Thesis (M.S. in Systems Technology)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Iatrou, Steven J. ; Warren, Daniel F. "June 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on July 16, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Piracy, MOC, SSAS, POW-ER, HOA, Somalia, merchant shipping. Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-87). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-153). Also available in electronic version.

As a result of maritime piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, especially in the West Africa sub-region, off the coast of Nigeria the researcher started carrying out research in 2014 on the laws pertaining to piracy. In this regard Nigeria does not have the legal framework to effectively address the threat of piracy off its coast but a Bill entitled: “Piracy and Other Unlawful Acts at Sea (and Other Related Offences) Act” has been forwarded to the Nigerian National Assembly in order to criminalise ‘piracy and other unlawful acts at sea’. For this reason, the researcher deems it necessary to examine the provisions of the Bill to determine whether it is adequate to address the threat of piracy or whether there is a need to reform or improve it. As a result of the research, it was revealed that the Bill will never achieve the purpose for which it was drafted as the legal framework on piracy of the Bill has many limitations which makes it easier for perpetrators to escape punishment. In order to achieve the goal of this Bill, the researcher deemed it necessary to contribute by drafting maritime piracy legislation for Nigeria that effectively addresses the threat of piracy off its coast, relying on the preparatory work for UNCLOS and other global, continental and regional instruments relevant to maritime piracy. Relied upon also are comparative analyses of piracy legal system of Anglophone African States and Nigerian legislation. This draft legislation amends the limitations of the Bill and is in accordance with legal notions of piracy which emerge from the combination of the principles of criminal and international law.

The Recording Industry Association of America claims to lose millions of dollars each year from music piracy (RIAA, 2007). However, instead of causing loss, digital music piracy may activate norms of reciprocity in music pirates. When pirating music, people may feel some obligation to reciprocate by purchasing music or related merchandise. The theory of planned behavior was used to investigate such a possibility and to provide a framework for scale development. Reliable scales were developed for all measured constructs. Regarding piracy, the RIAA’s claim may have some merit. Specifically, previous piracy was associated with decreased reported likelihood to purchase music. However, previous piracy was associated with increased intent to make future music-related purchases. Reciprocity partially mediated this relationship.

This quantitative study is designed to examine possible cross-national differences between a Zambian and a South Africa student sample on specific aspects of Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory in relation to software piracy. Software piracy is when people make copies of the computer software without permission or they load software onto more machines than the licensed agreement says they can. A questionnaire composed of previously developed scales measuring attitudes, social norms, piracy intentions, incentives, deterrents, self-efficacy and moral disengagement within the context of software piracy was collated. During economics classes in a major University in Zambia and one in South Africa 150 copies of the questionnaire were handed out. The South African sample consisted of 37 males and 34 females all aged between 18-28, 44 were in 2nd year and 27 were in 3rd year. The Zambian sample consisted of 57 males and 12 females, 53 were between 18-28, 12 between 29-38 and 4 between 39-49, 27 were in their 3rd years of study and 42 in 4th year. The scales had adequate reliabilities (.60 to .89). There was sufficient evidence to suggest that there is a statistical difference between the two countries on attitudes and social norms. The South African sample had more positive attitudes and more favourable social norms than Zambia. South Africa reported higher extrinsic motivators (monetary, reinforcement and reciprocal exchange, and self-evaluative and reciprocal exchange) and Zambia reported higher intrinsic motivators and being deterred by the threat of harsh punishments. There was also sufficient evidence to suggest that attitudes, social norms and self-efficacy predict (in order of best predictors) piracy intention in both samples. Moral disengagement did not act as a moderator or mediator between attitudes, social norms and self-efficacy and piracy intention in either sample. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Counterfeiting and piracy are serious problems in Taiwan. Recent changes in local laws and enforcement policies have sought to curb the problem, but these actions have failed to account for the inherent differences in the perceptions among young Taiwanese persons of purchase and/or consumption of counterfeit or pirated goods. Previous research had indicated that the primary drivers in this market of purchase intention for these products are education, ethicality, legality, quality, face consciousness, perceived harm to society, and the utility derived from consumption. The primary aims of this research were to compare and contrast these perceptions among undergraduate students in Taiwan using two independent surveys and to attempt to explain the variance in purchase intention that can be attributed to six of the seven drivers (utility excluded). While purchase intention and perceptions regarding some kinds of societal harm were found to be statistically equal, significant differences were discovered between students¡¦ attitudes toward counterfeiting versus piracy with regard to ethicality, legality, and the impact of these activities on innovation and the Taiwan economy. Additionally, there were marked differences between the amounts of variance in purchase intention explained by the six drivers and between the specific correlations of these drivers. Counterfeit goods¡¦ purchase intention correlated significantly with only three of the drivers, while pirated goods¡¦ purchase intention correlated with five, and with only partial overlap between the two. The findings of this study are thus concluded to be significant for the further development of research into the two areas.

This study is to explore how Chinese software users perceive the issues of software copyright and piracy. Tianya Community, the largest online public forum in China, was selected as a site to study users' online communication about software copyright and piracy. Data were collected over five discussion boards in which software copyright and piracy were discussed extensively to retrieve 561 posting threads with 6,150 messages ranging from March 1, 1999 to June 30, 2007. Lindlof and Taylor's (2002) qualitative communication research methods were used to locate and analyze the recurring dominant themes within the online discussion by Chinese Internet users. The study revealed two opposing discourses existing in software users? perceptions, which represent globalization and anti-globalization processes surrounding software copyright and piracy. Mittleman and Chin's (2005) theoretical framework was adopted to interpret material and spiritual tensions between human/material factors, such as software owners, software users, China, and foreign developed countries. Meanwhile, the actor-network theory was applied to map out the roles of non-human/non-material factors, such as new technology, patriotism, and Chinese culture, which function to moderate the existing confrontations between globalization and anti-globalization by preventing software users from totally falling down into either direction of supporting or opposing software piracy. As a result, both forces of conformity and resistance were found to coexist within software users' perceptions and fragment their identities. To deal with fragmented identities, Chinese software users generally adopted a flexible, discriminative position composed by a series of distinctions, between offline purchasing of pirated discs and software download, between enterprise users and individual users, between foreign and local software companies, between freeware/open-source software and copyright/pirated software, between software companies and independent software developers, and between conceptual recognition and behavioral practice. Meanwhile, traditional resistance movements of Polanyi's (1957) counter-movements and Gramsci's (1971) counter-hegemony were reduced from collective contestations with openly declared call for resistance to Scott's (1990) notion of infra-politics that was communicated among software users and expressed in their everyday practice of piracy use but not in public and government discourse.

The problem of copyright infringement has always been a focus of concern of copyright owners and law enforcement units. P2P (peer-to-peer) software is one of the major ways to acquire unauthorized files on campus. In the 96th academic year, The Ministry of Education proclaimed the prohibition against P2P software using, issuing governmental documents to request every university to restrain students from using P2P software and to promote related measures. As an effect analysis to the P2P software restrain this time, this study had conducted an investigation and an analysis according to the above background, trying to find the perceptions of the students under the contol, and to explain how these perceptions impact the behavior intention on. This study is revealing that though anti-P2P campaigns generally influence every perception like subjective norm, perceived risk, moral judgment, knowledge of copyright (the mediating variables) of the students, there is only an evident effect of moral judgment on behavior intention. As for the effects of other perceptions, they are not prominent. The study¡¦s result can provide schools with not only some practical suggestions concerning how to plan restrain strategies, but also a resource of references to develop campus piracy model for following researchers.

Ce travail de recherche se veut une réflexion sur les risques terroristes majeurs du XXIe siècle. Parmi ces risques, le terrorisme nucléaire maritime occupe une place de choix. Traditionnellement, le droit international a essayé de régler le problème des détroits internationaux que leur configuration géographique peut transformer aisément en lieux extrêmement dangereux, propices à la réalisation de l'aléa terroriste. Les évolutions climatiques récentes du passage mythique du Nord Ouest ont constitué pour nous un exemple parfait des risques potentiels.Conscient du fait que le terrorisme, s'il peut être géré, ne sera jamais éradiqué, ce travail propose quelques pistes pour lutter contre cette manifestation idéologique. / This research is a reflection on the risks of major terrorist century. Among those risks, nuclear terrorism Maritime occupies a prominent place. Traditionally, international law has attempted to solve the problem of international straits as their geographical configuration can easily turn into very dangerous places, conducive to the realization of the random terrorist. Recent climatic trends of mythical Northwest Passage has provided us a perfect example of the potential risks. Aware that terrorism, if it can be managed, will never be eradicated, this paper proposes some ways to fight against this ideological manifestation.

This thesis investigates the origins of the modern phenomenon of Somali piracy within a deeper historical context. More specifically, this analysis concentrates on the development of piracy in the north of the country. It is here contended that Somali piracy is, in fact, the product of the confluence of three historical currents. The first of these currents is the progressive degeneration of traditional Somali institutions due to exposure to the colonial and global markets. The second is the increasing reliance of northern Somalis on maritime resources due to over exploitation of the land and the fishing initiatives of the Barre regime. The final current is the intrusion of foreign fishing vessels into Somali territorial waters, beginning in the early 1990s, for the purposes of illegal fishing and the dumping of toxic waste.