Use the Internet to research a health care organization in your community. Respond to the following: What are some internal and external barriers to the health care organization’s mission, vision, and values?
Week 2 Assignment – Internal and External Research Activity
Use the Internet to research a health care organization in your community. Respond to the following: What are some internal and external barriers to the health care organization’s mission, vision, and values?
What are some internal and external barriers to the health care organization’s mission, vision, and values?
Why is it important to understand and be able to articulate these characteristics about an organization you want to work for?
Assignment Instructions
Write a one-page paper (not to exceed 250 words). You will be graded on the following:
Coherence and organization.
Mechanics.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course outcome associated with this assignment is: Design a comprehensive strategic plan that accounts for the internal and external factors that impact an organization.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY USING INTERNET-BASED TOOLS TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT?
The Internet is the largest and most comprehensive storehouse of information and knowledge ever assembled, and represents the largest communication network the world has ever known.
With the click of a mouse, (or a Smartphone), you can update your Facebook status or send a Tweet and reach thousands of people all across the globe. You can also work collaboratively with someone you may never meet in person, read an article on most any subject, or scan the contents of the world’s largest libraries.
You can also get a huge array of false information. It’s important to be aware of the reliability of the source of any information you get online. If you have any question about it, check out the information with other sources before you assume that it’s accurate.
Even reliable sites – the New York Times or major universities, for instance – make mistakes from time to time. The difference is that they generally correct themselves as soon as they find the error, while less reliable sites may intentionally persist in error, or simply may not bother to change their information once it’s posted.
Two websites that provide some guidelines for sorting out good information from bad are “Ten C’s for Evaluating Internet Sources,” from the library of the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire; and “Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources.”
There are different kinds of Internet-based tools you might use, and different purposes you might use them for:
To learn how to do the work. The Community Tool Box is an example, but there are many others that can provide guidance as you plan your work, start a coalition, raise money, gain participation, etc.
To gather information .This obviously includes a broad range of possibilities – not only websites, but also chat and newsgroups, on-line publications, library catalogues, and other on-line resources.
Some of the most common types of information you might be seeking:
Demographics (age, gender, race, ethnicity, income, etc.). The most common source of this data in the U.S. is the Census Bureau, but much may also be found on state, county, municipal, and federal and state government agency and department websites.
The equivalent data for Canada can be found on the website of the Canadian Census, and on provincial and ministry sites.
Laws and regulations. Laws can be found on a number of websites for both the U.S. and Canada. These include U.S. state laws; Uniform Commercial Code, U.S. federal laws, and the General Laws of Canada. Regulations of municipal, county, state, and federal agencies can generally be found on the agency websites (Resources contains a partial listing of federal agencies).
Funders and funding opportunities. A well-defined web search will turn up the names of foundations that are interested in your issue, and their websites will tell you whether you’re a good candidate for funding by them or not.
State and other government agency websites will also give information about what they fund, how much is available, and usually include copies of current Requests for Proposals (RFPs). The websites of state and national coalitions and organizations may also have funding information or opportunities.
Best practices. Many U.S. and Canadian state/provincial and national government agencies (e.g., the U.S. National Institutes of Health) have on their websites lists and descriptions of successful programs and approaches (sometimes actually called “best practices,” sometimes just identified as successes or effective programs.)
Professional organizations, coalitions devoted to your issue, and organizations that run successful programs are all likely to have information on line about best practices.
New methods, ideas, theory, or research in the field. Academic papers and journal articles, chat or newsgroup discussions, and e-zines or electronic versions of newspapers, journals, and other media may all make this kind of information available on the Internet, or at least tell you where you can find print versions.
Web pages containing this information may also include an e-mail address for the author or another expert, so that you can contact her personally to discuss the ideas more fully.
Information to use for education or other program purposes. Biographical data, historical facts, scientific principles or formulas, the text of important historical or government documents (the U.S. Constitution, for example).
To communicate with others. The Internet allows you to communicate with people from all over the world in a short time, through e-mail, Skype, Twitter, instant messaging, etc. Among the reasons you might want to do so are:
To share and discuss information and advice on your work, or on political or social factors affecting it, in newsgroups, chat rooms, forums, etc.
To communicate directly with colleagues, participants, funders, collaborators, and others. You might also use e-mail to ask members or supporters for contributions; to advertise programs or events; to discuss individual cases or situations with others involved; to ask questions of colleagues or experts; or to organize and engage in advocacy.
To use a website to get your message out, advertise your services, and post messages and other important material for participants, members, board members, staff, and others.
To distribute educational or informational material to participants . Many university courses use the Community Tool Box as text, for instance, or send students directly to the Community Tool Box site for course reading.
To conduct business . Non-profit and grass roots organizations, like many individuals, use the Internet to find and contact suppliers; comparison shop; order materials, equipment, and supplies; pay bills; advertise positions; and sell or publicize services and products.
To engage in advocacy . The Internet can be invaluable to an advocacy effort. E-mail, websites, listservs, and discussion groups allow an advocacy group to organize, mobilize members for action, contact policy makers, conduct advocacy research, and educate a constituency, as well as the general public, about an issue.
WHY USE INTERNET-BASED TOOLS TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT?
First, the scope: the Internet is truly international, and knows no borders. Even in places where there is no electricity, there is the possibility of Internet access by satellite and with the use of solar powered computers.
That means that virtually anyone can gain access to the vast store of information and potential in cyberspace, and can communicate with others in faraway places.
Such power can be misused – terrorists take advantage of the Internet all the time, for example – but it can also create previously unimaginable opportunities for economic, social, political, intellectual, and human development.
There are, of course, some limitations here. One is the availability of hardware. Certainly, the poor, especially in developing nations, are unlikely to own computers – a laptop represents considerably more than a year’s income for a family in many countries – but they may have access to them through non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government projects, schools, or other channels. In general, the issue of access is a serious one for a good proportion of the world’s population.
Perhaps an equally severe barrier is that of literacy. Probably a majority of the world’s low-income population (perhaps even a majority of the world’s total population) is either completely or functionally illiterate, and even many who are literate are not fluent in English or one of the other languages common to most Internet sites.
Translation is one answer, but the sweep of available material is so vast – websites number in the billions, and increase daily – that it is difficult to imagine anything short of truly effective translation software addressing the problem.
The literacy issue is even thornier, since much of the planet’s illiterate population has very little opportunity for school, and very little support – governmental or otherwise – for changing their situation.
That said, there still remain billions of people who can benefit directly by use of the Internet, and billions more who can be helped by it as a result.
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