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Missile Defense

Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

lunarchick - 06:53am Mar 26, 2001 EST (#1514 of 1522)
lunarchick@www.com

Communication model links - general: general

Noise

Noise refers to anything introduced into the message that is not included in it by by sender. Noise was introduced as a concept in communication theory by Shannon and Weaver in the 1940's. They were mostly concerned with mechanical noise, such as the distortion of a voice on the telephone or interference with a television signal producing "snow" on the TV screen. In the succeeding decades, other kinds of noise have been recognized as potentially important problems for communication:

semantic noise occurs because of the ambiguities inherent in all languages and other sign systems (the end of communication might mean "the purpose of communication" or "the stopping of communication"). psychological noise occurs when the psychological state of the receiver(s) is such as to produce an unpredictable decoding (right after a major earthquake, an "oldies" radio station in Los Angeles plays Elvis Presley's "I'm All Shook Up" as part of a preprogrammed music session, and is condemned by listeners for mocking victims of the quake). cultural noise occurs when the culture or subculture of the audience is so different from that of the sender that the message is understood in way the sender might not have anticipated (a restaurant's advertisement describing "mouth-watering country ham" is found repulsive by vegetarians as well as orthodox Muslims and Jews). Noise

traditional model (slides)

Transmission Model of Communication

rshowalter - 07:02am Mar 26, 2001 EST (#1515 of 1522)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Ken P. Cohen would know many, many things that the Russian state ought to understand. One thing, perhaps more basic than any other. He could, if he would, and if there were communication skills on the Russian side, explain a set of cultural distinctions that cause no end of communication breakdown between Russians and others -- breakdowns that cause deals to break down, or cause others to feel that they "cannot deal" with Russans.

Cohen would know, in detail, the significant distinctions between "ordinary business organization and negotiation" and "conspiracy."

Russians might not like all the things that Cohen knows about this subject, and might disagree aesthetically and morally with some of his standards. But they would be better able to deal with the world, and would run their own internal affairs more gracefully, if they knew more about these standards and usages.

rshowalter - 07:18am Mar 26, 2001 EST (#1516 of 1522)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Lunarchick's reference on communication are profoundly good -- as many of her references are. (I bet there is not, in all Russia, a single mind with the erudition and grace of Lunarchick -- nor, so I'd guess, anywhere else, the world over. She is special.)

Look especially at this one image! http://www.hsu.edu/faculty/williaa/mkt3013/NOTES/bm13ch14/sld011.htm

Russia has difficulties with "common ground" again and again and again, in its internal dealings, but especially in its dealings with the outside world.

"Common frames of reference" are essential to cooperation. To get them, and trust them, lies must be minimized, and it must be possible to check to see that the same things are understood by both "sender" and "reciever" -- and that these understandings are objectively true.

lunarchick - 07:25am Mar 26, 2001 EST (#1517 of 1522)
lunarchick@www.com

Along these lines?

Ordinary business
negotiations ............ versus ............ conspiracy

Legitimate .............................. lack legitimacy
Standard ............................... non-standard
Pay tax ................................... tax avoidance
regulated/visible ......................... invisible
Honesty .................................. dishonesty
Career path ............................... Jail path
Transferable skills ........................ Non transferable
Transparent ................................ Hidden
Subject to scrutiney ....................... Hidden

lunarchick - 07:31am Mar 26, 2001 EST (#1518 of 1522)
lunarchick@www.com

TOWARDS A NEW PARADIGM FOR SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION Library AN EMERGING (digital) PARADIGM

rshowalter - 07:33am Mar 26, 2001 EST (#1519 of 1522)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Good ! Though Cohen, and most businessmen, would have reservations, and want to contexualize and reframe.

A "short discussion" - videotaped, dealing with the rough taxonomy and semantics of lunarchick 3/26/01 7:25am , with a Russian diplomat, and Cohen, and some literary reporter for the NYT might make fascinating "theater" and be very enlightening, too.

There might be the same difficulties with mulitple meanings that have stood in the way of understanding when the word "threat" has been used.

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