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and if you have not done so already, the First Evaluation Survey
This unit aims to provide students with an introductory understanding of a range of communication theories and practices necessary for academic work and professional success. Communication is not merely a simple matter of sending and receiving messages but is a complex process involving a range of factors related to those involved in the communication as well as the situation or context in which it takes place. Students will be introduced to a range of theories covering these variables and will examine a variety of factors which affect both oral and written communication within professional and academic contexts.
The course studies aspects of professional communication such as: the importance of perception and non verbal communication; an appreciation of problems and issues which relate to communication across cultures; as well as a range of critical perspectives relating to computer-mediated communication including censorship and the social impact of modern electronic communication technologies on interpersonal communication from both an organisational and personal perspective. An understanding of the importance of computer and research ethics is also central to the course.
From a practical point of view, we will teach you academic skills of electronic research and referencing, something which is essential to success at university. In the second half of the course we specifically focus on the professional writing and our tutorials will move to computer labs to allow you to practice your skills. To this end, you will be working on weekly writing and research exercises which you can submit as part of your workshop portfolio.
Like most courses, there is never enough time to cover all aspects of the course and so you should come to class having read the relevant textbook chapter and the weekly readings. These provide more specific perspectives of the issues raised and we will use them to generate class discussions. Our course textbook Communicating as professionals (3e) has been recently revised by Ray Archee and Myra Gurney with this unit in mind. It includes up-to-date case studies and activities, many of which we will use in class.
Our textbook has been newly revised especially for this unit. Most lectures and many class activities will be based on the book, so we recommend that all students have access to a copy and bring it to class every week. Copies will be made available in the Library Closed Reserve.
In addition, class discussions and presentations will be based on more specific readings on the weekly topic. These can be found under the 'Tutorial Readings' tab at the top of this page.
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