scholarly journals Determining priority welfare issues for cats in the United Kingdom using expert consensus

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e000365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Rioja-Lang ◽  
Heather Bacon ◽  
Melanie Connor ◽  
Cathy Mary Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Pain Management ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Delphi Method ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Online Discussion Board ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Initial List

BackgroundCats are the most popular pets in the UK, yet relatively little research has been conducted into the welfare of cats living in a home environment. The purpose of this study was to determine and prioritise welfare issues for cats using a Delphi method.MethodsCat welfare experts (n=14) were asked to identify and rank welfare issues for cats in the UK. An initial list of 118 welfare issues was generated by an anonymous online discussion board of experts and thematic analysis using NVivo. Subsequently experts ranked the list of welfare issues according to severity, duration and prevalence using a 6-point Likert scale. All issues with a median score of 3 or above (n=43) were included in the second survey to determine agreement on the rankings of issues. Finally, a subsection of experts attended a two-day workshop to discuss the welfare rankings and determine the final prioritised list of welfare issues.ResultsThe issues considered to be the most severe and/or likely to cause prolonged cat suffering included social behaviour issues, diseases of old age, obesity, owners not seeking veterinary care and poor pain management. The welfare issues perceived to be most prevalent included neglect/hoarding, delayed euthanasia, inherited conformational defects/diseases, social or environmental restriction, and poor pain management.ConclusionsThe outcomes suggested that, although issues such as cat behaviour required further research, owner education was an important factor in improving cat welfare.

scholarly journals Determining a Welfare Prioritization for Horses Using a Delphi Method

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 647
Author(s):  
Fiona C. Rioja-Lang ◽  
Melanie Connor ◽  
Heather Bacon ◽  
Cathy M. Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Delphi Method ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Priority List ◽  
Online Discussion Board ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Education Interventions ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Equine Welfare ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Initial List

Equine welfare issues are receiving increasing attention in the UK, but welfare problems can arise from a wide range of causes. In order to identify the most important welfare concerns for horses, we used a Delphi method with 19 equine welfare experts. An initial list of 84 equine welfare issues was generated using an online discussion board and NVivo thematic analysis. Subsequently, experts ranked these welfare issues for perceived prevalence, severity and duration of suffering associated with each issue on a 6-point Likert scale. All issues with a mean score of 3 or above (n = 37) were included in subsequent rounds. Finally, a subset of experts attended a two-day workshop to determine the final priority list of welfare issues. The welfare issues perceived to be most prevalent were lack of biosecurity, delayed euthanasia, lack of owner knowledge of equine welfare needs, fear and stress from use, and obesity. The issues considered to cause greatest suffering for individual horses were delayed euthanasia, lack of recognition by owners of pain behaviour, large worm burdens, obesity and being fed unsuitable diets for equine feeding behaviour. These outcomes can help to focus research and education interventions on the most pressing welfare issues for horses.

scholarly journals Rabbit welfare: determining priority welfare issues for pet rabbits using a modified Delphi method

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e000363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Rioja-Lang ◽  
Heather Bacon ◽  
Melanie Connor ◽  
Cathy Mary Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Delphi Method ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Modified Delphi Method ◽  
The Third ◽  
Modified Delphi ◽  
Online Discussion Board ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Final Round

BackgroundRabbits are the third most popular pet in the UK, but little research into their welfare needs has been conducted.MethodsA modified Delphi method was used to generate expert consensus on the most important welfare issues for rabbits in the UK. The study involved 11 experts, recruited from a range of disciplines. The experts generated an initial broad list of welfare issues via an online discussion board. Two rounds of online surveys were conducted to prioritise these issues. The final round was a workshop with a subsection of experts. The experts decided that welfare issues should be ranked considering: (1) severity, (2) duration, and (3) prevalence.ResultsExperts considered that rabbits were often kept in inadequate housing, were not handled or socialised properly, were fed inappropriate diets and owners failed to vaccinate their rabbits against preventable diseases. Rabbits were thought to experience a reduced life expectancy. Lack of owner knowledge of rabbit husbandry and behaviour and, in some cases, also lack of veterinary knowledge, contributed to poor rabbit welfare.ConclusionsThe Delphi process resulted in consensus on the most significant welfare challenges faced by rabbits and can help guide future research and education priority decisions.

CASE STUDY OF ONLINE DISCUSSION BOARD USE IN AN ENGINEERING EDUCATION GRADUATE COURSE

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Davidson ◽  
Lisa Romkey ◽  
Allison Van Beek
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Education ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Asynchronous Learning ◽  
Discussion Boards ◽  
Graduate Course ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Online Discussion Board

Due to the increasing prevalence of asynchronous learning platforms, the development and implementation of online discussion boards have become important considerations in the design of post-secondary learning environments. This research is conducted as a case study of the online discussion board use in a small engineering education graduate course, consisting of in-class and online discussion components. By varying the structure of the online discussion board to allow different types of student interaction, the study identifies trends in discussion board use, specifically pertaining to student participation, student collaboration, and the integration between in-class and online discussions. As a result, the study provides insight into the utility and limitations of online discussion boards in post-secondary courses.  

scholarly journals Bladder cancer discussed in the internet: a systematic analysis of gender differences of initial posters on an online discussion board

SpringerPlus ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick Lippka ◽  
Oliver Patschan ◽  
Tilmann Todenhöfer ◽  
Christian Schwentner ◽  
Andreas Gutzeit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Bladder Cancer ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Online Discussion Board

The Online Discussion and Student Success in Web-Based Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 3285-3292
Author(s):  
E. Benrud
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Corporate Finance ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Exam Performance ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Online Discussion Board ◽  
Highly Correlated

This article examines the performance of students in a Web-based corporate finance course and how the technologies associated with communication on the Internet can enhance student learning. The article provides statistical evidence that documents that the online discussion board in a Web-based course can significantly enhance the learning process even in a quantitative course such as corporate finance. The results show that ex ante predictors of student performance that had been found useful in predicting student success in face-to-face classes also had significant predictive power for exam performance in the online course. However, these predictors did not have predictive power for participation in the online discussion. Yet, online participation and exam performance were highly correlated. This suggests that the use of the online discussion board technology by the students enhanced the performance of students who otherwise would not have performed as well without the discussion.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document