"It's an equation Jim, but not as we know it!"

Silver (2013) in “The Signal and the Noise” refers to Drake’s equation, which has fascinated me since my teens. It is a formula that provides a framework for predicting the number of intelligent extraterrestrial species in the galaxy. Due to the high number of parameters and uncertainties that make up Drake's equation, Silver describes how the extreme range of results depend on the initial ‘inputs’. Given the variables presented they are estimates. I made a connection to Drake's work through BBC BASIC programming:

'The Nursing Process'
'Computer-Aided Patient Assessment'
'Blood Groups'
'Shades of Grey'

As time went on the simplicity of 'The NP' gave way to DIM arrays, which can provide data structures, and DEF PROC and DEF FN with parameters. 

The evidence for the elements of Drake's equation has made great strides since the 1990s. Despite the remaining uncertainties, Silver notes that Drake's equation has provided a useful lens for astronomers, plus - philosophers and the lay-person to think about life, the universe and everything.

Is there an implicit theory – an equation – in Hodges’ model?

See also: BBC BASIC

Previously: 'Sagan' : 'SETI' ; 'math' : 'Publication list (2024)'

Nate Silver (2013). “The Signal and the Noise”, Notes 89, London: Penguin. p.488.

Title Ack. the original is often misattributed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCARADb9asE

WHO’s Self-Care Month (June 24th – July 24th) and International Self-Care Day July 24th

 

The Global Self-Care Federation (GSCF) is putting the spotlight on the benefits of self-care ahead of and beyond WHO’s Self-Care Month (June 24th – July 24th) and International Self-Care Day July 24th – two key annual advocacy milestones. 
 
GSCF’s 2022 International Self-Care Day campaign builds on the #SelfCarePromise theme, encouraging everyone to make and share their personal commitment to embrace a specific self-care action. This year, we are specifically focusing on the topic of resilience.  

Self-care is any action that an individual takes to look after their own health, based on the knowledge and information available to them. This practice can also occur in collaboration with healthcare professionals when needed. Actively managing your own health and well-being through self-care has numerous benefits, including better choice between healthcare options, better care for individual wellbeing and better value for governments and health systems worldwide.

Continued ... 

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES             

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

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group

SELF-CARE Mental health  self-care & wellbeing Individual Health literacy (- and other literacies!) Self Advocacy	Physical self-care Personal resilience Evidence-based interventions Disease prevention Diagnostics, Drugs, Devices,  Integrated into Care
Health Promotion & Education Community Empowerment Community Resilience Community Advocacy Social cohesion Rehabilitation, Recovery & Reablement	Knowledge & Information Access Learning opportunities   Universal Health Coverage Approp. Policy frameworks Improved care outcomes Advocacy representation WHO and agencies

See also:WHO - Self-care for health and well-being

National Centre for Creative Health

Creative health is increasingly recognised as a driver of better care and better value in health and care systems. Integrating creative health into prevention, public and population health strategies, management of long-term conditions, treatment and recovery pathways contributes to:

• Reduced incidence of preventable illness
• Improved wellbeing of patients and service users
• Reduced demand on services

Many Integrated Care Systems and providers already incorporate creative health in physical and mental healthcare, social care, and public health, delivering measurable social and economic value.

Find out more about implementing creative health in your service, organisation or system from [our resources the resources ... 

NCCH has worked in partnership with NHS England to develop a Creative Health Toolkit. The Toolkit support systems to work with the assets in their communities and to develop their own approach.

NCCH publishes a monthly creative health newsletter created for professionals working across health and care.

Source: Email and National Centre for Creative Health 

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group-population

'This year’s prize relates to the explanations for sustained growth based on technological innovation. Economic historian Joel Mokyr is rewarded with one half of the prize for his description of the mecha­nisms that enable scientific breakthroughs and practical applications to enhance each other and create a self-generating process, leading to sustained economic growth. Because this is a process that challenges prevailing interests, he also demonstrates the importance of a society that is open to new ideas and permits change.' 'The other half of the prize is awarded to the economists Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt. In a joint publica­tion from 1992, they constructed a mathematical model of how companies invest in improved pro­duction processes and new, better-quality prod­ucts, while the companies that previously had the best products are outcompeted. Growth arises through creative destruction. This process is creative because it builds upon innovation, but it is also destructive because older products become obsolete and lose their commercial value.'

'It is apparent that, in the long run, sustained growth does not only have positive consequences for human wellbeing. First, sustained growth is not synonymous with sustainable growth. Innovations can have significant negative side effects. Mokyr argues that such negative effects sometimes initiate processes that uncover solutions to problems, making technological development a self-correcting pro­cess. Clearly, however, this often requires well-designed policies, such as in the areas of climate change, pollution, antibiotic resistance, increasing inequality and the unsustainable use of natural resources.'

Source: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2025/popular-information/

Previously on W2tQ: 'Nobel prize' : 'socio-economics'

'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

'Life's compass' ...

'... I have been thinking a lot about the responsibilities of leadership. How do people in positions of power reach decisions and do they fully consider the consequences of these decisions? In questioning how someone chooses to lead, I'm also asking how that individual navigates the possible courses of action, and what kind of compass is being used to guide them. It has made me think about how any of us choose to navigate our way through life and where we look for a sense of direction. I wonder what we might change about the choices we make if we were more reflective about what serves as a compass in our lives.'

'"The Invention of the Compass" is attributed to an anonymous painter of the late 16th century, although there exists a roughly contemporaneous plate of the same title, and of an almost identical image, engraved by the Dutch artist Jan Collaert the Elder. In the original painting an old man with a long white beard, and dressed in a voluminous red and brown cloak, sits behind a large table in the centre of a room. As well as a canopied bed and another desk spread with books and scientific instruments, there is a model, or vision perhaps, of a carrack sailing ship hanging from the ceiling. There is also a large round compass device that sits heavy on the floor on the left foreground of the canvas. ...'

'It is as if this painting (Caravaggio) intended to serve as a compass, helping to move our steps and actions in the direction of caring for others. This is a powerful idea, and it suggests that all images contain that potential to influence how we live. Where we choose to direct and keep our gaze to some extent can determine how we permit our lives to be guided, if not in a physical sense then toward a value system that can end up having an impact on the way we engage with the wider world.' (My emphasis)

Ack. Enuma Okoro, Life's compass, The art of life, Life&Arts, FTWeekend, 1-2 February 2025. p.2. (Still need to subscribe, marvellous reading!)

Caravaggio, The Seven Works of Mercy

The Invention of the Compass

INDIVIDUAL

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      INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

 SOCIOLOGY  :    POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

moral compass personal values my choices	maps - compass position - navigation direction - distance degrees of freedom
the public the public good group think	leadership power political freedom

Enuma Okoro, Life's compass, The art of life, Life&Arts, FTWeekend, 1-2 February 2025. p.2.

Images: 

New Inventions of Modern Times [Nova Reperta], The Invention of the Compass, plate 2
https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/659663/1403273/main-image

By Caravaggio - Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10286196

Previously:

'compass' :: 'map'

Ethics and the 'big picture'

'It has been my experience that many of the most successful and creative heads of major research labs around the country came to their place from other disciplines. For example, one prominent geneticist that I know has his Ph.D. in chemistry. He told me that coming to genetics from outside the discipline gave him an awareness of structures and values that were invisible to those laboring inside the established system. Much as one has critical insights into the ambience of a city or culture when one comes from outside as a foreigner, so also is there critical understanding of academic disciplines. Thus, one response to the add-on question is to reply that the material you are providing can make your students better scientists by giving them a more global, contextual perspective. A global, contextual perspective allows one to consider divergent research designs that approach a problem in many directions. This is sometimes called "big picture" thinking. Part of the big picture includes other scientific contexts. For example, biology is seen in the context of chemistry, and chemistry is seen in the context of physics. But it is more than that. It also includes values. Should I, as a scientist, pursue all questions with the same vigor? Are there some questions that should be avoided because of the social consequences of their results? Is the scientist compelled to think in terms of helping humankind or helping himself to a Nobel Prize in any way he can? All of these involve values and ethics. They are critical components to global big picture thinking. Such a perspective is a valuable tool for anyone seeking excellence in scientific research.' p.28.

Boylan, M., & Donahue, J. (2003). Ethics across the curriculum : a practice-based approach. Lexington Books. 

INDIVIDUAL

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES              

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

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GROUP

PERSONAL ETHICS INDIVIDUAL INTEGRITY MY EXPERIENCE MY REFLECTIONS INTERSUBJECTIVITY PURPOSE BELIEFS CHARACTER EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

PROCESS OBJECTIVITY FACTS  EMPIRICISM 'We define ethics as the process of reflection on the moral meaning of actions.' p.5. 'BIG PICTURE' PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

PRACTICE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE ETHOS^ (Chap. 6) 'Ethics is not a discrete body of knowledge that one simply acquires for application and use in particular situations. It entails the ongoing appropriation of ideas of the good as they relate to the changig situations, contexts, and developments in individuals and groups lives. ^ Ethics reflects on actions the actions of individuals and groups.' p.5.

PROFESSIONAL BODIES PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS PROFESSIONAL & COMMERCIAL - ACCOUNTABILITY PROFESSIONAL ETHICS DUTY OF CARE POLICY LAW JUSTICE autonomy; nonmaleficence; beneficence; justice*

^Stackhouse, M. (1972) Ethics and the Urban Ethos: An Essay in Social Theory and Theological Construction, Boston: Beacon Press. (Chap. 6, Boylan & Donahue)

*Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2013). Principles of biomedical ethics (7th ed.). Oxford University Press. (Chap. 6, Boylan & Donahue)

Capital -ism in Hodges' model

The New Nature of Business

'In The New Nature of Business, Luc's son André, now vice-chair of Roche, and co-author Peter Vanham lay out how to bring these parallel tracks together. "The business of business isn't just m of business," they write. "The business of business is to at least preserve and where possible expand the world's human, social, environmental and financial capital." 

 The book makes the familiar case that maximising short-term profit leads to long-term destruction of value. But it also suggests that a "narrow focus on [reducing] carbon emissions" could have dangerous unintended consequences. Those four "capitals" depend on one another, write Hoffmann and Vanham. They call for nothing less than a systemic change to a "sustainable, inclusive form of capitalism, with new principles, and new practices".

The most interesting parts of the book describe Hoffmann's path to the realisation in the early 2000s that the profit- making power of business should be harnessed in the quest for sustainability.' (My emphasis with some re-formatting.)

Hill, A. (2024) The sweeter pill, FTWeekend, Life&Arts, 28-29 September. p.11. 

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group

HUMAN	ENVIRONMENTAL the new nature
SOCIAL	of business FINANCIAL

Andre Hoffmann, Peter Vanham (2024) The New Nature of Business: The Path to Prosperity and Sustainability. London: Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-394-25754-6

Previously: 'capital' e.g. 'Capital Patient' :: 'Patient capital'.

Gold gold gold gold ...

Gold: Alchemist-hp (talk) www.pse-mendelejew.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en>
via Wikimedia Commons

Element Properties

melting point 1,063 °C (1,945 °F)

boiling point 2,966 °C (5,371 °F)

specific gravity 19.3 at 20 °C (68 °F)

oxidation states +1, +3

[ Text & image: https://www.britannica.com/science/gold-chemical-element ]

 
individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group

. . . gold! gold!!	'There is already plenty of gold: the vaults of the New York Federal Reserve contain 507,000 bars, worth about $510bn at this week's prices (the weight is borne by the bedrock of Manhattan  island, 15 metres beneath sea level). London's vaults, including those of the Bank of England, hold another 8,650 tonnes, worth $690bn. A lot of gold is mined ...
Gold fever	... and then buried again.'

Gapper, J. A new gold rush reflects the world's deep worries. FTWeekend, 24/25 August 2024. p.11.

Axiology, concept, horizon

"The hypothesis that thinking is founded in valuation requires for its development what philosophers call "axiology," the philosophic study of values. Of course, values are not phenomena that float into view, stimulating a "philosophy of values" to study them. Rather, it will be argued that values should be conceived of as the universal character of everything. Axiology, therefore, is the study of things with regard to their value dimension. An axiology of thinking is a study of the various roles of value in thinking." p.12.

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group

"An image is the horizon in terms of which our definitions of its contents makes sense.  It is like a mental picture of the rough outlines of the world: it handles information by giving each datum a position relative to the rough outlines." p.36.	"A concept is a way of mentally grouping various components whose combination is valuable because of a normative measure. The "real" identity of things comes from the normative measure of which their de facto harmony is an approximation." p.84.

Neville, R.C. (1981) Reconstruction of Thinking, New York: SUNY.

Natural asset companies - 'Small is Beautiful'

Individual

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      INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

 SOCIOLOGY  :    POLITICAL 

|

Group

What I value and the values I hold. Philosophy	Nature - Nature has Intrinsic Value Small is Beautiful
What we value and the values we hold.	Natural Asset Companies The continuity of capitalism, or new approaches?

 My prompt - following and commenting in chat:

'Part II of the Small is Beautiful Celebration' The Schumacher Institute

Apparently nature has intrinsic value and 'natural asset companies' are a thing (for good or ill is another Q. -  continuity of capitalism? Is this one way where (literally) SMALL comes in? As nature locally has value, citizens are stakeholders (in the country by proxy)? But then how as societies do we compensate urban environments and those who clamour for - see the future in 'smart' cities? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/18/business/economy/natural-assets.html

See also:
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/intrinsic-value-ecology-and-conservation-25815400/
Sandler, R. (2012) Intrinsic Value, Ecology, and Conservation. Nature Education Knowledge 3(10):4.

Lydia DePillis, Nature Has Value. Could We Literally Invest in It? The New York Times. “Natural asset companies” would put a market price on improving ecosystems, rather than on destroying them. 18th February 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/18/business/economy/natural-assets.html

'Geography of Hope' & 'The Great Conversation'

c/o Resurgence & Ecologist

INDIVIDUAL
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HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

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GROUP

hope	geography
peoples - places	value / values

"... Stegner explained - we need such [wilderness] places because they remind us of a world beyond the human and also because they allow us to see ourselves as part of the 'environment of trees and rocks and soil ... part of the natural world and competent to belong to it". Taken together, he concluded, such places constitute a 'geography of hope'. ...

There are, as Stegner knew, certain thoughts and feelings that can had only in certain places: cognition is site-specific as well as motion-sensitive. It has long seemed to me that we might imagine landscapes as holding specific ideas and experiences just as they hold certain stones, minerals or species; that we might even talk of landscapes as growing ideas as they grow plants. And that, by extension, when we lose certain places - when they are destroyed incidentally, or deliberately - we lose not only the life that they held but also the thoughts that they enabled." p.38.

Mcfarlane, Robert., The Geography of Hope, Resurgence & Ecologist, Nov/Dec 2012, 275:pp.38-39.

https://www.20-20-vision.org/

Elia T. Ben-Ari, Defender of the Voiceless: Wallace Stegner's Conservation Legacy, BioScience, Volume 50, Issue 3, March 2000, Pages 253–257, https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0253:DOTVWS]2.3.CO;2

INDIVIDUAL
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     INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

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GROUP

intrinsic elements	PERIODIC table
we are elements too - part of nature	value / values "We have broken the great conversation."

"But does the natural world need our writing? Paul Evans, in his Country Diary in The Guardian, wrote of the importance of observing and describing the world with passion; that communicating 'the significance of ephemeral and overlooked things to a world which couldn't care less' is a political and spiritual act." p.41.

Reason, Peter., The Great Conversation, Resurgence & Ecologist, Nov/Dec 2012, 275:pp.40-41.

In the media and many Resurgence & Ecologist issues, there is a stress on our taking time to be slow. I'd written in the margin of Mcfarlane's article; "Relativistic care: The faster we run (travel) the more mass we consume". While by Reason's text I'd scribbled; "H2CM is a statement of intent, in idealised care. In practice it is an outcome."

Committing Ecocide to Hodges' model ...

INDIVIDUAL

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     INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

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GROUP

Psychological -  "Shock of the NewS" Anxiety Eco-anxiety - Climate anxiety Anti-natalism Polly

No planet B Where Might We Find Ecologically Intact Communities? How much of Earth's land is ecologically intact, in a pre-industrial and pristine state? The answer: 3% [Plumptre, et al.]. ECOCIDE NATURE ...

Higgins 'conscientious protector' civil disobience "Such a law would not only seek retribution and deterrence but also draw moral red lines." civil society

... CRIMES AGAINST Environmental activism GENOCIDE ECOCIDE - as law? "I will leave the last word to Polly Higgins, a barrister who gave up a career in corporate law to become one of the most effective backers for criminalising ecocide. As she wrote in 2013, 'For now, in law outside of wartime, it is not a crime to cause mass destruction or loss of ecosystems. Our world has normalised... ecocide'." p.24.

"Like laws for crimes against peace, an ecocide law would trace its roots to wartime atrocities, in this case the annihilation of forests in South-East Asia, first by the UK's Royal Air Force during the guerrilla war known as the Malayan Emergency and later by the US Air Force in the Vietnam war. In 1970, the destruction inspired Arthur Galston, a plant biologist at Yale University whose PhD had led to development of agent orange, to coin the word 'ecocide'." p.24.

Plumptre AJ, Baisero D, Belote RT, Vázquez-Domínguez E, Faurby S, Jȩdrzejewski W, Kiara H, Kühl H, Benítez-López A, Luna-Aranguré C, Voigt M, Wich S, Wint W, Gallego-Zamorano J and Boyd C (2021) Where Might We Find Ecologically Intact Communities? Front. For. Glob. Change 4:626635. doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2021.626635

My sources:

Lawton, G. (2021) Crimes Against Nature, New Scientist, 250: 3333. p.24.

Obituaries. Polly Higgins. Register, The Times. May 2, 2019. p.53.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/polly-higgins-obituary-92z6zd3ps

See also:

Eradicating Ecocide (2010).

Earth is Our Business (2012).

"Conceptual: only worth the paper it's written on"

Financial Times. June 9, 2012, p.11.  

"How do you prove you own a work of conceptual art? This is an interesting issue in today's art market, with the trend towards the dematerialisation of art, and the primacy of the idea over its physical presence.

For example, the late US artist Félix González-Torres's works include "Candy Spills", in which wrapped sweets are piled on the floor or in a corner, to be taken and eaten by viewers. When the pile has gone, the owner of the work replenishes it.
So what stops anyone making and selling their own "Candy Spill"? The answer is the certificate of authenticity issued by the artist or their estate. This scrap of paper is, in fact, the only proof that the work of art genuinely belongs to you, and this is actually what you buy and sell."

 

INDIVIDUAL

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

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GROUP

cognition, reasoning imagination, creativity concepts, ideas personal aesthetics subjective - personal meaning "This is mine!"	materials physical objects dimensions, form, properties entropy: time, decay - disorder change
art and arts culture - 'what is art?' Art criticism Collective aesthetic	'the Market' Economic Worth / Value Values Proof of ownership law, intellectual property / ©

For further context - please see:
https://artquest.org.uk/artlaw-article/authenticity-certificates-value/

Adam, G. "Conceptual: only worth the paper it's written on". Financial Times, The Art Market. Collecting, June 9, 2012, p.11.

Sorting / clearing books and papers ongoing. Break next week - inc. reading.

Draft papers: The heat is always on ...

Writing is never easy here. My 'pen' runs pell-mell and I invariably follow; dragged and teased from discipline-to-discipline, while trying to pick up any semblance of a coherent thread.

Perhaps that's the cost of being naturally(?) drawn to mind-mapping, Hodges' model specifically and the substrate - structure it affords.

While painful, the papers I've produced show (as listed in bibliography and with others) that I can get there.

In February I posted:

Call for Papers (i) Community Development and Preventative Care With Older People:

New Values and Approaches

Call for Papers (ii) Community Development and Preventative Care With Older People ...

In truth, of course, there was no way I was going to complete a submission by July. I've been intent to throw caution to the wind, even at risk of being blown flat on the my face (and worse?).

Winding back further to October and December 2021 and the 12,000 word draft: "Society, Technology and COVID19 in Hodges' model":

https://hodges-model.blogspot.com/2022/10/draft-papers-iii.html

I approached a journal regards the draft 'Society, Technology and COVID19 in Hodges' model'. Having reduced the original 12000 words to 7700, the paper is of interest, but is (as expected) too long. There is the possibility of reducing the word count to 5000, or splitting the essay.

Duly resubmitted, the feedback from the reviewers, all three, is spot-on. 

Since the (N.) spring, I've tried to re-structure and provide a meaningful discussion. In conclusion. It's  not happening.

One reviewer noted: 

"I still do not have a clear understanding of where the model comes from and what its axioms are."

Repeating myself no doubt, the book chapter on the work of Michel Serres:

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

- resulted from an earlier draft which was well-shredded by the nurse journal reviewers. They did help - I've a paper to review myself.

Out of flames though that chapter quickly emerged and took flight (well, was 'completed' at least). So if you are writing and struggling - take heart.

Avoiding nursing journals (enough = enough? Nobody is interested): 

I now think I have an improved plan for two papers. The first will consider the axioms of care within Hodges' model; plus (please don't laugh!) what insights might follow if I/we treat Hodges' model as a mathematical object?

Can I claim mitigation by suggesting this (folly) is not entirely my fault . . ?

"Thus, the author can take a different approach and with a structured discussion of ideas, the author can generate testable hypotheses to move forward with a research paper. A more structured theoretical approach would also help to pique the interest of more advanced readers, especially academic audiences such as faculty who want to learn about something outside of their own research areas."

STRANGER IN
A STRANGE LAND

I feel I've no choice but to respond to the reviewer quite literally. As a non-mathematician, perhaps I can pique the interest of more advanced readers and faculty? The aim of the former archived website and this blog is to pass-on this baton² 😉to others; people who can understand it anew and apply it to the problems (solutions ...) of the century.

So in part two, the 'Society, Technology and COVID-19 in Hodges' model' piece will be structured (re-written) using hypothetical examples that ask questions of Hodges' model, the audience, and most definitely - me! It might, if not too grandiose, even ask questions of mathematics too and the humanities(?) - hence reading to follow. A real trick would be if these two papers could also stand alone.


n.b. After attending the UKSS Conference today, I must consider systems too (but don't panic - it's OK!) - to inform a title: re. humanistic & mechanistic systems? Yesterday, I really enjoyed 3 hours chatting to two fellow systems enthusiasts, who work in public health; and business / management respectively. We met in Oxford, at the Ashmolean cafe. 

UKSS Conference is bound for Oxford next year and when I have details I will post here.

Book cover:
https://www.hachette.com.au/robert-a-heinlein/stranger-in-a-strange-land
div>

'Sophisticated cultural relativism: Bernard Williams' c/o Bond (1996)

INDIVIDUAL

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

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GROUP

"Transcendental standpoint The perspective of the person who evaluates or questions or reflects upon a moral issue by consciously examining the issue from an objective perspective Uses "thin" concepts such as "good" or "ought" in the process  Take the question "Is it really true that I ought not to tell lies?" In order to answer this question some moral authority or standard must be referred to. No answer can be found because there is no universal moral standard to appeal to. SUBJECTIVE

OBJECTIVE

A culture Moral truths exist                These are: 1. Non-objectivist truths (belong to and are valid within this particular culture) 2. Non-reflective (use the "thick" concepts of the culture, e.g. "liar", "bully." These carry within them their moral meaning. For this reason, no conscious reflection is needed in identifying a truth)" p.28.

"The evaluative perspective The perspective of the person living in the culture who is stating and thinking about moral truths."

Based on Figure 2.1 Sophisticated cultural relativism: Bernard Williams. In
Bond, E.J. (1996). Ethics and Human Well-Being: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy. Cambridge, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell. p.28.

Humanistic motivations for study - c/o Harris et al.

 "Asking '[I]n what sense . . . can mathematics be considered a democratic regime . . .' open to all, Pimm and Sinclair quote (Supergiant) Henri Poincaré to the effect that 'only mathematicians are privy to the aesthetic sensibilities that enable' the decision of 'what is worth studying.' The article, published in a journal for educators, is motivated by the 'view that mathematics can do something for me in a humanistic sense that repays the the careful attention and deep engagement it may require; one that may expose students to a fundamental sense and experience of equality . . . and provide them with another sense of human commonality.'" p.33.  

Harris, M. (2015) Mathematics without Apologies: Portrait of a Problematic Vocation. Princeton University Press.

Hodges' model - Axes - Structure :: Domains - Content

Time - for care to commute [an appendum]

Addendum: Because we are (still) living in a post-Project 2000 World ...

"The whole thrust of nursing in the last decade [1981-91] has been directed towards seeing the patient as an integrated, individual human being rather than as a piece of malfunctioning anatomy. The patient is a person not 'the mastectomy in bed 3' or 'the man with the leg'. This means that any model of nursing must take into account the patient's psychological and social functioning as well as anatomy and physiology." p.53.

Ack. Walsh, M. (1991). Models in clinical nursing: The way forward. London: Bailliere Tindall.

[Book now bound for students.]

 INDIVIDUAL
|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

psychology	anatomy, physiology
social	employment, studying ... life chances / end of life choices

We need to consider concepts of care for a person, patient, and carer, not only in terms of their respective, or primary care domain [ e.g. leg, mastectomy; anatomy, physiology; sciences ] and associations with the academic disciplines; but in Hodges' model, focus upon the horizontal, vertical and diametric relation across and between care domains.

As described by Walsh, talk of  'the mastectomy in bed 3' or 'the man with the leg', is a dated trope; yet sadly it can signify the nature of staff (team) attitudes, the quality of care and experience of patients and their families. 

 

Technically, I see Hodges' model as a relational ontology. What this means basically, is that the model facilitates, encourages the user of the model to consider what they identify in a situation as objects (entities), events, concepts, relationships, data, and so on. An important assumption here is that what 'stands out' is what has salience (what the patient says - non-verbally too, what they mean, what they don't say?); that is, meaning and significance. 

 

Returning to Walsh's example: What does this event, diagnosis, prognosis (including anatomy and physiology) mean for this person as an individual? (If it means 'nothing' this may still - in a mental health context - be important.) What will it mean for the person's friends and family? What do the person it will mean to friends and family - significant other? What about their ability to work, and study? Can they resume their life plans and what of the person's life chances and those also affected? 

 

Crucially, there may not be a connection, a relation, across the care domains of Hodges' model. Asking the question is key, however; to go beyond what can be(come) task-based care. The ability of the model to assure and improve health care rests on this. The same applies for self-care too, with the model's support of reflection and critical thinking, essential to health and other forms of literacy.

Parity of esteem means we have to travel across the model. If we are 'collapse' the model's domains - four sets, into one that actually means something for the nurse, patient, manager, policy maker and researcher. This something, at least conceptually; is no less than person-centred, holistic and integrated care.

Q. Can care commute?

Social Sciences, measurement ... c/o Outhwaite (1991)

 

"the conceptual aspect of the subject matter of the social sciences circumscribes the possibility of measurement. . . . For meanings cannot be measured, only understood. Hypotheses about them must be expressed in language, and confirmed in dialogue. Language here stands to the conceptual aspect of social sciences as geometry stands to physics. And precision in meaning now assumes the place of accuracy in measurement as the a posteriori arbiter of theory. It should be stressed that in both cases theories may continue to be justified and validly used to explain, even though significant measurement of the phenomena of which they treat has become impossible." Chapter 3, Realism and Social Science. p.60.

 

William Outhwaite (1991) New Philosophies of Social Science: Realism, Hermeneutics and Critical Theory. London: MacMillan.

 INDIVIDUAL
|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

quality subject/subjective

geometry, physics (time) metric / measurement / magnitude quantity *or, automated systems, robots object/objective

social sciences - humanities "Society consists of people. Groups consist of people. Institutions consist of people plus rules and roles. Rules are followed (or alternately not followed) by people and roles are filled by people.* Also there are traditions, customs, ideologies, kinship systems, languages: these are ways people act, think, and talk." p.108. Chapter 7, Conclusion. (Citing Steven Lukes.)

Institutions "There is thus an important sense in which Marx's explanandum in Capital is a conceptual question (though one whose answer required detailed empirical as well as conceptual investigation): 'why labour is expressed in value and why the measurement of its duration is measured in the magnitude of the product.' Chapter 6, Critical Hermeneutics ... p.96.

Hodges' model:
The Individual - Group(s) axis: The subjects and agents of health and social care (theory, practice, management, policy, research, history, future studies ...)

Books: Psychiatry and Technology - Phillips, ed. (2008)

Despite the necessity of new (inc. secondhand when possible) titles, the overall push is to reduce the shelf and box count. This means that:

Phillips, James (ed.) (2008). Philosophical Perspectives on Technology and Psychiatry. Oxford University Press.

- will soon have a new home. Before that another look to support the effort here:

"It hardly needs stating that treatment algorithms, the evidence-based approach, and treatment manuals are useful tools in psychiatric practice. What issue is then being addressed in referring to them as examples of technical reason? The issue is that they, and other examples of the technical approach, can at their worst turn psychiatric treatment (or medical treatment for that matter) into a mechanical procedure. The patient becomes an instance of a diagnostic category, and the treater becomes a generic treater. Follow the technicized approach too literally, and one schizophrenic becomes interchangeable with the next, and one psychiatrist with another. In this situation of the fungible patient and the fungible treater, the individuality of both is lost, and the need for individual judgement on the part of the psychiatrist is rendered obsolete." p.9. Introduction.

Hodges' Health Career - Care Domains - Model
Axes and Care (knowledge) Domains

"Qualified users [of technology] have a professional responsibility to be reflective users. They should be 'thinkers'. Reflective use means being able to step back and become more conscious of one's professional activity." p.46. Chapter 2 Examples from Psychiatry.

"A concern for objective truth is at the heart of the scientific enterprise. An unfortunate consequence of the rigid dichotomies associated with a scientistic epistemology is that objective truth is defined in opposition to subjective values. The result is the 'Either/Or' thinking characteristic of the 'science wars' where science is either reduced to a relativistic exercise of political power or characterized as a value-neutral exercise progressing in an inevitable fashion determined solely by the facts." p.120. Chapter 6 Rational Argumentation.