Communication and Understanding Around the World

Abstract

Communication and understanding is a global issue. This presentation takes a systems theoretic perspective to the discussion of communication. It begins with the description of complex information processing systems which are at the heart of communication and their various features. Human beings are identified as these complex information processing systems. The presentation goes on to discuss the importance of recognizing that communication is often taken for granted. The advantages of viewing human communication from a systems perspective, the differences between a linear information transfer model and a transactional model of communication are pointed out. The implications for intercultural communication and understanding, of modeling communication in this way, and more about the applications of these considersations for people concerned with simulations and games are also included.