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PubMed1982

Fear of flight: behavior therapy versus a systems approach.

Systematic desensitization is re-examined as a treatment for flight fear from the perspective of family-systems theory. The problem of the person who avoids flight is considered first from the viewpoint of behavior therapy, and behavioral treatment is briefly described. This problem is next described in terms of the patients's to society, family, and the therapist. From this perspective, the flight-avoidant person is seen to be an "identified patient"-someone defined as ill by the system in which he or she is enmeshed. The problem is then redefined, not as flight fear, but as the pressure to fly, and implications for treatment are discussed.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1998

[Acupuncture: an information therapy?].

Even though modern medicine continues to be governed by the morphological point of view, cybernetics and systems theory are beginning to gain in importance. The concept of "Infomedicine" serves as the basis for a discussion of regulation and the information mechanisms necessary for this to occur. Some of the new insights being made in physics, such as the theory of relativity, quantum physics, and chaos theory provide many valuable explanations. Acupuncture represents a regulation and information therapy, and many parallels can be drawn between traditional Chinese medicine and the discoveries being made in today's physics.

Acupuncture Points↗

PubMed1984

Chronic pain as a third pathologic emotion.

Chronic pain is often difficult to explain on the basis of objective findings. Various theoretical models are available. The hypothesis advanced here is that chronic nonprogressive pain is primarily a neuropsychologic event and that it is in the same category as the emotions of anxiety and depression, with each emotional state having neurochemical correlates now achieving some definition. General systems theory and analogy are used to compare acute and chronic pain with the phenomena of fear and anxiety and also with grief and depression.

Anxiety↗

PubMed1995

Management of information: analysis of the Joint Commission's standards for information management.

In the 1994 Accreditation Manual for Hospitals, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations published ten standards relating to the management of information. Using Andrew Abbott's systems theory of professions, the article compares the views of information management that were prevalent in hospitals before the publication of the standards with the view of information management represented by the new standards. Five characteristics of the standards are discussed: conceptual view of information management, tension between the unity and diversity of information management activity, lack of specificity about who performs information management activities, separation of professional qualifications from functions, and privileging of information systems concepts and vocabulary. The unfamiliarity of the standards and their inherent ambiquities will give rise to many attempts to interpret their meaning and intent. Five interpretive themes that may arise from the characteristics of the standards are identified: unified diversity in information management, unity in information management, diversity in information management, monotheistic view of information, and information management czar. The future of information management in hospitals will be affected by the jockeying over the interpretation and implementation of the Joint Commission's standards.

Accreditation↗

PubMed2005

Detection performance theory for ultrasound imaging systems.

A rigorous statistical theory for characterizing the performance of medical ultrasound systems for lesion detection tasks is developed. A design strategy for optimizing ultrasound systems should be to adjust parameters for maximum information content, which is obtained by maximizing the ideal observer performance. Then, given the radio-frequency data, image and signal processing algorithms are designed to extract as much diagnostically relevant information as possible. In this paper, closed-form and low-contrast approximations of ideal observer performance are derived for signal known statistically detection tasks. The accuracy of the approximations are tested by comparing with Monte Carlo techniques. A metric borrowed and modified from photon imaging, Generalized Noise Equivalent Quanta, is shown to be a useful and measurable target-independent figure of merit when adapted for ultrasound systems. This theory provides the potential to optimize design tradeoffs for detection tasks. For example it may help us understand how to push the limits of specific features, such as spatial resolution, without significantly compromising overall detection performance.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1988

Autopoiesis: the status of its system logic.

The concept of autopoiesis, amended as a system theory, is necessary and sufficient to provide an operational definition of life, a set of criteria by which the living are categorically distinguished from the non-living. Limitations are placed on the domains in which autopoiesis may be exhibited.

Biology↗

PubMed1982

Charismatic religious sects and psychiatry: an overview.

Phenomena associated with contemporary charismatic religious sects raise questions about the combined impact of group influence and intensely held beliefs on group members' psychological functioning. The author considers the stages of membership in these sects, with emphasis on psychiatric aspects of conversion, long-term membership, and leaving. He discusses options for psychiatric intervention, including psychotherapy, conservatorships, and deprogramming. Systems theory is used to provide a psychological model for the relationship between group influence in these sects and current conceptions of individual psychopathology and normal adaptation.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

Temperature effects on a whole metabolic reaction cannot be inferred from its components.

Changes in temperature affect the kinetic energy of the constituents of a system at the molecular level and have pervasive effects on the physiology of the whole organism. A mechanistic link between these levels of organization has been assumed and made explicit through the use of values of organismal Q10 to infer control of metabolic rate. To be valid this postulate requires linearity and independence of the isolated reaction steps, assumptions not accepted by all. We address this controversy by applying dynamic systems theory and metabolic control analysis to a metabolic pathway model. It is shown that temperature effects on isolated steps cannot rigorously be extrapolated to higher levels of organization.

Computer Simulation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Employing a systems approach to customer satisfaction.

The need to meet customers' expectations is one of the driving forces in healthcare today. Organizations can achieve this goal most effectively by using rational and systematic problem-solving approaches. This article describes systems theory as a problem-solving method that analyzes and implements customer satisfaction data to produce the desired result of increased customer satisfaction levels and economic growth.

Consumer Behavior↗

PubMed1985

The assessment of systems in promoting collaborative aftercare: religious and mental health organizations in partnership.

Maps out the terrain in which mental health and religious organizations collaborate in meeting community life needs of the long term mentally ill. Offers, from a systems theory perspective, four principles to be followed in planning and details six steps in developing a collaboration project between a free-standing private non-profit community mental health center and a suburban Roman Catholic parish.

Aftercare↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Leadership profiles of senior nurse executives.

As hospitals reorganize to meet the demand for accessible, cost-effective quality healthcare, nursing's active participation as part of the top management team is vital. The purpose of this study was to describe the leadership profiles of four senior nurse executives and determine their congruence with the theoretical perspectives of the stratified systems theory. A multiple case study methodology was employed to develop individual and group leadership profiles through related experiences obtained during an interview, the organization's expectations based on their job descriptions, and a survey of their self-perceptions of how they spent most of their time. The findings indicated that the executives' leadership behavior was consistent with the theory in that they reported more frequent leadership behaviors at the strategic domain, less activity at the organizational domain, and infrequent activity at the production domain. Individual profiles were uniformly consistent with the group profile.

Canada↗

PubMed1994

Defining and implementing a standard for therapeutic relationships.

As family-centered care gradually became the norm in care of infants and children, relationships between staff, patients, and families became more complex. Because the complexity of these relationships was rarely, if ever, addressed, widely divergent, sometimes detrimental, behaviors evolved. Therapeutic relationships, which promote caring and define relationships with patients and families, are a positive and professional means to promote a family's control over their own child's health. This article describes assessment of nurse/patient/family relationships using family systems theory as a framework. The experience of implementing a culture shift toward therapeutic relationships is described.

Child↗

PubMed1986

Divorce and child custody resolution: conflicting legal and psychological paradigms.

The resolution of divorce conflict, especially the determination of child custody, is a major social policy concern of both the legal and mental health professions. The differences between the adversarial and mediation legal approaches parallel the phenomenological/psychoanalytic and the family therapy models of the mental health field. A philosophical and practical relationship exists uniting the adversarial and phenomenological/psychoanalytic traditions, while mediation is strongly aligned with family systems theory and therapy. Each paradigm offers American families alternative methods of resolving disputes. A greater synthesis of paradigms is required to give effective help to divorcing couples and their children.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Dynamical features of thermoregulatory model of sleep control.

We have developed a quantitative model of human sleep-wake rhythms based on a thermoregulatory feedback control mechanism modulated by two circadian oscillators. Homeostatic features of sleep regulation are realized through the heat memory which represents the history of the masking process associated with sleep-wake cycles: heat load during wake and heat loss during sleep. Simulations under entrained conditions showed that the model closely mimics well-known features of human sleep-wake rhythm, and that the homeostatic and the oscillatory aspects of the human circadian system are successfully integrated in our model. In this paper, parameter dependency of the model behavior is studied by simulations. Because of its physiology-based structure, the parameter dependency could show the possible underlying mechanism for the typical features of human sleep-wake rhythm. In addition, the model stability is analyzed by the linear system theory and the simulations, which establishes the stability condition and suggests that the presented simulation results are basically stable. These results are informative to apply our model to actual data of sleep-wake rhythms, and to interpret them from the physiological point of view.

Body Temperature Regulation↗

PubMed1990

A living systems approach to understanding the concept of stress.

In this article, the basic concepts used in conceptualizing stress and classifying its related phenomena are defined and a general conceptual framework for understanding the interrelationships among these concepts is proposed. The conceptual scheme described is intended to be applicable across disciplines including the biological and the behavioral and social sciences. This model is based largely on the living systems theory developed by Miller (1978) and the work of Selye (1950). It provides a coherent conceptual framework in which studies in the various disciplines engaged in stress research can be organized and integrated. Its use across disciplines will facilitate the sharing of information and prevent needless duplication of effort by researchers in different fields. It will also facilitate the generation and formulation of empirically testable hypotheses (including specific cross-level hypotheses), the development of more focused research designs and a clearer interpretation of findings. By understanding at which point in the stress pathway a system is when observed, a clearer picture of both the biological mechanisms involved and the psychosocial ramifications of stress may be obtained. As a consequence of this type of information becoming available, more optimal treatments for patients with stress-related disorders can be developed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cultural sensitivity in clinical practice.

The perspective presented in this article bridges systems theory, anthropologic theory and clinical application. The article argues that since human illness and healing occur in a sociocultural context, they must be addressed in that context. It further challenges health care practitioners to be more inclusive of their patients' cultures and more reflective of their own, in order to be more effective in interventions.

Cultural Diversity↗

PubMed2000

Redesign in the long-term care industry: a restraint reduction or restraint elimination program in the nursing home.

The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 required nursing homes in the United States to modify their use of physical and chemical restraints in the provision of care to the residents. Nursing home staff members can restrain only if a medical professional determines that they must temporarily restrain residents in order to provide care for them. The author employs the Kast and Rosenzweig model of systems theory to describe the approaches that nursing homes have taken to implement a restraint-free or restraint-elimination program. He then describes the benefits that residents and staff members receive when they participate in a restraint-reduction of restraint-elimination program.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

[Systemic approaches in ambulatory child and adolescent psychiatry].

Systemic therapy is considered a method which is based upon the constructivist development of systemic theories. The effectiveness and efficiency thereof is discussed on the basis of one's own evaluation of the therapy with a reflecting team. Further more conceptional differences are determined between the two social systems child psychiatry and systemic therapy. These preliminaries are the foundation upon which we are able to discuss the status of systemic therapy within child psychiatry in theory as well as in practice.

Adolescent↗