Climate and the Feeling of [Momentarily] Drier Feet: Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union Treaty

As is oft the case, I recovered a newspaper cutting (or ripping) that made my feet feel drier, for several moments at any rate ...

Reading this really gave me a lift, given the ongoing state of world events then and now:

Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty

The Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty was signed on 9 November 2023 and entered into force on 28 August 2024.

As part of the Falepili Union treaty, Australia has:

• recognised for the first time in a legally binding treaty, Tuvalu's continuing statehood and sovereignty, notwithstanding the impact of climate-change related sea-level rise
• committed to assist Tuvalu in response to a major natural disaster, health pandemic or military aggression
• created a special visa pathway to support mobility with dignity, which will enable citizens of Tuvalu to come to Australia to live, work and study.

There are also obligations under the Treaty to ensure Australian interests are protected and to facilitate the smooth operation of the migration pathway and increased security cooperation:

• Tuvalu is obliged to ensure its immigration, passport, citizenship and border controls are robust and meet international standards for integrity and security
• Tuvalu will mutually agree with Australia any partnership, arrangement or engagement with any other State or entity on security and defence-related matters in Tuvalu.

Continued ...

My source: Nic Fildes, Migration: Australia offers Tuvalu residents visa to escape climate change. FTWeekend, 11-12 November 2023, p.4.

Workshop: 'Under Pressure: Character, Certainty, Conspiracy'

How people change (or fail to) under pressure, false certainty and misinformation

Institute for Ethics & Society Workshop - Thursday 3 September 2026

10:00 am – 4:30 pm (AEST)

In an age of outrage, algorithms and information overload, how do we become people of resilient character, humble conviction and wise discernment? Drawing on several funded research projects in Europe and Australia, this workshop explores how pressure exposes the heart and yet shapes the self, how self-righteousness quietly corrupts our capacity for knowledge and understanding of self and others, and how conspiracy theories and AI-generated “slopaganda” shape the way we see the world.

The IES is pleased to host this event on the occasion of Laura Candiotto’s visit to Sydney. Laura is Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy (Universities of Cagliari and Pardubice). She currently leads two research projects, including ‘Vicious Epistemic Cultures’ on the ethics of knowledge with a specific focus on emotional friction in revision responsibility, funded by the Czech Science Foundation. Laura is currently working on a monograph, Emotional Friction, and a co-edited collection entitled Vice Epistemology and the Philosophy of Emotions (Routledge).

 

SPEAKERS

Laura Candiotto (Cagliari and Pardubice) ‘Character revision under duress’

 

John Lippitt (Notre Dame IES and Pardubice) ‘Failures of receptivity: self-righteousness as a stealthy vice’

 

Adam Piovarchy (Notre Dame IES) ‘Conspiracy theories are Infohazards’

 

Mark Alfano (Macquarie) ‘Slopaganda’

Event poster: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/NdGNCq712YtRgVKVFXhKphE8bFg?domain=notredame.edu.au

 

Location:

The University of Notre Dame Australia,

NDS23/102 (Wilcox Mofflin Building)

46-52 Mountain Street Ultimo, NSW, 2007

 

Or online via Teams

For enquiries, Teams link and to RSVP:

Professor John Lippitt (john.lippitt AT nd.edu.au)

My source: Philos-L "The Liverpool List" is run by the Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/philosophy/philos-l/ Messages to the list are archived at http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/philos-l.html. Recent posts can also be read in a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/PhilosL/ Follow the list on Twitter @PhilosL. Follow the Department of Philosophy @LiverpoolPhilos

'Becoming family with place' - Wooltorton et al. (2020)

The second R&E piece 'spoke' immediately of distance, peoples - their societies, culture, heritage and communities, plus place and connection to land, landscape, water, fauna, flora and sky.

individual

|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES             

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

|

group

Spirit Sense of Belonging	PLACE
PEOPLE family	Place and Planet  are lost here. Look at what 'country'  means and does here.

Wooltorton, Sandra, Collard, Len, Horwitz, Pierre, Poelina, Anne & Palmer, David. (2020). Sharing a place-based indigenous methodology and learnings. Environmental Education Research. 26. 1-18. 10.1080/13504622.2020.1773407. 
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13504622.2020.1773407.

My source: Wooltorton et al. (2020) 'Becoming family with place'. Resurgence & Ecology,  Issue 322. 2020. pp.34-35.

See also:

Jones, P. (2008) Exploring Serres’ Atlas, Hodges’ Knowledge Domains and the Fusion of Informatics and Cultural Horizons, IN Kidd, T., Chen, I. (Eds.) Social Information Technology Connecting Society and Cultural Issues, Idea Group Publishing, Inc. Chap. 7, pp. 96-109.

Hayward, B.A. (2020), Mental health nursing in bushfire‐affected communities: An autoethnographic insight. Int J Mental Health Nurs. doi:10.1111/inm.12765 

Previously: 'Australia' : 'Indigenous' : 'South' : 'landscape'

Leapspace ii - References

Of the references listed by LEAPSPACE #6 stood out:

Merritt, M.K., Procter, N. (2010) Conceptualising the functional role of mental health consultation-liaison nurse in multi-morbidity, using Peplau's nursing theory. Contemporary Nurse. https://doi.org/10.5172/conu.2010.34.2.158 

Had I missed this? When I hear (read) of new citation for Hodges' model, it is added to the blog's bibliography. So, what about this one?

I could not access the full-paper initially, but did so at:

https://lmscontent.embanet.com/MVU/NURS600/Readings/W3_Peplau.pdf

I can see that Merrit and Proctor reference the following [#16 of 1-46]:

Jones, P. (1998). Hodges’ health career – Care domains – Model, nursing – Art or science? Retrieved October 4, 2009, from http://www.pjones.demon.co.uk/holsci.html

This additional cognitive and motivational nourishment is welcome. They are spot on with '1998', the year the former website (p-jones.demon.co.uk) went live. 

Pre-2015 and indicative of (what will increasingly follow) from AI, LLMs, agentic ai - LEAPSPACE found a page on the now archived website:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150409004111/http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/index.htm

While a positive, perhaps (again) we should worry about regurgitation? Although on another level perhaps the definition of 'grey literature' is also being (has been) redefined?

There is a positive in the author's acknowledgement of Hodges' model on several counts, being associated with:

• Highlighting the need for inclusion of mental health/illness (parity of esteem);
• Peplau's seminal work;
• A search to link mental health with other specialities (emergency, liaison, burns);
• Recognition of the inverse (psychological care within medicine); 
• The fact of being listed with Phil Barker (Tidal Model). 

Negatively, on the archived homepage (above) many links to content may not work:

The (rather short but referenced) page Merrit and Proctor list is available here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20111018204743/http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/holsci.html

I will insert this paper in the bibliographical listing; and revisit this.

Healthcare Evolution through AI and Digital twins - HEAD 2026

Dear colleagues,

We do hope this Call for Papers may be of your interest.
We do apologize if this CfP reaches you more than once.

Yours sincerely
HEAD Organizers

=========================================================

Healthcare Evolution through AI and Digital twins - HEAD 2026

18 - 21 May, 2026 - Sydney, Australia

https://www.head.icar.cnr.it/

- in conjunction with the 26th IEEE International Symposium on Cluster, Cloud and Internet Computing (CCGrid 2026) and in-cooperation with ACM SIGHPC

Submit your paper by using the link:

https://easychair.org/conferences/submission_new?a=35863199

=======================================================

MISSION:
------------

All over the world, the number of investments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for healthcare and wellbeing (eHealth) is rapidly increasing. GLOBE NEWSWIRE has predicted that the Global eHealth market is expected to reach $123.78 billion by 2030. This means that digital health is of considerable interest worldwide, as it has the potential to improve both the quality of services and users’ access to health information, while also saving time and reducing the workload and associated costs for health service providers in the long term.

In this context, an increasing interest is growing around eHealth and ICT technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Twins, Cloud computing, Edge and Fog computing, and Internet of Things (IoT),

which are at the basis of revolutionising healthcare by bringing innovative network applications and services. In fact, modern healthcare applications are becoming increasingly dependent on heterogeneous infrastructures, including IoT and edge medical devices, as well as High-Performance Computing (HPC) backends, to support the execution of AI-driven models and patient-specific Digital Twins.

The HEAD workshop would explore the open challenges and current issues surrounding the application of these technologies, while bridging the gap between healthcare innovation and the hardware and software systems that support scalable and reliable computing. HEAD aims to encourage interdisciplinary discussion about how technologies such as HPC, distributed systems and performance optimisation can facilitate the deployment of reliable and scalable Digital Twins for healthcare. The workshop will highlight the role of computing infrastructures as key enablers of future digital medicine by linking algorithmic advances with architectural and systems-level innovations.


TOPICS:
----------

■ AI Algorithms and Learning Frameworks for Healthcare
■ Modeling and Simulation Methodologies for Healthcare
■ Programming Techniques and Architectures for Healthcare
■ Data Management, Analytics, and Knowledge Extraction
■ ICT Infrastructure and Tools for Healthcare Digital Twins
■ Cloud Computing, Edge and Fog Computing for Healthcare
■ Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and Wearable Devices for Healthcare
■ Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications of ICT for Healthcare
■ Accelerator-based architectures (GPUs, NPUs, FPGAs and DPUs) for Healthcare
■ Parallel and Distributed Training and Multi-GPU/Multi-Node Execution for Healthcare Applications
■ Energy-Efficient, Sustainable, and Optimization-Oriented Computing for AI in Healthcare


IMPORTANT DATES:
--------------------------

• Submission deadline: February 01, 2026
• Notification of paper acceptance: February 28, 2026
• Submission of camera-ready papers: March 15, 2026
• Registration: March 15, 2026


PAPER SUBMISSION:
---------------------------

Manuscripts should describe original work and should be formatted according to the IEEE conference proceedings format. 

Papers will be submitted through the CCGrid 2026 submission system.

Submit your paper here:

https://easychair.org/conferences/submission_new?a=35863199

All submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process. Each paper will be reviewed by at least three members of the Technical Program Committee. Reviews will be double-blind.

Accepted papers will be published in the CCGrid 2026 workshop proceedings and will be submitted for inclusion in IEEE Xplore.


BEST PAPER AWARD:
---------------------------

A Best Paper Award certificate will be conferred on the author(s) of a paper presented at the workshop, selected by the Chairs based on scientific significance, originality, and technical quality, as evaluated by the Program Committee.

Please visit https://www.head.icar.cnr.it/  for more information and if you have any questions kindly get back to us by sending an email

Kind regards,
HEAD 2026 Organizers

My source: Dr. Giovanna Sannino

Martha's mum, dad, guardian ...

Hayward, E. Parents really do know when
their child is sick, The Times,
30 May 2025, p.1.

The previous post highlighted the fact that while practice (and theory) based upon research finding that are 'evidence-based' and scientifically rigorous are a 'gold standard; there are other means by which knowledge is obtained. Cultures, often have systems to transfer knowledge - that which matters to the society, even if is not written in the conventional meaning of the term.

Intution is another source, and within social groups can be a powerful spur to action, and help seeking. This is demonstrated regularly in the knowledge that a parent, or guardian has about what is the normal presentation for a child in their care. 

In the UK Martha's Rule is being tested in NHS hospitals. It is encouraging then to hear and read news of a study in Australia (so in combination a 'multicenter' effort?).

Mills, E., Lin, P., Asghari-Jafarabadi, M., West, A., & Craig, S. (n.d.). Association between caregiver concern for clinical deterioration and critical illness in children presenting to hospital: A prospective cohort study. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(25)00098-7

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

"Not herself ..." Martha	"Not well" Martha
Mills parents, guardians, friends & family	Martha's Rule*

Hayward, E. Parents really know when their child is sick, The Times, 30 May 2025, p.1.

*Under test in the UK.

Previously: 'intuition'

Threshold Concepts 2023: "Roads Less Travelled"

Call for Papers 2023

Date 4-6^th July 2023

Location: Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie Campus, NSW, Australia (google map link)

Theme: Threshold Concepts: Roads Less Travelled

The 2023 Threshold Concepts Biannual International Conference is a special one. It marks twenty years since the original 2003 Threshold Concepts paper by Eric Meyer and Ray Land. In the intervening time, Threshold Concepts have become an accessible way of conceptualising learning, and the barriers to mastery that learners encounter. We are taking inspiration from Julie Timmerman’s (2023) provocative question, “Do thresholds always propel us outward, forward, and towards an identified threshold, or might they reveal alternative and unanticipated landscapes for transformation?” 

We propose an exploration of movement “outward, forward, and towards” threshold concepts, and the journeys we undertake as learners and researchers. These pathways may be known or unknown, familiar or alien, hidden or exposed. We have identified a number of subthemes, which you may interpret according to your context.

• Inter(tidal)disciplinary Zones
• Learning Spaces and Places 
• Cultures of Engagement and Connectivity
• UnOthering 
• Liminality 

We invite you to submit proposals under one of the subthemes and we look forward to seeing you in Port Macquarie in July 2023 to celebrate twenty years of Threshold Concepts. #9BiTCC2023

.... https://thresholdconcepts.home.blog/

Invitation: Int. Congress on Evidence-based Parenting Support 2023

Hello HIFA Forums and CHIFA,

Neil Pakenham-Walsh (based in the UK neil.pakenham-walsh AT ghi-net.org) suggested I contact you about a call for abstracts for the inaugural International Congress on Evidence-based Parenting Support 2023

https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/

The online event will be held on 6-8 June 2023 and will address the theme: Promoting wellbeing and health globally through effective parenting support. We would very much welcome your organisations’ insights on child health and how parenting support can benefit families and children. We are calling for abstracts from members of your organisations.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The Congress will connect academics, policymakers, practitioners, consumers and service providers with international leaders in parenting. Keynote speakers have already been announced. It aims to bring the evidence-based parenting support community together. An innovative program of online events will reach for global impact that will benefit parents and families around the world now and in the next generation.

Abstract submissions are open. We welcome your contribution by 18 November 2022.

This is a fantastic opportunity to share your research, policy and practice expertise in parenting, family intervention and parenting support with a global audience. Participants will be part of a global collective action to improve access for all parents to high-quality evidence-based parenting support.

We invite you to submit an abstract that addresses any of the sub-themes that reflect your expertise of the research, practice areas or public policy focus of your organisation:

Read more https://i-ceps.pafra.org/submission

Please feel free to share with your colleagues. And if appropriate, perhaps you can also share the invitation in your organisational newsletter or group email.

And we also welcome you to follow us on our social pages to keep up to date with the latest announcements:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PAFRA_Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICEPS2023 LinkedIn: ICEPS2023

We sincerely hope to hear from you, and do feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

Regards, Maria Battaglia

Communications Officer Institute of Child Protection Studies Australian Catholic University 

P: + 61 3 9230 8732 E: Maria.Battaglia AT acu.edu.au Website: https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PAFRA_Official #ICEPS2023 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICEPS2023 LinkedIn: ICEPS2023

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which I live and work in Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

My source: https://hifa.org/

Endangered - so many things ...

INDIVIDUAL

|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

	Songs of Disappearance
Musics Lost and Found

Musics Lost and Found image:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Musics-Lost-Found-Collectors-Tradition/dp/178327607X

My source:

Lagan, B. Endangered birds on song in album chart, The Times, December 21, 2021, p.43.

Hewett, I. Your mission: to find the most endangered song in the world, Books, The Daily Telegraph, 30 October 2021, p.18.

Suicide Prevention Research Fund PhD Scholarship

About the PhD Scholarship 

Suicide Prevention Research Fund PhD Scholarship 

The PhD Scholarship provides funding for successful applicants to attain a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

The PhD Scholarship is a funding agreement between Suicide Prevention Australia and the applicant’s Administering Institution (a University in Australia). 

The PhD Scholarship aims to support outstanding graduates who are at the early part of their research career. The Scholarship supports research relevant to all aspects of suicide prevention and to develop a capacity for original independent research within Australia. 

... continued ...

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group - population

Hear from Dr Katie McGill with further information on the Suicide Prevention Australia PhD scholarship application process.	Hear from Professor Myf Maple, deputy chair of the Suicide Prevention Australia Research Advisory Committee, on what we look for in PhD Scholarship applications.

My source:

https://twitter.com/Kavanagh_AM/status/1305694590574292992?s=20

Please note my using h2cm here is not intended to represent endorsement by the respective organisations / institutions.

a Paper: Hodges' model and mental health nursing in bushfire-affected communities

An email from ResearchGate informed me that a co-authored paper:

Doyle, M., Jones, P. (2013). Hodges’ Health Career Model and its role and potential application in forensic mental health nursing. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 20, 7, 631-640.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2850.2012.01961.x/abstract

- had been cited in another publication. A check was rewarded. It always feels good to be able to add a  study to the bibliography listing (please see the sidebar). This is an early view, by Brent Hayward in Australia:

Hayward, B.A. (2020), Mental health nursing in bushfire‐affected communities: An autoethnographic insight. Int J Mental Health Nurs. DOI: 10.1111/inm.12765

What stands out to me are Hayward's profession of mental health nursing within a public educational service and disaster response. I'm not sure how many times I have referred to the generic nature of Hodges' model, but this shift from reading a forensic paper to applying h2cm in disaster response is encouraging. While the immediacy of today's media brings home the catastrophic scale and tragedy of bushfires - work like this also reveals the humanistic side.

The research method of autoethnography has definite currency. Since the MRES at Lancaster, I have wondered if there is any autoethnographic merit in this blog? Hayward has clearly seen the value of the model with regard to reflection and self-reflection. Over the past few years - Brexit, climate change, the bushfires (and California) the importance and relevance of the political domain within Hodges' model continues to increase. (The content of many posts should provide evidence of this.)

It also appears that Hodges' model can draw out the distinction between intrapersonal and interpersonal relations and reflexivity. It could be argued that the humanistic-mechanistic axis also demarcates what is intrapersonal and what interpersonal. The latter standing for the (overt) skills so essential to effective mental health nurses. Hence, what are labelled the interpersonal and sociological domains. The combination of autoethnography, gestalt and use of a visual prompt for reflection is also informative and as Hayward notes could provide an avenue for the work of others. ...

"My unsuccessful attempt to locate literature about mental health nursing in bushfire-affected communities caused me to look towards nursing models more broadly. I was drawn to Doyle and Jones’ (2013) paper on the application of Hodges’ Health Career Model in forensic mental health nursing because of its deliberate consideration of political issues. This resonated with me as a public sector employee. Hodges’ model was originally developed in 1983 but has received little attention in the literature. Doyle and Jones’ paper was in response to this deficit, and in this frame, the present study continues this legacy. Hodges’ model is appealing here because of its attention to reflective practice and the theory-practice gap–two purposes which are of particular relevance in the present study." pp.2-3.

"Second is the use of a nursing theory or model to interpret findings. Only Gardner and Lane (2010) used a model, and this was one for clinical supervision rather than mental health nursing practice per se. Mental health nurses who are considering autoethnographic approaches should consider these methodological elements for both rigour and practical purposes. This study has also contributed the second published clinical application of Hodges’ model and its effectiveness here suggests that further exploration of its application would be useful." p.6.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Brent for not only recognising the potential of Hodges' model, but actually applying it in research* and in such a vital context.

Hopefully I can reflect more on what is clearly for Hodges model and the concepts of health career, life chances and global health - a very significant paper.

*See also:

https://hodges-model.blogspot.com/2013/12/papers-actual-post-grad-studies-and.html

Heritage Management Process: Before & After

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group - population

	Rio Tinto was given permission to blast Juukan Gorge 1 and 2 under Section 18 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act, despite calls to protect the two Aboriginal rock shelters. (Image: Puutu Kunti Kurrama And Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation)
Juukan Gorge in the Hammersley Ranges in Western Pilbara

My source:

Smyth, J. (2020) Rio Tinto criticised by former adviser over heritage site blast, FTWeekend, 20-21 June, p.13.

See also:
The Guardian,
Rio Tinto blasts 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site to expand iron ore mine, The Guardian.

Image source:
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-general/aboriginal-rock-shelter-0013771

flight research #5 Rosemary Laing

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic --------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Original photo source: http://www.artnc.org/works-of-art/flight-research-5

https://learn.ncartmuseum.org/artwork/flight-research-5/

Rosemary Laing

My source: Collecting, Art Basel Hong Kong. FT Weekend, 19 March 2016, p.2.

Guns. Coal, Guns... Coal. Guns, Coal.... Great Barriers [ii]

Politically pernicious mine-fields

(Spot the difference?)

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic -------------------------------------------  mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group-population

Former NRA President Charlton Heston holds up a musket as he tells the 5,000 plus members attending an NRA annual meeting in Charlotte, NC, in May, 2000, that gun control advocates can have his gun when they pry it "from my cold dead hands." (AP Photo/Ric Feld)	Treasurer Scott Morrison hands Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce a piece of coal during Question Time in the House of Representatives Chamber at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Kym Smith News Corp Australia

Additional sources:
Australia must share the blame for coral bleaching, FT View, 17 March 2007.

Coal image: News.com.au - see credit

Rifle image: Moyers & Company - see credit

Great Barriers [i]

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic -------------------------------------------  mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group-population

	Great Barrier Reef  c/o ARC Centre
	'climate' Great Barriers to Belief 'change'

See also:
Australia must share the blame for coral bleaching, FT View, 17 March 2007.

Map image: ARC Centre

Thunderstorm Asthma in Hodges' model

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic -------------------------------------------  mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group-population

anxiety - impact on respiration previous individual experience personal health literacy: "What I need to do when X,Y,Z advanced care plan: staying well, preventive measures (see below)	Breathing, Asthma Climate, Thunderstorms Pollen (rupturing?) 8,500 Hospital Treatment 1,900 Emergency calls in 5 hours Intensive Care at least 8 Deaths Protocols - metrics
Family, carer, community support Social media, warnings Provenance of information provided - community trust.	Health Services Emergency response / resources Disaster Management / Review

Melbourne thunderstorm asthma death toll rises to eight, The Guardian, 29 November 2016.

My source:
Davey, M. (2016). Deadly asthma thunderstorm kills four and leaves Melbourne reeling; &
Sample, I. (2016). Analysis, Doctors agree on why, but are less sure how. The Guardian, 25 November. p.3.

 

Update in italics - June 18th 2022, plus:

Bellomo, R., Gigliotti, P., Treloar, A., Holmes, P., Suphioglu, C., Singh, M.B. and Knox, R.B. (1992) Two consecutive thunderstorm associated epidemics of asthma in the city of Melbourne. The possible role of rye-grass pollen. Med. J. Aust. 156, 834-837.

Suphioglu, C., Singh, M.B., Taylor, P., Bellomo, R., Holmes, P., Puy, R. and Knox, R.B. (1992) Mechanism of grass-pollen-induced asthma. Lancet 339, 569-572. 

Knox, R. B. (1993) Grass pollen, thunderstorms and asthma. Clin. Exp. Allergy. 23, 354–359.

Ong, E.K., Singh, M.B. & Knox, R.B. Aeroallergens of plant origin: Molecular basis and aerobiological significance. Aerobiologia 11, 219–229 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02447202

Nasser, S.M., Pulimood, T.B. Allergens and thunderstorm asthma. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 9, 384 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-009-0056-8

E Andrew, Z Nehme, S Bernard, M J Abramson, E Newbigin, B Piper, J Dunlop, P Holman, and K Smith. Stormy weather: a retrospective analysis of demand for emergency medical services during epidemic thunderstorm asthma. BMJ, 359, 2017.

Rabiee, S., Mousavi, H. & Khafaie, M.A. Thunderstorm asthma outbreak, a rare phenomenon in southwest Iran: patients’ perspectives. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 36158–36162 (2018).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3478-9

Kevat A. Thunderstorm asthma: looking back and looking forward. J Asthma Allergy. 2020;13:293.

Luschkova, D., Traidl-Hoffmann, C. & Ludwig, A. Climate change and allergies. Allergo J Int 31, 114–120 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40629-022-00212-x

 

https://asthma.org.au/blog/tips-to-prepare-for-a-thunderstorm-asthma-event/


 

Antipsychotics & Dementia: Managing medications (across Hodges' model)

individual
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

group

person-centered care, communication	diagnosis medication management assessment - review premature deaths, stroke side-effects observation Anti-psychotics: Traditional - 1st generation Atypical - 2nd generation de-prescribing pain, analgesia,  research anti-depressant cholinesterase inhibitors titration trial reduction avoid benzodiazepines if possible
Team working, collaborative care, family nursing homes challenging behaviours - shouting, aggression, psychosis, agitation Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) psychosocial interventions, reassuring staff, knowledge and skills	Policy, Reports, Governance, Audit, Consent, Capacity, Consultation, Multi-disciplinary approach, institutions, choice

My source: AlzheimersAustralia via twitter
https://www.dementia.org.au/

Book: Thomas Keneally - The Daughters of Mars

http://www.welovethisbook.com/reviews/daughters-mars

An interesting novel in light of the military metaphor in nursing mentioned in the previous post. In February I visited Hay-on-Wye which was a great experience - book shops galore! Keneally was interviewed on Sky Arts - Hay Sessions, and by The Telegraph:

In the circumstances, he could be forgiven for turning out the odd finely wrought novella. Instead, the last six years have seen seven new Keneally books – his most recent novel weighed in at 520 pages and has a serious claim to be the best he’s ever written. The Daughters of Mars, about Australian nurses in the First World War, once again pulls off the miraculous Keneally trick of being both epic and intimate. It’s also packed with great phrase-making – an aspect of his work too often overlooked.

Hay Festival

Source: Sky Arts & The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/10078501/Hay-Festival-2013-Thomas-Keneally-discusses-his-new-novel-The-Daughters-of-Mars.html

Clusters of empathy

There still is a Complexity in Primary Care group but it is now essentially silent. I've met several people through the group over the years.

It might be decades since James Gleick's book Chaos (1987) and yet there is plenty of mileage left in complexity. One of the people I met through the group and hoped to meet in Australia at the ICN Congress is Paul Bennett who informed me of the following paper:

Academic Psychiatry, 33:6, Nov-Dec 2009 p.489

Winseman, J., Malik, A., Morison, J., Balkoski, V. (2009) Students’ Views on Factors Affecting Empathy in Medical Education. Academic Psychiatry. 33:484–491.

In explaining Hodges' model to Paul he was struck by the conceptual clustering in this paper. It isn't that there is a direct match between the paper's figure 2 and the care (knowledge) domains of the model, but multidimensional scaling is a potential tool to explore Hodges' model too.

The influence of political factors in medical education might be another aspect to consider. This is a dimension Hodges' model can encompass.

An acute concern at present in the NHS is the prospect of a seven day service, necessitating changes to the contracts of doctors and other disciplines.

Thanks to:
Paul Bennett, Primary Health Care Education Officer
Broken Hill University Department of Rural Health - Broken Hill
PO Box 457, BROKEN HILL NSW 2880
http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/drh/

Conferences and studies (what's the date?!)

I don't know about 21.12.12 being a date of note. 12.12.12 has brought another addition to a string of  disappointing conjunctions this past week.

I posted in the summer - here - about the ICN Congress in Melbourne next May. My submission did not make it, being placed on the reserve list. If this journey was going to happen then I would need to make arrangements now. So a desire to visit Australia and share Hodges' model with the ICN community and possibly some academic centers there will have to wait for another time. The original idea of a symposium would have been marvellous, so perhaps there are partnerships still to be forged.

Next up: another possible speaking opportunity for April, admittedly provisional has not been confirmed. Quite a disappointment this as I would have repeated a workshop approach I've used.

And finally ... finding an avenue to study Hodges' model at a postgraduate level (part time PhD) is proving far from straightforward. I knew this would be the case, so I will continue to refine my preparations and make further enquiries and applications.

As this year comes to a close I'm pleased to have done the presentations to date. Great experiences and communities all. I understand that the preoccupations with the Mayan calendar and the end of the World are mistaken. It is the start of a new calendar - a new age. That (always) sounds good to me.