Category: Terrorism

Abstract

By answering various relevant questions, this paper seeks to look into the aspect of the presidential power and its relation with the war on terror. To this end, an analysis of the various incidences that called for the intervention of the president shall be delved into before a shift is made to identify the key aspects and discourses that play a role in the establishment of presidential supremacy.

The paper shall make attempts to identify and put into use a multi-sited ethnography by not only borrowing examples from various timeframes in the various continents across the globe but also taking into consideration the uniqueness of the situations at hand.

This paper will serve as an analysis of the theoretical propositions implied by political ideologies and present them in conversation with human nature as a global manifestation of the phenomenon. This project shall also serve as an illustration of the theory of multidimensional transnational involvement of politics in their historic and contemporary manifestations as well as present the argument that current analysis as has been presented by various scholars.

Introduction

The September11, 2001 attacks on the United States put the powers of the president on a spot-check and led to a generalized debate on what the president could and could not do even in the pretext of the war on terror. Among other items, President Bush argued that presidential powers allowed him to define the status and handling of individuals regarded as proponents of terrorism.

This element was later implemented with the president being allowed to issues orders without congress approval. The American constitution and indeed the constitutions of most nations in the world hold that the individuals who entitled with public authority must note that they cannot be above the law.

This guidance by the law should be maintained even when dealing with terrorists. So, to what extent are the powers of the president limited? This essay seeks to point out the extent to which the president can act when faced with administration and leadership decisions. To this extent, a number of publications shall be consulted outlining how some presidents handled certain situations especially in relation to the war on terror.

Methodology

Data will be extracted from various journals, articles and books. The criteria of selection for the literature will be the relevance to the research topic as well as the year of publication. Both public and private libraries as well as online libraries will be visited in order to access the data.

This research will be partly evidence based and partly founded on professional research by professionals in the field. Various articles will be studied in order to provide background information which will essentially give credibility to the final essay.

History analyses cannot be effectively presented without obtaining information from real case scenarios. This will definitely make for some interesting research and in as much most of the information will only be used for reference purposes, it will effectively came round to form the back-bone of the paper.

Domestic Surveillance and presidential powers

Following the September 11 attacks, officials tasked with the role of ensuring state security had to come up with new goals and objectives as well as ways of assessing the homeland security strengths. Homeland securitys new mandate in the eyes of the president was described based on three of its strategic objectives.

First, it can be said to be a national effort applied with the sole aim of curtailing terrorist activities. Secondly, it can be defined as the utilization of all state machinery in the reduction of a states vulnerability to terrorist attacks (Edwards, Wattenberg and Lineberry, Rober299).

Finally homeland security can be described as all the conscious effort by a nation to try and reduce all the destruction occasioned by terrorist attacks and recover from such incidents. The performance of homeland security is mainly assessed in the view of the national strategy. The latter is in turn founded on law, technology, information and international unity. The law aspect of the national strategy comes in to ensure the utilization of federal laws in a bid to fight terrorism while securing the public welfare (Guy 353-356).

In 2005, President George W. Bush jnr. was accused of commissioning domestic surveillance without seeking the required parliamentary approval. In his support, it was argued that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 gave him the leeway to do that. However, it was later revealed by the Attoney General of the time asserted that FISA did not give the president any inherent authority to carry out electronic surveillance (Genovese 52, 124).

Following the September 11^th attacks, the government tried to justify acts of domestic surveillance by citing inherent powers. Upto now though for the president to conduct any institutional or personal check, even in the name of the war on terror, he must seek approval from special courts according to guidelines established by the Congress.

Presidential powers and preemptive war

In 2001 and onto 2002, George bush was on record for having declared a war on terrorism whose start was symbolized by the Afghanistan invasion (Paolucci and Clark 88). In addition he said that there was a domain of terror present in the Middle East particularly around the borders of North Korea and he said that the United States President had the right to enter into preemptive war as a way of protecting his countrys borders.

The attack on the United States in 2001 was the first time Homeland security had been challenged in 79 years and it came unexpectedly. It was difficult to device an appropriate response following the attack and this could be the reason why the president had to respond in the way that he did.

The president in personally announcing preemptive war might also have been considering the fact that state armies could also be agents of terrorism (Welch, Gruhl, Comer and Rigdon 315). For instance the London bombing by Germany and the destruction of the Hiroshima by the United States were both terrorist acts committed with the aid of state armies.

States by virtue of their ability to access more resources in the form of artillery are more likely to exercise terrorism within the realm of international diplomacy as compared to insurgents. With changes taking place after the Second World War terrorism strategies became entrenched with institutions and usage of violence as a diplomacy tool came to be seen as an acceptable form of state conduct.

State armies can also be used as agents of terrorism against a governments own people with the sole intention of creating a fear of the state. This has been particularly evident in developing nations and more-so those in the Middle East where individuals are subjected to extrajudicial murders.

Presidential powers and relation to homeland security

By presidential powers leaving the office holders pre-occupied with issues of homeland security, the threat of terrorism is bound to speed up in the advance of globalization.

This is because the collaborative effort between nations that has helped keep terrorist activities in check is gradually declining and states are becoming more and more self-centered. Country borders are becoming more and more porous as nations try to ignore the welfare of their neighbors and are therefore not particularly keen to establish who crossing over into the said neighboring countries is.

If global security against terrorist attacks is to be attained, presidential powers clauses should be amended to allow him direct homeland security to extend its influence beyond national borders. In this way, events taking place in other nations will serve to guide states on what measures to take against impending security threats. Unfortunately, the threat of terrorism has an impending effect on globalization in the sense that the more people become suspicious of foreign leaders, the more they will make efforts to lock them out of their country.

This in a way creates a vicious circle in which each country tries to prevent the entry of members of other nations. This will to a great extent slow down the process of attaining global unity and nations will tend to stick to their traditional ways of doing things even when new and better ways have been devised elsewhere due to the perennial fear of foreigners.

Conclusion

This paper had set out to accomplish a number of goals and it has effectively achieved them. A well detailed analysis of presidential powers and its relation to the war on terror has been presented with the focus being particularly around the aspects of preemptive war declaration.

The analysis has revolved around the elements of fluidity and flows especially by focusing on the multidimensional participation of allowances inherent in presidential powers. In the light of the discussions above, it can be concluded that ideologies have a crucial role to play in both the social and political developments of contemporary nations. This analysis of the relations between the politics and legislation has illustrated how governing principles describe the limits of presidential powers.

Works Cited

Edwards, George, Martin Wattenberg and Robert Lineberry. Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy (10th Edition). United Kingdom: Longman Publishing, 2005. Print

Genovese, Michael. Presidential Prerogative: Imperial Power in an Age of Terrorism. California: Stanford University Press, 2010. Print

Guy, James J. People, politics, and government. 7th. Ed. Scarborough, Ontario: Pearson Education, 2010. Print

Paolucci, Henry and Richard Clark. Presidential power and crisis government in the age of terrorism. New York: Griffon House, 2003. Print

Welch, Susan, John Gruhl, John Comer and Susan Rigdon. Understanding American Government. Florence: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print

Introduction

Terrorism has emerged as the most serious threat to international security in the 21st century. Acts of terrorism have the potential to devastate the society as was demonstrated during the horrific events of September 11, 2011. Over the past decade, terrorists have shown great motivation to cause disruptions in society by carrying out attacks against the civilian population. Traditionally, terrorists have made use of conventional weapons to carry out their attacks. However, fears exist that they might get hold of biological weapons and successfully carry out a bioterrorist attack. In the event that a bioterrorism attack was to take place, health care providers would serve as the first line of defense for the public. Being close to the attacks puts the healthcare workers at increased risk of being infected by the bio agents used for the attack. This paper will set out to define bioterrorism and how it relates to the field of healthcare with emphasis on the role that nurses can play in dealing with bioterrorism attacks.

Define Bioterrorism

Terrorism is defined as violence carried out against civilian targets by non-state actors whose actions are prompted by political reasons. Bioterrorism is terrorism that makes use of biological agents such as viruses and bacteria as the weapons for perpetrating the attack on people (Jansen, Breeveld, Stijnis & Grobusch, 2014). For centuries, the impact of contagious disease and other biological weapons has been recognized by military leaders. In modern times, the international community recognizes that bioterrorism attacks could result in large-scale, life-threatening epidemics.

While the threat of bioterrorism is remote compared to conventional terrorism, there has been an observable trend in the rise of bioterrorism attacks over the decades. Greub and Grobusch (2014) report that while only 10 events were reported between 1900 and 1970, 170 events were recorded between 1970 and 1999. These points to an increase in the prevalence of bioterrorism in the world.

Types of Terrorism

Terrorists can use a wide array of biological weapons. Bacteria can be grown in a laboratory and disseminated to the population. One bacterial agent used by terrorists to create casualties and terror in the society is Anthrax. Jansen, et al. (2014) reveals that in 2001, terrorists sent packages with anthrax power in an attempt to create damage and terror in the US. Viral agents can also be used to perpetuate bioterrorism. Deadly viruses such as the Ebola virus and the Marburg virus can be produced in large quantities and dispersed to the population. These viruses have the potential to devastate the affected population. The Ebola virus causes the internal organ of victims to fail leading to death. Terrorists can also make use of pathogens to perpetrate biological attacks on civilian populations. Clover (2002) defines pathogens as any agent that can cause illness and disease to humans or animals. Another category of biological agent used by terrorists is toxins, which are essentially poisonous substances that have a harmful effect on the body.

Bioterrorism and Health care providers

The release of a biological agent would result in a major public health emergence. Since bioterrorism poses a threat to the health of individuals, healthcare providers are needed to help mitigate the impacts of the attacks and restore the health of affected people. Mondy, Cardenas and Avila (2003) reveals that bioterrorist attacks affect healthcare providers since individuals affected by the attack visit healthcare providers for health. In many cases, the individuals report unexplained or unusual illnesses to the healthcare providers serving them. These medical professionals are exposed to the agent even as they provide medical care. As such, dealing with bioterrorism attacks represents a real danger to healthcare professionals. Rebmann (2006) declares that healthcare workers should undertake protective measures to protect themselves and their families.

Rebmann (2006) notes that in the event of a bioterrorist attack on the general population, the healthcare industry would be required to take the most important steps in dealing with the situation. Rebmann (2006) declares that nurses are some of the healthcare providers who would play a significant role in reacting to a bioterrorism attack. For nurses to effectively deal with bioterrorism attacks, they have to be prepared to respond in a timely and appropriate manner to the attacks. By gaining bioterrorism management knowledge, nurses gain skills in identifying and reporting attacks. In addition to this, they are equipped to implement control measures to ensure that the attack does not spread.

Bioterrorism management knowledge also equips nurses with communication skills that ensure that they are able to effectively deal with the families of the victim of an attack (Rebmann, 2006). They are trained to provide trauma and bereavement counseling that will be of use in the event of an attack. Another attribute of preparedness is planning response strategies. Bioterrorism attacks can occur without notice and having a strategy to deal with the situation beforehand ensures that healthcare providers can engage in rapid response to the situation (Rebmann, 2006). By coming up with a strategy beforehand, nurses are able to assess the plan for faults and validate all proposed actions through empirical means.

How to Confront Bioterrorism

Considering the devastating effects that bioterrorism can cause to healthcare providers and the society in general, steps should be taken to confront and eliminate this threat. Key to dealing with bioterrorism is coming up with effective means of detecting biological agents once they are released. Jansen, et al (2014) admits that an additional danger posed by biological weapons is that they are not easily detectable. Detectors that are able to identify the agents can provide an early warning system. Clover (2002) declares that in modern high-rise buildings where air vents can be used to contaminate the entire building with a biological agent, aerosol detectors can detect weaponized bacterial or viral agents and sound alarms for people to evacuate the building thus preventing a catastrophe. Since most viral and biological agents are dispersed to the population through air in buildings, air-filtering systems can be used to thwart any attack. Clover (2002) reveals that it is possible to treat air before it enters a building thereby guarantying that the air is free from biological agents such as anthrax and tularemia.

People can be protected from the adverse effects of bioterrorism by being sheltered from the bio agents released in the attack. To deal with attacks, shelters can be created in public structures. The shelters would act as protected spaces that are free from biological agents. Clover (2002) reveals that the shelters are airtight places that have a clean air supply. In addition to this, these safe zones have communication systems and water that can sustain the people seeking refuge there until evacuation occurs.

Additional Concerns

An important concern posed by bioterrorism is that the means of acquiring biological weapons has become easier due to the proliferation of knowledge through the internet. Jansen, et al. (2014) observe that weapons that would in the past have required an expensive laboratory and a competent biologists can now be done in a garage by an individual who has acquired his skills from the internet. In addition to this, some biological agents are readily available to terrorists. For example, Ricin, which is a highly toxic agent, is easily accessible and this has made it a popular agent of choice for many terrorists (Jansen, et al., 2014). This ease of access increases the risk that a bioterrorist attack will be perpetrated at some point in future.

Another issue raised by bioterrorism is that the impact of the attack might mimic that of a natural incident. An attack can therefore occur without the authorities or civilians realizing it. Toxins dispersed into food might be mistaken for an accidental food-poisoning outbreak making it possible for the bioterrorists to avoid apprehension since the authorities will not be looking for them (Jansen, et al., 2014). Maddox (2001) admits that an important danger presented by bioterrorism is that attacks might be hard to diagnose or notice following an initial attack. This can make them difficult and time consuming to detect making their impact on the population far-reaching.

Conclusion

Bioterrorism has emerged as a probable threat to the global community in the 21st century. This paper set out to define bioterrorism and illustrate the dangers it poses to healthcare and measures that can be taken to confront and eliminate it. It described bioterrorism as terrorism that makes use of biological agents and highlighted the common types of bio agents used to perpetrate attacks. The paper has highlighted the dangers that healthcare workers face from bioterrorist attacks. It they outlined how the workers can protect themselves from the dangers and provide useful services to the community facing an attack.

References

Clover, N.J. (2002). Countering chemical and biological terrorism. Civil Engineering, 72(5), 62-68.

Greub, G., & Grobusch, M.P. (2014). Bioterrorism: myth or reality? Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 20(6), 485-487.

Jansen, H.J., Breeveld, F.J., Stijnis, C., & Grobusch, M.P. (2014) Biological warfare, bioterrorism, and biocrime. Clin Microbiol Infect, 20(6), 488496

Maddox, P.J. (2001). Bioterrorism: A renewed public health threat. MEDSURG Nursing, 10(6), 333-338.

Mondy, C., Cardenas, D., & Avila, M. (2003). The Role of an Advanced Practice Public Health Nurse in Bioterrorism Preparedness. Public Health Nursing, 20(6), 422-432.

Rebmann, T. (2006). Defining bioterrorism preparedness for nurses: concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 54(5), 623-632.

Introduction

Bioterrorism is the use of biological agents as weapons by an individual or as a state against the other. Bioterrorist attacks may not be easily distinguished from a natural disease infection. Therefore, the mode of transmission, the rate of transmission, the frequency with which the outbreak is witnessed as well as the geographical location of the areas of outbreak are some factors that the health researchers need to consider in determine the nature of the outbreak.

Natural disease outbreaks are generally seen in specific areas. The disease transmissions are often periodic and the possibility of the outbreak can be foretold by the researchers. On the other hand, a bioterrorist attack is characterized by unpredictable outbreak that is not endemic to a geographical region, occurs at any time, and may exhibit high rate of transmission.

However, it should be noted that this might not be the usual situations. Bioterrorism attacks often take different forms and an outbreak may not be foretold from the past outbreaks. Some of agents and diseases associated with bioterrorism are botulism, cholera (Vibrio cholera), and Escherichia coli 0157: H7, Salmonellosis, Shygella dysenteriae Type 1, and Typhi (Typhoid fever).

Epidemiology

A study on the life patterns of the biological agents used as weapons in bioterrorist attacks is vital in managing the emergency cases. The genetically manufactured organisms are resistant to all known vaccines and drugs, highly contagious, and able to harm thousands of people (Pavlin 1999, p1). This is also not the case always; some attacks have been characterized by less contagious strains that can be cured by antibiotics.

In this regard, we must maintain high level of diligence in identifying and reacting to a biological attack since the attack may not follow a regular pattern (Pavlin, 1999, p1). A mild attack may indicate a more serious case in the future and preventive precautions should be put in place. Essentially, Pavlin (1999) observes that all healthcare providers and public health personnel should have basic epidemiological skills and knowledge of what to expect in such a setting (p.1).

Bioterrorism-related Issue: Salmonella typhimurium

The bacterium Salmonella enterica serova typhimurium is a disease causing pathogen found in the genus Salmonella in the broad family of Enterobacterioceae. The genus comprises facultatively anaerobic bacteria with spore-less rods and peritrichous flagella. The pathogen causes Salmonellosis infections in humans.

It symptoms that can be seen as from 12 to 72 hours after infection include fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. The infection is transmitted mainly through animal and human waste. This occurs of the contaminated substances find their way to foods and water. Its feeding adaptations and rate of multiplication makes it a suitable agent that can be used by an intentional attacker.

The use of this pathogen as a biological agent was witnessed in the summer of 1984 near Dalles, Oregon. The attack was made by a religious cult led by the Bhagwan Shri Rajneeshee. The attack was a political move aimed blocking a section of the electorate from participating in the election to influence its result. The residents of Wasco County were sickened by the biological agent to enable the Rajneeshee candidate to secure the seat (McDade & Franz, 1998).

The cult had other biological agents but, under the direction of their nurse, settled on the strain that caused food poisoning. They had obtained the medical equipments from a medical supply company on false grounds. Towards the end of August, they spread the bacteria on many common places like doorknobs, drinking glasses, produce in the local market, and on salad bars in ten restaurants (McDade & Franz, 1998). Later on, they went ahead and contaminated the Dalles water supply.

The effect of this was a series of patients reporting cases of fever, nausea, diarrhea, and headache in the nearby health centers. As McDade and Franz (1998) reported about 750 people were infected by the bacterium and within few days, the medical practitioners identified the causal agent to be Salmonella typhimurium. However, it took long before it was established that just one strain causes the different cases. This was reported by the Center for the Disease Control (CDC).

Differential diagnosis and surveillance

This is an initial consideration of a disease outbreak regardless of its seriousness. It is aimed at determining if the facts surrounding an outbreak are rare types that could indicate a bioterrorist attack.

The diagnosis of the Salmonella typhimurium infection and its subsequent treatment can be arrived at through sequencing the genomes of Salmonella typhimurium LT2 and Salmonella Typhi. The latter is a common infection and such comparison would explain why the former has unique characteristics. It is not easily noticed like typhoid and several cases can go unnoticed.

Primarily, surveillance of a disease refers to the study of the progress of the disease among a group of people. The terrorist attack witnessed in New York City and Washington D.C prompted the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to advocate for strong surveillance on the unusual disease outbreaks or multiple occurrences that can be associated by terrorism (CDC, 2001).

Currently, in the US, an initiative has been started to incorporate information technology in surveillance. In this case, the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) promotes surveillance systems used at the federal, state, and local levels to collect and monitor data on trends and outbreak of diseases. The surveillance strategy was evidenced in managing the typhimurium attack since the local physicians and the hospital caretakers were on their toes to notice the abnormal reports.

In attempt to have control over the occurrences and or/progress of a bioterrorist attacks, the health care providers must be informed that certain occurrences might not be easy to notice, more so if the first cases are not many. There need not to be multiple occurrences of a disease outbreak to indicate an intentional attack. For instance, just one observed case of anthrax inhalation should be enough warning of possible attack. On the other hand, it should be noted that not only primary healthcare providers could detect an unusual outbreak.

An alarm could be raised by a laboratory technician coming across an unusual strains of organisms or the county epidemiologist keeping track of hospital admission or a pharmacists distributing more antibiotics than usual (Pavlin 1999, p1).

Further, away from health care providers, an abnormal increase in sales of funeral services could also blow the whistle. Therefore, in order to ensure proper disease surveillance and differential diagnosis, all the epidemiologic data should be tracked and aggressively followed to ensure the most rapid recognition and response (Pavlin, 1999, p1).

After a case has been noticed, the usual epidemiological procedures are conducted to confirm the outbreak and compare it to any previous cases. The rates of infection and transmission as well as the geographical setting and the age group attacked are also noted. The information obtained here could help in determining the cause of the outbreak and the possible remedy. The pattern exhibited by the disease will help distinguish an intentional attack from a natural disease outbreak.

Remedy

Bioterrorism has been a threat to the public at both state and international levels. Since dealing with bioterrorism attacks call for co-operation from different personnel in the public sector, creating awareness and having proper preparation should the major national and international concern.

All the health workers should be continuously provided with the basic epidemiological skills and some elementary clinical diagnosis of agents causing greater challenges. Advanced disease surveillance programs need to instituted to monitor the disease outbreaks and indeed such initiatives have been witnessed in the US CDC programs that extend it services to other countries (CDC, 2001).

References

CDC. (2001). Recognition of Illness Associated with the Intentional Release of a Biologic Agent. A Weekly Report, 2001/50(41); 893-7. Web.

McDade, J. E. and Franz, D. (1998). US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Bioterrorism as a Public Health Threat, Vol. 4 No 3. Maryland. Web.

Pavlin, J. (1999). Epidemiology of Bioterrorism. Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol.5 No 4. Washington: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Web.

Introduction

Insecurity continues to grow becoming more complex, especially in the last ten years. In the near past, security was just an addendum in most facility designs except in special settings. In todays world, however, security is a vital concern for designers, managers, and occupiers of any facility. Thus, security systems need to be constantly upgraded and given prominent position in all facilities. Further, facilities that were previously considered as safe and not likely targets for terrorist or criminal actions are now favorite targets.

Therefore, this paper gives a guideline to be followed by hospital management to upgrade security in the facility. Hospital facilities are among those premises that were initially perceived relatively safe from terrorist and criminal activities. However, with the dynamism in global terrorism and criminal activities, hospitals are rather soft targets. Hospitals have a high population of vulnerable people who can be manipulated or attacked by terrorists. Further, hospitals are stocked with valuable medicines and equipment that could be targeted by burglars.

Precisely, this paper looks on what can be done to barriers, site hardening, access control, lighting, intrusion detection system, CCT, patrol and alarms to upgrade security. The amalgamation of these facilities generates constructive interaction effect that will highly increase the hospital security (Tseloni, Thompson, Grove, Tilley, & Farrell, 2014). Therefore, to upgrade security, each of them will need to be upgraded and synchronized to work in harmony with the others.

Access control

The facility has a continuous flow of patients, visitors, hospital staff, and the public. Additionally, urgency and emergencies associated with admission could create security loopholes. As such, access control will be highly prioritized and receive serious consideration.

Rigorous documentation and screening of people at the entrances and egress are crucial. Further, all the entry points for employees and deliveries will be secured through proximity card readers and video cameras. The staff, therefore, will be required to carry access control cards with precise information of their profile, including job description, duties, and ranks. The cards will be engineered to allow hierarchical access privileges. Additionally, the cards will be electronically configured to allow continued but regulated alteration as the staffs get hierarchical mobility.

Perilous areas such as the surgery rooms, entrances to patients wards, elevators, staircases, will be fitted with CCTV cameras, which will be monitored all the time. Additionally, elevators and entrances will have card readers that will be activated during non-visiting hours. Only the closest kin to patients, with visitors verified badges, will be allowed to gain access to the facility. Further, only authorized personnel with special access cards will gain access to supplies rooms, including pharmacies, drugs, and equipment rooms.

Data centers such as EHR rooms require more strict access due to their advanced risky status (Bhartiya, Mehrotra, & Girdhar, 2015). Thus, in addition to card swipes, the security upgrade process will fit data rooms with iris biometrics scanners. Moreover, the upgrade will install Hierarchical Similarity Analyzer (HSA) inside data control centers to regulate each operators access to data according to their security level attributes.

Barriers

Barriers are the outermost level of security, and they obviate or delay terrorist or criminal attacks. The hospital facility will reinforce the already existing barriers by modification while adding more barriers. Some of the physical barriers to be modified and used to improve security include, fence, vehicle barriers, doors, windows, and grills.

Fence

At the rear part of the facility, elevated fencing will act as a deterrent for intrusion by unauthorized persons. The fencing will be capped with live electric wires reinforced with metal spikes. Further, hidden, and visible CCTV camera will be strategically placed to allow the security personnel to have a complete view of the entire fence.

Vehicle barriers and Bollards

Currently, most burglars and terrorist are aware of the technology-based security systems such as CCTV and, therefore, they are exploiting other loopholes. For instance, incidences of burglars speeding right through the fronts of facilities, masking their faces, using gloves to conceal their fingerprints, carrying out robbery and hastily leaving before security is beefed up are on the rise.

To regulate the movement of people and vehicles, the facility will be equipped with vehicle barriers and bollards. All vehicles will be thoroughly searched using metal detectors. Additionally, armed security personnel will physically operate the space between parking and the facility.

Lockable and grilled doors and windows

Alarm locks and grills will deter unauthorized entrance to any of the facility rooms that need authorized entering.

Manholes, tunnels, emergency exits, and roof openings

The use of common entrances is riskier for burglars and terrorist due to the beefed up security at many facilities entrances. Consequently, burglars and terrorists resolve to the use of not so obvious entrances such as manholes, tunnels, rear and emergency exits, and roof openings. The facility will employ appropriate barriers for each of these routes.

Emergency egress will be locked (the key will be readily available at the time of need) and controlled to prevent unauthorized entry and exit. Further, the facility will use delayed egress hardware designed to lock and ring for some minutes before opening.

Additionally, the upgrade will install sound and movement detectors to check on unnecessary movement in all manholes and tunnels connected with the facility. Tunnel ends connecting the facility to the exterior will also be physically manned to deter any entrance.

Site hardening

Hospitals are civilian-centric places that may not be sufficiently fortified. Therefore, the facilities are vulnerable and unprotected relative to other places (hard targets) with enough resources to prioritize security. As such, hospitals become potential targets for terrorists and theft of drugs and other property. Some of the aspects that heighten the level of susceptibility include the fact that hospitals are open to all people in the society. Additionally, emergency rooms are extremely vulnerable to terrorist attacks while loading docks are vulnerable to theft and misuse of ambulances. To avert the occurrences of these incidences, hardening is therefore vital.

The management will be greatly involved in the site hardening process. The upgrade in site hardening will include investment in preparedness, educating stakeholders on security, harmonizing security activities, striking a balance between routine activities and alertness, unemotional data-driven ways of security analysis, accurate and honest assess vulnerabilities and making use of human security supplemented by technology.

Notably, the use of insiders to breach security is common in many facilities due to the heightened site hardening (Roberts, 2012). Insiders such as radicalized terrorists are extremely dangerous since trust is bestowed on them. Therefore, the facility management will factor in the vulnerability to spies and insiders. The upgrade will employ techniques such as thorough pre-employment screening, use of polygraphs, and continuously disrupting suspected insiders putting them off balance.

Lighting

Security risk assessment results have shown that a significant percentage of security related threats and crimes take place in public areas of the hospital, including entrances and parking lots (Meyer, 2014). On this note, the security upgrade for lighting will target specific areas such as all entrances, canopies, halls, waiting bays, and lift cars and halls. In addition, lighting will also cover reception and enquiry desks, common corridors, stairs, hospital streets, dining halls and cafeteria. In addition, the lighting upgrade will also include washrooms, shower rooms, ward areas, corridors, changing rooms, and toilets.

The lighting upgrade also aims for exterior lighting system. Places such as roadway, signs, and car parking lot, pedestrian pathways and even landing pads for helicopters will be considered for further upgrade. Lighting will be strategically installed in these areas to make more difficult for any forms of security threats to go undetected (Painter & Farrington, 1999). Besides, the hospital will use LED-based lighting products to ensure that accurate information can be collected, including colour, vehicle licence plate numbers and other details of visitors.

Given the massive security upgrade for lighting, it would be imperative to consider lighting control systems. Along the LED- based lighting, the hospital will install lighting control system to optimize energy saving, meet some building code requirements, good design practices, and meet some standards for green building. This security upgrade for lighting will be implemented under Smart Lighting.

The facility lighting will ultimately be upgrade to improve and add lighting while enhancing facility surveillance and deter crime rather than to facilitate response.

Intrusion Detection System

Given the rising cases of greatest security risks in facing patients, employees, visitors, and vendors, as well as areas such as infant units, paediatric units, pharmacy, and psychiatric Units identified as high risk for crime, an intrusion detection system is necessary for security upgrade for the hospital. Previously, the facility had relied on less sophisticated intrusion detection system for security threat alerts.

Generally, the intrusion detection system entails installation of door and window contacts, glass contacts, and/or motion sensors alongside other installed audible sound alarms that go off when a forced entry is detected. Intrusion detection sends an alert to the relevant security installations, including security guards and police. It is expected that security team responds physically to assess the detected intrusion.

The intrusion detection will be effective for detecting a situation and fast responding physically to the scene. However, the limitation of the previous simple intrusion detection could lead to false alarm. It also identified for low rates of prevention. It is influenced with the closeness of the responding security personnel.

The upgraded security features for the intrusion detection would include systems that can clearly capture details of the event, facilitate immediate response and identify intruders. This approach is most likely to lessen cases of similar incident at the hospital. In this case, all possible points of contacts, including doors and windows will be used to collect information that is more useful for the integrated system that can facilitate response.

Therefore, the new security upgrade will have cameras installed on motion detectors. All analog cameras must be transformed to digital Internet-protocol (IP) cameras. This alternative would facilitate simple access. The security personnel will have improved capabilities to capture, view, and store and evaluate stored video information.

Any computers with installed features will bring up the preferred camera to improve monitoring and simplify operations at the central location.

CCTV to IP Cameras

The hospital has initially relied on CCTV installations to offer visual deterrent and protection. As such, it could monitor all visitors. However, the shortcomings of CCTV have been exposed by the rise of digital technologies seen in IP camera alternatives. Consequently, the security upgrade would result in the replacement of analog CCTV with IP security cameras. The change to digital cameras reflects the new approach to upgrading existing security installations in the hospital.

The digital IP cameras are preferred because they are cost-effective and offer enhanced security monitoring and identification capabilities (Popovic, Arsic, Jaksic, Gara, & Petrovic, 2013). In addition, security personnel would have increased remote accessibility and view security videos on the Internet. The IP security installations would ensure scalable solutions for future improvements installed on modern, standard equipment to allow for integration with other installations such as motion detectors, remote accessibility and real time surveillance. Further, digital cameras would be integrated with other security installations such as access control and any facility management systems.

A video-encoder would be used to integrate analog CCTV with the new surveillance system. The advantages of upgrading the security system to digital include the following. First, the system would run on open technology platform with specific standards and off-the-shelf gadgets. Second, the available hospital network would be used rather than new installations. Third, IP cameras are simple to integrate and install. Fourth, the system will provide recording, playback and search features while maintaining high quality images captured with megapixel capabilities and enhanced precision and compression. The security personnel would also benefit from audio and video captured during an event.

A central operations centre would be installed to ensure that security personnel have directly links with key areas with improved responsibility to monitor and secure such areas. In addition, they would also facilitate responses to inquiries to proper staff.

To revamp the security system, the hospital will integrate LED lighting with the IP cameras so that when any movement is noted, the lights will automatically turn on and make the intruder to look at the source where the camera is located. Security officers will get immediate alerts and connect through the IP to monitor real time data sent. They can talk via the camera to deter such threats. This approach is an active means of deterring security risks and intruders.

A more robust installation may include talkphone call boxes and high definition video surveillance. This option will be necessary to cut costs associated with more security patrol guards, which can be cost prohibitive. Thus, the facility would optimize audio capabilities of new installations and use public address system in public areas directed from a central control centre to secure the hospital remotely.

Patrols

It is observed that visibility is vital in crime deterrent. The patrol officers at the hospital would improve patients, employees, and hospital safety while reducing possible cases of theft and vandalism on the facility.

The hospital would only have sufficient number of patrol guards. Patrols would offer unique chances for hospital security personnel interact, observe activities and monitor movements and situations in person. They would be physically present to respond to any security threats identified. The hospital would also have enough officers on foot patrols to cover specific designated areas.

The patrol will ensure that officers can observe and monitor conditions within and around the hospital, public areas and other private places. Security officers would be responsible for assessing all doors and windows to ensure that they are secure and safe while recording any security and safety breaches.

Foot patrols are considered vital for the hospital to maximize physical interaction between security personnel, patients, employees and visitors. These reasons have led to specific interest in patrols to improve security at the hospital.

Besides, the patrol personnel can use video information to provide real time account of situations, individuals, intruders, and vehicles among others to law enforcement dispatchers.

In short, patrols would deter vandalism, trespassing, and possible theft at the hospital. It will ensure that the hospital has a professional team that can immediately respond to alerts and emergency events and notify nearby law enforcement officers if required. Security personnel on patrol shall also provide safety of the facility and watch for emergency fires while ensuring a safer facility for all. Both random and scheduled patrols would deter safety violations. Further, they would also be responsible for physical assessment of facilities, including problems with installations such as water, electricity, and special areas. They can physical conduct foot patrols on parking lots, hospital streets and other interior and exterior parts of the hospital.

Alarms

The hospital currently has basic alarm set up to detect unauthorized access. These alarms can be found in sensitive locations, and they are manually controlled. It is noted that an alarm system with a bell box visible enough can deter intruders.

The upgraded alarm security would have the following features.

• Smoke and fire detectors would ensure the best early alerts for smoke and fire to improve security and protection. The system would automatically trigger the alarm when smoke is detected.
• Carbon monoxide detector will detect high concentrations of carbon monoxide within the facility, especially in kitchen and signal the station to alert security officers.
• Additional motion sensors with ability to detect motions but differentiate between rodents and human intruders will be installed for additional protection.
• Security will be further enhanced with panic sensors in high-risk areas of the hospital. They would be on a 24-hour emergency mode for immediate reaction.
• The alarm siren would deter possible intruders when triggered.
• The alarm will also have security system keypads to provide opportunities for security officers to press buttons for immediate help.

Conclusion

Security of any facility remains a critical factor for consideration as cases of violent crimes increase. Hence, security upgrade in the hospital is necessary to protect property, patients, staff, visitors and patients information. The key to improving security in the hospital is to create a central operations centre for all security installations, including access Control, lighting, intrusion detection system, CCT, alarms and controlled patrols. In addition, barriers and site hardening will enhance physical security. Consequently, the hospital will have an upgraded security installation to ensure revamped control within and outside the facility.

It is imperative to note that before any security upgrade is conducted, risk assessment must be done to ascertain areas with greater needs. As such, security upgrade would be useful for the above-mentioned areas.

References

Bhartiya, S., Mehrotra, D., & Girdhar, A. (2015). Proposing hierarchy-similarity based access control framework: A multilevel Electronic Health Record data sharing approach for interoperable environment. Journal of King Saud University  Computer and Information Sciences, (2015), 1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.jksuci.2015.08.005.

Meyer, C. (2014). Securing Parking Lots with Infrastructure and Lighting. Security Magazine. Web.

Painter, K., & Farrington, D. P. (1999). Improved Street Lighting: Crime Reducing Effects and Cost-Benefit Analyses. Security Journal, 12, 1732. doi: 10.1057/palgrave.sj.8340037.

Popovic, G., Arsic, N., Jaksic, B., Gara, B., & Petrovic, M. (2013). Overview, Characteristics and Advantages of IP Camera Video Surveillance Systems Compared to Systems with other Kinds of Camera. International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology (IJESIT), 2(5), 356-362.

Roberts, M. J. (2012). Managing the Insider Threat: No Dark Corners. Journal of Strategic Security, 5(4), 17-130. Web.

Tseloni, A., Thompson, R., Grove, L., Tilley, N., & Farrell, G. (2014). The Effectiveness of Burglary Security Devices. Security Journal, 1-19. doi: 10.1057/sj.2014.30.

Introduction

The essay under analysis is Nuclear Terrorism: Risks, Consequences, and Response by Jim Walsh. This essay can be regarded as an example of the process of writing or the writing that analyzes the process in which we are interested, break it down into steps, and shows how the process works (Vandermey, Meyer, Rys, and Sebranek 229). This paper presents an analysis of Walshs essay concerning such traits as stimulating ideas, logical organization, engaging voice, appropriate word choice, overall fluency, correct, accurate copy, and reader-friendly design (Vandermey et al. 134).

Stimulating Ideas

The essay under analysis presents the information in which the entire world is currently interested. Not only is it devoted to the subject of terrorism, but it considers nuclear terrorism, the kind of terrorism the peaceful citizens fear most of all. The essay focuses on its main purpose, to look at the problem of terrorism and, in particular, at the role of state and local officials who may have to respond to such an event (Walsh in Howitt and Pangi 175). Moreover, the essay develops this focus by elaborating on different details of the topic. For instance, first, the author defines nuclear terrorism; then he considers several threats and risks it presents, rates these risks, and discusses their consequences. Through this, Walsh holds the attention of the readers and answers their most widespread questions about nuclear terrorism.

Logical Organization

The essay seems to be properly structured and logically organized for its biggest part. It has a solid introduction; though it is not long (taking into account the length of the essay), it is quite rich in content. It has a well-defined statement of the problem: Today, threats of nuclear war and nuclear proliferation persist, but many worries that a new danger threatens the United States  a terrorist attack involving nuclear bombs, materials, or facilities (Walsh in Howitt and Pangi 175). In addition, the essay has a succinct thesis and clearly defined tasks. These tasks are then fulfilled step-by-step; the essay has separate sections for each task, which facilitates reading and understanding of the essays topic. Since the arguments are presented in separate sections, the author rarely utilizes linking elements. However, this does not hamper reading in any way.

Engaging Voice

What makes Walshs essay especially interesting to read is his laying out the facts in a natural way. For instance, he never uses specialized terms that would be unknown to the audience, as well as he does not try to smooth anything over. However, this does not mean that he frightens his readers; after writing about the danger of nuclear terrorism, he calms his readers stating that no terrorist group is known to have come close to developing a nuclear weapon (Walsh in Howitt and Pangi 179). This points to his sincerity and his interaction with his readers. Besides, this testifies to the fact that Walsh cares about the things he writes and, just like any of his readers, is preoccupied with the problem of terrorism as such and the issue of nuclear terrorism in particular.

Appropriate Word Choice

The vocabulary used in this essay is especially interesting to discuss. The author uses specialized words, but they are not complicated. Among these, there are such words and word combinations as radiological dispersal device, nuclear facilities, nuclear stockpile, fuel storage facility, etc. Apart from this, he uses several proper names (of people, countries, and cities) that are related to the subject he discusses. In general, the words he uses (apart from specialized ones) are clear and specific. The essay does not contain complicated phrases or turns of speech that hamper reading. However, this does not mean that all the sentences are extremely simple. The level of the authors language is appropriate for the target audience and the type of writing that the author has chosen. The language is complicated enough to count as specialized but easy enough to be understood by an average reader.

Overall Fluency

The essay under analysis can be characterized by normal fluency. The ideas presented by the author gradually flow from one into another, which means that there are no odd sentences and phrased that could be removed from the ext. Therefore, the essay can be considered fluent because, if, for instance, one of the sentences is removed from a paragraph, the whole paragraph loses its meaning. This testifies to the fact that all the sentences in the paragraph are interrelated and should be perceived as a whole. Moreover, the beginnings of the sentences are varied. Some sentences start with the linking phrases, such as in addition, similarly, still, indeed, etc, while the others are rhetoric questions that start with what, how, and so on. All the sentences are different in length and structure (there are simple, complex, and composite sentences with objective, attributive and adverbial clauses of different complexity). Finally, a non-academic style that fits the given situation adds to the general fluency of the essay.

Correct, Accurate Copy

The accurateness of this essay is evident. It is written by all the rules of English Grammar and punctuation, as well as conforms to the style peculiarities. The author does not use conversational phrases. Besides, the punctuation is correct throughout the essay; Walsh uses commas, semicolons, periods, and question marks where it is appropriate. The established documentation guidelines are also strictly followed, which once again proves the authors high level of writing.

Reader-Friendly Design

The design of Walshs essay can be called reader-friendly because much has been done to make the essay appealing to the readers. For example, the author uses different graphic means (hyphens, different fonts, brackets, quotation marks) for the text not to be boring visually. The headings of the sections are typed in italics, which gives the essay a fancier look. Besides, this shows that the author cares about the looks of the paper and wants it to be not only informative but attractive to his readers. His typographical choices and professional design make the essay easy to read. The author does not use any direct quotations in his paper, but there are several footnotes with the data from where the information has been taken (mostly books and Web sites). The footnotes are written in Harvard citation style. Lastly, the paper in general is formatted accurately and correctly.

Conclusion

In sum, Walshs essay can be regarded as a great example of process writing. His essay can be characterized by consistent stimulating ideas, great logical organization, engaging voice that is achieved through the constant interaction with the readers, appropriate choice of words that make the essay easy to comprehend, fluency achieved through the use of liking phrases, accurateness, and reader-friendly design.

Works Cited

Howitt, Arnold M. and Pangi, Robyn L. Countering Terrorism: Dimensions of Preparedness. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003.

Vandermer, Randall, Meyer, Verne, Rys, John V., and Sebranek, Patrick. The College Writer: A Guide to Thinking, Writing, and Researching. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2008.

Introduction

Background Information

Terrorism has become a global phenomenon. This has been boosted by the hard economic times that have been witnessed in the world. Various studies have been conducted, and they indicate that terrorism has had on a number of developing countries. The same can be said about the US and UK. However, there is little literature on the impact terrorism has had on other developed countries especially in Europe. Italy is a developed country in southern Europe. The country has borne the blunt of terrorism in the last two decades.

Thesis statement

This paper seeks to find out the impact that terrorism has had on the economy of Italy, a developed country.

Terrorism has had on the economy of Italy

In the 17th century, Italy had been undergoing a recession and Spain had taken advantage of its weakness to rule most of Southern Italy. Towards the end of the 17th century, Spain had declined in terms of political and military power. The Italians in Southern Italy had tried to rebel in the 17th century. However, their rebellion had often been quelled.

It was not until the beginning of the 18th century, particularly in 1713, when Spanish succession came to an end after they lost the war of Spanish Succession (1700-1713) to Austria which then took the part of Spain in dominating Southern Italy. In 1734, Spain would regain Naples from Austria. There was a lot of progress in the 18^th century, and church powers were reduced.

The Italian rulers also implemented major reforms in the country. In 1796, Napoleon successfully invaded Italy. The Napoleon conquered the Naples in the year 1798. However, Napoleon proceeded to win at Marengo. On the other hand, Piedmont was taken in as part of France. The Cisalpine Republic, was given a different name, the Italian Republic. When the Napoleon was defeated, the old regime was recaptured. This happened in 1815.

Most of the old kingdoms were reinstated in the 19th century. However, Venice and Genoa remained without reinstatement. This era was marked by a high level of restlessness and discontent. Carbonari organized rebellion in Naples. In addition, there was another rebellion that was instigated by the same group in 1821. The rebellions were both unsuccessful as the Austrians were able to quell these rebellions.

One Italian nationalist, Giuseppe Mazzini was a key figure who championed for a united Italy. After leading an unsuccessful rebellion in 1831, he had to flee to France and later to Britain but continued to agitate for Italian nationalism. The year 1848 was marked by a number of revolutions in Europe (Duggan, 2006). Palermo was the first, Naples and Venice followed soon and succeeded in restoring its status as a republic.

The Pope had been prevailed upon to rescue the Italians. Nevertheless, the Pope did not intend to fight the Austrians. Naples King staged a coup. He was supported by the Swiss mercenaries. Later on, the Pope was forced to flee his home after a coup that made Rome a republic albeit short lived since the French soon restored the Pope.

Creating unity in Italy started in 1852. This is the time when Camillo Cavour was stated to be captured by the Prime Minister of Piedmont. Camillo joined the French and British people to fight Rusia in 1855. None of the countries wanted the unity of Italy. In 1860, a unified Italy was established. This happened when King Victor Emmanuel established a treaty with Garibaldi. The latter yielded to pressure and gave all his powers to the King.

Italy had been on the same side with Germany and Japan. The three countries had all lost terribly to the allies. The reconstruction of Italy started in 1946. This was the year when Italy had a referendum to create a republic. Later, the elections for the assembly were held and soon the first president became Luigi Einaudi in 1948. Italy stood to benefit from the Marshall Aid from the USA (Ferraresi, 1996).

The industries were soon flourishing, and the standards of living continued to increase. The growth continued until the late sixties when university students showed unrest. This was followed by labor unrest. This perhaps forms the first incidents of modern day terrorism in Italy. Failed university systems radicalized the students, and this was fuelled by the failure of the then governments to deliver to a section of the citizenry.

The centre of these radical movements was the perception that communists had given upon the ideals on which communism was founded. The citizens were losing confidence in the Italian government to preserve these ideals. Some Italian students even saw the cooperation between their communist leaders and Christian Democratic representatives as a sign of contempt for the working class.

Further, there was easing of tensions between the west and the communists in the east. This led to the adoption of hybrid business philosophies that were both borrowed from the capitalists and communists. However, the capitalist policies were highly loathed by the working class as they saw this as the cause of the disparities that were emerging in the Italian societies.

The western philosophies allowed companies to adopt the technology that was quickly replacing the workforce. These tensions between workers and their unions coupled with the disgruntled university students soon give birth to a number of leftist and terrorist organizations. The most notorious would emerge the Red Brigade. It is largely acknowledged as the most dominant and ruthless terrorist organizations the country had ever had.

The Red Brigade was formed in 1970 by a group of university students. It had emerged from the late 1960s protests by workers and students where they had joined workers in demonstrating against the right wing political leaders. They initially operated in the major cities within Italy such as Milan and Turin.

They would target factories which were viewed as the breeding grounds for social disparities (Willan, 1991). Its leaders advocated for the formation of a revolutionary state by use of armed struggle so as to separate the Italian government and the western elements.

As a result of the groups hatred for the manner in which union leaders were treating workers coupled with the refusal by the government to solve salient social and economic issues, many of the early ideological targets of the groups leadership involved attacking the establishment which included trade Unionists, politicians, and business owners.

In 1971, the group enthusiasm led to a change in the change of internal terrorism procedures from a tactical point of view to a more strategic approach. Members had previously participated in the destruction of vehicles belonging to union officials and factory equipment.

The new strategy involved broader attacks on buildings and offices. They later started engaging in human targeting when during the year 1972, the group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of a foreman. The group was fast becoming the most stubborn terrorist group in Italy.

The organization was fast growing, and it soon established an organizational command similar to that of a military force. It had the executive committee, which was the headquarters as it was in charge of ensuring the smooth running of the organizations activities. The field unit structure composed of sections the urban regions. This was aimed at breaking down the command unit along the regional boundaries.

The Italian government was unable to stop the organization, which boosted its growth. Notably, many believed that the Italian government was on its way to collapse. The incident finally puts this organization on the focus of the country. After the abduction of the Prime Minister, the group had sought for 55 days to dialogue with the government to release sixteen of its members. Unfortunately, the government and the Christian Democrats did not yield.

After the death of the then Prime Minister, the government engaged in a war to capture the leaders and silence the organization. The group ceased to exist in the early 80s. In the early 1980s, Italy experienced a recession. This is an aspect that affected other countries in the world too.

However, the recession did not last long as it came to an end in 1983 which continued to the end of the Cold War. In 1984, a new terrorist organization emerged. The new group did not use kidnapping though it continued with assassinations and terrorist bombs. The new red brigade movement survived even after the Cold War (Carbone, 2011). However, the group was not very active, but they continued to carry out attacks against government figures.

The movement later extended its opposition to the Italian policy on foreign relations. In this case, there was a believe that the government of Italy was being manipulated by the western powers. After the 9/11 terror attacks, the group commended the attackers, an act that would increase the focus the Americans had on the group. BR/Pcc, in 1999, attacked and some people in the group slew an officer who worked in the ministry of labor.

The Institute for International Affairs in Rome was bombed by the BR/Pcc in the year 2001. Fortunately, there were no deaths reported in that bomb attack. With the rise and growth of the terror group reminiscent the earlier Red Army Brigade, the Italian government embarked on an exercise to eliminate the group. The new strategies used by the government included extensive use of the media, and an increase in the source payments.

This new tact enabled the government to separate the extremists from the general public and for the police authorities to infiltrate the terror group easily. The police could identify members of the terror group, map the networks, and then establish measures to prevent future attacks.

This was by arresting all known members and sympathizers of the group. These efforts began to pay as soon as the government arrested various members of the group. In addition, other individuals who were in the former movement and had been implicated in the assassination of Prime Minister Aldo Moro were arrested too. These groups rose to the top of the terrorists food chain in Italy.

From sabotaging economic activities and causing political anxiety, these groups continued to be a hindrance to the growth of the Italian economy. The fact that these terror groups targeted factories and offices essentially mean that any success in their activities meant there would be a breakdown in the economic growth of the economy.

However, even as the country was able to finish these terror groups, a new form of terror had emerged. With the increase of these activities, the economy has suffered immensely.

Firstly, terrorism has an effect on GDP per capita growth. This is especially the case where the rate of terrorism is great. It also means that the capital formation to GDP is affected by a rise in the rate of terror activities. Terrorism affects the performance of an economy. It has been found that terror activities will most likely happen in a democratic country that enjoys high income.

Italy is such a country, and this explains the rise in terror activities from international terrorists. Countries with developed institutions will even suffer severe consequences from a terror attack. Political instability is also a huge negative in the economic situation within a country. Terror attacks will likely lead to political instability. Take the example of Italy after the assassination of the then Prime Minister.

The incident caused instability in the countrys political arena and economic growth stopped as investors did not know what to expect in the future. It is important to note that modern day Italian economy is very much reliant on tourism, education, and banking. For the tourism industry, terror completely eclipses any tourism activities in a country. Further to the economic misfortunes that bedevil, Italy, the country joined the European Union in 1999.

That decision seems to have been disastrous as that has led to unimaginable levels of unemployment (Bindi, Scuola superiore Della pubblica amministrazione (Italy), & Brookings Institution 2011). The countrys northern region remains very industrialized while the south drags on with poverty. Italy has a current population of 61 million people.

Conclusion

Summarize/Review key points

As Italy faces the Euro crisis, most analysts are skeptical about what the future portends for the country. The Euro crisis is one of several other crises that are likely to face Italy if the companies in Italy refuse to act together. As discussed earlier, Italy faces a major problem in that the south and the northern regions continue to operate in very different economic environments.

While the north has innovative and robust companies that continue to grow and employ more Italians, the south has smaller government and family companies which operate in a domestic market that is not competitive. Production in this region continues to go down over the years. A balance of the two economies essentially means Italy is undergoing no growth as it moves into the future. As such, Italys future is bleak.

Concluding thought

Compared to Germany, the Italian economy has fallen behind by thirty percent. The industrial production in Italy continues to go down- 25 per cent since the start of the 2008 recession. However, given the change in the political leadership it remains to be seen what the future of Italy is going to be. Therefore, the leaders should improve all the sectors of the country.

References

Bindi, F. M., Scuola superiore della pubblica amministrazione (Italy), & Brookings Institution. (2011). Italy and the European Union. Rome: Scuola Superiore della Pubblica Amministrazione (SSPA).

Carbone, M. (2011). Italy in the post-Cold War order: Adaptation, bipartisanship, visibility. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books.

Duggan, C. (2006). A concise history of Italy. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press.

Ferraresi, F. (1996). Threats to democracy: The radical right in Italy after the war. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.

Willan, P. (1991). Puppetmasters: The political use of terrorism in Italy. San Jose: Authors Choice Press.

Introduction

Stereotypes are common generalizations concerning a particular group of people. Stereotyping involves assigning particular set of characteristics to the group. Stereotypes can be positive or negative. Stereotypes are coined based on the availability of a consistent and clear attribute that is associated with that particular group.

The stereotyped individuals or groups consider it an insult and at times quite disturbing since they may experience apprehension of unfair treatment; it psychologically affects the thinking of those who are the victims. Stereotyping can be done in two ways: when there is generalization in the descriptions and attributes, and through biases which are subconscious in form. Stereotyping can be synonymously used with prejudice (USNews, 2010).

Main Analysis

The three main stereotypes that will be discussed in this essay are: All Muslims are terrorists; All Jamaicans smoke weed and; All Italians are in mob.

All Muslims are terrorists

This is a common stereotype among the countries of the world but it is predominant in United States of America and its allies. This stereotyping was widespread and gained prominence following the numerous bombing missions by the Al-Qaeda and religious fundamentalism that is associated with Islamic faith. To understand the arguments behind this stereotype, we should employ logic.

Logic is the study of principles of reasoning; this reasoning may be good or bad. Logic is important in the sense that it enables us to examine an argument more critically. The premise of the argument on this stereotyping that Muslims are terrorists is that people accept this claim without challenging it. This stereotype is only based on a single experience and arguments about stereotypes are judged on one line of conclusion.

The conclusion here is that from the association of some Muslims with terrorism all Muslims are terrorists (Mosser, 2011). The common mistakes that are found in the argument are that there may be variations in attitudes which are dogmatism and skepticism. Dogmatism prevents the acknowledgement of the other side of the argument.

All Jamaicans smoke weed

Weed is associated with fans of reggae and since Jamaica has a lot of reggae fans by the fact that reggae is rooted in Jamaica then all Jamaicans are weed smokers. In order to understand the argument about this stereotype, it is important to substantiate the claims that accompany the stereotype.

The claim in this argument is that all Jamaicans are weed smokers. The conclusion concerning this claim is true since it is a mental construction. This is because it is based on inductive reasoning and no one has gone the extra mile to ascertain whether all Jamaicans smokes weed. For this claim and conclusion to be confirmed, all premises guiding arguments must be followed. First this claim needs to be evaluated and then the real issues concerning the dispute identified.

The mistakes that are often found in such arguments are matters of predetermined mindset and no party is willing to cede ground on either side of the argument and every side in the argument will tend to give facts to support the claim. Attitude is a common factor that affects an argument since it defines the side of the story.

All Italians are in a mob

It is generally believed that most Italians are goons and they are known to act in accordance with mob psychology. The argument underlying this debate is that in every competition or establishment, Italians are known for causing mayhem. The standardized mental picture of the Italians in the USA is depicted in movies where since the days of Godfather several movies featuring the Italians as criminals have been produced.

The mistake in this argument is the since the mental picture is already developed, the mistake of how to convince those making the claims is proving hard. Also any debate about stereotyping is often prejudiced and biased since these are the two premises with which stereotypes are coined. These arguments affect that image of the victims in the society (Mosser, 2011). After watching the film on the effect of pre-existing beliefs on logical reasoning, I can conclude that they indeed distort individual decisions and reasoning.

The pre-determined beliefs about homosexuality distort the principle of logical reasoning. It is noticeable that human beings are skeptical when it comes to information that they have made up their minds concerning it. The pre-existing beliefs concerning homosexuality confirm the fact that the stereotyped group is uncomfortable about their perceived status and as such their mental thinking is affected.

Also people around them feel guilty by association (INTELCOM, n.d.). Stereotyped groups are often aggressive; they over eat and often experience difficulty in making rational decisions. Stereotyping, especially negative stereotyping has a lasting psychological impression on the victim. The stereotyped group during associations tends to be aggressive and display some sense of self control (USNews, 2010).

Conclusion

Stereotyping is a very bad phenomenon, it can inflict mental torture and at an extreme level psychological trauma especially when that person is undertaking studies. The stereotype against the Muslims has taken a wide form to the extent that the Muslims are discriminated in particular countries.

References

INTELCOM. (n.d.). How pre-existing Beliefs Distort Logical reasoning. Web.

Mosser, K. (2011). An introduction to logic. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

USNews. (2010). Stereotyping Has Lasting Negative Impact, Prejudice has lingering effects, study shows. Web.

A Duty of Care in Cyberspace and how it relates to cyber terrorism

The internet continues to play a very significant role throughout the world and its demand is expected to increase in all areas, from banking, to telecommunications, to entertainment and to power. Furthermore, it is critical to other essential structures such as health and security. While this service remains important, it is still compounded by a number of insecurities and exposed to attacks from cyber terrorists or zombies. The main challenge is that todays internet can effectively be attacked by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks that are always from unsophisticated sources. Contractual liability in the cyber attacks is unavailable to the victims of DDoS. Henderson (2002) asserts this by demonstrating that although software manufacturers attempt to waive essentially all liability in shrink-wrap and other contracts, it is at least theoretically possible for a purchaser to demand contractual protection for any damage caused by faulty programming. The biggest challenge is that most cases of DDoS attacks involve instances where the victims had no previous form of association with the attackers.

This has the compound effect of complicating the aspect of contractual liability. Restatement (Third) of Torts: General Principles (Discussion Draft 1999) explains that [a]n actor is subject to liability for negligent conduct that is a legal cause of physical harm. Cyber attacks in whatever form causes physical attacks. Henderson (2002) defines physical harm in the context of cyber attack as that term used to include both personal injury and property damage.

Confronting the threat posed by attackers and zombies to the internet security of critical infrastructure still remains a challenge.

The international efforts to combat cyber terrorism

While a number of legislations and security guidelines have been put into use, they still fall short of the minimum internet safe security levels (Verton, 2002). These include Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) that regulate the health sector and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999 that seeks to regulate our financial sector that remains highly exposed to the attackers. Described as technologically neutral, these legislations require additional security measures to effectively address the threat of cyber attacks. Other efforts to combat cyber terrorism include the formation of the multi-agency National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), headed by the FBI and are responsible for the national critical infrastructure threat assessment, warning, vulnerability, and law enforcement investigation and response entity. Henderson (2002).

The admissibility and acquisition of evidence related to computer crime

The admissibility and acquisition of evidence related to computer crime is still as complicated and controversial as the crime itself. According to the Draft Restatement (Third) of Torts (1999), [a]n actor is negligent if, without excuse, the actor violates a statute that is designed to protect against the type of accident the actors conduct causes, and if the accident victim is within the class of persons the statute is designed to protect. This means that the plaintiffs, in their attempts to make a strong case, are most likely to point out at the aspect of negligence. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (1994 & Supp. V 1999) expounds that it is not a defense to liability that damage would not have occurred but for the malicious, and indeed criminal and actions of a third party, where those actions were foreseeable in that the conduct of a defendant can lack reasonable care insofar as it can foreseeably combine with or bring about the improper conduct of the plaintiff or a third party.

A Critique the problem of cyber terrorism and international and local efforts to combat it

The problem of cyber terrorism is indeed real and capable of causing damage to our critical infrastructure. Compared by Henderson (2002) to a car is recalled on account of an unpredictable yet frequent tendency to lose control, it would be negligent to knowingly continue to drive the vehicle without having it serviced. Internet continues to be used globally despite the numerous insecurities. Most of the computer systems within our critical infrastructures and personal computers remain knowingly insecure. This is due to our failure to install software patches that would shield our systems from attackers.

References

Henderson, S. E. (2002). Suing the insecure?: A duty of care in cyberspace. New Mexico Law Review, 32(1), 11-25. Web.

Restatement (Third) Of Torts: General Principles § 3 (Discussion Draft 1999). Web.

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (as amended 1994 and 1996). Section 1030. Fraud and related activity in connection with computers.

Verton, D. (2002). Critical infrastructure systems face threat of cyber attacks. Computerworld, 36(2), 8.

Introduction

One of the two American white supremacists that used terrorism to further their racial objectives was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Whether a cause is legitimate, individuals have always harbored genuine emotions against something or someone. These groups often focus on a specific race of individuals. One of these organizations that are particularly well-known and frequently mentioned is the Ku Klux Klan or KKK. Their main argument is that white people are better than those of other ethnicities. The KKK is not a recent development, yet it is still widespread. Between December 1865 and the summer of 1866, six college students in the Tennessee town of Pulaski founded the first KKK.¹ It had begun as a fraternity where members participated in activities like dressing up and riding horses late at night.

William J. Simmons was an American celebrant and fraternal manager who created and managed the corresponding Ku Klux Klan. He saw the 1915 motion picture Birth of a Nation, which depicts the reconstruction but from the viewpoint of a KKK member.²William was motivated by this to reformat the KKK. Given that the United States was receiving a massive influx of immigrants, he was in the right place at the right time. When World War I started, the KKK pledged to defend the home front against other racial factions, claiming to be purely benevolent. By 1921, the Ku Klux Klan membership had risen dramatically, reaching 100,000 people.³ However, as the KKK increased, so did the level of violence the organization was responsible for, which, with the internal strife, started to create issues. By the time of the Great Depression, the KKK had once more split into smaller groups and had diminished in size. Even though KKK faced several vulnerabilities, it had strong leadership, financial and recruiting support networks, an operating environment, and strategies that enabled it to conduct significant attacks and attain its objective of terrorism attacks.

The Leadership

In the summertime in Nashville, Tennessee, the Klan was established as the Invisible Empire of the South at a contract joined by representatives from previous Confederate states. Great monsters, big giants, and undead monsters were in a pyramid under the leadership of a grand wizard. Grand Wizard is considered to have been Confederate army commander Nathan Bedford Forrest.⁴ Klansmen conducted midnight attacks when they beat and assassinated freedmen and their white friends to terrify superstitious Blacks and prevent recognition by the invading federal forces.¹ A similar organization, the Companions of the White Settlement, was established in Louisiana in 1867.⁵ As white supremacy was being restored, the recently released Black freedmen were the focus of threats and violence from the Klan.

The Klan achieved its pinnacle, which greatly impacted the restoration of white supremacy in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Forrest, however, primarily because of the groups aggressive actions, ordered its dissolution in 1869.⁵ Local branches eventually persisted, and as a result, Congress established the Ku Klux Klan Act (1871) and the Force Act (1870).⁶ The laws forbade the right to habeas corpus, severely punished terrorist organizations, and gave the president the power to use force to end disturbance. In 1871, a court hearing was formed in Columbia, South Carolina, to examine the Klans operations.⁵ The Ku Klux Klan Item vanished because the original aim of the 1870s, which was to restore white dominance in the South, was essentially accomplished.⁶ The attainment abridged the necessity for a concealed anti-black organization.

Roy Moore became the KKK commander because he had witnessed the Klan in operation and understood what he was up against. Moore sent Jackson a report the morning following July holiday and announced the offices official opening with Hoover and others in a city-rented bank facility a week later. Numerous media outlets covered the infamous Mississippi Burning case, which paved the way for critical civil rights legislation.⁷ The agents who worked for Moore and supported him thought highly of him. In the 1960s, Moores management played a significant role in shifting the tide in opposition to the Klan.⁷ After being transferred to Chicago, he retired and moved back to where he spent most of his days. The possibility that Mississippi might have succumbed to the law of the jungle in the 1960s still horrifies Bill Minor, Moores late colleague.⁷ The FBI, which Roy Moore oversaw, was the only reputable law enforcement organization in Mississippi.

Financial/Recruiting Support Networks

Kleagles are the personnel tracking prospective Ku Klux Klan (KKK) followers. The Kleagles remunerated these associates $200 hourly and gave them a cut of the invitation price for each new member.⁸ Making fundamental changes in the economy, politics, and society that favored and supported KKK objectives was necessary for recruiting new KKK members. These objectives supported Americanism and advantages for white Protestant native-born people. With eligible coworkers and personal acquaintances and attempt to recruit them was one of the informal methods used by Klansmen to recruit new members. Protestant educators also sought to join the Klan. The Klan benefited from this recruitment method since it spared them the arduous process of finding new members one at a time and allowed them to gather vast numbers from a single source. This tactic was successful because it enabled the Klan to capitalize on the existing unity among other groups.

Typically, fraternal lodges and Protestant churches were the KKKs prime targets for bloc recruitment. The KKK granted free membership and influential Chaplain status to Protestant clergy, and the recruitment included traveling recruitment drives around the US. Because they were already socially engaged in societal concerns due to their membership in these organizations, Kleagles or Klan recruiters found it easy to access members of groups like churches and fraternal lodges.⁹ Due to the effectiveness of these recruitment efforts, Klan members and the organization used dues to pay for significant purchases such as the Klux Krest, which served as Imperial Expert Simmons new residence. The KKK engaged in humanitarian endeavors to counteract its violent behavior.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Volunteers of America received funds from the Klan, which demonstrated that the group was not anti-black. In addition to demonstrating the KKKs concern for the countrys welfare, these humanitarian endeavors worked as a successful civic relations maneuver by fostering a more favorable impression of the hidden society and luring recruits. Potential Klansmen were drawn to the invisible empire because of its attraction and anonymity in the public eye. Klansmen enjoyed a kinship-like tie from membership and the empowerment of belonging to a covert empire. Future recruits were impressed by the activities and events that Klan members planned because they featured family picnics and other communal gatherings that promoted camaraderie.¹⁰ Like other fraternal-like groups, these activities promoted ideas while also serving as formal social gatherings.

Operating Environment

Ku Klux Klan (KKK) provided white southerners with a platform to resist Republican policies that intended to provide Black Americans political and socioeconomic opportunities during the Founding of the country. Its members waged a covert operation of harassment and violence targeting Republican officials, black and white. Despite restrictions by Congress to curb Klan violence, Democratic triumphs in South Carolina legislatures in the 1870s allowed the group to accomplish its primary goalrestoring white supremacy.¹¹ White Protestant pro-government parties revived the Klan at the start of the 20th century when it had dwindled in popularity.¹¹ This group planned rallies, marches, and burning crosses while attacking people. The Ku Klux Klan also grew increasingly active during the human era of the 1960s, physically assaulting Black and White activists.

The primary Ku Klux Klan organization was founded as a communal weapon in Pulaski in by a group that comprised several previous Confederate troops. Rumor has it that the administrations name is translated from the expression kyklos, which denotes circle. In 1867, resident Klan organizations assembled for a national organizing agreement and recognized what they called an unknown kingdom of the South.⁵ Nathan Bedford Forrest was chosen to be the first frontrunner of the Klan, or great wizard. Congress marked the beginning of one of the most revolutionary aspects of the Restoration.⁵ The Ku Klux Klan began a covert campaign of violence against Democratic supporters and leaders to reverse the consequences of Reformation and restore white superiority in the South (both Black and White).

In Louisiana, the White Brethren and the Musketeers of the White settlement were both created and took part in this fight. By 1870, there were chapters of the Ku Klux Klan in practically every southern public.⁵ The Klan had no clear leadership or organizational structure in its peak. Local Klansmen typically conducted their operations at night while acting alone to thwart Radical Restoration and reestablish white supremacy in the South. They occasionally wore clothes, but more often than not, they were shrouded in the groups recognized lengthy white robes and costumes.⁵ Eight Black inmates were executed in January 1871 when 500 hooded men attacked the Union Correctional Facility in South Carolina, one of the most well-known hubs of Klan activity.⁵ Therefore, in contrast to other regions of the South where it was less prevalent, Klan activity increased in specific locations, typically where Black individuals were either a minority or a slight majority of the people.

Strategies

The KKK group was remarkably highly organized and was denoted as the Imperceptible Empire. The Grand Wizard was the title of the KKKs national leader. It was divided into smaller communities known as Klaverns. Members must be American, white, Protestant, and 16 years old. They also donned white robes and hoods to conceal their identities. The Klan targeted all non-Protestants, recent settlers, and black Americans in the 1920s.¹² They used a variety of tactics to intimidate people they termed inferior. As one form of intimidation, groups of Klansmen marched through the streets while carrying posters with violent threats. Klansmen set fire to large wooden crosses near homes to frighten the locals.

Terror prevented Black Americans from registering to vote. They engaged in violent acts against specific groups they thought were jeopardizing the American living style such as kidnapping, hanging, whipping, mutilation, and murder, which were known as lynchings. By 1920, the Klan had started to gain a substantial following, which increased support brought on by several factors. Some of these elements include the KKK blaming the substantial inflow of immigrants into the country for the rising unemployment rate. Particularly during World War One, Black Americans moved to northern cities. As a result, competition for jobs and residences arose. Many poor white people joined the KKK, hoping other societies would defend their way of life.

People of color thought they were superior to black immigrants. They were split up into ghetto communities in the northern cities. Battles between blacks and whites existed in the North, where living standards were horrendous. It is challenging to determine the exact number of males who were members of the Klan because of its secrecy. According to estimates, the Klan had several supporters at its height. However, it is undeniable that the Klan had the clout to stage marches through Washington, DC. It had a significant impact on American society. Judges, businesspeople, police officers, state governors, and senators were among the members.

Vulnerabilities

The Roaring Twenties were a fascinating era full of inventiveness and adventure, with everything from the intrigue of talking films to the usefulness of mass-produced Model Ts. From the flappers planned social upheaval to Duke Ellingtons unconventional jazz compositions, from Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earharts breakthrough aviation endeavors to William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgeralds groundbreaking literary creations, history has been disrupted in numerous ways.¹³ During this period, which was also chaotic, vicious, and powerful, gangsters and racketeers fostered a rising underworld of corruption and crime. Al Capone and his rival Bugs Moran had established influential, rivalry-based criminal organizations that controlled the streets of Chicago as the early Mafia expanded in New York and other places, running various gambling, moonshiners, and other illegal activities.

The Ku Klux Klan, often known as the KKK, quickly grew, contributing to lawlessness. The KKK reached six figures in membership in the 1920s under the management of Colonel William Simmons and marketing whiz Edward Young Clarke. By the decades end, the group had grown to several million associates.³ The KKK posed a menace to public order and safety.¹⁴ J. Louisianas state, John M. Parker, requested the national govt for assistance since the situation had gotten so bad. The governor has been unable to utilize the mail, telephone, or phone due to interference by the Klan. Two white males were mysteriously killed, which brought the matter to a head in Mer Rouge, according to Hoover. He claimed that the governor was seeking assistance due to several factors, including the fact that local councils are inert and that he thought judges and attorneys had been corrupted. McKain was detained and accused of murdering the two men.

The Klan obstructed the trial despite the National Guards presence by kidnapping witnesses and employing other strategies. The grand jury made the decision not to press charges. However, other KKK members who participated in the murders were made to pay fines or serve brief prison sentence.³ Despite the Agencys efforts, the KKK proved challenging to remove in some areas due to its stronghold. However, the Klans membership rapidly shrank as word of leadership problems emerged and individuals like Edward Young Clarke were given prison sentences.

Attacks that Are Important or Critical

The KKK participated in several events during the Tulsa Racial Tensions, including murder, the explosion of the 16th Avenue Methodist Church, and the burning of the congregation. Locals began looting when a Black man was accused of assaulting a White woman, killing numerous Black people.¹⁵ W. Tate Brady, the Tulsa KKKs founder, participated in the revolt. Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black kid, was brutally abused before being gunned. His face was irreparably changed as a result of the beating. As he walked to a nearby business, one of his eyes was punched out of its socket for nothing more than allegedly flirting with a White woman. Black handyman Edward Aaron was kidnapped by the KKK, brutally attacked, and castrated with a razor before being abandoned for dead in a nearby creek.⁷ Klansmen kidnaped Willie Edwards, brutally attacked him inside his automobile, and threatened him. A Black churchs basement was meticulously bombed as Sunday school was about to end. While demonstrating against the KKKs gathering in California, three people were attacked.

Detailed Analysis

The group achieved any of its primary objectives of furthering racial differences through violence. To frighten prejudiced Blacks and stop them from recognizing the invading federal forces, Klansmen carried out midnight raids in which they beat and killed formerly enslaved people and their white companions.¹ The recently emancipated Black freemen became the target of violence and threats from the Klan as white supremacy was being reinstated. Democratic victories in South Carolina governments permitted the group to achieve its primary goalrestoring white supremacydespite constraints imposed by Congress to stop Klan violence.

A Black boy named Emmett Till suffered horrific maltreatment before being shot. The recently emancipated Black freemen became the target of threats and aggression from the Klan as white supremacy was being reinstated. The Associates of the White White community, a comparable group, was founded in Louisiana in 1867.⁷ Edward Aaron, a black handyman, was taken hostage by the KKK, viciously assaulted, and mutilated with a blade before being left dead in a creek nearby.⁷ Willie Edwards was abducted by Klansmen, who then viciously beat and threatened him inside his car. As the Seminary was about to end, the basement of a Black church was carefully bombed. Three people were assaulted while protesting a KKK event in California. Their total defense is that white individuals are superior to members of other races.

Conclusion

As the KKK grew, so did the levels of violence the group was liable for, which, combined with internal conflict, began to cause problems. The KKK had once again been divided into more minor factions by the period of the Great Depression, and its membership had shrunk. Despite having several weaknesses, the KKK had outstanding leadership, recruitment and monetary help networks, a working environment, and techniques that allowed it to carry out substantial attacks and achieve its goal of terrorism attacks. Ku Klux Klan gave white southerners a platform to oppose Republican programs that gave Black Americans socioeconomic and political opportunities. Its followers ran a covert campaign of terrorization and ferocity against Republican bureaucrats, both black and white. For the KKK to continue to grow, fundamental changes had to be made in society, politics, and the economy that supported and promoted its goals.

References

Aziz, S. F. (2021). The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom. Univ of California Press.

Chacón, M. L., Jensen, J. L., & Yntiso, S. (2021). Sustaining Democracy with Force: Black Representation During Reconstruction. Journal of Historical Political Economy, 1(3), 319-351. Web.

Davis. (2020). 12 Horrific Crimes Committed By The KKK Between 1921 And 2016. Essence. Web.

Houck, D. W. (2022). Black Bodies in the River: Searching fo r Freedom Summer. Univ. Press of Mississippi.

KasiDski, K. (2021). The Nation of Joiners. The image of Ku Klux Klan in Polish press of 19201940s. Rocznik Historii Prasy Polskiej, (2). Web.

KKK Series. (n.d.). fbi.gov. Web.

Ku Klux Klan  History. (n.d.). Cusd80. Web.

Ku Klux Klan. (n.d.). Britannica. Web.

Laackman, D. W. (2020). Selling Hate: Marketing the Ku Klux Klan. University of Georgia Press.

Madison, J. H. (2020). The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland. Indiana University Press.

McEwan, P. (2022). Cinemas Original Sin: DW Griffith, American Racism, and the Rise of Film Culture. University of Texas Press.

Revival of the Ku Klux Klan. (n.d.). Britannica. Web.

Footnotes

1. Ku Klux Klan  History. (n.d.). Cusd80. Web.
2. McEwan, P. (2022). Cinemas Original Sin: DW Griffith, American Racism, and the Rise of Film Culture. University of Texas Press.
3. KasiDski, K. (2021). The Nation of Joiners. The image of Ku Klux Klan in Polish press of 19201940s. Rocznik Historii Prasy Polskiej, (2). Web.
4. Ku Klux Klan. (n.d.). Britannica. Web.
5. Smallwood, J. M., Howell, K. W., & Taylor, C. C. (2019). The Devils Triangle: Ben Bickerstaff, Northeast Texans, and the War of Reconstruction in Texas. University of North Texas Press.
6. Chacón, M. L., Jensen, J. L., & Yntiso, S. (2021). Sustaining Democracy with Force: Black Representation During Reconstruction. Journal of Historical Political Economy, 1(3), 319-351. Web.
7. KKK Series. (n.d.). fbi.gov. Web.
8. Houck, D. W. (2022). Black Bodies in the River: Searching for Freedom Summer. Univ. Press of Mississippi.
9. Laackman, D. W. (2020). Selling Hate: Marketing the Ku Klux Klan. University of Georgia Press.
10. Madison, J. H. (2020). The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland. Indiana University Press.
11. Revival of the Ku Klux Klan. (n.d.). Britannica. Web.
12. Aziz, S. F. (2021). The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom. Univ of California Press.
13. KKK Series. (n.d.). fbi.gov. Web.
14. KKK Series. (n.d.). fbi.gov. Web.
15. Davis. (2020). 12 Horrific Crimes Committed By The KKK Between 1921 And 2016. Essence. Web.

Introduction

Today, the media plays an important role in the life of any person living in a developed society. We rely on the media for information and entertainment and obtain the vast part of our knowledge about world politics through mass media sources, such as newspapers, television, or the Internet. In times of disaster, media becomes the primary source of information. Natural disasters, wars, and terrorism are widely broadcasted in the news and discussed online.

In the case of a terror attack, media broadcasting has many consequences, both beneficial and undesirable. This paper aims to analyze the psychological influence of media broadcasting of terrorist activities and to argue that, because the majority of these effects are negative, the media broadcasting of terror attacks should be limited.

Psychological Impact

The psychological impact that media broadcasting has on people is justified by their dependency on the media. Lowrey (2004) studied media dependency in the aftermath of 9/11 terror attacks. The author explains the media systems dependency theory, which states that mass media are perceived to be able to satisfy the needs for information and sense-making in times of severe social disruption.

Indeed, terror attacks, among other disasters, shake the entire society, and the people are willing to get more information about the victims, the attackers, and the investigation process. Moreover, the dependency on the media may be higher after terror attacks than after other disasters, as the people fear that more attacks are about to happen: according to Lowrey (2004), perception of threat is the most important determinant of overall media dependency (p. 354).

Natural catastrophes only affect certain regions, and the threat is announced in advance; terror attacks, on the other hand, are unpredictable. Therefore, when people see a terror attack on the news, they begin to fear for their safety, even if the attack occurred in a different part of the country. The increased dependency on the media in the aftermath of terror attacks means that all segments of the population will be affected by the media broadcasting, including victims, their families, and the general population.

Victims

The primary victims of terrorism are those who were directly affected by the terror attack, i.e. they were part of the events (Silke, 2003). Victims are considered to be the most vulnerable group in the aftermath of any terror attack. Yet, the media coverage of attacks strives to show the eyewitness interviews and telling stories of the victims. The main psychological effect of media broadcasting of terror attacks on the victims is thus the difficulty in coping and increased trauma. Studies show that extensive media broadcast increases the symptoms of PTSD that can continue long after the event (Holman, Garfin, & Silver, 2014).

This is especially prominent in the primary victims. The PTSD symptoms are directly related to the persons memory of traumatic events. Seeing the footage of the attack, thus, causes the person to remember the events more clearly, which can impair the treatment of PTSD and coping mechanisms. Moreover, depression and phobias that developed following the attack can be worsened by the increased media attention (Silke, 2003).

Families

Families and friends are considered to be the secondary victims of terror attacks (Silke, 2003). This group is considerably larger than the first one and can thus suffer from collective trauma, which can also be worsened by the broadcasting of terror activities. Moreover, media broadcasting can serve to enhance the peoples emotions triggered by the attack, such as anger or fear. Lerner, Gonzales, Small, and Fischoff (2003) explain that these emotions are among the most common in the aftermath of terror attacks. Friends and families of the victims, on the other hand, are expected to experience anger rather than fear. Media broadcasting can increase anxiety, irritability, and grief in this group of people, thus impairing their coping mechanisms and prolonging the trauma.

The General Population

Depending on the scale of the event, the general population may represent the rest of the countrys citizens or even people from other areas of the world. This is due to the fact that the events with a high victim count receive more attention in the international media. Large-scale events, such as the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 or the 2016 Orlando club shooting, are widely broadcasted all over the world and can thus affect a larger number of people psychologically and emotionally.

The three main psychological effects of media broadcasting on the general population are collective trauma, fear, and anger. Collective trauma is a phenomenon that is especially prominent following the terror attacks. According to Holman et al. (2014), collective trauma means that the people who were not directly connected to the traumatic event, i.e. the attack, experience the same symptoms as the primary and secondary victims.

Similarly, Hayden (2001) explains that in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, people all around the country expressed symptoms of PTSD, such as emotional distress, hypervigilance, sleep disorders, irritability, and nightmares, even if no one from their family or friend circle was a victim of the attack. Collective trauma is widely attributed to media broadcasting. The disturbing footage, victim interviews, recordings of 911 calls, text messages found on victims phones  all of these are widely distributed in the aftermath of a terror attack. For instance, after the Orlando club shooting, the media released a series of text messages from one of the victims to his mother.

Those chilling messages were distributed all over the world by the news and social networks. According to Silke (2003), people experience collective trauma as they identify with the victims. Event footage, interviews, and other disturbing information that is broadcasted on the media, thus promote the process of identification with the victims, worsening the trauma.

Fear and anger are the most common emotional responses to terrorism, as outlined by Lerner et al. (2003). Fear is strongly associated with trauma and is manifested in anxiety, sleep disorders, nightmares, and phobias. Nevertheless, fear can also have a positive effect, as it can lead to people being more cautious and wary. In a sample of 973 Americans, Lerner et al. (2003) found that fear increased the perceived risk levels, thus leading people to take precautionary measures.

Anger, on the other hand, is a far less desirable consequence of terrorism. In particular, the media portrayal of terrorism can lead to people stigmatizing and discriminating certain religious and ethnic groups. For example, a study by Persson and Musher-Eizenman (2005) showed that young people who reported high levels of daily news exposure following a terror attack were more prejudiced towards African Americans and Arabs. The particular frames used by media agents in the aftermath of terror attacks have led to the belief that the Islamic culture and religion is responsible for terror and violence. The anger and prejudice against a certain cultural group are a significant threat to the multicultural society of the United States, as it can cause an increase in hate crimes.

Limiting Broadcast

They discussed the psychological effects of media broadcasting of terrorism are predominantly negative or even dangerous to society. The key benefit of limited media broadcast is that the effect of terror attacks on the victims, their families, and the general population will be less prominent. By limiting the rights of news channels to release disturbing images and victim interviews, for instance, the government will allow for enhanced coping and faster recovery of the victims and their families.

Furthermore, as the collective trauma is largely blamed on the increased media coverage, the prevalence of this phenomenon will be lower, which will lead to a decrease in the prominence of PTSD symptoms in the general population. Overall, the nation will be able to recover from the attack much faster. Moreover, the limited broadcast will create a weaker emotional response. This can be beneficial, as the people will be less likely to show anger and prejudice towards certain cultural and ethnic groups.

The objective, factual portrayal of the events would provide fewer opportunities for hate crimes and social dissidence, which will enhance the security and help to prevent further attacks. Finally, Silke (2003) argues that collective trauma, fear, and emotional response are among the key desired outcomes for terrorists. Terror attacks are designed to create significant turmoil in society and incite fear. By limiting the media coverage of terror attacks, the government can control the peoples responses to them, thus showing that future terror attacks will not achieve the desired effect.

The main disadvantage, however, is that limiting the media broadcast affects peoples rights to freedom of speech and freedom of information. American society is built on democratic values that emphasize the importance of allowing people to spread and access information freely. Limiting the media broadcast, on the other hand, may lead to the dissatisfaction of people and impair their trust in the government.

Nevertheless, I believe that the benefits of limiting the media coverage of terror attacks far outweigh its implications. By providing a dry and factual summary of the events, the media will be less likely to trigger intense emotional respondents, which will allow the country to recover faster and discourage further attacks. The limitation of media broadcasts can also help to ensure that no undesired effects are produced on children. According to the study by Comer, Furr, Beidas, Weiner, and Kendall (2008), exposure to detailed news coverage of terrorism triggers anxiety and increased threat perceptions in children. Ensuring that the news only provides factual information that is valuable to the citizens safety will also allow for reduced anxiety and fear among the children.

Conclusion

Overall, it is clear that the role of media in the aftermath of terror attacks is prominent and important. People rely on the media for information about the victims, the attackers, and the governments response. The freedom of speech and information has led to media broadcasts becoming more and more detailed and disturbing, which can trigger a variety of undesirable psychological consequences both in the victims and in the general population.

These psychological consequences can affect the recovery process and pose a threat to the safety and security of people by increasing the prevalence of hate crimes. Although the limitation of media broadcasting would conflict with the core American values, it is a necessary measure to ensure faster recovery of the nation after the attack, as well as to discourage terrorists from using violence in the future.

References

Comer, J. S., Furr, J. M., Beidas, R. S., Weiner, C. L., & Kendall, P. C. (2008). Children and terrorism-related news: training parents in coping and media literacy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(4), 568-578.

Hayden, D. C. (2001). Media personnel and the psychological effects of disaster. Television Broadcasts DigitalTV, 24(10), 32-34. Web.

Holman, E. A., Garfin, D. R., & Silver, R. C. (2014). Medias role in broadcasting acute stress following the Boston Marathon bombings. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(1), 93-98.

Lerner, J. S., Gonzalez, R. M., Small, D. A., & Fischhoff, B. (2003). Effects of fear and anger on perceived risks of terrorism: A national field experiment. Psychological science, 14(2), 144-150.

Lowrey, W. (2004). Media dependency during a large-scale social disruption: The case of September 11. Mass Communication & Society, 7(3), 339-357.

Persson, A. V., & Musher-Eizenman, D. R. (2005). College students attitudes toward Blacks and Arabs following a terrorist attack as a function of varying levels of media exposure. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35(9), 1879-1892.

Silke, A. (Ed.). (2003). Terrorists, victims and society: Psychological perspectives on terrorism and its consequences. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.