Accountability, Strategy, and International Non-Governmental Organizations

Increased prominence and greater influence expose international non-governmental development and environmental organizations (INGOs) to increased demands for accountability from a wide variety of stakeholdersdonors, beneficiaries, staffs, and partners among others. This paper focuses on developing the concept of INGO accountability, first as an abstract concept and then as a strategic idea with very different implications for different INGO strategies. We examine those implications for INGOs that emphasize service delivery, capacity-building, and policy influence. We propose that INGOs committed to service delivery may owe more accountability to donors and service regulators; capacity-building INGOs may be particularly obligated to clients whose capacities are being enhanced; and policy influence INGOs may be especially accountable to political constituencies and to influence targets. INGOs that are expanding their activities to include new initiatives may need to reorganize their accountability systems to implement their strategies effectively. This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 7. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers

Technique for flutter tests using ground-launched rockets, with results for unswept wings

A technique for the investigation of wing flutter by means of ground-launched rockets is described. An important feature of the technique is that it can be used at high speeds, including the transonic range. Model wings are attached to a solid-fuel rocket which has a miniature telemetry set housed in a detachable nose fairing. A vibration pick-up and break wires are fitted in the flutter model and these modulate the output of the telemetry set to transmit flutter information to a ground station. The rocket is fired over an open artillery range and its velocity-time curve is obtained by radio reflection Doppler equipment. Results are given of tests on flutter models of unswept, untapered wings in the range of Mach number from 0.4 to 1.0. The effects of longitudinal acceleration on the flutter are shown to be negligible for the range of acceleration and Mach number investigated, and the effect of compressibility is to reduce the margin of the measured speed above the speed calculated on the basis of incompressible flow theory from + 50 per cent at M = 0.4 to - 25 per cent at M = 0.9. A wing torsional stiffness criterion is shown to give a fair approximation to the test results

Does getting a dog increase recreational walking?

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Energy expenditure on recreational visits to different natural environments.

Physical inactivity poses a significant challenge to physical and mental health. Environmental approaches to tackle physical inactivity have identified natural environments as potentially important public health resources. Despite this, little is known about characteristics of the activity involved when individuals visit different types of natural environment. Using Natural England's Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment Survey, we examined 71,603 English respondents' recreational visits to natural environments in the past week. Specifically, we examined the intensity of the activities they undertook on the visits (METs), the duration of their visit, and the associated total energy expenditure (MET minutes). Visits to countryside and urban greenspace environments were associated with more intense activities than visits to coastal environments. However, visits to coastal environments were associated with the most energy expenditure overall due to their relatively long duration. Results differed by the urbanity or rurality of the respondent's residence and also how far respondents travelled to their destination. Knowledge of what types of natural environment afford the highest volumes and intensities of physical activity could inform landscape architecture and exercise prescriptions. Isolating activity-supporting characteristics of natural environments that can be translated into urban design is important in providing physical activity opportunities for those less able to access expansive environments

A cross-sectional exploratory analysis between pet ownership and sleep, exercise, health and neighborhood perceptions : The Whitehall II cohort study

A cross-sectional exploratory analysis between pet ownership and sleep, exercise, health and neighbourhood perceptions: The Whitehall II cohort study Gill Mein (corresponding author), Robert Grant. Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education. Kingston University and St George’s University of London Background: To explore associations between pets, and specifically dog ownership and sleep, health, exercise and neighbourhood. Methods: Cross sectional examination of 6575 participants of the Whitehall II study aged between 59-79 years. We used self-assessed measurement scales of the Short Form (SF36), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Control, Autonomy, Self-realisation and Pleasure (CASP), Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), sleep, exercise, and perceptions of local neighbourhood. In addition the Mini Mental State Examination which is administered to test global cognitive status (MMSE) Results: We found 2/7 people owned a pet and of those 64% were “very” attached to their pet. Mild exercise in metabolic equivalents (MET-hours) was significantly higher in pet owners than non-owners (median 27.8 (IQR 18.1 to 41.8) vs 25.7 (IQR 16.8 to 38.7), p=0.0001), and in dog owners than other pets (median 32.3 (IQR 20.8 to 46.1) vs 25.6 (IQR 16.8 to 38.5), p<0.0001). Moderate exercise was also significantly higher in pet owners than non pet owners (median 11.8 (IQR 4.2 to 21.9) vs 9.8 (IQR 2.8 to 19.5), p<0.0001), and dog owners than owners of other pets (median 12.3 (IQR 4.2 to 22.2) vs 10.1 (3.1 to 20.0), p=0.0002) but there were no significant differences with vigorous exercise. We found that pet owners were significantly more positive about their neighbourhood than non-owners on 8/9 questions, while dog owners were (significantly) even more positive than owners of other pets on 8/9 questions. Associations with sleep were mixed, although dog owners had less trouble falling asleep than non-dog owners, with borderline statistical significance. Conclusion: Dog owners feel more positive about their neighbourhood, do more exercise, and fall asleep more easily than non-dog owners. These results suggest that dog owners could be more likely to exercise by walking their dogs and therefore may be more familiar and positive about the area in which they walk their dog

Leadership and Path Characteristics during Walks Are Linked to Dominance Order and Individual Traits in Dogs

Movement interactions and the underlying social structure in groups have relevance across many social-living species. Collective motion of groups could be based on an “egalitarian” decision system, but in practice it is often influenced by underlying social network structures and by individual characteristics. We investigated whether dominance rank and personality traits are linked to leader and follower roles during joint motion of family dogs. We obtained high-resolution spatio-temporal GPS trajectory data (823,148 data points) from six dogs belonging to the same household and their owner during 14 30–40 min unleashed walks. We identified several features of the dogs' paths (e.g., running speed or distance from the owner) which are characteristic of a given dog. A directional correlation analysis quantifies interactions between pairs of dogs that run loops jointly. We found that dogs play the role of the leader about 50–85% of the time, i.e. the leader and follower roles in a given pair are dynamically interchangable. However, on a longer timescale tendencies to lead differ consistently. The network constructed from these loose leader–follower relations is hierarchical, and the dogs' positions in the network correlates with the age, dominance rank, trainability, controllability, and aggression measures derived from personality questionnaires. We demonstrated the possibility of determining dominance rank and personality traits of an individual based only on its logged movement data. The collective motion of dogs is influenced by underlying social network structures and by characteristics such as personality differences. Our findings could pave the way for automated animal personality and human social interaction measurements

Does dog-ownership influence seasonal patterns of neighbourhood-based walking among adults? A longitudinal study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In general dog-owners are more physically active than non-owners, however; it is not known whether dog-ownership can influence seasonal fluctuations in physical activity. This study examines whether dog-ownership influences summer and winter patterns of neighbourhood-based walking among adults living in Calgary, Canada.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cohort of adults, randomly sampled from the Calgary metropolitan area, completed postal surveys in winter and summer 2008. Both winter and summer versions of the survey included questions on dog-ownership, walking for recreation, and walking for transportation in residential neighbourhoods. <b>Participation </b>in neighbourhood-based walking was compared, among dog-owners and non-owners, and in summer and winter, using general linear modeling. <b>Stability </b>of participation in neighbourhood-based walking across summer and winter among dog-owners and non-owners was also assessed, using logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 428 participants participated in the study, of whom 115 indicated owning dogs at the time of both surveys. Dog-owners reported more walking for recreation in their neighbourhoods than did non-owners, both in summer and in winter. Dog-owners were also more likely than non-owners to report participation in walking for recreation in their neighbourhoods, in summer as well as in winter. Dog-owners and non-owners did not differ in the amount of walking that they reported for transportation, either in summer or in winter.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>By acting as cues for physical activity, dogs may help their owners remain active across seasons. Policies and programs related to dog-ownership and dog-walking, such as dog-supportive housing and dog-supportive parks, may assist in enhancing population health by promoting physical activity.</p

Factors Influencing Off-leash Dog Walking in Public Places

Little is known about factors that influence owners' decisions walking their dogs on or off a leash in public places. We examined the effect of the type of public place, dog's age, sex and size, and human gender on off-leash dog walking. Observations of 1850 dogs and their owners were made in streets and parks in Brno (Czech Republic). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed no significant effect of human gender on the frequency of unleashed dogs in streets and parks. Off-leash dog walking was 2.8 times more likely in parks than in streets. Adult dogs were unleashed 1.9 times more likely than puppies in streets and parks. Larger dogs were unleashed 3.4 times less likely than smaller dogs in streets and 2.8 times more likely in parks. Male dogs were unleashed 1.7 times less likely than female dogs in streets. The dog's sex had no effect on off-leash dog walking in parks. The age and sex of dogs walked by men and women in public places were not significantly different. Larger dogs were walked by men 1.9 times more likely than by women. Results indicate that off-leash dog walking is affected by the type of public place and dog's age, sex and size.O

What to think of canine obesity? Emerging challenges to our understanding of human-animal health relationships.

The coincident and increasing occurrence of weight-related health problems in humans and canines in Western societies poses a challenge to our understanding of human–animal health relationships. More specifically, the epistemological and normative impetus provided by current approaches to shared health risks and chronic diseases in cohabiting human and animal populations does not account for causal continuities in the way that people and their pets live together. An examination of differences in medical responses to these conditions in human and pet dogs points to the existence of a distinct conceptual and ethical sphere for companion animal veterinary medicine. The disengagement of veterinary medicine for companion animals from human medicine has implications for our understanding what is required for health and disease prevention at the level of populations. This disengagement of companion animal veterinarians from family and preventive medicine, in particular, constrains professional roles, planning processes and, thereby, the potential for better-integrated responses to shared burdens of chronic conditions that increasingly affect the health and welfare of people and companion animals. Keywords: Human–Animal Relationships, Medical Epistemology, Companion Animal Welfare, Veterinary Ethics, Public Health Ethics, One HealthCanadian Institutes of Health Research, Open Operating Gran

Sustainable Blue-Green Infrastructure: A social practice approach to understanding community preferences and stewardship

© 2019 Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) is an approach to urban flood resilience, recognised globally and in international literature, that capitalises on the benefits of working with urban green-spaces and naturalised water-flows. Literature reveals BGI's sustainable functioning and benefits-provision depend on the behaviour of those who use it, therefore local stewardship is often proposed to support maintenance. However, there is a gap in understanding the requirements and behaviours of users, as well as their potential for developing stewardship behaviours, that is not addressed through traditional analysis approaches based around demographics. Therefore, this research used correlation analysis of survey data from two locations in the UK to explore the potential contribution of Social Practice Theory (SPT) to improve such understanding. Results show statistically significant correlation (better than 1%) between performance of practices associated with urban BGI and attitudes towards BGI stewardship, whereas demographic variables showed little correlation. Reflection on the practices demonstrates that this connection is traceable through the meanings people attach to their practices, the benefits of BGI spaces as material to those practices and their competencies in relation to existing and proposed stewardship practices. Practices, it is proposed, have embedded behaviours and attitudes that transcend locational and demographic factors. These findings imply in a wider context that, for any proposed or existing BGI, understanding associated practices would improve targeting of stewardship-engagement towards users with compatible meanings and competencies. Furthermore, sustainable design of BGI would benefit from consultation with all identified user-groups in order to understand existing and potential practices