1,720,954 research outputs found
A rein tension signal can be reduced by half in a single training session
No full textRein tension signals are, in essence, pressures applied on the horse's mouth or nose, via the bit/noseband, by a rider or trainer. These pressures may feel uncomfortable or even painful to the horse and therefore it is important to reduce rein tension magnitude to a minimum. The aim of this study was to investigate the magnitude of a rein tension signal for backing up, using negative reinforcement. We wanted to assess how much the magnitude of rein tension could be reduced over eight trials and if the learning process would differ depending on headstall (bridle/halter). Twenty Warmblood horses were trained to step back from a rein tension signal with the handler standing next to the horse, holding the hands above the horse's withers. As soon as the horses stepped back, rein tension was released. The horses were either trained with a bridle first (first treatment, eight trials) and then with a halter (second treatment, eight trials), or vice versa in a cross-over design. All horses wore a rein tension meter and behavior was recorded from video. The sum of left and right maximum rein tension from onset of the rein tension signal to onset of backing (signaling rein tension) was determined for each trial. Mixed linear and logistic regression models were used for the data analysis. In both treatments, signaling rein tension was significantly lower in trial 7–8 than the first trial (p < 0.02). Likewise, signaling rein tension was significantly lower (p < 0.01), and the horses responded significantly faster, (p < 0.001) in the second treatment compared to the first, regardless of headstall. The maximum rein tension was reduced from 35 N to 17 N for bridle (sum of left and right rein) and from 25 N to 15 N for halter in the first eight trials. Rein tension was then further reduced to 10 N for both bridle and halter over the eight additional trials in the second treatment, i.e. to approximately 5 N in each rein. There was no significant difference in learning performance depending on headstall, but the bitted bridle was associated with significantly more head/neck/mouth behaviors. These results suggest that it is possible to reduce maximum rein tension by half in just eight trials. The findings demonstrate how quickly the horse can be taught to respond to progressively lower magnitudes of rein tension through the correct application of negative reinforcement, suggesting possibilities for substantial improvement of equine welfare during training
Rein Tension Signals Elicit Different Behavioral Responses When Comparing Bitted Bridle and Halter
No full textWhen a rider maintains contact on the reins, rein tension will vary continuously in synchronicity with the horse's gait and stride. This continuous variation makes it difficult to isolate the rein tension variations that represent a rein tension signal, complicating interpretation of rein tension data from the perspective of horse-rider interaction. This study investigated (1) the characteristics of a rein tension signal and (2) horse response to a rein tension signal for backing, comparing pressure applied by a bit (bridle), or by a noseband (halter). Twenty Warmblood horses (10 young, 10 adult) wearing a rein tension meter were trained to step back in the aisle of a stable. The handler stood next to the horse's withers, applying tension on the reins until the horse stepped back. This was repeated eight times with the bridle and eight times with the halter. Data analysis was performed using mixed linear and logistic regression models. Horses displaying behaviors other than backing showed significantly increased response latency and rein tension. Inattentive behavior was significantly more common in the halter treatment and in young horses, compared with the bridle treatment and adult horses. Evasive behaviors with the head, neck, and mouth were significantly more common in the bridle treatment than in the halter treatment and the occurrence of head/neck/mouth behaviors increased with increasing rein tension and duration of the rein tension signal. When controlling for behavior, the horses responded significantly faster and to a lighter rein tension signal in the bridle treatment than in the halter treatment. By scrutinizing data on rein tension signals in relation to horse behavior and training exercise, more can be learnt about the horse's experience of the pressures applied and the timing of the release. This can assist in developing ways to evaluate rein tension in relation to correct use of negative reinforcement
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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