Comm Final Study Guide PDF

Natalie Tangrea Intro to Communications Final study guide Sources: Textbook, lecture slides, key point documents, class notes Chapter 1: Essential question: Why is the study of communication significant and important now? Fact 1: A medium is an intervening t...

Natalie Tangrea Intro to Communications Final study guide Sources: Textbook, lecture slides, key point documents, class notes Chapter 1: Essential question: Why is the study of communication significant and important now? Fact 1: A medium is an intervening technology that facilitates communication or human expression. It is important to know how different mediums affect the message that is being relayed. Fact 2: Interpersonal Communication is the process of exchanging information, ideas and feelings among two or more people verbally or nonverbally. Interpersonal communication is the main form of communication and is used everyday. Fact 3: Digital Literacy is the ability to use the communication technology efficiently and to access and understand information on digital platforms. As technology is advancing and the internet is becoming very common, it is important for people to be able to effectively communicate on the internet. Fact 4: Communication is the act of a sender encoding a message to be transmitted via a medium to a receiver who decodes it to understand its meaning. Communication is used everyday and is vital for life. Concept: Oral culture vs written culture: Oral culture is culture that has been passed down orally and written culture is culture that has been written down for others to read and learn about. This is important to remember because oral culture was how people used to communicate before print was widely accessible. Written culture is what is used now, when print is available to everyone. Person: Dennis Diderot, a french philosopher, attempted to capture the knowledge of enlightenment in writing. He is important because he took advantage of mass printing, which was the start of written culture. This revolutionized the way that people learned and communicated knowledge. Chapter 2: Essential question: What is the structure of face-to-face unmediated communication and what skills do we need to effectively engage in unmediated face-to-face and group communication? Fact 1: The perception process has three steps: selection, categorization and interpretation. Perception is a big past of communicating, it is how people decode messages from other people. Fact 2: A turn construction unit is what a listener recognizes as a complete unit of speech from a speaker. These conversation cues drive conversations and communications during interpersonal communication. Fact 3: The components of listening include reception, decoding, evaluating, remembering and responding. Listening is vital for unmediated interpersonal communication. Fact 4: Timing cues are signals that mark the end of a remark. Timing cues are vital during interpersonal communication. Concept: Mediated vs unmediated communication: Mediated communication allows people to have closer relationships with a wider range of people, while unmediated communication is the best way to build strong, long lasting relationships. Mediated communication is limited because it is missing nonverbal cues. Unmediated communication is more powerful and fundamental. Person: George Herbert Mead, a philosopher and socialist, claims that construction of the self is constructed during social interaction, beginning in childhood. He says that the dialogue between the “I” and the “me” determines our sense of self. Chapter 3: Essential question: What are the frameworks through which people understand and assess the impact of communication processes? What are the ways people make meaning from mediated content? How can those frameworks be applied in everyday life? Fact 1: Judicial rhetoric determines the truth or falsity of events that took place in the past. Judicial rhetoric was used for public persuasion. Fact 2: Hegemony is the ability of a social group to gain power over another social group by their ability to make social relationships seem fair. Media and culture make the social arrangements in society. Fact 3: Ceremonial rhetoric was concerned with praise and blame in the present. Rhetoric was vital for the development and clarification of ideas. Fact 4: Deliberative rhetoric determines if a specific action should be taken in the future. Rhetoric should be used for critical thinking. Concept: “Magic bullet”/ “hypodermic needle” theory: This theory explains the idea that media content is injected into viewers, who then respond to that content in either anticipated or unanticipated ways. This theory is specifically used to explain the impact of propaganda. This theory led to researchers researching what kinds of messages were the most effective. Person: Elihu Katz was a communications researcher who published a landmark study called Personal Influence in 1955. Based on the research, Katz concluded that the media does not affect everyone directly. He also determined that within specific social groups, certain people are perceived as experts in certain areas. Chapter 4: Essential question: What are the key ethical and legal rules that shape the way we communicate? How are they applied and what is their impact? Fact 1: Restrictions on speech depend on domains of speech and on types of speech. Restrictions on speech can be used in public, private settings and can be expressive, political or commercial. Fact 2: Netiquette is polite behavior on the internet. Netiquette is helpful to monitor speech online in an ethical way. Fact 3: There are two domains of speech: public and private. The domain of speech affects how the speaker can and will portray their message. Fact 4: Copyright is the right of authors to keep exclusive rights to distribute their work. Copyright is a way that speech can be protected and author’s works can not be used without their permission. Concept: Controlling Speech: Controlling speech can be done through controlling the content, limiting access to means, controlling the audience, and controlling who’s allowed to speak. Governments and corporations have been controlling speech for decades, impacting millions of people and their media consumption. There are many different ways that governments can prevent speech or punish people afterwards for speaking out. Person: Aristotle was a philosopher who believed that ethical behavior was based on finding the midpoint between extremes. Aristotle and his view of ethics is important to remember because ethics is a large part of advertising and communications. Every reporter and communicator has to consider what is ethical to communicate to the public and what is not. Chapter 5: Essential question: What is the role of communication in the way people form their social identities? Fact 1: Ethnic press is a type of press that communicated to the outside world how those ethnicities were experiencing life. This is important because every type of group is able to express themselves through the press. Fact 2: A global village is the idea that people can imagine themselves as a part of a global community. This is important because people all over the world will be able to relate to each other and identify with each other. Fact 3: Participatory culture is the engagement of fans with the creation of popular culture. This is important because people are able to form communities around popular culture. Fact 4: TV has become the most powerful medium in history. This is important because TV is how most people view the most content, and it is very popular for communication. Concept: Social Identities: Social identities are a sense of identification with specific groups within society. This is important because social identities are how we view ourselves and how we make connections with other people. It also provides community members with general perspectives on the world. Concept: Communities are imagined, they are imagined in our minds so that we feel like we have a place to express ourselves. This is important because communities are the way that we communicate with others similar to ourselves. Communities provide us with good connections. Person: Aristotle: Aristotle is important because he argued that every state is a community made up of households, which are also communities themselves. He gave important insight into communities and how they are formed by communication. Chapter 6: Essential question: What is the role of the media in the political process, particularly in the United States? Fact 1: Political speech essential to self-governance. This is important because political speech allows people to express their political beliefs. Fact 2: Technological change has had a dramatic impact on both campaigning and governing. This is important because social media and television has had a great impact on campaigning and politics. Fact 3: Political advertising has been one of the most effective forms of political communication and that has raised the costs of political campaigns. This is important because advertising plays a huge role in politics and promoting certain policies and cannadites. Fact 4: The Federal Communications Commission is the federal agency that regulates electronic media, including tv and the internet. This is important because this agency can monitor political speech and advertisements online as well. Concept: Negative advertising: Negative advertising is advertising specifically in politics intended to damage the opposing candidate rather than elevate the candidate responsible for the ad. This is important because it is a popular tactic used among politicians and in politics. It is important to know the intention and perspective of advertising. Concept: Open and free communication is essential to democracy. This is important because one of the primary reasons that the First Amendment was added to the U.S. The Constitution was to protect our right to political speech. Open and free communication is how people express themselves politically. Person: Donald Trump was president of the United States in 2017. Trump abused social media and television by spreading false news related to politics. This is important to know because it shows how online political communication can be flawed and not always accurate. Chapter 7: Essential question: What is the relationship between communication practices and economic practices? Fact 1: The marketplace depends on free and timely accurate flow of information. This is important because if communication fails, then the economy will also fail. Fact 2: The term commodity is anything that can be exchanged for money. This is important because many different things are able to be considered commodities and the exchange of commodities is what modern capitalist economies are based off of. Fact 3: The rise and growth of capitalism is linked to the development of media systems, particularly the printing press. This is important because when media systems are developed, capitalism grows. Fact 4: Television is the dominant platform for advertising but digital media is the fastest growing. This is important because television and digital media greatly support the marketplace. Concept: Radio and television Concept: The exchange economy is a marketplace in which producers buy, sell or barter for goods and services. This concept is good to know because it is the foundation of capitalism. The exchange economy allows producers to become competitive with selling items, which generates more income. Communication through ads contributes heavily to the exchange economy. Person: Edward Bernays wrote a book called “Crystallizing Public Opinion” and began to promote the term “public relations council”. This term helped the public relations industry become more professionalised. Bernays is important to remember because he helped the public relations industry grow and expand into a professional setting. Chapter 8: Essential question: What is the nature of celebrity and what is its relationship to the media? Fact 1: The invention of mass celebrity was contributed to by the steam engine, telegraph, newspapers and photography. This is important because these forms of media allowed more people to know who celebrities are and allowed them to become fans. Fact 2: Press has become invasive to celebrities, film and radio brings celebrities closer to audiences. This is important because more and more of celebrities' lives are portrayed in the media. Fact 3: The gossip industry accesses celebrities’ private lives and makes them available for the public. This is important because celebrities are more vulnerable to invasive press and negative attention from the media. Fact 4: With the creation of social media, mass media celebrity is much more attainable. This is important because it is much easier to gain a following and almost anyone can become famous. Concept: Celebrity culture was created by open access to communication networks, which changed the nature of celebrity and fame. This is important because it increased notoriety and controversy for celebrities. Open access communication made viewing celebrities much easier and faster. Concept: Fame vs celebrity: fame is defined as someone’s character or achievement reaching a broad audience. Celebrity is the creation of a public image that is not necessarily accurate. This is important because fame and celebrity are closely intertwined, but are not the same. Person: Susan Boyle, a contestant on “Britain's got talent”, became instantly famous after her performance on the show. Boyle is important because she is an example of mass celebrity and how anyone can become famous in a short period of time. After the video of her performance was posted on youtube, she gained a large following. Chapter 9: Essential question: How have technological changes shaped mass communication and the types of content and stories we communicate? Fact 1: The invention of moveable type allowed people to print things faster and for cheaper. This is important because it revolutionized how things were printed in newspapers and books. Fact 2: Convergence is the ability to produce, transmit and receive all forms of media using the same technologies. This is important because convergence allows people to access a bunch of different forms of media at one time. Fact 3: The five stages of adoption for communication technology includes innovators, early adopters, early majority adopters, late majority adopters and laggards. This is important because consumers must adopt communication technologies to form a viable marketplace. Fact 4: Metcalfe’s law is the concept that the value of a network increases exponentially to the people joining the network. This is important because it is a big part of digital communication on computers and online. Concept: The Digital Divide: The digital divide is the insight that certain communities have less access to critical computer and communication technologies. This is important because it raised the idea that certain communities were divided by their access to technology. Smart phones especially helped distinguish the divide between community members. Person: Mark Zuckerberg created facebook. He is important because Facebook was one of the first social media sites created. Facebook changed the way that people used the internet and the way they communicated. Chapter 10: Essential question: what are the key characteristics of common media forms and genres and what makes different media forms and genres distinctive? Fact 1: Different types of media are better suited to tell certain stories. This is important because depending on what type of media is used, the message of the story can differ or become less effective. Fact 2: Archetypes are representations deeply rooted in the human psyche. This is important because there are very many archetypal story plots which are very common. Fact 3: The story content, the channel of communication and its technology, along with the conventions of the industry are all factors in how stories are told. This is important because there are many different things that can contribute to the success of a story. Fact 4: Narrative and storytelling are vital to understanding ourselves and our experiences. This is important because everyone needs to tell stories and communicate with each other through different mediums. Concept: Hard vs soft news: Hard news is the when, why, how, who, what and where of the story. Soft news is opinion articles and articles that show an individual’s voice. This is important because hard news is the primary form of storytelling in journalism. Soft news is just as important as hard news, but hard news is more focused on informing and spreading information. Person: William Labov was a sociolinguist who defined a narrative as an account of a sequence of events in the order they occurred with the goal of making a point. Labov is important to know because narratives are what stories revolve around. Most forms of communication include a narrative and a goal. Chapter 11: Essential question: What are the core principles and processes that guide the development and assessment of mediated content? Fact 1: Aesthetics are a branch of philosophy that deals with beauty, value, style, taste and worth. This is important to know because aesthetics are a large part of communications mediums, having an aesthetic medium will allow the audience to become more involved in it. Fact 2: Medium aesthetics are the effort to create a framework for what constitutes good work on a specific genre or format. This is important because every genre and format has a different medium aesthetic. Fact 3: Synaesthesis is a term that describes how our senses merge to create our sense of the world. This is important because ​synaesthesis in how people view the world and knowing how people view the world can be beneficial when creating effective aesthetic mediums. Fact 4: Design principles are rules that guide the development of media content. This is important to know because following the design principles for the specific medium will allow you to create the most effective form of the medium. Concept: High vs mass culture: Mass culture is defined as expressive objects designed to attract large audiences and generate profit. High culture refers to culture that was for the elite, with the objective to provide insight and understanding to the human condition. The purpose of high culture was to express and express the truth. This is important because even though mass culture is more common and accessible, high culture is more intellectual and sophisticated. Mass culture has become more common in recent years. Person: Alexander Baumgarten was a German philosopher who created the new meaning of the word aesthetics. He argued that art presented itself through sensation and perception. He is an important figure because he helped define aesthetics, which is a large part of communication mediums. He is important because he revolutionized the way that people view art and understand art as communication. Chapter 12: Essential question: What are the unique characteristics of business communication? What are the key requirements for effective communication in a business setting? Fact 1: To become an effective business communicator, it is necessary to focus on the needs of the audience. This is important because most career fields require effective business communication to be successful. Fact 2: Clarity is essential to effective business communication. This is important because business communication is often fact-based and task oriented, so it is important to be precise. Fact 3: Clear communication helps avoid confusion, provides purpose, builds a positive culture and allows for accountability. This is important because clear communication allows for success in the workplace. Fact 4: The Goldilocks rule is the concept that business messages should avoid having too much or too little information and should try to have just the right amount of information to achieve the goal. This is important because having too much information will overwhelm the person, and heaving too little will confuse them. Concept: The rule of 7 plus/minus 2 is the concept that people can only hold 5 to 9 items in their working memory at one time. This is important to know because it will be more effective to chunk important information in order for people to process it faster. This is good to remember because in a business setting, it will be most effective to portray information in a way where it is most memorable. Essential question from the course: What must I know to become a critical consumer of media and possibly a communication professional? To become a critical consumer of media, it is important to know how different forms of media can achieve different outcomes. It is necessary to know the way that communication forms people’s identities and how they view themselves. It is also necessary to know what can be considered ethical and legal in regards to communication and how it impacts society. In order to become a critical consumer of media, you need to know what makes media forms different from each other and how it impacts the audience. In order to become a communication professional, it is necessary to know the unique qualities of business communication and the requirements of effective communication in the workplace. It is also important to know the different structures of storytelling and how they are made. It is also vital to know the relationship between communication practices and economic practices, as that will be helpful to know as a communications professional. In order to become a communication professional, you will need to know the principles and processes of the development of mediated content.