<p>Much of the demand for purebred dogs in the USA is met by commercial breeding kennels (CBKs). In CBKs, adult dogs have been reported to exhibit signs of fear towards strangers. Social fear is a particular welfare concern as it may lead to acute and chronic stress in the kennel, and later, after dogs are retired and rehomed. Studies on pet and shelter dogs have shown that the type of attachment style dogs have with their caretakers is associated with their social behavior towards strangers. Thus, the aims of this study were to characterize the attachment styles of dogs from CBKs to their caretakers, and investigate relationships between the types of attachment styles observed and social fear behaviors in this population of dogs. Forty-eight adult dogs were tested from three CBKs in Indiana, USA. Each dog was subjected to a standard battery of tests, including a Secure Base test to classify attachment styles, a Stranger Arena test to measure the duration and frequency of key social behaviors toward a stranger, and a Paired-Effect test to measure the duration and frequency of social behaviors towards a stranger in the presence of a caretaker. Twenty (41.67%) dogs were classified as secure, 16 (33.33%) as insecure ambivalent, 9 (18.75%) as insecure avoidant, and 3 (6.25%) as insecure disorganized. ANOVA tests showed that secure and ambivalent dogs approached the stranger more frequently (F2,45 = 11.865, <em>p </em>< 0.001), spent more time in close proximity (F2,45 = 15.968, <em>p </em>< 0.001), and solicited contact more frequently (F2,45 = 4.58, <em>p </em>= 0.023) from them than did avoidant dogs. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Tests showed that secure, ambivalent, and avoidant dogs all initially approached the stranger more quickly in the paired-effect test than in the stranger arena test (<em>p </em>< 0.05). Secure and ambivalent dogs also spent more time in proximity to (<em>p </em>< 0.001) and solicited more contact from (<em>p </em>< 0.01) the stranger in the paired-effect test than in the stranger arena test. These results suggest that there is an association between type of attachment style and fear behaviors towards a stranger in this sample of dogs. Understanding connections between attachment style and social fear, and their implications for stress and welfare in dogs from CBKs may help inform breeders’ selection criteria and breeding decisions. It may also inform breeders’ socialization, social interactions, and related management practices, which in turn may help to reduce dogs’ social fear and enhance their long- term welfare outcomes in the kennel. This understanding may also aid rehoming efforts. With this increased understanding, breeders could inform new owners about behaviors they can expect from their dogs which may help avoid a potential mismatch in expectations. This in turn may help keep dogs in their homes and improve their welfare in the long-term. </p>

No description available.

Over the last five decades, a rich literature on the welfare state has developed. Multiple theories and models seek to explain the contemporary welfare state, including structural functionalist, structural-Marxist and Marxist perspectives, culturalist approaches, pluralist analyses, neo-institutionalist theories, power resources theory, Harold Wilensky and Lebeaux’s dual model, Richard Titmuss’s tri-polar model, and Gøsta Esping-Andersen’s tri-polar model, all designed to account for the emergence of and variations among welfare states. However, these theories and models originated within the developed world, and empirical examinations of these theories are largely restricted within this part of the world. The welfare state literature is too confined to the West today. This study examines key welfare state theories and models in the contexts of developing and least developed nations employing a combination of quantitative, qualitative, and comparative methodologies. It suggests that social policies and programs in the developing nations can be systematically understood in the light of mainstream Western theories and models of the welfare state. Therefore, in addition to challenging current practices that limit the study of the welfare state within particular geographical areas, the research presented here provides rationale for increased efforts to understand welfare policies and programs in developing nations. This will increase our knowledge about the applicability of theories in the developing world and will enrich the understanding of the developed world, and thus contribute to the advancement of welfare state scholarship. / February 2016

This study examined the relationship between child welfare workers' coping skills and their levels of empathy. The author developed instruments for measuring empathy and for measuring coping skills. Measures of the coping skills and empathy of child welfare workers in San Bernardino County and San Diego County were compared and found to be similar; the author hoped that this would demonstrate that the results can be generalized. The hypothesis that excellent coping skills diminish compassion fatigue and lead to increased empathy was supported.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-234).

No description available.

No description available.

Standard measures used in animal welfare assessments include animal-based measures obtained by observing animals, resource-based measures obtained by observing facilities, and management-based measures obtained by interviewing farmers and checking records. Animal welfare assessments are composed of a variety of measures and can be very different from each other. The objectives of the research presented in this thesis were to investigate inter-observer reliability of three swine welfare assessment programs (ACA™, PQA Plus®, and Welfare Quality®), and to determine the concordance of rankings across the 3 assessments. All assessments and all types of measures were found to be highly reliable. Moderate concordance was found for the rankings of farms across all three assessments. The lowest ranked farms were correlated, indicating that all assessments identified the farms with the lowest levels of animal welfare. Results of this study can be used to identify the best measures and revise current on-farm animal welfare assessments. / Canadian Swine Research and Development Cluster, a Growing Canadian Agri-Innovation Program – Canadian Agri-Science Cluster Initiative of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC); and the Ontario Pork Council

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 112-117).

Thesis (M.S.W.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 140-147). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.