In interpreting the welfare implications of our results we focused on stereotypic behaviour as measured by incidence of somersaulting and a novel statistic that quantifies sequential dependencies in the birds' locations within the cage.
The model, crucially, interprets "welfare" to mean not just financial capacity but well-being.
This substantive definition, however, is open to at least three possible interpretations, depending on whether we interpret the welfare and world-view of those affected as (a) their objectively-defined interests, (b) their subjective preferences, or (c) their shared ideas as expressed through suitably-structured deliberative procedures.
So it seems that preferences can either be interpreted as welfare judgements, or as the basis of choices, but not as both at the same time.
Having a clear understanding of the system's assumptions and declared premises can help to interpret the other welfare features and to find the gap between formal and emerging welfare arrangements.
When interpreting hormone data for animal welfare purposes, it is important not to interpret a reduction in hormone concentration due to intrinsic hormone control mechanisms as a reduction due to a decrease in the stress stimulus.
For example, major Canadian research funding bodies stipulate that IFs should be disclosed if "interpreted as having significant welfare implications for the participant" [ 14]; the definition given for "welfare" is extremely broad.
The mining industry is not surprisingly bereft of credibility when it comes to interpreting the science linking their products to the reef's welfare.
As Patrick Wintour reports, Duncan Smith told MPs he was seeking an urgent meeting with the EU to look at the way the European commission was interpreting the free movement of labour to interfere with member states' welfare policies.
Which assumption is warranted depends on how welfare is interpreted.
The lessons from Arrow's theorem depend, in part, on how we interpret an Arrovian social welfare function.
