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The HPC Network is a secure, shared on-line environment and professional networking tool provided by the Health Promotion Clearinghouse. The HPC Network provides private and public workplaces for individuals and organizations involved in the field of health promotion. Our target audience are the health promotion intermediaries, not end users. As such, we are not prepared to answer general health related enquiries (e.g. What is SARS? Should I get a flu shot?).
Only registered members of the HPC Network can post feedback and comments and make full use of the communication tools available. Anonymous users can view the public areas, blogs and discussion forums but cannot post feedback or comments. Anonymous users do not have access to the private web spaces and tools. Only those who have specific permission to access private web spaces and tools are able to see the private pages. However, even these registered members must sign-in before they can view the private information.
Membership is obtained by application. See " Membership" link on the network and membership is approved by the HPC Network site administrator. Permission from specific groups will be required to join a specific network group. In some cases you may be signed up as a member at the request of your member organization or group. Once membership is either approved or created, an automatic email will be sent as notification of your acceptance as a registered member from the system and a welcome message will be sent from the network administrator.
Registered members will be required to consider a membership with the Health Promotion Clearinghouse in addition to HPC Network membership. A form for membership will be forwarded for completion and return. Registered members are also encouraged to complete the on-line profile information. The only profile setting that is required is your private email address. Although the remainder of the profile settings are optional, the HPC Network encourages completion of actual names and professional information to help HPC Network community members get to know each other and leverage the broad range and variety of expertise each member brings to the site.
The role of the HPC Network Administrator is to develop, create, monitor, maintain, support and provide the training for individualized web spaces and communication tools provided on this network platform. To that end, the administrator will assist as much as possible with the modification of existing templates for web pages and create blogs, forums, galleries and file folder structures to house group specific content. The network administrator cannot provide unique and detailed web page design that is outside of the flexibility and capability of the internal templates.
The network administrator will help with the initial establishment of group content, tools, web pages and file folders. However, once training is received or after a period of a few months, groups are required to maintain their own web space content. To learn how to do this, go to the Advanced Learning Module and contact the administrator to ensure you are made an "owner" of the areas you need to maintain. Addition on-line learning material is also available.
The length of time between a request for webspace and tools and the delivery of that service will depend upon the traffic on the network and the number of requests received at that specific time period. Once the activity on the network increases, it will be expected that groups requesting these services will need to be put on a waiting list. The network administrator will set and communicate these timeframes as the network membership grows.
Please Note: All content within the established web space and tools provided to a group is the sole responsibility of the the individuals within that group. HPC and the HPC Network are not responsible for the content, information and published comments outside of the specific HPC and network web spaces assigned to them.
Although there are both public and private areas within the network, the system administrator has access to all private areas within the network for monitoring purposes (even those that are made "private" by member groups). The HPC Network System Administrator reserves the right to ban any members whose conduct is inappropriate. This includes inappropriate language, personal attacks or bullying. The HPC Network System Administrator will also monitor and gather statistics on site usage.
The HPC Network has a list of censored words that trigger posts to be automatically moderated when specific words in the list are used. All public forums and blogs are also automatically moderated. Posts published by users who do not belong to any particular group or whose email addresses are not identifiable with a known organization (we don't know you), will also be moderated but this may be temporary. Users who post to public areas, post questionable content using cendored words or are considered "unknown users", will experience a delay in the publication of their post until the network administrator can review and approve the content.
If you are a member of a government organization or group, you will also be expected to follow the privacy policies and expectations set by your respective group or department. Please review the Nova Scotia Government Website Privacy Policy Statement and the Government Records Act Electronic Mail Policy.
We encourage all member organizations to develop their own specific HPC Network Usage and Admin Policies and monitor their members' activities with respect to these policies. See the HPC Network Usage and Admin Policies Template.
The HPC Network is designed to meet as many accessibility standards as possible but is not 100% accessible. It is designed to meet Canada's two federal privacy laws, the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Please see the Guide for Individuals and this site: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/ind/index_e.asp to help you understand the PIPEDA. Additional resources: Protecting Your Privacy on the Internet ; Privacy Legislation in Canada