1 Outsourcing Questions Answered
The simple answer to the question of ―What is too important to outsource?‖ is
―Whatever makes your business unique‖. To put it another way, ―Whatever gives your
business its competitive advantage?‖ Everything else should be considered non-core
and then the question is can I do this function using in house resources better, more
cost effectively and with less risk than an external service provider?
It is often wrong to assume that there is more risk getting an external provider to
perform certain business activities than keeping them in house. A good analogy is that
most people in their personal lives choose to outsource the diagnosis and treatment of
life threatening situations to medical practitioners, rather than keeping it in-house,
because we rightly believe that an external service provider offers less risk than doing
it ourselves.
In my experience, the major risks involved in outsourcing critical projects is that the
activities that the outsourcer is contracted to perform become disconnected from the
critical business outcomes they were originally set up to support. This typically comes
about because the traditional outsourcing model as depicted in Figure 1 below has
seen enterprises retain responsibility for business outcomes, whilst giving control of
the activities that determine these business outcomes to an external outsourcing
company.
The problem with this approach is that businesses are rarely static and over the typical
length of an outsourced project, businesses change and evolve, leading to a disconnect
between the outcomes a business requires over time and the activities that an
outsourcer is contracted to undertake.
2 Light Advantageous for Diabetics
Sleeping with the lights on may be the next advice for diabetics according to a current
publication. Scientists suggest night-time illumination could help prevent the onset of
diabetic retinopathy, a condition which can result in severe visual impairment. The
condition affects about 25 per cent of people who suffer from diabetes and is the
largest cause of the onset of adult blindness in Britain.
Diabetes causes impaired functioning of blood capillaries, reducing oxygen supply
throughout the body. Rod receptors in the retina, which are responsible for night
vision, are most sensitive to this change because they have the highest oxygen
demand of any cell in the body at low levels of illumination.
A human eye exposed to bright light then total darkness can ramp up its light
sensitivity by a factor of about 100,000 times in 30 minutes. This dark adaptation is
achieved mainly by neural and chemical processes in the retina. Rod receptors used
for night vision are so dependent upon adequate oxygen supply that dark adaptation of
normal eyes has been reported to be diminished at moderate altitudes above sea level
due to the slight reduction in available oxygen.
The normal eye is only just capable of providing adequate oxygen to the retina during
night vision. Even in early stages of the disease, diabetics suffer a lack of oxygen
(hypoxia) during dark adaptation. This would be expected to occur in the vicinity of
the rods, in the deeper layers of the retina, but the retinopathy develops nearer to the
surface of the retina.
3 Earthworms
Earthworms have long been associated with productive soils. Over 100 years ago,
Charles Darwin discovered that earthworms can reprocess their own weight in soil
and organic matter in one day. The value of earthworms to agriculture lies in their
ability to change the physical and chemical composition of the soil. Physically they
change the soil by aerating it and increasing water holding capacity, chemically they
carry soil nutrients from the soil surface to plant roots.?
Earthworms may also reflect environmental changes that are not readily recognized
with physical or chemical measures. They may provide an early warning of soil
degradation and contamination. In Europe selected earthworm species provide a
sensitive measure of soil pollution .?
Research on Earthworms
Current research in the Divisions of CSIRO Land & Water and CSIRO Entomology is
evaluating the potential for improving soil structure and crop productivity through the
management of earthworms. Objectives of the research are:?
To determine the distributions and population dynamics of earthworms in agricultural
soils, especially beneath pastures, horticultural and cereal crops in south-eastern
Australia.
To demonstrate the effects of selected earthworms on soil structure,fertility so, and
plant production.?
To identify means of enhancing earthworm performance, either by agricultural
management practices or introduction of new species/strains.?
To investigate the use of composting worms to reduce organic wastes and the use of
worm-worked waste as a soil conditioner?
Results so far have been promising. Current studies with selected earthworm species
have shown increases in cereal yields by more than 35%. Selected earthworm species
have also been shown to improve crop quality, with higher levels of grain protein.
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