Intercultural- Application

In the movie Borat, there are many cultural differences that Borat is unaware of. He does things that are obviously not socially acceptable in our country and he does not know that the are wrong. He does many inappropriate things and people are appalled by them. In his home country, things are obviously a lot different than in America and if we study how people there live we would be able to communicate better. Borat is unable to communicate positively with Americans in the movie because he is lost in the cultural barrier and does not know what to do when he comes across a problem. For example, he has a very crude sense of humor and many people don't accept this in our country. When he would say these things people would get very offended but they didn't realize that he does not know what is appropriate to say around people you don't know.

Intercultural- Personal

In my experience of dealing with other cultures, I have found that it is very important to be civil and not become angry when they don't understand what you are talking about. I have many relatives in Ireland and have visited there four times. When talking to my relatives we often come across words neither of us know what the other one is talking about. When this happens we have to talk and talk and talk about whatever it is we were trying to describe just to cross the cultural boundary. They have different words for things in Ireland, such as "disco" means "club" and I have never heard about that before. These cultural differences can be overcome by defining what you are talking about and seeing if there is a word in there culture for it. I have had to deal with many of these cultural differences with my relatives and we have overcome them. The cultural differences are vast between the US and Ireland and I have learned a lot from their culture and about my ancestry.

Intercultural- Definitional

The principles of intercultural communication guides the process of ambiguous and meaningful communication across cultural boundaries. We study intercultural communication in order to understand the differences between cultures. We do this in order to preserve mutual respect between cultures and and reduce antagonism with them. We also need to better preserve respect that exists or could exist with those cultures.

A culture is defined as a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values and norms of behaviors. According to Tubbs and Moss, a culture is a way of life developed and shared by a group of people and passes down from generation to generation. We learn about cultures through experience, and guidance of others. It is not something that is innate because we learn it through social interactions with each other. Having a culture helps us to organize and predict behaviors out of different individuals. Improvements in intercultural communication and the way that we transport technologies have made it possible for unstable cultures to come together and meet in unstructured situations. Our experiences tell us that crossing cultural boundaries can be threatening but if we study this communication and know how to positively do it we can have better outcomes. If communication is not done correctly there can be volatile and explosive situations that erupt between cultures. Some cultures even believe that the phenomenon of globalization has reduced cultural diversity and when this has been reduces the differences and misunderstanding are reduced. Intercultural communication is very important in determining how different cultures communicate. If we did not study this type of communication, we would all be very confused and lost when talking to another culture.

Mass Media- Applicational

Shape magazine is an example of mass media because it is communicating to all of the women of the world that want to get perfect bodies. Besides having exercises in the magazine, it also talks about different womanly problems that we deal with in our daily lives. There are articles on how to eat healthy and how to have a healthy relationship with your significant other. There are many readers that write into this magazine as well with questions that are answered by the editors of Shape. Their questions are general knowledge that all women are curious about but too afraid to ask. This magazine provides all ages of women with answers to questions regarding a broad range of topics. Most notedly the magazine focuses on having a healthy well being and a positive way of life. This magazine is a positive form of mass media for women to read and feel better about themselves.

Mass Media-Personal

Mass media has personally affected my life today because of the strong presence it has in our society. There is always something on the cover of a magazine that is showing how to get fit or "what's hot for this season". All that the mass media is conveying to us is instant gratification and how we can improve our lives by purchasing things. And although I have been a victim of the influence of the media, in someways it has been a good influence. The media has made me get in better shape for example. I've learned many new exercises from Shape magazine and websites that are stating that they have the latest and greatest way to get fit. This has helped me in my daily life to feel better about myself and to become a happier person. The media is not always a good influence though. It can influence you to purchase things you don't need and to waste your money on items that are useless. This side of the media happens to a lot of people and they ultimately become unhappy. The internet can also become addictive for some people. They will spend all of their time in front of the screen, whether it be online shopping or Facebook stalking people, they become addicted to the feeling that the internet produces for them. This has even happened to me before, sitting in front of my laptop screen for countless hours doing absolutely nothing with my time. Mass media can influence our lives in a positive or negative way, and it does so on a daily basis.

Mass Media- Definitional

Mass media refers to a particular class or section of the media that is specifically designed to reach a large audience. Example are magazines, television, news programs, and radio. The audience has a lot to do with how mass media is reached. Mass mediated communication can form its own society with its own characteristics but the audience is going to have a lack of social connection. In our society today, we lose connection with each other because mass media is taking over our lives and we lose the social connectedness that we once had. And when we lose this social connectedness, the individual is more susceptible to advertisers and propaganda. Some scholars have determined that mass media is the hardest to determine whether it is true or untrue. This is because it is bias and we don't know who is sending the message typically.

The way that Wright defines Mass Communication is as follows: the audience is relatively large, it is diverse, the audience is anonymous to the source, the experience of communication is quick, it is public, it is fleeting (spreads and disappears quickly), the source works through a complex organization, the source is not isolated, and the message reflects the efforts of a large group of stakeholders. According to Grossburg there are three different types of media that are present in our society. The first is interpersonal which is a cell phone and you have control over the audience and there is more power in the relationship with this type of media. The second is mass media, or newprint, and there is unequal power in this because the media has control over you. And lastly is a network, like Facebook or fax machines and this is a beneficial form because people can communicate from different countries and still get the same message.

The media plays a role in the construction of reality in the technologies, the institutions and the cultural forms. The way that it affects the technologies is that it is a physical means of producing the message. In the institutions it is any large scale entity that embodies social relationships and functions that was created by human beings to perform a function in society (religious, film industry, etc.). And in the cultural forms the media affects how the products of media technologies and institutions or organizations are structured (by codes, languages, symbols).

Small Group- Applicational

In the television show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, there is the example of a small social group. The “gang” is Dennis, Dee, Mac, Charlie and Frank and they work together to run their bar. They have many problems come their way but they solve them in very unconventional ways. They improve their relationships with each other in this show by hanging out at the bar but they also solve problems like a work group does. This show has an example of each type of a small group because of the different episodes. In some episodes they are teaching each other different things but then in other episodes they are in a self directed group by managing themselves and participating on equal levels.

Small Group- Personal

In my educational career, I have participated in many small groups for school projects. These would be considered work groups because we are all working towards a common goal. In high school I worked on many group projects but I never really enjoyed them because one person was always stuck doing all of the work. I think this is unfair because then everyone would get the grade that one person worked for. Although I didn’t always get stuck doing all the work, I have had my fair share of bad group members. Small groups can be effective for many projects and I have been in many groups where the work has been shared equally. For example, in my chemistry lab group we shared the work equally because if we didn’t, our lab would not get done correctly. Everyone had a job that they had to do because we were restricted on time. This group consisted of 4 people and the jobs were easy for the most part. Sometimes I like small groups but other times I don’t because the members don’t take responsibility for their jobs.

Small Group- Definitional

Small group communication refers to the nature of a type of communication that occurs in groups (usually 3-12 people) and takes place in a context that mixes interpersonal interactions with social clustering. It is sometimes difficult to define a small group because they have to have a communication action. The characteristics of a small group are as follows: there has to be interdependence between group members, the communication patterns between members become predictable over time and there is an emergence of norms and roles of group members. The group must also serve a function and be a rewarding place or experience for each of its members. There is a level of satisfaction each member should experience. And the members must perceive themselves as a part of the group.

There are 4 basic types of groups. There are social groups that have the purpose to improve relationships and people spend time together as a group. In learning groups the members zone together and teach each other about a particular subject. In work groups there is a specific goal and the group members all bring their level of expertise to the table to achieve the goal. The last type of group is a self-directed group and these groups naturally form and are managed on their own. The leadership is not strong and everyone participates on an equal level.