Rationale for choosing the two companies and industries based on your Essay

Rationale for choosing the two companies and industries based on your industry and fundamental analysis - Essay Example During last financial year i.e. in 2010, companies have experienced higher growth and hence, there had been higher dividend yield (Vellacott and Cruise, 2011). UK economy has been experiencing slower economic growth but it steady and expected to grow much higher by 2012. However, due to sluggish economic recovery, Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has claimed that â€Å"expected national output to increase by 1.3% in 2011 compared to the 1.7% it had been predicting three months ago† (Elliott, 2011). During 2007-2009, overall GDP growth was negative due to global crisis, but during 2010, these parameters have taken an increasing trend that will make stock market grow in coming years. Industry Analysis Telecommunication UK telecommunication industry is highly developed in terms of industry polices and market exposures like demand. For example, during end 2010, nearly 4.8 million and 33.1 million were the users of mobile broadband and 3G mobile (Ofcom, 2011). Figure 6 portr ay that mobile ownership has been grown from 50% to 91% since last 10 years and figure 7 shows that there also have been growth in broadband connection. The market report also signifies that there has been a slight decline in annual revenue of telecommunication industry as presented in the following figure. However, it is expected that, during 2011, industry revenue is expected to grow by 2% to ?35.6 billion and annual growth rate will grow rate nearly 3%-4% p.a. By the end of 2015, market is projected at ?40.7 billion i.e. â€Å"equivalent to cumulative growth of 17% in real terms compared with 2010† (MBD, 2011). Pharmaceutical Multiple new product development led by technological advancement and government’s initiatives are expected to bring rapid growth in healthcare industry. Comparing to other manufacturing industries, pharmaceutical has shown a better performance. The above figures show UK’s Pharmaceutical trade, there has been significant growth in this i ndustry since last decades. The overall import and export has increased and medical pharmacy products are the highest gainer. Company Analysis Vodafone Plc Vodafone Group is one of leading global telecommunication company, and in UK Vodafone’s performance has been remained better than its rivals. A key comparison of Vodafone with its key rivals British Telecom and Telefonica SA are given below. The overall performance of Vodafone has been better than its rivals in terms of profit margin and its sales and stock returns its performance has remained quite better. Moreover, with lowest debt-equity ratio, it also has lower risk level. The following table depicts the financial highlights. Vodafone’s net profit margin and sales volume are very high that clearly signifies its better financial performance. Its shareholders have also gained a higher return on their investments as earning per share and dividend payout ratio are attractive for making investments. The key ratios of Vodafone indicate that financial condition is very stable than its key rivals. Return on equity is also

My Dream Career Essay Example for Free

My Dream Career Essay When I was still young, I used to do my friends’ hair as a hobby. Most of my friends liked the hair style that I did for them. I also remember, how happy I was, each time I did the hair of my friends. However, I never thought that this hobby could possibly turn into my dream career. After I entered the junior high school, which was an all-boy school, I realized that I was left out in the cold by classmates just because I was interested in stylizing hair. I would bring lots of magazines to the school to keep up-to-date with hair styling trends. Whenever I was reading the magazine, my classmates would say, â€Å"Girlish boy, you should’ve been born as a girl. † I guess having an interest in hair style wasn’t viewed as a profession for a normal boy. In my last year of middle school, there was one unforgettable event that made it enjoyable and memorable. In Korea, on a usual school day, students are not allowed to use any gel, or spray on their hair. Therefore, every student waits for the graduation photo day because this is the day they can do their hair with hair stylish products as much as they please. As other boys did, I brought hair gel and dryer to do my hair at school. I didn’t do my hair at home in the morning because I knew the hair looks best after putting hair stylish products. After I did my hair, some of my classmates, including the classmates who had been calling me â€Å"girlish boy,† came to me, and asked me to do their hair. They said, â€Å"If we all like our hair, we won’t call you girlish boy anymore. † It was an unexpected suggestion, but I was confident that they would like my job. So, I accepted their suggestion, and tried my best to stylize their hair using gel and dryer. Fortunately, they all liked their hair, and a few weeks hence, the graduation photo also came out really good to everybody’s expectations. Since then, they became my friends, and we still keep in touch, although I’m currently living in the U. S. By the time I entered the high school, another unforgettable event happened that confirmed my plans for becoming a professional hair designer. One bright day, I and my eldest brother visited â€Å"Hair Day,† which was owned by my brother’s friend, Paul Kim, in Seoul. The name of the store was quite impressive to me due to its unique name, â€Å"Hair Day,† although a typical name like â€Å"hair salon† could have been more meaningful. Paul Kim is a very famous hair designer in Seoul, and has many Korean celebrities as his regular customers. When I visited his studio for the first time, I saw a famous Korean celebrity, Bi, who is better known as â€Å"Rain† in the U. S. As he entered the studio, I hardly recognized him because of his messy hair. However, after Paul Kim worked on his hair, he immediately transformed into a gorgeous celebrity known to everybody. The hair style that Paul Kim had done for Bi was the same style I had seen on television. Since Bi is so popular, and his hairstyle is always up-to-date, many young boys in Korea mimic his hairstyle. Moreover, all of Bi’s hair styles that were shown on Korean television were the work of Paul Kim. After Bi left, an English-Speaking customer came into the studio to get a hair cut. The customer seemed an acquaintance of Paul Kim because he was delighted to see him. When they spoke with each other, I was amazed at Paul Kim’s ability to speak English. Later, I was told by my brother that Paul Kim had studied in the U. S. , and had obtained a Business Administration degree, which is possibly one of the reasons his hair studio is doing so well. Ever since I visited Paul Kim’s hair studio, I had a strong desire to become a famous hair designer, who is not only intellectual but also has a good aesthetic sense. I decided that Paul Kim is truly a man, whom I want to emulate when I grow up. The female hair designers outnumber the male hair designers in Korea. However, most of the notable hair designers in Korea are men. I hope one day I will be one of those notable hair designers not only in Korea but also in the entire world.

Experimental Psy Article Review :: essays research papers

Experimental Psychology Article review of ‘Distorted Retrospective Eyewitness Reports as Functions of Feedback and Delay’ by Gary L. Wells, Elizabeth A. Olson, and Steve D. Charman. Iowa State University Journal of Experimental Psychology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This article was mainly about eye witnesses and the many errors they make in recalling a situation or describing a culprit whether they are asked immediately or after a period of time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this study, witnesses viewed a crime video and attempted to identify the culprit from a group line-up that did not actually have the culprit present. 253 mistaken-identification eyewitnesses were randomly given confirming, disconfirming, or no feedback regarding their description of the culprit or the culprit’s identification. The feedback process was either immediate or delayed for 48 hours, and measures were also immediate or delayed for 48 hours. It was shown that those who were given confirming feedback gave more distorted information. They had increased confidence in remembering what had happened, were able to make out facial details and their length of time to identify the culprit changed. There was also no difference in their statements when they were asked immediately or after 48 hours. Those who received disconfirming feedback were not so confident and took longer time to identify the culprit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The writers argue that the focus on identification itself, especially in court cases, does not factor in the influence that postidentification suggestions have on the testimony of the eyewitness that might later be given about the identification. They suggest that postidentification feedback from the lineup administrator has strong effects on how the eye witness remembers the original event and on how the eyewitness recalls the identification decision. They call this the Postidentification Feedback Effect. This Effect influences both the retrospective reports of confidence and the eyewitnesses’ retrospective reports of how good their view of the culprit was, how much attention they paid to the culprit, how long they took to identify the culprit and so on. According to the writers, any psychological interpretations of the postidentification feedback effect must take into account the broad range of effects on retrospective reports of the witnessing experience rather than merely the effect on retrospective confidence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There have also been recent studies that have replicated and extended the Postidentification Feedback Effect in various ways. According to one study, â€Å"the Postidentification Feedback Effect is reduced by having eyewitnesses think privately about their certainty, the view they had, and so on, prior to giving them feedback (Wells & Bradfield, 1999).

Cpoe for Emory Healthcare

Business Case NEU Consulting Group Prepared by: Kuan-ling Chiu Wenjie Xie Executive Summary This business case outlines how the CPOE Project will address current business concerns, the benefits of the project, and recommendations and justification of the project. The business case also discusses detailed project goals, performance measures, assumptions, and constraints. 1 Issue Since the perception of patient safety has arisen, many medical organizations were striving to improve medication safety.Emory Healthcare, the largest and most comprehensive health care system in Georgia, was one of them who were seeking ways to prevent medication errors. In recent years, some highly influential studies revealed that medical errors occurred in inpatient and outpatient settings at alarmingly high rates. Researchers point out approximately 1. 3 million injuries occurred annually to patients in U. S. hospitals, at a high percentage of which were at least partially due to errors in patient managem ent.In the Emory Healthcare, physicians place orders by writing them on an orders sheet attached to the patient chart or they would call a nurse and ask him/her to write the orders on the order sheet. Orders are paper-based or just by verbalization. Furthermore, medication orders ordered by radiology technicians or phlebotomists would be carried out by a unit clerk who is responsible for to fax or scan and then sent orders directly to the pharmacy. Such paper-driven work is not efficient and prone to errors; without standardization, physicians carry no responsibility for orders, which is critical and directly points to medical errors.It was calculated that 37% of the patient cases had medication treatment fault in the Emory Healthcare because of its paper-driven prescription process  which is prone to error. Around 9%  of injuries were  partially  due to  inaccurate medical order  input. Furthermore, 60% of the patients were not satisfied with their  treatment. 2 Antic ipated Outcomes In order to prevent medical errors and improve order accuracy, the suggestion of implement CPOE (Computerized Provider Order Entry) has surfaced.CPOE will establish order standard and let physicians write orders electronically and directly, thus prevent order inaccuracy. Furthermore, paper-driven work will be eliminated and replaced by electronic process. Computerized processing will improve efficiency of workflow, accuracy of input and reduce cost. Ultimately, all physician orders will be standardized, electronic and traceable. Thus, medical errors caused by human negligence will be reduced to minimum. 3 RecommendationVarious options and alternatives were analyzed to determine the best way to improve physician order processes and reduce the error and cost. The recommended CPOE project will methodically migrate the physician orders and the patient records of current mainframe system to the new computer-based platform in order to preserve data integrity. The new compu ter-based platform will improve the efficiency and accuracy of managing orders and records. The project will achieve its desired results: †¢ Physicians will directly enter orders electronically by standardized requirements. The system will check the orders and alert the users with inappropriate entries. †¢ Orders will be saved and can be accessed immediately. Orders and patient records are traceable and easy to obtain. †¢ The system will provide users with alerts and guides of best practice, duplicate, drug interactions when assigning prescription or orders. Business Case Analysis Team The following individuals comprise the business case analysis team. They are responsible for the analysis and creation of the Emory Healthcare Project business case. Role |Description |Name/Title | |Executive Sponsor |Provide executive support for the project |A, White | |Technical Lead |Provides all technology support for the project |E, Chen, Technical Lead | |Process Improvement |Adv ises team on process improvement techniques |Leland Choi, Process Team Lead | |Project Manager |Manages the business case and project team |B Brown, Project Manager | |Software Support |Provides all software support for the project |Jack Xie, Software Group Lead | Problem Definition 1 Problem Statement In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers point out approximately 1. 3 million injuries occurred annually to patients in U. S. ospitals, 69% of which were at least partially due to errors in patient management. In 2000, the Institute of Medicine published a report that concluded that more people died each year from preventable errors in hospitals than from car accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS. Medical errors caused by human oversight are the main issue inside Emory Healthcare. In 1986, it was calculated that 37% of the patient cases had medication treatment fault. The problems are due to the lack of standard for orders by physicians. Physicians would place orders by hand writing, and then they would call a nurse and ask him/her to write the orders on the order sheet. Orders are paper-based or just by verbalization.Such paper-driven work that without standardization is not efficient and prone to errors. Moreover, physicians carry no responsibility for orders, which is critical and directly points to medical errors. During the last five years, 60% of the patients were not satisfied with their treatment. Furthermore, works driven by paper are costive and time-consuming. 2 Organizational Impact The CPOE project will impact the Emory Health Care in different aspects. The following provides a high-level explanation of how the organization, tools, process, and roles. Tools: COPE project mainly focuses on designing a new system to improve the accuracy rate of order entry.The system will also enhance the function of dealing emergency situation. This will require training both physicians and nurses to manipulate the new system. A tutorial function also includes in the applicat ion to make employee adapt the system quickly. Processes: with CPOE Project comes more efficient and controlled by physicians. Physicians have more jobs to do within the whole procedure. Before the CPOE, new medication reconciliation will be placed after the communication between the doctor and the nurse. Now physicians should be able to place the order by themselves and send them to the providers directly. Nurse’s job is only to take care of inpatients.Roles and Responsibilities: the CPOE project provides greater power to physicians and fewer burdens on nurses. The number of clerks will decrease sharply because now physicians can send orders to the providers directly. The middle layer is useless with this condition. IT department should provide more solutions to help employees be familiar with the new system. More training sessions should be taken place for employees who are unwilling to accept the system update. The new platform needs more computers and an appropriate datab ase to support the system operation. Thus, the financial department should set up new budget for the new equipment required.Hardware/Software: in addition to the computers and licenses for the project, NEU Consultant team will be required to purchase additional servers and database to accommodate the platform and its anticipated growth for the next 5 years. 3 Technology Migration In order to effectively make employees be familiar with the computerized provider order entry system, a phased method has been designed which will result in minimal disruption to day to day operations, administration, and payroll activities. The following is the high-level overview of the system. Phase I: Hardware/Software (including database, servers and new computers) will be purchased for new system.IT department staff will response for the configuration of back end equipment. Phase II: All employees will receive training on the new system. Depending on different roles, they will get diverse learning ses sions. For example, physicians will learn how to place prescriptions and medication reconciliation. Nurse will study how to allocate patients room and update patients’ status. Phase III: System might be altering depending on employees’ reflections to make the system be manipulated easily. NEU consulting group will provide strong support in this period. Phase IV: The new system will go live and the older pattern of hand-written entry will be stood down. Project OverviewThe CPOE Project overview provides detail for how this project will address Emory Healthcare business problem. The overview consists of a project description, goals and objectives for the CPOE Project, project performance criteria, project assumptions, constraints, and major milestones. As the project is approved and moves forward, each of these components will be expanded to include a greater level of detail in working toward the project plan. 1 Project Description The purpose of this project is to imple ment Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) across Emory Healthcare. Computerized Provider Order Entry is a computer application that is used by physicians to enter diagnostic and therapeutic patient care orders.In most cases these orders are communicated electronically to the departments and personnel responsible for carrying them out, either by directly connecting to specific departmental computer systems that execute the order (such as laboratory or pharmacy systems), or by staff printing out the orders in the appropriate locations for execution. For CPOE applications electronically connected to departmental systems, confirmation of the order and the following result (in the case of tests) are transmitted back to the ordering physician. There are three major deliverables associated with this project. †¢ A consolidated and standardized Order Sets to facilitate CPOE that are evidence based †¢ 100% CPOE Compliance across the organization.Physicians will enter in real-tim e, all orders directly into CPOE system thereby eliminating transcription and the use of third-person (i. e. Nurses etc. ) to enter orders into patients’ electronic health records: Lab, Imaging, Consult, Nutrition, Medications, Patient Care. †¢ Decision Support Alerts – alerts to guide best practice, duplicate, drug interactions etc. Provide rules and alerts to guide healthcare decisions Alerts for drug interactions, dosage and adverse event Online help for alerts 2 Goals and Objectives The goal of this project is to implement the Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE SYSTEM) at Emory Healthcare in order to facilitate the full use of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) throughout the hospital.It is expected that Emory Healthcare will realize benefits in improved clinical diagnostic capabilities and clinical workflow processes as a result of the implementation of CPOE. Implementation of CPOE addresses a number of key requirements for achieving meaningful use of their Electronic Health Record per the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Also, implementation of CPOE will lay the foundation for enabling additional clinical functionality through the implementation of additional modules such as, Clinical Alerts and other models. A number of other clinical initiatives must be completed in order to achieve full COE functionality including Care Plans, Order Sets and Process Mapping.It is important to realize that the implementation of CPOE is an ongoing performance improvement initiative that will require ongoing enhancements and refinements in order to accommodate the changing of information system healthcare environment. This includes workflow refinements, additional order sets, and training process The CPOE Project directly supports several of the corporate goals and objectives established by NEU Consulting group. The following are the business goals and objectives that the CPOE Project supports and how it supports them: Goals: †¢ I mproved clinical decision making as a result of timely access to historical patient information at the point of care (existing medications, lab results, allergies) †¢ Reduce number of adverse events as a result of clinical ordering errors †¢ Reduced patient length of stay Improved clinical decision making as a result of timely access to clinical order information at the point of care (historical orders, interactions and conflicts) †¢ Reduction in costs and manual effort associated with manual ordering process †¢ Improvements in workflow processes for ordering tests and transmitting †¢ The ability to access patient order information throughout the hospital and from remote locations †¢ Obtain information that can provide reports about productivity and performance metrics †¢ High physician and patient satisfaction †¢ Reduce / elimination of paper orders †¢ Reduce chance of clinical errors through the use of order validation and checking Obje ctives: †¢ To provide emergency alert in order to monitor patient’s real-time status. †¢ To reduce order processing time by 25%. †¢ To increase order entry accuracy to 98%. To reduce medication turnaround time by 60% †¢ To provide alert function for physicians when writing orders or prescription. †¢ To standardize physician orders and patient records. †¢ To cut the clerk’s department in order to save transaction time. †¢ To transform hand written patient records into digital records by 95%. 3 Project Assumptions The following assumptions apply to the WP Project. As project planning begins and more assumptions are identified, they will be added accordingly. †¢ The core implementation team will consist of key resources from Emory Healthcare. This team will collaborate in order to coordinate the project activities between their organizations. The implementation team will have access to the areas within the hospital where they need t o work †¢ The implementation team will have cooperation from the Emory Healthcare staff as necessary but with the intention that disruption will be minimal †¢ Resource requirements and costs for ongoing system support will be agreed upon by Emory Healthcare and NEU Consulting group during the initial phase of the project †¢ Emory Healthcare resources will be available as needed †¢ Regular review of project status will occur and be communicated through communication plan †¢ Client will attend the required training 4 Project Constraints The following constraints apply to the CPOE Project. As project planning begins and more constraints are identified, they will be added accordingly. †¢ Dependencies of CPOE Vendor delivery and order of module upgrades and installations †¢ Resource availability (IT, non IT, and vendor) †¢ Budgets: The total cost of the project should be done under the budget approved by the board of directors and make sure to cont rol the cost not exceed the budget of each year. Schedule: Fully operational in 3 years †¢ Quality: CPOE system and process improvement service shall meet all quality standards and client’s requirements. 5 Selected Approach Various options and alternatives were analyzed to determine the best way to improve physician order processes and reduce the error and cost. The selected CPOE project will methodically migrate the physician orders and the patient records of current mainframe system to the new computer-based platform in order to preserve data integrity. The new computer-based platform will improve the efficiency and accuracy of managing orders and records. The project will achieve its desired results: Physicians will directly enter orders electronically by standardized requirements. †¢ The system will check the orders and alert the users with inappropriate entries. †¢ Orders will be saved and can be accessed immediately. Orders and patient records are traceab le and easy to obtain. †¢ The system will provide users with alerts and guides of best practice, duplicate, drug interactions when assigning prescription or orders. 6 Major Project Milestones The following are the major project milestones identified at this time. As the project planning moves forward and the schedule is developed, the milestones and their target completion dates will be modified, adjusted, and finalized as necessary to establish the baseline schedule. Milestones/Deliverables | Target Date | |Contract / Board Authorization |12/10/2012 | |Project Management Plan approval |05/05/2013 | |System Implementation Kick off |05/27/2013 | |Functional review |06/05/2013 | |Hardware technical design |10/20/2013 | |Order and receive hardware and software |11/17/2013 | |System implementation complete (software) |03/10/2014 | |Database design and configuration complete |07/20/2014 | |System installation (hardware and software) |09/09/2014 | |Complete test plan |09/22/2014 | |Test and enable network connectivity |01/20/2015 | |System testing complete |04/25/2015 | |Nurse, Pharmacy documentation preparation and training |07/14/2015 | |Physician documentation preparation and training |07/18/2015 | |System maintenance plan complete |10/25/2015 | |System on live |01/01/2016 | |System maintenance start |01/01/2016 | Cost and Saving Analysis The following two tables capture the cost associated with the CPOE Project, descriptions of these actions, and the total associated with the cost item for CPOE project. CPOE Ongoing Cost – Estimate Cost Item |Action Type |Description |Cost | |Hardware and Software |Cost |Application Software Maintenance |$150,000 | | | |Third-Party Software maintenance | | | | |Workstation Maintenance | | |Network |Cost |LAN maintenance |$35,000 | | | |Network Monitoring equipment | | |Staff required to support CPOE |Cost |Pharmacy analyst |$60,000 | | | |CPOE Project Manager | | | | |Clinical Programmer/builder | | | | | Additional Help Desk Support Network/equipment support | | | | |staff | | |Others |Cost |None IT Resources |$100,000 | |Net Cost | | |$345,000 | CPOE One-Time Cost – Estimate |Cost Item |Action Type |Description |Cost | |Hardware and Software |Cost |Application License Cost (CPOE, Scanning software etc. |$1,000,000 | | | |Third party software license costs | | | | |Workstations/Printers | | |Network |Cost |Install Wireless LAN |$450,000 | | | |Upgrade to LAN/Wireless | | | | |Networking monitoring equipment | | |Implementation |Cost |Vendor cost |$155,000 | | | |Consultant cost | | | | |Travel cost | | | | |Outsource staff cost | | |Internal Project teams |Cost |IT Management |$300,000 | | | |Project Manager | | | | |Analyst | | | | |Technical staff | | |Training |Cost |Vendor cost |$30,000 | | | |Consultant cost | | | | |NurseTraining | | | | |Physician Training | | | | |Other Training | | |Net Cost | | |$1,935,000 | CPOE Ongoing/one time saving Emory Heal thcare has saved approximately &270,000 annually through elimination of transcription cost and increased radiology revenues by over $300,000 annually through better capture of documentation with CPOE. Alternatives Analysis The following alternative options have been considered to address the business problem. These alternatives were not selected for a number of reasons which are also explained below. No Project (Status Quo) |Reasons For Not Selecting Alternative | |Keep the origin mainframe legacy system |Newly computerized system can improve the efficiency of work | | |CPOE definitely reduces errors | | |The new system provides the real time function which solves | | |emergency situation | | |Cut off middle layer in order to save processing time | |Alternative Option |Reasons For Not Selecting Alternative | |Outsource the implementation to two different companies in |Hardly meets the requirements of Emory Healthcare. | |order to short development cycle. |Difficult to communicat e between two companies. | |High cost to support two cycles. | |Alternative Option |Reasons For Not Selecting Alternative | |Develop software internally |Lack of qualified resources especially not enough developers | | |Lack of expertise to guarantee the security of the system. | | |Huge cost for the cycle of developing | | |Schedule restricts developing time. |

The reaction to Boris Johnson’s article about Ken Bigley and resulting implications for the media

When Boris Johnson's article in The Spectator1 caused controversy a week ago, it raised questions not only about the ethical position of politicians involved in journalism, but also about the freedom of the media and its relationship with regulators and governmental bodies. Boris Johnson is a much- derided figure, often attacked for his looks and manner rather than his views and actions. In a radio interview for the BBC, for example, Paul Bigley (Ken's brother) accused him of being a â€Å"self- centred, pompous twit†2 and belittled him for his appearance and waffling manner despite the valid points in the article, and subsequent apology. This tact was followed by newspapers almost without exception; The Times, for example, started their article with a quote from Michael Howard denouncing Johnson's writing as â€Å"nonsense from beginning to end,†4 a comment in the Liverpool Daily Post recommended that he ‘got life insurance,'5 and an article on the BBC website6 provided quotations only from those against the MP. This is in direct contrast to what the same website suggested was the general public opinion. On the ‘Your Views'7 section, nineteen out of twenty- two comments support Johnson's opinion, ranging from those in general support to people from Liverpool criticising their fellow Liverpudlians; suggesting that the media was either being sensationalist or deliberately opposing a Conservative- who, it should be noted, did not even write the article. The true author, Simon Heffer, was barely mentioned and has ‘no plans to issue an apology;'8 further evidence that it was the character of Johnson rather than his article that caused so much disagreement. This is supported by a comment in The Independent which noted that Johnson was not the first social commentator to challenge Liverpool's reaction to the beheading. On Sunday the 10th of October, Dr Anthony Daniels challenged the town's reaction for an ‘estranged son â€Å"whose attachment to Liverpool was so great that he was planning to live in Thailand. â€Å"‘9 Dr Daniels, however, was not featured in any newspaper or criticised for his comments. This calls into question the role of MPs in the media; whether it is possible for them to be both decision makers and public commentators. Though not the first editor to become an MP- Iain Macleod and Dick Crossman have both managed it in the past- as both the Financial Times and The Guardian Student pointed out, in ‘bowing down to Mr Howard's edict'10 Johnson put political ambition over journalistic independence. This not only undermines Johnson's validity as a public commentator but also the doctrine of press freedom. Enshrined in the US Constitution in the First Amendment and by ‘Supreme Court precedent,'11 the press is often perceived in America as the ‘fourth branch of government,' providing a check and balance to the judiciary, executive and legislative. Though in Britain the branches are less divided, the same principle should stand to provide effective restraints; hence the ongoing debate over the Lord Chancellor's position in all three branches of Government. When an MP becomes involved in the media, therefore, its independence is called into question. It seems unlikely, for example, than an MP could comment fairly on the actions of a body he or she works for. The reaction to Johnson's article proves that MPs working as journalists do not have the same freedom as journalists not also working as MPs. This challenges the validity of a ‘free media' that can be influenced so easily despite supposedly having complete freedom of speech. Often heralded as an indicator of democracy, Britain's press is perceived to be one of the freest in the world. â€Å"Freedom,† however, can be interpreted in many ways. In the United Kingdom, for example, though the media can in theory print anything there are moral and bureaucratic restrictions. Seven companies, four of which account for 90% of sales, own the entire national press and media ‘moguls' such as Rupert Murdoch control many publications. Murdoch himself owns the News of the World, The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times. This may have influenced their synonymous attack on Johnson's article which was published in The Spectator, owned by one of Murdoch's rivals the Barclay brothers- who, as commented upon in The Times, have ‘not raised the Liverpool editorial'12 with Johnson, revealing their ongoing faith in having a politician as an editor whilst others are questioning it. The ownership of chains of newspapers has implications on their bias and impartiality. Murdoch's politics, for example, are generally right- wing, though he apparently favours republicanism over monarchy and is said to have refused a British peerage. His influence is apparent in the papers he owns. In February 1998, for example, The Sun, which had consistently attacked Labour's plans for the Millennium Dome suddenly changed tack and threw its weight behind the project. It seems no coincidence that Murdoch's BSkyB had recently made an investment in the Dome. 13 It is, however, impossible for any form of media to be truly unbiased. Humans, by their nature, are influenced by what they read and who they see, and inject personal opinion into articles or reports without intending to. In the United Kingdom The Times is typically seen as a left- wing paper, The Telegraph as right- wing, and The Independent as the most unbiased paper. These stereotypes rarely hold true, however, with The Times' editorial often being more lenient towards the Conservatives. This may have more to do with the fact that the media often opposes whoever is in power, whoever they are, with no regards to traditional stance. Of the articles about Johnson, the most balanced viewpoint was from The Guardian Student. From the very start it offers views for and against the article; even the headline, â€Å"Boris is ‘sorry' for tactless own goal†14 presents Johnson as apologetic whilst also implying he made a blunder. Throughout, it keeps this balanced viewpoint with quotations from those supporting him followed by those against; contrasting articles in The Times15 which present tirades of criticism. The Guardian Student article is an exception, however. Though often not as transparent as headlines in tabloids such as The Sun or The Daily Star, broadsheets in the Western world show clear bias without obvious governmental controls. This may be seen to affect politics. In a poll conducted in America in 1992, for example, 89% of 1400 members of the national media surveyed voted for Clinton in that same year. 16 Though it is certain this would have influenced the journalists' articles, it is debateable whether the media dictated the public's mood or vice versa. In 1997 when The Sun declared â€Å"It's The Sun Wot Won It† due to its support of the Labour party, it was questionable whether they actually influenced the public or merely responded to what the public was urging them to print. Despite the obvious bias, however, the media of the Western world is still typically liberal in viewpoint, with it rare for an outlet to present controversial or minority views. The views of the BNP, for example, are rarely, if ever, supported in the media. The reason for this comes down to money. The public are unlikely to buy a paper if it is known to publish racist, xenophobic or controversial views, even if they are just the expression of free speech (though The Sun comes close on occasion, printing sensationalist headlines with unsubstantiated evidence17). Constantly looking for ways to increase revenue, papers are therefore unlikely to publish minority views if it is the majority that they are aiming for. Minority views are more often only heard when their exponents, such as Abu Hanzar, are being persecuted or when comedians are chastising them. Billy Connelly and Doug Stanhope, for example, as criticised in the Warwick Boar18, regularly use controversial, politically incorrect material under the guise of jokes. Connelly joking about Ken Bigley, for example, did not receive the criticism that Johnson did despite being more tactless and insensitive. Freedom of press, however, is not truly understood unless compared to non- Western countries. In ‘Last Seven Days' (a Warwick- based informal political discussion group), for example, both a Russian and a Chinese student commented that the freedom of the press is not appreciated in Britain. In Russia, using restrictive legislation and exerting financial pressure through the government and government- related companies, the Kremlin â€Å"gained nearly total control of the broadcast media in 2003. â€Å"19 Many Russians, as commented upon in the World Press Review, support restrictions on the press. 20 This has resulted in a media consistently supporting the Russian government and President, as evident in the translation of articles from Moscow News which celebrate nuclear weapons test launches as ‘landmark events. An article on the same event in the USA or the UK is likely to have included criticism of the demand and use of nuclear weapons. The general perception of the media in much of the Western world is that they have a great degree of freedom. Whilst this is true if compared to countries such as Russia, China or Iraq, there are still pressures on journalists to produce articles with a particular slant or viewpoint. It could be said, for example, that the restrictive policies typical of countries ruled by dictatorship have been replaced by the â€Å"dictatorial† media barons such as Rupert Murdoch and the Barclay brothers. The governmental restrictions, meanwhile, are more likely to be whips or party leaders trying to pander to public opinion rather than imposing party policy, as was displayed by Michael Howard over Boris Johnson's article. I also witnessed this during work experience at the House of Commons, where there were daily meetings for all opposition MPs to discuss the previous day's press coverage, and the majority of Theresa May's (MP, Windsor and Maidenhead) work was to attract the attention of, or respond to, local and national media. The relationship between the press and politicians is complex, with politicians trying to get in the media, and journalists often only willing to cover a minority of issues for personal, political, or financial reasons. When politicians, such as Boris Johnson, become directly involved in the media, further restrictions and pressures are placed on the medium. Therefore though the media, in particular in Britain, is supposedly free from constraints, in reality there are numerous limits on what journalists are willing to write.