Davide Crivelli, Giulia Fronda, Irene Venturella and Michela Balconi
The purpose of this paper is to test the potential of an innovative technology-mediated mental training protocol for the empowerment of stress management and neurocognitive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the potential of an innovative technology-mediated mental training protocol for the empowerment of stress management and neurocognitive efficiency in highly stressful professional contexts, with people who occupy top management positions. The innovative protocol specifically combines mindfulness practice and a wearable neurofeedback system managed via smartphone.
Design/methodology/approach
The longitudinal research included pre- and post-training assessment steps in order to test training effects with respect to subjective level and physiological markers of stress, anxiety and mood profiles, cognitive abilities and markers of neurocognitive efficiency.
Findings
Results showed decreased stress, anxiety, anger and mental fatigue; increased participants’ information-processing efficiency; increased electrophysiological markers concerning the balance and reactivity of the mind-brain system; and improved physiological markers of vagal tone.
Research limitations/implications
Though further investigation and replication with larger samples would strengthen present findings, the authors suggest that observed outcomes, together with the limited duration of the overall protocol and of daily practices, make the training a potentially valuable tool especially for people whose professional position imposes time limitations and elevated job duties, thus increasing the risk of drop-out from traditional stress management programs.
Originality/value
The combination of mindfulness-based mental training with the advantages offered by a novel brain-sensing wearable technology allows for overcoming the weak points of traditional approaches (e.g. notable time expense) and optimizing training opportunities and outcomes. Furthermore, this is, to the authors’ best knowledge, the first systematic report of the application of such methodology in an organization and with top management professionals.
Details
Keywords
Davide Crivelli, Mark Eaton, Matthew Pearson, Karen Holford and Rhys Pullin
The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility on the use of alternative parameters for representing acoustic emission (AE) and acousto-ultrasonic (AU) signals, using a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility on the use of alternative parameters for representing acoustic emission (AE) and acousto-ultrasonic (AU) signals, using a wavelet-based approach and the computation of Chebyshev moments.
Design/methodology/approach
Two tests were performed, one on AE artificial signals generated on a CFRP plate and one on an AU setup used for actively detecting impact damage. The waveforms were represented using a data reduction technique based on the Daubechies wavelet and an image processing technique using Chebyshev moments approximation, to get 32 descriptors for each waveform.
Findings
The use of such descriptors allowed in the AE case to verify that the moments are similar when the waveforms are similar; in the AU setup the correlation coefficient of the descriptors with respect to a reference data set was found to be linked to the delimitation size.
Practical implications
Such a data reduction while retaining all the useful information will be positive for wireless sensor networks, where power consumption during data transmission is key. With having to send only a reliable set of descriptors and not an entire waveform, the power consumption is believed to be reduced.
Originality/value
This paper is a preliminary study that fulfils a need for a more reliable data reduction for ultrasonic transient signals, such as those used in AE and AU.