Position of Women in Mordern India Essay

The position of women has changed a lot in modern times. Clearly women have made tremendous strides towards equality in recent decades however; we still live in a society in which the worth of women is measured in their physical appearance and not their intellectual contribution or talents. It is not an unknown secret that many women are paid considerably less than men for doing the same type of work. What effect does this obvious gap between men and women have on our nation’s female population? The effect of this is the unconscious perpetuation of the understanding that women are inferior to men in our society. This also stands in direct contradiction to the claim that we are all created equal. This gap between men and women can be seen in countless social arenas, such as, the workplace, the average household, educational institutions and even in our nation’s government. In the society, the role of women is getting bigger. Women are doing man’s work and sometimes women do it better. It may be because women are more patient and more intelligent. The concept of earlier days was that only man can work, because society thought that cleaning the house and taking care of the children were the only things women were able to do. This has changed a lot because now both, men and women, are working and taking care of home. Sometimes it is the woman who gets the money to survive and man is the one who takes cares of the children, and while it was embarrassing for men in the past, now it is normal. We have seen a woman P.M. in our country – one of the most powerful and undoubtedly the most efficient P.M.s we ever had – Mrs. Indira Gandhi. We also see a woman President – Mrs. Pratibha Patel. So a woman has the capability to hold the highest post of the country as well. Be it in politics (Jayalalitha, Mamta Banerjee, Mayawati – love them, hate them, but you cannot ignore them), sports, cinema or literary field, we see women dominating the scene side-by-side with men MAYANK SHARMA

Quotes on 1984

Golden country â€Å"Presumably she could be trusted to find a safe place. In general you could not assume that you were much safer in the country than in London. There were no telescreens, of course, but there was always the danger of concealed microphones by which your voice might be picked up and recognized; besides, it was not easy to make a journey by yourself without attracting attention† An old, close-bitten pasture, with a footpath wandering across it and a molehill here and there.In the ragged hedge on the opposite side the boughs of the elm trees swayed just perceptibly in the breeze, and their leaves stirred faintly in dense masses like women's hair. Surely somewhere nearby, but out of sight, there must be a stream with green pools where dace were swimming? It was in the sun, they in the shade. It spread out its wings, fitted them carefully into place again, ducked its head for a moment, as though making a sort of obeisance to the sun, and then began to pour forth a torrent of song the rented roomWhat appealed to him about it was not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to possess of belonging to an age quite different from the present one. The soft, rain-watery glass was not like any glass that he had ever seen. The thing was doubly attractive because of its apparent uselessness, though he could guess that it must once have been intended as a paperweight. It was very heavy in his pocket, but fortunately it did not make much of a bulge. It was a queer thing, even a compromising thing, for a Party member to have in his possession. There was a small bookcase in the other corner, and Winston had already gravitated towards it.It contained nothing but rubbish. The old man was standing in front of a picture in a rosewood frame which hung on the other side of the fireplace, opposite the bed. Winston came across to examine the picture. It was steel engraving of an oval building with rectangular windows, and small tower in front. It seemed vaguely f amiliar. Winston wondered vaguely to what century the church belonged. It was always difficult to determine the age of a London building†¦. One could not learn history from architecture any more than one could learn it from books.Statues, inscriptions, memorial stones, the names of streets — anything that might throw light upon the past had been systematically altered. Winston lingered for some minutes more, talking to the old man, whose name was Charrington. All the while they were talking the half-remembered rhyme kept running through Winston's head. ‘Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clement's, You owe me three farthings, say the bells of St Martin's! ‘ It was curious, but when you said it to yourself you had the illusion of actually hearing bells, the bells of a lost London that still existed somewhere or other, disguised and forgotten†¦ et so far as he could remember he had never in real life heard church bells ringing. He got away from Mr Char rington and went down the stairs alone. He had already made up his mind that after a suitable interval – a month, say – he would take the risk of visiting the shop again. Yes, he thought, he would come back. He would buy further scraps of beautiful rubbish. He would buy the engraving of St Clement Danes, take it out of its frame, and carry it home. He would drag the rest of that poem out of Mr Charrington's memory. Even the lunatic project of renting the room upstairs flashed momentarily through his mind again.

Od Interventions

Definition of od interventions: An OD intervention can be defined as â€Å"the set of structured activities in which selected organization units engage with a task or a sequence of tasks where the task goals are related directly or indirectly to organizational improvement † â€Å"A set of sequenced and planned actions or events intended to help the organisation increase its effectiveness†. In an od intervention the entire process of diagnosis, alternative generation and making action choices are jointly conducted and od will also examine the process of such diagnosis, action planning and implementation.Criteria for Effective Interventions: In OD three major criteria define the effectiveness of an intervention: 1. The Extent to Which it (the Intervention) fits the needs of the organization. 2. The degree to which it is based on causal knowledge of intended outcomes 3. The extent to which the OD intervention transfers change-management competence to organization members. Characteristics of od intervention: First An od intervention will focus on the organizational processes apart from the substantive content of an activity.Secondly an od intervention would generally focus on a work team as the unit of analysis and change towards effective behaviour Thirdly od would normally view change as an on-going process and would rely on a collaborative management of work culture Types of od interventions : These interventions can be clubbed into twelve groups and they are diagnostic, team-building, inter-group activities, survey feedback methods, education and training programmes, techno-structural activities, process consultation, the management grid, meditation and negotiation activities, coaching and counseling and planning and goal setting activities. ) Survey Feedback: It recounts to an approach survey through well planned assessment or Interviews. It covers the feedback to the customer organisation. It has a demand and significance in a genuine situation. The attitude survey can have a purpose to measure the process; for instance, communication, decision making and leadership at different levels. The data produced under this system is perceptual and attitudinal.. A review of the product is prepared in a group discussion.Generally feedback of results is specific to the group which prepares the data. As a result strategies are planned to resolve the organisational problems. Consequently, the process of survey feed back includes: collection of data, feedback, development of action plan and follow-up. Therefore, to ensure authentic results, the survey should be applicable and dependable. 2) Management Grid : The method urbanized by Robert Blake and Jane S. Mouton is a step to move toward. This Grid represents a rational support of managing people.Growth of management skills from beginning to end grid program involves wide range of included and instrumented activities are the ways having investigational and planned conditions. The member s are secondary to be pleased about the advances to integrate people and their invention. 3) Team Building: Team building is an attempt to assist the work group to identify, diagnose and solve its own problems. Actually groups develop their own norms of behaviour which pressurize the persons and group behaviour. Organisation is a system to interconnect with groups.OD considers that work groups are the teams which are spinning around to introduce changes in the organization. Team building actions are taken to develop a range of groups in an organization like permanent work teams, task forces, committees etc. Team building actions focus on finding, task achievement, team relationships and organisational process. The component groups in team building activity are: the external advisors, the group leader and the members of the group. In team building movement, associates meet and talk about troubles connecting to their coursework It obtain sincere and courageous argument.In the team bui lding movements, the associate adds the sequence relating to their personal observation of issues, problems and task relationship. 4) Sensitivity Training: It is known as training being carried out by creating an experimental laboratory circumstances where workers will be brought together to do something together in a formless environment. Sensitivity training helps in understanding people well again, to develop appreciation for others, to develop specific behavioral skills and to gain effective approach into the group development. It also aims at falling interpersonal confrontation.The main aim of sensitivity training is to split all the methods through the bond of silence and ease the expression of associates to emphasize on the process of debate to a certain extent than to fulfill the instructions. It is a method which proposes to have brain washing of persons. This training is accepted by formless groups without any agenda, leader and predetermined goals. The group is given inde pendence to expand their plans, contacts and on going process for interaction. Sensitivity training gives a technique to enable special knowledge and development. ) Four System Management : Rensis Likert’s four System Management has given four stage to represent the organizational values to include the essential collection of job bearing and people way. According to Likert management philosophy can be classified into four systems they are: i) Exploitative-Autocratic System ii) Benevolent Autocratic System iii) Consultative Democratic System and iv) Participative Democratic System. This theory explains that three basic concepts of system has four management which will help making the organization effective they are: ) To use the principle of supportive relationship in the organisation b) To use the group decision making and group methods of supervision in the organisation, and c) To emphasize more on the high performance goals. 6) Management by Objectives (MBO): It is another important tool of O. D and involves the process of educating the concerned persons about M. B. O, agreement upon clear cut quantifiable objectives, evaluation of objectives and feedback for deviation and coercive action. . M. B. O is wide-ranging overall managerial philosophies that focuses upon joint goal setting and synthesize the individual’s goal to organisational goals.The entire organization will have the feeling of unity as all levels of management of an organization are involved in goal setting. The programmes relating to M. B. O can be effective if they are properly implemented and needs the support of the top management. 7) Process Consultation: It can be described as the set of activities on the part of the consultant that helps the client to perceive, understand and act upon the process events that take place in the client’s environment. Process consultation concentrates on the analysis of process of activities like communication, leadership etc.It also aim s to attempts to develop initial contacts, define relationships, selecting the method of work, collection of data and diagnosis. Process consultation is a method of intervening in an on going system and is designed to change attitudes, values, interpersonal skills, group norms, and cohesiveness and other process variables. 8) Contingency Approach : This approach was given by P. Lawsence and J. Lorseh. It is based on the principle that an organisation is a multifaceted social system. Its behavior must be included into a united effort to enable it to cope with the environment.Theoretically individuals in different departments have different orientations related to the tasks they perform. Genuinely, the organisational units in their regular operations they are differentiated along with their direction. It appears that with the task discrimination coordination is not possible. According to contingency approach separation and combination are possible for total organisation’s effec tiveness with the help of integrative devices. To sum up, high organisational presentation is well-suited with the existence of both separation as well as combination which are required as per the stress of heir immediate environment. The contingency approach can be useful as an OD intervention in industrial organizations in the form of inter group argument meetings of concerned departmental persons. 9) Role Analysis : In the presentation of their individual roles persons manifest certain behaviour which may upset team efficiency. At times it is established that the persons are unambiguous about their own expected behaviour from the view point of other members of the team. In these circumstances the role analysis procedure is used to clarify the role expectations and obligations of the members of a team.The ensuing role requirements and the expected behavioral mechanism of each other help the member enjoy an equally acceptable behaviour in the team work. In this technique, the indiv idual role players analyze the focal role of the individuals. 10) Inter-group Activity : Meager interpersonal relations are not unusual features in organisational performance . Under these circumstances, inter-group motion spotlights to improve the relationships between the groups. It helps in the interaction and communication between the work groups which eventually avoids dysfunctional inimical competitiveness among them.Inter-group team building entails the procedure of discrimination and combination. 11) Organisation Mirroring: It monitors the activities of group of members and gets the feedback from the members of several other groups about how is it being professed. Organisational mirroring is used when there is complexity with other department in the organisation. A meeting is called and response is sought from other department. During the meeting the correct picture emerges which will determine many mistakes committed between two groups. 2) Third Party Peace Making Intervent ion: This intervention is the foundation of the thoughts to understand the conflicts and their resolutions at the interpersonal level. It helps to confront the method of resolving the conflicts takes place between two parties who are aware of the existence of the conflicts and want to confront the issues. The advisor as a third party must be accomplished in the art of identifies the conflicts and use confrontation as technique. This process focuses on four basic elements of conflicts they are : i) The conflict issues, (ii) The contributory circumstances, (iii) The conflict related behaviour, and (iv) The results of the conflict. 13) Job Design/Redesign : It is task -technology connected approach and aims at making changes in the work procedure of the groups of employees. Job design occupies a well planned reorganization of a job. On the whole it focuses to develop worker’s motivation, commitment, performance, job satisfaction etc. , through job enrichment, job engineering, jo b rotation, job enlargement and socio-technical system. 4) Quality Circles: Quality Circles are semi-autonomous work groups with six persons who volunteer to talk about and solve feature related problems during working hours. It has impact on working conditions, employee’s commitment and self development of employees. 15) Counselling : Counselling is the method to extend the help by a manager to his assistant to enhance his prospective. It plans at hypothesizing and empathize with the workers. It assists to bring about self consciousness in the worker about his capability. Single or group of interventions may be used to resolve the issues.Od intervention used in BHEL-BLOCK5 PAGE33-34(M) In order to develop & improve the effectiveness of the human resources in the Organisation, a committee called ‘Human Resources Committee’ was first constituted by BHEL in Bhopal in 1976. The committee is the central body and plays the central role in implementation of all OD effo rts. With the help of external and internal resource persons, a number of programmes/workshops have been Organised for the development of the members of this committee improving their problem solving capabilities and decision making.The range of OD interventions are described below. Job Redesign and Work commitment as an OD intervention In one of the BHEL units (Hardwar) Job redesign was taken up and as an OD intervention in 1975. This experiment was pursued for around 4 years and very encouraging results were obtained. i) A more satisfying job, due to increased variety and relief from boredom and monotony ii) Personal growth for all, by learning additional skills of other trends and acquiring leadership Qualities iii) Reduction in health/safety hazards iv) An atmosphere with less tension and jealousy ) An improved team spirit and morale resulting in improved communication and human relationship vi) Increased self esteem and pride among the workers. Workshops were conducted and it w as found to be very useful and threw up more questions for wider debate and discussions. By using survey method, a list of programmes or subjects or themes is sent to various. H. O. Ds who respond by ticking the appropriate ones for their executives. As a result of various diagnostic exercises some critical needs of training and development are identified.The workshops on various themes also give valuable idea of the areas requiring more thrust by way of training and development and specific training and development needs are thus identified. Based on role analysis a draft system with the following objectives has been circulated by the Corporate Personnel for the comments of Personnel/Training (HRD)/Divisional Heads. . Helping the executives to become more effective in their present and future jobs. . Enabling the executives to perform at optimum level by determining and meeting their growth needs. . Helping the executives to visualise their roles more clearly. Preventing the obsole scence of their technical and managerial skills. . Optimising the utilization of training resources by providing appropriate inputs. . Facilitating the design of need based programmes and identify the training and development needs. . Preparing data bank of capabilities required for various positions. . Facilitating job rotation, career and succession planning. Once implemented, it will provide a valuable data base for planning, training and development activities and identifying appropriate candidates for programmes. Performance Appraisal and Potenfial AppraisalIn BHEL it has remained so far that the role of superior was limited to evaluator or judge and the role of the appraisee was passive. Now the superiors role is being conceived as helper and counseller and the appraisee is encouraged to become more involved and committed in achieving the objectives. Performance feedback and Counselling The need and importance of performance feedback and counseling has been realized. Attempts are being made to cover maximum number of executives in various programme/workshops on performance feedback and counselling to enable them to practice it as an important tool for Human Resource Development.The supervisors also will be covered in such efforts. Career Planning and Development Time-cum-merit based promotion was practiced which is able to satisfy the individuals and organizational needs to a great extent. The employees are encouraged and helped to plan a career path. They are liberally sponsored to higher educational programmes in IIMS/IITs. Posted bySatish Raj Pathakat9:19 PM Labels:OD intervention Od intervention at NTPC

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Assignment Example Blending the scholarship between the insightful narratives, the story line of this book portrays an extraordinary woman who comes out boldly to challenge the unwritten codes and some barriers of the social hierarchy and goes ahead to dare seek some measure of personal independence in the male-dominated world. This book gives a summary and analysis of the record case that is found in the Florentine archives1. In this book, the class difference is not only revelatory basing on the way that the law handled people of different social classes, but it also bases on how social class was subject in handling matters of love. Just in the same way that class played a role in affecting romance in Renaissance Florence is also evident in Giovanni’s initial pursuit of Lusanna’ love. Giovanni falls in love with Lusanna despite the fact that her husband is still alive, and goes ahead to try and start a relationship with her. Despite the fact that Giovanni is rich and many girls are afte r him, he only loves Lusanna. In this case, the custom was to seek to marry just for the purpose of increasing social status or tying together the important families, but not marrying each other because of love. For this, social class is evident in comparison of Giovanni and Lusanna, but Giovanni argues that he wants to marry Lusenna not because of increasing social ties, but because he is deeply in love with her. Social class is not only the difference separating the love story between Giovanni and Lusanna, but there is also an aspect of gender. Lusanna is the rare exception among many women of her time, and thus making it not possible to categorize her as in any major roles that women adopted in this community. Women of her class would be typical â€Å"chaste wives and widows or cloistered nuns,† but not passionate and driven just as Lusanna was. All through this case Giovanni was determined to prove that their relationship was strong and had started way back before the dea th of Lusanna’s husband Andrea, and that her willingness to not only to participate in this relationship that was making her mush happier than her marriage seizes the initiative of classifying different from the set of other women in her era, in that she participates in the illicit relationship. Another aspect that existed between these different classes of lives is the double standard existing in relation to sex. According to the social norms of the community, adultery was forbidden in the Florence play. Both the secular and religious laws also forbid and even punished adultery, such as the same case that Lusanna portrayed while married to Andrea. There is also an aspect of influence in the justice system following the class difference. For instance, Lusanna was the one who filed a case against Giovanni for attempting to marry another woman while they are married. In this society, rich people had the capacity of bribing the justice system, something that would have made Giov anni walk free. Archbishop Antoninus was the only leader with the capacity of rejecting such bribes and influence from the rich class in this society, thus suiting him to preside over this case. However, the author states that the same judge would have known of Giovanni’s influence and financial power, leading him to uphold the complaint filed by Lusanna. The status difference that was separating Lusanna and Giovanni is

District Attorneys office Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

District Attorneys office - Research Paper Example A good attorney spends most of their time researching, has a great memory and writes convincingly, so any degree that prepares on for this is probably a good choice. Depending on what particular field in law one wants to go into, there are other options. It is not unheard of for individuals with an established career to attend law school in mid-life in order to become a litigator in their chosen field. Many colleges offer some sort of pre-law coursework and this is not a bad idea if it can be worked into the schedule. Any course of study at the undergraduate level that familiarizes the student with the course of study in law school will be of benefit and help the student achieve higher comprehension and higher grades in law school. Asking the prospective law school what kind of coursework would be beneficial will result in solid information as to what the admissions board would like to see. Wise students will try to provide the admissions board with a high GPA along with the course o f study and life experience the board is looking for if they want to be admitted. If law school is the goal, then the undergraduate degree is just the final step on the path prior to law school. With undergraduate degree in hand, the next step is to get accepted into law school. An appropriate degree from a good school, a high grade point average and an excellent LCAT score should provide the applicant with many options as to which school to consider. There are three types of law schools and each provides the student with a different experience and benefits package for a variable price. : Ivy League schools such as Harvard or Yale are the top tier, where the coursework is rigorous but the real value is the rolodex one could walk away with after graduation. Ivy League schools are expensive and should be considered an investment in who one gets to know as much as what one learns. The value of relationships and â€Å"connections† cannot be understated, and this is the true value of attending the prestige schools. There are plenty of solid Universities that have excellent law schools, all provide a solid education and possibly some good connections but the value of this choice is the quality of the education in terms of cost. It is possible to shop around and find a well-regarded law school that offers the degree for a much lower price than a comparable school. Keep in mind that the admission process will be tougher because more people will be applying. (Sedberry) The bottom tier schools simply provide one with a degree and hopefully the preparation necessary to pass the bar exams. Cost and time are usually the major issues here, as it is possible to go to school part time and complete a law degree in four to six years. Several schools offer online law degrees (adultlearn.com). A prosecutor works for the State, so any law school will work as long as it results in passing the bar exam. The better the school the better-off the individual is when trying to get hired, but passing the bar exams makes the attorney a member in good standing with the union. The course of study in law school is normally three years and results in the award of the Juris Doctorate degree. In general, the first two years of law school consists of the basic curriculum and all the students are in competition with one another. The class standing is based on the performance in these classes. One way to

Maximising Stock Valuation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Maximising Stock Valuation - Essay Example With this background, as per the BT management's opinion as on 31st March 1983 with the NFL loan amount of 2944 million the debt ratio for the company was too high and a new capital structure was needed to increase the stock valuation for the proposed floatation move. In the management's view the ideal capital structure should have a low level of debt which not only increases the value of the stock but also reduces the interest burden. One possible way to achieve this was to consider writing off of some portion of the debts or converting them into equity. The management also estimated that the company would have to borrow additionally to meet the cash outflow in the form of dividends, tax payments, interest charges and other necessary capital expenditure. This may increase the debt content of the capital structure which will further have negative impact on the stock valuation. Taking the argument of the management it would be ideal for the company to arrive at a capital structure where the debt equity ratio is kept at the ideal level from the point of payment of interest as well as to maintain the value of the stock. In order to achieve these objectives, the proposal by the government in converting 750 million of debts into preference shares would have been the best suggestion to follow. This can be substantiated by the following arguments that go in favour of this suggestion: 1. The calculation of the financial leverage ratio and debt equity ratio based on the projected balance sheets after incorporating the proposed conversion of debt into preference shares look as shown below: 2. In view of the lowering leverage and debt equity ratio figures the proposed Scheme of structuring of debts as suggested by the government appear to be of the optimum solution available to BT in the matter of capital structuring. 3. The proposed leverage ratio and equity ratio make the shares attractive to the shareholders since it will result in increased earnings per share. 4. Since immediately after the floatation there would be no chances for BT to go in to the equity market for making a right issue to raise funds for the capital expenditures. Even if the company had to go in for acquisitions, the company should have more cash resources to meet the acquisition cost. Such a situation can be handled only with the above proposed restructuring where the company's cash flow position improves every year with lower cost of capital. 5. Another argument that goes in favour of the proposed restructuring is that without the government converting certain portions of the loan into equity BT would be showing a 126 percent debt to equity as at the end of the year 31st March 1983 and even with the flow of retentions without the write offs the debt-equity ratio would at best be at 96 percent as the end of 31st March 1984. These levels are very high as compared to the other quoted companies. 6. Moreover the level of gearing without debt restructuring along with the interest cover of 2.8 times as existed for 1983-84 would not have made the BT's share attractive for investment. 2. As an advisor to the Government, what level of gearing would you recommend for BT and

No one has to go to school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

No one has to go to school - Essay Example He then suggests repealing compulsory-attendance laws in order for public schools to provide better education to those who are committed and willing to learn. The article demonstrates how the compulsory-attendance law is not delivering the goods it promised to deliver- increase the number of children attending school. Quite the contrary, it has negligible impact on the number of children attending school. Moreover, this law is not rigidly followed because of its costs and public schools are forced to accept and teach unruly students. The author believes that the time spent to teach these disorderly students should instead be spent on serious learners. Hence, the author comes to a conclusion that removing compulsory-attendance laws will be a financially smart move. The author explains that without compulsory-attendance laws teachers students, especially those in the elementary level, will be forced to take their studies more seriously, or else they will lose their chance of acquiring higher formal education. And, lastly, the author argues that schools should not be looked upon as a jack-of-all-trades, because schools are created to fulfill only one major function—to

Anne Watson on Teachers as Informal Assessors Essay

Anne Watson on Teachers as Informal Assessors - Essay Example Included in this identification of components are criticisms on traditional, as well as new, approaches to evaluation practices. Of particular significance is the perspective provided with regards to the teacher prejudices which are often overlooked. This was identified because Watson’s perspective was detached as the author played the role of the researcher observing and evaluating the teachers she studied. A list of these prejudices and an understanding of each one could enable me to avoid them as much as possible. Also, it will allow me to understand the dynamics behind these prejudices or sets of values. Watson explained that teachers’ decisions are influenced by a number of variables. For example, there is the differences in how normal or abnormal are viewed; generalisability of illustrative incidents, sense of power, time and place, interpretation of questions and answers, assumptions of shred understanding and so on (p. 73). So when a prejudice is identified, it does not necessarily mean that it is conscious or that it is the teacher’s fault. These things are important to me to be able to inform on decisions and judgments. As I acquire a broader perspective based on this knowledge, I am able to use approaches and practices that are consistent with my objectives and standards of practice. The list can also allow me to be able to identify a mix of components and practices that I could use, tailored according to my needs and those of my students. Several frameworks were offered and I found that I could use some of them, even modify or integrate them altogether. For example, the procedure for systematic observation practice was outlined. Theories were promptly cited in order to contextualize activities and practices, such as these observations and the interpretation of observed phenomena. There are several interesting elements in the article that particularly stood out. For instance, there are the interviews that demonstrated the manner by which theory and practice differ. The interaction between the researcher and the teacher-participant provided fresh insights because when teachers provide data based on actual experience, the researcher examines them from the theoretical perspective. The interplay of these two elements – actual experience on one hand, and theory and critiques on the other, offered an opportunity for me to take useful components and incorporate them into one workable framework for my own assessment practice. Another important information that I think deserves to be mentioned is the classification of actual informal assessment practices: the assignment of level of achievement using personal knowledge and experience; the use of school-sanctioned system of assessment; the employment of test or task; detailed and systematic recording methods. The variations are quite numerous. This point underpins the fact that informal assessment practices vary because teachers can have their own assessment pr actices. What Watson was able to identify from the numerous practices provided by the teacher-participants was a comprehensive model that contains all the concepts and practices depicted in the manner of their relationships, interactions and characteristics in the context of

Project management. What's that Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project management. What's that - Essay Example The management of project components and clustering them under one unit is very important (Haugan, 2011). Project management enables following the guidelines and use of the right kind of tool and technique for performing the project. It further allows integration of stages of a project that are namely planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling phase (Weihrich & Cannice,pg 4, 2010). Project management further keeps a check on the various constraints that must be taken into account. These constraints are in time completion of project, keeping the costs within the allotted budget, and finally monitoring the performance at different levels of project by individuals and workgroups. The project performed was aimed at providing relief to the commuters in the particular area which is being congested due to traffic .A solution is proposed in form of A3 Hind head project which will ease the traffic load and bring about relief. Out of the nine broadly defined areas of management, f our are needed to be taken into consideration which are as follows: ‘Managing the scope of the project in controlling the project through aims, goals and objectives of its sponsors. The first of nine elements is indispensible and must be taken into consideration. ... The aim should be clearly conveyed to all the stakeholders both inside the organization and outside in order to enable them working according to the requirements. ‘Managing time planning, scheduling and controlling the project to achieve the time objectives through recognized control methodologies.’ This is the second most important element of managerial approach. Effective planning in any stage of project has its direct effect on the project, planning gives a roadmap as to what to achieve and how to achieve it ,it is the table work for practical implementation, scheduling of activities enable synchronization of work and allows reduction of extra activities which might consume resources and do not contribute towards the productivity. A generalized objective of any project is the completion of project in time, the element of scheduling is one of the most important factors to be considered since delay can have severe negative repercussions on the project and its stakeholde rs. Scheduling enables achieving work break down structure (Harris, 2010). The controlling aspect is also implementable to different components of the project body. Controlling could be in form of the spending, the inventory, and the transportation costs. Methodologies always help in standardizing the working procedures. Projects that involve the public directly, can less afford delays and schedule stretches, Hind Head is a similar case where public contact is in direct question, therefore this is one of the four most important elements needed to be taken in to account. Project Integration Management – develop the project charter, scope statement, and Plan. Direct, manage, Monitor and control Project Change.

Leadership and management in nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership and management in nursing - Essay Example General strategies for effecting changes in human systems are power coercive strategy; empirical-rational strategy; and normative/re-educative strategy. Though there are many change strategies, and responsibilities of pathway leadership is challenging, successful change will materialize only with the cooperation and commitment of those involved in the change process. Under these circumstances a case study of the challenges faced by a registered nurse, newly posted in orthopaedic ward of a regional hospital, is attempted to identify efficacy of different change strategies. All professional nurses prefer autonomy and control of their practice and want to apply their nursing knowledge and skills without interference from nurse managers, physicians, or persons in other discipline. â€Å"Changing clinical practice involves addressing deeply held beliefs and traditional rituals† and â€Å"developing new services often involves changing professional roles, boundaries, and loyalties,† because each profession has a unique set of values (Ridout 2002). Leading change is the mainstay of leadership skill, and â€Å"the person responsible for moving others who are affected by the change through its stages† is identified as a change agent ((Daly, Speedy and Jackson 2003, p.195). â€Å"The ability to harness internal motivation, the readiness to take responsibility and to persist, and the drive to stretch for higher performance, take risks, and accomplish goals typify leaders high in achievement, orientation and initiative† (Roussel & Swa nsburg 2008, p.123). General strategies for effecting changes in human systems identified by Robert Chin and D. Benne (1976) that are based on reasons people change their behaviour are: (1) power coercive strategy; (2) empirical-rational strategy; (3) and normative/re-educative strategy (cited by Nickols, 2003) â€Å"The power-coercive style is a top down dictatorial style to change† (Ridout 2002). The basic tenet of power-coercive

Assesment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assesment 2 - Essay Example In the health care setting for example, there are numerous forms of predicaments and this includes health care fraud. The sapping of financial resources in the health care system, along with several other consequences, problems associated with personnel development plans and shortage of competent staff are just few of the magnified issues. The concerns on fraud and abuse greatly affected the everyday life of health care personnel particularly the nurse practitioners; since these professionals are the â€Å"front liners† in terms of delivery of care. Nurse practitioners (NPs) can hardly go away from working in clinical environments; and this expose them further to fiscal issues of billing, reimbursement and revenue production issues. In other words, the described situation is somewhat stressful for them. Fraud is actually described as â€Å"any act, omission, expression, or concealment calculated to delude another individual,† Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law stated. Medicare and other government funded health benefit programs are usually the targets of these schemes. Billing for needless or the double billing schemes, unperformed tests, and kickbacks are few of the most common fraudulent activity that burden most patients;this is reported by the Social Security Act, Section 1128C reiterates that (a) of the designed the Health Care Fraud as well as Program for Abuse Control Program (Department of Justice, 2000). There are several approaches to address concerns in an organization. One very important is the evaluation of the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, as well as opportunities. If limitations in the human and/or financial resources are identified, it may be a necessity to provide attention to the organizations opportunities through the use of phased approach. On the other hand, based on the Economic and Social Research Council Strategic Plan, (2009; p 5-7). Extensive consultations are very necessary to identify areas of strategic

The Time Machine and the Modern World Essay Example for Free

The Time Machine and the Modern World Essay The Time Machine, written by H.G. Wells, focuses on contemporary social questions. Through the progression of the story Wells delineates various interrelated social issues that existed in Victorian England. Wells reflects on the exploitation of the working class and the negative effect of modern technology on class struggle in a capitalist society. He also puts forward a rather contradictory opinion about how the advent of communism can render humans into being frail, weak and not so innovative like the Elois. In my opinion, Wells’ Marxist critique of capitalism can prove to be a plausible factor in the demise of our civilization and steer us towards the dystopian future that is depicted in the novel. As paraphrased from Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-First Century, â€Å"Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview†, developed by renowned German political economist and socialist revolutionary, Karl Henrich Marx. It mostly focuses on class struggle due to the â€Å"alienation and exploitation of the working class in a capitalistic society†. (Gregory, Stuart 62) Class inequality, class struggle or exploitation of the working class has always been a motivating factor for every historical revolution. Karl Heinrich Marx, a German political economist and socialist revolutionary, in his publication â€Å"The Communist Manifesto†, describes the nature and history of the conflict between the Bourgeoisies and Proletarians due to class inequality and struggle. In the initial introductory line he writes, â€Å"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles (01). Marx’s based his publication on the derogation and exploitation of the working class Proletarians by the ruling class, the Bourgeoisie, in a capitalist society. In the manifesto, he depicts how the Bourgeoisie rule over the Proletarians by the control of private property and class the Proletarians as the labor force with no such value as humans. The Proletarians are enforced to work with minimum wage and extended hours. Although the Proletarians a re portrayed as the slaves of the Bourgeoisies, Marx represents the proletarians as a unique class. They have the miserable existence they share in common, which also aids in good communication and brotherhood among them. After being subjected to such alienation and discrimination: the Proletarians revolt, overthrow the Bourgeoisies and assume control over all private property. The distinct characteristic of this revolution is that in previous revolutions, which were caused by social issues, property was relocated in favor of the new ruling class. However, the Proletarians had no way of differentiating class among themselves since they all belonged to the same class, and hence no way of relocating property. Therefore, when the Proletarians assume control, they destroy all ownership of property and in the process abolish the class system, thus bringing about the communist society that is based on common ownership. â€Å"The Communist Manifesto† points this out as the â€Å"march of history† (42, Sec 1, Part 1). The analytical approach of Marx’s manifesto about class struggle and exploitation in capitalist society is echoed throughout The Time Machine. The Morlocks are the working class in this tale of two humanoid species. And Wells indicates that after being exploited by the Elois, the Morlocks, like the Proletarians, start the â€Å"march of history† and relieve the Elois, of their private ownership (Marx 42). But since the Morlocks were so derogatively exploited and alienated from normal society, they evolved into different beings that can’t survive in bright light conditions. The Morlocks had to move underground. Therefore, with no existing class system and abolition of capitalistic society, both the races began living a communal lifestyle. I agree with Wells’ theory about a similar sort of event taking place in the future that would divide humans in a more distinctive and irreversible way and bring about the demise of civilization. Wells very astutely manages to tell us how the use of modern technology can cause class struggle and also at the same time hinder human capabilities. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx stresses on the negative effect of introducing modern technology into a capitalist society. He writes that the Proletarians can survive as long as they are employed. They are treated as commodities, whose price fluctuates with the supply and demand of the market. With the invention of machines and introduction of division of labor, the proletarians are rendered less efficient. The Bourgeoisies opts for more specialized machines which produce higher output than manual labor. The Proletarians are made redundant and are without any money or food. This causes the Proletarians to plummet further down the class system which adds to their brewing turmoil. This later incites their revolt or as quoted by Marx himself, â€Å"March of history† against the ruling Bourgeoisies. (Sec. 1, Part 2) Wells shows, the possibility of an event like this, in his book by the time traveler’s deduction of the Elois, being the ruling class, pushing the Morlocks further down the class system due to the introduction of technology and their over dependence on it. In the beginning of the novel, The Time Machine, the time traveler thinks that the Elois are frail and their communal lifestyle is what is keeping the world so trouble free. To him it seemed desirable, as it is something every society thrives for. But at the same time it seemed strange. The advent of communism among the Elois and Morlocks has made their life easier. Since property has common ownership and an easy life has made them strive less for innovation and change. This is evident in most of the communist countries today. As compared to their capitalist counterparts, most of the communist countries are still hindering behind in terms of social, cultural and technological advancements. This actually puts forward the question, â€Å"Which socio-political order is more useful? Capitalism or communism?† From what I have derived from Wells novel is that both socio-political orders have their own pros and cons. But history has shown that every time any of these orders have pushed a class of people to their extreme, the pendulum swings back and balance is restored to the system by any of the opposing classes. For Example: The French Revolution, The Slave revolt of Spartacus, Hungarys Revolt against Communism in 1956. Wells portrays this restoration of balance but he also shows how due to that, the pendulum swung in a completely opposite direction for the Elois and Morlocks and thus causing a demise of the modern human civilization. In my opinion, from this repetition of restoration of balance, there will come a point in time when a change would be so devastating that it would totally alter the world and its socio-political order. In a nutshell, I would say that the adventure story of Wells’ novel includes many archetypal elements. The tale of 802,701 is a political commentary of late Victorian England. He recommends that current society must change its ways if it doesn’t want to end up like the Elois, terrified of an underground race of Morlocks. In the book, Wells lampoons the decadence of Elois caused by communism and provides a Marxist critique of capitalism that incited the dawn of the Morlocks. I concur with Wells views, in The Time Machine, are relevant to our world and can bring about the breakdown of the human culture. Works Cited: Wells, H.G. The Time Machine. Penguin Books, 1895. Print. Gregory, Paul R., and Robert C. Stuart. Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-First Century. 7. South Western, Cengage Learning, 62. Print. Marx, Karl, and Engels, Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto. Section 1, Bourgeois and Proletarians (Part 1 2), 42. February 21 (1848). Web.

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