The ModelThe Shannon-Weaver Model is a simplistic diagram created to represent how communication works. The model is over simplified to ensure easy understanding, and allows for application to any method of communication.
The model was originally published by mathematician Claude Elwood Shannon, in his 1948 article entitled 'A Mathematical Theory'. The 2 page paper was popularized a year later by Warren Weavers, in his 1949 book 'The Mathematical Theory of Communication'. |
Long Range CommunicationToday we see long range communication as a relevantly modern invention. Most people will refer to Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone as the first instants of long range communication, however African tribes and villages had been using drums as a method to communicate with each other for 1000s of years before this.
A method that went unnoticed by early European explorers, James Glick speaks of this in his book The Information, he says that messages are able to travel up to six or seven miles, when relayed from village to village these messages could travel 100 miles or more in an hour. |
My ModelFor my version of the Shannon-Weaver Model I have added a feedback loop. This means my model is applicable to two way communication methods, such as the internet, the telephone, or even the ancient drums of Africa.
I have also added colour and changed the shape and sizes of the boxes. This allows for easier recognition of the various parts included in the model. |
Referencing
The Model
- Wikipedia - Shannon-Weaver Model -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon%E2%80%93Weaver_model [6th September 2016]
- communicationtheory.org - Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication - http://www.communicationtheory.org/shannon-and-weaver-model-of-communication/ [6th September 2016]
- James Gleick's - The Information - p15 - 2011
- Dorit Redlich-Amirav & Alberta Gene Higginbottom - New Emerging Technologies in Qualitative Research - p2 - 2014 - http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol19/iss26/3/?utm_source=nsuworks.nova.edu%2Ftqr%2Fvol19%2Fiss26%2F3&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages [6th September 2016]