scholarly journals African grey parrots ( Psittacus erithacus ) use inference by exclusion to find hidden food

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 875-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Mikolasch ◽  
Kurt Kotrschal ◽  
Christian Schloegl

Exclusion allows the detection of hidden food when confronted with the choice between an empty and a potentially baited food location. However, exclusion may be based on avoidance of the empty location without drawing inferences about the presence of the food in the baited location. So far, such inferences have been demonstrated in the great apes only: after seeing an experimenter eating one of two food types, which both had been hidden previously in two boxes, the apes were able to choose the box that still contained the other food type. African grey parrots are capable of exclusion, and we here assessed if they are capable of inference by exclusion. In our task, two different but equally preferred food items were hidden in full view of the birds under two opaque cups. Then, an experimenter secretly removed one food type and showed it to the bird. Similarly to the apes, one out of seven parrots significantly preferred the baited cup; control conditions rule out that its choice was based on associative learning or the use of olfactory cues. Thus, we conclude that—like the apes—some grey parrots are able to infer the location of a hidden food reward.

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1886) ◽  
pp. 20181536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Krupenye ◽  
Jingzhi Tan ◽  
Brian Hare

A key feature of human prosociality is direct transfers , the most active form of sharing in which donors voluntarily hand over resources in their possession . Direct transfers buffer hunter-gatherers against foraging shortfalls. The emergence and elaboration of this behaviour thus likely played a key role in human evolution by promoting cooperative interdependence and ensuring that humans' growing energetic needs (e.g. for increasing brain size) were more reliably met. According to the strong prosociality hypothesis , among great apes only humans exhibit sufficiently strong prosocial motivations to directly transfer food. The versatile prosociality hypothesis suggests instead that while other apes may make transfers in constrained settings, only humans share flexibly across food and non-food contexts. In controlled experiments, chimpanzees typically transfer objects but not food, supporting both hypotheses. In this paper, we show in two experiments that bonobos directly transfer food but not non-food items. These findings show that, in some contexts, bonobos exhibit a human-like motivation for direct food transfer. However, humans share across a far wider range of contexts, lending support to the versatile prosociality hypothesis. Our species' unusual prosocial flexibility is likely built on a prosocial foundation we share through common descent with the other apes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-47
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Squires

Modernism is usually defined historically as the composite movement at the beginning of the twentieth century which led to a radical break with what had gone before in literature and the other arts. Given the problems of the continuing use of the concept to cover subsequent writing, this essay proposes an alternative, philosophical perspective which explores the impact of rationalism (what we bring to the world) on the prevailing empiricism (what we take from the world) of modern poetry, which leads to a concern with consciousness rather than experience. This in turn involves a re-conceptualisation of the lyric or narrative I, of language itself as a phenomenon, and of other poetic themes such as nature, culture, history, and art. Against the background of the dominant empiricism of modern Irish poetry as presented in Crotty's anthology, the essay explores these ideas in terms of a small number of poets who may be considered modernist in various ways. This does not rule out modernist elements in some other poets and the initial distinction between a poetics of experience and one of consciousness is better seen as a multi-dimensional spectrum that requires further, more detailed analysis than is possible here.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110315
Author(s):  
Motonori Yamaguchi ◽  
Husnain H. Shah ◽  
Bernhard Hommel

Two different variations of joint task switching led to different conclusions as to whether co-acting individuals share the same task-sets. The present study aimed at bridging this gap by replicating the version in which two actors performed two different tasks. Experiment 1 showed switch costs across two actors in a joint condition, which agreed with previous studies, but also yielded even larger switch costs in a solo condition, which contradicted the claim that actors represent an alternative task as their own when it is carried out by the co-actor but not when no one carries it out. Experiments 2 and 3 further examined switch costs in the solo condition with the aim to rule out possible influences of task instructions for and experiences with the other task that was not assigned to the actor. Before participants were instructed on the second of the two tasks, switch costs were still obtained without a co-actor when explicit task names (“COLOUR” and “SHAPE”) served as go/nogo signals (Experiment 2), but not when arbitrary symbols (“XXXX” and “​​​​”) served as go/nogo signals (Experiment 3). The results thus imply that switch costs depend on participants’ knowledge of task cues being assigned to two different tasks, but not on whether the other task is performed by a co-actor. These findings undermine the assumption that switch costs in the joint conditions reflect shared task-sets between co-actors in this procedure.


2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
pp. 985-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.E. Fraser ◽  
M.B. Fenton

Eating behaviour can vary with age, experience, and gender, as well as food hardness. This variation can contribute to intraspecific dietary differences and may result in variable definitions of optimal foraging and decreased intraspecific competition. We quantified feeding behaviour of insectivorous bats eating hard and soft mealworm-based food items based on the bats’ ability to consume and manipulate food items, consumption time, chew frequency, and total chews to consume. Adult Myotis lucifugus (LeConte, 1831) were more successful at both consuming and manipulating mealworms and consumed mealworms more quickly, with greater chew frequency and in fewer chews, than did subadults. Adults chewed mealworm viscera more frequently than did subadults but showed no differences in the other variables. Adult Eptesicus fuscus (Beauvois, 1796) consumed mealworms more quickly and with fewer chews than did subadults but showed no differences in the other variables. There were no differences between adult and subadult E. fuscus when consuming mealworm viscera. Male and female M. lucifugus did not differ significantly when eating either mealworms or mealworm viscera. There was no change in subadult consumption time of mealworms over the summer. Age-based differences in eating abilities may play a role in defining optimal foraging and dietary composition in insectivorous bats.


2014 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 774-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Canale ◽  
S. Geri ◽  
G. Benelli

AbstractParasitic wasps are fascinating organisms that rely on a wide range of communication channels to locate their hosts. Associative learning for foraging kairomones has been demonstrated for various parasitic wasps, but little is known for parasitoids of Tephritidae flies. Psyttalia concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a koinobiont parasitoid able to attack at least 14 tephritid pests. Females are innately attracted by some host-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs), whereas others of the same bouquet are unattractive. We hypothesize that females may detect unattractive HIPVs in association with key resources, such as food and hosts, learning to respond favourably to these cues in consecutive experiences. We evaluated associative learning for HIPVs in P. concolor females, testing if they are able to associate a food reward with the presence of different dosages of three HIPVs, thus developing a preference for an odour innately unattractive. Results demonstrated that P. concolor responded favourably to the learned cue in consecutive experiences. For all tested HIPVs (nonanoic acid, decanoic acid and geranyl acetone), regardless of dosage, trained females preferred the reward-associated odour, whereas naïve did not. Both HIPV-trained and naïve females did not show consistent differences in latencies when choosing HIPVs over blank. HIPV-trained and naïve wasps did not spend more time on HIPVs over blank. Odour learning is of adaptive importance for this generalist parasitoid, since it enhances host location efficiency by reducing the time wasted on the decision of where to search for hosts. From an applied perspective, these HIPVs could be used to train mass-reared P. concolor in pre-release, to potentially improve its efficacy in the field.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Aghazadeh-Habashi ◽  
Fakhreddin Jamali

Glucosamine (GlcN) is a naturally occurring aminosugar that is widely used to treat osteoarthritis despite controversial clinical trial results. Animal studies, on the other hand, unequivocally suggest anti-inflammatory and disease modifying effects for GlcN. Many explanations have been offered as to the root of the controversy. They include superiority of a crystalline sulphate salt over HCl, industry bias, insensitive assessment metrics and poor methodology. Herein, we rule out a difference in bioequivalence between GlcN salts and that of chemically equivalent doses and suggest additional factors; i.e., inconsistency in the chemical potency of some products used, under-dosing of patients as well as variable and erratic bioavailability indices for the lack of GlcN efficacy observed in some studies. Clinical trials using higher doses of pharmaceutical grade GlcN or formulations with greater bioavailability should yield positive results. This article is open to POST-PUBLICATION REVIEW. Registered readers (see “For Readers”) may comment by clicking on ABSTRACT on the issue’s contents page.


Author(s):  
Katarzyna Popek

The purpose of the text is to make some reconnaissance in the area of title "districts of metaphor" (or hunting grounds of metaphor) as well as reference to the unsolvable problems which are implied by a metaphorical mystery of metaphysical expressions. Thy are the order of the day in the main currents of philosophy. Starting from the rhetorical tradition of metaphor (the Aristotelian attempts of definition of metaphor as such) and of terms additional related with it (Max Black), I gradually illustrate what involves its post-rhetorical tradition. I show that philosophical symbolism derives from Aristotle’s hermeneutics, which becomes a gateway for understanding the mystery of metaphor. Like browsing in themselves mirrors, it grows also from simple phrases in complex sentences. In semantic sense, while the symbol has many meanings, the metaphor has a double meaning. It is not however limited by this matter, because in some sense, it has broader content than a symbol, as it introduces into language meanings that in the symbol are only internal (Paul Ricoeur). We also encounter reflective metaphors in our everyday speech and in the attempts of associative penetration into other people's expression. Conceptual decoding of metaphors is common for users of language (George Lakoff, Mark Johnson). On the other hand, there are specific districts of metaphorical expressions, which are reserved for poetic metaphors (Donald Davidson). Noteworthy are also the very unobvious contexts of metaphor in which the authors do not talk about this linguistic phenomenon directly (eg. Gottlob Frege, Ernst Cassirer). Declarative answer to the question whether the metaphor is a simply ornament of discourse or rather a mirror of the soul, is not possible too. Perhaps the metaphor as such includes the both variants. One must consider that being an ornament of speech or writing does not rule out it is also something more than just decoration. It wonders, bothers, disquiet, returning us into our souls. It is also like the unifying soul of all people – in cognitive sense.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-414
Author(s):  
Parmujianto Parmujianto

Abstract: Sharia life insurance is an agreement between two parties. One is obliged to pay a contribution or premium, and the other must ensure a full guarantee of the insurers. It should undertake the protection of a contingent or uncertain loss based on the contract. This research used a descriptive qualitative approach. It seeks to explore and understand the central phenomenon to obtain in-depth data to reveal the facts on the research object. The theoretical contribution in this study can contribute to the insights about the insurance partnership of ASYKI, Inc. to increase the number of insurance participants. It is expected that people do not have doubts about sharia life insurance in a formal juridical manner related to insurance. The result of the research showed that Asuransi Shariah Keluarga Indonesia ASYKI, Inc Pasuruan Unit's performance is generally good. According to Law No.40 of 2014, its risk management is sharia-oriented. However, it does not rule out individuals who register individually. Still, ASYKI, Inc. Pasuruan Unit provides some solutions. They should register with the ASYKI partners. It opens an opportunity for the polis applicants to easily recognize and apply sharia life insurance without going through business entities or companies that act as intermediaries.الملخص: التأمين على الحياة في الشريعة هو تأمين أو اتفاق بين طرفين يلتزم فيه أحد الطرفين بدفع  تراكات أو أقساط والآخر ملزم بتقديم ضمانات كاملة لدافعي الاشتراكات / الاشتراكات / الأقساط إذا حدث شيء ما الطرف الأول أو ممتلكاته وفقًا للاتفاق المبرم. النهج المستخدم في هذه الدراسة هو نهج وصفي نوعي. يسعى هذا النهج إلى استكشاف وفهم الظاهرة المركزية من أجل الحصول على بيانات متعمقة لكشف الحقائق التي حدثت في موضوع البحث. يمكن أن تساهم المساهمات النظرية في هذه الدراسة في المعرفة حول شراكة التأمين لـ PT. ASYKI في زيادة عدد المشاركين في التأمين. من الناحية العملية حتى لا يساور الناس شك حول التأمين الشرعي على الحياة ، سواء من الناحية القانونية أو الرسمية المتعلقة بالتأمين .وقد أظهرت نتائج هذه الدراسة أن PT. تعتبر وحدة ASYKI Pasuruan  للتأمين الشرعي للأسرة الإندونيسية بشكل عام جيدة ووفقًا للقانون رقم 40 لعام 2014 في إدارة إدارة المخاطر على أساس مبادئ الشريعة الإسلامية ، على الرغم من أنه من الممكن للأفراد التسجيل بشكل فردي ، وهو الحل الذي تقدمه PT. يجب أن تسجل وحدة  ASYKI Pasuruan بوالص التأمين الموجهة بشكل فردي إلى أحد الشركاء الذين يعملون مع PT. سيفتح ASYKI وفي المستقبل فرصًا لمسجلي السياسة الفردية بحيث يكون الجمهور أكثر حرية في التعرف على التأمين على الحياة وتطبيقه وفقًا للشريعة بسهولة دون الحاجة إلى المرور عبر كيان تجاري أو شركة تعمل كوسيط. Abstrak: Asuransi jiwa syari’ah merupakan pertanggungan atau perjanjian antara dua belah pihak yangmana pihak satu berkewajiban membayar kontribusi atau premi dan yang lainnya memiliki kewajiban memberikan jaminan sepenuhnya kepada pembayar iuran/kontribusi/premi apabila terjadi sesuatu yang menimpa pihak pertama atau barang miliknya sesuai dengan perjanjian yang sudah dibuat. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan kualitatif deskriptif.  Pendekatan  ini berusaha mengekplorasi dan memahami gejala sentral agar mendapatkan data yang mendalam guna mengungkapkan fakta yang terjadi pada objek penelitian. Kontribusi teoritis  dalam penelitian ini dapat memberikan sumbangsih ilmu pengetahuan tentang kemitraan asuransi  PT. ASYKI dalam menambah jumlah peserta asuransi. Adapun secara praktis agar masyarakat tidak memiliki keraguan mengenai asuransi jiwa shariah, baik secara yuridis formal yang berhubungan dengan perasuransian. Hasil dari penelitian ini bahwa PT. Asuransi Shariah Keluarga Indonesia ASYKI Unit Pasuruan secara umum dan keseluruan sudah baik  dan sesuai dengan UU No.40 Tahun 2014 dalam pengelolaan manajemen resiko sudah berdasarkan prinsip shariah, meskipun tidak menutup kemungkinan ada individu yang mendaftarkan diri secara perorangan, namun solusi yang ditawarkan dari pihak PT. ASYKI Unit Pasuruan hendaknya pendaftar poli asuransi secara individu di arahkan pada salah satu mitra yang bekerja sama dengan PT. ASYKI dan ke depannya akan membuka peluang bagi pendaftar polis secara perorangan sehingga masyarakat lebih leluasa untuk mengenal dan menerapkan asuransi jiwa shariah dengan mudah tanpa harus melalui badan usaha atau perusahaan yang menjadi perantara.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-37
Author(s):  
Christian Domingo Ribas

The COVID-19 pandemic is a recently emerging problem. This has caused that the knowledge of the disease has been progressive and, therefore, the therapeutic decisions have been conditioned by this lack of knowledge on the one hand and by the therapeutic limitations on the other. Many published studies are methodologically weak and their conclusions, of limited value, have contributed to creating confusion on the therapeutic approach of the disease. In the present paper, we propose a therapeutic approach based on a new disease staging. The therapeutic approach is divided into two big sections: the pharmacological treatment for the phase of viral replication, cytokine storm or late respiratory events (which includes the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)) and the treatment of the respiratory failure In every stage, we discuss the pathophysiology and comment (accept or rule out) the pharmacological options according to the present evidence. Moreover, we indicate how respiratory failure should be treated. Some characteristics are based on the evidence found in the literature. Others are the result of my experience in other situations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-142
Author(s):  
Milos Bogdanovic

In this paper we will try to confront Quine?s and Davidson?s holistic position through Davidson?s thesis of mental as a non-ontological category. In this regard, since Davidson came to this position through the thesis of mental as a decidedly conceptual category, we will try to show how this approach does not, nevertheless, rule out the possibility of its interpretation in ontological terms. However, in what follows we will draw attention to the fact that mental can be interpreted so that it proves to be immune to ontologization in Quine?s sense. This would be the evidence of different ways, which are not necessarily compatible, to argue for Davidson?s central thesis - the thesis about holistic character of mental - as well as, which is closely related, a certain difference that exists between Davidson?s view of mental as a conceptual category on the one hand, and a holistic category on the other hand.


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