Explain the nature and purpose of the ‘Hitler Youth’ movement

a) To establish a stable future for the Nazi regime, Hitler was determined to gain control of the upcoming generation that was Germany's youth, to do this he created several groups for both boys and girls to teach them Nazi ideology and how to be the ‘superior race'. Hitler's youth movement was made compulsory to join in 1936 and from then on boys at the age of 6-10 wore enlisted to the ‘Pimpf', which translates as little fellows, here they took part in exercises such as hiking and camping. On surpassing the age of 10 they underwent a test from them to reach ‘Deutsche Jungvolk' (or German young people). Only after this wore they enrolled in ‘Hitler youth' when they wore between the ages of 14-18 and there they wore trained on military discipline. The Hitler youth was also used as a way teaching children in anti-Semitism, pride for Germany and allegiance to Hitler. Young children were expected to read books describing how Jewish things and people were evil. There was also the SRD which was a patrol service that would check that all the members of the Hitler Youth were looking smart and that they were carrying a clean handkerchief and comb, which defines the importance of the movement. Baldur Von Schirach led the Hitler youth organization and he had the idea to create individual years for the Hitler youth movement and in 1934 it was the ‘Year of Training' where the kids learned vocational training, and in October were sent to the country to harvest the crops. This was apparently to show them the value of hard manual labor, and how it pays off. The next year was ‘The Year of Physical Training' which consisted of rigorous sport competitions and gladiator like fitness standards. Hitler felt that his youth should have more of a strong character and look more physically healthy rather than to be well educated in the classroom. Hitler wanted his youth to feel that they are better than others are and be proud to be Germans. When in the classroom the teachers taught their curriculum to emphasize Nazi themes and history. The purpose of these male groups was that Hitler was training each and every boy in Germany to become soldiers; the uniforms that they wore were similar to that of the SS, an elite part of the army. The Hitler youth was really a training centre for future members of the SA or the SS. My theory on Hitler's ‘Deutsche Jungvolk' was that children were brainwashed with Nazi ideology and military tactics and concerns. Hitler had complete control over every single stage in the young German boy's lives. Girls were also forced to enrol in a group which was known as ‘Jungmadel' (young maidens) at the age of 10 to 14 and Girls from fourteen to eighteen were in the ‘Bund Deutcher Madel' (BDM) (League of German Girls), the BDM also offered a wide variety of other activities such as reduced rates at movie theaters, going on field trips, and attend camps that lasted anywhere from one day to several weeks. BDM groups got together 2 times a week, one of which was a sports afternoon, the other of which was called ‘Heimatabend' (home evening). During the home evening, girls played music, learned and sang folk songs, played games, or did arts and crafts. The BDM placed big importance on the girls' educations and expected that they would finish school. The purpose of the BDM was to teach women how to care for their health so they could prepare for motherhood and raise as many babies as the German population required and so they remained loyal to his Nazi regime. In conclusion, Hitler used these groups as an opportunity to spread his ideas throughout the nation, and to create a new generation that would be loyal and unified. He gave those under he's teachings a great discriminations of all Jewish people and taught them that they were a superior race. He believed that the future of Nazi Germany were the children and expected children to be like: â€Å"The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp's steel.† – Adolf Hitler (http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/hitler_youth.htm) And the groups wore created for this very purpose to serve him if any uprising occurred. He trained children at such a young age as they wore easily susceptible to corruption from Hitler's words and they wore taught that he was a savior for all of Germany so the children looked up to him as if he was a god so they would remain loyal to him in the future. Explain the reason for Nazi policies towards Women b) Women are the foundation to a great new generation and Hitler came to comprehend this fact, to make a great new Germany he would have to control and persuade women to stay at home and raise big families, he saw women as only fit for motherhood and all his policies reflected that he wanted women to be only used to create a new generation of children loyal to Hitler's legacy. To convey his plans all equal rights towards women in the Weimar Republic were abolished. There was practically no equality as Nazi's believed that women had a role that was separate to that of the men so equality was not in the question, they said each sex has different tasks to do and their own separate rights and through this the Nazi's believed they wore being equal.. Hitler passed of laws which ensured that women fulfilled their duty at home and companies were encouraged to give all free job spaces to men. The first examples of women this happened to were women doctors and civil servants. Hitler also allowed no woman to be a judge or prosecutor as he thought they were unable to think logically and without emotion. Hitler needed women at home so that they could have more time on their hands to looking to raise a family so the German population would flourish. Nazis had reasons for their inequality towards women in society as they thought their place was very much in the home as child-bearers and supporters of their husbands. Nazi policies for women were based on the ‘3 K's, Kinder, Kirche, Kuche' (Children, Church and the Kitchen) and encouraged these policies by offering loans, family allowances and child subsides for women to stay at home and were also given medals if they had a large family. By encouraging women to do this and offering rewards for large families Germany's population would grow meaning more young boys being trained to being soldiers and more young girls turning into mothers so Hitler can fill the land he was planning to take control over with Germans. Though there were some exceptions to the policies set by the Nazi's, as if you was a woman of high importance and closely linked to Hitler personally there was some differences. Such as the film director Leni Riefenstahl, whom Hitler admired her work dearly. When he first attended one of her films showings, Hitler sought out the young director and after a very short time appointed her as ‘Film Expert to the National Socialist Party'. Over the next five years Riefenstahl made several films in which Hitler had requested, which in a state where women played a secondary role to men, Riefenstahl was given a free hand by Hitler to produce propaganda films for the Nazi regime. Hitler described Riefenstahl as ‘the perfect German woman'. Another exception was Eva Braun which was Hitler's ‘wife' whom he married only when both had reached a mutual decision to commit suicide a day after their marriage. Eva Braun met Hitler when she was 17 and at the age of 19 At the age of 19, she became Hitler's mistress, received a house, expensive clothes, fast cars and French perfume – but no wedding ring, she also was not pushed into having children which goes against Nazi policies. In conclusion, each policy put in place concerning women in Germany was done so for the sole purpose that they would be fit and efficient mothers such as being discouraged from slimming as this was considered bad for child birth. Though there were the exceptions of a few women who Hitler allowed to lead a life of luxury and freedom, giving them benefits that no other Nazi women could dream of experiencing. ‘The most important reason why there was little opposition in Germany towards the Nazi regime was its use of propaganda.' Explain how far you agree with this statement. c) I agree to this statement to quite a far extent as I feel the Nazi regime cleverly used their use of propaganda to sway the hearts and minds of the German people. Through their complete control of the media the Nazi's wore able to convince people that they are right or were winning the war thus gaining trust throughout Germany. They wore also able to censor any stories or articles which in someway discredit Nazi powers. But their use of deception in the media was not the only reason there was little opposition towards them, fear also played a major part in halting any opposition the Nazi's would otherwise have to face. Hitler had elected Joseph Goebbels as minister for ‘National Enlightenment' and he controlled the media and arts. It was his role to make sure that the media printed Nazi ideology and censored any other idea's put forward. He also set up the ‘Reich Chamber of Commerce' in 1933 and this was designed to deal with all literature, art, music, radio etc. and only those who was part of this chamber was allowed to produce anything from those categories but along side these restricts was the fear of punishment to oppose and of the policies set in place so you could only read, see and hear what the Nazis wanted you to. The use of censorship saw that there was little or no opposition in Germany as when Hitler came into power the Nazi's showed what would happen to things that did not conform to Nazi ideology and Goebbels organized mass book burning sessions in which any book that didn't agree with Nazi idea's was taken out of the library and burnt. Films that wore made at the time concentrated on Nazi beliefs and how Germans wore treated in Eastern Europe. These films helped sway the mind of the people causing little resistance against Nazi regime. Goebbels wanted every German to hear Nazi idea's so he insisted that radios wore constructed and sold cheap to each German citizen so they could hear Hitler give speeches, loud speakers were put up in streets and Cafes and other such properties were ordered to play in public speeches by Hitler, and the consistent hearing of Nazi ideology brainwashed those who listened into believing that the Nazi was the superior race and political system, â€Å"The essence of propaganda consists in winning people over to an idea so sincerely, so vitally, that in the end they succumb to it utterly and can never escape from it.†- Goebbels http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/NaziGermany.htm Goebbels used propaganda to fuel Hitler's hatred for Jews and used them as a scapegoat for blaming Germany's dire situation at the time, and he also implemented young people to Nazi propaganda, Hitler youth, so when they grew up they would not appose his rulings and would follow him in whatever he would say. Even the 1936 Berlin Olympics was used as a way to glorify Nazi Germany and that it was here to stay. He also used propaganda to show how Hitler wanted best for the German people and was really a man of peace but was also determined to recover German territories ‘lost' as a result of the Versailles Treaty of 1919, and this appealed to must Germans and they had felt dishonoured by the land lost so would now not stand up against Hitler. Propaganda also presented Hitler as some sort of ‘mythical figure', for example his famous â€Å"Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½hrer† (‘One People, One Nation, One Leader') poster which gives the feeling that Hitler is guiding people's destiny and also depicted Hitler as ‘a man of the people'. Hitler used his youth groups as a form of propaganda, brainwashing the children into thinking that he is some sort of superior beings, there were even pictures of him in classrooms and it is reported that some children had started praying to the picture's of him like he was a God. With this mindset Hitler had a strong grip on the next generation that would not appose him in the future. But propaganda was not the only reason for the little opposition, Nazi's made sure their was swift and harsh punishment for those who undermined their ruling and mocking Hitler became an offence that could be punished by being sent to a concentration camp which could possibly lead to death. Hitler's secret police saw to it that anyone who went against the Nazi in any small way would be dealt the most serious of consequences and people wore expected to come to the police if they heard of any unrest against Nazi policies if they didn't they too would be punished, people wore too afraid to stand up against Hitler and his SS men. Also some Germans even though not liking Hitler's rule preferred it over any left wing communist groups, as Hitler did well in lowering unemployment rates buy implementing building, road and house works. Also his order of conscription of men into the army further reduced the amount of unemployed and Germans found thousands of jobs in factory work and weapons production so they benefited from Hitler being in power. People found themselves at a higher standard of living and did not wish to sacrifice it and go back to the days of the depression. Propaganda played a drastic part in why the Nazi's wore able to maintain control with little opposition in Germany, the use of blaming the Jewish people and making out Hitler to be a god made people side with the Nazi regime. The repetitive speeches brainwashed the people into feeling compassionate towards Hitler's cause but I do feel the pure fear of Hitler's SS men did stop many of the German public from speaking out in fear of execution or being murdered and also the fact that all the good Hitler had brought to the country people did not wish to return to their previous state with inflation and mass unemployment.

Why Love Is Immortal

The symposium presents a set of cases for love. Different views of love are being expressed, in a variety of ways to think. In comparing Diotima’s influenced Socrates’ views on love and Pausanias’ views we find two completely different ways of thinking. Diotima seems to make a much stronger case and many would agree that she might have even just made the best case for love on the night. Although Pausanias thinks of love in more direct realistic way, it seems to be too narrow minded and flat. Pausanian Puts love in a perspective of man and women.The sexual attraction, which we find as lust, is referred to as common love, while love as we know based on deep attractions, going beyond the physical aspect, rather a connect coming from the soul is referred to as heavenly love. In a different direction points Diotima her argument for love. She looks at love as a desire, an innate need for achieving things. She points out happiness as a key, wether it be one’s own happiness or someone that they care for happiness, it’s the same concept. Immortality, the desire to forever live through something.Physically through reproduction, or mentally through learning and education. She sees everyone as a lover, anyone who takes any action in seek of immortality is a lover. In the symposium, Socrates informs the guests that he had sought out Diotima of Mantinea for her knowledge. Diotima then asks Socrates why Love is love of beautiful things or of loving good things. Socrates replies that Love is the desire for things to become one’s own so that one will be happy. Diotima put love in the simplest for she possibly can, â€Å"In a word, then love is wanting to possess the good forever† (pg 52).It seems that Socrates agrees with Diotima that everyone always wants good things and happiness to be theirs forever. They explain that, in fact, everyone is a lover, but we only call certain people lovers. We only seem to call a certain â€Å"c lass of people† lovers. This is similar to the fact that while everyone who creates an articular picture is an artist, even in such cases as sports, but we would only call those who create music â€Å"Artists. † Similarly, Diotima sees a drive for immortality in our search for love, she says â€Å"it follows from our argument that love must desire immortality† (pg 54).She suggests that Alcestis and Achilles would not have died for their lovers had they not known their heroism would be immortalized. Suggesting any action we take is seeking immortality, there for love is the seeking of one peace of mind, happiness. She goes on, and decides to call a man reproducing through wisdom and teachings â€Å"pregnant in the mind. † There are two ways men can become pregnant she explains: in body and mind. â€Å"It is giving birth in beauty whether in body or soul,† she states. Those who are â€Å"pregnant in body† seek out women with whom they can repro duce and create a successor.Those who are â€Å"pregnant in mind† such as a lover of wisdom, and by doing so one will give birth to intellectual children of greater immortality than any conceived through procreation. Bringing forth not bodies, but wisdom and other virtues. While Diotima makes the case for love being the desire of immortality, and that we’re all lovers, Pausanias brings up an interesting way to think about Love. He explains that love can be broken down into two types, that of Common and Heavenly love. The common love, or what we would call lust, that when a man and a woman join merely to satisfy their sexual desires.On the other hand the heavenly love, what we would label as â€Å"real† love which is the type that occurs when two people are attracted to each other with a strong bond that goes past the sexual desire, instead comes from deep within as if from the soul. Lust or the common love was looked at in the symposium as dirty and immoral. He uses the term vulgar saying â€Å"these vulgar lovers are the people who have given love such a bad reputation that some have gone so far as to claim that taking any man as lover is in itself disgraceful. † (pg 15) This was the type of love filthy with sin â€Å"since all they care about is completing the sexual act. Further explanations suggest that this is due to strong sexual attraction that is produced from only desiring the physical body rather the heart or soul. An example of this common love was thought to be in the younger Aphrodite born from Zeus and one of his many mistresses. The younger Aphrodite was believed to be a symbol of lust since Zeus did not create this child with his wife. It makes sense that out of such an affair full of lust and desire of the body that a child such as Aphrodite would be born and form a symbol of the strong lust that her parents had for each other.As there was an Aphrodite born out of lust it was also believed that another Aphrodite ex isted this time it was believed to be a goddess of love, the complete opposite of the lust created Aphrodite. He states â€Å"but since there are actually two goddesses of that name there are also two kinds of love. † (pg 13) This other Aphrodite was born before Zeus and was most likely the goddess that Phaedrus spoke of in his speech. The older Aphrodite was conceived through pure love therefor was labeled as the heavenly love. This is the same god that Phaedrus believes should have be praised and honored above all other gods.As I’ve previously mentioned both arguments are intriguing, and are well thought out. In evaluating over all who has made a better case for their definition for love, it seems as if Diotima made a better case considering the big picture of love and found an interesting internal motive for love which is immortality. On the other hand Pausanias seems to be more focused on what does love make one do and what is the perfect picture for love. He makes the case that â€Å"Love is not himself noble and worthy of praise; that depends on whether the sentiments he produces in us are themselves noble. † (pg 15)

Watching TV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Watching TV - Essay Example For that reason, it keeps people more aware of their surroundings making people smarter when it comes to solving societal issues. Therefore, in my opinion TV makes people to be intelligent. This argument is in agreement with Steven Johnson essay† watching T.V makes you smarter.† The choice of material that people choose to watch on television is what matter in relation to the intelligence it is going to add on that person. For example, shows like Simpson have an entertaining aspect while at the same time has quality of morals and knowledge that it shares with it viewers. For that reason, most people who spend their time watching the Simpson get to grasp knowledge what the show is trying to bring out (Johnson 170). Furthermore, the shows targets the average American so promoting the life of a middleclass American. By so doing, it encourages individuals who watch the show because they know that there is a person who understands what they are facing each day, hence adding and intellectual advantage. Moreover, television has its advantages when it comes to the group of people it wants to target. The television shows that are aired have an age bracket meaning that the content that is aired for children adds some intellectual value. For example, tellytubbies and other cartoons act as a good method to measure the children intellectual capability to establish whether they understand the content. Thus, although the content is entertaining it also grabs the attention of the children meaning that at the end of the show they will have achieved something. Furthermore, television acts as an intellectual advantage because it promotes many possibilities such as higher learning, as well as, providing entertainment (Johnson 175). For example, when watching a documentary a person get to understand many thing and by seeing the visual pictures on the documentary makes them more alert; hence, acting as a great source of gathering

Tiny houses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tiny houses - Essay Example The film centers around Christopher Smith, who decided to build his house in the spring of the year 2011. At the onset of the movie, Smith describes that his motivation for building the house was because he did not have a ton of money to use in bigger constructions, therefore, considered a financial independence. He points that similarly, the people who built their small houses had the same motivation. For instance, interviews with the tiny house personalities like Jay Shafer, Tammy Stroebel, Deek Diedricksen and other healthy people who chose to live in as tiny as 84 sq ft dwellings (Mueller and Smith). Despite the aesthetic and the value design of the living small houses, the primary motivation that the luminaries gave was on financial independence. As Shafer notes of the tiny life, â€Å"the principal asset is freedom.† Therefore, with a lower overhead, lack of room for extraneous purchases, makes the tiny house life inexpensive that the residents allowed and left to live the way they prefer (Zeiger and Ngo 105). The prime motivation of people to live in the communes, squats, tent cities, Eco-villages and the sustainable housing is derived from the desire reap the physiological benefit. In accord, a desire to reduce one’s physical footprint on the natural environment. The physiological benefit realized lies on one’s peace of mind and a feeling of contentment. A sense of self-satisfaction in the movie is whereby each household involves itself in the act of small house construction. One, therefore, feel contented in doing something constructive that ends up creatively designed and has a twin benefit to the society. More intricate, from the point that a woman can do a task and be as significant as their male counterparts in constructions, is something of significance. For instance, in the film, we see the buildout of Smith assisted by his girlfriend, Merete Mueller. Therefore unfolding the gender

Medical Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Medical Report - Essay Example The cause of chronic pancreatitis includes cystic fibrosis, Hypercalcemia, hyperlipidemia or hypertriglyceridemia. Pancreas divisum which is a congenital anomaly is considered to cause pancreatitis. However, explanation as to how is not yet known. Signs and Symptoms for acute pancreatitis, present fever, nausea, and vomiting. On physical examination, abdominal pain and tenderness is evident. Symptoms of chronic pancreatitis may involve upper abdominal pain, indigestion, oily smelly stool, and weight loss. Diabetes may also develop thus insulin is given. On physical examination, the patient’s abdomen shows distension. Jaundice and dyspnea is also observed thus a stethoscope is used to assess irritation of the diaphragm. If palpation of the abdomen shows pain and a feeling of bloating, it suggests pancreatic pseudocyst which could be further confirmed with a CT scan. Laboratory tests to confirm diagnosis may include serum amylase and lipase. Techniques like therapeutic endoscopi c retrograde cholangiopancreatography( ERCP) and endoscopy are done to view organs involved. Prognosis is good if the cause is eliminated. However, for patients with complicated conditions can recover under intensive care. References P G Lankisch, P., Droge, M., & Gottesleben. F., (1995). Drug induced acute pancreatitis: incidence and severity, Gut. 37:565-567 Oreily, D.A., & Kingsnorth, A.N., (2001).

Organizational behavior Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational behavior - Case Study Example â€Å"The customer is the foundation of business success† (Hose, 2013). When Amie Lee was appointed to a supervisory position one of the other employees, Hahn Chen, was outraged and asked Abdul for an immediate transfer. He claimed he could not work under a person that did not have any technical skills. There is more than meets the eye at the reaction of Hahn Chen. Mr. Chen is a Chinese American that was raised by Chinese immigrant parents. Amie Lee is also of Chinese heritage. The organization behavior theory that explains the behavior of Hahn Chen is cultural conflict. In China females are visualized as second class citizens in the workplace. For a Chinese person it is disrespectful to work under the supervision of a woman. China is a male oriented society in which sexism is a common occurrence (China, 2011). As a manager Abdul would benefit from the OB concept of perception. Perception can be defined as the process through which people receive, organize, and interpret infor mation from their environment (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, 2003). He must realize that Hahn Chen is lying about his rejection of Amie as his supervisor. In reality his actions are discriminatory against women in the workplace. Discrimination in the workplace based on gender or sex is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Eeoc, 2013). The problem could have been avoided by the manager through training and development. The employees of the firm should have been given cultural and discrimination training as part of their orientation period when they became employees of the company. The firm must take this matter very seriously because Hahn Chen just exposed the firm to legal liabilities if Amie decides to take actions against the firm. She was discriminated against by Mr. Chen. Nobody has the right to make another person feel bad and inferior in the workplace. Abdul Balli must take this problem very seriously and seek a solution immediately. Any solution must recogni ze the fact that Amie is the victim in this scenario and her needs should be the top priority. The first step Abdul must take is to meet with Amie to evaluate her state of mind. She left the meeting crying, thus it is fair to assume that Hahn’s action affected her emotionally. Abdul must make it clear to her that she is a value member of the staff, that the company is extremely happy with her work performance, and that she earned the promotion that was given to her. Abdul must tell her that the actions of Hahn are not representative of the business culture of the firm. To resolve the conflict Abdul will approve the transfer request of Hahn Chen under the condition that he takes sensitivity, discrimination and cultural training immediately. Transferring Chen leaves a position open the engineering department. Abdul must hire a person to fill the void. To speed up the process an employment agency will be hire to recruit a new engineer for the staff. Abdul cannot allow its employ ees to adapt bad customs from other cultures into the workplace. References China.org (2011). Chinese women seek larger role. Retrieved December 3, 2013 from http://www.china.org.cn/china/2011-08/10/content_23177569.htm Eeoc.org (2013). Sex-Based discrimination. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved December 3, 2013 from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sex.cfm Hose, C. (2013). Customer Importance in Marketing. Retrieved

Frankenstein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Frankenstein - Essay Example The question that begs to be answered now—with multiple narrators telling the story and with each narration being integrated into another’s story—is which one is to be believed? Although the story remains the same when it comes to the main points of the story, only with varying emotions and perspectives, the credibility of the narrator is still in question as it leads to different feelings and judgments that the reader will make after reading the story. In reading the story, I can see that each of the main narrators—Frankenstein, Walton and the Monster—presented some evidence to validate the truth of their stories. The Monster presented his own set of proofs to Frankenstein, letters between Felix and Safie, stating to Frankenstein: â€Å"Before I depart I will give them to you; they will prove the truth of my tale† (Wollstonecraft 146). However, it can be refuted that the Monster may have just found these letters somewhere and he just used them to tell a convincing tale of woe that will persuade Frankenstein to create a mate for him. Still, the fact that he has become so learned and eloquent in such a short time—as short a time as can be expected of a â€Å"newborn† creature to learn the language and skills the creature has acquired—may be construed as evidence enough of his tale. But then again, for a creature endowed with this innate intelligence, I believe it can also be said that he may have just fabricated everything and killed William with the cunning plan of making Frankenstein submit to his request in order to protect his other family members from the monster he has created. To illustrate the Monster’s innate intelligence or cunning, when he began his story, he admitted the confusion he felt upon being born into the world; yet when he recounts the story of the first time he felt hunger and thirst, he immediately foraged for berries and drank the water from the brook, which raises the question of how he knew that berries are to be

Timbuk2 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Timbuk2 - Case Study Example al and a custom made, internet based â€Å"Build Your Own Bag† product.   Timbuk2s concept is rugged and stylish. The timbuk2 website describes Rob’s goal, â€Å"to make a messenger bag rugged enough for real bicycle messengers, yet stylish enough to appeal to a broader market of young, hip urbanites as an alternative to the traditional two-strap day pack. Our catchy name, three-panel design, distinctive ‘swirl’ logo, and the fact that we’re ‘Made in San Francisco’ added to our cachet.† I believe that Timbuk2 got their â€Å"foot in the door† with the messenger bag and captured an exploding market trend. San Francisco being the birthplace of the messenger trend and supposedly the most hard core riding environment gives the company credibility and edge. In my opinion, the key competitive dimensions driving sales for the messenger bags are quality, delivery speed, ability to cope with changes in demand, flexibility and new product introduction speed. The Quality Guarantee Timbuk2 offers is extremely generous and screams confidence. The company encourages customers that these bags â€Å"wear like hell†(paper on timbuk2). The â€Å"2-3 shipping days† policy for a custom made bag is evidence of the company’s delivery speed competitive dimension. This is extremely fast turnaround time for a fairly big corporation and proves this company has a fine tuned operation with close management, further solidifying the quality of its products. Timbuk2’s Brennan Mulligan focused on â€Å"Lean manufacturing† and â€Å"Mass customization† (paper). He determined that emphasizing on waste elimination and improving quality, he was able to accomplish smaller batch sizes. Once batch sizes as small as one bag, were achieved, Timbuk2 would be able to meet and cope with changes in demand. With lots of hard work and the acquisition of more machines, Timbuk2 accomplished this. We can ac credit Timbuk2s final competitive dimensions, flexibility and new product introduction speed, to small batch sizes as well. Timbuk2 found cells of 5 workers, each one seeing a bag from start to completion, to be most efficient. This system ensured detailed attention to each bag, and whether or not a bag was a new design, the process would remain nearly the same. In my opinion, the competitive priorities for the bags manufactured in China, appear the same, however in reality the manufacturing process is pretty different. I feel that Timbuk2 has already captured a reputation with the concepts they emphasize, â€Å"Rugged and Stylish†, â€Å"hardcore†, â€Å"designed by messengers and made in San Francisco†. People already see this image when they hear Timbuk2. Some dye

Sampling Strategy and Sample Size for a Quantitative Research Plan Coursework

Sampling Strategy and Sample Size for a Quantitative Research Plan - Coursework Example Because the population is made up of a very large size, the researcher shall set up a sample size. The sample size basically refers to a fewer group of persons out of the population who would become respondents to the researcher (Berry, 2005). In order to arrive at this number, it is important that the researcher uses a sampling strategy that would meet the objectives of the study. To this end, the researcher shall devise the use of the random sampling strategy to select the members for the sample size. Random sampling is the kind of sampling strategy where every member of the population has an equal chance of becoming part of the sample size. This is because the researcher uses a strategy that presents all members in the population with an equal probability of becoming part of the sample size. The mechanism that would eventually ensure that some members are included whiles others are rejected would be the effect of chance. By this, reference is being made to the fact that given the same probability, it would only be by chance that some members will be selected ahead of others (Bartholomew et al, 2008).  Ã‚  Ã‚   The random sampling strategy shall be applied in a very specialized way. This would be done to ensure that the researcher enjoys and benefits from the full advantages of the random strategy. It is worth noting that the procedure by which the researcher shall select the members of the sample size by applying the random sampling strategy is known as sampling (Cheng, 2009). There are several sampling procedures.

Ebay Problems in Asian Markets Essay Example for Free

Ebay Problems in Asian Markets Essay This paper will identify some of the reasons why E-Bay has problems in the Asian Markets as an internet auction provider. After examining articles from Philip Kotler and David Gertner as well as Moon Ihlwan among others, this paper will provide my answers about why did EBay want to expand globally as well as why any of these Asian nations wanted their business? It will explain some research explored about what types of Entry decisions the company used in the Asian Markets. Utilizing the knowledge gained about the history of global business. Answering the question about the problems that EBay has in the Asian market will allow me to discuss and apply concepts of the global market learned in module one in support of my answers. Lastly this correspondence will assess how EBay’s Marketing Mix assessment of the Four P’s assisted them in the global marketing strategy the company adopted for the Asian Markets? Why did EBay want to expand globally and why did nations wanted their business? The reasons EBay decided to expand globally were various and resulted in an overall loss for the San Diego, CA based company headed by the former CEO at the time and California Gubernatorial candidate, Meg Whitman. Some of the decisions made and acted upon by the company’s leadership were akin to the way Meg Whitman ran her political campaign. Instead of researching the culture and traditions of the places they chose to do business and working on an image of being local or at least embracing local cultures and traditions; they chose to feed issues with money. In Whitman’s case borrow millions of dollars from herself to try to resolve the issue of losing as a candidate. Getting back on subject, the countries that eBay chose to expand globally in, were like all nations; ones that needed jobs. EBay sought the cheaper labor wages as a win-win situation for themselves or some instances the prediction of a high level of success due to their business reputation. Getting into the market was not difficult as the new market fell in line with what these countries wanted in ordered to develop their economies; while in turn enhancing domestic quality of life for their citizens. EBay felt compelled to expand globally to remain competitive as the US domestic market share was becoming mature resulting in stagnant profits and overall growth. As all companies looking to globally expand eBay was investing in Asia to increase profits by gaining a positive entry into this new market share however there was no need to create a new market. The majority of the countries they chose had local internet auction industry established already. EBay’s ultimate goals were to introduce their open auction business model at an international scale starting in places like Japan, China and South Korea to take advantage of these nation’s emerging economies in order to increase wealth. Entry Decisions Through the struggles in gaining entry into these emerging market areas, EBay learned that they must adapt as well as embrace some of the new technologies and products offered by their competitors in the Asian domestic markets in order to be successful or at least competitive in the market. The beating they took in Asia was not just from Chinese and South Korean competition, but from two US based competitors in Yahoo and Google. A current domestic alliance with Yahoo against the giant Google has not resulted in any increase in positive business in the global market share as Yahoo is continuing to gain more shares of the market through its ventures with local competitors. EBay market entry decisions were integral to their failure in Asia. As ascertained from a case study published May 2008 about EBay’s Strategy in Japan 1, â€Å"†¦they entered the Japanese market late after Yahoo Japan had already established and failed to retain customers. It took them two years to concede the failure of the EBay Japan and instead of making a deal with local investors they finally folded in 2002. Ironically, in 2007 EBay made a deal with Yahoo Japan to share internet sites and products in Japan in a joint web site called â€Å"Sekaimon† 1. Their failures in Asia has eventually led to layoff of workers in countries like Taiwan and shutting down of several sites in Asia while rerouting customers to US based sites to maintain a virtual presence. In 2006 EBay’s South Korean venture Internet Auction was bested by a South Korean competitor named Gmarket whereas they equaled or eclipsed EBay’s profit share in South Korea that year. Gmarket also produced innovating products to the internet auction industry such as making shopping via internet fun and using tie-in promotions. Excerpts taken from a Moon Ilhwan internet article in Business Week2, further explain the stiff competition EBay had in South Korea from Yahoo and the local upstart, â€Å"Gmarkets business model places less emphasis on an open auction format than eBays. The company offers goods that one can order at fixed prices, with an option to negotiate prices with a seller on an exclusive basis. This allows buyers to conclude deals instantly instead of requiring them to wait until all bids are completed in open auctions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦another tie in marketing program is a lottery called lucky auction. It gives buyers chances to buy everything from LCD televisions to T-shirts at a fraction of the market value. A seller promoting an MP3 player, for example, invites consumers to bid for two of them within a given price range—usually less than 10% of the retail price. Then Gmarkets computer picks two bids at random to decide the winners. Others visitors can buy the MP3 pla yer at a special offer price. The seller attracts consumers, while Gmarket happily hauls in commissions. Another incentive at Gmarket is that retailers can offer online links to their own mini homepages within the site, issue discount coupons, run joint mileage points programs, and use an internal messenger service called G-messenger for instant chatting with sellers. Some shops listed on the site have also drawn traffic by promising to donate 10 cents to a favored charity every time a product is sold†¦Ã¢â‚¬  2 Thus far EBay has attempted joint ventures and mergers to enter the Asian market share and has met negative results. This has had a negative effect on their overall performance to expense ratio in their stock valuation from 2000 thru the present time but has not deterred management from continuing to compete for a market share in Asia. An ongoing joint venture with Yahoo keeps EBay with a foot in the door of the foreign market and continues the strategic alliance against Google. EBay has expanded to Southeast Asia to see what they can obtain in Singapore, Malaysia and through operations in the Philippines. Currently they are doing promotional sites in Thailand and Vietnam to gauge future profits in those nations as well. EBay’s use of the Four P’s in their marketing mix assessment EBay’s use of the Four P’s in their assessment of their global market strategy was regretful in Asia when in comparison to Yahoo’s success. Lost on the EBay leadership was the desire to be a part of the local market and understanding cultural diversity of each Asian nation they wanted to establish a market. From my personal experiences going to countries such as Japan, South Korea, Guam, or the Philippines for business this is vital to earning shares of the Asian market and as a personal prospective as well. Yahoo’s co-founder, Yang is a male businessman of Chinese-Taiwanese descent which had to give Yahoo an edge in Japan, China and South Korea over EBay’s CEO at the time Meg Whitman; who was female, Caucasian descent and unaware culturally of how to gain the confidence of local leaders and business persons. 3 The product that EBay had to offer was nothing innovative to the Asian market as there was already a local variant of online auctions/internet industry thriving in Japan, China and South Korea. Timing and placement of EBay’s business model was late and over reaching as Yahoo already was established in each of the locations chosen and early profits resulted in a false analysis of future outcomes for EBay in Asia. Promotions used on the global EBay sites had advertising geared globally instead of locally which went ignored by local customer’s. More emphasis toward local advertising of domestic interests could have attracted and retained their customer base. Lastly, pricing of their product which was part of the business model was somewhat excessive and confusing. So when an upstart company like Gmarket introduces something simple like, fixed prices and special deals the customer’s internet shopping experience just became more simplified to use and less time to use resulting in a more desirable overall product than EBay was offering at the time. The EBay pricing system had customer’s waiting out the end of a bidding process which still did not guarantee the customer the outcome desired if they were outbid. EBay’s management’s inflexibility hindered the local management’s ability to make decisions that would help them get more of the local market share and build from there in their own country and marketplace. 3 Discussion EBay’s ventures in expanding to a global market were incurred several surmountable challenges. As stated in the lesson the Asian market share is vital and profitable for many companies. As the research depicted one of EBay’s primary challenges was completion at several levels; global and local/domestic competitors all vying for a market share of the internet auction industry. EBay attempted to manage market entry problems long after their original business model was viable in the region, by adapting lowering or waiving fees for its services to keep up with the competition from Yahoo, Google, Chinese stall worth Internet Auction and South Korean upstart GMarket. EBay failed to incorporate some of the local technical innovations that likes of GMarket produced for its customer base such as, local advertising on the sites, fixed price so that internet shoppers could get what they were shopping for and not have to outbid others and wait for the outcome of who actually won/bought the products advertised. History was another problem for EBay, they did not study the culture and traditions of the places they chose to enter the market at. Cultural traditions and business practices are conversely different in China which operates under quasi-governmental entities, and Japan and South Korea where they operate under version of the â€Å"Free Market† concept. Along with not understanding Asian cultures the company did not attempt to adapt its global business model to the local market when incorporating its management and leadership philosophies to the region. This resulted in a management and leadership staff overseas that would not be capable of maturing as a team to meet the local demands of the market. Just being in the region did not give EBay the advantage they seemed it would, thus their own inflexibility and lack of foresight contributed greatly to the problems they are facing in the Asian market. To EBay’s credit they have not thrown in the towel and have remained in Asia through joint ventures and are actually conducting promotion in Southeast Asia (Thailand and Vietnam) as well operations in Singapore, the Philippines and other places.

Data Locations and Security Issues in Cloud Computing

Data Locations and Security Issues in Cloud Computing ANURAG JAIN   JITENDRA TAWARI   SANDEEP SONI ABSTRACT-: Cloud computing is one of todays most important technology because in this technology cost low, exciting and flexible. It is the most important technology of growing industrial areas. It allows user to access applications, documents etc., that consist location of our own computer or other Internet-connected devices. Data is stored remotely from a location.it can be stored in any location. Within the fast growing of cloud computing technology, Data security becomes more and more important. Cloud Computing offers many benefits to the enterprise there are also many issues as with any new technology. One of the main issues relates to the secure and positive result of customer data in terms of its location, relocation, availability and security .The aim is to provide some useful information and security issues for organizations preparing to migrate to the Cloud to take advantage of this computing technology. In this research paper we have proposedan encryption algorithm to solve data loca tion security issues. Keywords-:cloud computing, security of data ,data location, internet, data privacy, encryption algorithm. Introduction cloud computingrises upthe fieldinanIT. Itsattributedto operation forward as employment up to the information to the cloud based hardware and system .In a cloud computing data are transferred betweenthe clientand the server .now a day cloud computing recently technology because can store and retrieve the data on the cloud by using remote technology .Its providing the software platform and framework as a utility. Today all the it companystoreshis data on the cloud .thisfacility given by the cloud provider or cloud owner .so here is require to defend that data against illegal access and changing .security issue of datacontainsthreepoints.Thesepointsare integrity ,availability and secrecy. secrecy of the data by the using ofcryptography. in a moderndaycryptography is very famous technique. Data cryptography used to hide of the data in the form of image ,sound, text, video .during the transmission hackers cant access the our data because he will get only unreadable and meaningless. the cloud assures low price saving and given the high speed to user. the cloud technology a company quickly expand application where growth and contraction of the basic technology part can be obtained with the high and low of the trade .it can be gotten with the help of cloud supporter. such as Virtualization and grid computing, that permit application dynamically expand on the proper infrastructure. security service of the cloud -there are some type of service of the cloud to solve the security issue .these service are storage as a service (saas),software as a service(saas),platform as a service (paas),infrastructure as a service(iaas). (A)storage as A service- the cloud computingallowsa huge space that is probably infinite, and it’s ascending day by day .storage as a service authorizea cloud applicationto measurer besides bound service. Cloud computing technologyis requiredto obtain various needsfor hold the user data and information , add high capacity , stability operation. In this service the user areresponsibleto own data and hold their storage as a cloud trader proposal them the option of storing their data in the cloud .the user can access the data whenever hewants.due to the hostile character of  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­the need of the cloud , no one method implement all in all. (B)software as a service (saas):-software as service is very famous technology. this technology also referred as software offered on requirement . its depends on multi-tenant design. software like that customer relation organization .the benefit of SaaS technique that the apps are locally run on your computer . user access can any application by using the cloud technology that user can never own from any browser .the saas technique support his user to increasing application day by day .with the help of saas technology user create and upload own data on the cloud .globally uploading data any one can access . c. platform as a service:- we are developed the software by tools and libraries given by the cloud. the user manage the software operation and design location. services offered through (PaaS) help the operation of applications exclusive of the cost and complication of buying and organization the basic hardware and software. PaaS services also contain enhancing the application life cycle processes similar to application design, application development, testing and deployment. It provides an communicate with high level of combination. That is largely in arrange to execute and analysis cloud applications. The user does not manage the overall communications but he control deployed applications and their configurations. Infrastructure as a Service(iaas) IaaS is a general which an organization outsources the equipment used to maintenance operations such as storage, hardware device, servers and networking components. The service provider keeps the equipment and is answerable for housing, running and maintaining . The customer typically pays on a . Features and modules of IaaS include: Efficacy computing service and billing model. Computerization of organizational tasks. Forceful scaling. Desktop virtualization. Policy-based services. Internet connectivity. Security issues:- Companies are fast moving onto cloud computing because they can currently usage the greatest resources present on the market in the flash of an eye and also decrease their actions’ cost radically. But as more and more information is moved to the cloud computing the security concerns have on-going to develop. (1). Data breaking is the major security issue. A trained hacker Cando simply and get into a client cross application and get into the client’s private data. (2). the Wasteful and damaged APIs and boundaries convert easy targets. IT companies that offer cloud services allow third party companies to modify the APIs and familiarize their personal functionality which in drive permits these companies to understand the internal workings of the cloud. (3). the Denial of Service (DoS) is also a main danger wherein the user is fixed partial or no access to his/her data. Companies now use cloud 24/7 and DoS can source huge increase in cost both for the user and facility provider. (4).the Connection eavesdropping means that a hacker can scan your online activities and replicate/replay a particular communication to catch into your private data. It can also central to the user to prohibited or uninvited sites (5).Data loss also is a new issue. A malicious hacker can wash out the data or some usual/man-made adversity can wipe out your data. In such cases having an offline copy is a big benefit. negligence of the service provider also able to direct data loss. (6). Compatibility between different cloud services is as well an issue. If a client decide to shift from one .cloud to one more the compatibility ensures that here is no loss of data. (7). Cloud also can be used in wrong purposes i.e. cloud exploitation. Due to the accessibility of most recent technologies on the cloud it can be used for high end calculations which cannot be complete on a normal computer. (8). Insufficient considerate of cloud technologies can guide to unidentified levels of risk. Companies transfer to cloud because it provides significant reduction in cost but if transfer is complete without proper background knowledge, the problems that happen can be still greater. (9). Insider theft in the appearance of a present or previous employee, a service provider, etc who is capable to use the data for harmful purposes. (10). Safe storage of encryption keys as well a problem. still if you are using encryption for improved security, safe maintenance of the key becomes an issue. Who should be the holder of the key? client seems to be alive the response but how diligent and careful can he/she be will choose the security of the data. The other aspects about the cloud security categorize of different type of threats about the cloud security are following Access The plan of cloud technology to offer information to the customer from several position whenever user wants. because a web technology cloud service enables the customer to access his data from wherever he want .its is valid to all the services being given by it. all the user should know that where data is stored. at the any condition client can request to server to delete his data after that the data should be deleted. command the cloud technology controlling of data is very necessary because if we will not control our data then the other user can access our data. so the controlling of data is able to be seen to a few member of the cloud service provider .this data is defies the stage of control. fulfilment: the authorities of the we have to need a law of govern to protection of data on the cloud because cloud service can cross several jurisdictions approximately the all world. if any user store his data in other country and its contain sensitive data .this data only whose person which have a authorities to access the data and some set of laws apply on the data . Data reliability: Data reliability in easy terms means that the data is protected and no one change the data without the uses agreement .this is a basic need of cloud computing .the reliability of data in a cloud is a very impertinent in a present there are many algorithm design to protection of data. inspection: with the help of inspection we can check the activities occurrence on the cloud. inspection is a mechanism that keep a log and list actions to help stop infringement. Privacy Breaches: The cloud service supplier should report to its client about any violate in security. The client has to the correct to know what is incident in his/her space. How does the service provider take care of this. secrecy: This ensures that the client data is kept secret. privacy is one feature of cloud storage security that will lift question in a ordinary users mind. Cloud as such is a public system and is susceptible to new threats, therefore, privacy is very important. planned work in this paper we have planned a structure .with the help of this planned structure we involve a file which is involved securing of data files through file encryption technique. the file whose presentation on the computer will be encrypted technique based on AES algorithm. if user wants to read this file then before the user download the uploaded encrypted after that he can read it. there are many benefit of AES algorithm . in this algorithm we are using an encryption key used by AES algorithm .the order of this algorithm is 128,192 and 256 bits AES algorithm is also a lot quicker than the RSA. Thus, its superior option for safety of data on the cloud . in an AES algorithm. the proposed system works only when an internet connection accessible. (1) file upload there are some steps for the file upload process are clarified in the block. (a) take on the user name or password from user If the user is genuine then connect with the cloud. else show the Certification error. (b) the first user asks to pick file to be uploaded on a cloud . (C) ask the password from user for the encryption . (D) sure the password and make a key from this password. (E interpolate the encryption algorithm . (F) Upload an file on to the cloud. (G) ask the user if he wants to delete the file which is uploaded. delete the user selected file (F) after that connection disconnect with the cloud. stage-1 we have to first check that the user is authentic or not . and after that system will accept the user name or password. if the user name or password is valid the system will be accepted else the username or password and not match the system show error message. stage-2 in a second stage we will check the cloud is stable because the file uploading in this section. The user will upload the file. which is he wanting. stage-3 in this stage the user ask the password for encryption process The user is optional to use long passphrases as their passwords. This password is used for creation of a key. stage-4 this stage is a very important for the system. in this stage generated a key for the encryption technique. we are using AES is a symmetric key algorithm .this key used for encryption or description technology. in this technology generated a key for password to a generated function. We suggest the use of Password Based Key Generation Function. Password Based Key generation Function uses iterations for a password to default checking. this process is called a key exertion. in this stage the system saves the password which is entered once and create a key for encryption. stage-5 in this stage we are applying Advanced Encryption Standard algorithm . the Advance Encryption Standard algorithm is useful to the simple text to make the secret message text. as a result the user can be rest secure the data protected from the a variety of threats the uploaded is data is encrypted which can be decrypted when the user enters the password which he entered for the period of the encryption process. stage-6 when the secret message text is created then upload the encrypted file on the cloud and concerned with the removal of the real simple text file from the memory. The option is given by the user to delete the unique file which is uploaded on the cloud. if the user dont want to delete this file the he has a second option retaining the unique file. We suggest that the unique file should be removed. This ensures that no illegal right to use will be built up to the simple text file stored in the system. The method of file upload can be shown in bellow: successful uploaded delete original file upload encryption file user encrypted file (2) download file there are some stage of file download process describe in this part. Stage 1 The identity of the user is validation process have in this stage and the collection of files that the user has uploaded on the cloud . The user is ask to choose any one of the files from the record. stage2- the user is asked for the password during the encryption of the file justification . entered password is complete in another stage. The secret message text file uploaded when the decrypted process will completed by the user and downloaded. the same password entered during the encryption. this is only motive that the password save for the duration of encryption process so the store password is valid. AES algorithm is a symmetric key algorithm so, it wants the same key to encrypt and decrypt the data. This procedure possible only if the same password is entered into the key creator job to make the key. stage 3- the means of the generated key, the AES algorithm to decrypt the uploaded secret message text. stage 4 the user Save this decrypted simple text in the user system memory. stage 5 the user is asked if he needs to remove the secret message text file uploaded on the cloud. If the user chooses to perform, remove the encrypted file from the file. the user does not desire to download any additional files from the cloud, log out of the user account and after that cut off the recognized link with the cloud. This is the very last stage of the download process. (A) we first Accept user name and password from the user If user is genuine set up connection through the cloud Else, show verification error (B). Ask user to pick file to be downloaded (C) the user ask to enter a password used for the decryption procedure (d) verify the legality of this password If the entered password is valid, the key is generated. Else. show the error message and refuse password (D) relate the decryption algorithm (E) Download the file commencing the cloud (F) the user ask if he wish for to delete the uploaded encrypted data file . Delete the file from the cloud which is encrypted. if user selects the delete choice (G) and cut off connection through the cloud . CONCLUSION Cloud computing is an puzzle anyone can get lost in. But separate like any new technology. the cloud computing is also a double enclosed stop. On one end lies the ability of fast technology, a huge array of applications to use, superficially infinite storage ability. On the other end story various security threats which develop with collective spaces such as break of privacy, impeding of data reliability and non-availability of data. In this paper, we have projected a structure which encrypts a file before it is uploaded on to the cloud. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is one of the most secure encryption measures and not many attacks are successful on data which is encrypted using AES. This application solves the problem of most, if not all. the threats that data kept in the cloud faces. We have framework also suggest the use of login id and password to ensure reliable and official access to a user’s data. Thus, if we used securely, cloud computing offers a user with wonderful profits and overcomes its only disadvantage of security threat.

Demolition Derby :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Demolition Derby      Ã‚  Ã‚   Demolition derbies have made their way through history as races that only involve crashes. There is more to a demolition derby than just crashes. Demolition derbies are more complex than what is seen from the stands because of the long hard work it takes to get a car ready, and the actual competition of the derby.    There are three stories about where the first demolition derby was held. Islip Raceway (Long Island, NY), Hales Corner Raceway (Hales Corner, WI), and an unknown town in Ohio. The first and only story with creditable proof is that Larry Mendelson, a 28 year stock car racer noticed that the most cheering and excitement happened when cars crashed. He held the first demolition derby in 1958 at Islip Raceway. Another story is that Hales Corner Raceway had held a demo years previous to Islip. According to legend, 'Crazy Jim' Groh had a few too many cars on his dealership lot. So he got a few people to drive them as a promotion. The only other proof to back this story are the Happy Days episodes 64, 64, 66 'Fonzie loves Pinkie part1, 2, 3' shows demolition derbies. This show was based in Milwaukee during the 50's. These episodes featured Fonzie battling it out with the Mallachi brothers. The last account is that an un-named town in Ohio was a scene of road rage gone wild in th e mid- 50's. Two cars collided at a busy intersection and both continued to battle it out drawing a large crowd to the scene. This story fails to name a town or date, and only gets some credit ability because Ohio is a mecca for demolition derbies (geocities.com par. 2-5).       When credit needs to be given to the inventor of demolition derbies it goes to Larry Mendelson and Islip Raceway because they were the first to officially organize a derby.    There are many modifications that need to be done to a car before it is ready to go to the demolition derby.   A car cannot be bought demolition derby ready. There are many rules to take into consideration and many alterations that need to be done to car when getting the car ready for a demolition derby.

Gender Diversity: Using Information Technology in Today’s Classroom. E

Gender Diversity: Using Information Technology in Today’s Classroom. What happens when your education is different from mine? When does that invisible line get erased; When youth’s, adolescent’s or adults, male or female encounter the same unique education being taught with nothing being held back just because of gender. In today’s society, teachers and students are connected by using information technology to help expand their knowledge on the issue of gender diversity in the classroom. Gender diversity is not an issue in the United States that just gets swept under the carpet, it’s greater than that, it’s something that has become a worldwide concern affecting the ways in which students are educated in most schools. Issues of diversity are not new. In fact, â€Å"contracting communities are faced with this topic a little too regular, meaning it’s time for change† (Sunderland, 2002). As the reader of this document you will discover the true definition of gender diversity, how it has affected students in numerous ways, what techniques have become greatly appreciated when reaching teachers and students inside of the classroom curriculum, various approaches toward change, a complete understanding of digital divide, a shine of hope and dedication, while striving for a new day. â€Å"Gender differences in ways of learning have been described by researchers observing children as young as three† (Tannen, 1990). When children are young they tend to fight and argue about the same play item. Amazingly, today whether the fighting and arguing is about toys, friends, etc. it’s more about computers and the ways in which people learn relating to gender differences. Every day in our society, there is given a dominant role to which peop... ...ealth Journal. Teachers College Record, 105 (2), 1-21. Risman, B (2003). Gender & Society: Valuing all flavors of feminist sociology. Sociology, 17, 659-663. Schank, R. (2003, November). FUTURE PERSPECTIVE- A Vision of Education for the 21st Century. Retrieved November 9, 2003, from http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A2598.cfm Sunderland, J. (2000). New Understandings of Gender and Language Classroom Research: Texts, Teacher Talk and Student Talk. Language Teacher Research Journal, 4, 149-173. Tannen, Deborah. (1990). You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men Conversation. New York: Ballantine Books. Babbie, E. (1999). The Basics of Social Research. California: Wadsworth’s. This book was an overall review of research performed in the past and present by both women and men about the success and downfall of diversity in education.

Rodeo State Finals Essay -- Descriptive Essay Examples

Rodeo State Finals This is what I had been hoping for the entire year. I had been to many that were quite the same to this one, but none that could give me the same enduring edginess and serenity that I was feeling right now. My eyes skimmed across the hundreds of people who were all there for the same reason as me. Striving to be out of the sweltering sun, but not out of clear view of what I came for, I lead myself in a mighty search for the spot for which I belonged. As I sat down, I prepared myself for the pain that I was going to feel about an hour later. I always forgot how sore I would get from sitting on the bleachers for so long, but every time I approached them, I would remember and smile. During, the whole rodeo season I looked forward to going to the State Finals. I didn't attend the finals as a participant, but as a spectator. As President of the "Saddle Bronc Fan Club" for my friend Cole, there was no way I would miss this experience. We both had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Everything about going to this rodeo was fantastic: the food, the fun, most of all, the rodeo grounds. The place that I fit in was in the stands of the arena. Sitting there for four days got a little old, and, going on the fifth day, I was a little tired. Nevertheless, tired or not, this was what I had been looking forward to--the Short Go. This is the round in a rodeo when the top 15 from each event compete for the title of State Champion. This day was different from the other days that I had come. I could feel the tension and hostility in the air from the contestants. Maybe it was from the stress and pressure of the day's rodeo, or maybe it was from the fact that they all were wearing long sleeve sh... ...addition, no one could beat the way I was feeling. This is where I belonged even though others thought different. I had never once thought about going to rodeos until I met Cole. He had led me to something that I will now look forward to going to for the rest of my life. Even with the blistering sun and even with the pouring rain, I found a sense of my own belongingness. Just because I didn't look the part of a usual rodeo fan, didn't mean that I wasn't one of the biggest fans of all. I was glad that I could be a supporter for my friend, but most of all I was glad for the new, thrilling experience. It was a feeling that no roller coaster ride could ever give me. My next journey was in a month, and I was on my way to the next big rodeo, Nationals. I expected the same response from people there as here, but I was hopeful for it. With this thought, I smiled.

Police Corruption Essay

Introduction Police corruption must be taken into account as a likely social cost of the legislative creation of ‘victimless’ crimes: this is a generally accepted conclusion of extensive academic and official investigations, which has had a significant impact on discussions of gambling control policy in the USA (Morin Commission 1976: 40-2). Such willingness to discuss corruption and its effects contrasts with the official reluctance to do so and the defensive reaction which allegations of corruption provoke in the UK (Doig 1984). Corruption and allegations of corruption have occurred regularly in British police history, and gambling has often been involved. In the 1820s and 1830s, lotteries and gaming were the sources (Miller 1977: 126-48). In 1877, a betting scandal was at the heart of the first major corruption scandal to confront the reorganized ‘New Police’ (Clarkson and Richardson 1889: 261). There is little dispute that, until 1960, police-bookmaker relations of varying degrees of impropriety were normal practice and that their existence was no secret in working-class communities. According to Harry Daley, who served in the Metropolitan Police from the 1920s to the 1940s: Collection was all too easy. The bookmaker was usually down an alley or behind a pub. You approached slowly, gazing straight ahead with what you hoped looked like dignified indifference, and wiped up the half crown from the ledge on which he had placed it before getting out of the way for you to pass. Brewers’ draymen, window cleaners, painters and decorators, gossiping women, all suspended their activities for a moment or two to watch the familiar ceremony . . . I wish they could have sent the money to me in a plain envelope, as I knew they did to my Superintendent . . . ( 1986: 94-5). Stage-managed arrests were part of the arrangement, as a witness from ‘the other side’, Arthur Harding, explained: It was what they called ‘taking a turn’. In some divisions it was three times a year, to show the authorities at Scotland Yard when they made up their statistics that the police were doing their job. In every division the police had two men whose job it was to take the bookmakers in. They didn’t have to hide in a cart or anything like that, they’d come round quite polite and say, ‘Albert, stick a man up tomorrow, we’re having a raid’ (Samuel 1981: 180). 15 Corrupt police-bookmaker dealings were a matter of substantial concern during the period of this study not only for the 1923 Select Committee, but also for two Royal Commissions on aspects of policing. It will be argued that this issue had a substantial influence on policy discussions. However, it was seldom discussed frankly: for it to be an acceptable topic of public debate, it had to be presented in the restrictive frame of reference which is generally applied to corruption in British public life. This is constructed around an official rhetoric of ‘rotten apples’ and ‘black sheep’ which generates superficial explanations, minimizes the scale of the problem, and stresses that the authorities are vigilant and committed to the eradication of corruption (Doig 1984: 382-6). When publicity meant that police corruption could not be publicly ignored, the damage which it caused could be contained by dealing with it within this frame of reference. It was rarely in anyone’s interest to challenge this approach. The police and the Home Office were obviously content not to do so. Despite offers of immunity from prosecution, the bookmakers thought that no good would come from being candid about their relations with the police. Finally, it was an awkward issue for anti-gamblers to raise: while they became more forthright in later years, this remained an issue which had to be broached very carefully if anything other than official defensiveness was to be expected in response. Therefore, it would be naà ¯ve to expect an accurate picture of police corruption to emerge from the official reports and papers to which access is possible. The present intention is not to attempt to produce such a picture: rather, it is necessary to examine critically the way in which police corruption was discussed in the official hearings and reports of the period in order to found the argument that corruption was a matter of considerable concern to those involved in the reconsideration of gambling control policy, and that it was a vital, even if unarticulated, factor in the discussions of police-community relations which will be examined in Sections v and vii. Such sources are useful for this purpose so long as one is ‘prepared to work â€Å"against the grain of the material†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ and to be ‘continuously aware of how categories and opinions are distorted by the investigative procedure’ (Harrison 1982: 308, quoting Samuel). The qualification ‘officially’ is vital here: the point which this counter-position obscures is that when police officers and others talked about harm to the ‘moral character’ of the force, a reference (which did not have to be made explicit) was being made to the threat and the effects of police corruption. Up to this point, the term ‘police corruption’ has been used loosely: before going further, it is important to note the distinction between two broad categories of police deviance. The tendency of many commentators to treat police corruption simply in terms of bribery as a financial transaction between two individuals (or groups of individuals) can imply succumbing to the official rhetoric about corruption (Shearing 1981: 4). Shearing differentiates between ‘corruption’, defined as activity producing personal, normally financial, gain for a police officer, and ‘organizational police deviance’, defined as activity ‘designed to further organizational objectives rather than to promote financial gain’ (1981: 2). Police culture has habitually distinguished between corruption in relation to serious crimes and in relation to minor ‘regulatory’ offences (Devereux 1949: 81). In the latter case, corruption is seen not as indicative of a deeper venality, but as an acceptable method of negotiating a tolerable everyday relationship with the public. The important, more general point shown here is that law enforcement is only one of several, possibly competing police objectives. As the Morin Commission pointed out, police discretion ‘is broad enough to permit the establishing of policies aimed at achieving goals other than that presumed to be intended by statute–total prohibition’ (1976: 38). These include improvement of the police’s image and public order maintenance. Indeed, the latter is more fundamental to policing than law enforcement: Crime fighting has never been, is not, and could not be the prime activity of the police . . . The core mandate of the police, historically and in terms of concrete demands placed upon the police is the more diffuse one of order maintenance (Reiner 1985: 171-2).   THE NATURE OF POLICE CORRUPTION An Example of Chicago Police Corruption Case Lazarus Averbuch lived on the near West Side, teeming with poor Russian Jews by day, but at night a saturnalia of vice and crime. Cocaine addicts with miserable blank stares shuffled in and out of Adolph Brendecke’s drugstone on Sangamon Street for their daily fix, issued discreetly under the counter for 25 cents a bag. Between Morgan and Green Streets Mike â€Å"de Pike† Heitler ran a white slave racket under the watchful eyes of Inspector Edward McCann, a bull-necked, rough-hewn policeman whose greatest joy was playing cribbage in the back room of the Des Plaines Street Station. [1]A small gold cross was affixed to the front of his vest, for McCann was a man of God who tried to instill in his nine children the Christian virtues. â€Å"I’d say I was glad to be suspended and have a chance to stay at home and play with the kids,† he said in reply to State’s Attorney John Wayman, whose unrelenting crusade uncovered the truth about McCann. For months McCann exacted tribute from the highest gambler bosses to the lowliest streetwalker. Protection money was delivered in a leather satchel in accordance with instructions given to Louis and Julius Frank, two of Hitler’s men. The price of doing business on the West Side in 1909 rose to $550 a month, a sum that the criminal panders finally refused to pay. With his money McCann purchased a stable of prized race horses. â€Å"If I had been grafting I wouldn’t have driven so many people out of business,† he said, failing to add that only the rebellious elements who refused to pay up were banished from the district. McCann was indicted by a grand jury, convicted, and sent to the Joliet Penitentiary on September 24, 1909. It was one of the hardest-fought cases in the court system up to that time. Wayman based his case on the testimony of West Side underworld figures, which raised some doubts about McCann’s guilt or innocence. After the prison doors slammed shut the friends of the inspector circulated a petition urging the governor to grant executive clemency. Thirty thousand people, including church leaders, settlement workers, businessmen, and former President Theodore Roosevelt, who had served for a time as police commissioner of New York, affixed their signatures to the document. Colonel Roosevelt cited McCann’s sterling record before he was sent to the West Side as a reason for an official pardon. Indeed, the scorecard, at least on the surface, showed more hits than misses. Since taking over as inspector of the West Side District in March 1908, McCann was credited with abolishing dozens of immoral houses, the return of 200 errant girls to their parents, curtailment of the cocaine traffic, enforcement of the 1:00 AM closing, and the regulation of concert halls and the five-cent theaters that screened lewd and suggestive movies. Social worker at Hull House lauded McCann for his efforts, and municipal judges, juvenile officers, and church officials marveled at the clean-up of the Des Plaines District. â€Å"Don’t give me all the credit for the work,† McCann protested. â€Å"It’s the men. They know I’m behind them and they do the work. I’m behind them because I know the right men are behind me. I will say this: the day of the man with the pull has passed at this station. I’m not allowing poor ignorant foreigners to be robbed by grafters who say they have a pull.† McCann, like so many other powerful police officials, was able to pick and choose his partners in the vice club. When the indictments were handed down and the inspector went off to jail, there were hundreds of city officials and church reformers who chose not to believe that such a fine man could be guilty as charged. Thus, with an eye toward saving McCann’s police pension, Governor Charles Deneen commuted the sentence just 30 days before his retirement benefits were scheduled to expire (Duis, 1978). The Republican state’s attorney had sent to prison a man of his own party, an uncommon event in those partisan days. He was roundly criticized from all quarters, while McCann was perceived to be a hero who had been railroaded by an ambitious politician. It was a disturbing setback for the reformers, who counted on the elected officials to uphold the will of the court system and punish wrong-doers. With greater power vested in the district inspectors, two predictable forms of police corruption surfaced: arrangements and events. The illicit money and gifts that McCann received over a period of months was an ongoing arrangement. The short-term, single acts of corruption, such as the one-time payoff given to 15 officers assigned to Comiskey Park on Labor Day, 1911, can be thought of as an event. Eyewitnesses charged the police with accepting $50 bribes from a gang of sidewalk bookies betting on the Gotch-Hackenschmidt wrestling match inside the ballpark. In both instances, external factors stimulated the detection and punishment since the police, either through their own inertia or because of direct influence from the chief, seemed unwilling to initiate an internal investigation. These two unrelated incidents of police malfeasance suggest that the department could not satisfactorily manage its own affairs unless the proper internal controls were in place. In direct contrast to the police, the Chicago Fire Department remained relatively free of scandal from the time the City Council took the budgetary responsibility away from the Police Commission in 1874 until 1903, when a Civil Service probe revealed some illegal hiring practices. From 1879 until his retirement in 1901, the Fire Department was run by Chief Denis Swenie, a blunt, hard-working administrator who feared no political reprisals. The firefighters were, in the words of Mayor Harrison, â€Å"Denny’s boys.† One reason Swenie was able to maintain the department on a stable, efficient basis was his ambitious plan to create a unit within the rank-and-file to guard against corruption. In 1880 the Department of Inspection was organized and Chicago profited from an honest, capable Fire Department. Not until 1960 and the reform superintendency of Orlando W. Wilson was such a mechanism put in place in the Police Department. Without these necessary controls the police of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century were essentially reactive in their response to a public outcry. THE POLICE AND ROTTEN APPLES In its investigation of police corruption in New York City in the early 1970s, the Knapp Commission 5 encountered departmental resistance to recognizing the widespread nature of corruption throughout the department, although it was especially flagrant in the gambling and narcotics units. This resistance was expressed in a departmental attitude that the Commission designated as the â€Å"rotten apple† theory of corruption (Knapp Commission, 1972: 6). This theory amounted to an unofficial department doctrine as to how corruption, when exposed, is to be handled. The theory asserts that corruption is a problem of individual misconduct and not something that should reflect on the department as a whole. A police officer involved in corruption is â€Å"a rotten apple in an otherwise clean barrel† (Knapp Commission, 1972: 6). The Commission (Knapp Commission, 1972: 6-7) further argued that the rotten apple theory served two purposes: (1) Department morale required that there be no official recognition of corruption and (2) the department’s image and effectiveness required this official denial. In 1993, the Mollen Commission, which again uncovered corruption in the New York City Police Department 20 years after the Knapp inquiry, encountered this same reluctance by police officials to view corruption in a systemic way. Instead, when corruption surfaced in spite of the â€Å"blue wall of silence,† it was largely viewed in terms of â€Å"rogue officers† and â€Å"pockets† of corruption, rather than as behavior that might be more deeply embedded in police culture. This was clearly the interpretation of events that Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly favored (James, 1993). The police view of crime and disorder in general can be characterized by this â€Å"rotten apple† theory of human nature. In this view crime is a function of evil individuals making bad choices; such choices are apparently made in relative isolation from external factors such as past experience, culture, and society. Crime, like police corruption, is personified, and the solution becomes linked to identifying the individual troublemakers–the â€Å"rotten apples.† This rotten apple view is not unique to the police world view; quite the contrary, it is widely shared in our society. When Rodney King was severely beaten by members of the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991 after he led them on an extended car chase, 6 the question again arose: Was this brutality due to the aggressive tendencies of a handful of officers, or was it more deeply ingrained in the Los Angeles Police Department? Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates apparently subscribed to the â€Å"rotten apple† view, attributing the problems to just a few officers, 300 at most, in a force that had over 8,000 members (Reinhold, 1991). An independent commission that inquired into the King incident, as well as brutality and racism in the department, reported four months later that there were a â€Å"significant number† of officers who repeatedly used excessive force. However, rather than singling out officers or even the chief for blame, the commission viewed the problem as a â€Å"management and leadership failure.† It concluded that there was â€Å"an organizational culture that emphasizes crime control over crime prevention and that isolates the police from the communities and the people they serve† (Reinhold, 1991). There was also evidence that members of this â€Å"problem group† of officers were seldom punished for using excessive force and, in fact, often received glowing evaluations for their performance. Although the Los Angeles commission, like the Knapp Commission before it, provided evidence for a more systemic view of the problem, it is the rotten apple view that typically prevails. While polls showed that most of the U.S. public (whites and blacks) believed the four Los Angeles police officers were guilty (Pope and Ross, 1992), it is not likely that they would have also viewed the King beating as a wider institutional problem of the police. At best, the misconduct of the officers might be attributed to the leadership of the police chief. In fact, Chief Gates was replaced the following year. John A. Gardiner (1977: 68) observed a similar phenomenon in his study of gambling and corruption in Wincanton, where corruption seemed to be an ongoing problem. Periodic efforts to solve the problem, however, always seemed to follow a similar policy of â€Å"throwing the rascals out.† This, of course, is another version of the rotten apple theory in which criminality is viewed as an individual trait, rather than as something that is rooted in wider social forces. The rotten apple theory is another way in which our conventional wisdom conceals or minimizes the harm of white-collar crime Even though criminality is acknowledged, whether it be corruption, police brutality, or some other wrongdoing, the solution is deceptively simple: Get rid of the â€Å"rotten apples† or the â€Å"rascals.† By emphasizing the individual misconduct in white-collar crime, this view obscures the links such behavior may have to its organizational and social context, wider cultural patterns, and ongoing institutionalized practices. Conclusion Certainly, the studies do not establish that the police are permitted to be more corrupt, but the results of this study are consistent with this argument. They hold the view that the police are fundamentally a control force and when political agreement and super-subordinate social relations are endangered, police violence increases devoid of the state overruling on behalf of those victimized. Police violence and other crimes cannot then be understood exclusively in conditions of the micro processes linked to work experiences, work-related subcultures, and the lack of avoidance. There is also a need to position these factors into a traditionally informed macro analysis since this focuses our attention on the necessary role the police play in maintaining social structure, and how in response, they are allowed to go beyond the restrictions. Reference: Clarkson C. T., and Richardson J. H. (1889), Police! (London: Field & Tuer). Daley H. (1986), This Small Cloud (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson). Devereux E. C. (1949), â€Å"‘Gambling and the Social Structure'†, Ph.D. thesis (Harvard Univ.). Doig A. (1984), Corruption and Misconduct in Contemporary British Politics (Harmondsworth: Penguin). Harrison B. (1982), Peaceable Kingdom (Oxford: Clarendon Press). James George. (1993). â€Å"Kelly Suggests Hearings’ Goal Is a Police-Monitoring Agency.† New York Times (Sept. 30). Knapp Commission. (1972). the Knapp Commission Report on Police Corruption. New York: George Braziller. Miller W. R. (1977), â€Å"‘Never on Sunday: Moralistic Reformers and the Police in London and New York City, 1830-1870†²Ã¢â‚¬ , in D. H. Bayley (ed.), Police and Society (London: Sage), 126-48. Morin Commission (1976), Gambling in America: Final Report of the Commission on the Review of the National Policy toward Gambling (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office). Perry Duis, 1978. â€Å"The World’s Greatest Fireman†, Chicago Magazine 4 (May). Pope Carl E. and Lee E. Ross. (1992). â€Å"Race, Crime and Justice: The Aftermath of Rodney King.† The Criminologist 17 (Nov.-Dec.): 1, 7-10. Reinhold Robert. (q991). â€Å"Violence and Racism Are Routine in Los Angeles Police, Study Says.† New York Times (July 10) Samuel R. (1981), East End Underworld: Chapters in the Life of Arthur Harding (London: RKP). Shearing C. D. (1981), ‘Introduction’ (Shearing 1981b: 1-8). Gardiner John A. (1977). â€Å"Wincanton: The Politics of Corruption.† In Jack Douglas and John Johnson, eds., Official Deviance, 50-69. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott. [1] Honest McCann or foxy McCann? The Tribune could not decide; See issue of August 1, 1909.

Piracy in Somalia and Its International Implications

PIRACY IN SOMALIA AND ITS INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS In the past few years, pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia have received a great deal of public attention. According to the London-based International Maritime Bureau, there has been an â€Å"unprecedented increase† in Somali pirate activity in the first 9 months of 2009. Until September this year 147 incidents were reported off the Somali coast and in the Gulf of Aden (separating Somalia and Yemen), compared with 63 for the same period last year. A total of 533 crew members have been taken hostage in 2009, out of which about 200 hostages are still being held by Somali pirates. I have chosen the topic of piracy for my essay as I think that in the context of the present world economy crisis it is a current problem which might affect all the participants of the global economy and it needs an urgent solution. In the first part of my essay I am going to present some data to demonstrate the importance of the problem, then I will focus on the background of the issue and present the different factors which have led to the appearance of piracy. After a detailed description of the pirates and their way of operation I will move on to presenting of the interests of the international community and the policies, strategies and instruments they have used to deal with the issue. At the end of my paper I will draw some conclusions and make a few suggestions for the future. Piracy has been a problem in Somali waters for at least ten years. However, the number of attempted and successful attacks has risen over the last three years. As the hijackings have increased in number, they have also become more sophisticated. The pirates are now able to capture larger targets as well. On September 25 2008, Somali pirates captured the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship transporting weapons to Kenya. This was followed one month later by the hijacking of the MV Sirius Star, the largest ship ever captured by pirates. The Saudi-owned supertanker was carrying about 2 billion barrels of crude oil, worth about $100 million. The ship was finally released on January 9 for a $3 million ransom. The series of hijackings has continued in 2009 too. It seems that this year the pirates have shifted from the Gulf of Aden, where dozens of ships were attacked in 2008 but which is now heavily patrolled, to the ocean between the African mainland and the Seychelles islands. In October 2009 Somali pirates captured a Chinese bulk carrier, carrying 25 Chinese crew members. In November they have seized a US tanker carrying $20 million of crude oil, which is considered the second-largest ship ever hijacked by pirates. The tankers 30-member crew was also kidnapped. In the same month, 9 pirates hijacked the Greek-owned tanker Maran Centaurus carrying 275,000 metric tons of Saudi Arabian crude oil and have taken it to a pirate port along the coast, where they typically hold the boats for ransom. The 300,000-tonne ship was hijacked about 1,300 km from the coast of Somalia and there were 28 crew members on board which are all held hostages. According to the IBM, in October and November alone, 38 ships have been attacked and 10 hijacked. There are several factors which have made Somalia the perfect environment for piracy, which I am going to present below. First of all, if we want understand why piracy works in Somalia, we have to know something about the geography and history of the country. Officially called the Republic of Somalia, Somalia is a country situated in the Horn of Africa, bordered by  Djibouti  to the northwest,  Kenya  to the southwest, the  Gulf of Aden  with  Yemen  to the north, the  Indian Ocean  to the east, and Ethiopia  to the west. Due to its strategic location, in the past the country was an important centre of commerce. Even today, about 16,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year, carrying oil from the Middle East and goods from Asia to Europe and North America, so we can say that one of the most important trade routes of the world can be found in this area. In addition, the long, isolated, sandy beaches of the country are also advantageous for pirates to operate. Another factor which helps piracy to flourish is the political anarchy which still rules in Somalia. For almost 20 years, the country has endured political chaos and bloodshed. The  Somali Civil, which began in 1991 as a revolution against the repressive regime of Siad Barre, has caused instability throughout the country. The northern parts of the country declared their independence, although it was neither recognized by the central government, nor by the United Nations. Subsequent fighting among rival warlords resulted in the killing, dislocation, and starvation of thousands of Somalis. Since 1991, 350,000-1,000,000 Somalis have died because of the conflict. Hatred and lack of trust among the landlords and their clans has prevented the organisation of a functioning central government. From  2006-2009 Ethiopia  was also involved in the conflict. In January 2009, Ethiopian soldiers withdrew from Somalia, leaving behind an  African Union  contingent of peacekeepers to help the fragile coalition government and its troops enforce their authority. Following Ethiopia's withdrawal from Somalia, the southern half of the country fell into the hands of radical Islamist   rebels, who still control a big part of the country. The political situation is still chaotic in Somalia. The present government, led by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is the 16th administration to „govern† the country since the collapse of the Barre regime. Order still hasn’t been restored, Somalia is governed by anarchy. Because of the lack of an effective central government and national economy, Somalia is still one of the world’s poorest countries, where the estimated GDP is around $600 per year. According to the World Bank, in 2008 73% of the country’s population lived on a daily income below $2. The country’s 10 million people are starving, and they would hardly survive without the food aid provided by the developed countries. In a country where survival is at stake, it is no surprise that piracy has become a fast and easy way to make money and it could develop into a frightening business. To sum up, we can say that Somalia’s chaotic political situation, the lack of an effective central government, the poor state of the economy and poverty have all created an environment which was perfect for piracy to appear. But who are these â€Å"heroes† and how do they operate? In most people’s minds, the image of piracy is associated with characters like Jack Sparrow or Captain Cook. Pirates are often seen as rebellious young men who are victims of the society, but have the courage to stand up for themselves and create a different way of working on the seas. Actually, there is some truth in this kind of perception. According to Eric Hobsbawm, a British historian, â€Å"social bandits† are â€Å"outlaws, drawing on community support, using criminal methods to challenge the present hierarchy of power and wealth. † Most of the Somali pirates are 20-35 years old and come from the region of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Somalia. It is estimated that there are at least five pirate gangs and more thousands armed men. A BBC report divided them into three main categories: local Somali fishermen (the â€Å"brains† of the operations because of their skills and knowledge of the sea); ex-militiamen (used as the â€Å"muscle†) and technical experts who are able to use electrical equipment, such as GPS devices at a professional level. It is a fact that since the country’s collapse in 1991, there has been a great amount of illegal fishing practised by a lot of countries along the Somali coast. During the regime of Siad Barre (1986-1992) Somalia received aid from several countries to develop its fishing industry. Local fishermen had fixed prices for their catch and the fish was exported because of low demand for seafood in Somalia. However, after the fall of the Barre regime, due to the Somali Civil War the income from fishing decreased. Traditional coastal fishing became difficult, because foreign trawlers started fishing illegally along the Somali coast and depleted the fish stocks. Local fishermen became desperate. They started to band together and were determined to protect their resources. They started attacking foreign trawlers, the crew of which soon fought back with heavy weapons. As a result, fishermen turned to other types of commercial ships and soon discovered that piracy was an easy way to make money. At the moment, piracy is Somalia’s most â€Å"lucrative business†: ship owners are willing to pay huge amounts of money for the release of their hijacked vessels. In addition to this, starting with the early 1990s, Somalia’s long, remote coastline has been used as a dump site for dangerous toxic waste from a lot of European and Asian companies. The European Green party presented before the press and the European Parliament copies of contracts signed by two European companies – an Italian-Swiss and an Italian firm – and representatives of warlords, to accept 10 million tones of toxic waste in exchange for $80 million. For European companies this is a very cheap way of getting rid of their waste: while waste disposal costs in Europe are about $1,000 a tonne, this way it only costs them $2,50 a tonne. The effects of this dumping are already visible in Somalia. According to a report by the UN Environment Programme, there is an extremely high number of cases of respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and bleeding and unusual skin infections among the inhabitants of the area – diseases related to radiation sickness. It is clear that this situation represents a very serious environmental risk not only to Somalia, but to the whole eastern Africa region. Many of the pirates call themselves the Somali â€Å"coast guard†, claiming that their aim is to defend their communities from overfishing and to protect the coastline from toxic dumping of nuclear waste by foreign ships. In an interview one of the pirate leaders explained: â€Å"We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish and dump in our seas†. The problem of overfishing is still a very serious problem is Somalia. It is estimated that Europeans and Asians poach around $300 million worth fish from Somali waters. On the other hand, Somali pirates collect about $100 million yearly from ransoms. This, according to Peter Lehr, a Somalia piracy expert, can be seen as a â€Å"resource swap†. Of course, a great number of pirates are only taking part in these operations for the money, and their families which they can feed this way. As one of them, nicknamed Milk Sucker says: â€Å"Sometimes doing a bad thing is the only way to improve the situation for yourself and the people you love†. Some of the pirates can’t even swim, their only task is to shoot straight. A lot of young Somalis take part only in a couple of operations, hoping to make enough money to move to the West or maybe to persuade an ethnic Somali woman with a EU passport to marry them and move to the UK. As for the techniques used by the pirates, we can notice that they are getting more sophisticated and more effective. They are using the latest high-tech equipment, like GPS, MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defence Systems), RPGs and satellite phones and they are well-armed with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s. They usually operate using small skiffs with powerful outboard engines, but now they regularly use â€Å"mother ships† to increase their range. These â€Å"mother ships† take them into the shipping lanes, several hundred miles offshore. Then they launch small speedboats to haul themselves up onto the deck of a ship. They can often seize a ship without firing a shot. After capturing it, they sail the hijacked ship to the Somali pirate hub town, Eyl and take the hostages ashore where they are well-looked after until ransom is paid. It is reported that the pirates never harm their prisoners; they behave like â€Å"perfect gentlemen† with them. They even hire caterers on the Somali coast to cook pasta, grilled fish and roasted meat, which western hostages might like. Once ransom is paid, they release ships good humour. According to the Kenyan foreign minister, in 2008 pirates have received about $150 million in ransom, which is used to fund future operations. In a recent startling Reuters report we can read that the pirates have started to make the money to work for them, setting up a stock exchange â€Å"that has drawn financiers from the Somali Diaspora and other nations. † The bandits' bourse is a small building in the once-small fishing village of Haradheere, about 250 miles northeast of Mogadishu, which has developed into a luxury town by now. As a former pirate named Mohammed puts it, â€Å"The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials †¦ we've made piracy a community activity. â€Å" Unfortunately, it has become clear that the activity of pirates is linked to warlords on shore. After seeing the profitability of the business, these leaders started to facilitate pirate activities, sharing the profit with the pirates. These â€Å"Godfathers† and clan leaders are closely related to Somalia’s president in Mogadishu, Abdullahi Yusuf, who also originates from Puntland. Estimates are that at least six ministers in the Puntland government are involved with the pirates. The only group which is publicly against piracy is the militant Al-Shabaab, a Salafist group founded this decade as a militia attached to the Islamic Court. They say that such crimes are forbidden under the Islamic law. However, according some reports, militant Islamist groups also get their share of the profit. The pirates involvement with these organisations is making the situation even more alarming, because all the financial help given by the West to the Somali authorities to put an end to piracy might just help it to flourish. All in all, it is clear that piracy is not a problem that the fragile Somali government can solve alone and international help is needed. How does all this affect the international community? Besides enforcing international law, there are several other reasons to stop pirate activities. The first is Somalia itself. The country needs about 200 tonnes of food aid a year which is mostly delivered by sea. Without the naval escorts and the regular delivery of aid, Somalia’s food stocks are seriously threatened, so ensuring the safe delivery of food aid should be a number one priority for the international community. Stopping piracy may also reduce the money available for weapons, so indirectly it can lead to the end of the internal war. Piracy has a very distressing effect on international trade as well. In addition to the growing ransom, companies whose cargos do not reach their destinations, lose money. As a result, there is a growth of insurance for all ships which need to pass through the Gulf of Aden. The constant danger of pirate attacks has already made some shipping companies to choose a longer, but safer route, around the Cape of Good Hope, as it happened in the case of AP Moller-Maersk, one of Europe’s largest shipping companies after the hijacking of Sirius Star. The extra weeks of travel and fuel can lead to the cost of transporting goods, which is a really serious concern now, at the time of a global economic crisis. Another reason is related to the environment. Pirate attacks can cause major oil spills in a very sensitive ecosystem. As pirates become bolder and use more powerful weapons, tankers could be set on fire or sunk, which can result in an environmental catastrophe, destroying marine and bird life for many years to come. Last, but not least, there is a risk that the pirates themselves can become agents of terrorism. There are assumptions according to which pirates are connected to the Al-Shabaab movement, which is believed to have links to Al-Qa’eda. According to some reports, Al-Qa’eda militants from Iraq have chosen Somalia as a new base from which to launch attacks. Terrorism at sea can take many forms, for example direct attacks on ships, hostage dramas, but also hijacked ships used as potential weapons. Terrorist networks can use the financial funds from piracy to fund their operations worldwide. It is obvious, that even if there is little chance for the worst scenario, it is best to prevent it while we can. The international community has recognized that enhanced international efforts are necessary in order to reduce the number of attacks. The growing cases of piracy have focused the world's attention on Somalia and have shown that the crisis going on in a fragmented state is spilling out of its borders. The military response to piracy has shown that countries which haven’t been able to cooperate with each other can unite their forces for a common cause. A maritime conference was also held in Mombassa, where they discussed the problem of piracy and tried to give regional and world governments recommendations to deal with the danger. In January 2009, an important regional agreement was adopted in Djibouti by States in the region, at a meeting organised by IMO. The Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden recognized the extent of the problem of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region and the states signing it declared their intention to co-operate, in a way consistent with international law, in the repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships. Most countries have preferred prevention: various navies have sent war-ships into the area to escort commercial vessels. At the beginning, this way of defense was more individual than collective, but the persistence of the attacks has led to the development of a collective security system. NATO got the task of escorting convoys transporting the humanitarian aid of the World Food Programme towards Somalia. Once they were in the Gulf of Aden, they also protected other merchants ships, by their presence. Later NATO handed the job to Operation Atlanta, the first common maritime mission by the European Union. Military counter-piracy operations are performed by vessels from the Combined Task Force 150, a multinational coalition  naval  task force   in charge of monitoring and inspecting a range of security issues, such as drug smuggling and weapons trafficking, as well as piracy. Several countries, including India, Russia, China, Norway, Australia, France, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands, South Korea, Malaysia and even Japan chose to join the coalition and send warships to the Gulf of Aden. In January 2009 the US navy established a new multi-national naval force to confront piracy off the Somali coast. The new unit was called Combined Task Force 151and it was a spinoff of the existing Task Force 150 in the region. This section of the coalition forces was aimed at focusing exclusively on pirate groups (leaving Combined Task Force 150 to focus on other destabilizing activities, such as drug smuggling and weapons trafficking). It was hoped that by designating a new unit to combating piracy in Somalia, anti-piracy efforts would be more successful. Unfortunately, this effort is having only a limited impact. Although some pirates are scared off by the sight of military ships and helicopters, coalition warships are often in the wrong place at the wrong time. In addition, pirates are flexible and change their tactics easily: data from the Maritime Bureau shows that at present they are conducting their operations further out in the Indian Ocean. Besides, this is a very costly solution which is difficult to support in the long term. After the hijacking of an Egyptian ship and a huge Saudi supertanker, the Arab League organized a summit for countries overlooking the Red Sea, with the participation of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Jordan, Djibouti and Yemen. At the summit the participant states discussed several solutions for the problem of piracy, suggesting different routes and looking for a safer passageway for ships. They might also assist the current NATO anti-piracy efforts together with other nations. However, we shouldn’t forget that the Arab League has long tried to draw Somalia more closely to the Arab world. It has made a financial support for the Transitional Federal Government, conditional on its entering negotiations with Al-Shabaab, intending to spread Islamist influence in the area. In June 2008 the United Nations Security Council passed a declaration authorizing nations that have the agreement of the Transitional Federal Government to enter Somali territorial waters to hunt pirates. In 2008 the Security Council adopted two resolutions, 1846 and 1851 allowing for the first time international land and sea occupations of Somali territories in the pursuit of pirates. These resolutions extended the power of the states and lead to greater coordination of their efforts. After the Council resolution 1851, the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia was established on 14 January 2009 to facilitate and coordinate actions among states and organizations to deal with piracy. At the moment 46 States and seven international organizations take part in the Contact Group. Through its four working groups, the Contact Group addresses specific issues related to military and operational coordination, legal issues, shipping industry awareness and public and diplomatic information. UNODC (the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) participates in the Contact Group and its Working Group on Military and Operational Coordination, Information Sharing and Capability-Building. UNODC acts as secretariat to Working Group on Judicial Issues, to which it has provided various forms of support. UNODC has prepared an analysis of the legal and practical challenges involved in prosecuting suspected pirates and is gathering nformation on relevant national legal systems, including those of coastal States. In spite of the fact that laws to combat piracy at sea exist, a lot of states do not seem to use them in practice. Only France has chosen to combat piracy directly. The first case was the seizing of a yacht in April 2008, which started with negotiations for the release of 30 hostages and followed by the capture of six pirates in Somali territory. The second case took place in September 2008 to free a couple taken hostages. This action also led to the arrest of six pirates, who are awaiting trial before a French court. Britain and some other countries have found a superficial and convenient way of treating the pirates: they have negotiated a treaty with Kenya, according to which all those suspected of piracy are handed over to that country. A few months later other countries followed Britain’s example, negotiating similar agreements. These agreements are a useful step, but they do not solve the problem. The Kenyan prison system is in terrible condition, corruption is high, there are strong delays in the call of trials and legal aid is very limited. It is a paradox indeed that states which are entitled to prosecute the arrested pirates delegate this right to a country which is unable to assure a fair trial to these criminals. In spite of the united efforts of different nations, it has become clear that the piracy problem cannot be solved at sea, because it is rooted on the shore, in the ongoing conflict and political instability of the country. As Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations expressed at an international donors’ conference: â€Å"Piracy is a symptom of anarchy and insecurity on the ground. (†¦) More security on the ground will make less piracy on the seas† Any lasting solution to the problem has to involve ensuring stability, development and an effective criminal justice system in Somalia. If the states had invested the time and resources they now spend to stop piracy in reconstructing the Somali society and economy, they probably wouldn’t have to cope with these problems. However, there are always new opportunities that shouldn’t be wasted. Martin Murphy in his article â€Å"Somali Piracy: not just a Naval Problem† claims that the highest costs of piracy to Somalia and the international community are not economic, but political. As I mentioned earlier, it seems that almost all layers of political life in Somalia are involved in piracy, including the Islamist groups. Islamism is getting stronger and stronger in Somalia and it can soon get hold of the entire country. The Al-Shabaab movement has a clear intention to use Somalia as a base for spreading Islamist influence in the region. If this tendency continues, a worst possible outcome would be an Islamist government, which is strong enough to control piracy, but also strong enough to make Somalia safe for violent Islamist groups. So, what can be done to stop, or at least to decrease piracy in the Horn of Africa? Somalia is a clan-based society. Therefore, a possible solution would be to deal with the sub-state entities in order to create a unitary state in the future. In these negotiations the coalition should clearly commit itself to repress piracy in return for allied political and economic support. This way it would be possible to cut off all the political players in Somalia from their external sources of weapons and thus pirates would be trapped between more effective land-base policy by the Somalis and maritime policy by coalition member navies and soon they would have no place to hide. Recent efforts have shown that there is a will to act together. We can only hope that the states will find a way to deal effectively with the problem before it is too late. Links, references: Roger Middleton: Piracy in Somalia. Africa Programme, October 2008 http://www. chathamhouse. org. uk/files/12203_1008piracysomalia. df Marina Chiarugi  and  Daniele Archibugi: Piracy challenges global governance. Open Democracy,  9 April 2009 http://www. opendemocracy. net/article/piracy-challenges-global-governance George Grant: Somali pirates can't be beaten at sea. The Guardian, 18 November 2009 http://www. guardian. co. uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/18/somali-pirates-ransom-puntland Galrahn: Somalia Piracy – A Backgrounder April 8, 2009 http://www. informationdissemination. net/2009/04/somalia-piracy-backgrounder. html Rubrick Biegon: Somali Piracy and the International Response. FPIF (Foreign Policy in Focus) January 29, 2009 http://www. pif. org/fpiftxt/5827 Georg-Sebastian Holzer: Somalia: piracy and politics. Open Democracy, 24 November 2008 http://www. opendemocracy. net/article/somalia-piracy-and-politics Johann Hari: You Are Being Lied to About Pirates. The Huffington Post, December 2009 http://www. huffingtonpost. com/johann-hari/you-are-being-lied-to-abo_b_155147. html Can Somali pirates be defeated? BBC News, 20 November 2009 http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/8371139. stm Sam Gustin: Bandit Bourse? Somali pirates hijack oil tanker, organize ‘stock market' Daily Finance, December 1 2009 http://www. dailyfinance. om/2009/12/01/bandit-bourse-somali-pirates-hijack-oil-tanker-organize-stock/ Martin Murphy: Somali Piracy : not just a naval problem . Centre for Str ategic and Bugetary Assessments, April 16, 2009 http://www. csbaonline. org/4Publications/PubLibrary/B. 20090417. Somali_Piracy/B. 20090417. Somali_Piracy. pdf Piracy in Somalia: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Piracy_in_Somalia Aiden Hartley: What I learned from the  Somali pirates. The Spectator, 6 December 2008 http://www. spectator. co. uk/essays/all/3061246/what-i-learned-from-the-somali-pirates. thtml