Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.06.17.156661

Is YouTube(R) promoting the exotic pet trade?Analysis of the global public perception of popular YouTube(R) videos featuring threatened exotic animals.

Moloney, G. K.·Tuke, J.·Dal Grande, E.·Nielsen, T.·Chaber, A.-L.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The exploitation of threatened exotic species via social media challenges efforts to regulate the exotic pet trade and consequently threatens species conservation. To investigate how such content is perceived by the global community, sentiment analysis techniques were employed to explore variations in attitudes expressed through text and emoji usage in public comments associated with 346 popular YouTube(R) videos starring exotic wild cats or primates in captive or domestic situations. Although a negative trend in mean text sentiment was observed in 2015 for primates, an otherwise consistent positive mean sentiment text and emoji score through time was revealed in response to both exotic wild cat and primate videos, implying the societal normalisation and acceptance of exotic pets. These findings highlight the urgency for effective YouTube(R) policy changes and content management to promote public education and conservation awareness, whilst extinguishing false legitimisation and potential demand for the exotic pet trade.

Source connections

Explore related subjects

scientific communication and educationPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Moloney, G. K., Tuke, J., Dal Grande, E., Nielsen, T., Chaber, A.-L.. 2020-06-17. Is YouTube(R) promoting the exotic pet trade?Analysis of the global public perception of popular YouTube(R) videos featuring threatened exotic animals.. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.17.156661

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Evaluating Large Language Models as Tools to Navigate Researchers in Rapidly Evolving Research Landscapes: A Case Study in Cancer Drug Response Prediction

Large Language Models (LLMs) have emerged as promising tools for assisting researchers in automating and accelerating the synthesis of literature reviews. However, their reliability is a significant concern due to issues like factual inaccuracies and hallucinations. The key question is whether LLMs can reliably provide comprehensive, up-to-date overviews and analyses. This study evaluates the performance of three leading LLMs (OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, and DeepSeek) on the complex task of generating a comprehensive survey paper on deep learning for cancer Drug Response Prediction (DRP). By testing both standard and Deep Research (DR) / Deep Think (DT) modes of LLMs with prompts of varying detail, this paper assesses key academic dimensions, including reference management, content quality, and analytical depth. Key findings reveal that while DR modes of LLMs significantly improve reliability by eliminating hallucinations, performance variations exist across models and prompts. A trade-off between reference quantity and integration quality was observed, and even the best-performing models lacked the analytical depth of human experts, often requiring extensive human supervision. The study concludes that LLMs currently serve as powerful assistive tools but still cannot replace the critical validation and synthesis provided by human researchers. Choosing the best LLM to use depends on the task in hand, while several strategies can be implemented to improve the produced output.

scientific communication and education↗
bioRxiv2021

Germaphobia! Does our Relationship with, and Knowledge of Biodiversity Affect our Attitudes Towards Microbes?

Germaphobia -- a pathological aversion to microorganisms -- could be contributing to an explosion in human immune-related disorders via mass sterilisation of surfaces and reduced exposure to biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity and our connectedness to nature, along with poor microbial literacy may be augmenting the negative consequences of germaphobia on ecosystem health. In this study, we created an online questionnaire to acquire data on attitudes towards, and knowledge of microbes. We collected data on nature connectedness and interactions with nature and explored the relationships between these variables. We found a significant association between attitudes towards microbes and both duration and frequency of visits to natural environments. A higher frequency of visits to nature per week, and a longer duration spent in nature per visit, significantly associated with positive attitudes towards microbes. We found no association between nature connectedness and attitudes towards microbes. We found a significant relationship between knowledge of lesser known microbial groups (e.g., identifying that fungi, algae, protozoa, and archaea are microbes) and positive attitudes towards microbes. However, we also found that people who correctly identified viruses as being microbes expressed less positive views of microbes overall -- this could potentially be attributed to a COVID-19 effect. Our results suggest that basic microbial literacy and nature engagement may be important in reducing/preventing germaphobia. The results also suggest that a virus-centric phenomenon (e.g., COVID-19) could increase broader germaphobia. As the rise of immune-related disorders and mental health conditions have been linked to germaphobia, reduced biodiversity, and non-targeted sterilisation, our findings point to a feasible strategy to potentially help ameliorate these negative consequences. A greater emphasis on microbial literacy and promoting time spent in nature could be useful in promoting resilience in human health and more positive/constructive attitudes towards the foundations of our ecosystems - the microorganisms.

scientific communication and education↗
bioRxiv2021

A structured reflective process supports student awareness of employability skills development in a science placement module

Placements are often an extra-curricular activity of a science degree. This study reports on the outcomes of a final year credit-bearing 6-week placement module that was specifically designed to develop and enhance students employability skills. A key element of this module was that the student placements were not just evaluated from a science perspective, but with an emphasis on meaningful reflection and evaluation of employability skills development. Students recorded their levels of confidence in skills before, during and after the placement via an Online Reflective Log, as part of a modules summative assessment. First, results showed that taking part in the placement and conducting their own independent research helped students to make connections between their scientific knowledge, otherwise constrained within the walls of the undergraduate science lab, and the wider impact of their research on society. Another theme that emerged concerned career choices and aspirations, and the placement experience either confirmed prior choices or opened new horizons. The Online Reflective Log helped students to feel supported by their university supervisor who were at a distance, while feedback on their tasks challenged them to reflect on the scientific and personal skills as they were engaged in scientific activities during placement. Students agreed that they had further developed their employability skills during the placement. Students acknowledged it was challenging to have to acquire evidence of skills development but appreciated the usefulness of this reflection in relation to their future careers.

scientific communication and education↗