The Metaphors of Conscientia in Seneca’s Epistles

Seneca’s masterful application of metaphors often illuminates some Stoic technical terminology in contexts, which render them meaningful and familiar to his Roman readers. In this paper I argue that in certain instances, these metaphors are also used to organize whole systems of concepts that refer to an essential theoretical component of Seneca’s philosophy. By studying the literary and philosophical context of these metaphors, I reconstruct Seneca’s requirement for moral self-improvement in his Epistles and propose that his conception of conscientia or ‘moral conscience’—a notion scattered throughout his writings but which, as the examination of his systematic metaphors will prove, has a consistent, identical function everywhere it appears—points to some novel rational characteristics of the philosopher’s conception of the self.

A 10-year follow-up service evaluation of the treatment pathway outcomes for patients in nine in-patient psychiatric rehabilitation services

Aims and method This study examines the treatment pathway outcomes over a 10-year period for patients in nine rehabilitation wards at the beginning of this time period. Results Data were obtained on 85 patients, of whom 59 were discharged during the 10-year period; 29 were readmitted, of whom 15 had further in-patient rehabilitation admissions. Nineteen patients remained in hospital throughout the period. Only nine patients were living independently at the time of follow-up or death, and 34 were in longer-term in-patient settings. Eighteen patients had died during the 10-year period. Clinical implications New planning of rehabilitation services needs to ensure an integrated whole-systems approach, across in-patient and community settings, with specialist mental health rehabilitation teams to support people moving from hospital to the community, and for the small number remaining in hospital for very long periods, development of sufficient high-quality, local in-patient provision.

Reconciling fragmented sectors of health research regulation: toward an ecosystem of processual regulation

The delivery of good outcomes from human health research is entirely dependent on the proper functioning of the attendant regulatory systems. This article focuses on the processes of regulation themselves, and how these might be better understood, so that regulators and other stakeholders have a strong normative basis upon which to pursue the regulatory objective of achieving outcomes with maximum social value. The argument is made that the concept of ‘processual regulation’—which promotes a whole systems approach to regulation—can assist greatly in the design, implementation, and review of human health research. This moves beyond the current often-fragmented approach to regulation towards a joined-up, reflective, and responsive system that has fitness-for-purpose at its core.

Stream or Discharge: Using the Hydrosocial Cycle to Explore the Meanings of the Waimapihi Stream in Te Whanganui-a-Tara-Wellington, Aotearoa-New Zealand

<p>Aotearoa-New Zealand’s urban streams are complex and diverse but have been degraded and neglected for years. For the most part, hegemonic management regimes are technocratic, separating streams into discrete parts, and thus have failed to improve or maintain the state of urban streams. The hydrosocial cycle is a way of exploring streams that takes account of whole systems, flows of water, more than humans, infrastructure and technology, and the social structures and institutions that make up water. The framework has been used to study the impacts of urbanisation on water around the world, including issues around stormwater, wastewater, water supply, and rivers, but it has rarely been used to study buried urban streams. This research uses a case study of the Waimapihi Stream in Te Whanganui-a-Tara-Wellington, Aotearoa-New Zealand to explore how the hydrosocial cycle could be used to understand urban streams. A hydrosocial approach, alongside a more-than-human methodology, demonstrated the varying meanings of the stream, including those of the different phases along its length. Connections to the buried section of the Waimapihi arose through the presence of fish, physical markers, and stories, but there was dissatisfaction with the extent of these. As a result, alternative methods of connection such as windows to the stream and areas of it to be daylighted were explored. A hydrosocial approach enabled an examination of meanings and values of the Waimapihi Stream; to encourage critical analysis of how streams are defined and how they are managed. This demonstrated that the hydrosocial cycle provides a valuable framework for understanding urban streams, as it encompasses the various components that make up urban streams and is flexible enough to explore the diversity between and within them. Key words: Hydrosocial cycle, more-than-human, stormwater, wastewater, urban streams, Te Whanganui-a-Tara-Wellington, Aotearoa-New Zealand.</p>

Stream or Discharge: Using the Hydrosocial Cycle to Explore the Meanings of the Waimapihi Stream in Te Whanganui-a-Tara-Wellington, Aotearoa-New Zealand

<p>Aotearoa-New Zealand’s urban streams are complex and diverse but have been degraded and neglected for years. For the most part, hegemonic management regimes are technocratic, separating streams into discrete parts, and thus have failed to improve or maintain the state of urban streams. The hydrosocial cycle is a way of exploring streams that takes account of whole systems, flows of water, more than humans, infrastructure and technology, and the social structures and institutions that make up water. The framework has been used to study the impacts of urbanisation on water around the world, including issues around stormwater, wastewater, water supply, and rivers, but it has rarely been used to study buried urban streams. This research uses a case study of the Waimapihi Stream in Te Whanganui-a-Tara-Wellington, Aotearoa-New Zealand to explore how the hydrosocial cycle could be used to understand urban streams. A hydrosocial approach, alongside a more-than-human methodology, demonstrated the varying meanings of the stream, including those of the different phases along its length. Connections to the buried section of the Waimapihi arose through the presence of fish, physical markers, and stories, but there was dissatisfaction with the extent of these. As a result, alternative methods of connection such as windows to the stream and areas of it to be daylighted were explored. A hydrosocial approach enabled an examination of meanings and values of the Waimapihi Stream; to encourage critical analysis of how streams are defined and how they are managed. This demonstrated that the hydrosocial cycle provides a valuable framework for understanding urban streams, as it encompasses the various components that make up urban streams and is flexible enough to explore the diversity between and within them. Key words: Hydrosocial cycle, more-than-human, stormwater, wastewater, urban streams, Te Whanganui-a-Tara-Wellington, Aotearoa-New Zealand.</p>

Whole Systems Thinking and Modelling in the UK

UK academic researchers have been vying for a ‘whole’ systems perspective on energy issues for more than a decade. This research programme has exposed challenges in complex systems thinking and in the dialogue between academic disciplines and epistemic cultures that is needed to mediate the social, technological, and environmental impacts of energy systems. This chapter examines these efforts starting from existing studies that include detailed reports on experiences of interdisciplinary research. By extending these findings via interviews and ethnographic research, this chapter pays particular attention to the role of interdisciplinary computer modelling that was expected to represent complex energy transitions and energy infrastructures of the future. In doing so, this chapter demonstrates how interdisciplinarity has actually worked in three exemplary areas: the diversity of computer models that seek to represent everyday energy demand and how they simplify both demand and other disciplines in so doing; the need for collaborative, cross-cutting research in foresight of future energy scenarios; and how modelling scholars strongly envision their models should become ‘useful’ for imagined policy and planning stakeholders.