Thursday, March 19, 2020

SeaWorld The Truth about Tilikum Professor Ramos Blog

SeaWorld The Truth about Tilikum Blackfish is a documentary about a very special Orca named Tilikum. The film shows the story starting with his capture and goes up to his transfer to SeaWorld Florida. The film shows some world defining events that unfolded in his presence. Blackfish was first shown at the 2013 Sundance film festival, it was such a great film that it was backed by Magnolia Pictures and CNN films for DVD release. The documentary consists of interviews from real life SeaWorld trainers who worked with and around Tilikum. It also includes interviews with scientist from different backgrounds to help show the dangers of keeping Orcas (AKA Killer Whales) in captivity and used for show. Blackfish sought to show the world the truth behind SeaWorld’s treatment and misuse of Orcas, by using the story of Tilikum. Tilikum’s story begins in 1983. In his remorseful interview, John Crowe tells the story of capturing Tilikum and other Orcas. He states, â€Å"it’s like kidnapping a little kid from his mother† (Blackfish, John Crowe). Tilikum was one of the largest Orcas ever captured at two years old he was roughly 12 feet long. He was sold to a park named Sealand of the Pacific. Tilikum remained at this park for about 7 years. According to an article on the PETA2 website by Kim Johnson â€Å"on February 21st, 1991 Sealand trainer Keltie Byrne fell into the pool containing Tilikum, he dragged her to the bottom and she drowned.† (Kim Johnson) Shortly after this event Sealand closed and Tilikum was sold to SeaWorld. At SeaWorld Tilikum was kept in a pool with 2 other Orcas. The problem was that Tilikum was from a different family then the other two. Blackfish interviews Eric Walters a former SeaWorld Trainer who states â€Å"during certain times of the year he would be co vered with rakes, these are teeth to teeth scratches on the skin †¦ his entire body would be covered with them† (Blackfish) This shows that the animals really did not get a long the 2 females would gang up on Tilikum and attack him throughout the night while they were in storage. This would cause Tilikum to be more aggressive. The film goes on to explain that although Tilikum showed aggressive behavior at times, he was still used in shows and trainer were still allowed to enter the pool with him. This resulted in two more deaths, first Daniel P. Dukes in 1999 and Dawn Brancheau in 2010. SeaWorld played off Daniel Dukes death as an accidental drowning due to his own discourse. They claimed he was a mentally ill person who had gotten into the park afterhours and slipped into the pool and drown. In multiple interviews with former SeaWorld trainers conducted in the Blackfish film they contradicted the official SeaWorld statement. They said that there was evidence that Tilikum had drowned him just as he done to Keltie Byrne at Sealand. SeaWorld also blamed Dawn’s death on herself. Saying that it was her fault and she wasn’t supposed to be in the pool. This event lead to Tilikum being kept in a small pool in isolation for nearly a year. After that Tilikum was allowed to be used in shows again, but he was transferred to SeaWorld Florida. This is where the story of Tilikum ends in Blackfish, in January 2017 Tilikum died. Blackfish does an extremely good job at telling us how SeaWorld treats their animals and, even after multiple incidents allowed people to interact with the dangerous animals. Blackfish uses the story of Tilikum to show us multiple wrong doings and lies that come from SeaWorld. The film did have a large effect on SeaWorld after it was released to DVD and became widely popular. This was known as the â€Å"Blackfish effect† SeaWorlds stock dropped drastically as did park attendance. The film did a very good job at teaching us a little bit about whales. It teaches us about Orcas families known as Pods, their lifespans in the wild, dorsal collapse and shows us how they are aggressive in the wild as well. For about 3 years after the film was released SeaWorld had no response to it. Eventually SeaWorld created a website as response to Blackfish, this site is named â€Å"SeaWorld Cares† on the website they state, â€Å"The film relies on animal rights activists masquerading as scientists.† (SeaWorld Cares) and â€Å"The film spins an entirely fictitious account of Dawn Brancheau’s death in order to advance its anti-captivity narrative.† (SeaWorld Cares) SeaWorld felt that, because they scientist loved animals and testified against SeaWorld in a court case with OSHA, they were not real scientist. One of the most important scientists interviewed was Kenneth C. BALCOMB who is the founder and lead investigator at the Center for Whale Research. According to the Center for Whale Research website â€Å"Kenneth C. Balcomb spent 12 years sailing around the Atlantic Ocean following whales and studying them† (Center for Whale Research) This already shows that the SeaWorld Cares website is lying to try to brush the Blackfish film under the rug. In Blackfish they show us multiple lies that SeaWorld has their employees tell visitors such as, Dorsal fin collapse happens in about 50% of all male Orcas and they have a much lower mortality rate in captivity. In the article The Truth about ‘The Truth about Blackfish’ it states that â€Å"in the wild, only 1-5% of male orcas in populations have fully collapsed dorsal fins.† (David Neiwert). The article also states that â€Å"Their annual mortality rate was more than two and a half times higher in captivity than in the wild† (David Neiwert). In conclusion Blackfish does a fantastic job showing the truth about SeaWorld and Tilikum’s life story. It uses multiple scenes which prey on emotions and gets the viewer to feel sympathetic to the animals and how they are traded. The film employs reputable scientist to prove every statement it makes. The previous trainers interviewed in the film are all based on personal and first-hand experiences with Tilikum and other Orca’s at SeaWorld. Remember that next time you are thinking of going to SeaWorld, think of this review and the truth behind SeaWorld and the story of Tilikum Barrett-Lennard, Lance G., et al. â€Å"Predation on Gray Whales and Prolonged Feeding on Submerged Carcasses by Transient Killer Whales at Unimak Island, Alaska.† Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 421, 2011, pp. 229–241. JSTOR, JSTOR, jstor.org/stable/24874414. Blackfish. Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Magnolia Pictures, 2013. â€Å"Truth about Blackfish.† SeaWorld Cares, 2015, https://seaworldcares.com/the-facts/truth-about-blackfish/. Center for Whale Research. The Center for Whale Research Non-Profit Organization, 1976, https://www.whaleresearch.com/about-orcas Accessed 11 Nov. 2018. David Neiwert. â€Å"The Truth about ‘The Truth about Blackfish’ † The dodo, 7 May 2014, https://www.thedodo.com/the-truth-about-the-truth-abou-540025703.html Johnson Kim. â€Å"Tilikum’s Life Story Will Bring You to Tears† PETA2, 06 Jan. 2017, https://www.peta2.com/news/tilly-seaworld/ Accessed 2 Dec. 2018. Zaveri Mihir. â€Å"SeaWorld Agrees to Pay $5 Million in ‘Blackfish Effect’ Case† The New York Times, 19 Sept. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/business/seaworld-blackfish-fine.html Accessed 25 Nov. 2018.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Writing College Papers Under Pressure How-Tos

Writing College Papers Under Pressure How-Tos Writing College Papers Under Pressure: How-To’s Any student knows how important it is to be able to properly manage time. With the ever-increasing amount of homework, academic assignments, projects, and other tasks routine for colleges and universities, 24 hours a day just isn’t enough for school and life. Besides, students aren’t robots, so huge workloads often lead to excessive stress. As a result, a typical student – a person most likely unable to manage stress (and even less likely to manage time) becomes a person with a chronic lack of time who’s constantly worried, disturbed, or stressed out. Therefore, to make students’ lives less stressful, we’ve prepared a short guide on the most popular time and stress management techniques. Using these techniques, you’ll be able to conquer your workload without straining your nervous system. So, first are the time management techniques: Use all kinds of lists and schedules. It might be a good idea to keep a record of things you need to do in separate lists, categorizing them by different criteria. For example, you could have lists titled â€Å"Things to do for biology class;† â€Å"To-do list for the next week;† â€Å"Most urgent stuff;† and so on. You can also estimate the approximate time needed to accomplish each of the tasks that you write down in these lists. Keep these lists where you can see them; this way you’ll never forget to do something important, and having them in front of your eyes all the time will help you allocate time more effectively. Don’t multitask. Focus your efforts! This may sound like unpopular advice, since the modern world values multitasking. However, it’s been proven that multitasking hinders performance. So, when starting to work on a task, you might want to focus all your efforts on it for a short period of time. Paraphrasing the famous saying: 80% of results are achieved during 20% of time spent working on a task. Eliminate distractions. It’s surprising how many things can actually distract us right at the moment when we need to focus on an important task. Students know that sometimes even cleaning up can be a huge distraction, especially when you need to prepare for an exam. So, make sure you block access to social networks for the time you’ll be studying (there are plenty of programs designed to do exactly that); turn your phone off; isolate yourself in a quiet room with no TV; and have only the needed textbooks and materials in your proximity. You’ll be astonished at how much time you have for actually studying when you eliminate all distractions! Maintaining a cheerful and healthy spirit is as important as being able to do everything on time. So, here are some relaxation and stress management techniques for you. Conscious breath. This is the basis of a huge number of meditation techniques, and for a good reason: breathing in such a way can significantly improve your overall psychological condition, help you relax and refresh. The technique is simple: you need to start breathing, paying full attention to the very process; feel how the air flows through your nose, how it fills your lungs. Notice a small pause between every inhale and exhale. It’s recommended that you breathe slowly, while being perfectly still. You must also do this exercise in silence. Physical exercises. It’s well-known that physical exercise after mental activity is a great way to relax. You don‘t necessarily need to go to a gym; instead, you can visit the nearest swimming pool. Swimming there for 45-50 minutes at least twice a week will positively affect not just your body, but your mind as well. Slowing down. Western society is fascinated with the idea that a person is worth something only when he/she is active, and has achieved something outstanding. This is the particular factor responsible for our crazy pace of life. Although it’s always good to accomplish something worthwhile, even more crucial is to maintain a balance between your mental health and your activities. At least once a week allow yourself to be slow. Don’t rush anywhere; don’t strain to do as much as you possibly can. You can afford being inactive. Take a slow walk in the park; ignore incoming messages, or at least do not reply them immediately; turn off your reminders and alarms; move slowly, think slowly. After a period of practicing this exercise, you’ll notice that you’ve become calmer. These are just some of the most popular techniques among hundreds of others. Feel free to find those that suit you the most, as there are no universal methods only those that work or don’t work personally for you. Good luck with writing! Additionally you may use professional custom writing service to buy college papers online.