Recent orders
2005). During these meetings
the parents would raise the cultural issues and the concerns that they have about the learning needs of their children. Mr. Jones will address them and together with the parents formulate the way forward that is in the best interest of the learners.
History of the titanic and what caused this disaster (2)
History of the titanic and what caused this disaster
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
History of the titanic and what caused this historical disaster.
The titanic was a celebrated British Olympic class steamship that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg on April 1912.It sank on its first voyage from Southampton to New York leading to the death of more than 1500 people. Harland and wolf shipyard built it for the British shipping company White star line. Construction began in 1909 and completed in 1911. The people involved in its construction were Lord Pirrie, Thomas Andrews, Edward wilding and Alexander Carsile. Lord Pirrie was the chairperson of Harland and Wolf, Thomas Andrew was the naval architect, Edward wilding was responsible for calculating the ships measurements, and Alexander Carsile was the shipyards chief draughtsman and general manager.
The Titanic was a state of the art technological design that was fitted with double bottom watertight compartments that could be easily sealed off in the event of a punctured hull. It was thought to be “practically unsinkable” due to its safety features that were more than required by the safety regulation at the time. It was the largest and most luxurious ship at the time, giving both style and comfort. Titanic was a technological state of the art design but following its disaster, shipbuilding companies were forced to develop new safety regulations and better ship designs.
Titanic made its maiden voyage from Southampton, England on April 10 1912. It made stops in Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland then set sail for New York with 2227 passengers and crew. Many of the passengers on board the first class were high-ranking wealthy individuals and an experienced shipmaster, Captain Edward John Smith was navigating it. In this crowd of influential individuals were the white star lines managing director Bruce Ismay and the ships naval architect Thomas Andrews. The individuals in the second class included the employees of the dignitaries in the first class, journalists, academics, and tourists among others. Those in the second class enjoyed a level of comfort and service equal to First class in other ships. The largest group of passengers was in the third class and they totaled more than 700 individuals, majority of them being immigrants moving to North America. The amenities offered in the third class were far much better than that of other ships.
Titanic was a creation of extreme competition among rival shipping lines during this era. The white star line was in competition with Cunard, a shipbuilding company that had previously produced two outstanding ships. In the same year that Cunard unveiled the two liners, the chief executive of white star line contacted the Harland and Wolff about building three ‘Olympic’ class liners. Each of the ships was to be 882 feet long and 92.5 feet at their broadest point making them the largest. Building began in March 1909 at the Harland and Wolff’s shipyard and launching done on May 31 1911. It was not until 1912 that all of the ship’s decks and lavish interiors were completed. It was fitted with two main steam engines, two 3-blade wing propellers, and a 4-blade Centre propeller, a double bottom with watertight bulkhead compartments, hull steel and wrought iron rivets. Fitted into the ship were twenty lifeboats that were more than required as per the safety regulations at the time.
The first class accommodation was the pinnacle of luxury and comfort. It had on board high-class restaurants, extravagant cabins, a swimming pool, libraries, a gymnasium, and a radiotelegraph. Both passengers and crew could use a radiotelegraph transmitter placed on the first class deck. Compared to other ships at the time, Titanic had superior safety features and this was evident from the references people had of the ships. A white star line brochure when referring to the two liners, Titanic and Olympic, stated “these two wonderful vessels are designed to be unsinkable.” Multiple publications such as the Irish News also described the watertight compartments coupled with the electronic doors to be “practically unsinkable.” The passengers on board also had the belief the ship was unsinkable. For instance, Thomson Beattie wrote, “We are changing ships and coming home in a new unsinkable boat.” (in text citation)The ship was not only luxurious, but also provided a sense of safety due to all its technological advancement.
Four days after setting sail, at 11:30 pm a lookout saw an iceberg coming out of a haze directly ahead and sounded a warning. The ship was quickly turned and it seemed it had only grazed along the side of the iceberg. However, the iceberg had slashed a wide gash in the hull and five bulkhead compartments were already filling up with water. Water poured from one compartment to the next despite its design being watertight and this was because the walls separating them extended only a few feet above the water line. The hull steel and wrought iron rivets failed due to brittle fracture that was caused by low temperature, high sulphur and high impact. The water temperature that night was below freezing, hence the low temperature, the ship was travelling at full speed on impact, and the hull steel had high levels of sulphur. At this point, the ship began tilting down and the captain radioed for help as well as ordered the lifeboats to be loaded. Many passengers died due to the lifeboats being launched when under filled and it did not help that the number of lifeboats carried on the ship was also not sufficient.
After receiving distress calls from the Titanic, Cunard’s Carpathia arrived at the scene in the morning and rounded up all the lifeboats and this totaled to 705 survivors. Several boards of inquiry conducted hearings on the ships sinking and every subject investigated. This disaster led to improvements in maritime safety with the most important being the formation of international convention for the safety of life at sea (SOLAS) which is still functional. Other safety measures include increased lifeboat capacity that would accommodate all passengers and crew and wireless communication equipment that were especially important when calling for help during emergencies. Ice patrols were introduced to alert ships of approaching ice fields and keep track of ice fields in relation to nearby ships. In the case of the Titanic, ice patrol would have alerted the captain of ice fields hence averting the disaster.
The sinking of the Titanic is a well know disaster and this due to the great loss of life and the loss of the “unsinkable ship.” Understanding the causes of the ship’s sinking and the faults in the ship design was necessary in preventing future accidents. The contribution of this ships state of the art design in its sinking indicated the need of shipbuilding companies coming up with technologies that engineers could best understand hence using materials best suited for it. The formation of safety regulations thereafter was also effective in decreasing accidents at sea. . Despite the loss of lives, Titanic’s sinking influenced the need to have better safety regulations and the use of better materials in shipbuilding and this has helped o save countless of lives thereafter.
References
Ethics and TV shows
Author
Tutor
Course
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Ethics and TV shows
Introduction
The importance of entertainment in any person’s life cannot be overemphasized. In the recent times, there has been an increase or proliferation of the number of entertainment mediums that people have at their disposal. One of the most popular sources of entertainment is television shows. With numerous movies, programs and reality shows, the television industry has come a long way. Currently, there are television channels that broadcast 24 hours a day, in which case an individual has all degrees of freedom as to when to watch whatever show he or she chooses. It is noteworthy that television, like radios in the previous generation, is capable of penetrating the privacy of any individual’s home, something that has raised a lot of concern. For a long time, it has taken its duties as instructing, enlightening and informing. However, all these functions have faded in comparison to entertainment. In the same breath, entertainment has brewed a lot of controversy as to the morality or ethical nature of most television shows. Along with the evolution of television shows, morals and ethics have taken a downward trend as far as the content is concerned. In fact, there is a marked difference between the level of morality depicted in present-day TV programs and those of the 60’s.
Studies show that quite a large number of people believe that the United States is on a moral decline. In addition, most people believe that the entertainment and news media are a key influence as far as the decline is concerned. Many people belonging in the 50s have incredible recollections of TV shows such as “The Donna Reed Show”, “Father Knows Best” and “Leave it to Beaver” among others. Many people will acknowledge that, all of these shows came with a moral or ethical challenge for all the main characters. While trying to untangle themselves from their dilemmas, the viewers were left with valuable and tangible lessons. It is noteworthy that these shows clearly defined what was appropriate and wrong. In these shows, concepts such as situational ethics were never incorporated. Not only were the viewers entertained but also taught character-building concepts that the society embraced at that time.
Fast-forward to the contemporary TV shows and one would be dumbfounded by the content incorporated. Most of the shows in today’s television channels blatantly promote premarital sex, extreme violence, adultery, rebellion, drug and alcohol use and violation of law among other things. It is noteworthy that most of the images that are shown in present-day TV programs have long term effects on all people, whether adults or children (Rushdie 45). Unfortunately, some of these programs are shown at times when children are still wide awake. In essence, they are exposed to different forms of nudity, grisly horror scenes, graphic violence, as well as simulated sex acts that have a horrific language accompanying them. Unfortunately, these children may not be sufficiently mature to understand or process these things.
Reality shows have also become quite popular in the recent times thanks to their profitable nature. As much as some of them may not be successful, quite a number of them achieve considerable cultural prominence ad popularity. However, it is noteworthy that they are not entirely new. The reality show known as Candid Camera started in the 40’s and involved filming ordinary persons confronted by unusual situations. The situation could involve desk drawers that popped out when one was closed, cars with another gas tank and many other episodes. However, the episodes of Candid Camera that run today are in no way comparable to the initial episodes. It seems that the new version is founded on putting people through embarrassing, humiliating and painful situations while the viewers watch and are presumably entertained. If the sole reason, as to why production companies come up with these shows is to make money from the suffering, humiliation and embarrassment of unsuspecting people, then the entire production is unconscionable and immoral (Stevenson 45). As much as there may be some people who are willing to view such events, the producers are not in any way relieved from their guilt of orchestrating these events, as well as willing the reactions. The fact that they orchestrate shows where other people will experience embarrassment, suffering and humiliation, is naturally unethical (Rushdie 23).
However, questions arise as to whether producers are entirely to blame. In instances where the participants are unsuspecting, the producers or individuals who orchestrate the shows are entirely to blame. However, there are instances where the participants are willing to go through it all for whatever reason. Take, for example, a popular show known as The Bachelor. It involves one man, who is the Bachelor, and 25 women from whom he has his pick. Shot at a Malibu mansion, the show is a perfect example of how immoral a people can be. The bachelor greets and talks with each of the 25 ladies takes a number of them on dates and gets to make out with quite a number of them. The bachelor cuts the group of women every week to the last one. The surprising thing about the show is that none of the girls shows a different preference from the bachelor presented. None of them is not attracted to the bachelor presented. In fact, all the girls say that they wish they could be picked by the bachelor. Later on, the girls opine that they think they are falling in love with the bachelor. This changes, later on, to confiding that are in love with the lucky bachelor. While this is going on, the lucky bachelor feels each of the women, who are aged between 18 and 30, every week. Their families are thoroughly informed that the bachelor thinks their girl is the one. During the entire time, each of the girls is perfectly in the know of the bachelor’s ways. She can see the bachelor taking one of the ladies on a cruise, dinner date, skiing and skydiving, while they sit in the mansion. In fact, they watch as the bachelor takes each of the girls to the hot tub or into the pool and has sex with them. When there are three girls left, the bachelor asks them whether they would mind in case he spends a night with them (Greenspan 34). Surprisingly, none of the girls refuses. Each of these girls knows that the bachelor was or will be sleeping with the other girl the night before or after. However, they go ahead and sleep with him all aiming to do better than the next girl or the previous one. Unfortunately, this is the society that everyone has created either by omission or commission. Such episodes were unheard of in shows such as “The Waltons”, of the 60’s, which had clear lessons to teach the viewers. The Waltons promoted virtues such as family values, commitment to the proper decision-making for the good of all, taking responsibility for one’s actions, standing up for one’s beliefs, forgiveness and even following one’s passion. Unfortunately, despite all the hype and popularity of the present-day shows, there is nothing pleasant as far as moral lessons are concerned (Sumser 56).
In conclusion, the morality and ethics incorporated in mist TV shows has been rapidly declining. There is a marked difference between the movies of the 60’s and the TV shows we have today. Most shows have sex, lying, humiliation, suffering and embarrassment of the participants as the key line. While the blame may lie with the producers, it is noteworthy that most of the individuals who are involved in these immoral episodes are willing participants. Most of these TV shows have nothing to show as far as moral lessons are concerned unlike the TV shows of the 60s.
Works cited
Butler, John. TV, movies & morality: a guide for Catholics. New York: Our Sunday Visitor. 1984. Print
Stevenson, Gregory. Televised Morality: The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. New York: University Press of America. 2003
Sumser, John. Morality and social order in television crime drama. New York: McFarland. 1996. Print.
Rushdie, Salman. Reality TV: a dearth of talent and the death of morality. The Guardian. 2001. Web retrieved 21st April 2012 from HYPERLINK “http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/jun/09/salmanrushdie”http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/jun/09/salmanrushdie
Greenspan, Bob. Morality TV: ABC, The Bachelor, and the American Decline. 2007. Web retrieved 21st April 2012 from HYPERLINK “http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/morality-tv-abc-the-bachelor-and/”http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/morality-tv-abc-the-bachelor-and/