Storing files in a proprietary format like Word .DOC, Excel .XLS or PowerPoint .PPT places the Government in a position of perpetual dependence on private enterprise. We require a certain office suite that is available from only one company to access our own data — the peoples' data. Why?
Having lived and worked in the United States for some time, I consider myself fortunate to have experienced health care from both a public and a "private" delivery system.
I consider editing (and administrating) GCPEDIA a part of my job, and I always have. If you read the wording of your job description, there's probably some significant wiggle room for creative interpretation, provided that your primary product or goal continues to be produced or achieved on time.
When you think of government, what images does it evoke? Imagery of power, bureaucracy, hierarchy, insularity and disconnect? I can't say that these spectres didn't leave me feeling unsettled. As a social worker, I possessed a sense of identity, duty and integrity that I didn't want to risk compromising to any degree.
What I experienced, from orientation sessions and interactions with new colleagues, was the subtle and constant reminder that I was a public servant now. As a government employee, my life was at greater risk of coming under the microscope...
As a father, I wasn't entitled to any Maternity Benefit — my wife could take that — but the 32 weeks of Parental Leave... 8 months away from work... well, maybe I could take that... provided I could get past the psychological hurdles, of course. What kind of man takes 8 months off of work at the beginning of his public service career? I'd never been in any financial position to entertain such a question before...
It's tempting to think that the differences in younger people are tied to flawed character, unrealistic expectations, ambivalence about traditional values, disconnection from organized religion, lingering preoccupation with comics and video games... A conscious choice to ignore the lessons of the older generation. General failure to grow up....
I'd been learning about feminist theory for 16 years by the time I enrolled in that course. I anticipated that—as had occurred in the past—I'd be in the gender minority, that my opinions would be subject to greater scrutiny and criticism, but that I'd walk away enriched from the experience. I was; they were; I did. But what I didn't anticipate is how much of a shit-disturber I'd be perceived to be...
It seem we're regularly being served additional reminders about the way we sometimes use social messaging to our detriment, and with increasing frequency, how it is sometimes being used against us.
"I've been blogging for a couple of years now, but have ended up abandoning -- then deleting -- every blog I've ever started."In fact, I've neglected to delete Canadian Privacy Roundup — a "blog" which I've been alternately maintaining and ignoring since February 2008 — since sometime early last year. I was only reminded of this oversight earlier this morning when I logged into my blog account, noticed that CPR hadn't been deleted, and I decided to update it instead.
Arguments Against Universality
Recently, I received a Wave invitation from a twitter colleague (thanks Steve! -- and before you inundate him with requests, realize that he's probably exhausted his supply).
I apologize if you're reading this; I'd hoped that the title would dissuade you.
Posted in: humour
The Industry of Illness
Spending More, Getting Less — The Public System
As I write this, the US Senate is debating a major overhaul to the American health care system — one that the US House of Representatives has already passed (albeit by a close margin). While it's not firm enough to call it history in the making, it's certainly closer to becoming reality than anyone expected, and something I never thought I would witness in my lifetime.
Since beginning my position as a privacy analyst a couple of years ago, I have gained increasing appreciation for the difficulty involved in protecting personal information in documents while still granting necessary access to sensitive material for legitimate use. Even when the information changes hands within a small and protected group, as it does with policy analysis, research and evaluation activities, privacy management is an involved process. But how feasible is privacy protection on a global scale in the age of the Internet? Posted in: privacy
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10:22 AM
Todd Lyons
