Owner Attitudes Research Articles

Exploring farmers’ intention to adopt marketing contracts: empirical insights using the TOE framework

AbstractThe European agricultural sector faces considerable exposure to price risk, which poses a threat to farmers’ income and long-term resilience. Marketing contracts have emerged as a potential risk mitigation strategy by enabling farmers to fix the selling price of their output. Despite their benefits, the adoption of marketing contracts among European farmers remains limited. To investigate the factors influencing farmers’ participation in MCs, this study applies the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, marking its first application in this field of research. By analyzing data from an online survey of 84 Italian arable crop producers using a partial least squares structural equation model, this study investigates the factors influencing farmers’ participation in marketing contracts. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the TOE model in examining farmers’ intentions to adopt marketing contracts. Specifically, the perceived usefulness of marketing contracts, their compatibility with farm characteristics, the positive attitude of farm owners towards these tools, and normative pressure from buyers all exhibit positive associations with farmers’ intention to adopt marketing contracts. These findings offer valuable insights for the development of targeted strategies aimed at promoting the widespread use of marketing contracts among European farmers.

Working horse welfare in Senegal is linked to owner's socioeconomic status, their attitudes and belief in horse sentience.

The role that working equids play in both rural and urban communities in low and middle-income countries is invaluable. They contribute to daily tasks such as carrying food, water and people, support income generation, and are of social and cultural importance. Despite their importance, global standards of working equid welfare are low. Many variables can impact the welfare status of animals under human care, but often specific factors are explored in isolation. Factors can include, but are not limited to an owner's socioeconomic status and their attitudes and beliefs towards animals. In this study we assessed the relationships between 1.) Attitudes and belief in horse sentience, 2.) Owner's socioeconomic status (including household income, coverage of needs and education) and 3.) Horse welfare status. The study, consisting of an owner questionnaire and a welfare assessment of their horses, was conducted in three regions in Senegal; participants included 299 owners and their horses. Overall, our findings show that a more positive attitude towards horses, stronger belief in horse sentience, a higher standard of living and a greater ability to cover the needs of the household was associated with more positive horse welfare. A stronger belief in horse sentience was a significant predictor of horse's body condition, larger households and those with a higher income were more likely to own a horse in good general health. Our findings demonstrate a complex relationship between working horse welfare, their owner's attitudes, and their socioeconomic status. It is the first study we are aware of that has explored the relationships between these different variables. The findings from this study provide valuable insights into the interconnected factors which impact upon working equid welfare in Senegal and potentially more widely.

СТРАТЕГІЧНЕ ПЛАНУВАННЯ ЯК ОСНОВА ВПРОВАДЖЕННЯ ЕКОЛОГІЧНОЇ ВІДПОВІДАЛЬНОСТІ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ ІНДУСТРІЇ ГОСТИННОСТІ В УКРАЇНІ

The hospitality industry, which is experiencing a crisis in Ukraine, today needs transformation and greening of its own activities. The implementation of environmental responsibility of hospitality service providers is not just a condition for their competitiveness, but opens up a wide range of directions for the development of industry enterprises in future. The purpose of the research: to analyze the existing documents of medium and long-term planning at the regional level on individual examples, to determine promising directions for the formation of environmental responsibility of enterprises in the hospitality industry. The subject of the study: practical experience of planning and implementation of environmental responsibility among hospitality service providers at the regional level. Research methods: in the research process, general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge were used, namely abstraction, induction and deduction, analogy and qualitative comparison, analysis of causes and consequences. Research hypothesis: the only way to ensure environmental responsibility in the field of hospitality is a conscious attitude of regional authorities and owners of enterprises providing hospitality services to existing environmental problems. The main results of the research: the analysis of publications by domestic and foreign scientists, as well as strategic and programmatic documents of regional development in Ukraine allowed to draw conclusions about the state of social responsibility in the western and eastern regions, determining that most documents lack any measures regarding the environmental responsibility of service providers hospitality Originality and practical significance of the study: the proposed tree of goals for framework development strategy of environmental responsibility is an unified tool that can be detailed according to the stage of development and financial capacity of hospitality establishments. Conclusions: the proposals presented in the course of the study regarding the formation of environmental responsibility of hospitality service providers are appropriate according to the current situation and can be used to overcome the systemic crisis in the industry, to develop its competitiveness for attraction a new domestic and foreign consumers

Safe or sound? Factors influencing outdoor access, cat behavior, and hunting history with implications for conservation and welfare

Outdoor access may provide mental stimulation and enrichment for companion cats (Felis catus); however, it also raises concerns regarding their safety and predation of vulnerable local wildlife. Understanding factors that shape cats’ outdoor access and behavioral outcomes is therefore crucial for identifying nuanced solutions to the human-cat-wildlife conflict. In this exploratory study, we aimed to 1) explore owner attitudes towards providing or reducing outdoor access, 2) identify general predictors of free-roaming outdoor access, and 3) identify predictors of hunting behavior among cats that are allowed outside. Using a quantitative questionnaire (n=75 questions), we collected information on cat owners’ demographics and attitudes, their cat’s characteristics and behaviors in the home, home environment, outdoor lifestyle, and hunting history. Of 631 cat owners living near Davis, California, USA, recruited through convenience and snowball sampling, 36.7 % indicated they were keeping their cat indoor-only (n=232), 34.1 % providing supervised or controlled outdoor access (n=215), and 29.2 % providing uncontrolled, or free-roaming outdoor access (n=184). More than half of outdoor cat owners reported they were likely or somewhat likely to reduce outdoor access if they lived near busier streets (59 %, n=235), if more dangerous animals were around (59 %, n=235), if their cat stopped coming home consistently (56 %, n=223), or if they knew their cat was negatively impacting wildlife (53 %, n=211). We found that cats had higher odds of freely roaming if they were 7–10 years old compared to <1 year old (p=0.030), obtained from the street rather than a shelter (p=0.007), living within 500 ft of traffic (p=0.002), living with a dog (p=0.014) or a child (p=0.005), or if they showed aggressive behaviors in the home (p=0.008). Cats had lower odds of freely roaming if they had scratching areas in the home (p=0.017), or were living with one (p=0.020) or two (p=0.017) other cats. Among those allowed outside, cats had higher odds of having hunted prey in the last year if they were allowed to freely roam without supervision (p=0.016), or were allowed outdoors between 6:00–11:59 am (p=0.014). These results generate directions for future research in the field of companion animal management, and emphasize the role of cat owners in the intersection of animal welfare and wildlife conservation.

Forest Owner Attitudes Toward Climate-Proof Forest Management in Sweden and the Netherlands—Between Forest Strategies and Practical Measures

Forest Owner Attitudes Toward Climate-Proof Forest Management in Sweden and the Netherlands—Between Forest Strategies and Practical Measures

Legal gun ownership as an important factor of state security: Reality or Myth?

The question of whether legal gun ownership is a positive security factor in the Czech Republic is subject to expert debate and depends on several factors, including available crime data, public attitudes, and the legal framework. Some argue that legal gun ownership can dissuade criminals because they know victims may be armed. Many advocates argue that the right to own guns is a fundamental right that should be protected. Sometimes, it is difficult to clearly demonstrate that legal gun ownership directly contributes to crime reduction. Statistical data can be interpreted in different ways. In contrast, the presence of guns can in some situations escalate conflicts that could otherwise be resolved nonviolently. In the Czech Republic, legal gun ownership is relatively strictly regulated. Citizens must meet the conditions established by law, including criminal integrity and passing a theoretical-practical examination of professional competence. This regulation aims to ensure that only responsible and qualified individuals own guns. Therefore, the presented article discusses legal gun ownership as an internal factor of state security. Using statistical data, it analyses the amount of violent crime committed with firearms in relation to the possibility of holding and carrying a gun in the conditions of the Czech Republic and in selected EU countries. Furthermore, with the help of a questionnaire survey, it identifies that legal gun ownership can be considered a positive safety factor in certain situations, if it is associated with strict regulation and a responsible attitude of gun owners. The resulting effect on security depends on a combination of legal frameworks, gun culture, and effective law enforcement.

Impact of the environmental ESG pillar on firm sustainability: Empirical research in the V4 countries

The research aimed to define the impact of the environmental pillar of ESG principles on the sustainability of firms in the V4 region and quantify the impact of certain factors on the perception of firms’ sustainability. To this end, a questionnaire survey on the attitudes of managers and business owners was conducted in February 2024 in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. Data were collected using the Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) research method. The distribution of respondents by country was as follows: there were 338 respondents from the Czech Republic, 349 from Poland, 312 from Slovakia and 321 from Hungary. Correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were used to test the scientific hypotheses. The results suggest that firms that focus on the environmental education of employees, use green practices, provide truthful information about environmental impacts, and spend adequate costs on environmental protection are more likely to achieve sustainable growth. On the other hand, there appears to be no affect on corporate sustainability from policies pertaining to managing the company in accordance with specific regulations, minimising the environmental impacts of business activities, intensively addressing the energy efficiency of company buildings, and using renewable energy sources. In conclusion, firms in the V4 countries focus on that aspects of Pillar E that affect sustainable growth but do not significantly increase costs or increase the overall complexity of processes.

Seroprevalence of small ruminant brucellosis and owners knowledge, attitude and practices in Chiro and Burka Dhintu Districts, West Hararghe, Ethiopia

Brucellosis is one of zoonotic bacterial diseases with significant veterinary and public health consequences in sub-Saharan African countries, including Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study design was conducted with the objective of estimating the seroprevalence of small ruminant brucellosis and assessing owners' knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) on brucellosis in Chiro and Burka Dhintu Districts in Eastern Ethiopia. A total sample of 444 animals were taken using a cluster based multistage sampling technique. Screening for Brucella antibodies and confirmation of positive test results were conducted using Modified Rose Bengal Plate Test (MRBPT) and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (I-ELISA) respectively. For the questionnaire survey, 444 randomly selected sheep and goat owners were interviewed using a pretested structured questionnaire. The overall seroprevalence of small ruminant brucellosis was found to be 6.5 % (95 % CI: 4.6–9.3). The multivariable logistic regression analysis identified sex and age as potential risk factors (P < 0.05). More specifically, females were 3.4 times (AOR = 3.4, 95 % CI: 1.2–9.2) more likely to become seropositive than their counterparts, and the odds of seropositivity in adult sheep and goats was 5.6 times (AOR = 5.6, 95 % CI: 1.3–24.7) higher than that of young animals. The knowledge, attitude and practices of animal owners with regard to brucellosis were low, and the level of education was independently associated with the owners’ knowledge and attitude. Moderate seroprevalence, combined with inadequate knowledge, attitudes, and practices of animal owners, makes small ruminant brucellosis a threat to animals and the entire community. Hence, strengthening veterinary services and raising community awareness about the disease is essential to reduce the impact on small ruminant productivity and minimize the risks to public health.

Forest Owner Attitudes and Preferences for Voluntary Temporary Forest Conservation

This study explores attitudes and preferences of Finnish non-industrial private forest owners for voluntary temporary forest conservation. The survey data, collected with the best–worst scaling and discrete choice methods, focus on a conservation program that incentivizes forest owners for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. Forest owners are willing to conserve simultaneously biodiversity and forest carbon. They prefer non-profit organization as implementer of program, suggesting alternative to current implementation of forest conservation by authorities. Forest owners’ interest in forest conservation program increases with shorter contract and higher payment, both aspects being subject to preference heterogeneity. Forest owners differ in terms of the perceived importance of ecological, economic and social aspects of sustainability of forestry. Heterogeneity in attitudes and preferences stems from the size of forest land, gender, freetime home located on forest site, and place of residence.

A linguistic landscape study of shop signs on Barkhor Street in Lhasa

ABSTRACT This study adopts a mixed-method approach to analyze the characteristics of the linguistic landscape in Barkhor Street, the attitudes of tourists, shop owners, and residents towards it, and the strengths and weaknesses of linguistic landscape design there. Findings showed that: 1) In terms of the presentation of linguistic landscape, the combination of ‘Tibetan + Chinese’ appears most frequently, with Tibetan being a priority code present in them. Moreover, different types of shops employ different marking methods for shop signs. 2) Overall, the audience expressed satisfaction with the linguistic landscape, with a preference for using the ‘Tibetan + Chinese + Pinyin’ combination. Most respondents suggested using Tibetan as a priority code and graphemic marking as a marking method. 3) The linguistic landscape design has the advantages of preserving and promoting Tibetan culture and boosting economic development. However, it also has the disadvantage of weak information function and a monolithic presentation of the linguistic landscape due to related language policies. 4) Furthermore, the study found that economic factors significantly influence the choice of language combinations and marking methods in the linguistic landscape. Language policies are a double-edged sword, and language, economy, and culture form an interconnected cycle.

Who let the dog out? Dog owner attitudes and economics regulate the potential negative impact of domestic dogs on wildlife in a reserve network

AbstractMany domestic animals have a profound impact on endangered species through complex interactions and spillover effects in and between coupled human and natural systems. A thorough understanding of the driving forces of human decisions regarding how domestic animals are kept is therefore critical to promote the synergy of human livelihood and biodiversity conservation. Working in the Qinling Mountains of China, we conducted a multidisciplinary study using a structural equation model (SEM) to link households' demographic and economic conditions, peoples attitudes and activities with their decisions, and further investigated how such process influences the potential negative impact of free‐ranging dogs on wildlife. Among 139 blood and saliva samples collected from dogs that were owned by local villagers but allowed to roam freely, 33.3% were positive for at least one of three viral infections, including canine distemper (28.2%), canine parvovirus (25.6%), and rabies virus prevalence (10.3%). SEM modeling revealed that human activity (β = 0.27, p = .012) has significantly increased dogs' potential negative impacts on wildlife by increasing the number of dogs and their direct contact with wildlife, as well as their larger movement range. Conversely, improvement in demographic and economic conditions (β = −0.22, p = .011) and human attitudes (β = −0.51, p = .013) suppresses the influence of free roaming dogs on wildlife. Meanwhile, livelihoods dependent on natural resources increased the likelihood of owners having dog practice that may negatively impact wildlife (β = 0.54, p &lt; .001), without improving the economic conditions of the residents (β = −0.26, p &lt; .001). Based on the above results, we recommend a program that combines educational and conservation efforts to encourages local residents in more responsible dog ownership and recommend reserve managers provide financial incentives to mitigate human‐wildlife conflicts.

Promotion of help-seeking intentions for balancing medical treatment and job content among employees of small companies: Focusing on cooperative work climate

This study examined the association between cooperative work climate and business owners' attitudes toward work climate and help-seeking intentions for balancing medical treatment and job (BTJ) by occupation among employees of small companies. In January 2024, we conducted an online survey of 1,800 full-time employees aged 20-64 years with no work restrictions due to illness working in small companies. After participants were provided a leaflet regarding BTJ, they were asked to indicate their intention to seek help in an imaginary situation where they had been diagnosed with cancer. We conducted a multivariate logistic regression analysis using a combination of cooperative work climate (low or high) and business owners' attitudes toward work climate (low or high) as the primary explanatory variable and help-seeking intentions regarding BTJ as the dependent variable, adjusted for relevant job-related variables. As a subgroup analysis, logistic regression analyses by occupation (i.e., white- or blue-collar workers) were also conducted. Among the 1,800 participants (602 females and 1,198 males), 1,350 (75.0%) reported an active intention to seek help regarding BTJ. Those who reported higher levels of cooperative work climate and lower levels of business owners' positive attitudes toward work climate (odds ratio (OR) 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-2.1), as well as those who reported higher levels of work climate and business owners' attitudes (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.4-2.9), were significantly more likely to reveal help-seeking intentions regarding BTJ than those who reported lower levels of work climate and business owner attitudes. Analyses by occupation also showed that for both occupation categories, those who reported higher levels of cooperative work climate and business owner attitudes toward work climate more frequently revealed help-seeking intentions than those who reported lower levels of work climate and business owner attitudes. Among participants working for small companies, regardless of occupation, those who reported higher levels of cooperative work climate and business owners' attitudes toward work climate were significantly more likely to reveal help-seeking intentions regarding BTJ. Our findings imply that (1) cooperative work climate has a stronger effect on help-seeking intentions regarding BTJ than business owners' attitudes toward work climate, and (2) both work climate and business owners' attitudes have a synergistic impact on help-seeking intentions regarding BTJ. Enhancing a cooperative work climate may promote help-seeking intentions among employees working for small companies, regardless of occupation.

A pilot survey on knowledge, attitudes, and practices of smallholder dairy owners towards the importance of colostrum feeding to newborn calf in Humbo District of Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

BackgroundColostrum is the secretion produced by the mammary gland of mammals and it is passively transferred immunity that protects neonates from infectious diseases.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2021 to June 2022 to assess the community’s knowledge, attitude, and practice of smallholder dairy owners towards the importance of colostrum feeding to newborn calves in Humbo districts. A structured questionnaire was provided for 400 randomly selected smallholder dairy owners for face-to-face interviews.ResultsThe results showed that females (21.6%), college and university levels (20.2%), farmers (15.4%), and single individuals (17.6%) had better knowledge compared to the respective status of respondents on colostrum feeding practices. Also, there was an association between sex, occupation, marital status, and knowledge of colostrum-feeding practices. Similarly, 32.5% of respondents with an elementary background practice the separation of calves from the dam soon after birth to prevent transmission of infection. There was an association between the educational background of the respondents and the perception of the respondents regarding colostrum feeding to newborn calves. Nearly, 30% of respondents had an elementary education background waiting for their calf to get up on its own and suckle from their dam. Likewise, 26.1%, 31.5%, and 23.8% of illiterate, elementary, college, and university graduate respondents, respectively, provide calves with 10 to 12% of their birth weight as colostrum within the first 8 h of calf’s life. Besides, the majority of the respondents (27.5%) believed that colostrum was the best food for calves’ growth, and the level of circulating antibodies in the calf's blood has a direct influence on its disease resistance.ConclusionThe study revealed that smallholder dairy owners have different perceptions concerning knowledge, practice, and attitude on the importance and time of feeding colostrum to neonates during the early life of postpartum. Thus, awareness creation and training programs should be provided for smallholder dairy farmers as well as the use of colostrum feeding, and its role in the prevention of neonatal and preweaning calf mortality and morbidity.

Привязанность к домашним питомцам и любовь к людям – есть ли связь?

&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective. &lt;/strong&gt;The study is aimed at investigating the relationship between attachment to pets and pro-social personality characteristics &amp;ndash; environmental identity, moral motives, and ecological lifestyle. &lt;br&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background. &lt;/strong&gt;Attachment to pets is being investigated in the context animal-assisted therapy animal rights protection but the question of the possible contribution of this phenomenon to the development of humane treatment of people is still open. Is it possible to expect that attachment to a pet has a humanizing effect or does retain its specificity without being related to the pet owners&amp;rsquo; pro-social attitudes &amp;ndash; this research question reflects the main problem of the study. &lt;br&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Study design.&lt;/strong&gt; The study has correlational design; data was collected online using the 1ka.si service.&lt;br&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Participants.&lt;/strong&gt; The study sample consisted of 284 respondents (224 women, 60 men, aged 18-76, &lt;em&gt;M&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;age&lt;/sub&gt; = 25,4, &lt;em&gt;SD&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;age&lt;/sub&gt; = 9,7, mostly owners of cats and dogs, mostly Russian citizens). &lt;br&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Measurements.&lt;/strong&gt; Validated Russian versions of the questionnaires were used, i.e., the Lexington attachment to pets scale (modified 8-item version prepared in this study), the 30-item Moral motives scale, the 14-item Environmental identity scale, and the 7-item Ecological lifestyle scale. &lt;br&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results&lt;/strong&gt;. It has been found that different aspects of attachment to a pet are indeed associated with environmental identity, moral motives (with the exception of self-restraint), and social eco-activism. It is also shown that two aspects of attachment to pets (pet rights and the experience of happiness from communicating with a pet) in different combinations predict the motives of not-harming, helping, social justice, and social eco-activism. &lt;br&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions&lt;/strong&gt;. Attachment to pets is positively related to the pro-social attitudes of the pet owners, mostly those reflected an active pet owners&amp;rsquo; position, but is not connected with the self-restraint qualities.&lt;/p&gt;

Barking up the wrong tree? - A guide to forest owner typology methods

Creating typologies of forest owners is a common approach for analyzing and understanding heterogeneity in responses to forest policies and management practice uptake. While many forest owner typologies have been developed, only a few quantitative methods dominate the field with little information on how methodological choice affects outcomes. In this study we compare five methods for quantitative typology formation and ask what type of information each method provides, and to which degree the methods complement each other. Empirically we use data from a survey conducted in 2014–2015 about Swedish forest owner's objectives, attitudes, and factors of decision-making. The results show that individual forest owners are assigned to different clusters by the compared methods, and how each method highlights different aspects of forest owner characteristics. The study shows the importance of method selection as it influences how we can describe and interpret forest owners in connection to policy adoption, uptake of practices, and environmental awareness. We conclude by providing basis for a methodological guidance on how to make judgments when selecting method(s) to typology formation based on research purpose and approach.

Cat and dog owners' expectations and attitudes towards advanced veterinary care (AVC) in the UK, Austria and Denmark.

Modern veterinary medicine offers a level of care to cats and dogs similar to that available to their owners, including blood transfusions, chemotherapy and MRI scans. The potential benefits to the animals of owners who can afford such care are obvious, but there can also be negative consequences if owners with strong emotional attachments to their pets pursue treatments that significantly reduce the quality of the animal's life while attempting to prolong it. Moreover, caring for a chronically or seriously ill animal can lead to emotional distress and financial and practical challenges for the pet owner. A questionnaire was used to survey cat and dog owners from representative samples of citizens in the UK, Austria and Denmark, to investigate owners' expectations and attitudes towards advanced veterinary care, and the factors that might influence those views. Overall, 58.4% of the pet owners surveyed believed that their pets should have access to the same treatment options as humans, while 51.5% believed that they should have access to the same diagnostic tests as humans. Owners were most likely to be neutral on the question of whether advanced veterinary care has 'gone too far' (45.3%), and to disagree with the statement that advanced care is 'unnecessary' (40.1%). In all three countries, the level of attachment owners had to their pets was most strongly associated with attitudes towards advanced care, with owners scoring higher on Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) being more likely to expect advanced care to be available. Other factors such as owner age, living situation (alone or not), income or possession of pet insurance were less consistently with owner attitudes. Our findings will help inform veterinarians and other health care providers about pet owner expectations and attitudes towards advanced veterinary care, and contribute to the debate on increasing specialisation within the profession.

Financial Literacy and Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Abuja, Nigeria

Many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) failed because they lack financial knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and influence to be a successful entrepreneur, those that are successful are traced with insufficient business acuity, as well as basic accounting knowledge, undermines entrepreneurial activity. Therefore, this study examined financial literacy and performance of SMEs in Abuja, Nigeria. The study used survey method in achieving the objectives through the use of primary data collection. Questionnaire were administered to 550 respondents in all the six areas council of Abuja, Nigeria while 469 was usable and analysed for the study. The data analysis method used was multiple regression due to the nature of the data collected. The findings from the study revealed that respondents have adequate financial knowledge of their various businesses as such impact positively on their businesses in Abuja, Nigeria. Also, it was revealed that financial behavior of SMEs owners in Abuja had a positive significant impact on their businesses performance. However, financial attitudes of the business owners and operators in Abuja improves the performance of their businesses. It was revealed from the analysis of the study that the financial influence of the SMEs owners contributed at a low rate to the performance of their businesses in Abuja. The study concluded that financially literacy of SMEs owners in Abuja contributed positively to the growth of their businesses. The study recommended that government agencies along with micro finance institutions and deposit money banks should organize financial education programmes that will create more awareness and growth on areas that are lacking in financial literacy.

'All I do is fight fires': Qualitative exploration of UK veterinarians' attitudes towards and experiences of pre-purchase consultations regarding brachycephalic dogs.

Demand for brachycephalic dogs has dramatically increased over the past decade, despite growing evidence of strong associations between brachycephaly and severe, chronic disease. Positive post-purchase attitudes of owners towards brachycephalic dogs are highly intractable, facilitated by normalisation of breed-related disease and strong dog-owner bonds. Veterinarian-led pre-purchase consultations (PPCs) have been promoted as an opportunity to influence acquisition decisions regarding brachycephalic dogs. Using reflexive thematic analysis, this qualitative study investigated veterinarians' attitudes towards, and experiences of, engaging in PPCs for brachycephalic dogs. Veterinarians described significant structural barriers, such as lack of time and staff, and perceptual barriers, such as perceived futility, negative outcomes of PPCs and public distrust in the profession, that combine to inhibit many veterinarians from offering or delivering brachycephalic PPCs. Some of these barriers are intractable at an individual-veterinarian level and lead to moral distress due to conflicts between veterinarians' responsibilities to animal welfare versus clients' and business needs, with resultant censorship of authentic views on brachycephalic ownership compromising professional integrity and autonomy. Wider views and/or experiences may exist outside of the sampled population. Stronger veterinary leadership, including from the RCVS, BVA and veterinary corporates, is now urgently required to build profession-wide solutions that overcome the barriers identified to create public-facing consensus and innovative solutions to the 'brachycephalic crisis'.

Understanding the dynamics of compliance to smoke-free policy regulations: Exploring the perspectives of venue owners and staff in Türkiye.

The study aims to understand the facilitators and barriers associated with enforcing and complying with Türkiye's smoke-free policy from the perspective of hospitality venue owners and employees. A qualitative open-ended survey was conducted in Istanbul and Ankara in 2021 with 58 respondents from 3 different districts in each city from four types of venues: restaurants, traditional coffee and waterpipe houses, and European-style cafés. The open-ended survey included questions to understand the knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes of respondents about Türkiye's smoke-free policy and their perceptions of the facilitators and/or barriers to smoke-free policy implementation and changes after COVID-19. The data were analyzed using an inductive approach to identify patterns and categorize the data into themes. The respondents expressed that the smoke-free policy aimed to protect employees and customers from secondhand smoke (SHS), respect human health, and improve air quality. Findings suggest that the positive attitude of venue owners and staff toward the smoke-free policy serves as a facilitator. However, fear of financial impact, customers' negative attitudes, difficulties in meeting physical requirements, and insufficient enforcement were found to be barriers to implementing the smoke-free policy. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were reported as an initial increase in compliance and awareness among customers and staff, but some respondents noted negative changes due to the emotional and financial effects of prolonged restrictions. These challenges have led to decreased attention on the smoke-free policy among venue owners, staff and customers. Respondents' suggested improvements were related to building infrastructure, such as the ventilation systems and educating the public on the harmful health effects of smoking. Despite the general understanding of the dangers of secondhand smoke and the smoke-free policy, this study highlights the challenges in implementing smoke-free policy measures and the continued need to raise awareness about the importance of a 100% smoke-free venue. A comprehensive approach to addressing the tobacco epidemic as a multifaceted public health issue is essential.

Seroprevalence of Brucellosis in Sheep and Goats With Owners' Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Garowe District, Nugal region, Somalia.

Brucellosis is an important neglected bacterial zoonotic disease in sub-Saharan Africa, including Somalia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Garowe district, Nugal region, Somalia, from May 2022 to January 2023 to estimate the seroprevalence of small ruminant brucellosis and assess owners' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward brucellosis. A total of 384 sheep and goats were selected using a simple random sampling technique and screened for Brucella antibodies by the Modified Rose Bengal Plate Test, and positive samples were then further confirmed using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. For the questionnaire survey, 384 households were selected randomly, and a structured questionnaire was used to assess owners' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward brucellosis. The overall brucellosis seroprevalence was 4.7% in small ruminants (95% CI: 2.8-7.3), and the true seroprevalence was calculated as 5.2%. According to the multivariable logistic regression analysis, sex was found to be a potential risk factor for small ruminant brucellosis (P < .05). More specifically, female sheep and goats were 9.13 times (aOR 9.13, 95% CI: 1.18-70.33) more likely to become seropositive than males. The owners' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward brucellosis were found to be low, and education level was associated with owners' knowledge (χ2 = 16.78; P < .001), attitudes (χ2 = 19.4; P < .001) and practices (χ2 = 34.0; P < .001). There is also a significant association between owner knowledge, attitudes, and practices and seropositivity of brucellosis in sheep and goats. Moderate seroprevalence, together with insufficient knowledge, attitudes, and practices of owners, makes brucellosis a threat to animals and the entire community. Hence, raising community awareness of the disease is essential to reduce the impact on small ruminant productivity and the risks to public health.