title: The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions on employee well-being: A meta-analytic study

authors: Thierstein, Simone

subjects: Mindfulness

abstract: Organisations have started to acknowledge that employee stress and well-being have a central role in organisational performance and can also impact individuals’ overall health. Poor employee well-being and stress have been linked to psychological, physiological, and behavioural issues such as loss of productivity, work accidents (Fries, 2009), cardiovascular disease, hypertension (Tennant, 2001), and increased staff turnover (Murphy, & Sauter, 2003). Furthermore, distress can decrease life satisfaction and have a major influence on our daily lives (Berger, 1994). Employee well-being programmes became popular in the 1970s, such as the programme developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn which is known as the ‘mindfulness-based stress reduction’ intervention. In this meta-analytic study, the effect of MBSR interventions categorised in three groups (tMBSR, mMBSR, and cMBSR) on employee stress and well-being is examined.
Statistical data of stress levels was taken from the following measures: GHQ, DASS, MBI, and PSS. Statistical data of well-being levels was taken from measures such as the SPWB, the SWLS, the SF-36 and the SF-12v2, and the PSQI.
The meta-analysis on MBSR and its effect on stress reduction resulted in a medium summary effect size (g= -0.489). A smaller summary effect size (g= -0.242) was found when carrying out a meta-analysis only comprising of studies which included a control group. The meta-analysis on the effect of MBSR on enhancing well-being outcomes resulted in a moderate effect size (g= 0.512).
The findings in this study are in line with previous research outcomes supporting the claim that MBSR assists in stress reduction and increases well-being in employees. There are various limitations to this study such as few controlled studies and a majority of samples working in the health care sector. Future research could focus on cMBSR interventions in the workplace and explore why they may have a larger effect size than traditional MBSR.

text: The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions on employee well-being: A meta-analytic study Organisations have started to acknowledge that employee stress and well-being have a central role in organisational performance and can also impact individuals’ overall health. Poor employee well-being and stress have been linked to psychological, physiological, and behavioural issues such as loss of productivity, work accidents (Fries, 2009), cardiovascular disease, hypertension (Tennant, 2001), and increased staff turnover (Murphy, & Sauter, 2003). Furthermore, distress can decrease life satisfaction and have a major influence on our daily lives (Berger, 1994). Employee well-being programmes became popular in the 1970s, such as the programme developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn which is known as the ‘mindfulness-based stress reduction’ intervention. In this meta-analytic study, the effect of MBSR interventions categorised in three groups (tMBSR, mMBSR, and cMBSR) on employee stress and well-being is examined.
Statistical data of stress levels was taken from the following measures: GHQ, DASS, MBI, and PSS. Statistical data of well-being levels was taken from measures such as the SPWB, the SWLS, the SF-36 and the SF-12v2, and the PSQI.
The meta-analysis on MBSR and its effect on stress reduction resulted in a medium summary effect size (g= -0.489). A smaller summary effect size (g= -0.242) was found when carrying out a meta-analysis only comprising of studies which included a control group. The meta-analysis on the effect of MBSR on enhancing well-being outcomes resulted in a moderate effect size (g= 0.512).
The findings in this study are in line with previous research outcomes supporting the claim that MBSR assists in stress reduction and increases well-being in employees. There are various limitations to this study such as few controlled studies and a majority of samples working in the health care sector. Future research could focus on cMBSR interventions in the workplace and explore why they may have a larger effect size than traditional MBSR.

year: 2019

title: Weber's law and the scalar property of timing: A test of canine timing

authors: Cliff, Jessica Helen

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Domestic dogs completed a temporal bisection procedure that required a response to one lever following a light stimulus of short duration and to another lever following a light stimulus of a longer duration. The short and long durations across the four conditions were (0.5–2.0 s, 1.0–4.0 s, 2.0–8.0 s, and 4.0–16.0 s). Durations that were intermediate, the training durations, and the training durations, were presented during generalization tests. The dogs bisected the intervals near the geometric mean of the short and long-stimulus pair. Weber fractions were not constant when plotted as a function of time: A U-shaped function described them. These results replicate the findings of previous research reporting points of subjective equality falling close to the geometric mean and also confirm recent reports of systematic departures from Weber’s law.

text: Weber's law and the scalar property of timing: A test of canine timing Domestic dogs completed a temporal bisection procedure that required a response to one lever following a light stimulus of short duration and to another lever following a light stimulus of a longer duration. The short and long durations across the four conditions were (0.5–2.0 s, 1.0–4.0 s, 2.0–8.0 s, and 4.0–16.0 s). Durations that were intermediate, the training durations, and the training durations, were presented during generalization tests. The dogs bisected the intervals near the geometric mean of the short and long-stimulus pair. Weber fractions were not constant when plotted as a function of time: A U-shaped function described them. These results replicate the findings of previous research reporting points of subjective equality falling close to the geometric mean and also confirm recent reports of systematic departures from Weber’s law.

year: 2019

title: Ko wai tēnei e tū ake nei? Activating collectivity and accountability through grounded positioning

authors: Rata, Arama

abstract: Building on conference conversations about positionality—about who we are and how our identities shape our views of the world, about the connections and disconnections experienced between us, and about our proximities to place, power, and privilege—this piece brings together four conference participants to continue to reflect on what positionality means, on why it is important, and on how to practice it in non-performative, well-developed, and mutually nourishing ways. Their dialogue reflects active and critical positioning in process and practice, creating opportunities for acknowledging our relationships and activating both collectivity and accountability in the various spaces where we live, work, create, and hope.

text: Ko wai tēnei e tū ake nei? Activating collectivity and accountability through grounded positioning Building on conference conversations about positionality—about who we are and how our identities shape our views of the world, about the connections and disconnections experienced between us, and about our proximities to place, power, and privilege—this piece brings together four conference participants to continue to reflect on what positionality means, on why it is important, and on how to practice it in non-performative, well-developed, and mutually nourishing ways. Their dialogue reflects active and critical positioning in process and practice, creating opportunities for acknowledging our relationships and activating both collectivity and accountability in the various spaces where we live, work, create, and hope.

year: 2021-12