Primate Social Behavior Tell Us About Human Evolution Essay

Primate Social Behavior Tell Us About Human Evolution - Essay Example As the groups grow and divide the relationship equation changes at various levels. The leaders need to prove themselves in their body strengths as well as should have the ability so that members of the group follow him. The relationship between people increased with their need to stay together for hunting. When primates started staying together various things got invented, as rightly quoted necessity is the mother of invention. The social structures, needs of leaders and followers, distribution of labor and responsibilities based on age, sex and bodily strengths, language and communication methods and many other things developed. Different cultures have different characteristics. The study of various cultures comes under ethnography. Culture can be defined as the social heritage of human society where social behavior is based on certain norms and rules. Each member of the society needs to abide by these norms and rules. These have an impact on individual and collective behaviors of people. Social behavior has become complex in today’s complex social structure. Social behavior as indicates is the way people live together and communicate with each other. Various biologist and anthropologist have described and explained culture and society differently. Culture and society are different in the modern human society and historical primate’s society. This is the factor which distinguishes the human and nonhuman societies. E. B. Tylor defined human culture as "capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society".

Philosophy of education Essay Example for Free

Philosophy of education Essay Philosophy is a set of beliefs or ideas one has towards their discipline or line of work. Don Kauchak and Paul Eggen, authors of the textbook â€Å"Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional,† define philosophy as â€Å"The study of theories of knowledge, truth, existence, and morality† [ (Kauchak Eggen, 2011) ]. The philosophy of education is a very important aspect of teaching. It is meant to guide teachers in the classroom and offer insight to the thinking of past experts [ (Kauchak Eggen, 2011) ]. It often will answer the main questions any new and even seasoned teachers have when preparing to teach in the classroom. There are various degrees of philosophy, for example; there is the philosophy of life, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of education. However, there are four philosophies of education they include: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Social Reconstructionism. After calculating my scores on the philosophical assessment in the Kauchak and Eggen textbook, I found that my personal philosophy of education is an equal combination of Perennialism and Social Reconstructionism. According to Kauchak and Eggen, Perennialism consists of the teaching of classic knowledge [ (Kauchak Eggen, 2011) ]. This includes literacy, mathematics, and science. Another way of looking at this is teaching student’s subjects that they will use in the future, even if it does not seem relevant now. The definition of perennial is â€Å"long-term† and that is exactly how a teacher with a Perennialism philosophy teaches. Social Reconstructionism, according to Kauchak and Eggen is â€Å"An educational philosophy suggesting that schools, teachers, and students should lead in alleviating social inequities in our society† [ (Kauchak Eggen, 2011) ]. In other words, a teacher with this philosophy teaches their students about social problems, improving society and teaching their students about personal responsibilities. Perennialism and Social Reconstructionism are each on opposite ends of the spectrum. Social Reconstructionism focuses more on the society in which the student lives, while Perennialism focuses more on the intellect of the student. Having these two as my personal philosophies is a bit difficult. While I do believe teaching tolerance and understanding is important, I also know that learning mathematics, science and literacy is equally important. After reading the scenario on page 219 of the Kauchak and Eggen textbook, I would respond to the students by first trying to motivate them. Offering incentives is a great way to get students’ attention; they are more eager to pay attention if they are pursuing it to get something out of it. You can use anything as a motivator; my favorite was always free dessert at lunch! You can also give extra credit points on the next quiz or for younger students you could offer an incentive such as â€Å"line leader† or â€Å"bathroom monitor† for the day. The younger students love when they think they are in charge of something, it can also help their self-esteem knowing they are doing something important. I do believe this is more of an example of Perennialism, however, depending on the specific motivator and the response it gets; it could be Social Reconstructionism as well. The second response I would try is starting a discussion. I would try getting the students’ attention by putting them in discussion groups or having a discussion as a whole class. This would definitely be an example of Social Reconstructionism. This encourages the students to work together and to come up with a solution together. It gives them a chance to ask each other questions before asking the teacher. It also compels them to stay focused on the topic and eliminates the â€Å"my hand wasn’t raised† excuse. My third response, though I would make it my last resort, would be to write a summary on what was taught during the instruction. By doing this, it makes the students want and need to listen in order to do their assignment correctly. This also offers a chance to get some feedback from the teacher and allows you to reflect on what you learned and what you need to work on. This is an example of Perennialism, as it deals with the thought process and encouraging literacy. While Perennialism and Social Reconstructionism are complete opposites, they also share some characteristics, making it easier to teach using both philosophies. Many common knowledge subjects can be transitioned to include activities that work well to alleviate social problems. In math, you can have the students work in groups. This promotes team work and logic. In literacy, you may give reading assignments dealing with a specific problem in society (e. g. poverty, bullying, etc) and have the students write summaries on what they read. This can promote logical thinking as well as establishing knowledge of the society issue in the reading.

Strategies For The Tourism Industry Of Spain Tourism Essay

Strategies For The Tourism Industry Of Spain Tourism Essay Tourism is of strategic importance to country as an export commodity to generate foreign currency earnings and a potential generator of taxes for local authorities. Government investment and development of tourism infrastructure benefits all sectors of tourism industry, foreign and domestic tourists, as well as the local in habitants in a tourism destination area. (Jamal, T. and Robinson, M., 2009) Well conceived development of a critical mass of attractions by the combined efforts of private and public interest directly benefits to all the industry sectors involved in the tourism system, which improves the attractiveness and competitiveness of the destination. For a country to have a successful tourism it is highly essential to maintain the sustainability of its tourist destination. Tourist destination is a place that a traveller chooses to visit for a stay of at least a night in order to experience some feature or characteristic of a place perceived as a satisfying leisure time experience. (Jamal, T. and Robinson, M., 2009) Destinations are regarded as a popular aspect of tourism as they encourage visitors by delivering valuable experience through various locations, resources and service. On the contrary they even attract disasters caused by natural hazards or by human activities. Disaster is stated as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. (Ritchie, Brent W., 2009) Natural disasters is the result of caprices of nature which includes earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, etc where as manmade disasters are a cause of terrorism, war or industrial action. After comparing these disasters it can observed that, both have immediate threat, danger and the potential for ongoing disruption but manmade disasters to some extent can be preventable and controllable. (McDonald, R., 2003) This paper will illustrate the effects of Man-made disasters resembling Terrorist attacks and Hotel collapse in Spain, including the marketing strategies that could be adopted to mitigate these disasters for retention of tourism in the destination (Word Count 2) Spain is the package holiday capital of Europe and second most popular tourist destination globally, for specialising and maintaining the countrys image of sun, sand and sangria. In terms of tourism Spain has gained marvellous victory being one of the worlds top five destinations which offers over a million bed spaces in serviced accommodation sector .As per latest research Spain is the second European country after France which holds a market share of 11.4% in terms of international arrivals (UNWTO, 2010). Being famous for its summer holidays, it attracts most of the tourists from countries such as United Kingdom, France, Germany and Scandinavia. (Spain Travel Guide, 2011) The Spanish economy has generated one and a half million jobs supported by tourism, contributing to one-third of the countrys export earnings and which accounts for 12 percent of GDP. However this achievement has been earned at the cost of society and the environment. The result of this has led to massive expansion through development of apartments and holiday villas as well hotels near the coastline. (Boniface Brian, G. and Cooper, C., 2005). Similarly by gaining popularity, the destination has created huge traffic jams and has the highest amount of cars as compared to Europe. (TV Choice, 2000) But the major disaster to be considered in Spain is of Majorca which faced Series of Bomb Explosion that occurred in 2009 by Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) terrorist organisation (BBC News,2009) and the hotel collapse in 2008(Expatica, 2008) which created severe havoc in the region by affecting the life of the tourists. The blast had affected the itinerary of thousands of visitors as most of the flights were either turned back or diverted for safety. The Spanish economy is highly reliable on tourist for its source of income and tourism trade; but this attack has frightened the localities and has challenge the travellers and tourists security beliefs, enabling them to give a second thought of whether to fly back to the destination. On the Contrary, the incident of hotel collapse which occurred due to negligence of the construction has taken lives of many construction workers. After all these disasters occurred the first priority of the Spanish government was to cut down further repetition of the crises for which the government had implemented certain Counter Terrorism Strategies. The government started providing appropriate training to local police and actors in the civil society for identifying signs of terrorism in the vicinity, by ensuring efficient collaboration between the relevant bodies and front line staff and developing regular contact with local communities. A software named as Check the Web (CTW) was introduced to monitor regular activities of the militant Islamic websites of Europe to avoid future threats. Various information systems such as Schengen Information System and the Visa Information Systems were developed for protection of citizens and infrastructure by ensuring an area of freedom, security and justice. The Spanish Presidency adopted an Action Plan to combat Cyber Crime foreseeing the short-, mid- and long-term threats on European network and information security. (Council Of The European Union, 2010) After the car bombings that occurred in 2009 in Majorca the government took additional securities in all the modes of transport including passenger and air cargo for prioritising the safety of the tourist. For reducing the terrorism threat it is very essential that public and private sector work hand in hand, for data exchange and information sharing relating to Passenger Name Records, processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data and the information distributed within the local area. The concept Marketing Strategy refers to an organisational function and a set of process for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationship in ways that benefit the organisation and its stakeholders. (Ferrell, O.C. and Hartline Michael, D., 2008). The problems faced by Spain in terms of tourism requires a market led response for which certain marketing strategies if adopted by the Spanish government, can facilitate in times of considerable unease and market turbulence to maintain its tourism. Firstly the Spanish government has encouraged the Australian tourists visiting Madrid in 2011 for World Youth Day to register at their website, in order to take advantage of insurance facilities and accommodation benefits along with preventing cautions and monitor developments. (Smart Traveller, 2011) Being the initial country outside Italy to promote this event for the second time it can facilitate better promotions by offering discounts on attraction, restaurants and theatres. The event being conducted on a wider scale in the capital state, it essential that the government should form an alliance with the Airlines, hoteliers, wholesale tour operators and other sources for effective marketing management. (Beirman, D. 2003) This event will last for a week (Catholic Pilgrim Office, 2011) which if managed properly, can generate income for the country from sources such as additional usage of public transport in that period, expenditure by visitors in tourism and leisure area. Being an island in the Mediterranean it is essential that Spain develops new holiday styles to reduce seasonality, encourage higher spending visitors and to spread tourism more evenly throughout the country. Madrid being the political and financial capital of Spain serves as the principal transportation hub including centre of technological education, training and development and as a cultural and business centre. Additionally the city is renowned for conducting venues in recent years for international conferences and being the headquarters of World Tourism Organisation (WTO). (Perret, S. and Bijaoui, P., 2006) In order to promote the destination Spain and its most recognised football club Real Madrid have signed a pioneer agreement. This agreement will promote and enhance the tourism brands of the destination globally using its slogan Visit Spain, Visit Madrid. However the capital city has effectively developed its public- private collaboration through the citys marketing agency Promocion Madrid and has pioneered its network of strategic alliances with various tourist destinations, including New York, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico and Tokyo. (Andaluz, 2011) These international alliances will foster the culture and attractions of the destination to the rest of the world. Thus Sports Tourism signifies a great platform for the Region of Madrid to encourage international travellers. This strategy of intensive marketing will feature temporary discounts or incentives as tactics that can be applied to recover losses incurred by the destination due to disasters occurred earlier. Similarly establishment and maintenance of effective media coverage and public relations will play a major role in driving the tourist back to the destination. Furthermore, the Madrid region is given the opportunity to host the 2018 Ryder Cup. This will create an excellent platform for encouraging Golf tourism at a global level which in return will generate a high business volume for the region due to vast arrival of spectators. In order to maintain sustainability in the Sports Tourism the Government of Spain has signed a Treaty with sports bodies such as Spanish Royal Football Federation and Real Madrid in order to boost the brand image of the destination in international countries. (The Guardian, 2010). Secondly, Spanish National Tourist Organisations (NTO) has started various promotional campaigns such as Passion for Life and Spain Marks, for promoting the brand image of Spain. The campaign highlights the appeal of the Spanish Lifestyles and the cultural heritage, emphasising on the different regions. (Boniface Brian, G. and Cooper, C., 2005) Spain Marks describes the various attractions and activities available to tourists in different parts of the country, additionally positioning the destination in terms of lifestyles and attractions. Turespaà ±a, the Spanish National Tourism Authority reveals that buying patterns in major markets are changing and leisure visitors are becoming more independent, preferring self tailored holidays to packaged tours. The changes are fuelled by low cost and changing preferences of activities. Today the Spanish major islands provide low fare services and independent beaches/islands are growing. Spain Marks is intended to show the countrys flexibility to adapt to this changing market. Hence both its branding and marketing strategy are intended to respond to these trends. (Lennon John, J.et al, 2006) Such promotional campaign will reduce the barrier of threat created by terrorism in the minds of tourists visiting Spain due to the following criteria. It will help to maintain its reputation of the topmost tourist destination within the target markets. Generate more revenue to the countrys tourism business as a direct result of the campaign activity by retaining and increasing the number of domestic and international tourists visiting the destination. Similarly the campaign will assist in identifying the key consumer insights for domestic and major European markets. Finally it will even improve the relationships with non tourists sectors. All the above criteria state that the capital is open for business through assortment of events to provide the countrys tastes and fashions. (Ladkin, A. et al., 2007) However Spain can even encourage the third age tourism where Spanish senior citizens can reside in resort hotels at reduced rates outside the peak season (Boniface Brian, G. and Cooper, C., 2005) Lastly for designing the hotels, the Spanish government can adopt a value chain strategy from coordinating and programming of architecture, towards site security design and risk assessment by maintaining a sustainable collaboration between public and private sector in order to increase local contribution. (Luman Ronald, J., 2011) The Spanish hotel market can promote itself by being more focus towards leisure oriented than commercially oriented. This can be possible by encouraging the local commercial market and increasing the number of high spending European weekend break visitors. In order to make this strategy successful the local government will have to incur high spending on its infrastructure investments and beaches. As the hotel sector becomes more internationally reputed it will be an attractive target for international investors, developers, banks and operators to expand their representation in the destination. Additionally, development of boutique hotels and extended stay products will generate revenue for the economy. (Perret, S. and Bijaoui, P., 2006) Eventually more approaches towards conferences, golf tourism, winter sports facility and activity holidays will increase the brand value of the destination. After analysing and implementing the concerned marketing strategies, we will now glance at the pros and cons of these strategies. Firstly, Madrid being the capital has become the major hub of various events and thus acts as a brand ambassador for the destination. Various short, mid and long term marketing strategies for promoting tourism, has been implemented in the respect to Sports, conferences, public welfares and attractions. This generates a huge income for the economy and promotes the brand image of the country. But after applying such strategy, the threat it will attract is the unpredictable terrorist attacks which create a sense of fear in the environment and in the mind of tourists. Similarly there are chances that huge involvement of media in such events might work in favour or against the situation in case of sudden calamity. As Spain is highly bound to face terrorist attacks in future, it needs to take precautions over expansion of its promotional campaigns which unite all the international tourists together at a specific location. The fear of such disaster reduces the profit margin of the economy finally leading to a decline in the expected annual budget. Secondly, the next strategy of promoting various campaigns such as Spain Marks have been quite effective in promoting the countrys brand image as similar strategies have been proved effective in promoting London where Total London Month (TLM) and Total London Tour (TLT) was structured in encouraging the Londoners for using tourism facilities by offering discounts on attraction, restaurant and theatres.( Ladkin, A. et al., 2007)The only side effect of this is that where on one side it generates more revenue for the country on the side it increases traffic jams and pollutes the environment due to increasing arrivals of tourists. Finally the rapid development of hotels on the island attracts the involvement of international companies to invest in the destination which imports more international currency and builds a strong economy. However this will affect the environment as it reduces the land for plantation, affecting the ozone layer. After analysing the above strategies, the best approaches that will work in favour of Spain is of the high interest shown in the field of sports, conferences, public welfares, unexplored attractions along with promotion of various campaigns. This is essential as the current trend demands experiences, fulfilment and rejuvenation rather than promotion of destinations and commodities.If these targets are implemented successfully then Spain stands an excellent chance of being the top most tourist destination in future. To make a final conclusion for this paper it is recommended that the various stakeholders engaged in the tourism sector, need to maintain effective collaboration between public and private organisation as tourism being their basic economic activity and consider additional prevention measures against the problems created from the external environment. Similarly there is a need to reinvent various strategies for attracting tourist due to the changing revolution. Hence there is a need to practice and remember the saying Prevention is better than cure.

Get the Highest Price When You Sell Your Existing Websites :: Sell Websites Buy Websites

Get the Highest Price When You Sell Your Existing Websites Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com It is very important not to be passive when selling your website. If you don't investigate potential buyers while they are investigating you, it will be impossible to get the best deal. While potential buyers are analyzing your website, you should analyze their website. You're looking for assessments of management's strengths: how the company will integrate your website into their current portfolio of websites. You should determine how well the company has handled previous website acquisitions, if any. It is in your best interest to visit as many websites as necessary and fully interview all top managers of previously acquired websites. When you receive several offers for your website, you must carefully analyze the future value of each proposed acquisition. Companies may offer you a combination of cash, debt, and registered or unregistered stock. You've got to assess the financial realities and future of each -- its capital base, cash flow, bank accounts, liquidity, stock value, or potential to go public -- to get a sense of how much the deal will ultimately be worth to you. When I sold the first website I developed, I accepted the offer made by a company which intended to go public soon after the acquisition of my website. This one detail increased the value of the deal substantially: the stock I received as part of the deal went public at $31.50 and was trading at around $74 only six months later. A competing offer made by a nonpublic company, offered me stock options, but I had serious questions about whether those would ever have any value, since the company might never go public. If you're trying to sell your website, you better make the sale your full-time job. Don’t be distracted by the day-to-day operation of your website or websites. Most of your time should be invested in researching your potential purchasers while tracking down figures and documentation for them and then negotiating terms.

Project Manager Letter Essay

(your company) will be holding a two-day boot camp in San Diego, California and Orlando, Florida on August 24 and 25, 2012. Both boot camps take place in the hotels we will be staying at to make things easier. Two teams of project developers from (your company) will head up this year’s highly educational instructional events. Each day will consist of approximately 5 hours of training and a question and answer period. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be catered so that we can concentrate on training and allow everyone some time to talk with our development teams. The first training day of boot camp will focus on the new compliance policies being introduced and address the new system platform and user interface. The second day will concentrate on Structured Query Language (SQL) which will be used to maintain and retrieve information from the database. Online instructional webinars will also be available from our team during the week of August 20-24, 2012 in two hour segments for five days that week. There will be homework assigned in these courses which you will be expected to complete in order to build a base of understanding. We prefer to train in person but realize that our plans will not accommodate everyone. That is why we offer the online counterpart. For those attending in person – there is the opportunity for each employee to earn their company one free hour of support for each successful completion of the course. At the end of the boot camp sessions and weeklong online training each participant will understand the basics of how their system is organized, rules and regulations that they must remain cognizant of and where to go for resources. In addition, our SQL primer will give you the basics for constructing reports for your company. Each participant will also receive the latest version of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 software as well as Report Builder 3.0 for constructing reports. What we will cover- Based on our company’s implementation plan it is essential to integrate our business information systems into a single technology platform using a common database development environment. We first must particular focus on implementing a corporate-wide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system. The ERP system will become the core technology, database, and development environment used by our company. The new compliance system will update all applicable laws and regulations of the company’s internal rules and regulations. The new compliance system will become the core element of our understanding of integrity. Who is involved- The stakeholders of this project are all employees companywide. They will be introduced to the new compliance system. Requirement for managers are to train a minimum of 10 hours on the new platform as well as other new compliance policies. The new platform will integrate the company’s day to day operations into a common database. That database will be used to access the information contained in a number of tables that the company and development teams will create. Project Objectives This project will implement a new ERP software system platform that will integrate our organization companywide systems. ERP will combine, organize, and maintain the data necessary for operations. We will be able to merge each of the company’s key operations, including the manufacturing, distribution, financial, human resources, and customer relations departments, into one software system and database system. The new compliance system is to assure we are within regulations and laws that dictate the handling of electronic information and personal data. All attendees will fill out a questionnaire upon completion of the course. These will be used to evaluate our team’s ability to communicate the necessary information. These will be available in online versions for our clients who are unable to attend the boot camp sessions and participate in the online webinars. Each participant’s company location will receive one hour of free support for every questionnaire that is completed. These hours will be available anytime within the first 90 days of system implementation and can be for either remote assistance in a web based platform or via phone. Measurable Organizational Value Our goal is to implement a new ERP system that will combine the data acquired from each location in our hosted environment and make accessible to each location. This will be done primarily by using Structured Query Language (SQL) and Microsoft based reporting services.

Media Helping in Nation Building

| | |Media | |[pic] | | | |'Media' is the medium of carrying information, education and entertainment to the masses. It is an easier and efficient means of| |communication which plays a key role in the overall development of an economy. In an era where knowledge and facts are the tools| |for economic, political and cultural exchange, presence of the strong and constructive media in a country is important for | |catering to the diverse needs of individuals, society as a whole, small and large business and production houses, various | |research organizations, private sectors as well as the public sectors. Media is a conscience-keeper of the nation and has many | |tasks to perform in our day-to-day lives. It helps the Government to achieve various socioeconomic and political goals; educate | |urban and rural masses; instill a sense of responsibility among the people; as well as provide justice to the needy. It largely | |consists of print media like newspapers, magazines, journals and other publications, etc. as well as electronic media like | |radio, television, internet, etc. With the changing scenario of the world, it has acquired the status of an industry. | |In India, the media and entertainment industry is undergoing remarkable change and is one of the fastest growing sectors. The | |main factors responsible for this are rising per capita/ national income; high economic growth and strong macro-economic | |fundamentals; and democratic set up, good governance as well as law and order position in the country. Specifically, spectacular| |growth of the television industry, new formats for film production and distribution, privatisation and growth of radio, | |gradually liberalising attitude of Government towards the sector, easier access to and for international companies as well as | |advent of digital communication and its technological innovations are the other attributes of the growth of the sector. The | |media industry plays an important role in creating people's awareness about national policies and programmes by providing | |information and education, besides creating healthy business environment in the country. Thus, it helps people to be active | |partners in the nation-building endeavour. | |The  Ministry of Information and Broadcasting  is the nodal authority in India for formulation and administration of the rules, | |regulations and laws relating to media industry. It is involved in catering to the entertainment and intellectual needs of | |various age groups and focusing attention of the masses on issues of national integrity, environmental protection, health care | |and family welfare, eradication of illiteracy as well as issues relating to women, children and weaker sections of the society. | |It plays a significant part in helping the people to have access to free flow of information. It is also responsible for | |international co-operation in the field of mass media, films and broadcasting and interacts with its foreign counterparts on | |behalf of Government of India. The main functions of the Ministry are to:- | |Provide news services through All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) to the people | |Develop the broadcasting and television network as well as promote import and export of films   | |Educate and motivate the people for greater participative involvement in the various developmental activities and programmes of | |the Government   | |Liaise with State Governments and their organisations in the field of information and publicity   | |Organise film festivals and cultural exchanges in the country   | |Administer the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 in respect of newspapers   | |Disseminate information about India within and outside the country through publications on matters of national importance   | |Use interpersonal communication and traditional folk art forms for information/ publicity campaigns on public interest issues | |Serve as a constant link between the Government and the Press, by acting as a clearing h ouse of official information and | |authentic data pertaining to the Union Government’s plans and programmes. | |The Ministry is divided into the following wings, namely:- | |Information Wing  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ deals with the policy matters, the print media as well as the press and publicity requirements of the | |Government. The media units in this wing re:-   | |Press Information Bureau | |Photo Division   | |Research, Reference and Training Division   | |Publications Division | |Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity | |Directorate of Field Publicity   | |Song and Drama Division   | |Registrar of Newspapers for India   | |Press Council of India   | |Indian Institute of Mass Communication   | |Broadcasting Wing  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ handles matters relating to the electronic media. It formulates policies and frames rules and regulations | |for this sector, which include public service broadcasting, operation of cable television, private television channels, | |F. M. channel, satellite radio, community radio, DTH services, etc. The organizations under this wing include:- | |Electronic Media Monitoring Centre | |The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) – has been set up with the mandate to organise and entertain people and | |to ensure balanced development of broadcasting on radio and television through agencies like:- (i) All India Radio, and (ii) | |Doordarshan. | |Broadcast Engineering Consultants (India) Limited (BECIL) | |Films Wing  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ handles matters relating to the film sector. Through its various units, it is involved in the production and | |distribution of documentary films required for internal and external publicity, development and promotional activities relating | |to film industries including training, promotion of good cinema, organization of film festivals, import and export regulations, | |etc. This wing has the following media units: | |Films Division | |Central Board of Film Certification   | |National Film Archive of India   | |National Film Development Corporation   | |Film and Television Institute of India   | |Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute   | |Directorate of Film Festivals   | |Children’s Film Society | |Integrated Finance Wing  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ performs important functions of maintaining and monitoring the Accounts of the Ministry, through its | |subordinate office of ‘Chief Controller of Accounts'. | |The media industry has significantly benefited from liberal investment regime in the country. Foreign direct investment (FDI) | |has been permitted in its various segments. FDI upto 100 per cent has now been allowed for print media covering non-news | |publications and FDI (with FII) upto 26 per cent has been allowed for print and electronic media covering news and current | |affairs. However, the news sector has also been opened up for FIIs, NRIs and PIOs. The FDI (including FII) in FM radio | |broadcasting sector has been allowed at 20 per cent. While, FDI and FII upto 49 per cent have been permitted for cable network; | |direct to home (DTH) – (within this limit, FDI component not to exceed 20 per cent); setting up hardware facilities such as | |up-linking, hub (teleports); etc. | |At present, there are 110 million TV households in India, out of which 70 million are cable and satellite homes and rest 40 | |million are served by the public broadcaster, that is, Doordarshan. Similarly, there are 132 million radio sets in the country. | |Further, over the years, the number of private satellite TV channels have grown very fast from 1 TV channel in 2000 to 273 TV | |channels till 31. 12. 2007. The news and current affairs TV channels constitute 58 per cent and non-news and current affairs TV | |channels constitute 42 per cent of total permitted 273 TV channels. The former channels have grown from 1 in 2000 to 158 till | |31. 12. 2007, while latter rose from 0 to 115. | |The Ministry has been making several policy announcements as well as framing guidelines in order to create conducive environment| |for healthy development of various mass media in the country. Some of these are:- | |The formulation of ‘Policy Guidelines for Downlinking of Television Channels' which implies downlinking all satellite television| |channels downlinked / received / transmitted and re-transmitted in India for public viewing. Under it, no person/entity shall | |downlink a channel which has not been registered by the Ministry. Henceforth, all persons/ entities providing Television | |Satellite Broadcasting Services (TV Channels) uplinked from other countries to viewers in India as well as any entity desirous | |of providing such a Television Satellite Broadcasting Service (TV Channel), receivable in India for public viewership, shall be | |required to obtain permission from Ministry, in accordance with the terms and conditions prescribed. The policy guidelines | |enumerates certain eligibility criteria's for applicant company, which are as follows:- | |The entity (applicant company) applying for permission of downlinking a channel, uplinked from abroad, must be a company | |registered in India under the Companies Act, 1956, irrespective of its equity structure, foreign ownership or management | |control; | |The applicant company must have a commercial presence in India with its principal place of business in India;. |It must either own the channel it wants to downlink for public viewing, or must enjoy, for the territory of India, exclusive | |marketing/ distribution rights for the same, inclusive of the rights to the advertising and subscription revenues for the | |channel and must submit adequate proof at the time of application; | |In case the applicant company has exclusive marketing / distribution rights, it should also have the authority to conclude | |contracts on behalf of the channel for advertisements, subscr iption and programme content;   | |The applicant company should have a minimum net worth as prescribed, that is, networth of  Rs. 1. 5 crore for downlinking of one | |channel and  Rs. crore for each additional channel;   | |It must provide names and details of all the Directors of the company as well as key executives such as CEO, CFO and Head of | |Marketing, etc to get their national security clearance; | |It shall furnish technical details such as nomenclature, make, model, name and address of the manufacturers of the | |equipments/instruments to be used for downlinking and distribution, the Block schematic diagram of the downlinking and | |distribution system as well as also demonstrate the facilities for monitoring and storing record for 90 days. |Similarly, the notification of ‘Guidelines for Uplinking from India', wherein the applicant, seeking permission to set up an | |uplinking hub/ teleport or uplink a TV Channel or uplink facility by a News Agency, should b e a company registered in India | |under the Companies Act, 1956. The company shall uplink only those TV channels which are specifically approved or permitted by | |the Ministry. For setting up of uplinking hub/ teleports in applicant company, the foreign equity holding including NRI/OCB/PIO | |should not exceed 49%. The networth requirement varies from  Rs. 1 crore to  Rs. 3 crores for channel capacity one to ten. The | |applicant company, irrespective of its ownership, equity structure or management control, would be eligible to seek permission | |for uplinking a non-News and current affairs TV channel. Networth required for single TV channel is  Rs. 1. 5 crore and  Rs. 1 | |crore for each additional channel. While, for uplinking a news and current affairs TV channel, networth required for single TV | |channel is  Rs. 3 crores and  Rs. 2 crores for each additional TV channel. | |The Ministry has issued ‘Guidelines for Obtaining License for Providing Direct-To-Home (DTH) Broadcasting Service in India', | |wherein DTH service refers to the distribution of multi-channel TV programmes in Ku Band by using a satellite system for | |providing TV signals direct to subscribers premises, without passing through an intermediary such as cable operator. The | |eligibility criteria's in the guidelines include:- | |Applicant Company to be an Indian Company registered under Indian Companies Act, 1956. | |Total foreign equity holding including FDI/NRI/OCB/FII in the applicant company not to exceed 49%. Within the foreign equity, | |the FDI component not to exceed 20%. | |The applicant company must have Indian Management Control with majority representatives on the board as well as the Chief | |Executive of the company being a resident Indian; etc. | |A ‘Policy on expansion of FM Radio Broadcasting Services through Private Agencies (Phase-II)' has also been announced to expand | |FM radio network through private agencies to supplement and complement the efforts of All India Radio. This is to be done by | |operationalising radio stations that provide programmes with local content and relevance, improving the quality of fidelity in | |reception and generation, encouraging participation by local talent and generating employment. There are 21 channels already in | |operation under Phase-I. Out of 337 channels offered for bid in Phase II, Letter of Indent (LOI) has been issued to 245 | |channels, of which all channels have signed the agreements. In all, 178 private FM channels are in operation till date in India | |including the 21 channels of Phase I. | |There is also a ‘Policy for Import of Cinematograph Films and Other Films', wherein import of cinematograph feature films and | |other films (including film on video tape, compact video disc, laser video disc or digital video disc) has been allowed without | |a licence. The importer of the film shall comply with the provisions of all applicable Indian laws governing the distribution | |and exhibition of films, including the requirement of obtaining a certificate of public exhibition prescribed under the | |Cinematograph Act 1952. Under it, import of any unauthorized/pirated films shall be prohibited. Import of foreign reprints of | |Indian films shall not be permitted without the prior permission in writing from the Ministry. | |'Draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2007†² has been announced to promote, facilitate and develop in an orderly manner | |the carriage and content of broadcasting. For the purpose, it aims to provide for the establishment of an independent authority | |to be known as the Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India as well as encourage broadcasting services to be responsive for the | |educational, developmental, social, cultural and other needs and aspirations of people and include in their programming public | |service messaging and content; etc. | |As a result of all such incentives, the media industry in India has shown considerable growth over the years, with almost | |double-digit growth. It is projected to grow from an estimated size of  Rs. 437 billion to  Rs. 1 trillion by 2011. It provides | |ample opportunities for investors the world over, brings in more capital inflow into the country and presents significant | |avenues for both direct and indirect employment. It helps in shaping people's views and outlooks about various national and | |international issues and thus helps in formulation of schemes, policies and programmes. It is a powerful medium for providing | |entertainment, disseminating information, nurturing and cultivating diverse opinions, educating and empowering the people of | |India to be informed citizens so as to effectively participate in the democratic process; as well as preserving, promoting and | |projecting the diversity of Indian culture and talent of the country. | Mass Communication IN a country like ours, mass communication plays a vital role in creating people’s awareness about policies and programmes of development. It helps in motivating them to be active partners in the nation-building endeavour. A skillful synthesis between traditional and folk forms of communication on the one hand and modern audio-visual media including Satellite Communication on the other, is being attempted. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting being the nodal organisation in this field has a comprehensive set-up of its mass media units with their regional and branch offices as well as mobile units. ELECTRONIC MEDIA AKASHVANI Broadcasting started in India in 1927 with two privately-owned transmitters at Bombay and Calcutta. The Government took over the transmitters in 1930 and started operating them under the name of Indian Broadcasting Service. It was changed to All India Radio (AIR) in 1936 and later it also came to e known as Akashvani from 1957. AIR is serving as an effective medium to inform and educate people besides providing healthy entertainment. NETWORK At the time of Independence there were six radio stations. All India Radio presently has 197 radio stations including 184 full-fledged stations, ten relay centres, and three exclusive Vividh Bharati commercial centres. AIR presently has 305 transmitters. These include 145 medium-wave, 55 short-wave and 105 FM transmitters and provide radio coverage to a population of 97. 3 per cent spread over 90 per cent area of the country. MUSIC Music constitutes 40 per cent of the total programmes broadcast over AIR omprising classical, light, folk, film and music in the regional languages. National Programme of Music (Hindustani and Karnatic) are the prestigious programmes broadcast on every Saturday and Sunday. These programmes are broadcast live from the four metros. Keeping in view the Centenary celebration of eminent artists of music, viz. , Pt. Onkar Nath, Musari Subramanya Iyer and Dr Doraiswami Aiyengar, special programmes have been broadcast in the National Programme of Music. Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan – an annual affair is another musical treat to serious classical music listeners and lovers. About 50 concerts of both Karnatic and Hindustani ere featured at different places and the recordings were broadcast for over a month. AIR Music competitions is another regular feature towards searching new talents amongst youngsters. The competitions are held in different categories like classical (Hindustani and Karnatic both) instrumental, light for boys and girls. During 1998, music competitions were held at different stations of AIR in which 111 candidates participated and eight won the prizes. VIVIDH BHARATI AND COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE Commercials were introduced on All India Radio from 1 November 1967 on Vividh Bharati. Now all the Primary Channel Stations, 30 Vividh Bharati entres, all Local Radio Stations and four FM Metro channels are taking Commercials. Commercials are also allowed over National Channel, New Delhi and the North-Eastern Service, Shillong. Vividh Bharati Service provides entertainment for more than 14 hours a day from 34 centres. The revenue earned by radio during 1 998-99 was Rs 92. 26 crore. Some innovative commercial broadcasting was introduced by AIR during 1998-99. AIR took over all the slots on 4 metro FM channels with effect from 26 June 1998 which were earlier allotted to private parties. At present all the 4 metro FM channels are being run by All India Radio through in-house programmes. AIR was able to market all the available ommercial time during the broadcast of 1998 Parliamentary elections results for about 72 hours. AIR also did the marketing of World Cup Cricket, 1999 through its own in-house arrangement. Efforts are being made to undertake extensive marketing of air time on all the channels of AIR. DRAMA More than 80 stations of AIR broadcast plays in various languages. Radio adaptations of outstanding novels, short stories and stage plays are also broadcast. Besides original plays, a large number of stations regularly broadcast family drama with a view to eradicate social evils. The National Programmes of plays is broadcast on every fourth Thursday of the month n Hindi and its regional versions are broadcast by relevant stations simultaneously. Special model plays of 30 minutes duration are produced at the Central Drama Unit at Delhi, which are broadcast by 33 stations of AIR in a chain of six months. All India Competition for Radio Playwrights is being organised in 15 major languages. All the prize-winning entries are translated in Hindi and then circulated to all stations for further translation and production in various languages. NEWS SERVICES DIVISION The News Services Division (NSD) of All India Radio disseminates news and comments to listeners in India and abroad. The history of news broadcasting in India is much older than that of All India Radio. The first ews bulletin went on the air from the Bombay station on 23 July 1927 under a private company, the Indian Broadcasting Company. The News Wing of All India Radio came into existence ten years later in August 1937. From 27 bulletins in 1939-40, AI R now puts out 314 bulletins daily withMass Communication a total duration of 39 hours and 29 minutes. Out of these, 88 bulletins are broadcast in the Home Services from Delhi with a duration of 12 hours and 05 minutes, while 42 Regional News Units originate 137 news bulletins daily with a duration of 18 hours and 01 minute. In the External Services, AIR broadcasts 65 bulletins for 8 hours and 59 minutes in 24 languages (Indian and foreign). The News Services Division has been putting out news headlines bulletins on the FM Channel since 28 May 1995. These are now available round-the-clock. AIR News on phone was introduced on 25 February 1998. The service provides the latest news highlights in Hindi and English on phone on dialing the specified numbers. AIR is now available on the Internet. AIR broadcasts special bulletins such as sports news, slow-speed bulletins and youth bulletins. Two youth bulletins are broadcast from Delhi in English and Hindi. AIR, Calcutta also broadcasts two youth bulletins in Bengali. During the Haj period, a five-minute Haj bulletin is aired from Delhi daily for the benefit of the pilgrims. Comments from the Press’ are broadcast every day. In addition, NSD puts out a number of news-based programmes and commentaries in English and Hindi. During Parliament Sessions, commentaries in Hindi and English reviewing the day’s proceedings in both Houses, are broadcast. Similarly, the RNUs p ut out reviews of the proceedings of their respective State Legislatures. The bulk of AIR news comes from its own correspondents spread all over the country. It has 90 regular correspondents in India and seven abroad at Colombo, Dhaka, Dubai, Pretoria, Kathmandu, Singapore and Islamabad. Apart from this, AIR has 246 part-time correspondents based at important istrict headquarters. AIR subscribes to the news agencies – UNI, PTI and their corresponding Hindi services – Univarta and Bhasha, and ANI to supplement its news sources. Other sources of news are the monitored reports from Monitoring Units (English and Hindi) attached to the General News Room and the Central Monitoring Services, which monitor the bulletins of major broadcasting organisations of the world. EXTERNAL SERVICES DIVISION The External Services Division (ESD) broadcasts programmes for about 70 hours a day in 25 languages (16 foreign languages and nine Indian languages) for listeners in different parts of the globe. The broadcast project the Indian oint of view on World Affairs through daily commentary and Press reviews and acquaint the overseas listeners with the developments in India along with information on the myriad facets of Indian life. The target areas of ESD span almost all the continents and include areas of East, North-East and South-East Asia, West, North-West and East Africa, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Europe and the Indian sub-continent. The services in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Gujarati are directed to Indians overseas, while those in Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi and Sindhi are meant for the listeners in the sub-continent and the bordering countries. During the year, due coverage was given to all conferences, seminars, ymposia and festivals of films and trade of National and InternationalMass Communication importance in the form of Radio reports and interviews besides, the visits of foreign dignitaries to India and of Indian dignitaries abroad. Special initiati ves were taken to give wide publicity to India’s geo-political compulsion for a nuclear and Agni-II test in view of the security environment in her immediate neighbourhood. ESD transmitters, also carry the 9 P. M. National bulletin in English, originally meant for Home Services. External Services Division continues to supply recordings of music, spoken word and other programmes to about hundred countries and foreign roadcasting organisations, under the Programme Exchange scheme. Introduction of internet broadcasting by AIR has enabled its listeners in various parts of the world like USA, Canada, West and South Africa to avail of AIR’s services on Internet. NATIONAL CHANNEL The National Channel was inaugurated on the 18 May 1988 and is located at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. Presently, it works as a night service covering over 76 per cent of the population of the country and provides a judicious blend of information and entertainment. Having the whole of Ind ia as its zone, it draws the best available talent in the country. The programme complexion of the Channel has been designed to make it epresentative of the cultural mosaic and ethos of the nation as a whole. Programmes entitled Ek Kahani – dramatization of selected best short stories from regional languages and Basti Basti – Nagar Nagar to familiarise the people of other states with various tourist spots all over the country are being broadcast. Hourly news-bulletins, alternatively in Hindi and English, are broadcast from the National Channel throughout the night. Whenever the Parliament is in session, National Channel broadcasts recordings of the question hour for the benefit of the listeners. Sahargahi, a special early morning programme is broadcast from the National Channel in the holy month of Ramzan. CENTRAL MONITORING SERVICE The Central Monitoring Service (CMS) monitors news and news-based programmes of foreign radio and television networks. It also feeds the Newsrooms of AIR and Doordarshan with news flashes. During the year, the CMS on an average monitored about 100 broadcasts and 38 telecasts from 15 radio and three television networks every day in eight languages including one foreign language. The organisation brought out a report everyday containing all the material monitored on that day. Besides, the CMS brought out two weekly reports, a weekly analytical report giving an analysis of the important news of the week and a weekly special report on Kashmir ased on the anti-India propaganda of Pakistan’s radio and television networks on the Kashmir issue. The CMS has two field units—one at Jammu and the other in Calcutta. TRANSCRIPTION AND PROGRAMME EXCHANGE SERVICE Transcription and Programme Exchange Service (T&PES) consists of Sound Archives, Transcription Un it, Programme Exchange Unit, Foreign ProgrammeMass Communication Unit and Satellite Transmission Unit. The AIR archives store about 47,000 tapes of various formats which inlcude vocal and instrumental music of both Hindustani and Karnatic styles; light, folk, tribal and patriotic music of different regions and also orchestral compositions. Besides, the Archives has he voice recordings of distinguished personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Aruna Asaf Ali and many others. Apart from this, the speeches delivered by all the Presidents and the Prime Ministers are also preserved in the Archives. Recordings from the Archives are now being transferred to compact discs which will replace the tapes now being used. So far, 235 CDs of spoken word and music have been prepared. This year the Archives has helped prepare a CD/Cassette consisting of v oice recordings of Rabindranath Tagore and a ocumentary on Rabindranath Tagore produced by Satyajit Ray. This along with a monograph on Tagore which has been jointly produced by AIR and Vishwa Bharati, has been released by the Prime Minister in Calcutta on 20 May 1999. Project on Data Entry updating tapes of PMs and Presidents has been completed and work on Hindustani and Karnatic music is in progress. It has added to its collection 125 tapes which include, among others, the radio autobiography of Shiv Mangal Singh ‘Suman’ and Milkha Singh. The Programme Exchange Unit (PEU) exchanges good quality programmes among the AIR stations as per their requirements in its library. Approximately 8,000 tapes containing the recordings of music and spoken ord programmes are preserved, among them are the Ramcharit Manas Gaan and award winning programmes of Akashvani Annual Awards and the language lessons in Bengali, English, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tami l and Telugu. A bi-monthly bulletin Vinimaya is published from T&PES giving details of available foreign programmes, Karnatic and Hindustani music (vocal and instrumental) and other forms of musical programmes, viz. , orchestral compositions, stage songs, folk and tribal music, etc. , and spokenword programmes, i. e. , features, plays, talks, opera and interviews, etc. , for circulation among the AIR stations. It also gives daily information regarding ur satellite transmission to meet the requirements of the stations. Transcription unit procures from AIR stations and News Services Division, all the speeches delivered by the President and the Prime Minister in different parts of the country and abroad. The unit received 117 such speeches delivered from January to November 1998. Central Tape Bank (CTB) looks after the needs of AIR stations for exchanging good programmes among the stations. CTB has 76,000 number of tapes circulated among 194 AIR stations. The Foreign Programme Unit pro cures the best of the programme material from different countries for All India Radio. During 1998 the foreign nit of T&PES received 438 programmes from SAARC Secretariat, France,Mass Communication Germany, Bulgaria, World Radio, Beijing, Sweden, Australia, United Nations. These programmes are screened and circulated to stations in Audio magnetic tapes and through INSAT 2C and INSAT 2C 3. T&PES has a satellite transmission on RN Channels of INSAT-1D and RN Channels of INSAT-2A. A total of 500 programmes transmitted through these channels were recorded by different AIR stations for future use. FARM AND HOME PROGRAMMES Farm and Home units function at various stations of AIR. The average duration of farm and home broadcasts is 60-100 minutes per day from each station. The broadcasts also include programmes for rural women and rural children. Broadcast of mother and child care series in collaboration with UNICEF and State governments has been undertaken by many AIR stations. The main thrust has been on issues relating to rights of the child, gender bias and child abuse, etc. Environmental Protection programmes receive adequate emphasis in these broadcast to retain ecological balance. â€Å"Farm school on air† as a method of communicating distant education on farming has been adopted by many AIR stations. Besides imparting technical and other information, the thrust of the broadcasts are : (i) dissemination of information relating to ways and means for increasing roduction of cereals, oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, fruits, etc. ; (ii) diversification of agriculture, social forestry, preservation of environment and farm forestry; (iii) poverty alleviation schemes, health and sanitation, etc. ; (iv) adult education programmes and (v) role of pan chayats in rural development. The programmes also lay emphasis on the various economic measures taken by the Government, aimed at rural development. FAMILY WELFARE PROGRAMMES AIR Stations broadcast more than 10,000 programmes on Family Welfare every month in all the major languages/dialects of our country. Programmes on AIDS, TB, Dengue, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, water borne diseases, alaria eradication programme, child survival and safe motherhood programme, sterilization, vasectomy, tubectomy, etc. , are broadcast under the title of family welfare programmes. Success stories are also broadcast regularly. SPORTS During 1998-99, AIR provided extensive coverage to the National and International Sporting events held in India and abroad. Major international events covered were the World Cup Hockey Tournament at Utrecht, Asian Games at Bangkok, Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur, World Cup Cricket Tournament in the UK and the Wimbledon Tennis Championship in London. AIR also encour ages traditional games like Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, etc. , hrough broadcast or running commentary in order to popularise them among the youth of the country and to foster sports talents in the domain of traditional sports and games. Mass Communication AKASHVANI ANNUAL AWARDS All India Radio presents Akashvani Annual Awards to outstanding broadcasts for every calendar year in different disciplines and subjects. Special prizes, Lassa Kaul Awards on National Integration and ‘Correspondent of the Year’ for excellence in News Reporting are also awarded. There is also an award for a special topic documentary. This year’s subject is ‘Senior Citizen’. An award at national level is given to the Best Choral Singing Group (Senior nd Junior Groups) for a competition held for children at various regional centres. An award for â€Å"Audience Research/Survey Reports† has also been introduced from 1995. AIR also awards the Best Commercial Broadcasting Service Centr e and awards for Technical Excellence. DOORDARSHAN Doordarshan, the national televison service of India devoted to public service broadcasting is one of the largest terrestrial networks in the world. The flagship of Doordarshan—DD-1—operates through a network of 984 terrestrial transmitters of varying powers reaching over 87 per cent of the population. There are 57 additional transmitters giving terrestrial support to other channels. Doordarshan uses a large number of transponders on he Indian National Satellites (INSAT) and other satellites to network its terrestrial transmitters and also to extend coverage. The signals of Doordarshan’s International service could be received in most part of the globe. Doordarshan has established programme production facilities in 46 cities across the country. Doordarshan programmes are watched in India by 360 million viewers in their homes. Doordarshan earned around Rs 4 billion during the financial year 1998-99 through commer cial advertisements. THE EARLY YEARS The first telecast originated from a makeshift studio in the Akashvani Bhavan, New Delhi on 15 September 1959. A transmitter of 500 W power arried the signals within a radius of 25 km from Delhi. The regular service with a News bulletin was started in 1965. Television went to a second city, Mumbai, only in 1972, and by 1975 Calcutta, Chennai, Srinagar, Amritsar and Lucknow also had television stations. SITE The first experiment with satellite technology in India, known as the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), was conducted in 1975-76. This was, incidentally, the first attempt anywhere in the world of using the sophisticated technology of satellite broadcasting for social education. The year 1982 witnessed the introduction of a regular satellite link between Delhi nd other transmitters, the starting of national programme and the era of colour television in the country. The Asian Games held in Delhi that year acted as the major impetus for bringing out these changes within a short period. After 1992, television facilities have been rapidly expanding and during certain periods the country got an additional transmitter every day. In theMass Communication decade 1981-90, the number of transmitters increased from 19 to 519. THREE-TIER SERVICE Doordarshan has a three-tier primary programme service—national, regional and local. In the national programmes the focus is on the events and issues of interest to the whole nation. These programmes include news, current ffairs, science, cultural magazines, documentaries, serials, music, dance, drama and feature films. The regional programmes originating from the State capitals and relayed by all transmitters in the respective State telecast programmes of interest at the State level, in the language and idiom of that particular region. The local programmes are area-specific and cover local issues featuring local people. INFORMATION PROGRAMMES On the National Netwo rk news bulletins are telecast in Hindi and English at regular intervals. All the major Kendras telecast news bulletins in the evenings in their respective languages where the regional events are covered in greater detail. Some Kendras telecast regional news in Urdu also. Doordarshan has a number of programmes on current affairs where topical issues are discussed in-depth, bringing out the various viewpoints. Information programmes also include telecast on agriculture, rural development, health, family welfare, consumer’s rights, environment, etc. There are programmes specially targeted for women, children and youth. Doordarshan brings to its viewers all the major national and international sports and games through live telecast. There are other programmes on sports, including interviews with eminent sports persons, sports education, etc. Doordarshan also has an exclusive sports channel. EDUCATIONAL TV The educational programmes are at different levels ranging from basic health education for the not-so-well-educated to the higher education programmes for university students. In 1961 India’s first school television service was commissioned at Delhi for the institutions run by the Delhi Municipal Corporation. ETV programmes for school children are telecast from a number of regional Kendras in different languages covering both formal and informal education. The software for these programmes are produced by the Central Institute for Education Technology in Delhi and State Institutes of Education Technology of different Centres. To put quality education within the reach of students residing even n small villages and towns, the University Grants Commission, has a countrywide classroom telecast on the national network. Besides this, syllabus-based programmes for the students of Indira Gandhi National Open University are also being telecast on the national network. ENTERTAINMENT The entertainment programmes include music, dance, plays and serials. Mass Communication Feature films and programmes based on excerpts from feature films are also telecast on the national network and from the regional kendras. METRO CHANNEL In 1984 a second channel was added in Delhi to provide an alternative viewing to the heterogeneous metropolitan population. Later, similar acilities were provided to viewers in Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. In 1993 these four terrestrial transmitters were linked through satellite to provide an exclusive entertainment channel for the urban audience. This service, known as DD-2 Metro Entertainment Channel, is now available terrestrially in 54 cities. In other parts of the country the programmes of this channel could be received through dish antennas or through cable operators. The metro channel targets the younger viewers in urban areas. REGIONAL LANGUAGE CHANNELS To provide additional software in the major languages of the country, some of which are spoken by more than 50 million people, Doordarshan has 11 regional language satellite channels. The programmes on these channels include the regional service, which is available terrestrially in the concerned state and additional programmes which could be received in the satellite mode. These programmes are carried on the INSAT satellite which has footprint over the entire country and the regional language programmes could be watched by people irrespective of their place of residence. INTERNATIONAL CHANNEL Doordarshan-India, the international channel, is in operation from 1995 and reaches about 50 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe through PAS-1 and USA and Canada through PAS-4 and PAS-1 satellite. It is presently on the air for 19 hours each day. AUDIENCE RESEARCH The Audience Research Unit of Doordarshan, manned by professional researchers, is involved in studies on the various aspects of broadcasting. It also operates a system of getting ratings on Doordarshan programmes each week. Audience Research is also monitoring the voluntary feedback from viewers and maintains Data Banks at the national and kendra level. VIEWERSHIP Over the years Doordarshan’s viewership has increased phenomenally and now an estimated 69 million homes have televisioin sets which mean that 362 million people can watch Doordarshan programmes in their homes. Community TV sets have been established under various schemes operated by Central and State governments. In rural areas most of the privately-owned sets also act as community sets, attracting a number of viewers from nonTV homes and the total number who watch Doordarshan at least once in a week exceeds 500 million. In the last four years programmes of commercial channels operating from outside India are available for some sections of the population, but Doordarshan has retained more than 70 per cent of the totalMass Communication viewership in urban areas and more than 90 per cent of the viewership in the rural areas in most of the States. PRASAR BHARATI All India Radio and Doordarshan functioned as departments under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. There were persistent demands that the electronic media should be free from Government control and they should have autonomy in their functioning. The Parliament had passed an Act to give autonomy to the media in 1990 itself, but at that time the Act was not notified. In 1997 the Government decided to notify this Act and Prasar Bharati, the autonomous Broadcasting Corporation of India, came into existence on 23 November 1997. A Board consisting of a chairman, an executive member and a number of part-time, full-time, ex-officio and elected members is to manage the affairs of Prasar Bharati. There is also to be a representative of the Government of India on the Board. PRESS AND PRINT MEDIA REGISTRAR OF NEWSPAPERS FOR INDIA Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), commonly known as Press Registrar came into being on 1 July 1956. Besides, the statutory functions, the Registrar recommends import of printing machinery and allied materials for newspapers. The duties and functions of the Press Registrar are defined in the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 and rules made thereunder as amended from time to time. As on 31 December 1998, the total number of newspapers and periodicals was 43,828 as compared to 41,705 in 1997. There were 4,890 dailies, 331 tri/bi-weeklies,15,645 weeklies, 12,065 monthlies, 5,913 fortnightlies, ,127 quarterlies, 383 annuals and 1,474 publications with periodicities like bi-monthlies, half-yearlies, etc. Newspapers were published in as many as 100 languages and dialects during 1998. Apart from English and 18 principal languages enumerated in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, newspapers were published in 81 other languages, mostly Indian languages or dialects and a few foreign languages. The highest number of newspapers were published in the Hindi language. Daily newspapers were brought out in 18 principal languages and Kashmiri was the only principal language that did not have a daily newspaper. Newspapers were published from all States and Union Territories. Uttar Pradesh with 7,895 newspapers retained the prestigious position of publishing the largest number of newspapers in India. In the case of dailies also, Uttar Pradesh held the top position with 805 dailies. Bombay Samachar a Gujarati daily published from Mumbai is the oldest existing newspaper. In 1998, the total circulation of Indian Press was 12,68,49,500 copies. The Anand Bazar Patrika, Bengali daily from Calcutta with a circulation of 5,86,637 copies was the largest circulated single edition newspaper. The Times of India, an English daily from Mumbai which had a circulation of 5,66,378 copies stood second. Hindustan Times, English Daily from Delhi with aMass Communication irculation of 5,55,911 copies occupied third position. The Times of India having six editions in English with a circulation of 13,90,827 copies occupied first position among multi-edition dailies during 1998. The Malayala Manorama published with eight editions in Malayalam with a total combined circulation of 11,23 ,745 copies stood second. Gujarat Samachar with five editions in Gujarati occupied third position with a total circulation of 8,59,015 copies. Among periodicals, Malayala Manorama, a Malayalam weekly published from Kottayam was the largest circulated periodical with 11,58,108 copies. Saras Salil, Hindi Fortnightly from Delhi with a circulation of 9,32,753 copies ccupied the second position. TABLE 11. 1 : NUMBER OF NEWSPAPERS IN 1998 (LANGUAGE AND PERIODICITY-WISE) Languages Dailies Tri/Bi- Weeklies Fort- Monthlies Quarterlies Bi-monthlies Annuals Total weeklies nightlies Halfyearlies English 353 29 835 635 2,606 1,172 734 153 6,517 Hindi 2,202 125 9,062 2,741 2,960 544 173 29 17,836 Assamese 14 3 73 38 57 12 10 1 208 Bengali 96 14 580 463 661 441 156 14 2,425 Gujarati 106 8 565 161 455 57 43 13 1,408 Kannada 290 6 337 217 542 43 17 3 1,455 Kashmiri 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Konkani 1 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 6 Malayalam 208 5 167 152 712 54 23 8 1,329 Manipuri 12 0 6 5 9 6 3 0 41 Marathi 302 20 870 16 1 451 100 39 103 2,046 Nepali 3 2 14 6 8 16 5 0 54 Oriya 68 2 132 81 260 85 23 4 655 Punjabi 106 15 332 83 231 31 18 1 817 Sanskrit 3 0 8 4 16 13 6 0 50 Sindhi 10 0 35 11 35 8 2 0 101 Tamil 344 43 391 220 717 27 20 7 1,769 Telugu 129 3 236 178 453 24 10 2 1,035 Urdu 509 20 1,290 356 496 56 15 3 2,745 Bilingual 65 19 534 311 1,082 327 135 31 2,504 Multilingual 15 4 92 60 197 64 31 11 474 Others 54 13 82 29 116 47 11 0 352 Total 4,890 331 15,645 5,913 12,065 3,127 1,474 383 43,828 PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU The Press Information Bureau (PIB) is the nodal agency of the GovernmentMass Communication to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on government olicies, programmes, initiatives and achievements. Functioning as an interface between the Government and the media, the PIB also provides feedback to the Government with people’s reaction as reflected in the media. With its eight Regional Offices and 32 Branch Offices and Information Centres, the PIB disseminates information through dif ferent modes of communications, such as press releases, press notes, feature articles, backgrounders, press briefings, interviews, press conferences and press tours, etc. The information material released in Hindi, Urdu and 13 other regional languages reaches to over 7,000 newspapers and media organisations. The Bureau at headquarters has a team of officers who are exclusively attached to various ministries and departments for the purpose of assisting them in disseminating information to the media. They also provide feedback to their respective ministries and departments. As part of the Special Services, the Feedback Cell in the PIB prepares a daily digest and special digests based on news stories and editorials from national as well as regional dailies and periodicals. The Feature Unit of the Special Services of the Bureau provides backgrounders, updates, features and graphics. These are circulated in the national network and also sent to the Regional and Branch Offices or translation and circulation to the local Press. PIB arranges photo coverage of Government activities and the photographs are supplied to dailies and periodicals published in English and other Indian languages all over the country. During 1998-99, 2,78,485 photographs were supplied to the newspapers and periodicals. Th e PIB is linked with 30 of its Regional and Branch Offices over computer network to facilitate speedy feeding of information. The Bureau has a Home Page on Internet which makes available publicity material such as press releases, features, photos and graphic for international consumption. The PIB internet home page is accessible at website www. nic. in/IndiaImage/PIB. The press releases from the Bureau are also faxed through computers to local newspapers as well as all resident correspondents of the important outstation newspapers. PIB has started photo transmission by computer to its offices. PIB is connected to its 22 regional-centres by video conferencing system. This enables media persons at regional centers to participate in press conferences in New Delhi and also in other parts of the country. PIB provides accreditation facility to media persons so as to make easy access to information from the government sources. 1,006 correspondents and 226 cameramen are accredited with the Bureau’s headquarters. Besides, bout 133 technicians and 56 editors/media critics have also been granted these professional facilities. The Bureau’s eight Regional Offices are located at Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Calcutta, Lucknow, Guwahati, Bhopal and Hyderabad. All the Regional Offices, Branch Offices and information centres are linked with PIB headqu arters by teleprinter also. A National Press Centre set up in the Press Information Bureau, New Delhi serves as a nerve centre for both nationalMass Communication and international Press. The Centre has all the facilities of international standards like a telecommunication centre, a press conference hall and a cafeteria. NEWS AGENCIES PRESS TRUST OF INDIA India’s largest news agency, Press Trust of India is a non-profit sharing cooperative owned by the country’s newspapers with a mandate to provide efficient and unbiased news to all its subscribers. Founded on 27 August 1947, PTI began functioning from 1 February 1949. PTI offers its news services in the English and Hindi languages. Bhasha is the Hindi language news service of the agency. PTI subscribers include 450 newspapers in India and scores abroad. All major TV/Radio channels in India and several abroad, including BBC in London, receive PTI service. The news services are provided at speeds up to 1,200 bits per second (about 1,400 words per minute) by satellite, data channels and ticker lines. PTI is now on the Internet too and its website address is: http:/ www. ptinews. com. With a staff of over 1,500 including 400 journalists, PTI has over 100 bureaux across the country and foreign correspondents in major cities of the world including Beijing, Bonn, Cairo, Dhaka, Islamabad, London, Moscow, New York and Washington. In addition, about 300 stringers contribute to the news file at home while 20 part-time correspondents bring news from the rest of the world. Besides the English and Hindi language news services, the other services of the agency include the on-line Photo Service, mailer packages of Feature, Mag, Graphics, Science Service, Economic Service and Data India, nd screen-based services as News-scan and Stockscan. PTI has a television wing, PTI -TV, whi ch provide s spot cove rage and make s corporat e documentaries on assignment basis. PTI has arrangements with Reuters and AFP for distribution of their news in India and with the Associated Press for its photo service and international commercial information. PTI is a partner in Asia Pulse International, a Singapore-registered company, formed by PTI and five other Asian media organisations to provide an on-line data bank on economic developments and business opportunities in Asian countries. PTI is also a participant in Asianet, a cooperative arrangement among 12 news agencies f the Asia-Pacific region for distribution of the corporate and government press releases. PTI is a leading partner in the Pool of News Agencies of the NonAligned Countries and the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies. The agency contributes its news to these two news exchange arrangements and in turn receives news from the other participating members for its use. PTI has just completed 50 years of its operations. The DepartmentMass Communication of Posts brought out a special 15-rupee multi-colour, multi-lingual stamp on PTI to mark its golden jubilee. President K. R. Narayanan released the stamp on 5 March 1999. An other highlight of the celebrations was a 2- ay international seminar on media issues in New Delhi on 12 and 13 March 1999 which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and attended by a galaxy of media personalities both from India and abroad. UNITED NEWS OF INDIA United News of India (UNI) was registered as a company in 1959 and began its news operations from 21 March 1961. UNI is now one of the largest news agencies in Asia with over 100 bureaux in India and abroad. It has more than 1,000 subscribers in the country and over 30 abroad. Its news service is provided to subscribers in four Gulf countries as well as Mauritius and Bhutan. It has reporters in 400 big and small towns in India. Its orrespondents are located in a number of world capitals also. UNI also has collaboration with a number of foreign news agencies. It has more than 300 journalists working full time and about 400 as stringers. UNI launched a full-fledged Indian language news service Univarta, in Hi ndi in May 1982. A decade later, it launched Urdu Service on teleprinter for the first time in the world. Other teleprinter services of the news agency include UNIFIN, a specialised service for banking, financial and commercial organisations as well as UNISTOCK, a service for stock exchanges and stock brokers. In July 1986, UNI started its television wing which provides news eatures, newsclips and documentaries for Doordarshan and other organisations. Another specialised service run by the news agency is UNISCAN, a news service fed into television sets. A national photo service, started in 1987, is another pioneering venture. UNI also supplies computerdesigned graphics in ready-to-use-form on economic and other topical subjects on a regular basis. NON-ALIGNED NEWS AGENCIES POOL The Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP) is an arrangement for exchange of news among the news agencies of non-aligned countries who for long have been victims of imbalances and bias in the flow of news. Th e Pool came into existence in 1976 with India as its first Chairman (1976-79). The Pool is a worldwide operation embracing four continents, viz. , Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. The Pool news is exchanged in four languages—English, French, Spanish and Arabic. Pool activities are coordinated by an elected body known as the Coordinating Committee with a Chairman as its head. The Chairmanship, is co-terminus with the tenure of the Coordinating Committee and goes by rotation. The Chairman and members of the Coordinating Committee are elected on the basis of regional representation, continuity, active participation and rotation. The Coordinating Committee meets once a year and the meetings are open to all member agencies. Mass Communication Advt. Mass Communication Six General Conferences and 17 meetings of the Coordinating Committee have taken place since the inception of the Pool. The last General Conference of the Pool was held in Tehran in June 1992, when the Iranian news agency IRNA assumed the Chairmanship of the Pool from ANGOP of Angola. The countries elected to the Coordinating Committee in Tehran were India, Indonesia, Vietnam, DPR Korea, Kuwait, Syria, Mongolia, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Oman from Asia; Angola, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia from Africa; Yugoslavia from Europe; and Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela from Latin America. At the Tunis General Conference of the Pool in November 1982 a resolution was adopted to form a Monitoring Group, for closer review and monitoring of the Pool operations. The Monitoring Group was last reconstituted in Tehran in 1992 when Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Libya, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Peru, Cuba and Yugoslavia were elected to it. India has played a vital role in the creation and expansion of the Pool. India News Pool Desk is operated by Press Trust of India. The agency receives news copy from Pool Partners and in turn contributes Indian news nto the exchange arrangement on a daily basis. The incoming news traffic from Pool member agencies into PTI is in the range of about 15,000 words per day. PTI’s contribution into the network is about 7,000 words per day. The news is exchanged through a network of statellite/terrestrial/E-mail communication links with Antara (Indonesia) , Bernama (Malaysia), Lankapuvath (Sri Lanka), GNA (Bahrain), VNA (Vietnam), Prensa Latina (Cuba), Tanjug (Yugoslavia), BSS (Bangladesh), RSS (Nepal), MENA (Egypt) and NAMPA (Namibia). Leading national dailies of the country publish between 20 to 30 Pool items a month. As part of the News Pool operation, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, which is recognised as a premier institute for training in journalism in the Non-Aligned countries, has been offering a regular course in News Agency Journalism. The five-month twice a year course is popular with journalists belonging to the member agencies of the Pool. PRESS COUNCIL OF INDIA The Press Council of India has been established under an Act of Parliament for the purpose of preserving the freedom of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. The Chairman of the Council is by convention, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. The Council has 28 members – 20 from the newspaper world, ive are Members of Parliament (three nominated by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and two by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) and remaining three are nominated by the Sahitya Academy, the Bar Council of India and the University Grants Commission. The Council is reconstituted every three years. The Counc il has its own source or revenue in that it collects levy from the registered newspapers and news agencies. It also receives grantin-aid from the Central Government for performing its functions. Mass Communication As an autonomous quasi-judicial body, the aim of the Press Council is to administer ethics and to inculcate principles of self-regulation among the Press. It also keeps under review any development likely to interfere with the freedom of the Press. The Council discharges its functions primarily through adjudications on complaint cases received by it, either against the Press for violation of journalistic ethics or by the Press for interference with its freedom, where the Council is satisfied during the inquiry that a newspaper or a news agency has offended against the standards of journalistic ethics or public taste or that an editor or working journalist has committed any professional misconduct, the Council may warn, admonish or censure them or disapprove of their conduct. The Council is also mpowered to make such observations as it may think fit in respect of the conduct of any authority, including Government, for interfering with the freedom of the press. The decisions of the Council are final and cannot be questioned in any court of law. During 1998-99, the Press Council of India received 1,213 complaints of which 361 were filed b y the Press and 852 were against the Press. The Council adjudicated 342 cases. 575 cases were dismissed by the Council for lack of sufficient grounds for inquiry. The Council disposed of 917 matters during 1998-99. The Council has also suo moto initiated studies on various matters that had bearing on the freedom of the Press and its standards. During 998-99 the Council prepared a report on â€Å"Right to Privacy of Public Figures and the Press† and formulated guidelines to achieve a balance between the right to privacy of public persons and right of the Press to have access to information of public interest and importance. The Council also prepared a report on Press Coverage of the 12th General Elections on 2 June 1998 which gave an overview as to how the Press covered election news. In its advisory capacity, the Council considered and rendered its opinion to various authorities and organisations in matters relating to Press freedom. The Press Council of India is an active me mber of the World Association of Press Council (WAPC), an umbrella organisation of Press Councils and similar bodies committed to championing the cause of free speech and freedom of responsible Press on international level. The Council organised the 5th International Conference of World Association of Press Councils on 4-5 April 1998 in New Delhi to mark the 50th year of Independence. Approximately 40 representatives of International Media/ Press Organisations of 19 countries attended the Conference apart from 200 distinguished Indian participants. The National Press Day (16 November) celebrations this year were dedicated to the memory of late Nikhil Chakravartty, a renowned journalist ho was also a member of the Council. On 16-17 November 1998 the Council organised a two-day Nikhil Chakravartty Memorial Seminar. The Seminar was also attended by prominent-media representatives from the SAARC countries. The National Press Day celebrations were organised atMass Communication the state/district level by authorities, press organisations and associations throughout the country. RESEARCH REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION The Research, Reference and Training Division (RR&TD) functions as an information servicing agenc

Geography and History of the Island Nation of Samoa

Geography and History of the Island Nation of Samoa Samoa, officially called the Independent State of Samoa, is an island nation located in Oceania. It is about 2,200 miles (3,540 km) south of the United States state of Hawaii and its area consists of two main islands - Upolu and Savai. In 2011, Samoa  moved  the International Date Line because it claimed it has more economic ties with Australia and New Zealand (both of which are on the other side of the dateline) than with the United States. On Dec. 29, 2011, at midnight, the date in Samoa changed from Dec. 29 to Dec. 31. Population:  193,161 (July 2011 estimate)Capital:  ApiaArea:  1,093 square miles (2,831 sq km)Coastline:  250 miles (403 km)Highest Point:  Mount Silisili at 6,092 feet (1,857 m) History of Samoa Archeological evidence shows that Samoa has been inhabited for over 2,000 by migrants from Southeast Asia. Europeans did not arrive in the area until the 1700s and by the 1830s missionaries and traders from England began arriving in large numbers.At the beginning of the 20th century the Samoan islands were politically divided and in 1904 the easternmost islands became the U.S. territory known as American Samoa. At the same time, the western islands became Western Samoa and they were controlled by Germany until 1914 when that control passed to New Zealand. New Zealand then administered Western Samoa until it gained its independence in 1962. According to the U.S. Department of State, it was the first country the region to gain independence.In 1997 Western Samoas name changed to the Independent State of Samoa. Today, however, the nation is known as Samoa throughout most of the world. Government of Samoa Samoa is considered a parliamentary democracy with an executive branch of government made up of a chief of state and a head of government. The country also has a unicameral Legislative Assembly with 47 members who are elected by voters. Samoas judicial branch consists of a Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the District Court and the Land and Titles Court. Samoa is divided into 11 different districts for local administration. Economics and Land Use in Samoa Samoa has a relatively small economy that is dependent on foreign aid and its trade relations with foreign nations. According to the CIA World Factbook, agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force. The main agricultural products of Samoa are coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, and cocoa. Industries in Samoa include food processing, building materials, and auto parts. Geography and Climate of Samoa Geographically Samoa is a group of islands located in the South Pacific Ocean or Oceania between Hawaii and New Zealand and below the equator in the Southern Hemisphere (CIA World Factbook). Its total land area is 1,093 square miles (2,831 sq km) and it consists of two main islands as well as several small islands and uninhabited islets. The main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai and the highest point in the country, Mount Silisili at 6,092 feet (1,857 m), is located on Savai while its capital and largest city, Apia, is located on Upolu. The topography of Samoa consists mainly of coastal plains but the interior of Savai and Upolu have rugged volcanic mountains.The climate of Samoa is tropical and as such it has mild to warm temperatures year round. Samoa also has a rainy season from November to April and a dry season from May to October. Apia has a January average high temperature of 86ËšF (30ËšC) and a July average low temperature of 73.4ËšF (23ËšC).To learn more about Sa moa, visit the Geography and Maps section on Samoa on this website Sources Central Intelligence Agency. (28 April 2011). CIA - The World Factbook - Samoa. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ws.htmlInfoplease.com. (n.d.). Samoa: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0108149.htmlUnited States Department of State. (22 November 2010). Samoa. Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1842.htmWikipedia.com. (15 May 2011). Samoa - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoa

Essay on Communication in Health and Social Care part 2Essay Writing Service

Essay on Communication in Health and Social Care part 2Essay Writing Service Essay on Communication in Health and Social Care part 2 Essay on Communication in Health and Social Care part 2Essay on Communication in Health and Social Care   part  1IntroductionThe impact of values and cultural factors on the communication process in health and social care settingsValues and cultural factors influence the effectiveness of a communication process in health and social care settings. Care workers should be ready to assess the values of their client in order to avoid conflicts and poor communication practices (Moonie, 2005).   Researchers place emphasis on the role of spiritual assessment in health and social care settings (Barrett et al., 2004; Moonie, 2005). Cultural assessment of health and social care users influence psychological functioning of individuals and their outcomes in communication. Regardless of one’s cultural background, care workers should balance their honesty and health and social care users’ hope. If a care worker effectively communicates, his activity is not influenced by cultura l diversity issues (Barrett et al., 2004).In addition, researchers suggest that multicultural experience can improve the ability of care workers to communicate with clients from different cultural backgrounds. Health and social care practices in multicultural context should be focused on one’s cultural believes and values, as well as on the knowledge of the lifestyles of diverse groups (Barrett et al., 2004). Care workers should be well-trained to apply this knowledge and cultural experience to provide culturally appropriate health and social care (Barrett et al., 2004; Moonie, 2005). Care worker should respect traditional health care practices that influence their clients’ acceptance of treatment methods. They should explore their clients’ beliefs in the context of religion and culture. Open communication helps to address the existing cultural differences and enhance health and social care practices (Barrett et al., 2004; Moonie, 2005).The impact of legislation , charters and codes of practice on the communication process in health and social care settingsLegislation, charters and codes of practice influence the effectiveness of the communication process in health and social care settings. Care worker should comply with the established laws and regulations aimed at promoting the rights of clients, including confidentiality. Care workers should realize the role of codes of practice and charters used in health and social care settings (Dickson et al., 1994).   Key legislation influences not only the rights of health and social care users, but also the rights of care workers. In general, legislation, charters and codes of practice helps to avoid discrimination and abuse. Staff members should convey respect and use the proper strategies to promote the rights of their clients in health and social care settings (Barrett et al., 2004).   Special attention should be paid to equal opportunities policies, professional values, codes of practice, as well as training and supervision policies, which affect care workers’ views on the rights of their clients (Barrett et al., 2004). Thus, legislation, charters and codes of practice used in the communication process in health and social care settings help to develop a quality service. Legislation and policies set certain targets that should be met by health and social care workers (Fisher, 2005).The analysis of the effectiveness of organizational systems and policies in promoting good practice in communication in health and social care settingsThe effectiveness of organizational systems and policies in promoting good practice in communication in health and social care settings depends on a variety of factors. Care workers should recognize how to encourage communication (Barrett et al., 2004). The organizational system developed in health and social care settings should promote different types of communication to address the needs of health and social care service users, inc ludingoral communication practices (listening and speaking);written communication practices (developing care plans);body language techniques;electronic communication (e-mails)special types of communication appropriate for health and social care settings (Fisher, 2005).Some ways of improving the communication process in a health and social care settingsAs communication has become an issue of concern in the debates regarding the future development of health and social care field, care workers should be encouraged to use the proper strategies aimed at improving their communication process (Barett et al., 2004; Fisher, 2005).   There are many different ways to develop more effective relationships with clients, as well as to work jointly with other health and social care professionals (Barett et al., 2004; Fisher, 2005). It is recommended to promote openness in communication practices, participation in interactions and partnership, transform the nature of relationships (if necessary), make communication process more informative and interesting and less interruptive, facilitate teamwork interventions, and address any problem that may affect inter-professional teamwork (Barett et al., 2004).Besides, it would be better to promote sharing assessment in health and social care because shared awareness and understanding result in improved communication practices and enhanced patient satisfaction (Barett et al., 2004). The use of case scenarios can help to support practical interpretation of the established legal guidelines regarding communication in health and social care settings. Real-life scenarios provide vital materials for improved communication process (Fisher, 2005).The use of information and communication technology (ICT)in health and social careThe use standard ICT software packages to support work in health and social care settingsToday care workers effectively use standard ICT software packages to support work in health and social care settings (Boulos Whee ler, 2007). The use of ICT within health and social care context includes a wide range of ICT applications, ranging from â€Å"ambient assistant living, clinical imagining processing, decision support, e-therapy, electronic health records, and mobile health software applications† (Martinho et al., 2013, p. 19).One of the examples of the use of standard ICT software packages is Web 2.0 sociable technologies and social software that are appropriate for the application in health and social care field ((Boulos Wheeler, 2007; Martinho et al., 2013). These ICT applications include â€Å"social networking services, collaborative filtering, social bookmarking, folksonomies, social search engines, file sharing and tagging, mashups, instant messaging, and online multi-player games† (Boulos Wheeler, 2007, p. 2). Web 2.0 technologies help to manage online information and knowledge sources, e.g. clinical and research information in the field of health and social care. In fact, he alth and social care workers face certain challenges concerning the effectiveness of the use of ICT. On one hand, software packages specially designed for health and social care have â€Å"strict requirements, such as reliability, performance, and usability† (Martinho et al., 2013, p. 21). On the other hand, health and social care professionals do not trust the results provided by the ICT applications, e.g. regarding the accuracy of the proper medical data, some diagnosis-related issues, as well as data security (Martinho et al., 2013). In practice, health and social care professionals should perform standard procedures to meet the needs of the ICT applications.Analysis of the benefits of using ICT in health and social care for users of services, care workers and care organizationsThere are many benefits of using ICT in health and social care for users of services, care workers and care organizations. The use of ICT contributes to the improvements in health and social care pr ovision and outcomes through effective monitoring practices. Special policies and initiatives have been developed to address the needs of care workers and care services users (OECD, 2013). Some of these benefits include:improved quality of health and social care services (the use of ICT guarantees support for care workers’ practices in health and social care settings, including improved communication and effective â€Å"management of transitions and recording of quality outcomes† (OECD, 2013, p. 214);enhanced coordination between health and social care practices that help to reduce possible failures caused by medication errors (e.g. electronic health records and integrated information systems can be used to collect, monitor and share information on the clients in need of health and social care and improve communication between stakeholder groups and organizations involved in care delivery) (OECD, 2013);improved living of individuals involved in health and social care, reducing any possible health and safety risks through effective use of new technologies, such as social alarm systems, video-monitoring systems and different types of electronic sensors (OECD, 2013, p. 214).Analysis of legal considerations in the use of ICT impact on health and social care settingsThere are certain legal considerations in the use of ICT impact on health and social care services. According to researchers, â€Å"the success of ICTs, or any technology, fundamentally depends on the cultural relevance of the application†(Rattle, 2010, p. 147). Health and care professionals should support the evolution of the ICT through specific cultural understandings and practices. Not all cultures incorporate the ICT in health and care field (Rattle, 2010).Although the ICT can provide benefits to health and social care field, but â€Å"these benefits depend on broad adoption of technology not just by super-users or technologically aware†(McCann Bryson, 2009, p. 337). Sp ecial attention should be paid to diagnostic and health monitoring area that requires the application of the ICTs. Because of budget cuts in health and social care field, there have been found a considerable gap in development of â€Å"what is possible and what is being used† (McCann Bryson, 2009, p. 337). Besides, many health and social care professionals fail to understand the real possibilities of ICTs with the existing governmental concerns (McCann Bryson, 2009; Moonie, N. 2005). In general, the legal considerations in the use of ICT impact on health and social care settings provide positive results because of the massive impact of ICTs on all aspects of health and social care, â€Å"from delivering the information people need to lead a healthy lifestyle to providing new tools to design tomorrow’s medicines; from making healthcare systems more efficient and responsive to providing â€Å"in the home† and mobile healthcare technologies,† based on the 2008 report of European Commission (McCann Bryson, 2009, p. 337).In addition, health and social care professionals should take into consideration ethical and legal issues relating to the use of ICTs in health and social care settings. They should guarantee the privacy of medical data and patient records (Moonie, N. 2005).   As ICTs provide great possibilities for the use of technology as learning tool, the control of ICTs in health and social care settings should be adequate (McCann Bryson, 2009). Rigby and colleagues (2011) state that â€Å"Europe has a commitment to researching and developing health informatics (e-health), though not yet giving a priority to this integration of health and social care† (p. 544). It is recommended to address this problem in the following way:to identify the major ICT needs in the field of health and social care;to develop certain standards for integration of ICTs;to facilitate the planned information access and information sharing practic es, modeling a â€Å"system of trust where the patient is an active partner and policies are established considering all partners/interests† (Rigby et al., 2011, p. 544).Conclusion  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, it is necessary to conclude that communication is crucial to effective health and social care services. Communication helps to improve interpersonal relationships, providing health and social care workers with the proper communication skills to effectively support their clients/or service users. The relationship between care workers and their clients is an effective tool for communication. Health and social care users should perceive their care workers as caring, reliable, responsible, emotionally supportive, and empathetic. Communication strategies help overcome any barriers to effective communication process, placing emphasis on cultural factors, beliefs and values of health and social care users. Care workers effectively use standard ICT software packages to support and enhance work in health and social care settings.