SPARCS

Get to know other Positively members here.

Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost

WufWuf
Posts: 1371
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:53 am

SPARCS

Post by WufWuf »

Yay it's SPARCS time again :D

http://caninescience.info/speakers/

First even starts soon!
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
jacksdad
Posts: 4887
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: SPARCS

Post by jacksdad »

buying a membership is very reasonable too in order to watch the talks if you can't make the live ones. I keep meaning to do this.

The line up this year has some good names that I recognize, and some that I don't.
bendog
Posts: 2188
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 7:42 am

Re: SPARCS

Post by bendog »

Ha - was just coming on here to say the same thing!
I'm house sitting all weekend so can see what i'll be spending a lot of time doing!
WufWuf
Posts: 1371
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:53 am

Re: SPARCS

Post by WufWuf »

Argh my internet service keeps dropping off :evil:
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
ClareMarsh
Posts: 2008
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:11 am
Location: London, UK

Re: SPARCS

Post by ClareMarsh »

Glued to it :D

Good to know you can join and watch later Jacksdad, although it's good to have it to battle against the football :twisted:
Proud owner of Ted and baby Ella
My blog about Ted http://tinkerwolf.com/
Ted's Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/Tinkerwolf
Ted's You Tube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTedVids
WufWuf
Posts: 1371
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:53 am

Re: SPARCS

Post by WufWuf »

It's really great though I keep missing the ends of the speakers as the feed is glitching, not sure if it's me or them as my internet is back running just fine.

Taking notes this time around to try and keep it straight in my head.
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
emmabeth
Posts: 8894
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:24 pm
Location: West Midlands
Contact:

Re: SPARCS

Post by emmabeth »

The link for today is now http://live.sparcsinitiative.org/ in case anyone else is as lost as I was!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
mansbestfriend
Posts: 301
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 7:35 am
Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: SPARCS

Post by mansbestfriend »

Yes. I couldn't see the free live feed at first but then got a good link thanks. Stayed up till 2AM this morning (here in Queensland) for the first two speakers of day2. Very diverse presentations looking at nature/nurture.

Free live feed is an excellent medium to share this conference to a wider audience. :)
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Sit.
DianeLDL
Posts: 832
Joined: Sun May 19, 2013 4:16 pm
Location: Maine USA

Re: SPARCS

Post by DianeLDL »

Not to sound too stupid, but what is SPARCS?

Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
bendog
Posts: 2188
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 7:42 am

Re: SPARCS

Post by bendog »

I forget exactly what it stands for - but it's basically a big scientific conference about research into dogs - behaviour, genetics, psychology, ethology etc etc.

Very very interesting.
WufWuf
Posts: 1371
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:53 am

Re: SPARCS

Post by WufWuf »

Society for the Promotion of Applied Research in Canine Science.

Grr still trying to calm Honey down after PMcC played that clip of the monkey mauling the puppy. Couldn't get the sound off in time and Honey SCREAMED for at least 10 minutes, she's still pretty sure someone is killing dogs next door :( . Mostly missed her talking about dominace and I now have a growling JRT on my lap. A bit of warning would have been nice surely they must know people might have dogs with them while watching the live stream.

Anyways, what I heard of her was wonderful as usual and it's a fantastic conference all round :D .
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
DianeLDL
Posts: 832
Joined: Sun May 19, 2013 4:16 pm
Location: Maine USA

Re: SPARCS

Post by DianeLDL »

Wufwuf,

Now, you know why Sandy reacts every time he sees animals on TV, even if they aren't being hurt.

I would suggest getting a headset to listen if Honey is around you at the time.
At least that way, Honey won't hear it.

I bought a headset to listen to some webinars so it won't bother OH. They work with the laptop or I use with my iPad.

Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
WufWuf
Posts: 1371
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:53 am

Re: SPARCS

Post by WufWuf »

Diane Honey will react to animals on the T.V too but with training and management she's much better now. I'm pretty sure it was what was being "said" by the pup that did her in.

So once again SPARCS ended on a bit of a bum note with several of the scientists saying that "aversive control" is the ONLY way to deal with some problems with dogs, le sigh, I'm sure they don't have any scientific studies to back up that claim.
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
ClareMarsh
Posts: 2008
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:11 am
Location: London, UK

Re: SPARCS

Post by ClareMarsh »

To be fair to Honey that puppy screaming freaked me out too :lol:

I've only watched some of it so far, I've got membership now so once the vids are up I'm going to watch more of it. I've been watching with alongside a friend and we've been chatting on Facebook as we've watched which I've found a really valuable way of watching, more so than sitting just listening passively.

I was thinking maybe next year we might try and use some technology to our advantage, Facebook/skype chat or something to do the same :D
Proud owner of Ted and baby Ella
My blog about Ted http://tinkerwolf.com/
Ted's Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/Tinkerwolf
Ted's You Tube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTedVids
bendog
Posts: 2188
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 7:42 am

Re: SPARCS

Post by bendog »

Didn't see much of yesterdays.

Whilst I haven't heard what was said, and obviously don't condone aversives. Science is "supposed" to be about facts, more than opinions. And the fact remains that punishment/aversives DO work, if used absolutely correctly, that is a biological fact, if not an ethical or scientifically proven in dogs one, and in some cases work a LOT faster than positive training can acheive. There was a beagle study a while back that also showed that where the dogs could clearly see a link between an action and a punishment, it didn't raise their cortisol levels - much - can't remember details (although it sent stress through the roof when the shocks were random) Whether it is ethical to use them or not is almost outside of sciences remit.
Post Reply