Call for Papers: Special Issue of Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences on Medical Applications of Nonlinear Dynamics

NDPLS is actively searching for manuscripts for a special issue to be entitled, “Medical Applications of Nonlinear Dynamics.” Potential papers could range from the level of individual patients to that of the health care system, and could include such topics as:

• Nonlinear patterns in illness
• Treatment effects and nonlinearity
• Practice change via nonlinear intervention
• Neural networks in clinical decision-making
• Catastrophes in health care utilization
• Nonlinear advice for health care reform
• Modeling ambulatory practice
• Dynamical effects of illness upon the family
• Nonlinear dynamics within the doctor-patient relationship

Contributions may be theoretical or empirical. Theoretical papers should be firmly grounded in the extant literature and culminate in new principles involving nonlinear dynamics that can be tested; manuscripts heavy on conjecture with little reference to evidence are not encouraged. Reviews of the relevant literature on applications of nonlinear dynamics are also welcome, if they synthesize and interpret this material in novel ways. Empirical papers may include experimental observations, simulations, or analyses of real-world data. Articles will be reviewed by two or more experts in the relevant field.

The purview of the journal is critical to the inclusion of articles: Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences publishes papers that augment the fundamental ways we understand, describe, model, and predict nonlinear phenomena in psychology and the life and social sciences. One or more of the following nonlinear concepts must be an explicit part of the exposition: attractors, bifurcations, chaos, fractals, solitons, catastrophes, self-organizing processes, cellular automata, genetic algorithms and related evolutionary processes, neural networks, agent-based models.

The broad mixture of the disciplines represented here indicates that many bodies of knowledge share common principles. By juxtaposing developments in different fields within the life and social sciences, the scientific communities may obtain fresh perspectives on those common principles and their implications. Because the journal is multidisciplinary in scope, each article should make an original contribution to at least one substantive area and, to the extent possible, illuminate issues beyond that area's boundaries.

NDPLS is a refereed journal and is published quarterly by the Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology & Life Sciences. Additional information for the preparation of articles for submission can be found on the journal’s web site: www.societyforchaostheory.org/ndpls/ .

The project is planned on the following schedule (please see link above for full details):

• Abstracts are requested prior to submission in order to assist with the organization of the issue contents, and they are welcome any time before the paper submissions deadline.
  
• Full-text papers need to arrive by December 31, 2009.
• Manuscripts should be prepared in APA style. Key style points and small variations that are specific to the journal can be found in the Instructions for Authors on the journal web site.
  Reviews completed by February 28, or sooner to the extent possible. Revisions and final edits should be received by April 1, 2010.
• Publication in October, 2010.

We look forward to receiving your abstracts and papers. If you have any questions about the project, please do not hesitate to ask one of the editors below.

Sincerely,
Stephen J. Guastello, Ph.D.
Stephen.guastello at marquette.edu
Editor in Chief

David Katerndahl, M.D.
katerndahl at uthscsa.edu
Special Issue Editor

My source:
COMPLEXITY-PRIMARY-CARE at JISCMAIL.AC.UK

'cogeographic' or 'cogneographic' - concepts situated and abstract

The term 'cogeographic' materialised while writing a short article for the nursing press on Hodges' model.

Searching SCIENCE DIRECT and similar academic resources I thought I had found the word relating to geography, borders, ethnic groups and geopolitics, but now it seems to have disappeared....?

So I am not 100% sure whether cogeographic is a neologism. In some ways cogneographic better suits my purpose. That Matrix associated addition is a rather bizarre coincidence given the word's status and so with that I should explain how my lexical arrival here came about. ...

I was focusing on two fundamental claims in Hodges' model. Namely:

• The model is situated;
• The model assumes that concepts can be located within its knowledge domains.

For me, cogeographic (cogneographic) conjoins the cognitive (cognition) involved in defining, representing and using concepts in conceptual spaces; AND the finding that knowledge is invariably situated - that is knowledge has a geography.

Philo and Pickstone (2009) highlight the work of Haraway:

No knowledge, however ‘scientific’ or prestigious, can ever truly come from nowhere; it can not but originate somewhere, being thoroughly situated, in Donna Haraway’s (1991) valuable terminology; and it commonly bears marks of that origin - situation wherever it might then travel. p.651.

This combination of physical and mental (abstract) location then supports the use of a metric or measure. I suppose what I am thinking about is GIS for concepts - which in turn is the semantic web?

Should I locate any sources I will update this post, or if you can direct me to any please let me know: h2cmng at yahoo.co.uk

Reference:

Philo, C., Pickstone, J. (2009). Unpromising configurations: Towards local historical geographies of psychiatry, Health & Place, 15, 3, 649-656.

The domain once removed ...

When we reflect or physically interact with the world it is easiest to effect those things nearest to us. From an early age - stationary - we learn to look and reach.

Sometimes however it is those things that are remote, inaccessible that may be significant and deserving of our attention.

Imagine yourself placed in any of Hodges' knowledge domains as if in a prison cell.

The knocks on two walls clearly come to our attention. There - is another domain that remains off-limits.

This domain is the cognitive blind-spot: which will be yours today?

Image source: Fallingpixel.com

Open for applications: USA based Quality Improvement Fellowships

Dear NHS W2tQ readers,

Do you know of a clinically qualified NHS leader with a proven track record in quality improvement?
Do they have the potential to drive change and promote quality at a high level?

The Health Foundation's Quality Improvement Fellowships are now open for applications. Fellows will have an opportunity to spend a year in the USA working with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studying the best international practice in quality improvement.

The fellowship includes:

• participation in the clinical effectiveness programme at the Harvard School of Public Health
• a personalised programme of taught and interactive learning at IHI
• active participation in the leadership teams for key IHI initiatives
• significant involvement in authorship and publication of research and improvement work
• strategic planning sessions to enable effective integration of a fellow's learning to better meet the needs of their home organisation

The Health Foundation will provide fellows with an allowance to support relocation, travel, visa and and USA healthcare costs, as well as replacement staff costs for their employing organisations.

Who can apply?
We are looking for senior NHS leaders who are clinically qualified and have a strong track record of achievement in the field of quality improvement.

Applicants must have the enthusiasm and potential to promote quality improvement nationally and to build organisational capability to drive quality improvement to higher levels of performance.

Please pass this information on to individuals who may be interested in applying.
The deadline for applications is 16 October 2009.

Visit Quality Improvement Fellowships or email awards@health. org.uk to find out more.

My source: Mental Health Informatics - SIG RCPsych via Stephen Thornton, The Health Foundation.

The Conceptual Age needs tools to catch, match and patch ...

I have finally read some of Dan Pink's book A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age.

The graphic copied here from the book is interesting for this blog and its readers by both what is included - the conceptual age and what is omitted.

Pink's graphic supports and reinforces what I have felt for many years. Namely, that in Hodges' model we have a conceptual framework fit for our time and purposes. Looking at the figure developmentally then of course we think conceptually from a very early age in order to make sense of self, other, world and future.

Pink's graphic is interesting in that as depicted here we have not reached the knowledge age as yet. While these ages are discrete when conducting health and social care and other activities the boundaries are of course unclear and fuzzy.

Being in the conceptual age we need tools that can catch our care and related concepts. A stage that makes them accessible for reflection and association.

Moving further towards the knowledge age we then need tools that can recognise patterns in our concepts and begin to match them.

For safety's sake we then need to recognise the important concepts missed in our assessments, problem solving, project management and service improvement processes ... These tools will be able to suggest and patch the gaps in our framework and hence our understanding.

Image original source: http://elearningtech.pbworks.com/f/daniel-pink-conceptual-age.png

Additional links:

Dan Pink - A Whole New Mind

'conceptual spaces' on W2tQ

'concepts' on W2tQ

Reflecting on this it is a shame that there is no Innocent Age any longer or what there is often cut short.
The least we can do is to try to preserve it for as long as possible ...

Relationships matter: Society Guardian & The WSJ

Re. Charles Leadbeater's State of Loneliness, The Guardian, Society, 01.07.09

The cover of this weeks Society Guardian immediately caught my eye with its picture (I wonder which corner of which care domain this lady is sat in?):

The text initially passed me by; then yesterday I caught up, it seems the business model quest in one sector is having a domino effect with new models needed elsewhere including health and social care.

Leadbeater's piece reminded me of Lean thinking the improvement process with its drive to identify value, reduce waste and repetition. ... His text points out that:

More efficient services quickly move in and out of people's lives, but they don't really change how people live. That is one reason why we have not made deep inroads into the most deprived communities, the most troubled families, the most intractable social problems. Services manage and process people and problems, but only rarely allow people to change their lives. Service solutions are ill-suited to the emerging challenges of the rise of long-term health conditions, diseases linked to lifestyle and diet, ageing or climate change. You cannot deliver a solution to an epidemic of diabetes the way that DHL delivers a parcel.

So any model, method that is primarily process centered may find itself compromised - providing just one cylinder's worth of power in a four cylinder engine. In Hodges' model I have identified the 4Ps. PROCESS, PURPOSE, POLICY, and PURPOSE (to which we must now add PROBITY). It will be interesting to see how value is defined across service forms of engagement, intervention (including signposting) and the new set of outcome measures to follow whether local, national, service-reported or patient reported outcome measures. Leadbeater continues:

The key will be to redesign services to enable more mutual self-help, so that people can create and sustain their own solutions. The best way to do more with less is to enable people to do more for themselves and not need an expensive, professionalised public service. Enabling people to come together to find their own, local solutions should become one of the main goals of public services. Services do a better job when they leave behind stronger, supportive relationships for people to draw on and so not need a service.

So Jo(e) Public needs to reflect, compare, evaluate, learn, collaborate and make informed decisions in order to stay well amongst many other things. They need to be engaged holistically.

Where is the model for this...?

I believe I know.

The Wall Street Journal has something to add here The Doctor Will Text You Now and relating to my earlier posts on 'Beware Reflex Moves'. Relationships matter, but if nurses are out there assessing, assessing, assessing who is doing the education, dividend added therapy outcome focused?

If e-health is going to make a real contribution in augmenting and freeing high value care resources then this in turn depends on the value invested in relationships.

Louis Petrillo, 57, a psychologist in Westfield, N.J., says he regularly turns to his family’s doctor, Robert Eidus, for online advice about his frail 90-year-old mother, who finds office visits difficult. His son who is away at college also used an online visit when he had sinus problems. “I can get into his virtual office anytime,” says Dr. Petrillo. He feels the online care works well largely because Dr. Eidus knows his family members’ regular health complaints.

If older adults move home and need new primary care services, what are most probably(?) well established patient - doctor (patient - primary care team!) relationships are not just undermined they are undone! A person's sense of community is fractured. ...

Yes that image speaks volumes.

Do read the two articles mentioned - excellent.

Image source: Guardian

Mathews, A.W., The Doctor Will Text You Now, JULY 1, 2009, The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition

Relative poverty (3) - sciences

[The introduction is repeated across these posts: intrapersonal, political, sociology]

There are many paradoxes in life and many of these are concentrated in the realm of health and medicine (a major sub-division of life and death).

For decades the link between poverty and standards and quality of health has been recognised and politicised in the media and policy. Just this past week was news of a Bill to make the eradication of child poverty a legal obligation not something that can be the political objective at the start of a Government and then cast aside.

Many things are relative and poverty is often described in this way applying to individuals, social classes, communities, regions and whole nations. Using the domains of Hodges' model what reflections does this prompt? Let us see:

SCIENCES: We tend to think of economics and the definition of poverty in materialistic and monetary terms. In this domain things become things. Processes and much more besides - people are objectified and commodified: prostitution, child labour, child soldiers, people trafficking - individuals as numbers at a certain time, certain place. The person reduced to a process - service.

On the sciences front in an explicit way our poverty of knowledge ('education, education, education') becomes apparent as we try to place value on the environment and not only our personal use, but national use of the green and blue. A new economics is indeed called for.

In the current 2009 Reith Lectures (closing lecture this week) Professor Michael Sandel presents A New Citizenship. Within these lectures Prof Sandel explains how fees change services, values and expectations with examples of child care and blood supply in health care. Organisations have to be aware of their assets with laptops, PCs and umpteen other pieces of equipment and resource possessed of their own unique ID.

Yes, according to my interpretation of Hodges' model the points raised here belong in the political domain, and yet we are so befuddled, intoxicated and to a certain extent deluded with the sciences, technology and material things (de-vices?) that in contemplating poverty we must extend the political realm. ...

From now on the public's attitude to science as individuals and families, communities and nations is going to be critical to change our understanding and more importantly our experience of poverty - material, relative or otherwise.

Image source: BBC

Additional links:

The Simonyi Professorship: hair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University

'Poverty' on W2tQ

Sciences care (knowledge) domain links resource

Political care (knowledge) domain links resource

Relative poverty (2) - political

[The introduction is repeated across these posts: intrapersonal, sciences, sociology]

There are many paradoxes in life and many of these are concentrated in the realm of health and medicine (a major sub-division of life and death).

For decades the link between poverty and standards and quality of health has been recognised and politicised in the media and policy. Just this past week was news of a Bill to make the eradication of child poverty a legal obligation not something that can be the political objective at the start of a Government and then cast aside.

Many things are relative and poverty is often described in this way applying to individuals, social classes, communities, regions and whole nations. Using the domains of Hodges' model what reflections does this prompt? Let us see:

POLITICAL: Although we are told that change is happening swathes of humanity face -

poverty of choice or no choice but poverty.

There are those who are able to decide and yet denied choice due to a politics or state that spits explicit corruption denying the people their expressed and collective will. Although previously described as 'black and white' politics must become participative AND must become 'green and (truly) global'. As events in 2009 attest here in the UK, politicians, those key workers / case practitioners in this domain (should paradoxically) disavow personal ambition and at times yet to be decided the party whip system. Yes, these matter, but again space (vacancy) is needed to accommodate - permit and facilitate true focus.

This is no chance opposition of domains in Hodges model.

The diagonal of INTRAPERSONAL and the seat(s) of power and governance
is mediated through the social domain.

Like health professionals, politicians and civil servants must wipe the slate clean: constantly. This is why transparency in politics is so crucial to trust, engagement, and grounded politics. ...

'P' is for politicians not just the 'people'.
Politicians need to be engaged coherently.
Touch is the interface for them too.

A week is a long time in politics because the sun never shines (not even in 'victory'). For these people being open, transparent, non-judgemental ... means their vision is refreshed by a perpetual rain.

Only then will they see poverty and be reminded of it -
even if poverty and even more so if poverty
represents where they came from ...

Image source: Equator Network

Additional links:

Reith Lectures 2009 BBC 'A New Citizenship'

'Poverty' on W2tQ

Political care (knowledge) domain links resource

'Information' a definition

Exactly what information is (at least one very useful technical definition of it) is answered by the mathematical theory of information. A rich field with many applications to biology, linguistics, and electronics, the theory is couched in the language of bits, each bit of information conveying one binary choice. [Hence 5 bits, for example, convey 5 such choices and are sufficient to distinguish from among 32 (or 2⁵) alternatives, there being 32 (2⁵) possible yes-no sequences of length 5.] Bits serve too as units in the numerical measure of such notions as the entropy of information sources, the capacity of communication channels, and the redundancy of messages.

Source: Paulos, J.A., (1991) Binary numbers and codes, Beyond Innumeracy, p.26.

Additional links:

W2tQ 'information'

W2tQ 'Ye Olde paper: 1996 "Humans, information and science'

Bee in my bonnet and a place to call home

For some years (over a decade) I've had a bee in my bonnet about the impact of relative-ly sudden house moves that older adults often make following sudden bereavement.

This prompted a first and no longer maintained website 'Beware Reflex Moves'.

This rather silent issue still stands and is arguably growing in volume.

There are surely a series of studies to be made here. Like most forms of life, the patient-nurse encounters of all those years ago have evolved: the ability of Jo(e) Public and their families to independently visit, select and move their relative into residential care is a new factor.

Self-funding frees up valuable resources as people can essentially circumvent the formal assessment processes of social services (and health), negotiating directly with the home of their choice for a place. This place may be many, many miles away from what was home. Amid increasing demand this arrangement works well much of the time. When it fails though, the impact is a personal and social catastrophe that can also reverberate across two health and social care economies. The person's original social services and their new location - that of their family.

Here the 'diagnosis' may not just be bereavement reaction / depression, but dementia too.

So, the advice remains beware of reflex moves.

Wish those bees had stayed in that bonnet - they might be safe now.....

Image source with thanks: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lelonopo/2378726643/

Relative poverty (1) - intrapersonal

There are many paradoxes in life and many of these are concentrated in the realm of health and medicine (a major sub-division of life and death).

For decades the link between poverty and standards and quality of health has been recognised and politicised in the media and policy. Just this past week was news of a Bill to make the eradication of child poverty a legal obligation not something that can be the political objective at the start of a Government and then cast aside.

Many things are relative and poverty is often described in this way applying to individuals, social classes, communities, regions and whole nations. Using the knowledge domains of Hodges' model what reflections does this prompt? Let us see:

INTRAPERSONAL: On one level highlighting poverty here appears a nonsense as usually we think of material wealth; the ability of people to be able to put decent quality - nourishing food on the table. In the miserable trap that poverty presents, it is perverse to suggest that health and social care workers - indeed all 'customer facing personnel' seek poverty. But they should exercise: poverty of thought.

Health and social care are often couched in terms of being a safety net, especially in community care - this conception emphasizes health and social care as a physical resource. In the intra-interpersonal domain though we are concerned with individual mental life, beliefs, attitudes, thoughts and emotions....

So here it is as if we must adopt the philosophy of Bruce Lee and turn the 'art of fighting without fighting' into the 'art of caring without caring' through a momentary forgetting in order to care effectively. We suspend our thoughts - take a mental breath, bring our training and current evidence to the fore. The conceptual safety net does not work if it comes pre-filled with bias, prejudice, pre-conceived ideas and negative expectations. There is of course a very poignant irony in calling for people to forget, suspend belief - even for an instant - at this time and in this domain. For health and social care workers in wiping the slate clean we do not think, but are VERY receptive to what follows.

This is where the wealth is:
between us.

We should not play the greedy capitalist and keep collaborative tools like Hodges' model to ourselves.

It was made to share: in my mind and yours a global health resource...

Image source: BBC

safety net: http://blogs.jamaicans.com/metinking/2009/04/30/a-jamaican-legacy-that-deserves-our-support/

Additional links: 'Poverty' on W2tQ

Political care (knowledge) domain links resource

COMMENT - 22 June 2009:

Would this article of mine along with its rapid responses add to your discussion?

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/citation/325/7354/51

http://ukpmc.ac.uk/articlerender.cgi?artid=478323 (full text)

Would you like to send me a book chapter on your experiences with the Hodges model in healthcare?

http://www.igi-global.com/requests/details.asp?ID=...

Regards,

Rakesh
Rakesh Biswas

Hello Rakesh,

Many thanks for your input and invitation. I don't think I could make the deadline for the book which is a pity, I've completed two book chapters for IGI thus far. The website is priority and Drupalcon Paris. I will think about this though and e-mail you soon - or please contact me directly at h2cmuk at yahoo.co.uk.
I've another three posts with this title. The post above rather grew to stand alone.
Anyway thanks again your input is most welcome and appreciated.
Regards
Peter

Self-care in e-space and the need to Impress

Working with older adults you realise how unselfish a group they are with regards to their care needs: "spend the money on the children who need it, they are the future."

You also realise that although there are growing numbers of 'silver surfers' (sorry) and their number will swell - the use of digital technology by the general public remains yet another potential source of inequality.

Many years ago I came across HealthSpace (UK) as a fledgling approach and application. I was really impressed as it underlined the need for a generic conceptual framework for health and social care - from senior school through to older age.

It is often said that effective communication needs a channel that is noise free - well here in Hodges' model is a resource to reduce noise for health information across many contexts:

• education
• prevention
• consultation
• social marketing
• self-care
• care planning, evaluation and management
  
• carer support
• supervision

Demographics also underlines the opening remark in this post and for older adults and many younger that matter of choice arises when it comes to the deployment of digital technology. Yes, many forward thinking people will readily jump on board and use ICT to study, learn, commission, record and co-ordinate their own care - or that of a relative. But what about those who will not use HealthSpace or another personal health records [PHRs]?

For those who do not want to engage - are they to be literally pressed into service? Obviously not - and besides recruitment to the UK services is growing. Jokes aside though the pressure to get the public to add value to their own care is critical to the future sustainability of the health and social care system.

Which brings me back to HealthSpace and the following news on e-Health Insider:

'HealthSpace expansion plans shelved'

Last year’s Health Informatics Review outlined a wide-ranging role for HealthSpace, but the DH has now done a U-turn and demanded more evidence of the site’s value to patients before pushing ahead with further expansion.
...
An outline business case worth £80m to £90m – one source puts the figure at £98m - had been developed by CfH, which was to have been submitted to the Treasury earlier this year.

However, the DH is understood to have spiked the business case, seeking more evidence for the value of HealthSpace, which has not received the backing of Christine Connelly, director general of informatics.

Dr Neil Bacon, founder of the doctors’ website doctors.net and the patient website iwantgreatcare.org, said he was unsurprised that the DH had shelved its plans.

“I think this is their way of quietly getting rid of it,” he told EHI Primary Care. “In the commercial world, if a solution with more than 250,000 potential users had only been used by 400 people it would already have been put out of its misery.”

Dr Bacon said he believed there was a clear and growing demand for patients to manage their own health records but that innovative, entrepreneurial solutions rather than government-led solutions would meet that demand.

More to follow no doubt - but do take care even now if you live by the coast ....

Additional links:

Google Health

HealthVault Microsoft

DIY doctors: patients can boost NHS's value, 30 April 2009, HSJ, Paul Corrigan

Digital Britain

The Impress Service

The Royal Navy

Image source: Press Gang stamp