Importance Of Audience Research Media Essay

Importance Of Audience Research Media Essay Market Research has become one of the most lucrative career option and is among the highest growing fields in todays scenario. The high growth of the sector is a testimonial to the growing demand of research across all industries, then be it FMCG, Automobiles, Finance or Media. With the new breed of young MBAs coming through, the focus now is on Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. Thus most businesses want to reach only their Target Audiences and filter out the excesses as they consider it as a wastage of resources, both in terms of money and time. This is particularly true for the media industry, where we have a variety of products like IMRBS TAM, IRS, . This is because a major chunk of media revenues come from advertisements which again depend on audience measurement in reaching to their decision as to which channel to give their ads on. Thus a high TRP in a TAM would ensure that you land up with the best of the sponsors and command highest of the prices. The need of Audience research can be traced in the Psychology studies done by Kellner in 2007. Different people purchase the same items but for a variety of reasons referred to as necessity, social pressures , family pressures , convenience , inadvertence and economic reasons . The field of Psychology has provided ample explanations through theories made from researches and studies to make the understanding of consumer behavior , and its applications in a variety of ways , what it is today (Kellner , 2007) . Media research is done primarily to observe study and analyze the pre-behaviours of the viewing population as well as the specific human behaviours that are evident as a result of the influence of media post the media exposure. The study may be carried out by researchers which may include organizations and individuals who may benefit out of the study either through government mandated projects or private agencies or companies whose interests may have their greater impact by how their businesses Ideas or products may have their impact on certain populations targeted or reached by media. Reasons/Advantages of Audience Research There are several advantage for doing audience research. Depending on which reason applies in a particular situation, a different type of research should be chosen. To help in making a decision The research may involve a few very specific questions or a main area covered, through a small survey, or a set of 3 or 4 focus groups. To understand the audience Research may involve either a set of focus groups, or a detailed survey. In general, a survey will provide precise results, but will be less informative. Also, a survey will cost a lot more, and take more time. To demonstrate facts to outsiders Commercial media owners want to attract advertisers to advertise on their medium. Thus it helps to have data showing the size, demographics, and interests of their audience. A related purpose is a special-interest organization, seeking support from a funding body, and providing survey data to show the extent of public support for that organization. This type of information should come from a research, conducted by an impartial third party. To provide material for programs The research data about the audiences can be used by media organizations, to generate content for the programming. For this purpose, all research methods are suitable, including surveys, consensus groups, and informal interviews. To design your communication You need to know your listeners, if you wish to persuade them, as it helps to shape your message in a way that may be acceptable to them. You may also need to know about their specific interests or the relationship among the audience members. This is particularly important when the communication goal is to persuade, and not just to create awareness. Also you need to identify the issues that may trigger strong emotions in your audience. Media Strategy: Media Planning, Media Buying and Media Selling Thus audience research and analysis is essential in determining how you will build your strategy so as to reflect their specific interests and concerns. And the more likely is the strategy to succeed. Components of Audience Research What you should know A major component involves the social situation of your present and potential audience. These can include their experience, education, job or professional background, age, gender, ethnic background, cultural differences, and more. Here are some of the key questions that are to be covered as a part of the research. What is the coverage area of your media vehicle? What other media, and activities are competing for your audiences time? How are these people distributed across the coverage area? What proportion of the area population use your media? How often do they use it? At what times, on what days? What is your stations share of their available time? What types of people use your media most? In what circumstances do people use your media? Do your listeners share common interests? Whats their relationship to one another? What recent experiences, if any, have they had that could affect their readiness to accept your argument? What will your listeners expect from you? Are you prepared in any case to address those expectations? What do they already know? Acknowledge audience attitudes and concerns. If the audience hold a positive view about your topic and your messages, the focus of the research will be on reinforcing the views and the benefits your audience may get. If they hold negative views, youll have to anticipate their objection in preparation of your research. You may have to limit what you ask of your audience. Determining what can trigger strong emotions in your listeners-whether positive or negative-is an essential step, you need to take those concerns into account and through that, thus showing your own awareness and sensitivity. How much to spend on audience research Audience research can cost a little or a lot. The cost is largely proportional to the sample size and the amount of labour involved: there are few economics of scale with audience research. Some research programs specially permanent panels with TV meters can cost millions of dollars. As a guide, many large broadcasters spend around 1% to 2% of their total revenue on audience research each year. For an individual project, which needs more detailed research than usual, its common to spend around 5% to 10% of the projects cost on research. Exposure: The basic measurement of the Media Audiences Ways that Media Audiences can be measured Technically exposure means open eyes or listening ears facing the medium. Practically it is the measurement of people who say they are sure they have looked into or read a vehicle within a given period of time. Exposure measurements are different for different mediums. Media Measurement What it measures What it means Vehicle Exposure Exposure to TV or print media Open eyes facing a vehicle(or opportunities to see ads) Print Media circulation No. of copies distributed People or families receiving newspaper vehicles(no exposure counted) Advertising exposure Number of ads exposed per issue or per TV program. A gross counting of the total number of ads exposed in a vehicle. Advertising Perception Number of ads that consumer remembered having seen in a vehicle The smallest amount of communication remembered of ads in a vehicle. Advertising Communication The total amount of recalled material from ads in a vehicle Feedback from ad messages in a vehicle. Response function: media effectiveness The number of responses to specific advertising in a vehicle The effect of advertising on consumers (responses such as sales, brand awareness, attitude change, and recall of messages) * The Relationship among Media, Advertising, and Consumers, Principles of Media Planning, Basant Rathore. Three methods of measurement Diaries: The diary was one of the first methods of recording information. However, this is prone to mistakes and forgetfulness, as well as subjectivity. Data is also collected down to the level of listener opinion of individual songs, cross referenced against their age, race, and economic status in listening sessions sponsored by oldies and mix formatted stations. Electronic: More recently, technology has been used to track listening and viewing habits. Arbitrons Portable People Meter uses a microphone to pick up and record subaudible tones embedded in broadcasts by an encoder at each station or network. It has even been used to track in-store radio. Software: There are certain software applications being developed to monitor cable TV operators with full passive and permissive viewer measurement functionality to monitor television channel ratings. The system tracks every time the channel is changed and records it accordingly. It allows what was being viewed at the time and which channel the viewer changed to. This information allows operators, broadcasters and advertising media to monitor audience TV usage habits. Media Planners use Cost per thousand as a comparative tool, to compare one medium or media vehicle with another to find those that are most efficient. It can be used for intermedia or intramedia comparisons. For print media (when audience data are not available): CPM= (Cost of 1 page * 1000)/ Circulation For print media (when audience data are available): CPM= (Cost of 1 page * 1000)/ No. of prospects readers reached For broadcast media (based on homes or audiences reached by a given program or time): CPM= (Cost of 1 page * 1000)/ No. of homes or persons reached by a given program or time For newspapers: CPM= (Cost of ad * 1,000)/ Circulation Advance Measurements and Calculations in Audience Research Reach- is a measurement of audience accumulation. It tells planners how many different prospects or households will see the ad once over any period of time the planner finds relevant. It differs from GRPs in the sense that each person is counted once, thus it is an unduplicated number. Frequency- It tells the planner the average number of times or the extent that audience members were exposed to same vehicle or a group of vehicles. It is a measure of repetition. Effective frequency- can be defined as the amount of frequency, the planner judges to be necessary for advertisements to be effective for communication. Sources of Market Data Size and share of market for a brand and its competitors, and other information contained in a situation analysis, can be obtained by a number of syndicated research services. Other data can be obtained from periodicals, association reports, govt, and media. The most widely used syndicated research services are those of A.C. Nielsen, Information Resources Inc. , Audits and Surveys Inc., Mediamark Research Inc., Simmons Market Research Bureau., IMRB, TAM, TNS etc. Some of the audience measurement tools are as follows: aMap, aDex, TAM, RAM, WAM, IRS etc. Methods of doing Research Audience Measurement for each medium National TV: TAM peoples meter (w/ 8,000 homes) TAM and aMap Nielsen Media Research/IMRB TNS Radio: Diary in radio markets RAM(Nielsen Media Research/IMRB) Magazines Recent-reading techniques w/ in-person interview and a long questionnaire about their product use Indian Readership Survey Newspapers Yesterday reading (Which NP did you read yesterday? typically use circulation figures) Indian Readership Survey Audits and reports the circulation of various publications Internet Use national sample of respondents Measure the number of visitors, how long people stay in each page, how far they go, how many times they return Nielsen/NetRatings or IMRBs WAM Out-of-Home the number of cars passing each billboard on the average day (daily circulation) Case Studies Case Study 1: Kheda Communication Project *Source: http://www.indianetzone.com/42/kheda_communication_project.htm The Kheda Communications Project or KCP is a field laboratory that aimed at the development and local communication in Kheda district of Gujarat. This project began in 1975 and continued till 1990. The site chosen for the experiment was Kheda district, which is an area near the SAC headquarters in Ahmedabad. Thus Kheda Communication Project could broadcast either local television programmes or national satellite television programmes. Around 650 community television sets were provided to 400 villages and also installed in public places like schools, where village audiences gathered in the evenings to view the broadcasts. The research team involved Prof. Arbind Sinha and his team from ISRO living in the village for around 18 months, and doing an ethnographic study so and studied their media consumption habits. The stay was important so as to understand the reasons for their media behaviour. The project was a first of its kind experiment by the Indians in the field of audience research. Kheda Communications Project is believed to be a milestone in the history of Indian television. The Development and Education Communication Unit managed this project and produced the development and educational programmes that involved the local audience. Case Study 2: CNN America *Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500486_162-929913-500486.html In the early days of television, news directors had little use for audience research it was far more the province of entertainment programming. The network news was only 15 minutes, and with so little time, the focus was almost exclusively on which stories had the most journalistic merit. But by the 1970s and 1980s the news was changing: Local stations were expanding their broadcasts to an hour or longer, and the compelling stories of the day no longer filled the time. Producers needed to know what kinds of stories would keep the audience. And so they embraced research. Viewers, researchers concluded, wanted useful information stories that were relevant to the way they live their lives in addition to the traditional news. Suddenly, stories about health, finance, and consumer concerns began popping up on the local news. Soon the network morning shows turned to research as well. They had plenty of reasons to do so. Like local newscasts, the morning shows had longer running times, and research helped producers figure out which lifestyle-type stories best held an audience. The morning shows also relied on a team of correspondents instead of a lone anchor, and audience research allowed producers to see the audiences response to various on-air personalities, who in some cases played a larger role in the broadcast than the content itself. (Examples of this type of personality abound, though perhaps there is no better than NBC weatherman Al Roker.) And the research helped producers better understand the audience, which, in the morning, is divided into two distinct segments with very different needs: People who are in transit and watch briefly before beginning their day, and people who stay home and are more likely to be there for the whole two hours. The television advertising industry in India is a complex and dynamic one with media choices increasing everyday. New channels are launched; new genres are established; brands are targeting niche audiences. In this scenario there is a need to find a perfect channel fit for the brand. The financial risks are too high and one needs to take action immediately to make the best of every rupee spent, therefore, the need for an overnight measurement system. The heterogeneity amongst consumers and their diverse spending patterns call for a more robust system for audience measurement on a much larger sample size. Case Study 3: All India Radio *Source: http://india.gov.in/knowindia/radio.php?pg=2 AIRs Audience Research Unit(Largest Feedback and Research Support Network)- In the era of market driven broad casting, it may not be possible for any media organization to survive without feeling the pulse of their audience and knowing the market. This compelled the media organisation, particularly electronic media, to get the syndicated media research done to know the viewership/listenership of their programmes market potential for them. No broadcasting agency can afford to move faster without the viewership/listenership data in hand. The case of radio broadcasting is not different, the competition is intensifying day by day due to opening of more and more private radio stations but none of the upcoming radio broadcasting agencies across the country, other than All India Radio, has such a large in house audience feedback and research support network. The Audience Research Units of All India Radio provide instant feedback and research support not only to the in house programme planners producers but also to the sponsors, advertisers marketers. With the changing mass communication scenario particularly market oriented broadcasting, Audience Research Unit of AIR has also reoriented itself. Efforts are on to create the ripple of changes to curve a niche for itself among the sponsors, advertiser marketers. This is evident from the studies assigned to the Audience Research Units in the recent past by the various agencies. Besides the sponsored studies, the network of audience research continuously conducts radio listenership survey (RPL) in order to provide updated data to the programmers as well as the advertisers interested in mounting advertisements on AIR.

The Evolving Role of Government Financial Executives

For most parts of history, government financial executives have been taken as scorekeepers, and made responsible for collecting, processing and reporting the financial information that used by elected officials and senior managers who use them in making their decisions. The question is whether their role has now changed with the present importance of information technology. (From Scorekeeper to Business Partner: The Evolving Role of Government Financial Executives) Now there is increasing evidence of the importance that information technology is getting in public administration and this is resulting in more and more insistence from the public that government financial executives have a greater say in all decision making activities of the government. The finance executives are now the individuals to lead the charge for getting an entrepreneurial type of government and have it judged based on its performance. For most of the finance executives now, the changes are leading to redesigning of entire processes related to finance, introducing best practices for financial management, improving and integrating financial management with other information management and in certain cases even shifting the responsibility of all financial operations to outsiders. The trend is now to change finance functions in a manner that control functions for financial expenditures are built into non-financial processes so that the non-financial manager also has to take up responsibility for the activities. From Scorekeeper to Business Partner: The Evolving Role of Government Financial Executives) This provides a lot more freedom to the finance experts to use their expertise for the purpose of finance. The attempt here is not to demean the traditional duties of government financial executives, as it is always important to comply with accounting and financial reporting that is required, make correct cash reconciliation and process all financial transactions in time. Yet, these activities were generally thought to be only the regular duties of the finance executives. (From Scorekeeper to Business Partner: The Evolving Role of Government Financial Executives) There are also finance officers at different levels and the state or provincial level executives who are the link to the local finance officers from the top. They meet rarely – generally once a year during annual conferences of some type or the other. The importance of these executives is in the fact that they represent their association at official ceremonies. (State and provincial representatives (Profiling GFOA)) The importance of financial officers is being increasingly recognized and in the preface to the GAAFR 2005, which is the set of guidelines to be followed. There are the summarization and specific revisions as also updates of the text of the 2001 edition: there is addition of all the amendments that were earlier included in the GAAFR Update supplement; there has been addition of new material which are connected to the GASB statements from 39 through 45; there has been addition of new material based on the guidance that had been given in the comprehensive implementation guide as given in the GASB 2004; that included a guidance that was given for the first time in relation to GASB statement 40; there was addition of a new section related directly to all school district issues; there was reworking of a significant number of chapters; the set of references to original material was increased to a large extent so that research on the subject could become easier; an expanded and revised glossary and a redesigned index. (Making the most of the New Blue Book) Thus the importance of the finance executives in operation of the government is certain ly realized and steps are being taken to help them in operation of their functions. This is because of the present importance of the functions of the finance executives which helps the government in various ways like helping operation managers develop the financial parts of business cases and proposals for new or expanded services; leading efforts to reposition and increase the funding sources which have not been appropriated like fees, rents, royalties and franchises; provide guidance for financing new and original ventures like setting up of revolving funds, getting into public and private partnerships, or even setting up of fee for service arrangements; help performance based management; to activate a level playing field for the competition between government and the private sector. From Scorekeeper to Business Partner: The Evolving Role of Government Financial Executives) Sometimes the finance executives are placed in situations beyond their capability and these results in many problems. One of the instances when this sort of event occurs is in situations when the elected person leaves it to the finance person to manage the affairs in even the small cities. Even they have become multi-million dollar enterprises today. The elected person may have been a merchant, homemaker, lawyer, community activist or anything else, but in general they have little understanding of public finance. This makes them rely on the administrators or auditors that they have in their organization. This is what happened in Orange County, California and the faulty investment strategy of the treasurer led to losses for the county of well over a billion dollars. The budget that is presented may be balanced, but that does not mean that the collection and disbursement of money is in proper order. (Guarding the Public Checkbook) In certain cases, for balancing the budget, easy methods are adopted; the money is drawn from reserves. This withdrawal can be done only once, yet the city of Miami followed this process for many years as the city had deficit operations and used bond collections to cover it up. The important matter is that the budget be balanced through the use of current revenues only. This can be understood by looking at the general fund balance sheet and the total requirement checked and the collected resources should exceed the requirements. Any management of a public corporation should be adding to the funds and not decreasing the funds by drawing from it. (Guarding the Public Checkbook) This is the primary responsibility of finance executives as they are able to understand financial statements the best. Yet problems of this nature keep on happening and a Senator in United States was shocked to learn that District of Columbia had received an unqualified audit opinion though it had a deficit as high as $700 million. The reply from the audit firm was that the financial statements were presented properly and â€Å"in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles†. Guarding the Public Checkbook) Thus the matter should have been determined by the accounting executives and brought to the notice of the people as it is their funds that are not in order. The job of the leadership is to decide where the body has to be taken, and the finance executives have to determine what is happening to the revenue base, what are the major problems for the body, what are the implications of the changes that have been made, and so on. When the issue of Orange County bankruptcy hit the headlines, the final truth was revealed that both the chief administrator and the treasurer did not know much about finance. This should have been mentioned by them and the decisions left to better qualified individuals. These sorts of problems come up when the recruitment and hiring processes are not correct. Otherwise someone should have realized that it all right to hire individuals who are not financial experts, but every organization must have at least one individual with that capacity. It is clear that elementary oversight must be practiced. In the case of Orange County, supervisor Bill Steiner clearly admitted that he did not know what questions he should have asked, and this finally made him an accomplice in the whole unfortunate affair. It is important that individuals in charge of recruitment develop the knowledge of asking relevant financial questions. Even when the problem was noted, another mess was nearly started when the county thought of using a sales tax increase as their method of getting out of the situation. The county had fallen into a position where it had to decide on privatization, program reduction, asset sales, etc. the county was trying to take a simple way out. It is clear today that the increase in tax was neither intelligent nor needed. The best advice for the county was to file for financial bankruptcy and this was provided by the Board of Supervisor, Thomas Reilly. (Guarding the Public Checkbook) It is clear that finance executives have an important role and they must live up to the expectations of the people who they are serving. However, like all other government officials, even accounting personnel have to provide leadership and one such case was in the disaster recovery effort after the Hurricane Ivan had struck northern Florida. They were a team of six high level managers who are normally accustomed to working in nice offices in a large organization. They had to toil from dawn to dusk in very high temperatures with steamy weather and there was no electricity. There was no fresh water and not a place for them to take a break. They had to do a lot of physical labor and adequate tools were not available. The food was just peanut butter, cheese from a tube, apples, and candy bars – and this was the same food for all three meals. Sleep was in the back of a cramped vehicle and that had no air-conditioning, and go through the same schedule for a few days. Yet in spite of all the difficulties the team were focused on there jobs, with cooperation and high enthusiasm. Yet the reasons why they had come were not due to government duty, but with the purpose of helping a colleague whose home had been badly damaged. (Unlocking the potential of Your Employees) The main story about all this is that the secret of making people work with a will is treating them like trusted and valued adults. They can work the best when there are clear goals and expectations with autonomy, feedback and appreciation. At the same time, it is essential that the leaders also show a certain amount of enthusiasm and human touch. The leaders have to continue working with the same energy and dedication while relinquishing some amount of control and authority. The attitude of the leaders to others must be one of empathy, or fellow feeling. On top of everything, no leader should feel that the leader knows best about all matters, and be ready to apologize when they make mistakes. These are certain behavioral techniques that help in getting the best help from employees. (Unlocking the potential of Your Employees) This appreciation of leadership role is useful to the chief financial officers and finance directors who are no longer being viewed as only scorekeepers but as trusted business advisors and partners. In the private sector, this change has been going on for quite some time, but it has started only recently in the government. This also determines the role of the financial executives and they have to spend most of their time in determining the correct strategic and operating decisions and spend much less time in earlier operations which used to take up a lot of time – like account reconciliation, payment processing and historical financial reporting. This is all being done in the machine, and thus the shift of the emphasis of the finance executive's direction is not requiring extra employment. (From Scorekeeper to Business Partner: The Evolving Role of Government Financial Executives) As a matter of fact, the size of employees in the finance function will reduce. The change in the role of the finance executive is occurring in all organizations. Considering the development that has taken place over the last few years, it is important for financial executives to strike a balance between their roles as score keeper and adviser. What is meant by balance is that the regular work also has to be finished, and at the same time take up a more important role in organizational development. The results of this change in the government organizations can be seen through improved budgetary processes that are now beginning to link funds allocation to performance achieved, innovative methods to recover administrative costs, and increased use of technology to reduce the need for reconciliation and useless data entry. The help from technology is high in the areas of account reconciliation, payment processing and historical financial reporting. From Scorekeeper to Business Partner: The Evolving Role of Government Financial Executives) One of the important measures of finance officers in local governments is now performance measures and that is driven by increasing demands from citizens for government accountability, increased interest from local legislators regarding performance related information so that better evaluation can be made of programs as also for resource allocation and the efforts from different organizations and professional associations to make governments targeted to results. The performance measures allow policy makers, managers and the general public find out the effectiveness of government services. The measurement of performance takes into account the resources used, the activities generated by the programs and the final results obtained from the programs and services. However quite a few of the performance measurement activities are limited to only measuring program inputs and outputs. (Performance Measurement) On the other side, correct methods of performance measurement should also talk about the program results. From the side of the government, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board or GASB has been concentrating on performance measurement from the early 1980s. As a result of this concentration, there was a series of research reports called â€Å"Service Efforts and Accomplishments reporting† that was issued for the help of governments in measuring performance. This was followed up in 1994 with the second statement on the same lines. This stated that â€Å"service efforts and accomplishments information – including both financial and non-financial performance measures – is an essential aspect of the measurement of governmental performance and is necessary for assessing accountability and making informed decisions†. (Performance Measurement) It is important for government finance executives to tell the truth and not hide it for presentation purposes. An example is in the case of Oregon where the proportions of adult Oregonians who are smokers are only 20. 7 percent when in the rest of the country the same ratio is 23. 2 percent. Yet, they were not felt to be enough in Oregon as the state had fixed a target of 15 percent to be achieved by 2000 and this was fixed in the year 1989 by the benchmarks program in the state. While fixing the target, the committee was anything but realistic as this sort of non-smoking does not exist in United States. This is a matter that should have been properly discussed at the time of setting up the targets. The targets were set in all areas with direct goals to be reached – in health, education, economic development, environmental policy and so on. (The Problem with promises) The decision was taken that the state government would try to reach these targets within ten years. The decisions for allocation of funds and other matters were then to be made according to the achievements of targets. In one of these instances, the state wanted to reduce the use of drugs among students of the eighth standard to 3 percent from the original figure of 14 percent. Some time later it was realized that the target would not be reached, and then the solution sought for the problem was to change the target to 15 percent from 3 percent. At the end of the period, the proportion of users was 14 percent – the same as at the start of the plan – but it was viewed that the target has been reached. (The Problem with promises) These types of efforts by the accounts officers are just efforts to hide the truth and do not help any part of society. The importance of being truthful has been realized by the National Performance Review and they have stated that â€Å"effective entrepreneurial governments insist on customer satisfaction. They listen carefully to their customers – using surveys and focus groups – and restructure their basic operations to meet customer needs. They use market dynamics such as competition and customer choice to create incentives that drive their employees to put the customer first†. (Linking Quality to Business Planning and Performance Goals in Local Government) The importance of government finance officers are best utilized when they end up providing the truth to the public.

Ethical Dilemma Of Assisted Suicide - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1099 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/04/29 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Assisted Suicide Essay Ethical Dilemma Essay Did you like this example? The topic of Assisted suicide has many different types of viewpoints and ethical questions. Some agree with the decision of ending ones life under certain circumstances with the help of a physician and others disagree and would say its an unethical act. There are two different kinds of definitions when describing assisted suicide. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Ethical Dilemma Of Assisted Suicide" essay for you Create order Euthanasia is when the administration of the lethal medication is done by someone other than the patients, usually the physician, and results in ending their life (Harris, Richard, Khanna, 2006). Physician assisted suicide is giving the patient the knowledge and option to take their own life and the final act is performed by the patient (Harris, Richard, Khanna, 2006). The ethical dilemma is between those that believe assisted suicide is ethical or unethical. Those that believe its unethical stand behind the belief and argue that its better to use and develop terminal care and palliative care for the patient resulting in there no longer having a need for assisted suicide (Harris, Richard, Khanna, 2006). If a patient is getting the proper treatment and medication t Other concerns that have been argued is that if assisted suicide where to be legislated it would lead to a slippery slope and has the ability to evolve from assisted suicide being voluntary and the patients decision leading to euthanasia and having it be done against the patients wishes. Its important to protect elderly, mentally incompetent and disabled individuals from having the stigma that their way of life is a burden and their suffering is not worth living (Harris, Richard, Khanna, 2006). The argument in favor of assisted suicide includes the beliefs that even with the use of palliative care, it fully does not relief the patient from suffering and destress the them (Harris, Richard, Khanna, 2006). Terminally ill patients request for the assisted death and its their right to decide what happens and the timing of their death. Terminally ill patients usually have no other options for treatment and end up dying a slow and painful death. The act of suicide is not illegal and if doctors have the means to end life in a quick and painless manner then its an individuals decision to make that decision for themselves. Possible answers to this ethical dilemma is having safeguards in place to protect individuals who might not have the capacity to fully understand their decision making. This can be done by having two doctors check off on the patients decision to go through with the assisted suicide and make sure their mental health and comprehensive capacity is well. The doctors must agree that the patient qualifies and has a terminal illness that is leaving them to live their life suffering and they agrees with the decision to carry out the suicide. The patient must have a written consent request for the lethal medication. The patient has a fourteen-day period before going forward with the administration giving them time to decide if that is what they truly want for themselves. Those that oppose assisted suicide believe the answer to the dilemma is to increase development of palliative care. Palliative care is the approach of help improving the patients life by the relief of suffering and pain when they have a life-threatening illness. The use of this kind of approach gives the patient the ability to die with dignity. Ethical principles that are included in the for assisted suicide and against argument includes Autonomy, beneficence, non- maleficence and justice. Those in favor believe that autonomy gives patients the right to decide for themselves what they want to do with their life and when they can die. The patient should be able to die in dignity on their own terms instead of having to suffer. If doctor has the ability to save lifes then what stops them from taking it away when it is wanted by the patient. Beneficence which is defined as doing good, can be argued by saying the patient is suffering and it would be doing good to ultimately reliving the patient from that pain and destressing them. Non-maleficence which means to do no harm can be argued to say if the doctor chooses not to address the patients request to relieve the pain and hardships then this can be detrimental to the patients and the medical providers relationship. Justice which can be defined as societal implication, c an be argued that regulatory safeguards ensure the protection for individuals that have disabilities and mental incompetents that could be harmed by the action of assisted suicide. The argument against assisted suicide believes the ethical principle autonomy is over ridden by the sanctity of life (Harris, Richard, Khanna, 2006). If people with terminal illness are able to request assisted suicide, then people are non-terminals can also argue that they autonomously request the lethal medication as well. There should be balance between appreciation for life and human dignity. Beneficence is argued that assisted death is not doing good because the medical provider is abandoning the patient. Non-maleficence is augured that assisted suicide is harmful to the patient and doctor relationship as well has is harmful to the integrity of the medical profession within society (Harris, Richard, Khanna, 2006). The last ethical principle Justice can be argued that vulnerable groups in society for example the mental incompetent and disabled may begin to start requesting assisted suicide. In this dilemma both viewpoints make an excellent argument and have key points that are compelling. The act of Euthanasia is completely unethical because the patient is not the one deciding it and completing the final action. For me this isnt an easy yes or no question when talking about physician-assisted suicide, I can see the argument on both sides. That being side in my opinion I would side more with the argument that assisted suicide is not ethical. Yes, I think the patient does have a right to decide what they can do with their life. Healthcare is defined as the maintenance and improvement of physical and mental health. Health care providers are there to help improve the patients life not end it, now if the patients wants to end their life then yes I agree that is there decision to do so, no one should have a say in what they decide to do, but in my opinion a doctor should not be involved in that decision and give them the means to carry it out for doctors are there to improve their health can do good for the patients. I also understand the argument that if terminal patients can argue autonomy then what stops patients that are non-terminal from arguing the same thing.

Autism A Very New Diagnosis - 1870 Words

Autism is a fairly new diagnosis in the healthcare industry. A rapidly growing number of children are being diagnosed annually. There have been many rumors about how children are developing autism, and many treatment options are being attempted. There is currently no cure for this condition. Autism, as a diagnosis, did not exist until early 1908. Doctors began to notice that they had several patients who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but did not exhibit all of the same symptoms and characteristics that supported that diagnosis. They were more distant from their peers and did not interact well in social settings, along with other misaligned characteristics. They started diagnosing these people as being autistic. The word†¦show more content†¦Those behaviors are now known as applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapies. It is the only therapy approved by the U.S. Surgeon General (1998). Another therapy that is having great success among small children aged 2-5 is comp lementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. They help the children learn problem-solving and social skills. Despite the advances in treatments in the past 40 years, autism was classified as an epidemic in 2000 because of how many children were being diagnosed in a short amount of time. A study was published in 2009 stated that 1 in 110 children are on the spectrum. Also, a 2012 study conducted in South Carolina manifested that more children will be diagnosed with autism this year that with diabetes, AIDS, and cancer combined. As I said earlier, autism is caused by genetics, environmental factors, and delayed brain development. Everyone on the spectrum is effected by autism in their own unique way. The effects of autism are broken down into five main categories; communication, social interaction, sensory impairments, play, and overall behavior. Some things that autistic individuals struggle with in regard to communication is that their language develops slowly, they use their own made up hand signals instead of words, and have short attention spans. Next, autistic children do not attempt to make friends because they would rather spend time alone, and they struggle with social cues