Space for Medicine - ISS

NASA - International Space Station

Space Medicine

International Space Station Update: Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026

Individual

|

     INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

 SOCIOLOGY  :    POLITICAL 

|

Group

ETHICS CONFIDENTIALITY CONFIDENCE   'COMMS'    MENTAL HEALTH   BEHAVIOURAL HEALTH & PERFOIRMANCE   PRIVATE PSYCHOLOGICAL COMMUNICATION    CIRCADIAN HEALTH PERSON-CENTRED HEALTH/DISABILITY	INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION  distance - remoteness EARTH orbit  LAUNCHES - RE-ENTRY WINDOWS   TRAINING MEDICAL EMERGENCY in SPACE HEALTH - EMERGENCY CONSTRAINTS - CONTIGENCIES PLANNING - TIME - PROBABILITY 'MONTE CARLO' MODELS/SIMULATIONS DIAGNOSIS: INJURY, RADIATION, MUSCULOSKELETAL, NEUROLOGICAL, VISION, microGRAVITY
CREWS WELFARE - PRIORITY  SOCIAL - WELL-BEING	NASA POLICY - PREPAREDNESS MEDIA RELATIONS

NASA Spaceflight Human System Standard Volume 1: 
Crew Health

'NASA-STD-3001 Volume 1 covers the requirements needed to support astronaut health and provide medical care while Volume 2 covers human-related vehicle system design and operations requirements that will maintain astronaut safety and promote performance.'

Additional reading:
Farrell, R.M., Fogarty, J.A., Covington, M. et al. A moonshot for female astronaut health, a win for all astronauts and space exploration. npj Microgravity 11, 38 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-025-00495-8

 

Marshall Porterfield, D., Tulodziecki, D., Wheeler, R. et al. Critical investments in bioregenerative life support systems for bioastronautics and sustainable lunar exploration. npj Microgravity 11, 57 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-025-00518-4

  

Rizzo, A., Borra, E.M., Ciciani, L. et al. Foundations of radiological protection in space: the integrated multidisciplinary approach for next manned missions in deep space. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 138, 1001 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04572-3

The National Space Institute -  
https://nss.org/the-national-space-institute/

During the 1990s I was a member of the 
Space Nursing Society -
https://nss.org/space-nursing-society-chapter/ 

London Institute of Space Policy and Law - 
https://www.space-institute.org

 

See also: 'NASA' : 'astronautics'

 

PsychoPathology: Space, Social Perception, and Mental Disorders ...

In the Philos-L "The Liverpool List" I noticed this (online) issue of Psychopathology and was drawn to its themes, especially that of space.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

129. Space, Social Perception, and Mental Disorders: Phenomenological and Empirical Approaches
Bader, O.; Bizzari, V.; Fuchs, T.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/524754 (Open Access)

132. Scale for Space and Time Experience in Psychosis: Converging Phenomenological and Psychopathological Perspectives
Arantes-Gonalves, F.; Wolman, A.; Bastos-Leite, A.J.; Northoff, G.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/519500

143. Alterations in the Experience of Time, Space, and Intersubjectivity and the Interaction with Pre-Existent Psychopathology during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Lau, I.; et al.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/522345

156.  Reopening Selves: Phenomenological Considerations on Psychiatric Spaces and the Therapeutic Stance
Thoma, S.; Schwnzl, I.; Galbusera, L.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/517888

168. Borderline We-Space? The Phenomenology of the Background of Safety in Borderline Personality Disorder
Van Duppen, Z.; Schmidt, P.; Lowyck,B.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/520860

179. Borderline Personality Disorder, Lived Space, and the Stimmung
Lo Monte, F.; Englebert, J.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/521182

190. Background Feelings of Belonging and Psychological Trauma
Wilde, L.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/518327

201. Interpersonal and Intersubjective Alienation in Social Stigmatization and Depression
Paskaleva-Yankova, A.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/519253 (Open Access)

211. Gestalt Perception and the Experience of the Social Space in Autism: A Case Study
Bader, O.; Fuchs, T.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/524562 (Open Access)

Edited - removed active links, affiliations, spurious text codes/line breaks, added one et al.

INDIVIDUAL

|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

psycho- space Intra- Interpersonal Intersubjective	-pathology space empirical
social perception 'We-space'?	space 'We-space'?

Spaces that Speak*: Theatrum Mundi / The Global Street

Even as I search for extraterrestrials we are creatures of space.

The Agora in
400 BCE

Womb, swaddling clothes, crib, play pen, 'home', garden, neighbourhood, community, village, town, city...

Here on W2tQ cognitive and conceptual space is the focus. Hodges' model provides a space for individual or group reflection. In addition to providing a conceptual space the model can represent our physical spaces, our social spaces - incorporating the various means of denoting relationships be that social network, family - genogram, or community group.

As a unit of 'civilization' there should be civic spaces in villages, towns and cities.  This is frequently not a 'civil' space as might be envisaged in the political sense. In contemplating the health of the individual we must also see the group, the citizens and ultimately the global community. If in future individual's must assume greater responsibility for their health, through which space will that responsibility be communicated? Will the channel of choice be the 2nd, or 3rd household TV, the PC-laptop screen; smart phone or merely the Parliamentary debate?

Where is 'public space', where can women and children meet in safety, where can free speech be voiced, be heard? If the presence and stability of public space is not an indicator of 'public health' what is it? What is the impact of policy? When cars are removed from an inner town and the area pedestrianised does a public space follow - the people as they walk by(e)? Can philosophy break out of the public houses and into other public spaces?

The following initiative is centered upon only three cities Frankfurt, London and New York, but will hopefully provide some insights:

Theatrum Mundi / The Global Street 

- is a new urban forum. It seeks to understand what brings life to a city, particularly in its public places and asks how these might be better designed. It brings architects and town planners together with performing and visual artists to reimagine the public spaces of twenty-first century cities.

 
*and listen.

My source: Heathcote, E., Design. A breath of fresh air for public spaces. FT Weekend 27-28 October 2012. 4-5.

Former link image source: http://mkatz.web.wesleyan.edu/grk201/GRK201.Agora.400.html

Wittgenstein's - Tractatus

Apparently, Wittgenstein walked away from philosophy after publication of the Tractatus. He thought he had solved the problems of philosophy, logic and reality.

In trying to ‘see’ Hodges’ model, in mathematical terms, there may be lessons in Wittegenstein’s approach, both in content and style. Of course, as a non-mathematician, I probably should leave well-alone; and stick to nursing. But that is the problem: from 1987-88 there is a need for a different perspective, even if this is a personal challenge. As with many ‘reviews’ here, we can look at Wittengenstein’s work, reflect upon it, and consider how it relates to the purposes, structures and content of Hodges’ model.

The Tractatus’s first line then, offers a warm welcome.

‘The world is everything that is the case.’ [I]

Making the decision to become a nurse and enrolling as a student makes you an educational and workforce demographic case.

Once a student in the university lecture theatre, you hopefully whether consciously, or not are exposed to the theory – practice gap; as you yearn to be on your first placement. Now it you who is seeking ‘cases’. As we live, and statistics roll and tally, the question of caseness (and categories) is key, one that is carried around even if not always active, recognised as such.

As noted in the previous post, we can for Hodges’ model (and other models, frameworks it must be said) think of ‘case’ as a, or the situation. 

A mathematical approach to Hodges’ model involves looking at things, concepts, people as objects. This includes patients and carers. In terms of a project worthy of pursuing in nursing and other disciplines involved in healthcare, this mathematization presents a non-trivial challenge. A fully-deserved response would be: 'What have you done to the aptitude for care and caring attitude? You've cancelled - subtracted it!' Humour aside:

'In order to know an object, I must know not its external but all its internal qualities.' [2.01231] 

Is this equivalent to us getting to know our patient / client and their socio-political context? 

‘The way in which objects hang together in the atomic fact is the structure of the atomic fact.’ [2.032] 

It is a help that Wittgenstein points to structure (crumbs of understanding are welcome here, as incremental steps). In formulating Hodges’ model we first identify the axes. It is the axes that then provide a space, four domains in total, to frame the objects that we decide; or, as the situation dictates, what concepts are placed in the domains of Hodges' model.

There is a successive series that follows, combining place, space and logic: ‘The proposition determines a place in logical space: the existence of this logical place is guaranteed by the existence of the constituent parts alone, by the existence of the significant proposition.’ [3.4]

‘The propositional sign and the logical coordinates : that is the logical place.’ [3.41]

‘The geometrical and the logical place agree in that each is the possibility of an existence.’ [3.411]

‘Although a proposition may only determine one place in logical space, the whole logical space must already be given by it.
(Otherwise denial, the logical sum, the logical product. etc., would always introduce new elements -in co-ordination.) 
(The logical scaffolding round the picture determines the logical space. The proposition reaches through the whole logical space.)' [3.42]

While Wittgenstein came to view ‘the picture theory of meaning’ as incorrect, as a conceptual framework and diagrammatic resource Hodges’ model is closely tied to this form of representation.

Of course, the logic at work here, is far from mathematical, but there is surely a logic.

'Formal concepts cannot, like proper concepts, be presented by a function.' [4.126]

'There is therefore really a sense in which in philosophy we can talk of a non-psychological I.
The I occurs in philosophy through the fact that the "world is my world'".
The philosophical I is not the man, not the human body or the human soul of which psychology treats, but the metaphysical subject, the limit - not a part of the world.' [5.641] 

'Although the spots in our picture are geometrical figures, geometry can obviously say nothing about their actual form and position. But the network is purely geometrical, and all its properties can be given a priori.

Laws, like the law of causation, etc., treat of the network and not of what the network describes.' [6.35]

There is much more in this work, and much that remains a challenge. Many commentators have written and said in interviews that the Tractatus rewards re-reading and some sentences stay with you for life (The Great Philosophers BBC TV). 

I'm still seeking mine.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5740/5740-pdf.pdf

"The Revolving Boy" - and Girls 'one day soon'?

individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic --------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group

"Derv soon discovers that he has an extraordinary sense of direction: he is also acutely uncomfortable unless he is able to "unwind" before going to bed each night the number of times he has turned during the day. Some of all this he understands when he learns how he had been born - weightless - in space. But it is not until a friendly teacher gains the family's confidence and takes him to a group of scientists that he begins to fathom the true explanation of his unique capabilities." (sleeve notes, 1967).

space medicine, birth in space,  radiation sources, DNA-RNA, safety, low Earth orbit, high Earth orbit, weightlessness, microgravity, birth, conception, speculation, sex in space: apogee-perigee? Why? Love? Newton's Laws of Motion? Einstein: Line of Sight? "Where there's a will...."  minerals, growth - development, bones, diet, mobility, space-Earth: 'Home'? Species - Homo ?

Book cover: Friedberg, The Revolving Boy, 1967

human rights, unborn child, guardianship, non-nationality: Citizen of the World, parenthood, friendship freedom choice Law: Individual:Group Earth challenges: Space & Antarctica Treaties... 'top and tail' - Arctic

Additional links:

Sagan, C. (1973) Communication With Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Ceti). M.I.T. Press.

Vakoch, D.A. (ed.) (2011) Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence, New York: NY, State University of New York Press.

Ack. Thanks to my friend Paul Brown who told me about this book c.1973.

Reflections [IV] Conceptual Spaces At Work: Parthemore, Unified Conceptual Space

In my notes on Hodges' model, nursing theory and conceptual spaces I've referred to Rosch, Gärdenfors and there is much of note in my copy of The Big Book of Concepts. There are gaps to fill, key sources to find and digest including the history of concepts. In Empirical Investigations in Conceptual Spaces Theory and the Unified Conceptual Space Joel Parthemore really helped this effort. His presentation began with: What is a concept? Which (for me) begs the question: What is a concept within Hodges' model? Is it a single entity?

Joel's slides included the following:

In the Beginning Was...

• Classical definitionism: concepts are like entries in a dictionary.
• Classical imagism: concepts are like pictures in the mind.

And then came their descendants:

• Prototype and exemplar theories (Rosch)
• Informational atomism (Fodor)
• Proxytypes theory (Prinz)
• Conceptual spaces theory (Gärdenfors)

Listening to Joel introduce his work on unified conceptual spaces I can relate several points to Hodges' model especially the following.

• Attempt to describe how all of an individual conceptual agent’s conceptual spaces map or weave together into a single unified space, a “space of spaces” describable along certain common axes.
• By extension, how all of the individual conceptual agents’ unified spaces map together, in linguistic human society, into a single, common unified space.
• Unlike CST, UCST is explicitly enactive: concepts are located not in the agent nor in the environment but in the interaction of agent and environment.

A couple of speakers brought up the question of a 'space of spaces'. Centeredness also preoccupies us in health and education. We are desperate to pick up the patient and the student and put them at the center of things. I keep wondering (see link below) about the extent to which structure and a theory of cognition are interdependent in terms of the resulting conceptual spaces? Since the late 1980s Buzan's mind-mapping has struck me as not being 'grounded'. This may not be an issue in many applications, but for a generic conceptual framework some underlying structure (dimensions) seems essential.

Joel also considered this:

• One major shortcoming of currently available mind-mapping software is the lack of any well-defined theory of cognition (let alone theory of concepts) underlying the application.

I hope I can make contact with Joel and return to this. He indicated papers and further projects with colleagues and a piece of software.

Additional link (Hodges' model - nexus, structure):

http://hodges-model.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=nexus

PJ's project [i]: Hodges' model An aide mémoire, or candidate Gärdenforsian conceptual space?

I'll expand on this over the coming months ... first something a bit off the wall...

Now and again I revisit what started as my 'notes' on conceptual spaces. This could be an embarrassing case of mistaken identity (and an embarrassing series of blog post!).

As with everything what is the cost? Well in words .....

1,300    2,400          5,567                        10,534                                   20,340 ...

I add text. I subtract.

Possibilities are appended. Relevance is questioned.

Where IS the panoptic eye?

Where to find the supervision that can ground me?

(Their flies the constant: Astronautic dreams; Young, Cernan, Aldrin, Armstrong, Yuri, Tereshkova and you too Albert II)

Structure emerges.
Potential strategies form to combine interests and efforts.

bifurcates
suddenly

Te                  the                    xt 

So how is the nursing stack?

Funding?
Interdisciplinary?
Multidisciplinary?
Quality of Care?
Dignity & Respect?
Confidence in Care?
Qualified?
Skills mix?
Self-care?
Values?

1st in : last out - OR....?

How to shuffle the decks that are nursing, informatics, cognitive science, and education?

Some text (thoughts) fails to mature -
beyond redundancy -
IT withers.

References are found. Some are metallic - key - sources. Some are virtual.

Some pass un-realised.  Present but lazy, not furthering the case.

Some are never recovered:............................

...............................:from paper scraps; from grey matter.

LOdpST

(Limited Orientation [don't panic] Should b Temporary)

Recovery. Who can recover from: LIFE? No choice in that. But do exercise. Travel past : now :  future : now : past ... forth and back ...

Toys R Us

Yo-YoUR memories are U

For a long time it collected virtual dust. Encoded on the hard disc long since last accessed. A Frozen amalgam of bits. But then, a return -

Re-Entry

 The aRc of relief- fresh eyes, fresh thought, further insights ....

The overall structure changes. For a long time this project was h2cm, then additional thoughts a website, a blog, several papers with this - yet another. A possible submission, journal - conference?

Then a text; a project; a song*; possibly a thesis?  (* Only joking)

How many texts start this way?
How many are still born?
No cry, no joy, less holistic care.

I do believe h2cm is an example of a conceptual space.

It could be that there is ONE ' ' or several [Is it lexical, discursive, cognitive, enacted, ....?]

Where are the edges of h2cm?

The h+listic space

IMAGINE

That space is idealised across ALL nursing theories. ButT (my head hurts) what sort of space is it? Shuffle the cards again, take one, memorize it.... Have we landed yet? Am I moving, or is that you?

Where is that space in practice now - and where is it post-midnight?

It is there in all care theories, they all count towards local - global health. Rejoice in eclectic care realms; in pre-post training and lifelong learning.

Roots or tendrils: it's all growth.

Promise.

Sustainable

In books, on lecturer's lips, values carried forward in student's thoughts and deeds.

Design an interactive space - 2 meters square - for Expolab project

My source: DESRIST discussion LinkedIn

Hello DESRIST members.

This is about an interactive design project, and the folks at Citilab are very interested in design research. Check it out if you're interested.

Letting you know that Citilab Cornella has an open call for exhibits that explore digital technology for their new project "Expolab". This experiment challenges designers to design 1 or more Expolab cubes with interactives that explore how new digital media and tech affects how we share memories, connect, travel through time and space, work, and experience safety. An opportunity to experiment, and work with the brilliant Expolab team Irene Lapuente, Ramon Sangüesa, and Astrid Lubsen of Citilab.

Start with the cubed 2mx2m space, then modify the space/walls as needed to make it experimental and interactive. Spaces will be equipped with electric and internet connections if needed. Citilab will build 6 of these and put them on display in Barcelona. Expolab cubes can have any number of walls, you can design the whole thing as long as it fits in 2mx2m. The Tech Virtual hosts free 3D prototyping space in Second Life for you to build or document your entry ( http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Tech%202/160/211/33 ). If you'd prefer to use your own tools that's fine too, just upload your screenshots after creating a project at:

Looking forward to some new input on this experimental venture! Expolab team comes online for live design reviews Thursdays at 13:00 EST / 10:00 PST / and 18:00 CET (Barcelona). Did I miss anything? Send a note to ...

About Expolab:

"Expolab is a new way to understand exhibitions. It is a laboratory devoted to researching and creating new exhibitions in the area of technology, innovation, science and design, which are the main focus of work at Citilab. Expolab raises the possibility of creating exhibitions with strong citizen participation and contribution from the very beginning of an exhibition, and not just using the audience as providers of feedback once the exhibitions is one. This represents a new challenge within the world of museums and exhibitions.

Architecture and Design: 4 beds in 4 domains

'Privileged' is definitely the wrong word. Perhaps it is the advantage of experience and the passing of almost four decades and more....

Times have changed since arriving at Winwick Hospital on a bike as a student nurse for an early shift at 0655. I would  leave my bike just down a small corridor to the right of the main entrance. I don't think I locked it. Then depending on the ward allocation I walked through the red carpeted front of the hospital to the increasingly rough and seemingly lost corridors beyond.

Hospitals have changed markedly. Winwick and other asylums have gone - thank goodness.

Cockroaches, leaking roofs, two-storey blocks where when necessary the patients would carry the meals up the stairs. A charge nurse set about ensuring that the patient's were provided with proper safety equipment if there were no lifts. The dormitories were large: 40+ bedded and more. There were lockers of some description I think, but personalised clothing was still to follow in 1977.

Despite the emphasis on community care, a project that in reality is still a work in process, the need for hospital beds remains. I have worked to keep people out of hospital, to help provide crisis support at home. When beds are needed the experience for members of the public and their families is radically different today. As taxpayers we recognise the need for efficiency in design, procurement, commissioning and managing new buildings. So it is within the NHS. Visiting new modern facilities, and this includes private nursing homes, you really appreciate the benefits good design can bring for patients-residents, staff, students and visitors.

individual
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

group

My space Private space - observations permitting/negotiated Space to wander Space for wheelchairs Colour Personalisation Temperature Why is Joe staying in bed? Why is Mary not going in the lounge? ...?	4 Bed Multi Bed Bay c/o ProCure21+
Public space Quiet spaces (who says?) 'Community' Lounge Dining areas Activities room Noise levels Meeting rooms Interview rooms ...?	Public Engagement Staffing Volunteers Project Management Value for Money Savings Security Policies Safety Services ProCure21+ ...?

Image source: http://www.procure21plus.nhs.uk/standardshare/

Reflections [VII] Conceptual Spaces At Work: OntoSpaces - A Perspectivist Approach to CS

This session started fairly quietly but was one that rather shouted out in the end because of its possible relevance to Hodges' model. There was a clue having recognised one contributor from a reference already found:

Hautamäki, A. (1992). A Conceptual Space Approach To Semantic Networks, Computers and Mathematics with Applications. 23, 6-9, 517-525.

Kaipainen and Hautamäki began by asking what is the origin of quality dimensions? They proceeded to explain their use of perspectivism and the perspectival nature of cognition directing the audience to Giere (2006). The history of this is based on philosophy and the work of Nietzsche, Goodman and Putnam.

The work of Kaipainen and Hautamäki proposes the OntoSpace as a means to further extend Gärdenfors' work. An ontospace is an n-dimensional metadata space. In this space a perspective is an array of weights. The weights express the interest or attention towards each onto-dimension.


A transformation can be made from Ontospace A to lower dimensional space B. There are many technical points here to get to grips with. A figure was provided (I have gone over the yellow square 'Topical Domain' as it was indistinct; the green circle reads 'b Representational Space B').

This is an ecological and manageable means to conceptualization of a topical domain in ontospace A. Mention of ecological and manageable prompted me to clarify what this means, as I can see h2cm as being ecological and manageable. In the sense of breadth and depth of knowledge and possibly reducing the data context (as ever), patient, carer, nurse, learner....

The presentation included a software demonstration insofar as time allowed. The context was banking. The interface both applied dimensions and prioritised them. In the break I was able to explain Hodges' model to Mauri (Kaipainen), using a board in the upstairs dining room. By email Mauri subsequently noted that the home page of the old website actually reflects the model down to the placement of the menu links. (This is a struggle with Drupal and its themes, trying to come up with something that is original, represents the model and yet is not gimmicky the interface being obscure.) I approached Mauri and his colleague regards referencing their draft paper and they are happy for me to do so.

In health and social care of course we are very used to 'perspectives'. Especially seeking a caring perspective through empathy and rapport, putting on the shoes of the other and trying to appreciate the perspective they may or may not see. As I have said before I wonder at times if my passion for h2cm is an overvalued idea. I feel at times I am clutching at straws to find a theoretical underpinning for Hodges' model. At this conference there were no warts, and this presentation added more very useful ideas and in this case interdisciplinary bridges:

Solomon describes Nietzsche’s perspectivism so that it’s a view that “one always knows or perceives or thinks about something from a particular perspective - not just a spatial viewpoints, but a particular context of surrounding impressions. influences, and ideas, conceived of through one’s language and social upbringing and, ultimately, determined by virtual everything about oneself, one’s psychophysical make-up, and one’s history” (Solomon 1996, 195). Kaipainen and Hautamäki (to follow)

Ontospaces also seems to reflect the resulting dialogues found in health and social care and the need to constantly attend to and reconcile the same:

As Baghramian sees it, there can be more than one correct account of how things are in any given domain (2004, Chapter 10). Thus the issue is not which perspective is correct or true, but how to explore and mutually relate multiple perspectives.

Kaipainen, M., Hautamäki, A. Ontospaces: A Perspectivist Approach to Conceptual Spaces (to follow).

Giere, Ronald, N. (2006). Scientific Perspectivism. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.

Images: Peter Jones (with thanks to the presenters)

Reflections [III] Conceptual Spaces At Work: Lund University, Sweden, May 2012

The next session - Event Structure, Conceptual Spaces and the Semantics of Verbs Peter Gärdenfors, Massimo Warglien & Matthijs Westera, was presented by Peter Gärdenfors whose book Conceptual Spaces (2000) I bought in Sedbergh in 2008 (talk about serendipity!).

Just reading the title back then was enough...

There was a starter question: Why are there word classes (nouns, verbs, adverbs...)?

It became evident that first morning that conceptual space as a representational form is very much still in active development. The abstract begins:

The aim of this paper is to integrate spatial cognition with lexical semantics. We develop cognitive models of actions and events based on conceptual spaces and vectors on them. The models are then used to present a semantic theory of verbs. ...

Word classes were related (as in the book) to conceptual space elements, e.g.

nouns - categories
adjectives - properties

In addressing verbs this paper seeks a two-vector model of an event.

Agent (Force) -> Patient (Result)   - result verbs describe the change in the object.

The Professor said that cognitive and linguistic aspects are often confused. Two theses were also provided - thesis 2: single domain constraint.

In addition talk of several spaces might be troubling (adding complexity), but to me the prospects of action space, category space and physical space makes the potential for modelling more explicit and accessible to Hodges' model.

I scribbled down 'agent not always necessary (fall, growth?...)' and pondered about self-care, relatives acting as a proxy.

There was a lot of detail on language, linguistics: static verbs, intentional verbs -> physical action; telic verbs. ... Rather than feel (completely!) confused by this specialist talk, I felt enthused for what is to follow.

The Difference that Makes a Difference 2013 - Information: Space, Time, and Identity

You are invited to The Difference that Makes a Difference 2013, An interdisciplinary workshop on Information: Space, Time, and Identity.

Location: The Open University and the MK Gallery, Milton Keynes , UK
Dates: 8-10 April 2013
Website: http://www.dtmd.org.uk

Deadline for one page abstracts - 3rd January 2013.

Information has been conceptualised in many different ways in different disciplines, and the DTMD series of workshops is a forum for sharing of those insights . We are keen to involve as many different people, from as many different disciplines, as possible in presenting and participating in the workshop. We invite a wide range of participants to give short (10 minute) presentations on their work as it relates to an understanding of information.

There will be six sessions:

Over days 1 and 2 the first four sessions consist of a keynote speaker followed by six or seven short presentations (which will have been selected by referees from submitted abstracts) then a panel discussion.

1. Information and Space. The relationship between information and space, 'meaning' in our physical environment, and the information landscapes that go beyond physical space.
2. Information and Time. Both the historic framework of the notion of information, and time as a 'dimension' in information – physics, entropy, information and ‘the arrow of time’.
3. Information and Identity. Identity (race, gender, nationality, class and sexual orientation, for example) as information and, conversely, information as identity.
4. What is information? Why are so many disciplines using informational concepts in their narratives? Is a Universal Theory of Information (UTI) possible?

Sessions 5 and 6 on day 3 draw together the insights from the first two days in two ways. First, through art, when the results of the work of the Workshop artist’s collaboration with delegates is presented and discussed. Second, a final keynote speech from Luciano Floridi, Professor of the Philosophy of Information will lead in to a panel discussion with the keynote speakers from the earlier sessions.

For more details see the workshop programme: http://www.dtmd.org.uk/programme and the Call for Papers: ....

Accepted abstracts will be published in a Workshop Digest which will be made available online prior to the event, and, following the workshop, delegates will be invited to submit papers for special issue of Kybernetes, based on papers presented at the workshop.

We hope to see you in Milton Keynes in April.

Best wishes,

Magnus Ramage and David Chapman on behalf of the Programme Committee.

-- 
Dr. David A. Chapman CEng, FIET, FHEA
Senior Lecturer
Department of Communication and Systems
The Open University http://cands.open.ac.uk/
Intropy blog: http://www.intropy.co.uk/
... Twitter @dachapman

Paper: Using Typography to Expand the Design Space of Data Visualization

New Issue of She Ji.
The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation

Using Typography to Expand the Design Space of Data Visualization

Abstract

she ji

This article is a systematic exploration and expansion of the data visualization design space focusing on the role of text. A critical analysis of text usage in data visualizations reveals gaps in existing frameworks and practice. A cross-disciplinary review including the fields of typography, cartography, and coding interfaces yields various typographic techniques to encode data into text, and provides scope for an expanded design space. Mapping new attributes back to well understood principles frames the expanded design space and suggests potential areas of application. From ongoing research created with our framework, we show the design, implementation, and evaluation of six new visualization techniques. Finally, a broad evaluation of a number of visualizations, including critiques from several disciplinary experts, reveals opportunities as well as areas of concern, and points towards additional research with our framework.

Political space: 'Forum Internum'

... Or, how do they 'read' the model?

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group - population

Forum Internum ([{Private - mental space}]) Freedom of Thought	Neuroscience Technology Brain-Machine Interface
Social media technologies Data aggregation data mining Profiling Vulnerable groups	Political space Human Rights Lawyers, Courts - NeuroLaw Arrival of fMRI imaging in court Protection of Freedom of Thought Thought-crime?

 

Please also consider here the position of the individual, their mental health and mental health law.

My source:

BBC Radio 4: Political Space - Forum Internum 3/3

The Space of Origin - Foucault

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group-population

"For us, the human body defines, by natural right, the space of origin and of distribution of disease: a space whose lines, volumes, surfaces, and routes are laid down, in accordance with a now familiar geometry, by the anatomical atlas. But this order of the solid, visible body is only one way—in all likelihood neither the first, nor the most fundamental—in which one spatializes disease. There have been, and will be, other distributions of illness. When will we be able to define the structures that determine, in the secret volume of the body, the course of allergic reactions? Has anyone ever drawn up the specific geometry of a virus diffusion in the thin layer of a segment of tissue? Is the law governing the spatialization of these phenomena to be found in a Euclidean anatomy? After all, one only has to remember that the old theory of sympathies spoke a vocabulary of correspondences, vicinities, and homologies, terms for which the perceived space of anatomy hardly offers a coherent lexicon. Every great thought in the field of pathology lays down a configuration for disease whose spatial requisites are not necessarily those of classical geometry." p.3.

"The exact superposition of the ‘body’ of the disease and the body of the sick man is no more than a historical, temporary datum." p.3.

Foucault, Michel (1973). The Birth of the Clinic. New York: Pantheon Books.

A book chapter: Spatial semantics - definitions...

This book would appear to be an essential reference in respect of h2cm, the following is from chapter 13:

Spatial semantics is the study of the meaning of spatial language, but what is to be regarded as ‘spatial language’? A moment’s reflection suffices to show that the answer to this question is anything but trivial, since SPACE is not a self-contained ‘semantic field’, but rather constitutes an important part of the background for all conceptualization and meaning (Kant [1787] 1964). Furthermore, the term ‘space’ has been used all too often in an extended, metaphorical sense in Cognitive Linguistics and Cognitive Science, e.g., ‘Space Grammar’ (Langacker 1982), ‘Mental Spaces’ (Fauconnier 1985), ‘Conceptual Spaces’ (Gärdenfors 2000). Hence, an unrestricted interpretation of the term ‘space’ might lead us to think that ‘all semantics is spatial semantics’, a conclusion that not even cognitive linguists would find too attractive. Therefore, the scope of spatial semantics needs to be restricted, and this can and has been done in at least three different ways: by form class, by semantic category, and by communicative function. The three definitions based on these restrictions do not coincide, however, and each leaves something to be desired.

Jordan Zlatev (2007) Spatial Semantics, Chapter 13. In. Hubert Cuyckens and Dirk Geeraerts (eds.) Handbook in Cognitive Linguistics. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Reflections [VI] Conceptual Spaces At Work: Adams & Raubal - CSML

The final day of the CS@W conference started with a topic I was really anticipating as per a previous blog post. Ben Adams and Martin Raubal had indicated by email that CSML was a work in progress and a chat after their session emphasized the same. The existence of CSML and looking at some code examples holds great promise.

Direction in Lund, Sweden May 2012 by Peter Jones

The motivation for their work stems from geographical information systems [GIS] and how to formalise conceptual spaces. Palmer (1978) was cited as providing one form of representation. Palmer's mental model being matched with formal conceptual spaces. As per Gardenfors' book Minkowski's vector space is central to this work and informs a previous paper by Raubal (2004).

Way-finding provided an example: how there are different domains with semantic distances and weights that can change according to context. The facades of buildings and the contexts of day and night. What features stand out in terms of the shape, colour, visibility, area of buildings?

Adams and Raubal moved to differentiating topological relations that emphasise dynamic concepts. Piaget's contribution was noted in how we perceive conceptual change and the work of Torsten Hägerstrand whose time geography was illustrated (the geographical aspect of their work).

Behind CSML is a conceptual space algebra that is still being developed. On conceptual spaces and the semantic web, Adams and Raubal observed through their slides that:

Description logics are limited in ability to represent semantic content (RDF, OWL).
They fail to easily express
    Semantic similarity which plays an important role in cognitive categorization.
    Complex concept combinations.
Present Semantic Web technologies are restricted in their ability to answer queries and make inferences.

My BA(Philosophy and Computing Joint Hons.) project was on the application of semantic networks in nursing. The hard work was done for me in that it was directed by existing work in GRAIL. The dissertation I produced was essentially descriptive looking at nursing examples, identifying care issues and modelling them using is_a relationships. Among a great many slides and fascinating explanations Adams and Raubal note that:

Is-A, Instance-Of
Strong – based on topological relationships
Weak – based on similarity relationships

- so the advent of conceptual spaces, CSML and their efforts to engage with the existing semantic web community shows the ongoing dynamic of the semantic web's development. They are pursuing a reification of OWL 2 CS file to OWL 2:

Unique IRI for OWL classes, individuals, properties
Unique IRI for CS domains, concepts, and instances

There may be a future website to follow in addition to the CSML source. Questions followed about whole spaces, contrast classes and support vectors.

Reflecting back, my studies from 1996-97 and the examples produced - mobility... did not really even scratch the surface. Ben and Martin's work begs the question of trying to develop CSML examples that go beyond the surface(s) and enter the conceptual space (or spaces) that is Hodges' model.

Adams, B., Raubal, M. (2009). Conceptual Space Markup Language (CSML): Towards the Cognitive Semantic Web. ICSC '09 Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Semantic Computing IEEE Computer Society Washington, DC, USA.

h2cm: fixed or primary concepts the push and pull of nursing

When commentators, students and others write of the primary or core concepts of nursing what does this mean in terms of Hodges' model [h2cm]?

For quite some time I have been describing Hodges' model as a cognitive - conceptual space. This suggests that there are fixed concepts within the care domains. Yes, they may vary according to the context and over time, but if concepts were arrows and our aim is true then h2cm would provide the ideal target. It on this care matrix that we really could take aim and nail the kernels of knowledge that make up our care activities.

Is it a mistake to venture that for people to talk of basic nursing care, essential care needs, that there must be some fixed ideal out there; an ideal that nurses, society and policy makers can hang discussion and debate upon? And let's face it there is much to debate - mental health stigma, obesity, nutritionism, heart disease, dementia, unplanned pregnancies, funding, access, poverty. ...

Medical sociology has done and continues to do society at large a great service. It forces practitioners to look over their shoulder and take in the social and cultural forces that influence health. As a question for further deliberation within medical / clinical sociology we might ask: How are the concepts in Hodges' model fixed? There are several possible answers:

1. Someone determines that concepts a, b, c, d are in care domains 1, 2, 3, 4. The question of whether Hodges' model (or any other conceptual resource) is classed as evidence based depends on how that determination is made.

2. Alternately, the structure of the model provided by the axes, could act as a skeleton. This might serve as a boot strap breathing life into the empty spaces created by this structure. The first instances of concepts might then arise like some sort of quantum event - self, other, temperature, time, height, mood. ...

3. As (medical) sociology, philosophy and psychology continue to reveal, we also need to accept of course that society, culture and language are all inextricably linked and they pre-empt that empty space, predetermining what will be written (thought and reflected) there.

4. This external influence is a must if those working in the health and social care professions are to communicate with those 'outside' (public involvement can only run so far?). It is not so much a case of common ground, as common space and the freedom and opposition that this affords. this is essential for communication amid what is variously called - multidisciplinary working and integrated care. Here there must be a degree of latitude between different disciplines' usages of terms. This must provide common understanding or some close approximation and yet still be safe.

So rather than empty space the care domains are really full of care concepts all waiting on tenterhooks, to see whether they will get to aggrandise and become 'complex care needs'. Will the assessor / care evaluator pick them - from what is initially a virtual crowd? Go on make their day: care-fully!

Liminality: "We are all conceptual artists"

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

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

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Liminal states: This space is likened to that which adolescents inhabit: - not yet adults; not quite children. It is an unstable space in which the learner may oscillate between old and emergent understandings just as adolescents often move between adult-like and child-like responses to their transitional status. But once a learner enters this liminal space, she is engaged with the project of mastery unlike the learner who remains in a state of pre-liminality in which understandings are at best vague. The idea that learners enter into a liminal state in their attempts to grasp certain concepts in their subjects presents a powerful way of remembering that learning is both affective and cognitive and that it involves identity shifts which can entail troublesome, unsafe journeys. Often students construct their own conditions of safety through the practice of mimicry. In our research, we came across teachers who lamented this tendency among students to substitute mimicry for mastery (Cousin, 2006b, p.139). Cousin (2006a) http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~mflanaga/popupLiminality.html

This space, behind-around, reveals... Leo Villareal’s ‘Liminal Gradient for (RED)’ (2018) ... that we are all 'conceptual artists'.

My source: Spence, R. (2018) Seeing Red, Collecting, FT Weekend, 3-4 November, pp.1-2.

When you 'give no quarter'^

When the only thing
on the table is your history,
there is no space, even as corners multiply.
No longer is there space for a future,
no longer space for hope,
no space for a peace to be thought of -
let-alone shared.

When you give - absolutely! - no quarter
and act to prove the same,
Yes, you stand.
But how do you stand?
You stand to lose insight,
and so much more - 
you stand to lose
humanity

 

 Individual
   |

      INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

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

 SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

Group

CON-SCIENCE	SCIENCE geo-
Time & Land	politics PEACE?

^Easy for me - many of us - to say?

Listen also:

BBC Radio 4 Start the Week War crimes justice

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001vktw

Where do you/we find peace? Discuss.