School Counseling Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

School Counseling Education - Essay Example Initially when parents get the information of their child being deaf, seems hard to digest. The initial reactions are; how they would be able to cope up with their child and his needs? How will they be able to communicate with their own offspring? Will it be hard to find the best academic institution for him? Is it a better idea that he works his way out along with normal kids? These are some questions and problems that almost every family with a deaf kid, goes through. With the gradual acceptance of their child’s impairment, they step in towards finding the best possible learning method for him. Either they should opt for leaning sign language as a whole or should they wait and understand the situation after their child becomes a part of the academic community. There’s still difference between deaf and hard at hearing children. According to some studies around 90% of the children who have trouble hearing or are deaf, have perfectly hearing parents. (â€Å"For Students Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing†). Where some families opt for learning sign languages, the proportion of such families, however, is quite less. Some families still prefer using sign language, and children have a hard time distinguishing words with common sounds, for instance; â€Å"plate† and â€Å"mate†. ... Parents should be taught to accept the child’s shortcoming and that they should not be making the child a source of disgrace or embarrassment for the family, rather they should be working on their child in order to make something better out of him. There aren’t many deaf role models, altogether. Bringing a positive change in the child’s learning abilities will surely make a difference. Counselors for deaf and children with hearing disabilities should be fluent in sign language, if that isn’t the case, then the institution should be equipped with interpreters who can easily translate the child’s requirement efficiently in order to facilitate deaf children to make their learning process a lot easier. 1a) I have to admit before reading this chapter ----------------------- and working through accompanying identity issues. The counselor in the given example clearly understands the deaf children’s needs as she has under gone the same problem back a t her home. Her 5 month old son turned out to have hearing problems, according to her he failed to pass the initial hearing tests, but on later account the parents noticed that the child responded to their voices. As impulsive as it may seem, the child had trouble hearing stuff properly. Still the lady was unsure about what to do with further tests and the post treatment for hearing impairment. Her initial thoughts were â€Å"that may be hearing implants can solve everything†. But that’s not the case in reality. There are hundreds of other factors that turn out to affect a child’s behavior in the classroom. For instance, according to her survey the noises that are a part of a classroom affect the child’s learning ability even if he’s mildly

The Importance of Reading Book Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Reading Book Essay There is much more to life than your work and spending time aimlessly with latest technology products. Reading books gives you that much needed break from the chaos in your life. It instills peace inside you, makes you relaxed and also exercises your brain in the process. When you read a book, it feels great to put yourself into a different world that the writer has created for you. Ask any avid reader about this and they too will agree that reading a book is same like watching a movie. When you spend hours and hours reading a book, creating a world with different characters in your mind, your imagination powers are sure to get a boost. Depending upon what you read, you will come out with the same experience as when you watch some really good movie. I have been a voracious reader ever since i learned how to read. Thats why i never get bored even being alone for a long time. I have found that reading books is the best medicine to kill boredom. What starts with reading story books, when you are a kid, turns into reading books for improving yourself as you grow older. From story books - technical management books - self improvement - spirituality and beyond, the journey is fantastic and you learn something with each passing day. You understand your thoughts and emotions more clearly. It makes you realize who you really are and makes your life more meaningful. Reading books will make you a better thinker and a better man. Thanks to technology you can easily find good articles to read on the internet. A great article can inspire and motivate you as much as a great book. Its not how much you read, but what you read which is more important. The only reason i recommend reading books over short articles is because when you spend hours with a thought or an idea then its more likely to stay with you for long time rather than when you spend just few minutes tinkering with it. Its easy to read a quote or an article for few minutes than discard it and continue with what you were doing. But when you invest your time in reading a good book, you end up spending at least a few hours reflecting on its contents as you read. Thus, its likely to stay with you for a longer time and have some positive influence on you. A good reader also varies his reading pace based on the content he is reading and what he wants to get from it. The purpose of reading news articles is different from reading stories, which is different from reading important documents. Over a period of time, you will understand how to vary your reading pace and comprehension based on what you read and what you want from it. Also, just reading good books is not enough. The way you read it is more important. When you come across a new idea or a different opinion, think upon it deeply. Dont accept it or reject it blindly. Try to reason with it and understand the writers point of view. Reflect upon the thoughts that come to your mind whenever you read a great book. You will know whether a book is great or not based on the thoughts it awakens inside you. As you continue this habit of reading and reflecting on what you read, you will start forming your own thoughts and values. It will challenge your mind and the thoughts, customs and traditions that you have grown up with. However, there is one thing which you should always remember when you make this a daily habit, as you are investing a part of your life doing it. Too much reading, without any thinking and action isnt of much use. When you know you are ready to do something its time to move to the next step. Act upon what you think is right and what you have decided to do. Its easy to get so much involved in the reading process, that you forget that the main purpose of reading is to make you a better person which can only happen when you act upon it. Just finishing one book after another without any real action from your side wont help you. What kind of person you want to be and what you would ultimately become depend greatly upon the type of content that you read and how much you act upon them. Reading articles that promote negativity, hatred and give wrong information is dangerous. Its better to not read anything at all than read such articles. Whether you read on some electronic device or prefer reading an actual book. Thats your personal choice. Personally, i prefer to read actual books whenever possible. I find that even after hours of reading my eyes feel fresh and full of energy. Thats something i dont find when i read too much on my computer. Before ending this article, i would like to summarize few important points and also suggest some Dos and Donts of reading: * Always read your content from a safe distance. Neither too close to your eyes neither too far away from your eyes. * Always prefer quality over quantity. Better to read one great book than hundred mediocre ones. * Understand properly what you have read and reflect upon it. * Dont accept anything blindly that you read but think for yourself and try to understand the reason behind whats been written. * Bookmark interesting pages for future reference. You never know when you will need them. * Sometimes it takes more than one reading to fully grasp some thing. Dont be disappointed if you dont understand a book in one reading. Maybe when you come back to it the next time, you will get it. * Focus completely on what you are reading. Dont think about other stuff while reading. * If possible, create a favorite spot in your house for reading books. You will feel more relaxed whenever you are there. * And above all, enjoy your reading experience. The habit of reading good content daily will act like an exercise for your mind and keep you mentally fit and flexible. If you have never given it a try then always remember that its never too late to start a good habit.

Analysing a Company: DHL

Analysing a Company: DHL   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The aim of this strategic planning document is to thoroughly analyze a company and based on the analysis find the right strategy that fits the companys business purpose and mission. The right strategy, depending at what is directed, should help the company strengthen its position on the market; increase profits; help with further development. If a company implements a wrong strategy, it can cause bad damage or it can have huge financial impact on the company which could even end up in bankruptcy, which wipes the company off the market. The company chosen for this paper is DHL Express with focus on European region. DHL is part of the Deutsche Post DHL (further DP DHL) brand/group. The reason why I have chosen DHL for the Strategic Planning Document is that I have been working for DP DHL group for four years. I work specifically for IT Services which is the service line that internally supports the whole IT technology of the whole DP DHL group. ABOUT THE COMPANY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DHL was founded in San Francisco exactly 40 years ago by 3 budding entrepreneurs Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn. It went from small company shipping papers by airplane from San Francisco to Honolulu1 to global company shipping EVERYTHING around the world. DHL delivers time-critical shipments as well as goods and merchandise by road, rail, air or sea. DHL transports courier and express shipments via one of the worlds most extensive networks to over 220 countries and territories. The company employs more than 300,000 employees all around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DHL Express provides wide range of easily accessible services and solutions for their customers; from transport of letters, information to transport of parcels and goods. It operates in more than 220 countries around the world and employs more than 100,000 employees. DHL Express is number one in Europe with 25% of market share. Brief history 2 1969 DHL founded by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn in San Francisco; 1974 The first UK office opened in London. Globally, DHL had more than 3,000 customers; 1979 DHL extends its services to delivering packages. Only document services had been available until now. 1983 DHL is the first air express forwarder to serve Eastern European countries. An international distribution centre was opened in Cincinnati, USA; 1985 A state of the art hub was opened in Brussels. More than 165,000 shipments are handled per night 1998 Deutsche Post became a shareholder in DHL; 2002 Deutsche Post World Net became the major shareholder in DHL and 100% shareholding was completed by the end of the year. DHL: Our Company Portrait [online]. Available at www: DHL: Steps to success [online]. Available at www: 2005 DP DHL acquires Exel, the British logistics corporation. Exel primarily offers transport and logistics solutions for key customers; 2008 DHL opens new state of art European air hub at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. DHL legally operates under Groups title defined as Deutsche Post AG and uses its brand name DHL. As previously mentioned DHL is part of DP DHL group and is formed by 3 divisions: Express, Global Forwarding, Freight and Supply Chain supported by internal services Global Business Services. Mail is a standalone division that is part of Deutsche Post brand. All four divisions together create Deutsche Post DHL as the picture below describes. DP DHL: Corporate Presentation, October 2009, p. 3 [online] Available at www. DHL has a divisional form of structure. The DP DHL group is organized into four operating divisions, each of which operates under the control of its own divisional headquarters. The Group management functions are performed by the Corporate Center. Management responsibilities are structured in accordance with decision-making, responsibility and reporting lines: Board departments Corporate departments Business departments Service departments Regions Departments DHL Express provides standardized products and services courier, express and parcel (CEP) both locally and globally depending on the country. Whether it is document or parcel, road or air, DHL Express provides several different types of services that are divided to four basic groups: 1. Same Day An immediate pick-up of a shipment by a dedicated courier, with an emergency delivery within the same day via a dedicated network. 2. Time Definite Express door-to-door delivery by a certain time on an overnight or next possible business day basis. 3. Day Definite Reliable door-to-door delivery within a certain number of days 4. Optional Services Shipping convenience with a range of optional services to support your express transportation DP DHL: Annual Report 2008, p. 22 [online] Available at www. DHL: Express Services Good afternoon [online]. Available at www: External Analysis Courier Express and Parcel (CEP) services exist in every single country around the world. It is neither country specific nor region specific industry. There are thousands of logistics companies operating locally or internationally around the world and Europe is not an exception. PESTLE PESTLE analysis is a view on external environment companies operates in. There are five external factors that influence life of organizations: Political environment, Economical environment, Socio-cultural environment, Legal environment and Environmental factor. The below PESTLE analysis focuses on CEP companies in European market. Political Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  European region is stable environment that is not affected by any significant political crisis in countries and no major changes in political structure are expected in near future. More than half of European states are integrated into European community, European Union and create one of the biggest single markets for trade and investment in the world. EU enlargement has removed border lines and has made trade and business more accessible for its members. It has brought greater opportunities for businesses, wider range of companies and benefits for their customers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  EU has created closer links with immediate neighbors and enables bigger exports, free movement of services, payments and capital for trade and investment. Prior liberalization in 90s there were many national postal operators acting as monopolies. EU decided to start postal reform that firstly completely liberalized CEP market. Liberalization has enabled both national postal operators (Post Offices) and private postal companies to enlarge their business portfolio into parcel and express market. This happens through acquisitions of well-established companies and smaller national companies. Exactly, as it happened to DHL through acquisition by Deutsche Post in 2002. Full liberalization in Europe will be completed by 2012 which gives current companies time to strengthen their positions, build new networks and gain wider portfolio of customers. EU has also built up confidence in European political and economical future of each member which enables companies to make longer term decisions, strategies and investment plans. Currently the CEP market is highly competitive and companies have to have capital to establish strong and powerful position in such an environment and have to have built up networks supported by the modernist technologies. Summary: Europe is stable environment where no major political changes are expected. Full liberalization of European postal market that will be finished by 2012 will bring more competition especially on domestic level. However, there is a potential to merge or acquire those companies operating in the local markets and increase market share. Big companies operating on international level have an advantage of built global networks and modern technology behind them. Economical Environment CEP is highly potential market and its growth is directly related to the level of GDP. Global trade is on the rising level and together with industrialization has made CEP services more important for majority of industries. Additionally, product life cycles have been reduced, quality awareness among customer is growing and in order to succeed companies are forced to maintain high quality standards. The global economic crises caused decline in economy and it has affected the entire logistics sector. Volume of shipments decreased and the recession slowed down the whole market. Even the big corporations have to fight with decreased revenues and change their investment plans and business strategies. Governments around Europe support investment plans by structural reforms and programs that encourage investors to invest. During the big economic crisis in 30s this did not happen and governments tended to act individually without multinational or even global cooperation. Todays economies learnt from those mistakes which help to lower the implications, increase customer demand and support start of growth. Due to the crisis companies changed their investment plans but did not stop them. Merges with smaller companies, agreements and strategic acquisitions represent one way of increasing the competitive advantage. Emerging markets represent big opportunity in long-term perspective. There is potential for investment and development in emerging markets and it is expected that industrialization will bring opportunities, the economy will growth and market for services will accelerate. The crisis negatively affects profits of every company on one hand but on the other hand big corporations with strong brand and position in the market have to exploit this opportunity. Smaller companies do not have potential to expand because they are in bigger risk of losing money or even bankruptcy if they fail. Big corporations are able to absorb that risk much easier. Companies have started to reduce cost and people have started losing their jobs. Restructuring of company structure is one of the way how to move forward. IT is core element of every company that operates in logistics industry. Companies have to invest huge amount of money to development and maintenance of their IT infrastructure. Recent trend leaves development in Europe and transfers hosting and maintenance of the infrastructure to Asia. Summary: Conclusion from the Economical environment analysis is that companies should not stop their investment plans because of economic crisis. It is important in current situation to strengthen position in the market and expand if possible. Emerging markets represent a potential of rapid economy growth. The risk of loss is the same for all companies but for big corporations is more acceptable. Reduction of cost is evitable for every company and restructuring or outsourcing are the ways of dealing with it. Socio-Cultural Environment The third aspect of PESTLE analysis focuses on forces within society. Social and cultural forces affect customers attitudes, interests and opinions. Companies must be able to offer products and services that aim to complement and benefit customers needs and wants. If they do not quickly respond to changes in society they will lose market share and demand for their product or service will decrease. Removing of border lines makes trade and business in Europe more accessible. Emerging markets are place that is constantly developing and rapidly growing. Although the infrastructure is not as developed as in Western countries, there will be improvement with economic growth. It is important for the company to establish its brand and achieve good and reliable image and service quality among its customers. The portfolio of services that is offered in developing countries is not usually complete and focuses on the biggest needs and wants of the business. Companies do not have the only affect and responsibility to their customers. There are different parts of society they are in contact with. There are needs of employees, investors and the society as a whole. Research Development department play an important role in this area. Customer satisfaction surveys, employee satisfaction surveys, market surveys help the company to build its brand and image, increase employees commitment and shape public awareness. CEP market and logistics industry play one of the key roles in the economic growth globally not only within European market. Increases in volumes of goods transport has lead to higher CO2 emissions which according to climate scientists have direct affect on global warming. It is social cost for the society and governments discourage those social costs with fines, taxes and legislation. Companies responsibility is to decrease these cost and work with more efficient and environmentally friendly means of transport. Social cost have negative affect on customers spending but could be balanced by larger offer of environmental friendly oriented products. Summary: Social forces affect customers needs and wants and it is important for the company to know it and benefit from it. Therefore the role of Research Development is very important. Company has to respond to changes in society quickly not to loose market share and demand for services. Customer satisfaction surveys, market surveys, employee surveys play important role in building companys brand and image in the market. Border lines have been removed within EU and services are more accessible in the whole Europe. Emerging markets represent an opportunity for companies to enter and establish their brand and image. Additionally, there are also social costs for the society that companies have responsibility for. The affect on environment is significant and companies role is to decrease those costs by working with more efficient and environmentally friendly technology which is then balanced by larger portfolio of environmental friendly oriented customers. Technological Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Technology environment is vital part of every business that rapidly moves it forward. Technological innovations have changed the world and manner in which every business operates. Technology has created society expecting immediate results. Information exchange between customers, companies, people or any stakeholders is faster. That gives benefit to businesses as they can react quickly to any changes in the operating environment. However, the ability to quickly react also brings extra pressure on companies because they are expected to deliver on time and without any delays. Customers in service industry have to continuously face new challenges in planning, managing and monitoring their business processes. Companies in CEP market (and not only there) started offering customized logistics solutions to meet challenges: for example safety transport of sensitive products such as pharmaceuticals and vaccines to the healthcare industry done within a temperature-controlled environment. Operations in logistics industry is not only about cars, vans and aircraft there are other parts of infrastructure that needs technological development and improvement: posting, collection, sorting, transport, warehousing, delivery and last but not least Information Technologies. IT is core. Speed and reliability are key success factors to be able to meet standards and quality and gain advantage among competition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is important to pay special attention to IT area because service industry is fully dependent on it. Companies invest huge amount of money to development and maintenance of their IT infrastructure. As mentioned above IT is one of the key elements for logistics and operations processes. Systems must be accessible and available at all times; security is evitable unauthorized access to data and data manipulation must be prevented, to ensure that software is not delivered with defects or too late. Companies have to fight with decreased revenue and reduce their cost in times of economic crisis but importance of IT technology is so significant that they cannot stop investing in it. Otherwise there is a threat that they will fall behind and loose their market share.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Outsourcing or in other words subcontracting is a way of reducing cost in IT area. Development of new technologies, software or applications goes to another organization. Usually, the company is specialized in software development. Or hosting and maintenance of applications or services are transferred to another company. The decision whether to do in-house or outsource is often based on achieving lower production cost and usage of available resources in better way and focus energy on the core competencies of the business. Summary: Modern technology and environment is key to success of the company that helps to maintain or gain competitive advantage. IT is the most important technology factor for logistics business because speed and reliability are equal to success. However, there is an indisputable constant threat of falling behind.Investments to the modernist technologies are evitable and in times of economic crisis are much more important then anytime before. Company has to decide if it runs internal IT organization or if it outsources most of the services and reduce cost. Legal Environment Legal rules play a role in nearly every aspect of companys operation from state regulations through contracts to treatment of employees. Legal factor is very important because companies work within legislative framework where legislation can either place numerous obligations or can create market conditions beneficial for business. CEP market is regulated by Postal directive applicable in all EU states. Full liberalization process will be completed by 2012 which gives current companies time to strengthen their position, build new networks and get more customers before new competition arrive. CEP market was fully liberalized during 90s and no special license or authorization is required in most of the EU countries. Ten states of EU require companies to receive explicit decision of National regulatory authority that is called general authorization that enables them to start operating in those countries but it does not represent a barrier. General authorization document contains several conditions that are related to e.g. confidentiality of correspondence, restrictions on transport of dangerous goods, data protection standards, etc. As I said previously there are social cost for the society that must be balanced by companies obligations in terms of fines, taxes and additional legislations related to regulation of aircraft noise, regulations concerning emission standards, obligations to reduce greenhouse gas that forces companies to invest into more environmentally friendly means of transport. Summary: Legal factor is important for operations of every company. Companies have obligations like directives, taxes and rules that they must be aligned with to be able to operate in the market. Legal factor can either place numerous obligations on the company or can create market conditions beneficial for business. Liberalization is an example of the benefit. Removal of border lines together with liberalization enabled building and strengthening of positions in the logistics market. There are no special and expensive authorizations necessary in CEP industry which is another benefit for companies. On the other hand there are obligations that balance the above benefits in terms of fines, taxes and directives that are mainly related to environment. Companies are forced to invest into environmentally friendly operations. Environmental Analysis Transportation industry causes major impact on the green house gases in the atmosphere. Mobility has increased and brought many indisputable advantages that must be weighed against the social, economic and environment costs it causes. Countries issue legislation that forces companies to reduce emissions. Companies have started implementing projects that help them to find out ways how to reduce pollutions and to be compliant with issued legislation. Transportation companies are dependent on fossil fuels and to reduce their dependency they have to look for commercial vehicles and aircraft powered differently or non-conventionally. Change of vehicle is not the only option that would reduce air pollution there are other ways that companies could take: to make their business more efficient and effective, to reduce shipping time, to take uniform approach, to offer climate-neutral products or train employees. Research Development department plays important role in those projects because it helps to come up with new ideas, technologies, procedures and processes. Summary: Transportation industry has great effect on air pollution globally. It is undisputable fact and companies are forced to fulfill the requirements of governments to reduce their contribution on pollution of the global environment. Companies have started implementing projects that help them fulfill those requirements. Research Development department is key to the success of it. PESTLE Summary Based on the PESTLE analysis I have identified opportunities and threats that will be taken into account during the SWOT analysis. Opportunity: Full liberalization of European postal market that will be finished by 2012 brings new opportunities to increase market share by acquisitions or merges with other logistics companies or newly liberalized companies. Established companies wit big market share, global network and technology have competitive advantage. Opportunity: Border lines have been removed within EU and services are more accessible in the whole Europe. Emerging markets represent a potential of rapid economy growth therefore it is an opportunity for companies to enter and establish their brand and image and gain bigger market share. Threat: Role of Research Development department in the company is very important. Company has to respond to changes in society quickly not to loose market share and demand for services. Customer satisfaction surveys, market surveys, employee surveys play important role in building companys brand and image in the market. Threat: In times of economic crisis economy slowed down and revenue decreased. Reduction of cost is evitable for every company and restructuring or outsourcing are the ways of dealing with it. Threat: Social costs represent a responsibility of companies towards society. The affect of transportation and logistics companies on environment is significant and companies role is to decrease those costs by working with more efficient and environmentally friendly technology which is then balanced by larger portfolio of environmental friendly oriented customers. Companies are forced to invest into environmentally friendly operations by fines, taxes and directives placed by governments. Therefore, companies have started implementing projects that help them fulfill those requirements. Threat: Modern technology and environment is key to success of the company that helps to maintain or gain competitive advantage. IT is the most important technology factor for logistics business because speed and reliability are equal to success. However, there is an indisputable constant threat of falling behind. Investments to the modernist technologies are evitable and in times of economic crisis are much more important then anytime before. The role of Research Development is evitable here. Porters Five Forces   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Courier Express Market is highly competitive market and its growth is directly related to growth of GDP. Customers of logistics companies are demanding. Technology improvements reduce product life cycles, quality awareness among customer is growing and in order to succeed companies are forced to maintain high quality standards. DHL Express has three biggest competitors in CEP market. They are UPS, TNT and FedEx. As you can see in the Picture 2 below DHL Express has the highest market share of 25% as a single company in Europe. All four major competitors operate internationally and have global network with good and modern technology behind them. The picture below also shows us that third of the European market is dismantled among small and medium sized companies that operates independently. European market portrait Customers of logistics companies vary from individuals to big industrial or manufacturing companies. All of them expect that the delivery service will be simple and convenient and that the delivery will be on time without any delay and in a good quality. Customers are more and more demanding because range of suppliers is broadening and they are looking for customized and innovative solutions for delivery of their goods. DP DHL: Annual Report 2008, p. 58 [online] Available at www. The range of offered products is wide but could be introduced in three basic categories: Courier services are fast, door-to-door pick up and delivery services of high-value goods or urgently required documents. Express services are time-sensitive, usually guaranteed services and have delivery time a specific day (in general the next day) and/or specific time. Parcel services are the transport of largely standardized packages with usually non-guaranteed delivery time of 2-3 days (Time-definite and Day-definite) Porters Five Forces mode will help me to analyze five forces that influence the logistics industry and better understand the environment in which DHL Express operates in and competitive advantage the company has or could gain. Threat of New Entrants HIGH   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CEP market is large and very attractive to business. Everyone needs to deliver package or parcel. Everyone needs to use courier. Logistics industry is important and dominates to the service sector. It is very easy to entry. There are no special legal barriers, patents or licenses necessary to run the business. There are exceptions as described in PESTLE analysis but those exceptions do not represent impossible to achieve requirements. The market is still growing and there is an assumption that will grow further.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are no border lines among members of EU which would threaten new companies to enter the CEP market. Company that wants to succeed in such a competitive environment has to have a good network that enables it to operate on local and international level. Good network requires time and financial investment. High technology standard is must. Companies have to protect themselves from the threats of new entrants therefore it is important for them to find ways to turn disadvantages in their favor. They have to capitalize from their historical experience and try to find better ways to provide their service. Current big players in CEP market are well established leaders that have significant cost advantage that is unavailable for the new entrants. Large companies have buying power that allows them to offer discounts to their customers. Simply, bigger the business is lower average unit cost they are able to produce. Customers loyalty is another important factor that increases barriers to entry for other competitors. Loyal and satisfied customer will be unlikely tempted to go to competitors or new entrants. Established companies usually do business set on long-term partnerships and contracts. The basic rule says that customers get everything they need or want.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many advantages that economies of scale gives to big corporations but there are also limitations that must be taken into account. Those limitations give competitive advantage to smaller and medium sized companies. Large companies are very complex and with higher complexity the product range is widening. This makes it difficult to succeed and be the best. Specialization and innovative ideas are crucial. Large companies are also known for their high level of bureaucracy which gives smaller companies big advantage because they can satisfy customer faster and it is what matters in logistics industry. Also large companies have thousands of employees with different labor relations in every country which causes additional legal cost. In case of powerful workers union it can decrease power of the company and make their operation more difficult especially in time of restructuring.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I have mentioned modern technology is an important factor that significantly helps to increase market share and creates more barriers for new entrants. Outsourcing or off shoring are possibilities for companies to take advantage of other economies of scale and use their buying power and specialization in favor of further development. Summary:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In summary, logistics market is large and is attractive to business because when GDP grows the demand for services grows. There is no special barrier to entry. In fact, it is very easy to entry. The market is still growing and there is an assumption that will grow further. Successful companies have built networks that enable them to operate on local and international level. Good network requires time and financial investment. High technology standard is must. Historical experience and appearance in the market is an advantage for companies like DHL. Big companies and corporations use economies of scale in their favor. Bigger company can provide higher discount and has lower profit. Customers loyalty is another important factor that increases barriers to entry for other competitors because of long-term partnerships and contracts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other hand there are also disadvantages for big companies that must be taken into

The Incredible Peanut :: Botany

The Incredible Peanut According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, a peanut is "a low-branching, widely cultivated, leguminous, annual herb with showy yellow flowers having a peduncle which elongates and bends into the soil where the ovary ripens into a pod containing one to three edible seeds" (7). However, this definition does not even begin to give any indication of the importance of the peanut as an agricultural power in the world today. Therefore, this paper will discuss the peanut including its history, economic uses, and other pertinent information regarding this amazing plant. The scientific name for the common, commercially grown peanut is Arachis hypogaea L. Contrary to popular opinion, however, the peanut is not really a nut such as a pecan or walnut. It is actually a close relative of the black eyed pea in the family Leguminosae. Legumes are plants in which the roots contain nodules of nitrogen fixing bacteria which return remarkable amounts of nitrogen to the soil. Logically, the peanut is a perfect crop to rotate in with soil depleting plants like cotton and is used extensively for this purpose (8). The peanut plant is a sparsely hairy, taprooted, annual bush about 45 cm tall when mature. The four main botanical varieties are Virginia, Spanish, Valencia, and Peruvian Runner. They are distinguished from each other by branching habit, branch length, and hairiness. The most interesting facet of peanut growth is the development of the seeds. After the small, yellow flowers pollinate themselves, the stalks at the bases of the ovaries, called pegs, elongate rapidly and turn downward due to geotropism. The peg then buries itself several inches in the ground to mature in approximately four months (6). In order for peanuts to be grown efficiently, several habitat criteria must be met. One of these is a suitable climate. For best yields, peanuts require a growing period of 4-5 months with a steady, rather high temperature and an annual rainfall of about 50-100 cm. The growing season must be long, warm and moist, but the harvest season must be dry so the pods will pull out of the ground. Another requirement is a light-col6red, well drained, sandy loam soil. If the peanuts are grown in too heavy soil, the pods will remain in the ground when the plants are harvested (4). Peanuts are grown in countries with warm climates all around the world. India produces about six million metric tons annually and is easily the world's leading producer.

Sex Tourism

Gender and the Economy of Sex Tourism In Kenya’s Coast Province Introduction â€Å"Sex tourism requires Third World women to be economically desperate enough to enter into prostitution; once they do so, it becomes difficult to leave. The other side of the equation requires men from affluent societies to imagine that African women are more available and submissive than women in their own countries. Finally, the industry depends on alliance between local governments in search of foreign currency and local foreign business willing to invest in sexualized travel† (Enloe, 2000:36). Otherwise known as sex prostitution, sex tourism is tourism for which the main motivation of the trip is to consummate or engage in commercial sexual relations (Graburn 1983; Hall 1991; Ryan and Hall 2001). The number of men and women travelling to Third World countries seeking sex tourism has increased tremendously (Herold et al. 2001). In the past, notorious sex destinations have been mainly the South East Asian countries, today it has spread to other regions of the world including Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa, Brazil and The Gambia (Ryan and Hall 2001, Enloe2002; Chissim 1996). This paper discusses gender and the political economy of sex tourism on the Kenyan Coast, its health and socio- economic impacts. International Tourism and Sex Tourism in Kenya Tourists visit Kenya because of several reasons including its beautiful landscape, wildlife safari, the humid climatic conditions along the Kenyan Coast and the beautiful Coastal beaches. International tourist arrivals in Kenya have been increasing tremendously from 69 million in 1960 to 160 million in 1970, 458 million in 1990, and 625 million in 1998 (WTO, 1999). This increase has led to massive increase in sex tourism, a condition evidenced by inclusion of Kenya among the world’s leading sex tourism destinations (Vatican 2003; Boston Globe 1995; East African Standard 1995 and Chessim 1996). Although not officially stated, a good percentage of foreign tourists who visit Kenya often indulge in sex tourism during their trip (Chissam 1996; Sindiga 1999). These tourists mainly come from Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Italy and France. Others are from North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and European countries such as Spain and Sweden. Many of these countries have been generating sex tourists to some of the world’s renowned sex tourism destinations such as Thailand (Ryan and Hall 2001). Hence we can conclude that they are likely to engage in the same activity while in Kenya. Kenya is a developing country with agriculture contributing 24. 0% of GDP. Overall, Kenya’s economic performance has been declining since early 1990’s. The country’s per capita is about US$ 260 and more than 70% of Kenyan population currently lives below the poverty line; the worst hit are women (CBS 2001). The Economics of Tourism and Sex Industry The main economic activity in Kenya at independence in 1963 was Agriculture whereby the country relied on cash crop exports. After independence, the government tried to diversify the economy by implementing an â€Å"open door† economic policy to attract foreign investment. However, the limitations of agricultural and manufacturing sectors coupled with the appreciation of employment potential forced Kenyan government to turn to tourism as a central industry. Since 1987, tourism industry has been the leading foreign exchange earner, (CBS 2001) surpassing the traditional export crops of coffee and tea (Gakuhu1992; Weaver 1998 and CBS 2001). The industry employs about 1. 5 million Kenyans, approximately 8% of wage earning labor force (Weaver, 1998 and CBS 1999). In addition, Tourism is linked to many domestic industries and it is a potentially useful tool for generating development in neglected areas. The industry also contributes substantially to government revenues through taxes and import duties. Tourism is therefore officially promoted in Kenya as the main foreign exchange earner, source of employment and general development. Its significance on the Kenyan economy has a lot of bearing on tourism policies including those related to sex tourism. Sex Tourism Market on the Kenyan Coast Sex tourism is believed to be increasing at a high rate in Kenya. This is mainly because of the reality that there is a sex tourism market for female and male tourists. Female tourists, mainly from European countries come to Kenya to meet with local beach boys because they imagine that black men (or men of color) are stronger and more active in bed than men in their home countries. On the other hand, male tourists come to Kenya to meet with black women; mainly young girls who are believed to be ‘hot’ in bed. Child prostitution is also emerging in Kenya involving young boys and girls. This is commonly along the Kenyan coast where many children choose not to go to school but instead go to beaches in search for white men and women from European countries who exploit them sexually. The Kenyan Coast located along the Indian Ocean caters for about 66% of Kenyan tourism activities. Sex tourism is a major activity in Kenyan Coast (Sindiga 1999, Migot-Adhola et al 1982; Bechmann 1985). The Kenya coast as a tourism destination has existed since 1920 attracting mainly the white settlers and colonial government officials who sought holiday excitements. Major tourist attractions at the Kenyan coast include the wildlife, white sandy beaches, sun, sea, sex, scene features, diverse cultures, hospitable people, historical sites, national museums, national parks and reserves near the coast and tourism facilities of international standard such as hotels and airport. The presence and availability of Britons, Germans, Italians, Americans and others in Mombasa and other coastal towns in search of rest, fun and recreation has been the main factor attracting Kenyan girls and children to get involved in sex tourism (Sindiga 1999 and Chissim 1996). Different Forms of Sex Tourism Sex tourism sometimes involves production of videos featuring nude dancing in which no direct physical contact occurs; the tourists engage in voyeurism. There are also casual prostitutes or freelancers who move in and out of prostitution depending on their financial needs. In this case, sex tourism may be regarded as incomplete commercialized and the relationship between sex worker and the client may be ridden with ambiguities (Cohen 1982; Ryan and Hall 2001), particularly if the relationship shifts from an economic to a social base. However, some women entering into sex tourism in Kenya are not financially needy but only seeking fun and ‘social class’, whereby the community views women seen socializing with white men with high esteem and associate them with wealth and success in life. Some of these women have jobs in noble professions while others are college students. There is also the more formalized form of prostitution where the workers operate through intermediaries. Since sex tourism is illegal in Kenya, prostitutes use entertainment establishments such as night clubs, bars, beaches and other retail outlets to get customers. The other type of sex tourism is that of bonded prostitutes. This is more of slavery because it is enforced by people such as family members through abductions and kidnapping. Motivation Factors: Why do Tourists Look for Sex Most tourists tend to behave differently while in the countries they are touring. This is because there is an assurance of anonymity, which releases them from the usual restraints, which determine their behavior in their home countries. Tourism allows people â€Å"to lose their identity† and gives them the freedom to escape realities and live their fantasies. They spend more money, relax more, drink more, eat more and get involved in pleasures they would not at home. Men who would never visit brothels in their home countries will end up doing so in a foreign country where there is negligible chance of detection and penalty. For the same reason, women who would never have sex with boys young enough to be their grand children at their home country would do so in a foreign country. Tourists tend to seek commercial sex services in Kenya because the services are readily available and quite cheap compared to what they would pay for such services in their home countries. Such tourists are able to enjoy lifestyles they could never enjoy in their home countries. Furthermore, some of these tourists may hold menial jobs in their industrialized home countries but because of the disparity in salaries and high exchange rates, they may appear comparatively rich when in a poorer country like Kenya. They would therefore tend to spend their money in sexual activities that they associate with the rich and the famous in their home countries. Chissim has illustrated this in his interview with a German tourist visiting Kenya (Chissim 1996:18). â€Å"†¦. Morco said he was in Kenya for a month but within four days, he boasted of already fucking five girls. He said he fucked one girl on the beach but pretended that he had no money, so he got that one for free. Another girl he fucked on the beach for 100/- (about $1) and told her that he had no more money. The others he said he had to pay 200/- (about $3) †¦Ã¢â‚¬  For some of these tourists, Kenya represents Africa where life is perceived as raw and wild and a place where people are uncontrolled, liberal and polygamous. These reasons partly explain why some European women visit Kenya to look for sex from beach boys young enough to be their grandsons. It is estimated that more than 5% of all European women who visit Kenya go in search of sex, especially those from German, Switzerland and Italy (New York Times Feb. 14, 2002). Many Kenyan communities highly value virginity. This motivates tourists to have sex with younger girls; in the anticipation of having sex with a virgin who may be free from HIV/ AIDS. Some tourists engage in sex tourism because they may be fleeing from unhappy relationships at home and, perhaps, from women who may tend to question male domination. Male supremacy is perceived as a natural kind of authority in many cultures and world religions. Cultural values defining traditional male sex roles are power, dominance, strength and supremacy, while those defining female roles are submissiveness, weakness, inferiority and passivity. Women are perceived as property of men and sex as exchange of goods, which further entrenches male supremacy. This notion also teaches men that females are worthless and less deserving and may be treated as objects of men. The mafia- style drugs and sex industry along the Kenyan coast is another motivating factor for sex tourism. People with a lot of money are capable of bribing their way out of trouble if caught Such people are also responsible for organizing sex services for clients outside the country (Sindiga 1999; Chessim 1996). Supply Factors: Why Do Sex Workers Get Involved â€Å"Many times I don’t feel anything during sexual encounters. It is because I need money for myself and my children that I keep doing it. I have learned to do motions mechanically in order to satisfy my clients. If I do it well, they will come back and that means more money. † (Lin Lean Lim 2000:74). This Filipino woman quoted by Lin Lean Lim expresses the reason why many women from Third World countries practice sex tourism and their feelings about sex work. The main reason for sex tourism for many is poverty. Many Kenyan women are economically desperate. With the increasing rate of unemployment and high cost of living, prostitution is left as the only option for them to earn a living and support their children. Such women migrate to coast with hope of finding white tourists who can pay more for the services or even may end up marrying them. Some girls involved in sex tourism come from broken homes or very poor family backgrounds and are never taken to school to attain formal education. They resolve to sex prostitution as a means of supporting themselves economically. In Kenya, women are generally poorer than men because women have limited access to resources such as land, capital, farm equipments and agricultural inputs. Inheritance practices in most Kenyan communities seem to favor men. This means that men can easily have access to other productive resources because they can use land as security to borrow money if needed to purchase other productive resources. This option is normally not available for women. In many Kenyan communities, illiteracy levels in women are higher than those of men. This is because parents give priority to boy’s education particularly if resources are limited. Along the coast, education is not valued because people from these areas are used to receiving tokens and money from the tourists. Children of school going age therefore prefer to go to beaches in search for tourists who give them tokens in exchange for sex. Other factors affecting education for girls include unwanted pregnancies and the fact that they are forced to early marriages by their parents for economic gains. Kenyan women are discriminated against in most areas of formal employment and more often left with poorly paid jobs or no jobs at all. This makes prostitution an alternative. The HIV/AIDS scourge in Kenya is estimated to claim 500 lives daily leaving many orphans. The young children left become heads of the families and may often turn to sex tourism and prostitution as a means of earning a living to support their siblings. Impact of Sex Tourism in Kenya Sex tourism can be seen as both a risk and an opportunity. Most women in sex tourism face the risk of material loss because their clients may not pay them for the services (ref. The Marco case). Women are generally helpless against such exploitation and take it as part of their business. Sex workers face the risk of losing their money to thieves and police because they have to bribe their way out if caught as they mostly work at night. Women can sometimes face attacks by dissatisfied customers. These attacks may be in form of rape, cruelty, violence or even murder. â€Å"Monica Njeri was a 32- year old mother of two and a prostitute in Mombasa. She was brutally murdered by Frank Sundstrom a 19 year old USA navy service man who wanted the kind of sex that Monica could not provide. When he was not satisfied with merely sleeping, he woke up and tried to steal back the money he had given to her plus her own money but she woke up and caught him in the act. In ensuing struggle, he broke a beer bottle to make a weapon and repeatedly stabbed her until she died. † (Migot- Adhola 1982:74). Although Sundstrom admitted the offence, his only sentence was to sign a bond of 500/- (equivalent to US$46 at that time) to be of good conduct. Women in sex tourism industry and prostitution are continually exposed to sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Many tourists may not accept to use protection such as condoms because they argue that it interrupts the flow of sex and carrying it may imply that one is promiscuous (Clift and Grabowski 1997). Sex workers are also faced with the danger of susceptibility to anal or cervical cancers, additionally, since many women are forced into sex work, many of them only work under influence of drugs and/or alcohol. This may lead to depression or alcohol addiction. Sex tourism has been blamed in Kenyan coast for increasing rate of school drop-out, poverty and illiteracy. This is mainly because children of school going age choose not to school but to follow tourists who lure them to sex tourism. However, some women that have risked sex tourism have been able to build better houses and invested in urban businesses. This is largely because earnings from prostitution are often more than those from other alternative employment opportunities open to women. Sex workers contribute to national economy by boosting profits of many transnational hotels and airlines, taxi drivers, brothel owners and many other intermediaries. The Kenyan police, the state, as well as the local and international enterprises are well aware that sex has a market value even though they proclaim that prostitution is immoral (Ryan and Hall 2001). Sex tourism has also contributed to cultural exchange because many sea workers are forced to learn foreign languages so that they can communicate with their clients. There are occasions when these temporary relationships ave led to marriages hence removing such girls from prostitution. The other positive impact is that health workers are encouraged to go for regular medical checkups because of the nature of their work, hence paying more attention to their health. Bibliography Awanohara 1975. Protesting the sexual imperialists. Far Eastern Economic Review, 87 (21st March) PP 5-6. Bishop, R. and Robinson, L. S. 1998. Night Ma rket: Sexual cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle, London and New York: Routledge. Boston Globe Thursday November 23, 1995 Cater, E. A 1989 â€Å"Tourism in less Developed Countries†. In Annals of Tourism Research Vol. 16 No. 4. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2001 Economic Survey of Kenya. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2002 Economic Survey of Kenya. Chissim F. 1996. An exploratory and Descriptive Research on Child Prostitution and Tourism in Kenya. EPAT Report, Nairobi. Clift S and Grabowski, 1997 Tourism and Health: Risks, Research and Responses. Biddles Ltd, Guilford and King’s Lynn Cohen, E 1988. Tourism and AIDS in Thailand. Annals of Tourism Research, 15 (4), PP 467-86 Cohen, E. 1982. Thai Girls and Farang men: The Edge of Ambiguity Annals of tourism Research, 9 (3) PP 403-28 Collins Patricia Hills 2000. The Sexual Politics of Black Womanhood. In Disch Estelle(ed). Reconstructing Gender. A multicultural Anthology. Mayfield publishing East Africa Standard September 12, 1995 Enloe, Cynthia (2000) â€Å"On the Beach; Sexism and Tourism† in Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of the International Politics: University of California press (2nd edition) Pp 19-41 Enloe, Cynthia 2002. The prostitute, the colonel and the Nationalist, in: Enloe, Cynthia: Maneuvers: The international politics of militarising women’s lives: London and Los Angeles: University of California Press (2nd Edition) pp 19-41 Ennew, J 1986. The sexual exploitation of children. Polity press, Cambridge Fish, M. 1984 Controlling Sex Sales to Tourists: Commenting on Graburn and Cohen. Annals of Tourism Research 11(4) 615-617. Gakahu C. G and Goode B. E 1992. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Kenya. Wildlife Conservation International. Graburn, N. H 1983. Tourism and prostitution, Annals of Tourism Research, 10:437-56 Hall C. M. 1994. Nature and Implications of Sex tourism in South-East Asia in: V. H. Kinnaird and D. R. Hall (ed) Tourism: A Gender Analysis Chichester, John Wiley PP-142-163 Harrison, David 1992, (ed) Tourism and the Less Developed Countries. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Jommo, R. B (1987: Indigenous enterprise in Kenya's tourism industry Geneva: itineraires etudes du development , Institute Universitaire d'Etudes du Development). Lim, Lean Lin 1998. Whither the sex sector? Some policy considerations University of California press, pp 49-108. Migot-Adhola, S. E et al ,1982. Study of Tourism in Kenya with emphasis on the attitudes of the Residents of the Coast. Institute for Development Studies Consultancy Report No. 7, Nairobi University Montgomery Heather 2001. Child Sex Tourism in Thailand: In D. Harrison ed. Tourism and the Less Developed World Issues and Case Studies. Pruitt. D. and Lafont S. 1995 For Love and Money: romance tourism in Jamaica, Annals of Tourism research 22(2); 419 – 440. Richter, L. K. 1995. Exploring the political role of gender in tourism research. In W. F. Theobald (ed. ) Global Tourism in the next decade. Oxford Boston: Butterworth Heinemann. Ryan Chris and Hall C Michael (2001): Sex Tourism: Marginal People and Liminalities Routledge London Ryan Chris (1991) Tourism and Marketing. A symbiotic Relationship? Tourism Management Journal pp 101-109. Butterworth –Heinenmann Ryan. C. and Rachel Kinder (1996). Sex, tourism and sex tourism: fulfilling similar needs? Tourism Management 17(7): 507-518. Elservier Science Ltd . Sindiga Isaac 1999: Tourism and African Development: Change and Challenge of Tourism in Kenya. African Study Centre. Leiden The Nertherlands Truong, Thanh-Dam 1983. The dynamics of sex tourism. The case of South-east Asia. Development and change 14, 533-53. Weaver, D. B. 1998 Ecotourism in less developed world. CAB International World Tourism Organisation,1999. Yearbook of Tourism Statistics. WTO, Madrid, Spain. Young, G. 1973. Tourism: Blessings or Blight? Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. The Vatican representative to WTO (2003). http://www. cathnews. com/news/304/43. php Sex Tourism Gender and the Economy of Sex Tourism In Kenya’s Coast Province Introduction â€Å"Sex tourism requires Third World women to be economically desperate enough to enter into prostitution; once they do so, it becomes difficult to leave. The other side of the equation requires men from affluent societies to imagine that African women are more available and submissive than women in their own countries. Finally, the industry depends on alliance between local governments in search of foreign currency and local foreign business willing to invest in sexualized travel† (Enloe, 2000:36). Otherwise known as sex prostitution, sex tourism is tourism for which the main motivation of the trip is to consummate or engage in commercial sexual relations (Graburn 1983; Hall 1991; Ryan and Hall 2001). The number of men and women travelling to Third World countries seeking sex tourism has increased tremendously (Herold et al. 2001). In the past, notorious sex destinations have been mainly the South East Asian countries, today it has spread to other regions of the world including Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa, Brazil and The Gambia (Ryan and Hall 2001, Enloe2002; Chissim 1996). This paper discusses gender and the political economy of sex tourism on the Kenyan Coast, its health and socio- economic impacts. International Tourism and Sex Tourism in Kenya Tourists visit Kenya because of several reasons including its beautiful landscape, wildlife safari, the humid climatic conditions along the Kenyan Coast and the beautiful Coastal beaches. International tourist arrivals in Kenya have been increasing tremendously from 69 million in 1960 to 160 million in 1970, 458 million in 1990, and 625 million in 1998 (WTO, 1999). This increase has led to massive increase in sex tourism, a condition evidenced by inclusion of Kenya among the world’s leading sex tourism destinations (Vatican 2003; Boston Globe 1995; East African Standard 1995 and Chessim 1996). Although not officially stated, a good percentage of foreign tourists who visit Kenya often indulge in sex tourism during their trip (Chissam 1996; Sindiga 1999). These tourists mainly come from Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Italy and France. Others are from North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and European countries such as Spain and Sweden. Many of these countries have been generating sex tourists to some of the world’s renowned sex tourism destinations such as Thailand (Ryan and Hall 2001). Hence we can conclude that they are likely to engage in the same activity while in Kenya. Kenya is a developing country with agriculture contributing 24. 0% of GDP. Overall, Kenya’s economic performance has been declining since early 1990’s. The country’s per capita is about US$ 260 and more than 70% of Kenyan population currently lives below the poverty line; the worst hit are women (CBS 2001). The Economics of Tourism and Sex Industry The main economic activity in Kenya at independence in 1963 was Agriculture whereby the country relied on cash crop exports. After independence, the government tried to diversify the economy by implementing an â€Å"open door† economic policy to attract foreign investment. However, the limitations of agricultural and manufacturing sectors coupled with the appreciation of employment potential forced Kenyan government to turn to tourism as a central industry. Since 1987, tourism industry has been the leading foreign exchange earner, (CBS 2001) surpassing the traditional export crops of coffee and tea (Gakuhu1992; Weaver 1998 and CBS 2001). The industry employs about 1. 5 million Kenyans, approximately 8% of wage earning labor force (Weaver, 1998 and CBS 1999). In addition, Tourism is linked to many domestic industries and it is a potentially useful tool for generating development in neglected areas. The industry also contributes substantially to government revenues through taxes and import duties. Tourism is therefore officially promoted in Kenya as the main foreign exchange earner, source of employment and general development. Its significance on the Kenyan economy has a lot of bearing on tourism policies including those related to sex tourism. Sex Tourism Market on the Kenyan Coast Sex tourism is believed to be increasing at a high rate in Kenya. This is mainly because of the reality that there is a sex tourism market for female and male tourists. Female tourists, mainly from European countries come to Kenya to meet with local beach boys because they imagine that black men (or men of color) are stronger and more active in bed than men in their home countries. On the other hand, male tourists come to Kenya to meet with black women; mainly young girls who are believed to be ‘hot’ in bed. Child prostitution is also emerging in Kenya involving young boys and girls. This is commonly along the Kenyan coast where many children choose not to go to school but instead go to beaches in search for white men and women from European countries who exploit them sexually. The Kenyan Coast located along the Indian Ocean caters for about 66% of Kenyan tourism activities. Sex tourism is a major activity in Kenyan Coast (Sindiga 1999, Migot-Adhola et al 1982; Bechmann 1985). The Kenya coast as a tourism destination has existed since 1920 attracting mainly the white settlers and colonial government officials who sought holiday excitements. Major tourist attractions at the Kenyan coast include the wildlife, white sandy beaches, sun, sea, sex, scene features, diverse cultures, hospitable people, historical sites, national museums, national parks and reserves near the coast and tourism facilities of international standard such as hotels and airport. The presence and availability of Britons, Germans, Italians, Americans and others in Mombasa and other coastal towns in search of rest, fun and recreation has been the main factor attracting Kenyan girls and children to get involved in sex tourism (Sindiga 1999 and Chissim 1996). Different Forms of Sex Tourism Sex tourism sometimes involves production of videos featuring nude dancing in which no direct physical contact occurs; the tourists engage in voyeurism. There are also casual prostitutes or freelancers who move in and out of prostitution depending on their financial needs. In this case, sex tourism may be regarded as incomplete commercialized and the relationship between sex worker and the client may be ridden with ambiguities (Cohen 1982; Ryan and Hall 2001), particularly if the relationship shifts from an economic to a social base. However, some women entering into sex tourism in Kenya are not financially needy but only seeking fun and ‘social class’, whereby the community views women seen socializing with white men with high esteem and associate them with wealth and success in life. Some of these women have jobs in noble professions while others are college students. There is also the more formalized form of prostitution where the workers operate through intermediaries. Since sex tourism is illegal in Kenya, prostitutes use entertainment establishments such as night clubs, bars, beaches and other retail outlets to get customers. The other type of sex tourism is that of bonded prostitutes. This is more of slavery because it is enforced by people such as family members through abductions and kidnapping. Motivation Factors: Why do Tourists Look for Sex Most tourists tend to behave differently while in the countries they are touring. This is because there is an assurance of anonymity, which releases them from the usual restraints, which determine their behavior in their home countries. Tourism allows people â€Å"to lose their identity† and gives them the freedom to escape realities and live their fantasies. They spend more money, relax more, drink more, eat more and get involved in pleasures they would not at home. Men who would never visit brothels in their home countries will end up doing so in a foreign country where there is negligible chance of detection and penalty. For the same reason, women who would never have sex with boys young enough to be their grand children at their home country would do so in a foreign country. Tourists tend to seek commercial sex services in Kenya because the services are readily available and quite cheap compared to what they would pay for such services in their home countries. Such tourists are able to enjoy lifestyles they could never enjoy in their home countries. Furthermore, some of these tourists may hold menial jobs in their industrialized home countries but because of the disparity in salaries and high exchange rates, they may appear comparatively rich when in a poorer country like Kenya. They would therefore tend to spend their money in sexual activities that they associate with the rich and the famous in their home countries. Chissim has illustrated this in his interview with a German tourist visiting Kenya (Chissim 1996:18). â€Å"†¦. Morco said he was in Kenya for a month but within four days, he boasted of already fucking five girls. He said he fucked one girl on the beach but pretended that he had no money, so he got that one for free. Another girl he fucked on the beach for 100/- (about $1) and told her that he had no more money. The others he said he had to pay 200/- (about $3) †¦Ã¢â‚¬  For some of these tourists, Kenya represents Africa where life is perceived as raw and wild and a place where people are uncontrolled, liberal and polygamous. These reasons partly explain why some European women visit Kenya to look for sex from beach boys young enough to be their grandsons. It is estimated that more than 5% of all European women who visit Kenya go in search of sex, especially those from German, Switzerland and Italy (New York Times Feb. 14, 2002). Many Kenyan communities highly value virginity. This motivates tourists to have sex with younger girls; in the anticipation of having sex with a virgin who may be free from HIV/ AIDS. Some tourists engage in sex tourism because they may be fleeing from unhappy relationships at home and, perhaps, from women who may tend to question male domination. Male supremacy is perceived as a natural kind of authority in many cultures and world religions. Cultural values defining traditional male sex roles are power, dominance, strength and supremacy, while those defining female roles are submissiveness, weakness, inferiority and passivity. Women are perceived as property of men and sex as exchange of goods, which further entrenches male supremacy. This notion also teaches men that females are worthless and less deserving and may be treated as objects of men. The mafia- style drugs and sex industry along the Kenyan coast is another motivating factor for sex tourism. People with a lot of money are capable of bribing their way out of trouble if caught Such people are also responsible for organizing sex services for clients outside the country (Sindiga 1999; Chessim 1996). Supply Factors: Why Do Sex Workers Get Involved â€Å"Many times I don’t feel anything during sexual encounters. It is because I need money for myself and my children that I keep doing it. I have learned to do motions mechanically in order to satisfy my clients. If I do it well, they will come back and that means more money. † (Lin Lean Lim 2000:74). This Filipino woman quoted by Lin Lean Lim expresses the reason why many women from Third World countries practice sex tourism and their feelings about sex work. The main reason for sex tourism for many is poverty. Many Kenyan women are economically desperate. With the increasing rate of unemployment and high cost of living, prostitution is left as the only option for them to earn a living and support their children. Such women migrate to coast with hope of finding white tourists who can pay more for the services or even may end up marrying them. Some girls involved in sex tourism come from broken homes or very poor family backgrounds and are never taken to school to attain formal education. They resolve to sex prostitution as a means of supporting themselves economically. In Kenya, women are generally poorer than men because women have limited access to resources such as land, capital, farm equipments and agricultural inputs. Inheritance practices in most Kenyan communities seem to favor men. This means that men can easily have access to other productive resources because they can use land as security to borrow money if needed to purchase other productive resources. This option is normally not available for women. In many Kenyan communities, illiteracy levels in women are higher than those of men. This is because parents give priority to boy’s education particularly if resources are limited. Along the coast, education is not valued because people from these areas are used to receiving tokens and money from the tourists. Children of school going age therefore prefer to go to beaches in search for tourists who give them tokens in exchange for sex. Other factors affecting education for girls include unwanted pregnancies and the fact that they are forced to early marriages by their parents for economic gains. Kenyan women are discriminated against in most areas of formal employment and more often left with poorly paid jobs or no jobs at all. This makes prostitution an alternative. The HIV/AIDS scourge in Kenya is estimated to claim 500 lives daily leaving many orphans. The young children left become heads of the families and may often turn to sex tourism and prostitution as a means of earning a living to support their siblings. Impact of Sex Tourism in Kenya Sex tourism can be seen as both a risk and an opportunity. Most women in sex tourism face the risk of material loss because their clients may not pay them for the services (ref. The Marco case). Women are generally helpless against such exploitation and take it as part of their business. Sex workers face the risk of losing their money to thieves and police because they have to bribe their way out if caught as they mostly work at night. Women can sometimes face attacks by dissatisfied customers. These attacks may be in form of rape, cruelty, violence or even murder. â€Å"Monica Njeri was a 32- year old mother of two and a prostitute in Mombasa. She was brutally murdered by Frank Sundstrom a 19 year old USA navy service man who wanted the kind of sex that Monica could not provide. When he was not satisfied with merely sleeping, he woke up and tried to steal back the money he had given to her plus her own money but she woke up and caught him in the act. In ensuing struggle, he broke a beer bottle to make a weapon and repeatedly stabbed her until she died. † (Migot- Adhola 1982:74). Although Sundstrom admitted the offence, his only sentence was to sign a bond of 500/- (equivalent to US$46 at that time) to be of good conduct. Women in sex tourism industry and prostitution are continually exposed to sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Many tourists may not accept to use protection such as condoms because they argue that it interrupts the flow of sex and carrying it may imply that one is promiscuous (Clift and Grabowski 1997). Sex workers are also faced with the danger of susceptibility to anal or cervical cancers, additionally, since many women are forced into sex work, many of them only work under influence of drugs and/or alcohol. This may lead to depression or alcohol addiction. Sex tourism has been blamed in Kenyan coast for increasing rate of school drop-out, poverty and illiteracy. This is mainly because children of school going age choose not to school but to follow tourists who lure them to sex tourism. However, some women that have risked sex tourism have been able to build better houses and invested in urban businesses. This is largely because earnings from prostitution are often more than those from other alternative employment opportunities open to women. Sex workers contribute to national economy by boosting profits of many transnational hotels and airlines, taxi drivers, brothel owners and many other intermediaries. The Kenyan police, the state, as well as the local and international enterprises are well aware that sex has a market value even though they proclaim that prostitution is immoral (Ryan and Hall 2001). Sex tourism has also contributed to cultural exchange because many sea workers are forced to learn foreign languages so that they can communicate with their clients. There are occasions when these temporary relationships ave led to marriages hence removing such girls from prostitution. The other positive impact is that health workers are encouraged to go for regular medical checkups because of the nature of their work, hence paying more attention to their health. Bibliography Awanohara 1975. Protesting the sexual imperialists. Far Eastern Economic Review, 87 (21st March) PP 5-6. Bishop, R. and Robinson, L. S. 1998. Night Ma rket: Sexual cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle, London and New York: Routledge. Boston Globe Thursday November 23, 1995 Cater, E. A 1989 â€Å"Tourism in less Developed Countries†. In Annals of Tourism Research Vol. 16 No. 4. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2001 Economic Survey of Kenya. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2002 Economic Survey of Kenya. Chissim F. 1996. An exploratory and Descriptive Research on Child Prostitution and Tourism in Kenya. EPAT Report, Nairobi. Clift S and Grabowski, 1997 Tourism and Health: Risks, Research and Responses. Biddles Ltd, Guilford and King’s Lynn Cohen, E 1988. Tourism and AIDS in Thailand. Annals of Tourism Research, 15 (4), PP 467-86 Cohen, E. 1982. Thai Girls and Farang men: The Edge of Ambiguity Annals of tourism Research, 9 (3) PP 403-28 Collins Patricia Hills 2000. The Sexual Politics of Black Womanhood. In Disch Estelle(ed). Reconstructing Gender. A multicultural Anthology. Mayfield publishing East Africa Standard September 12, 1995 Enloe, Cynthia (2000) â€Å"On the Beach; Sexism and Tourism† in Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of the International Politics: University of California press (2nd edition) Pp 19-41 Enloe, Cynthia 2002. The prostitute, the colonel and the Nationalist, in: Enloe, Cynthia: Maneuvers: The international politics of militarising women’s lives: London and Los Angeles: University of California Press (2nd Edition) pp 19-41 Ennew, J 1986. The sexual exploitation of children. Polity press, Cambridge Fish, M. 1984 Controlling Sex Sales to Tourists: Commenting on Graburn and Cohen. Annals of Tourism Research 11(4) 615-617. Gakahu C. G and Goode B. E 1992. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Kenya. Wildlife Conservation International. Graburn, N. H 1983. Tourism and prostitution, Annals of Tourism Research, 10:437-56 Hall C. M. 1994. Nature and Implications of Sex tourism in South-East Asia in: V. H. Kinnaird and D. R. Hall (ed) Tourism: A Gender Analysis Chichester, John Wiley PP-142-163 Harrison, David 1992, (ed) Tourism and the Less Developed Countries. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Jommo, R. B (1987: Indigenous enterprise in Kenya's tourism industry Geneva: itineraires etudes du development , Institute Universitaire d'Etudes du Development). Lim, Lean Lin 1998. Whither the sex sector? Some policy considerations University of California press, pp 49-108. Migot-Adhola, S. E et al ,1982. Study of Tourism in Kenya with emphasis on the attitudes of the Residents of the Coast. Institute for Development Studies Consultancy Report No. 7, Nairobi University Montgomery Heather 2001. Child Sex Tourism in Thailand: In D. Harrison ed. Tourism and the Less Developed World Issues and Case Studies. Pruitt. D. and Lafont S. 1995 For Love and Money: romance tourism in Jamaica, Annals of Tourism research 22(2); 419 – 440. Richter, L. K. 1995. Exploring the political role of gender in tourism research. In W. F. Theobald (ed. ) Global Tourism in the next decade. Oxford Boston: Butterworth Heinemann. Ryan Chris and Hall C Michael (2001): Sex Tourism: Marginal People and Liminalities Routledge London Ryan Chris (1991) Tourism and Marketing. A symbiotic Relationship? Tourism Management Journal pp 101-109. Butterworth –Heinenmann Ryan. C. and Rachel Kinder (1996). Sex, tourism and sex tourism: fulfilling similar needs? Tourism Management 17(7): 507-518. Elservier Science Ltd . Sindiga Isaac 1999: Tourism and African Development: Change and Challenge of Tourism in Kenya. African Study Centre. Leiden The Nertherlands Truong, Thanh-Dam 1983. The dynamics of sex tourism. The case of South-east Asia. Development and change 14, 533-53. Weaver, D. B. 1998 Ecotourism in less developed world. CAB International World Tourism Organisation,1999. Yearbook of Tourism Statistics. WTO, Madrid, Spain. Young, G. 1973. Tourism: Blessings or Blight? Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. The Vatican representative to WTO (2003). http://www. cathnews. com/news/304/43. php

A Critical Exploration Of The Increasing Fragmentation Of Policing The WritePass Journal

A Critical Exploration Of The Increasing Fragmentation Of Policing Introduction A Critical Exploration Of The Increasing Fragmentation Of Policing , p.22). Whereas privatization of policing may indicated states’ failure in providing fundamental security services to its citizens, this is not necessarily true.. It does not necessarily mean that the state is dying but rather diversifying and developing. Several key questions arise when debating on this topic. Why the increase in fragmentation of policing? what are the implications of such trends in terms of democratic legitimacy, effectiveness and equity? In the midst of the far-reaching transformation, how best can the multiplicity of institutional reforms involved in policing be governed? This paper addresses these questions with evidence drawn from various perspectivesfrom various perspectives. it The paper provides an adequate account for the shifting structures of security, providing an explanation for the increasing fragmentation and debating the extent to which it   privatization of policing has occurred. In order to understand the trend towards private policing and the reasons for the increasing fragmentation, it is important to first explore the historical development. Since it is beyond the scope of this paper to examine the 1st world war and the 2nd world war more in depth, the paper will briefly touch on some of the important transformations. depth the post-conflict proliferation of the 1st and 2nd World Wars, it will briefly touch on some important developments that led to the rise of private security industry.   Historical context The involvement of thee private secto in crime control and prevention can be traced back to the cold war. During the cold war, the private military sector provided services ranging from logistics to direct combat (Cusumano 2010). A prime example is the US firm Vinnel which was contracted to train Saudi Arabian National Guard in 1977. Other private security actors military sectors involved in military assistance during the cold war period include the British Watchguard, Gurkha Security Guards, KMS, Saladin and DSL(Cusumano 2010). Whilst the growing trend towards privatization of policing is not a new phenomenonIt is clear that th involvement in security tasks is not a new phenomenon and has been there since the cold war period. However the transformations that followed after the cold war triggered the tectonic change and lead to the increasing in fragmentation of policing. First, there was massive downsizing   with most of the armies which created a market for military assistance (Lock 199). With the demise of the cold war, the losing parties saw their military personnel transfer to other theartres. Having lost in both wars, Germany became the major source of private proliferation. The transformation that took place with most of the armies increased the demand for external contractors. Th, Second, the strain on human resources and the increase in emphasis on specialization led to outsourcing of functions other than direct combat, such as foreign military training. This is evident with the planned gradual privatization of activities other than combat by the US Department of Defense in 2001 (Cusumano 2012). Neoliberal reforms Apart from transformations that took place during othe post-cold war period, this trend was further reinforced by the rise of neoliberals.   The emergence of neo-liberal ideas that emphasized on the importance of fragmentation of power has played a key role in this trend. This perspective is in line with Focaults concept of dispersion of power. Neoliberal ideas such as outsourcing, privatization and public private partnerships that were aimed at streamlining bereacracies played a key role towards this trend. The rise of neoliberalism during the late 1970s led to the Outsourcing, privatization and public private partnerships that were formed during the late 1970s to streamline bureaucracies resulted in the shift from the state-centered hierarchical structures towards the more diverse horizontal structures (Abrahamsen Williams 2009). Neoliberal reforms aimed at limiting the power of the state by finding means of rendering them accountable (Button2012). These new arrangements   empowered private actors to increase their involvement in security provision. In this regard, he rein of power can be said to have been taken over by the private sector appears to have been taken over by private corporations.   As emphasis was placed on conflict settlement that goes beyond the state, this led to the widening of police infrastructure to include private bodies. In many states, public policing   underwent major neoliberal reforms. Hybrid public-private structures   were   developed across many countries driven by the neoliberal ideology. However, the idea of diminishing power of the state   As the upsurge of private security companies has led to the expansion of the state rather than the ‘rolling back of the state’.The impact of this upsurge in private security has been the expansion of the state rather than rolling back of the state. The increase in fragmentation and privatization has extended the state apparatus of criminal justice and strengthened the institutional architecture of crime control rather than diminishing or reducing the powers of the state (Steden Sarre 2007). Privatization revolution The increasing fragmentation can also be said to have been driven by the ideological shift brought about by the ‘privatization revolution’.   This is related to the emergence of mass private property where workplaces, leisure facilities, shopping malls and many other places are manned by private security guards. Whereas these places may be open to the public, in reality, they are private spaces. This seem to have has contributed to the growth of private security to the extent that private firms have mimicked nation states, a form of ( Button 2012). ‘Marketization’ or ‘commodification of policing The trend has further been reinforced by‘commodification’ of security which has resulted due to increased public demands that the police have not been able to satisfy. the involvement of the private sector in security provision has been seen as private is an appropriate means for dealing with the growing lawlessness and crimes. Rising cases of impunity across the globe have increased the demands for private security. Sierra leone is a prime example. Despite its small size, it is known globally a paradigm case of security privatization. The highly publicized activities of private security firms such as Sandline International and Executive Outcomes have made this small sized country globally recognized as the target of transnational security firms. Of course, this resulted due to the intense conflict in the country and presence of numerous rebel armies and civil defense militias. has   conflict and the numerous rebel armies and civil defense militias in the country. The increasing demand for security across the globe has no doubt led to this momentous growth. Unrest and violence across various parts of the world including Syria, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan have further strengthened the need to have these transnational security companies. Some of the well-known   examples of these transnational firms are the Securitas Group and Group 4 securicor which have developed their operations in more than 100 countries (Musa Kayode 2000). Group 4 Securicor officers are currently providing protection to US troops in Kosovo. Minimize public costs Perhaps a most crucial factor that has played a central role   towards this trend is the need to cut public costs. Given the rising cost of training and maintaining standing armies, many states have sought more cost effective ways of policing such as outsourcing security tasks to private sectors. (Krahmann 2002). Expertise of the private sector A more convincing argument for the proliferation of private security firms is related to expertise. The expansion can be attributed to the increasing emphasis on specialization of personnel. That is, the states have felt it necessary to outsource other security functions other than combat such as military training. It is a fact that success in military operations today is dependent on the state of the art technology. But most of the public military personnel do not have the necessary training for use of sophisticated technology. For example, the US relies on private military firms in using and maintaining sophisticated techology such as the Global Hawk unmanned aircrafts and the Predator (Tzifakis 2012). Private firms have an advantage in terms of their expertise especially given their practice of hiring regional expertise. ontrary to the above view, private security companies have come under immense criticism for their low standards of professionalism. Despite their high profile in forensic accountancy and expertise in several areas such as manning of aircrafts, the most dominant view has been that of an industry filled with corrupt, amoral, and incompetent employees   (Steden Sarre 2007). This is evident with most of the studies conducted in North America which portray private security guards as poorly educated, marginally paid and hastily trained figures with dubious characters (Prenzer 2004, and livingstone Hart 2003) Risk-based thinking and global assemblages The increasing fragmentation of policing can also be said to have resulted due to risk based thinking and global assemblageswhere global security actors are integrated in the provision of security.   Paradigm cases of global security assemblage can be seen in Nigeria and Siera leone. In Sierra Leone, private security firms have used their material resources including technical expertise to wield significant influences within global security assemblages. For example, in the case of Diamond minning by Koidu Holdings, PSCs especially Securicor Gray have used their capabilities and material resources to exert their influence onwield significant impact on the choice of security strategies (Abrahamsen Williams 2006). Similarly, global assemblages and risk based thinking appear to have contributed to the rise of private policing in Nigeria which is estimated to have between 1500 and 2000 private security companies (Keku Akingbade 2003).   A good example of the global security assemblage in Nigeria is the contract between Group4Securicor and Chevron Nigeria Ltd (Abrahamsen Williams 2009). Through this contract, Group4Securicor replaced most of the local security companies that provided manned guarding together with the police. Whilst this private company was mandated to guard the CNL headquarters, the operational base in Escravos and the two logistical bases in Warri and Port Harcourt; it has used its material resources and legitimacy to expand its mandate beyond guarding these areas. Geographical fragmentation A further probable reason for the increasing fragmentation of policing is the geographical fragmentation. This has led to the shift from government to governance within the transatlantic community (Krahman 2002, p. 23). Two developments are linked to this geographical transformation: progressive replacement of nation state and shift towards regional and global governance; and a shift towards private security actors. The shift towards regional and global governance can be seen with the geographical expansion of the EU and the NATO (Abrahamsen Williams 2009). While the sideway shift to privatization of security functions can be seen with the proliferation of various private security firms. Growing awareness of importance of private sector in global governance Finally, the trend has been reinforced by the growing awareness of importance of the private sector in global governance. In fact, a with Global Compact Initiative has been established to create partnership between the UN and private sector on human rights issues. , Kofi-Annan, the former secretary to the UN, once contemplated the possibility of the using private security firms in peacekeeping missions both in the provision of logistics and military combat (Abrahamsen Willliams 2007). Today, we have many private agencies providing military assistance to the UN, Nato and even African Union peacekeeping missions. Whilst th idea of a private police established to achieve accountability of public police may sound realistic, there is little persuasive evidence regarding the effectiveness of the private institutions in performing this role. In fact, it is case that the private sector is largely unaccountable. In theory, it is stated that both the public and private police   are accountable through the criminal law of their actions. However, there is no persuasive proof to support this claim in practice. Notorious examples can be seen with the recent events which Some of the recent infamous events that unfolded in California. This indicates indicatinghow how difficult it is to convict public police offenders (Stenning 1994). Fragmentation and privatization of policing a global phenomenon The trend towards private policing is clearly evident across the globe. For example, in Russia, there has been an explosive growth in private security personnel since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Whilst statistics indicate that Russia had almost 200,000 licensed private personnel in 1999, the the actual number is has been estimated to exceed 850,000 (Steden Sarre 2007). Similarly, A similar trend can be seen in Bulgaria which currently has about 130,000 personnel employed in private security sector in sharp contrast to 28,000 state police officers (Steden Sarre 2007). A similar trend can be seen with emerginerging economies of Asia. India has also echo the trend with over 5 million private security personnel, a figure that   i exceeds   the police, army, air force and the navy put together. In China, private guards are forecast to grow from the current 3 million to 5 million in the coming years. Not only is this trend evident in the Middle East and growing economies of Asia, but also across the US and the UK and in most Latin American countries. The US employs approximately 1.5 and 2 million private security personnel, outnumbering the public police by almost three to one (Abrahamsen Williams 2009). Similarly, the private security personnel in the UK outnumber the state police by a ratio of two to one. This growth is also reflected in the Latin American countries, African countries and even across Central and Eastern Europe. The resurgence is clearly evident across the world as countries such as Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic continue to witness growth of private policing   witnessing growth in this sector. Almost all countries now have their private security personnel exceeding the police number. A further trend that has been observed and has perhaps been under-theorized or under-evaluated is the increasing emergence of transnational policing. Besides privatization of policing, there has been an expansion in cooperation between member states in areas of policing (Button 2012). Traditional forms of cooperation based on distribution of information through bodies such as the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) have now been transcended by organizations such as the European Criminal Police Office (Europol) (Button 2012, p. 25). In addition, there has been an increase in information sharing and the exportation of ideas among private security firms. For example, corporations such as Corrections of America and Wakenhut exportation have exported their ideas to the UK and Australia (Steden Sarre 2007). However, in some countries, private policing is still at its infancy. For example,In n Greece, the ratio between the private and public security personnel remains relatively small.   This can be attributed to the security market that barely existed in Greece until the late 1990s when legislation that mandated some of the key requirements for a licensed security firm was passed (Steden Sarre 2007). Other countries with a relatively low private security to police ratio include Italy, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus and Spain. Most of these countries still make more use of the police officers than private security guards. Nonetheless, the momentous growth of private policing is inevitable and is occurring across the globe. Concerns/controversies over private policing Traditionally, the state has been seen as a monopoly in crime prevention and control (Button 2012). However, evidence has emerged that have raised questions regarding the states monopoly in policing. Evidence have pointed to the increasing pluralization or fragmentation of policing as seen with the increasing involvement of the private sector and voluntary organizations in crime prevention and control. This raises key questions such as: does the state still have a monopoly in policing given the increasing fragmentation? Or rather it can be questioned: did it ever have a monopoly given that the fragmentation in policing is not a new phenomenon? The only thing that is new is the increasing fragmentation and the expansion of private security. Whilst the pervasiveness of these private firms may signal the state’s failure in addressing the most basic demands for security, it should not be viewed as weakening of the state’s role. It does not necessarily mean that the state is dying but rather diversifying and developing. Encouraging private personnel to become more involved in crime control is to support the state’s activities by allowing these individuals to become auxiliaries of the state as opposed to becoming rivals (Sarre 2002). Of course, there are concerns with this trend of privatization of policing with the greatest dangers being the subversion of public interests into profit maximization. Another concern relates to the fact that privatization results in more unequal access to protection and security with differential treatment in the provision of security services to the rich and the poor (Stenning 1994). A further danger is that private policing may lead to the erosion of the cherished notions of liberty, human dignity and privacy which may eventually results in an intolerably controlled and regulated society It is clear that the states role is changing. The increasing fragmentation of policing is evidence of a new social world where governance is no longer monopolized by the states, but rather one in which the rein of power is taken over by the private sector. there is a dispersion of power more to the private sector. The hope of many is for governance to be controlled by the local communities. However, the reality is the emergence of a pervasive and intrusive corporate governance where in capital interests become the priority and are more pursued than that the interests of the local communities (Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2007). Further, there is the it is the possibility that the state might slowly wither away and that the proliferation of private security firms may pose threat to the state’s sovereignty.   Other problems relate to issues such as the lack of transparency and accountability and political control over the operations of these private firms. The fundamental goal of outsourcing such service is obviously to protect the citizens from harm and against human rights violations. Whereas the outsourcing of security services to private firms is justifiable, it may be subject to violent manipulations. One variant to this manipulation can arise through coercion towards prospective clients by the private security firms with the aim manipulating them to buy into their services. Another maipulation can arise where these firms invite others to commit crime in order to increase demand for their protection. There is a possibility that the private security may also end up creating security enclaves as their availability in the open market allows the wealthy and ruling elites to buy more of their services than the less-priviledged counterparts hence running counter to the social bonds considered essential to security (Karsent Volker 2000). In fact, the so called security enclaves have emerged in the US. This is a clarion call to pay attention to isssues of accountability for attention to paid more on control and accountability especially given the increasing fragmentation and privatization. But, as argued by Les Johnston (1992), some of these concerns are not unique and do not constitute compelling arguments against private policing. For example, the concern over the subversion of public interests into profit maximization is not unique.   This concern is also evident with the public police where corruption and political interests have led to public disservice. Criticism of erosion of state’s sovereignty might not necessarily be true as the private security sectors have often acted under the government’s control. For example, Siera Leone is far from entirely private as the government still plays a key role by integrating public forces and setting the legal framework. Future of private security market Nonetheless, there is a clear momentous growth of the private security sector. The massive growth is evidence of expansion of this type of market. In fact, the industrys global turnover was maintained during the recessionary period indicating the high demand for this type of service across the globe. In 2007, the global security service market was valued at $136 billion and in 2009, it was estimated at $152 billion (Steden Sarre 2007). The future for private security firms seems promising given the increasing demand of security services driven by the rise upsurge in conflicts, war and human right violations across various sectors of the globe.   The commercial private security market is currently estimated to be $165 billion and is forecast to grow at a rate of 18% per anum into the foreseeable future. Despite the recent decision made by the US DoD to reduce reliance on support service contractors to pre-9/11 levels, the global market for private security services is anticipated to continue to grow to reach $218.4 billon in 2015 (Tzifakis 2012). However, much of this growth would be mainly concentrated in the emerging economies. What was once a quiet revolution has grown in size and demand to become a global actor in in   the provision of security services. Conclusion There is no doubt that the privatization of policing has become a reality. This is evident with the proliferation of private security actors across the globe with activities that range from manned guarding to surveillance and risk analysis to even military combat. The increasing fragmentation has clearly been triggered by several key developments: the emergence of neoliberal ideas; second the increasing commodification of security; third, the global assemblages and risk based thinking; fourth, the transformations that took place during the post-cold war period, and   the fourth, emergence of the â€Å"privatization revolution†. lso, the increased   emphasis on specialization of personnel, the geographical fragmentation and the increasing recognition of the role of private sector in global governance have no doubt played a significant role towards this trend. All these processes have been central to the growing fragmentation and globalization of private security. However, these changes have fueled controversies. On the one hand, it has helped secure the transition to democracy by providing for a stronger presence of security forces in states under threat of instability. On the other hand, it has had exclusionary effects by increasing the division between the rich and the poor which in the long-run can be detrimental to its legitimacy. Other concerns highlighted include the subversion of public interests into profit maximization; erosion of cherished notions of liberty, human dignity and privacy; and threat to states sovereignty. In the midst of these changes, states have a greater role to play. With development of more diverse forms of policing, governments have the central responsibility of coordinating and regulating all policing activities, both in the private and public agencies. Government must serve as a central anchor point ensuring multi-agency networking and efficacy, equity and accountability of all agencies, both private and public. 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