scholarly journals A Case Study on the Behavioural Effect of Positive Reinforcement Training in a Novel Task Participation Test in Göttingen Mini Pigs

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1610
Author(s):  
Lisa Jønholt ◽  
Cathrine Juel Bundgaard ◽  
Martin Carlsen ◽  
Dorte Bratbo Sørensen

In laboratory animal research, many procedures will be stressful for the animals, as they are forced to participate. Training animals to cooperate using clicker training (CT) or luring (LU) may reduce stress levels, and thereby increase animal welfare. In zoo animals, aquarium animals, and pets, CT is used to train animals to cooperate during medical procedures, whereas in experimental research, LU seem to be the preferred training method. This descriptive case study aims to present the behaviour of CT and LU pigs in a potentially fear-evoking behavioural test—the novel task participation test—in which the pigs walked a short runway on a novel walking surface. All eight pigs voluntarily participated, and only one LU pig showed body stretching combined with lack of tail wagging indicating reduced welfare. All CT pigs and one LU pig displayed tail wagging during the test, indicating a positive mental state. Hence, training pigs to cooperate during experimental procedures resulted in a smooth completion of the task with no signs of fear or anxiety in seven out of eight animals. We suggest that training laboratory pigs prior to experimental procedures or tests should be done to ensure low stress levels.

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Visvaganthie Moodley

Symbols and symbolisms across literary genres are powerful rhetoric devices used to enhance not only writers’ style, but to convey richness in meaning that transcends narrative descriptions. However, as its interpretations are context-bound, it causes anxieties for the under-proficient language teacher who, firstmost, requires deep specific content knowledge to drive instruction and enhance cognition amongst learners. Using qualitative descriptive case study, this paper aims to provide specific content knowledge by examining the literary use of symbols, symbolisms and significance in Yann Martel’s ‘Life of Pi’, which has been prescribed as a set book for Grade 12 school-exiting learners in South Africa, for the year 2017 onwards. The paper will – by analysing arbitrary, cultural and personal symbolisms and significances, mostly through psychoanalytical lens – unravel covert meanings and messages in cultural, religious and environmental contexts whilst simultaneously showing how these are pivotal to understanding major themes in the novel.  


TAPPI Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 9-17
Author(s):  
ALESSANDRA GERLI ◽  
LEENDERT C. EIGENBROOD

A novel method was developed for the determination of linting propensity of paper based on printing with an IGT printability tester and image analysis of the printed strips. On average, the total fraction of the surface removed as lint during printing is 0.01%-0.1%. This value is lower than those reported in most laboratory printing tests, and more representative of commercial offset printing applications. Newsprint paper produced on a roll/blade former machine was evaluated for linting propensity using the novel method and also printed on a commercial coldset offset press. Laboratory and commercial printing results matched well, showing that linting was higher for the bottom side of paper than for the top side, and that linting could be reduced on both sides by application of a dry-strength additive. In a second case study, varying wet-end conditions were used on a hybrid former machine to produce four paper reels, with the goal of matching the low linting propensity of the paper produced on a machine with gap former configuration. We found that the retention program, by improving fiber fines retention, substantially reduced the linting propensity of the paper produced on the hybrid former machine. The papers were also printed on a commercial coldset offset press. An excellent correlation was found between the total lint area removed from the bottom side of the paper samples during laboratory printing and lint collected on halftone areas of the first upper printing unit after 45000 copies. Finally, the method was applied to determine the linting propensity of highly filled supercalendered paper produced on a hybrid former machine. In this case, the linting propensity of the bottom side of paper correlated with its ash content.


2020 ◽  
pp. 016235322097830
Author(s):  
Diane Barone ◽  
Rebecca Barone

This study explored understandings shared by fifth-grade gifted students as they read the book Restart, which explores bullying. Students read, created representations, and discussed the text. Grounded by Langer’s stances of envisionment, this descriptive case study analyzed student representations and conversations. Each of the stances was represented with most responses being represented in Stances 1 (getting a sense of the text), 2 (interpreting text), and 4 (analyzing the text). In addition, most students viewed bullies and their behavior as being in a fixed state, which was tied to the perceived power a bully held. The results from this study have implications for teachers who work with gifted and talented students, counselors who work with students in mental health and resilience programs, and the collaboration of these school personnel.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 336
Author(s):  
Jelena Maric ◽  
Djukic Aleksandra ◽  
Branislav Antonic ◽  
Danilo Furundzic ◽  
Vladimir Parezanin

Working people spend around 54% of their waking hours at a workplace, according to recent statistics. Work-related stress is unavoidable, and it can damage the health of employees and affect business performance. In this paper, we argue that open space inside the workplace environment can have a positive influence on reducing overall stress levels in all the categories of users. To our knowledge, there is a significant lack of research considering specific business districts and the gated complexes called business parks, especially in post-socialist Eastern European cities, where there they are still a novelty. Empirical research in this study is on the single case study of Business Park “Airport city” in Belgrade, Serbia. Its main focus is on the survey conducted with 235 participants based on a questionnaire, which examines the relation between workplace stress and workplace environments. The findings from the questionnaire show that the frequency, duration, and activity of open space usage influence the stress levels of employees in this specific workplace, while it is not visible relating to their age and gender. Additionally, final implications suggest that improved open space, such as well-expected greenery, but also the urban design non-associative to workspace and the socialization and exercise amenities customized for frequent and short work breaks, can facilitate the overall well-being of employees. They are innovative elements in relatively underdeveloped research on stress measures with open space usage characteristics in the specific (gated) workplace setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Heather A. Feldner ◽  
Christina Papazian ◽  
Keshia M. Peters ◽  
Claire J. Creutzfeldt ◽  
Katherine M. Steele

Arm recovery varies greatly among stroke survivors. Wearable surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors have been used to track recovery in research; however, sEMG is rarely used within acute and subacute clinical settings. The purpose of this case study was to describe the use of wireless sEMG sensors to examine changes in muscle activity during acute and subacute phases of stroke recovery, and understand the participant’s perceptions of sEMG monitoring. Beginning three days post-stroke, one stroke survivor wore five wireless sEMG sensors on his involved arm for three to four hours, every one to three days. Muscle activity was tracked during routine care in the acute setting through discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Three- and eight-month follow-up sessions were completed in the community. Activity logs were completed each session, and a semi-structured interview occurred at the final session. The longitudinal monitoring of muscle and movement recovery in the clinic and community was feasible using sEMG sensors. The participant and medical team felt monitoring was unobtrusive, interesting, and motivating for recovery, but desired greater in-session feedback to inform rehabilitation. While barriers in equipment and signal quality still exist, capitalizing on wearable sensing technology in the clinic holds promise for enabling personalized stroke recovery.


2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-520
Author(s):  
Nicola Pozza

AbstractNumerous studies have dealt with the process of globalization and its various cultural products. Three such cultural products illustrate this process: Vikas Swarup’s novel Q and A (2005), the TV quiz show Kaun banega crorepati? (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), and Danny Boyle’s film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). The novel, the TV show and the film have so far been studied separately. Juxtaposing and comparing Q and A, Kaun banega crorepati, and Slumdog Millionaire provides an effective means to shed light on the dialogic and interactive nature of the process of globalization. It is argued through this case study that an analysis of their place of production, language and content, helps clarify the derivative concepts of “glocalization” and “grobalization” with regard to the way(s) contemporary cultural products respond to globalization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 2675-2679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Lawrence ◽  
Kathleen Hanley ◽  
Jennifer Adams ◽  
Daniel J Sartori ◽  
Richard Greene ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 614-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Hatcher

President Trump’s communications during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic violate principles of public health, such as practicing transparency and deferring to medical experts. Moreover, the president’s communications are dangerous and misleading, and his lack of leadership during the crisis limits the nation’s response to the problem, increases political polarization around public health issues of social distancing, and spreads incorrect information about health-related policies and medical procedures. To correct the dangerous path that the nation is on, the administration needs to adopt a more expert-centered approach to the crisis, and President Trump needs to practice compassion, empathy, and transparency in his communications.


Author(s):  
Halil Kayaduman ◽  
Turgay Demirel

The purpose of the study is to investigate the concern developments of first-time distance education instructors using the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM). This study used stages of concern (SoC), a component of CBAM, as its theoretical framework. A descriptive case study was implemented, which focused on the adaptation processes of nine instructors lecturing for the first time via distance education. The instructors attended a two-day training, which was designed based on their initial concerns. Then instructors implemented their courses for four weeks via distance education. While the informational and personal stages (self-concerns) decreased compared to the initial findings, the consequence stage increased in intensity. However, self-concerns remained predominant in the process despite the reduction in self-concerns and increase in the consequence stage. Based on the findings, the implications for distance education and recommendations for addressing the instructors’ concerns are discussed. Recommendations for alleviating the concerns of first-time distance education instructors include: the provision of ongoing concern-based interventions that incorporate technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge; providing working examples related to distance education from which instructors can learn vicariously; and encouraging collaboration among instructors.


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