Protected: Integrated Arts- Week 3
Protected: Integrated Arts- Week 2
Protected: Integrated Arts- Week 1
Holmes-Rahe life stress inventory
In the Holmes-Rahe life stress inventory, I scored 167 out of 1466 putting me at the lower end of the 150-300 point category. This took into account my recent life changes including a new school (university), moving and living in a new home. Another factor which was not taken into account was the fact that I have moved away from my family for the first time (as most of my relatives reside along the East coast and I now primarily live in Ayr). This is a significant point because this means I have less time with a significant support network. As well as moving away from family and friends, I have moved to an area where I had never visited before and I did not have any connection with. This could add to stress because a lot more of my daily life had to be done independently. I could no longer call a friend to join me going into town or the cinema because I did not know anyone. The 150-300 points category predicts a 50% chance of a major health breakdown in the next two years. My general health at present is good and in the next year I do not plan on any other significant life changes however in the following years I intend moving again and there is a possibility of taking out a loan or mortgage to support this. This could mean that in the next few years my stress levels could go up and my chance of illness could increase. To combat stress in my life I will continue getting support from friends and family where possible and organise my financial affairs.
http://www.stress.org/holmes-rahe-stress-inventory/
‘Finding out about others: the skill of questioning’, in Hargie, O. (2011) Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. 5th ed. London: Routledge
The main theme of this particular chapter was the use of questioning in communication, the chapter aims to elaborate on the science behind both basic and strategic questioning and why we use it in communication. Throughout, it discussed verbal and non-verbal messaging, questions in different contexts and the different uses of questioning (in a classroom, in court and so on).
Hargie makes the claim that children ask questions during their development and to support this, parents should do their best to respond to these questions (Cook, 2009). I agree with this statement because children will then build curiosity and feel listened to and important.
Hargie also makes a reference to Rudyard Kipling’s question classification of what, why, when, how, where and who. This reflects the information that someone would be looking to gain from and answer rather than how they present the question itself. Towards the end of the chapter, he lists Dillon’s (1990) possible answers to all questions. He acknowledges that respondent may choose not to answer using silence, refusal, changing the subject or use of humour. Dillon also suggests that the answer may be skewed by the respondent by lying, stalling, evading, withholding, answering the ‘real’ question or distortion. They also say that the last option is that the respondent will answer directly.
I personally disagree with the use of probing and persistent questioning used in Box 5.3 (pg 142) against a young child. The questioning technique used distresses the child and the question instead goes un-answered.
Communication in Other Environments
Group and Leadership
- Within our group, there was no distinct leader.
- We all co-operated to ensure everyone was participating by collecting materials .
- The only challenge we faced as a group was making sure everyone had something to do and did not feel excluded. In some cases people assigned themselves more work than was necessary leaving others with nothing to do.
Explaining
- The group the explained to us were very clear and concise in their explanation.
- It was made clear through descriptive words and pointing to the areas they spoke about.
Environment
- Because we were outside, our communication was changed. To ensure we could be heard by the whole group we spoke closer together and used gesture to show the areas we were discussing.
- In a classroom environment communication would be much more formal compared to todays experience. When communicating with pupils the register used would also be different compared to that used with our peers.
- I did not find it especially challenging to speak above the sounds in the environment because the whole group stayed close together.
- When communicating distraction was more likely because other groups were moving around the area and asking questions. This could be overcome by bringing the group closer or moving to a quieter area
Negotiation
- Our negotiations were unsuccessful because other groups did not want the materials we were offering.
- This was challenging because there is not much we could do to change what the groups needed.
