Essay about Dickens Great Expectations - 712 Words

Dickens Great Expectations The novel Great Expectations uses the central character, Pip, to depict the ups and downs of a young child on a quest to become not only a man, but a gentleman. Dickens uses a variety of different techniques to create mood, setting, and atmosphere. Charles Dickens grew up in the nineteenth century, when times were hard and punishments were extremely harsh. So harsh you could be imprisoned or even hanged for stealing a loaf of bread. Dickenss father was in debt and as a result he was imprisoned and Charles went to a workhouse. The miniscule amount of money he earned supported his family. As a result of this punishment, Dickens grew to detest the law and everyone†¦show more content†¦Based on what the driver said we immediately think that Jaggers is not only powerful, but also a fearful man. He plays God to the criminals, who depend upon him to survive. In chapter one dickens uses imagery such as the gibbet to show punishment: No matter how small, pip still committed a crime and could still be punished severely, even hanged. Another image, used to portray punishment is the hulks. They were huge prison ships out on the marshes and were there to represent the punishment pip could face. Dickens uses chains to show that pip and magwitch are connected, by the crime they committed together. But on the other hand, in chapter twenty the images used to represent punishment are: Jaggers office (because he represents the law), Newgate prison and the court rooms. In chapter one, Dickens uses the river to illustrate the journey pip is about to embark upon. He uses the fog to represent pips uncertainty in life however the fog is also used to create mood atmosphere. In chapter twenty Dickens describes Jaggers chair like a coffin Rows of brass nails in it, like a coffin And as chapter one is set in a graveyard there are quite a few similarities. Dickens writes a whole page of description on Mr Jaggers room. It is all negative, which such comparisons as: A most dismal place AShow MoreRelatedDickens Great Expectations1378 Words   |  6 PagesDickens Great Expectations In this essay, I will compare the presentation of Pip as a young boy with that of Pip as an adult in Great Expectations. This novel is about a young orphan boy Pip who is given great expectations, when an unknown benefactor gives him money to become a gentleman. In the process he travels to London, deserting the people who care for him. This is a typical Victorian novel in that it has sentimental deathbed scenes such as Magwhichs whichRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1113 Words   |  5 Pagesadventures that the male characters go on. This seems to be relevant in a lot of movies and books like the story Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. In Great Expectations there are multiple female characters like Estella, Biddy, and Miss Havisham who all play a large part in the main character, Pip’s life. One of the first that we meet the character Estella in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is when Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s to play with her. The two kids play the game beggar my neighbor when EstellaRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1426 Words   |  6 Pages Twelve-year-old Charles dickens gets ready for bed after a long day at the blacking house. These Victorian-aged memories will provide him with many ideas for his highly acclaimed novel Great Expectations. Set in 1830 England, Great Expectations is a coming-of-age story about a common innocent boy named Pip and his road to becoming a gentleman through the influence of others. Pip is influenced both positively and negatively by Estella, Herbert, and Magwitch. Estella left a huge impression on PipRead MoreGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens1285 Words   |  6 PagesAP Great Book Assignment: Great Expectations The 544-page, Bildungsroman novel, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens is considered a classic because it has stood the test of time, appealing to generation after generation of readers while still remaining relevant to them. Published in 1861, Dickens created a coming-of-age story that is similar to his other novel, David Copperfield, but Great Expectations is considered to have reflected parts of his own life. There are several parallels betweenRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens943 Words   |  4 PagesGreat Expectations written by Charles Dickens consist of many dynamic characters and literary elements that help develop the novel. Dickens introduces the life of the main character, Phillip Pirrip better known as Pip, as he works his way up in society. Along the way, Pip encounters many minor characters such as Biddy to help realize his full potential. Through the use of several literary devices, for example, characterization, conflict, and imagery, we take a young naà ¯ve boy and develop him intoRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1574 Words   |  7 Pagesclass life. This boy was Charles Dickens, one of the most well known writers of all time. Throughout his life, he experienced both the middle and working class, therefore, most of his pieces of literature include characters from both of those social classes and how they view Victorian England society. His haunting childhood experience also allowed him to incorporate the themes of alienation and betrayal in Great Expectations (Cody). Throughout Great Expectations, Dickens explores the specific socialRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1344 Words   |  6 Pagessomething that is not what they truly need? Often, they use social class to fill a void in their lives that can not be filled by materialistic possessions. Many people realize this, but it is often too late. Charles Dickens demonstrates the effects of social climbing in his novel, Great Expectations. This novel explo res the connections and effects of human nature and society, which are the two most powerful forces that guide people’s decisions. Some may say that social climbing is good, but as will be provenRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1223 Words   |  5 PagesBeloved author Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. Growing up in a life of poverty, his childhood hardships provided the inspiration to write a myriad of classic novels including his 1861 seminole masterpiece, Great Expectations (â€Å"BBC History - Charles Dickens†). Great Expectations follows the life of an orphan named Pip, who’s perspective of the world is altered when he is attacked by an escaped convict in his parents’ graveyard in the town of Kent. Throughout hisRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1017 Words   |  5 Pagesexperiencer is somewhere else absorbing knowledge of a different setting.This abstract adventure is seized by author Charles Dickens in Great Expectations. Great Expectations is historical fiction giving readers comprehension of the Victorian Era.Upon the reading, readers begin to catch on the intended purpose and its significance. A person who lived during the Victorian Era was Charles Dickens himself.He grew up during a time where differences in social class were to an extreme degree.Dickens went throughRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1375 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Talented Mr Ripley by Anthony Minghella present similar criticisms of society to a large extent. Both of these texts consider the criticisms of rich social contexts (wealth and status), societal morality (whether a society is good or not. Status [can lead to the wrong people being in a high position i.e. making bad decisions affecting the community/society] Appearance [society appears to be moral/good (if you’re from a higher status) {dickens criticises

A Brief Analysis of Subprime Crisis Free Essays

string(82) " of housing decreased and more housing had to be built to meet the rising demand\." A Brief Analysis of Subprime Crisis Introduction The US subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage holes and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backing mortgages. Approximately 80% of U. S. We will write a custom essay sample on A Brief Analysis of Subprime Crisis or any similar topic only for you Order Now mortgages issued to subprime borrowers were adjustable-rate mortgages. After U. S. house sales prices peaked in mid-2006 and began their steep decline forthwith, refinancing became more difficult. As adjustable-rate mortgages began to reset at higher interest rates, mortgage crisis soared. Securities backed with mortgages, including subprime mortgages, widely held by financial firms, lost most of their value. Global investors also drastically reduced purchases of mortgage-backed debt and other securities as part of a decline in the capacity and willingness of the private financial system to support lending. Concerns about the safety of U. S. credit and financial markets led to tightening credit around the world and slowing economic growth in the U. S. and Europe. 1. Background—mortgage market The immediate reason or trigger of the crisis was the bursting of the United States housing bubble which peaked in approximately 2005–2006. High default rates on â€Å"subprime† and adjustable-rate mortgages , began to increase quickly thereafter. An increase in loan incentives, such as simple initial conditions and long-term trend of rising housing prices encouraged borrowers to increase the commitment that they will be able to quickly re-financing more favorable conditions for mortgage difficulties. Additionally, the economic incentives provided to the originators of subprime mortgages, along with outright fraud, increased the number of subprime mortgages provided to consumers who would have otherwise qualified for conforming loans. However, once interest rates began to rise and housing prices started to drop moderately in 2006–2007 in many parts of the U. S. , refinancing became more difficult. Defaults and foreclosure activity increased dramatically as easy initial terms expired, home prices failed to rise as expected, and adjustable-rate mortgage interest rates reset higher. Falling prices also resulted in 23% of U. S. homes worth less than the mortgage loan by September 2010, providing a financial incentive for borrowers to enter foreclosure. The ongoing foreclosure epidemic, which part of subprime loans, that began in late 2006 in the U. S. continues to be a key factor in the global economic crisis, because it drains wealth from consumers and erodes the financial strength of banking institutions. In the years leading up to the crisis, significant amounts of foreign money flowed into the U. S. from fast-growing economies in Asia and oil-producing countries. This inflow of funds combined with low U. S. interest rates from 2002-2004 contributed to easy credit conditions, which fueled both housing and credit bubbles. Loans of various types (e. g. , mortgage, credit card, and auto) were easy to obtain and consumers assumed an unprecedented debt load. As parts of the housing and credit booms, the amount of financial agreements called mortgage-backed securities, which derive their value from mortgage payments and housing prices, greatly increased. This financial innovation so that institutions and investors around the world to invest in the U. S. housing market. With falling house prices, is to use the world’s leading investment mortgage-backed securities severe financial institutions to report significant losses. Defaults and losses on other loan types also increased significantly as the crisis expanded from the housing market to other parts of the economy. Total losses are estimated in the trillions of U. S. dollars globally. While the housing and credit bubbles were growing, a series of factors caused the financial system to become increasingly fragile. Policymakers did not recognize the increasingly important role played by financial institutions such as investment banks. Some experts believe these institutions had become as important as commercial banks in providing credit to the U. S. economy, but they were not subject to the same regulations. These institutions and some regulated banks was also a significant debt burden, while providing the loans, there are not enough financial cushion absorb large amounts of loan default or mortgage-backed securities losses. These losses impacted the ability of financial institutions to lend, slowing economic activity. Concerns regarding the stability of key financial institutions drove central banks to take action to provide funds to encourage lending and to restore faith in the commercial paper markets, which are integral to funding business operations. Governments also bailed out key financial institutions, assuming significant additional financial commitments. The risks to the broader economy created by the housing market downturn and subsequent financial market crisis were primary factors in several decisions by central banks around the world to cut interest rates and governments to implement economic stimulus packages. Effects on global stock markets due to the crisis have been dramatic. Between 1 January and 11 October 2008, owners of stocks in U. S. corporations had suffered about $8 trillion in losses, as their holdings declined in value from $20 trillion to $12 trillion. Losses in other countries have averaged about 40%. The value of the stock market and housing losses further down the local consumer spending, an important economic engine downward pressure. The larger developed countries and emerging nations in November 2008 and March 2009 met with state leaders to develop strategies to resolve the crisis. A variety of solutions have been proposed by government officials, central bankers, economists, and business executives. 2. Causes The crisis can be attributed to a number of factors pervasive in both housing and credit markets, factors which emerged over a number of years. 2. 1 Boom and bust in the housing market The housing bubble in the United States grew alongside the stock of the late1990s. High stock wealth induced families to spend more of their new disposable income and save much less. This â€Å"consumption boom† was largely focused on housing. The increase in damand for housing had multiple effects. First, the value of houing increased, which in turn increased demand of housing and jump-started the bubble. Second, the supply of housing decreased and more housing had to be built to meet the rising demand. You read "A Brief Analysis of Subprime Crisis" in category "Essay examples" The rising housing prices created an expectation that housing values would continue to rise, leading home buyers to pay more for housing than the housing was actually worth. This self-fulfilling cycle continued until the median price of housing outgrew median incomes, peaking in about 2005. When the growth became unsustainable in 2006, the housing bubble â€Å"burst†. Before the rapid rise, followed by a sharp fall in housing prices, which will greatly exceed the mortgage debt, the translation of the value of the property. 2. 2 High-risk mortgage loans In the years before the crisis, the behavior of lenders changed dramatically. Lenders offered more and more loans to higher-risk borrowers, including undocumented immigrants. Subprime mortgages amounted to $35 billion in 1994, 9% in 1996, $160 billion in 1999, and $600 billion in 2006. A study by the Federal Reserve found that the average difference between subprime and prime mortgage interest rates declined significantly between 2001 and 2007. Decline in risk premiums and credit standards are common to the combination of the credit boom and bust cycles. In addition to considering higher-risk borrowers, lenders have offered increasingly risky loan options and borrowing incentives. In 2005, the median down payment for first-time home buyers was 2%, with 43% of those buyers making no down payment whatsoever. By comparison, China has down payment requirements that exceed 20%, with higher amounts for non-primary residences. The mortgage qualification guidelines began to change. At first, the stated income, verified assets loans came out. Proof of income was no longer needed. Borrowers just needed to â€Å"state† it and show that they had money in the bank. Then, the no income, verified assets loans came out. The lender no longer required proof of employment. Borrowers just needed to show proof of money in their bank accounts. The qualification guidelines kept getting looser in order to produce more mortgages and more securities. This led to the creation of NINA. NINA is an abbreviation of No Income No Assets. Basically, NINA loans are official loan products and let you borrow money without having to prove or even state any owned assets. All that was required for a mortgage was a credit score. 2. 3 Mortgage fraud In 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned of an â€Å"epidemic† in mortgage fraud, an important credit risk of nonprime mortgage lending, they said, could lead to â€Å"a problem that could have as much impact as the SL crisis†. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reported in January 2011, that: â€Å"†¦ mortgage fraud†¦ flourished in an environment of collapsing lending standards and lax regulation. The number of suspicious activity reports—reports of possible financial crimes filed by depository banks and their affiliates—related to mortgage fraud grew 20-fold between 1996 and 2005 and then more than doubled again between 2005 and 2009. One study places the losses resulting from fraud on mortgage loans made between 2005 and 2007 at $112 billion. Lenders made loans that they knew borrowers could not afford and that could cause massive losses to investors in mortgage securities. † New York State prosecutors are examining whether eight banks hoodwinked credit ratings agencies, to inflate the grades of subprime-linked investments. The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Justice Department, the United States attorney’s office and more are examining how banks created, rated, sold and traded mortgage securities that turned out to be some of the worst investments ever devised. In 2010, virtually all of the investigations, criminal as well as civil, are in their early stages. 2. 4 Credit default swaps Credit default swaps are financial instruments used as a hedge and protection for debtholders, in particular MBS investors, from the risk of default. As the net worth of banks and other financial institutions deteriorated because of losses related to subprime mortgages, the likelihood increased that those providing the protection would have to pay their counterparties. This caused the system uncertainty, investors did not know which company would be required to pay to cover the mortgage defaults. When investment bank Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in September 2008, there was much uncertainty as to which financial firms would be required to honor the Credit default swaps contracts on its $600 billion of bonds outstanding. Merrill Lynch’s large losses in 2008 were attributed in part to the drop in value of its unhedged portfolio of collateralized debt obligations after AIG ceased offering Credit default swaps on Merrill’s collateralized debt obligations. The loss of confidence of trading partners in Merrill Lynch’s solvency and its ability to refinance its short-term debt led to its acquisition by the Bank of America. 2. 5 Boom and collapse of the shadow banking system The securitization markets supported by the shadow banking system started to close down in the spring of 2007 and nearly shut-down in the fall of 2008. More than a third of the private credit markets can not be uesd as a source of funds. According to the Brookings Institution, the traditional banking system does not have the capital to close this gap as of June 2009: â€Å"It would take a number of years of strong profits to generate sufficient capital to support that additional lending volume. † The authors also indicate that some forms of securitization are â€Å"likely to vanish forever, having been an artifact of excessively loose credit conditions. † 3. Impacts 3. 1 Impact on the US The credit market is likely to respond with tighter lending standards, fewer warehouse subprime mortgage lines, fewer subprime lenders, and greater self-regulation and reformation, most of which will be driven by the securitization market to the extent that it still exists. There may be an urge to proactively modify loans that would likely result in default. The increased pressure from the government and consumer groups, combined with new subprime lending standards, will decrease lenders’ willingness to lend to nonprime borrowers and investors’ willingness to participate in subprime loan securitization. The result has been and will continue to be a â€Å"credit crunch† for subprime borrowers. The result will decrease availability of subprime lending, which in turn, will decrease homeownership among low-income or minority borrowers. When the housing bubble began to deflate in 2006, borrowers saw a sharp reduction in the value of their homes, and found themselves in a position of â€Å"negative equity†, or a mortgage debt that far exceeded the value of the mortgaged home. Because homeownership is the single most important source of wealth, this meant many Americans experienced a dramatic loss in personal wealth. The decline in home prices has cost American homeowners more than 4 trillion dollars in wealth, and as previously noted, has cost African Americans alone between $71 and $122 billion. The decrease in home values not only caused homeowners, but also communities, to lose wealth. As a result of foreclosure, surrounding house values have declined. Neighbors matter when it comes to putting a value on homes. Appraisers use comparable sales data to calculate the value of a home, which lenders require for selling and refinancing. Comparable sales in the community to reduce problems of all foreclosure houses, where in a position to sell the owner is not a pleasant option value. In addition, the borrower becomes unable to refinance at lower interest rates, this will cause even more foreclosures. 3. 2 Impact on the Chinese economy The US credit crunch has played out in the Chinese housing market. The house price movements in China, the US and the UK have moved synchronically, with the Chinese market lagging a bit behind the two developed countries. The market condition of China at the start of 2008 was similar to the US market during the first half of 2007, when the house prices began to drop. House prices in China increased sharply and even doubled during 2006-2008 in some fast developed cities. The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission showed that the House Price Index of 70 Large- and Medium-sized Cities in China rose 6. 5% in 2008, 1. 1% lower than the previous year. Meanwhile, the interest rate adjustment is widely used as a monetary instrument by most central banks to manage their national economies. From January 2001 to 2003, the US Federal Reserve cut the interest rate from 6. 5% to 1% to boost the economy . Cheap credit overheated the US housing market quickly. Consequently, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to cool the market. This U-turn in interest rate policy was the catalyst for the crash in the housing market that accelerated from 2006 onwards. 4. Regulatory proposals and long-term solutions President Barack Obama and key advisers introduced a series of regulatory proposals in June 2009. The proposals address consumer protection, executive pay, bank financial cushions or capital requirements, expanded regulation of the shadow banking system and derivatives, and enhanced authority for the Federal Reserve to safely wind-down systemically important institutions, among others. The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law in July 2010 to address some of the causes of the crisis. 4. 1 State and Local Action Increasingly, state and local governments have taken action responding to the foreclosure crisis through a combination of municipal litigation and anti-predatory lending bills. Baltimore and Cleveland initiated public nuisance suits against prominent lenders last year for targeting their communities through predatory lending. These cases may have an important role in providing meaningful, timely relief for a large number of homeowners who are in default or on the verge of default. In addition, over 25 states have initiated anti-predatory lending legislation triggered by North Carolina’s successful legislation enacted in 1999 and 2000. However, state legislation is limited due to federal anti-predatory lending statutes preempting state action. The Baltimore complaint, in particular, stresses the racialized impact of predatory lending. Two-thirds of the foreclosures associated with Wells Fargo lending were in census tracts with over 60% African American populations, while less than 16% were in tracts with less than 20% African American residents. 4. 2 Federal Legislative Actions Over the last year, Congress has introduced a variety of proposals designed to address the crisis, from increased funding for housing counseling and consumer education to empowering bankruptcy judges to unilaterally change the terms of existing mortgages to bail-out distressed borrowers. Federal and state regulators are following suit with guidance and restrictions on some prime lending. There has been an increase in litigation related to the subprime lending market based on discriminatory predatory lending, an increased call for â€Å"suitability standards† in mortgage lending, and more non-consumer law suits, such as investors suing issuers, lenders suing brokers, and investors suing lenders. This comprehensive legislation includes the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act, The Hope for Homeowners Act, and the Foreclosure Prevention Act. The Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act provides regulation for government sponsored entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. This regulator will have the authority to establish capital standards, prudential management standards; enforce its order through cease and desist authority, civil money penalties and the authority to remove officers and directors; restrict asset growth and capital distributions for undercapitalized institutions; put a regulated entity into receivership; and review and approve new product offerings of the enterprises. Conclusion This subprime mortgage crisis demonstrated a lesson for the world. Every financial institution and company learned an expensive lessen from it. Every country learned what they should do and what they should avoid in the future. Moreover, each individual also learned the norm, the ethics, and the responsibilities that they need to follow and take in business practice. One important thing to remember is to not be too obsessed and greedy about anything. How to cite A Brief Analysis of Subprime Crisis, Essay examples

Review of E-Learning Materials and Build Information Management System

Question: Identify an organisation which would benefit from the application of e-learning Materialsideas and explain how the ideas should be applied? Answer: Key Ideas from materials It can be found from the video that in order to build information management system the companies may require e-commerce application. The e-commerce can be effective in selecting the product and making order. The video has focused on browsing, choosing product and ordering for building a database system. The database management system can help in collecting program that can be effective in storing, modifying and extracting data for various purposes (Bakker, 2012). On the other hand, database management system can be useful for the users to access the data in order to satisfy themselves or search for any information. The data can be protected and maintained by the database management system. Moreover, the redundancy can be controlled by having a centralized database and wastage of storage space can be reduced (F.Rodd et al. 2012). On the other hand, the inconsistency of data can be avoided through database system. Therefore, any organization can be able to enhance their performance an d can provide quick service to the customers. The database system can be taken in account for imposing logical or structured organization on the information. Moreover, economy of scale can be delivered by DBMS in order to process large number of data. Apart from that E-commerce website can be helpful for the companies to provide detail information about the product category so that customers can make selection according to their preference. The E-commerce website can be active 24*7 and can be accessible by the users anytime (Lopez et al. 2013). Therefore, it can help in placing order or search for the product over the website that meets their expectation. Thus, if the companies hold an e-commerce website, then the companies can be able to reach to large number of customer and can have better customer circle. Apart from that, in order to structure information system, the companies may need to build plan, acquire raw materials and skillful workers that can help in designing most effec tive e-commerce channel (Pan et al. 2012). The e-commerce application can be effective for the users in identifying the product details such as price, size, availability, shipping method, etc. Thus would help the customer to take decision whether to buy the product or not. The E-commerce application can be helpful in delivery the information in easier manner. For example, the users can find out the address of the company without making a call to a company. On the other hand, if the customer is facing any difficulty with the service or product, the user can place complaint on the complaint page that may be available in the website (Rocha, 2013). This would save the time of user and they can get prompt response from the company. Apart from that, E-commerce can be helpful for the companies to increase the brand and product awareness in the online market. Therefore, for forming information system the company may require e-commerce application in order to make people aware about differen t range of product that is available with the company (Sallam et al. 2012). Thus, it can help the company to have a structured operational process and reach out to many customers with ease. Identify Organization and benefit of application Techbuy is an Australian computer company that provides computer service to customers. The introduction of database management system can help the company to keep a record and track the transaction and sale of the company in systematic manner. The database system can help the management of the company to access the information whenever they want. Moreover, if there is failure in hardware or software, the company can be able to recover from such failure (Zolait, 2012). Therefore, company can be able to secure the data for longer period of time. Therefore, company can build database management system for storing data relating to sales, tracking purchase and updates regarding client information. This would help the company in analyzing the growth chart. Apart from that, if the company does not in account database system then it could be difficult for the company to search for the physical document or file (Pan et al. 2012). Thus, database system can be effective in maintain records and can easily search information. Moreover, Techbuy can be able to record the transactions of customers, customer information, information relating to debit or credit, etc. Therefore, reliability can be generated and better system can be developed (Sallam et al. 2012). Apart from that, Techbuy Company can form e-commerce website for the customers that can help them to recognize different product available with the company such as pc parts and peripherals, computer products, etc. Therefore, it would help the consumers to easily identify the product and numbers of product available in the companys store. The e-commerce website can be valuable for the company to engage large customer circle that would be effective in generating revenue and income. The e-commerce application can assist the customer of Techbuy to search the latest product or price of the particular product so that they can make purchase decision. Moreover, the company can be able to enter new market and new customers (Bakke r, 2012). This would increase the visibility and brand awareness among the large number of computer users. Apart from that, the running cost of the company can become less and more number of computer products can be supplied to the consumers. On the other hand, the information system can be important for the company to handle work pressure and coordination of work can be made by keeping department update about the problem so that they can prepare themselves to handle such situations (Lopez et al. 2013). Further, the information system can be helpful for the marketing manager, finance manager, production manager, hr manager and other managers of the company to make decisions. Moreover, the department of the company can make plan t regarding sales, human resources, etc. via support of information system. Apart from that, user of information system can be able to gain accurate and up to date data in quick mode that can be valuable for the company to increase their operational efficienc y and provide quick service to consumers (Zolait, 2012). Therefore, whole ideas revolve around the use of internet that can be beneficial for the company to meet future goal of earning high income and large customer base. References Bakker, J. (2012). Improving Data Quality Control in the Xplain-DBMS. Data Science Journal, 11(0), pp.1-36. F.Rodd, S., P. Kulkrani, U. and R. Yardi, A. (2012). Modeling of DBMS Memory for Performance Tuning. International Journal of Computer Applications, 42(5), pp.35-39. Lopez, J., Huang, X. and Sandhu, R. (2013). Network and system security. Berlin: Springer. Pan, J., Chen, S. and Nguyen, N. (2012). Intelligent Information and Database Systems. New York: Springer. Rocha, A. (2013). Advances in information systems and technologies. Berlin: Springer. Sallam, A., El-Rabaie, E. and Faragallah, O. (2012). Encryption-based multilevel model for DBMS. Computers Security, 31(4), pp.437-446. Zolait, A. (2012). Knowledge and technology adoption, diffusion, and transfer. Hershey, Pa.: IGI Global.

The Department of Homeland Security and its Impacts on the United States Emergency Preparedness Success or Failure

Introduction The September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US made the US’ citizens concerned about the capacity of the government to ensure that they are secure at all times whether while in their country or in foreign nations. The resulting impacts of the terrorism act also had severe ramification on the government’s part. The government was left shocked that its security systems were not able to prevent attacks from occurring.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Department of Homeland Security and its Impacts on the United States’ Emergency Preparedness: Success or Failure specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Due to the homogenous effects of the terrorist attack, it was a matter of common knowledge that restructuring of the internal security surveillance system was necessary through the enactment of an appropriate policy in the effort to ensure that such attacks would not occur in the f uture. This prompted the creation of the division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002. DHS was mandated to shield the US from reacting to terrorists’ attacks coupled with making sure that all Americans were prepared to counter the aftermaths of natural disasters including floods, fires, diseases outbreaks, and earthquakes (Abbott, 2005, p.5).  Disaster preparedness is critical in contemporary times. America depicts well the significance of disaster preparedness owing to the degree in which the US is prone to myriads of terrorists’ attacks and other natural catastrophes. This fact makes it necessary for the US to develop various state apparatus that would enable it to respond towards emergencies that may pose a danger to the American lives (Burmgarner, 2008, p.29). Implementation of policies that aid in the establishment of apparatus for manning terrorism and natural catastrophes is critical since one of the constitutional rights of the Americans is t o have their lives protected by the government. The central apparatus that ensures the fulfillment of this legal right is the department of homeland security. FEMA is the central agency that lies within DHS. Since the establishment DHS in 2002, the US has escaped incidents of terrorist attacks. However, natural catastrophes have been recorded since then. These catastrophes often lead to economic losses to a nation. For instance, the US was struck by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hurricane Katina poked holes in the readiness of the Department of Homeland Security on issues separate from terrorism.   Perhaps this claim reveals the resurgence of the debate in the capability of the United States’ policy on emergency management and the ability of the state to deal with complex issues. This paper revolves around this interrogative.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Precisely, the paper attempts to explore the department of homeland security in a bid to determine the impact of the agency on efforts of disaster preparedness in America. The goal is to determine whether the agency has been effective or otherwise in achieving its mandate. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the DHS is based on the theoretical paradigms of disaster management. Hypothesis In the effort to explore emergency and disaster management in the US’ context, the paper attempts to determine the accomplishments and letdowns of the Department of Homeland Security. It hypothesizes that, amid being well prepared to handle situations articulated to terrorism activities, the department of homeland security is prone to being caught off guard by catastrophic natural disasters. Research Questions In the effort to prove or disapprove the hypothesis in the attempt to determine the effectiveness of the department of homeland security in achieving its mandates, this research paper grapples with three main questions: Has the disaster management capacity of the United States been overtaken by the fixation on fighting terrorism? What could explain the government’s failure to respond promptly to save the lives of Americans during Hurricane Katrina? What is the nature of the threats that the United States envisions due to the conglomeration of the disaster management organs under FEMA? Research Methodology The research methodology deployed in this research paper is qualitative research. Assessment of various researches for the establishment of theoretical paradigms that may help to explain the applicability of concepts of disaster management in manning all possible dangers that a nation may be exposed to in an attempt to respond promptly before they occur will be considered. This approach forms the basis for making comparison of the extent to which the operations of DHS measures up to the developed theoretical paradigms thus implying that the data used in the rese arch is mainly derived from secondary sources. Hence, the methodology used in this research paper introduces a challenge of reliability and validity of the inferences made herein. However, this challenge is countered by the use of a wide range of scholarly research in the discipline of disaster management. On the other hand, the instances in which the DHS has been caught off guard by disasters are based on real examples of natural catastrophes that have occurred in the recent past under the full watch of DHS. These examples are crucial in the effort to evaluate the effectiveness of DHS and in the development of theories that explain the DHS policy. Literature Review The uncertainty and unexpectedness of disasters make disaster management technique an incredibly difficult subject because disasters strike mostly when people least expect it (Abbott, 2005, p.3). All countries have probabilities of being exposed to disasters of various types. Bumgarner (2008) defines four types of disast ers: natural disasters, environmental emergencies, pandemic emergencies, and complex emergencies (p.25).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Department of Homeland Security and its Impacts on the United States’ Emergency Preparedness: Success or Failure specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Examples of natural disasters include volcano eruptions, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes amongst others. These disasters expose people to both primary and secondary impacts. With regard to Varghese (2002), natural disasters have â€Å"immediate impacts on human health, as well as secondary impacts causing further death and suffering from floods that cause landslides, earthquakes that result in fires, tsunamis that cause widespread flooding, and typhoons that sink ferries† (p.102). A well-designed disaster management system within a nation needs to be proactively prepared to avoid or reduce these implicat ions before or after the occurrence of the disasters.  Environmental disasters encompass industrial and technological accidents. They are usually experienced due to hazardous materials used in production processes. Such disasters take place where the dangerous materials are used and or transported. Forest infernos are also induced in these types of disasters. On the other hand, pandemic emergencies entail sudden eruption of contagious diseases, which have devastating effects on human health coupled with aftermaths of disruptions of businesses and service delivery mechanism. Consequently, pandemic emergencies truncate into social and economic costs. Complex emergencies entail power failures, â€Å"attacks of certain national strategic installations, and looting† (Lindell, Tierney Perry, 2001, p.19). The emergencies lead to war and or the emergence of conflicts. The resolution of these conflicts and wars has the implication of consumption of state resources at the expense of other needs of the citizens. This case perhaps explains why a nation’s arm of internal security needs to prepare and where possible identify any volatile situation that may lead to war and resolve the causes of conflicts before the situation gets out of hand to warrant the deployment of state machinery to quench the disputes. Now, it sounds plausible to posit the question: how prepared is the DHS to address these types of disasters?  The above query introduces several relevant concepts in the theory of disaster management. These concepts include disaster preparedness, disaster recovery, disaster relief, and disaster prevention. Disaster preparedness entails all the activities that are designed to ensure that damages and losses of life are minimized should a disaster struck (Smith, 2006, p.13). These activities include â€Å"removing people and property from a threatened location and or facilitating timely and effective rescue, relief, and rehabilitation† (Hansen Sc hramm, 1993, p.56).Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Through the deployment of disaster preparedness strategies, nations reduce the effects of disasters. In line with this argument, Hansen and Schramm postulate, â€Å"community-based preparedness and management should be a high priority in physical therapy practice management† (1993, p.57). Catastrophe aid refers to the â€Å"responses that are multi-agency and coordinated to enhance the mitigation of the effects of disasters coupled with their results in the long-term basis† (Hansen Schramm, 1993, p.57). Several relief activities are conducted in the event of a disaster. They include repairing of the vital utility lines that are destroyed by an accident, foods provision to the affected, relocation of people in the effort to escape the ramifications of disasters, provisions of health care, provisions of temporary shelter until the accident has been managed, and rescues of the affected people amongst other activities. After all the emergency needs are taken care of upon the occurrence of a catastrophe, disaster recovery becomes necessary. Although the initial crisis is brought to a halt, at this stage, the individuals who experience the negative impacts of the disaster are normally prone and susceptible to the implications of the accident. Adversity recuperation efforts encompass actions such as psychoanalysis and renovation of the shattered road and rail network. These efforts need to be â€Å"combined with development activities such as building human resources for health and developing policies and practices to avoid similar situations in the future† (Hansen Schramm, 1993, p.56). Lastly, it is crucial to deploy mechanisms to ensure that people affected by a disaster are protected from being exposed to similar tragedies in the future. This strategy calls for the development of strategies for disaster preventions, which include â€Å"activities designed to provide permanent protection from disasters† (Nicholson, 2003, p.67). However , it is vital to note that not all disasters can be prevented from occurring in the future. Indeed, â€Å"natural disasters, in particular, can be prevented, but the risk of loss of life and injury can be mitigated with good evacuation plans, environmental planning, and design standards† (Nicholson, 2003, p.67). Upon scrutiny of these four concepts of disaster management, the main interrogative that arises is how the existing theory on disaster management measures up to provide validity of these approaches in the mitigation and management of disasters. Emergency and Disaster Management Theory Considering the impacts of the disaster on the image of a government’s capacity to protect the life of its people, many nations have embarked on looking for mechanisms for enhancing emergency and disaster management. To achieve this noble goal, a harmonious definition of emergency and disaster as the subject matter for which an appropriate policy is to be enacted to address is vit al. However, the theory on disaster management lacks a unified definition of what amounts to an emergency or disastrous condition. Donahue and Joyce (2001) define disaster as â€Å"calumnious natural or human-caused emergency events that suddenly result in extensive negative economic and social consequences for populations they affect† (p.728). This definition implies that emergencies and disasters are physical acts or acts of nature, which destroy various socially constructed events. Despite the difficulty encountered in the effort to describe succinctly the complex social and physical aspects that may lead to disasters and hence designing the disaster preparedness apparatus to mitigate such elements, it is crucial to develop a scholarly agreement on what amounts to a disaster. The claim holds because â€Å"unless people clarify and obtain minimum consensus on defining features per se, they will continue to talk past one another on the characteristics, conditions, and conse quences of disasters† (Lindell, 2007, p.71). Despite the existence of the gaps in harmonious definition of disasters, many scholars in the field of disaster management concur that irrespective of the scale or the nature of an emergency, it has the capacity to deter the social and economic wealth fare of citizens. Therefore, governments need to come out eloquently to reduce the impacts of disasters. The realization of dangers that are posed by disasters calls for effective strategies of emergency management. Unfortunately, much of the literature in the field of emergency and disaster management focuses more on disaster predictions and consequences. It does not dwell on emergencies. This challenge makes â€Å"the focus on emergency relative besides limiting the applicability to first responders† (Lindell, 2007, p.71). The gap may be attributed to the idea that focusing scholarly work more on emergency management may create a notion that people have the ability to deal pro actively with all adverse and unprecedented occurrences termed as disasters. For this reason, the study on emergency management is seen as both oxymoron and misnomer (McEntire, 2007, p.19). Hazards whose emergency management efforts focus on has been changing as the history of experienced disasters changes. In this line of argument, McEntire (2003) posits, â€Å"practitioners and academics initially gave priority to the civil hazards of a nuclear exchange between the United States and the USSR during the Cold War† (p.39). Therefore, all apparatus of emergency disaster management paid much of their attention to emergency and disastrous conditions arising from nuclear missile exchanges. When these challenges ceased to ail different nations on successful resolution of conflicts, other new forms of disasters came up. Hence, the focus of emergency and disaster management also changed to focus on technological hazards. This approach arose from Chernobyl, three miles island, and Bho pal disaster amongst others.  With the experience of natural disasters such as Loma Prieta earthquakes, Northridge earthquake, Hurricane Andrew, and Midwest flooding, the emergency and disaster management apparatus in different nations reoriented themselves to ensure that, in the occurrence of such disasters, their repercussion on human life would be mitigated. Today, the ranges of emergency and disastrous conditions that are likely to face nations have increased to include civil emergencies attributed to acts of terrorism. Much analogous to the changing of the structures of disaster management to take up measures to deal with recurrence of the already experienced disasters, following the September 2001 terrorists attack, the US created the department of homeland security (DHS) as the central apparatus to ensure that America remains well protected against disasters associated with acts of terrorism. The main question that arises here is whether DHS will have to be restructured to ensure enhanced disaster preparedness when another disaster that has not been experienced in the past will strike America. The dilemma posed by this interrogative is that Americans are â€Å"confronted with a choice between more common, but less consequential events versus infrequent, but higher impact occurrences† (Bumgarner, 2008, p.83). Consequently, â€Å"it is difficult but also necessary to come up with an appropriate approach between hazard-specific and generic alternatives† (Bumgarner, 2008, p.83). In this endeavor, theoretical paradigms of emergency and disaster management are imperative.  Many theories have been put forward to explain disasters and emergencies management concepts. In the context of emergency and disaster management, such theories are imperative since acts of terrorism, disasters such as Chernobyl, three miles island, and the Bhopal disaster can be attributed to human behavior. Examples of the theories that can be deployed to explain some th e catastrophes that are attributed to human actions include Jetkinks social constructionism theory. The theory explains the â€Å"manufacturing of terrorism threat, conservation resources model used by Arata et al. (2000) to predict the psychological implication of the Exon Valdez oil spill disaster, and social vulnerability approach† (Enarson et al. (2003, p.4). These theories provide ample insights to emergency managers on the impacts of human behaviors’ capacity to give rise to disasters in some ways. In the first place, they indicate the existence of abundant frameworks and broad-based theoretical paradigm that links human behavior to emergencies and disasters. Secondly, they avail the basis from which true theories for disaster and emergency management and response can be rested. In the framework for analysis emergency, Donahue and Joyce maintain that emergency management is a complex policy subsystem that involves an intergovernmental, multiphase effort to mitiga te, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters† (2001, p.728). These complexities emanate from the need to determine and allocate behavioral and fiscal incentives that are necessary for the formulation of the disaster and emergency management policy. Before the occurrence of an emergency and or a disaster, spending in the apparatus of disaster management often attracts the public eye scrutiny. Indeed, Donahue and Joyce argue that, in such situations, a conflict exists between the state and public on the hazards that amount to emergencies and disasters so that public resources can be allocated to develop preparedness, response mechanism, and relief strategies. When still struggling with this debate, in case natural calamity strikes, many of the critics hardly turn around to pose a question on the necessity of government intervention. Rather, as Donahue and Joyce explain, â€Å"citizens tend to automatically view the situation as a serious public problem requiring imme diate governmental actions† (2001, p.728). In the case of the United States, this governmental action is effected through the department of homeland security. The underlying action is driven by the mandate given to the DHS to reduce incidences and magnitudes in a bid to mitigate the threats associated with the occurrence of disasters and emergencies coupled with preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the impacts of emergencies and disasters (McEntire, 2004, p.17). In this context, emergency and disaster management tools operate as both instruments of emergencies, disaster surveillance, and as apparatus for responding to disasters and emergencies within a nation.  Surprisingly, amid the development of a well-organized apparatus for disaster and emergency management, disasters still strike. Does it, therefore, mean that all apparatus for disaster management, including the department of homeland security are ineffective? Evans and Drabek (2004) offer an answer to thi s query by positing that managing disasters gives rise to challenges that are formidable to the governments’ emergency and disaster management apparatus since they present a requirement for making difficult decisions on service delivery systems for the affected people (p.45). In their nature, disasters offset the â€Å"capacity of the governments whose jurisdiction they strike† (Donahue Joyce, 2001, p.728). Therefore, the affected governments have to source aid from other nations. In the absence of a disaster, a government cannot place a diplomatic call for help should an emergency or disaster occur in the future (McEntire, 2003, p.107). This implies that the internal emergency and disaster management apparatus only have resources adequate for the development of emergency and disaster preparedness strategies but not for relief, rescue, and recovery.  The overall objective of emergency and disaster administration is â€Å"to moderate in the most pragmatic way the ex tent to which the conditions of the affected communities are worsened by a disaster† (Donahue Joyce, 2001, p.730). Directly congruent with this assertion, Donahue and Joyce, (2001) retaliate, â€Å"governments and their disaster managers undertake many actions to support this goal, both pre-disaster (to foretell potential damage) and post-disaster (to correct actual damage)† (p.731). Nevertheless, the traits of disasters hamper these great concerns of disaster and emergency management arm of government. Disasters destroy an extensive portion of the property of a given jurisdiction of a nation or state besides impairing the health of the population affected in such magnitudes and rates that are beyond the capacity of a government to avoid or avert. The repercussion for this is, â€Å"coping with them drains most, if not all, of the jurisdiction’s manpower, equipment, supplies, and money† (Donahue Joyce, 2001, p.731). A challenge is amplified by the unpred ictability and uncertainty of magnitudes of damages likely to be caused by the anticipated disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Essentially, natural disasters are hard to predict leave alone to prevent. Hence, the only possible intervention is to evacuate people from disaster-prone areas. Unfortunately, it is impossible to evacuate infrastructures such as houses, health care centers, water supply systems, roads, railway lines, power supply lines, and others. This claim implies that, no matter how a government emergency and disaster management apparatus may be able to predict the occurrence of natural disasters, it is impossible to escape the resulting implications of the disaster. The implications result in the erosion of public resources beyond the rate at which the government may be able to replenish without resorting to seeking external help. This assertion perhaps explains the slow responses on some disaster management apparatus in some nations in the event of the occur rence of a disaster. For effective management of any public problem, causative agents of the problems should be possible to identify because, upon identification of causations, their mitigation amounts to success in the management of the actual problem arising from them. Extending this argument to disaster hazards makes it incredibly challenging to identify the hazards that give rise to disasters since â€Å"the causal relationship between hazards and disaster events is poorly understood with risks being hard to measure (Donahue Joyce, 2001, p.732). Disasters are also infrequent. In some situations, the political tenure of a given government may elapse without disasters being experienced. According to Donahue and Joyce, this condition â€Å"locates governments in a quandary about whether, when, and what action to take to manage them† (2001, p.732). Furthermore, testing of disaster policies does not meet the criteria of Mazmanian and Sabatier’s tests for an implementa tion process of policy because disasters constitute intractable challenges, which are impossible to address via statutes assigning requisite resources coupled with making a clarification of responsibility lines. Lindell (2007) amplifies this argument by asserting, â€Å"disaster problems are subject to powerful non-statutory variables such as the level of public support, available administrative and leadership skills, and reigning social-economic conditions† (p.92). This argument agrees with the case that lack of a comprehensive and unified definition of the situation that amounts to disasters makes it impossible for derivation of appropriate disasters and emergency response mechanisms. Management of emergencies entails a policy subsystem, which houses various functions. All these functions â€Å"demand certain competencies by presenting specific political opportunities through the choice about the distribution of costs and benefits† (Sylves, 2007, p.25). In this conte xt, emergency and disaster management encompasses the distribution of myriads of roles via political bargaining procedure. In case of the United States, the roles of emergency and disaster management are allocated to the DHS. However, it is questionable why scholarly criticism of the effectiveness of the DHS to manage emergencies and disasters is appropriate. Donahue and Joyce respond to this question by informing, â€Å"Public officials do not allocate responsibility for design and implementation of public policy based on a comprehensive evaluation of the competency of each level government† (2001, p.735). Nevertheless, this claim does not imply that a public official is merely a self-interested actor who takes the issues of public interest in a manner that is effective and efficient. Consequently, interactions between behavioral incentives and functional competencies in the determination of the appropriate subsystem of disaster policy are immensely complex (Holdeman, 2012, Para.1).  Stemming from the above argument, Donahue and Joyce assert, â€Å"Aspects of contemporary emergency management practice are coherent applications of fundamental principles of fiscal federalism and functional theory† (2001, p.733). However, it is arguable that national governments including the United States through appropriate emergency and disaster management apparatus such as DHS engage in programs for management of emergencies and disasters, precisely recovery and responses that are prescribed by the functional theory. If this is the case, how effective is DHS in the management of disasters and emergencies? The next section discusses this query in the context of the developed theoretical paradigms on disaster management. Effectiveness of Department of Home Land Security Drawing from the literature review, the characteristics of disasters do not give the government an opportunity to prepare for responding to disasters and emergencies only when they are anticipat ed to occur. Since a disaster can strike any time, the most proactive way of responding to disasters is to have an all-time disaster preparedness national apparatus. Therefore, the occurrence of disasters has led to the creation of agencies and other apparatus to facilitate emergency preparedness in the US. These agencies are the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Following the September 2001 attacks, the US found it imperative to implement policies, which will facilitate disaster preparedness and management. The need is essential upon the consideration of the mandates of both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS is equipped with numerous resources in order to gather information on the factors, which might have an influence on the safety of the US. This case enables the relevant stakeholders to be aware of the potential disasters, which might compromise the countryâ₠¬â„¢s security prior to their occurrence. The claim further allows the authority to implement measures to counter the disasters’ effects hence protecting the inhabitants. FEMA is a section in DHS, which is mandated to coordinate disaster management that is beyond the capabilities of local and state apparatus. This case ensures that there is a plan to counter the effects of devastating disasters.  Theoretically, the development of policy leading to the creation of FEMA and DHS creates the perception that the two organs can respond to all forms of emergencies and disasters. Indeed, this is an anticipation of the public. From the dimension of the criticism of scholars, the question of whether DHS is prepared to handle emergencies and disasters in case another catastrophe strikes America (Wormuth, 2009, p.95) remains crucial. McEntire (2004) is also inclined to the perception that DHS may not be may well prepared to handle all forms of disasters that may strike America after th e September 2002 attacks (p.12). The author proposes that, from the DHS perspective point of view, â€Å"vulnerability to disasters is due to cultural misunderstandings, permeable borders, fragile infrastructure, and weak disaster management institutions† (p. 12). What this means is that DHS is ineffective in managing disasters and emergencies. Therefore, it is crucial to make an effort to â€Å"correct domestic and foreign policy mistakes† (Lindell, Tierney, Perry, 2001, p.36). However, determining the effectiveness of the DHS from this perspective is inadequate because, as established in the literature review section, disasters are unpredictable. Some natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, cannot be avoided. Consequently, one of the adequate ways of determining how effective DHS is in terms of responding to disasters is through the introspection of the manner in which it conducts the rescue and relief missions. Another, approach for evaluation of the effectiveness of DHS is through the examination of how DHS is capable of precisely predicting areas that would be impacted by disasters. From this basis, DHS can be argued as being highly effective (Wormuth, 2009, p.103).  However, Abc NEWS does not agree with the above argument since it maintains that the US remains vulnerable to both fabricated and natural disasters. For instance, Abc NEWS claims that, following the outbreak of smallpox, the government maintained that it acquired adequate vaccines to cater for all people in the US. However, New York academy of medicine â€Å"finds the government’s actual preparedness plans to be deeply flawed† (Abc NEWS, 2005, Para.6). This assertion raises the question of whether the US is capable of doing that given that its mandates extend beyond mitigation of emergencies attributed to terrorism: this being the main occurrence that led to its establishment to include management of disasters associated to natural catastrophes su ch as diseases outbreaks. This claim does not regard the massive awareness of the capability of the DHS to manage disastrous incidences in the US. After the September 2011 incident, the federal government of the United States spent billions of dollars to develop means and mechanisms of preventing future occurrence of a similar disaster in the future. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina struck, leaving massive destructions to property. Indeed, â€Å"president Bush agreed to take full responsibility for the slow and flawed response to Hurricane Katrina† (Abc NEWS, 2005, Para.1). Upon acceptance of these responsibilities, some people are inclined to the argument that assuming responsibility exemplified recognition of the ineffectiveness of the US’ disaster management apparatus in achieving its mandates. The criticism by Abc NEWS is consistent with the discussion of the nature of natural disasters. It was impossible for the DHS to avoid its occurrence. However, upon its appea rance, DHS should have responded speedily to reduce the impacts of the disasters as part of its mandate. Unfortunately, it failed. Since 1990, FEMA was charged with pursuing all-hazard-disasters and emergency management approach in matters of development of mechanisms of disaster preparedness and response. Therefore, the role of FEMA has been ensuring the US is prepared for various disasters coupled with mitigating them no matter their causes.  The inclusion of the FEMA in the department of homeland security created a conflict of mandates between the two organs, which were then required to work together. Before the merging of the two, FEMA emerged as incredibly useful in responding to natural disasters. While in the merged state, arguably, FEMA became â€Å"highly indebted in preparing for mechanism of responding to terrorism though less effective in performing its traditional mission of responding to natural disasters as time, effort, and attention were inevitably diverted to ot her tasks within the larger organization† (Wormuth, 2009, p.105: Jenkins, 2003, p. 21). Should this exposition then serve to explain the reluctance in responding to the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster?  The above question can perhaps be well answered upon consideration of the roles that were played by FEMA in responding to Hurricane Andrew in 1992. FEMA was able to react speedily to offer support, rescue, and relief to all people who were affected by Hurricane Andrew. Why did this not happen in 2005 during the disaster of Hurricane Katrina? Arguably, the merging of DHS with FEMA influenced the capacity of FEMA to work as an independent body. In this light, Nicholson (2005) argues, â€Å"FEMA will likely perform its homeland security mission at least as (if not more) effectively as an independent agency than as part of a department of homeland security† (p.11). Independency is crucial since the nature of disaster makes it imperative for a quick action to be taken witho ut deep consultations.  The occurrence of the terrorist attack of 2001 may also have eroded the effectiveness of DHS and FEMA to respond to natural disasters. Arguably, from the public concern point of view, incidences in which the safety of the American is interfered with by forces outside their territorial boundaries attract more public interest and fear compared with internal forces such as natural disasters. Consequently, the effectiveness of both FEMA and DHS in responding to Hurricane Katrina may be attributed to the conglomeration of the disaster management organs under FEMA and over-concentration on putting in place mechanisms of developing preparedness to disasters associated with terrorist attacks. Therefore, the emergence of new forms of accidents truncates into the erosion of effectiveness in responding to other kinds of disasters. This argument gains weight by considering, â€Å"the United States has been well behind most industrialized countries in obtaining supplie s of the one medicine that works against the bird flu† (Abc NEWS, 2005, Para. 17). Nevertheless, given that some disasters are inevitable and that their probabilities of occurrence are hard to determine, the degree of responding immediately when they occur needs not to be an indicator of the capacity of the degree of effectiveness of a disaster management apparatus, mainly if the disasters were not predicted in good time. The claim holds because, upon the occurrence of a disaster or an emergency within nations, making of a responsible logistical arrangement is necessary at least over a short period following the occurrence of a disaster or an emergency. However, the speed at which DHS and FEMA responded to hurricane Katrina questions the effectiveness of these organs in responding to disasters that are different from terrorism attacks. Conclusion Many nations across the globe encounter emergencies and disasters. In the paper, disasters were defined as calamitous emergency even ts that are caused by human beings or by nature and which have social and economic negative implications. It was argued that, although disasters are of different magnitudes, a common characteristic is that they damage the general welfare of the populations they affect. Due to the magnitude of the damages that are caused by disasters, the government is the chief instrument that takes the responsibility of providing aid to the people affected within its jurisdiction through emergency and disaster management apparatus created by the government. The device develops a means and or a mechanism of the emergency and disaster preparedness, response, relief, and rescue. As evidenced by the paper, the concern of each of these elements depends on the period of progression of the disaster from before it has occurred to after it has happened.  In the US, the roles and the responsibility of emergency and disaster preparedness, relief, rescue, and response fall on the department of homeland secur ity and FEMA. While FEMA is a central agency within DHS, the DHS was constituted following the September 2001 terrorists attack as one of the mechanism of restructuring the disaster managing system of the US to enhance better disasters preparedness, response, and relief in the future not only from natural disasters and calamities such as diseases outbreaks but also from terrorist attacks. From the basis of the mandates of DHS, the focus of this paper was to scrutinize the effectiveness of DHS through the articulation of theoretical paradigms on emergency and disaster management. In this extent, it had been argued that, even though the literature on emergency and disaster management provides strong evidence that some disasters are unpredictable, infrequent, and enormous to the extent that they constrain resources available to the government, DHS has suffered inefficiencies in the management of disasters and emergencies. A strong case for holding this position is the sluggish response by DHS to the 2005 hurricane Katrina disaster compared to the rapid response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 by FEMA. Reference List Abbott, B. (2005). A legal guide to Homeland Security and Emergency Management for State and Local Governments. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association. Abc NEWS. (2005). Unprepared for disaster: experts say United States may not be prepared for natural or man-made calamities. Web. Arata, C., et al. (2000). Coping with Technological Disaster: An Application of the Conservation of Resources Model to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. 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Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Lindell, M., Tierney, K., Perry, R. (2001). Facing the Unexpected: Disaster Preparedness and Response in the United States. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press. McEntire, D. (2003). Epistemological Problems in Emergency Management: Theoretical Dilemmas and Implications Epistemological Problems in Emergency Management: Theoretical Dilemmas and Implications (Monograph No. 76203-0617). Denton, Texas: Universi ty of North Texas. McEntire, D. (2004). The Status of Emergency Management Theory: Issues, Barriers, and Recommendations for Improved Scholarship. Paper Presented at the FEMA Higher Education Conference. FEMA: Higher Education Conference. McEntire, D. (2007). Disciplines, Disasters, and Emergency Management. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, LTD. Nicholson, W. (2003). Emergency Response and Emergency Management Law: Cases and Materials. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, LTD. Nicholson, W. (2005). Homeland Security Law and Policy. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas, Publisher LTD. Smith, F. (2006). Budgeting for disasters—part I. Overview of the problem. The Public Manager, 35(1), 11-19. Sylves, R. (2007). A Prà ©cis’ on Political Theory and Emergency Management (Monograph). Newark, DE 19716: University of Delaware. Varghese, M. (2002). Disaster Recovery. Boston: Course Technology. Wormuth, C. (2009). The Next Catastrophe: Ready or Not? Washington Quarterly, 3 2(1), 93-106. This research paper on The Department of Homeland Security and its Impacts on the United States’ Emergency Preparedness: Success or Failure was written and submitted by user Keaton Irwin to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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Eighteen combat-ready special forces, wearing assault black, jump packs and combat gear, stare down the deep end of a greasy ramp into the night sky. Village lights flicker 19,000 feet below. The STRIKE FORCE LEADER signals to his team. Without a moment's hesitation, they dive into the darkness and plummet toward earth. EXT. MANSION - NIGHT A military GUARD, old Soviet-style uniform, rounds the corner of the large estate toting an AK-47. A red laser dot appears briefly on his forehead and, after a beat, the red dot seems to bleed. The Guard collapses dead. Two other GUARDS are dispatched with single, silenced shots. A Strike Team member at a junction box awaits a signal. Through infra-red binoculars the strike Force Leader watches his assault troops as they take positions. STRIKE FORCE LEADER(into headset/in Russian)GO! On the estate - as the power goes out. The team on the mansion's front porch pops the door and pours in. INT. FIVE TEAM MEMBERS as they rush a stairway in phalanx formation. They nearly knock over an old lady, who in turn lets out a blood curdling scream. UPSTAIRS CORRIDOR - The team kicks open a door. Rushes into the room. INT. BEDROOM - Assault weapons pointed at the bed. The soldiers yank back bedsheets to reveal IVAN STRAVANAVITCH, a middle-aged man and his half-naked 18-year-old concubine. SOLDIER Get up, now! Up! The soldiers pull Stravanavitch to his feet and haul him out of the room. FOLLOWING - As they push down the hallway. MANSION SECURITY GUARDS rally with haphazard gunfire. Out come the strike force's flash-bang grenades. Exploding everywhere, disorienting Stravanavitch's men. Signal flares burn as a helicopter descends on the position. The Strike Team evacuates across the field and forces a struggling Stravanavitch into the low-hovering copter. The commandos swiftly board the craft as a handful of Stravanavitch's guards break into the clearing. They open fire. And the mount... Free Essays on Air One Free Essays on Air One Eighteen combat-ready special forces, wearing assault black, jump packs and combat gear, stare down the deep end of a greasy ramp into the night sky. Village lights flicker 19,000 feet below. The STRIKE FORCE LEADER signals to his team. Without a moment's hesitation, they dive into the darkness and plummet toward earth. EXT. MANSION - NIGHT A military GUARD, old Soviet-style uniform, rounds the corner of the large estate toting an AK-47. A red laser dot appears briefly on his forehead and, after a beat, the red dot seems to bleed. The Guard collapses dead. Two other GUARDS are dispatched with single, silenced shots. A Strike Team member at a junction box awaits a signal. Through infra-red binoculars the strike Force Leader watches his assault troops as they take positions. STRIKE FORCE LEADER(into headset/in Russian)GO! On the estate - as the power goes out. The team on the mansion's front porch pops the door and pours in. INT. FIVE TEAM MEMBERS as they rush a stairway in phalanx formation. They nearly knock over an old lady, who in turn lets out a blood curdling scream. UPSTAIRS CORRIDOR - The team kicks open a door. Rushes into the room. INT. BEDROOM - Assault weapons pointed at the bed. The soldiers yank back bedsheets to reveal IVAN STRAVANAVITCH, a middle-aged man and his half-naked 18-year-old concubine. SOLDIER Get up, now! Up! The soldiers pull Stravanavitch to his feet and haul him out of the room. FOLLOWING - As they push down the hallway. MANSION SECURITY GUARDS rally with haphazard gunfire. Out come the strike force's flash-bang grenades. Exploding everywhere, disorienting Stravanavitch's men. Signal flares burn as a helicopter descends on the position. The Strike Team evacuates across the field and forces a struggling Stravanavitch into the low-hovering copter. The commandos swiftly board the craft as a handful of Stravanavitch's guards break into the clearing. They open fire. And the mount...

The Cold Case of the Keddie Cabin Murders

The Cold Case of the Keddie Cabin Murders On April 11, 1981, 36-year-old Glenna Sue Sharp, her 15-year-old son John, and his 17-year-old friend Dana Wingate were murdered in Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort, in Keddie, California. It was discovered later that 12-year-old Tina Sharp was missing. Her remains surfaced years later. Before the Murders Sue Sharp and her five children- John, 15, Sheila, 14, Tina, 12, Ricky, 10, and Greg, 5- moved from Quincy to Keddie and rented Cabin 28 five months before the murders. On the evening of April 11, 1981, Sue had given the okay for Ricky and Greg to have their friend, 12-year-old Justin Eason, over to spend the night. Justin was also relatively new to Keddie. He had been living in Montana with his father, but moved in with his mother and stepfather, Marilyn and Martin Smartt, in November 1980. The Smartts lived in Cabin 26, which was just a short distance from the Sharps cabin. Letting Justin spend the night would not be a problem, but if it became one, Sue knew she could always send him home. Plus the house was fairly empty. Sheila had plans to go to a sleepover at a friends house. John and his friend, 17-year-old Dana Wingate, were going to Quincy that night, then coming back to hang out in Johns bedroom in the basement. Tina was over in Cabin 27 watching television, but came home around 10 p.m. The Discovery The following morning Sheila Sharp returned home at around 7:45 a.m. As she opened the door, she immediately noticed an offensive odor that seemed to engulf the room. When she stepped into the living room, it took her mind a moment to comprehend what her eyes were seeing. Her brother John appeared to be bound and lying on his back on the living room floor. There was blood caked around his neck and face. Next to John was a boy, bound and lying face down. It appeared that the boy and John were tied together at their feet. Her eyes then landed on a yellow blanket that was covering what looked like a body. Gripped by fear, Sheila ran to the neighbors while screaming for help. The investigation into the murders was initially handled by the Plumas County Sheriffs Office. From the start, the investigation was riddled with errors and oversights. To begin with, the crime scene was never properly secured. Even more astounding was the amount of time that it took for the police to realize that Tina Sharp was missing. When the first police officers arrived at the scene, Justin Eason tried to tell them that Tina was missing, but they ignored what the boy was saying. It wasnt until hours later that everyone realized that the 12-year-old daughter of the murdered woman was gone. The Murders Inside Cabin 28, investigators found two kitchen knives, one that had been used with such force that the blade was severely bent. Also found was a hammer, a pellet gun, and a pellet on the living room floor, which led investigators to believe that the pellet gun was also used in the attacks. Each victim had been bound with several feet of medical tape and electrical appliance wires removed from appliances in the home and extension cords. There was no medical tape at home before the murders, indicating that one of the attackers brought it in to help bind the victims. An examination of the victims was conducted. Sue Sharps lifeless body was found under the yellow blanket. She was wearing a robe, and her underwear had been removed and forced into her mouth. Also in her mouth was a ball of tape.   The underwear and tape were held in place with an extension cord that was also tied around her legs and ankles. Both Sue and John Sharp had been beaten with a claw hammer and stabbed multiple times in their bodies and throat. Dana Wingate was also beaten, but with a different hammer. He had been strangled to death. There was considerable blood on the living room floor, and drops of blood on Tinas bed. The investigation pointed to rape as the motivation behind kidnapping Tina, instead of murdering her in the home with the others. More evidence found included a bloody footprint that was discovered in the yard and knife marks in some of the walls of the home. The Investigation While the brutal attacks inside Cabin 28 were going on, Sues sons Ricky and Greg and their friend Justin Eason were sleeping undisturbed in the boys bedroom. The boys were found unharmed in the room the following morning after the murders.   A woman and her boyfriend, who were in the cabin next door to the Sharps cabin, were woken up at around 1:30 a.m. by what they described as  muffled  screams. The sound was so disturbing that the couple got up and looked around. When they were unable to determine where the screams were coming from, they went back to bed. It seems impossible that screams woke the neighbors, but did not disturb the boys that were in the same house where the screams originated. Also perplexing is why the killers chose not to harm the boys when any one of them could have been pretending to be asleep and later identified the perpetrators. A Possible Break in the Case The Plumas County Sheriffs Office questioned anyone who could have heard or witnessed something that could help solve the case. Among those that they interviewed were the Sharps neighbor, Justin Easons stepfather, Martin Smartt. What he told investigators made him a prime suspect in the crime. According to Smartt, on the night of the murders, a friend of his by the name of Severin John â€Å"Bo† Boubede was staying with the Smartts on a temporary basis. He said he and Boubede first met a few weeks earlier at the Veterans Administration Hospital, where they were both receiving treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. Smartt claimed to suffer from PTSD as a result of his time spent fighting in Vietnam. He went on to say that earlier in the evening of April 11, he, his wife, Marilyn and Boubede, decided to go to the Backdoor Bar for a few drinks.   Smartt worked as a chef at the Backdoor Bar, but it was his night off. On the way to the bar, the group stopped in on Sue Sharp and asked her if she wanted to join them for drinks. Sue told them no, so they left for the bar. At the bar, Smartt complained angrily to the manager about the music that was playing. They left shortly afterward and went back to the Smartts cabin. Marilyn watched television, then went to bed. Smartt, still angry about the music, called the manager and complained again. He and Boubede then went back to bar for more drinks. Thinking that they now had a prime suspect, the Plumas County sheriff contacted the Department of Justice in Sacramento. Two DOJ investigators, Harry Bradley and P.A. Crim, conducted additional interviews on Martin and Marilyn Smartt and Boubede. During the interview with Marilyn, she told the investigators that she and Martin separated the day after the murders. She said that he was short-tempered, violent, and abusive. After the interviews with the Smartts and Boubede were completed and Martin was polygraphed, the DOJ investigators decided that none of them were involved with the murders. Marilyn Smartt was interviewed again at a later date. She told investigators that Martin Smartt hated John Sharp. She also admitted that early in the morning of April 12, she saw Martin burning something in the fireplace. Back to Justin Eason As time went on, Justin Eason began to change his story. He had told the investigators that he was asleep during the murders, as were the other two boys, and that he did not hear anything.   In a later interview, he described in detail a dream that he had where he was on a boat and saw John Sharp and Dana fighting with a man with long black hair, a mustache, and black glasses, who was carrying a hammer. The man threw John overboard, and then Dana, who he said was very drunk.   He went on to describe seeing a body that was covered in a sheet lying on the bow. He looked under the sheet and saw Sue, who had a knife cut in her chest. He tried to help her by patching the wound with a rag, which he ended up throwing into the water. In reality, Sue Sharp did have a knife wound in her chest. Another time, while being polygraphed, Eason told the polygrapher that he thought that he saw the murders. He said that a noise woke him up and that got up and looked through the door into the living room. He said he saw Sue Sharp laying on the sofa and that there were two men standing in the middle of the room. He described the men, one with black and dark glasses, the other with brown hair and wearing army boots. John Sharp and Dana came into the room and began arguing with the two men. A fight broke out, and Dana tried to escape out through the kitchen, but the man with the brown hair hit him with a hammer. John was being attacked by the man with the black hair, and Sue tried to help John. Justin said that this point, he hid behind the door. He then saw the men tying up John and Dana. He also claimed that he saw Tina come into the living room holding a blanket and asking what was going on. The two men grabbed her and took her out the back door as Tina tried to call for help. He said the man with the black hair used a pocket knife to cut Sue in the middle of her chest. Justin worked with a sketch artist and came up with composites of the two men. A Former Neighbor On June 4, 1981, investigators Bradley and Crim interviewed a man who lived in Cabin 28, but moved two weeks before the murders. He said he did not know the Sharps, but that three weeks before the murders he heard Sue Sharp and an unknown man yelling at each other. They continued to fight for another 30 minutes, screaming obscenities back and forth at each other. DOJ Investigators Get a Slap From the Locals When details of the interviews that Bradley and Crim had conducted with Martin Smartt and Boubede came to light, the Plumas County authorities were livid. Bradley and Crim were accused of sloppy work and failing to fact check or to pursue clarification for obvious discrepancies made by Smartt and Boubede. During the initial interview with Crim, BouBede said that he had worked as a Chicago police officer for 18 years, but retired after being shot while in the line of duty. This was an obvious lie which could have quickly been spotted had Crim paid attention to Boubedes date of birth.  Boubede lied about how long he had lived in Kiddie by adding two weeks to the time.  He said Marilyn was his niece, which was a lie. He claimed Marilyn was awake when he and Smartt came home after their second trip to the bar. Had anyone been paying attention, they would have caught that it contradicted what Marilyn said, which was that she was asleep when the two men came home. BouBede said he never met Sue Sharp, which contradicted what Marilyn said about the three of them stopping at the Sharp house and inviting her for a drink. Bradley and Crim showed a similar lack of energy when interviewing Martin Smartt. In one interview, Smartt said that his stepson Justin Eason might have seen something on the night of the murders, adding, without me detecting him at the end of the sentence. The investigators either missed the implications in Smartts slip up, or they werent listening. Smartt talked to the investigators about the hammers that used in the murder, adding that he had recently lost is own hammer. There were no follow-up interviews with Smartt or BouBede, since the investigators believed that the pair had no involvement in the murders. No longer a prime suspect, Martin Smartt moved to Klamath, California. Boubede returned to Chicago where he scammed several police officers out of money, was caught and almost did prison time, but died before being incarcerated. Tinas Remains In 1984, the cranium part of a skull was found about 30 miles from Keddie. Several months later an anonymous caller told the Butte County Sheriffs office that the skull belonged to Tina Sharp. Another search of the area was made, and a jawbone and several other bones were found. Testing confirmed that the bones belonged to Tina Sharp. The Butte County Sheriffs office gave the original and the backup copy of the recording from the anonymous caller to someone in law enforcement. Since then, both the original and the backup copies have disappeared. A Dead Mans Confession and New Evidence Martin Smartt died in 2000, and not long after his death, his therapist told the Plumas County Sheriffs Office that Smartt had confessed to him that he killed Sue Sharp because she was trying to convince Marilyn to leave him. Smartt never mentioned who killed John, Dana, or Tina. He also told the therapist that it was easy to beat the polygraph, that he and Plumas County Sheriff Doug Thomas were friends, and one time he let Thomas move in with him. On March 24, 2016, a hammer was found that that matches the description of the hammer that Marty Smartt claimed was missing two days after the murders. According to Plumas County Sheriff Hagwood, the location it was found... It would have been intentionally put there. It would not have been accidentally misplaced.

Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Business Environment - Essay Example These elements may include leadership and management, clientele, technological factors, rules and regulations of a government, competition, financial planning. In addition, marketing strategies, demand and supply within the area of business, the economic inclinations are other factors that influence the business environment (McNamara 1999). Therefore, the is a distinction in both the purpose and objectives of different types of organizations within any business environment. This determines whether the organization is profit or nonprofit based (McNamara 1999). Profit organizations have the sole purpose of generating profits, such that the amount of money the organization is taking out should be less than the amount of money the organization is taking in (McNamara 1999). In addition, the organization leaders or owners may opt to hold s larger portion of the returns after deducting all the expenses such as salaries and benefits to employees, bills, among others (McNamara 1999). Addition ally, in the profit organizations, the management may choose to cut back on running costs in order to maximize profits. For example, the organization may choose to cut back on personnel in case the management feels that they do not require as much personal or in case they want to incorporate more technological advancements (McNamara 1999). In general, the management has the overall decision making capacity and formulate plans that enable the organization maximize on its returns as it acquires its market share within the economic sector. As a result, marketing strategies become vital for profit organizations as its main goal is to maximize its returns through reaching to a larger clientele (McNamara 1999). Examples of profit organization include Coca Cola, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, among others. On the other hand, the sole purpose of nonprofit organizations is to benefit the society. They are mostly created for specific tasks such as religious, educational, or charitable (Carter 200 8). For the sole purpose of nonprofit organizations is to serve the community, they operate under strict rules and regulations that ban the owners of the organization from taking the profits for their own gain. This means that, nonprofit organizations have laws that allow them to operate some business activities although the proceeds obtained are to benefit the community (McNamara 1999). Therefore, the profits obtained from the business activities is recirculates into the organization in order for it to achieve its mission and objectives for the community (Carter 2008). Therefore, nonprofit organizations not only run some business activities but they obtain their funding from donations from the public or grants from other organizations. The examples of nonprofit organizations include research institutes, foundations, public schools, public universities, museums, public hospitals, professional associations, among others (Justia 2013). Typical real world examples include Red Cross, UN , (Justia 2013). Any organization, whether profit or nonprofit formulated objectives and missions targeting a particular group or clientele. Therefore, any organization has responsibilities to reach their targets. For instance, in case the organization is profit based, then its responsibilities will vary from making sure of the

Cultural health style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural health style - Essay Example Access to highly advanced medical technologies and to good medical services are the two general health disparities quite common to African Americans. Quaye (2005) remarks that there are barriers in accessing medical care especially to the African-American cultural group. And these barriers go beyond the economic facet. Access to the health care system in America is racially embedded. Particularly to pregnant women, â€Å"African American women are twice as likely as whites to receive no health care at all† (as cited in Quaye, 2005, p. 2). Cockerham further notes that if pregnant African American women were ever to receive a medical care service, it only occurred in the last trimester of their pregnancies (as cited in Quaye, 2005). Johnson (1999) admits that it is not always possible for African Americans to access and receive medical services and even to â€Å"obtain the care they need† (p. 5). Besides the lack of accessing the health services characterized in the Ameri can medical setting, the African Americans hardly receive the services that are substantially high standard, let alone proper to their medical needs. For instance, African Americans undergo an amputation procedure which is â€Å"3.6 times as frequent among Blacks as whites† (as cited in Quaye, 2005, p. 2).

Pakistan Flood Essay Example for Free

Pakistan Flood Essay The Pakistan flood of 2010 happened on Monday the 26th July 2010 in the villages Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan. Causes The heavy rains were caused by a monsoon depression (also called a monsoon low) that formed over the Bay of Bengal on July 24, crossed over India, and reached Pakistan on July 27 Climate change – There was unusually heavy monsoon rains which caused widespread flooding in Pakistan, whilst coinciding in Russia unusually high temperatures ( resulting in a heat wave). Both of which were attributed to global warming. Poor river management Impacts Over 500,000 or more people had been displaced from their homes At least 1,540 people died, 2,088 people had received injuries and 557,226 houses had been destroyed. Infrastructure was destroyed. The Karakoram Highway, which connects Pakistan with China, was closed after a bridge was destroyed. Floodwater destroyed the health care infrastructure leaving people vulnerable to water-borne disease Millions of crops were destroyed leaving a severe shortage of food across the country Responses * petitions were immediately launched by international organisation, like the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)– and the UN (United Nations) – to help Pakistanis hit by the floods * the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided support in disaster management authorities to assist evacuate populations from affected areas of southern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, * Many charities and aid agencies provided help, including the Red Crescent and Medicines Sans Frontiers * Pakistan’s government also tried to raise money to help the huge number of people affected * But there were complaints that the Pakistan government was slow to respond to the crisis, and that it struggled to cope * Foreign Governments donated millions of dollars, and Saudi Arabia and the  USA promised $600 million in flood aid. But many people felt that the richer foreign governments didn’t do enough to help * The UN’s World Food Programme provided crucial food aid. But, by November 2010, they were warning that they might have cut the amount of food handed out, because of a lack of donations from richer countries Effects There were both long-term and short-term effects, they include: Short-term:- * At least 1600 people died * Aid couldn’t get through because of the failing infrastructure 45 major bridges and thousands of kilometres of roads were destroyed or badly damaged, limiting the aid supplies reaching the areas badly affected * loss of cattle resulted in loss of dairy products * Access to health care, such as maternity care was difficult due to the damaged infrastructure Long-term:- * 20 million Pakistanis were affected (over 10% of the population), 6 million needed food aid * Whole villages were swept away, and over 700,000 homes were damaged or destroyed * Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis were displaced, and many suffered from malnutrition and a lack of clean water * 5000 miles of roads and railways were washed away, along with 1000 bridges * 160,000km2 of land were affected. That’s at least 20% of the country * About 6.5 million acres of crops were washed away in Punjab and Sindh provinces Future Local authority-run disaster management forums, including local men and women were set up to assess future flood situation and created Community Rapid Response Teams to plan search and rescue activities. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) produced a plan to  employ local tradesmen to help reconstruct shelters, etc which in turn provided an income for those people this will encourage the local economy to grow. Reconstructing and strengthening the irrigation band was deemed crucial to protect villages in the future. A plan to rebuild embankment and well maintain them was created.