Learning and training of dogs with social fears

Social rädsla hos hundar är ett vanligt förekommande problem som inte bara påverkar hunden genom minskad välfärd och kortare livslängd, utan också påverkar hundens ägare som kan uppleva sorg, frustration, ilska, skuld och social isolering på grund av hundens beteende. Rädsla triggas av stimuli som hunden upplever som skrämmande och leder till en fysiologisk stressreaktion. En av de allvarligaste konsekvenserna av rädsla hos hundar är aggressivt beteende. Hundar kommunicerar många signaler för att lugna ner omgivningen i stressfulla sociala situationer – om dessa signaler missförstås eller ignoreras kan hundens beteende övergå i aggression. Minskad social rädsla kan förbättra både hunden och djurägarens välfärd, och även minska risker som medföljer med aggressiva hundar i samhället. Syftet med denna litteratursammanställning är därför att undersöka olika metoder som använts för att träna och behandla hundar med social rädsla, och att besvara frågeställningar kring hur hundens livskvalitet och inlärning påverkas av social rädsla. Olika metoder som har nämnts för att minska social rädsla hos hundar är desensibilisering och motbetingning, belöningsbaserad träning, ökad mental stimulans och motion, metoder för avslappning, förebyggande av exponering till triggande stimuli och medicinering i kombination med träning. Metoderna som undersökts verkar ha positiva effekter, men det kan trots det vara svårt att helt och hållet rehabilitera hunden från sociala rädslor då det alltid finns en risk att hunden återgår till det tidigare beteendet, dels för att den kan ha lärt sig att aggression är ett bra sätt att få människor och andra hundar att hålla sig undan, och dels för att oväntade situationer kan uppstå där hunden triggas att återgå till det oönskade beteendet.Social fear in dogs is a common problem that not only affects the dog through reduced welfare and shorter lifespan, but also affects the dog's owner who may experience sadness, frustration, anger, guilt and social isolation due to the dog's behavior. Fear is triggered by stimuli that the dog experiences as frightening and leads to a physiological stress reaction. One of the most serious consequences of fear in dogs is aggressive behavior. Dogs communicate many signals to calm down the surrounding in stressful social situations – if these signals are misunderstood or ignored, the dog's behavior can turn into aggression. Reducing social fear can improve both the dog and the pet owner's welfare, and also reduce the risks caused by aggressive dogs in the community. The purpose of this literature review is therefore to investigate different methods used to train and treat dogs with social fears, and to answer questions about how the dog's quality of life and learning is affected by social fear. Various methods that have been mentioned to reduce social fear in dogs, such as desensitization and counterconditioning, reward-based training and positive reinforcement, increased mental stimulation and exercise, methods of relaxation, prevention of exposure to triggering stimuli and medication in combination with training. The methods that have been investigated seem to have positive effects, but it can be difficult to completely rehabilitate the dog from social fears as there is always a risk that the dog will return to the previous behavior, partly because it may have learned that aggression is a good way to get people and other dogs to stay away and partly because unexpected situations can arise, where the dog is triggered to return to the unwanted behavior

Negotiating Gender: Female Combat Soldiers in Denmark

Based on interviews with female combat soldiers, we explore what role conceptions of femininity and masculinity play for female Danish combat soldiers’ experiences and behaviour in the military community. We find that female combat soldiers’ status and ability to fulfil their potential as soldiers are determined by their capability to navigate expectations linked to their gender and their position as soldiers, respectively. Female combat soldiers must break down negative expectations linked to their gender while simultaneously and continuously navigating the limitations of forms of femininity accepted in the Danish Military

Modified binary randomized response technique models

Social Desirability Bias (SDB) is the tendency in respondents to answer questions untruthfully in the hope of giving good impression to others. SDB occurs when the survey question is highly sensitive or personal, and responses cause sample statistics to systematically overestimate or underestimate corresponding population parameters. The Randomized Response Technique (RRT) is one of several methods to get around SDB in surveys involving sensitive questions in a face-to-face interview. We first review some of the well-established binary response RRT models including the two-parameter models such as the two-stage RRT model and the optional RRT model. Then, we examine an optional RRT model based on the unrelated question RRT as presented by Gupta, Tuck, Spears Gill, and Crowe (2013). Also, we show another optional RRT model based on the two-stage RRT. Next, we carry out efficiency comparisons between these models and show simulation results. While these two models are all based on the split-sample approach to estimate two unknown parameters of interest ( $\pi$ and $\omega$—the prevalence of sensitive characteristic and the sensitivity level of the underlying question respectively), the next two models utilize the two-question approach instead. One of them relies on the unrelated question RRT model. And the other relies on the two-stage optional RRT model. Again, efficiencies of estimators are compared and simulation results are provided. In the end, simulation results and figures are presented and some conclusions are made regarding which estimator performs better. It turns out that the two-stage optional indirect RRT model with two-question approach performs better than other binary optional RRT models

A two-stage binary optional randomized response model

Social Desirability Bias (SDB) is the tendency in respondents to answer questions untruthfully in the hope of giving good impression to others. SDB occurs when the survey question is highly sensitive or personal, and responses cause sample statistics to systematically over- or underestimate corresponding population parameters. The Randomized Response Technique (RRT) is one of several methods to get around SDB in surveys involving sensitive questions in a face-to-face interview. In this thesis, we first review some of the existing binary response RRT models. Then, by combining two existing models, we propose a new model--Two-Stage Binary Optional RRT model. Much of the focus is on estimating pi, the prevalence of sensitive characteristic and W, the sensitivity level of the underlying question. We discuss the asymptotic properties of our estimators and present some simulation results. It turns out that the proposed Two-Stage Binary Optional RRT model is more effective than the Optional RRT model proposed by Gupta (2001)

Do breast implants after a mastectomy affect subsequent prognosis and survival?

In a large study, published in this issue of Breast Cancer Research, Le and colleagues report that women receiving implants after mastectomies for early-stage breast cancer experience lower breast cancer mortality than women not receiving implants. Assessment of survival patterns among women receiving reconstructive implants is complex given unique patient characteristics, disease attributes, and treatment patterns. The interpretation of reduced mortality from breast cancer must be assessed in light of significantly reduced risks of death from most other causes. In contrast, patients receiving post-mastectomy implants had elevated rates of suicide, consistent with findings among women with cosmetic implants. Additional well-designed investigations are needed to clarify survival patterns among women receiving reconstructive implants

The study of traditional range livestock production systems

Discusses livestock production systems in Inter-tropical Africa. Examines the experience with monitoring in Kenya. Looks into production systems studies and communal area development

Smältpunkter av binära och ternära eutektiska kloridsalter : MD-simuleringar på LiCl-NaCl-KCl och dess binära komponenter

This thesis investigates how well the Alexandria (WBK) force-field can predict themelting point for multi-cation chloride salts with molecular dynamic (MD) simulationsin Gromacs 4.6.7. Researched is the eutectic ternary salt LiCl-NaCl-KCl(53.5-8.6-37.9 mol%) and its binary eutectic constituents(NaCl-LiCl: 22.5-77.5, KCl-NaCl: 50-50, LiCl-KCl: 58.5-41.5 mol%). The choosen salt mixtures are all promising candidates for use as electrolyte in liquidmetal batteries, a potential future power grid storage system. Simulation of the ternary salt's bulk at 298 K over 100 simulations with its ionsdifferently arranged within the crystal lattice for each simulation all resulted in stablecrystalline structures. This indicates that the WBK force-field properly andconsistently can produce stable crystalline structures not just for pure salts, but alsowithin multi-component ones. The melting point for the ternary and first binary combination was determined to550 K (12.9 % lower than experimental) and 950 K (12.6 % higher than experimental). No melting point could be determined for the last two binary combinations, as theymelted in their entire simulated temperature intervals. The ternary salt showcased acrystalline/amorphous mixture at solid phase temperatures when simulating with thesolid/liquid coexistence method. These simulation anomalies show that modeling ofmulti-cation chloride salts may not be as straight forward as it is with pure salts,despite using a force-field parameterized specifically for alkali halides