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Attitudes and Behaviours Towards Owned and Unowned Cats and Barriers to Successful Stray Cat Management in Bulgaria
Get PDFThis research uses an online questionnaire (n = 1148) to survey the Bulgarian public’s attitudes and behaviors toward owned and stray cats and explore potential barriers to stray cat population management. Generally, the survey participants indicated positive attitudes toward stray cats, with 82.0% of the respondents reporting feeling sorry for stray cats. Semi-ownership behaviors were prevalent, with 82.5% feeding stray cats but only 18.1% neutering the cats they fed, posing a barrier to stray cat management. Overall, the respondents held mixed attitudes toward neutering. Of all cat owners sampled (n = 859) only 47.2% had neutered all their cats and 44.4% of owners allowed cats outdoor access or their cats lived exclusively outdoors. Multinomial logistic regression predicted that intact cats were more likely to be allowed to roam free and reproduce, which may present a significant barrier to stray cat population management. This is the first academic survey on attitudes toward cats in Bulgaria and the findings should contribute to stray cat management and ultimately improve feline welfare
The integrated effect of environmental conditions and human presence on the behaviour of a pair of zoo-housed Asian small-clawed otters.
No full textZoos and aquaria have the ethical responsibility to provide animals under their care with conditions that promote good welfare. This study evaluated the combined influence of human presence and environmental factors on the behaviour of zoo-housed Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus). Data collection was conducted on a pair hosted at Pistoia Zoo (Italy). Data were collected from July to September 2020 (over 14 days). We video-recorded the otters’ behaviours, using the continuous focal animal sampling, obtaining 42 h of observation per subject. The otters displayed a wide array of species-specific behaviours. Compared to previous captive studies, the subjects engaged less in locomotion, food-related and affiliative behaviours, and more in vigilance. Human–animal interactions were limited, and mostly elicited neutral or positive responses, except for begging behaviours performed towards caregivers. Time of day and animal identity were the main significant predictors for behaviours. No effects of visitor presence or background noise were detected. Nonetheless, increasing enrichment use could stimulate food-related behaviours, and reduce vigilance and begging. This study confirms the importance of applying an integrated approach to analyse the complexity of otters’ experiences, and provides insights to guide husbandry improvements.</p
An insight into the use of personality assessment by UK sport psychology consultants
Get PDFPersonality has a long, if somewhat checkered history in the sport psychology literature, but insight into its use in contemporary applied practice is more limited. This study investigated contemporary sport psychology consultants' perceptions of using personality assessment. Ten participants (four female and six male; mean 14 years' applied experience), all Health and Care Professions Council-registered and accredited by either the British Psychological Society or British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, were purposefully sampled and interviewed. An inductive thematic analysis was then performed. Five themes were identified: effective practice, perceived impact, societal movements, organizational experience, and innovation. Findings deliver an original insight into the perceptions of practitioners around personality assessment in sport, illustrating a movement from prediction to development in the field and providing novel examples of bespoke, individualized tool application. Broad training and career experiences will help practitioners fully appreciate these potential opportunities.</p
On the Shoulders of Prometheus:International Collaboration and the Archaeology of Georgia
No full textAn exploratory study into the relationship between playing at home or away and concussion
No full textPrimary Objective: To investigate the effect of home and away game travel on risk of concussion across different levels of rugby union. Research Design: Exploration study across school, university, and professional rugby teams. Methods and Procedures: Retrospective analysis of concussion incidence and symptomology of surveillance data and prospective data collection for potential concussions via surveys. Data was collected from school rugby teams (n = 344 matches, over 2 years), a university rugby (n = 6 matches), and a professional rugby team (n = 64 matches, over two seasons). Main Outcomes and Results: School level rugby had an increased prevalence of concussions in away matches (p = 0.02). Likewise, there was a significant increase (p < 0.05) in concussions at away matches in university rugby. In addition, the professional rug by team had significant differences in recovery times and symptoms with away fixtures, including longer recovery times (p < 0.01), more initial symptoms (p < 0.01), as well as greater and more severe symptoms at 48 hours (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This research highlights an increased prevalence of concussion in school and university-aged rugby players away from home, as well as increased symptoms, symptom severity, and recovery times in professional rugby players.</p
Women and the Anglican Church Congress:Space, Place and Agency
No full textThis book covers new ground in its focus on the Anglican Church congresses 1861-1938 as a public space in which the views or notable women were widely disseminated. It celebrates the contribution made by women to public life and discourse on womanhood as platform speakers, and commemorates the presence of the large numbers of women who joined congresses as audience members.Original research draws on extensive primary sources from official records, diaries and the press to capture women's views and voices and to evoke congress as a communicative social space and a window into topical affairs. Women and the Anglican Church Congress 1862=1-1938 examines the roles of women in the Church and reflects on how women with a sense of vocation negotiated contemporary attitudes to their spirituality. The book also explores how women's secular aspirations towards citizenship in the context of poverty, work ,temperance, eugenics, class and suffrage played out at congress
British farming methods need reform to match high animal welfare standards
No full textWhat do we mean by animal welfare? And what does the British public want for farmed animals
‘”Civilizing the Redman”: John Locke, Adam Smith and Social Darwinist perceptions of Religion, Land-use and Progress in North America
Get PDFA Seventh-day Adventist farm community in Tanzania and vegetarianism as a social practice
No full textPurposeThis paper is the outcome of an empirical research on a Seventh-day Adventist farm in Tanzania. The author investigated the role of Christian spirituality in switching to and maintaining vegetarian practices. Dietary change is proposed in the sustainability literature as a crucial trajectory to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The purpose of this paper is to explore the links between spirituality and climate-friendly dining in a localised Christian context and discuss their significance further for wider society.Design/methodology/approachSocial practice theory (SPT) provided the tools to explore, empirically, the dynamic development of dietary practice within the farm community and its relation to the outside world; according to SPT, following the main building blocks of practices, namely materials, competences and meanings (cognitive or emotional), helps to understand the evolution of practices in society.FindingsFindings show that the spiritual element of the community's dietary practice is key in maintaining commitment to vegetarianism, despite the rationale focussing exclusively on human health.Social implicationsExpanding the rationale to animal compassion and environmental concerns could enhance the stabilisation of the practice within and beyond the community's realms.Originality/valueThe research showcases, probably for the first time, how a localised vegetarian practice may be linked to broader societal developments and policymaking through the application of SPT
