Evidence sent to Cumbria Police about 61 baby deaths at church-run home c/o ITV News

'Some babies born with disabilities were denied medical help because they were judged unadoptable, as ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker reports

---

Evidence has been submitted to Cumbria Police in connection with allegations of historical abuse at a church-run mother and baby institution where more than 60 newborn babies died, following an ITV News investigation.

A new report by Dr Michael Lambert, an historian of the welfare state at Lancaster University, has outlined a high infant death rate at St Monica’s home in Kendal.

The report concluded that the deaths were due to a combination of failings, including inadequate facilities, malpractice and poor care from those delivering babies and a lack of oversight from the church and state.

Analysis of public health records, alongside birth and death certificates, indicated that children with disabilities born at the mother and baby home were deemed "un-adoptable" and denied modern medical care, according to the new research.'

◇

individual

|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES             

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

|

group

emotional neglect and abuse  grief, trauma and guilt  shame	physical neglect and abuse  high infant death rate inadequate facilities malpractice
mother and baby   social / societal punishment  public health	institutions  criminal investigation  records

Source: ITV: NW News and https://www.itv.com/news/2026-06-09/evidence-sent-to-cumbria-police-about-61-baby-deaths-at-church-run-home

Thoughts ii re. 2026 Lancaster Philosophy of Psychiatry Work in Progress Workshop

For me, applying Hodges' model I tend to place philosophy and psychiatry (mind, thought, belief, truth, intention ...) within the humanistic part of the model. So, Ewa Grzeszczak and - Philosophy of psychiatry and the methodology of social ontology - stood out. This is helpful as Homeostatic Property Clusters (HPC) are a useful structure, spanning bio-mathematics. As suggested previously with 'equality', we can place the philosophical non-trivial question of kinds at the centre of Hodges' model and proceed (if possible?) from there.

The requirement for a holistic, integrative and pluralistic framework is there in literature. A statement supported by Alessandra Civani's talk: 'What kind of concept is ‘incongruence’? I located a paper:

Enactive psychiatry - A pragmatic and pluralistic approach to mental health and disease

- (and now have a copy c/o and thanks to Alessandra) and am grateful to being pointed to de Haan:

An Enactive Approach to Psychiatry

 I will (must) return to these papers. Earlier on Hodges' model, I'd opined (as on 'X') how the -

• medical
• biomedical
• bio-psycho-social models - are insufficient in the 21st century.

There was a thematic feel to the presentations with Anna Golova - Self-illness ambiguity without a self-illness distinction - following nicely. The styling on the slides was an added bonus. I located an informative (co-authored) paper by Golova:

‘Is it me or my illness?’: self-illness ambiguity as a useful conceptual lens for psychiatry'

Part of the power of Hodges' model derives not so much from its duality; as its dual axes. The two axes can encompass and handle the relatedness between/within reductionism, holist perspectives, the self and otherness, illness and health (well-being).

An hours break brought us to an event which was very well attended, clearly open to the public:

6-7pm Prof Miriam Solomon – Royal Institute of Philosophy talk ‘Stigma as an actant in the history of psychiatry’

In setting out the talk's structure I liked Prof. Solomon's reference to the common, implicit "grime" theory of the dynamic of stigma, and "punching down" as a strategy for managing stigma. 'Grime' made me think of sense of smell, the grime in my father's work van, a diesel. Now so many memories are evoked with the merest whiff. More positively, the patina of physical and mental life also came to mind. You would - might think stigma has been dealt with by now, but of course we are socio-politically far from it.

There is a related podcast from 2025, which also covers Prof. Solomon's early studies. A previous paper was also noted in the slides:

Solomon, M. (2025). The Elusiveness of Hermeneutic Injustice in Psychiatric Categorizations. Social Epistemology, 39(2), 166–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2024.2400068

 

Discussion of the DSM inevitably followed (and in the above podcast). In questions the 'reality' of severe mental illness, and suggestion of the acute challenge of managing the negative symptoms of psychoses.

 

Prof. Solomon's conclusion was well worth waiting for, including:

Stigma as an "actant" (cf. Bruno Latour's concept of an agent: causal role without intention)... DSM - ICD...

 

If stigma disappeared tomorrow, the DSM would not have the same categories. 

 

Stigma (more specifically, its management) is shaping the conceptual space, with both scientific and moral consequences.

[Added 4th March...] On Friday - Sam Fellowes, took on, or has taken on - the non-trivial issue of - Modelling psychiatric diagnoses when self-diagnosing - how does this work? Complexity was acknowledged on the first slide, with self-diagnosis, and modelling, set against the Duhem-Quine thesis. 

This technical aspect is welcome and no doubt essential given the socio-technical nature of diagnosis, touching as it does the public (society), primary care, psychiatry, service user groups, policymakers, informatics, and HM Treasury, amongst several 'stakeholders'. With the impact of the internet and social media, much (if not all?) of the vocabulary of mental health professionals has been co-opted and re-framed(?) by patient / service-user groups? It does not, for example, appear that the agency behind the DSM will be able to claim it back. Autism and ADHD were also discussed and debated. I located a previous chapter by Sam (pay-wall):

Fellowes S. Self-Diagnosis in Psychiatry and the Distribution of Social Resources. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement. 2023;94:55-76. doi:10.1017/S1358246123000218

 

This really is a thicket of thorns, it spreads as and wherever you go.

 

The welfare bill is such that there should have been government Ministers in attendance. I have responded on behalf of clients to PIP assessments. Agencies have invited me to interview for 'Disability Assessor' roles. Not only is this a complex web, but several logics obtain: a perverse temporal logic operates, binary logic and a fixed mindset can develop so that some (vulnerable!?) individuals can get stuck. Perhaps, a social imperative steps in and disrupts, life chances: their being a NEET ('a young person who is no longer in the education system and who is not working or being trained for work'. Ecosia) is better for someone else? 

 

To unpick, make sense of this, you need a foundational universal model.

 

There is a (co-authored) paper from Giulia Russo, who presented - Epistemic and political role of experience: https://philpapers.org/rec/RUSTPO-112 from which:

'As it is widely known, epistemic injustice was introduced by Fricker (2007) to unveil power relations that have negative consequences on people as epistemic agents. She distinguished in particular two different kinds of epistemic injustice: testimonial and hermeneutical. The first kind occurs when a person (usually in a disadvantaged and oppressed role within the epistemic relation) is damaged as a knower because, as the name suggests, their testimony is overlooked, dismissed or invalidated. The second kind of epistemic injustice occurs when a person is deprived of the epistemic resources to even explain or articulate their experience of distress, or of systemic oppression. In connection to this, the concepts of neurodivergence and neurodiversity come from the political and social arena, and are born explicitly to contrast dominant pathologizing narratives in psychiatry.'

In seeking some 'test' cases to try to model relationally, Hodges' model suggests at least four - without letting the care / knowledge domains wag-the-dog. Giulia's talk was very helpful, ranging across forms of epistemic injustice (addressed by others too), identity, neurodivergence, lived experience, self-, counter- and collective narratives with references. A great resource.

 

Frank Denning, reminded me of an important phenomena, in Using Stebbing’s Directional Analysis to Evaluate ‘Mentalizing’. Talking therapies, or more properly referral to talking therapies often presents several criteria that would-be subjects must 'pass'. An ability to mentalize, can represent one. This is understanable, for effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy ... it is to be found in the manual. But, in terms of power relations, gate keeping in various forms is a literal (virtual) key to service access. Hodges' model is no different (sigh!). At what age can people start to use Hodges' model? What mentalization is involved to cognitively engage in use of Hodges' model? 

 

I struggled to obtain a copy of Stebbing's original work from 1930, but see how closely tied the work is to physics. An Internet Archive copy is poor quality. The search will continue, as I suspect there are links to Bill Ross's text on Deleuzian cosmology. It is marvellous that work from 1930 resonates today. There is: 

Janssen-Lauret, F. (Accepted/In press). Directional Analysis in Susan Stebbing’s Philosophy of Physics. In S. Chapman (Ed.), Susan Stebbing on Logic and Analysis Springer Nature. 

https://pure.manchester.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/338653274/Directional_Analysis_in_Susan_Stebbing_s_Philosophy_of_Physics_Final_.pdf

Gloria Ayob - Flourishing as mental health - was encouraging. 'TASK 1:EQUATION' a slide was titled, including emotional disorder is meta-evaluative; there are negative and positive poles, plus isomorphism between unpleasantness-pleasantness and disorder-health. I think my stomach was protesting I should have paid more attention. There is a blog post by Gloria: https://blog.oup.com/2024/12/the-concept-of-emotional-disorder/

After lunch Richard Hassall - Hermeneutical Injustice and Damaged Intellectual Self-Trust in Psychiatric Service Users, a reminder of the time and effort that needs to be put into public and patient involvement and engagement in mental health service (when this is desired). References included J.L. Austin and J.S. Bruner. A paper:

Hassall R. Sense-making and hermeneutical injustice following a psychiatric diagnosis. J Eval Clin Pract. 2024 Aug;30(5):848-854. doi: 10.1111/jep.13971. Epub 2024 Feb 20. PMID: 38375925.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jep.13971 

Scoping reviews are more common it seems: Lara Calabrese - Exploring epistemic injustice in dementia care: a scoping review and a qualitative study, plus paper [with QR code on the slide]:

Calabrese L, Brigiano M, Quartarone M, Chirico I, Trolese S, Lambiase F, Forte L, Annini A, Bortolotti L, Chattat R. I'm still here and my opinion matters: a scoping review on the experience of epistemic injustice among people living with dementia. Curr Psychol. 2025 Dec 17;45(1):s12144-025-08519-y. doi: 10.1007/s12144-025-08519-y. PMID: 41445984; PMCID: PMC7618523.

 

The paper's title here brought to mind the radio programme "Does He Take Sugar?" Questions followed regards the studies methods. Since leaving I wondered if there has been an evaluation of Dementia Friendly Communities? Are there dots to usefully joined there?

 

The final talk was delivered (with gusto - pepped me up anyway) by Jacob Barlow - Epistemic borders: experts, communities, communication. Jacob's interest in pragmatism was apparent. I look forward to reading future work, and note Liverpool 2025: ‘Problems with Pragmatism in the Philosophy of Psychiatry’.

All in all, a stimulating and enjoyable event.

2026 Lancaster Philosophy of Psychiatry Work in Progress Workshop

I am looking forward to, and preparing for this event next week:

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

Thursday 26 February 2026, 11:00am to Friday 27 February 2026, 3:30pm

Venue: Storey Lecture Theatre, Lancaster , LA1 1TH

Open to: Postgraduates, Staff

Event Details:
 
Sponsored by the British Society for the Philosophy of Science.
This workshop provides an informal forum where PhD students, and more experienced researchers, can present and discuss short works in progress. All paper slots are taken for 2026. 
Please email r.v.cooper AT lancaster.ac.uk if you'd like to attend.
THURSDAY 26th  FEB

10.45-11 Welcome
11-11.30 Hane Maung - Philosophy in Healthcare Practice: A Case Study.
11.30-12 Peter Jones - Hodges' model: A work-ALWAYS-in-progress and this is why...
12-12.30 Matthew Williams - The failure of the harm-minimisation argument for BID Surgery and the necessity of therapeutic justification
12.30-1 Clive Duddy – Autonomy in mental health care
1-2 LUNCH
2-2.30 George Turner - Difference denied.
2.30-3 Dieneke Hubbeling - Different ways of medical knowing in Walzer's different spheres of justice?
3-3.30 Ali Walker - Forget Fictionalism: Psychiatric Disorders are Quasi-Real
3.30-4 Ewa Grzeszczak - Philosophy of psychiatry and the methodology of social ontology.
4-4.30 Break
4.30-5 Alessandra Civani - What kind of concept is ‘incongruence’?
5-5.30 Anna Golova - Self-illness ambiguity without a self-illness distinction.
5.30-6 Break
6-7 Prof Miriam Solomon – Royal Institute of Philosophy talk ‘Stigma as an actant in the history of psychiatry’

FRIDAY 27th Feb

11-11.30 Sam Fellowes - Modelling psychiatric diagnoses when self-diagnosing - how does this work?
11.30-12 Giulia Russo - Epistemic and political role of experience
12-12.30 Frank Denning - Using Stebbing’s Directional Analysis to Evaluate ‘Mentalizing’.
12.30-1 Gloria Ayob - Flourishing as mental health
1-2 LUNCH
2-2.30 Richard Hassall - Hermeneutical Injustice and Damaged Intellectual Self-Trust in Psychiatric Service Users.
2.30-3 Lara Calabrese - Exploring epistemic injustice in dementia care: a scoping review and a qualitative study
3-3.30 Jacob Barlow - Epistemic borders: experts, communities, communication

<>

22nd UKSS International Conference

22nd UKSS International Conference

20th & 21st June 2022
at Lancaster University

Joined-up Thinking  for a Disconnected World

In every age, there is a turning point, a new way of seeing and asserting the coherence of the world.  J. Bronowski

About this event

As we emerge from the Covid pandemic, it is abundantly clear that we, the human race, share the same ecological systems and have the same survival instincts. However, we treat things in a piecemeal fashion in our day-to-day existence and conveniently forget that all our lives are entwined. We, the human race generating waste and creating pollution, cannot blame anyone else. Never has thought in a joined-up way been more critical. It is appropriate this year that the conference is hosted at the University of Lancaster that, under Peter Checkland, has done so much to stimulate Systems Thinking and Practice. To this end, the conference committee agreed that the theme should focus upon the value of systems thinking and practice and encourage contributions from across the spectrum of human concerns where the notion of holism is at its core.

 

Planning to attend ... See you there?

 

Previously:

https://hodges-model.blogspot.com/search?q=UKSS

Digital Wellbeing Educators - Online Summit

Higher Education has been transformed in recent months in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, as face-to-face teaching has been abruptly transformed into emergency remote teaching in virtual learning environments. For many, this has been a first-time experience, accelerating adoption of online education, often in a very agile way without the time and resources to allow for a carefully planned approach. Throughout this process students have also been compelled to change the way that they learn, and many may lack the competences required to fully participate in online education. 

More details and booking ...

See also:
http://www.digital-wellbeing.eu/

My source:
Dr Julie-Ann Sime
Centre for Technology-Enhanced Learning
Educational Research Department | Lancaster University

Physico-Political: as realised by Tony Heaton

individual - self

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group- population

	Great Britain from a Wheelchair: Tony Heaton

My source:
Steps, Championing Disability Arts, Lancaster Alumni Magazine 2019, pp.17-18.
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/alumni/


Image:
https://www.1418now.org.uk/commissions/does-it-matter/great-britain-from-wheelchair-tony-heaton/

AffecTech Workshop: Lancaster Tuesday May 14th 2019, 9-1pm

Presented by Lancaster University

Help shape the future of innovative technologies for mental health

We hope you will join us as a guest of Lancaster University, for a special workshop and networking opportunity exploring interactive mental health technologies being developed here in Lancaster. This is a first of a kind opportunity for professionals and public to engage with new prototypes being developed as part of the AffecTech network – a major international research project developing personal technologies for affective health.

Where: Reading and Writing Room, Storey Arts Centre, in Lancaster City Centre
(Next to Lancaster Railway Station)

When: Tuesday May 14th 2019, 9.00 am to 13.30 pm

Why: Learn about personal technologies for affective health, and help shape a major initiative dedicated to delivering self-help technologies to help sufferers of affective health conditions such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

More information and registration (free). 


[Hope to see you there!]

Borders & Boundaries 2018: Debating the limits and possibilities of Education

The Department of Educational Research invite international speakers every summer, and this year we are opening the event up to invite critical interdisciplinary scholars to engage in a range of events which bring together our three research centres: Higher Education Research and Evaluation; Technology Enhanced Learning; and Social Justice and Wellbeing in Education.

This year’s theme is Borders and Boundaries, which will be unpacked by our internationally renowned speakers and a programme of conference presentations on 3rd and 4th of July in the historic city of Lancaster.

Borders and Boundaries: Debating the limits and possibilities of Education

Borders and boundaries is an important theme in educational research and practice, having multiple meanings and interpretations. At one level, this notion reflects critical conceptualisations of place, territories and educational (im)mobilities which have come to the surface in recent years as a response to political and policy changes that seek to limit the movement of people and ideas. Alternatively, borders and boundaries may be taken to refer to theoretical demarcations and interactions, and the increasing emphasis on interdisciplinarity within research, and the associated instability of categories such as academic, practitioner, researcher and educator in the context of efficiency and structural changes within schools, universities and other institutions. This theme also has analytical value for framing debates about the perceived fluidity of formal and informal educational space in the digital age, simultaneously democratising knowledge and blurring the boundaries between professional and personal identities for many educators and academics. Finally, we envisage the theme of borders and boundaries as providing a way into discussions about social distinctions and emotional separations, which shape educational experiences, transitions, and outcomes in a broad range of ways.

Read more...

I have placed the conference themes within Hodges' model:

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------ Borders & Boundaries ------------------ mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

This theme also has analytical value for framing debates about the perceived fluidity of formal and informal educational space in the digital age, simultaneously democratising knowledge and blurring the boundaries between professional and personal identities for many educators and academics.	... critical conceptualisations of place,  territories ... ... borders and boundaries may be taken to refer to theoretical demarcations and interactions, and the increasing emphasis on interdisciplinarity within research, and -
Borders and boundaries is an important theme in educational research and practice, having multiple meanings and interpretations. Finally, we envisage the theme of borders and boundaries as providing a way into discussions about social distinctions and emotional separations, which shape educational experiences, transitions, and outcomes in a broad range of ways.	- the associated instability of categories such as academic, practitioner, researcher and educator in the context of efficiency and structural changes within schools, universities and other institutions.   factor immobility occupational immobility academic / educational (im)mobilities

My source: Jill Anderson, Lancaster University.

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: Launch event for the AffecTech Innovative Training Network

We hope you will join us for a special evening at Lancaster’s beautiful Ashton Memorial Hall to celebrate the launch of AffecTech, a prestigious digital health research initiative.

Where: Ashton Memorial Hall, Williamson Park, Lancaster 

When: Monday September 18th 2017, 7pm-9.30pm 

Why: AffecTech is a Marie Curie Innovative Training Network funded by the European Commission, dedicated to delivering effective low cost self-help technologies to help sufferers of affective health conditions such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorders. Coordinated by Lancaster University, and benefiting from leading European and global partners including the UK’s NHS, Oxford University and technology giant Philips, the goals, scale and expertise of AffecTech is unique, integrating the latest innovations in personal tech for mental health, with the most influential clinical psychology insights into emotion regulation. 

This event is organised by the School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University and will be an exclusive opportunity to network with leading partners from the digital health sector, and learn more about innovations in wearable technologies for mental health.

There will be complementary drinks and canapés, music and a full bar.

Please confirm your participation by signing up on Eventbrite (password: AffecTech):

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-event-for-the-affectech-innovative-training-network-tickets-37431209756 … 

We are looking forward to seeing you there. 

For further information and contact details, please visit: http://www.affectech.org/

PRESS RELEASE: Tuesday 5 September 2017

Research into wearables technology set to transform the future of mental healthcare

[ I attended - best wishes to all on a great research journey and initiative.
My source: a direct message from @Affec_Tech ]

AffecTech Launch

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.

NW England: Pathways to Health and Wealth 31st March 2014 (4-7pm)

Dear all

As discussed in our meeting, here is the website for the LU Cross Faculty KE event Pathways to Health and Wealth taking place on 31^st March 2014 (4-7pm):

http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/healthandwealth/

Please let me or Becky Gordon b.gordon AT lancaster.ac.uk know if you have any queries and please pass on to any of your industry connections who you think might be interested to find out what we do, how we do it and how we can help them do it too!

Thanks, Karen

Dr Karen L Wright
Peel Trust Lecturer in Biomedicine
Faculty of Health and Medicine
Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences
Furness College
Lancaster University
Lancaster LA1 4YG
Email: karen.wright AT lancaster.ac.uk

[ Just to note I have not attended these meetings, the post is copied here to help in a small way with local publicity. PJ ]

Papers, *actual* post-grad studies and a visit to Brian Hodges

Early last month I posted about planned trips to Sheffield and Lancaster Universities.

On the 4th I visited Paula Procter at Sheffield Hallam University, spending two hours there. Paula and I have known each other through informatics conferences since the late 1980s or early 90s and the British Computer Society Nursing Specialist Group. (Sadly this group and its publications are not as active as they used to be.) I really appreciate Paula's time and her key conclusion that rather than thinking about Hodges' model I need to apply my knowledge and experience with the model and DO something with it. In doing something with the model in a certain community - most likely residential care and nursing homes - I would also have a potential community of users for the new website. This was quite something to hear as I'm at that stage of my career when, shall we say - other possibilities beckon.

In the afternoon I travelled the short distance to meet Brian Hodges at his home. It was great to meet with Brian again and his wife. It was a lovely sunny afternoon as per the welcome and some cake! We reflected on the respective changes over the past five years and current events. Hot-off-the-press of course was my sharing the discussion with Paula and the planned visit to Lancaster University.

We agreed to meet again and not leave it so long next time. Brian has a desire to write again and and a prospective topic in dependence - independence. I hope this is something Brian can do and forward a photo for the (still) promised site. Brian now has copies of the most recent papers and the latest draft on recovery in mental health and the model.

On the Wednesday, after work I drove to Lancaster to discuss their PhD E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning (thesis and coursework) distance learning.

At the start of last week a reserve place - for January 2015 became an offer of a place next month.

So, as of next month I will make a start. There is a residential week to look forward to at the end of March. Three second hand books from the reading list are ordered. There is a recommended video link too that invites repeat viewing, Etienne Wenger on Communities of Practice:

http://www.239productions.co.uk/wenger/

- and in the Nursing Informatics book I'm reading for review, on page 189 box 11.1 is on the same topic and referenced source Wenger, E..

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