Since the dawn of human kind, Homo sapiens have persevered in seeking, creating, and developing new tools and methods to communicate among one another; In all the fundamental communication arenas—whether intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, public, and as a particular phenomenon of recent decades, Mass Communication that utilizes innovative and dynamic forms of Media, Men and Women continue to accelerate the evolution of a massively expanding network.

Can you imagine a world without television, newspapers, magazines, or books? At the rate technology has transformed our daily lives, it probably won’t be long before such traditional mediums become obsolete and replaced by mobile and digital forms of communication media.

Before one can fully grasp the phenomenon that is the present soon to become the future, one must first consider the past of communications and its implications on the masses that created, employed and inherited it.

In the beginning, long before electricity was mastered, humans relied on rudimentary mediums of communication, which were greatly limited in message dynamics and audience reach. Up until only a few centuries ago, only privileged individuals such as Monarchs, Lords, Governors, and Governess’ had the abilities to mass communicate to their respective audiences.

In feudal times, literacy was quite limited. Outside of the minority elite segment that were fortunate enough to be able to read and write, the masses had only their voices and ears to connect them with the rest of the world.

Times have dramatically changed. Not only is most of the known world literate and at least partially educated, advancements in technology have ironically made an expanding and ever populating globe become ever seemingly smaller.

In this rapidly changing and evolving world, we humans have found ourselves entrenched in the virtually limitless and boundless exchange of resources—namely that of knowledge and information. Without a doubt, future scholars will look back on the current generation, and refer to the late 20th and early 21st century as the dawn of the ‘Information & Communication Technology Age.’

With the invention and implementation of Computers, and more particularly, the Internet, in only a few short decades, our lives have become dominated by the World Wide Web, both directly and indirectly. More and more people have come to rely on this digital medium as their prime source and channel for information, entertainment, employment, companionship, world surveillance and interpretation–completely redefining the rules of marketing, business, consumerism, finance, and fashion, and family among others.

Clearly, the internet has reshaped and redefined new realms of Mass Communications, allowing anyone and everyone receive-decode and encode-respond to mass messages. While a majority of the millions of internet users today play a receptive role online, meaning they use the internet to seek and obtain information, news, and other forms of media such as movies, music, and photos, more and more people are discovering the advantages, benefits, and convenience of global internet channel to transmit and send their own messages to the masses.

Obviously, all aspects of the communication process—sender, encoding, message, channel, receiver, decoding and feedback—are essential to the greater communication picture. Lacking emphasis in any one of these aspects will result in mis-communication. Therefore, in that sense, all aspects are the most important. However, for the purpose of this article, I will execute a difficult argument by choosing the aspect which I think is the most important, and therefore should receive the most emphasis.

Many might argue that the sender, message, encoding, decoding and even channels are the most important aspect. After all, without these, there would be no communications to analyze at all. After much contemplation, I have decided that neither of those aspects is any more important than the one which is truly the starting and ending point of all communications. The most important aspect of the communications process is the receiver.

I came to this conclusion by asking myself what is the root of communication? In other words, what initiates all communications in the first place, for certainly the cause and starting point of any communication could be justified as the most important aspect. No matter what angle I looked at it from, it all came down to the receiver.

The reason a message is even created is to reach a receiver, for without the receiver, there will be no purpose. In communications, the sender has to consider everything revolving around the receiver, by asking him/herself questions such as, ‘Who do I want to communicate to?’ ‘Why do I want to communicate to them?,’ ‘How can I communicate to them?,’ and finally, ‘What do I need to know about them in order to communicate to them?’

Once such questions about the receiver are answered, only then can the communication process begin. The sender then, must tailor and encode the appropriate message that is suitable for the receiver. Since in the initial communication, the receiver is receptive to the message, every thing about the message has to be adapted to the receiver, and not the other way around.

For example, suppose George W. Bush—someone we all know too well—communicates with a village in a rural village in the middle of Laos, for example, he must first consider his audience (the receiver) before anything. If he just went to the village with the attitude that he as the sender was the most important aspect of his communication, he would not prepare himself, and it wouldn’t matter who his audience was.

In such an example, the encoding and message would all fall back to whatever he had to say, as the almighty sender was all that was important–there would be no need for interpreters to help decode the message. He could go to the village and give his speech with his Texas English accent, but since he did not consider the receiver as being more important, his communication would be very ineffective. The receivers may smile at the funny looking foreigner, but chances are most of them wouldn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

To continue the example, lets say he was smart enough to consider that he the sender was not the most important aspect alone, and that he needed to also emphasize the importance of the channel, encoding, and decoding as to ensure understanding of his message. Therefore, to prepare for his speech, he rented the best sound system that side of the Mekong, and recruited the best translator in could find.

Lets just say that the message he intended to communicate was that he is the best president that the USA ever had. Still, since he did not consider the receiver as being the most important aspect of the communication process, the communication would be ineffective. Even though he had hired translators (decoders) and prepared a good sound system (channel), it wouldn’t matter what facts and examples he gave, most of the people in that village would probably not care about the message, even if they could understand it clearly. The message simply was irrelevant to his audience, and since it did not emphasize them as the receivers, than it most likely would not be effective.

In reality, George W. Bush isn’t that stupid, and he and his speech writers are smart enough to know that the receiver is the most important aspect. When the current US President was touring Asia a few months ago, and he gave a speech in Thailand to commemorate 175 years of Thai-US relations, he was smart enough to relate his speech to his audience in Bangkok when he referenced his majesty, King Rama IV, or King Mongkut’s famed letter to the President Abraham Lincoln almost 150 years ago.

In the letter, King Rama IV offered his American counterpart a tribute of Siamese elephants to assist in the American Civil war (of which the American president kindly refused in that America wasn’t the natural habitat of elephants). George W. Bush made a light joke asking if the offer still stood. George W Bush (or his speech writers) knew that not only are the Thai people proud of their rich history, monarchy, and reputation of friendship, but they are very keen to good humored speakers. His joke was received with laughs and echoed among talks long after, certainly improving the President’s image among many.

In conclusion, I would like to relay a popular saying in Thai (also in other languages such as Urdu). Dtop Meu kaang diaw mai siang dung ตอบมือข้างเดียวไม่เสียงดัง which has a meaning along the lines that a one handed clap can not make a loud sound. In other words, the communication process is only effective as a whole; without any one aspect, the communication process is defunct.

Hours can be lost acquiring a single signature; it’s no wonder, emotions, anxiety, and tempers are peaking these times when it is not uncommon for a student or staff to blow their lid in a shouting match.
This system of blind line waiting and dealing with un-empowered staffs is inefficient, in need of serious reform if BUIC’s administrative standard and reputation is to be on par with the rest of the evolving first world. While ICT (self administered online) is implemented at BUIC partially for early registration as well as add-drop for students who were able to complete / pay for pre-registration, there is no reason why every stage of the process including late registration can’t be completed digitally and remotely for the bulk of students, leaving conflicts which need to be solved in-person for the minority few, relieving unnecessary anxiety on both staff-faculty and students.

Moments before registration is scheduled to begin, here students tensely line up at an apparent starting line, (really just a separation in floor mats) preparing to race for a front place in the processing queue line.

Dear madams and sirs,
My name is Abraham Pol, Vice Director of the International Summer School 2010
in Thailand and Taiwan, organized by the University of Linz (Austria) and the
Austrian Association of East Asian Studies.

As our program is open to students of all nationalities, we kindly ask you to
announce our project in your media (internet,newsletter etc):

Summer School Taiwan 2010 - Politics, Economy and Society in East Asia

Time and place: 14 August - 11 September 2010, National Sun Yat-sen University,
Taiwan

Summer School Thailand 2010 - Politics, Economy & Management in Southeast Asia

Time and place: 21 August - 17 Septmber 2010, Thammasat University, Bangkok

Taiwan Plus 2010

Time and place: 14 August - 16 September 2010, National Sun Yat-sen University,
Taiwan + a five day field trip to Thailand

For more details visit our website:
http://www.eastasia.at/summerschool/

Application deadline: 15 May 2010

Lets be realistic people, in economic dire, why pay twice the price for half the lifestyle. Thailand may well be your remedy.

This article might help prospective students who plan to enter the Kingdom of Thailand to get a better understanding of Thailand and its world wide recognized  universities which are affiliated with other universities in the above mentioned nations among the global network.

Students and professors  from  around the globe come here to study and work. Therefore,international diversity is guaranteed ,visibly evident and this would benefit one who wants to be working for multinational organizations or any organization actually, or anywhere.

Thailand is one of the few countries which accept students for entry level after they have completed 5 O levels( Metric /grade 11/year 10) and  A level/FSC/intermediate level/High school grade 12) is NOT necessary. I on the other hand had 8 O levels and  2 years of high school and I ended up at the same university where you can enter  with the minimum requirements, I basically wasted morre than2 years.I had  to learn it the hard way but I guess that’s how I learnt. I hope this article can save you from this mishap.One does blame themselves of the past and wished they could have taken the right  decision.But also one wishes that why weren’t they  guided properly.

However; we can only  learn from the past and at least create awareness so that it does not happen to others. This article’s purpose is  for all the students around the globe who intend on graduating efficiently and saving precious time and money if they do plan to study here in Thailand.

The total duration of BBA courses are usually +-3.5 years. The total number of credits you need speaking off my own university are 129 credits( Most of the subjects are 3 credits and a minority are 1 credit).It is highly recommended that you plan behead of time which courses will be offered all year(Free electives) round and the which might not be ( Major courses) which are not offered all the time.

Take this as a WARNING as this might be the factor which can save you months or even a year for waiting for one subject!Trust me, I am  speaking from personal experience. The total fees ranges from approximately 260,000baht- 500,000 baht depending on which university. The accommodation varies as well , some universities have their own dorms on campus and some don’t.However; finding a cheap place to live near the university and also which is near transportation is not something to be worried about.

Sharing a place with friends can save you substantial amount of cash  if you are on a tight budget. If you are concerned about your privacy then you can also live find affordable places.  It isn’t that difficult at all to find a place by your own self  and as most know Thailand is considered the land of smiles, people will  be happy to help you.

Food,transportation and entertainment costs vary from person to person but it is much cheaper than going abroad from the asian region. Thai food is well known for it’s unique taste and spices. It might be difficult to adjust first, but once you develope the taste, you are hooked.

There are numerous restaurants,fast food places,hotels that provide international cuisines but all vary in prices,if you want to cook at home you can find all the materials you need from the local Tesco lotus,Big C etc..The best part is that it is close to your native country IF you come from Asia,so you can be saved from  feeling home sick and can visit your country often and quicker as compared to if you studied in Europe .eg. It is only four and a half hours away from my native country…Pakistan also homefood ( desi food) can be found easily.

Students who are eager to establish themselves financially can also find part time jobs. The most common part time job for students is  teaching/private tutoring English and primary subjects to the local Thai children .This a good way to earn some cash. Jobs can be found on the net or by local newspapers such as Bangkokpost(classified) The Nation .

Even though, I’ve personally never had to get a job here out of necessity (but for how long, we’ll see)

this is  khan007 signing out

It’s not the airport yet as is feared much, but still affecting business in a time of dire economic times. While following the regular Thai academic schedule, it’s summer time, but for those institutions on the international calendar, there are some indications from this colored shirt mess.

As can be read on Bangkok University’s homepage this announcement:

Because current traffic obstructions related to political activity in some areas of Bangkok have caused commuting difficulties for faculty and students, Bangkok University will be closed from Friday, April 10 to Wednesday, April 15, 2009. Classes and University’s administration will resume on Thursday, April 16.

…not that it’s a big deal for BUIC students whom rarely get more than three days off for the Thai New Years festival which typically lasts a week long throughout the country. For most tend to skip the class(es) preceding-proceeding Songkran week anyway.

It’s supposed that the biggest upset to these kinds of hindrances is the loss of money & business. On the flipside, it’s rumored that some protesters are being hired for 500 baht a day.. So if you don’t hinge at bomb threats or stray bullets common to Thai civil unrest, and need some extra cash, then…

…you’re better off with an Ebay Venture…Happy Songkran!

Come January 7-8, it is likely one more class will need to be added during Registration add-drop period.

Including tuition for 15 credits, institutional, electricity, and more frankly, the  ‘academia profit fees,’ etc. the damage was a little over 28,000 baht. Note that new students as of this year have to pay 25% more than this, in that  every several years, the University business raises the tuition by 25% (as if the cost of living and quality of life was raising that quickly….sigh)

Unfortunately, the closer one gets to graduation, the less freedom they have in customizing convenient schedules, taking what they need when its offered.  And so here is the Siamerican’s schedule of five classes on four days for the beginning of 2009:

(Click to Enlarge)

Second year, ‘Man & Environment’ is apparently an advanced middle school Science class, who’s incubator was clearly trapped in Patriarchal delusions when presumably, ‘he’ named the course. In taking this, it was a choice between relearning photosynthesis and reinforcing global warming realities two hours a week, or troubling the head with impractical calculus book equations for four hours a week by taking the alternative, ‘Fundamental Mathematics’. The path of least resistance wins and it’s ‘Environmental Science’ on Tuesday morning.

Third year major requirement,  ‘Theories of Persuasion‘ on Wednesday morning topped with a fourth year major elective, ‘Communication Planning & Policy‘ in the afternoon. Thursday late afternoon-early evening calls for a third year major elective, ‘Corporate Relationship Management‘  (of the entire communication arts curriculum, students have to choose six out of only ten available ‘electives’)

Finally, Friday aftertoon will have another third year major requirement, Public Opinion & Propaganda, presumably yet another time-relevant media-political based class. If one class will need to be added, perhaps it will be the first class on the program’s curriculum, Communicative English. Luckily, if this coerced class for all students is the complete waste of time/money that is prospected, the University does offer a rare test-out option for this class credit, which is apparently as simple as matching words-definitions, and paragraph structuring elements.

UPDATE: January 8, 2009

IEN 105, Section 5331, Communicative English was successfully added to the class schedule upon paying the 4500 tuition + 200 baht elecricity fee.  Learning from last semester’s add-drop lesson, the Siamerican was sure to log in to the university add-drop registration protocal first thing on Wednesday morning to secure seats for the needed class, in which there were only two seets available for the section which he needed in order to avoid a schedule conflict.

This class fills in the Thursday morning’s 8.40 to 11.10, as well as an additional block from 12.40 to 13.50.

Details will be posted regarding the test out transfer option mentioned for this required, albeit rudimentary course, which for a native American English speaker with multiple responsibilities and obligations, might be reckoned an arbitrary use of Thursday’s waxing sun.

The alternative to testing out for no-grade transfer credit is to actually attend and earn a grade based on attendance and demonstration of competency with fundamental English communications. Stay tuned:

CLICK TO ENLARGE MODIFIED SCHEDULE

Click to enlarge schedule

Thursday: General Psychology; Communication Consulting and Training;

Friday: Managment; Introduction to Economics; Art Appreciation

Saturday: Media and Society; Communication and Development;

The Siamerican made it to school on Friday and today, Saturday as to get an idea of his classes, but chose to stay away from school on Thursday as to cool down after a scene he had on Wednesday morning in the city campus’s auditorium during the hectic class Add-Drop event.

To make a long story short, the Siamerican let impatience and arrogance get the best of him, taking his frustrations out on the University’s top man, the Dean himself, cursing and shouting in front of dozens of students and staff who could only pretend to be indifferent to the scene that very few could find the stress and guts to engage in.

The ineffective and system-less ‘circus’ that was in place had proved quite irritating and pressuring not only for students, but for the entire faculty that was in charge of straightening out student’s schedules and classes to suite each and everyone’s individual needs. On the bright side, such an redundant process has only one way to go in future times, and hopefully that’s towards a more systematic and effective system.

Nonetheless, after much contemplation and consideration, the Siamerican’s first agenda on Friday morning was to approach the Dean and make a gesture of apology in person, for whatever it was worth. The Siamerican realizes that yelling, shouting, and making demands of anybody, especially someone with prestigious shoes, is of no characteristic for a responsible adult, and best left in Kindergarten.

Initially after the dispute, the Siamerican ended up adding a different class on the University’s online system, than the one he initially intended for (which needed the Dean’s approval to add an extra seat to the already fully-booked class) and could move on with his life, taking one baby step forward towards the day, when he can leave the academia circle behind in Wonderland, and emerge fully into the real world of business.

Speaking of which, business has been busy as ever. The project that he has been managing is gradually moving forward, the monstrous state of California’s data gathering completion in the near horizon, of which the next states of Arizona and Nevada can be soon conquered. Building, managing, and maintaining a remote team has proved to be the ultimate test.

As for this semester, the Siamerican will diligently struggle to maintain the balance of academics and business, applying knowledge and application across the clashing boundaries of two opposing, yet similar worlds. However, as the Siamerican is no longer in need of a long-shot ‘perfect student’ scholarship and all the stress and politics it takes to convince the University to award such an honor, academics loses out on priority this term and here on. Rather than be determined to intentionally maintain the high GPA, the Siamerican will show up when he needs to and do his best when there, but will purposely award no stress energy to his academics, as he needs all the reserves he has to devote to the project which pays his bills, and will be his stepping stone into the real world.

In other words, there probably won’t be another blog here bragging about straight A’s or complaining about redundant systems, for that has already been covered. If anything, it’s get the C, Degree, as to Flee with Glee, and anything beyond that will be what it is.

Stay tuned…

*Initially starting the first half of 2003, after a trip back to the USA coming back to study all of 2004 at BUIC, 2005, 2006, and 2007 were an extended break away from the academic world, instead writing as a journalist/columnist for a English magazine full time, the while teaching English, part time.

Despite all previous uncertainties and rants of constructive criticism on this blog about the University’s examinations culture and procedure, the traditional, albeit ineffective assessment system has painted the Siamerican as a top student, yet again.

For this fourth semester since January 2003, it is confirmed that the Siamerican has achieved his first unflawed 4.0 semester, adding 18 credits to his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Arts’ transcript now at 54 out of 129, confirming him as a seasoned sophomore.

In each of his previous semesters years ago, he had always come a hair short of straight As with one or two classes that provided the disappointing B+, keeping his GPA at a just shy of perfect 3.9 prior to returning to the Academic scene as a transfer student earlier this year.

While reassuring to know that predictable systems can be evaluated, persevered through, and mastered, the down side now is a high standard has been maintained demanding consistency in the next term for hard and dedicated academic focus. Part of the Siamerican was actually hoping for a few Bs and/or Cs as to bring his GPA down, triggering a complete loss of faith in the system, and thus take off the pressure for being consistent to a high standard, allowing him future mediocre terms of less-stressing commitment to grades.

In any case, the next two years of academics, business, and personal prosperity will call for a continued high level of commitment and dedication to excellency and perfection.