scholarly journals Love Bites – Do Venomous Arachnids Make Safe Pets?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias J. Hauke ◽  
Volker Herzig
Keyword(s):  
Lower Risk ◽  
Pet Ownership ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
Global Estimate ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Media ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Bites And Stings ◽  
Industrialised Countries ◽  
Domestic Care

With a global estimate of tens of thousands of arachnid enthusiasts, spiders and scorpions are gaining increasing popularity as pets in industrialised countries in Europe, Northern America and Asia. As most spiders and all scorpions are venomous and due to their mostly negative image in the public media, several governments are already considering introducing legislation to regulate the domestic care of potentially dangerous captive animals. We aimed to investigate the circumstances and effects of exposure to arachnids kept in captivity. Thus, we collected and analysed data from 335 reported bites and stings attributed to pet arachnids. Our data revealed that on average there were less than 20 recorded envenomations per year with ~90% preventable by due care. We also categorized the severity of the resulting symptoms and found that the vast majority of symptoms were either local (60.9%) or moderate (33.4%), 4.8% were asymptomatic, only 0.9% were severe and no fatalities were recorded. Based on our database of bite and sting reports, we performed a risk assessment for arachnid pet ownership and concluded that with the proper care arachnids can be safely kept as pets and pose a lower risk than many other recreational activities.

Love Bites – Do Venomous Arachnids Make Safe Pets?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias J. Hauke ◽  
Volker Herzig
Keyword(s):  
Lower Risk ◽  
Pet Ownership ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
Global Estimate ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Media ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Bites And Stings ◽  
Industrialised Countries ◽  
Domestic Care

With a global estimate of tens of thousands of arachnid enthusiasts, spiders and scorpions are gaining increasing popularity as pets in industrialised countries in Europe, Northern America and Asia. As most spiders and all scorpions are venomous and due to their mostly negative image in the public media, several governments are already considering introducing legislation to regulate the domestic care of potentially dangerous captive animals. We aimed to investigate the circumstances and effects of exposure to arachnids kept in captivity. Thus, we collected and analysed data from 354 reported bites and stings attributed to pet arachnids. Our data revealed that on average there were less than 20 recorded envenomations per year with ~90% preventable by due care. We also categorized the severity of the resulting symptoms and found that the vast majority of symptoms were either local (60.7%) or moderate (32.8%), 5.4% were asymptomatic, only 1.1% were severe and no fatalities were recorded. Based on our database of bite and sting reports, we performed a risk assessment for arachnid pet ownership and concluded that with the proper care arachnids can be safely kept as pets and pose a lower risk than many other recreational activities.

scholarly journals Love Bites – Do Venomous Arachnids Make Safe Pets?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias J. Hauke ◽  
Volker Herzig
Keyword(s):  
Lower Risk ◽  
Pet Ownership ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
Global Estimate ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Media ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Bites And Stings ◽  
Industrialised Countries ◽  
Domestic Care

With a global estimate of tens of thousands of arachnid enthusiasts, spiders and scorpions are gaining increasing popularity as pets in industrialised countries in Europe, Northern America and Asia. As most spiders and all scorpions are venomous and due to their mostly negative image in the public media, several governments are already considering introducing legislation to regulate the domestic care of potentially dangerous captive animals. We aimed to investigate the circumstances and effects of exposure to arachnids kept in captivity. Thus, we collected and analysed data from 354 self-reported bites and stings attributed to pet arachnids. Our data revealed that on average there were less than 20 recorded envenomations per year with ~90% preventable by due care. We also categorized the severity of the resulting symptoms and found that the vast majority of symptoms were either local (60.7%) or minor (32.8%), 5.4% were asymptomatic, only 1.1% were severe and no fatalities were recorded. Based on our database of bite and sting reports, we performed a risk assessment for arachnid pet ownership and concluded that, with the proper care, arachnids can be safely kept as pets and pose a lower risk than many other recreational activities.

scholarly journals Animal Venoms—Curse or Cure?

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 413
Author(s):  
Volker Herzig
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
World Health ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Venomous Animals ◽  
Public Media ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
The One ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Animal Venoms

An estimated 15% of animals are venomous, with representatives spread across the majority of animal lineages. Animals use venoms for various purposes, such as prey capture and predator deterrence. Humans have always been fascinated by venomous animals in a Janus-faced way. On the one hand, humans have a deeply rooted fear of venomous animals. This is boosted by their largely negative image in public media and the fact that snakes alone cause an annual global death toll in the hundreds of thousands, with even more people being left disabled or disfigured. Consequently, snake envenomation has recently been reclassified by the World Health Organization as a neglected tropical disease. On the other hand, there has been a growth in recent decades in the global scene of enthusiasts keeping venomous snakes, spiders, scorpions, and centipedes in captivity as pets. Recent scientific research has focussed on utilising animal venoms and toxins for the benefit of humanity in the form of molecular research tools, novel diagnostics and therapeutics, biopesticides, or anti-parasitic treatments. Continued research into developing efficient and safe antivenoms and promising discoveries of beneficial effects of animal toxins is further tipping the scales in favour of the “cure” rather than the “curse” prospect of venoms.

Welfare State Values and Public Service Media in the Era of Datafication

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaarina Nikunen ◽  
Jenni Hokka
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Data Practices ◽  
Public Media ◽  
New Public

Welfare states have historically been built on values of egalitarianism and universalism and through high taxation that provides free education, health care, and social security for all. Ideally, this encourages participation of all citizens and formation of inclusive public sphere. In this welfare model, the public service media are also considered some of the main institutions that serve the well-being of an entire society. That is, independent, publicly funded media companies are perceived to enhance equality, citizenship, and social solidarity by providing information and programming that is driven by public rather than commercial interest. This article explores how the public service media and their values of universality, equality, diversity, and quality are affected by datafication and a platformed media environment. It argues that the embeddedness of public service media in a platformed media environment produces complex and contradictory dependencies between public service media and commercial platforms. The embeddedness has resulted in simultaneous processes of adapting to social media logics and datafication within public service media as well as in attempts to create alternative public media value-driven data practices and new public media spaces.

Public Administration at the Movies

Public Voices ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn Holley ◽  
Rebecca K Lutte
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Public Employees ◽  
Paper Briefly ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
The Public ◽  
Popular Films ◽  
Positive Message ◽  
American Society

This paper briefly summarizes evidence for the influence of popular films on public perception of government and on public policy.  Two films examined through the lens of public administration, and the lessons they teach about public administration, are exposed.  One film, Ghostbusters conveys a strongly negative image, and the other, A Thousand Heroes a strongly positive message.  Only Ghostbusters was and remains popular and profitable.  Public information efforts by government and the public administration community have been limited or reactive.  The authors argue for the increased support for public information initiatives such as those of the Public Employees Roundtable (PER) and  the American Society of Public Administration (ASPA).

scholarly journals Harm Perceptions and Beliefs about Potential Modified Risk Tobacco Products

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 576
Author(s):  
Jennifer C. Morgan ◽  
Joseph N. Cappella
Keyword(s):  
Lower Risk ◽  
Tobacco Products ◽  
The Public ◽  
Quit Smoking ◽  
Former Smokers ◽  
Use Factors

Under US law, tobacco products may be authorized to claim lower exposure to chemicals, or lower risk of health harms. We sought to examine the harm perceptions and beliefs about potential modified risk tobacco products (MRTPs). We recruited 864 adult current and former smokers in August 2019. Participants read a paragraph describing the potential for the FDA to authorize MRTPs and a brief description of MRTPs. The most endorsed beliefs for each product were that they contained nicotine and that they were risky. Believing that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit smoking, that they tasted good, and looked cool were associated with greater odds of intending to try e-cigarettes after controlling for demographic and use factors. For snus, the beliefs that the product was not addictive and tasted good were associated with increased odds of intending to try snus. The beliefs that heated tobacco would taste good and would be a good quit aid was associated with increased odds of intentions to try heated tobacco products. Understanding what the public believes about products currently or potentially authorized to be marketed as modified risk tobacco products can inform communication efforts.

Facets of the Irish Diaspora: ‘Irishness’ in 20th Century Scotland

1996 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Bradley
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Social Setting ◽  
Population Groups ◽  
Football Club ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Arena ◽  
Public Media ◽  
The Social ◽  
Common Identity

This paper argues that Celtic Football Club has played a central organising role in establishing a common identity for Catholics of Irish descent in Scotland. Concentrating on evidence taken from discourse in the public media, it draws attention to reactions to this identity by other population groups. Such responses, which are frequently ferocious in the degree of rejection they express, highlight the effects of Celtic's role. It provides a public arena within which Irishness can be expressed; at the same time, it draws fire from hostile elements in the social setting. Tensions within the Irish community about their common identity may in part be responses to these reactions.

scholarly journals Gazali, H.M Bitcoin Investment Behaviour: A Pilot Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-86
Author(s):  
Haneffa Muchlis Gazali
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
The Public ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Public Media ◽  
Collection Period ◽  
Investment Behaviour

The evolution of blockchain technology that promotes decentralised peer to peer electronic cash system named as Bitcoin is becoming trending across the globe. Although the Bitcoin price is extremely volatile, the popularity of bitcoin is seemingly unambiguous. The Bitcoin trending has garnered serious attention from the public, media and academia.  Hitherto, no research has yet systematically investigated the factors influencing the intention to invest in Bitcoin. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify the factors that influence the intention to invest in Bitcoin. An online survey was distributed via the email to the target respondents, those who have basic knowledge of Bitcoin investment. After three weeks of the data collection period for the pilot study, 45 samples were gathered to be tested further. Using the SPSS programme, the data were analysed through the reliability test and factor analysis. The results of the study indicate that the items are valid and reliable. The exploratory factor analysis also discloses that the sampling is satisfactory. Being limited preliminary analysis, this study lacks the empirical evidence to confirm the relationships between the studied variables. Therefore, in future an adequate and bigger sample is needed to establish the empirical support on the associations of the studied variables

Free airtime of election committees in Poland compared with similar solutions in other countries. The attitude of Poles to free election broadcasts in the Polish public media

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-237
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Łukasik-Turecka
Keyword(s):  
Likert Scale ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Survey Questionnaire ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Appropriate Use ◽  
Research Results ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Media ◽  
Similar Solutions ◽  
The Right

The principle of equal electoral opportunities is implemented, inter alia, by allocating free airtime to political entities. In Poland, like in many other countries, the authorized committees have the right to use the public media’s airtime free of charge during election campaigns. The present article’s objective is to show the Polish solutions in this domain compared with the regulations in other countries and to present the research results and their analysis concerning Poles’ attitude to free election broadcasts – including their assessment of the broadcasts as a source of knowledge about candidates and parties taking part in the election campaign. The studies were carried out based on the survey questionnaire, which was compiled using the five-level Likert scale. The sample was selected by the stratifiedquota method (N = 971). The conclusions resulting from the survey suggest the need to retain the regulation that enables political entities in Poland to use free election broadcasts during election campaigns. At the same time, they point out that it is necessary to seek more advantageous forms and content to put airtime to appropriate use during the campaign period.

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