No communication is without a barrier. Denis McQuail defines ,Jumping into conclusion, Stereotyping, Emotions, Filters, Lack of Interest, Lack of knowledge, and personality as common barriers to communication. But these are not the only barriers at work, there are other barriers which McQuail did not describe as he developed all these barriers based on western World.
For a poor developing countries there may be some other barriers.
Nepal is a landlocked country situated in between India and China. It is one of the poorest country in the world with $340 average per capita income. The same for United Kingdom is $69,560.Developing world is a term used for the countries that are underdeveloped in terms of their economy or level of industrialization, globalization, standard of living, health, education or other criteria for "advancement”. Per capita income and human development index are one of the criteria that confirm whether a country is developed or developing. Being at the bottom level in this entire index Nepal is a developing country and represents all other developing countries.
All developing countries in the world have poor economy, have extreme gender issues and problem of HIV AIDS. Nepal is no exception, so lets see the messages Nepalese government tries to spread among its public and analyze the barriers that hinders the communication process.
Message One:
Do not smoke and drink alcohol as it can buy your family food and other daily necessary stuffs.
This message was broadcast in radio, Television and published in newspaper. All district health offices distributed leaflets and pamphlets in their corresponding villages. The message was targeted to the people of lower income bracket who spent all their earnings in smoking and drinking alcohol. Government was expecting to improve economic status of these poor people and also to lower alcohol and smoking related deaths by raising awareness on this issue.
27 years old Mansoor Ansari is a rickshaw puller ( not auto rickshaw). After a tiring 12 hours long shift of transporting people, this man spends half of his daily income in a local pub. When asked about it, he says I am too tired to fall asleep if I do not drink alcohol. Though half of my money is gone, I can have a sound sleep , which rejuvenates me for the next day.
Message Two:
‘CHOORA HOS YA CHORI , DUBAI BARABARI’
A son or a daughter, both are equal.
This message too was broadcast in radio, television and published in Newspaper. As the targeted audience was people from all economic status and all education background, we could see the message on big hoarding boards in the cities like Kathmandu. The aim of this message was to reduce discrimination among sons and daughter prevalent in Nepalese society.
Mr. Bhimsen Tiwari is a lecturer in Tribhuwan University Kathmandu. He says he always passes through the hoarding board that reads the message, but still admits that his wife is expecting the fifth child as he has four daughters he needs a son to look after his property and give continuity to his line.
Message Three:
CONDOM LAGAU, AIDS BHAGAU
Use a condom, avoid getting AIDS.
This message is the most common message one can see in Nepal. You can see it anywhere, TV, hoarding boards, bus stations, buses, newspapers, magazines, in the radio. It’s omnipresent.
But epidemic of AIDS in Nepal now has a status of ‘concentrated epidemic’ rather than the ‘low level epidemic ‘of 2001.
So what are the barriers then? In the first instance Nepal’s poverty is the main barrier. People are poor and are non reactive to the messages the government sends. They are more focused on getting their bread and butter rather than changing their daily routine based on what these messages say. According to UNICEF, more than 24% of Nepalese live on a earning below 60 pence a day.
Second barrier is illiteracy. According to UNICEF 51% of total adult population in Nepal are illiterate. Hence many of them do not understand or partially understand the message being conveyed to them.
Third barriers in Nepal's case is its socio-cultural ties. Gender discrimination exists in Nepal, no matter what the government has done to educate people on this regard. The belief that Sons open the door to heaven for parents make common people neglect their daughter . In spite of government effort to stop this, girl child can't go to a good school and has to help in household chores.So among 51% of literate population , woman literacy is very low. Though western Public relations is dominated by woman, it may take another 25 years for Nepal to have its public relations industry dominated by woman.
For a poor developing countries there may be some other barriers.
Nepal is a landlocked country situated in between India and China. It is one of the poorest country in the world with $340 average per capita income. The same for United Kingdom is $69,560.Developing world is a term used for the countries that are underdeveloped in terms of their economy or level of industrialization, globalization, standard of living, health, education or other criteria for "advancement”. Per capita income and human development index are one of the criteria that confirm whether a country is developed or developing. Being at the bottom level in this entire index Nepal is a developing country and represents all other developing countries.
All developing countries in the world have poor economy, have extreme gender issues and problem of HIV AIDS. Nepal is no exception, so lets see the messages Nepalese government tries to spread among its public and analyze the barriers that hinders the communication process.
Message One:
Do not smoke and drink alcohol as it can buy your family food and other daily necessary stuffs.
This message was broadcast in radio, Television and published in newspaper. All district health offices distributed leaflets and pamphlets in their corresponding villages. The message was targeted to the people of lower income bracket who spent all their earnings in smoking and drinking alcohol. Government was expecting to improve economic status of these poor people and also to lower alcohol and smoking related deaths by raising awareness on this issue.
27 years old Mansoor Ansari is a rickshaw puller ( not auto rickshaw). After a tiring 12 hours long shift of transporting people, this man spends half of his daily income in a local pub. When asked about it, he says I am too tired to fall asleep if I do not drink alcohol. Though half of my money is gone, I can have a sound sleep , which rejuvenates me for the next day.
Message Two:
‘CHOORA HOS YA CHORI , DUBAI BARABARI’
A son or a daughter, both are equal.
This message too was broadcast in radio, television and published in Newspaper. As the targeted audience was people from all economic status and all education background, we could see the message on big hoarding boards in the cities like Kathmandu. The aim of this message was to reduce discrimination among sons and daughter prevalent in Nepalese society.
Mr. Bhimsen Tiwari is a lecturer in Tribhuwan University Kathmandu. He says he always passes through the hoarding board that reads the message, but still admits that his wife is expecting the fifth child as he has four daughters he needs a son to look after his property and give continuity to his line.
Message Three:
CONDOM LAGAU, AIDS BHAGAU
Use a condom, avoid getting AIDS.
This message is the most common message one can see in Nepal. You can see it anywhere, TV, hoarding boards, bus stations, buses, newspapers, magazines, in the radio. It’s omnipresent.
But epidemic of AIDS in Nepal now has a status of ‘concentrated epidemic’ rather than the ‘low level epidemic ‘of 2001.
So what are the barriers then? In the first instance Nepal’s poverty is the main barrier. People are poor and are non reactive to the messages the government sends. They are more focused on getting their bread and butter rather than changing their daily routine based on what these messages say. According to UNICEF, more than 24% of Nepalese live on a earning below 60 pence a day.
Second barrier is illiteracy. According to UNICEF 51% of total adult population in Nepal are illiterate. Hence many of them do not understand or partially understand the message being conveyed to them.
Third barriers in Nepal's case is its socio-cultural ties. Gender discrimination exists in Nepal, no matter what the government has done to educate people on this regard. The belief that Sons open the door to heaven for parents make common people neglect their daughter . In spite of government effort to stop this, girl child can't go to a good school and has to help in household chores.So among 51% of literate population , woman literacy is very low. Though western Public relations is dominated by woman, it may take another 25 years for Nepal to have its public relations industry dominated by woman.
No comments:
Post a Comment