Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)
Andrew Webster’s presentation -Innovation in health: a social science perspective
This presentation offers a brief account of the ways in which innovation, and more specifically medical innovation, can be understood from within a social science perspective, illustrating the ways in which innovation has to be seen as an articulation of both old and new assemblages, the broad range of socio-technical relations that make it possible and indeed workable. In light of this discussion, the paper goes on to raise a number of issues that need to be addressed in future policy and practice contexts, relating to the take-up, choice, evaluation and globalisation of innovation.
Andrew Webster
Professor Andrew Webster is Director of the Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU), and Head of Department of Sociology at the University of York. He was Director of the £5m ESRC/MRC Innovative Health Technologies Programme, is member of various national Boards and Committees (including the UK Stem Cell Bank Steering Committee and UK National Stem Cell Network Steering Committee) and was Specialist Advisor to the House of Commons Health Select Committee. He is national co-ordinator the ESRC’s £3.5m Stem Cells Initiative (2005-9), and was a member of the Royal Society’s Expert Working Group on Health Informatics. He is currently undertaking externally funded research on stem cells as well as the implementation of pharmacogenetics into clinical practice, and is coordinating a new European (EC) grant on Regenerative Medicine (REMEDiE). He is Co-Editor of the Health Technology and Society Series: Palgrave Macmillan (launched at the Royal Society, October 25 2006). His most recent book is Health, Technology and Society: A Sociological Critique (Palgrave Macmillan) 2007. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in 2006.
Transforms social structures, culture, community, power, wealth ans is characterized by: many to many, consumers/producers, active participation and amplification of network capabilities;
Marketing is the foundation of online community planning.
Design Social Architecture.
Technological planning.
Watch an eight minute intro screencast of the SMC, created by Howard Rheingold
Howard Rheingold talk was wonderful, his discourse could be applied to any virtual community. But, in this case, the debate was focused on education and how can we develop online social networks in this field at Open University of Catalonia (UOC), a virtual university with 40,000 students.
On one hand, I think online social networks as a “formal” learning/teaching environment challenge educational, organizational and technological model of my university because it causes a tremendous tension between the need of flexibility to develop those kind of initiatives and the need of bureaucracy to maintain 40,000 online students within the virtual campus. It just strains all the actors who are involved in the teaching and learning process: teachers, students, managers…
On the other hand, a digital identity is needed to generate online social networks, but how many students or faculty members have develop this digital identity? how many students or faculty members have participatory media literacy?.
Finally, the interaction between this new media landscape based on ICT and the social structure could generate smart mobs, are we ready to take this kind of risk?. I’m ready as well as my institution -I guess- and I’m trying to open the virtual classroom to this new media landscape, it’s fun and most of my students enjoy it too. But as an experiment it has to be evaluated and assessed so… further research is needed each semester. I will present the results here to discuss.
The workshop’s goal was to discuss strategic directions for the future of the Internet, from both a technological and a policy viewpoint. To this end, a group of experts, including economists, policy makers, social scientists and technologists, were brought together to consider a broad range of issues and questions relating to the future of the Internet, examples of which are listed under the following guiding themes:
The openness of the Internet has been a clear factor in fostering competition and innovation, and is increasingly enabling users to develop, collaborate and distribute content and customise applications, driving a range of new social and economic opportunities.
Security threats endanger network operation and a trusted online environment at a time when an increasing number and variety of communities and businesses critically rely on the Internet.
Convergence between previously distinct networks and services toward the use of TCP/IP generates new demands on the Internet and places strains on existing regulatory models.
In the Workshop proceedings published by the OCDE there is a figure titled “Issues related to the Future of the Internet, based on complexity, urgency and importance” that perfectly describes the key points of the Internet:
As an example if you click the figure you will see two bubbles strongly related with Health: Empowerment Consumer (bubble 8 ) and Protect Personal Data (bubble 23). Those issues represent challenge to health care systems in the short term and medium complexity.
Manhattan Research is a healthcare market research and services firm, laying the foundation for strategic planning for global pharmaceutical, biotech, device and diagnostic, and life sciences companies.
Manhattan Research guides clients in understanding market forces, trends, and impacts of physician and consumer use of information technology, including next generation digital media such as social networking, blogs, podcasts, and Web 2.0.
I refuse to speculate on the commercial propose of both sources. I just notice that the results contrast with what we have found in Catalonia (Spain). Our surveys to physicians, nurses, pharmacist, Internet users and also a 1300 web content analysis show Health and the Internet is still Web 1.0.
I suppose that Catalonia Health System, as well as many systems in Europe, are less market oriented than American Health System. That fact could influence on a slower adoption of the Web 2.0 by physicians because on whether they do not appropriate all the benefits of those technologies or they do not have many incentives to innovate using those technologies.
This article summarizes an extensive literature review addressing the question, How can we spread and sustain innovations in health service delivery and organization? It considers both content (defining and measuring the diffusion of innovation in organizations) and process (reviewing the literature in a systematic and reproducible way). This article discusses (1) a parsimonious and evidence-based model for considering the diffusion of innovations in health service organizations, (2) clear knowledge gaps where further research should be focused, and (3) a robust and transferable methodology for systematically reviewing health service policy and management. Both the model and the method should be tested more widely in a range of contexts.
In this article there is a very interesting figure (Figure 3. Conceptual Model for Considering the Determinants of Diffusion, Dissemination, and Implementation of Innovations in Health Service Delivery and Organization, Based on a Systematic Review of Empirical Research Studies) that shows the unifying conceptual model that they derived from their synthesis of theoretical and empirical findings
This conceptual model helps me to understand the relationship among Innovation, Telemedicine and ICT.
