Intercultural Communication - Personal

Hawaii is definitely a melting pot of cultures. I love being surrounded by diversity and having friends of different ethnic backgrounds. So when it came to considering Creighton I have to admit I was concerned about the culture shock. Needless to say, when I arrived here in Omaha and people learned that I’m from Hawaii their initial reaction was “…then what made you want to come all the way out here?”
Back home, I felt comfortable knowing that a lot of us locals were socially accepting. On the day I left the island I was ready to encounter discrimination at some point while I’m out here in the Midwest, as I knew I was going to be in a predominantly white environment. However, it was reassuring to know that I wasn’t going to be the only person coming from Hawaii. College counselors, alumni, and upperclassmen reassured me that Creighton was a good community and I stuck with that instinct. I was surprised to discover a decent population of international students and thought it was great that they are here. I’ve gotten to know a few of them and learn about their backgrounds, which were all interesting.
I could sense that Creighton strives to encourage intercultural relations. I have attended a few events hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and I also joined the International Student Association. Not only have I engaged in learning about ethnic cultures but I have also been open to communication with people from the mainland. Back home, being Caucasian was a minority and here in Omaha it’s vice versa with Asians being a limited population. I’m glad I was able to find some great new friends here from other states and it’s always been fun hanging out together.
I noticed that group polarization tends to occur with certain people but school sponsored social events, retreats, and service trips serve a good purpose in enhancing multicultural acceptance. As mentioned in the definitional blog entry, all of us have our responsibility in order to encourage more intercultural communication. It could help break stereotypes and bring more harmony into the community. An individual can serve as one role model but to represent as a group could make more of a difference.

Intercultural Communication - Application

The FOX show, GLEE ,effectively demonstrates intercultural communication with a cast of high school teens that are ethnically and socially different. The cast features jocks, cheerleaders, and social misfits. They also diversified the group by having Asians, Jews, African Americans, Hispanics, and Caucasians. Each of them come from such different cultural backgrounds and cliques yet they came together and managed to give incredible performances.
There were a couple of episodes that strongly emphasized the boundaries within a social hierarchy. Finn Hudson was the star quarterback for the school but “risked” alienation by getting involved with Glee to share his singing and dancing abilities. Then there’s Rachel Berry, a truly gifted girl who was often bullied by the cheerleaders and football players for being overly obsessive with herself and her dream to be famous. Kurt is an amazing soprano but was picked on by the macho jocks for being gay. Eventually, he later impressed them with his football kicking skills. Basically, the show touched based with the generic stereotypes that exist in a high school environment. Although it’s highly fictional it set an example in breaking group polarization within a social setting and to be more socially and ethnically accepting. In the finale, it shows how individuals can contribute their own ideas and talents to reach a common goal and fortunately for them they managed to win a competition for sectionals.

Intercultural Communication - Definitional

Intercultural communication is defined as “communication between members of different cultures” and culture is a common set of characteristics or a way of life shared by a group of people from generation to generation. Culture is something that is learned. Thus, children of immigrants to the U.S. assimilate better to the American culture as compared to their parents. It may be difficult for others to handle culture shock because they may feel intimidated by a new system of beliefs and practices. Therefore, it is essential to have a better understanding of cultures and the interactions between them to prevent misinterpretations and disrespectful treatment.

There are three effective approaches that have been used to study intercultural communication and they include: the social science approach, the interpretive approach, and the critical approach. The social science approach is the most traditional because it utilizes observation and prediction of human behavior through quantitative methods. The interpretive approach focuses more on the individual’s experience in a qualitative way. The objective is to understand rather than to predict the behavior. Alternatively, the critical approach focuses on the power relationships between cultures with a goal to produce change. With these three approaches intercultural communication can be viewed through three perspectives.

Diaspora is one particular concept that has always been studied, as it is a Greek word associated with dispersal or scattering. One historical example would be the Native Americans as they were made of various tribes who relocated throughout America. Studies have also been done with the Jewish, Black Africans, Armenians, and a few Asian nationalities. Scholars have found it interesting on how diasporas contribute to one’s culture. Mainly, a diaspora only occurs when people scatter to at least two places, they are associated with some sort of “homeland,” the individuals have self-awareness of their group, and it occurs over several generations (at the minimum of two generations). As time goes on, means of communication between cultures have been enhanced through technological techniques and other media.

Part of studying cultures includes identifying different types of relationships, values, roles, norms, and nonverbal messages. Ethnocentrism tends to come up from time to time when one has the belief that their culture is considered ideal and then judges the elements of another culture. However, it may not always have a bad connotation. According to Neulip and McCroskey, ethnocentrism allows for patriotism of a central group. Stereotyping is another concept that typically has a negative outlook because it could to racist remarks. On the other hand, it helps predict some general behaviors of another culture and lead to better tolerance. To live in a world of such diversity it is essential to continue to study intercultural communication so that all of us could share the effort in reducing hostility and increase levels of harmony. In a nutshell, every global citizen has the responsibilities of being committed, mindful, unconditionally accepting, concerned for ourselves and others, understanding, ethical, and peaceful.

Mass Communication - Personal

I see mass communication as performing one action that impacts several other individuals and it may not necessarily only be through news broadcasting, newspapers, or magazines. When I came to Creighton I eventually became the “go-to girl” for signs, posters, and t-shirt designs. In the beginning of year I helped a friend campaign to be our resident hall president and made eye-catching campaign posters that got her some votes. These posters must have been effective as she said she heard people would vote for her because they liked her posters and it also helped that she had an open and friendly personality.
Just recently I have been asked to start designing t-shirts for Deglman After Dark events. These t-shirts communicate to others a social event and also represents who Deglman Hall is. By having a person wear such a t-shirt it could help promote better attendance for future social activities. After all, mass communication occurs through different mediums. I personally use various fonts and graphic designing to carry out a message. In the past, I have also designed t-shirts for various organizations and I liked to incorporate their mottos or logos because it presents a strong representation of the organization and could share with the receiver if the organization is suitable for him or her. Just like any other printed shirt, it easily visible to others and can influence an individual one way or another.

Mass Communication - Application

Shut Up & Sing is a documentary that followed the limelight of country singers, The Dixie Chicks. The pop country trio included Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, Martie Magquire. While performing a concert in London, Maines made a statement that she never thought would have strongly impact her and the future popularity of the Chicks. Maines had told the crowd, “we don’t want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” (in reference to Bush and the girls’ home state). From that moment on their fans became highly critical. Eventually radios stopped playing Dixie Chick songs because they did not want to offend any more people or because already offended people demanded that the Chicks’ songs and albums should no longer be promoted… and for what specific reason? The public thought the Dixie Chicks had become disrespectful and unpatriotic while in actuality they simply took a stand to express their own opinion. Although it may have been negative they still showed their support for the troops through their songs but Maines’ statement turned things around.

Through mass communication, what had only been amongst London news quickly made its way back to the United States. It was a chain reaction as the statement was initially made before thousands of people present at the concert, then European media, followed by becoming newsworthy back home. It amazed the Dixie Chicks and their manager on how fast it traveled and how it immediately dropped the status of their country stardom. At the same time, Natalie wasn’t quick to regret what she had said because it was a statement that someone was going to say sooner or later as she had anti-sentiments against the war. The documentary illustrated how the original message filtered through different channels and then impacted thousands of other people.

The Dixie Chicks remained a tight-knit, opinionated group regardless of death threats and diminishing number of fans. They managed to make a comeback and continued to vocalize other messages through their talents, singing songs like “Travelin’ Soldier” and “Not Ready to Make Nice.” Overtime, what once was an outrage back in 2003 had simmered down (or diffused) and the Chicks continue to be genuine people and proud Americans.

Mass Communication - Definitional

Mass communication is just another type of human communication that exists in society today. Every aspect of it is mediated as the audience may or may not be affected by the messaged being carried out by the sender. The sender can be an individual or from several other sources and the message can be deciphered through different perspectives. Popularly associated with mass communication is the media but it is not only limited to them. Time Warner, Disney, News Corporation, Viacom, and Bartelsmann are five internationally known incorporations that utilize the power of mass communication. Other than the audience, the communication experience, and the communicator, limited feedback is another element to consider.
Through the process of the mass communication there are certain responsibilities that belong to a “gatekeeper” a person who is basically like an editor-in-chief and is the one that selects, changes, and/or rejects messages. This person has the power to “influence the flow of information” between sender and receiver. Normally, there may not only be one gatekeeper but a whole network especially when it comes to news media and magazines. It is a highly complex role as there are different limitations or requirements to consider before being able to produce information. Something that is common amongst those in the United States is economics. Thus, advertisements in every shape and form are ubiquitous as companies are always trying to find a way to make more profit. It is also important for the gatekeeper to oblige to legal restrictions, deadlines, and ethics. Competition and news value are other factors that encourage the communicator and the gatekeeper to have strong ties together to get their message across for faster and more effectively.
There are two models of message flow. The Hypodermic Needle Model says, “each audience member receives messages directly from the source of a given medium.” In other words, the message being sent can be so influential that it could become dangerous for the receiver, such as the use of propaganda and Hitler’s tactics. Another model is the Two-Step Flow Model. This consists of information being passed from various mass media to opinion leaders who then pass it on to people within their own population. Opinion leaders are always in frequent communication and are always working on influencing others on a regular basis. Nevertheless, information needs to pass through these models carefully in order for the original sender to make their point. As an outcome, one should remember that the rate of diffusion of information, referring to the travel time through various communication channels and community of receivers.
Overall, each and every one of us is caught up with the latest technology, e-mail, cell phones, social networks, etc. Through the cultivation theory, we are also easily influenced by what we see on TV or hear on the news and it sets a somewhat universal mindset. There is also the mean world syndrome, which causes some people to believe that the world is a cruel place and this belief develops from different sources of media. In a world that copes with the possibilities and pitfalls of technology, mass communication continues to expand, as it is easy to find various mediums to pass the word along and continues to emphasize social norms.

Tubbs, Stewart, and Sylvia Moss. Human Communication. 11th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.