December 2017 - BERG - University of Stirling Mailing Lists

This week's BERG: Lesley Craig discussing attitudes towards great ape conservation
by Donna Kean 11 Dec '17

11 Dec '17

Dear BERGers, For our final BERG of the semester we have Lesley Craig giving a talk entitled: Impact of Interpretation on Attitudes to Great Ape Conservation and Welfare. Research has examined the impact of zoo interpretation (enclosure design and signage) on visitor perception and attitudes, however, there has been less consideration of the potential impact of the form of information provided, in terms of type of context and contextual framing. Previous research suggests that as social animals, human beings are more interested in social relationships than physical information (Dunbar, 2011). There has been no research investigating whether providing information regarding non-human primate social behaviour in interpretation impacts visitor attitudes to conservation. This talk will be dedicated to the life of Blossom (pictured) who sadly passed away recently and is greatly missed. [cid:image001.png@01D37275.8042ADF0] There will be drinks and nibbles, and we will be going for drinks/food afterwards at No 2 Baker Street in town – all welcome! Looking forward to seeing you all. Best wishes, Donna

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This week's BERG: Janica Niven discussing her UFAW squirrel monkey enrichment study
by Donna Kean 05 Dec '17

05 Dec '17

Dear BERGers, This week we will have Janica Niven discussing her UFAW project entitled: "What is most enriching about learning; novelty and challenge, or achievement and control?" She will be talking about which phase of learning (training or mastery) provides more welfare benefits to Squirrel monkeys. [cid:image002.jpg@01D36DE4.6F0CFE90] Snacks and drinks as usual, see you all there! Best wishes, Donna

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FW: A new interdisciplinary summer institute!
by Donna Kean 05 Dec '17

05 Dec '17

Dear BERGers, I’ve been asked to circulate the details of an excellent new (& fully funded!) summer opportunity for researchers interested in mind, cognition, and intelligence. Please see below for information and contact details. Best, Donna -----Original Message----- From: Erica Cartmill [mailto:cartmill@anthro.ucla.edu] Sent: 04 December 2017 07:06 To: Luke Rendell Subject: A new interdisciplinary summer institute! Dear Luke, I hope you’ve had a terrific 2017. It's been far too long since we've had a chance to chat! I wanted to share some exciting news. In 2018, I will be launching a new summer program, the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute (DISI for short), with my colleague Jacob Foster, a computational sociologist at UCLA. The basic idea is to bring together promising graduate students and postdocs interested in the study of mind, cognition, and intelligence for two weeks of transdisciplinary exploration. Participants and faculty will fall roughly into three sub-themes: Recognizing Intelligences (i.e., non-human biological intelligences); Shaping Human Intelligences (how development, culture, technology, etc. shape human capacities); and Programming Intelligences (artificial intelligence and its social/philosophical implications). We’ve already assembled an outstanding international faculty, and anticipate stimulating discussion and debate across a range of cutting- edge topics. In addition to attending lectures and engaging in discussions, participants will have the opportunity to develop collaborative interdisciplinary research projects with guidance from DISI faculty and staff. We’ll be holding the Summer Institute at the University of St Andrews from July 29 to August 12. I’ve attached a flyer advertising the Institute, and included a link to our website below. I would be grateful if you could forward this to talented graduate students, postdocs, and other early career researchers who might be interested. We are looking for creative, open-minded participants who want to take intellectual risks and break down disciplinary barriers in the spirit of dialogue and discovery. We’ll begin reviewing applications on February 1, 2018. We anticipate selecting and fully funding 40-45 participants. If potential applicants have any questions, they can reach out to our wonderful Program Administrator, Dr. Stephanie Meredith, at disicontact(a)gmail.com<mailto:disicontact@gmail.com>. Thanks so much for helping us build an exciting new intellectual community! www.diverseintelligencessummer.com<http://www.diverseintelligencessummer.com> <http://www.diverseintelligencessummer.com/> All the best, Erica ---------------------------------------------- Erica Cartmill Assistant Professor 341 Haines Hall Department of Anthropology Department of Psychology UCLA

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