I spent much of the week getting to know more about the Delphi Method that I am now planning to use. I have learned about its strengths and limitations, but no matter how much I learn about it, the one phrase that keeps going through my head is “This sounds like FUN!” I can’t wait to get started on the recruitment process. However, first I need to get through the proposal approval process. One step at a time…

References:

Bernoff, J. & Schadler, T. (2010). Empowered: Unleash your employees, energize your customers, transform your business. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

Keeney, S., Hasson, F. & McKenna, H. (2011). The Delphi technique in nursing and health research. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.

National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

You know, I think this was my first research-induced tangent! I think my brain is tingling now!!!

References:

Chesbrough, H. (2006). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Image Credit: Found on I Can Be Right, or I Can Be Happy: The Ever-Changing Philosophy of a Recovering Control Freak

Dr. Holley (my dissertation mentor) has pointed out some issues that need to be addressed. Most notably, why would any leadership care about my study? I think that leaders should always care about how their customers (patients) and employees are communicating with each other and how they are communicating with management. Social networking presents problems for old-style corporations or organizations that have always maintained tight control over what is said within and by and about their organization. Such control is lost when social networking tools are used. However, on the potentially positive side, social networking can also open the lines of communication between patients and clinicians and between employees and management. Such openness has the potential of reducing confrontation and increasing collaboration between employees and management (Chesbrough, 2006; Levine, Locke, Searls, & Weinberger, 2001; Tapscott, & Williams, 2008). I am also planning to do some research on how social networking could affect the cost of healthcare and productivity for both patients and clinicians. I am eager to see if there is an affect.

References:

Chesbrough, H. (2006). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Levine, R. Locke, C. Searls, D. and Weinberger, D. (2001). The cluetrain manifesto: The end of business as usual. New York: Perseus Publishing.

Tapscott, D. & Williams, A.D. (2008). Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything. New York: Penguin Group.

P.S. My new word-of-the-day is winsome. I was called this by someone I work with. What do you think?

The X-Prize Foundation – creators of the prizes for the first privately funded reusable spaceship (Ansari X Prize) and the first car to get 100 mpg (Progressive Automotive X Prize) -  are now venturing into the healthcare arena specifically in neurotechnology. This new development was reported by MSNBC.  The idea behind this series of prizes is to encourage investment in neurotechnologies that could have the affect of reversing paralysis, finding a way to overcome the body’s natrual defenses that keep out some neuro-medications, allow people to communicate with computers by thinking (rather than speaking) and other possibilities as well.

I won’t rehash the article here – though it is an extraordinary concept and could lead to astounding advances in neuromedicine! What I did want to examine is this: Is the X Prize a facet of Mass Collaboration? That is to say, are the folks running the X Prize Foundation looking for ideas and techniques from folks like you and me OR is this strictly for the neuroscientists and neurologists who study the human brain on a daily basis? Could an “ordinary person” with a perspective that the pros have not yet examined (or maybe haven’t examined closely enough) win this prize? Is there a way for someone using everyday technology or a common chemistry set to win this prize?

History is littered with technology breakthroughs that have come out of suburban garages (Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak invented the first Apple computer in Woz’s parent’s garage) or barns or bicycle shops(Orville and Wilbur Wright invented their airplane prototype in a bicycle shop). Is that what the X Prize Foundation is trying to do here? Are they trying to inspire the next Edison or Wozniak to conduct research from a non-traditional perspective and perhaps come up with something that the major pharmaceutical or medical device companies have missed? Are they encouraging some lowly radiology technician or phlebotomist to try to come up with a new technique that research professionals have overlooked or explore some area that medical grad students have missed?  Regardless of the answer, I find the prospect exciting!

What do you think of this latest addition to the X Prize Foundation? Is there any other healthcare-related area where the foundation should offer another X Prize? Please share your thoughts in the comment area below…

As I look at the giraffes I could not help but wonder how anyone could doubt the Theory of Evolution in favor of “Intelligent Design”? Evolution is based on sound science and keen observation of geographical and biological evidence by thousands of scientists over hundreds of years. “Intelligent Design” is based on Judeo-Christian mythology and has no basis in scientific fact. Also, look at the photo of the giraffe at the right. What is intelligent about the design of this creature? What kind of reason would an intelligent designer have in creating this creature? What part does it play in the environment in which it lives that adds to the environment?

However, if we look at the giraffe from the evolutionary point of view…

• Giraffes have long legs to help them run from predators and to make them tall in order to make them more difficult to take down by predators that are lower to the ground.
• Giraffes have their characteristic long necks that enables them to reach higher sources of food than other animals
• The spots on the skins of giraffes provide them with natural camouflage in their savanna environment.

From the view of “Intelligent Design” the giraffe is nothing but a whimsical joke. From the evolutionary point of view the giraffe is a marvel.

I’d rather believe in the marvel than in the joke. Wouldn’t you? What is your opinion and why?

I started on my trip to Crescent City, CA on September 1st. It’s a lovely little city and I was enchanted with it. It was easy to come up with new photos every day. Today was my first full day home and I was exhausted, so I snapped a picture of my dog. I am finding that the ordinary days are going to be the hardest ones to get interesting pictures. I’ll have to be very cognizant of new and interesting compositions and ideas for venues. I’ve already started exploring. Perhaps this will be a good excuse for me to explore my own community a bit more.

You can follow my progress here. You can see my Mom’s fantastic photos here.

• Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts – This is a look at the lives and times of the women behind the Founding Fathers. Not only the wives, but also mothers, sisters, and daughters. I’m only part way through this book, but I’m planning to buy copies for all of the women in my family. This is an often overlooked side of our history and Cokie Roberts does a good job of examining it.
• Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales - Have you ever had books you just thought you should read? That’s why I’m reading this one. So far I’m pretty disappointed. I like the ones you’d expect – Cinderella, Rapunzel, and a few others. Mostly however, I’m left scratching my head and wondering how most of these fairy tales survived to the present. It’s a very pretty book though – Green leather cover with gold lettering and gold edges on the pages.
• The Assault on Reason by Al Gore – This is a good book for those who embrace reason and wonder why more people don’t. Mr. Gore does a good job of explaining how the Right Wing is using fear to influence Americans rather than allowing reason and facts to be the guide that the Founding Fathers wanted it to be. I’m only part way through this book and will write a book review when I’m done.
• Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business by Eric Qualman – This is a fantastic book for anyone diving into social media and is concerned about how to use it and how it can positively or negatively affect your business. Again, I’m only part way through this book and will write a book review when I’m done.

On my waiting list:

• The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah’s Book Club) (Paperback)
  
• Lean Six Sigma Demystified: A Self-Teaching Guide
• Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot
  
• Ethics, the Heart of Leadership
  
• Truth and Consequences: Special Comments on the Bush Administration’s War on American Values
  

What are you reading right now? Is there anything you can recommend to me? I’m open to just about anything. Please post your recommendations in the comments below…

Overloaded Donkey Cart OR My Life as a Donkey

The last couple of months have been “interesting.” There is an old Chinese curse that says “May you live in interesting times.” 2010 has definitely been that for me! In the last couple of months my post-concussion syndrome headaches have reasserted themselves. They haven’t been as bad as they were initially, but they’ve still been very hard to deal with. I’m on a different headache preventative Rx, but they still come and go. They just make dealing with everyday life difficult. So I decided to make a few changes in my life in order to try to relieve stress and, hopefully, prevent headaches.

1. I decided to take a break from school. I’m not quitting. I’m not even stopping working on my dissertation. I’m just taking a few months off from classes. I’m thinking that I will start back up again after the New Year. I’ve just been so tired with everything and everyone but school has made the sacrifices for me. Work has been wonderful. My family and friends have been supportive. Mark has been phenomenal! I just need to take some time to relax a bit.
2. I’ve decided to stop watching so much TV. I have already cut out the commercials by recording everything I watch on DVR first, but so much of TV is just pure drivel lately. Even the “educational” channels like Discovery, TLC, National Geographic, and Biography have turned to mush with sensational, shallow, and hollow TV shows. It’s really quite sad… Not even the SciFi (now Syfy) Channel has embraced the lowest form of SciFi for movies and gone away from its original mission and started showing “professional” wrestling and Ghost Hunters.
3. To replace all of my TV watching I’ve decided to read more. I suddenly find myself in various stages of several types of books, depending on my mood. I just finished The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (more on that later…). I’m also reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Ethics: The Heart of Leadership, Socialnomics (as an Audible.com book), and Al Gore’s The Assault on Reason (another Audible.com book). All are interesting and the topics vary pretty widely.
4. I’ve also decided to take on a mini-project called Photo365. The idea is to take one photo each day for a year and post it on the web to share. Yes, this is another social media thing. I’m going to start on September 1st and go through August 31st, 2011. Once I start uploading photos, I’ll post them on http://365project.org/ and share them here, on Twitter, and on Facebook. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it.
5. I also plan to blog more often. I’m considering starting some series on life, photography, interesting questions to ponder, the aforementioned reviews of what I’m reading, and probably some op-ed pieces too.
6. I’ve taken a break from Toastmasters. I was in two clubs and was also being encouraged to participate in leadership roles. While I enjoy the Toastmasters program and have learned a LOT about public speaking, I find that a) I want to dive in and fully participate right before b) I collapse in an exhausted heap from even thinking about diving in and participating fully. I will return to it, but I just found myself having to say “No” and feeling lousy because I really wanted to say “Yes” to everything I was asked to help with.
7. Finally, I’m going to get into an exercise regimen. I joined Curves and really enjoy the program, but all of the headaches I’ve been having, coupled with all of the pressure I’ve been under lately, have made getting there to DO the exercise quite difficult. Starting Monday, I’m getting back on that horse and will go AT LEAST 3 days each week.

Have you ever had to do anything like what I’ve done here? How did you handle it? Any advise? Please comment. I’d love to hear from you.

Watch the video & think about what I’ve said. What do you think about the stats included in the video? How has social media tools and technology affected your life or the lives of people around you?