234 research outputs found

    The Effects of Owl Decoys and Non-threatening Objects on Bird Feeding Behavior

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    As traditional agricultural practices change, the scarecrow has also been renovated and modernized to include mock natural predators, such as owls, hawks, and falcons instead of comical human representations. These facsimiles represent an excellent opportunity to examine anti-predatory tactics and vigilance behavior in birds as a response to perceived threats. In this study, we tested songbird reaction to an owl decoy that mimicked the presence of a predator and to a non-threatening object placed in an oak woodland within Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Frequency of bird visitations to bird feeders when either a plastic owl or a cardboard box of similar size was used to examine the effect of the presence of a predator on bird feeding behavior. We hypothesized that introduction of a model owl would reduce the number of birds observed at a nearby feeder, but a cardboard box would not have a significant effect on bird presence. Using paired t-tests, we determined that a false predator was effective in deterring bird species from feeding, while a box was not

    The Origins and Development of the Pacific Islands Scholars Fund

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    The Pacific Islands Scholars Fund (PISF) was established and funded by contributions from members of the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania (ASAO) in order to support the increased participation of Pacific Islander scholars in ASAO sessions at the association’s annual meetings. This paper traces the origins of the fund as well as the various accompanying ways that ASAO members, especially the PISF chair and committee members, session organizers, and other participants, have provided additional support and mentorship to encourage and facilitate the incorporation of Pacific Islanders in ASAO sessions

    Private Transactions in Public Places: An Exploration of the Impact of the Computer Environment on Public Transactional Web Site Use

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    Organizations and governments continue to advance toward using electronic means to interact with their customers. However, the use of this medium presents an access-to-service issue for people across the digital divide who do not have private Internet access from their homes. Publicly-available computers connected to the Internet are an important and expanding source of Internet access for consumers. Still, we do not know if people are willing to engage in e-commerce transactions in such environments. We expand the Facilitating Conditions construct of Triandis\u27 (1980) modified theory of reasoned action to develop a model of transactional Web site use in public environments that incorporates the physical and virtual computer environments associated with publicly accessible computers, moderated by the individual\u27s need for privacy. The model was tested in public libraries, and the results indicate that the virtual and physical facilitating conditions of a public computer are determinants of e-commerce use in a public environment, and the user\u27s need for privacy moderates these relationships

    Preface: Writing ASAO Histories

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    Keeping the written history of the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania has been on the agenda for ASAO since the very earliest days of the organization’s existence. This essay recounts various efforts to document that history and to compile significant records, such as a bibliography of publications arising from ASAO sessions. It then describes the process behind the development of the papers in this collection over the course of several ASAO sessions and briefly describes the focus of each essay. Paper topics range from the nature of ASAO sessions, annual meeting site selection, and the distinguished lecture series; to issues of inclusiveness and rights of membership, Pacific Islander participation, and student mentoring; to ASAO book series and other forms of communication including newsletters, the ASAONET listserve, and the ASAO website

    Ethnicity, nationality, and the rights of indigeneity: The case of Rotumans in Fiji

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    Abstract On 13 July 2000, Interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase presented to the Great Council of Chiefs in Fiji a document titled "Blueprint for the protection of Fijian & Rotuman rights and interests, and the advancement of their development," a set of proposals that covered "issues which have been of great concern to Fijians and Rotumans regarding the security of their rights and interests as the indigenous communities in Fiji, and also the advancement and acceleration of their development, so that they can participate on an equitable basis in the progress of our country" (Qarase, 2000). This paper presents an analysis of a challenge to the grouping of Rotumans with Fijians as indigenes under the Blueprint, and Rotuman responses to arguments denying their indigeneity

    Western scrub-jays do not appear to attend to functionality in Aesop's Fable experiments.

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    Western scrub-jays are known for their highly discriminatory and flexible behaviors in a caching (food storing) context. However, it is unknown whether their cognitive abilities are restricted to a caching context. To explore this question, we tested scrub-jays in a non-caching context using the Aesop's Fable paradigm, where a partially filled tube of water contains a floating food reward and objects must be inserted to displace the water and bring the food within reach. We tested four birds, but only two learned to drop stones proficiently. Of these, one bird participated in 4/5 experiments and one in 2/5 experiments. Both birds passed one experiment, but without attending to the functional differences of the objects, and failed the other experiments. Scrub-jays were not motivated to participate in these experiments, suggesting that either this paradigm was ecologically irrelevant or perhaps their flexibility is restricted to a caching context.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from PeerJ via http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.170

    Index to Volumes 11-20

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    Western scrub-jays do not appear to attend to functionality in Aesop’s Fable experiments

    Get PDF
    Western scrub-jays are known for their highly discriminatory and flexible behaviors in a caching (food storing) context. However, it is unknown whether their cognitive abilities are restricted to a caching context. To explore this question, we tested scrub-jays in a noncaching context using the Aesop's Fable paradigm, where a partially filled tube of water contains a floating food reward and objects must be inserted to displace the water and bring the food within reach. We found that scrub-jays did not attend to the functional properties of objects or tubes, and were not motivated to participate in these experiments, suggesting that either this paradigm was ecologically irrelevant or perhaps their flexibility is restricted to a caching context. PeerJ PrePrints | https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.1616v1 | CC-BY 4.0 Open Access

    Discriminación por razón de género y negociación colectiva tras la ley 3/2012

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    Este artículo describe y analiza la configuración jurídica del convenio colectivo como fuente reguladora y ga-rantista del derecho de igualdad y no dis-criminación por razón de género, tanto con carácter general como en el ámbito específico del acceso al empleo, formación y promoción en el trabajo y en las más relevantes condiciones en las relaciones laborales. A tal fin, y a partir de la doctrina establecida por la jurisprudencia constitucional, se estudian las causas de la desigualdad y las categorías que permiten una fundamentación razonable y objetiva para lograr la igualdad material. También se aportan datos cuantitativos acerca de la influencia de la Ley Orgánica 3/2007 en el régimen de los convenios convenios colectivos en esta materia.This paper work de-scribes and analyses the collective agree-ments legal configuration as regulating and guarantor source of the equality's right and no discrimination because of the sex, as much in general terms as in the specific field of accessing to a job, training and advance-ment in the job and in the main conditions in the labour relationships. According the established doctrine by the constitutional sentences, we study the inequality causes and the categories which give a reasonable and factual basis to reach a material equality. In addition, this work also provides quanti-tative facts about the influence of Organic Law 3/2007 in the collective agreements regime in this matte
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