Fire Safety Management Procedures Of Storage Warehouse Construction Essay

Fire Safety Management Procedures Of Storage Warehouse Construction Essay The individual report is a team members study into one specialist area of the project which is assigned by the team. It should be essential materials to support the final conclusions and recommendation for this project in the team report. The clients requirements details as follows. Building size: 250 sq meters (office) Building size: 3,500 sq meters (warehouse) Building height: 14 meters Twenty glass windows for the offices on the front One door on the front Ten windows for each side Five gates and three windows on the rear Brick front Sainsbury (client) plans to build up a warehouse along with offices of two storeyes. The building will be constructed of pre-engineered steel structure. For example, Fig 1 shows a typical structure of the pre-engineered steel building. Fig 2 displays the inside of the building under construction Figure Figure Background Since the 1960s there has been a rapid increase in the construction of large single storey storage warehouse facilities in the United Kingdom (UK). One of the most notable of these was the 40,000 m2 unsprinklered military storage facility constructed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) at Donnington. In 1983 this storage facility was completely destroyed by fire despite the presence of an on-site fire service. The fire at Donnington and other unsprinklered warehouses circa 1980 raised concerns in the UK and United States (US). The major concern in unsprinklered warehouses is rapid conflagration, especially if the following features are present: †¢ 12-30m internal building heights †¢ High racked storage †¢ Highly combustible and flammable stored commodities †¢ Combustible wall and ceiling linings, †¢ Poor fire safety management Regardless of the above concerns, recent research undertaken by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) into sprinkler installation trends and fire statistics for warehouse buildings has shown that occupants generally make their escape from fires in unsprinklered warehouses un-hurt. The likely reasons for this are: 1. The large internal volume can act as a reservoir for combustible products and hence will increase the available safe escape time (ASET) 2. An occupants awake and familiarity state within the building reduces the required safe escape time (RSET) on this basis, BREs research stated that it could be difficult to justify the provision of sprinklers solely on safety grounds, indicating that the provision of sprinklers would have a negligible impact for life safety purposes. Since the 1980s there have been several full scale sprinklered fire tests on warehouse commodities (stored to various heights). These tests have been performed by BRE, Underwriters Laboratory (UL), Factory Mutual (FMGlobal) and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). Such research has assisted in the development of BS5306-2, BS EN12845:2004 and bespoke fire safety engineering guidance such as The Design of Smoke Ventilation for Single Storey Industrial Buildings, including those with mezzanine floors, and high racked storage warehouses by the Smoke Ventilation Association (SVA). Where property protection sprinkler systems are installed with additional enhanced features, significant improvements upon the typical 80% reliability can be achieved. Enhancements such as locking valves in the open position to prevent manual shut-off, fast response sprinkler heads and secondary pumps can all ensure that an enhanced property protection sprinkler system offers an operationa l reliability of in excess of 90%, which is the equivalent reliability for a system designed to a life safety standard. Description The purpose of this Outline Fire Strategy Report is to facilitate preliminary discussions with the Approving Authorities and to outline the approach that will be taken to demonstrate compliance with Part B (Fire Safety) of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations (2000-2006). This report will provide a brief summary on the all aspects of fire safety which correlate with the corresponding Building Regulations. However it will focus primarily issues pertaining to the Fire Detection and Alarm system and linking factors, such as evacuation times and fire growth. The overarching areas within the project incorporate: Determine metal building frames and column profiles; Choose the materials for the walls and roof; Lay the floors plan out; Fire sprinkler system and fire-fighting water pipe; Fire detection and alarm system; Smoke control system; Architectural design for egress means; Structural fire resistance calculations; Although the provisions for the fire safety aspects noted above are covered under separate regulations, they are interlinked. Therefore, these fire safety aspects will be reviewed holistically in this strategy in order to ensure the requirements of the Building Regulations are achieved in the proposed works. The facility will incorporate approximately 3,500 sq m of warehousing space and a two storey office block. The facility will be typical portal fame construction clad in composite panels with the portal haunch being at approximately 16m above adjacent ground level and the apex of portals being at approximately 18m above adjacent ground level. The two storey office block is compartmented from the remainder of the building in fire resisting construction effectively creating two separated parts. The warehouse compartment is single storey. Automated Garment Racking System The automated garment racking system will be spread over five levels (i.e. ground and four upper access gantries/walkway levels). A common feature of automated hanging garment storage systems is that there are no discernible floors. Access to the automated garment racking system will be via elevated walkways and open stairs. A typical arrangement is shown in figure 3 Figure The existing facility is fitted out with high racking bays incorporating in-rack sprinklers. It is intended to alter the existing high racking bay arrangement to incorporate a more efficient system to meet with specific operational requirements. The existing sprinkler system will be amended/extended to ensure that all high rack storage bays are adequately protected with in-rack sprinklers. Building Regulations Regarding fire safety, the proposed automated hanging garment racking system and associated works must comply with The Building Regulations 2000 (England and Wales) but in existing areas only to the extent where no new or greater contravention of any regulation is created. As a general principle the recommendations of Approved Document B (ADB) Volume 2 Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses can to be applied to most buildings. Although, in respect of certain buildings and structures, in particular those purpose-designed for automated storage plant, the recommendations set out in ADB might be either inappropriate or unreasonably restrictive. A common feature of automated hanging garment storage systems is that there are no discernible floors and no fire separation provided between deck levels. Automated hanging garment delivery, picking or transportation systems are generally accessed via elevated walkways, stairs and ramps. The Building Regulations are written in a functional manner and rather than follow the prescriptive guidance of a particular code of practice, a fire engineered approach can be taken to demonstrate compliance with Statutory requirements where deemed appropriate. In this regard ADB states the following: Fire safety engineering can provide an alternative approach to fire safety. It may be the only practical way to achieve a satisfactory standard of fire safety in some large and complex buildings and in buildings containing different uses ADB: Fire Safety Engineering (0.3) Therefore, where the proposed development does not fully comply with the recommendations of ADB m it is intended to incorporate the latest guidance available as part of an alternative fire safety engineering approach. This approach will be based on the recommendations of BS7974 with the overarching aim of achieving the optimum design solution and Building Regulations approvals. THE REGULATORY REFORM (FIRE SAFETY) ORDER 2005 When the premises become a workplace, the responsible person, i.e. employer, must ensure that any duty imposed by The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, England Wales, specifically articles 8 to 22 or by regulations made under article 24 is complied with. Generally, compliance can be achieved with robust maintenance, staff training and housekeeping regimes and by undertaking regular fire risk assessments (FRA). The local Fire and Rescue Service will be responsible for enforcing these Regulations. Purpose Groups Purpose groups can apply to the whole building or to a compartment in the building. ADB recommends that different uses within a building should be assessed as separate purpose groups except when certain criteria are met (i.e. classified as ancillary if less than1/5 of the compartment floor area). The design of the existing building incorporates a significant amount of single storey open spatial planning, with the warehousing areas being completely separated from the main office block by fire rated construction. Therefore, when account is taken of proposed material alterations and the definitions noted in Appendix D of ADB the proposed warehouse compartment is classified as Purpose Group 7(a) Storage and Other Non-Residential. The existing multi-storey office compartment is classified as Purpose Group 3, Office. Supporting documentation In tandem with the application of recommendations in ADB, a fire safety engineered approach has been used where considered appropriate for aspects of the buildings design. This approach has used recommendations from the following guidance documents to achieve a robust fire strategy: †¢ BS7974 Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings (BSI 2003) †¢ BS9999 Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings (BSI 2008) †¢ BS5588 Fire Precautions in the design, construction and use of buildings; Part 5 Access and facilities for fire-fighting (BSI 2004) †¢ BS5588 Fire Precautions in the design, construction and use of buildings; Part 8 Code of practice for means of escape for disabled people (BSI 1991) BS7974 framework BS7974 is specifically noted in standard fire safety guidance material as providing further guidance on fire safety engineering principles. Figure 4 presents the basic fire engineering design process suggested in BS7974. Figure Deviations BS7974 states the following regarding the use of fire safety engineering in buildings that are otherwise compliant with standard practice: In many projects it is likely that the provisions of existing codes of practice and other guidance will be largely followed and that fire engineering techniques will not be necessary (or may be used only to justify limited departures from the codes). At its simplest the QDR team may therefore, define the acceptance criteria in terms of compliance with existing code recommendations. The acceptability of a particular design may be evaluated by means of a comparison. The level of safety provided by alternative fire safety strategies can be compared with that achieved by the well-established codes. This approach involves deterministic and/or probabilistic techniques and requires less extensive analysis than a full study. The objective of a comparative study is to demonstrate that the building, as designed, presents no greater risk to the occupants than a similar type of building designed in accordance with a well-established code. Most existing codes and guides allow elements of trade-of f and/or alternative measures. Examples can be found for fire resistance, compartment sizes and building separation In a comparative study these examples may be applicable without the need for detailed analysis. The evacuation strategy for the proposed buildings will involve simultaneously evacuating all areas on activation of the fire alarm system. As part of the Management and Health and Safety procedures the management team shall have prepared and implement procedures for the safe evacuation of occupants from the building. Required Safe Egress Time and Available Safe Egress Time In performance based fire safety engineering approaches it is fundamental that the evaluation of the complex interactions between fire, occupants and buildings for means of escape considers the following: †¢ Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) time to detection warning time (alarm) response time (occupant pre-movement) travel time queuing †¢ Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) Time to untenable conditions governed by fire growth, smoke production and size of room. A simple diagrammatic representation of the relationship between ASET and RSET is shown in figure 5 Research on Evacuation Times Standard fire safety recommendations for means of escape relate to travel time, i.e. the time taken to travel to and through exits to a place of relative safety. However, it is widely acknowledged that the time taken for occupants to start to evacuate can be considerably longer than the time taken to actually move out of the building. Significant research has been carried out in recent decades on occupant behaviour during building evacuations. Fires and human behaviour by Canter in 1990 and Safety and the built environment by Sime in 1988 were significant contributions. Through such research it is now widely acknowledged that occupants behaviour varies appreciably depending on a wide range of factors such as social affiliation, role and responsibility, commitment to a present task, the presence of a focal point, etc. BS7974-6 Human Factors: Life safety strategies occupant evacuation, behaviour and condition is the latest guidance available in relation to human behaviour in evacuatio ns. Recognition and Response Times How occupants respond to a fire will depend initially on the cue they receive. The components of occupants evacuation time are recognition time, response time and travel time. Both recognition and response times are known as pre-movement time. The former represents the time taken to appreciate that the alarm is a fire alarm relating to the occupant (as opposed to a security alarm, car alarm, etc). During this time occupants will continue with activities as they were prior to the activation of the alarm, e.g. staff members undertaking duties, etc. The latter represents the duration taken by occupants to begin to move towards an escape route, e.g. investigative behaviour, shutting down machinery, etc. In warehouse buildings occupants are generally familiar with their surroundings and are trained in fire emergency evacuation protocols. In the proposed storage facility and associated offices, occupants should be familiar with the sounding of the fire alarm and as such would commence evacuation reasonably promptly. Where a reasonable standard of fire safety management is provided and a high standard of automatic fire detection is provided, BS7974-6 recommends that familiar occupants of a building can be expected to take between 1mins and 2mins before they start to evacuate. By comparison, occupants of an unfamiliar building with a complex internal layout and a more basic standard of fire alarm system could take up to 15mins before commencing an evacuation. Recent research would indicate that even in unfamiliar buildings, occupants prompted by familiar staff can commence their evacuation within the first 30secs. Impact of Evacuation Management To comply with ADB and other fire safety legislation a reasonable standard of management will need to be provided in the building. This will include regular fire drills and the appointment of fire wardens for various areas to encourage an efficient evacuation of the building in the event of a fire. Such protocol should assist in limiting the recognition and response times of occupants. However, the proposed strategic approach to fire safety adopted in this fire strategy will not place any greater onus on management of this building than would be considered reasonable for any other storage facility of this size. An extract of Table C.1 from BS7974-6 is partially replicated in Figure 6. This demonstrates the potential variation in pre-movement times of evacuees which is dependent upon on the level of management and fire alarm provision. The management of this building will adopt a proactive fire safety management approach to comply with standard fire safety regulations for the workplac e. Figure A1-A2: Automatic fire detection and alarm throughout the building A3: Automatic fire detection and alarm only in certain areas, or manual call points only throughout Components of Available Safe Egress Time The Available Safe Egress Time is the time from ignition until conditions on occupants escape routes become untenable. The time taken for hazardous conditions to occur on the escape route will depend on three governing factors: †¢ the growth rate of the fire (and rate of smoke production) †¢ time to sprinkler activation and containment of fire size †¢ the compartment size/smoke reservoir Determination of Design Occupancy in the Warehouse Compartment To assess the likely required capacity of escape routes in speculative buildings, floor space factors are commonly used. When a designated bespoke occupancy is not known there are varying recommended floor space factors in current guidance documents that can be used. The proposed works are not for a speculative end user and Sainsburys have a good understanding of necessary staffing levels to carry out their logistics operations based on current arrangements and their other warehousing operations across the UK. Fire Growth Rate During the evacuation period the main hazard to occupants is smoke. The amount of smoke produced is directly linked to fire size and fire growth rate. The most common method of determining fire growth rates for unsprinklered fires is through the use of t-squared fires. Figure 7 illustrates the heat release rates over time of the four common fire growth rates published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). BS7974 acknowledges that storage warehouse commodities growing unchecked will generally follow an ultra-fast fire growth rate. This attracts a coefficient of g = 0.187kW/s2. Charters et al undertook a recent study to review the probabilistic aspect of fire growth in storage warehouses serving retail facilities. One of the main findings of the research was that fires in high-racked storage cash and carry warehouses were ultra-fast growing. This correlates with BS7974-1. An ultra-fast growth rate will be used for the comparative assessment of both the proposed and code c ompliant layouts. Figure Fire Size Sprinklers are installed in buildings to suppress fire size by the distribution of water so as to decrease the heat release rate and pre-wet adjacent combustibles while controlling gas temperatures to avoid structural damage. The proposed warehouse compartment will be fitted with a comprehensive in-rack sprinkler system to ensure fire size is kept to an absolute minimum. Figure 8 below from BS7974-1 demonstrates sprinkler control and extinguishment. Figure Given the enhancements to the property protection sprinkler, the proposed model will be based on a sprinkler controlled fire scenario. Although, there is significant potential that the provision of in-rack sprinklers will fully extinguish a fire, for the purposes of this comparative assessment, it will be considered that the fire size on sprinkler activation in the proposed building will be controlled as per (b) in Figure 7 rather than (d) i.e. the fire being extinguished. This provides an additional factor of safety for the analysis. There has been a number of real fire tests carried out on high rack storage arrangements by insurance companies. Tests carried out by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. concluded that fire size is unlikely to exceed 5MW where in-rack sprinklers have been provided. Smaller tests on single racks of clothing would indicate a typical peak heat release rate of 2.5MW for isolated arrangements. BRE 368 would also suggest a peak heat release rate of 2.5MW for sprinklered retail fires using fast response sprinkler heads. Travel Distances at Ground Floor Level The final exits from Ground Floor Level, independent of the Office Block, will be maintained as part of the proposed works. The existing exits are well distributed around the external faà §ade thus ensuring that occupants can turn their back on a fire and move towards an alternative exit. Existing travel distances to final exits will remain are unlikely to exceed 80m. Code Recommendations When minimum fire protection measures are provided (i.e. manual fire alarm, 2m floor to ceiling height, etc), ADB suggests maximum travel distances in warehouse accommodation of 25m in a single direction of travel and 45m where two means of escape are provided. The proposed building contains a number of inherent fire safety features such as high ceilings, automatic fire detection, sprinklers and an open plan environment. Such features assist in prolonging the onset of hazardous conditions and increase the chance of a person becoming aware of a fire in the early stages of its development independent of the alarm being raised by others. Therefore, the basic recommendations set out in ADB are considered to be unduly restrictive for the proposed building. A detailed assessment of allowable travel distances will be based on the recommendations of BS7974 and the results of this analysis will be presented in the detailed Fire Strategy Report (FSR). A detailed bespoke fire engineering analysis of allowable travel distances based on the recommendations of BS7974 and incorporating Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling will be carried out when layouts have been finalised. The results of this analysis will be presented in the detailed FSR in due course. For the purposes of this OFSR and preliminary design we have carried out a preliminary two zone model analysis to gain an understanding of the likely results to be obtained from the detailed CFD modelling. AUTOMATIC FIRE DETECTION AND ALARM Time to Detection and Alarm for the Proposed Arrangement It is proposed to provide a high standard of automatic fire detection and alarm system throughout the Warehousing compartment. The standard of detection and alarm in the building will affect the general time to warning for occupants and provide an enhanced level of fire safety through early warning and shorter evacuation times. Activation of the sprinkler system will also lead to the fire alarm sounding throughout the building. To ensure a conservative estimation of fire alarm activation our analysis has been based on an anticipated sprinkler activation time of 123sec Time to Detection and Alarm for a Typical Code Compliant Arrangement Many code compliant warehouse facilities with code compliant travel distances only require manual fire detection to meet with code recommendations. Therefore the time to detection would depend on the time taken for occupants in the room of fire origin to raise the alarm. However, should the room of fire origin be unoccupied then the time to alarm for people who may be in rooms remote from the fire would depend on them or other occupants becoming aware of cues of the fire scenario, e.g. sounds of burning material, smell of smoke or seeing smoke through a vision panel. Although BS7974-6 recommends a time to detection of at least 15mins for such scenarios, a reasonable worst case for a typical code compliant open plan warehouse could be 3 5mins. Pre-Movement Times The elevated walkways will be accessed by a relatively small number of transient staff who should be familiar with their surroundings and location of their escape routes. In compliance with health and safety legislation, fire drills will be carried out on a regular basis. Therefore, staff should be familiar with the fire alarm signal and the evacuation procedure. Current fire research would suggest that occupant pre-movement times in a managed facility such as this Sainsburys Distribution Centre is between 30secs and 60secs after alarm. However, BS7974-6 Table C1 (see Figure 5) conservatively presents a 120secs occupant premovement time for this type of occupancy. In line with BS7974-6 recommendations the code compliant layout could be 900secs. However, the comparative analysis will consider a pre-movement time of 120secs for both layouts. This is an onerous consideration and as such adds a significant degree of conservatism to the analysis. Travel Times Extensive studies have been carried out on the travel speeds of people of various abilities. CIBSE Guide E Fire Engineering and BR459 Fire Safety Engineering A Reference Guide both state that a travel speed of 1.2m/s is considered reasonable for able bodied people in low occupant density areas. This is based primarily on work by Pauls and Fruin. Personnel who will be accessing the proposed elevated walkways will be doing so to maintain/ensure the smooth operation of the automated system and will need to be reasonably mobile/physically fit to carry out such operations. Therefore, a travel speed of 1.2m/s is considered reasonable for this assessment. As previously noted travel distances on elevated walkways of the Automated Hanging Garment Racking System could be up to 100m when racking layouts are finalised. Based on a 1.2m/s travel speed it could take these occupants 84secs to reach a storey exit. For a typical compliant layout with a 45m travel distance it would take 37.5secs to rea ch a storey exit. For the above RSET components, Table 2 below presents the corresponding trset Δ . The above analysis would indicate that occupants located on one of the elevated walkways could Conservatively take up to 327secs to evacuate from the upper walkway levels of the automated hanging garment racking system. The analysis also demonstrates the benefits of providing a good standard of automatic detection and an in-rack sprinkler system that is linked to the fire alarm system as such systems should ensure that the required safe egress time from the proposed building is kept to a minimum. As can be seen from Table 2 above such systems should also ensure evacuation times from the proposed building would be comparable with many typical code compliant arrangements, if not better. To meet with code recommendations a Type M manual fire alarm system would be necessary in a standard warehouse building. However, the provision of an automatic fire detection and alarm system is an integral part of the overall fire safety package from a fire engineering perspective. The current fire alarm system will be extended to ensure the earliest possible detection of fire in the vicinity of the Automated Hanging Garment System areas. The system will provide high standard smoke detection coverage above and to the underside of elevated levels of the Automated Hanging Garment System level. The sprinkler system will also be linked to the fire alarm system so that in the event of a sprinkler head activating the alarm will sound throughout the building thus ensuring the earliest possible alert of the need to commence evacuation. The additional provision of smoke detection and linking the sprinkler system to the fire alarm is considered a significant additional life safety benefit whi ch should substantially reduce the time to alarm and pre-movement time of occupants in the building. The Type L5 fire alarm system will be designed in compliance with BS5839-1. Office Block Compartment No changes are proposed for the Office Block Compartment. Means of escape from the Warehouse Compartment is independent of the Office Block. Therefore, no further analysis of this area is necessary as part of the proposed works. EVACUATION PROCEDURES Comprehensive fire safety management procedures should be developed in consultation with the Enforcing Authorities. A detailed Fire Safety Management Plan should be developed for the management of the proposed scheme to ensure the safety of all occupants is not comprised. This section only serves as a brief introduction to the evacuation procedures which will need to be written into the Fire Safety Management Plan. Further guidance can be found in BS5588-12 Managing fire safety.

Need for speed Essay

The desire to innovate and to improve is one of the most precious human feelings because it is this very same desire that has paved the road to progress in society. At the outset, the first trains were useful but not efficient enough that people could ride on them: only goods and commodities could be transported. One of the reasons why is because safety and comfort weren’t a top priority for the railroad owner; he or she just wanted to maximize his or her profit. Then, James Watt and his steam engine came about and rocked the world into the Industrial Revolution, a time when railroads were constantly being built all over Europe. Cities grew, economies boomed and busted, and economies and cultures became intertwined so that a small business man who lives in Lille, France or Barcelona, Spain had to travel to Ukraine or Italy for a business deal as quickly as possible (as quickly as possible since now, as opposed to the relaxed and laid back past, time is money). So engineers were needed to devise a train that could travel at very fast speeds while keeping energy consumption as low as possible. The Japanese started the race for faster high speed trains with their â€Å"bullet trains†, the French countered with the TGV, and many other companies came out with their own high speed trains: Acela, Eurostar, and the Shinkansen, among others [3]. The increase in competition benefitted the consumer, the individual needing to get across the continent because now he or she had a choice between different trains, each known for a specific accommodation. For example, TGV was an electric train so the energy consumption of the trains is very low. However, it is little noisier than other lines so the trade off is subjective to the person’s taste. Eventually, all the train lines would try to balance energy consumption, safety, speed, and comfort in order to provide the smoothest trip they could possibly offer. [4] In essence, aerodynamics is the interaction of air on an object [7]. In the case of high speed trains, the aerodynamics of the train depends on many factors: â€Å"aerodynamic drag, pressure variations inside train, train-induced i ¬ow, cross-wind effects, ground effects, pressure waves inside tunnel, impulse waves at the exit of tunnel, noise and vibration†. [8] Ultimately, finding solutions to these problems will result in a faster and smoother train ride, so it becomes imperative to identify the factors that affect each of these so one can manipulate them, if possible, to one’s needs. However, having so many factors that affect the aerodynamics of a train, one can truly begin to see how complex this problem is for engineers since every change made to the train or the tracks could cost the companies owning them a huge amount of money for even the smallest of changes. Specifically, the invention of the high speed train has revolutionized long distance ground transportation since it has provided people with a much faster way to travel, sometimes cutting a seven hour long trip to three hours! However, to reduce such a trip so significantly, the path from city to city (in this place Boston to Washington D. C. ) must be as direct as possible [2]. This means that in some cases a tunnel must be built through a mountain to allow for a high speed train to pass through the mountain and get to its destination as quickly as possible. In terms of high speed trains, there are many different types, each with its advantages and disadvantages. For example, the world renown TGV It has huge advantage in that it can use the same railroad lines as local trains so the cost of making railroad tracks is reduced. However, one of the disadvantages is that using these same train tracks, just the mere fact that the TGV uses the same tracks as local trains means that the TGV limits the size and specifications of local trains because the wake of the TGV causes a wind tunnel that affects the trains behind it. [1] [2] In terms of what the future has in store, trains haven’t even started to reach their limit. From regular train to the high speed train, the speed was increased. The TGV is an obvious example of this transition given that it broke the record for the fasted train, maxing out at 357 mph. The next step is along the lines of the Japanese Maglev; taking friction out of the equation, the Maglev has the ability to greatly reduce the drag and the vibration in the train, thus making the train that much faster. In the foreseeable future, there is a concept that would take the Maglev above and beyond its achievements so far: an â€Å"evacuated tube† is a massive vacuum in a tube stretching for miles and miles. Interestingly, if this method is designed and works, it may potentially reap the benefits since the beginning. This occurs because air drag takes such a significant amount of energy out of the system (the system being defined as the train) that minimizing it to a negligible level could immediately save millions upon millions of dollars [8] [9]. On the other hand, there are changes that have been made to the train itself rather than to the environment surrounding it. The Japanese Hayabusa’s nose is angled and sleek so it can eliminate tunnel boom, the sound of a train leaving a tunnel. Tunnel boom is caused by a fast train pressurizing the air in front of it as it goes through a tunnel until it comes out of the tunnel with the pressurized air and makes a very loud sound. Trains in the past had a smaller tunnel boom that occurred right before the train left the tunnel (the sound of a train coming from inside a tunnel); however, now that the trains are that much faster, they catch up to the pressurized air and come out together, creating constructive interference, to make a bigger sound [5]. Furthermore, the French Alstrom developed an upgraded TGV called the AGV. What was interesting about how the French upgraded the TGV is that they took the power system of the TGV and completely transformed it; now it has the capacity of generating higher speeds at a fraction of the original TGV energy consumption. Don’t forget that the TGV was designed as an electric train, so to have a power system that can do more with less energy is a huge advancement! [5] In conclusion, the fact remains that the fast paced society of today has geared people to want to do everything more quickly. Following this train of thought, it makes sense that high speed trains are the future in transportation. Throughout history, people have shown a want, a need for speed. Works Cited [1] Fox News. Associated Press. http://www. foxnews. com/story/0,2933,263542,00.html (accessed July 15th, 2012) [2] Plumer, Brad. The Washington Post. http://www. washingtonpost. com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/16/amtraks-151-billion-high-speed-rail-plan-are-there-cheaper-options/ (accessed July 15th, 2012) [3] European Railway Server. TGVweb. http://www. trainweb. org/tgvpages/history. html(accessed July 17th, 2012) [4] http://www. buzzle. com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-maglev-trains. html [5] Railway-Technology. com. On Track. http://www. railway-technology. com/features/feature117829/(accessed July 15th, 2012). [6] James, Randy. Time U. S. http://www. time. com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1892463,00. html (accessed July 16th, 2012) [7] Bopp, Rudolf; Hagenah, Bernd. Gruner. http://www. gruner-gmbh. at/aktuelles_gmbh_at/pdf_pool/D_HAB_Porto. pdf [8] Raghunathan, Raghu S. ; Setoguchi, T. Progress in Aerospace Sciences. Aerodynamics of high-speed railway train http://ompldr. org/vMXlsOA/Aerodynamics_HSR02. pdf [9] Hoffman, Carl. Popsci: Trans-Atlantic Maglev. http://www. popsci. com/scitech/article/2004-04/trans-atlantic-maglev.

Persuasive Essay on Adoption

Homosexual Couples Should Be Allowed to Adopt New Jersey’s statewide parenting legislation espouses a progressive stance on the matters of same-sex parenting and child care in the processes of adoption and foster parenting. The Garden State allows for same-sex adoption; allows single homosexuals to adopt; and allows second parent same-sex adoption (â€Å"Same-Sex Adoption Laws,† n. d. ). New Jersey has passed progressive laws and policies that prohibit discrimination charged against gay individuals in the adoption process (Sudol, 2010).New Jersey state law also bans discrimination against gay individuals in the foster parent process (2010). New Jersey Statutes Annotated 9:3-43 enables for any person to adopt permitted the said person(s) pass a background investigation and meet adoption criteria for eligibility(N. J. S. A. 9:3-43). Unmarried joint adoptive parents petitioning to adopt a child can do so because of N. J. S. A. 9:3-43. In re Adoption of two Children by H. N . R. , 666 A. 2d 535 (N. J. Super. 995) permits second parent adoption; this statute exercises the possibility for an individual to petition for shared rights of custody with a parent who already possesses legal parental custody of a child. Several states prohibit joint adoption due to unmarried status. This statute is favorable for unmarried parents seeking to adopt in New Jersey. This New Jersey statute provides for an overall tolerant atmosphere for queer individuals and couples looking to adopt or become foster parents. In summary, laws and policies regarding same-sex adoption vary from state to state.The three common forms of adoptive guardianship are individual (single) parent adoption, joint adoption, and second parent adoption. Firstly, the most traditional type of adoptive parents is the single parent adoption. This is where an unmarried individual adopts a child that has been put up for adoption by the birth parent or by the state. Secondly, joint adoption is when an unmar ried couple can petition the court to adopt a child. Lastly, in the case of a second parent adoption, one parent has legal guardianship over a child and a second parent petitions the court to become a legally recognized co-parent.Bans on gay marriage vary state by state, as a consequence, gay couples cannot petition for adoption as a married couple but, as single individuals. This creates the opportunity for gay couples to become legal parents of foster children since most states prevent unmarried couples from adopting. As a result of state to state differences in the question of gay adoptive parents, second-parent adoptions are either permitted or the laws are unclear (Montana, 2009). Montana (2009) argues that ambiguity in court decisions are prevalent regarding gay second parent adoption petitions.Montana (2009) asserts how a state’s unclear and ambiguous position on second parent adoption places the decision on the judge to rule according to his or her personal beliefs co ncerning homosexuality rather than the letter of the law. The courts of twenty-one states including Washington, D. C. have granted second-parent adoption availability to several individuals applying to become legal second parents or co-parents of former foster children (Public Broadcasting Service, 2006).Mississippi law bars same-sex couples from all possibilities of adoption but, allows the viability for single gays and lesbians to adopt (Public Broadcasting Service, 2006). In Utah and New Hampshire, all unmarried couples, regardless of sexual orientation are allowed to adopt (Public Broadcasting Service, 2006). The following states allow adoption by openly gay and lesbian couples: Florida, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Washington, D. C. Social movements and countercultures during the 1960’s and 1970’s emerged and challenged institutionalized oppression.The Civil Rights movement addressed the pli ght of African Americans in a viciously racist society. Gay rights and the feminist movement actively subverted traditional gender norms through political activism. The American public’s disapproval of the Vietnam War served as the political platform to advance anti-war, civil rights, feminist, and queer political agendas in the increasing struggle for equal rights in a discriminatory inequitable society. The social movements of the 60’s and 70’s impacted the traditional views of adoption in the United States.The trend of challenging the dominant society’s oppressive social structures that best represent the interests of the dominant group, influenced society to question adoption laws during the 1970’s (Montana, 2009). Much like today, openly gay applicants were barred from adoption. The majorities of the cases was and still are second-parent adoptions, in which the biological parent is the legal guardian and their life partner petitions the state court to adopt (Montana, 2009). Adopting a child that is unrelated to either partner is still difficult in contemporary society; however, it is o longer illegal in most states (Montana, 2009). The seventies birthed professional organizations designed to advocate for disenfranchised oppressed groups. One of the most renowned organizations that continues to engage in public education and legal activism is Lambda Legal. Lambda Legal’s mission is to achieve full equality and secure the legal protection of the LGBT community. Throughout the 1970s, Lambda Legal was instrumental in winning some of the nation's first court cases on behalf of gay and lesbian parents and same-sex couples (Lambda Legal, n. . ). Since its inception in the seventies, Lambda Legal has battled to institute policy change, social change through political and legal activism, and to shape new positive attitudes about the LGBT community through educational awareness. For instance, a landmark court case, Finstuen v. Edmondson, was a paramount victory for LGBT individuals and same-sex parents everywhere. In 2004, the Oklahoma legislature exacted a punitive law that rendered children orphans if adopted in other states by same-sex couples.Thus, when their families returned, moved to or traveled through Oklahoma, the parents’ legal custody over the newly adopted children is not recognized by the state of Oklahoma. The three families in this case were headed by same-sex couples with children adopted in Washington, New Jersey and California respectively. Two of the families moved to Oklahoma. In the legal defense of the three families, Lambda Legal argued that the law is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment violating the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses. All legal parents have a fundamental right to care for and raise their children, which is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution (Lambda Legal, n. d. ). Lambda Legal remains active in challenging discriminatory laws and policies on the local and state level that work to invalidate the legal adoptions of children by same-sex parents. Lambda Legal secured pivotal wins for the LGBT community’s adoptive parents in its most recent trials; these trials are similar to the Oklahoma court case where the rights of same-sex couples and their adopted children were denied. The Evan B.Donaldson Adoption Institute is another notable organization that partnered with the Illinois chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) to produce a legal document to ensure ethical practice and policy to secure the well-being of same-sex adoptive families. The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and the NASW Illinois chapter are dedicated to promote the best interests of children by engaging in research regarding adoption. The adequate education and training of child welfare professionals encourages fundamentally sound and ethical practice when interacting with the gay community. In an effort to fight for ethical public policies and laws for same-sex adoption, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute immerses itself in political activism to apply pressure to local and state political officials to consider issues that inhibit the likelihood of same-sex parents for homeless foster children. The number of children in need of homes is steadily increasing; organizations like the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and Lambda Legal are instrumental in changing the willingness of adoption agencies to accept same-sex parents. Organizational response creates room for social change.Although the debate about same-sex adoptive parents continues to gain national attention, state, local courts and adoption agencies will continue to arbitrarily deny or accept same-sex petitions for adoption if the federal government does not intervene to standardize this issue by implementing an overriding national policy. Ryan Nishimoto, author of â€Å"Marriage Makes Cents: How Law ;um p; Economics Justifies Same-Sex Marriage,† suggests that society’s objections against same-sex marriage and same-sex adoptive parents are rooted in homophobic sentiments, religious views, and denigrating stereotypes (Nishimoto, 2003).The Supreme Court has historically undermined the gay rights question in contemporary American law (Nishimoto, 2003). The Supreme Court shares the general public’s sentiments about homosexuality’s immoral nature which deems same-sex couples unfit for marriage and parenting (Nishimoto, 2003). The prohibitions on same-sex marriage intimately impact the legal and economic dimensions of homosexual relationships. Marital benefits heterosexual couples receive do not apply to same-sex couples looking to adopt.Nishimoto (2003) lists how same-sex partners are excluded from insurance awards, social security benefits, public pensions, worker's compensation, income tax benefits, and estate tax benefits. Being that gays are not able to mar ry, their partners are not considered spouses. As a result, same-sex â€Å"unions† and â€Å"partnerships† are not legally recognized to qualify for the aforementioned benefits that heterosexual couples reap. This reality complicates adoption and custody cases for LGBT same-sex couples. Same sex couples must file for a second parent adoption so that both artners have legal custody over the adopted child. This process is emotionally draining and financially costly; a petitioning gay or lesbian parent faces extensive social work assessment to establish suitability (Nishimoto, 2003). State laws can prohibit same-sex second-parent adoption nullifying the possibility of a couple possessing joint custody of a child. Once again, second-parent adoption may be unclear in state legislations. This leaves the decision to appeal a petition on the court judge. A couple’s opportunity to gain joint custody relies on the judge’s personal views on homosexuality (Nishimoto, 2003).Nishimoto (2003) concludes the discussion of adoption and custody battles for LGBT couples by stating, â€Å"Thus, even if the parents overcome the lengthy, costly obstacles in their path, a judge may simply choose not to authorize the adoption. † Recommendation/Conclusion Interventions at the practice level can have far reaching benefits for same-sex parents and their children. Same-sex friendly foster agencies must engage in practice that does not further oppress the LGBT population with uninformed and unethical practice, policy, and unprofessional behavior.According to Sudol (2010) foster care agencies must cultivate a culture of inclusive practice integrated at the agency and case levels. At the agency level, staff training must have a comprehensive coverage of LGBT issues and topics; paperwork documentation, informational materials must use inclusive language, advertisements should portray a diverse representation of LGBT families, and inclusive recruitment effort s. Inclusive practice suggests that a practitioner uses culturally competent language as preferred by individual/family, avoids â€Å"outing† people, and includes other LGBT people/groups in family engagement/kin search (Sudol, 2010).In addition, Sudol (2010) adds that child welfare professionals and social workers alike, need to avoid focusing on the sexual identity of the individual/family by seeing the human not the identity. We strongly agree that the federal government must negotiate the contemporary question of same-sex parenting. It makes no sense for the federal government to give a blind eye and a deaf ear to same-sex parenting. Same-sex marriage coupled with this debate is gaining increasing attention as homosexuality gains legitimacy within the broader dominant society.The overview of current adoption law concerning lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents by the National Center for Lesbian Rights perfectly considers contemporary evidence justifying why LGBT parents are fit for adoption and why the Supreme Court must address this ensuing issue as opposed to leaving it for individual states to reconcile. One, a growing number of children lives in families with two same-sex parents. University of Maryland, Family Policy Impact Seminar, conducted research juxtaposing the rates of adoption in â€Å"gay-friendly† states in comparison to states with â€Å"anti-gay† policies.Studies showed that â€Å"gay-friendly† states adopted children and found permanent residencies as twice as much as â€Å"anti-gay† states. Two, sexual orientation is not relevant to parental ability. Discourse on the capabilities of same-sex parents to be adequate parents is governed principally by harmful stereotypes and moral judgments condemning homosexuality. â€Å"Not a single study has found children of gay or lesbian parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.Indeed, the evidence to date sugg ests that home environments provided by gay and lesbian parents are as likely as those provided by heterosexual parents to support and enable children’s psychosocial growth. † (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2002). Three, the need for adoptive homes and the increasing visibility of lesbian, gay, and bisexual parent families has contributed to a dramatic decrease in anti-gay discriminatory policies and practices on the part of adoption agencies and courts.Four, adoption provides legal protection to children of LGBT parents. The United States guarantees financial support, inheritance rights, social security benefits, retirement benefits, and state worker’s compensation benefits for children of heterosexual parents. The downfall to this is that current law is bias against LGBT couples. Children are not eligible for these benefits if the co-parent in a same-sex partnership is not legally recognized as a guardian.For example, if the child is sick and needs to be hosp italized, the second parent cannot give medical consent for treatment to his/her child. These incentives/benefits must apply to all children regardless of the parent’s marital status and sexual orientation. The LGBT community has made progressive strides for legal rights in the area of family law (NCLR, 2011). To strengthen and preserve the emotional health of a family in a same-sex parented household, society must change their traditional views of what constitutes a family.LGBT organizations remain fierce and persistent in advocating for equality and legal rights of the gay community. Custody, visitation rights, domestic partnership benefits, sick-leave benefits, marriage, and adoption are all arenas which the gay community continues to transform for their benefit (NCLR, 2011). Legal recognition of family relationships for same-sex families further enables courts, social welfare policies, and child welfare institutions to adopt LGBT inclusive protections. Mass media mirrors our society’s values and social attitudes.The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) encourages media outlets to recognize the highly increasing numbers of families with gay, lesbian and bi-sexual parents by incorporating their stories and experiences into the coverage of all issues related to families. The diversity of images in popular media aids in the reconstruction of the idea of the â€Å"ideal† family. It is more important than ever for literature, publication, television, cinema, advertisements, and music to be change agents in today’s society.Structural change may be slow; however, as a society we must realize that thousands of loving individuals and couples are being denied the chance of giving orphans a loving home. The numbers of orphans increasing in foster care services are disproportionate to the number of foster parents willing to adopt them. This fact alone without a shadow of a doubt calls to question the involvement federal govern ment to revise law and policy to integrate the needs of same-sex parents and the growing orphan problem in the United States.The investigation of same-sex parents continues to produce evidence suggesting that children growing up in same-sex households report feeling more tolerant of other groups. The quality of parenting and family functioning are not inhibited by the parent’s sexual orientation. Lastly, children raised by same-sex parents do not exhibit psychosocial and emotionally disruptive behaviors (Children Welfare Information Gateway, 2011). | |

Booker T. Washingtons Up from Slavery Essay - 1467 Words

The book, Up From Slavery, written by Booker Taliaferro Washington, profoundly touched me when I read it. Washington overcame many obstacles throughout his life. He became perhaps the most prominent black leader of his time. Booker T. Washington belived that African Americans could gain equality by improving their economic situation through education rather than by demanding equal rights. Washington’s life story was told during the mid to late 1800’s into the early 1900’s, in the time when the Emancipation Proclamation had gone into effect. The Emancipation Proclamation was one major event in history that forever changed our country. All slaves were free and had to go find a new place to live and a new place to work.†¦show more content†¦The trip from Franklin county to Malden, West Virginia was the first he had ever taken. The trip took Booker’s family many days because all of them had to walk to whole way. They settled in a very small house with many other black and very poor white neighbors. His step-father soon found work for Booker and his brother John. They worked in the salt furnaces and coal mines. Booker did not want to work he wanted to go to school to learn. A school teacher, Mr. William Davis, came into his community. Booker was eager to attend the school but his step-father was not able to spare me from work, s o could not attend it when it was first opened. Booker would go to work during the day and be taught by a teacher at night. This seemed to be a problem because the teacher his mother hired didn’t know much more then he. After working in the coal mine for some time, his mother found a position for him as a house boy for the Ruffner Family. He went to live with Ruffner’s with many fears and doubts. Mrs. Viola Ruffner had the reputation of being very strict and hard to please. While staying at the Ruffner household Booker learned the exact way to have things; clean, neat, and orderly. Mrs. Ruffner taught him for a few hours in the afternoon. She was his first real teacher that gave him a great part of his education. After being at the Ruffner house for about four years Booker made the decision to attendShow MoreRelatedEssay about Booker T. Washingtons Up From Slavery2557 Words   |  11 PagesBooker T. Washingtons Up From Slavery The autobiography of Booker T. Washing titled Up From Slavery is a rich narrative of the mans life from slavery to one of the founders of the Tuskegee Institute. The book takes us through one of the most dynamic periods in this countrys history, especially African Americans. I am very interested in the period following the Civil War and especially in the transformation of African Americans from slaves to freemen. Up From Slavery provides a great dealRead MoreComparison of Booker T. Washingtons Up from Slavery and Web Dubois The Souls of Black Folk871 Words   |  4 PagesDuring a time period when slavery had finally come to an end, African Americans still struggled as their opportunities for equality were next to nonexistent. In this time of hardship and unfair treatment, not many of those facing these adversities had the courage to speak out on their beliefs for change; Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois, however, did not possess such fears — both thoroughly articulated the ir opinions and stood for what they believed was right. Booker T. Washington and WEB DuboisRead MoreTheu.s. B. Du Bois1310 Words   |  6 PagesSame Ideas, Different Results For more than a hundred years, important African-American leaders such as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois have been both acclaimed and cherished in our society’s history books for their individual efforts in the struggle for the civil and political advancement of African-Americans. These two seem to be the main advocates for the advancement of African-Americans in the United States of American after the Civil War, but both had a different approach to it. AlthoughRead MoreDu Bois And Booker T Washington Essay1150 Words   |  5 PagesBoth W.E.B Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were prominent figures in the advancement of African Americans during the 19th and 20th centuries. The facade of unity among these leaders was broken when Du Bois addressed Washington’s book, Up From Slavery, in a chapter named â€Å"Of Booker T. Washington and Others† from his novel, The Souls of Black Folk. Although he did acknowledge the accomplishments of Washington, Du Bois w as clearly opposed to most of his ideas. Through the topics of submission and educationRead MoreEssay on Booker T. Washingtons Immense Achievements 952 Words   |  4 Pages1856, Booker Taliaferro Washington was born into slavery in Hale’s Ford, Virginia on a local plantation. Being born into slavery, it was quite clear that Washington would never amount to much. Knowing this though, did not stop him from dreaming about the many achievements he wanted to accomplish. Washington’s passion to learn is what transformed him into, not a lowly slave, but instead: an educator, a writer and the founder of the Tuskegee Institute. Through these achievements though, Booker T. WashingtonRead MoreThe Aftermath Of The Civil War Essay1413 Words   |  6 PagesThe aftermath of the civil war came a drastic change to the United States, or so some thought. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In this document, Lincoln outlawed slavery throughout the entire nat ion. African Americans not only believed that after the Emancipation Proclamation they would obtain civil rights, but also they expected to have the basic liberties as their fellow Americans. Subsequently, this was not the case. Caucasians, specifically in the south, still viewedRead MoreUp From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington Essay1140 Words   |  5 PagesBooker T. Washington was a young black male born into the shackles of Southern slavery. With the Union victory in the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Washington’s family and blacks in the United States found hope in a new opportunity, freedom. Washington saw this freedom as an opportunity to pursue a practical education. Through perseverance and good fortunes, Washington was able to attain that education at Hampton National Institute. At Hampton, his experiences and beliefsRead MoreBooker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois and John Hope Essay1286 Words   |  6 Pagescomplete mess after the Civil War . The early part of the 20th century brought many changes for African Americans. There was a difficult challenge of helping newly free African American slaves assimilate among their white counterparts. They suffered from crop failures, economic hardships, and the early failures of Reconstruction in the south. So as result many Southern African Americans migrated to northern cities in search of employment and a chance at a better life. However, Southern African AmericansRead MoreBooker T.Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois Essay1184 Words   |  5 Pagescreated a tertium quid, and called it a negro† (Du Bois). In the late 19th and 20th centuries a strong push for economic and social progress for African-Americans was being made. The prominent leaders of this movement amongst the Black community were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, however they had very differing views on how to achieve this goal (PBS.org). Washington and Du Bois essentially split the Black community into tw o parties, radical and conservative. Du Bois, the radical, preached forRead MoreThe Five Most Important Ideas in Up from Slavery Essay1006 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Up from Slavery† is an autobiography written by Booker T. Washington. The book mainly talks about Washington’s life and how he had over come a lot of obstacles to reach his success. The book teaches us a lot of things, some of them are still useful today. There are five significant ideas that Booker wanted the readers to learn from his book; these five things are: education, slavery, work, the relationship between two races and the meaning of success. The most obvious and significant idea of