Examining Models

VIDEO REPORT

UNICEF, Innovations for Child Health in Uganda

UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) creates videos and publishes photos as part of its ongoing effort to raise awareness about children’s issues worldwide and provide humanitarian assistance. This video, produced in 2013, focuses on modest technological innovations, such as text messaging, that are improving healthcare and saving the lives of children in Uganda.

Reading the Genre

Question

1. Consider how the genre and content work together in this piece. Is this video format more appropriate for a report than a traditional newspaper article? What does the video offer that a written report cannot?

One possible answer might be: The video allows viewers to see the children helped by the healthcare innovations discussed, and to hear and see those involved in the efforts to improve healthcare. It is a more viewer-friendly format than a newspaper article in that it might draw in those who might not read an in-depth article on the same subject, but who are intrigued by what the video has to say.

Question

2. This report is about Uganda, a country with unique healthcare, communication, and transportation challenges. How do the directors make this report compelling to an audience outside this area? Could they do a better job appealing to audiences who have never experienced a shortage of medical care?

One possible answer might be: The directors use footage of Ugandans directly affected by healthcare access problems and of those involved in medical work in Uganda to show the progress being made. They draw subtle parallels to standards of Western medical care to make clear the challenges that are being addressed.

Question

3. Make a list of the key speakers in the video, and next to your list, write down each speaker’s role and stake in the issue of Ugandan children’s health. What perspectives, if any, would you say are missing from the video? What other voices or sources of information would be suitable for a video report?

One possible answer might be: The perspectives of the patients themselves are largely missing from the video, and hearing from a mother or child directly affected by the changes being made would be appropriate for a video report.

Question

4. WRITING: Watch the Innovations for Child Health in Uganda video with pen and paper in hand, and record key quotes from the speakers featured. If you need to, pause and restart the video as you go. Then develop your own short report using these key quotes as evidence, yet relating these points to healthcare-related innovations in another part of the world. (Consider how a successful innovation in, for instance, Haiti may or may not work as well in Uganda.) This will require you to pair the research you pull from the video with your own secondary research.

One possible answer might be: (Answers will vary widely depending on quotes and sources chosen.)

Question

5. BROCHURE: After viewing the Innovations for Child Health in Uganda video, create an informational brochure about one of the technological innovations described in the video. Design the brochure utilizing images, fonts, and a layout that presents the technology creatively. (You might use the dropbox feature in LaunchPad to submit your brochure to your instructor.)

One possible answer might be: (Answers will vary widely depending on points chosen.)
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