Proposition 8 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Proposition 8 - Assignment Example persons along with their addresses and financial contribution towards the campaign has been recorded for the future references through social networking websites. However, the data recorded as public information is inconvenient to access and possesses the risk of privacy breach (California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, 2008). With the emergence of internet, privacy is the most essential concern for users accessing internet. The development of information technology and computer science has both positive and negative effects and on the negative side, it has led to different unethical practices. Hackers and intruders are identified to access confidential information through unauthorized access on the system. In this regard, it can be possible for cyber criminals to access data of the married persons unethically, which may raise problems for donors providing private information such as address and credit card information among others. Thus, it can be asserted that Proposition 8 may raise challenges in terms of breach of privacy rights as well as threats for donors providing private information (Sembok, 2003). It can be evidently asserted that the actions undertaken in the Proposition 8 of providing private information publicly through social networking websites have raised problems relating to inconvenience of accessing information and breach of privacy. Additionally, the actions of providing private information without appropriate privacy measures and security tools may assist intruders and hackers in breaching information of donors efficiently (Perlroth, 2012; Sembok,

How Can Health Care Professionals Effectively Deal Sociologically With Essay

How Can Health Care Professionals Effectively Deal Sociologically With Issues Of Domestic Violence In Pregnancy - Essay Example This essay stresses that surprisingly, and in contrast to previous research on women residing in domestic violence shelters, emotional support was not a significant predictor of mental health when severity of violence was controlled. Practical aid, however, predicted both anxiety and self-esteem. This finding is consistent with the only shelter study that compared emotional and practical supports. This paper makes a conclusion that there are several important intervention implications from this study. First, critical support plays a key role in the mental health of women who have violent partners. Thus, support for women in violent relationships must avoid criticism of their lives and decisions. Clearly, the ability to talk about the abuse in an empathic, non-critical environment is an important key to positive mental health for these women. Because homophily was related to criticism in this study, it may be that advocates, rather than homophilous peer support groups, provide the most effective interventions. In addition, practical aid, rather than emotional support, was related to positive mental health. Thus, concrete assistance with daily life hassles and challenges should be a high priority for agencies serving battered women. Finally, the positive relationship between nonhomophilous supporters and mental health suggests that agencies might assist battered women in locatin g new sources of support in order to develop a social network composed of more women who have not been battered

Supporting teaching and Learning Essay Example for Free

Supporting teaching and Learning Essay Summarise entitlement and provision for early years education 1.1 Local education authorities are funded by the government to ensure that every three and four year old child has access to free part-time education. Fill in the missing words and numbers in the following paragraph below: Every three and four year old child is entitled to early year’s education in an inspected setting which is found to be . The funding is available for hours a week for weeks of the year. Free places are available in a number of settings including: school nurseries, and private day nurseries. Explain the characteristics of the different types of schools in relation to educational stage(s) and school governance. 1.2 Explain the post-16 options for young people and adults 1.3 Patrick has left school at 16 with 5 GCSEs and is unsure about what to do next. He is interested in a career in physical education. What education and training options are available to him? Carry out independent research to see what options Patrick has. Patrick’s options Positive aspects Negative aspects 2.1 Within a school there are different people with various roles, all of which are necessary to ensure the smooth running of the school. Complete the table below to show the responsibilities of the school governors, senior management team, teachers, support staff and the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) Job role Responsibilities School governors Volunteers who ensure the school provides a good quality education. Set the aims and policies of the school. Set the schools budget. Senior management team Teachers Support staff SENCO 2.2 As a teaching assistant you may be expected to work alongside many different educational professionals. Talk to your class teacher or SENCO about the various educational professionals who visit the school and what  they do. These may include speech therapists, child psychologists and other support workers who visit the school. Write an overview of what the educational professionals do in your school. 3.1 Each school will have a mission statement, ethos, aims and values. Describe the following terms: Ethos Mission Aims Values 3.2 Ask your school if you can have a copy of its mission statement. Alternatively, this information is often available on the school website. Think about how the ethos, mission statement, aims and values of a school may be reflected in your working practice while at the school. Fill out the table to show the different methods of communicating a school’s ethos, mission statement, aims and values and evaluate the differing methods. Ensure that you look at the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Methods of communicating Advantages Disadvantages

Occupational Health And Safety Impact in Construction

Occupational Health And Safety Impact in Construction The main aim of the research is to study the impact of occupational health and safety in construction industry. It will also aim at identifying the attitude of construction organisations as well as employees towards occupational health and safety in India. To support the research, survey questionnaire and a telephone interview was conducted. It helped it achieving objectives of the research. The construction industry is a very dangerous industry. The performance of the industry in occupational health and safety is very poor. The standard of occupational health and safety is even worse in developing countries. In Indian construction industry OHS has never been given prime importance. Even though in India construction industry is significantly booming, there are no proper initiatives undertaken by the government to implement OHS rules and regulations. There are several initiatives taken by Government of India but they are still in their initial stages and need to be enforced. The employers are concerned about completion of project rather than focussing on improving OHS of their employees. The industry has larger number of small and medium size firms and very few numbers of larger firms. Smaller firms lack resources to comply with proper OHS procedures. The workers are not provided with proper training and information about occupational health and safety hazards. Lack of awareness on OHS, sub-contracting system, use of traditional methods in construction, lack of proper personal protective equipments, low wages and labour-driven industry are some of the important factors that have their impact on occupational health and safety in Indian construction. CHAPTER I Introduction and background study 1.0 Introduction The construction industry in developing as well as developed countries is one of the most significant industries in relation to the contribution to the GDP (Rantanen et al., 2004). Also it is having a significant impact on the health and safety of the people working in it. According to Haupt as cited in Rowlinson (2004), the construction industry has a poor record in relation to the health and safety of its worker. It is a known fact that workplace accidents are linked basically with unsafe behaviour. There is a positive correlation between safety climate on construction sites and workers safe behaviour. The attitudes of workers on construction sites toward health and safety are widely influenced by their perception towards risk, health and safety rules and procedures; management (Mohamed and Ali, 2005). According to Larcher and Sohail (1999), occupational health and safety is a highly important area of concern in developing countries where Acts related to safety rarely exist with we ak regulatory authorities that finds it difficult to implement it effectively. Also awareness towards occupational hazards is not at all or rarely perceived. The other factors that affect occupational health and safety in developing countries are lack of statutory regulations and legislations to protect workers in construction sector, standards maintained in corporate and government systems are low, inadequate infrastructure and high labour intensity (Mohamed and Ali, 2005). Every year hundreds of accidents take place on construction sites resulting in severe injuries or even deaths. It is matter of concern that the same type of work related deaths, injuries and illnesses occur in the construction industries all over the world. The working life of construction workers is curtailed by several years due to the exposure to occupational health and safety hazards. The process of construction involves many hazardous activities such as working at height, manual handling, exposure to hazardous materials, frame erection, lifting operations, scaffolding, demolition works and groundworks. Falls and manual handlings are the important risks associated with injuries and long term disability in the construction industry (Gillen et al.1997). 1.1 Background study According to study conducted by Holmes et al., (1999), that the occupational health and safety risks are mainly related to the nature of work, low standard of individual work practices, lack of knowledge, work pressure due to cost and time constraints. Rechenthin (2004) stated that, for a construction company to be consistently profitable, all its project must complete on time and within budget. But at the same time due to the nature of the high risk works undertaken by the construction companies results in high accident rates. Eakins (1992) stated that international research confirms that as compared to larger construction firms, smaller firms are poor in the implementation of occupational health and safety programmes. Henceforth, the rate of occupational injury is inversely proportional with the size of the organisation, i.e. smaller firm having higher injury frequency rates (McVitte et al. 1997). As per Lingard and Rowlinson (2005), the construction industry consists of several SMEs and small amount of large firms. These small and medium size firms lack professional occupational health and safety advisors in staff. They also lack knowledge and resources required to implement occupational health and safety management activities for example: training, performing risk assessments, routine inspections and audits. Moreover the expense due to involvement of expensive occupational health and safety advice and services may be considered as unnecessary. Due to high competitive construction industry with cost cutting pressures, the priorities related to occupational health and safety is likely to be low with small size construction firms. According to Rantanen et al., (2004), nearly 2.4 billion people in the developing countries have to bear employment conditions, that dont even meet the basic occupational health and safety standards. Furthermore due to lack of work safety, excessive amount of work pressures, exposure to occupational physical, biological and chemical environment results to occupational diseases and injuries to an extent of 1.2 million fatalities per year. 1.2 Rationale for Research This research studies the attitude of organisations in India, a developing country towards occupational health and safety. As per report of The Economic Times as cited in (Shenoy et al., 2000), size of the Indian construction industry is more than USD 25 billion. Due to large investment made in roads, railways, nuclear and other infrastructure areas, the construction sector of India is witnessing a high growth. After agriculture sector, construction sector is the largest employer in India, with more than 18 million people employed in it. In spite of all these advancement, the construction sector is still dependant largely on labour intensive operations as they are easily available at low cost. Also occupational health and safety of people working in construction are not given due attention by the organisations (Shenoy et al., 2005). According to a report published by Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) India (2010), safety in the construction industry is a matter of conc ern all over the world. With an unorganised workforce, issues related to construction safety become the most vulnerable segment in India. With 18 million people employed in the construction sector within India, the issues related to safety are considerably important. The industry is highly labour intensive with a large amount of workers exposed to the risks of occupational health and workplace safety problems. In construction industry the fatal accidents rate is comparatively four to five times higher than the manufacturing sector. In India 165 per 1,000 workers get injured while working on construction sites. Further the report states that the workers are exposed to several hazardous substances having the potential to cause serious occupational health diseases such as asbestosis, silicosis, poisoning etc. According to International Labour Organisation (2005), the rate of accident among industrial workers is highest with 4 per 1000 and the major contributor for this is the construction industry. International Labour Organisation (2005) report also estimated the number of deaths in India due to accidents at work as 40,000 in 2001 and 2,62,000 dying from work related diseases. Thus if construction is held responsible for one sixth of the total, then the death of the Indian construction workers can be estimated up to 60,000 each year. According to Damodaran (2006) ‘safety in construction is in the bottom of list of priorities of builders, contractors and engineers. While the monetary loss heads the list, loss of man-hours and material progress are equally irreparable when scaffolding fails, a roof collapses or a fatal accident takes place at site of work, the human life is irreplaceable. The construction companies in India have experienced that when a worker loses his life due to an accident on the site, there is a sudden downturn in the morale of the working force. It affects the spirit of working and the progress of work. It is only after some accidents takes place, the company begins to take safeguards. As labour is very cheap and unorganised, having little or no knowledge of their rights, the companies find it convenient as well as profitable using manpower rather than machineries. Though getting a job in the construction industry helps poor labours to get out of poverty, due to presence of high occupati onal health and safety risk it can drive them back into insolvency. 1.3 Research aim and objectives 1.3.1 Aim of the research The aim of this research is to study the impact of occupational health and safety in construction industry, whilst exploring the attitude of organisations and employees toward occupational health and safety in Indian construction industry. 1.3.2 Objectives The above mentioned aim will be achieved with the help of the following objectives: 1. To explore the issues impacting health and safety with the focus on occupational health and safety in the construction industry. 2. To investigate occupational health and safety hazards and its impact in construction industry 3. To investigate the implementation of occupational health and safety in the Indian construction industry whilst; Exploring the attitude of employees and construction organisations toward occupational health and safety in India. Investigating the impact of existing occupational health and safety rules and regulations on the Indian construction industry. 1.4 Research methodology Figure 1.1 Details of research methodology The adopted research methodology will be divided into primary and secondary research. In primary research, questionnaires survey and a telephone will be conducted. This will help in understanding and identifying the perception of the management and the employees toward occupational health and safety in Indian construction industry. In secondary research, literature review will be carried out in order to understand the factors affecting occupational health and safety such organisational culture, climate and government policies. It will also help in identifying different occupational health and safety hazards and its effect on construction projects. 1.4.1 Primary research Primary research such as questionnaires survey and telephone interview will help in achieving the main objectives of the research. Data will be collected from clients, contractors, managers, site engineers and supervisors who play an important role in the construction industry. The data collected through the telephone interview will help in supporting the findings from survey questionnaire. 1.4.2 Secondary research Secondary research will be carried out through literature review. The data will be collected through electronic databases, journals, websites, magazines, books and conference papers. These data will help in identifying the issues and factors influencing occupational health and safety in the construction industry. 1.5 Limitations of the research The most significant limitation to this research is the time constraint. Due to limited availability of time, the research cannot be conducted in depth. Provided more time, it could be possible to visit India and collect more data available on occupational health and safety in the Indian construction industry. As the research is carried out from United Kingdom, the collection of secondary data is limited to the information available on websites. Limited research has been carried out in India related to occupational health and safety in the construction industry. As such, there is less availability of data to support this research. The other constraints can be that some companies may not be reluctant in providing the right information. During telephone interview there may be possibilities that the interviewee give diplomatic or misleading answers. Also the size of the company can influence the answers of the interviewee. Also the answers provided by the respondents may be influenced by the size and location of the company. 1.6 Structure of dissertation The dissertation will be divided into various chapters. Chapter 2, 3 and 4 will be part of literature review. An overview of the chapters included in this research thesis is as shown below. Chapter 1 – Background study and rationale for research This chapter will provide an overall of overview of the research. It will consist of background study, aim and objectives and also the rationale for the research. It will also give an overview of the research methodology to be conducted in order achieve the desired aim and objectives. Chapter 2 – Factors affecting health and safety on construction sites This chapter narrates the factors influencing health and safety on construction such as sub-contracting systems, organisations structure, size, location, personnel and incentive factors. Chapter 3 – Introduction to OHS and detail description of OHS hazards This chapter will provide detail description of occupational health and safety including safety culture, human behaviours and different OHS hazards. Chapter 4 – OHS in the Indian construction industry This chapter will investigate the current scenario of OHS in the Indian construction industry. It will also explore the government rules and regulations related to OHS and their influence on the construction industry. Chapter 5 – Research methodology This chapter will provide a brief outline of the different research methods available and the adopted research methodology. Chapter 6 – Analysis and interpretation of the survey This chapter will include analysis of data collected through questionnaires survey and the telephone interview with help of charts, figures and tables. Chapter 7 – Conclusion and recommendations This chapter will include the summary of the research findings as well as recommendations related to the research.

Working Across Boundaries: Advantages and Disadvantages

Working Across Boundaries: Advantages and Disadvantages This paper examines the perspective of working across boundaries from the lens of Hunan Resource Management. The paper is split into four main parts. The Introduction which provides the background to working across boundaries as it applies in HRM today. A definition section that examines the different aspects of working across boundaries i.e. social, physical, knowledge and mental. Further examination of some theoretical perspectives including the work of Heracleous. The reason that modern organisations need to work across boundaries together with consideration of strategy and leveraging capabilities. A section that looks at the advantages and disadvantages of working across boundaries with a focus on the public sector including healthcare organisations and local authorities. The conclusions summarise the key points. DEFINING WORKING ACROSS BOUNDARIES During the last decade, the concept of working across boundaries has become a popular concept. The basic premise is that individuals and organisation need to traverse boundaries if they are to achieve their goals. Essentially earlier concepts of fixed organisational demarcation lines no longer apply in modern day business concepts. Within the organisational framework the concept of boundaries can become a reasonably complex issue. There still remains an active debate as to whether the definitions of boundaries are realistic, objective or imagined. The concept has become more complex with the use of outsourcing and Public/Private partnerships in terms of lines of demarcation and authority. (Bishop, 2003) The concept of boundaries within organisations takes on different shapes and forms. Much of this has to do with social and knowledge boundaries. The explosion in technological and communication advances has simplified the concept of working across boundaries. Despite the fact that organizations still are challenged to collaborate and share information, nevertheless individuals seem much more liberated in this regard with advancement in social media. Russ Linden is one author who has investigated this, with particular focus on Public sector organisations. (Linden, 2003). The old fashioned concept of organizational design was the creation of silos or departments where functions, roles and responsibilities would be clearly defined within the context of a hierarchical matrix. For example Sales, Finance, Production would each be self-contained units within the organisation and clearly defined lines of demarcation within the business. The Heads of these Departments would be Senior Managers and expected to collaborate with one another but not trespass into the other domains. The holistic business strategy relied upon each unit to fulfil its role within the overall strategic plan. As organisations involved in size and complexity this model posed serious shortcomings and new thought processes were required. This required improved leadership thinking and more collaboration across boundaries. (Stevens, 2006). Working across boundaries remains an important part of Public Sector relationships and impose significant challenges to business operations but they create distinctive value sets and improved goals in the business relationships (Sullivan, 2007) Concepts of working across boundaries In management terms boundaries are often classified as lines of demarcation that often impose constraints. Those items that determine managerial effectiveness. For example: how a business works within the confines of a specific environment; the concept of specific leadership styles and the influence on organizational behaviour. It was Heracleous  [1]  who pointed out in 2004 that both organisations and the environments they function in are inter-related. They create structures and social orders that assist in the definition of the business and its purpose. (Heracleous, 2008) Understanding social boundaries This essentially relates to the relationships that are formed between groups of individuals within an organization. Heracleous maintained that boundaries have remained central to the thinking of social scientists in the establishment of social boundaries between groups and individuals. Particular reference made to that of transactions costs and how modern technology like sophisticated communications and the internet have had a profound impact here. It has directed whether the boundaries have either diminished or enlarged and the effect on production costs has influenced important decisions like that of outsourcing or internalisation of specific tasks. (Heracleous, 2004). Understanding social change can be studied by the adoption of Lewins Forecefield Analysis. There are numerous models that you can adopt to examine the impact of Change to the Organization. One common method approach is that of Lewins Forecefield Analysis. Fig 1 provides an example of the model. Figure Force field Analysis exampleThis enables you to examine both the driving and restraining forces that emerge as a result of the proposed changes. The model is particularly good for identifying forces that are considered to be polarized i.e. a change in one condition creates an equal and opposite effect in the other. The model was designed by Lewin to assist the Process Analyst to guide people through the unfreeze, move and refreeze stages of business process analysis. It is also an excellent means of demonstrating the dynamics that are in play. So by completion of the Force field Model you have acquired the data in order to complete Lewins Three Step Model. In the Unfreeze you examine the status quo and those driving forces for change. You can decrease the resisting forces against change. The move element involves taking actions and moving people. The freeze means make the changes permanent and establish new ways of doing things. Introduce concept of rewards for achieving the d esired outcomes. Understanding knowledge boundaries The sharing of knowledge has both an internal and external boundary. For example in the internal model it is desirous for information to be shared between the Sales and Marketing departments. This empowers both department to do a better job. Externally, there is the sharing and collaboration of knowledge and information between allies. For example a UK based company and its overseas subsidiary. In order for an organization to be successful it must manage its four pillars of knowledge. These being Leadership, Organization, Technology and Learning. Information Technology (Pillar 3) has achieved an amazing impact in the promotion and dissemination of knowledge in the business environment. Unfortunately Technology has had a greater influence on guiding the strategic planning of organizations, as opposed to the other way round. One example being that of Enterprise Planning Systems like SAP and J.D. Edwards One World system. Organizations have re-engineered their knowledge base and business processes in order to meet the integrated demands of the software application. (Bixler, 2002) Knowledge Managers need to understand that despite the many advantages Information Technology (IT) has to offer the workplace it is not a magic utopian panacea. Equally any Information Technology application that undervalues Knowledge Management will equally fail in the business place. (Mohammed). If Knowledge Management is to be considered effective with IT in business it must be treated as its equal partner. Knowledge Managers have criticised IT as being lacking in areas like tacit knowledge. Hence there is a need to incorporate items of behavioural consideration and cognitive function. (Bixler, 2002) There is an increasing demand and challenge being placed upon the CIOs of business organizations and as such Managers need to become more vocal about their expectations and use the four pillars as a framework in order to further improve the integration of knowledge in the organization. Understanding physical boundaries The concepts of boundaries are important because it is these that represent challenges which organisations must overcome. Although organisations are essentially construed as open systems and these providing a continued interface with their environment. Many academics still believe that it is management that defines the physical boundaries and how you differentiate between internal and external items. (Schnieder, 1987). In reality it is difficult for management to define these boundaries as organisations have multiple stakeholders; such only by the integration of the combined needs can you truly obtain an understanding of the organisational identity. AS such those members of the organisation are of a precarious nature and there are many different ways in which they may be depicted as being inside or outside of the organisational composition. (Lane, 2000). Understanding Mental boundaries Mental boundaries essentially relate to individual perception of what is considered to be internal or external to the organisation. This being what is considered to be acceptable and that which goes beyond this to the realm of external control. It is this form of cognitive schema that helps individuals to create and understand the different social boundaries within an organisation. These differentiations often create perceptions of attitudes related to us and them and the formation of symbolic boundaries that enable distinctions to be drawn. (Heracleous, 2004). The need to work across boundaries Essentially the need to work across boundaries relates to that of collaboration with other entities in order to help the development and growth of the organisation. This may range from that of strategic business alliances, creation of partnership arrangements, developing business networks and other forms of collaboration and communication in order to benefit the business. Further, the concept of business transformation and organisational change can promote the need to work across boundaries. Hence regardless of the barriers created, being real or imaginary, we are almost compelled to work across them. Advantages and Disadvantages of working across boundaries Advantages of working across boundaries There are numerous advantages to working across boundaries, particularly within the Public Sector environment. Briefly, these may be enumerated as follows: Increase in working collaboration Integration of partnerships with the Private Sector Reduction of costs and process improvements Expanding networks and building knowledge Response to complex public policies Leveraging strategy and operational capabilities Aligning organisations and cultures Improvement of leadership capabilities balancing risk and reward (Blackman, 2010). Increase in working collaboration Historically the concept of collaborative working was rarely recognised as having any strategic importance. Silos were created in both Public and Private sector organisations and many of these departments functioned self-autonomously. In modern day context this has all changed and it is recognised that collaborative working both inter and intra the organization has significant benefits. In particular the organisation is better equipped for: Dealing with business transformation and change Ability to provide better service levels and customer support Optimization of resources and cost reduction strategies Ability to innovate and create by improved knowledge acquisition Easier to transition to new change requirements Increased flexibility and ability to share successes and failures The concept of collaboration is an enabling function that allows you to bring people together with different views and opinions. This concept of diversity enriches the decision making process and improve the dynamics in business working relationships. This has been successfully introduced in the Health Sector in Wales. Here different local authorities were required to formulate med-long term strategic plans. Direct collaboration between the authorities enabled the sharing of knowledge and ideas which facilitated rationalization and a more improved overarching holistic result. (Sullivan, 2007). Another example of collaboration is the ability to bring key stakeholders together in a collaborative environment. This has been effective in both local and central government projects. Bringing the stakeholders together creates greater synergy and improved policy implementation with the organisational setting. Collaboration has extended into areas of joint policy making, as opposed to just sharing information. Geoff Delamare from Surrey County Council states there are some distinct learning points from collaborative working i.e. Creating the level of trust between partners, ensuring transparency in communications and sharing knowledge; admitting mistakes, creating a collaborative environment and not imposing a ruling regime. (McCann, 2012). Integration of partnerships with the private sector Partnership approaches have increased in popularity over the last decade. In the public sector they have obtained wide political support. This has been seen as a means of making process improvements whilst optimizing cost expenditures in order to provide improved value for money. The UK Audit Commission is an example of where they have crossed boundaries to embrace working relationships with counterparts in the European Union (EU). This has been effective in collaboration to help improve inter-governmental policy implementation. (McQuaid, 2000). Reduction of costs and process improvements In these difficult financial times both Central Government public sector bodies and local authorities have been faced with managing tight budgetary programmes and reducing costs. The latter meaning resource and cost optimization in order to show the best returns on investment for monies expended. This has focused attention on streamlining processes in order to create improved efficiencies and eliminate redundancies. In addition, concepts of outsourcing to reduce resource costs and capital expenditure. Local Authorities in the UK have been very active in this area. Barnet Council is implementing an outsourcing plan in order to save  £120m . Others like Cornwall Council have been examining strategic partnerships to outsource both front and back office functions. IT departments remain particularly vulnerable because they are capital intensive and expensive to both operate and maintain. (Terry, 2013). Expanding networks and building knowledge In order for an organization to be successful it must manage its four pillars of knowledge. These being Leadership, Organization, Technology and Learning. Information Technology (Pillar 3) has achieved an amazing impact in the promotion and dissemination of knowledge in the business environment. Unfortunately Technology has had a greater influence on guiding the strategic planning of organizations, as opposed to the other way round. One example being that of Enterprise Planning Systems like SAP and J.D. Edwards One World system. Organizations have re-engineered their knowledge base and business processes in order to meet the integrated demands of the software application. Knowledge Managers need to understand that despite the many advantages Information Technology (IT) has to offer the workplace it is not a magic utopian panacea. Equally any Information Technology application that undervalues Knowledge Management will equally fail in the business place. If Knowledge Management is to be considered effective with IT in business it must be treated as its equal partner. Disadvantages of working across boundaries The main disadvantages of working across boundaries are enumerated as follows: Complexity and Commonality People, Culture and Leadership Power and Politics Performance Accountability and Budgets Complexity and commonality The success to working across boundaries is where sufficient empathy exists to recognise shared goals and values in order to predicate a desired outcome. Where there is a lack of sufficient commonality this can be a serious barrier towards attaining a successful outcome. The importance of shared or common goals is therefore of paramount importance in any collaborative venture. Trying to force collaboration in the wrong environmental setting will most likely incur resistance and ultimately force of costs and resource effort providing little return on investment. One particular example in the Public sector relates to the large failure of IT projects that have often lacked sufficient commonality. In 2003 in the UK a poll stated that only one third of all IT projects were successful. Nearly 70% of all projects being severely challenged or failing in their entirety. (Post Report 200, 2003). People culture and leadership The people issue is extremely important when working across boundaries as it requires a structured but flexible work group that are able to collaborate over both hard and soft structure. In the public sector the staff need to develop cross-boundary skills in order to facilitate inter agency co-operation. These however can be highly influenced by both policy and political agenda. It has been argued that within the public sector the influence of Human Resource Management (HRM) groups have created significant barriers to cross-party working relationships. Lack of good leadership skills in the public sector provided the inability for many senior leaders to work across boundaries and manage complex business transformation programmes. This prevented optimum leveraging of resources between different organisations. Good leaders are important enablers as they are important for leveraging resources, motivating people and ensuring that the work gets done. As such poor leadership constitutes a serious barrier in order to enable working across boundaries. This results in what has often been referred to as silo management style, the inability to progress beyond your own defined domain. Power and Politics The concept of working across boundaries may have a serious influence on the reshaping of power and politics within an organisation. This can be particularly potent where an area is perceived to be under threat. In this sense both politics and power are intertwined and political endorsements have the ability to create tremendous barriers. Ministers set the signals for civil servants to work across boundaries but this is often towards the attainment of specific political agendas. These can be very fickle and subject to change, hence the civil service has to be articulate in how this is both managed and interpreted. Performance in accountability and budgets Improved performance targets have been very popular in recent years. This has meant working across boundaries to optimise business processes and resource effort. Failure in the reconfiguration of performance systems can create significant barriers and a great deal of disruption in provision of remedial action. Budget attainment has equally been criticised in terms of holding Managers responsible for achieving budget figures, despite the fact that cross border relationships have provided them with only limited control and influence over the finances. (Parton, 1998). CONCLUSION The concept of working across boundaries is not a new concept but one that has been with us for many decades. Technology has created more enablers in terms of making this more operationally efficient and the ability to share information and knowledge. The reality of globalisation, struggling financial markets, the need for cost cutting and austerity measures have increased the need for more collaborative working. The use of sharing information in a collaborative environment often results in better outcomes and an improved managed risk portfolio. Leadership skills have become of paramount importance and in particular the skills required to motivate and influence others in a collaborative teamwork environment. Local authorities have been particularly successful in working with private sector relationships in order to enhance service provision, increased efficiencies and implementation of cost reduction programmes.

Essay --

Lower leg pain has been a mystery, with it being named by several different terms. Shin pain that most athletes refer to as shin splints is now being termed Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome or MTSS. Some atheltes under estimate the severity of shin splints by simply having a lack of knowledge. â€Å"In 1974, Clement was among the fist to postulate that â€Å"tibial stress syndrome† was caused by a periostitis that could progress to tibial stress fracture† (Craig, 17). Inflammation of the periosteum and also the tibialis posterior lead to MTSS and ultimately a stress fracture. In order to further research about the cause of MTSS, tissue biopsy was performed on 62 patients in a study by Johnell. According to Craig, 2008, Johnell found that there was an increased tissue metabolic activity, like osteoblast proliferation. Osteoblasts are bone cells that attempt to grow new and repair damaged bone. Osteoblast are present often with inflammation, which is a bodies response to in jury. Through this study, Johnell found that 2/3 of his patients had bone damage, which explains why osteoblasts were proliferating. In a later study by Michael and Holdner they suggested that instead of the tibialis posterior, the soleus was a major cause of MTSS. â€Å"They found that 1/3 of the MTSS patients had soleus fascia inflammation and 1/3 had bony inflammation just underneath the fascial attachment into the bone† (Craig, 17). Inflammation ultimately causes pain. This explains why the soleus is a contributor to MTSS. Athletes who participate in sports like Track and Field where they are in repeated plantar flexion put a lot of pressure on the gastrocnemius and soleus. The gastrocnemius and soleus are consistantly being contracted with every stride and take off for a ... ...8). With out an arch, the soleus is being stretched for long periods of time that causes it to become fatigued and strained which can put pressure on the tibia. It can not be concluded that excessive pronation causes MTSS, but is rather a risk factor. By taping an individuals arch, the amount of pronation can be decreased as well as the amount of pain experienced. Craig also suggests pool work outs once a week to allow for bone healing. I think this is a great idea, and more coaches should implement a pool work out into their weekly routine. Swimming still allows atheltes to have a cardiovascualr work out while giving their tibia's a break. Some atheltes have an extremely high pain tolerance and will continue to practice and perform, with or without treatment. Though with preventative measures like taping and rehab, the treatment of MTSS can hopefully be achieved.

Friendship Essay: Where Would I be Without Friends? -- Friendship Essay

My personal definition of friendship is it is the people you surround yourself with, have an amazing time with and laugh with. There are several qualities that go into a good friendship. There are often times when friends drift as well. My Friendships have played an extremely important role in my life. I do not know where I would be without my friendships. Friends to me are the people you know and enjoy being around and talking to. There are the best friends that are usually closer than the others and you are always with. What I find most important is being able to laugh at anything with them and share common interests in humor. There has been much crazy, fun, maybe embarrassing memories that I have had with my friends. The best is when you can be doing absolutely nothing and just be abl...