Sky Greens

Table of Contents

Sky Greens is world’s first low carbon, hydraulic driven vertical farm. Using green urban solutions to achieve production of safe, fresh and delicious vegetables, using minimal land, water and energy resources. Sky Greens is the innovation hub of its holding company, Sky Urban Solutions Holding Pte Ltd, where continuous innovation in next generation of urban agriculture solutions take place. Sky Greens is the innovator and builder of the world’s first low carbon hydraulic water-driven vertical farming system. This commitment towards innovative green urban solution marked the beginning of our journey in constantly re-inventing low carbon footprint agritech in fulfilling food supply security and food safety needs.

Ensuring food supply resilience is important to land-scarce city-states such as Singapore. Mr Jack Ng, Inventor and Founder of Sky Greens, has shown that the objective can be actualised by the creation of innovative green solutions such as a high-rise vertical farming system, to achieve significantly higher yields per unit area of land with minimal land, water and energy resources.Jack started experimenting with various prototypes as early as 2009 in the backyard of his aluminium factory. A Research Collaborative Agreement was signed with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in April 2010 to formally structuralise cooperation (Sky Green, n.d.). This people-private-public (3P) collaboration resulted in the development of multi-layer troughs in a rotating A-frame vertical structure using hydraulic and gravitational principals and the birth of the world’s first low carbon footprint vertical farming system. The system was first test-bedded with the production of tropical leafy vegetables and proved to be a resounding success. The results were announced and publicised on 28 Jan 2011, and commercial operation began in 2012.

Sky Greens endeavours to becoming the world leading solution provider for integrated, sustainable and green urban agriculture technology. Sky Green’s mission statement is a combination of three missions that inform strategies and decisions. In summary form, the company’s mission statement is “to focus on strategic projects to achieve food self-sufficiency, while ensuring sustainability and conservation of resources.” Thus, the company’s mission statement is three-fold. The details of Sky Green’s mission statement’s three points are as follows:

To constantly provide improved agricultural solutions with minimal impact on land, water and energy resources through invention and innovation.
To help cities actualise food supply security and food safety targets.
To promote and enable seamless integration of low carbon footprint agriculture into urban living.

Sky Green has received not one but four awards as well as accreditations. At the Ministry of National Development (MND) Urban Sustainability R&D Congress in June 2011, Sky Greens together with AVA won the Minister for National Development’s R&D Award 2011 (Merit Award) for Vertical Farming, an innovative and green solution addressing national urban food sustainability challenges for Singapore. In July 2012, Sky Greens and AVA jointly showcased the vertical farming system at the World Cities Summit 2012, under the theme “Liveable and Sustainable Cities – integrated Urban Solutions”. The innovation attracted interests from international representatives from the private sector as well as numerous government agencies from all over the world. In October 2014, we are proud to be honoured with the Singapore Sustainability Awards 2014 by the Singapore Business Federation. In August 2015, we were announced one of the 5 winners of the INDEX: Award 2015, the world’s biggest design award. The 5 winners were selected out of a total of 1123 nominations received from 72 countries. Sky Urban Solution’s Sky Greens Vertical Farming System emerged winner in the “Work” category.Sky Greens Vertical Farming System was also included in 2015 Sustainia 100 which features the most forefront in sustainability innovation. Sustainia 100 is published by Sustainia, a sustainability think tank working to scale the deployment of innovative solutions and provide industries and organizations with a shortcut to sustainable transformation.

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

As one of the leading companies in its industry, Sky Green has numerous strengths that enable it to thrive in the market place. These strengths not only help it to protect the market share in existing markets but also help in penetrating new markets. One of the strengths of Sky Green is a strong distribution network. Over the years Sky Green has built a reliable distribution network that can reach majority of its potential market. Good Returns on Capital Expenditure as well as Highly skilled workforce through successful training and learning programs are also some of it many strengths. SkyGreen is investing huge resources in training and development of its employees resulting in a workforce that is not only highly skilled but also motivated to achieve more. Successful track record of integrating complimentary firms through mergers & acquisition. Sky Green has superb Performance in New Markets. It has built expertise at entering new markets and making success of them. The expansion has helped the organization to build new revenue stream and diversify the economic cycle risk in the markets it operates in. Lastly, the company with its dedicated customer relationship management department has able to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction among present customers and good brand equity among the potential customers.

WEAKNESS

Weakness are the areas where Sky Green can improve upon. Strategy is about making choices and weakness are the areas where a firm can improve using SWOT analysis and build on its competitive advantage and strategic positioning. Limited success outside core business is a major issue. Even though Sky Green is one of the leading organizations in its industry it has faced challenges in moving to other product segments with its present culture. Furthermore, Investment in Research and Development is below the fastest growing players in the industry. Even though Sky Green is spending above the industry average on Research and Development, it has not been able to compete with the leading players in the industry in terms of innovation. Organization structure is only compatible with present business model thus limiting expansion in adjacent product segments. There are gaps in the product range sold by the company. This lack of choice can give a new competitor a foothold in the market.

OPPORTUNITIES

Opportunities are external variables that might provide a business with a competitive edge. It seeks to provide answers to questions like, “What technologies can we utilize to enhance operations?”, “Can we extend our main business?”, “What additional market segments can we investigate?” (THOMPSON, 2018). Government green drive also opens an opportunity for procurement of Sky products by the state as well as federal government contractors. The market development will lead to dilution of competitor’s advantage and enable Sky to increase its competitiveness compare to the other competitors. The new technology provides an opportunity to Sky to practices differentiated pricing strategy in the new market. It will enable the firm to maintain its loyal customers with great service and lure new customers through other value-oriented propositions.

THREAT

changing consumer buying behavior from online channel could be a threat to the existing physical infrastructure driven supply chain model. New technologies developed by the competitor or market disruptor could be a serious threat to the industry in medium to long term future. lastly, Intense competition. Stable profitability has increased the number of players in the industry over last two years which has put downward pressure on not only profitability but also on overall sales.

PESTLE ANALYSIS

PESTLE studies consider the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental aspects that influence the success of a business, organization, or nation. The United Arab Emirates, or UAE, is a wealthy Middle Eastern country on the Arabian Peninsula. In 2014, the UAE has one of the top 25 Gross Domestic Products per capita. The majority of this country’s wealth is derived from the export of oil and other fossil fuels, with secondary revenue sources emerging elsewhere in industry or tourism.

POLITICAL

As a system of administration and governance, the UAE adheres to constitutional monarchy. Every state’s ruler is a ruler, and they all serve on the Federal Supreme Council. The President of the UAE is appointed by the council of the seven nations. The UAE wields considerable influence and power in Middle Eastern and global affairs. The nation has developed commercial and diplomatic ties with a number of countries.The UAE has positive economic connections with a number of nations across the world.

ECONOMIC

According to an estimate, the annual nominal GDP (gross domestic product) of UAE in 2020 was 353.899 billion dollars, and it’s 35th world’s highest. Out of which, per capita income of the gulf country was 41,476 dollars, and it’s 19th world’s highest (Shaw, 2021). UAE falls under the category of those countries that have the world’s highest GDP and per capita income. The economic growth and abundance of natural resources have attracted a lot of foreign direct investment.

SOCIAL

UAE is the only modern and liberal country in the Gulf region, and the country has successfully integrated with many other developed countries for the past two decades (BUSH, 2016). It has helped the country to develop an image of an Asian business hub in the international market. UAE has a population of more than 9.89 million people. The Emirati national comprises 20% of the total population. However, the average life of men and women in the UAE is 76 and 78 years. The official and majority religion of the country is Islam. Arabic is the country’s official language.

TECHNOLOGICAL

According to an estimate, Emirati nationals are highly active over the internet and they spend approximately 3 hours of their time daily on social media. Roundabout 82% of her people have Facebook’s profile. However, Tumblr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter are some of the popular social media platforms. UAE launched a space program in 2014 for sustainable space progress in the region. The country allocates an annual budget of 5.2 billion dollars for the space project. ICT, nuclear science, and life science are some of the other main growth areas.

LEGAL

UAE’s labor law deals with all the employees’ contracts, wages, salaries, and vacations. It applies to all the people living in the region regardless of their nationalities. A working day legally comprises 8 hours and 48 hours a week. However, UAE is the safest country in the region, and it has the lowest crime rate.

ENVIRONMENTAL

UAE is one of the world’s top tourist destinations and the tourism industry brings billions of investments annually into the country. Versatile cuisines, theme parks, historical ruins, crystal clear beaches, skyscraper buildings, shopping malls, luxury hotels, and a splendid balance between religious culture and modernity attract millions of tourists from across the globe. This country has quite a hot, dry climate, which can result in many different things. For example, productivity might be slightly lower, farming is not so easy, and air conditioners have the potential to sell well. The UAE also finds itself near a few coastal areas, allowing for easier trade by sea.

PORTER’S FIVE FORCES

COMPETITION IN THE INDUSTRY

Potential competitors may be across the road, across the nation or across the ocean. The threat of entry depends on the height of barriers like the extent to which established firms have scale economies, the extent to which established firms enjoy a market or cost advantage over potential entrants, high capital requirements for new entrants, the extent to which established firms have better access to distribution channels for inputs and outputs, the extent to which government regulations restrict entry, and the extent to which established firms have brand name loyalty with customers (Cunnah, 2020).

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Suppliers are a threat to firm and industry profitability when they are able to increase the price of their product or affect the quantity and quality of the products supplied. Fewer suppliers mean they have greater power. Improved communication technology has taken away the power of many local suppliers. The recent mergers of suppliers and the consolidation of input technologies, such as seeds and pesticides, have increased the suppliers’ bargaining power with farmer-customers, as well as changed the competitive pressures within the input industries.

Bargaining Power of Buyers

The number of buyers has a very large impact on how the market works. Fewer buyers mean they have greater power. If sellers cannot easily ship their products to other markets, or they do not have price information from other markets, a few local buyers can have considerable power even though the total number of buyers is large in the broader market. In ways similar to suppliers, buyers have power if they are few in number or a few buy a large percentage of the product in the market, products are undifferentiated commodities, or buyers could integrate backwards in the value chain.

Substitute Products and Services

Substitute products limit the price that producers can seek or ask for without losing customers to those substitutes. Competitive pressure comes from the attempts of the producers of the substitutes to win buyers to their products. The advertising campaigns of the pork, beef, and poultry industries are an obvious example of the competitive pressures due to substitute animal protein products; each industry feels forced to advertise to keep customers and cannot charge as much as they would like without pushing their customers into buying other products.

Technology

Changes in technology can have a large impact on the production of and demand for a service or product of a firm. The risk from technological change depends on the size and the role of technology in the industry, as well as the speed of technical change. Advances in technology can be disruptive; they can cause leaps that leave users of old technology far behind. The expected lifespan or change in technology can put businesses on the treadmill of continually having to retool to keep up with their competitors.

VRIO ANALYSIS

VRIO is an abbreviation that stands for a four-question framework that includes value, rarity, imitability, and organization. It stands for Value, Rarity, imitability and organization (Smith, n.d.). Some aspects of sky garden include:

Space saving -The footprint of the vertical system is small but yet can produce significantly more per unit area than traditional farms.
Easy to install and easy to maintain – The modular A-frame rotary system allows quick installation and easy maintenance.
Consistent and reliable harvest – Steady supply of fresh leafy vegetables is assured as growing is done in a controlled environment.
Vegetables tastes good – Tropical leafy vegetables are grown in special soil-based media, which contribute to good tasting vegetables, suitable for stir-fry and soups.
Increases productivity – The production yield of Sky Greens Farm is 5 to 10 times more per unit area compared to other traditional farms growing leafy vegetables using conventional methods in Singapore.

FDI ANALYSIS

A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment made by a company or individual in one nation into commercial interests in another (Chen, 2021). The production yield of Sky Greens Farm is 5 to 10 times greater per unit of area than traditional Singaporean farms that growing leafy vegetables in a conventional fashion. Furthermore, the modular A-frame rotary system allows quick installation and easy maintenance. Automation increases the productivity of workers per ton of vegetables grown. The footprint of the vertical system is small but can produce significantly more per unit area than traditional farms. It can also be customized to suit different crop requirements and varying environments. This means that it will be cost effective and will also bring about maximum profit to the UAE if chosen to join their free zone.

References

BUSH, T., 2016. A PESTLE Analysis of The UAE. [Online]
Available at: https://pestleanalysis.com/pestle-analysis-of-uae/
[Accessed 22 July 2021].

Chen, J., 2021. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). [Online]
Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fdi.asp
[Accessed 22 July 2021].

Cunnah, l., 2020. Advantages of Porter’s Five Forces Model and why you should be using it. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ayoa.com/ourblog/advantages-of-porters-five-forces-model-and-why-you-should-be-using-it/
[Accessed 22 July 2021].

Shaw, A. A., 2021. PESTLE Analysis of UAE. [Online]
Available at: https://swotandpestleanalysis.com/pestle-analysis-of-uae/
[Accessed 22 July 2021].

Sky Green, n.d. [Online]
Available at: https://www.skygreens.com/about-skygreens/
[Accessed 22 July 2021].

Smith, R., n.d. Explaining The VRIO Framework (With A Real-Life Example). [Online]
Available at: https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/vrio-framework/
[Accessed 22 July 2021].

THOMPSON, A., 2018. Caterpillar Inc. Vision, Mission, Intensive Strategy, Five Forces, SWOT. [Online]
Available at: http://panmore.com/caterpillar-inc-strategic-analysis-vision-mission-swot
[Accessed 22 July 2021].

Freedoms Yet to Come

Lisa Lowe, The Intimacies of Four Continents

“Freedoms Yet to Come”

What is meant by a history of the present? (see especially pages 136 and her discussion of James’s The Black Jacobins on 163 as an example)

According to Lowe, a history of the present does not involve “a historical construction that explains or justifies our present.” Rather, it refers to critical inquisitiveness seeking to expose the constructedness of the past and to release the present from the dictates of the past. Accordingly, Lowe conceptualizes the history of the present through an investigation of the narratives of progress and development in modern Europe and their underpinnings in postcolonial Africa, Asia and the Americas. She focuses on the deep-rooted effects of colonialism in non-European countries. She discusses the predicament of a Chinese in James’s The Black Jacobins, who portrays a fleeting union forged through collective common commitment. While the Chinese runs a successful business in the European capitalist society, he still does not feel free unless he is interacting with his Chinese people.

2. How does Lowe (drawing on Cedric Robinson) define racial capitalism? (see pages 148-149 especially)

Drawing from Cedric Robinson’s work, Lowe perceives racial capitalism as a modern world system which has evolved from a combination of capitalism and racism. Capitalism was racial by the fact that racialism was already ingrained in the Western feudal system, thus leading to the justification of imperialism, violence, and slavery.

3. Lowe discusses a past conditional temporarily where” multiple contingent possibilities are all present, yet none inevitable.”As she writes, “a past conditional temporality suggests that there were other conditions of possibility that were vanquished by liberal politics reason and its promises of freedom, and it suggest means to open these conditions to pursue what might have been” (175).

Discuss what she means by “past conditional temporality.” How does a past conditional temporality open up different possibilities for history and for understanding the present?

In line with Lowe’s suggestion, a past conditional temporarily refers to the alternatives that might have been overlooked in the past which if they had been adopted would have relieved the world from the present problems. Lowe’s approach to the present post-colonial challenges is a thorough investigation into the gaps and loopholes of the past historical times and a consideration of possibilities to adopt alternatives which were unthought of in the past with the aim of making right the historical wrongs.

4. The syllabus for this course is framed by the concluding paragraph of Lowe’s chapter. She writes, ““The contemporary moment is so replete with assumptions that freedom is made universal through liberal political enfranchisement and the globalization of capitalism that it has become difficult to write or imagine alternative knowledges, or to act on behalf of alternative projects or ways of being. Within this context, it is necessary to live within but to think beyond this received liberal humanist tradition, and all the while, to imagine a much more complicated set of stories about the emergence of the now, in which what is foreclosed as knowable is forever maturing the ‘what-can-be-known.’ We are left with the project of imagining, mourning, and reckoning ‘other humanities’ within the received genealogy of ‘the human’” (175).

How do you interpret Lowe’s passage within the context of our class? Discuss one connection between Lowe and another assigned reading. This response should be at least one paragraph.

Lowe’s passage elicits sense of determination to inquire into the injustices perpetrated during the colonial times and which are still affecting the world in the postcolonial era. Colonialism had profound effects, which combined with the current racial capitalism, it becomes a very complicated to tackle the effects. Nevertheless, Lowe challenges historians not to look at solutions for the history of the present by establishing and pushing for adoption of the alternatives that were overlooked in the past.

Identity Theft and Cyber Fraud

Identity Theft and Cyber Fraud

Introduction

The right to privacy of the person, freedom of expression and other rights are enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The government is charged with the responsibility of safeguarding these individual rights. Technological advancements have increased the use of the internet by Canadians and people all over the world. As a result, new legal problems have come up due to criminal activities perpetrated over the internet. Over the past two decades, several policies have been enacted to protect the internet and other information communication technology systems against identity theft and cyber fraud. Nevertheless, most of these policies are not properly defined and do not provide adequate mechanisms for law enforcement officers to combat the crimes. This paper explores the scope and impact of identity theft and cyber fraud in Canada, the legislation put in place to combat the crimes, the enforcement procedures, challenges faced by law enforcement officers in conducting investigations, and recommendations for improvement basing on a comparative analysis of the legislative developments in Canada and the United States.

Scope and Impact of Identity Theft and Cyber Fraud in Canada

Smyth and Carleton (2011) define cyber fraud as a dishonest or deceptive act which involves the use of technologies or the interne to defraud a person, an organization or the public out of property, service, valuable security or money. Cyber fraud may occur where the culprit transmits deceitful or misleading information online, misappropriates funds transmitted electronically, or fails to honor online contractual agreements. The greatest motivation for cyber fraud offenders is anonymity. Online contractual agreements are made between anonymous parties running their operations in whatever part of the world, thus enabling criminals to disguise their identities and intentions. Identity theft refers to an act where one accesses, obtains, possesses, uses and transfers another person’s information without obtaining consent of the identifiable person. The identifying information enables the culprit to hide his or her identity and to commit any crime including non-financial harm to reputation, fraud, or crime of financial nature. The costs associated with identity theft are quite high and they relate to societal costs, non-financial personal costs, individuals, the criminal justice system and financial costs to businesses.

In 2012, police services reported 9,084 incidents of cybercrime from 80% of Canada’s population (Symbol of Statistics Canada, 2014). According to the report, property violations ranked highest at 61% in terms of all cybercrime incidents, accounting for 5,544 incidents. Fraud had the greatest percentage accounting for 54% of all cybercrimes. Identity theft only accounted for 1% of all cybercrimes reported.

Nevertheless, the incidents of reporting are quite minimal compared to the actual identity theft and cyber fraud incidents affecting Canadians every day. According to Smith (2008), the major barriers which hinder victims of identity theft and cyber fraud from reporting include:

Lack of evidence
Some private businesses which incur losses from identity theft place their focus on reinstatement of their systems to prevent further financial losses
Some law enforcement departments do not have capacity to handle identity theft and cyber fraud
Some victims are never aware of the occurrence of victimization
Some victims are unwilling to incur more expenses to pursue legal remedies

Legislative Framework

Over the past two decades, there have been a series of amendments to the Criminal Code to make provisions for identity theft and cybercrime. Section 342 of the Criminal Code criminalizes unauthorized use of computers and theft, falsification, or duplication of credit cards both online and offline. This provision was added to the Criminal Code in 2009 pursuant to the enactment of Bill S-4, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Identity Theft and Related Misconduct). The main focus of the Act was on the preparatory phases of identity theft by illegalizing the act of obtaining, possessing, transferring or selling another person’s identity documents. Sections 402 and 403 criminalize identity theft and identity fraud (Smyth & Carleton, 2011).

Section 184 of the Criminal Code criminalizes the interception of private communication by means of mechanical, acoustic or electro-magnetic device where the owner of the device has not granted consent for such interception. However, law enforcement officers are exempted from the provision if their interception of private communications is for purposes of identifying unauthorized transmissions or preventing unlawful acts.The legislature first adopted the provision empowering law enforcement to intercept private communications in 1974. Further amendments were made in the 1980s and 1990s with the aim of empowering law enforcement to search and seize computer systems. Parliament passed the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act in 1984 to allow law enforcement officers to conduct lawful interceptions of private communications for purposes of defending national security.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) was enacted with the aim of reducing risks of identity theft and cyber fraud by regulating the manner in which commercial organizations collect, use, and disclose personal information. Under PIPEDA, commercial institutions need to put in place safeguards in regards to collection of personal information. The Act requires both public and private sector institutions to formulate and implement fraud control policies aimed at addressing risks associated with internet penetration in Canada.

In the United States, there are both state and federal legislation specifically focusing on prevention of identity theft and cyber fraud, assistance of victims and improvement of rates of prosecuting and convicting perpetrators. The major federal law on identity theft in the United States is the Identity Theft and Assumption of Deterrence Act of 1998, which was the first statute aimed a defining the scope of identity theft. The statute has a broad definition of identity theft as it covers government-issued identifiers such as biometric information, passport numbers, and Social Security numbers. States have also enacted their legislation on identity theft and cyber fraud. The California Penal Code has explicit provisions criminalizing identity theft and cyber fraud. The unique feature about the Penal Code is that it also has a broad definition of identity theft, including corporate identity theft which involves a public entity, limited liability company, corporation, company, business trust, partnership, organization, firm, or natural person. Under the California Penal Code, upon presentation of a police report, a victim can access information regarding any accounts opened in their name by identity thieves. Victims are also entitled to freeze security on their credit files and to request for a copy of police report on their cybercrime case.

Identity theft and cyber fraud have also resulted into new challenges for the international law community since these crimes can be perpetrated across borders. There is no entity that has control Internet operations. A major obstacle to international cooperation is the differences in jurisdictional and regulatory frameworks, as well as the complications presented by country’s competing priorities.

Enforcement of the Security Policies and Regulations

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are charged with the responsibility of investigating all computer crime offences. RCMP tackles offences on individuals, offences on the government regardless of the source of the offender, and offences which involve organized crime or affect national interests. RCMP commercial crime sections operate within all major cities across Canada, with each city section allocated at least one investigator trained in computer crime investigations. The RCMP High-Tech Crime Forensics Unit in Ottawa supports the respective commercial crime sections with technical guidance and expertise in regards to computer and telecommunications crime investigations (Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, 2007).

Canadian law enforcement agencies have cited that the greatest challenge in enforcement of identity theft policies is identification of the suspect and the time, location and the manner in which the suspect compromised the identity of the victim. The challenge is brought about due to the anonymity of the Internet. In most cases, offenders conceal their identities and ‘weave’ or ‘loop’ their attacks through servers from multiple jurisdictions. Electronic impersonation also enables offenders to mask their identities, thus making it difficult for victims to know them. As a result, law enforcement officials find it very difficult to respond to identity theft and fraud due to the minimal chances of catching identity thieves and cyber fraudsters.

A special characteristic of cybercrime is the lack specific proximity in terms of the geographic distance between the identity thief and the victim(Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, 2007). In normal theft cases, it is possible for a law enforcement officer to track the whereabouts of the thief within the neighborhood. However, conventional methodologies do not apply when it comes to identity theft and cyber fraud cases. These internet crimes can be committed anywhere across international, regional, provincial or local boarders. Furthermore, atypical cyber fraud or identity theft involves at least three parties: the victim, the defrauded institution and the thief. In most cases, these parties are usually located in separate jurisdictions, thus placing law enforcement agencies in a difficult position of dealing with multiple jurisdictions with potentially different laws or legal systems. Most countries have entered in collaborative partnerships for purposes of combating cybercrime. However, the challenges facing such partnerships is the complications that arise in regards to striking the right balance between competing needs of supporting the growth of e-commerce and consumer protection.

One initiative for international cooperation in the fight against identity theft and cybercrime is the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime. The Convention focuses on fostering partnerships between countries to criminalize and prosecute cybercrime activities. It seeks to streamline the definition of computer crimes for purposes of promoting uniformity in enactment of national legislation, implementation of criminal procedure, and allocation of resources for international cooperation (Davis, 2003). In practice, the cooperation across borders in terms investigation of identity theft and cyber fraud is quite minimal. Some of the policing areas which cooperation has proven to be operational include such activities as child pornography, money laundering, and narcotics trafficking. The complicated procedures for conducting investigations across boarders pose a great challenge in the fight against cyber fraud. For instance, for a law enforcement agency to obtain evidence from another country, it must use Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties legal instruments, which usually take about two years to complete the process. Such a complex process may defeat the whole purpose of evidence when it comes to a cyber-fraud or identity theft case which only involves IP logs.

The police have also cited the increasing use of the internet by criminals to engage in commit crime and hide from law enforcement agencies due to the anonymity that they enjoy. The constant emergence of new technologies presents more challenges to law enforcement agencies in terms of identity theft and cyber fraud investigations. In addition, law enforcement are often confronted with challenges associated with information breeding and related crimes. A criminal is capable of using a single piece of personal information to forge documentation or obtain more pieces of information. Thus, it is possible for investigations of other crimes to be complicated by identity theft.

The law imposes limitations on law enforcement to access information for investigatory purposes. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has raised concerns over their inability to fully access provincial and federal databanks to validate identification documents. A conflict exists between the safety demands on the law enforcement and the privacy laws which limit the sharing of information to law enforcement for purposes of protecting Canadians from potential abuse of their personally identifiable information (Davis, 2003).

Law enforcement agencies have also raised concerns over lack of resources for investigation of identity theft and cyber fraud. They are confronted by difficulties in obtaining needed resources as well as quantifying the allocation of the resources to investigation efforts. In addition, the officers also lack proper training for effective investigation of identity theft and cyber fraud crimes. For instance, there is lack of training of law enforcement in the exploitation of technology through the use malware and phishing which has been on the rise and is expected to become more widespread in the near future.

There is also a great challenge to law enforcement and researchers in regards to determining the actual number of identity thefts due to lack of reporting by many victims and organizations. In most cases, financial organizations are reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement agencies especially where the organization has only experienced meagre losses. The financial institutions only cooperate when they experience major financial losses due to identity theft or cyber fraud. According to Smith (2008), there is need for new policies on identity theft and cyber fraud and enhanced cooperation with private financial institutions. The policies should streamline the institutional framework for investigation of these cybercrimes.

As of now, it is very complicated to investigate an incident of identity duplication of procedures and wasting of expense, effort, and time (Smith, 2008). A victim of identity theft may choose to report to law enforcement department, regulatory body such as for accountants or lawyers, an association, ombudsman, a dedicated consumer complaint-handling body, or a private lawyer. Thus, without the knowledge of the right avenue to pursue and the procedures to follow, the process becomes complicated for everyone. Some of the current problems affecting law enforcement agencies in investigation of identity theft and fraud are due to lack of a clear policies outlining the scope of the police officers. Furthermore, there is no central reporting unit where all victims of identity theft and cybercrime can report. Most victims choose where to report depending on their convenience and the circumstances of the case. There is no official way in which the offences and repeat victimization are reported. In addition, since agencies are not allowed to share information with each other, it becomes difficult for law enforcement agencies to determine whether an identity theft claim is associated with a single incident or a series of other incidents.

In the United States, there is a standardized online portal where all victims of identity theft and cyber fraud do their reporting. Similarly, the United Kingdom has also established the “Identity Fraud Tsar” which is designed to coordinate efforts of law enforcement, government and private sector in combating identity fraud. In Canada, there is some progress with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), a central agency to collect information on identity theft complaints, internet fraud, and mass marketing (Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, 2013). The CAFC supplies law enforcement agencies with valuable assistance in the identification of connections among seemingly unrelated incidents. Before the establishment of the CAFC, the mandate of combating fraud at the national level was discharged by Reporting Economic Crime Online (RECOL) and PhoneBusters. RCMP operated PhoneBusters, a national anti-fraud call unit, in collaboration with Ontario Provincial Police. RECOL, on the other hand, was a website designed for Canadians to report their complaints in regards to white-collar crimes such as identity theft and cyber fraud. CAFC was as a result of a merger between PhoneBusters and RECOL (Public Safety Canada, 2006). Even though, there is lack of public awareness regarding CAFC as victims of identity theft continue to pursue their own avenues of reporting thus resulting to loss of statistical data.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Smith (2008) proposes the enactment of policies to make it mandatory for victims of identity theft and cybercrime to report their cases. In addition, there is need to establish and maintain an effective, central unit for purposes of receiving reports from all sources and coordination of investigations by disseminating reports to appropriate agencies. In addition, it important to allocate adequate resources for creation of awareness to the public about the central reporting unit and for consistent training of law enforcement officials to keep pace with the ever evolving field of cybercrime. Canada should also explore more opportunities for cooperation with the international law community on the fight against identity theft and cyber fraud which are perpetrated across borders.

References

Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. (2013). Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/statistics_statistics.html

Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic. (2007). Enforcement of Identity Theft Laws. Retrieved from https://www.cippic.ca/sites/default/files/LawEnforcement.pdf

Davis, E.S. (2003). A World Wide Problem on the World Wide Web: International Responses to Transnational Identity Theft via the Internet. Journal of Law and Policy. 201(12), 201-227.

Robinson, N., Graux, H., Parrilli, D.M., Klautzer, L., & Valeri, L. (2011). Comparative Study on Legislative and Non Legislative Measures to Combat Identity Theft and Identity Related Crime. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/elibrary/documents/policies/organized-crime-and-humantrafficking/cybercrime/docs/rand_study_tr-982-ec_en.pdf

Smith, R.G. (2008). Coordinating Individual and Organizational Responses to Fraud. Crime, Law, and Social Change.

Smyth, S., & Carleton, R. (2011). Measuring the extent of cyber-fraud: A discussion paper on potential methods and data sources.

Symbol of Statistics Canada. (2014). Police-reported cybercrime in Canada, 2012. The Daily. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/140925/dq140925b-eng.htm

nurse to patient ratio

nurse to patient ratio unbalanced nurse-to-patient Imbalanced Nurse-to-Patient Ratios

One of the major difficulties in the healthcare sector is the unbalanced nurse-to-patient staffing ratios. (Cornwall, 2018)recently performed a study to better understand the changing environment and growing problems of the nursing profession. Respondents from around the country offered their thoughts on topics such as workload, the national nurse shortage, the nursing profession in general, and workplace respect. The results showed that the growing national nursing shortage exacerbates all of the challenges confronting today’s nurses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 1.2 million registered nursing openings between 2014 and 2022, with the consequences of this growing gap becoming severe. Respondents to a poll supported this perspective, with 91 percent believing their hospital was understaffed (Cornwall, 2018).

Burnout Syndrome has been a serious concern in the workplace, with its prevalence increasing by 60% – 70% over the last few decades (Gutsan, Patton, Willis, & Coustasse, 2018). One of the most frequent definitions of Nurse Burnout is a persistent response to work-related stress that includes three components or dimensions: emotional fatigue, depersonalization, and personal achievement. Burnout Syndrome has been more commonly observed in nurses due to the emotional aspect of their occupation, particularly in hospitals and psychiatric wards where common exposure to stress, inflexible policies, improper work assignments, poor training, inadequate remuneration, employee conflict, and complex or unknown patient needs occur (Gutsan, Patton, Willis, & Coustasse, 2018). The minimum nurse-to-patient ratio in hospitals and ambulatory units has been recommended as 1:6 in medical-surgical units and behavioral units, 1:4 in step-down, telemetry, or intermediate care units and non-critical emergency rooms, 1:2 for Intensive Care Unit or trauma patients and post-anesthesia units, and 1:1 for every patient under anesthesia (Gutsan, Patton, Willis, & Coustasse, 2018).A high nurse-patient ratio has dangerous effects, including increased stress levels and mental weariness among nurses, as well as an increase in errors and accidents, which has resulted in a rise in malpractice cases.

Most nurses don’t have a lot of spare time. According to the research, 40% of nurses said they had less free time (Cornwall, 2018). Eighty percent of respondents feel there is a nurse shortage at their facility, and 76 percent say the shortfall has directly harmed them. Because there are fewer nurses in the business, 88% of nurses’ workloads have increased (Cornwall, 2018). Nurses believe they don’t have enough time to give enough comfort and emotional support to their patients and their family members, and 86% say they can’t devote as much time to patient education as they would want (Heath, 2018). Mandatory nurse staffing ratios would have a detrimental financial impact on hospitals while restricting patient access to treatment. Poor resource allocation leads to more disparity in care delivery, less local access to healthcare, and fewer patient options. Furthermore, hospitals may be obliged to recruit less experienced and trained RNs, which would certainly cancel out any quality or safety improvements (Heath, 2018).

According to study (Michaud, 2020), people in long-term care institutions with lower nurse staffing levels, worse quality scores, and larger percentages of disadvantaged individuals have higher rates of confirmed COVID-19 infections and fatalities. Data analysis revealed that long-term care facilities with a larger number of disadvantaged people, such as Medicaid recipients and racial and ethnic minorities, and lower nurse staffing levels had higher rates of confirmed COVID-19 cases and fatalities. Higher nurse staffing ratios, in particular, were substantially linked to fewer cases and fatalities (Michaud, 2020). Greater staffing numbers are consistently associated with higher levels of care quality, (Harrington & Edelman, 2018). Increased registered nurse and certified nursing assistant employment has been linked to better quality indicators such as physical restraints, catheter usage, pain management, and pressure sores. Larger employment numbers and professional staff mix, as well as reduced turnover and usage of agency employees, were found to be linked with improved quality. Higher staffing levels have been found to have the strongest association with fewer defects (violations of rules) issued by state surveyors (Harrington & Edelman, 2018).

Regardless of such a situation, all nurses are expected to maintain professionalism when interacting with their patients. (Curtin, 2016) used the Gricean Maxims to elaborate on the ethics that all nurses should have with the first Gricean Conversation Supermaxim which is to attempt to make your contribution truthful, which naturally means that you do not say anything you think to be untrue or anything for which you lack proof. According to the following Gricean Supermaxim, everything you say must be well articulated and readily comprehended. This necessitates that all parties avoid ambiguity, confusion, and excessive verbosity, and deliver their contributions in an impassionate and organized manner (Curtin, 2016). The first rule in healthcare ethics is to do no damage. People usually take precedence over objects in ethics. Making money, saving money, or even losing money is not an ethical justification for harming others. By virtue of who they are and what they do, health professionals and those who earn a living by employing, organizing, and facilitating their practice bear extra responsibilities (Curtin, 2016). Nurses are responsible for examining patients and choosing how to effectively share the priceless resource that is themselves or themselves.

In terms of relationship quality, it appears to be a component that affects the professional to support patient-centered care. This relationship quality has a direct impact on the quality of care delivered and is critical for the efficacy of nursing practice (Molina & Estrada, 2020). The health-care system has devised initiatives aimed at humanizing care and enhancing care quality. A positive nurse-patient connection shortens hospital stays and enhances the quality and happiness of both parties. In contrast, while the patient’s involvement in choices is higher, the positive relationship is conditioned by the patient’s subservient role (Molina & Estrada, 2020). A poor or negative nurse-patient relationship reduces the quality of treatment and the patient’s autonomy. A poor patient is one who demands a lot of information, who wants to make his or her own decisions, often against those suggested by specialists, and who does not maintain a good connection with professionals (Molina & Estrada, 2020).

Nursing leadership has an influence on the whole health system as well as on the nurses’ direct life (Little, Wagner, & Boal, 2018). A nurse manager is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the workplace. This involves, among other things, personnel recruitment, employment, orientation, staff development and assessment, resource allocation and management, risk management, patient safety, and financial responsibility (Little, Wagner, & Boal, 2018). Nurse managers are also required to offer nurses and other health care professionals with inspiration, advice, and direction and especially in a situation where the nurse-to-patient ratio is imbalanced. As a result, nurse supervisors have the best chance to establish professional nursing standards in the nursing staff. The connection between nurses and their leaders is important because it contributes to Magnet status, which results in better nurse satisfaction and high-performing work environments with excellent patient outcomes (Little, Wagner, & Boal, 2018). Nurse managers are skilled knowledge brokers as well. They transform organizational policy instructions into action at the frontline of health care while also providing information to top management about health care delivery and practice requirements to shape organizational policy. Nurse managers have an important intermediate function in this position (Little, Wagner, & Boal, 2018). The knowledge translation of organizational directions would not be possible without nurse managers.

In a situation where the nurse-to-patient ratio is imbalanced, nursing leaders should employ autocratic leadership.Concentrating decision-making power at the top of the chain of command can be an effective method for completing simple tasks; rather than becoming bogged down by competing viewpoints, autocratic leaders can ensure that quality care is delivered safely and efficiently, with little time wasted on deliberation (Norwich University, 2017). Autocratic leaders are effective at making important choices in time-sensitive situations when soliciting employee opinion may only help to confuse issues and hence represent a risk to the patient. As a result, autocratic clinical nurse leaders must be precise, succinct, and direct while organizing staff and ensuring that they follow the established protocols of their particular hospitals (Norwich University, 2017). In health-care environments with tight procedures, authoritarian leadership is quite successful. It can also be useful in typical medical institutions with high patient numbers. Because an unbalanced ratio of patients to health care professionals restricts how many resources may be committed, such institutions thrive when an authoritarian leader supplies them with commands broken down into fundamental stages (Norwich University, 2017).Autocratic leadership in nursing does not foster trust or communication among team members, but rather promotes a culture in which team members’ important thoughts and knowledge go untapped. This type of leader discourages collaborative decision-making and transparency, both of which impede an organization’s journey to high reliability (Cornell, 2020).

References

Cornwall, L. (2018, December 12). RNnetwork 2018 Portrait of a Modern Nurse Survey. From RNnetwork : https://rnnetwork.com/blog/rnnetwork-2018-portrait-of-a-modern-nurse-survey/

Heath, S. (2018, August 14). How Nurse Staffing Ratios Impact Patient Safety, Access to Care. From Xtelligent Healthcare Media: https://patientengagementhit.com/news/how-nurse-staffing-ratios-impact-patient-safety-access-to-care

Michaud, M. (2020, June 18). COVID-19 Toll in Nursing Homes Linked to Staffing Levels and Quality. From University of Rochester Medical Center : https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/covid-19-toll-in-nursing-homes-linked-to-staffing-levels-and-quality

Harrington, C., & Edelman, T. S. (2018, July 20). Failure to Meet Nurse Staffing Standards: A Litigation Case Study of a Large US Nursing Home Chain. From NCBI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6055099/#bibr19-0046958018788686

Gutsan, E., Patton, J., Willis, W. K., & Coustasse, A. (2018). Burnout syndrome and nurse-to-patient ratio in the workplace. Chicago: Marshall University.

Curtin, L. (2016, April 7). A conversation about the ethics of staffing. From AMERICAN NURSE: https://www.myamericannurse.com/conversation-ethics-staffing/

Molina, M. J., & Estrada, J. G. (2020). Impact of Nurse-Patient Relationship on Quality of Care and Patient Autonomy in Decision-Making. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2-3.

Little, L., Wagner, J., & Boal, A. S. (2018). Responsibility and Authority of Nurse Leaders. From Pressbooks: https://leadershipandinfluencingchangeinnursing.pressbooks.com/chapter/chapter-12-responsibility-and-authority-of-nurse-leaders/

Norwich University. (2017, December 4). 5 Leadership Styles for Clinical Nurse Leaders. From Norwich University: https://online.norwich.edu/academic-programs/resources/5-leadership-styles-for-clinical-nurse-leaders

Cornell, A. (2020, April 13). 5 LEADERSHIP STYLES IN NURSING. From Relias LLC: https://www.relias.com/blog/5-leadership-styles-in-nursing

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nurse to patient ratio

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