Exploring Public Perception And News Media Connections

Exploring Public Perception And News Media Connections

Abstract

The paper first outlines an activity that was carried out in a local high school to evaluate the efficiency of the telephone call management system. It discusses the strengths and the weaknesses of the system. It also proposes various ways in which the system can be improved. The paper finally features an innovation by the member schools in promoting learning relationships between the students. It equally outlines the strengths as well as the limitations of the innovation.

Exploring Public Perception and News Media Connections

Making unexpected calls may sometimes lead to various responses especially when the recipient is not able to identify the voice of the caller or the number. This is mostly evidenced in the absence of electronic call processing systems. The presence of the machine systems has resolved the issues as the machines are not biased in processing the calls unlike human beings. Call processing also facilitates calling and dispatch processes which are faster, and give more efficient results (Cassidian, 2013).

Discussion

I made the call on 16th November at 10:45 a.m. to a certain local school to inquire about concert and music events. The receiving end had been made to process the calls which were effective and friendly to users as compared to other methods of receiving calls. One feature that was outstanding concerns the time I was kept on hold. This came out different from the earlier experiences I had in regard to making phone calls. Previously I had collected data and concluded that the average waiting time was between 72 – 130 seconds when the recipient was human.

In the call processing machine, I was put on hold for 24 seconds which was an improvement. The automated voice first thanks you for making the call and then identifies itself with regard to the institution while also providing you with basic information about the institution such as its location. I was then ordered to leave a message where I was to receive a call back within a time frame of 30 minutes.

Even though receiving the calls was well cared for, I found a few weaknesses in the system. The automated voice should be adjusted in order to ask for the identity numbers to be able to have detailed information concerning the callers. The system should also avail language options to cater for those who do not understand the English language (Faxswitch, 2011). There should also be a repetition of the recorded voice to ensure that the callers have grabbed the whole information; this can easily be implemented by repetition.

The electronic call processing system met the required standards when making the call. The time to call back took more time than it had been stated. This made the whole framework of call coverage bear a negative picture due to time efficiency. The system was well-equipped with receiving the calls but lacked efficiency in answering them.

In the case of an angry community member who was seeking to forward his complaints, this would have been the wrong avenue. This is because the call back took more time than that stated by the electronic call processing machine. It is thus very clear that the method applied to answer the calls was not effective. The community member would not have found the chance to express the urgency of the matter and thus the system should have a way of filtering and evaluating the most urgent calls and answer them sooner.

Various strategies can be applied in controlling the situation. This includes reducing the time for making a call back. This can be implemented by the attendants dealing with the earlier made calls and finally to the most recent calls. With this regard, there will be a reduction in the time required for waiting a call back (Bagin, 2013, p. 151).

The other strategy entails putting the callers in a mood ready to receive the call. This includes processing voices such as ‘our attendants are working to reach you as soon as possible’. In the initial call that I had made, there was no such a statement and thus I only had to wait for the call without the assurance that I will be receiving it. They can also evaluate the urgency of the calls when responding to them. The most urgent calls should first be answered while the less urgent calls can be answered later. By implementing these strategies, notable improvement and efficiency of the system will be achieved.

Feature Story

In my former school, there was a new innovation that aimed at the overall improvement of learning by devising ways that could make the student access the entire curriculum of the whole school as well as that in the district. The innovation concerned bringing together all the learners on the same platform and making them an online community.

The first step involved the creation of the students’ portals that were to contain all the information about the student. This included age, gender, grade as well as the school where the students belonged. The portals are password-run and thus only the owner of the portal is able to access it. However, if the owner of the portal feels that there is information or questions that he would like to share with his fellow students thus the portal becomes accessible to those interested in sharing and evaluating the information.

The portal remains accessible by all students in the network until the owner of the portal commands do not have sharing and thus the portal now becomes inaccessible. After the portal becomes inaccessible, the shared information remains in the network and thus can be viewed by all other students visiting the network. The network only allows students from the same grade or from higher grades to access the network and not those in lower grades. The student who poses a question on the network allows his or her portal to be accessible. With this regard, it is thus evident that the answers provided will only be available in his portal until he stops sharing the question. When the student stops sharing the question, all answers as provided are only available in his portal and can only be accessed by other learners if he decides to share the answers. It thus remains the student’s responsibility to evaluate and pick the right answer from all those presented. When a student poses a question to the others in the network; even after quitting from the sharing mode the question remains in the network and is viewable by all other students. In a case where a student wishes to have the answers just as the other student, he or she shares the question but indicates a subsequent number so that others will know that he has shared. If the student duplicates the same number when sharing the question then he is allowed to access the answers in the portal of the student who had the number.

The student’s network also allows sharing of various ideas and skills when any of those in the network shares the information. This meets the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, Transitions and the role of Supportive Relationships; which examines the degree to which personal connections affect the attitude towards work and school (MetLife Foundation, 2012). The network shows the student who has presented the idea but at that moment it is not possible to access the student portal. This is possible as the network is designed in a way that allows one to choose the category of information he or she wants to put across. For example, a question, opinion, innovation as well as expressing doubts concerning various concepts.

The network also allows sharing of ideas based on categories. This includes groupings such as humanities, sciences, and advanced mathematics. This makes it easier for the users to present the information on a platform where other users expect it. In the creation of portals, it is worth noting that user’s area of specialization is specified and thus he is mostly able to view and access related information but there are no limitations to all other fields and disciplines.

In the use of the network, the users are restricted from asking any personal questions as well as presenting information that is not within the academic boundaries. The network administrator only gives a single warning to the defaulters and in case of the mistake repeat the portal is terminated where another chance to join is given six months later.

The network has brought many benefits to the users who are high school students. They have been able to share information and skills. A student when asked said, “The network has made me learn many mathematical and scientific concepts as I also interact with other students of my own grade level, unlike the entire internet where information is presented in a very complicated language.” This was the response of many students who had been registered as users of the network. It was also notable from many respondents who said that the network has helped them in diversifying as they are provided with vast information concerning any particular topic or problem.

Interrogations were also done on the challenges that they have been facing in the usage of the network. Most of the users said that they lacked essential equipment such as laptops and computers of their own. They added that they depended on home computers where internet connectivity is sometimes challenging. They however concluded that the network is beneficial to them as students as well as fostering the social life.

Conclusion

Prior to the publishing of my article, I will keep in mind various things concerning it. This includes the motivation I had in writing the article (Macfolio, 2012). I would also be conversant with the source and more information concerning the story in the article. I will also have learnt much about the network prior to meeting the press so that I will not have any difficulties in answering the questions concerning the working of the network. I will equally prepare valid data showing the responses the innovation is getting from different schools and people. My plan for processing the incoming calls will involve attending to the most urgent calls. After receiving the calls I will request the caller to stay on hold, if he agrees it will not be an urgent call. If a caller will insist on being answered, it will be an urgent call, where I will respond accordingly.

References

Bagin, D. G. (2013). School and Community Relations. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033

Cassidian. (2013). CCA – 911 Call Processing. Retrieved from: http://www.cassidian.com/web/guest/cca-911-call-processing

Faxswitch. (2011). Basic Features of Call Processing. Retrieved from: http://www.faxswitch.com/help/atx250/basic_features_of_call_processing.htm

Macfolio. (2012). Tips to Consider before Article Publishing. Retrieved from: http://www.marcofolio.net/tips/16_tips_you_must_check_before_publishing_an_article.html

MetLife Foundation. (2012). MetLife Survey of the American Teacher. Retrieved from: https://www.metlife.com/metlife-foundation/about/survey-american-teacher.html?WT.mc_id=vu1101