|
Blog: David LoshinMarch 23, 2007Search, for Intelligent LifeCertain kinds of technologies are interesting in the way that their existence motivates changes in the way people behave. Good examples include the fax machine or mobile telephones, both of which modified the way that people work. Search is one of these technologies, but curious in the ways that different people (do or don't) engage web searching as part of their daily routines. In one instance, a person I know was tasked with developing documentation on a particular subject, but the first draft of that material showed a lack of understanding of the concept. However, a simple google search of the topic provided numerous resources from which to draw. My reaction was to assume that this person didn't even attempt to employ search as part of the process. Yet in conversation with others, I am beginning to see dividing lines in the way that people employ the availability of indexed or searchable information. For some, the effort is apparently too much - the web search returns too many hits, there is difficulty in distinguishing relevance, the choices are either too complex or too simplistic - to the point where the person is overwhelmed. Others embrace these issues by modifying the way they search. And that is where web searching changes the way that (some) people behave. The simplicity of a web search embodies its beauty for adaptability. Conceptually, presume that all words and terms in all web sites have been parsed, analyzed, and indexed and are ready for your review. All you need to do is to use your knowledge of what you are looking for to pinpoint the desired content. So you start with a gross level, say a single term, multiple words. Many hits come back, but you can screen the top level result summaries to see if there are other relevant terms that are of greater (or lesser) interest, then incorporate those into your next search iteration. Each iteration provides some more information that can be used for the next iteration until you have narrowed the focus enough to find what you are looking for. This has worked for me, and goes back to my original comment, since web searching really has changed a lot of the way that I do things, escpeially when trying to attack problems and find solutions. I expect that someone out there has had similar experiences and is willing to share them. Whether I am diagnosing network issues, trying to learn more about my kids' viruses, looking for a software solution, or research personnel background, track down a lead, etc., I use my web search tool as my guide. Sounds obvious, right? You might think so, but having observed the way that people ignore or misuse search tools, it makes me curious as to whether there are specific search strategies that people use, don't use, or ignore when tackling problem-solving. January 19, 2006Do Communication Health Risks Suggest Better Automation?According to an analysis done by US Pharmacopeia and reported in the Washington Post , "Medication errors that harm patients are seven times more frequent in the course of radiological services than in other hospital settings." According to US Pharmacopeia's John Santell, "Many of the errors resulted from communication breakdowns, the researchers found, such as passing on incorrectly the dose or name of the drug being administered, or one worker failing to inform another about other drugs a patient was taking. The most common errors were patients getting the wrong dose or drug, failing to get the drug they should have had or having the drug administered incorrectly." The existence of communication breakdowns as part of the operational (no pun intended) processes within a health environment raise the question of whether "electonifying" or automating the exchange of patient information might allow for the introduction of validation rules (or workflow requirements for accountability signoffs) into the process to identify potential drug administration errors before they occur. In addition, logging all actions associated with moving a patient through a particular medical process within an automated system might also help in accurately capturing "what really happened" to help with remediation of critical errors if they do slip through. Anyone familiar with health care workflow automation that could help in this situation? September 28, 2005Blogging and Communities of InterestAfter yesterday's webcast with Dataflux, I had lunch with Daniel Teachey, Ron Agresta, and Carmen Gardiner (all from Dataflux), and we talked about some of the topics we covered during the web seminar (which you can read about in my white paper), but we also talked about the potential of a successful blog. One theme that emerged was the value of the evolving community of interest that may form, either based on topic, or personality, or avocation. For me, this is almost self-referential, since part of my area of interest involves the emergence of small communities based on connectivity - something I may explore more carefully in an upcoming article... August 11, 2005The Value of a LinkWe are bound by the relationships we make (and keep, or ignore) over our lifetime. Today I had the occasion to review four different relationships, and it made me think about more than just the existence of the link I have (or had) with these people, but in the abstract, the value within a business intelligence framework of an established link. Why was I thinking about the business value of a link? Because a consequence of the convenience of the World Wide Web, and free services such as Yahoo Groups is the inadvertent willingness of people to trade knowledge about their relationships. |
Comprehensive resources for business intelligence and data warehousing professionals.
NETWORK WEBSITES:
BeyeSEARCH | BeyeBLOGS | BeyeRESEARCH | TDAN.com | BeyeNETWORK
Press Releases | About Us | Contact Us | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Media Kit
Copyright 2004 — 2008. Powell Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Business Intelligence Network™ is a trademark of Powell Media, LLC