The Elements Of Hacktivist Computer Science Essay

The Elements Of Hacktivist Computer Science Essay Hacktivism a portmanteau of hack and activism is the nonviolent use of illegal or legally ambiguous digital tools in pursuit of political ends. These tools include web site defacements, redirects, denial-of-service attacks, information theft, web site parodies, virtual sit-ins, virtual sabotage, and software development.[1] It is often understood as the writing of code to promote political ideology promoting expressive politics, free speech, human rights, or information ethics. Acts of hacktivism are carried out in the belief that proper use of code will be able to produce similar results to those produced by regular activism or civil disobedience. Hacktivist activities span many political ideals and issues. Freenet is a prime example of translating political thought into code. Hacktivismo is an offshoot of Cult of the Dead Cow; its beliefs include access to information as a basic human right. The loose network of programmers, artists and radical militants 1984 network liberty alliance is more concerned with issues of free speech, surveillance and privacy in an era of increased technological surveillance. Hacktivism is a controversial term, and can often be misconstrued as cyberterrorism. What separates hacktivism from cyberterrorism is a distinctly political or social cause behind the haction. Some argue it was coined to describe how electronic direct action might work toward social change by combining programming skills with critical thinking. Others use it as practically synonymous with malicious, destructive acts that undermine the security of the Internet as a technical, economic, and political platform. Essentially, the controversy reflects two divergent philosophical strands within the hacktivist movement. One strand thinks that malicious cyber-attacks are an acceptable form of direct action. The other strand thinks that all protest should be peaceful, refraining from destruction. Controversy Some people describing themselves as hacktivists have taken to defacing websites for political reasons, such as attacking and defacing government websites as well as web sites of groups who oppose their ideology. Others, such as Oxblood Ruffin (the foreign affairs minister of Hacktivismo), have argued forcefully against definitions of hacktivism that include web defacements or denial-of-service attacks.[2] Critics suggest that DoS attacks are an attack on free speech; that they have unintended consequences; that they waste resources; and that they could lead to a DoS war which nobody will win. In 2006, Blue Security attempted to automate a DoS attack against spammers; this led to a massive DoS attack against Blue Security which knocked them, their old ISP and their DNS provider off the internet, destroying their business. Depending on who is using the term, hacktivism can be a politically constructive form of anarchist civil disobedience or an undefined anti-systemical gesture; it can signal anticapitalist or political protest; it can denote anti-spam activists, security experts, or open source advocates. Critics of hacktivism fear that the lack of a clear agenda makes it a politically immature gesture, while those given to conspiracy theory hope to see in hacktivism an attempt to precipitate a crisis situation online. Elements of Hacktivist Hactions A Haction usually has the following elements. Politically motivated Place a premium on humor, and often resembles a digital form of clowning Owns a moderate Outlaw Orientation as opposed to severe The result of aggressive policy circumvention rather than a gradual attempt to change a policy Always non-violent- a haction never places another in direct danger Capacity for solo activity while most forms of political activism require the strength of masses, hacktivism is most often the result of the power of one, or small group. Is most often carried out anonymously, and can take place over transnational borders. Forms of Hacktivism In order to carry out their operations, hacktivists use a variety of software tools readily availble on the internet. In many cases the software can be downloaded from a popular website, or launched from a website with click of a button. Some of the more well known hacktivist tools are below: 1. Defacing Web Pages Between 1995-1999 Attrition.org reported 5,000 website defacements. In such a scenario, the hacktivist will significantly alter the front page of a companys or governemental agencys website. 2. Web Sit-ins In this form of hacktivism,hackers attempt to send so much traffic to the site, that the overwhelmed site becomes inaccessible to other users. 3. E-mail Bombing Hacktivists send scores of e-mails with large file attachments to their targets e-mail address Notable hacktivist events The earliest known instance of hacktivism is documented by Julian Assange as follows:[4] Hacktivism is at least as old as October 1989 when DOE, HEPNET and SPAN (NASA) connected VMS machines world wide were penetrated by the anti-nuclear WANK worm. [] WANK penetrated machines had their login screens altered to: W O R M S A G A I N S T N U C L E A R K I L L E R S _______________________________________________________________ __ ____________ _____ ________ ____ ____ __ _____/ / / / / / | | | | | / / / / / / / /__ | | | | | |/ / / / / / / / ______ | | | | | | / _ /__ /____/ /______ ____| |__ | |____| |_ _/ ___________________________________________________/ / Your System Has Been Officially WANKed / _____________________________________________/ You talk of times of peace for all, and then prepare for war. One of the earliest documented hacktivist events was the Strano Network sit-in, a strike action directed against French government computers in 1995. The term itself was coined by techno-culture writer Jason Sack in a piece about media artist Shu Lea Cheang published in InfoNation in 1995. The hacking group milw0rm hacked into the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in 1998, replacing the centers website with an anti-nuclear message; the same message reappeared later that year in what was then an unprecedented mass hack by milw0rm of over 300 websites on the server of hosting company Easyspace.[5] In 1998, the Electronic Disturbance Theater conducted virtual sit-ins on the Web sites of the Pentagon and the Mexican government to bring the worlds attention to the plight of Indian rights in the Mexican state of Chiapas. A Mexican hacking group took over Mexicos finance department website in support of the same cause.[5] One of the more notorious examples of hacktivism was the modification of Indonesian web sites with appeals to Free East Timor in 1998 by Portuguese hackers.[6] On December 29, 1998, the Legions of the Underground (LoU) declared cyberwar on Iraq and China with the intention of disrupting and disabling internet infrastructure. On January 7, 1999, an international coalition of hackers (including Cult of the Dead Cow, 2600 s staff, Phracks staff, L0pht, and the Chaos Computer Club) issued a joint statement condemning the LoUs declaration of war.[7] The LoU responded by withdrawing its declaration. Hacktivists attempted to disrupt ECHELON (an international electronic communications surveillance network filtering any and all satellite, microwave, cellular, and fiber-optic traffic) by holding Jam Echelon Day (JED) on October 21, 1999. On the day, hacktivists attached large keyword lists to many messages, taking advantage of listservers and newsgroups to spread their keywords further. The idea was to give the Echelon computers so many hits they overloaded. It is not known whether JED was successful in actually jamming Echelon, although NSA computers were reported to have crashed inexplicably in early March, 2000. A second Jam Echelon Day (JEDII) was held in October 2000, however the idea never regained its initial popularity. JED was partly denial-of-service attack and partly agitprop. The Electronic Disturbance Theater and others staged a week of disruption during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, conducting sit-ins against Republican web sites and flooding web sites and communication systems identified with conservative causes. This received mixed reviews from the hacktivist community.[citation needed] The Hackbloc collective started publishing Hack This Zine a hacktivist research journal Hacktivists managed to break into computer systems at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center in India to protest against nuclear weapons tests.[citation needed] Bronc Buster, later a member of Hacktivismo, disabled firewalls to allow Chinese Internet users uncensored access. The Crackers also defaced a Chinese website which explained what the people of China could access over the internet legally. Wired 01.01.98[citation needed] Hacktivists worked to slow, block, or reroute traffic for web servers associated with the World Trade Organization, the World Economic Forum, and the World Bank.[citation needed] Throughout 2006, Electronic Disturbance Theater joined the borderlands Hacklab for a number of virtual sit-ins, against the massacre in Atenco, in solidarity with striking french students and against the Minutemen and immigration laws.[8] On March 25, 2007, hacktivists organized the event freEtech in response to the OReilly Etech conference, and started a series of West coast hackmeetings. Electronic Disturbance Theater stages a virtual sit-in against the Michigan Legislature against cuts to Medicaid. On January 21, 2008, a message appeared on YouTube from a group calling itself Anonymous. The group declared Project Chanology, essentially a war on The Church of Scientology, and promised to systematically expel The Church from the internet. Over the following week, Scientology websites were intermittently knocked offline, and the Church of Scientology moved its website to a host that specializes in protection from Denial-of-service attacks. A computer hacker leaks the personal data of 6 million Chileans (including ID card numbers, addresses, telephone numbers and academic records) from government and military servers to the internet, to protest Chiles poor data protection.[9] Throughout early 2008, Chinese hackers have hacked the CNN website on numerous occasions in response to the protests during the 2008 Olympic Torch Relay and claims of biased reporting from western media. The majority of the DDoS attacks took place between March and August, at a time where Chinese nationalistic pride was at an all time high due to the 2008 Olympic Games.[10][11] Electronic Disturbance Theater and the Hacklab stage a virtual sit-in against the war on Iraq and biotech and nanotech war profiteers, on the 5 year anniversary of the war, in solidarity with widespread street actions. Intruders hacked the website of commentator Bill OReilly and posted personal details of more than 200 of its subscribers, in retaliation for remarks OReilly made on Fox News condemning the attack on Palins Yahoo email account [1]. In 2008 hacktivists developed a communications and monitoring system for the 2008 RNC protests called Tapatio. In early 2009, the Israeli invasion of Gaza motivated a number of website defacements, denial-of-service attacks, and domain name and account hijackings, from both sides[12]. These attacks are notable in being amongst the first ever politically-motivated domain name hijackings. During the 2009 Iranian election protests, Anonymous played a role in disseminating information to and from Iran by setting up the website Anonymous Iran[13]; they also released a video manifesto to the Iranian government. On August 1, 2009, the Melbourne International Film Festival was forced to shut down its website after DDoS attacks by Chinese vigilantes, in response to Rebiya Kadeers planned guest appearance, the screening of a film about her which is deemed anti-China by Chinese state media, and strong sentiments following the July 2009 ÃÆ'Å“rÃÆ'Â ¼mqi riots. The hackers booked out all film sessions on its website, and replaced festival information with the Chinese flag and anti-Kadeer slogans.[14][15] In November 2009, computers of the Climate Research Unit of East Anglia University were hacked, and email purporting to expose a conspiracy by scientists to suppress data that contradicted their conclusions regarding global warming was made available on a Russian FTP server.[16]

Presence of Exim Bank in Saarc Region

History of SAARC The concept of setting up a regional co-operational in the South Asian Region was first mooted by the late President of Bangladesh, Ziaur-Rahman on May 2, 1980. Before this, the idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was discussed in conferences of Asian Regional conference, New Delhi in April 1947, the Baguio Conference in Philippines in May 1950, and the Colombo Power Conference in April 1954. urther in the late 70s, SAARC nations agreed to create a trade bloc consisting of South Asian countries. The idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was again mooted in May 1980as a result, the foreign secretaries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April 1981. The Committee of the Whole, which met in Colombo in August 1985, identified five broad areas for regional cooperation.New areas of cooperation were added in the following years. Hence the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was created in 1985 with eight member countri es in SAARC namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It also has nine observers, namely China, EU, Iran, Republic of Korea, Australia, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar and USA.The objectives of the Association as defined in the Charter are: * to promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life; * to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potential; * to promote and strengthen selective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia; * to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems; * to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields; * to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries; * to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interest; and * to cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes. The principles of SAARC are: * Respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, political equality and independence of all members states * Non-interference in the internal matters is one of its objectives * Cooperation for mutual benefit * All decisions to be taken unanimously and need a quorum of all eight members * All bilateral issues to be kept aside and only multilateral(involving many countries) issues to be discussed without being prejudiced by bilateral issues Economic Agenda of SAARC The main economic agenda of SAARC include: ) SAARC Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA) The Agreement on SAPTA was signed on 11 April 1993 and entered into force on 7 December 1995. The Agreement envisaged promoting and sustaining mutual trade and economic cooperation within the SAARC region through exchange of concessions. b) South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) The Ag reement on SAFTA was signed on 6 January 2004 during the Twelfth SAARC Summit in Islamabad. The Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2006. c) South Asian Economic Union The Eleventh Summit (Kathmandu, 4-6 January 2002) provided further impetus to the regional economic cooperation to give effect to the shared aspirations for a more prosperous South Asia.At the Summit, the leaders agreed to accelerate cooperation in the core areas of trade, finance and investment to realise the goal of an integrated South Asian economy in a step-by-step manner. They also agreed to the vision of a phased and planned process eventually leading to a South Asian Economic Union. Economic Profile of the SAARC Member Countries In Afghanistan, real domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have reached 13. 9% in FY2007, owing to a strong recovery in agricultural production. Industry and services recorded dynamic growth of 13. 3% and 12. 4%, respectively. Construction was the main driver of industrial growth . In Bangladesh, GDP growth in FY2007 (ended June 2007) stood at 6. % underpinned by steady expansion in manufacturing and continued buoyancy in services, on the base of rising domestic and external demand. Secretariat of SAARC The Secretariat of SAARC is located in Kathmandu has been established on 16 January 1987 inaugurated by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal headed by a Secretary General. The Secretary General is appointed by the Council of Ministers from Member Countries in alphabetical order for a term of three-years assisted by the Professional and the General Services Staff, and also an appropriate number of functional units called Divisions assigned to Directors on deputation from Member States.The Secretariat has been entrusted with the function of coordination and monitoring the implementation of activities, arranging for meetings, and serveing as a channel of communication between the Association and its Member States as well as other regional organizations. T he setting up of SAARC Secretariat involved inking a Memorandum of Understanding between the Foreign Ministers of member countries on 17 November 1986 at Bangalore, India which contained various clauses concerning the role, structure and administration of the SAARC Secretariat as well as the powers of the Secretary-General. Regional Centres of SAARC There are various regional centres established by SAARC Secretariat in member states so as to ensure smooth working of the SAARC functions.The regional Centres covering Agriculture, Tuberculosis, Documentation, Meteorological research, and Human Resource Development have been established in different SAARC capitals: SAIC (Dhaka, 1998) STC (Kathmandu, 1992) SDC (New Delhi, 1994) SMRC (Dhaka, 1995) SHRDC (Islamabad, 1999) SCC (Kandy, 2004) SCZMC (Male, 2004) and SIC (Kathmandu, 2004). In addition, three new regional centres covering Culture, Coastal Zones Management, and Information are being established. India- SAARC Relationship The coun tries of South Asia were compelled to forge a regional grouping due to universal realization among the third world countries. – india with her experience of initial efforts to organize the Asian community ; the conflicts in the region welcomed the initiative of Bangladesh in 1980. for an association of south Asian namely India, Pakistan, Sri lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives. SAARC provides a platform for the peoples of south asia to work together in a spirit of friendship , trust ; understanding . – it aims to accelerated the process of economic ; social development in member states. – the initial years of SAARC were marked by significant political developments in the world culminating in the demise of cold war ; the disremberment of the soviet union. – therefore, when the proposal for the regional co-operation was made by bangladesh india could not reject the proposal. – as this regional cooperation could play a useful role in india's ow n regional policy. – india is the biggest with sharing the borders with all 6 countries of the region. – from politicla to economic level, india & its neighbors have many disputes. inida is also having the stable democracy, has a strong military machine, a large scientific & technical manpower & a vast industries infrastructure makes it different from other countries. – the end of cold war has provided greater leeway to india to promote her perception of south Africa regionalism through SAARC. – india has become the heart of saarc & in fact constitutes the major source of both GDP, trade & capital flows within saarc/region. – the reluctance of india & other south asian countries to turn saarc into forum for resolving major regional disputes hampers saarc ability to deal with many of the south asia's economic ; political problems. Mekong-Ganga Cooperation : it was established on nov 10 2000 at vientiane in the 1st MGC ministerial-meeting. – i t comprises of 6 members countries namely, thailand, myanmar,cambodia, lao PDR, vietnam ; india. – they emphses on 4 areas of cooperation , which are : tourism, culture, education , transportation linkages in order to be solid foundation for future trade ; investment cooperation in the region. Cooperation Mechanisms : – the working mechanism for MGC consists of the annual ministrial meeting, the senior official's meeting, 5 working group namely : * working group on tourism (thailand) * working group on education , HRD (india) * working group on culture (cambodia) working group on communication & transportation (lao PDR) * working group on paln of actions (vietnam). – with his cooperation india has extended its footprints in asean region under the geostartegic back drop. – india has added powerful cultural dimension to its economic diplomacy by encouraging business contacts between the people residing on the banks Summits Summits which are the highest auth ority in SAARC, are supposed to be held annually. The country hosting the Summit also holds the Chair of the Association. Bangladesh hosted the Thirteenth Summit in November 2005 at Dhaka as the Chairperson of the Association. India will host the Fourteenth SAARC Summit in 2007 as its Chairman.South Asia’s regional cooperation, international political and economic environment, poverty alleviation, advancing economic cooperation, funding mechanisms, security of small states, combating, terrorism, social, natural disasters and environmental challenges as an agenda for third decade of SAARC was also discussed in the Thirteenth Summit. Enhancing people-to-people contact and cultural cooperation, political cooperation and external linkages of SAARC was also discussed. SAARC member states welcomed the request by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for membership and invited Afghanistan as a member, subject to the completion of formalities.SAARC member states also agreed in principl e with the desire of the People’s Republic of China and Japan to be associated as observers. The Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters Establishment of SAARC Arbitration Council, and the Limited 136 Pakistan Journal of History & Culture, Vol. XXVII/2 (2006) Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters were signed during the thirteenth SAARC Summit The Council of Ministers comprising Foreign Ministers, meets at least twice a year. Its functions include formulating policy, reviewing progress of regional cooperation, identifying new areas of cooperation and establishing additional mechanisms that may be necessary.The Standing Committee comprising Foreign Secretaries, monitors and coordinates SAARC programmes of cooperation, approves projects including their financing and mobilizes regional and external resources. It meets as often as necessary and reports to the Council of Ministers. The Association also convenes meetings at Ministerial Level on specialized themes. The Committee on Economic Cooperation consisting of Secretaries of Commerce oversees regional cooperation in the economic field. During the Twelfth Summit in Islamabad, the SAARC Social Charter was signed in order to address social issues such as population stabilization, empowerment of women, youth mobilization, human resource development, promotion of health and nutrition, and protection of children, which are keys to the welfare and well-being of all South Asians.South Asian States have adopted Conventions on the Suppression of Terrorism (including Additional Protocol signed in January 2004 in Islamabad), Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, Trafficking in Women and Children, and Child Welfare in South Asia. An Agreement on Food Security Reserve is also in place. During the 12th SAARC summit held in Islamabad the leaders of South Asia reiterated their commitment to form South Asian Economic Union (SAEU). If for med, it will pave the way for more ambitious — but entirely achievable — goals such as a Free Trade Area, an Economic Union, open borders, and a common currency for the region. As President Pervez Musharraf said, â€Å"we must expand SAARC charter to discuss bilateral issues at the regional level. There can be no development in the absence of peace.There can be no peace, so long as political issues and disputes continue to fester. †The Twelfth Summit renewed the urgency to deal with poverty in the region. For this purpose, the Summit directed the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA) to submit to the next Summit a comprehensive and realistic blueprint setting out SAARC 14 President Pervez Musharraf’s statement reported by M. Aftab, â€Å"Can Safta lead to South Asian Economic Union? † The News, 19 January, 2004. SAARC: Origin, Growth, Potential and Achievements 137 Development Goals for the next five years in the areas of poverty alleviation, education, health and environment.The Governors of the Central Banks of member states under the auspices of SAARCFINANCE meet regularly to consider cooperation in financial matters. For strengthening cooperation in information and media related activities of the Association, the Heads of National Television and Radio Organizations of member countries meet annually. Similarly, the SAARC Audio-Visual Exchange (SAVE) Committee disseminates information both on SAARC and its Member States through regular Radio and TV Programmes. In the field of education, the Member States cooperate through the forums of SACODiL (SAARC Consortium on Open and Distance Learning) and Heads of Universities Grants Commission/Equivalent Bodies.Memoranda of Understanding have been signed to promotecollaboration with UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), UNESCAP (United Nati ons Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific), UNDCP (United Nations Drug Control Programme), ITU (International Telecommunications Union), APT (Asia Pacific Telecommunity), WHO (World Health Organization), UNIFEM (Untied Nations Fund for Women), CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency), EC (European Commission), PTB (German Metrology Institute), WB (World Bank), ADB (Asian Development Bank), UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) and SACEP (South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme). Regular dialogues with other Regional Organizations such as ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations), ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) and PIFS (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat) are held with a view to promoting cooperation among sub-regional organizations.The Association promotes interaction on multilateral issues of common concern to its members and has identified areas in which collective positions could be projected at international forums. These i nclude trade, finance, environment, agriculture, women and children, information and telecommunications. Beyond official linkages, SAARC also encourages and facilitates cooperation in private sector through the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), which is a SAARC Apex Body. Other such bodies are SAARCLAW and South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA). In addition, the status of SAARC Recognized Bodies has been accorded to professional groups in South Asia including Architects, Management 138 http://www. nihcr. edu. pk Pakistan Journal of History & Culture, Vol.XXVII/2 (2006) Development Institutions, University Women, Town Planners, Cardiologists, Dermatologists, Teachers, Writers, Insurance Organizations, Diploma Engineers, Radiological and Surgical Care Societies. The Association of Speakers and Parliamentarians enjoy special recognition by the Heads of State or Government. Achievements Several factors such as political, economic, security and potentiality of mutual e conomic benefit through regionalism seem to have influenced President Ziaur Rahman’s thinking about establishing a regional organization in South Asia. 15 SAARC’s existence, however, has enabled South Asian political leaders to meet regularly and carry on informal discussions to address their mutual problems.This is no mean achievement given South Asia’s past history and low level of interaction among South Asian countries since their independence. Informal talks among the leaders at regularly held SAARC meetings have led to inter-elite reconciliation on many sensitive issues, producing some noteworthy results in South Asia. The informal talks between the Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers at the second SAARC Summit meeting at Bangalore in November 1986 led to the diffusion of tension between the two countries on the issue of India’s military exercise, Operation Brasstacks, on the Indo-Pakistan border, and the India-Sri Lanka talks at the 1987 SAARC for eign ministers’ meeting led to their accord on the Tamil problem.As a result of an informal meeting and discussion between Prime Minister of India and Pakistan, Narasimha Rao and Nawaz Sharif, at Davos (Switzerland), in 1992, the Pakistani government took action to prevent the move of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) to cross the ceasefire line in Kashmir later that year. The Davos meeting was possible because of an earlier informal agreement between the two leaders at the sixth SAARC Summit meeting at Colombo in December 1991. Given this utility of SAARC, can the organization grow or expand its role in the coming decades? The Heads of State or Government during the Ninth SAARC Summit agreed for the first time that a process of informal political consultations would prove useful in promoting peace, stability, amity and accelerated socio-economic cooperation in the region. The leaders reiterated this intent during their Tenth and Eleventh Summits in Colombo and Ka thmandu respectively also.The Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) was signed in 1993 and four rounds of trade negotiations have been concluded. With the objective of moving towards a South Asian Economic Union (SAEU), the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) was signed during the Twelfth Summit in Islamabad in January 2004. SAFTA may enter into force by the end of the year 2006. The Association has carried out Regional Studies on trade, manufactures and services, environment and poverty alleviation, SAFTA and Customs matters. Since its inception in 1984 there have also been serious differences among member countries over the aims and functioning of SAARC. 6 Such differences have been pronounced in verbal bickerings in several SAARC meetings. This is in the face of the fact that closer social, economic and cultural ties (the espoused ideals of SAARC) are considered the one and only hope for building regional cooperation efforts in South Asia in the coming years. Indeed, increasing rationalization of world trade and the fluidity of the emerging global system has increased trade within each trade bloc and those countries that do not belong to any trade blocs are likely to be the losers. 17 This also provides a strong rationale for sustaining the SAARC vis-a-vis future trade prospects of South Asia.The assumption that peace can be achieved through SAARC without addressing the political problems of the region has neither een able to cultivate peace nor to invigorate the SAARC process successfully. Though since its very inception it has been regularly able to hold Summit meetings yet there have been interruptions in 16 The main point of debate hinges on the Charter of SAARC which does not allow bilateral issues to be discussed at the regional level summit diplomacy. 17 B. S. Shreekantaradhya, â€Å"Globalisation of Indian Economy: Strategies and Constraints,† S. Murty, The Changing Indian Economic Order (New Delhi: Indus Ec onomic Profile of the SAARC Member Countries In Afghanistan, real domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have reached 13. % in FY2007, owing to a strong recovery in agricultural production. Industry and services recorded dynamic growth of 13. 3% and 12. 4%, respectively. Construction was the main driver of industrial growth. In Bangladesh, GDP growth in FY2007 (ended June 2007) stood at 6. 5% underpinned by steady expansion in manufacturing and continued buoyancy in services, on the base of rising domestic and external demand (Figure 1). Figure 1: Economic Growth in SAARC Region – 2007 (percent) Source: Asian Development Outlook 2008, ADB Source: Direction of Trade Statistics Year Book 2007, IMF. Bhutan’s real GDP in FY2007 (ended June 2007) is estimated to have grown by 17. %. This was driven by growth in power sector (with a GDP share of 11. 3% in FY2006) resulting from the commissioning of the 1,020 megawatt (MW) Tala hydropower station, which has been phased in sin ce July 2006. In India, the impressive economic performance of the past few years continued with real GDP growth at 9. 0% in 2007-08, as compared to 9. 6% in the previous year. The real GDP of Maldives grew by 6. 6% in 2007, reverting to its historical growth path after the post-tsunami contraction in 2005. Tourism, the leading sector with around one-third share of GDP, grew by 10. 0%. Real GDP growth of Nepal moderated to 2. 3% in FY2007 (endedmidJuly 2007) from 3. 1% in FY2006, resulting from subdued performances of agriculture and industry. Real GDP growth of Pakistan continued to remain strong for the fourth consecutive year registering a growth of 7. 0% in FY2007 (ended June 2007). During 2007, Sri Lanka continued to register strong real GDP growth of 6. 7%, as compared to 7. 7% in 2006. Trend in Foreign Trade and Trade Policies SAARC’s Global Trade During the year 2000 to 2006, the total exports of SAARC countries have increased from US$ 63. 5 billion to US$ 161. 4 bill ion. The total imports of SAARC countries also have increased from US$ 79. 5 billion in 2000 to US$ 255. 3 billion in 2006.Among the SAARC countries, India led both in terms of exports and imports, followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh. Intra-SAARC Trade Total intra-SAARC exports have increased from US$ 2. 8 billion in 2000 to US$ 10. 8 billion in 2006, registering nearly a four-fold rise during the period. As a result, intra-SAARC exports, as a proportion of SAARC global exports, have risen from 4. 5% in 2000 to 6. 7% in 2006. Intra-exports of the SAARC countries were dominated by India, followed by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The total intra-SAARC imports have also increased more than three-fold from US$ 3. 0 billion in 2000 to US$ 9. 6 billion in 2006. Intra-SAARC imports ere dominated by Sri Lanka, followed by India. Figure 2 depicts the trend in intra-SAARC trade (exports plus imports) vis-a-vis trend in SAARC’s global trade. A comparison of the trends would highlight the buoy ancy in intra- SAARC trade especially after 2003, as compared to SAARC’s global trade. Trade Policies Trade liberalisation in South Asia started with a series of sweeping reforms in Sri Lanka in 1977/78. For the rest of South Asia, the 1980s and 1990s saw substantial reductions of tariffs and phasing out of quantitative restrictions (QRs), along with liberalisation of the exchange regimes. Developments in SAARC Trade Integration SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement SAPTA) was signed at the seventh SAARC summit in 1993, in Dhaka. The agreement provides a framework and institutional base for trade liberalisation and economic cooperation between the seven SAARC member countries. The agreement provides for the exchange of concessions between SAPTA members on tariffs, para-tariff and non-tariff barriers. It envisages four basic approaches to the exchange of trade preferences: (1) product-by-product; (2) across- the-board; (3) sectoral; and (4) â€Å"direct trade† measures. So uth Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) extends the scope of SAPTA to include trade facilitation elements and switches the tariff liberalisation rocess from a positive to a negative list approach. Foreign Direct Investment in the SAARC Region Private capital flows to South Asia was largely driven by India, which received the majority of capital flows to the region. The total FDI inflows into the SAARC region have increased from US$ 5. 6 billion in 2000 to US$ 22. 3 billion in 2006. FDI outflows from the SAARC region have increased from US$ 350 mn in 2000 to US$ 9. 8 billion in 2006. India’s Trade and Investment Relations with SAARC Trade Relations India’s exports to the SAARC region increased from US$ 2. 8 billion in 2002-03 to US$ 6. 5 billion in 2006-07 (Figure 3). Amongst the SAARC members, Sri Lanka is the largest arket, accounting for 35% of India’s Blue Magenta Black Blue Magenta Black Brief on New Publications SAARC: An Emerging Trade Bloc Exim Bank : Rese arch Brief No. 38, June 2008 3 Figure 3: Trend in India’s Trade in SAARC Region (US$ mn) Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GOI total exports in the SAARC region during 2006-07, followed by Bangladesh (25%), Pakistan (21%) and Nepal (14%). An analysis of the trend in India’s exports to the SAARC region during the period 2002-03 to 2006-07 reveals that, while exports to all the SAARC members have registered a rise, India’s exports to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal have exhibited distinct buoyancy. While India’s exports toPakistan registered a six-fold rise during the five-year period, exports to Afghanistan and to Nepal also rose three-fold and two and half-fold, respectively, during the period. India’s imports from the SAARC region have also risen from US$ 531. 5 mn in 2002-03 to US$ 1. 5 billion in 2006-07, depicting almost a three-fold rise during the period. Sri Lanka is again the leading partner, accounting for 31% of India’s to tal imports from the region during 2006-07, followed by Pakistan (21%), Nepal (20%), Bangladesh (15%) and Bhutan (9%). The robust rise in India’s total imports from the SAARC during the period 2002-03 to 2006-07 has been underpinned by the sharp ncrease in imports from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Bangladesh. India generally maintains a positive trade balance with the other SAARC member countries, and the trade surplus have risen from US$ 2. 3 billion in 2002-03 to US$ 5. 0 billion in 2006-07. Investment Relations The total foreign direct investments (approved) from India to other SAARC countries amounted to US$ 312. 8 mn during April 1996 to December 2007. Among the SAARC countries, Sri Lanka (US$ 153. 1 mn) was the major destination of Indian investment followed by Nepal (US$ 87. 2 mn). During January 2005 to December 2007, 33 joint ventures (JVs) and 42 wholly owned subsidiaries (WOSs) have been pproved in the SAARC countries. Out of this, 1 JV was approved in Afghanist an, 7 JVs and 8 WOSs were approved in Bangladesh, 2 JVs in Maldives, 2 JVs and 6 WOSs in Nepal, 1 JV in Bhutan, and 20 JVs and 28 WOSs in Sri Lanka. Areas of investment approved include engineering goods, electrical equipments, pesticides, readymade garments, cables and wires, plastic & plastic products, rubber products and textiles. Total investments of SAARC countries to India have amounted to US$ 11. 7 mn during April 2000 to February 2008. Among all the SAARC countries, Sri Lanka was the largest source of FDI with US$ 8. 5 mn during the period, followed by Maldives (US$ 3. 1 mn).The investment flows between India and Sri Lanka have increased mainly after the implementation of India Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISLFTA). Exim Bank in the SAARC Region Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) operates a comprehensive range of financing, advisory and support programmes to promote and facilitate India’s trade and investment relations with the SAARC region. In the SAARC region , the Bank has supported several Indian project exporters to execute contracts in countries such as: _ Hydroelectric project (Tala project), tunnel house, and dam construction in Bhutan; _ Road improvement projects, railway construction and maintenance, gas turbine power plant project, lectrical substations, cement plant project, transmission line project, and conveyor belt project in Bangladesh; _ Steel, local telephone network, transmission lines, sub-stations, out door LED video system for cricket matches, and diesel fired power project in Sri Lanka; _ Transmission lines and substations, optic fibre cable project, hydro electric projects, and irrigation projects in Nepal, and _ Air-conditioning & electro mechanical work at Male Airport in Maldives. The Bank, in order to help Indian companies in their internationalisation efforts, provides term loans to them, both for equity investment in their ventures overseas. Besides, Exim Bank lso undertakes direct equity stake in Indian vent ures abroad, to enable Indian companies to supplement their equity with Exim Bank’s contribution. To facilitate Indian presence in the SAARC region, the Bank has supported joint ventures by Indian companies in several sectors, including: _ Pharmaceuticals, steel and glass sectors in Sri Lanka; _ Electrical sector in Bangladesh, and _ Engineering goods and textile sectors in Nepal. Exim Bank extends Lines of Credit (LOCs) to overseas financial institutions, foreign governments and their agencies, enabling them to finance EXIM BANK ORGANISES SEMINAR ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN ASIAExim Bank of India organised a Seminar on ‘Regional Economic and Financial Cooperation in Asia' on October 5, 2005 as a curtain raiser for the 11th Annual Meeting of Asian Exim Banks being held from October 5-7, 2005 in Goa. The Forum of Asian Exim Banks comprises 9 Asian countries, viz. India, Japan, China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Australia with Asian Development Bank, Manila, the multilateral financing institution as a permanent invitee. The Forum has an Annual Meeting hosted by a member country by rotation. The Forum was conceived and initiated by Exim Bank of India in 1996. After a decade, Exim Banks of India is again hosting the Annual Meeting. Hon'ble Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Pratapsingh Raoji Rane was the Chief Guest and inaugurated the Seminar. Other dignitaries who spoke at the Seminar included Mr. T. C.Venkat Subramanian, Chairman ; Managing Director, Exim Bank of India, Dr. Ashok Lahiri, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director General, Research and Information System, New Delhi, Mr. Werner Liepach, Principal Director, Asian Development Bank, Manila and Mr. Lamon Rutten, Chief, Commodity Finance ; Risk Management, UNCTAD Geneva. The seminar was attended by the members of the Asian Exim Banks Forum at the highest level, special invitees, a cross-section of the industry and the academia. In his welcome address, Mr. Subramanian highlighted the growing importance of the Asian region in global trade and investment with Asia accounting for 27% of world trade.He, observed that intra-Asian trade at US$ 625 bn (42% of total exports of Asian countries) was not commensurate with the potential that exists for trade flows among the Asian economies and is much lower than intra-EU and intra-NAFTA trade. Mr. Subramanian also highlighted the sharp rise in Indo-China trade in the past few years catapulting China to become India's largest source of imports and 3rd largest export destination. Giving the theme address, Dr. Nagesh Kumar underscored the significance of regional cooperation among the economies of Asia, particularly considering that the region is home to the fastest emerging economies of the world. Besides sub-regional initiatives in the framework of ASEAN, SAARC and others, broader economic integration initiatives are under way.He argued that there is a strong case for ASEAN, Japan, China, India and Korea working together to realise the Asian dream. Congratulating Exim Bank of India for initiating a decade back, a Forum of Asian Exim Banks to forge stronger regional economic cooperation among the Asian countries, Dr. Ashok Lahiri in his keynote address noted with interest the wide range of issues to be covered at the 11th Annual Asian Exim Banks meeting. While underlining the importance of regional cooperation, Dr. Lahiri cited the example of ADB's initiative of the Greater Mekong Subregion in which six countries entered into a programme of subregional economic cooperation to enhance economic relations among themselves. Dr.Lahiri also explained the Government of India's initiatives, particularly the ‘Look East' policy, to forge stronger ties with the Asian economies for promoting trade and investment. Commending the Asian Exim Banks community for creating a forum for economic cooperation and sharing of knowledge, S hri Pratapsingh Rane, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Goa hoped that the Forum would suggest policies that would provide fillip to states/regional level, economic growth in the larger context of intra-Asian economic cooperation. Highlighting the investor-friendly economic environment of Goa, Mr. Rane emphasised the emergence of the state as a major destination for foreign investment and outlined the various measures taken by his Government.

Bis Corporation Essay

Prepare a written report with the results organized in tables. Submit your project to me via email by the deadline. In your email should include your written report in pdf format and your Excel implementation. Attach the two documents to your email separately, do not compress the two into an archive file, e.g. zip, rar, 7z. This can be undertaken as a group project or you may choose to work individually. You may work as a team of maximum of 4 students. Significant points will be deducted if you fail to follow the above instructions, submit only an Excel document, or submit the work of someone else. Bis Corporation Recall the Bis Corporation example covered in class. SKUs are aggregated into 3 groups. Customers are aggregated into 25 groups. Project data is uploaded as an Excel workbook. In this workbook SKU groups value, volume and weight data are given. Monthly demand AVG and STD values for each customer group are given in SKUs. Highway distances between all Turkish cities are given. The distances in the diagonal of the matrix corresponds to the average distance of two points (e.g. factory-warehouse or warehouse-customer) within the same city. There are two factories: Kocaeli plant produces S01 and S02 groups only, Adana plant produces S03 group only. Warehouse parameters and annual fixed costs are given. Inbound transportation is carried out on semi-trailer trucks, outbound transportation on regular trucks. There two alternatives to be compared: A1 with 2 warehouses and A2 with 5 warehouses. a) Calculate and present in a table inbound and outbound unit cost of transportation of each SKU group. For each SKU group and truck type first find whether the truck capacity (number of SKUs that can be loaded) is limited by volume or weight. Then use the load factor to calculate how many SKUs can be loaded on average. Then calculate the cost of transporting one SKU to a distance of 100km. b) For alternative A1 calculate monthly costs. Calculate the monthly outbound transportation costs for each customer group and SKU group. Calculate the monthly inbound cost of transporting SKUs from factories warehouses. Calculate the average inventory levels at each warehouse by volume and value. Calculate the required warehouse capacities and then which warehouse choice will be made. Then find the corresponding warehouse fixed cost (convert it into a monthly cost). Calculate the monthly holding costs and handling costs at each warehouse. Finally calculate the monthly total cost as the sum of all costs. c) Repeat part (b) for alternative A2.

Psychology Psychology And Psychology - 1519 Words

Psychology has been defined by many as the study of mental disorder or behavioral problems but discoveries and developments, points to psychology as the study of human mind and its functionality which includes the way we think, act, perceive things and be able to make decisions; all these makes man a complex being. Psychology isn’t just a phenomenon; it is a scientific study. Psychology as a science answers the question â€Å"why†, proposes a theory and sets experiment to test the hypothesis. The research is geared towards evidence-based strategies to solve problems and improve lives. As a science, it is subdivided into various groups such as clinical psychology, counselling psychology, developmental psychology, climate and environmental†¦show more content†¦This has to do with Nature and Nurture. Nature refers to our DNA inheritance and how it contributes to our existence while Nurture is the influence of the environment on human. We learn through experience and exposure. One of the prominent theorist of development psychology is Jean Piaget. His theory is called Piaget theory of cognitive development. He proposed that children have cognitive ability which enables them to learn from their environment. He believes that a child develops and acquire knowledge and experience through different stages as he grows; which are sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operation. Cognitive development is the study of the mind and brain functions, which makes up our ability to think, perceive, and make decisions. It is also related to other fields like neuroscience, philosophy and linguistic. There is a thin line between cognitive psychology and cognitive science. As earlier defined, cognitive psychology is the study of the mind and its functions. Cognitive science is gathering of information through research. It is the foundation on which all other works are built on. Its involves a non-human experiment, unlike cognitive psychology which involves human participants. Behavioral psychology also known as Behaviorism, studies our outward behavior. It is based on the fact that behaviors are taught, which can also be measured and changed. Behavioral psychologist believe that behavior is acquired through