Week 16, Question 1

1). (Regarding Chapter 13) Which of the research methods listed in Table 13.3 seem the most interesting? Assume you want to study some aspect of deception. Frame a research question. Which method would you choose to answer the question. Why?

To me, the most interesting research method listed is ethnography. With ethnography, a research is able to engage themselves in a culture while observing norms within this culture. Through this, he or she is able to understand how the society works and be able to critque on a different level as someone who just reads about it.

One research question I could ask is "How has technology affected romantic relationships?" . I would divide this particular study into focal areas that deal with romantic relationships like intimacy, maintenance, etc. Then, I could use survey research to see how people my resond to questions. If I were to use quantitative methods, I would make statements and see if people responds to that. I think this would be affective for a simple question. Other good methods to study the affect of romantic relationships deal with qualitative research. We could study survey research but use open ended question and gather textual analysis from this.

Week 16, Question 3

Pick One other concept in the book that you feel needs further discussion

The concept in the book that I feel needs further discussion is the chapter regarding intercultural communication. For me, intercultural communication is one of the most interesting topics regardign interpersonal communication. I would like that we would further discussion and explanation on the different types of cultures that exist in our society. Mainly I feel that understanding intercultural communication is essential for the U.S. to embrace every level of all cultures. The text offers a lot of examples on intercultural communication leaving us with a taste of what it is all about however I do feel that further discussion should be done in class. We had a paper that centered around cultural differences however, it would be nice to have discussed how differences in culture vary beyond ethnicity. Perhaps this would lead me to have chosen a different topic when writing my paper. For me, intercultural communication is one topic that needs to be justified. Students in communication studies as their major, or even those who have chosen a different path will be able to benefit from it. Also, I really like Sarah Trenholms discussion on Awareness and how some people are unaware of differences in culture and how often this ignorance can lead to problems of stereotype or privilege. So, I think this would be a topic that should be further discussed.

Week 16, Question 2

What concept/s in this class have you found the most interesting? What was it about that concept that you found interesting?

One concept from this course that I thoroughly enjoyed was our discussion on nonverbal communication. For me, nonverbal communication governs many aspects of communication in general. For example, when choosing a prospective romantic partner, one may use physical attributes as a standard when deciding. The nonverbal cues that a person gives off in terms of physical attributes affect a prospective partner’s decision. Nonverbal cues include a persons dress or physical beauty. In turn, dress alone is enough to define a person’s style and or personality. If dress is responsible for giving off a certain image to another person, he/she dressing a certain way may rethink their choices because of the certain image being portrayed. For example, a person who is in search of a job does not want to stop by prospective places in a t-shirt, jeans, and flip flops rather one should opt for more professional attire that would increase his or her chances of receiving a positive reaction from employers.

Nonverbal communication can also be linked to negative things. For instance, if dress can affect a persons view on an individual. Any person can change their image by changing their dress. This could be linked to cases of deception and how communication can be negative.

Week 15, Question 2

2). Do you agree with Marshall McLuhan that the medium is the message, i.e. that the format or logic of a medium is as important as its content and, in fact, determines what content will be broadcast through that channel? Evaluate his idea that television is a cool medium.

Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message" is something I agree with. He argues that the channel through which the message is transmitted, is as important as the message itself. With television, networks filter what they want to broadcast on their channel. Though they don't state it right out loud, most networks show their point of view with out being blunt. For me, I like to watch t.v. for news but if I want to know more about something I will go to the internet as a medium. This way, I am able to find the news I'm more interested in and also look at the sites that I feel is more credible. When you watch television, everything is so quick. The text states that we are left to fill in the blanks but sometimes television does it for you. Similar to ads and semiotics. Which is related to television being a cool medium.