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When a man is so bad he doesn't deserve a pig's heart

(Gabriel Moreno) - In words of The Washington Post writers , David Bennett became 'a medical pioneer' after the heart of a genetically modified pig was used to replace his failing heart. But the significance of this medical breakthrough in which he had been involved was eclipsed by the fact he 'had been convicted in 1988' after stabbing a man seven times. Attention grabbing as Johnson and Wan's article is, the so called 'ethics of a second chance' angle it deploys belongs within a category of public discourse that has taxed the ability of societies to deal with the organ shortage crisis  all over the world. For several decades, medical and social scientists have known that news media are one of the most effective forms of public education interventions to reduce the shortage of organs for patients who need a transplant for a shot at carrying on with their lives.  As put by Rafael Matesanz , architect of Spain's renowned national system of transplantation...
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Rethinking Blood Donation: The Economics, Messaging, and Challenges

Blood transfusion is a critical medical procedure, yet the approach to securing a safe and sufficient blood supply involves complex economic, communicative, and logistical challenges which are difficult to understand when the messaging around it is haunted by catastrophic precedent such as the one that destroyed the lives of thousands in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s.  Reflecting on these aspects reveals the importance of treating blood as a public good , rather than a commodity, central to preventing future crises like the one the news media will abundantly be reflecting when findings from the Infected Blood Inquiry are finally published. The Power of Messaging in Blood Donation Campaigns Effective communication in blood donation campaigns is crucial to ensuring a stable blood supply. Research indicates that the nature of these messages significantly influences public perception and willingness to donate.  Traditional slogans like "Save Lives" are common, but recent studies ...
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When multimodal speech speaks a thousand images and words

In today's communication landscape, multimodal speech, based on text, emojis, links, pictures and more arguably augments the nature of our messages  As part of a literature review I've been working on the use of speech acts on social media, I came across the distinction that authors of a study make between "Speech and Image Acts" in branding messages on social media.  Having for sometime settled for the idea that speech acts are multimodal in today's hybrid polymedia system, I wander whether the need to distinguish between speech and image acts is necessary.  Multimodal speaks a thousand images and words: replacing the old adage (Created with ChatGPT) The way we communicate online defies simple categorization. A single social media post can be a demand, a plea, an informative statement, and a source of visual delight – all at once.  Does it make sense, then, to stick with the traditional distinction between "speech acts" (focused on words) and "imag...
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