WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
ASSIGNMENT – I
Submitted
by :ThiruMurugan.R
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WHAT IS E-MAIL :
This article is about the communications medium.
Electronic
mail, most
commonly referred to as email or
e-mail since 1993,It's a method
of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern
email operates across the Internet or other computer networks.
Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at
the same time, in common with instant messaging. Today's email
systems are based on a store-and-forward model. Email servers
accept, forward, deliver, and store messages. Neither the users nor their
computers are required to be online simultaneously; they need connect only
briefly, typically to a mail server,
for as long as it takes to send or receive messages. Historically, the term electronic mail was used generically
for any electronic document transmission. For example, several writers in the
early 1970s used the term to describe fax document transmission. As a result,
it is difficult to find the first citation for the use of the term with the
more specific meaning it has today.
An Internet email message
consists of three components, the message envelope, the message header,
and the message body. The
message header contains control information, including, minimally, an originator's
email address
and one or more recipient addresses. Usually descriptive information is also
added, such as a subject header field and a message submission date/time stamp.
Originally a text-only (ASCII)
communications medium, Internet email was extended to carry, e.g. text in other
character sets, multi-media content attachments, a process standardized in RFC 2045
through 2049. Collectively, these RFCs have come to be called Multipurpose Internet Mail
Extensions (MIME).
Electronic mail predates the
inception of the Internet and was in fact a crucial tool
in creating it, but the history of modern, global Internet email services
reaches back to the early ARPANET. Standards for encoding email
messages were proposed as early as 1973 (RFC 561). Conversion from ARPANET to the
Internet in the early 1980s produced the core of the current services. An email
sent in the early 1970s looks quite similar to a basic text message sent on the
Internet today.
Email is an information and communications
technology. It uses technology to communicate a digital
message over the Internet. Users use email differently, based on how they think
about it. There are many software platforms available to send and receive.
Popular email platforms include Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, and many
others.
Network-based email was initially
exchanged on the ARPANET in extensions to the File Transfer Protocol
(FTP), but is now carried by the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP), first published as Internet standard 10 (RFC 821) in
1982. In the process of transporting email messages between systems, SMTP communicates
delivery parameters using a message envelope
separate from the message (header and body) itself.
HISTORY :
Host-based
mail systems
With the introduction of MIT's Compatible Time-Sharing System
(CTSS) in 1961 multiple users were able to log into a central system from
remote dial-up terminals, and to store and share files on the central disk. Informal
methods of using this to pass messages were developed and expanded :
Other early systems soon had
their own email applications:
·
1971 – SNDMSG,
a local inter-user mail program incorporating the experimental file transfer
program, CPYNET, allowed the
first networked electronic mail
·
1974 – The PLATO IV
Notes on-line message board system was
generalized to offer 'personal notes' in August 1974.
·
1978 – Mail
client written by Kurt Shoens for Unix and distributed with the Second Berkeley
Software Distribution included support for aliases and distribution lists,
forwarding, formatting messages, and accessing different mailboxes.[38]
It used the Unix mail client to
send emails which was extended to send remotely over the BerkNet.
These original messaging systems
had widely different features and ran on systems that were incompatible with
each other. Most of them only allowed communication between users logged into
the same host or "mainframe", although there might be hundreds or
thousands of users within an organization
Operation
overview :
The diagram to the right shows a
typical sequence of events that takes place when Alice
composes a message using her mail user agent (MUA). She enters
the email address of her correspondent,
and hits the "send" button. 
·
The MSA looks at the
destination address provided in the SMTP protocol (not from the message
header), in this case bob@b.org. An
Internet email address is a string of the form localpart@exampledomain. The part before the @ sign
is the local part of the
address, often the username of the recipient, and the part
after the @ sign is a domain name or a fully qualified domain name.
The MSA resolves a domain name to determine the fully qualified domain name of
the mail server
in the Domain Name System (DNS).
·
smtp.a.org sends the message to mx.b.org using SMTP.
This server may need to forward
the message to other MTAs before the message reaches the final message delivery agent
(MDA).
·
The MDA delivers it to the mailbox of
the user bob.
That sequence of events applies to
the majority of email users. However, there are many alternative possibilities
and complications to the email system:
·
Alice or Bob may use a
client connected to a corporate email system, such as IBM Lotus Notes or Microsoft Exchange.
These systems often have their own internal email format and their clients
typically communicate with the email server using a vendor-specific,
proprietary protocol. The server sends or receives email via the Internet
through the product's Internet mail gateway which also does any necessary
reformatting. If Alice and Bob work for the same company, the entire
transaction may happen completely within a single corporate email system.
·
Alice may not have a MUA on her
computer but instead may connect to a webmail service.
·
Alice's computer may run its own
MTA, so avoiding the transfer at step 1.
·
Bob may pick up his email in
many ways, for example logging into mx.b.org and reading it directly, or by using a webmail service.
·
Domains usually have several
mail exchange servers so that they can continue to accept mail when the main
mail exchange server is not available.
Many MTAs used to accept messages
for any recipient on the Internet and do their best to deliver them. Such MTAs
are called open mail relays. This was very
important in the early days of the Internet when network connections were
unreliable. If an MTA couldn't reach the destination, it could at least deliver
it to a relay closer to the destination. The relay stood a better chance of
delivering the message at a later time. However, this mechanism proved to be exploitable
by people sending unsolicited bulk email and as a
consequence very few modern MTAs are open mail relays, and many MTAs don't
accept messages from open mail relays because such messages are very likely to
be spam.
Types
Web-based
email (webmail)
Many email providers have a
web-based email client (e.g. AOL Mail, Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo! Mail).
This allows users to log into the email account by using any compatible web browser
to send and receive their email. Mail is typically not downloaded to the
client, so can't be read without a current Internet connection.
POP3
email services
POP3 is the acronym for Post Office Protocol
3. In a POP3 email account, email messages are downloaded to the client device
(i.e. a computer) and then they are deleted from the mail server
unless specific instruction to save has been given . It is difficult to save
and view messages on multiple devices. Also, the messages sent from the
computer/one device are not copied to the Sent Items folder on the (other)
devices. The messages are deleted from the server to
make room for more incoming messages. POP supports simple download-and-delete
requirements for access to remote mailboxes (termed maildrop in the POP RFC's).[81]
Although most POP clients have an option to leave messages on the server after
downloading a copy of them, most email clients using POP3 simply connect,
retrieve all messages, store them on the client device as new messages, delete
them from the server, and then disconnect.
IMAP
email servers
IMAP refers to Internet Message Access
Protocol. With an IMAP account, a user's account has access
to mail folders on the mail server and can use any compatible device to read
and reply to messages, as long as such a device can access the server. Small
portable devices like smartphones are increasingly used
to check email while travelling, and to make brief replies, larger devices with
better keyboard access being used to reply at greater length. IMAP shows the
headers of messages, the sender and the subject and the device needs to request
to download specific messages. Usually mail is left in folders in the mail
server.
MAPI
email servers
Messaging Application Programming
Interface (MAPI) is a messaging architecture and a Component Object Model based
API for Microsoft Windows.
ADVANTAGES :
Flaming :
Flaming occurs when a person
sends a message with angry or antagonistic content. The term is derived from
the use of the word Incendiary to describe particularly heated email
discussions. Flaming is assumed to be more common today because of the ease and
impersonality of email communications: confrontations in person or via telephone
require direct interaction, where social norms encourage civility, whereas
typing a message to another person is an indirect interaction, so civility may
be forgotten.
Email
bankruptcy
Also known as "email
fatigue", email bankruptcy is when a user ignores a large number of email
messages after falling behind in reading and answering them. The reason for
falling behind is often due to information overload and a general sense there
is so much information that it is not possible to read it all. As a solution,
people occasionally send a boilerplate message explaining that the email inbox
is being cleared out. Harvard University law professor Lawrence Lessig
is credited with coining this term, but he may only have popularized it.
In
business
Email was widely accepted by the
business community as the first broad electronic communication medium and was
the first 'e-revolution' in business communication. Email is very simple to
understand and like postal mail, email solves two basic problems of
communication: logistics and synchronization (see below).
LAN based email is also an
emerging form of usage for business. It not only allows the business user to
download mail when offline, it
also allows the small business user to have multiple users' email IDs with just
one email connection.
Pros
·
The
problem of logistics: Much of the business world relies upon
communications between people who are not physically in the same building, area
or even country; setting up and attending an in-person meeting, telephone call,
or conference call can be
inconvenient, time-consuming, and costly. Email provides a way to exchange
information between two or more people with no set-up costs and that is
generally far less expensive than physical meetings or phone calls.
·
The
problem of synchronisation: With real time
communication by meetings or phone calls, participants have to work on the same
schedule, and each participant must spend the same amount of time in the
meeting or call. Email allows asynchrony: each participant may
control their schedule independently.
Most business workers today spend
from one to two hours of their working day on email: reading, ordering,
sorting, 're-contextualizing' fragmented information, and writing email. The
use of email is increasing worldwide:
·
Information
overload: Email is a push technology – the sender
controls who receives the information. Convenient availability of mailing lists
and use of "copy all" can lead to people receiving unwanted or
irrelevant information of no use to them.
·
Inconsistency: Email can duplicate information. This can be a problem when a large team
is working on documents and information while not in constant contact with the
other members of their team.
Despite these disadvantages,
email has become the most widely used medium of communication within the
business world. A 2010 study on workplace communication by Paytronics found 83%
of U.S.
knowledge workers felt email was critical to their success and productivity at
work.
Research on email marketing
Marketing research suggests that
opt-in email marketing can be viewed as useful by consumers if it contains
information such as special sales offerings and new product information.
Offering interesting hyperlinks or generic information on consumer trends is
less useful. This research by Martin et al. (2003) also shows that if consumers
find email marketing useful, they are likely to visit a store, thereby
overcoming limitations of Internet marketing such as not being able to touch or
try on a product.
Outside of Business
Email users attach a higher level
of formality, in regards to other ICTs. Users tended to associate the medium
for communicating with professors, bosses, and those who they maintained
professional relationships with; the degree of formality attached to email
varies across users, so email is neither a more formal or less formal ICT than
others.
All users of email use the medium
differently. With structural functionalism,
people will attach various meanings to influence how they use the medium. For
example, while one person might use email to communicate with their friends or
fellow students on a weekly basis, and another may use it to keep in touch with
family members on a daily basis. The situational setting (for example, a
student will find him or herself in a different situation than a stay at home
mom) in which the user finds himself or herself in shapes how and what email
will be used for.
Mobile
Email has become widely used on
smart phones. Mobile apps for email increase accessibility to the medium. While
before users could only access email on computers, it is now possible for users
to check their email out of the home and out of the library while on the go.
Alerts can also be sent to the phone to notify them immediately of new messages.
This has given email the ability to be used for more frequent communication
between users and allowed them to check their email and write messages
throughout the day.
It was found that US adults check
their email more than they browse the web or check their Facebook
accounts, making email the most popular activity for users to do on their smart
phones. 78% of the respondents in the study revealed that they check their
email on their phone. It was also found that 30% of consumers use only their
smartphone to check their email, and 91% were likely to check their email at
least once a day on their smartphone. However, the percentage of consumers
using email on smartphone ranges and differs dramatically across different
countries. For example, in comparison to 75% of those consumers in the US who used it, only 17% in India did.
DISADVANTAGES
:
Attachment size
limitation
Email messages may have one or more attachments,
i.e. MIME parts intended to provide copies of files. Attachments serve the
purpose of delivering binary or text files of unspecified size. In principle
there is no technical intrinsic restriction in the InternetMessage Format, SMTP
protocol or MIME
limiting the size or number of attachments. In practice, however, email service
providers implement various limitations on the permissible size of files or the
size of an entire message.
Furthermore, due to technical
reasons, often a small attachment can increase in size when sent,[90]
which can be confusing to senders when trying to assess whether they can or
cannot send a file by email, and this can result in their message being
rejected.
As larger and larger file sizes
are being created and traded, many users are either forced to upload and
download their files using an FTP server, or more popularly, use
online file sharing facilities or services, usually over web-friendly HTTP, in
order to send and receive them.
Information overload
A December 2007 New York Times
blog post described information overload as "a $650 Billion Drag on the
Economy", and the New York Times reported in April 2008 that "E-MAIL
has become the bane of some people's professional lives" due to
information overload, yet "none of the current wave of high-profile
Internet start-ups focused on email really eliminates the problem of email
overload because none helps us prepare replies". GigaOm posted a similar
article in September 2010, highlighting research
that found 57% of knowledge workers were overwhelmed by the volume of email
they received. Technology investors reflect similar concerns.
In October 2010, CNN published an
article titled "Happy Information Overload Day" that compiled
research on email overload from IT companies and productivity experts.
According to Basex, the average knowledge worker receives 93 emails a day.
Subsequent studies have reported higher numbers. Marsha Egan, an email
productivity expert, called email technology both a blessing and a curse in the
article. She stated, "Everyone just learns that they have to have it
dinging and flashing and open just in case the boss e-mails," she said.
"The best gift any group can give each other is to never use e-mail
urgently. If you need it within three hours, pick up the phone."
Spamming and computer
viruses
Spamming is unsolicited
commercial (or bulk) email. Because of the minuscule cost of sending email,
spammers can send hundreds of millions of email messages each day over an
inexpensive Internet connection. Hundreds of active spammers sending this
volume of mail results in information overload
for many computer users who receive voluminous unsolicited email each day.[96][97]
Email worms use email as a way of
replicating themselves into vulnerable computers. Although the first email worm
affected UNIX
computers, the problem is most common today on the Microsoft Windows operating system.
The combination of spam and worm
programs results in users receiving a constant drizzle of junk email, which
reduces the usefulness of email as a practical tool.
Email spoofing
occurs when the header information
of an email is designed to make the message appear to come from a known or
trusted source. Spam and phishing emails typically use such
spoofing to mislead the recipient about the origin of the message.
Email bombing
is the intentional sending of
large volumes of messages to a target address. The overloading of the target
email address can render it unusable and can even cause the mail server to crash.
Today it can be important to
distinguish between Internet and internal email systems. Internet email may
travel and be stored on networks and computers without the sender's or the
recipient's control. During the transit time it is possible that third parties
read or even modify the content. Internal mail systems, in which the
information never leaves the organizational network, may be more secure,
although information technology
personnel and others whose function may involve monitoring or managing may be
accessing the email of other employees.
Email privacy, without some
security precautions, can be compromised because:
·
email messages are generally
not encrypted.
·
email messages have to go
through intermediate computers before reaching their destination, meaning it is
relatively easy for others to intercept and read messages.
·
many Internet Service
Providers (ISP) store copies of email messages on their mail servers before
they are delivered. The backups of these can remain for up to several months on
their server, despite deletion from the mailbox.
·
the
"Received:"-fields and other information in the email can often
identify the sender, preventing anonymous communication.
Additionally, many mail user agents
do not protect logins and passwords, making them easy to intercept by an
attacker. Encrypted authentication schemes such as SASL prevent
this.
Tracking of sent mail
The original SMTP mail service
provides limited mechanisms for tracking a transmitted message, and none for
verifying that it has been delivered or read. It requires that each mail server
must either deliver it onward or return a failure notice (bounce message), but
both software bugs and system failures can cause messages to be lost. To remedy
this, the IETF
introduced Delivery Status Notifications
(delivery receipts) and Message Disposition Notifications
(return receipts); however, these are not universally deployed in production.
(A complete Message Tracking mechanism was also defined, but it never gained
traction; see RFCs 3885 through 3888.)
Many ISPs now deliberately disable
non-delivery reports (NDRs) and delivery receipts due to the activities of
spammers:
·
Delivery Reports can be used
to verify whether an address exists and so is available to be spammed
·
If the spammer uses a forged
sender email address (email spoofing), then the innocent
email address that was used can be flooded with NDRs from the many invalid
email addresses the spammer may have attempted to mail. These NDRs then
constitute spam from the ISP to the innocent user
There are a number of systems
that allow the sender to see if messages have been opened.[100][101][102][103] The receiver could
also let the sender know that the emails have been opened through an
"Okay" button. A check sign can appear in the sender's screen when
the receiver's "Okay" button is pressed.
Journal :
This article is about
the journal as a written medium.
A journal (through French from Latin diurnalis, daily) has several related meanings:
·
a daily record of events or business; a private journal
is usually referred to as a diary
·
a newspaper or other periodical, in
the literal sense of one published each day
·
many publications issued at stated intervals, such as academic journals,
or the record of the transactions of a society, are often called journals.[1] In
academic use, a journal refers to a serious, scholarly publication that is peer-reviewed.
A non-scholarly magazine written for an educated
audience about an industry or an area of professional activity is usually
called a trade magazine.[2]
The word "journalist",
for one whose business is writing for the public press and nowadays also other
media, has been in use since the end of the 17th century.
Uses
and Limitations of Journal Writing :
Journal writing as an instructional or
learning tool in adult education has gained cogency during the past three
decades. As early as 1965, psychologist Ira Progoff and his colleagues began
seeing the value of personal journals in enhancing growth and learning. Progoff
believed what he called an “intensive journal process” could “draw each
person’s life toward wholeness at its own tempo. . . It systematically evokes
and strengthens the inner capacities of persons by working from a non-medical
vantage point and proceeding without analytic or diagnostic categories”
(Progoff, 1975, p. 9).
Adult educator Malcolm Knowles (1975)
introduced readers to notions of personal reflection through activities such as
self-assessment and proactive reading of materials. Another useful source is
Christensen (1981), in which she describes how a diary can be used as a
learning tool for adults. Brookfield
(1987, 1995) provides various ideas pertaining to critically reflective writing
through such tools as autobiography, critical incident citing, and seeing
ourselves as others see us.
However, even given more than three decades
of use and attempts by a few adult educators to encourage personal reflection
in various ways, journaling still remains underused as a teaching or learning
tool. As a professor I have found tremendous value in the journaling process
for those learners with whom I have interactions. Thus, this chapter reflects
not only what others are saying about journal writing, but also my own personal
experiences.
Why
Use the Journaling Process?
Journaling in its various forms is a means
for recording personal thoughts, daily experiences, and evolving insights. The
process often evokes conversations with self, another person, or even an
imagined other person. Add the advantage available in most journaling formats
of being able to review or reread earlier reflections and a progressive
clarification of insights is possible.
In the adult education classroom, this
learning method becomes a tool to aid learners in terms of personal growth,
synthesis, and/or reflection on new information that is acquired. I urge my
learners to use one of the journaling formats as a means for assisting them
obtain the maximum amount of interaction, knowledge, and personal growth from
their reading efforts or other learning experiences.
There also is the potential for a journaling
technique to promote critical self-reflection where dilemmas, contradictions,
and evolving worldviews are questioned or challenged. In the graduate
classroom, for example, this may be an especially valued result as teachers
attempt to facilitate a professional development in their learners. Learning
something that is new or different and then reflecting on what that means for a
current or expected professional position can be an important outcome. Some of
my students include portions of a journal or diary in a professional portfolio
as a means of demonstrating to current or prospective employers their ability
to critically reflect on issues.
I also urge my students to incorporate such
self-reflection through a journaling technique into the development of a
personal statement of philosophy or a code of personal ethics (Hiemstra, 1999).
“This recognition of personal values, beliefs, and the various changes a person
undergoes throughout life, if combined with a personal philosophy statement,
can result in foundational tools useful as guides or mirrors for subsequent
professional action and ethical decision making” (Hiemstra, 1988, p. 178).
The purpose of the next section is to
describe a variety of these journaling techniques, types, and formats. Several
have been tailored to fit my particular instructional philosophy and approach,
so you may need to make appropriate adjustments if you decide to use them in
your own classroom (Hiemstra and Sisco, 1990). I have additional material
related to many of the techniques at Hiemstra (2000).
Various
Journal Types and Formats :
variety of journaling types and formats have
been developed over the years. A literature search produces a plethora of
types, descriptions, and examples. For purpose of this sourcebook I am
including those I have found particularly useful in the graduate classroom.
Each has advantages and disadvantages, but all are effective in helping
students record information important to their efforts. Most students even use
them to move beyond the knowledge and skills available through normal classroom
activities.
Learning Journals. A learning journal typically is a hand written
in a notebook or on a pad of paper as a means for recording thoughts,
reflections, feelings, personal opinions, and even hopes or fears during an
educational experience. However, students can use a tape recorder or computer
keyboard. The point is to find a recording device that feels comfortable and
enhances frequent writing. The comments included can come from stimulation
received while reading course materials or talking with fellow students. They
also can simply be random reflections obtained during a learning experience or
just through participation in life. Progoff (1975) even suggests having
simulated conversations with the inner self or real conversations with others,
including obtaining feedback, as a means of furthering any value received from the
process.
Throughout a course I recommend that students
maintain a personal journal, diary, or log to capture their growing
understanding of the field, a particular subject, and/or their own professional
development. This can include systematic observations of insights, events, and
changes in personal perspectives during the course. Journaling, as it is often
called, typically is one of the most complex of all forms for recording
personal changes and insights. For many students, the process of maintaining a
journal helps them become more organized and focused on the areas they are
studying. There is often a bit of personal clarification that takes place, too,
as the journaling process helps in the elucidation of opinions, beliefs, and
feelings. Progoff (1975) outlines various tools or procedures to aid in the
writing process, such as personal logs, daily logs, and life history logs.
In my courses I provide students with a large
workbook of supplemental materials. I include a write up on keeping journals, diaries,
reading logs, and theory logs and provide bibliographic references to several
supportive sources. I also have on hand a few learning journals and diaries
from previous students who have given me permission to share their materials
with others needing to look at samples. I also suggest that students search the
World Wide Web for samples of various journaling forms.
Diaries.
A diary is typically a notebook, booklet of blank pages, or any source
for students to record thoughts, reactions to learning experiences, and even
innermost fears about a learning activity. Some learners prefer to create
electronic or audio diaries. Regardless of the particular format, entries of
daily experiences, insights, and problems often are made: “Diary writing
usually involves the unstructured, chronological recording of the events of a
person’s life” as they are perceived. “We have to recognize, however, that the
mere fact of continuously writing entries, as is done in the keeping of a
diary, is not sufficient in itself to bring about deep changes in a person’s
life” (Progoff, 1975, p. 87).
Another feature of a diary is being able to
look back on specific days or time periods in an attempt to sort out personal
feelings. Combining such features with instructor feedback, the development of
something like a statement of personal philosophy, and subsequent student
writing and reflection can begin desired or even unanticipated personal
changes. I recommend to learners Christensen’s (1981) work in which she
describes how a personal diary can be used as a supplement to classroom
activities.
Dream Book or Log. Many people are interested
for personal or psychological reasons in recording and/or interpreting their
dreams. This usually involves keeping a recording device (such as a tablet,
notebook, and even tape recorder) on a nightstand to be used upon wakening for
recording the dream experience before it has faded from conscious memory.
Subsequent analysis of those dreams can lead to interpreting how the
subconscious might be directing or impacting on the conscious. I tell a student
who is really struggling with some particular concept or subject to consider
keeping a dream book or log for awhile as a means of obtaining new insights.
Bethards (1997) describes how to examine such remembered or recorded symbols
from a dream and tie them to potentially new understanding or knowledge.
Autobiographies, Life Stories, and Memoirs.
Autobiographies, life stories, and memoirs can reveal the heart and soul of
human existence. Autobiography focuses on self-assessment, life stories
typically assess someone else's life but can be used personally, and memoirs
take a more informal approach to telling a life story. All three approaches
present an account of someone’s life. Something like an autobiography can even
be used as a way of understanding or gaining knowledge on a particular topic.
For example, a student might obtain a better understanding of adult development
by creating an autobiography that focuses on the various stages of personal
development over two or more decades. This typically involves asking students
to draw on their own lives and experiences, as well as the lives of others with
whom they have associated, to develop a critical self-reflection on some aspect
of their personal development.
Not only do autobiographies, memoirs, and
life stories encourage self-reflection, they also can promote a sharing of
experiences with others to examine similarities and differences between
individual life histories. Autobiography thus moves beyond learning as a
solitary experience to one based on the potential of synergistic interaction
with others.
Spiritual Journals. A spiritual journal
usually is somewhat different than a regular journal or diary. It normally
involves recording personal reactions to spiritual or religious matters. This
particular approach may not match the needs of many adult students, especially
if they are taking a course for credit, but occasionally a student with deep
religious convictions will find the technique a useful companion to their other
study activities. Spiritual journals also can be used in retreat settings where
learners use mechanisms to help improve their self-understanding.
Professional Journals. Journals also can have
a very specific purpose in mind. For example, asking a student to keep a
professional growth and development journal can be very important, especially
as they near completion of a degree program. Such a journal "may be
written solely with the author in mind, or alternatively for a wider professional
audience, possibly for colleagues, a tutor, or an assessor in courses in higher
education contexts" (O'Hanlon, 1997, p. 168).
I ask my students in their final graduate
seminar to keep a professional journal that includes developing a statement of
professional commitment (Hiemstra, 1999). The professional journal then becomes
part of the learner's professional portfolio and all these materials are shared
with and critiqued by fellow seminar members and me.
Interactive Reading Log. The interactive reading log
provides a mechanism for a student to critically reflect on information as it
is read. It is essentially a series of reactions or responses to those elements
in any material being read that is particularly meaningful or provocative. In
essence, such logs enable learners to record aspects of what they are reading
in their own voice or words (Perham, 1992). In a graduate course, the items
selected for reaction typically include books, instructional media, and
professional journal articles.
I recommend to my students that they use the
following format: Begin with one or two introductory paragraphs describing the
reasons for choosing whatever subject area was covered, include the log of
reactions (this could be several pages constituting the bulk of the report),
conclude with a two or three page retrospective overview of the effort as a
whole, and supply a list of references utilized. I note that they can skip some
sections in their reading efforts, skim others, read others at a normal rate,
or read some passages more carefully and in depth. The spacing and number of
reactions depend on the scope and purpose of any reading. It might involve
including entire sentences or longer passages striking for their clarity,
insight, stimulation, and usefulness. It
might include items the student regards as ambiguous, exaggerated, poorly
reasoned, insufficiently supported, or with which they disagree. They are even
encouraged to have simulated conversations with any authors as a means of
prompting clarification or new insights. The idea is to read and react letting
the experience help in growth of knowledge and ability to practice critical
reflection, and as a means of expressing personal thoughts in synthesizing the
reading experience.
Theory Log. The assumption serving as a basis
for this activity is that each student taking a graduate course will need to
learn to think and critically reflect on corresponding terminology, theory, and
knowledge. Brookfield
(1995) refers to this as reading theory critically. Throughout a learning
experience, students who choose to keep a theory log are asked to make notes
regarding what they perceive to be theoretical concepts, salient points,
truths, bridges to known theory, ideas to be tested, and gaps in the knowledge.
They are encouraged to ask various kinds of epistemological, experiential,
communicative, or political questions about what they read. The ultimate result
is a log, statement, outline, or whatever else seems appropriate in expressing
their grasp of the theory providing a foundation for the course content.
Electronic
Journaling. Because of the growing use of
computer technology and distance education in various forms, many students are
choosing to record their insights or reflections in some electronic form. In
essence, any of the previously described journaling techniques can be carried
out fully or partially in an electronic form. One of my students, for example,
likes to publish his insights on his web page for fellow students to read. He
subsequently encourages computer-mediated conversations as a way of further
enhancing his own knowledge and understanding. Some related web sites can be
seen in "Life Journal" (1999) and "My Story" (1998).
Benefits of Journal Writing :
There are a number of potential benefits for
learners in maintaining some type of journal, diary, or log. For example,
enhanced intellectual growth and development is achievable by most learners,
especially as they gain more experience with the writing or recording
procedures. However, as a teacher I have been pleased with how these learning
tools can help learners in their personal development and ability to examine
new knowledge in critical ways. The following sub-sections provide more detail
on those benefits I have observed learners achieving.
Personal Growth and Development. Perhaps most
important for the adult learner of all the benefits is the enhancement of
personal growth and development. Journaling can help with such learning goals
or expected outcomes as integrating life experiences with learning endeavors,
allowing for a freedom of expression that may be inhibited in a group setting,
stimulating mental development, enhancing breakthroughs in terms of new
insights, and even planting seeds in terms of future study or research.
Basically it is an investment in yourself through a growing awareness of
personal thoughts and feelings.
Intuition and Self-Expression. Another
outcome, and one that is not always expected, is an enhanced ability at
self-discovery. Learning to trust that inner voice and interpret new thoughts
or even dreams can increase self-confidence not only in the classroom but in
many other settings, too. For me there is almost nothing more satisfying than
seeing learners tackle new topics because of their growing ability to personally
reflect on changes taking place and integrate such new knowledge in an ever
enhancing personal capability.
Problem Solving. Utilizing a journaling
technique often helps in the solution of problems. Writing down and imagining
your way through a problem via personal insights and reflections on life
experiences can be very rewarding. Often an epiphany will emerge that might not
have been possible with some other problem solving technique. I recommend to my
students engaged in one of the journaling procedures that they allow adequate
time in their reflecting processes for new perspectives to emerge.
Stress Reduction and Health Benefits. There
is considerable evidence that journaling can improve various aspects of
personal health. Bruce (1998) describes research with subjects who wrote
thoughtfully and emotionally about traumatic experiences and most of them
generally experienced improved physical health. Adams
(1998) also talks about journaling as therapy for enhancing psychological
healing and growth. Most adult education students may not need psychotherapy or
medical recovery assistance, but some can use whatever helps them to release
pent-up emotions, counter anger or frustration, and overcome or reduce the
stress so typical in today’s busy work world and lifestyle.
Reflection/Critical Thinking. This benefit
has been discussed in various ways in prior descriptions of journaling
procedures. However, it is important to make explicit the value of journaling
in helping adult learners increase their ability to reflect critically on what
they are studying or learning. The resulting outcomes from values
clarification, finding meaning in what is being examined, and developing
wholeness as a professional through critical judgements enhances not only the
professional but also the profession.
Consoling
A small business owner typically needs a diverse
set of skills to succeed, including deep market knowledge, effective management
of business operations and hard work. One way to increase sales and profits is
through a process called business consolidation. This process is designed to
lower overhead and production costs, create additional revenue streams, attract
skilled managers and achieve economies of scale.
Uses
and Limitations :
The consolidation of business activities
reduces operational redundancies and eliminates superfluous staff and administrative
functions. As a result, operating and capital costs decline, which helps
improve the bottom line. For example, airline mergers lead to the consolidation
of maintenance facilities, which improves the utilization of both the facility
square footage and the maintenance staff. During the consolidation process,
business functions are frequently re-engineered and systems are deployed that
make these functions even more efficient. In an airline merger, the acquisition
of goods and services can be centralized, which helps the merged company adopt
a corporate-wide pricing policy.
Increase
Revenue
Businesses expand through either organic
growth or acquisition. When a company buys another company, it might become
sufficiently large to serve customers on a national or international basis.
This type of organizational consolidation increases the size of a company's
market, which in turn can lead to higher sales and profits. An increase in
market size also provides an opportunity to expand a company's business line,
which can lead to increased sales and profits as well.
Attract
Partnerships
Business consolidation is one means by which
a company can become an industry leader. With greater size, the business can
establish a regional or national brand and gain greater purchasing power. When
a company buys out a rival company, it reduces its number of competitors. It
also reduces the number of customers for industry suppliers. This in turn gives
the merged company more negotiating power to get better deals with suppliers.
Increase
Economies of Scale
A business consolidation leads to the
elimination of duplicate assets, which equals financial savings. By reducing
the number of facilities in a business, it can save money and operate more
efficiently. This consolidation can also improve communication between business
functions, such as production and marketing, and achieve savings by decreasing
head count and consolidating systems and processes. For example, a jet engine
manufacturer might close one under-utilized manufacturing plant and install
additional production lines at another plant. By closing one plant, the company
decreases its labor and overhead costs as well as its capital expenditures.
Communication
Definition
:
Communication (from Latin commūnicāre,
meaning "to share" [1]) is
the activity of conveying information through the exchange of ideas, feelings,
intentions, attitudes, expectations, perceptions or commands, as by speech,
non-verbal gestures, writings, behavior and possibly by other means such as
electromagnetic, chemical or physical phenomena. It is the meaningful exchange
of information between two or more participants (machines, organisms or their
parts).
Communication requires a sender, a message, a medium
and a recipient, although the receiver does not have to be present or aware of
the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus
communication can occur across vast distances in time and space. Communication
requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative
commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver
understands the sender's message.
Communicating with others involves three
primary steps:
- Thought:
First, information exists in the mind of the sender. This can be a
concept, idea, information, or feeling.
- Encoding:
Next, a message is sent to a receiver in words or other symbols.
- Decoding:
Lastly, the receiver translates the words or symbols into a concept or
information that a person can understand.
There are a variety of verbal and non-verbal
forms of communication. These include body
language, eye contact, sign
language, haptic communication, and chronemics.
Other examples are media content such as pictures, graphics, sound, and writing. The Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities also defines the communication to
include the display of text, Braille, tactile communication, large print,
accessible multimedia,
as well as written and plain language, human-reader, augmentative and alternative
modes, means and formats of communication, including accessible information and communication
technology.
Characteristics
of communications are given below:
(1) Two
or More Persons:
The first
important characteristic of communication is that there must be a minimum
number of two persons because no single individual can have an exchange of
ideas with himself. A listener is necessary to receive one’s ideas. Therefore,
there must be at least two persons-the sender of information and the receiver.
(2) Exchange
of Ideas:
Communication
cannot be thought of in the absence of exchange of ideas. In order to complete
the process of communication there must be an exchange of ideas, orders,
feelings, etc., among two or more than two persons.
(3) Mutual
Understanding:
Mutual
understanding means that the receiver should receive the information in the
same spirit with which it is being given. In the process of communication, it
is more important to understand the information rather than carry it out.
(4) Direct
and Indirect Communication:
It is not
necessary in communication that the receiver and giver of information should be
face-to-face with each other. Communication can be both direct and indirect.
Direct communication means face-to-face conversation, while indirect
communication is through other means.
(5) Continuous
Process:
Communication is
an endless process, as is the case with business where the manager continuously
assigns work to his subordinates, tries to know the progress of the work and
gives directions.
(6) Use
of Words as well as Symbols:
There can be many
means of communication, like the written, the oral and symbolic. The examples
of symbolic communication are the ringing of bell for closing a school or a
college, saying something by the movement of the neck, showing anger or
disapproval through eyes, giving some decision by the raising of a finger in
cricket, etc.
The essential features of an effective
communication system are keys for productive communication. The chief
principles or characteristics of an effective communication system are as
follows: -
-
Clearness and
integrity of message to be conveyed.
- Adequate briefing of the recipient.
- Accurate plan of objectives.
- Reliability and uniformity of the message.
- To know the main purpose of the message.
- Proper response or feedback.
- Correct timing.
- Use of proper medium to convey the message properly.
- Use of informal communication.
Advantages of communication :
here are some advantages of
good communication:
- Manage
your own conflicts without escalating them.
- Mediate
others' conflicts without getting burned yourself.
- Exercise
more power over decisions affecting you.
- Influence
and motivate others without strong-arm tactics.
- Find
ways to "work around" difficult personalities.
- Generate
enthusiasm for your ideas and proposals.
- Receive
more invitations to accept leadership roles on committees.
- Receive
more invitations to speak publicly to influence others.
- Increase
your own and others' job satisfaction.
- "Pick
other people's brains" profitably: ideas, experiences, habits,
attitudes, and hard-core facts.
- Broaden
your network of friends.
- Build
your self-esteem by learning to be assertive.
- Defend
your rights without manipulating or offending others.
- Handle
insults, sarcasm, or other verbal abuse with style.
- Reduce
your fear of vulnerability and decrease feelings of loneliness.
- Listen
better so that others feel understood and valued.
- Generate
meaningful or entertaining conversations.
- Reduce
cross-gender conflicts because of style differences and understand
meanings from those of other cultures.
Disadvantages :
Communism is a political
theory derived from Karl Marx which advocates a classless society. Some of
its disadvantages are: businesses are owned by the government.
Blog
A blog
(a truncation of the expression weblog) is a discussion
or informational site published on the World
Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically
displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first).
Until 2009 blogs were usually the work of a single individual ccasionally of a
small group, and often covered a single subject. More recently
"multi-author blogs" (MABs) have developed, with posts written by
large numbers of authors and professionally edited. MABs from newspapers,
other media outlets, universities, think tanks,
advocacy
groups and similar institutions account for an increasing quantity of blog
traffic. The rise of Twitter and other "microblogging"
systems helps integrate MABs and single-author blogs into societal newstreams. Blog can also be used as a verb,
meaning to maintain or add content to
a blog.
The emergence and growth of blogs in the late
1990s coincided with the advent of web publishing tools that
facilitated the posting of content by non-technical users. (Previously, a
knowledge of such technologies as HTML and FTP
had been required to publish content on the Web.)
A majority are interactive, allowing visitors
to leave comments and even message each other via GUI widgets
on the blogs, and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other
static websites. In that sense, blogging can be seen as a form of social networking service. Indeed,
bloggers do not only produce content to post on their blogs, but also build
social relations with their readers and other bloggers. There are
high-readership blogs which do not allow comments, such as Daring
Fireball.
Advantages
and Disadvantages :
Enables you to write down your thoughts on
anything that interests you
Very quick and easy to set up, don't need
much technical knowledge
Easy and quick to update or add new posts
People can leave comments on your blog
Whatever you publish is available for
everyone to see. If you write a post in anger you might regret it later.
Personal blogs may be biased
or contain inaccurate information
Blogs can be time consuming.
Finding time to write regular updates can become a chore.
Book Review &
Film Review:
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is analyzed
based on content, style, and merit.[1]
A book review can be a primary source opinion piece, summary review or
scholarly review.[2]
Books can be reviewed for printed periodicals, magazines and newspapers, as
school work, or for book web sites on the internet like Book Adorers New York Review of Books,
Online shopping sites like Amazon, Flipkart etc.. A book review's length may
vary from a single paragraph to a substantial essay. Such a review may evaluate
the book on the basis of personal taste. Reviewers may use the occasion of a
book review for a display of learning or to promulgate their own ideas on the
topic of a fiction or non-fiction work.
There are a number of journals devoted to
book reviews,[3]
and reviews are indexed in databases such as Book Review Index and Kirkus
Reviews; but many more book reviews can be found in newspaper
databases as well as scholarly databases such as Arts and Humanities Citation Index,
Social Sciences Citation Index and
discipline-specific databases.
Film review is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film
medium. In general, it can be divided into journalistic criticism such as
appears regularly in newspapers and other popular, mass-media outlets and
academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory
and published in academic journals.
In recent times, the impact
reviews have on a film's box office performance and DVD rentals/sales have become
a matter for debate. There are those who think modern movie
marketing, using pop culture convention appearances and social media along
with traditional means of advertising, have become so invasive and well
financed that established reviewers with legitimate criticism cannot be heard
over the din of popular support. Moreover, this has led, in part, to a decline
in the readership of many reviewers for newspapers and other print
publications. The vast majority of film critics on television and radio have
all but disappeared over the last thirty years, as well.[citation needed] It can be
observed that most of the discussion of film on television is focused on the
amount of box office business a film does, as if financial success were the
only criterion needed to define artistic success. Today arts criticism in
general does not hold the same place it once held with the general public.
Survey Reports
Survey reports provide current data and
analysis on topical HR issues as well as general people management and
development themes. Some surveys require non-members to register first. Find
out about our current research
Each
survey report example below represents different surveys that LearningBridge
runs. Click an image below to view the sample report in PDF format. If you have
a specific report style in mind, just ask us about it. Our clients love the
custom reports we can provide. We offer great survey reports for 360 surveys
and satisfaction surveys that are clear, easy to read, and easy to understand.
We strive to provide you with quality data you can use to better understand
your products, courses, personnel, or organization.
What do you need to know about your
participants? LearningBridge has the ability to slice the data any way you like
using demographics, dimensions, populations, or whatever works best for you.
Do you have a particular style or format in
mind? We can work with you to design a feedback survey report that gives you
exactly what you're looking for.
Our survey reports are most often provided in
PDF format, which gives a consistent appearance and layout for all who view it,
whether seen online or on paper. However, LearningBridge can also provide
custom reports in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, or
Adobe Flash formats.
How To
Write Survey Report :
Once you have conducted a survey,
regardless of the subject matter, it is best to write a report that analyzes
and explains the nature of the survey and its outcomes. The length of the
report can vary. It depends on the depth of your project, your subject matter
and the way you carried out your survey.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Surveys :
Advantages
- Relatively
easy to administer
- Can
be developed in less time (compared to other data-collection methods)
- Cost-effective,
but cost depends on survey mode
- Can
be administered remotely via online, mobile devices, mail, email,
kiosk, or telephone.
- Conducted
remotely can reduce or prevent geographical dependence
- Capable
of collecting data from a large number of respondents
- Numerous
questions can be asked about a subject, giving extensive flexibility
in data analysis
- With
survey software, advanced statistical techniques can be utilized to
analyze survey data to determine validity, reliability, and statistical
significance, including the ability to analyze multiple variables
- A
broad range of data can be collected (e.g., attitudes, opinions, beliefs,
values, behavior, factual).
- Standardized
surveys are relatively free from several types of errors
Disadvantages
The reliability of survey data may depend on
the following factors:
- Respondents
may not feel encouraged to provide accurate, honest answers
- Respondents
may not feel comfortable providing answers that present themselves in a
unfavorable manor.
- Respondents
may not be fully aware of their reasons for any given answer because of
lack of memory on the subject, or even boredom.
- Surveys
with closed-ended questions may have a lower validity rate than other
question types.
- Data
errors due to question non-responses may exist. The number of respondents
who choose to respond to a survey question may be different from those who
chose not to respond, thus creating bias.
- Survey
question answer options could lead to unclear data because certain answer
options may be interpreted differently by respondents. For example, the
answer option “somewhat agree” may represent different things to different
subjects, and have its own meaning to each individual respondent.
‘Yes’ or ‘no’ answer options can also be problematic. Respondents
may answer “no” if the option “only once” is not available.
- Customized
surveys can run the risk of containing certain types of errors
Grapevine
(gossip)
To hear something through the grapevine
is to learn of something informally and unofficially by means of gossip and rumor.
The usual implication is that the information
was passed person to person by word of
mouth, perhaps in a confidential manner among friends or colleagues. It can
also imply an overheard conversation or anonymous sources of information. For
instance "I heard through the
grapevine that Brad was getting fired."
Features
of Grapevine Communication
Flexibility: There is no formal control over grapevine, so it is
more flexible than other forms of communication.
Rapid
communication: It is faster than any form
of communication.
No record: There is no evidence which can be documented for future
reference
Distortion: The message which is passed gets
distorted when it passes from one person to another.
Spontaneous: Grapevine communication is spontaneous as it is
passed automatically from the top level of the organization to the bottom level
without any difficulty in delivering the message.
Grapevine is used by management to spread the
information that either can not be shared officially or want to test the waters.
Types of Grapevine Communication
Types of grapevine communication are given in
the diagram below.
Different types of grapevine communication are as follows:
- The
Wheel,
- The
Cluster,
- The
Chain and
- Free
Flow.
Grapevine
communication types are discussed below.
The grapevine is the most sensitive and
sensational channel of communication. It is made of complex network of informal
contacts among workers at all levels. There are different types of grapevine.
1. The Wheel
In this type of grapevine, one person is
predominant. He transmits grapevine to different persons or group of persons.
He is at the center and various lines of communication become the stokers of
the wheel. Every person in the wheel becomes the causative factor for starting
another wheel.
Types
of grapevine communication the wheel are given
in the diagram below.
2. The Cluster
The cluster like grapes, have several groups
of people linked together by a cluster or chain of communication.
Types of grapevine communication the cluster
are given in the diagram below.
3. The Chain
Chain is the most common pattern in which
information passes through a series of people linked together in the
organization.
Types
of grapevine communication the chain are given
in the diagram below.
4. Free Flow
Most of the rumors or idle gossip is spread
by random, free flow or haphazard network, which includes a number of people
who are not necessarily linked by any organizational thread.
Types of grapevine communication free flow
are given in the diagram below.
Advantages of grapevine communication
- The first advantage of a grapevine communication
is the fact that information through this channel is extremely fast. Many
have said of grapevine communication to be one of the fastest forms of
communication. It spreads faster than wild fire.
- Another
advantage of grapevine communication is that it tends to bring a sense of
unity among employees of an organization when they meet to share and
discuss certain issues. Experts say that because of the nature of
grapevine communication, it enhances group cohesiveness in many
organizations all over the world.
- Grapevine
communication is an informal mode of communication but it plays an
instrumental role in aiding the formal methods of communication in every
organization.
- In
organizations or establishments where formal communications do not
function properly, grapevine communication comes to the rescue.
Information through grapevine ends up being the only way employees can get
any information about things going on around them.
Disadvantages of
Grapevine communication
- Grapevine
information since it is largely based on rumors tends to carry along with
it partial information which ends up not giving the real state of affairs
in an organization.
- Information
received through grapevine might not be true.
- Another
great disadvantage of grapevine communication is the fact that it can
damage an organization’s goodwill. For instance imagine a situation where
lower ranking employees of an organization begin peddling false
information about people at the top. This action can gradually destroy the
goodwill of the organization.
- The
fourth disadvantage with grapevine communication is one that is common in
many organizations all over the world. This is when employees become
unproductive thanks to grapevine. Grapevine communication can make
organizations lose a lot of money because thanks to grapevine employees
spend work hours talking about the latest rumor circulating around them.
The organization pays dearly for this.
- Grapevine
communication cannot be relied on because it is not trustworthy. If not
managed properly, it can have serious implications.
Cross-Cultural
Cross-cultural may refer to
- cross-cultural studies, a comparative
tendency in various fields of cultural analysis
- cross-cultural communication, a
field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural
backgrounds communicate
- any
of various forms of interactivity between members of disparate cultural
groups (see also cross-cultural communication, interculturalism, intercultural relations, hybridity,
cosmopolitanism, transculturation)
- the
discourse concerning cultural interactivity, sometimes referred to as cross-culturalism
(See also multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism,
transculturation, cultural diversity)
Characteristics of cross-cultural narratives
Cross-cultural narrative forms may be
described in terms of common characteristics or tropes shared by cross-cultural writers,
artists, etc. Examples include primitivism,
exoticism,
as well as culturally specific forms such as Orientalism,
Japonisme.
Cross-cultural narratives tend to incorporate
elements such as:
- ethnographic
description
- travel
writing
- culture
shock
- acculturation
or resistance to acculturation
- social
obstacles such as discrimination, racism, prejudice,
stereotypes,
linguistic difficulties, linguicism
- overcoming
of social obstacles through acculturation,
tricksterism,
kindness,
luck, hard
work, etc.
- return
home (often accompanied by further culture
shock)
Advantages And Disadvantages In Cross
Culture :
Managing across culture. Its impact on people
and business. Summary about Various levels of culture. Topic compared on Cross
culture communication and Quality management “a cross culture outlook”. This topic
include communications between different cultures and quality of work depending
on cross culture and findings of some advantages and disadvantages in cross
culture communication and few bias in impact of culture in quality management
Culture is nothing but the values and
beliefs. It’s an action of information assign by group of people. In somehow
culture matters a lot for many people in different cultures and community. It’s
a communication of group .It’s also a cultivated behaviour of religion. Communication
includes a group’s, information, belief, principles and reasons. Sum of learned
person's conduct of a number of people that considered generally a tradition of
that individual and are communicate from generation to generation.
Culture is ethnology must be handled
carefully. Modern era it is much often used word. It’s like group of people in
same community and also people from different community performing activity.
Every People in this world have their own values and beliefs which resembles
their cultural activities. Main problems is that the use of the word – as a
cross culture– is very wider sense. There is wider difference between notions
to nation’s culture, their nation’s activities in such a way that individual
from different nations hard to understand and also its takes lots of time adopt
and also there is a chance to that person may not adjust to culture of
different country which causes “CULTURS SHOCK”. It is easy to talk about
culture, but real problem comes when it’s faced. To find out problems of a
particular group of different culture one person must know the do’s and don’ts
particular culture. Every cultural groups act differently, thinks differently.
There is no standard rule that different culture group have identical features
there may have some features but all the way. Knowing culture among groups
person must adopt other group culture. It, Stills, calls for decision when
handling with different groups.
Findings:
There are two different to topic like Cross
cultural communication and impact of cross culture in quality management. Each
topic has their own definitions Says Cross Culture Communication is the
communication between two sects or more in order to exchange their views ideas
emotions feelings etc... Cross Culture shows a big emphasis on quality
management on the business organisations
Here are the some of the findings of cross
culture communication
Cultural
Knowledge
Assembling different cultures
Worldwide involvement
Inter Culture awareness
Education system
Gender Sensitivity
Gender
sensitization refers to the modification
of behaviour by raising awareness of gender equality concerns.[1]
Gender sensitization theories claim that modification of the behavior of teachers and
parents (etc.) towards children can have a causal effect on gender equality.
Gender sensitizing "is about changing
behavior and instilling empathy into the views that we hold about our own and
the other gender."[2]
It helps people in "examining their personal attitudes and beliefs and
questioning the 'realities' they thought they know.
Gender sensitivity is the act of being aware
of the ways people think about gender, so that individuals rely less on
assumptions about traditional and outdated views on the roles of men and women.
In language and the humanities, this is often expressed through people’s
language choice. People can choose more inclusive language that doesn’t define
gender, and many new words that are gender neutral have entered languages like
English to substitute for more gender specific terms.
For centuries, many words referring to all
people were specifically masculine. Terms like “man,” and “mankind,” which are
used to describe all human beings, exclude females. While some people argue
that such terms do include women, it’s been argued that these words have a
belittling effect on women. True gender sensitivity, it is said, moves past
these terms to include all and exclude none.
It is further contended by experts that the
use of such terms is by no means innocent, and they have a negative cultural
effect felt beyond the words. By making women either absent or non-apparent in
terms like “mankind,” they become worth less and society will see them as
possessing less value. This societal view in extreme forms is of detriment and
corresponds to discrimination
and even, arguably, things like greater violence against women.
Advantages
& Disadvantages :
- Think
about what terms to use for males and females in your group as you conduct
activities that explore gender issues. Strive for consistency and
equality: do not pair “girls with young men” or "young women” with
“gentlemen.”
- Keep
in mind that many teenagers feel their gender limits present day decisions
and future options. Both girls and boys feel pressured to conform to
traditional notions of what is acceptable to think do and say.
- Help
teens become aware of, and more comfortable with, changing gender roles in
families and the workplace. It is important, however, to respect cultural
differences. If you have teens in your group whose family and cultural
values reinforce traditional roles and reject change, make it clear that
they do not need to adopt changing roles, but they do need to be aware of
them.
Procedure:
- 1. Write “male” and “female” on newsprint or the board and mention
that some of the most damaging stereotypes are related to gender. Ask
participants for examples and list them on the board or newsprint. Add any
of the following if they are omitted:
Males may believe that to be masculine they should:
- Be in control and appear unemotional
- Be the dominant partner in a relationship
- Exert pressure or force on their sexual partners
- Become sexually active early and have many
partners
- Work in careers that are mechanical or
analytical
- Assume responsibility as the “breadwinner.”
- Achieve status by earning lots of money
- Take risks to prove their manhood
- Resolve conflicts with violence
- Avoid traditionally female work in the arts or
human services
Females
may believe that to be feminine they should
- Be emotionally sensitive and vulnerable
- Submit to the wishes and demands of a sexual
partner
- Have children, regardless of personal wishes
- Meet the needs of others before their own
- Choose careers in the “helping” professions
- Be physically attractive, by someone else's
standards
- Tolerate sexually harassing behavior without
complaint
- Assume responsibility for sexual assault or rape
- Avoid nontraditional careers in math or the
sciences
- A first step in overcoming stereotyped thinking is to be aware of
what stereotypes people hold.
- Go over instructions for the activity
- You will form small groups with others of the
same gender.
- Each group will receive newsprint and markers or
chalk
- Brainstorm the advantages and disadvantages of
being a member of the other gender.
- Form same gender groups (with no more than two groups of each
gender). Distribute newsprint and two markers or chalk to each group.
Allow five minutes for brainstorming what may be some advantages about
being the other gender.
- After five minutes, have groups brainstorm the disadvantages of
being the other gender.
- Allow another five minutes, then bring the groups together and ask
each to tape their newsprint sheets to the walls, keeping sheets about one
gender together.
- Direct everyone's attention to the advantages and disadvantages of
being female, as listed by the male groups. Ask the girls to add to the
lists. Then ask the entire group to recall the definition of a stereotype.
(Answer the idea or belief that all members of a certain group are very
similar, leaving no room for individual differences.) Do the lists have
stereotypes, or are they true characteristics of all women? Draw a line
through any the group concludes are stereotypes.
- Repeat the process with the lists of advantages and disadvantages
of being male.
- Conclude the activity using the Discussion Points.
Discussion Points
- Are
there negative consequences for a young woman who limits herself to
traditionally female roles? Of a young man limiting himself to
traditionally male roles?
- Which
gender has the most advantages? Disadvantages? Why?
- What
happens when a woman behaves in ways traditionally thought of as male?.
What about a man who behaves in ways traditionally thought of as female?.
- Men's
and women's roles are culturally determined. Can you give examples of
cultures in which male and female roles are different than they are in the
U.S.?
- Give
examples of religious or spiritual legal, social or political teachings
that limit gender-roles for women or men.
- What
are examples of ways men have been discriminated against? Women?
- What
message would you give to a younger girl about being female today? To a
younger boy?
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