title: Assessing equine preference for food versus human contact: A replication

authors: Moss, Charlotte Jane

subjects: Behaviour

abstract: Horses have been trained through negative reinforcement for centuries. However, as studies show that positive reinforcement is an effective training technique for horses, it is important to discover what a horse finds rewarding. Food is the most-used positive reinforcer, but food is difficult to administer while riding a horse. I undertook a modified replication of Kieson et al. (2020) to investigate how rewarding horses find human contact compared to food. Eight horses were taught to touch a symbol (X for food and O for scratches) to access the reinforcer associated with the symbol. The number of touches on each symbol were counted and recorded. In the final preference assessment, the number of touches on each symbol were compared. All horses preferred a food reinforcer. A progressive ratio task was also performed by seven horses, where the schedule of reinforcement for the horses’ preferred reinforcer was thinned and the non-preferred reinforcer was offered on a FR1. Most of the horses continued to touch the preferred reinforcer at increasing response requirements, with one horse switching to their less-preferred option at FR3. Overall, the replication supported the original results in that the horses showed a preference for food over human contact. For most horses, this remained the case even when the reinforcer was thinned.

text: Assessing equine preference for food versus human contact: A replication Horses have been trained through negative reinforcement for centuries. However, as studies show that positive reinforcement is an effective training technique for horses, it is important to discover what a horse finds rewarding. Food is the most-used positive reinforcer, but food is difficult to administer while riding a horse. I undertook a modified replication of Kieson et al. (2020) to investigate how rewarding horses find human contact compared to food. Eight horses were taught to touch a symbol (X for food and O for scratches) to access the reinforcer associated with the symbol. The number of touches on each symbol were counted and recorded. In the final preference assessment, the number of touches on each symbol were compared. All horses preferred a food reinforcer. A progressive ratio task was also performed by seven horses, where the schedule of reinforcement for the horses’ preferred reinforcer was thinned and the non-preferred reinforcer was offered on a FR1. Most of the horses continued to touch the preferred reinforcer at increasing response requirements, with one horse switching to their less-preferred option at FR3. Overall, the replication supported the original results in that the horses showed a preference for food over human contact. For most horses, this remained the case even when the reinforcer was thinned.

year: 2022

title: Water flow between Ohau Channel and Lake Rotoiti following implementation of a diversion wall.

authors: Hamilton, David P.

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: The water quality in Lake Rotoiti has become increasingly degraded since the 1950s. Water from Lake Rotorua, with elevated phytoplankton and nutrient concentrations, has entered Lake Rotoiti via the Ohau Channel. To help improve water quality in Lake Rotoiti, a constructed wall was completed in July 2008, to divert water from the Ohau Channel towards Okere Arm in Lake Rotoiti, with the objective to transport this water into the Kaituna Rivr instead of entering the main basin of Lake Rotoiti. This report has been produced in response to a request from the Rotorua Lake Technical Advisory Group to determine water velocities in the region of the constructed wall, in order to consider the effectiveness of the diversion.

text: Water flow between Ohau Channel and Lake Rotoiti following implementation of a diversion wall. The water quality in Lake Rotoiti has become increasingly degraded since the 1950s. Water from Lake Rotorua, with elevated phytoplankton and nutrient concentrations, has entered Lake Rotoiti via the Ohau Channel. To help improve water quality in Lake Rotoiti, a constructed wall was completed in July 2008, to divert water from the Ohau Channel towards Okere Arm in Lake Rotoiti, with the objective to transport this water into the Kaituna Rivr instead of entering the main basin of Lake Rotoiti. This report has been produced in response to a request from the Rotorua Lake Technical Advisory Group to determine water velocities in the region of the constructed wall, in order to consider the effectiveness of the diversion.

year: 2009

title: Evidence of swarm intelligence in collective cultures: Identifying the use of the swarm goal directive of productivity in Pacific organisation systems as well as getween genders

authors: Arun, Natalie M.

subjects: Maori

abstract: Intrigued by the existence of societies outside that of the human population, scientists have ventured to study social aggregations within insects to seek insights on effective colonizing. The most popular of these social aggregations are colonies of ants and bees. In studying these groups of social insects researchers have developed algorithms loosely termed swarm intelligence that increase work efficiency within businesses and other social organizations (Bonabeau & Meyer, 2001). A subsequent proliferation of research in surrounding fields has allowed for investigation of key variables that improve work on a global scale (Bonabeau & Meyer, 2001). James Kennedy (1999), an initiator of swarm research, has suggested that there is a high correlation between systems that rely on each other for information and greater task accomplishment.

text: Evidence of swarm intelligence in collective cultures: Identifying the use of the swarm goal directive of productivity in Pacific organisation systems as well as getween genders Intrigued by the existence of societies outside that of the human population, scientists have ventured to study social aggregations within insects to seek insights on effective colonizing. The most popular of these social aggregations are colonies of ants and bees. In studying these groups of social insects researchers have developed algorithms loosely termed swarm intelligence that increase work efficiency within businesses and other social organizations (Bonabeau & Meyer, 2001). A subsequent proliferation of research in surrounding fields has allowed for investigation of key variables that improve work on a global scale (Bonabeau & Meyer, 2001). James Kennedy (1999), an initiator of swarm research, has suggested that there is a high correlation between systems that rely on each other for information and greater task accomplishment.

year: 2008