The gift of life: an existential phenomenological exploration of receiving a lifesaving organ transplant and how this affects life subsequently

At present, there is little research conducted on organ transplantation from the perspective of the organ recipient. This study aimed to explore the experience of undergoing lifesaving organ transplantation and how this may affect life subsequently. For the purpose of this research, lifesaving transplants constituted as solid organ transplants, these being heart, lung, liver, and kidney. Six participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews focusing on the experience of undergoing the transplantation procedure, and how this affected their life following this. The data in the form of the participants' accounts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis - IPA. Five superordinate themes were identified with 19 subordinate themes falling within these. The superordinate themes were; Embodied Experience which related to the participants’ physical world and their experiences of this, Life & Death relating to the participants’ experience of existence and mortality, Relationships relating to the participants’ actual or intended modes of relating to others in the world, Temporality relating to the participants’ experience of time, and The Psychological relating to the participants’ experiences of their inner world and the relationship they hold with themselves. Consideration and discussion of these themes were conducted, highlighting the implications these findings hold for the field of Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy, with a nod to Existential literature and philosophy interwoven within this. The study concludes that organ recipients undergoing transplantation experience an array of bio-psycho-social-spiritual issues that professionals working with this population need to be aware of. It is argued that appropriate and sufficient evidence-based interventions should be developed and offered to all those undergoing the transplant treatment as standard in the provision of care provided to this population. Unfortunately, at present psychological support for organ recipients is only offered as and when a need ‘arises’

Evolutionary Computing for Operating Point Analysis of Nonlinear Circuits

The DC operating point of an electronic circuit is conventionally found using the Newton-Raphson method. This method is not globally convergent and can only find one solution of the circuit at a time. In this paper, evolutionary computing methods, including Genetic Algorithms, Evolutionary Programming, Evolutionary Strategies and Differential Evolution are explored as possible alternatives to Newton-Raphson. These techniques have been implemented in a trial simulator. Results are presented showing that Evolutionary Computing methods are globally convergent and can find multiple solutions to circuits. The CPU time for these new methods is poor compared with Newton-Raphson, but better implementations and the use of hybrid methods suggest that further work in this area would prove fruitful

Notes on the Performance and Cultivation of some Lesser Known Eastern Himalayan Plants

Staff from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh have made four expeditions to eastern Nepal and Bhutan during the years 1985-1991. Brief descriptions and notes on observations, performance and cultivation are given for seven species from this region. The species described are Spiraea hemicryptophyta Grierson, Streptopus parasimplex Hara & Ohashi, Rubus calophyllus C.B.Clarke, Berberis thomsoniana Schneider, Sorbus kurzii (Prain) C.K. Schneider, Gaultheria tricophylla Royle and Theropogon pallidus (Kunth) Maxim

Investigation Into the Efficiency Limitations of InGaN-Based Light Emitters.

The physical properties of InGaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs) are investigated in this study. A strong focus of the thesis is to investigate the non-radiative recombination process which leads to the relative reduction of the efficiency with increasing current injection in an effect which is known as efficiency droop. The explanation of droop is often inconsistent and contradictory with different experiments or devices produced using different growth conditions. Whilst the literature suggests that Auger recombination, carrier leakage and a defect-related recombination are all separately the cause of droop, the physical cause of such loss mechanisms is often poorly explained. Results are presented in this thesis which show that there is a poor hole injection efficiency at low temperatures which is particularly problematic in devices which include electron blocking layers. The poor injection is expected to result in the escape of electrons that is exacerbated by an enhancement of the internal polarization fields. The reduction of the LED efficiency with increasing temperature where there are no hole injection issues is shown to be due to an increasing defect-related recombination rate. The temperature and pressure dependence of efficiency droop show that neither Auger recombination nor carrier leakage are required to explain droop. Evidence of carrier localization is presented by the "s-shape" dependence of the emission peak on temperature in an effect which is stronger for green LEDs (depth of 130meV) compared with blue LEDs (58meV). The weak pressure coefficients of the InGaN-based LEDs (green LED 1.20+/-0.06meV/bar at 5mA and blue LED 2.14+/-0.06meV/kbar at 5mA) are also partially expected to be due to carrier localization. Based on these findings, droop is expected to be caused by an increase in the defect-related recombination rate at high injection due to the increasing likelihood that carriers will occupy defect sites. A defect-related recombination model for droop is shown to be consistent with the temperature and pressure dependence of efficiency droop. Such processes are also shown to influence InGaN LEDs on silicon substrates and InGaN-based laser diodes. The findings of this thesis indicate that there is a strong influence of defect-related recombination, in addition to the internal polarization field strength, on the efficiency of InGaN-based emitters. Structural optimization of the device design and an in depth understanding of the types of defects involved are therefore required in order to achieve more efficient InGaN-based emitters

An Exploration of Practical Means by Which Post-Secondary Achievement Can Be Elevated for Low-Socioeconomic Black Males

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that contribute to the postsecondary achievement gap between low-socioeconomic income Black males (LBM) and White males. The two principal factors that emerge from the literature are categorize by this author as internal and external barriers LBM’ encounter. Internal barriers are those encountered in school, identified as 1) the curriculum, 2) the teacher and 3) the role guidance counselors play. External barriers those encountered outside of school are identified in 1) low-income families, 2) community and 3) deficit perceptions. There is sufficient documentation about the factors associated with LBM’ postsecondary underachievement. However, there is insufficient literature regarding new strategies specifically designed to address the persistent achievement gap between LBM and their White male counterparts (WMC). Thus, the motivation for this study is to 1) identify and interpret public domain historical data to validate the achievement gap between the two groups; 2) Explore the barriers to postsecondary achievement for LBM’ and 3) mitigate the persistent postsecondary achievement gap between the two groups using a developed curriculum the author calls a synchronized curriculum through a qualitative approach using a historical design, with the hope of improving their opportunities for long-term economic sustainability and changing the deficit perception of LBM

Shame and guilt responses of adolescent sexual offenders : a project based upon an independent investigation

Offenders under the age of 18 account for 16.7% of arrests or convictions of forcible rapes and 20.61% of other sexual offenses (U.S. Department of Justice: CSOM, 2000). This study attempts to uncover emotional responses to crimes committed by adolescent sex offenders, particularly guilt and shame responses. Researchers have found that, despite their seeming interchangeability, guilt and shame can be considered separate emotional responses. These emotions can lead to differing behaviors and actions, with guilt typically resulting in a more pro-social response. For the purposes of this study, guilt and shame responses of adolescent sex offenders were explored, in comparison to adolescent non-sexual offenders. Guilt and shame responses and level of violence involved in the crimes committed by both groups were also taken into consideration. Multi-paged pencil and paper surveys were collected from adjudicated sexual and non-sexual offenders, with one group (N= 502) assessed for guilt response, and one group (N= 101) assessed for guilt and shame responses. Findings showed that adolescent sex offenders experience higher levels of guilt and shame for their crimes than adolescent non-sex offenders. Guilt response in adolescent sex offenders was also found to be negatively correlated with level of violence of the offenses committed

Seminar Capital: An Exploration of the Enduring Social and Pedagogical Benefits of Seminar Engagement

This article presents findings from a small-scale qualitative case study exploring how engagement with seminars might prompt a sense of community amongst students. Further, it considered if such engagement might afford students ‘seminar capital’, a form of academic social capital (Bourdieu 1977 in Preece 2010). The study also aimed to uncover how seminar pedagogy can support students to develop their academic voice and connect with others in learning communities. Reflecting on emergent learning (Bourner 2003) supports students to move between a range of language codes (Preece 2010). Students in the study reported that seminar discussions supported their conceptual understanding, consolidated their academic language skills and offered opportunities to apply their knowledge to their assessments. This took place within an emerging positioning of relationships between peers and lecturers

TeleSpeech Therapy Pilot Project: Stakeholder Satisfaction

This pilot study of a school-based telepractice pilot project in a rural, remote county of North Carolina investigated the satisfaction of parents/caregivers, teachers, and administrators with a year-long telespeech therapy program delivered by a university clinic. Upon completion of the almost year-long project, a satisfaction survey incorporating a 5-point equal-appearing Likert scale (1= strongly disagree; 5= strongly agree) was disseminated to the stakeholders.  The results sorted by the three populations surveyed, indicated stakeholder satisfaction with student progress toward their speech and language goals, and clinician accessibility and responsiveness (mean ratings > 4 points). The respondents (N=23) also indicated they would “recommend TeleSpeech Therapy to other school districts” (mean rating: 4.3).  The only mean rating below 4.0 was associated with teacher responses to the statement: “My expectations for the TeleSpeech Therapy program have been met” (mean rating: 3.92).   Overall, parents/caregivers, teachers, and administrators appeared to find telepractice a satisfactory service delivery model for school-based speech-language therapy.