Final week post 3

Pick one other concept in the book that you feel needs further discussion? (You can choose from ANY chapter in the book).

The concept I want to discuss further is about interpersonal communication on chapter 6. I have an interest especially on public scrutiny test. It states,

1. Am I personally proud of this action?
2. Am I comfortable with this decision?
3. Would I feel uncomfortable or embarrassed if this decision were known to my colleagues, friends, spouse, or children?

I should write down these questions and put on a wall because I sometimes don’t have confidence on what I am doing.
However, I think people need some exceptions. For example, I have an experience taking a day off at my part-time job because I really wanted to go my friends’ farewell party. I should have scheduled my time in advance, but I called my job on that day and told them that I got sick. I knew this was irresponsible and I didn’t feel comfortable lying to my boss. On the other hand, I told myself, “It’s just a part-time job. There are other people working today so it’ll be ok”, and couldn’t give up going to the farewell party.

I wonder what you would do in a situation like this.

Final week post 2

What concept/s in this class have you found most interesting? What was it about that concept/s that you found interesting?

The concepts I found most interesting is cultural distance (pg. 360). It was very interesting to see that the textbook stated Japan and the U.S as an example of one of the most culturally different countries. When I think about it, there were differences, such as languages, behaviors, foods, beliefs, and so on. However, when I was in the U.S., I didn’t feel much difference between those two countries. When I first went to the U.S., I was sad not because I got a cultural shock, but because I missed my family and friends. After making friends in the U.S., I was totally ok being in a different country. Thus, I think people are somewhat adaptive in born because if we are not, we are not be able to survive. We eat when we are hungry, we smile when we are happy, and we struggle when there are concerns and problems. Even though languages, beliefs, and behaviors are different in different cultures, I believe we are more similar than different in basics.

Final week post 1

Which of the research methods listed in Table 13.3 seem the most interesting? Assume you want to study some aspect of deception. Frame a research question. Which method would you choose to answer the question. Why?

I am interested in ethnography the most among research methodologies because this is what I have learned in my anthropology major.
An interesting research question would be, “How people react when they realized that they are deceived?”
We can do ethnography outside of the U.S, and find out cultural differences between the U.S. and another country. However, this research would be difficult since finding “deceptive situations” is not an easy thing. Maybe we can do a research at a police station and observe people who came. Some good aspects of ethnography are that we can see real reactions or words from people. We never know what kind of new findings about cultures will emerge.

week 13 post 3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

The textbook asks, “Do the media create desires, or do they simply give the public what it wants?” (303)

I agree with both opinions.
The one side, limited effects model and obstinate audience theory states that viewers are not passive but have power to interpret messages by their own (303). I partially agree with this view. For example, these days in Japan, there are lots of news about food security. It started from frozen dumplings from China that contained poisonous chemicals. Then, almost once or twice a month, there were news about food, such as noodles, cheese, and sweets that that were found with toxic chemicals inside. People, especially housewives’ responds to these news were so great that consumptions of these products were decreased dramatically. Furthermore, people started check where products were made when they go grocery shopping, and choose products from farms where they can trust. Thus, when I go to a grocery store, I can see detailed descriptions of farms, such as place, a name of farm and even names of farmers.

I don’t think a topic about food security has been picked up so much because media wanted to do so. I rather think it has been picked up because viewers showed a lot of interest on that topic.

I also agree with the other side, powerful effects model (303). It happens every day that TV picks up one incident exaggeratedly, but the topic is swept away by another incident on the next day. For example, there was a news about a group of mysterious people with full of white clothes walking in a mountain. All the TV news were about the group all day on that day, and reported that the group might be a cult group and dangerous. Next day, the news was gone and different news were broadcasted. I wondered, “What happened to the white clothes group?” I felt that TV is really a gatekeeper of issues, and we are passive and have no control choosing what we should know about.

week 13 post 2

Do you agree with Marshall McLuhan that the medium is the message, i.e. that the format or logic of a medium is as important as its content and, in fact, determines what content will be broadcast through that channel? Evaluate his idea that television is a cool medium.

I agree with Marshall McLuhan. TV is a cool medium because it gives us very detail information along with sounds and pictures. If the same topic is on a magazine or newspaper, it would be differently detailed contents from different perspectives.
If TV doesn’t change its picture or a topic, then we will get bored instantly. In recent years in Japan, I realized that many TV channels put a counting time in a corner of TV few seconds before changing its subject. I think this is a good tactic because it makes viewers to stay on the channel.
As the textbook stated, through television, we are used to get information in a short and rapid pace (308). Not only television but also internet changed our way of perceive messages dramatically. Now a day, we can check almost all news on TV though internet too. We can literally access information anywhere anytime. I am sure this new style to access information has changed our way to see the world. For example, we can vote or send opinions to media easily though internet. We can also exchange our ideas about social issues on internet too. This might change our perception of news that we can present our ideas more easily, and might be less passive towards information.

week 13 post1

Have you made friendships that exist exclusively in cyberspace? If so, how are they different from f2f relationships? If you have not formed cyber relationships, why not?

I have never made friendships that exist exclusively in cyberspace. I have an experience talking with someone online through Skype, but the conversation was only for that moment because I just wanted to kill time at that time. It would be troublesome for me if the person online kept talking to me every week like my real friends because I don't want to spend my time for people in cyberspace. I also feel that it is unsecure to talk with people online because I cannot talk to them face to face, and there is no way to know who the person really is. Thus, if I have a trouble or something to concern, I would talk to my friends who I already know rather than people online.

I have a friend who tries to find a romantic partner in a different country through Skype. Once he got a girlfriend through Skype, but after a while, his “girlfriend” said to him that she doesn’t want to talk to him anymore and he lost contact with her. He was hurt, but my friend and I didn’t know what to say to him because we didn't think it is a good idea to find a girlfriend through Skype for the first place.
On the other hand, I think it is a good idea to find a romantic partner online through a specialized internet site, such as match.com or harmony.com. This is because these sites can be used as an opportunity to find a partner. They can actually meet, and then be a couple if they liked each other. They can see each other, so I think it is more real and safer than being together just inside the cyberspace.

Week 12 post 2

Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

I found the Organizational Chart: Campus Safety Department at XYZ University especially interesting. Before I read this chapter, I never realized that there are three kinds of flows: downward flow, upward flow, and horizontal flow.
I am working at a cake shop, and I really feel a good utilization of these flows is necessary for organizations. My coworkers and my job is to sell cakes at a shop. Our boss/chef sends cakes to the cake shop from a factory that is 20 minutes away by a car. Thus, our boss is always at the factory making cakes and creating new cakes, so he rarely comes to the shop. Since he doesn’t have time to sell cakes, we (the sellers) know more about actual reactions from the customers towards our cakes than the chef.

There are meetings where we can exchange our ideas and the idea of the chef, but it takes place only once few months. Sometimes the chef sends cakes a lot more than we can sell in a day. Sometimes we run out cakes when there are lot more customers who want to buy. I want to suggest to my boss, that we should strength our upward flow so we can sell our cakes more efficiently.

Week 12 post 3

Review the etiquette rules suggested in the text. Respond to each one. Have you ever been bothered by cell phone, answering machines, or beepers? What do you feel about call waiting? Is it rude to put people on hold to take another call?

I think etiquette for cellular phones should be followed not only in business settings but also in other occasions. In Japan, text messaging is more common than talking. I don’t like my friend text messaging to someone when we are having conversation because I feel bad talking to her and destructing her. If there are other friends, maybe one of them can text message, but if there are only two people, I think it is rude for the other.
I also believe it is rude to put people on hold to take another call. I think we should call the person back after finish talking with the current person.

As for etiquette for answering machines, I agree with the textbook. It is okay to make jokes among friends, but making jokes on business answering machines is deadly. I also think when we are leaving a message, we should inform the person if he/she should call us back after the message.

During a conference call, we need to be especially cautious for telling a joke. A conference call is a serious and a professional situation, so we should behave as professional as possible.

I think we need to be very careful for etiquette for faxes because as the textbook states, “a fax may be seen by many people in an office” (242). I also call the would-be recipient to make sure that he/she received the fax if the fax is important.

Timing our communications is also important. I see some people use cell phone while they drive, but it is extremely dangerous. I also think business calls at night and weekends should be avoided.

I agree with the textbook that screen names and ring tones should be appropriate. When I wrote resume, I was always told that I need to create a new e-mail account or change e-mail address that is appropriate for professional settings.

Week 12 post 1

How are organizations tied to the environment? What is the relationship between the school you attend and the city or town in which it is situated? What, if any, ethical obligations does an organization like a college or university have to the local community?

The textbook states, “Organizations depend on their surroundings for resources and energy” (215). I think this is very true. For example, our school, San Jose State University is using some of the important functions thanks to its particular region, Silicon Valley. As the city, San Jose, has grown to be one of the most advanced cities in a field of technology, SJSU also has grown to be the university that has modern technologies. Using e-mails to contact with professors and other students is a typical way of communication in classes for us, and using laptop computers instead of taking notes in a class is also common in these days at SJSU. These things we take it for granted in SJSU aren’t always there in other schools. The university near my hometown in Japan doesn’t have these functions that SJSU has, such as Blackboard and online courses. We cannot use internet in a café either in my hometown. It is the environment that made possible for SJSU to utilize the advanced technologies on campus.
An organization has ethical obligations to the local community. Since SJSU and San Jose State University is deeply related each other, SJSU has ethical obligations to the city and the community. One of the examples is sending graduated students to local companies. Some of the students who learned IT at SJSU should work in Santa Clara region. If all of the students got jobs in different regions, the city cannot grow anymore nor get benefit of having SJSU.

week 11 post3

I found autonomy-togetherness dialectic interesting in this chapter. I sometimes found myself in trouble because I wanted too much closeness with my friends, roommates, and a romantic partner. I am always happy to disclosure myself to people who are close to me, and I also want to know them as much as I can. I believe, by disclosing myself, or sharing experiences, feelings, and concerns, I can get closer to them and get along with them better. I like a relationship and a bonding I create with others.

However, I noticed that some people don’t like to disclose themselves to others as much as I do. One of my former roommates became a good friend of mine. I really liked her, and enjoyed hanging out with her. However, I tried to talk to her not as much as I want because I sometimes felt that she wants to keep her privacy and time. I understood her, but I was little sad because I always love to spend time with other people.

I think knowing the autonomy-togetherness dialectic is extremely important for interpersonal communication. If we want to keep a good relationship with our friends or partners, we need to sense and respect the way they prefer to relate with others.

week 11 post 2

Think about the filters you use to eliminate people from consideration as potential romantic partners. What characteristics or behaviors lead you to judge others as unattractive? Does Duck's theory make sense to you? Have you ever eliminated someone by using a sociological or pre-interaction cue only to reconsider them based on interaction and cognitive cues?

I agree with Duck’s attraction filter theory. The other day, my male friend told me that he has two guys he can introduce for me. He said, “The first one is good-looking, and the second one is not good-looking. Both are kind but the second one is more kind than the first one. So which one do you want me to introduce?” I thought I am the person who doesn’t care about appearance, but I chose the good-looking guy. Even though a personality is my first priority for choosing a romantic partner, I also judge appearance and eliminate guys using pre-interaction cues.

I also agree with the Duck’s idea of sociological or incidental cues that states, “maintaining contact with someone thousands of miles away is extremely difficult” (158). When I went to the U.S., I have seen many couples separated in the U.S. and Japan. Most of them couldn’t keep their relationships. I believe physical proximity is a big factor for choosing our friends and romantic partners. Thanks to advanced technologies we have today, we can talk or see each other using computers. However, I don’t want to find my partner overseas. Even if I found someone who has cognitive cues in another country, I don’t want to be with the guy unless he will come to Japan or I have happen to go there. This is because sharing the time is an important factor to choose my romantic partner.

week 11 post 1

Which pattern (rigid complementarity, competitive symmetry, or submissive symmetry) do you think would be the most difficult to change? Why? Which would be the most damaging to a relationship? Which would be the most potentially damaging to the self-esteem of the individuals involved?　　

I think rigid complementarity is the most difficult to change. This is because the roles we are given based on our characteristics are hard to change. I think this pattern is the least damaging to a relationship because if the roles fit to partners’ characteristics, their relationships can be balanced out.

On the other hand, I think competitive symmetry is the most damaging to a relationship. In this pattern, “both members fight for the one-up position” (148). Thus, their characteristics tend to be both aggressive so it is hard to negotiate or understand each other. For example, I have an experience being stressed out by my friend. I didn’t like her idea where to go eat, but she didn’t like my place either. I followed her decision because I rather become patient than fight back to her. However, I was very stressed out because she didn’t even consider my idea or feeling. After this, we hung out few more times, but couldn’t keep the friendship because she was the person who wanted be the one-up position, but I wasn’t the person who can allow it.

Finally, I think submissive symmetry is damaging to the self-esteem of the individuals involved because one might feel the other is being careless to her/him. I think the best way is not to say, “You decide,” but to ask, “Do you have any idea where to go eat?”

In either pattern, I believe “to think as if I am in the other’s position” is the most efficient way to solve dysfunctional patterns in interpersonal communication.

week 9 post 3

I found Table 12.2: Rules to increase Cooperation between Collectivists and Individualists on page 354 extremely interesting. At first, I wasn’t sure if cultures can be simply divided by two sides: individualism and collectivism. However, after examining characteristics of these two terms, I thought they are very true. For example, Table 12.2 states that when interacting with collectivists, “Feel free…to disclose your age and salary.” In Japan, knowing others’ age is so important that people never keep their age unknown after they meet. They ask either the person directly or others afterwards so they can behave appropriately to the person. They also feel safe knowing others ages because age is a big clue to define one’s identity.
When I worked at an office in the U.S., nobody asked my age on the day I started, but everyone was behaving each other equally and friendly. Human characteristics were more important than ages. I could relax more because I didn’t need to worry about ages and using different words for older people.
Interesting thing is that most friends I made in the U.S. were different ages from mine, including Japanese friends I made in the U.S. However, my friends in Japan are all the same age with me. There are a younger worker and an older worker that I want to be friends at my work, but since they are in different age groups, I feel an invisible wall between us. I think we will feel awkward if we became friends. It seems seeing one as a belonging of a certain age group makes people difficult to get close in collective cultures.
I learned in a different class that when we wake up in a morning, we first process our identity as a human, and then we process if we are a man or a woman. In Japan, I think age comes up before a man or a woman. I am now 23, and 90 percent of the time, my same age girl friends talk about when they want to get married, their plans for marriage, or who got married. I got bored for the marriage topic because marriage is not my prior concern now. I realized that in a collective culture, being a certain age is so critical and different from being any other ages because of particular expectations for that age.

week 9 post 2

Do you believe in the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premises? What social institutions and practices are based on these beliefs?

I partly agree with the rationality premise. Most of the time, we can live our lives without worries because there is a trust between people. As the textbook states, “most people” (353) will give back things that they borrowed. However, I think fewer than “most people” is behaving irrational now a days. Some people consciously betray “trust” and try to get benefits. So many people lose logical analysis before benefits. Yes, there are polices and juries who are there because we trust them, but we cannot say for sure that they really can be trusted.

I don’t agree with perfectibility premise. I believe people are born to good. When we heard a sad story about a person, we cry for him because we feel sorry. If someone is falling down, our body unconsciously move to catch him. It is not something we “put effort and control” (353) to do these things. I believe we all naturally have goodness.

As for mutability premise, I also believe that human behavior is shaped by biological factors too. For example, I learned in a human sexuality class that men and women’s different behaviors are shaped by both biological and environmental factors. However, I think environmental factors shape our lives a lot. Thus, I agree with the idea of universal education that by giving healthy physical and psychological circumstances, people can grew up to be healthy people.

week 9 post 1

Do you agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are "creatures of our culture" and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture? If so, how can we break through the limits of our culture?

I agree with Ruth Benedict’s idea that we are “creatures of our culture.” Many Asian countries put importance on family tie, so the family is prior importance for me. Eating rice everyday is also Japanese culture so is my culture. There are many beliefs, habits, and impossibilities I have that are created by Japanese culture. However, there are some aspects that I don’t agree with Japanese culture. That is the traditional rule called, “a customer is a king.”

I think Japanese customer service is the best in the world. After I came back to Japan a half year ago, I called a customer service for my cell phone and online shopping. I got a reverse cultural shock for their “a customer is a king” attitudes because in the U.S., I was used to been transferred a person to a person and not getting any solutions in the end.
Good customer services make my life convenient and easy, but I think Japanese customer service is too good that I sometimes feel awkward for their attitudes. A week ago, my earphone for a laptop didn’t work so I called a customer service for help. An operator answered the phone immediately, and helped me out for about forty minutes explaining step by step and very kindly where to download stuff and how to try if it is working. The earphone got fixed, and I thanked for the operator, but she repeated, “No, no, I am sorry to take your time. Thank you so much.” I was puzzled because I felt like my appreciation couldn’t be accepted by her.
It is good feeling to be a customer in Japan, but when I be the other side, it is very tiring and stressful. I work at a cake shop, and “a customer is a king” culture is an unsaid rule in here too. When a customer paid by 5000 yen bill (a 50 dollar bill), we have to put the money on a board because if the customer said something like, “I gave you a 10000 yen bill”, we cannot say anything back to the customer. The workers have to stop taking and what they are doing if customers came into the shop. Japanese sellers respect customers so much (at least on the surface), that I feel there is a big distance between sellers and customers. I think sellers in the U.S. are more friendly and flexible.

As the textbook mentions about intercultural identity (page 349), I believe by experiencing other cultures, we can break through the limits of our culture. I see my co-workers are hardworking and polite to the customers, but I sometimes think they can be more relaxed and feel closer to the customers. I believe I see Japanese culture more objectively than before because I have an experience living in different countries.

week 7 post 3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

Japanese people usually avoid body touch. But I like hugging and shaking hands. When I meet my friends I haven’t seen for a while or farewell my friends, I feel like I want to hug them, but since Japanese culture don’t have such a custom, I don’t do it in Japan. However, I think hugging and shaking hands are natural nonverbal communications for humans.

I remember my grandfather gave me a strong hand shake every time we farewell. He lived far away with my grandmother, so I could only see him once or twice a year. Since my childhood, he never forgot to shake my hand when he say goodbye to me. To be honest, I didn’t like to shake hand with him when I was a child. But when I think about it, now I understand seeing a grandchild must have been a precious thing for him. Maybe, he felt very sad every time my family goes back to our home.
He passed away several years ago, but when I recall him, I see his smile and the warm and strong hand shake. Actually, he was a very strict person, and I was scared him, but from the hand shake, I felt his kindness and love for me. I believe it is because of the hand shake we had that makes me feel that I am close to him and my memory about him more vivid.

week 7 post 2

Although nonverbal messages are more universal than verbal messages, nonverbals do not always carry the same meanings in other cultures. Can you give examples of some of the nonverbal displays that take on different meanings in other countries? If you have moved around within this country, have you ever encountered regional differences in nonverbal meaning?

There are many nonverbal displays that take on different meanings in the world. When I talked with people from all over the world, I encountered some differences of nonverbal communications. One of the examples is when I talked with my friend from Egypt. When we were talking, I rested my elbow on the table and supported my head. In Japan, when friends are relaxed or talking very deeply, we sometimes do this pose. It shows that one is listening into the other. However, my friend seeing my posture asked me, “Do you have a headache?” I was surprised for her reaction because I have never thought about others perceiving this posture as “having a headache.”

The other example is that when I went to the U.S. for the first time. I remember I got a cultural shock for people’s use of gestures. In Japan, we don’t move our hands so much when we talk. However, in the U.S. people constantly move their hands when they talk. At first time, I thought they are upset or very emotional. However, after couple of months, I learned hand motions are part of the way they talk. It helps people to express themselves.

The differences of nonverbal displays are confusing at first, but very interesting to compare them. I learned that when I travel other countries, I shouldn’t make a judgment on others based on the first impression of their nonverbal displays. This is because I never know what the nonverbal displays mean in their country.

week 7 post 1

Because nonverbal messages can be ambiguous, they are open to misinterpretation. Have you ever been wrong about the meaning of someone's nonverbal message? Describe what happened. How can people increase the accuracy with which they interpret nonverbal messages.

According to the textbook, people’s orientations of time and space bring nonverbal messages (pg.122).
Before I read the textbook, I have never recognized that differences of time orientations can bring us difficulty to understand each other. I am a future-oriented person (pg.123). I like to make a plan, and I rarely am late because I always check a time when a train leaves and move accordingly. I also have never been late to submit assignments because I plan when to finish multiple assignments to different due dates. My friend often comes late. She misses a train a lot, and I see her being rushed time to time. When she is late, I get little irritated. I think, “Why doesn’t she prepare beforehand.” I thought she comes late because she doesn’t care so much about letting someone wait.

However, according to the textbook, maybe it isn’t the only case. I think my friend is a present, fatalism-oriented person. She doesn’t assume how long it takes for what she is doing. It seems even she did assume the time, things don’t go accordingly.
Now when I think about it, every time she is late, she doesn’t look like she didn’t care about me waiting at a station. From now on, I will tell myself, “It is a difference of time orientations.”

As I learned about my friend’s time orientation, to reduce the misunderstandings of nonverbal messages, we need to be aware of time, space, and territory differences that others have. I remember my brother got mad when I read his comic books when we were children. I couldn’t understand it because it is totally ok for me if others read my comic books, watch my movies or use my pens, especially among my family. However, we all need to keep in our mind that the advice from the textbook; “things don’t bother us doesn’t mean that they don’t bother others” (pg.136).

week 6 post3

Pick one concept from the assigned readings that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

The concept I found interesting is low-context cultures and high-context cultures (96). As the textbook states, English is a good example of low-context cultures, which people speak clearly and in detail. On the other hand, Japanese is a typical example of high-context cultures. Yes, we use “maybe” “about” and “I hope…” a lot. There is a famous idiom in Japanese, “Ishin-denshin.” This means that we understand each other without language. It is a virtue in Japan to guess or read what others are feeling or wants to say without hearing a lot from them. It shows a care for others, and is an evidence of intimacy for people those who are close or a couple.

These cultural differences brought me difficulties to write essays in English. Every time I ask a writing advisor to review my essays, she told me, “What is ‘that’?”, “Who are ‘they’?”, and “What do you mean by this? Be more specific!” When I explained in more detail about what I wrote, she always told me, “Very good, why didn’t you write down how you just explained to me?”
The other day, my brother asked me to translate his Japanese essay to English for his English class. It looked fine when I read in Japanese. However, when I started to translate into English, I had a lot of troubles. I asked my brother the same thing my writing advisor used to tell me; “Wait, what do you mean by this?” When I translate his essay to English, many expressions became ambiguous and unspecific all the sudden.

I like both directness of English and indirectness of Japanese. English helps me to think more critically, and it feels good to hear straight and clear language. I also like the Japanese that puts importance on harmony and care for others. We write “Ishin-denshin” as “to tell from heart to heart.” This is the idiom I like the most because we cannot express all of our feelings in words. I feel very happy when others understand my feelings that I couldn’t explain in precise words.

week 6 post2

Do you agree that men and women use language differently? In what areas?

I agree that men and women use language differently.

I think Japanese is similar to French that has distinctive men words and women words. If someone tells me to speak like a man, it is very easy to do that in Japanese. For example, I can change the way to say “I”, and the end of the sentences to how men say.
By analyzing “men words” and “women words”, I can see that women words are more formal than men words in Japanese.
There are distinctive differences between formal and informal words. I remember in an old traditional Japanese drama, I saw a wife was using words that respect others, but her husband was using more rough and strong words to her. It is clear that women and men have different gender roles. The drama showed me a difference of a power between the man and the woman. I remember I was told to speak like a lady when I was a child. I believe it is a result of cultural construction because our culture show children particular attitudes and languages men and women use differently.

It is interesting because formal language supposed to be a neutral language that is not men or women words, but it sounds more like a women. The reason is that formal language is modest and polite, which are similar to women words.
In a public, such as business meetings, people use formal language. I remember when I was a child, I saw my father was on the phone with his coworker, and I thought, “My dad is speaking like a woman!”

Nowadays, wives don’t use formal language to their husbands and husbands don’t use such a rough and strong language to their wives. However, there are still distinctive differences between how men and women talk.

week 6 post1

Is it possible to perceive others without in some way judging or categorizing them? If so, how? If not, how can we make the judgments we do make more fair?


I think it is impossible to perceive others without judging or categorizing. I believe we always have judgments on others, and everyday we change these judgments by finding out something new about them. Even for the old friends, I sometimes think; “I didn’t know she thinks like that”, or “I cannot believe it. In five years she never came late, but she is not there yet.” I am judging myself too. I sometimes think, “It’s not me” or “I am not that kind of person who says that.” Part of the reasons for these is because I am unconsciously judging and categorizing people, including myself. I remember the movie Spiderman 3, when the girl says, “What’s happened to you?” to the Spiderman. She was judging or categorizing him as a good guy, and confused by his words and acts because these weren’t what she always expected from him. For that, he replies to her, “I don’t know.” He was also confused for him being not like him. Those feelings of betray and surprise are the results of judgments and categorizing of people.

To make the judgments fair, the textbook states the importance of cognitive complexity (page 52). In a court, to make a judgment fair, there are always opinions from both sides for judges. A presiding judge never gave a judgment by hearing opinions from only one side. We should practice this for everything before we judge. For the information we hear from TV or friends, it is always better to listen different opinions, rather than one sided opinion. This is one way to become a critical listener. To become a critical customer, we can have third person voice in our minds. For example, before we buy something, we can ask ourselves; “It is very cute. You should buy it.” and “Will you really use it? Don’t buy it.”
As for people, by seeing others and hearing what they are saying form different perspectives, we can make more fair judgments on them.

Week4 post 3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading (Chapter 9) that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

From this chapter, I learned the importance of knowing the audience when we do public communication. According to the textbook, in order to convey a message to listeners successfully, a speaker need to know the audiences’ beliefs, attitudes, values, sex, ages, and so on (page 257). When I think about it, it is always important to consider who are the listeners not only when we talk in the public sphere, but also in the private sphere. Needless to say, we change the way to speak, what to speak, and how to speak depending on who we are speaking to.

I think knowing the audiences is extremely important because public speech is not a one way (a speaker to the audience) communication, but it is the audience-speaker communication as the textbook states (page 257). I have seen speakers who speech like they don’t want any responses from audiences, but just want to talk.
One of the examples is when I attended an annual completing semester ceremony when I was an elementary school student. There were always a Mayer, PTA representatives, and people from other organizations who the students never met. We had to sit and listen quietly for those ten to fifteen people giving us the same “congratulation” speeches. I always thought if they see us bored every year for the same speech, they should change the comments to the words actually from “them.”
Ignoring the audiences never be a good idea to attain a successful speech.

Week4 post 2

Consider a well-known speaker, for example, the current President of the United States (or Presidential candidate). What is this speaker's strongest characteristics as a speaker? Is it credibility, attractiveness, power, or all three? In what ways could the speaker build ethos in these areas?


I think Barack Obama is a great speaker in the U.S. His speeches grab listeners’ heart because it has a good content. He doesn’t just talk. He talks because he has something that he wants to tell to particular people with passion. I remember my senior coworker said, “It was like I am seeing Martin Luther King Jr. again when I heard Barack Obama's speech.” I think his attractiveness comes from his young yet intelligent appearance, and the words he says, which are from citizens’ point of view. His intelligence is also a power so people listen to him, and his serious attitude towards social issues raises credibility of voters.

Japan is also in a middle of a presidential election, but all of the presidential candidates don’t seem good speakers. First of all, they don’t speech in a public that often. When they do, it is not a speech, but saying words that are on a transcript. I suppose many Japanese people are thinking, “who ever it will be.”

I believe choosing a president is an extremely important event of a country. Depending on who will be a president, a country and even the world change. Thus, I think these candidates’ campaigns in the U.S. are doing particularly a good job by getting citizens’ attentions to politics.

Week4 post 1

Have you ever been influenced by a speaker? Think of the best speaker you've ever heard. What was it about that speaker that made his or her communication memorable? Think of the worst speaker you've ever heard. What do you remember about his or her message?

The best speaker I have ever heard is Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford University. I heard his speech when I was about to graduate San Jose State University, and had no plan what to do after graduating. His speech was memorable for me because it seemed like he knows about what I am thinking or worry about. His messages came into my heart smoothly.

One of the messages he talked about was that we should never stop searching what we would like to do in our lives. For about a month after I heard his speech, I searched what I really want to do in my life. I looked back my past, I asked my friends about me, and I finally found something that I can say, “This is what I want to do in my life.” Although this maybe change in the future, finding something I really want to do gave me a great confidence.

The other thing that made his speech memorable for me was that he spoke about his experiences in his stories. Because of this, I could trust what he is saying. I could see what he is saying is really a word from his life. I could associated my experience to him too.

The worst speaker I have ever heard is the speech that the Japanese President Fukuda made. He recently gave a speech that he will quit his job. Although his message was something we weren’t expected, he didn’t give us much explanation about the reason why he is quitting. When a reporter asked him, “You act as if all of this is not your business”, he replied, “I am not like you.” His message not only didn’t made sense, but also gave me an impression that he is running away from his responsibilities and accusations from citizens. It is important for a president of a nation to have both a skill of governing and presenting.

Week 3 post 3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

An ethnography of communication is interesting for me because I did something similar when I took anthropology classes.

Now, I want to try this model with my job at a small cake shop.

Contexts for Observing Communication
Speech community: part-time workers at a cake shop
Speech situations: chatting
Speech events: When there are no customers

Elements of Communication
Situation: at a small cake shop; whenever there are no customers and boss around; there are no seats to sit down so we are always standing up

Participants: part-time workers (18 yrs old-30 yrs old);our goal is to kill a time and get along

Act sequences: We start talking when there are no customers, and nothing to do. We often talk about which cakes we like, what movies or songs we like, school lives, families, and so on. We stop talking when we see a customer came into the shop.

Key: smiling; explaining

Instrumentalities: verbal

Norms: No chatting when there are customers or a boss

Genre: Chatting



I didn’t really observe the situation at my job, so this report is not as accurate or detail as it should be. However, just by writing these down into small categories, I could be able to notice something that I never thought about.
For example, I realized that a topic we choose is very easy and short to answer. We don’t talk about something serious, such as our deep concerns. Probably, we don’t choose this kind of topic since we really cannot “got into a deep conversation” because of customers who come in to a shop randomly.

I believe this model will help us to understand complex communications. By carefully observing communication, we will be able to see a "tacit consent" of the community that we haven’t noticed before.
It might be fun to observe our daily conversations from a "communication researcher" perspective.

Week 3 post 2

Consider the pragmatic perspective. Does it make sense to think of communication as patterned interaction? How is communication like a game? How is it different from a game?

I think people’s personality is important to know to understand a communication. In a textbook, figure 2.3 on pg. 33 shows moves of a person A and B, but it doesn’t show the reason why A ignored B, or B offered apology for A. There must be their personalities that made them act like that. Without knowing their personalities, we cannot know the reason of their acts.

Furthermore, if there is a communication problem between A and B, it might be hard to fix their problem without knowing personalities of the two. Maybe, a person A only feels calm when she eats a cake. If we just look at the moves of them, we cannot figure out the way to fix the problem.

Communication is like a game because two people who are interacting are a partner, and one’s acts and words changes by the other’s acts and words. It is like a game because depending on how one acts, the other changes his moves.

However, on the contrary to a pragmatic perspective, I think communication is not like a game because people are not like chess that moves only in a certain way. For example, a boy said, “You look terrible” for a girl he likes. He said this because he got very nervous in front of the girl. Even though they used to be a good friend, people sometimes break the rules and patterns they created.
The boy’s act seems illogical, but we can understand the reason why he did it by knowing his personality and feeling.

The pragmatic model is the logical way to see communication, but humans don’t always act logically. I think there is no pattern for human communication, because humans are changing constantly, and how people talk each other changes all the time even little by little.

Week3 post 1

Consider the social constructionist perspective. How do we “build worlds” through communication? Think of some ideas we talk about in our culture that may not exist in other cultures. How do these concepts contribute to our happiness or success (of the lack of these) in our culture?


In Japan, most of children go to their local school until junior high. However, after finishing their junior high, they go to different high schools in a larger local area depending on their grades and results of entrance tests. Each high school has its own school uniform, so people can tell who goes to which school by looking at a student’s school uniform. Thus, I sometimes hear two middle aged women talking, “I saw your daughter the other day. She goes Matsuyama high school, right? I saw her wearing their uniform. I am jealous that your daughter is a smart girl.”
My thirteen years old sister asked me before, “Is this high school’s level high? Was the high school you went smart?” My mom replied, “so-so”, and I said, “It was fun!”

I certainly think we build “our world” through communication. By hearing adults’ conversations, and looking at high school students walking a street in different uniforms and advertisements of study materials in a train, my sister started to recognize that going to a good high school is the reason why she needs to study hard, and this is the norm for most of junior high students in Japan.

It is hard to tell this constructed world is good or bad. It is good that students study hard and get smart. They can use basics they learned and create something incredible in the future. On the other hand, it is bad that some students think going to a good school is the only way of life they have. If some students aim to study just to go a good school, what happens to their other interests, such as hobbies, friends and love?

I think “Going to a good school” is a good socially constructed norm. However, I believe the important thing is to realize that there are other worlds where “Going to a good school” isn’t the priority for teenagers. When Japanese students encounter other worlds like that, they shouldn’t criticize them merely by their own norm.

Week2 Post 3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

Francis Bacon stated that our clear thinking is interrupted by the “Idols of Tribe”, the “Idols of the Cave”, the “Idols of the Market Place” and the “Idols of the Theatre” (p 10). Among those four idols, I found the “Idols of the Market Place” especially interesting. Words are always in our brain, and I think they can be both interrupting and helping clear thinking.

As Bacon says, words can be “plainly force and overrule the understanding” (p 10). Misuse of language happens every moment, and this can lead a fatal miscommunication depending on the situation we are in. Thus, when we make a promise or an agreement on something, we often sign on a hard document rather than inform orally. Unlike spoken words, written words can stay as long as we hold the document, and those words can be chosen more carefully than spoken words. This indicates that words often are a cause of troubles.

On the other hand, I also think words make our thought more visible and clearer. For example, I can get a solution for what I concern about simply by speaking a loud or taking to somebody whether or not he/she is listening. This happens to me a lot. By putting on words, I can think clearer.

Thus, I believe words can interrupt and also fix and help our understandings.

Week2 Post 2

The Greeks believed that to be an orator, an individual had to be morally good. Comment on whether you agree or disagree. What, if any, is the connection between goodness, truth, and public communication?

I believe an orator should be morally good, but I also believe that a person who is morally bad can be an orator too if he/she has a strong skill of ethos, pathos, and logos. Adolf Hitler, for example, became a powerful speaker. It is unfortunate, but it is not always the case that only morally good person becomes an strong orator.

I think telling the truth doesn’t always equal to goodness. However, when it comes to public communication, I believe telling the truth is a vital moral in our society.
This is because the power of truth becomes even stronger when the truth was revealed in a public space. For example, several years ago, a TV program telecasted that Natto (fermented soybeans) is good to go on a diet if we eat everyday. After the show, the sales of Natto became extraordinary high ever than before. However, several days later, it turned out that a TV program fabricated the data about Natto to get a high audience rating. From this, consumers and Natto companies got extremely upset toward the TV program and its false data, and the program directors were fired.
If the truth wasn’t revealed, thousands of people might be eating Natto everyday believing they will lose their weight someday. Thus, in public communication, not telling the truth is deceiving a public, and this is not goodness. Telling a lie in public is something that shouldn’t occur anywhere.

Week2 Post 1

I admire Steve Jobs when he made a commencement speech at Stanford University. It was a very memorable speech for me because when I listen to the speech, I was about to graduate university, and feeling very anxious about my future.
I think his power to persuade others come from ethos. He talked about his hard college life and about a serious disease he over came. This speech was created from his personal experiences, and I believe this made his speech very strong.

When I speak to others, I always keep in mind that I speak honestly and respect what others are saying. After learning Cultural Anthropology at SJSU, I realized the very basic thing that people in the world think and express themselves very differently. Also, through living in three different countries, I realized that people talk differently by their cultures, and of course, by their personalities. Thus, when I talk to others, I first respect what others are saying and respond to them with honest words. Because I don’t decorate my words with flatter, I got trust from my friends, and my words become persuasive to them.
Since it is my personality that I cannot flatter (even when it is necessary), I believe my power to persuade others come from ethos.

Hello, Comm 105 class!

This is Yuko from Japan.

I was attending SJSU from 2006-2008. I majored in Cultural Anthropology.

I thought I have graduated the university last spring, so I came back to Japan,
but it turned out that I haven't...!
Thanks to the online courses, I didn’t have to fly back to the U.S. and look for a new place to live.
Right now, I am living with my family in my hometown, and working part time at a cake shop.

I took only one communication class at a community college. It was a small group communication class. I lived in the U.S for four years, but in the first year, I couldn’t speak English very well. So I often pretended that I understand what others are saying. From this, I experienced many misunderstandings.

In this course, I want to learn how people can communicate effectively over their different cultural backgrounds and language barriers.

I will try my best to contribute to this course, and enjoy communicating with you all.