An interpretive phenomenological pilot study: The male nurse perception of career development.

An interpretative phenomenological pilot study: The male nurse perception of career development. (words-12) Background: A national shortage of nurses is affecting the patient care delivery throughout the United Kingdom (UK) (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2014). Following the Mid-Staffordshire inquiry into the failings in patient care the resulting Francis Report (2013) recommends growth is needed in the nursing workforce, especially with regard to skilled nurses providing the holistic care of specific patients. Arguably, to echo the diversity of the population, there needs to be larger numbers of minority groups within the nursing profession including male nurses. Male Nurses continue to represent a substantially small number of the full nursing workforce across the UK (Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), 2011 and this pilot study intended to look at the experience of male nurses regarding their career development. To Investigate the male perspective of being a nurse. An interpretive phenomenological method was used to elicit the experience and examine the presented truths (Streubert and Carpenter, 2011), rather than a third-party perception, of the experience that six male nurses have had in nursing. The study design was qualitative in nature in order to meet the methodological gap identified from a previous literature review. It drew out the lived experience from the male nurses using an ‘emic’ position in that only the male nurse can understand what being a male nurse is like (McIntosh-Scott, Mason-Whitefield and Coyle, 2014). Face to face semi structured interviews were utilised in order to extrapolate the male nurse perception of nursing within a female dominant nursing profession. The data collected has been transcribed and checked for clarity by the individual participants prior to data analysis taking place. The transcribed interviews are being read and reread, over and over, in order to undertake analysis of the content and identify emerging themes for discussion (Padgett 2012). Six themes have emerged to date: Promotion not necessarily quicker for male nurse, patients offered an option of carer from a male nurse, clients did not raise issues with men being nurses, 5/6 initially discussed intimate care in terms of physical needs, significant number from the same discipline chose not to participate, none of the participants heard about nursing as a career option for men while in school education. This pilot study explored the lived experience of six male Nurses using Interpretative Phenomenology. There are key differences for men practicing as Nurses within a traditionally female role noted through narratives of career progression. The six emerging themes exposed factors that could enable future recruitment and retention toward rebuilding a depleted Nurse workforce. To echo the diversity of the population, there needs to be larger numbers of minority groups within Health and Social care workforce including male Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors. Key recommendations: • Careers advice within schools should include advice on gender neutral career opportunities within the caring professions. • A wider study of the career development of men who are nurses is required to take all disciples into account. • Research should be carried out on students entering the nursing profession in the United Kingdom now as cultural and traditional beliefs held with regard to sexual stereotypes may have changed over recent years

An exploration of the lived experience of male Health Visitors: An interpretative phenomenological analysis.

The government drive to increase the national health visitor (HV) numbers in 2011 (Department of Health (DH), 2011) encompassed targeting all entrants on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register, from all disciplines and genders. There was a specific drive to recruit men, resulting in men coming forward for the first time to train locally as HVs. The catalyst for this study was a male HV student having a challenging time within the placement setting. This made me wonder what it must be like for the male HVs undertaking the HV programme of education and subsequently working in the community, both as a colleague, to the predominantly female workforce and as a professional, delivering a traditionally female service to the community population. The research design, following a constructivist methodology, was chosen to acquire the lived experience of the male HV through an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) lens. Semi-structured interviews for data collection were conducted, verbatim transcription was completed and the six-phase approach to analysis, advocated by Smith, Flowers and Larkin (2009) was used to extrapolate findings. The findings provided fourteen themes and four superordinate themes as follows: Gender as a factor in health visitor service delivery, The cultural marginalisation of fathers in England: health visitor service impact, Progressive career choice and Evolutionary health visitor practice and eclectic workloads. The discussion considers the theories of gender role conflict and novice to expert against the findings. Conclusions drawn together, from the personal insightful narratives, demonstrate that male health visitors do have an impact on and are impacted by HV service delivery. Many of the participants entered the HV profession initially to find a better way of working but then embraced the role advocating for children, families and raising the profile of fathers. This is an original contribution toward the development of knowledge as there are no other studies looking at the lived experience of male health visitors. This study can be seen as a benchmark toward future study around the subject matter

Modelling environmental factors correlated with podoconiosis: a geospatial study of non-filarial elephantiasis

Introduction The precise trigger of podoconiosis — endemic non-filarial elephantiasis of the lower legs — is unknown. Epidemiological and ecological studies have linked the disease with barefoot exposure to red clay soils of volcanic origin. Histopathology investigations have demonstrated that silicon, aluminium, magnesium and iron are present in the lower limb lymph node macrophages of both patients and non-patients living barefoot on these clays. We studied the spatial variation (variations across an area) in podoconiosis prevalence and the associated environmental factors with a goal to better understanding the pathogenesis of podoconiosis. Methods Fieldwork was conducted from June 2011 to February 2013 in 12 kebeles (administrative units) in northern Ethiopia. Geo-located prevalence data and soil samples were collected and analysed along with secondary geological, topographic, meteorological and elevation data. Soil data were analysed for chemical composition, mineralogy and particle size, and were interpolated to provide spatially continuous information. Exploratory, spatial, univariate and multivariate regression analyses of podoconiosis prevalence were conducted in relation to primary (soil) and secondary (elevation, precipitation, and geology) covariates. Results Podoconiosis distribution showed spatial correlation with variation in elevation and precipitation. Exploratory analysis identified that phyllosilicate minerals, particularly clay (smectite and kaolinite) and mica groups, quartz (crystalline silica), iron oxide, and zirconium were associated with podoconiosis prevalence. The final multivariate model showed that the quantities of smectite (RR = 2.76, 95% CI: 1.35, 5.73; p = 0.007), quartz (RR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.26; p = 0.001) and mica (RR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.13; p < 0.001) in the soil had positive associations with podoconiosis prevalence. Conclusions More quantities of smectite, mica and quartz within the soil were associated with podoconiosis prevalence. Together with previous work indicating that these minerals may influence water absorption, potentiate infection and be toxic to human cells, the present findings suggest that these particles may play a role in the pathogenesis of podoconiosis and acute adenolymphangitis, a common cause of morbidity in podoconiosis patients

Controlled growth of CNT in mesoporous AAO through optimized conditions for membrane preparation and CVD operation

Anodic aluminium oxide (RAAO) membranes with a mesoporous structure were prepared under strictly controlling experimental process conditions, and physically and chemically characterized by a wide range of experimental techniques. Commercial anodic aluminium oxide (CAAO) membranes were also investigated for comparison. We demonstrated that RAAO membranes have lower content of both water and phosphorus and showed better porosity shape than CAAO. The RAAO membranes were used for template growth of carbon nanotubes (CNT) inside its pores by ethylene chemical vapour deposition (CVD) in the absence of a catalyst. A composite material, containing one nanotube for each channel, having the same length as the membrane thickness and an external diameter close to the diameter of the membrane holes, was obtained. Yield, selectivity and quality of CNTs in terms of diameter, length and arrangement (i.e. number of tubes for each channel) were optimized by investigating the effect of changing the experimental conditions for the CVD process. We showed that upon thermal treatment RAAO membranes were made up of crystallized allotropic alumina phases, which govern the subsequent CNT growth, because of their catalytic activity, likely due to their Lewis acidity. The strict control of experimental conditions for membrane preparation and CNT growth allowed us to enhance the carbon structural order, which is a critical requisite for CNT application as a substitute for copper in novel nano-interconnects

Noise-induced inhibitory suppression of malfunction neural oscillators

Motivated by the aim to find new medical strategies to suppress undesirable neural synchronization we study the control of oscillations in a system of inhibitory coupled noisy oscillators. Using dynamical properties of inhibition, we find regimes when the malfunction oscillations can be suppressed but the information signal of a certain frequency can be transmitted through the system. The mechanism of this phenomenon is a resonant interplay of noise and the transmission signal provided by certain value of inhibitory coupling. Analyzing a system of three or four oscillators representing neural clusters, we show that this suppression can be effectively controlled by coupling and noise amplitudes.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figure

From Earth to Orbit: An assessment of transportation options

The report assesses the requirements, benefits, technological feasibility, and roles of Earth-to-Orbit transportation systems and options that could be developed in support of future national space programs. Transportation requirements, including those for Mission-to-Planet Earth, Space Station Freedom assembly and operation, human exploration of space, space science missions, and other major civil space missions are examined. These requirements are compared with existing, planned, and potential launch capabilities, including expendable launch vehicles (ELV's), the Space Shuttle, the National Launch System (NLS), and new launch options. In addition, the report examines propulsion systems in the context of various launch vehicles. These include the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM), the Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM), the Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU), the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), the Space Transportation Main Engine (STME), existing expendable launch vehicle engines, and liquid-oxygen/hydrocarbon engines. Consideration is given to systems that have been proposed to accomplish the national interests in relatively cost effective ways, with the recognition that safety and reliability contribute to cost-effectiveness. Related resources, including technology, propulsion test facilities, and manufacturing capabilities are also discussed

The structure of volcanic cristobalite in relation to its toxicity; relevance for the variable crystalline silica hazard

BACKGROUND: Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) continues to pose a risk to human health worldwide. Its variable toxicity depends on inherent characteristics and external factors which influence surface chemistry. Significant population exposure to RCS occurs during volcanic eruptions, where ashfall may cover hundreds of square km and exposure may last years. Occupational exposure also occurs through mining of volcanic deposits. The primary source of RCS from volcanoes is through collapse and fragmentation of lava domes within which cristobalite is mass produced. After 30 years of research, it is still not clear if volcanic ash is a chronic respiratory health hazard. Toxicological assays have shown that cristobalite-rich ash is less toxic than expected. We investigate the reasons for this by determining the physicochemical/structural characteristics which may modify the pathogenicity of volcanic RCS. Four theories are considered: 1) the reactivity of particle surfaces is reduced due to co-substitutions of Al and Na for Si in the cristobalite structure; 2) particles consist of aggregates of cristobalite and other phases, restricting the surface area of cristobalite available for reactions in the lung; 3) the cristobalite surface is occluded by an annealed rim; 4) dissolution of other volcanic particles affects the surfaces of RCS in the lung. METHODS: The composition of volcanic cristobalite crystals was quantified by electron microprobe and differences in composition assessed by Welch's two sample t-test. Sections of dome-rock and ash particles were imaged by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and elemental compositions of rims determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. RESULTS: Volcanic cristobalite contains up to 4 wt. % combined Al(2)O(3) and Na(2)O. Most cristobalite-bearing ash particles contain adhered materials such as feldspar and glass. No annealed rims were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The composition of volcanic cristobalite particles gives insight into previously-unconsidered inherent characteristics of silica mineralogy which may affect toxicity. The structural features identified may also influence the hazard of other environmentally and occupationally produced silica dusts. Current exposure regulations do not take into account the characteristics that might render the silica surface less harmful. Further research would facilitate refinement of the existing simple, mass-based silica standard by taking into account composition, allowing higher standards to be set in industries where the silica surface is modified.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Moyes Foundation - studentshi