Google and Chinese Censorship An Ethical Perspective

Two standard ethical approaches are applicable in the analysis of this case utilitarian and Kantian (deontological). The utilitarian technique insists on maximization of good, and Kant argues for treating the others as an end and not simply as means. Googles ethical decision to stop censoring its Chinese language site at first agreed only with the Kantian approach, but its subsequent move conformed to utilitarian principle too.

China is the most populated country in the world, and perhaps the most rapidly developing economy of the present time. The rise of Chinas booming economy and the countrys emergence as the manufacturing hub of the world in the 21st century have been nothing short of spectacular. Peoples Republic of China had been a staunch communist country since its inception in 1949. Thereafter the country suffered for decades under the oppressive Maoist regime. It was only in the late 1970s, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, that China started moving toward capitalism. Dengs policies of reform and openness put China back on the world stage, and Chinas economy started rebounding by becoming more and more modernized and liberalized.

There was a brief period in 1978-79, known as the Beijing Spring, when China experimented with complete freedom of speech and freedom of press. Unfortunately this did not last for long. Still, China seemed to make gradual progress in the direction of openness and freedom  until the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 which took the entire world by shock. This event and the governments subsequent stance on it made it very clear that the Soviet-style oppressiveness of the Chinese regime would continue despite the fact that the whole world, including Russia, was moving in the direction of more freedom and democracy. Since the late 1990s, China has been rushing on the path of greater economic development by leaps and bounds, along with a few other major developing nations in Asia and elsewhere. However, the Chinese governments repressive approach to freedom of expression and human rights did not change substantially, even when so many other positive changes took place in the Chinese economy and society. And even the advent of the Internet  the epitome of free flow of information  did not do much to mollify the hardened stance of the Chinese government with regard to freedom of information. The Chinese Internet continued to be heavily censored, subjected to all kinds of restrictions and regulations.

Google is the Internet giant that has almost become synonymous with the Internet. For a few years the Chinese site of Google reluctantly abided by the governments policies of censorship, but then a time came when it could not take it anymore. The confrontation between Google and the Chinese government had to happen. The most interesting thing about this clash between Google and China, which was in headlines for quite some time recently, is that Googles fight is based on ethical grounds. Googles opposition to the mighty government of China has been widely hailed as a triumph of ethics over business considerations. In January, 2010, Google took a strong moral stand, declaring that it was no longer willing to censor its search results and might pull out of China if it came to that. Google has millions of users in China and if the company were to discontinue its China operations, it could lose a vast chunk of its Chinese customer base and huge sums of revenue along with it. Yet Google has been adamant not to give in to the unreasonable and unethical demands of the Chinese government, and was preparing itself to do whatever it deemed was the right thing to do, no matter what the consequences may be. Godaddy.com too followed Googles suit. Such resistance to Chinese governments policies were praised in some quarters.

The Chinese government is not going to change its policies overnight. But hopefully the decisions of corporations like Google and GoDaddy indicate a recognition that whats good for human rights and free speech is also good for their business. And if Chinas leaders recognize this, it may give them pause to rethink their strategy. (Butterfiled, 2010)

Overall, however, the reaction was mixed.

Before Google started its Chinese services in 2005, Google.com was accessible in China but in a limited way. The government used to restrict the search results heavily. Baidu.com was the more popular search engine in China. Even when Google.cn came, Baidu remained no.1, but Googles use has been growing. Google then expressed its willingness to voluntarily comply with the governments Internet censorship laws, thereby making the censorship of its search results self-imposed. This Google did thinking that it could better serve the cause of freedom of information by working along with the government rather than against the government. By voluntarily submitting itself to the Golden Shield Project, Google thought that it would have more bargaining power with the government in allowing relatively better access to the search results. Flouting the governments censorship policies, on the other hand, could result in serious disruption of Google services or severe degradation of the quality of Googles search results. Therefore though it was morally abhorrent to the Googles management to lamely give in to Chinese governments paranoid censorship policies, they had to do it for practical reasons. Still, Google was censured by the critics for doing so.

And then in January of 2010, Gmail accounts of a couple of Chinese human rights activists were hacked, as it was found out, by attacks originating from mainland China. Only the Chinese government had the motive to do so. Considering this act as a breach of the good will that Google was trying to foster between itself and Beijing, Google decided to quit the cooperation pact with the government. Google announced that it would stop censoring its search results and should overt or covert pressure mount on the company to continue censorship, the company would cease its operations in China entirely. The filtering of the results on Google.cn was disabled for a brief time subsequently, but was enabled again. There were no explanations given, but it would seem like Google was experimenting with the procedure.

Thereafter it came to light that the hacking of Google accounts by China was not an isolated event but was just a part of an extensive hacking operation, named Operation Aurora by the investigators at the cyber security company McAfee. Many prominent Internet companies such as Adobe, Yahoo and Symantec, as well as US defense installations such as Northrop Grumman were targeted over a period of several months in the second half of the year 2009. In fact, it is also well known that China keeps hacking Americas government and military installations, stealing data and technology. Therefore, in the wake of increasingly objectionable and dangerous activities of the Chinese government, Google had to reconsider its decision to cooperate with the it. That Google itself became a victim of a cyber attack by the Chinese government changed the way Google looked at the situation.

At that time Google had an ulterior plan which was not revealed. The company only stated that it would overcome the problem of censorship without going outside the legal framework. Now, in China it was not possible lawfully to do away with censorship. What Google said made sense only after it made the move. From March 22, 2010, Google began rerouting all the traffic coming to Google.cn site to Google.com.hk, i.e., Google Hong Kong. Hong Kong is part of China and yet it operates within a separate judicial framework. Its judicial power is not subject to most of Chinese laws (Helft, Barboza, 2010).  

By doing this, Google has successfully solved a big problem, in fact the question arises why it could not do so much earlier on itself. This simple move by Google also helped it to extricate itself from a potential ethical quandary. Because when Google announced that it was likely to stop its services in the Chinese language, people began to ask what would happen to millions of Internet users in China who could be left with only state-controlled media and state-controlled Internet.

Googles closure of Google.cn would leave the internet in China almost entirely dominated by local companies. That helps the Chinese governments efforts to control information, because it can more easily control local companies, but it means foreign participation in one of the fastest-growing parts of Chinas economy will be limited, and it leaves Chinese users increasingly isolated. (Chao, Worthen, 2010)

This was the irony of the situation Google was contemplating to pull down Google.cn for ethical reasons, namely, depriving people of right information or abetting in the spread of disinformation by censoring the Internet is ethically unacceptable but if it proceeded with its proposal it would be instrumental in bringing about more darkness into the already bleak Internet scene of China. Googles move away from China could in fact have many more repercussions too. It could, for example, send a signal to other foreign Internet companies wanting to come to China that this country is an inhospitable place to work from. In all, the implications for an average Chinese Internet user who seeks to browse Internet for learning and knowledge would be severely disadvantaged. Internet in China could end up becoming Chinternet, markedly different from the global Internet. The regular prominent global Internet sites and services such as Amazon and MSN Messenger are being less and less used in China, and are giving way to indigenous substitutes. Yahoo and Ebay have already exited the scene. Facebook is blocked in China. Though MySpace China is operative, it is less popular than a Chinese social networking site.

China is the largest Internet market in the world, with about 400 million users, and with a quarter million new users being added every day. One of the major purposes of the Internet is to bring the world together, but if the largest Internet base in the world is being increasingly isolated with the main body, then this severely affects the integrity and rationale of the Internet itself. Googles exit from China, if carried out, could start trends that do not bode well for the future of the Internet. Besides, Googles clash with the Chinese government was also much politicized, and it marked another blow to the already strained U.S. Sino relations. The political relationship between the U.S. and China, the current military superpowers of the world, is a delicate one and if it deteriorates further, it could have grave consequences for the entire world. Event the Third World War cannot be ruled out. And if any such thing were to happen, Google would have contributed to it. Therefore Google appeared to the entire world to be in a complex ethical dilemma, even as it was holding serious talks with the Chinese government in the weeks leading up to its March 22 move. On the one hand, it is a matter of principle for Google not let its search results be heavily censored, a principle which it could put aside for sometime but not for long. On the other hand, if it left China just like it said it would, some very undesirable consequences could follow which would not be good either for China or for the world.

It was a classic ethical dilemma. The situation that Google was in was not unlike the one the U.S. Treasury was in during March of 2008, when it was about to bailout a sinking Wall Street giant, Bear Stearns. This move was a blow to the much-cherished basic principles of American capitalism. And yet the Treasury chose to intervene, because if it did not, Bear Stearns was so deeply interconnected with the rest of the firms on the Wall Street that if it went out of business it could take down a whole lot of firms with it, and the effect could cascade. There was clear and present moral hazard in the Treasurys move and yet the bailout was implemented because the whole economy would be in jeopardy if it was not. Similarly, if it had no alternative, Google should have compromised on its principle and continued its China operations bearing the burden of censorship. But fortunately, Google had an easy option out, which was to move its base to Hong Kong. Googles move has angered Chinese officials, and may possibly escalate the conflict in the near future however, at the date of this writing, the latest news is that Googles relations with China appear stable. (AFP 2010)          

To sum up the ethical aspects of the situation, Googles decision to stop censoring anti-Chinese government and potentially anti-Chinese government information on the web can be considered to be based on a Kantian approach to ethics. It kept the interests of the Chinese Internet user, who has the right to information, in mind  over and above its own business interests. Google was wiling to sacrifice huge amounts of revenue, and give away its business share in the Chinese market to local companies, all for the sake of a principle. Google treated the typical Chinese customer as an end, and not simply as a means to promote its own business. Hence Googles move was widely applauded in the press, though many had some reservations too. Googles decision not to censor information, however, did not necessarily stick by the utilitarian criterion of morality, and in fact it did not even fulfill the Kantian criterion fully. Googles decision not to censor its search results shows its intention to respect the Chinese Internet users right for information, in theory but by pulling away from the Chinese market it could further ruin the Chinese Internet users chances of accessing better quality information. And it certainly seemed like if Google stopped censoring its results, it would need to pull away sooner or later.

By resolving this situation on March 23, 2010, by starting its Honkong-based search engine, Google could keep its Chinese language services up while at the same time not censoring information. This way, many untoward consequences of its original decision would be averted. This is the ideal solution which respects the right to information of millions of Chinese Internet users, both in theory and in practice and maximizes good in other ways too. However, the Chinese government will not accept defeat so easily and the fight between good and evil (Google and the Chinese government) is still on.

Traditional and Electronic Bullying among Adolescents Definitions of Traditional and Electronic Bullying

Bullying has been a major problem in schools ever since. It may take different forms either verbal, non-verbal, direct or indirect. It is a problem that has caused major attention because of its rising gravity and the numerous cases of student deaths resulting from intense bullying. Adolescents are most likely the culprits and victims of bullying because it is a time in the human physical and social development that emotions are most sensitive, hormones are at an all-time high, and peer pressures are abound. However, in the fast paced world that we have that caused evolution of technology, traditional bullying has taken on a different look. Like our gadgets, clothes, look and style has been modernized, so has traditional bullying. It has taken a form that was motivated by the availability and accessibility of the internet. It is now of another form referred to as  electronic bullying .

Traditionally, bullying is said to occur when a person is the target of criticism or any form of attack and that the bullied person eventually feels that he is powerless to put a stop to the harm being done to him. The main forms of bullying are physical and verbal (Olweus,2001). Physical bullying would mean  physically hurting another person by kicking, punching, pushing, throwing things and other forms of abuse that may hurt the person physically. Verbal bullying on the other hand, constitutes calling the person names that are emotionally hurtful. It may also be teasing and throwing words that are degrading and demeaning. It may be direct or indirect. Other definitions of traditional bullying by experts are   Bullying is a subtype of aggression (Dodge, 1991 Olweus, 1993 Smith  Thompson, 1991) A person is being bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other students (Olweus, 1993, p. 9)  A student is being bullied or picked on when another student says nasty and unpleasant things to him or her. It is also bullying when a student is hit, kicked, threatened, locked inside a room, sent nasty notes, and when no one ever talks to him (Smith  Sharp, 1994, p. 1).

Electronic bullying is a form of bullying by electronic means and may be indirect or direct. Electronic bullying has been defined as a means of bullying in which peers use electronics to taunt, insult, threaten, harass, andor intimidate a peer. Anecdotal evidence and media reports show that Internet bullies use text messaging, e-mails, defaming websites, and online  slam books  to aggress against peers (Tench, 2003 Wendland, 2003). One specific example may be the use of cellphones to take pictures that may compromise the dignity of your peers and by distributing this to others. This pictures may have been taken by secret or through deceit. Electronic bullying has also been referred to using other terms such as cyber bullying or online social cruelty. It is said that Electronic Bullying has now been considered as more dangerous than traditional bullying.  Cyber bullying is a very difficult form of bullying to prevent and to police. A major difference between cyber bullying and traditional bullying is the ability to bully without a face-to-face confrontation. Kids become emboldened by the false feeling of being anonymous and they say things they might not have said in person (Beckerman  Nocero, 2003).

Characteristics of a Bully
Because of the growing problem about bullying, a lot of studies have focused on the determination of the inherent qualities or observable qualities of a bully. This is important for the determining of ways on how this can be cured and avoided. Healthwise (2009) provides a list of characteristics of a bully Children who bullymay witness physical and verbal violence or aggression at home. They have a positive view of this behavior, and they act aggressively toward other people, including adults may hit or push other children Are often physically strong may or may not be popular with other children around their same age have trouble following rules and show little concern for the feelings of others.

The Dominance Theory by Hawley in 1999 and the Social Cognitive Theory by Bandura in 2002 may somehow give light as to how the social networks would provide a venue for bullying (Moutappa, 2010). The dominance theory takes the position that some students use agression against the weaker peers so that resources are made available for them as well as an increase in social status. The social cognitive theory on the other hand poses that some students makes models of some of their more popular peers and imitate their behaviors including aggression.

Preventive Measures in US Schools against Bullying
Since the school is the common venue for bullying, it is important that the school engage in preventive measures to avoid the mitigation of this social problem. Some actions made by schools in the US are to fund researches and concentrate on strategies to reduce bullying in schools. Several websites that are informative were designed by a collaboration of a number of schools to provide the students an online help and information center when they experience problems regarding bullying. Example of which is stopbullying.com. Leaflets and brochures that talk about the negative effects of bullying and how this can be prevented are circulated in the campus to provide insights for students. These materials are also distributed to parents on occasions such as PTA meetings and other gatherings so that they are also educated and informed. Students are also immersed in seminars, talks and lectures made by experts in the field to further the cause of the elimination of bullying in schools. Guidance Counselors also encourage the students to seek help whenever there are onsets of bullying that they may feel they are subjected to. It is a constant effort that everyone lends a hand in putting a stop to this problem that has emotionally maligned a number of teens in the United States and even lead to tragic deaths that may have been avoided.

The US governments also make efforts in reducing bullying in schools. In August 2008, the California state legislature passed one of the first laws in the country to deal directly with cyberbullying.

Learning Team Skills Assessment

Communication, Writing, Leadership, Resourceful
MS Office, Windows, Mac OSX, typing 50 WPM, Parallel

Carrie Harris
Facilitating, Parenting Classes, Running Groups, Teaching Life Skills, Working With Individuals and Families, Substance Abuse Issues

Peer training, Organized,
Motivated,
Leadership
Grant Writing, Creative Problem Solving, Marketing
MS Office
Sheri Tye

Working With Children
Leadership, Problem Solving,
Creativity

Communication, Problem Solving, Presentations
MS Office

Marie Whaley
Customer Service, Claims, Negotiation Skills
Organized, Communication, Self Management
Communication, Self Management, Decision Making, Research, Negotiation Skills, Time Management

MS Office, Outlook, ICS (Integrated Claims System), Mainframe, Collision Estimating Systems
THE TEAMS SKILLS

Statement of any identified needed skills and any plans to obtain the skills.

Based on the above summary of the team members skills, the following are the perceived needed skill(s) per team member

For Dave public speaking for large groups
For Mindy APA formatting ability
For Carrie computer skills
For Sheri writing skills
For Marie public speaking

Furthermore, in order for the team members to achieve their respective needed skill(s), concrete planning must be done so as to conscientiously address learning and skills enhancement. The succeeding paragraphs provide some valuable suggestions that could help in the attainment of the identified needed skill of each team member.

Dave Curtis may need to obtain some units in public speaking from the academe or reputable institution. A crash course, or workshop, is deemed necessary for Dave to learn the most important mechanics and elements of public speaking, thereby fully enhancing his speechifying ability. Additionally, regular contact with many people could help Dave be acquainted to the feeling of facing large groups of individuals as well as to alleviate the so-called stage-fright, which Dave may have.

On the other hand, Mindy must take ample time to browse the APA style manual, which is duly published by the American Psychological Association (APA). It is also beneficial to visit the APA style website (httpwww.apastyle.orgmanualindex.aspx), as well as other web links pertaining to APA formatting, in order to find some helpful insights and guidelines about the said referencing style.

For Carrie to enhance her computer skills, she needs to constantly use computer applications like MS Office and etc. Moreover, reading the guidelines of specific computer applicationsprograms is important to have a significant familiarization about those programs. In addition, Carrie may attend to some computer literacy enhancement seminars and trainings for her to typify her computer skills.

Sheris writing skills can be enhanced through continuous practice. Further, she may focus on improving the choices of words and how she would clearly convey her message to a variety of readersaudience, especially because she is working with children. Writing workshops may also be necessary to augment her writing capability.

Lastly, just like Dave, Marie Whaley may engage in public speaking and communication skills seminars for her to be an adept on the said field. Again, similar to Dave, she needs to get in touch with people and speaking engagements.

Consequently, the summary of team skills, statement of identified needed skill(s) among team members, and suggestions on how to address the identified needed skills have been exemplified in due course of this paper, thereby typifying the intent of learning team skills assessment.

Ethics in Research

While conducting research or writing professional articles or papers, it is expected that one meets certain laid-down ethical guidelines. Ethics in research has become one of the most essential topics in academia, and areas of scientific dishonesty have been identified. In my opinion, the areas of scientific dishonesty should be ranked as follows, starting with the most serious to the least serious violation
Fabrication and falsification
Plagiarism
Faulty data gathering procedures
Non-publication of data
Sneaky publication practices
Poor data storage and retention
Misleading authorship

Fabrication and falsification of data is publishing information or basing research on events that did not occur at all (Reskin, 2010). Under falsification, overstated numbers, alteration of data, inclusion of personal biases and misinterpretation of literature are the forms of scientific dishonesty. When fabrication and falsification have been done, works produced do not have a basis or any truth in them and therefore mislead the readers (Reskin, 2010). This could have very serious consequences basing literature on lies therefore misinforming the public. It therefore comes first in the list.

Plagiarism is the use of copyrighted materials or generally other peoples without acknowledging their contribution (Indiana University, 2004). It is very unethical not to give credit to people who struggled to produce work, and a researcher or a professional writer would be claiming to be the originator of the ideas if he or she does not acknowledge the actual producers of literature material. It comes second in my list of scientific dishonesties (Indiana University, 2004).

Faulty data gathering is third, since if data collected is not precise or accurate, the conclusions are going to be force and the effect is like that of falsification (Callahan,  Hobbs, 1998). At number four is non-publication of data, which occurs when data is suppressed. It is unethical to ignore exceptions even in cases where nothing conclusive has been established from research, since finding out nothing is just as important as finding out something. If the results are withheld, future researches may be conducted with the same mistakes (Callahan,  Hobbs, 1998).

Sneaky publication practices come in at number five since it withdraws a large measure of integrity or authenticity of information (Gregory, 20003). At number six is poor data storage and retention practices since in this way, information, no matter how valuable, is easily lost, therefore undermining the impact of research and writing. I chose misleading authorship as the least serious area of scientific dishonesty through ethical violations knowing that since it gives people claim for projects they did not fully participate in it does not have effect on the quality of information (Jefferies, 2004).

Informed consent is a term used in the ethical or legal context to indicate that the consent a person gives regarding certain events or activities involving him or her meet certain minimum standards (Reskin, 2010). An informed consent is issued by a person to indicate that he or she is fully aware and that he or she clearly understands and appreciates the facts related to the event, its implications and finally, its long term impact. The purpose of informed consents is to make sure that people are not coerced or forcibly involved in activities against their wish. People must also be made fully aware of the procedures they are to be involved in and the potential risks from such.

People allowed to give informed consents must first be proved to possess properly functioning intuitive and mental faculties (Reskin, 2010). People who are impaired by factors and diseases such as mental retardation, potentially damaging mental illnesses, intoxication from substances like alcohol, acute sleep deprivation, Alzheimers disease or a being in a comma are not allowed to give informed consents.
Without an informed consent, it would be ethically and legally wrong to perform some acts on an individual (Callahan,  Hobbs, 1998). People who are not in a position to give informed consents for either of the above mentioned reasons or by virtue of being too young generally have other people acting on their behalf give informed consents for them (Jefferies, 1999). For example, a parent or a guardian can give an informed consent relating to their children. The same applies for mentally incapacitated people or people in a comma like a husband can give an informed consent on behalf of his wife when she is in a comma.

Treatment of human subjects must be ethical and respectful at all times. The rights of human subjects are protected by the justice system and there is a standing requirement that all research projects involving human subjects must first be approved by the Institutional Review Board (Gregory, 2003). Federal Law also has provisions to protect human subjects from abuse by researchers, and the American Psychological Association (APA) has well documented standards of ethics which researchers must abide by while handling human subjects (Gregory, 2003).

The above guidelines are meant to ensure that human specimens are treated with the respect they deserve and are not exposed to risks without their consent. It is required that they be informed of all the details of research procedures, the risks that may arise and any potential long term effects of the research (Callahan,  Hobbs, 1998). The research must also be tailored in such a way that it benefits them in one way or another. Their justice should also be assured. Investigators or researchers first have the responsibility of making sure that they study the ethical acceptability of procedures they intent to apply on human subjects and they must also respect a human subjects wish to accept or decline involvement in a research, and their choice to withdraw if the need arises (Callahan,  Hobbs, 1998). If undesirable side effects result, it is the responsibility of the researcher to remedy the situation.

Animal subjects, despite the fact that they cannot give informed consents, also have rights which are protected and their use in research is also governed by some ethical standards. First of all, the use of animal subjects in research should be justified (Reskin, 2010). Animals should not be used in projects that are not going to yield anything useful to the human society. Secondly, animal subjects should be properly handled. Any studies conducted on them should not alter their natural functionality or harm them in irreversible ways. Proper living environments and sufficient food should be provided to animals under captivity, and animals should only be handled by sufficiently trained personnel (Reskin, 2010).

Research should be optimized to reduce pain and harm on animal subjects, and it is important that the animals are legally acquired and the research given the go ahead by the authorities. It is also an ethical requirement that humane treatment of animals in research institutions is ensured at all times (Reskin, 2010). Animal rights activists have been on the forefront of campaigning for the abolition of vivisection, or at least humane treatment of animal subjects.

Stakeholder Theory of Firms and Its Application by the Firms of Endearment

Stakeholder theory is basically guided by moral and ethical principles in its decision making. It involves a management strategy aimed at creating maximum value to all the stakeholders involved. (Rajendra, 2007)  Its basic idea lays in the fact that business and its executives engage in operations that create value for customer, suppliers, the community, the shareholders and the employees. This creates a win-win situation for all the stakeholders with none benefiting at the expense of the other. This is guided by the understanding that business only exist within the realm of humanity. The firms that have adopted stakeholder approach in their operations through embrace of concepts unusual to the business world like love, authenticity, joy, empathy amongst others have come to be known as firms of endearment.

(Rajendra, 2007) As the name suggests, their operations end up endearing them to the stakeholders. Such firms having learnt that main concept behind profit maximization is motivating, have taken advantage of the stakeholder principle to develop environments that favor their operation.

This limits the associated risks that such firms may have incurred needless to mention increased output per employees. The good will of the community too pays a fundamental role in enhancing operations of the firm. A new era is thus coming into place where companies focus on engendering the affection and loyalty of the stakeholders through acceptance of the moral obligation owed to the community which may either be tangible or intangible. (Rajendra, 2007) This is coupled with the consumers shift from materialistic association to that which bears a sense of meaning. Notable is the fact that the transcendence age involves people looking for more that monetary income but jobs that offer fulfill social needs as well as being able to offer psychological reward. This view is shared by the community in general too and it is no surprise when a community identifies more with product from a company that adopts more stakeholder approach that those keen on making of profits.

The application of the theory by the firms of endearment certainly is in line by the propositions put forth by Al Gini when he asserts that researches have indicated that  their exists widespread belief that the decline in success, productivity and business standards is a direct result of unethical behaviors on the side of the executives. (Al Gini, 1996) To further clarify this view Al Gini firms unethical behavior is usually accompanied by a similar approach on the part of the stakeholders, workers inclusive. Such may include absenteeism, time wastage, indifference and petty theft amongst others. His perception is conclusively embraced when he states that most of the American workers borrow their ethical approaches to work from the perceptions with which they view their employees. This then conjures to what is termed as the witness of moral leadership.  (Al Gini, 1996) what the stakeholders witness in terms of corporate leadership translates to their positive or negative contribution to the firm.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that the world is moving towards socially responsible corporate entities and this can only begin from the ethical point of view that takes a humanistic approach in dealing with all the stakeholders. Just like Al Gini  describes in his paper, the changing world calls for more humanistic approach within the corporate role. Firms that have adopted such measures have been able to make more profit as compared to those that focus on stockholder approach. Firms that resist this new wave are bound to take a deep I their profits as customers, employees and their stakeholders gain more awareness and engage in counteractive activities.

Digital Divide

The term digital divide has various definitions. According to Bharat Mehra it is the gap between the internet and computer users and the ones who does not. A more detailed definition of the digital divide defines it as the gap between people who have access to information and digital technology versus those who have a very limited or no access at all to it. Digital divide includes both physical and abstract aspects of imbalances in access to technology it covers the inequality in physical access to technology and the inequality in skills and resources required for an individual to be a digital citizen. In other words, it is the disparity between some citizens and others in gaining access to information and communication technology and acquiring the associated skills. The digital divide can be categorized based on income, gender, racial and ethnic groups and by location.

The term digital divide was initially used to highlight the gap in the ownership of PCs between groups, as at that time the ownership was more in certain ethnic groups as compared to others. However, as Internet access became a fundamental part of using the computer, the terms usage broadened to cover gaps in access to computers AND the Internet. Although the term had been used in several political speeches and news articles since 1995, its regular usage started in the mid-1990s. In 1996, President of the United States, Bill Clinton, and his Vice President, Al Gore, used the term in their speech in Knoxville, Tennessee. Larry Irving, head of the National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce of United States, during Bill Clintons regime, used the term in a series of reports. Today, the term has close relations to the knowledge divide because lack of technology leads to lack of important knowledge.

A range of criteria can be used to analyze the digital divide. Mostly, the criteria used to differentiate between the haves and the have nots of the digital divide focus on access to hardware and the Internet plus aspects relating to both. However this variance in the methods of assessing digital divide and the lack of proper data on technology usage makes it difficult to determine the exact nature of the digital divide. Thus the nature of digital divide is debatable and contextual.  Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient are the conventional measurements of imbalances and inequality used to describe the digital divide. In the Lorenz curve, a 45-degree diagonal line represents the perfect equality of Internet usage globally and has a Gini coefficient of zero. Perfect inequality has a Gini coefficient of one.

With the progress of time and increasing trend of globalization, the concept of digital divide has been linked with other concepts. According to Mehra, there are four major components that are the main cause of the digital divide as these factors are closely associated with technological attainment socioeconomic status, income, educational level and race.

The impact of digital divide can be seen on the education sector by concentrating on the schools which have computer access. Rich schools were able to provide computer usage to their students which in turn make them more probable to enjoy internet access.

In the schooling sector the major discussion of the digital divide often comes to the point that it does not matter whether there are computers or internet connections available in the school but it matters the most on how the students are using the computers and making the use of internet connections. Some afterschool courses and libraries have acted as an important training and access point for the less able kids who are not able to use the technology.

Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund was approved by the United States in 1996 and was put into operation in the year 1997. This program directly addresses the gap of technology in the different classes of schools. It makes the funds available from the taxes and gives monetary and technological recourses to the less able schools. This program is also known as E-Rate (Mossberger, Tolbert and Stansbury).

The program had been a success as it successfully increased the number of classrooms which have internet access from 14 to 95 in a period of 9 years.

Currently the debate of technology gap or digital divide has widened to consist of technological training and skills as well as to the simple access to computer or internet.

To expand the learning support outside the classroom, technology offers many unique opportunities, which was something very difficult to do so until now. The internet can provide a verity of tasks for the user which makes it malleable to the users purposes and needs.

But just by providing technology to the schools will not narrow the digital divide among the people if the teachers of the school are not been trained efficiently and they are not being able to master the technology effectively then they certainly cannot increase the student learning. Proper training facilities should be provided to the schools in order to increase the learning of the students (Mossberger, Tolbert and Stansbury). Specifically speaking training facilities not only to students but also teachers would be a very bold step towards reducing the Digital Divide. It is important to realize the increasing usage of Internet and the rapid changes in technology as human progress is fast paced. Its important to keep up with the pace and make sure that technological reach is the maximum throughout people.

Education cannot be used as the only tool to close the technological gap and will not completely close the digital gap between the students of different SES backgrounds. It is important to identify and realize more methods to reduce the technological gap that has been created. It is highly probable that in the future more efficient and effective ways of reducing this gape are formulated.

Mergers

One of the basic reasons why companies merge is to get control of the market as well as economical and political power. This reason has therefore brought about many issues relating to ethics and also legal recommendations. For instance, in order for two companies to accept a merge, each normally have its individual reasons and goals to achieve. A company might merge with another in cases where it has great debts which need some support. Two competing companies merge to increase their control in their market control and lower the competition levels. Many people are against this since it leads to a situation where the quality of products goes down since the market is a guarantee.

The FCC recommended changes will be of great impact since a merger will enable international companies to be established in many other countries. This will therefore give the company an opportunity to compete in the international markets. Mergers in the TV and Media industry will result to in the companies since they will share the technologies other than each company developing its own technologies. This will result to higher productivity in the companies. Another advantage of merging to international businesses is that once the two companies merge, it will allow them to reduce expenses involved while dealing with foreign exchange since they will be using local services other than imports.

In conclusion, the changes should be implemented since from the discussion, it is clear that merging the two industries will bring about great profits not only to the international industries companies but also to the local consumers. This will help reduce production costs and also upgrade the two companies since they will be sharing business assets and ideas. All this will result to a more globalized economy with less expenses and increased production rates.

Forced Marriages

Normally, ethics deal with what is right and what is wrong and it normally reflects on our morals. It is there to draw a line between bad and good. Ethical problems sometimes become a dilemma when there are two choices that can be made. They determine how people live their lives, their rights and responsibilities, the language of right and wrong and moral decisions of what is good or bad. Ethics are derived into our lives from our religions, cultures or our own philosophies.

Human beings however tend to behave irrationally and follow their own ideas disrespecting some of these ethics. They tend to follow their gut feeling and ignore what their mind is telling them or what is designed as moral and upright. For most of these ethical issues there is no single right answer that can be used to solve the issues. Some of the answers are better off than others but they still do not eliminate the other worse answers. Individuals sometimes prefer the worse answers and it becomes increasingly difficult for them to take responsibility for the choices they make together with their actions.

One of the ethical issues that has brought a lot of controversy and there is no direct answer that is available to solve the issues, is the issue of forced marriages (BBC, n.d). Some people still believe that this is wrong while others believe that it is right for them to force marriages. Forced marriages are marriages that occur without the consent of the participants. The two are coerced into the union either through black mail, threats or abuses. They are different from arranged marriages since in arranged marriages the two participants are well aware of the marriage and they have consented and are willing to participate in the union. Forced marriages have been happening all over the world and some are justified on the religious grounds or the cultures. This paper discusses forced marriages as a real contemporary ethical problem, justifying the case against them giving measures that can be used to counteract the injustice.

The Case of Forced Marriages
The issue of forced marriages is being experienced all over the world and in most of the countries. It is no longer an issue that is tied to the uncivilized but is also found within the civilized countries. There have been cases of forced marriages that are being reported from African countries and other countries like in the U.K and the U.S. They are being reported by males and females and by people of all ages between 15 and 40. Majority of the cases are experienced by children under the age of 18. In the U.K the Forced Marriage Unit received reports of over 1063 possible forced marriages in 2008. This was an increase of 25 of the number of cases that were reported in the same year. Women and girls were the majority victims having 85 (BBC, n.d). Not all the cases are usually reported so the real number of the cases is still unclear. The numbers is also increasing as by January 2009 the number of reports to the Forced Marriage Unit had increased by 16 since 2008 (Casciani, 2009). The Forced Marriage Unit is an organization that has been established to give advice and support cases of forced marriages in the U.K as a joint initiative with the home office (Foreign  Commonwealth Office, n.d).

In Africa, the situation is worse, with cases of forced marriages being reported in most of the countries. Some of these countries include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Uganda and the Central African Republic (Bentheim, n.d). The statistics are also very grim as 50 of the girls under the age of 18 are forced into marriage. This is also the same case in Asia where 30 of the girls are married off by the time they reach 18. Forced marriages may seem like a thing of the past but they continue to happen in most of countries and have come to affect people of both sexes whether male or female. They are also targeting other age groups not only those of children under the age of 18 (Bentheim, n.d).

A good example of a forced marriage case is that of Humayra Abedin, a 32 year old doctor who was being forced into marriage in 2008 by her parents in Bangladesh (Taylor, 2008). The parents forced her to marry a family friend and detained her for four months and gave her sedatives to keep her docile. They also proceeded to admit her to a psychiatric ward where the forced medication was continued. According to reports the police and other doctors were involved in the process as the parents tried to make her quit her job and marry Dr. Khondokar Mohammad Abdul Jalal whose marriage request she had turned down. She was however assisted by a human activist group who helped her get released by getting a court order. She was able to get back her travel documents and air ticket and fly back to Britain where she annulled the marriage (BBC News, 2008).

Motivations to Forced Marriages
Traditions
There are various reasons that are given by the society for the forced marriages. In some, traditions are cited as one of the reasons that encourage the practice. Despite the dire and harmful consequences the members of these communities continue to exercise the practice. They cite one of the reasons for the traditions to exist as maintaining the honor of the families by preserving the virginity of the girls. They also prevent immorality amongst the girls by forcing them to marry. Marrying the girls off to their future husbands ensures that the girls do not engage in premarital sex and hence the honor of their families is maintained (The Advocates, 2007).

Poverty
It is a contributing factor that leads to the problem of forced marriages in most of the third world countries. The girls are seen as a resource by their parents to attain great wealth and reduce their poverty levels and their financial burdens. The girls are used to settle debts and obtain goods by their families and relatives. The bride price that is used to get her to marry is set on her labor and fertility that she will be able to provide for her husband. The parents therefore choose to marry her off at an early age as the young girl is viewed as a financial burden when she grows older.

Control
In the modern society forced marriages are viewed as a way in which the men can control the women and the young girls. By marrying them off a young age and doing it forcefully ensures that the men gain and maintain control the women. Early marriages lead to early pregnancies and they are a sure way for the men in these communities to ensure they have control of the girls at a young age and their reproductive health. The women are seen as inferior to the men and the communities ensure that the women remain in that position by controlling them through this practice.

Consequences of forced marriages
Gender Inequality
One of the consequences that are also a cause of the forced marriages especially for the children under 18 years is gender inequality.  The value of the women in these societies that exercise the practice is undermined and the women are not allowed to exercise their rights. The men therefore justify the right to make personal decisions for the girls and their women. The girls grow up without a voice and when they are married their husbands make their decisions for them.  The women have little or no social power and very little income (Sen, Germain,  Chen, 1994).

Careers cut short
Most of these forced marriages that are held normally lead to the women cutting short their careers as they are ordered by their parents or their husbands to do and they end up becoming housewives. The young girls discontinue their paths to careers at an early age while still in school and they never get to reach other higher levels of education. In Uganda however the LRA commanders prefer captive wives who are educated. In other communities and other countries the girls are not allowed to continue with their education as the education is seen to be in vain since their husbands and their families will not allow them to get into any careers.

Health Complications during Pregnancy
Most of these girls are married off at a very young age before their bodies have developed fully their reproductive organs have not matured. Once they get pregnant at this young age, they end up developing complications during the pregnancy and also during child birth (Bentheim, n.d). The girls who are mostly found in the third world countries suffer from malnutrition due to poverty and this contributes to stunted growth especially to the pelvic bones which leads to obstructed delivery. The women and girls are also not able to get access to good prenatal and medical care which could help reduce the risk of complications and the mortality rate since their movement of is limited. Most of these women and the girls end up loosing their lives during their pregnancies as they are not able to speak up and ask for help.

HIV and AIDS
Besides the pregnancy related complications, the health of the women and the young girls is put at a risk of contracting HIV and AIDS and other venereal diseases (U.S Department of State, 2007). This is mostly the case for the girls and the women in the third world countries. They are not able to negotiate for safe sex with their husbands due to their economic and the social status. Their husbands in most cases are polygamists and they may therefore be already infected from other sexual relationships with their many wives. The girls then contract HIV and they end up passing it on to their babies. This increases the burden that these young brides carry.

Domestic Violence
This is one of the other consequences of forced marriage that is mostly experienced in the African countries. There are no specific laws that prohibit this act and other acts such as child and marital rape. The girls and women in these forced marriages are victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse from their husbands. They lack a voice and a power to speak out against the acts that they are experiencing and hence the men take their actions to be justified. Since there are no laws that prohibit these acts the law enforcers disregard and ignore these complaints. Some of these violent acts end up causing physical and mental health to the women putting their lives at risk (U.S Department of State, 2007).

Lack of personal development
Some of the other consequences of the forced marriages especially among the girls involve the interference of the personal development of the girls. They tend to suffer from psychological damage and depression that is caused by the isolation that they are subjected to. The girls do not have the maturity that is psychological and is needed for them to take up responsibilities as wives, sexual partners or mothers. They are therefore unable to reach their full potential as girls and this makes them become depressed (Craven, 2003).  The lack of independence to make their own personal decisions also affects them mentally and psychologically.

Measures to Counteract the Injustice
According to the case that I have built on forced marriages as a real contemporary problem that is affecting the world, it is clear that the problem exists and its reasons and consequences are not justifiable and we cannot allow them to continue. The problem is serious and it needs to be addressed. There are various measures that can be used to counteract the injustice and the human rights violations. In my own opinion several measures can be put up to stop the spread and the practice from going on any further.

Building awareness on the negative impacts
Parents and the relatives of the girls should be enlightened on the negative impacts that they are subjecting their girls to when marrying them off at a young age. They should also be made aware of the human rights violations that they are making when not allowing their girls to marry when they want and the right to continue their education. The society should be sensitized on the importance of the children especially the girls, continuing with their education and not being subjected to the practice. This will help change the mental attitude and social attitude that prevails in the society against the rights of women, and their right to marry who they want and when they want to marry. The men should be sensitized to protect the rights of their women and allow the women to speak up and make decisions that affect their personal lives.

Education
The girls and the women should be allowed to continue with their education and advance their careers. Education holds the key for these women and their communities to change their traditions and their view on the womens rights (Bentheim, n.d). Education should be emphasized especially in the African countries and other third world countries to be able to enlighten the people and allow the women to be independent and make their own choices in life. This is justified by the fact that in countries where the education is made compulsory the forced marriages are low.

Establishing a law
In countries where the forced marriage rates are high and yet the society in those countries is enlightened and educated on human rights, there needs to be stern measures. The parents and relatives that choose to have their children get married forcefully, and without their consent should be punished under these laws. In my opinion there should be a law that prohibits the act and places a few years in jail to any one caught forcing another person to marry. This law can include the parents, relatives, officials or any other person that is involved in the process and is aware of what is going on and help in the practice.

Conclusion
Forced marriages are one of the real contemporary problems that we are facing and there is very little that is being done to fight the practice. One of the reasons is because the children are afraid to prosecute their parents and most of the societies that practice the act do not listen to women who are majority of the victims of the practice. Much needs to be done to remove the practice and fight back even though the practice is deeply rooted in the cultures and traditions of the communities that practice it. The mentalities of these people need to be changed for the practice to be a thing of the past.

Computer Ethics

Exercise 1
A bill was passed in Congress, aimed to protect the rights of children and to limit their exposure to illegal and immoral internet content. The bill created a new type of federal crime according to COPA, anyone making communication for commercial purposes with minors (i.e., children) that includes any material harmful to minors without restricting such access should be penalized (CBS, 2007). The new bill had to protect children from accessing pornography sites and had to become an effective form of legal censorship. One of the major benefits of the bill was in that it would serve an effective filter of internet content for children.

 Needless to say, parents do not always have an opportunity to check what their children do online. Unrestricted access to illegal and immoral Internet material is likely to result in adverse psychological effects in children. Today, when the Internet is becoming a widely accepted form of leisure and pastime, more and more children engage in various types of online activities, many of which are either harmful or undesirable. As a result, more and more children are being exposed to online pornography  in most cases, by accidentally encountering sexually explicit web sites while surfing the net (CBS, 2007). Statistically, almost every second child recognizes having seen online pornography in the last 12 months (CBS, 2007). Most children state that the pornography content they saw online was unsolicited (CBS, 2007). These websites, on the one hand, produce undesirable effects on children and, on the other hand, make them want more. File-sharing programs present the most serious pornography dangers, while filtering and blocking software does not work effectively to restrict childs access to pornography and related online content (CBS, 2007). As a result, the major benefit of the bill was in that it would guarantee that children did not access immoral and unethical Internet content.

However, the bills requirement to submit credit card details in order to verify the users age poses more serious ethical dilemmas. The bill seems to violate the basic principles of anonymity and privacy. It should be noted, that the main benefit of anonymity is protecting online users from the threats of identity theft, privacy breach, and consumer profiling (Baase, 2007). By requiring online users to submit their credit card details each time they access a pornography website or any other type of unsolicited content, the bill increases the number of potential victims of identity theft.

Another question is in what criteria government officials and legal authorities will use to judge the quality of every websites content. The proposed bill makes the boundary between discrimination and appropriate legal conduct increasingly blurred there is no guarantee that officials will be objective in judging what websites must restrict access to their content. This is, actually, what Baase (2007) calls direct censorship the author writes that businesses can often use regulatory power to delay or prevent competition. The proposed bill does not protect online businesses and websites from unjustified discrimination on the side of legal officials and competitive businesses which, trying to expand their share of online presence, will use all possible means to destroy their competitors.

Finally, the bill as a form of censorship goes against the principles of free speech and directly violates the First Amendment. There should be no law that abridges the freedom of speech. The meaning of the new bill is too broad to protect the rights of children without violating the basic constitutional rights of online users and website owners. As a result, there is still the need to create a law which will effectively filter the content and will, at the same time, protect the basic constitutional rights of individuals and businesses. Whether children require legal or technological protection (i.e., filters) is difficult to define, but it is clear that the proposed bill will not resolve the existing ethical controversies online.

Exercise 2
That students and children can easily access the so-called bomb recipe websites confirms the narrow-sightedness of the government and its inability to create effective mechanisms for filtering Internet content. The government is increasingly concerned about the need to limit childrens access to pornography meanwhile, thousands of children can access and use available online information about bombs. Obviously, pornography does not kill, but bombs do, and it is high time the government paid attention to the limits of available internet content. The case of a schoolboy who built and set off the bomb at school implies that (a) children are free to access all types of Internet resources, regardless of their contents and (b) the time has come when the government must restrict access to websites that teach users how to build bombs.

Online users need no more than 30 seconds to find bomb cyber-instructions (Gibbons, 1999). Children who build and set off these bombs are not aware of the harm they may cause to people and property. Given the availability of the information about how to build bombs, children simply fall the victims of the unlimited access to Internet content. Online resources not only teach children how to build bombs but provide information about where to find gunpowder and how to buy other materials and parts without arousing suspicion (Gibbons, 1999). Shrapnel is very important if you want to kill and injure a lot of people  be sure you have plenty of newspapers down because accidents do happen and if you have a big black stain on yer carpet, mom and dad might ask some questions (Gibbons, 1999). This is just a piece of what adolescents can read online about bombs. The availability of this information is likely to result in more violence, and the case of the young student confirms that free access to information about bombs is dangerous. It is equally threatening and misleading. It tempts children to engage in violent experiments without thinking about the consequences of such actions. Obviously, content filters do not work effectively enough to prevent children from the risks of unnecessary violence and to warn them about the potential dangers of their online decisions. Thus, the time has come when governments must develop systemic approaches to Internet content.

If children say that they are too small to decide how dangerous the bomb is, the government must take the responsibility for filtering the Internet content and protecting children from unnecessary violence. The recent EU initiative proposes that bomb recipes and similar websites are blocked across the EU (Reuters, 2007). Internet providers and the government should work cooperatively to prevent children from accessing websites that contain information about bombs and killing. However, this task is equally critical and challenging. Restricting the availability of the Internet content poses a series of ethical issues, from limiting free speech to requiring that online users submit personal identifiable information to verify their age. Such information increases the probability of identity theft. Even if instructing people to make a bomb has nothing to do with the freedom of expression, or the freedom of informing people (Reuters, 2007), many users are likely to oppose to the new information initiatives. Yet, it is clear that free speech does have its limits and when children build and set off bombs in schools, free speech becomes irrelevant. Moreover, the actions of children prove the unreliability of technical solutions which have to filter Internet content. The incident proves the need for developing rules and regulations which would manage access to information about bombs and which would, simultaneously, control the actions of online users. This is not only the question of morality and ethics, but this is also the question of public safety. Ultimately, such rules and regulations will give the public a sense of confidence regarding their children and their own safety. Websites that instruct people to make bombs must be banned from public access. The government must be prepared to sacrifice the principles of anonymity for the sake of the public safety and the safety of children.

United Kingdom Flower Industry

Flowers are recognized as a symbolism that represents different things, which is mostly about the feelings of people that connote love, new life, forgiveness, and others. However, the United Kingdom flower industry gives a different meaning to flowers that involves ethical debate on their practice of selling flowers that are out of season. Ethics refers to the moral choices and values behind the decisions and actions of individuals. In addition, ethics also serves as a guide in judging whether a decision or action is good or bad, right or wrong, moral or immoral. The decisions of people are usually regarded as a personal preference, which describes the choice of the person in a certain situation. If personal preference is the only consideration in the decisions of people then, it would not be regarded as moral or immoral. However, ethical debate takes place when the intentions, results, and the values of the decision-makers are taken into consideration. In line with this, the case of the United Kingdom flower industry has been regarded as an ethical debate because its practice of selling flowers that are out of season raises environmental, labour, and other related issues that affect the country and even the society as a whole. Being the case, it is important that the ethical debates about the United Kingdom flower industry is given due attention.

United Kingdom Flower Industry
The flower industry has substantially developed because of market liberalization, deregulation, and corporate consolidation. The greater interconnectedness of countries, especially when it comes to trade and commerce, has paved the way for the flower industry to flourish and this has greatly benefited countries like the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom flower industry is estimated to worth more than two billion pounds per year, especially with the spending of thirty six pounds each year of an average individual for this commodity. Despite the fact that many flowers which are being used by most florists are grown in the United Kingdom, there is still a demand for exotic flowers that the industry needs to address. The increasing demand for exotic and tropical flowers as well as the popularity of foliage designs entails that large quantities of flowers have to be imported from other countries like Kenya, Israel, and Columbia (Gaikwad, 2008).

The development of the United Kingdom flower industry also entails the existence of ethical problems, especially when it comes to labour rights and environmental hazards. During the 1990s, ethical issues about the flower industry brought into mainstream the labour violations of the industry. The flower industry is heavily dependent on migrant women that are treated unfairly through low salary, excessive working hours, job insecurity, and gender discrimination. In relation to this, BBC even made several featured stories about the ethical issue of the flower industry. BBC reported that labourers in the flower farms in Kenya are exposed to cheap labour and health risks. Furthermore, environmental damage at farms is also observable. The issue places the United Kingdom flower industry in a bad light because Kenya is the main supplier of flowers to the country (de Neve 2008).

On the other hand, the CEO of the Society of American Florists Alexandria, Peter Moran, states that the development of the flower industry, especially in terms of global trade is actually beneficial for workers. Moran stated that Colombian workers are benefiting from stable jobs, more than the average salary, and extended benefits that the flower industry provides (Pohmer 2009). Moreover, retailers of the United Kingdom argue that the flowers coming from Africa use less energy because they are not grown in heated greenhouses. As such, retailers assert that they are not contributing more damage to the environment because they are importing flowers from countries like Kenya (Pohmer 2009).

Consequentialism Ethic
The consequentialist ethic approach to moral theories looks at the consequences of specific decisions and actions. Consequentialism judges the morality or rightness of a decision or action based on the good outcome or consequence that it produces. Utilitarianism is one of the most popular kinds of consequentialism ethic, which identifies a decision or action is moral or ethical if it yields the most happiness or benefit for the greatest number of people (Brooks and Dunn 2009).

The retailers of the United Kingdom flower industry can use the major tenets of the consequentialist ethics in order to justify their decision of selling flowers that are out of season. First, retailers of the United Kingdom flower industry assert that they are not exploiting foreign labourers in Kenya, Columbia, and other countries that import flowers to the country. The retailers actually argue that they are providing stable jobs, above-average compensation, and other benefits such as medical and dental assistance, child care, pensions, and others. Moreover, the retailers in the United Kingdom also address the environmental criticisms that they are accused of. Retailers point out that they only establish trading agreements with countries that are using clear and stringent legislation when it comes to the use of agro-chemical products and make substantial effort to carefully handle pesticide (Pohmer 2009). In addition, producers of flowers in other countries do not use much energy because they are not grown in greenhouses and as such, they do not contribute to environmental degradation. By using the consequentialist perspective, it is proven that the actions of the United Kingdom flower industry actually provides benefit to all stakeholders. The workers in flower farm benefit from their respective countrys trade to the United Kingdom because they are provided with a stable job and good benefits. The United Kingdom retailers are not harming the environment but they are actually doing their part in saving it. Furthermore, providing the consumers with exotic flowers even when it is out of season also contributes to the maximum happiness of the retailers clientele.

On the other hand, consumer groups that do not agree with the selling of out of season flowers can also use the consequentialist ethic in order to defend their side of the debate. As previously mentioned, workers in countries that export flowers to the United Kingdom are required to work excessive hours and work in harmful conditions. Despite the fact that foreign workers are given stable jobs, they are actually being exploited because the wages given to them might be actually above-average in their country but the appropriate salary should be more than what they are given. In addition, even though the United Kingdom flower industry are partnering with countries that support agro-chemical products and carefully handles pesticides, retailers cannot properly oversee whether they are being properly implemented. Moreover, the argument that the United Kingdom retailers are helping the environment by importing flowers that do not use greenhouses is not really doing much for the environment because the processes by which the flowers are planted contribute more to the harm of the environment (de Neve 2008). Being the case, in the consequentialist approach, the practice of the United Kingdom retailers is actually unethical because it does not contribute to the happiness or benefit of the stakeholders. The workers are exploited and the environment is being degraded, which actually contribute to the unhappiness of the stakeholders. In addition, the consumers of exotic and out of season flowers will also no longer find happiness in buying flowers that are actually produced out of exploited labour and contribute to environmental degradation.

Virtue Ethics
Consumers actually have the last say when it comes to the debate regarding the selling of out of season flowers by the United Kingdom flower industry. Consumers who will decide to boycott the out of season flowers will have a huge impact in the operation of the flower industry, which can even lead to its downfall. In relation to this, consumers can use the principle of virtue ethics in order to respond to the arguments of the retailers of the United Kingdom flower industry. Virtue ethics gives emphasis on the character of the moral agent or the decision-maker rather than the consequences of the action. A decision or action is judged as ethical or not based on the character of the act itself (Brooks and Dunn 2009). In relation to this, consumers can actually judged that the actions of the retailers are unethical if their motivation in selling out of season flowers is only for the purpose of gaining larger profit, which is usually the main motivation in business organizations.  

Institutional Racism

Institutional racism is defined by Shirley Jean Better in her book entitled Institutional Racism A Primer on Theory and Strategies for Social Change as those patterns, procedures, practices, and policies that operate within social institutions so as to consistently penalize, disadvantage, and exploit individuals who are members of non-white racial  ethnic groups or the dominantpowerful majority in a certain population (11).  Two important actors are affected in the process of inequality that is happening in institutions and these actors are the dominant and powerful, and the disadvantage groups. The dominant powerful group usually consists of the majority group in a certain country, community, or population, which has the authority in respective institutions that allow them to have an advantageous position in the society. On the other hand, the disadvantaged group is commonly the minority population in a country or community that does not have the necessary power in institutions and in the society, which makes them more prone to abuses and exploitation by the dominant group.
In line with this, institutional racism is one of the most pressing issues in the American society, especially since the country is inhabited by people coming from different racial background. In addition, the controversial and highly-debated issue of health care is also linked to the concept of institutional racism because there are instances wherein the minority group does not have the same access to health care as compared with the dominant group. Institutional racism adversely affects justice and fairness in the society because inequality persists in the different institutions. That being the case, it is necessary that institutional racism be further studied, especially in the context of ethics.
Ethics is recognized as a branch of philosophy that deals with questions and issues about morality, which assesses whether a situation is good or bad, right or wrong. In relation to this, Michael Slote in his book entitled The Ethics of Care and Empathy, points out that ethics also gives importance to the observance of justice, and values in the society (96). Two of the most notable ethical systems are Immanuel Kants Categorical Imperative and John Rawls Theory of Justice. Kant and Rawls ethical systems will be applied to the institutional racism that is happening in the American health care system in order to critically analyze which its ethical implications.

Institutional Racism in American Health Care
Ridley explained in his book, Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counselling and Therapy, that institutional racism is pervasive and deeply woven in the United States health care system (158). Racial discrimination generally compounds the institutional racism in the American health care, which greatly affects the minority groups access to health care and the quality of the health care received. Although there have been efforts in the past years to eradicate discrimination and address racial segregation, only limited changes took place when it came to quality and access to health care for many minority groups. Based on the United States Commission on Civil Rights,
Despite the existence of civil rights legislation equal treatment and equal access are not a reality for racial  ethnic minorities and women in the current climate of the health care industry many barriers limit both the quality of health care and utilization for these groups, including discrimination (Randall n.p.).

The issue of racial discrimination in the American health care in terms of delivery, financing, and research still persist and the racial barriers to quality health care are represented in different ways.

The lack of economic access to health care is one of the implications of institutional racism in the United States. An estimate of more than 38.4 million Americans is uninsured and lacks the necessary economic access to health care. In relation to this, the disproportionate number of uninsured Americans is racial minorities. The access to health care insurance is usually related to employment. However, according to Vernellia Randall, a Harvard law professor, the economy is racially stratified, which is why different forms of discrimination are observable that caused the concentration of minority groups in low-income jobs with no health insurance benefits (n.p.).

Vernellia Randall discussed in her work entitled Institutional Racism in U.S. Health Care that institutional racism in the health care system is also seen in different areas. The creation, establishment, and implementation of policies that restrict the admission of minority groups contribute to institutional racism. In line with this, the closure, relocation, privatization of hospitals and health care centers that primarily serve people that are coming from minority communities is also an example of institutional racism. Moreover, the continuous transfer of unwanted patients, who are usually from minority groups, fosters institutional racism to continue (Randall n.p.). In line with this, communities that are heavily populated by minority groups experience shortage in the number of physicians and other health care providers that serve them. A good example is the minimal number of White physicians that practice their profession in minority communities. Another key challenge is the lack of clear health care standards that give importance to cultural differences in health care, especially when it comes to language barriers. Physicians and other health care providers have difficulty in addressing the health care needs of minority groups because they cannot properly understand their complaints and predicaments due to the difference in language. Moreover, gender discrimination is also a problem in the United States health care system because the health experience of African-American women are not given due importance in the health care policy of the United States (Randall n.p).

Immanuel Kant
The categorical imperative is the central argument in the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Based on the philosophy of Kant, human beings have a special part in creation wherein their morality is dependent upon one ultimate reason or imperative, which all duties and responsibilities are defined. The definition of imperative in the perspective of Kant is any proposition which makes an action or inaction necessary. According to the book of James White, Contemporary Moral Problems, categorical imperative pertains to the unconditional requirement which is applicable in all circumstances because it is regarded as both required and justified as an end in itself (White 47).

John Rawls
The Theory of Justice is a book, political philosophy, and ethical system that were established by John Rawls. Rawls created the book in order to try addressing the problem of distributive justice by means of using the social contract. The Theory of Justice asserts the principles of liberty and equality. Equality entails that fair choice should be observed in a situation by all parties. Based on the work of anthropologist-researcher, John Cottingham, the primary purpose of the principle of justice is to guide the decisions and actions of the parties in order for them to pursue their interest through cooperation with other people by means of mutually accepted terms, which exemplify justice (411).

The veil of ignorance is also a part of the ethical philosophy of John Rawls. The veil of ignorance can be used in order to determine the morality of specific issues. The principle of the veil of ignorance asserts that an individual can only really and truthfully consider the morality of an issue by means of being ignorant of the societal roles and social distribution. When an individual is ignorant of his or her position in the society like social status, assets, abilities, intelligence, and strength, he or she can be able to think of an issue in the society from the perspective of all members. According to Gordon Graham in his book Eight Theories of Ethics, an individual can be able to properly assess an ethical issue without any personal biases (167).

Analysis
The ethical philosophies of Immanuel Kant and John Rawls clearly show that institutional racism in the United States health care system is immoral and unethical. The categorical imperative is under the deontology ethics that gives importance to the duty and responsibility of an individual. Immanuel Kants categorical imperative argues that an action can only be ethical if it follows maxim, which can be regarded as a universal law. In the case of the United States health care system, the main responsibility or duty of the government, as well as health care professionals, is to address the medical needs of the people regardless of their social or economic status in the society. However, the duty of the government and health care professionals are not being done properly because of the presence of institutional racism. Moreover, the unequal access and quality of health care go against the principle of categorical imperative because the policies such as limited health care for those with no insurance and the transfer of unwanted patients, which are being applied by the American health care system cannot be recognized as a universal law.  

In the same manner, the ethical philosophy of John Rawls also exemplifies the unethical characteristics of the United States health care system. Rawls Theory of Justice emphasizes the importance of equality and justice. The ethical argument of Rawls was grounded on the idea that the principle of justice should be acceptable to all people from a fair position. In addition, the Rawls also introduce the veil of ignorance that can only understand an issue if he or she can see it without the impediments of social class and other factors that will affect his or her judgment. In the case of the United States health care system, the minority group does not have an equal access to quality health care, which clearly goes against Rawls principle of justice. Moreover, the sense of justice is not realized in the American health care system because there are people who are in advantageous situations because of the suffering of others. Furthermore, the veil of ignorance of Rawls also helps in objectively assessing the social issue of institutional racism wherein an individual from the dominant group who would practice the principle of the veil of ignorance will realized that being a member of the minority group is difficult because unfair treatment is experience when it comes to the access of quality health care.  

Individual Project

What we have the right to do and what is right are really two very different things. A simple example could be that we have every right to do what it takes for our business to flourish, but the techniques used may not necessarily be all pure and honest. (Lennon, 2008)

Lets face it, the world of business and exchange is very tricky. Ethics and morals are also connected to risk management. Not only do we have to think of the hazards that might happen, we must also think in terms of the clients. A good risk management plan does not only provide solutions to foreseen problems, it also prevents any losses from happening.

In terms of managing a hotel, for example, ethics and moral can be equipped with risk management. In building the hotel alone, a lot of money is already used. Especially in terms of insurance when it comes to the materials to be used. To save money, most companies use cheaper materials for the interior. We can easily publicize the hotel as a 5-star hotel and earn fast money. The risk is that the clients might find out and when this happens, we lose clients. We are forced to look for more clients, instead of keeping our old clients. In addition to this, the trust of the public has faltered. Risk management is a continuous process it doesnt just stop after the launching of the project. (Wallace, 1999-2007)

Real estate itself is a big risk, because it requires a lot of money. Satisfying the client is not an easy task when it comes to real estate. (Australia, 2005) There is a surplus of legislation when it comes to this sort of business. This is vey similar to the situation with hotels. In building homes, cheaper materials can be used for things like the walls and ceilings. There are certain cheats which are often used in construction. The risk is also when the clients find out through earthquakes or other disasters which can show them that the materials are not what have been advertised. Things like these have to be foreseen through risk management. What if the buyer files a lawsuit This is where morals come in, which are also connected to the corporations core values, which may be ruined once the public discovers the incident. As stated in the first paragraph, we have the right to do anything for the business to flourish, but this does not mean that the techniques are pure and honest.

Since the company also produces, exports, and imports wine and spirits, let us take this into consideration. In the past, people only used crushed grapes to make wine, but as time passed, the people realized that through technology and intervention, they can design different kinds of wine. (Cal Wineries, 2007) It is also common knowledge that the older wine is, the more expensive it is. Now, in relation to ethics and morals, it can easily be said that the wine is older than it really is. Most clients will take your words for it at once, and this is a classic example of doing everything to make the business flourish, but not using pure techniques. There is also such a thing as not lying to the customer, but not telling the truth either. It is a simple play of words.

Risk management takes into consideration what hazards might occur, and how to solve them if they come, but better yet, how to prevent them. It is normal to experience problems in businesses, so we need to be ready for anything. In the situations given, we should make critical decisions. The decision must be on which the company will lose the least amount or either money and clients. It is a tough decision, but with good risk assessment plans and good management, risks can be minimized to get the best results.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE ETHICS

Ethics guide us on how to live and how to make judgment on whether an action or contact is wrong or right. It is through ethics that we are able to make moral choices in situations that involve moral issues. Ethics are used while solving ethical dilemmas and in the case of criminal justice, they are very important if well analyzed. Professionals such as lawyers who defend their clients mainly face ethical issues in criminal law. One of the issues is how authority should be used and thus people may use authority to promote personal values. Authority may also be used evade responsibility for wrongdoing.

There are also ethical issues when it comes to personal and professional interests since some professionals may use their status while promoting their personal interests or goals such as financial interests. They may also use organizations resources in carrying out unassigned work. These professionals may also be engaged in activities that are against personal values such as taking drugs. Professionals may also have unstable or wrong relationships with clients such as engaging in personal relationship instead of doing the legitimate work assigned to them. These professionals may also engage in to activities such as doing business with their clients for their own personal gains.

Other ethical issues may arise due to the behavior of police while on their duties. Some police may carry out an arrest by force without authorization and they have been time and again accused of practicing racial profiling on certain ethnicities. Other ethical problems may be due to human rights issues that may advocate for severe punishment for criminals. Sharing of information is also another ethical issue that would cause an ethic dilemma in criminal justice. Professionals may decide to withdraw or give wrong information to the court or even the client although they are obligated to giving all the true information they have about a case. Some professionals do not follow confidentiality rules and therefore end up sharing information with the wrong parties. Court records that have vital information may be exposed to the wrong parties and this is also an ethical issue to be considered. Ethical problems may also arise in the media since they might publicize something that was not meant for the public ears. Media coverage may also politicize some crimes and therefore bring a wrong picture of the parties involved.  

The above issues seem to dwell mostly on the professionals who handle any criminal cases, may it be the court workers or the lawyers or even the defense attorneys or even media personalities. It is therefore very important that when choosing a career that you make sure that your selection will suit you and that you can abide to the ethics set by the society. One should follow the ethics that govern whichever career he or she chooses. It is very important that every professional understands the ethics involved in criminal justice so that any decisions made are fair and just to all parties involved.

integration of women in the shipping industry

The dissertation has tried to explore the participation of women in to the male dominated world of shipping. The main objective of this dissertation is to highlight the equality of gender in every field of life. Women can no doubt perform well in the shipping industry as well and the examples of which are available in the history. The dissertation also presents the challenges that have been faced by women in the past in order to make their place in this industry. Along with these challenges the dissertation has also highlighted the participation of women all over the world in to this industry. The dissertation also highlights the importance of women to this industry and how they can be integrated to develop the industry even further. This is possible only when awareness is developed among the people. The dissertation has tried to generate the awareness by explaining every fact associated with the integration of women in to the shipping industry.

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1Introduction
Human beings, irrespective of gender have always struggled for moving towards betterment of their living standard and as it is irrespective of gender, women contribute a major role in making this betterment and development a reality.  In the modern age, the concept of women involved only in their domestic works has been diminished as they are equally participating in the industries and organizations. It can be observed that currently women are struggling more and more for empowering themselves in every field of life. This dissertation specifically focuses and puts light on  the integration of women in the shipping industry. The shipping industry is a male dominated industry and in past there has been no perception that women can join this industry as well. However, with time women started integrating in to the shipping industry and have made their place and have found opportunities through which they can serve in the areas that they have expertise in. Since 1990s, a huge amount of women are getting employed in this industry. As it is mentioned in the above discussion that the shipping industry has always remained to be male dominated, yet, in last 25 years it has been observed that a huge amount of women have been recruited by the marine industry and organizations have been developed for supporting women in this industry. It is suggested that in the maritime or shipping industry, the focus should be made over the quality and not over the gender. Women should be encouraged to get in to this field of shipping and maritime as a diverse team can prove to be more creative and agile. More opportunities should be created for women by allowing them to enter in to the various areas of shipping industry. The paper will present a complete over view of the industry in light of the level of participation of women and try to single out the challenges that women face in pursuit of finding their fortune for development in this walk of life (Horck 2008).

1.2 Background Overview
Being a male dominated industry, it was considered that women cannot deal with this hard life of shipping whereas women in this field are found on the edge of having strong objectives. Women started working over the ships as  stewards but Later on they were also appointed as the assistants or companions with the captains as they worked as the explorers as the number of women, their interest and experience grew to a satisfactory level. Apart from these jobs, women were not appointed on the jobs having major responsibilities and were never seen running and operating the ships as men never considered them capable of this job.
The year 1900 onwards was the time when steamships were getting more and more popular around the world which made it possible for women to be added in to the crew as the crew members on the aboard passenger ships. In those days, the major roles of women over the ships were to serve as a nurse, stewardesses and laundresses. Only very few examples were seen in which women were having good positions and jobs. Once there was a Scottish couple who used to sail regularly as the couple knew how to navigate and operate the ship and the husband was the head. But, after the death of the husband, the wife assumed the captainship as there was nobody else that she thought was capable enough as she herself was. Being a sailor herself, this lady established a nautical academy in Aberdeen to promote women in the industry.

Women also have made remarkable works in the shipping industry  in the Second World War when Vitoria Drummond was awarded with the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This award was given over the brave performance of the lady engineer over the British Blue Funnel Line. Like Drummond, many other women also worked along with men on the ships as engineers at that time where some of them also served as the radio officers on the main deck. This shows that even at that time women were able to handle the jobs and operations at ships.

According to an estimate, during the Second World War, nearly 8000 women were working over the ocean going merchant vessels and 21,000 were working over the inland navigation vessels. Women have proved in past that if chances are provided they can serve at their best and this is why that after the year 1945, the emergence of women as the crew members was seen on the regular basis. The level of job was still limited to the stewardesses, cooks and radio officers but lately in 1960s women also started appearing as the officer cadets as well. The reason for this was that in Europe many of the young male candidates were dropped and as a result chances were given to women. Again from the mid of 1980s till the next 15 years, the shipping industry limited its recruitment as far as women are concerned. There were many reasons for ignoring women some of them being over capacity of the workforce, deteriorating and decreasing rates of the freights. Although, even at that time the European women were entering in to the field but overall the  ratio was still declining. The ratio again improved in the late 1990s when the attention was again being made over women in this industry (Belcher 2003)

1.3 Shipping Industry and its Operations
The shipping industry can be defined as the most competitive service industry which is private in nature as it is not only important for all other industries related to trade but the over all economy as well as it provides job opportunities to all classes of labor and adds to the GDP. Shiping industry has many different segments to serve in for example industrial transportation services, tanker operations, tramp shipping and liner services etc. All of these segments whole significance as per the nature of service that they provide as each type of segment is a separate niche in which it is hard for other segments to intersect or overlap.

Special routes have been established in order to streamline the operations of the shiping industry across the world. Different types of ships are being used to perform these activities like vessels, cargo ships, container ships and tankers in which the major operations of the shipping industry are to carry the passengers and the goods and then transporting them to different places. Although, the facility of air travelling has reduced the amount of passengers who used to travel through the ships, still as the travel costs through ships and boats are much cheaper then air travel, thus the transportation sector of the industry is still earning their fortune in developing and third world countries. Still, the industry basically serves for carrying the goods in terms of volume from an aerial view as can easily cargo different types of goods like petroleum, mineral ores, lumber, food stuff etc. The practice of transferring the goods is increasing day by day making this industry an interactive one (Shipping industry 2010)

1.4 Research Objectives
The topic of the dissertation is broad enough and covering many aspects of a single domain. The paper is covering many research objectives as it is a manifold topic. Huge amount of data has been gathered and presented it in the literature review section in order to fulfill all the objectives. Following are the basic objectives of this dissertation which have been tried to be accomplished.
To find out the role of women in the industry of shipping.

To find out that what challenges women have to face in the shipping industry.
Finding out the nature of the shipping industry and the role of women in these segments.
Analyzing the participation of women in the shipping industry in order to find out that what the current scenario of the shipping industry is in this regard.

How can women be empowered in the industry of shipping
Discussion regarding the efforts of the organizations which are working for the betterment of women in the shipping industry.

Evaluating Performance of women  in this male dominating industry.
Finding out the occupational segregation in the shipping industry.
Above are some of the basic objectives that are tried to be achieved by this dissertation. The dissertation is very important as it highlights the role and performance of women in the industry of shipping as women still face many challenges and problems due to the male dominance for which corrective measures have to be taken by the concerned and development authorities.

1.5 Rationale of the Study
The world today is moving ahead and the gender differences and discriminations are no longer of any importance. Women are supposed to work in every field of life and are not more limited to the domestic chores. So for this reason, it is necessary to discuss the integration of women in the shipping industry. In this paper it has been tried to observe that what the current position of women in the shipping industry is. It was required to find out that what the current ratio of women in this industry is so that the involvement can be observed. The research has been performed to show that how women have made their way in this male dominating world and the challenges that they face once the enter. The study is important to be performed as the shipping industry holds very crucial important in every countrys economics. women in past were degraded in this industry and were never given any important job position. With time,  women have proved themselves in this industry that if they are given chances then they can compete men in this industry as well. It was necessary to bring this fact in front of the readers that women have got a great career in this industry of shipping. There are special organizations which are devoted for supporting the role of women in this industry  and it is also necessary to highlight the services of such organizations. In short, it was a very important study to be performed as it is necessary that women should be supported in the shipping industry so that they can join the crews and enhance the creativity and development in the industry.

1.6 Motivation for the Study
We were motivated to perform this study as the shipping industry has always taken as a world of men. It was desired to show that women can also work along with men in this industry. If we got through the history where women have served over the ships with great brilliance the motivation is created to bring more number of women in to this industry. Going through the history made us to work over this domain area and try to bring in front of the people that women can work at their best in this male dominated industry. In past, many examples are available in which women have given great services. Another motivation for performing this study was that at first women in this industry were limited to the jobs of nursing, laundresses and other such jobs. It was considered that they are not fit for the jobs like radio officer, management, captain and so on. We were motivated to show that women can even perform best at the high level jobs in this shipping industry. Women once join this industry then they have to face a lot of challenges in order to prove themselves successful in this male dominated industry. It was also desired to let the readers know that what kinds of challenges are faced by women when they join this male dominated world. Currently, a great participation is being made by women in the shipping industry so it was required to highlight this integration.
 Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Women in Shipping Industry
In todays world, women are not behind men in any aspect. They are performing brilliantly in every field of life and this dissertation will focus on the performance of women in the shipping industry. Women are also giving remarkable services to this industry. This remarkable performance has diminished the old concept in which women were only supposed to perform their domestic activities. In the todays competitive environment if we look at the shipping companies women are also seen serving their country in large numbers and in some companies women are now outnumbering the men. There are many departments of shipping industry in which women are considered to be the best managers. It was not easy for women to get to this position but they had to actually earn this position by travelling a long way in order to achieve this status and value. It is the result of their struggle that they are now able to have the strongest positions in the crew. Otherwise, in the past they were just being appointed as the caretakers, nurses and laundresses etc which shows the schematic perception of male crew members who gave the same jobs to women as they did in their domestic private and family lives. The reason for this limitation was that it was never supposed that women can perform well in the shipping industry by considering that it is a technical industry and only men can handle it. At present, women have proved themselves by showing dedication towards their job and are now going ahead. The need of the hour today is to support women and allow them to enter in to this world (Boursaw 2002).
(Martinez, 2000)

From the diagram above, we can see that in the past, the ratio of women in the shipping industry was very low but with time it improved and more women entered into this field. Although, now the number of women in the shipping industry has increased but still they are in minority if compared with  men. It is required that companies should hire more women in this field. The large number of women in shipping industry can be seen only in the developed countries like European countries where as there are still few countries in which there is no such concept of involving women in to this industry. In many countries, the willingness of deploying female staff in the shipping industry can be clearly observed by noticing that institutes that are established for providing trainings to the female staff. These institutes are responsible for guiding them with respect to how can they be a good officer onboard. The increase in the number of employed women over the ships can be seen by two factors
The dedication of the institutes for providing them training.

The interest of the shipping companies to hire more female staff.
It is also required that women should show interest towards taking the shipping engineering education as it is necessary for allowing them to have the technical knowledge of operating the ships.
Growing trends in the shipping industry have been observed especially in the passenger sector as compared to the commercial sector. In ferries and cruises a large number of female staff can be seen. Although women are being serving as engineers but still the large number of women are seen in the catering and hotel sector (Belcher 2003).

Since 1990s, the interest of hiring women as officers or at other high rankings has increased. It was the story of the past that only men used to face the dangers of the sea as now, in many situations, women are seen to support the male crew members with great strength. It used to be the case in the past as well but at that time due to less number of women their participation was ignored. In Western countries the policies are being developed that may avoid the discrimination in this industry giving more opportunities to women for holding higher ranks. The gates of employment are now wide open for women for every rank. The reason is that women are now getting attracted towards the shipping and maritime education and the same female staff members who were found in cooking and cleaning the cruises, vessels and ferries are now seen over the decks, steam turbines and so on. Women can do extremely well at the engineering side, management side and also on the caretaking side of the ship. In many cases, it can be observed even today that many males try to dominate the females because they consider that women may not handle the difficult situations over the ship and sea. In this situation, the mean even do not allow women at higher ranks to do according to their opinion. Many studies have showed the fact that a diverse crew i.e., a crew having both males and females may perform well as it can be more creative. In short, women have proved themselves in every field of shipping industry and they have done this with great struggle. So, it is recommended that women should be welcomed in this field and allowed to perform at their best. (Horck 2008)

2.2 Fundamentals of discrimination of gender
In this part of the paper, the problem of discrimination in gender will be highlighted which will then serve as the basis of the formulation of the results and conclusions that are given at the end of the paper.

The fact remains the same that ever since the shipping industry has developed, the male counterparts who actually dominate the industry have actually made a number of schemas from the very beginning and have taken it from there along way up till now when the shipping industry is actually much more advanced and developed. There are a number of opportunities and jobs that can be performed by women and actually they can be performed better if women are assigned to these jobs but just because of the fact that male dominants think that women cannot take the pressure, women are declined of these opportunities.

Through research, it has been seen that women are very much motivated to work at sea and in fact most of the women share the same opinion especially for the cruise industry because they get to interact with different people with different cultural backgrounds and that is what motivates them even more. This is the reason why it is seen that despite all the discrimination that prevails, still, most of the women working in the shipping industry are generally found related some way or the other to the cruise ship industry.

However, the discrimination starts not when women enter the industry, but, it starts way before that when they are actually getting training for their line of work. There are many institutions and academies which provide training programs for women in order to excel in the industry but the question remains that are women given the representation in these academies and the degrees offered on the same level as men Certainly not as it has been seen that from the very start, women are not given admissions to the core degrees of the shipping industry such as marine, engineering and many other, rather they are only restricted to the hotel and cabin section. This is where the discrimination starts even before these women get their feet on the deck. There opportunities are surpassed by men who take all the seats in specialized degrees and leave back the cabin and hotel departments for women for as they think that women can serve the ship the best in only this section.

For this reason, it has also been seen that most of the doctors who serve on deck are also men, despite the fact that there are many good female doctors contributing the global health related causes all over the world and earning recognition from global institutions which proves that women are no less than men when it comes to men, still why are they not given opportunities on the deck. There is again no other reason except discrimination to this answer as women are the ones who are forced to serve as nurses or assistants to doctors despite the fact that they have experience, expertise and the skills to outperform men in this field.

Apart from this, all over the world it is seen that according to non-discriminating policies and frameworks, there has to be no bias with respect to gender, class race and ethnic or cultural background. However, evidence will be provided later on that almost all of the families who are employed in the shipping industry, that is the husband and the wife serving onboard are earning different salaries for the same job that they are performing. Women get highly demotivated when they see that the sacrifice the time that would rather spend with their families and children, get discriminated on the type of work that is assigned to them and then when it comes to the compensation that they receive, the face discrimination again as men earn more for the same job and for the same level of effort that they put in. because of this reason many women have tried leaving the industry but because of their financial constraints they are forced to go back to the industry and serve again at the jobs that are only set for women. These jobs are cleaning, serving as waitresses, room service, washing, laundry and etc.

Apart from salary and the type of work that is assigned to women, even institutions such as naval colleges also tend to discriminate amongst male and female e cadets. It will be discussed in the later part of the report with the help of a table that despite females serving as engineers all over the world in a number of industries, there was no degree for women in the naval colleges in the late 1990s, rather they college gave equitant representation to women in the marine department but, there were no opportunities through which women could actually grow in the careers as a navel cadet. Out of around 40 degrees, only 4 degrees were there which gave a chance to women along with men to get them enrolled in them, whereas the rest were only reserved for women.

The paper ahead will provide a more detailed view of the points that have been discussed in this chapter.

2.3 Participation of Women in Shipping Industry
After so much improvement that is seen in this industry regarding the entrance of women. Still, the number of women is very low in the shipping industry. All over the world, the number of seafarers is almost 1.25million. Only 1 to 2 percent of women comprise this huge number. The small percentage is again having women only from the developed countries and the rest of the world is still not interested to let their women to enter in to this field. The number of women participating in the shipping industry highly depends on the region, country and company. Countries like Sweden, Denmark, Italy, United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, Belgium and Germany are having much number women participation in the shipping industry. The following table shows the number of seafarers in the different countries and the number of women among these seafarers.
  ( Martinez, 2000)

The table shows that the Swedish women have shown the greatest participation. On the other hand the Italian women have shows the least interest as compared to different European countries. If we talk about other countries of the world then 3 of the Australian women are involved in this industry. New Zealand is having only 0.5  of its women in the shipping industry. This is a discouraging figure as these are the developed countries and still the awareness of integration of women in the shipping industry is not seen on the level it is supposed to be. The largest number of seafarers is being supplied by the Philippines but only 225 of the supplied seafarers are women. (Belcher 2003)

2.4 Empowering Women in the Maritime Industry
Women should be integrated in to all the aspects of the society like social, cultural political and industrial. They have proved that they can help in the development of the country and the nation. This part of the paper focuses over empowering women in the shipping industry. Women have got complete right in getting in to this industry as they have struggled a lot and proved themselves. Initiatives should be taken that may allow women to outnumber men in every department of this industry. This movement should have a very important place in the society as women are also courageous and strong. They are able to face the dangers of the sea with full determination and it is encouraging that women are not only seen on the officer level or at the caretaking level on the ships but they can also be seen in the labor market of shipping industry as well. Almost 7 of the total labor market is comprised of women today. This shows the hard work and efforts of women in this industry. Special organizations have been developed and should continue to develop in order to support women. There should be no difference of wages, occupation, position, ranks and employment and so on in the shipping industry between men and women. The emphasis should be made over this issue because these differences have been observed in this industry in past and even at present at some places. (Mitropoulos 2008)

Strategies should be made for improving the health, development, careers, planning and empowerment of women in the shipping industry. It is also required that for strengthening the role of women in this industry equality should be promoted. So that women may peacefully work in this environment. It can be seen that women are peacefully working in the shipping industry in the European countries but the condition of women in the shipping industries of Western countries is very devastating. Emphasis is being made over the development of equality in between the men and women in this industry on the global level. It is not only the importance of the industry but also is a major human rights concern. The human rights are equally important in all the industries and fields. If the role of women is provided with adequate importance that they deserve, then the environment of the shipping industry will also be improved and enhanced.

The establishment of equality between both the genders is now being pursued to be achieved on the international level. Agreements are being made that can exert some pressure for not only hiring women in this industry but also to give them equal importance. It is time for the shipping industry to realize the fact that like other fields of life, this field also cannot prove to be productive.
Empowerment is not only needed in a single area instead inspirational, educational and moral strengths are equally required. Laws and policies should be developed that can introduce the integration and involvement of women in every position of this shipping industry along with men. This strategy will provide women with a chance of moving ahead. Needs and necessities of women in this industry should also be addressed and defined. (Mitropoulos 2008)
Now, it is not only the shipping industry as a whole, we also need to put some light on the naval recruitment of new cadets or students in naval colleges. The table below shows the exact situation of the contribution of women in naval colleges and the late 90s.
(Martinez, 2000)

It is clear in the above table that in merchant navy, there was only one graduate representing females, in navigation there were two, and in engineering, there was none for women. The fact is that ever since sciences and engineering have become an integral part of our higher studies curriculum, why have women not been made a part of engineering in the naval academies The answer is the same as the basic theme of this paper. The schematic thinking of policy makers regarding the idea of women working over and underneath the deck on engines and machinery is quite vague and unacceptable for them.

This issue has been raised many times and the discussions have always ended up in the identification of many different areas of this industry which need rapid, constant and sustainable improvement. These areas are lacking the fulfillment of the rights of women and it can be said that women are being ignored in these areas. Some of the areas which need to be improved in order to empower women are given below
Poverty and women.
Shipping education for women.
Awareness of this industry among women.
Training for women.
Economic conditions and women.
Involving women in the decision making functions of the industry.
Involving women in the technical operations of the industry.
Providing women with some power.
Realizing the role of women in this industry.
Realizing the need and importance of women in this industry.
Brining women to the advancement.

It is a fact that if all these areas are improved and work is done over it then the role of women will become much stronger than now. The industry should invest over women so that women can realize and come in front for providing their services to this industry. (Mitropoulos 2008)

2.5 Challenges Faced by Women in the Shipping Industry
It was not easy for women to make place for themselves in the male dominated shipping industry. In this dissertation as we are discussing that what is the current position of women in this industry. For this reason, it is necessary to discuss the various challenging situation that are faced by women.

Following is the description of these challenges
Male Domain Because of the attitudes of this industry, the industry is still known to be a male domain world even in the presence of women. The industry is having the inflexible and well unshakable attitudes. The attitudes continue to exist even when women are becoming an integral part of the industry. These attitudes definitely do have adverse affects over the entrance of women in this industry. As when the parents and women themselves observe such behaviors then they would never like to steer their girls to enter in to this field. Also, in many cases when the girls want to join this industry then women have to face the prejudice during education as well as during the search of jobs in this industry. It is greatly observed that the people consider women unfit for this industry and women are not treated like the men. In many cases, women also are made to realize the fact that they are not chosen on the bases of their merit but because of their gender. For these reasons, women have to work harder than the men in order to prove their abilities. Women are never taken serious by the male colleagues. It can also be said that the major challenge being faced by women is to prove them that they are able to have a job and a good rank. Obviously, women can prove themselves and ace these rude attitudes only when they are rewarded by the good position and ranks otherwise they will keep themselves away from the industry.

Career Option Another challenge is that, women have to convince the people in their surroundings to allow them to join the industry. This is because the image of this industry has always been set as the male dominated industry so the parents hardly allow their daughters to join this industry. The lack of awareness makes drives women away from this field and they only join the industry due to their economic reasons. It means that because of unawareness women come to this industry and for this reason they cannot make it to the very end. They join the industry and learn it on the bases of experiments and sometimes this creates it a challenging situation for them.

Role Models Role models in any industry are necessary for the inspiration of other people to come to this industry. The misfortune is that there is deficiency of female role models in this industry that may attract the other women towards this industry. All over the world, very less number of such women exists in this industry that can be taken as the role models. Mostly women who do have good profile in this industry belong to the families of the owners of the companies. These are the elite companies or groups and very few examples of such women are available.

Mentoring by Men When male members perform the process of mentoring of female young staff then it is very sporadic. Most of the people in this industry which are appointed at the high ranks are men as this is a male dominated industry. So when these male members are performing the task of mentoring then there are very few chances that they will select the female candidates. There are many reasons behind this and few of which are pressure from the society, the reaction of the family of women, the reaction of the colleagues and absence of same interests and so on. Such issues divert the mind of the mentors for choosing the male candidates. In other words mentoring by men is not favorable for women.

Mentoring by Women In majority cases it can be observed that women are never appointed for mentoring. For this reason, women cannot support the young women entering into this field. Another thing that can be noticed in this regard is that some women who reach higher position think that they have made this achievement with great struggle. According to these women, they cannot choose the young women as it can affect their studious image and nobody will then admit their struggle. These women also think that it would not be easier for the new women to enter and struggle in this field. This is a challenge for new women to enter in to this field as they are being opposed by their own gender. This situation makes it clear that not only opposite gender can cause problems but also women can create problems for other women.

The above defined are the basic challenges that are being faced by the majority of women in this industry. (Lee, 6)

2.6 Occupational segregation in the shipping industry
It is an obvious fact that the division of genders in the different occupations of the shipping industry is not the same. Even this fact does not need any analysis to be performed as it is quite obvious. All over the world, the percentage of women working as a workforce is very low. Same is the case with the shipping industry as very low number of women is found in this industry working as engineers. Positions like sea fearers, engineers, surveyors and explorers are termed to be the male oriented avenues.

Department-wise segregation of women
 (Martinez, 2000)

So in these positions the segregation is quite unfair and the number of women is very low. Surveys clearly show that only 25 of women in the shipping industry make up the workforce of the companies. Still, the differences exist in different countries and companies. Also a huge difference can be seen in different occupations. Occupational segregation defines that gender discrimination is highly involved in to the shipping industry. A huge difference can be seen in the seniority level of both the genders. Most of the male members are seen on the senior positions but only a few females. (Lee, 2, n.d)
(Martinez, 2000)

If the workforce of the shipping industry is observed then it is found that majority of women are found in the hotel section of the ships, cruises and ferries. Most of the male are positioned at the higher level ranks and women are at other sideline jobs. This fact is not limited to any nationality, race or country but it is being observed in every country of the world. The following figure shows the segregation of the men and women in the shipping industry.

Figure  SEQ Figure  ARABIC 1 Occupational segregation in shipping industry
Figure 1 clearly shows that women are having very low share in every field of the shipping industry. According to the surveys that were made in the year 1995 almost 88.4 percent of the total women working in the shipping industry were in the hotel sector while the rest of the 11.6 percent were the only ones working as the cadets and officers. Although improvements can now be seen, but still these improvements are not enough for sustainable development of women as far as this industry is considered. A lot is being done and a lot more has still to be done to reach the desired level of outcome that visionaries once thought of attaining.

Women can now be seen over the high level jobs as well but this number is still very small. The rise of women can be prominently seen in the cruise ships. The cruise ships have raised the proportion of women in almost every field like cruise directors, pursers, financial controllers, managers and chefs and so on. The department which is lacking the number of women at maximum is the marine department although women have proved that they can perform the management and supervisory services very well. The severity of the situation is such that women are not being appointed as doctors on large basis even because of the schematic approach towards the tough and rough life on the deck which is not essentially for women to live with easily. Most of women are working as the nurses in this sector. In short, it can be said that the occupational segregation in the shipping industry is very unfair and it is just giving chances to the men while ignoring the services of women. (Belcher, 16, 2003)

2.7 Women international shipping and trade association
Womens International Shipping and trading association is also being known as (WISTA). It also works for maritime transportation business and related trade worldwide. It plays a very important role in supporting women in many important tasks in life. It is a growing organization and members are increasing very rapidly during the last two years. WISTA is trying to be one of the leading organizations. Nominations of the WISTA associations for the best personality award 2009 totally depends upon some of the values that according to WISTA a person should have like professionalism in the field and sincerity and dedication to the work that has been assigned. Nonetheless, women who are taking initiatives as an entrepreneur with new products and services are also being recognized by the organization to keep them motivated and attract others as well to follow their footsteps.  The four basic values of WISTA are professional, dynamic, open minded and committed. Professional means its a legal organization and all the rules and regulations should be followed by all the members and its managed by the board of directors of Exco and the standard of annual conference should always be high. The second value dynamic means to achieve the objectives and goals and high growth in individual and national members should also be achieved. The third values aims to see good changes and doing something which gives more success to the organization and giving every one opportunity to those who desire in making a shipping career. The most important value is to being committed with the organization and work on long terms and keeping the best interest for the members of WISTA and to maintain good relations with the 12 countries which were contacted i 2006.All the candidates are being nominated for their tremendous job whole year. Three candidates were selected this year. A record number of 245 participants were invited from 30 countries in this years conference. Pamela C is the winner of WISTA personality award in 2009.She joined WISTA in a very young age and worked really hard for the organization. Members of vista are approved by the members at a general meeting. Management level members are women Ship owners, brokers, agents, insurers, lawyers, banking and finance and risk managers

All the members of WISTA are actively participating in the development of WISTA. Its basic activity is the annual conference which takes place in September where programs are discussed and goals are set for the future. Last conference was held in London, UK. In the conference where the importance of diversity and corporate social responsibility was discussed. In 2010, WISTA annual conference will be held in Greece. (Womens International Shipping and Trade Association n.d)

Aims of WISTA
WISTA is a highly networking organization and it aims are as follows
To stay in touch with all the members throughout the year so that the organization can keep updated with the contacts, information, problems and different experiences faced by its members.

Its members should attain the best education
WISTA should co-operate with all the other institutions and organizations so that WISTA can improve its functions. (Womens International Shipping and Trade Association n.d)

Future of WISTA
WISTA will be named one of the most important organizations of the world. It will keep on improving the levels each year and the members percentage will increase more rapidly now. Following are the three majors of WISTA
It is now focusing to see highly qualified people to the industry.
The organization should be qualified with highly qualified people.
The levels of knowledge sharing and education should be improved. (Womens International Shipping and Trade Association n.d)

Chapter 3 Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
The aim of this chapter is to explain the methodology that has been selected for performing this research work. Basically, methodology is used for providing the users with the realization that how we can prove this research true in practical. Research methodology also proves the validity of our ways of collecting data and also of our result. Research methodology also has to discuss the elements like collection of data, type of data used, and tool used for analysis of data and population and so on. Research methodology can also be termed as the design of the research. The research design can be considered as a bond that holds all the elements of the research together. The first thing that the research design should observe is to find out whether the research question is worth for searching or not. Before start searching it should be confirmed that this question is a valid question and this issue should be raised or not. After validating the research question this field should be explored in depth in order to find out much about the topic over which you are working. Research design also includes the decision of choosing the right methodology over which the research has to take place. What equipments and components as well as resources would be available for us is also decided in the research design of the project. In this chapter we also have to focus over the established hypothesis for this study. For designing a research project it is necessary to find out the appropriate methods and techniques that are most suitable for our research question as there are many kinds of methodologies and ways by which the research project can be carried out but choosing the most appropriate one is the major task that takes place during the research design. According to the Kotler and Armstrong (1990), there can be four basic stages of any research work
Defining the objectives of the research
Planning to collect the data.
Implementation.
Generating the results.
In this chapter the task of implementation has to be performed so it holds great importance.

3.2 Research Methodology
As we know that for performing any research two methods are available namely quantitative research and qualitative research. Although two methodologies are available but thorough observation is required to choose one between these two methodologies. This is the crucial stage because choosing the right research methodology is the basic element for the success of any research project. For this research we have chosen the methodology of qualitative research. We found qualitative research to be the most appropriate research methodology for performing this dissertation. This research methodology has helped a lot in finding out the objectives and to solve the questions that came in mind during this dissertation. Basically, qualitative research refers to the method in which the primary aim is to understand the concept of the study. We have made in depth research in order to find the concepts and meanings of this dissertation. This huge amount of information has allowed us to find out and observe the current solutions that are available for providing the internet security. The in depth study has provided the answers of all the questions related to this research objective. By using the qualitative research methodology, we understood that providing equality to the both of the genders in the shipping industry is necessary in the todays world. We can also observe from this research study that a number of companies now days are hiring women as well and they are even outnumbering men but this is limited to only few of the countries. This dissertation has focused over providing empowerment to women in the shipping and maritime industry and the main purpose of performing this study is to develop the awareness among the people in the society that it is no longer a male dominated industry. This information in this dissertation will make it easier for the people to make a clear idea about the role of women that can be provided in this industry.

The choice of research methodology depends on the nature of the dissertation. For this dissertation qualitative research was appropriate because it is a study that is based on observations of the past few years. This approach of collecting the available data regarding the research question was helpful and essential in terms of the timeliness of the dissertation. In this dissertation the clear picture of the shipping industry and its environment has been provided along with the challenges that have to be faced by women in this industry. This total picture has allowed the readers to develop the answer to the research question and to conclude the dissertation. This dissertation has allowed the society to think that what can be the improvements in the role of women in the shipping industry if they are empowered.  Hence all the objectives are met in this dissertation regarding the integration of women in the shipping industry, empowering women in this industry and the challenged that are faced by women in this industry. The qualitative research in this dissertation has helped us getting the in depth understanding of the topic by making us to explore the research area and then establishing our own opinions and thoughts for finding out the result.

3.3 Aims and Objectives of research
The topic of this dissertation is very vast and there are many aims and objectives that can be met by using this dissertation. In this dissertation the main aim was to find out the current condition of women in the shipping industry. It has also tried to focus that what behaviors are being faced y women in this male dominated industry. The report has tried to give a look of the struggle that has been made by women in this industry in order to made space for them. The elements that are necessary to be focused over in order to empower women in this industry have also been discussed. In this paper, it is also described that what kind of jobs are being performed by women in this industry.

3.4 Data Collection
For performing this dissertation a great deal of data has been collected. The data is collected because it is a qualitative research and it needs a lot of information regarding the topic so that the concepts can be developed. Developing concepts is not the only aim but also data regarding the past position is observed to make the comparison and predicting future. The data collection is performed in order to collect the information that can be used further for making decisions. It is recommended that data should be collected from the reliable sources so as to generate the valid result. For this dissertation it was strictly advised that such data should be collected that can not only look over the current situations in the shipping industry regarding the role of women but it can also provide an insight to the past and future as well. The main reason for this strictness is due to the fact that we are basically focusing over the recent trends of hiring women in this industry as it is quite necessary to provide the industry with the concept of equality. When it comes to data collection then again we have many different techniques that can be used for collecting the information. The data collection methods that we have used during this dissertation are surveys, observation and the use of written descriptions. We have surveyed the online information that was available regarding the integration of women in shipping industry in order to find out that to what extent women are given chances in this industry. The shipping industry of many countries is having a large number of women available in the crew. These are women who do have the awareness. So, if people will be having awareness regarding the shipping industry only then they will be able to choose the very industry. The available literature over this research area enabled us to analyze the severe ignorance that had been faced by women in the past and these women were never considered to be able to deal with this job and its operations. The written descriptions have also played a great role in conducting this research. These written descriptions allow to get the concepts and meanings cleared and also to understand the scenario. The collected data that we have gathered for performing this research again has got two options i.e. primary data and secondary data. For this report we have used secondary data collection as it was the suitable one for this dissertation. For collecting this secondary data we have used many different sources. The only restriction was to use the sources that can give overview of past, present and future. Although we have gone through the old sources as well in order to judge the background of the integration of women in this male dominated shipping industry. But the latest information has to be provided mainly because of the improvements that are expected to be made in this regard. Data collection is a method of performing the study that is used in qualitative research and it is no doubt a very beneficial research methodology as it provides with vast knowledge.

3.5 Secondary Data
It has been mentioned above that this paper is based on the secondary data. A great deal of search has been performed for gathering the desired and relevant information. Secondary data is actually the data that has not been produced by us during the dissertation but it was generated earlier by some other writer or researcher but being used by us. The reason for using secondary data in this dissertation is that it was relevant and was providing us help in completing our tasks. Secondary data is available for anyone to use for research work and can exist in many different forms like books, journals, websites, and surveys and so on. The secondary data that we have used for this dissertation was previously used for some sort of analysis or observation. We have made use of this data in our dissertation sometimes in its original form and sometimes we have just provided the reference.

Searching the secondary data for our dissertation was not an easy task to perform as we were also limited to the update information only. The literature has been given by observing the available secondary data and then developing our own analysis. For this dissertation secondary data is the best choice because primary data needs a lot of time as it is not necessary to generate primary data in short span of time. Secondary data provides us a great deal of information in a limited time. This helps in completing the dissertation in the given timeline. Many people consider that secondary data is not useful as none of the work is being done by own. But this concept is not a valid concept as secondary data is really useful in providing with the huge information. In this dissertation detailed information is gathered regarding the value of the internet security and information, the various threats associated with the internet security and the available methods that are used for the protection of the information and so on. This was a broad topic and in this time period it was not possible to develop the primary data for this dissertation so secondary data was the most suitable data type.

Chapter 4 Research Findings
4.1 Introduction
This chapter includes the results that we have developed after performing that much research. The overall literature and findings are reviewed to find out that what we have found in our research. All the gathered data is being interpreted in this phase of research findings in to the form of results. Meanings will be given to all the literature that has been collected and then analysis will be performed over this meaning and then conclusions will be made and presented in front of the people in such a way so that people can understand the objective of this research report. Basically in this phase of research project the data is organized in to a symmetry that can be further used as conclusion of our research question. This is the most sensitive part of the research project as in this part the data has to be analyzed very carefully because any mistake can cause the conclusion of the research project to be not very satisfied. At reaching this level of project we have to consider from the scratch once again the research question, our hypothesis, presented literature overview and the methodologies that have been used in this research project. This phase also judges the significance and importance of the research question and the study and then further steps are taken. This phase also involves a great deal of decision making as the people who are working over the project have to think about the collected data from the aspect of research question and then they also have to make any decision that is this report going to favor the research question or not. This phase of report seems to be very simple but it is not the case it takes a lot of concentration and time to find out the findings out of the huge amount of data so proper care and attention should be given in this phase.

4.2 Research Findings
By observing the literature review that has been provided in the dissertation, we can now easily define the findings of our research. The report has clearly shown that the shipping industry is no doubt a male dominated industry. The number of women in this industry is very low as compared to the men. There are many reasons behind this low number of women. The biggest reason is that it has been always considered that this industry is a male dominated industry and women cannot perform well in this industry. This is no doubt a very wrong portrayal of women in the shipping industry as it can be observed that in past women have performed at their best. It is not a true perception that women can only perform in the hotel sector of the shipping industry. Instead, women have also performed their services in the engineering sector of the ships as well. Many examples of the bravery of women in this industry can be taken from the past when women performed their best at the sea during the Second World War. At that time women did their best for handling the ships and faced all the dangers with great courage. It is the modern age and women can perform almost every single task. They should be given chances to enter in to this field so that they can also do well in this industry.

Women have also faced a number of challenges for proving themselves in this industry. It was not an easy task to make a place in the male dominated shipping industry. Even it can be observed that in the areas where women are having the highest ranks in the shipping industry still the command is given to the men. The men always consider that women may not be able to handle the dangers of the sea so they always try to remain at front place. The major challenge that has been faced by women regarding the shipping industry is the lack of awareness. Women and their families consider that it is a tough job and cannot be handled by women. This conception should be changed as in todays world women are performing in almost every field. The only required thing is awareness. Women should be encouraged to get education that is relevant to the shipping industry. The awareness will make the families to realize that their women are safe in this industry. Another biggest challenge is to face the atmosphere of this industry which is entirely controlled by men. This makes the families of women to get afraid of sending them in to this industry. The improvement of the atmosphere is highly required as in an environment where the men do not consider women working would be so tough. Women do need value, respect and position for working at any place. The gender equality is highly needed in this very industry. Integrating women in this industry will also enhance the performance of this industry.

It can also be explored that the trend of women involving in to the industry of shipping is not the same at every place. It may vary from country to country and from region to region. The following figure shows the participation of males and females in the shipping industry in the different regions.

Figure  SEQ Figure  ARABIC 2 Participation of women based on the regions
The figure proves that the regional involvement of women is also very different at different regions. In the above figure the blue color is representing the participation of women while the black color is representing the participation of men. It can be seen that in Eastern Europe and the OECD countries, the participation of women is even higher than that of men. This shows that in these countries women does not have to face any constraints or opposition. It also shows that the shipping industry in these regions is free of discrimination. This policy should be adapted y the shipping industry of every region and country. It is also required that organizations and institutes should be established that does not only create the awareness among the people but may also provide training to women who are beginners in this field. Women International Shipping and Trading Association is one of the prominent association or organization that is working for the betterment of integration of women in the shipping industry. This association is working hard for getting women attracted towards this industry. The association has also tried to focus over making the position of women in the shipping industry stronger so that they may get the high positions ad ranks. It is required that other such associations should be established that may enhance the role of women in this industry.

In this dissertation we have also tried to find out that what the occupational segregation is in the shipping industry in terms of gender. It was found that a large separation occurs in the occupational distribution. All the technical jobs are mostly handled by the men and women are seldom provided with any chances of becoming technical personnel. Most of women are concentrated in to the sectors like nursing, hospitality and hotel. This is no doubt a very wrong practice as if this practice will continue then women will never be provided with any chances to progress. The findings can be concluded by saying that women can no doubt play a great role in the shipping industry. It is recommended that women crew members should also be given chances to get to the technical jobs. The companies should hire women in their staff so that they can perform and create the examples for the other young women to get in to this field. There are no female role models present in this field which also makes the youngsters to think about joining this field. The discrimination and gender differences should be forgotten and women should be given the equal opportunities as men. The shipping industry is the major player of the economy of the country so it is desired that this industry should be flourished. Integration of women with men in the shipping industry will no doubt make a good combination generating a large number of creative ideas and finally leading to development.
(Martinez, 2000)

Chapter 5 Conclusion
5.1 Discussion
The dissertation has focused over the promotion of integration of women in to the shipping industry which is highly male dominated. The dissertation has explored the fact that this is the age of modernization and the world is moving so fact. In this age, the restrictions that are applied over women for entering in to the industry of shipping do not make any sense. Shipping industries can be termed as one of the most active industries of any country and it also helps to eliminate the problems of unemployment and poverty as it offers a large deal of jobs. This industry is offering good packages of salary and facilities. In todays world none of the single reason is available for keeping women away from this industry. Instead, women should be encouraged to get in to this field and attain the benefits. Women today are not less than the men in any case. They need to work to support their families and to have a good standard of life. For this, they definitely need jobs to perform. The shipping industry is offering a vast number of jobs but the problem is that women are not allowed to enter in to this field. In many cases, if they are allowed to enter then they are not getting support from the colleagues as well as from the family. The dissertation has focused over providing women with the equal chances to get in this industry. The companies should recruit and hire women not only for the hotel sector but they should also consider women for the engineering jobs.

Women should be helped by their seniors as well as by their colleagues for getting adjusted in the male dominated atmosphere. It has been observed globally that only 1 to 2 percent of women are involved in the workforce of the shipping industry. The rest of the workforce is comprised of men. Most of women are concentrated in to the hotel sector. This is another discouraging factor for women to get in to this field. It is not enough to have a position of nurse or a cook women need much more as they are capable of performing hard jobs as well. The skills of women are not limited and they can also act as the managers, radio operators and even engineers at the ships. The rise in the number of women is prominently observed in the cruise ships. The developed countries do have large number of women at the ships but there is no concept of involving women in this industry in the developing countries. It is recommended that the constraints should be removed so that women may enter in to this field. The awareness programs should be arranged so that women and their families may know the details of this field. The dissertation has focused over the gender equality. It suggests that women should equally and greatly participate in the shipping industry and the companies should appreciate their interests. The rights of women are universal and they have also got the abilities to perform well at any place. If they are given chances then they can also take the place of the male members over the ships. It can be concluded that women can no doubt perform well in this industry so chances should be provided to them. Gender equality is very important in every industry. They should not be taken as the chefs or the caretakers. They should also be given the chances to work as the operators and engineers. Women have made great struggle in proving themselves and the examples of this struggle can be seen in the past. The shipping industry highly needs to involve the gender equity in to it. The steps should be taken that can make the male dominated industry in to a balanced one so that both the men and women can have equal opportunities of proving themselves. The dissertation is very significant and it can be a part of creating the awareness among the people regarding the industry of shipping. This awareness is hardly required in changing the overall atmosphere of the shipping industry. The age today is demanding the participation of both the men and women so women should never be discouraged in this regard.

5.2 Future Recommendations
By considering the overall research project we can provide the following future recommendations

It is required that steps should be taken that can improve and promote the gender equity. Institutes and organizations should be established that can promote the awareness of the shipping industry. Educational programs should be made common for everyone. Policies should be developed that can attract women and also convince their families for allowing them to enter in to the shipping industry. It is to be realized that its time to inculcate in companies and develop them to see that the unequal behavior amongst the employees is a very immoral practice. Policies should be developed that can eliminate the barriers over the employment. Antidiscrimination legislations should be introduced into the industry and policies should be introduced that may provide a concentration of women which should be at least 30 to 40 percent. Steps should be taken to show all the genders should be given equal right. Men and women both are equal and no one is superior to another. Equality in all firms of life is necessarey to encourage females. Comparision of man and women should be avoided on strict basis in order to increase the percentage of females participating in economy. Setting lower salaries for women makes them feel unpleasant. When a woman knows that she will get less salary if she perform the same job as her husband this discrimination  makes them avoid the industry and do more for their families at home rather than going out for work and be discriminated at the hands of male employees.  They try to live traditionally then working on ecnomic basis. One has to look after  the household for the benefit of their children. But at the end of the day the families have less disposable income women are forced to do these jobs even at lower salaries and positions. This lackness matters a lot in the equality of men and woman. Government should take strict steps in this cause. It is dragging women backwards in participation in the economy. Less salary makes women dependent on others. So, in future the focus should be made over providing the equal rights to the men and women at the workplace in every industry.

Appendix
Thirty women were given a survey with questions all related to their workplace in the shipping industry. There were questions ranging from age and education to issues that women face in the workplace.

Age
25-301531-40741-50751-601610

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Ages were given in groups and participants were asked to answer which age group they fell in.  50 were in the 25 - 30 age group, 23 fell into the 31  40 group, 23 are in the 41  50 age range and only 3 were in the 51  60 age group.  This tells us that, even though half of the participants ages ranged between 25 and 30, nearly half were between 31 and 50.  Only one person was between the ages of 51 and 60.

Education
High School or equivalent -Bachelor in shipping studies2Bachelor in non shipping studies 14MSc12Phd2Maritime Academy 1 EMBED Excel.Chart.8 s

This question was given to determine the education level of the participants as well as define whether or not their degree was related to shipping studies or not.  In this case, 14 out of 30, or 46 answered that their degree was not related to shipping studies.  In fact, only 6 did have a degree in that particular field.

Your work for a
Shipping Company  Law Firm Insurance CompanyBank or Financial Institution College University Maritime AcademyAgencyBunkers

Marital Status
Married 9Single 5Widowed 0Divorced 1Other 15
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Do you have children
No23Yes 7
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Please indicate which of the following best describes your organizations size.
 5 employees 10 employees 11-20 employees  20-40 employees more than 50 employees more than 100 employees more than 200 employees EMBED Excel.Chart.8 s

What is the percentage of women employees in your current office
100 women070 women050 women030 women015 women 2Less than 1528
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Answers were given based on a percentage with answer option ranging from 100 all women to less than 15 women.  In this case, 28 people, or 93, said that there are less than 15 women in their office. The results indicate that the majority of the employees are male in this particular office.

Question 10 What is the percentage of women managers in your current office
100 women070 women050 women030 women015 women 0Less than 1530Other -
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This question gave the same format as the last one with the results being only slightly different.  100 answered that less than 15 of the managers are female.  Again, this is shows us that it is a male dominated industry.

Question 11 How many women and men top level managers are present in your company
Women 2Men28
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Do you feel any inequalities in your work environment
No 1Yes29
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97 answered yes to this question revealing that perhaps there are issues surrounding the work environment at this company, or at least, in the office.

Do you agree to the statement that women employees are generally not assigned saferisky jobs in companies where they are employed
No 12Yes18
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12 persons, or 40, answered no with the remaining 18 answered yes.

Are you paid less when compared to your male colleague
No24Yes 6
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28 out of 30 people answered no to this question.  It shows that the majority of women feel that they are paid less because they are female.

Are you able to lead work and family life smoothly
No 2Yes28
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28 participants, or 93 said yes to this question.

Do you stay work beyond office hours
No 4Yes26

This question was given in a yesno format in which 26, or 86, said yes leaving 4 people, or 13, saying no.  The combination of this and the last question aim to bring out any kind of overlap of work and family.  It appears from the survey that, even though most work overtime, most are happy at home as well.

Question 23 Do you feel that glass ceiling effect is due to
Indifferent participation from the managementPrevention from receiving promotionUnder representation for women in the executive suiteLeave jobs due to lack of opportunitiesDo not possess leadership qualities1Lack of interpersonal skillsSupply barriersIsolation of women2Pipeline barrierLack of mentoring and management training5Lack of opportunities for career developmentDifferent standards of performance evaluation3Sexual harassment Being perceived as less mobile19Little or no access to information network of communication
15 different options are given to answer this question ranging from Indifferent participation from the management to Little or no access to information network of communication.  19 out of 30 answered that the reason is that they are being perceived as less mobile.  5 out of 30 said that there is Lack of mentoring and management training.

Question 24 Did you ever feel any barrier in your work because of being a woman
No 0Yes30
With a yesno answer, 100 answered yes to this question
To what extent do you feel a glass ceiling exists in your company

0                            15                       7                            3                         5  To No Extent
  To a Little Extent
  To a Moderate Extent
  To a Great Extent
  To a Very Great Extent
 
From this survey alone, we have concluded that in the shipping industry, the majority of the women feel as though they are less equal to the men when it comes to pay and overall opportunities for advancement.  They all felt that certain barriers existed because they were female and that they were thought of as being less mobile.  Most of the women did feel, however, that even though they work overtime, their home lives do not suffer from it.  However, one of the earlier questions highlights the fact that the majority of the women do not have a degree in the area of shipping, which could possibly be a barrier to evolve in the business.

It appears that this survey could provide management with a good foundation with which they could take steps in the proper direction to make female employees feel as if they are equal to their male counterparts.