Union Bank of Norway Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Union Bank of Norway - Essay Example This would enable the bank’s management to investigate past trends in consumers’ behavior towards prediction of possible changes in customers’ behavior and needs. This could identify avenues towards improved sales and revenues. The centralized data bank would also facilitate cheaper, time efficient and procedurally efficient data retrieval and analysis towards understanding customers. The data bank was successful as both top personnel in the organization and customers testified of its significance in improving customer relations towards cost-effective processes and improved revenues. The head of the bank’s customer relations management, for example, testified that the databank became essential to the organization leading to 70 percent response from customers. The customers also appreciated the project’s significance towards meeting their needs. The project, however, faced the challenge of change in organizational structure as it dictated establishment of new offices and roles. Based on the experience from the project, the bank’s customer relations manager noted that organizations should develop a clear goal of what they want to achieve and strive towards it step by step, and customer relations initiatives are a series of continuous process. The study also noted identified an increase in investments in and application of data analysis among organizations. (Dyche, p. 144- 148).

Steve Jobs the founder of Apple entrepreneurial venture Research Paper

Steve Jobs the founder of Apple entrepreneurial venture - Research Paper Example In the concluding section, the key aspects that have helped Steve Jobs to achieve success will be reflected. Traditional Entrepreneurial Path An entrepreneur can be described as a person, who undertakes the probable risks that can arise in order to organize, manage and develop a business. In the present day context, an entrepreneur is recognized as a developer or an innovator who generally recognizes as well as seizes opportunities and translates those opportunities to marketable as well as workable ideas (Kuratko, D. F. & Hodgetts, R. M., â€Å"Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, and Practice†). A traditional entrepreneur intends to make the undertaken business venture successful. The path that generally is followed by an entrepreneur in traditional process of entrepreneurship are converging on an idea of business, preparing a business plan, business formation, growth and exit strategies identification and going public with the business venture (Silver, â€Å"Stages of Entrep reneurship†). In traditional entrepreneurial path, the virtues possessed by an entrepreneur include ingenuity, diligence, ambition, tenacity, perseverance and self-discipline. These virtues guide in the endeavor of building a financially stable as well as successful business venture (Belmont University, â€Å"The Good Entrepreneur†) In the inception stage, the idea of business is conceived which is then analyzed in the traditional path in terms of feasibility of the business idea from financial viewpoint as well as other crucial aspects such as availability of the sources for funding. The sources of funding can be from two aspects i.e. financial bootstrapping method where acceptance of financial resources are avoided from any external source of investor and in the other aspect, traditional sources of finance are sought e.g. venture capital investors, hedge funds, crowd funding to start-up the entrepreneurial venture. The financial aspects such as analysis of ratio, capi tal budgeting which includes payback method, net-present value, internal rate of return analysis and break-even analysis are part of the traditional method of entrepreneurship (Kuratko, D. F. & Hodgetts, R. M., â€Å"Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, and Practice†). Path Followed By Entrepreneur Steve Jobs The endeavor of Steve Jobs, the entrepreneur, can be comprehended from his saying that â€Å"We started out to get a computer in the hands of everyday people, and we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams† (Entrepreneur Media, Inc, â€Å"Steve Jobs The Comeback Kid†). Steve Jobs’ vision had been to develop a â€Å"computer for the rest of us†. This endeavor sparked a PC revolution and turned Apple into an American business icon. The business plan of entrepreneur Steve Jobs was conceived from the endeavor of Steve Wozniak, who was an engineer and as part of his hobby, was trying his best to construct a small computer. Visionary Steve Jobs with his e ntrepreneurial traits convinced Steve Wozniak to be a partner in his venture. Steve Jobs had grasped the potential of the business with a computer in the initial phase. In the business formation stage, they started on their business named as Apple, in Steve Jobs’ parental garage and started working towards developing a prototype called Apple I. They generated funding for their business by selling Apple I, which

An Analysis of Elvis Presley’s Popularity Essay Example for Free

An Analysis of Elvis Presley’s Popularity Essay The article points three of the most salient reasons behind the huge success and enormous impact of Elvis Presley to the American society the unique personality of Elvis, the way his manager has handled him, and the right timing when he emerged. Although these factors apparently shows direct effects on Presley’s popularity and impact, it should still be noted that his success would not be possible if he sticks to bigotry and conservatism. According to the article, Presley’s singing like a Black man primarily attracts people’s interest. However, it should be emphasized that Presley’s popularity could be contributed as well to his rich background in music. Presley’s music was considered having the combined elements of Gospel, Country, and Blues. (Saffle, 2009). In fact, he was a church singer when he was just young, explaining his exposure to gospel songs. However, just like what the author of the article has pointed out, Presley was not the sole artist who is like that during the time. In fact, he was not the first White American to sing blues. (Gilmore 1998). To make things worse, when Presley started to perform songs of that particular genre, he was even accused of stealing it from the Black Americans (Bertrand 2000). Amidst controversies like these, Presley somehow managed to continuously attract the eye of the public not only through his flamboyant costumes, teasing movements, and energetic performances but through his unique and charismatic personality. It could also be argued that part of this huge success came from the effective handling of his manager—Colonel Tom Parker. The presence of Presley’s manager was also considered a great help for the King’s success. Identifying the potentials and the unique gift of his talent, Colonel was able to utilize the man’s gift to transform into a name that would be forever engraved in the history of American music. It could be true that Presley would have never achieved such success without the partnership with Colonel. Though this could be primarily attributed to Colonel’s outstanding management, the treatment of the two for each other also helped. Their relationship has surpassed that of a manager and a talent. There came a time that people were joking that they were like a married couple (Nash, 2003). They spent most of their time together that is why Colonel has successfully crafted Elvis’ career. However, when Colonel decided to stop Presley’s world tours and accepted television and movie projects instead, critics considered it a wrong move and death of Presley’s music career. They accused Colonel of being too greedy by accepting lucrative projects for his client, thus sacrificing the true talent of Presley. Nonetheless, Colonel has managed to regain his glory when Presley had his successful comeback in the music scene. There is also no doubt with the article’s argument regarding the emergence of Presley at the right time in the American history. However, in this particular situation, time is not the factor. Presley’s enormous impact to the American society could be accounted for his liberal ideas and decisions. He opted not to conform to bigotry. Instead, he used his music to propagate liberating ideas to his audience, who were mainly adolescents looking for freedom. Presley also paved way for the introduction of the Black music into the music mainstream. That would undeniably resolve the question as to why he is worthy for the title King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Works Cited Gilmore, Mikal. Night Beat: A Shadow History of Rock Roll. USA: University of Michigan, 1998 Nash, Alanna. The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley. USA: Simon and Schuster, 2003 Saffle, Michael. The Musical Characteristics of Elvis Presley. Published by The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Education Bureau, 2009

The Ebl Concept Essay Nursing Essay

The Ebl Concept Essay Nursing Essay The purpose of this essay is to elaborate on the Enquiry Based Learning presentation and discuss in depth the given concept. The concept given to my group is empathy to support this concept relevant literature will be used along with example experienced during my clinical placement. To maintain patients confidentiality pseudonym name will be used in the example. This is in line with the Nursing and Midwifery council code of conduct guideline (2010), which states that the people in our care have every right for their privacy and confidentiality. The EBL process will be reflected upon with supporting literatures and critically discussed using Gibbs (1988) model of reflection followed by a conclusion. Critical discussion Empathy is widely accepted as a basic component of all helpful relationships, including relationships in nursing practice (Williams Stickley, 2010). Walker Alligood (2001), criticised empathy in nursing as a concept borrowed from the Carl Rogers field of counselling psychology. Despite all these criticisms, it suggests that empathy will continue to be a fundamental concept in the nursing practice. According to Carl Rogers (1980) as cited by Vincent (2005), empathy can be describe as entering the private perceptual world of another person and becoming completely at home in it, being sensitive, moment by moment, to the changing felt meanings which flows in this other person, to the fear or whatever the person is experiencing. More specifically empathy forms part of the Carl Rogers core conditions along with genuiness and positive regard that are vital for the formation of relationships in counselling. According to Rogers (1980) as cited by Vincent (2005), being empathic is a complex, demanding and strong yet also a subtle and gentle- way of being. This is in contrast with the interpretation of empathy nursing literature. In nursing literature, empathy seems to be valued as a concept to be used alone rather than within a relationship that contains all the core conditions as used in counselling literature. In the nurse patient relationships, empathy is theorised as having therapeutic value and, as such, is promoted to nurses as being desirable ( McCabe, 2004). Empathy within the nursing relationship is defined as the ability to understand the patients situation, perspective and feelings, and to communicate that understanding to the patient (Coulehan et al. 2000 cited by Mercer and Reynolds, 2002). This definition emphasises that empathy is a way of perceiving, as well as a way of communicating. It has shifted the emphasis from a personality trait that individual possess to a form of interaction. This definition of empathy would also appear to be congruent with the cognitive and behavioural components of empathy alluded to by Morse et al. (1992). Following an extensive review of the literature, Morse et al. summarised the components of empathy under four key areas: moral, emotive, cognitive and behavioural. The moral element shows an internal altruistic force that motivates the practice of empathy, the emotive element shows the ability to subjectively experience and share in anothers psychological state, the cognitive element show the intellectual ability to identify and understand another persons feelings and perspective and the behavioural element shows the communicative response to convey understanding of anothers perspective. This shows that clinical empathy can be seen as a form of professional skills rather than personal characteristic (Mercer and Reynolds, 2002). Similarly, Rogers (1975) as cited by Vincent (2005) who tended to view empathy as an attitude highlighted the communicative part of the construct. This suggests that when attitudes and understanding are shown to the patient, empathy is skilled behaviour. Also Zoske et al. (1983) views empathy as an interpersonal skills, rather than being an instinctive quality possessed by individuals. In addition, Yu and Kirk (2008) also suggest that empathy can be taught as a skill and developed with practice and experience. In this context empathy is not only a way of being with another as stated by (Rogers, 1975) but it also communicates to the patients the professionals understanding of their world so that this perception can be validated by the patient. In effect, both are necessary and one without the other is rather hollow. Despite the differences between counselling and the nursing practice, what the empathy outcome research have shown is that even if nothing else happens with a patient, being exposed to an empathetic person who can accurately communicate that empathy can have a healing outcome on the patient health (Williams Stickley, 2010). Therefore, empathy can be a vital component of any nursing plan of care. For example, La Monica et al. (1987) explored the effect of nurses empathy on the anxiety, depression, hostility and satisfaction with care of clients with cancer. They found less anxiety, depression and hostility in clients being cared for by nurses exhibiting high empathy. Reynolds (2000), says to achieve above outcomes is dependent on the ability of the nurses to offer high levels of empathy to their patients. In addition Moore (2006) suggests that the connection between the patient and practitioner that facilitate a positive influence in treatment is empathy. According to Tschudin (1995), some people communicate their understanding of empathy through action, others might use words, and still others might use both to communicate empathy to the patient. For instance, a nurse can explain medical diagnosis and results to the patient in lay terms so that the patient can understand and feel in control of the situation. Researchers agreed on the positive role empathy plays in interpersonal relationships when providing health care. However, Hills Knowles (1983) reported that nurses do not show empathy by actually blocking clients expressions by changing the subject. It could be argued that nurses lack the skill to communicate empathy with their patient. Although, William (1992) said hospital systems seem conducive to flattening the humanity of its employees. Also Wong (2004), have questioned the importance of seeking to develop empathetic nurse patient relationship within busy acute healthcare settings. This suggests it might be difficult to develop an empathetic relationship in this setting. However, Yu and Kirk (2008) asserted that empathy can be taught as a skill and developed with practice and experience. Clinical placement example This example was when I had the opportunity to experience working as a student on a breast unit. The patient that are seen in this unit are those with breast cancer and those with family history of breast cancer. Joan came to the hospital for an appointment following her GP referral due to a painful lump on her breast. Joans both family have a history cancer, her mother died fourteen months before the day of her appointment and she lost her mothers younger sister 3 years ago to cancer also the fathers side have a history of bowel of cancer. I was chaperon the doctor whom Joan came to see and my mentor asked me to follow her up throughout her treatment. She has not seen the doctor before, but was so kind to her and understands how devastated Joan was. The doctor did physical examination on her breast and discovered the lump; he said it could be benign or cancerous. She realised that this was the same thing the doctor told her mother the first day she was diagnose. All the feelings of anxiety and distress came to her. The doctor requested her to for Scan and mammogram same day and come back to see him. Joan went to the nurse that book patients for investigations and the nurse quickly said sit down and continue looking at the computer screen. Joan sat in the chair facing the nurse, who still did not look up to see the anxiety on this patient. After sometime, she told Joan I will be with you in a minute; Joan sat still, waiting, but feeling apprehensive more and more. It became worse for the fact that she want to go for these investigations because she is having that gut feeling it could be cancer. I could see her anxiety levels rising and considering that she has history of panic attacks and depression. And hope she really she could hold it all together at that moment. The nurse been on her own and seems to have a lot of paper work to complete and feels that the paperwork got in the way of her relationship with patients at times. The nurse told Joan I need to ask some quick questions about her health and family history with a frown face. The nurse started with family history without still looking up to her patient and asked about her parents history. Joan said her father is alright and was silence when asked about her mother. The nurse looked up and was surprised to Joan crying and the anxiety on her face. Before the nurse realise what is happening Joan had run out from the room, saying she could not stay any longer. The nurse had no idea of what had just happened or why Joan was dismayed and felt that she must have done something to hurt her, but could not understand what she did to Joan. Discussion Judging from the above example, it is clear that the nurse was not able to form an empathetic relationship and unable to deliver empathetic care. Is not as if the nurse does not want to deliver an empathic care, but she was so preoccupied and focused on the paper work and also considering the fact she is the only one at that moment. The nurse did not communicate to the Joan as she should and did not even look up to see the anxiety on Joans face. According to La Monica et al. (1987) explored the effect of nurses empathy on the anxiety. They found out that patient exhibit less anxiety, depression being cared for by nurses exhibiting empathy. As stated by Moore (2000) cited by Chambers and Ryder (2006), if the clinician is in a bad mood, this may put the client in a bad mood as well; basically, it is like looking into a mirror. In Joans case, it was not the fact that the nurse was necessarily in a bad mood that was the issue. However, the nurse frowning during the short time they had together, which could have been seen as her being in awful mood. Joan so felt that she was not interested in her, and possibly that she was causing a problem by just being around. In addition, Reynolds (2000) raised a concern that low level of empathy in professional relationships can make the recipients of help may not perceive that their situation is understood. As nurses, we need to be aware that if seem unconcerned or stressed it will have a negative impact on the relationship with patients. Cowdell (2010) refers empathy as feeling into anothers world to comprehend that persons world experience. The nurse was not able to form a relationship with Joan, and was totally unable to sense her anxiety and distress. Furthermore, McCabe and Timmins (2006) say that if nurses fail to empathise with their patients then they cannot help them to understand effectively as individual with their illness. In other words, it was certainly the case in the lack of effective interaction between the nurse and Joan. In addition, Vincent (2005) says that nurses find it more difficult to sustain empathy if they are extremely tired or distracted. As already stated it could be because the nurse was the only one attending to the patients. This could hinder her ability to perceive and reason as well as to communicate understanding of Joans feelings. Reflection According to Johns (2005), reflection is a fusion of sensing, perceiving, intuiting and thinking related to a specific experience in order to develop insights into self and practice. Reflection promotes actions that transform individuals practice so they resolve contradictions, to build on their strengths. According to Sully and Dallas (2010), reflection also allows for the structured exploration of the knowledge, skills, attitudes and perceptions tacit and overt- that underpin professional practice. Gibbs (1988) reflective cycle will be used as indicated in my introduction. It was used because the reflective cycle encouraged me to think systematically about the phases of the EBL process. Description; my group subgroup was the video group and everyone was allocated a role play. My role was to act as the ward sister who showed no empathy to her junior staff who came to ask her for information regarding the patient she is looking after. Feeling; The EBL process gave me the opportunity to know what it feels like to be the nurse in charge were you have to use your management skills effectively. Also a nurse in charge not shown empathy could send wrong message to the junior staff. I think the whole process promotes my personal research skills and made me becomes more familiar with the various resources at my disposal, such as databases and e-journals. Evaluation; During the EBL process my sub-group were very supportive to each other, listen to other peoples opinion and communicated with other as professionals. As stated by Sully and Dallas (2010), that through effective communications, information sharing and partnership nurses can deliver excellent care. We were able to achieve our aim through effective communication between the team. The EBL experience becomes one of interchange where we shared our opinions, research and experience in order to achieve an end result. However, we faced some challenges with fixing the time and getting the right venues for the recording, sometimes we have to travel the main campus even when we do not have lectures over there. On the first day our equipment disappointed us, but we stayed positive and rearranged time. We had criticisms of ideas but we accepted it and created room for improvement. For example I did not support the video from YouTube by Hepburn and Astaire that was included in the presentation. Cottrell (2008) says that, if you disagree with another persons idea in a positive way and suggest ways forward for improvement rather than criticising. Analysis; the EBL process gave the group the opportunity to improve their wide range of skills: knowledge creation; presentation; creative skills; problem-solving skills and team-working. The EBL made us gain extra perspective and point of view about the given concept, which otherwise we might not have considered. It has been shown in Cottrell (2008), group working create the opportunity to tap into a wider pool of experience, background knowledge and styles of work. Conclusions; looking back at the EBL presentation, we should have explained the video we used. Also recognise that I need to develop the confidence to challenge ideas that I do not agree to, as well as how it could be improved. I could have used other strategies to get my point across to the group. Action plan; In future, I will aim to develop my assertive skills when working in a group, in order to ensure that we are awarded great marks. I will make this a goal for my learning, and work out strategies for how I can achieve this in future. As suggested by Sully and Dallas (2010) that using assertive skills is an essential component of working in a proficient manner. Conclusion In conclusion, empathy whether borrowed from the counselling literature or derived from nursing practice (Walker Alligood 2001), empathy is widely considered as a crucial component of multiple helping professions, including nursing practice. How empathy is portrayed in nursing literature seems different from its portrayal within counselling literature. The concept of empathy in nursing literature is separated from the core conditions of congruence and unconditional positive regards, so therefore it is presented as tool. As stated by Yu and Kirk (2008), empathy can be taught to healthcare professionals and also be taught how to improve their level of empathy through experience rather than formal instructions. Empathy is crucial to a non-defensive relationship and can facilitate satisfactory and productive outcomes for patients. Lack of empathy could mean that patient who needs to be understood, may not be understood, or feel understood. Lack of empathy in nursing could prolong healing process in a patient. In addition, the EBL process played an important role in promoting the group interaction, we shared opinions and experience. All this suggest that, empathy is a vital part of caring in nursing practice and especially critical to the provision of quality nursing care. Thus can be effectively taught to student and experienced nurses. REFERENCES Chambers, C. and Ryder, E. (2009) Compassion and caring in nursing Oxford: Radcliffe. Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook. 3rd edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford polytechnic: Oxford. Hills, M., and Knowles, D. (1983) Nurses levels of empathy and respect in simulated interactions with patients. International Journal of Nursing Studies. V20, pp. 83-87. Johns, C. (2005) Expanding the gates of perception. Transforming Nursing Through Reflective Practice. Oxford: Blackwell. La Monica, E., Madea, A. and Oberst, M. (1987) Empathy and nursing care outcomes. Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice. V1, pp. 197-213. McCabe, C. and Timmins, F. (2006) Communication Skills For Nursing Practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. McCabe, C. (2004) nurse-patient communication: an exploration of patients experience. Journal of Clinical Nursing; 13, pp.41-49. Mercer, S.W. and Reynolds, W. (2002) Empathy and quality of care. British Journal of General Practice. 52, S9-S13, Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articules/PMC1316134 (Accessed: 20 December 2012). Morse, J., Anderson, G., Bottorff, J., Yonge, O., OBrien, B., and Solberg, S (1992) Exploring Empathy: A Conceptual Fit for Nursing Practice? Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship. V24, pp. 273-280. Morse, J.M., Bottorff, J., Anderson, G., OBrien, B., and Solberg, S. (2006). Beyond empathy: Expanding expressions of caring. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17, pp. 75-90. Nursing and midwifery council (2010) The code standards of conduct. Performance and Ethics for Nurses and Midwives. London: Portland place. Reynolds, W. (2006) Expanding expression of caring. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17, 809-821. Reynolds, W. (2003) Developing empathy. In P. Barker (Ed.), Psychiatric and mental health nursing: The craft of caring, pp. 147-154. United Kingdom: Arnold. Reynolds, W. (2000) The measurement and Development of empathy in Nursing. United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishing Limited Sully, P. and Dallas, J. (2010) Essential Communication Skills for Nursing and Midwifery. 2nd edn. Edinburgh: Mosby Elsevier. Tschudin, V. (1995) Counselling Skills for Nurses. 4th edn. London: Baillià ¨re Tindall. Walker, K.M. and Alligood, M.R. (2001) Empathy from a nursing perspective: Moving beyond borrowed theory. Archives of psychiatric Nursing, 15, 140-147. Vincent, S. (2005) Being empathic: A companion for counsellors and therapists. United Kingdom: Radcliffe Ltd. Williams, J. and Stickley, T. (2010) Empathy and nurse education. Nurse Education Today, 30, pp. 752-755. Williams, A. (1992) Where has all the empathy gone? Professional Nurse (Nov), pp. 134. Wong, W.H. (2004) Caring holistically within new managerialism. Nursing inquiry; 11: (1) pp.1-13. Yu, J. and Kirk, M. (2008) Measurement of Empathy in Nursing Research: systematic review. Journal of Advance Nursing, (64), pp. 440-454. Zoske, J. and Pietrocarlo, D. (1983) Dialysis Training Exercise for Improved Staff Awareness. American Association of Nephrology and Technicians Journal. pp. 19-39.

Capital Punishment Essay -- essays research papers

Capital punishment is the execution of criminals by the state for committing crimes so wicked that it is the only acceptable punishment. The debate over the death penalty has endured for years and has become increasingly controversial. According to an article written by Richard Worsnop, entitled "Death Penalty Debate Centers on Retribution," in 1966, 42% of Americans were in favor of capital punishment while 47% were opposed to it; in 1986, support for capital punishment was 80% for and only 17% against with 3% undecided. Most of the undecided voters said they would support capital punishment, if they had to vote on it immediately. Currently, public approval of the death penalty is about 70%. While some people are opposed to capital punishment, the majority is in favor of it. Therefore, the United States government should strictly enforce capital punishment in every state. Admittedly, the act of killing someone is immoral and "Thou shall not kill" is one of God's commandments. However, if it were not for the threat of execution, the murder rate in the United States would be far greater. According to the United States Bureau of Justice bulletin on capital punishment (1989), from 1955 to 1965, there were 78,500 murders and 351 executions in the United States; but from 1966 to 1976, when the death penalty was weakened, 288,310 murders were committed and only six executions were carried out. In order for capital punishment to work as d...

An Indepth Look at HG Wells :: essays papers

An Indepth Look at HG Wells Herbert George Wells was born on September 21, 1866 in Bromley, England, the last of four children. His mother was a house cleaner and his father was a shopkeeper. When he was eight years old, he broke his leg, spent a lot of time reading, and discovered an intense interest in books. At the age of thirteen, his father was injured in an accident so Wells had to leave school and work for a draper. He hated this work and managed to change his employment by working for his uncle and becoming a part-time tutor. This gave him the opportunity to continue his studies in his free time. He finally won a scholarship to The Normal School of Science in London. He worked as a journalist while continuing his education. In 1891, he married his cousin Isabel. In 1894, he and Isabel were divorced and he then married one of his pupils. In 1895, Wells’ first major work was published- Select Conversations with an Uncle. His next book, The Time Machine, also published in 1895, started Wells on his road to success. This book was followed by The Island of Doctor Moreau, in 1896, The Invisible Man, in 1897, and War of the Worlds, in 1898.[1] H.G. Wells was one of the fathers of modern science fiction. He made his reputation as a writer through what he called â€Å"scientific romances†[2], a comment he made about his own science fiction in the 1930’s. However, he himself said that there were radical differences between his science fiction and that of Jules Verne. Wells said that his own work was â€Å"an exercise of the imagination†,[2] as in The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds. In these books he was not suggesting a serious possibility, just trying to imagine what might happen in a given situation.[2] Jules Verne, on the other hand, based his stories on scientific knowledge. He criticized Wells as basing his books on fantastic, not scientific, assumptions. Wells in some of his books, however, like The Island of Dr. Moreau, did deal with what he called â€Å"Fantasies of possibilities†.[2] Wells also considered himself a philosophical writer and urged that some of his books be taken seriously.

Conjoined Twins has Been Reported in Some Newspapers and on the Television News Essay

Explore, analyse and comment on the way the story of the conjoined twins has been reported in some newspapers and on the television news. In modern day society, the media has considerable command and influence over the public. It can be powerful in both positive and negative ways. Although the media is to be embraced, it is also to be treated with utmost care. The way the media is able to manipulate and shape our ideas is paramount to its power; sometimes to the extent where it does not give us a chance to rationalise our opinions. In my opinion the media has a very important function and has a crucial purpose in society. It can be educational, informative, interesting and entertaining yet, at the same time, the media can be biased, derogatory and sensational. Too often, people take notice, [and are influenced by], only one form of media. This can lead to a polarised point of view and therefore a narrow-minded outlook. These people are totally oblivious to the clever devices certain areas of the media will use to ‘con and deceive’ them in order to manipulate their train of thought. In this analysis, I will be exploring exactly how the media does this in both newspaper and television broadcast form. I consider both television broadcasts and newspapers to be equally effective overall in their use of presentational devices. There are, however, fundamental differences in the way this is achieved. Television has the upper hand in terms of sheer versatility; for example, it can use moving diagrams and images to display its ideas whereas the newspapers do not have that ability. In comparison, newspapers are able to make an impact within their limited scope and can be just as effective as a television broadcast. Remember, depending upon the context, a short sharp caption / headline can be far more effective than a moving image. To begin with, I feel that each report is slightly or more heavily biased in one way or another. In my view, there are two clearly different ways in which to summarise the consequences of the failed operation. Firstly, the negative approach. The slant taken here is of a sensationalised tragedy, evoking sympathy and focusing on the twins and their struggling desire to be independent and how they, ‘fell at the last hurdle’. Both The Sun and the ITN news favour this type of report. Secondly, the positive approach. The Independent and the BBC news are much more inclined to portray the twins as happy smiling individuals who fulfilled their dream of separation – if only for a matter of hours. It is very difficult to ignore the deliberately blatant sensational devices that are used by The Sun. There is no doubt in my mind that the emboldened headline: â€Å"Glorious Failure OR a Lethal Gamble?† is attempting to initiate a scandal and is evidently ‘tabloidese’. Nevertheless, considering what the, [stereotypical], characteristics of a, [stereotypical], tabloid reader are, it is a very effective headline for it is scandalous and sensationalised. This is exactly it’s aim. It immediately involves the reader for it is a rhetorical question and therefore a very good non-fiction hook. From the outset of the ITN report, ethical questions are raised upon whether the operation should have been attempted or not. â€Å"the surgeons are†¦trying to explain why it didn’t work. They create a portrayal of the twins making a wrong decision and also they place an element of blame upon the shoulders of the medical team. The opening images of the twins are of them looking anxious, whereas more informative reports clearly indicate that the twins were fully confident that the decision to go ahead with the operation was solely theirs. They are seen to be in a dilema, yet they were totally committed. The subsequent images told of the girls’ life in society. However, rather than focusing upon the positive aspects of their life, [such as the fact that Laleh had helped her sister realise her dream of attaining a law degree], they emphasised their struggle and the hardship they had suffered. The portrayal was as if their whole life was a dramatic tragedy, whereas this was certainly not the case. Similarly, the images shown in The Sun are just as negative. The choice of images are classic for a tabloid on this sort of topic. No scientific diagrams here! They are all downbeat just as though everything was a complete failure. A picture of Dr. Goh is particularly emotional with his head held in his hands. This was also true of the captions, â€Å"Battling in vain†¦Ã¢â‚¬  unarguably negative. I feel that The Sun has blown the event out of all proportion and has missed the point somewhat. It is clear to me that Laden and Laleh Bijani knew the risks and were willing to accept the consequences, however bad they may turn out to be. Therefore, there is no scandal. The use of the â€Å"What do you think?† box at the bottom of the page indicates a distinct lack of sensitivity on what is a clearly a very sensitive story. What right do everyday people have to make a judgement on an event they have been ill informed on? It is The Sun after all! Admittedly, this use of direct appeal is effective for The Sun’s ultimate aim: to sell as many copies as possible for, as with the headline, it involves the reader. In comparison, The Independent has far less emotive pictures. They are reflective yet still touching. The page is dominated by a large portrait of the two twins; happy and smiling, optimistic. The other two smaller pictures are of Dr. Goh and a friend who, unlike in The Sun are pictured showing their obvious disappointment as opposed to their despair. I think it is important to note the facial expression of the twins in the images chosen by each of the papers. They are apparently anxious in The Sun and hopeful and optimistic in The Independent. The pictures from The Independent are the way in which I think the twins would want to be seen by the global community. I feel that the ITN news was rather contradictory in places as â€Å"impossible to imagine what life was like† – and yet they questioned whether the operation should ever have been attempted. If they truly empathised with the twins, they would have realised how desperate they were and that it was solely their decision to proceed. Unquestionably, the ITN news is more tactful in its approach in comparison with The Sun for it does not try to consider alternative options to separation and is ultimately less scandalous. After the initial report, there are video images and archive film of other pairs of conjoined twins to illustrate the fact that there have always been these unfair stereotypical views towards this particular disability. Before the condition was truly understood, these people, real human people, were treated like animals, forced to perform in freak shows. It is therefore understandable that Laleh and Laleh Bijani went to these lengths to achieve their dream. This feature is subsequently followed by a simple but very clear three-dimensional animation describing the medical procedure that the twins went through. Although the ITN news is informative to an extent, compared to the BBC, it lacks depth and scientific details. Incidentally though, ITN is the more entertaining of the two news reports. Despite this, the BBC news has, in my opinion, a far more rounded report that simply informs the reader. Unsurprisingly, both reports have the same bare facts but the BBC elaborates on these aspects with a greater depth of detail. For example, the BBC is the only report out of all four reports that has evidence from the twins themselves. They give a press interview where they state their fearlessness. In addition, the way in which the BBC presents how the operation was performed is not as aesthetically pleasing as that of ITN but is realistic and actually refers to scientific principals, whereas the ITN news does not. I think the BBC have done this because the type of people who would watch their broadcast are considered to be genuinely interested in the scientific aspects of the procedure. Perhaps IT N did not go into so much depth because they might want to appeal to a more general audience. I feel that all four of the articles and reports use language effectively and successfully to achieve their aim. What is instantly striking about The Sun regarding its use of language is that it is pure emotion from the outset. In any newspaper, the first thing that grabs your attention is either the banner headline at the top, (which here is white text against a black background for added visibility), or the main headline, (which is underlined for the same reason). I think phrases such as â€Å"DADS FURY† in the banner headline, sets the tone for the rest of the article. The headline of The Sun, as mentioned before, instantly raises a debate rather than just to tell a story. This is very useful because rhetorical questions always get the readership involved in one way or another. Strangely enough, the headline in The Independent is, on one level, similar to that of The Sun. Doubtlessly, both headlines raise some sort of debate regarding the operation. However, The Independent is significantly more conservative and handles the article in a refrained fashion. There is just one caption in The Independent and is predictably informative and is more of a statement than the three used in The Sun. The Sun has an emotive statement followed by an ellipsis to create emotion, for instance, â€Å"Heartbreak†¦Ã¢â‚¬  These emotive statements are then followed by a short description of who is in the picture. The Independent uses no hint of colloquialism to appeal to a wider, more general audience. However, The Sun does this on a couple of occasions. â€Å"and a pal of the twins† as if to make the reader empathise as well as sympathise to think what it would be like if you lost a â€Å"pal†. The BBC is similar to The Independent for they both use a higher standard of vocabulary and specialist scientific language throughout their report. In comparison the ITN news has a range of vocabulary, including idiom, to make the report more accessible. The Sun is considered to be an â€Å"easy† read so it is of no surprise that both the vocabulary and the sentence structure are relatively simple. The general feeling that I get whilst reading The Independent is that it initially firstly focuses upon the debate in question and secondly comes round to what actually happened. Whether this is deliberate or not remains to be seen but I think it is in this order because it is simply more interesting. Evidence to support this argument lies in the topic sentence. â€Å"the death†¦twins†¦raises questions†¦should have been allowed† Unlike The Sun’s leading sentence, The Independent leads into an evenly supported discussion whereas The Sun’s article is more biased in favour of a negative way. There are two occasions on which italics are used to emphasise a paragraph in The Sun. Its use in the fourth paragraph of the story acts as a sub-heading and I feel that it is in Italics because special notice should be taken of it. It mentions the twins’ father and the following half dozen paragraphs elaborate on the initial focus of the father’s anger. The second instance of Italics is â€Å"Laleh and Laden won the hearts of millions.† Again, this acts as a sub-heading because it leads into a brief description of their personal lives. In the second column, the reporter emboldens one word to initiate discussion, â€Å"to give the women a new life WAS morally justified† The journalist used this to reinforce the theme of dispute into the minds of the reader. However, in my opinion, the readers knew that it was in fact morally justified and so it also used as a connective to link the first part of the story into evidence given by interviewees in the second part of the story. In all four reports, expert opinion and interviews are used to great effect. The interviews within The Independent are taken from people who are genuinely qualified to give an honest and rounded opinion. However, The Sun uses people emotionally connected to the twins and thus their rationality may be clouded and their emotions are more evidently expressed in the evidence given. For instance, a medical ethics expert would be the best person to comment on the medical ethics of the operation, whereas, the man who raised the twins would not be. Alizera Saifain, (the girls adopted father), said: â€Å"I knew they would bring back their bodies. They took them there and killed them† This is an extremely emotive statement. Any parent who witnesses their children die would be traumatised. Equally, the television broadcasts contrast in a similar way. For instance, the BBC World Affairs Correspondent uses a hint of unnecessary repetition on how â€Å"crushed† the medics were regarding the operation. However, some may say that the BBC gives credit to the doctors and surgeons because of the vast amount of time and effort they invested into the twin’s case. Even though it is such a tragic story, the BBC still continues in a positive frame of mind during an interview with an Iranian doctor who stresses how courageous and optimistic the twins were. This demonstrates a personal approach that balances the scientific with the emotional aspects. Furthermore, a neurosurgeon explaining the risks of the operation uses specialist scientific vocabulary and idiom to ensure that his views are accessible to a wide audience including the scientific community. As with The Independent, the BBC also utilises a medical ethics expert from the British Medical Association. The surgeon who is interviewed by ITN news changes the whole mood and the tone of the interview by using the word â€Å"alas†, because this shows that he is, or wants to be, seen as emotionally involved with the twins. Another admirable touch from ITN is that they mention that the relatives of the deceased place no blame upon the doctors. In both sets of interviews, the comments made on the medical teams in particular are relatively complimentary. In addition to this evidence, a German specialist is interviewed and claims that he advised against the operation. He is not able to speak English therefore a voice over translation has been used. This raises questions over its authenticity. Although the main thrust would still be the same, ITN could, potentially, make some subtle changes to emphasise certain points. In conclusion, I think it is quite clear that the each of the four reports fulfil their purpose in every way. They know their target audience and have written their articles and scripts in accordance with this. The purpose of any media is to leave some sort of message with the audience and all four of these do exactly that.