Spartan Daily, August 30, 2007

Volume 129, Issue 4https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/10376/thumbnail.jp

Handel recovering: fresh light on his affairs in 1737

The summer and autumn of 1737 remain a foggy patch in Handel biography owing to poor documentation and Handel’s absence from London. We do not know whether his illness led to a rapprochement with the ‘Nobility’ opera, how his visit to Aix-la-Chapel complicated the new opera season or, especially, whether these developments relate to Farinelli’s defection to Spain. This shaky factual ground also restricts our understanding of later events such as Handel’s lucrative benefit in March 1738 and the celebrated Roubiliac statue in Vauxhall Gardens. Thanks to surviving issues of the Daily Advertiser, however, we now can replenish the documentary pool and re-examine Handel’s affairs and their context during this period

Spartan Daily, August 24, 2006

Volume 127, Issue 2https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/10260/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, August 27, 2004

Volume 123, Issue 2https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/10006/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, May 9, 2006

Volume 126, Issue 54https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/10254/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, August 26, 2005

Volume 125, Issue 2https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/10145/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, May 9, 2013

Volume 140, Issue 52https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/1419/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, August 29, 2006

Volume 127, Issue 3https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/10261/thumbnail.jp

The relationship of life stage to daily social patterns of captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana) and the correlation of handler perceptions of elephant personality to demonstrated social behaviors

Elephants typically have very strong social bonds, and social interactions can include affiliative, agonistic, or ambiguous behaviors. The social interactions and dominance hierarchy between individuals of a herd depend upon many factors, including maternal lineage, age, and sex. This study was designed to determine how social behaviors among a herd of captive African elephants varied throughout the day and to establish if the frequency of social interactions and age class were correlated. The study also aimed to determine if handler perceptions of elephant personality were an accurate predictor of the type and frequency of social behaviors observed, in addition to the factors stated above. The research was performed at the African Elephant Research Unit at Knysna Elephant Park (KEP) in South Africa. The herd included 7 elephants in 3 age groups: juvenile (0-10 years), young adult (11-20 years), and adult (20+ years). Continuous, all-occurrence sampling of pre-determined affiliative, agonistic, and ambiguous social behaviors was performed for a total of 90.4 hours within a seven-week period. Results indicated that there was a statistically higher rate of affiliative, agonistic, and total social behaviors initiated during mid-morning than during mid-afternoon, but no statistical difference in ambiguous social behaviors initiated throughout the day. Additionally, elephant handlers were individually surveyed regarding perceptions of each elephant’s personality traits, including qualities of dominance, activity level, boldness, confidence, curiosity, sociability, and aggressiveness. This characterization was compared to the previously recorded elephant social behaviors, and results indicated that there was a strong positive correlation between observed agonistic rate of social behavior and rated activity levels. Results are intended to influence the management of captive elephants at KEP and elsewhere