1,721,104 research outputs found
Spontaneous quantity discrimination in the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus)
No full textSPONTANEOUS QUANTITY DISCRIMINATION IN THE DOMESTIC CAT (Felis silvestris catus)
Carloni E.1, Normando S.2, Regolin L.3, Accorsi P.A.1
1Dipartimento di Morfofisiologia Veterinaria e Produzioni Animali - Università di Bologna, E-mail [email protected] 2Dipartimento di Scienze Sperimentali Veterinarie - Università di Padova, 3Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale - Università di Padova
This pilot study investigated domestic cat’s spontaneous ability to discriminate food quantity based on acoustic rather than visual cues, and on representational memory. The discrimination threshold was set at 4 versus 2 pieces of dry food pellets. Cats were rewarded whatever choice they made, but they could not access food used as stimulus. Food pellets were not patently showed to subjects during stimulus phase, but cats could hear single pellets falling into two steel cans, thus they received clear acoustic cues. Visual hints consisted merely in the hands of the researcher held above cans. Olfactory cues were neutralised by compensatory food odour diffusers. Since cats could not see food pellets, acoustic short-term representational memory was involved in the choice process. Approach, orientation towards and investigation of one of the two cans were interpreted as choice for its content. Twelve cats were tested in absence of previous training in their home environment. Each subject received 12 trials. Relative position and order of presentation of large and small food amounts were counterbalanced. The results provide evidence of quantity discrimination since choice for the larger amount of food clearly prevailed
Exposure to Valeriana officinalis scent facilitates medical procedures in stray and shelter cats
No full textExposure to Valeriana officinalis scent facilitates medical procedures in stray and shelter cats
Normando S.1, Gislon V.1, Accorsi P.A.2, Carloni E.2
1Dipartimento di Scienze Sperimentali Veterinarie,Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy; 2Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Bologna, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]
Olfactory stimuli have been found to affect the behaviour of domestic cats (Ellis, S.L.H . and Wells, D.L . 2010. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 123(1): 56-62). The aim of this study was to assess whether exposure to the scent of Valeriana officinalis dried roots affected the response of stray and rescue shelter cats to handling and medical procedures.
Twelve healthy adult cats (seven females, five males) were manipulated both in control condition (no valerian) and in the experimental condition (valerian scent), in random order, and scored for their response to being petted, being fit a tourniquet on one of their front paws and being subjected to an ear inspection. Scores ranged from –1 (very aggressive response, cat impossible or almost impossible to touch) to 4 (cat seeking non aggressive social interaction with tester, purring, kneading).
During exposure to valerian scent the cats reacted significantly better (i.e., less aggressively and less fearfully) to the procedures than during the control condition (Wilcoxon Signed Rank test; p=0.002).
It is concluded that Valeriana officinalis olfactory stimulation could be an useful aid in handling stray and shelter cats during medical procedures
The dilemmas of middle management in the digitalization of public sector: evidence from an Italian government agency
No full textContextualizing Strategy through Historical Artifacts: Corporate Museums as Sources of Rhetorical Narratives
No full textThe emerging “historic turn” in strategy research includes studies of historical efforts to establish sustained competitive advantages, and studies of firms making use of history in their strategy-making. The distinction blurs, however, when considering the role of corporate museums and their professional skills in historical methods at the service of creating strategic continuity. We conducted case studies of six Italian corporate museums and their role for constructing contents with historic artifacts to convey strategic continuity, showing how corporate museums act as sources for rhetorical history. We found that museum staff weaves multiple yarns of meaning from the historical and strategic context of selected artifacts to forge contents that support strategic goal and context continuity. Our study shows corporate museums as being active at the service of functional and corporate strategy, defines the interplay between managers and museums for constructing strategic continuity with historic artifacts, and contributes to research on rhetorical history
Contextualizing Strategy through Historical Artifacts: Corporate Museums as Sources of Rhetorical Narratives
No full textLong-term psychosocial stress in confined domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus): behavioural and endocrine correlates.
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Preference for Feline Images according to Their Sex and Age by Domestic Cats. A Pilot Study.
No full textForty-two neutered domestic cats were tested for their preference for photographs of intact male and female domestic cats and kittens. The experiment consisted in simultaneously presenting the subject cat with 3 items of an identical food treat, each one positioned in front of a life-size picture of, respectively, an adult tom, an adult female and a kitten. The trial was repeated 3 times for each experimental subject at a 14-day interval, using images of different individuals and shifting the spatial position of the male, female and juvenile’s portraits in order to avoid orientation biases. On the whole, each experimental subject was presented with 3 different males’, 3 different females’ and 3 different kittens’ pictures, each category being placed on turn on the right, the left and in the central position of the row of photographs. Experimental cats were unfamiliar to depicted subjects and tested singly, in a familiar room where the apparatus was completed by a !
set of camcorders. Initial orientation of the subject cat upon entrance, gaze and movement directions, time lag to approach and final choice of food item across trials were averaged for each subject and analysed. A consistent choice of the food item placed in front of one of the 3 age/sex categories of feline images was interpreted as a preference for (greater tolerance of) that category. Results are discussed in relation to the sex and social experience of the experimental subject
Poteri locali e amministrazione periferica dello Stato
No full textIl contributo esamina l'evoluzione e l'articolazione del sistema di amministrazione periferica statale e i suoi rapporti con le autonomie territorial
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