Dolphins as Persons Essay Example for Free

Dolphins as Persons Essay Dolphins are toothed sea mammals which closely resemble whales. There are over forty kinds of dolphins in the world and are said to be friendly to humans unlike many marine creatures. They are the most intelligent of all sea creatures and the trained ones are able to understand or decode human messages. There are cases where lost travelers have been guided by dolphins and also in other instances where some drowning victims have been saved by them. Many people have argued that dolphins should be considered as persons something that has elicited a lot of mixed reactions with some backing this argument while others strongly refute it. This paper is going to take a stand and support the claim that dolphins should be considered as persons. The first incident that left many questioning themselves as to whether dolphins should be treated as animals or persons was when two bottle-nosed dolphins from the University of Hawaiis Marine Biology department meant for experimentation were released back to the waters by La Vasseur who from a human perspective considered capturing of dolphins and keeping them in an isolated place from the rest, rationing their food and denying them the environmental conditions they enjoyed in the sea considered it as mistreatment and unethical. His argument was that these animals should be accorded some rights so as to protect them from being mistreated and he even went to an extent of asking if the Thirteen Amendment human rights could be extended to them. The ruling in this case to some extent closed the doors for dolphins to be accorded the rights they deserve by refusing the case to take a moral perspective when judge Doi termed it as pure theft (Miller and Williams, 1983; 365). There are many facts about dolphin that go unexplored or if this is not the case, they are simply ignored. If these facts are given the attention they deserve then one would be in a better position to comprehend why these animals should be treated as persons. One thing that should be known is that just like human beings, dolphins have a sense of humor. According to Blackstock (2003), dolphins try to joke by surprising unsuspecting pelicans by grabbing some feathers from its tail or inching stealthily to unsuspecting fish and grab its tail. In other cases, dolphins would be seen tricking some turtles where it would make it roll a number of times. Still in another incident, a dolphin was seen trying to bait a fish only to snatch the bait before it could be eaten thereby leaving the fish puzzled. This is indicative of possession of high intelligence as it only human beings and other primates that possess a sense of humor. Dolphins like human beings have a way of communicating. Their bodies are designed in such a manner such that they produce whistles and clicks as they swim using their nasal passages. This communication keeps them away from any danger for example, they whistle as they swim in the sea to ensure they are together. Apart from this, they maintain body contact by swimming close to one another where they can rub and hit each other with their pectoral fins. They also use their pectoral fins to greet each other just like humans use their hands and shoulders to hug one another. This is said to happen when two different dolphins come together and touch each other with their pectoral fins something that is interpreted to mean greetings (Robins Island. org. 2009). To detect whether there are dangers ahead, dolphins send ‘clicks’ into the water which if they hit a solid object such as rocks, boats, logs and other sea animals are rebuffed. By using their complex means of detecting the echo, they estimate the distance at which these objects could be located depending on the strength of the echo. Also dolphins are capable of producing whistles with different emotional tones that send specific emotional messages. A study that was done shown that when this sound was produced, other dolphins responded and behaved in a particular way. Just like a human mind which through experience acquires or gains knowledge, dolphins too can acquire knowledge. Studies that were done shown that trained dolphins have been able to mimic certain human sounds or perform some spectacular tricks that one would imagine could only be done by a human being like somersaulting in water. Having realized the level of intelligence these animals possess, the United States navy had at one time thought of training them so that they would help them in their undersea operations but it was later realized that they if they were trained, they would interfere with nuclear submarine operations. The truth is that if trained these animals are able to survey the security of the area and give the feedback before any naval operation is conducted just like humans do. The only difference between these animals is that it is their nature to stay in water and thus they are better adapted to swimming in the sea than human beings. They are able to relate well with human beings and because they are able to communicate and work with human beings in various marine operations, they should be treated as a non-human person and not like animals as this show that they think and reason just like human beings. For example, according to the Science Daily (2003), the US navies used dolphins in 2003 to detect the bombs that might have been planted by Iraq troops in the sea channel where ships carrying hospital and other war materials would pass through. The only notable difference between humans and dolphins is that one is a sea mammal while the other is a primate and thus there would no good reason as to why these animals should not be protected and accorded the rights they deserve. Using its intelligence, bottle-nosed dolphin seems to understand the value of human life and that it is why it saves swimmers from being attacked by sharks. This is something that was attested by Howe who according to New Zealand Press went to swim with his daughter and was about to be attacked by a three meter shark before he was saved by a herd of dolphins who kept it at bay (Jones, 2004). This shows that just like how human beings protect their pets, dolphins also value humans and thus treat them as their best friends. This shows that their level of intelligence is close to that of humans and thus people should awaken to the role they play in their lives and treat them like other humans. Indeed, dolphins should be treated and categorized as persons. Their level of intelligence is much close to that of human beings and they seem to understand human beings as humans do and that is why they save swimmers who are at danger of being eaten by sharks. Dolphins in some cases have worked closely with humans for example during the transportation of hospital aid to Iraq where they were used in detecting bombs set in the sea by Iraq rogues soldiers. Most of the characteristics that dolphins possess are like those of human beings for example they have a way of communicating, system of danger detection, emotion appeal or aspect and they are social animals as they stay in herds or in pairs. For these reasons dolphins’ rights should be treated and protected just like human rights are protected by the constitution. References: Blackstock, Regina. 2004, Dolphins and Man equals. Available at http://www. littletownmart. com/dolphins/ Jones, S. November 24, 2004. Dolphins save swimmers from shark. Retrieved from http://www. guardian. co. uk/science/2004/nov/24/internationalnews Miller, H. B. and Williams, W. H. 1983. Ethics and Animals. Humana Press. Robins Island. org. 2009. Facts and Information about Dolphins. Accessed from http://www. robins-island. org/dolphins_facts. php Science Daily. 3rd July, 2003. Men, Mammals, And Machines: Underwater Drone Works With Men And Dolphins. Accessed from http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2003/07/030701224407. htm

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Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 brought a climax the long debate about the powers of the federal and the state governments, bringing about the Civil War. Though the war itself was long and rough, it didn’t match the problems of the reconstruction of the south. Newly freed African Americans had high hopes for full equality with the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments but because of the Southern white resistance and the withdrawal of supervision, it brought about even more racism by creating segregation and putting them back on plantations, increasing the whites hate and violence. War and Reconstruction changed the social, political and economic landscape in America with the creation of the black codes, racial groups such as KKK, and Civil Rights acts. As soon as the former slave had been freed their freedom was taken away by black codes, restricting most of their newfound rights and bringing back the idea of southern slavery. This changed the social structure because instead of creating equality after the war between African Americans and Whites, it brought back what the Civil War tri...

“Mean Girls” and its sociological structure Essay

Sociology is everywhere we look, it is everything we are, and can be describe with everything we do. Mean girls is a very popular movie in today’s society. It seems as though people of all gender, sex, age, race, ethnicity, and class has seen this movie and can relate to some aspect of it. Mean girls portrays the rough life of high school and the many cliques it has in place. It shows the many challenges students and teachers go through to get to the end of the year. In this movie I have seen many sociological themes. Many people in today’s society go through challenging things in our lives and high school is a teenager’s worse one. From discrimination to power, property, and prestige this movies depicts it all. As portrayed in (fundamentalsofsoc) the popular girls also known as the â€Å"plastics† control the school in which they accompany. They control it by have good looks, money, Popularity, and power. They receive all the material items wanted because their parents can afford it; with the exception of Cady. Originally there are three â€Å"plastics†: Regina George which is the leader of the group. Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. Cady, a transfer student from Africa get the special and rare request to join their clique. There is a sub- click that Cady is a part of and that includes Janis Ian and Damian. Everyone in the school wants to be Regina George, so they copy everything she does. After Cady and Regina go for the same guy Cady wants to ruin the plastics because she and Janis which was out casted by Regina feel like the school would be better off without the hierarchy and social control that Regina creates. The movie starts off with a stereotype. Stereotype defined as â€Å"a widely held but fixed and over simplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.† Cady sits down at the â€Å"Plastics† table after being peer- pressured into joining them during lunch and she gets questioned because the popular girls know everybody in the school and they had not seen her before. This is an example of social interaction. Cady mentions that she just transferred here from Africa. Gretchen Wieners goes about saying â€Å"If you’re from Africa then why you are white.† This shows the  stereotype of Americans believing that all people that live in Africa are African American. This also happens with other cultures as well. They lay out a map of the cafeteria and who sits where and we see then that people are characterized in specific cliques such as: JV jocks, Asian nerds, and black hot ties and many other cliques’ people are set to be in. We also see t hat Cady’s culture is different from the common high school teenager. Cady does not partake in common teenage girl practices, she does not wear makeup, or dress provocative. Regina, Gretchen, and Karen have rich parents. They use their wealth as power against everyone they know. Since they have everything there is a lot of jealousy in the air, also Gretchen ‘uses her wealth against the principle. When she is called into the office because of a burn book incident she says† I don’t think my father, the inventor of toaster strudel, would be too happy to hear about this.† She believes that her parent’s wealth will get her out of trouble which it does not. Regina she uses her property as her power. She as the biggest house, the biggest room and the nicest car. Showing off her property gives her power. When Cady and Janis try to ruin the plastics; shows the revolt against the governing body is seen a lot in other cultures. In a natural society there are always people that oppose the government and try to â€Å"Bring it down.† In the middle of the movie Cady has a role conflict. She was supposed to go to Maddison with her parents, but her friends wanted her to do other stuff that night as well. She had to choose the role in which she wanted to partake in. She choose the role of a teenager. She threw a party. In the end Cady and Regina are both hated by the school and the â€Å"plastics† is no longer a governing body. The â€Å"Plastics† join other school clicks and everyone seems to be at peace until a new generation of plastics appear. It made a point that although one change occurred. That does not mean future generations will change. A change cannot occur over a generation unless there are people to pass the knowledge down the line. Which is why we store cultural knowledge in books, films and media sources. Mean girls shows many sociological themes through the entire movie which all involved social interaction and the biggest idea of the movie: social class. Works cited Fundamentalsofsoc.edublogs.org/†¦/media-representation-of-mean-girls/ Dictionary.reference.com/browse/definition

Literature Review; Training Evaluation Essay - 2176 Words

I have focused my research for this literature review on the two topics which I will be looking at for my project; participant reaction to training and participant learning transfer to their personal (work/study) context. In this literature review I will examine each topic briefly and explain the key issues I will then go on to talk about my research in relation to the key issues that I have identified REACTION LEARNING Two major debates dominate the area of Reaction evaluation measures, the first how useful are evaluation measures which measure trainee reaction to learning and the second that there are no comprehensive evaluation measures which define learning and present a tool which is easy for practitioners to measure reaction.†¦show more content†¦Alliger et al (1997) argue that ‘reaction’ does, to some extent, predict the amount of learning and the amount of behaviour change after learning. 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