Developing Natural Gas Sweetening Processes

Developing Natural Gas Sweetening Processes Introduction Natural gas contains large amounts of methane (CH4), but also all kinds of impurities such as sour gases (e.g., H2S and CO2). The acid gases in the natural gas should be removed to comply with environmental regulations and to avoid technological problems during gas transportation.1–3 For instance, dry ice or CO2 hydrate products can clog the system during liquefaction of the natural gas.2 Hence it would be beneficial to find an efficient and economical method for CO2 capture from natural gas. Amine-based natural gas â€Å"sweetening† (removal of sour gases) process is a widely used and mature technology. However, this process requires high energy for solvent regeneration and amines are corrosive and volatile which causes environmental pollution.1 In the past decade, ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as a promising alternative to the amines due to their remarkable properties.4–6 Anderson et al.7 measured the solubility of various gases in the 1-hexyl-3-methylpyrolidium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide [hmpy][Tf2N]. The solubility of the gases in [hmpy][Tf2N] at 298 K follows the trend: SO2>CO2>C2H4>C2H6>CH4>O2>N2. Similar gas solubility trends were observed in 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethyl-sulfonyl)amide ([hmim][Tf2N]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6]), and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([bmim][Tf2N]).8,9 Simple gases often interact weakly with the IL ions, hence the polarizability of the gases is reflected in the solubility behavior. Molecules that possess an electric quadrupole moment (such as CO2 and C2H4) show higher solubilities in ILs.10 From an application point of view, solubility data only is not enough to judge the separation performance of a solvent, instead selectivity data is essential. One of the first mixed gas solubilities was reported by Hert et al.11 The authors surprisingly found that an enhancement of CH4 solubility when both CH4 and CO2 were dissolved in [hmim][Tf2N] liquid. It was speculated that the enhancement in CH4 solubility was due to favorable dispersion interactions between dissolved CO2 and CH4, while the drop in CO2 solubility was due to a reduction in free volume caused by the absorption of CH4. Carvalho and Coutinho12 measured CO2/CH4 and H2S/CH4 solubilities in three ILs and proposed that the ionic liquid polarity is an essential parameter in the design of ILs with high CO2 selectivities. To design and optimize natural gas sweetening processes using ILs, mastering the important factors that dictate CO2/CH4 solubility as well as selectivity is essential. Shi and Maginn13 computed the mixed gas isotherms for the mixtures CO2/O2, SO2/N2, and CO2/SO2 dissolve in [hmim][Tf2N] and interpreted these mixed gas solubilities by energetic analysis. CO2 and SO2 interact more strongly with the anion than the cation due to stronger electrostatic interactions between the solute and the anion. N2 and O2 interact weakly with the ionic liquid and show little difference in interaction energy between the cation and anion. Thus CO2 and SO2 compete with each other in dissolution, while CO2 and O2 dissolve independently.13 However, there has no simulation motivated to address the unusual solubility behavior of CO2/CH4 mixtures in ILs. In this proposed research, molecular dynamics simulations will be utilized to investigate the enhanced solubility of CH4 in [hmim][Tf2N] in the presence of CO2.11 Also, with the aim of improving CO2/CH4 selectivity in ionic liquids, several other ILs described in the work done by Carvalho and Coutinho12 will be examined. These simulations could enable one to probe local structure of gases in ILs and energetics between different solutes and solvents, thereby give physical insight into the observed selectivity trends. The final goal is to find optimum structures of ILs that have satisfying performance in natural gas sweetening process. Research Question In this study, the solubilities of CO2/CH4 mixtures in four ILs will be investigated in order to understand the peculiar phenomenon of enhanced solubility of CH4 in the presence of CO2 in [hmim][Tf2N] and to understand the higher selectivity of CO2/CH4 in [bmim][Tf2N] as compare to that in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate ([bmim][CH3SO3]) at molecular level. This work will be accomplished by classical molecular dynamics of systems consist of mixture gases with different molar ratios dissolve into four ionic liquids, [hmim][Tf2N], [bmim][Tf2N], [bmim][PF6] and [bmim][CH3SO3] respectively. The selectivities for different cases will be calculated and compare with experimental results at room temperature and at a pressure of 10 bar, which is a common operating pressure for natural gas sweetening process. Local electrostatic potential and radial distribution function of ILs will be computed to analyze the interactions between gas molecules and IL constituents and favorable abs orption sites. Test particle insertion method will be utilized to calculate the excess chemical potential of CO2 and CH4 in different ILs. With this systematic information, a solid conclusion about the physical reasons lead to high CO2/CH4 selectivity could be achieved. The cation effect and anion effect to the selectivity could be drawn from the results in cases of these four ILs. In addition, more extensive work could be conducted to predict the relationship between the IL structure and the trend of selectivity of CO2/CH4 mixtures in ILs. Significance of the Proposed Research The global natural gas demand is expected to increase 1.4% per year in the next 20~30 years.2 Of great industrial relevance, carbon dioxide capture is very important in the natural gas sweetening process. Ionic liquids, due to their outstanding properties, such as negligible vapor pressure, high thermal stability, nonflammability and high solvation capacity, are believed to be promising alternatives for conventional CO2 capture solvents. Especially, the large differences in pure gas solubility reported in the literature suggest that selectivity for gas mixtures could be high, making ILs a strong candidate for effective separation processes. It is possible to design many potential ILs by enormous combination of cations and anions and their functionalized ions. Therefore, the systematic study of different cation/anion combinations will provide us key parameters in the structure of ILs with high CO2/CH4 selectivity. However, measuring solubilities of gas mixtures is significantly more difficult than measuring pure gas solubilites.14 Therefore, molecular modeling is an efficient way to help understand solubility trends in ILs. Through this proposed study, we can gain physical understanding in the selectivity of mixture gases in ILs at a molecular level. An additional advantage is that the simulations enable one to probe micro structure and energetics, thereby giving useful insight into the source of selectivity trends observed. The proposed research will inspire experimentalists to design ILs with higher CO2/CH4 selectivity, thus apply it into industrial natural gas sweetening process. Proposed Studies Simulation Details: In this proposed research, I will perform systematic classical molecular dynamics simulations for systems representing CO2 and CH4 dissolve in [hmim][Tf2N], [bmim][Tf2N], [bmim][PF6] and [bmim][CH3SO3] ILs respectively. All simulations will be performed using the GROMACS15 program. Nose-Hoover temperature coupling will be used to set the temperature at 298 K and Parrinello-Rahman pressure coupling will be used to keep the pressure at 10 bar. Periodic boundary conditions will be applied in all directions. The cations and anions involved in this work are listed in scheme 1 with their molecular structures. Scheme 1. Molecular structures of the cations and anions used in this study. Force Field. In all simulations described in this study, ILs and CH4 will use the Canongia Lopes-PaÃÅ' dua16 and OPLS-AA17 force fields. Lennard-Jones parameters and the partial charges for CO2 will take from the TraPPE18 force field. The experimental C-O bond length (1.16 Ã…) and O-C-O bond angle (180ËÅ ¡) are fixed during simulations. The TraPPE model has been effectively used for predicting CO2 absorption in various ILs.13,19–22 Thus, all the force field parameters are available. Pure Gas Absorption. The pure gas absorption for CO2 and CH4 will be computed following the method published by Huang et al.23 The initial configuration of the IL/CO2 or IL/CH4 binary system will be prepared from two independent bulk phase subsystems. The IL phase consists of 256 ionic pairs, and the gas (CO2 or CH4) phase initially has 216 molecules. Both IL phase and gas phase will first be equilibrated by a 1 ns NPT simulation at 298 K and 10 bar. Then the two subsystems will be concatenated along the Z direction to form a sandwich like simulation box with the gas phase in the middle. Some gas molecules are going to be removed in order to fit the cross section between the gas phase and IL phase. An energy minimization process is necessary to prevent steric hindrances in the combined system. The generated system then undergoes a 20 ns NPT equilibration run to allow gas molecules to diffuse into the IL phase. In order to improve sampling, five uncorrelated phase points will be colle cted from a successive 500 ps NPT run. Figure 1 shows a typical configuration of the equilibrium simulation box. These five configurations are used as initial coordinates for five 300 ps production runs in microcanonical (NVE) ensemble. The last 200 ps trajectories of each NVE simulation are used to collect data. Figure 1. A snapshot of the equilibrium state of the simulation box.23 Mixed Gas Absorption and Selectivities. As described above, the only thing different for mixed gas absorption from the pure gas absorption is the gas phase contains two kinds of gas molecules, CO2 and CH4. In order to test the feed ratio effect, the molecular numbers of CO2 and CH4 are set to two distinct ratios, 1:9 and 1:1, which are the gas mixture compositions in ref. 11. As observed by ref. 11, only tiny amount of CO2 could enhance CH4 solubility. The numbers of gas molecules can be easily obtained from the five final trajectories. Thus the mole fractions of CO2 or CH4 to ILs can be computed. Simply, the solubility is computed in terms of molar fraction by or , where x means the molecule number in IL phase. With the mole fractions of CO2 and CH4 in gas mixture/IL system, the selectivity for CO2 over CH4 can be computed as ,13 where x means the molecule number in IL phase and y means the molecule number in the initial gas phase. This is the first goal of this research that aiming to confirm and predict the solubilities and selectivities of CO2 and CH4 gas molecules in different ILs. These data can also be used to validate the simulation method. It should be reasonable to expect that the above mentioned modeling procedure is capable of yielding good estimations of mixed gas absorption. Radial Distribution Functions. The RDFs for pure liquid structures, gas/IL binary structures and mixed-gas/IL ternary structures can be calculated from the production simulations in NVE ensemble. Previous results23 showed that even though considerable amounts of CO2 diffused into the IL phase, the structure changes of the IL were small. However, the cases of CH4 gas diffuses into the IL phase have to be examined as well as the cases for CO2/CH4 gas mixtures dissolve in ILs. Therefore, the RDFs could tell us whether the structure will change significantly or not during the co-solvation process of CO2 and CH4 molecules. Previous studies concluded that CO2 preferentially interacts with anions in ILs.5,8,13,23,24 However, little knowledge is known about the structure correlation for CH4 with cations and anions in ILs. Especially, the locations of CH4 molecules in ILs in the presence of CO2 would be very interesting. From the NVE simulations, the Coulomb and Lennard-Jones potentials between different energy groups could be obtained. The energetic analyses could help explain the spatial distribution of CH4 and CO2 molecules in ILs. In addition, by comparing the relative interaction energies between solutes and the cations, anions and other dissolved solutes, one can understand which interaction makes CH4 more dissolvable in [hmim][Tf2N] when in the presence of CO2. Local Electrostatic Potentials. Although the liquid is neutral in total charge, the local electrostatic environment within the first solvation shell of CO2 or CH4 molecule may have important effect on the solubility and selectivity performance.21 At any given time during the production runs, the position of each absorbed gas molecule can be determined. Also the surrounding atoms within , 1.5 nm, can be identified. Therefore, the local electrostatic potential U for a given absorbed gas molecule (x, y, z) can be calculated by: where na is the number of surrounding atoms, qn,i is the partial charge on each surrounding atom, rn,i is the distance from each atom to the center carbon atom of absorbed gas molecule. Analyzing the distribution of local electrostatic potentials for CO2 and CH4 together with the selectivities, the relation between local electrostatic potentials can selectivities can be built. Based on the fact that CO2 has a large quadrupole moment, CO2 molecule should be affected strongly by the local electrostatic potential. The more negative the local electrostatic potential is the higher preference for CO2 selectivity.21 I expect that the highest selectivity IL [bmim][CH3SO3] will give more negative distribution of local electrostatic potential as compare to other ILs. Solvation Free Energy. In order to have more evidences for energetic analysis of the interactions between CO2/CH4 and ILs, Widom particle insertion method25 is utilized to determine the excess chemical potential of the solutes under study. The key quantity characterizing a solute in the solvation process is its solvation free energy, that is, the free energy necessary to insert the solute from pure ideal gas phase into solution. The solvation free energy per solute is equal to the excess chemical potential of the solute. In the case of an NPT ensemble the excess chemical potential can be written as26 where is the potential energy between the solute and the solvent, V is the volume of the system, =1/, and the angle brackets denote an isobaric-isothermal average over trajectory of the system without solute. For each IL, the equilibration trajectory of pure IL in NPT ensemble is needed. Because test particle insertion method in GROMACS is currently limited to inserting a single charge group, the excess chemical potential of CO2 and CH4 can only calculated one at a time. At least, we can get information about the relative affinity of CO2 to ILs and CH4 to ILs. Thus the CO2/CH4 selectivities in different ILs could be compared using all the aforementioned methods. In summary, the solubilities and selectivities of CO2 and CH4 pure gas and gas mixtures in four ILs will be calculated. The deep reasons that determine the CO2/CH4 selectivity will be investigated. Although only four ILs, [hmim][Tf2N], [bmim][Tf2N], [bmim][PF6] and [bmim][CH3SO3], are under this proposed research, we can expect to find out the anion effect to CO2/CH4 selectivity. By studying the spatial structure, interaction energy, local electrostatic potential and excess chemical potential, this work will contribute to the IL society with the first molecular dynamics simulation of CH4 dissolves in ILs and CO2/CH4 gas mixture dissolves in ILs.

Radio Station Research :: essays research papers fc

Table of Contents Introduction  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 Scope of the Study  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 Methods Used  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 Results  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 Age  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 Time of Day  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 Location  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 Recommendations  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10 Target Format  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10 Target Location  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  11 Bibliography  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 Appendix  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Music is a general love of almost every college student. Many develop their personalities, profiles, and various other tastes based on their listening choices. In general, many college students acquire the same spectrum of listening values. If a radio station, one that wishes to target the college student population, can discover the musical preferences of the general population of students, they will be able to grow within the specific market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the target market is of a personality of the student, generally a crowd that has the same likes and dislikes as his/her peers; the target musical format should be fairly easy to determine. Unlike the 25-33 crowd or 40 and up crowd, where their musical preferences range far and wide, each college student has almost the same understanding of their values. Possible reasons for this may be peer pressure or self-morale gains, yet it still exists among the college crowd. Thus, a common format may be simpler for a station targeting the college format.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The station will be able to gain knowledge for its possible advertisers by analyzing its target population’s needs and wants. Plus, they will be able to acknowledge the possible locations of the students, where they go and what they do. The ultimate goal is to find out where the students are spending their money, so advertising can be solicited into purchasing radio time. Advertisers wish to have some â€Å"concrete† data when analyzing which station they wish to spend their money on through airtime. The purpose of this study is to give the possible clients the facts placed in front of them as well as educate them as to where our target is going and the possibilities of gathering our target audience to their place of business.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consumer behavior will come into play in the study, since part of the goal is to gather information on the needs and wants of the consumer, or radio listener. Analysis of behavior is more difficult to determine, because the data collected is based on values and personal judgment. Little data collected will be concrete, since the student will be revealing based on opinions, not facts. However, opinions sometimes hold strong enough to reach a borderline to fact. Scope of the Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The study was a descriptive design with an emphasis on the listening preferences of college students. Data was acquired as to which brand of music, or radio format, is most appealing to college students, such as alternative, rock, country, R&B, etc.

Sympathy for Nora in Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House Essay examples -- A

Sympathy for Nora in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House In "A Doll's House," Henrik Ibsen primarily addresses issues not only relating to women in Norway, but to women embarking on twentieth century life in general. To achieve his desired effect, he employs the use of contextual dialog and places Nora as the central character, which gives her a great edge. Because of her prominent role throughout the play, she becomes familiar, and what is familiar is favored. With the lone exception of the exchange between Mrs. Linde and Krogstad at the beginning of Act III, there is not a single scene that features a dialog that in some way does not include a prominent part from Nora. It soon becomes apparent that Nora emerges from the dramatis personae as the pià ¨ce de rà ©sistance Ibsen intends to win our sympathies. In Act I, scene I, the stage is set, bringing the meaning behind the plays' title into sharp focus. Here, Ibsen uses contextual dialog to demonstrate that Nora is indeed, as the title implies, little more than a doll in a toy house, a plaything that Torvald doesn't take seriously. For instance, Torvald asks: "Is that my little lark twittering out there? Is it my little squirrel bustling about?" (Ibsen, 500). A short pace later, he calls her "a poor little girl," and then adds "you needn't ruin your dear eyes and your pretty little hands" (502). Nora appears to willingly-if not a little naà ¯vely-play into this role: after clapping her hands she replies, "No, Torvald, I needn't any longer, need I! It's wonderfully lovely to hear you say so" (503). A second issue Ibsen presents for consideration in the first scene is a discussion of money, Nora appearing to play the role of the pampered child with a penchant for shiny coins clin... ...lly good reason for favoring Nora beyond our sense of familiarity with her: she lies, she cheats, she rationalizes, she walks out on her husband and children-she is not an innocent character. But is this tendency not the wont of human nature, to excuse that which is connected to us while failing to consider there is a whole other side to the issue? It would seem that by the prominence Ibsen affords Nora, he masterfully steers our sympathies in her direction like a crafty rhetorician employing the Greek concept of kairos. By what he chooses to reveal (and conceal), Ibsen has us feeding out of the palm of his hand, for in the end, it could be said that life is all a matter of perspective . . . almost. Works Cited: Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll's House." Literature: The Human Experience. 8th ed. Ed. Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford, 2002. 499-557.

Editorial Analysis Essay

â€Å"We are all equal; it is not birth but virtue alone that makes the difference.† This insightful quote from the famous French philosopher and historian â€Å"Voltaire† seems to accurately represent the beliefs of the factions of American citizens pushing to allow women to fight in combat positions within the US Armed Forces. Though the topic has just recently been boosted into the media and congressional politics, it has been long debated. A rather current editorial from USA Today titled: â€Å"Open Combat Positions to Women† outlines the recent developments in the status of a much disputed and controversial issue facing the nation today. Though somewhat less in-depth than some opposing opinions, the USA Today article establishes credible and provoking arguments with specific evidence that incites some hesitation on behalf of the naysayers contradictory reports and dissents; all the while, creating a valid representation of the views offered by the supporters . In the article mentioned above, there are many components to the argument and evidence presented. As far as tone and stylistic approach, the author remains very serious, stern, and unyielding throughout and presents the opposing viewpoint as â€Å"clouded in fiction† and â€Å"removed from reality†. Though the opposition isn’t represented as ignorant, the author is very firm in their opinions and believes that anyone who disagrees is simply in denial or has some personal stake that would negatively affect them if women were to enter into combat in the armed forces. In the beginning of the USA Today editorial, two specific examples of women who have placed their lives on the line or been injured by participating in extremely dangerous missions are given. The author appeals to the reader’s emotions with these examples and gives accurate evidence of women who already risk their lives but don’t receive recognition for it. Statistics are also presented that evaluate the many women who have lost their lives and been injured while serving in the armed forces and participating in missions whose â€Å"main purpose wasn’t direct combat on the ground.† The author goes on to explain that while women are fighting and risking their lives on the battlefield, the government refuses to acknowledge their sacrifices and give them equal rights to serve their country. Also in the beginning of the editorial, the author refers back to the two women who fought on the front lines. Those women as well as two other servicewomen filed suit in attempt to overturn the law established in 1994 which states as follows: †Rule: Service members are eligible to be assigned to all positions for which they are qualified, except that women shall be excluded from assignment to units below the brigade level whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground, as defined below. Definition: Direct ground combat is engaging an enemy on the ground with individual or crew served weapons, while being exposed to hostile fire and to a high probability of direct physical contact with the hostile forces personnel. Direct combat take s place well forward on the battlefield while locating an closing with the enemy to defeat then by fire, maneuver or shock effect.† The author goes on to state that, despite what happens in court with the lawsuit filed by the four servicewomen, the issue should never have to go to court in order to be acted upon. The author seems to think that it is simply a matter of logical thinking. Some other supporting evidence in the editorial is the Author’s use of a Gallup Pole to prove that Americans no longer oppose the idea of women on the front lines. Also specific quotes are used from a well-know male armor officer who attests to women already risking their lives in the line of fire but not being recognized for it because the government has contorted the laws and definitions. At the end of the editorial, the author goes into some details about the physical requirements for those serving in combat positions, how the solution is simple, and how the armed forces should strive for equality and concludes that congress is taking small steps in the right direction. From an analytical point of view, the editorial from USA Today immediately established credibility with the first evidence and supporting examples. There is an abundance of evidence for the short two-page window that the author has to offer it. The author doesn’t use any jargon or political terms meant to confuse or mislead the reader. Also, the author does a very satisfactory job of explaining the facts surrounding the argument without being biased or one-sided. Though there is room for much improvement, overall the editorial is a firm and testable argument and serves its purpose well. As in most any written argument, the author wants to present their opinions in the most positive and factual light. Usually only supporting evidence is given for the reader to comprehend and digest. This includes: specific accounts with concurring viewpoints and validating examples. While the author will oftentimes address or evaluate the opposition, it would be counteractive to the whole foundation and motive of the argument to agree with, or present facts in favor of, the opposite side. The article previously discussed and critiqued mostly follows this schema. Though there are some hidden premises, the author does briefly address some of the opposing viewpoints. The editorial only very briefly mentions the opposing argument that: â€Å"a change in policy may cost lives† but offers no retort to the claim. Also, the fact that â€Å"†¦some infantrymen would be unable to take orders from a female combat leader†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is brought up and the author offers a seemingly simple solution to this complex counterargument. The final recognition of opposing opinion by the author is in the statement claiming: †Many of the objections trotted out by opponents simply don’t hold up to scrutiny.† Again, the author fails to prove this statement with in-depth evidence and goes on to only address one specific â€Å"objection trotted out by opponents.† The issue featured in the USA Today editorial â€Å"Open Combat Jobs to Women† is difficult to resolve for many possible reasons. First, there are no previous precedents in the situation of women in the armed forces that can help legislation to predict the possible gain or loss they will receive. There doesn’t seem to be a way to calculate what the reaction will be to letting women serve in combat until legislation allows it. In reference to the lawsuit by the four servicewomen, the Supreme Court must also set a new precedent. As with any issue involving women’s rights or equal rights in general, the Constitution is always brought into discussion. Problems encountered in our society that call for an interpretation of the Constitution are often met with an incredible amount of hesitation, deliberation and conflict among citizens, social groups, minorities and legislators. USA Today’s Editorial creates a valid representation of the supporting viewpoints for women in combat positions while also establishing credibility with provoking arguments that incite hesitation for opposition. To review somewhat, although the author does an adequate job in arguing their point, there is some room for improvement both structurally and logistically. However, from a reader’s point of view, the editorial has a reasonably strong argument that at least provokes the reader to question their current beliefs and views on the topic discussed.

A Drinking Life: A Memoir

A Drinking Life by Pete Hamill is the story of one man’s struggle with alcoholism and the contributing factors that caused him to be become an alcoholic. A large part of his argument is that during his childhood and adolescence it was considered cool to drink heavily. He stated â€Å"There was a celebration and you got drunk.There was a victory and you got drunk†¦part of being a man was to drink.† (p. 57) Parents have great authority over the formation of social habits of their children even if the children are not aware of this influence. â€Å"†¦parents and peers affect adolescent drinking through two types of social influence: modeling and social control.† (Reifman, Barnes, Dintcheff, Farrell & Uhteg, 1998)Hamill’s father was an alcoholic so he was introduced to it at a young age. Many of his memories are of his father passed out or extremely drunk and he claims this role model gave him the idea that men were supposed to drink. Children of alc oholic parents have a higher risk to be alcoholics themselves. According to Tomori (1994) â€Å"Such adolescents use alcohol to relieve anxiety, reduce dissatisfaction and mistrust, and give vent to accumulated aggression.In adolescents brought up in alcoholic family environments, alcohol, entering through several receptor sites, fills many gaps left over from the development period prior to separation. Their parents–either the alcoholic parent, or the partner living with him/her in co-dependency, or both of them–who are themselves filled with distress, depression, and anxiety, usually cling to their children while at the same time manifesting overt signs of resentment and rejection.In this state of pathological ambivalence, they both reject their children and try to tie them to themselves, thus seriously hindering their separation. As a result, many children of alcoholic parents develop defensive aggression or passive resistance, or take recourse to some other inappr opriate patterns of defensive behavior.†Hamill explains in the book that he was always fighting someone. He either fought in bars or in the street, over an imagined slight or to defend himself but he was more aggressive than the usual person and it was always while he was drinking.Much of the book is devoted to his childhood and adolescence during and after World War II. The secret drinking, which began at a young age, was the classic experimentation that many alcoholics describe as the beginning of their addiction. Hamill tells of his wish to be different from his father and not to become a drunk â€Å"and yet drinking started to seem as natural to real life as breathing.† (p. 107)Hamill paints a picture of a rough Irish Catholic neighborhood and the drinking and fighting that were an integral part of his world. For a time he made his own money, giving some to his mother since his father lost his job. He attended high school and hung out with his friends, all the while increasing his drinking.He did not consider it a problem at first; he believed that he was not drunk as long as he knew where he was and what he was doing. As he entered high school, the drinking increased and became less secretive, due partly to the fact that teenagers were expected to drink and act a little wildly. This, unfortunately, is not beneficial to a decent grade average and Hamill began to fail all his classes after only two years of high school.One thing Hamill sees as a failure on his part is his lack of belief in God. While he does not attribute his addiction to this, he tells of his anger at the church for double standards regarding the poor and the fact that at least one of the priests was â€Å"like my father: a drunk.† (p. 106) This lack of respect for the church prevented him from relying on his faith as many do in times of crisis in their lives.

Discounting & Augmentation Principle

We use attribution in a regular basis, whenever we are asked to give the cause of a behavior or decision we make us of attribution. Attribution refers to the act of assigning or attributing a certain cause to an achievement or accomplishment (Feick & Rhodewalt, 1997). Such that when we are asked to comment on how we were able to ace the exam, we might attribute it to our personal efforts and abilities or to mere luck.The principles of discounting and augmentation refer to the manner in which we use attribution. Discounting occurs when we try to discount personal ability in favor of external factors, like when we say that the exam was easy when half of the class got a hundred percent correct score. In this example, we discount personal abilities and augment the effect of environmental factors which is the level of difficulty of the test.On the other hand, when one or two students had perfect scores in the test, then we would be quick to point out that the said students are really good in class which reflects the augmentation principle; we augment the personal abilities of the students. If someone was to comment that the exam was easy, then we would discount the argument based on the fact that only a few students had perfect scores in the test. Discounting and augmentation is said to be dependent on the circumstances in which the behavior or judgment occurs (Feick & Rhodewalt, 1997).For example, when a child fights with another child, he/she may attribute the fight to the other child’s behavior which is augmenting the personal characteristics of the other child. On the other hand, the child rarely says that the fight was brought about by environmental factors like the weather, peer pressure or the child’s own decision to fight which also reflects the discounting principle. Therefore, it would be safe to assume that discounting and augmentation occurs in tandem.

Autonomy in Death Essay Example for Free

Autonomy in Death Essay Physician-assisted suicide is a controversial topic with only a few states having legalized it; however, many groups are advocating for its approval. Physician-assisted suicide has ethical limitations that only allow a doctor to prescribe, not administer, a lethal dose of medication for a patient who has been deemed terminally ill with less than six months to live by two physicians. The prescription allows the patient to choose both the timing and setting of death and the physician’s only role is provision of medication. This gifts patients with autonomy in their death and relieves the doctor of any moral burden in participation with death keeping this action an ethical practice. Oregon was the first of few states to have legalized physician-assisted suicide but I would like to argue its potential advantages to the entire United States. Ball (2010) said, â€Å"In Oregon — the one state in the U.S. where assisted suicide is legal – doctors are allowed to help only state residents who are expected to die within six months† (p.1). Giving terminally ill patients the power to choose a peaceful death demonstrates empathy toward the ill patients and their families. Terminally ill patients without this empowerment face the difficult choice of using limited resources to end their lives if not given the legal freedom to choose how and when they die. The Code of Ethics for Nurses provision 1.4 is the right to self-determination and it states that Respect for human dignity requires the recognition of specific patient rights, particularly, the right to self-determination. Self-determination, also known as autonomy, is the philosophical basis for informed consent in health care. Patients have the moral and legal right to determine what will be done with their own person; to be given accurate, complete, and understandable information in a manner that facilitates an informed judgment; to be assisted with weighing the benefits, burdens, and available options in their treatment; to accept, refuse, or terminate treatment without deceit, undue influence, duress, coercion, or penalty; and to be given necessary support throughout the decision-making and treat ment process. Such support would include the opportunity to make decisions with family and significant others and the provision of advice and support from knowledgeable nurses and other health professionals. Patient should be involved in planning their own health care to the extent they are able to choose to participate (American nurses association, 2001, p.148). Giving this added right to chose physician assisted suicide allows patients the autonomy described in the Nursing Code of Ethics. The purpose of this paper is to argue that physician-assisted suicide is ethical and beneficial because it allows for patient autonomy. â€Å"I would argue that by denying terminally ill people recourse to death with dignity via physician prescribed medication, they are inflicting their own brand of coercion and abuse. The concept of a â€Å"merciful death† needs to be part of this discussion. It is a sad commentary that our society responds to our pets’ terminal suffering more humanely than to our fellow human beings’ end-of-life struggles†(â€Å"Death is best approached†, 2012, p. 1). Many feel that denying patients the right to choose is not advocating for their b est interest and is a form of abuse. We wouldn’t leave our ill family pet alive to suffer so why wouldn’t we consider letting our loved ones put themselves out of their misery in a peaceful way? The entire point is to give the public a choice. It would still be up to each individual to decide whether or not to exercise that right if their physician deemed their situation appropriate. The Code of Ethics for Nurses says that â€Å"Respect for human dignity requires the recognition of specific patient rights, particularly, the right of self-determination† (American nurses association, 2001, p.148). This statement implies that the patient should have the right to make end of life decisions on their own. When terminal patients are in pain and suffering, they may not have the strength or will to fight any longer. It is cruel to prolong a patient’s pain and suffering and deny their autonomy to make the decision of having a peaceful death. Also, it can be argued that when patients have their mind set on ending their lives, they tend to follow through on their own even if their physician cannot assist them. This may lead to a more traumatic death and a scene that can be quite traumatizing for the family member or friend who finds their loved one’s remains. The alternative is a prescribed medicine that the patient may take home, choosing the preferred place to die, to allow the patient to die peacefully without sustaining disfiguring injuries thus allowing them a more dignified burial if the family chooses to view the body one last time. However, in most of the United States, physician-assisted suicide is still illegal so very few Americans are afforded the right to choose to end their life when they are terminally ill. Because physician assisted suicide was brought to the public’s attention as an option by the unconventional tactics of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the idea of legalizing this was tainted from the beginning, making many states hesitant to allow assisted suicide. Miller (2011) notes that â€Å"Jack Kevorkian rose to national prominence as â€Å"Dr. Death,† a physician who insisted that sometimes a doctor’s first duty to his patient was to help him die. The retired pathologist, who became an assisted suicide advocate claiming to have had a hand in 130 deaths in the 1990s, helped spark a national debate over euthanasia† (p. A5). Jack Kevorkian’s tactics were questionable because he publicized the deaths of elderly, disabled, and terminally-ill patients using inhaled carbon dioxi de or using his self-made suicide machine. Although the patients had asked for Dr. Kevorkian’s assistance to end their suffering by assisting in their suicide, he received a lot of negative attention because he publicized his assistance in this process by encouraging CBS to broadcast a video of himself injecting a cocktail of lethal drugs into a patient suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease (Miller, 2011). After much backlash from the public over the fact that he actually injected patients with lethal drugs, he developed a suicide machine which allowed the patient to press a button that caused the machine to administer a mixture of sodium pentothal and potassium chloride which was first used on Janet Adkins, a 54 year old sufferer of Alzheimer’s disease (Miller, 2011). â€Å"The last thing Janet Adkins said was, ‘You just make my case known,'† Dr. Kevorkian told the Associated Press† (Miller, 2011, p. A5). Although his tactics were extreme and caused a lot of public controversy, his patie nts wanted to end their suffering and his actions caused others to advocate for ethical standards to be put into place for legal physician assisted suicide while at the same time completely turning others away from the concept of legalizing euthanasia. Dr. Goodwin, a general practitioner, said he began advocating for the right to help terminally ill people die after listening to his patients (Miller, 2012). â€Å"They want autonomy at this time, to be allowed to die at home with the comfort and support of their families,† Dr. Goodwin said in a 2001 interview (Miller, 2012, p. 1). Because of the extreme tactics used by Jack Kevorkian, who initiated the debate on legalizing euthanasia, many people view those who advocate for the client’s right of physician assisted suicide as cruel or lacking in empathy for patient and families. However, â€Å"Peter Goodwin, a family physician who wrote and campaigned for Oregon’s right-to-die law in the 1990s, died after taking a cocktail of lethal drugs prescribed by his doctor, as allowed under the legislation he championed. Dr. Goodwin, 83 years old, had been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder similar to Parkinson’s disease and had been given less than six m onths to live.†(Miller, 2012, p. 1). Dr. Goodwin believed in a patient’s autonomy in death so much that he chose to exercise his own rights in the same fashion in order to end his own suffering. In an interview with the Oregonian, the local newspaper in Oregon, Dr. Goodwin said that his health was deteriorating and he would soon end his life. â€Å"His family gathered to bid him farewell. ‘The situation needs thought, it doesn’t need hope,’ he said. ‘Hope is too ephemeral at that time’†(Miller, 2012, p. 1). This clearly articulates the feelings of a terminally ill man towards the importance of autonomy in concern of his own death. â€Å"End-of-life decisions are not arbitrary or impulsive. Why shouldn’t a person choose to end his or her life with dignity if it is obvious that all options for leading any kind of meaningful life are non-existent? I would think any modicum of compassion would respect such a momentous, personal decision. Suffering, physical and mental, and the anguish it causes should produce empathy for the patient’s wishes and desires, even if they run counter to our own sense of rectitude. It is not about us. It’s about the patient’s right of autonomy. We need to understand that it is ultimately his or her decision to make, not ours†(Death is best approached, 2012, p. 1). In this statement, an unknown author expressed the utmost sympathy for those suffering from terminal illness. Physician assisted suicide is ethical as it demonstrates compassion and empathy towards someone else’s pain, suffering, and rights. There is nothing cruel about autonomy over the decision to die. These kinds of laws need to be considered using a deep emotional understanding of the terminally ill’s feelings and problems. Other countries have legalized euthanasia and have less restrictive laws which allow them to provide services for foreigners. Because of this, if all United States citizens aren’t granted the autonomy they desire in their own country they will still be able to get the results they so desperately want but the outcome may be more painful to family members whose loved ones would end up dying in other countries and in less desirable conditions. Mr. Minelli, who is head of Dignitas, a Swiss company that provides euthanasia services only to foreigners, said that â€Å"a memory of his seriously ill grandmother’s pleading in vain with her doctor to help her die left him with a particular interest in Switzerland’s growing right-to-die movement, and he joined one of the main groups. In 1998, he quit to found Dignitas†(Ball, 2010, p. 2). In 2008, his neighbors’ complaints forced Dignitas out of his rented apartment that he had been using to conduct the assisted suicides and Zurich city officials refused permission for a new venue. In response to this Mr. Minelli organized suicides in cars, a hotel room, industrial sites, and his own home which drew the attention of local officials. â€Å"Someone who is used to a five-star hotel can’t come to Dignitas and expect the same,† says Mr. Minelli†(Ball, 2010, p. 2). Is it really beneficial to force terminally ill patients into a foreign country to a harsh environment to grant them the freedom to end their own lives? If terminally ill patients really want a physician assisted suicide, they will find another setting in which they can achieve one but allowing patients to have one in their own country optimizes the setting and allows for more family support near the time of death. It also saves the family the trouble of getting the body of a loved one from a foreign country after the time of death and allows the family to begin funeral arrangements sooner so that they can go through the stages of grieving that they need to in order to move forward with their own lives. This act of ending the life sooner also spares the family the pain of watching their loved one suffer longer than they want to. Another benefit to approving physician assisted suicide is that just know that the option is available can be therapeutic for terminal patients. â€Å"Mr. Minelli argues that making assisted suicide available removes a taboo around suicide, helping people who want to kill themselves open a dialogue and seek help. About 70% of people who get the green light from Dignitas for an assisted suicide never contact the group again, proving the palliative effect of knowing help is available, he says†(Ball, 2010, p. 2). This clearly proves that just knowing that euthanasia is an option is enough to help patients carry on with terminal illness. Even if a patient chooses never to exercise the right to a physician assisted suicide, the knowledge that they have an option for a way out of their suffering is comforting in itself. Craig Ewert was a retired university professor who suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. He decided to end his life because he wanted to make this decision before he lost the ability to decide his own fate, overcoming the resistance of his doctors (Ball, 2010). â€Å"When you’re completely paralyzed and can’t talk, how do you let someone know you are suffering?† he told a television interviewer before his death in September 2006. â€Å"This could be a complete and utter hell† (Ball, 2010, p. 3). Mr and Mrs. Ewerts were from the U.K. but they traveled to Switzerland and chose Mr. Minelli’s group, Dignitas, because it accepts foreigners. Mrs. Ewert said that had she not been able to travel to get her husband the assisted suicide services that he desired she may have been forced to help her husband die and she worried that she wouldn’t have known exactly what to do (Ball, 2010). She defended Mr. Minelli saying â€Å"Sure, there have to be some protections for people, but I think we’re going way beyond what there needs to be, I admire Minelli for being willing to take the heat† (Ball, 2010, p. 3). Because Craig Ewert was allowed to make his own decision to die, his wife was spared the pressure that he may have put on her to help him end his life. Furthermore, had he been denied the right to make his own decision and his wife Mary had been coerced to help him commit suicide, there would have been extreme emotional and possibly even legal consequences to her action despite the fact that it was her husband’s wish. This is a situation that may Americans are also threatened with because physician assisted suicide is illegal in most of the country. All United States citizens should be afforded the right to choose a physician assisted suicide if they have been deemed terminally ill because this freedom shows compassion and empathy towards the patient’s suffering. If patients aren’t allowed to legally choose death here, they may travel to another country to receive services or chose to carry out suicide on their own. If patients chose to take matters into their own hands this would be harder on the patient as the death would probably not be as peaceful as the lethal injection that the physician would prescribe and if would also be harder on the patient’s loved ones. If patients decide to go to another country to achieve the death they desire they would lose the privilege of dying in their own comfort zone and the distance would make the death harder on the family to make funeral arrangements and move on with their own lives. The Code of Ethics for Nurses stated that â€Å"Respect not just for the specific decision but also for the patient’s method of decision-making is consistent with the principle of autonomy† (American nurses association, 2001, p.149). Regardless of whether or not we understand an individuals motivation for seeking a physician assisted suicide, nurses should support the autonomy that patients needs to make this choice on their own. Giving terminally ill patients autonomy in their death, by making physician assisted legal for every United States citizen, is only giving patients additional rights that they may or may not chose to exercise and is the most compassionate way to show empathy for those who are dying. Autonomy in Death. (2017, Feb 13).