Supporting staff in healthcare professions to reflect on the emotional aspects of their work

Background. There is a continued interest around the use of Schwartz Center Rounds© (Rounds) to address the emotional impact of caring for clients. Studies indicate positive outcomes for staff and clients, yet there is a paucity of research exploring how these outcomes occur. This study aimed to understand whether attending Rounds had an impact on how staff perceived themselves and their work. Primarily, it sought to understand what psychological processes may facilitate such an effect and at what point these might occur. Method. Eleven staff members were interviewed about their experience of attending a Round. Grounded theory methodology was used to analyse the interview data. Results. Five key psychological processes of occupying a different space, reciprocity, containment, connection and gaining perspective were identified as facilitating an effect on staffs’ perception of self and work. Processes were fostered during Rounds and seemed to continue afterwards. Discussion. This study is the first to explore psychological processes and build a theoretical model of how Rounds work. Findings can be used to inform the continued implementation of Rounds and facilitator training programmes. Directions for future research are suggested

Intersecting cosmologies : Kalinga morality, misfortune, ritual, and religious change

This thesis examines a rural Kalinga, northern Luzon, people's contemporary religious assertions and practices. In particular it explores the cosmological principles that shape much of Kalinga quotidian domestic activity. Kalinga society is configured relative to an ethicized cosmology in which persistent sickness and serious injury are commonly taken as retribution from a transcendent Other (either indigenous spirits or God) for an individual's moral transgressions. The understanding that im/morality is linked to misfortune is so tightly woven into the fabric of social life that people define this axiom as a 'commandment', linking it to biblical scripture, as well as to their own identity as Christians (Catholics and Anglicans). The plurality of religious activity at the village level encompasses trans-local Christianity, a vernacularization of Christianity in the form of an indigenous Sunday mass, and manifold local traditions including domestic animal sacrifice as reparation for moral trespass, and the expiation and propitiation of malevolent spirits. The analysis focuses on the social, moral and cosmological incongruities, tensions and gaps that can arise when people construe particular events and circumstances in their lives according to distinct and sometimes contradictory elements of an otherwise encompassing religious framework - itself informed by both long-established Kalinga as well as more recently introduced (1930s) Christian cosmology and doctrine. I ask how these historically, doctrinally and cosmologically distinct liturgical orders, Kalinga and Christian, cohere to the extent that locals participate in them more or less equally. Pursuing this question I draw on Rappaport's (1999) model of contingent sanctification, and of the interrelatedness among assertions concerning an apical divinity, cosmological axioms, and the ritual activity that affirms all of these. I build on Rappaport's work by bringing this model to bear on not just a single-religious context but the multi-religious environment of highland Kalinga. In doing so I argue that such distinct and co-occurring religious traditions are locally made to cohere, not by people's claims that the same God is their ultimate referent, but by being mutually framed by the Kalinga axiom that links morality to misfortune to other-worldly retribution. I further argue that the advantage of an approach which focuses on such axiomatic principles, separate from an analysis of ritual enactments and the apical divinities these affirm, is that it allows for a more in-depth account of the articulation between disparate forms of religious activity, local and trans-local

Studies in steric hindrance with special reference to the aromatic iodo-chlorides

An examination of the formation of the aromatic iodo- chlorides has been carried out. Difficulty was experienced in the isolation of the dichlorides of certain diortho -substituted iodo -compounds. Further, quantitative experiments have shown that this difficulty is due, in some cases, to the instability of the dichloride and to the appearance of side reactions. Therefore the quantitative results cannot be taken as being fundamental until experiments have been carried out taking all these factors into consideration. The quantitative results have shown, however, that no ¿eneral hindrance to the reaction has been encountered. From scale diagrams of diortho-substituted iodobenzene molecules this is to be expected. Only in two cases - with the compounds 4.6- dibromo -2- nitro -iodobenzene and 4- iodo -3 :5- dinitrotoluene - has an appreciable retardation of the reaction occurred. It is not certain whether this is due solely to steric causes. No difference in reactivity of substituted a- and i3- iodonaphthalenes has been observed. The dichlorides of ¡3- iodonaphthalenes have proved to be very unstable. It was shown, in the case of 1;6- dibromo- t3- iodonaphthalene, that decomposition is accompanied by nuclear chlorination. One new iodine derivative in the benzene series and two in the naphthalene series have been isolated. Several hitherto unknown dichlorides have been described. In the course of a brief examination it has been shown that, whereas a- substituted aceto -¡3- naphthalides are easily hydrolysed using alcoholid hydrochloric acid, 3- substituted aceto -a- naphthalides are resistant to this reagent. Finally, condensation experiments have been carried out with certain substituted thiobenzoic acids. The method adopted for the preparation of the unknown o- chloro- and o- bromo- thiobenzoic acids is suggested as a general method for the preparation of mono - substituted" thio- acids. More vigorous methods were found necessary for the preparation of the new 2:4:6 - tribromo- thiobenzoic acid. In the course of this part of the research two new substituted dibenzoyl disulphides and several new substituted benzanilides were isolated. New lines for future research have been suggested

(In)visibility and meaning in food labor: A Feminist autoethnography

My graduate thesis project entitled “(In)visibility and Meaning in Food Labor: A Feminist Autoethnography” illuminates the gendered experiences of female food laborers and how women make meaning through their labor in this context. Gendered experiences do not stand apart from classed and raced identities, which I also reflexively analyze throughout this thesis. Women working within the food chain have been historically marginalized and made invisible, though they make up an increasingly significant portion of this workforce, a trend known as the “feminization of agriculture.” The discussion of the work that women do when discussing food in the academic literature also focuses largely on nurturing and feeding tasks, which does not discuss the wide range of food work that women do such as picking, processing, distributing, and serving. Throughout my thesis, I utilize autoethnographic methods supplemented with ethnographic interviewing to analyze my own experiences as a female food laborer. Specifically, I discuss experiences growing up on an alpaca farm in rural Virginia, my employment as a cashier at Grocer’s Market, as a voluntary laborer with the International Organic Farming program, and my experiences working alongside female farm owners in Ireland and Virginia. The narratives emerged through the writing process and are organized according to the following themes: vulnerable & gendered labor, what we do to make do, women’s bodies and work, and women mentoring women

A Quantitative Analysis for Improving Harvest Productivity for Biomass Crops

Harvest cost is a major concern for making biomass a viable option. Unproductive time in-field significantly contributes to this cost. Variability of harvest timeliness is largely due to maneuvering equipment in-field, operator experience, equipment failures, and field and crop conditions, among other reasons. These are particularly important for farm management to know how to best handle interruptions during harvest. Consequently, there is a serious need to better account for harvest untimeliness. For this research, the crops of interest are Miscanthus and shrub willow. These crops are attractive for several reasons. They do not compete with cash crops because they grow on marginal land and have the potential normalize feedstock qualities. In general, three aspects of harvest productivity will be focused on, which include: equipment maneuverability at the headlands, operator performance, and equipment reliability. More specifically, maneuvering equipment during harvest operations can have a significant impact on production cost; therefore, the fieldwork pattern is critical for optimal productivity and a cost-efficient harvest. Harvest pattern influences time wasted due to excessive unproductive time and distances traveled during operational tasks. Equipment is maneuvered at the skill of the operator. Often, operator experience is a bottleneck for operations and a key factor influencing productivity. In addition, unproductive times are largely due to repair and maintenance on the equipment caused by unexpected harvest complications. The uncertainty of these factors cause inconsistency in productivity. It is crucial to achieve optimum harvest efficiency for the feasibility of the biomass supply chain. Evaluating these aspects will allow us to better understand and model for these limitations

“It’s teaching Jim, but not as we know it”: An examination of the beliefs and attitudes of teachers to the use of technology in Further & Vocational Education from a teacher’s perspective.

This study sought to understand the beliefs and attitudes of teachers in Further and Vocational Education regarding the use and usefulness of technology in their teaching practice. Policymakers and advocates view increased access to, but continued under-utilisation of technology as indicative of how the sector is failing to meet the expectations and demands from industry. This study examined the underlying perceptions of teachers and identified the barriers and enablers that presented themselves to technology integration. I wanted to gain an understanding in what ways and how often teachers were using technology in their teaching practices. Additionally, teacher's perceptions about the potential contribution that technology could make to their teaching practice would be explored. The study was completed in three phases; the first was an online questionnaire distributed through the college intranet networks and yielded 229 responses. The second phase was another online questionnaire; and this one was distributed directly to teachers that had confirmed that they would be prepared to continue with the study and was sent to 31 teacher’s work email addresses resulting in 21 completed surveys. Eleven one-to-one interviews completed the third phase of the study. The interviews used photo-elicitation to examine the beliefs of the teachers from the Further Education (FE) colleges across a range of subject areas. Each phase of the research was designed to elicit information relating to teacher’s perceptions of the utility and value of technology in their teaching. The results presented in this thesis reflect many of the findings from previous research from other education sectors, namely schools and universities; however other perceptions reflected the uniqueness of the Further and Vocational Education sector and are perhaps a reflection of the demographics of the sector. The main findings of the study were that several barriers existed to the integration and use of technology, a perceived lack of time along with lack of training and support in how to teach effectively using technology. Insufficient provision and access to technology within colleges meant that there was a reliance on students using personal devices to supplement lack of provision in the college, raising issues in low socioeconomic areas. Additionally, there was a perception that technology integration had been superseded in recent years by other CPD mandated for external audits and inspection

Biofeedback-gestützte kognitive Verhaltenstherapie bei craniomandibulären Dysfunktionen. Eine randomisiert-kontrollierte Therapiestudie zur Wirksamkeit unter Berücksichtigung psychophysiologischer Faktoren

Craniomandibuläre Dysfunktionen (CMD) sind durch Schmerzen und Funktionseinschränkungen von Kiefermuskulatur und -gelenken charakterisiert. Sie sind mit einer Prävalenz von 5 bis 10% ein recht häufiges Phänomen. Bei der Ätiologie werden strukturelle (Okklusion), psychologische (Somatisierung, Depression) und neurophysiologische (muskuläre Hyperaktivität) Faktoren diskutiert, wobei bislang kein gesichertes Störungsmodell existiert. Obwohl sich psychologische Behandlungsansätze, insbesondere Biofeedback und kognitive Verhaltenstherapie, als wirksam erwiesen haben, kommen in der Praxis hauptsächlich zahnmedizinische Behandlungen zum Einsatz. Es liegen jedoch kaum Vergleichsstudien zur Effektivität der beiden Behandlungsansätze vor. Die vorliegende Dissertation verfolgte zwei Ziele. Erstens wurde ein acht Sitzungen umfassendes Biofeedback-gestütztes kognitiv-behaviorales Behandlungskonzept für chronische CMD entwickelt (Studie I) und im Vergleich zur zahnmedizinischen Aufbissschienen-Behandlung im Rahmen einer randomisiert-kontrollierten Therapiestudie an 58 Patienten evaluiert (Studie II). Die Ergebnisse belegen eine vergleichbare Effektivität beider Ansätze im Hinblick auf die Reduktion von Schmerzen und Beeinträchtigung. Die psychologische Behandlung erwies sich hinsichtlich der Verbesserung des psychosozialen Funktionsniveaus, der Schmerzbewältigung und der Akzeptanz als leicht überlegen. Entgegen psychophysiologischer Annahmen waren die Verbesserungen von einer Veränderung der nächtlichen Kiefermuskelaktivität unabhängig. Zweitens wurden Unterschiede in Psychopathologie und nächtlicher Kiefermuskelaktivität an Patienten mit CMD, Personen mit schmerzfreiem Bruxismus sowie gesunden Personen untersucht (Studie III). Die Ergebnisse sprechen für ein deutlich erhöhtes Maß an Psychopathologie bei Patienten mit CMD. Es zeigten sich bei den CMD-Patienten zudem positive Zusammenhänge zwischen nächtlicher Kiefermuskelaktivität, somatoformen Symptomen und CMD-Symptomen, was auf die Bedeutung des psychophysiologischen Erregungsniveaus in der Ätiologie von CMD hinweist. Insgesamt belegt die vorliegende Arbeit die gute Wirksamkeit und Akzeptanz Biofeedback-gestützter kognitiver Verhaltenstherapie im Vergleich zur zahnmedizinischen Behandlung und liefert so einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Verbesserung der Behandlungsmöglichkeiten. Die Befunde tragen darüber hinaus zum besseren Verständnis psychophysiologischer Zusammenhänge bei, wobei die Bedeutung der nächtlichen Kieferaktivität in der Ätiologie und Behandlung von CMD kritisch reflektiert werden muss