An instrument That Drives Society

An instrument That Drives Society An instrument That Drives SocietyTechnology over the decade has essentially influenced society. Technology is an instrument of exercise and maintaining a source of power. It is used to enhance symbolic and material position. This is shaped through the ideologies of technology. Ideology is the set of values and beliefs shared by members of a group, culture and nationality. Some of the dominant ideologies that have structured the discourse of technology are measured in determinism, efficiency and technological progress.Technological determinism is a theory that views technology as the principle that drives the development of its cultural values and social structures. It is based on two hypotheses; the technical base of a society is the fundamental condition affecting all patterns of social existence and technological change is the single most important source of change in society. The television was invented as a result of scientific research and development. Its power as a medium of n ews and entertainment has altered all proceeding medias, along with institutions and forms of social relationships.IIT KanpurAccording to Williams (2003) "new technologies are discovered, by essentially internal process of research and development, which sets the conditions for social change and progress" (p. 5); this implicates research and development as self-generating. Williams stated that the invention of television have been incentive and responses within a phase of social evolution. This idea states that the discovery of new technology results in society changing to adapt to a particular technology.Change in technology is equated to new forms of technology; this is known as technological progress. Progress refers to moving forward towards a goal or an endpoint. This typically involves community, leisure, health, wealth, harmony and other values. Progress is associated with two different types of goals; material and moral betterment. This is linked to key values of the...

Oil Gas Management The WritePass Journal

Oil Gas Management Abstract Oil Gas Management ; however, the Macando well unexpectedly took a longer period. By the 20th April, the day that there was the blowout, which killed eleven individuals, the rig was already late by 43 days, and this would have led to an extra cost of 21 million dollars in lease fees only. There is a danger that those who are responsible for making decisions to stop operations could feel economic pressure not to do so if was possible. Catastrophic BOP’s failure The last defense line against the Macondo incident was a device known as the ‘blind shear ram’, which is part of the BOP found on top of the wellhead, and more than a mile below the ocean floors’ surface. If the oil’s upward pressure and the gas that is in the reservoir became more than the heavy drilling fluid’s downward pressure, and all the other resources for controlling the well failed to operate, the two blades of the blind shear ram, were expected to slice through the pipe of the drill and then help in sealing the well. If the BOP had worded as expected, the whole incident would not have occurred and all the lives would not have been lost. Taking into account the single blind-shear ram’s failure to run the blowout preventer of the Deepwater Horizon, which appeared to be one of the major causes of the blowout of the well of Macondo, it was recommended that the Safety and Health Executive particularly review the case for prescription that the United Kingdom Continental Shelf’s blowout preventers are well equipped with the two blind shear ram. Whereas the flexibility of the safety regulation regime of the United Kingdom seemed to have performed properly, it was also been seen that for fail-safe devices like blowout preventer, the administration or the government has adopted minimum, strict standards of safety or show that these would not actually be an economical, last-resort against catastrophes. Importance of simple checks An appraisal of the two pods of control on the BOP of the Deep-water Horizon as a result of the incident showed that there was an error in a vital valve in one of the pods of control, and that the other pod of control did not have adequate charge on the batteries; it is believed that these faults were there during the time that the accident happened. There was at least a single working control pod needed to run the automatic mode function that would have helped in closing up the BOP. The automatic mode function should have taken place in an automatic manner, without being aided, when the hydraulic line together with the electric cables were destroyed in the explosion. The automatic mode function is a very important system of backup. It is of great concern that the simple failures of various systems were not identified during the process of inspection. As a consequence, a programme has been implemented across the global drilling operation to make sure that the equipment operates the way it is designed to do. Another thing that has been done to ensure that such preventable incidences do not repeat include fundamentally improving the testing procedures of the blowout preventers, which consists of making sure that the systems of backup work and are properly tested in the process of drilling a well. This is another instance of the industry giving a response to an accident instead of anticipating a possible problem, even though the new regime is highly welcome. It is believed that the authorities have to make sure that the offshore inspection regime of the United Kingdom could not be susceptible to simple faults like having a battery that does not have sufficient charge, to go without being noticed. Need to protect the whistle-blowers Owing to the immense economic pressure of keeping a drilling rig functional, it is of great concern to various stakeholders that the workers who attempt to talk about safety matters might be or even feel like they are intimidated by their seniors. The whistle-blowers are not in a position of calling a halt or bringing to a stop some things and the managers and clearly attempting to make money for the organization. Their primary responsibility is not protecting the environment. Some contradicting reports were found from the HSE regarding harassment and aggravation on the rigs as well as the industry’s assurances that honest whistleblowers will be given a hearing and protection. The government has also ensured that there are discussions with the unions and industry about the further actions that are required for the prevention of representatives of safety from feeling or being intimidated by their seniors such that they do not report a danger. Conclusion Following the fatal incidence that occurred in the Mexican Gulf, it is important that there is clarity on the hierarchy and identity of the liable stakeholders to make sure that the government, and thus the taxpayers, doe not need to pay for the outcomes of the offshore accidents. Any lack of hierarchy and clarity on the liability will hamper the compensation payment to those that are affected by the incident of the offshore. It is recommended that it needs to be a requirement of the process of licensing that it proves their capability to pay for the outcomes of any incident that could happen. It is recognized that these measures could actually be added to the cost of investment in the new United Kingdom gas and oil production and encourage the Treasury to consider this during incentives to investments as such. Bibliography A. Hopkins, ‘Risk-management and rule compliance: Decision-making in hazardous industries. Safety Science,’ (49, 110-120, 2011). B.P. Deepwater Horizon accident and response. Retrieved on 21/1/2014 from G. S. Braut, P. Lindà ¸e, ‘Risk Regulation in the North Sea: A common law perspective on Norwegian legislation.’ (Paper presented at the WorkingonSafety, 2009). G. S. Braut, P.H. Lindà ¸e, ‘Risk Regulation in the North Sea: A Common Law Perspecitve on Norwegian Legislation.’ (Safety Science Monitor, 14(1, Article 2), 2010). Great Britain. UK deepwater drilling: Implications of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. (London: The Stationery Office, 2011) bp.com/en/global/corporate/gulf-of-mexico-restoration/deepwater-horizon-accident-and-response.html J. Kringen, Culture and control. Regulation of risk in the Norwegian Petroleum Industry, (University of Oslo, 2011). J. Vinnem, ‘Risk indicators for major hazards on offshore installations.’ (Safety Science, 48, 770-787, 2010). M. Baram, Self Regulation and Safety Management. (WoS, Rà ¸ros, 2011). O. E. Olsen, P.H. Lindà ¸e, ‘Risk on the ramble: The interntional transfer of risk and vulnerability.’ (Safety Science, 47, 743-755, 2009). Ocean Portal Team. Gulf Oil Spill. Retreieved on 21 Jan 2014 from http://ocean.si.edu/gulf-oil-spill P. Lindà ¸e, O.E. Olsen, ‘Conflicting Goals and mixed Roles in Risk Regulation: a case study of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.’ (Journal of Risk Research, (12(3-4), 1-15, 2009). R. Steizor, Lessons from the North Sea: Should Safety Cases Come to America. (School of Law, University of Maryland, Paper no. 2011-3, 2011). P. Lindà ¸e, O. A. Engen, O.E. Olsen, ‘Reponses to accidents in different industrial sectors.’ (Safety Science, 49, 90-97, 2011).