Is orgasmic meditation a form of sex?

Orgasmic Meditation(OM) is a structured, partnered meditative practice in which one person, who can be any gender, strokes the clitoris of their partner for 15 minutes. As such, it resembles a sexual activity. OM is taught as a practice that is distinct from sex, and we wondered whether people who engage in OM actually maintain that distinction themselves. We conducted an online convenience sample survey including qualitative open-ended text questions and quantitative Likert-style questions that was distributed to email listservs for practitioners of OM. The 30-item questionnaire included questions designed to differentiate the potentially related concepts of OM, seated meditation, fondling, and sex, as bases for comparison. The quantitative results of this mixed method study show that OM practitioners view the practice as significantly more similar to meditation than to sex or fondling. These results were consistent, regardless of whether the question was asked in the positive or negative and whether OM was being compared to one behavior individually or to multiple behaviors at the same time. The distinction between OM and sex/fondling rapidly becomes more pronounced as practitioners complete more OMs. This suggests that the novelty of genital touching in meditation may diminish over time, as practitioners get used to the more alternative point of focus. The results of this study have implications for the practice and how it is approached and regulated.

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Differences in medication reconciliation interventions between six hospitals: a mixed method study

10.1101/2021.11.26.21266902 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Clementine Stuijt ◽

Bart van den Bemt ◽

Vreneli Boerlage ◽

Marjo Janssen ◽

Katja Taxis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mixed Method ◽

Medication Reconciliation ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Mixed Method Study ◽

Medication Discrepancies ◽

Quantitative Results ◽

Qualitative Part ◽

Medication Optimization ◽

Patient Mix

Background Although medication reconciliation (MedRec) is mandated and effective in decreasing preventable medication errors during transition of care, hospitals implement MedRec differently. Objective Quantitatively compare the number and type of MedRec interventions between hospitals upon admission and discharge, followed by a qualitative analysis on potential reasons for these differences. Methods This explanatory retrospective mixed method study consisted of a quantitative and a qualitative part. Patients from six hospitals and various wards were included if MedRec was performed both on hospital admission and discharge. Information on pharmacy interventions to resolve unintended discrepancies and medication optimizations were collected. Based on these quantitative results, interviews and a focus group was performed to give insight in MedRec processes. Descriptive analysis was used for the quantitative-, content analysis for the qualitative part. Results On admission, patients with at least one discrepancy varied from 36-95% (mean per patient 2.2 (SD +/- 2.4) Upon discharge, these numbers ranged from 5-28% while optimizations reached 2% (admission) to 95% (discharge).The main themes explaining differences in numbers of interventions were patient-mix, healthcare professionals involved, location and moment of the interview plus embedding and extent of medication optimization. Conclusions Hospitals differed greatly in the number of interventions performed during MedRec. A combination of patient-mix, healthcare professionals involved, location and timing of the interview plus embedding and extent of medication optimization resulted in the highest yield of MedRec interventions on unintended medication discrepancies and optimizations. This study supports to give direction to optimize MedRec processes in hospitals.

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Affordance in Socio-Material Networks: A Mixed Method Study of Researchers' Groups and Analog-Digital Objects

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.672155 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Simone Belli

Keyword(s):

Social Interaction ◽

Qualitative Analysis ◽

Mixed Method ◽

Mixed Method Study ◽

Digital Materiality ◽

Different Types ◽

Digital Objects ◽

Research Questions ◽

The Relationship ◽

Over Time

In this paper, we argue that we can better understand the relationship between social interaction and materiality by linking qualitative analysis of analog and digital practices, adopting Basov's model of socio-material networks. Our research questions turn about the interrogation of how social links distress the usage of analog and digital objects by researchers. We consider scientific networks with the relationship between researchers and their tools as a three-level social material network. It sheds light on how different types of researchers position their engagement with analog and digital materiality over time and its affordance and emotional attachment. This study contributes to the understanding of researchers' practices that involve new and old techniques and specific and not-specific tools.

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The Prototype for X Framework: Assessing Impact on Self-Reported Prototyping Behavior of Student Designers

Journal of Mechanical Design ◽

10.1115/1.4041781 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 141 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jessica Menold ◽

Kathryn Jablokow ◽

Timothy Simpson

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Analysis ◽

Engineering Design ◽

Mixed Method ◽

Engineering Students ◽

The Self ◽

Mixed Method Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Technical Quality ◽

Design Activities ◽

Quantitative Results

A significant gap exists between engineering students' perceptions of prototypes and prototyping abilities and professionals' perceptions and abilities. Structured prototyping frameworks have recently been developed and proposed as a means to help students close this gap, but the effects of these frameworks on students' behavior have not been assessed. The purpose of this work is to investigate if and how a structured prototyping framework affects the self-reported prototyping behaviors of engineering students. Understanding how structured prototyping frameworks affect students can provide educators with a deeper understanding of the way their students adopt and understand design methods. A mixed method study is presented. A 15-item survey and two open-ended questions were distributed to 235 students in a junior-level mechanical engineering design class in order to capture self-reported prototyping behavior. Quantitative results indicate that significant differences in engineering students' prototyping behaviors exist across time and between groups. Results from qualitative analysis indicate that students in the control group focused solely on improving technical quality, while students in both experimental groups focused on a wider range of design qualities. This study is the first to demonstrate that a structured prototyping framework can affect engineering students' self-reported prototyping behaviors during design activities.

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The effects of customization on motivation in an extended study with a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game

Cyberpsychology Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace ◽

10.5817/cp2015-3-2 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Selen Turkay ◽

Sonam Adinolf

Keyword(s):

Mixed Method ◽

Self Determination Theory ◽

Self Determination ◽

Mixed Method Study ◽

Online Game ◽

Lord Of The Rings ◽

Massively Multiplayer Online Game ◽

Adult Participants ◽

Over Time ◽

Massively Multiplayer

Customization is a ubiquitous feature of games and can be perceived as a series of choices that may influence players’ experiences. Opportunities for customization may give users decision-making authority over the technology, enabling them to shape and create their own experiences, as well as provide ways to be a part of a group based on their needs and desires. This study aims to shed more light on the effects customization has on players’ motivation, and investigates how customization as a way of user control affects player motivation within an MMO. A mixed method study was designed with two conditions: customization (n = 33) and no customization (n = 33). Adult participants played Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO), a Massively Multiplayer Online game, for about ten hours over four sessions. Data was collected through surveys, interviews and observations. Results showed that players’ desire to replay the game increased over time, and customization affected players’ motivation positively. Findings are discussed through the lens of Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985).

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SOCIO-MATERIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS: A Mixed Method Study of Five European Artistic Collectives. Social Networks

10.31235/osf.io/d5vyj ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Nikita Basov

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Mixed Method ◽

Physical Space ◽

Mixed Method Study ◽

Exponential Random Graph ◽

Different Types ◽

Ethnographic Data ◽

Interpersonal Ties ◽

The Relationship ◽

Over Time

In this paper, I argue that we can better understand the relationship between social structure and materiality by combining qualitative analysis of practices in shared physical space with statistical analysis. Drawing on the two-mode approach, I treat social and material structures together with the relationship between them as a two-level socio-material network. In a mixed method study, formalized ethnographic data on such networks in five European artistic collectives are subjected to multilevel exponential random graph modelling. It sheds light on how different types of interpersonal ties condition the engagement of individuals with similar materiality over time.

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Experiences and decision making during paediatric transitions to continuous sub-cutaneous insulin infusion (CSII): A mixed method study

Digital Health ◽

10.1177/2055207618806083 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 205520761880608

Author(s):

Erika Altmann ◽

Christine Stirling ◽

Liz Broad

Keyword(s):

Mixed Method ◽

Insulin Infusion ◽

Decisional Conflict ◽

Decision Quality ◽

Randomised Control Trial ◽

Mixed Method Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Post Test ◽

Quasi Experimental

Objectives We aimed to improve the decision quality and outcomes for families with children or adolescents with diabetes considering continuous sub-cutaneous insulin infusion (CSII). Methods A mixed method study involved three focus groups with youth, parents and clinicians to provide experience information as background to the development of a decision aid (DA). A pre-test (T1) and post-test (T2) evaluation of the DA with a convenience sample of five families considering initiating CSII. Results The focus group data showed that families found the move to CSII to be generally empowering with adolescents engaging with the technology quickly, and that experiential information from others was important in the process. Participants increased their knowledge and decreased decisional conflict after using the DA from T1 to T2. Preferred option measurement indicated that at T1, three participants were ‘unsure’ and two participants’ preferred option was CSII. After exposure to the DA at T2, those who were previously unsure had a preferred option of CSII with a resulting five people with a preferred option of CSII. Conclusions The results from this study suggest that transitioning to CSII for paediatric and adolescent patients and their carers may be assisted by a DA and that participants felt empowered to a make decision regarding CSII when using the PANDANI DA. The quasi-experimental design without randomisation or control group was a study limitation caused by the small number of participants. Expanding this pilot research into a randomised control trial would decrease the threat to validity from other possible explanations for the improvement in decisional conflict, such as nurse educators.

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The Therapist’s Reaction to a Patient’s Suicide

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000062 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 99-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Friedrich Martin Wurst ◽

Isabella Kunz ◽

Gregory Skipper ◽

Manfred Wolfersdorf ◽

Karl H. Beine ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotional Responses ◽

Well Being ◽

Emotional Reaction ◽

Emotional Reactions ◽

Analog Scale ◽

General Hospitals ◽

Item Questionnaire ◽

Retrospective Nature ◽

The Impact ◽

Over Time

Background: A substantial proportion of therapists experience the loss of a patient to suicide at some point during their professional life. Aims: To assess (1) the impact of a patient’s suicide on therapists distress and well-being over time, (2) which factors contribute to the reaction, and (3) which subgroup might need special interventions in the aftermath of suicide. Methods: A 63-item questionnaire was sent to all 185 Psychiatric Clinics at General Hospitals in Germany. The emotional reaction of therapists to patient’s suicide was measured immediately, after 2 weeks, and after 6 months. Results: Three out of ten therapists suffer from severe distress after a patients’ suicide. The item “overall distress” immediately after the suicide predicts emotional reactions and changes in behavior. The emotional responses immediately after the suicide explained 43.5% of the variance of total distress in a regression analysis. Limitations: The retrospective nature of the study is its primary limitation. Conclusions: Our data suggest that identifying the severely distressed subgroup could be done using a visual analog scale for overall distress. As a consequence, more specific and intensified help could be provided to these professionals.

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