192 research outputs found
What are they thinking? Consumer attitudes to meat production in Australia
No full textMeat production has come under increasing scrutiny from consumers and citizens who feel that certain practices are unethical and negatively affect farm-animal welfare. Animal welfare can be viewed as both a scientific and social concept, and purchasing products with animal welfare claims can be considered an act of ‘ethical consumption’. The present paper reviews research that examines consumer attitudes to animal welfare and highlights tensions between consumer and citizen attitudes and behaviours, and assumptions that are made within these studies. We present our own research into motivations to purchase free-range eggs as an example of research that attempts to unpack these assumptions, in particular, that such purchases are made out of concern for animal welfare. We present a further example of our own research that attempts to identify how attitudes to meat production are socially constructed. We conclude with recommended strategies to engage the broader community in discussions about animal production, so as to improve industry–community communication about farm-animal welfare in meat-production industries.H. J. Bray, E. A. Buddle and R. A. Anken
FIGURE 3 in Species boundaries of Pardosa concinna and P. lapponica (Araneae: Lycosidae) in the northern Nearctic: morphology and DNA barcodes
No full textFIGURE 3. Variation within the epigynes of female Pardosa lapponica and P. concinna specimens: a) P. lapponica specimen from Dempster Hwy, hood low and short septal ridge; b) P. lapponica from Dempster Hwy, hood low and septal pocket irregular; c) P. lapponica from Churchill, hood malformed and septal ridge completely exposed; d) P. concinna from North Battleford, hood high and septal pocket smooth; e) P. concinna from Yellowknife, hood malformed with exposed septal ridge; and f) P. lapponica from Churchill, straight and curved spermathecae. White arrows indicate the hood. The black arrows indicate the septal pockets. The dashed arrows indicate the copulatory tubes, curved in d) and straight in e).Published as part of Sim, Kathrin A., Buddle, Christopher M. & Wheeler, Terry A., 2014, Species boundaries of Pardosa concinna and P. lapponica (Araneae: Lycosidae) in the northern Nearctic: morphology and DNA barcodes, pp. 169-178 in Zootaxa 3884 (2) on page 174, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3884.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/495160
John Buddle (1773 - 1843) agent and entrepreneur in the north-east coal trade
No full textThe name of John Buddle is well known to historians interested in the coal-mining industry, or in the history of Northumberland and Durham, in the first half of the nineteenth century. The present study is, however, surprisingly the first to make him the subject of an academic monograph rather than a' source for occasional references in research on associated topics. The thesis is based on Buddle's correspondence, diaries and working papers in the Durham and Northumberland County Record Offices and the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. It examines the background to Buddle's career - the viewers, agents and entrepreneurs in the north-east coal-field; Buddle's training; and his character, and leisure and business interests. It then investigates Buddle's work: as a colliery viewer on an occasional or consultant basis (without, however, attempting any detailed consideration of engineering); as manager or agent of two Tyne collieries; as an entrepreneur in his own collieries on the Tyne; and as colliery agent for twenty-four years to the third Marquess of Londonderry, one of the great coal-owners on the River Wear. This latter topic embraces the management structure of the Londonderry collieries; the policy and tactics pursued in mining and shipping the coal, and acquiring colliery land; the building of Seaham Harbour; relations with the Coal Trade organisation on its regulation of the vend; and Londonderry's financial affairs. A further chapter considers Buddle's attitude to labour relations, including the 1831-2 pitmen's strike. An examination of Buddle's intimate involvement in all these areas sheds light on topics such as the role of agency in general, the state of the north-east coal trade in the first half of the nineteenth century, and management in the age of new industrialisation
Intracellular Trafficking of Carbon Nanotubes by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy
No full textA simple methodology to study the interactions between ammonium- functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT-NH3+), free of fluorescent labels, with mammalian cells was reported. The intrinsic UV luminescence of these nanostructures by using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) with established and widely used optics was used. This powerful technique allows to remove the contribution of background fluorescence in each z-section and to digitally construct 3D images of biological specimens. In an attempt to visualize whether SWNT-NH3+ alone are capable of binding, uptake, and intracellular trafficking inside living mammalian cells, CLSM with standard optics have been used. It is also demonstrated that imaging of SWNT-NH3 is feasible by using protocols of multiple fluorescent staining of cellular compartments
‘I don’t want to think about it’ concerns about sheep and beef cattle transportation and slaughter amongst Australian meat consumers
No full textPoster Programme - Thursday - Session 10: Consumer Aspects - Marketing & Perspectives Paper No. 84Meat consumers are increasingly interested in livestock production practices. There is tension between the desire to consume meat and wanting to make ‘ethical’ food choices. In 2015 and 2016, sixty-six meat consumers from Australia participated in focus groups and interviews, structured around topics such as on-farm welfare and meat purchasing decisions. While exploring how Australian meat consumers conceptualise animal welfare, the transportation and slaughter of sheep and beef cattle were highlighted as key areas of concern, including road transport and shipping conditions related to live export. Many participants held strong, negative opinions about the conditions under which Australian livestock are slaughtered overseas.Emily A. Buddle, Heather J. Bray, Wayne S. Pitchford, and Rachel A. Anken
Keeping it 'inside the fence': an examination of responses to a farm-animal welfare issue on Twitter
No full textSocial media sites have become common sources of information about current affairs, and animal-activist organisations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), use these networks as campaign tools to raise awareness against animal agriculture. The aim of the present study was to understand how an animal-welfare issue was discussed in Twitter, in Australia. Twitter Application Programing Interface data featuring keywords and hashtags were initially collected between April and May 2014 to examine tweets on animal-welfare issues in the absence of a triggering event. In July 2014, PETA released footage portraying ill-treatment of sheep in Australian shearing sheds, generating 9610 tweets in 7 days, including themes such as disgust, condemnation of the cruelty, and calls to boycott the wool industry. PETA’s social-media campaign began 24 h before comment in conventional news media online, highlighting the role of social media in leading conventional media campaigning. Associated Twitter activity from the wool industry was limited. It is concluded that Twitter is not currently an effective medium for conversations between producers and the community about farm-animal welfare, despite encouragement from industry. While there are positives for producers and industry to be on Twitter, including the promotion of their business and communication within their micro-publics, Twitter as a platform may not be ideal for generating a dialogue between producers and the community. Further research into how people engage with the content, not just through the study of retweets and amount of traffic, is required to understand whether social media has potential to change attitudes towards animal production.E. A. Buddle, H. J. Bray and W. S. Pitchfor
Identification, interests and influence : voting behaviour in four English constituencies in the decade after the Great Reform Act.
No full textWhat’s in my mince? Reader responses to news coverage about novel plant-based protein foods
No full textPublished online: 05 Mar 2024Plant-based protein products have recently become more prominent on Australian supermarket shelves. However, despite rapidly increasing interest in meat-free or reduced-meat diets, limited research has explored responses toward these foods. Our research analyses Facebook comments (n = 1384) in response to two ABC News articles that covered the Australian launch of Naturli’s “Minced” product in 2018. Our qualitative analysis generated seven main themes, with comments relatively evenly split between self-declared meat consumers and those who did not eat meat. Our analysis shows that social media comments can provide real-time access to what we term “critical moments” in ongoing debates as well as values, in this case related to meat and meat alternatives. Hence people’s views on contentious topics relating to food are more robust and less open to persuasion than political and industry actors might hope or expect, and alternatives to use of framing approaches are required for any media analysis in domains where conflict is present.Michelle Phillipov, Emily A. Buddle, Sarah McLean and Rachel A. Anken
Emergent Design and Unanticipated Ideas in Asynchronous Online Focus Groups: Finding an Unexpected Silver Lining in Apparent Methodological Compromise
No full textThis article explores methodological advantages and limitations of using asynchronous online focus groups (AOFGs) as an approach to investigating community attitudes and values relating to biotechnology in food production. We describe our experiences using AOFGs during the COVID-19 pandemic as a form of emergent design. We highlight the methodological advantages and limitations of such research approaches, particularly to explore unanticipated ideas relating to community attitudes and values associated with biotechnology in food production. Although AOFGs are not a direct substitute for traditional methodologies, there are clear advantages that can outweigh typical concerns, depending on the research questions and goals, particularly when research aims to involve participants from diverse demographic groups and engage in more emergent methods allowing unanticipated ideas to be explored. As a result of having to pivot our methods to produce the required analyses during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper provides valuable insights into the use of AOFGs to capture qualitative data when use of traditional methods is restricted or may be less desirable.Emily A. Buddle, Rachel A. Ankeny, Rebecca Paxton, Rebekah J. Harms, and Heather J. Bra
The chicken for the egg: Australian motivations for raising backyard chickens
No full textA recent resurgence in keeping backyard chickens has been attributed to increasing awareness of and nostalgia for the “natural” and consumers’ desire to know more about where their food comes from, alongside food shortages experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, limited empirical research has explored why people are motivated to keep chickens in their backyard. This paper analyses qualitative interviews undertaken in Australia to explore what motivated people to keep backyard chickens and their experiences. Thematic analysis of interviews involving 44 participants showed that backyard chickens had considerable utility value by providing eggs for food (but interestingly not meat), recycling food scraps, and educating children about where food comes from and how to care for animals. Participants also described chickens as having pet-like characteristics, with many articulating considerable details about the personalities of their birds and how they provide companionship. However, chickens are not afforded the same privileges as other domestic pets such as cats and dogs: for instance, participants stated that they would not seek veterinary advice should their chickens have symptoms of illness, nor do they allow them to come inside the home. We argue that chickens assume a liminal place on the human–animal relations spectrum, where they occupy a position that is simultaneously in both the affect and the utility categories. With the continued growth in backyard chickens, which are associated with concerns about the food supply due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues, together with increasing concerns about biosecurity, developing a more robust account of the complex roles they play and the relationships we have with them are critical for our understandings of ethical and related food choices in urban settings and the efficacy of possible policy interventions related to food supply.Emily A. Buddle, Kristen Stevens, Heather J. Bray, and Rachel A. Anken
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