Dutch tolerance of torture? CIA extraordinary rendition flights in the Netherlands

This article explores the (passive) role of the Dutch government in the CIA extraordinary rendition flights (ERFs), also known as “torture flights”. It shows why researching ERFs, as a crime of the powerful, is inherently problematic. Afterward, a concise overview follows of European involvement in ERFs and reluctance to investigate them. The article then considers the (known) facts and legal responsibility of the Netherlands regarding the ERFs, concluding with a discussion of the Dutch political discourse of denial of ERF involvement. The main argument is that the discourse of ERF denial fits and reflects the colonial present in which the Dutch government resides, concealing its darkest pages in history while hiding behind its contemporary (political) culture of tolerance and progressiveness

Pricing and Hedging using Hedge Monte-Carlo Method

In this master’s thesis The Hedge Monte-Carlo method (HMC) is evaluated. The HMC method is used to price financial derivatives and at the same time obtain optimal hedge portfolios. The optimal hedge is of great importance as it enables risk management in option trading. The advantage of this method is also that different types of options with features like path-dependent and early exercise can be priced. The evaluation is based on the quality of the price and hedge estimates of European options. To further evaluate the performance of the method the price process of the underlying asset followed initially a Geometric Brownian Motion process (GBM) and then the Normal Inverse Gaussian process (NIG). Several different scenarios are considered in the evaluation of retrieving good prices and hedges, i.e. different times to maturity, initial stock prices and variances. Results shows that the method is very promising when considering the quality of the price and as for the quality of the hedge good levels are obtained for GBM when the option is in the money. A desirable feature as the probability of exercise of an in the money option is very high. For options where the underlying asset follows NIG acceptable levels on the hedging errors were difficult to obtain. As the performance of the method is measured on both good prices and good hedges, the NIG process isn’t as suitable as the GBM process when the HMC method i used

The War on Meaninglessness: a Counter-terrorist Self through an Absent Terrorist Other

This contribution shall focus on post-9/11 port security, its policing actors and how their occupational, counter-terrorist identity is (re)established. The empirical context of this study is that of operational port police officers and security officers who construct port security in the ports of Rotterdam and Hamburg. Drawing from a multi-sited, ethnographic fieldwork study, specific attention is paid to how operational staff, employed in a highly securitized realm saturated with War on Terror governance, (re)establish their occupational identity through the terrorist other without having ever been confronted, face-to-face, with terrorism. Instead of fighting in a global War on Terror, and given the way they construe their identity through the terrorist other, they endure an everyday War on Meaninglessness

Cultures and People of the Post 9-11 Port Securityscape

In criminological debates, explanations of post 9/11 fear and control warn for the rise of security obsessions in which civil rights and social welfare principles are endangered. In this study on port security, the author entered the social world behind port security, where antiterrorist maritime laws that are influenced by global xenophobic politics and populist media, push police officers, customs officers and security personnel to interact in a multi-agency in the space of the port to establish a secure environment. The key research question focuses on this multi-agency of port security. By giving face to the rather unknown port security community and it cultures, this paper provides a criminological understanding of those responsible for securing and policing “at the docks”. As will be argued, illustrated by of collected ethnographic data, the port security realm reveals how virtues of fearlessness, trust and wish to decontrol come paradoxically forward from cultures of fear and control

Evaluation of Factors Influencing Maritime Dangerous Cargo Transport Accidents-Induced Crew Fatalities and Serious Injuries

Maritime dangerous cargo transport accidents can lead to crew fatalities and serious injuries. This paper focuses on these accidents to evaluate the factors involved in these losses. To that end, the relevant reports of 2000–2020 maritime dangerous cargo transport accidents recorded in the Marine Casualties and Incidents (MCI) module of the International Maritime Organization’s Integrated Shipping Information System (IMO-GISIS) database were analyzed. Six initial events in six basic ship operations were determined. This paper combined the entropy weight and Grey relational analysis methods to analyze the involved factors and evaluate the extent of influences of each initial event in various ship operations. The entropy weight (EW) method was applied to determine the weights of basic ship operations. The grey relational analysis method was applied to calculate the correlational degrees of the initial events. Most crew fatalities and severe injuries occur during bunkering, berthing, and mooring operations. Occupational accidents and fires/explosions are the most influential factors; more specifically, occupational accidents during sailing, cargo loading/unloading, anchoring, berthing, and mooring operations and fires/explosions during bunkering operations are most likely to lead to crew fatalities and serious injuries. The results of this paper can aid stakeholders in improving the required strategies to ensure the safety of seafarers during maritime dangerous cargo transport. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-10-05 Full Text: PD

ANALISIS TINGKAT KEPUASAN NASABAH TERHADAP KUALITAS PELAYANAN DAN SISTEM PENYERAHAN SANTUNAN PT JASA RAHARJA PERWAKILAN TK.I MEDAN

Pelayanan serta sistem penyerahan khususnya penyerahan santunan kepada nasabah adalah salah satu variabel yang menjadi kiat keberhasilan dan kesuksesan bagi suatu wadah yang bergerak di bidang jasa. Terpenting lagi bagi perusahaan dibawah naungan BUMN yang mengurus asuransi kecelakaan yakni PT Jasa Raharja. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui tingkat kepuasan yang didapatkan oleh nasabah dalam pelayanan dan penyerahan santunan yang diberikan PT Jasa Raharja Perwakilan Tk.I Medan. Metode penelitian yang dipakai dalam penelitian ini ialah metode deskripstif kualitatif, dengan teknik pengumpulan data adalah wawancara yang mendalam serta pengamatan. Berhubungan dengan pelayanan serta penyerahan santunan asuransi kecelakaan lalu lintas, tentunya pasti ada hambatan yang dihadapi oleh PT. Jasa Raharja Perwakilan Tk.I Medan. Hal ini dapat dilihat dari masih adanya hambatan dalam melayani nasabah yang mempengaruhi tingkat kepuasan yang didapat oleh nasabah. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa nasabah sudah memiliki tingkat yang cukup puas terhadap pelayanan serta sistem penyerahan yang diberikan PT. Jasa Raharja Perwakilan Tk.I Medan

Security Challenges in the Port of Koper: the Status Quo and Recommendations

The Port of Koper (Luka Koper) is a vital transport hub for Central and Southeast Europe. This paper shall provide a closer look at the Port of Koper and its security. First, a historical overview and the geo-economic ambitions of the port are presented, followed by a concise review of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code; the Port of Koper, like most global sea ports around the world, must comply with the ISPS Code. The Port of Koper’s security governance will then be explored. Finally, an ethnographic study on port security in the Port of Rotterdam (Eski, 2015) shall be discussed, leading to key recommendations for the Port of Koper in advancing its security. The Port of Koper aims to make security services responsible for specific port security tasks, through which multi-agency policing of the port is established, and by applying security technologies more intensively. The recommendations will point out that the Port of Koper must be aware of specific multi-agency policing-related challenges and how “the human element” might react to an increase in security technologies