Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2013 April 14

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April 14

Lil Bub and Colonel Meow

Lil Bub is another Internet feline celebrity. She was born with a deformed lower jaw and no teeth. That's why her tongue sticks out. I don't know if she's a squitten or a dwarf cat. (Lil Bub lives in Bloomington, Indiana.) Colonel Meow is also another Internet feline celebrity. He was born with an extra fur gene. That's why he has so much fur. He's also been proclaimed "The World's Angriest Cat". I don't know what to make of the extra fur gene. (Colonel Meow lives in Seattle, Washington.) Who could help me figure those types of things out?142.255.103.121 (talk) 02:41, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

Can you make it clearer what you're asking? You provide some information and ask for help to "figure those types of things out" - what types of things? --ColinFine (talk) 09:04, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

What I'm trying to find out if Lil Bub is a squitten or a dwarf cat. I also don't know what Colonel Meow's extra fur gene is actually called. Those are the types of things I'm trying to figure out.142.255.103.121 (talk) 18:46, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

Know Your Meme is a good site for this sort of information. According to the ABC video linked from their article on Colonel Meow, he has a "mysterious medical condition", and according to their article on Lil Bub she suffers from dwarfism; however, her front legs are in proportion to her back legs. Tevildo (talk) 22:35, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

(Colonel Meow) Mysterious medical condition? (Lil Bub) Front legs proportion to back legs?142.255.103.121 (talk) 00:55, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Left handers in the North of England, early 20th C

This week I watched Rutherford and Son, performed by Northern Broadsides. This is a play written in 1912 and set in that time in an industrial town in the North of England. During the play two people cut bread, and in this production both of them used their left hands. Now I know that up until much later than this children were routinely forced to write with their right hands, but I don't know how far this extended to other uses of the hands. I thought, watching it, that this was anachronistic, but I may be wrong: neither handedness nor bias against left-handed people covers the history at this level of detail. Has anybody any sources which will tell me whether this was indeed inauthentic or not? --ColinFine (talk) 09:13, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

At a bit of a tangent - it seems to be received wisdom that actors are more likely to be left-handed than in the general population, although I couldn't see much hard evidence on the net. Alansplodge (talk) 14:03, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

If I had a little time, I could look to see if many Edwardian era northern cricketers were left handed batsmen and/or bowlers. Oddly, it's not something Wikipedia currently categorises, but it shouldn't be tremendously difficult to ascertain. One point to mention: the concept I'm aware of is of forcing kids to write left-handed. Did it really extend to performing all activities right-handed? --Dweller (talk) 15:29, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

That was precisely one of the questions I intended above, Dweller, though I did not explicitly ask it as a question. --ColinFine (talk) 17:56, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

A little out in space and time, but my grandfather, who was born in 1913 in Northern Ireland, was left handed, but was forced to write with his right hand - but he continued to favour his left hand for everything else, and nobody was concerned about that. For all the talk of lefties being considered "sinister" or "cack-handed" in the olden days, I'm pretty sure making kids learn to write right-handed was largely a practical matter. I think we maybe take modern writing utensils for granted a bit. Writing with a nib pen dipped in an inkwell was a messy business. Writing right-handed meant much less chance of leaning your hand in wet ink and ruining what you'd just written. --Nicknack009 (talk) 22:32, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

That's a perspective I hadn't considered. But in case anyone feels the old prejudice against left-handers is dead and buried: When my younger son (now aged 28) was just learning to draw, he showed a strong preference for the left hand. My mother was quite concerned and thought we should do something about it. We thanked her for her advice, then ignored it. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 00:08, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Nicknack009, "cack-handed" is a Yorkshire phrase that means "left handed", as also is the description of someone being a "cuddy-wifter". The latter may never have made a dictionary, as with the word "demic" or "demick" that is still commonly used in Lancashire to describe something that is "not right" (as in, "correct"). While some people probably did consider left-handers such as myself as "sinister", the cack-handed term was absolutely synonymous in its time. Of course, nowadays, "cack-handed" basically means clumsy/inept. I'll admit to being the latter, and doubtless some people on en-WP consider me sinister, albeit for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with preferred hand and everything to do with sticking to policy!

My grandfather (b. 1893) was naturally left-handed, was taught to do things right-handed by use of the strap and the ruler, and ended up being ambidextrous. He is the only person I have ever seen who could slice a loaf of bread while simultaneously buttering the round being cut. Obviously, the loaf needed a bit of assistance in sticking to the breadboard.

As for prejudice, it is alive and well. I am currently helping out at an engineering works (the scrap yard across the road is doing very well out of my demics) and, yay, all the lathes are right-handed, ditto the drill-presses, the bandsaws etc. Trying to insert new workpieces in a lathe while it is rotating at 900-1,000 rom using my right hand and across the tool-post is, well, tricky. And, yes, there were attempts to force me to be right-handed at school back in the 1960s/1970s. All of this is anecdotal, sorry: finding WP:RS might be difficult. - Sitush (talk) 00:28, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I would distinguish between "prejudice" and "omitting to make potentially expensive accommodations that may not get used much". There clearly is such a thing as prejudice against the left-handed, but you don't need it to explain why the contracting firm might not have ordered a bunch of duplicate equipment. --Trovatore (talk) 23:40, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

That explains User:Cuddy Wifter. I always wondered what his name meant. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 13:31, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I can't find any reference that links "cackhanded" specifically with Yorkshire - it's certainly in common use in London. OED says;; "mid 19th century: from cack, in the sense 'excrement', + hand-ed"[1] (meaning, I imagine, using the hand that you wipe yourself with). Alansplodge (talk) 20:12, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

It's a socially unbreakable law in many so-called primitive societies throughout the world that the right hand only is used for eating, the left hand only is used for ass cleaning, and never the twain shall meet. The expression "cack-handed" may be English, but the idea behind it is universal. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 23:11, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Is there any sort of evidence that Presidents of the United States tend to be more left handed than the general population? RNealK (talk) 22:12, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

As has been said many a time before, Wikipedia has an article on everything! --OpenToppedBus - Talk to the driver 14:53, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

Airline food and cultural sensitivies

So there's a bit of a controversy in Australia at the moment because Qantas, the Australian flag carrier, has decided to eliminate pork from flight menus and alcohol from the preparation of meals (but will continue to serve alcohol to accompany the meals) on its flights to Europe, because these flights will now be stopping over in the Middle East instead of in South East Asia (as was previously the case), but perhaps also in deference to its new operational partner Emirates Airlines. A number of other changes will also accompany this - such as menus on flights to Europe now being bilingual in English and Arabic.

I'm curious about what other airlines do in equivalent situations. I know that airlines tend to use the local language / serve the local cuisine of the origin and/or destination countries, since the passengers are most likely to come from those countries. However, the same would seem to be less likely for just a brief stopover on the one flight. If I recall correctly, back when Qantas flights between Australia and Europe stopped over in Asia, the menus were not bilingual English-Chinese or English-Malay. I wonder, therefore, whether Qantas is just adopting a more culturally sensitive approach, or whether the move is more out of eagerness to please their new partner. So, are there other instances of airlines conforming to local inguistic or dietary habits of stopover countries - whether in the Middle East or elsewhere? --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 11:35, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

When I flew with Quantas to and from Sydney back in 1997 (give or give a year), one stopover was in Bangkok, and they indeed served (the airline version of) Thai food on board. And it was highly welcome, too, compared to what else they served. I flew with Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong in 2008, but really cannot recall the food (funny how the brain works - back in 1997 that was my second or third flight ever, and now I fly an average of two long-haul flights per year). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 16:15, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

I last flew Qantas between London and Sydney in 2010, and already I cannot recall how "Asian" any of the actual meals were. I flew Cathay Pacific on the same route more recently, and they always had some "Chinese" options and their menus were bilingual, but then they are a Hong Kong airline so it makes sense. (Cathay does not offer a through service with a stopover - when you buy a Europe to Australia ticket, you are buying two seaprate flights to and then from Hong Kong). --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 16:54, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

If the meals are not prepared correctly, see halal and Dhabihah, then not having pork or alcohol isn't going to mean much. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 16:31, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

Interesting point. The news reports aren't very clear how strictly they will comply with the rules. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 16:54, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

@CambridgeBay: muslins, in real life, will avoid pork at any cost. That's like~an American eating a dog. On the other hand, most do not worry that much about other food taboos. OsmanRF34 (talk) 00:32, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

True but the blood taboo is/can be a sticking point. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 06:26, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

The trick to being culturally sensitive is to include choices for all cultures. Thus, including Middle-Eastern preferences like lamb is good, while excluding pork is not as good, and could cause a backlash. They seem to have reached a better compromise on alcohol. Of course, pork isn't all that important to Westerners. However, if they make other changes to show preference for the Middle-Eastern clients, especially the "conservative" ones, at the cost of offending everyone else, then the backlash would be major. For example, banning movies, separating men from women, requiring women to wear the hijab, etc. StuRat (talk) 18:23, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

But I'm not aware of any food tradition that requires pork. Nowadays, I often get the choice of chicken or vegetarian. That also seems to not offend anybody (and while I like a sizzling bloody steak, that's not going to happen in coach, anyways). BTW, a hotel in Singapore I stayed at had turkey "bacon" - that was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 18:32, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

In some places, Easter pretty much requires a ham. StuRat (talk) 18:40, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

In an aircraft during travel? I seriously doubt this is a frequent use case. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 18:57, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

You won't get far into a Hawai'ian luau without pork, and Spam is extremely popular on the islands. DOR (HK) (talk) 05:48, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Well given that neither Emirates or Etihad Airways require anything mentioned in StuRat's remark about movies, etc, I doubt that Quantas is going to go that far. While both Emirates and Etihad show women flight attendants conservatively dressed they are no more so than you would expect to see on any airline. However, if you look through the images there are several showing women FA's with no head coverings and short sleeves, not much like traditional Islamic dress. Of course the UAE is a bit more liberal than some of the neighbouring countries like Saudi Arabia. Interesting look at Google Images again shows a lot of aircraft and only two FA's. The Saudia site shows only one picture with women FA's and they have head coving and long sleeves making it a little more difficult to tell if that is standard on their flights. By the way here is a link to Emirates dining and the special meals. Note that they say all meals are halal. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 23:11, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

To partly answer your question about languages. Both First Air and Canadian North claim that they are multi-lingual. I know that Canadian provide the safety announcements in all four languages but I'm not sure about First Air, or if either airline always has multi-lingual FA's. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 00:05, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Cultural sensitivities are seldom not commercial sensitivities. If the clients are Arabic, then expect that the product gets adapted to their tastes. OsmanRF34 (talk) 00:32, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I'm more culturally sensitive to foreigners spelling our national airline's name incorrectly. It is derived from an acronym. There is no u. And I agree with Osman - unless they think it will improve their profit (in this case increased passengers from the Middle East, or maybe supplier/contractual benefits) or it is forced upon them by regulators, they won't do it. The-Pope (talk) 00:55, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

In some overseas countries, Qantas decided to have an entry at Quantas in the phone book (and presumably electronic versions thereof) because a great many people would look under Qu and not find it. That was bad for business. It works just like a redirect in Wikipedia, and has the same flaw; people find what they're looking for, but don't get re-educated about the correct spelling for the future. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 01:58, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Sorry about the u. I guess I had a spare that needed using. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 06:26, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

You're forgiven this time. But next time we'll get al-Quaeda onto you. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 08:42, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

But without the u it ought to be pronounced Kahntas. --Trovatore (talk) 18:15, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

When the good people of Arkansas, Illinois, Connecticut and New Orleans start pronouncing the names of their places phonetically, you might have a point. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 22:05, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

It sounds like there are several issues being discussed here. In terms of meals in flights coming from a certain destination (even if it was just a stopover) I believe it's fairly common that at least one meal option will be partially inspired by the local cuisine. Remember that even for just a stopover, the meals will usually come from a catering company from the stopover point and while they don't have to supply something inspired by local cuisine, it does make sense. Note that supplying things which are less common in the local market (like pork) or require special consideration may increase the cost. Of course this doesn't affect incoming flights. In the Qantas case, remember the Emirates alliance [2] including code sharing, I presume on all flights to and from Dubai. While the code sharing flights don't always provide the same options you'd expect in flights from the airline in question, depending on the strength of the alliance which is supposed to 'go beyond codesharing and includes integrated network collaboration with coordinated pricing, sales and scheduling as well as a benefit-sharing mode' it wouldn't be that surprising if the codesharing partner does make some attempts to ensure their codeshare flights have some of the stuff customers from the other airline will expect. Nil Einne (talk) 03:51, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

how is effectiveness of a questionnaire is measured

I want to test the amount of life skills (such as confidence, communication skills, empathy, decision making, critical thinking etc) present among the people in my locality. To that end I have designed a questionnaire containing multiple choice questions which I feel test the level of life skills. Each option has been assigned a certain number of points. I want to total the number of points as a measure of the life skills of the person answering the questionnaire. However all this is based on my subjective understanding of what option deserves how many points, and that this questionnaire adequately measures life skills in the first place.

My question is as to how effectiveness of a questionnaire can be determined. Is there some way, my (or any one person's) subjective-ness can be removed, and the point system determined so that life skills are correctly measured?

Thanks--Shahab (talk) 14:06, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

In the terminology of experimental psychology, you are interested in knowing the test validity of your questionnaire. You believe that it has face validity; you want to know whether it has content validity and construct validity. I'm not sure whether our articles will be helpful to you, but at least the terminology might give you something to search for. Looie496 (talk) 15:33, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

Since the problematic part is how you weight each of the responses, I suggest that you skip this. Just report the raw findings. For example, you could say "While 94% of respondents claim to be able to drive a car, only 78% claim to know how to use a computer, and only 47% have successfully received a mortgage loan from a bank". StuRat (talk) 18:18, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

Your questionnaire results will be skewed when your repondants don't answer some questions.
Sleigh (talk) 05:57, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

"A full 68% of respondents replied positively to the question if they would take a short survey!" - maybe a bit obvious, but what has happened was e.g. calling people on private land lines during working hours to ask about employment rates (surprisingly low ;-). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 13:21, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Israeli Jews and the Holocaust

I was recently wondering about this question: which percentage of Israeli Jews had relatives who were killed in the Holocaust? After all, many Jews immigrated to Israel from countries where the Holocaust was either much less widespread ("rump Romania," France, et cetera) or from countries where the Holocaust did not occur at all (Bulgaria, Morocco, Iraq, Ethiopia, et cetera). I know that many Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews intermarried in Israel over time, though. Does anyone have any data in regards to answering this question of mine? Thank you very much. Futurist110 (talk) 23:07, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

I don't know what you have in mind when you say "less widespread." I believe 1/4 of them died then. That would imply that most families had a victim among them. OsmanRF34 (talk) 00:26, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

By "less widespread," I mean having less casualties as a percentage of the total pre-World War II Jewish population. In regards to France, native French Jews had a death toll even lower than that--I think 10% to 15% (as stated in the Wikipedia article on Vichy France, "Whatever the Vichy government's intent initially or subsequently, the numerical outcome was that less than 15% of French Jews, vs. nearly twice that proportion of non-citizen Jews residing in France, died."). While some native French Jewish families would have had a victim among them, some native French Jewish families might have escaped the Holocaust completely intact. Also, "rump Romania" (Romania within its late 1940/early 1941 borders) would be a good example of this. Romania did not deport Jews in "rump Romania" to the Nazi death camps, and generally (with a few exceptions, such as the Iasi pogrom) did not kill them. Futurist110 (talk) 00:47, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Well, strictly speaking, we are all related. When the Nazis killed a Jew (or a Gay, or a Gypsy, or even a communist), they killed a relative of you and me and Genghis Khan, not to mention our MRCA. To get a meaningful answer, you must define a cut-off for what counts as a "relative". --Stephan Schulz (talk) 05:28, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

As for various definitions of relatives, I don't particularly care too much which definitions of relatives polls, surveys, et cetera use for this. I am interested in data with any definition of relatives. Maybe a good definition would be known relatives (meaning knowing one's exact relation to someone else). Futurist110 (talk) 07:08, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Searching in Hebrew, I only found statistics for the number of Holocaust survivors in Israel, but nothing on the number of their relatives. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) (formerly R——bo) 15:20, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I am also interested in what you found. I wonder what definition of Holocaust survivors they used, though. Futurist110 (talk) 21:49, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I found the clearest enumeration at the Hebrew Wikipedia: he:ניצולי השואה - though I'm not sure what definition of "Holocaust survivor" they used. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) (formerly R——bo) 23:32, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for your answer. Futurist110 (talk) 06:59, 17 April 2013 (UTC)