Animals For Entertainment Research Articles

Do Animations Impair Executive Function in Young Children? Effects of Animation Types on the Executive Function of Children Aged Four to Seven Years.

This study used a three (animation types: educational, entertainment, and control groups) × four (age group: four-, five-, six-, and seven-year-olds) between-group experimental design to investigate the short-term effects of animation type and age on each component of children’s executive function (EF) (inhibitory control [IC], cognitive flexibility [CF], and working memory [WM]). One hundred twenty-six kindergarten and first-grade elementary school students in a city in Henan Province of China were selected for the experimental study. The results showed that briefly watching animation affected children’s EF. Specifically, watching entertainment cartoons weakened children’s IC and CF, while cartoons did not affect children’s WM. The moderating effect of age in the relationship between animation type and EFs was non-significant. This study suggests that researchers should focus on the uniqueness of each component of EF in children aged four to seven years, and parents should try to limit children’s viewing of animation, especially entertainment animation.

Research of Priorities in Providing Animation Services for Different Age Groups of Tourists from Ukraine

The objective of the article is to research the priorities in providing animation services during recreational activities for different age groups of tourists. The study involved 324 respondents who belonged to four age groups (1 group: aged 17 - 23; 2 group: aged 24 - 35; 3 group: aged 36 - 50; 4 group: aged 51 - 65). The main condition was the presence of experience of recreational rest in Ukraine and abroad. Methods: Analysis of scientific and methodological sources, surveys, questionnaires, method of expert evaluation, pedagogical experiment, statistical data of pedagogical observation, factor analysis. Results. It is established that the availability of quality animation activities ranks fourth among the priorities in choosing the place of health-recreation rest. Priorities in the choice of animation services for different age groups of tourists from Ukraine differ significantly. The most popular for all age groups are: concert and entertainment animation; animation for adults; children’s animation; exhibition animation; physical culture and health animation; show animation. The comparative analysis of the organization of animation services during the recreational rest of tourists showed that the most high-quality and interesting organization of animation activities is provided by hotels in Turkey and Egypt. Conclusions. The following main trends and changes in providing animation services have been identified: reduction of animation programs and cutdown of diversity in providing animation services; reducing the level of requirements for the content of animation programs; deterioration of the level of animation services in both national and foreign recreation areas.

PETA, rhetorical fracture, and the power of digital activism

Starting in 2013, SeaWorld faced a public relations disaster with the release of the documentary titled Blackfish that accused the company of mistreatment of its orcas. SeaWorld attempted to respond and rebuild its credibility, but activist group ‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) doubled down on the corporation through its rhetorical shock tactics, deepening the organization’s woes. The PETA/SeaWorld controversy does more than provide another example of poor corporate public relations decision-making made in light of an activist group’s savvy use of digital technology. We argue that the case helps explain how digital technologies fundamentally change activism, whereby activists can use rhetorical fracturing, or quickly using digital media to puncture a target’s narrative, to create messages that challenge an opponent’s legitimacy to cultivate public opinion, thereby pressuring corporate policy change. Recent activism scholarship points out how digital media transforms organizational-activist relationships in profound ways, but this essay contributes to a gap in public relations scholarship by showing how strategic, message-level digital activism helps contribute to broad societal change. Indeed, given that SeaWorld’s stock was down nearly 40 percent in 2015 and ‘is about 50% below its all-time high’, its profits were down 84 percent in 2015, and attendance has fallen more than 7 percent at its parks, the case illustrates how digital activist campaigns help reshape societal understanding of a controversial issue such as using animals for entertainment.

Thoroughbred racing: Backstage at the Sport of Kings

Thoroughbred racing is a global industry that provides numerous benefits, notably income from wagering, and the demonstration of social status, which form the basis for leisure experiences for thousands of racegoers. The paper applies the theory of front and back stage to conceptualise the human and animal performances on Race Day. Data from a sample of 66 race meetings revealed that injuries were reported for racing thoroughbreds on a regular basis, at almost all of the meetings sampled including the internationally recognised Melbourne Cup. The reality for thoroughbreds on the back stage is therefore inconsistent with the impression on the front stage. The study calls for further research regarding the use of domestic animals for entertainment.

The Rights of Animals: A Very Short Primer

Do animals have rights? Almost everyone believes in animal rights, at least in some minimal sense; the real question is what that phrase actually means. By exploring that question, it is possible to give a clear sense of the lay of the land - to show the range of possible positions, and to explore what issues, of theory or fact, separate reasonable people. On reflection, the spotlight should be placed squarely on the issue of suffering and well-being. This position requires rejection of some of the most radical claims by animal rights advocates, especially those that stress the autonomy of animals, or that object to any human control and use of animals. But this position has radical implications of its own. It strongly suggests, for example, that there should be extensive regulation of the use of animals in entertainment, in scientific experiments, and in agriculture. It also suggests that there is a strong argument, in principle, for bans on many current uses of animals.

Entertaining elephants: animal agency and the business of the American circus

Consider the career of an enduring if controversial icon of American entertainment: the genial circus elephant. In Entertaining Elephants Susan Nance examines elephant behavior - drawing on the scientific literature of animal cognition, learning, and communications - to offer a study of elephants as actors (rather than objects) in American circus entertainment between 1800 and 1940. By developing a deeper understanding of animal behavior, Nance asserts, we can more fully explain the common history of all species. Entertaining Elephants is the first account that uses research on animal welfare, health, and cognition to interpret the historical record, examining how both circus people and elephants struggled behind the scenes to meet the profit necessities of the entertainment business. The book does not claim that elephants understood, endorsed, or resisted the world of show business as a human cultural or business practice, but it does speak of elephants rejecting the conditions of their experience. They lived in a kind of parallel reality in the circus, one that was defined by their interactions with people, other elephants, horses, bull hooks, hay, and the weather. Nance's study informs and complicates contemporary debates over human interactions with animals in entertainment and beyond, questioning the idea of human control over animals and people's claims to speak for them. As sentient beings, these elephants exercised agency, but they had no way of understanding the human cultures that created their captivity, and they obviously had no claim on (human) social and political power. They often lived lives of apparent desperation.

Europe as Consumer of Exotic Biodiversity: Greek and Roman times

In ancient Greece and the Roman Empire there was keen interest in exotic species of animals and plants. Religious ceremonies and sacred groves included foreign species. Rulers had hunting enclosures patterned after the 'paradises' of Persian rulers. Both the Lyceum of Aristotle in Athens and the Museum of Alexandria had a menagerie and a botanical garden. The Romans collected animals for entertainment and slaughter in amphitheatres throughout the empire. Officials supervized transport, and provincial cities were required to house and feed the beasts. Did these activities establish viable populations of invasive species? Europe did not again become home to elephants and rhinoceroses (although fossil remains of these animals were known to the Greeks and Romans). But plants were acclimated, and smaller animals may have become established. Extinction of species such as lions is noted. The comprehensive picture is less the enhancement of biodiversity than its impoverishment through consumption.

Animal Rights: History and Scope of a Radical Social Movement

In the past decade, philosopher Bernard Rollin has pointed out, we have witnesed a major revolution in social concern with animal welfare and the moral status of Adopting the stance of a moderate, the author of this text attempts to provide an unbiased examination of the paths and goals of the members of the animal rights movement and of its detractors. Given the level of confusion, suspicion, misunderstanding and mistrust between the two sides, Guither admits the difficulty in locating, and much less staying in, the middle ground. The philosophical conflict, however, is fairly clear: those who resist reform, fearing that radical change in the treatment of animals will infringe on their business and property rights, versus the new activists who espouse a different set of moral and ethical obligations towards animals. From his position as a moderate, Guither presents a brief history of animal protection and the emergence of animal rights, describes the scope of the movement and identifies major players, such as Paul and Linda McCartney and organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who are actively involved in the movement. He concentrates on what is actually happening in the 1990s, discussing in detail the possible consequences of the current debate for those who own, use or enjoy animals in entertainment and leisure pursuits. A reference work for students in animal sciences and veterinary medicine, the book should also pose questions for philosophers, sociologists and public policymakers, as well as animal owners, animal and biomedical researchers and manufacturers and distributors of animal equipment and supplies.

Legislative Proposals Protecting Animals in Entertainment: At the Crossroads

Legislative Proposals Protecting Animals in Entertainment: At the Crossroads