Background:Mobile phones are more dangerous than passengers

In January 2007, THINK! began a multimedia campaign to publicize changes in the law relating to the use of mobile phones while driving.

The campaign was aimed at all drivers with particular emphasis on young/new drivers and those who drive extensively as part of their work. It was also aimed at callers.

Campaign activities
This was a high-profile multimedia campaign using TV, online, radio, press and PR. The campaign had three phases.

1) Raising awareness
The target audience for this phase was all drivers and promoted the message ‘Switch off before you drive off’.

2) Targeting callers
The second phase of the campaign continued to appeal to all drivers but broadened the responsibility to the caller. A television commercial, ‘Split Screen’, promoted the message ‘Kill the conversation’.

3) Promoting enforcement
The final phase of the campaign promoted the enforcement message – the risks of getting caught using a mobile phone.

Young and new drivers may be particularly affected by the enforcement element as they run the risk of losing their licence if they get 6 points within their first 2 years after passing the test.

The radio advertisement, ‘Conversation’, underlined the role of police in catching drivers who use mobile phones.

d the penalties for using a mobile phone while driving.

The facts

A research named ‘The mobile phone research’ showed that all phone calls are distructive to drivers .

The research demonstrates that reaction times for drivers using a handheld phone are 30 per cent worse than for driving under the influence of alcohol at the legal limit.

Adding that using a mobile phone while driving means you are four times more likely to crash.

Legal aspects

It is illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone or similar device while driving. The penalty is £60 and 3 penalty points.

If the case goes to court, it’s a maximum fine of £1,000 (£2,500 if driving a bus, coach or heavy goods vehicle), discretionary disqualification and 3 points.

Your insurance costs could also go up.

If you reach 6 points within 2 years of passing your test, your license will be revoked and you will need to re-sit your test to get your license back.

You can also be prosecuted for using a hands free phone or similar device if you are distracted and not in proper control of the vehicle.

The same penalties apply.  Employers could also be prosecuted if employees are distracted because they require them to use their mobile phones while driving.

Using other devices for sending or receiving data while driving is also an offence, that includes Blackberries and PDAs if they have a mobile phone incorporated.

Related researches

Research has shown that those using a mobile phone while driving are four times more likely to crash.

Using any type of mobile – be it handsfree or handheld – means reaction times are worse than those driving under the influence of alcohol.

Tests have shown that reaction times are slower by some 50 per cent when compared to normal driving and by 30 per cent when compared to being drunk – see ‘The Mobile Phone Report‘.

Even careful drivers can be distracted by a phone call or text message and that split second lapse in concentration could result in a crash.

Related link:

• Phone-reliant Britons in the grip of ‘nomo-phobia’

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Journalists and activists arrested on 45th Independece day celebrations

Radio journalist being arrested during Independence Day celebrations.

Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki forced to end his Independence Day speech after a crowd heckled him when a protester was arrested, says BBC .

The protestors were angered by the refusal of MPs to pay taxes and a new media bill, which critics say will gag the press. Police say more than 20 other people were arrested over the protests, BBC reports.

In the field and newsrooms, journalists ensured the 45th Jamhuri Day events did not obscure their cry for freedom and justice.

Protestors including civil rights activists and journalists wore black T-shirts with slogans printed on them.

The slogans read ‘No taxes for MPs, no taxes for us, uta do?’ (what will you do?)’, You tube reports.

Thousands of people who attended Kenya’s 45th Independence Day, celebrations shouted in protest against rising food prices, says Standard.

Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the activists were arrested for trying to disrupt a national day, BBC reports.

Bill sails through easily

Information and Communication Minister Samuel Poghisio, reintroduced the Bill this year, President Kibaki having refused to sign the bill into law last year.

Mr. Poghisio has been in talks with the MOA, the Kenya Editors Guild and the Correspondents Association. In the past three weeks, media owners have held five high-level meetings with Government officials over the Bill, says Standard.

The proposal was to defer the debate to allow more consultations.

The media had made frantic efforts to intercept the Bill before it got to the floor of the House.

But MPs, angered by a parallel campaign to have their allowances taxed, saw in this Bill a weapon to hit back and punish the media.

Without minding the consequences, it took only 25 out of the 222 MPs to pass it this week, Standard reports.

Contents of the bill

The bill gives the Internal Security Minister power to raid media houses in a state of emergency, ordered by the President and control broadcast content.

It also gives the government the mandate to set the standards, manner and time of programmes to be broadcast.

The Freedom of Information Bill repeals the Official Secrets Act so that Government officials can disclose vital information to the public.

Click here for background.

background for Journalists and activists arrested during 45th Independence day

According to Wikipidia, Jamhuri Day is a national holiday in Kenya, celebrated on 12 December each year.

Jamhuri is the Swahili word for “republic” and the holiday is officially to mark the date of Kenya’s establishment as a republic on 12 December, 1964.

However, the country also gained full independence from the United Kingdom one year earlier on 12 December, 1963, so Jamhuri Day is a double event

It is generally regarded as Kenya’s most important holiday, marked by numerous cultural festivities which celebrate the country’s cultural heritage.

Jamhuri Day is often associated with Dedan Kimathi, the executed leader of the famous Mau Mau, regarded by many Kenyans as the hero who lifted the nation on his shoulders toward independence.

One week before Jamhuri day,Kenyan MP’s rejected a bill forcing them to pay tax on their allowances that were adding up to Ksh 500,000,000.

Journalists run story after story asking them to pay tax as it would in turn benefit Kenyans who elected them.

This caused a very big rift between MPs and members of the fourth estate.

It is thus believed that MPs passed the Communications Ammendment Act that gives power to the Minister for Internai Security to raid media houses, as a way to avenge their being pressured to pay taxes.

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Background for Minister shifts goal posts

Personal background

According to the Wikipidea, William Samoei Ruto was born in December 21, 1966 in Kamagut, Uasin Gishu).

He is a Kenyan politician who has been Minister for Agriculture since April 2008.

He was Secretary General of the Kenya African National Union, the former ruling political party, and he has been MP for Eldoret North Constituency since the 1997 Kenyan election.

He became Minister of Home Affairs in August 2002 but lost the post after the December 2002 election, in which KANU lost to the NARC coalition.

William Ruto is currently on trial charged with defrauding the Kenya Pipeline Company of huge amounts of money through dubious land deals, but he has been out on bond.

After a violent political crisis over the results, H.E the President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga agreed to form a power-sharing government.

In the grand coalition Cabinet named on April 13, 2008 and sworn in on April 17, Mr. Ruto was appointed as Minister for Agriculture.

Ethnic cleansing controversy

William Ruto was the treasurer of Youth for KANU, an organization seen as responsible for the ethnic violence in Rift Valley during the 1992 and 1997 elections.

A leaked, and most likely forged, Orange Democratic Movement strategy paper for 2007 elections names William Ruto as responsible for leading a campaign for exclusion of the Kikuyus, Akambas and Indians from certain areas.

The strategy paper also contains plans for use of ethnic cleansing as a last resort.

William Ruto has been accused of fuelling the violence following the Kenyan 2007 elections with hate speech.[

Other sources accuse William Ruto of actually leading and financing the genocidal actions in Rift Valley during the 2007 election crisis.

In April 2007, on the floor of the Kenya Parliament, Mr Ruto was accused of financing the activities of Fredrick Chesebe Kapondi, that resulted in the killings and displacement of hundreds of people in the Mt Elgon district of Western Kenya.

He also accused Ruto of inciting people in Mt Elgon district to kill one another.

William Ruto and the other members of Parliament denied this.

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The EU joins in the call for Mugabe’s resignation

The European Union has joined the call for President Robert Mugabe to step down after 28 years ruling Zimbabwe, Reuters reports.

“I think the moment has arrived to put all the pressure for Mugabe to step down,” said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana before a meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels.

“I say today that President Mugabe must go. Zimbabwe has suffered enough, “French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said in a speech. The United States and Britain have made similar calls.

The EU’s call comes hours after Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga termed, Mugabe’s rule a “vile dictatorship” that must be stopped, says Standard newspaper.

Adding that the crisis in Zimbabwe has reached a point where other African States can no longer turn a blind eye.

The actual situation

Basic foodstuffs are running out and a cholera epidemic has killed at least 575 people, infected thousands spreading to South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia, Reuters reports.

Prices are doubling every 24 hours and the 100 million Zimbabwean dollars a day limit for bank withdrawals is only enough to buy three loaves of bread, says Reuters.

In addition, the water system has collapsed, forcing people to drink from contaminated wells and streams.

The health system is incapable of coping with the cholera epidemic. The water system has collapsed, forcing people to drink from contaminated wells and streams, BBC reports.

Various leaders, one call

Mr. Odinga urged the African Union on Sunday to hold an emergency summit to formulate a resolution to send troops into Zimbabwe to deal with the crisis, Standard says.

Botswanan Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel laureate, have also called for Mugabe’s removal says Standard.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said international intervention was needed because of the health emergency, Reuters reports.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement issued by the Elders, a group of prominent figures that includes ex-US President Jimmy Carter and Tutu that there was “bitter disappointment in the current leadership, Standard reports.”

“There is a crying need for change in Zimbabwe,” Britain’s foreign minister, David Miliband, said in Brussels, Reuters reports.

WEB CRITIQUE

http://www.monitor.co.ug

1.    First Impression

•    The design is not appealing.
•    The name of the site, DAILY MONITOR,  is not easily readable, it looks like an advertisement,
•    Too many colours and they contrast greatly.
•    Too many blinking adverts that compete for one’s attention thus very destructive to the reader.
•    Screen leaves one very confused.
•    No harmony on the page as some advertisements flash, others
scroll upwards and some downwards at opposite sides of the screen.
•    It is not 2.0 site because it does not have any form of multi media.
•    No specific colour scheme.
•    The site is not centralized hence; there is too much white space on the right side of the site.
•    Pluses: – It has a centralized, functional navigation system on the left hand side.
-    It has a comments section, which facilitates feedback.
-    Important content is placed at the upper fold
-    A consistent font is used on the site.

2. Writing

•    The writing is not tight.
•    The first paragraph is not highlighted, and the sentences are separated by single spaces.
•    It does not follow the F-Style of writing.
•    The content runs across the whole screen, there are no columns present.
•    The sentences are too long.
•    Very long paragraphs.
•    No hyperlinks.
•    No background stories.
•    The font used is not Verdana.
•    Some stories do not flow.

3.Content

•    Too many advertisements.
•    No pictures or videos on stories.
•    Stories are either very short or very long.
•     Its unique selling point is the large number of comments.

It lacks both video and audio inputs.

4. Navigation

•    Clear navigation
•    Very consistent.
•    No sub navigation bars.
•    Content is organised by topic.
•    Lacks both deep linking and generic linking.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1.    Reduced advertisements.
2.    Harmonization of the colours on the home page/ colour scheme.
3.    Use of multi media.
4.    The writing should follow Jakob Nielson’s rules.
5.    Use of online font, i.e. Verdana
6.    Use of hyperlinks
7.    Use of pictures.

Minister shifts goal posts

Kenya’s Agriculture Minister William Kipchirchir Ruto  has reversed his stand over the ‘Waki report’ on post election violence, says Standard newspaper.

The report summarizes five months of investigations into the post-election violence , which followed the announcement of the disputed 2007 presidential election results. In addition,it bears names of suspected perpetrators of the violence.

“We should implement the Waki report in a way that will enable us to know who organized and financed the killing of our fellow Kenyans.”

He quickly added, “The report should not be taken as the gospel truth but instead, instruments that are credible professional and honest be used to identify the real perpetrators of the post election violence.”

The Waki report was handed to President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Wednesday 15 October, KTN TV depicts.

The Pentagon leader has strongly rejected the report claiming that it was targeted at incriminating him.

Previous stand

The Pentagon leader and his Rift Valley Mp’s had formerly insisted that the report was rushed and failed to establish the root cause of the chaos.

Mr. Ruto is on record saying that Waki failed miserably, shows Standard Newspaper and Citizen TV.

He claimed that Waki compiled rumours, falsehoods, hearsays, innuendo and malice into a report, which he has presented as ‘The Waki report.’

When Kenya’s Prime Minister openly supported the report, Mr. Ruto was very displeased.

On KTN TV, he threatened to withdraw from his party taking away the Rift Valley voters’ block which constitutes of 6,987,036 people as indicated in the 1999 population census, shows Wikipidia.

This threat was however countered by members from the same country in the same news item.

Can There Be Substantial Peace Without Justice?

The Agriculture Minister called for local judges identifying those who planned, financed and organized the death of fellow Kenyans.

Individually, he was accused of leading and financing the genocidal actions in Rift Valley during the 2007 election crisis.

However, he said that if any evidence linking him to organizing or financing the ethnic cleansing is produced he will resign expecting no pardoning, says Standard newspaper.

link http://www.eastandard.net/

link http://www.nation.co.ke/

link http://www.youtube.com

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Mobile phones more dangerous than passengers

Lethal mobile phone usage (source-www.freefoto.com)

A local student has strongly disagreed with US research showing that mobile phone calls distract drivers more than  the chattiest passenger.

“It depends first on the particular passenger in one’s company and secondly some phone calls only last a minute but you have the passenger stuck with you throughout the journey,” Sacha Fortune, 22, said.

“Passengers with a tendency of back seat driving can be very irritating with some practically grabbing the steering wheel hence more destructive than a person on hands free,” she added.

The research, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, also shows that drivers using a hands-free device drifted out of their lanes and missed exits more frequently than drivers talking to a passenger.

A 1st year Business Administration Student could not agree more. “Some passengers talk too much with all this gestures completely distorting one’s driving. Hands free do the job much safer.”

“Passengers are safer to talk to because they are right there with you and can judge when to say what. On the other hand, callers cannot make a wise judgment and can easily break very bad or good news totally distracting the driver,” Phillip Kiplagat Koech, 26.

Experiments using driving simulators

Lee Strayer of the University of Utah and colleagues have found in a series of experiments using driving simulators  that chatting on a cell phone can slow the reaction times of young adult drivers to levels seen among senior citizens.

In addition, the Strayer simulators demonstrated that drivers using mobile telephones are as impaired as drivers who are legally drunk.

A local student however agreed with the research. “Talking to passengers is much safer because they have their eyes on the road too and can hence easily shut up when need be or sometimes even help when they see the driver needs to make a manoeuvre.” Dimple Gohil, 2nd year Graphic and Information Design.

Strayer’s team has videos showing drivers missing exits while on mobile phone headsets and showing that passengers interrupt conversations to help drivers exit correctly at www.psych.utah.edu/~strayer/passenger.wmv.

Click here for background story