Film reaserch paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Film reaserch - Research Paper Example The film portrays intense corruption, mass killings, and the results of civil war within the country. Ideally, the Rwandan genocide drew influence from the fact that the majority Hutus wanted to do away with the minority tribe of the Tutsis. During the 1994, genocide at least a million Tutsis lost of their innocent lives due to the hatred developed by a fraction of the Hutu tribe (Anonymous 52). In this regard, history refers to the socio-cultural relations that exist within the society that may include race, ethnicity, gender, and nationality. It involves the firsthand account of philosophical issues such as power and perceived justice. Objectively, this paper will dwell on the historical factor of the film Hotel Rwanda. The bunch killing of the Tutsis started when Tutsi militiamen struck a plane carrying a Hutu tribe president. It became of a revenge-targeted mission, where the Hutus felt that they no longer needed the Tutsi presence in their country. The Hutus referred to the Tuts is as cockroaches where their presence became prejudicial and insignificant. Impunity became the driving force behind the genocide in which Paul tried to save at least one thousand three hundred of the so-called cockroaches (Olsen 66). According to the film, Paul sort to ensure the safety of his wife mainly because it was against the Hutu decree for a Hutu to marry a Tutsi woman. This meant that his wife’s life was at risk. The anthropological factor is that ethnicity contributed to the fall of the central African in its ability to unite the ethnic social culture and use it a complementary aspect of the nation. Ideally, the Tutsis were a dishonest lot who could not have any duty bestowed upon them. Clearly, the minority tribe did not have a place in the Rwandan society as the militiamen implied (Anonymous 52). However, Paul went contrary to the primitive commandments as he was a Hutu who housed a sizeable number of the Tutsi tribe. This portrayed his remarkable ability to sho w that not all the Hutus supported the atrocious genocide (Pearson, Keir, and Terry 120). The dead bodies characterized the town of Kigali that was once peaceful and serene. In essence, the dead bodies depicted the negativity of ethnicity, which made compatriots turn against fellow states men. Essentially, it is the right of human beings to live without having to buy their life at any price. Subsequently, the Hutu soldiers had put a senseless value on the lives of fellow human beings that made them a disgrace to the human race (Adams 77). On the contrary, tolerance and acceptance of the different ethnic origins would have down played the onset of the civil war that erupted in Rwanda at the time. Moreover, the genocide of Rwanda as portrayed in the film marked the darkest time in African and mostly in world history. This was because it went down as an era in which humanity experienced the wiping out of many lives at the same time (Rusesabagina, Paul, and Tom 78). Overly, the movie de picted racism within the same nation. The hundred dark days to which the film revolves around formulated, the base to which same skin racism drew roots. In essence, the Hutus killed the Tutsis whom they had cohabitated with for as long as history could recount (Pearson, Keir, and Terry 120). Conversely, the UN also only attempted to evacuate other nationals to safety rather than saving the whole lot. As per the

Mackinsey and Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mackinsey and Company - Essay Example The challenge is that it is extremely difficult for modern leader-managers to motivate and inspire employees, analyze their needs and meet these needs. Lack of leadership and management skills may lead to a failure, low productivity and poor organizational performance. In modern environment, the main challenge is that leader-manager deals with culturally and economically diverse workforce, so he/she should be well aware of motivational theories and their practical application. Combs (2002) pays a special attention to leadership challenges and motivational problems typical for modern organizations. Motivation is one of the main factors which influence productivity and morale, feelings and human relations in the workplace. There are different theories of motivation which try to explain human needs and intentions, intrinsic and extrinsic drivers. People with a high degree of achievement motivation are more persistent, realistic, and action-minded than people with other kinds of motivat ional patterns. Silva (2005), Schultz (2003) and Meuse and Claire (2007) show that motivation has changed influenced by external and internal stimuli.This does not necessarily make them more productive; that seems to depend on whether the task requires some degree of personal initiative or inventiveness. If it does, the achievement-motivated person is very likely to leave his competitors far behind. A great deal can be learned from the cultural environment if attention is paid to complaints, compliments, surveys, and other opinions of employees and patterns of service demand. Finally, among the factors to be considered as part of the internal organizational environment are the structure of an organization, its history, its distinctive strengths and weaknesses, changes in its values, and its culture. Kiel (1999) and Barak (2000) examine and analyze Mallow's hierarchy of needs and motivation principles. Once basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are satisfied, he wants friends and to get folksy and group. Once these needs for belonging are satisfied, he wants recognition and respect from his fellowmen and he wants to achieve independence and competence for himself. One approach, widely known by managers, is set out by Abraham H. Maslow in his book "Motivation and Personality". Maslow's theory of motivation claims that human motives develop in sequence according to five levels of needs. These needs are: psychological (hunger, thirst), safety (protection), social (be accepted, belong to a certain group), esteem (self-confidence, achievements, respect, status, recognition), and self-actualization (realizing one's potential for continued self-development). This theory show that needs follow in sequence and when one need is satisfied it decreases in strength and the higher need t hen dominates behavior. This leads to the statement that a satisfied need is not a motivator. There is a doubt whether this really applies in practice to the higher needs as it is likely that self-esteem requires continues stimulation and renewal. Few attempts have been made to test the validity of Maslow's ideas. A big problem is that Bill does not satisfy higher-order needs through their jobs or occupations, and this cannot really be tested. Another point is that he viewed satisfaction as a major motivator and this is not directly related to

The Social Problem Of Prostitution

The Social Problem Of Prostitution Prepare a discussion of at least four substantial paragraphs answering the questions that follow. Use at least one source beyond the course text that supports your position (remember to cite your source in APA style). Respond to at least two of your classmates postings. What would be the consequences for society if we could effectively halt the practice of prostitution? Should we do this even if we could? Could prostitution ever by organized such that it did not result in the exploitation of women? My Response There would be an increase in social problems; more rape, abuse, poverty, violence, trafficking, and underground prostitution if the practice of prostitution was effectively stopped. If we halted the practice of prostitution, we might as well halt the practice of pornography also. I am against legalizing prostitution but do not think it should be banned, because no matter what, prostitution will always be around. I believe prostitution is wrong, by legalizing it, some will think allowing sex outside of a marriage is ok, leading to more divorces, disease, and promote the approval of womens degradation (Henslin 2008, p. 79). Women are not objects, and should not be for sale. I like this statement from former Swedish Deputy Prime Minister, Margareta Winberg (2002), Prostitution and trafficking causes, gender inequality, sex and racial discrimination, and economic deprivation, as well as the rule of law, crime control, law enforcement and corruption (Winberg 2002, Sweden as Chair section para.5 ) In my opinion, streetwalkers should be incorporated into a red zone, or red light district, by doing this would help keep the drug addicts, and disease inflicted people separate from others. They should have to pay taxes, and have a rule where there are no sex services provided after a certain A.M. hour, like individual state laws on bar closing hours. If prostitutes or clients are found outside of that area, or after hours, they should be arrested. All other prostitutes would work as an escort, call girl or in a brothel, be regulated, and have proof that all employees have been tested for diseases and all employees will be taxed like any other worker. Legalizing prostitution will still exploit women. Searching for prostitution prevents law enforcement from responding to other victims and dangerous felons, and most of the time only the prostitutes are arrested, not the pimps, clients, or the strip club owners/managers, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ By legalizing prostitution, laws could be enforced against people who abuse, or are violent against sex workers. Child sex, sex trade, forced labor, and kidnapping would be easier to target. To try to lower or halt the practice of prostitution, we need to warn women against solicitors and stop them, in order to encounter the demand for prostitution. Men, are usually the buyers of commercial sex acts, and the biggest consumers, of trafficked and prostituted women and children. Men do not respect prostitutes, but use them for entertainment, sexual gratification, acts of violence, and use them to meet their emotional needs, not their physical needs. In order to reduce victims of prostitution, and encounter the exploitation of women, all the components of the demand need to be punished; the men who purchase the sex acts, the exploiters, traffickers, pimps, and the culture that lies about the nature of prostitution (Hughes 2004, pp. 3, 4, 7). Sex will sell as long as there are men. Henslin, J. M. (2008). Seeing the social context. Boston, Ma: Allyn Bacon. Hughes, D. M. (2004). Prostitution causes and solutions (Adobe Digital), Retrieved from http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/prostitution_spain_july04.pdf Winberg, M. (2002, November 28). Address by the swedish deputy prime minister, margareta winberg. Retrieved from http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/1105/a/6848 2/9/2010 8:54:09 PM If we could effectively halt the practice of prostitution the consequences in society would be many. The rise in crime would be, in my opinion, almost immediate. Sexual crimes such as rape and sodomy would be but the tip of the iceberg; domestic violence would rise, more violence could ensue because sexually frustrated people are not necessarily the nicest. Also more poverty would be one outcome, because prostitution is a mean of income for many; therefore robbery, drug dealing, burglary and other illegal means of income would rise as well. Should we do away with prostitution if we could? As I thought of my answer for this question, an interesting memory came back to me: when I was a teenager my parents would not allow me to wear loose fitting baggy clothes because they felt that a person should dress appropriately and that the baggy style looked street or like you had no home. In my mind I found my parents to be too stereotypical, they needed to Americanize; after all, we had left our fitted-jeans country a long time ago, who would judge me by my clothes? The more they denied me the right to dress like that, the more I wanted to; I would sneak my fathers t-shirts to school, I would borrow my friends X-L sweat pants and change in the bathroom at my school. I felt I was cool, I fit in with the rest of my peers; of course I was caught various times, but I didnt care, Id continue to do it. One day my parents sat me down and said, OK, we get it, you want to dress like the rest to be cool, youre allowed to do so, baggy outf its are added to the swear jar I felt like I won, I dressed baggy almost every day for three weeks and paid a dollar to the swear jar, and thenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the magic wore off. I was no longer going against anyone; there was no thrill of getting caught, nothing; if anything I was losing money for my stubbornness. I went back to dressing appropriately. My parents were very smart when they did this, although they did not like it, they approved it and taxed it (which I later learned was the money we used for family outings), everyone got their way. Where am I getting to? Well, I feel that we should play it smart. If we were able to successfully stop prostitution, the negative outcomes may outweigh the positive ones. Instead, I think that we should legalize prostitution, set guidelines for the practice such as testing every week, no pimps, males allowed to work in this profession (EEO) and best of all: tax it; right or wrong it could stimulate the economy. This could have positive outcomes in that, there would be less scandals, less sexual crimes, possibly less STDs going around and a monetary gain to the government. Organizing prostitution so that it is not exploitation of women, I believe is possible. Exploitation by means of prostitution is a matter of perspective; one can argue that the woman is exploiting the men. The men exploit the women by satisfying his own needs and the women are exploiting the men because they know he has them and is willing to pay. With the exception of prostitutes who are slaved by their pimps, I dont think anyone is exploiting the women. Perhaps if there were rights or laws protecting prostitution as a profession, such as no pimps, medical rights and protection from harassment, the perspective of exploitation could be done away with. Henslin, J. M. (2008). Social problems: A down-to-Earth approach. 8th edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. The Larry Mahoney Case Read Issues in Social Problems on page 121 of your text. Larry Mahoney served ten years in the Kentucky state prison at La Grange. In at least four paragraphs, prepare your discussion around the case questions: Do you think this was just? Instead of going to prison, do you think that he should have been fined and had his drivers license revoked? Or should he have been given the death sentence, as some prosecutors demanded? What do you think would have been appropriate? Respond to at least two of your classmates postings. I feel that the Larry Mahoney case was treated very lightly. I do not feel that his punishment was just. Yet I am forced to say it was well handled. The jury charged him with manslaughter and other lesser offenses and recommended 16 years of imprisonment, and under Kentucky law the judge could not add to the sentence. It is beyond me why the fact that he drove drunk and killed any amount of people didnt get him his license revoked permanently! Was the sentence just? Yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to an extent. It is bizarre to me how some prosecutors throw the death penalty request around like its any other paper request in an office. Its supposed to be justice right? How is it fair that a man who killed 27 people, gets to die and the family of the dead get to live with the pain, sorrow and hurt in their hearts, bodies and soul? No death penalty, let him live to face the consequences; and besides, how would justice for accidentally killing people be served by purposely killing someone else? That is like swatting your childs hand and yelling hitting people is wrong, dont do it! I am FOR the death penalty when it comes to serial anything, killer, rapist, et al. They pose an extreme danger to society, we cannot teach them a lesson, we cannot re-wire their brains, they are not remorseful Fining him and revoking his license should have been done regardless of him going to jail or not, regardless of him killing people or not; it should have been done regardless of any outcome when he was found drunk behind the wheel. Spending 16 years in jail seems to me to be a bit fair, because that is what the jury delivered; I was not there, I am not aware of how the law worked back then and I believe that if 12 complete strangers all come to the same agreement of justice, then justice was served for them. I do not, however, agree with the fact that his license was not revoked, or that he was eligible for parole; good conduct or not, he should have served the full sentence. The sentence I would consider fair, would be: 54 years imprisonment No eligibility for parole Permanent revocation of all driving privileges We can sit here and argue all day on this subject, but the truth is that our judicial system is far better now than it was back then. Justice was served for that time, not ours. Henslin, J. M. (2008). Social problems: A down-to-Earth approach. 8th edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

The Strange Utopia of The Giver :: Giver Essays

The Strange Utopia of The Giver Imagine living in a world where you can't choose your job, where at the age of twelve you are assigned an occupation by some group of elders. Imagine a world in which you can't choose that special person to be your wife or husband, a world where nobody is special. Visualize a place where you can't have your own children, where you have to take care of somebody else's children. In The Giver by Louis Lowry, this place exists every day. It's a perfect world, a utopia. A job is, for many people, one of the most important parts of their life. If it's so important, you have to enjoy it, and to enjoy it, you have to choose it yourself. In this "utopia," created in The Giver you don't get to do that. Other people choose the activity you are going to do for the rest of your life. For example, Fiona was assigned Caretaker of The Old, a job she really wanted, but don't you think that maybe later in her life, she could change her mind and not want to do her job anymore? She can't do that because she lives in a world where she doesn't have a choice, where she can't run her own life. "You have the power to think what you want. No matter what the circumstance is." No one can tell you what to think, you have a mind of your own, and repressing your thoughts won't do any good at all. I want to give you a quote from the book. " I heard about a guy who was absolutely sure he was going to be an engineer and instead he was assigned sanitation laborer. He jumped into the river and swam to the closest community, no one saw him again." This demonstrates that the elders can be wrong. People defending Sameness can say that all the jobs are made for the people getting them and that they will like them and be an active part of the community. I am going to respond to that with a life story. Before I was twelve, all I wanted to do is be an architect.

Intersoft Argentina Essay

Intersoft was founded in 1983 and was one of the fastest growing high tech companies in latin America. It holds 30% of the Argentine open systems software market. In 1994 since the market was moving from procedural programming and character based interface design which was Intersoft’s traditional strength toward object oriented and programming and GUIs. So since orgland had extensive experience in Graphic user interfaces (GUI), it was a perfect fit to work vit was a young and dynamic team. Even though Russians and Argentines have similarities in their culture there are some key differences which poses a challenge for them to work together. Russians are more anarchical and hierarchical and more rebellious towards authority. Whereas Argentines don’t rebel against authorities, they simply ignore them. Russians don’t think its right for a peer to share views with a boss if there’s a possibility of agreement at the peer level whereas Argentines donot respect those boundaries. This was one of the main reasons of disagreement between Hernan and Alexey. Also the language interpretation was one of problems that increased the misunderstanding. The resistance by both individuals to discuss the problem face to face and resorting to emails did not help the situation either. To diffuse the situation Emilio should meet with Alexey and Hernan and take into consideration both their view points about the disagreement. All three should work collaboratively and resolve to a common ground where they all agree. Emilio should also discourage communication via emails which increases tension among employees in situations of disagreement. When different cultures are brought to work together, leadership plays a critical role to ensure team work. International businesses are facing new challenges to their internal communication structures due to major reforms brought about through internationalization, downsizing, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. Lack of investment in cross cultural training and language tuition often leads to deficient internal cohesion. The internal conflicts, poor working relations, misunderstandings, stress, poor productivity and lack of co-operation are all by products of poor cross cultural communication. Training – Emilio has to adopt various trainings to promote effective communication and teamwork. Individual development – the executives should be trained on different cultures. Their knowledge of different cultures be constantly be upgraded. Encourage strong intercultural relationships. Language training – all employees should be trained on language together. The Russians and Argentines should be trained on English language together so that communication becomes easier among them. Encourage discussions between them and ensure they maintain strong eye contact. Bring in outside experts – Use training content and delivery by specialists with direct experience and indepth knowledge of both Argentine and Russian cultures as well as expertise in the field of cross-cultural communication. Integrate training into new employee orientation – for both Intersoft and Orgland integrate training of Argentine and Russian cultures a part of regular induction processes for new employees. Reinforce the training with mentoring – ensure that training is effective by a continued effort of mentoring by forming teams of argentine and Russian counterparts to work together on projects and office activities like organizing an event or party, etc. Incorporate the best of both cultures: Emilio has the advantage to adopt the best aspects of both cultures into Intersoft. Office environment – The layout of Intersoft did not promote team work as the Argentines were seated together and the Russians sat together.

Political Events and Shipping Demand Essay

Introduction Modern shipping is the life-blood of the world; without it, much of the demand for imports and exports would not be met. In 2006, world seaborne trade was estimated to have reached 30,686 billion ton-miles, having grown by 5. 5% over the previous year. Despite the prevalence of air transport, up to 90% of world trade is carried over the oceans in humble ships. The demand for seaborne trade is driven primarily by the world economy; various industries produce the goods that need to reach different parts of the world. In its most recent World Economic Outlook , the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted global growth of 3. per cent for the rest of 2008, lower by 0. 2 per cent from the previous month’s estimate. In spite of the dip, the world economy is still growing annually, led by the emerging markets that are hungry for resources to fuel their growth. Beyond the economy, there are several other factors that determine demand for shipping. This paper seeks to evaluate the role of political events and its impact. In addition, it seeks to look into which commodity is most affected by such incidents. In his book, Maritime Economics, Martin Stopford writes that ‘no discussion of sea transport demand would be complete without reference to the impact of politics’. In the following paragraphs, this paper will address the main types of events that affect shipping demand both positively and adversely. 2. 0Political events that have affected shipping demand the most 2. 1Opening-up of the Chinese economy The accession of China into the ranks of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Beijing winning the bid to host the Olympics in 2001 were events that had large political motivations and caused a tremendous rise in demand for shipping. Since then, China’s economy has seen astronomical growth. In order to fuel this development, the country has increased both its imports and exports in almost every industry. This has taken the world by storm as countries the world over compete to feed and fuel the world’s most populous country. Hence, seaborne trade and demand for shipping worldwide has been skyrocketing as a result of China’s booming economy. 2. 2War and the economic embargoes Conversely, war and economic embargoes and sanctions are the leading cause of a drop in maritime activity. In broad terms, the hostilities in the Middle-East region have led to disruptions in movements of oil shipments to the developed world. In the 1950s, the Suez Crisis between Britain, France and Israel against Egypt, led to the diversion of ships around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the tensions. Two decades later on 17 October 1973, the ongoing Yam Kippur War caused the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries to stop shipping oil to nations that supported Israel’s war efforts. The impact of this embargo on shipping was the collapse of the oil tanker market and led to a series of recessions and periods of high inflation that persisted until the 1980s. Other examples would include the Korean War in 1950 and the Gulf War in the early 1990s. . 0Commodities affected Crude oil accounted for 26. 9 per cent of total goods loaded in 2006. Due to the sheer quantity of oil being shipped worldwide, any political event jeopardizing seaborne trade would usually entail oil shipments being affected. This is because the resource is abundant in only certain parts of the world; the Middle-East is one such region that is plagued with rogue political regimes and instability. In the above-mentioned events in the region, the hostilities resulted in disruptions to the oil trade and consequently, oil price. This would be discussed in the section on Iran. Another sector that would be affected would be the metal industry trades and in particular, that of iron ore. Western Australia and Brazil are major exporters of iron ore to growing markets like China which need it for its continued development. 4. 0Opening of China’s economy Since the 1970s, China has been gradually introducing economic reforms and providing enterprises with autonomy. However, it was only in the last 2 decades that the world’s 2nd largest economy has opened itself up to greater foreign investment and world trade. This was carried out through the relaxation of import and export controls and trade reforms in the form of reduced tariffs. All this led to a significant milestone for China and the world – its ascension into the ranks of the WTO on 11 December 2001. In addition, Beijing won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics that same year. These 2 events have set the stage for China’s rapid development. In the following paragraphs, this paper will explain its effects on the world and global trade and shipping. Based on a working paper by the IMF written in 2004, the international impact of China’s ascension into the WTO is far reaching. Firstly, sustaining the growth of China would provide benefits to its trading partners; beyond the processing of trade, there has been significant growth in imports for domestic use and outbound tourism. Secondly, China’s insatiable thirst for energy and metal imports have since fuelled the rapid rise in imports of such commodities. Lastly, multinational companies are tapping into the large domestic market especially with the freeing up of the country’s banking sector. This paper believes that China’s meteoric rise over the last two decades and more significantly, since the dawn of the new millennia, have created a surge in demand for world seaborne trade and shipping. 4. 1China’s role in transforming Western Australia and beyond As a result of China’s booming steel industry, Australian exports of iron ore to China reached more than A$4 billion last year. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, two of the world’s largest resource companies, share the metal-rich Pilbara of Western Australia to feed China’s demand. The latter is hoping to double its 2007 iron-ore production in four years. This mining boom in the traditionally ‘sleepy’ side of Australia spells good news for its economy and residents. In an interview with the Economist , Eric Ripper, finance minister of Western Australia, said that his state has been fighting to bring in a A$9 million surplus seven years ago. Last year, the country’s largest state (by land area) grew by 6. 3%, twice that of the entire country. In addition, it now boasts a healthy surplus of A$2 billion. Besides iron ore, China has a tremendous hunger for other natural resources. All across the world, Chinese firms are finding new sources for crude oil, natural gas, metal and coal. Ships have been queuing off Newcastle in Australia to load cargo bound for China; at one point in June 2007, the queue was 79 ships long . In short, the rise in import demand by the Mainland has helped countries in Latin America and Africa grow their own economy. Another country that has seen business grow is the shipping giant of Greece. 60 per cent of China’s imports of raw materials and energy are carried on the backs of Greek ships. Greek ship owners want to capitalize and many have made orders to build ships in China which has caused the order books of the large manufacturers to bulge and many smaller players to join in the fray. . 2China’s effect on shipping demand In terms of shipping, China is a force to be reckoned with. Just 2 years after joining the WTO, China handled 48 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2003, an increase of 11 million TEUs the year before. This made the country the largest container shipping market for the first time with both Sh anghai and Shenzhen joining the mega-port league of over 10 million TEUs throughputs . On two of the most important container trades from Asia to North America and Europe, mainland China and Hong Kong corner 60 per cent of the market share. More recently, with an increasing portion of China’s imports of oil products coming from Latin America and West Africa, ton-miles demanded associated with this trade has increased. Referring back to the example of Australian iron ore, China’s high volumes mean that Chinese companies are sourcing for metals from further abroad such as Brazil. In addition, China has always been a net exporter of coal. However, in the last few years, China has become a net importer; this forces its neighbors to source for coal from further afield. All these factors serve to increase ton-miles demanded. It is important to note that though ton-miles demanded may increase, actual volume may remain unchanged. 5. 0Iran and the Strait of Hormuz The on-going tension between Israel, the United States of America (USA) and Iran over its suspected nuclear-weapons programme has brought about fluctuations in oil prices in recent times. Several factors have made this all the more pressing in the last few months. These include a weakening Bush administration, Iran’s continued uranium-enrichment programme, a lackluster Western diplomatic approach to handling the situation and Israel’s jitters have raised the idea of a possible war in the Middle-East. In retaliation to suggestions of a military strike, Iran has threatened to cut oil exports and close the Strait of Hormuz . This strait’s importance lies in that it is the only viable path for much of the oil from the gulf to reach the rest of the world. By comparison, the Suez and Panama Canals are passages that have alternative albeit costlier, routes. A horseshoe-shaped body of water that stretches between Iran and the northern tip of Oman, the Strait is the only passage in and out of the Gulf. Every day, around 50 tankers carry between 4 million and 17 million barrels of oil and oil products through the 180km-long strait – roughly 40 per cent of the world’s internationally traded supplies . If Iran were able to close this waterway by use of anti-ship missiles, only 3 million barrels would be able to be diverted via the Red Sea. Thus, oil and oil product shipment would be greatly hit worldwide. In addition to oil, Jebel Ali, a port-town in the United Arab Emir ates, handles about half of all maritime trade between Europe and Asia. Currently, it is the largest port between Rotterdam and Singapore. Large portions of what enters some of these free zones in the gulf are transshipped to other parts of the world. Experts who have monitored the Suez Crisis in the 1950s and how it led to the Six-Day War understand that such an action from Iran would result in the Middle-East suffering economically. On a larger scale, the world would be faced with supply cuts in almost all goods. 6. 0Maritime terrorism Another threat to the maritime industry is terrorism at sea. Terrorism is broadly defined as attacks to create fear and often have an underlying belief that the terrorists want to spread. Since the world-changing September 11th attacks on the United States of America in 2001, many other acts of violence have been carried out with ships as targets. An example would be the infamous Al-Qaeda attack on the French oil tanker, the Limburg, in Yemen in 2002. Such attacks create not only a sense of uncertainty in the shipping industry, but have raised the costs of shipping as well. In the case of the Limburg, the insurance payout reached US$70 million . This example highlights the trend of insurance companies charging higher insurance premiums to shipping companies whose ships sail through more ‘dangerous’ waters. As a result, shipping cost has risen over the years and this has led to a dip in demand. Amongst the main trunk routes that ships often ply, the greatest number of such incidents happens in the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca. These acts of terror also do not differentiate between the types of ships they target; almost everything from boats to tankers has been looted for their cargo and entire ships stolen. This paper would like to caution that the distinction between maritime terrorism and piracy is blurring. 7. 0Conclusion This paper has looked at examples of how political events have caused a stir in the maritime world. This is largely a result of the correlation between world trade, shipping and movement of commodities. Such incidents can spark both a decrease as well as an increase in demand for shipping. In the case of China’s reforms towards a more open economy, trade between this country and the rest of the world has increased dramatically. This has spurred the shipping industry not just in terms of seaborne trade but in other forms such as ports and shipbuilding. Beyond its shores, it has helped to lift the economies of countries that enjoy a high level of trade with China. On the other hand, the tensions in the Middle-East have brought about uncertainty throughout the world over oil prices and world trade. The strategic position of the most hostile nations in the region has given them leverage over the Western world in terms of threats to block the major waterway, the Strait of Hormuz. Lastly, the concerns over maritime safety and rising insurance costs to cover ships and their owners have caused a dip in demand for shipping. This is because of the higher costs now associated with shipping; it is intuitive yet unfortunate that the world’s major shipping routes are also the most dangerous.