Saturday, August 6, 2011

Written Communication and its Historical Development

[edit] Written communication and its historical development
Over time the forms of and ideas about communication have evolved through progression of technology. Advances include communications psychology and media psychology; an emerging field of study. Researchers divides the progression of written communication into three revolutionary stages called "Information Communication Revolutions" (Source needed).
During the 1st stage written communication first emerged through the use of pictographs. The pictograms were made in stone, hence written communication was not yet mobile.
During the 2nd stage writing began to appear on paper, papyrus, clay, wax, etc. Common alphabets were introduced and allowed for the uniformity of language across large distances. A leap in technology occurred when the Gutenberg printing-press was invented in the 15th century.
The 3rd stage is characterised by the transfer of information through controlled waves and electronic signals.
Communication is thus a process by which meaning is assigned and conveyed in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process, which requires a vast repertoire of skills in interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, gestures, and evaluating enables collaboration and cooperation.[4]
Barriers to successful communication include message overload (when a person receives too many messages at the same time), and message complexity.[5]
Misunderstandings can be anticipated and solved through formulations, questions and answers, paraphrasing, examples, and stories of strategic talk. Written communication can be clear by planning follow-up talk on critical written communication as part of the normal way of doing business. Minutes spent talking now will save time later having to clear up misunderstandings later on. Then, take what was heard and reiterate in your own words, and ask them if that’s what they meant.

Communication Cycle

[edit] Communication cycle
 
 
 
Interactional Model of Communication
Berlo's Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver Model of Communication
Transactional Model of Communication
The first major model for communication came in 1949 by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver for Bell Laboratories [8] The original model was designed to mirror the functioning of radio and telephone technologies. Their initial model consisted of three primary parts: sender, channel, and receiver. The sender was the part of a telephone a person spoke into, the channel was the telephone itself, and the receiver was the part of the phone where one could hear the other person. Shannon and Weaver also recognized that often there is static that interferes with one listening to a telephone conversation, which they deemed noise.
In a simple model, often referred to as the transmission model or standard view of communication, 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. This common conception of communication simply views communication as a means of sending and receiving information. The strengths of this model are simplicity, generality, and quantifiability. Social scientists Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver structured this model based on the following elements:
  1. An information source, which produces a message.
  2. A transmitter, which encodes the message into signals
  3. A channel, to which signals are adapted for transmission
  4. A receiver, which 'decodes' (reconstructs) the message from the signal.
  5. A destination, where the message arrives.
Shannon and Weaver argued that there were three levels of problems for communication within this theory.
The technical problem: how accurately can the message be transmitted?
The semantic problem: how precisely is the meaning 'conveyed'?
The effectiveness problem: how effectively does the received meaning affect behavior?
Daniel Chandler critiques the transmission model by stating:
It assumes communicators are isolated individuals.
No allowance for differing purposes.
No allowance for differing interpretations.
No allowance for unequal power relations.
No allowance for situational contexts.
In 1960, David Berlo expanded on Shannon and Weaver’s (1949) linear model of communication and created the SMCR Model of Communication.[9] The Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver Model of communication separated the model into clear parts and has been expanded upon by other scholars.
Communication is usually described along a few major dimensions: Message (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 Receiver. Wilbur Schram (1954) also indicated that we should also examine the impact that a message has (both desired and undesired) on the target of the message.[10] 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

Communication Noise

Communication noise
In any communication model, noise is interference with the decoding of messages sent over a channel by an encoder. There are many examples of noise:
Environmental Noise: Noise that physically disrupts communication, such as standing next to loud speakers at a party, or the noise from a construction site next to a classroom making it difficult to hear the professor.
Physiological-Impairment Noise: Physical maladies that prevent effective communication, such as actual deafness or blindness preventing messages from being received as they were intended.
Semantic Noise: Different interpretations of the meanings of certain words. For example, the word "weed" can be interpreted as an undesirable plant in your yard, or as a euphemism for marijuana.
Syntactical Noise: Mistakes in grammar can disrupt communication, such as abrupt changes in verb tense during a sentence.
Organizational Noise: Poorly structured communication can prevent the receiver from accurate interpretation. For example, unclear and badly stated directions can make the receiver even more lost.
Cultural Noise: Stereotypical assumptions can cause misunderstandings, such as unintentionally offending a non-Christian person by wishing them a "Merry Christmas".
Psychological Noise: Certain attitudes can also make communication difficult. For instance, great anger or sadness may cause someone to lose focus on the present moment. Disorders such as Autism may also severely hamper effective communication.[12]

[edit] Communication as academic discipline

Communication as an academic discipline, sometimes called "communicology,"[13] relates to all the ways we communicate, so it embraces a large body of study and knowledge. The communication discipline includes both verbal and nonverbal messages. A body of scholarship all about communication is presented and explained in textbooks, electronic publications, and academic journals. In the journals, researchers report the results of studies that are the basis for an ever-expanding understanding of how we all communicate.
Communication happens at many levels (even for one single action), in many different ways, and for most beings, as well as certain machines. Several, if not all, fields of study dedicate a portion of attention to communication, so when speaking about communication it is very important to be sure about what aspects of communication one is speaking about. Definitions of communication range widely, some recognizing that animals can communicate with each other as well as human beings, and some are more narrow, only including human beings within the different parameters of human symbolic interaction

oral communication

[edit] Oral communication
Oral communication, while primarily referring to spoken verbal communication, typically relies on both words, visual aids and non-verbal elements to support the conveyance of the meaning. Oral communication includes discussion, speeches, presentations, interpersonal communication and many other varieties. In face to face communication the body language and voice tonality plays a significant role and may have a greater impact on the listener than the intended content of the spoken words.
A great presenter must capture the attention of the audience and connect with them. For example, out of two persons telling the same joke one may greatly amuse the audience due to his body language and tone of voice while the second person, using exactly the same words, bores and irritates the audience.[citation needed] Visual aid can help to facilitate effective communication and is almost always used in presentations for an audience.
A widely cited and widely misinterpreted figure used to emphasize the importance of delivery states that "communication comprise 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, 7% content of words", the so-called "7%-38%-55% rule".[2] This is not however what the cited research shows – rather, when conveying emotion, if body language, tone of voice, and words disagree, then body language and tone of voice will be believed more than words.[3][clarification needed] For example, a person saying "I'm delighted to meet you" while mumbling, hunched over, and looking away will be interpreted as insincere

Communications of The ACM(CACM)

Communications of the ACM (CACM) is the flagship monthly journal of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). First published in 1957, CACM is sent to all ACM members, currently numbering about 80,000. The articles are intended for readers with backgrounds in all areas of computer science and information systems. The focus is on the practical implications of advances in information technology and associated management issues; ACM also publishes a variety of more theoretical journals.
CACM straddles the boundary of a science magazine, professional journal, and a scientific journal. While the content is subject to peer review (and is counted as such in many university assessments of research output), the articles published are often summaries of research that may also be published elsewhere. Material published must be accessible and relevant to a broad readership. At the publisher's website, CACM is filed in the category "magazines

Types of communication


  • A radio communication system sends signals by radio Types of radio communication systems deployed depend on technology , standards , ...
    16 KB (2,183 words) - 10:39, 3 May 2011

  • Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of communication disorder s where ... Many of these types of disorders can be treated by ...
    8 KB (1,069 words) - 20:05, 30 July 2011

  • Statistical multiplexing is a type of communication link sharing, very similar to dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA). a communication ...
    5 KB (740 words) - 01:56, 4 June 2011

  • An apostolic exhortation is a type of communication from the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church . It encourages a community of people to ...
    2 KB (230 words) - 07:42, 6 May 2011

  • Corporate communication is the message issued by a corporate organization, body, or ... organizations to strategically orchestrate all types of communication. ...
    14 KB (1,817 words) - 05:22, 18 June 2011

  • Communication for Development (C4D) is a broad term used to refer to all the different types of communication that need to take place in ...
    2 KB (265 words) - 13:43, 5 July 2011

  • used in biology and more indepth in biophysics and biochemistry to identify different types of communication methods between living cells. ...
    4 KB (603 words) - 23:34, 29 July 2011

  • Client-To-Client Protocol (CTCP) is a special type of communication between Internet Relay Chat (IRC) clients. CTCP is a common protocol ...
    2 KB (263 words) - 01:34, 20 July 2011

  • In ethics , and (in some places) in law and alternative forms of legal resolution such as mediation , some types of communication ...
    12 KB (1,706 words) - 18:10, 8 July 2011

  • In the study of the biological sciences the general term biocommunication is used to describe more specific types of communication ...
    4 KB (459 words) - 16:41, 27 July 2011

  • protocol is the specification of a set of rules for a particular type of communication . ... the IEEE , or the ISO organizations for other types. ...
    6 KB (892 words) - 08:04, 28 July 2011

  • Mission Type | Satellite communication |! Satellite of | Earth |! ... The aim of ETS-VIII is to enable satellite communication s with small terminals. ...
    3 KB (230 words) - 19:28, 5 April 2011

  • Mobile technology is a collective term used to describe the various types of cellular communication technology. Mobile CDMA technology

  • Animal Communication


  • Animal communication is any behavior on the part of one animal that has an effect ... communication or semiosis in animals; distinguishable ...
    34 KB (4,993 words) - 10:02, 27 July 2011

  • Human-animal communication is the communication ... between humans and other animals, from non-verbal cues ... , potentially, the use of a sophisticated ...
    14 KB (2,189 words) - 20:51, 13 June 2011

  • In the field of animal communication , an alarm signal is an antipredator ... Often, the animals can tell which member of the group is making ...
    13 KB (1,946 words) - 10:30, 23 July 2011

  • Interspecies communication is communication between different species of animals, plants, fungi or bacteria. Interspecies communication ...
    16 KB (2,461 words) - 06:36, 13 July 2011

  • mostly based on hormone s instead of neurons like in all major animals (except sponges). even examples of one-way-communication with animals. ...
    2 KB (343 words) - 00:01, 6 March 2011

  • Animal communication , a song or noise made by an animal such as: Bird call , part of a bird song. A command in square dancing, delivered by ...
    2 KB (255 words) - 19:03, 26 May 2011

  • study of") is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology . ... understand animals has made ... such as animal communication , ...
    30 KB (4,161 words) - 17:33, 11 July 2011

  • Animal language is the modeling of human language in non human animal systems. ... the communication methods these animals use and human language. ...
    28 KB (3,735 words) - 09:32, 16 July 2011

  • using animal experiments is a call for greater transparency and communication on ... September 2010 on the protection of animals used for ...
    10 KB (1,498 words) - 22:34, 7 July 2011

  • Haptic communication is the means by which people and other animals communicate via touching. component of nonverbal communication in ...
    27 KB (4,066 words) - 19:48, 29 June 2011

  • of proteins found in abundance in the urine and other secretion s of many animals. ... multiple roles in chemical communication between animals ...
    41 KB (5,516 words) - 22:28, 28 June 2011

  • field) , specializing in studying and developing domesticated animal communication. ... been to approach companion animals as language learners ...
    5 KB (716 words) - 08:23, 11 June 2011

  • Zoomusicology is the study of the music of animal s, or rather the musical aspect s of sound or communication produced and received by animals. ...
    5 KB (671 words) - 11:59, 3 August 2011

  • Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information . ... The broad field of animal communication encompasses most of the issues ...
    27 KB (3,447 words) - 16:58, 3 August 2011

  • of several books about nonverbal communication with animal s in the 1940s and '50s. ... Between Human Beings and Animals edited by Paul and ...
    2 KB (290 words) - 19:42, 1 January 2011

  • Certain episodes investigate certain types of animals, including ... species, such as "Animal Communication", "Animal Adaptation", and "Swimming". ...
    2 KB (212 words) - 11:35, 24 October 2010

  • Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings (as well as other members of the animal kingdom) intentionally make their ...
    13 KB (1,414 words) - 22:56, 4 August 2011

  • A talking animal or speaking animal refers to any form of non-human animal which can ... of animals have developed forms of Animal Communication ...
    10 KB (1,605 words) - 16:39, 9 July 2011

  • The Elgin Center is a non-profit research center which specializes in zoosemiotics , or animal communication. The Elgin Center carries out ...
    4 KB (582 words) - 17:41, 2 April 2011

  • It is most useful for communication between animals that rarely encounter each other