Hiv Aids Media In Uk Health And Social Care Essay

Hiv Aids Media In Uk Health And Social Care Essay It is estimated that over 30 million people worldwide live with HIV leading to around 2 million deaths per year. In the UK HIV is one of the fastest growing illnesses and as of June 2010 there has been 26,262 new cases of AIDS diagnosis with over 19,000 HIV related deaths.  [i]   Despite various health and government campaigns designed to inform the public of HIV transmission and prevention in the UK; rates of diagnosis of the disease still continue to rise. This essays aims to understand if media campaigns are effective to induce a change in both prevention and the number of individuals who are willing to undergo testing? If this is not the case then what factors contribute to its current stigma? Finally, has the media been effective enough to change the publics perception to the disease in todays society compared to when it first hit the headlines? Through these arguments, conclusions and recommendations for future effective awareness and media techniques can be drawn. The History of AIDS in the media The media is considered to be the most influential tool having a direct ability to influence mass target audiences. This was made more powerful through the invention of the internet where information could be broadcast worldwide, allowing more people than ever to access information. Throughout the years, portrayal of HIV and AIDS through newspapers, television, radio, posters, leaflets and educational advertisements have had a direct effect on the way the disease is perceived by the general public. For example, when AIDS first hit the global headlines in the early 1980s it was displayed by the media as being a new, unknown disease with a direct link to individuals only involved in homosexual activity. This reflected a time where same sex relationships were frowned upon and how this taboo was seen to result in death. There were also cases of how infected blood transfusion products acted as a transmission route, this led to terms such as killer blood  [ii]  and labelling AIDS as a gay plaque  [iii]  . The early perception of the disease is shown through newspapers including influential and renounced broadsheets like The Daily Telegraph in 1983 with their main headline of Gay Plague May Lead to Blood Ban on Homosexuals. This was a paper which was targeted at many affluent people with a high degree of social status and education. In 1982 The Terrence Higgins Trust was formed, the first campaign of its kind. This charity group was dedicated in supporting, preventing and campaigning for greater public understanding of HIV. Through this new slant of providing a support frame work for infected individuals, charities started to focus on prevention, education and aiding the families of those affected. Through the growth of science and research more understanding was obtained about the disease and it was no longer a fear of the unknown but more focus on how transmission of the disease can be prevented. Hence this lead to government campaigns in the new millennia, educating the general population rather than inducing fear. The perception and stigma of HIV Today there is still a wide stigma which surrounds many cultures, religious and ethic groups. Landlords have evicted individuals with AIDS and the Social Security Administration is interviewing patients by phone rather than face to face.  [iv]  Dr David Spencer, Commisioner of Health, New York City The question lies in whether the media has been effective enough to overcome stigmatisation within the associated groups. An eye opening story of how AIDS has been portrayed through the media and its direct influence on discrimination and prejudice was shown by the case of Ryan White, a haemophiliac who became infected in 1984. As HIV was poorly understood at the time, many parents and teachers protested against his attendance, signing petitions to exclude him from campus even though scientists at the time knew that HIV was not transmittable through any form of casual contact. He worked as a paperboy and many people along his route cancelled their subscriptions in fear that the disease was contractible through newsprint. This shows the extent of how HIV was perceived and the fear of contraction, which instigated threats of violence and legal cases towards the family. When White was allowed to return to school in 1986 he was deeply unhappy. He had few friends and school policy required him to eat with disposable utensils, have a separate bathroom and his requirement to attend gym class was dismissed. How ever, the most shocking event came about when a bullet was fired through the Whites front room window and the family decided it was time to leave. He was later enrolled into another school and was greeted by the superintendent and a handful of students who were educated about the disease and who were not afraid to shake his hand. This shows the detrimental difference that education makes towards public perception and how prejudice and discrimination can be limited.  [v]   Hence through the array of inaccurate information, the fear of prejudice and discrimination has lead to stigmatisation. This has had an effect on the willingness of individuals to acquire HIV testing, and be open about a positive status despite the reduced visibility of the symptoms of the disease such as skin and muscle wastage. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has made discrimination within the workplace illegal for people associated with HIV and AIDS. However this does not combat the prejudice and stigmatisation an individual may encounter from their colleagues. Hence subtle discrimination is more common as it is difficult to tackle in comparison to open discrimination. These are the reasons why people choose not to disclose their HIV status, as for many people living with the disease the most hurtful prejudice that they may face comes from those to who they would normally turn to for support. Close family, friends and partners have been known to turn their back on people diagnosed with HIV. In addition, the sense of belonging that being part of a community provides can quickly disappear when that community appears to discriminate against you simply because of its own prejudice against HIV, this often leads to financial and further social difficulties. The media is therefore faced with the difficult task of changing peoples perceptions, of which there have been a few successful outcomes. EastEnders a popular UK television soap explored the issues of HIV and AIDS with regards to antiretroviral drugs, safe sex, prejudice and the difficulties that can occur in a relationship. The producers worked closely with The Terrence Higgins Trust throughout the story and it was found that after the characters positive diagnosis in 1991 this correlated with the highest peak in HIV testing requests  [vi]  . This was influential as the soap showed someone living with HIV as opposed to dying with the disease, and the storyline was so successful in raising awareness that a 1999 survey conducted by the National AIDS Trust found teenagers got most of their information about HIV from the soap.  [vii]  When the character died in 2004 campaigners suggested that he was killed too early as advancements in drugs were helping people live much longer a nd was not reflective of what was happening at the time. Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, stated that, one decent soap episode is worth a thousand leaflets in schools. That is why we would always go out of our way to help scriptwriters. TV and films can be very powerful.  [viii]  Ã‚   How the media has changed the perception of HIV /AIDS Horizon produced a BBC documentary Killer in the Village which showed the perception that the media had of HIV and AIDS back in 1983. Terms such as killer disease highlighted the fear of the disease by gay men who walk in its shadow. Even though the programmes aim was to provide information on this new cancer the way that the issue was dealt with showed the prejudice that even health care workers and politicians who tried to shed light on the subject held.  [ix]   Advertisements were steamed on TV warning viewers about contracting the disease which would lead to death. They were not based on educating the public but mostly warning of the dangers of the disease, this was perhaps due to the lack of understanding of the topic. This is clearly shown in one of the earlier T.V advertisements produced in Australia in 1987.  [x]  Here we see that AIDS has been given the face of the grim reaper, a metaphoric analogy showing that AIDS equals death. He is seen to throw a bowling bowl at his target the general public and they are seen to fall which is a symbol of death. Another advert produced in the US in the same year shows a vulnerable child lying in bed with the disease and with his last breathe reaches out to the public with the message DONT GET IT!.  [xi]   The later HIV and AIDS television campaigns have become the main source of education for the general public with information commercials showing links to help lines for more information. Marketers feel in order to sell their products to the teenage target audience they have to use sex to appeal to them, this is shown though clothing and perfume lines. Therefore it is evident to get teenagers attention about the dangers of unprotected sex, advertisements have had to be made more graphical and explicit. This is made apparent through later television campaigns as such produced by MTV in 1999  [xii]  where couples are seen to engage in intercourse in a relatable fashion and then the newly infected partner is shot by the infected one. This would have seen to be too controversial back in the 1980s. However towards the end of the commercial it shows a bullet being stopped by a condom, this analogy of how death can be stopped by wearing a condom adds a powerful element in getting the mes sage across. A recent advertisement campaign produced by the NHS in 2009  [xiii]  again showed couples engaging in risky sexual behaviour. Names of STIs such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea were shown throughout the commercial however notably there was no mention of HIV or AIDS. For what possible reason has HIV and AIDS, which a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide appear to have been forgotten in recent campaigns? Perhaps the predominance of HIV transmission in the media in previous years had overshadowed more s common and less serious STIs, decreasing their awareness and allowing them to rise significantly. As a result, government and health authorities could be trying to draw greater focus to these, meanwhile dangerously oversighting the significant risk of HIV transmission in todays young population. In more recent times, the media has tried to make HIV and AIDS more relatable to the general public by using celebrities and figure heads. Celebrities with HIV and AIDS are not shown in a bad light but more of a lesson to be learned from. They have been seen as individuals who people look up to as role models and leaders, where people form an identification with them hence they can relate to these individuals including famous people such as Rock Hudson and Freddy Mercury who lost their lives to AIDS. One significant change that aadvertising has provided is promoting the use of condoms with slogans such as stay safe, use a condom  [xiv]  , highlighting condoms as an important factor in the prevention pathway. In March 2009, during the Popes visit to Africa the Pope denounced the use of condoms saying that the best way to be free of the disease was through abstinence. However, in November he changed his statement saying that the use of condoms to reduce the risk of infection is a first step on the road to a more human sexuality, rather than not to use it and risk the lives of others.  [xv]   The change in the perception of both the media and the public can be seen through the introduction of HIV dating websites and international conferences held for journalists to provide them with the latest statistics and different ways of educating the public. Conclusions and Recommendations HIV is on the increase and still continues to rise regardless of media attention. A press release from NAT (a UK charity designed to change societys view on HIV/AIDS) in November 2010 revealed that in the UK the number of HIV transmissions being diagnosed still remains high with no hint of a decline when compared to previous years. The HPA (Health Protection Agency) has revealed that although overall rates of diagnoses have shown a decline, this is largely due to fewer diagnosis been made in those infected overseas. Therefore greater intervention other than media is required to make people more aware of the disease. The stigmatisation surrounding HIV and AIDS still continues and this also acts as barrier for people to willingly undergo testing. They believe a diagnosis could have a knock on effect amongst their social, religious and cultural group if anyone found out about their positive status, therefore by not being tested traps them into a false sense of security which acts as a source of denial. Therefore in order to overcome this barrier stigmatisation needs to be removed, the only reason why this is difficult is because people see it as a punishment for immoral behaviour and still associate the disease with drug use and homosexual behaviour whereas currently it is heterosexual women who have seen the biggest rise in new infection over the last decade with 4,220 cases acquired heterosexually in 2008 in comparison to only 2,760 acquired homosexually.  [xvi]   In todays society, the majority of young people see contraceptions main function as protection against pregnancy, not against diseases. Especially since the first hormonal contraceptive pill was approved by the FDA in 1960.  [xvii]  It is readily available and free of charge to young girls, therefore the use of condom is deemed unnecessary in some young peoples eyes. Therefore the use of a condom should be deemed as essential in sexual activity, not to prevent pregnancy, but to prevent a fatal disease. A further reason for the increased spread of HIV in the UK, is 18-30s holidays. These holidays, promoted through advertisement in the media, encourage binge drinking and sex. It is seen as one of the main attraction of the holiday. However, a combination of these results in a high risk of HIV transmission. Being under the influence of alcoholic hugely affects ones perception of safety and decreases the probability of remembering, or caring, if a condom is used. This alone would increase the spread of HIV. One of the most popular countries for these types of holidays is Greece. Over the last decade, Greece has experienced an influx of migrants from countries in South Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Studies show that 12% of new infections between the years 1989 and 2003 occurred in immigrants.  [xviii]   the results suggest an increasing trend of HIV-seropositive migrants in Greece during recent years.  [xix]   Therefore, these alcohol -fuelled holidays can result in people from the UK becoming infected with the virus and increasing the spread once returning to the UK. Recommendations A. Research should be undertaken to map the current prevalence of HIV prejudice and types of HIV discrimination experienced in the UK, and Terrence Higgins Trust should establish a database of case studies. B. The Department of Health should ensure that their concerns about the role of stigma in HIV transmission and illness be met by, amongst other strategies suggested here, supporting projects to aid people with HIV in challenging prejudice and discrimination through positive role models, speaker and media work and support networks. C. The Government should enact agreed proposals to extend the Disability Discrimination Act to cover medical conditions from the point of diagnosis, rather than the onset of illness, in the next legislative session. D. Health promotion agencies producing information on sexual health and HIV should include, as appropriate, messages countering prejudice and discrimination both in the general population and within targeted communities. E. In addition to the Codes of Practice produced by the Disability Rights Commission offering guidance to the providers of goods and services about their legal obligations, the Government should legislate to tackle the discrimination encountered by people with HIV and other medical conditions when they access goods and services. F. HIV prevention information targeting Africans, Black people and/or asylum seekers should be produced but their messages and formats need to take into account the concerns of these communities around potential prejudice. G. HIV information providers to African people in the UK should produce materials which make clear their medical and legal rights if diagnosed with HIV In conclusion the requirement of good HIV information through TV, wind-up radios (e.g. in Africa), HIV issues in soap-operas which are most influential, accessible HIV tests, expensive counselling for those proving positive, safe-sex promotion, fewer sexual partners, decreased alcohol use to avoid risky behaviour, and good trials found circumcision helps prevent HIV transmission is necessary to continue and increase prevention campaigns thus providing further education about the disease process, its transmission and how it can be prevented. Hence the mainstay of management relies on education including promotion of safe sex, needle exchange programmes, screening of blood transfusion products and public awareness campaigns. Therefore the only real way of getting rid of any associated stigma is to find a cure for HIV.

I Hate Shopping Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself

Sometimes feel that I am not a normal woman. Most women enjoy going from one store to another, looking for a blouse, only to go back to the first store to get the blouse they looked at first. I hate shopping. Shopping wastes my time, wastes my energy, and, if I do the typical woman routine, wastes my money. So, do not ask me to go to the mall for the evening because I will respectfully decline. I hate shopping. Â   I hate to be in the shoe department of a store. It seems that I always have to wait for the salesperson who is waiting on Mrs. Shoe Queen. She is trying on twenty pairs while I impatiently pace the carpet to threads. This is what I mean by shopping is a waste of time. I, on the other hand, know what I want to purchase before I leave the house. My steps for shopping are: first, make a list; second, go directly to the item; and finally, go straight to the cash register. By following this simple plan, no extra time is wasted in my shopping adventures. Â   Not only my time is in demand, and I try to use it wisely, but my energy is limited. I ...

M2 Compare the Effectiveness of Different Teams

Amy Waldock Amy Waldock M2 compare the effectiveness of different teams Clarifying objects in my team we clarified objectives by listening to the team leader and the man in charge of the activities at Blacklands farm and asking him questions about the activities to make sure that everyone fully understood everything.Compared to my team in the bridge building challenge we listened to the team leader and asked questions a lot more so therefore the work done at Blacklands farm was a lot more successful. Agreeing tasks at Blacklands farm we agreed on the tasks by communicating with each team member to get everyone’s point of view to make sure that everyone got a say in to what they thought, by doing this it meant that everyone in the team agreed on the approach to the task.Sometimes someone would disagree with an idea which could cause conflict in the group, we dealt with this by taking a vote and going with what was voted the most. When doing the bridge building challenge becaus e my group only consisted of three people there was less conflict in the group because it was easier for us to agree on the task, it was also easier because we had a team leader so we just went along with what he said.Valuing people valuing people was very important at Blacklands farm because the tasks set were very full on and physically hard so it was essential that every team member was valued as an individual and involved because with tasks such as the spider’s web every bit of help was needed. Even though the bridge building challenge wasn’t as physical it was still very important that each team member was valued equally because the task involved a lot of concentration and tactical skills.Being receptive to feedback at Blacklands farm we did a task that we failed on a number of times so our team leader stopped us and gave us feedback on what we was doing right and what we was doing wrong and what we could do to complete the task more quickly and easily. Me and my team listened to our team leader and were receptive to his feedback and did as he said and to our advantage completed the task.When doing the bridge building challenge we were given feedback on ways of how to complete the challenge more quickly and successfully, unfortunately me and my group did not pay attention to the feedback and therefore our bridge was not completed in time. Maintaining focus maintaining focus at Blacklands farm was important for a lot of the tasks because if focus was lost it could affect the whole team and make a certain task fail, at times it was hard to maintain a focus because of cold weather and muddy conditions.To maintain a focus we pulled together as a group and were motivated by our team leader and team members. It was hard to maintain a focus when doing the bridge building challenge for my group because at times each team member would get frustrated when things weren’t going as planned, we maintained a focus by thinking of the prize that coul d be won to whoevers bridge could hold the most amount of glue sticks.Encouraging other team members to recommend improvements this was important at Blacklands farm because if there was something in the task that wasn’t going to plan it could be changed and improved for the better of the group. When doing the bridge building challenge it wasn’t as important to encourage a team member to recommend improvements because there was only three people in our group and we voted on who should be team leader so we was confident that who we had chosen knew what was right so we went with what they said.Dealing with conflict at Blacklands farm because my team worked very well together so there was hardly any conflict, but if there was conflict we dealt with this by discussing the problem together as a group and then discussing what would be the best approach to the problem and if necessarily to take a vote. If there was any conflict whilst doing the bridge building challenge we de alt with this by letting the matter fall into the team leaders hand and letting them decide the best option for the group, by doing this it avoided more conflict.Communication methods at Blacklands farm we communicated by asking questions to make sure that everything was covered and so that everyone had a good understanding of the task, we also listened to each team member when they spoke to maintain a good communication within the whole team. At times we used body language to communicate with team members by using expressions as thumbs up and thumbs down to indicate yes or no.We also had to use body language in one task where we were asked to get in a line according to birth date but without talking so in this task we used our hands to indicate numbers. Unlike at Blacklands farm when doing the bridge building challenge we weren’t asked to do anything without talking so body language wasn’t as necessary, we still had to constantly ask questions and listen to team memb ers to maintain a good relationship in the team and to make sure that communication was maintained. M2 Compare the Effectiveness of Different Teams Amy Waldock Amy Waldock M2 compare the effectiveness of different teams Clarifying objects in my team we clarified objectives by listening to the team leader and the man in charge of the activities at Blacklands farm and asking him questions about the activities to make sure that everyone fully understood everything.Compared to my team in the bridge building challenge we listened to the team leader and asked questions a lot more so therefore the work done at Blacklands farm was a lot more successful. Agreeing tasks at Blacklands farm we agreed on the tasks by communicating with each team member to get everyone’s point of view to make sure that everyone got a say in to what they thought, by doing this it meant that everyone in the team agreed on the approach to the task.Sometimes someone would disagree with an idea which could cause conflict in the group, we dealt with this by taking a vote and going with what was voted the most. When doing the bridge building challenge becaus e my group only consisted of three people there was less conflict in the group because it was easier for us to agree on the task, it was also easier because we had a team leader so we just went along with what he said.Valuing people valuing people was very important at Blacklands farm because the tasks set were very full on and physically hard so it was essential that every team member was valued as an individual and involved because with tasks such as the spider’s web every bit of help was needed. Even though the bridge building challenge wasn’t as physical it was still very important that each team member was valued equally because the task involved a lot of concentration and tactical skills.Being receptive to feedback at Blacklands farm we did a task that we failed on a number of times so our team leader stopped us and gave us feedback on what we was doing right and what we was doing wrong and what we could do to complete the task more quickly and easily. Me and my team listened to our team leader and were receptive to his feedback and did as he said and to our advantage completed the task.When doing the bridge building challenge we were given feedback on ways of how to complete the challenge more quickly and successfully, unfortunately me and my group did not pay attention to the feedback and therefore our bridge was not completed in time. Maintaining focus maintaining focus at Blacklands farm was important for a lot of the tasks because if focus was lost it could affect the whole team and make a certain task fail, at times it was hard to maintain a focus because of cold weather and muddy conditions.To maintain a focus we pulled together as a group and were motivated by our team leader and team members. It was hard to maintain a focus when doing the bridge building challenge for my group because at times each team member would get frustrated when things weren’t going as planned, we maintained a focus by thinking of the prize that coul d be won to whoevers bridge could hold the most amount of glue sticks.Encouraging other team members to recommend improvements this was important at Blacklands farm because if there was something in the task that wasn’t going to plan it could be changed and improved for the better of the group. When doing the bridge building challenge it wasn’t as important to encourage a team member to recommend improvements because there was only three people in our group and we voted on who should be team leader so we was confident that who we had chosen knew what was right so we went with what they said.Dealing with conflict at Blacklands farm because my team worked very well together so there was hardly any conflict, but if there was conflict we dealt with this by discussing the problem together as a group and then discussing what would be the best approach to the problem and if necessarily to take a vote. If there was any conflict whilst doing the bridge building challenge we de alt with this by letting the matter fall into the team leaders hand and letting them decide the best option for the group, by doing this it avoided more conflict.Communication methods at Blacklands farm we communicated by asking questions to make sure that everything was covered and so that everyone had a good understanding of the task, we also listened to each team member when they spoke to maintain a good communication within the whole team. At times we used body language to communicate with team members by using expressions as thumbs up and thumbs down to indicate yes or no.We also had to use body language in one task where we were asked to get in a line according to birth date but without talking so in this task we used our hands to indicate numbers. Unlike at Blacklands farm when doing the bridge building challenge we weren’t asked to do anything without talking so body language wasn’t as necessary, we still had to constantly ask questions and listen to team memb ers to maintain a good relationship in the team and to make sure that communication was maintained.

Intonation and Stress Types for English Pronunciation

Improving sentence intonation is one of the key elements in English pronunciation. The four basic types of word stress that lead to proper intonation in English are: Tonic stressEmphatic stressContrastive stressNew information stress Tonic Stress Tonic stress refers to the syllable in a word which receives the most stress in an intonation unit. An intonation unit has one tonic stress. Its important to remember that a sentence can have more than one intonation unit, and therefore have more than one tonic stress. Here are some examples of intonation units with the tonic stress bolded: Hes waitingHes waiting / for his friendHes waiting / for his friend / at the station Generally, the final tonic stress in a sentence receives the most stress. In the above example, station receives the strongest stress. There are a number of instances in which the stress changes from this standard. Emphatic Stress If you decide to emphasize something, you can change the stress from the principal noun to another content word such as an adjective (big, difficult, etc.), intensifier (very, extremely, etc.) This emphasis calls attention to the extraordinary nature of what you want to emphasize. For example: That was a difficult test. - Standard statementThat was a difficult test. - Emphasizes how difficult the test was There are a number of adverbs and modifiers which tend to be used to emphasize in sentences that receive emphatic stress: ExtremelyTerriblyCompletelyUtterlyEspecially Contrastive Stress Contrastive stress is used to point out the difference between one object and another. Contrastive stress tends to be used with determiners such as this, that, these and those. For example: I think I prefer this color.Do you want these or those curtains? Contrastive stress is also used to bring out a given word in a sentence which will also slightly change the meaning. He came to the party yesterday. (It was he, not someone else.)He walked to the party yesterday. (He walked, rather than drove.)He came to the party yesterday. (It was a party, not a meeting or something else.)He came to the party yesterday. (It was yesterday, not two weeks ago or some other time.) New Information Stress When asked a question, the requested information is naturally stressed more strongly. For example: Where are you from? - I come from Seattle, in the USA.What do you want to do? - I want to go bowling.When does class begin? - The class begins at nine oclock. Use these various types of stress to help improve your pronunciation and understandability.