scholarly journals Acceptance and Feasibility of a Guideline for the Animal Welfare Assessment of Fattening Pigs from Farmers’ Point of View

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 711
Author(s):  
Mareike Pfeifer ◽  
Alexandra Koch ◽  
Clara Lensches ◽  
Armin O. Schmitt ◽  
Engel F. Hessel

The welfare of farm animals is being increasingly discussed in society and politics. To evaluate animal welfare, indicator systems are often used. Such a system has been developed by the German Association for Technology and Structures in Agriculture and suggested in the publication “Animal Welfare Indicators: Practical Guide—Pigs”. The association’s aim is to provide farmers with a useful method for recording the welfare of pigs. Crucial for the acceptance of the guide by farmers is a high degree of feasibility of the recommended indicators as well as the proposed methods for their recording. To evaluate this, 40 farmers keeping fattening pigs were interviewed. The guided semi-structured interview was conducted on the farms after the farmers evaluated the welfare of their fattening pigs according to the guide. The results are: Apart from the indicators faecal soiling and tail length, all the other eleven indicators are accepted for the assessment of fattening pig welfare by a majority of the interviewed farmers (between 57.5% and 90% acceptance per indicator). Furthermore, the feasibility of the individual indicators was assessed as being positive. The relationship between time expenditure and benefit was rated on a five-point scale at an average of 3.1 (medium), which clearly shows that there is a need for further development of this guide. Some possible changes with a potential for improvement could be identified; for example, the aggregation of the results after the collection of the individual indicators to an overall result that can be compared and interpreted.

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Arthur Nery da Silva ◽  
Michelle Silva Araujo ◽  
Fábio Pértille ◽  
Adroaldo José Zanella

Epigenetics works as an interface between the individual and its environment to provide phenotypic plasticity to increase individual adaptation capabilities. Recently, a wide variety of epi-genetic findings have indicated evidence for its application in the development of putative epi-biomarkers of stress in farm animals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate previously reported stress epi-biomarkers in swine and encourage researchers to investigate potential paths for the development of a robust molecular tool for animal welfare certification. In this literature review, we report on the scientific concerns in the swine production chain, the management carried out on the farms, and the potential implications of these practices for the animals’ welfare and their epigenome. To assess reported epi-biomarkers, we identified, from previous studies, potentially stress-related genes surrounding epi-biomarkers. With those genes, we carried out a functional enrichment analysis of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of the DNA of swine subjected to different stress-related conditions (e.g., heat stress, intrauterine insult, and sanitary challenges). We identified potential epi-biomarkers for target analysis, which could be added to the current guidelines and certification schemes to guarantee and certify animal welfare on farms. We believe that this technology may have the power to increase consumers’ trust in animal welfare.


Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Vigors

Human perception can depend on how an individual frames information in thought and how information is framed in communication. For example, framing something positively, instead of negatively, can change an individual’s response. This is of relevance to ‘positive animal welfare’, which places greater emphasis on farm animals being provided with opportunities for positive experiences. However, little is known about how this framing of animal welfare may influence the perception of key animal welfare stakeholders. Through a qualitative interview study with farmers and citizens, undertaken in Scotland, UK, this paper explores what positive animal welfare evokes to these key welfare stakeholders and highlights the implications of such internal frames for effectively communicating positive welfare in society. Results indicate that citizens make sense of positive welfare by contrasting positive and negative aspects of welfare, and thus frame it as animals having ‘positive experiences’ or being ‘free from negative experiences’. Farmers draw from their existing frames of animal welfare to frame positive welfare as ‘good husbandry’, ‘proactive welfare improvement’ or the ‘animal’s point of view’. Implications of such internal frames (e.g., the triggering of ‘negative welfare’ associations by the word ‘positive’) for the effective communication of positive welfare are also presented.


1952 ◽  
Vol 1953 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivar Johansson ◽  
Alan Robertson

The progress in animal improvement depends on the accuracy with which the breeding value of each individual in the breed, or herd, is estimated, and how the animals chosen on the basis of our estimates are combined in matings. We are concerned here only with the first part of the problem, i.e. the estimation of breeding values. The estimates are made in regard to certain characters, or traits, which are of particular interest from an economic point of view, and they may be based on the phenotypic merit of the individual, or on the merits of its ancestors or collateral relatives, or on the merits of its progeny, in regard to the character in question. Often a combination of two, or three, or all four methods may be used. Their relative importance depends on the heritability of the character, as will be discussed later.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 619-642
Author(s):  
Antonio Carlos Freitas Filho ◽  
Leander Luiz Klein ◽  
Juliano Nunes Alves ◽  
Daiane Uliana

Resumo: Com o intuito de fortalecer a sua competitividade, micro e pequenas empresas têm adotado como estratégia participarem de redes interorganizacionais em razão de benefícios associados. Porém, do ponto de vista empírico, observa-se que empresas saem ou trocam de redes. No estudo teve-se como objetivo identificar os motivos que levam uma empresa a trocar de rede de cooperação. A consecução deste trabalho ocorreu por intermédio de uma pesquisa qualitativa de natureza exploratória, sendo o instrumento de coleta uma entrevista semiestruturada com o proprietário de uma empresa do setor supermercadista que decidiu trocar de rede de cooperação, e três empresários que saíram de redes de diferentes ramos de atividade e os presidentes dessas três redes. Os resultados demonstraram que, apesar dos muitos benefícios oriundos da participação em redes, se algumas das perspectivas individuais que as empresas tinham ao entrar na rede não forem correspondidas, ocorre a insatisfação, fazendo com que as empresas busquem novas oportunidades. Com os resultados do estudo, espera-se ter contribuído para ajudar os empresários e gestores na decisão de entrar e/ou sair de uma rede de cooperação.Palavras-chave: Redes interorganizacionais. Troca de rede. Problemas. Reasons that take a company to change the cooperation networkAbstract: In order to strengthen their competitiveness, micro and small companies have adopted as strategy to participate in interorganizational networks, due to associated benefits. However, from the empirical point of view, it is observed that companies leave or switch networks. The study aims to identify the reasons that lead a company to change cooperation network. This work was carried out through a qualitative research of an exploratory nature. The collection instrument was a semi-structured interview with the owner of a supermarket company that decided to exchange a cooperation network, and 3 entrepreneurs who left networks different branches of activity and the presidents of these 3 networks. The results showed that despite the many benefits of participating in networks, if some of the individual perspectives that companies had when entering the network are not met, dissatisfaction occurs causing companies to seek new opportunities. With the results of the study it is hoped to have contributed to helping entrepreneurs and managers in the decision to enter and/or leave a cooperation network.Keywords: Interorganizational networks. Network exchange. Problems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-124
Author(s):  
Roberta Lamonatto Taglietti ◽  
Carla Rosane Paz Arruda Teo

Este estudo de abordagem qualitativa teve como objetivo apontar e discutir as situações que vulnerabilizam a mãe adolescente diante do cuidado alimentar com o filho do ponto de vista das dimensões individual, social e programática. Participaram do estudo nove adolescentes, que responderam a uma entrevistasemiestruturada, sendo os dados explorados por análise de conteúdo temática. Na dimensão individual se destacaram aspectos relativos a saúde biológica, trajetória pessoal, recursos pessoais e intersubjetividade, o que representou um determinante para que as adolescentes buscassem por ajuda no exercício de sua maternidade. Na dimensão social fica evidente as relações de gênero, relações intergeracionais e processo de estigmatização, indicando a adolescente como um indivíduo em relação, com múltiplas influências sociais que conduzem ou explicam, em alguma medida, suas ações diante do cuidado alimentar com a criança. Na dimensão programática, os resultados apontam para programas e políticas específicas, articulação intersetorial e organização do setor saúde, com suporte limitado para o desenvolvimento da função materna das adolescentes, como provedoras de alimentos para seus filhos. A pesquisa apontou evidências de vulnerabilidades nas dimensões individual e social, as quais não encontram resposta no nível programático, deixando a adolescente ainda mais fragilizadas diante da maternidade.Palavras-chave: Adolescência. Maternidade. Vulnerabilidade em Saúde. EVIDENCES OF VULNERABILITIES INVOLVED WITH THE FOOD CARE PROCESS IN THE CONTEXT OF MATERNITY IN ADOLESCENCE ABSTRACT: This qualitative study aimed at pointing out and discussing the situations that make the adolescent mother vulnerable to child care from the point of view of the individual, social and programmatic dimensions. Nine adolescents, who answered a semi-structured interview, participated in the study, and the data was analyzed by thematic content analysis. In the individual dimension, aspects related to biological health, personal trajectory, personal resources and intersubjectivity were highlighted, which represented a determinant for the adolescents to seek help in the exercise of their motherhood. In the social dimension, gender relations, intergenerational relations and the stigmatization process are evident, indicating the adolescent as an individual in relation, with multiple social influences that lead or explain, to some extent, their actions regarding the food care with the child. In the programmatic dimension, the results point to specific programs and policies, intersectoral articulation and organization of the health sector, with limited support for the development of the maternal function of adolescents as providers of food for their children. The research pointed to evidences of vulnerabilities in the individual and social dimensions, which do not find an answer at the programmatic level, leaving the adolescent even more fragile in the face of motherhood.Keywords: Adolescent. Parenting. Health Vulnerability.


2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jes Harfeld

AbstractAnswers to the question, “What is a farm animal?” often revolve around genetics, physical attributes, and the animals’ functions in agricultural production. The essential and defining characteristics of farm animals transcend these limited models, however, and require an answer that avoids reductionism and encompasses a de-atomizing point of view. Such an answer should promote recognition of animals as beings with extensive mental and social capabilities that outline the extent of each individual animal’s existence and—at the same time—define the animals as parts of wholes that in themselves are more than the sum of their parts and have ethological as well as ethical relevance. To accomplish this, the concepts of both anthropomorphism and sociobiology will be examined, and the article will show how the possibility of understanding animals and their characteristics deeply affects both ethology and philosophy; that is, it has an important influence on our descriptive knowledge of animals, the concept of what animal welfare is and can be, and any normative ethics that follow such knowledge.


2019 ◽  
pp. 22-29
Author(s):  
Н. В. Фрадкіна

The purpose and tasks of the work are to analyze the contemporary Ukrainian mass culture in terms of its value and humanistic components, as well as the importance of cultural studies and Ukrainian studies in educational disciplines for the formation of a holistic worldview of modern youth.Analysis of research and publications. Scientists repeatedly turned to the problems of the role of spirituality in the formation of society and its culture. This problem is highlighted in the publications by O. Losev, V. Lytvyn, D. Likhachev, S. Avierintsev, M. Zakovych, I. Stepanenko and E. Kostyshyn.Experts see the main negative impact of mass culture on the quality approach, which determines mass culture through the market, because mass culture, from our point of view, is everything that is sold and used in mass demand.One of the most interesting studies on this issue was the work by the representatives of Frankfurt School M. Horkheimer and T. Adorno «Dialectics of Enlightenment» (1947), devoted to a detailed analysis of mass culture. Propaganda at all socio-cultural levels in the form is similar in both totalitarian and democratic countries. It is connected, according to the authors, with the direction of European enlightenment. The tendency to unify people is a manifestation of the influence of mass culture, from cinema to pop. Mass culture is a phenomenon whose existence is associated with commerce (accumulation in any form – this is the main feature of education), in general, the fact that it exists in this form is related to the direction of the history of civilization.Modern mass culture, with its externally attractive and easily assimilated ideas and symbols, appealing to the trends of modern fashion, becomes a standard of prestigious consumption, does not require intense reflection, allows you to relax, distract, not teach, but entertains, preaches hedonism as the main spiritual value. And as a consequence, there are socio-cultural risks: an active rejection of other people, which leads to the formation of indifference; cruelty as a character trait; increase of violent and mercenary crime; increase in the number of alcohol and drug addicts; anti-patriotism; indifference to the values of the family and as a result of social orphanhood and prostitution.Conclusions, perspectives of research. Thus, we can conclude that modern Ukrainian education is predominantly formed by the values of mass culture. Namely, according to the «Dialectic» by Horkheimer and Adorno, «semi-enlightenment becomes an objective spirit» of our modern society.It is concluded that only high-quality education can create the opposite of the onset of mass culture and the destruction of spirituality in our society. It is proved that only by realizing the importance of cultivating disciplines in the educational process and the spiritual upbringing of the nation, through educational reforms, humanitarian knowledge will gradually return to student audiences.Formation of youth occurs under the influence of social environment, culture, education and self-education. The optimal combination of these factors determines both the process of socialization itself and how successful it will be. In this context, one can see the leading role of education and upbringing. It turns out that the main task of modern education is to spread its influence on the development of spiritual culture of the individual, which eventually becomes a solid foundation for the formation of the individual. Such a subject requires both philosophical and humanitarian approaches in further integrated interdisciplinary research, since the availability of such research will provide the theoretical foundation for truly modern educational and personal development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Fernando Ledesma Perez ◽  
Maria Caycho Avalos ◽  
Juana Cruz Montero ◽  
Andrea Ayala Sandoval

Citizenship is the exercise of the fundamental rights of people in spaces of participation, opinion and commitments, which can not be violated by any health condition in which the individual is. This research aims to interpret the process of construction of citizenship in hospitalized children, was developed through the qualitative approach, ethnomethodological method, synchronous design, with a sample of three students hospitalized in a health institute specializing in childhood, was used Observation technique and a semi-structured interview guide were obtained as results that hospitalized children carry out their citizenship construction in an incipient way, through the communication interaction they make with other people in the environment where they grow up.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 556-563
Author(s):  
Adam Burley

This is a personal and reflective piece written from a clinician's point of view on the influence that the developing awareness around the consequences of childhood adversity has had upon the discussions, thinking and practice across the areas in which they are working. It seeks to argue that the increased understanding and recognition of the potential impact of early adversity can not only enhance and deepen the understanding of an individual's difficulties, but can serve to inform how services respond in a way that takes account of this. It suggests that the research and literature on childhood adversity can offer a route map away from a model of mental health that focuses predominantly on the individual as the sole source of interest.


2020 ◽  

BACKGROUND: This paper deals with territorial distribution of the alcohol and drug addictions mortality at a level of the districts of the Slovak Republic. AIM: The aim of the paper is to explore the relations within the administrative territorial division of the Slovak Republic, that is, between the individual districts and hence, to reveal possibly hidden relation in alcohol and drug mortality. METHODS: The analysis is divided and executed into the two fragments – one belongs to the female sex, the other one belongs to the male sex. The standardised mortality rate is computed according to a sequence of the mathematical relations. The Euclidean distance is employed to compute the similarity within each pair of a whole data set. The cluster analysis examines is performed. The clusters are created by means of the mutual distances of the districts. The data is collected from the database of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic for all the districts of the Slovak Republic. The covered time span begins in the year 1996 and ends in the year 2015. RESULTS: The most substantial point is that the Slovak Republic possesses the regional disparities in a field of mortality expressed by the standardised mortality rate computed particularly for the diagnoses assigned to the alcohol and drug addictions at a considerably high level. However, the female sex and the male sex have the different outcome. The Bratislava III District keeps absolutely the most extreme position. It forms an own cluster for the both sexes too. The Topoľčany District bears a similar extreme position from a point of view of the male sex. All the Bratislava districts keep their mutual notable dissimilarity. Contrariwise, evaluation of a development of the regional disparities among the districts looks like notably heterogeneously. CONCLUSIONS: There are considerable regional discrepancies throughout the districts of the Slovak Republic. Hence, it is necessary to create a common platform how to proceed with the solution of this issue.


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