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Alcohol as a high risk condition and associated behavior and patterns
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Topic: Alcohol as a high risk condition and associated behavior and patterns
High risk drinking of alcohol can be looked at in two distinct ways. One definition is the drinking that makes the person that is taking the alcohol to indulge in actions and behavior that will make him take a lot of alcohol and consequently intoxicate him more which in the end will cause harm to himself or the people that are around him. The other point of view that this behavior can be viewed from is demarcated by the high risk patterns that will be concomitant with the high risk drinking. These patterns will include taking a lot of alcohol and the frequency that the alcohol is taken, the predisposition for tolerance that exists, how early a person starts drinking, the existence of a social support system that encourages this drinking and in some instances a family history of drinking can be defined as a risk factor too.
There are several high risk drinking behaviors that lead to a variety of outcomes that are generally negative. These behaviors include but are not limited to taking part in drinking games that will involve chugging the drinks, using funnels and playing beer pong like many people do when they are having drinking parties. Drinking with the aim of getting drunk and afterwards driving or riding with an intoxicated person is also a high risk behavior. When drinking, the rate at which one drinks also matters and therefore drinking too much will be considered as an example of a high risk behavior and so is going to parties that everyone there is involved in binge drinking.
Most prescriptions clearly give the instruction that the person that will be taking the drugs should not take alcohol as long as he is on medication since different drugs react differently with alcohol and some if they mix may have consequences that are fatal. Combining alcohol with other drugs and even caffeine is also a high risk behavior since the outcome of how this drugs will react with the alcohol in the system cannot be predicted and in some instances cannot be controlled either. More often than not, the risk that is normally associated with these behavior will manifest themselves in the form of injuries that the person that has been drinking will sustain, hospitalization from poisoning that will be as a result of taking too much alcohol and even damage to property or being arrested by the authorities for crimes that are done under the influence.
High risk patterns are clearly defined and can easily be identified since they are simple thing like taking part on drinking sprees frequently and taking more alcohol than the rest of the people do at a time. This will generally lead to tolerance to the alcohol and therefore it will take more alcohol to make the same person drunk and this threshold will keep on increasing with every indulgence.
to drink at a young age is also a clear risk pattern as when the person gets older the drinking will become more regular and eventually may increase such that the person will be taking a lot of alcohol during these regular drinking sessions and dependence occurs (Heather, Nick, and Tim Stockwell, 196). Families that have a had a history with alcohol often rub this effects on the children that grew up in them and eventually they may start drinking without having clear limits of where to stop or without knowing that they have had enough.
There are also situations that the drinker will see that the situations that make him drink more do not come from within him but are defined by the policies that are in place for different purposes like regulating the consumption of alcohol and this is a bad sign since it means that the person that is drinking does not have control over the habit.
High risk drinking patterns also manifest themselves when peers in a peer group develop the feeling that their peers have the threshold to drink more than they can and thus the struggle to drink as much alcohol as their peers do leading to situations that may have a bad ending. There is also the group that looks at alcohol as a way of showing the freedom that they have acquired in society and this mainly happens to the young people who are enrolled in the universities and colleges.
A family that is characterized by people that drink alcohol and exhibit high risk patterns and behavior may be problematic and may bring about a situation that will be difficult for the children that are in it to grow up. For example, a mother that engages in high risk drinking will not be setting a good example for her daughter if she will not be able to cook and take care of her children as a result of this. If she has a baby, the baby will be affected by the milk that it will be breastfeeding if the mother will drink while breastfeeding.
A father that has a habit of high risk drinking may not be in a position to adequately provide for the family and also sets an example to the children of a care free attitude. This kind of behavior also brings ridicule to the children when they are among their peer. If in any case there are teenagers in the family and they are also engaged in this type of drinking, there are consequences and outcomes that are damaging and some permanent. Since high risk drinking can lead one to having sexual encounters that are careless, the teenagers may find themselves being parents at a very tender age. There is also the risk of contracting various venereal diseases and also Aids that will come as a result of having unprotected sexual relations since taking too much alcohol impairs decision making and rational thinking.
Healthy People 2010 objectives for high risk drinking
Healthy People 2010 incorporate several objectives that it aims to meet to make people’s lives much healthier and these include objectives that are aimed at reducing the total number of new infections in the world. There are various sources of new infections and high risk drinking is one of them since the people that will be taking part in this high risk drinking in most cases will not be careful with the sexual relations that they will take part in and this can lead to them contracting the disease (Healthypeople.gov 1).
There is also an objective that seeks to reduce the number of adolescents who have been forced to ride with an adult that was consuming alcohol during the previous one month so that this kind of high risk behavior can be tamed to avoid cases of accidents as a result of drinking while driving.
Healthy people 2010 also hope to reduce the number of deaths that occur as a result of problems that with the liver such as cirrhosis whose main cause is excessive drinking of alcohol. This will be achieved by education people of the consequences that are expected when large volumes are consumed since this puts a strain on the liver and consequently results in cirrhosis that leads to death.
Nursing intervention strategies
Brief alcohol interventions are counseling frameworks that are limited by time that usually put emphasis on the change of behavior and making sure that it increases the compliance for treatment. This is usually used to encourage the users that are not yet addicted and dependent on alcohol to reduce its consumption to the levels that are low risk and they can also help in referring those that need help since they are already dependent or addicted to programs that will help them reduce drinking. This program is designed to the care givers that will have a limited time with the people that they are supposed to help and are designed to serve places that a lot of people frequent such as general primary care settings. It is usually a precise set of rules that is mainly clinician directed and puts emphasis on convincing the patients in very few visits to reduce the amount of alcohol that they consume (Maisto et al., 387).
Role of the advanced practice nurse as a case manager in high risk drinking
An advanced practice nurse is a specialized nurse that can perform some duties that are the preserve of physicians and each advanced specialized nurse has a specific role and they are allowed to write prescriptions for medicine. In the case of treating a patient with a high risk drinking problem, the nurse will provide direct care to the patient and assume a responsibility for the assessment of the patient, the diagnosis and then decided the treatment that this person will get. The nurse will have the mandate of dealing with the patient at an individual basis and this will help to make sure that the patient gets more attention so that he can be helped better.
References
Healthypeople.gov. “Healthy People 2010 Home Page.” 2014. Web. 27 Feb 2014.
Heather, Nick, and Tim Stockwell. “The Essential Handbook of Treatment and Prevention of
Alcohol Problems.” Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley, 2004. Print.
Maisto et al. “Drug use and abuse.” Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. Print.
Gypsum Board As A Building Material
Gypsum Board As A Building Material
Introduction
Gypsum also known as drywall is a building material that is commonly used for interior walls lining. The gypsum board is also known by other names like wallboard, plasterboard, or Sheetrock. Its features like the paper facers and noncombustible core makes it different from other types of building materials used in interior walls lining like hardboard, plywood, and fiberboard. It is made by placing a gypsum composed plaster between two paper layers. The gypsum is mainly a monoclinic mineral that is extracted from sedimentary rocks. In order to foster mixing of the plaster at times fly ash is used to make the mixture. This is mainly a by-product extracted when burning coal and it’s used as an additive for various types of products. Once the mixture of gypsum is put between two pieces of paper the board is heated with a flame to make a strong board. This results in a drywall that can be cut into different size to be used for building construction. Gypsum has been in use for a long period as standard material for ceiling and wall finishing. They are also considered for exterior use because of its feature as a fire resistant material. It’s used in buildings to control sound flow through floors, walls, and ceilings. Innovation in gypsum manufacture has also helped to meet green building requirements as the demand for environmental friendly construction continues to rise. Gypsum is one of the major inventions in the construction technologies. This paper reviews use of gypsum as a building material.
Brief History
In construction of structural walls there has been a remarkable improvement in building technologies. In the ancient Egypt building materials like plaster and stucco were commonly used. In North America, up to 1950s, materials commonly used for interior linings were mainly plaster and lath. However, drywall became popular in the 50 as the best for interior construction. Unlike plaster it offered several advantages like it ease of installation and the fact that unlike plaster it does not crack (Partridge, 2012).
According to Haun, Laurence, & Snyder (2002) there is a possibility that drywall was used for interior construction before Second World War, but it was not very popular. Its popularity in United States as a building material for interior walls can thus be traced back to 1950s. During this period it became the preferred building material for residential houses. Its entry into the market pushed out other materials used for wall construction like plaster and lath. Plaster lost to drywall because it took a longer period covering the wall with it usually 2 to 3 weeks. Beside, after the entire process the house frame were usually left waterlogged. In addition, during the cold winter it took the house a month or more to completely dry. More so, cabinets that were installed after plastering tended to develop sticky drawers. Passage doors on the other hand, were difficult to open, and there was also expansion and buckling of hardwood floors. As a result, the construction industry decided to switch to the drywall technology instead as the preferred building material (Haun, Laurence, & Snyder, 2002).
How it is made/manufactured
Gypsum core is made up of mineral called gypsum extracted from sedimentary rocks. Gypsum is a mineral comprising of calcium sulfate that exists in crystalline form. The molecular formula for the mineral is CaSO4.2H20. This means that a 100 pounds of the gypsum rock consists about 21 pounds of chemically combined water. Manufacturers mine the gypsum rock and transport it to their facility for manufacturing. There the rock is crushed and grounded to the fineness of flour. This flour is them roasted or calcined at a temperature of 350 degree to preferentially discharge some of the water in the form of steam. The roasted gypsum also known as hemihydrates is again mixed with water and placed between two special types of paper to create the gypsum wallboard panel (Spence, 2008). The mixture of calcined gypsum with water is slurry, which is poured in a continuous layer of paper held by a board machine. As the conveyor machine moves the board downwards, calcium sulfate rehydrates or recrystallizes, it combines with water in a chemical process reforming itself into the original rock state. The paper used is both chemically and mechanically enjoined o the core. Once this process is done the board is cut into different lengths and passed through a dryer to remove any moisture that exists (Gypsum Association, n.d). Notably, a smooth white paper is fitted on the good side of the panel to make it easier to absorb paint. The other side comprises of rough, dark colored, porous paper surface. The panels are packed in pairs.
Manufactures can also use synthetic gypsum or flue gas desulphurization to produce the gypsum board. This is made in electricity plants that have a system in place capable of separating sulfur dioxide among the flue gases. This type of a system comprises of scrubbers fitted with calcium carbonate or limestone to chemical combine or absorbs sulfur dioxide before it is discharged to create gypsum or calcium sulfate. The synthetically made gypsum from the electricity plants is transported to the facilities of the gypsum wallboard manufacturers. The process of making the synthetic gypsum is similar to that of mined gypsum with the only difference being that in this case there is no need for crushing.
It is made in different sizes. The standard size of the panel is a 48 inches panel. The most common sizes used in houses construction are 8 and 12 ft. The common thickness for many gypsum wallboard panels is ½ inch. These are the common sizes for the ceiling because they do not sag.
Different types/uses of gypsum board
Gypsum board technologies continue to evolve enabling manufacturers to produces different product varieties used for various purposes. These includes applications as interior walls, bases for ceramic, ceilings, exterior sheathing and soffits, plastic and metal tiles area separation firewalls, shaft enclosures and as fire proof layers for structural elements. Gypsum boards are available in different thickness for various applications. A ¼ inch board is used in exterior walls to improve sound control and in ceilings for curved surfaces and remodeling. A 5/16 inch board is used in sound control and production of manufactured houses. A 3/8 inch gypsum board is used for remodeling and repair as double-layer system. A ½ inch board is uses as a single layer ceiling material for residential construction and as double-layer system in improving fire and sound ratings. A 5/8 inch board is used both as a double and single layer wall system. Its greater thickness improves fire resistance, makes for better resistance, and higher rigidity. Lastly, there is ¾ and 1 inch board used for shaft walls, interior partitions, chaseways, stairwells, corridor ceilings, and separation firewalls (Gypsum Association, n.d).
Besides thicknesses gypsum boards are also categorized into different types. Regular types are popular for ceilings and interior walls finishing. It is capable of controlling sound and fire protection. Regular gypsum wallboard have different thicknesses with ¼ to 3/8 inch boards being used for remodeling works, curved walls, and double layer installations. There is also ½ to 5/8 inch regular board used for ceilings and interior walls. A second type is the fire-resistant gypsum wallboard. It is known as Type-X panel. The paper covering it from edges and back comprises of additives that enables it to prevent fire. It is used to prevent spread of heat to structural embers. Its core comprises of moisture, which evaporates if the panel is heated. This delay the heat passage until all moisture is lost. It also comprises of non combustible fibers that can continue to hold the fire even when all moisture is lost. Installing several layers of this board can delay the time taken for fire to spread. It’s usually used in construction of walls separating a house from a garage or just in usual apartment walls (Spence, 2008).
A third type is moisture-resistant gypsum. The gypsum core is specifically manufactured to act as the base for ceramic tile installation as well as other nonabsorbent finish material in walls. Its core is specifically made to endure impacts of humidity and moisture. There is also a fourth type known as water-resistant gypsum wallboard. Its core is water resistant. Other types includes ceiling wallboard that has a core capable of preventing sagging, flexible gypsum drywall designed for use in curved surfaces, vinyl-surfaced gypsum that comes with different patterns and colors to avoid further finishing work and finally there is high-impact gypsum board used where the wall is likely to be exposed to infrequent penetration or impact (Spence, 2008).
Estimating
It is important to know the amount of materials needed before installing the gypsum wallboard. This will help to minimize time required to run back to the suppliers of materials. It also tells a constructor the time need for a specific job completion. It is also important in order to estimate the total cost of the project. There are certain basic steps that must be followed to estimate the cost. First the constructors should be able to tell the number of wallboard that must be used for the job. This is determined by the panel pattern selected and the size to be placed on each wall. Then estimate the number of nails to be used, which is calculated per panel. Then consider the number of screws to be used. Then determine the size of tape to be used. 100 square feet of gypsum wallboard can use 380 lineal feet of tape. The cost is also affected by the number f corner beads to be used. Each corner uses one bead. Then consider the joint compound. Different manufacturers’ compound can influence amount needed for a specific job. Lastly, the cost of adhesive also influences the cost of the project (Spence, 2008). The labor cost for installation of gypsum board is estimated using square foot.
Chinese drywall
This term is used to indicate environmental health impacts associated with defective drywall that are made in China and shipped to United States. The term gained popularity in 2009. People using these drywalls for their home construction started to report problems like electronic equipment destruction, and health problems like allergies. In contrast, the United States manufactured drywall is reported to meet environmental standards of providing healthy air at homes, hospitals, schools, and in other buildings (National Gypsum, 2011). The Chinese drywall is associated with emission of sulfides that causes the negative health impacts. United States manufactured drywalls have similar compounds like the Chinese drywalls. However, in comparing drywall made in U.S to that of China, laboratory test indicate that the latter has significant proportion of pyrite. It is this pyrite that is attributed with production of sulfur compound due to oxidation. Hydrogen sulfide is attributed to corrosion of copper materials in the homes (Franck & Franck, 2012).
Sustainability
Use of synthetic gypsum is a good way to protect the environment. The impact of gypsum on environment includes disruption of habitat due to mining, emissions during processing and shipment as well as energy use and solid waste generation due to disposal. The use of synthetic gypsum can reduce some of these negative environmental impacts. Because of advancement in technologies manufacturers can now produce more environmental friendly boards. One such product is the EcoRock drywall. It is made from 80 percent of material recycled from industry by products, uses waste materials from cement and steel plant. And can easily be disposed in landfills. It is dried and cured naturally, therefore, uses less energy than in traditional method of processing (Kubba).
References
Franck, H. & Franck, D. (2012). Forensic Engineering Fundamentals. Florida, FL: CRC Press.
Gypsum Association. (n.d). Using Gypsum Board for Walls and Ceiling Section 1. Retrieved on Nov 12, 2013 from: http://www.gypsum.org/using-gypsum-board-for-walls-and-ceilings/using-gypsum-board-for-walls-and-ceilings-section-i/
Haun, L., Laurence, V., Snyder, T. (2002). Habitat for Humanity, how to Build a House. Tauton Press.
Kubba, S. (2009). LEED Practices, Certification, and Accreditation Handbook. Melbourne, Butterworth-Heinemann.
National Gypsum. Natinal Gypsum Announces Dismissal Attempted Class Action Lawsuit. Retrieved on Nov 12, 2013 from: http://www.nationalgypsum.com/NEWS/releases/04.11.11.htm
Partridge, A. 2012. A Brief History of Wall Construction Materials. Retrieved on Nov 12, 2013 from: http://www.richardshomerepair.com/blog/drywall-articles/111-a-brief-history-of-wall-construction-materials
Spence, W. P. (2008). Installing and Finishing Drywall. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising should be Heavily Regulated or Banned Altogether
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Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising should be Heavily Regulated or Banned Altogether? Agree or Disagree?In an attempt to reach a massive potential market, companies have array of options to choose from, but over time advertisement has proven to be an avoidable choice in this pursuit. Since all the companies have the right to buy air time on any media to advertise their product, alcohol and tobacco manufacturing companies have taken this advantage to spread their products (Harrison, Roy, and Waun 59-65). However, there have been debates for decades now, whether these two products need to abolished. Because high health risks are associated with consumption of alcohol and tobacco products, women, adolescences, and expectant mother are the most vulnerable. Besides being naturally dangerous, they are causal factors of various diseases. These include varied cancers, respiratory complications, liver cirrhosis, and heart diseases (Watson, Victor, and Sherma 284-289). In cases of long term use, they result in deaths. Therefore, since lives are precious than economic gains attain from alcohol and tobacco, their advertisements should be block and efforts directed to sweep them out of the community completely.During the advertisement of alcohol and tobacco product, persuasive approaches are implemented where images of health people drinking and smoking while having merry moment are used. According to research by Haustein and David, the mythical imageries applied have a tremendous impact on adolescence (5-8). Annually, there have been programs trying to save fifty percent of adolescences indulged in these harmful substances, but with the frequent adverts on media, the effort and resource channeled for it go to waste. As a result, school dropouts, early pregnancy, high infection rates of sexually transmitted diseases has been registered in adolescences under influence of alcohol and tobacco. Notably, their academic performances also deteriorate alongside their health (Schmitz, and Richard 68). Ultimately, they become societal bothers since they stair head societal problems including crimes, rapes cases, and poverty. Therefore, to curb these menaces and also save the innocent adolescences, alcohol and tobacco advertisement masterminding the whole mess should be abolished.When it comes to diseases, statistics depicts that approximately more than a million people perish from direct and indirect effect of alcohol and tobacco annually in United States alone. Cigarettes alone, contributes seventy percent of the statistics through cancer and respiratory related infections (Bayard 34). Also, nonsmokers who by accident inhale unfiltered chemical content of tobacco smoke are highly vulnerable. Pregnant women using both or either tobacco or alcohol risk themselves and the babies they are exacting. As a result, they are likely to give birth to babies with fatal alcohol disorder (FAD) and or fatal alcohol effects (FAE) (Watson, Victor, and Sherma 305). Further, these children are prone of suffering mental disorientations in the future. On the other hand, deaths emanating from a fire started by carelessly dropped cigarette filters have claimed thousands of lives every year. Considered the two in terms of human health and physical safety and wellbeing, cigarettes and alcohol advertisement should be abolishedEconomically, these two products are among the highly taxed thereby, making them large gross domestic product contributor. The heavy taxes levies have been applied in an endeavor to discourage the users (Bayard 43). But, there are advertisements by the companies to count tackle that, where consumers of these drugs have an opportunity to win prizes out of continues consumptions. This has not only swayed people, but it has also deteriorated users of these substances economically. Both being addictive substances, their users are unable to control their consumption rate and this has impacted financial irresponsibility on parents affected since they overspend on the drags forgetting their family responsibilities (Harrison, Roy, and Waun 78). Therefore, why should alcohol and tobacco advertisement still stand with these kinds of damages they cause?In summation, health hazards impacted by both alcohol and tobacco as a result of misleading adverts is worrying and need urgent responses measures to curb further damages. Lack of informed and autonomous decisions by adolescences makes them gullible to false adverts on alcohol and tobacco. In totality, this drugs need to be completely made illegal starting with completely banning their adverts.
Works Cited
Bayard, Steven P. Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders. Washington, DC: Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992. Print.
Harrison, Louis B, Roy B. Sessions, and Waun K. Hong. Head and Neck Cancer: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. Print.Haustein, K.-O, and David Groneberg. Tobacco or Health?Berlin: Springer, 2010. Print.
Schmitz, Cecilia M, and Richard A. Gray. Smoking: The Health Consequences of Tobacco Use : an Annotated Bibliography with Analytical Introduction. Ann Arbor, Mich: Pierian Press, 1995. Print.
Watson, Ronald R, Victor R. Preedy, and Sherma Zibadi. Alcohol, Nutrition, and Health Consequences. New York: Humana Press, 2013. Print.