scholarly journals Asbestos and the Future of Mass Torts

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle J White
Keyword(s):  
Financial Distress ◽  
Asbestos Exposure ◽  
Class Action ◽  
State Courts ◽  
Personal Injury ◽  
Forum Shopping ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Favorable State ◽  
Mass Torts

Asbestos was once referred to as a ‘miracle mineral’ for its ability to withstand heat and it was used in thousands of products. But exposure to asbestos causes cancer and other diseases. As of the beginning of 2001, 600,000 individuals had filed lawsuits for asbestos-related diseases against more than 6,000 defendants. 85 firms have filed for bankruptcy due to asbestos liabilities and several insurers have failed or are in financial distress. More than $54 billion has been spent on the litigation -higher than any other mass tort. Estimates of the eventual cost of asbestos litigation range from $200 to $265 billion. The paper examines the history of asbestos regulation and asbestos liability and argues that it was liability rather than regulation that eventually caused producers to eliminate asbestos from most products by the late 1970s. But despite the disappearance of asbestos products from the marketplace, asbestos litigation continued to grow. Plaintiffs' lawyers used forum-shopping to select the most favorable state courts techniques for mass processing of claims, and substituted new defendants when old ones went bankrupt. Because representing asbestos victims was extremely profitable, lawyers had an incentive to seek out large numbers of additional plaintiffs, including many claimants who were not harmed by asbestos exposure. The paper contrasts asbestos litigation to other mass torts involving personal injury and concludes that asbestos was unique in a number of ways, so that future mass torts are unlikely to be as big. However new legal innovations developed for asbestos are likely to make future mass torts larger and more expensive. I explore two mechanisms - bankruptcies and class action settlements - that the legal system has developed to resolve mass torts and show that neither has worked for asbestos litigation. The first, bankruptcy by individual asbestos defendants, exacerbates the litigation by spreading it to non-bankrupt defendants. The second, a class action settlement, is impractical for asbestos litigation because of the large number of defendants. As a result, Congressional legislation is needed and the paper discusses the compensation fund approach that Congress is currently considering.

Constituency Agents and British Party Politics

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Frasure ◽  
Allan Kornberg
Keyword(s):  
Party Politics ◽  
Office Work ◽  
Job Descriptions ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Training

We began by reviewing the history of agency and by describing the two major parties' procedures for recruiting and training agents. Not surprisingly, the perceptions that agents have of their roles is not entirely congruent with official perceptions. Approximately 20 per cent of the agents of both parties felt that the performance of various representational functions was the most important part of their job although these tasks are not included in official job descriptions. Moreover, although a majority of the agents in each party believed that their most important job was to build and maintain constituency organizations capable of winning elections, the majority of their time was not spent on this task. Conservative agents seemingly spent a disproportionate amount of time doing routine office work, whereas over 40 per cent of the Labour agents spent much of their time trying to raise the funds that paid their salaries. Large numbers of agents in both parties agreed that raising money in their constituencies was a difficult and largely unrewarding task.

“Only intelligent attendants need apply”: the history of Western Australia’s first asylum at Fremantle (1865–1909)

2021 ◽  
pp. 103985622110142
Author(s):  
Phil Maude
Keyword(s):  
Primary Sources ◽  
Work Roles ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Convict Transportation ◽  
History Of

Objective: To examine the history of Fremantle, Western Australia’s first purpose-built asylum. Method: A range of primary sources were consulted. Results: Fremantle was opened in 1865 to house inmates away from the populace and for the most part under the care of Dr HC Barnett. Attendants as well as inmates were occupied with work roles that kept the asylum functioning cost effectively. Conclusion: Within 15 years, the structure was neglected and overcrowded. Changes to the Penal Servitude Act limiting convict transportation, petty crime and a need to manage its proliferation resulted in large numbers of people being incarcerated at Fremantle.

Using graphics editors as a means of developing students' creative abilities

2021 ◽  
pp. 384-393
Author(s):  
Olga Viktorovna Gavrilova
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Fine Arts ◽  
Technology Program ◽  
Brain Functioning ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
Prior Art ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media

This article discusses a very well-known and frequently used technique for an implementation of a variety of artistic projects - a collage created by means of information technology. The article tells about using collage in higher education for teaching graphics, in particular, raster editors. Graphics editors such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP are included in the Computer Science and Information Technology program. Students get the opportunity to create graphic images regardless of their prior art education. The introduction of the topic "Creating a collage by means of a raster editor" introduces a creative element into IT disciplines and develops the student's associative thinking at the level of brain functioning. As a rule, raster editors are used to edit an image, not to create it. Therefore, preparation for these classes encourages students to search for the necessary visual material on the Internet. In order to obtain more personal images, a deep study of photography techniques is required. It is also useful to study the history of photo and film collages, their texture and structure. The scope of the collage use is various. This is psychology, teaching foreign languages and, of course, fine arts. Advertising posters that we see in large numbers in the media and transport are also collages. The article traces the history of collage creation from ancient Egyptian history to modern advertising products. It is especially interesting to study the time when collage became a conscious technique. This is a great layer of avant-garde art.

Justice without the State within the State

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
North America ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
The State ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
State Courts ◽  
History Of ◽  
Research Questions

History of justice is not only the history of state justice. Rather, we often deal with a coexistence of state, parastatal and non-state courts. Interesting research questions emerge out of this constellation: Where are notions of just conflict resolution most likely to be enforceable? To what extent is non-state jurisdiction a mode of self-regulation of social groups who define themselves by means of ethnic, religious or functional criteria? How do state and non-state ambitions interact? This collective volume contains contributions exploring non-state and parastatal justice between the 17th century and the present in Europe, Asia, North America as well as from a global perspective.

Association of Genital Mycoplasmas with Exudative Vaginitis in a 10 Year Old: A Case of Misdiagnosis

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-252
Author(s):  
K. B. Waites ◽  
M. B. Brown ◽  
S. Stagno ◽  
J. Schachter ◽  
S. Greenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ureaplasma Urealyticum ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Mycoplasma Hominis ◽  
University Of Alabama ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Lower Genital Tract ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University ◽  
Urology Clinic ◽  
Multiple Antibiotics

A 10-year-old girl with a 1-year history of lower genitourinary tract symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection but with numerous negative urine cultures was referred to the University of Alabama urology clinic after empirical treatment with multiple antibiotics failed to resolve her symptoms. An extensive urologic evaluation revealed no structural or physiologic abnormalities, but an exudative vaginitis was noted and large numbers of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis were isolated from the lower genital tract. Cultures for Chlamydia, viruses, and routine bacterial pathogens were negative. After initiation of tetracycline therapy, symptoms resolved and subsequent cultures for mycoplasmas were negative. In addition, a seroconversion was noted for M hominis but not for U urealyticum. Chlamydia serology was negative. It was later learned that the patient had been sexually molested just prior to the onset of symptoms. This case illustrates the necessity of early consideration of a mycoplasmal etiology in the patient with persistent genitourinary symptoms and no obvious bacterial pathogen, or in the patient whose condition is refractory to routine antibiotic therapy.

scholarly journals Asbestos Exposure of Chrysotile Miners and Millers in Balangero, Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 636-644
Author(s):  
Stefano Silvestri ◽  
Daniela Ferrante ◽  
Andrea Giovannini ◽  
Francesco Grassi ◽  
Stefania Carofalo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Asbestos Exposure ◽  
Industrial Hygiene ◽  
Cumulative Exposure ◽  
State Archive ◽  
Work Area ◽  
Russian Study ◽  
History Of

Abstract The largest chrysotile mine in Western Europe was active in Balangero (Italy) from 1917 to 1990. We quantitatively assessed exposure to asbestos in the framework of a cohort study on mortality of Balangero miners and millers. Using documents filed at the Italian State Archive we reconstructed the job-histories of cohort members. The concentration of asbestos fibres by work-area was derived from industrial hygiene surveys since 1968 and monitoring programs since 1975. Earlier exposures had been estimated based on the experimental reconstruction of past working conditions. In the mine concentrations of about 20 fibres per millilitre (f/ml) were initially present, decreasing to 5 in the mid-1950s and to <1 in late 1970s. In milling areas higher levels were present and did not fall below 1 f/ml until the mid-1980s. Cumulative exposure of cohort members, as the sum over their job-history of their year- and area-specific exposures, were <10 fibre/millilitre years (f/ml-y) in 18% of workers, 10–100 in 32%, 100–1000 in 37%, and >1000 in 13%. Compared with recently published estimates for the Russian chrysotile mine in Asbest, fibre concentrations in Balangero were higher during the 1950s and 1960s. Such difference may be partly accounted for by difficulties in converting dust measurements to fibre concentrations in the Russian study and the need to rely on the experimental reconstruction of exposures before 1968 in our study.

scholarly journals A Tricentenary history of the Law of Large Numbers

Bernoulli ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 1088-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Seneta
Keyword(s):  
Law Of Large Numbers ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law

scholarly journals Debunking Millar v. Taylor: The History of the Prohibition of Legislative History

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-58
Author(s):  
John J Magyar
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Federal Courts ◽  
State Courts ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Legislative History ◽  
Secondary Literature ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 19Th Century

Abstract The generally accepted belief about the rule prohibiting recourse to legislative history as an aid to statutory interpretation is that it began in the case of Millar v.Taylor in 1769, and it was followed thereafter in England and throughout the United States through to the 20th century. However, all four judges on the panel in Millar v.Taylor considered evidence from the Journal of the House of Commons and changes made to the relevant bill in their opinions. Meanwhile, the case was widely cited for several substantive and procedural matters throughout the 19th century, but it was not cited by a judge as a precedent for the rule against legislative history until 1887. A careful examination of the relevant cases and secondary literature from the 18th and 19th centuries reveals a much more nuanced and complex history to the rule. Its emergence becomes less clear because it is shrouded in judicial silence. Its beginnings must be inferred from a general and often unarticulated principle that lawyers felt free to disregard. Furthermore, the development, refinement, and decline of the rule followed a different timeline in England, the US federal courts and the state courts.

scholarly journals Bush signs act that restricts class action suits in state courts

BMJ ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 330 (7490) ◽  
pp. 499.4
Author(s):  
Jeanne Lenzer
Keyword(s):  
Class Action ◽  
State Courts ◽  
Class Action Suits

scholarly journals Improving student achievement with smart sheets Media in islamic cultural history lesson at the Elevent grade students of mtsn tarusan

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-163
Author(s):  
Sasmini Sasmini
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
School Library ◽  
Class Action ◽  
Learning History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Kurt Lewin ◽  
Cooperative Methods ◽  
Improving Student Achievement

To be able to learn something well, we need to hear, see, ask questions about it, and discuss it with others. Not only that, teachers need to "do", which describe something in their own way, showing for example, tried to practice skills and tasks that require p What Knowledge they have earned. Problems to be studied in this research are: a) How improve learning outcomes Islamic cultural history through smart method in class XI sheets MTsN Tarusan in July 2016? b) The steps made in improving the learning outcomes of students of Islamic cultural history? This research is a Class Action Research (PTK), as for the steps to be performed in this PTK model developed by Kurt Lewin as mentioned in Dikdasmen (2003: 18) that the stages or so-called cycle (round) consists of four components which cover : (A) planning, (b) action / acting, (c) observation, (d) reflection. Based on The results of learning activities that have been conducted during the study, and based on all the discussion and analysis that has been done can be summed up as follows: Learning with smart method sheets in Islamic cultural history lesson positively in improving student achievement that is marked by a mastery learning students in learning, namely (97.29%). Application of the method school library media on learning history of Islam have a positive effect, which can increase students' motivation is indicated by an average of 8 0 and from interviews stating that students are interested and interested deng a n cooperative methods Learning the history of Islamic culture so that they become motivated to learn.

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