Harbor Workers Research Articles

Toward the Development of a Hybrid Active and Measuring Exoskeleton for Upper Limbs of Heavy-duty Harbor Workers

The paper presents the study of a novel exoskeleton designed for the upper limbs of heavy-duty port operators responsible for lashing containers. This exoskeleton is designed to measure initially its configuration and operational times, once positioned on the workers, to pass to a partial activeness introducing motors for the shoulder, the intra-extra rotation of the forearm, and the elbow. The key concept revolves around the shoulder joint, with particular emphasis on the scapula and its motion. The scapula plays a fundamental role in moving the center of rotation of the humerus, contributing to its exceptional mobility. The fundamental objective is to develop a system that provides support for the vertical motion of the operator's arms, with a specific focus on allowing initially the vertical motion of the scapula to remain unrestricted. This approach aims to collect essential data, which, in a subsequent phase, will likely enable the addition of vertical support to the scapula, possibly with the assistance of AI. Meanwhile, the horizontal motion will consistently be left unrestricted. This exoskeleton design is inspired by previous work that conceptualized a fully measuring exoskeleton, and a corresponding patent application has been presented.

A Global Radical Waterfront: The International Propaganda Committee of Transport Workers and the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers, 1921–1937

A Global Radical Waterfront: The International Propaganda Committee of Transport Workers and the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers, 1921–1937

The Red and the Black: The Russian Revolution and the Black Atlantic ed. by David Featherstone and Christian Høgsbjerg

Reviewed by: The Red and the Black: The Russian Revolution and the Black Atlantic ed. by David Featherstone and Christian Høgsbjerg Natalia Telepneva Featherstone, David and Høgsbjerg, Christian (eds). The Red and the Black: The Russian Revolution and the Black Atlantic. Racism, Resistance and Social Change. Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2021. xvi + 287 pp. Illustrations. Notes. Index. £85.00: $130.00. In this collection of articles, editors David Featherstone and Christian Høgsbjerg set out to contribute to a growing body of literature that investigates the impact of the Russian Revolution on black radicals during the interwar period and beyond. As outlined in the introduction, the ambition of the volume is three-fold: to show how black radicals understood and engaged with ideas generated by the Russian Revolution; to recover the history of physical and ideational connections forged among the black left across the Black Atlantic; and to show how these individuals engaged with the Soviet Union. In a helpful introduction that succinctly outlines the state of the field, the editors argue the collection will challenge the notion that Communism was a solely European phenomenon and reassert the 'missing and erased connections of antiracist politics and resistance' (p. 19). The ideas generated by black left intellectuals in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution constitute an important theme in this volume. Most chapters confirm what we already knew, namely that the events of 1917 had a major impact on black radicals who heralded Bolshevism because, as they saw it, it eliminated ethnic prejudice in the USSR. We learn some important details about how Claude McKay, a Jamaican-American black activist, adopted an 'unsentimental view of anti-imperialist struggle' (p. 68) largely, argues Winston James, due to his complex experiences of white proletarian nationalism in interwar London. Mathieu Renault adds to the portrait of American poet and activist Langston Hughes, who celebrated the impact of socialism in Soviet Central Asia, even though he still saw the region from an 'Orientalist perspective' as a 'massive harem' (p. 92). Cathy Begin draws our attention to the specific timing and the inadequacy of the local left in the USA to explain the appeal of Bolshevism, while Marika Sherwood similarly points to the continuous failure of the Left to take seriously the demands of anticolonial activists in post-war Britain. One wonders, however, whether the volume could shed have further light on exactly how these activists and movements, as the editors posit in the introduction, shaped 'Communist practices and ideas' (p. 16). For example, Olga Panova's excellent chapter argues that Soviet literary critics by and large toed the official line in their responses to African American literature. These chapters recover the diversity and originality of these important ideas, but their larger impact is left somewhat obscure. Another theme is black radicals' relationship with the Soviet Union and the Comintern. A number of authors address the developments in the aftermath [End Page 772] of the Sixth World Congress in 1928 — the peak of Soviet support for black liberation. Nigel Westmaas adds important details about the pre-war history of racialism in Guyana; Holger Weiss describes the activities of the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers based in Hamburg; and Sandra Pujals describes the work of the Comintern's Caribbean Bureau in the 1930s. The story is a fairly familiar one, as many black radicals who admired and/or worked for the Comintern became disillusioned with the organization by the mid 1930s. Pujals's chapter probably goes the furthest in explaining why the Comintern's project in the Caribbean failed, as it ran up against divergent conceptions of race and local resistance to centrally-imposed bureaucratic structure. A number of chapters reconstruct the 'erased' connections of anticolonial politics across the Atlantic, but several leave the reader wanting to learn more about how these functioned in practice. For example, we learn about the existence of the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers, but little in terms of how the organization operated to, say, spread the radical messages across the Atlantic. Besides, Africa occupies little room in the volume. As the editors explain in the introduction, such a 'silence' exists because these conversations between Bolshevism and...

Book Review: The Global Radical Waterfront: The International Propaganda Committee of Transport Workers and the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers, 1921–1937 by Holger Weiss

Book Review: <i>The Global Radical Waterfront: The International Propaganda Committee of Transport Workers and the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers, 1921–1937</i> by Holger Weiss

State-by-State Use of AMA Guides

Abstract This article presents a history of the origins and development of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), from the publication of an article titled “A Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment of the Extremities and Back” (1958) until a compendium of thirteen guides was published in book form in 1971. The most recent, sixth edition, appeared in 2008. Over time, the AMA Guides has been widely used by US states for workers’ compensation and also by the Federal Employees Compensation Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, as well as by Canadian provinces and other jurisdictions around the world. In the United States, almost twenty states have developed some form of their own impairment rating system, but some have a narrow range and scope and advise evaluators to consult the AMA Guides for a final determination of permanent disability. An evaluator's impairment evaluation report should clearly document the rater's review of prior medical and treatment records, clinical evaluation, analysis of the findings, and a discussion of how the final impairment rating was calculated. The resulting report is the rating physician's expert testimony to help adjudicate the claim. A table shows the edition of the AMA Guides used in each state and the enabling statute/code, with comments.

Against Japanese and Italian Imperialism : The Anti-War Campaigns of Communist International Trade Union Organizations, 1931 – 1936

This essay discusses the international anti-war campaigns of the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers (ISH) and the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers (ITUCNW) against Japanese imperialism in Manchuria and Italian imperialism in Ethiopia during the first half of the 1930s. Both crises propelled international campaigns, ‘Hands off China’ and ‘Hands off Abyssinia’, that were orchestrated by the Third (Communist) International or the Comintern and the Red International of Labour Unions ( Profintern ) and their affiliated organisations such as the ISH and ITUCNW. Comintern / Profintern anti-war campaigns were organized under the banner of the prevailing ‘class-against-class’ strategy. In practice, this meant that the campaigns were both calls for international solidarity and at the same time attempts to position communist activities against those of the ‘social fascists’, i.e., socialist, social democratic, reformist and / or syndicalist controlled parties and trade unions.

German seafarers, anti‐fascism and the anti‐Stalinist left: the ‘Antwerp Group’ and Edo Fimmen's International Transport Workers' Federation, 1933–40

Between the mid‐1930s and the beginning of the Second World War, a group of German seamen based in Antwerp combined with Amsterdam‐based Edo Fimmen, secretary of the International Transport Workers' Federation, to wage a campaign against the Nazi government among the sailors of the German merchant fleet. They organized cells of supporters on German ships, encouraged informal resistance, circulated propaganda and planned sabotage. The Antwerp Group was a breakaway from the Comintern‐aligned International of Seafarers and Harbour Workers (ISH). The Antwerp men were reacting against the ineffectiveness of the response of the German communist leadership to Hitler's takeover of power, and against the growing subordination of the ISH to Soviet interests. By highlighting the role of anti‐Stalinist militants in the anti‐fascism of the 1930s, the article contributes to the recent scholarship on anti‐fascism – a scholarship that has tended to emphasize the transnationalism and ideological diversity of anti‐fascism, rather than seeing it in national terms, or as a monolithic entity controlled by Moscow.

Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act: Use of the AMA Guides1

Abstract The US Congress passed the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) in 1927; it is administered by the US Department of Labor, Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation (DLHWC), and provides medical benefits, compensation for lost wages, and rehabilitation services to longshoremen, harbor workers, and other maritime workers such as pier, wharf, dock, or terminal workers who are injured during employment or suffer diseases caused or worsened by employment conditions. The LHWCA and the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) similarly define many terms (eg, injury, disability, impairment, permanent). Under the LHWCA, impairment ratings are performed for “scheduled injuries,” and disability benefits are determined by multiplying the percentage of “permanent disability” (eg, “permanent impairment”) for a specific body part by a specified number of weeks. For DLHWC impartial medical specialty evaluations, specific steps are taken to avoid prejudgment of a case, and contested cases are heard before administrative law judges. Physicians who perform impairment ratings should understand not only how to fairly rate permanent impairment according to the AMA Guides but also the specific needs of the groups that request these evaluations. Impairment ratings are required for scheduled injuries, hearing loss, and occupational disease cases covered by the LHWCA; physicians must express extremity ratings as the most distal body part applicable, not as a whole person impairment.

A Study on Optimization of Thermophysiological Indices for Harbor Workers in Summer: Improvement of MENEX Model's Input Data Considering the Work Environment

To prevent increasing instances of heat-related illnesses due to heat waves generated by climate change, a customized thermal environment index should be developed for outdoor workers. In this study, we conducted sensitivity analysis of the Masan harbor during a heat wave period (August 9th to 15th, 2013) using the MENEX model with metabolic rate and clothing-insulation data, in order to obtain realistic information about the thermal environment. This study shows that accurate input data are essential to gather information for thermophysiological indices (PST, DhR, and OhR). PST is sensitive to clothing insulation as a function of clothing. OhR is more sensitive to clothing insulation during the day and to the metabolic rate at night. From these results, it appears that when exposed to high-temperature thermal environments in summer, wearing highly insulated clothing and getting enough rest (to lower the metabolic rate) can aid in preventing heat-related illnesses. Moreover, in the case of high-intensity harbor work, quantification of allowed working time (OhR) during heat waves is significant for human health sciences.

Harry O’Connell, maritime labour and the racialised politics of place

This article explores the forms of activism forged by seafarers’ organisers from the Caribbean in interwar Britain to problematise dominant ways of thinking about ‘race’, labour and place. It focuses on Guyanese Harry O’Connell, who was to become one of the most prominent organisers of Cardiff’s multiethnic seafaring community in the 1920s and 1930s. He was influential in struggles against the forms of ‘white labourism’ adopted by the National Union of Seamen. A committed Communist, O’Connell drew on the networks of the Comintern-affiliated International of Seamen and Harbour Workers (ISH) and International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers (ITUCNW) to contest such white labourism, whilst simultaneously negotiating the racialised forms of internationalism constituted through Communist networks. The piece contributes to a broader ‘reparative’ approach to history which explores the terms on which labour, space and place are articulated.

The International Union of Seamen and Harbour Workers (ISH) 1930-1937: interclubs and transnational aspects

The International Union of Seamen and Harbour Workers (ISH) 1930-1937: interclubs and transnational aspects

The Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act – After the 1972 Amendments

In October of 1972, Congress enacted the most significant and far-reaching amendments to the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (Longshoremen’s Act) since federal compensation benefits were first made available in 1927. Major alterations have been made in the level of benefits, administration by the Secretary of Labor, and procedure within the compensation system. The jurisdictional scope of the Longshoremen’s Act has been expanded, third-party rights have been redrawn, and indemnity actions have been eliminated.The 1972 amendments will radically alter the pattern of federal compensation practice and maritime personal injury litigation, and the courts increasingly have occasion to comment on the effect of these amendments. This article will examine the more important features of the 1972 amendments, analyze the alterations in jurisdiction and third-party rights, and discuss some of the practical aspects of settling cases and recovering liens under the new law.

Can an Injured Longshore/Habour Worker Still Benefit from a Jones Act Application, Qualifying as a Seaman, under the United States Admiralty Law?

The author discusses: 1) whether pile driver can be subject to the benefits of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, LHWCA; 2) whether injured longshoreman can accept LHWCA benefits when the suit has already been litigated; and 3) whether Mulcahy can be subject to the benefits of the Jones Act.

Case Study: Cervical Spine Apportionment

Abstract Impairment apportionment refers to the distribution or allotment of impairment to different factors such as pre-existing injury, illness, or impairment. The AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) provides instructions about calculating impairment ratings and advises concurrent consultation of specific state laws (eg, the state of California apportions disability differently than does the Longshore and Harbor Workers Act. A case example highlights some of the complexities of cervical spine apportionment. A 55-year-old man sustained a work-related cervical spine injury that aggravated pre-existing cervical pathology. The patient underwent anterior cervical discectomy and decompression, foraminotomies, C3-4 and C4-5, and a two-level anterior cervical interbody arthrodesis; the postoperative diagnosis was two level disc herniation, stenosis, and disc degeneration. The article discusses the Diagnosis-related estimate (DRE) vs the range-of-motion method (ROM). The DRE method is most widely used in the AMA Guides, but in certain specified situations, including a multilevel fusion such as that in the clinical example, the ROM method must be used. Because of the significant difference in values derived from the DRE and ROM methods, evaluators must be careful to apportion impairment in accordance with the method that served as the basis for the final rating (ie, the ROM method in this example). Apportionment becomes more complex when one considers the etiology of the underlying disease.

Erroneous Impairment Ratings Companion: Impairment Rating Critique and the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act

Abstract A 2005 Benefits Review Board decision by the US Department of Labor, Peter J. Desjardins vs Bath Iron Works Corporation affirmed a decision and order (2004-LHC-1364) regarding the utility of impairment rating critique. The administrative law judge credited the rating opinion of an expert physician reviewer (who had not seen the claimant) over that of the treating physician. The claimant's physician was awarded 20% upper extremity impairment, but, following the review and opinion of an expert reviewer, the award was reduced to 4%. The claimant appealed, largely on the argument that the expert reviewer had reviewed the report by the patient's physician, not the claimant himself and that the expert's opinion properly relied on the correct use of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides). The appeals judges noted that the administrative judge properly noted that the AMA Guides was suitable for use (and was the basis of the treating physician's award). The administrative law judge found that the expert reviewer's opinion was based on the specifics of the present case and on his knowledge and application of the AMA Guides, which together warranted determinative weight, based on the expert reviewer's credentials, experience, and well-reasoned opinion. This decision confirms that expert reviewers can provide evidence for the fact finder to evaluate the treating physician's opinion to determine if it is well reasoned and documented.

Chlorophenol exposure in harbor workers exposed to river silt aerosols.

While dredging the river Elbe in the harbor of Hamburg, workers are potentially exposed to river silt aerosols containing organic compounds. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the internal load of chlorophenols in exposed workers. Eighty-four exposed workers and eighty-four unexposed office workers were examined. Urinary samples were analyzed for dichlorophenols, trichlorophenols, tetrachlorophenols, and pentachlorophenol (PCP). For exposed workers, more than 2/3 of the urinary samples were above detection limit for 2,5-dichlorophenol, 2,4/3,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, and PCP. Harbor workers had significantly higher median levels of 2,5-dichlorophenol (0.6 vs. 0.4 microg/g creatinine) and PCP (1.4 vs. 1.0 microg/g creatinine) as compared to unexposed subjects. These differences remained statistically significant after adjustment for age, smoking habits, and fish consumption. Harbor workers in the harbor of Hamburg have a statistically significant higher internal load of chlorophenols than the general population. However, the internal load is within the range of exposure reported from the general population. Therefore, even though chlorophenols are found in the river silt these exposures do not seem to be the major source of the internal load among workers in the harbor of Hamburg.

Legal Update: Use of the AMA Guides: 2003 Update

Abstract The AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) is widely used in federal workers’ compensation, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Act, and automobile casualty (personal injury) cases. The AMA Guides, Fifth Edition, is widely used, but not all state workers’ compensation systems make use of the current edition; in fact, relevant state statutes may or may not specify which edition of the AMA Guides to use and how to do so. Thirty-six states make use of the AMA Guides within their workers’ compensation systems, and 23 states use the Fifth Edition. Eleven states use the AMA Guides, Fourth Edition: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana (both Fourth and Fifth Editions), Kansas, Maine, Maryland, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia. Two states use the Third Edition, Revised: Colorado and Oregon. Some states do not use the AMA Guides and instead rely on state specific guidelines, and these include California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. Other states may use their own guidelines for specific issues and use the AMA Guides for other issues (eg, state of Washington). Some states do not specify the use of any specific guidelines, including Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Virginia. A table summarizes state statutes dealing with rating impairment in workers’ compensation cases, including AMA Guides edition most used, statute/code, comments, and relevant websites.

Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act: Use of AMA Guides

Abstract The US Congress passed the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) in 1927 to provide coverage to longshore laborers working on navigable waters of the United States when no state workers’ compensation law applied. After amendments that extended and standardized the Act, the Longshore Compensation Act provides more than $670 million in monetary, medical, and vocational rehabilitation benefits to more than 72,000 individuals annually. Under the LHWCA, ratings are performed for “scheduled injuries” (ie, a scheduled member of the body), including upper extremity injuries (excluding the shoulder), lower extremity injuries, and hearing loss. Impairment ratings typically are expressed in terms of whole person permanent impairment, but under the LHWCA impairment is expressed in the smallest applicable body part (eg, an injury of two digits is expressed as a hand rating). Definitions of terms such as injury, disability, and impairment are similar in the LHWCA and the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides). Claims examiners are advised to require any physician selected to evaluate permanent medical impairment to use the AMA Guides, where applicable, to be detailed in their assessment report, and to rate and report permanent impairment according to the AMA Guides. Boxes in the article present portions of the LHWCA that address compensation for disability and the basic elements required to evaluate anatomical impairment.

Impairment and Disability Compensation Systems in the United States

Abstract Although several states use the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) when they evaluate individuals with impairments and disabilities, various disability systems exist in the United States. Disability and compensation systems have arisen to ensure that disadvantaged members of society with a medically determinable impairment, which may lead to a disability, have recourse to compensation from various sources, including state and federal workers’ compensation laws, veterans’ benefits, social welfare programs, and legal avenues. Each of these has differing definitions of disability, entitlement, benefits, procedures of claims application, adjudication, and the roles and relative weights assigned to medical vs administrative deliberations. Workers’ compensation statutes were enacted because of inadequacies of recovery from claims for injured workers under common law. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system adopted to resolve the dilemmas of tort claims by providing automatic coverage to employees injured during the course of employment; in exchange for coverage, employees forego the right to sue the employer except for wanton neglect. Other workers’ compensation programs in the United States include the Federal Employees Compensation Act; the Federal Employers Liability Act (railroads); the Jones Act (Merchant Marine Act); the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act; the Department of Veterans Affairs; Social Security; and private, long-term disability insurance.

Women Harbor Workers, Hamburg, Germany: Mural, Book, and Video

Women Harbor Workers, Hamburg, Germany: Mural, Book, and Video