Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
New Direction… New Energy!
I remember during my Bachelors program, sitting in my academic advisor’s office looking at all of the books on her shelf and thinking to myself, “How can anyone want to read so many boring looking books?” This week I was reading books like Empowered: Unleash your employees, energize your customers, transform your business, The Delphi technique in nursing and health research, and a U.S. government-issued report entitled Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. What was even more strange was I found myself fascinated by their contents! Back then I really wanted to pursue a doctoral degree, but didn’t think I’d ever be allowed to do so. Now that I’m here, I have to chuckle at that young woman who couldn’t imagine spending hours reading boring, professor-type books, much less enjoying doing so!
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.
Research-Induced Tangent!
I did quite a bit of reading about business models today. One of my books (Chesbrough, 2006) suggested that a business model or an adjustment to an extant (my word for the day) corporate business model may be necessary to accomodate the use of social networking. So I found several journal articles on social networking and business models.
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
My First Week Back…
This is my first week back to school after taking six months off due to health issues. I am glad I took the time off, but I have missed this incredibly. I have continued my reading and research and have decided to change the direction of my dissertation. In Doc722 I was planning to do a case study of Sutter Health – the organization that I work for – and how they are using and not using social networking tools. Because of several experiences I have had over the past few months and some resources that I have found and others I’ve read, I’ve decided to do a case study of the US Healthcare Industry instead of concentrating on one organization. Now, the revisions to chapter one have started.
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?
Does the X Prize Count as Social Media?
I have set up a topic calendar for myself to help get me back in the habit of blogging each day. Today’s topic is healthcare news. If you’ve read past blog posts, you may remember that I work for Sutter Health – a large not-for-profit healthcare organization in Northern California, Southern Oregon, and Hawaii. I am researching how healthcare organizations are using social media for my dissertation. This is why I chose healthcare news for a topic to write about. In particular, I’m going to be looking for social media-related healthcare news.
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…