Beautiful thought & Houses - Ruskin

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group - population

"There are two ways of getting it, if you do want it. The first is wholly in your own power; to make yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts. Those are nests on the sea indeed, but safe beyond all others; only they need much art in the building. None of us yet know, for none of us have yet been taught, what fairy palaces we may build of beautiful thought – proof against all adversity. Bright fancies, satisfied memories, noble histories, faithful sayings, treasure-houses of precious and restful thoughts, which care cannot disturb, nor pain make gloomy, nor poverty take away from us – houses,- built without hands, for our souls to live in" - Ruskin.

THE WORKS OF JOHN RUSKIN, 
HONORARY STUDENT OF CHRISTCHURCH, OXFORD. 
VOLUME IV. 
THE EAGLES NEST. IX. — THE STORY OF THE HALCYON. I99.
LONDON : PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY SMITH, ELDER & CO., 15, WATERLOO PLACE; 
AND SOLD BY MR. G. ALLEN, HEATHFIELD COTTAGE, KESTON, KENT. 
1872.

My source:
The Ruskin Library, Lancaster University.

CfP: Lancaster - Philosophy of Psychiatry Work in Progress Day 2018

Thursday 31st May 2018

PhD students and more established academics are invited to present work in progress in the philosophy of psychiatry (20 min talks, 10 mins discussion). Paper slots will be given out on a first come, first served basis. If you’d like to give a paper please email Rachel Cooper (r.v.cooper AT lancaster.ac.uk) with a title. There is no budget for this workshop, so speakers will need to cover their own expenses!

Speakers accepted so far are:

• Hane Maung (Manchester) – Is suicide a psychiatric problem?
• Richard Hassall (Sheffield) – What does a psychiatric diagnosis mean for those who are given a diagnosis?
• Phoebe Friesen (Oxford) – Distancing medically assisted dying and suicide: Is it justified?
• Rachel Cooper (Lancaster) – Puzzles in psychiatric classification
• Sam Fellowes (Lancaster) – Continuity and discontinuity in the history of psychiatry

An up-to-date list of accepted papers can be found here:

http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/bioethics-and-philosophy-of-medicine/2018/04/20/cfp-lancaster-philosophy-of-psychiatry-work-in-progress-day-2018/


My source: Philos-L

 

Depression Worskhop: c/o and with thanks to AffecTech

As posted last September I enjoyed an evening at the launch of AffecTech at Lancaster. This post is prompted by a tweet:

AffecTech Design Workshop: Discussion on Cross-disciplinary Methods for Depression Treatment: https://t.co/7xVinrvmWf #wearables #tech #innovation #research #digitalhealth #mentalhealth #depression

— AffecTech (@Affec_Tech) February 16, 2018

I should add that this post is not intended to represent an endorsement by AffecTech but there is an opportunity to reflect and show how Hodges' model can be used.  I contacted the researchers who - in the spirit just mentioned - kindly forwarded higher resolution images. Of course, not being present at the workshop a lot of information is lost. The reference to art is interesting in itself. It is difficult to capture the context of the whole workshop but - as per the tweet - a short article sets the scene:

AffecTech Design Workshop: Discussion on Cross-disciplinary Methods for Depression Treatment

I have provided two examples of Hodges' model mapping the contents of the workshop. The first,  covers Figure 1: Concept maps of depression causes and symptoms. I don't have a key so there may be the thoughts of several individuals - as per the colours and codes on the flipcharts. Some terms are immediately not only cross-disciplinary but multicontextual in terms of their everyday meaning, for example, darkness, falling, stuck-ness, negative spiral (thoughts, actions), imprisonment mentally, physically, and politically due to dependency, financial constraints.

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Unreachable hope                                     Pain                                           Weight - burdened        Immobility - motivation                   DEPRESSION    Anxiety DESPERATION                                          Stuck                 Darkness    Grief             Falling Insomnia       Negative filter         No hope Nowhere   Negative spiral                             Lack of interest and motivation Internalising rage   Suppressed emotions Anger Not being listened to                  Darkness

Pain Im-mobility  Physical decline Weight Stuck Chained/Locked to go energy imprisonment Darkness

Imprisonment – Social Isolation No support Hiding Loneliness

Imprisonment – Powerlessness? Loss of control

Next, I have examined the text immediately following and mapped this [my emphasis] to the model.

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------- THE SYSTEM --------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Identified, general state of lack of interest as a main symptom of depression (lack of energy, negative spiral), and as one of the obstacles for technology-based treatment of it. Therapist input: the emotion regulation component of the system should be suggestion-based (promoting novelty in the patient daily routine). system should be able to continuously monitor* (and predict) the user mood should have an appealing and trust-worthy interface from which it can communicate with the user and modifying his/her immediate context. If depressed - the agent engages the user in a discussion in which a range of emotion regulation techniques is proposed to him/her. Includes: (i) modifying environment (light changes, playing music); (ii) recommending activities; (iii) proposing mindfulness exercises; (iv) engaging the user in a discussion; or (v) recommending the user to look for the support of a friend. Further, at the end of each day the user and the agent discuss progress made over recent days, and define small steps that could be taken in the near future.

Requirement for a pro-active intervention system, and engage the user as soon as (or better just a bit before) a critical situation is detected. System should: *real time - 'always on'? provide daily feed-back to the user (giving a sense of incrementally overcoming problems). Low-fidelity prototype of a system that meet these requirements. Composed of two components: (i) wrist-band device worn by the user that monitors the user mood; and (ii) an assistive agent that is responsible for the emotion regulation system component. Working principle of system - wrist-band devices communicates to the agent when the user is in a depressed mood (- use of biosensors)

Should strive to connect the user with his/her close friends.  Emotion regulation techniques - (v) recommending the user to look for the support of a friend (see above).

The above is provided as a 'pause for thought'. I'm no expert on NLP, but I am acutely aware of the power of the words we use. And how what is said to patients, carers can be returned as a sizzling hot potato that may reveal: great foresight in what you have missed; a major lack of understanding of a situation and treatment plan; and (then) as follows a need for urgent educational intervention. In applications such as this - care needs to be taken in when and were particular words are used. 'Treatment' is in the title, but can be a loaded term as understood by the patient, client, carer, or user. People will say, "No it isn't - this is a 'balanced' approach." but herein risks lie.

Services should be non-ageist and yet culturally if you survey treatment and related terms - from a decennial perspective I wonder what you would find? I have patients who refer to Dr Google and will challenge and ask about their care and if not satified seek further opinions - a fresh pair of eyes; and others who are quite institutionalized in respect of passively accepting what is 'prescribed'. This may be reflected in the length of their mental 'health career' and their previous mental health history.

Please note the inclusion of THE SYSTEM above in the axes and domains of Hodges' model. This is non-trivial. 

At the end of the day (and the start of the night - for someone with depression?) what is the system? I'm not being awkward, but the 'system' in research can become a lay-by. As a compound term it is shorthand, but obviously we need to focus on the elements, constituents and what glues the system together: coherence. As an example, how often in IT project are 'Requirements' the sought after token that signifies "We are on the right track!"? The focus from the above is laudable being clearly person- patient-centred. Is there more that can be said about the system and requirements in the social and political domains? Is there a way also for the agent to figure higher up the design ecosystem (hierarchy)? This is no doubt were the hard work matters - theory, practice - the thesis!

Given the complexity of the (design, care, technical, global...) problems we face I do believe that Hodges' model may serve a purpose in helping to sustain, or ‘recover’ the context – of a situation. This is the purpose of stories of course. The aim of AffecTech's project here is no less than detecting a critical situation. Perhaps this is the truth of 'integrated health records' from wrist device, to agent, patient's record and health services'? It is brilliant to see such initiatives getting underway they are the future....

 (I may add to this post in coming days - weeks.)

With thanks to Alan Cole and Andrea Patane of AffecTech at Lancaster University.

Lancaster University studies - residential past week

It's not listed in the sidebar, but by far the most significant h2cm related event I've attended in the almost eight years of Welcome to the QUAD has been the residential week up at Lancaster. I had just 41 miles to travel; fellow students in cohort 7 came from much further afield: UAE, Egypt, German, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Singapore and Isle of Man (Yo! there used to be users of h2cm there!) ....

I was late on the first day.

It was 0930 start last Monday, I arrived 1015. There was an accident at Preston on the M6.

It was great to meet people, fellow students and staff that I'd shared online learning tasks with since January. Strange to think - hope! - that we'd all be meeting again in a year. Meeting cohort 6, the group 12 months ahead of us was very informative. Also exciting that the group are considering an extramural residential in other climes: I hope this happens.

The presentations were a great help and included guest speakers - Prof. Charles Crook and Dr Debbie Prescott (cohort 1).

Now I've a research study to complete and Hodges' model is (will be) a key part of this. It's looking like there will be a literature search to follow.

Yesterday 0930 I thought the day was going to be wasted. It wasn't. I settled on Zotero now and it's a boon (at least I hope I don't have to start afresh!). There are other productivity tools to find, select and master into a workflow.

I hope to hear next week about a research conference in September that will further h2cm studies.

The study double bind is always an interesting one, being scared out your pants ... the 60+ mark: but also reassured - "You wouldn't be here if....".

I'd applied before for other programmes (Netherlands and thought about Italy), drafting a proposal and with subsequent efforts amazed at the demonstrated ineptitude. I think there's progress.

At the reception the progression of studies was stressed. The way, if we get beyond part one, we will be learning more and more about less and less.

How does that sit with Hodges' model and all it entails?

• A generic conceptual framework?
• A series of conceptual spaces?
• Is there such a thing as 'holistic bandwidth'?
• Can Hodges' model serve as the universal conceptual framework for health care, nursing and social care?

As the birthday of W2tQ beckons later this month there's no escape. Drupal 8 is going to throttle me soon as the pressure to introduce TEL technology enhanced learning to my studies takes hold.

Public 2.0: Culture, Creativity and Audience in an Era of Information Openness, University of Westminster 21 July 2011

I have just registered for this event - see you there perhaps!

21 July 2011 10.30am - 6.00pm
Location: University of Westminster, Regent Campus, 309 Regent Street, London, W1B 2UW

FREE but register here: ...

In recent years significant changes in the technological, social and media landscapes have redrawn relationships between cultural producers of all stripes and the people previously called readers, audiences and users. In parallel with this, unprecedented amounts of information have entered the public domain as a result of both top-down policy pressures and ‘bottom-up’ social activism. This process in turn has given birth to new cultural movements, opportunities for creativity, forms of information visualisation, and modes of content production.

This free one-day conference brings together journalists, academics, developers, artists, activists and business people to reflect upon these phenomena, show work, exchange experiences and signpost future trends.

The conference will be followed by an exhibition opening of work produced as part of /Data Art/, an AHRC funded research project exploring how broadcast and news data can be reformatted, explored and navigated using information visualisations. The project is the result of collaboration between: the Centre for Research in Education Art and Media (CREAM), the University of Westminster; BBC Learning and BBC Future Media and Technology.

Invited speakers include:

Tom Corby, conference convener, artist, academic and writer working at the University of Westminster.
Simon Rogers, editor of the Guardian Datablog and Datastore.
Ian Forrester, Senior Producer at BBC R&D and emergent technology expert.
Roland Harwood, co-founder of 100%Open an innovation agency.
David Gauntlett, writes and teaches on how digital media gives people new opportunities to create and connect.
Rob Myers, artist, writer, hacker and Chief Technology Officer for Philter Phactory.
Drew Hemment, associate Director of ImaginationLancaster, Lancaster University, and Director of the FutureEverything Festival. (TBC)
Julian Tate, lead developer on the Manchester Open Data Cities project for FutureEverything.
Ruth Catlow, media artist and co-founder and co-director of Furtherfield.org media arts organization.
Santiago Ortiz, Co-founder and research director at Bestiario.

In addition a ‘show and tell’ session will feature art and design works by independent companies and developers including the Bestiario design company, Andy Littledale, Gavin Baily and Harry Robbins.