Feathered Friends and Human Animals: General Biology and Comparative Description within the New Zealand Poultry Industry Press, c.1900-1960

<p>Within the New Zealand poultry industry press between 1900 and 1960, scientific approaches were promoted and ‘sentimentality’ discouraged, yet comparative and anthropomorphic description suggesting similarities between chickens and humans persisted. Feathered Friends and Human Animals explores this phenomenon within poultry journals, newspapers, advice books and official publications. Four key themes of comparison are identified: ideas about the chicken mind, the chicken-as-worker, poultry ‘eugenics’, and health and hygiene. It is argued that humanitarian, theological, and philosophical ideas, the ‘natural’ empathetic and humoured identification that arises through everyday contact with animals within relatively small systems, and the rationalisation of industry, were all significant factors contributing to sustained comparison. However, the public articulation of fundamental biological ideas – encapsulated in the modern, overarching concept of ‘general biology’ – validated and integrated these discourses. General biology influenced new trends in education and in the popular and public articulation of research into the life sciences of this period. It encouraged the integration of sympathetic naturalist persepectives, including evolutionary based ideas about ‘natural laws’, with emerging new science that continued to establish many fundamental biological principles through extrapolation from experimental animals to human animals. This study demonstrates that poultry experts’ attended to this same blend of older naturalist science and new scientific knowledge. Historians’ focus on emerging specialist science in the early twentieth century has tended to obfuscate the realities of science education within the applied sciences and amongst lay audiences, and the continued interest in fundamental aspects of biology within professional science. The findings of this study reveal that farming ideas did not develop within a bubble, determined only by animal husbandry traditions and industry-specific applied research. They also suggest that practitioners’ conceptions of biology within applied fields of this era were not as distinct as has been supposed. As a ‘bottom-up’ cultural history of science, this study illustrates the articulation of general biology within an agricultural context. This is the key contribution offered to local and international historiography. However, other elements of the study expand existing scholarship. In exploring ideas about race and eugenics, it offers a broader framework for social historians, who, while cognisant of the eugenic mind-set of this period, have granted little attention to general biology as a professional trend. It offers insight into the agendas and tensions within school nature study and elementary science. It is also the first comprehensive history of the New Zealand poultry industry. Poultry-keeping engaged up to around 60 percent of the nation’s households in this period, including thousands of farmers who kept sideline flocks, but as a predominantly domestic (as opposed to export) industry it has been overlooked by social and agricultural historians. The field of human animal studies, which has tended to gloss over both this era of transition prior to modern agribusiness and scientific discourses, is also advanced by this study, and this is the first New Zealand agricultural history to engage with this field and examine animal husbandry ideologically. It reveals how fundamental science knowledge, entwined with moral perspectives, continued to shape ideas about animals’ needs and behaviour well beyond the Victorian period. Assumptions of similarity however, were not always beneficial for the animal, and human-bird comparison was used to both justify and deny kind treatment.</p>

Feathered Friends and Human Animals: General Biology and Comparative Description within the New Zealand Poultry Industry Press, c.1900-1960

<p>Within the New Zealand poultry industry press between 1900 and 1960, scientific approaches were promoted and ‘sentimentality’ discouraged, yet comparative and anthropomorphic description suggesting similarities between chickens and humans persisted. Feathered Friends and Human Animals explores this phenomenon within poultry journals, newspapers, advice books and official publications. Four key themes of comparison are identified: ideas about the chicken mind, the chicken-as-worker, poultry ‘eugenics’, and health and hygiene. It is argued that humanitarian, theological, and philosophical ideas, the ‘natural’ empathetic and humoured identification that arises through everyday contact with animals within relatively small systems, and the rationalisation of industry, were all significant factors contributing to sustained comparison. However, the public articulation of fundamental biological ideas – encapsulated in the modern, overarching concept of ‘general biology’ – validated and integrated these discourses. General biology influenced new trends in education and in the popular and public articulation of research into the life sciences of this period. It encouraged the integration of sympathetic naturalist persepectives, including evolutionary based ideas about ‘natural laws’, with emerging new science that continued to establish many fundamental biological principles through extrapolation from experimental animals to human animals. This study demonstrates that poultry experts’ attended to this same blend of older naturalist science and new scientific knowledge. Historians’ focus on emerging specialist science in the early twentieth century has tended to obfuscate the realities of science education within the applied sciences and amongst lay audiences, and the continued interest in fundamental aspects of biology within professional science. The findings of this study reveal that farming ideas did not develop within a bubble, determined only by animal husbandry traditions and industry-specific applied research. They also suggest that practitioners’ conceptions of biology within applied fields of this era were not as distinct as has been supposed. As a ‘bottom-up’ cultural history of science, this study illustrates the articulation of general biology within an agricultural context. This is the key contribution offered to local and international historiography. However, other elements of the study expand existing scholarship. In exploring ideas about race and eugenics, it offers a broader framework for social historians, who, while cognisant of the eugenic mind-set of this period, have granted little attention to general biology as a professional trend. It offers insight into the agendas and tensions within school nature study and elementary science. It is also the first comprehensive history of the New Zealand poultry industry. Poultry-keeping engaged up to around 60 percent of the nation’s households in this period, including thousands of farmers who kept sideline flocks, but as a predominantly domestic (as opposed to export) industry it has been overlooked by social and agricultural historians. The field of human animal studies, which has tended to gloss over both this era of transition prior to modern agribusiness and scientific discourses, is also advanced by this study, and this is the first New Zealand agricultural history to engage with this field and examine animal husbandry ideologically. It reveals how fundamental science knowledge, entwined with moral perspectives, continued to shape ideas about animals’ needs and behaviour well beyond the Victorian period. Assumptions of similarity however, were not always beneficial for the animal, and human-bird comparison was used to both justify and deny kind treatment.</p>

Analisis Kebutuhan Pengembangan Materi Biologi Umum Multimedia Interaktif Berbasis Web dan Android

The many sources of general biology material on the internet that are difficult to distinguish between authenticity and validity cause students to be confused. Students are confused about which source to use and which one to start with, so this case causes big problems for the learning process and student learning outcomes. The purpose of the study was to determine student responses to the development of general biology materials interactive multimedia based on web and android. The research method is descriptive quantitative through survey techniques with a sample of 100 students from IKIP Budi Utomo, Universitas PGRI Madiun, and Nusantara Universitas Nusantara PGRI Kediri. The research instrument was an electronic questionnaire consisting of eleven questions and was given to students. The research data were analyzed descriptively. The results showed that students had difficulty finding valid and accountable general biology materials on the internet (40.2%), students agree if the lecturer prepares general biology material that meets the valid criteria (94.1%), students agree that general biology material is in the form of interactive multimedia based on web and android for present and future learning (79.4%), and students agree that general biology material interactive multimedia based on web and android can help students understand general biology material anywhere and anytime (70.6%). The conclusion of this study is that students need general biology materials interactive multimedia based on the web and android for present and future learning.

Implementation of a Flipped Active-Learning Approach in a Community College General Biology Course Improves Student Performance in Subsequent Biology Courses and Increases Graduation Rate

A large-scale study on the efficacy of active learning in a community college biology class showed that students in active-learning sections earned higher exam scores, performed better in subsequent biology courses, and graduated at a higher rate compared with students from traditional sections.

Identification of Formal-Post Formal Reasoning Prospective Biology Teachers on Three Aspects of Courses

This descriptive study aims to determine the reasoning of the formal-post formal operations of biology teacher candidates in three aspects of lectures. The research sample consisted of 76 students who took part in the 2019/2020 academic year lectures which were taken using the purposive technique. The sample consisted of 29 students in the General Biology practicum subject, 24 students in the invertebrates practicum subject, and 23 students in the vertebrate zoology practicum subject. The data was collected through a test technique using formal-post-formal operational reasoning questions that were developed by themselves and had met the constructive and empirical valid criteria. Data analysis regarding the level of formal-post formal operational reasoning was carried out using the percentage correct score technique obtained for each item so that the correct score was obtained from all students. The results showed that there was a difference in the percentage level of formal-post formal operational reasoning for each level of student lectures. The highest to the lowest level of reasoning was obtained by students who took the vertebrates zoology practicum course by 67%, invertebrates zoology practicum by 67%, and general biology practicum by 17%. Also, students' formal operational reasoning in each subject tends to be lower when compared to their post-formal operational reasoning. The most common indicators of formal reasoning among the three aspects of the lecture are proportional reasoning, and indicators that are lacking are probabilistic and correlational.

USEFULITY ANALYSIS OF BIOLOGY EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE COURSES IN TEACHING PROFESSION

The undergraduate education program given depending on the higher education programs is an important factor in the teacher's professional life. Common programs determined by YÖK are applied to teacher candidates in education faculties. The aim of this study is to measure the contribution of the courses in the program to biology teachers in their professional life and to produce new alternatives in the light of the data obtained. In this context, a Likert-type questionnaire consisting of three separate courses as "Vocational Courses", "Field Education Courses", "General Culture Courses" and containing approximately 40 different courses was prepared by taking the expert opinion. Participants were asked to rate the lessons according to the importance of contribution in professional life. Participants consist of biology teachers who are graduates of Faculty of Education and Faculty of Science, who work effectively in their professional life. Participants were reached through digital media and this study was conducted with approximately 160 teachers. According to the study data, among the Vocational Knowledge Courses, the most beneficial lesson is "Teaching Practice". Most of the participants think that this course makes a positive contribution to their professional life. Accordingly, the course hours of this course can be increased. Educational sciences courses are generally carried out theoretically in faculties other than this course, but as can be seen, the effect of applied courses is also great. When looking at the courses that made the most contribution in the "Field Education Courses" section, "General Biology Laboratory", "Zoology Laboratory" and "General Biology" were seen. However, herbarium studies have been proposed in "Cryptogamea" and other plant lessons. It is recommended to add "Field Studies", which is generally accepted as an application within the course in departments, to the curriculum as a course. In the last section, "General Culture Courses", the most contributing course is "Information Technologies Course". In our changing and developing world, this result can be predicted since we cannot consider information technologies and education separately.