The Information Technology Workforce: A Comparision Of Critical Skills Of Clients And Service Providers

In this article the authors explore similarities and differences in skill needs of IT service providers and the firms that providers service (clients). The results show that providers and clients are more similar than different with regard to desired skills. Client firms emphasize technical skills for new hires more than providers do despite saying that these are the skills they would outsource to providers. The results have implications for organizations’ recruiting and retention, for individuals’ career development, and for educational programs

Chiropractic Identity, Role and Future: A Survey of North American Chiropractic Students

Background: The literature pertaining to chiropractic students’ opinions with respect to the desired future status of the chiropractic physician is limited and is an appropriate topic worthy of study. A previous pilot study was performed at a single chiropractic college. This current study is an expansion of this pilot project to collect data from chiropractic students enrolled in colleges throughout North America. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate North American chiropractic students’ opinions concerning professional identity, role and future. Methods: A 23-item cross-sectional electronic questionnaire was developed. A total of 7,455 chiropractic students from 12 North American English-speaking chiropractic colleges were invited to complete the survey. Survey items encompassed demographics, evidence-based practice, chiropractic identity and setting, and scope of practice. Data were collected and descriptive statistical analysis was performed. Results: A total of 1,247 (16.7% response rate) questionnaires were electronically submitted. Most respondents agreed (34.8%) or strongly agreed (52.2%) that it is important for chiropractors to be educated in evidence-based practice. A majority agreed (35.6%) or strongly agreed (25.8%) the emphasis of chiropractic intervention is to eliminate vertebral subluxations/vertebral subluxation complexes. A large number of respondents (55.2%) were not in favor of expanding the scope of the chiropractic profession to include prescribing medications with appropriate advanced training. Most respondents estimated that chiropractors should be considered mainstream health care practitioners (69.1%). Several respondents (46.8%) think that chiropractic research should focus on the physiological mechanisms of chiropractic adjustments. Conclusion: The chiropractic students in this study showed a preference for participating in mainstream health care, report an exposure to evidence-based practice, and desire to hold to traditional chiropractic theories and practices. The majority of students would like to see an emphasis on correction of vertebral subluxation, while a larger percent found it is important to learn about evidence-based practice. These two key points may seem contradictory, suggesting cognitive dissonance. Or perhaps some students want to hold on to traditional theory (e.g., subluxation-centered practice) while recognizing the need for further research to fully explore these theories. Further research on this topic is needed.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-014-0048-

How can chiropractic become a respected mainstream profession? The example of podiatry

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The chiropractic profession has succeeded to remain in existence for over 110 years despite the fact that many other professions which had their start at around the same time as chiropractic have disappeared. Despite chiropractic's longevity, the profession has not succeeded in establishing cultural authority and respect within mainstream society, and its market share is dwindling. In the meantime, the podiatric medical profession, during approximately the same time period, has been far more successful in developing itself into a respected profession that is well integrated into mainstream health care and society.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To present a perspective on the current state of the chiropractic profession and to make recommendations as to how the profession can look to the podiatric medical profession as a model for how a non-allopathic healthcare profession can establish mainstream integration and cultural authority.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>There are several key areas in which the podiatric medical profession has succeeded and in which the chiropractic profession has not. The authors contend that it is in these key areas that changes must be made in order for our profession to overcome its shrinking market share and its present low status amongst healthcare professions. These areas include public health, education, identity and professionalism.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The chiropractic profession has great promise in terms of its potential contribution to society and the potential for its members to realize the benefits that come from being involved in a mainstream, respected and highly utilized professional group. However, there are several changes that must be made within the profession if it is going to fulfill this promise. Several lessons can be learned from the podiatric medical profession in this effort.</p

Evolution of Offshore Software Development: From Outsourcing to Cosourcing

Financial Insurance Services Company (FISC) (a pseudonym) is a major U.S. financial services company with thousands of representatives across the country. Offsource (a pseudonym) is a leading India-based company providing consulting and IT services to clients globally. This paper tells how their eight-year alliance has evolved. The relationship began as a simple pilot of offshore application development outsourcing, aimed at reducing development costs and supplementing in-house IT staff knowledge. It has evolved into a vastly more complex cosourcing model, where work is shared. To achieve cosourcing, the two firms had to resolve two major issues. The first was how to keep IT skills and knowledge from draining from FISC. This issue has been resolved by formally linking career development to project assignments and to outsourcer-to-client mentoring. The second issue is how to share work. It has been resolved by creating a dual project management hierarchy, where leadership at each level of a project can be either by FISC or Offsource, depending on the need. Their experiences provide five recommendations for others on structuring offshore outsourcing relationships: (1) understand where cosourcing is applicable, (2) define and develop the appropriate in-house IT competencies, (3) build trust but avoid building a binding relationship, (4) foster mutual understanding of ethnic and corporate cultures, and (5) map out a progression to cosourcing

Overcoming Knowledge-Transfer Barriers in Infrastructure Management Outsourcing: Lessons from a Case Study

This article describes how a global firm (JohnsonDiversey, Inc. - JDI) and an offshore Indian IT service provider (Wipro Technologies) successfully overcame the knowledge-transfer barriers associated with infrastructure management (IM) outsourcing. Case study evidence is used to describe how these two firms worked together to transfer responsibility for managing JDI’s entire infrastructure to Wipro using a global delivery model. The article describes the specific knowledge-transfer challenges encountered and the solutions used to overcome them during a three-phase migration plan. It concludes with important lessons learned about pre-contract and post-contract activities that other organizations can apply to increase the likelihood that IM offshore outsourcing will be successful