Media

One area that I think merits further discussion is mass media and, in particular, the effect that changes in mass media are having on the way we communicate and our lifestyles. The predominant media in the past has been non-interactive broadcast media, like radio and television. These media are mainly passive. They have had a huge impact on society by exposing the population to information that might otherwise be hard to access and also by influencing the culture. The Internet has provided many types of new media and communication. People can now modify and participate in media. Individuals can re-mix music, post-video, write blogs and comment on news articles. Individuals are having greater influence on media and culture. Also, media like text messaging, social networking, alerts and Twitter are leading to a more connected society, but the pace is much faster and the depth and trustworthiness of the content is affected. In contrast to past broadcast media, I think the Internet allows for more individualism and diversity of ideas (but that includes bad ideas too and can spread rumors, gossip etc. as well as useful information).

Intercultural communication

I found the concepts about intercultural cultural communication and the resulting barriers to communication to be most interesting. I was recently at an event where most of the people spoke Spanish. At first I withdrew and spoke only to people I knew. I then started thinking about the concepts we studied and the barriers to intercultural communication. The book mentions that openness, resilience and self-esteem are factors in successfully adapting to a new culture. I tried this at the event and had a much more rewarding afternoon. While there are many barriers to intercultural communication, I think a lot of issues come from a person’s attitude and whether they want to make an effort. When someone is lazy about communicating, they withdraw and fall back to their own culture and habits.

Research methods

I think Experimental Research is most interesting. It gives the researcher the opportunity to design the experiment and variable to be tested. It is a creative process rather than just observation. In some methods like Unobtrusive Methods, it may be very hard to collect enough observed information on the particular variables you want to test. The risk with Experimental Research is that the experiment may not isolate the manipulation of the particular variable to be tested. The design of the experiment may not recreate things as they occur in the real world and may unintentionally introduce new variables.

The following is a potential research question regarding deception:

Do non-verbal communications in facial expression, eye contact and posture provide an accurate indication of deception during interrogation of suspected criminals?

I would want to use the Unobtrusive Method to answer the question. I would consider observing police interrogations without being seen or influencing the interrogation. I would observer non-verbal behavior and then see if there is a correlation to deception based on facts that come to light through other evidence.


______________________________________