Impact of Patient Confidentiality on Carers of People Who Have a Mental Disorder Essay Example for Free

Impact of Patient Confidentiality on Carers of People Who Have a Mental Disorder Essay Patients disclose important information to their attending physician or health care professionals because of this patient-physician confidentiality. This information should not be divulged as much as possible so that the patients would continue trusting their attending physician. With this confidentiality, carers are hindered to get the needed information about their patients. The article, â€Å"Impact of Patient Confidentiality on Carers on People Who Have a Mental Disorder,† authored by Dianne Wynaden and Angelica Orb, is about the effect of absolute confidentiality of patients’ pertinent health information. With the help of 27 carers, the authors were able to justify the not-so-good effects of health care professionals not sharing the health information of patients with mental disorder to their carers. Summary Sharing information is necessary. Health care professionals value the legality of patient-physician confidentiality agreement. However, carers need information about their patients in order to help carers attend to the needs of the patients. Health care professionals and carers must work together in order to assist or guide their patients. Regarding legality, the authors suggested to have the patient-physician confidentiality agreement reviewed in order to include the rights of carers to know the pertinent health information of their patients. Generally, carers find it difficult to ask assistance from health care professionals. Carers are not usually health care professionals. Carers are anyone interested or willing to provide assistance to patients. They can be family members, friends, or neighbors. For this reason, health care professionals must be willing to share information to carers. Analysis Psychosis is one mental disorder. It affects the way an affected person’s perception, cognition, mood, personality, behavior, and movement. Hallucinations or seeing things or hearing sounds that are not really present characterize hallucinations. (Psychosis 2006) Symptoms of psychosis include disconnected thoughts, difficulty in concentrating, mood swings, and having thoughts of death or suicide. (Psychosis Mental Health Fact Sheet 2001) A person with mental disorder needs special care and attention. Normally today, these persons are â€Å"confined† inside their houses and there are carers attending to their needs. Carers could be their family members, friends, or neighbors. Most likely, carers have little or no background at all in providing medical aid to ill persons. So, health care professionals must guide carers in attending the needs of their patients. One help health care professionals could offer is the pertinent health information of the patients. However, due to the existing patient-physician confidentiality agreement, carers could not get the health information they need to know about their patients. To substantiate the effect of not sharing vital information to carers, the authors had interviewed 27 carers. The results of the interview were identical making the findings credible. The carer participants have related almost the same stories in terms of acquiring information from health care professionals. They have experienced difficulty in getting information from health care professionals. Carers believe that there are important pieces of information that should be shared to them in order to perform their tasks well. Because limited bits of information are provided to carers, they could not attend to all the needs of their patients. Worst, their patients’ recovery is at stake because of unshared information. Why is it so hard for health care professionals to share information to carers? Again we go back to patient-physician confidentiality agreement. In legal terms, the parties or persons involved in the confidentiality agreement must abide by it. This means no information must be divulged to anyone, even to carers. No one must breach the agreement, in respect to both parties. This is the reason health care professionals are hesitant in giving information to carers about their patients. In ethical means, not sharing information to carers could worsen the condition of the patients. Since carers have no complete information about the real condition of their patients, carers could miss some important details that could affect the health of their patients. Applying ethics, we need to stand firm on the agreement. No matter what, the parties involved must respect what they have agreed upon. Applying ethics also, both the health care professionals and the carers must consider the recovery of their patients. They must help one another. Conclusion Patient-physician confidentiality agreement is both guarded by legal and ethical issues. But one thing is important—how to help the patients with mental disorder? Since carers have difficulty in acquiring information for their patients due to patient-physician confidentiality agreement, patients must be informed of the importance of sharing information to carers. Health care professionals must work together with carers in order to provide the needs of their patients. The patient-physician confidentiality agreement must be reviewed so that information could also be shared to carers. Patients should be informed that carers could attend best to their needs if they are well-versed of their condition. Also, carers can adapt fast to the patients’ needs when all information are properly accounted for. Patients are important. Sharing information between health care professionals and carers is also important.

Aspects Of A Good Translation English Language Essay

Aspects Of A Good Translation English Language Essay Culture and its meaning in translations. Culture may be defined in many ways. When the study of translation is taken into account, it must be defined with an understanding of the correlation involving language, culture and religion. In view of the fact that culture is a useful device while dealing with problems of translation, numerous translation theorists make efforts to identify the expression Culture. A good illustration of this is the work Primitive Culture and Religion in Primitive Culture by Sir Edward Burnett Tylor. Tylors work is divided into two volumes. In his first work, Primitive Culture (1871) forms well-known definition concerning the basis of modern understanding of the term culture in which he states that:Cultureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ taken in its widest ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.  In second volume, Religion in Primitive Culture, Taylor deals largely with his analysis of animism. Animism isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦( I tried to think of something and connect it but Ill have to leave it for now, maybe later on Ill use it) Others researchers who perceive translation through culture are Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952:167) for whom culture is a product; is historical; includes ideas, patterns, and values; is selective; is learned; is based upon symbols; and is an abstraction from behaviour and objects of behavior; Lee McKay (2002:86) adds that culture is said to be embedded in the semantics of a language; while Danial Bates and Fred Plog (1990:7) consider culture to be a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours, and artefacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Danial Bates and Fred Plog as a stepping-stone to language acquisition consider artifacts of culture such as cinema and television programming, these two types are viewed as the windows into the target culture along with target language. It is tempting to suggest that the means of communication that passes on any culture is inevitably language. In the view of Karamanian (IS3), three different aspects of human activity are expressed by the term culture and these are: the personal, the collective, and the expressive. First aspect implies that individuals think and function as such; the collective describe the social context in which people function, the expressive in which society expresses itself. We need to bear in mind that the process of translating cultural factor is a very demanding task as it covers concepts like history, religion, tradition, social life or everyday customs. It is widely acknowledged that these aspects are the main components of the translators work which leads to the flawless translation. A good translator need to have an excellent comprehension of the real nature of the original message being brought over to the target language receptors. A good understanding of a hidden message in a given text is crucial in the process of translation and depends on the background knowledge of the translator whose main aim is to convert it into target language. Conveying the original message meaning in the given source culture is the true aim of the good translator. Cultural differences between languages and the ways of dealing with them. Traditional translation theories focus on verbal comparison between the source texts and their translations. As Mary Snell-Hornby puts it: The text cannot be considered as a static specimen of language (an idea still dominant in practical translation classes), but essentially as the verbalized expression of an authors intention as understood by the translator as reader, who then recreates this whole for another readership in another culture. (Mary Snell-Hornby 1988: 1-2) Cultural Gaps. It is widely acknowledged that specific cultural references and elements can cause problems a for the translators. When two cultures differ immensely, there is high probability that numerous concepts and words which may occur in one culture and in the language may not be found in the other. This will lead to the cultural gaps between the source and the target texts, which can only be solved to a certain point. Dagut (1978: 49) says that cultural gaps are caused by community-specific referents in one community and their absence in the other culture. Cultural objects, beliefs, customs and institutions are determined by the cultural history and traditions of the specific language community. A language community creates designators to symbolise referents which do not occur in the other language community. The resulting gaps are then (a) more, (b) more language specific, and (c) more translation-resistant than the environmental type (Dagut 1981: 52). Type of the translation Another aspect of a good translation is the type of translation. In regard to the formal boundaries of poetry, there is lesser focus on form than in mangas, however that does not denote the role of the content as an more important aspect. In fact, conveying the most subtle shades of meaning such as form and content in translation is a extremely difficult task. Generally, there is a tendency while translating mangas, to sacrifice the form for the sake of the content. According to Gutt there is a problem of how far can translators progress with the interpretation of the source text and how vivid the description should be. Gutt states that translation should be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾clear and natural in expression in the sense that it should not be unnecessarily difficult to understand (Gutt 1991: 188) Newmark (1988) compiles some guiding principles how to cope with different types of translation, which apply to the principle of relevance concerning audience with particular kinds of interests. These are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾A technical translator has no right to create neologisms whilst an advertiser or propaganda writer can use any linguistic resources he requires. Conventional metaphors and sayings should always be conventionally translated but unusual metaphors and comparisons should be reduced to their sense if the text has a mainly informative function The appropriate equivalents for keywords should be scrupulously repeated throughout a text in a philosophical text In a non-literary text, there is a case for transcribing as well as translating any key-word of linguistic significance (Newmark 1988: 15) Chapter 2 Principles of translation. 2.1. Linguistic versus Cultural aspects in translation. According to Savory different guidelines sometimes may deny each other in terms of rules and exceptions. This leaded Savory to create his own pair-wise contradictory principles of translation: A translation must give the words of the original. A translation must give the ideas of the original. A translation should read like an original work. A translation should read like a translation. A translation should reflect the style of the original. A translation should possess the style of the translator. A translation should read as contemporary of te original. A translation should read as a contemporary of the translator. A translation may add to or omit from the original. A translation may never add to or omit from the original. A translation of verse should be in prose. A translation of verse should be in verse. (Savory 1968: 54) Savoy claims that these paradoxes can be resolved through à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾reader-analysis, Different things are considered to be relevant for different readers. On the other hand Victor Khairullin (1992: 155) implies that linguistic aspects are not the only one that are involved in the process of translation but also is culture. Victor Khairullin (1992: 155) states that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾The process of translation is a creative kind of activity, based on both linguistic and culturological rules. Every language is unique. The language pattern of the world is accounted for by culturological peculiarities, i.e. peculiarities of ethnic, [and] social, norms and economic achievements of a nation in a certain stage of development. Culturology in a language pattern is essential, so some specialists tend to believe that in effect one does not translate language, one translates cultures. (Khairullin 1992: 155) Stylistic preferences. The next aspect on the list is the time in which given work has been created. This statement leads to the assumption that the constant changes that languages undergo call for continuous modifications in stylistic preferences. No two languages are identical, either in the meanings given to corresponding symbols or in the ways in which such symbols are arrangedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Nida 1964: 156). Hence, a translation from one epoch can be rather objectionable at a present time. The matter of how accurate a translation should be to the original was and always will be arguable. Ernst-August Gutt (1991) tries to give an answer to that problem by using the concept of optimal resemblance in interpretive translation. In his theory of relevance, he maintains his opinion that translation ought to express the significance of the source language in a manner that is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾clear and natural in expression to the target culture, but avoids à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾unnecessary processing effort (Gutt 1991: 188). Therefore, the interpretation of the original text should give resemblance to guarantee sufficiently appropriate context to the audience. The way it is presented should not involve any further processing effort from the recipients. When we think of translation in terms of making it as accurate to the source text as possible, we have to ask ourselves is it possible to preserve all the features of the original if not what qualities are consequential. Levy (1969:103) states that if this kind of situation occurs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾the translator has to decide which qualities of the original are the most important and which ones one could miss out.. As far as poetry is concerned, preservation of both the form and the content may be very difficult task, depending on the extent of similarities of translated languages. This situation may take place if the target language has ways of expressing the same denotations of words and of rhyming, but may not have words or expressions that carry out both conditions. Therefore, the decision is to be made by the translator, which properties to preserve. These major aspects of a culture are crucial for translators. The good translation depends not only on the knowledge about the target culture but also on the translators understanding of religious background of translated item. Translators should identify the translation throughout culture. They ought to realize that each language contains elements which are originated in its culture. Moreover, every text is anchored in a specific culture, and that it has its own proprieties of production and reception which may vary from culture to culture. Finding appropriate equivalence of a text while translating manga may depend on deep understanding/ knowledge of target culture. Translator who attempts to translate an original text from Japanese into English may not be able to satisfy the target audience. It is tempting to suggest that finding proper word is the key to achieve good translation. However if the translation from Japanese into English is taken into account it must be mentioned that some problems may occur due to cultural ambiguities. Aimai. Aimai Ambiguities in Japanese Culture are of the greatest importance, because they may lead to mistranslation. Further reflections shows that Japanese are generally ambiguous, shockingly vague in their works such as mangas. The word aimai can be translated as: ambiguous, murky, vague, double-edged or foggy. The other meanings are: questionable, doubtful, shady or non-committal. It may look like Japanese may have some problems with expressing their feelings even in comics as it can be seen in many mangas, but on the other hand it can convey more than one idea which will only make it more attractive to the reader. When two similar terms such as ambiguity and vagueness appear we should distinct them according to their usage. Ambiguity is different from vagueness, which arises when the boundaries of meaning are indistinct. Ambiguity is context-dependent: the same linguistic item (be it a word, phrase, or sentence) may be ambiguous in one context and unambiguous in another context. For a word, ambiguity typically refers to an unclear choice between different definitions as may be found in a dictionary. The use of ambiguities happen that one would offer totally different idea. 1.5. Religion and its influence in mangas. Religion is the second aspect leading to mistranslations. The main dilemma in this field is the fact that translators often do not have any certainty of source text producer knowledge or intentions. Therefore, anything to do with biblical translations involve interpretation processes based on receivers assumptions, rather than simple translation. What is more, dealing with religion aspects often involves rendering through old anonymous documents. Moreover, it is important to consider the functions of both the source text and target text or reason for their creation. A useful tool at this point is Reiss and Vermeer Skopos Theory from 1984. Its main focus is aimed at the translation purpose which determines the translation methods and strategies. Because of the cultural aspect of religion, one cannot ignore target culture customs or knowledge connected with translation topics that incorporate religious elements especially due to its delicate character which means that any translation may easily offend the audience by means of incompetence or ignorance. The main advantage of this theory is the possibility of translating one text in different ways, depending on the need (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984). All in all, encountering any religious elements in the aspect of translation involves a deep insight in th culture environment of the subject so as to eliminate the possibility of misunderstanding. Furthermore, it is necessary to state the purpose of translation in order to fulfill requirements of source translation receivers. To conclude what is essential for the translator is not learning the literal meaning of the words, how to put them together but their meaning in the cultural context. Understanding of the cultural and religious norms is needed, that is why native translators are better than foreigner ones. If we take into consideration capabilities and the knowledge of cultural context while translating from Japanese to English Japanese translators are more suitable. A foreign person may learn almost every aspect of a given language but still it will not be the same as in the case of being born as a native. This statement can be easily illustrated by the quotation of Janet Holmes. As Holmes points out in her book titled: An introduction to sociolinguistics: Learning another language usually involves a great deal more than learning the literal meaning of the words, how to put them together, how to pronounce them. We need to know what they mean in the cultural context in which they are normally used. And that involves some understanding of the cultural and social norms of their users (Holmes 2001: 275).

United Nations Childrens Fund :: essays research papers

Introduction (United Nations Children's Fund [UNICF], n.d.)The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is a leading advocate for women and children rights. Founded in 1946 and active in 157 countries and territories around the world. The UNICEF has committed it resources to achieve results for children in five major areas: Rights to an education Best possible start in life Safeguard against disease, provide immunizations Stop spread of AIDS/HIV and care for those already infected Protection from violence, exploitation, abuse and discrimination UNICEF’s mission is to remain focus on these five priorities all over the world in all circumstances including conflicts, war, natural disasters, emergencies and also in times of peace. In order to accomplish their mission UNICEF’s management must take into account ethics in planning and the factors of strategy, tactics, operations and contingency which influence each plan in management. Strategy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Management at The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) must have a strategic plan which serves as the framework to build â€Å"A World Fit for Children.†(UNICEF [UNICEF], 1998) To plan strategically management must take into account UNCEF vision and mission and there strengths, weakness and threats to accomplish their goals.(World Health Organization [WHO], 2003, 1) An example of this is UNICEF working with all those who share their commitment to the rights of every child. Organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO) who have been working with UNICEF on a strategy to fight vaccine-preventable diseases called The Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS) goal is to fight vaccine-preventable diseases, which kill more than two million people every year, two thirds of those killed are children. WHO and UNICEF will assist governments in designing, financing and implementing national immunization programs while also taking into account et hics involving culture and religious beliefs of those who do not believe in immunizations. Tactical The tactical plan of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) management must describe how the organizations goals will be met and by when. It must also entail plans to help assure ethical business practices throughout UNICEF. The success of these goals will depend on the quality of there programs, information, communication, advocacy and the excellence of their internal management and operations. UNICEF management must hold them selves accountable to do all that they can for the success of their goals by planning, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting to achieve the results in the five major areas to change the world to serve the best interest of the child. Operational Operational planning in Management at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is setting out clearly the implementation of the strategic plan against specific objectives.

The Advance of eBusiness Essay -- Internet Technology Businesses Essay

The Advance of eBusiness A major societal change that has resulted from the web is the proliferation of businesses on the web (eBusiness). Businesses on the web can be classified into two types: those who have physical stores outside of the web (like Gap) and those that were created for the sole purpose of functioning through the web (like eBay). According to Marshall McLuhan, in his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, â€Å"once a new technology comes in a social milieu it cannot cease to permeate that milieu until every institution is saturated† (241). I believe this is exactly what the web has done to American and international societies. The web has saturated nearly every aspect of life including education, leisure, communication, and most specifically, business and commerce. The rapid increase in on-line businesses has created the availability of any products one could possibly imagine. More than likely, if you cannot find what you are looking for in a store, you can find it on the w eb. In addition, many businesses that were once successful without the web, have now come to dominate the new domain of web sales. As it states in Principles of Web Design, powerful corporations like AT&T, Disney, and Microsoft have expanded their business opportunities to the web and have successfully come to dominate business (106). Positive Aspects of eBusiness There are many positive and negative consequences of the proliferation of businesses on the web. From a positive ...

Evil Personas in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Essa

Evil Personas in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Some believe that every individual has an evil persona trapped inside that is just waiting to get out! This may be true for some but it may also just be another excuse for one to commit evil deeds. In the novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a prominent doctor (Dr. Jekyll) conducts a scientific experiment in which he compounds a certain mixture he consumes and transforms into an ugly, repulsive creature (Mr. Hyde), representing the pure evil that exists within him. This novel is truly an astonishing piece of literature that consists of many components that make it a marvelous piece of literature. Not only is the symbolism fascinating and intriguing, the literary word puns are very ironic and makes the novel interesting. Dr. Jekyll believed that at least two different entities occupy a person’s body. His scientific knowledge led him to believe that he could isolate and separate the two separate components. Originally, the ultimate aim of Dr. Jekyll’s experiment was to discover his evil nature and isolate or reject it. But he became fascinated with this evil side of his nature because Hyde was more â€Å"free† and was able to satisfy all of Jekyll’s evil desires. Jekyll had once been â€Å"free† when he was younger, and able to do anything he pleased. All of this changed when he tried to portray the image of a light-hearted, good-natured person so he â€Å"hydes† his evil pleasures. He states in his confession letter, â€Å"†¦my medical studies began to increasingly focus on the origins and dimension of this phenomenon of duality. This investigation of course, bordered on the mystical and the transcendental, but only these disciplines co... ...e cleverly says, â€Å"If he be Mr. Hyde†¦.I shall be Mr. Seek†. Throughout the whole novel, he will travel on his journey to seek Mr. Hyde, who is hidden beneath Dr, Jekyll. Hyde and Jekyll were exact opposites of eachother, symbolizing the good and the evil. Although Utterson and Enfield are complete opposites, they can still get along. The word puns in the novel make it ironic and very appealing. Dr. Jekyll’s theory of the duality of man’s nature proves to be true with the existence of the infamous Mr. Hyde. This theory can be applied to reality too, because at times, humans tend to have an evil side, but never really show it. This novel, for me, has been very educational and interesting. The two reasons that make this book enjoyable is the theme that is understandable, the intense irony, and the word puns. These components are crucial in making a novel appealing.

Freedom of Speech vs. Censorship Essay

Adopted in 1791, the First Amendment, states â€Å"Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.† (Pilon) The freedom of speech documented in the First Amendment is not only a constitutional protection but also an inevitable part of democratic government and independence, which are essential values in society. â€Å"Censorship,† according to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, â€Å"is an almost irresistible impulse when you know you are right† (Sunstein). That is why the American citizen’s right to free speech should be held as the highest virtue and any censorship of freedom of speech should not be allowed, however, should be respected. Freedom of speech is essential part of democratic government because the only way truth can emerge when there is an open competition of ideas. However, there is a strong support of censors hip when people start mentioning extremely offensive opinions. Should the freedom of speech be limited in this case? The answer is â€Å"No†. â€Å"If liberty means anything at all,† writes George Orwell, â€Å"it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.† (Cox) If we want to enjoy the freedom fully, the full protection should be given to the freedom of speech; there are no compromises about it. Freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment is not just a right, which can be declared or abolished. According to the â€Å"liberty theory,† proposed by some legal scholars, freedom of speech is an essential part of the liberty of every person who pursues an individual self-determination and self-realization (Cox). Thus, freedom of speech is also a global right one that permits freedom of personal development and self-expression. Another theoretical ground to support the freedom of speech is called â€Å"tolerance theory.† It holds that the ability to teach and promote tolerance is one of the most important assets of freedom of speech (Cox). From this perspective, freedom of speech itself excludes any type of intolerance, which sometimes appears in a threatening form (religious intolerance, racial intolerance). The â€Å"tolerance theory† implies self-restraint, which is the only appropriate response to any ideas, even those that we may personally may dislike or hate. The â€Å"tolerance theory† provides a broader context for exercising tolerance in a conflict-ridden democratic society. Furthermore, in legal practice there are certain restrictions on freedom of speech imposed by the Supreme Court. They define a few categories of speech, which are considered not to be fully protected by the First Amendment. These categories include defamation, advocacy of imminent illegal conduct, obscenity and, fraudulent misrepresentation (Farber). However, if the speech does not fall within one of these categories, there are no grounds for the government to argue that freedom of speech should be restricted because of its harmful content. One of the common bases for partial censorship is proof that the freedom of speech causes imminent illegal action. The Supreme Court has already drawn a careful line between general abstract theories and political dissent on one hand and particular illegal acts incitement on the other. This line is drawn by definition of â€Å"clear and present danger† test (Farber). The government cannot sue the speaker on the basis of its tendency or possibly illegal conduct incitement. Before any speech is punished on the grounds of incitement, there is an obligatory three-part criterion that should be met. First, the speech must directly incite lawless action. Second, the context of speech must imply imminent breaking of the law, rather than call for illegal conduct at some indefinite future time. At last, there should be a strong intention to produce such conduct (Farber). Such â€Å"clear and present danger† test determines the level of probability of threat imposed by the speech in question. However, the evil, which the government tries to prevent by outlawing the advocacy, does not outweigh the harm of outlawing the free speech. Only when the imposed danger becomes evident, the freedom of speech may be questioned. We must be aware that the price for preventing several cases of the openly declared illegal conduct may be paid by restriction of one of the most essential rights that constitute freedom for the entire nation. For the wellbeing and public safety, the Supreme Court has imposed certain regulations on the freedom of speech not because of its content, but because of the time, place and, manner the speech is being expressed (Farber). The court pointed out in Snyder v. Phelps (2011) that one way to ascertain whether a restriction is content-based versus content-neutral is to consider if the speaker had deliver a different message under exactly the same circumstances (Supreme Court of the United States). However, these rules do not limit the actual freedom of speech and are not even upheld, if there is no public need for this. However, concerning the content-neutral regulation, it raises many controversial issues. The content-neutral regulation requires a very careful distinction and therefore may sometimes be misinterpreted. There is a raising concern that such regulation may weaken people’s right to participate, especially if the government puts too many restrictions on how the ideas should be voiced. Thus, by analyzing the current issues concerning the First Amendment right to free speech in the United States, I wanted to show the perspective of outlawing this right, and the negative aspects t hat such outlawing may involve. Freedom of speech has served a crucial role for the right to dissent and for the entire principle of democracy in our society. This law was developed during the course of American history and only after numerous struggles it was achieved. The evolution of this law is still in progress however, the limitation of the basic right to free speech may as well limit our freedom and democracy, therefore should be respected and protected. Works Cited Cox, A. A Freedom of Expression. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1981. Print. The Declaration fo Independence and the Consitituion fo the United States. The Declaration fo Independence and the Consitituion fo the United States. By Roger Pilon. N.p.: Cato Institute, 2000. 1-10. Print. Farber, D. The First Amendment. New York: Foundation Press, 1998. Print. Sunstein, C. Democracy and the Prolem of Free Speech. New York: Free Press, 1993. Print. United States v. Kozminski – 487 U.S. 931 (1988). U.S. Supreme Court, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. . United States. Supreme Court. â€Å"Supreme Court of the United States of America.† Supreme Court of the United States of America, Oct. 2010. Web. 1 May 2013. .

How Bp Failed at Crisis Communication

How BP failed at crisis communication British Petroleum (BP) suffered a large-scale public relations and crisis communication disaster, when an oil-drilling rig accident on 20th April 2010 incurred a spillage of several million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This catastrophic spill has been regarded as one of the most severe environmental damages recorded in the U. S. history, causing public animosity and frustration, substantially because of inappropriate BP? s crisis communication plan (Tangley, 2010).The oil spill contaminated local environment and coastline of U. S. states Louisiana and Mississippi. Consequences were severe as the spill crippled heretofore developed Gulf Coast fishing industry for a couple of years. On international scene, it has led to a continued discussion on the safety measures of offshore drilling (Tangley, 2010). On the top of that, BP has been forced to continuously invest into improving of their image in media and on social networking sites , trying to eliminate as much negative PR campaign as they possibly could (McClam, & Weber, 2010).BP reacted promptly in their statements, however, without emphasizing the compassion for those who were harmed and by appearing to be insufficiently determined to clean up the environmental disaster. The company should not have been over-optimistic about the scale of the oil spill. On the other hand, BP should have stepped up their social networking communication and assessment of the right spokesperson to a unique situation. Although that crisis scenario is a unique event that is hard to predict, it is definitely not unexpected, considering what business BP operates in.By the year of 2015, 83 percent of companies will face a crisis that will negatively impact their share price by 20 to 30 percent, according to Oxford-Metrica study. This is more likely to happen to oil producing companies, as they are considered to be operating in a one of the most dangerous industries. Facing such a de ep company crisis is not only about ways of how to minimize negative exposure in the press; however, it is also about reducing the environmental damage in the first place.Company has to confront the situation without any futile delays and send a clear message to the public in its determination to manage the situation as best as possible. Definitely not by holding out on facts and baffle general public, as BP did (Oxford Metrica, 2011). For example, the officers from BP said that the explosion of Deepwater Horizon drilling at Macondo oil field caused an oil spill of about 2. 7 million barrels. In contrary, the US government’s estimate of 4. 9 million barrels spilt into the sea almost doubles BP? s assumption (Oxford Metrica, 2011). There were several companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon accident.The oil rig was not owned by BP, but a contracting company Transocean. The Macondo oil well was owned partially by BP (65%), Anadarko Petroleum (25%) and Mitsui (10%). The defec t of a blowout preventer was supplied by Cameron International (Oxford Metrica, 2011). â€Å"Finally, just before the accident, Halliburton fitted the cement cap intended to seal the well. The number of players involved has given rise to shifting of blame† says the Oxford Metrica study. BP used this opportunity and tried to avoid the spotlight by accusing their contractors and suppliers of being responsible for a Deepwater Horizon accident.George Santayana, a Spanish philosopher, said â€Å"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. † BP? s failure is a perfect example of this dateless quote. As the Exxon Valdez accident badly spoiled the view of general public on oil industry and this case has shown serious under reactions of both Exxon and American government, BP should have devised a risk mitigation plan with various safety features, assuring that similar ecological disaster of these proportions will not happen again.Instead, the company has exch anged a following of a strict safety precautions and minimizing overall safety risk for being a risk-seeking company that is pushing to minimize costs and maximize profit. This accident has proven that the industry has lost a focus on prevention and their control mechanisms could not keep up with the newly acquired technologies in offshore exploration and production. Additionally, the company deliberately overlooked all warning signs that have been present.This game was not worth it, as BP has taken a significant financial hit. Their stock price fell by more than 40% in one week after Deepwater Horizon explosion as it proves Figure 1 which compares a percentage change of stock prices of BP, Transocean, Cameron International and Halliburton early before and after the explosion of Deepwater Horizon. The peak loss of 46% in June 25 resulted into a $95 billion loss in market value capitalization of British Petroleum. Additionally, BP was forced to reserve $39. 9 billion in order to elim inate he consequences of oil spill; also pay $20 billion as a compensation for people directly affected by the spillage; $10. 8 billion as an expense for companies that capped and sealed the oil well and consequent cleaning operations and next $9. 1 billion on additional fees, penalties and fines (Oxford Metrica, 2011). This giving a total of $79. 8 billion entailed a significant decrease in net income for consequent 5 years to come. Figure 1: Comparison of stock prices of companies involved in Deepwater Horizon explosion [pic] Source: Oxford Metrica, 2011.By going back to the PR campaign that has been launched straight after the oil spill, BP has done a very good job when they covered most of the negative publicity. BP? s webpage informed the general public about the will and devotion of the company and how hard they are trying to minimize the environmental damage or help the people affected; while not mentioning a word about the fact that BP takes responsibility for the disaster. Their Facebook account informed the subscribers how the company focuses on using the latest technology available in order to stop the spreading of oil spill.To this moment, BP got a lot of things correctly. Nevertheless, it is not an immediate action which caused the negative exposure on media throughout the world. Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP, was actively engaged in the PR campaign, was ready to provide interviews to media and was willing to pay all the penalties and fines to the US government. However, Oxford Metrica review claims that â€Å"a string of clumsy comments and cultural misunderstandings, combined with a seeming inability to cap the well, dominated the media and, understandably, fear and anger took hold† (Oxford Metrica, 2011).Despite the fact that BP is a huge global organization, we can observe that both of their public relations staff and higher management structures clearly did not handle the Deepwater Horizon disaster appropriately, at least from a public r elations and goodwill point of view. Taken a closer look at what makes a global company with size of BP at least neutral in terms of a general audience perception, using common sense would inevitably lead unbiased observer to identify several key parts. Being as honest to public as possible, quick reaction time, correct usage of social networks and media exposure of the right representatives would most ikely be among them. However, BP undergoing their biggest crisis, not only from the technical point of view and the actual damage inflicted on the environment, but mostly image-wise, failed significantly at reacting accordingly; given the fact that the BP case is publicly known as being the biggest PR failure of the recent history. As mentioned before, being sincere about the huge environment tragedy, that was caused by a company, even if indirectly, is something what public audience would certainly expect.It is obviously a bad idea to try to make it appear less serious than the situa tion is in reality, especially when media around the world are posting photos and airing images of an oil rig in flames and spilling thousands of gallons of oil into its surroundings. Mr. Thoma J. Roach, journalist from the magazine Rock Products has made a very good point on this matter, noting that BP`s CEO Tony Hayward reportedly said that the Gulf of Mexico is a big ocean and compared the amount of oil pouring into it as tiny and insignificant.However, Roach claimed that such a statement is dismissive and that it pictures environmentalists and all the people in those industries devastated by the disaster as crybabies. Moreover, instead of placating them, it challenged them to come back strengthened with better evidence, more arguments and intensity. He also concluded that such a public relations strategy is only baiting the enemies (Roach, 2010). In simplicity, if Hayward would say something more sincere and actually true, BP could have looked better and avoided more negative pu blicity not only for the disaster itself, but also for their way of handling it.Even though delivering the information is the most important part of the whole public relations process, one may argue that delivering it too late or in a bad form is as much important. Frederick E. Allen, former CEO of Jacobs Suchard, has made a good point on this matter using the BP? s public relations blunders as an example, mentioning that he would expect hundreds of press release updates from BP Global on Facebook, however during the tough times, BP`s PR section has issued only about hundred of them. On top of that, only few of them had something to do with the spill and its aftermath (Allen, 2012).To improve this part of the strategy, BP clearly needed to utilize all of their resources, including their own web page, to its fullest potential and in appropriate time. What BP shown during their crisis and also afterwards, was clearly a lack of competent people responsible for writing short memos and m essages on one of their main communication channels – their website. On the other hand, even when the PR department is doing a tremendous job on social networks, it does not necessarily mean that it will have actual impact.This is caused by the way how social networks are used by the audience. Basically, company needs a massive amount of followers on given social network prior to the actual case, so they can immediately use it to reach their target audience with tweets or updates. So despite BP had a capable social network manager who succeeded in posting a lot of material, they did not really matter too much as BP lacked followers, as their staff weren’t active on this matter before it became a really needed tool in times of crisis (Allen, 2012).As mentioned earlier, significant blunder of the company in PR area was a wrong choice of a spokesperson. A lot of critique went on Mr. Hayward`s head. Thomas Roach has described BP`s CEO as blunt-speaking, hard-edged and crit icized BP for using him also as a  chief spokersperson for the company, mentioning that American industry already learned a  lesson from Japanese competitors in the 1980s, specifically, that the person who is the best engineer does not necessarily make the best manager.Tony Hayward was thus a  bad hire for BP, as he was not a  outstanding leader with appropriate communication skills (Roach, 2010). Maybe BP wanted to look like they stood behind their CEO, thus even after his publicly known and very unfortunate quotes, they did not want to take him down and replace him by someone with better set of communication skills. However, Mr. Hayward has most likely done more damage with his inappropriate appearances than it helped BP to look like they are maintaining their integrity.Despite the immediate PR reaction after April 2010, the company seemed to be unable to appreciate the cultural context, since BP did not speak the language which the American public wanted to hear. BP did n ot appreciate the political context as well and at that time, they heavily damaged the lingering relationship with US government as exclusive emitter of oil-drilling permits for locations rich on oil. To conclude the case, it can be claimed that BP has run their technical operations during the crisis bad, but their immediate PR reaction was even worse.Moreover, BP? s public relations department was over-optimistic and endlessly reassured the general public by optimistic assessments that the amount of spillage is â€Å"relatively tiny† and the situation will be dealt with soon (Roach, 2010). Additionally, the company should have been more compassionate to the victims of the oil rig explosion and to those who were harmed by the latter oil spill. However, this case can be seen as a valuable lesson for not only petrochemical industry, but the whole multinational companies segment of the businesses around the world.Lessons that BP did not learn from the Exxon Valdez case years ago will hopefully be learned by other companies from BP`s case. On the other hand, this environmental disaster has happened during the Information era, when everything is immediately spread worldwide and when one has to respond to the audience as quickly as humanly possible. Thus, it cannot be isolated in a time period of a year 2010, but it must be viewed as a continuous process. Even after all cleaning work will be done, there still will be a future aspect of the case, as general public will keep demanding a preemptive measures by BP.This will create another playfield where BP can work on their public relations and slowly present itself as they have learned their lessons and from now on, BP will become a whole new company with a new approach to safety and crisis management. This actually seems to be the case, as articles in 2011 and further does not generally mention BP in such a bad light as they were doing previously, which can be accounted to applying new PR strategies.Specifical ly, we can see a good presentation of BP in a NY Times article from the middle of 2011 written by Julia Werdigier, author of more than a thousand articles for NY Times. In the article, BP is given a credit for announcing the new, safer, deep-water drilling standards of BP together with a more general safety measures (Werdigier, 2011). With articles like this, BP is starting to turn their image around. But in the end, only time will reveal if the PR department of one of the biggest multinational companies will learn their lesson.References Allen, F. (2012). The Gulf Spill: BP Still Doesn't Get It. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://www. forbes. com/sites/frederickallen/2012/04/20/the-gulf-spill-bp-still-doesnt-get-it/ McClam, E. , & Weber H. R. (2010). BP’s failures made worse by PR mistakes. Retreived October 30, 2012 from website http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/37647218/ns/business-world_business/t/bps-failures-made-worse-pr-mistakes/ Oxford Metrica. (2011). Reputation R eview 2011 [Report]. Retrieved from October 30, 2012, from website: http://www. oxfordmetrica. om/public/CMS/Files/825/Aon_Oxford% 20Metrica%20Reputation%20Review_2011. pdf Roach, T. (2010). BP's PR Lessons. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://www. rockproducts. com/index. php/key-issues/community-relations/9719-bps-pr-lessons. html Tangley, L. (2010). Bird Habibats Threatened by Oil Spill. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from website: http://www. nwf. org/News-and Magazines/NationalWildlife/Birds/ Archives/2010/Oil-Spill-Birds. aspx Werdigier, J. (2011). BP to Tighten Deep-Sea Drilling Practices as It Tries to Rebound. Retrieved October 23 from LexisNexis Academic database.