This project attempts to question the way the relation between communication and ethics has traditionally been conceptualized, and to offer an alternative perspective on that relation. An implicit premise in many communication theories is that successful communication is ethically favorable, particularly in facilitating ideals such as greater understanding, participation and like-mindedness. Contrary to that view, this project proposes that ethical communication may lie in the interruption of communication, in instances wherein communication falls short, goes astray or even fails. Such interruptions, however, do not mark the end of ethical communication but rather its very beginning, for it is in such moments that communication faces the challenge of otherness. Mobilizing relevant ideas from the work of French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas to the field of communication studies, this project proposes the concept of interruption as the main correlative between ethics and communication. The investigation then sets out to explore three limit-cases in which the stakes of ethical communication are most crucial: understanding and misunderstanding, communicability and incommunicability, and silence and speech. The discussion employs a distinctive approach to study the place of alterity in communication: dislocation—a double gesture which implies both tampering with the proper activity of communicational procedures and pointing to the ethical possibilities opened up by interruptions. The issues above are addressed through critical analyses of themes such as: universal language or the undoing of Babel; the ethical significance of misunderstanding and the challenge introduced by translation; autism as a paradigmatic case of incommunicability in medical, scientific and social discourses; the epistemological status and the ethical stakes of incommunicability; and, finally, the ethical dimension of free speech, the significance of silence and the responsibility to the silent Other.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGEMENT in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / This study investigates ethical communication practice in the professional practice of Public Relations in South Africa. Using Public Relations professional bodies (PRISA and IABC) and Public Relations firms based in Cape Town, the study sought to understand how ethical communication is conceptualised and practised by public relations practitioners. Literature reveals that ethical communication in Public Relations has been shaped by two dominant views. The early, simplistic paradigm conceptualised ethical communication as dialogic and symmterical communication. It views ethical communication as counter-argument. This paradigm has been critiqued in favour of a more contemporary paradigm that regards ethical communication in terms of dialogic values such as honesty, openness, loyalty, fair-mindedness, respect, integrity and forthright communication. Using dialogic, symmetrical communication and a reflective paradigm of public relations as its theoretical framework, this study analyses how Public Relations practitioners and professional bodies conceptualise ethical communication. Results from the study reveal that ethical communication as a phenomenon is still subject to various interpretations. The study reveals that fostering ethical communication by professional bodies is often hampered by the existence of untrained Public Relations personnel. This study seeks to make a theoretical contribution towards the understanding of ethical communication amongst Public Relations and professional bodies. It shows that there is need for Public Relations professionals to develop a more holistic understanding of ethical communication in order to raise the quality of Public Relations practitioners’ ethical behaviour and increase the legitimacy and value of public relations studies to society.

No description available.

This study assessed intended communication behavior in terms of ethics, information content effectiveness, and the potential relationship between the two. Participants were 33 university finance majors who wrote open-ended responses to simulated loan presentation scenarios containing ethical communication content. The analysis consisted of a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. A panel of bank loan officers judged the finance majors" open-ended responses for ethics and content effectiveness. From the officers' scores, the responses were categorized as: (1) ethical, (2) unethical, (3) effective, (4) ineffective, (5) ethical/effective, (6) ethical/ineffective, (7) unethical/effective, or (8) unethical/ineffective. The finance majors' answers tended to be judged as ethical, but the judgements were mixed as to the effectiveness of their responses. The responses that were judged to be both ethical and effective tended to be direct followed by a sales pitch on the benefits of the loan. The sales pitch portion of the responses was typically irrelevant to the question posed in the scenarios. Responses that were judged to be both unethical and ineffective tended to be either responses that were naive or responses that avoided the question being asked in the scenario. The findings indicate that it is difficult to provide an unethical response that is also effective. However, an ethical response can just as easily be effective or ineffective. In other words, an effective response is likely to be ethical, but an ethical response gives no indication as to whether it is effective or ineffective. One main conclusion resulted from the findings: Effective communication does not have to occur at the expense of communicating in an unethical manner. Beneficiaries of this study are both business people and educators. It can help banking trainers determine what content should be targeted in management training programs with regard to communication behavior in a loan presentation. Business communication faculty can benefit in two primary ways: the study shows the intended communication behavior of finance majors ("where the students are") and it provides preliminary data on what communication techniques are considered effective, ineffective, ethical, and unethical by business people, specifically loan officers. / Ph. D.

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis sheds light on (1) the extent to which composition has fallen short in its efforts to examine Habermasian discourse in the public sphere/politicized classroom; and (2) whether, through a careful and explicit exploration of the Habermas/Foucault debate and the competing concepts of discourse contained therein, we might make use of those concepts in the politicized classroom to inform student writing in the public sphere.