6.3

Out of all the terms that we discussed this semester the most interesting concept to me was the idea of "storming". I can attest to the fact that when you first get into a group with people who you don't know it can be a little daunting: you're all pleasant to one another and try to get along, not wanting to ruffle any feathers. After a while, though, the niceness goes away, everyone wants to be heard, and ideas are shot down because people don't think that they are good enough. The idea of storming, which is where we "work through the niceness phase" and start to storm over other peoples' thoughts and ideas regarding the group goal. By doing this you can prevent the outcome of good results; instead of storming through the thoughts of others, if we listened to what everyone had to say and evaluating them not based on the idea that they aren't OUR ideas, but could be GOOD ideas can help us prevent this.

16.2

I chose my group observation paper on a group that calls themselves "Dork Night". Every Tuesday night they get together, have a couple beers, have dinner, and either go to a movie, go to a bar, or play some games (hence the name dork night). They've been getting together for about 3 years now, and no girls are allowed! I chose this group because I thought that it would be interesting to be a girl and observe this group of men (granted they were probably a little different than they would be if a girl actually wasn't around).

I thought that the group observation project was interesting and a fun experiment. I liked the concept of being an outsider and not influenced by what was already going on in order to make an unbiased statement about that group. My only concern was my group didn't have an actual leader and didn't necessarily have a goal or agenda, so it was hard to describe what goals they had trouble with.

16.1

Face to Face communication varies greatly than computer mediated communication. To me the biggest difference between CMC and FTF communication would be the nonverbal communication. When you're discussing something or solving problems through CMC pretty much the only way for you to tell if someone is happy, angry, laughing, or sad would be LOL, :) or :(, whereas with FTF communication you can see if someone is visibly uncomfortable, being sarcastic, or really excited. Typed words only offer so much variation to a situation where when you are face to face with someone there is so much more to interpret. This could be both a blessing and a curse; while there might be less distraction (laughing, or joking around, or even arguing) there would be less interpersonal interaction. Personally, just simply for the fact that I'm a social butterfly, I much prefer face to face communication. I like being able to read people rather than having to rely on the next text message or tweet.

14.1

Out of all the groups that are available for discussion, I would most prefer to engage in a Panel discussion. It has been my observation that when people are more relaxed they are able to think clearer (as long as they aren't TOO relaxed, at least). In panel discussions it seems that it's not as... "busy" for lack of a better word, meaning, well, I guess as the book says, less formal. When I was younger and I saw adults trying to solve problems, it always seemed so prim and proper. I never understood why the couldn't at least laugh a little (granted it might have just been my family). So the idea that trying to solve problems doesn't have to be this great formal ordeal really seems to me, the best idea. The symposium seems to me like too much of a deebate; the colloquium seems to be too formal; and the forum to me seems like it would base its problem solving on people who might not necessarily be the best people to ask.

13.2

5 cultural barriers that affect creativity are: a requirement for conformity, a reliance on statistical proofs, a dependence on generalizations, particular arenas for competition, and a reliance on expert knowledge.

Requirement for conformity: requiring sameness prevents people from thinking about how to be difference; feeling "foolish" or absurd can stop someone from letting their creativeness stand out.

Reliance on statistical proofs: didn't you know? 80% of statistics are made up on the spot. Relying on statistics, data that you don't know for sure is right, can lead to being influenced by what others have "observed" or recorded, not letting you create based on what you actually know.

A dependence on generalizations: not wanting to offend a particular person, treading lightly, and not wanting to make a stink, you make broad generalizations that doesn't attach itself to one thing, allowing interpretation to do what it will. However by doing this you prevent the further exploration of specific things, which can prevent success.

Particular arenas for competition: being competitive with someone can cancel out all kinds of creativity. It becomes not what can we create, but who can create the best. This makes us strive for quantity instead of quality.

A reliance on expert knowledge: by relying on "experts" to have an answer we prevent ourselves from properly exploring what our options are and what we could possibly do to make them better. Ii limits our creative selves because we don't do a lot of the thinking; we rely on an "expert" to do it for us.


Unfortunately I've noticed that in most groups one or more of these barriers happen. While it would be great to get around them, most of the time people don't realize that they're doing them. I think if people took a group communication class (like this) then it would help them to realize that they can't be creative while relying on others to do the work.

13.2

The most interesting concept that I came across this week was using analogies and metaphors to increase creativity. I always thought of creativity as something that came up an opportune moments, dire circumstances, or situations where we needed an out. However, while reading the chapter I found that the creativity that comes from people can some from times where our lives aren't necessarily on the line. As the book states, for example, "Henry Ford visited a slaughterhouse and was inspired to produce a better way to mass produce cars." (Harris, 193-4). By looking at things that you wouldn't necessarily look at for ideas (such as Henry Ford and the slaughterhouse) you can get some pretty good ideas. Using analogies we can really open our minds to situations and ideas that weren't open to us before. In general, being creative helps the world go round, and finding different ways to do so just adds to the improvement of our living situations.

13.1

It feels like it's been forever since I've blogged. Anyone else? No? Oh well.

This is actually a recent event in which I used my creativity to solve a problem. Unfortunately I have to move back to my mom's house. My mom lives there, and she has a housemate. The house is only a 2 bedroom house, so this presented a problem as to where my room was going to be. At first it seemed that the most logical conclusion was for me to sleep on the couch and to put all of my furniture (including my bed) into a rented storage unit (if it had been we just needed room for my couch, it could have gone in the garage. However, since it was my couch and my bed, we needed a bigger place to store it all.). I was not looking forward to having no real sense of privacy, so I started thinking.

At my mom's house, right next to the kitchen is a little breakfast nook. It's very small, fitting in 2 cabinets, a small table and chair set, and a table for the microwave. So, instead of renting out a place to put my bed, we're moving the two cabinets and tables into other parts of the house, putting my bed and dresser in the nook, and putting up a rod and heavy curtain to make a type of "bedroom door." This saves me having no privacy, and someone sleeping on the couch!

8.3

Funnily enough, the same night that I was having a difficult time listening was the same night that I chose to have selective attention. This party that I went to this last weekend was a party my friend Jessica’s sister, Victoria, was having. I went because several of my friends were going to see Jessica. Most of the party was made up of Victoria’s friends, who are quite a bit younger than most of us. I was at the bar (yes, they have a bar in their house. If I could own a house, it would be theirs) making myself a drink when one of Victoria’s friends came up (let’s call him Joe) and started talking to me. He was obviously drunk, more so than he should have been. I was making my drink and he was telling me some inane story about something that he thought made him cool. I honestly wasn’t paying attention to him, except for when his friend (we’ll call him Moe) came up and was obviously making fun of him. Joe would tell one bit of his story, and Moe would call him out on it, obviously not believing him. At this point I started to pay attention to what Joe was saying, but only for the fact I wanted to hear what Moe had to say about it. Selective hearing at it’s best.

Week 8.2

The most interesting concept that I found this week was the idea of external and internal noise. Think about this: you’ve got a midterm coming up, and you sit down, all prepared to study hard. Then your roommate comes home with this “crazy story that you just have to hear!” So you spend 10 minutes listening to her spout off her story, then you decide to get back to studying. But! your window is open and you hear music coming from someone’s radio. So you shut your window, and hope to get to it. But then! you realize that the water dripping from the sink is driving you crazy, so you go an tighten the handle to make it stop. You can finally start now that all the external distractions are done, right?
Wrong. You sit down, look at the clock, and realize you have 14 hours and 37 minutes until your exam. Then the internal noise begins: will I do alright?; I wonder what the questions are going to be; what percent of my grade is this?; ugh I can’t wait for spring break; I’m hungry;, so on and so forth.
Internal and external noise affects us in pretty much everything that we do. It’s learning to overcome these obstacles so that you can communicate better in any situation that we as a society should probably spend more time on.

Week 8.1

At work we have meetings before we open or when we close and are about to go home. Now let me toot my own horn here; people at work tend to listen to what I have to say because I’ve been at my job for so long. I know the ins and outs better than almost anyone; when I give advice or constructive criticism it’s usually for a reason, not just to try to make myself look good. However, a couple nights ago, at our closing meeting, I just could not pay attention to what was going on. It was 10:50 at night, there was a party that I was supposed to go to after work with some friends who I hadn’t seen in a long time, and I wanted to get out of there. My manager and other coworkers were talking, and I absolutely was not listening. I had too much internal noise going on: “should I run home and change? Do I need to bring anything? Does my hair look okay? They’re talking forever, why can’t we just GO!?”
In reality I’m not sure what could have helped me avoid this. There are times that you just think things are more important. In reality, a lot of our closing meetings are the same: what sales were, if anything important happened, any funny stories of the night. I suppose I could have tried to switch shifts with someone, but then again, that’s the easy way out.

Week 6.3

Proxemics – how we use the personal space that surrounds us. This mean how we react to what affects our space, or our personal “bubble”. In my group, we’re very friendly, and it isn’t uncommon for people to be touching at all times. Not at all in a sexual way, but just in a comforting way. However, this is probably different than other groups and cultures. For example, it might be considered shameful for people in an Islamic culture to be as close as my group of friends are.

Chronemics – this is the study of how we use our time. The book states that time is money in our culture, and boy, is that true. I know that I value my time like you would not believe; being a full time student and a full time worker, I don’t have a choice but to know that each moment where I DON’T have to be studying or at work is precious. I know I tend to rush around a lot and stress. However, if you were to look at chronemics in say, Italy, it would be different. Over there it’s not about how much we can get done in a single day. Things are taken at a slower pace, way more relaxed. I wish my life was more like that.

Week 6.2

The most interesting concept that I found in the textbook for this week's chapter was, well, since I can't say the whole chapter since because I find nonverbal communication in general to be interesting, was paralanguage. Paralanguage is "the meaning that is perceived along with the words used to deliver in a message. It is 'how' we say something." This interests me because so many things can be taken from how someone says something. You can say "Oh, that's great." but if your tone reflects different, that you know that you don't ACTUALLY mean something is great.

Within the part about Paralanguage I enjoyed the part about accents. Now I don't know about you, but there's nothing sexier than an accent (well, certain accents at least). I could listen to someone with a British accent read the dictionary to me, and I would be entranced just because it sounds different than what I'm normally hearing in my every day life.

Week 6.1

One or Both Parties Can Assign Meaning

“Nonverbal communication becomes meaningful when one or more parties assign meaning to it.” This means that once more than one group or party realize that a nonverbal action can be rather significant, it can be applied to a group’s problem. For example, a group member might always be on time to group meetings. However, that member was late one week. Then the next, then the next. If no one says something to this person, then they are just going to continue being late until the group says “hey, we need you to be on time.”

Things We Notice Lead To Meaning

"The things we notice, or our perceptions of nonverbal cues, lead to meaning" This means that whatever catches our attention does so for a reason. For example, someone in your group is yawning while you're talking. This can mean that the person is either just really tired, or they're bored with the situation. In either case, the nonverbal cues that were just sent aren't one of a positive nature, and can lead to group dissatisfaction.

4.3

The most interesting idea that I came across in the reading this week was the idea of "pressure for conformity". I find it interesting because even in small groups, the idea that you should conform to that which is popular can prevent a group from being successful. If you take into account that group work, for the most part, is a project that needs to be completed as a collective (even if you are graded on it individually, or something similar) then you can kind of understand the need to conform. However, by "conforming," it doesn't mean that you have to lose yourself as an individual. The chapter talked about people generally have trouble in groups getting past individual opinions and ideas in order to come to a conclusion. Yet you can still retain your individuality without the need to cause drama within your group. Conforming isn't always a bad thing; it just has to be taken into context. Conforming within a group can be a good thing, and can lead to successful results.

4.2

The concept of "white men of power" is basically one of this: while, upper class men have more power and more privilege than those who don't fit that category, such as different ethnicity, women, the disabled, the poor, the "unattractive", etc. The idea is that these men are the ones who in businesses and places of power have, well, not to be repetitive, the most power.

Do I agree with this? Yes and no. Yes, I agree that from what I have seen in my limited life is that men who fit this category (white men who are upper class) tend to rule the roost in life. They have better jobs, more money, more power, etc. On my company website, we have pictures of the people who are high up on the corporate ladder. I was looking at them at work today, and lo and behold, most of them were white men. I wasn't actually that surprised.

Now, I don't agree with it because I think it's pretty crummy that people who have most of the power are white, rich men. I think that with the election of President Obama, however, hopefully that will change.

4.1

Being a middle-to-lower class white girl, believe it or not, I have been part of a group that has been stereotyped against. My friends and I are "dorks" (see, I just stereoptyped myself.) Meaning we play Dungeons and Dragons, we play video games such as World of Warcraft, and we play table games such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, and quite a few other "nerdy" things. A lot of times people think that we're the type of people who don't enjoy bars, like to stay home on the weekends, and don't fit to their idea of "fun". One particular time stands out in my mind.

We were having a party, and it was a themed party. My friend Andrew decided he was going to bring some friends to this party that we hadn't met before. They came in, wearing designer jeans and shirts, heavy jewelry, and hats. When they came in they immediately saw the gaming gear, the fantasy posters, and I saw them look at each other. They went into the kitchen and had a beer; after that I heard them talking to Andrew, telling him that this wasn't their thing, and that they were "gonna bounce". I was kind of hurt because they didn't even take the time to get to know any of us; they came over, had our beer, and left without giving us the courtesy to realize that hey, we might be dorks, but we can party like the best of them.

3.3

The most interesting concept in the chapters to me was the idea of violating a norm. While I would like to say that I think the entirety of chapter three was interesting, I don't think that matches the assignment. The idea that we violate something that isn't written, and isn't actually a law or anything, yet the consequences from violating that which isn't written could be just as harsh. For example, it isn't written anywhere that you shouldn't cheat on your partner. However, should you stray from them into someone else's arms, the repercussions are severe. You can lose your partner, or they won't trust you anymore, or a myriad of other consequences if they find out.

Just like in a relationship, group norms vary depending on the group. But it's been my experience that, in general, group norms such as do you part of the work, communicate, and don't cheat are typically what you'll find in any group.

3.2

Norms in groups are an essential part of functioning as a group. Each person usually has a part in a group, whether it be a group of friends (you have the funny one, the quiet one, the smart one) or a work group (the leader, the note taker, etc.) While the roles within a personal group might be emergent roles, roles within a work group are usually assigned roles. These roles help give us guidelines for our actions, or what norms would be for our behavior within that group. When these norms are violated, however, it can cause a problem. A personal example of this is when I told my friend something very personal. I expected her to not repeat it to anyone, but later found out that she did in fact tell others. This violated our norm, that I can talk to her and she will keep it private. I had a conversation with her letting her know that I was hurt by her action, and that I hadn't expected this behavior from her. We worked it out, but even still I'm a bit hesitant to tell her very private details, because this norm was violated between us.

3.1

I think that there are group norms wherever you go in life, whether it be school, work, church, or in your own group of friends. In all honesty, I don’t interact with a lot of people at San Jose State; meaning I don’t hang out with friends on campus, or, in reality, have any “school” friends. All of my friends are outside of school. Wow, that sounds kind of sad.
Anyway, I don’t think that I can answer fairly whether I see norms at SJSU. My interaction is limited to that of the classroom, and I’m actually only on campus for 2 hours on Tuesday and Thursday.
Now, when it comes to my friends that I hang out with, we absolutely have norms. It’s normal for us to be touchy-feely with each other, but if someone new comes into the group, we reserve that right until we get to know them better. While we don’t have any “explicit” norms (that would be odd in our group) we do have “implicit” norms; whenever we have a get together, we ask what we should bring, what the host needs help with, etc.
These norms were fairly easy to adapt to. They went along a lot with what morals
I was raised with as a child: help out, don’t be rude, be honest, so on and so forth. This
group of friends have probably been the best that I’ve ever been a part of, simply for the
fact that they can relate to how I am as a person, and my norms are similar to theirs.

Intro

Hey Everyone!

I'm Nessa. I'm a communications major, minoring in PR. Both a full time student, and a full time worker. It's pretty tough, but hey, the bills have to get paid.

I've taken several communication classes, and quite a few of them have been online. I enjoy online classes a lot more than I do "regular" classes. I like the idea of being able to do assignments on my time, and not have to sit someone for an hour.

I'm not sure what I want to do with my degree. Maybe some international communications, or something similar. I would love to be able to travel.

Anyway that's about it from my end. I look forward to hearing from you guys this semester!