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Conservationists increasingly aim to understand human behaviour to inform intervention design. However, obtaining information from people about their behaviour can be challenging, particularly if the research topic is considered sensitive. Topic sensitivity may raise methodological, ethical, political and legal concerns which, if poorly addressed, can have significant impacts on research participants, the research process, data quality and the success of conservation outcomes that are informed by research findings. While considerable effort has been invested in developing techniques for reducing bias when collecting data on sensitive topics, less attention has been focused on identifying if, and why, a topic is sensitive. We use a mixed methods approach to explore how willing people are to discuss topics that could be considered sensitive (e.g. illegal wildlife hunting). Collecting data from people living near protected areas in Indonesia (n = 362) and Tanzania (n = 345), we developed and tested a psychometric scale to measure topic sensitivity at the respondent level and conducted group exercises (free‐lists and pile sorts) to gain a deeper understanding of peoples' willingness to discuss different topics. The perceived sensitivity of topics varied both within and between the two focal contexts, with more topics being perceived as sensitive in Tanzania than Indonesia. Participants' knowledge of rules, and their experiences of living alongside protected areas affected how sensitive they considered topics to be. Mixed methods approaches can provide holistic and nuanced understanding of topic sensitivity. However, recognising that in‐depth studies are not always feasible to implement, we demonstrate that methods, such as our Sensitivity Index, can easily be adapted for different contexts and deployed to rapidly obtain valuable insights on topic sensitivity, to help inform conservation research and practice. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Abstrak Para konservasionis semakin berupaya memahami perilaku manusia untuk memberi informasi bagi desain intervensi. Namun, memperoleh informasi dari orang‐orang tentang perilaku mereka dapat menjadi tantangan tersendiri, terutama jika topik penelitian dianggap sensitif. Sensitivitas topik penelitian dapat meningkatkan kekhawatiran tentang metodologi, etika, politik dan hukum yang, jika ditangani dengan buruk, dapat berdampak signifikan pada peserta penelitian, proses penelitian, kualitas data, dan keberhasilan upaya konservasi yang didasarkan atas temuan penelitian tersebut. Sementara upaya yang cukup besar telah diinvestasikan dalam mengembangkan teknik untuk mengurangi bias saat mengumpulkan data tentang topik sensitif, perhatian yang lebih sedikit difokuskan pada mengidentifikasi jika, dan mengapa, suatu topik sensitif. Kami menggunakan pendekatan metode campuran untuk mengeksplorasi seberapa besar keinginan orang untuk mendiskusikan topik yang dapat dianggap sensitif (misalnya, perburuan satwa liar secara ilegal). Mengumpulkan data dari orang‐orang yang tinggal di dekat kawasan lindung di Indonesia (n = 362) dan Tanzania (n = 345), kami mengembangkan dan menguji skala psikometrik untuk mengukur sensitivitas topik pada tingkat responden dan melakukan kegiatan kelompok (free‐list dan pile sorts) untuk mendapatkan pemahaman yang lebih dalam tentang kesediaan orang untuk mendiskusikan topik yang berbeda. Sensitivitas topik yang dirasakan bervariasi baik di dalam maupun di antara dua konteks utama, dengan lebih banyak topik yang dianggap sensitif di Tanzania daripada di Indonesia. Pengetahuan responden tentang aturan, dan pengalaman mereka hidup berdampingan dengan kawasan konservasi memengaruhi anggapan mereka tentang seberapa sensitif suatu topik. Pendekatan metode campuran dapat memberikan pemahaman holistik dan bernuansa tentang sensitivitas suatu topik. Namun, menyadari bahwa studi mendalam tidak selalu layak untuk diterapkan, kami menunjukkan bahwa metode, seperti Indeks Sensitivitas kami, dapat dengan mudah diadaptasi untuk konteks yang berbeda dan digunakan untuk memperoleh wawasan berharga tentang sensitivitas topik dengan cepat, untuk membantu memberikan informasi untuk penelitian dan praktik konservasi. Muhtasari Uelewa wa tabia za binadamu umeendelea kuwa muhimu kwa wahifadhi ili kuasaidia kubuni njia za utatuzi. Hata hivyo kupata taarifa ya tabia za watu si jambo rahisi hasa kama mada yenyewe ni nyeti. Unyeti wa mada unaweza kuibua maswala ya njia za utafiti, kimaadili, kisiasa na kisheria ambayo, yasiposhughulikiwa vyema, yanaweza kuwa na athari kubwa kwa washiriki wa utafiti, mchakato wa utafiti, ubora wa takwimu na mafanikio ya matokeo ya uhifadhi ambayo yanatokana na matokeo ya utafiti. Ingawa juhudi kubwa zimewekezwa katika kubuni njia za kupunguza udhaifu wakati wa kukusanya takwimu za mada nyeti, nguvu kidogo zimeelekezwa katika kubainisha kama na kwa nini, mada nyeti. Tunatumia njia mchanganyiko kuchunguza ni namna gani watu wako tayari kujadili mada ambazo zinaweza kuchukuliwa kuwa ni nyeti (mfano uwindaji haramu wa wanyamapori). Ukusanyaji wa takwimu kwa watu wanaoishi karibu na maeneo yaliyohifadhiwa nchini Indonesia (n = 362) na Tanzania (n = 345), tulitengeneza na kupima kipimo cha saikolojia ili kupima unyeti wa mada kwa wahojiwa na kufanya mazoezi katika vikundi (kuorodhesha wenyewe na kuchambua rundo) ili kuongeza uelewa wa kina wa utayari wa watu kujadili mada tofauti. Unyeti wa mada unaodhaniwa hutofautiana muktadha kati na baina maeneo haya miwili, huku mada nyingi zilidhaniwa kuwa nyeti nchini Tanzania kuliko Indonesia. Uelewa wa washiriki wa taratibu, na uzoefu wao wa kuishi kando ya maeneo yaliyohifadhiwa uliathiri jinsi walivyofikiria mada kuwa nyeti. Matumizi ya njia meseto huweza kutoa uelewa mkamilifu wa unyeti wa mada. Hata hivyo, kwa kutambua kuwa tafiti za kina hazitekelezeki kila wakati, tunaonyesha kwamba njia kama vile kipimo chetu cha unyeti, kinaweza kutumiwa kwa muktadha tofauti tofauti na inaweza tumiwa kwa haraka kupata maarifa juu ya unyeti wa mada, ili kusaidia kutoa taarifa kwenye utafiti na utendaji wa uhifadhi. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

While the role of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) is widely recognized for its dialogue and complement in ecology and conservation contexts, its role on the behavioral ecology of mammals is still unknown. With that in mind, we investigated LEK on the behavioral ecology of mammals, and which variables could influence such knowledge. The study was carried out in the municipality of Cabaceiras, state of Paraíba, Brazil. Data collection was divided into two stages: (i) free list (192 interviewees), to identify the mammals known in the region; (ii) and semi-structured interviews (150 interviewees). We found that conspicuous behaviors were significantly more familiar than cryptic ones, and higher LEK by residents with a rural occupation, who lives longer in the locality and encounters animals more frequently.  Thus, when considering LEK on the behavioral ecology of mammals, it is important to recognize that its contribution occurs, to a greater degree, in relation to more visible behaviors and the informants more contact. LEK emerges as a complementary source of information, optimizing data collection efforts and strengthening the inclusion of local knowledge in conservation strategies. Furthermore, considering in the future bridging LEK and Behavioral Ecology of mammals would lead to a two-way street that can promote a more equitable approach between these two knowledge systems.

Background Traditional fishing communities are strongholds of ethnobiological knowledge but establishing to what degree they harbor cultural consensus about different aspects of this knowledge has been a challenge in many ethnobiological studies. Methods We conducted an ethnobiological study in an artisanal fishing community in northeast Brazil, where we interviewed 91 community members (49 men and 42 women) with different type of activities (fishers and non-fishers), in order to obtain free lists and salience indices of the fish they know. To establish whether there is cultural consensus in their traditional knowledge on fish, we engaged a smaller subset of 45 participants in triad tasks where they chose the most different fish out of 30 triads. We used the similarity matrices generated from the task results to detect if there is cultural consensus in the way fish were classified by them. Results The findings show how large is the community’s knowledge of fish, with 197 ethnospecies registered, of which 33 species were detected as salient or important to the community. In general, men cited more fish than women. We also found that there was no cultural consensus in the ways fish were classified. Conclusions Both free-listing and triad task methods revealed little cultural consensus in the way knowledge is structured and how fish were classified by community members. Our results suggest that it is prudent not to make assumptions that a given local community has a single cultural consensus model in classifying the organisms in their environment.

Psychological and cultural evolutionary accounts of human sociality propose that beliefs in punitive and monitoring gods that care about moral norms facilitate cooperation. While there is some evidence to suggest that belief in supernatural punishment and monitoring generally induce cooperative behaviour, the effect of a deity's explicitly postulated moral concerns on cooperation remains unclear. Here, we report a pre-registered set of analyses to assess whether perceiving a locally relevant deity as moralistic predicts cooperative play in two permutations of two economic games using data from up to 15 diverse field sites. Across games, results suggest that gods’ moral concerns do not play a direct, cross-culturally reliable role in motivating cooperative behaviour. The study contributes substantially to the current literature by testing a central hypothesis in the evolutionary and cognitive science of religion with a large and culturally diverse dataset using behavioural and ethnographically rich methods.

Background/Objectives: Little is known about preschool-age children’s food concepts among diverse populations. Grounded in the Theory of Mind and Naïve Biology, the primary aim of this study was to describe Black and Hispanic preschool-age children’s food concepts. A secondary aim was to determine the feasibility of collecting data from preschool-age children via a video conferencing platform. Methods: Preliminary qualitative descriptive study. A purposive sample of nine 4- to 6-year-old children (x¯ age = 4.9; Black, n = 7; Hispanic, n = 2), mostly female (n = 7) participated. Children generated two free lists: foods they think of, and foods they eat, reported mouthfeel of 16 foods, and performed a constrained card sort with rationale. Results: All children were able to use the video conference platform. Foods that Black and Hispanic children frequently listed as thought of (x¯ = 6.75) included chicken, rice, carrots, and apples; those frequently listed as foods they eat (x¯ = 8.33) included pancakes and grapes. Black and Hispanic children used various lexicon such as warm, soft, crunchy, and “ouchy” to describe mouthfeel. All preschool-age children sorted foods into piles (range 4–20 piles). Younger children used discrete labels to categorize foods and created many piles while older children used broader labels and created fewer piles. Conclusions: This is the first study to add to the literature about Black and Hispanic preschool-age children’s food concepts before receiving formal education about nutrition. Additionally, we highlight the novel and successful use of ethnographic techniques via internet video conferencing. Subtle differences in their experiential knowledge about food reflect culturally salient qualities that are critical to consider when developing interventions to promote healthy eating behavior.

Background: Adolescent girls are nutritionally vulnerable due to their rapid growth and increased nutrient requirements. Nigeria has the sixth-largest population in the world. This study qualitatively explored the food preferences, perceptions of nutritive value and factors underlying food consumption of adolescent girls in rural communities in Nigeria. Methods: The data were collected via the free listing of foods and focus group sessions conducted in the Hausa language with 48 unmarried adolescent girls. The discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed, translated into English, and analyzed using a deductive thematic framework. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 13.0 ± 2.7, and almost half (48%) had a primary school education. A total of 19 and 23 foods were identified as preferred, and perceived as nourishing, respectively. The top 10 foods present on both free lists overlapped considerably in terms of cognitive salience. The focus group themes included nutrition knowledge, food preferences, autonomy, household food allocation, courtship practices, and agricultural landscapes and economic access. The participants had minimal knowledge of nutrients and food groups, and their preferred foods were limited in diversity. The key factors in food preferences were desirable health effects, sensory attributes, and the contribution of foods to a desirable body image for marriage. Household food choices depended on parents. Thus, a desire for independence was an incentive for early marriage, mostly at 13 to 17 years. Gender inequities in household food distribution (quantity) and animal protein intake were reported. The participants believed that boys need more food for strength to impregnate girls. As part of a courtship practice, the girls received gifts of animal source foods from potential suitors. The food options were limited by financial challenges and low agricultural diversity. Conclusion: To interrupt the cycle of inadequate food consumption and undernutrition in these adolescent girls, policy makers need to promote nutrition education and address the underlying determinants of inequitable access to nutritious foods.

The synergistic effects of extreme weather events and socioecological vulnerability are still poorly documented for Amazonian indigenous peoples. Herein, we investigated the impacts of recent extreme weather events on Tikuna villages. Tikuna are ancient people of the Amazon, with an estimated population of approximately 53 thousand people widely distributed along the upper Solimões River in the western Brazilian Amazon. The fieldwork was carried out between October 10 and December 10, 2018, using participatory research, including focus group interviews and free-listing exercises. Four extreme weather events were recalled, namely, the extreme floods of 2009, the subsequent extreme drought of 2010, and the extreme floods of 2012 and 2015. The results indicated that Tikuna from some villages are adopting migration from floodplain habitats to nonflooded lands as a coping strategy to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. This process was characterized by famine periods, internal divisions, and increased vulnerability. The three villages have rich traditional knowledge and live on a large diversity of biological resources, base for a fishing economy and for an agroforestry system, the original indigenous subsistence agriculture with a high level of self-sufficiency in terms of food. Until our study, Tikunas had not received any information about the global climate emergency. Our findings can contribute to formulating public policies to provide support for adapting to climate change. These policies must ensure the participation of the Tikuna and other indigenous peoples in local and national discussions on climate change, strengthening their capacity to develop adaptation strategies based on their ancestral knowledge.

In a smart city, there are different types of entities, such as nature persons, IoT devices, and service providers, which have different computational limitations and storage limitations. Unfortunately, all of the existing authentication and key exchange (AKE) protocols are designed for either client–server or client–client authentication, including the ones designed for smart cities. In this paper, we present the idea of a compatible authentication and key exchange (CAKE) protocol which provides cross-species authentication. We propose the first CAKE protocol for a smart city that any two valid entities can authenticate with each other and create a secure session key without the help of any third party, while there is also no password table and no public key issuing problem. The entity can be a natural person having biometrics, an IoT device embedded with a physical unclonable function (PUF), or a service provider. Moreover, we extend the CAKE protocol to an anonymous CAKE (ACAKE) protocol, which provides natural persons an anonymous option to protect their privacy. In addition, both the proposed CAKE and ACAKE protocols can deal with the entity revocation problem. We define the framework and the security model of CAKE and ACAKE protocols. Under the security model, we formally prove that the proposed protocols are secure under the elliptic curve computational Diffie–Hellman (ECCDH) problem, the decisional bilinear Diffie–Hellman (DBDH) problem, and hash function assumptions. Comparisons with the related protocols are conducted to demonstrate the benefits of our protocols. Performance analysis is conducted and the experience results show that the proposed protocols are practical in a smart city.

The article presents a detailed and methodologically systematic description of the Lithuanian kinship system. A study of kinship relationships was conducted in order to describe the formal and pragmatic structure of the modern kinship system as it is conceptualized by different generations of Lithuanians. We show how this system both remains a formal system, but the salience of kin types changes across different generations. The authors of the article are aware that there are many formal methods of kinship analysis, but a semi-formal research method that priviledges a pragmatic ‘bottom’s up’ approach is used in order th analyse kinship as an interpersonal and dynamic rather than static system. Our free list methodology was chosen because of its emic perspective that allows for comparative etic (i.e. statistical) cross-generational analysis.The results of our research show that Lithuanian kinship systems are not only holistic, but also holographic, and the main structure with its attendant terminology is flexible and adaptive to the requirements of different generational concerns such as courtship, mating, parenting and being grandparents. The results confirm a premise of the anthropological sciences – that thoughts are expressed in language and language (as thoughts or concepts) in turn shapes behaviour. This idea is given credence and supported by our study: the observed approach to change is a non-linguistic result, i.e. it is determined by behaviours, experiences that fall into the linguistic category, and shapes them not according to an imaginary monolithic configuration, but according to individual experience and relationships. Based on the data, it can be concluded that they reflect different collective conceptualizations of kinship – both blood-related and marital kinship. The study found that different behavioural requirements create assumptions for emphasizing appropriate social relations; it is particularly noticeable that the displacement of certain kinship names in the periphery is associated with a corresponding absence of kinship relations. The results also motivate a subsequent study that would look at testing the behavioural systems between kin that are indicated by this study.

This chapter contains sections titled: Prototype–Schema–Cultural Models Approach to Explaining What Americans Mean when they say they are “In Love” Versus “Love but not in Love” Comparing Cultural Models of Romantic Love in the USA and Lithuania: Framing Romantic Love as Part of a Prototypical Courtship Process Conclusions References