http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/NHS60/Pages/VideointroducingthenewNHS.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/NHSTimeline.aspx
Monday, June 30, 2008
Happy Birthday NHS - 60 - 1948-2008
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/nhs60/Pages/NHS60home.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/NHS60/Pages/VideointroducingthenewNHS.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/NHSTimeline.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/NHS60/Pages/VideointroducingthenewNHS.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/NHSTimeline.aspx
Sunday, June 29, 2008
H2CM: Some Reflections on Purposes
Of the purposes associated with h2cm:
- the primary purpose must be to facilitate and support holistic practice. The reasoning for this runs (it is hoped) as follows:
Although reflection is often conducted with a particular task - frequently a question - and hence a set of associated experiences in mind; the individual should be encouraged to think universally. If in general reflection is constrained then perhaps the activity is no longer reflection?
If the curriculum developers intend to produce holistic practitioners* then once again holistic considerations should pre-empt and influence curriculum development.
Theory and practice are surely as 'holistic' as holistic is? This purpose though seeks to assist in closing the theory-practice gap and the existence of this gap suggests that there is something else – even if only space. This space means we must once again defer to holistic.
Or am I getting confused...? What do you think? h2cmng at yahoo.co.uk
*holistic in terms of the range of thought - not holistic new-age therapies.
- To produce a curriculum development tool.
- Help ensure holistic assessment and evaluation.
- To support reflective practice.
- To reduce the theory-practice gap.
- the primary purpose must be to facilitate and support holistic practice. The reasoning for this runs (it is hoped) as follows:
Although reflection is often conducted with a particular task - frequently a question - and hence a set of associated experiences in mind; the individual should be encouraged to think universally. If in general reflection is constrained then perhaps the activity is no longer reflection?
If the curriculum developers intend to produce holistic practitioners* then once again holistic considerations should pre-empt and influence curriculum development.
Theory and practice are surely as 'holistic' as holistic is? This purpose though seeks to assist in closing the theory-practice gap and the existence of this gap suggests that there is something else – even if only space. This space means we must once again defer to holistic.
Or am I getting confused...? What do you think? h2cmng at yahoo.co.uk
*holistic in terms of the range of thought - not holistic new-age therapies.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Gardenfors' book - a quote and can that be, surely not ...h2cm?
The title of Peter Gardenfors' book Conceptual Spaces is enough to switch the four lights on in this house. In chapter 1 the conclusion includes -
Here below is h2cm. I'll leave the explanatory connections to you:
Since 1986 or thereabouts I've been teased by quadtrees, Voronoi tesselations, facet analytic theory, clustering methods et al. and set to believe there's something here that we can use....
On the website I started to explore some of the assumptions that underpin the structure and (what might contribute to) a theory of Hodges' model. The next 'paper' will assume that the reader is familiar with Hodges' model. The focus will be h2cm as a candidate conceptual space with Gardenfors' text as a key and initial source.
The domains, distances, dimensions, data# it's all there: bar the door....
Many thanks everyone for passing this way - we are now at 10,000+ visitors
#P.S. I'm actually not sure about the data - that is a real challenge.
So what kind of theory is the theory of conceptual spaces? Is it an empirical, normative, computational, psychological, neuroscientific, or linguistic theory? The answer is that the theory of conceptual spaces is used in two ways in this book. On a general level, it is a framework for cognitive representations. .... On a more specific level, the framework of conceptual spaces can then be turned into empirically testable theories or constructive models by filling in specific dimensions with certain geometrical structures, specific measurement, specific connections to other empirical phenomena, and so forth. p.30.Chapter 5: Semantics gives us figure 5.9 (p.173):
Spatial relations between some abstract lexemes
EXISTENCE LOCATION
POSSESSION OWNERSHIP
EXISTENCE LOCATION
POSSESSION OWNERSHIP
Here below is h2cm. I'll leave the explanatory connections to you:
intrapers. sciences
sociology politics
sociology politics
Since 1986 or thereabouts I've been teased by quadtrees, Voronoi tesselations, facet analytic theory, clustering methods et al. and set to believe there's something here that we can use....
On the website I started to explore some of the assumptions that underpin the structure and (what might contribute to) a theory of Hodges' model. The next 'paper' will assume that the reader is familiar with Hodges' model. The focus will be h2cm as a candidate conceptual space with Gardenfors' text as a key and initial source.
The domains, distances, dimensions, data# it's all there: bar the door....
Many thanks everyone for passing this way - we are now at 10,000+ visitors
#P.S. I'm actually not sure about the data - that is a real challenge.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Website down from midnight Friday through to this p.m.
Just to say that the website has been down due to maintenance with Demon's servers, since midnight Friday all through Saturday. The message of the day states that service should be returned sometime this afternoon. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Now back to Horwich and the Carnival Races - real shame about the weather!
Now back to Horwich and the Carnival Races - real shame about the weather!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Note (blog post!) to Sir Michael Parkinson
Dear Sir Michael,
Many congratulations on your appointment as the National Dignity Ambassador on 20th May 2008. There's nothing like a bit of Northern grit and determination to spearhead the Government's drive to ensure that all older people using health and social care services are treated with dignity and respect.
I noticed the following conference being organised (prompting this post):
FOURTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
A Practical Guide to Improving
Dignity in Care on the Wards:
Moving Forward
Implementing the recommendations of the Healthcare Commission ‘Caring for Dignity’ report
Wednesday 1st October 2008
20 Cavendish Square, London
The subject for the e-mail I received read - 'Dignity on the Wards'.
Of course we all know that before dignity can put in an appearance on the wards, she needs to hitch a ride in the hearts and minds of all those who can make that real difference.
Like happiness, quality of life..., and its partner in care respect - dignity is a concept that can precariously be taken for granted, trampled upon, and is constantly the subject of academic - philosophical debate. It is often assumed that dignity is hard-wired into the essential humanity of the vast majority of us. Well your new role sadly reveals a truth.
Whether you still believe in the vocational view of nurse's devotion and attention to the -
Here's a tip - Hodges' model cun'elp jogt'memry of'sall...
Good luck lad!
Respectfully Yours!
PJ
Many congratulations on your appointment as the National Dignity Ambassador on 20th May 2008. There's nothing like a bit of Northern grit and determination to spearhead the Government's drive to ensure that all older people using health and social care services are treated with dignity and respect.
I noticed the following conference being organised (prompting this post):
FOURTH NATIONAL CONFERENCEA Practical Guide to Improving
Dignity in Care on the Wards:
Moving Forward
Implementing the recommendations of the Healthcare Commission ‘Caring for Dignity’ report
Wednesday 1st October 2008
20 Cavendish Square, London
The subject for the e-mail I received read - 'Dignity on the Wards'.
Of course we all know that before dignity can put in an appearance on the wards, she needs to hitch a ride in the hearts and minds of all those who can make that real difference.
Like happiness, quality of life..., and its partner in care respect - dignity is a concept that can precariously be taken for granted, trampled upon, and is constantly the subject of academic - philosophical debate. It is often assumed that dignity is hard-wired into the essential humanity of the vast majority of us. Well your new role sadly reveals a truth.
Whether you still believe in the vocational view of nurse's devotion and attention to the -
REAL partners in care,
the real 'R&D' -
respect and dignity
the real 'R&D' -
respect and dignity
Here's a tip - Hodges' model cun'elp jogt'memry of'sall...
Good luck lad!
Respectfully Yours!
PJ
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
2009 March Manchester, UK: 4th Oekonux Conference - Free Software and Beyond...
Call for Contribution - to the 4th Oekonux Conference in collaboration with P2P Foundation
During the past decade the phenomenon of Free Software has become successful and well-known. It is still amazing how in the realm of software the creativity of so many volunteers leads to products which are useful for the whole mankind. In 1999 the Oekonux Project [http://www.oekonux.org/] started with analyzing this phenomenon and trying to understand the special features of Free Software as a social and political enterprise.
Today, beyond the Free Software world, projects based on a similar approach of peer production are rapidly emerging, including Wikipedia and many more. It is time to look at peer production from a broader perspective.
This is the goal of the 4th Oekonux conference [http://www.oekonux-conference.org/] which is done in collaboration with the P2P Foundation [http://p2pfoundation.net/]. Under the title
Free Software and Beyond The World of Peer Production - we are planning a conference where
o researchers and activists meet
o intensive discussions are possible
o experiences can be shared and learned.
We are calling for contributions about the big world of peer production.
Possible themes include (but not limited to):
o Reports from peer production projects such as -
o Wikipedia
o Blogosphere
o Design communities
o OpenAccess movement
o Open Music
o Free Culture
o Sharing platforms like Flickr and YouTube
o Free Software
o Peer production and capitalism
o Theoretical approaches on their relationship
o Peer production and commercial interests
o Peer production and the state
o Peer production and political approaches of the past
o Peer governance
o Theoretical approaches to governance in peer production
o Peer ownership
o Maintainership and conflict resolution
o Material peer production
o Existing projects
o Theoretical approaches
If you want to - give a talk - prepare a workshop - moderate a round table discussion
Please submit a short outline of your idea (~300 words) together with a short bio to projekt AT oekonux DOT de. (Mails to this address are archived on the web. Please ask there if this is a problem for you.) If you want to add some other kind of contribution or have other questions please also don't hesitate to contact this address.
About Project Oekonux: In Project Oekonux different people with different opinions and different methods study the economic and political forms of Free Software and other peer production phenomenons. An important question is, whether the principles of peer production may be the foundation of a new economy which may be the base for a new society.
About P2P Foundation: The Foundation for Peer to Peer Alternatives researches, documents and promotes P2P practices in every domain of social life. It's a global cyber-collective and aims to be a knowledge and internetworking platform for open/free, participatory, and commons-oriented initiatives on a global scale.
Important information:
o Deadline for applications: 31 October 2008
o Final decision on acceptance: 15 December 2008
o Deadline for submission of papers / slidesets: 13 March 2009
o Conference date: 27-29 March 2009
o Conference location: Manchester, UK
o Contact address: projekt AT oekonux DOT de
o Conference language: English
o Previous conference: 3rd Oekonux conference
[http://third.oekonux-conference.org/]
o More information on the conference website
[http://www.oekonux-conference.org/]
During the past decade the phenomenon of Free Software has become successful and well-known. It is still amazing how in the realm of software the creativity of so many volunteers leads to products which are useful for the whole mankind. In 1999 the Oekonux Project [http://www.oekonux.org/] started with analyzing this phenomenon and trying to understand the special features of Free Software as a social and political enterprise.
Today, beyond the Free Software world, projects based on a similar approach of peer production are rapidly emerging, including Wikipedia and many more. It is time to look at peer production from a broader perspective.
This is the goal of the 4th Oekonux conference [http://www.oekonux-conference.org/] which is done in collaboration with the P2P Foundation [http://p2pfoundation.net/]. Under the title
Free Software and Beyond The World of Peer Production - we are planning a conference where
o researchers and activists meet
o intensive discussions are possible
o experiences can be shared and learned.
We are calling for contributions about the big world of peer production.
Possible themes include (but not limited to):
o Reports from peer production projects such as -
o Wikipedia
o Blogosphere
o Design communities
o OpenAccess movement
o Open Music
o Free Culture
o Sharing platforms like Flickr and YouTube
o Free Software
o Peer production and capitalism
o Theoretical approaches on their relationship
o Peer production and commercial interests
o Peer production and the state
o Peer production and political approaches of the past
o Peer governance
o Theoretical approaches to governance in peer production
o Peer ownership
o Maintainership and conflict resolution
o Material peer production
o Existing projects
o Theoretical approaches
If you want to - give a talk - prepare a workshop - moderate a round table discussion
Please submit a short outline of your idea (~300 words) together with a short bio to projekt AT oekonux DOT de. (Mails to this address are archived on the web. Please ask there if this is a problem for you.) If you want to add some other kind of contribution or have other questions please also don't hesitate to contact this address.
About Project Oekonux: In Project Oekonux different people with different opinions and different methods study the economic and political forms of Free Software and other peer production phenomenons. An important question is, whether the principles of peer production may be the foundation of a new economy which may be the base for a new society.
About P2P Foundation: The Foundation for Peer to Peer Alternatives researches, documents and promotes P2P practices in every domain of social life. It's a global cyber-collective and aims to be a knowledge and internetworking platform for open/free, participatory, and commons-oriented initiatives on a global scale.
Important information:
o Deadline for applications: 31 October 2008
o Final decision on acceptance: 15 December 2008
o Deadline for submission of papers / slidesets: 13 March 2009
o Conference date: 27-29 March 2009
o Conference location: Manchester, UK
o Contact address: projekt AT oekonux DOT de
o Conference language: English
o Previous conference: 3rd Oekonux conference
[http://third.oekonux-conference.org/]
o More information on the conference website
[http://www.oekonux-conference.org/]
Monday, June 16, 2008
That other 2nd-hand book - 'Conceptual Spaces'
In February I posted about a day in Sedbergh the book town with marvellous weather for the time of year.In addition to the The Big Book of Concepts book, I bought a copy of Peter Gärdenfors' Conceptual Spaces. Oh, to be able to take a measured and systematic approach to this....!
I'm only just up to chapter 3 and it's a fascinating book. The ideas make this a key reference for anyone studying Hodges' model (and much more besides).
The preface sums up much about some of the problems researching* Hodges' model:
"... I will satisfy no one. Philosophers will complain that my arguments are weak; psychologists will point to a wealth of evidence about concept formation that I have not accounted for; linguists will indict me for glossing over the intricacies of language in my analysis of semantics; and computer scientists will ridicule me for not developing algorithms for the various processes that I describe."The subtitle - The Geometry of Thought - says it all. There are so many key concepts here. I'm looking forward to chasing the references cited and other works. I don't vandalise books usually, but hey it's summer almost and the highlighter is doing its thing. The questions run thick and fast....
- Is Hodges' model one conceptual space or four...?
- What quality dimensions can I identify?
- What quality dimensions could a h2cm community identify?
- What existing multidimensional scaling work exists in health and social care?
- ....?
*or at least trying to research...
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Physio-Political ... musings, songs and dances...
Just as the weekend dawned I shared Hodges' model as a loop-the-loop when it comes to interdisciplinary crossover and cross-fertilization. In that post I ventured that PHYSIO-POLITICAL is probably the one that is least familiar in health. What do you think - the four candidates being -
SOCIO-POLITICAL
PSYCHO-SOCIAL
PSYCHO-PHYSICAL
PHYSIO-POLITICAL?
If I had to justify PHYSIO-POLITICAL as least familiar, it is one of the most obvious individually; in that if you lose your freedom of movement, or freedom of expression and self-determination you are going to make a real (rather on-the-spot) song and dance about it.
Perhaps this is why it is only in the past few decades that disability rights and disabled access have come to fore in health and social care and government policies and law. There is also a realisation with ageing populations the extent to which PHYSIO-POLITICAL impacts on our quality of life. If you cannot transfer from chair to toilet let alone walk - that spells 'trouble'. This is a double-whammy when allied with the PSYCHO-PHYSICAL, suddenly cognitive abilities also enter the frame.
The 'PSYCHO-PHYSICAL' is mentioned in Gardenfor's book Conceptual Spaces (more on that to follow too), which set me to wonder that each of these disciplinary fields needs to be revisited regularly in policy terms. For example, bound within the socio-political is economics with the problem of poverty ever present in the news.
For individuals with learning disability from a psycho-physical perspective they may be further compromised with the social emphasis on visual, health and ICT literacies and the information society plus a reduction in the meaningful activities they can pursue. This is a difficult debate (raised in the literature I notice), but one that needs to be addressed.
If people also lack the mental capacity - PSYCHO-POLITICAL - to make decisions for themselves then PHYSIO-POLITICALLY speaking they will depend on others to make that song and dance on their behalf.
(I never expected to get so caught up with hyphens - weird that - when I originally selected the domain name for the website over a decade ago I used a hyphen. ...)
SOCIO-POLITICALPSYCHO-SOCIAL
PSYCHO-PHYSICAL
PHYSIO-POLITICAL?
If I had to justify PHYSIO-POLITICAL as least familiar, it is one of the most obvious individually; in that if you lose your freedom of movement, or freedom of expression and self-determination you are going to make a real (rather on-the-spot) song and dance about it.
Perhaps this is why it is only in the past few decades that disability rights and disabled access have come to fore in health and social care and government policies and law. There is also a realisation with ageing populations the extent to which PHYSIO-POLITICAL impacts on our quality of life. If you cannot transfer from chair to toilet let alone walk - that spells 'trouble'. This is a double-whammy when allied with the PSYCHO-PHYSICAL, suddenly cognitive abilities also enter the frame.
The 'PSYCHO-PHYSICAL' is mentioned in Gardenfor's book Conceptual Spaces (more on that to follow too), which set me to wonder that each of these disciplinary fields needs to be revisited regularly in policy terms. For example, bound within the socio-political is economics with the problem of poverty ever present in the news.
For individuals with learning disability from a psycho-physical perspective they may be further compromised with the social emphasis on visual, health and ICT literacies and the information society plus a reduction in the meaningful activities they can pursue. This is a difficult debate (raised in the literature I notice), but one that needs to be addressed.
If people also lack the mental capacity - PSYCHO-POLITICAL - to make decisions for themselves then PHYSIO-POLITICALLY speaking they will depend on others to make that song and dance on their behalf.
(I never expected to get so caught up with hyphens - weird that - when I originally selected the domain name for the website over a decade ago I used a hyphen. ...)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Some links ..... Parent’s Guide to the Teen Brain, TownSquare
Parent’s Guide to the Teen Brain
http://www.drugfree.org/teenbrain/
Those of you that work with parents (or are a parent) will find this new website from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America really exciting. The website explains the science behind the teen brain helping parents understand the why and how of teen behaviour and provides
tips and tools to help them navigate the teen years.
The site, which is live at www.drugfree.org/teenbrain, was created in collaboration with the Treatment Research Institute in Philadelphia, top scientists and researchers on substance abuse and addiction and Boston-based WGBH, leaders in public broadcasting and educational
multimedia.
Enjoy!
[Source: PSYTEACH list]
My Doctor is Web 2.0
[Source: eBCS Blogs]
Microsoft testing prototype of Facebook-like social network
[Source: RECORDS-MANAGEMENT-UK list]
Available for purchase you can view the contents of reports from Wireless Healthcare including:
Health 2.0 And Telecare For The Elderly
[Source: Bob Pyke and Guy Dewsbury]
http://www.drugfree.org/teenbrain/
Those of you that work with parents (or are a parent) will find this new website from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America really exciting. The website explains the science behind the teen brain helping parents understand the why and how of teen behaviour and provides
tips and tools to help them navigate the teen years.
The site, which is live at www.drugfree.org/teenbrain, was created in collaboration with the Treatment Research Institute in Philadelphia, top scientists and researchers on substance abuse and addiction and Boston-based WGBH, leaders in public broadcasting and educational
multimedia.
Enjoy!
[Source: PSYTEACH list]
My Doctor is Web 2.0
[Source: eBCS Blogs]
Microsoft testing prototype of Facebook-like social network
[Source: RECORDS-MANAGEMENT-UK list]
Available for purchase you can view the contents of reports from Wireless Healthcare including:
Health 2.0 And Telecare For The Elderly
[Source: Bob Pyke and Guy Dewsbury]
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