Little is known about the recovery of patients after pneumonectomy and the impact of the surgery on the lifestyle of young, employed, ex-smokers and their families. This study was conducted to address this knowledge deficit, and gather information that would help health professionals to be able to assist people facing pneumonectomy. A qualitative study using van Manens methodological approach to interpretive phenomenology was chosen, in order to capture a full and rich understanding and meaning of the phenomenon that patients live. The names, age, operation, histological cell type, stage of disease, and disease free status of potential participants were obtained from a Lung Cancer Surgical Database after obtaining ethical approval for the study. Nine participants (three females and six males) met the inclusion criteria and gave informed consent for the study. Data collection comprised of open-ended interviews that were audiotaped, then transcribed verbatim into hard data. Data interpretation was based on the selective reading approach of van Manen from which six thematic statements arose. These are living the discomforts of treatment and recovery, discovering new limitations on myself; functional and emotional, my reliance on support, my financial security is threatened, my survival is at threat, and I wish I had known more. The study found that each participant had a unique experience of recovery and consequently the degree of recovery attained varied between participants. They all had a very strong desire to survive lung cancer and considered the risks of major surgery and loosing a lung to be insignificant compared to the certainty of loosing their life if they did not undergo surgery. This study provided a glimpse of what it was like for a group of patients to live the experience of life after a pneumonectomy and it provides a basis from which nurses can explore further the experiences of patients who are subjected to lung cancer surgery.

abstract: Passive cooling designs & technologies offer great promise to lower energy use in buildings. Though the working principles of these designs and technologies are well understood, simplified tools to quantitatively evaluate their performance are lacking. Cooling by night ventilation, which is the topic of this research, is one of the well known passive cooling technologies. The building's thermal mass can be cooled at night by ventilating the inside of the space with the relatively lower outdoor air temperatures, thereby maintaining lower indoor temperatures during the warmer daytime period. Numerous studies, both experimental and theoretical, have been performed and have shown the effectiveness of the method to significantly reduce air conditioning loads or improve comfort levels in those climates where the night time ambient air temperature drops below that of the indoor air. The impact of widespread adoption of night ventilation cooling can be substantial, given the large fraction of energy consumed by air conditioning of buildings (about 12-13% of the total electricity use in U.S. buildings). Night ventilation is relatively easy to implement with minimal design changes to existing buildings. Contemporary mathematical models to evaluate the performance of night ventilation are embedded in detailed whole building simulation tools which require a certain amount of expertise and is a time consuming approach. This research proposes a methodology incorporating two models, Heat Transfer model and Thermal Network model, to evaluate the effectiveness of night ventilation. This methodology is easier to use and the run time to evaluate the results is faster. Both these models are approximations of thermal coupling between thermal mass and night ventilation in buildings. These models are modifications of existing approaches meant to model dynamic thermal response in buildings subject to natural ventilation. Effectiveness of night ventilation was quantified by a parameter called the Discomfort Reduction Factor (DRF) which is the index of reduction of occupant discomfort levels during the day time from night ventilation. Daily and Monthly DRFs are calculated for two climate zones and three building heat capacities. It is verified that night ventilation is effective in seasons and regions when day temperatures are between 30 oC and 36 oC and night temperatures are below 20 oC. The accuracy of these models may be lower than using a detailed simulation program but the loss in accuracy in using these tools more than compensates for the insights provided and better transparency in the analysis approach and results obtained. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Mechanical Engineering 2011

This project is interested in the ways that second-generation Muslim women experience public space, in particular with respect to how their identities and sense of belonging are shaped through everyday encounters in public. This implicates the reactions and behaviours of strangers who they meet in public, their own bodily comportment, and the ideas and values communicated by their parents and other co-ethnics about women’s place in public space, as well as the ways that religiosity may enhance or hinder everyday belonging. Through the use of qualitative, one-on-one interviews, this research seeks to investigate daily experiences within Ottawa, Canada, particularly with respect to how such interactions inform a sense of (dis)comfort and belonging in public space in Canadian society. Moreover, this project is interested in the negotiation that many second-generation Muslim women undertake between family and ethno-religious community values and those of mainstream Canadian society in urban public spaces. In order to address these topics, the study examines Muslim women’s everyday experiences in public – the ways in which visibility and generational status can influence daily encounters and (dis)comfort, as well as women’s ability to actively negotiate their identity and belonging through engagement with strangers and acquaintances.

It is well known that sitting posture is associated with discomfort and a number of musculoskeletal disorders. Seat manufacturers have made great strides toward developing seats for equipment which helped in alleviating the vibration transferring to the lower area of the spine; however, increased neck and head motion resulting from these seat designs may have been overlooked. Many cervical spine studies have been developed to estimate the response of the head and neck; however, these current studies do not take head and neck posture into account. The objective of this work was to study and demonstrate the difference in human biomechanical response to WBV when they use different neck postures. Four head and neck postures: up, down, to the side, and normal (straight forward) were investigated. Ten male subjects with ages ranging from 19 to 28 years were used to test each of the four postures, using the discrete sinusoidal frequencies of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Hz at constant amplitudes of 0.8 m/s^2 RMS and 1.15 m/s^2 RMS in the x-direction (fore-and-aft). Subjects were seated in a rigid seat rigidly mounted to a vibration platform and vibration was generated using a six-degree-of-freedom man-rated shaker table. Subjects were tightly coupled to the seat back, using a neoprene vest and 5 straps, in an effort to reduce any relative motion between the seat and the subject. Subjects reported their head and neck discomfort using the Borg CR-10 scale with each of the postures, and then gave a second discomfort rating for the normal posture for each combination. Motion capture and accelerometer data were used to acquire the motion of the seat, C7 vertebrae, and center-of-head motion. The 3D motion of selected points on the heads and necks of the subjects were acquired using a twelve-camera Vicon motion capture system. Accelerometer data at the head, C7, and seat was used to verify the motion capture data. For the head-down posture, the magnitude of the discomfort function was higher than the normal posture. The head-to-side and head-up postures have shown less discomfort have shown less discomfort in the critical resonance area; however, these postures show roughly the same discomfort as the normal posture in other frequency ranges. In these postures, the subjects are using major neck-back muscles which create a stiffer system and may explain why there is a shift in the second peak in the head-to-side and head-up postures. Interestingly, the head-to-side and head-up postures show a similar trend as the normal posture, however, the peak transmissibility is attenuated. In addition, the subject's average discomfort was lower in this range compared to the normal posture. The head-down posture had the highest transmissibility and discomfort overall and suggests that workers in vibration environments should reduce any head-down postures to avoid unwanted head accelerations and discomfort. This work has demonstrated the importance of considering the head-neck posture in future seat-design studies.

An optimal automotive seat backrest angle has not been identified, and currently, no universal method for analyzing sitting discomfort exists. The purposes of this study were to: (1) identify an optimum seat backrest angle or range of angles based on objective and subjective discomfort measures, and (2) evaluate existing methods for analyzing sitting discomfort data. Eight participants (4 male 4 female) completed three, two hour test sessions in a driving simulator. Results showed that subjective and objective measures were moderately correlated. The 120° seat backrest angle (measured from horizontal) resulted in less discomfort than the 105° and 135° seat backrest angles. Time weighted subjective discomfort ratings were the most effective subjective measure of sitting discomfort. Results also indicated that participants were able to identify discomfort differences for few body regions.

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The Master of Fine Arts exhibition, Undesirable Forms, presents a collection of paintings and sculptures that focus on the repulsion and discomfort a woman can experience within her mind and body. These works were exhibited at the Tipton gallery, in downtown Johnson City. The pieces included in this exhibition consist of encaustic paintings on panel, and sculptures created from plaster life-casts. The ideas discussed in this paper are influenced by Julia Kristeva and Sigmund Freud’s work relating to the abject/grotesque female body. This paper also discusses inspiration from other artists, such as Natalie Frank and Helen Chadwick, who work with psychological subject matter and the female body.

The Internet is a space that offers the exploration of sexual experiences without social repercussions to one's identity. As a de-centralized environment, social conventions, cues, judgments and risks may be present, but are not fixed. Online sexual activities are accessible through both interactive and observational means, such as forums, blogs, chat rooms, e-mail, instant messaging, video conferencing and websites. The current study sought to uncover the motivation and significance of Internet use on how college students perceive, experience and define their sexuality. The intent of this thesis was to look into the complexity of human sexuality that can be embodied online and help to extend our knowledge on how Internet use provides support and satisfaction for sexual needs that are significant to individuals affected by social discomfort. The study showed that shyness and anxiousness as temperaments associated with social discomfort were tied to utilizing the Internet for sexual experiences, such as exploration and strengthening of sexual identity.

Gyllfeldt, A & Hallenheim, K. Stickrädda patienter – En fenomenologisk studie av några patienters upplevelser av stickfobi. Examensarbete i omvårdnad 15 poäng. Malmö högskola: Hälsa och Samhälle, Utbildningsområde omvårdnad, 2009.Blodprovstagning och injektioner är en stor del av sjuksköterskans arbete. Då många upplever obehag i samband med sticksituationer och i synnerhet de som lider av stickfobi, vill vi uppmärksamma hur sjuksköterskan kan hjälpa dessa patienter bättre.Syftet med studien var att beskriva hur patienter med stickrädsla upplever en vårdsituation där injektioner ges eller prover tas via ven eller kapillär.Metod: Vi har använt en deskriptiv fenomenologisk intervjumetod som beskrivs av Giorgi för insamling av data och analys. Djupintervjuer med tre informanter som anger sig själva som stickrädda har genomförts. Resultat: Det centrala resultatet i studien beskriver hur viktigt det är att behandlande sjuksköterskor bemöter stickrädda patienter med respekt och förståelse för deras situation. Sköterskan bör vara lyhörd och anpassa vården till varje enskild individs behov.Nyckelord: Bemötande, deskriptiv fenomenologisk metod, lyhördhet, obehag, smärta, stickrädsla, ångest. / Gyllfeldt, A & Hallenheim, K. Fear of needles – A phenomenological study of lived experiences of needle phobia. Degree Project, 15 credit points. Nursing Programme, Malmö University: Health and Society: Department of Nursing, 2009.Blood sample taking and injections is a part of the nurses´ work. Many patients feel discomfort, especially patients with needle phobia, while taking blood samples. This is the reason why nurses have to pay attention to this group of patients.The aim of the study was to describe how patients experience healthcare related situations where injections are given or vein or capillary samples are taken.Method: We have used the descriptive phenomenological scientific method described by Giorgi. Collection of data was done by the use of in-deep interviews with three informants that have described themselves as needle phobic. Results: An important aspect of the phenomenon needle phobia deals with the significance treating patients with respect and that the nurse understands their situation. The nurse should be perceptive and adapt the care to every patient’s needs.Keywords: Anxiety, the descriptive phenomenological scientific method discomfort, needle fear, pain, perceptiveness, treatment.

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