktop publishing design to pupil chosen project where isometric and orthographic drawings are manually produced.

Standard Grade Graphic Communication

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The Standard Grade Graphic Communication course consists of three elements;

* Knowledge and Interpretation
* Drawing Ability
* Illustration and Presentation

The Knowledge and Interpretation element and the Drawing Ability elements are externally assessed in the Final Exam.

The Knowledge and Interpretation element is a theory section which contains many topics including; Building Drawings, Circuit Diagrams, Flowcharts, Safety Symbols and Public Notices, Computer Aided Graphics (CAG), Colour Theory and Reading and Interpreting Complex Drawings.

The Drawing Ability element is a practical drawing section which also contains many topics under two main areas - Orthographic Drawing and Pictorial Drawing. Orthographic Drawing includes; basic, prisms, pyramids, cylinders, cones, assembly drawings and sectional views. Pictorial Drawing includes; isometric, planometric, cabinet oblique, exploded views, sectional views, assembly drawings, one point perspective and two point perspective.

The Illustration and Presentation element is produced throughout the course through making a folio of work which is marked and graded by the pupils' teacher. They then send this mark away to the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority) unless the centre is moderated, in which case the whole folio is sent in. This folio must contain work showing; use and section of colour, "shading, toning, rendering", layout and lettering, graphs and charts, modelling, use of CAD library, use of CAD, CAG for display, display and overall draughtsmanship.

Each element is a third of the candidates final mark.

Graphic communication education

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Graphic communication is an optional subject its main purpose is to introduce students to making architectural drawings - both manual and electronically. In addition to teaching Desktop publishing (DTP) and manual publishing.

The Graphic communication education can be pitched at many different levels:

* Intermediate 1
* Intermediate 2
* Higher
* Advanced higher

All of these subjects are defined and assessed by the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority)

Graphical representation

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The term representation, according to O'Shaughnessy and Stadler (2005), can carry a range of meanings and interpretations. In literary theory representation is commonly defined in three ways.

1. To look like or resemble
2. To stand in for something or someone
3. To present a second time to re-presen
Representation, acoording to Mitchell (1995), began with early literary theory in the ideas of Plato and Aristotle, and has evolved into a significant component of language, Saussurian and communication studies. Aristotle discusses representation in three ways
1. The object: The symbol being represented.
2. Manner: The way the symbol is represented.
3. Means: The material that is used to represent it.

Graphic design

2009-11-04T11:39:00.003-08:00

The term graphic design can refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation. Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to produce the final result. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated.

Common uses of graphic design include magazines, advertisements, product packaging and web design. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece. Composition is one of the most important features of graphic design especially when using pre-existing materials or diverse elements.

Communication design

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Communication design is a mixed discipline between design and information-development which is concerned with how media intermission such as printed, crafted, electronic media or presentations communicate with people. A communication design approach is not only concerned with developing the message aside from the aesthetics in media, but also with creating new media channels to ensure the message reaches the target audience. Communication design seeks to attract, inspire, create desires and motivate the people to respond to messages, with a view to making a favorable impact to the bottom line of the commissioning body, which can be either to build a brand, move sales, or for humanitarian purposes. Its process involves strategic business thinking, utilizing market research, creativity, and problem-solving.

Visual communication

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Visual communication as the name suggests is communication through visual aid. It is the conveyance of ideas and information in forms that can be read or looked upon. Primarily associated with two dimensional images, it includes: signs, typography, drawing, graphic design, illustration, colour and electronic resources. It solely relies on vision. It is form of communication with visual effect. It explores the idea that a visual message with text has a greater power to inform, educate or persuade a person. It is communication by presenting information through Visual form. The evaluation of a good visual design is based on measuring comprehension by the audience, not on aesthetic or artistic preference. There are no universally agreed-upon principles of beauty and ugliness. There exists a variety of ways to present information visually, like gestures, body languages, video and TV. Here, focus is on the presentation of text, pictures, diagrams, photos, et cetera, integrated on a computer display. The term visual presentation is used to refer to the actual presentation of information. Recent research in the field has focused on web design and graphically oriented usability. Graphic designers use methods of visual communication in their professional practice.

Graphic History

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The earliest graphics known to anthropologists studying prehistoric periods are cave paintings and markings on boulders, bone, ivory, and antlers, which were created during the Upper Paleolithic period from 40,000–10,000 B.C. or earlier.

Some of the earliest graphics and drawings known to the modern world, from almost 6,000 years ago, are that of engraved stone tablets and ceramic cylinder seals, marking the beginning of the historic periods and the keeping of records for accounting and inventory purposes. Records from Egypt predate these and papyrus was used by the Egyptians as a material on which to plan the building of pyramids; they also used slabs of limestone and wood. From 600–250 BC, the Greeks played a major role in geometry. They used graphics to represent their mathematical theories such as the Circle Theorem and the Pythagorean theorem.

Graphic communication

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Graphic communication as the name suggests is communication through graphics and graphical aids. It is the process of creating, producing, and distributing material incorporating words and images to convey data, concepts, and emotions.The field of graphic communications encompasses all phases of the graphic communications processes from origination of the idea (design, layout, and typography) through reproduction, finishing and distribution of two- or three-dimensional products or electronic transmissions.

Independent Typing

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The phrase "independent typing" is defined by supporters of FC as "typing without physical support", i.e., without being touched by another person.Skeptics of FC do not agree that this definition of independence suffices because of the possibility of influence by the facilitator. For example, Sue Rubin, an FC user featured in the autobiographical documentary Autism Is A World, reportedly types without anyone touching her; however, she reports that she requires a facilitator to hold the keyboard and offer other assistance.

A number of other people who began communicating with FC have reportedly gone on to be independent typists (i.e., without physical support), and in some cases read aloud the words typed (Biklen et al., 2005). An example of near-independent typing is shown in Douglas Biklen's documentary of artist Larry Bissonnette, My Classic Life as an Artist: A Portrait of Larry Bissonnette,[41] produced at Syracuse University. Critics complain that these cases have not been objectively and independently verified; such verification is absent in peer-reviewed studies. However, a few individuals have in fact been cited as independent typists in independently-reviewed publications. Examples include Jamie Burke (Broderick and Kasa-Hendrickson, 2001),and Lucy Blackman, author of the autobiography Lucy's Story (Blackman, 2001).

Douglas Biklen has compiled the reports from three FC users about their progress toward independent typing.
Beukelman and Mirenda, authors of a leading textbook on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, express strong reservations about the use of FC but nonetheless note the existence of "a small group of people around the world who began communicating through FC and are now able to type either independently or with minimal, hand-on-shoulder support. There can be no doubt that, for them, FC 'worked,' in that it opened the door to communication for the first time. ... We include FC here because of Sharisa Kochmeister, Lucy Blackman, Larry Bissonnette, and others who now communicate fluently and independently, thanks to FC. For them, the controversy has ended.
Stephen von Tetzchner, the author of another leading textbook on Augmentative and Alternative Communication has done theoretical research about facilitated communication.In his opinion "The existing evidence clearly demonstrates that facilitating techniques usually led to automatic writing, displaying the thoughts and the attitudes of the facilitators."
Stephen N. Calculator (1999) says: "Whereas the use of FC proliferated in the United States and elsewhere following initial optimistic reports by Biklen (1990, 1993), Crossley (1992, 1994), and others, this fervor has not been matched by efforts to validate the approach or its theoretical bases. Investigators applying qualitative methods have had their outcomes of success for FC challenged by others in the scientific community who question the appropriateness of such methods in studying FC use. Meanwhile, experimental investigators have focused primarily on questioning and disproving the efficacy of this method. ... Caught in the scientific impasse are individuals with severe communication impairments who may or may not benefit from this approach. They and their families continue to be bombarded with contradictory information, philosophies, and recommendations regarding this method."

Mark Mostert (2001) says: "Previous reviews of Facilitated Communication (FC) studies have clearly established that proponents' claims are largely unsubstantiated and that using FC as an intervention for communicatively impaired or noncommunicative individuals is not recommended."

Research

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In the majority of controlled studies, practitioners were unintentionally cueing the facilitated person as to which letter to hit, so the resulting letter strings did not represent the thoughts of the students but the expectations of the facilitators. Similar responses to possibly unconscious cues were seen in the "Clever Hans" case, where a horse gave correct answers to math problems by watching the reactions of its owner. However, some studies did report positive or mixed results, i.e., valid authorship by FC users,and much debate ensued among scholars and clinicians In the opinions of proponents of the method,positive results were generally seen in more naturalistic settings, and negative results in more controlled settings.

FC proponents argue that in most of the negative studies, the laboratory setting was itself the confounding variable: i.e., communication is inherently very difficult for autistic people, so they can't necessarily be expected to replicate their successes under unfamiliar or even hostile conditions (e.g., those in which continuance of access to FC was contingent upon passing or failing the test). However, not all negative findings were obtained in clinical settings only; some tests were smoothly embedded in familiar surroundings and daily activities in which participants sometimes did not even know they were tested. In their 1997 book, Contested Words Contested Science, Biklen and Cardinal (and others) attempt to shed light on why some controlled studies support FC while others do not.

Critics of FC question why people who can give speeches in public and go to college cannot answer a series of simple questions under controlled conditions.[citation needed] Critics also argue that positive results are typically obtained using "qualitative research methods" in which standard experimental controls for bias and subjectivity are weak or non-existent.[citation needed] Proponents argue that FC users have indeed passed controlled tests, often under duress, and as a condition for having access to basic human rights such as educational services and even freedom from institutionalization (e.g., McDonald, 1993;Crossley and McDonald, 1984 and Dwyer, 1996

Harvard University psychologist Daniel Wegner has argued that facilitated communication is a striking example of the ideomotor effect, the well-known phenomenon whereby individuals' expectations exert unconscious influence over their motor actions.Even FC users and proponents do acknowledge the possibility of facilitators at times "guiding" users, consciously or unconsciously.Other theorists (Donnellan and Leary, 1995) argue that autism is in significant part characterized by dyspraxia (a movement disorder), and that there exists a synchronistic "dance" to communication in all mammalian social interaction which accounts for the mixed results in validation studies.

Still, the most significant concern with FC was, and remains, that of authorship: the question of who is really doing the typing. Numerous controlled studies have unambiguously established that facilitator influence does occur. FC users and proponents acknowledge this phenomenon; Sue Rubin, an FC user initially diagnosed as mentally retarded but who now attends college and types without physical support (see below), has described her own experience with facilitator influence.proponents point out that the fact that cueing occurs under certain conditions with certain FC users does not necessarily mean that it always occurs with all FC users. A few controlled studies since 1995 reported instances of genuine authorship by FC users. These studies, and the emergence of independent typing in some FC users, demonstrates in the opinion of proponents that at least in some cases FC is valid but that given the experimental evidence, it is impossible to say just how rare or how common such cases are.

History

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Facilitated communication first drew attention in Australia in 1977, when Rosemary Crossley, teacher at St. Nicholas Hospital, claimed to have produced communication
from 12 children diagnosed with cerebral palsy and other disabilities and argued that they possessed normal intelligence. These findings were disputed by the hospital and the Health Commission of Victoria; however, in 1979 one of Crossley's students, Anne McDonald, left the hospital after successfully fighting an action for Habeas Corpus in the Supreme Court of Victoria. After continuing controversy the Victorian Government closed the hospital in 1984-5 and rehoused all the residents in the community. Crossley and McDonald wrote a book about the experience called "Annie's Coming Out" in 1984.

Facilitated communication gained further exposure when Nobel laureate Arthur Schawlow used it with his autistic son in the early 1980s and felt that it was helpful. His experience and its effects on the disability community are described on the Stanford University website:

They became champions of the technique and were largely responsible for introducing it to the United States, where it remains controversial.

In 1989 Douglas Biklen, a sociologist and professor of special education at Syracuse University, investigated Rosemary Crossley's work in Australia. She was then Director of DEAL (Deal Communication Centre),Australia's first federally-funded centre for augmentative communication. Biklen helped popularize the method in the USA and created the Facilitated Communication Institute at Syracuse University.

After starting to use the method in Syracuse, Biklen reported startling results in which students with severe autism were said to be producing entire paragraphs of clarity and intellect. This produced an explosion of popularity; the method spread across the USA— especially due to its seeming success with people with autism. Facilitated communication was strongly embraced by many parents of children with disabilities, who hoped that their children were capable of more than had been thought. (Most of the foregoing discussion is referenced in Jacobson et al., 1995).

Nevertheless, serious questions regarding FC soon began to surface. For example, some autistic FC users appeared not to be looking at the keyboard while typing (which is contrary to training standards for FC). Still others used vocabulary that was apparently beyond their years and/or education, many producing poetry of varying complexity. A concern arose when some of the communications accused the parents of children with autism of severe sexual and/or physical abuse. Not all such allegations were proven true. However, some sexual abuse allegations made via FC have been found to be valid. In late 1993, a Frontline (PBS) documentary highlighting these concerns was televised; FC proponents responded with criticisms of negative bias.

Around the same time, controlled studies were done on the method, most of which reported that it was the facilitator who was unconsciously producing the communication. By the late 1990s, FC had been discredited in the eyes of most scientists and professional organizations, with some calling it pseudoscientific[citation needed]. FC retained acceptance in some treatment centers in North America, Europe and Australia.

Current position statements of certain professional and/or advocacy organizations do not support the use of Facilitated Communication due to their objections that it lacks scientific validity or reliability. These organizations include the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Association on Mental Retardation. ABAI calls FC a "discredited technique" and warns that "its use is unwarranted and unethical.

The Association for Science in Autism Treatment reviewed the research and position statements and concluded that the messages typed on the communication device were controlled by the facilitator, not the individual with autism, and FC did not improve their language skills. Therefore, FC was reported to be an "inappropriate intervention" for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.
TASH (2000) stated: "The question of authorship can become particularly controversial when the subject of what has been communicated concerns sensitive issues ... (TASH) encourages rigorous and ongoing training for people who decide to become facilitators; encourages careful, reflective use of facilitated communication; encourages facilitators to work in collaboration with individuals with severe disabilities to find ways of monitoring authorship when using facilitation.

The Autism National Committee (AutCom) in 2008 issued a position paper in favor of FC, stating: "Autcom criticizes attempts to dismiss FC on the basis of flawed studies that are poorly designed and/or whose results are incorrectly extrapolated to the entire population of FC users. In particular, we reject over-generalized claims that allege or imply that merely because FC is not valid for some people under some circumstances, FC is not valid for any person under any circumstances." Autcom also acknowledges that facilitator influence is real, and argues that while every effort should be made to avoid it, it is possible for both facilitator influence and genuine, FC-user-authored communication to occur in a given conversation.

Facilitated communication

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Facilitated communication (FC) is a process by which a facilitator supports the hand or arm of a communicatively impaired individual while using a keyboard or other devices with the aim of helping the individual to develop pointing skills and to communicate. Some neurologists and psychologists believe there is a high incidence of dyspraxia, or difficulty with planning and/or executing voluntary movement, among such individuals, and that this is alleviated by a facilitator's manual support. Proponents of FC suggest that some people with autism and moderate and profound mental retardation may have "undisclosed literacy", or the capacity for other symbolic communication, consistent with higher intellectual functioning than has been presumed.

The procedure is controversial, since a majority of peer reviewed scientific studies conclude that the typed language output attributed to the clients is directed or systematically determined by the therapists who provide facilitated assistance. Some peer-reviewed scientific studies have indicated instances of valid FC, and some FC users have reportedly gone on to type independently.

Characteristics of Mass Communication

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Five characteristics of mass communication have been identified by Cambridge University's John Thompson. Firstly, it "comprises both technical and institutional methods of production and distribution". This is evident throughout the history of the media, from print to the Internet, each suitable for commercial utility.

Secondly, it involves the "commodification of symbolic forms",as the production of materials relies on its ability to manufacture and sell large quantities of the work. Just as radio stations rely on its time sold to advertisements, newspapers rely for the same reasons on its space.

Mass communication's third characteristic is the "separate contexts between the production and reception of information", while the fourth is in its "reach to those 'far removed' in time and space, in comparison to the producers".

Mass communication, which involves "information distribution". This is a "one to many" form of communication, whereby products are mass produced and disseminated to a great quantity of audiences.

The terms 'Mass' and 'Communication'

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The term 'mass' denotes great volume, range or extent (of people or production) and reception of messages.[4] The important point about 'mass' is not that a given number of individuals receives the products, but rather that the products are available in principle to a plurality of recipients.

The term 'mass' suggests that the recipients of media products constitute a vast sea of passive, undifferentiated individuals. This is an image associated with some earlier critiques of 'mass culture' and Mass society which generally assumed that the development of mass communication has had a largely negative impact on modern social life, creating a kind of bland and homogeneous culture which entertains individuals without challenging them.However, with the advancement in Media Technology, people are no longer receiving gratification without questioning the grounds on which it is based.Instead, people are engaging themselves more with media products such as computers, cell phones and Internet. These have gradually became vital tools for communications in society today.

The aspect of 'communication' refers to the giving and taking of meaning, the transmission and reception of messages. The word 'communication' is really equated with 'transmission', as viewed by the sender, rather than in the fuller meaning, which includes the notions of response, sharing and interaction. Messages are produced by one set of individuals and transmitted to others who are typically situated in settings that are spatially and temporally remote from the original context of production. Therefore, the term 'communication' in this context masks the social and industrial nature of the media, promoting a tendency to think of them as interpersonal communication.Furthermore, it is known that recipients today do have some capacity to intervene in and contribute to the course and content of the communicative process. They are being both active and creative towards the messages that they are conveyed of. With the complement of the cyberspace supported by the Internet, not only that recipients are participants in a structured process of symbolic transmission, constraints such as time and space are reordered and eliminated.

'Mass communication' can be seen as institutionalized production and generalized diffusion of symbolic goods via the fixation and transmission of information or symbolic content. It is known that the systems of information codification has shifted from analog to digital. This has indeed advanced the communication between individuals. With the existence of Infrared, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, cell phones are no longer solely a tool for audio transmission. We can transfer photos, music documents or even games and email at any time and anywhere. The development of media technology has indeed advanced the transmission rate and stability of information exchange.

Field of study

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Tuba Nacar - Mass communication research includes media institutions and processes such as diffusion of information, and media effects such as persuasion or manipulation of public opinion. In the United States, for instance, several university journalism departments evolved into schools or colleges of mass communication or "journalism and mass communication". In addition to studying practical skills of journalism, public relations or advertising, they offer programs on "mass communication" or "mass communication research." The latter is often the title given to doctoral studies in such schools, whether the focus of the student's research is journalism practice, history, law or media effects. Departmental structures within such colleges may separate research and instruction in professional or technical aspects of mass communication.

With the increased role of the Internet in delivering news and information, mass communication studies and media organizations tend to focus on the convergence of publishing, broadcasting and digital communication.

The academic mass communication discipline historically differs from media studies and communication studies programs with roots in departments of theatre, film or speech, and with more interest in "qualitative," interpretive theory, critical or cultural approaches to communication study. In contrast, many mass communication programs historically lean toward empirical analysis and quantitative research -- from statistical content analysis of media messages to survey research, public opinion polling, and experimental research. Interest in "New Media" and "Computer Mediated Communication" is growing much faster than educational institutions can assimilate it. So far, traditional classes and degree programs have not been able to accommodate new shifts of the paradigm in communication technologies. Although national standards for the study of interactive media have been present in the U.K. since the mid-nineties, course work in these areas tends to vary significantly from university to university.
Graduates of Mass Communication programs work in a variety of fields in traditional news media and publishing, advertising, public relations and research institutes.

Such programs are accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is the major membership organization for academics in the field, offering regional and national conferences and refereed publications. The International Communication Association and National Communication Association (formerly the Speech Communication Association) include divisions and publications that overlap with those of AEJMC, but AEJMC historically has stronger ties to the mass communication professions in the United States.

Mass communication

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Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time. It is usually understood to relate to newspaper and magazine publishing, radio, television and film, as these are used both for disseminating news and for advertising.

Visual communication

2009-11-01T00:06:00.001-07:00

Visual communication as the name suggests is communication through visual aid. It is the conveyance of ideas and information in forms that can be read or looked upon. Primarily associated with two dimensional images, it includes: signs, typography, drawing, graphic design, illustration, colour and electronic resources. It solely relies on vision. It is form of communication with visual effect. It explores the idea that a visual message with text has a greater power to inform, educate or persuade a person. It is communication by presenting information through visual form.

The evaluation of a good visual design is based on measuring comprehension by the audience, not on aesthetic or artistic preference. There are no universally agreed-upon principles of beauty and ugliness. There exists a variety of ways to present information visually, like gestures, body languages, video and TV. Here, focus is on the presentation of text, pictures, diagrams, photos, et cetera, integrated on a computer display. The term visual presentation is used to refer to the actual presentation of information. Recent research in the field has focused on web design and graphically oriented usability. Graphic designers use methods of visual communication in their professional practice.

Dynamic Features

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Facial Expressions. A smile, frown, raised eyebrow, yawn, and sneer all convey information. Facial expressions continually change during interaction and are monitored constantly by the recipient. There is evidence that the meaning of these expressions may be similar across cultures.

Gestures. One of the most frequently observed, but least understood, cues is a hand movement. Most people use hand movements regularly when talking. While some gestures (e.g., a clenched fist) have universal meanings, most of the others are individually learned and idiosyncratic.

Looking. A major feature of social communication is eye contact. It can convey emotion, signal when to talk or finish, or aversion. The frequency of contact may suggest either interest or boredom.

Static Features

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Distance. The distance one stands from another frequently conveys a non-verbal message. In some cultures it is a sign of attraction, while in others it may reflect status or the intensity of the exchange.

Orientation. People may present themselves in various ways: face-to-face, side-to-side, or even back-to-back. For example, cooperating people are likely to sit side-by-side while competitors frequently face one another.

Posture. Obviously one can be lying down, seated, or standing. These are not the elements of posture that convey messages. Are we slouched or erect ? Are our legs crossed or our arms folded ? Such postures convey a degree of formality and the degree of relaxation in the communication exchange.

Physical Contact. Shaking hands, touching, holding, embracing, pushing, or patting on the back all convey messages. They reflect an element of intimacy or a feeling of (or lack of) attraction.

Nonverbal communication

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Nonverbal communication is the process of communicating through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages can be communicated through gesture, body language or posture; facial expression and eye contact, object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture, or symbols and infographics, as well as through an aggregate of the above, such as behavioral communication. Nonverbal communication plays a key role in every person's day to day life, from employment to romantic engagements.

Speech may also contain nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the use of emoticons. A portmanteau of the English words emotion (or emote) and icon, an emoticon is a symbol or combination of symbols used to convey emotional content in written or message form.

Other communication channels such as telegraphy fit into this category, whereby signals travel from person to person by an alternative means. These signals can in themselves be representative of words, objects or merely be state projections. Trials ave shown that humans can communicate directly in this way without body language, voice tonality or words.
Categories and Features G. W. Porter divides non-verbal communication into four broad categories:

Physical. This is the personal type of communication. It includes facial expressions, tone of voice, sense of touch, sense of smell, and body motions.

Aesthetic. This is the type of communication that takes place through creative expressions: playing instrumental music, dancing, painting and sculpturing.

Signs. This is the mechanical type of communication, which includes the use of signal flags, the 21-gun salute, horns, and sirens.

Symbolic. This is the type of communication that makes use of religious, status, or ego-building symbols.

Types of communication

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There are three major parts in human face to face communication which are body language, voice tonality, and words. According to the research:

* 55% of impact is determined by body language—postures, gestures, and eye contact,
* 38% by the tone of voice, and
* 7% by the content or the words used in the communication process.

Although the exact percentage of influence may differ from variables such as the listener and the speaker, communication as a whole strives for the same goal and thus, in some cases, can be universal. System of signals, such as voice sounds, intonations or pitch, gestures or written symbols which communicate thoughts or feelings. If a language is about communicating with signals, voice, sounds, gestures, or written symbols, can animal communications be considered as a language? Animals do not have a written form of a language, but use a language to communicate with each another. In that sense, an animal communication can be considered as a separate language.

Human spoken and written languages can be described as a system of symbols (sometimes known as lexemes) and the grammars (rules) by which the symbols are manipulated. The word "language" is also used to refer to common properties of languages. Language learning is normal in human childhood. Most human languages use patterns of sound or gesture for symbols which enable communication with others around them. There are thousands of human languages, and these seem to share certain properties, even though many shared properties have exceptions.

There is no defined line between a language and a dialect, but the linguist Max Weinreich is credited as saying that "a language is a dialect with an army and a navy". Constructed languages such as Esperanto, programming languages, and various mathematical formalisms are not necessarily restricted to the properties shared by human languages.

* Mass communication
* Facilitated communication
* Graphic communication
* Nonviolent Communication
* Oral communication
* Science communication
* Strategic Communication
* Superluminal communication
* Technical communication

Information communication revolutions

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As time progress, so does technology. Technology has made things much simpler for humans, including adding new ways for us to communicate. Researchers have divided how communication works into 3 revolutions.

The 1st Information Communication Revolution: The 1st written communication began with pictographs. These writings can be found on stone, which were too heavy to transfer. During this era, written communication was not mobile.

The 2nd Information Communication Revolution: The Gutenberg press was invented. Gutenberg printed the 1st bible. The books were able to be transfer for others across the world to view. Written communication is now storable, and portable.

The 3rd Information Communication Revolution: Information can now be transferred via waves, bits, and other electronic signals.

Communication is thus a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertoire of skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. It is through communication that collaboration and cooperation occur.
There are also many common barriers to successful communication, two of which are message overload (when a person receives too many messages at the same time), and message complexity.Communication is a continuous process.