scholarly journals Sentiency, bioethics and animal welfare: concepts that need to be discussed in higher education to change the teaching and researching paradigm

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 4031
Author(s):  
Anderson Do Prado Duzanski ◽  
Ana Paula Millet Evangelista dos Santos ◽  
Mariza Fordellone Rosa Cruz ◽  
Emília De Paiva Porto ◽  
Petrônio Pinheiro Porto ◽  
...  

This study investigated the knowledge of students of Veterinary Medicine and Biological Sciences of the State University of Northern Paraná, Campus Luiz Meneghel, on the ethical and legal guidelines of animal experimentation, as well as the possibility of substitute methods for using sentient animals in classes and scientific practices. The research involved 162 freshman students and graduating students, aged 17 to 32 years. The students responded to the questionnaire containing objective and subjective questions, and the answers were analysed by descriptive statistics. It was observed that 87% of the students were unaware of the concept of the “3Rs” and 81.5% did not know the existence of alternative methods that can replace the use of live animals in studies. In addition, only 24.7% of respondents reported they had studied “bioethics” before graduation. However, 94.3% and 96.2% of the students from veterinary medicine and biological sciences, respectively, considered it important to insert animal welfare and bioethics in the curriculum of such courses. The results demonstrated that the ethical and statutory guidelines that rule the use of animals in scientific experiments and in classes are unknown even among senior students and there is still great resistance to the exclusion of animal models. Thus, it is important that animal welfare and bioethics remain in the curriculum in higher education through the insertion of such subjects, even as elective courses that aim to work with methodologies and innovative strategies in synergistic action with ethics committees for animal use, which are responsible for analysing, guiding and supervising the relevance of animal use in education and research. Therefore, the curriculum will be able to achieve rationalization in the use of animal models, the sustainable and “humanitarian” development of teaching and research, and the training of more conscious and ethical professionals, perceptions that must be achieved through a national education curriculum.

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 636-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Chen

Acceptance of the concept of replacement, refinement, and reduction (the 3Rs) and the need for their implementation is widespread in the research community, and is also backed by local governance requirements in many key jurisdictions. Yet concerns about underutilization of these concepts and practices remain. From a survey of animal welfare officers (AWOs) in Australia, the attitudes to, and the adoption of, 3Rs in Australian public universities is explored. The survey finds that Australian AWOs have considerable concerns about 3R uptake, with 44% agreeing that ‘3R possibilities often remain unused’. At the same time, these officers see access to relevant information, and the implementation of the 3Rs, as comparatively easy. Thus, a problem of under-implementation appears to exist. A number of explanations for this are put forward. AWOs are comparatively junior professional staff in the Australian university system, constrained from going beyond basic regulative functions and to the training and promotion of the 3Rs. When compared with their international counterparts, Australian AWOs spend less time providing information and advice on the 3Rs to researchers working in their institutions. Significantly, while AWOs tend to see themselves as being well supported institutionally, they have comparatively poor relationships with active researchers who are using animal models. The implications of this are examined, with recommendations for research institutions, as well as for further research.


2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 169-174
Author(s):  
Roman Kolar

Eurogroup for Animal Welfare is the umbrella organisation of the major animal welfare organisations in Europe. Whereas its long-term goal is the complete replacement of animal experiments by methods that do not involve pain, suffering or distress in animals, it is also committed to any reasonable effort to reduce and refine animal experiments, as long as they continue to be carried out. Eurogroup therefore supports the activities of ECVAM, and it acknowledges the contributions to animal protection in various areas of animal use for scientific purposes made by ECVAM to date. Eurogroup is not satisfied with the number of alternative methods accepted in the past, but it sees the main responsibility for the slow progress as being outside ECVAM. The insufficient involvement of ECVAM by the EU Commission in various issues that would require its competence is also a matter of concern to Eurogroup.


2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 220-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry L Walters ◽  
Cristobal Jose Torres-Urbano ◽  
Lee Chichester ◽  
Robert E Rose

The ideal animal model would contribute no confounding variables in experimental science. Variables affect experimental design resulting in increased animal use or repeated studies. We demonstrated a simple refinement which may reduce the number of animals used experimentally while simultaneously improving animal welfare. The objective of this study was to determine if the presence of a hut was an impact on physiological stress levels, as determined by faecal cortisol concentration, during a routine four-day acclimatization period of newly received male Hartley-Outbred guineapigs. We hypothesized that those animals provided with huts would have decreased physiological stress compared with animals not provided with huts. We examined this effect within both paired and single-housed animals. A between-subjects one-way analysis of variance revealed that pair-housed animals with a hut had significantly lower faecal cortisol concentration than pair-housed animals without a hut and the presence and absence of a hut had no significant impact on faecal cortisol concentration in single-housed animals. These findings show that presence of a hut is beneficial in reducing physiological stress when pair housing male guineapigs and does not appear to have an impact when single housing male guineapigs. In addition, we have shown that faecal cortisol, and therefore physiological stress, is still increasing on study day 4 suggesting a longer acclimatization period is necessary. A simple refinement in housing environment and acclimatization time can both reduce the number of animals used experimentally and improve animal welfare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-122
Author(s):  
Claire Hargrave

The capacity of animals to communicate via pheromones is long established and, for generations, pheromones have been unwittingly used by man to manage the behaviour of animals in agriculture — using the chemicals produced by an individual member of a species to alter the behaviour of another member of that species. More recently, insect pheromones have been used in managing insect infestations of crops. However, approximately 25 years ago the French veterinary surgeon, Patrick Pageat, began to investigate the production of pheromones in both farm and companion animals and how synthetic analogues of pheromones could be used to improve animal welfare, creating a new field in veterinary medicine — pheromonotherapy. This article aims to summarise the main developments in pheromonotherapy over the last 25 years.


2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Suchman

The focus of my inquiry in this article is the figure of the Human that is enacted in the design of the humanoid robot. The humanoid or anthropomorphic robot is a model (in)organism, engineered in the roboticist’s laboratory in ways that both align with and diverge from the model organisms of biology. Like other model organisms, the laboratory robot’s life is inextricably infused with its inherited materialities and with the ongoing — or truncated — labours of its affiliated humans. But while animal models are rendered progressively more standardised and replicable as tools for the biological sciences, the humanoid robot is individuated and naturalised. Three stagings of human— robot encounters (with the robots Mertz, Kismet and Robota respectively) demonstrate different possibilities for conceptualising these subject objects, for the claims about humanness that they corporealise, and for the kinds of witnessing that they presuppose.


ILAR Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Patricia V Turner ◽  
R Wayne Barbee

Abstract This issue of the ILAR Journal focuses on the topic of responsible science as it relates to animal research. We start with the concept of the scientist as a responsible citizen and then move through multiple phases of research including careful experimental planning, reporting, and incorporation of laboratory animal science. The work of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or animal ethical/oversight body in reviewing both animal use and contributing to scientific excellence is explored. Additional topics include protection of animal handlers from multiple experimental hazards, use of agricultural animals and wildlife studies, regulatory ambiguities, and harmonization of animal research. Rounding out the issue is a discussion of how animal care and use programs can enhance animal welfare while mitigating regulatory burden, and our responsibility to clearly communicate the ethical use of animals in advancing biomedical research. A deeper understanding of these topics can assist scientists in simultaneously advancing their research and animal welfare.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 635-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Mei Soon ◽  
Carol Wallace

Purpose Food businesses provide Halal food to cater to the dietary requirements of Muslims, especially in communities with a growing number of the ethnic minority and at public institutions such as higher education establishments. A large and growing body of literature has investigated the purchasing and consumption behaviour of Halal food, and there are also studies that revealed consumers who do not support Halal food products on the grounds of animal welfare where animals were slaughtered without stunning. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the predictors of purchasing intention of Halal food products and perceptions of animal welfare among Muslims and non-Muslim consumers of a public higher education institution. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire collected information on sociodemographic profiles and importance of Halal food. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency of distribution of all sociodemographic characteristics. Multiple regression analyses were used to describe the theory of planned behaviour relationship and purchasing intention. Findings The regression model for all the respondents explained about 73 per cent of the variance of the intent to purchase Halal foods where R2 = 0.724 (adjusted R2 = 0.72). This was significantly different from zero F(3, 185) = 162.130, p < 0.001. Both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers’ attitudes were significant predictors of their purchasing intention of Halal foods (β = 0.87, p < 0.001). The implications of subjective norms and perceived behavioural control and the lack of influence from these predictors are discussed. Originality/value This study revealed that both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers agreed on the importance of animal welfare, but there exist differences in perceptions of animal welfare in Halal meat production. This research is of value to those working in regulatory and food service settings in understanding the differences and needs of consumers, and it contributes to a better understanding of the customers within a university setting.


EAD em FOCO ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Germana Costa Paixão ◽  
Ana Ciléia Pinto Teixeira Henriques ◽  
Francisco Fábio Castelo Branco ◽  
Eloisa Maia Vidal

As práticas de formação que incentivam o desenvolvimento das habilidades afetivas em estudantes têm sido avaliadas no contexto de ensino a distância no Brasil. O estudo tem como objetivo apresentar práticas formativas e relacionais desenvolvidas no curso de Ciências Biológicas na modalidade a distância de uma universidade estadual no Ceará. É um estudo descritivo-reflexivo em forma de estudo de caso que discute experiências em andamento, sendo estas: Monitoria Acadêmica; Vida em Foco; Ciência na Escola e Musicalizando a Biologia. As atividades têm procurado desenvolver nos alunos o espírito de colaboração e da experiência de realidade em que, em um curto espaço de tempo, estarão inseridos. Acredita-se que, dessa forma, se permite um ensino mais crítico e reflexivo, no qual novas ferramentas são oportunizadas e que podem romper a hierarquia ainda persistente entre professores e alunos. Palavras-chave: Ensino; Atitude; Educação a distância; Educação superior; Tecnologia da educação.Beyond the Distance Education: Formation and Relational Practice in a Biological Sciences CourseAbstract Training practices that encourage the development of affective skills in students have been valued in the context of distance learning (DL) in Brazil. The study aims to provide formative and relational practices developed in the course of Biological Sciences in the distance mode of a state university in Ceara. It is descriptive-reflective research in the form of case study that discusses the following ongoing experiments: Academic Monitoring; Life in Focus; Science in School and Musicalizing Biology. The activities have sought to develop in students the spirit of collaboration and the experience of reality in which they, in a short time, will be placed. It is believed that  this way allows more critical and reflective teaching, in which new tools become available for DL that will break the persistent hierarchy between teachers and students.Keywords: Teaching; Attitude; Distance education; Higher education; Education technology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-280
Author(s):  
murat bülbül

In Article 65 of Higher Education Law numbered 2547, formation, duties and operations of scientific research and publication ethics boards have to be regulated by regulations issued by Higher Education Council (HEC). Despite this legal obligation, ethical committees in higher education institutions are not regulated by regulation; They are regulated by HEC Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive (HECSRPED) issued in 2016. Universities also make regulations regarding these boards within their own bodies with directives issued by decisions of their senates. In the research, firstly, the literature on the ethics committees and relevant legislation are examined. Then, categories are determined by using the document review method, considering regulations of ethics committees in HECSRPED; in the context of these categories, directives issued by 3 state universities in İstanbul regarding ethics committees in fields of social and humanities and educational sciences are analyzed. Findings show that provisions of a directive issued by universities on ethics committees generally do not coincide with relevant provisions in HECSRPED and even contain significant contradictions. It has also been discussed that ethical committees in universities may harm the principle of conducting scientific research freely and cause important bureaucratic problems and workload for both researchers and board members. It has been suggested that issues related to ethical committees are regulated by HEC, eliminating illegality in directives issued by universities and that universities can issue directives on issues that are not clarified in HECSRPED. In addition, it was recommended to conduct case studies and phenomenological studies regarding ethics committees for researchers.


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