Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Social Problems A Social Problem - 1743 Words

Kennedy Baker 10-30-17 Period 2 Ms. Osterman Abortion Paper Social problems can encompass many things, but they all have two things in common. They are a social state that disturbs society, and they are detrimental to society. There are four stages to a social problem: public outcry, crafting an official response, reaction to official response, and developing alternative strategies to solve problem. These stages run in a cycle and happen over and over again depending upon what the public is upset about. When you have a social problem, it affects many people in the society. Some examples of social problems are drug abuse, poverty, world population, and suicide. All of these problems affect a mass amount of people in a grim way therefore†¦show more content†¦Then in 1973, the Supreme Court made the decision that abortion would be legal. The NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation believes, â€Å"In the years since Roe v. Wade was decided, thousands of American women’s lives have been saved by access to legal abortion.† Women have an abortion for many reasons. About .5% of women have an abortion due to rape, 3% due to fetal health problems, 4% due to physical health problems, and 4% said it would interfere with their education and/or career. Another 7% said they were not mature enough to raise a child, 8% said they didn t want to be a single mother, and 19% stated that they were done having children. Two main reasons that women have an abortion is that they cannot afford to have a baby (23%) and that they are not ready to have a child (25%). Because of women’s differing circumstances, congress made the decision to legalize abortion. They wanted all women to have a choice when their life is at stake, they were raped, or when incest occured. Why is This Problem a Social Problem Abortion is a social problem because it affects many people in society. Whether you have had an abortion yourself, a family member has, or even a friend; it affects you no matter what. Many people care about this topic, and that also makes it a social problem. Depending on your view on abortion, there are different opinions you could have over why this problem negatively affects society. Andrew Napolitano (Pro-Life)Show MoreRelatedSocial Problems Of A Social Problem Essay1458 Words   |  6 Pages Social Problem a) What is a Social Problem? †¢ My understanding of a social problem is that a substantial group of individuals consider an issue to be problematic and that the matter in question does not reconcile itself between the good of the group and what has been done for society. Although the issue can be advantageous for some members of a culture or community, it can be detrimental to others and therefore must be examined. b) What are some social problems that currently exist in societyRead MoreSocial Problems Of The Social Problem885 Words   |  4 PagesOne major social problem that concerns me is social division. Social divisions include but are not limited to: gender, race, class, identity, language barriers, and geographical locations. They are often separated into categories of people. Ex. Homeless, elderly, sex offenders, single parents, disabilities, children, teens, etc. In today’s time, we seem to point the finger on everyone else rather than taking the blame ourselves and it is not surprising to see that the majority is being accused onRead MoreSocial Problems And The Social Problem1170 Words   |  5 PagesTo study some social problems, one may have to take a social constructionist approach. That is to say that taking this approach could be problematic because it is a function of social interaction. They aren t immediately obvious but should be interpreted. Take into consideration texting and driving. Many believe it is horrible and those people who commit the crime should be punished. It did not always used to be this way and in some places is not looked at in such fashion. When we objectively labelRead MoreSocial Problems And The Social Problem1259 Words   |  6 PagesPhoto Essay Our world has many social problems that we try to solve or reduce in many different ways. In order to solve them, we must first look for them. Tara Hardinge is my Sociology professor. During her lecture, she stated that â€Å"Social problem it is a social condition that a part of society view as dangerous or harmful to members of society and there is a need to cure or remedy it† (Hardinge 2015). Linda Mooney, David Knox, and Caroline Schacht are Sociology professors at East Carolina UniversityRead MoreThe Social Problem Of Social Problems1977 Words   |  8 Pages1.0.0 SOCIAL PROBLEM The term â€Å"social problem† cannot be comprehensively defined without understanding the meaning of social itself before joining problem. 1.0.1 SOCIAL The word social comes from the Latin socius meaning friend. When you re being social, you re everyone s friend. Go to a social, or mixer and you might make a lot of new friends. Stand in the corner pouting, however, and you re being anti-social. Humans are described as social being ones that tend to moveRead MoreThe Problem Of A Social Problem Essay1450 Words   |  6 Pages†¢ My understanding of a social problem is that a substantial group of individuals consider an issue to be problematic and that the matter in question does not reconcile itself between the good of the group and what has been done for society. Although the issue can be advantageous for some members of a culture or community, it can be detrimental to others and therefore must be examined. b) What are some social problems that currently exist in society? †¢ Problems that occur recycle themselves overRead MoreThe Problem Of A Social Problem2487 Words   |  10 PagesWhen thinking of a social problem in our society that is deeply affecting all of us individuals together in society as a whole, what particular issue do you think about? What do you think is problematic in our society right now? I believe that a major problem in our society that still continues to exist today is racism. Racism is a problem that has been going on in our country since our country was first founded. The racism I am talking about is racism against minority groups, mostly black peopleRead More Social Problems1061 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Ferreira (2005:86), four elements may be discerned when attempting to define a social problem. The four elements are: a pressure (influential) group; a social condition; a set of values and norms; and collective action. Taking these four elements as building blocks the following definition of a social problem may be arrived at: A social condition, known to a pressure group as posing a threat to current values and norms, that requires collective action to rectify (Pretorius, Le RouxRead MoreSocial Problems807 Words   |  4 Pagesbasketball career for a long time. He never really did get over it, he was forced to settle for a second best basketball school, but managed to receive a great education. Family matters also plays major roles in the movie. Bo had substance abuse problems and affected how well the dreams went with Arthur. By the end of each story, he said was off drugs for good. Bo had even said that if he wouldn’t have been on drugs, he would’ve been able to afford Arthur’s education at St. Joseph’s, and that possiblyRead MoreSocial Change : A Social Problem1087 Words   |  5 Pages4013-995 Social Change Process Dr. Deacon November 12th, 2014 1. Much of social change is aimed at alternating inequalities and forms of oppression. Select One of the forms of inequality and/or oppression that we have covered so far (e.g., sexism, ageism, etc.), Briefly describe this form of inequality and/or oppression (giving at least one example of how it manifests in day to day society). Give one reason why the authors of either of your book(s) argue that this is a social problem in need of

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 990 Words

In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway tells the story of his life in New York and his encounters with Jay Gatsby. He tells the story of how Gatsby’s death occurred and every event leading up to it. Somehow, everything leads back to three characters; Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan. In the novel, everyone played a role in Gatsby’s death but the person who was most responsible was Daisy with help from Tom and Gatsby. Jay Gatsby plays the smallest role in his own death. There’s a risk that Gatsby had to take entering the bootlegging line of work whether the book stated it or not. He would be coming into a lot of money very fast leading to people that would be out to get him for ruining their lives. The biggest problem for him was that he loved Daisy with all his being. All the money and the parties was for her. Jordan Baker once told Nick that â€Å"Gatsby bought that house so Daisy would be just across the bay† (78). He never got over his first love and he didn’t realize that everything couldn’t go back to the way it was before she moved onto bigger money. Nick Carraway said that when they went to Gatsby’s house after tea, â€Å"he hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he had revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew in her well-loved eyes† (91). Gatsby had set this goal of getting his true love back f or himself but once he had her he realized his being and everything in the giant mansion on West Egg,Show MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1393 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald was the model of the American image in the nineteen twenties. He had wealth, fame, a beautiful wife, and an adorable daughter; all seemed perfect. Beneath the gilded faà §ade, however, was an author who struggled with domestic and physical difficulties that plagued his personal life and career throughout its short span. This author helped to launch the theme that is so prevalent in his work; the human instinct to yearn for more, into the forefront of American literature, where itRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1343 Words   |  6 PagesHonors English 10 Shugart 18 Decemeber 2014 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life. The Great Gatsby is about the lives of four wealthy characters observed by the narrator, Nick Carroway. Throughout the novel a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby throws immaculate parties every Saturday night in hope to impress his lost lover, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby lives in a mansion on West Egg across from DaisyRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1155 Words   |  5 PagesThe Great Gatsby The Jazz Age was an era where everything and anything seemed possible. It started with the beginning of a new age with America coming out of World War I as the most powerful nation in the world (Novel reflections on, 2007). As a result, the nation soon faced a culture-shock of material prosperity during the 1920’s. Also known as the â€Å"roaring twenties†, it was a time where life consisted of prodigality and extravagant parties. Writing based on his personal experiences, author F. ScottRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1166 Words   |  5 Pagesin the Haze F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in a time that was characterized by an unbelievable lack of substance. After the tragedy and horrors of WWI, people were focused on anything that they could that would distract from the emptiness that had swallowed them. Tangible greed tied with extreme materialism left many, by the end of this time period, disenchanted. The usage of the literary theories of both Biographical and Historical lenses provide a unique interpretation of the Great Gatsby centered aroundRead MoreThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald845 Words   |  3 PagesIn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, colors represent a variety of symbols that relate back to the American Dream. The dream of being pure, innocent and perfect is frequently associated with the reality of corruption, violence, and affairs. Gatsby’s desire for achieving the American Dream is sought for through corruption (Schneider). The American Dream in the 1920s was perceived as a desire of w ealth and social standings. Social class is represented through the East Egg, the WestRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagesrespecting and valuing Fitzgerald work in the twenty-first century? Fitzgerald had a hard time to profiting from his writing, but he was not successful after his first novel. There are three major point of this essay are: the background history of Fitzgerald life, the comparisons between Fitzgerald and the Gatsby from his number one book in America The Great Gatsby, and the Fitzgerald got influences of behind the writing and being a writer. From childhood to adulthood, Fitzgerald faced many good andRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald2099 Words   |  9 Pagesauthor to mirror his life in his book. In his previous novels F. Scott Fitzgerald drew from his life experiences. He said that his next novel, The Great Gatsby, would be different. He said, â€Å"In my new novel I’m thrown directly on purely creative work† (F. Scott Fitzgerald). He did not realize or did not want it to appear that he was taking his own story and intertwining it within his new novel. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he imitates his lifestyle through the Buchanan family to demonstrateRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1607 Words   |  7 Pages The Great Gatsby is an American novel written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. One of the themes of the book is the American Dream. The American Dream is an idea in which Americans believe through hard work they can achieve success and prosperity in the free world. In F. Scott Fitzgerald s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream leads to popularity, extreme jealousy and false happiness. Jay Gatsby’s recent fortune and wealthiness helped him earn a high social position and become one of the mostRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1592 Words   |  7 PagesMcGowan English 11A, Period 4 9 January 2014 The Great Gatsby Individuals who approach life with an optimistic mindset generally have their goals established as their main priority. Driven by ambition, they are determined to fulfill their desires; without reluctance. These strong-minded individuals refuse to be influenced by negative reinforcements, and rely on hope in order to achieve their dreams. As a man of persistence, the wealthy Jay Gatsby continuously strives to reclaim the love of hisRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1646 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1920s witnessed the death of the American Dream, a message immortalized in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Initially, the American Dream represented the outcome of American ideals, that everyone has the freedom and opportunity to achieve their dreams provided they perform honest hard work. During the 1920s, the United States experienced massive economic prosperity making the American Dream seem alive and strong. However, in Fitzgerald’s eyes, the new Am erican culture build around that

Monday, December 9, 2019

Mumps Analysis Essay Example For Students

Mumps Analysis Essay Mumps is a disease caused by a virus and occurs only in human beings. Mumps is found all over the world.Mumps is a contagious disease when thesalivary glands, on one or both sides of the jaw, swells. Mumps usually occursin school age children, but young adults may catch the disease. Everyone bornbefore1957 has already had mumps. After one attack of mumps, you will havelifelong immunity. The mumps virus is spread by contact of another personsdischarge from the nose or mouth. The virus is present in these discharges fromsix days before symptoms to nine days after the glands begin to swell. The viruswill then incubate for two to three weeks before symptoms appear. Symptoms include headaches, jaw being painful and tender to the touch,fever, and difficulty swallowing. The swelling usually disappears after sevento ten days. Some complications includedeafness (usually only in one ear),arthritis, meningitis (inflammation of brain membranes) and pancreatitis(inflammation of the pancreas). One of every four male adults with the viruswill develop orchtis,which is inflammation of the testes. Sometimes femaleswill have inflammation of the ovaries. Extremely rare cases will result insterility. Mumps is diagnosed by symptoms, but a blood, urine or saliva testcan confirm that you have the virus. Treatment of the virus includes diet ofsoft foods, bed rest, and pain relievers. The mumps vaccine is given tochildren that are about twelve months old. The vaccine is usually conbined withmeasles and rubella vaccines, which is called the MMR vaccine. Category: Science

Sunday, December 1, 2019

The phenomenon of consumerism

Today sociologists and historians actively discuss the development of the phenomenon of consumerism in the modern society with paying much attention to its positive and negative aspects. Consumerism is one of the main features according to which it is possible to characterize the contemporary society in the developed countries.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The phenomenon of consumerism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It has a long history of its development, and different periods had various impacts on the formation of the customers’ behavior and the progress of the social phenomenon. The World War II era provided the society with possibilities to transform the attitude to the traditional aspects of consumerism. Women and African Americans became the influential figures which could regulate and change the peculiarities of the social consumption. The peculiarities of consumerism during the World War II era developed depending on the fact that in the new situation women became the major consumers on whom the whole market was oriented, and they could influence the market’s price policy, and African Americans acquired the right to reduce the discrimination with expanding their possibilities as consumers. These two social categories changed their consumer roles being affected by the alternations in the consumer economy and culture during the wartime. The economy during World War II was transformed in order to contribute to the war issues. The consumer economy of the World War II period affected women in such a way they changed their social roles and began to work in the war industry because of the significant demand for workers. They also worked as clerks and in service industries. However, women traditionally were considered as the audience on which the market of goods and services was oriented. During the war women had to change their shopping habits because of the total shor tages within the market (Cohen 66). The main task was to purchase effectively according to the peculiarities of the situation when the prices were rather high, and the variety and availability of goods were limited.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Women, as mothers and homemakers, tried to find the most economically advantageous solutions in order to meet the demands of their families. Meat, sugar, and butter shortages made them change the home menu and search for some scarce products. Moreover, definite services were not acceptable and women had to refuse the usage of such service as, for instance, laundry. Much attention was paid to recycling at home and expanding the possibilities to satisfy the family’s needs with minimal resources. Thus, the changes in the national economy influenced the changes provided by women in their domestic economy. The peculiarities of co nsumerism as the social notion of the World War II period influenced the development of the women’s movements against the growth of the prices and even led to their controlling role within the market. In spite of the fact women was traditionally considered as housewives who were not interested in the aspects of the policy, economy, and social life, they began to take the leading positions in controlling the development of the markets during the wartime. This shift was affected by the whole situation of the development of society during the war. Social positions of women were changed by the necessity to become the laborers at the wartime, and this fact contributed to the shift in their awareness of the peculiarities of consumerism. It was necessary to control the prices and prevent their growth. That is why women established the organizations and ruled the movements the main task of which was to protest high prices and control the situation in the market (Cohen 84). Women had no obvious rights to influence any political issues and their opinions were not discussed. Nevertheless, the role of women as consumers was evident, and now they could affect the development of this aspect of the social and economic life with concentrating on the expansion of their liberties (Cohen 84). That is why the actions of women were directed toward changing the situation according to their definite visions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The phenomenon of consumerism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More If the role of women as active consumers was emphasized by the history of the social development, the positions of African Americans in society were unclear during the wartime. The discrimination of African Americans in relation to many aspects of the social life was the controversial question for the American society. This discrimination was also reflected in the character of providing the prices for the â €Å"whites† and â€Å"blacks†. The accents on the higher prices and worse conditions and goods for African Americans were put according to the peculiarities of consumerism before the war. The changes in social roles and the aspects of economy gave the chance to realize the intentions of African Americans to take the social positions equal to the positions of the â€Å"whites†. Thus, many African Americans received the opportunity to get the job positions which were earlier occupied by the â€Å"whites† because of the fact the most of white men served as soldiers and because of the lack of workers and the general job availability in different industries. In the situation of the war African Americans got the opportunity to share the shift in the positions experienced by women (Cohen 65). The actions of women in providing their visions of the situation with the growth of prices were rather active. Now it was impossible to increase prices higher than the defi nite established level, and this fact made marketers to preserve the equal prices for all the categories of the population in spite of their ethnic peculiarities. The period of World War II contributed to the development of the notion of the ‘citizen consumer’ as opposite to the notion of ‘purchaser consumer’. The citizen consumer directs his or her actions toward gaining the conditions suitable for the whole nation but not only for him or her as a person.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, the citizen consumer acts not only within the definite market but he is also involved in discussing the consumer issues in the larger economic and political context (Cohen 63). From this point of view, those women who led the consumer movements and conducted the boycotts in order to prevent the growth of prices and significant changes in the policy of consumption can be considered as citizen consumers because the results of their activities affected the whole development of the phenomenon of consumerism during the World War II period. The concept of the citizen customer is also connected with the progress of the women’s ‘customary responsibility’. Thus, women used all their energies and powers in order to turn â€Å"a customary responsibility into a new political opportunity† (Cohen 83). The peculiarities of the women’s lives during the wartime when they were responsible for households, purchases, and laboring were also associated with the nec essity to economize, to plan the budget according to the new economic issues, and with experiencing significant shortages within the markets. In this situation women did all the possible in order to preserve the freedom to consume in spite of the lack of the goods and services’ availability and price changes. Those roles which were played by women as consumers opened the perspectives to influence the public policy and realize the opportunity to establish the definite norms of the progress of consumerism during the World War II period. â€Å"Suddenly tasks that had been viewed as private and domestic were brought into the civic arena and granted new political importance† (Cohen 67). Customary responsibility as the first step to realizing the political opportunity affected the main features in regulating the products distribution, price policy, and the standards of the markets. World War II had a lot of impacts on the development of the American society including the shi fts in the social positions of such categories of the population as women and African Americans and the progress of the phenomenon of consumerism. During the wartime, women had to act not only as housewives but also as the active members of the society and laborers. In this situation their role as consumers became more significant because the peculiarities of the market development were oriented on women as the potential customers or the target audience of the definite products and services. In spite of the fact women experienced a lot of difficulties in functioning within the society under the influence of the new conditions, they acquire the opportunity to realize their ambitions and affect the real situation acting in the field of the market and concentrating on the consumer issues. Women reached the results in regulating the price policy with the help of providing the protests and boycotts against the growth of the prices. Moreover, not only women began to take the active positi ons in the society. African Americans also got the opportunity to reduce the discrimination them as consumers in the field of the American economy. That is why it is possible to note that the notion of ‘citizen consumer’ became the characteristic one for determining the positions of the definite social classes in realizing the economic relations during the period of World War II. Works Cited Cohen, Lizabeth. A Consumers’ Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America. USA: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2008. Print. This essay on The phenomenon of consumerism was written and submitted by user Ingrid Mccray to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The Customer Journey Is Dead A Dawning Of Behavioral Data With Judd Marcello From Cheetah Digital [AMP 137] - CoSchedule Blog

The Customer Journey Is Dead A Dawning Of Behavioral Data With Judd Marcello From Cheetah Digital [AMP 137] Blog Marketers try to map and meticulously outline their customer’s journey to convert a lead into a paying customer. Instead, maybe they should focus on behavioral data to deliver the right message on the right channel at the right time.    Today, my guest is Judd Marcello, executive vice president of global marketing at Cheetah Digital. He believes the customer journey doesn’t exist. Instead, figure out why data is important and how to leverage it between brands and customers. Judd’s Career Journey: B2C to B2B martech firms; it’s all about your contacts and who you know As the number of channels increase, buyers jump around brands on their journey Fallacy of falling into trap of using phrases that become commonplace Consumers, not marketers now predict the path they take from researching to buying a product Marketers can still be proactive by using data to drive smart insights and technology from an AI perspective to provide a great customer experience Customers are going to do whatever they want to do; marketers should: Create unique, compelling, and consistent brand experience Deliver the right messaging Hyper personalize efforts    Create connection between your brand and customer Deliver personal and custom experience through data management Cheetah Digital’s Website revised to reflect how prospects look for information Indicators of Success: Team members, content, client summit; digital evolution What’s working and what’s not; prioritize performance to identify gaps Links: Judd Marcello on LinkedIn Judd Marcello’s Email Cheetah Digital ExactTarget Experian Friction by Roger Dooley Write a review on iTunes and send a screenshot of it to receive cool swag! If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Judd Marcello: â€Å"Consumers have more tools than they’ve ever had before to either research or access products or be influenced by other consumers.† â€Å"I don’t think it is a journey, I don’t think it is any one tool that can actually deliver on what a consumer wants. I actually think it’s a number of things.† â€Å"If you are a company that lives and breathes your purpose, your clients will feel that. They will want to be a bigger part of your overall offering or way forward.† This idea of unique value exchange and making that a personalized value exchange is really what our job is today, and why people are going to keep coming back to you or stay with you.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

The Influence of the Renaissance in Shakespeares Work

The Influence of the Renaissance in Shakespeares Work It’s very easy to think of Shakespeare as a unique genius with a singular perspective on the world around him. However, Shakespeare was very much a product of the radical cultural shifts that were occurring in Elizabethan England during his lifetime. When Shakespeare was working in the  theater, the Renaissance movement in the arts was peaking in England. The new openness and humanism are reflected in Shakespeare’s plays. The Renaissance in Shakespeares Time Broadly speaking, the Renaissance period is used to describe the era when Europeans moved away from the restrictive ideas of the Middle Ages. The ideology that dominated the Middle Ages was heavily focused on the absolute power of God and was enforced by the formidable Roman Catholic Church. From the 14th century onward, people started to break away from this idea. The artists and thinkers of the Renaissance did not necessarily reject the idea of God. In fact, Shakespeare himself may have been Catholic. The Renaissance cultural creators did, however, question humankind’s relationship to God. This questioning produced enormous upheaval in the accepted social hierarchy. And the new focus on humanity created new-found freedom for artists, writers, and philosophers to be inquisitive about the world around them. They often drew on the more human-centered classical writing and art of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration. Shakespeare,  the Renaissance Man The Renaissance arrived in England rather late. Shakespeare was born toward  the end of the broader Europe-wide Renaissance period, just as it was peaking in England. He was one of the first playwrights to bring the Renaissance’s core values to the theater. Shakespeare embraced the Renaissance in the following ways: Shakespeare updated the simplistic, two-dimensional writing style of pre-Renaissance drama. He focused on creating human characters with psychological complexity. Hamlet is perhaps the most famous example of this.The upheaval in social hierarchy allowed Shakespeare to explore the complexity and humanity of every character, regardless of their social position. Even monarchs were portrayed as having human emotions and were capable of making terrible mistakes. Consider King Lear or Macbeth.Shakespeare utilized his knowledge of Greek and Roman classics when writing his plays. Before the Renaissance, these texts had been suppressed by the Catholic Church. Religion in Shakespeares Time Elizabethan England endured a different form of religious oppression than that which had dominated the Middle Ages. When she took the throne, Queen Elizabeth I forced conversions and drove practicing Catholics underground with her imposition of the Recusancy Acts. These laws required citizens to attend worship in Anglican churches. If discovered, Catholics faced stiff penalties or even death. Despite these laws, Shakespeare did not appear to be afraid to write about Catholicism nor to present Catholic characters in a favorable light. His inclusion of Catholicism in his works has led historians to hypothesize that the Bard was secretly Catholic. Catholic characters included Friar Francis ( Much Ado About Nothing),  Friar Laurence (Romeo and Juliet), and even  Hamlet. At the very least, Shakespeare’s writing indicates a thorough knowledge of Catholic rituals. Regardless of what he may have been doing secretly, he maintained a public persona as an Anglican. He was baptized in and buried at  Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, a Protestant church.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Pervious Studies about abnormal behavior ( sociology ) Assignment

Pervious Studies about abnormal behavior ( sociology ) - Assignment Example They are negatively distinguished from heterosexual homeless youth (Cochran, Stewart, Ginzler, & Cauce, 2002). The authors of the two research studies I chose, for this summary, have pointed out reasons why the topic of lesbian and gay youth’s reflection and challenges are areas of great importance. The author of the study on television programming says that there are very few lesbian and gay characters, especially positive role models, in television programming. Yet television is an important resource for lesbian and gay people to have vicarious experience and shape identity, beliefs and values, especially in the case where their own literal experience is limited. (Fisher, Hill, Grube, & Gruber, 2007) A consequence is that the lesbian/gay community is kept invisible, when there are insufficient models, and is undeservedly portrayed in stereotypically negative ways when the models are negative, reinforcing judgmental heterosexual stereotypes (Fisher, Hill, Grube, & Gruber, 2007). Another reason why the study is important is that there is very little research done on this specific topi c (Fisher, Hill, Grube, & Gruber, 2007), and so this study will be able to contribute to the field. The author of the other study, on homeless lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered youth, feels the topic is important because gay and lesbian adolescents, in general, are at increased risk for physical and mental problems (Cochran, Stewart, Ginzler, & Cauce, 2002). Studies indicate that between 11% and 35% of homeless youth are lesbian or gay. This led the authors of this study to suspect that being homeless and a member of a sexual minority would likely increase their risk (Cochran, Stewart, Ginzler, & Cauce, 2002). The challenges of surviving on the streets, on top of the challenging histories that lesbian and gay youth may already have, are enormous. This makes it a critical study. The first research article is, â€Å"Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Content on

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Managing Innovation at St. Lukes Medical Center Essay

Managing Innovation at St. Lukes Medical Center - Essay Example Every organization exists to achieve a purpose. In order to attain organizational goals, a set of policies and strategies are defined and developed by management. As averred by Christensen, Andrews, & Bower (3), policy is â€Å"the study of the functions and responsibilities of senior management, the crucial problems that affect success in the total enterprise, and the decisions that determine the direction of the organization and shape its function†. One of the strategic management decisions undertaken by aggressive and competitive organizations is innovation. Most business practitioners have grown accustomed to innovation stemming from new inventions and advancing technology. But suiting policy to changing circumstances includes also the application of a firm’s long-established strengths to unexplored segments of the market via innovations in price, service, distribution, or merchandising. Innovation is the â€Å"process by which an idea or invention is translated into a good or service for which people will pay. In business, innovation results often from the application of a scientific or technical idea in decreasing the gap between the needs or expectations of the customers and the performance of a firm's products.† (Business Dictionary 1) One of the most innovative organizations in Asia is St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines. It is the number one hospital in the Philippines but its vision is to be one of the top five medical institutions in Asia by 2010.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Natural monopoly Essay Example for Free

Natural monopoly Essay The concept of â€Å"Natural Monopoly† comes from economics. It is a situation in which majority of the portion of market is covered by a single firm or company. The goods, services or products offered by the company covers the maximum portion of the market. A Natural Monopoly is a situation in which the cost of producing the product (goods or services) is lower due to economies of scale. In a situation of Natural Monopoly, there are no close substitutes to offer the same product or services. Economies of scale is a situation or condition in which the cost to a company of producing or supplying each additional unit of a product or service decreases as the volume of output increases. Economies of scale is not the only reason for the existence of monopoly. A Natural Monopoly also exists because of sole access to a particular resource or technology and because of the use of non-market means to eliminate competition, including buying up competitors and colluding with customers or suppliers to discriminate against competitors. A Natural Monopoly also exists even if there are multiple competitors in the market. In such case, the firm which can attain the largest volume of output and the lowest production cost will be called as a Natural Monopoly. All the other firms will have to exit the industry because they are unable to compete on a price basis. Basically, it is very difficult for any competitor to enter the market of natural monopoly because of very high cost of production facilities which includes the cost of infrastructure. There is also a high uncertainty among the intended competitors that they will be able to oust the existing monopolist. Some of the most commonly used examples for natural monopoly are utilities such as water supply system, electric power transmission system, railroads and pipelines. Though it is very difficult for any intended competitor to enter the market of natural monopoly, but it is very important for us to remember that natural monopoly is not permanent. This is because technological advances can lead to the development of new forms of competition for an industry, change its cost structure and affect the demands for its products. For example, canals were once a natural monopoly for bulk transport in parts of Europe and the U. S. , but these monopolies disintegrated during the nineteenth century as a result of the development of railway.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Is Sherlock Holmes an Individual or a By Product of the Victorian Age? :: Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Essays

Is Sherlock Holmes an Individual or a By Product of the Victorian Age? To the ignorant onlooker Sherlock Holmes is simply a clever detective amongst a horde of similar duplicates from various tales and myths of the crime-solving era. Sherlock Holmes is the culmination from a culture of detectives. Francis Eugene Vidocq, a â€Å"Holmes† in the making, with an utter disregard for the official police, an ability to disguise himself, and clever plans to catch the criminals accompanied by an excellent knowledge of the criminal underworld. Lecoq, used science and his cleverness to solve his crimes. Dupin, a detective who possessed powers of deduction and reasoning. Conan Doyle used all these essential ingredients and through an ingenious metamorphosis produced the ultimate detective; the meticulous observer Sherlock Holmes. If we delve deeper into the infinite chasm of Holmes' character we reveal more about the enigmatic figure that masquerades inside his majestic exterior. The entwining, interlocking tentacles of Holmes' deceivingly simple demeanour knot together to conceal his true being. His character cannot be confined to the restrictive boundaries we use for one and another. His character is far more complex and intelligent than his middle class placement in Victorian society would like to divulge. Conan Doyle created a character, blessed with gifts of deduction, intuition and a genius ability to solve crimes. But in forming this wonderful concoction he thus morphed many other sides to Holmes, seemingly oblivious to his adoring followers. He formed an untouchable creature, unable to feel emotion and passion. "He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer" Emotions would only make Holmes weaker, and Sherlock Holmes did not do weakness. A cold calculated scientist, an ostentatious performer, an arrogant conceited artist, a character arisen to a higher level than us 'inferior beings' Holmes' the bohemian, Holmes' the scientist, Holmes' the detective, Holmes' the gentleman, Holmes' the musician. Clever, genius, conceited, arrogant, patronising, condescending. His character is more than dual-natured. His multiple sided personality forms a complex persona to investigate. To dissect the inner chambers of Holme's thoughts, I will protrude into the depths of a classic narrative; The Red Headed League which embodies many of Holmes intricate characteristics. In this classic narrative Mr Wilson, the stereotypical ignorant victim is used as a long-suffering pawn in a game of cruel political chess, he is obliviously trapped in a criminal masterminds scheming plan to gain his revenge on society. The 'red headed league' is an exuberant ploy to keep Mr Wilson out of his lodgings for days on end under the preface that his "Real vivid flame coloured tint" had earned him a place in the ambiguous "red headed league". He has

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Carlos Ghosn Nissan Ceo

Carlos Ghosn as CEO of Nissan and Renault: Can He Rework the ‘Nissan Magic'? â€Å"We knew some people were concerned about the potential for culture clashes, between the French and the Japanese, but it was not an issue. Cultural differences should be used as a catalyst for change, not as a crutch that inhibits change. You can learn a lot from somebody who is not like you. â€Å"1 – Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Nissan. â€Å"Make sure you are focused on your own people. Bring in them motivation and sense of ownership, then you can do your miracle. 2 – Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Nissan. Introduction In 2002, Louis Schweitzer, CEO of Renault announced that Carlos Ghosn, the president and CEO of Nissan would also take over the reigns at Renault in April 2005, while Schweitzer would remain the chairman of the board. With the new position , Carlos Ghosn would lead two companies Nissan and Renault. As of 2004,Renault held 44%stake in Nissan and Nissan owned around 15%of Renault's shar es. ‘Turnaround artist', as Carlos Ghosn was called was behind the industry's most remarkable turnaround at Nissan.After he became the CEO of Nissan in 1999, he had brought in many un-Japanese changes in the Japanese company and had actively persuaded the employees to accept change. Carlos Ghosn was credited for reviving the company from$254million losses and $19billion debt in 1999 into profits within two years. After taking up his position as the CEO of Renault in April 2005,CarlosGhosn is likely to face many challenges. Heading two different automobile companies from two different countries was first of its kind and industry observers expressed doubts whether Ghosn would be able to take up the pressure and rework the ‘Nissanmagic'.Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic'In March 1999,Renault, the then ninth carmaker in the world announced its alliance with Nissan investing $5. 4 billion. Nissan was in losses for many years from 1990-1999 except for profits reported in 1 997(Annexure I) and looked out for partners to recover from the troubles. The brand recognition was very low and it was estimated that Nissan was losing $1000 for every car it sold in US. By the end of 1990s,Nissan exported cars to Europe and Australia and some parts of Asia. The company was in losses to the tune of $5. billion, had debts totaling around $19 billion and was suffering from a poor product portfolio and diminishing brand value. Nissan’s market share had dropped from 6. 6 %in 1991 to 4. 9%by late 1990s. Renault at the same time was expanding internationally through acquisitions. After the unsuccessful merger with Volvo, Renault under Louis Schweitzer entered into an alliance with Nissan acquiring a 36%stake in the company. Triggering the alliance was Nissan’s strength in product designs and sophisticated manufacturing that blended well with the engineering quality at Renault.For Renault, the alliance would help in international expansions in the long-term while for Nissan; it was to get rid of its short-term troubles that had accumulated. Initially industry observers were skeptical about a non-Japanese manager successfully leading a Japanese firm. While Carlos Ghosn was successful in cutting costs and had sometimes imposed hard regimes during his tenure atMichelin3  , many were apprehensive if he would be successful in Japan. | | He was 46 when he joined Nissan and was far younger than the middle-level managers in the company.Carlos Ghosn knew nothing about Japan and had no knowledge of the culture there. He once said that he had a ‘very vague' idea about the country and accepted, â€Å"I did not try to learn too much about Japan before coming, because I didn’t want to have too many preconceived ideas. I wanted to discover Japan by being in Japan with Japanese people. â€Å"4  On the first day, when Carlos Ghosn arrived at Nissan, he took an elevator to reach his office. As he entered the lift, which was already pa cked with workers who were coming up from garage, everyone knew he was the new CEO. To his surprise, at every floor the lift stopped, none got down.Finally, when he got down, the employees bowed as he left and went back to their floors. After such an unexpected incident, which reflected major cultural difference, Carlos Ghosn realized how important it was to understand them. Since the first day, Carlos Ghosn had made the cultural diversity a catalyst rather than a crutch for the company. 5 Next >> 1]Carlos Ghosn's interview, â€Å"Interview: The road to ruin†, www. themanufacturer. com, December 2002 2]Parachkevova, Anna â€Å"CEO outlines Nissan’s resurgence†, www. thedartmouth. com, May 12th 2004 3]Carlos Ghosn joined Michelin in 1974, where he was chairman and CEO ofNorth American operations and had undertook several cost cutting initiatives. 4]†Carlos Ghosn: standing at the global crossing†, http://web-japan. org, April 5th 2002 5]†Th rowing away the culture crutch†, 2000 Automotive News World Congress, January 18th 2000 Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦ However, since the beginning, Carlos Ghosn was in a Catch-22 situation as Japanese were not used to dictatorship kind of leadership. He knew that if he tried to dictate terms, that could lead to bruising employee morale, and if he remained lenient, it could hinder the required change.Instead of imposing change ,CarlosGhosn brought about the need for urgency in operations by mobilizing   them an agers. Carlos Ghosn identified that the basic flaw with Nissan’s culture when he took over was that employees were reluctant to accept the failures and held other departments or economic conditions responsible for them. This resulted in a lack of urgency among employees as everyone assumed the other would take action. He found that instead of solving the problems, they were trying to live with them.Nissan throughout 1990s, had been concentra ting on short-termmarket share growth rather than long termgrowth and instead of investing its profits towards product portfolio improvement itwas spending themtowards equity purchases of other companies especially its suppliers. Its product profile was comparatively outdated with old designs when customers craved for stylish designs while competitors were steadily focusing on new product designs. By 1999, it had around $4 billion held in the form of shares while its purchasing costs remained very high, around 20-25%more than that of Renault's.The employees openly resisted cross-functional teams, as they strongly believed in territories and sectionalism, which was a major part of their culture. Carlos Ghosn explained, â€Å"Engineers work very well together, financial people work very well together, salespeople work very well together. But when you start to add an engineer, a marketer, a salesperson, and a manufacturer, here all the strengths of Japan in teamwork disappear. â€Å" 6  To overcome the resistance, he had to explain to the employees why the cross-functional teams were important and how they would impact the overall benefits.Carlos Ghosn believed that the general human tendency was to resist anything different. He considered that by accepting change, people tend to become stronger, as they understand the differences and try to analyze the causes for such differences. Cross-functional teams were formed and employees were involved in the revival process. This helped Carlos Ghosn explain his plans and gain acceptance easily. Through these cross-functional teams, employees were made to look beyond their line of responsibilities, understanding the nitty- gritties of the other departments as well.After the cross-functional teams were in place, people owned up responsibility whenever something went wrong. â€Å"The solution to Nissan’s problems was inside the company. The main [idea] we would have for revival of the company would be a rebuilt m otivation of Nissan employees and partners,† he explained. 7| | Immediately after appointing the teams, they were asked to submit plans to achieve the maximum possible output in each area and within a week decisions were made. The outcome was the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP).After the NRPwas announced, every aspect from the timing, the plan schedules and the commitments as well as targets were clearly stated. Shiro Tomii, vice president, Nissan Japan remarked, â€Å"He establishes high yet attainable goals; makes everything clear to all roles and levels of responsibility, works with speed; checks on progress; and appraises results based on fact. â€Å"8 Next >> 6]†Carlos Ghosn: standing at the global crossing†, op. cit 7]Saadi, Dania â€Å"Nissan's miracle man offers clues to solving national economic woes†, www. lebanonwire. com   8]David Magee, Turnaround: how Carlos Ghosn rescued NissanCarlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦ Listening to the employees and facilitating their participation in the decision-making process, was key aspect of Carlos Ghosn's leadership. By avoiding impersonal meetings through mails, he stressed the need for face-to-face communication. He believed that the people close to the company could come out with better solutions than an outsider like him. In contrast, the Japanese were polite, reticent and never spoke about the plans to their boss. Carlos Ghosn had to repeatedly explain to the employees that he needed their viewpoints and would not mind if they speak out.This, according to him was the greatest hurdle. While in France at Renault, he emphasized on teamwork, in Japan he believed it was not required and instead individuality was given more prominence. Price Water house Coopers in a report on change management listed Carlos Ghosn's key human resource management techniques calling them very simple and straightforward By maintaining transparency from the stage of planning to action, he ai med at the best possible out comes while also lifting the morale of the employees who were particularly distressed after the crisis at the company.He invited suggestions from every influential individual from suppliers, Nissan’s ex-employees, dealers etc. He explained, â€Å"As you know credibility has two legs, performance, and transparency. Performance, we had none to show at the time, so we were determined to be highly transparent. â€Å"9  He called the NRP, an ‘organization's collective effort' involving thousands of employees at every managerial level. To show his commitment to the plan, he declared that he would resign along with other top executives if the plan fails in bringing in the benefits. Carlos Ghosn wanted immediate results by fixing short-term targets.While he called the passive style of management-by-consensus a killer, an active and constructional version could work miracles, according to him. He believed that an 85%consensus was enough and 100%w as not always essential. While cultural adaptability had been his key, he was also at the same time affirmative about giving more priority to the bottom-line growth rather than just to the cultural aspects. He remarked, â€Å"I do not want to intentionally offend people, but I am more concerned about making Nissan profitable again than being culturally sensitive. â€Å"10| | The first phase of NRP focused on cutting the costs and improving profits.The first major step Carlos Ghosn undertook was divestments from subsidiaries to reduce the debt. Suppliers accounted for major part of costs of production and the age-old Keiretsu system and the obligations that came with it were adding to heavy costs11  . Deviating from the system, Carlos Ghosn opened the purchasing offer to all the suppliers encouraging new suppliers who were ready to supply at low prices. As part of the revival plan, suppliers were forced to offer discounts to the tune of 20-30%and the number of suppliers was broug ht down to 600 from 1145 while the purchasing costs were reduced by 20%.During a meeting with the dealers of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn announced, â€Å"I don't want any excuses. I want to know what you are going to do to make things better. â€Å"12  Cost cutting at each stage began to be regarded as the need of the hour as the employees were encouraged to reduce expenses through all possible ways. The cross functional teams were given one month time to identify areas to cut costs and increase the profits through bottom-line growth. Next >> 9]Ibid. 10]Larimar, Tim â€Å"Japan, Nissan and Ghosn revolution†, www. sb. columbia. edu 11]The Keiretsu system, in which the companies maintained partnership with each of its suppliers, holding shares in those companies, transferring managers characterized the big family of companies and its suppliers were both shared relationships 12]Larimar, Tim â€Å"Japan, Nissan and Ghosn revolution†, op. cit. Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Ni ssan Magic' Cont†¦ The most un-Japanese practices like closing plants and cutting work force, in a country, which believed in lifetime employment, were the biggest of all challenges.When he planned to close five plants which included both assembly plants and power train plants, the board of directors were not informed until the night before, as Carlos Ghosn knew some people within the company wanted his plans to fail. After he announced, he was reported to have threatened, â€Å"If this leaks out, I'll close seven plants, not five. â€Å"13  For Carlos Ghosn, convincing the labor unions over the disadvantages of rigid job definition was a big task. The seniority-based promotion that was entrenched in the Japanese firm was replaced by a performance based and merit-based incentive system.Instead of sacking people, which was against the culture in Japan, 21,000 jobs were cut through retirements, pre-retirements and golden handshakes out of which 16500 were in Japan alone. The plants were closed, while offering alternative jobs to the employees in other plants of the company. The complex manufacturing structure, which involved 24 platforms at seven assembly plants, was brought down to 12 platforms, which were shared by four plants. Around 10%of the retail outlets were closed and 20%of the dealer affiliates was streamlined to further reduce selling and marketing expenses.After the phase one of the revival plan was over, Nissan reported profits of $1. 5 billion for six months between April to September, which was the best results the company had ever seen. At the same time, Carlos Ghosn began to be called an iconoclast, who had brought in some un-Japanese, western style of culture in the company’s operations. He, in contrast to the traditional Japanese business etiquettes, shook hands with his partners and other executives. As a result, there was discontent among the traditionalists and other industry associations in the country.And his bold decision s like closing plants, had invited repugnance among many including the insiders and Ghosn began to take along a bodyguard wherever he went| | The cross-cultural merger between a French and a Japanese firm, raised several other challenges. The alliance aimed at cost savings through sharing of platforms and engineering capabilities. Initially though the employees and the design engineers were convinced over the superiority of the platforms brought in from the Renault plants, they were reluctant to adopt them.To overcome resistance, regular meetings were conducted among the Nissan and Renault employees. While at the same time, Carlos Ghosn began to recruit more designers from Japan to design new models. He maintained that the best way to solve the cultural differences was to avoid forcing the cultural blend. Rather, he believed in appreciating the differences between the cultures and minimizing the cultural clashes by bringing in a performance-driven management. To ensure that the Japa nese staff understands what the French managers spoke, English was made the common language in the company.A dictionary of 100 key words used by them management was prepared to solve the differences in the way each work was interpreted by French as well as Japanese. The words included ‘commitment', ‘transparency', ‘objectives', and ‘targets' etc. Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦ In Japan, attending all formal parties of suppliers was very important and one was not supposed to miss them unless there was a strong reason. When Carlos Ghosn missed the New Year Party hosted by the suppliers’ association, it was considered as a sign of disrespect to their culture.Carlos Ghosn had attended all such gatherings since then. Carlo sGhosn understood all these subtle aspects, which were an essential part of the culture, as he began adapting to them. In the second phase of the revival plan, which started in 2001, Carlos Ghosn stressed on selling mo re cars, improving the top line growth as well. Dropping non-performing products from its portfolio, the company introduced trendy new models in SUVs and minivans category. An updated Z sports coupe was reintroduced in the market. The phase two increased sales by one million and debt was brought down to zero.With his unconventional leadership style and charisma, he began tow in praises from the employees of the company as well as from the industry and the public. Sometimes, people in streets would stop him and wish him success saying, ‘Gambatte [go for it]'. TIME magazine named him the most influential global business executive and more and more Japanese companies were embarking on the gaijin [Foreigner]-Ghosn’s style for attaining maximum benefits in a short time. His colleagues at Nissan were particularly impressed by his dedication towards achievement of targets and his 24/7 work ethics reinforcing the importance of hard work.His devotion towards the revival of the c ompany from problems, for which he was not in any way responsible, encouraged his peers to work hard and contribute towards a common goal. Toshiyuki Shiga who was made in charge of the Nissan’s expansions in China had once remarked, â€Å"He told me to make a clear strategy for Nissan in China, and he gave me two months to do it. †Ã‚  14  While he ensured that the progress was undertaken without holding any individual responsible for the past crisis, he was also at the same time particular about results. | Dominique Thormann, senior vice president, Nissan Europe, said, â€Å"To people who don't accept that performance is what is at stake, he can be ruthless. â€Å"15 Calling his turnaround at Nissan a ‘near death experience', Carlos Ghosn said he had experienced extensive cultural diversities during his tenure at Renault, Nissan, Nissan’s North American business and Samsung motors, a Korean based company acquired by Renault. His management style is wov en around two attributes- ‘value and motivation'. He believed in motivating employees and demanding performance by empowering them. Your employees must be interested in what is going on in the company. Nothing is more inefficient than a boring company. You have to create an interesting environment where people are interested in the story you are creating and want to hear the happy ending†, he said. He was called ‘Ice Breaker' by Daimler Chrysler's Chairman Jurgen E. Schrempp because of his unconventional thinking and implementing western style of management in Japan breaking the prevalent myth in the industry. Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦The biweekly comic series, ‘The true life of Carlos Ghosn' featured Nissan's CEO Carlos Ghosn, depicting his popularity in the industry as well as the country. Some others called him ‘an ambassador of change', ‘the troubleshooter' and considered him as a role model for all those business exec utives who were seeking solutions to the poor state of their companies in Japan. After the implementation of the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP), within two years, the company recovered from the losses and reported a 10. 2%increase in its revenues and nearly 84%increase in its operating profits .Though the sales had not considerably improved, the cost cuttings contributed towards improving the bottom line. In May 2001, the company reported its largest net profit of $2. 7 billion. Carlos Ghosn was named the ‘Businessman of the year' by Fortune magazine in 2002 and Auto mobile Magazine called him' man of the year' for his contributions to Nissan. Renault increased its stake in Nissan to 44. 4%while Nissan owned 13. 5%of Renault's share capital. However, by 2003,Nissan started experiencing a downward trend in its sales, as the volume of goods that passed out from dealers was dropping in size.Customers regularly complained of quality defects and Nissan’s rank in overall quality ( as per a survey by J. D. PowerAssociates) dropped to 11th in 2004 from6th in 2003. It looked as the rigorous emphasis on the faster execution of the restructuring had resulted in these quality defects while Ghosn assured he would fix them. To counter the situation, in May 2004, he sent a quality control team of 220 engineers to the Nissan plant in Smyrna (Tennessee) and every part of the assembly line went through a detailed scrutiny.Subtle issues like the workers who wore studded jeans and rings causing scratches to the freshly painted cars, etc came to light. Ghosn was amazed at some very obvious ones, which could be rectified at the plant, like defective doors and reading lights etc. Carlos Ghosn had already achieved two of the three goals that were set for NRP, the debt was cleared and profitability was achieved. | | The Nissan 180, an extension of NRP was launched and aimed at additional sales volume of one million annually from 2005, the third objective of NRP. US market was c onsidered to play a key role in achieving the goal of additional one million sales.A new plant was set up in Canton, the first in North America where Nissan was facing challenges from other Japanese automakers, Toyota and Honda. Mean while, Nissan was planning an alliance with Mitsubishi after Daimler Chrysler gave up its plans of partnership with Mitsubishi. The partnership would help Nissan enter the mini car segment while Mitsubishi would be able to reduce cost burden of new product development. The shortage of steel supplies forced Nissan to reduce its production in 2004, affecting production of 15,000 units amounting to $58. 5million of loss in sales.Nissan closed its plants for five days following the shortage of supplies, as steel prices in creased with demand for steel increasing after the economic boom in China. While halting production was considered a sign of mismanagement many felt that Carlos Ghosn's attempt to bring down the number of suppliers as part of NRP, had resu lted in over-reliance on few suppliers . However, Ghosn defended himself saying that the savings achieved during that phase were far more [$9. 7 billion] than the losses incurred due to loss of sales. Renault – The French Automaker Renault was a state owned government enterprise since 1945.It was started as a motorized vehicle assembler in 1898. Renault built trucks, airplane engines and heavy vehicles during the World War II and after the war and with the economic boom, Renault achieved high volume sales with its low cost cars like 4CV, Renault 4 and Renault 5 through the 1970s and 1980s. During early 1980s, Renault expanded into US by acquiring half the shares of American Motor Corporation. However, the deal was unprofitable and the company had to withdraw from the market in 1987. A similar deal failed in Mexico, and with both the deals financed through debts, Renault was left ith huge debts accumulated by the end of 1980s. It reported losses of $3. 5 billion between 1984 a nd 1986. Further, because it was a state owned business, obligations with labour unions led to more costs for the company. When Louis Schweitzer joined Renault in 1986,Renault had accumulated debts to the tune of $9 billion and was in huge losses. Its proposed merger with Sweden based ABVolvo in 1993 failed due to unfavorable French political climate and with Swedish shareholders expressing reservation. The company continued to be in losses till 1996,when Schweitzer brought in Carlos Ghosn as the executive vice president.Under the duo, product quality was improved, outsourcing secondary activities and overheads were reduced along with reduction in workforce. The same time, French government started setting ground for its IPO when Louis Schweitzer discovered that privatization of the company could only save it. In July 1996, the IPO was completed. By 1998,with the midsize model Scenic, Renault was successful in European market and in 1998 alone it made profits of $1. 4 billion from$4 0 billion sales. 16 While Renault became the No. 1 automaker in Europe, to be a global player, it had to expand its operations further.By the end of 1990s, it had a very small presence in Asia and was totally absent in the North American market. After the merger of Daimler and Chrysler in 1998, for Renault, expansions became a requisite. And, Nissan seemed a lucrative opportunity, as an alliance with Nissan could help in easier market expansion for Renault in developing markets. While others including Ford and DaimlerChrysler had earlier attempted a deal with Nissan, they later withdrew keeping in view the huge debt that Nissan held and its culture that was inflexible. | After the alliance, Renault managed to reduce its launching and warranty costs for new product introductions by recruiting managers from Nissan to undertake the launch. At the same time, it sent its employees to Nissan to oversee manufacturing, to achieve cost efficient production. Later Renault acquired Samsung Mot ors in South Korea and Roman automaker, Dacia as part of its international expansion. With the launch of multi purpose vehicles, Laguna II and A van time in 2001 and Espace IV in 2002 , and after its association with Formula One racing between 1992 and 1997, its brand popularity improved.By 2004,Renault held strong foothold in European market and reported a 6. 5%increase in sales by the first half of 2004 and was the fourth largest auto company in the world. It held nearly 11%market share in Western European market in passenger car and light vehicle cars. At the same time, Renault performance in large cars segment was sluggish and was struggling to achieve operating margin of 4%, when the demand for cars in the European market was low. Some of the new launches like the Vel Satis, a tall saloon luxury model, were not very successful in the market. Are launch in the US market was also underway.Renault was facing other challenges along with Nissan and other automakers. Environmental fr iendly cars, which seemed a likely potential opportunity, were costly to manufacture at the price the customers were ready to pay. Renault was planning for expansions in Chinese market and South Korea and other parts of Asia through alliance with Nissan. Next ;gt;;gt; 16]†For Renault, a new chance to take on the world†, www. businessweek. com, November 15th 1999 Carlos Ghosn as CEO of Renault and Nissan By 2010, Nissan and Renault would build their cars using the common building blocks.Ghosn viewed the alliance as â€Å"managing contradiction between synergy and identity†17  and confirmed that while gaining synergies, the individual identity of each brand would be safeguarded. The other major alliances in the industry, the DaimlerChrysler and the GM/Fiat had not proved to be very successful because of improper management of merged assets, trans-atlantic product development and failed attempt in understanding local market; Ghosn confirmed that Nissan's alliance w ith Renault would creatively achieve it. At the same time the alliance would avoid merger and would maintain ‘a spirit of partnership'18  .The alliance would be the fourth largest automobile group in the world. In October 2004, the first car was built using a common platform of Nissan and Renault. Modus, a subcompact minivan of Renault shared its base with Nissan’s Micra saving $500million for Renault every year. After Carlos Ghosn succeeds Schweitzer at Renault's in April 2005, he would also continue as the CEO of Nissan. Carlos Ghosn was affirmative that he would not leave the company unless he finds the right person who would succeed him at Nissan. He stressed on the need for a Japanese as the CEO of Nissan in such a culture sensitive country.While at Nissan, he had transformed himself into a Japanese, adapting to the culture, analysts feared if he would breach the French business etiquettes as he takes up the rein at Renault. 19  Two of the five vice presidents at Renault would retire soon, and Carlos Ghosn was to take up the reigns at both the companies, during such senior level management changes. At the same time, many feared if the sense of urgency brought through NRP would continue at Nissan or will the company slip back to its old habits, when Carlos Ghosn leaves.The pressure was considered to be very high, as an analyst stated, â€Å"He will be less present at Renault than he was at Nissan, and less present at Nissan that he used to be. I believe this challenge will be more difficult. â€Å"20 The alliance had helped both the companies equally, in terms of cost savings from not requiring to construct new plants where the alliance can use common buildings, common platforms etc. This had also helped them enter new markets faster and gain other synergies . The purchasing power had also increased as they ordered and bought components through Renault-Nissan purchasing organization for both the companies at a time. | The alliance had fr om the beginning ensured that the inter-company cultural clashes do not exist, by maintaining individual cultural identities. While a merger had been avoided since the beginning, Carlos Ghosn confirmed that it would be its agenda in future also. Carlos Ghosn remarked that when he takes up the two positions, he would blend the strengths of the people at the companies, the innovation excellence of the French and the dedication towards manufacturing of the Japanese. 21  He affirmed that his tenure at Nissan had allowed him to learn the real essence of successful leaders, and would drive his success in future also.He called himself, ‘not a theorist of citizenship but an expert in multi nationality’. 22 Carlos Ghosn called the three major attributes, ‘Value, Transparency and Performance' as the ones that would determine the competence of any CEO. He believed that they act as standards for leadership in global business, in the light of growing corporate scandals, when the top executives of the companies were increasingly coming under scrutiny. He explained that the actual results that are delivered along with simultaneous value creation to the customers and the other stakeholders through maintaining transparency, reflect an efficient leadership.By communicating every strategy to every person concerned, he maintained that it would facilitate a faster reaction to dynamics in the fiercely competitive global market place. An analyst once called Carlos Ghosn, ‘amanager without borders, polyglot and cosmopolitan'. Talking about his dual roles and the cultural barriers that he will have to face as he moves to Renault while also heading Nissan, Carlos Ghosn said, â€Å"Global is global. In my opinion, this is going to be the story of the twenty-first century.This is what's going to happen in the twenty-first century – you're going to see the emergence of more ‘global' standards, some kind of global references; you're going to see mor e and more of it. But ‘globality' doesn’t mean ‘uniformity. ‘ It doesn't mean that. You’ll still have different cultures, you’ll still have different tastes, and you’ll still have some adaptations to make to different countries, but you'll have some basic things that will be common globally, especially in the economic area. â€Å"23 17]†Renault's alliance with Nissan†, www. economist. om, August 16th 2001 18]Parachkevova, Anna â€Å"CEO outlines Nissan's resurgence†, http://thedartmouth. com, May 12th 2004 19]†Carlos Ghosn- Nissan motor†, www. businessweek. com, January 8th 2000 20]Tierney, Christine â€Å"Leadership, bold moves help Renault save Nissan†, www. detnews. com, October 24th 2003 21]Smith, Duvergne, Nancy â€Å"Nissan Renault alliance faces down few challenges†, http://web. mit. edu, November 18th 2004 22]Abescat, Bruno â€Å"I am an expert of multi nationality†, http://liv res. lexpress. fr 23]†Carlos Ghosn: standing at the global crossing†, op. cit

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Response to Peter Singer’s Speech

Peter Singer’s speech on a solution to world poverty made a lot of good points concerning how to help those in need. He states that most people can afford to help starving children and that people are turning their backs on the needy. Where he fails though, is in actually providing a solution that will hold up over time. His focus on guilting those more fortunate into action and then guiding them to give $200 is no solution, but a call to give to those less fortunate instead of fixing the problem for good. In his speech he gives examples to try to guilt those listening into giving charitably. He sites a book by NYU philosopher Peter Unger, titled, â€Å"Living High and Letting Die†. He goes on to paraphrase an example from the book that he thinks gives a great example towards American’s lack of charitable giving. His example is about a man named Bob who is nearly retired and has invested most of his savings into a rare and valuable old car. He has a lot of pride in the car and he enjoys taking care of it. He also enjoys that its rising value means he will always be able to sell it and live comfortably. He is out one day for a drive one day and park the car along some railroad tracks and goes for a walk along the tracks. As he is walking he sees that a runaway train with no one aboard is headed for a small child farther down the track. The child is too far to warn of the danger and will be killed unless Bob throws a switch to put the train on the siding where his beloved car is parked. Throwing the switch will destroy his car and therefore his long time investment. Thinking of his joy in owning the car and the financial security it represents, Bob decides not to throw the switch and the child is killed. He uses this example comparatively to how the average American reacts to charitable giving. He labels them as cruel people who choose their own livelihood over the lives of dying children, which is unfair. Commonly, those not giving are not looking into the eyes of a dying child but rather into a scary world where finances are always unsettling. In my personal experience guilting someone into doing something is the worst way to evoke passion for action. Forcing someone to do something is not nearly as effective as creating a want to do something. Over time guilt tripping makes the action lose steam while making someone want to do something can create a passion that lasts for a long time. Let me follow Singers lead here and provide an example. Suppose that you would like to have your friend go to a new sushi restaurant with you. Would it be smarter to guilt him into going by using something against him to make him go, or would it be smarter to talk about how good the atmosphere and food is? Obviously it is much smarter to talk up the restaurant instead of sending your friend on a guilt trip. The guilt trip may only make your friend go once but making the friend want to go will result in many visits to the restaurant. Creating a passion is the best way to call people to action and singer failed to do this. Instead, he should have used a more indirect method like talking about the benefits and contentedness that one can receive from charitable donation and selling them on the concept Another spot where his speech falls short is in providing a plausible solution to world poverty. Having everyone with disposable income give $200 to help feed hungry children solves none of the problems having to do with poor villages not being able to support their people. In the article, â€Å"We can end global poverty†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the author describes a plan laid out by David Cameron that includes over 10 steps to end global poverty by 2030. Including such ideas as going green, going for growth, good government, and global partnership. The final report comes after 8 months of consultation with more than 5,000 public groups across 120 different countries. Citizens, governments, businesses, local charities, community groups and development experts all had a chance to contribute their ideas. This type of initiative is what it takes to create a true end to world poverty, not just simply pleading that people give $200 to charity. I feel as if Singer never really thought to develop his idea thoroughly and just wanted something quick that he could easily get people to support. This is where his ethos breaks down. He no longer seems to be a person worth speaking to about the subject, but rather someone who wants a problem solved but doesn’t want to put in effort to come up with a real solution. After analyzing his speech thoroughly I feel that Singer has a lot of passion for what he speaks about but fails to come up with real plausible solutions to the problems he is addressing. Singer may believe he has World Poverty all figured out but there are a few points he’s not thinking about. He used emotional stories about dying children to guilt his listeners into giving money. Though, Peter Singer makes a valid point that we should be helping children in need, what happens when everyone stops blowing their money on luxury items? In his speech he says, â€Å"The formula is simple: whatever money you're spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away. † If we were to spend only money on necessities and donate the rest it would, in turn, cause economic distress. Jobs will begin to slowly deplete from our own economy here in America. Manufacturing jobs such as, furniture, computers, televisions, housing, retail, and many more would disappear. The sad fact of the matter is that poverty is a necessity and just like with all things you have to take the good with the bad.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Florida Expeditions of Ponce de Leon

The Florida Expeditions of Ponce de Leon Juan Ponce de Leà ³n was a Spanish conquistador and explorer, best remembered for settling the island of Puerto Rico and for directing the first major explorations of Florida. He made two trips to Florida: one in 1513 and the second in 1521. It was on this latter expedition that he was wounded by natives and died shortly thereafter. He is associated with the legend of the Fountain of Youth, although it is likely that he was not actively looking for it. Juan Ponce de Leà ³n Ponce was born in Spain around 1474 and arrived in the New World no later than 1502. He proved to be industrious and tough and soon earned the favor of King Ferdinand himself. He was originally a conquistador and assisted in the wars against the natives of Hispaniola in 1504. Later, he was given good land and proved to be an able farmer and rancher. Puerto Rico Ponce de Leon was given permission to explore and settle the island of San Juan Bautista, today known as Puerto Rico. He established a settlement and soon earned the respect of the settlers. He even had decent relations with the islands native population. Around 1512, however, he lost the island to Diego Columbus (son of Christopher) due to a legal ruling back in Spain. Ponce heard rumors of a rich land to the northwest: the natives said the land, Bimini, had much gold and wealth. Ponce, who still had many influential friends, secured permission to colonize any lands he found to the northwest of Puerto Rico. First Florida Voyage On March 13, 1513, Ponce set sail from Puerto Rico in search of Bimini. He had three ships and about 65 men. Sailing northwest, on April 2nd they spotted what they took for a large island: Ponce named it Florida because it was Easter season, referred to as Pascua Florida in Spanish. The sailors landed on Florida on April 3rd: the exact place is unknown but was likely to the north of present-day Daytona Beach. They sailed up the eastern coast of Florida before doubling back and exploring some of the western side. They saw a good deal of Floridas coast, including the Saint Lucie Inlet, Key Biscayne, Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island, and Miami Beach. They also discovered the Gulf Stream. Ponce de Leon in Spain After the first voyage, Ponce went to Spain to be sure, this time, that he and he alone had royal permission to explore and colonize Florida. He met with King Ferdinand himself, who not only confirmed Ponce’s rights in regards to Florida but also knighted him and gave him a coat of arms: Ponce was the first conquistador so honored. Ponce returned to the New World in 1516, but no sooner had he arrived than word of Ferdinand’s death reached him. Ponce returned to Spain once again to make sure his rights were in order: regent Cardinal Cisneros assured him that they were. Meanwhile, several men made unauthorized visits to Florida, mostly to take slaves or look for gold. Second Florida Voyage In early 1521, he rounded up men, supplies, and ships and prepared for a journey of exploration and colonization. He finally set sail on February 20, 1521. This journey was a complete disaster. Ponce and his men selected a site to settle somewhere in western Florida: the exact place is unknown and subject to much debate. They were not there long before they were attacked by furious natives (likely victims of slaving raids). The Spanish were driven back into the sea. Ponce himself was wounded by a poisoned arrow. The colonization effort was abandoned and Ponce was taken to Cuba where he died sometime in July of 1521. Many of Ponces men sailed down to the Gulf of Mexico, where they joined Hernan Cortes expedition of conquest against the Aztec Empire. His Legacy Ponce de Leà ³n was a trailblazer who opened the southeastern US to exploration by the Spanish. His well-publicized Florida voyages would eventually lead to a number of expeditions there, including the disastrous 1528 trip led by the unlucky Pnfilo de Narvaez. He is still remembered in Florida, where some things (including a small town) are named for him. Schoolchildren are taught of his early visits to Florida. Ponce de Leà ³ns Florida trips are probably better remembered because of the legend that he was seeking the Fountain of Youth. He probably wasnt: the very practical Ponce de Leon was looking more for a place to settle than any mythological fountains. Nevertheless, the legend has stuck, and Ponce and Florida will forever be associated with the Fountain of Youth. Source Fuson, Robert H. Juan Ponce de Leon and the Spanish Discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida. Blacksburg: McDonald and Woodward, 2000.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Top teaching apps to download before the year is over

Top teaching apps to download before the year is over Attention teachers- are you looking for ways to maximize your effectiveness and improve your classroom experience, and make this year’s crop of students happy that they had the opportunity to work with you this academic year? As a teacher, you’re more than aware of the value of investing in additional resources and supplies to bolster your lessons and planning- in fact, for many teachers, these extras are absolutely essential. But did you know that thanks to the recent wave of technological innovation there are a wealth of free and low-cost resources that you can take advantage of to help support your teaching efforts? Yes, we’re talking apps, and we’re going to recommend some of the top ones for you to download before the school year is over. Consider the following four options to make your year get even better.KahootLearning doesn’t have to always be serious or boring, and Kahoot is proof- this helpful app let’s teachers take their lesson r eview questions and turn them into fun, interactive quizzes that students can use to practice and review key concepts and build their skills. It makes getting your students motivated to learn learn easier, and they get to have a little fun along the way- a total win-win situation.SeesawThis award-winning app is the perfect conduit between parents and student performance- it creates individual digital student-driven portfolios in which their classroom progress and best work can be posted and shared with their parents. Seesaw also allows students to help manage their learning in a new and creative way, and it helps you keep their parents in the loop and on top of every facet of their child’s development in your classroom- from strengths and weaknesses to changes in performance and skill acquisition. Best of all, the developers of this app have made it completely free for teachers.RemindWho among us doesn’t benefit from a helpful reminder every now and then? The folks beh ind Remind are fully aware of this, and have developed an app that helps teachers bolster their communication with students and parents- all in one helpful place. Everything from individual and group chats to sharing files and content and important classroom updates and announcements can be facilitated through the app (and translated into different languages if need be). It’s a great little teacher’s assistant that fits in your pocket.AdditioTake your classroom management to the next level (and out of the clunky notebooks) with this helpful all-purpose app, designed to help teachers handle some of the routine administrative components of their jobs- everything from attendance records to class and student notes and grades can easily be completed and stored here. There are also a host of planning and data analysis features that you can use to track and grade student progress and keep organized and on top of things. (Some of these features come at a cost, but it may be wo rth the investment.)We all know that being a teacher challenging, but there are tools designed to help make it a little easier. The apps mentioned here are specifically designed for teachers to help bolster classroom learning and skill building, keep the lines of communication with students and parents strong, and store all the files, records, and paperwork teachers are responsible for in one handy place.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Current status, Potential, Limitation of wind energy in Qinghai Term Paper

Current status, Potential, Limitation of wind energy in Qinghai - Term Paper Example This research paper focuses on the potential of wind energy generation and scope for future development in Qinghai Plateau in future. During the study data would be collected about the present status of wind energy in Qinghai; then depending on Qinghai Plateaus special topography and meteorology situation, an effort would be made to figure out the potential of wind energy in Qinghai. Well, the venture is not without its share of problems and limitations. Therefore, during the study it would also be my endeavour to find out the limitations in developing the wind energy. In general the study is being undertaken to understand the advantages of wind energy and the potential that Qinghai Plateau holds for future. The conversion of wind energy to various other useful forms, like electricity, is known as wind power. Wind energy is converted into these forms using wind turbines. It has proved its potential as a source of electrical energy in many parts of the world. The first use of wind energy was through wind mills. Wind mills had engines which were in turn used to produce energy using wind. This energy was usually used in rural and agricultural areas for grinding, pumping, hammering and various other requirements in farms. Even today, wind energy is used in large scale wind farms to provide electricity to rural areas and other outside locations (Yongjun Chen, Yong He, 08.2008). Wind Energy is advantageous over traditional methods of creating energy, in the sense that it is getting cheaper and cheaper to produce wind energy. Therefore, wind energy is bound to become the cheapest method of producing energy on a large scale in future. But, production of wind energy depends on geological, geographical and meteorological conditions prevailing around the region. For any given area, the direction, velocity, and duration of wind would be quite variable, depending on local topography and temperature differences in the atmosphere. Qinghai Plateau reaches to the middle of

Thursday, October 31, 2019

WHY STUDY THE ENVIRONMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WHY STUDY THE ENVIRONMENT - Essay Example The area of environmental learning comprises Environmental Science that gives importance to the natural sciences, in the background of an interdisciplinary approach. Various other areas of environmental learning’s give equal stress on natural and social sciences. Humans are essentially related with all living things on this planet earth. On the other hand, the current actions demonstrate that the day-today existence harshly impacts the biosphere, which contributes to the entire organisms. There are options the way every one live at present. Studies in an environmental related academic curriculum, one can study the reasons for transform, what needs to transform, and how one can transform in order that all can live in an environmentally sustainable manner. Environmental concerns are global and areas of study comprise mainly: Agricultural excess, loss of biodiversity/species at threat, forest supervision, wetland protection, environmental systems, environmental lobbying, fisheries and aquaculture, air pollution and climate change, environmental protection, groundwater pollution, water pollution, renewable energy sources and sustainable development (APICS, 2003). For example, according to a main report on the state of Arctic biodiversity, the researchers have a superior suggestion of preservation requirements in the polar region. As per the report, at the local level, there is apparent proof that a number of economically-significant species have been exploited, and habitat has been damaged because of increased developmental activities. It is also reported that weather change is having considerable effects on Arctic species, permafrost, and sea ice; unfamiliar invasive species are more and more entering the region. Further, pollutants released far away are emerging at large scales in human and wildlife communities. The report also indicates the need of crucial information in

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Criminal Investigation Wk 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal Investigation Wk 3 - Essay Example The application of the forensic DNA Technology has revolutionized investigation of all violent crimes due to its ability to exonerate the convicted offender or convict perpetrator (Abichandani, 2004). The homicidal and sexual assault cases, the use of DNA evidences have formed a powerful tool towards fighting these criminal activities. However, for these criminal cases there is a need to reevaluate both the biological and physical evidences for proper identification of the criminal particularly using the newly identified criminal investigation mechanisms. The most common DNA samples are often analyzed from the saliva, hair, skin tissues, blood, and semen that are often recovered from the crime scenes (Abichandani, 2004). They elements often help in investigating violent crimes including sexual assault and cold murders. The analysis of these element or samples is quite reliable  to  use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that has the capacity to magnify exceedingly small quantities of the DNA samples (Ashcroft, Daniels, and Hart, 2002). The significance of DNA results is that they can lead the investigation to the profile of a known suspect or victim that often matches the profile of DNA that were collected from the crime scene. Notably, if the DNA analysis report does not much the profile of the suspect, then the suspect or victim is excluded or exonerated from the case (Hess and Orthmann, 2010). In such cases, both the physical and biological evidences need reevaluation so that the precise information about the victim or the sus pect is extracted from the scene of the crime. The physical evidences often require deep criminalistics that require professional and scientific recognition, identification, collection, individualization, and interpretation of physical, criminal evidences. Application of physical evidences in crime investigation often needs the application of the natural science (Abichandani, 2004). The underlying concept in the evaluation of

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Preventing Piracy and Terrorism in Shipping Industry

Preventing Piracy and Terrorism in Shipping Industry Can the shipping industry overcome the challenges it faces with Piracy and Terrorism? Although many think that pirates went out of circulation with sailed ships and swords, piracy is becoming an increasingly serious global problem. These range from small thefts to complex hijacks, and while taking place globally, tend to be concentrated in a few geographically restricted shipping channels. The breadth and complexity of the piracy problem makes it almost impossible to address in simple terms. The first factor is the enormous scope of the shipping industry. An estimated 90% of world trade moves by sea, in over 50,000ships each supposedly governed by the laws of the nation whose flag it bears (Crawford 2004). There is no one place for information concerning piracy, nor any distinct entity to police the oceans. To further complicate the matter, piracy-type acts are now also committed by terrorists, either for political results or as a way to fund their operations. This research first undertakes a review of available literature on the piracy issue, including types and motives of piracy attacks, ahistorical and current summary of pirate activity, and a consideration of terrorist attacks on shipping concerns. Two particularly volatile areas of pirate activity are then reviewed, the Malacca Straights in Southeast Asia, and the waters off the coast of Nigeria, Africa. Combining best practise findings from the literature reviewed with these case studies then provides a foundation for recommendations on how the piracy issue can best be addressed, by individual shipping concerns, individual countries, and the international community. Countermeasures will be weighed and analysed on the basis of feasibility. Of particular focus in this research is addressing some of the underlying factors contributing to the rise in piracy, in addition to defensive and offensive measures. These are typically overlooked in studies of effective countermeasures to the maritime piracy / terrorist problem. It is anticipated that this research will reveal the need to address this complex issue holistically and internationally, with greater unity and coordination than currently exists in the maritime community. Hypothesis This study considers piracy as a result of other underlying issues, and considers countermeasures from a prevention rather than combative perspective, although all types of piracy countermeasures are addressed. Specifically, it is anticipated piracy will be found to be heavily influenced by economic, political, and ideological factors. Its further anticipated that a truly effective response to the growing piracy problem in international shipping will include measures to combat the causes of increased piracy, in addition to the pirates ’actions. Literature Review Piracy Defined One of the initial difficult factors in a study of piracy is the wide range of definitions. What constitutes piracy, what constitutes robbery, and what constitutes terrorism? National and international organisations disagree on the parameters of piracy, as opposed to thievery or terrorist activity, and all agree the lines between are blurring more and more (Langeweische 2003). The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), an organisation of the International Chamber of Commerce, has some responsibility for piracy and legal considerations on the high seas (that is, areas of the ocean not controlled by a particular country, typically more than twelve miles from the country’s coast)(Hawkes 2001). Therefore, where the attack occurred in relation to the coast is of high importance. This is reinforced by the United Nations ‘Law of the Sea, which has been ratified by almost every nation except the United States (Hawkes 2001). The IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur, however, defines piracy as â€Å"any act of boarding an vessel with the intent to commit theft or any other crime and with the intent or capability to use force in the furtherance of that act† ((Liss 2003, 55). While only attacks that take place on the high seas are registered with the PRC, they continue to maintain a broader definition of piracy (Chalk 1998). Forth purpose of this research, attacks against shipping vessels at port, in national waters, and on the high seas will be considered piracy if committed with a primarily economic motive. Acts committed from apolitical or ideological motive will be considered terrorist activities. Most recently, an organisation called the Comate Maritime International (CMI), composed of a number of shipping and law enforcement organisations such as the IMB, The Baltic and International Maritime Council, and Interpol, drafted a Model National Law on Acts of Piracy and Maritime Violence, which expands the definition of piracy to include national waters and the high seas (Hawkes 2001). Types of Piracy Pirate attacks also can be categorised according to the location, scope and violence involved. Non-violent hit-and-run attacks are widespread and often unreported. According to Liss (2003)â€Å"the vast majority of pirate attacks today are simple hit-and-run robberies, committed by what can best be described as common sea-robbers† (59). This attack can occur while the ship is in harbour or at anchorage. The IMB would define these attacks as low-level armed robbery. These are usually quick, low sophistication attacks where thieves make off with cash and portable personal valuables. The average theft in this type of attacks between $5,000 and $15,000 US dollars (Chalk 1998). These pirates are typically groups of men from poor areas who have known each other for quite some time, and steal for economic reasons. Outside of ports, these pirates tend to target smaller vessels (Liss 2003). The men will speak on board a ship, usually at night, and take valuables, electronics, the ship’s equipment, or any other easily transportable and saleable item they can find. These raids often last less than thirty minutes, and rarely have any violence, except in the rare instance when a pirate is confronted by one of the crews (Liss 2003). Violent hit-and-run attacks typically target yachts and other smaller vessels on the open sea. These are typically a heavily-armed group with some planning and training involved. Attacks in territorial waters or on the high seas have a higher level of sophistication, and are categorised as medium-level armed robbery by the IMB (Chalk 1998). In these attacks the pirates board the ship and again take any valuable or saleable items. However, they are unafraid to confront the ship’s occupants or crew, and have injured or killed in a number of cases(Liss 2003). In neither of these two types of attacks is the pirate gang organised or sophisticated enough to also consider stealing the boat (Liss 2003). Ship-seizing attacks require a much higher level of planning and sophistication, including participation in some wider crime network in order to be able to move the ship’s cargo and the ship itself quickly. Not surprisingly, these types of attacks are usually carried out by professional pirates funded by syndicates (Liss 2003). In temporary seizures, the pirates board the ship and restrain the crew; on rare occasions they may also be held for ransom. The ship is diverted to safe location and its cargo off-loaded, after which the ship and crew are released (Liss 2003). Pirates in this type of attack typically work from a â€Å"mother ship,† and may also take portable personal valuables (Chalk 1998). In the most violent and sophisticated attacks, permanent seizures, the ship itself is hijacked at sea, considered a major criminal hijack byte IMB (Chalk 1998). The crew may be abandoned at sea, but in many of these instances they are simply killed. These attacks usually occur in busy narrow shipping channels, and often at night (Langeweische 2003). The ship is typically repainted and its name changed. It then becomes what is called a phantom ship, changing its name and flag regularly(Liss 2003). Permanent seizures occur almost exclusively in the FarEast (Liss 2003). The phantom ship may be used as a pirate ship, but is more often used for a sophisticated type of robbery (Liss 2003). The ship takes on aloud of cargo for a legitimate business, but both the ship and the cargo disappear. The legitimate business loses both its cargo and the shipping fees it invested, and the thieves sell the cargo on the black market, paint the ship and change its name, and repeat the process(Langeweische 2003). A convincing phantom ship can draw in shippers and reroute their cargo quickly, often making up to pounds 30 million a year (Lewis, M. 2004). A Historical Perspective When most people think of piracy, they do so from a historical perspective. Blackbeard, Captain Kidd and their compatriots, swashbuckling, sword-carrying figures aboard tall ships with patches over one eye, supposedly once looted and pillaged the high seas and buried their treasure on deserted islands. In reality, however, piracy has historically been tied to national political and economic concerns. There is evidence that this continues today (Langeweische2003). The â€Å"pirates† in Southeast Asia during the colonisation period, for example, typically undertook slave raiding and robbery activities to strengthen and with the support of their local chiefdoms or sultanates. What the colonising powers considered piracy was seen by locals as state-sponsored means of enriching the local community at foreign powers’ expense (Liss 2003). In the early 1800s, pirates in the Mediterranean were supported by the Barbary States of northern Africa, but primarily for economic gain Loft and Koran 2004). These pirates would typically take over merchant ships and demand ransom for their crews. The United States responded with the Barbary Wars, which eventually successfully addressed the piracy problem with military intervention (Loft and Koran 2004). In various times of economic downturn, particularly when the economic difficulties were localised in areas near popular shipping channels, piracy has historically increased. Piracy experienced a surge with the opening of the Americas, and later Australia (North 1968). On the Atlantic Ocean, these were typically rogue European ships operating for personal profits. However, local residents of Africa, South America, and Asia have also been historically inclined to piracy at various periods. The important historical conclusion from a study of such activity is that piracy rose substantially in and around areas experiencing economic difficulty and which cargo-laden ships passed through, and decreased with economic upturn (North 1968). In recent decades oil shipments have been an increased target of pirates, particularly during periods of high crude prices. For example, tankers were frequently attacked in the Strait of Hormuzduring the mid-1980s (Loft and Koran 2004). As shipments were rerouted and insurers began to pull out from ships in the area, global oil prices were effected. Shipping in the Persian Gulf dropped by almost twenty-five present, and was not restored until the United States intervened, sending military vessels to regain order in the region(Loft and Koran 2004). The decade of the 1990s was also a historical turning point in the piracy saga. Worldwide piracy tripled over the period, escalating from just over one hundred annually in the beginning of the decade to a high of 469 in 2000 (Halloran 2003). Geographically, piracy was high in the early 1990s in the Malacca Straights, but increased policing in the1993 to 1995 period reduced incidences there. The area again fell victim to a high number of attacks in the closing years of the decade(Anon 2005). Piracy also developed from its random, unorganised thievery practise in the late 1800s and much of the 1900s, to sophisticated and highly trained criminal activity, facilitated by the increased number in crime syndicates and terrorist groups becoming involved in piracy activities (Anon 2005b). Many pirates joined â€Å"organized crime syndicates comprising corrupt officials, port workers, hired thugs, and businessmen,† developing into sophisticated networks that could gain intelligence on particular ships, plan attacks, and dispose of the stolen property or ships (Loft and Koran 2004, 68). The problem was compounded by the gross underpayment of maritime security in high piracy (and typically economically depressed) areas throughout the 1990s, who become more susceptible to bribes and in some cases even took part in piracy attacks (Loft and Koran 2004). Piracy Today Piracy today is a global disaster. Statistics on piracy do not accurately paint the current picture. As many as half of attacks are estimated to go unreported (Anon 2005b). Ship owners are reluctant to detain their ships to participate in an investigation, as doing so costs them significant loss. Incidents of piracy can also make it more difficult for them to recruit high-quality crew members (Clark 2004). Reporting piracy would also cause an increase in their insurance premiums, often costing more in the long-term than simply absorbing the loss (Armstrong 2004). â€Å"Since many shipping companies do not report incidents of piracy, for fear of raising their insurance premiums and prompting protracted, time-consuming investigations, the precise extent of piracy is unknown â€Å" (Loft and Koran 2004, 64). Various international and shipping organisations make the attempt, however, and can at least document trends in piracy events that are reported. Both attacks and their violence are reported to be on theorise. International Maritime Bureau, in its annual piracy report, recorded 325 piracy attacks and thirty deaths in 2004, a decrease in attacks (from 445) but increase in deaths (from 21) in 2003 (Anon2005b). â€Å"The number of seafarers taken hostage last year almost doubled to 359, while 311 ships were boarded and 19 vessels hijacked†(Akbar 2004, 27). Armstrong (2004) similarly lists piracy as growing at twenty present annually. Armed attacks increased by nearly fifty present in 2003, with the death count more than doubled from 2002(Akbar 2004). 644 incidents of violence to crews were reported overall, including six on UK-flagged ships and twenty-one on vessels owned or managed from the UK (Akbar 2004). These attacks tend to be clustered in and near some of the busiest Third World ports, particularly off the shores of Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria(Mihailescu 2004, Halloran 2003). In two incidents receiving high media coverage in the UK, pirates executed Sir Peter Blake, the Greenpeace activist, off the coast of Brazil in 2002. Alan MacLean was similarly killed by pirates off the coast of Somalia during an adventure-related trip (Akbar 2004). The financial impacts are huge. Loft and Koran (2004) report a loss of ships, loss of cargo, and increased insurance costs the shipping industry in excess of sixteen billion US each year. This trainslates to a weekly cost of pounds 300m per week (Akbar 2004, Reynolds 2003). As much as 10 billion US of this loss is to the insurance industry alone, with the true amount being significantl y higher due to underreporting (Crawford 2004). Pirates today are additionally too broad a group to truly generalise. However, technological advances have allowed pirates to become better equipped and have greater information as to their targets, which contributes to an increased number of attacks on larger ships (Lewis. 2004). In addition, the end of the Cold War has reduced the number of sea patrols in certain areas of the world while simultaneously making a tremendous volume of weapons and munitions available on the black market, often at relatively inexpensive prices (Armstrong 2004). Meanwhile, exponential in global trade has greatly increased the amount of highly valuable and saleable goods moving across the seas. This combination of more to steal, less policing, and greater easy in theft has led to a significant rise in piracy activity (Liss 2003). Attempts to regulate shipping have led to the development of the flags of convenience problem. The practice began after World War II, but did not become widespread or a problem in the international maritime community until the 1990s (Langewiesche 2004). A number of impoverished countries, such as Malta, Panama, and Liberia, began to sell their flags for a fee, with little concern for the legitimacy of the ship’s owners (Loft and Koran 2004). This allowed ship owners to literally choose under which country’s laws they wanted to sail their ship, regardless of their home port of call (Liss 2003). Today, according to Langewiesche (2004), â€Å"no one pretends that a ship comes from the home port painted on its stern† (50). This has greatly facilitated the operation of phantom ships, previously described. The massive Tsunami that devastated much of the South Asian coast in December 2004 has had a particular impact on piracy. It is believed many pirate syndicates and individual pirate groups lost ships in the disaster, as did many legitimate ship owners. In addition, changes to the Malacca Straights have reduced shipping in the region and left piracy there almost non-existent (Bangs erg 2005). It will be of note to see if piracy rebounds as issues with passage through the Straights are resolved, or whether piracy increases in some other area or areas. Terrorism: The New Threat On top of all the above, groups operating from a political motive, terrorists, have entered the piracy trade. Following September 11,terrorism has become a worldwide concern. The maritime community had already experienced a number of terrorist actions and threats, such as when Islamic militants bombed the side of the Cole, an American warship, in 2000 (Anon 2004). Since 9/11, the Limburg, a French oil tanker, has been similarly bombed, while â€Å"Abu Soya, a terrorist outfit from the southern Philippines, claimed responsibility for bombing a ferry in Manila Bay earlier this year† (Anon 2004). While most countries can provide at least reasonable protection for land targets, â€Å"the super-extended energy umbilical cord that extends by sea to connect the West and the Asian economies with the Middle East is more vulnerable than ever† (Loft and Koran 2004, 64). Ninety perceptive the world’s trade is transported via ship, with 4,000 slow and difficult to defend tanker ships moving sixty present of the world oil supply. These ships have little or no protection, and are frequently alone on open water with nowhere to hide (Loft and Koran 2004). Current International Maritime Organization regulations prevent firearms on vessels, even for self-protection, leaving ships’ crews to face terrorist and pirate threats with spotlights and high-powered firehouses (Mihailescu 2004). Interestingly, Russian and Israeli ships ignore the IMO regulations, allowing their crewmembers to be armed, and subsequently have a lower incident of successfully attacks from either pirates or terrorists (Loft and Koran 2004). As Armstrong (2004) contends, â€Å"the world economy relies on the seamless delivery of trade via the worlds seaways† (7). This gives the terrorist threat immediate international implications. The international community has attempted to address terrorist concerns with acts such as the International Ship and Port Security Code, implemented in July 2004, the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, and the Container Safety Initiative. However, the terrorist threat remains â€Å"a function of the terrorists will, the terrorist’s capability, and the targets perceived importance† (Armstrong 2004). Terrorists are separated from pirates by motive. While pirates attack for purely economic reasons, terrorist groups strike for political or ideological reasons, sometimes with economic considerations an additional cause (Anon 2005). â€Å"Unlike the pirates of old, whose sole objective was quick commercial gain, many of todays pirates are maritime terrorists with an ideological bent and a broad political agenda† (Loft and Koran 2004). There is, of course, a connection. Terrorists sometimes act as pirates, usually to finance their political or ideological activities. â€Å"Pirates claiming to be members of the Free Aceh Movement, who take ships crews hostage for ransom, have started to blur the lines between terror and piracy† (Hand 2004, 5). They show no interest in the ship or its cargo, but simultaneously achieve economic gains while embarrassing the government they oppose (Hand2005). In addition, as pirates become more sophisticated, they may be through their very success revealing to the terrorists where opportunities for successful destruction exist (Anon 2005). â€Å"Terrorism is imitative and adaptive, learning from other groups and wider trends† (Armstrong 2004,7). In addition, â€Å"the apparent lack of concrete evidence linking pirates and terrorism has not stopped senior Singapore government officials from publicly making this link on a number of occasions†(Hand 2004, 5). One possible terrorist target is blocking a major shipping lane. Six major shipping channels geographically lend themselves to such an attack (Armstrong 2004). The Malacca Straights are considered the most vulnerable, as the area suffers from lack of funds for policing by its littoral nations yet carries as much as one-third of the world’s total trade and one-half of the world’s oil supply (Anon 2005). â€Å"One ship sunk in a strategic right spot has the potential to block much of the Straight and cripple world trade† (Anon 2004, 37). Fourteen present of world trade moves through the Suez Canal, with the Panama Canal, thebe-el-Man dab, and the Strait of Gibraltar also carrying significant percentages of world trade. All are narrow, busy channels where well-planned terrorist strike could partially or completely block passage (Armstrong 2004). The Strait of Hormuz, connecting the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, is only two kilometres at its most narrow point, yet accounts for over fifteen million barrels of oil transport daily(Loft and Koran 2004). One well-placed scuttle could physically block these channels, crippling trade, as could refusal of insurance carriers to cover vessels in the area, if the terrorist situation became too severe(Armstrong 2004). Either would have devastating global economic impact. Oil and raw materials would be blocked, soon crippling manufacturing and transportation industries. Targeting energy infrastructure is increasingly recognised as terrorist intention. â€Å"Indecent years, terrorists have targeted pipelines, refineries, pumping stations, and tankers in some of the worlds most important energy reservoirs, including Iraq, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen† (Loft 2004). â€Å"Given al-Qaedas understanding of the sensitivity of Western economies to the price of oil, the oil and gas industry represents particularly tempting target, where a single terrorist incident could have a huge ripple effect† (Armstrong 2004). The damage would be heightened by today’s just-in-time logistics systems. Companies reduced inventories and capital structures, made possible by international outsourcing and trade, would cause an almost immediate shortage of some goods (Armstrong 2004). This would be compounded if multiple attacks were to occur on vulnerable shipping conduits simultaneously. Terrorists could also hijack ships and make them into floating bombs, which in addition to closing a shipping lane could be deployed against ports, oil refineries, or other critical infrastructures (Anon 2004). Last year in Singapore, supposed pirates hijacked a chemical tanker in the Malacca Straights, and then abandoned the ship after only an hour, fuelling speculation that terrorists were practising for a just such an attack (Anon 2004). This could cause severe damage, also with global impact in the case of a major port of oil refinery, in addition to having a potential devastating environmental impact on the targeted area. The threats â€Å"posed by the environmental impact of a deliberate tanker spill or a gas or chemical tanker being used as a floating bombard sobering yet very real scenarios (Crawford 2004, 9). Case Study: The Malacca Straights The Malacca Straights will be considered in this case study in inspire-December 26, 2004 condition. The channel was devastated by the earthquake and Tsunamis in the region. Several thousand navigational aids have shifted out of position, and at least two deep areas of the channel have filled in dramatically, with one previously over 1,000metres deep now only thirty metres (Bangs erg 2005). Old wrecks were also shifted and joined by ships downed by the waves, which will all need to be charged, and possibly moved or salvaged. London’s International Maritime Organisation is partnering with the United States to re-chart the area and plan for any needed channel modifications, with complete re-charting and dredging where necessary expected to last at least a year (Bangs erg 2005). The Malacca Strait is to the south and west of Singapore and Malaysia, north of Indonesia. It is a narrow channel, approximately 900kilometres long; at one point it narrows to less than two kilometres wide. (Anon 2005, Anon 2004). Over twenty-five present of total world trade, half of the global oil transport, and nearly two-thirds of the international supply of liquefied natural gas pass through the Straight(Loft and Koran 2004). Last year the Straight recorded over 62,000passages, including 3,300 crude oil tankers and 3,280 natural gas carriers (Hand 2004). Other freighters carry a variety of deadly substances, such as nuclear waste from Japan headed for European reprocessing facilities. The majority of the raw materials for China’s extensive manufacturing activities and products for its growing economy move through the Straight (Loft and Koran 2004). According to the IMB, the Strait of Malacca is the most dangerous shipping passage in the world (Hand 2004). The Strait is â€Å"almost entirely made up of territorial waters belonging to the three littoral states† (Hand 2004). This has been a historical point of collapse in addressing piracy in the region, as only recently have these three countries been able to coordinate activities to address shipping safety. In addition, while Malaysia and Singapore are better of financially than Indonesia, none of the countries has the full range of resources needed to confront the problem (Anon 2004). The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been unable to promote cooperation and a common strategy to deal with piracy in the area, and Indonesia and Malaysia have strongly rejected offers from the United States to dispatch the US Navy to patrol the area (Halloran 2003, Anon2004, Lewis, L. 2004). Of the three countries, Indonesia has done the least to fight piracy. However, it is not surprising that in such an economically disadvantaged country piracy is far down on its list of priorities. â€Å"The vast majority of shipping it is being asked to protect provides noneconomic benefit for the country† (Hand 2004, 5). In addition, Indonesia has faced significant political turmoil. The simultaneous political and economic crises have left the country unable to address piracy adequately, even if it wanted to (Armstrong 2004). The Indonesian Navy was dispatched to combat piracy near Singapore at that country’s insistence, but in the long-term â€Å"Indonesia lacks both the resources and the political will to maintain security across the entire length of the strait; it is a poor country with deep economic and political problems† (Hand 2004). The Indonesian navy is nearly bankrupt and has, at best estimate, perhaps twenty seaworthy boats appropriate for use on patrol. With these resources they attempt to guard the waters surrounding nearly 17,000 islands (Anon 2004). Singapore and Indonesia attempted to work bilaterally on the problem in the 1990s, but coordination disintegrated (Chalk 1998). Malaysia has been more aggressive in addressing piracy. Pre-Tsunami, the government even planned to enhance security with a24-hour radar system covering its areas in the Straight (Anon 2005a). The IMB credits Malaysian vigilant policing and anti-piracy activities as directly leading to the drop in piracy at the western end of the Straight. In 2000, seventy-five attacks were reported in that area, but by 2002 the number had dropped to sixteen (Halloran 2003). Unfortunately this number was tempered by increased attacks in the eastern areas of the Straight, such as the area above the impoverished Indonesian Port Clang, where the sea lanes initially widen (Anon 2004). Following this success, Singapore joined with Malaysia to launch anoint offensive. Seventeen ships were dispatched by the two countries to hunt pirates and terrorists in the Malacca Straight. The countries-ordinated patrols, allowing suspect ships to be pursued across national sea boundaries (Lewis, L. 2004). This led to a further decrease in pirate activity throughout the Straight. However the Indonesian waters of the Straight continue to report the highest number of pirate attacks globally, although the number has dropped from 121 in 2003 to 93 in 2004 (Anon 2005b). Thesis more than twenty-five present of pirate activity worldwide (Anon2005b). Indonesians had recently joined with Malaysia and Singapore,pre-Tsunami, to address piracy. The countries have agreed to allow each other’s policing and patrol ships to pursue suspected pirates and terrorists into each other’s waters (Lewis, L. 2004). While each country remains responsible for its own section of the Straight, any reported pirate or terrorist activity will be immediately reported to cooperating the other countries, allowing for multi-national response where needed (Lewis, L. 2004). Armstrong (2004) points out that increases in piracy typically follow economic crises, and â€Å"flourish in a political / security vacuum†(7). â€Å"The growth in incidents in the Malacca Strait, for example, follows the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s† (Armstrong 2004,7). Ideologically, the Muslim religion remains prominent in the region. This has encouraged Muslim extremists to establish bases near the Straight, from which they attack ships for political or economic gain (Kokand 2004). The recent natural disasters in the region have only intensified economic and political problems. It is therefore unlikely that the Straight will remain pirate-free once the Tsunami effects on the shipping lanes are dealt with, unless the economic and political instabilities of the region, particularly in Indonesia, are addressed. Case Study: Nigeria The high seas and territorial waters off the coast of Nigeria are another hotbed of pirate and terrorist activity. The country is on the western coast of Africa, bordered to the north and west by Benin and Cameroon, and to the south by the Gulf of Guinea (Nigeria 2005). The river Niger flows through Nigeria to its delta in the gulf. The county is Africa’s most populous, but the vast majority of Nigerians live at below-poverty levels, surviving through subsistence farming (Anon2004b). Petroleum and petroleum products account for ninety-five present of the nation’s exports, making departing tankers a prime target for pirates and terrorist groups (Nigeria 2005). The Nigerian government has been going through massive changes. Constitution was enacted in 1999 following sixteen years of corrupt and poorly managed military rule (Nigeria 2005). Agricultural productivity has plummeted, causing what was once one of Africa’s leading agricultural producers to import food supplies. The economy has been allowed to become over-reliant on petroleum, without the creation of diverse economic interests or investment in infrastructure (Nigeria2005). Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic people groups, leading to religious and ethnic dissention within the country (Nigeria 2005). While not having as high an incidence of strikes as the Malacca Straight, attacks in the region are significantly more violent (Clark2004). In the first half of 2004, Nigeria had thirteen attacks, compared with fif Preventing Piracy and Terrorism in Shipping Industry Preventing Piracy and Terrorism in Shipping Industry Can the shipping industry overcome the challenges it faces with Piracy and Terrorism? Although many think that pirates went out of circulation with sailed ships and swords, piracy is becoming an increasingly serious global problem. These range from small thefts to complex hijacks, and while taking place globally, tend to be concentrated in a few geographically restricted shipping channels. The breadth and complexity of the piracy problem makes it almost impossible to address in simple terms. The first factor is the enormous scope of the shipping industry. An estimated 90% of world trade moves by sea, in over 50,000ships each supposedly governed by the laws of the nation whose flag it bears (Crawford 2004). There is no one place for information concerning piracy, nor any distinct entity to police the oceans. To further complicate the matter, piracy-type acts are now also committed by terrorists, either for political results or as a way to fund their operations. This research first undertakes a review of available literature on the piracy issue, including types and motives of piracy attacks, ahistorical and current summary of pirate activity, and a consideration of terrorist attacks on shipping concerns. Two particularly volatile areas of pirate activity are then reviewed, the Malacca Straights in Southeast Asia, and the waters off the coast of Nigeria, Africa. Combining best practise findings from the literature reviewed with these case studies then provides a foundation for recommendations on how the piracy issue can best be addressed, by individual shipping concerns, individual countries, and the international community. Countermeasures will be weighed and analysed on the basis of feasibility. Of particular focus in this research is addressing some of the underlying factors contributing to the rise in piracy, in addition to defensive and offensive measures. These are typically overlooked in studies of effective countermeasures to the maritime piracy / terrorist problem. It is anticipated that this research will reveal the need to address this complex issue holistically and internationally, with greater unity and coordination than currently exists in the maritime community. Hypothesis This study considers piracy as a result of other underlying issues, and considers countermeasures from a prevention rather than combative perspective, although all types of piracy countermeasures are addressed. Specifically, it is anticipated piracy will be found to be heavily influenced by economic, political, and ideological factors. Its further anticipated that a truly effective response to the growing piracy problem in international shipping will include measures to combat the causes of increased piracy, in addition to the pirates ’actions. Literature Review Piracy Defined One of the initial difficult factors in a study of piracy is the wide range of definitions. What constitutes piracy, what constitutes robbery, and what constitutes terrorism? National and international organisations disagree on the parameters of piracy, as opposed to thievery or terrorist activity, and all agree the lines between are blurring more and more (Langeweische 2003). The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), an organisation of the International Chamber of Commerce, has some responsibility for piracy and legal considerations on the high seas (that is, areas of the ocean not controlled by a particular country, typically more than twelve miles from the country’s coast)(Hawkes 2001). Therefore, where the attack occurred in relation to the coast is of high importance. This is reinforced by the United Nations ‘Law of the Sea, which has been ratified by almost every nation except the United States (Hawkes 2001). The IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur, however, defines piracy as â€Å"any act of boarding an vessel with the intent to commit theft or any other crime and with the intent or capability to use force in the furtherance of that act† ((Liss 2003, 55). While only attacks that take place on the high seas are registered with the PRC, they continue to maintain a broader definition of piracy (Chalk 1998). Forth purpose of this research, attacks against shipping vessels at port, in national waters, and on the high seas will be considered piracy if committed with a primarily economic motive. Acts committed from apolitical or ideological motive will be considered terrorist activities. Most recently, an organisation called the Comate Maritime International (CMI), composed of a number of shipping and law enforcement organisations such as the IMB, The Baltic and International Maritime Council, and Interpol, drafted a Model National Law on Acts of Piracy and Maritime Violence, which expands the definition of piracy to include national waters and the high seas (Hawkes 2001). Types of Piracy Pirate attacks also can be categorised according to the location, scope and violence involved. Non-violent hit-and-run attacks are widespread and often unreported. According to Liss (2003)â€Å"the vast majority of pirate attacks today are simple hit-and-run robberies, committed by what can best be described as common sea-robbers† (59). This attack can occur while the ship is in harbour or at anchorage. The IMB would define these attacks as low-level armed robbery. These are usually quick, low sophistication attacks where thieves make off with cash and portable personal valuables. The average theft in this type of attacks between $5,000 and $15,000 US dollars (Chalk 1998). These pirates are typically groups of men from poor areas who have known each other for quite some time, and steal for economic reasons. Outside of ports, these pirates tend to target smaller vessels (Liss 2003). The men will speak on board a ship, usually at night, and take valuables, electronics, the ship’s equipment, or any other easily transportable and saleable item they can find. These raids often last less than thirty minutes, and rarely have any violence, except in the rare instance when a pirate is confronted by one of the crews (Liss 2003). Violent hit-and-run attacks typically target yachts and other smaller vessels on the open sea. These are typically a heavily-armed group with some planning and training involved. Attacks in territorial waters or on the high seas have a higher level of sophistication, and are categorised as medium-level armed robbery by the IMB (Chalk 1998). In these attacks the pirates board the ship and again take any valuable or saleable items. However, they are unafraid to confront the ship’s occupants or crew, and have injured or killed in a number of cases(Liss 2003). In neither of these two types of attacks is the pirate gang organised or sophisticated enough to also consider stealing the boat (Liss 2003). Ship-seizing attacks require a much higher level of planning and sophistication, including participation in some wider crime network in order to be able to move the ship’s cargo and the ship itself quickly. Not surprisingly, these types of attacks are usually carried out by professional pirates funded by syndicates (Liss 2003). In temporary seizures, the pirates board the ship and restrain the crew; on rare occasions they may also be held for ransom. The ship is diverted to safe location and its cargo off-loaded, after which the ship and crew are released (Liss 2003). Pirates in this type of attack typically work from a â€Å"mother ship,† and may also take portable personal valuables (Chalk 1998). In the most violent and sophisticated attacks, permanent seizures, the ship itself is hijacked at sea, considered a major criminal hijack byte IMB (Chalk 1998). The crew may be abandoned at sea, but in many of these instances they are simply killed. These attacks usually occur in busy narrow shipping channels, and often at night (Langeweische 2003). The ship is typically repainted and its name changed. It then becomes what is called a phantom ship, changing its name and flag regularly(Liss 2003). Permanent seizures occur almost exclusively in the FarEast (Liss 2003). The phantom ship may be used as a pirate ship, but is more often used for a sophisticated type of robbery (Liss 2003). The ship takes on aloud of cargo for a legitimate business, but both the ship and the cargo disappear. The legitimate business loses both its cargo and the shipping fees it invested, and the thieves sell the cargo on the black market, paint the ship and change its name, and repeat the process(Langeweische 2003). A convincing phantom ship can draw in shippers and reroute their cargo quickly, often making up to pounds 30 million a year (Lewis, M. 2004). A Historical Perspective When most people think of piracy, they do so from a historical perspective. Blackbeard, Captain Kidd and their compatriots, swashbuckling, sword-carrying figures aboard tall ships with patches over one eye, supposedly once looted and pillaged the high seas and buried their treasure on deserted islands. In reality, however, piracy has historically been tied to national political and economic concerns. There is evidence that this continues today (Langeweische2003). The â€Å"pirates† in Southeast Asia during the colonisation period, for example, typically undertook slave raiding and robbery activities to strengthen and with the support of their local chiefdoms or sultanates. What the colonising powers considered piracy was seen by locals as state-sponsored means of enriching the local community at foreign powers’ expense (Liss 2003). In the early 1800s, pirates in the Mediterranean were supported by the Barbary States of northern Africa, but primarily for economic gain Loft and Koran 2004). These pirates would typically take over merchant ships and demand ransom for their crews. The United States responded with the Barbary Wars, which eventually successfully addressed the piracy problem with military intervention (Loft and Koran 2004). In various times of economic downturn, particularly when the economic difficulties were localised in areas near popular shipping channels, piracy has historically increased. Piracy experienced a surge with the opening of the Americas, and later Australia (North 1968). On the Atlantic Ocean, these were typically rogue European ships operating for personal profits. However, local residents of Africa, South America, and Asia have also been historically inclined to piracy at various periods. The important historical conclusion from a study of such activity is that piracy rose substantially in and around areas experiencing economic difficulty and which cargo-laden ships passed through, and decreased with economic upturn (North 1968). In recent decades oil shipments have been an increased target of pirates, particularly during periods of high crude prices. For example, tankers were frequently attacked in the Strait of Hormuzduring the mid-1980s (Loft and Koran 2004). As shipments were rerouted and insurers began to pull out from ships in the area, global oil prices were effected. Shipping in the Persian Gulf dropped by almost twenty-five present, and was not restored until the United States intervened, sending military vessels to regain order in the region(Loft and Koran 2004). The decade of the 1990s was also a historical turning point in the piracy saga. Worldwide piracy tripled over the period, escalating from just over one hundred annually in the beginning of the decade to a high of 469 in 2000 (Halloran 2003). Geographically, piracy was high in the early 1990s in the Malacca Straights, but increased policing in the1993 to 1995 period reduced incidences there. The area again fell victim to a high number of attacks in the closing years of the decade(Anon 2005). Piracy also developed from its random, unorganised thievery practise in the late 1800s and much of the 1900s, to sophisticated and highly trained criminal activity, facilitated by the increased number in crime syndicates and terrorist groups becoming involved in piracy activities (Anon 2005b). Many pirates joined â€Å"organized crime syndicates comprising corrupt officials, port workers, hired thugs, and businessmen,† developing into sophisticated networks that could gain intelligence on particular ships, plan attacks, and dispose of the stolen property or ships (Loft and Koran 2004, 68). The problem was compounded by the gross underpayment of maritime security in high piracy (and typically economically depressed) areas throughout the 1990s, who become more susceptible to bribes and in some cases even took part in piracy attacks (Loft and Koran 2004). Piracy Today Piracy today is a global disaster. Statistics on piracy do not accurately paint the current picture. As many as half of attacks are estimated to go unreported (Anon 2005b). Ship owners are reluctant to detain their ships to participate in an investigation, as doing so costs them significant loss. Incidents of piracy can also make it more difficult for them to recruit high-quality crew members (Clark 2004). Reporting piracy would also cause an increase in their insurance premiums, often costing more in the long-term than simply absorbing the loss (Armstrong 2004). â€Å"Since many shipping companies do not report incidents of piracy, for fear of raising their insurance premiums and prompting protracted, time-consuming investigations, the precise extent of piracy is unknown â€Å" (Loft and Koran 2004, 64). Various international and shipping organisations make the attempt, however, and can at least document trends in piracy events that are reported. Both attacks and their violence are reported to be on theorise. International Maritime Bureau, in its annual piracy report, recorded 325 piracy attacks and thirty deaths in 2004, a decrease in attacks (from 445) but increase in deaths (from 21) in 2003 (Anon2005b). â€Å"The number of seafarers taken hostage last year almost doubled to 359, while 311 ships were boarded and 19 vessels hijacked†(Akbar 2004, 27). Armstrong (2004) similarly lists piracy as growing at twenty present annually. Armed attacks increased by nearly fifty present in 2003, with the death count more than doubled from 2002(Akbar 2004). 644 incidents of violence to crews were reported overall, including six on UK-flagged ships and twenty-one on vessels owned or managed from the UK (Akbar 2004). These attacks tend to be clustered in and near some of the busiest Third World ports, particularly off the shores of Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria(Mihailescu 2004, Halloran 2003). In two incidents receiving high media coverage in the UK, pirates executed Sir Peter Blake, the Greenpeace activist, off the coast of Brazil in 2002. Alan MacLean was similarly killed by pirates off the coast of Somalia during an adventure-related trip (Akbar 2004). The financial impacts are huge. Loft and Koran (2004) report a loss of ships, loss of cargo, and increased insurance costs the shipping industry in excess of sixteen billion US each year. This trainslates to a weekly cost of pounds 300m per week (Akbar 2004, Reynolds 2003). As much as 10 billion US of this loss is to the insurance industry alone, with the true amount being significantl y higher due to underreporting (Crawford 2004). Pirates today are additionally too broad a group to truly generalise. However, technological advances have allowed pirates to become better equipped and have greater information as to their targets, which contributes to an increased number of attacks on larger ships (Lewis. 2004). In addition, the end of the Cold War has reduced the number of sea patrols in certain areas of the world while simultaneously making a tremendous volume of weapons and munitions available on the black market, often at relatively inexpensive prices (Armstrong 2004). Meanwhile, exponential in global trade has greatly increased the amount of highly valuable and saleable goods moving across the seas. This combination of more to steal, less policing, and greater easy in theft has led to a significant rise in piracy activity (Liss 2003). Attempts to regulate shipping have led to the development of the flags of convenience problem. The practice began after World War II, but did not become widespread or a problem in the international maritime community until the 1990s (Langewiesche 2004). A number of impoverished countries, such as Malta, Panama, and Liberia, began to sell their flags for a fee, with little concern for the legitimacy of the ship’s owners (Loft and Koran 2004). This allowed ship owners to literally choose under which country’s laws they wanted to sail their ship, regardless of their home port of call (Liss 2003). Today, according to Langewiesche (2004), â€Å"no one pretends that a ship comes from the home port painted on its stern† (50). This has greatly facilitated the operation of phantom ships, previously described. The massive Tsunami that devastated much of the South Asian coast in December 2004 has had a particular impact on piracy. It is believed many pirate syndicates and individual pirate groups lost ships in the disaster, as did many legitimate ship owners. In addition, changes to the Malacca Straights have reduced shipping in the region and left piracy there almost non-existent (Bangs erg 2005). It will be of note to see if piracy rebounds as issues with passage through the Straights are resolved, or whether piracy increases in some other area or areas. Terrorism: The New Threat On top of all the above, groups operating from a political motive, terrorists, have entered the piracy trade. Following September 11,terrorism has become a worldwide concern. The maritime community had already experienced a number of terrorist actions and threats, such as when Islamic militants bombed the side of the Cole, an American warship, in 2000 (Anon 2004). Since 9/11, the Limburg, a French oil tanker, has been similarly bombed, while â€Å"Abu Soya, a terrorist outfit from the southern Philippines, claimed responsibility for bombing a ferry in Manila Bay earlier this year† (Anon 2004). While most countries can provide at least reasonable protection for land targets, â€Å"the super-extended energy umbilical cord that extends by sea to connect the West and the Asian economies with the Middle East is more vulnerable than ever† (Loft and Koran 2004, 64). Ninety perceptive the world’s trade is transported via ship, with 4,000 slow and difficult to defend tanker ships moving sixty present of the world oil supply. These ships have little or no protection, and are frequently alone on open water with nowhere to hide (Loft and Koran 2004). Current International Maritime Organization regulations prevent firearms on vessels, even for self-protection, leaving ships’ crews to face terrorist and pirate threats with spotlights and high-powered firehouses (Mihailescu 2004). Interestingly, Russian and Israeli ships ignore the IMO regulations, allowing their crewmembers to be armed, and subsequently have a lower incident of successfully attacks from either pirates or terrorists (Loft and Koran 2004). As Armstrong (2004) contends, â€Å"the world economy relies on the seamless delivery of trade via the worlds seaways† (7). This gives the terrorist threat immediate international implications. The international community has attempted to address terrorist concerns with acts such as the International Ship and Port Security Code, implemented in July 2004, the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, and the Container Safety Initiative. However, the terrorist threat remains â€Å"a function of the terrorists will, the terrorist’s capability, and the targets perceived importance† (Armstrong 2004). Terrorists are separated from pirates by motive. While pirates attack for purely economic reasons, terrorist groups strike for political or ideological reasons, sometimes with economic considerations an additional cause (Anon 2005). â€Å"Unlike the pirates of old, whose sole objective was quick commercial gain, many of todays pirates are maritime terrorists with an ideological bent and a broad political agenda† (Loft and Koran 2004). There is, of course, a connection. Terrorists sometimes act as pirates, usually to finance their political or ideological activities. â€Å"Pirates claiming to be members of the Free Aceh Movement, who take ships crews hostage for ransom, have started to blur the lines between terror and piracy† (Hand 2004, 5). They show no interest in the ship or its cargo, but simultaneously achieve economic gains while embarrassing the government they oppose (Hand2005). In addition, as pirates become more sophisticated, they may be through their very success revealing to the terrorists where opportunities for successful destruction exist (Anon 2005). â€Å"Terrorism is imitative and adaptive, learning from other groups and wider trends† (Armstrong 2004,7). In addition, â€Å"the apparent lack of concrete evidence linking pirates and terrorism has not stopped senior Singapore government officials from publicly making this link on a number of occasions†(Hand 2004, 5). One possible terrorist target is blocking a major shipping lane. Six major shipping channels geographically lend themselves to such an attack (Armstrong 2004). The Malacca Straights are considered the most vulnerable, as the area suffers from lack of funds for policing by its littoral nations yet carries as much as one-third of the world’s total trade and one-half of the world’s oil supply (Anon 2005). â€Å"One ship sunk in a strategic right spot has the potential to block much of the Straight and cripple world trade† (Anon 2004, 37). Fourteen present of world trade moves through the Suez Canal, with the Panama Canal, thebe-el-Man dab, and the Strait of Gibraltar also carrying significant percentages of world trade. All are narrow, busy channels where well-planned terrorist strike could partially or completely block passage (Armstrong 2004). The Strait of Hormuz, connecting the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, is only two kilometres at its most narrow point, yet accounts for over fifteen million barrels of oil transport daily(Loft and Koran 2004). One well-placed scuttle could physically block these channels, crippling trade, as could refusal of insurance carriers to cover vessels in the area, if the terrorist situation became too severe(Armstrong 2004). Either would have devastating global economic impact. Oil and raw materials would be blocked, soon crippling manufacturing and transportation industries. Targeting energy infrastructure is increasingly recognised as terrorist intention. â€Å"Indecent years, terrorists have targeted pipelines, refineries, pumping stations, and tankers in some of the worlds most important energy reservoirs, including Iraq, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen† (Loft 2004). â€Å"Given al-Qaedas understanding of the sensitivity of Western economies to the price of oil, the oil and gas industry represents particularly tempting target, where a single terrorist incident could have a huge ripple effect† (Armstrong 2004). The damage would be heightened by today’s just-in-time logistics systems. Companies reduced inventories and capital structures, made possible by international outsourcing and trade, would cause an almost immediate shortage of some goods (Armstrong 2004). This would be compounded if multiple attacks were to occur on vulnerable shipping conduits simultaneously. Terrorists could also hijack ships and make them into floating bombs, which in addition to closing a shipping lane could be deployed against ports, oil refineries, or other critical infrastructures (Anon 2004). Last year in Singapore, supposed pirates hijacked a chemical tanker in the Malacca Straights, and then abandoned the ship after only an hour, fuelling speculation that terrorists were practising for a just such an attack (Anon 2004). This could cause severe damage, also with global impact in the case of a major port of oil refinery, in addition to having a potential devastating environmental impact on the targeted area. The threats â€Å"posed by the environmental impact of a deliberate tanker spill or a gas or chemical tanker being used as a floating bombard sobering yet very real scenarios (Crawford 2004, 9). Case Study: The Malacca Straights The Malacca Straights will be considered in this case study in inspire-December 26, 2004 condition. The channel was devastated by the earthquake and Tsunamis in the region. Several thousand navigational aids have shifted out of position, and at least two deep areas of the channel have filled in dramatically, with one previously over 1,000metres deep now only thirty metres (Bangs erg 2005). Old wrecks were also shifted and joined by ships downed by the waves, which will all need to be charged, and possibly moved or salvaged. London’s International Maritime Organisation is partnering with the United States to re-chart the area and plan for any needed channel modifications, with complete re-charting and dredging where necessary expected to last at least a year (Bangs erg 2005). The Malacca Strait is to the south and west of Singapore and Malaysia, north of Indonesia. It is a narrow channel, approximately 900kilometres long; at one point it narrows to less than two kilometres wide. (Anon 2005, Anon 2004). Over twenty-five present of total world trade, half of the global oil transport, and nearly two-thirds of the international supply of liquefied natural gas pass through the Straight(Loft and Koran 2004). Last year the Straight recorded over 62,000passages, including 3,300 crude oil tankers and 3,280 natural gas carriers (Hand 2004). Other freighters carry a variety of deadly substances, such as nuclear waste from Japan headed for European reprocessing facilities. The majority of the raw materials for China’s extensive manufacturing activities and products for its growing economy move through the Straight (Loft and Koran 2004). According to the IMB, the Strait of Malacca is the most dangerous shipping passage in the world (Hand 2004). The Strait is â€Å"almost entirely made up of territorial waters belonging to the three littoral states† (Hand 2004). This has been a historical point of collapse in addressing piracy in the region, as only recently have these three countries been able to coordinate activities to address shipping safety. In addition, while Malaysia and Singapore are better of financially than Indonesia, none of the countries has the full range of resources needed to confront the problem (Anon 2004). The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been unable to promote cooperation and a common strategy to deal with piracy in the area, and Indonesia and Malaysia have strongly rejected offers from the United States to dispatch the US Navy to patrol the area (Halloran 2003, Anon2004, Lewis, L. 2004). Of the three countries, Indonesia has done the least to fight piracy. However, it is not surprising that in such an economically disadvantaged country piracy is far down on its list of priorities. â€Å"The vast majority of shipping it is being asked to protect provides noneconomic benefit for the country† (Hand 2004, 5). In addition, Indonesia has faced significant political turmoil. The simultaneous political and economic crises have left the country unable to address piracy adequately, even if it wanted to (Armstrong 2004). The Indonesian Navy was dispatched to combat piracy near Singapore at that country’s insistence, but in the long-term â€Å"Indonesia lacks both the resources and the political will to maintain security across the entire length of the strait; it is a poor country with deep economic and political problems† (Hand 2004). The Indonesian navy is nearly bankrupt and has, at best estimate, perhaps twenty seaworthy boats appropriate for use on patrol. With these resources they attempt to guard the waters surrounding nearly 17,000 islands (Anon 2004). Singapore and Indonesia attempted to work bilaterally on the problem in the 1990s, but coordination disintegrated (Chalk 1998). Malaysia has been more aggressive in addressing piracy. Pre-Tsunami, the government even planned to enhance security with a24-hour radar system covering its areas in the Straight (Anon 2005a). The IMB credits Malaysian vigilant policing and anti-piracy activities as directly leading to the drop in piracy at the western end of the Straight. In 2000, seventy-five attacks were reported in that area, but by 2002 the number had dropped to sixteen (Halloran 2003). Unfortunately this number was tempered by increased attacks in the eastern areas of the Straight, such as the area above the impoverished Indonesian Port Clang, where the sea lanes initially widen (Anon 2004). Following this success, Singapore joined with Malaysia to launch anoint offensive. Seventeen ships were dispatched by the two countries to hunt pirates and terrorists in the Malacca Straight. The countries-ordinated patrols, allowing suspect ships to be pursued across national sea boundaries (Lewis, L. 2004). This led to a further decrease in pirate activity throughout the Straight. However the Indonesian waters of the Straight continue to report the highest number of pirate attacks globally, although the number has dropped from 121 in 2003 to 93 in 2004 (Anon 2005b). Thesis more than twenty-five present of pirate activity worldwide (Anon2005b). Indonesians had recently joined with Malaysia and Singapore,pre-Tsunami, to address piracy. The countries have agreed to allow each other’s policing and patrol ships to pursue suspected pirates and terrorists into each other’s waters (Lewis, L. 2004). While each country remains responsible for its own section of the Straight, any reported pirate or terrorist activity will be immediately reported to cooperating the other countries, allowing for multi-national response where needed (Lewis, L. 2004). Armstrong (2004) points out that increases in piracy typically follow economic crises, and â€Å"flourish in a political / security vacuum†(7). â€Å"The growth in incidents in the Malacca Strait, for example, follows the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s† (Armstrong 2004,7). Ideologically, the Muslim religion remains prominent in the region. This has encouraged Muslim extremists to establish bases near the Straight, from which they attack ships for political or economic gain (Kokand 2004). The recent natural disasters in the region have only intensified economic and political problems. It is therefore unlikely that the Straight will remain pirate-free once the Tsunami effects on the shipping lanes are dealt with, unless the economic and political instabilities of the region, particularly in Indonesia, are addressed. Case Study: Nigeria The high seas and territorial waters off the coast of Nigeria are another hotbed of pirate and terrorist activity. The country is on the western coast of Africa, bordered to the north and west by Benin and Cameroon, and to the south by the Gulf of Guinea (Nigeria 2005). The river Niger flows through Nigeria to its delta in the gulf. The county is Africa’s most populous, but the vast majority of Nigerians live at below-poverty levels, surviving through subsistence farming (Anon2004b). Petroleum and petroleum products account for ninety-five present of the nation’s exports, making departing tankers a prime target for pirates and terrorist groups (Nigeria 2005). The Nigerian government has been going through massive changes. Constitution was enacted in 1999 following sixteen years of corrupt and poorly managed military rule (Nigeria 2005). Agricultural productivity has plummeted, causing what was once one of Africa’s leading agricultural producers to import food supplies. The economy has been allowed to become over-reliant on petroleum, without the creation of diverse economic interests or investment in infrastructure (Nigeria2005). Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic people groups, leading to religious and ethnic dissention within the country (Nigeria 2005). While not having as high an incidence of strikes as the Malacca Straight, attacks in the region are significantly more violent (Clark2004). In the first half of 2004, Nigeria had thirteen attacks, compared with fif