Week 9: The phone is a computer.

Before proceeding, please watch the video. Enjoy….

 

LG Cookie

 

After viewing, what’s the first time that comes to your mind? That it is a attractive commercial? Tempted to buy it? Well that’s for me!

Demand of touch sensitive chic-looking smart phones has been on the rise in recent years. To meet the desires of the consumer market, LG has come out with the KP 500, with a nice and ‘tasty’ name: Cookie. When you purchase the Lg cookie, a complementary packet of milk will be given. I’m just kidding!

In this commercial, a catchy tune is used to capture the audience’s attention and keep them watching on. An attractive model with sharp features demonstrates the features of the phone. Audiences in some way or other is attracted to her physical appearance. This commercial is innovative in its method to introduce the different features of the LG cookie. A strong emphasis is put on the ‘free touch’ feature whereby from the start of the video, the model touches the screen, leaving her fingerprint on it. Icons on the menu can be dragged/dropped/shifted/removed according to the way you prefer it to be. Highly utilized functions can be displayed whilst un-used ones can be hidden. In other words, the phone is personalized. 

The above is a good example of a CMC (computer mediated communication): any form of communication using computers and computer networks, including emails, electronic conferences, newsgroups and web-chats. The video is extracted from one of the most popular and widely visited website: youtube.  Also, if you were to type ‘LG cookie’ into the search engine, this video will be one of the top few links that appear. As such, we can see that CMC allows fast access to information. Neither is it limited to times zones and physical space as in the real world.

In other words, with the computer being the medium, this video is highly accessible. The Internet,the newest mass medium, has open up a world of computer-mediated communication that has revolutionized the way we live our lives. We use the Internet almost everyday and for everything: from shopping to chatting, researching, emailing,  downloading etc.

Despite fears that the CMC would isolate individuals from one another in a way that individuals who use computers will isolate themselves and abandon face-to-face interaction in favour of life lived in cyberspace, it in fact encourages interaction. The e-mail is the most widely used more of CMC, followed by web surfing. People also use the CMC to find out about current events, search for entertainment, shop, do research etc, just like in this case.

 

 Life’s good!

 

My question to you: Do you think there is a need to invest in a phone with a all-in-one function like a computer? What are your views on student paying close to a thousand dollars on a handset? Splurging or a necessity?

Share your views…Speak up!

Week 8: Recession? There is hope.

Source: The Special Projects Unit, Marketing Division, SPH

This is further backed up by this online news article:

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20090307/tap-739-more-3200-people-throng-job-fair-231650b.html 

 

Singapore is in the midst of a financial turmoil. We have heard so many cases of companies downsizing, people getting retrenched, drastic pay cuts,  and fresh graduates facing difficulties in finding jobs. With such negative outlook of the economy, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), Singapore’s leading print media, has taken steps to portray a positive outlook to the readers.

Receivers of the media are invisible. Firstly, the receivers have little or no contact with the media source. By the time the audience catch the news, the cast and crew have already moved on to other projects. In this case, reporters and journalists would be working on the next news to broadcast. Secondly, the media audience is large, heterogeneous and anonymous. These viewers represent a variety of ages and social classes; their backgrounds and interests varied. The media sends the same message across to everyone; it is not individualised. Lastly, the receivers’ relationship with the sources is voluntary and communication can be cut off at will by putting aside the newspaper article or clicking the ‘x’ button on the top right of the web page.  

The agenda setting function is used here. On the first page, it states ‘Who says there are no jobs?’.  The purpose of this is to prime (the process in which the media attend to some issues over others and alter the standards by which people evaluate the issue) the readers into adopting a positive outlook towards the economy. Through repeated news coverage, the importance of upgrading oneself in the economic downturn is made known to the public.Viewers are also exposed to the various courses available to them.

The spiral of silence is also seen here. People are refrained from expressing unpopular ideas or views about the economy. Negative views are silenced. The media encourages the ‘never-give-up’ spirit by encouraging people to take up courses to upgrade themselves and be willing to accept lower paid jobs. In addition, the message that one should open up his/her choices of range of job is clearly sent across.

Lastly, gate-keeping is practised here. In the article, it is reported : One said: ”Any job they offer me, as long as (they don’t mind) my age, I can take (up the job).” The media ensures that only positive views are expressed here. Media gate keepers select issues they feel are most worthy of coverage and give those issues wide attention. They dictate what is to be posted up and will sensor views that are detrimental to the current situation.

 

I have a question: Has the media changed your outlook of the economy?

Speak up!

Week 7: How straightforward can you get.

 -Calvin and Hobbes-

The characters:

Calvin
Calvin is the main character in Calvin and Hobbes and feels, like we all do at 6 years old, that the world revolves around him. He is actually quite a smart kid, he just seems to be lacking some common sense sometimes. Because of this he is constantly getting into trouble and causing havoc.

Susie Derkins
Susie is Calvin’s next door neighbour and absolutely adores Hobbes. She is incredibly smart but doesn’t seem to have many friends, hoping one day to become Calvin’s. Calvin always tries his hardest to get one over on Susie, though this is probably because he likes her.

(taken off from http://www.calvinandhobbes.co.uk/characters.html)

 

In this comic strip….

Calvin approaches Susie, shrieking out loud how unfortunate he is to have to do a report with her. In this case, we can see that it is a low context culture. There is direct expression of unhappiness. Calvin puts the message across to Susie explicitly, in an unambiguious verbal communication style. Next, Susie rebuts in a similar manner. She screams back and clarifies herself. Both parties are free in expressing their emotions.

Because both of them are from a similar background, they probably do not experience cultural barriers to communication. There is no stereotypes or prejudice against each other. In fact, they most likely share similar prejudices against other people. Neither is there anxiety when communicating with each other as having known each other for years, they are comfortable with each other.

The comic strip also showcases individualism, where is there freedom and honesty. Calvin’s behaviour towards Susie is due to his personal goal of wanting to do well for the report. He acts in his own interest by confronting Susie and ignores the harmony of their friendship.

 This is unlike high context cultures which i believe is commonplace nowadays, where parties engage in politeness and ‘face-saving’. As such, there are restricted codes and contextual cues. We often have to deduce what the other party is trying to send across. There is no longer that high degree of freedom of expression. We have to make out each other’s subtle cues and do not find it necessary to spell out messages explicitly. This is because a too direct form of speech may seem rude.

 I find it especailly tedious when talking to people at times. We have to carefully craft out what we want to say. Even to close friends, we often have to practise discretion. Not being able to tell the whole truth for fear of upsetting him/her, yet feeling guilty for hiding facts from a friend. Harbouring good intentions  yet when you say it out, the message sent across isnt as intended. Saying and meaning differently. That happens often doesnt it?! Communication is tricky. Dont you agree?

Its your turn to speak up!

Week 6: The Art of War

A group is “a collection of individuals who, as a result of interacting with one another over time, become interdependent, developing shared patterns of behaviour and a collective identity.” – Trenhom

 

Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang

Zhao Wei as Sun Shangxiang

Leung Chiu as Waias Zhou Yu

Shido Nakamra as Gan Xing

You Yong as Liu Bei

Below is a scene from the movie Red Cliff:

 

(Kindly refer to gallery above for names of character)

(relevant, 0.00 – 1.50 min)
This is a group conversation mainly between Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, with Shangxiang,  General X ( guy with messy hair, no pic, and i’m unsure of his name!), Gan Xing and Liu Bei as backdrops.

The group of generals gather over at the red cliff to discuss their war plan. Zhege Liang and Zhuo Yu debates over what war tactic to use to conquer Cao cao. The concept of group synery, having more heads rather than one means more ideas can be generated and explored, is used here. Groups provide more than do individuals.  People working in groups can pool information from each other and share their individual perspectives. In this case, the generals brainstorm together. They give suggestions to each other’s input and voice out their opinions.

The other advantage of working in groups is the cohesive groups provide support. Because the task of fighting a battle against superpower Cao cao leading the army size which is many times bigger, it is too intimidating for Zhuge liang or Zhou Yu to battle him alone. They thus formed an alliance, combining their forces and offering military support to each other, then they are able to take on the difficult task of attacking Cao cao.

In the process of discussing, general X intervenes. He is outraged and thinks the idea is way too outdated and will not work. He expresses his outrage by throwing the turtle into the water. Through his actions, we can see that conformity does not exist in the gourp. There is no idiosyncrasy credit: a kind of symbolic currency earned through conformity. Group pressure often exist. People, afraid to voice their differing views, often choose to remain silent. This however, is one of the problems of being in a  group.

Because of his rash action of throwing the turtle into the water while expressing his unhappiness, it in fact gave rise to a smart tactic for them to use. We can see that speaking out and not be succumbed by group pressure is indeed a positive point. Next, wilful ShangXiang interfers. She, being a female, is not fully recognised as a member of the group. She is a princess rather than a general. However, she is similarly not afraid of the pressures within the group and often expresses her views whenever she feels there is a need to. Though the views may not be ‘professional’, she does provide certain insights to their discussions. In the movie, she plays many tasks and maintance roles in the group. She is the information seeker ( always poking her nose into issues and asking for clarifications), opinion giver ( expressing her views whenever she likes), energizer ( her bubbly character uplifts the spirit within the group and stimulates greater group activity), encourager ( singing praises whenever a job done) and finally a follower ( keeping updated to the news around).

 

Just a question: What roles do you normally play in a group? Do you succumb to group pressure?

Week 5: Communications in Relationship

In the following scenes:

 

Derek (Guy): Meredith?
Meredith (Woman): Stupid cooly idiotic i can not believe i did this. Stupid…. I could have been at home..Uhh…
Derek : Meredith.
Meredith: Where have you been! And i did this stupid embarrassing humiliating corny….And i was just about to tell you that this over here is our kitchen and this, our living room. I had this whole thing about building a house. And i don’t build houses because I’m a surgeon. And now I’m here feeling like a lame-ass loser….I got whole and heel and you don’t show up. And now its all ruin because you took so long to come home and i couldn’t even find that bottle of champagne
Derek : The kitchen living room, a little too small. And that’s the room the kids are going to play? Where’s our bedroom?
Meredith : I’m still mad at you. And i don’t know if i trust u.i wana trust you. But i don’t know if i do but i’m just going to try. Because i believe we can be extraordinary together rather than ordinary apart…
.
.
.
.
Derek : Stay here…. Don’t move…Wait for me….

Background information:

Derek is a renowned neurosurgeon in Seattle Grace Hospital while Meredith works as a first year resident. Both of them are a couple but recently had broken up due to various issues. The above clip depicts their make-up.

Analysis:

Relational formation and development
 We will first approach the engagement (first contact to richer interpersonal relationship) process of Derek and Meredith. the first reason why both were attracted to each other is probably due to physical appearances,with Derek’s charming and good looking face and Meredith’s slim and shunning demeanor. Physical appearance is known to have its biggest impact in the early stages of a relationship though its impact diminishes with time. In addition, both of them share similar traits and interests. Their social network involves the same circle of friends. Both have the common goal of performing successful operations and being great surgeons. There is also positive exchange (form relationships based on perceptions o the costs and rewards of it) between the two parties. Each enjoys the others company. They go for drinks together, spread the happiness to each other and take pleasure in the physical contact with each other. Not missing out the close proximity (form relationships with people around us) they share in the working in the same hospital. There is greater opportunity for interaction and is constantly in contact. Lastly, competency also has a part to play in this relationship. Meredith is believably attracted to Derek’s capability as a top-notched neurosurgeon. At the same time, he may also be drawn to her ability to withstand the strenuous task of being a doctor.

Relational Maintence Processes
Through self-disclosure, both got to know each other better. This exhibits trust and commitment to the relationship. However, in some cases, Derek felt that Meredith was not confiding in him when she meets with a difficulty. Instead, she looks for her best friend and confidante Christina. As such, more often than not, Derek felt that Meredith was not placing him high up in her heart. This led to many conflicts (which occur due to differences in perception). They quarrel and patch back eventually, just like the scene above.

The Equity Theoryby Messick and Cook states that individuals in relationships seek to maintain a balance of costs and rewards that are relatively equal to those of their partners. The under-benefiting will suffer whilst the over-benefitting will rationalise.

Before thee scene shown above, the couple were in the stages of stagnation, avoiding and even terminating stages. However, much to the delight of most, they managed to rebound to the 5th stage of bonding, the last stage of coming together. As seen in the clip, Meredith has finally agreed to formalise her obligation and commitment to Derek by giving the green light to build a house together with Derek.

 

To end this post, what do you think about communication among people and their relationship status? Do people who communicate well necessarily be in a relationship?

Speak up!

‘Love isn’t blind, it just only sees what matters.’

Week 4: The Wedding Game

The highly-publicized and locally produced “The Wedding Game” (previously known as “The Wedding Of the Year”) is finally airing in the cinemas now. I managed to catch it on the third day of its premiere.

Movie Plot:

“The story begins when Jack (Christopher Lee) publicly proposes to Sue (Fann Wong) during the live telecast of a regional awards show. Surprised but happy, Sue accepts. What the public doesn’t know is that the entire love affair is an elaborate and meticulously planned ruse designed by their ambitious managers May and Tom. In reality, Jack has disliked Sue from the first day they met and vice versa. But through it all, the two stars keep up with the charade. Just when everything is going so well, an incident has rattled some of the fans and the media. There is doubt now lingering about the authenticity of this love match.”

(taken from: http://sg.movies.yahoo.com/The+Wedding+Of+The+Year/movie/15051/)

What i like:

1. The chemistry. We finally manage to catch a glimpse of off-screen lovers Fann Wong and Christopher Lee. The endearing chemistry between the both of them is indeed a plus point. They were also generous in showing off their great bodies and when more clothes had to be put on, they pulled it off just as well.

2. Nice wedding outfits. The wide array of wedding costumes that Fann Wong tried on in the movie was something that caught my eyes. She carried them well too.

What i dislike:

1. Bad jokes. The jokes in this movie are so lame and corny that whenever a joke is cracked, i found myself either rolling my eyes, giving a smirk, or even asking myself  ‘What? Is that meant to be a joke?’.  Maybe  i failed on my part to comprehend the joke. But observing the audiences and their reactions(despite the darkness), i sensed that i was not the only one who felt so.

2. Advertisement staring at the face. Very poor product placement. The intensive sponsors’ advertisement was an eye sore to the audience. In a few scenes, cans of New Moon Abalone was distinctively placed in front of the camera, one of which  two rows of abalone were parading on the kitchen tabletop.  It was overly done, if only they could practise subtleness.

3. “Un-professionalism”. The storyline is overly predictable. Anyone could easily guess what the happening was going to be like. Also, it was too ‘Singapore’. Sentences were punctuated with singapore slangs and singlish. They should cut down on it to cater to a larger mass of audience. The scenes were cut off too abruptly, bringing us to this ‘angel-devil’ scene which was lame and had a aweful backdrop.

 

I found myself cracking my head to come out with positive critics for this film whilst the negative ones flowed out quite easily. Overall, i rate this movie a mere 2 stars. My advice to you, do not watch it unless you’re a crazy fan of Fann Wong or Christopher Lee.

A question: What do you think of the standard of locally-produced movies?

 

Feel free to speak!

Week 2: RIP

Grotesque as the picture of a tombstone on this first post may seem… What I want to blog about is this visit to a funeral a few days back.

Upon entering the hall, immediately, tears welled up in my eyes. It was uncontrollable and natural.  The kairos (occassion), audience and decorum were all tuned towards the funeral setting. And it hit me, and the others present too i believe.

For the first ten minutes, I kept quiet as i wasnt in a mood to talk. A person’s mood at the moment affect his/her way of communicating with people. There are times whereby we choose to remain silent. Or rather, it would be better to not speak, lest the message gets sent across wrongly and miscommunication arises. Throughout my stay, i observed the people around me and thought in my head the reasons for their individual behaviors.

 

Here is the analysis of what i observed from the various characters present :

Guy X ( brother of deceased): He played host and attended to the different groups present. He communicated well with everyone and eased the awkwardness. Good communication makes people feel comfortable.

Man X ( dad of decreased): He sat in a corner, not making much contact with the surrounding people or interacting with them. They say he’s a man, even though he’s depressed over the lost of a loved one, he had to put on a brave front. From a pragmatic perspective, silence is part of communication. He chose to keep to himself and not speak up. He sent the message across very strongly that he did not wish to talk. As communicators, we learn to work our way through, ie. to leave him alone for it is the best thing to do at that moment. This is because one way communication is not effective.

Women X (mother of deceased): She was shaken by the lost. She tried to suppress her saddness as much as possible. However, whenever anyone sent their regard to her, asking if she’s coping well etc, she sobbed.  I too was trying to hold back by eyes when i approached her. I gave a pat on her shoulder and nodded. Though there were no exchange of words, we both knew what each other meant. She once again teared. This form of communication dues largely with emotions (pathos). This incident reminds me of another situation: A child gets injured in school and his teacher rings up a parent. The boy initially is not crying but upon hearing his mum’s voice on the phone, he starts sobbing. Simple words, when communicated correctly, can stir up lots of emotions from within.

 

 

 

Guys speak up!