Shanshan Li

One of the popular theories in psychology that potentially contributes to the development of teaching and learning programs is brain dominance. According to this theory, the brain is categorized into two hemispheres based on personal traits and cognitive styles. It is interesting to investigate the correlation between brain dominance and second language learning. Therefore, this study set out to examine the correlation between brain dominance and the development of English reading, and speaking skills. For this purpose, the required data were randomly gathered from 230 sophomore students in four different universities and were analyzed through a Pearson Chi-Square test, a Kruskal–Wallis test, and a Mann–Whitney test. Findings evidenced a significant correlation between brain dominance and reading skills. Three categories of brain dominance groups differ in reading skills in which moderate right-brain shows the highest score. Concerning the speaking skills, however, the results documented no significant correlation between brain dominance and speaking skills. Three groups of brain dominance were not significantly different in three aspects of speaking skills, including accuracy, fluency, and comprehensibility. The study concludes by proposing a range of implications and some avenues for further research.

PurposeThis study systematically evaluates the effect of mindfulness meditation on depression during pregnancy. We provide evidence-based suggestions for preventing and reducing depression during pregnancy by exploring the most effective intervention mode, cycle, and frequency of mindfulness meditation.MethodsRecords were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Science Direct. A total of 1,612 randomized controlled trial studies on the effect of mindfulness meditation on pregnancy depression were collected. 10 studies with 658 subjects meeting the inclusion criteria were extracted and analyzed by Revman 5.3 to evaluate study qualities. Stata 12.0 was used for the meta-analysis.ResultsMindfulness meditation had a positive effect on depression during pregnancy [standardized difference of the mean = −0.786, 95% confidence interval, P 75%]. This may be caused by variance in measurement tools, among which Beck Depression Inventory-II was a significant source of heterogeneity.ConclusionMindfulness meditation can improve the prevention, remission, and reduction of depression during pregnancy and can be used as an auxiliary measure for the clinical treatment of pregnancy depression.

Is relational crafting always beneficial? Despite the increasing research on the positive outcomes of relational crafting, some evidence still indicates its dysfunctional consequences. The current study proposed a double-edged sword effect of relational crafting on job well-being, including work dynamics and emotional exhaustion, with an integrative perspective from the resource loss and resource acquisition perspectives based on the job demands-resources model and the conservation of resources theory. By conducting a two-stage questionnaire survey on 323 employees, the results demonstrate that: On the one hand, relational crafting induces emotional exhaustion through increased work load; On the other hand, relational crafting also displays positive effect on increasing work dynamics and decreasing emotional exhaustion by fostering supervisor-subordinate guanxi. By analyzing the double-edged sword effect of subordinates’ relational crafting on job well-being from the two processes of resource loss and resource acquisition effects, a more complete influencing mechanism between relational crafting and job well-being is constructed, which improves the understanding of relational crafting, enriches the literature on proactive behavior and provides a more integrated theoretical basis for researchers and managers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the tourism industry in various ways, including tourists’ travel motivations and intentions. Unlike previous studies that have focused on the dark side of the pandemic, this study adds the dimension of perceptions of positive information on COVID-19 to the Theory of Planned Behavior to explore their influence on travel motivation and intention. A total of 470 valid questionnaires were collected from a sample of Chinese university students. The results showed that the students’ perceptions of positive COVID-19 information positively impacted their travel intentions through the variables of perceived behavioral control, travel attitudes, and travel motivations. Perceived behavioral control was the mediating variable that most explained the impact of perceptions of positive COVID-19 information on travel motivation and intention. This study contributes to the understanding of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism and of university students’ travel motivations and intentions. It also offers implications for the tourism industry to formulate relevant recovery strategies during and after the pandemic.