35 research outputs found
The Business of Piracy in Somalia
No full textThis article argues that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to control Somali piracy for four reasons. First, Somali piracy is a land-based problem and naval control mechanisms are not changing the incentives for pirates. Second, improving Somalia's anarchic political situation will not necessarily stop piracy. Our analysis demonstrates that piracy is a business which improves with a more stable operating environment. Third, piracy is organized criminal activity, and like other organized crime groups will be difficult to control, especially if it becomes embedded in state structures. Finally, we argue that few of the relevant players have any real incentives to alter their behaviour.Piracy, Somalia, Law Enforcement, Organised Crime, EU Atalanta
Between Victim and Perpetrator Imaginary: The Implicated Subject in Works by Rachel Seiffert and Cate Shortland
No full textThe future of Germany’s murderous past is now being reconsidered by a new generation of artists who have to navigate an increasing distance to the Third Reich and its remaining witnesses. Thus it is not surprising that recent postmemory work registers shifts, both with respect to mnemonic perspective and representational strategy. This article considers “Lore,” a story published in the trilogy The Dark Room (2001) by the British-German author Rachel Seiffert, and its cinematic adaptation by the Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland (2012) as two examples of such shifts. The mnemonic perspective of both works offers a productive tension. On the one hand they present the emotionally charged perspective of children of Nazi perpetrators, yet on the other hand they employ representational modes that are bare, impassive and minimalist. What are we to make of material that invites identification with protagonists born into a perpetrator legacy, particularly when these historical witnesses are aesthetically reconceived as ‘innocent children’? Seiffert’s and Shortland’s reconfiguration of the historical witness raises the question of whether the victim/perpetrator imaginary can be a constructive lens through which to understand historical agency and its legacies across multiple generations. This article argues that recent re-conceptualizations of historical subject positions, such as the ‘implicated subject’ (Michael Rothberg), offer a more nuanced exploration of historical agency. In different ways and to different degrees, both Seiffert’s and Shortland’s work engage with contradictions of historical subject positions by probing and acknowledging inadvertent, yet persistent, implications in legacies of historical violence
Bridging theory and practice: ethical governance of executive compensation in the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100
No full textThis paper analyzes the ethics of executive compensation governance in large UK publicly quoted companies. It combines content analysis of Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 (FTSE-100) remuneration committee reports with interviews with key decision-makers. A framework from business ethics and corporate governance literature helps understand the factors shaping this governance. Maintaining public trust requires aligning with societal norms and regulatory compliance. Findings indicate growing awareness of ethical considerations among decision-makers and highlight the need for a more holistic, values-based approach that strengthens stakeholder inclusivity. Interviews with decision-makers reveal challenges in translating ethical principles into practice. Governance mechanisms intended to align executive and shareholder interests face limitations, and perceived unfairness in executive rewards persists. This paper applies theory to analyse the interplay of external and internal factors shaping executive compensation governance, develops practical recommendations for enhancing its effectiveness and integrity, and provides a heat map tool to compare organisations’ ethical principles
The price of modern maritime piracy
No full textA growing body of literature has recently focused on the economic origins and consequences of modern maritime piracy and on the perception that the international community has failed to control it. This paper aims to investigate maritime transport costs as one of the channels through which modern maritime piracy could have a major impact on the global economy. A transportcost equation is estimated using a newly released dataset on maritime transport cost from the OECD together with data on maritime piracy from the IMB. Our results show that maritime piracy significantly increases trade cost between Europe and Asia.maritime piracy, transport costs, maritime trade, panel data
Digitalizing agriculture and the improvement of farming business practices: how rural farmers in Ghana employ mobile phone technology
No full textPurpose
This purpose of this paper is to explore how rural farmers in the Kwahu district of Ghana use mobile phone technology, what they see as the benefits of digitalization and how this technology supports and improves their small business agricultural practices.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research approach draws upon in-depth semi-structured interviews with 24 rural farmers, 12 of whom are given farming advice by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and 12 by a non-governmental electronic market body which, in addition, provides training in mobile phone technology use. Thematic analysis is used to identify key findings.
Findings
Farmers identify improved customer and agricultural benefits as well as family access as the key benefits of using mobile phone technology, enabling them to change their farming business practices to acquire land more efficiently, and improve crop yields, customer relationships, sales and profitability. Social benefits also are also identified through mobile phone technology adoption.
Originality
This study reports on how Ghanaian farmers working in remote, rural settings employ mobile phone technology to improve their business practices. Its findings are set within the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework to highlight the benefits associated with adopting digitalization in an African country heavily reliant upon its agricultural sector
A bioarchaeological and historical analysis of scurvy in eighteenth and nineteenth century England
No full textThe identification of metabolic diseases is a crucial aspect of osteoarchaeological analysis and of paleopathological studies. This study is specifically concerned with the study of scurvy and its bony manifestation. This investigation considers the recognition of the bony lesions of scurvy in adult skeletons that originate from English archaeological contexts dating to the Post Medieval period. In order to identify scorbutic bony lesions, assemblages were analysed that derived from the Georgian period Navy that were known to suffer from endemic scurvy, namely Haslar hospital near Portsmouth and Stonehouse hospital in Plymouth. These assemblages were complemented by two Non-Naval skeletal collections of a broadly contemporaneous time period, one of which was a prison assemblage from Oxford Castle in Oxford and the other was from Darwen, Lancashire and consisted of a Primitive Methodist cemetery. For the purpose of this study, an extensive literature review was carried out and a specially modified scurvy recording form was created. In total three hundred and fifty-eight skeletons were analysed using the scurvy recording form on which a total of twenty-one potential scorbutic indicators were scored. The data was then subject to statistical analysis and a set of primary and secondary scorbutic indicators was established. The primary scorbutic lesions were femur, sphenoid, posterior maxilla, scapula, endocranial and mandible. Nine secondary lesions were also established and these were lesions of the foot, humerus, ulna, radius, hand, clavicle, innominate, fibula and the ectocranial surface of the skull. In total, 66.7% of the Haslar assemblage was found to have suffered from scurvy, followed by Plymouth with 20.6%, Darwen with 16.4% and Oxford Castle with 7.9%. It was found that scurvy could be identified in adult skeletal material through the recognition of a number of lesions that could not be attributed to any other disease process. The results indicated that scurvy was present in all of the skeletal collections studied but was more common in the Naval assemblages. This is an important development in the detection of scurvy in the archaeological record and is crucial in the reconstruction of past diets and metabolic disease patterns
Piraterie ist nicht nur für die Somalier ein gutes Geschäft: Sieben Fragen an Anja Shortland
No full textThe AFI Awards - and how to win them?
No full textIn marked contrast to last year, when 'Somersault' (Cate Shortland, 2004) had a solo starring spot at the AFI awards with virtually no supporting cast to speak of, the 2005 awards are looking more like a real competition. And this reflects the year's releases that have led up to it. In 2004, The Age could run an article called, with ineffable good taste and wit, 'Crappy days are here again', in which the author could rightly say, 'looking at this year's AFI Awards line-up, it's fair to say it's time to start worrying', and query whether it would be better simply to skip a year if the field is too meagre to warrant handing out prizes
Should transcobalamin deficiency be treated aggressively?
No full textInternational audienceTranscobalamin (transcobalamin II, TC) transports plasma vitamin B(12) (cobalamin, Cbl) into cells. TC deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder causing intracellular Cbl depletion, which in turn causes megaloblastic bone marrow failure, accumulation of homocysteine and methylmalonic acid, and methionine depletion. The clinical presentation reflects intracellular Cbl defects, with early-onset failure to thrive with gastrointestinal symptoms, pancytopenia, and megaloblastic anemia, sometimes followed by neurological complications. We report the clinical, biological, and molecular findings and the outcome in five TC-deficient patients. The three treated early had an initial favorable outcome, whereas the two treated inadequately had late-onset severe neuro-ophthalmological impairment. Even if the natural course of the disease over time might also result in late-onset symptoms in the aggressively treated patients, these data emphasize that TC deficiency is a severe disorder requiring early detection and probably long-term aggressive therapy. Mutation analysis revealed six unreported mutations in the TCN2 gene. In silico structural analysis showed that these mutations disrupt the Cbl-TC interaction domain and/or the putative transcobalamin-transcobalamin receptor interaction domain
The role of information sharing on decision delay during multiteam disaster response
No full text© 2019, The Author(s). Multiteam systems (MTSs) are comprised of two or more interconnected teams working toward shared superordinate goals but with unique sub-goals. To date, research has predominantly focused on how decisions are made and has viewed these cognitive processes as occurring within individuals. However, for MTSs operating in extreme environments such as disasters, it is often not a question of how decisions are made, but what is causing delays and failures to make decisions. To understand the causes of decision delay within these complex networks, it is important to focus on decision processes at the multiteam level. Using naturalistic observational and interview data collected during a multi-site, multiteam emergency response to a large-scale disaster exercise, this study examines both information sharing (what was shared, with whom, how long this took), and decision processes across teams (situational awareness—SA, plan formulation, and plan execution). Findings demonstrate that interdependencies in cognitive processes exist across individuals where goals overlap. Decision delay is not only caused by failure to develop SA within a team preventing their ability to formulate and execute plans but also by the inability of other teams to execute their plans. The implications of these findings for developing targeted interventions are discussed
