Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Hilift Pty Ltd Essay Example for Free

Hilift Pty Ltd Essay Hilift Pty Ltd (Hilift) owns an industrial crane. Hilift employs two crane operators, Elwyn and Osman, who each work 4 hour shifts. In May 2008 the owner/builder of a new apartment block hires Hilift’s crane and operators for two weeks to lift building materials to the upper floors of their building. At the end of the first shift on the 10 May, Elwyn notifies the manager of Hilift that the crane is not performing properly and that it needs looking at. The manager contacts the company who does repairs and maintenance work on the crane, EFL Engineering, and asks for an engineer to be sent out immediately. EFL says that no-one is available for two hours. The manager of Hilift decides to allow Osman to begin his shift before the engineer arrives, since to stop work will delay construction. Osman is halfway through hoisting his first load when a cable in the crane snaps and the crane swings out of control, smashing into a lower floor of the building. Two construction workers in the building are injured. One has both legs crushed and they have to be amputated. The other worker will be hospitalised for a long time with serious injuries but will make a full recovery. The building is damaged by the accident and will cost $75,000 to repair. The construction of the building is delayed by three months because of the accident, and for this period the expected income from tenants is lost. Osman is deeply traumatized by these events and cannot bring himself to drive a crane again. After a period of six months without employment, during which he receives psychiatric treatment, Osman takes lower paid work as a general construction worker. A subsequent inspection of the crane finds that the fault in the cable would have been discovered if an engineer had inspected the crane after El wyn’s shift had ended. To replace this cable would have taken six hours. Advise Hilift as to whether, and to what extent, the company will be liable in tort for the harm that has occurred. Facts: Hilift Pty Ltd owns industrial crane May 2008: hired to lift building materials to upper floor of new apartment block Hilift is aware crane is not performing properly Hilift contacts repairs company Hilift allows Osman to work before crane is looked at  Cable in crane snaps Causes $75 000 of property damage and delays construction by 3 months Osman is traumatized, cannot drive crane again Fault in cable would have been discovered by engineer Advise Hilift as to whether, and to what extent, the company will be liable in tort for the harm that has occurred. Consider: Osman, Construction Worker 1, Construction Worker 2 and the building owner using IRAC. Issue: Is the company liable in tort for the harm that has occurred to Osman, Construction Worker 1, Construction Worker 2 and the building manager and to what extent? Rule Tort of Negligence: The respondent in a civil claim of negligence will only be liable to the applicant/plaintiff by way of damages if the following elements are established on the balance of probabilities: 1. That a duty of care was owed by the respondent to the plaintiff in the relevant situation; Here you would cite cases if relevant – specific tests/standards etc. 2. That the respondent breached that duty of care owed to the plaintiff; and Again, cite case authority and any applicable standards – e.g. â€Å"reasonable person† 3. That the plaintiff has suffered some injury or damage as a result of that breach. Case authority – e.g. the injury must be reasonably foreseeable. Apply – Osman 1. Duty of care? Hilift reasonably ought to have been able to foresee, and clearly did know, that there would be risk that the crane would malfunction or break which would likely cause physical or psychological harm to the crane operator, if he did not wait for the maintenance / repairs company. This is supported by the fact that the other operator, Elwyn, notifies the manager of Hilift after his shift recommending that the crane needs to be looked at. This is also supported by the fact that the manager contacts the maintenance company: if he did not perceive there to be a risk, why did he contact the maintenance company and request a consultation immediately? While a person is not generally liable in tort for psychological harm, this is a special case under the pure mental illness exception, whereby the plaintiff, Osman, witnessed the two construction workers being severely injured Neighbour principle: Established a duty of care between employer and employee in Wilson Clide Coal Co LTG v English (1 938): employers owe employees a duty of care to provide a safe working environment, and Paris v Stepney Borough Council (1951). 2. Breach? Standard of care: the â€Å"reasonable man† definitely would have believed there to be a real and foreseeable risk that the plaintiff might be injured if the crane malfunctioned or broke The â€Å"reasonable man† would have waited the two hours for an engineer from EFL Engineering to check the crane. The â€Å"reasonable man† would have exercised a much greater standard of care, particularly as the crane was lifting building materials to upper floors and the consequences if the crane malfunctioned were very serious. 3. Damage? Osman was â€Å"deeply traumatized† and cannot drive a crane again He received psychiatric treatment and would eventually take lower paid work. Causation: if Hilift had waited for EFL Engineering, the cable would not have snapped and would not have caused Osman’s psychological injury. (â€Å"But for† test) Foreseeability: Hilift ought to have foreseen that if he did not wait for the EFL Engineering consult, that the crane could malfunction and this malfunction would be likely to cause injury or death to others and consequently cause a severe risk of physical or psychological harm to the  crane operator. Conclusion Osman Hilift would be liable in tort for the psychiatric injury to Osman, but is unlikely to be liable in tort for the compensation for Osman’s reduced salary after the accident because established in Kyogie shire Council v Francis (1989) that it is not permissible for the court to award damages to compensate the injured for profits they may have earned if not for the negligent conduct. Apply – Construction worker 1 (Amputee) 1. Duty of care? Hilift reasonably ought to have known that there would be a (not insignificant) risk that the crane would malfunction or break, which would, in turn, be likely to cause severe damage or injury to workmen below. Supported by Hilift’s contact with the maintenance company: if he did not perceive there to be a risk, why did he contact the maintenance company and request a consultation â€Å"immediately†? Neighbour principle: Established a duty of care between employer and employee in Wilson Clide Coal Co Ltd v English (1938): employers owe employees a duty of care to provide a safe working environment, and Paris v Stepney Borough Council (1951). 2. Breach? See â€Å"Breach† in Apply – Osman The likely seriousness of the consequences of Hilift continuing construction without waiting for the engineer were extremely serious as the crane was handing heavy materials at a high altitude, which suggests Hilift ought to have exercised a higher standard of care. 3. Damage? The snapping of the cable caused direct, severe injury to the construction worker, requiring amputation of both legs. Causation: If Hilift had waited for EFL Engineering, the fault in the cable would have been detected and fixed, and the construction worker would not need to be amputated. Foreseeability: Hilift ought to have foreseen that if he did not wait for the EFL Engineering consultant, the crane could malfunction and this would be likely to cause severe injury or death to construction workers working on lower floors. Conclusion – Construction Worker 1 Hilift would be liable in tort to pay compensation for the costs incurred by Construction Worker 1 due to that hospitalisation and forced amputation of both legs, and possibly even â€Å"consequential mental harm† depending on the mental health of Construction Worker 1. Apply – Construction Worker 2 1. Duty of care? see â€Å"Duty of care† in Apply – Construction Worker 1* 2. Breach? Standard of care: the â€Å"reasonable man† definitely would have believed there to be a real and foreseeable risk that the plaintiff might be injured if the crane malfunctioned or broke. The â€Å"reasonable man† would have waited the two hours for an engineer from EFL Engineering to check the crane. The â€Å"reasonable man† would have exercised a much greater standard of care, particularly as the crane was lifting building materials to upper floors and the likely seriousness of the consequences if the crane malfunctioned. 3. Damage? The snapping of the cable hospitalised Construction Worker 2 for an extended period of time and serious injuries. Causation: If Hilift had waited for EFL Engineering, the fault in the cable would have been detected and fixed, and the construction worker would not need to be hospitalised. Foreseeability: Hilift ought to have foreseen that if they did not wait for the EFL Engineering consultation, the crane could malfunction and this would be likely to cause severe injury or death to construction workers working on lower floors. Conclusion – Construction Worker 2 Hilift would be liable in tort for compensation for the costs incurred by Construction Worker 2 for the hospitalisation due to Hilift’s negligent inaction by allowing Osman to continue work on a faulty crane. Apply – Building Manager 1. Duty of care? Hilift ought to have foreseen that if the crane was faulty, it would likely cause damage to the building Duty of care: professional persons (Hilift) owing a duty to client (building owner) established in Hill v Van Erp (1997). Analogous situation: manufacturers (Hilift) owing a duty to eventual consumer (building owner) established in Donohue v Stevenson (1932). 2. Breach? Standard of care: the â€Å"reasonable man† definitely would have believed there to be a real and foreseeable risk that the building would be damaged if the crane malfunctioned while handing heavy building materials. The â€Å"reasonable man† would have waited the two hours for an engineer from the EFL Engineering to check the crane. 3. Damage? The building will cost $75 000 to repair Construction is delayed by three months; expected income from tenants during this period is lost. Causation: If Hilift had waited for EFL Engineering, the fault in the cable would have been detected and fixed, and the building would not need to be repaired, nor will construction be delayed 3 months. Foreseeability: Hilift ought to have foreseen that if he did not wait for the EFL Engineering consultation, the crane could malfunction and this would be likely to cause damage to the building. Conclusion – Building Manager Hilift would be liable in tort for the compensation of $75, 000 for the  building repair, but precedent suggests the company will not be liable for compensation for the expected profits the building owner lost due to the three month delay. This was established in Kyogle Shire Council v Francis (1989).

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Death of a Salesman :: Death of a Salesman

It is known that in literature, a tragedy is one of the most popular genres. It always combines some story which discusses human sufferings with a certain sense of audience fulfillment. The roots of the tragedy are related to ancient Greece. A Greek tragedy is a sad story, which represents a character with a tragic flaw leading to his downfall. In addition, in traditional tragedy, the main character falls from high authority and often it is predetermined by fate, while the audience experiences catharsis (Bloom 2). Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is considered to be a tragedy because this literary work has some of the main characteristics of the tragedy genre. In this play, the main character Willy Loman possesses such traits and behaviors that lead to his downfall, and the audience experiences catharsis. Willy Loman as a real tragic hero comes to the decision to commit suicide because of serious financial problems of his family (Phelps 79). This play has already been criticized by a number of literary critics who represented different opinions on the plot of the book. The major goal of this paper is to critically evaluate the play Death of a Salesman written by the well-known American writer Arthur Miller, paying special attention to the play’s characteristics of a tragedy. In the play Death of a Salesman, the author investigates human nature and represents his main character as a person whose dissatisfaction with his own life leads to his tragic end. The plot of this literary work is rather simple. The play consists of two acts. In the first act, Willy Loman, the main character of Miller’s play returns home from New York. It is found that his goal was to travel to Boston, but he could not achieve this goal and returned home. The author of the play states that Willy’s personal dissatisfaction is the result of the tension in interpersonal relations between him, his wife Linda, and their two sons Biff and Happy. The first act of the play is focused on such issues as Willy Loman’s emotional instability because of his personal dissatisfaction, Biff’s frustration and the family’s financial problems. Moreover, the author represents his story is such a way that Willy’s emotional instability leads to the tension in rela tionships between Willy and Biff, who is also unhappy because of his professional failure. Willy says: â€Å"The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and he’s rich!† (Miller 31).

Monday, January 13, 2020

Changes in Prisons in Twentieth Century in Britain Essay

In 20th century a lot of important changes was made in Britain prison system. A lot of crucial moves in this matter were made, which made changes to the system, and create the current system in prisons. A lot of reports and changes plans were made in this crucial for the matter period. The beginning for this period was made in 1895 with Gladstone report, which was highly critical of the current penal policy. It criticised existing regimes for ‘crushing self respect’ and ‘starving all moral instinct’. The report argued that reformation should coexist with deterrence and that rehabilitation should be given priority. Victorians focused upon repression and punishment. They used inflexible and punitive methods of control. Gladstone felt these should be replaced with more scientific methods of ‘treatment’. In addition, prison commissioners for the first time in 1898, defined the purpose of prison as the ‘humanisation of the individual’1. Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise insisted that ‘each man convicted of crime is to be regarded as an individual, as a separate entity of morality, who by the application of influences, of discipline, labour, education, moral and religious, backed up on discharge by a well organised system of patronage is capable of reinstatement in civic life’2. Weiner (1990) stated, â€Å"It is now recognised that primitive measures alone are not corrective, and effective reformation of criminals can only be attained by making our prisons true schools and moral hospitals†. Forsythe (1991) argues that new projects often fell short of the claims made for them. He says that in particular, the local and convict prisons ‘clung tenaciously to the concepts of measured punishment, moral culpability, limited deterrence and uniformly administered discipline’. It is a fact that the process of reform was often slow and not al all easy to perceive. From 1900 onwards a number of radical changes were made to the standard prison regime: 1) Unproductive labour was officially abandoned and replaced by prison industries and work considered ‘useful’, 2) The separate system was gradually eroded, allowing prisoners to work in association, 3) Education was increased and improved, 4) Internal discipline was maintained through a reward/punishment system related to the introduction of remission, 5) Specialists such as psychologists were appointed, 6) Prisoner categorisation was extended, 7) The Borstal system was introduced for juveniles, 8) A commitment to reformation became enshrined in the Prison Rule that stipulated that the purpose of imprisonment was to encourage prisoners to ‘lead a good and useful life’3, 9) During the 1930s the treadmill and arrows on convict uniforms were abolished. According to Garland (1985) the most radical reforms of this era took place outside of the prison system: 1) The introduction of the probation service, 2) Alternatives to custody emerged, 3) Construction of specialist institutions4. Garland views these major transformations as the beginnings of our current practice. Garland prefers to talk of developments in a whole realm of penality rather than prison reform5. Additionally, in 1908 Borstals6 were put on a statutory footing – implemented by Herbert Gladstone. The name Borstal comes from the village in Kent where the first Borstal scheme got its first full-scale trial. Borstals took English public schools as their model and their sentences were indeterminate. Criminals aged between 16 – 21 could be sent to Borstal for between one and three years. The prison Commission could release on licence at any time after six months (or three months for girls) and could also recall for misbehaviour. Borstal faltered after 1945 really because success rates were measured by reconviction rates. 1982 the administration of Margaret Thatcher formally abolished the Borstal and replaced it with the ‘Youth Custody Centre’ – with determinate sentences of imprisonment. Paterson7 replaced military type training with delegated authority and encouragement of personal responsibility. Staffs wore civilian clothing and were encouraged to get to know the ‘lads’ personally – considered revolutionary in the 1920s. The Borstal notion of training prisoners through personal relations, trust and responsibility gradually had an impact on the prison system as a whole. Two borstal elements were transplanted into the adult system with long lasting effects: 1. 1936 the first minimum-security (open) prison was established at New Hall, near Wakefield. 2. The housemaster was renamed ‘assistant governor’. The post war developments where about the Easier bail, Probation, Time to pay fines, a reduction in time to be served for a partial payment of fines, Reformatories for juveniles, Curtailment of imprisonment for debt and, More facilities for the insane and for habitual drunkards. In 1928 the then Home Secretary had described Dartmoor convict prison as ‘the cesspool of English humanity’ â€Å"I suppose there must be some residuum which no training or help will ever improve†8. Furthermore in 1948 Paterson and his colleagues framed Criminal justice Act. This was a highly influential piece of legislation. Borstal had represented the opposite view and resurrected the possibility of reformatory prison. Borstals and Detention Centres began to lose favour: neither for deterrence or reform was the short sentence acceptable. This is one of the elements in the English prison-crowding crisis – which became acute in the 1970s and 1980s and with which the country is still wrestling. Deterrence – Youth prisons known as Detention Centres were intended to subject boys (and half-heartedly, girls) who were thought to be on the verge of a custodial career to a last chance ‘short, sharp, shock’. Separate institutions for pre trial prisoners were planned but never created: these would be custodial but non-penal institutions. Due to the war, there were no funds and little sympathy for unconvinced detainees. McConville states that ‘thick skins and short purses ever since have ensured that English pre trial prisoners were treated worse than they were for virtually all of Victoria’s reign and much worse than their fellows who were convicted and sentenced’. The 1960s and early 1970s are seen as the beginning of the crisis years with British prisons. At last we can refer to System of Concentration. Mountbatten referred to the obvious advantages of an island prison holding all prisoners who posed a threat. A new prison was to be built on the Isle of Wight. This was rejected and the dispersal system became the preferred way of housing inmates. Since early 1966 new measurements of security have been implemented in selected prisons. Between 1969 and 1979 the prison service went through a number of riots. 70s and 80s dogged with accusations of brutality and violence directed at prisoners from the prison staff. Serious disturbances and riots had occurred in maximum-security prisons, which had led to reprisals against prisoners. British riots occurred within the new dispersal system: Parkhurst 1969, Albany 1971 & 1972, Gartree 1972, Hull 1976, and Gartree 1978. Hull riot will go down in history, as it was the prison staff who were ultimately tried and convicted. Special control units were introduced after the Gartree riot of 1972 for troublemakers over and above the existing segregation units. 1970s represent the years when reform and treatment had dwindled away and the whole prison system ran on the notion that ‘nothing works’. By 1978 both the courts and the prisons were in danger of serious collapse. Industrial relations were poor with prison staff. May Committee 1979 reported as a response to the previous troubled decade. They explored the issues of what the aim of imprisonment was; they agreed that the rhetoric of treatment and training had had its day. Finally, King and Morgan proposed the term ‘humane containment’: 1. Minimum use of custody 2. Minimum use of security 3. Normalisation. The current organisation of the prison system is heavily influenced by past practice. This has shaped the system that we now have today. So, it is difficult to assess progress of 20th Century. Harsh and punitive experience of prison overrides any idea of progressive treatment. Biggest rises can be seen from 1974 onwards. It is a fact that this matter is very important and serious for the society and has to be developed according to the needs of the society according to its progress at times. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Goffman, E. (1961) Asylums, Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Harmondsworth 2. Jones, K. (1993) Asylums and After: A Revised History of the Mental Health Services from the Early Eighteenth Century to the 1990’s. 3. Morris, N and Rothman, D.J (eds). (1995) The Oxford History of the Prison. Oxford University Press. 4. Porter, R. (2002) Madness: A Brief History. Oxford University Press. 1 Weiner, 1990. 2 Ruggles-Brise quoted in Garland 1985. 3 Prison Rule 6 in 1949 but Prison Rule 1 since 1964. 4 such as Borstal where principles of rehabilitation were initiated. 5 â€Å"the prison was decentred, shifted from its position as the central and predominant sanction to become one institution among many in an extended grid of penal sanctions. Of course it continued to be of major importance, but it was now deployed in a different manner, for a narrower section of the criminal population and often as a back up sanction for other institutions, rather than a place of first resort†. 6 The Borstal System. 7 Alexander Paterson. 8 Sir William Joynson-Hicks.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

The Oce A Beautiful Yet Frightening Place - 2185 Words

THE OCEAN: A BEAUTIFUL YET FRIGHTENING PLACE The oceans are such a significant part of all life here on Earth. Without them, close to nothing on Earth would be alive and the entire makeup of Earth would be altered immensely. Even though all life depends on them, Kathy Kranking, a published author, notes that only around 5% of the whole ocean has been explored or seen. The â€Å"ocean† is actually made up of 5 different oceans: the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern oceans. It even covers almost three-fourths of the Earth’s surface. People can go swimming in it, surfing in it, boating in it, check out all of the different wildlife in it, or just enjoy it’s beauty. In order to fully understand the massive oceans of Earth, people must first understand the geography and importance of the oceans, life in the oceans, and problems in the oceans. GEOGRAPHY AND IMPORTANCE The ocean is very deep, so oceanologists have split the ocean into zones based upon water temperature and brightness of the water. These three zones include the sunlit zone, the twilight zone, and the midnight zone. Kathy Kranking, author of the article â€Å"The Ocean† writes that the sunlit zone is the shallowest of the oceanic zones, and it is between the surface and 330 feet below the surface. Of the ocean zones, the sunlit zone is the warmest and the brightest. It is home to large majority of sea creatures, even though it is much smaller than the other zones (Kranking). The twilight zone is located between