bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Do farmers and scientists differ in their understanding and assessment of farm animal welfare?
Authors: Hubbard C , Scott K 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn response to an increased public awareness regarding how livestock are reared, animal welfare scientists have attempted to develop new methods of welfare assessment at the farm level. Furthermore, in recent years they have increasingly moved away from the conventional approach of evaluating the provision of resources necessary to ensure good welfare, and have instead focused on the use of animal-based measures of welfare. In contrast, it is believed that farmers use mostly resource-based and management-based measures (eg the provision of food, water and housing) when assessing the welfare of their animals. They also seem to be driven more by economic and financial concerns than by the welfare of the animalsper se, when it comes to the provision of animal welfare. Different approaches to the definition and assessment of farm animal welfare were explored in work carried out at Newcastle University as part of the Welfare Quality® project by both social and welfare scientists. Social scientists explored farmers’ perceptions and understanding of animal welfare, whilst welfare scientists developed animal-based measures of welfare for use in a prototype on-farm welfare monitoring system. Based on two separate surveys, this paper focuses on UK farmers’ perception and understanding of animal welfare and their criteria of assessment in contrast with those employed by welfare scientists, using a specific case study of pigs. Results show that, despite scientists being unaware of the findings from the farmer survey, they produced a set of measures to assess welfare which were very similar to those used by farmers. However, ‘instinctive’ terms used by farmers to describe (positive or negative) animal behaviour did not bear any relation to more objective welfare measures. Compared with conventional monitoring systems which focus more on the provision of resources to promote good welfare than on the animal itself, the prototype monitoring system may be more acceptable to farmers given that it uses similar animal-based measures to assess welfare to those they use themselves, and furthermore, the focus is on the animal.
Classifying the severity of scientific animal use: a review of international systems
Authors: Fenwick N , Ormandy E , Gauthier C , Griffin G 
Published: January 2023

AbstractSeverity classification systems (ie pain scales, categories of invasiveness, degrees of severity etc) are used to classify the adverse effects experienced by animals used for scientific purposes. Currently, eleven countries use severity classification systems. These systems have developed in various ways, depending on each country's process for overseeing the use of animals in science, as well as the particular aspects emphasised by those individuals who have championed their implementation. Severity classification serves four main purposes: as a tool to assist animal ethics committees in ethical review; education of animal users about concepts for humane animal experimentation; provision of data to inform the public about scientific animal use; and provision of data to inform national policies. At a time when the newly accepted European Union Directive will make the reporting of severity data mandatory, we review the characteristics of international severity classification systems and how they have evolved; analyse the effectiveness of some systems; and identify emerging challenges for severity classification.
Assessment of different stunning methods and recovery of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): isoeugenol, nitrogen and three levels of carbon dioxide
Authors: Erikson U 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIsoeugenol (17 mg AQUI-S™ L−1), nitrogen, and three levels of carbon dioxide (low: 70-80, medium: 180-250 and high: > 400 mg CO2L−1) were tested as stunning agents for Atlantic salmon(Salmo salar)fasted for six days. All methods were tested under optimised conditions (starting with rested fish, and stunning and recovery under good water quality conditions). The fish were assessed in relation to behaviour and stress in terms of blood chemistry and muscle biochemistry. Only isoeugenol fulfilled all of our set criteria related to fish welfare and stress as it: (i) minimised aversive reactions upon exposure and ability to render the fish unconscious; (ii) showed no recovery during a period of 10 min post stunning; and (iii) achieved minimal muscle activity (good muscle quality). The fish treated with nitrogen showed the strongest aversive reactions, produced the most stressed fish, and fish that did not appear to be sedated. Nitrogen stunning cannot therefore be recommended. None of the levels of carbon dioxide fulfilled all criteria. When exposed to high and medium levels, fish exhibited aversive reactions and became considerably stressed. At the low level, changes in behaviour and stress were modest, but in such cases the fish were not sufficiently immobilised to facilitate easy handling in a possible pre-stunning context. No level of carbon dioxide rendered the fish unconscious. Even under optimised stunning conditions, the use of carbon dioxide cannot be recommended in connection with slaughter of Atlantic salmon.
A pilot investigation of possible positive system descriptors in finishing pigs
Authors: Mullan S , Edwards SA , Butterworth A , Whay HR , Main DCJ 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn this study, pig producers were identified whose practices exceeded the basic legal requirements and government recommendations for pig welfare. This novel approach was part of a larger project investigating the feasibility and benefits of the inclusion of some animal-based welfare outcome measures into the main UK pig-farm assurance schemes. A set of pig-keeping-system descriptor scores were devised through consultation with stakeholders, whereby a finishing pig farm would be classified on a scale of 1 (legislation compliance) to 5 (highest level of welfare provision) for six different elements of pig husbandry which can influence pig welfare (environmental enrichment, foraging behaviour, thermal comfort, physical comfort, tail docking and floor space provision). Animal-based observations were used to assess the welfare of a sample of between 67 and 220 pigs on 15 UK finishing pig farms, which were also classified according to the system descriptors. Scores achieved when assessing the environmental enrichment and physical comfort elements were significantly positively correlated with a qualitative assessment of good mood of the pigs and a measure of their oral manipulation and significantly negatively correlated with the prevalence of tail lesions and swollen bursae. However, there were wide variations in the prevalence of animal-based welfare outcome measures between farms with the same system descriptor score. These system descriptors are therefore not sufficient to be used alone to provide assurances on welfare. It is suggested that a combined approach of system descriptors and animal-based welfare outcome measures may be useful for providing assurances on higher levels of welfare.
Too hungry to learn? Hungry broiler breeders fail to learn a Y-maze food quantity discrimination task
Authors: Buckley LA , McMillan LM , Sandilands V , Tolkamp BJ , Hocking PM , D’Eath RB 
Published: January 2023

AbstractChoice tests may aid determining whether qualitative dietary restriction improves the welfare of feed-restricted broiler breeder chickens(Gallus gallus domesticus). However, hunger-stress may reduce competency to choose by impairing learning. The effect of chronic feed restriction on the ability of broiler breeders to learn a hunger-relevant discrimination task was investigated using a Y-maze paradigm. The task was to associate black and white arms with large and small quantities of feed. Birds were reared to three growth curves by means of severe (n = 12), moderate (n = 12) or very mild feed restriction (n = 12). Learning the task and selecting the larger food option allowed birds to increase their feed intake. Time taken to traverse the Y-maze was also measured. Birds from all treatment groups traversed the Y-maze more quickly over time, indicating that they had learnt that running down the Y-maze arms was associated with a rewarding outcome (food). However, feed restriction significantly reduced their ability to associate the black and white cues with differences in food quantity. Consequently, average pay-offs in terms of daily feed increments disproportionately accrued to the less feed-restricted treatment groups. It is concluded that feed restriction affected the performance of broiler breeders in this task, perhaps by narrowing their attention such that they ignore potentially hunger-relevant contextual cues. However, low overall group success rates demonstrate that this task was difficult to learn even for less severely feed-restricted birds. Therefore, Y-maze choice tests may not be the most appropriate method for determining hungry broiler breeder dietary preferences.
The effect of environmental enrichment on play behaviour in white-lipped peccaries(Tayassu pecari)
Authors: Nogueira SSC , Soledade JP , Pompéia S , Nogueira-Filho SLG 
Published: January 2023

AbstractHerds of white-lipped peccary(Tayassu pecari)have historically been kept in captivity in order to replace stocks lost to hunting however the lack of knowledge regarding their species-typical behaviour remains an impediment to understanding their captive needs. Environmental enrichment has been suggested as an efficient way of decreasing aggression and apathy as well as increasing the expression of normal behavioural acts — such as play behaviour — which may, in turn, contribute to improved husbandry conditions. Therefore, the aims of this study were to describe play behaviour in this species and analyse the effects of environmental enrichment on such behaviour as well as on agonistic expression and inactivity. The occurrence of solitary and social play acts were recorded, as well as agonistic interactions and inactivity (resting positions) in two conditions (non-enriched and enriched with ball, hose and see-saw). This study included 24 captive peccaries three of which were juveniles, nine sub-adults and 12 adults, with a 1:1 sex ratio. The relationship between social dominance hierarchy and play behaviour was also analysed in each observational condition. Enrichment resulted in increased solitary and social acts of playing both in juvenile/sub-adult and adult peccaries. All the individuals played with the introduced objects and spent less time in resting positions throughout the enrichment phase. However, no decrease in agonistic interactions was observed and dominant individuals played more with the objects. Our study showed that environmental enrichment stimulated play behaviour in white-lipped peccaries as well as decreasing levels of inactivity; this may lead to improvements in the welfare of individuals in captive breeding centres.
Space needs of broilers
Authors: Bokkers EAM , de Boer IJM , Koene P 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThere is continuing debate about the space needs and requirements of broiler chickens, The aims of this study were to measure the amount of floor area a six-week-old broiler occupies for different behaviours and to use the obtained results in two models to estimate the number of birds that can be kept per m2in large flocks simulating different levels of behavioural synchronisation. Photographs were taken of overhead projections of broilers (2.468 kg on average) kept in floor pens of 1 m2with either eight (low density) or 16 birds (high density) per pen. Individual body space was measured from these photographs for seven behaviours. Posture and density affected body space of the behaviours idle, drinking, and ground pecking. The first model, computing space needed per bird performing a behaviour in relation to flock size, showed that 15.3-15.7 birds m−2(37.8-38.7 kg m−2) can be housed maximally, based on low density measurements and 18.5-19.4 birds m−2(45.7-47.9 kg m−2) based on high density measurements. The second model, computing stocking density based on synchronisation of behaviour and body space, showed that 13.7-15.9 birds m−2(33.8-39.2 kg m−2) can be housed maximally based on low density measurements and 15.4-18.6 birds m−2(38.0-45.9 kg m−2) based on high density measurements. Results based on high density measurements implied that birds are compressed. Given the restrictions of a limited number of behaviours and no inclusion of movement and social interactions in the models of this study, stocking density in large flocks should not exceed 16 birds m−2(39.4 kg) because that would lead to compression of birds which will suppress opportunities for behavioural expression and therefore impair welfare.
The Racial Origins of Foster Home Care
Authors: Simmons Michaela Christy 
Published: January 2023

AbstractBlack family values and behavior have long been at the center of policy solutions to intergenerational poverty. But in the early twentieth century, the Black family took on paradoxical significance as a solution to child poverty and neglect through the foster family. This was part of a broad realignment in child protection that upheld the “Home” as the best place for children—yet the concept came to mean something different for White and Black youth. Using New York City as a case by which to study broad transformations in child protection ideology and local child welfare response, I find that in the 1930s substitute care underwent a dramatic transformation with many White children cared for in their own homes or in therapeutic institutions, while previously excluded Black youth gained disproportionate access through race-matched foster families. Though a seemingly progressive approach, I argue that the prioritization of the foster home over the biological home illuminates how the family was envisioned as a solution to poverty in the context of racial inequality. Child welfare workers imagined that patterns of placement in race-matched foster families could be manipulated to overcome segregation and exclusion from the emerging welfare state. But as more non-White children entered substitute care, the conditions of poverty and distress in segregated communities necessitated a return to congregate care for “hard-to-place” minority youth as Black families seemingly failed to take care of their own. This case is important because it highlights the way in which official foster care systems emerged not as an extension of Black kinship care strategies, but as an experimental solution to dependency and neglect that mobilized the Black family to resolve the many consequences of state abandonment.
“If I look at the mass I will never act”: Psychic numbing and genocide
Authors: Slovic Paul 
Published: January 2023

AbstractMost people are caring and will exert great effort to rescue individual victims whose needy plight comes to their attention. These same good people, however, often become numbly indifferent to the plight of individuals who are “one of many” in a much greater problem. Why does this occur? The answer to this question will help us answer a related question that is the topic of this paper: Why, over the past century, have good people repeatedly ignored mass murder and genocide? Every episode of mass murder is unique and raises unique obstacles to intervention. But the repetitiveness of such atrocities, ignored by powerful people and nations, and by the general public, calls for explanations that may reflect some fundamental deficiency in our humanity — a deficiency that, once identified, might possibly be overcome. One fundamental mechanism that may play a role in many, if not all, episodes of mass-murder neglect involves the capacity to experience affect, the positive and negative feelings that combine with reasoned analysis to guide our judgments, decisions, and actions. I shall draw from psychological research to show how the statistics of mass murder or genocide, no matter how large the numbers, fail to convey the true meaning of such atrocities. The reported numbers of deaths represent dry statistics, “human beings with the tears dried off,” that fail to spark emotion or feeling and thus fail to motivate action. Recognizing that we cannot rely only upon our moral feelings to motivate proper action against genocide, we must look to moral argument and international law. The 1948 Genocide Convention was supposed to meet this need, but it has not been effective. It is time to examine this failure in light of the psychological deficiencies described here and design legal and institutional mechanisms that will enforce proper response to genocide and other forms of mass murder.
The Regret and Disappointment Scale: An instrument for assessing regret and disappointment in decision making
Authors: Marcatto Francesco , Ferrante Donatella 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe present article investigates the effectiveness of methods traditionally used to distinguish between the emotions of regret and disappointment and presents a new method — the Regret and Disappointment Scale (RDS) — for assessing the two emotions in decision making research. The validity of the RDS was tested in three studies. Study 1 used two scenarios, one prototypical of regret and the other of disappointment, to test and compare traditional methods (“How much regret do you feel” and “How much disappointment do you feel”) with the RDS. Results showed that only the RDS clearly differentiated between the constructs of regret and disappointment. Study 2 confirmed the validity of the RDS in a real-life scenario, in which both feelings of regret and disappointment could be experienced. Study 2 also demonstrated that the RDS can discriminate between regret and disappointment with results similar to those obtained by using a context-specific scale. Study 3 showed the advantages of the RDS over the traditional methods in gambling situations commonly used in decision making research, and provided evidence for the convergent validity of the RDS.
Choices and affective reactions to negative life events: An averaging/summation analysis
Authors: Seta John J. , Haire Ashleigh , Seta Catherine E. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThree experiments investigated individuals’ preferences and affective reactions to negative life experiences. Participants had a more intense negative affective reaction when they were exposed to a highly negative life experience than when they were exposed to two negative events: a highly negative and a mildly negative life event. Participants also chose the situation containing two versus one negative event. Thus, “more negative events were better” when the events had different affective intensities. When participants were exposed to events having similar affective intensities, however, two negative events produced a more intense negative affective reaction. In addition, participants chose the situation having one versus two negative life experiences. Thus, “more negative events were worse” when the events had similar affective intensities. These results are consistent with an averaging/summation (A/S) model and delineate situations when “more” negative life events are “better” and when “more” negative life events are “worse.” Results also ruled out several alternative interpretations including the peak-end rule and mental accounting interpretations.
A shocking experiment: New evidence on probability weighting and common ratio violations
Authors: Berns Gregory S. , Capra C. Monica , Moore Sara , Noussair Charles 
Published: January 2023

AbstractWe study whether probability weighting is observed when individuals are presented with a series of choices between lotteries consisting of real non-monetary adverse outcomes, electric shocks. Our estimation of the parameters of the probability weighting function proposed by Tversky and Kahneman (1992) are similar to those obtained in previous studies of lottery choice for negative monetary payoffs and negative hypothetical payoffs. In addition, common ratio violations in choice behavior are widespread. Our results provide evidence that probability weighting is a general phenomenon, independent of the source of disutility.
Framing the frame: How task goals determine the likelihood and direction of framing effects
Authors: McElroy Todd , Seta John J. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractWe examined how the goal of a decision task influences the perceived positive, negative valence of the alternatives and thereby the likelihood and direction of framing effects. In Study 1 we manipulated the goal to increase, decrease or maintain the commodity in question and found that when the goal of the task was to increase the commodity, a framing effect consistent with those typically observed in the literature was found. When the goal was to decrease, a framing effect opposite to the typical findings was observed whereas when the goal was to maintain, no framing effect was found. When we examined the decisions of the entire population, we did not observe a framing effect. In Study 2, we provided participants with a similar decision task except in this situation the goal was ambiguous, allowing us to observe participants' self-imposed goals and how they influenced choice preferences. The findings from Study 2 demonstrated individual variability in imposed goal and provided a conceptual replication of Study 1.
Cognitive abilities and superior decision making under risk: A protocol analysis and process model evaluation
Authors: Cokely Edward T. , Kelley Colleen M. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIndividual differences in cognitive abilities and skills can predict normatively superior and logically consistent judgments and decisions. The current experiment investigates the processes that mediate individual differences in risky choices. We assessed working memory span, numeracy, and cognitive impulsivity and conducted a protocol analysis to trace variations in conscious deliberative processes. People higher in cognitive abilities made more choices consistent with expected values; however, expected-value choices rarely resulted from expected-value calculations. Instead, the cognitive ability and choice relationship was mediated by the number of simple considerations made during decision making — e.g., transforming probabilities and considering the relative size of gains. Results imply that, even in simple lotteries, superior risky decisions associated with cognitive abilities and controlled cognition can reflect metacognitive dynamics and elaborative heuristic search processes, rather than normative calculations. Modes of cognitive control (e.g., dual process dynamics) and implications for process models of risky decision-making (e.g., priority heuristic) are discussed.
Changing her ways: The number of options and mate-standard strength impact mate choice strategy and satisfaction
Authors: Lenton Alison P. , Stewart Amanda 
Published: January 2023

AbstractResearchers know very little about how people choose mates. To remedy this, the present study examined the influence of number of potential mates and mate-standard strength on single women’s choice satisfaction and strategy use. Single women chose one potential partner from a set of 4, 24, or 64 options presented on a real dating website. Participants adjusted to an increasing number of options by changing their decision-making strategies, such that they relied on noncompensatory, attribute-based strategies as the number of options increased. Across conditions they reported similar levels of satisfaction with the choice process and the person selected. Mate-standard strength qualified some of the results, however, as women with higher mate standards preferred extensive choice, and they tended to prefer compensatory choice strategies and were more satisfied with the option selected when he was selected from among many.