Thursday, October 31, 2019
Saudi pus millions in higher education buildings , where saudi Essay
Saudi pus millions in higher education buildings , where saudi education heading - Essay Example By the end of 2003, eight universities served 22 million people. However, in 2003, the government of Saudi Arabia made an active decision on restructuring and expanding the higher education sector. As a result, the national allocation for the same has tripled since 004 reaching $15 million in 2007. Most of the funds allocated to the ministry were used in the construction of new universities and colleges across the country. National leaders, such as King Abdullah, have supported the program from their personal account by donating $10 million for the construction of a Science and Technology University. In endorsing the higher education initiative, the government lifted a long-standing ban on the operation of private institutions. In this regard, free land and funds amounting to $10 million were issued to the private sector in terms of scholarship and construction to facilitate its achievement of a higher status such as Yale and Harvard Universities. In establishing a quality education system, various adjustments were made in the banking sector, political sector, as well as the religious and social sector to promote factors that facilitated the cultivation of a New England in the Middle East. According to Philip G. Altbach, the decision to establish the ministry of education and invest in the same is a decisive step towards academic development. However, the director of the Center for International Higher Education acknowledges that the educational position of the country poses a challenge to the achievement of the set objectives (Altbach cited in Krieger 2007, p. 1). The first challenge facing the country is solving its major problem of technology import. As confirmed by the deputy minister of higher education, Mohammed Al-Ohali, the country has relied on foreign technology for a long time (Bander bin Saud cited in Krieger 2007, p. 2). Specifically, this is due to the overreliance on Social Sciences among the universities in Saudi Arabia. For a long period,
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Turtles Hatching Essay Example for Free
Turtles Hatching Essay English Essay In the poems ‘Turtles Hatching’ and ‘The Pairing Of The Terns’, Mark O’Connor explores the idea of the circle of life and compares nature to human beings to show how much more evolved nature is then humans are and also the experiences that we go through. O’Connor’s use of visual imagery in ‘Turtles Hatching’ not only tells us, but shows us about the life cycle of the turtles. When the baby turtles are trying to get to the water the seagulls and crabs try and catch them so that they can eat them, which leaves only a few that make it to the water. Slipping in, as it left, the shadow, a thousand times larger, of a parent come shoreward to lay; two ends of the earthbound process linked in the uncomprehending meeting of kin’. This quote tells us, that when a baby turtle has hatched and made its way to the water to begin its life in the ocean, a mother turtle has come to shore to lay her eggs. ‘I gathered a living brother, hiked it over the rock-flats, (fighting on in my hand). Through this use of personal pronouns, O’Connor helps us to connect with the environment he is describing. In this way, O’Connor enables the reader to feel for the turtles. In O’Connor’s poem, ‘The Pairing Of The Terns’, he links the terns to humans. ‘Human lovers know it only in dreams, the wild mating flight of the terns’. This quote tells us that human couples can only dream about what the terns feel when they are flying. When the terns fly they stay motionless in half gales then suddenly they plunge down and across the sky, their strong wings beating into thick vortices of the air. As much as humans wish they could feel free like the terns do when they fly, we humans can only dream about it. ‘locked in pairs by invisible steel’. In this quote, O’Connor explains to us that no matter which way the terns move, they will always be together because they are so in sync with each other. Humans can never have the same love that the terns have, and O’Connor hopes to evoke in the reader a feeling of wonder and desire. O’Connor deliberately compares nature to human beings because it shows how different they are and that humans can only dream about what it feels like to be a part of something more evolved. The experiences that humans go through help to change the way they view the life of nature.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Ranganathan Science Library
Ranganathan Science Library SHIYALI RAMAMRITA RANGANATHAN Brief overview of Ranganathans life According to Gopinath, in Memorabilia Ranganathan, Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan, often referred to as S. R. Ranganathan, was born August 9, 1892 in Tamil Nadu, in southern India. He lost his father early in childhood, and he also married his first wife at a young age. Ranganathan and his second wife had one child. After a long, impressive career, Ranganathan died at the age of 80 on September 27, 1972. Education and career Documentation Research and Training Centre, 1962 http://www.isibang.ac.in/library/portal/Pages/photo.htm Ranganathan as a student, 1913 http://www.isibang.ac.in/library/portal/Pages/photo.htm Leaving Mathematics and teaching had not been easy for SRR. His colleagues and the principal had given him great moral support. The year was 1924. http://www.isibang.ac.in/library/portal/Pages/photo.htm Before Ranganathan influenced the world of library science (he is said to have coined the term), he earned his Masters degree in Mathematics and a degree from a teachers college. From 1917 to 1921, he retained a position at Presidency College in Madras, India, teaching math and physics. According to Gopinath, students loved Ranganathans lively teaching style and often applauded after his lectures. When a better paying library position opened at the Madras University Library, Ranganathan reluctantly applied and, with no previous library education or experience, was surprisingly accepted. After a week, out of boredom he tried to resign. Instead, he was sent to London for nine months where he learned library science and began to design his own classification scheme, among other concepts that he later wrote about, including his Five Laws of Library Science. He stayed at Madras University until 1945, after reorganizing the library, creating a library science school, and influencing much o f southern India. After his so-called retirement, he went to Banaras Hindu University and Dehli University, created and served on numerous professional committees and boards, as well as promoting public library legislation. From 1954-1957, Ranganathan stayed in Zurich, where he continued his work in library science. Then he went to Bangalore where â€Å"the pinnacle of†¦his entire life was†¦the founding of the Documentation Research and Training Centre under the auspices of the Indian Statistical Institute†(p. 2423). This institute exists today offering courses and degrees in information and library science (see drtc.isibang.ac.in/ for more information). Major contribution to librarianship S. R. Ranganathan, also known as the Father of Indian Librarianship, contributed more than 60 books and over 1,500 articles. He wrote on library management, book selection, reference service, library buildings and furniture, and the â€Å"chain procedure to deriving subject index entries†(Gopinath, 2003, p.2427), among other topics. But, one of his biggest contributions to librarianship was his â€Å"Five laws of library science†that continues to be a guide for library management and operation today. 1. Books are for use. 2. Every reader his/her book. 3. Every book its readers. 4. Save the time of the reader; save the time of the library staff. 5. The library is a growing organism. These five ideas shape many aspects of libraries. The following ideas derived from Ranganathans five laws are presented in a lecture from Atherton (1973) that she gave at the Documentation Research and Training Centre in Bangalore: Readers should know what information is available; libraries should know what their readers want; readers should have access to library material, catalog searches should lead the reader to their desired material; the organization systems of a library should be designed for efficiency; as information grows, so do libraries. All of these laws persist in importance in terms of the mission of the library and the services it provides for its patrons. Various versions of the five laws of library science can be seen in As electronic information becomes more pervasive, these laws still apply as an over-arching philosophy and guide to connecting patrons with information. Yet â€Å"new violations have emerged†with the growth of the web and other online resources (Cloonan Dove, 2005, p.59). Information architects and other information scientists look to Ranganathans ideas (Steckel, 2002). In 2004, Noruzi published a set for the Web: Web resources are for use. Every user his or her web resource. Every web resource its user. Save the time of the user. The Web is a growing organism. These modern challenges to maintain the ideals of library science are the major working in the fields of information and library sciences. Major contribution to cataloging S. R. Ranganathans most important contribution to cataloging was his Colon Classification scheme. Three main types of classification used are enumerative, as is the Library of Congress Classification, in that it â€Å"attempts to assign designations for all the single and composite concepts required in the system†; hierarchical, as mostly describes the Dewey Decimal Classification scheme; and faceted classification that confine their explicit lists of designations to single, unsubdivided concepts†(Taylor, 2006, p. 393). Facets are aspects of the book (or any information object) that can be used as an area for classification. In Ranganathans Colon Classification scheme, he determined there were five facets: personality, matter, energy, space, time that are â€Å"used to analyze a class or subject and to construct a composite class notation for it†(p. 395). In the PMEST formula, each facet is separated by different punctuation marks and informs which type of facet is coming next: , (comma)personality ; (semicolon)matter : (colon)energy . (period)space ‘ (apostrophe)time Taylor (p.395) gives the example of notation for a book on â€Å"the eradication of virus in rice plants in Japan, 1971†as J , 381 ; 4 : 5 . 42 ‘ N70†¦The breakdown of the notation is: Jagriculture(main subject) 381rice plant(personality) 4virus disease(matter) 5eradication(energy) 42Japan(space) N701970s(time) Considered â€Å"analytic-synthetic How does it compare to Dewey? Less biased Better for classifying complex items, new subjects â€Å"does not assign fixed slots to subjects in sequence†(p. 394). Current use of Colon Classification The faceted approach of Colon Classification makes it ideal for computer use. Faceted class notation â€Å"is especially important for online retrieval†¦as a complement to verbal retrieval methods y subject headings or keywords.†(p. 396) Because facets are used, as opposed to hierarchy, a user can easily search by facets. â€Å"Rather than deciding ahead of time what the ‘proper trees, the computer can construct a tree on the fly based on the users interaction†(Weinberger, 2007, p. 81). The users begin the search with one facet and then narrow it with other facets. â€Å"The result is a system that lets [the users] become data squirrels, jumping from branch to branch†(Weinberger, 2007, p. 81), with new branches being created by the users queries. As explained by Glassel (1998), â€Å"each term in a Yahoo! notation string contains individual words which have meaning on their own, but once combined with other words into a string, a context is created , providing a deeper meaning. In this way it is much like a faceted classification†( ¶ 11). Here is an example of how the classification of a book based on its facets can easily migrate to a search engine. Using a books subjects: Research in the cure of the tuberculosis of lungs by x-ray conducted in India in 1950s, the CC notation is L,45;421:6;253:f.44N5. And as words, the notation is translated as: Medicine,Lungs;Tuberculosis:Treatment;X-ray:Research.India1950 (Chan, 1994, p.391). This translation are keywords in a search that, if matched to controlled subject headings would likely result in positive hits. Annotated bibliography of Ranganathans principle works. Ranganathan, S. R. (1933). Colon Classification. Madras: Madras Library Association. (1st edition). An introduction to the colon classification system using five facets (personality, matter, energy, space, and time) Ranganathan, S. R. (1962). Elements of Library Classification. Bombay: Asia Publishing House. Ranganathan, S.R. (1963). Colon classification : basic classification (6th ed.). New York: Asia Publishing House. Ranganathan, S.R. (1963). The five laws of library science (2nd ed.). New York: Asia Publishing House. Introduction to his five deceptively and elegantly simple â€Å"laws of library science†that affect every aspect of the library. User-centered approach Ranganathan, S.R. (1967). Prolegomena to library classification (3rd ed.). London: Asia Publishing House. 640-page book rules and guidelines Timeline Dewey born (1851) LCC developed (1852) Colon Class. designed (1924) 5 Laws of LS (1928) Ranganathan dies (1972) 1850-1875 1901-1929 1950-1979 1876-1900 1930-1949 1980-present DDC developed (1876) Ranganathan born (1892) Dewey dies (1931) CC, LC, and DD class. systems modified, still used Appendix A CANONS FOR THE IDEA PLANE 1.    Canons for Characteristics a)     Canon of Differentiation b)    Canon of Relevance c)     Canon of Ascertainability d)    Canon of Permanence 2.    Canons for Succession of Characteristics a)     Canon of Concomitance b)    Canon of Relevant Succession c)     Canon of Consistent Succession 3.    Canons for Array a)     Canon of Exhaustiveness b)    Canon of Exclusiveness c)     Canon of Helpful Sequence 4.    Canons for Chain a)     Canon of Decreasing Extension b)    Canon of Modulation d)    Canon of Consistent Sequence 5.    Canons for Filiatory Sequence a)     Canon of Subordinate Classes b)    Canon of Coordinate Classes CANONS FOR THE VERBAL PLANE 1.    Canon of Context 2.    Canon of Enumeration 3.    Canon of Currency 4.    Canon of Reticence CANONS FOR THE NOTATIONAL PLANE 1.    Canon of Synonym 2.    Canon of Homonym 3.    Canon of Relativity 4.    Canon of Uniformity 5.    Canon of Hierarchy 6.    Canon of Non-Hierarchy 7.    Canon of Mixed Base 8.    Canon of Pure Base 9.    Canon of Faceted Notation 10. Canon of Non-Faceted Notation 11. Canon of Co-Extensiveness 12. Canon of Under-Extensiveness CANONS OF MNEMONICS 1.    Canon of Alphabetical Mnemonics 2.    Canon of Systematic Mnemonics 3.    Canon of Seminal Mnemonics PRINCIPLES FOR HELPFUL SEQUENCE 1.    Principle of Later-in-Time 2.    Principle of Later-in-Evolution 3.    Principles of Spatial Contiguity a)     Principle of Bottom Upwards b)    Principle of Top Downwards c)     Principle of Left to Right d)    Principle of Clockwise Direction e)     Principle of Counter-Clockwise Direction f)     Principle of Periphery to Centre g)    Principle of Centre to Periphery 4.    Principles of Quantitative Measure a)     Principle of Increasing Quantity b)    Principle of Decreasing Quantity 5.    Principle of Increasing Complexity 6.    Principle of Canonical Sequence 7.    Principle of Literary Warrant 8.    Principle of Alphabetical Sequence POSTULATES 1.    Postulate of Five Fundamental Categories 2.    Postulate of Basic Facet 3.    Postulate of Isolate Facet 4.    Postulates for Rounds of Manifestation a)     Postulate of Rounds for Energy b)    Postulate of Rounds for Personality and Matter c)     Postulate of Rounds for Space and Time 5.    Postulates for Levels of Manifestation a)     Postulate of Level 6.    Postulates for Facets a)     Postulate of First Facet b)    Postulate of Concreteness c)     Postulate of Facet Sequence Within a Round d)    Postulate of Facet Sequence Within the Last Round e)     Postulate of a Level Cluster PRINCIPLES FOR FACET SEQUENCE 1.    Wall-Picture Sequence 2.    Whole-Organ Principle 3.    Cow-Calf Principle 4.    Act and-Action-Actor-Tool Principle References Atherton, P. (1973). Putting knowledge to work: An American view of Ranganathans five laws of library science. Dehli: Vikas Publishing House. Chan L. M. (1994). Cataloging and classification: An introduction (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Cloonan, M.V., Dove, J.G. (2005, April 1). Ranganathan Online. Library Journal, 130(6), pp. 58-60. Retrieved on July 22, 2008, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=9hid=103sid=3d1ade8a-3357-4c16-8584-676fda875d4d%40sessionmgr9 Garfield, E. (1984, February 6). A tribute to S. R. Ranganathan, the Father of Indian library science: Part I life and works. Current Comments, 6, 37-43. Retrieved on July 21, 2008, from http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays/v7p045y1984.pdf Glassel, A. (1998). Was Ranganathan a Yahoo!? End Users Corner. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http://scout.wisc.edu/Projects/PastProjects/toolkit/enduser/archive/1998/euc-9803.html Gopinath, M.A. (Ed.) (1994), Memorabilia Ranganathan. Bangalore: Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science. Gopinath, M.A. (2003). Ranganathan, Shiyali Ramamrita. In M. A. Drake (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science (2nd ed.) (pp. 2419-2437). New York: Marcel Dekker. Noruzi, A. (2004). Application of Ranganathans Laws to the Web. Webology, 1(2). Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http://www.webology.ir/2004/v1n2/a8.html Spiteri, L. (1998). A simplified model for facet analysis. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, 23, pp. 1-30. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from http://iainstitute.org/pg/a_simplified_model_for_facet_analysis.php Stekel, M. (2002, October 7). Ranganathan for IAs : An introduction to the thought of S.R. Ranganathan for information architects. Boxes And Arrows. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/ranganathan_for_ias Taylor, A. G. (2006). Introduction to cataloging and classification (10th ed.). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Weinberger, D. (2007). Everything is miscellaneous: The power of the new digital disorder. New York: Henry Holt and Company. July 16, 2008, 11:23 AM, Erin M. OToole, recommended in an email to use the following resources: LIS encyclopedias and dictionaries online reference works available in the LIS Subject Guide at http://www.library.unt.edu/research-tools/subject-guides/library-information-science/electronic-resources/dictionaries-encyclopedias the UNT Library Catalog at http://iii.library.unt.edu the 3 LIS databases listed in a row starting with Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) on this webpage: http://irservices.library.unt.edu/ais.cfm?alpha=L favorite search engine and keyword Google Images Search at http://images.google.com
Friday, October 25, 2019
The Only Fish I Wanted To Catch :: essays research papers
The Only Fish I Wanted To Catch A sensation of astounding warmth enshrouded my mind and body as I blankly stared out on to the choppy lake. I realized that the blinding sun was sure to burn me by the end of the day. I was completely clueless as to where the day would take me. At first I was a little apprehensive about climbing into the small rowboat and heading out there for the entire day. What if I didn’t make it back? I had never been fishing alone. All I craved was to catch the perfect fish. It didn’t have to be big or fat, just perfect for me. So I mustered up the courage and took a chance. The last time I had taken a chance I had paid for it dearly.           Sarina was the perfect girl, and I was determined to let her know how I felt about her. She didn’t make me happy. Happiness was not exactly the emotion she brought out in me. Her presence brought out something within me that was much deeper and more sincere. She was the foundation of my utopia. She had a special quality about her. Most people I know walk around with their souls being held prisoner by their bodies. She was one of those unique people whose body was held captive by her soul. Thirty seconds out of every minute I thought about her. I always made sure she had everything. It took me six months before I could even tell her how I felt. When I finally told her how I felt she took the news really well, but I knew she wasn’t interested. After telling me that our friendship was too close for us to get involved romantically, I swept up the pieces of my shattered heart, put them in my pocket and walked away. I had her snagged on my hook but she thr ew it. I used kindness, and patience, and she used me. I gave her everything she asked of me. She took the bait and ran. She avoided me at all costs for the next two months. Suddenly, I was at the mercy of the wide-open water of my misery, and was fearful of drowning. Had I been coerced into believing we were best friends? We squandered for hours and hours resolving each other’s personal dilemmas. We called each other religiously on the phone when we were apart.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Unit 7
Principal Sociological Perspectives P1 Unit 7 Functionalism This is the relationship between the parts of society; how aspects of society are functional (adaptive). A strength of Functionalism would be that it states that there are purposes for social conditions or facts. For example, under a functionalist point of view the newspaper deliverer and retail worker all contribute to the function of the entire unit–without serving these purposes, the social structure would not function properly. Also functionalism is considered vital for the smooth running of society, as Durkheim stated.A criticism of the functionalist approach would be it does not address areas of conflict, which undoubtedly characterise modern societies and in principle could be found in all societies. Functionalism assumes that there is consensus: that everyone in the structure holds the same norms and values; that we all essentially believe in and work for the same thing. Functionalism is a theory about the nat ure of mental states. According to functionalists, mental states are identified by what they do rather than by what they are made of. Functionalism is the most familiar or â€Å"received†view among philosophers of mind and cognitive science.Family Functionalists look at how the family as an institution, helps in maintain order and stability in society, and the significance of the family for its individual members. A well know functionalist who have written about the family is George. P. Murdock. Murdock carried out a study that included 250 families. From this he argued that the family achieves four basic functions for its individual members and society. He says these are ‘sexual’, ‘reproductive’, ‘economic’ and ‘educational’ functions. The sexual function refers to the sexual activity.Murdock argued that the family provides to the sexual needs of its adults and also limits sexual access of other member of the society there by maintaining stability. The ‘reproductive’ function is manner and raising children. The family provides the society with new members and assume responsibility for raising them. The family is an ‘economic’ unit, with a division of labour along gender. Murdock considers this division of labour as rewarding for the spouses and as strengthening the bond between them, as they are perceived as doing distinct but complementary work.The ‘educational’ function that Murdock refers to, can also be known as ‘socialisation’. The family has the responsibility of transmitting a society’s way of life, norms and values to the younger members. This function is important because without culture the society wouldn’t survive; too much deviation from the norm would disrupt the stability of the society. Marxism The sociological perspective sees society as structures with interconnected parts, and focuses on the structural features of soci ety, emphasising social differences and the conflicting interests and values of different groups in society.Proletariat – Class of poor people who work for wages. Bourgeoise – Class of wealthy people who have their own means of wealth. Strengths would be that it recognises the power interests of different groups and is good at explaining conflict and change in society. It stresses the role of class struggle (conflict) within society between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (owners). Weakness would be that it doesn’t recognise that people are socially active, with some power and the ability to make choices and influence the direction of their own lives.It focuses on the economy as the driving force of social behaviour and ignores other important influences such as gender, ethnicity and religion. Marxism is a political and sociological perspective based on the work of Karl Marx (1818-1883) Marx provided an account of the new class based society that e merged after the industrial revolution. The Marxist perspective questions the functionalist idea that business owners and bosses are morally entitled to keep profits for they are part of the ruling ideology in capitalist society. Family Friedrich Engels is a famous Marxist.He believed that during the early stages of human evolution that property was collectively owned and that the family did not exist. The community formed the family and there was no restraint to sexual access. Although with the development of private ownership of property and the idea of having successors who were to inherit the property, the question of paternity grew in importance and the rules of monogamous marriage were created to control woman’s sexuality and assure the legitimacy of heirs. Feminism Capitalist – Another word for a member of the bourgeoisieFeminism is a movement for social, cultural, political and economic equality of men and women. It is a campaign against gender inequalities and it strives for equal rights for women. Feminism can be also defined as the right to enough information available to every single woman so that she can make a choice to live a life which is not discriminatory and which works within the principles of social, cultural, political and economic equality and independence. Strengths that the sociological feminist theorists had were on how their perception of womanhood was socially constructed and not even real.A weakness of it is that it felt as though the sociological feminists are very judgmental and it feels as though almost all men and most people looked down on women. There are 3 main types of feminist approach: * Marxist feminism * Radical feminism * Liberal feminism Marxist feminism Marxists feminists see woman as oppressed by capitalism and by men or the patriarchal society. They believe that woman produce the next generation of workers and those they provide all the key needs to meet for their children; and prepare them for the wo rk life.They support their partners and cook, clean, and care for the family. Radical Feminism Radical feminists believe that it is not capitalism that dominates woman, and that it is men. They see the woman as the housewife and mother. Liberal Feminism These feminists believe that changes have happened. They believe that since new legislations have been bought out that there is now more equality. Legislation and policy changing, leads to liberal feminists believing that improvements will always be made Family Feminists have sought to analyse the impact of family life on women.Regardless of the numerous differences in their approach and main concern, different feminists tend to agree that women occupy a subordinate position in the family and are exploited in various ways. The Marxist feminists consider capitalism as the main exploiter. This exploitation is seen in terms of the unpaid work they carry out at home. Like the Marxist, they believe that the family also serves capitalism b y reproducing the future labour force, but they also assert that it is not the family as such that suffers more, but the women.It is women that bear the children and assume the main responsibility for their care. Women are also exploited in that they are expected to provide outlets for all the frustration and anger that their husband experience at work and therefore prevent them from rebelling against their employers. Interactionism The interactionist’s perspective is a major theoretical perspective; it focuses on the concrete details of what goes on among individuals in everyday life. It derives social processes (such as conflict, cooperation, identity formation) from human interaction.Its focus is on small groups and how they influence individual behaviour in society. A strength of this would be that it takes into account an individual’s choices they make and how they behave (their free will). It cannot explain where people get the meanings to symbols and that it end s up drawing these answers from other sociological theories, and it doesn't explain social order and how it comes about; this would be a weakness. They do not study where the social roles come from. The evidence of symbolic interaction is that humans use symbols to understand and interact properly with the natural and social world.Symbolic interactionism is a theory of social cognition, which models human interaction among significant concepts like identity, language, meaning, labeling and roles. Family The interactionalist perspective looks at the family dynamics. This view explores the interaction of the family members; this is back and forth talk, gestures and actions that go on in families. The interactionist perspective refuses to identify a â€Å"natural family structure†. The family is not a stock social unit but the creation of its participants as they spontaneously relate to one another. PostmodernismThis is an approach that emphases on the quick changing and uncerta inty in our society. Postmodernists suggest that we cannot talk about well-known institutions such as the family, religion or the economy because nothing stays the same. Postmodernists think that because there is constant change you cannot use structuralist perspectives such as Functionalism and Marxism to understand society. Strength of postmodernism would be that it provides a good critique of modernism and helpfully stresses the use of the aesthetic. Weakness would be that Postmodernism, like modernism, is characterized by astounding arrogance. FamilyOther theories believe that nuclear family is dominant family type within society; postmodernists disagree with this opinion and have different views. Postmodernists argue that this structural approach ignores moral relativism of individuals that they always have a choice of family type and nobody can judge them. Also modernists ignore the increase of family diversity; however there is no ‘best' family type anymore. Collectivis m Collectivism is an approach to providing health and social care services that is reinforced by a government commitment to provide care and support for the vulnerable, funded through taxation and National Insurance.This contrasts with the ‘New right’ that consider welfare to be the responsibility of the individual and their family and believe that the state should play a minimal role. An emphasis is placed on unification and a common purpose. Families are considered very important for personal growth. An advantage to living in a collectivist society is that the group members are close-knit and care for and help one another, which is not always the case in an individualistic society.Another strength would be that communication is very important in a collective group. No one is left out of the mix, and everyone is involved in making decisions. A weakness would be that collectivism stifles individuality and diversity by insisting upon a common social identity, such as nat ionalism, racialism, feminism, or some other group focus. Also collectivism is linked to statism and the diminution of freedom when political authority is used to advance collectivist goals. FamilyFamily ties will be different in different cultures; they will be strong in a collectivist society, Collectivist societies will be more characterized by coexistence of several generations within the household and stronger ties towards the larger family clan. ‘New right’ This is political movement made up especially of Protestants, opposed especially to secular humanism, and concerned with issues especially of church and state, patriotism, laissez-faire economics, pornography, and abortion. They believe that welfare should be largely seen as the responsibility of the individual and their family. The New Right regarded tate support as intrusive and supporting a dependency culture. Mrs Thatcher thought the welfare state produced a society in which people relied on state benefits rather than planning for the future and taking responsibility for their own needs and responsibility. A Strength of this would be that it would get more people that can work but don’t, to go out and work. Also it would benefit people because they would be going out earning their own money and it would be a good social factor. A Weakness of this would be that how do you get the people that have been off work for such a long time back into education and work.Family The New Right Family Ideology is patriarchal, the family is male dominant. Feminists argue that this is negative for women. It ignores the dark side of the family e. g. domestic abuse, poverty, conflict. It is harmful, calling other family-types ‘inadequate’ – schools, advertisements and television reinforce this idea. It is anti-social – it stereotypes, labels and discriminates against other family-types; ‘inadequate’ and has a ‘Them and Us’ theory – Nuclea r families are the only family type, other family types aren’t families. Unit 7 Principal Sociological Perspectives P1 Unit 7 Functionalism This is the relationship between the parts of society; how aspects of society are functional (adaptive). A strength of Functionalism would be that it states that there are purposes for social conditions or facts. For example, under a functionalist point of view the newspaper deliverer and retail worker all contribute to the function of the entire unit–without serving these purposes, the social structure would not function properly. Also functionalism is considered vital for the smooth running of society, as Durkheim stated.A criticism of the functionalist approach would be it does not address areas of conflict, which undoubtedly characterise modern societies and in principle could be found in all societies. Functionalism assumes that there is consensus: that everyone in the structure holds the same norms and values; that we all essentially believe in and work for the same thing. Functionalism is a theory about the nat ure of mental states. According to functionalists, mental states are identified by what they do rather than by what they are made of. Functionalism is the most familiar or â€Å"received†view among philosophers of mind and cognitive science.Family Functionalists look at how the family as an institution, helps in maintain order and stability in society, and the significance of the family for its individual members. A well know functionalist who have written about the family is George. P. Murdock. Murdock carried out a study that included 250 families. From this he argued that the family achieves four basic functions for its individual members and society. He says these are ‘sexual’, ‘reproductive’, ‘economic’ and ‘educational’ functions. The sexual function refers to the sexual activity.Murdock argued that the family provides to the sexual needs of its adults and also limits sexual access of other member of the society there by maintaining stability. The ‘reproductive’ function is manner and raising children. The family provides the society with new members and assume responsibility for raising them. The family is an ‘economic’ unit, with a division of labour along gender. Murdock considers this division of labour as rewarding for the spouses and as strengthening the bond between them, as they are perceived as doing distinct but complementary work.The ‘educational’ function that Murdock refers to, can also be known as ‘socialisation’. The family has the responsibility of transmitting a society’s way of life, norms and values to the younger members. This function is important because without culture the society wouldn’t survive; too much deviation from the norm would disrupt the stability of the society. Marxism The sociological perspective sees society as structures with interconnected parts, and focuses on the structural features of soci ety, emphasising social differences and the conflicting interests and values of different groups in society.Proletariat – Class of poor people who work for wages. Bourgeoise – Class of wealthy people who have their own means of wealth. Strengths would be that it recognises the power interests of different groups and is good at explaining conflict and change in society. It stresses the role of class struggle (conflict) within society between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (owners). Weakness would be that it doesn’t recognise that people are socially active, with some power and the ability to make choices and influence the direction of their own lives.It focuses on the economy as the driving force of social behaviour and ignores other important influences such as gender, ethnicity and religion. Marxism is a political and sociological perspective based on the work of Karl Marx (1818-1883) Marx provided an account of the new class based society that e merged after the industrial revolution. The Marxist perspective questions the functionalist idea that business owners and bosses are morally entitled to keep profits for they are part of the ruling ideology in capitalist society. Family Friedrich Engels is a famous Marxist.He believed that during the early stages of human evolution that property was collectively owned and that the family did not exist. The community formed the family and there was no restraint to sexual access. Although with the development of private ownership of property and the idea of having successors who were to inherit the property, the question of paternity grew in importance and the rules of monogamous marriage were created to control woman’s sexuality and assure the legitimacy of heirs. Feminism Capitalist – Another word for a member of the bourgeoisieFeminism is a movement for social, cultural, political and economic equality of men and women. It is a campaign against gender inequalities and it strives for equal rights for women. Feminism can be also defined as the right to enough information available to every single woman so that she can make a choice to live a life which is not discriminatory and which works within the principles of social, cultural, political and economic equality and independence. Strengths that the sociological feminist theorists had were on how their perception of womanhood was socially constructed and not even real.A weakness of it is that it felt as though the sociological feminists are very judgmental and it feels as though almost all men and most people looked down on women. There are 3 main types of feminist approach: * Marxist feminism * Radical feminism * Liberal feminism Marxist feminism Marxists feminists see woman as oppressed by capitalism and by men or the patriarchal society. They believe that woman produce the next generation of workers and those they provide all the key needs to meet for their children; and prepare them for the wo rk life.They support their partners and cook, clean, and care for the family. Radical Feminism Radical feminists believe that it is not capitalism that dominates woman, and that it is men. They see the woman as the housewife and mother. Liberal Feminism These feminists believe that changes have happened. They believe that since new legislations have been bought out that there is now more equality. Legislation and policy changing, leads to liberal feminists believing that improvements will always be made Family Feminists have sought to analyse the impact of family life on women.Regardless of the numerous differences in their approach and main concern, different feminists tend to agree that women occupy a subordinate position in the family and are exploited in various ways. The Marxist feminists consider capitalism as the main exploiter. This exploitation is seen in terms of the unpaid work they carry out at home. Like the Marxist, they believe that the family also serves capitalism b y reproducing the future labour force, but they also assert that it is not the family as such that suffers more, but the women.It is women that bear the children and assume the main responsibility for their care. Women are also exploited in that they are expected to provide outlets for all the frustration and anger that their husband experience at work and therefore prevent them from rebelling against their employers. Interactionism The interactionist’s perspective is a major theoretical perspective; it focuses on the concrete details of what goes on among individuals in everyday life. It derives social processes (such as conflict, cooperation, identity formation) from human interaction.Its focus is on small groups and how they influence individual behaviour in society. A strength of this would be that it takes into account an individual’s choices they make and how they behave (their free will). It cannot explain where people get the meanings to symbols and that it end s up drawing these answers from other sociological theories, and it doesn't explain social order and how it comes about; this would be a weakness. They do not study where the social roles come from. The evidence of symbolic interaction is that humans use symbols to understand and interact properly with the natural and social world.Symbolic interactionism is a theory of social cognition, which models human interaction among significant concepts like identity, language, meaning, labeling and roles. Family The interactionalist perspective looks at the family dynamics. This view explores the interaction of the family members; this is back and forth talk, gestures and actions that go on in families. The interactionist perspective refuses to identify a â€Å"natural family structure†. The family is not a stock social unit but the creation of its participants as they spontaneously relate to one another. PostmodernismThis is an approach that emphases on the quick changing and uncerta inty in our society. Postmodernists suggest that we cannot talk about well-known institutions such as the family, religion or the economy because nothing stays the same. Postmodernists think that because there is constant change you cannot use structuralist perspectives such as Functionalism and Marxism to understand society. Strength of postmodernism would be that it provides a good critique of modernism and helpfully stresses the use of the aesthetic. Weakness would be that Postmodernism, like modernism, is characterized by astounding arrogance. FamilyOther theories believe that nuclear family is dominant family type within society; postmodernists disagree with this opinion and have different views. Postmodernists argue that this structural approach ignores moral relativism of individuals that they always have a choice of family type and nobody can judge them. Also modernists ignore the increase of family diversity; however there is no ‘best' family type anymore. Collectivis m Collectivism is an approach to providing health and social care services that is reinforced by a government commitment to provide care and support for the vulnerable, funded through taxation and National Insurance.This contrasts with the ‘New right’ that consider welfare to be the responsibility of the individual and their family and believe that the state should play a minimal role. An emphasis is placed on unification and a common purpose. Families are considered very important for personal growth. An advantage to living in a collectivist society is that the group members are close-knit and care for and help one another, which is not always the case in an individualistic society.Another strength would be that communication is very important in a collective group. No one is left out of the mix, and everyone is involved in making decisions. A weakness would be that collectivism stifles individuality and diversity by insisting upon a common social identity, such as nat ionalism, racialism, feminism, or some other group focus. Also collectivism is linked to statism and the diminution of freedom when political authority is used to advance collectivist goals. FamilyFamily ties will be different in different cultures; they will be strong in a collectivist society, Collectivist societies will be more characterized by coexistence of several generations within the household and stronger ties towards the larger family clan. ‘New right’ This is political movement made up especially of Protestants, opposed especially to secular humanism, and concerned with issues especially of church and state, patriotism, laissez-faire economics, pornography, and abortion. They believe that welfare should be largely seen as the responsibility of the individual and their family. The New Right regarded tate support as intrusive and supporting a dependency culture. Mrs Thatcher thought the welfare state produced a society in which people relied on state benefits rather than planning for the future and taking responsibility for their own needs and responsibility. A Strength of this would be that it would get more people that can work but don’t, to go out and work. Also it would benefit people because they would be going out earning their own money and it would be a good social factor. A Weakness of this would be that how do you get the people that have been off work for such a long time back into education and work.Family The New Right Family Ideology is patriarchal, the family is male dominant. Feminists argue that this is negative for women. It ignores the dark side of the family e. g. domestic abuse, poverty, conflict. It is harmful, calling other family-types ‘inadequate’ – schools, advertisements and television reinforce this idea. It is anti-social – it stereotypes, labels and discriminates against other family-types; ‘inadequate’ and has a ‘Them and Us’ theory – Nuclea r families are the only family type, other family types aren’t families.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security
In September 11, 2001, the United States experienced terrorist attacks which changed the way the country plans and organizes to protect itself from such acts of terrorism. In such efforts, the United States government established the Department of Homeland Security, the objectives of which would be â€Å"to secure borders, synthesize and analyze intelligence on terrorist threats, work with state and local authorities in threat preparedness, protect the public from weapons of mass destruction, help train and equip first responders, and manage emergencies†(Sloan, 2002, p. 20).The Department of Homeland Security thus leads a national effort to protect the country from acts of terrorism and became an important counterterrorism arm of the United States. This paper is an effort to look into the agencies working with the Department of Homeland Security in its efforts in dealing with and mitigating acts of terrorism. These agencies are also herein described as to their primary functi ons and responsibilities so as to have an understanding on how they help in protecting the United States from domestic and foreign terrorism.According to the Department of National Homeland Security, more than 87,000 different government jurisdictions at the federal, state and local level have homeland security responsibilities. However, there are only a lesser number which comprises the major components, government agencies and offices that currently make up and help the department in attaining its counterterrorism goals and objectives.These agencies, as they are herein considered, are of such importance to the counterterrorism measures of the DHS because they belong to the four areas where the department is focusing on to fight and curb terrorism. These four areas concerned are composed of the border and transportation security; the emergency preparedness and responses; the chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear countermeasures; and information analysis. Counterterrorism page_#2 Border and Transportation SecurityThe Department of Homeland Security ensures safe and secure borders and by doing so protects the United States from entry of possible threats to national peace and security, and provides an effective counterterrorism measures against foreign and international terrorists. In that domestic terrorists are equally dangerous as international terrorists, the DHS also employ methods of securing the safety of the United States from terrorists already based in the country. These counterterrorism measures can be done by focusing on the border and transportation security of the nation.The agencies under the Department of Homeland Security that are responsible for curbing terrorism in these areas are: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) protects the country from current and possible terrorist attacks by ensuring that the country’s transportation system, a vulnerable area of attack by t errorists, is safe and well protected from suicide bombers or those whose tactics are to plant explosives in public transportation systems.The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) works in collaboration with the Transportation Security Administration to prevent the entry of international threats to the borders of the United States while ensuring a free movement of people and commerce. Its counterterrorism responsibility is accomplished by guarding the nation’s borders against entry of terrorists and terrorist weapons that can disrupt national peace and security. The United States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard protects the country in the same manner that the United States Customs and Border Protection does: it protects the country from current and potential terrorist attacks by guarding the nation’s borders against entry of terrorists and terrorist weapons. Its area of responsibility, however, is specific in that its counterterrorism responsibility Counterterrorism page_#3 is accomplished by protecting the nation in â€Å"the nation’s ports and waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region as required to support national security†(U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2006). Emergency Preparedness and Responses In order to fight terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security ensures that the country is equipped and prepared to protect itself from acts and possible threats of terrorism. It also ensures that should acts of terrorism occur, there are sufficient responses so as to mitigate the impacts of terrorism. Thus, the DHS has focus on emergency preparedness and responses. The agencies under the DHS that are responsible for curbing terrorism in these areas are: The Directorate for PreparednessThe Directorate for Preparedness works with state, local, and private sector partners to identify threats, determine vulnerabilitie s, and target resources where risk is greatest and by doing so safeguards the national borders, seaports, bridges and highways, and critical information systems (U. S. Department of Homeland Security, 2006). Its counterterrorism responsibility is accomplished through several of its components among which include the Infrastructure Protection which is responsible in identifying threats to the country’s physical and informational structure.Another equally important and useful component of the Directorate is the Cyber and Telecommunications which is responsible in preventing and mitigating a modern form of terrorism: cyberterrorism. The Cyber and Telecommunications arm of the Directorate for Preparedness protects the country against cyberterrorism by disseminating cyber threat warning information and coming up with the necessary responses to cyber attacks.In cases of cyber attacks, it coordinates with other agencies including the law enforcement and intelligence community so as to capture and convict those who are responsible for the occurrences. It is also helpful in providing information to investigators who are working on electronic crime cases. Counterterrorism page_#4 The Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) Directorate The Federal Emergency Management Directorate declares that it â€Å"prepares the nation for hazards, manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident†.It is also an important counterterrorism agency working with the Department of Homeland Security in that it is responsible for the dissemination of information regarding terrorism including the kinds of acts the US government considers as acts of terrorism and the high risk target areas of terrorist attacks. The FEMA therefore helps protect the country from current and potential terrorist attacks by equipping the citizens with the basic knowledge about acts of terrorism and giving them the necessary know how so as for them to be able to protect themselv es should such attacks occur.This will mitigate the impact of terrorist acts and the number of casualties during such incidents. The function of FEMA is well described in the role it played when the World Trade Center (WTC) was attacked on September 11, 2001. After the attack, FEMA moved immediately into its response mode to help with long-term repair, restoration, and rebuilding of the damaged and lost infrastructure (Howard & Buck, 2002). The Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Countermeasures Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons are among the most dangerous and deadliest that can be possibly employed by terrorists.While there may be vaccines for these weapons, they have too many side effects and it is quite impossible to vaccinate an entire population The best way to protect the people of the United States from these weapons of mass destruction is therefore safeguarding them from it and, on the part of the Department of Homeland Security, to have a f ocus in the areas of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear countermeasures. Thus, several agencies are responsible for safeguarding the nation from these weapons of mass destructions. The agencies responsible in this counterterrorism measure include:Counterterrorism page_#5 The Directorate for Science and Technology The Directorate for Science and Technology is an important arm of the DHS which works to provide the necessary technology and capabilities so as to protect the United States from terrorists attacks. The Directorate for Science and Technology is responsible for protecting the country from terrorist attacks by developing the latest and a highly capable system that can prevent, detect and mitigate the effects of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive attacks.The Directorate is also responsible in building up on the technological capacities of the country so as to be able to anticipate emerging threats, enable preparedness and provide emergency r esponder technologies. It further implements its counterterrorism responsibilities by working on for the detection, mitigation and response to potentially dangerous and explosive device such as bombs and weapons of mass destructions that can be improvised or assembled by terrorists.It is also responsible to developing a system of treating and minimizing the exposure of victims to biological or chemical attacks. The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) is responsible in improving the country’s ability to detect and report unauthorized attempts to import, possess, store, develop, or transport nuclear or radiological material for use against the Nation, and to further enhance this capability over time (U. S. Department of Homeland Security, 2006).The DNDO protects the country from current and potential terrorist attacks by working on transformational research and development programs to improve the country’s ability to detect nucl ear threats. It is also responsible for establishing methods that will ensure timely and effective response actions to detected nuclear threats. Counterterrorism page_#6 Informational Analysis An important aspect in counterterrorism measures is the ability to gather and synthesize information as information is an important tool in determining the appropriate response and counteraction to a threat.An appropriate interpretation of gathered information will not only make counterterrorism measures more effective but can also help save lives and mitigate the impacts of terrorism. Thus, the Department of Homeland Security ensures that it has focus on informational analysis. The agencies that are responsible for curbing terrorism through intelligence gathering and synthesis are: The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative branch of the Department of Homeland Security which was created af ter the September 11 attack so as to have a more effective enforcement of immigration and customs law of the United States which form efforts of protecting the country against terrorism. The ICE countermeasures against foreign terrorism involve targeting illegal immigrants: the people, money and materials that support terrorism and other criminal activities (U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2006).The organization implements its counterterrorism measures by investigating on illegal export of US munitions and similar technologies; investigating on employers who employ illegal workers in critical and vulnerable infrastructure worksites like nuclear plants and airports such that employing unauthorized workers at sensitive sites may pose serious homeland security threats; destroying the systems through which criminal organizations move and store their funds; and ensuring the removal of fugitive aliens in the country (U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2006). Counterterr orism page_#7The United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service is responsible for protecting the President and other high-level officials of the country. It is also valuable in fighting against many forms of terrorism such that it investigates on different activities that can be possibly utilized for acts of terrorism. Among its responsibilities are to investigate counterfeiting and other financial crimes, including financial institution fraud, identity theft, computer fraud; and computer-based attacks on the nation’s financial, banking, and telecommunications infrastructure.The responsibilities of the United States Secret Service is to protect the country from threats oftentimes employed by terrorists which include the creation of fear among the public such as when the public experiences computer based attacks or some forms of cyberterrorism; and trying to convince citizens that their government is powerless in preventing terrorist attacks such as what may ha ppen when financial crimes occur. The Office of Operations CoordinationThe Office of Operations Coordination is responsible for providing the necessary monitoring of the security of United States against terrorism by fusing different information from different sources so as to point out possible threats of terrorist attacks. These sources, as the organization refers are the â€Å" intelligence side†responsible for focusing on highly classified intelligence and assessment of information with regards to current threat picture of a specific area; and the â€Å"law enforcement side†responsible for different enforcement activities across the country that may have a terrorist nexus (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2006). Through its National Operations Center, information sharing is coordinated to help deter, detect, and prevent terrorist acts. Counterterrorism page_#8 Conclusion In the effort of United States to protect itself from acts of terrorism such as what hav e occurred in September 2001, it has established a department that will be an important and leading arm in its counterterrorism measures.This department is the Department of the National Homeland Security whose efforts, according to Sloan, are to secure borders, synthesize and analyze intelligence on terrorist threats, work with state and local authorities in threat preparedness, protect the public from weapons of mass destruction, help train and equip first responders, and manage emergencies.While there are more than 87,000 different government jurisdictions at the federal, state and local level that have homeland security responsibilities, there are major components, government agencies and offices that currently make up and help the department in attaining its goals and objectives considered of importance because they belong to the four areas where the department is focusing on to fight and curb terrorism.These four areas are composed of the border and transportation security com prising the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) ,United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the United States Coast Guard; the emergency preparedness and responses comprising the Directorate for Preparedness and the Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) Directorate; the chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear countermeasures comprising the Science and Technology Directorate and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office; and information analysis comprising the United States Secret Service, the Office of Operations Coordination The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). . References Howard, M. M. , & Buck, R. A. (2002). World Trade Center Recovery: A Challenge to Traditional Disaster Management.The Public Manager, 31(1), 47+. Retrieved November 16, 2006, from Questia database: http://questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5000794189 Sloan, S. (2002, October). The Case for a Department of Homeland Security – the Bush Administration and Congress Face the Challenge of Reorganizing the Nation's Security to Fight the War on Terrorism. World and I, 17, 20. Retrieved November 16, 2006, from Questia database: http://questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5002523187 US Department of Homeland Security (2006). â€Å"Department Subcomponents and Agencies†. Retrieved November 16, 2006, from Department of Homeland Security Website: http://www. dhs. gov/xabout/structure/#1 The Department of Homeland Security The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is an agency created to secure and protect the homeland. It is established primarily to protect the people and the country against attacks from terrorists. Since 2001, 22 separate agencies were merged into a one single cohesive unit which makes up the Department of Homeland Security. Although the primary purpose and very reason of DHS existent is securing the homeland, DHS is also in the forefront in providing assistance to people during natural calamities and disasters (Vieira, 2005). The agency also administers and monitors the country’s immigration status and system, thus protecting American people from migrating citizens entering the nation, which are bent on spreading fear and terror.As a result of monitoring the migrating patterns, entry of illegal drugs are prevented as they are stop before crossing American Borders. Thus, by merging the 22 various agencies into single more powerful and cohesive team, coordination and efficiency in performing tasks is achieved. It is no secret that in order to perform such huge missions, unity must be achieve across all government levels all over the nation.With the huge effort and major help the agency has provided and will provide in the near future it is important to understand the plan and strategic actions DHS and the federal government has adapted in protecting our nation. It was a dream come true in creating DHS, since it is a single department built in the primary principle in protecting the people and the nation. The administration has allotted a bigger budget of 11 billion dollars to support state preparedness (Vieira, 2005).The increase in budget will further solidify and strengthen aviation security, border security activities, purchase of necessary medical equipments and would provide an effective mode of managing a new human resource system that will enable hiring of â€Å"cream of the crop†personnel. With larger budget at hand DHS can now secure adva nce equipments and devices manufactured by the advent of technology.For instance, in order to secure the nation’s borders, ports and transportation systems from various criminal elements, an effective method that would screen goods and people is necessary. Use of advance information is also vital in managing the risk of guarding the nation’s borders that stretches across 7500 miles of land. Thus, a program that relies in the use of advance information to identify potential high risk shipments and cargo is being build on.The idea is to prevent cargo and shipments from reaching U.S. territory. Pre-screening of cargo and shipments in 20 main foreign ports around the world provides DHS a major assistance in intercepting dangerous people and goods before reaching shores. The process which focuses on the pre-screening tests is known as the Container Security Initiative. On the other hand, ports are made safer by deploying large number of coast guards and strict implementatio ns of maritime security standards for coastal activities and waterway system.Together with the Transportation Security Administration, DHS provide aid to the field of aviation by making of air craft flight safer. Advance screening devices that keep dangerous weapon off the airplanes are provided by the joint efforts. Field air marshals are also called and deployed to protect passengers. Pilots are also trained as last line of defense.DHS also provide assistance to people during disasters and natural calamities. Chaos is not only brought about by people, terrorist and biological warfare. Bigger destructions are brought by disasters and catastrophic accidents generated by the environment such as hurricane, forest fire, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In order to response to such incident and other terrorist attacks preparedness is important (Baldwin, 2005). Today, DHS is working on it’s readiness to response on those various emergencies. On top of its agenda is to better pr epare and coordinate the Nation’s capabilities to improve speed and efficiency of delivering services to our people.Another major assistance the organization provides to the people is information dissemination. With the creation of DHS, warning systems have become more effective and public warning has been enhanced (Baldwin, 2005). With the improved warning systems, cyber and terrorist threats are easily identified, as a result people are warned in advanced. With threats known, countermeasure and contingency plans can then be generated.With a single agency dedicated in providing security to the American people, works are carried out more efficiently and at faster rate, as information is made centralized and securing of documents, which eat ample amount of time, in order to coordinate with other agency which has jurisdiction in certain case is not necessary. Time is conserved and as a result DHS functions more effectively. The agency then is able to generate necessary counterm easures.Also, by merging the different agencies and forming one immense organization strength and skills are then concentrated and focused much better. Resources are also conserved and man power is utilized more efficiently. Furthermore, confusion into which jurisdiction the different cases will fall not arise, since operations are all sanctioned by the department. Leakage of information can also be controlled, since there is no need for the DHS to inform other agency, thus a more controlled surrounding which is manageable is attained.However, creating a single agency which handles affairs that provides protection to the homeland poses several critical issues. The scope of DHS mission is broad which encompasses terrorist affairs, natural calamities and entry of illegal drugs. With the merging of different agencies to form the DHS, special agencies and units which are created for specific functions are also merged with the homeland department.Although by merging, it has become a part of a new organization, it has also become a regular unit which receives general orders unlike before when they are called for special situations and specialize in performing specific functions. Also, the budget the department needs balloons every year as several agendas are needed to be tended. Since, DHS is the organization which functions and executes actions with all matters related and concerning about security and protection of our people and homeland, the organization requires large financial assistance and grants.After the 2001 attack, the lives and the way our people live had change. For instance, the creation of DHS as a sole organization that would provide security and protection to the people and homeland are actions that are generated by the attacks. In an effort to strengthen intelligence reports and ability to combat and fight terrorists affairs, various agencies have joined hands and merged to prevent incidents that lead to the September 11 attacks.The end result is an agency that promises to protect the people by controlling the borders, provide protection and support to aviation and port security, increase preparedness in emergency response and counter act the affairs of different elements that threatens the peace and security of the people. From the organization’s mission we can infer that they are logically tied together as they all sought for stoppage of criminal and terrorists acts that are detrimental to the nation and the people. They are measures and strategic actions that are carried out in order to safe guard the people and allow them to live their everyday lives free from fear uncertainties.As various elements continue to threaten the nation and its people, DHS will continue to be at the forefront of the war against them. With the advent of new technology and new devices and equipments being invented, preventions and countermeasures to terrorist and criminal attacks are not impossible to achieve. Furthermore that administrati on had greatly supported the organization and had generously provided it with a â€Å"generous†amount for its budget.There is no doubt about the importance of the organization and its value to our citizen. From anticipation and early forecast of warning of threats discovered that the public are about to encounter up to operations and countermeasures and emergency response after attacks and disaster, the department’s unwavering efforts would be evident and as long as there are elements that are trying to cross the American borders, spreading fear and terror to our people, DHS will live to its promise and expectations and provide our people with the much needed services.ReferencesBaldwin, Craig. (2000). Catastrophe Preparation and Prevention for Law Enforcement Professionals New York, NY: McGraw HillVieira, Edwin Jr. (2005). â€Å"Homeland Security† For What and For Whom? News With Views. Â
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