How Housing Conditions Determine the Welfare of Pigs

Humans who care for pigs prefer an environment that not only allows the pigs to express their natural behaviors but also limits the development of aggression and stereotypes. Most of the behavioral and health problems encountered by pigs in barren, conventional conditions are solved by alternative housing systems. However, it is not known whether these systems are advantageous in terms of the performance of pigs. In this work, we review the effects of housing systems on pigs’ behaviors and performance, which are among the major indicators of the welfare of these animals. Research results point out that outdoor systems are more ideal for sows and fatteners than buildings. Nonetheless, outdoor housing is associated with two major effects in both groups: increased activity due to environmental exploration and higher space allowance, and increased incidence of injuries compared to indoor systems. Sows are more active when housed in groups, but they experience an increased frequency of injuries. According to the literature, group-housed sows give birth to healthy piglets with good daily weight gains. The difference in the fattening and slaughter performance of pigs raised indoors vs. outdoors remains unclear, and the results reported so far are inconsistent. Outdoor systems seem to be associated with a higher incidence of osteochondrosis and lesions of elbow and hock joints, whereas indoor systems cause a greater degree of body soiling in pigs. Based on the reviewed literature, it may be concluded that outdoor housing helps to solve behavioral issues in pigs but leads to other problems in pig production.

Model Driven Causal Factors of Panic Buying and Their Implications for Prevention: A Systematic Review

Panic buying is a commonly observed response to disasters, and has been widely observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about the variables influencing this behavior. This review summarizes the existing research in this field and examines its implications for the prevention and control of panic buying. Methodology: All papers published prior to or during the pandemic, providing an empirically tested model of panic buying behavior (Group A) or a theoretical model supported by literature (Group B), were retrieved through a literature search. For papers in Group A, specific risk or protective factors were extracted and tabulated. Overlaps between Group A and Group B models were identified. Study results were analyzed to identify potential strategies which could limit panic buying behavior. Results: It was found that a wide variety of primary (crisis/disease-related), secondary (psychological, informational and sociopolitical), and tertiary (supply chain-related) factors were significantly associated with panic buying, while a single variable–reflective functioning was identified as protective. Conclusions: These results provide valuable leads for strategies aimed at preventing or reducing panic buying, particularly in countries still affected by the pandemic. It is hoped that these findings will be useful from both health administration and academic perspectives.

Observers in analytic groups: A content analysis study from the participant perspective

What perceptions do group participants have about silent observers, what transferences are involved, what function can the listeners have for the group? In an anonymous survey and evaluation based on content analysis, almost all participants reported positive, and two thirds also negative impressions and perceptions. Observers were perceived as being familiar or supportive and as threatening or constraining to an approximately equal extent. There was no outright demonization or perception of a divide between the group leader(s) and the observers, as described in the older literature. Group participants also appear to perceive observers as representatives of their own superego, which are ‘silenced’.

Group Belief: Lessons from Lies and Bullshit

Groups and other sorts of collective entities are frequently said to believe things. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, for instance, was asked by reporters at White House press conferences whether the Trump administration ‘believes in climate change’ or ‘believes that slavery is wrong’. Similarly, it is said on the website of the Aclu of Illinois that the organization ‘firmly believes that rights should not be limited based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity’. A widespread philosophical view is that belief on the part of a group’s members is neither necessary nor sufficient for group belief. In other words, groups are said to be able to believe that p even when not a single individual member of the group believes that p. In this paper, I challenge this view by focusing on two phenomena that have been entirely ignored in the literature: group lies and group bullshit. I show that when group belief is understood in terms of actions over which group members have voluntarily control, as is standardly thought, paradigmatic instances of a group lying or bullshitting end up counting as a group believing. Thus we need to look elsewhere for an adequate account of group belief.

National survey evaluating the provision of gastroenterology dietetic services in England

AimsThe aim of the study was to assess the provision of dietetic services for coeliac disease (CD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).MethodsHospitals within all National Health Service trusts in England were approached (n=209). A custom-designed web-based questionnaire was circulated via contact methods of email, post or telephone. Individuals/teams with knowledge of gastrointestinal (GI) dietetic services within their trust were invited to complete.Results76% of trusts (n=158) provided GI dietetic services, with responses received from 78% of these trusts (n=123). The median number of dietitians per 100 000 population was 3.64 (range 0.15–16.60), which differed significantly between regions (p=0.03). The most common individual consultation time for patients with CD, IBS and IBD was 15–30 min (43%, 44% and 54%, respectively). GI dietetic services were delivered both via individual and group counselling, with individual counselling being the more frequent delivery method available (93% individual vs 34% group). A significant proportion of trusts did not deliver any specialist dietetic clinics for CD, IBS and IBD (49% (n=60), 50% (n=61) and 72% (n=88), respectively).ConclusionThere is an inequity of GI dietetic services across England, with regional differences in the level of provision and extent of specialist care. Allocated time for clinics appears to be insufficient compared with time advocated in the literature. Group clinics are becoming a more common method of dietetic service delivery for CD and IBS. National guidance on GI dietetic service delivery is required to ensure equity of dietetic services across England.

From Radical Nationalism to Anti-modernism

After Manchukuo’s establishment, survival of Chinese “new literature” experienced hardship under colonial cultural dominance. Debates over overarching themes, styles, and orientations for Manchukuo literature, along with treatment of Japanese culture's paradoxical influence, generated two opposing intellectual factions: the Record of Art and Literature and the Selection of Writings groups, which appealed to literary modernity and national cultural identity. The Record of Art and Literature group endeavored to reconcile modernization pursuits with entrenched national consciousness, thus laying emphasis on literary production's independence and diversity while linking Chinese literature's modernization with emulation of its Japanese counterpart. In contrast, the Selection of Writings’ major goals were “describing social realities,” “inheriting literary traditions,” and “writing by the common people”. Inheriting the May Fourth Movement’s nationalist discourse, they further radicalized it through native-land literature to highlight literature's socio-political function, with national salvation as ultimate goal. Thereby, they rejected colonial modern infrastructure and culture. However, their underlying aesthetic notions, topics, and stylistic features somewhat resembled those of colonial propaganda organs, eventually turning them towards anti-modern complicity with colonial ideology.

THE LITERATURE GROUP „ZEWONIA” HISTORY AND FOLKLORE

The article analyses the group of writers «Ziewonia», in the work and activities of which Slavophile ideas have strengthened through cycles of translations, songs and dumas. It reveals interest in the culture of the Slavic people in the 30s of the 19th century. It analyses the idea of national identity and ethnic culture using a differentiated approach to the phe- nomena of literary folklore, which becomes the main motive of «Ziewonia». The level of Ziewonia’s comprehension in Polish science is not significant yet but still to be more learned than in Ukrai- nian science. The article is said about the first period of the XIX century which is characterized by emergence of artistic achievements as exemplified by the interaction of intercultural literature. The Romantic era encouraged the first contact and special activity of folk Ukrainians interested by young Polish writers who are called in the Polish history of literature «Ziewonia». The main representatives were Augustin Bielovsky (the critic and translator, the employee of the Ossolineum institution), Josef and Alexander (Leshek) Dunin-Borkovsky (writers and critics), Lucian Semensky (the poet and novel- ist), Kazimiezh Vladislav Wojcicky (collector of folk songs) and Ludvik Jablonsky (also the critic of Ukrainian literature), finally the Ukrainian writers called the «Russian Trinity», the organization which united enthusiastic researchers of Ukrainian folklore. It is found out that main activities of this Slavophil group were translation and popularization of literature merits. They gave exemplary translations of important Slavic works such as: «Krolodworsky Manuscript», «Zielona Gora Manuscript», selected sonnets from «The daughters of Kollar’s fame», the significant number of Serbian folk songs, many Ukrainian poems and «The Tale of Igor’s Campaign». Folk society and folk songs were glorified and stylized. The key findings of the research prove that deep and intensive relationships between different literacy circles (Ukrainian and Polish) collaborated the future mutual writer’s group for the next historical period.

What Money Can’t Buy: Wealth, Inequality, and Economic Satisfaction in the Rentier State

How do perceived inequalities in allocation impact citizen satisfaction with state-distributed benefits in rentier societies? Resource-rich rentier regimes are widely theorized to maintain the economic and political satisfaction of subjects through wealth distribution. Yet, while qualitative research in the rentier states of the Arabian Peninsula has identified unequal distribution as a source of discontent, the relative importance of objective versus subjective factors in shaping satisfaction at the individual level has never been systematically evaluated. Here we assess the impacts of inequality on the nexus between wealth and satisfaction among citizens of the richest rentier regime in the world: the state of Qatar. Using original, nationally representative survey data, we test the effects of two separate mechanisms of unequal distribution previously identified in the literature: group-based discrimination, and variation in individual access owing to informal influence. Results show that perceptions of both group- and individual-based inequality dampen satisfaction with state-distributed benefits, irrespective of objective socioeconomic well-being. The findings demonstrate that even in the most affluent of rentier states, economic satisfaction derives not only from absolute quantities of benefits but also from subjective impressions of fairness in the distribution process.