Experimental Phenomenology as an Approach to the Study of Contemplative Practices

During history humans have developed a large variety of contemplative practices, in many different areas of life, and as part of many different traditions and contexts. Although some contemplative practices are very old, the research field of Contemplation Studies is young, and there are no agreed-upon definitions of central concepts such as contemplative practices and contemplative experiences. The present paper focuses on contemplative practices, defined as practices that are engaged in for the sake of the contemplative experiences they afford (e.g., the contemplation of nature, or the contemplation of various aspects of being-in-the world). The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the potential of experimental phenomenology to contribute to the development of the research field of Contemplation Studies. Experimental phenomenology is defined as the investigation of phenomenological practices and their effects on experience. Phenomenological practices involve intentional variations of experiencing by means of changes in the direction of attention and the choice of attitude, typically as guided by verbal instructions or self-instructions. It is suggested that contemplative practices represent a subcategory of phenomenological practices. Two different varieties of experimental phenomenology are described and illustrated in the present paper: (1) an informal variety which involves the development of new phenomenological practices by creative variation of procedures and observation of effects; and (2) a more rigorously scientific variety, which involves the systematic variation of phenomenological practices in accordance with experimental designs to study their experiential effects. It is suggested that the development of contemplative practices during the ages is the result of an informal experimenting of the first kind; this variety of experimental phenomenology can also be used to develop personalized health interventions in a clinical setting. As to the more rigorously scientific experimental phenomenology, it is possible that it may lead not only to an improved understanding of general principles underlying contemplative practices, but also to a more systematic development of new contemplative practices. The experimental-phenomenological approach to contemplative practices is illustrated by various examples involving mindfulness, gratitude, receiving and giving.

Are simple verbal instructions sufficient to ensure that bladder volume does not deteriorate prostate position reproducibility during spot scanning proton therapy?

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether verbal instructions are sufficient for bladder volume (BV) control not to deteriorate prostate position reproducibility in image-guided spot scanning proton therapy (SSPT) for localized prostate cancer. Methods: A total of 268 treatment sessions in 12 consecutive prostate cancer patients who were treated with image-guided SSPT with fiducial markers were retrospectively analyzed. In addition to strict rectal volume control procedures, simple verbal instructions to void urine one hour before the treatment were used here. The BV was measured by a Bladder Scan just before the treatment and the prostate motion was measured by intraprostatic fiducial markers and two sets of X-ray fluoroscopy images. The correlation between the BV change and prostate motion was assessed by linear mixed-effects models and systematic and random errors according to the reproducibility of the BV. Results: The mean absolute BV change during treatment was from −98.7 to 86.3 ml (median 7.1 ml). The mean absolute prostate motion of the patients in the left-right direction was −1.46 to 1.85 mm, in the cranial-caudal direction it was −6.10 to 3.65 mm, and in the anteroposterior direction −1.90 to 5.23 mm. There was no significant relationship between the BV change and prostate motion during SSPT. The early and late genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity was minimal with a minimum follow-up of 4.57 years. Conclusions: Simple verbal instructions about urination was suggested to be sufficient to control the BV not to impact on the prostate motion and clinical outcomes in image-guided SSPT. Careful attention to BV change is still needed when the seminal vesicle is to be treated. Advances in knowledge: Our data demonstrated that there was no apparent relationship between BV changes and prostate position reproducibility and simple verbal instruction about urination could be sufficient for image-guided SSPT.

Do Patients Correctly Use Steroid Nose Spray? A Patient-Reported Survey of the Nasal Spray Technique and Patient Compliance

Background:Correct nasal spray techniqueand patient compliance are the two mostimportant factors in the use of steroid nose spray. Objectives:To find out if patientsuse steroid nasal spray with a correctspray technique and if they are compliant in using the spray. Design: Patient-reported survey Participants: 100 participants (1 excluded) Main outcome measures 1) Nasal spray technique 2) Patient compliance Results: Out of 99 participants included in this study only one patient used steroid nose spray with a completely correct spray technique. 40% of patients received guidance instructions from the prescriber about the spray technique. 70% of patients reported using their spray regularly and 53% of patients were found using the correct dosage of the spray. Conclusions: Wrong spray technique and patient noncompliance is common and can be corrected. This survey emphasizes the importance of giving written and verbal instructions about the use of spray to the patients.

The Eyes Are More Eloquent Than Words: Anticipatory Looking as an Index of Event Memory in Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a disorder in which individuals experience a difficulty in maintaining event memory for when, where, who, and what. However, verbal deficiency, one of the other symptoms of AD, may prevent a precise diagnosis of event memory because existing tests are based on verbal instructions by the tester and verbal response from patient. Therefore, non-verbal methods are essential to evaluate event memory in AD. The present study, using eye tracking, investigated whether AD patients deployed anticipatory looking to target acts related to future events based on previous experience when an identical video was presented to them twice. The results revealed the presence of anticipatory looking, although AD patients were unable to verbally report the content of the video. Our results illustrate that AD patients have a one-time event memory better than previously thought.

Spatial hand representation in anorexia nervosa: a controlled pilot study

Body representation distortion (BRD) is a core criterion of Anorexia Nervosa (AN), and is usually assessed subjectively, focusing on body shape. We aimed to develop a new assessment to evaluate body representation independently from socially-mediated body image, on a body part with low emotional salience (hands). In a monocentric open label pilot study, we measured hand representations based on explicit (verbal) and implicit (tactile) instructions. Participants, with eyes closed, had to point targeted locations (knuckles and nails of each finger) based on verbal instructions and tactile stimulations to evaluate body representations respectively. Ratios between hand width and finger length were compared between AN (n = 31) and controls (n = 31) and correlated with current body mass index, AN subtype and disease duration. To control that hand distortion was specific to body representation, we also assessed object representation. Hand representation’s width/length ratio was significantly increased in patients with AN, whereas no difference was found in object representation. We found no correlation between hand wideness and clinical traits related to eating disorders. Our results propose that BRD is not limited to body parts with high emotional salience, strengthening the hypothesis that anorexia nervosa is associated with profound unspecific BRD.

Perbedaan perilaku lansia sebelum dan sesudah diberikan instruksi pembersihan gigi tiruan lengkap secara lisan dan tulisanDifferences in the behaviour of the elderly before and after educated with verbal and non-verbal complete denture cleaning instructions

Pendahuluan: Lansia adalah kelompok masyarakat berusia di atas 60 tahun dan mengalami proses penuaan seperti perubahan fisik, kognitif, psikososial, maupun rongga mulut. Salah satu perubahan rongga mulut yang terjadi adalah kehilangan seluruh gigi yang dapat ditatalaksana dengan menggunakan Gigi Tiruan Lengkap (GTL) yang berfungsi untuk memperbaiki fungsi estetik, fonetik, dan mastikasi. Salah satu faktor penting dalam menjaga kebersihan GTL yaitu pemberian instruksi secara lisan dan tulisan untuk membentuk perilaku pasien ke arah yang lebih baik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis perbedaan perilaku lansia sebelum dan sesudah diberikan instruksi pembersihan GTL secara lisan dan tulisan. Metode: Jenis penelitian ini eksperimental dengan rancangan one group pre and post test menggunakan kuesioner berisikan 15 pertanyaan dan total responden sebanyak 25 lansia di Panti Wredha Wisma Mulia dengan 16 wanita dan 9 pria. Pengambilan data dilakukan sebanyak 2 kali pertemuan dengan individu yang sama yaitu hari pertama kunjungan dan 2 minggu setelah kunjungan pertama. Perilaku lansia dinilai dari kuesioner dan dianalisis menggunakan uji Wilcoxon Signed Rank. Hasil: Perilaku awal pasien GTL lansia termasuk kategori buruk dan mengalami peningkatan ke kategori baik setelah diberikan instruksi lisan dan tulisan berupa leaflet dengan nilai uji Wilcoxon Signed Rank didapatkan nilai p=0,000. Simpulan: Terdapat perbedaan perilaku lansia sebelum dan sesudah pemberian instruksi instruksi lisan dan tulisan dalam bentuk leaflet pembersihan gigi tiruan lengkap, dimana perilaku pasien berubah ke arah yang lebih baik yang dinilai dari data sebelum dan sesudah diberikan. ABSTRACTIntroduction: Elderly are a group of people aged over 60 years and experiencing the ageing process in the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and oral aspects. One of the changes in the oral cavity is teeth loss, which can be managed using a complete denture to improve aesthetic, phonetic, and masticatory functions. One of the essential factors in maintaining complete denture hygiene is delivering proper verbal and non-verbal instructions to improve the patient’s behaviour. This study was aimed to analyse the differences in the behaviour of the elderly before and after educated with verbal and non-verbal complete denture cleaning instructions. Methods: Experimental research with a one group pre- and post-test design using a questionnaire containing 15 questions was conducted towards 25 elderly respondents in Wisma Mulia Nursing Home, 16 females and 9 males. Data collection was carried out in 2 meetings with the same individual—the first day of the visit and two weeks after. The behaviour of the elderly was assessed from a questionnaire and analysed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. Results: The initial behaviour of the elderly with complete denture was in the poor category and increased to the good category after being educated with verbal and non-verbal instructions in the form of leaflets with a Wilcoxon Signed Rank test value, p=0.000. Conclusions: There are differences in the behaviour of the elderly before and after being educated with verbal and non-verbal instructions in the form of complete denture cleaning leaflets, where the patient’s behaviour changes for the better, which is assessed from the data before and after education.

Scale Ambiguities in Material Recognition

Many natural materials have complex, multi-scale structures. Consequently, the apparent identity of a surface can vary with the assumed spatial scale of the scene: a plowed field seen from afar can resemble corduroy seen up close. We investigated this ‘material-scale ambiguity’ using 87 photographs of diverse materials (e.g., water, sand, stone, metal, wood). Across two experiments, separate groups of participants (N = 72 adults) provided judgements of the material depicted in each image, either with or without manipulations of apparent distance (by verbal instructions, or adding objects of familiar size). Our results demonstrate that these manipulations can cause identical images to appear to belong to completely different material categories, depending on the perceived scale. Under challenging conditions, therefore, the perception of materials is susceptible to simple manipulations of apparent distance, revealing a striking example of top-down effects in the interpretation of image features.

Yoga Pose Detection and Correction System

Activity recognition is useful in many domains. These include biometrics, video -surveillance, human-computer interaction, assisted living, sports arbitration, in-home health monitoring, etc. The health status of an individual can be evaluated and predicted by monitoring and recognizing their activities. Yoga is one such domain that can be used to bring harmony to both body and mind with the help of asana, meditation, and various other breathing techniques. Nowadays in a fast-paced lifestyle, people do not have time to go to yoga classes. Hence, they prefer practicing yoga at home. However, there is a need for a tutor to assess their yoga poses. Hence, the system is presented where the user needs to do the yoga pose which is recognized in real-time video. Then, PoseNet is used to generate key points for the body parts. The identified pose is then compared with the target pose. Based on the comparison status generated by the function, verbal instructions are provided for the user to correct the yoga pose.

Mirror Therapy Rehabilitation for Lower Limb of Acute Stroke Patients

This paper aims to study the effectiveness of mirror therapy (MT) having treated to acute stroke patients. The subjects of 20 acute stroke patients, who possessed the ability to respond to verbal instructions were randomly blinded and allocated to a control group (n = 10, 59.2 ± 2.28 years) and a mirror group (n = 10, 53.8 ± 6.14 years). Both groups were treated by intervention of traditional rehabilitation therapy comparing with mirror therapy. Intervention of mirror therapy was taken 60 minutes per day, 5 days per week for 12 weeks. Measures of intervention effectiveness were taken before treatment and after treatment by therapist using Brunnstrom stages, Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) lower extremity score and Brunnel Balance Assessment (BBA) balance. Data were analyzed using independent sample t-test. The results revealed that, after 12 weeks of treatment, subjects of both groups gained statistically significant improvements in all variables measure (p < 0.05). Having compared with the control group, the participants of the MT group had greater improvement on the FMA score (31.0 ± 1.20 versus 28.7 ± 0.58). MT is inexpensive and easily applicable in conjunction with traditional physiotherapy for home care program. Consequently, MT proves to be an effective approach for rehabilitation of patients with post-acute stroke.

Proposing a new short screening test for upper limb apraxia

Background Apraxia has a major impact on activities of daily living in stroke patients. The proper assessment and treatment of apraxia is important for maintaining a good quality of life. We developed a short evaluation test for upper limb apraxia. Patients and Methods The present Screening Test of Gestures for Stroke consists of 10 items for each verbal instruction and imitation. Each item includes three meaningless gestures, three meaningful gestures and four pantomimes. The Screening Test of Gestures for Stroke is scored based on a 3-point system: 10, 5 or 0 (maximum score: 200). The test took approximately 2–5 min to complete. We recruited 65 patients admitted to our hospital with left hemisphere stroke and 50 healthy subjects. Results The reliability of the Screening Test of Gestures for Stroke was as follows: the intraclass correlation coefficient of intra-rater reliability was 0.93 for both verbal instructions and imitations, and the intraclass correlation coefficient total scores for inter-rater reliability for verbal instructions and for imitations were 0.97 and 0.95, respectively. The alpha coefficient was ≥0.80. Conclusions The Screening Test of Gestures for Stroke is a reliable and valid bedside test that has a short assessment time, does not require special equipment and can evaluate upper limb apraxia in stroke patients from the acute to the chronic phase.