Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping

Introduction to Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a visual form of note taking that offers an overview of a topic and its complex information, allowing students to comprehend, create new ideas and build connections. Through the use of colors, images and words, mind mapping encourages students to begin with a central idea and expand outward to more in-depth sub-topics.

A Mind Map is a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlock the potential of the brain. It harnesses the full range of cortical skills – word, image, number, logic, rhythm, colour and spatial awareness – in a single, uniquely powerful manner. In so doing, it gives you the freedom to roam the infinite expanses of your brain. A Mind Map can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance.

Definition of a Mind Map

A mind map is a visual representation of hierarchical information that includes a central idea surrounded by connected branches of associated topics.

 Popularisation of the term "mind map"

Buzan's specific approach, and the introduction of the term "mind map" arose during a 1974 BBC TV series he hosted, called Use Your Head. In this show, and companion book series, Buzan promoted his conception of radial tree, diagramming key words in a colorful, radiant, tree-like structure.

Buzan says the idea was inspired by Alfred Korzybski's general semantics as popularized in science fiction novels, such as those of Robert A. Heinlein and A. E. van Vogt. He argues that while "traditional" outlines force readers to scan left to right and top to bottom, readers actually tend to scan the entire page in a non-linear fashion. Buzan's treatment also uses then-popular assumptions about the functions of cerebral hemispheres in order to explain the claimed increased effectiveness of mind mapping over other forms of note making.

Benefits of Mind Maps

• Help students brainstorm and explore any idea, concept, or problem
• Facilitate better understanding of relationships and connections between ideas and concepts
• Make it easy to communicate new ideas and thought processes
• Allow students to easily recall information
• Help students take notes and plan tasks
• Make it easy to organize ideas and concepts

 How to Mind Map

         All mind maps begin with a main concept or idea that the rest of the map revolves around, so choosing that idea or topic is the first step. Begin by creating an image or writing a word that represents that first main idea.

         From that main idea, create branches (as many as needed), that each represent a single word that relates to the main topic. It’s helpful to use different colors and images to differentiate the branches and sub-topics.

         Then, create sub-branches that stem from the main branches to further expand on ideas and concepts. These sub-branches will also contain words that elaborate on the topic of the branch it stems from. This helps develop and elaborate on the overall theme of the mind map. Including images and sketches can also be helpful in brainstorming and creating the sub-branch topics.

Mind Maps in Education and Teaching with Mind Maps

         Mind mapping is a beneficial learning tool to help students brainstorm any topic and think creatively. Mind maps are particularly helpful in the writing process and provide students with a natural way of thinking and building thoughts on a story plot or theme.

         Mind maps also provide teachers with insight into their students’ thought process regarding a specific topic. By asking students to create mind maps demonstrating their comprehension of a concept, teachers are able to understand what a student’s prior knowledge was and how well the student understands the assignment or the material being taught. This is a very effective way of evaluating students’ understanding.

Mind mapping software can bring numerous advantages to the strategic planning process. In this article, the second in our series on how to run planning workshops, we’ll investigate seven specific advantages it offers compared to traditional methods like white boarding.

1. Speed

It is easier to stay on schedule during planning sessions that are run with mind mapping than those using a traditional whiteboard. A lot naturally depends on the skills of the facilitator, but mind mapping offers several practical advantages.

First, the facilitator can move much faster through the planning day without having to stop regularly to clear the screen to write up the next topic. Second, the facilitator can add participant responses to the map quickly and accurately. Finally, a mind map can be expanded on-screen as ideas are added. Contrast this with using a whiteboard, where the session has to stop every time the board is full so that it can be recorded in one or more photos and then erased so the planning process can continue.

2. Transparency

With a mind map, people can see easily if their ideas are being recorded accurately by the facilitator or scribe and how their ideas relate to previous comments shared by their peers. The facilitator can also print or even email summary snapshots of the evolving map to participants in real time as the planning day progresses. This process can help everyone understand how the discussions have developed during the planning session. After the session is over, participants can compare the snapshots to the final write-up to see how their responses have been incorporated into the outcomes.

3. Engagement

The transparency of the mind mapping process also supports greater engagement by the participants. Everything is much clearer on a mind map compared to a whiteboard – not only the comments themselves, but also the connections between those comments and the key map topics. As a result participants can see the plan evolve thorough their input and share additional thoughts that also get added into the evolving plan.

4. Focus

Using a mind map, the facilitator can highlight specific topics for discussion, making the rest of the map “disappear” temporarily. This makes it much easier to keep everyone on track. Conversely, the facilitator can show a whole branch with multiple topics, helping team members to see how they are related. This is also a useful tool for showing topics lacking responses, which may indicate they may need more consideration and input from the group.

These features also make it easier to respond if the discussion starts to go off-topic. Anyone who has ever facilitated a planning day will understand this problem – a brilliant idea (or a not-so-helpful suggestion) is blurted out by a participant. But it has nothing to do with the topic currently being discussed; suddenly the workshop has veered off onto a tangent.

With a mind map, it is much easier to “park” those comments by recording them on screen, but then “hide” them from immediate view, so they won’t distract the group. These ideas don’t disappear – they can be discussed later, but the parking process helps the facilitator to maintain the subtle pressure to stay on-topic.

5. Flexibility

One of the core advantages of a mind map over a whiteboard is the ease with which ideas can be grouped and moved around the screen in real time during the planning session. Not only individual topics and comments can be handled this way – entire branches with multiple topics can also be easily moved, restructured or added to the map.

At its most basic level, this makes it easier for the facilitator to respond if a participant suggests that their comments have been put in the wrong place. More importantly, it allows a skilled facilitator to shape the planning session by grouping related ideas as participants share them. They can be attached to relevant existing topics, or the facilitator can create new topics to accommodate them.

Individual responses can that deal with a new issue or idea also be highlighted and used as the “parent” topic for further comments. Relationship lines can also be drawn between comments that may be attached to different topics but which share something important in common. This flexibility also makes it easy for the facilitator to create lists of topics or responses and ask the group to prioritize or rank them.

6. Efficiency

Some of the features I’ve already mentioned also contribute to another advantage of a mind map compared to a whiteboard – efficiency. For example, there is no need for the facilitator to spend a lot of time transcribing a scrawl of handwritten notes at the end of the session – the material is already there, typed up and ready for a final edit. This means that the outcomes can be produced much faster, even immediately after the planning session has ended.

7. Adaptability

There is a final killer advantage of using mind maps over whiteboards to run your next planning day – adaptability.

Whiteboards are essentially static. Even if it has wheels, I bet your organization’s whiteboard spends most of its time in your meeting room; anything anyone does with it there is usually transcribed, then transferred and converted into useful outcomes somewhere else. While there are some programs which assist in this process, the paradigm essentially remains the same.

A mind map is the complete opposite. The screen or monitor that’s used for a mind-mapped planning workshop is just a vehicle for display. Everything that’s done during the session stays within the mind map and consequently with the facilitator, at least initially. What happens next is up to the facilitator and the organization, but there is a range of other options for sharing it. As mentioned earlier, the outcomes can be distributed to attendees at the end of the planning session. Most mind mapping programs also make it easy to export the outcomes directly into Word documents for further editing. In addition, many of them can export map contents to spreadsheets, project management programs and team collaboration tools like Sharepoint.

In addition to serving as thinking and planning tool, another capability of mind mapping software points to its supreme adaptability. In many cases, the mind map can be converted into an ongoing planning and management tool for your team. Specific features vary from program to program, but most of the more mature mind mapping tools enables you to enter task-related data for each of the actions identified in a planning session, such as start and end dates, resources, priorities and progress to date.

Some even allow you to display task information as a Gantt chart or as timeline which can be updated to display the team’s implementation progress. We are not necessarily talking here about the level of sophistication of, say, Microsoft Project, but most of the major mind mapping programs have more than enough features to be great project management tools for smaller teams and organizations.

7 Steps to Making a Mind Map

1. Start in the CENTRE of a blank page turned sideways. Why? Because starting in the centre gives your Brain freedom to spread out in all directions and to express itself more freely and naturally.
2. Use an IMAGE or PICTURE for your central idea. Why? Because an image is worth a thousand words and helps you use your Imagination. A central image is more interesting, keeps you focussed, helps you concentrate, and gives your Brain more of a buzz!
3. Use COLOURS throughout. Why? Because colours are as exciting to your Brain as are images. Colour adds extra vibrancy and life to your Mind Map, adds tremendous energy to your Creative Thinking, and is fun!
4. CONNECT your MAIN BRANCHES to the central image and connect your second- and third-level branches to the first and second levels, etc. Why? Because your Brain works by association. It likes to link two (or three, or four) things together. If you connect the branches, you will understand and remember a lot more easily.
5. Make your branches CURVED rather than straight-lined. Why? Because having nothing but straight lines is boring to your Brain.
6. Use ONE KEY WORD PER LINE. Why Because single key words give your Mind Map more power and flexibility.
7. Use IMAGES throughout. Why Because each image, like the central image, is also worth a thousand words. So if you have only 10 images in your Mind Map, it’s already the equal of 10,000 words of notes!

Benefit From The Mind Mapping Concept

You need to understand the mind mapping concept to be able to really appreciate the benefits of using this method. Even for beginners learning more about the mind mapping method should not be something intimidating. The truth is mind mapping is such a simple tool to learn that you don’t even have to stress yourself so much about it!

Of course it’s important that you know the mind mapping definition, learn how to apply it in your day to day activities, and determine the different mind mapping benefits. Understanding these mind mapping concepts can immensely help you improve your productivity and efficiency at work or for whatever purpose it may be.

Mind Mapping Concept Defined

ü  Mind mapping is simply a diagram used to visually represent or outline information. It is a powerful graphic technique you can use to translate what’s in your mind into a visual picture. Since mind mapping works like the brain does it allows you to organize and understand information faster and better.

ü  It is an expression of radiant thinking thus it helps unlock the potential of the brain. The mind mapping design enables you to easily sort through different details and recognize relationships among these details.

ü  What do you need to remember about mind mapping?

ü  There are essential characteristics of mind mapping you need to know and remember when making mind maps.

ü  First of all when mind mapping you need to identify and place the central topic at the centre of your mind map. It will serve as the central image or the focal point of the map. Second the main themes of the central topic radiates from the central image. This is why mind mapping is known to be the expression of radiant thinking.  Third the 2^nd level topics will form as the branches for your mind map. These branches form a connected nodal structure.

ü  The simple mind mapping design described above defines how mind mapping works. You only need to apply it when making your own mind map and I’m sure you will benefit a lot from the activity.

Advantages of the Mind Mapping Concept

ü  You need to know the various advantages of mind mapping. If you don’t know it yet… this simple, practical tool enhances your creative thinking and enables you to become more productive and efficient.

ü  Mind mapping increases your creativity and productivity because it’s an excellent tool to let you generate more ideas, identify relationships among the different data and information, and effectively improve your memory and retention.

ü  Making a mind map is an excellent way for you to be able to sort through your thoughts and ideas. This activity allows you to quickly generate creative and even unique ideas in less time. It gives you the freedom you need when brainstorming so that the flow of ideas is not blocked or hampered like linear thinking does.

ü  This method is a great way for you to categorize and organize the ideas you brainstormed and identify their relationships. By using a single page or space you can already place a huge amount of information and check its connections. Making connections is easier to do because you have all the information about a particular topic in a single glance. It can even help you discover new relationships among seemingly unrelated ideas and information.

ü  The use of colours, images, and keywords in mind mapping aids in enhancing your memory and retention. Isn’t it easier to remember information this way rather than reading long sentences? The use of colours, images, and keywords also help make learning more interesting and fun so you become more motivated to remember important details.

Disadvantages of the Mind Mapping Concept

ü  Mind mapping also has its share of disadvantages. Although the following disadvantages doesn’t take away the benefits that mind mapping undoubtedly provides it’s still useful to know some of its downside.

ü  Mind mapping may be difficult for those people who are very logical in the way they think. In brainstorming for example mind mapping encourages you to let the flow of ideas go freely. You even need to let your intuition work. For logical people it will be hard to trust their intuitive side because logic is telling them that this way of thinking is not possible.

ü  To be able to fully understand the meaning of a mind map active participation is important. You have to know that mind maps provide a self explanatory information and structure that can be understood best by the person or people who took part in making it. So it might be a little difficult for other people who did not witness the activity to make complete sense out of the mind map.

Mind Mapping

What are mind maps?

Mind maps:

• Provide a holistic, overall picture, showing all aspects of a topic.
• Portray different ideas radiating from a central thought or subject.
• Flow from 'main topics' placed on thick branches near the centre to 'sub topics' on thinner branches, and finally 'details' on thin branches on the edges.
• Show the links between different concepts.

What can mind maps be used for?

Mind maps can be used for just about anything in your degree!

A mind map can help you:

• Outline your ideas on a subject
• Organise your thoughts
• Visualise a whole concept
• Take and review notes
• Plan an essay
• Revise for your exams

How to draw a mind map

It is really important to use the correct rules for mind mapping but once you understand and familiarise yourself with how to turn your thoughts into a mind map, it will become an easy way to process information. Here are some simple rules:

• Use a blank, unlined, piece of paper - landscape. Lines will distract the eye and prevent you from reading the map quickly; landscape will give you more scope for creating horizontal branches.
• Begin with your central idea. This could be a revision topic or an essay title.
• Think about the main topics associated with your central idea. Create thick branches radiating from the centre - each thick branch represents one of the main topics you have identified. Use a different colour for each.
• Draw thinner branches radiating from the thick ones, maintaining the same colour scheme. These represent the sub topics.
• The thinnest branches - the details - then stem from the sub topics, reaching the edges of the mind map. Again these must be produced in the same colour as the thickest branch.
• Print key words (or very short phrases) clearly along the length of each branch (not at the end). You may want to use upper case for the thick (main topic) branches and lower case for the thinner branches.
• Use symbols and pictures to create memory associations.
• You can add to any of the branches at any time and make links between branches.
• When you have finished your mind map, think about how you might produce the information in linear form (eg paragraphs), perhaps by numbering each set of branches.

Advantages of mind maps

• Adaptable - they can be used for lectures; note-making from books; essay plans etc. as well as less structured tasks.
• Easy to add ideas later, at any time.
• Help you focus on the links and relationships between ideas so you don't just have disconnected facts.
• Can be personalised with pictures and symbols to make things more memorable.
• Useful tool for condensing lots of information – eg a whole topic into a mind map poster, to aid revision.

Disadvantages of mind maps

• Can't incorporate large chunks of text.
• You have to stick to the rules of mind mapping to get the optimum benefit from the tool.
• Creating the map may take time. However, this will help you to review or recall information and will check your understanding.
• When you've personalised your map, it can be difficult for others to understand.

The Study of Poetry

                                                   The Study of Poetry

"For poetry the idea is everything; the rest is a world of illusion, of divine illusion. Poetry attaches its emotion to the idea; the idea is fact" -  Matthew Arnold.

According to him IDEA is supreme and in poetry it is the idea that matters, that is attached by poetry through emotions. According to him THE FUNCTION OF POETRY is to interpret life for us, to console us, to sustain us. He says if SCIENCE IS APPEARANCE then the POETRY IS EXPRESSION and there is no appearance without expression

Then Arnold talks about setting our standard for poetry high. We must accustom ourselves to HIGH STANDARD and STRICT JUDGEMENT and there is no place for CHARLATANISM in poetry. Charlatanism is for confusing the difference between excellent and inferior, sound and unsound or only half sound, true and untrue or only half true. Judging with little differences has a paramount importance, so there is no place for charlatanism in poetry.

Then Arnold tells about THREE KINDS OF ESTIMATES and these estimates are related to poetry and its reading. These estimates are:

·         Historic Estimate

·         Personal Estimate

·         Real Estimate

HISTORIC ESTIMATE: It is fallacious estimate that deals with the poets of past. When we are effected by a poet's historical background, we may easily consider his poetry of more importance than in reality it is. We must over-rate it. So, this type of fallacy is caused in judgment by Historic Estimate.

PERSONAL ESTIMATE: It is also fallacious estimate that deals with the contemporary (modern) poets. Our personal affinities, likings and circumstances have great power to sway our estimate. Due to our personal likings we give more importance to that poetry which does not deserve that much importance. So second fallacy in our poetic judgment is caused by personal estimate.

REAL ESTIMATE: Real Estimate is the only TRUE ESTIMATE which is not affected by any kind of estimate. A sense for the best, the real excellence, strength and joy can be drawn from it. It is present in our minds and governs our estimate of what we read. We are sure of frequent temptation to adopt the Historic estimate and Personal estimate which are fallacious but forget the Real Estimate.

         The benefit or Real Estimate is high and it is the benefit of clearly feeling and of deeply enjoying the real excellence, the true classic in poetry. Everything depends on the reality of a poet's CLASSIC CHARACTER. If he is a dubious classic, let us sift him, if he is a false classic, let us explode him. But if he is a REAL CLASSIC, if his work belongs to the class of the VERY BEST, then the great thing for us is to feel and enjoy his work as deeply as we can. We must read our classic with open eyes and not with eyes blinded with superstition. We must perceive when his work comes short and when it drops out of the class of very best. This type of NEGATIVE CRITICISM enables us to have clearer sense and deeper enjoyment of what is REAL EXCELLENCE.

But the question arises here is:

How can one recognize or identify that "truly excellent" or

"really excellent" or "real classic" ?

Arnold gives a method to identify the real classic and he gives the name TOUCHSTONE METHOD to this method. It is a method TO JUDGE THE QUALITY OF POETRY. A goldsmith hit the gold against stone to know the quality or purity of gold, he uses this method to know about the purities and impurities of gold. In the same way, Arnold uses this method to know about the qualities of poetry. It is a COMPARATIVE METHOD OF CRITICISM. According to this method, in order to judge a poet's work properly, a critic should compare it to the passages taken from the works of great masters of poetry. Even a single line or selected quotation can serve the purpose. If the other work moves us in the same way as these lines and expressions do only then it is a real classic otherwise not.

To apply this method on various poets and ages, Arnold takes passages from the works of the great classics like Homer and Dante. The passages that Arnold takes, have these qualities in common:

The possession of the very highest poetical quality.

Characters of high quality.

Both substance and matter on one hand, style and manner on other hand, have a mark, accent of HIGH BEAUTY, WORTH and POWER.

                           High Truth and HIGH SERIOUSNESS. 

By keeping these qualities in center, Arnold applies Touchstone Method on CHAUCER first. According to Arnold, Chaucer is genuine source of joy and strength. There is an excellence of style and subject in his poetry. He has divine fluidity of movement and diction. But he CAN NOT BE CALLED A CLASSIC because his poetry lacks high seriousness which according to Aristotle is very important.

         After Chaucer, he applies the method on ELIZABETHAN AGE. Arnold says that all of us recognize it as great poetry. He says this because according to him Shakespeare from Elizabethan and Milton from PURITAN AGE are CLASSIC POETS. They have all the qualities including high truth and high seriousness.

         Then he applies the method on THE AGE OF DRYDEN. This age is regarded as superior to that of the others for 'sweetness of poetry'. Dryden and Pope are the famous poets of this age. But this age was full of rules and regulations. The restrictions that were imposed on the poets were uniformity, regularity, precision and balance. This age is famous as AGE OF PROSE and Arnold also says that Pope and Dryden are not poet classics but 'prose classics'.

Then Arnold applies the method on GRAY. He is our CLASSIC POET according to Arnold. He lived with the great poets, with the Greeks, studying and enjoying them and caught their poetic point of view and poetic manner. He is scantiest and frailest of classics in our poetry but he is a classic.

         Then he applies the method on BURNS. His poems deal with Scottish dress, Scottish manner and Scottish religion. The Scottish World is not beautiful one according to Arnold. Burns moralizes in some of his poems and disregarded morality in actual life. So it seems insincere. His pathos is intolerable. Like Chaucer, he lacks high poetic seriousness. So he is NOT A CLASSIC.

In this way Arnold applies Touchstone Method on various poets and finds out that poets like SHAKESPEARE, MILTON and GRAY are CLASSIC POETS while Chaucer, Dryden, Pope and Burns are not classics.

          Through this essay, Arnold wants to convey that we should not be effected by Historical and Personal Estimate rather we should enjoy the REAL CLASSIC that belongs to the class of VERY BEST. We can clearly feel and deeply enjoy the best by effecting ourselves only by REAL ESTIMATE. The best way to identify the real classic is to apply TOUCHSTONE METHOD by which we can clearly identify the wide difference between the real classics and the others as Arnold identifies the difference between classics (Shakespeare, Milton, Gray) and others (Chaucer, Dryden, Pope, Burns).

Mass Communication

MASS COMMUNICATION

Introduction

It is impossible not to communicate. Everybody communicates, everything communicates.  Communication is not a process limited to human beings only. All creatures on the earth, from worms to humans, are communicating each other for their better existence. It is a universal phenomenon.

Communication is a process which includes transmission of information, ideas, emotions,

skills, knowledge by using symbols, words, gestures, and visuals and so on. Thus, the act of

communication is referred to as ‘transmission’.

As communication being a universal phenomenon that defines all human behavior, it is

important to have a clear understanding of the concepts of communication. What is communication? Why is it important to human beings? How does it work? What are the elements involved in the process of communication? How do they relate each other? What are the different types of communication? We should answer these questions to have a better

understanding of the subject. Let us look into each of them.

Communication

The word communication was originated from the Latin word ‘communis’ which means

‘common’. Communion, community, communism, commonality, communalism etc. are some related words having the same linguistic roots. Similarly, newer and newer terms are being coined as the concept of communication assumes importance day by day. Communication technology, communication media, communication age, communication management are just a few.

As the very term indicates, the ultimate aim of the communication process is to create

commonness between communicator and receiver of the message. Through communication, both

communicator and receiver enter into a mental agreement. Thus, they achieve their goal, which may be expression of an emotion or transmission of an idea.

Transaction, interchange, interaction, dialogue, discussion, sharing, contact are some of

the concepts that come up in our minds when we refer to ‘communication’.

According to Oxford English Dictionary, communication is ‘the transfer or conveying of

meaning’ (Oxford Dictionary).

Definition for communication.

1. Communication is the exchange of meanings between individuals through a common

system of symbols. (I.A.Richards).

2. Communication is the transmission and interchange of facts, ideas, feeling or course of

action. (Leland Brown)

3. Communication is a social interaction through messages ( Grabner, 1967)

The definitions given here indicate the following facts:

 A world without communication is unthinkable

 Communication is a complex process

 Communication is essential for human relationships and progress

 Human mind, body and physical conditions are vital components of communication

 A common symbol system is essential for communication

Importance of Communication

Communication is important for all beings that lead community life and form relationship. For human beings communication is as essential as food, shelter and dignity. While

animal kingdom uses low level symbols for communication, human beings have unique capacity

to use language.

The basic foundation of human society is communication and it takes place at different levels – within oneself, between individuals, between individual and a group, between groups, between countries and so on. Similarly, we use verbal and non-verbal forms of messages for communication.

Communication is essential for development of the society. We attain cultural, social and

economic prosperity by sharing out experiences. How can we share experience without better

communication?

Personal enjoyment is communication based. Just think of a person kept in isolation

without any chance for communication with his friends and relatives. It is really a punishment, a

prison life. Communication helps us interact with our surroundings, thus create positive

relationships, share love, build up friendship and depend each other to enjoy life.

Can you imagine a world without media? Not at all. The basic mission of mass media is

to create ties in human society sharing news. In modern world, media have some more roles to

play. Media defines our political system, form public opinion, support public demands and set

agenda of our social life. In short, no social activity, be it marketing, business, education, politics, media profession…, is possible without communication.

Functions of Communication

Considering the essentiality of communication, scholars enumerated the following functions of

it.

a) Education: To transfer knowledge for the progress of the society

                 (Example: class room communication)

b) Information: To find and explain something new (Example: News media)

c) Cultural promotion : To help foster social values and pass them from generation to

                 generation (Example: Festivals, parties, celebrations)

d) Social contact: To help make enjoyable companionship (Example: Friendship, clubs,

     organizations etc.)

            e) Integration: To create harmonious relationships among various social groups                            (Example:  Political parties, conferences, meetings etc.)

f) Stimulation: To create interest and develop positive thinking /behavior(Example:

                Advertisements)

            g) Counseling: To alleviate anxiety and lead to better ways (Example: guidance,  

                consolation etc.)

h) Expression of emotions (Example: crying, smiling etc)

i) Entertainment: To help pass time and enjoy life (Example: drama, song etc.)

j) Control function: To get someone to behave in an appropriate way (Example:

   Management, censorship etc)

Elements of Communication

Let us analyse Joseph A Devito’s definition that ‘communication refers to the act by one

or more persons, of sending and receiving messages distorted by noise, within a context, with

some effect and with some opportunity for feedback’ to find out the essential elements of

communication.

According to his definition, communication has the following elements:

a) Sender

b) Message

c) Channel

d) Receiver

e) Noise

f) Feedback

g) Context

h) Effect

Discussion on each of these elements with examples will give us more insight into the

entire process of communication.

Sender

Sender is the idea generating component in communication process. In human

communication, sender may be a person or persons who create or formulate the message to be

sent to the receiver. Being the primary source of the message, sender is also termed as source.

In mass media, for example, news reporter is the sender or source as he/she constructs

the message (news story). In a musical performance, the singer is the sender as his message is

enjoyed by the audience.

Sender is a critical component in communication as his/her social background,

personality status, education etc influence the quality of the message he/she creates. The

message is created from the idea generated in the mind of the sender. The idea generation

process is called encoding.

The source/sender has three functions:

a) To decide what is to be communicated

b) Encoding (Put the idea in such a way that the receiver understands it)

c) Transmitting the message to the receiver

Message

The message is any verbal or non-verbal method that produces meaning in the mind of

the receiver. Simply, it is the meaning transferred from sender’s mind to receiver’s mind. This

happens mainly in two ways: verbal and non-verbal methods.

Verbal message means written or oral messages. They are composed of words. Example:

A newspaper report or a lecture by a teacher.

Non-verbal messages are those communicated through our behaviour, movements, actions, clothes, style of conversation, pitch of the sound etc.

What is fundamental in message construction is the agreement between sender and

receiver in the code used for it. If the receiver cannot identify the language or meaning of the

message, the communication will be defective.

Channel

The channel means medium by which sender transmits the message to the receiver. Our

five senses such hearing, touching, smelling , tasting , seeing are basic natural channels of human

communication. Communication can be classified on the basis of five basic natural channels.

They are:

Tactile communication: Communication by touch or taste

Olfactory communication: communication by smell

Audio communication: Communication through sound waves

Visual communication: Communication through visual elements or properties.

We use any technically developed medium (like television, newspaper, books etc) with the help of one or more of these five senses. Similarly, sender uses one or more channels to maximize the communication effect. For example – multi-media class room where teacher uses projector, blackboard, lecture, gestures etc. simultaneously.

Receiver

Idea receiving end in communication process is called receiver. A person or thing may be at the receiving end. The receiver’s role is as important as a sender’s role. As in the case of a

sender, receiver has also three roles to play:

a) To receive the message

b) To decode the message

Decoding is the process of extracting a message from a code and interprets it. For this, sender and receiver should have knowledge about the code (for example: language) used in

communication.

c) To respond to the message through feedback

Receivers may be audience watching movies, persons listening to music, students hearing

a lecture or a computer getting e-mail from a remote server.

Communication fails or remains faulty when message is rejected or misinterpreted by the

receiver.

Feedback

Information or message that is fed back to the source is called feedback. If you get

clapping for your singing, clapping is the feedback. Questions raised by students in a class room

for more information is another example for feedback.

Feedback originated either from the sources’ own message is called self feedback.

Example: When you talk to somebody, you hear yourself and evaluate your tone, pitch etc.

Sometimes you may think that you could have sharpened or softened your tone or pitch or text,

because of your own feedback. Another type of feedback is that originated from the receiver. It may be in the form of questions, applauses, puzzled look etc. Feedback may be negative or positive, immediate or delayed.

Receiver’s indication to the sender that the message was not received well is called

negative feedback. Eg. Looks of indifference, rejection or boredom may be considered as

negative feedback. Receiver’s favourable responses like acceptance, applauses etc. are positive feedback. Feedback at the time of the communication itself or just after it is immediate feedback.

Eg. Applauses a singer gets during the performance.

Receiver’s response relatively much after the communication is delayed feedback. Eg.

Letters to the Editor.

Noise

Noise or communication barrier is anything that distorts message. Noise may originate

in any of the components of communication like source, message, channel, context, receiver etc.

Noise is present when there is difference between the message sent and received.

Communication is not possible without noise, but its effects may be reduced through various methods such as using good grammar, clear voice, simple language, quality signal etc.

Noise is of different types depending on the nature and reasons of the distortion.

They are:

Psychological noise: Any communication error due to the psychological reasons. Eg. A

fearful audience can’t enjoy the musical programme.

Semantic noise: Language related problems in communication. Eg. Poor grammar, complex sentence structure, rare vocabulary etc.

Contextual noise: If communication takes place in inappropriate time or place, message is not conveyed well. Eg. Wishing compliments during a funeral function. Or An outdoor

meeting at noon in a hot summer.

Channel noise : Medium related communication barrier. Eg. Poor signal affecting picture clarity of television.

Context

Communication takes place in a context. At times it is noticeable and at other times not.

In other words, time, place, culture, physical and social condition and psychology of the

participants are important in determining communication effect. If we try to interpret a message

out of its context, we may get an entirely different meaning which may result in communication

error.

Rules and roles are two important factors related to communication context.

Rules are the norms we have to follow while communicating in different situations. For

example, our communication behaviour is different when we are in class room, market or prayer

hall, depending on the rules the situation demands.

Roles are the character or part each participant in communication has to play. For example, in family communication situation, father plays a leader’s role. In class room, students play the receiver’s role.

Effect

Why do we communicate? It is a fundamental question. To make some effect on the receiver is the answer. Effect is consequence or result of communication. Every communication act makes some effect on the person/s. Effect may be positive or negative. Communication is said to be success when we achieve the indented effect.

Communication effects are of three types:

Cognitive effects: The consequences take place in the receiver’s intelligence due to

communication. Example : Knowledge acquisition

Affective effects: The consequences occurred in the emotions of the person/s due to

communication.

Eg. Compassion, love etc.

Behavioral effects: The change in the receiver’s bahaviour or actions due to communication.

Eg. Political campaign and change in people’s voting behaviour or purchasing new

products inspired by the advertisements.

What is Mass Communication?

The simplest definition of mass communication is “public communication transmitted electronically or mechanically.” In this way messages are transmitted or sent to large, perhaps millions or billions of people spread across the world. The communication passes through the different forms of mass media such as newspapers, magazines, films, radio, television and internet. Media is the plural for the word medium or ‘means of communication’.

Mass Communication is a means of disseminating information or message to large,  anonymous, and scattered heterogeneous masses of receivers who may be far removed from the message sources through the use of sophisticated equipment. In other words, communication is

the sending of message through a mass medium to a large number of people.

Mass Communication represents the creation and sending of a homogeneous message to a large heterogeneous audience through the media. Mass communication studies the uses and effects of the media by many as opposed to the study of human interaction as in other

communication contexts.

Stanley Baran defines Mass Communication as the process of creating shared meaning between the mass media and their audience. Also, John Bittner defines Mass Communication as messages communicated through a mass medium to a large number of people.

One needs to underscore the underlying fact that what is common in every definition of mass communication anywhere in the world is that it is communicated through a mass medium. In other words, for any message to be regarded as being mass communicated, it must be

disseminated through a mass medium like Radio, Television, Newspaper and Magazine.

Mass Communication can also be defined as a device by which a group of people working together transmits information to a large heterogeneous and anonymous audience simultaneously. It is a process by which information originates from the source to the receiver, having been thoroughly filtered and transmitted through a channel ( Sambe 2005:29).

The Mass

The concept “mass’’ in mass communication is defined as a large, heterogeneous, assorted, anonymous audience.

‘Large’ means we can’t exactly count the number of the members of audience. It is relatively large but it doesn’t mean that the audience includes all people.

‘Heterogeneous’ means the audience of mass media includes all types of people – the rich, the poor, farmers, bureaucrats, politicians and so on.

‘Assorted’ means the audience of mass media is not necessarily limited to a particular geographical sector. They may be scattered everywhere. For example, a newspaper may have a reader in every nook and corner of the world.

‘Anonymous’ means we can’t specifically identify a reader of a newspaper of newspaper with his certain characteristics. Today he may be reader of a particular newspaper. Tomorrow, he may change his media habit. Anybody at any time may be a member of mass media audience.

The channels of communication that produce and distribute news, entertainment content, visuals and other cultural products to a large number of people. Mass media can be classified in to three major groups on the basis of their physical nature.

They are:

 Print Media like newspaper, magazines and periodicals, books etc.

 Electronic like radio, cinema, television, video and audio records

 Digital Media like CD RoMs, DVDs and the Internet facilities.

Mass Communication Process

How does mass communication work can be well explained in linear model of mass communication?. According to this traditional concept, mass communication is a component system made up of senders ( the authors, reporters, producers or agencies) who transmit messages ( the book content, the news reports, texts, visuals, images, sounds or advertisements) through mass media channels ( books, newspapers, films, magazines, radio, television or the  Internet) to a large group of receivers ( readers, viewers, citizens or consumers) after the filtering of gatekeepers ( editors, producers or media managers) with some chance for feedback ( letters to editors, phone calls to news reporters, web-site postings or as audience members of talk shows or television discussions). The effect of this process may formation of public opinion, acceptance of   particular cultural value, setting the agenda for the society and the like.

A simple linear model of mass communication situation can be represented with the diagram  given below.

Nature of Mass Communication

From the above model of mass communication, it is easy to identify the following features of mass communication.

1. Mass communication experience is public one. It means that anybody can be a part of this communication process at any time without much effort or permission.

2. It is a mediated communication act. Nature of the media involved in the process defines the mediation in mass communication. For example, television can transmit a news instantly as it is a fast medium, newspaper takes to bring the same news report to the public because of its limitations. This is how nature of the media defines the mediation process in mass communication.

3. Mass communication is filtered communication. This filtering processing is called gate keeping. For example, a news report in a newspaper or on a television channel filtered or controlled at different level by reporter, sub editor, news editor, editor.

4. It is the most complicated form of communication as it involves complex technology like satellites digital networks, management structure, marketing chain etc.

5. Mass communication can alter the way the society thinks about events and attitudes.

6. Mass communication experience is transient. It means that once you used a message (for example, a news report or a film) you may not use it again. The message is meant to be used once and it is gone. Who will read yesterday’s newspaper?

7. Mass communication is most often remains as one-way communication. As receivers, how many of us write letters to editor (sender)? A very few. But, in interpersonal communication, senders and receivers are in active conversation sending feedback to each other.

8. Unlike other communicators, mass communicators can’t see their audience. Karan Tapar or Pranoy Roy, the leading television personalities in India know that their programmes are watched by millions of Indians. But, they can’t see how people respond or react while watching their presentations. That’s why they can’t change the style of presentation or mode of communication instantly as we do in interpersonal or group communication.

Mass Media

           Mass media influence our daily life more than any other cultural institution. They are our main sources of news and entertainment. They define our purchase decision, voting behavior, academic achievement and so on. Because of this all-encompassing impact of mass media, politicians, businessmen and government agencies depend on media to influence people. During election time, we witness politicians spending millions of rupess for political campign through mass media. Business firms across the world spend billions of dollars to market their products with the help of mass media advertisements. We are informed of the policies of our governments through newspapers and electronic media. Likewise, we people need mass media to express our needs, complaints and wishes to the authorities. In short, role of mass media in our society is omnipresent.

Defining Mass Media

           According to Wilbur Schramm ‘a mass medium is essentially a working group organized around some device for circulating the same message, at about same time, to a large number of people’. From this definition, let us know that there is a well organized system behind each mass medium. For example, a newspaper is produced everyday with the collective efforts of a lot of people using various information sources ranging from local reporters to international news agencies. Same is the case of distribution of the newspaper also. Everybody from circulation manager to local newspaper boy is actively engaged in smooth circulation of each copy of a newspaper. Moreover, every county has its own policy, laws, and telecommunication systems to facilitate mass media. In this sense, the production of a mass medium is the result of a well organized system.

And, the messages are disseminated to a large number of people ie. mass. They are called the audience. No media can sustain without a sufficient audience. We learned the characteristics of mass audience in the earlier unit.

The definition again talks about devices of circulating messages. These devices are technological means through which messages are communicated to the audience. Devices include printed documents, television, radio, DVD, cassettes, the internet etc.

Types of Mass Communication

Mass media can be categorized according to physical form, technology involved, nature

of the communication process etc. Given below are the major categories of mass media.

Print Media

           Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the moveable metallic type in the fifteenth century paved the way for proliferation of the print media. The printing press using moveable types introduced the method for mass production of texts. Before the invention of the printing press, books were expensive materials affordable only for the aristocrats and royal families. Printing reduced the cost of books and made them available to the common men also. Rapid duplication of multiple copies of handy texts led to the innovation of modern newspapers.

Print Media include

 Newspapers

 Magazines

 books

 other textual documents

Electronic Media

           The history of electronic mass media starts with the invention of radio by Marconi. The first radio station was set up in Pittsburg, New York and Chicago in the 1920s. Following the USA, European countries also started radio stations for broadcasting news and entertainment content. The colonial powers like Briton and France set radio stations in Asian and African countries in the early years of 20th century. The next step in electronic communication media history was the invention of cinema. Following cinema, television broadcasting was initiated in the US on experimental basis during 1920s. But, the dramatic impact of television as a mass medium began in 1950s. Parallel to these, recording industry was also boomed in the western countries. In short, the term electronic media mainly include:

 Radio

 Movies

 Television

 Audio and Video records

New Media

Online and digital means of producing, transmitting and receiving messages are called

new media. The term encompasses computer mediated communication technology. It implies the use of desktop and portable computers as well as wireless and handheld devices. Every company in the computer industry is involved with new media in some manner. The forms of communicating in the digital world include

 CD-RoMs

 DVDs

 Internet facilities like World Wide Web, bulleting boarding, email etc.

Functions of Mass Media

As mentioned earlier, mass media have pervasive effects on our personal and social life. The role and scope of mass media in our society are in the following areas:

 Information

 Education

 Entertainment

 Persuasion

Types of Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication has three major types. They include:

1. Dyadic communication,

2. Public speaking, and

3. Small-group communication.

DYADIC COMMUNICATION

Dyadic communication is simply a method of communication that only involves two people such as a telephone conversation or even a set of letters sent to and received from a pen pal. In this communication process, the sender can immediately receive and evaluate feedback from the receiver. So that, it allows for more specific tailoring of the message and more personal communication than do many of the other media.

Basic Elements in Interpersonal Communication

The basic elements involved in interpersonal communication process

are:

1. Sender; person who sends information.

2. Receiver: person who receives the information sent.

3. Message: content of information sent by sender.

4. Feedback: response from receiver.

Barriers against Effective Interpersonal Communication

Emotions

Sometimes when people communicate an idea or matter across, the receiver can feel how the sender perceives the subject matter. Often messages are interpreted differently for different people. Extreme emotions are most likely to hinder effective communication because the

idea or message may be misinterpreted. It's always best to avoid responding or reacting to the subject matter when you're upset or angry because most of the time, you'll not be able to think in a clear manner.

Filtering

This is where the sender manipulates the information that he communicates to the receiver. The purpose of this is because sometimes people would shape and reform the message so that it appears and sounds favourable to the receiver. Filtering information may mislead the receiver into thinking something favourable and the let down may be upsetting if it is found out that information has been filtered.

Overloaded with Information

Too much information about the same subject matter may be confusing. For example, you have 50 e-mails on the same subject matter, each email contains a little part of the subject matter. It would be better to have one e-mail from the sender which includes all the information in clear and simple form with only the information that you asked for. Normally, the human brain can only take in so much information to process, overloading it with information will exceed our human processing capacity, and the receiver would misunderstand or not understand at all what the sender is telling them.

Defensiveness

Humans tend to refuse for a mutual understanding when they feel that

they are being threatened or are put in a position in which they are at a

disadvantage. Defensiveness normally consists of attacking what the

sender tells you, putting out sarcastic remarks, questioning their motives

or being overly judgmental about the subject matter.

Cultural Difference

Sometimes our culture may be a huge hinderance for effective interpersonal communication. When two people with different cultures communicate, they often do not understand each other's cultures and may misunderstand the true meaning of what each other are trying to convey through such a sense. For example, Japanese people would say "􀀀􀀀 "  pronounced as 'ha-i') and Americans may misunderstand that they are saying "hi". This makes the intentions unclear between both people.

Jargon

Not everyone understands each other's jargon words. Jargon should be avoided when talking to someone who isn't familiar with you personally or within your organization.

Overcoming the Barriers of Effective Interpersonal Communication

Simplify Language

By structuring your language to clear simplistic sentences, the receiver would be able to easily understand what the sender is saying. For example, jargon can be used within your organization as it will only use one word rather than a whole sentence to explain what you are trying to communicate across.

Constrain Emotions

Hold back emotions whilst discussing a certain sensitive issue. Speaking in a neutral manner allows mutual understanding to occur and for both sender and receiver to communicate in a rational manner.

Listen Actively

Often, when the sender says something, the receiver normally hears but does not listen. Place yourself in the sender's position and try to understand exactly what they are trying to convey to you. The receiver is trying to understand fully what the sender is trying to say, so putting the receiver in the sender's point of view makes understanding much easier.

Feedback

Done by the sender, as a word of confirmation by using closed ended questions such as "Did you understand what I just said?" or "Is what I said clear to you?", or using an open ended question to have the receiver summarize the message. This results in the sender knowing that the receiver has fully understood what is being communicated.

Intra-Personal Communication

This is essentially a neuro-physiological activity which involves some mental interviews for the purposes of information processing and decision making. The basic operations of intrapersonal communication are to convert raw data from environment to information; to interpreter and give meaning to that information and to use such meaning. In other words, it is communication that occurs within you. Because intrapersonal communication is centered in the self, you are the sender and the receiver. The message is made up of your thoughts and feelings and the channel is your brain, which processes what you are thinking and feeling. There is also feedback because you talk to yourself, you discard certain ideals and replace them with others.

Intrapersonal communication is language use or thought internal to the communicator. Intrapersonal communication is the active internal involvement of the individual in symbolic processing of messages. The individual becomes his or her own sender and receiver, providing feedback to him or herself in an ongoing internal process. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and feedback loop.

Although successful communication is generally defined as being between two or more individuals, issues concerning the useful nature of communicating with oneself and problems concerning communication with non-sentient entities such as computers have made some argue that this definition is too narrow.

Kinds of Intrapersonal Communication

Below are the different kinds of intrapersonal communication:

Writing (by hand, or with a word processor, etc.) one's thoughts or observations: the additional activities, on top of thinking, of writing and reading back may again increase self-understanding ("How do I know what I mean until I see what I say?") and concentration. It aids ordering one's thoughts; in addition it produces a record that can be

used later again. Copying text to aid memorizing also falls in this category.

Making gestures while thinking: the additional activity, on top of thinking, of body motions, may again increase concentration, assist in problem solving, and assist memory.

· Sense-making e.g. interpreting maps, texts, signs, and symbols

· Interpreting non-verbal communication e.g. gestures, eye contact

· Communication between body parts; e.g. "My stomach is telling me it's time for lunch."

· Day-dreaming

· Nocturnal dreaming, including and especially lucid dreaming

· Speaking aloud (talking to oneself), reading aloud, repeating what one hears; the additional activities of speaking and hearing (in the third case of hearing again) what one thinks, reads or hears may increase concentration and retention. This is considered normal, and the extent to which it occurs varies from person to person. The time when there should be concern is when talking to oneself occurs outside of socially acceptable situations.