Social visual contact, a primary “drive” for social animals?

Education is the backbone of a civilized society. Values have an important role in education system of any society. Most important thing is that, education should be based on some core values of human being like truthfulness, honesty, justice, good behavior etc. Only this can help a society to maintain a peaceful atmosphere. As all human beings are social animals, so this is the duty of every human being to obey their social responsibility. Mahamana Malaviyaji is one of those great personalities who felt his social responsibility very well and established Banaras Hindu University to bring people out from the mode of ignorance. He values our Indian culture and tradition, which is based on Bhagavat Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. His genuine effort was to build the character of new generations, so that they can be a good citizen of the country and thus can serve the country. This paper intends to focus on Mahamana’s practical thoughts and applications to contribute to the value-based education system.

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Serie Presenta, number 1. The visual contact

Studies in the Economic History of Southern Africa ◽

10.22201/fm.24484865e.2018.61.6.09 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 61 (6) ◽

pp. 55-56

Author(s):

Adriana Olvera López ◽

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Teresa I. Fortoul van der Goes ◽

Melchor Sánchez Mendiola ◽

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...

Keyword(s):

Visual Contact

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Individual behavioural traits not social context affects learning about novel objects in archerfish

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology ◽

10.1007/s00265-021-02996-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 75 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Nick A. R. Jones ◽

Helen C. Spence-Jones ◽

Mike Webster ◽

Luke Rendell

Keyword(s):

Social Context ◽

Social Environment ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Behavioural Phenotype ◽

Social Species ◽

The Social ◽

Social Animals ◽

Novel Objects ◽

The Individual

Abstract Learning can enable rapid behavioural responses to changing conditions but can depend on the social context and behavioural phenotype of the individual. Learning rates have been linked to consistent individual differences in behavioural traits, especially in situations which require engaging with novelty, but the social environment can also play an important role. The presence of others can modulate the effects of individual behavioural traits and afford access to social information that can reduce the need for ‘risky’ asocial learning. Most studies of social effects on learning are focused on more social species; however, such factors can be important even for less-social animals, including non-grouping or facultatively social species which may still derive benefit from social conditions. Using archerfish, Toxotes chatareus, which exhibit high levels of intra-specific competition and do not show a strong preference for grouping, we explored the effect of social contexts on learning. Individually housed fish were assayed in an ‘open-field’ test and then trained to criterion in a task where fish learnt to shoot a novel cue for a food reward—with a conspecific neighbour visible either during training, outside of training or never (full, partial or no visible presence). Time to learn to shoot the novel cue differed across individuals but not across social context. This suggests that social context does not have a strong effect on learning in this non-obligatory social species; instead, it further highlights the importance that inter-individual variation in behavioural traits can have on learning. Significance statement Some individuals learn faster than others. Many factors can affect an animal’s learning rate—for example, its behavioural phenotype may make it more or less likely to engage with novel objects. The social environment can play a big role too—affecting learning directly and modifying the effects of an individual’s traits. Effects of social context on learning mostly come from highly social species, but recent research has focused on less-social animals. Archerfish display high intra-specific competition, and our study suggests that social context has no strong effect on their learning to shoot novel objects for rewards. Our results may have some relevance for social enrichment and welfare of this increasingly studied species, suggesting there are no negative effects of short- to medium-term isolation of this species—at least with regards to behavioural performance and learning tasks.

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Social isolation of goats: significance of visual contact with conspecifics on behavioral and physiological responses

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skab150 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Govind Kannan ◽

Zaira M Estrada-Reyes ◽

Phaneendra Batchu ◽

Brou Kouakou ◽

Thomas H Terrill ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Isolation ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Physiological Responses ◽

Average Weight ◽

Median Frequency ◽

Visual Contact ◽

Time Interaction ◽

Rank Score

Abstract Social isolation can increase distress in goats, particularly when they cannot maintain visual contact with conspecifics. This experiment was conducted to determine the behavioral and physiological responses in goats during isolation with or without visual contact with conspecifics. Male Spanish goats (uncastrated, 8-mo old, average weight 29.4 ± 0.59 kg) were randomly assigned to a control (CO) group with no isolation or to one of four isolation treatment (TRT) pens (1.5 × 1.5 m) with: (1) open grill panels but with no visual contact with conspecifics (IO), (2) covered grill to prevent visual contact (IC), (3) open grill with visual contact (IV), or (3) covered grill with a 30 × 30 cm window to allow visual contact (IW) for 90 min of social isolation (n = 12 goats/TRT). Blood samples were collected at 0, 30, 60, and 90 min (Time) from isolated and control goats. The experiment was repeated one week later using the same animals, with each goat being subjected to the same isolation treatment the second time to study the effect of prior exposure to isolation. Friedman’s Two-Way ANOVA by Ranks Test in SAS showed that the median frequency of vocalization (rank score) in goats was high in IO group, low in IV and IW groups, and intermediate in IC group (P < 0.01). Vocalization rank score was also higher (P < 0.01) during the first 30 min of isolation in goats. Median frequency of visual contact was higher in the IW group than in the IV group (P < 0.01). Frequency of climbing behavior was high in IC and IO groups, low in IV group, and intermediate in IW group (P < 0.01). Repeated Measures Analysis using GLM procedures in SAS revealed that plasma cortisol and glucose concentrations tended (P < 0.1) to be the highest in IO group than in CO, IC, IV, and IW groups. Cortisol levels were also higher (Time; P < 0.05) at 0 and 90 min compared to 30 and 60 min. Norepinephrine concentrations decreased (P < 0.05) with Time, and plasma non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels were affected by TRT × Time interaction (P < 0.01). Overall, epinephrine, norepinephrine, glucose, and NEFA concentrations were lower (P < 0.01) and cortisol concentrations and lymphocyte counts higher (P < 0.01) when goats were exposed to isolation the second time. The results showed that goats with no visual contact with conspecifics during social isolation had greater physiological stress responses and spent more time vocalizing or trying to escape the pen, which may indicate distress.

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The Ethics of Touch and the Importance of Nonhuman Relationships in Animal Agriculture

Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics ◽

10.1007/s10806-021-09852-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Steve Cooke

Keyword(s):

Stress Reduction ◽

Animal Ethics ◽

Physiological Responses ◽

Animal Agriculture ◽

Nonhuman Animals ◽

Social Animals ◽

Reduction Methods ◽

Salient Features

AbstractAnimal agriculture predominantly involves farming social animals. At the same time, the nature of agriculture requires severely disrupting, eliminating, and controlling the relationships that matter to those animals, resulting in harm and unhappiness for them. These disruptions harm animals, both physically and psychologically. Stressed animals are also bad for farmers because stressed animals are less safe to handle, produce less, get sick more, and produce poorer quality meat. As a result, considerable efforts have gone into developing stress-reduction methods. Many of these attempt to replicate behaviours or physiological responses that develop or constitute bonding between animals. In other words, humans try to mitigate or ameliorate the damage done by preventing and undermining intraspecies relationships. In doing so, the wrong of relational harms is compounded by an instrumentalisation of trust and care. The techniques used are emblematic of the welfarist approach to animal ethics. Using the example of gentle touching in the farming of cows for beef and dairy, the paper highlights two types of wrong. First, a wrong done in the form of relational harms, and second, a wrong done by instrumentalising relationships of care and trust. Relational harms are done to nonhuman animals, whilst instrumentalisation of care and trust indicates an insensitivity to morally salient features of the situation and a potential character flaw in the agents that carry it out.

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How Do Patients Want Us to Use the Computer During Medical Encounters?—A Discrete Choice Experiment Study

Journal of General Internal Medicine ◽

10.1007/s11606-021-06753-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Cédric Lanier ◽

Melissa Dominicé Dao ◽

Dave Baer ◽

Dagmar M. Haller ◽

Johanna Sommer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Discrete Choice Experiment ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Skills Training ◽

Experiment Study ◽

Visual Contact ◽

Patient Centered ◽

Clinical Communication ◽

French Speaking

Abstract Background Primary care physicians (PCPs) now widely use electronic health records (EHRs) during medical encounters. Experts in clinical communication issued recommendations for a patient-centered use of EHRs. However, they have never been validated by patients themselves. Objective To explore patients’ preferences regarding physicians’ EHR-related behaviors. Design Discrete choice experiment study. Patients French-speaking patients waiting for a medical consultation at two outpatient clinics in Geneva, Switzerland. Main Measures We invited patients to watch videos displaying 2 or 3 variations of four specific EHR-related behaviors and asked them to indicate which one they preferred. EHR-related behaviors were (1) typing: continuous/intermittent/handwriting in biomedical or psychosocial focused consultations; (2) maintaining contact while typing: visual/verbal/both; (3) signposting the use of EHR: with/without; (4) position of physicians’ hands and bust: on the keyboard and towards the patient/away from the keyboard and towards the patient/on the keyboard and towards the screen. Key Results Three hundred thirty-six patients participated (response rate 61.4%). They preferred intermittent typing versus handwriting or continuous typing for biomedical issues (32.7%; 95% CI: 26.0–40.2% vs 31.6%; 95% CI: 24.9–39.0% or 14.9%; 95% CI: 10.2–21.1%) and psychosocial issues (38.7%; 95% CI: 31.6–46.3% vs 24.4% 95% CI: 18.4–31.5% or 17.9%; 95% CI; 12.7–24.4%). They favored visual and verbal contact (38.9%; 95% CI: 31.9–46.3%) over verbal (30.3%; 95% CI: 23.9–37.5%) or visual contact only (11.4%; 95% CI: 7.5–17.1%) while the doctor was typing. A majority preferred signposting the use of EHR versus no signposting (58.9%; 95% CI: 53.5–64.0% vs 34.8%; 95% CI: 29.9–40.1%). Finally, half of the patients (49.7%; 95% CI: 42.0–57.4%) favored the position with the physician’s bust towards the patient and hands away from the keyboard. Conclusions Our study shows that patients’ preferences regarding EHR-related behaviors are in line with most experts’ recommendations. Such recommendations should be more consistently integrated into under- and postgraduate communication skills training.

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