Everyday I experience new things. Here I record my experiences with technology, quality control, policies, management as well as topics such as game theory and geological sediments.
This is an image from Popular Science Magazine (www.popsci.com) that was documented on March 1999. It is interesting to me because that was the time when the thought was to connect everything and this image depicts that we have always imagined building bridges and connecting people, places and ideas.
“The Future Site: LA to Tokyo Bridge” tells me that “We live in interesting times”.
Note: LA to Tokyo is 9,251 miles.
In my early childhood years, there were some moments when I did not listen to my parents and did not like their decisions. Then I came to US and started to live without my parents for my Masters. That was when I missed my parents the most. My respect for them increased and I then realized “Parents are always correct”.
I am a very big fan of the quote(s) from the movie Godfather
- A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.
- Fredo, you’re my older brother, and I love you. But don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family again. Ever.
- Never tell anybody outside the family what you’re thinking again.
With my 28 years of binding with my family, I have inherited the following guidelines while learning from my family:
Some quotes which I respect
* Areas marked are those which I still need to implement more in my existing life.
These days when I look at my parents and my family, I realize that time does not wait for any one. I choose to spend as much time possible with them. By observing the “Family Guidelines”, I believe to have made a balanced decision in embracing values which I’ll be able to pass to the generations to come.
The year 2008 has been extremely productive for me. I started focusing more on Personal & Social Development. My parents while visiting us gave me a great advice: They said that we are currently at a very young age. Our times spent at work are well recognized. However to become better than the rest, we must continue to learn and excel. It’s easy to learn at work but learning something more other than work is the real gift.
My activities & learning efforts in 2008 included:
My Resolution for 2009:
Each year I try to document my resolutions. There are a few which I never get a chance to meet. However there are a few which I complete and am proud of.
Like everyday in my life, I learn from observation; Again in 2010, I choose to learn all the good things from life and share it with others through means of education and knowledge sharing by use of collaboration tools like this blog.
Today (Dec 20, 2009) ends my week long vacation visit to Myrtle Beach, SC. Don’t get me wrong that people aren’t nice in other places. It’s just that I felt the hospitality and the warm welcome we (me and Avni) received was worth mentioning.
Every year I choose to visit a new place to spend my holidays with my family. This year, I had an opportunity to visit two places: Las Vegas, NV & Myrtle Beach, SC.
Being in Boston there is always a need to visit warm places during Winter times. Hence we choose Myrtle Beach, SC. The average weather temperature there during the month of December is 62 degrees Fahrenheit while in Boston the average temperature during December is 26 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are three things I like to do the most in my vacation:
There were many instances which touched my heart while at Myrtle Beach; however there was one instance particularly worth mentioning:
Taxi Fare:
While departing from our vacation resort (Sheraton Broadview), we were required to hire a cab/taxi to be dropped off to the Airport. Usually it takes about 20 bucks including tip for a one way ride from the hotel room to the Airport. The resort being large, the ride to main road (out side the resort) is around a minute to a minute and a half. This cab driver today was kind enough to start the fare (meter) only after we were outside the resort. When prompted to start the charges early, he mentioned that he has does not like to charge his clients with such mundane charges.
We visited many places including :
1. Beaches at Myrtle Beach
2. Charleston - The Historic Tour
3. Shopping: Broadway at the Beach; Market Commons
4. Entertainment Shows: Alabama Theatre, Carolina Opry
5. Ripleys Aquarium (Christmas Trees from all 50 states)
6. Resorts: Sheraton Broadview; Holiday Inn Vacation Club
Theory of Relativity while traveling:
Every time we are eager to visit a vacation spot and just want to get out of our homes and work places and we build up the energy and excitement for such adventures. However, during our return (mainly during a long flight journey) one is always wanting to “Reach Home” the earliest. I believe this is what is known as the Theory of Relativity.
It’s not that I like this instance just because I was not charged extra and that I saved money; I just feel that there are good people with a heart that choose to do the right thing even thought they are not obliged to.
When I was a kid, I was told “Walk in a straight line: keeping one arm distance from the person in front of you; face down”. This was the discipline I was taught.
Today I still keep my face down for most of my activities:
Walking: Reading my emails over my phone
Sitting: Using my laptop
Is technology making sure I stay disciplined?
Today I read, “China signs deal to sell iPhones“. China has more than 600 million mobile phone accounts. Most of the users while using a smart phone are “face down”. That is what I call a discipline.
Smartphones have taken over the way we connect with the world and with our selves. I use a Palm Treo 800w. The phone allows me to download apps which connect me to social networking sites. It has built in browser with JavaScript support which allows me to browse any site and perform work operations while I am remote from my work.
Smart phones are still evolving and some of the areas where I feel they lack are:
1. Processing Speed
2. Internet Browsing bandwidth
3. Browser capability
4. Screen Resolution (real estate limitations)
As a Knowledge Manager I believe technology is evolving to make our lives better and I have had the opportunity to realize at a very early age that technology can help maintain discipline in our lives.
Here are some of the Ted.com videos that inspire me:
William Kamkwamba on building a windmill:
Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight
If money wasn’t an issue would you still be working and loving what you did?
Microsoft’s 2019 is the latest entry in the genre of future product dramatization videos. Discussing “Retail Future Visions” by Microsoft.
It discusses:
Recently I documented my thoughts on “Deleting Data does not Purge Data“. My inclination was toward developing a policy which would formulate the “Data Destruction Policy” in our company.
We deal with confidential data all the time which is sent by clients for:
During this time, the data is passed around our highly qualified staff (who have signed a “Non-Disclosure” agreement). Many a times, we have seen the medium of transporting/transferring data is a secure channel. However some times, the channel storing/transferring confidential data could also be a “DVD”, “USB Drive” or even a “Magnetic Tape Drive”.
To safeguard the interest of our clients and our staff members, we have partnered with a “Digital Media/Data Destruction Company”. This company guarantees destruction of digital information from any external media at a nominal cost of ($15-$25) per incident.
The Data Destruction Company has signed a “Non-Disclosure” agreement. So the data/information is safe and not in unsafe hands.
Here is the process that we have set:
We have also published this process within our organization so that any staff member who believes that they have disk/data that needs to be destroyed can contact our IT staff members and take advantage of the new “Data Destruction Service”.
This is a process which has safeguarded our position with the clients and we have built a trust relationship where we respect the privacy and confidentiality of the data we receive.
Bill Gates @ (Ted Talk 2009) hopes to solve some of the world’s biggest problems using a new kind of philanthropy. In a passionate and, yes, funny 18 minutes (Subject: Bill Gates: How I’m trying to change the world now), he asks us to consider two big questions and how we might answer them.
In this presentation he spoke about two issues: malaria and education reform.
“I brought some mosquitoes - we’ll let them roam around the auditorium. There’s no reason only the poor should experience this” Gates jokes.
Bill Gates recommends the book about KIPP, “Work Hard, Be Nice” by newspaper reporter Jay Matthews to his TED audience.
Bill Gates discussed:
I am motivated by his presentation and I hope everyone watches it and learns something that they can remember for the rest of their lives.
The most difficult job is being a Network Administrator. The reason is simple:
Recently I was requested to document the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for our organization. The SLA is intended to provide guidance on how the network and telephony infrastructure is expected to perform, and the Network Team’s commitment to maintaining the quality and reliability of services provided to the enterprise.
The Structure of an SLA can be summarized by:
1.0 Statement Of Intent
1.1 Document Approvals
1.2 Document Review Dates
1.3 Time Conventions
2.0 About This Service
2.1 Services Covered Under This SLA
2.2 User Environment
2.2 User Support Services
3.0 About Service Availability
3.1 Scheduled Events That Impact Service Availability
3.2 Nonemergency Enhancements
3.3 Change Process
3.4 Change Management
4.0 Service Measures
5.0 Network Team Prioritizes
Network SLA cover all services under the administration of the Network Team, and includes, but is not limited to:
The SLA is governed by both the response time and the resolution time. Response time does not mean resolution. Response time is the time in which you will be contacted by a IT operations team member to triage/troubleshoot the issue.
Here is how we prioritize requests for support according to the following severity guidelines:
For an SLA to be honored the “Technology Resource Utilization Policy” should be used to bring accountability amongst the stakeholders and the Network Team. The purpose of the SLA is to ensure that the proper elements and commitment are in place to provide optimal data processing services for the business function.
Being a CIO, I hear people complaining every hour of the day:
- The network performance is too slow
- I need more RAM
- My emails are not going out
- I don’t like being a “Limited User”. Please make me a “Power User”
- My computer just froze up
It would be wrong if I mentioned that everything that the members request was invalid.
There have been instances when the Network performance is very slow. It feels as if you can click a button, go to the kitchen and brew coffee. Even after that your page might not load. Some members really need to upgrade their workstation memory as they would have installed some apps which require a higher processing unit.
Even with these experiences, I am not convinced that those who use technology are patient enough to deal with the same. My inclination is toward these examples:
1. As soon as one logins to the computer, the user constantly moves the mouse thinking that the computer might react to the mouse movement and the screen would reflect the users desktop.
What the user is forgetting is that even though he/she is constantly moving the mouse to make the computer react faster, there is an additional level of processing which is consuming the current resources of the workstation. Thus making it even slower.
2. If a user is not able to send an email, he/she directly contacts the Network Admin. They need to do some basic testing which would include:
Check if the internet connection is available
Did you know? Most of the issues in your computer (about 75%) are resolved by just restarting the same.
Everyone wants the information to flow pretty seamlessly to their system. The fundamental fault in this assumption is that there are a number of dependencies which might cause the system/network to fail.
To respect technology is to be patient with the technology. One must not show his/her emotions by being frustraited over a slow network connection or a bad keyboard. They should try to find a solution to the situation by being patient. Technology is there to help and not make life complicated.
My advice to everyone: Be patient with technology and you will find great results with what you are trying to achive.
Information is always overwhelming. However when information is turned into knowledge it is a gift. With my role as a Knowledge Manager, I feel it is important for people to understand when information is “Overshared”. Is this a good thing?
The 2008 word of the year is both a noun and a verb: overshare. It basically means it is when a person gives you more information than you want or need to know.
I believe in information transpancy, sharing of knowledge and accepting the fact that being accessible to others makes life simpler.
Sharing of information can be classified into:
One must group his friends and collegues into various catagories. I have choosen to share my information to various groups (social networking) in the following fashion:
The level of discrete information that I share about myself is limited to the nature of the service and to the level of information I am willing to disclose about myself.
On my Website: I have information related to my areas of interest, my research activities, my vision, my resume and some images that I cherish.
On my Blog: I record my experiences with technology, quality control, policies, management as well as topics such as game theory and geological sediments.
On my Twitter profile: I update the various articles I read, videos I watch and document anything which helps me understand a concept/theme .
Never have I felt that I overshare my information. I tend to give data which is precise and to the point.
Information if left idle is not of any value. When we put our thoughts to process information we gather knowledge. Being a Knowledge Manager, I have learned to value the boundaries of information. Only some can be shared while other must be cherished by a limited group of members.
With an increase in the level of understanding, individuality and personification of data, “Overshare” is the term which needs to be catered to the market.
I have always been an active proponent of disposing replacement or obsolete technology products in a regulated fashion. Of late, I have been promoting the notion of “Deleting Data does not Purge Data“.
It has been assumed by many that, simply “deleting” the files on a system gets rid of the contents on the drive. This is not the case as there is a very high possibility that this information will most likely still be recoverable.
This compromises the privacy of your data which could include passwords, personal information, classified documents from work etc. The classified nature of data could lead to legal consequences.
As per a recent article (Dumped hard drives tell all), most people tend to transfer desktops or laptops without disposing the data.
113 of 200 drives purchased on eBay as part of a security vendor’s study on disk sanitization still contained recoverable data, including data that in some cases appeared to be confidential or quite personal in nature.
We deal with highly classified data which might some times include data which could be confidential or quite personal in nature. Many a times our team downloads client database (with consent) over a secure connection. This data might contain Electronic Patient Health Information. This data must be protected from unauthorized disclosure in compliance with the requirements of HIPAA and other applicable state and federal privacy regulations.
When an employee terminates the employment usually the desktop or laptop is transferred to another person, department, or disposed of as surplus property. While this being done it is required to mandate “Disk Sanitization”.
There are two options to Sanitize a Disk:
Types of Secure Deletion Standards:
To successfully wipe a hard drive one must at least look for a utility which meets the DoD 5220.22-M ( 3 pass).
Some Open Source Products which perform software disk wiping include:
Aging compute hard drives and other storage media are always at a risk for compromising data. Anyone making any claims that the potential costs associated with aging computer hardware is limited has not done the research.
I can only hope that everyone learns from experience that using appropriate data destruction mechanisms will prove a real bargain in the long run!
Nainil Chheda,MS is the Knowledge Research Specialist at eClinicalWorks LLC, Member of ASTM, AMIA, AIIM, PDF/H, EHRVA, HITSP, AIS and ACM, and a practicing researcher on Healthcare Informatics.
