Critically evaluate the value and risks of informal social networks Essay

Critically evaluate the value and risks of informal social networks (communities of practice, cross-community, boundary-spanning - Essay Example Work-based communities of practice include associations based on a profession, and can also include worker guilds that are based on expertise on specific crafts, and even teams of software people working on the same sets of technologies and platforms. The value of such communities of practice cum informal social networks have come into the fore and have gained considerable recognition among all kinds of organizations (Lesser and Stork, 2001, pp. 831-833; Wenger, 2000). Disciplines focused on learning processes and the generation of new knowledge have likewise come to focus its attention on the role of communities of practice and the role that they play in those processes, in a large array of work and social contexts. Creative work, innovation, and high-value work outputs have likewise been linked in studies and discussions on communities of practice (Amin and Roberts, 2008, pp. 353-355). ... le communication technologies and information technologies have facilitated this kind of cross-boundary social networking and collaboration, it is sometimes fraught with problems, as when differing groups jostle for power and politicize the process. These identified problems of groups fighting for control over the process of knowledge creation and innovation point to possible risks associated with the use of such informal social networks. The knowledge innovation processes can fail when different communities of practice fail to cooperate and trust each other, for instance (Hayes and Walsham, pp. 2-5). Meanwhile, because of the very substantial benefits from knowledge creation and innovation that are to be had from communities of practice, many are incentivized to look for ways to harness those benefits from various communities of practice that firms are exposed to. Including from contractor groups and other valuable third parties (Kaiser, n.d.) Meanwhile, the centrality of the concep t of communities of practice to understanding knowledge generation and knowledge innovation processes is underscored by literature that attempts to refine definitions of key concepts tied to communities of practice, while trying to situate communities of practice within several contexts. Among these contexts is the personal context. This is the context or view from the inside looking out. This is the perspective of the individual learner and knowledge generator within the community. Also among these contexts or views is from the outside looking in. These are views that situate communities of practice within broader social and cultural contexts (Handley et al., 2006, pp. 641-645). Taking a step back, the value of communities of practice in innovations based on IT, and in knowledge innovation

Community Corrections and Re-entry Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Community Corrections and Re-entry - Article Example The article identifies the two crucial labels of community corrections as parole and probation.  As one reads through the article, he,  or she gets to know that parole originated in Europe while probation originated in America in the mid-19th century.  However, these community-based sanctions became assimilated in the U.S. criminal justice system, in the  early  20th century, thanks to the medical model in correctional discourse. Despite all the criticisms, parole and  probation  became rooted in the  country’s correctional system, and by the end of the 20th century, their  growth  was  immeasurable. The failure of the rehabilitation  concept  did not go unnoticed because it  was followed  by the introduction of the new  penal  policy. This  penal  policy contributed to  low  performance  of community corrections  thus, an increase in prison capacity ant the need to reinvent community corrections. Finally, the authors of the articl e took a look at the future of community corrections and the prison  influence  with regards to serving all aspects of community needs and their relationship with  prison  institutions. Questions 1. What is the relationship between prisons and community corrections and how does this relationship influence community corrections? 2. ... However, no  recognizable  attempts  are being made  to reduce prison populations; or rather decarceration is still virgin territory. This article focuses on ways in which prison population in California can be reduced. As such, it concentrates on research on the causes of increased imprisonment during the last 30 years, and recent discussions of and efforts to reduce  imprisonment  in other states. There was a time when California’s prison population reduced. This was in the last two years of  governor  Reagan’s first  term, and the first two years of his second term(1968-1972). During this time, the rate of  imprisonment  in the rest the U.S. increased while that of California dropped. The authors of the  article  came up with  contemporary  explanations of the  imprisonment  reduction which included; the Reagan factor, and  multiple  factors (probation subsidies and changes in parole procedures). To explain the causes of the Reag an-Era Reduction in Imprisonment, they insisted on a drop in crime rates, a  reduction  in arrests, sending offenders to jail and not  prison, fewer admissions to prison, more releases from prison, and fewer parole suspensions. With the increasing population in prisons, the authors delve on the possibility that California can reduce its prison population  again. They  come  up with some of the reasons that make it  hard  for decarceration and they include; impediments to reform, the disappearing public  purse, the reduction in state-level authority, the perils of high visibility, the vanishing  influence  of governmental expertise and the growing influence of direct democracy, and the belief in the efficacy of imprisonment. The article also mentions