scholarly journals Mindfulness in Politics and Public Policy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Bristow
Keyword(s):  
Public Life ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Policy Narratives ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Heart And Mind ◽  
Elected Representatives

A key factor in the popularity of mindfulness training in public life is the conviction of grassroots advocates seeking to pass on the benefits they have experienced through personal practice. In this manner, mindfulness training has found its way into the realm of government, with parliamentary programmes seeding ambition among politicians to research and employ its transformative potential at both interpersonal and policy levels. In a high-stakes, adversarial setting, mindfulness practice helps elected representatives to cope with specific challenges, and an inquiry by the UK Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group has contributed to the emergence of mindfulness training in numerous policy narratives. By developing a new kind of familiarity with their own inner lives, a growing number of politicians are finding a new way to approach political discourse, and a corresponding enthusiasm for policy that tackles society’s problems at the level of the human heart and mind. Some are starting to ask whether mindfulness might be more than a targeted intervention for specific issues, and may in fact contribute to the flourishing of society more broadly - marking an important development from concern with individual benefits to benefits for the whole.

Distinguishing The Cognitive Processes Of Mindfulness: Developing A Standardised Mindfulness Technique For Use In Longitudinal Randomised Control Trials

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Isbel ◽  
Mathew J Summers
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Explanatory Framework ◽  
Cognitive Faculty ◽  
Metacognitive Processes ◽  
Capacity Model ◽  
Developmental Progression ◽  
Open Monitoring ◽  
Randomised Control Trials

A capacity model of mindfulness is adopted to differentiate the cognitive faculty of mindfulness from the metacognitive processes required to cultivate this faculty in mindfulness training. The model provides an explanatory framework incorporating both the developmental progression from focussed attention to open monitoring styles of mindfulness practice, along with the development of equanimity and insight. A standardised technique for activating these processes without the addition of secondary components is then introduced. Mindfulness-based interventions currently available for use in randomised control trials introduce components ancillary to the cognitive processes of mindfulness, limiting their ability to draw clear causative inferences. The standardised technique presented here does not introduce such ancillary factors, rendering it a valuable tool with which to investigate the processes activated in this practice.

scholarly journals Medical Students’ Experience of Mindfulness Training in the UK: Well-Being, Coping Reserve, and Professional Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Malpass ◽  
Kate Binnie ◽  
Lauren Robson
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
General Medical Council ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
The Body ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Medical Council ◽  
The Uk

Medical school can be a stressful experience for students, resulting in stress-related mental health problems. Policy recommendations from the General Medical Council (GMC), the body responsible for improving medical education in the UK, recommend the use of mindfulness training to increase well-being and resilience to stress. Students participating in an eight-week mindfulness training between Autumn 2011 and Spring 2015 were invited to complete a free text survey at the end of their mindfulness course. In addition, six qualitative interviews were conducted lasting between 60 and 90 minutes. Interviews used a topic guide and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. We used the framework approach to analyse the data. Students reported a new relationship to their thoughts and feelings which gave a greater sense of control and resiliency, an ability to manage their workload better, and more acceptance of their limitations as learners. The small group context was important. Students described improved empathy and communication skills through building inner awareness of thoughts and feelings, noticing judgments, and developing attentive observation. The findings show how resiliency and coping reserve can be developed within medical education and the role of mindfulness in this process. We present a conceptual model of a learnt cycle of specific vulnerability and describe how MBCT intercepts at various junctures in this self-reinforcing cycle through the development of new coping strategies that embrace an “allowed vulnerability.”

The UK Gypsy, Traveller and Roma third sector: a Gypsy industry or route to empowerment?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Ryder
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Asset Based Community Development ◽  
The Uk

The chapter analyses the historical and contemporary condition of the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma (GTR) civil society movement, its strengths, achievements, threats and pitfalls and the motivation, dynamism and tensions within its varied manifestations. It explores the struggles against assimilatory and discriminatory policy, the interplay between community bonds and diverse aspects of identity and analyses the transformative potential of inclusive, grassroots and asset based community development, which draws upon the strengths of identity and culture but fuses these with perceptions and strategies which are emancipatory and inclusive.

Healthy Mind Healthy You: An Online Study Comparing Standard Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy with a Brief Mindfulness Program to Improve Well-Being (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louisa G Sylvia ◽  
Mitchell R Lunn ◽  
Juno Obedin-Maliver ◽  
Robert N McBurney ◽  
W Benjamin Nowell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
World Health ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Intervention Period ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Health Organization

BACKGROUND Mindfulness can improve overall well-being by training individuals to focus on the present moment without judging their thoughts. However, it is unknown how much mindfulness practice and training are necessary to improve well-being. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to compare standard with brief mindfulness training to improve overall well-being. METHODS Participants were recruited from 17 Patient-Powered Research Networks, online communities of stakeholders interested in a common area of research. Participants were randomized to either a standard 8-session mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) or a brief 3-session mindfulness training intervention accessed online. Participants were followed for 12 weeks. The primary outcome of the study was well-being as measured by the World Health Organization (WHO)-5 Index. We hypothesized that MBCT would be superior to brief mindfulness training. RESULTS We randomized 4,411 participants, 88% of whom were white and 80% female sex assigned at birth. Baseline WHO-5 score mean was 50.3 (SD = 20.7). Average self-reported well-being in each group increased over the intervention period (baseline to 8 weeks) (model-based slope [95% CI] for MBCT group: 0.78 [0.63, 0.93]; brief mindfulness group: 0.76 [0.60, 0.91]) as well as the full study period (i.e., intervention plus follow-up; baseline to 20 weeks) (model-based slope [95% CI] for MBCT group: 0.41 [0.34, 0.48]; brief mindfulness group: 0.33 [0.26, 0.40]). Change in self-reported well-being was not statistically significantly different between MBCT and brief mindfulness during the intervention period (model-based difference in slopes [95% CI]: -0.02 [-0.24, 0.19], P = .80) or during the intervention period plus 12-week follow-up (-0.08 [-0.18, 0.02], P = .10). During the intervention period, younger participants (P = .05) and participants who completed a higher percentage of intervention sessions (P = .005) experienced greater improvements in well-being across both interventions, effects that were stronger for participants in the MBCT condition. CONCLUSIONS Standard MBCT improved well-being but was not superior to a brief mindfulness intervention. Younger patients and those able to complete more training sessions improved the most. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03844321, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03844321

Key Factor Analysis to Assess Cormorant Depredation on Inland Fisheries in the UK

2007 ◽  
pp. 14-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Britton ◽  
J. P. Harvey ◽  
I. G. Cowx ◽  
T. Holden ◽  
M. J. Feltham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Inland Fisheries ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Key Factor Analysis ◽  
The Uk

UK E-Voting

2010 ◽  
pp. 183-198
Author(s):  
Mark Liptrott
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Policy Process ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Voluntary Adoption ◽  
Elected Representatives

This chapter evaluates the UK government strategy to promote electronic voting through the public policy process as an integral part of the e-government agenda to enhance participatory democracy. It argues that the formulation of the present policy is flawed as it lacks a diffusion strategy to enhance the likelihood of policy adoption. The electoral modernisation policy arose from concerns regarding the falling voter turnout at elections and is being introduced via local authorities through a series of voluntary pilot schemes. If issues influencing local authority pilot participation are not resolved e-voting may be permanently rejected by local elected representatives and so will not be available to citizens. This author identifies variables influencing pilot participation and suggests a revised public policy model incorporating selected diffusion concepts at the formulation stage of the linear policy process. The model is used to propose recommendations to enhance the likelihood of voluntary adoption of a policy introduced by central government for voluntary implementation by local government.

Attention to Education in the Post-Industrial Society

2019 ◽  
pp. 135-152
Author(s):  
Christoffer Green-Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Party System ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Industrial Society ◽  
Incentive Model ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Post Industrial ◽  
Policy Problems

This chapter provides an analysis of party system attention to education based on the issue incentive model. The analysis shows that large, mainstream parties’ incentives are the key factor in explaining the dynamics of party system attention to education. However, compared to the three issues analysed before, problem characteristics rather than coalition considerations and issue ownership shape the incentives of large, mainstream parties. The fact that education is an obtrusive valence issue relevant to more or less the whole population implies that it is an issue that large, mainstream parties cannot ignore if public debates about policy problems emerge. The increased focus on education and human capital in the knowledge society has thus led to an increased focus on education. This focus has clearly been most pronounced in countries where it has materialized in a debate about the quality of primary schools. In Denmark, and later on also in Sweden, this debate came as a reaction to what was seen as disappointing PISA scores. In the UK, the PISA scores played a limited role in the debate about primary schools.

scholarly journals ‘I feel I'm Giving Something Back to Society’: Constructing the ‘Active Citizen’ and Responsibilising Foodbank Use

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayleigh Garthwaite
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Active Citizenship ◽  
North East ◽  
Lifestyle Choices ◽  
Policy Narratives ◽  
Ethnographic Observation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Active Citizen

Foodbanks and other forms of charitable welfare provision are fast becoming an established feature of the UK social security system. Drawing on over two years of ethnographic observation in a Trussell Trust foodbank in North East England, this paper explores the relationship between the construction of the ‘active citizen’ and lived experiences of foodbank users and volunteers. Findings show how participants’ experiences and behaviour challenges popular political and policy narratives that individuals are using foodbanks because of poor lifestyle choices. The internalisation or rejection of this narrative is then examined, contrasting the different forms of citizenship that arise. Through the significant work that goes into living on a low income, people both aligned with and challenged the ideas underpinning ‘active citizenship’.

Impact of Mindfulness on Cognition and Affect in Voice Hearing: Evidence from Two Case Studies

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Newman Taylor ◽  
Sean Harper ◽  
Paul Chadwick
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Baseline Phase ◽  
Mindfulness Intervention ◽  
Affect And Cognition ◽  
Cognition And Affect

Background: There is a small body of research indicating that mindfulness training can be beneficial for people with distressing psychosis. What is not yet clear is whether mindfulness effects change in affect and cognition associated with voices specifically. This study examined the hypothesis that mindfulness training alone would lead to change in distress and cognition (belief conviction) in people with distressing voices. Method: Two case studies are presented. Participants experienced long-standing distressing voices. Belief conviction and distress were measured twice weekly through baseline and mindfulness intervention. Mindfulness in relation to voices was measured at the start of baseline and end of intervention. Results: Following a relatively stable baseline phase, after 2–3 weeks of mindfulness practice, belief conviction and distress fell for both participants. Both participants' mindfulness scores were higher post treatment. Conclusion: Findings show that mindfulness training has an impact on cognition and affect specifically associated with voices, and thereby beneficially alters relationship with voices.

The Financial Crisis, Bank Lending and UK Productivity: Sectoral and Firm-Level Evidence

2014 ◽  
Vol 228 ◽  
pp. R17-R34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Riley ◽  
Chiara Rosazza-Bondibene ◽  
Garry Young
Keyword(s):  
Productivity Growth ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Bank Lending ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Holding Back ◽  
Reallocation Of Resources

This paper assesses the evidence and investigates some of the mechanisms by which the most recent banking sector crisis might have affected the supply side of the UK economy. We find clear evidence that the banking sector crisis affected credit supply to businesses and caused bank lending to decline. But we do not find much evidence of the heterogeneity in performance between different industrial sectors that would have been expected if banking sector impairment had been the key factor holding back productivity growth. Consistent with this we do not find strong evidence that a lack of reallocation of resources across businesses has been a substantial drag on productivity growth.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document