Why HAM Radio for Disaster Management?

Key to disaster management - Effective Communication
The world is not a very safe place to live in these days as disaster and terrorism can strike at any moment. Communication is the only relief as times of disaster and hence the need for a efficient disaster management system becomes imperative in public places and even in business establishments and important commercial joints where people move around in large numbers. Disaster might strike in the form of natural calamities, terrorist's attacks and accidents. Thus an efficient disaster management system which will work in adverse conditions is needed. In times of natural calamity like floods, storms or fire the usual mode of communication like phone, mobile etc might not work or might be lost in the calamity.

Consider this, underground communication lines get disabled due to flooding, cell towers are blown over or simply choke due to high utilization, backup generators run out of fuel — or are filled up with water.

Whatever be the situation, one can not rely transporting fuel to keep the power up for vital facilities since the power lines could be snapped (often seen in photographs) with uprooted trees and power lines and towers twisted and broken completely, or simply there is no road to the generators - either due to floods, or due to various obstacles like trees, or damaged roads or bridges.

There are others with Radios - Why HAM Radio?
Radios of police may not be necessarily on same frequency as that of firefighters. The military has it's own set of frequencies and even other departments that use radio for communication can communicate, however the communication is limited within there own group! The truth is they cannot communicate with each other - and that is The biggest challenge. How to convey message between diverse group of disaster or relief agencies when they all have sets, but cannot talk to each other.

The response phase after any disaster includes the mobilization of the necessary emergency services and first responders in the disaster area. This is likely to include a first wave of core emergency services, such as firefighters, police and ambulance crews. This is where HAM (Amateur) Radio comes in picture. Using HF radio sets, messages can be conveyed or relayed to long distance and accurate picture of situation on the ground, requirements and key information could be sent to disaster response team.

Advantage Amateur (HAM) Radio Operators
The society at large must be well protected and the protection given by the disaster management forces must be instant and immediate. Thus the disaster management crew must be well trained and equipped with the best appliances which might help them to communicate the condition they are in and the status of the calamity in the region they work for. With HAMS, Amateur Radio operators, you have a ready workforce that is efficient with regards to communicating with each other 'efficiently' and 'effectively'. They are known for innovation and apt at adapting to situations. Unlike commercial systems, Amateur radio is not as dependent on terrestrial facilities that can fail. It is dispersed throughout a community without "choke points" such as cellular telephone sites that can be overloaded.

Amateur radio operators are experienced in improvising antennas and power sources and most equipment today can be powered by an automobile battery. Annual "Field Days" are held in many countries to practice these emergency improvisational skills. Amateur radio operators can use hundreds of frequencies and can quickly establish networks tying disparate agencies together to enhance interoperability.

Some recent examples where HAM Radio operators played a significant role in communication during disasters

• 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan
• 2003 North America blackout
• Hurricane Katrina in September 2005

In India

• Orissa Cyclone
• Latur Earthquake
• Tsunami
• Aila

Despite the fact that many states in India get affected by natural and other calamities, proper coordination between different agencies is still not very effective. Amateur Radio Operators volunteer to offer help as and when needed, however there is no national database on active operators who can be called upon during any disaster, and also if they have right setup (which means - ready to go on air gear) at short notice. UN and other agencies do allocate funds to various departments for establishing suitable amateur radio stations, but apathy and lack of vision has so far done nothing substantial to setup a national backbone or disaster management setup other than creation of various agencies for disaster management.

Amateur Radio has also been included in school textbooks, but nothing beats a practical demonstration and in that regard, not many would ever see a rig in operation. They could write about it in exams without even looking at how an amateur radio really looks like!

Topics Themes for Project Work on Disaster Management

Project 1_ Role of Govt./Non-Government functionaries in your locality in Disaster Management.
Interview any two of the Govt. /Non-Government functionaries in your locality on their role in Disaster Management.
Senior District Magistrate
Additional District Magistrate
Sarpanch/MP/MLA
Head of any NGO working in your locality – dealing in Disaster Management
Police inspector, Superintendent of Police
Civil Defence Warden/elected representatives
Home guard personnel
NCC Commandant in the school
Deputy Commissioner of Municipality
School Principal
Carry out a survey by enquiring from at least 20 persons from different walks of life (such as shopkeepers, housewives, senior citizens, college students, etc.) in your locality on the hazards prevalent, and preventive measures they have taken or would like to take to reduce the impact.
Prepare a Survey report highlighting the areas where awareness is needed and the local resources available in the locality to create awareness.
(Note for Teachers: The teachers can select any two of the functionaries based on their availability in that city/town. This topic can be taken up individually by students or by a group consisting of two students. In case of group work where two students are involved, work should be divided equally so that distribution of marks is easier).
Project 2: Generating Awareness on Disaster Management
Design a 10 minute skit on Disaster Management. Design posters on dos and dont's various hazards prevalent in that area.
Visit a slum community and enact the skit by using the posters. The Skit and the posters can also be used to make the junior students aware.
(Note for the Teachers: Better awareness and preparedness amongst the community members have saved a lot of life and property. As responsible future citizens of the country, students can play a major role in awaring the community to be better prepared for natural hazards (flood, cyclone, landslide, tsunami etc) and human induced hazards (fire, rail road and air accidents ). Local language should be used so that the community is able to have a better understanding. The Principal along with the teachers can help the students in organizing a meeting with the local slum community).
PROJECT 3 – Preparation of Models of Disaster Resilient Structures
Make layouts of models based on structural improvement in buildings in a rural/ urban community in coastal areas prone to floods/cyclones or in areas prone to earthquakes/landslides. Show the special features of the buildings and indicate the early warning system that could be best used in that community.
(Note for Teachers: To carry out the project, there is a need to have a good understanding about the subject. The class X textbook on Disaster Management will help the teachers and the students to have a fair understanding about the topic. However, the school also needs to seek support from qualified engineers, and architects who have knowledge on safe construction practices from either the Government or private sector and also from academic institutions. Qualified engineers and architects can be invited by the principal of the school for lectures and also to suggest methods of carrying out the models. For assessing the project carried out by the school, these qualified persons may also be invited.)

PROJECT 4 – Pocket Guide on First Aid
Prepare a pocket guide on First Aid for your school. The First Aid pocket guide should contain aid that needs to be given for fractures, poisoning, cuts and burns, heat and cold wave and other threats that are prevalent in that area. The content shared in the guide should be supported with adequate pictures so as to give a clear and elaborate understanding about the topic. Choose awareness campaign strategy for either senior citizens or illiterate people and prepare a brief write-up.
(Note for the Teachers: The project can be carried out by a group of students in a class and work can be equally divided amongst the students so that the teachers are able to evaluate them easily. Doctors, local health practitioners, trained volunteers of Red Cross and professionals from other agencies/bodies/institutes, proficient in this field can be consulted to prepare the first-aid pocket guide. This guide can be printed by the school administration and shared with all the students, teachers and other staff members of the school. It can be used as a ready reckoner for any First Aid related information.

PROJECT 5 – Institutional Case Study on Disaster Response
Visit a local NGO/agency such as the United Nations, Red Cross/ Voluntary Youth Organisations like Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), National Cadet Corp (NCC), Bharat Scouts and Guides etc; and prepare a case study on how the agencies played a major role in Disaster Response.
(Note for the Teachers: The teachers may select the organisation/agency that they would like the students to be associated with. It can be mentioned here that each district in India has a Red Cross wing headed by the District Magistrate/Collector/Dy. Commissioner. The students before analysing the role played by various agencies can give a brief background of the organisation/agency on its mandate, objectives and goals and role during disasters).

PROJECT 6 – Communication facilities for Disaster Management
Choose any one method of communication from various means of communication like radio/satellite/television/ Ham radio which are used by Government departments such as the Indian Meteorological Department to disseminate information. Find out how the information is disseminated by them at various levels during disasters. Prepare a report.
(Note for the Teachers: The students can visit the government departments such as the All India Radio, Doordarshan etc. Principals are expected to issue a letter to the concerned Government Department so as to inform the department that the information collected will be solely for project purpose. Case studies can also be collected to make the project more interesting).

PROJECT 7: Preparation of Disaster Contingency Plan
Prepare a Contingency Plan either for your school or home/community.. The Plan should be based on an actual survey of your area/locality or school. The Plan prepared should consist of the following maps, inventory of resources available and a seasonality calendar highlighting the seasons prone to various hazards prevalent in that locality/school.
• A social map
• A Resource map
• A Vulnerability map on the outline map of your locality.
(Note for the Teachers: The teachers need to help the students while preparing the plan for the locality/school. It should answer the questions given under the sub-heading ‘community contingency plan’ in the lesson, called ‘Planning Ahead’ of Class X Disaster Management textbook.

communication facilities for disaster management

Communication is a major bottleneck in case of any major disaster particularly when the traditional network system already in force brake down. In order to strengthen communications, it has been decided that police network (POLNET) will also be used for disaster management. For this purpose POLNET communication facility will be extended to District Magistrates, Sub Divisional Magistrates as well as the Control Rooms.

Disasters are unpredictable and occur suddenly like earthquakes, flood, drought and cyclones. communication facilities for disaster management system is most important act as it convey at the right time communication in disaster , it may handle disaster and also helps in reducing it.

Two types of information is required in disaster management.

1. Pre-disaster Information


2. Post-disaster Information

   Disasters are unpredictable and occur suddenly like earthquakes, flood, drought and cyclones. communication facilities for disaster management system is most important act as it convey at the right time communication in disaster , it may handle disaster and also helps in reducing it.

   Two types of information is required in disaster management.

3. Pre-disaster Information

4. Post-disaster Information

we get the pre disaster information from the analysis and research departments, and the post disaster information is the information we get after the disaster. Communication Facilities can be set up for rescue and relief operation purposes as well. That type of early warning system developed at the different areas by itself.
Communication facilities for the disaster management system is the most important act as it conveys the right time communication in disaster, it can help in handling disaster plus also helps in reducing it. There are two types of information that is needed in disaster management. They are as follows:

1. Pre-disaster Information
2. Post-disaster Information

As far as the pre-disaster information is concerned we can get the information about it from the research and analysis department of the geography in the country; whereas the post- disaster information is the information we collect after the disaster. Our first job is to find out where and how does it occur? What is the next step to help people? Now a days Satellite Communication play a major role in disaster management Communication. Communication Facilities can be set up for rescue and relief operation purposes. Find below some of the Disaster Communication Facilities:

1. DCWDS (Digital Cyclone Warning Dissemination System).
It is for the pre-disaster information.

This is taken in terms of handsets which can be easily taken inside of the affected areas and sends information by direct audio communication.

1. This type of reporting terminal is developed for sending short messages directly through satellite in remote areas.

2. This is a system which can send video pictures of the affected area for online review from the control centre.

communicatio types

Communication theory

Currently, many definitions of communication are used in order to conceptualize the processes by which people navigate and assign meaning. Communication is also understood as the exchanging of understanding. Additionally the bicommunication theory investigates communicative processes within and among non-humans such as bacteria, animals, fungi and plants.

We might say that communication consists of transmiting information from one person to another. In fact, many scholars of communication take this as a working defnition , and use Lasswel's maxim, "who says what to whom in what channel with what effect," as a means of circumscribing the field of communication theory.

Other commentators suggest that a ritual of communication exists, one not artificially divorcible from a particular historical and social context.

There is an additional working definition of communication to consider that authors like Robert A. Lanham (2003) and as far back as Erving Goffman (1959) have highlighted. This is a progression from lessell'sto define human communication through to this century and revolutionized into the constructionist model. Constructionists believe that the process of communication is in itself the only messages that exist. The packaging can not be separated from the social and historical context from which it arose, therefore the substance to look at in communication theory is style for Robert Lanham and the performance of self for Erving Goffman.

Lanham chose to view communication as the rival to the over encompassing use of CBSmodel (which pursued to further the transmission model). CBS model argues that charity, brevity, and sincerity are the only purpose to prose discourse, therefore communication. Lanham wrote, “If words matter too, if the whole range of human motive is seen as animating prose discourse, than rhetoric analysis leads us to the essential questions about prose style” (Lanham 10). This is saying that rhetoric and style are fundamentally important; they are not errors to what we actually intend to transmit. The process which we construct and deconstruct meaning deserves analysis.

Erving Goffman sees the performance of self as the most important frame to understand communication. Goffman wrote, “What does seem to be required of the individual is that he learn enough pieces of expression to be able to ‘fill in’ and manage, more or less, any part that he is likely to be given” (Goffman 73) Goffman is highlighting the significance of expression. The truth in both cases is the articulation of the message and the package as one. The construction of the message from social and historical context is the seed as is the pre-existing message is for the transmission model. Therefore any look into communication theory should include the possibilities drafted by such great scholars as Robert.A.lenham and Ervinggoffman that style and performance is the whole process.

Communication stands so deeply rooted in human behaviors and the structures of socity scholars have difficulty thinking of it while excluding social or behavioral events. Because communication theory remains a relatively young field of inquiry and integrates itself with other disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, and sociology, one probably cannot yet^[update] expect a consensus conceptualization of communication across disciplines.

Currently, there is one paradigm from which communication scholars may work, a universal law, posited by S. F, Scudder (1900). "The Universal Law of Communication states that, "All living entities communicate." All living entities communicate via movements, sounds, reactions, physical changes, gestures, languages, breath, etc. Communication is primarily used as a means of survival. Examples such as the cry of a hungry infant (communication that it is hungry), the browing a leaf (communication that it is dehydrated), the cry of an animal (communication that it is injured) falls under the Universal Law of Communication. Everything living must communicate, primarily as a means of survival."

Communication Facilities for Disaster Management

Ham Radi0

click on pictures to magnify

Ham Radio is also know as Amateur radio.It is a community of people that use radio transmitters and receivers to communicate with other Amateur radio operators. If you were to ask a dozen different amateurs what ham radio meant to them chances are you would get 12 different answers. Amateur radio operators are often called ham radio operators or simply “hams” and frequently the public is more familiar with this term than with the legal term Radio Amateur. The source of this nickname is for all practical purposes lost from the beginning.

Communication is a major bottleneck in case of any major disaster particularly when the traditional network system already in force brake down. In order to strengthen communications, it has been decided that police network (POLNET) will also be used fordisaster management . For this purpose POLNET communication facility will be extended to District Magistrates, Sub Divisional Magistrates as well as the Control Rooms.

For emergency communication, mobile satellite based units which can be transported to the site of the disaster are being procured. A group was constituted to draw a comprehensive communication plan fordisaster management and the report has since been received. This provides for a dedicated communication system for disaster management with built in redundancies.

Besides the satellite, communication and education can play a proactive role in mitigation through awareness about the types of disaster and as to how prevention measures can be taken up.

There is also a Satellite based communication system called the Cyclone Warning Dissemination Systems (CWDS) for transmission of warnings. There are 250 such cyclone-warning sets installed in the cylone prone areas of east and west coast. The general public, the coastal residents and fishermen, are also warned through the Government mechinery and broadcast of warnings through AIR and Television.

What agencies need to be involved ?

• Police
• Fire
• Ambulance
• Hospitals
• Clinics
• Doctors
• Red Cross
• Blood Banks
• Marine operations (are there bodies of water?)
• Coast guard
• Department of transportation
• Departments of environment (if there is clean-up involved)
• Airlines
• Rail companies
• Local transit companies
• Bus companies (in case of evacuation)
• Border services – if applicable

* Free Stress Management Newsletter!Sign Up * Discuss in my Forum Take The Communication Skills Self Test

Social support can be a great source of stress relief, while interpersonal conflict can cause lots of additional stress in your life. An assertive style of relating to others can help build strong relationships and help you get what you want in life without causing unnecessary conflict with others. Do you relate to others assertively, or do you cause unnecessary additional conflict and stress in your life with aggressive, passive or passive-aggressive styles of relating to others? Take the Communication Skills Quiz to find out!
The following self test is designed to help you assess your style of relating with others. With each question, take a minute to vividly imagine how you would respond (be honest, so the test will be accurate and helpful). Then read each response and pick the one that best describes your response. (If your exact response isn't listed, just pick the one that's closest to what you would do.) At the end, you'll learn about your style of relating to others and how it might be impacting your life, and find resources for healthy communication and conflict resolution.

How To Communicate: Improve Your Relationships With Effective Communication Skills

Conflict in a relationship is virtually inevitable. In itself, conflict isn’t a problem; how it’s handled, however, can bring people together or tear them apart. Poor communication skills, disagreements and misunderstandings can be a source of anger and distance, or a springboard to a stronger relationship and happier future. Next time you’re dealing with conflict, keep these tips on effective communication skills in mind and you can create a more positive outcome.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: Just a little extra time.

Here's How:

1. Stay Focused: Sometimes it’s tempting to bring up past seemingly related conflicts when dealing with current ones. Unfortunately, this often clouds the issue and makes finding mutual understanding and a solution to the current issue less likely, and makes the whole discussion more taxing and even confusing. Try not to bring up past hurts or other topics. Stay focused on the present, your feelings, understanding one another and finding a solution.
2. Listen Carefully: People often think they’re listening, but are really thinking about what they’re going to say next when the other person stops talking. Truly effective communication goes both ways. While it might be difficult, try really listening to what your partner is saying. Don’t interrupt. Don’t get defensive. Just hear them and reflect back what they’re saying so they know you’ve heard. Then you’ll understand them better and they’ll be more willing to listen to you.
3. Try To See Their Point of View: In a conflict, most of us primarily want to feel heard and understood. We talk a lot about our point of view to get the other person to see things our way. Ironically, if we all do this all the time, there’s little focus on the other person’s point of view, and nobody feels understood. Try to really see the other side, and then you can better explain yours. (If you don't 'get it', ask more questions until you do.) Others will more likely be willing to listen if they feel heard.
4. Respond to Criticism with Empathy: When someone comes at you with criticism, it’s easy to feel that they’re wrong, and get defensive. While criticism is hard to hear, and often exaggerated or colored by the other person’s emotions, it’s important to listen for the other person’s pain and respond with empathy for their feelings. Also, look for what’s true in what they’re saying; that can be valuable information for you.
5. Own What’s Yours: Realize that personal responsibility is a strength, not a weakness. Effective communication involves admitting when you’re wrong. If you both share some responsibility in a conflict (which is usually the case), look for and admit to what’s yours. It diffuses the situation, sets a good example, and shows maturity. It also often inspires the other person to respond in kind, leading you both closer to mutual understanding and a solution.
6. Use “I” Messages: Rather than saying things like, “You really messed up here,” begin statements with “I”, and make them about yourself and your feelings, like, “I feel frustrated when this happens.” It’s less accusatory, sparks less defensiveness, and helps the other person understand your point of view rather than feeling attacked.
7. Look for Compromise Instead of trying to ‘win’ the argument, look for solutions that meet everybody’s needs. Either through compromise, or a new solution that gives you both what you want most, this focus is much more effective than one person getting what they want at the other expense. Healthy communication involves finding a resolution that both sides can be happy with.
8. Take a Time-Out: Sometimes tempers get heated and it’s just too difficult to continue a discussion without it becoming an argument or a fight. If you feel yourself or your partner starting to get too angry to be constructive, or showing some destructive communication patterns, it’s okay to take a break from the discussion until you both cool off. Sometimes good communication means knowing when to take a break.
9. Don’t Give Up: While taking a break from the discussion is sometimes a good idea, always come back to it. If you both approach the situation with a constructive attitude, mutual respect, and a willingness to see the other point of view or at least find a solution, you can make progress toward the goal of a resolution to the conflict. Unless it’s time to give up on the relationship, don’t give up on communication.
10. Ask For Help If You Need It: If one or both of you has trouble staying respectful during conflict, or if you’ve tried resolving conflict with your partner on your own and the situation just doesn’t seem to be improving, you might benefit from a few sessions with a therapist. Couples counseling or family therapy can provide help with altercations and teach skills to resolve future conflict. If your partner doesn’t want to go, you can still often benefit from going alone.

Tips:

1. Remember that the goal of effective communication skills should be mutual understanding and finding a solution that pleases both parties, not ‘winning’ the argument or ‘being right’.
2. This doesn’t work in every situation, but sometimes (if you’re having a conflict in a romantic relationship) it helps to hold hands or stay physically connected as you talk. This can remind you that you still care about each other and generally support one another.
3. Keep in mind that it’s important to remain respectful of the other person, even if you don’t like their actions.
4. Here's a list of common unhealthy ways to conduct conflict. Do you do some of these? If so, your poor communication skills could be causing additional stress in your life.

Communication Skills Test

Communicating with others is an essential skill in business dealings, family affairs, and romantic relationships. Do you often find yourself misunderstanding others? Do you have difficulty getting your point across clearly? When it comes to communication, what you say and what you don't say are equally important. Being a good listener is quite crucial. Find out how your interpersonal skills rate by taking the Communication Skills Test.

Examine the following statements and indicate the degree to which they apply to you. In order to receive the most accurate results, please answer each question as honestly as possible.

After finishing the test, you will receive a Snapshot Report with an introduction, a graph and a personalized interpretation for one of your test scores. You will then have the option to purchase the full results.

Types of communication

There are three major parts in human face to face communication which are body language, voice tonality, and words. According to the research:

• 55% of impact is determined by body language—postures, gestures, and eye contact,
• 38% by the tone of voice, and
• 7% by the content or the words used in the communicationprocess.
  

Although the exact percentage of influence may differ from variables such as the listener and the speaker, communication as a whole strives for the same goal and thus, in some cases, can be universal. System of signals, such as voice sounds, intonations or pitch, gestures or written which communicate thoughts or feelings. If a language is about communicating with signals, voice, sounds, gestures, or written symbols, can animal communications be considered as a language? Animals do not have a written form of a language, but use a language to communicate with each another. In that sense, an animal communication can be considered as a separate language.

Human spoken and written languages can be described as a systems symbols (sometimes known as lexemes and the programs by which the symbols are manipulated. The word "language" is also used to refer to common properties of languages.Languages learning normal in human childhood. Most human languages use patterns of sound or gesturefor symbols which enable communication with others around them. There are thousands of human languages, and these seem to share certain properties, even though many shared properties have exceptions.

There is nodefined between a language and a dialect, but the lingui max weinreich is credited as saying that " a language is a dialect with an army and navy".constructed languages such as esperanto ,programming languages, and various mathematical formalisms are not necessarily restricted to the properties shared by human languages.

Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication is the process of communicating through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages can be communicated through gesture,bodylanguage or posture;facial expressions and eye contact, object communication such as clothing,hairstyles or even architecture , or symbols and infographics , as well as through an aggregate of the above, such as behavioral communication. Nonverbal communication plays a key role in every person's day to day life, from employment to romantic engagements.

Speech may also contain nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rythem ,intonation and stress. Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the use of emoticons . A portmanteau of the English words emotion (or emote) and icon, an emoticon is a symbol or combination of symbols used to convey emotional content in written or message form.

Other communication channels such as telegraphy fit into this category, whereby signals travel from person to person by an alternative means. These signals can in themselves be representative of words, objects or merely be state projections. Trials ave shown that humans can communicate directly in this way without body language, voice tonality or words.

Categories and Features G. W. Porter divides non-verbal communication into four broad categories:

Physical. This is the personal type of communication. It includes facial expressions, tone of voice, sense of touch, sense of smell, and body motions.

Aesthetic. This is the type of communication that takes place through creative expressions: playing instrumental music, dancing, painting and sculpturing.

Signs. This is the mechanical type of communication, which includes the use of signal flags, the 21-gun salute, horns, and sirens.

Symbolic. This is the type of communication that makes use of religious, status, or ego-building symbols.

Static Features

Distance. The distance one stands from another frequently conveys a non-verbal message. In some cultures it is a sign of attraction, while in others it may reflect status or the intensity of the exchange.

Orientation. People may present themselves in various ways: face-to-face, side-to-side, or even back-to-back. For example, cooperating people are likely to sit side-by-side while competitors frequently face one another.

Posture. Obviously one can be lying down, seated, or standing. These are not the elements of posture that convey messages. Are we slouched or erect ? Are our legs crossed or our arms folded ? Such postures convey a degree of formality and the degree of relaxation in the communication exchange.

Physical Contact. Shaking hands, touching, holding, embracing, pushing, or patting on the back all convey messages. They reflect an element of intimacy or a feeling of (or lack of) attraction.

Dynamic Features

Facial Expressions. A smile, frown, raised eyebrow, yawn, and sneer all convey information. Facial expressions continually change during interaction and are monitored constantly by the recipient. There is evidence that the meaning of these expressions may be similar across cultures.

Gestures. One of the most frequently observed, but least understood, cues is a hand movement. Most people use hand movements regularly when talking. While some gestures (e.g., a clenched fist) have universal meanings, most of the others are individually learned and idiosyncratic.

History

Information communication revolutions

Over time, technology has progressed and has created new forms of and ideas about communication. These technological advances revolutionized the processes of communication. Researchers have divided how communication was transformed into three revolutionary stages:

In the 1st Information Communication Revolution, the first written communication began, with pictographs. These writings were made on stone, which were too heavy to transfer. During this era, written communication was not mobile, but nonetheless existed.

In the 2nd Information Communication Revolution, writing began to appear on paper, papyrus, clay, wax, etc. Common alphabets were introduced, allowing the uniformity of language across large distances. Much later the Gutenberg printing-press was invented. Gutenberg created the first printed book using his press, and that book was the Bible. The writings were able to be transferred for others across the world to view. Written communication is now storable, and portable.

In the 3rd Information Communication Revolution, information can now be transferred via controlled waves and electronic signals.

Communication is thus a process by which meaning is assigned and conveyed in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertoire of skills in intrapersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. It is through communication that collaboration and cooperation occur.

There are also many common barriers to successful communication, two of which are message overload (when a person receives too many messages at the same time), and message complexity. Communication is a continuous process.

Communication

Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another. Communication processes are sign-mediated interactions between at least two agents which share a repertoire of signs and semiotic rules. Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs". Although there is such a thing as one-way communication, communication can be perceived better as a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of thoughts,feelings or ideas (energy) towards a mutually accepted goal or direction (information).

Communication is a process whereby information is enclosed in a package and is channeled and imparted by a sender to a receiver via some medium. The receiver then decodes the message and gives the sender a feedback. All forms of communication require a sender, a message, and a receiver. Communication requires that all parties have an area of communicative commonality. There are auditory means, such as speech, song, and tone of voice, and there are nonverbal means, such as bodylanguage ,signlanguage,paralanguage,touch,eyecontact,and writing.