<p>The article deals with the one mission to Gorkha led by an East India Company official by the name of George Foxcroft in 1783. Very little was known about the fate of this mission. The article is based on the research conducted at a number of archival holdings at Delhi, Patna, Calcutta, and Kathmandu which enabled the author to piece together the narrative of Faskirap Saheb's mission to Gorkha. It describes the Gorkha at the period of Prithvinarayan Shah and Bahadur Shah in relation to this incident. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-03-07)</p>
<p><strong>Creator's Description</strong>: This paper contains the first complete translation of the Portugese Jesuit Manoel Freyre's 1717 confidential report on his journey to Tibet as the companion of the famed Italian Jesuit missionary, Ippolito Desideri. The introduction examines the Desideri mission in its historical context of declining Jesuit influence, opposition from other orders, and differences between Jesuits in Rome and India over the desirability of establishing a presence in Tibet. Reading Freyre's account against Desideri's writings and other contemporary documents the paper concludes that Freyre's covert charge was to gather intelligence on the Capuchin missionaries in Tibet and surrounding areas. It is argued that this hidden agenda determined key decisions: leaving Ladakh and traveling to Central Tibet against Desideri's strong wishes, Freyre's abrupt departure from Lhasa, and his long stays in areas of Capuchin influence on his return trip to Agra. His observations of Tibetan culture are discussed, as well as his generally negative evaluation of Tibet, and it is concluded that he did not support any additional investment of Jesuit human and financial resources in a Tibet mission.</p>
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a critical aspect of schooling. While a theoretical model put forward by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has defined five well-accepted components of SEL, few assessments claim to measure these SEL components. This study examined the initial validation of scores for a new universal screening measure called the Social Emotional Learning Screening Assessment (SELA). The SELA's content and internal structure were based on the CASEL five model and the existing SSIS Performance Screening Guide. As part of a larger project, experienced Australian teachers of 268 children from prep through year 3 provided initial user and psychometric evidence for the SELA. The results indicated the teacher-completed SELA is well aligned with the CASEL model and offers educators a time-efficient, sensitive, and reliable measure that effectively identifies students at-risk socially and academically. Although preliminary but promising, further research with the SELA is required to replicate and extend these findings to educators in US schools and to test its application with larger, more diverse samples of students.
The current study investigated relationships between dispositional mindfulness, self-esteem, and social anxiety using self-report measures. Correlational data were collected from 205 Australian undergraduate students who completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). Mindfulness significantly predicted high levels of self-esteem and low levels of social anxiety. Mediation analysis supported the role of self-esteem as a partial mediator between mindfulness and social anxiety. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is rapidly growing as interest in this field expands. By contrast, there are few empirical analyses of the pedagogy of MBSR and MBCT. Development of the evidence base concerning the teaching of MBCT or MBSR would support the integrity of the approach in the context of rapid expansion. This paper describes an applied conversation analysis (CA) of the characteristics of inquiry in the MBSR and MBCT teaching process. Audio-recordings of three 8-week MBCT and MBSR classes, with 24, 12, and 6 participants, were transcribed and systematically examined. The study focused on the teacher-led interactive inquiry which takes place in each session after a guided meditation practice. The study describes and analyzes three practices within the inquiry process that can be identified in sequences of talk: turn-taking talk involving questions and reformulations; the development of participant skills in a particular way of describing experience; and talk that constructs intersubjective connection and affiliation within the group. CA enables fine-grained analysis of the interactional work of mindfulness-based inquiry. Inquiry is a process of disciplined improvisation which is both highly specific to the conditions of the moment it took place in and uses repeated and recognizable patterns of interaction.
Evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is rapidly growing as interest in this field expands. By contrast, there are few empirical analyses of the pedagogy of MBSR and MBCT. Development of the evidence base concerning the teaching of MBCT or MBSR would support the integrity of the approach in the context of rapid expansion. This paper describes an applied conversation analysis (CA) of the characteristics of inquiry in the MBSR and MBCT teaching process. Audio-recordings of three 8-week MBCT and MBSR classes, with 24, 12, and 6 participants, were transcribed and systematically examined. The study focused on the teacher-led interactive inquiry which takes place in each session after a guided meditation practice. The study describes and analyzes three practices within the inquiry process that can be identified in sequences of talk: turn-taking talk involving questions and reformulations; the development of participant skills in a particular way of describing experience; and talk that constructs intersubjective connection and affiliation within the group. CA enables fine-grained analysis of the interactional work of mindfulness-based inquiry. Inquiry is a process of disciplined improvisation which is both highly specific to the conditions of the moment it took place in and uses repeated and recognizable patterns of interaction.
Considerable research has disclosed how cognitive reappraisals and the modulation of emotional responses promote successful emotion regulation. Less research has examined how the early processing of emotion-relevant stimuli may create divergent emotional response consequences. Mindfulness—a receptive, non-evaluative form of attention—is theorized to foster emotion regulation, and the present study examined whether individual differences in mindfulness would modulate neural responses associated with the early processing of affective stimuli. Focus was on the late positive potential (LPP) of the event-related brain potential to visual stimuli varying in emotional valence and arousal. This study first found, replicating past research, that high arousal images, particularly of an unpleasant type, elicited larger LPP responses. Second, the study found that more mindful individuals showed lower LPP responses to high arousal unpleasant images, even after controlling for trait attentional control. Conversely, two traits contrasting with mindfulness—neuroticism and negative affectivity—were associated with higher LPP responses to high arousal unpleasant images. Finally, mindfulness was also associated with lower LPP responses to motivationally salient pleasant images (erotica). These findings suggest that mindfulness modulates neural responses in an early phase of affective processing, and contribute to understanding how this quality of attention may promote healthy emotional functioning.
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ObjectiveIt is imperative that research identifies factors related to depression among individuals in substance use treatment, as depression is associated with substance use relapse. Dispositional mindfulness and spirituality may bear an important role in the relationship between depression and substance use.
Method
Using preexisting patient medical records (N = 105), the current study investigated dispositional mindfulness and spirituality in relation to depressive symptom clusters (affective, cognitive, and physiological) among men in residential substance use treatment. The mean age of the sample was 41.03 (standard deviation = 10.75).
Results
Findings demonstrated that dispositional mindfulness and spirituality were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. After controlling for age, alcohol use, and drug use, dispositional mindfulness remained negatively associated with all of the depression clusters. Spirituality only remained associated with the cognitive depression cluster.
Conclusion
Mindfulness‐based interventions may hold promise as an effective intervention for reducing substance use and concurrent depressive symptoms.
This study evaluated the efficacy of a newly developed, home-based depression intervention for people with epilepsy. Based on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), the eight-session, weekly intervention was designed for group delivery via the Internet or telephone. Forty participants were randomly assigned to intervention or waitlist. Depressive symptoms and other outcomes were measured at baseline, after intervening in the intervention group (~ 8 weeks), and after intervening in the waitlist group (~ 16 weeks). Depressive symptoms decreased significantly more in the intervention group than the waitlist group; Internet and telephone did not differ. This effect persisted over the 8 weeks when those waitlisted received the intervention. Knowledge/skills increased significantly more in the intervention than the waitlist group. All other changes, though not significant, were in the expected direction. Findings indicate that distance delivery of group MBCT can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression in people with epilepsy. Directions for future research are proposed.
<p>The article discusses diversity and change in the languages of highland Nepal. Although the population of Nepal numbers only fifteen million, it is extremely diverse. There are a number of major and minor languages that can be categorized as Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Austro-Asiatic, and Dravidian. The primary source for statistical data on the status of Nepalese languages is the Nepal census. The article attempts to identify the major processes of change in the context of steadily decreasing linguistic diversity. The article concludes that it could be stated that these changes, although essentially uniform in effect, are taking place to different extents in different language communities. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-06)</p>
It is often assumed that spending time by the coast leads to better health and wellbeing, but there is strikingly little evidence regarding specific effects or mechanisms to support such a view. We analysed small-area census data for the population of England, which indicate that good health is more prevalent the closer one lives to the coast. We also found that, consistent with similar analyses of greenspace accessibility, the positive effects of coastal proximity may be greater amongst more socio-economically deprived communities. We hypothesise that these effects may be due to opportunities for stress reduction and increased physical activity.
<p>This article explores the term <em>sandhābhāṣa</em> as used in the <em>Hevajra-tantra</em> by examining Indian and Tibetan commentaries that apply various principles of interpration of the tantra and the language used in it. Attention is given to texts on interpretation (bshad thabs). Terms discussed in the article include the Tibetan terms <em>bshad thabs</em>, <em>dgongs skad</em>, <em>dgongs bshad</em>, and the Sanskrit terms <em>sandhā-bhāṣa</em> and <em>sandhyā-bhāṣitaṃ</em>. (Ben Deitle 2006-01-25)</p>
Most of Australia's largest mammals became extinct 50,000 to 45,000 years ago, shortly after humans colonized the continent. Without exceptional climate change at that time, a human cause is inferred, but a mechanism remains elusive. A 140,000-year record of dietary delta(13)C documents a permanent reduction in food sources available to the Australian emu, beginning about the time of human colonization; a change replicated at three widely separated sites and in the marsupial wombat. We speculate that human firing of landscapes rapidly converted a drought-adapted mosaic of trees, shrubs, and nutritious grasslands to the modern fire-adapted desert scrub. Animals that could adapt survived; those that could not, became extinct.
Research supporting social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools demonstrates numerous benefits for students, including increased academic achievement and social and emotional competencies. However, research supporting the adoption of SEL lacks a clear conception ofethical competence. This lack of clarity is problematic for two reasons. First, it contributes to the conflation of social, emotional, and ethical competencies. Second, as a result, insufficient attention is paid to the related, yet distinct, ends of social-emotional and ethical education. While supporting SEL we critique the assumption of uniformity between social-emotional and ethical literacy and argue for the significance of educational programming to support ethical competencies alongside or within SEL, including educating children to develop an autonomous ethical orientation. Doing so would advance the efforts of educators to provide an education for the whole child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Ethics & Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Meditation practices may impact physiological pathways that are modulated by stress and relevant to disease. While much attention has been paid to meditation practices that emphasize calming the mind, improving focused attention, or developing mindfulness, less is known about meditation practices that foster compassion. Accordingly, the current study examined the effect of compassion meditation on innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress and evaluated the degree to which engagement in meditation practice influenced stress-reactivity. Sixty-one healthy adults were randomized to 6 weeks of training in compassion meditation (n=33) or participation in a health discussion control group (n=28) followed by exposure to a standardized laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test [TSST]). Physiologic and behavioral responses to the TSST were determined by repeated assessments of plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and cortisol as well as total distress scores on the Profile of Mood States (POMS). No main effect of group assignment on TSST responses was found for IL-6, cortisol or POMS scores. However, within the meditation group, increased meditation practice was correlated with decreased TSST-induced IL-6 (rp =-0.46, p=0.008) and POMS distress scores (rp =-0.43, p=0.014). Moreover, individuals with meditation practice times above the median exhibited lower TSST-induced IL-6 and POMS distress scores compared to individuals below the median, who did not differ from controls. These data suggest that engagement in compassion meditation may reduce stress-induced immune and behavioral responses, although future studies are required to determine whether individuals who engage in compassion meditation techniques are more likely to exhibit reduced stress reactivity.
Meditation practices may impact physiological pathways that are modulated by stress and relevant to disease. While much attention has been paid to meditation practices that emphasize calming the mind, improving focused attention, or developing mindfulness, less is known about meditation practices that foster compassion. Accordingly, the current study examined the effect of compassion meditation on innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress and evaluated the degree to which engagement in meditation practice influenced stress-reactivity. Sixty-one healthy adults were randomized to 6 weeks of training in compassion meditation (n=33) or participation in a health discussion control group (n=28) followed by exposure to a standardized laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test [TSST]). Physiologic and behavioral responses to the TSST were determined by repeated assessments of plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and cortisol as well as total distress scores on the Profile of Mood States (POMS). No main effect of group assignment on TSST responses was found for IL-6, cortisol or POMS scores. However, within the meditation group, increased meditation practice was correlated with decreased TSST-induced IL-6 (rp =-0.46, p=0.008) and POMS distress scores (rp =-0.43, p=0.014). Moreover, individuals with meditation practice times above the median exhibited lower TSST-induced IL-6 and POMS distress scores compared to individuals below the median, who did not differ from controls. These data suggest that engagement in compassion meditation may reduce stress-induced immune and behavioral responses, although future studies are required to determine whether individuals who engage in compassion meditation techniques are more likely to exhibit reduced stress reactivity.
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ObjectivesThe tendency to experience shame or guilt is associated differentially with anxiety and depression, with shame being associated with greater psychopathology. Correlational studies have shown self‐compassion to be related to lower shame and rumination, and mindfulness‐based interventions increase self‐compassion. Therefore, mindfulness‐based interventions may decrease shame. This pilot study aimed to assess the association of shame, rumination, self‐compassion, and psychological distress and the effects of a mindfulness‐based intervention on these measures in a clinical sample.
Design
Single‐group design with pre‐test and post‐test measures.
Method
Thirty‐two service users who experienced clinically diagnosed depressive or anxiety disorders in a mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy programme were assessed before and twenty‐two after therapy with measures of shame‐proneness, external shame, rumination, self‐compassion, and psychological distress.
Results
Shame‐proneness and external shame were positively correlated with self‐coldness, and external shame was positively correlated with stress and depressive symptoms. Self‐compassion increased and self‐coldness decreased, while shame‐proneness, rumination, anxiety, and stress symptoms decreased from pre‐ to post‐treatment. There was no significant reduction in depressive symptoms, guilt‐proneness, or external shame.
Conclusion
Our preliminary findings suggest that mindfulness‐based approaches may be helpful in increasing self‐compassion and reducing shame‐proneness in mixed groups of anxious and depressed patients. Controlled studies of the effects of mindfulness‐based interventions on shame in clinical populations are warranted.
This pilot study evaluated the impact of mindfulness groups on 20 Latino middle school students who participated in 8-session structured groups using the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Teens curriculum. The participants’ scores on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale; the Self-Compassion Scale; the Perceived Stress Scale; and the Depression, Anxiety, and Hostility subscales of the Symptom Check List–90–R were examined at 3 points in time. There were no significant changes during the baseline period. Following participation in the groups, the adolescents’ mindfulness and self-compassion scores significantly increased, and their perceived stress and depression significantly decreased.
OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary rehabilitation improves exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, many patients do not have access to pulmonary rehabilitation programs. We hypothesized that an alternative to pulmonary rehabilitation to improve exercise tolerance is the practice of pranayama, or yoga breathing, which could be done independently at home. We also sought to determine whether yoga nonprofessionals could adequately teach pranayama to patients.DESIGN: Proof-of-concept, randomized, double-blind, controlled pilot trial.
SETTINGS/LOCATION: Two academic pulmonary practices.
SUBJECTS: Forty-three patients with symptomatic, moderate-to-severe COPD.
INTERVENTIONS: Twelve weeks of pranayama plus education versus education alone. Two yoga professionals trained the research coordinators to conduct all pranayama teaching and monitored the quality of the teaching and the practice of pranayama by study participants.
OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was a change in the 6-min walk distance (6MWD). Secondary outcomes included changes in lung function, markers of oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, and measures of dyspnea and quality of life.
RESULTS: The 6MWD increased in the pranayama group (least square mean [95% confidence interval] = 28 m [-5 to 61]) and decreased in the control group (-15 m [-47 to 16]), with a nearly significant treatment effect (p = 0.06) in favor of pranayama. Pranayama also resulted in small improvements in inspiratory capacity and air trapping. Both groups had significant improvements in various measures of symptoms, but no overall differences in respiratory system impedance or markers of oxidative stress or systemic inflammation.
CONCLUSION: This pilot study successfully demonstrated that pranayama was associated with improved exercise tolerance in patients with COPD. Lay personnel were able to adequately teach patients to practice pranayama. These results suggest that pranayama may have significant clinical benefits for symptomatic patients with COPD, a concept that needs to be confirmed in future, larger clinical trials.
Objective: Pulmonary rehabilitation improves exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, many patients do not have access to pulmonary rehabilitation programs. We hypothesized that an alternative to pulmonary rehabilitation to improve exercise tolerance is the practice of pranayama, or yoga breathing, which could be done independently at home. We also sought to determine whether yoga nonprofessionals could adequately teach pranayama to patients. Design: Proof-of-concept, randomized, double-blind, controlled pilot trial. Settings/Location: Two academic pulmonary practices. Subjects: Forty-three patients with symptomatic, moderate-to-severe COPD. Interventions: Twelve weeks of pranayama plus education versus education alone. Two yoga professionals trained the research coordinators to conduct all pranayama teaching and monitored the quality of the teaching and the practice of pranayama by study participants. Outcome measures: The primary outcome was a change in the 6-min walk distance (6MWD). Secondary outcomes included changes in lung function, markers of oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, and measures of dyspnea and quality of life.Results: The 6MWD increased in the pranayama group (least square mean [95% confidence interval] = 28 m [-5 to 61]) and decreased in the control group (-15 m [-47 to 16]), with a nearly significant treatment effect ( p = 0.06) in favor of pranayama. Pranayama also resulted in small improvements in inspiratory capacity and air trapping. Both groups had significant improvements in various measures of symptoms, but no overall differences in respiratory system impedance or markers of oxidative stress or systemic inflammation.
Conclusion: This pilot study successfully demonstrated that pranayama was associated with improved exercise tolerance in patients with COPD. Lay personnel were able to adequately teach patients to practice pranayama. These results suggest that pranayama may have significant clinical benefits for symptomatic patients with COPD, a concept that needs to be confirmed in future, larger clinical trials.
Primate social cognition involves the ability of group members to recognize and effectively communicate with each other. They do this through a variety of facial expressions, which can be studied using objective measurement tools that enable cross-species comparisons. Facial expressions provide information about the motivation of signalers and enable others to predict the behavior and intentions of group members. By comparing the form and function of facial expressions across species, general assumptions about the underlying emotional meaning of these signals can be deduced. Some chimpanzee facial expressions show a similar form and emotional meaning with human expressions.
Highlights * We tested a model of social-emotional learning in 9-12-year-olds to explore. * The direct effect of social-emotional competence on academic attainment. * The indirect effects through school connectedness and mental health difficulties. * We found that social-emotional competence did not predict academic attainment. * Mental health difficulties was the only statistically significant mediator.
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