Where the heck am I (and where are you on Hodges' model)?

A combination of nursing experience and informatics knowledge and skills have meant that for a long time I have been able to sit on the fence and listen appreciatively to two sides of an ongoing saga. I am sure the ending will be a happy one, if not for the reason that there is no such thing as a 'finished' (nursing) information system. There is however a need for targets, deadlines, plans for a series of software releases and all the activities that accompany 'IT' projects. In short - project management. There is then a constant need for people to sit on the fence.

While the ability to sit on the fence may be something of an advantageous position, there are times when it becomes a source of anxiety and dissonance. Off the fence as a nurse without an informatics role (without i-portfolio), you feel left out of things. Literally chomping at the bit to contribute to the developments taking place - elsewhere.

Also off the fence, but alternately wearing the informatics shoes you have a sense that those soft, fuzzy caring, psychobabble skills are slowly yet inexorably melting away. How credible can you be if you have not 'nursed', that is - seen a client, managed your case load for 1, 2 or 3 years? Whatever your field, you can lose your touch.

Reading Michel Serres and his use of Harlequin as a trope really caught my imagination and breath (as lots of things do). Here's some background to Harlequin (and Hermes):

Two figures, then, inform Serres's oeuvre: Hermes and the Harlequin. Hermes the traveller and the medium allows for the movement in and between diverse regions of social life. The Harlequin is a multicolored clown standing in the place of the chaos of life. Two regions of particular interest to the voyager in knowledge are those of the natural sciences and the humanities. Should science really be opened up to poetry and art, or is this simply an idiosyncrasy on Serres's part? Is this his gimmick? The answer is that Serres firmly believes that the very viability and vitality of science depends on the degree to which it is open to its poetical other. Science only moves on if it receives an infusion of something out of the blue, something unpredictable and miraculous. The poetic impulse is the life-blood of natural science, not its nemesis. Poetry is the way of the voyager open to the unexpected and always prepared to make unexpected links between places and things. The form that these links take is of course influenced by technological developments; information technology transforms the senses, for example. Source: Dr.Vicente Forés López

This short quote hopefully illustrates the attraction of Serres to me as I study Hodges' model and informatics. Discovering Serres really creased me up. I say creased because that is where I am, trapped between two worlds. Stuck in that line between HUMANISTIC and MECHANISTIC realms. If I run the gauntlet there, the only other avenue open to me is that afforded by the INDIVIDUAL and GROUP axis.

Now I'm clearly not the only one able to sit on the fence and take in the views and perspectives of two frequently disparate worlds. On informatics secondment and at events such as HC2008 (HC2009) as a nurse - informatician (?) you have to see lost opportunities looking at the speaker line-up and number of nurses present and enabled to take the messages home.

As a fact of life change will happen.

How much better though is change borne of
dialogue and engagement?

Like Harlequin those of us with clinical AND informatics insights must mix things up. There is a need to constantly enquire, challenge, influence and direct at times. A need also to pass the baton and let others experience the dual perspectives from the fence (and the splinters too).
Image sources: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Malene
and http://www.qosmiq.com/cdiadrone/ghis/pfolio/characters/index.htm
 

"Where are we?" Take Two, Three, F.... (witheringcare?)

In Five Senses, Serres does not overtly discuss mortality, loss, depletion and omission (Connor, 1999). Management consultants advise that to succeed ‘think outside the box’, but the population pyramid is casting an ever larger shadow, highlighting an ageing population and the box is frequently found full and yet empty? Plaques disconnect, disable the memory; the critical biological box no longer registers and connects. The noise that counts, the background bioelectrical hum is disrupted or absent. Memories once ready to roll downhill, surfing the wave of potential are inaccessible, if marshalled at all. Wither the neural crossroads; the informatique mote in Hermes’ eye?

Our older people, those not yet ephemeral have become peripheral, their personal space an adjunct to furniture. New quantities in life, beg questions of quality, especially quality of care and what it means to care. The concept of self, person-hood is a prime distinguishing factor in terms of describing the attitudes of cultures and communities to older adults and memory loss. In the developed nations the debate continues: is this the price of a long life, or a way of life? In a search for the locus of informatics: the sign on this door reads deep informatics. Listen carefully, as inside the seniors are cared for at home (touched*) remotely courtesy of telecare solutions. The values here of course extend from inappropriate use of informatics to lack of access to such services (Barlow et al., 2006). ...




*For Serres touch is the interface.




We must ensure remote care is not a total substitute for face-to-face interaction.

Barlow, J., Bayer, S., Curry, R. (2006). Implementing Complex Innovations in Fluid Multi-Stakeholder Environments: Experiences of ‘Telecare’, Technovation, 26, 3, pp.396-406.

Connor, S. (1999). Michel Serres’ Five Senses.
Retrieved May 19, 2007, from http://stevenconnor.com/5senses.html

From submitted chapter: Exploring Serres’ Atlas, Hodges’ Knowledge Domains and the Fusion of Informatics and Cultural Horizons - forthcoming...

P.S. Sorry about the two posts today - trying to figure some things out...

Blog Action Day: h2cm around the water whole

Today is Blog Action Day when bloggers unite, posting on the key theme of the environment:

+

It is often said that the planet 'Earth' should be renamed such is the surface area covered by water. Water has long been the reason for life to congregate.

H20: the planet-wide religion of life.

For people water means settlement, hence the fear that in future it is water resources that will drive conflicts.

As we try to get to grips with the environmental issues and their solutions conceptual frameworks like h2cm can help bring everyone and everything together.

Think of Hodges' model as a watering hole.

People, communities, nations arrive there. Peering into the water we see ourselves and our neighbours.

TI:ME to share, if not barefoot TI:ME to kick off the shoes, touch the Earth and reflect:

ONE & MANY
MANY & ONE

From the four corners of the compass some of Earth's travellers arrive together. Others approach alone. Yet others will claim their arrival is spiritual. Whichever knowledge domain is the point of arrival, this provides the primary context.

The 21st century is the century of context: SITUATION

Flora + Fauna = 1

Flora + Fauna + Earth = 1

h2cm is not the starting point. We must bring experience, birth and death and all that is in-between to help solve our problems: transform attitudes. While we may be reaching for the stars there is nowhere to run.

Gaia taps our shoulder with increasing insistence. Who will turn and look her in the eye? The dare increases in magnitude moment by year. Avoidance of Nature’s gaze will not serve to protect, because we are already turning to shades of grey.

Comets were cast in the role of Hermes, the harbingers of tomorrow. Today, the appearance of contrails near the horizon is striking, so comet like; especially as they buzz the sun. In addition to finding h2cm there, what other messages are writ large in the sky? When will we once again see the stars reflected in the water hole?

Image sources with thanks:
http://www.fabricandart.com/HTML_files/Fabrics/australian_fabric_page.html
http://nightpath.org/gaia/

Notes (ii) from Paipa Conference: Q & A

Q. What is the appeal and relevance of Michel Serres to the Health Care Domains Model [h2cm]?
c/o Fred Manrique / UPTC 

(As per the paper - Exploring Serres’ Atlas, Hodges’ Knowledge Domains and the Fusion of Informatics and Cultural Horizons. 2008)

A. I cannot remember how I came across this French philosopher (Bruno Latour?), but in 2004 I started to read some of his translated texts. Serres' work is not easy to read, but rewards perseverance. Thus enthused I wrote (in my spare time) and eventually submitted a paper to a prestigious nursing journal. This was rejected - twice. Using the feedback I was able to produce the paper that found publication in the informatics field. This is listed in the W2tQ bibliography. Serres' ideas were remarkable in how they spoke to me and reflected in many ways the conceptual framework of h2cm. I need to read more of Michel Serres' work. Ideas of particular appeal include his use of several tropes:

• Harlequin: the uninvited guest (disease, illness?), mischief (health taken-for-grantedness), chaos (the unpredictable);
• blanc: in my presentation I included a blank slide. There it represents every new person, new page - no judgements, positive regard. A page for lifelong learners and being able to self-reflect.
• Hermes: the Greek God, the messenger - information and Serres' early study of information science. The 'underworld' - nursing and medicine - are not for everyone. The importance of ports as a means of information and cultural exchange - today economies see themselves as information ports and the rise of information portals.
• Serres states (as do other commentators) that the Internet will provide opportunities for new scholars, outside of established academic institutions.
• borders, boundaries - the middle: in life we often have to ask do we continue and cross the middle?
• The Planet: Serres is concerned for how we treat the planet. The health care domains can also be utilised to explore the physical and psychological impacts of climate change and the need to attend to human ecology. We are rocking the boat - Earth is our boat.
• ... plus many others - fluid, dynamics, life - rivers - choices, narratives, Home, Angels, statues.

Finally, within "... S E R R E S ..." you will also find H2CM!  

Please see the bibliography for the paper.

Additional links:

Michel Serres on this blog.

http://michelserres.blogspot.com/

More Q and A to follow plus photos and slides. Photo source (PJ, Copenhagen shop window, 2010).

Social media: Sanity saver or Mischief maker..?

Individual
|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

Group

	"The Mercury Project is a global consortium of researchers dedicated to combating the impacts of mis- and disinformation on public health and to finding interventions that support the spread and uptake of accurate health information."

 

My source: https://twitter.com/ssrc_org/status/1460619132437774337?s=20

See previous posts:

WHO: Infodemic Management News Flash Thursday 4 November 2021 #25

COVID: Logic is the patient - again..

'Hermes'

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.

Jones, P. (1996) Humans, Information, and Science, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 24(3),591-598.

 

Mercury: Care in Transit or Transformation?

INDIVIDUAL

|

INTRA- INTER-PERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

GROUP

Hermes (Mercury) - the messenger Mercury Abducting Psyche © Musée du Louvre/P Philibert.
Public understanding of Science Social Media (or Political)? Patient engagement in clinical records	Data, Information, Knowledge (Wisdom)? Data, Information Law & Regulation Information Governance & Accountability

How to Safely Observe the Sun (Infographic)
https://www.space.com/15614-sun-observing-safety-tips-infographic.html

See also:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/11/last-transit-of-mercury-until-2032-how-to-watch-livestream/

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.