Personal experience at a community healthcare facility Essay

Personal experience at a community healthcare facility - Essay Example It is at St. Cecilia Nursing Home that I got to internalize the concept of Gibbs Model in a practical way and in accordance with the tenets of the NMC guidelines (NMC 2008). Thus, the following essay is a reflective chronology of my practical experience at St. Cecilia with respect to ethical issues of informed consent, confidentiality, professional conduct, and empathy as well as respect and dignity for patients (see Appendix 1). Reflective Practice When I joined St. Cecilia as a student and assigned to Ward X (fictitious for purposes of confidentiality), I thought I knew everything ranging from protocol adherence to professional conduct. It seemed to me that I could work on my own and deliver the best services to the elderly patients afflicted with dementia. I wanted to exude confidence in my nursing skills and for the first time my attitude was a little rigid. What I did not actually think of was the fact that I was outside an ordinary classroom and that my work at St. Cecilia requ ired a great deal of teamwork, patience and commitment as postulated by Miranda and Best (2005, p.51) and Suzie (2001, p.1209). With time, the interaction with my patient (let us call him Uncle Richard) helped me develop the right momentum for doing the right thing through reflective nursing practice in accordance with the Gibbs Model of reflective practice as disused hereafter. My assignment in Ward X was to feed an elderly patient herein referred to as Uncle Richard (fictitious name). The patient was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease dementia. Clinically, this dementia is characterized by declining memory and inability to make sound judgment or concentration (Cormac et al. 2004). This type of dementia resulting from the Parkinson’s disease also affects the cognition ability of patients resulting in delusion, depression, irritability, sleep disturbances and anxiety. While my patient could hardly interpret visual information, his condition was also accompanied by muff le speech. To make it worse, the patient had a hearing problem, his right arm amputated and he was a poor eater. It was important to explain some nursing issues to the patient almost daily and at times it forced me to pester the patient for several minutes before he could accept to eat. In terms of describing my feelings in of the experiences in Ward X, it would be prudent to uphold honesty as highlighted in the Gibbs Model (Gibbs 1988). Initially, it was difficult feeding the patient and staying with him was a little boring because of his memory problems, muffled speech and irritability. The patient was troublesome when it comes to eating, and occasionally I felt pissed off. At some point, empathic seeing that the patient could not even interpret a picture of his favourite dish. Once in a while, the routines made felt inadequate and out of place having to deal with a patient that seemed so difficult. Forcing my patient to eat was not a viable option especially that he still reserve d the ethical right of patient autonomy (Cormac et al 2004, p.108; Guido 2006). It was however imperative to exercise some patience and understanding so as to cope with his condition and anxieties as required by NMC 2008. Learning to communicate with my patient was a breakthrough as time passed. Somehow, we became friends and the daily encounters with the patient became a normal practice after all. In his light moods, he would tell me a few things he could remember including a bit of his family life. Of course the stories were juggled up and some did not even make much sense. In some way, a few of his narrations were emotional and quite informative. For instance, one afternoon I felt remorseful when Uncle Richard told me how his wife abandoned him with a ten-year-old daughter

CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY - Assignment Example For development of self-control, one has to have parental attachment and is affected by the parenting strategies and supervision employed to bring an individual. Attachment that helps in self-control is with the family. One has to form beliefs in law and family attachment, commitment with social norms and institutions and involvement in social activities (Bouffard & Rice, 2011). According to Social control theory/social bonding theory, with the help of crime, we can satisfy our wants quicker as compared to conventional behaviour. For controlling delinquent behaviour, we must have social bond that is created by â€Å"emotional attachment to parents, peers and conventional institutions, such as the school; commitment to long-term educational, occupational, or other conventional goals; involvement in conventional activities, such as work, homework and hobbies, and belief in the moral validity of law† (Costello & Vowell, 1999, p. 817) Social learning theory can be defined as a theory according to which, an individual learns through observation or direct training. When an individual learns more positive definitions of criminal behaviour and less negative definitions of crime, he will depict criminal behaviour. Because according to his cognition and understanding, crime is positive. Those having delinquent peers themselves show delinquency (Costello & Vowell, 1999). Young people tend to appear delinquent based on imitation, learning positive or negative definitions of law violating behavior and the knowledge about rewards and punishments attached to breaking of law (Neff & Waite, 2007). Agnew’s general strain theory states that any kind of strain can result in depressing emotions that can lead to consequences involving crime. Strains are there because of inability to attain valued objectives such as economic success, educational

Nanocrystalline Diamond Coating around Sphere Analysis

Nanocrystalline Diamond Coating around Sphere Analysis Mechanical Properties and Uniformity of Nanocrystalline Diamond coating around Sphere Hongyun Chen Nanocrystalline diamond coatings were deposited on spheres used for ball bearing. The nanocrystalline coatings with a grain size of 50nm were confirmed by the surface morphology and composition analysis. The hardness of the coating is 20-40GPa tested by nanoindentation, which is higher than that of tungsten carbide and silicon nitride substrates. The coating around the sphere observed from the Micro CT images is uniform with a thickness of 12ÃŽ ¼m. keywords: solid lubricating coating, nanocrystalline diamond, mechanical properties Introduction Mechanical parts are often used under extreme environment such as high temperature, large load, radioactive and high vacuum, and so on. A wear-resistant, lubricating coating can protect the mechanical parts and ensure their reliability under these extreme conditions1, 2. The advantages of diamond coating with high hardness, high elastic modulus, outstanding wear resistance, low friction coefficient and good chemical stability make it to be an expected solid lubricating coating3, 4. The protective coating, e.g. diamond like carbon (DLC) coating deposited on metals and some other materials can protect the interface of the metals from crack, but also reduce the frictional wear of the opposing surface due to the excellent tribological properties such as extremely low friction and wear resistance. Costa et al5. deposited (DLC) coating with a thickness of 2ÃŽ ¼m on silicon and carbonitride using pulsed-DC discharge and studied the tribological behavior of DLC coating. Their results showed that the increase in surface roughness reduced the friction coefficient, and wear rate of the carbonitride as the interlayer decreased three orders compared to that of silicon. Xie et al6. grew DLC coating with 600nm thickness on silicon wafer using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD). It seemed that surface roughness, adhesion and debris accumulation collectively affected the frictional behavior while the tribological behavior of DLC coating mainly depended on the co ating and its adhesion to the substrate. Gruen et al7. successfully deposited the nanocrystalline diamond coating with average grain size of 5-13nm on silicon at 750à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ by MPCVD. After that, there were much investigation of the nanocrystalline diamond coating, but the nanocrystalline diamond coating grown on the spheres are very few. B Lunn et al8. from Hull University deposited micro diamond coating with thickness of 3ÃŽ ¼m on a sintered carbide (6%Co) ball of 15mm in diameter with a special support system in a hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) chamber. The present work focused on that nanocrystalline diamond coatings were deposited on the sintered carbide spheres and silicon nitride spheres used for ball bearing to improve the wear-resistance. The mechanical properties and uniformity of the coating were evaluated by Micro CT and nano indenter. Experimental By rotating the substrate holder, uniform diamond coatings around spherical substrates with 1-3mm diameter were deposited by a lab-made MPCVD reactor. Tungsten carbide (WC-6 wt.% Co) spheres and silicon nitride spheres were pitched up as the substrates. The cobalt as the adhesive of tungsten carbide would convert the diamond into graphite, resulting in decrease in adhesion between coating and substrate. So firstly diluted nitric acid was used for processing the tungsten carbide spheres in order to selectively remove the cobalt of the surface9. Then, the spheres were scratched using 1-10ÃŽ ¼m diamond powders by ultrasonic method, and rinsed in alcohol and dried prior to deposition. The nanocrystalline diamond coating was deposited for 20-60h at following parameters: total gas pressure was 4KPa, microwave power was 1400W, the substrate temperature was 870à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™, 2.2% methane diluted in hydrogen. The Raman spectroscopy (LabRAM HR, HORIBA Jobin Yvon S.A.S, France) with a laser as light sources (wavelength 532nm) was used to analyze the quality of diamond coating on different substrates. The surface morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, JSM-7500F, Hitachi, Japan) to measure the crystalline grain size. An atomic force microscopy (AFM, MFP-3D, Asylum Research, USA) was applied for quantitative the surface roughness determination on a 20Ãâ€"20ÃŽ ¼m scanned area. The mechanical properties were measured by MTS nano indenter (G200, MTS, USA) at an approach velocity of 5nm/s. The thickness and the uniformity of the diamond coating were investigated by Micro CT (ÃŽ ¼CT100, SCANCO, Switzerland). Results and discussion 3.1. surface morphology The surface morphologies of coatings deposited on different substrates can be seen in Fig.1a and c respectively, and b and d are the high magnification of images. Both the samples were treated under the same conditions. It is evident that there is no big difference between coating deposited on tungsten carbide sphere and silicon nitride sphere. The obtained coatings on both substrates have cauliflower structure with a grain size of about 50 nm. The surface roughness is very important for solid lubricating application where a smooth coating surface can decrease the frictional wear. Table 1 shows the change in roughness due to the thickness change of coating on tungsten carbide using AFM method. The roughness of the coating followed the trend in thickness, which was increasing with the rise of the thickness of coating. The roughness of the coating with 5ÃŽ ¼m thickness was under 150nm. Both RMS roughness and the average (Ra) roughness were between 100nm and 210nm lower than the peak-valley (P-V) roughness. The latter had higher roughness values in the order of one micron, which accounted for the cauliflower structure on the surface of the coating as shown in Fig.1. The rough surface does harm to the solid lubricating application. So the roughness will be decreased through post treatment e.g. chemical mechanical polishing. 3.2. Uniformity and thickness The small sphere makes it hard to measure the thickness and the uniformity of the diamond coating. SEM image of the cross section is usually used to show the thickness and uniformity of the coating. However, only one intersecting surface is observed, which can’t represent the whole sphere. Micron CT can get a 3D image of the coating and directly give the whole feature of the coating. Because the metal absorbs the X-ray, the coating on silicon nitride which is inorganic material was measured. Fig.2 is the CT image of the diamond coating around sphere. Fig.2a and b are the 2D and 3D images of the sphere and c is the 3D CT image of the shell whose silicon nitride substrate is removed through analysis software simulation. As the images shown, the coating is uniform and no obvious protuberance on the surface can be observed. The cross section of coating in Fig.4a indicated that the concentricity between substrate and coating was maintained to assure uniform coating thickness. No separation between the silicon nitride substrate and coating was observed, suggesting that the diamond coating attached the sphere tightly. Fig.3 shows the thickness distribution of the coating. The thickness of coating is between 10 to 14ÃŽ ¼m among which 12ÃŽ ¼m is dominant. 3.3. Composition CVD diamond coatings with different thickness were characterized by Raman spectroscopy as shown in Fig.4, a and b were the coating with 5ÃŽ ¼m thickness, and c and d were the coating with 12ÃŽ ¼m thickness. The peak at 1332cm-1 is the characteristic of the diamond lattice which can be used to identify diamond. Two sharp peaks at 1337.87cm-1 and 1333.64cm-1 in Fig.4a and b proved that the composition of coating was in relation to diamond. Both of the two peaks have frequency shift caused by the compressive stress10. This accounted for the mismatch of the thermal expansion coefficient between diamond and substrate. Especially, the value of the tungsten carbide(4.36Ãâ€"10−6/ °C, 20 °C) is larger than 1.18Ãâ€"10-6/ °C (20 °C) of diamondà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’resulting in the far more upshift of the tungsten carbide shown in Fig.4a. The value of silicon nitride (2.8Ãâ€"10−6/ °C, 20 °C), which is close to that of diamond, produced less residual compressive stress. With the thickness of coating increasing, there was almost same frequency shift shown in Fig.4c and d. Compared with Fig.4a and b, the diamond peak of the thicker coating has a large upward shift that attributed to the increase in compressive stress with thickness increasing. The compressive stress is also related to other factors such as defects, composition of coating. The stress from defects and composition appeared to be dominant in thick coating. The features at 1145cm-1 and 1490cm-1 are possibly related to acetylene C–H chains proposed by R. Pfeiffer11 and his colleague. Their study considered this acetylene C–H chains existed in the boundaries of nanocrystal diamond. Those bands around 1140cm−1 and 1490cm−1 were usually observed in nanocrystalline diamond coating. So Fig.4a and b confirmed the deposited coatings were nanocrystalline diamond, which is consistent with the result of the SEM. In addition, the coating got flexibility to fit curved surface of sphere because of the acetylene C–H chains in coating. In Fig.4c and d, the peaks at 1580cm-1 is labeled as G peaks which are due to the sp2 sites. Compared with Fig.4a and b, the G peak of the graphite is obviously observed on Fig.4c and d. Although G peak at 1560cm-1 possibly overlapped the peak at 1490cm-1, it was obvious that the composition of the thicker coating was different from that of the thinner coating which affected by substrate to some extent. The band at 1146cm-1 is related to nanocrystalline diamond as discussed above. 3.4. Mechanical properties The modulus and the hardness of diamond coatings were characterized by the nano indenter designed by the MTS Company. The sphere was too small to find an applicable flat surface to get an accurate result. The diamond coating deposited on silicon wafer was prepared with the same conditions as the control. As known to all, the hardness and the modulus of the diamond coating prepared by CVD are normally lower than that of the natural diamond. The Fig.5a and c show the modulus and the hardness of the diamond coating deposited on sphere, while the Fig.5b and d exhibit the modulus and the hardness of the diamond coating on silicon wafer deposited in same conditions. The hardness of the coating on sphere was about 20GPa, only a half of that on silicon wafer, and the modulus was only one third of that on silicon wafer. The curved surface and cauliflower structure of the coating on sphere led to lower hardness and modulus measured. The true hardness and modulus of the coating should be higher than that of the measured. In terms of the measured value on silicon wafer, the hardness of coating on sphere was estimated to be 20-40GPa and the modulus was 200-600GPa. Therefore, the diamond coating was expected to improve the wear-resistance of tungsten carbide and silicon nitride substrates whose ha rdness are about 17GPa and 15.6-9.8GPa respectively11, 12. The modulus of coating also increased in comparison with that of silicon nitride substrate. It suggests that the mechanical properties of both the tungsten carbide and silicon nitride are improved for its ball bearing application. Conclusion For the purpose of protecting the spheres used for ball bearing, the diamond coatings were successfully deposited on the spheres. The coating is about 5-12ÃŽ ¼m in thickness depending on the deposition time and is uniform as the result of the Micro CT shown. The surface of coating is not smooth enough due to its cauliflower structure and needs further polish. The hardness tested by the nano indenter was 20-40GPa larger than that of tungsten carbide and silicon nitride. The Raman spectra reveal that the coating deposited on sphere is composed of diamond, acetylene C–H chains and graphite, which are responsible for the improvement of mechanical properties and fitness around sphere.

Comparing Societies Weakness from the Perspective of Two Authors :: Compare Contrast Comparison

Comparing Societies Weakness from the Perspective of Two Authors Carol Travis and Ellen Goodman are both writers from different backgrounds with different experiences, but they share a common opinion. Both writers find a weakness with in our society. In the article In Groups We Shrink From Loner’s Heroics Travis expresses his views on societies weakness. He believes our weakness lies in the lack of emergency response in groups. In the article Countering the Culture of Sex Goodman feels the weakness is lack of sexual education given to teenagers. Though they both have different opinions, they represent a strong case for both sides. In Carol Tavris’ article, In Groups We Shrink From Loner’s Heroics, there is information about a social concern. Tavris feels that society does not respond to emergencies the same in groups as they do individually. â€Å"Something happens to individuals when they collect in a group. They think and act differently than they would on their own. Most people, if they observe some disaster or danger on their own – a woman being stabbed, a pedestrian slammed by a it-and-run driver – will at least call for help; many will even risk their own safety to intervene. But if they are in a group observing the same danger, they hold back.† (Tavris, 17) Even though people were put through, identical test the ones who were in the group atmosphere did not respond as much as the people who where alone. â€Å"In one experiment in behavioral psychology, students were seated in a room, either alone, or in-groups of three, as staged an emergency occurred: Smoke began pou ring through the vents. Students who were on there own usually hesitated a minute, got up, checked the vents and then went out to report what certainly seemed like a fire. But the students who were sitting in groups of three did not move. They sat there for six minutes, with smoke so thick they could barely see, rubbing their eyes and coughing.† (Tavris, 18) Travis uses famous example such as Rodney King, who was beaten by 4 police officers while in front of 11 other officers, and Kitty Genovese, who was repediatly stabbed to death in front of her 38 neighbors. Tavris believes that people should be more responsive in groups then they currently are. Ellen Goodman’s article, Countering the Culture of Sex, is an article that describes a different perspective of societal flaw.

Esports Essay

E-Sports is the perfect industry for someone who is motivated, driven and passionate about competitive gaming to become involved with. E-Sports is an industry submersed in the gaming industry where competitive gamers can make a living by playing in tournaments and leagues as professional athletes, much like a professional athlete would in mainstream sports such as football or hockey. The points that make it such an enticing venture are not simply that you are able to play video games for a living, but the equality, passion and opportunities that help create and define the industry.Fair play on a global capacity is something not regularly seen in this era. With so many groups defining who people are or aren’t, finding something that has the ability to include everyone no matter what their race, religion or gender is, is truly inspiring. Being able to be a part of something so revolutionary that can, if given the opportunity and acceptance, could literally change the way we as p eople see and interact with the world around us. In many sports such as tennis or football –soccer for Americans- there are divisions of age and gender, not to mention the logistical problems of competing globally.With so many restrictions forced upon people in sports it is not surprising that preconceived notions such as male superiority or you dominance are still widely accepted. E-Sports on the other hand allows you to compete with men, women, children, adults, black, white, atheist or Muslim; these sort of restrictions don’t exist making E-Sports a truly fair and equal platform for not only competition but as an industry as a whole. The state of being connected globally opens many doors for you as well.Whether you wish to continue on playing as a professional gamer, or whether you have different ambitions of being a journalist, or the CEO of a company, or even just a job in marketing or graphic design; E-Sports offers this and more. As well there is a clear opportu nity to begin networking at a very young age if you desire. For instance if you wish to go into journalism, you may wish to work at an E-Sports media outlet or team organization writing articles and providing coverage at events.Or perhaps you would like to pursue a future in business, for this you may wish to join a media outlet or team organization in a different capacity such as a manager, PR officer or the head of marketing. Through these –and other- jobs within the industry you will be able to begin networking with large corporations and organizations who are involved in the industry developing personal relationships which can last a lifetime. Being able to network and develop your business skills in a real world capacity can help advance your education as well as your career.This leads us to passion and motivation and whether or not you have the desire and will to pursue your dreams. E-Sports is an industry built on passion, where people do what they do because they love doing it. Living your life by someone else’s rules is not really living your life; you need to follow your passion to be happy. The beauty of E-Sports is that it is so diverse, from the people involved to the variety of professional opportunities available to you.It is very easy to meet people with similar interests and gain a new perspective on the things you love. One aspect of E-Sports that stands out above most others is traveling and competing in events. The passion and determination of professional gamers is incredibly high; not knowing if they will make it out of the group stage and have the chance at the $45,000 available for first place that they desperately need to pay the bills and continue on playing creates a lot of passion and drive to play their best and win.This passion only spills over into the business side of the industry, as the behind the scenes people are just as passionate about developing and improving the industry as a whole. A constant hunger for im provement and success fills the E-Sports industry making it very lucrative for passionate young gamers. The only limitations you have are the ones you place upon yourself, so as long as you are passionate and dedicated, you will have a chance to succeed and accomplish your dreams. Overall E-Sports is a small industry, however it makes up for it with its various aspects.Many people overlook E-Sports simply because it is competitive video gaming and the people involved are construed as social introverts. However that is not the case and their ignorance impedes them from seeing what E-Sports really is; people coming together because of their common passion, creating a fair and truly global phenomenon. It is these essential building blocks –equality, opportunity and passion- that create an industry that is perfect for someone who is passionate and motivated towards competitive gaming.

Leading to the Modern Woman

I have read numerous things that say men are the superior gender but after all of this research and learning the stuff that I have, I think that women are the superiors. Women have learned to overcome a lot of obstacles through the years and have come out for the better. We are still improving the rights of women, we have come a long way and will keep moving forward. Neal, R. S. Working -Class Women and Women's Suffrage Labor History, No. 12 (May 1967) up. 16/34 ASTOR database) This Journal entry talks about the emancipation of women.The Journal states that historian says â€Å"It was during the industrial revolution moreover, and largely one because of the economic opportunities it afforded to working-class women, that here was the beginning of that most important and most beneficial of all social revolutions of the last two centuries, the emancipation of women. † I think this Journal will help with my paper because women found a way to get over the obstacles in their lives a nd being emancipated was one of the first obstacles. Tyler-McGraw, Marie, Parlor Politics: Women and Reform. 890-1925, Page 260 of 260-264 ASTOR database) The Journal of American History, Volvo 78, No. 1 None, 1991) This Journal is about and exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum. This exhibition links female dominated areas such as the parlors, tenement rooms, and the talented houses. This exhibition is good for my research because it covers the thirty-five year period of women reform. Johnson, Karen A. The Journal of African American History, Volvo. 91, No. 1. The African American Experience in the Western States (Winter, 2006) up 4-22, Undaunted Courage and Faith: The lives of Three Black Women in the West and Hawaii in the Early 19th Century.ASTOR database) Three African American women are written about in this article. These three women talk about how African American women participated in movements for politics, ideological and social currents. They also talk about how this chan ged lives for African American people and other westerners. I chose article for one of my references because I think African American women had a rough life. When they were able to move onto their own land and prosper, they showed spunk and showed they were not giving up. Golden, Claudia, D.The Role of World War II in the Rise of Women's Employment, The American Economic Review, Volvo 81, No. 4 (Seep, 1991) up 741-756 ASTOR database) I found this article interesting. It talks about the sass's is the break with the past that war actually women needed. A lot of women that entered the work force during the stopped working at the conclusion of the war. There are some statistics in this article that I also found interesting in my research McCarty, Mary A, A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the asses by Stephanie Cocoon (review) Journal of Social History, Volvo. 6 No. 4 summer 2013, up 1068-1070 This Journal is a review of the book The Feminine Mys tique by Betty Friedman. The book talks about â€Å"the problem that has no name†, the beliefs that undermine women's intellectual capabilities and kept them in the home as housewives. Friedman wrote this book in a time when the average woman first married in her teens and if they were in school 60 percent of them dropped out to marry. I find this book a good reference because it talks about an important part of women's history.This is the 50th anniversary of this book, I am going to the library tomorrow to find it. I think it will be interesting to see how she wrote about it all and how times have changed. Patton, June O. Review: Essay Review l: African American Women, Civil Rights and Black Power, Sisters in the Struggle: African American Women in the Civil Rights- Black Power Movement by Betty Collier-Thomas, V. P. Franklin ASTOR database) This is a review of the original article (l am looking for it tomorrow at the library well).It explores the civil rights activities of black women's organizations before 1950. There are several African American women covered and I find that they are influential to our history. Atwater, Deborah, F. Editorial: The Voices of African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement, Journal of Black Studies, Volvo 26 No. 5, Special Issue: May 1996, up 539- 542 I picked this article in my research because I think that learning about our history room people that actually experienced it is the best way to learn it.