Saturday, January 25, 2020

Marine Animal Captivity End The Exploitation Sociology Essay

Marine Animal Captivity End The Exploitation Sociology Essay Marine animals have been held captive for hundreds of years and for a variety of reasons. As humans began to investigate the fascinating world below the oceans surface, animal captivity became an everyday occurrence. Some animals have been captured as a means of research so scientists, as well as the public, can observe and learn more about them (Marine Mammals in Captivity). However, marine animals have also been exhibited simply for amusement and profit (Do Marine Mammals Belong in Captivity in the 21st Century?). Throughout history, humans have abused their relative power over marine creatures by capturing and detaining them. This cruel and unjust captivity commences with the act of capture and continues by diminishing marine animals quality of life. The crime of captivity begins as early as marine mammal capture. In the past, animal capture was a violent and traumatic process. Over the years, it has become progressively less malicious. However, the animals still suffer. Hunters herd the animals into shallow waters and proceed to entrap them in nets and slings (Do Marine Mammals Belong in Captivity in the 21st Century?). Captures can include high-speed chases intended to exhaust the animals, which makes them easier to catch. Some fisherman will actually ride the animals until they are completely worn out (The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity). In Japan, fisherman are hired by captivity agencies to herd entire pods of dolphins so that the best and most promising mammals can be selected, while the remaining dolphins are slaughtered (Global Ocean Marine Mammal Anti-Captivity Officer). In another instance, over 200 dolphins were driven into a fishing port, where they crashed into boats and each other. After becoming tangled in the chaos of nets, boats, and animals, many dolphins died of drowning (Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons). Although the government works to regulate the individuals and organizations that capture marine animals, even the gentlest capture causes unforeseeable consequences. Marine animals such as dolphins travel in groups and while it may seem like taking only one or two of the animals would cause no harm, it is extremely detrimental to the group as a whole. Whales, specifically orcas, are the largest animals held in captivity (Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons). While orcas remain with their mothers for life in the wild, hunters often separate mother and child. Dolphins swim together in pods, a family unit that consists of an adult dolphin and her offspring. These families are torn apart by captivity. Even if not all of the animals are captured, the free animals are left without a crucial member of their community. Some dolphins die simply from the stress of losing a family member or watching their companions being captured (Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons). One study found that the mortality rate for bottlenose dolphins increased six-fold immediately after a capture (The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity). The negative aff ects of animal capture are undeniable proof that holding marine animals captive is an unnatural and immoral act. Even after the vicious and traumatic capture, marine animals continue to suffer in captivity. Although many trainers work to ensure that animal habitats are suitable for the animals they house, no man made structure can replace the natural habitat and ecosystem of the ocean. In addition, these artificial environments pose many risks to the animals they accommodate. First, the water of the tank can cause serious health risks. Many aquariums and marine parks pump water in directly from the ocean. However, this water is filtered and chlorine is added while micro and macro marine life is removed (Killer Whales in Captivity). This treatment creates harsh water full of chemicals, which can irritate the skin of marine mammals. Although the chemicals are used to purify the water, bacteria are still present and the animals skin cannot tolerate the alien bacteria. Some dolphins go blind (French), while others animals suffer from skin diseases (Marine Mammals in Captivity). In other cases, orca s experience dorsal fin collapse. This occurs because the whales do not have the support of a large body of water, such as the ocean, and gravity pulls the tall appendage downward (Marine Mammals in Captivity). The issues are not limited to physical conditions. Being held in captivity actually affects the mental functions and capacity of marine creatures. Animals such as whales and dolphins utilize echolocation while living in the ocean. In this wide and varied body of water, these animals are constantly alert and exercising their brains. However, in a dull environment such as a small aquarium, these animals have no use for their highly evolved talent (Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons). Instead, they are forced to swim in circles without exercising the functions of their brain. For orcas, which are extremely sensitive to sound, the outside noises of water pumps and cheering crowds harm their hearing (Killer Whales in Captivity). Some studies show that dolphin brains shrink a frightening 42% while in captivity (The Life of a Dolphin in Captivity), and some dolphins have been driven insane by the constant reverberations of their own sonar waves that hit nothing but blank walls (Mar ine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons). Not only are marine animals brain functions halted, they also become socially and emotionally upset while in captivity. As mentioned earlier, dolphins and orcas are negatively affected by the separation of pods. Despite being social creatures that tend to have long term companionships, these mammals are separated from their families and isolated on their own when they are held captive. (The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity). The issues are furthered by trainers treatment of the animals. For example, trainers will separate the acutely social dolphins when they misbehave, forcing them into isolation (Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons). The torture continues in the feeding. In a technique called the Pavlovian regime, trainers starve dolphins so that they will perform. Food is only administered as a reward to the dolphin for successful completion of tricks. Trainers effectively teach the dolphins that food is not a natural right of existence, but is instead only attaine d through submission and performance (The Life of a Dolphin in Captivity). Its also important to consider the food given to the animals instead of live, freshly caught, natural marine organisms, captured marine animals are fed frozen fish and vitamin supplements (Killer Whales in Captivity). This unnatural diet hurts the metabolism of these creatures and hinders their instinctual predatory behavior. Dolphins that live in captivity are forced to swim in circles in six-foot deep tanks that stretch twenty-four inches by twenty-for inches (Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons). This lack of space literally suffocates the dolphins, who swim up to 100 miles each day in the wild. Finally, its important to consider the behavior of freed marine animals. Dolphins and whales alike spend their days diving hundreds of meters, swimming hundreds of miles, and roaming freely about the ocean (Marine Mammals in Captivity). Unlike seals and sea lions, dolphins and whales rarely come up to the shore to perch and can stay underwater up to thirty minutes. The confinement of a tank forces a creature that previously spent 80-90% of its time underwater into a creature that is constantly above the water (Marine Mammals in Captivity). Some would argue that marine animal captivity has positive benefits for animals. For example, if a marine animal is held captive, humans are able to study and observe the animal, which in turn allows for a greater understanding of the species. This understanding allows humans to actually go out and assist the marine animals in the future. However, a marine animal held in captivity actually holds little educational value. These animals are forced to act differently than they do in the wild. Because they are confined to cages and tanks, they cannot roam and live as they would in the vast ocean. This means that when scientists observe an animal in a tank, he or she is not seeing the way the animal really acts, lives or behaves, but instead its contrived adaptations to life in a tank (The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity). Others argue that holding marine animals in captivity saves them from the harsher environments in the wild and protects them from predators and pollution. Howe ver, this argument is incorrect. It is impossible for humans to judge what environment is too harsh for any particular animal. Marine animals have survived and evolved for thousands of years without human salvation or interaction and humans must allow this natural cycle to continue. In the wild, unhindered by human meddling, the evolutionary cycle will continue as it should and as is natural. Some species may become extinct or evolve into even more complex animals this is not a negative progression but is instead the circle of life (The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity). While dolphins in their natural habitat can live to their forties and fifties, dolphins in aquariums and tanks often die before they reach twenty (Marine Mammals in Captivity). Over the years, nearly 4,000 sea lions, seals, and dolphins have died in captivity, and more than half of these deaths are human related. This includes things such as swallowing coins, dying of heat stroke, and swimming in contaminat ed water (Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons). Although they claim to increase the longevity of marine animals lives, those who capture marine animals end up hurting them and, in the long run, harming the natural flow of life. Its certain that important information can be gained from marine animal captivity. However, holding wild animals hostage is immoral and unnecessary. Although humans are capable of capturing marine animals, this prevents them from existing in their natural habitat and only serves to hurt the species. To help stop captivity, its important not to visit captive marine mammals in zoos or parks (Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons). Also, instead of holding the animals hostage under the guise of saving them from even harsher natural environments, society should work to be environmentally conscious and preserve the animals natural habitats, allowing them to live without the pollution of human waste. Holding marine animals in captivity is unequivocally wrong. No matter the claims of salvation and education, animal captivity is exploitation of animals.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Ethical and Social Concerns in Global Business Essay

The need of ethics in the business world is superlative and global as new trends and issues arise daily which may create an important burden to business entities and end-consumers. There is therefore a need for proper ethical behavior in organizations for smooth operations within the business entities. Morf (1999:265) believes: †Ethics is the moral principle that individuals inject into their decision-making process and that helps temper the last outcome to conform to the norms of their society. † Again, ethical principles have the very profound function of making behavior very predictable (Mahdavi, 2003). Businesses need to come to grips with the legal and moral atmosphere in which they operate. The various ethical issues in global business that have imparted variously in the Kenyan Economy include the following: 1) Corruption and bribery; corruption and bribery is one of the menace that has seen Kenya lag behind in terms of development. It is often claimed that in 1963, when Kenya acquired its independence from the colonial rule, it was at par with countries like South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore among others, in terms of development. However, the above mentioned countries have grown to be giant economies while Kenya is still struggling at grassroots with take-off strategies. Kenya has had major scandals of corruption which include The Goldenberg scandal, The Anglo leasing among others, which involved ‘white elephant’ projects that looted the government of major funds. The unethical act is still rampant in the country even after the establishment of the Kenya Anti-corruption Commission to help curb the vice. ) Unfair Pricing; This includes the unfair differential pricing, improper invoicing –where the buyer requests for a price other than the actual price paid, pricing to outdo local competition, dumping commodities at prices below the home country prices and pricing practices that are permitted in the host country but against the law in the home country such (e. g. price fixing agreements). Unfair pricing is notable in the Kenyan economy where the prices of oil are inflated by the oil selling companies. The presence of the cheap ‘mitumba’ clothes in Kenya have contributed among other things to the death of the textile industry in Kenya which equally leads to unemployment oflabour and reduced taxes for the government. 3) Illegal/immoral activities in the host country; practices such as pollution of the environment, the maintenance of unsafe working conditions, the violation of intellectual rights laws in product/technology copying where the protection of patents, trademarks and copyrights is at stake. This has in particular affected to a degree the Kenyan music industry where pirating is rampant. 4) Involvement in political affairs; where political personnel get actively engaged in a country’s normal marketing operations and engage in unjust practices such as illegal technology transfers. The Kenyan government has recently handled claims where top political officers are reported to have liaised with other governments to defraud the state. These include the sale of maize to Sudan and the purchase of government land at china. ) Questionable commissions paid to channel members; where unreasonably high commissions are paid to sales agents, middlemen, consultants and import officials as fees, there is a reason to raise eyebrows. This is an unethical practice that is present especially in the less developed and developing countries. In Kenya, import officers are known as perpetrators to this menace. 6) Dumping; I since considered dumping as an unethical practice of its own since it is present in Kenya. Dumping is where substandard products are sold cheaply to a country where the use of the product in the manufacturing country is outlawed, used for other specified purposes or declared unfit for human consumption. For instance, The purchase of contaminated maize recently by the Kenya government from South Africa, is one of the cases that identifies Kenya as one of the terminals of dumped goods among other things which include the dominance of vague China made goods in the Kenyan market. This includes hardware materials, home appliances and the recently noted turnover of mobile phones which hardly last for a month.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

The Core Tenets Of Social Defense Theory Essay - 1156 Words

Abstract Despite its roots in evolutionary theory, attachment theory has long split itself into two factions: adaptive and maladaptive. For years, insecure attachment has been implicated as one of the root causes for a number of psychological concerns (Dozier, Stovall-McClough, Albus, 2008). The development of social defense theory, however, provides an entirely new interpretation of attachment – that all attachment dispositions (secure, anxious, and avoidant) have access to different cognitive schemas that provide advantages in dealing with a threatening situation (Ein-Dor, 2015). Further, social defense theory suggests that groups made up of all three dispositions are ultimately more effective than more homogenous groups. This paper seeks to better understand the cognitive accessibility of these cognitive schemas (sentinel, rapid fight-flight, and collaborative) and their associationed with the theorized attachment disposition. 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