title: Do mindfulness and exercise reduce occupational stress and burnout? A meta-analysis

authors: Shuker, Anna Jane

subjects: Mindfulness

abstract: The effects of job stress and burnout pose a large threat to employee health and organisational success in modern society. Company spending is highly affected by increased employee turnover, absenteeism, stress-related sick leave, and other issues that arise from exposure to workplace stress. For these reasons, organisations often implement stress management initiatives such as mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to help manage stress and prevent burnout. Mindfulness-based interventions have already provided researchers with significant results in workplace stress reduction, therefore, the purpose of this present study was to examine this relationship whilst investigating exercise as a potential moderating variable. This was achieved by conducting a meta-analysis of 17 controlled and uncontrolled studies and calculating a combined effect size using meta-analysis software. The combined effect size (Hedge’s g) for all controlled mindfulness-based intervention studies was 1.366 (95% confidence interval = 0.678, 2.055), a very large, significant effect. The combined effect size for controlled studies whilst accounting for exercise as a moderator was 0.992 (95% confidence interval = 0.386, 1.597), which also indicates a very large effect. Due to a lack of studies in the extant literature which incorporated moderate to high intensity exercise, it was not possible to examine the impact of different intensities of exercise on workplace mindfulness-based interventions. In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of mindfulness, future research needs to incorporate exercise of moderate to high intensities, as well as examine the potential mediators of the main relationship between mindfulness, job stress, and burnout. This meta-analysis should encourage organisations to use mindfulness-based interventions to improve employee well-being.

text: Do mindfulness and exercise reduce occupational stress and burnout? A meta-analysis The effects of job stress and burnout pose a large threat to employee health and organisational success in modern society. Company spending is highly affected by increased employee turnover, absenteeism, stress-related sick leave, and other issues that arise from exposure to workplace stress. For these reasons, organisations often implement stress management initiatives such as mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to help manage stress and prevent burnout. Mindfulness-based interventions have already provided researchers with significant results in workplace stress reduction, therefore, the purpose of this present study was to examine this relationship whilst investigating exercise as a potential moderating variable. This was achieved by conducting a meta-analysis of 17 controlled and uncontrolled studies and calculating a combined effect size using meta-analysis software. The combined effect size (Hedge’s g) for all controlled mindfulness-based intervention studies was 1.366 (95% confidence interval = 0.678, 2.055), a very large, significant effect. The combined effect size for controlled studies whilst accounting for exercise as a moderator was 0.992 (95% confidence interval = 0.386, 1.597), which also indicates a very large effect. Due to a lack of studies in the extant literature which incorporated moderate to high intensity exercise, it was not possible to examine the impact of different intensities of exercise on workplace mindfulness-based interventions. In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of mindfulness, future research needs to incorporate exercise of moderate to high intensities, as well as examine the potential mediators of the main relationship between mindfulness, job stress, and burnout. This meta-analysis should encourage organisations to use mindfulness-based interventions to improve employee well-being.

year: 2018

title: Economic Issues in the Fisheries Sector of Tonga

authors: Rohorua, Halahingano Tu'akolo Siufanga

subjects: Fisheries

abstract: There are certain characteristics of island economies that are considered hindrances to their development. For example, island economies often lack the economies of scale necessary for enhanced economic development and are too remotely located from the worlds major international financial and trading centres to fully exploit the marketing and trading opportunities that are available. However, for island economies in the South Pacific, the sea also offers great opportunities for sustained economic development. The relative abundance and accessibility of fisheries resources means that if these resources are properly managed and exploited, island economies have much potential for social and economic development. At the same time, the sea provides a significant means of basic livelihood for many rural communities in these Island countries. A major and enduring challenge is therefore to ensure that island economies in the South Pacific utilise their sea resources for social and economic development without jeopardising their communities basic livelihoods.

text: Economic Issues in the Fisheries Sector of Tonga There are certain characteristics of island economies that are considered hindrances to their development. For example, island economies often lack the economies of scale necessary for enhanced economic development and are too remotely located from the worlds major international financial and trading centres to fully exploit the marketing and trading opportunities that are available. However, for island economies in the South Pacific, the sea also offers great opportunities for sustained economic development. The relative abundance and accessibility of fisheries resources means that if these resources are properly managed and exploited, island economies have much potential for social and economic development. At the same time, the sea provides a significant means of basic livelihood for many rural communities in these Island countries. A major and enduring challenge is therefore to ensure that island economies in the South Pacific utilise their sea resources for social and economic development without jeopardising their communities basic livelihoods.

year: 2009

title: Insecure, unpredictable, hoping to survive: Four cases of Māori people living precariously in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Uerata, Lynley Moana

subjects: Māori

abstract: A conceptualisation of precarity is introduced and adopted. A critique of contemporary conceptualisations of precarity is presented, drawing especially on Stuart Hall’s interpretation of articulation and Marx’s concept of relative surplus population. Much of the literature on precarity focusses on the neoliberal mode of contemporary capitalism originating in the late 1970s. However, there is limited literature which explores precarity as a way of life. A precarious way of life is characterised by interacting forms of precarity which embed insecurity, instability, and unpredictability in the everyday lives of real people. An account of the Māori experience of precarity since the pre-colonial era to the present-day is presented. Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand who were colonised by the British Empire in the 1800s. 
The main research questions addressed in my thesis are: What forms of precarity are present in the everyday context? How do forms of precarity relate to each other? How do forms of precarity relate to being Māori? What kinds of support do those living with precarity gain from social structures, institutions, and social actors? What is the role of culture in the way Māori experience and mediate precarity? An analysis of semi-structured in-depth engagements with Māori people living precariously in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand in 2016, based on four case studies, shows the character and significance of forms, sources, and effects of precarity in everyday life. As historical processes continue to overdetermine experiences of social structures and institutions in the present, in a contemporary capitalist context precarity arises from a wide range of interacting sources, forms, and effects of precarity. Among the different kinds of actors and organisations which comprise the support systems constructed to mediate precarity in the everyday context, cultural practices and resources can play a significant role for people who are culturally connected. When people are integrated into their local and cultural communities, they can cope better with a precarious way of life.

text: Insecure, unpredictable, hoping to survive: Four cases of Māori people living precariously in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand A conceptualisation of precarity is introduced and adopted. A critique of contemporary conceptualisations of precarity is presented, drawing especially on Stuart Hall’s interpretation of articulation and Marx’s concept of relative surplus population. Much of the literature on precarity focusses on the neoliberal mode of contemporary capitalism originating in the late 1970s. However, there is limited literature which explores precarity as a way of life. A precarious way of life is characterised by interacting forms of precarity which embed insecurity, instability, and unpredictability in the everyday lives of real people. An account of the Māori experience of precarity since the pre-colonial era to the present-day is presented. Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand who were colonised by the British Empire in the 1800s. 
The main research questions addressed in my thesis are: What forms of precarity are present in the everyday context? How do forms of precarity relate to each other? How do forms of precarity relate to being Māori? What kinds of support do those living with precarity gain from social structures, institutions, and social actors? What is the role of culture in the way Māori experience and mediate precarity? An analysis of semi-structured in-depth engagements with Māori people living precariously in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand in 2016, based on four case studies, shows the character and significance of forms, sources, and effects of precarity in everyday life. As historical processes continue to overdetermine experiences of social structures and institutions in the present, in a contemporary capitalist context precarity arises from a wide range of interacting sources, forms, and effects of precarity. Among the different kinds of actors and organisations which comprise the support systems constructed to mediate precarity in the everyday context, cultural practices and resources can play a significant role for people who are culturally connected. When people are integrated into their local and cultural communities, they can cope better with a precarious way of life.

year: 2021