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Thursday, 30 April 2009 20:18 |
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Measuring social deprivation:
A friend of mine and socio-political commentator living in Belfast used to claim that he could determine the levels of social deprivation in an area by the ferocity of the local dog population. His reasoning suggested that the greater the level of social deprivation the angst was evident in the Canine population. This friend argued that the Dogs of the Antrim Road were disproportionally more savage that their Malone Road cousins, a theory he used to test on his regular jaunts around the city. In fact he was so confident of his theory that he claimed to be able to place a Dog to a region of the city just by its appearance and snarl.  Although I used to humour his theories I was never really a believer...Until I started cycling. However I have now began to apply his dog theory to local teenage populations and the abuse they direct at cyclists. My research was conducted this winter, using Tuesday and Thursday night training rides to collect and aggregate data. I was able to visit a variety of areas and record and chart the verbals received from the local teenage population.
The three months of observations and careful collection of insults concluded that the more socially deprived an area the more violent and aggressive the abuse.At the opposing end of the scale the more affluent an area the greater the attempt of humour in the abuse hurled. Samples recorded:
The old favourite; “Yer wheels are going round”, one with some cycling insight; “get of the road Lance” other included; “I’ll Put ya off th’on bike” , while passing comment on my lights “look at the f***ing UFO”, and my favourite insult of the season: “Yeeeooow yer Sh*te ya horrible rat” Other observations noted that in areas where abuse was most violent the subjects tended to chase the bicycle for longer, somewhat similar to the dog theory. This year my winter training involved road running. Training that was completed in the same test areas. Insults recorded: Zero. I am still preparing my thesis as I can’t find solid reasoning to explain the constant abuse that all cyclists face while training. Can anyone help finish my research?
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Last Updated on Saturday, 08 August 2009 21:31 |
Training Drills
Comments
i was taught this by a dog psychologist. the same theory applies to postmen as to cyclists. the postman, well it's his job to come to your house, post the letter, and retreat. a cyclist will cycle straight past you into the distance (effectively retreating)
but dogs don't know this. they run to the door and bark at the postman because they think that it is their job to protect the house, and by barking they make the postman retreat. they don't realise the postman was going to do this anyway. hence the behaviour is reinforced and the dog barks the next time the postman comes, and lo and behold the postman goes away again. this is why sometimes dogs only bark at postmen but no one else that comes to your house.
same with cycles... the dog thinks it is protecting you and has "seen the cyclist off" and doesn't realise the cyclist was going to cycle away anyway. hence the behaviour is reinforced and the dog barks at the next cyclist.
so you see, your friend is right. Youths and dogs are the same. yoofs think you have cycled off because they hurl abuse. they don't realise your on a training ride.
Thanks
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