D. Lawrence Kincaid | |
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Nationality | American |
Academic background | |
Education | B.A., Psychology M.A., Communication Ph.D., Communication |
Alma mater | University of Kansas Michigan State University |
Thesis | Communication Networks, Locus of Control, and Family Planning Among Migrants to the Periphery of Mexico City |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Johns Hopkins University East-West Center State University of New York at Albany |
Notable works | Communication Networks:Toward a New Paradigm for Research Communication Theory:Eastern and Western Perspectives |
D. Lawrence Kincaid (born 1945) is an American communication researcher who originated the convergence theory of communication. He was a senior advisor for the Research and Evaluation Division of the Center for Communication Programs and an associate scientist in the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. [1]
Kincaid received his B.A. (1967) in psychology from the University of Kansas. In 1967–1969,he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia and facilitated community development and cooperative organization. He earned his M.A. (1971) and Ph.D. (1972) in communication from Michigan State University. In 1973,he joined the East-West Communication Institute at the East-West Center in Honolulu,Hawaii,and worked as a research associate under the directorship of Wilbur Schramm. He was also an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the State University of New York at Albany.
In the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,Kincaid was the founding director of the Research and Evaluation Division of the Center for Communication Programs from 1988 to 1997. He was also instrumental in establishing the Interdepartmental Health Communication Program and served as the first director. He has been involved in health communication programs in Asia,Latin America,and Africa for 30 years.
Kincaid is best known for his convergence model of communication, [2] [3] a nonlinear model of communication wherein two communicators strive to reach "mutual understanding." He proposed the model in his 1979 East-West Communication Institute Monograph (Paper No. 18) and detailed it in his book,Communication Networks:Toward a New Paradigm for Research (Free Press,1981) with Everett Rogers. [4] He applied cybernetics and information theory to the process of meaning coordination and human understanding. In recent years,this model has been particularly popular among proponents of development communication.
Kincaid identified seven epistemological biases that had characterized the dominant Western models of communication:(1) a view of communication as linear rather than cyclical;(2) a message-source bias rather than a focus on relatedness and interdependence;(3) an analysis of objects of communication in a manner that isolates them from larger contexts;(4) a concentration on discrete messages instead of silence,rhythm,and timing;(5) a concentration on persuasion rather than understanding,agreement,and collective action;(6) attention to individuals rather than relationships;(7) a model of one-way mechanistic causation rather than mutual causation. [5]
Kincaid also developed new methods for multivariate causal attribution analysis of communication impact,the communication for participatory development model,the ideational model for behavior change communication and evaluation,computer programs to analyze the multi-dimensional image of audience perceptions,computer simulation of social networks for the theory of bounded normative influence,and drama theory to measure the impact of entertainment-education programs. [6]
Kincaid is a co-author of Health Communication:Lessons from Family Planning and Reproductive Health, [7] considered by many as a seminal book on the topic of health communication. He edited Communication Theory:Eastern and Western Perspectives, [8] which won the 1988 Outstanding Book Award from the Intercultural and Development Communication Division of the International Communication Association.
Acculturation is a process of social,psychological,and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts,acquires and adjusts to a new cultural environment as a result of being placed into a new culture,or when another culture is brought to someone. Individuals of a differing culture try to incorporate themselves into the new more prevalent culture by participating in aspects of the more prevalent culture,such as their traditions,but still hold onto their original cultural values and traditions. The effects of acculturation can be seen at multiple levels in both the devotee of the prevailing culture and those who are assimilating into the culture.
Intercultural relations,sometimes called intercultural studies,is a field of social science. It is a multi-disciplinary academic field designed to train students to understand,communicate,and accomplish specific goals outside their own cultures. Intercultural relations involves,at a fundamental level,learning how to see oneself and the world through the eyes of another. It seeks to prepare students for interaction with cultures both similar to their own or very different from their own. Some aspects of intercultural relations also include,their power and cultural identity with how the relationship should be upheld with other foreign countries.
Communication studies is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior,patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships,social interactions and communication in different cultures. Communication is commonly defined as giving,receiving or exchanging ideas,information,signals or messages through appropriate media,enabling individuals or groups to persuade,to seek information,to give information or to express emotions effectively. Communication studies is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge that encompasses a range of topics,from face-to-face conversation at a level of individual agency and interaction to social and cultural communication systems at a macro level.
Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups,or how culture affects communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and problems that naturally appear within an organization or social context made up of individuals from different religious,social,ethnic,and educational backgrounds. In this sense,it seeks to understand how people from different countries and cultures act,communicate,and perceive the world around them. Intercultural communication focuses on the recognition and respect of those with cultural differences. The goal is mutual adaptation between two or more distinct cultures which leads to biculturalism/multiculturalism rather than complete assimilation. It promotes the development of cultural sensitivity and allows for empathic understanding across different cultures.
Edward Twitchell Hall,Jr. was an American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher. He is remembered for developing the concept of proxemics and exploring cultural and social cohesion,and describing how people behave and react in different types of culturally defined personal space. Hall was an influential colleague of Marshall McLuhan and Buckminster Fuller.
Everett M. "Ev" Rogers was an American communication theorist and sociologist,who originated the diffusion of innovations theory and introduced the term early adopter. He was distinguished professor emeritus in the department of communication and journalism at the University of New Mexico.
The uncertainty reduction theory,also known as initial interaction theory,developed in 1975 by Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese,is a communication theory from the post-positivist tradition. It is one of the few communication theories that specifically looks into the initial interaction between people prior to the actual communication process. Uncertainty reduction theory originators' main goal when constructing it was to explain how communication is used to reduce uncertainty between strangers during a first interaction. Berger explains uncertainty reduction theory as an "Increased knowledge of what kind of person another is,which provides an improved forecast of how a future interaction will turn out". Uncertainty reduction theory claims that everyone activates two processes in order to reduce uncertainty. The first being a proactive process,which focuses on what someone might do. The second being a retroactive process,which focuses on how people understand what another does or says. This theory's main claim is that people must receive information about another party in order to reduce their uncertainty and,that people want to do so. While uncertainty reduction theory claims that communication will lead to reduced uncertainty,it is important to note that this is not always the case. Dr. Dale E. Brashers of the University of Illinois argues that in some scenarios,more communication may lead to greater uncertainty.
Wilbur Lang Schramm was an American scholar and "authority on mass communications". He founded the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1936 and served as its first director until 1941. Schramm was hugely influential in establishing communications as a field of study in the United States,and the establishing of departments of communication studies across U.S. universities. Wilbur Schramm is considered the founder of the field of Communication Studies. He was the first individual to identify himself as a communication scholar;he created the first academic degree-granting programs with communication in their name;and he trained the first generation of communication scholars. Schramm's mass communication program in the Iowa School of Journalism was a pilot project for the doctoral program and for the Institute of Communications Research,which he founded in 1947 at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign,now housed in the UIUC College of Media. At Illinois,Wilbur Schramm set in motion the patterns of scholarly work in communication study that continue to this day.
Cultural competence,also known as intercultural competence,is a range of cognitive,affective,behavioural,and linguistic skills that lead to effective and appropriate communication with people of other cultures. Intercultural or cross-cultural education are terms used for the training to achieve cultural competence.
Hamid Mowlana is an Iranian-American author and academic. He is professor emeritus of international relations in the School of International Services at American University in Washington,D.C. He was an advisor to the former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Howard Giles' communication accommodation theory (CAT),"seeks to explain and predict when,how,and why individuals engage in interactional adjustments with others,”such as a person changing their accent to match the individual they are speaking with. Additionally,CAT studies “recipients’inferences,attributions,and evaluations of,and responses to,them." This means when speakers change their communication style,listeners are interpreting such alterations. For example,when the speaker adjusts their accent to match the listener's,the recipient may interpret this positively,perceiving it as the speaker trying to fit in,or negatively—questioning whether they are mocking them.
Integrative communication theory is a theory of cross-cultural adaptation proposed by Young Yun Kim. The first widely published version of Kim's theory is found in the last three chapters of a textbook authored by William Gudykunst with Young Yun Kim as second author. See acculturation and assimilation.
Anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory is known as the high levels of anxiety one may experience as they come in contact with those of another culture. This concept was first introduced by William B. Gudykunst to further define how humans effectively communicate based on their anxiety and uncertainty in social situations. Gudykunst believed that in order for successful intercultural communication a reduction in anxiety/uncertainty must occur. This is assuming that the individuals within the intercultural encounter are strangers. AUM is a theory based on the uncertainty reduction theory (URT) which was introduced by Berger and Calabrese in 1974. URT provides much of the initial framework for AUM,and much like other theories in the communication field AUM is a constantly developing theory,based on the observations of human behaviour in social situations.
Face negotiation theory is a theory conceived by Stella Ting-Toomey in 1985,to understand how people from different cultures manage rapport and disagreements. The theory posited "face",or self-image when communicating with others,as a universal phenomenon that pervades across cultures. In conflicts,one's face is threatened;and thus the person tends to save or restore his or her face. This set of communicative behaviors,according to the theory,is called "facework". Since people frame the situated meaning of "face" and enact "facework" differently from one culture to the next,the theory poses a cross-cultural framework to examine facework negotiation. It is important to note that the definition of face varies depending on the people and their culture and the same can be said for the proficiency of facework. According to Ting-Toomey's theory,most cultural differences can be divided by Eastern and Western cultures,and her theory accounts for these differences.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to communication:
Joseph Woelfel is an American sociologist. Born in Buffalo,New York,Dr. Woelfel is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Communication at the University at Buffalo,The State University of New York.
Muneo Jay Yoshikawa is a Japanese professor,author,researcher and consultant in the fields of intercultural communication,human development,human resource management,and leadership.
Mediated cross-border communication is a scholarly field in communication studies and refers to any mediated form of communication in the course of which nation state or cultural borders are crossed or even get transgressed and undermined.
Asiacentrism is a political ideology,an economic perspective,or an academic orientation with "a focus on Asia or on cultures of Asian origin." In some cases,this stance regards Asia to be either unique or superior to other regions and takes the form of ascribing to Asia ethnocentric significance or supremacy at the cost of the rest of the world. The concept is often associated with a projected Asian Century,the expected economic dominance of Asia in the 21st century.
Dr. Robert Martin Shuter was an American author,academic,and consultant specializing in intercultural communication. He was Research Professor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University and Professor Emeritus at the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University,where he taught for 41 years and chaired the Department of Communication Studies for 29 years.