Strategic options development and analysis

Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA) enables a group or individual to construct a graphical representation (map) or a problematic situation, and thus explore options and their ramifications with respect to a complex system of goals or objectives. In addition the approach aims to help groups arrive at a negotiated agreement about how to act to resolve the situation. It is based upon the use of causal mapping – a formally constructed means-ends network. Because the map has been constructed using the natural language of the problem owners it becomes a model of the situation that is ‘owned’ by those who define the problem. The use of formalities for the construction of the model makes it amenable to a range of analyses encouraging reflection and a deeper understanding. These analyses can be used in a ‘rough and ready’ manner by visual inspection or through the use of specialist causal mapping software. Each of the analyses helps a group or individual discover important features of the problem situation. And these features facilitate agreeing a good solution. The SODA process is aimed at helping a group learn about the situation they face before they reach agreements. Most significantly the exploration through the causal map leads to a higher probability of more creative solutions and promotes solutions that are more likely to be implemented because the problem construction process is more likely to include richer social dimensions about the blockages to action and organizational change. The basic theories that inform SODA derive from cognitive psychology and social negotiation, where the model acts as a continuously changing representation of the problematic situation (a transitional object) – changing as the views of a person or group shift through learning and exploration. This chapter jointly written by two leading practitioner academics and the original developers of SODA, Colin Eden and Fran Ackermann, describe the SODA approach as it is applied in practice

The \u2018Back to the Basics\u2019 movement: Return to the past or sign of a \u2018mature\u2019 nursing?

In recent times, a growing interest is emerging to re-focus the attention on basic nursing care both at the international levels with the "Fundamentals of nursing care" movement, and at the national levels. Alongside some formal position statements in the form of policies or scientific contributions, also in day-to-day experience, several nurses are debating why basic nursing care is getting out of nurses' domain, why this element of nursing care is under-recognised in its value, or why this reflects an area at risk of decreased professional engagement. Our contribution outlines some reasons for the progressive detachment of nurses from the basics of nursing care and debates on possible areas on which to invest to re-bring the Fundamentals of Nursing Care as a priority in the daily agenda of practice, education, management and research

Analisis meteorologico para El Refugio de Montan J.J. Neumeyer, en San Carlos de Barilloche (Argentina), durante los inviernos de 1996-1999 y otono de 2000

EL presente trabajo muestra un resumen de los datos meteorológicos colectados en el refugio de montaña J. J. Neumeyer (41o16’S, 71o17’W, 1300 m), situado a cerca de 15 Km del centro de la ciudad turística de San Carlos de Bariloche, en Argentina, para los inviernos de 1996 al 2000. Fueron hechas observaciones de temperatura, presión, precipitación, humedad y otros elementos meteorológicos. Se compararon los datos medidos en el refugio con los datos del aeropuerto de Bariloche (41o09’S, 71o 10’W, 840 m) provistos por el Servicio Meteorológico Argentino (SMN). Los resultados indican un elevado coeficiente de correlación entre los datos de temperatura máxima en el refugio y en el aeropuerto (+0.97) y también entre los datos de presión (+0.99) en las dos localidades, con un intervalo de confianza de 99%, de acuerdo con el test T-student. La temperatura máxima promedio obtenida para el refugio quedó, en promedio, 4.4oC inferior a la temperatura máxima del aeropuerto, mientras el comportamiento de las temperaturas mínimas presentó una mayor variabilidad asociada a efectos topográficos locales. Un análisis inicial para la serie histórica de precipitación en el aeropuerto no apuntó ninguna tendencia de alteración climática en los últimos 50 años, y comparaciones con anomalías de TSM indicaron una tendencia a precipitaciones más elevadas en el periodo de invierno durante años de El Niño o cuando las aguas en la costa centro/sur de Chile se encuentran cálidas