I would like to have attended the NO MAS FARC protest in Boston because I think it is for a really good cause and I think as many people as possible should have joined to get the point across. However, I had to work today and as a college student I could not afford to take the day off of work or to pay for the gas to get there. If I was at home I definietly would have joined in on the protest, but due to the circumstances I was unable to. I think that the information given about No MAS FARC was very interesting because I had never heard of this organization before. I think it is important for people to understand world issues like this which is why I think it would be beneficial to attend a protest like this one. I was not able to attend the protest today but am interested in learning more about the event and the organization.
Feeback for Me..
May 7, 2008 at 6:16 pm | Posted in Small Group Communication | Leave a commentHonestly, I was a little surprised when I read the feedback from my peers. Obviously some of it I could acknowledge, because like all students, I had my lapses from time to time, but for a few of the comments I was literally shocked. First, I thought it was somewhat amusing to say some of the things that were said and would be happy to clarify it with anyone who feels that way, but other than that I did not think that people would go out of their way to judge their classmates in such a spiteful way. This is only in regards to a few of the comments, which I believe to be by the same person, but nonetheless it was a little surprising and they seem to have taken all of my attention. According to the Receiver’s Fact from What Did You Say? Giving and Receiving Feedback by Seashore, Seashore, and Weinstein Receiver’s Fact, “The receiver is totally in control of feedback, but the control is not necessarily conscious”. I definitely agree with the idea that typically, the person being evaluated is being evaluated on accurate terms that they may or may not know. I guess one could say that they do not always know how others perceive them however, before I received this peer feedback I would have said I slightly disagree with that. I think that the control in a given situation should be conscious because you should be conscious of the way you are acting. I was definitely conscious to the fact that no one in the class ever told me they had a problem with the type of work I put in in class, so that seems to be the unconscious control coming into play. I guess that I can understand that your feedback is a portrayal of the work you have done in class, but I do not think that that feedback is necessarily accurate. People may have some perception of the receiver that they really can’t justify and would be better off just not saying, but obviously things don’t always go the way they should. I could say that I wish I said more nasty things in the feedback to our peers but I can’t. Honestly I do not think it is my place to go out of my way to say negative things about someone that I barely can say I know. That is why I stuck to evaluating my peers that I believe excelled or really brought something good to the table and the class rather than lashing out with ridiculous comments about others.
Other than those few feedbacks I received I would say that the other feedback, both negative and positive, will definitely help me in the future to be a more productive and effective group member. I think I am able to realize how I can make myself a better group member in the future by fixing some of my flaws from this class. I think this class was a great learning opportunity, and although I do not believe all the evaluations to be accurate, I can say that the overall idea of it is beneficial to every student.
HMMM WHAT KIND OF GROUP MEMBER AM I?? I’D SAY FABULOUSLY FUNCTIONAL..
May 4, 2008 at 10:44 pm | Posted in Small Group Communication | Leave a comment1.) The quality and amount of group production is the responsibility of the group.
TRUE
2.) I am a member of the group.
TRUE
3.) The quality and amount of group production is my responsibility.
TRUE
4.) Goal-setting is a responsibility that I share.
TRUE. I work with my group and we set dates and times to meet together and figure out when and what we will be accomplishing for the week.
5.) I have been instrumental in marshalling resources for the group.
TRUE. I have gathered information, pictures, and videos for our group Wiki project as well as worked with my other members on finishing tasks.
6.) Members are more important to groups than leaders.
FALSE. I believe that they are equally important in a group.
7.) I am using this class to satisfy my individual and group-irrelevant needs.
FALSE
8.) To be a member in a group means I have to take on one or more roles.
TRUE
9.) If I am in a group, I am either a functional member or an un- or dys-functional member.
TRUE
10.) Our class/group has all the roles necessary to achieve optimum group growth and productivity.
TRUE. I think our class has the ability to achieve a lot. We have learned a lot about eachother and have progressed a great deal throughout the semester as a group.
11.) Our class/group has not yet generated effective work on the problem of role-requiredness.
FALSE. I believe that we have all fallen into certain roles whether intentionally or not. We all have specific roles, which are contributing to our class and our group’s final project.
12.) My role(s) in the class/group and different sub-group teams has changed depending on the stage of development. If false, why not, and what does having a static, unchanging role “do” to or for the group?
FALSE. I believe that although some people have taken on new roles, we have all kept similar roles that we designated ourselves with in the beginning.
13.) Improving the group’s quality of functioning requires diagnosing role requirements needed at the current stage of development.
TRUE
14.) I am unsure how to diagnose role requirements needed by my sub-group team
FALSE
15.) I have role flexibility.
TRUE. I have been the recorder when our Shein Team group was observing the fishbowls. I have been the elaborator in my UMass Wiki Traditions group when Angela and I initially came up with the idea and set tasks for ourselves and the team. I have been the energizer in one of the final fishbowls about what our Wiki page was actually going to be about and the need to make a FINAL decision quick
16.) Developing role flexibility is an important objective of group member training. The three roles I flex among the most are: a)ELABORATOR, b) ENERGIZER and c) RECORDER. My decision to flex is based upon: I ENJOY THESE ROLES THE BEST AND FEEL THAT I AM TAKING A REAL AND IMPORTANT PART IN THE GROUP WITH THESE ROLES. AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE IN OUR SHEIN TEAMS AND WIKI GROUP WHEN I HAVE SWITCHED BETWEEN THESE DESIGNATED ROLES
17.) My personality and the role(s) I play in groups are the same thing.
FALSE
18.) I never find myself resisting the retraining required to be a functional group member.
TRUE. I obviously experience tension and anxiety at certain times, I think everyone does, but I am able to work through it.
19.) I am highly sensitive to criticism about my functional role in a group.
FALSE
20.) I will do anything possible to make sure everyone feels good, even if it means producing an inferior product.
FALSE
21.) I am sensitive to the operation of member roles in our class/group and in my sub-group teams.
TRUE
22.) I am aware of and conscious about my own proficiency in different functional roles.
TRUE
23.) I can identify several functional roles in any group.
TRUE
24.) I can match the roles required to the stage of development a group is in.
TRUE
25.) I can assess what role I can play best based on changing requirements for the group.
TRUE
Interactive Johari
April 7, 2008 at 10:57 am | Posted in Small Group Communication | Leave a commentHere’s the link to give me some feedback:
Look Me In The Eye
March 31, 2008 at 4:03 pm | Posted in Small Group Communication | 1 Comment“The image I had was a book about truth and integrity, with looking someone in the eye traditionally being a visual clue of honesty.”I didn’t think twice! If I were to think I would assume he is angry for the fact that people don’t look him in the eye when they talk to him.”“…unable to look others in the eye. He cannot connect with people the same way I can when I look someone in the eyes.”There are so many different angles when considering eye contact but many people believe one thing to be true when during conversation or all types of interaction. Usually when people are debating lies from the truth and important conversations they use eye contact as a detector. Eye contact is thought of as being very important because usually it can indicate whether a person is being truthful with others or it lets you really understand the person you are speaking with. Although it does not seem like just eyes would be able to do this they seem to tell stories by expression. A person’s ability to make direct eye contact seems to be very important in our culture. In all three of the quotes I chose the author acknowledged that eye contact shows integrity and truth as well as the fact that it enables people to connect with eachother and know that the other party is interested in the conversation or problem at hand. I think that eye contact is very important when determining when people are actually telling the truth or are involved in a conversation. I do not think that this is true in all cultures, but in our culture men and women, in any combination, looking eachother directly in the eye shows respect and involvement. It is true that you can not have the same type of conversation with people if you do not look them in the eye because it is very important in our society. I do not see any strong connections between these three quotes and the Writing Sideways post but I am sure that Steph had some idea of how to connect the two when she asked our opinion in this reply. I will be interested to see what she or other students have to say about that issue.
Looks Like We’re Heading In The Right Direction..
March 31, 2008 at 12:09 pm | Posted in Small Group Communication | Leave a comment
After reading everyone’s opinions about what direction our Course Wiki should be taking I came to a conclusion, the majority of people want to focus on different subjects but they also agree that it should be comprised of many different personal pages that touch a variety of subjects that students can relate to. There has been a lot of talk through our class posts about the particular topics people want to talk about. I think it is awesome that there are so many different activities and interest that we can touch on through the students in our class. There have been topics mentioned such as skydiving, fraternities, academics and majors, clubs, and pottery which will all be beneficial to future readers and are interesting to many of the students in our class. I think that after reading everyone’s ideas about the Wiki that this seems to be the final decision, it is no survival guide but it is personal experience which may help others to become interested in these same activities in the future. I do not think everyone should have to have a personal page as long as we have a good amount of personal or group pages on certain topics with different point of views for each. We will need to finalize the details for this project but it seems to be an overall consensus that this is the way are class is heading towards making the Comm. 352 Class Wiki.
Personal Involvement In Our Class Wiki
March 23, 2008 at 2:45 pm | Posted in Small Group Communication | Leave a commentI would really like to have my own personal page on our class Wiki like other students have proposed however, I do not think that academically I can focus on any particular subject enough to make it beneficial to the public. I am a communication major but the aspect of communication I am interested in for the future UMass does not offer particcular courses for that so I am not familiar enough with that subject to write and provide an informative Wiki for. I can not pick a subject like film or pottery because I do not have an interest like that in the UMass community to write about. I am interested in Marketing and have some experience with that now for work, but for UMass the only major that offers that is SOM which I was unable to declare, therefore, I can not elaborate too indepth on that subject. I would love to offer a private page for the UMass community to learn from on a particular subject but I do not feel that I can do that so, instead, I would like the class to come up with general and specific subjects that different students with different backgrounds may be able to touch upon. Myspace links do similar things to this with their blogrolls and blogposts and I think we could make our Wiki a clean, edited, and educational form of that.
Where are all the liberals?
March 10, 2008 at 11:39 am | Posted in Small Group Communication | 2 Comments
I have unpacked the term “liberal” which seems to play a dominant role in my education experience, and lifestyle at home and at school. “Liberal” as defined by many dictionary sources is:
*Broad: showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
*Having political or social views favoring reform and progress tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition; a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties
*Big: given or giving freely; “was a big tipper”; “the bounteous goodness of God”; “bountiful compliments”; “a freehanded host”; “a handsome allowance
*A person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets
*Liberalism refers to a broad array of related doctrines, ideologies, philosophical views, and political traditions, which hold that individual liberty is the primary political value.
*In the US political spectrum, “liberals” are said to be slightly left-of-center or somewhat left-of-center. Of the two main political parties, the Democrats are thought to be more liberal, as the term is currently defined.
*Political or social views that put a great emphasis on creating new social patterns or values, often with the help of direct government action. Political view that supports gradual change and government spending to assist lower classes in society. *Traditionally, the word liberal means to be open to new ideas and tolerant of others. To be liberal politically, is to emphasize political and economic freedom. They tend to favor gradual changes in society and promote government programs to solve problems. *Political viewpoint with origins in Western Europe during the 19th century; stressed limited state interference in individual life, representation of propertied people in government; urged importance of constitutional rule and parliaments.
The term “liberal” definitely proves to be a mark of the culture I have lived in for a long time. It is representative of the rights, opportunities, or freedoms restricted to those who define their lifestyle as “liberal”. People from different areas of the world may associate those who consider themselves a “liberal” or lead a “liberal” lifestyle in a biased way. It is evident that this term proves to often serve as a political reference, which often creates controversy because of strongly opposing viewpoints. I attend Umass Amherst, which is known to the public as a “liberal” school in its methods of teaching, viewpoints and lifestyle of people living in the surrounding area, and even the income and sexual preferences seem to match up with what “liberals” more often embrace. Teachers who pride themselves on being “liberal” in their ideas, beliefs, and lifestyle have taught many of my classes as a Communications Major. In political reference, the definition of liberal, which states, “Traditionally, the word liberal means to be open to new ideas and tolerant of others. To be liberal politically, is to emphasize political and economic freedom. They tend to favor gradual changes in society and promote government programs to solve problems” seems to be the side of the spectrum that I follow. It is apparent that many people at this University seem to have similar viewpoints, which also dubs UMass a liberal based school by definition. However, it is wrong to assume that all those who characterize themselves as a “liberal” believe in and follow all the levels of its definition. It is wrong to place stereotypes on people based on the mess created by simple words.
In this basic definition of “liberal” I hope all those reading understand my liberal perspectives as well as those associated with the creation of these definitions and free spirited way of life and will excuse my, as well as much of UMass Amherst’s, political and personal view if it does not adhere to their own.
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February 5, 2008 at 2:18 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 CommentWelcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!
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