1,720,969 research outputs found
Reported off-leash frequency and perceptions of risk for gastrointestinal parasitism are not associated in owners of park-attending dogs: a multifactorial investigation.
No full textAssociations between park use and infections with gastrointestinal (GI) parasites in dogs(Canis familiaris) have been previously observed, suggesting park use may pose risks forinfection in dogs, and potentially, in humans. This study was conducted to establish theoverall level of perceived risk of parasitism in dogs, the frequency of unleashing dogs inparks, and to determine if dog owners’ risk perceptions of parasite transmission amonghumans and dogs are associated with the reported frequency of unleashing dogs. From Juneto September 2010, 635 surveys were administered to dog owners in nine city parks in Cal-gary, Alberta, by the lead author to explore dog-walking behaviors in parks under differingleashing regulations. From these, a subset of 316 questionnaires were analyzed to examineassociations between behavioral and dog demographic factors, risk perception and accept-ability of perceived risks of dog and human parasitism, and education regarding parasitismin dogs and humans. Multivariate statistics were conducted using three separate Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) decision trees to model risk perceptionof dogs becoming parasitized while in the park, risk perception of zoonotic transmission,and off-leash frequency. Predictors included recreational behaviors, dog demographics, riskperception of park-based and zoonotic transmission, education regarding parasites, andleashing regulations (e.g. on-leash, off-leash, or mixed management parks). The perceivedrisk of park-based transmission was relatively higher than perception of zoonotic trans-mission and the majority of people unleashed their dogs at least some of the time. Riskperception was not associated with off-leash frequency in dogs and risk perception andoff-leash frequency were associated with factors other than each other. The results suggestowners may underestimate the potential risks for parasitis
Urban park-related risks for Giardia spp. infection in dogs.
No full textGiardia spp. is a common gastrointestinal (GI) parasite of multiple host species, including dogs and
humans, with the potential for zoonotic transmission. The risk of GI parasitism in dogs (including
Giardia spp.) may increase with park use in urban areas. This study aimed to (1) determine whether
park attendance is a risk factor for Giardia spp. infection in dogs and (2) characterize the behavioural
and demographic risk factors for Giardia spp. infection in park-attending and non-park-attending
dogs. From August to September 2012, a total of 1293 dog owners completed a survey and
860 corresponding dog faecal samples were collected. Dog faeces were screened for Giardia spp. using
a direct immunofluorescence assay and associations assessed among behaviours, demographics, and
Giardia spp. infection. Main results included off-leash and swimming frequencies within parks as
significantly positively associated with Giardia spp. infection in dogs. Dog-owner age was negatively
associated with off-leash and swimming frequencies in parks. The results suggest some recreational
behaviours in parks and certain demographics are risk factors for parasitism in pet dogs
Dog-walking, dog-fouling and leashing policies in urban parks: Insights from a natural experiment designed as a longitudinal multiple-case study.
No full textIn this natural experiment, we investigated on-leash and off-leash policies as plausible influences on
the behavior of dog-walkers in the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Following policy-mandated public
consultations, two of the four parks initially proposed by the City as sites for new off-leash areas retained
on-leash designations. Within a year of creating off-leash areas in two parks, we observed more dogwalkers
and improved compliance with dog-fouling in one case, but not in the other. Compared to the
previous year, we also observed more stationary dog-walkers in both of these parks. Paradoxically, activity
levels amongst dog-walkers – including while dogs were off-leash – remained highest for a park that
retained an on-leash designation. Off-leash policies in urban parks could have positive as well as negative
implications for public health. In addition to off-leash policies, factors that merit consideration regarding
dog-walking and dog-fouling include implementation strategies, physical features, socio-demographic
characteristics and modifications to park environments
Policies on pets for healthy cities: A conceptual framework.
Full text linkDrawing on the One Health concept, and integrating a dual focus on public policy and practices of caring from the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, we outline a conceptual framework to help guide the development and assessment of local governments' policies on pets. This framework emphasizes well-being in human populations, while recognizing that these outcomes relate to the well-being of non-human animals. Five intersecting spheres of activity, each associated with local governments' jurisdiction over pets, are presented: (i) preventing threats and nuisances from pets, (ii) meeting pets' emotional and physical needs, (iii) procuring pets ethically, (iv) providing pets with veterinary services and (v) licensing and identifying pets. This conceptual framework acknowledges the tenets of previous health promotion frameworks, including overlapping and intersecting influences. At the same time, this framework proposes to advance our understanding of health promotion and, more broadly, population health by underscoring interdependence between people and pets as well as the dynamism of urbanized ecologies. Key words: Health promotion, animal welfare, environmental policy, urban healthThis work was supported by an operating grant (CIHR-GIR-112745) from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute for Population and Public Health, for which Melanie Rock and Gavin McCormack are principal investigators and the other authors are members of the research team. During the process of analysis and writing, Melanie Rock held a Population Health Investigator Award from Alberta Innovates—Health Solutions (funded by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Endowment). Coordination with CD was, in addition, facilitated by Visiting Scholar awards, held in 2012 and 2013 at the University of Sydney, from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute for Population and Public Health
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
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