detailed outline of chapter 8

Jihad Faroukhi
Chapter 8
the Global implication of the internet: challenges and prospects
Convergence theory and cultural identity
Communication is a process of sharing information in which two or more participants reach mutual understanding.
The convergence model posits reduced within group variance to be the primary result of the communication process and a requirement for collective action and the achievement of social goals.
Cultural convergenge theory suggests that the variance between groups or national cultures would become smaller over time as a result of international communication.
Systems Approach and Social networks systems

Holism is better characterized by organizational structure, when an entity consisting of two or more basic parts, or people in communication with each other in which the outcome is something more or different than the sum of the parts (e.g., culture).
Definition of a system

“A system, then, is a set of things that affect one another within an environment and form a larger pattern that is different from any of he parts”
Social networks

Social network perspectives focus on the structure of social systems elements of a social system are put together


From the network perspective, social environment can be expressed as patterns or regularities in relationship among interacting units

These patterns are often called structure
Intercultural Communication
Intercultural communication concerns the linkages between Groups A and B that involve individuals a, b, and c
These links also include the mass media, telecommunications, including the Internet because the information that facilitates the understanding of Groups A and B is communicated via the mass media, either print or electronic
These linkages among different cultural groups have increased, resulting in globalization:

The process of strengthening the worldwide social relations that link distant localities in such a way that local events are shaped by circumstances at remote places in the world



Trans-border communication has opened cultural boundaries and began the process of cultural convergence

It has created a global community with an increasingly homogenous culture, particularly regarding political, economic, educational, and scientific activities, although in the area of religion this process has been much slower
the network structure of international internet
The Internet is one channel that directly connects people of different cultural and national groups from across the globe with one another

Information flows via the Internet may facilitate the convergence of national cultures, leading to a universal set of beliefs that includes a change from national to global identity