Composition and Origin of the Eighth Century B.C.E. Glass Inlays from Salamis, Tomb 79

Among the many spectacular finds from the Iron Age site of Salamis on the eastern coast of Cyprus are two royal pieces of furniture covered in ivory and inlaid with blue decoration. We have determined that this decoration is made of cobalt-blue glass, probably of Egyptian origin, similar to the inlays in the contemporaneous Nimrud ivories. The data link the glass from Salamis to the growing corpus of Iron Age Egyptian cobalt-blue mineral natron glass, found from Nimrud in Mesopotamia to Bologna in northern Italy, several sites in southeastern France, and now Cyprus

Revisiting the exercise heart rate-music tempo preference relationship

In the present study, we investigated a hypothesized quartic relationship (meaning three inflection points) between exercise heart rate (HR) and preferred music tempo. Initial theoretical predictions suggested a positive linear relationship (Iwanaga, 1995a, 1995b); however, recent experimental work has shown that as exercise HR increases, step changes and plateaus that punctuate the profile of music tempo preference may occur (Karageorghis, Jones, & Stuart, 2008). Tempi bands consisted of slow (95–100 bpm), medium (115–120 bpm), fast (135–140 bpm), and very fast (155–160 bpm) music. Twenty-eight active undergraduate students cycled at exercise intensities representing 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90% of their maximal HR reserve while their music preference was assessed using a 10-point scale. The Exercise Intensity x Music Tempo interaction was significant, F(6.16, 160.05) = 7.08, p < .001, ηp 2 =.21, as was the test for both cubic and quartic trajectories in the exercise HR–preferred-music-tempo relationship (p < .001). Whereas slow tempo music was not preferred at any exercise intensity, preference for fast tempo increased, relative to medium and very fast tempo music, as exercise intensity increased. The implications for the prescription of music in exercise and physical activity contexts are discussed

Effects of intervention upon precompetition state anxiety in elite junior tennis players: The relevance of the matching hypothesis

Reproduced with permission of publisher from: Terry, P., Coakley, L., & Karageorghis, C. Effects of intervention upon precompetition state anxiety in elite junior tennis players: the relevance of the matching hypothesis. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1995, 81, 287-296. © Perceptual and Motor Skills 1995The matching hypothesis proposes that interventions for anxiety should be matched to the modality in which anxiety is experienced. This study investigated the relevance of the matching hypothesis for anxiety interventions in tennis. Elite junior tennis players (N = 100; Age: M = 13.9 yr., SD = 1.8 yr.) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 before and after one of four randomly assigned intervention strategies approximately one hour prior to competition at a National Junior Championship. A two-factor multivariate analysis of variance (group x time) with repeated measures on the time factor gave no significant main effect by group but indicated significant reductions in somatic anxiety and cognitive anxiety and a significant increase in self-confidence following intervention. A significant group by time interaction emerged for self-confidence. The results question the need to match intervention strategy to the mode of anxiety experienced

Redesign and initial validation of an instrument to assess the motivational qualities of music in exercise: The Brunel Music Rating Inventory-2

In the present study, a measure to assess the motivational qualities of music in exercise was redesigned, extending previous research efforts (Karageorghis et al., 1999). The original measure, the Brunel Music Rating Inventory (BMRI), had shown limitations in its factor structure and its applicability to non-experts in music selection. Redesign of the BMRI used in-depth interviews with eight participants (mean age 31.9 years, s¼8.9 years) to establish the initial item pool, which was examined using a series of confirmatory factor analyses. A single-factor model provided a good fit across three musical selections with different motivational qualities (comparative fit index, CFI: 0.95 – 0.98; standardized root mean residual, SRMR: 0.03 – 0.05). The single-factor model also demonstrated acceptable fit across two independent samples and both sexes using one piece of music (CFI: 0.86 – 1.00; SRMR: 0.04 – 0.07). The BMRI was designed for experts in selecting music for exercise (e.g. dance aerobic instructors), whereas the BMRI-2 can be used both by exercise instructors and participants. The psychometric properties of the BMRI-2 are stronger than those of the BMRI and it is easier to use. The BMRI-2 provides a valid and internally consistent tool by which music can be selected to accompany a bout of exercise or a training session. Furthermore, the BMRI-2 enables researchers to standardize music in experimental protocols involving exercise-related tasks

Effects of auditory stimuli on electrical activity in the brain during cycle ergometry

© 2017 The Authors. The present study sought to further understanding of the brain mechanisms that underlie the effects of music on perceptual, affective, and visceral responses during whole-body modes of exercise. Eighteen participants were administered light-to-moderate intensity bouts of cycle ergometer exercise. Each exercise bout was of 12-min duration (warm-up [3 min], exercise [6 min], and warm-down [3 min]). Portable techniques were used to monitor the electrical activity in the brain, heart, and muscle during the administration of three conditions: music, audiobook, and control. Conditions were randomized and counterbalanced to prevent any influence of systematic order on the dependent variables. Oscillatory potentials at the Cz electrode site were used to further understanding of time–frequency changes influenced by voluntary control of movements. Spectral coherence analysis between Cz and frontal, frontal-central, central, central-parietal, and parietal electrode sites was also calculated. Perceptual and affective measures were taken at five timepoints during the exercise bout. Results indicated that music reallocated participants' attentional focus toward auditory pathways and reduced perceived exertion. The music also inhibited alpha resynchronization at the Cz electrode site and reduced the spectral coherence values at Cz–C4 and Cz–Fz. The reduced focal awareness induced by music led to a more autonomous control of cycle movements performed at light-to-moderate-intensities. Processing of interoceptive sensory cues appears to upmodulate fatigue-related sensations, increase the connectivity in the frontal and central regions of the brain, and is associated with neural resynchronization to sustain the imposed exercise intensity.Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)

Effects of precompetition state anxiety interventions on performance time and accuracy among amateur soccer players: Revisiting the matching hypothesis

In this study, we tested the matching ypothesis, which contends that administration of a cognitive or somatic anxiety intervention should be matched to a participant's dominant anxiety response. Sixty-one male soccer players (mean age 31.6 years, s=6.3) were assigned to one of four groups based on their responses to the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2, which was modified to include a directional scale. Interventions were randomly administered in a counterbalanced order 10 min before each performance trial on a soccer skill test. The dominantly cognitive anxious group (n=17), the dominantly somatic anxious group (n=17), and the non-anxious control intervention group (n=14) completed a baseline performance trial. The second and third trials were completed with random administration of brief cognitive and somatic interventions. The non-anxious control group (n=13) completed three trials with no intervention. A mixed-model, GroupTreatment multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant (P0.05), or performance time or accuracy (P>0.05). The present findings do not provide support for the matching hypothesis for state anxiety intensity and direction, or for performance

See Hear: Psychological Effects of Music and Music-Video During Treadmill Running

© 2014, The Society of Behavioral Medicine.Background: There is a paucity of work addressing the distractive, affect-enhancing, and motivational influences of music and video in combination during exercise. Purpose: We examined the effects of music and music-and-video on a range of psychological and psychophysical variables during treadmill running at intensities above and below ventilatory threshold (VT). Methods: Participants (N = 24) exercised at 10 % of maximal capacity below VT and 10 % above under music-only, music-and-video, and control conditions. Results: There was a condition × intensity × time interaction for perceived activation and state motivation, and an intensity × time interaction for state attention, perceived exertion (RPE), and affective valence. The music-and-video condition elicited the highest levels of dissociation, lowest RPE, and most positive affective responses regardless of exercise intensity. Conclusions: Attentional manipulations influence psychological and psychophysical variables at exercise intensities above and below VT, and this effect is enhanced by the combined presentation of auditory and visual stimuli

Boundary-integral approach to the numerical solution of the Cauchy problem for the Laplace equation

We present a survey of a direct method of boundary integral equations for the numerical solution of the Cauchy problem for the Laplace equation in doubly connected domains. The domain of solution is located between two closed boundary surfaces (curves in the case of two-dimensional domains). This Cauchy problem is reduced to finding the values of a harmonic function and its normal derivative on one of the two closed parts of the boundary according to the information about these quantities on the other boundary surface. This is an ill-posed problem in which the presence of noise in the input data may completely destroy the procedure of finding the approximate solution. We describe and present the results for a procedure of regularization aimed at the stable determination of the required quantities based on the representation of the solution to the Cauchy problem in the form a single-layer potential. For given data, this representation yields a system of boundary integral equations with two unknown densities. We establish the existence and uniqueness of these densities and propose a method for the numerical discretization in two- and three-dimensional domains. We also consider the cases of simply connected domains of the solution and unbounded domains. Numerical examples are presented both for two- and three-dimensional domains. These numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method gives good accuracy with relatively small amount of computations

An Ancient Relation between Units of Length and Volume Based on a Sphere

The modern metric system defines units of volume based on the cube. We propose that the ancient Egyptian system of measuring capacity employed a similar concept, but used the sphere instead. When considered in ancient Egyptian units, the volume of a sphere, whose circumference is one royal cubit, equals half a hekat. Using the measurements of large sets of ancient containers as a database, the article demonstrates that this formula was characteristic of Egyptian and Egyptian-related pottery vessels but not of the ceramics of Mesopotamia, which had a different system of measuring length and volume units

Pacing and Decision Making in Sport and Exercise: The Roles of Perception and Action in the Regulation of Exercise Intensity

In pursuit of optimal performance, athletes and physical exercisers alike have to make decisions about how and when to invest their energy. The process of pacing has been associated with the goal-directed regulation of exercise intensity across an exercise bout. The current review explores divergent views on understanding underlying mechanisms of decision making in pacing. Current pacing literature provides a wide range of aspects that might be involved in the determination of an athlete's pacing strategy, but lacks in explaining how perception and action are coupled in establishing behaviour. In contrast, decision-making literature rooted in the understanding that perception and action are coupled provides refreshing perspectives on explaining the mechanisms that underlie natural interactive behaviour. Contrary to the assumption of behaviour that is managed by a higher-order governor that passively constructs internal representations of the world, an ecological approach is considered. According to this approach, knowledge is rooted in the direct experience of meaningful environmental objects and events in individual environmental processes. To assist a neuropsychological explanation of decision making in exercise regulation, the relevance of the affordance competition hypothesis is explored. By considering pacing as a behavioural expression of continuous decision making, new insights on underlying mechanisms in pacing and optimal performance can be developed. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland