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

The Power of the 2 x 2 Matrix

 

Once again I will start by referring to a previous post:

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

 

The structure of Hodges' model, the two axes immediately suggests opposition, dichotomy and thoughts of polarities. 

 

Page 30, table 2.2 Principles of 2 x 2 Mastery, includes:

"Opposition: 

Opposition between forces is either direct or complementary. Direct opposition is Hot versus Cold or On versus Off. Complementary opposition is Size versus Speed or Growth versus Profit. Recognize the nature of opposition, and work with it." p.30.

Of the others, the creative tension in health is manifold. Out of a professional foundation comes the therapeutic relationship nurse - patient and then the tension of trying to provide person-centred care that also has integrity in having the courage to advocate or engage independent advocacy and address the political issues that may (will) arise. Iteration here is a gift in that Hodges' model is situated and can address the multiplicity of contexts that are encountered in health, education and business too. Iteration for me implies travel, movement between the domains in search of a new perspective, (ad-)vantage point. Combined with integrity, this can mean going were you are not necessarily comfortable and perhaps seeking help. I like transcendence a great deal as it refers to "Learning requires unlearning". This points to the outcomes of interventions and application of knowledge, skills supported by Hodges' model with positive change. Transcendence can encompass liminality as described in therapy and education - threshold concepts in particular.

If you seek proof of complexity in healthcare, nursing and medicine look no further than a business book. The book is a marvellous reference text on 2x2 frameworks. In the introduction the authors stress the work is not intended to be read cover to cover. Business readers will be drawn to specific types of framework. Well referenced and researched the index is also comprehensive (with one framework missing (of course!). As the year of publication indicates the references and business examples that are outlined are dated, but they still deliver in readable and meaningful terms the utility of the framework described.

The layout and organisation of the chapters retains a 'current' appeal. I mention proof of complexity after reading:

 "Strategy is the art and science of competing more effectively than one's competitors." p.91.

In healthcare the 'competitors' may be the patients themselves (self-stigmatising, fearing the future, helplessness, hopelessness, fatigue). Competition may lie in other agencies depending on the politics of local health care delivery. Some may argue that the commodification of health is a creative tension not a political one. Also in the sense that 'we' are duty bound to heal, cure, treat you and have you care for yourself in future. Art and science are needed in print and book-loads at present as COVID-19 pushes out other diseases, illnesses that patients and families still face.

More to follow ...

 

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

Alex Lowy, Phil Hood (2004) The Power of the 2 x 2 Matrix: Using 2 x 2 Thinking to Solve Business Problems and Make Better Decisions, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass ISBN: 978-1-118-00879-9

With many thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Conference: The Foundations of Conceptual Engineering

A conference on The Foundations of Conceptual Engineering at NYU, on Sept 14 and 15, 2018. To attend, please register by following this link no later than August 31, 2018.

One dimension of cognitive success is getting it right, i.e gaining knowledge of facts. Another dimension of cognitive success is using the right concept, i.e. framing a topic in the right way. This view, if correct, tasks inquirers with critically examining the concepts they are using and perhaps replacing those concepts with new and better ones. This task is often known as “conceptual engineering”.

The idea that conceptual engineering is an important task for inquirers in and outside philosophy has recently gained traction. Some philosophers think conceptual engineering is an important task for inquirers to pursue.  The conference is focused on foundational issues in connection with conceptual engineering. Topics to be addressed include the following:

• What are the semantic mechanisms that underlie conceptual engineering?
• What are concepts, and which role (if any) do they play in conceptual engineering?
• How can a theory of conceptual engineering be integrated with large-scale semantic theories? 
• Which precise changes does a language undergo when its speakers engineer concepts?
• Is conceptual engineering something that speakers can ever purposefully bring about?
• What is the relation between changing concepts and changing reality? 

The planned conference will focus especially on the semantic foundations of conceptual engineering and push towards a better understanding of the process.

The conference is organized collaboratively by members of NYU (Vera Flocke and David Chalmers) and members of the research project ConceptLab, located at the University of Oslo (Herman Cappelen and Andrew Peet).

 More...

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If this conference needs a workshop, a workbench, or conceptual engineering facility they might care to look at Hodges' model. Whether for conceptual brainstorming, requirements, prototyping, refactoring, combination ... Hodges' model can have a role. Some musings in this vein follow...

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

One dimension of cognitive success is getting it right,
i.e gaining knowledge of facts.
Another dimension of cognitive success is using the right concept,
 i.e. framing a topic in the right way.

Acceptable to the patient (or advocate) and ethical? Achieving concordance - agreed  relevant to the context, issue, problem? Logical consistency, coherence and permanence? Holistic bandwidth is tested - semantic scope? Conceptual Engineering instantiated in software, argumentation? AI? Conceptual Spaces? Topic is person-centred  (patient, student, carer...) Testing: Concepts with positive :: negative are switched - re-framed?  Other dichotomies? Conceptual slide-rule? Known 'semantic drift' in vocabulary - concepts: disuse, archaic, new, re-purposed?

Assessment is comprehensive? Knowledge of 'conceptual engineering'  how to - rules, laws (mechanisms)? Concepts were measurable (as were previously defined) quantifiable? Flagged interdisciplinary use of concept? Transdisciplinary? Visual tools - representation, diagrams? Reversible quality: 'engineering' disassembly? Conceptual dependency on threshold(s)? Engineering concepts:  tolerance, project, professionalism, failure, risk, benefits, techne? 'Conceptual engineering' defined units & standards: word, words ... corpora? Research methodologies, methods? Literature

Available social sources were utilised, or at least pursued? Narrative derived from concepts references life history (story)? Tested and accepted by peers - multidisciplinary team? Inclusive? Quality criteria were met Cultural, ethnic due regard  met

legal? concepts used were appropriate  to outcome(s)? 'Space' for uncertainty, constraints, unwise decisions? Policy influence on language, examples found in health and social care 2008-2018 austerity? Accords with and assures the Sustainability Development Goals? 'Macro conceptual engineering' -  Level of required change in health systems:  new & existing

International Literacy Day - Literacy and Hodges' model: An umbilicus of meaning

Literacy has always been important - it pre-dates prehistory.

Nature is the hardest of all teachers.

Nature taught us to read ourselves, other people and things in the environment, the future and so on right through to our various forms of media and technology today.

Politicians, parents and educationalists constantly stress the state of the 3Rs for those in, leaving school and the general populace who whether willingly or not find themselves as lifelong learners. Now we are told times and the world are far more more complex. In addition to ability in Reading, wRiting, and aRithmatic - literacy comes in other forms that are increasingly essential to our individual connection with the world, and our collective capacity to solve major local and global issues.

The efforts of Gutenberg shame us when in the 21st century basic literacy evade so many:

Today one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women while 75 million children are out of school.

Since its foundation in 1946, UNESCO has been at the forefront of global literacy efforts and is dedicated to keeping literacy high on national, regional and international agendas. However, with some 776 million adults lacking minimum literacy skills, literacy for all remains an elusive target.

UNESCO’s literacy programmes aim to create a literate world and promote literacy for all.

On the other hand Gutenberg reminds us of the need for stability if a people, a government is to provide the capacity and resources to support education and literacy for its peoples.

As mentioned above reading, writing and basic numeracy skills are now joined by other essential literacies. In the figure below I have (hurriedly) combined them with Hodges' model:


Here in the 3Rs we need to appreciate the child developmental factors that influence the acquisition, learning and refinement of basic literacy skills. The early detection of visual, hearing, and cognitive problems is crucial in ensuring everyone realises their full potential. The 3Rs span several of the care (knowledge) domains of Hodges' model. Children must be allowed to be children, hence the importance of play in emotional development and literacy.

As our societies become ever more visual to the extent of being described as visually polluted with excessive amounts of signage; spatial and visual forms of literacy come to fore. If the digital divide does not intervene then information, media literacy, and fluency in the use of computers, software, virtual interfaces and other digital devices represent the 21st century literacy?

Economic literacy extends beyond numeracy, not just a person being able to manage their own financial affairs and that of their family. This may also encompass - as the world has witnessed over the past two years - the economic management of whole communities, countries and the need for governance and accountability.

What then of political literacy in the figure above? In medicine and surgery great store is placed on informed consent before an operation or procedure is performed. Do people just 'vote' or should the electorate be informed as they grant permission to a political party to operate on their behalf?

When speaking to clients, carers and families a judgement must be made about the language used. Get this wrong either way - too jargonistic, technical or too simplistic and positive outcomes may be reduced.

In the future as populations continue to grow, cities are forced to flee rising tides and governments seek to relocate, spiritual literacy will assume an importance never seen before. That is why spiritual literacy surrounds Hodges' model.

Of course in health and social care encounters, of the many factors that are weighed the emphasis in professional caring and essential humanism is on acceptance and being non-judgemental.

Literacy must be judged.

It has to be judged if global health is to have any meaning.

Literacy and Health
- two vital pearls on the fragile thread called -
quality of life.