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: Bundle-driven move analysis: Sentence initial lexical bundles in PhD abstracts

authors: Li, Liang

abstract: Rhetorical moves are discoursal units that perform communicative functions in a given genre. They have been manually identified in many previous studies taking a corpus-based approach, and these studies have provided important contributions to discourse structure theories. However, manual analysis has restricted the scale and quantity of texts under investigation and the identification of moves is likely to be influenced by researchers' prior knowledge. In contrast, a corpus-driven approach, by applying automatic computational technology to process a large number of texts, possibly results in a better representation of the moves in a genre and minimises researcher bias in move identification. This study applies one typical corpus-driven approach, a bundle-driven approach, to analyse rhetorical moves of PhD abstracts, a move-intensive genre. The study focused on 5-word sentence initial bundles. Almost all the generated bundles could be identified as move indicators. The majority of the indicated moves aligned with the moves proposed for research article abstracts in previous studies, and one new move, Structure, was identified. This study indicates the potential of a bundle-driven approach in exploring rhetorical moves and in examining the linguistic features of moves by means of lexical bundles. Pedagogical implications for EAP writing are also suggested.

text: Bundle-driven move analysis: Sentence initial lexical bundles in PhD abstracts Rhetorical moves are discoursal units that perform communicative functions in a given genre. They have been manually identified in many previous studies taking a corpus-based approach, and these studies have provided important contributions to discourse structure theories. However, manual analysis has restricted the scale and quantity of texts under investigation and the identification of moves is likely to be influenced by researchers' prior knowledge. In contrast, a corpus-driven approach, by applying automatic computational technology to process a large number of texts, possibly results in a better representation of the moves in a genre and minimises researcher bias in move identification. This study applies one typical corpus-driven approach, a bundle-driven approach, to analyse rhetorical moves of PhD abstracts, a move-intensive genre. The study focused on 5-word sentence initial bundles. Almost all the generated bundles could be identified as move indicators. The majority of the indicated moves aligned with the moves proposed for research article abstracts in previous studies, and one new move, Structure, was identified. This study indicates the potential of a bundle-driven approach in exploring rhetorical moves and in examining the linguistic features of moves by means of lexical bundles. Pedagogical implications for EAP writing are also suggested.

year: 2020

title: Nā Wai Koe? Our tūpuna call us home: Maremare whānau thinking about connections to whenua tupuna

authors: Sampson, Jasmine

subjects: Whenua Tūpuna

abstract: This research focuses on the Maremare whānau from Tiniwaitara Marae, Turakina, in order to explore the importance of our relationship with our whenua tupuna and the related concept of returning home. 

Although many academics have carefully attended to the concept of ‘disconnection’ from whenua tupuna in order to describe the effects of Māori mobility, this term unfortunately reinforces the colonial attempt to detach our people from the things that provide us with our sense of belonging. I argue that thinking about relationship with whenua tupuna through terms like ‘disconnection’ and ‘reconnection’ are unhelpful and problematic; instead, when we understand this relationship in Māori terms, our connection to our whenua tupuna is an everlasting relationship that is woven into the fabric of our whakapapa.

The research combines interviews with three generations of the Maremare whānau, including people with diverse experiences of relationships with Turakina, with critical reflection on relevant concepts from Te Ao Māori. Specifically, mobilising a Kaupapa Māori Theory approach, the thesis draws on an oriori, ‘He Oriori mō Wharaurangi’ as the methodology and foundation of this thesis. In this way, the thesis both argues and demonstrates the value of researchers, and in particular kairangahau Māori, look to mātauranga Māori to guide us in our research about Māori topics. This oriori is iwi specific, it holds kōrero tuku iho that pertains to my whakapapa as an uri of Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa and it is very relevant to both my kaupapa and the people participating in the rangahau.

Ultimately, whakapapa rests at the core of connection to whenua tupuna. It is the foundation in which we stand and it connects us as a people to the land that birthed us. This thesis looks at the different ways that our tūpuna call us home, the different ‘returning home’ experiences within the Maremare whānau and how people within the whānau view their connection with our whenua tupuna in Turakina. Nā wai koe? Our tūpuna call us home.

text: Nā Wai Koe? Our tūpuna call us home: Maremare whānau thinking about connections to whenua tupuna This research focuses on the Maremare whānau from Tiniwaitara Marae, Turakina, in order to explore the importance of our relationship with our whenua tupuna and the related concept of returning home. 

Although many academics have carefully attended to the concept of ‘disconnection’ from whenua tupuna in order to describe the effects of Māori mobility, this term unfortunately reinforces the colonial attempt to detach our people from the things that provide us with our sense of belonging. I argue that thinking about relationship with whenua tupuna through terms like ‘disconnection’ and ‘reconnection’ are unhelpful and problematic; instead, when we understand this relationship in Māori terms, our connection to our whenua tupuna is an everlasting relationship that is woven into the fabric of our whakapapa.

The research combines interviews with three generations of the Maremare whānau, including people with diverse experiences of relationships with Turakina, with critical reflection on relevant concepts from Te Ao Māori. Specifically, mobilising a Kaupapa Māori Theory approach, the thesis draws on an oriori, ‘He Oriori mō Wharaurangi’ as the methodology and foundation of this thesis. In this way, the thesis both argues and demonstrates the value of researchers, and in particular kairangahau Māori, look to mātauranga Māori to guide us in our research about Māori topics. This oriori is iwi specific, it holds kōrero tuku iho that pertains to my whakapapa as an uri of Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa and it is very relevant to both my kaupapa and the people participating in the rangahau.

Ultimately, whakapapa rests at the core of connection to whenua tupuna. It is the foundation in which we stand and it connects us as a people to the land that birthed us. This thesis looks at the different ways that our tūpuna call us home, the different ‘returning home’ experiences within the Maremare whānau and how people within the whānau view their connection with our whenua tupuna in Turakina. Nā wai koe? Our tūpuna call us home.

year: 2021