A meditation on boredom: Re-appraising its value through introspective phenomenology

Boredom is almost universally regarded as a dysphoric mental state, characterised by features such as disengagement and low arousal. However, in certain quarters (e.g., Zen Buddhism), boredom is seen as potentially having great value and even importance. The current study sought to explore boredom through a case study involving introspective phenomenology. The author created conditions in which he would experience boredom for an hour, and recorded his experience in real-time using a variant of the Experiencing Sampling Method. The data were analysed using an adaptation of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The results indicated that the state of boredom contained three main sources of value: (a) altered perception of time; (b) awakened curiosity about the environment; and (c) exploration of self. Consequently, the paper offers a re-appraisal of boredom, suggesting that rather than necessarily being a negative state, if engaged with, boredom has the potential to be a positive and rewarding experience

A genetic algorithm for the Zen Puzzle Garden game

In this paper we present a novel genetic algorithm (GA) solution to a simple yet challenging commercial puzzle game known as Zen Puzzle Garden (ZPG). We describe the game in detail, before presenting a suitable encoding scheme and fitness function for candidate solutions. By constructing a simulator for the game, we compare the performance of the GA with that of the A* algorithm. We show that the GA is competitive with informed search in terms of solution quality, and significantly out-performs it in terms of computational resource requirements. By highlighting relevant features of the game we hope to stimulate further work on its study, and we conclude by presenting several possible areas for future research

Quality Assessment and Excellence

This is an entry in the Springer online Encyclopaedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. The chapter explores the meaning of quality assessment and excellence in modern higher education. The chapter brings together the latest thinking in the field

Can generalism help revive the primary healthcare vision?

It is more than 30 years since the World Health Organization (WHO) called for a paradigm-shift to a model of primary healthcare: a vision of creating ‘Health for All’ through ‘putting people at the centre of health care’.1 Since then, we have seen significant advances in health and healthcare. People are ‘healthier, wealthier and liver longer today than 30 years ago’.2 Economic growth, increased resources, and rapid expansion of scientific knowledge and technological advancement have all contributed.2 But we see growing concerns that the primary healthcare vision is being lost, with a worrying impact on our current systems of healthcare.2 The burden of care on individual patients is increasing.3 An excessive focus on disease, fragmentation of care and unregulated commercialization2 has been linked to inefficiency, ineffectiveness and inequity.4 All against a background of changing health needs, notably a rise in the burden of chronic, complex illness.2,5 WHO calls for a revival and strengthening of the primary healthcare vision to meet modern needs, refocusing health services around people.2 Generalism describes an approach to care which is person-, not disease-focused; continuous, not episodic; integrates biotechnical and biographical understanding of illness; and promotes health as a resource for living, and not an end in itself.6 So can generalism help revive the primary healthcare vision