Strikes in the Union Essay Example

Strikes in the Union Essay Labour unions are, as we know, specifically exempted from the antitrust laws, and so the proposal is natural enough merely to remove the exemption. This would clearly be desirable in a number of situations in which unions do with impunity in the product market what business men may not do, and in others where unions become virtually agents in mutually beneficial deals with business men whereby the law is circumvented. But it is not clear to me how the courts would apply the law in the crucial areas of collective bargaining, strikes, boycotts, and picketing, for instance. The anti-trust laws as they stand are not directed to these matters, and sooner or later a set of principles appropriate to them must be evolved. It would seem to me that it is specific legislation designed for the labor area that is needed, and that only the greatest confusion could result from merely asking the courts to apply the anti-trust laws as they stand to labor unions.The weapons of labor in its struggle ag ainst capital arefew, but powerfulthe strike, picketing, the boycott, sabotage, mass protest and demonstration. However, changes have occurred in the form and the extent of their application. These changes have been the result, in large part, of labors increasing awareness of the strength of the weapons and of a greater knowledge of their use; in part, these changes have been adaptations to aggressions or recessions by employers and to interference by the government or intrusion by social agencies. Thus a strike can be the spontaneous, scattered, and chaotic walkouts of the railroad strikes in 1877, or the disciplined and well-organized walkout of the textile workers at Lawrence in 1912; it can take the form of the localized and isolated protest by the southern Colorado coal miners in 1913, or the federated nation-wide drive by all the steel crafts in 1919; it can serve as a symbol of sympathy and support, like the refusal of the railway workers in 1894 to handle Pullman cars, or as a demand for the release of political prisoners, like the demonstration strike of 1912 in behalf of Ettor and Giovannitti, or as a mass defense against a concerted employer-offensive, like the San Francisco general strike of 1934 (Babson, 1984).Capital, on its side, likewise has developed methods of controlling labor during times of peace and of defeating it in times of strife. Some of these methods are overt, such as the lockout, the hiring of armed guards, and the importation of strike-breakers; others, like espionage and the blacklist, are covert. Furthermore, in welfare work and the company union, capital has found more subtle and insidious means of controlling labor, splitting its ranks, and dissipating its force. Any doubt concerning the effect of welfare work, whether so intended or not, is dissolved by a study of the absolute domination over labor gained by the Pullman Palace Car Company or the United States Steel Corporation through their welfare systems. Any uncertainty c oncerning the purpose of the company union, no matter what its alleged intention, is clarified by a study of the conception and birth of the Rockefeller Industrial Representation Plan during and after the Colorado coal strike of 1913-1914. During the progress of the struggle between capital and labor, the government, whether city, county, state, or federal, has interfered often and has rarely proved itself impartial or neutral (Jeffrey-Jones, 1978).Nor should this intervention be unexpected, if it is remembered that the government was established on the principles of freedom of contract (at least for labor) and private property (Frazier, 1962). No amount of verbal artifice can conceal the fundamental opposition of organized labor to these two principles. When workers demand the eight-hour day or an increase in wages, they automatically invade the right of the employer to the full use of his property and the freedom of other workers to work a longer day or for lower wages if they so choose. When workers strike for recognition of their union and then picket in order to render the strike effective, they at once restrict the freedom of other workers to work where they please, with or without union affiliation, and the employers expectancy (which has been decreed a property right by the Supreme Court) to hire workmen. It is not strange, therefore, that in protecting the principles of private property and freedom of contract the government, almost without exception, sends its police, sheriffs, militia, and federal troops to help crush strikes. Nor is it strange that the courts sustain the dispatch of the governments forces against the strikes, by causing the arrest of workers on such charges as vagrancy, picketing, contempt of court, riot, and rebellion. Even legislation, perhaps in a more oblique manner, frequently operates against labor during a strike; for example, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Interstate Commerce Act, while ostensibly enacted to curb the mo nopolistic tendencies of industry and commerce, served to father the labor injunction at the time of the Pullman strike of 1894 (Foulkes, 1980).In the same way, such social agencies as the press, the radio, the pulpit, the movies, and the schools are conservative, in the sense that they act to conserve the existing economic and political set-up of society, and to defend the principles upon which it is erected. As a result, they assist in suppressing any serious outbreak of labor that occurs, whether in the deliberate and conscious manner of the council of newspaper publishers that directed the San Francisco press in its onslaught upon the general strike of 1934, or in the naà ¯ve and unconscious manner of the New England clergyman who, in vindication of the 12-hour day in the steel industry, cited the words of the Toiler of Galilee-I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day; for the night cometh when no man can work† (Foulkes, 1980).The struggles of labor for b etter working and living conditions have led it to combine in organizations both for mutual assistance and for mutual protection. While many of these organizations were short-lived, as was the American Railway Union founded in 1893 by Eugene V. Debs, others existed over a period of years (and continue to exist) and exercised a steady influence upon the ideology and practice of organized labor in the United States. All degrees of attitude toward capital, the government, and society are represented in these organizations. The Brotherhoods of railroad workers, originally fraternal societies which slowly acquired the trade-union function of collective bargaining, have retreated gradually from the principle of collective bargaining to the policy of partial collaboration with capital and regulation by the government. Likewise, a large part of the American Federation of Labor has exhibited an inclination toward the idea of coà ¶peration with capital and the practice of mediation and arbit ration. On the other hand, the Chicago anarchists of 1886 and the Industrial Workers of the World renounced coà ¶peration with employers and condemned arbitration as enervators and partitioners of the ranks of labor. Between these two groups there developed a sharp conflict; one group was conservative, the other radical, in the sense that it wished to get at the root of labors difficulties in the existing society and, if necessary, to change the basis of that society. As a consequence, interwoven in the struggles of labor can be detected the influences of anarchism, syndicalism, communism, and other doctrines for the conversion of society. In other words, labor was led from its immediate desire for higher wages and fewer hours to an examination of causative defects in the structure of society (Foulkes, 1980).Besides the primary cleavage in organized labor between the conservative and radical factions, other secondary cleavages appeared as new problems of procedure and theory arose, bringing with them corresponding differences of opinion concerning their proper solution. Tactics were tried, discarded, tried again. Violence was answered at different times with the boycott, sabotage, counter-violence. Mass picketing was the reply to the labor injunction, mass protest and demonstration to the partiality of the courts. Certain problems recurred again and again, and some of them still trouble American labor organizations. One is the question of the Negro. Unless organized labor can agree upon a method of including him in its ranks, he will continue to be, as in the steel strike of 1919, a depressor of wages and a potential strike-breaker. Another problem, even more pressing, is that of craft versus industrial unionism. Shall craft unions, like most of those in the steel industry, be the structural unit of a nation-wide organization of labor? Or shall all the workers in an industry, regardless of skill or special craft, be included in one industrial union, capable o f united and simultaneous action? A third problem is dual unionism. Dissatisfaction with the conservatism of existing organizations, uneasiness concerning the official scabbing induced by craft unionism, inability to get rid of the wellestablished officialdom of trade-unionsall these have led to the formation of rival unions. Thus in 1912, the I.W.W., in opposition to the existing United Textile Workers of America, organized the workers in the entire textile industry of Lawrence, Massachusetts. More recently, the Communists have organized such dual unions as the National Textile Workers Union and the National Marine Workers Union (Barrett, 1987).An increasing number of unions and employee associations in public service are reexamining the use of strikes to resolve contract disputes. For many years, government employee unions voluntarily included no-strike pledges in their constitutions or operated under longstanding resolutions condemning strikes. However, at their 1968 conventions, two postal unions, the Fire Fighters, and the National Association of Government Employees deleted their no-strike clauses and directed further studies on the strike issue.These changes in attitude toward the strike occur at the end of a decade during which the number of strikes by public employees has risen steadily. In 1966-67 alone, strikes in the public sector, at the state and local levels, caused more idle man-days and involved more workers than strikes in all the preceding eight years ( 1958-65).Federal antistrike laws date from a 1912 prohibition directed at postal employees, who were granted the right to organize but were not allowed to join unions asserting the right to strike. Over the years this bar was extended to cover other Federal employees.Nearly two million school children throughout the country were denied critical days of education when the fall term began. . . [in 1967] because of disagreements between their teachers and boards of education. Breakdowns in negot iations between the parties over wages, classroom discipline, and managerial responsibility brought a rash of teachers strikes in New York, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Florida and elsewhere. These strikes, and those of other public employees such as firemen, policemen, transit workers, garbage collectors, and social workers. . . raise serious questions for the public. Are such strikes increasing in number? Why do they occur? Can they be avoided, or hopefully even eliminated? (Barrett, 1987)We have all learned to live with occasional strikes in private industry. Why do we inject a different standard in public employment? Certainly the airline strike in the summer of 1966 caused some disappointment among vacationers and businessmen alike, and the Ford strike of 1967 delayed sporting new auto models to our neighbors. But by and large, these interruptions in industrial service and production are sufficiently irregular and sufficiently remote from our immediate needs, that we have come to accept them as a cost of the free labor market.Employees of Federal, state and local governments long protected by civil service rules have belatedly awakened to the fact that workers holding the same jobs in private industry have for a third of a century had the legal protection of the right to form, join and assist labor organizations of their own choosing, to engage in collective bargaining, and to withhold their services if offered conditions of employment that were judged unacceptable. As the services of government move more and more into tasks traditionally performed by privately employed workers, such as provision of light and power, housing, and recreational facilities, there are bound to be more demands for those rights long guaranteed to private industry employees.This is coupled with the fact that conditions of workers in private industry have surpassed or caught up with those of the public employee. Employees in private industry can win higher pay, shorter hours and better working conditions much more rapidly in an expanding economy, particularly in an era of even mild inflation. Any increased costs are easily passed on to the consumer. Government workers, on the other hand, once wage leaders, tend to be held back in their wage expansion by increasing demands for government services, and protests over rising budgets and tax rates. The existing legislative process of fixing civil service wages is slower, less responsive to direct worker pressures than is collective bargaining. These factors all help to create a wider and wider disparity between levels of compensation for comparable work in private industry and public employment. But, if this difference is not enough to spark public employee unrest, there are also wage disparities within the public employment industry itself (Jeffrey-Jones, 1978).A few craft unions in public employment, such as building-trades and building-service unions, have been successful through legislation and political pre ssure in achieving agreement to pay to those in public employment the prevailing rates obtainable by their union brethren in private industry. This tends to arouse further the jealousy of other public employees who have lacked the political strength to obtain concessions matching private employment benefits. This disparity may well increase in the future if wages in private industry take an inflationary turn.This contrast in levels of compensation has led trade unions traditionally active only in private industry, such as the Teamsters Union, the Common Laborers and District Fifty of the United Mine Workers, to begin organizational activities among public employees, particularly as their private industry membership remains constant or shrinks. Public employment is the fastest growing industry in the United States, making it an attractive area for the unions to begin organizing. More and more unions are likely to enter this field, thus increasing competition among unions to gain cont rol of this unorganized group.

Accessing free essay libraries Essays - Arcu, Proin, Donec, Mollis

Accessing free essay libraries Essays - Arcu, Proin, Donec, Mollis Accessing free essay libraries Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec leo enim, fermentum et vestibulum a, tempor ut ligula. Aenean interdum urna sit amet diam scelerisque quis facilisis nulla convallis. Fusce at dui mauris, ut vulputate erat. Mauris elementum tristique varius. Cras accumsan metus vitae sapien sollicitudin molestie. Mauris vel sapien a magna mollis feugiat. Duis consectetur mollis mauris, eu faucibus nunc ultrices elementum. Phasellus varius, quam id suscipit convallis, urna lacus pharetra quam, vitae venenatis eros mauris ac purus. Donec eu sem vitae felis lacinia malesuada sed non elit. Sed ullamcorper scelerisque venenatis. Donec eget lobortis arcu. Nullam eget diam nulla, a bibendum nunc. Duis ut leo massa. Suspendisse tempus fringilla tellus id vehicula. Fusce eu mi quam, dignissim posuere sem. Integer vestibulum blandit mauris, eget suscipit neque feugiat sed. Nunc id elementum orci. Ut tincidunt felis vitae turpis lacinia tristique. Morbi a leo nisi, eget tincidunt est. Pellentesque quis massa mi. Ut ante justo, molestie at blandit eu, vestibulum vitae arcu. Phasellus felis neque, tempus a egestas vel, dignissim ac elit. Phasellus facilisis felis sit amet mi aliquam et eleifend libero placerat. Phasellus semper tincidunt enim at laoreet. Vestibulum nec tortor vitae est fringilla sagittis ac varius arcu. Integer fringilla elementum turpis, vitae consectetur arcu euismod nec. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Suspendisse in euismod dui. Praesent sed quam non diam elementum adipiscing nec et lorem. Nam mollis egestas nisl eu sollicitudin. Cras urna risus, congue porta mattis vel, ornare eget ligula. Vestibulum a nisi a ante ultrices ultrices et in lacus. In interdum malesuada dui, eget pellentesque sem varius vel. Duis erat lorem, interdum sed interdum non, ultricies placerat nibh. Proin sem urna, scelerisque ut imperdiet vel, dignissim vitae ante. Etiam porttitor purus ac ipsum iaculis at lobortis arcu hendrerit. Praesent ipsum lorem, fermentum eu posuere at, malesuada eu nibh. Integer augue sapien, condimentum non lobortis eu, commodo et turpis. Nunc aliquet suscipit tempor. Nullam quam tellus, sagittis ac viverra vel, pharetra eu augue. Aliquam tempor, nisi vitae elementum consectetur, est velit facilisis mauris, at rutrum arcu diam non massa. Sed dapibus lacus nec sem sollicitudin euismod. Nunc aliquet justo nec velit congue congue. Nulla venenatis augue vel dolor mattis vitae vulputate urna dignissim. Nullam porta, turpis ac rhoncus ullamcorper, enim ante tristique nulla, non egestas sem urna eget dolor. Etiam bibendum vestibulum dui, quis feugiat nibh vehicula vel. Duis ut erat in nisl aliquet iaculis non vel tellus. Pellentesque id justo ligula, sit amet sagittis nulla. Nunc diam felis, pulvinar sit amet tincidunt eu, condimentum cursus eros. Pellentesque nunc urna, tempor in porta dapibus, tristique in mi. Proin sed libero ac libero mollis lacinia sit amet ac dui. In dignissim gravida dapibus. Sed adipiscing leo ligula. Aliquam rutrum urna id neque convallis tincidunt. Nam a sem odio, eu convallis tortor. Pellentesque fringilla, mauris nec aliquet laoreet, leo neque feugiat dolor, eu tristique dui lectus eu sem. Morbi accumsan, felis et molestie venenatis, felis lacus semper purus, eu hendrerit nunc sem sit amet purus. Nulla suscipit odio sed erat tempus posuere eu non diam. Quisque iaculis diam eget tellus condimentum dignissim. Phasellus sit amet mattis dolor. Aenean purus tortor, rhoncus at posuere vitae, porta ac est. Curabitur tempus neque in libero posuere auctor. Sed ut erat non dolor eleifend posuere ut at libero. Nulla eget scelerisque mauris. Proin neque mi, porttitor eu suscipit nec, gravida vel arcu. Nulla quis nunc risus. Etiam vitae nibh neque, in aliquam sem. Duis libero velit, fermentum id sagittis sit amet, rutrum eget dolor. Aenean eu libero et metus gravida pellentesque posuere ac justo. Pellentesque sed nisi ipsum, ut rutrum metus. Donec nibh elit, faucibus sit amet semper sed, dapibus vitae quam. Sed dignissim rutrum lobortis. Ut bibendum consectetur lectus ut placerat. Vestibulum sagittis dui eget dui tincidunt tincidunt. Mauris in semper elit. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Mauris purus eros, accumsan sit amet cursus non, euismod vel eros. Vivamus dignissim lacus vitae dolor volutpat eleifend. Etiam turpis dolor, tempor sit amet pellentesque et, bibendum et tellus. Donec urna lectus, sollicitudin in fringilla sed, varius nec turpis. Phasellus et leo lacus, in pretium orci. Quisque eu velit diam, hendrerit rhoncus tellus.

Emma Goldman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Emma Goldman - Essay Example Howard Zinn’s portrayal of Emma is typical of his style. Zinn has the ability to depict history with a wit that is full of self-mocking humor. Zinn has invested his heroine Emma with all the fiery radicalism of her feminist, anarchist and free thinking ways. But all this militant posturing is toned down by revealing her honesty, nature, selflessness and courage, which make her heroics more believable. This also moves the play from a moralistic plane to one that educates. According to author Tom H. Hastings, the play shows the period of Goldmans "nonviolence and resistance to militarism", rather than her earlier "attachment to violent revolution". The first Act of the play deals with Emma’s youth, when she breaks away from the rigid conventions of her Orthodox Jewish family and enters New York. This is the city teeming with immigrants from scores of country, who colour the city with their unconventional lifestyle. It is in New York, that she meets Alexander Berkman, who was to remain her lover, as well as her comrade throughout her life. Apart from him, the play is peopled by others who helped Emma throughout her turbulent life. Helena, Emma’s sister, Dr. Ben Reitman, who is a physician with unconventional characteristics, Anna Minkin, a member from Emma’s commune, Fedya, another artist and commune member, Liz Beth, the prison muse and Emma’s sympathizer in the jail, who teaches Emma the art of being a muse and a midwife, and Vito, a worker in the sewers, are some of the other important members of the drama. This play is a document against the evil of sex discrimination and the inequality of wealth which Emma Goldman so vehemently protested throughout her life.

Fair Value of Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fair Value of Accounting - Research Paper Example Fair value accounting has cemented its place really well in the world of accounting on the grounds that it gives more relevant information to users. This method is a realistic approach that gives the actual worth of an entity. According to Patricia McConnell1, fair value accounting method requires the preparers of financial statements to adjust them according to the fair values. This requirement helps the investors to make a better analysis of financial statements. The primary objective of financial statement analysis is the comparative measure of risk and return. General purpose financial statements do not provide the required data for this comparative analysis without significant adjustments. A clearer picture of financial statements provides the investors with a chance to make good decisions. â€Å"†¦fair value accounting method gives fair value estimates and discloses a range of possible outcomes which may help a sophisticated investor but at the same may plague the unsophisticated investor with ambiguity and information overload.† Fair value’s biggest drawback, and the major reason of its opposition, is the lack of reliability. It is because unless an asset is exchangeable in an arm’s length transaction, its value would always be an estimate. According to a study by Avinash, Arvi & Alan Reinstein3, critics have argued that fair value accounting method aggravated the recent crisis by requiring significant write-down of assets and hence resulting in sharp decreases in regulatory capital of banks and other financial institutions. Fair values tend to fluctuate vastly in a short period at times. According to Michael Power4, there are many arguments against the fair value accounting method but they don’t automatically become arguments in favor of historical cost accounting method. The definition of fair value shows that it is the amount which might be obtained in a market. Various commentators have argued about

Emirates Airline Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Emirates Airline - Case Study Example (Butler & Keller, 2000) Emirates Airline has been very fortunate during the 2000s and beyond. The political scene in the region has been quite favourable because most of the countries in the Asian Pacific have been making agreements that facilitate better trade between countries especially in relation to the aviation sector. These countries have signed agreements between themselves and also with other countries in the United States and also in the European continent. These agreements have opened up Emirates to the world and have provided ready made markets for the Airline Company. Any aviation company must be ready to tackle high fuel costs and Emirates is no exception,. In the year 2005, the country reported an increase in fuel expenditure of seven percent from the previous year. Fuel costs represent the highest form of expenditure in the company as this has really eaten into their profits. The Asian Pacific region and in particular the United Arab Emirates, has been nurturing its economy at a rapid pace. Most of the countries located there are becoming more mature. These economies are growing at a substantial rate consequently affecting their overall income. This means that most of them are earning more revenue per capita and they can therefore afford to use air transport. This is probably the reason why Emirates Airline has been steadily growing over the past few years. ... (Tayeh, 2006) Airline traffic in the rest of the world has reduced drastically. However, the Middle Eastern region has improved especially for Emirates. Emirates success is directly linked to the City's success-Dubai. Dubai is one of the most rapidly growing cities in the world. It represents a lot of potential for investment both in the tourism industry and also in the business world. First of all, there are so many projects that re coming up with time. First of all, the City is building a theme park that resembles Disney world; it has embarked on a project that will house over four hundred thousand residents through a waterfront project. As if this is not enough, there are plenty of businesses that are always coming up all the time. Real estate is one particularly interesting sector because it attracts lots of capital investment. All these business ventures are encouraging more visitors to the City and the country in general; this has been reflected in the overwhelming market for Emirates. As if this is not enough Emirates Airline is located at a very suitable region in Asia, it is in the middle of the Eastern and Western regions. Consequently, the Airline is capable of tapping resources from both sides. The Asian continent has a booming economy and Emirates Airline has really benefited from this. Social Emirates Airlines operates in a region where there are numerous employees and workers. Most of these workers rarely demand for high compensation. When the United Arab Emirates is compared to other countries such as the United States, it can be found that there is a significant difference in labour costs as the latter country uses up thirty eight percent of its operating expenses while the UAE only uses up eight percent of its operating costs to pay its

The Marine Industry

The Marine Industry Introduction Purpose This report aims to educate readers about the safety of seafarers going to sea and the possible dangers that they face. The report will also elaborate about the ongoing issues and measures taken to ensure the safety of the seafarers. Background Marine Industry has been a major platform for investment and income since the ancient times. Seafarers face possible dangers from collision of ships, fire and weather conditions. Therefore, the casualties onboard a ship have been increasing due to lack of awareness towards safety on board the ship. The International Maritime Organisation( IMO) took steps to prevent such disasters from happening. Rules have been set up to make sure the equipments onboard the ship are up to date, certified and are regularly inspected. Workers onboard must be well trained in the safety aspects. According to the International Maritime Organisation(2009),ship safety is a subject that is currently receiving high attention by most countries. The International Maritime Organisation(2009) said that this was due to a number of serious vessel casualties that have occurred in recent years. Methodology The information for this report was obtained from the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 edition, reference books, research about shipping companies and the internet. Case studies were taken from online news articles. Scope As there are many possibilities that could happen onboard a ship, this report will investigate solely about the possible cause of fire at sea, preventive measures, consequences of fire, actual events that took place due to fire, types of fire and much more. Fire Hazards onboard the Ship Causes of Fire According to John G. Antherson (2000),the causes of fire on a ship arent a lot different than the causes of fires in any urban setting. As there are electrical circuits onboard the ship, there is a chance for an electrical fire is to occur. Machinery onboard a ship can get hot when its operating. An overheating bearing could cause a fire.(John G. Antherson 2000) Ships uses combustion systems to generating steam, and internal combustion engines are used generate electricity. These combustion system will get very hot and can cause a fire.(John G. Antherson 2000) Closed machinery spaces and the volatility of fuel, lubricants and hydraulic fluids around the hot machinery can lead to a fire or an explosion. A collision at sea could initiate a fire. The galley where food is prepared is another fire hazard on board a ship.(John G. Antherson 2000) During ship repairing, metal cutting and welding equipment is carried and used to faulty equipment. Sparks from this equipments could also start a fire. There are some more possible ways fires could be started. Fire hazards in the cabin could also cause fire to occur. An article (Anon: Fires In Ships 2002) states that careless smoking is the main cause of fires in ships. In one case scenario, sixteen Chinese nationals have been taken to the hospital after a fire broke out in their ship(APL Columbia) at port Botany on 5 January 2010.A crew member onboard the 45,000 tonne APL Columbia(IMO:9252242) noticed a fire in his cabin about 1.30am.The man tried to put out the fire but was unsuccessful.The crew members had suffered from smoke inhalation and the fire was put out about 5.30 am using the ships own firefighting equipment. In another case scenario, a fire broke out in the engine room. A Maersk container ship (Maersk Duffield) crossed Brisbanes Moreton Bay with its engine room on fire and the Emergency Management Queensland helicopter is en route to assist. One crew member required treatment. Shipping Database,2009-2010[Online] Available from: http://www.shippingdatabase.com/ [Accessed 31 January 2010] According to the chart ( figure 1) made by the Maritime Institute in Gdansk(2007), most fire accidents occur during ship repairs. Fire caused from ship repairs take up 79.3% of most fire accidents in their case study. Meanwhile, figure 2 showed that 24.11% of fire occurring on board a ship is located at the Cargo holds and tanks. Classes of Fire There are 4 types of fire that might occur onboard a ship. There are Class A , Class B , Class C and Class D fires. The U.S Department of Agriculture, Forest Service(2007) said that Ordinary combustible fires are the most common type of fire, and are designated under Class A fire . These occur when a solid, organic material such as wood, cloth, rubber, or plastic become heated to their flash point and ignite. This class of fire is fairly simple to combat and contain .According to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 2008),the most common way to do this is by spraying the burning material with water, oxygen can also be removed by smothering the fire with foam from a fire extinguisher. Meanwhile, flammable liquid are categorized under Class B fire. The National Fire Protection Association(2008) reports that this fire follow the same basic fire tetrahedron (heat, fuel, oxygen, chemical reaction) as ordinary combustible fires, except that the fuel in question is a flammable liquid such as gasoline, or gas such as natural gas. An efficient way to extinguish a liquid or gas fueled fire is to disrupt the chemical chain reaction of the fire, which is done by dry chemical and Halon extinguishing agents. According to an extract from Industrial Hygiene and Information Management (2008): ESH Manual Chapter 40, Hazardous Materials, class D fire are fires that are caused by flammable or combustible metals. Examples given by the ESH manual Chapter 40, Hazardous Materials, of such metals are titanium , sodium ,magnesium, potassium, uranium and calcium. Generally, metal fire risks occur when sawdust, machine shavings and other metal are present. These fires can be ignited by the same types of ignition sources that would start other common fires. Wikipedia, Fire Classes [Online] Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_classes [Accessed 1 February 2010] A crew onboard a fishing vessel said that If a fire was to start onboard a ship, crew members onboard must know what type of fire it is. If a wrong extinguisher or method is being used, the fire might spread even more. ( Florida Sport Fishing Crew 2002) Consequences of fire Loss of Revenue and Marine Environment The International Maritime Organisation (2009) said that most accidents onboard a ship will result in a loss of revenue. Cargos onboard a ship might be damaged and millions of dollars worth of cargos and resources will be affected. Fire onboard a tanker ship will have a high chance of causing an explosion and fuel leaked into the sea will cause water pollution and that will affect the marine environment. Thousands of dollar will be used to clean up the oil spill. A case study given by the Port State Information exchange (2006) was that of Hyundai Fortune where an accidental fire broke out on 21st March 2006. The combined cost of the ship and damaged cargo is estimated at over 300 million US dollars. According to an online article by Brisbane Times, oil spill clean-up can be rather costly. In a case study by the article, an insurer of a Hong Kong-based cargo ship had to foot the bill for a 20 tonnes of diesel fuel into waters off Stradbroke Island. Authorities announced that the estimated cost of the clean-up will reach about $100,000 a day and take seven days to complete. Daniel Hurst 2009 , Oil spill clean-up to cost $100,000 a day[Online] Brisbane times Available from: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/oil-spill-cleanup-to-cost-100000-a-day/2009/03/12/1236447368184.html [Accessed on 7th February 2010] Political Fallout Political fallout might also occur if swift action is not taken. Political fallout will cause the reputation of the government or authority to be at stake.(M.Masellis and S.W.A.Gunn 1992) The disasters that occur within the Maritime Industries can be used as an example for opposition parties to blame the government and this might change the mindset of the society towards the government. According to an online article by BBC news, an oil well in the Timor Sea off the north-west coast of Australia caught fire. The oil rig had been leaking oil and marine fire fighters were struggling for ten weeks to stop the leak. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority had been called out to help combat the fire and other teams such as the Geoscience Australia and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority were on standby. However, an opposition spokesman accused the Environment Minister of Australia of doing nothing to stop the oil leak. BBC News 2009 , Australia well catches fire [Online] Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8336564.stm Human Casualties Accidents onboard a ship will also cause human casualties to occur. Fire especially will be life threatening onboard a passenger ship and it will cause chaos and panic among passengers. ( L.M. Collins 1999) A good way to ensure that human life is not lost is for the crew and passengers to follow instructions given by the Captain. If the passengers follow the instructions swiftly, they will be able to escape from the ship safely.( L.M. Collins 1999) One of the major events that had many human casualties was that of RMS Titanic. According to David G , Titanic was struck by an iceberg and sank in two hours and forty minutes on 15 April 1912. The sinking of the Titanic resulted in 1517 deaths out of the 2223 people on board. The high casualty rate was due to the fact that the ship was not carrying enough lifeboats for everyone onboard. Brown, David G. (2000). The Last Log of the Titanic. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0071364471. Most fire cases are quickly dealt with and the only losses that the crew face are the cargos or raw materials onboard. Up to this day, passenger ship have not faced any fire incidents that resulted in major human casualties. Fire Safety Measures Safety of Life at Sea(SOLAS) M.Masellis and S.W.A.Gunn(1992) said that fire casualties on ships lead almost certainly to disastrous results because of the limited and isolated areas of the vessels and the lack of immediate and easy access for the rescue team. Preventive measures are therefore much more effective in the effort to avoid such casualties than rescue and fire-extinguishing procedures or devices. [Marine fire casualties in merchant ships: the Greek statistics 1992 Available from: http://www.springerlink.com/content/h8362077847j9127/] In 1914, The International Maritime Organisation had a convention among international leaders and maritime leaders to talk about maritime safety. Of all the international conventions dealing with maritime safety, the most important is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea(SOLAS). There have been many versions of SOLAS adopted by the International Maritime Organisation but the present version was adopted in 1974 and entered into force in 1980.The SOLAS conventions have all covered many aspects of safety at sea. The convention in 1914 included chapters on safety of navigation, construction, fire protection and life-saving appliances.(International Maritime Organisation 2009) This shows that the International Maritime Organisation is constantly trying to find ways to improve the aspects of safety at sea to ensure the safety of seafarers life by introducing the Safety Of Life at Sea(SOLAS) and updating it. Fire Safety Test and Safety Equipment One of the fire safety measures is to conduct fire safety test for the ship. Fire safety of ships is an extremely important area. Before any material can be used onboard a ship, it must have successfully passed strict tests and have been certified for use. This is to ensure that the material or equipment does not pose a fire hazard onboard the ship. (SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden 2008) Another safety measure is to install safety equipments on the ship. Equipments such as fire extinguisher, sprinkler system , gas monitor and other safety equipments are being implemented. The International Maritime Organisation(IMO) is taking steps to introduce new and more sophisticated equipments onboard the ships. IMO hope to reduce the amount of accidents from occurring onboard the ship and will rely on this new equipments to combat the problem more efficiently. Service of ships and Equipments According to The Safety of Life At Sea 1974 edition, the ship and its safety equipments have to undergo service once every few years. Safety equipments include components that can deteriorate over time. Therefore, this can decrease the effectiveness of the equipment. Examples of such equipments stated in the Safety Of Life At Sea 1974 edition (SOLAS) are fire extinguishers, EPIRBs, flares, life jackets, life rafts and smoke signals. Servicing of the equipment must be done by the manufacturer or an authorised agent by the expiry date. The expiry date must be clearly marked on the equipment. Most life raft needs to be serviced every two or three years. Equipment that cannot be serviced or no longer works must be replaced if it is to be carried as part of the safety equipment onboard the ship.(The International Maritime Organisation 2009) In the event that an emergency were to occur and the safety equipments were to be faulty as they were not sent for servicing, the manufacturer should not be blamed as the expiry date have been stated clearly on the equipment. It is the duty of the crew onboard and its owner to send the equipments for servicing once the expiry date is over. According to the IMO 2009, maintenance and inspections of equipments must be recorded to provide objective evidence that these work have been carried out according to the manufacturers instructions. Proper training for the crew According to the Maritime Port Authority Singapore(MPA) 2010, Seafarers working on board a ship must have the valid certification or endorsements. In Singapore, these are issued by the Training Standards Department of MPA. Seafarers working on board a ship are required to have a valid Certificate of Competency (CoC) or endorsement, which comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). The crew must also be well trained in fire fighting and First Aid. Those who wish to work onboard a ship must have an Advance Fire Fighting Course certificate and Elementary First Aid certificate as well before they are qualified to work onboard (Maritime Port Authority Singapore 2010). The crew will also conduct regular safety drills after each departure from port. The crew are to follow their duty that had been assigned on the Muster List. By having proper trained crews onboard a ship, this will minimise the chance of human error and accidents from occurring. Furthermore, the crew are well trained to handle any emergencies such as fire . The International Maritime Organisation(IMO) 2009 once said that the quality and familiarisation are directly affected by the frequency and quality of the drills carried out. IMO added that a crew debrief after each drill is essential to emphasise lessons learned and to give additional training where necessary. Conclusion Further Improvements Every year, the International Maritime Organisation and other Maritime Body are working hand in hand to improve a seafarers life in terms of their living condition and to ensure that they are working in a safe environment. The organisation are trying to find constant improvement to reduce marine casualties, loss in revenue due to unwanted accidents. One improvement that can be introduce to the ship is the All-in-One fire extinguisher. This extinguisher would be able to combat any types of fire such as Class A , Class B, Class C or Class D fires. By having this fire extinguisher onboard the ship, the crew will not need to waste time to find different methods to combat different types of fire. Another improvement that could be introduced is the fire isolating system. This system will isolate the fire from spreading to other rooms and this will reduce the damage caused towards the ship. The Maritime Port Authority said that this new inventions will further improve the safety aspects but it still needs to undergo more tests before it can be implemented towards the ships. Human Error is still the Main Cause The International Maritime Organisation have taken steps to ensure that the technology and safety equipments being implemented are up to date. Even thought this is so, nothing can be done if the accident caused is by human error. Even if the crew had gone for proper training, human error will still occur. An article by B.S Dhillon(2007), human error costs the Maritime Industry $541 million per year and a study of 6091 major accident claims revealed that 62% of the claims were attributed to human error. B.S Dhillion(2007) added that human error contributes to 84% to 88% of tanker accidents. [B.S Dhillon 2007. Human Reliability and Error in Transportation Systems, Springer Series in Reliability Engineering . Page 1.] These incidents will result in crew injuries or death and the ship will be delayed or damaged. Even if there is mechanical failure, human error can play a role in terms of lack of maintenance , monitoring or a breakdown in communication. The Bahamas Maritime Authority added that crew fatigue and complacency can be a major factor in this incident. The Bahamas Maritime Authority said that Good equipment can cost more, but safety should be accorded a higher priority because a ship cannot be operated safely without the seafarer. References http://www.cruisebruise.com/princess_cruise_star_princess_fire_march_23_2006.html http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Marine-Fire-Fighting-EquipmentSecuring-Ship-Safety-And-Damage-Control-Against-Fire/1252660 http://www.unols.org/publications/manuals/safe_man.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8336564.stm http://www.mpa.gov.sg/sites/port_and_shipping/for_seafarers/seafarer_certification/seafarer_certification.page http://www.springerlink.com/content/h8362077847j9127 http://www.mapreport.com/subtopics/d/n.html http://www.bahamasmaritime.com/Documents/Bulletins/72bulltn.pdf Summary In brief, the report describes about the various reasons why fire safety is an important factor for the maritime Industry. It also goes into the detail on the causes of fire onboard the ship. The consequences of fire is also gone into detail in this report to show the importance of safety at sea.

Dyslexia Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Dyslexia Dyslexia is a neurological-based, specific learning disability, characterized by language handling deficiencies, impairment in the ability to recognize and translate words into sentences. It is said that a reading disability reflects a continuous deficit as opposed to an arrest in development and can occur in a person of any level of intelligence. Dyslexia can be related to hormonal or hereditary influences, or brain injury. One in five children are thought to have dyslexia and it is found to be more prevalent in males.(1) The difficulties caused by dyslexia do not accurately measure the sufferer's intelligence. Geniuses of our time, such as Einstein, have been affected by the problems of automatic decoding of words and formation of accurate sentences. It is said that many dyslexics "shine in the arts, creativity, design, computing and lateral thinking." (2) The etiological basis suggests that reading disorders stem from difficulties in phonological processing, i.e. the brain's inabi lity to translate images from the eyes completely and correctly to the ears and mouth.(3) Symptoms of dyslexia range from reading and writing difficulties, to speech, direction, time, concentration, coordination, and even self-esteem issues. Other mental disorders are often found to be co-morbid, yet still separate from dyslexia. Common are disorders such as attention deficit and depression, enhanced by the general feelings of helplessness and confusion of dyslexia..(4) Co-morbid problems tend to lessen once the individual seeks successful help with their dyslexia. There are thought to be various main factors within the brain that contribute to dyslexia. Two of those factors are linked an underutilized left hemisphere and a central b... ...tive outlook, the individual is doomed not to improve. Nothing is concrete in the study of dyslexia, much research and education are still in need for a better understanding and treatment of this disorder. Internet Sources: 1)Barkley, Russel A. & Eric J.Mash. Child Psychopathology Guilford Press, NY, NY. 1996 (pg.418) 2)http://www.dyslexia-inst.org.uk/what.htm#top 3)Barkley, Russel A. & Eric J.Mash. Child Psychopathology Guilford Press, NY, NY. 1996 (pg.418) 4)http://dyslexiaonline.com/information.html 5)http://www.nimh.nih.gov/events/prleftdy.htm 6)http://www.dyslexia.org 7)http://www.dyslexiaonline.com/info_whatisdyslexia.html 8)Carlson, Neil R. Physiology of Behavior. Allyn & Bacon, Mass. 1998 (pg. 507) 9)http://www.medicinenet.com 10)http://www.dyslexia.com 11) http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healinfo/disorder/dyslexia/dyslexia.htm