Implications for welfare, productivity and sustainability of the variation in reported levels of mortality for laying hen flocks kept in different housing systems: A meta-analysis of ten studies

Data from ten sources comprising 3,851 flocks were modelled to identify variation in levels of mortality in laying hens. The predicted increase with age was curvilinear with significant variation between the seven breed categories. Mortality was higher in loose housing systems than in cages and variable within system, confirming previous reports. Cumulative mortality (CM) was higher in flocks with intact beaks (χ2 = 6.03; df 1; p = 0.014) than in those with trimmed beaks. Most data were available for free-range systems (2,823 flocks), where producer recorded CM at 60–80 weeks of age averaged 10% but with a range from 0% to 69.3%. Life cycle assessment showed that the main effect of increased levels of hen mortality is to increase the relative contribution of breeding overheads, so increasing environmental burdens per unit of production. Reducing CM to levels currently achieved by the 1st quartile could reduce flock greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 25%. Concurrently this would enhance hen welfare and better meet the expectation of egg consumers. More research to understand the genetic x environment interaction and detailed records of the causes of mortality is required so that improved genotypes can be developed for different systems and different breeds can be better managed within systems

House-Maid's Knee.

n/

Contributions to the Study of Seljuq Institutions.

After an introductory chapter on the territorial structure of the Great Seljuq Empire, the thesis aims at describing various Seljuq institutions, and the conditions under which they developed. The functions of the central government, the military organisation and the position of the Turkish aimirs to the state are discussed. An outline is given of provincial government and local administration, and some aspects of urban life are briefly examined. The last chapter deals with the attitude of the Great Seljuqs towards the caliphate. In giving a general outline of some of the most important features of the Great Seljuq period, an attempt has been made to present a more detailed account of these institutions than has been hitherto available

Farmer attitudes to injurious pecking in laying hens and to potential control strategies

PublishedFarmers' recognition of health and welfare problems, and their responses to related intervention programmes, such as those to reduce injurious pecking in hens, directly influence the welfare of animals in their care. Changing those responses can be achieved through a re-positioning of social drivers as well as from individual behaviour. This study begins by considering how certain levels of plumage damage become normalised while others might be considered unacceptable. Drawing upon in-depth farmer interviews, the study investigates how management practices for addressing the issue of injurious pecking are developed and enacted, looking at the relative influence of intrinsic and extrinsic individual behavioural factors. Twelve farmers with varied uptake of evidence-based management strategies designed to reduce levels of injurious pecking were interviewed. Although farmers ranked images of flocks with various levels of plumage damage in a similar order to scientists, their perception of levels of injurious pecking in their own flocks varied, and was not consistently associated with the actual levels measured. Most farmers recognised both financial and welfare implications of injurious pecking and expressed pride in having a good-looking flock. The popular management strategies were those designed to redirect pecking to other objects, whereas a substantial barrier to uptake was the perception of creating other problems: for example, mislaid eggs if early access to litter and range were adopted. To achieve uptake of knowledge that improves animal welfare on-farm, it may be necessary both to shift the norms perceived as acceptable, and to overcome barriers to change that include lack of time and understanding, by providing impartial advice and facilitation of ownership of the issues.Tubney Charitable Trus

Unplatformed Design: Reconceptualising Social Media Technologies as Tools for Coordinated Action, Participation and Engagement

Ph. D. Thesis.Social media technologies are becoming more and more enmeshed in our personal, professional and civic lives. Increasingly, we are just as likely to use social media to book a doctor’s appointment as we are to make plans with friends. This ever-widening context of use is a testament to the versatility and flexibility of these types of technology, and points to their potential for shaping, structuring and supporting new ways of participation, engagement and interaction. The aim of this thesis is to explore this idea through designing with, investigating and reconceptualising social media technologies. With respect to existing literature around the appropriation of technologies and the materiality of information, I argue that social media can be conceptualised as a ‘design material’ from which other forms of participation can be created. To support this, I undertake the design, deployment and evaluation of a large-scale social media-based participatory engagement, ‘WhatFutures’. From insights generated in this design process, and with an accompanying analysis of other empirical examples of appropriation of social media for participation, I then propose the model for ‘unplatformed design’. This conceptual model details the material qualities of social media technologies in respect to how they can be appropriated in the coordination of participation. Lastly, I put this model into practice in two design-led case studies: in the design and deployment of a peer support system for people undergoing extreme weight loss as part of managing diabetes; and in the formulation of design considerations for a social media-based language learning system. There are multiple outcomes from this is conceptual, empirical and design-led inquiry. I fully detail the final designs and corresponding design processes of two full large-scale, social media-based engagements. I present and interpret a variety of design decisions around the appropriation of social media for coordinating participation. Crucially, I introduce the novel model of unplatformed design, identifying four material qualities of social media technologies, and how they may be configured or augmented towards coordinating participation. This model fundamentally reimagines the role and possibilities of social media technologies within design, it looks past existing perceptions and ingrained usage patterns, and proposes a more constructive and participatory orientation of social media to our lives

Justice and Tyranny: Law and the State in the Middle East

This is an offprint version of the article published in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Third Series, 9:375-88, made available by permission of the publisher. The version made available in Digital Common was supplied by the author.Publisher's Versiontru

A risk assessment for visual only meat inspection of both indoor and outdoor pigs within the UK

The current system of post-mortem inspection using the typical macroscopic inspection techniques is ineffective identifying the most common foodborne illenss risks, e.g. Salmonella or Campylobacter. Therefore, there is a need to adopt a more appropriate, risk-based approach to meat inspection

Evidence of a high incidence of subclinically affected calves in a herd of cattle with fatal cases of Bovine Neonatal Pancytopenia (BNP).

BACKGROUND: Bovine Neonatal Pancytopenia (BNP) is a disease of calves characterised by bone marrow trilineage hypoplasia, mediated by ingestion of alloantibodies in colostrum. Suspected subclinical forms of BNP have been reported, suggesting that observed clinical cases may not represent the full extent of the disease. However to date there are no objective data available on the incidence of subclinical disease or its temporal distribution. This study aimed to 1) ascertain whether subclinical BNP occurs and, if so, to determine the incidence on an affected farm and 2) determine whether there is evidence of temporal clustering of BNP cases on this farm. To achieve these aims, haematological screening of calves born on the farm during one calving season was carried out, utilising blood samples collected at defined ages. These data were then analysed in comparison to data from both known BNP-free control animals and histopathologically confirmed BNP cases. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to create a composite haematology score to predict the probabilities of calves being normal, based on their haematology measurements at 10–14 days old. RESULTS: This study revealed that 15% (21 of 139) of the clinically normal calves on this farm had profoundly abnormal haematology (<5% chance of being normal) and could be defined as affected by subclinical BNP. Together with clinical BNP cases, this gave the study farm a BNP incidence of 18%. Calves with BNP were found to be distributed throughout the calving period, with no clustering, and no significant differences in the date of birth of cases or subclinical cases were found compared to the rest of the calves. This study did not find any evidence of increased mortality or increased time from birth to sale in subclinical BNP calves but, as the study only involved a single farm and adverse effects may be determined by other inter-current diseases it remains possible that subclinical BNP has a detrimental impact on the health and productivity of calves under certain circumstances. CONCLUSIONS: Subclinical BNP was found to occur at a high incidence in a herd of cattle with fatal cases of BNP

Subversive Skylines: Local History and the Rise of the Sayyids in Mongol Yazd

This article examines the emergence of the Ḥusaynī sayyids as key facilitators of the Mongols’ acculturation to Islamo-Persianate society and traces the expansion of their influence at imperial courts through the seventeenth century. Previous scholarship has emphasized the pivotal role of figures like Rashīduddīn Hamadānī in brokering reciprocal processes of acculturation from the empire's centre. This study builds on such work by shifting the focus to Yazd, a provincial city. It explores the evolving and unique role of Yazdī sayyids in facilitating such processes as they fashioned new patronage networks at court and reconfigured the urban morphology of Yazd. Furthermore, using local histories alongside universal ones, this study explores narrative strategies by which Yazdī authors, writing after the Mongol period, commemorated the sayyids’ emergence. It situates these writings in the context of larger transformations that affected relations between provincial elites and the imperial centre throughout these periods