Doing diabetes (Type 1): Symbiotic ethics and practices of care embodied in human-canine collaborations and olfactory sensitivity

This project studies domesticated healthy members of the canine species, who are educated to make use of their olfactory sensitivity in working with unwell members of the human species, and examines their situatedness, attempting also to comprehend their perspectives. The discipline of anthrozoology, newly added to the social sciences, emphasises a present and future need for an ethics that is involved in, allows for and advocates multispecies' dependencies and interdependencies.The chronically ill participants in this study are vulnerable experts in life’s uncertainties, and have become aware over time of multiple medical and social needs and practices. But, unlike the hypo-aware respondents documented in some studies of diabetes mellitus Type 1, these research participants are also conscious of their inability to recognise when their own fluctuating blood glucose levels are rising or falling to extremes, a loss of hyper- or hypo-awareness that puts their lives constantly at risk. Particular sources of better life management, increased self-esteem and means of social (re-)integration are trained medical alert assistance dogs who share the human home, and through keen olfactory sensitivity, are able to give advance warning when their partners’ blood sugar levels enter ‘danger’ zones. Research studies in anthrozoology and anthropology provide extensive literature on historic and contemporary human bonds with domestic and/or wild nonhuman animals. Equally, the sociology of health and illness continues to extend research into care practices performed to assist people with chronic illness. This study draws from these disciplines in order to add to multispecies ethnographic literature by exploring human-canine engagement, contribution and narrative, detailing the impact each member of the dyad has on the other, and by observing the 'doing' of the partnerships' daily routines to ward off hypo-glycaemia and hospitalisation. In addition, the project investigates the place, role and 'otherness' of a medical alert dog in a chronically ill person's understanding of 'the-body-they-do'. The perspective of symbolic interactionism assists in disentangling individual and shared meanings inherent in the interspecies collaboration by examining the mutualistic practices of care performed. The often-flexible moral boundaries that humans construct to differentiate between acceptable use and unacceptable exploitation of nonhuman animals are questioned within ethics-of-care theory, based on the concept of dogs as animate instruments and biomedical resources

STABLE ADAPTIVE STRATEGY of HOMO SAPIENS and EVOLUTIONARY RISK of HIGH TECH. Transdisciplinary essay

The co-evolutionary concept of Three-modal stable evolutionary strategy of Homo sapiens is developed. The concept based on the principle of evolutionary complementarity of anthropogenesis: value of evolutionary risk and evolutionary path of human evolution are defined by descriptive (evolutionary efficiency) and creative-teleological (evolutionary correctly) parameters simultaneously, that cannot be instrumental reduced to others ones. Resulting volume of both parameters define the trends of biological, social, cultural and techno-rationalistic human evolution by two gear mechanism ˗ gene-cultural co-evolution and techno- humanitarian balance. The resultant each of them can estimated by the ratio of socio-psychological predispositions of humanization/dehumanization in mentality. Explanatory model and methodology of evaluation of creatively teleological evolutionary risk component of NBIC technological complex is proposed. Integral part of the model is evolutionary semantics (time-varying semantic code, the compliance of the biological, socio-cultural and techno-rationalist adaptive modules of human stable evolutionary strategy)

Cat-People: An Ethnography of More-Than-Human Interrelatedness in the Cat Fancy

The practice of breeding and showing pedigree cats, termed the ‘cat fancy’, provides a novel lens through which to explore more-than-human intersections within leisure. Based on multispecies ethnographic fieldwork in the United Kingdom at cat shows and drawing on interviews with those who breed and exhibit cats, as well as judges and veterinarians, the thesis considers the relationships and sociality between humans and cats that form within the fancy. Going beyond a typically anthropocentric approach to leisure, it engages with feline subjectivities and asks, ‘what’s in it for the cats?’. This question is not one that seems to arise often in the consciousness of breeders or exhibitors. The cats themselves may benefit from specific standards of care, including health provisions and general daily needs. Yet, the thesis contends that the cat fancy involves serious compromises to the well-being and agency of the cat. The selective breeding of human-constructed cat breeds and the establishment of the cat fancy itself has restricted or removed feline agency. The processes and discourses disseminated and controlled by cat fancy institutions also represent an exercise of biopower, the overall aim being the ‘improvement’ of breeds and the preservation of ‘lineage’ and ‘pedigree’. The evaluative logic used within reproductive decision-making shares characteristics with eugenicism. The thesis does not deny that humans and cats form close intersubjective bonds in the cat fancy, indeed, such bonds are clearly in evidence. At the same time, however, multifarious, coinciding and conflicting relations and conceptualisations of cats emerge. Cats may simultaneously act as kin, companions, social conduits, status symbols, extensions of self, collaborators in cat fancy success or failure, lively commodities, and objects for aesthetic evaluation. The cat fancy also produces humans who self-define as ‘cat people’ and ‘ethical breeders’ with shared norms of care and attitudes towards cats. Overall, despite allowing the production of heterogeneous human-cat relations, the thesis argues that prevailing discourses, practices, and norms of care in the cat fancy result in the prioritisation of human needs

The Anthropology of Epidemics

Over the past decades, infectious disease epidemics have come to increasingly pose major global health challenges to humanity. The Anthropology of Epidemics approaches epidemics as total social phenomena: processes and events which encompass and exercise a transformational impact on social life whilst at the same time functioning as catalysts of shifts and ruptures as regards human/non-human relations. Bearing a particular mark on subject areas and questions which have recently come to shape developments in anthropological thinking, the volume brings epidemics to the forefront of anthropological debate, as an exemplary arena for social scientific study and analysis

Vast Perceptions and Ambivalent Attitudes: The Cultural Construction Of The “Raccoon Capital” Of The World

Encounters between humans and raccoons are increasing in frequency as both population densities rise. These encounters spur a vast range of individual perceptions and attitudes concerning raccoons. Moreover, human perceptions and attitudes toward other animals intersect with conspecific relationships. Therefore, this study aims to illuminate individual and collective social perceptions and attitudes through the exploration of discourse data collected over a tenyear duration from Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC), the only wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre in Ontario. Following a mixed-methods exploration of the data using NVivo, results reveal that the language used to describe human-raccoon encounters may be rooted in either of two competing social constructs that vary across individuals: an ethic of compassion for other animals or a social construction of risk that perpetuates stereotypes. Subsequently, further research aimed towards exposing implicit stereotypes is integral to deconstruct the problematic notions that mutually reinforce denigration when oppressions interlock

Synthesising and Assessing the Public Health Risks of SARS-CoV-2 in Animals

Background: SARS-CoV-2 is zoonotic in origin and has retained the capacity to infect animals. If susceptible animal species can readily transmit the virus to other animals or humans, this could extend the pandemic. To assess animal host susceptibility and the potential outcomes of animal-human interactions, I had the following objectives: 1) identify which animal species are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, 2) determine the risks of SARS-CoV-2 exposure to humans from infected wildlife in North America; and 3) describe how the risks of SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife could be effectively communicated. Methods: For objective 1), a scoping review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews, which identified animal families considered highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. For objective 2, a rapid qualitative risk assessment using the World Organization for Animal Health framework was applied to assess risks of human exposure to SARS-CoV-2 from selected taxonomic families of wildlife in North America. For objective 3, positive and negative instances of risk communication were identified from personal experiences, and suggestions for communicating risks were provided. Results: The scoping review identified 97 source manuscripts investigating 649 animal species from eight different classes. Four different methods were used to evaluate susceptibility: in silico, in vitro, in vivo, and epidemiological analyses. From the identified sources, animal species varied in their evaluated susceptibilities. The risk assessment identified four families that pose a risk to humans: cervids, cricetid rodents, felids, and mustelids. While the likelihood of a human becoming exposed to a wild animal currently shedding SARS-CoV-2 was minimal, the consequences of such an event could be severe. Risk communication can be improved by understanding the characteristics of the target audience and the context in which they will perceive the information. Conclusions: This thesis identified animal families that posed higher risk to humans, and critically evaluated different methods of determining animal susceptibility, emphasizing the importance of epidemiological and in vivo studies. Finally, this thesis emphasized the need for careful and effective communication to lessen confusion and misinformation surrounding SARS-CoV-2, remaining uncertainties, and the need for additional research regarding SARS-CoV-2 in animals

A qualitative study of avian influenza A H5N1 at the human-animal interface: examining constructions of risk and associated behaviours of people who work with poultry in three live bird markets in Indonesia

This thesis draws on the notion of disease narratives to examine the manner in which people who work with poultry (PWP) in live bird markets (LBMs) construct risks associated with avian influenza A H5N1, as well as how these constructions of risk inform behaviours at the human-animal interface. Focusing on PWP in three live bird markets in Indonesia, this qualitative study employs a constructivist perspective to look at what informs PWP’s constructions of risk about avian influenza in relation to themselves, their animals, their livelihoods, and the political authorities within their communities, and offers insight into the extent to which these constructions of risk underpin their behaviours. Although not strictly designed as a comparative study, this research draws out similarities and differences across the three fieldsites. Findings suggest that PWP assess risk by drawing on experiential knowledge and observations. Respondents across the three sites suggest a theory of species-specific infection in relation to H5N1, which broadly posits that there are certain diseases that infect different types of poultry and certain diseases that infect humans. For most PWP, diseases in birds are not considered contagious, even between different species, and the possibility of zoonosis implausible. The majority of respondents conclude that humans are not susceptible to poultry diseases because their observations and experiences do not support such a conclusion. PWP do, however, indicate that other forms of risk, such as the risk that a disease outbreak or an intervention can threaten their livelihood are plausible and salient. Behaviours of PWP at the human-animal interface reflect their constructions of risk, in that they prioritize economic considerations over any concern for mitigating the risk of disease in poultry or in people. This thesis concludes by outlining policy implications and researchable hypotheses, and in highlighting the benefits as well as the challenges of integrating qualitative, social science research into the interdisciplinary, collaborative study of emerging infectious diseases

An evolutionary metaphysics of human enhancement technologies

The monograph is an English, expanded and revised version of the book Cheshko, V. T., Ivanitskaya, L.V., & Glazko, V.I. (2018). Anthropocene. Philosophy of Biotechnology. Moscow, Course. The manuscript was completed by me on November 15, 2019. It is a study devoted to the development of the concept of a stable evolutionary human strategy as a unique phenomenon of global evolution. The name “An Evolutionary Metaphysics (Cheshko, 2012; Glazko et al., 2016). With equal rights, this study could be entitled “Biotechnology as a result and factor of the evolutionary processˮ. The choice in favor of used “The Evolutionary Metaphysics of Human Enhancement Technologiesˮ was made in accordance with the basic principle of modern post-academician and human-sized science, a classic example of which is biotechnology. The “Metaphysics of Evolution” and “Evolutionary Metaphysics” concepts are used in several ways in modern philosophical discourse. In any case, the values contain a logical or associative reference to the teleological nature of the evolutionary process (Hull, 1967, 1989; Apel, 1995; Faye, 2016; Dupre, 2017; Rose, 2018, etc). In our study, the “evolutionary metaphysics” serves to denote the thesis of the rationalization and technologization of global evolution and anthropogenesis, in particular. At the same time, the postulate of an open future remains relevant in relation to the results of the evolutionary process. The theory of evolution of complex, including the humans system and algorithm for its constructing are а synthesis of evolutionary epistemology, philosophical anthropology and concrete scientific empirical basis in modern science. ln other words, natural philosophy is regaining the status bar element theoretical science in the era of technology-driven evolution. The co-evolutionary concept of 3-modal stable evolutionary strategy of Homo sapiens is developed. The concept based оn the principle of evolutionary complementarity of anthropogenesis: value of evolutionary risk and evolutionary path of human evolution are defined bу descriptive (evolutionary efficiency) and creative-teleological (evolutionary correctness) parameters simultaneously, that cannot bе instrumental reduced to others ones. Resulting volume of both parameters define the vectors of blological, social, cultural and techno-rationalistic human evolution Ьу two gear mechanism genetic and cultural co-evolution and techno-humanitarian balance. The resultant each of them сап estimated Ьу the ratio of socio-psychological predispositions of humanization / dehumanization in mentality. Explanatory model and methodology of evaluation of creatively teleological evolutionary risk component of NBIC technological complex is proposed. Integral part of the model is evolutionary semantics (time-varying semantic code, the compliance of the blological, socio-cultural and techno-rationalist adaptive modules of human stable evolutionary strategy). It is seem necessary to make three clarifications. First, logical construct, “evolutionary metaphysics” contains an internal contradiction, because it unites two alternative explanatory models. “Metaphysics”, as a subject, implies deducibility of the process from the initial general abstract principle, and, consequently, the outcome of the development of the object is uniquely determined by the initial conditions. Predicate, “evolutionary”, means stochastic mechanism of realizing the same principle by memorizing and replicating random choices in all variants of the post-Darwin paradigm. In philosophy, random choice corresponds to the category of “free will” of a reasonable agent. In evolutionary theory, the same phenomenon is reflected in the concept of “covariant replication”. Authors will attempt to synthesize both of these models in a single transdisciplinary theoretical framework. Secondly, the interpretation of the term “evolutionary (adaptive) strategyˮ is different from the classical definition. The difference is that the adaptive strategy in this context is equivalent to the survival, i.e. it includes the adaptation to the environment and the transformation (construction) of the medium in accordance with the objectives of survival. To emphasize this difference authors used verbal construction “adaptiveˮ (rather than “evolutionaryˮ) strategy as more adequate. In all other cases, the two terms may be regarded as synonymous. Thirdly, the initial two essays of this series were published in one book in 2012. Their main goal was the development of the logically consistent methodological concept of stable adaptive (evolutionary) strategy of hominines and the argumentation of its heuristic possibilities as a transdisciplinary scientific paradigm of modern anthropology. The task was to demonstrate the possibilities of the SESH concept in describing and explaining the evolutionary prospects for the interaction of social organization and technology (techno-humanitarian balance) and the associated biological and cultural mechanisms of the genesis of religion (gene-cultural co-evolution). In other words, it was related to the sphere of cultural and philosophical anthropology, i.e. to the axiological component of any theoretical constructions describing the behavior of self-organizing systems with human participation. In contrast, the present work is an attempt to introduce this concept into the sphere of biological anthropology and, consequently, its main goal is to demonstrate the possibility of verification of its main provisions by means of procedures developed by natural science, i.e. refers to the descriptive component of the same theoretical constructions. The result of this in the future should be methods for assessing, calculating and predicting the risk of loss of biological and cultural identity of a person, associated with a permanent and continuously deepening process of development of science and technology

Methods matter: computational modelling in public health policy and planning

This work is aimed at understanding and unifying information on epidemiological modelling methods and how those methods relate to public policy addressing human health, specifically in the context of infectious disease prevention, pandemic planning, and health behaviour change. This thesis employs multiple qualitative and quantitative methods, and presents as a manuscript of several individual, data-driven projects that are combined in a narrative arc. The first chapter introduces the scope and complexity of this interdisciplinary undertaking, describing several topical intersections of importance. The second chapter begins the presentation of original data, and describes in detail two exercises in computational epidemiological modelling pertinent to pandemic influenza planning and policy, and progresses in the next chapter to present additional original data on how the confidence of the public in modelling methodology may have an effect on their planned health behaviour change as recommended in public health policy. The thesis narrative continues in the final data-driven chapter to describe how health policymakers use modelling methods and scientific evidence to inform and construct health policies for the prevention of infectious diseases, and concludes with a narrative chapter that evaluates the breadth of this data and recommends strategies for the optimal use of modelling methodologies when informing public health policy in applied public health scenarios

The Anthropology of Epidemics

Over the past decades, infectious disease epidemics have come to increasingly pose major global health challenges to humanity. The Anthropology of Epidemics approaches epidemics as total social phenomena: processes and events which encompass and exercise a transformational impact on social life whilst at the same time functioning as catalysts of shifts and ruptures as regards human/non-human relations. Bearing a particular mark on subject areas and questions which have recently come to shape developments in anthropological thinking, the volume brings epidemics to the forefront of anthropological debate, as an exemplary arena for social scientific study and analysis