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Animals as Laboratory Objects: Analysis of the Power Discourse
Vandrovcová, Tereza ; Suša, Oleg (advisor) ; Müller, Karel (referee) ; Binka, Bohuslav (referee)
Animals as Laboratory Objects: Analysis of the Power Discourse PhDr. Tereza Vandrovcová Abstract This dissertation thesis encompasses a critical discourse analysis of the power correlates of expert knowledge and other factors that can hinder the open and unbiased discussion concerning the ethical aspects of the use of nonhuman animals in biomedical experiments. A brief history of "the animal" is first provided before the issue is positioned within the theoretical framework of Animal Studies. The fourth chapter is composed of an overview of the most frequent arguments both for and against the use of animals in biomedicine. The author draws upon her research as she analyzes scientific texts to reveal how laboratory animals are socially constructed as scientific objects and subsequently describes the effects this has on the perception of their moral value. A series of semi-structured interviews with critics and advocates of animal experimentation, such as animal rights activists and laboratory workers who conduct experiments on animals, is the pivotal section of the paper. It is established that lab workers in the sample are convinced of the necessity and legitimacy of current practices, that lab workers have a tendency to suppress animals' individuality when describing their work, that lab workers deem their...
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Possible ways to deal with pigeon population problem in Czech towns
Trnková, Karla ; Rynda, Ivan (advisor) ; Vandrovcová, Tereza (referee)
The thesis addresses issues related to the overbred population of feral pigeons (Columbia livia forma Domestica) in Czech towns. It approaches the subject from procedural, bureaucratic perspective. Specifically, the thesis examines the factors which affect the selection of methods of the feral pigeons' population regulation in four Czech towns: Special attention is devoted to the question whether the method of controlled city dovecotes, used to regulate pigeon populations, could come in useful in the Czech context. Research carried out for the thesis is qualitative; the data comes from semi-structured interviews with experts. Analysis of the collected data focuses on verification of authenticity of the provided information. Subsequently, effectiveness of cage entrapment, which considerably prevails over the other methods used, is considered in ethical, ecological, and economic respect. The thesis also surveys the health risk posed by the feral pigeon population to public and how views of the public concerning the issue affect the regulation process. The overall aim is to highlight the drawbacks of the decision making process, offer possible alternatives, and prompt more research.
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Etnography of Vegan Restaurant
Mikovcová, Markéta ; Halbich, Marek (advisor) ; Vandrovcová, Tereza (referee)
The aim of the thesis is to understand elements and processes, that are constituting a specific vegan Restaurant in Prague. The method used is ethnography, particularly participatory observation completed with interviews with the owner and customers. The owner as well as the Restaurant itself and as well as every individual are hybrids created by biological, spiritual, cultural, technical and many other elements. Based on the observation I have divided these elements into four big groups: philosophical, culinary, material and human. These groups are mixing, balancing and contrasting one another and together creating the Restaurant aesthetics. In each of the chapters I show different realities and I explain the Restaurant from different views according to particular elements. By uncovering their context, the relation network which creates the Restaurant is explained. Key words: ethnography, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian, hybrid
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Social Construction of Species superiority
Klicnar, Filip ; Vandrovcová, Tereza (advisor) ; Balon, Jan (referee)
This thesis charts the social construction of species superiority in the Euro-Atlantic civilizational area. The goal is to describe the process of construction of this superiority and simultaneously to describe the impact of it. The beginning of the species superiority was domestication of the wild animals. Second defining moment was the transition from a traditional into industrial society, in which the animals where materialized and considered to be an object in trading relationships, as well as the belief in legitimate use of animals for economic purposes in the society. This belief is thoroughly irrational. Throughout the process of reality construction the society begun to perceive the given status as natural and right. In order to escape the question of ethical contradiction it has crowded out the negative aspects of that reality from the perception of its members, in which some psychological mechanisms are helping individuals to escape the reality. The final chapter of this thesis charts the conditions that have made the Holocaust possible and on which our modern rational-economic system lays ground. These conditions are being preserved in the "nature" of the economic system itself.
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The Construction of "Dangerous dogs" in Blesk and Lidové noviny in the years 2001 and 2011
Stýblová, Hana ; Stella, Marco (advisor) ; Vandrovcová, Tereza (referee)
At the end of the 20th century the issue of so called "dangerous" dog breeds has become increasingly discussed in some European countries. These dogs are considered so threatening that some countries have decided to regulate or restrict their breeding by law. This thesis looks at the articles in Blesk tabloid and Lidové noviny daily newspaper in the years 2001 and 2011 and explores how the dangerous aspect of these breeds was constructed there. Through discourse analysis it investigates the image of "dangerous dogs" presented in these newspapers and what these representations imply. The results of the analysis confirm that all the selected materials explicitly construct the image of dangerous dogs and at the same time implicitly suggest the existence of their "positive" counterparts which helps drawing the line between "good" and "bad" dogs, and hence also between "good" and "bad" owners of the dogs. In all cases, it is apparent that the issue thematised on the level of dog breeds in fact charaterises the relation of man to the animal as well as the society. The representation of the dog witnesses far more about a man than the dog itself. Keywords: dangerous dog, representation, media, human-animal relationship, discourse analysis
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