Sign in to use this feature.

Years

Between: -

Subjects

remove_circle_outline
remove_circle_outline

Journals

Article Types

Countries / Regions

Search Results (3)

Search Parameters:
Keywords = playful handling

Order results
Result details
Results per page
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
9 pages, 411 KiB  
Article
Transforming Children’s Attitudes Toward Insects Through In-School Encounters
by Kathleen M. Miller, Dana K. Beegle, Stephanie Blevins Wycoff and Daniel L. Frank
Insects 2025, 16(1), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16010093 - 17 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 995
Abstract
Each year, the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech hosts an entomology-themed outreach event known as Hokie BugFest. This on-campus, festival-sized experience aims to educate the public about insects and other arthropods through hands-on activities, games, displays, and live arthropods. In 2021, due [...] Read more.
Each year, the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech hosts an entomology-themed outreach event known as Hokie BugFest. This on-campus, festival-sized experience aims to educate the public about insects and other arthropods through hands-on activities, games, displays, and live arthropods. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hokie BugFest and similar large public events were cancelled. In response, the department launched Hokie BugFest on the Go, which offered smaller-scale, in-person learning opportunities during these closures. Instead of hosting the community on campus, Virginia Tech’s Department of Entomology brought live arthropods, university experts, and the exciting science of entomology directly into schools, fostering small-group, hands-on learning experiences. In 2022, a playful assessment was added to the traveling outreach program to measure changes in student attitudes and perceptions of insects and other arthropods before and after the program. The assessment also gauged students’ favorite arthropods after seeing, and in some cases handling, them live during the program. Assessment results revealed valuable insights into how hands-on, applied learning experiences can shift children’s attitudes toward arthropods. Results showed that even after expressing trepidation and fears, students’ knowledge and comfort levels with insects and other arthropods increased as they interacted and learned throughout the program. These findings underscore the value of using engaging, hands-on, small-group approaches when designing entomology-themed outreach events for young audiences and offer guidance for future programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Collection Cultural Entomology: Our Love-hate Relationship with Insects)
Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 1576 KiB  
Article
Changing Human Behavior to Improve Animal Welfare: A Longitudinal Investigation of Training Laboratory Animal Personnel about Heterospecific Play or “Rat Tickling”
by Megan R. LaFollette, Sylvie Cloutier, Colleen M. Brady, Marguerite E. O’Haire and Brianna N. Gaskill
Animals 2020, 10(8), 1435; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10081435 - 17 Aug 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6159
Abstract
Despite evidence for rat tickling’s animal welfare benefits, the technique is rarely implemented in part because of a lack of training. This study’s purpose was to determine the efficacy of online-only or online + hands-on training programs on key outcomes for rat tickling [...] Read more.
Despite evidence for rat tickling’s animal welfare benefits, the technique is rarely implemented in part because of a lack of training. This study’s purpose was to determine the efficacy of online-only or online + hands-on training programs on key outcomes for rat tickling in comparison to a waitlist control condition. After completing a baseline survey, laboratory animal personnel currently working with rats in the United States were semi-randomized to receive online-only training (n = 30), online + hands-on training (n = 34), or waitlist control (n = 32). Participants received further surveys directly after training and 2 months later. Data were analyzed using general linear mixed models. At the 2-month follow-up compared to baseline, both training groups reported increased implementation, self-efficacy, knowledge, and familiarity of rat tickling while only the online + hands-on training participants reported increased control beliefs (while the waitlist group stayed the same). At the 2-month follow-up compared to the waitlist, hands-on training participants reported increased self-efficacy and familiarity with rat tickling. Overall, findings show that both online-only and online + hands-on training can improve key outcomes for rat tickling. Although online + hands-on training is slightly more effective, the interactive online-only training has the potential to improve widescale implementation of a welfare-enhancing technique. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laboratory Animals)
Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 547 KiB  
Article
Veterinary and Equine Science Students’ Interpretation of Horse Behaviour
by Gabriella Gronqvist, Chris Rogers, Erica Gee, Audrey Martinez and Charlotte Bolwell
Animals 2017, 7(8), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani7080063 - 15 Aug 2017
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 9087
Abstract
Many veterinary and undergraduate equine science students have little previous horse handling experience and a poor understanding of horse behaviour; yet horses are one of the most unsafe animals with which veterinary students must work. It is essential for veterinary and equine students [...] Read more.
Many veterinary and undergraduate equine science students have little previous horse handling experience and a poor understanding of horse behaviour; yet horses are one of the most unsafe animals with which veterinary students must work. It is essential for veterinary and equine students to learn how to interpret horse behaviour in order to understand demeanour and levels of arousal, and to optimise their own safety and the horses’ welfare. The study utilised a qualitative research approach to investigate veterinary science and veterinary technology and undergraduate equine science students’ interpretation of expressive behaviours shown by horses. The students (N = 127) were shown six short video clips and asked to select the most applicable terms, from a pre-determined list, to describe the behavioural expression of each individual horse. A wide variation of terms were selected by students and in some situations of distress, or situations that may be dangerous or lead to compromised welfare, apparently contradictory terms were also selected (happy or playful) by students with less experience with horses. Future studies should consider the use of Qualitative Behavioural Analysis (QBA) and free-choice profiling to investigate the range of terms used by students to describe the expressive demeanour and arousal levels of horses. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop