Characteristics of a Community, Data Collection - Assignment Example

Exercises xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecturer xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date Exercise 1 a) Characteristics of a community There are different communities characteristics that the council need to consider when planning a needs assessment in setting up a community hall. Culture is a key characteristic in every community. As such, it affects the outcome of every activity carried out in the community. Culture refers to patterns of behavior, effective understanding, interactions and cognitive constructions that are passed from generation to another (Jirojwong & Liamputtong 2009). These patterns give a community the identity. The growth of culture culminates the growth of a community. Therefore, in establishing the community hall the council should carry out a culture study in order to know the kind of people that will be served by the facility (Barzilai 2003). Historical factors are characteristic of a community that has an impact on the development activities within a community. It is obvious that communities are products of their past and current development activities always take place against a historical setting. The council needs to consider conflict history, settlement and population history as they play a major role in community resource management and cohesion. Thus, in setting the community hall, historical factors should be considered as they may hinder the implementation of the project (Picus et al. Burke 2001). Social factors such as language, ethnicity, gender relations, family structures and social divisions characterize a community. These salient have profound effect on the cohesion of a particular community. Absence of balance in these social factors may result to failure of various projects within the community. Therefore, it is important the council consider these factors in order to ensure that the social issues do not attract division in the community as a result of the community hall (Barzilai 2003). Finally, economic factors characterize a community. These factors play a major role and determine whether people have divergent or similar interest concerning the management of resources. Indeed, people’s attitude and perceptions towards resources within a community differ depending on the livelihood strategies. It is therefore, important that the council consider this, as the community hall will be a resource in the community. The success of the community hall depends on the people’s perception on the usefulness of the hall to their economic activities (Pittman & Philips 2009). b) Data collection Census is one way of obtaining data in the community. The community consists of people that fall in different categories and can be obtained through census data. The planning council can provide the data in order to determine the size of the hall. Advantages of census are a way to obtain data include; everyone is given an opportunity to participate. Therefore, no one in the community may feel left out or slighted; accuracy concerns are less. Census enhances the feeling of security that surrounds the accuracy of the results; it is easy to administer. This is because all persons are included. Indeed, when compared to sample survey, it is easier to administer. Finally, census assists the community or government in planning for the future. As a data collection, census has disadvantages. First, the method is costly and consumes time. Compared to survey, census survey is costly to administer. Costs are incurred during printing and data collection due to the volume of the material and the labor required. Second, more time to administer. As everyone is involved in census, additional administration time is required as compared to survey. Thirdly, the method requires more training and support as compared to survey. Survey is another method of obtaining data from the community. The council may target particular group of people in the community and gather opinions, knowledge and behavior. Various types of surveys that may be used include focus group, questionnaires, telephone interviews and face to face interviews. Advantages of surveys include; cost reduction. Conducting a survey is less costly as compared to census survey; the results may be generalized, that is, they can be applied to the entire population; timeliness, compared to census, survey may be [printed, administered and analyzed fast; the results may be use to opportunities and strengths that are necessary for development. Disadvantages of surveys are; the method limits other potential survey opportunities, that is, it is not possible to keep on asking the same people to complete a survey now and then. There is decline in response rate. As one is trying to survey an entire list, there is a decline in response rate every time. Finally, determining the correct sample frame may necessitate extensive work. Exercise 2 a) There are various employees’ characteristics that should be studied before implementing the OHS program. It is important that the employers to consult the employees over the issue of health and safety which may affect or be affecting the employees. The company needs to look into the social and culture of the employees. This is because in the company there are different employees from different cultural background. As such, different lifestyles are obvious affecting employees’ activities. For instance a Muslim and a Hindu have different lifestyles and may be requiring different facilities (Storey 2006). The company should carry out an age analysis among the employees in order to find out which facilities best suit the employees. This is because the company may have a specific age bracket that requires some specific facilities. Therefore, the employers may purchase the exact facilities that are accordance to the age bracket (Patterson 2010). The employers should also look into the gender issue while purchasing the facilities. It is obvious that the company has both male and females and this should be taken into account while designing the health facilities. Therefore, the company should make sure every gender is comfortable with the facilities (Hanson 2007). Ethnicity analysis may be considered too. There are various different groups working in the company. Indeed, each group may have different lifestyle which may affect the activities. As a result, they may prefer some health facilities that are different (Keast & Kendig 2010). The company should establish membership of safety and health committee in the company. This will assist in controlling any risks and hazards that may occur in the work place. In addition, characteristics such as position status and experiences of the employees should also be considered. In ensuring that the there are no losses incurred by the company while carrying out these activities, the employers should balance their record (Kirsten & Karch 2011). b) The company should assess the needs of the employees. One of the tools that the company may use to assess the needs of the employees is the focus group. Indeed, focus group has largely been used in many organizations to identify the constraints and needs of the employees. In addition, they are used in seeking opinions of current ongoing or prospective programs. There are basically applied when other assessment programs have missed. Therefore, the tool is vital in this company as the employers need to get opinion form the employees concerning the OHS program that need to be established. Still, considering that the employers are new in the company, the tool come in handy as it is convenient for new clientele (Jupp & Sapsford 2006). Another way to assess the needs of the employees is through questionnaire. They are often viewed a s easy and quick to do. The questionnaires are useful in this case as potential information will be gathered from a large group within a given time. In addition, the use of questionnaires do ensure that the responses gathered is standardized and therefore, objective. The employers may used the questionnaires as the questions are standardized resulting to various response for different questions. Still, they will be able to get as much feedback as possible (Pearce & Axinn 2006). c) Potential health promotion initiatives There are various health promotion initiatives that may be implemented in the work place. One of these initiatives includes the awareness oriented programs. According to (MacDonald & Bunton 2002) these initiatives are mean to raise personal and collective awareness among the employees of specific health risks and areas. They may include promotion of based on fact information or diagnostic approach. As the employers aim at ensuring the health of their employees in safe, they should provide factual information to the employees concerning their health (Hayday 2004) Another initiative that the company may undertake is the ongoing support measures. This initiative allows the company to engage in programs that are intended to encourage, promote and maintain a healthy working lifestyle and environment (Seedhouse 2004). Essentially, the approaches focus on the general health of an organization or community and aims at preventing specific hazards or health risks. The employers may undertake this initiative as it will support the various programs that are already in place, that is, the occupational health and safety programs and provision of health facilities (Waller & Thom 2002). References Barzilai, G 2003, Communities and law: Politics and cultures of legal identities. Michigan: University of Michigan Press Hanson, A 2007, Workplace health promotion: A salutogenic approach. New York: AuthorHouse Hayday, S 2004, Promoting a healthy workplace. Ories Research Networks, 1-15 Jirojwong, S & Liamputtong, P 2009, Population health, communities and health promotion. South Melbourne: oxford University Press Jupp, V & Sapsford, R 2006, Data collection and analysis. New York: Wiley & Sons, Inc Keast, b & Kendig, L 2010, Community character: principle for design and planning. Washington: Island press Kirsten, W & Karch, R 2011, Global perspective in workplace health promotion. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning International MacDonald, G & Bunton, R 2002, Health promotion: discipline, diversity and developments. New York: Wiley & Sons, Inc Patterson, M 2001, Health promotion in the workplace. London: CengageBrain Pearce, l & Axinn, W 2006, Mixed method data collection strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni. Press Picus, l, Picus, O & Burke, M 2001, Developing community empowered schools. New Delhi: Corwin volume Discounts Pittman, R & Philips, R 2009, An introduction to community development. New York: Wiley & Sons, Inc Seedhouse, D 2004, Health promotion: philosophy, prejudice and practice. London: Wiley & Sons, Inc Storey, J 2006, Cultural theory and popular culture. New York: Pearson Education. Waller, S & Thom, B 2002, Prevention and reduction of alcohol misuse: evidence briefing, Health Development Agency, 12 Read More