Junior Recital: Michael A. Mercer, Percussion

Kemp Recital Hall Friday Afternoon April 7, 1995 5:00p.m

Role transition and the nurse practitioner: an investigation into the experience of professional autonomy.

This research project explores nurse practitioners' experiences of role transition and professional autonomy, aiming to gain a new understanding of how nurse practitioners experience their role, and seeking new insight into the potential of the nurse practitioner role in the ever changing arena of health care delivery. The study addresses the concept of professional autonomy, and the boundaries of professional practice, and links this to the legal, ethical and epistemological foundations of nursing practice in general, and more specifically to the professional role of the nurse practitioner. Amongst specialist nursing roles, the position of the nurse practitioner is of particular interest, because nurse practitioners have evolved within an interprofessional philosophy of care, and therefore have complex issues relating to the scope of their professional practice, their individual and professional identity, and their professional autonomy. The research was conducted using a phenomenological hermeneutic approach inspired by Ricoeur (1976, 1981), and placed a significant emphasis on the meaning of the lived experience of the participant nurse practitioners within their professional role. Narrative interviews with fourteen nurse practitioners were transcribed to create a series of texts for subsequent analysis. Data analysis provided a progressive exploration of the meaning of the experience of professional autonomy for the participants in the study, and incorporated a descriptive analysis and an interpretive account of the phenomenon. From this hermeneutic analysis a new interpreted sense emerged, and a comprehensive understanding of the meaning of the phenomenon under review could be formulated. The findings reflect a generally positive view of practice on the part of nurse practitioners, but highlight a number of barriers to the development of their professional autonomy. Professional relationships are central to the experience of professional autonomy, and the future development of the nurse practitioner role. The findings reinforce the need for clearer definition of the nurse practitioner role, and suggest that further reflection on the nature of advanced practice, and the relationship between nurse practitioners and the wider profession of nursing might help in this regard

Ultrahigh vacuum and electrocatalysis:the powers of quantitative surface imaging

We highlight the impact of Ultrahigh Vacuum (UHV)-born surface science on modern electrocatalysis. The microscopic, atomic level picture of surface adsorption and reaction, which was developed in the surface science community in decades of systematic research on single crystals in UHV, has meanwhile become state-of-the-art also in electrochemistry. For the example of CO on Pt(111) single crystals, which has been extensively studied at the solid/gas and the solid/liquid interface using atomic resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), we highlight how both interfaces may have even more in common than often assumed. We then illustrate how planar model surfaces such as mono- and bimetallic single crystals and surface alloys, prepared and thoroughly analysed in UHV, enabled a systematic search for improved electrocatalysts. Surface alloys, thermodynamically more stable than foreign metal islands, are a particularly important sub-group of model surfaces, which so far have only been fabricated in UHV. We also flag that model surfaces may not always assume the structure anticipated for the respective experiment, regardless of their preparation in UHV or by electrochemical methods. “Accidental” surface alloying may be more common than often assumed, leading to misinterpretations of the structure-property relationships targeted in many model studies. We highlight that controlled surface alloy formation should be a key step in any model study looking at bimetallic systems in order to get an idea what the effect of unintended alloying could possibly be, and to cross-check whether alloyed surfaces may potentially be the better electrocatalysts in the first place

Electrochemical kinetics:a surface-science supported picture of hydrogen electrochemistry on Ru(0001) and Pt/Ru(0001)

In this short review, we compare the kinetics of hydrogen desorption in vacuum to those involved in the electrochemical hydrogen evolution/oxidation reactions (HER/HOR) at two types of atomically smooth model surfaces: bare Ru(0001), and the same surface covered by a 1.1 atomic layer thick Pt film. Low/high H2 (D2) desorption rates at room temperature in vacuum quantitatively correspond to low/high exchange current densities for the HOR/HER in electrochemistry. In view of the “volcano plot” concept, these represent two surfaces that adsorb hydrogen atoms, Had, too strongly and too weakly, respectively. Atomically smooth, vacuum annealed model surfaces are the closest approximation to the idealised slab geometries typically studied by density functional theory (DFT). A predictive volcano plot based on DFT-based adsorption energies for the Had intermediates agrees well with the experiments if two things are considered: (i) the steady-state coverage of Had intermediates and (ii)local variations in film thickness. The sluggish HER/HOR kinetics of Ru(0001) allows for excellent visibility of cyclic voltammetry (CV) features even in H2 saturated solution. The CV switches between a Had and a OHad/Oad dominated regime, but the presence of H2 in the electrolyte increases the Had dominated potential window by a factor of two. Whereas in plain electrolyte two electrochemical adsorption processes compete in forming adlayers, it is one electrochemical and one chemical one in the case of H2 saturated electrolyte. We demonstrate and quantitatively explain that dissociative H2 adsorption is more important than H+ discharge for Had formation in the low potential regime on Ru(0001)

Life History of the Marine Isopod Cyathura polita in the Saint John River Estuary, New Brunswick: a Species at the Northern Extent of its Range

The marine isopod, Cyathura polita, inhabits estuaries on the east coast of North America from the Gulf of Mexico to the Bay of Fundy, Canada. We studied C. polita in the Saint John estuary to test for potential differences in life history that might occur because of the northern location of the population. In the Saint John, based on our interpretation from a six-month sampling program (May-October), the population exhibits a three-year life cycle, one year longer than more southern populations, and stretching over four summers. Our study supported the occurrence of protogynic hermaphroditism. After two summers as juveniles, individuals matured as females during their third summer, then displayed sex reversal by becoming males that fall, and finally reproducing as males in their fourth summer of life before death. Mean length of C. polita from the Saint John was greater than individuals from more southern populations (females, 13.8 ± 2.14 mm; males, 16.3 ± 2.41 mm). Annual brood release occurred in late July-early August. Mean fecundity of females was 53.2 ± 18.9 embryos per brood, which was greater than found in southern populations. Cyathura polita is rare in Canada and is known only from the Saint John and along the northern shore of the Bay of Fundy to the border of the United States

Designing Scenarios for Controller-in-the-Loop Air Traffic Simulations

Well prepared traffic scenarios contribute greatly to the success of controller-in-the-loop simulations. This paper describes each stage in the design process of realistic scenarios based on real-world traffic, to be used in the Airspace Operations Laboratory for simulations within the Air Traffic Management Technology Demonstration 1 effort. The steps from the initial analysis of real-world traffic, to the editing of individual aircraft records in the scenario file, until the final testing of the scenarios before the simulation conduct, are all described. The iterative nature of the design process and the various efforts necessary to reach the required fidelity, as well as the applied design strategies, challenges, and tools used during this process are also discussed

A tale of two practitioners : exploring the Indonesian model of decentralization and development, post- Suharto

102 leaves ; 29 cm.Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-101).Indonesia underwent rapid decentralization, referred to as the “Big Bang”, at the turn of this century. This study examines the causes and developmental impacts of this process. For this study, research was conducted in Jakarta, Indonesia. The research’s aim was to examine the effects of the forced political decision to decentralize power from the national government to the district level, and its effects on development. This research was conducted by primary source interviews with development and government actors in Indonesia. Interviews were conducted in Indonesia in January, 2012 with Canadian government officials as well as with development practitioners currently working within Indonesia

Air Traffic Controllers' Control Strategies in the Terminal Area Under Off-Nominal Conditions

A human-in-the-loop simulation investigated the robustness of a schedule-based terminal-area air traffic management concept, and its supporting controller tools, to off-nominal events - events that led to situations in which runway arrival schedules required adjustments and controllers could no longer use speed control alone to impose the necessary delays. The main research question was exploratory: to assess whether controllers could safely resolve and control the traffic during off-nominal events. A focus was the role of the supervisor - how he managed the schedules, how he assisted the controllers, what strategies he used, and which combinations of tools he used. Observations and questionnaire responses revealed supervisor strategies for resolving events followed a similar pattern: a standard approach specific to each type of event often resolved to a smooth conclusion. However, due to the range of factors influencing the event (e.g., environmental conditions, aircraft density on the schedule, etc.), sometimes the plan required revision and actions had a wide-ranging effect

Understanding the Effect of Body Weight on Muscle Activity During Unilateral Hopping

Running can be described as a series of bilateral single-legged jumps and landings. Interestingly, single-legged jumps and landings are qualitatively more difficult unilaterally than bilaterally known as bilateral deficit syndrome (BDS). For example, one leg will produce less mechanical energy while jump squatting unilaterally than it would produce if both legs worked synchronously. The analysis of dynamic conditions under different levels of body weight support of the hopping movement may prove useful to understanding the bilateral deficit. Purpose: To compare muscle activity of the lower extremity during single-legged hopping at different levels of body weight support. Methods: The research study was recently approved by the Institutional Review Board and data collection has begun. Therefore, no data are presented in the abstract at this time. Subjects will be equipped with electromyography (EMG) leads to measure muscle activity of the rectus femoris, semitendinosus, medial gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior. Subjects will be asked to perform 5 trials of hopping forwards at a preferred speed (PS) for 1 minute at varying levels of body weight (80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%). EMG data of all four muscles will be compared across the separate body weight control conditions