Current challenges in mindfulness research: Troubles with capturing Sammā Sati

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Choi ◽  
Norman A. S. Farb ◽  
Ekaterina Pogrebtsova ◽  
Jamie Gruman ◽  
Igor Grossmann
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Culturally Sensitive ◽  
Regulatory Process ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Sensitive Analysis ◽  
Working Through ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
Contextual Sensitivity

Classic perspectives on mindfulness emphasize engagement with life’s challenges. In contrast, contemporary mainstream approaches to mindfulness in psychology chiefly focus on stress reduction. We contrast classic and contemporary approaches, outlining conceptual and methodological shortcomings of mindfulness research. Existing mindfulness measures fail to adequately capture engagement or relief aspects of the construct due to assessment primarily through negatively-worded items, discordant definitions, confusion of outcomes with processes, and a lack of contextual sensitivity. Empirical evidence shows that the dimensions of mindfulness are not only negatively correlated with each other, but also with variables they should be similarly linked to. Further, modern measures of mindfulness are positively related to outcomes that are antithetical to mindfulness-as-engagement (e.g., emotional suppression), suggesting that current measures may be biased towards relief rather than engagement outcomes. We outline several ways to overcome conceptual and methodological challenges, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of classic contemplative roots of mindfulness and a rigorous psychometric and culturally-sensitive analysis, in hopes to guide researchers towards capturing mindfulness as a regulatory process that involves actively working through life’s challenges.

scholarly journals Do Emerging Military Technologies Matter for International Politics?

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 385-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Horowitz
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Nonstate Actors ◽  
Military Organizations ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
Intelligence Operations ◽  
The Future

We live in a digital world. This fact has significant consequences for warfare. Two technologies in particular, cyber and drones, feature in military and intelligence operations and in scholarship. In addition, a new vein of scholarship is examining how advances in artificial intelligence have the potential to shape the future of warfare. While scholars disagree about the consequences of these technologies for international politics, they tend to agree that their consequences are mediated by the ability of military organizations, whether state or nonstate actors, to use them effectively in relevant military scenarios and in the pursuit of political ends. Studying newer military technologies, with less empirical evidence than is available for technologies that have been around for decades, also generates methodological challenges for research.

The Coming of the Spirit and the Laying on of Hands

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-132
Author(s):  
Scott Lewis Adams
Keyword(s):  
Culturally Sensitive ◽  
Stage Model ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Sensitive Analysis ◽  
Laying On Of Hands

The traditional Pentecostal understanding of the events of Acts 8.4-25 typically centers upon a two-stage model for the reception of the Spirit. While this article does not seek to preclude the plausibility of such a model, it does, however, seek to take a step further by providing a culturally-sensitive analysis concerning how the coming of the Spirit, the apostolic imposition of hands (Acts 8.17), and the concept of worship in ‘spirit and truth’ (Jn 4.24) serves as a paradigm for ethnic reconciliation.

Revisiting the Study of Family Businesses: Methodological Challenges, Dilemmas, and Alternative Approaches

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Winter ◽  
Margaret A. Fitzgerald ◽  
Ramona K. Z. Heck ◽  
George W. Haynes ◽  
Sharon M. Danes
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Business Research ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
The Family ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Social Units

Family businesses are vital but understudied economic and social units. Previous family business research is limited relative to its definitions, sampling, and resulting empirical evidence. This paper presents an alternative methodological approach to the study of family businesses with the potential for allowing multiperspective and detailed analyses of the nature and internal dynamics of both the family and the business and the interaction between the two.

The location choice of foreign direct investments: Empirical evidence and methodological challenges

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Bernhard Nielsen ◽  
Christian Geisler Asmussen ◽  
Cecilie Dohlmann Weatherall
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Location Choice ◽  
Foreign Direct Investments ◽  
Methodological Challenges

scholarly journals Mind-Body Interventions to Reduce Risk for Health Disparities Related to Stress and Strength Among African American Women: The Potential of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Loving-Kindness, and the NTU Therapeutic Framework

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl L. Woods-Giscombé ◽  
Angela R. Black
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
American Women ◽  
Loving Kindness ◽  
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

In the current article, the authors examine the potential role of mind-body interventions for preventing or reducing health disparities in a specific group—African American women. The authors first discuss how health disparities affect this group, including empirical evidence regarding the influence of biopsychosocial processes (e.g., psychological stress and social context) on disparate health outcomes. They also detail how African American women’s unique stress experiences as a result of distinct sociohistorical and cultural experiences related to race and gender potentially widen exposure to stressors and influence stress responses and coping behaviors. Using two independent, but related, frameworks (Superwoman Schema [SWS] and the Strong Black Woman Script [SBW-S]), they discuss how, for African American women, stress is affected by ‘‘strength’’ (vis-à-vis resilience, fortitude, and self-sufficiency) and the emergent health-compromising behaviors related to strength (e.g., emotional suppression, extraordinary caregiving, and self-care postponement). The authors then describe the potential utility of three mind-body interventions—mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), loving-kindness meditation (LKM), and NTU psychotherapy—for specifically targeting the stress-, strength-, and contextually related factors that are thought to influence disparate outcomes for African American women. Self-awareness, self-care, inter- and intrapersonal restorative healing and a redefinition of inner strength may manifest through developing a mindfulness practice to decrease stress-related responses; using LKM to cultivate compassion and forgiveness for self and others; and the balance of independence and interdependence as a grounding NTU principle for redefining strength. The authors conclude with a discussion of potential benefits for integrating key aspects of the interventions with recommendations for future research.

Theories on the Adoption and Appropriation of Mobile Media

2020 ◽  
pp. 28-41
Author(s):  
Veronika Karnowski
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Individual

This chapter reviews key theories on the adoption and appropriation of mobile media. It highlights the differences between the binary adoption concept and the concept of appropriation, focusing on everyday life integration, by contrasting the benefits and drawbacks of both concepts. In a second step key factors influencing the adoption and appropriation of mobile media both on a societal macro level and the individual micro level are discussed based on recent empirical evidence. Especially mobile media, consisting of clusters of embedded innovations, pose theoretical and methodological challenges to researching adoption and appropriation processes. This chapter introduces current attempts to overcome these issues and outlines possible avenues for future theorizing of the adoption and appropriation of mobile media.

The Demography of Chinese Nationalism: A Field-Experimental Approach

2013 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. 189-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Hoffmann ◽  
Jeremy Larner
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Chinese Nationalism ◽  
Incentive Compatible ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
Chinese Subjects ◽  
Field Setting

AbstractEmpirical evidence concerning the demographics and development of Chinese nationalism is sparse but important for scholarship and policy. Its collection entails methodological challenges in access and reliability. We conducted a field experiment to measure nationalism in incentive-compatible choices among a diverse group of 447 Chinese subjects in a field setting. Our results demonstrate greater nationalism in female, older, less affluent and more rural respondents. We also find support for nationalism in professional and educated individuals. Our results provide qualified support for a middle-class nationalism in China.

scholarly journals Coping through blogging: A review of studies on the potential benefits of weblogs for stress reduction

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Petko ◽  
Nives Egger ◽  
Felix Michael Schmitz ◽  
Alexandra Totter ◽  
Thomas Hermann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Coping With Stress ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Nature ◽  
Potential Benefits

This paper provides a descriptive overview of the empirical evidence for potential effects of reflective weblog writing for coping with stress. Seventeen studies meeting the inclusion criteria are summarized in a systematic synopsis. Sixteen studies focus on self-initiated blogging in informal contexts. Only one study examines mandated weblog writing for coping in an institutionalized context. Results indicate that the public nature of weblogs opens up a variety of possibilities for both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping, most importantly through social support. Although these studies show promising results, it remains unclear if and how the benefits of self-initiated blogging can be transferred to more formal settings. Thus, future research should examine how blogging can be mandated and scaffolded in order to foster coping strategies and decrease stress levels. For this purpose, experimentally controlled and longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document