CSC 339

THEORITICAL COMPUTER SCIENCE

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 Course Outline
• Historical background of information theory;
models of communication system, coding
theory, Information and coding, basic concepts
of interactive computing, interactive terminals,
devices protocols, direct links, communication
channels, telecommunication links, simplex,
half duplex, full duplex multiplexer,
concentrators, computer networks, operating
system for online processing scheduling.
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 Course Structure
• Lectures
• Presentations
• Assignments
• Tests
• Examination

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 The Process of Communication
• Learning Objectives:
• To learn about the flow of communication
• To get familiar with the basic elements of
communication process
• To know what are the barriers and disturbances in
communication process
• To know different techniques to reduce the
disturbances for effective communication.

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Communication Process

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• Communication establishes relationships and makes
organizing possible.
• Every message has a purpose or objective. The sender
intends -- whether consciously or unconsciously -- to
accomplish something by communicating.
• In organizational contexts, messages typically have a definite
objective: to motivate, to inform, to teach, to persuade, to
entertain, or to inspire.
• This definite purpose is, in fact, one of the principal
differences between casual conversation and managerial
communication.
• Effective communication in the organization centers on well-
defined objectives that support the organization's goals and
mission.

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• Communication is the process of passing
information and understanding from one
person to another.
• The communication process is a system that
involves an interrelated, interdependent
group of elements working together as a
whole to achieve a desired outcome or goal.
• We can study communication in much the
same way we study biological systems within
our own bodies.

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 Elements in a Communication Process
• (1) a source/encoder of communication, which sends
• (2) a message
• (3) through a channel to
• (4) a receiver/decoder, which
• (5) responds via feedback with (
• 6) possibilities of communication breakdowns (Barrier) in
each stage of communication. However, these elements
must be understood and analyzed in relation to
• (7) the situation or context, and
• (8) the system (such as relationship), which is created and
maintained at some level by the communicators.
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• Feedback
• Another element in the communication process is
feedback.
• Each party in an interaction continuously sends
messages back to the other.
• This return process is called feedback.
• Feedback tells the source how the receiver has
interpreted each message.
• Positive Feedback
• Negative Feedback – If your message is not
understood by the receiver.
• Ambiguous Feedback – Neither positive nor
negative. 10
• Barriers/Noise
• The human communication system can be compared with a
radio or telephone circuit.
• Just as in radio transmissions, where distortion can occur at
any point along the circuit (channel), there can be similar
barriers in human communication.
• The source’s information may be insufficient or unclear. Or
the message can be ineffectively or inaccurately encoded.
• The wrong channel of communication may be used.
• The message may not be decoded the way it was encoded.
• Finally, the receiver may not be equipped to handle the
decoded message in such a way as to produce the response
(feedback) expected by the source.

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• Physical Barriers
• Four main kinds of distractions act as 'physical barriers' to the
communication process. These are:
• (1) The Competing Stimulus in the form of another conversation going on
within hearing distance, or loud music or traffic noise in the background.

• (2) Environmental Stress: A high temperature and humidity, poor

• (3) Subjective Stress: Sleeplessness, ill health, the effects of drugs and
mood variations give rise to forms of subjective stress that often lead to
great difficulties in listening and interpretation.

• (4) Ignorance of the Medium: The various media for communication are:
oral, written, audio, visual and audiovisual. The use of a medium with
which the communicators are not familiar would turn the medium itself
into a barrier.
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• Psychological Barriers
• Each of us has a certain ‘frame of reference', a kind of
window through which we look out at the world, at
people, and events and situations.
• A frame of reference is a system of standards and
values, usually implicit, underlying and to some extent
controlling an action, or the expression of any belief,
attitude or idea.
• No two individuals possess exactly similar frames of
reference, even if they are identical twins.
• To a large extent our experiences, particularly our
childhood experiences, and the cultural environment
we have grown up in influence our frames of
reference. 13
• Linguistics and Cultural Barriers
• A language is the expression of the thoughts
and experiences of people in terms of their
cultural environment.
• When the same language is made use of in a
different culture, it takes on another colour,
another meaning.

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• Mechanical Barriers
• Mechanical barriers are those raised by the channels
employed for interpersonal, group or mass communication.
• Channels become barrier when the message is interfered
with by some disturbance, which (1) increased the difficulty
in reception or (2) prevented some elements of the message
reaching its destination or both.
• The absence of communication facilities too would be a
mechanical barrier.
• This type of barrier includes any disturbance, which interferes
with the fidelity of the physical transmission of the message.
• A telephone that is in poor working order, making demands
on the yelling ability of Sender and Receiver, is a mechanical
barrier in interpersonal communication.

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 Information Theory
• Information Theory is one of the few scientific
fields fortunate enough to have an identifiable
beginning - Claude Shannon's 1948 paper.
• The story of the evolution of how it progressed
from a single theoretical paper to a broad field
that has redefined our world is a fascinating
one.
• We often hear Claude Shannon called the father
of the Digital Age.
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• Information Theory was not just a product of
the work of Claude Shannon.
• It was the result of crucial contributions made
by many distinct individuals, from a variety of
backgrounds, who took his ideas and
expanded upon them.
• Indeed the diversity and directions of their
perspectives and interests shaped the
direction of Information Theory.

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Shannon Diagram

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 SHANNON’S “MATHEMATICAL THEORY OF
COMMUNICATION”

• “Before 1948, there was only the fuzziest idea

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• In 1948, Shannon published his paper “A
Mathematical Theory of Communication” in the
Bell Systems Technical Journal.
• He showed how information could be quantified
with absolute precision, and demonstrated the
essential unity of all information media.
• Telephone signals, text, radio waves, and
pictures, essentially every mode of
communication, could be encoded in bits.
• The paper provided a “blueprint for the digital
age”
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 Assignment
• Write a comprehensive note on the Claude
Shannon's 1948 paper on Information Theory.

• Submit the assignment in hand written form

• Timeframe is 2 weeks.

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Thank You.

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