Survivor blog #1 Blood vs. Water

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This is a new thing to me because I’ve never watched the show before. It starts out by a group of 18 people getting dropped offed in Nicaragua. Each person came with a with a loved one. Right away they are faced with their first challenge which is to create fire from using flint.  Most groups are successful in this and some aren’t so lucky.  As they go from group to group they each contestant explains their reasoning for wanting to be on survivor and why they think they will win the final prize of $1,000,000.  Further watching the episode you can tell right away which groups have problems and which groups are much more compatible. The contestants were divided into two groups, blue and orange. After they were divided the first challenge was a husband and his wife against each other. The husband won (Jeremy) and was awarded the flint as a prize. It became extremely emotional when his wife was sent to Exile Islands. Early on there was a team of a father and son who had lost the flint pen and started going through a storming stage on what to do. They ended up working together to find a rock to try and start their fire even though it was unsuccessful,  I could see that they had shown solid problem solving abilities. After Wes finds out that John is an ex pro baseball player, John decides that if he gets the chance he’ll take Wes out of the game. At the first immunity challenge the teams forming stage is ending and now they have to work together. The blue team wins and emotions again run high. Josh has put himself in a really good spot because everyone on the orange group is consulting him on which way his vote will go. I was happy to see Nadia leave i really didn’t like her attitude. I think its safe to say at this point in the game no one is safe but its always better to be in known as the guy to come to with problems, then the guy who is the problem.

Survivor Episode 1: Blood VS Water

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The first episode of survivor was a bit intense. As everyone arrived to Nicaragua, either with a family member or a lover, the same night they were seperated and divided into two tribes, either blue and orange teams . Right after the seperation and the creation of the two tribes, chapter 2 of group development took place. Right away the host of the show Jeff, explained the tribe goals and the norms. Even though each member are seperated from their love ones, they each ahve the same goal and it is to win the competition.

Once the tribes were dismissed Tuckmans group development took place. Right of the bat, forming started to take action. Little by little each memner of the group started to communicate and get to know eachother. In each tribe different diversity, age, and gender took place. In one group there was an older man, Dale, which the rest of the group started to isolate because they saw him as a dad, for being older. It turns out as they were isloating Dale trying to create fire, Dale was working alone and sacrafised his own glasses to create fire for his team that was isloating him. After that the tribe took Dale more into consideration. This shows Dale’s motvation for being part of the tribe, and wanting to participate and have a voice.

In chapter 2 it talks about group goals, group norms and group motvation, and we see this happening through out the show. Once the tribe got comfortable poeple tried to become the leader and boss the rest around. The losing team had to eliminate a team member, and they decided to eliminate Nadiya because she was trying to take over. I think that was a good thing to do , because in a team, or tibe, no one to take over, but yet everyone should work together to win.

Blog Post #4

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Last week was fun, I enjoyed being able to be part of the debate. I have to say this is the most I have spoken in a class, which is great I really love it. We all seem to be getting more comfortable with each other, so we don’t have the fear of speaking up. Afterwards, we all broke up into groups to break apart pieces of the reading. I thought this was great because it made some points in the reading a little more clear for me. I’m sure it was helpful for everyone. Being in this class overall has been a really an eye opener for me. I find myself discussing topics that I feel very strongly about. I even talk about this stuff at home and with my friends. I usually get the “what the heck” look from people that I normally speak to because this is new to them. My usual conversations didn’t consist of what I read, learned, or did at school before. It’s great!

I enjoyed the article by Hurtado. I could relate when it spoke about latino/a student not applying after high school for college. It discusses about how the students were possibly not prepped for it. Honestly, I can say that I had no preparation in high school for college. My mother had gone to community college so I at least knew about that, but as far as the process of applying for a university and financial aid, I was completely clueless so I never applied. If I would have had more information I probably would have. I got all the information I needed finally when I was in community college. My counselor motivated me and showed me what I needed to get done in order to transfer and how to apply.

Reading the Torres article, was nice. I’m sure everyone could relate. It almost felt like reading a blog post because It was very personal and I enjoyed reading the struggles. I do agree that it it hard to understand a persons culture and it should be taken into account when it comes to providing their needs. Even though my parents fully support me being in school I’ve had my share of times where my father has said I just need work not school because I need insurance. He has been hardworking all his life and has the typical outlook of machismo. Women need to be at home to take care of their man.

The Chang reading I found interesting because honestly, I have been guilty of thinking that Asians have always been the most successful and I never really thought about their struggles. I would jokingly say “it’s cause he/she is asian”. I even do that in terms of dancing too. Makes me feel stupid for saying that. I take all of that back!

Intense Group Development

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At the beginning of the season, they begin by introducing each member and each other’s relationships. You can already tell that there are a variety of personalities, which will make the tribe dynamics very different. This proves that groups are made up of a lot of different personalities.

Dale states “I am not used to being with a group of strangers” which demonstrates the 1st stage of Bruce Tuckman’s Group Development, forming. It was very prominent because the groups are trying to get to know each other and they are at an awkward stage. The chapter discusses that in this stage, group members tend to be overly polite which is true in this case because each member is trying to find different alliances. They are trying to figure out the norms and rules of the tribes. They are also assessing each other’s strengths are weaknesses.

The primary tension for one of the groups occurred when Keith’s group was discussing each other’s ages. This made some of the team members feel uncomfortable specially Dale who is the older member. However after he made the fire, he felt like now he was socially accepted and the transition of the tensions releasing was obvious. For the 2nd group, Jeremy is feeling like the “prom king” because both Missy and Natalie look up to him. Their group dynamic is very different from the other tribe.

In the 2nd episode Josh demonstrates hidden motives. He forms a hidden alliance with Baylor but at the time of the counsel, he puts Baylor’s name down. His hidden motive is that he did not tell Baylor ahead of time because he does not want to make the guy alliance suspicious.

The phases of new members joining established groups is showed through Keith and Val. They are both nervous because they have been in isolation so they have less time to form any alliances or relationships before the counsel. This example exposes the socialize phase of newcomers.

The group goal is, in a way, very clear because all of their goals are to be the winner of survivor.

I am definitely hooked on the show, looking forward to the next blog.

Blog #4

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Both Hurtado and Torres talk about many of the same perspectives. Both authors provide an insight on how being a Latino/a student differs. Hurtado focuses on more of the statistical numbers regarding the success of Latino students compared to those of White and African Americans. Both authors also talk about how the rise in eligible college students is expected to be at an all-time high, but the actual numbers of Latinos enrolled in school go to show how many Latinos simply choose not to continue attending college or drop out. Hurtado shows the fact that Latinos make up the highest percentage of students to go on to community colleges even if they have the potential of attending a 4-year institution, Hurtado does a very good job using the fact that the way the university presents itself and the way it’s students’ demographic population is divided is a strong aspect on whether or not they will have more Latino students attend the University. Torres like Hurtado also mainly focuses on how experiences differ from a Latino student’s perspective, she provides more of an insight on how some aspects can’t be controlled. Unlike Hurtado, where it seems like the issues may be fixed by having a program to help those students struggling from early on or providing educational assistance throughout their college experience, the points that Torres makes are more uncontrollable in a sense.  Like that of having to choose between the two different cultures that puts you either at an advantage or disadvantage. She also spoke about the parental expectations that Latino students are faced with, she stressed the fact of how Latino parents’ aren’t as understanding as others, they seem to want too much from their children without having an understanding of them having their plates way beyond full. Both authors really have great points in their readings many of which I found very familiar.

The thing that by far surprised me the most was the type of discrimination and monolithic images were tied to Asian Americans, especially after the World War II and Pearl Harbor. One day these people were viewed as friends and allies and just like that, after Pearl Harbor they were viewed as dangerous and untrustworthy. They were mistreated and put into in concentration camps where many of their lives were taken and this was all because of their race. It goes to show that this nation for the most part can seem very diverse, but if you are not the right race you will always be a target. It was also surprising to see that although many Asian Americans may suffer of poverty that is for the most part wrongfully overlooked by colleges and institutions when students try to apply for financial aid. This shows how most people tend to judge a book by its cover and take no time to get to know how many struggles the individual may be going through regardless of their race. This article really opened my eyes and made me see that all races suffer from discrimination and prejudice in one way or another, we should see this as motivation to get rid of it completely.

Survivor Episode 1 Chapter 2

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Survivor is a great show to explore the dynamics of group work! I began watching Survivor back in season one and followed it for about eight seasons. I think that many dedicated fans like to analyze the aspects of the show, and my mom and I were defiantly dedicated fans. I’m stoked to be watching it again and being able to analyze it and its group work examples for a grade in a class.

In chapter two we went over group development which plays a huge part in the show and how or if tribe members progress in it.  As the episode began it was soon revealed that the contestants came to the show with a relative, so i was assuming that they would be pairing up in tribes together. As Jeff revealed the tribe breakdowns a huge turn was put on the group dynamics. The members that came to the show together would be on opposing tribes, competing against one an other. This turn of events threw a wrench in the game for the contestants forcing them into a new strategies for tribe member development.

In chapter two we go over Tuckman’s Group Development stages. The first stage being the “forming stage” is shown in great extent in the first episode . All members begin testing the waters of their new tribe with caution, worried about where they stand.  For example one tribe member, John Rocker, a professional baseball player, being socially cautions decides he wants to keep his true identity a secret. He may feel that revealing this level of information about himself at this point in the game could make him vulnerable to other players. Because the players are getting a feel for one another  tip toeing around what to say is a common “member caution” at work.

 

 

 

What I talk about when I talk about survivor.

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Having never watched the survivor show, i went in with an open mind and a meek curiosity. I don’t much enjoy watching tv, but i figured the show must be important if it is required for our class.  Truthfully, the show didn’t interest me much. However, i think we would be hard pressed to see more of the communication theories we have learned in action. The fact that the show has the theme Blood vs. Water makes it even more interesting. When the couples were first separated, it made me think of the change it would have on the show. Would the couples form a secret cohesion? or would they truly combat each other?

Moving forward, the most interesting part of the show to me was watching John and Jeremy team up to protect their wives.  Then watching the lies and deceit that follow. Understanding that this is just a game makes it easy, but if this was a real life situation (and life can often be compared to just a game), it would make them terrible people. I found it funny to see the two faced actions of the characters when we see their actions, followed by their one-on-one interviews.

Just a short two episodes in, i am just getting a hang of the show and starting to understand how each character plays the game. I have also found it fun to make my assumptions of who may win, what characters are strong and which are weak. I do realize that while the battle in episode two relied heavily on physical strength, that the game is likely more mental than anything.  Nomatter what happens, I am sure that cast of this show will do whatever it takes to win the prize money. May the best win.

Group Development and Survivor Season 29, Nicaragua

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Get ready, as fireworks are about to fly as we delve into the current season of Survivor.  The game of outwitting and outperforming a group of complete strangers uses a vast amount of communication skills that correlate to Chapter 2 and about Group Development.

As we all know, developing a relationship with complete strangers may be a bit difficult with differences in personality traits, but in the game of Survivor it is extremely necessary to step out of your comfort zone and find similarities among your peers.

When beginning the game, the contestants are paired with a loved family member sent onto a deserted beach in the country Nicaragua.  The game is thrown a complete curve ball when the host, Jeff Probst, announces that loved ones are going to be paired against each other on opposite tribes for “Survivor: Blood is thicker than Water”.

When the contestants for the show first meet each other is a prime example of the early stages of Tuckman’s Group Development Stages.  In the forming of stage of Tuckman’s model, “members are socially cautious and polite”. This is the stage, as stated in Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies, Sixth Edition, where members explore both their personal goals’ as well as their groups’ goals.  First impressions are extremely important when creating strong relationships and, if you want someone to like you, and in this sense, not vote you off the island, you want to start off on a good foot.  In this case, the contestants briefly chatted and politely introduced themselves when they opened up their bags showing them the tribe they were in.

After the first challenge, a member of the Hunahpu tribe named Jeremy, wins the challenge for his team and is forced to send the loser, his wife, to Exile Island with one of his own teammates. One of the first concepts of Chapter 2 and group development, and second stage of Tuckman’s Model, is the storming stage.  This can be defined by Tuckman, as the time when “members compete for status and openly disagree.”

On Exile Island, Jeremy’s wife Val, and her opposing tribe member Keith, are sent to a camp by themselves.  Since Group Communication means three or more people forming a group, this initial contact would not count.  However, back at the tribe camps of Hunahpu and Coyopa, members of these tribes are forced into close quarters with each other and must form bonds to promote a solid work ethic as well as the goals of trust and comfort.  In a physical game, older members are deemed to be the weakest link.  For Dale, a 55 year old farmer, he feels the heat of being the easy target.  He pairs up with a few of the other tribe members to try and create the number one resource of survival, fire.  While the young guys attempt to rub bamboo together to create fire, Dale uses his creativity and the magnifying ability of his glasses, to create enough heat to ignite some branches.

Primary tension as described by Engleberg and Wynn, is “the social unease and stiffness that accompanies the getting-aquainted stage in a new group”.  An example of this in episode 1 of Survivor is when Wes approaches John Rocker about John being an ex-professional baseball player for the Atlanta Braves.  The awkward tension between the two is completely visible because John doesn’t want to reveal his real identity, and Wes just wants to make a friend/connection/ally.  Unfortunately for him, John now regrets telling Wes his real name and now may scheme to vote him out for knowing too much.

During the debate over replacing the lost flint or receiving the fishing equipment in episode 2, we see how group communication works in a time crunch.  Forced with the decision to chose between having fire during cold rainy nights, or to have a sufficient way to get much needed food and protein, we see a bit of constructive nonconformity during the decision making. Constructive nonconformity is defined as, “when a member resists a norm while still working to achieve a group goal.  Two members of the tribe greatly want the fishing equipment so they can eat more than just beans to be stronger for competition, so they rattle off a series of ideas for what they could do without the fire, keeping the groups main goal of succeeding in mind.

Stay tuned for what seems to be a very interesting season.