Awareness Raising Project the Use of Information for the United Arab Emirates - Report Example

Awareness Raising Project for United Arab Emirates [NAME] [INSTITUTION] [February 19, 2009] Abstract Table of Contents Rationale ……………………………………………………………… Importance of Information and Awareness ………………... Discussion for the need of Awareness in UAE …………………….. Aims and Objectives ………………………………………………… Target Audience …………………………………………………….. Elderly ………………………………………………………... Youth …………………………………………………………… Children ………………………………………………………… Disabled …………………………………………………………. How to Get the Message across ………………………………………… Elderly …………………………………………………………… Youth ……………………………………………………………. Children ………………………………………………………….. Disabled …………………………………………………………. Rationale In today’s world, it is beyond doubt that information is very important. It I basically information that has changed so much of human lives from fifty or so years ago into something more modern and fairly stable compared to the lives people live some decades back. The manner with which humans process and act on information become crucial in various aspects like business, science, technology, military defense and the likes. The technology present in today’s modern world allows billions of people in different parts of the Earth to access all the information they would want to know, or would want to have. On top of that, societies nowadays can access all the information they need at their fingertips making it easier for anyone to spread information and awareness program to a greater number of people. However, one does not need to go far to appreciate the use of information. One only needs to look around to identify areas where information and awareness can make a lot of difference particularly during emergency situations. Importance of Information and Awareness Communication is essential in societies. Communication is even more important in societies during times of trouble. There are numerous examples one can cite to prove and to stress the importance of communication of relevant information during emergency situations. For one thing, crisis management teams agree that increased awareness during tumultuous situations lessens the instance of dealing with risk generated consequences like physical and psychological coping, stress and depression, and even significant decrease in mortality rates (Williams, 2001).Disseminating information and creating a widespread awareness of safety, avoidance of danger and calamity, along with step by step process of the right things to do during public crises are proven to help save lives and property (CRC, 2006). With a good community awareness program, communities can be assured that the aftermath brought about by any disaster – manmade or natural – can be easily softened and countermanded. This is particularly useful in places prone to risk and crises such as highly populated areas and big cities. The importance of information and awareness becomes more pronounced when one considers the less mature and physically weak part of any population. Those who have the capacity to save themselves from more harm during emergencies need a little coaxing but those who find difficulty in mobilizing themselves in times of public crisis, as well as those who have the tendency to act irrationally and immaturely will have an increased risk for harm in person and in property. This is true for the elderly, small children, the disabled, and the youth. These people need to be guided and be informed about the correct ways and appropriate actions during emergencies in order for them to keep themselves from harm as well as keep others from it. Discussion for the need of Awareness in UAE In the last 40 years, UAE has become a strong nation. Although the country started as a collection of organized sheikhdoms, the country’s control of oil and petroleum products in the global market made it an ideal avenue for business growth from investors all over the world. This increases trade and commerce in the country as well as double the population. With the increase in the population in the urban areas of UAE came the problems on risk management. The more people there are, the more widespread confusion will be when public crisis strikes, and the more important information, knowledge, and awareness about the right thing to do have become. Once confusion starts, decisions become clouded with panic and instead of doing the right thing, people will make serious mistakes that would cost their lives and the lives of others. In other words, the increasing number of population in UAE increases the number of stakeholders as well as the demand for public safety and risk management. Raising the awareness level on UAE reduces the risk factors associated with public crises, manmade calamities, and natural disasters as it would not only increase the probability of avoiding a more severe aftermath but also prepare governments and individuals for the roles they are to play during these times. By synchronizing efforts and making people aware of their supposed roles when calamity strikes, chaos and confusion are minimized while at the same time miscommunication leading to serious injury in person and property can be lowered at significant levels. The process is meant to deal with the instances of possible consequences that arise from the risk events. The instances of death, injury, ill health and above all the loss of or damage to property and the predominant political and social financial loss. It is very important to deal with the instances that are related to the loss of livelihood and the structured earning potential. There is also the management of inconvenience and managing in respect to the loss of time in the damage to environment. There is also the rid from the state of emotional distress. The provisions and the purposes are to bring in more safety and security among the people of the local areas. The people are targeted for appropriate training to cooperate themselves in the determination of the correct decisions in the time of emergency. Aims and Objectives The target of this report is to discuss and elaborate various means and sources of creating awareness among people regarding the management of risk during emergencies in United Arab Emirates. United Arab of Emirates has seen a growth in economy and population in the last fifty years that the country became literally crowded. While there is a general sense of modernity in the country, awareness programs on public crises has no strong presence in the country. The underlying assumption is for the process of raising learners from all the categories of the social set up and to encourage the awareness on the sorted solution for how language can well function in the periphery of communication. This is also for the establishment of the learning criteria that takes place to gain better and well established learning outcomes for the management of risks on social and communal groundings. The scopes for the achievement of appropriate management in the time of crisis can be synchronized through the involvement of specified policy planning and relevant development in the implementation and operational planning of the preconceived policy. As stated by Warning and Informing the Public, resources can be well supported through well trained information staff in the field of distributed communications directorates. Involvement for the provision of delivering information to the public to is very important to the functionality of the same. There is the need to feel the responsibility for the management of risk and the related business continuity planning (Kasperson & Stallen, 1990). Knowing the importance of communication during public crisis and the risks associated with the lack of precaution for these events, brought about by the lack of awareness programs that would target common people, this paper aims to inform, educate, and warn the general public of a pre-selected locale of possible public crises and the range of problems these crises may present if they fail to act appropriately before, during, and after the crises. In order to do this, this paper will have to (a) create an awareness program for the general public of United Arab Emirates (UAE), (b) identify the target segments of the public, (c) devise means to reach the target public, and (d) show examples of the materials to be distributed and circulated in the locale in portfolio form. Target Audiences The scopes for the achievement of appropriate management in the time of crisis can be synchronized through the involvement of specified policy planning and relevant development in the implementation and operational planning of the preconceived policy. As stated by Warning and Informing the Public, resources can be well supported through well trained information staff in the field of distributed communications directorates. Involvement for the provision of delivering information to the public to is very important to the functionality of the same. There is the need to feel the responsibility for the management of risk and the related business continuity planning (Kasperson & Stallen, 1990). This is also for the establishment of the learning criteria that takes place to gain better and well established learning outcomes for the management of risks on social and communal groundings (Walters et.al, 1999). With this, the need to define the target audience is necessary. This paper identifies at least four target audiences which are the elderly, young people, children, and the disabled people inside UAE and . Elderly The health requirements and physical needs of people change as they become older (Unal, 2005). The older the person is, the more dependent they are to other people’s help. As age manifests in the body, motor and visual functions become less optimal and the senses grows weaker by the minute. Even though the Middle-Eastern culture dominate the major cities of UAE which is to say that there is a close familiar ties, elderly people flock in populated cities of UAE like Dubai and Abu Dhabi because these cities usually have the amenities and the facilities they need for their sensitive medical conditions. On top of that, the economic progress of UAE allows people from nearby rural areas to find work in the urban regions, taking with them their elderly family members in the process. The increasing number of the elderly people present in the major urban region of UAE opens good avenues for public awareness implementation. In any event of public crises, elderly people in hospital facilities, homes and apartments, and even in offices are placed in great risk. This is because they can not run as fast as, or can react as fast as they were when they are younger. They lack the physical strength they need to mobilize themselves to keep away from potential harm. On top of that, they have a lot of physical, psychological, and material concerns to worry about that reading pamphlets about awareness programs is the last thing in their mind. This presents a challenge for the implementation part of the program because the program could not use ordinary means to disseminate information, warning, or precautions to this particular social subgroup as can be done on other groups. Youth Youth is the age between 15 and 24. There are nearly 2.94 million people in UAE, accounting for about 53% of UAE’s population (Kawach, 2009). A significant number of the population is located in major cities of UAE especially since work is readily available in more commercialized and industrialized areas in the region. On top of that, Middle-Eastern Generation X has established families on urban regions populating the area with youths. . Middle-Eastern youth, like youths from various countries, are idealistic and are vocal about their concerns, issues, and problems. Eventhough their idealism is quite high, the Youth are more open to new ideas, devouring them, doing some innovation on these ideas as much as they can. However, some of the formidable attributes of youth are their rashness and immaturity. In times of public crisis, uninformed and uninstructed youth may do rash and crass decisions that could harm their lives and the lives of others. This social group may have the physical and mental strength to avoid harm in the event of public crisis but without the knowledge and the appropriate outline for the course of actions, they will only bring in more chaos to the pandemonium brought about by the emergency situation. Children UAE’s growing economic stability and increasing number of industry bring people into the rural areas as well as their families. Men and women marry in the city and begin to live in urban areas to coexist and procreate while at the same time keeping their jobs and pursuing their careers. The number of at least one parent spending time with their children in UAE have dwindled in the last few decades as the need to be financially stable becomes more pronounced in Middle-Eastern families. As parents go to work, children are left to the care of family members or day care centers or to household helpers so that parents can free up their time and work for money. Children ages 15 and lower are in a higher risk should any public crisis or natural calamity occur. For children who are attending school already, disseminating and teaching them the basic things they are to do during public crisis or natural disaster is relatively easy when one brings the toddlers and the babies in the picture. Babes and toddlers are as helpless as the elderly especially since they don’t have a better grasp yet of the situation. On top pf that, they are at risk of being trampled in case commotion and pandemonium occur. Those who have already started school on the other hand are exposed to a greater risk of being run over, become a victim of, and be involved in any public crisis particularly those that target children. The challenge of getting the message across them is greater than the first two identified subgroups. Disabled This paper defines disabled person or a person with disability as a person who does not have the capacity to react appropriately to emergency stimuli and may require the aid of other people for mobility especially during emergency situations. Unlike the elderly audience where the physical manifestation of their age is the primary cause of their incapacities, disabled person can come from various age groups and with various social characteristics. The number of disabled person in UAE is far less compared to the elderly and the children. However, their vulnerable state qualifies them to be part of the target audience for the program. Disabled people currently in the UAE are composed of people from various social subgroups and their age may vary as well. For the sake of simplicity, this paper will consider the disabled people from the four target audience and will include people from the UAE labour force, tourists, and the Royal families. This wide-array of social characteristics for the disabled audience posits strong challenge for the project when it comes to implementing awareness programs. How to Get the Message Across [Elderly] For the elderly audience, the awareness program will be aimed for the most convenient as well as the most accessible method for them to become aware of the advocacy of the program. Almost all hospital facilities in UAE that cater the elderly, especially the wards and private rooms, include entertainment sets on their rooms including TV and DVD sets. The program will be working on these limitations to disseminate information. The best way to spread the information to the elderly who are either too old to read signage and pamphlets is to work with hospital administrators by distributing DVD copies of the awareness program to the hospitals to be played by nurses to the elderly people at least once a day. The contents of the DVD can vary from a simple slideshow to a favourite movie with an awareness advertisement before and after the movie starts to get the attention of the elderly. This way, elderly people can get be forewarned, instructed, and prepared in any events of public crisis. For example, DVD with instructions about what they need to do in case of fire will be distributed to them for viewing. [Youth] By working on the level of maturity of this age group, the awareness program can help save lives and properties in times of public difficulty. Because this age group is particularly open to new ideas, getting the message across them should not be a problem at all particularly if they show significant interest in the information being disseminated. While all proposed approaches for information dissemination like posters, leaflets, guides, DVDs, and internet websites can be used for this social group (this is because almost all of those who belong to this age group can access any of these media without notable issues to boot), this paper will choose to get the message across through the posters. Posters will be placed on strategic locations on public areas and in the schools and workplaces to ensure greater number of views. Posters will be placed in canteens where the students can see them, in the pantry of the workplaces so that employees do not miss reading the information shared, on public transport services like taxis, buses, trains, airplanes, ferries and in other public areas. Posters will also be handed to individuals so that they can help the program increase the degree of awareness of the people in UAE. For example, posters about the necessary things to do when there is fire in the school building, or in the office, will prove useful for this age group. [Children] DVD copies will also be used in creating awareness for children audiences. This is the most appropriate approach for children because majority of them do not go to school yet and they do not have the faculty necessary to discern the instructions that will be handed to them through various means. By distributing cartoon-like sketches and instructions through DVD copies, children will easily identify the instruction with the right course of action (because they can relate to cartoons). For those who are in school, teachers will include a brief awareness program in the form of film showing before and after every lesson to orient school children on what they should do in times of crisis. In addition, school programs will include awareness programs and drills that would involve children in order to show the school children the right responses on this kind of situation. TV programs and internet sites that children of this age group frequent will be packed with commercial advertisements about different kinds of awareness. For example, cartoon skit depicting the right way to keep safe [Disabled] Since disabled people can still read despite their disability, the best way to keep them aware of the steps they need to do in case of fire, for example, the best way to disseminate information to them is through leaflets. Most disabled people are usually immobile and they are just awaiting their time to fully recover and heal from their injuries and disabilities. Most of the time, they are bored because they are doing nothing and they resort to reading any materials they lay their hands on to while away the time. 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