Research Article
Kelvin Inobemhe, Tsegyu Santas, Nick-Tansi Saint Udeh
MEDITERR J SOC BEH RES, Volume 6, Issue 3, pp. 93-100
ABSTRACT
Communication is a necessity for the survival of society. In the face of so much misinformation or fake news in public domain, threatening public health, it has become even more important and needed. Whereas health communication is important in the fight against diseases especially those that have assumed the pandemic status, effective health communication is needed mostly, if the desired result and set objectives must be realized in record time. One important role communication plays in fighting diseases is that it helps eliminate misinformation as well as disinformation. COVID-19 came with all forms of conspiracy theories and fake news across various social media platforms, breeding some form of danger on public health. Such requires effective health communication. Health belief model is the theoretical framework for this paper. Through the use of summative evaluation design by consulting existing research documents in book chapters, journal article and online materials, the paper established that health communication possesses the required powers to quench all forms of infodemic and conspiracies regarding coronavirus. The paper emphasizes that in the face of infodemic and conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19, effective health communication becomes important and can be relied upon to help in quality communication to vulnerable groups on the risk and dangers associated with misinformation. The paper suggests that best ways government and other stakeholders can sustain efforts at stemming the tide with regards to misinformation in public domain without infringing on personal liberties of citizens is to improve efforts aimed at countering fake news across same platforms where fake news thrives.
Keywords: health communication, pandemic, COVID-19, infodemic, conspiracy
Research Article
Asnake Manaye Demissie
MEDITERR J SOC BEH RES, Volume 6, Issue 2, pp. 45-52
ABSTRACT
Having informed the surpassing morbidity rate of HIV/AIDS in Gambella than other part of Ethiopia, the researcher motivated seeing communication structure applied in Gambella. Hence, this study came to exist entitled “Communications Approach and Perceptual Response in Health Information”. Specifically, beneath the study, contents, communication approach, health information practice, public interpretation, and contents have been assessed. Methodologically the study designed qualitatively descriptive and case study and the approach was qualitative. Three qualitative instruments of data collection namely key informant in depth interview with concerned ones of GHAPCO, FGD with residents of Gambella through convenient-snowball technique and document analysis have been used. The data was analyzed thematically sequential in line with objectives of the study. The study discovered, language, socio-culture, and educational background of the audiences would not have been praised satisfactorily; and these led to miscommunication between two actors of communication. Moreover, the poorly administered, materials and communication channels used for HIV/AIDS communication in Gambella could not bring the intended effect. Hence, the study recommends possible direction in which better communications approach may come to exist. Accordingly, concerted communication environment which incorporates all vital components of message production, audience analysis, audience segmentation, contextualization, and so forth need to be assured.
Keywords: HIV/AIDS communication, HIV/AIDS message, GHAPCO, HAPCO, message, Gambella, Ethiopia
Research Article
Sandra Eberechukwu Augustine, Lois Nkechi Abraham
MEDITERR J SOC BEH RES, Volume 5, Issue 3, pp. 51-57
ABSTRACT
This study established students’ communication skills level in Google classroom in the Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt. The study used one group pretest-post-test pre-experimental research design and a sample size of 70 students from the Department of Educational Management, selected via purposive sampling technique. Two (2) research hypotheses guided the study. Google Classroom Communication Skills Test (GCCST), with a reliability coefficient of 0.87, was the instrument for data collection. Sign test and Quade’s Analysis of Covariance were for analyzing data. The results showed that the students’ communication skill level in Google classroom increased and significantly higher due to the tutorial on Google classroom utilization. However, the students’ communication skills level in Google classroom did not significantly differ based on gender. The results led to the recommendation that instructors expose students to the basic skills required to use and communicate effectively in every online learning platform before adopting such for instructional purposes.
Keywords: online learning, Learning Management System (LMS), Google classroom, communication skill, tutorial
Research Article
Aysegul Nacak
MEDITERR J SOC BEH RES, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp. 35-40
ABSTRACT
Language is one of the most important tools in people’s lives. It is the ability of individuals to communicate with people who know their own language in their social lives and it is shaped with people around them when they enter a society while another language is spoken. Language is also important to interact with them, to empathize and to understand / be understood and act together depending upon mutual understanding of each other and using a common language. Mother tongue is on the other hand defined as the first language acquired by individuals in their family and the society in which they grew up. The mother tongue can be acquired, and the foreign language can said to be learned. The mother tongue of Turkish societies is Turkish;also the first language to be accepted as an official language for Turkish Republic as well. Turkish, on the other hand, is a language with a deep-rooted culture dating back to ancient times. The functions of language or mother tongue are also to be able to realize effective communication in life. Effective communication can be achieved by understanding the feelings and thoughts of the other person, that is, by listening to them empathetically. When another language is to be learned, one of the most important criteria for the individual to acquire empathic listening skill is the cultural structure of that language. Learning only the grammar of a foreign language and four basic language skills alone is not enough for an empathic communication; The empathic dimension of listening, which is one of these four basic language skills, should also be culturally understood. Because the importance of empathic communication skill cannot be denied in using and understanding languages correctly. Teaching Turkish to foreigners has been increasing especially in recent years. Therefore, the relationship between mother tongue-foreign language-empathic communication skills, with students learning foreign languages are considerably important. In this regard, foreign individuals who learn Turkish presented in the article are at the same time get to know not only Turkish but also the Turkish culture. This study is a qualitative research and it tries to examine the benefit provided by foreigners who learn Turkish to use this language in the most effective way. Learning and using Turkish effectively is founded out to be related with getting to know the culture and gaining empathic listening skills.
Keywords: language, mother tongue, communication, foreign language education, empathic listening
Research Article
Ayesha Zahid, Zhu Qinghe, Ali Sohail
MEDITERR J SOC BEH RES, Volume 5, Issue 1, pp. 3-12
ABSTRACT
Feedback is an essential component of the communication process and without feedback, any communication is considered as incomplete. The research intended to explore the process of communication, its impeding factors and varying aspects of feedback in it. The study analyzed communication barriers involved in the family, educational and religious institutes in Pakistani society. The study also intended to explore various alternate sources for feedback developed by the message receiving audience due to different hindering aspects of social institutes. The current research applied a qualitative approach with the interview method. Keeping in view the objectives of the study, 60 respondents were selected through purposive sampling technique. Furthermore, three categories comprising students, children and religious followers, 20 each, from their respective social institutes, were derived through stratified sampling technique. The researcher found out the communication barriers; stereotypical believes, less awareness with modern knowledge, poor educational background and social pressure, to be the main reasons in diverting the receivers’ feedback route from the standard pathway to alternate sources. Study apprehend that the message receiving audience, under specified communication barriers, relies on alternate sources, social discussion, internet social media and interpersonal communication to relieve their response. Resultantly, the response which supposedly had to reach the exact sender of the message, reaches the irrelevant audience in the society, making it more complicated and diverse. Hence, the process of communication gets diverted and results in the generation of new ways of feedback.
Keywords: communication barriers, feedback, social interactions, Pakistani family system
Research Article
Aydan Aydın
MEDITERR J SOC BEH RES, Volume 3, Issue 3, pp. 37-42
ABSTRACT
The communication between the teacher and student is important in the educational process because it strengthens the interaction between them and helps students to better adapt to the educational environment. During the communication process, teachers’ communication skills can be as effective as children’s communication skills. This study aims to develop the teacher form of a scale that will be used to assess pre-school children’s communication skills. Teachers assessing a total of 503 children took part in the study. In the process of developing the scale, principal components analysis was used in factor analysis. The common factor loads of the items of the scale and the loads they take from the factors they were in were calculated separately for each age group. It was found that the scales have sub-dimensions for all age groups, each item highly contributed to the common variance of the scales and the loads of factors in which each item was included were also high. The results of the Internal Consistency, Discrimination and Item Analysis for all modules showed that Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficients for all modules were high, the items included in the modules were highly related to the total scores of the module and the items in all the modules were distinctive for high and low groups.
Keywords: teacher form, communication scale, school scale
Research Article
Zdenek Vondra
MEDITERR J SOC BEH RES, Volume 2, Issue 2-3, pp. 19-22
ABSTRACT
This work is the part of research which has aim to define methodology of using multimedia for communication of information content of cultural heritage. Methodology would be primarily used by small and medium enterprises or arts managers. In this paper we ask the question, what multimedia are best to use in certain situations, which lead us to understand the space between them. In this work we base on analysis of communication process, which tells us about the essential elements (initiator, recipient and contents). Main actors of this communication are owners, managers or curators. In the text we are presenting the categories of material cultural heritage, which represent the objects of communication. As the recipients we defined three possible target groups and their motivations to receive this kind of communication based on their expectations. The motivations are professional interest, education and relaxation. According to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning we studied and compared the parameters and connections of multimedia design and made possible scenarios how to create multimedia outputs including photography, graphics, video, animation and sound for presentation of material cultural heritage.
Keywords: cultural heritage, communication, information content, multimedia