Information Technology

Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category

For a student, there are times when there is a lot of confusion, doubts and queries regarding many topics including career, options in life, what to do next, which course to pursue and so on and so forth. Every student wants a support system or a network to fall back on for information, guidance and advice. The advent of Internet has made this very easy these days. Students can easily form student communities online and make friends and network with people pursuing the same type of course or with similar aspirations. This helps a lot in getting relevant information and getting doubts dispelled with the help of experienced members in the group. Sometimes, it is just important to be apart of community to feel supported.

Since internet enjoys a ubiquitous presence, one can join student communities across the globe without the location and time barriers. There are discussion forums on these communities that allow members to come and discuss topics of relevance to the group. It always helps to remain active on such discussions. If you have knowledge on a certain topic, do share it with others and if you want to seek advice, you can always start a discussion and invite others to join in. Student communities and forums also float information about courses, deadlines, alerts and events. This way, they are a very useful resource to keep yourself updated.

There are many websites that allow student communities. Education sites and networking sites host various student communities. On most networking sites, one can find student groups where students connect and interact with each other, discuss problems, share information and exchange material. These communities offer easy access to the material shared by the members and encourage interactions among the group members. Here, students can talk about courses, colleges, seek guidance from alumni, give opinions, get career advice and share experiences, documents, pictures etc.

Mostly, MBA and engineering student communities are the most popular ones. Not to say that other communities are not but MBA is one course that can be pursued by a student of any stream so these communities are generally very large and attract students from various streams. Here, students discuss about best MBA courses, about particular colleges, exam preparation, tips on interviews, group discussions etc. Since MBA courses are so sought after, students on these communities gain a lot by interacting with each other and sharing experiences.

Especially, in examination time, it is easy to exchange notes through these communities and get last-minute questions and doubts cleared from the fellow community members. Since students tend to get very anxious during exams, they share their experiences on communities and seek comfort in the advice of seniors. They also exchange questions, solutions, tips to cope up with the stress of examinations and time management tips on these communities. This way, the communities become a good and useful resource for students.

Sometimes, it is open membership to each community and anybody with an interest in that community can join it while at times, the membership is subject to the approval of the moderator. It is just to prevent spamming and unnecessary crowding of the community by bots or members who may have nothing significant to offer to the community. There are a few rules and a certain code of conduct to follow on these communities. No obscene comments are allowed and no unnecessary discussions are encouraged. It is ensured that the flavour of the community remains sane and the content of discussions remains what it is meant to be.

For Internet-savvy students, joining a community is not a difficult task. They frequent such sites and become members on the relevant communities. In some communities, active members grow to become reliable resources with their valuable participation on forums. They share and discuss their experiences and pass on relevant information to other students. If you are an aspiring student to a particular course or college, chances are that you will find many other students in your league online. These students come together to talk to each other and form a community. Joining a community can be very beneficial and students who are part of a community get to open up their horizons. Once you are on a community, you will not just get information but also get a chance to make new friends who are like-minded and can offer the required help as and when required.

Attracting potential residents from all over the world, the city of Nanaimo on the island of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada is quickly gaining the reputation of being the source of many utopian modeled intentional communities. A small city of 79,000 residents, Nanaimo prides itself on it’s sophisticated cultural setting comprised of many artists, musicians and craftsmen, with an emphasis on higher education.

As an extension of the alternative lifestyles that often accompanies a community of artists and existentialistic thinkers, many of the residential communities are modeled after the intentional community system. In an intentional community system, new members may be selected by committees of existing members after initial meetings during group events and accepted new members may be subjected to a period of probation, usually of six months, during which time the permanent community members decide if the new member is fitting into their communal way of living. This level of community living extends to the practice of sharing of tasks and belongings that are of benefit to the entire community. Different intentional communities in Nanaimo possess different degrees of communal style living.

Originated in Denmark, the formation of intentional communities is designed to provide a universal sense of responsibility and belonging to every community member. Many communities have an open door environment where individual homes are connected by common interior walkways, and all residents are treated as members of an extended family.

The natural beauty of the island, in conjunction with man made amenities including possessing the world’s largest artificial reef for scuba diving, make Nanaimo a lucrative proposition for purchasing residential property. The residents of Nanaimo also enjoy the readily accessible pleasures of kayaking, rock climbing and cave exploring as well as fishing, golfing and hiking in any one of the island’s ten major parks.

If the benefits of a communal style of living are appealing to you, exploring the possibilities of owning a residence in Nanaimo may lead you to a better way of life. As there are specific variables particular to each community property in Nanaimo, conferring with a local CoHousing Real Estate Agent will help you to identify which of the communities will fit most seamlessly into your desire for this lifestyle. Meanwhile, there are many website listings for properties in the Nanaimo region which include property photographs and descriptions of surrounding areas. In many intentional communities, residents each own an individual house which has all of the private amenities you would expect in a residential dwelling. In addition to individual property ownership, each resident jointly owns all of the land in the community as well as common area buildings where community functions and communal meals take place.

Once your property choices have been narrowed down, a visit to Nanaimo with your CoHousing Real Estate Agent will be in order to meet with the community members, and immerse yourself in the spirit of this close knit community that has all of the benefits of a small town and retains the connections to the major metropolitan areas and advantages.

Communication is critical to continued human development throughout our life span. It is what allows us to share thoughts, feelings, wonderings, and knowledge with others. Whether you are a verbal or nonverbal communicator, the vast majority of communication we do is through nonverbal channels.

So if nonverbal communication makes up a substantial portion of our communicative experience, what does it involve? Many of us associate facial expression and gestures with nonverbal communication, but these are not the only two types involved. There are, in fact, eight different types of nonverbal communication:

Facial Expression This makes up the largest proportion of nonverbal communication. Large amounts of information can be conveyed through a smile or frown. The facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are similar across cultures throughout the world. Gestures Common gestures include pointing, waving, and using fingers to indicate number amounts. Paralinguistics This includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and pitch. Tone of voice can be powerful. The same sentence said in different tones can convey different messages. A strong tone of voice may indicate approval or enthusiasm, whereas the same sentence said with a hesitant tone of voice may convey disapproval or lack of interest. Body Language and Posture A person’s posture and movement can also convey a great deal of information. Arm crossing or leg-crossing conveys different meanings depending on the context and the person interpreting them. Body language is very subtle, and may not be very definitive. Proxemics This refers to personal space. The amount of space a person requires depends on each individual’s preference, but also depends on the situation and other people involved in the situation. Eye Gaze Looking, staring, and blinking are all considered types of eye gaze. Looking at another person can indicate a range of emotions including hostility, interest, or attraction. Haptics This refers to communicating through touch. Haptics is especially important in infancy and early childhood. Appearance Our choice of color, clothing, hairstyles, and other factors affecting our appearance are considered a means of nonverbal communication.

By the time most children are one year old, they are experts in nonverbal communication. They have spent the whole first year of their lives making their wants and needs known, as well as sharing their experiences through nonverbal channels. Around the time of their first birthday, they add the next layer to their dynamic communication repertoire with the verbal piece. Even with the addition of verbal communication, nonverbal expression continues to be the main mode of communication for children as they add more and more words to their vocabulary. Even after children are talking in sentences, nonverbal communication continues to add meaning and structure to the messages being sent and received.

This use and understanding of nonverbal communication becomes automatic for ‘neuro-typical’ children. It is so automatic that many of us are completely unaware that we employ facial expressions and gestures, or that we are using this information to enhance the words we are hearing from our communication partner. We continue to use this mode of communication throughout life.

Think about the word “no,” which can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the nonverbal communication that is being conveyed along with the word. If we say “noooo” with a wrinkled nose and a questioning tone or funny voice, this could convey that we are unsure or don’t really believe what we are hearing. If we hear someone say “NO!” with a loud, or harsh voice, we can interpret that they person is angry or wants an action to be terminated. If someone asks you if you would like a drink, you may answer with “no”; but your tone of voice will most likely be even with little inflection, and your face may just be neutral. In each of these examples the person was saying “no,” but there were three different meanings being conveyed. Without nonverbal communication, it would be difficult to know how to interpret the word.

Many children with autism spectrum disorders have difficulty interpreting multiple modes of communication, and because of this they often miss the nonverbal communication piece that allows accurate interpretation of what is said. In the examples provided above, most children with autism spectrum disorders would only hear the word “no” but miss the nonverbal pieces which help to interpret which “no” is being communicated. This misinterpretation can lead to frustration on the part of both the communicator and the child who is struggling to understand what is happening. At other times, the child may interpret a facial expression, tone of voice, or gesture but not hear the words that went with the nonverbal, which again results in miscommunication. These breakdowns make it difficult for the child to make sense of his/her world.

Working to improve the use and understanding of nonverbal communication is essential for a person with an autism spectrum or neurological disorder. In most cases, working to improve nonverbal communication is the best place to begin improving communication abilities. Expanding the ability to use and understand nonverbal communication provides the necessary foundation for building meaningful dynamic communication. Just as a neuro-typical infant begins by communicating nonverbally, going back and teaching this mode of communication for children who may have missed this step is the foundation for productive communication throughout life.

Teaching nonverbal communication should be done in a natural way that makes sense for each individual child. Telling a child, “look at my face,” or showing a child several pictures of people’s faces and having him/her identify the emotions he sees is not a natural way to work on nonverbal communication. Spending time doing activities with the child where the adult uses very little verbal communication, but is communicating through nonverbal channels, is an effective way to begin introducing nonverbal communication. Playing games where you have changed the rules slightly so as to use only nonverbal communication can also be a fun and more natural way of working on nonverbal communication. For example, you might play Simon Says, using a made up signal for when Simon says to do something. Playing charades can also be a fun way to work on nonverbal communication in a natural context. Take a walk with your child; but instead of saying, “hey look at that dog,” you might pause, point and vocalize, “oh” with a rising inflection to draw attention. There are many ways to work on nonverbal communication that can be explored and used to build this critical foundational piece of communication.