Word count: maximum 2,000 words (not including bibliography)
Referencing Requirements:
1. Read chapter 13 entitled ‘The Taxation of Household Savings’ (pp. 283 – 317)from the second volume of the Mirrlees review. A copy of the second volume can
be found on Blackboard in the ‘Assignments’ folder.
A full copy of the report (volumes one and two) can be found by following the link below, but this is for information only and you are not required to read
both volumes for the purposes of the assignment: http://www.ifs.org.uk/mirrleesReview
2. Evaluate the recommendation to provide a tax system with a neutral treatment of life-cycle savings for the vast majority of taxpayers (as described in
chapter 13). Your evaluation should include:
a) A description of the current system (taxation of household savings in general);
b) a description of the proposed recommendations;
c) the purpose for providing a tax system with a neutral treatment of life-cycle savings for the vast majority of taxpayers.
d) your opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of the proposals; and
e) a description and explanation of the type of potential winners and losers of such a move (certain groups of individuals and organisations).
Additional marks will be provided for:
i. Strength of your evaluation;
ii. other relevant points made by you as part of your evaluation; PTO
iii. inclusion of relevant theories and concepts to support your work; and
iv. use of referencing to other academic research relevant to this particular topic.
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Be sure to address the following:
• Background/Historical perspective on your topic
• Current issues related to your topic
• Your professional experiences/opinions about your topic
• Make sure to use properly cited academic references to support this information
Criteria
Content Position or thesis is very credible, logical, research sources are credible and sufficient to support arguments
Organization ; Clarity Concepts presented are clearly organized and easy to understand, early information leads to later information, coherently
summarized
Creativity ;Interest Presents new ideas and/or old ideas in interesting ways, writing style is formal but maintains interest, includes real-world
applications
Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation, APA Formatting
Grammar is appropriate, spelling, punctuation, and APA formatting is accurate
* Please include a proposal that broadly outlines your ideas for the topic “Maternity” including:
– chosen topic “Maternity”
– why you are interested in that topic
– two or three current or important issues related to that topic
– at least one article or reference related to your topic with a correctly formatted citation
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This paper describes The difference between unemployment and a policy of not hiring in the Arab countries.
This paper includes an introduction and literature and the goal and objectives of the assistance and research methodology and results and a conclusion and references. This study is based on previous studies and the report of an international and not be of a field study.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
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American Military University
MGMT311
Dr. Jean D. Francis (professor)
For this final assignment, I would like you to put everything you have learned over the last 7 weeks to work! I would like you to identify a management issue at your current place of employment. If you are not currently employed, you can do a bit of research and find an issue that exists at another company.
Using the concepts that you have learned in this course, come up with a solution to this problem. This paper must be at least 5 pages in length (not including the cover and reference page). You also need to do some research. You are not an expert (not yet, anyway!), so you will need to find experts that support your ideas. An excellent paper will include at least 5 different sources (including the text). Please make sure you use the terminology from the text to explain both the problem as well as your proposed solution.
Your paper should be in proper APA format. Follow this link to the library where you can find detailed information regarding this type of formatting. apus.campusguides.com/content.php
Reference
Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2012), Organizational behavior (1.1 ed.). Nyack, NY: Flat World Knowledge.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Workplace Alcohol Consumption
Workplaces usually deal with a lot of challenges due to employees’ conduct, which interfere with their working performance output. Among the problems faced in the workplace is excessive alcohol intake. Problems associated to alcohol intake and drugs may be as a result of social factors, personal, family or work associated situations, or as result of a blend of all those elements. Alcohol intake in addition to extending adverse health impacts it also negatively affects the wellbeing of workers; it also may cause work-associated problems such as a weakening in job performance. Alcohol intake by particular workers also causes problems to other workers since they might cause disturbance or conflict.
Alcohol in Workplaces
Whilst the elimination of alcohol usage is highly desirable, past experiences has indicated plenty of challenges in dealing with alcohol intake in workplaces. Workplaces require putting up policies to help the employees with alcohol intake problems. Workplace programs towards preventing and decreasing alcohol associated problem amongst staff possess significant potential due to a number of reasons (Bauer & Erdogan, 2012). For instance, the actuality that the staffs spend lots of time in workplaces, supervisors and coworkers have the chance to notice a developing alcohol problem. Additionally employers are capable of using their influence to motivate staffs to seeking help for alcohol intake problems (International Labour Office, 1996). Over time however workplaces have started to neglect the task of dealing with alcohol intake programs: alcohol intake has begun to be taken as a usual problem with the supervisors lightly dealing with it. The decrease in workplace attention towards alcohol problem shows the urgent need for creating as well as sustaining a policy for maintaining alcohol interventions in workplaces (Dronet, 1999). This article will illustrate the opportunities workplaces offer for preventing alcohol-associated issues along with various programs available that workplaces could adopt.
Workplace Prevention Opportunities
The workplace offers a number of potential opportunities for executing alcohol abuse deterrence programs, they include (Roman & Blum, 2014);
Full-time staffs spend a considerable amount of time at work, heightening the probability of exposure to preventive programs provided via the workplace. The possibility that drinking problem evidence might be visible is also very high.
Work occupies a very important function in employees’ lives. Since many of the employees have roles in their family and community which rely on them to maintain their employment status in addition to the prestige that tags along, the association amongst employer and employee possesses an extent of leverage. Therefore, the employer has the right to demand sufficient levels of job performance. Thus if the employee infringes the requirement the employer may withdraw some privileges such as pay to motivate the employee change their behavior
The majority of the employees are adults asking the workplace a perfect setting to contact a huge population.
Primary and Secondary Prevention within Workplace
Workplace programs comprise of primary as well as secondary prevention. The primary prevention strategies are aimed at preventing the alcohol problems from arising, whereas the secondary prevention aims at reducing prevailing problems or difficulties (Slavit, Reagin, & Finch, 2010). Researchers have indicated that workplaces over stresses on secondary prevention at the expense of primary prevention. Primary prevention is mainly cost-effective as compared to the expensive secondary prevention. The prevention of alcohol consumption is hindered by the fact that adults are allowed by the law to consume alcohol. Thus, employers are rarely positioned to prevent staffs from initiating alcohol intake as an off-job practice (Roman & Blum, 2014). All together employers require staffs to undertake their jobs properly without disrupting or endangering fellow workers activities.
Alcohol problems within the workplace may be identified through several events: firstly, the association of drinking practice with performance output problems, for instance, poor-quality work pattern, problem of work attendance or interaction issues with employees Secondly, employees admission that they have alcohol intake problems and that they require assistance. Thirdly, coworkers may confirm that a particular individual has an alcohol intake problem.
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
This is the main prevalent intervention utilized in addressing alcohol problems. The EAPs possess varying features, which set them apart from prevention strategies utilized in other settings (Safework, 2010). The objective of EAPs prevents employment loss as well as assuring employed individuals the continuity of their careers. EAPS thus prevent the dire consequences brought about by the employee’s job loss. The EAPs are implemented in a number of ways through referrals.
EAP Referral Routes
Within the initial development stages of the EAP, researchers have proposed that it would be ideal to primarily attract self-referrals. Significant levels of referrals would boost the program’s credibility through demonstration of consumer confidence (Roman & Blum, 2014). Researches where EAPS have been implemented indicate self-referrals numbers were rising day by day. Employees joint the EAP program due to the fact that it is provided by the employer, they are assured of confidentiality and it extends professional help (Bauer & Erdogan, 2012). Informal referrals: this route is prompted through significant social interaction between employer and employee. About 80 percent of referrals are usually takes this route (Hseni, 2009). Though originally EAPS were developed to take the route of formal referrals, informal referral is mainly preferred by employers as well as employees. Its only limitation is the absence of official records of a staff’s EAP referral. Formal referrals: this route is taken when external intervention is needed. Such referrals are usually initiated by supervisors following a detection of deteriorating job performance which may not be explained by the work conditions. Employers are required to contact EAP staff prior to taking any action to ensure conformity of workplace rules (Roman & Blum, 2014). The supervisor is supposed to first confront the employee demanding an explanation along with presenting evidence poor work performance to the staff. If the employee fails to change then they are referred to the EAP.
EAP’s role in Relapse Prevention and Follow Up
Relapse prevention comprises of diverse range of interventions. Relapse is regarded as a kind of primary prevention strategy (Hseni, 2009). EAPs as well as workplaces occupy a very important function in relapse prevention. The opportunities for relapse prevention rely on the work nature in addition to accessibility for staffs who are attempting to maintain recovery (Roman & Blum, 2014). Follow up within the workplace since the employees progress is easily observable due to the fact that the report to work on a daily basis or regularly.
Complements to EAPs
Research has indicated that a majority of the employed individuals drink heavily when they are out of work. This leads to varying adverse consequences and problems. Among these problems are hangovers. Recent studies have showed that hangovers possess huge effects on work performance (Bauer & Erdogan, 2012). Hangovers impact cognitive as well as motor functions developing risks of negative judgment, injuries in addition to interpersonal conflict. Thus, employers have legitimate reasons for motivating workers to change their alcohol drinking patterns indefinitely due to its effect. The following programs are the complements to EAPs. Alcohol Education Programs: this method form the principal way of addressing staffs’ out of job drinking (Roman & Blum, 2014). These programs are carried out within the workplace. These programs are normally linked to the EAP or a health promotion plan or both. The objective of the alcohol education program is usually encouraging behavioral change.
Health Promotion Program motivates staffs to adjust their drinking tendencies. Once health issues such as high blood pressure, gastric problems or weight are located during health risk survey undertaken within the workplace, the health worker in charge could suggest a decrease in drinking alcohol as a method preventing the primary symptoms (Roman & Blum, 2014). Peer intervention: employee alcohol education can train peers to extend assistance towards one another. The peer intervention programs may be greatly useful for countering the early behavioral problems (Safework, 2010). Though it is not applicable in all settings, peer intervention is an additional complement of EAPs.
Risk Factors within the Workplace Environment
Research has examined a number of work-related factors, which may contribute to the alcohol taking problem (Roman & Blum, 2014). In addition to EAPs and its complements employers require to also look at the following elements. Stress: studies have indicated considerable association amongst work place stress and heightened alcohol consumption levels. Employers could alleviate this by enhancing job satisfaction (Hseni, 2009). Alienation: alienation from work by employees has strongly been linked to alcohol taking tendencies. Worker alienation may be reduced through participative management
Conclusion
Alcohol problems are constantly impacting negatively on workplaces through reducing worker output as well as performance. The employers have a duty to adopt programs such as EAPs in addition to other supplements to eradicate alcohol usage. Employers possess a duty to transform the lives of their workers to enable them live fruitful lives. Additionally, as indicated earlier terminating workers’ jobs is never a solution to dealing with alcohol problems. It is only through improvement of workplace environment that the drinking problem may be eliminated. The primary prevention programs are the mainly useful in workplaces as such employers require to alleviate drinking problems way before they take place. Primary prevention programs are usually very cost effective and mainly impactful,
References
Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2012), Organizational behavior (1.1 ed.). Nyack,
NY: Flat World Knowledge.
For this assignment, you need to review chapter 11 in the text.
Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2012), Organizational behavior (1.1 ed.). Nyack, NY: Flat World Knowledge.
In addition, you need to read chapters 8, 9, 10 and 11 in Accounting in a Nutshell.
Please refer to the bottom of page 287 in Accounting in a Nutshell. Read Self Test Question 4. I would like you to use the information from this question to respond to the following:
•What decision making model would you use to make this decision?
•Are any of the decision-making traps discussed in our text in danger of clouding your judgement?
•Would any of the tools and techniques for making better decisions assist us in this decision?
•What is your final decision and why?
Please be aware that I am not asking you to provide the calculations for this problem. While I would like you to understand how the problem is solved, the solutions are at the end of the section, so you should have the accurate information to make your final decision. The point of this paper is for you to apply the decision making techniques to the area of managerial accounting. In addition, use the above bullets as a guide for your paper…I do not want to see these listed as individual sections within your paper.
This paper should include 3-5 pages of content with an additional cover and reference page. This is a total of 5-7 pages.
Your paper should be written in proper APA format. This link will take you to the section of the APUS library that can assist you with your formatting apus.campusguides.com/content.php.
Effective management requires that leaders adopt suitable models that are in line with their short and long-term goals (Walker, 2009). The consideration of this aspect is often significant when it comes to the making of decision affecting organization’s operations. Since leaders are always involved in the establishment of decisions that possess significant impacts on their firms, they should ensure that they comprehend the various decision-making frameworks alongside what it required for efficient decision-making (Bauer & Erdogan, 2012). One of the significant aspects that should be taken into consideration during decision-making is critical thinking.
Pareto Analysis and SWOT Analysis
Taking into consideration the issue facing BSE Veterinary Services, rational decision-making should be adopted in this organization. This BSE’s management is faced with the problem of selecting a suitable method that can be employed in the realization of maximum gains within the shortest time possible. The firm is required to increase its output to 18,000 laboratory tests so that it can manage to respond effectively to the increasing the demands resulting from the problems experienced with the beef herd. However, the firm’s current output is 12,000 laboratory tests. As such, the organization requires the addition of another shift on its schedule to address this problem. Being that this problem will impact significantly on the organization’s resources, its management should employ a rational-decision making model using tools such as SWOT analysis to accomplish its objectives. Rational decision making takes into consideration the aspect of following a rational four-step pattern when making decisions (Bauer & Erdogan, 2012). These steps include identification of a problem, generation of solutions, selection of solutions and implementation and evaluation of the solution. This framework is founded on the cognitive assessment of cons and pros. Moreover, it is structured around choosing the most sensible and logical alternative, which can yield the required outcomes. As such, it involves a detailed evaluation of options and a comparative analysis of benefits of each alternative with the aim of picking the most appropriate one.
Some factors that might lead to the clouding of efficient decision-making in relation to the problem facing BSE are unrealistic search for silver-bullet remedies, failure to consider options in an explicit manner and failure to embrace opportunity cost. Searching for silver-bullet may involve looking for complex alternative with minimal effects/results (Walker, 2009). Moreover, the firm’s management may fail to focus on various solutions that can impact positively on the decision-making process, thereby leading to an inefficient decision-making process. The failure to consider the aspect of opportunity may arise from the company’s management disregarding the costs involved in other alternatives, which might be inexpensive.
As a decision-making technique, the SWOT analysis can be employed in making appropriate decisions concerning the problem facing BSE. SWOT analysis takes into consideration aspects of weaknesses and strengths associated with an organization alongside the threats and opportunities to which the firm is exposed. These four aspects are often drawn in 2-by-2 matrix with the aim of making the model read like a series of disadvantages and advantages. This framework is often employed together with other models in handling management issues facing organizations (Bauer & Erdogan, 2012). Focusing on BSE’s weaknesses and strengths in relation to its assets, inventories, staff, financial position and equipment will help the firm’s management in identifying suitable measures of handling the problems. On the other hand, focusing on the opportunities and threats to which the company is exposed will help the management in adopting efficient strategies of addressing the problem. For instance, the company’s management can decide whether to employ new workers or outsource the contract. Besides, the firm’s management can also decide whether to increase its inventories or not.
BSE’s management can also employing feasibility study in determining the level of profitability associated with the new demand or undertaking. For example, the company’s management can decide to perform a study on the effect of increasing the prices of its services on the level of demand or profits. Furthermore, the Pareto Analysis can also be employed in solving the company’s problem. This model often operates on the principle of 80:20, when organizations need to initiate several changes (Walker, 2009). This framework is vital in pointing out areas where initial alterations/changes should be made to be enable firms obtain maximum benefits/gains as early as possible.
Apart from increasing the firm’s output to 18,000 laboratory tests, the firm can also focus on increasing the prices of its services in order to raise its profit margins. Taking into consideration the fact that the demand for the veterinary services is high, the firm’s management should employ the principle of demand and supply in its operations. Increasing the prices of the firm’s services will help the firm realize its objectives in an easier way than when it focuses on increasing its outputs. Therefore, BSE’s management should embrace the idea of increasing the prices of its services or charges/fees of laboratory tests.
In conclusion, selecting an appropriate solution for problems experienced by a company is significant in ensuring that its objectives are met in an effective manner. Therefore, leaders should ensure that they employ decision-making models that are in line with their goals and resource capabilities.
Reference
Bauer, T & Erdogan, B. (2012). Organization Behavior. Nyack, New York: Flat World Knowledge.
Walker, J. (2009). Accounting in a Nutshell : Accounting for the Non-specialist. Amsterdam: Elsevier/CIMA.
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Application: Interpreting Data Outputs Qualitative data analysis (QDA) is the range of processes and procedures whereby raw data are converted into some form of explanation, understanding, or interpretation of the people and situations being investigated. QDA is usually based on an interpretative philosophy to give meaning to collected data. As with all data, analysis and interpretation are required to bring order and understanding to it. After all, a set of numbers or lists of observations are useless without an explanation of why they are important. This requires creativity, discipline, and a systematic approach—there is no single or best way. The best process for a given research situation will depend on the questions that need to be answered and the needs of those who will use the information.
For this Application Assignment, you interpret the outputs of qualitative analyses by examining which variables are significant and what you can conclude from the outputs. Use the qualitative results in the article, “Why Rape Survivors Participate in the Criminal Justice System” for this assignment.
The assignment (2–3 pages):
• Explain your interpretation of the qualitative results in the article, “Why Rape Survivors Participate in the Criminal Justice System,” including which variables are most significant and the conclusions you can draw about the significant variables you identified.
Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are to provide a reference list for all resources, including those in the Learning Resources for this course
SAMPLE ANSWER
Interpreting Data Outputs
The results for this research are divided into two categories: those factors that influence reporting and those that are influential in the continuing of the investigational process. Respondents under these two categories had different reasons as portrayed in their responses. To be able to identify the most significant variables in this data collected and then be able to draw valid conclusions, it is important to first to look into and explain the qualitative results as displayed in the research findings.
Factors Influencing Reporting
There are three primary factors identified by the respondents as the reasons why the rape victims report the rape cases. These included to prevent additional rapes by the offender and to send a warning to the other people who were thinking of committing a similar crime. Others reported because they were encouraged by others to report the case to the police. The last group of people were those who said that they were never actually given a chance to report as the reports were given to the police by other people without their consent (Bachman & Schutt, 2013). The victims whose main reason for reporting was to bar the offenders from doing the same atrocity to themselves or to other women formed the majority, which was almost half of the total responses received. Those who were encouraged by their colleagues to report formed the second largest group as they were slightly past the quarter mark of the total responses, and the rest are those whose reports reached the police without their knowledge.
Influential Factors in Continuing With the Investigational Process
This part also attracted divergent views from the participants. The researcher wanted to know what made the respondents to participate in the process of investigation into the rape cases even as others shied away from the process. Just like in the first category, majority of the respondents here said they did it purposely to protect others from the suffering they went through after the rape. The second group of participants in this category noted that their reason for continued participation in the investigational process was that they had gained confidence on the strength of their case especially after they had interacted with such stakeholders like the police and the forensic nurse examiner. The continued participation of another group was inspired by the treatment they received from the system personnel. The last group in this category noted that they continuously participated because they had no other choice. All these reasons by the different groups should be taken into consideration and not be actually considered as mutually exclusive (Starzynski, Ullman, Filipas & Townsend, 2005).
Conclusion
Rape victims could either report the rape cases or not. Those who report are always inspired to do so by certain factors. Some were also coaxed by others to do so. There are even others who are reluctant up to that point when others take it upon their responsibility to report their predicament. There are also those victims who could choose to continue participating in the investigational process after the report and others who chose to terminate the case by refusing to participate. As has been seen above, those who chose to pursue the case to the end had different reasons to do. The results would thus be useful in drawing conclusions and recommendations on the topic under research.
References
Bachman, R. & Schutt, R. K. (2013). The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice (5th ed.). New York: Sage Publications.
Starzynski, L.L., Ullman, S.E., Filipas, H.H. & Townsend, S.M. (2005). Correlates of women’s sexual assault disclosure to informal and formal support sources. Violence and Victims, 20, 417–432.
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Assignment Details
Open Date Sep 21, 2014 12:00 AM
Graded? Yes
Points Possible 100.0
Re-submissions Allowed? No
Assignment Instructions
This is your final assignment. It will evaluate you understanding of policy, you ability to evaluate cases and if you can apply your knowledge to a hypothetical scenario. I have placed some readings in the last lesson that can help you with the questions.
You have three questions to answer. Remember to answer your questions thoroughly and with substance. Do not just say something. Prove to me you know and understand the material by citing all relevant material. Please attach your response, and name your exam as follows: lastname.intl507.finalessay.doc.
Make sure that you review the writing criteria. This is extremely important because effective writing is an important skill for all graduate students. When writing your papers and exams you want to correct for grammar and composition.
You should also consider building an effective organization for all written work. You want to have a good introductory paragraph that conveys your thesis and organization and that provides a summary of your findings. Etc.
Ensure that you use proper citations.
Question 1:
George Kennan authored a policy document—NSC 10/2—that characterized covert action as those activities “so planned and conducted that any U.S. government responsibility for them is not evident to unauthorized persons and that if uncovered the U.S. government can plausibly disclaim any responsibility for them” (Scott and Rosati 2007).
Is this a realistic expectation for any covert action? Meaning, can we really expect the U.S. hand to remain “hidden” even if the action is discovered? If this is not realistic then why continue with the policy of plausible deniability? Or are there measures that can be put in place to make it a continued viable policy?
Question 2:
Compare any two of the cases discussed in the course (except the Bay of Pigs and the Berlin Tunnel). Base your analysis with the questions provided in the “Lecture Notes” for Week 1:
(1) What was the objective of each operation? Was there an overriding policy imperative or were they missions to gain access to the adversary’s information?
(2) What oversight or legal review occurred during their planning?
(3) Who or which organizations were accountable for the operations? What turf issues arose prior to or during the operations?
(4) What resources were necessary to successfully carry them out?
(5) What was the cost/benefit analysis of each operation? Weigh their risks, especially when they are publicly exposed.
(6) In evaluating each operation, what objectives were achieved and what unintended consequences occurred?
Question 3:
Please review this hypothetical situation and indicate (a) whether covert action is appropriate (b) identify the risks and benefits of a covert action (c) identify legal hurdles and (c) decide whether the President should inform all the relevant Congressional intelligence committees or limit knowledge to the “Gang of Eight.” Take into consideration political ramifications and possible blowback.
Concern has built up over Bashar al-Assad’s hold on power and his actions against the Syrian opposition. Through a variety of sources, the CIA believes it has a reliable asset inside the regime that could either organize a coup or “eliminate” the leader. The President has asked you to give him an honest assessment on the possibilities for both.
Answer thoroughly. Make sure to substantiate your responses.
Submission
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SAMPLE ANSWER
The Concept of Covert Action
Q.1
The concept of plausible deniability in US intelligence agency
US government has protected the national interest using ways that other governments and the citizens have limited information about. When the Soviet Union wanted to dominate the Middle East by attacking Afghanistan, US government entered into the war to assist Afghans to push Soviet Union outside the country.[1] Additionally, the then prime minister of Iran Mohammad wanted to nationalize the Iranian oil, the US government through their intelligence assisted British government to overthrow Mohammad’s government and instilled their puppet as the prime minister. Finally, the US government is said to have a hand in the assassination of Patrice Lumumba the president of Congo in 1960 since he gained support of the soviet union to resist the force of the political opponents.[2] There other many cases that the use intelligence has participated in other countries’ affairs to gain the interest of the nation in a way that remains silent to the public domain. Therefore, any clandestine way to influence governments, organizations or events of other countries in a silent manner is what is referred to as the covert action. Covert actions are designed by the central intelligence agency to alter foreign economic, political or military reality on total secrecy. As said by Corke, it is the most controversial level of intelligence because on top of its secrecy, it requires lethal force in some cases.[3]
According to US security Act, covert action is “an operation that is planned and executed as to hide the identity of or permit plausible denial by the sponsor.” In the CIA Act, it is referred to as a special activity, both military and political, which the Government can clearly and legally deny. The CIA is the only branch of security in US that is legally allowed to operate the covert actions. This means that the covert action can be legally denied by the government or the officials even after the exposure of such acts.[4] For example, the assassination of President Patrice Lumumba has been denied by the US government through CIA yet the evidences show their participation in the assassination. All these acts, both good or bad, are done using covert action under plausible deniability that allows them to deny any act the government has done. In this manner, the question is; can US government clearly deny the ill acts that that they have performed and their hands remain clean about the issues? And is this the expectation of the covert actions?
Plausible deniability is the term coined by the Central Intelligence Agency around 1960s to describe the concealment of information from officials to protect them from any repercussions in the events that unpopular and illegal activities by the intelligence become a public knowledge. In espionage and politics, deniability is the ability of authoritative player and intelligence agencies to pass the buck and prevents blowback by furtively and stealthily organizing for an act to be taken on their behalf by another party presumably not connected with the key players. Coleman says that the plausible deniability is a legal concept, which gives the American the right to deny the acts after a covert action.[5] It denotes to the lack of evidence proving a particular allegation. The Standards of proofs always differ in criminal and civil cases. In civil cases, a customary of proof is “preponderance of the evidence” while in a criminal case, the standard is “beyond a reasonable doubt.” If an adversary lacks irrefutable proof of the allegation, one is able to plausibly deny the allegation even if it appears to be the truth
The acts of covert action should be accepted since in most cases, its benefits are realistic if it is intended to assist people. There is no reason why one country wants to nationalize oil so that other countries, which are not producers, continue to suffer. The main argument is that after overthrowing the government and pushing the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan, there is a party that should be responsible and answerable to the public.[6] Therefore, the plausible denial is an act that the US government enacted so that they cannot be questioned if the deal of the covert action goes bad. It is a defensive clause that leaves them clean even after performing unaccepted acts. For example, up to now the US government has not accepted that they had a hand in the assassination of Patrice Lumumba
In this manner, US government should not hide behind the plausible deniability after performing acts that should be answered. Coleman criticizes the government that why do they hold the responsibility when the deal of covert action goes good and deny when it goes bad.[7] Crush says that plausible deniability is an attempt to cheat the public and the target government of the ill actions that the government commits.[8] He says that the government should be responsible for both bad and good achievement it has done. Although Rubin says that nobody should be victimized in a court of law where there is no evidence, in this case, there is evidence that can only be accessed by few individuals in the security agency.[9] Therefore, the government should be answerable and responsible at the end of covert action if the intention of the action is to benefit citizens as said in the act of national security agency.
2
Case studies
Covert action of Afghanistan (1979-1089)
Following the Soviet incursion of Afghanistan in 1979, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched the largest covert action in the world history to arm and assist the Afghan resistance. In the next ten years, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and U.S. provided the Afghans with a lot of money, weapons, and supplies, which included advanced anti-aircraft missiles and powerful guns. The armaments and assistance proved a decisive and neutralized Soviet support in the last stages of the conflict and ultimately causing the Soviet Union to come out from Afghanistan.
Operation Ajax of Iran (1953)
In 1951, Iran democratically elected Mohammed Mossadeq Prime Minister, who vied under a platform of nationalizing the Iranian domestic oil industries. At that time, the United Kingdom had a substantial oil interests in Iran through the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Soon after the election, Mohammed nationalized the industry of oil, deeply disconcerting the British government. The British government under the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill asked the U.S. government to help him remove Mossadeq from power. Through a chain of covert actions, the CIA of America worked with the U.K Secret Intelligence Services to arrange for the fall of the Mossadeq government and put the Shah as the president of Iran.
Analysis of the case studies
The main objective of the US and other countries was to fight the Soviet Union from Afghanistan was the fear of the dominance of the union in the area. The Soviet Union had one agenda: to increase its borders towards the neighboring countries so as to dominate the area. Being one the petroleum region, the American and other countries such as Saudi Arabia feared the powers of the soviet to control the borders. In early stages, the US government had no main reason as why to fight the soviet through their CIA but only to punish them. American leaders, politicians, Republicans, and Democrats, feared the Soviets were positioning themselves for a takeover of Middle Eastern oil. It is for this reason that the other countries together with US entered to fight for the withdrawal of Soviet Union from the country.
In Ajax operation, the main objective was to remove democratically elected Iranian primes minister who attempted to nationalize the Iran’s oil. The United Kingdom was afraid of the attempt of the prime minister to nationalize the petroleum hence secretively planned on ways to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mossadegh. The US got the interest of the British government following the consequences countries would have after the nationalizing of the petroleum as suggested by the then prime minister. The afghan fighters were defending their government before the soviet came in to support the rivals. In both cases, there was no legal review as the parties wanted to execute their activities with little knowledge of the public and other department of the governments. Davenporta notes that no Americans trained had a direct contact with the mujahedeen.[10]
For Afghanistan, there are several organizations that were accountable for the action. The first one is the Soviet Union who wanted to dominate the area and extends it borders towards the southern part of the country. The afghan of course had to fight back to defend their democratically elected government. The US through their CIA secretively entered into the war by training the Afghans since the dominant of the Soviet Union in the area would threaten the growth of other countries especially when the region was the chief producer of oil. This was the probable turf issue that brought the fight for eviction of soviet forces from Afghanistan. It also included organization such as Britain’s MI and Pakistan secret service known as Inter Service Intelligence. On the other hand, the Ajax operation was dominated by the United Kingdom and the American CIA.[11] The CIA used a number of groups especially the Iranian youths to create a condition in the country that could easily permit a coup operation. The prior issue to this coup problem was the nationalization of the Iranian oil that could threaten the profits of Anglo Iran Oil Company that is now known as BP.
As said by the CIA in their documentary, the Afghanistan covert action is the longest and highly expensive action in their history. Additionally, following the aids from other countries such as Pakistan, Iran, and china, in deed it is the most expensive covert action the global has ever experienced. There was supply of billon of dollars to the afghan militants through the Pakistan secret service, an operation known as operation cyclone. Stanton argues that about $ 3 billion was channeled to the country to equip and train the troops. There were also provision of antiaircraft weapons, stinger missiles that were provided by the countries such United Kingdom and the republic of China.[12] Generally, the covert action of Afghanistan has been very expensive to the US to appoint that there has been senate debate to withdraw American troops from the country. Although the amount of resources used in the Afghanistan covert action is incomparable with Ajax operation, the British government had to use good amount to overthrow Mohammad’s government. The American CIA funded compliable Iranians to pose as communists so as to create an environment of coup activity. The resources were not limited to bribing the local news houses to air propaganda against the then prime minister Cormac reveals that the CIA planned, implemented and funded operation Ajax.[13]
The Ajax operation was to prevent the prime minister from nationalizing oil. The nationalization of oil is unlawful since it prevents privatization of oil from countries that do not produce oil. As much as it was a move to benefit other countries there was other ways of doing it not the coup way. One benefits of the Ajax covert action it that it prevented the nationalization of the petroleum that could pose high prices of oil to all countries globally. Exposure of the covert action of Afghanistan has no risk at all following the dictatorship of the Soviet Union especially when they would have been left to dominate the oil rich countries. A study carried by Stanton reveals that most people were very happy with the American move but as at now very sad with the covert action of America that makes them use most of the government revenues outside the country in military.[14]
One of the main objectives achieved in the Afghanistan covert action is to fight the Soviet Union out of the Middle East. Thus, it has helped in the stabilization of the country and its neighbors. However, there has been revelation that the funds that were used by US government to assist Afghanistan is the major root of militants group such as al Qaeda in the middle east countries. Moreover, the existence of the US troops in Afghanistan up to now is the sole reason that groups such as al-Qaida are against US government. Ajax operation achieved the prevention of nationalization of oil that would see countries that do not produce oil spend a lot on petroleum.
Q.3
Covert action is one of the policies the countries have used to gain national interest. On the other hand, the US has used this technique to protect the citizens in particular war tone areas without physically getting involved.[15] It is for those two main reasons that the covert action becomes very appropriate currently and in future. Following the broad ranges of activities, the covert action has been viewed a useful tool for intelligence that gives room for the third party to get involved in activities of interest.[16] Most used by the white house, convert action has provided results that would have not been gotten if not for the secrecy. In line with the national security act 503 which states that “An activity or activities of the United States Government to influence political, economic, or military conditions abroad, where it is intended that the role of the United States Government will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly.” Convert actions are put into action because the policies makers believe and know that secret means is the ultimate ways of achieving specific and desired goals.
Following the success of the convert action, it remains appropriate to be incorporated in the intelligence sector of the US. Stanton notes that in a world where every country is greedy for supremacy, certain actions such as diplomacy have narrow chances to solve the interests of the government, hence, intelligence should be used to resolve such issues.[17] For example, the use of covert action in 1954 helped the government to overthrow Lumumba government in Congo in 1961 to prevent the establishment of soviet beachhead that that could interfere with the US economic interest. Although the US government has been accused of applying the convert action areas of their interest, cases have been seen when their interest is to assist affected and unstable governments. For example, the US government has funded The African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to eliminate the effects of Al-shabaab militant group currently terrorizing Somali.[18] Therefore, as part the national intelligence, the covert action is appropriate and necessary for individuals and organizations that pose threat to other people and government. In the US congress meeting, the proponents of covert action argued that there is a need for the covert since diplomacy and democracy alone cannot protect the interest and well-being of the US citizens.[19]
One of the main advantages of covert action is in the principle of plausible deniability. This is the principle that is clearly illustrated by the Security Council, which directs the CIA to operate against the groups that pose threat to the interest of the country. As such, it is a mechanism that is used to defend and act on opponents without declaring wars between the countries. It is for the secrecy of the covert action that did not make the soviet group attack US directly when US government cropped in to the war between them and Afghanistan. Converts actions provide the chance to reinforce overt influencing activities to accelerate the prospects of the success. Rubin accentuates that to be successful, convert action form part of large scheme of the foreign policy.[20] It provides an opportunity for the government to get involved in the activities of the target country where overt commitments are not mature because of the situation of the target country. Therefore, it provides an option of silent removal from a particular situation when there is clear evidence that further involvement will not benefit the interest of the country.[21] Generally, the action provides the CIA agency with an excuse to deny the charges and the allegation of involvement in wars between other countries because there is lack of evidence. For example, it is said that the CIA had an upper hand in the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the then president of Congo; however, they cannot be victimized since there is lack of evidence.
One of the major risks of the convert action is that it can result to an unending war with opponent country. For example, an attempt to eliminate the al Qaeda militants by the US government turned to be a great war between this group and the US government.[22] The militant group declared a war against US to an extent of bombing properties of US in other countries. The same scenario happens to the states that were assisting Somali to remove Al-Shabaab militant from the country. The militant group is currently terrorizing countries such as Kenya that sent their military to assist Somali. As said by Radsan, another risk of covert action is the potential embarrassment of retaliation against perpetrators of convert action in the case of its disclosure.[23] In the end, the US congress witnesses argued that the government has been habitually embarrassed and criticized domestically and on a global scale as a result of covert actions. Not to forget, convert action ends up in blood shade and sufferings of citizens of the target country. Additionally, the covert action was put in place to protect the president and senior officials in the government to attack other countries without the knowledge of the public and the attacked country, however, if it is exposed it can lead to a serious war.[24] Lastly, there are financial risks both on the side of the target country and the donating country. The US government has used a lot of money on the convert troops and military on covert agendas, thus, the country is risking a lot of money on such acts while other developments remain stagnant in the country.
The legality of covert action has been a matter of discussion. While some people term it as unethical act that should be prohibited, some also criticize it as very illegal. The hurdles of the legality of the covert action has been discussed under the one its operation line known as plausible deniability. Denial plausibility directs that the government has the right to deny the actions when they are exposed in public domain.[25] Hence, questions arise that why would the government deny activities done in accordance with the laws hence it has received legal critics. However, the executive branch of the government has proved this action as legal. The executive order of the US intelligence activities issued on 1981 by President Reagan states that one of the functions of the intelligence is to conduct special activities signed by the president. The section 102d of US intelligence states that “CIA will perform functions and duties related to intelligence affecting the national security” Thomas Polgar an employee central Congressional committee said in a symposium that covert action exists and it is legal.[26] However, he said that states only need more controls to know when to keep the convert action in good taste accordance to the law. Crush posits that it is not the policies of covert actions that are in doubt, but the keenness and the motivations of individuals implementing and approving the actions.[27] Therefore, it is important to note that the laws of guiding the security in US allows the CIA to conduct special activities such as covet action which makes covert action legal.
The definition of the covert action gives a clear explanation that the act is a secret one hence should involve few individuals as possible. Corke says that one reason why the covert action should involve few people is the characteristic of deniability once it is exposed.[28] The other reason why it should remain secret is the reason that the government participates to fight another country whose actions are not directly affecting the country. Hence, when such information is leaked to have been signed by the government, it portrays a bad image of the country. As such, the president should limit his/her information only to the CIA to avoid political ramifications. Coleman gives an example of good secrecy that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden, which was only known when the US government announced it publicly.[29] Limiting the information to few people leaves room for easy withdrawal when the mission cannot be achieved. The covert action is also defended by plausible deniability that allows the president and the government to deny the allegation if in any case they are exposed to the public.
Callanan, James. Covert Action in the Cold War : US Policy, Intelligence, and CIA Operations. London: I.B. Tauris, 2010.
Coleman, Denise Youngblood. “Foreign Relations.” Iran Country Review, 158. 2013.
Corke, Sarah-Jane. US Covert Operations and Cold War Strategy : Truman, Secret Warfare and the CIA, 1945-53. London: Routledge, 2008.
Cormac, Rory. “Coordinating Covert Action: The Case of the Yemen Civil War and the South Arabian Insurgency.” Journal Of Strategic Studies 36, no. 5 (October 2013): 692.
Crush, J. S. Covert operations : clandestine migration, temporary work and immigration policy in South Africa / Jonathan Crush. n.p.: Cape Town, 2007.
Davenport, Christian. “Understanding Covert Repressive Action: The Case of the U.S. Government against the Republic of New Africa.” Conflict Resolution, 2005, 120.
Radsan, A. John. “An Overt turn on covert action.” Saint Louis University Law Journal 53, 2009, 485. LexisNexis Academic.
Rubin, Barnett R. Afghanistan From the Cold War Through the War on Terror. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Stanton, Andrea L. L., et al. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa : An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2012.
[1] Crush, J. S. Covert operations : clandestine migration, temporary work and immigration policy in South Africa / Jonathan Crush. n.p.: Cape Town, 2007.
[2] Callanan, James. Covert Action in the Cold War : US Policy, Intelligence, and CIA Operations. London: I.B. Tauris, 2010
[3] Corke, Sarah-Jane. 2008. US Covert Operations and Cold War Strategy : Truman, Secret Warfare and the CIA, 1945-53. London: Routledge, 2008.
[9] Rubin, Barnett R. Afghanistan From the Cold War Through the War on Terror. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
[10] Davenport, Christian. “Understanding Covert Repressive Action: The Case of the U.S. Government against the Republic of New Africa.” Conflict Resolution, 2005, 120.
[11] Davenport, Christian. “Understanding Covert Repressive Action: The Case of the U.S. Government against the Republic of New Africa.” Conflict Resolution, 2005, 120.
[12] Stanton, Andrea L. L., et al. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa : An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2012.
[13] Cormac, Rory. “Coordinating Covert Action: The Case of the Yemen Civil War and the South Arabian Insurgency.” Journal Of Strategic Studies 36, no. 5 (October 2013): 692.
[14] Stanton, Andrea L. L., et al. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa : An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2012.
[15] Callanan, James. Covert Action in the Cold War : US Policy, Intelligence, and CIA Operations. London: I.B. Tauris, 2010
[17] Stanton, Andrea L. L., et al. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa : An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2012.
[18] Stanton, Andrea L. L., et al. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa : An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2012.
[19] Davenport, Christian. “Understanding Covert Repressive Action: The Case of the U.S. Government against the Republic of New Africa.” Conflict Resolution, 2005, 120.
[20] Rubin, Barnett R. Afghanistan From the Cold War Through the War on Terror. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
[21] Cormac, Rory. “Coordinating Covert Action: The Case of the Yemen Civil War and the South Arabian Insurgency.” Journal Of Strategic Studies 36, no. 5 (October 2013): 692.
[22] Rubin, Barnett R. Afghanistan From the Cold War Through the War on Terror. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
[23] Radsan, A. John. “An Overt turn on covert action.” Saint Louis University Law Journal 53, 2009, 485. LexisNexis Academic.
[24] Cormac, Rory. “Coordinating Covert Action: The Case of the Yemen Civil War and the South Arabian Insurgency.” Journal Of Strategic Studies 36, no. 5 (October 2013): 692.
[25] Radsan, A. John. “An Overt turn on covert action.” Saint Louis University Law Journal 53, 2009, 485. LexisNexis Academic.
[26] Crush, J. S. Covert operations : clandestine migration, temporary work and immigration policy in South Africa / Jonathan Crush. n.p.: Cape Town, 2007.
[27] Crush, J. S. Covert operations : clandestine migration, temporary work and immigration policy in South Africa / Jonathan Crush. n.p.: Cape Town, 2007.
[28] Corke, Sarah-Jane. 2008. US Covert Operations and Cold War Strategy : Truman, Secret Warfare and the CIA, 1945-53. London: Routledge, 2008.
Evidence based practice paper: Hand Hygiene in Healthcare setting
Order Instructions:
Describe a Clinical Problem that you see or have seen in practice. You will then revise or develop a policy, protocol, algorithm, or standardized guideline to be used in your practice site that is based on current research evidence. You are proposing the implementation of an intervention that is supported by research; thus you are proposing an evidence-based practice (EBP) project. You are not proposing a
study to be conducted in your agency.
Your final paper should be no more than 10 pages but your protocol, policy, or algorithm, and references for your project can be extra pages. This assignment is worth 100 points
Identify an area of interest: Is there a better way of doing something? Would another intervention based on research be more effective and improve patient outcomes? Is a policy, protocol, or algorithm in your agency out of date and in need of revision based on current research?
2. Provide some information (incidence of problem, morbidity and mortality rates, cost, etc.) from the healthcare literature and your agency that supports the fact that this is a patient care problem.
3. Review recent research and practice literature and select a specific intervention that might
address this patient care issue. The research-based intervention may be implemented in the form of a policy, protocol, algorithm, or standardized guideline that you could use to change patient care.
4. Identify what evidence-based intervention exists to improve current care in terms of patient, provider, or healthcare agency outcomes? Try to identify something for which you really
want an answer. You might get ideas from your unit nursing leader, other nurses, or patients
and families. Search current research journals online for interventions that have been studied.
5. Review a variety of evidence-based practice (EBP) Websites such as:
Professional Organization Websites Evidence-Based Guidelines
See Chapter 19 in Grove, Burns, and Gray (2013) textbook for more details on conducting EBP Projects and EBP websites.
6. Summarize what is known and not known about the problem area selected.
7. Revise or develop a policy, protocol, algorithm, or standardized guideline to be used in your practice site.
8. Provide a copy of the policy, protocol, algorithm, or standardized guideline with its references.
9. The steps of the protocol, policy, algorithm, or standardized guideline must be documented with current studies.
10. If a previous agency protocol or policy is revised, specify the changes made in the document.
11. Provide a reference list for your paper.
12. The references should include 7-10 quality research sources that support the intervention you have selected to implement in your practice site.
Grading Rubric
Introduction
Rubric
(0 – 10 Points)
Identifies problem in practice and the intervention to be used to address problem. Identifies the audience who will use the protocol, algorithm, or policy revised or developed.
Documents introduction.
Review of sources: What is known
(0 – 30 Points)
Summarizes or synthesizes current research knowledge that identifies what is known about the selected intervention.
Summary must be documented with studies from published sources.
Summary provides the knowledge base or research evidence for making a change in practice.
Review of sources: What is not known
(0 – 15 Points)
Summarizes or synthesizes what is not known in the area of the selected intervention.
Summary must be documented.
Section identifies the areas for further research.
Protocol, Algorithm, Policy, or Standardized
Guideline for Evidence-Based Project
(0 – 20 Points)
Provide a copy of the documented protocol, algorithm, policy, or standardized guideline. The steps of the protocol, algorithm, or policy are documented with current research sources.
Discuss your development of your protocol, algorithm, policy, or standardized guideline. If revised from previous agency protocol, identify the changes made.
(0 – 10 Points)
Indicate whether protocol or algorithm was developed; revised from an agency document; or obtained from a publication or website.
If based on existing document, include a copy of this document.
Briefly identifies any revisions you might have made to the existing document.
Format and Writing style is clear, complete, and concise. No grammar, sentence structure, or spelling errors. References APA (2010) Format. Limit the paper to 10 pages
(0 – 15 Points) The references need to include 7-10 published research sources. All sections of the paper must be documented with research sources. Include headings based on the paper guidelines.
Total Points Possible: 100
SAMPLE ANSWER
Evidence based practice paper: Hand Hygiene in Healthcare setting
Hand hygiene (HH) is known to prevent cross-infection in health care organizations, but there is poor adherence of health care workers to hand hygiene guidelines. Timely, easy access to both skin protection and hand hygiene is essential for satisfactory hand hygiene behavior. The use of alcohol-based hand rubs is necessary given that they are less irritating, they act faster, and require less time than traditional hand washing, and they also contribute to sustained improvement in compliance related to reduced rates of infection (Pittet, 2011). It is disquieting that the hospitalization of a patient may result in Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI), also known as nosocomial infection, and that poor hand hygiene is considered as a contributory factor. This paper provides an exhaustive description of hand hygiene; a Clinical Problem that I have actually seen in practice. Moreover, a standardized guideline is developed in this paper that would be used in my practice site and this standardized guideline is based on current literature evidence. In essence, I am proposing the implementation of an intervention that is supported by research; hence I am proposing an evidence-based practice (EBP) project.
The Clinical Problem of Hand Hygiene in Healthcare setting
Hand hygiene (HH) is the most effective and simplest measure for the prevention of nosocomial infections. In spite of advances in infection control as well as hospital epidemiology, the adherence of healthcare workers (HCWs) to the recommended HH practices is unacceptably low and patients remain susceptible to unintentional harm in health care settings (Maxfield & Dull, 2011). It is of note that the average adherence to HH recommendations varies amongst professional categories of HCWs, between hospital wards, according to working conditions, and according to the definitions utilized in various studies. In most instances, compliance to HH practices by HCWs is estimated as less than 50% (Boyce, 2014). In the United States, poor adherence has led to high mortality and morbidity considering that there are between 1.7 million and 2 million persons who get Hospital Acquired Infections every year, and 88,000 to 99,000 deaths are attributed to Hospital Acquired Infections every year (Al-Busaidi, 2013). Moreover, Hospital Acquired Infection affects almost 10 percent of hospitalized patients and it presents great challenges in hospitals. As a result, yearly medical expenditures have risen to roughly $4.5 billion in the United States (Al-Busaidi, 2013).
The practice of Hand Hygiene amongst health care workers is regarded as the single most clinical and cost effective measure for preventing nosocomial infection, a view that is recognized all over the world (Canham, 2011). The World Health Organization strongly stresses the vital need for HH during health care delivery in order to avoid possible infection as well as the consequent health problems; hence, the WHO’s Clean Care is Safe Care initiative launched in the year 2005. It is of note that this initiative provides new guidelines on HH training, observation, as well as performance reporting in health care settings (Kukanich et al., 2013).
The hands of nurses come in close contact with patients and they are usually contaminated through patient care, for instance while touching surfaces, materials or devices that are contaminated, or auscultation and palpation. As such, HH is seen as a cheap, vital, and most effective way to prevent cross infection (Cambell, 2010). This method is essentially aimed at saving lives and provides a safe treatment atmosphere for every health care worker and patient, irrespective of the setting. Bischoff (2000) stated that HH has to be considered after contact with high risk, infectious patients, and with contaminated materials or devices, as well as prior to invasive procedures. In essence, HH has to be advocated before a HCW begins work, at the end of her work, and after visiting the toilet/rest room. Even when nursing staffs spend a longer duration of time on HH, there hand hygiene technique is usually poor relative to other health care workers in terms of leaving large areas of the hand unwashed properly, including between fingers, nail beds, thumbs, as well as wrists (Maxfield & Dull, 2011).
Hand hygiene, in essence, is not just the responsibility of the nurses. Hand hygiene is a shared responsibility between patients, main leaders of the hospital, hospital administration, and other stakeholders. Boyce (2014) observed that patient involvement generally increases adherence to HH practice by 50 percent if, for instance, a straightforward question is asked of the HCW, like: have you washed your hands? Most patients think that asking health care workers to clean their hands before health care delivery is a disloyalty of trust. Moreover, some of them actually believe that they could be labeled as a troublemaker; hence, they choose not to ask. Patients typically feel reassured if they observe health care workers practice effective hand hygiene within the health care setting (Al-Busaidi, 2013).
Barriers to Hand Hygiene Practice in Health Care Settings
A lot of factors lie behind poor HH compliance amongst health care workers. Nursing staff members are ethically and professionally responsible for their actions. Nonetheless, some nursing staffs display low compliance since they perceive hand hygiene as not their problem; that it is instead something to do with the staffs of infection control. Moreover, nursing staffs usually fail to practice HH since they are very busy and they think that hand hygiene will take up their precious time (Canham, 2011). Additionally, they usually believe that gloves can be utilized as an alternative to HH, and this is a major misconception that contributes to poor adherence. Nurses often have the tendency of removing gloves without washing their hands. They also tend to use the gloves in delivering intended care to many patients. Even when nurses remove their gloves, just 20 percent of them actually wash their hands (Pittet, 2011).
Furthermore, nursing staff member usually avoid HH practice because they have the fear that skin problems for instance dermatitis might develop, particularly when alcohol hand-rubs are used in the hand hygiene practice – another misconception. They think that skin irritation occurs as a result of frequent HH practice (Whitby, 2006). Moreover, limited time, lack of organizational pledge to proper HH practice, increased workloads, lack of motivation, lack of role models amongst seniors or colleagues, under-staffing, and disagreement with protocols and guidelines all contribute to poor adherence to hand hygiene and infection control measures in health care settings. Maxfield and Dull (2011) observed that the dearth of hand hygiene facilities and products, for instance hand paper towels, non-antiseptic and antiseptic soaps, sinks, alcohol hand-rubs, and running water can also contribute to bad hand hygiene practice.
Another noteworthy barrier is a lack of awareness and scientific knowledge with regard to hand hygiene. Bischoff (2000) stated that the lack of appropriate infection control in training programs, where students watch their colleagues with patients, might actually result in bad HH practice. Otto and French (2009) in their study learned that the cultures and attitudes of nurses at work have a significant influence in clinical development of students, and for the students to be accepted in that culture, they have a tendency to follow their mentors and other health care workers. A case in point is that for a student to be perceived as being an effective team member, she/he tends to perform hand hygiene poorly and improperly, since this student wants to appear as busy as her mentors and believes that she does not have enough time to wash her hands (Al-Busaidi, 2013).
The behavior and attitudes of HCWs toward HH practice is an intricate issue that involves the perception of its efficacy, existing barriers, as well as beliefs and values of staffs. To attain high rates of compliance with hand hygiene practice, Otto and French (2009) suggested that those who default have to be disciplined as if they have breached hospital policy, and this should start with personal counseling to verbal warning, and at last to a written warning placed in the files of the defaulters.
Effective Hand Hygiene
Effective HH basically involves removing the visible soiling as well as the reduction of microbial colonization of the skin. The hands of HCWs could be contaminated by 2 sorts of pathogens: (i) resident – colonizing or normal – microorganisms, and (ii) transient – contaminating – microorganisms. Resident flora microorganisms are known to colonize the deeper layers of the skin, and unlike transient flora, they are not easy to remove mechanically; that is, through washing hands (Smith & Lokhorst, 2009). Luckily though, resident flora is less aggressive compared to transient flora, and is less likely to lead to serious infection. Examples of resident flora include negative staphylococci and Corynebacteria. It is of note that these bacteria are inclined to grow within the hair follicles and remain moderately dormant over time (Smith & Lokhorst, 2009).
Conversely, transient flora colonize the superficial layers of the skin for a short period of time. The nurses’ hands are frequently contaminated with transient flora through direct contact during every day patient care activities, equipment or environments. Nonetheless, transient flora can be removed easily through the use of mechanical methods, for instance friction in hand washing. Examples of transient flora include Candida species and Staphylococcus aurous. Transient flora are able to induce nosocomial infection amongst health care workers and patients (Al-Busaidi, 2013). Considering this information as regards resident and transient bacteria, effective hand hygiene practice either with the use of alcohol-based hand-rub or hand washing using antimicrobial soap, is clearly the way to reduce the risk of cross infection.
Research-Based Intervention in the form of a Standardized Guideline
Promotion of HH practices in health care settings is a significant challenge for infection control experts. Lectures and workshops, distribution of information flyers, performance feedback on adherence rates, and in-service education have all been linked to transient improvement. There is really not a single intervention that has repeatedly improved adherence to HH practices (Smith & Lokhorst, 2009). Given that nursing staff members are present twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week within the health care setting, it is of major importance to stick to HH standardized guideline and maintain patient safety. The following guideline should be followed by health care facilities.
Encourage effective hand washing
Effective hand washing, according to Pittet (2011), is the application of antimicrobial/antiseptic or non-antimicrobial/plain soap onto wet hands. The individual should then rub together both hands vigorously to form lather, and should cover base of the fingers, tops of the hands, all the surface of the palms, fingernails, wrists, thumbs, back of the fingers, and between fingers for a 60 seconds. The health care worker should ensure that his/her fingernails are short. Boyce (2014) reported that artificial fingernails are possible traps for bacteria and thus have to be avoided. Although chipped nail polish has the capacity of harboring bacteria, new nail polish on natural nails in fact does not worsen the microbial load. It is of note that wearing jewellery, for instance hand watches or rings, may actually bring about bacterial colonization on the skin beneath them. After the HCW has soaped and rubbed, she should rinse her hands thoroughly to remove all the lather on the hands. Hot water should not be used in rinsing given that it may lead to dryness of the skin (Al-Busaidi, 2013).
Hand drying is also of major importance in the prevention of cross infection in the health care setting since microorganisms are known to thrive in damp environments. Hand drying should be done before the HCW wears her gloves, as trapped moisture in the gloves may lead to irritation of the skin and increase the harboring of microorganisms (Whitby, 2006). Paper towels are very efficient in drying hands and the friction created whenever they are used actually improves the removal of microorganisms from the skin. The HCW must not touch the tap again after she has just washed her hands; she should use a paper towel in turning the water off. Even though hand driers are just as good as hand towels, paper disposable hand towels are generally more effective and are quicker. In essence, the friction that is produced through hand rubbing with soap vigorously and then hand drying using paper towels actually removes all the dirt as well as any loosely adherent flora; that is, small portion of resident flora and nearly all transient flora from hands (Smith & Lokhorst, 2009).
Encourage the use of alcohol hand-rub
There is sufficient evidence to recommend the alcohol hand-rub owing to its cost effectiveness and clinical benefits. Pittet (2011) pointed out that the likelihood of hand washing to wash away the skin’s fats and oils that are vital for healthy skin is less with the usage of hand-rub. Simply put, alcohol hand-rub will redistribute the lipids in the layers of the skin. In addition, alcohol hand-rub can dispense with paper towels. In his study, Cambell (2010) found that alcohol hand-rub actually consists of several emollients that are better tolerated by health care workers compared to hand washing. Cambell (2010) also found that quite a few factors including consistency, odor, and color of alcohol hand-rub products can influence health care workers’ acceptance of this product. Alcohol hand-rub dispensers could be positioned readily and accessed easily: at the bedside of patients, outside and inside of the rooms of patients, in waiting areas, next to computers, and even inside the nursing stations (Kukanich et el., 2013).
Effective usage of alcohol hand-rub basically implies that health care workers have to strictly comply with the manufacturer’s instructions, particularly with regard to the quantity used as well as the time required to completely fade away from the hands. In essence, the availability of alcohol hand-rub products at the point of care has to be supplemented by the availability of gloves in suitable sizes. From his study, Bischoff (2000) observed that hospitals that made clean gloves and alcohol-based hand rub readily available to HCWs saw improved compliance with hand hygiene.
Clarify misconceptions about the usage of gloves
To improve healthcare workers compliance with HH practice, it is of major importance to take into account the hindering factors and then turn them into factors that enhance compliance. The misconceptions of nurses regarding the use of gloves and skin complications should be clarified so as to attain a better compliance with HH practice. In essence, failure to remove gloves following contact with patient or between clean and dirty body site care for the same patient actually amounts to poor adherence to hand hygiene recommendations (Boyce, 2014). The nursing staffs need to be informed that it is ineffective to wash and reuse gloves between patient contact. Disinfection or hand washing has to be strongly encouraged following removal of gloves (Canham, 2011).
Provide Training and Education on Hand Hygiene
Proper education as well as follow-up training is key to identify situations in which HH is reasonable. Important educational materials that the hospital should use include the following: computer-assisted, interactive learning that is made available to the clinicians through the hospital’s intranet; and PowerPoint presentations and videotapes that illustrate the significance of good HH techniques in hospitals and other health care facilities. Hospitals should conduct educational programmes for employees that comprise instructions for appropriate method when using an alcohol-based hand-rub, or washing hands using water and soap. The hospital should make sure that health care workers comprehend the underlying principle for gloves and hand hygiene and can follow the best practices and enhance patient outcomes (Pittet, 2011).
Place promotional materials in noticeable areas
In essence, hand hygiene promotion posters should be placed in locations that are highly visible throughout the healthcare facility and a multi-modal campaign for improving performance should be initiated. Whitby (2006) pointed out that promotional material, for instance posters, could be placed in noticeable areas of the health care facility and they will be aimed at reminding patients, health care worker, as well as visitors about the significance of HH practice. In addition, the hospital can also place videos on the wards in order to show patients the importance of HH in the prevention of cross infection and to remind or ask health care workers to practice HH before health care delivery. In their study, Kukanich (2013) found that placing appropriate HH technique illustrations close to alcohol hand-rub dispensers or above sinks helped in improving compliance to hand hygiene. Moreover, Kukanich (2013) found that posters with pictures of renowned hospital physicians/personnel recommending hand hygiene also helped to improve compliance with hand hygiene in the health care facility. To motivate computer user to comply with hand hygiene practice, Smith and Lokhorst (2009) pointed out that messages on the subject of hand hygiene practice can be set on computer screensavers.
Hand Hygiene products should be always available, and in right places
The ward or unit manager should ensure that hand hygiene products are at all times available, and are actually in the right places. Some of these places include offices, nursing station, as well as outside and inside of all patient rooms. Studies have revealed that compliance by HCWs was substantially greater when alcohol-based rub dispensers were placed adjacent to the bed of patients compared to when they was just a single dispenser for every 4 beds (Al Busaidi, 2013). Moreover, in critical care settings, studies have indicated that the availability of alcohol-based hand-rub at the point of care actually minimized the time constraint related to HH during patient care and it predicted better adherence to HH practice. Pittet (2011) in a study of hand hygiene amongst doctors, learned that easy access to an alcohol-based hand rub was in fact an independent predictor of improved compliance to HH practice.
Recognize clinicians with good hand hygiene practice and create a culture of proper hand hygiene
It is of major importance for the health care organization to recognize nursing staff members with proper hand hygiene. This can be done, for instance, though announcement in the hospital’s newsletter. This will serve as a vital accolade that can actually encourage other nurses and health care workers to do likewise. The hospital should also create a culture that encourages staff members to remind each other as regards proper hand hygiene (Otto & French, 2009). In their study, Cambell (2010) found that when health care workers reminded each other and other health care workers to practice hand hygiene, there was a considerable increase in compliance to hand hygiene practice at the health care facility. All in all, the hospital should monitor compliance by HCWs with the recommended indications for HH, including real-time feedback to staff members.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the practice of Hand Hygiene amongst health care workers is regarded as the single most clinical and cost effective measure for preventing nosocomial infection. However, notwithstanding advances in infection control as well as hospital epidemiology, the compliance of clinicians with the recommended hand hygiene practices is unacceptably low and patients are very susceptible to inadvertent harm in health care settings. Hand hygiene is fundamentally aimed at saving lives and to provide a safe treatment atmosphere for every health care worker and patient, no matter the setting. In America, improper compliance with hand hygiene practices has led to high mortality and morbidity bearing in mind that there are more than 1.7 million persons who catch HAI every year, and over 90,000 deaths are attributed to HAI every year. Several factors actually contribute to poor hand hygiene compliance amongst clinicians. These include limited time, lack of organizational pledge to proper HH practice, increased workloads, lack of motivation, lack of role models, and under-staffing.
The proposed intervention as described in the guideline entails the following: making hand hygiene products always available and in the right places such as in nurse stations and at patient bedsides; and to recognize clinicians with effective hand hygiene practice and creating a culture of proper hand hygiene in the hospital. Moreover, the hospital should place promotional materials in noticeable areas, and provide education and training programs on the significance of proper and hand hygiene and how to actually practice effective hand hygiene.
References
Al-Busaidi, S. (2013). Healthcare Workers and Hand Hygiene Practice: A Literature Review. Diffusion, 6(1): 81-89
Bischoff, W. E. (2000). Handwashing compliance by health care workers: the impact of introducing an accessible, alcohol-based hand antiseptic. Arch Intern Med. 160(7):1017-21
Boyce, J. M. (2014). Preventing Infections: It’s in Your Hands. Medscape Infectious Disease.
Cambell, R. (2010). Hand-washing compliance goes from 33% to 95% steering team of key players drives process, Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement 17:1, 5-6.
Canham, L. (2011). The first step in infection control is hand hygiene, The Dental Assistant, 42-46.
Kukanich, K. S., Kaur, R., Freeman, L. C., & Powell, D. A. (2013). Original Research: Evaluation of a Hand Hygiene Campaign in Outpatient Health Care Clinics. American Journal of Nursing, 113(3):36-42
Maxfield, D. & Dull, D. (2011). Influencing hand hygiene at spectrum health, Physician Executive Journal 37:3, 30-34.
Otto, M. & French, R. (2009). Hand hygiene compliance among healthcare staff and student nurses in a mental health setting, Mental Health Nursing 30, 702-704.
Pittet, D. (2011). Improving Adherence to Hand Hygiene Practice: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Emerging Infection Disease Journal, 7(2): 32-8
Smith, J.M. & Lokhorst, D.B. (2009). Infection control: can nurses improve hand hygiene practice?, Journal of Undergraduate Nursing Scholarship 11:1, 1-6.
Whitby M. (2006). Why healthcare workers don’t wash their hands: a behavioral explanation Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol; 27(5):484-92.
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Background:
1. You are the Principal the local Shining Star Elementary School. Your school contains 400 students and is part of a four-school cluster. Your cluster is part of a school district that contains over 100 schools from all levels.
2. You are the emergency manager for this county of over 300,000 people. Your position is to prepare the county for disasters in an area where the worst expected disaster is fire from storms or drought. Wind storms are the next worst expected disaster. Your county is surrounded by counties of equal or larger sizes in a larger city with a population of five million persons. Shining Star Elementary School is in your county.
3. You are the Mayor of a town within the county that contains the Shining Star Elementary School. The city police and fire department work for you.
4. You are the Chairman of the County Supervisors in the county that contains the Shining Star Elementary School. The county sheriff, fire department, health department, and county support offices work for you.
For the four positions you should have: Notified all local Law Enforcement agencies for assistance; established an Incident Command System; and isolated the area.
Scenario:
1. Fires have broken out in twenty-five (25) schools of the district.
2. The City Police and County Sheriff offices are destroyed by explosions.
3. The National Press demands immediate access to the Shining Path Elementary School and whoever is in charge.
4. The group in the Shining Path Elementary School demands all prisoners held in Guantanamo be released within twelve (12) hours or more students and teachers will be killed.
For each of the four positions explain what you would do and expect to happen in the scenario. Consider the following in each of your answers:
1. WHAT ASSETS DO YOU HAVE?
2. WHAT AGENCIES NEED TO BE INVOLVED?
3. WHO DO YOU NEED TO COORDINATE WITH?
4. WHAT ACTIONS CAN YOU TAKE?
5. WHAT NATIONAL AGENCIES SHOULD BE INVOLVED? WHO NOTIFIED THEM? WHAT ARE THEY DOING?
Length: This SLP Assignment should be at least 3 pages not counting the title page and references.
References: At least two references should be included from academic sources listed below(e.g. peer-reviewed journal articles). Required readings are included. Quoted material should not exceed 10% of the total paper (since the focus of these assignments is critical thinking).
Organization: Subheadings should be used to organize your paper according to question.
Required readings:
ATF Home Page, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives website: Retrieved November 15, 2012, from: http://www.atf.gov/
Brinkerhoff, J.R. (2009). The role of Federal military forces in domestic law enforcement title. US Army Combined Arms Center, Newsletter 10(16), Ch. 11. Retrieved November 16, 2012, from: http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/call/docs/10-16/ch_11.asp
Haddal, C. C. (2010). Border security: The role of the U.S. Border Patrol. Congressional Research Office. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL32562.pdf
Vision, mission, core values, and pledge: CDC vision for the 21st Century (2010). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from: http://www.cdc.gov/about/organization/mission.htm
SAMPLE ANSWER
Domestic Terrorism
Scenario One: Fires have broken out in twenty-five (25) schools of the district
The Shining Star Elementary School, being part of a four-school cluster, is relatively well prepared to deal with emergencies that could arise. The same is true for all schools in the district since the standard set in the cluster is the same throughout the district. All schools are equipped with fire fighting equipments including fire extinguishers and hydrants. Additionally, each school has a fire marshal stationed in each school whose primary responsibility it to maintain fire disaster preparedness at all times, assess equipment adequacy and usability state and conduct emergency drills twice every school term. With the reports coming from the respective Fire Marshalls, the disaster preparedness plan is activated immediately. The plan indicates that in the case of a fire, all students after evacuating the premises are to meet at pre designated points for roll-call to determine who is missing.
As the Principal of one of the schools facing a fire disaster, one has to place a call to the local fire department. It will be the responsibility of the local Fire Chief to escalate the incidence after determining its dynamics. It is expected that among the agencies that will respond to this disaster will include, the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA). Given the multiple locations of the fire disasters, the district fire marshal will take overall responsibility of coordinating all activities and thus becomes the go-to person in case of a need.
As a principal, the immediate action to engage in is to have all students evacuate the premises and assemble at the assembly points for roll call. It is at this point that medical needs will be identified and addressed, while missing students will be known and sort. Given the scale and spread of the fire, NEMA should be involved. Forensic scientists should be involved in order to determine the causes of the fire. The national agencies will be notified and invited by the person in-charge of emergencies in the district (Schmid, 2011).
Scenario Two: The City Police and County Sheriff offices are destroyed by explosions
As the emergency manager of the county, the destruction of the City Police and the County Sherriff office makes this an invasion that affects the core of emergency response in the county. As a result, county resources cannot longer be relied upon to attend to the emerging emergency. Given that the cause of the explosion is not immediately evident; the emergency manager places a call to the State Governor requesting for federal assistance. The Governor will place a call to the President of the Country for federal assistance. This calls set the ground for the deployment of the National Guard – to take care of the enforcement of Law and Order, allocation of Federal resources to assist with the local emergency, deployment of the FBI whose explosives experts should help the cause of the explosive (Haddal, 2010). This revelation will determine the next cause of action. Should it be determined to have been caused by deliberate human action, then criminal investigation will commence immediately. Should the explosion have been caused by natural causes, the reconstruction will commence immediately.
Scenario Three: The National Press demands immediate access to the Shining Star Elementary School and whoever is in charge
The Mayor of a town within the county that contains the Shining Star Elementary School and with command of both the police and fire department, has a responsibility to shield both forces from the prying eyes of the National Press, who can be uncivil in their quest to get the story. This being the case, all information will be shared from one central source – the mayor’s office. Since there are different disaster locations, instructions will be issued to seal-off all the locations and no one apart from authorized personnel should access the sites (Ciment, 2011). Additionally, no emergency worker should talk to the press and all press interactions will be left to the mayor or to whoever the responsibility is designated. As the mayor, a call will be placed to the State Governor for assistance and it is expected that the Governor will in turn place a call to the President seeking Federal aid.
Scenario One: The group in the Shining Path Elementary School demands all prisoners held in Guantanamo be released within twelve (12) hours or more students and teachers will be killed
With the demand coming from the Shining Star Elementary School, it is clear that this is no longer a local problem but has taken on an international dimension. Despite being the Chairman of the County Supervisors with the power to command all the county emergency resources, the situation at Shining Star Elementary School is much bigger and complicated that the local resources are designed to cope with. Given that the situation has clearly degenerated to a terrorism stand-off with demands that border the life or death of the hostages – who include student and teachers, immediately, both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) will be called to the scene and left to determine between the two federal agencies, who will take the lead role (Brinkerhoff, 2009). Additionally, depending on the lead agency, Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) teams will be brought into the scene with the clear instruction to prepare for both soft and hard assault of the target and what each plan will entail – both in terms of personnel and possible casualties. Given the epicenter of the action will be at the Shining Elementary School and the publicity generated nationally, after sealing off the school building where the terrorists are, the National Press, will be set up in the playing field with regular briefing being held in pavilion. This should keep the national press and briefing personnel safe while keeping them within the vicinity of the epicenter. Before the federal agencies arrive to take over the situation, the local hostage negotiator will be in-charge off all communication with the captors in an effort to ensure no life is lost while the scene is still under the command of the local agencies.
References
Brinkerhoff, J.R. (2009). The role of Federal military forces in domestic law enforcement title. US Army Combined Arms Center, Newsletter 10(16), Ch. 11 Retrieved November 16, 2012, from: http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/call/docs/10-16/ch_11.asp
Ciment, J (2011). World Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Political Violence from Ancient Times to the Post 9/11 Era, 2nd Ed, Sharpe Publishers, Armonk, NY.
Haddal, C. C. (2010). Border security: The role of the U.S. Border Patrol. Congressional Research Office. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL32562.pdf
Schmid, A. P (2011). The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research, Routledge Publishing, New York, NY.
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The student is required to cover the required readings and apply the information provided combined with the student’s research to answer the following questions:
1. Explain the advent of Cyber terrorism? What is it? How has it been combated since September 2001? What are the current policies? And, what is being done at a national and international level to combat it?
2. Review McNeal, G. S. (2008) Cyber Embargo: Countering the Internet Jihad. Explain the interface of domestic and international terrorism through the Internet Jihad, its potential impact on domestic security (vis-a-vis the controversy over surveillance within the Patriot Act), and why this is domestic terrorism.
The following items will be assessed in particular:
1. Your ability to apply your understanding past modules into critical thinking concerning Cyber terrorism.
2. Your ability to understand past domestic and international (domestic in their countries) terror groups and relate current capabilities to combat their tactics, vision and goals.
3. In-text references to the modular background readings (APA formatting recommended) and a reference page. Outside background reading sources encouraged and expected.
Length: This Case Assignment should be at least 3 pages not counting the title page and references.
References: At least two references should be included from academic sources (e.g. peer-reviewed journal articles). Required readings are included. Quoted material should not exceed 10% of the total paper (since the focus of these assignments is critical thinking).
Organization: Subheadings should be used to organize your paper according to question
Required readings:
Cyberterrorism: The invisible threat stealth cyber predators in a climate of escalating risk (2010). Foreign Affairs, 89(6), 24A. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from ProQuest.
McNeal, G. S. (2008). Cyber embargo: Countering the internet Jihad. Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law; 2007/2008, 39(3), 789. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from ProQuest
O’Rourke, M. (2010). The real enemy, Risk Management. 57(3), 80. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from ProQuest
Theohary, C. A. and Rollins, J. (2011). Terrorist use of the internet: Information operations in cyberspace. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/R41674.pdf
SAMPLE ANSWER
Domestic Terrorism: Cyber terrorism
Cyber terrorism is the act of using computers as weapons or as targets by the politically motivated sub-national or international groups, who end up threatening and causing fear and violence among the people so as to influence them or make the government change its current policies (Arquilla, 2013).
Advent of Cyber terrorism
The public interest in cyber terrorism began in the late 1980’s (Arquilla, 2013). The fear about the millennium bug finely tuned in the year 2000. This is when the potential cyber terrorist attacks also increased. The millennium bug was however not a terrorist attack or a plot against the United States. Instead, it acted as a catalyst to spark the fears of a large-scale devastating cyber attack. On September 11, 2001 there was a high profile terrorist attack in the United States. The states ensuing war on terror led to further media coverage of the possible threats of cyber terrorism in the following years.
How Cyber terrorism has been Combated
Since September 2001, the mainstream media coverage discusses often any possibility of a large attack making good use of the networked computers to damage dangerous infrastructures with the purpose of putting the lives of people in jeopardy or causing distraction on a national scale. Since 2002, security improved following the private sector sharing information with the government regarding the terrorist’s attacks in their private companies. There was an establishment of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which attempted to improve the sharing of information (Ferraro, 2014).
Current Policies Regarding Cyber terrorism
Policy makers that face the assessment and targeting of the future cyber threats should address the current and key issues from the multiple perspectives. The policy dimensions of the cyber terrorism include the possibility to discourage other people from resorting to it. Preparedness and prevention is another aspect whereby the sharing of information and establishment of good practices should be of primary importance. This involves the partnerships between the public and the private sectors. At the same time, threats should be detected and responded to via an alert system. This would dramatically increase the timely targeting of attacks. There should also be contigent plans and disaster recoveries in order to mitigate the attacks. Lastly, there should also be a placement of international cooperation and the establishment of active defenses (McCrisken, 2011).
National and International Level to Combat Cyber terrorism
The America’s National Strategy for combating terrorism recognizes that they are at war and that it is their solemn obligation to protect and defend their homeland and the American people. The National Strategy also recognizes that the war on terror is different kind of war since it is both a battle of arms and ideas. They do not only fight the terrorists on the battlefield but also promote freedom and the dignity of the people as an alternative to the terrorists’ wicked vision of oppression and totalitarian rule. Their paradigm to combat terrorism involves the application of all elements of the national power and influence. They do not only employ the military power but also use the diplomatic, intelligence, financial and law enforcement activities for the homeland protection. They also extend their defenses, disrupt the operations of terrorists and deny their enemies what they need in their operation and to survive.
Interface of Domestic and International Terrorism through the Internet Jihad
According to the article, Cyber Embargo, terrorists are occupied in an online jihad. This is characterized by the use of the internet in fundraising, distribution of messages and directives, recruitment and proselytization. It is, however, possible to limit the terrorists’ websites to a particular region, then a modification of current laws can allow the cyber embargo on the jihadists’ websites and their group. Together with the diplomatic cooperation, they are able to curb the impact of the jihadist websites while at the same time increasing the governments’ ability to monitor those websites and shut them down when necessary (McNeal, 2007).
Potential Impact on Domestic Security
Since the internet can be accessed very easily, the number of potential recruits by the terrorists has risen. Websites have provided an instant connection between the terrorists’ recruiters and the most interested sympathizers. Terrorists can then broadcast strong messages to a large audience of viewers. Apart from that, they can use browsers to check language settings and direct viewers to the required site which is customized for language and culture.
Why it is categorized as Domestic Terrorism
Cyber jihad, unlike cyber terrorism, is the information presented on behalf of the terrorist organizations. It can also be used on several activities that support war directly. For example, an expert in cyber terrorism called Joseph Shahda explains that ‘media jihad,’ which is the internet is as important as the battlefield of jihad. Through the internet, terrorist groups set up centers for operation, raise money, spread propaganda and at the same time communicate with ideologies. It provides an inexpensive recruiting tool for the terrorists to win their supporters and members from all over the world.
References
Arquilla, J. (2013). Twenty years of cyberwar. Journal Of Military Ethics, 12(1), 80-87.
Ferraro, M. F. (2014). “Groundbreaking” or broken? an analysis of sec cybersecurity disclosure guidance, its effectiveness, and implications. Albany Law Review, 77(2), 297-347.
McCrisken, T. (2011). Ten years on: Obama’s war on terrorism in rhetoric and practice. International Affairs, 87(4), 781-801.
McNeal, G. S. (2007). Cyber embargo: countering the internet Jihad. (German). Case Western Reserve Journal Of International Law, 39(3), 789-826.
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