Publisher's Synopsis
For the survey of Human Communication course. Human Communication in Society is the only text to explore the interplay between the individual and society and its impact on communication.
By understanding how the tensions among individual forces, societal forces, cultures, and contexts shape communication and meaning, students become more ethical and effective communicators. Based on feedback from more than 2,000 students who class-tested the manuscript and over 100 faculty reviewers, Alberts, Nakayama, and Martin wrote Human Communication in Society to bring a comprehensive, balanced view to the study of human communication.
The three authors bring expertise in their specific areas of study to create balanced coverage in the text. Jess Alberts, a social scientist, focuses on interpersonal communication with special proficiency in conflict and relationships. Thomas Nakayama is a critical scholar with a focus on rhetoric and intercultural communication. Judith Martin rounds out the project as the interpretive scholar with an expertise in intercultural communication.
- Personalize Learning-MyCommunicationLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals. With tools such as MediaShare (our video upload and commenting tool), MyOutline, and self-assessments in MyPersonalityProfile, MyCommunicationLab works with students and instructors to personalize the learning experience and make it more effective.
- Improve Skill Development and Application- Improving Your Communication features offer practical guidelines for applying chapter material to everyday communication. Additional activities on MyCommunicationLab.com emphasize skill-building and applications.
- Engage Students- It Happened to Me features provide a connection to important communication concepts through real-life examples written in students' own words. The book features a highly-visual format, including eighteen Visual Summaries that help students review and understand a crucial concept in each chapter. Did You Know boxes now include discussion questions to stimulate student thought and discussion.
- ExploreExamples of contemporary communication--Chapter Thirteen, Computer Mediated Communication, has been significantly revised to include updated statistics for internet use, a new theoretical framework to frame the discussion of new media use (media deficit and media augmentation approaches), as well as new discussions on mobile communication technology and social networking sites (SNS); and, finally, an enhanced discussion of the connection between societal and individual forces (e.g. blogging, digital divide, and "Internet connectedness").
- Emphasize Learning Outcomes-Chapter objectives help guide student learning and articulate for the instructor desired outcomes for each chapter.
- Understand Theory and Research - Alternative Views boxed features present research findings that contradict conventional wisdom, allowing students to make their own informed judgments after examining both sides of an issue. Students also can access Pearson's MySearchLab where they can get extensive help on the research process as well as access to four databases of credible and reliable source material (for details, please see www.mysearchlab.com ). MySearchLab also contains an AutoCite feature that assists students in the creation of a Works Cited document (using APA, MLA, or Chicago formats), as well as Pearson's SourceCheck, which encourages students to accurately document and cite their sources.
- Support Instructors- A strong supplements package along with activities and assessments in MyCommunicationLab. ClassPrep, located within MyCommunicationLab, contains videos, lectures, classroom activities, audio clips, and more.
