‘Listen to the story’: narrative and song in Rāmcand Bālak’s Sītācarit,a Jain Rāmāyaṇa in Brajbhāṣā

ABSTRACT

This article explores the different modes of song in the Sītācarit, a seventeenth-century Brajbhā?ā telling of the Jain Rāmāya?a, and suggests a general understanding of the relationship between song and narrative that sees the songs as constituting an added narrative layer. It notes how the modes of song in the Sītācarit evoke different performative settings and aesthetic influences, ranging from the educational to the courtly, and suggests how the intertwining of narrative and song lets us glimpse the poetics of devotion through the lens of the circulation of literary and devotional trends in early modern North India.     

Physical activity and sedentary behavior: a population-based study of barriers, enjoyment, and preference.

The associations of physical activity and sedentary behavior with barriers, enjoyment, and preferences were examined in a population-based mail survey of 1,332 adults. Respondents reporting high enjoyment and preference for physical activity were more likely to report high levels of activity. Those reporting cost, the weather, and personal barriers to physical activity were less likely to be physically active. Preference for sedentary behavior was associated with the decreased likelihood of being physically active, and the weather a barrier to physical activity was associated with the increased likelihood of sedentary behavior. These constructs can be used to examine individual and environmental influences on physical activity and sedentary behavior in specific populations and could inform the development of targeted interventions.     

Effectiveness of a primary care exercise referral intervention for changing physical self-perceptions over 9 months.

This study investigated the effectiveness of a 10-week primary care exercise referral intervention on the physical self-perceptions of 40-70 year olds. Participants (N=142) were assessed, randomized to an exercise or control group, and reassessed at 16 and 37 weeks. The Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP; K. R. Fox, 1990), fitness, physical activity, body mass index, body fat (skinfolds), and hip and waist circumference were assessed. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant Group X Time interactions, with the exercise group showing greater physical self-worth, physical condition, and physical health at 16 and 37 weeks. Changes in all PSPP scales at baseline and 37 weeks were related to changes in anthropometric measures and adherence to the 10-week exercise program but not to changes in submaximal fitness parameters.     

Colour blindness adversely impacts face recognition

ABSTRACT

Whether colour information contributes to the process of face recognition remains controversial. We examine this question here by evaluating the face recognition performance of individuals who are colour blind. Specifically, we compared the performance profile of colour blind and matched control individuals on a colour face recognition task where shape information was progressively degraded. The colour blind participants performed significantly more poorly than controls on this task, as revealed through multiple dependent measures. There was, however, no difference between these two groups on a standardized grayscale control task of face recognition, ruling out a generic face recognition deficit. These results both uncover a face recognition deficit in colour blind individuals and provide evidence for the contribution of colour to everyday facial recognition.     

Individuality,species-specific features,and female discrimination of male southern white rhinoceros courtship calls

Animal Cognition - Male vocalizations associated with courtship can play a key role in mate selection. They may help females obtain information about males’ quality and identity and/or may...