The Lived Experience of Meditation

Heuristic Phenomenology lends itself well to a relatively naïve exploration of meditative experiences. I began with an interest in knowing more about the nature of the bodily sensations that I experienced during meditation. I aimed to capture lived experiences as they emerged into consciousness, so I bracketed out my expectations, as much as possible, and meditated. I noticed that I could not tape descriptions of my experiences while in a deep meditative state because when in this state, I was not aware of the material world in which my body and the tape recorder existed. I had to be satisfied with describing meditative experiences as I emerged out of them, and regained connection with my body. Meditative sounds, vibrations and light, seemed to be perceived through my bodily senses but I knew they were not of a physical origin. As I focused my attention on these sensations, they increased in intensity. I entered a spiritual place where time, space and materiality were irrelevant. My experience has its own validity, ensured through the application of the phenomenological epoche, granting the ability to be open to whatever occurs to consciousness. I began this research with the assumption that meditation occurs when I apply a particular technique, when I concentrate on my breathing and not on my thoughts. I concluded, with an understanding that meditative and spiritual experiences occurred both in and out of structured meditation processes. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, Volume 1, Edition 2 September 200

Radioactivity and thermalization in the ejecta of compact object mergers and their impact on kilonova light curves

One of the most promising electromagnetic signatures of compact object mergers are kilonovae: approximately isotropic radioactively-powered transients that peak days to weeks post-merger. Key uncertainties in modeling kilonovae include the emission profiles of the radioactive decay products---non-thermal beta- and alpha-particles, fission fragments, and gamma-rays---and the efficiency with which they deposit their energy in the ejecta. The total radioactive energy and the efficiency of its thermalization sets the luminosity budget and is therefore necessary for predicting kilonova light curves. We outline the uncertainties in r-process decay, describe the physical processes by which the energy of the decay products is absorbed in the ejecta, and present time-dependent thermalization efficiencies for each particle type. We determine the net heating efficiency and explore its dependence on r-process yields---in particular, the production of translead nuclei that undergo alpha-decay---and on the ejecta's mass, velocity, composition, and magnetic field configuration. We incorporate our results into new time-dependent, multi-wavelength radiation transport simulations, and calculate updated predictions of kilonova light curves. Thermalization has a substantial effect on kilonova photometry, reducing the luminosity by a factor of roughly 2 at peak, and by an order of magnitude or more at later times (15 days or more after explosion). We present simple analytic fits to time-dependent net thermalization efficiencies, which can easily be used to improve light curve models. We briefly revisit the putative kilonova that accompanied gamma ray burst 130603B, and offer new estimates of the mass ejected in that event. We find that later-time kilonova light curves can be significantly impacted by alpha-decay from translead isotopes; data at these times may therefore be diagnostic of ejecta abundances.Comment: Submitted to ApJ; comments welcom

Improving Interdisciplinary Communication to Improve Patient Satisfaction

The Clinical Nurse Leader project took place at a Magnet Hospital in Northern California. It involved the nursing staff on a 23-bed Post-Surgical Medical Surgical unit, as well as the therapists providing care to their diverse patient population. The goal was to improve interdisciplinary communication to decrease the frequency of missed or postponed therapy sessions. A review of literature revealed that this preventable issue could be the most significant factor resulting in an extended length of stay and affecting overall patient satisfaction. Project data was gathered from a variety of sources, including a unit assessment, shadowing therapists, interviews with key stakeholders, and through surveys. Interventions included the creation of a 2-page communication tool and utilizing the patient’s whiteboards to better prepare them for therapy and improve patient-centered care. The pre-intervention results found that 83% of patients were dissatisfied with way the initiation of therapy is currently communicated to them. In addition, 70% of nurses reported that an intervention to improve the scheduling of therapy sessions was necessary, as 52% of nurses reported that they need more advanced notice (30 minutes or more) to adequately prepare patients for therapy. The majority of both pre and post- implementation data suggest that an intervention that would help foster teamwork and collaboration was necessary. Post- implementation results revealed 86% of nurses reported that this intervention significantly improved communication, assisted in prioritization, allowed for better time management, and increased patient participation. It is projected that patient satisfaction scores will significantly increase in 6 months

The Practice of Pediatrics in Pedagogy? The Costly Combination in Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( IDEA )\u27 was enacted in 1975 to ensure that all children with disabilities, like their nondisabled counterparts, have access to a free appropriate public education designed to meet their unique needs. This appropriate education mandate emphasizes the necessity of providing such children with special education and related services, and federal funding is offered to state and local educational agencies to assist in implementing this objective

Students Under Siege? Constitutional Considerations for Public Schools Concerned with School Safety

Imagine the following scenario: The principal at River City High School receives a telephone call from an anonymous informant, notifying her that he had observed a knife in Jimmy\u27s backpack, and indicated that he might also have access to a gun. The principal recalls that Jimmy is the student who has dyed his hair blue and who wanders the halls wearing a black trench coat and a T-shirt that reads School Sucks, in violation of the school district\u27s dress code. She checks Jimmy\u27s file and discovers that he has been absent on numerous occasions during the school year and has frequently been disruptive in class. Upon learning this, she authorizes a search of his school locker. Pursuant to the principal\u27s order, a security guard finds a large quantity ofmarijuana in Jimmy\u27s backpack. The principal calls the police. Jimmy is arrested, suspended from school, and subjected to criminal prosecution. As it turns out, the informant had never seen a knife in Jimmy\u27s backpack. Hejust thought Jimmy looked creepy

The Successes and Challenges of Using Worked Examples to Integrate MP7: Look for and Make Use of Structure

The purpose of this action research study was to gain insight into a teacher’s successes and challenges of using worked examples to integrate Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Mathematical Practice 7 (MP7) into a high school Algebra 1 classroom. The 22 participants in this qualitative study were 9th – 11th grade students. Ten lessons were taught using worked examples to focus on mathematical structure. Data was collected in the form of reflective teacher journals and student artifacts. Observational data was also collected by a fellow mathematics teacher using an observational protocol. Analysis of the data indicated three successes: a) modeling of structure; b) communication of structure; c) teacher-researcher growth. Data analysis also indicated three challenges: a) nature of worked examples and curriculum; b) challenges of teacher-researcher, specifically the definition of structure, ineffective questioning techniques, and the teacher’s need to be in control; c) challenges with students’ abilities, specifically struggles with mathematical communication and prior knowledge

Determining the Location of Adsorption of Brooker’s Merocyanine Dye to Zeolite L

Host-guest systems occur when guest molecules enter the channel of a host material but do not chemically bond together. The guest in this study is Brooker\u27s Merocyanine (BM) dye molecules and the host is Zeolite L. Previous studies have used similar dyes and found that they enter the channels of the zeolite. This study synthesized materials to determine if BM molecules behave the same way, or if the dye molecules are only adsorbed to the surface. The dye-zeolite products were characterized using UV/Vis spectroscopy and powder x-ray diffraction pattern, it was confirmed we could reproducibly synthesize Zeolite L with minimal merlinoite and sanidine impurities. By soaking Zeolite L in a BM solution, using 2-propanol as the solvent, the dye was adsorbed to the zeolite. This had to be done under specific conditions because BM is sensitive to changes in solvent, light exposure, and pH, which makes it challenging to study. BM solutions were characterized using UV/Vis spectroscopy to determine the optimal dye loading conditions. We found that limiting light exposure in acidic conditions is a key factor to obtain reproducible results. Understanding BM in solution makes it possible to learn more about the BM dye-zeolite system in order to prepare optimal dye-loaded samples. These samples will be characterized through BET analysis, which is used to determine the location of BM in Zeolite L. Studying these interactions can lead to new practical materials