An ethological analysis of open-field behaviour in chickens

Two salient but previously unacknowledged aspects of open-field testing involve contact with a potential predator, as a consequence of placement in the open field by a human, and separation from imprinted companions. As a result we propose that open-field behaviour in chickens (Gallus gallus) represents a compromise between opposing tendencies to reinstate contact with conspecifics and minimize detection in the face of possible predation. Five experiments were conducted to test various implications of this model. Manipulations designed to enhance the predatory overtones of open-field testing were found to postpone reinstatement behaviours (e.g. distress calling and escape attempts) and prolong behaviours that serve to minimize detection (e.g freezing). Unlike the more traditional view of open-field behaviour as an index of general emotionality, our model suggests that the principal reason for movement is based on attempts to reinstate social contact. In support of the model, birds tested in the presence of cagemates showed significantly longer durations of freezing than those tested individually. The same was true for birds maintained in social isolation for two days prior to testing. The applicability of this approach to conceptualizing the behaviour of chickens in the open field is discussed, and the supposed relationship between fear and distress calling is critically evaluated.     

Arab football in Israel as an 'integrative enclave'

Over the last two decades, football (soccer) has become a major institution within the popular culture of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel. The centrality of football has given different identity agents opportunities to impose different meanings on the sport, depending on the agents' definitions of collective identity. This article utilizes ethnographic observation in the football stadium and coverage by Arab and Hebrew sports media to illustrate and analyse this battle over meaning. The Hebrew sports media, the Arab sports press, and the Arab audience are three different agents that attach divergent meanings to the notable presence of Arab players in the Israeli football leagues. The article argues that the overlapping interests of the Hebrew sports media on the one hand and the Arab football fans, players, and bureaucrats on the other lead to the construction of the football sphere as an integrative enclave in the general Israeli public sphere. The article considers the relevance of Gramsci's theory of hegemony to explain the production of the integrative meaning of football, and it suggests integrating this explanation with other recent theories regarding the tensions between different discourses of citizenship.     

Field studies of avian nocturnal migratory orientation I. interaction of sun,wind and stars as directional cues

Tracking radar and visual observation techniques were used to observe the orientation of free-flying passerine nocturnal migrants in situations in which potentially usable directional cues were absent or gave conflicting information. When migrants had seen the sun near the time of sunset and/or the stars, they oriented in appropriate migratory directions even when winds were opposed. Under solid overcast skies that prevented a view of both sun and stars, the birds headed downwind in opposing winds and thus moved in seasonally inappropriate directions. The data point to the primacy of visual cues over wind direction, with either sun or stars being sufficient to allow the birds to determine the appropriate migration direction.     

On the unreliability of judgments of certain social situations by minority groups

In certain situations like the aftermath of a revolution when discontent rises amongst certain groups of the population, it is frequently observed that the discontented groups are firmly convinced that their point of view is shared by the majority of the population. Yet future events prove that this is far from being the case. This effect is partly attributable to “wishful thinking,” partly to a purely social mechanism. The wishful-thinking effect may be considered as a case of psycho-physical discrimination in which a bias is introduced proportional to the degree of satisfaction anticipated from a given situation. H. D. Landahl's well-known equations can be applied to this case. The social factor is based on the circumstance that an individual associates by preference with such other individuals as have similar opinions. This results in an actual error of estimation of the relative minority or majority because of different frequencies of contact with individuals of the two opposing groups. Both factors may be combined into one equation.     

Racism and the politics of signification: Israeli public discourse on racism towards Palestinian citizens

This paper explores the phenomenology of racism using the Israeli situation as a case study to examine if, when and how the concept of ‘racism’ is employed in local media discourse on policy towards Palestinian citizens.

Our central argument is that racism, as a signifier of policy, can be located in the dialectic between denial and affirmation of the category of race, while we link the scope and meanings of practices marked by the media as ‘racism’ to contingent cultural, social and historical conditions. The article proposes the periodization of the relevant discourse into three primary phases: from 1949 to the late 1970s, when the category of racism was ‘prohibited’ in Israeli discourse in the aftermath of the Holocaust; the mid-1980s, when this taboo was broken and the phenomena included in the category of racism expanded accordingly; and the 1990s to 2000, during which racism became an institutionalized, all-encompassing discursive term.     

Discourses of Deception: Cheating in Professional Running1

Cheating, it is claimed, is anathema to sport. But is this the case? In this paper it is argued that cheating is integral to modern sport, that the model of sport as ‘fair play’ is simply an ideological guise of amateurism. The paper focuses on the sport of professional running which, since its origins in the eighteenth century, has been a gambling sport. Strategies involving cheating to manipulate wins, or losses, have featured in this sport as ways of increasing the probability of striking successful wagers. Such strategies are an accepted part of professional running: participants anticipate and expect others to be playing it in this way. However, a distinction is made between what is referred to in the paper as ‘clean’ cheating and ‘dirty’ cheating. The former is an accepted way of the sport, the latter occurs but is deprecated. The paper explores these different forms of cheating and the athletes' responses to them. Through a focus on the discourses of success in capitalist society, a model of cheating is developed to interpret such practices. Within the context of professional running, a working class sport, it is argued that, given the habitus of its practitioners, ‘success’ may be measured in terms of monetary gains and the ‘kick‐on’ in life that these might provide. Cheating practices may serve to enhance the probability of success and social mobility. Given the relatively short career spans of sports people and the costs involved in developing the requisite skills, cheating may promote success and establish a financial base for post‐sport careers. The paper concludes that cheating in sport can be anticipated as a feature of an acquisitive capitalist society.     

Reduction of attractiveness to the sea star Asterias forbesi (Desor) by the clam Mercenaria mercenaria (Linnaeus)

Both in field and laboratory choice tests, the sea star, Asterias forbesi (Desor), was attracted to distant upstream clams, Mercenaria mercenaria (Linnaeus). Clams exposed to upstream sea stars were chosen less frequently by downstream sea stars than clams without sea stars upstream. Sea stars neither attracted nor repelled downstream conspecifics.When clams were exposed to upstream sea stars, their oxygen consumption decreased, as did their pumping rate and activity (as measured by number of visible siphons). The former may result from one or both of the latter.It is concluded that clam and sea star sense each other over a distance by chemical cues. The response of the clam is a general lowering of activity which may result in decreased attractiveness to sea star predators. This response may serve as a defensive measure against distance detection by Asterias forbesi.     

Solar cues in the migratory orientation of the Savannah sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis

Results clearly implicate the setting sun as a critical source of directional information in the migratory orientation of the savannah sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis. Savannah sparrows allowed a view of both sunset and stars displayed oriented behaviour in biologically meaningful directions during spring and fall seasons. When the same individuals were denied a view of sunset, and tested under the stars alone, disorientation characterized their behaviour. Furthermore, birds allowed a view of sunset, but tested under ‘overcast’ night skies (no stars visible), displayed well-oriented behaviour indicating the sufficiency of sunset. Experiments in which the migrant's internal chronometer was shifted suggested a fixed-angle (menotactic) response to the sunset cue rather than a time-compensating compass mechanism. I believe stars are valuable to this migrant as celestial reference points. Orientational information gained at the time of sunset is transferred to stars on a nightly basis. The relationship between solar and stellar cues is apparently hierarchical in the savannah sparrow. Information necessary to select the appropriate migratory direction is gained from the primary cue, the setting sun, while maintenance of that heading is dependent on a secondary cue, probably the stars.     

Video demonstrations seed alternative problem-solving techniques in wild common marmosets

Studies of social learning and tradition formation under field conditions have recently gained momentum, but suffer from the limited control of socio-ecological factors thought to be responsible for transmission patterns. The use of artificial visual stimuli is a potentially powerful tool to overcome some of these problems. Here, in a field experiment, we used video images of unfamiliar conspecifics performing virtual demonstrations of foraging techniques. We tested 12 family groups of wild common marmosets. Six groups received video demonstrations (footage of conspecifics either pulling a drawer open or pushing a lid upwards, in an ‘artificial fruit’); the other six groups served as controls (exposed to a static image of a conspecific next to the fruit). Subjects in video groups were more manipulative and successful in opening the fruit than controls; they were also more likely to use the technique they had witnessed and thus could serve as live models for other family members. To our knowledge, this is the first study that used video demonstrations in the wild and demonstrated the potent force of social learning, even from unfamiliar conspecifics, under field conditions.     

Integration of environmental stimuli in the migratory orientation of the savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)

Two ‘cue-conflict’ experiments were designed to evaluate the role of (1) solar cues at sunset and stars, and (2) solar cues at sunset and geomagnetic stimuli, in the migratory orientation of the savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). A sunset and stars experiment exposed birds in the experimental group to a mirror-reflected sunset followed by an unmanipulated view of stars. Experimental birds shifted their migratory activity in accordance with the setting sun despite exposure to a normal night sky. The sunset and geomagnetism experiment exposed birds in the experimental group to a simultaneous shift in both the position of sunset and the earth's magnetic field. Again experimentals shifted their activity in accordance with the setting sun rather than the artificially shifted magnetic field. Savannah sparrows probaly use stars as celestial landmarks to maintain a preferred direction and do not reorient their activity when exposed to an alternative cue once a direction is established. Moreover, savannah sparrows with experience of migration do not require geomagnetic information in order to use the solar cues available at sunset to select a migratory direction.     

Peddling sport: liberal multiculturalism and the racial triangulation of blackness,Chineseness and Native American-ness in professional basketball

Abstract

Deploying liberal multiculturalist discourse, the media depicts professional basketball as a post-racial space where all talented players, regardless of their race, can thrive if they work hard. An analysis of the construction of non-white players in the 1930s and in 2010 demonstrates sport as modulated by racially charged discourse. As part of a liberal multiculturalist frame, the coding of basketball players as hero, threat and novelty serve to privilege whiteness and replicate racialized and gendered images that can be traced to the 1930s. In doing so, the article highlights how liberal multiculturalism involves racial triangulation and the simultaneous processes of hyper-racialization and de-racialization.     

Zionism and Apartheid: a moral comparison

This article subjects to normative-theoretical scrutiny the common claim that Israeli Zionism is 'like' South African apartheid. Drawing on a range of historical and sociological evidence, it shows that this claim (or accusation) is substantially justified in two senses. Firstly, Israeli Zionism is, in many areas, morally bad in the same way as apartheid ; secondly, where it is different from apartheid in character, it is in some respects anyway as bad - that is, the difference is not invariably morally favourable to Israeli Zionism. 'Israel proper' (within its pre-1967 borders) is neither much like nor as bad as apartheid. The justification of the analogy only becomes clear when we view Israel and its occupied territories as a single political entity. The article argues that we are justified in so viewing them.     

Behavioural Contagion Explains Group Cohesion in a Social Crustacean

In gregarious species, social interactions maintain group cohesion and the associated adaptive values of group living. The understanding of mechanisms leading to group cohesion is essential for understanding the collective dynamics of groups and the spatio-temporal distribution of organisms in environment. In this view, social aggregation in terrestrial isopods represents an interesting model due to its recurrence both in the field and in the laboratory. In this study, and under a perturbation context, we experimentally tested the stability of groups of woodlice according to group size and time spent in group. Our results indicate that the response to the disturbance of groups decreases with increases in these two variables. Models neglecting social effects cannot reproduce experimental data, attesting that cohesion of aggregation in terrestrial isopods is partly governed by a social effect. In particular, models involving calmed and excited individuals and a social transition between these two behavioural states more accurately reproduced our experimental data. Therefore, we concluded that group cohesion (and collective response to stimulus) in terrestrial isopods is governed by a transitory resting state under the influence of density of conspecifics and time spent in group. Lastly, we discuss the nature of direct or indirect interactions possibly implicated.     

Sacrifice as Social Capital among Israeli Conscientious Objectors

This article considers counterhegemonic sacrifices as a means of social intervention, and in doing so explores the social efficacy of non-ritual sacrifice in the modern era. Ethnographically, this article examines the way Israeli conscientious objectors succeed in having their refusal of military service and the social costs they incur understood as sacrifices by the Israeli public. Ex-soldiers accumulate social capital in light of public perception that they have ‘paid the price’ for their beliefs. Other ethnographic contexts that further elucidate the ability of socially abject to use sacrifice to counterhegemonic effect are presented. I claim that the recognition of sacrifice depends on an intersubjective combination of sacrificial intention and community recognition. This article suggests that the meaning of sacrifice is determined by how sacrifice is used and understood in social context, and as such breaks ranks with literatures on sacrifice concerned with the intrinsic coherence of ritual sacrifice.     

Are opinions based on science: modelling social response to scientific facts

As scientists we like to think that modern societies and their members base their views, opinions and behaviour on scientific facts. This is not necessarily the case, even though we are all (over-) exposed to information flow through various channels of media, i.e. newspapers, television, radio, internet, and web. It is thought that this is mainly due to the conflicting information on the mass media and to the individual attitude (formed by cultural, educational and environmental factors), that is, one external factor and another personal factor. In this paper we will investigate the dynamical development of opinion in a small population of agents by means of a computational model of opinion formation in a co-evolving network of socially linked agents. The personal and external factors are taken into account by assigning an individual attitude parameter to each agent, and by subjecting all to an external but homogeneous field to simulate the effect of the media. We then adjust the field strength in the model by using actual data on scientific perception surveys carried out in two different populations, which allow us to compare two different societies. We interpret the model findings with the aid of simple mean field calculations. Our results suggest that scientifically sound concepts are more difficult to acquire than concepts not validated by science, since opposing individuals organize themselves in close communities that prevent opinion consensus.     

THE ORIGIN OF LOW MASS STARS

Recent evidence indicates that most low mass stars in the Galaxy (<5 Msolar) form alongside massive stars in clusters embedded in giant molecular clouds. Once their parental gas is removed, the fate of these clusters is to disperse and blend into the field population of the galactic disk. The distribution of stellar masses in the solar neighborhood, called the Initial Mass Function, is discussed in the context of the origin of low mass stars. Arguments based on the production rate of field stars are presented that point to giant molecular clouds as the primary birth sites for low mass stars. The role of observations of molecular clouds at millimeter and infrared wavelengths in confirming this picture is reviewed. Millimeter-wave observations have revealed that molecular clouds consist of low-density gas interspersed with high-density cores. Near-infrared images of these clouds indicate that stars form preferentially in these cores, with the number of young stars roughly scaling with the mass of the core. Molecular-line and near-infrared observations which characterize star formation in the nearest giant molecular cloud complex in Orion are presented. The implications for the Sun forming in a cluster environment are briefly discussed.     

Ferguson and the death of Michael Brown on Twitter: #BlackLivesMatter, #TCOT,and the evolution of collective identities

Recent events related to police brutality and the evolution of #BlackLivesMatter provides an empirical case to explore the vitality of social media data for social movements and the evolution of collective identities. Social media data provide a portal into how organizing and communicating generate narratives that survive over time. We analyse 31.65 million tweets about Ferguson across four meaningful time periods: the death of Michael Brown, the non-indictment of police officer Darren Wilson, the Department of Justice report on Ferguson, and the one year aftermath of Brown’s death. Our analysis shows that #BlackLivesMatter evolved in concert with protests opposing police brutality occurring on the ground. We also show how #TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter) has operated as the primary counter narrative to #BlackLivesMatter. We conclude by discussing the implications our research has for the #BlackLivesMatter movement and increased political polarization following the election of Donald Trump.     

Fear responses in domestic chicks as a function of the social environment

The open field or novel environment has been used to assess fear in many species but its validity for the domestic fowl has recently been questioned. Based primarily on experiments which involved manipulation of the social environment Gallup and Suarez proposed that, contrary to an emotionality or fear interpretation, “open–field behaviour in chickens represents a compromise between opposing tendencies to reinstate contact with conspecifics and to minimize detection in the face of possible predation”. Predictions which can be made from the Gallup and Suarez model and from the fear hypothesis were tested by examining the effects of manipulating the social environment, during rearing and testing, on the open–field, hole–in–the–wall box and tonic immobility responses of domestic chicks. The results were inconsistent with predictions made from the Gallup and Suarez model but they conformed to the fear hypothesis. Furthermore, they were consistent with the majority of findings reported in the literature. Thus, while the opposing tendencies of reinstatement and predator evasion are, almost undoubtedly, important in many situations there remains considerable evidence for the role of fear in regulating the responses of domestic chicks to novel environments such as the open field. The two interpretations should not be considered mutually incompatible.     

‘Undesirable relationships’ between Jewish Women and Arab Men: representation and discourse in contemporary Israel

Demography has been broadly considered as a key aspect of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. On the Jewish side, State intervention to encourage Jewish immigration and Jewish births is well known. Much less known are the efforts to discourage inter-faith relations. These ‘problematic relationships’ between Arab men and Jewish women from low socio-economic backgrounds have become a high priority item in public discussions over the last decade. In this article I will explore the main discursive practices used in this heated debate by those opposing these relationships. ‘Moral panic’ as a theoretical framework will help me analyse the ways in which Jewish women and Arab men who engage in such relations are presented. As I will show, attempts to criminalize and vilify Arab men meet with strong opposition. Presenting Jewish women as weak and passive victims seems as a more successful strategy, especially when done by professionals from the psych-professions.