Moderating influence of dominant attentional style and exercise intensity on responses to asynchronous music

Copyright @ 2013 Human Kinetics as accepted for publication. This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below.We examined independent and combined influences of asynchronous music and dominant attentional style (DAS) on psychological and psychophysical variables during exercise using mixed methods. Participants (N = 34) were grouped according to DAS and completed treadmill runs at three intensities (low, moderate, high) crossed with three music conditions (motivational, oudeterous, no-music control). State attentional focus shifted from dissociative to associative with increasing intensity and was most aligned with DAS during moderate-intensity exercise. Both music conditions facilitated dissociation at low-to-moderate intensities. At high exercise intensity, both music conditions were associated with reduced RPE among participants with an associative DAS. Dissociators reported higher RPE overall during moderate and high intensities. Psychological responses were most positive in the motivational condition, followed by oudeterous and control. Findings illustrate the relevance of individual differences in DAS as well as task intensity and duration when selecting music for exercise

Run to the Beat: Sport and music for the masses

Run to the Beat is a half marathon event that is accompanied by live and pre-recorded music. The author was involved with the event as the lead consultant in the period 2007-2010. This case study examines the genesis of the event, the science on which it was predicated and how it was received by participating runners and the media. The primary driver for the event was the 2007 ban on personal listening devices by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, which outraged recreational runners. There is a corpus of work (approximately 100 studies) that has examined the effects of music on exercise and sport. The most conclusive findings from this work are that music reduces perceived exertion at low-to-moderate exercise intensities and, if well selected, enhances affect at all intensities. The Run to the Beat events received mixed reviews from participants, but were generally positively presented by the international media. The event continues today on an annual basis in London, UK and Basel, Switzerland

Assessment of Pain in adults with cognitive impairment : a review of the tools

The aim of this paper is to discuss the results of a review into the literature related to chronic pain and the older adult. Several themes within the review have been identified and reported elsewhere and the final report has been published by the University of Sheffield in the form of an annotated bibliography. This report focuses upon the findings of the in relation to the assessment of pain in the adult with cognitive impairment. Issues surrounding assessment in the non-cognitively impaired older adult have also been reported elsewhere. For this paper nine studies will be discussed which report the development and testing of pain assessment scales the focus of which is upon behavioural indicators of pain. Some scales have been omitted from the review and the rationale for this decision will be discussed. Each of the selected scales will be discussed and the authors will make recommendations for both clinical practice and for future research based upon the validity, reliability and user friendliness of the scales. From the paper it can be concluded that the Abbey, DOLOPLUS-2 and PACSLAC appear to be the most reliable and valid and in terms of the “user friendliness” would be appropriate to explore further. Recommendations are made for further multi-centre evaluation of these scales.University of Sheffiel

L'efficacité des thérapies énergétiques sur la diminution de la douleur chronique d'origine rhumatismale ainsi que sur le bien-être et la qualité de vie des personnes âgées: travail de Bachelor

But : L’objectif de cette revue de littérature est de déterminer si les thérapies énergétiques du toucher thérapeutique, du Healing Touch et du Reiki, complémentaires aux traitements habituels, ont une efficacité sur la diminution de l’intensité de la douleur chronique d'origine rhumatismale afin de préserver le bien-être et la qualité de vie des personnes âgées. Méthode: Pour répondre à la question de recherche, une recherche sur les bases de données CINAHL et PubMed a été réalisée. Les différents articles ont été soumis à divers critères de sélection. Par la suite, les huit articles sélectionnés ont été analysés sous forme de tableaux synthétiques et discutés selon les grandes familles identifiées

Psychological effects of rapid weight loss and attitudes towards eating among professional jockeys

We examined the psychological effects of rapid weight loss among a sample of 41 professional jockeys (mean age 30.9 years, s¼7.0). Participants completed the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) and the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) to establish the relationships between rapid weight loss, mood, and attitudes towards eating. These instruments were administered on three occasions: at the jockeys’ minimal weight (achieved through rapid weight loss), their optimal riding weight (when they were not excessively restricting their weight and felt healthy), and their relaxed weight (when there were no forthcoming light rides or no rides at all). It was hypothesized that when riding at minimal weight, jockeys would record a more negative mood profile compared with scores recorded at optimal or relaxed weights. The same trend was expected for eating attitudes. These hypotheses were supported as jockeys reported significantly more negative mood profiles and eating attitudes at minimal weight. The EAT-26 scores indicated the presence of disordered attitudes towards eating at this weight. These results suggest that jockeys’ endeavours to reach the minimum weight limit stipulated by governing bodies are likely to jeopardize their psychological well-being. Dialogue surrounding the appropriateness of current weight regulations is therefore encouraged

Goal confidence and difficulty as predictors of goal attainment in junior high school cross-country runners

This study examined the influence of confidence in a goal and difficulty of the goal on the attainment of self-set goals regarding time and position. 63 Junior high school cross-country runners (M Age=13.5 yr., SD=.5 yr.) completed a 6-item Race Goals Questionnaire approximately 24 hr. prior to a 2km race. Attainability of a goal was assessed by categorizing runners into either a Performed to Expectation (Time, Position) or an Underperformed group (Time, Position). A 2 x 2 multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant differences between the two groups on Time for Confidence in and Difficulty of goals. There were no differences between the two groups on Position. Discriminant function analyses to predict time goal performance indicated that 47 (74.6%, participants could be correctly classified into the groups by Time on the basis of Confidence in, and Difficulty of goals. Discriminant function analyses to predict performance in terms of Position indicated 38 participants (60.3%) could be correctly classified on the basis of Confidence in, and Goal Difficulty of goals. The results concur with previous proposals that goals regarding time and position have a differential influence on performance.The official published version of this article can be found at the Publisher link belo

Development of retinal blood vessel segmentation methodology using wavelet transforms for assessment of diabetic retinopathy

Automated image processing has the potential to assist in the early detection of diabetes, by detecting changes in blood vessel diameter and patterns in the retina. This paper describes the development of segmentation methodology in the processing of retinal blood vessel images obtained using non-mydriatic colour photography. The methods used include wavelet analysis, supervised classifier probabilities and adaptive threshold procedures, as well as morphology-based techniques. We show highly accurate identification of blood vessels for the purpose of studying changes in the vessel network that can be utilized for detecting blood vessel diameter changes associated with the pathophysiology of diabetes. In conjunction with suitable feature extraction and automated classification methods, our segmentation method could form the basis of a quick and accurate test for diabetic retinopathy, which would have huge benefits in terms of improved access to screening people for risk or presence of diabetes