scholarly journals On the Neurobiology of Meditation: Comparison of Three Organizing Strategies to Investigate Brain Patterns during Meditation Practice

Medicina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 712
Author(s):  
Frederick Travis

Three broad organizing strategies have been used to study meditation practices: (1) consider meditation practices as using similar processes and so combine neural images across a wide range of practices to identify the common underlying brain patterns of meditation practice, (2) consider meditation practices as unique and so investigate individual practices, or (3) consider meditation practices as fitting into larger categories and explore brain patterns within and between categories. The first organizing strategy combines meditation practices defined as deep concentration, attention to external and internal stimuli, and letting go of thoughts. Brain patterns of different procedures would all contribute to the final averages, which may not be representative of any practice. The second organizing strategy generates a multitude of brain patterns as each practice is studied individually. The rich detail of individual differences within each practice makes it difficult to identify reliable patterns between practices. The third organizing principle has been applied in three ways: (1) grouping meditations by their origin—Indian or Buddhist practices, (2) grouping meditations by the procedures of each practice, or (3) grouping meditations by brain wave frequencies reported during each practice. Grouping meditations by their origin mixes practices whose procedures include concentration, mindfulness, or effortless awareness, again resulting in a confounded pattern. Grouping meditations by their described procedures yields defining neural imaging patterns within each category, and clear differences between categories. Grouping meditations by the EEG frequencies associated with their procedures yields an objective system to group meditations and allows practices to “move” into different categories as subjects’ meditation experiences change over time, which would be associated with different brain patterns. Exploring meditations within theoretically meaningful categories appears to yield the most reliable picture of meditation practices.

1989 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald H. Frischmann

Mexico's popular theatre is a multi-faceted ancient art whose roots extend deep into pre-Hispanic cultures, as well as into the popular dramatic tradition of Spain. Today, nearly five centuries after the arrival of the Spaniards, popular theatre continues to be a phenomenon both of urban and rural Mexico, reflecting the rich gamut of cultural and historical characteristics found throughout this vast geographic and ethnic patchwork. While a wide range of distinctive qualities exist across the broad spectrum of popular theatre, formal differences give way – through careful observation and analysis – to the perception of an underlying unity of purpose which supports all popular theatre: addressing the spiritual and material needs of the common people.


2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.E. Russo ◽  
M. Bonello ◽  
B. Bauco ◽  
M. Bosco ◽  
M. Tedaldi ◽  
...  

We studied 15 patients suffering from nephrotic syndrome (NS) in bioptically-accertained primary and secondary glomerulopathies responding poorly to the common pharmacological treatment. They were monitored for one year by assessing their immunological and kidney functionality parameters, especially proteinuria. The patients underwent 3 apheretic sittings using the cascade double-filtration technique. After the third apheretic sitting the patients received metilprednisolone 300 mg/m2. This therapy was repeated every month for 6 months. At the end of the apheretic cycle it was shown that all patients had responded well to the therapy with a dramatic decrease in proteinuria, maintenance and/or recuperation of kidney functionality and improvement of lipidic asset; these data remained unchanged over time. Considering our preliminary results, we believe that therapeutic apheresis has a precise function in refractory nephrotic syndrome and, in particular, we propose the use of the cascade double-filtration technique. (Int J Artif Organs 2000; 23: 111–3)


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Genevieve Walshe

<p>In 2016 I visited Sargfabrik cohousing in Vienna and was intrigued and captivated by the rich, diverse and friendly atmosphere within the semi-public spatial and architectural realm, which I thought would never happen in New Zealand. Sargfabrik led me to realise that the common realm of New Zealand urban housing architecture is impoverished. It can, and should, be better.  In the 1950s and 1960s, the Kiwi dream was focused on the acquisition of a standalone dwelling; New Zealand prided itself on being an egalitarian, property owning-democracy, supported by innovative housing policies. Today the ‘Kiwi dream is changing as home ownership is no longer a rite of passage for all New Zealanders. Despite rising income inequality and decreasing housing affordability, the contemporary Kiwi dream remains focused on ownership, due to the stability and security associated with this tenure type. If New Zealand is to address the housing equality issue it should investigate the potential of international models of tenure and ownership, such as co-operatives or the Baugruppe (building group) and Baugemeinschaft (building community) models, to allow increased accessibility to stable home occupation and ownership for all New Zealanders through diversity and flexibility of tenure type over time.  Today the contemporary Kiwi dream acknowledges the advantages and benefits of higher density housing models, such as increased security, lack of maintenance, centralised management, ability to ‘lock and leave’ allowing travel, and proximity to town centres. A New Zealand collective urban housing model can represent the contemporary Kiwi dream through a balance between collective and individual needs. Solutions to the New Zealand housing crisis must follow a movement towards flexibility, to accommodate demographic change over time and the DIY spirit of New Zealanders, add community connectedness, challenge loneliness and embrace the sharing economy.  This design-led research proposes that the common spatial and architectural realm can facilitate potential formation of community in New Zealand urban housing architecture. It argues that the Sargfabrik cohousing model can be translated and adapted for a New Zealand urban context. The differences in housing context between Vienna and New Zealand, and the architectural implications of these differences for New Zealand urban housing architecture, are extracted from the research. It argues that a new collective urban housing model can achieve the design diversity and flexibility of New Zealand’s preferred suburban housing and the rich atmosphere of Sargfabrik’s common realm. This occurs through questioning and defining the contemporary Kiwi dream. The ways international flexible tenure and ownership models could work in a New Zealand context are also considered.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Genevieve Walshe

<p>In 2016 I visited Sargfabrik cohousing in Vienna and was intrigued and captivated by the rich, diverse and friendly atmosphere within the semi-public spatial and architectural realm, which I thought would never happen in New Zealand. Sargfabrik led me to realise that the common realm of New Zealand urban housing architecture is impoverished. It can, and should, be better.  In the 1950s and 1960s, the Kiwi dream was focused on the acquisition of a standalone dwelling; New Zealand prided itself on being an egalitarian, property owning-democracy, supported by innovative housing policies. Today the ‘Kiwi dream is changing as home ownership is no longer a rite of passage for all New Zealanders. Despite rising income inequality and decreasing housing affordability, the contemporary Kiwi dream remains focused on ownership, due to the stability and security associated with this tenure type. If New Zealand is to address the housing equality issue it should investigate the potential of international models of tenure and ownership, such as co-operatives or the Baugruppe (building group) and Baugemeinschaft (building community) models, to allow increased accessibility to stable home occupation and ownership for all New Zealanders through diversity and flexibility of tenure type over time.  Today the contemporary Kiwi dream acknowledges the advantages and benefits of higher density housing models, such as increased security, lack of maintenance, centralised management, ability to ‘lock and leave’ allowing travel, and proximity to town centres. A New Zealand collective urban housing model can represent the contemporary Kiwi dream through a balance between collective and individual needs. Solutions to the New Zealand housing crisis must follow a movement towards flexibility, to accommodate demographic change over time and the DIY spirit of New Zealanders, add community connectedness, challenge loneliness and embrace the sharing economy.  This design-led research proposes that the common spatial and architectural realm can facilitate potential formation of community in New Zealand urban housing architecture. It argues that the Sargfabrik cohousing model can be translated and adapted for a New Zealand urban context. The differences in housing context between Vienna and New Zealand, and the architectural implications of these differences for New Zealand urban housing architecture, are extracted from the research. It argues that a new collective urban housing model can achieve the design diversity and flexibility of New Zealand’s preferred suburban housing and the rich atmosphere of Sargfabrik’s common realm. This occurs through questioning and defining the contemporary Kiwi dream. The ways international flexible tenure and ownership models could work in a New Zealand context are also considered.</p>


Author(s):  
Himanshu Prabha Ray

Archaeologically, the presence of fishing groups is attested in the coastal areas of the western Indian Ocean as early as the seventh millennium bce. A history of these groups shows that they diversified into sailing, trading, pearling, and other occupations over time. By the third and second millennium bce, there is evidence for the use of certain varieties of fish for ornamentation and religious offerings, especially in the Harappan culture of the Indus valley. By the early centuries of the Common Era, a complex relationship developed between several occupational groups involved in fishing and sailing, such as shipbuilders, sailors, merchants, fishermen, and religious personnel, and this is evident from the connections that these coastal groups forged with those located inland as well as those based across the seas. Sailing across the seas involved sharing of knowledge not only of wind systems and navigation but also of boatbuilding and means of identifying different regions of the coast. In this, coastal shrines played a dual role. They functioned as markers to orient sailing vessels, but more importantly were centers of worship that brought together both inland and coastal communities.


Author(s):  
Phil McCash ◽  
Tristram Hooley ◽  
Peter J. Robertson

This chapter introduces readers to The Oxford Handbook of Career Development and to the field of career development. The origins of the field are discussed in relation to vocational guidance, differential psychology, interactionist sociology, and life course development. The selection of the term career development for this volume is explained with regard to three interlocking themes: the broader contexts of career development, including government policy; the wide range of theory concerned with career-related experiences, phenomena, and behaviour; and the broad spectrum of career helping practices, including one-to-one work and group work. The inspiration and aims for the volume are set out, and the challenges associated with terminology in the field are acknowledged. The editors seek to provide a state-of-the-art reference point for the field of career development, and engender a transdisciplinary and international dialogue that explores key current ideas, debates, and controversies. The volume is divided into three sections. The first explores the economic, educational, and public policy contexts for practice. The second section focuses on concepts and explores the rich theoretical landscape of the field. The third section turns to practice, and the translation of ideas into action to support individuals and groups with their career development.


1988 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia I. Wolfe ◽  
Suzanne D. Blocker ◽  
Norma J. Prater

Articulatory generalization of velar cognates /k/, /g/ in two phonologically disordered children was studied over time as a function of sequential word-morpheme position training. Although patterns of contextual acquisition differed, correct responses to the word-medial, inflected context (e.g., "picking," "hugging") occurred earlier and exceeded those to the word-medial, noninflected context (e.g., "bacon," "wagon"). This finding indicates that the common view of the word-medial position as a unitary concept is an oversimplification. Possible explanations for superior generalization to the word-medial, inflected position are discussed in terms of coarticulation, perceptual salience, and the representational integrity of the word.


Writing from a wide range of historical perspectives, contributors to the anthology shed new light on historical, theoretical and empirical issues pertaining to the documentary film, in order to better comprehend the significant transformations of the form in colonial, late colonial and immediate post-colonial and postcolonial times in South and South-East Asia. In doing so, this anthology addresses an important gap in the global understanding of documentary discourses, practices, uses and styles. Based upon in-depth essays written by international authorities in the field and cutting-edge doctoral projects, this anthology is the first to encompass different periods, national contexts, subject matter and style in order to address important and also relatively little-known issues in colonial documentary film in the South and South-East Asian regions. This anthology is divided into three main thematic sections, each of which crosses national or geographical boundaries. The first section addresses issues of colonialism, late colonialism and independence. The second section looks at the use of the documentary film by missionaries and Christian evangelists, whilst the third explores the relation between documentary film, nationalism and representation.


1985 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-82
Author(s):  
Zia Ul Haq

Amiya Kumar Bagchi, an eminent economist of the modern Cambridge tradition, has produced a timely treatise, in a condensed form, on the development problems of the Third World countries. The author's general thesis is that economic development in the developing societies necessarily requires a radical transformation in the economic, social and political structures. As economic development is actually a social process, economic growth should not be narrowly defined as the growth of the stock of rich capitalists. Neither can their savings be equated to capital formation whose impact on income will presumably 'trickle down' to the working classes. Economic growth strategies must not aim at creating rich elites, because, according to the author, "maximizing the surplus in the hands of the rich in the Third World is not, however, necessarily a way of maximizing the rate of growth".


Alloy Digest ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  

Abstract Copper Alloy No. 268 is a copper-zinc alloy with excellent cold-working properties and good resistance to corrosion. It can be cold worked by all the common fabrication processes and has a wide range of applications. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, tensile properties, and shear strength as well as fatigue. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, and joining. Filing Code: Cu-306. Producer or source: Brass mills.


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