All Discussions Tagged 'research' - Animal Rights Zone2024-03-29T00:15:28Zhttps://arzone.ning.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=research&feed=yes&xn_auth=noBoldly Going Beyond Mainstream Advocacytag:arzone.ning.com,2017-02-09:4715978:Topic:1621082017-02-09T22:37:35.587ZAnimal Rights Zonehttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/admin
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-7" style="font-family: impact, chicago;">Boldly Going Beyond Mainstream Advocacy</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-6" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Written by Kevin Watkinson…</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-7" style="font-family: impact, chicago;">Boldly Going Beyond Mainstream Advocacy</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-6">Written by Kevin Watkinson</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038396705?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038396705?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-right"/></a>I think it can be useful to be open minded and consider different approaches, I also think it is worthwhile reflecting on some of the approaches people subscribe to in the movement. Though every now and again I become a little concerned there doesn’t seem to be a more rigorous system of evaluation in the movement, and I think this issue can restrict how effective we can be as advocates for animals. </span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br/> So just looking at the following <a href="https://donotlink.it/jJjN" target="_blank">article</a> from Tobias Leenaert, The Vegan Strategist and trainer at CEVA, a few issues came to mind. Firstly of course it is important to acknowledge this contribution, and how consideration can help us improve our own advocacy and the effectiveness of the animal movement as a whole. <br/>
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<a href="https://donotlink.it/jJjN">https://donotlink.it/jJjN</a> <br/>
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This piece has a number of issues I would like to draw attention to, so I will address each point with various ideas which I believe merit further consideration. <br/>
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1 I think we can agree that almost everyone believes suffering is an important consideration, however there is an issue here regarding ‘welfare that deceives’ and ‘authentic welfare’, these are issues Lee Hall discusses in her book ‘On Their Own Terms’ (which I recommend). Though it is worth noting these ideas aren't anything particularly new in terms of the movement, so this point really needs to be contextualised with the work that has taken place around the ‘humane myth’. A further issue is that it isn’t really clear what is meant as animal rights becoming an ‘abstraction’, if by this rights have been marginalised then I would agree, as this would be a consequence of the ‘pragmatic pork’ approach outlined in the recent Quartz article by Chase Purdy. <br/>
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2 Chickens and fishes are living beings that deserve consideration, and a rights based / vegan approach considers them equally. So that approach looks at animal exploitation as a whole rather than dividing animals up into different sub groups and marginalising the overarching issue, which is cultural speciesism. <br/>
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3 Consideration for wild animals exists in veganism, it is just that narrowing veganism to a diet, or less than a diet has removed them from consideration. For one example see: <a href="https://goo.gl/DmQF9D">https://goo.gl/DmQF9D</a> <br/>
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4 It’s not particularly clear how human suffering is being considered in the present day, and how discrimination, oppression and exploitation have been factored into consideration up until now within the approach of The Vegan Strategist. So I would be concerned the far future could distract from those issues which are yet to be addressed. <br/>
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5 Here i would point out that veganism isn’t a diet, it is an ethic and can be considered part of a justice movement. I don’t think anyone would really talk about fetishising justice if we take it seriously. Otherwise maybe we are talking about reducetarianism or flexitarianism which I don’t think is a fetishisation, it’s just more casual. <br/>
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6 Growing a movement does not require a great deal of money, nor should it, we can be inclusive here, and consider the benefits of creating a social movement in terms of harm reduction, rather than focussing on the corporate movement to solve issues. <br/>
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7 The vegan movement is broadly responsible for generating more demand and interest around veganism, the corporate movement has sometimes supported this growth in various ways, yet I would argue it has principally been concerned in organisational growth rather than movement growth, I would also suggest it is social media and so forth that has been the biggest driver of change in this area. This has happened despite few financial resources being allocated outside of the main groups (for example people have been campaigning on instagram / facebook, and including updates and information around veganism). It’s also worth noting businesses cannot be vegan, though they can be informed by vegan ethics, most of them are not, yet this ought not be an issue as it is just standard business practice. <br/>
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8 Technology is no substitute for a movement, it would be unlikely the vegan movement would interrupt useful technological advances, though it may not necessarily get involved with them. <br/>
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9 Research should also interrogate bias, and there isn’t a great deal of evidence that ‘mainstream’ bias has been factored into most considerations within the mainstream movement. It is also important to point out the ‘pragmatic’ ideology is also an ideology. So it is possible to be a ‘hardline’ pragmatist (as strange as that sounds), it means that only pragmatic ideas are considered and others dismissed reflexively as ineffective, or unworthwhile. <br/>
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10 It is important to recognise bias and dogma in the mainstream approach too. I haven’t seen a great deal of consideration toward understanding how different approaches can be effective (if evaluations exist please link them below). For instance, an evaluation of pro-intersectionality and a rights based approach, and where they fit into the movement. I wonder whether it is conceivable they could be more impactful and effective than a ‘pragmatic’ approach? Even if we are opposed to them theoretically, we ought to recognise them and be concerned about issues such as movement cohesion, whilst understanding they could hold value that could improve our own approach. <br/>
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I think one last point: ‘Being vegan means to stop eating animal products; it doesn’t mean to stop thinking.’ <br/>
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Instead I would say; being vegan means to commit to stop exploiting animals, it means to consider a wide range of issues that can have a positive impact for animal liberation.</span></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038391505?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="170" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038391505?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="170" class="align-left"/></a>Kevin Watkinson is a vegan animal rights advocate in the UK, who maintains a successful blog titled <a href="https://network23.org/orcasandanimals/" target="_blank">Orcas and Animals</a>. Kevin is also a moderator and administrator of ARZone </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"></p> ARZone Intersectionality Interview 19 – Casey Taft and Jay Shoostertag:arzone.ning.com,2016-12-13:4715978:Topic:1608122016-12-13T00:00:11.450ZAnimal Rights Zonehttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/admin
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Episode 19 features Casey Taft and Jay Shooster in a conversation about effective altruism and the animal advocacy community. Audio podcast, approx. 59 minutes.</font></span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Links to the article and book mentioned in the discussion:…</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Episode 19 features Casey Taft and Jay Shooster in a conversation about effective altruism and the animal advocacy community. Audio podcast, approx. 59 minutes.</font></span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Links to the article and book mentioned in the discussion:</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><a href="https://medium.com/@harrisonnathan/the-actual-number-is-almost-surely-higher-92c908f36517#.9scmqpwzq" target="_blank">The Actual Number is Almost Surely Higher</a> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">~ Harrison Nathan</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Motivational-Methods-Vegan-Advocacy-Perspective/dp/1940184282" target="_blank">Motivational Methods for Vegan Advocacy: A Clinical Psychology Perspective</a> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">~ Casey Taft </span></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">To listen to the podcast:</font></span></p>
<blockquote><p><strong><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Please click <a href="https://archive.org/download/ARZoneIntersectionalityInterview19CaseyTaftAndJayShooster/ARZone%20Intersectionality%20Interview%2019%20-%20Casey%20Taft%20and%20Jay%20Shooster.mp3" target="_blank">H E R E</a>, or visit <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/arzone-animal-rights-zone/id555064645" target="_blank">this webpage to subscribe using iTunes</a>, and please remember to <a href="http://arzone.ning.com/page/podcasts" target="_blank">visit the podcast page</a> to view a complete listing of all ARZone podcasts.</font></span></strong></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038414170?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="550" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038414170?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="550" class="align-center"/></a></span></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Casey Taft, Ph. D., a Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, is an internationally recognized researcher in the areas of trauma and the family, winning prestigious awards for his work in this area. He has published over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and scientific reports, and has consulted with the United Nations on preventing violence and abuse globally. He sees the prevention of violence towards other animals as a natural extension of this work and is also the co-owner of Vegan Publishers.</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Jay Shooster, JD, is a Masiyiwa-Bernstein Fellow at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at the New York University School of Law, where he serves as an associate editor for Just Security, a leading publication on national security, civil liberties, and human rights law. He holds a law degree from NYU and a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Florida. Jay has worked at a host of leading human and animal rights organizations including the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Open Society Justice Initiative, and the Nonhuman Rights Project. Currently, he serves on the Direct Action Everywhere legal working group and as an organizer for NYC United for Animals.</font></span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038414170?profile=original" target="_self"><br/></a><br/></font></span></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038396975?profile=original" target="_self"><br/></a></p> Pseudoscience in the Animal Rights Movementtag:arzone.ning.com,2015-10-19:4715978:Topic:1519102015-10-19T01:18:25.986ZCarolyn Baileyhttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/CarolynBailey
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-6" style="font-family: impact, chicago;">Pseudoscience in the Animal Rights Movement</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></br>Written by Dr. Casey Taft</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Originally posted by …</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: impact, chicago;" class="font-size-6">Pseudoscience in the Animal Rights Movement</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><br/>Written by Dr. Casey Taft</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Originally posted by <a href="http://veganpublishers.com/author/veganpublishers/" target="_blank">VeganPublishers</a></span></p>
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<div class="post-content"><p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038397002?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="200" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038397002?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="200" class="align-right"/></a>I have previously expressed </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><a href="http://veganpublishers.com/animal-advocacy-and-the-scientific-method-the-humane-research-council-study/" target="_blank">concerns about research</a></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> in which the Humane Research Council (now Faunalytics) misinterpreted their data to make the case that we should be advocating for others to cut down on meat rather than promoting veganism. As I noted, their data actually showed the opposite of their conclusions and indicated that we should truly be promoting veganism rather than “reducetarianism.” Other flaws of the study were that there were no testable hypotheses based on theory and they misdefined veganism and measured it as diet only (rather than as an ethical stance against animal use). Also, they did not subject their findings to peer review, which is the standard practice in the scientific community.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">So when I saw that a different group, the Humane League Labs, had put out a <a href="https://humaneleaguelabs.wordpress.com/2015/09/20/report-which-request-creates-the-most-diet-change-vegan-vegetarian-eat-less-meat-or-cut-out-or-cut-back-on-animal-products/" target="_blank">recent study</a> that similarly concluded that we should be encouraging people to reduce animal consumption rather than completely eliminate it, I was naturally skeptical. I read the <a href="https://humaneleaguelabs.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/animal-cruelty-vs-22abolitionist22-messaging.pdf" target="_blank">full report</a>, though, to see if their data matched their conclusions. As I suspected, they did not.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">The premise of this study is one that we have all seen before. They administered booklets that “discussed the cruelty of factory farming and the health benefit of removing animal products from one’s diet.” Next, the authors used eight different booklets that made different requests- some asking readers to “eat vegan”; some asking readers to “eat vegetarian”; some that encourage readers to “eat less meat”; and some that encourage readers to “cut out or cut back on” meat and other animal products.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">As with the last study I critiqued, there are serious theoretical and methodological problems with this one. Once again, a major overarching problem with this research is that veganism is not properly represented. A vegan messaging approach would not only focus on “factory farming” but would discuss the ethics of using animals in all ways. It would also not focus on health. So again, if the authors are going to make any inferences about vegan messaging and its effectiveness, then truly vegan messaging should be employed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">I am not going to review the methodological problems in detail but the approach used would likely not be considered acceptable if it were to undergo scientific peer review. The major issues include a low response rate (less than half) at follow up and no accounting for missing data (i.e., missing data analysis); reliance on “change scores” that is a fairly weak data analytic approach; a lack of clarity on whether participants were randomized into conditions; and unequal group sizes.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3189923597?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3189923597?profile=original" width="200" class="align-right"/></a>What is far more concerning, however, is how the data were misinterpreted in a manner consistent with the worldview of this group. Those in the “control” condition reduced their meat and dairy consumption more than any other group. Moreover, the only statistically significant findings were those that demonstrated that those in the control condition reduced their consumption more than those who received different messages. In other words, the only “meaningful” finding from the main data analyses is that individuals reduce their meat and dairy consumption more when they are not asked to change anything than when they are asked to make some kind of change in their consumption. These counter-intuitive findings suggests that the methodological issues I previously reviewed may render this entire set of results to be questionable. In short, the findings don’t really make a lot of sense, and there is reason to be skeptical that we can take anything away from this at all.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><br/>The authors, on the other hand, have interpreted results that were not statistically significant to conclude that the message to “cut out or cut back on” meat and other animal products “might be the most effective approach” to get people to reduce animal product consumption. These conclusions are unwarranted given the actual findings, the lack of statistical significance of differences between groups (except for differences showing those receiving no message decreased consumption the most), and the methodological issues that call into question the validity of the data.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Pseudoscience is “a claim, belief, or practice that is presented as scientific, but does not adhere to a valid scientific methodology, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status.” When a group frames a study and misinterprets flawed results to fit their preferred mode of advocacy, they are engaging in pseudoscience. Such practices appear to be all too common in the animal advocacy realm which is disappointing and potentially dangerous. The media and other groups report the conclusions from this research assuming it is valid. The organizations that conduct this kind of work can falsely claim that their form of advocacy is “evidence-based.” It is potentially harmful to animals to promote the notion of one form of advocacy as more effective than another based on flawed and seriously biased research. We can and must do better than this.</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">This article was originally published on the Vegan Publishers website at: </span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><a href="http://veganpublishers.com/pseudoscience/">http://veganpublishers.com/pseudoscience/</a> </span></em></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><em><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038408476?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="150" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038408476?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="150" class="align-left"/></a>Casey is co-owner of Vegan Publishers, Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, and staff psychologist at the National Center for PTSD in the VA Boston Healthcare System. He’s an internationally recognized researcher in the area of violence prevention, winning prestigious awards for his work from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has published over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and scientific reports, and has a book forthcoming on trauma-informed violence prevention, published by the American Psychological Association.</em></span></p>
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</div> ARZone Podcast 80: Jon Bockman - Animal Charity Evaluatorstag:arzone.ning.com,2014-03-24:4715978:Topic:1445182014-03-24T23:31:55.607ZAnimal Rights Zonehttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/admin
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Episode 80 features the Executive Director of Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), Jon Bockman.</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">In this interview, we discuss the work that ACE does in trying to utilise the best survey and research methods to evaluate the effectiveness of various groups and organizations working within the animal advocacy movement. Audio Podcast, approx 57…</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Episode 80 features the Executive Director of Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), Jon Bockman.</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">In this interview, we discuss the work that ACE does in trying to utilise the best survey and research methods to evaluate the effectiveness of various groups and organizations working within the animal advocacy movement. Audio Podcast, approx 57 minutes.</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">To listen to the podcast:</font></span></p>
<blockquote><p><strong><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Please click <a href="http://archive.org/download/ARZonePodcast80JonBockmanAnimalCharityEvaluators/ArzonePodcast80-JonBockman-AnimalCharityEvaluators.mp3" target="_blank">H E R E</a>, or visit <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/arzone-animal-rights-zone/id555064645" target="_blank">this webpage to subscribe using iTunes</a>, and please remember to <a href="http://arzone.ning.com/page/podcasts" target="_blank">visit the podcast page</a> to view a complete listing of all ARZone podcasts.</font></span></strong></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to their website (<a href="http://www.AnimalCharityEvaluators.Org" target="_blank">www.AnimalCharityEvaluators.Org</a>), Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) is "a nonprofit dedicated to finding and advocating highly effective opportunities for improving the lives of animals.” Jon Bockman serves as its executive director.<br/></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Jon has held leadership positions at various animal advocacy groups over the past ten years, including having managed two wildlife rehabilitation centres and serving as a humane investigator in Illinois. Jon joined the team at Animal Charity Evaluators in 2013.<br/><br/><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3807311990?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3807311990?profile=original" width="350"/></a></font></span></p> ARZone Podcast 79: Nick Cooney - Veganomics: The Surprising Science on What Motivates Vegetarianstag:arzone.ning.com,2014-02-23:4715978:Topic:1440502014-02-23T21:40:37.761ZAnimal Rights Zonehttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/admin
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Episode 79 features long time advocate Nick Cooney.</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Nick Cooney, the Founder and Chairman of the Board of The Humane League, is also the Director of Education for Mercy For Animals. Nick is the author of two books, <i>Change Of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change</i> (2011) and <i>Veganomics: The Surprising…</i></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Episode 79 features long time advocate Nick Cooney.</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Nick Cooney, the Founder and Chairman of the Board of The Humane League, is also the Director of Education for Mercy For Animals. Nick is the author of two books, <i>Change Of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change</i> (2011) and <i>Veganomics: The Surprising Science on What Motivates Vegetarians, from the Breakfast Table to the Bedroom</i> (2013).</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">In this podcast, we discuss what advocates can learn from the research that exists on vegans, vegetarians, their behaviors, motivations, and beliefs. Audio podcast, approx. 53 minutes.</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">To listen to the podcast:</font></span></p>
<blockquote><p><strong><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Please click <a href="http://archive.org/download/ARZonePodcast79NickCooneyVeganomics/ArzonePodcast79-NickCooney-Veganomics.mp3" target="_blank">H E R E</a>, or visit <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/arzone-animal-rights-zone/id555064645" target="_blank">this webpage to subscribe using iTunes</a>, and please remember to <a href="http://arzone.ning.com/page/podcasts" target="_blank">visit the podcast page</a> to view a complete listing of all ARZone podcasts.</font></span></strong></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Please check out Nick's book at <a href="http://veganomics.com/" target="_blank">Veganomics.com</a>.<br/><br/><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038396307?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038396307?profile=original" width="183"/></a><br/></font></span></p> Demolishing the Absurd Myth of Complacency with 10% Support ~ David Sztybeltag:arzone.ning.com,2013-09-09:4715978:Topic:1386592013-09-09T03:47:29.502ZCarolyn Baileyhttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/CarolynBailey
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In this new essay from Dr. David Sztybel, David questions the logic and implications of a study that suggests that when 10% of the population agree on something, the rest will follow, and whether this thinking is really 'A Simple Question' for those of us looking to make serious social change. …</span></em><br></br></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">In this new essay from Dr. David Sztybel, David questions the logic and implications of a study that suggests that when 10% of the population agree on something, the rest will follow, and whether this thinking is really 'A Simple Question' for those of us looking to make serious social change. </span></em><br/></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: impact, chicago;" class="font-size-7"><a href="http://davidsztybel.blogspot.ca/2013/09/complacency-about-minorities.html" target="_blank">Demolishing the Absurd Myth of Complacency with 10% Support</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-4">Written by <a href="http://davidsztybel.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">David Sztybel Ph.D</a><br/> <br/></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">The Francionists always rely on faulty arguments. You just wonder which ones they will come out with next. In his recent essay, "A Simple Question", Gary Francione reports:</span></p>
<blockquote><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society. The scientists, who are members of the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center (SCNARC) at Rensselaer, used computational and analytical methods to discover the tipping point where a minority belief becomes the majority opinion. The finding has implications for the study and influence of societal interactions ranging from the spread of innovations to the movement of political ideals.<br/> <br/></span></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">And so Francione asks us all the following question:</span></p>
<blockquote><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Why is every animal advocate and every large animal organization not working to get to that 10% rather than promoting welfare reform, "compassionate" consumption, and "happy" exploitation?<br/> <br/></span></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">So we are all supposed to rush out and follow Gary based on this "research finding" <br/> <br/></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">First of all, you have to wonder: what is the mental achitecture of the geniuses who came up with this this study's conclusions? They are falsifiable even by those who are not specialists in the field such as myself, so long as I give the matter a little thought using some commonplace facts that I happen to know. <br/> <br/></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In recent years I read that 33% of Americans are Christian fundamentalists. They are highly convinced of their positions and are unlikely to change. At least for the most part. According to this "study", all of Americans are destined to become Christian fundamentalist. That is utter tripe and nonsense. The researchers have not "proved" their findings. It is unsupported speculation that goes contrary to current, widely available data, probably on any number of fronts. <br/> <br/></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Take, for example, political parties. It used to be that a huge number of Canadians were Progressive Conservatives. Far more than 10%. They also won elections on a much greater electoral base. But they never become dominant. They went extinct, replaced by new conservative bodies. And many people would deny that conservatism is our evolutionary destiny. It would be foolhardy to assume that we all must become conservatives due to some false law posited by polytechnical researchers. <br/> <br/></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">All of the other political positions have more than 10% following too, by people who probably will not change much in their lifetimes (surely those unshakeable of conservatism will number more than 10% of society, and will not vary from being conservative </span><b style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">ever</b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, thus fulfilling the "law" supposed here), and it would be senseless to be complacent that any of them are going to take over society based on this "finding" by this polytechnical institute. <br/> <br/></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Indeed, the liberals will have more than 10% of society too who are irrevocably of that persuasion. This means the research findings "prove" that society will eventually be all-conservative, and all-liberal. Really impressive findings. It is always impressive to do the impossible, such as an implicit self-contradiction, after all, isn't it? <br/> <br/></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">How about a more relevant example? Many years ago, I heard that 10% of British people are vegetarian. After the mad cow disease scare, based in tainted beef, I was told that number jumped up to 25%. But does this mean that animal rights is a shoe-in, and animal rights laws are soon to come, so we do not need to abolish factory farming? </span><b style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Complete nonsense. <br/> <br/></b> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Suppose we achieve 10% animal rights support. We cannot be complacent that the rest of society will "magically" follow due to some formula. It takes hard work, not theories "expressing themselves" in reality. Francione said even 20% is realistic to aim for. Eventually, yes. But even if achieved, animal rights laws are very far away. Look at how divided the United States was over slavery, with far more than 20% of the population actively favoring this misbegotten institution. It took a very long time for anti-racist laws to appear after slavery was abolished, 78 years in fact as I show in my study,<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"> </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><a href="http://davidsztybel.info/x-increm.pdf" target="_blank">"Incrementalist Animal Law: Welcome to the Real World"</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">. </span><br/> <br/></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">So the finding in question is useless to the anti-incrementalist cause. There is still a very long time to go before we get to animal rights laws, no matter how you slice it, or how you attempt to spin it. And we should be ashamed of ourselves if we do not abolish factory farming, one of the worst inventions ever - an atrocity in itself - before animal rights laws shine from the books. <br/> <br/></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"A Simple Question", eh? Simple indeed.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3807312108?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3807312108?profile=original" width="238" class="align-center"/></a></p>
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<p><span><em><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038408633?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="95" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3038408633?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="95" class="align-center"/></a></em></span></p>
<p><span><em>David Sztybel, Ph.D. has been an animal rights activist since 1986. He has published numerous articles pertaining to the liberation of all sentient beings and has lectured at the University of Toronto, Queen's University, and Brock University. See David Sztybel's Cyberpage at: <a href="http://davidsztybel.info/" target="_blank">davidsztybel.info</a></em><br/> <br/></span></p>
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<p></p> ARZone Podcast 64: Karen and Michael Budkie - Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!tag:arzone.ning.com,2013-02-24:4715978:Topic:1240342013-02-24T01:19:11.064ZAnimal Rights Zonehttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/admin
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Episode 64 features Karen and Michael Budkie of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (<a href="http://www.saenonline.org/" target="_blank">www.SAENonline.org</a>). </font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Michael Budkie once worked in laboratories as an Animal Health Technician, witnessing first hand the traumas inflicted on other animals. Karen and Michael discuss the work that SAEN…</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Episode 64 features Karen and Michael Budkie of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (<a href="http://www.saenonline.org/" target="_blank">www.SAENonline.org</a>). </font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Michael Budkie once worked in laboratories as an Animal Health Technician, witnessing first hand the traumas inflicted on other animals. Karen and Michael discuss the work that SAEN does in uncovering the abuse of other animals who are experimented on, the role of money in scientific research, and most importantly, what any person who cares about other animals can do to stop exploitation now. Audio podcast, approx 65 minutes.</font></span></p>
<blockquote><p><span class="font-size-4"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Please click <a href="http://archive.org/download/ARZonePodcast64MichaelAndKarenBudkie/ArzonePodcast64-MichaelAndKarenBudkie.mp3" target="_blank">H E R E</a>, or visit <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/arzone-animal-rights-zone/id555064645" target="_blank">this webpage to subscribe using iTunes</a>, and please remember to <a href="http://arzone.ning.com/page/podcasts" target="_blank">visit the podcast page</a> to view a complete listing of all ARZone podcasts.</font></span></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">SAEN, founded by the Budkies in 1996, is a grassroots organisation in the United States that is focused on ending the abuse of other animals in laboratories. <br/><br/>The Budkies campaign, educate and investigate full time throughout the US. SAEN calls attention to - and in many cases has put a stop to - experimentation on primates and other individuals, the seizures by labs of dogs and cats from shelters, as well as revealing many other forms of routine abuse.</font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Find SAEN on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/SAEN-Stop-Animal-Exploitation-Now/85317629503" target="_blank">Facebook here</a>. <br/></font></span></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br/><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hnmxe-fri7Q/USjGSO-YasI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/4sNm3veBctQ/s1600/Michael+and+Karen+Budkie+ARZone+Interview.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hnmxe-fri7Q/USjGSO-YasI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/4sNm3veBctQ/s320/Michael+and+Karen+Budkie+ARZone+Interview.jpg" border="0"/></a></div> Do Other Animals Have Imaginations?tag:arzone.ning.com,2013-02-20:4715978:Topic:1237522013-02-20T21:29:52.970ZCarolyn Baileyhttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/CarolynBailey
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3"><em><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This article evidences further the fact that animals other than human have emotional, complex inner lives, full of the experiences that create a fulfilled and enriched existence. Other animals have the cognitive ability, and the desire to actively seek pleasure and avoid pain, which indicates they live complex and emotional inner lives. As we find more and more information in…</span></em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3"><em><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This article evidences further the fact that animals other than human have emotional, complex inner lives, full of the experiences that create a fulfilled and enriched existence. Other animals have the cognitive ability, and the desire to actively seek pleasure and avoid pain, which indicates they live complex and emotional inner lives. As we find more and more information in support of this, how will humans change the ways in which we commodify and exploit these individuals? </span></em></span></p>
<h1 class="article-heading" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: impact, chicago;" class="font-size-7">Do animals have imagination?</span></h1>
<div class="information clearfix"><div class="author author-has-profile author-profile-collapsed"><div class="author-information story-meta"><div class="author-name-block clearfix" style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Written by Jason G. Goldman</span></div>
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<div class="lead-image"><br/><p class="lead-image-caption"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Do animals have imagination? </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Decades of intensive studies have revealed that chimpanzees and other species can pretend. But they might not be able to fully tell reality from fantasy.<br/> <br/></span></p>
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<div class="body clearfix"><h3><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-4"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20973753">Chimps and fair play</a></span></h3>
<br/> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The human tendency to share may have more ancient evolutionary routes than previously thought.</span><br/> <br/>
<div class="story-body"><p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">An eight-year-old juvenile chimpanzee named Kakama trudged along a path among the forest trees, following his pregnant mother. A scientist sat silently at a distance, watching Kakama pick up a log and carry it with him for hours. At one point, Kakama made a nest and placed the log in it, as if it were a small chimpanzee. Months later, two field assistants observed the same thing: Kakama was playing with a similar log, which they labelled "Kakama's toy baby."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Was Kakama simply confused? Did he really think that the log was a smaller version of himself? Or did Kakama know that the log was really a log, and was only pretending that the log was a baby?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanzi">Kanzi</a>, the famous bonobo, liked to pretend as well. Primatologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1988-98392-017">described</a> watching Kanzi hide invisible objects under blankets or leaves, later removing them from their hiding spots, and pretending to eat them. "Kanzi also engages the participation of others" in these games, Savage-Rumbaugh notes, "by giving them the pretend object and watching to see what they do with it."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">From an early age, human children act out imagined scenes that conflict with reality. Psychologist Robert W Mitchell <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pretending-Imagination-Animals-Children-Mitchell/dp/0521283329">calls</a> children "proto-typical pretenders", and he writes that pretend play, or make-believe, is "a mental activity involving imagination". Which is, admittedly, useless as a definition.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Dreams could be thought of as being one form of imagination. When researchers measured the brain activity of rats as they were learning to navigate a maze, they saw the <a href="http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v10/n1/abs/nn1825.html">same firing pattern</a> while they were asleep as when they were awake. The rats were running through the mazes in their sleep – it was as if someone had pressed the rewind button on a brain activity recorder, and pressed play.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">But pretending or "make believe" requires a bit more mental complexity than that. One kind of pretence involves imagining that one object, such as a banana, is actually a second type of object, such as a telephone, or imagining that a lifeless object such as a doll is actually animate – both of which were observed with Kakama.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><strong>Flights of fantasy</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Another type of pretence involves imagining an object that isn't even there in the first place, such as when children (or adults) play air guitar. An illuminating example of this sort of imagination comes from a chimpanzee named Viki who was raised in a human home. Viki had lots of toys, including some attached to strings that could be pulled along. Primatologists Mary Lee Jensvold and Roger Fouts <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02436716">recount</a> the original description of Viki's behaviour: "Very slowly and deliberately she was marching around the toilet, trailing the fingertips of one hand on the floor. Now and then she paused, glanced back at her hand, and then resumed her progress… She trudged along just this busily on two feet and one hand, while the other arm extended backward this way to pull the toy. Viki had an imaginary pulltoy!" And not only that. Viki sometimes acted as if her pulltoy had got stuck on something. She tugged on the invisible string until she imagined that the toy had gotten free. Once, when her invisible toy was "stuck", she waited until her human caregiver pretended to free the toy, before continuing to play with it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Some of the more charming examples of animal imagination come from the female gorilla <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koko_%28gorilla%29">Koko</a>, who was trained to use American Sign Language. Koko routinely pretended that her dolls were her companions, frequently tried to nurse them, and often signed to them, sometimes giving them instructions. In one instance, a five-year-old Koko orchestrated an exchange between two toy gorillas, one blue and one pink. First, looking at the pink gorilla, she signed BAD BAD and then KISS towards the blue one. She then instructed the pair of toys to CHASE and TICKLE before smacking the two dolls together. After wrestling with each doll, Koko stopped and signed, GOOD GORILLA. GOOD GOOD.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Another time, a caregiver showed the ten-year-old Koko a photo of a bird in a magazine. THAT ME, Koko signed. "Is that really you?" KOKO GOOD BIRD, she responded. "I thought you were a gorilla." KOKO BIRD. The caregiver asked, "you sure?" Koko responded, pointing to the bird, KOKO GOOD THAT. "Okay, I must be a gorilla," the caregiver said. BIRD YOU, the gorilla signed. "We're both birds?" Koko responded by signing GOOD. "Show me," the caregiver prodded. FAKE BIRD CLOWN. "You're teasing me. What are you really?" Finally, Koko gave in, with a laugh: GORILLA KOKO.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">By pretending to be a bird, Koko is doing something that the youngest human infants can't do. Young infants attempt to grasp objects in pictures as if they're really there. But by nineteen months, on average, grasping is <a href="http://pss.sagepub.com/content/9/3/205.short">replaced</a> by pointing. By that age, human infants begin to understand that a picture is a representation of another object, not the object itself, much the same as a ten-year-old Koko understood that she wasn't truly a bird.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">On the other hand, children under four years seem able to pretend in some instances but not in others. For instance, three-year-old children <a href="http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/jbem34&div=41&id=&page=">routinely agree</a> that a balloon on a television screen would float to the ceiling if the top of the set was removed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Koko, too, in some instances couldn’t distinguish between pretence and reality. In one interaction, a caregiver brought a toy dinosaur and hid it between her legs as she sat with the eleven-year-old ape. The caregiver poked the toy dinosaur out from behind her legs, causing Koko to jump backwards. "I scared you!" said the caregiver, "what's this?" Koko answered FAKETOOTH FAKE. "Yes, it's a fake alligator." Dinosaurs, lizards and alligators are all labelled "alligator" in Koko's vocabulary. After playing with the toy for a while, the caregiver asked, "You like it? You want it?" Koko responded GOOD, but still she didn't take it. The caregiver pretended as if the toy bit her own finger, shouting "Ow!" as if in pain. TOILET STINK, Koko replied. "Give me your finger, Koko," the caregiver instructs. But Koko instead offered a toy doll, letting it get bitten instead. "You funny Koko, let monster bite doll instead of you. Let's try being nice to it. It's a nice animal." The caregiver kissed the doll, to which Koko responded with the sign FAKETOOTH. "You want to kiss it, be nice?" While Koko eventually, though cautiously, kissed the dinosaur, she quickly withdrew.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Koko seemed aware that the dinosaur was only a toy, using the signs FAKE and FAKETOOTH, both of which she regularly used to indicate that objects aren't real. However, she was also scared of it, acting quite wary about touching or kissing it. On some level, perhaps, she thought that the toy dinosaur could actually harm her.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><strong>Mind games</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Like a human child under four years of age, it might be that Koko didn't understand the concept of pretending, or didn't apply her knowledge of pretence uniformly. Despite the fact that she knew and understood the sign for "pretend", Koko more often used the signs for "know" and "think" when asked about her toys.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">That said, one does not have to be aware that they are pretending in order to successfully pretend. In one clever <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8477622">study</a>, researchers asked human children if a troll that hopped like a rabbit was only pretending to be a rabbit, even if he had never heard of rabbits in the first place. It wasn't until children were at least four years old that they answered correctly, suggesting that the younger children did not yet understand that pretending was something associated with the mind rather than the body.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">To the extent that animals like Kakama, Kanzi, Viki, and Koko can pretend, their imaginations are probably limited in the same way as young human children. They can imagine, though they might not have a complete awareness of the distinctions between reality and fantasy. They might pretend, but not recognize it as such. Decades of intensive observation have revealed that under some circumstances, animals can imagine the future or the past, can pay attention to imaginary objects, and can pretend that one object is another. In some extraordinary circumstances, non-human animals have been known to feign interest or emotion, a type of pretence, in order to distract a rival from food or a mate.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">One type of make-believe that has never been observed in an animal, though, is the sustained relationship with an imaginary other. To the best of our knowledge, no animal has an invisible friend. Still, the likes of Kakama, Kanzi, Viki, and Koko show that even imagination, something that Carl Sagan wrote could "carry us to worlds that never were," is far from uniquely human.</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-4">Source: <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130207-can-animals-imagine/3" target="_blank">BBC Future</a></span></p>
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</div> Saving Dinah: A Feature Film about Stolen Companion Animalstag:arzone.ning.com,2012-07-03:4715978:Topic:1022792012-07-03T22:38:29.242ZMichael Sizer-Watthttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/MichaelSizerWatt
<p>Hey Everyone,</p>
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<p>I know I don't join in on the forum often, but I do most of my onlining from my phone so forums aren't easy for me.</p>
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<p>I'm hoping you'll consider helping me spread the word about a feature film I'm involved in called "Saving Dinah" which explores the sad situations companion animals face when lost, stolen or abandoned.</p>
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<p>You can find the group on facebook or lookup the blog at…</p>
<p>Hey Everyone,</p>
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<p>I know I don't join in on the forum often, but I do most of my onlining from my phone so forums aren't easy for me.</p>
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<p>I'm hoping you'll consider helping me spread the word about a feature film I'm involved in called "Saving Dinah" which explores the sad situations companion animals face when lost, stolen or abandoned.</p>
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<p>You can find the group on facebook or lookup the blog at <a href="http://www.savingdinah.com">www.savingdinah.com</a>. We have two weeks left of filming and it will be released either late this year or early next year.</p>
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<p>It's a small budget feature funded by Animal Alliance of Canada and it's non profit, so all returns will be used for companion animal rescue. There are a lot of very creative and talented people involved.</p>
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<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Michael.</p> An Important Research Opportunitytag:arzone.ning.com,2012-06-06:4715978:Topic:1001162012-06-06T21:37:13.801ZTim Gierhttps://arzone.ning.com/profile/TimGier
<p>Fellow vegetarians and vegans, I am writing to announce an exciting opportunity for vegetarian and vegan fathers to participate in an important research study. There will be little work involved; participants will be interviewed confidentially about their experiences as men and fathers.</p>
<p>Here are the details:</p>
<p>William Marsiglio Ph. D., Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law at the University of Florida (Gainesville) is the early stages of…</p>
<p>Fellow vegetarians and vegans, I am writing to announce an exciting opportunity for vegetarian and vegan fathers to participate in an important research study. There will be little work involved; participants will be interviewed confidentially about their experiences as men and fathers.</p>
<p>Here are the details:</p>
<p>William Marsiglio Ph. D., Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law at the University of Florida (Gainesville) is the early stages of starting a new project concerning the intersection of the health of men who are fathers and their own children’s health. Dr. Marsiglio’s research will entail interviewing (in person or electronically) a wide range of fathers (some very healthy – others not) and fathers of children (some who are very healthy – to others who have chronic health problems). As one part of this project, Dr. Marsiglio wants to explore any special concerns, challenges, or opportunities facing fathers who consider themselves vegetarian or vegan as well as how a father’s life choices may affect his children, their choices, their health and their lives.</p>
<p>How you can help:</p>
<p>Are you a (or do you know of any) father living in the US who has children 24 years of age or younger who lives as a vegetarian or vegan? (Father and children may be of any health status.) If you are, and would be willing to help Dr. Marsiglio in this important research, please contact him directly by email at: <a href="mailto:marsig@soc.ufl.edu" target="_blank">marsig@ufl.edu</a> or by telephone at: <a target="_blank">352-256-3046</a>. If you contact Dr. Marsiglio by email, please indicate how many children you have, their ages, and their gender (# each of sons/daughters).</p>
<p>Fathers selected for inclusion in the study, will be interviewed for about 1 – 2 hours and will receive $30 after completion.</p>
<p>Please <a title="Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids" href="http://timgier.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/healthy-dads-healthy-kids-flyer-marsiglio.pdf" target="_blank">see the attached flyer</a> for other information.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
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<p style="text-align: center;">Here's <a href="http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/marsig/nurturing_dads_description.html" target="_blank">Dr. Marsiglio's latest book</a>:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3189912875?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3189912875?profile=original" width="200" class="align-center"/></a></p>
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