As technology becomes more accessible, groups will hold more of their meetings either on-line or via video or telephone connections. Read more about these groups and then join a mediated group in the activity section to experience first hand the differences between mediated groups and face-to-face groups.
Types
Mediated groups take several forms:
Teleconferences in which the group members talk via the telephone.
Videoconferences in which a video and audio connection allows the group members to communicate with each other.
Computer-mediated discussions such as Listservs, chat, or Usenet, in which the group members communicate via email.
Advantages
There are several advantages to mediated groups. First, they are usually inexpensive to operate. Instead of traveling long distances to meet, groups can meet over the telephone or via email. In addition, when using email or telephones, the group does not have to meet as a whole. It can carry on its business over time and without everyone being present.
Disadvantages
There are also some disadvantages to mediated groups. When communicating via the telephone or by email, it is difficult to judge other group members' nonverbal expressions. Also, the technology can be a difficult adjustment. Finally, the social aspects of the group are downplayed when the group does not meet face to face.
While all groups will have both social and task dimensions, some groups are predominantly social in their orientation. Examples of these groups would be families and social clubs. These groups provide for our safety and solidarity needs and they help us develop self-esteem.
Work Groups
Work groups function to complete a particular task. In a work group, the task dimension is emphasized. The group members pool their expertise to accomplish the task. Examples of this would be workplaces, campus organizations, or juries. There are several types of work groups, based on the work of Ivan Steiner.
Additive Work Group: All group members perform the same activity and pool their results at the end. An example of this would be gathering signatures for a petition drive.
Conjunctive Work Group: Group members perform different, but related, tasks that allow for the completion of a goal. Every group member must complete their task in order for the group task to be completed. An example of this would be an assembly line, in which each worker performs tasks that together build a completed car.
Disjunctive Task: Members meet to determine the best alternative for a problem or issue. There are two types of disjunctive tasks:
Judgment Task: Group members must choose one correct answer from all alternatives.
Decision-Making Task: Group members must choose the best alternative from a set of options. There is no one correct answer for a decision-making group.
Contrived or Emergent Groups
Some groups form spontaneously, such as a group of friends. Other groups are contrived, that is, they are formed for a specific purpose. Organized clubs, social groups, or committees are contrived groups.
How divorced parents can modify their own behaviors and help their children of different ages to adjust to the divorce?
Infants
What parents can do for infants
Keep normal schedules and routines.
Reassure infants of your continued presence with physical affection and loving words.
Keep children’s favorite toys, blankets or stuffed animals close at hand.
Toddlers
What parents can do for toddlers
Spend more time with children when preparing to separate (e.g., arrive 10 to 15 minutes earlier than usual when you take your child to child care).
Provide physical and verbal reassurance of your love.
Show understanding of child’s distress; recognize that, given time and support, old behaviors (thumbsucking) will disappear and newly developed skills (toilet training) will reappear.
Talk with other important adults and caregivers about how to support your child during this transition time.
Preschool and early elementary children
What parents can do for preschool and early elementary children
Repeatedly tell children that they are not responsible for the divorce.
Reassure children of how their needs will be met and of who will take care of them.
Talk with children about their thoughts and feelings; be sensitive to children’s fears.
Plan a schedule of time for children to spend with their other parent. Be supportive of children’s ongoing relationship with the other parent.
Read books together about children and divorce.
Gently, and matter-of-factly, remind children that the divorce is final and that parents will not get back together again.
Preteens and adolescents
What parents can do for preteens and adolescents
Maintain open lines of communication with children; reassure children of your love and continued involvement in their lives.
Whenever possible, both parents need to stay involved in children’s lives, know children’s friends, what they do together, and keep up with children’s progress at school and in other activities.
Honor family rituals and routines (Sunday dinner, weeknight homework time, grocery shopping together, watching favorite television shows or movies as a family).
If you need to increase children’s household responsibilities, assign chores and tasks that are age-appropriate (help with laundry, housecleaning, yardwork, meal preparations); show appreciation for children’s contributions.
Avoid using teenagers as confidants; plan special time for yourself with adult friends and family members.
Tell children who will be attending special occasions such as sporting events and graduation ceremonies, especially if you plan to take a new romantic partner.
How to solve sibling’s conflicts in divorced families?
Some siblings also engage in more conflict because they are competing for their parents’ attention. So, parents should :
·talking with them
·listening to them
·spending some time alone with each child
to reduce their children’s rivalry. Besides that, parents also need to realize that younger siblings may have an easier time expressing their confusion than their older siblings.
Therefore, parents should be sure to talk to the older siblings even if they do not seem upset. It is also important for parents to encourage children to continue rituals that were established before the divorce so they will have some feelings of continuity and stability.
Children’s reactions to parental divorce are related to how parents inform them of their decision. Because of this, it is important for parents to think carefully about how they will tell their children and what they will tell them. When possible, the entire family should meet together so that both parents can answer children’s questions. This strategy may also help parents to avoid blaming each other for the divorce. The following tips might make this a smoother process:
Set aside time to meet as a family
Plan ahead of time what to tell children
Stay calm
Plan to meet again
What to tell children
1.First, you should limit your discussion to the most important and most immediate issues; children can become confused if they are given too much information at once.
2.Children need to hear that their basic needs will be met, that someone will still fix breakfast in the morning, help them with their homework, and tuck them into bed at night.
3.Children also need to know that their relationship with BOTH parents will continue, if possible. In the face of so many changes, children also need to hear what will remain the same. Parents can reassure their children through words and actions that their love will continue despite the changes in routine family life.
4.Children should be told that the divorce is final and avoid giving them false hopes that the parents will reunite.
5.Parents can also use this time to tell children that the divorce is not their fault. Many children believe that the divorce is a result of something that they did. Even younger children who seem to have no understanding of what is going on may need extra reassurance during this time.
6.Remember to ask children about their fears and concerns. Give children time to think about the divorce and the changes ahead. Meet again as a family to talk about new questions and to reassure children of your ongoing involvement in their lives.
7.Children need to know that parents recognize the impact of divorce on children’s lives.
lipreading is a solution to communication for the deaf and people with hearing problem. lipreader normally observes lip movements, facial mimicking and body language to gain understanding about what the speaker is try to say. However, some people with normal vision and hearing do unconsciously use lipreading to gain information from others. Each speech sound (phoneme) has a particular facial and mouth position (viseme), although many phonemes share the same viseme and thus are impossible to distinguish from visual information alone. Here comes in the interesting perceptual phenomenon known as McGurk effect.
Below shows the explaination of McGurk effect from wikipedia,
McGurk effect may be experienced when a video of one phoneme's production is dubbed with a sound-recording of a different phoneme being spoken. Often, the perceived phoneme is a third, intermediate phoneme. For example, a visual /ga/ combined with a heard /ba/ is often heard as /da/. Further research has shown that it can exist throughout whole sentences. The effect is very robust; that is, knowledge about it seems to have little effect on one's perception of it. This is different from certain optical illusions, which break down once one 'sees through' them.
To have a clear understanding, watch the youtube clip below,
i'm going to blog about how communication isn't always a good thing.
take this girl, let's say, P. and a guy, L perhaps.
P's friends pointed out that they think L likes her. then one of her friends talked to L and see if L really does like P. then one fine day, when L and P were alone, L decided to have that "talk". and so they did. and the day after, things were quite okay. P had a lot to say about the matter that they had that "talk" a few times. after a few of these "talks", the relationship between both of them distant. L was pulling away from P.
you see, what P is trying to do is to reach out to L and communicate. but in the end, L pulled away from the "thing" they had and left P upset.
so, doesn't this show that sometimes, communication isn't all that great. which is why some people just don't want to "talk about it" or "settle this" as they fear that when you have this "talk", things might not turn out well and things just gets worst.
so, think carefully if you really want to "talk" about an issue.
and think real hard coz what you say kinda sorta determines what happens in the future.
posted by Dila Ariff @ 2:14 AM
hey ya'll check tis out.. omg so many different types of interpersonal relationships!!
Types of interpersonal relationships:
Friendship Theories of friendship emphasize the concept of friendship as a freely chosen association.
Family Family communication patterns establish roles, identities and enable the growth of individuals. Family dysfunction may also be exhibited by communication patterns.
Romantic Romantic relationships are defined in terms of the concepts of passion, intimacy and commitment.
Professional Relationships Professional communication encompasses small group communication and interviewing.
Interpersonal Competence Assess interpersonal effectiveness in various types of relationships and contexts.
Interpersonal Perspectives There are four specific perspectives from which to study interpersonal communication: Relational (Qualitative) Communication in which the roles of sender and receiver are shared by two people simultaneously in order to create meaning. Situational (Contextual) Communication that occurs between two people in a specific context. Quantitative (Dyadic interactions, including impersonal communication. Functional (Strategic) Communication for the purpose of achieving interpersonal goals.
Cultural Differences in Non-verbal Communication 2. Posture Consider the following actions and note cultural differences: o Bowing (not done, criticized, or affected in US; shows rank in Japan) o Slouching (rude in most Northern European areas) o Hands in pocket (disrespectful in Turkey) o Sitting with legs crossed (offensive in Ghana, Turkey) o Showing soles of feet. (Offensive in Thailand, Saudi Arabia) o Even in US, there is a gender difference on acceptable posture? 3. Gestures Even simple things like using hands to point and count differ. · Pointing 1. US with index finger; 2. Germany with little finger; 3. Japanese with entire hand (in fact most Asians consider pointing with index finger to be rude) 4.Eye Contact and Gaze In USA, eye contact indicates: degree of attention or interest, influences attitude change or persuasion, regulates interaction, communicates emotion, defines power and status, and has a central role in managing impressions of others. o Western cultures — see direct eye to eye contact as positive (advise children to look a person in the eyes). But within USA, African-Americans use more eye contact when talking and less when listening with reverse true for Anglo Americans. This is a possible cause for some sense of unease between races in US. A prolonged gaze is often seen as a sign of sexual interest. o Arabic cultures make prolonged eye-contact. — believe it shows interest and helps them understand truthfulness of the other person. (A person who doesn’t reciprocate is seen as untrustworthy) o Japan, Africa, Latin American, Caribbean — avoid eye contact to show respect. 5. Touch Question: Why do we touch, where do we touch, and what meanings do we assign when someone else touches us? Illustration: An African-American male goes into a convenience store recently taken over by new Korean immigrants. He gives a $20 bill for his purchase to Mrs Cho who is cashier and waits for his change. He is upset when his change is put down on the counter in front of him. What is the problem? Traditional Korean (and many other Asian countries) don’t touch strangers., especially between members of the opposite sex. But the African-American sees this as another example of discrimination (not touching him because he is black). Basic answer: Touch is culturally determined! But each culture has a clear concept of what parts of the body one may not touch. Basic message of touch is to affect or control — protect, support, disapprove (i.e. hug, kiss, hit, kick). o USA — handshake is common (even for strangers), hugs, kisses for those of opposite gender or of family (usually) on an increasingly more intimate basis. Note differences between African-Americans and Anglos in USA. Most African Americans touch on greeting but are annoyed if touched on the head (good boy, good girl overtones). o Islamic and Hindu: typically don’t touch with the left hand. To do so is a social insult. Left hand is for toilet functions. Mannerly in India to break your bread only with your right hand (sometimes difficult for non-Indians) o Islamic cultures generally don’t approve of any touching between genders (even hand shakes). But consider such touching (including hand holding, hugs) between same-sex to be appropriate. o Many Asians don’t touch the head (Head houses the soul and a touch puts it in jeopardy). Basic patterns: Cultures (English , German, Scandinavian, Chinese, Japanese) with high emotional restraint concepts have little public touch; those which encourage emotion (Latino, Middle-East, Jewish) accept frequent touches.
6Paralanguage
vocal characterizers (laugh, cry, yell, moan, whine, belch, yawn). These send different messages in different cultures (Japan — giggling indicates embarrassment; India – belch indicates satisfaction) o vocal qualifiers (volume, pitch, rhythm, tempo, and tone). Loudness indicates strength in Arabic cultures and softness indicates weakness; indicates confidence and authority to the Germans,; indicates impoliteness to the Thais; indicates loss of control to the Japanese. (Generally, one learns not to “shout” in Asia for nearly any reason!). Gender based as well: women tend to speak higher and more softly than men. o vocal segregates (un-huh, shh, uh, ooh, mmmh, humm, eh, mah, lah). Segregates indicate formality, acceptance, assent, uncertainty.
what is non-verbal communication; retrived 28 september 2008
Nurhayati Adila Mohd Ariff ;