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Cultural differences interest communications lecturer Howell
August 23, 2004 | |||||
KOKOMO, Ind.—Jaime L. Howell joins the IU Kokomo School of Arts and Sciences as a lecturer in communications arts. She earned her master’s and bachelor’s degree in speech communication at Central Missouri State University, in 2004 and 2002, respectively.
During her master’s degree program, Howell lectured for a year at the University of Glamrogan in Wales, addressing how diversity and culture contribute to different models of communication. “I am fascinated with the value systems cultures adopt in order to make sense of the world around them,” she said. Often, Howell said, those values might seem to reflect a dominant “time-orientation”— that is, a culture appears to place significant value on its past, present, or future. For example, residents of the United States are often viewed as goal-driven, future-oriented thinkers, Howell said. The culture of Great Britain seems to place high value on its past, she said, while the people of Mexico and many African nations appear most focused on present-day concerns. Howell believes that, in reality, most people and cultures can display all three orientations, and that people achieve their most effective communication when time-orientation varies. Howell’s master’s thesis research tried to identify the time-orientation of Welsh students and how it might be tied to perceived competence in communication. She said her test subjects reported their most effective communication to be with people they considered “future-oriented,” even if the subjects favored other orientations. “I am drawn by the topic because it is a multidimensional phenomenon of everyday life that has cultural underpinnings. These underpinnings have yet to be identified in many cultures,” she said. Howell has also worked in campus and youth Christian ministries and as a sign language interpreter for a special education cooperative. Born in Germany, she was raised in southern Missouri. She has traveled to several countries including the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Gibraltar, Spain, Austria, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. “Traveling is a cultivating experience that has and will continue to enhance my cultural perspective,” she said. Howell is teaching Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication in the fall semester. Her cat, Peat, is accompanying her to Indiana. For more information on communications degree programs at IU Kokomo, contact the School of Arts and Sciences at www.iuk.edu/ACADEMICS/artsci or call (765) 455-9381.
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