Call for Papers: Bioethics and Philosophical Health - JECP

Submission Deadline: Thursday, 31 December 2026

Contemporary bioethics has developed sophisticated tools for ethical decision-making. Yet it often operates within assumptions that reduce life to physiological viability. Ethical questions are frequently treated as matters of procedure and consent. Meanwhile, patients and clinicians face questions that exceed these frameworks. What makes a life worth living? How does illness disrupt or reveal meaning? What forms of care support not just survival but existential coherence? These questions call for a deeper engagement between bioethics and the philosophy of existence.

Despite growing interest in person-centred care, conceptual tools for clinical evaluation remain limited. Frameworks for assessing philosophical sense-making and existential orientation are underdeveloped. The Philosophical Health perspective addresses this gap by going beyond physical and psychological health. It asks how we cultivate meaningful lives through bodily experience, self-understanding, relational belonging, engagement with possibility, purposeful action, and philosophical reflection. The concept draws on the ancient tradition of bios philosophikos. It proposes that healthcare should attend not only to pathology but to the philosophical dimensions of human existence.

This special issue creates space for exploring how philosophical health can deepen bioethical inquiry as an embodied ethics of the good life. It challenges reductive assumptions and fosters practices that support purpose and meaning in lives, even when disrupted by health challenges. We welcome transdisciplinary contributions from philosophers, bioethicists, clinicians, medical humanists, and social scientists. Topics include how philosophical frameworks enrich clinical practice, how healthcare shapes existential experience, how the 4E cognitive approach may inform bioethical theory, and how dialogical methodologies can be integrated into institutional contexts. The issue aims to rediscover bioethics as a genuinely philosophical and existential enterprise, that is as bios ethikos.

Topics of interest for this call for papers include but are not restricted to:

• Philosophical frameworks for enriching or transforming bioethical practice and clinical evaluation;
• Philosophical dimensions of clinical encounters: embodiment, selfhood, temporality, and meaning-making;
• Critiques of the reduction of ethical deliberation to procedure, regulation, or risk management;
• How healthcare practices shape or constrain the philosophical dimensions of human existence;
• The 4E cognitive approach (embodied, extended, enactive, embedded) applied to bioethical theory and practice;
• Integration of philosophical inquiry and dialogical methods into clinical or institutional contexts;
• Empirical and conceptual engagement with the Philosophical Health methodology, including SMILE_PH;
• Cross-cultural and planetary perspectives on philosophical health and the good life;
• Methodological innovations in clinical philosophy, philosophical counselling, and reflective practice.

More details here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/13652753/call-for-papers/si-2026-000772

_______

Dr Luis de Miranda

Associate Professor (Docent) in Bioethics, Uppsala University

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, Turku Institute for Advanced Studies
Associated Researcher, Centre for Research Ethics and Bioethics,

Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University

https://www.luisdemiranda.com/

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. Follow the list on Twitter @PhilosL. Follow the Department of Philosophy @LiverpoolPhilos

European Character and Virtue Association (ECVA) Conference 2026

Theme: Bridging the Knowledge – Action Gap in Character Development

Re: invitation to the ECVA 2026 conference: reminder ...

Established in 2022, the European Character and Virtue Association offers a forum for promoting research, training and networking in the field of character education. We bring together educational institutions in Europe and scholars from around the world, providing unrivalled opportunities for members to share best practices and shape European policies affecting higher education and research. 

The 2026 conference of ECVA will take place in Trnava University, Slovakia, in cooperation with the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham, the Private University College of Teacher Education of Christian Churches, and the Virtues and Values Education Center of Francisco de Vitoria University. 

The Executive Board of the European Character and Virtue Association (ECVA) cordially invites you to attend the 2026 ECVA Conference in Trnava, Slovakia. 

• President: Prof. Dr. James Arthur (Harvard University)
• Vice President: Prof. Dr. Verónica (Francisco de Vitoria University Madrid)
• Secretary: Prof. Dr. Tom Harrison (Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham)
• Treasurer: Prof. Dr. Roland Bernhard (University of Teacher Education of Christian Churches Austria)

Conference Information Trnava, Slovakia, 2026, 24th to 26th of June 

We expect more than: 📍100+ researchers 🏫 40+ universities 🌍 20+ countries 🎤 60+ presentations & keynote addresses 

📝 Submit your abstract and find all conference details at the link below:

👉 https://ecva-character.org/ecva-conference-2026

Deadline for Abstract Submission: 31st of January, 2026.

All abstracts will undergo a review process over the course of the following month. Once your proposal has been accepted, you will receive detailed information about registration, conference fee (275,- EUR) processing, accommodation options, and other necessary information.

Notification of Acceptance: 1st of March 2026.

Contributions that demonstrate high quality and close relevance to the main theme of the conference will be accepted for review in preparation for the next scientific monograph produced by the ECVA.

Warm regards,

Dr. Martin Brestovanský
(Trnava University, Slovakia)

on behalf of the ECVA Steering Group

Prof. James Arthur (Harvard University)
Prof. Verónica Fernández (Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid)
Prof. Tom Harrison (Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtue, University of Birmingham)
Prof. Roland Bernhard (University of Teacher Education of Christian Churches, Vienna)
Prof. Claudia Navarini (Università degli Studi Europea di Roma)
Prof. Ines Weber (Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg)

Conference description 

Bridging the Knowledge – Action Gap in Character Development 

Moral education often assumes that ethical knowledge or cognitive competence alone will result in moral behaviour. Yet lived experience, philosophical reflection, and empirical research consistently show otherwise. A persistent gap exists between what individuals know is right and what they actually do—a phenomenon recognized since antiquity. 

Aristotle observed that “we reason here not to know what virtue is, but to become good” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1103b), highlighting that moral reasoning is directed toward formation, not just information. Immanuel Kant similarly acknowledged that a person may clearly understand moral duty and yet lack the will to act accordingly, pointing to the human struggle between reason and inclination. 

David Hume went further, arguing that “reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions,” insisting that moral knowledge without rightly ordered desires lacks the power to move us to action. And Martin Buber wittily adds: “The worst notorious liar in the classroom will write a brilliant treatise on the destructive power of falsehood”. 

This enduring challenge – now referred to as the knowledge–action gap – remains a pressing concern across education, psychology, and the social sciences. Scholars have described related phenomena in various conceptualizations, such as the reason–action gap, attitude–behaviour gap, intention–behaviour gap, or the knowledge–attitudes–practice (KAP) gap. Each term reflects a common concern: knowing what is right does not reliably lead to doing what is right. 

Bridging this divide is a complex task, compounded by the dynamic, deeply personal, and context-sensitive nature of character formation. Educational and behavioural sciences are increasingly turning to integrative approaches that go beyond cognitive instruction. Interventions such as moral sensitization, dramatization, habit training, and reflective practice are being explored to enhance the coherence between values and actions. 

There is growing consensus that this so-called “gappiness problem” cannot be resolved through one-size-fits-all solutions (e.g., moral emotions alone or identity-based interventions). Instead, promising “multi-component” models are emerging that draw on diverse disciplines and methodologies to address the challenge. 

Conference Goals 

By bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives and diverse methodologies, the ECVA 2026 conference aims to deepen our understanding of the knowledge–action gap and to promote innovative, research-informed strategies for strengthening moral coherence and character development in real-world settings. 

We look forward to welcoming those committed to advancing theory-informed practice and practice-informed theory in the service of ethical integrity and flourishing lives.

Previously: 'character' 

If "mechanism-based approach to theorizing offers an encompassing way ...

... to think about social and ecological phenomena":

What if there was a model that could encompass 
mechanism-based and humanistic-based theorising?

'A core challenge of studying ecosystems and societies as one system is integrating social and ecological theorizing. Although the social and the ecological intertwine in multiple ways, much traditional theory focuses on one or the other (Schlüter et al. 2022). Despite good intentions, attempts for integration are often only partially successful. One reason for this is the apparent incommensurability of methodological and theoretical approaches. However, the mechanism-based approach to theorizing offers an encompassing way to think about social and ecological phenomena by framing them in terms of entities and their interactions. Mechanism-based theorizing has been gaining popularity in science philosophy (Machamer et al. 2000, Craver 2007, Glennan and Illari 2017), including social sciences philosophy (Elster 1989, Hedström and Swedberg 1998, Hedström and Ylikoski 2010) and philosophy of ecology (Pâslaru 2017, González del Solar et al. 2019). It has helped to resolve many traditional problems related to scientific explanation and it is consistent with the way in which social and natural scientists talk about theorizing, causation, and explanation.'

 

Fig. 1. The social-ecological expansion of Coleman’s diagram.

Martínez-Peña, R., & Ylikoski, P. (2024). Coupling social and ecological mechanisms with the Coleman boat. Ecology and Society, 29(4). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15209-290406

See also: 'micro' : 'macro' : 'Bunge'

'Politics as a science' ...

'The science of politics is the oldest of the social sciences but still perhaps the most dependent: it derives much of its methodology from statistics (the science of the state turned into the science of numerical data), from economics and from sociology and it steals much of its substance from anthropology, from history and from law. Yet there is little doubt about the core of the subject: it focuses on the ways in which decisions are taken by men acting within territorially or functionally defined networks and constellations of organizations. And the hallmark of the discipline is 'its systematic analysis', whether couched in verbal and literary terms or in the formalized language of statistics or of mathematical logic.' Preface vii

Hayward R. Alker, Karl W. Deutsch, Antoine H. Stoetzel (eds.), Mathematical Approaches to Politics, Amsterdam, Elsevier, 1973, pp. 475.

'New Thoughts on Conceptual Engineering' - Introduction to special issue

 Abstract

Conceptual engineering has emerged in recent times as a significant topic in current philosophical literature. The now vast list of references includes works on more general or conceptual issues, such as describing the nature of conceptual engineering, how we may respond to the different objections to it, how it is related to philosophical analysis or empirical philosophy, or toward which target conceptual engineering should be directed, among others. But research on the topic also includes applications of conceptual engineering to many different areas. This Introduction opens with a short overview of the state of the art on conceptual engineering, aiming to clarify the most important features associated with it. The Introduction moves on to introduce and discuss the eight articles collected here, whose topics range from the nature and the functionality of conceptual engineering to reconstructing the entire conceptual engineering practice. Taken as a whole, this special issue is meant to provide enlightening, informative, and thought-provoking views on the topic, its functions, targets, and challenges.

de Donato-Rodríguez, Xavier. 2025. “ Introduction to the Special Issue New Thoughts on Conceptual Engineering.” Metaphilosophy 56(3-4): 283–293. https://doi.org/10.1111/meta.70007

10th Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference: July 2-4, 2025

Save the date!

As a scholar who is active in Threshold Concepts, you may be interested to know that the biennial conference on Threshold Concepts will be held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada on July 2-4, 2025. More information on the call for proposals and conference logistics will be available in the late spring. But for now, follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @ThresholdConcep and join our Linkedin group (Threshold Concepts Conference 2025) to get the most up to date information.

Conference Invitation

Dear Colleagues,

As you may know, the biennial conference on Threshold Concepts will be held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada on July 2-4, 2025. As a scholar who has been active with Threshold Concepts in the last few years, we hope that you will consider submitting a proposal and attending the conference. The call for proposals will be open October 15 – December 20, 2024. 

Please check out the conference information on our website (https://thresholdconcepts.home.blog/) and reach out if you have any questions.

All the best,

Julie

Email: julie.rattray AT durham.ac.uk

Prof. Julie Rattray
Professor of Higher Education and Director of EDI at School of Education
Chair of Durham Disabled Staff Network
Durham University
Confluence Building
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3LE

 

The Digital Collective (DC) a Symposium: Digitalisation, Subjectivities, and Care

Dear colleagues, 

We recognise that many people who wanted to join our symposium on Digitalisation, subjectivities, and care were unable to join in person. For this and other reasons we have moved our symposium to be fully online. Our intention is for the symposium to be accessible to all of our colleagues including those who are outside the NL. 

If this is you, we hope you will now consider submitting an abstract, and as such we have extended the deadline to 31 January 2024.

Decisions will be made by 14 February 2024.

Please find the amended call below.

CFP: Digitalisation, subjectivities, and care
7 March 2024, 9.30am – 6pm, online
Deadline abstract submission: 27 November

The Digital Collective (DC) at the University of Twente in the Netherlands is planning a symposium on digitalisation in care. More information below. Please consider submitting an abstract for a talk or poster presentation, deadline: 31 January 2024. 

Any questions to: dc-bms AT utwente.nl 

Introduction

Digitalisation is more than a technological phenomenon. It concerns an ever shifting relation between digital technologies and societal developments. Digital tools are increasingly common in care contexts, reshaping practices, institutions, relations, and social structures. Understanding digitalisation of care therefore requires a multidisciplinary approach to distinct yet related issues that cover the scale of technology innovation, societal impacts (benefits and drawbacks), as well as the pace of development and its ubiquitous nature. In this interdisciplinary symposium we will therefore explore the relation between digital tools and those who use them, willingly or otherwise. 

Topics of interest:

Possible topics related to digitalisation include, but are not limited to: 

• Digital users and digital tools
• Care institutions
• Data development / use in digital care contexts
• Epistemic injustice in digital care contexts 
• Perspectives on ‘users’ of digital care content
• Realities and subjectivities of ‘digital users’ 
• (Multi-)methodological approaches to digital care
• Care labour economies
• Global justice perspectives on care
• Human-technology relations
• Health economics 
• Health Technology Assessment of digital health technologies

The DC is a multidisciplinary platform and we welcome submissions from a broad range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, including from outside academia.

Overview of the symposium:

Schedule and further information about the day to follow.

Submission deadlines:

• Extended abstract submission: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
• Notification of decisions: Wednesday, 14 February 2024

Please note:

• Extended abstracts should be between 500 and 1000 words. 
• Submissions should be sent by email to dc-bms AT utwente.nl 
• Poster proposals should be sent to the same email, and clearly labelled as such. 
• If you want your work to be considered for both a presentation and a poster, please make this clear in your submission. Abstracts not accepted for presentation may be invited to present a poster instead.
• Each submission will receive at least two reviews. 

Additional information:

The Digital Collective (DC) is an interdisciplinary research platform on digitalisation at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. DC consists of social scientists and philosophers specialised in digitalisation and with domain expertise in health, higher education, artificial intelligence, and related technologies. 

After the symposium the DC intends to build a consortium with a view to developing collaborative work, including for a Horizon Europe funding proposal.

 

Event and venue information:

 

The event will be free for all participants. It will be fully online. Further details to follow.

Symposium organisers and programme Committee:

Please send questions to: dc-bms AT utwente.nl 

Dr Y. J. Erden

Associate Professor in Philosophy
University of Twente
AISB Vice Chair 

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/ 

Follow the list on Twitter @PhilosL. Follow the Department of Philosophy @LiverpoolPhilos 

n.b. With the event now including provision for online presentations I am submitting an abstract.

Special Issue - Theorytellings: Epistemic Narratives in the Digital Humanities

Photo by Marcus Urbenz on Unsplash

Journal of Cultural Analytics

Vol. 7, Issue 4, 2022
Theorytellings: Epistemic Narratives in the Digital Humanities

"This special issue deals with existing theory narratives and conceptions in DH scholarship. Introducing the neologism “theorytellings”, this special issue invites DH scholars to narrate and discuss their own theoretical contributions to the field."

 

Kleymann, Rabea, et al. “Foreword to the Special Issue ‘Theorytellings: Epistemic Narratives in the Digital Humanities.’” Journal of Cultural Analytics, vol. 7, no. 4, Nov. 2022, doi:10.22148/001c.55593.

 

Includes:

Abstract

The status of theory in the Digital Humanities (DH) has been the subject of much debate. As a result, we find different theory narratives competing and entangled with each other. If at all, these narratives can only be grasped and examined from a somewhat detached perspective. Here, we attempt to investigate these elusive narratives by means of a conceptual history approach. In doing so, we define different theory dimensions, ranging from specific cultural and literary theory frameworks to more generic uses of the concept of theory. We examine the use and semantic changes of these theory notions in a large corpus of DH journals. Using a mixture of heuristic methods and approaches from the field of distributional semantics, we aim to create tellable conceptual stories of DH theory.

Kleymann, Rabea, et al. “Conceptual Forays: A Corpus-Based Study of ‘Theory’ in Digital Humanities Journals.” Journal of Cultural Analytics, vol. 7, no. 4, Dec. 2022, doi:10.22148/001c.55507.

 INDIVIDUAL

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 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

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GROUP

	'theorytellings'
storytelling

Abstract

Instead of looking for new paradigms for Digital Humanities (DH), we present Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) as a methodological approach to frame digital research practices more reflectively. By turning to the epistemological and practical implications of digital tools like Topic Modeling and digital data sources like YouTube comments, we highlight the theoretical assumptions that are already in the game—and call for more explicitness and methodical monitoring. To explain the procedures of GTM and the proposed worth for DH, we present an example of a qualitative research project using machine learning techniques to narrow down a large scale of data to human interpretable resample. The methodically monitored resampling process provided valuable means to validly minimize the amount of data without losing a qualitative trajectory of the process itself. Defining and tracing relevant content in our original data set enabled us to find related comments and textual conversations to be analyzed further. We discuss the example iteration in two ways: Our prototype and procedure show on the one hand, how qualitative research and computational methods can be better intertwined without compromising their epistemological foundations. On the other hand, we argue for an understanding of DH as research practice, that should follow an abductive research agenda in order to ground its theories in data.

Bischof, Andreas, and Konstantin Freybe. “Grounding Theory in Digital Data: A Methodological Approach for a Reflective Procedural Framework.” Journal of Cultural Analytics, vol. 7, no. 4, Dec. 2022, doi:10.22148/001c.57197.

ii from Learning Health Systems journal - to case studies

Returning to this journal, reference #47 -

MacQuarrie C. Holistic designs. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE; 2010:442-443.

In -

From “Invented here” to “Use it everywhere!”: A Learning health system from bottom and/or top?

Christian Colldén, Andreas Hellström

- led me to (with my emphasis) 

Encyclopedia of case study research/edited by Albert J. Mills, Gabrielle Durepos, and Elden Wiebe. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. 2010.

"Case study methodology can be a rich source for understanding the multiple structures that support and sustain organizational life and business units. Its strengths are in its ability to gain an insider’s viewpoint during the research process, the more in-depth and nuanced findings based on that, and in its flexibility in using different methods. Its challenges are in the theoretical framework and in the development of concepts based on empirical findings. When these are taken into account, fruitful and nuanced research results are possible, and through the study it is possible to gain an overall and holistic picture of the research object." p.76.

"To reach the intended effect for the learners, these teaching cases must fulfill certain conditions and prerequisites. For this, Bernd Weitz proposes three essential criteria: exemplarity, clearness, and practical orientation.

Exemplarity means that the study must exemplify not just an arbitrary and subjective case, but also one that is objective, unique, or representative. Clearness requires that cases are not trivial; on the contrary, they have to make use of all possible and appropriate alternatives of illustration for a comprehensive understanding. This demands holism, traceability, visualization, and supplementation with additional information. The last point, practical orientation, aims for the highest integration of theory and practice for an integrated learning process." p.77.

    (And many other sources.)

Hodges' model provides a portal. As a frame, not just one type of portal but several including information (portal). A portal that can function as a learning health system. Could this in combination with health literacy* even be extended to represent a definition of self-care? Long identified as a research approach for Hodges' model, case studies are the logical fit. If they were not, then the whole clinical, nursing, healthcare rationale for the model would be lost. A clinical, medical, health care episode begins as a result of case-ness being achieved. In the case that follows in practice, we are looking to assure person-centered care in the midst of criteria, processes, (gate-keeping) thresholds that are inherently service-centred and possibly also influenced by targets and a series of constraints.

"Case studies of the elderly tend to embrace normativism. If health, as in naturalism, amounts to preserving the organic functional ability to make species-typical contributions to survival and reproduction, then health can be objectively and statistically determined—that is, subjects’ perceptions or awareness are not relevant. But if a normative evaluation of the person’s body and mind is a necessary element in the care of the elderly, then case studies are necessary." p.127.

Demographics, and intergenerational factors, plus the (probable) rise of appeals to transdisciplinarity^ means that for policy, governance and assurance case studies and mixed-methods will increase in research.

The orientation of Hodges' model is also inevitably practical and hence pragmatic.

I have only scratched the surface here, and probably not in the most itchy of spots (Encyclopedia and not the only one).

More to follow ... and if you have observations, advice I'd be pleased to hear from you.

*All the literacies and schools of informatics.
^Such are the problems we face.

See also: Contents: Learning Health Systems,6,3, July 2022

The QUALCARE Scale - in Hodges' model

 Clearing yet another piece of notepaper from the 1990s, when I wrote (from the abstract):

"The QUALCARE Scale is an observational rating scale designed to quantify the quality of family caregiving to home-dwelling elders in six areas: physical, medical management, psychosocial, environmental, human rights and financial."

 (extra note - 53 item Likert scale format.)

INDIVIDUAL

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

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GROUP

PSYCHO-	PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT MEDICAL MANAGEMENT
-SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT	(MANAGEMENT) HUMAN RIGHTS FINANCIAL

 

Phillips LR, Morrison EF, Chae YM. The QUALCARE Scale: testing of a measurement instrument for clinical practice. Int J Nurs Stud. 1990;27(1):77-91. doi: 10.1016/0020-7489(90)90025-e. PMID: 2312237.

I had encountered Hodges' model in 1987-88 [ Manchester Polytechnic College, now Manchester Metropolitan University, CPN(Cert.) course ], but the initial (and thus far only) website appeared in 1998 (-2015):

https://web.archive.org/web/19990501185433/http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/index.htm

Symposium on challenging the notion of evidence: bringing rights into research

Dear Colleagues,

Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters (SRHM) is organising a symposium in New Delhi, India and online on enhancing the ecosystem of rights and evidence in sexual and reproductive health.

SRHM Journal

The symposium will create space for dialogue on:

- Deconstructing the notion and hierarchy of evidence
- Pushing methodological boundaries in SRHR research
- Questioning what constitutes “evidence-based”, a "researcher", and what is “scientifically appropriate”
- Questioning the power in research

This event is part of SRHM's global and South Asia hub initiative on rights-based knowledge creation.

Date: Friday May 6, 2022

Time: 10:30-1:00pm GMT - 4:00-6:30pm New Delhi

Register to attend in person in New Delhi: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/challenging-the-notion-of-evidence-bringing-rights-into-research-tickets-324001506227

Register to attend online: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nB3Qxr-1Rs2e0blPb_J0JA

Please feel free to share with your network. We hope to see you at the event!

Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters
www.srhm.org | www.srhmjournal.org
Twitter: @SRHMJournal | FB: @SRHMJournal

 

INDIVIDUAL

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 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

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GROUP

Mental Health Sexual and Reproductive Health Education - [Health] Literacy Questions: what constitutes “evidence-based”, a "researcher", and what is “scientifically appropriate”? Methodology SUBJECTIVITY - QUALITATIVE	Physical Health [Literacy] Sexual and Reproductive Health Hierarchy of Evidence Methods ... the Power in Research OBJECTIVITY - QUANTITATIVE
Society, Culture, Ethnographic Sexual and Reproductive Health	Human Rights Sexual and Reproductive Health

My source: HIFA

Power equation image: 

https://kaiserscience.wordpress.com/physics/word-energy-and-power/power/power-formula/

£62.5k Funding opportunity for researchers interested in healthy ageing

UKRI and Zinc have announced the 3rd funding round for the Healthy Ageing Catalyst Awards. Researchers are encouraged to apply for this £62,500 (fEC) grant from UKRI and 9-month structured programme of support from Zinc, to translate their research into impactful and scalable products, services, and interventions that add quality to later life.

The call for expressions of interest opens on 1st February and closes on 22nd February 2022. You can access the expression of interest guidance, plus further resources here. If you have any questions, please visit zinc.vc/catalyst or email the team at catalyst AT zinc.vc

My source:

Wendy Zhou, CHAIN Manager

CHAIN - Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network – is an online international network for people working in health and social care. For more information on CHAIN and joining the network please visit website: www.chain-network.org.uk

 

'New' citation: "Pratique en milieu de psychiatrie légale: proposition d’un modèle interdisciplinaire."

Practice in forensic psychiatry:
A proposed interdisciplinary model

Checking through emails I missed a notification from ResearchGate about an additional citation for Hodges' model:

Holmes, D. Perron, A. Jacob, J.D. Paradis-Gagné, É. & Gratton, S (2018). Pratique en milieu de psychiatrie légale: proposition d’un modèle interdisciplinaire. Recherche en soins infirmiers, (Practice in forensic psychiatry: A proposed interdisciplinary model). 134, 33-43. DOI: 10.3917/rsi.134.0033

This is very welcome, even though in December 2021, I am 'late to the party'. This it seems is how news of potential additions to the bibliography are bound to arrive, which is a bit frustrating. It would be marvellous to learn of a project much earlier - while the work is 'live'. Not to jump on-board as a co-author necessarily, but to share the dynamism of work-in-process.

I continue to take encouragement from the fact that researchers appear able to find, understand and apply Hodges' model in their respective theoretical, practical and work context.

This is rewarding in itself so many thanks to the authors.

If I can access the English copy I will post again with any observations and comments that arise.

Translated by Google:

"Hodges' Health Career Model

This model has a politico-biopsychosocial structure which is consistent with contemporary interdisciplinary practice (20); that is, it relies on a multidimensional critical approach, incorporating writings in sociology and politics, in order to understand the person in context. It is based on four objectives: measuring learning, providing holistic care, supporting reflective practice and closing the gap between theory and practice (21). This model is applicable in various clinical situations in a psycho-legal context. When this model is used as a frame of reference, it emphasizes the role of caregivers who must meet the patient's needs and focus on their problems.It also serves as a guide to assess and provide assistance to the patient vis-à-vis their physical, psychological and social needs as well as with the justice system in order to promote their recovery. The theoretical foundations call on four sources of knowledge: interpersonal, scientific, sociological and political (21)."

In comparing several models of care please note how the authors here recognise how Hodges' model is not just bio-psycho-social; yes - it is politico-biopsychosocial.

See also on W2tQ (with overlap):

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

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

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

8th Biennial Conference, 2021: Threshold Concepts in the Moment

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you're all well in these on-going strange times. You may have seen this elsewhere so apologies for duplication.

I'm very pleased to announce that we have now re-opened the submissions for the Bi(tri)ennial Threshold Concepts conference originally scheduled for July 2020 at UCL, and now running online between 7-9 July 2021. If you didn't get a chance to submit originally, now is your chance...

The submission window closes on April 12th at 6pm (UK time).

Some other details:

• We will very shortly be opening up registration for everyone and I will post further details about that (hopefully in a few days). The full fee will be £30, with a lower-/un-/precariously waged option of £10.

• You will need to create an EasyChair account to submit.

• We intend to run a single-session continuous conference with plenty of breaks (as long as we can arrange the schedule according to people's timezones!).

• It will take place between 7th and 9th July (UK time) but the precise timing will be determined by the final submissions.

• We will make every endeavour to have people present during their normal working hours.

The blog for the conference has more information and the call for papers is both there and on EasyChair.

Have a lovely weekend, when it gets here

Jason Davies (on behalf of the steering group)

Hodges' model: What is the Question? (ii)

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

What is the basis for meta-cognitive and meta-conceptual claims for Hodges' model? Does Hodges' model have a role in secondary education and if so, what is it? If Hodges' model facilitates reflection and is reflexive how is this achieved and demonstrated? Is Hodges' model a meta-semantic framework and if so, is this what provides genericity? What is the foundation of the axes in Hodges' model and what characteristics can be described?

Is Hodges' model safe? "Cold, Warm, Hot, Hotter!" nearer to 'navel gazing' than 'reflective practice'? Are 'concepts' sufficient to explain the structure of Hodges' model, and account for its claimed role(s) in assessment, planning, evaluation and assurance? Is Hodges' model a constant: as the contemporary model? Are 'individual', 'group', 'humanistic', and 'mechanistic' sufficient as conceptual anchors; and if so are they sufficient to give rise to the two continua that then invoke four knowledge (care) domains?

Can Hodges' model simultaneously preserve, protect and assure 'patiency' whilst also facilitating self-care? What forms of literacy are encountered by users of Hodges' model and are they accessible to the public, patients and carers? Hodges' model: Show me the praxis. What does Hodges' model say about holism (and consequently reductivism) and why should anyone listen?

Is there such a thing as a generic 'model of care' in a multidisciplinary world? Is there a 'logic' to the seemingly diametric opposition of 'power' as exercised here and the two individual domains in Hodges' model? If claims for Hodges' model of universality, genericity and global scope are 'true' is this also a risk for healthcare professions and specialisation, as it supports the 'universal worker' and automated processes?

 

Hodges' model: What is the Question? (i)

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Can Hodges' model assist student nurses in assessment and  evaluation of their well-being through their course of study? What sort of 'spaces' do we find in Hodges' model and do they matter or meta?	What is Hodges' model? Is there a theory implicit in Hodges' model? What theories might underpin this 'model'? The Demarcation problem: Hodges' model - is this science or non-science?
Does Hodges' model display consistency when used within a specific cohort of students and across disciplinary student groups? What is a 'span' and 'career' in the 21st century, and why do they matter to the individual and group?	Created in the 1980s is there a political need for Hodges' model in the 2020s? What are 'legacy' problems in healthcare and nursing, and how can Hodges' model characterise them?

 

Prompted by post-graduate study and avoiding reference to methods and/or methodology, plus:

How come so many researchers can't clearly specify the questions they are trying to answer? How come so many people are happy to bandy methods and sample sizes around in research bids without ACTUALLY STATING THE QUESTIONS THEY ARE TRYING TO ANSWER? Drives me absolutely 🥜🥜🥜🥜

— Nicky Cullum 🇪🇺 (@nicolacullum) December 15, 2020

 

Over many years, many questions have arisen.

Resnik, David B. A pragmatic approach to the demarcation problem. Stud. Hist. Phil. Sci., 2000, 31: 2, 249-267.

Deep *and* Broad ... Hodges' model is no blank slate ...

"Beyond deep learning

Steeper than expected

Different researchers have different ideas about how to try to improve things. One idea is to widen the scope, rather than the volume, of what machines are taught. Christopher Manning, of Stanford University's AI Lab, points out that biological brains learn from far richer data-sets than machines. Artificial language models are trained solely on large quantities of text or speech. But a baby, he says, can rely on sounds, tone of voice or tracking what its parents are looking at, as well as a rich physical environment to help it anchor abstract concepts in the real world. This shades into an old idea in AI research called "embodied cognition", which holds that if minds are to understand the world properly, they need to be fully embodied in it, not confined to an abstracted existence as pulses of electricity in a data-centre.

Biology offers other ideas, too. Dr Brooks argues that the current generation of AI researchers "fetishise" models that begin as blank slates, with no hand-crafted hints built in by their creators. But "all animals are born with structure in their brains," he says. 'That's where you get instincts from.'" p.11.

The Economist, Technology Quarterly: Artificial intelligence and its limits. The Economist, June 13 2020, 435:9198. [and image source].

'Deep and Broad' - as required.

Lockdown ii :: Writing, Reading, Drupal...

As we start Lockdown 2 in the UK - England, plus the long nights to follow it's an opportunity to weigh up plans, projects and progress here.

I've nearly finished my review and posts on "The Power of the 2x2 Matrix":

Q. What is Hodges' model? A. It is NOT a 2x2 matrix

Book review: "The Power of the 2 x 2 Matrix" i

Next up - to read and review-  are two books:

Leave No One Behind: Time for Specifics on the Sustainable Development Goals, Homi Kharas, John W. McArthur and Izumi Ohno, Brookings Institution Press.

Leave No One Behind

Last weekend on behalf of my co-author I (re-)submitted a paper on public health, Hodges' model and the sustainable development goals SDGs.

It does pain me that the publisher kindly sent a review copy in the spring, but sadly it's not in the reference list. That subtitle is tantalizing. I will get to this after picking up "After Ethnos":

 

After Ethnos

To be clear, I'm a nurse not* an ethnographer or anthropologist, but this research approach featured large in studies at Lancaster University 2014-2016. 

 

 

A further rationale for reading this book is to maintain insight into research methods and methodologies.

 

Returning to the writing front, just before I found a co-author for the SDG draft, I'd worked on the two-part Threshold Concepts draft dealing with Deprivation of Liberty (now, Liberty Protection Safeguarding) c/o feedback from Mark Bird.

 

This is next up, especially hoping that the Threshold Concepts can proceed next July at UCL, London.

 

The other paper is a 'legacy' item which started in 2013 (yes, I know!). Mentioned here on W2tQ no doubt on diagrams, case formulations and h2cm. There is a paper here, he says? It is quite advanced in terms of words and references.

 

In addition to the legacy issues:

• person-centred care;
• integrated care;
• holistic care;

the standout personal legacy - is this blog and the lack of a website. Soon I'll put twitter down and blog less to try (again) to focus on Drupal and related tools.

 

*I would like to think that successful nursing interventions (that really 'make a difference') calls for an  ethnographic and anthropological orientation.

Bourdieu*: habitus, field, horizons and careers

"For Bourdieu, structure is not only objective in a Levi-Straussian sense. 

Structures can also be highly subjective." p.13.

 

"In one sense, habitus is social inheritance ... but it also implies habit, or unthinking-ness in actions, and 'disposition'. Some dispositions are transferable; fort example, a practical taxonomy can be utilized to find relevance in a new situation." p.14

 

"If habitus brings into focus the subjective end of the equation, field focuses on the objective:" p.15.

"Field is therefore a structured system of social relations at a micro and macro level." p.16.

 

"Education is a field, made up of identifiable interconnecting relations." p.20.

 

"Young people make career decisions within what we refer to as horizons for action. The horizons are the perspectives on and possibilities for action given in any field or intersection of fields." p.97.

 

 

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group - population

subjective	objective
culture, linguistic market, upbringing cultural and social capital	class, institutions, education career guidance economic capital

 

Grenfell, M., James, D. (1998) Bourdieu and Education: Acts of Practical Theory. London: Falmer Press.

Career progression: Moving beyond Bourdieu pp.100-103.

and Chapter 9, Theory as Method pp.152-178. diagrams. 

The 4P's in Hodges' model

PURPOSE	PROCESS
PRACTICE*	POLICY

 

Always conscious of how Hodges' model, like many other 'models' is an idealisation. As such we routinely refer to 'social action', 'political process' and 'social process'. 

I have, I suppose, allocated the four P's to the respective domains on a primary context - primary domain basis.^ So 'process' as per time, events, sequence, algorithm, logic, cause-effect.

^first come, first served?

Research on the use of the Image Description feature on Twitter

via SOCIOTECH list

A colleague of mine at The University of York is running a study needs some help (message below):

My student, Arwa Alnajashi is looking for participants for a study about the use of the Image Description feature on Twitter. You don’t need to know anything about this feature to participate, but you need to be over 18, tweet images reasonably regularly (perhaps once a week or so), and have a public Twitter account. You can live anywhere in the world, but need to tweet mainly in English.  All participants will receive an Amazon gift voucher worth GBP 10 (or equivalent in local currency).

The study will involve analysing some information about your tweets over a month period, but all information will be completely anonymous and confidential and we will not store your tweets. Your commitment will be to answer two questionnaires, at the beginning and end of the study, this should take no ore than 20 minutes.  By being in the study, you will also hopefully learn some helpful information about how to use this feature in Twitter.  You will be able to withdraw from the study at any point if you wish and have your information deleted.

This study has been approved by the Physical Sciences Ethics Committee of the University of York.

If you have any questions please contact Arwa Alnajashi at aa1764@york.ac.uk
or me Helen Petrie at helen.petrie@york.ac.uk

If you would like to participate, please send Helen an email and she will send you a link to the study.

Thanks for your interest!