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Home Cooking: Marketing Meth

Notably, sociology entails the study of human behavior and conduct in social context, as well as predicting the possible behavior of human beings in different circumstances. Sociological terminologies and concepts attempt to integrate the realities of social life and real life circumstances that individuals encounter, in life. Further, sociology is keenly interested in studying the social structures and organizations, which facilitate and sustain peaceful and mutual coexistence of human beings; as they work together to improve their living standards. This brief write up will examine the applicability of interpersonal relationship and social trust sociological concepts in the article, as well the ways in which the terms explains the events that are evident in the article (Home Cooking: Marketing Meth).

#1 Interpersonal Relationship

An interpersonal relationship describes a connection between individuals and this connection can vary from transitory to abiding relationships. The basis of interpersonal relations may be grounded on love, business transactions that are regular, inference and solidarity among other social commitments (Cook 38). The most suitable contexts for the development of interpersonal relationships are the cultural and social situations, which demand association with other people; as human beings depend on other people to survive. Further, the contexts that facilitate and promote interpersonal relationships can range from family relations, marriage, friendships clubs, work, worship places and associate relations among others (Eisenstadt and Roniger 47). It is essential to note that interpersonal relationships are regulated and controlled by mutual agreement, customs and law. Interpersonal relationships are fundamental in the society; as they form the basis of social groups and the entire society, which supports life and maintains social harmony and peace.

Essentially, the production, distribution and sale of meth is a complex process, which cannot be handled by an individual. Therefore, the process requires a strong network of connections between people to ensure that business is run, without problems. Further, the production, sale, possession, use of meth is illegal, and people who are involved require the connections of other people who can conduct business with them (Eisenstadt and Roniger 49). Evidently, production of meth is an expensive process, and many people form groups and pool their resources to set up lab facilities, which can produce enough meth for members to consume and sell the surplus to other users (Cook 45). The nature of this business demands operating with close ties and family members sot that cooks can manage to hide their illegal activities from the authorities. In most cases, family members divide the production labor and work together to bring success to the business of meth production. The involvement of family members into an illegal business is a serious case of deviant behaviors, which demonstrate the intensity of moral decadence, in the society; as family members facilitate their counterparts to break the law.

From a broad net, there are cases of importation of meth from other countries and these transactions are achieved through a network of individuals who are connected to ensure successful distribution and sale to the local people. The entire activities and transaction are only possible through healthy interpersonal relationships, which develop mutual interactions that benefit all parties that are involved in the business of cooking and distributing meth.

#2 Social Trusts

Social trust describes a situation of a person choosing to rely on the actions and deeds of another person; the two persons focus on the future benefits of the trust (Eisenstadt and Roniger 58). Notably, the person who trusts another person surrenders the control of a situation to another person. The implication of trusting another person and surrendering control of a situation is that there are uncertainties, which can yield to risks of harm or failure in the trusting situation (Eisenstadt and Roniger 63). Essentially, trust is attributed to associations between people and human beings has the disposition to develop trust towards another person, as well as judge the possibility of trustworthiness on another party using the gut feelings (Cook 56). Further, trust can be traced in groups, in a society; as people can only live in harmony if they trust one another. Therefore, trust is an essential component of social relationships and social interactions because people relate with individuals that they can trust.

Meth production, use, sale and possession are illegal business, and such businesses cannot be conducted in the open. These businesses can only be between people who know trust one another. Notably, the business is conducted between friends, family members and acquaintances; as these are the people who have spent time together and they can trust that one individual will not betray them to the authorities. Further, the sale of imported meth is done, by people who are trusted, by the owners to handle the vast amounts of cash, which is obtained from the sale of meth. Meth attracts a lot of profit and a lot of efforts are involved in the production chain of this drug (Cook 72). Therefore, trusted people purchase the law materials and take the materials to designated points for subsequent manufacture of the drug.

In conclusion, sociological concepts can be directly applied into real life circumstances to explain the behavior and reasons, which people have for maintain certain social interactions. Social trust and interpersonal relationships are vital in maintaining mutually beneficial interactions, which benefit the entire parties that are involved in any social arrangement (Eisenstadt and Roniger 72). Drug business and production processes require rich interpersonal relationships and deep social trust, which ensure that the dealers survive the nets of law enforcers.

Works Cited

Cook, Karen. Trust in Society. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2003. Print.

Eisenstadt, Richard and Roniger, Luis. Patrons, Clients and Friends: Interpersonal Relations and the Structure of Trust in Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1984. Print.

Free Movement Of Goods Article 34 And 36

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TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc377996404” Question 1: Advise Free Pork Ltd If It Has Any Grounds Under EU Law For Challenging The Two Spanish Laws PAGEREF _Toc377996404 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377996405” Question 2. Advise Free Pork Ltd if it has any grounds under EU law for challenging the Spanish advertising requirement. PAGEREF _Toc377996405 h 4

Question 1: Advise Free Pork Ltd If It Has Any Grounds Under EU Law For Challenging The Two Spanish LawsBoth articles (Article 34 and 36) prohibit measures, which have particular restrictive effects. In majority of the cases, the term ‘measures’ equates to the laws passed directly by the Member State government. However, the ECJ (European Court of Justice), has stated that a measure can be an item wider and less well-described. It is worth noting that the course of Conduct for a State intended to induce discriminatory practice among consumers and private individuals can constitute a measure (regardless it having or lacking a binding influence) and be in violation of the Article 34. The aspect of measures can also include the inaction of a State to stop private individuals’ acts, which prevent the free movement of goods (The College of Law 2012, p200).

The ECJ described the expression of quantitative restriction as measures that amount to partial or total restraint of, based on the circumstances, exports, imports or goods in transit. There are two laws that apply in this category but in this case, the most applicable law is the outright ban enforced by a Member State (Spain) on imports from another Member State (The College of Law 2012, p201). Free Pork Ltd plans to begin selling its products in Spain have been hampered by the law that requires the sale of sausages produced from humanely reared pigs to be checked by Spanish Sausage Checkers (SSC). If the sausages are not checked by SSC, the law prohibits its sales in Spain. However, the process of verifying whether the sausages have those conditions is usually lengthy. Therefore, Free Pork can challenge this Spanish law. There is also a law that requires the name of the company not to use words that imply health or fitness. Free Pork can also challenge this law because it restricts the importation of goods and can affect the brand image of the company.

The SSC is a form of a licencing system, which according to the articles, subjects the import of merchandises to the condition of getting an import licence. Even in situations where the application for an import licence is regarded a mere formality; it is a Quantitative Restriction. This is because is simply a mechanism in which imports can be restricted. In practice, it is very rare for the Member States laws to result to quantitative restrictions. The ban on exports or imports between Member States is only found in unusual circumstances (The College of Law 2012, p201). Therefore, failure by Free Pork Ltd to meet the conditions set by the Spanish laws is an outright ban on exporting sausages to this Member State. As stated earlier, the ban only happens in unusual circumstances, and thus, Free Pork can challenge the law because an unusual circumstance lacks, which prohibits it from exporting the goods to Spain.

The directive was important in developing a brief wording of the Article 34 TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) and it continues to offer guidance on the measures that can constitute a breach of Article 34 TFEU prohibitions. Article 2(1) of the directive describes a class of measures (for instance, national laws) that treat imported goods and domestic goods differently. They are commonly referred to as distinctly applicable measures. Article 3 of the directive describes a class of national laws that apply equally to imported and domestic products. These laws have a restrictive impact and they are commonly referred to as indistinctly applicable (The College of Law 2012, p202).

Therefore, the directive classifies both indistinctly and distinctly applicable measures as measures that have an impact equivalent to restrictions on imports. From the statement, it can be stated that a national law can become MEQR (Measures having Equivalent effect to a Quantitative Restriction) regardless of whether it “discriminates against imported products or appears to treat them in the same way as domestic products but is in practice restrictive in effect” (The College of Law 2012, p202). It is important to note that a Member State is capable of justifying more easily an indistinctly applicable law. Although Free Pork can challenge the law on imports restriction, Spain can justify its law because it is indistinctly applicable.

There are three categories of national laws capable of being MEQRs. The first category is laws aimed at enforcing standards (generally minimum standards) concerning matters like weight, description, labelling, size, content or price of goods. The second category is laws concerning tests designed to make sure that goods conform or obey standards indicated in the first category of laws. The third category is laws able to influence the behaviour of consumers and traders. Therefore, the emphasis is on the rules that are capable of having an impact, rather than on the rules essentially having an impact (The College of Law 2012, p204). The requirement to change the name of the company to a name that does not imply fitness or health can be challenged because that law has satisfied the requirement of being MEQRs. Therefore, Free Pork Ltd can challenge the law by proving that it is MEQRs.

The Cassis de Djion principles are applicable in the case of Free Pork Ltd and the Spanish laws. The first principle of Cassis de Djion states that where a national law is applicable to imported and domestic products alike, and where Community-wide standards concerning the products in question lacks, it may be mandatory to accept obstacles to trade caused by the reality that the national law differs from other Member States laws. However, the obstacles can only be acknowledged if the national law leading to the obstacle is essential to satisfy a mandatory necessity, and the law does not go further than it is necessary to accomplish its aim (The College of Law 2012, p204). Therefore, Free Pork Ltd can challenge the law if it is capable of justifying that the law is indistinctly applicable.

The second principle seems to conflict with the first principle but the two can be reconciled if there is a presumption that the goods lawfully produced in one Member State are marketable in another. However, if there is a law that obstructs this, the Member State can invalidate the presumption through Cassis or through Article 36 TFEU (The College of Law 2012, p207). Therefore, Free Pork Ltd can challenge this law. Based on Article 36, Free Pork Ltd can prove to Spain that the sausages it supplies do not pose health risk to people. The article states that a Member State willing to use this derogation has to prove the existence of an actual health risk (The College of Law 2012, p217). Therefore, under this article, Free Pork can challenges the laws by proving that its products do not pose health risk to the people of Spain.

Question 2. Advise Free Pork Ltd if it has any grounds under EU law for challenging the Spanish advertising requirement.The Spanish laws regarding the broadcast of adverts targeted at consumers below the age of 12 years adopt a protective approach pushing the timing of the broadcast to not earlier than 9 pm. Under such circumstances, Free Pork’s entry into the Spanish market faces the limitation of adverts set by the Spanish national laws. Two important issues emerge in the deliberations of the legal position in which the Free Pork venture finds itself. On one hand, the right of the Spanish consumer protection policies as well as the right of the company under its commercial rights as discussed below.

In view of the Spanish national agencies position to enforce consumer protection against a backdrop of foreign policies having a negative position on a particular contestable matter, the position of the reprieve is offered to Member States in terms of the protection offered by the European Union. In Konsumentombudsmannen (KO) v De Agostini (Svenska) Förlag AB (C-34/95) and TV-Shop i Sverige AB (C-35/95 and C-36/95), it was held that the right of a Member State to apply advertisement prohibition to a foreign advertiser from a jurisdiction permitting such advertisements should not be contested. The case had particular consumer protection obligations from the Member State and the original intention of the law cannot be overruled.

It therefore implies that the bottom line of the contested interaction between the Free Pork venture into the market through the advertisement is expected to some extent, however debatable it is. However, the application of the law to a foreign market entrant where such a prohibition is not applicable provides a different concept for consideration by Free Pork where the reasons target a particular age group. The Spanish authorities for instance will find it important to invoke the provisions of Article 34 as demonstrated in the Keck formulae adopted in Keck and Mithouard (cases C-267 and C-268/91) [1993] ECR I-6097. Such invocation will involve the enumeration of the specific environment offered to domestic sausage marketers, which would be argued to be fairly reasonable if foreign entrants are subjected to similar treatment.

In Cassis de Dijon, the ECJ made the observation that a Member State has an opportunity to forward conflicting justifications on policies and laws impacting on prohibition of free movement of goods in the EU. According to the deliberations of the court, a nation implementing a trade policy likely to conflict the free movement of goods regime can forward certain arguments to sustain an argument for prohibition of movement of goods (The College of Law 2012, p217). Generally referred to as derogating opportunity from the provisions of the Treaty, it is possible for a Member State to launch a campaign from a legal position of national laws to attempt to control or restrict free movement as negated for all the Member States. As an illustration, it may be expected that the Spanish authorities will invoke the various derogation provisions under Article 36 to deny Free Pork to freely advertise and penetrate the sausage market. Derogation under Article 36 a) cites public interest, which is not clearly outlined and the Spanish authorities may twist the uncertainty to fit into the protection of public interest through barring adverts of sausages to children below 12 years of age.

Derogation c) also sounds like a possible excuse for reliance to invoke prohibitory opportunity for advertising to children below 12 years of age. The complexity of the burden of proof for the protection of health of the Spanish children may however proof to be an opportunity for Free Pork. In Commission v. UK: Re UHT Milk (case 124/81) [1983] ECR 203, it was held that the Member State must avail substantial detail on the nature and magnitude of the risks posed by the said products (The College of Law 2012, p217). By scrutinizing possible discrimination element in the particular Spanish law prohibiting free advertisement, it is possible to compel the authorities to avoid the prohibition. Section 5.2 of Article 36 dispels any arbitrary implementation of discriminatory laws. As observed in Commission v. UK (Re Imports of Poultry Meat) (case 40/82) [1982] ECR 2793, failure to demonstrate the extent to which a law is not restrictive to free movement of goods leads to infringement on EU laws (The College of Law 2012, p218).

In Konsumentombudsmannen (KO) v De Agostini (Svenska) Förlag AB (C-34/95) and TV-Shop i Sverige AB (C-35/95 and C-36/95), it also emerged that the Member State cannot prohibit advertisements from a different Member State on grounds of consumer protection to persons under 12 years of age (The College of Law 2012, p213). On this legal concept adopted by the court in the case, the EU offers relief to Member States to enjoy the regime on free movement of goods and their penetration into the market. It would certainly be restrictive to involved business if consumer protection laws selectively designed to a particular age group closes the channel available to free movement of goods to the ultimate market. The available options to Free Pork must therefore include seeking legal intervention against the restrictive Spanish laws targeting unfair advertisement prohibition on the grounds of protection of persons under the age of 12 years. As noted above, however, the Spanish authorities are expected to offer objection to contesting opinion regarding implemented policies targeted towards consumer protection such as freedoms of advertisement.

The spirit of Article 34 TFEU is particularly to offer definition to various selling arrangements that must prevent hindrances to free movement of goods. Under the finer implementation details, the spirit of the Article captures the need to provide non-discriminatory business regimes for free goods movement among Member States. In view of the provisions of the article, it is apparent that the jurisdiction of the EC in determination of the restriction concepts experienced at the hands of national policies of a Member State are reasonable o other Member States. Substantial restrictions experienced by Member States in accessing the channels of distribution and free movement of goods must be countered by the EC framework as enumerated under Article 34 TFEU. The level of intervention by the EC as spelt out in Article 34 TFEU extends to the negative impact experienced by the Member States in the implementation of a regime withholding free movement of goods (The College of Law 2012, p213). The protection of inter-state trade perhaps has a far-reaching impact if implemented without discrimination and the EC demonstrates the importance of such consideration across several rulings through the ECJ. Whereas Member States have the general space of access of inter-state markets within the EU, the existence of principles of subsidiarity in the market and the natural limitations guarded by spirit of international community contradicts the principle of free movement of goods.

ReferencesThe College of Law (2012) Unit 21: Free movement of goods, The College of Law.

Home schooling is the legal alternative to compulsory education in public or private institutions which is offered at home and in the community. It is mainly offered by parents that wish to provide their children with a customize type of education or an even more complete education which they feel cannot be attained in public or private schools. Several options are seen as playing part in decisions linking parents with this kind of education option (Taylor 2006 p.1). The family education, according to many of its proponents, is integrated with community organizations, reading, vacations, religious activities and other family functions. The education also proceeds flexibly all year round at the pace of the student. This even accounts for the time used in travelling. Ethics, character and religious topics that are usually omitted in public school curriculums are taught. Money management and business studies may be integrated into the family business. With all these attractive curriculum options, parents deem it fit to have their children undergo homeschooling rather than take them to public schools (Taylor 2006 p.2). The other advantage is that the parents can monitor the progress of their children from the first day instead of leaving that to the teachers who may be biased at times. Spending more time at home with their children increases the family ties which is important for the child’s psychological being. It provides a natural environment from which the child can learn to develop confidence and independent thinking. The diversification of learning environment enhances communication between all age groups hence providing an avenue for the child to do away with shyness.

Better attention is accorded to these children as the tutor has only one child to concentrate on rather than twenty kids in one class. This implies that the individual attention can be utilized to enhance skills, identify talent and maximize potential which could have gone wasted in a class with more extrovert type of children (Byfield 2001 p.43). Gifted children will realize their dreams as they will have the attention required plus the chance to reach the maximum potential they can. If it was in a public school, they would lose interest along the way since they would have to wait for the rest of the class to catch up with them while they already have the content. In home schooling education, they may even pursue their own academic studies since there will be minimal pressure at home. Through out the primary school period, most children change their teachers annually. This could break a bond that was beginning to flourish (Taylor 2006 p.3). As a matter of fact, these children feel left out after the teacher they so much adored is taken to another class or is left in the previous class when they have graduated to the next. The next teacher may not get enough time to know all the students individually making it difficult to help the children adequately. However, at home, the tutor is the same throughout the years. This creates a good rapport between the teacher and the student. The student is privileged because they do not have to adapt to anew teaching style very so often. The teacher on the other hand gets acquainted with the child’s learning style and will be ready to provide a consistent environment for the child to learn in.

The above benefits notwithstanding, several criticisms have emerged over homeschooling. Students undergoing this type of education have been said to be academically and socially challenged by those in the public institutions. However, several researches have emerged to dispute these allegations. Researchers found out that home-schooled youngsters scored slightly higher in all subjects and in all grades. They were seen to average at the 80th percentile in reading, 79th percentile in math and 76th percentile in languages compared to 50th percentile where the public and private schooled children clustered (Byfield 2001 p.43). This goes further to prove that that they are better equipped to handle exams than their counterparts which put the homeschooling institutions on top (Byfield 2001 p.43). These facts have been studied over and over to ensure correct conclusions are arrived at. Even if social activists do not want homeschooling to be the mandatory education system, the people who have undergone through it surely know the benefits they get academically.

There is the ability to obtain immediate feedback from the students allowing tutors to quickly assess whether the concept has been grasped or not. This gives the teacher the needed information on whether to alter teaching methods or review the course contents to reinforce the topic. This also gives the parent a chance to offer immediate positive feedback for a job well done which is motivational to the student especially coming form one’s parents (Holt 2004 p.48). The home environment eliminates many academic distractions that could cause interruptions in learning. This is especially witnessed in classrooms where students have different characters and may not have the same agenda while in class. The teacher’s attention will thus be divided and time may be wasted trying to bring them back to attention. More so, the parents do not have other administrative duties that they have to deal with during school hours (Nyberg 2008 p.95). Thus, a great deal of content can be accomplished within a particular period of time.

Colleges prefer homeschooled children to public or private schooled children because of a number of things. First, homeschooled children have learnt how to learn. This means that they are not spoon-fed but are taught how to decipher the meaning of things on their own. They are granted the challenge of being their own inventors and innovators of the provided knowledge. Secondly, homeschooled education is tailored to their own abilities and not the ability of few students in a class of more than 25 children (Nyberg 2008 p.97). Each child is given the chance to become what they are best at rather than a generalized probability of what they could become if they tried out something else. Students that find it difficult to grasp concepts are not left alone to sit and wonder but are tutored on that topic until they are able to decode the concepts on their own. Thirdly, they are not shy when it comes to asking questions. This can be traced form when they were young as they always asked their tutors question when they were presented with unfamiliar grounds. This implies that they yearn to understand rather than get on with the class at the expense of their understanding. Remedial students in public schools have been found to keep up with the homeschooled children and also exceed their public school counterparts due to the individualized attention accorded to them (Nyberg 2008 p.98).

Employers have also relaxed their policies on recruitment drives. This is done to encompass those that have undergone homeschooling education. These students have been found to be great assets to any company that hires them this is because they work well under minimum supervision, and often than not do their work within the required deadline. These students have also been found to increase their production since they have learnt to perform duties on their own rather than depend on others for success (Holt 2004 p.49). They end up in companies that they have the skills for rather than hop from one company to the next trying to fit in.

Socially, benefits accrued are immense. Medlin (2000) separates socialization into different meanings to account for every suggestion (p.107). There are social activities like giving a chance to the children to play with their friends and participate in traditional extracurricular activities like sports. Then there is the social influence meaning which entails teaching children to conform to societal norms. There is the social exposure perspective which involves introduction of culture and values of different groups of people. However, Medline comes up with a standard definition that suite this review. He terms socialization as the process of acquiring rules of behaviors and systems of attitudes and beliefs that equip an individual to function effectively as a member of a particular society (p.108). If we look at the homeschooling environment, then the students are given adequate time to socialize since it takes place by participation in the daily routines that directly deal with community values. Thus, children grow up learning to conserve every minute and honor all schedules and deadlines which are required for successful functionality in the future

Students join a great deal of institutions that enable them to socialize with others. For instance, they enroll for PE, piano lessons; debates and youth groups that help them grow and sharpen their skills on socialization. They help in maintaining individuality and creativity instead of eradicating them which happens when students enroll in public schools. Students in public schools end up imitating other people rather than maintaining their identity and being proud of who they are (Nyberg 2008 p.100). Students are also given a chance to interact with productive adults instead of forming pickets that do not assist them at all. They have also been found to participate statistically at higher rates in sports, youth organizations and church organizations. This implies that they are shaped all-round due to their exposure ability in different areas.

They are also shielded from such erratic behaviors like drug abuse, early sexuality, criminality, materialism, criminality and eating disorders due to the values instilled at home. They have a higher ability to develop a positive self esteem due to protection form peer pressure (Holt 2004 p.50; Martine 2008 p. 79). They are considerably safe from taunting and ridicule from their peers and this instills more confidence in them rather than create individuals who are introverted. Character is molded from an early age by teaching traditional values like tolerance, honesty and patience. Ideologies are passed on from one generation to the next and this maintains close links between the child and the family lineage.

As a family, the benefits are many. The ability to spend more time as a family brings everyone closer. The family, being the basic core unit of a society, ensures the society grows as a whole rather than a different unit. With the children understanding the benefits of their beliefs and traditions, then the society will maintain its values through all the succeeding generations. Parents get to impact the need for commitment by spending time endlessly on their academic ventures (Martine 2008 p. 80). These values are rarely instilled in public schools since they have a great deal of work to concentrate on one particular thing. The children have been found to engage in conversations better than those in public schools due to their exposure with adults and older siblings. They further interacted well in organized sports and were well mannered even after losing (Medlin 2000 p.115). Studies have also revealed that they perform best in areas of leadership and are considered to be better team leaders in companies (Medlin 2000 p.118). This is an important quality that each employer looks for.

From the above, the most important aspect that is sort after is an all-round person. The world is very dynamic in terms of values and traditions. If we cannot maintain the few that are already in existence, then the society will wallow in miasma of confusion. Public schools spread knowledge that should be learnt and what the policy makers deem as being fit for the children (Martine 2008 p. 83). Homeschooling provides a chance to learn what they ought to but that which is prohibited in public schools. They are taught how to adapt to different situations and how to solve day to day problems without depending on others. This shows a higher level of maturity brought about by academic and social excellence instilled at home by their tutors. Thus, the home schools are more beneficial to the children than the public and private schools are.

Works cited;

Byfield, Joanne. ‘Home is where the smarts are’, The Report [Colorado], December 3, 2001, p.43

Holt, James.Teach your own. New York: Delacorte, 2004, p.47-58

Martine, Millman. A family’s journey: Homeschooling. Alabama: Penguin, 2008, p.78-90

Medline, Richard, ‘Home Schooling and the Question of Socialization’, Peabody journal of education, 75(1&2), 2000. P.107–123

Nyberg, Egan. Socialization and the schools. New York: Teachers College Press, 2008, p.92-100

Taylor, Jane. ‘Self-concept in home-schooling children’, Home School Researcher, 2(2), 2006, p.1–3.

How Free Trade Disadvantages The Poor Nations

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How Free Trade Disadvantages the Poor Nations

Free trade is the process of liberalizing the market from any government intervention. Under the policy of free trade, all economic resources from all the countries involved are subjected to price; reflecting the forces of demand and supply. This makes price the only determinant for the allocation of resources (Fawzy, 2002; pp.12). Free trade involves characteristics such as tax free and non-barrier kind of trade, free labor movement between the involved countries, free capital movement within the countries involved, free capital movement between the involved countries, and free market accessibility. According to Bernanke (2013; pp.32), free trade seeks to ensure similar playing rules for competition, although it does not automatically ensure fair competition for the involved parties. This means that as much as free trade may create equal or similar business environment, the poor countries will still be disadvantaged because their private sectors, which are relatively weaker are left to compete with stronger and bigger companies (Hall, 2012; pp.39). The countries may be put under equal or the same regulations but the capabilities of the players are certainly not the same or equal. It is like a football match where two teams play in a level playing field but one team has better capabilities that can not be matched by those of the other team.

Free Trade is blamed for the idea of Western Capitalist Nations surging ahead and leaving behind the poor third world nations. This is because the poor countries do not have the infrastructure, technology, and the ability to complete with countries that have free enterprise and a tradition of deregulated markets. As a result, free trade becomes harmful to poor countries because the rich nations will not accept to trade with the poor nations, but rather with other rich countries. The poor countries are consequently condemned to complete poverty. This means the free trade is only beneficial to the economically powerful nations. The situation is worsened by the fact that the governments of the rich nations refuse to promote trade with the poor nations, thereby making the citizens in the poor nations worse off (Weinstein, 2005; pp.57-8). On the other hand, governments of the poor nations also refuse to promote trade with the poor nations, thereby making the citizens in both nations worse off. This scenario implies that the controlling force, which is the intervening state actor, disrupts the mutually beneficial action brought about by voluntary trade. A view presented by Schiff and Winters (2002; pp.82) asserts that free trade is not harmful to the poor countries, but it is the lack of proper trade caused by governments of both the rich and poor nations that makes the poor countries remain in their wretched poverty.

It has been observed that rich countries like the United States impose tariffs and subsidies aimed at discouraging its citizens from importing better and cheaper products from the poorer countries. Rich countries may open up its markets for free trade but decide to place massive subsidies, thereby disadvantaging the goods from the poor countries. The poor countries also open up their markets for free trade but they become very vulnerable to the highly subsidized export goods from the rich countries (Weinstein, 2005; pp.67-8). This has an implication that as much as the poor countries strive to trade with other countries, they get sidelined by the rich nations, making them remain in their original state of poverty. Since 1945, international trade has shown that unfettered global market tends to fail the poor and full trade liberalization also brings huge risks and not provides the desired outcome. Allen (2011; pp.78) asserts that it has often been observed in the past that developing countries whose economies have successfully expanded are those that have strived to put in place policies aimed at protecting its industries while they get the strength and provide the communities with time and opportunities to expand into new areas of operation.

While most economists agree that, in the long run, free trade perform better in aggregates than the closed economies, many observers on the other hand fear that free trade harms poor countries. For example, African countries have experienced great improvements in trade and market liberalization in the past decades. But Africa is still the world’s poorest continent. It is most likely that the expected large gains from involvement in international economic activities have been greatly limited in Africa, particularly for the poor (Schiff & Winters, 2002; pp.88). Several research works have been conducted to determine if trade really reduce poverty and the connection between trade liberalization and poverty. The findings shows that trade reduce poverty but only under specific conditions. It can only benefit countries that have deep financial sectors, high education levels, and strong governance. The three dimensions (education, finance, and governance) reflect an economy’s ability to properly reallocate resources; to move the resources away from sectors that are less productive to those that are more productive. This consequently gives countries the ability to take advantage of any opportunity offered by free trade (Allen, 2011; pp.125).

Many developed countries however meet the conditions stated above and are for that matter positioned to exploit the available opportunities offered by free trade (Jin, 2011; pp.95). On average in the developing countries, while the financial system is deep enough and education level is high enough, the institutions in those countries are generally very weak and can not benefit from free trade. Some countries, worse still, do not meet the three conditions sated above. According to Grinblatt and Titman (2011; pp.143) the developing countries need to formulate strategic policies designed to promote trade power for economic development. Inadequate institutions and policies, limited financial development, and weak human capital are not only unhealthy for a country’s welfare but they also make the poor become held up, thereby denying the low income individuals of the developing countries the benefits that come as a result of free trade. Other researchers also argue that the benefits of free trade are never automatic; they rather depend on well formulated policies. The policies should however be aimed at financing new investments, effective conflict resolution, and the ability to learn and adjust to new skills (Steger, 2013; pp.54-5). The policies should also enable the reallocation of resources away from sectors that are less productive to sectors that are more promising. Trade liberalization should for this matter not be viewed in isolation.

As much as open trade agreements between developed and developing countries may be highly beneficial, especially in situations where barriers to trade exist, the question remains how the poor countries can increase higher literacy levels, a functioning credit market, and government policies that can enforce contracts. This is the only way that can make them benefit from free trade. In most cases, the trade agreements only open up the weak states to highly predatory trade policies that only hurt the poor but benefit the existing power structures (Grinblatt & Titman, 2011; pp.81). For the poor countries, free trade often has the meaning that the benefits from trade are not usually distributed to the country’s infrastructure, education, or to any other activity that promotes redistribution of resources to raise the country’s poverty level. It rather tends to fund the individuals in power (either a business community or the government leaders). In addition, corruption is likely to diminish investor confidence, thereby decreasing the benefits of free trade since the revenue does not get distributed throughout the country.

If a state is weak, the individuals in power can easily negotiate and manipulate trade contracts to only benefit themselves, rather than benefiting the whole country. Steger (2013; pp.61) says that most developing countries have very weak governing structures and poor political ideologies that promote the existence of corruption and embezzlement of funds, thereby making the developing countries remain in the state of poverty. It is important to note that trade only occurs when countries exchange resources (Jin, 2011; pp.101). Most developing countries lack structural or human resources (literacy, contract reliability, credit system) to enter into any trade agreement with other nations that are well endowed. This drives the rich countries to initiate trade with other rich countries, thereby leaving the poor countries in the cold. According to Grinblatt and Titman (2011; pp.71), all trade agreements are not that good. Most trade agreements can not be said to be “free trade” because they are associated with limitations and restrictions. In addition, if the governments involved in the trade agreements have poor domestic economic policies, trade can not help in any way, it only opens up the country to potential economic fluctuations, thereby harming it from outside. This implies that for trade to be effective, certain conditions must be put in place. According to Reinhart and Rogoff (2009; pp.54), one of the greatest dampers to the poor countries is the western agricultural subsidies that tend to prevent the farmers in the developing countries from producing. The import tariffs in the developing countries are likely to force the domestic resources to move towards inefficient industries. If the whole world had free trade in agricultural sector, the poor nations would be better off. For example, studies show that if the US and Europe removed their import quotas and farm substitutes, total financial flows coming into Africa in just a year would be much greater than all the foreign aid, public and private, that has ever come into the continent.

In conclusion, it is without doubt that international trade plays a very significant role in tackling the problem of poverty. In terms of income and revenues, trade has the ability to be more important than the debt or aid for the developing countries. The only problem is the inability of the countries to set up strategic policies that would help the developing countries benefit from the trade. The World Bank has stated that if the rules set up by the rich countries for international trade could be reformed, over 300 million people would be moved out of poverty. This is because the international trade rules are often rigged against the poor countries. As much as the rich nations would be willing to open up markets, they would still put in place huge subsidies, which often work against the poor nations. Poor countries normally suffer when they involve in free trade due to the “expensive” and “unfairness” nature of the free trade agreements.

References

Allen, R. C., 2011, Global economic history: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bernanke, B., 2013, The Federal Reserve and the financial crisis. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Clift, J., Diehl, E., & International Monetary Fund. , 2007. Financial globalization: A compilation of articles from Finance & development. Washington, D.C: International Monetary Fund.

Fawzy, S., 2002, Globalization and firm competitiveness in the Middle East and North Africa region. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Grinblatt, M., & Titman, S., 2011, Financial markets and corporate strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Hall, K., 2012, Regional integration: Key to Caribbean survival and prosperity. S.l.: Trafford On Demand Pub.

Jin, D. Y., 2011, Hands on/hands off: The Korean state and the market liberalization of the communication industry. New York: Hampton Press.

Reinhart, C. M., & Rogoff, K. S., 2009, This time is different: Eight centuries of financial folly. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Schiff, M. W., & Winters, L. A., 2002, Regional integration and development. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Steger, M. B., 2013, Globalization: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Steger, M. B., & Roy, R. K., 2010, Neoliberalism: A very short introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Weinstein, M. M., 2005, Globalization: What’s new?. New York: Columbia Univ. Press

Home Style And Washington Career

Introduction

The pursuit of political careers has been a dream of many people. This is especially in the case of individuals that feel that they have the capacity to make fundamental changes in the lives of other people through making laws and ensuring that they are properly and effectively implemented in their areas of jurisdiction. However, it is well noted that individuals that successfully obtain political power undergo fundamental changes in their way of dealing with issues. This is essentially the key point in the article “Home Style and Washington Career” by Richard F Fenno.

In this article, Fenno underlines the fact that congressmen in the United States are always struggling to find a balance between the Washington career and constituency career. The constituency career revolves around efforts to enhance their chances of being reelected whereas the Washington career revolves around coming up with good public policy and becoming influential in the house. Underlining the changes that congressmen undergo is the fact that in the initial years in the House, they are always attending to their constituents’ needs. This is because they have limited chances of gaining inside policy and power influence, in which case they can allocate their resources to their constituency career without any sense of conflict. Nevertheless, the beginning of a Washington career necessitates a change in the congressman’s personal goals, as well as the established home style. Fenno notes that the dilemma that faces congressmen emanates from the requirement that the United States Congress serves as a legislative and a representative institution.

However, Fenno presents one formula that would be effective in solving the dilemma especially in instances where the congressmen are attaining more influence in their Washington careers and in policymaking. The congressmen could ask their constituents to adopt a new set of expectations, especially considering that the policies that their congressman is pursuing would be for their own good. Indeed, their seniority, effectiveness and influence in Washington would eventually benefit their constituents, in which case the congressmen’s supporters should intensify their support so as to ward off any challengers. However, this can often be problematic as in pursuit of power and influence that comes with a Washington career, a legislator would essentially lose touch with the supportive constituents at his backyard, thereby spelling doom to his reelection bid.

Alternatively, a congressman could manage the balance through winning support on areas that he had not won such support. He could use his influence to make policies that would appeal to new supporters even as he or she loses the old supporters. The influence in particular policy area or as an effective legislator may generate such feedback effects. Unfortunately, the individuals are faced by the dilemma even upon living the congress. They must decide whether to stay in Washington or go back to their home constituencies.

While the article is comprehensive and well-thought out, it creates the impression that the dilemma is a liability to the congressmen. This may be slightly wrong especially considering that the legislators are elected in the hope that they will seek to serve their needs. Congressmen, essentially, are intended to offer their services to the entire constituency, in which case the maintenance of a Washington career and home style forces them to act to the best interests of their constituents and truly serve them. The deficiency of fear of failure to recapture their seats may give them an incentive to tend for their needs only.

Topic: Global Economics on International Trade

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Date: Free trade theory and the protectionist theory

Back in the 1840s, Britain having innovated the industrial revolution and acquired absolute cost advantages, decided that policies of free, not protection, would better serve national interests. This is because Britain enjoyed broad industrial supremacy, and hence there was no longer the need to protect the economy from foreign manufacturing, but to rather open more global markets for expanding British industrial production. This was much of the beginnings of the practice of free trade where Adam Smith was widely credited with pioneering economic trade in support of the free trade, as well as his documentation of free trade policies (Lovett, Brinkman, & Eckes, 2004).

Adam Smith’s was for the idea that free trade should prevail as well as the notions that were backing nation building policies in the support of national defence being more important than opulence. The act of navigation and the wisest of commercial regulations also made concessions to the mercantalistic policy of regulation of foreign trade. In the 1770s, Smith wrote the wealth of nations in the wide spread of mercantilism and his advocacy of free trade was supported by the comparative cost theory and the cloth/wine arguments served as the foundation for what later came to be called the pure theory of trade. This theory has then made a turn to support the free trade theory and both Britain and the Unites States embarked upon policies allowing the extreme of one way or unilateral free trade.

According to Dunkey (2003), free trade economists often describe the goal of globalization as deep integration or the convergence of nations’ fundamental economic structures and policy systems, extending far beyond trade or strictly economic criteria. At the start of the twenty-first century, Americans deviated from living in a national market that was depending on its own resources. The American economy was isolated from the rest of the world by border restrictions and natural barriers, such as time, distance and lack of information. Decades of trade liberalization along with innovations in telecommunication and transportation, had integrated global markets – and exposed workers in high income countries to the pressures of global competition.

The superiority of an international trading system characterized by greater multilateralism and international specialization over a trading system based on protectionism, bilateralism and a division of the world into major trading blocs is by no means as clear cut today as it was a decade ago. This can be attributed to the many of the new non-tariff barriers considered as part of the arsenal of policies that a nation believes to be necessary in order to achieve some important domestic objectives. The other explanation could be that in recent years, the very theoretical foundation of the modern theory of international trade, which for nearly two centuries has been consistent based on the alleged superiority of free trade over systems based on trade restrictions, is being questioned.

The protectionism theory proposes that an economy formulates necessary protection policies that are intended to help the domestic industry maintain or increase its market share while foreign producers are expected to lose market share and sales revenues. Oddly enough, the record indicates that foreign producers sometimes benefit from certain protectionist policies as in the case of quotas, due to increases in their prices, which may offset the loss in quantity supplied. For a look at the costs of protectionism in the USA, Tarr and Morkre (1984) estimated the annual cost to the US economy to be $12.7 billion from protections on autos, textiles, steel, and sugar. Hickok’s (1985) analysis targeted the effects on consumers at different income brackets and discovered that protections punish low-income consumers much more than upper income consumers where there are trade restraints on clothing, sugar, and autos. These restrictions were found to be equivalent to 23 per cent income tax surcharge for households with low income and 3 per cent for households with high income which brings up the inequality ratios as really high.

The data point to an interesting finding with regard to the relationship between protectionism and employment where in every single case, the society paid a hefty price for each saved job per worker, and in the majority of cases, and the cost was in excess of $100,000 per job. These findings should raise serious doubt about the utility of the argument that protectionism is beneficial for employment as the benefits derived by domestic producers and government, and occasionally, foreign producers as well, constitute the efficiency losses to society when considering the costs they have to endure. These efficiency losses are a result of the interventions imposed by the government. Hence they result of production distortions, reduced consumption, and the many side effects on consumers’ purchasing power, industrial customers, and the added bureaucratic and government expenditures to monitor and enforce the policies which call for more policy formulations.

A similar finding was derived when the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conducted studies to evaluate the effects of protectionist policies in manufacturing industries in the OECD member countries (OECD, 1985). The key findings of the OECD’s study point to the effects of protectionism as rise in domestic price stifled economic growth and depressed investment, drop in imports is accompanied by drop in exports, jobs saved are offset by job losses in export-oriented industries, overall employment does not increase and the jobs saved are publicized and the jobs lost are not; hence, the public is left with the impression than protectionist policies benefit employment.

Protectionism in developed countries impact developing countries and as realized from the OECD study concludes that reduced imports by developed countries reduce exports by developing countries and their earnings of foreign exchange, which they need in order to finance their external public debt. The multinational financial situation also gets hurt by trade protectionism and the impact of protectionism on developing countries was recently re-affirmed by US Government officials most intimately involved in international trade when six former US trade representatives affirmed that developing countries have benefited significantly with the reductions in protectionism by developed countries.

Further, other studies carried out by scholars clearly show that the costs of trade protectionism exceed the benefits and while domestic producers and possibly their workers may gain for a while, consumers and society lose. Inefficiencies inflict the entire economy and hamper growth, investment, employment, and ultimately even government revenues.

Influence of Global economics at Micro and Macro levels in Decision Making

Despite improved global financial conditions and reduced short-term risks, the world economy continues to expand at a subdued pace. There has been a marked downturn over the past two years and a review of the same has shown inflation has had a significant influence in the developing nations. On the other hand, global economic activity has been expected to slowly start rising towards the end of 2013 and 2014 which can be attained based on the back of accommodative and sound monetary policies in developed and developing economies globally. Most world regions that were highly affected by the economic crash are likely to see a slow upward growth in activity where growth will continue to be below potential and employment gains, especially in developed economies, which will remain weak at best.

There are short-term risks associated with the situation in the euro area as well as the changes in the dollar rates in buying and selling among the international firms where this gives the impression of a call for fiscal adjustments in the United States and the economic slowdown in large developing countries to restore the necessary balance. At the same time, new medium-term risks have emerged, including possible adverse effects of unconventional monetary measures in developed economies on global financial stability and hence bringing about high inflation and unemployment rates. These risks have the potential to once again derail the feeble recovery of the world economy and hence the main priority for policy makers worldwide should therefore be to support a robust and balanced global recovery, with a focus on promoting job creation.

The enhancement of International policy coordination needs to be enhanced to mitigate negative policy spill-overs, curb protectionism, promote cooperation in reforming the international financial system, and ensure sufficient resource flows to developing economies, and in particular the least developed countries of Asia and Africa.

Theory of two level games in decision making

The politics of many international negotiations can usefully be conceived as a two-level game where at the national level, domestic groups pursue their interests by pressuring the government to adopt favorable policies, and politicians seek power by constructing coalitions among those groups. Though economies are operating at the international level, national governments have the priority of maximizing their own ability to satisfy domestic pressures, while minimizing the adverse consequences of foreign developments at the cost of their economies. Neither of the two games can be ignored by central decision-makers, so long as their countries remain interdependent, while at the same time trying to maintain their sovereignty

The theory proposes that there be a platform for each of the political leaders with their diplomats and international advisors negotiating against a number of foreign counterparts. Around the domestic table behind him sit party and parliamentary figures, spokespersons for domestic agencies, representatives of key interest groups, and the leader’s own political advisors to give the necessary support and enable wise decision making consultatively.

There are powerful incentives for steadiness between the two games where economic players will tolerate some differences in rhetoric between the two games, but in the end either energy prices rise or they don’t. On occasion, however, clever players will spot a move on one board that will trigger realignments on other boards, enabling them to achieve otherwise unattainable objectives that are beneficial to their own team and hence their home economy

Benefits of Adjusting International trade Restrictions

The 2008 index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation ranks the USA as the fifth freest economy in the world; a dimension in the index showing the extent to which international trade is free of government interference. USA can be regarded as a world leader when it comes to facilitating free trade but it is still not top ranking. For the purposes of the promotion of political cooperation and stability within its states, USA made free trade part of its foreign policies after WWII.

However, the commitment to international trade by the US government has seen a pattern of repeated forms of protectionism in free trade that has had negative effects both domestically as well as with the international community. Protectionist sentiments in the USA seem to be propagated again and this is manifested by the many bills before the Congress that are viewed in a way to reduce laissez faire. The Congress is looking to curtail free trade in different industries and with different countries and the stalling debate and ratification of free trade agreements (FTAs) that the administration had laboriously negotiated with key trade partners in Latin America and Asia is a sign.

Furthermore, Congress is putting the final touches on a $300 billion farm bill that is proving to be the “costliest in history” and that WTO trade partners consider the main obstacle to completing the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations. All this while the rest of the world is moving forward and negotiating FTAs with or without the USA. There are currently 380 FTAs worldwide and the USA is a member of only about ten and this is reason for concern considering that about half world trade takes place within FTAs (Trading Without America, 2007). Nations of the world have been trading in goods and services with each other since the dawn of history; in modern times, and especially since the establishment of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), multilateral trade has flourished and produced economic prosperity and political stability among trading partners.

The end result of the trade has seen the interest of many countries wanting to be a part of the trading nations as they are beneficial to only involved economies. They thus intend to petition for membership in international trading blocs having the considered the benefits against the level of control that they are subjecting themselves to the rules developed by foreign nations governing the operations of international trade. There are some considerations where trade has not been deprived of indescribable outcomes, inadequate cooperation with regard to certain protected industries, and painful socio-economic dislocations within domestic economies, yet, in spite of these shortcomings, trade has advanced steadily. At times the trade has advanced at a higher pace than expected and hence created an awesome outcome where the growth of world trade outpaced the growth of world economy.

Growth in trade and economic output proliferated to developing countries whose economies actually grew faster than the developed countries strengthening investor confidence, elevating stock market values to historic levels, and lowering the spread in interest margins between emerging market bonds and those of developed countries. Foreign direct investment capital flows reached $1.23 trillion in 2006, the second highest ever, and global liquidity increased foreign exchange reserves and enabled governments to expedite public debt re-payments. Recent data show that the situation in the USA is equally attractive where in 2007, US exports reached a record $1.6 trillion. This is up 12.6 per cent from 2006 and the 2008 numbers are equally impressive with a third of agriculture output and 20 per cent of manufactures exported internationally due to the economy’s competitive advantage.

References

Dunkley, G. (2003). Free trade: Myth, reality, and alternatives. London: Zed Books

Hickok, S. (1985). The consumer cost of US trade restraints. Quarterly Review, Federal

Reserve Bank of New York. New York, NY, pp. 1-12.

Lovett, W. A., Brinkman, R. L., & Eckes, A. E. (2004). U.S. trade policy: History, theory,

and the WTO. Armonk, NY

OECD (1985). Costs and Benefits of Protection, Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development. Paris.

Tarr, D.G. and Morkre, M.E. (1984). Aggregate costs to the United States of tariffs and

quotas on imports: General tariff cuts and removal of quotas on automobiles, steel,

sugar, and textiles. Bureau of Economics Staff Report to the Federal Trade

Commission. FederalTrade Commission, Washington DC.

Trading Without America (2007). Review and outlook. Wall Street Journal. August 7, p. A10

Homelessness and the costs of the unexpected expense

Homelessness is a problem, which affects every society. It should not be ignored as its effects are detrimental. Tragedy can occur at any time and people need to be prepared for it. Homelessness is considered as being an expense which is unexpected. There have been many cases of unemployment as this is a challenge, which needs to be addressed. Most jobs, which exist, are for unskilled people, as well as being low-wage and people are struggling to meet their needs. In the United States, the numbers of people who are working are 6% and are below the line of poverty. Also, working poor people are estimated to be at 20%. This means that they are likely to become homeless as they are economically fragile. Households are at risk of being crippled due to unexpected expenses, which have not been planned for and also earning mere incomes. There are certain indicators that make people who are poor, prone to homelessness. The burden of housing has become severe; this means that more than half of people’s income is used in paying for housing. In turn, people are living in situations, which are doubled up, and this is due to economic hardships. Poor people, who are working, often tend to work longer hours as well as in occupations, which are volatile.

Solving the problem of homelessness is expensive compared to how it affects society. In order to solve this problem, the economy would be affected due to the amount of money being used. High costs are incurred and inefficiency when public services are accessed by homeless people. Cost saving is bound to occur is homelessness is prevented. This will occur if permanent housing is available to homeless people. The homeless people’s lives will also improve if they obtain access to housing. A lot of spending will have to occur if homelessness will be controlled. Money is being spent on ensuring that the homeless are provided with temporary accommodation and hostel facilities. Also, it seeks to provide them with mental health and physical services. Other times, they are given support to ensure that they maintain tenancies and live independently. There are no major advancements in homelessness cost economic measurement. This is because the methodology is not advanced as compared to other sectors. Agency accounts analysis has to occur if costs are to be known. It is always good to prepare for disasters such as homelessness.

Most people who abuse substances are prone to homelessness. The help they need is to reduce their addiction to substance use as it will ensure that homelessness does not occur. Strategies have been set up, which fight homelessness, an example of a report on shelter, is in the year 2010. It focuses on prevention services and housing options in regards to costs incurred. In the year 2007, the Annex4 was published and concerns matters prevention strategies of homelessness. Homelessness costs are made known and savings, which can occur, if the report is implemented. Everyone is at risk of being homeless, thus people should always be prepared by having money saved for use in the future.

Apart from financial aspects of homelessness, it is associated with sleeping problems, strained relationships, depression and anxiety. This means that homeless people face many problems, which in turn, disrupts their lives quality. More should be done by people and governments to ensure that homelessness is eradicated. In turn, society will improve and people will benefit greatly. In conclusion, people should be prepared for unexpected expenses so that they can live their lives normally without any disruptions.

Free will vs. Determinism

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Introduction

Free will is the ability of a person to decide and behave independently without any external influence. In this case decision making is only influenced by the will of a person. The humanistic approach holds that free will determines human behavior through the life of a person. On the other hand, determinism is the common believe that human behavior is determined by past events and external forces. Schnauder (2007) asserts that this phenomenon holds that human behavior is determined by childhood events and that the free will practiced in adulthood is illusory. Free will is believed to be a gift from God .Free will is crucial in a society especially the legal system. Free will helps the jury determine pre-meditation hence free will of commission of a crime by a person. This is the reason for acquitting incapacitated people from charges leveled against them. The other aspect is that there is a controversy concerning man’s pre-determination to act in a particular manner. God is sovereign and supreme hence this view can be held to be true ( HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Richard+Langdon+Franklin%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CEQQ9AgwBA&biw=1280&bih=697” Franklin, 2007). However, a discussion outside a theologian confinement, will establishment that man has free will and can make personal goals in a bid to attain self-actualization in life. Philosophy has a correlation to man’s feelings, perceptions, responsibilities and thought processes. In this regard, man must always understand himself before influencing the environment around him.

Augustine’s view

Augustine advocates for both free will and determinism as determinants of human behaviour. This owes to the fact of foreknowledge of god pertaining the fall of man. This compelled Augustine to devise an empirical hypothesis and biblical defence of free will. He argues that there is compatibility between free will and the sovereignty of God. Campbell, ‎ Rourk, and ‎ Shier (2010) posit that free will for the human beings is subject to the human experiences. According to him, man has free will because an upright man cannot do right things if he or she is not willing to act rightly.in addition, god’s oracles dictate that man must act out of free will to obey god.in this regard, god will reward the righteous according to their good deeds and the evil according to their evil deeds. According to Pereboom (2009), man’s free will and God’s sovereignty in determinism are interlinked. Augustine argues that disagreement between the believers and non-believers can be resolved by adherence to the principle of reason. This is because reason provides sufficient evidence and rationality in the physical world. He believes that any philosopher of religion should not have a neutral position on the issues bordering Christianity. According to HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Perry+D.+Westbrook%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CFIQ9AgwBw&biw=1280&bih=697” Westbrook (2012), Christian principles ought to be applied in a religious controversy. Moreover, theistic belief does not need to be supported by substantial evidence in order for it to be true. Augustine argues that the traditional views on the existence of God were not fallacious. In addition, he claims that there are no good and bad theistic arguments with regard to the sovereignty of God. HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22John+Lemos%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CFYQ9AgwCA&biw=1280&bih=697” Lemos (2013) posits that the determinist view guarantees rationality and objectivity in a religious philosophical work. Augustine does not support this school of thought. He does not believe that every non-believer has actual knowledge of God. However, he argues that belief in God is acquired only in specific circumstances. Augustine’s ecstasy is based on the intellect and neutrality with regard to the determinism and free will and the Christian apologetic aspect. He has also reservations are based on his skepticism of determinism proponents and his view that natural theology is superfluous.

Sigmund Freud

According to Freud, individual thought process is usually unconscious .In this regard, he believes that the behavior of a person is as a result of interaction between the ego and the superego of a person and the unconscious part of psyche of a person. According to Berofsky (2012), Freud psychosocial development enhances development of purpose and personality of a child .It encompasses the development of independency, sense of humor; sense of identity the sense of fortitude and the ways through which these needs are met in interactions with other people. Children of the three to four years of age have acquired a fairly strong cognitive grasp of what constitutes the aspect of emotions. In addition, they have the ability to distinguish negligible differences in different feelings like irritable versus angry, gloomy versus annoyed. They must struggle with uncertainty, and indecisiveness. This is the eventuality regardless of possession of the ability to think in the abstract and engage in metacognition which is the thinking about their thought processes. Feelings may be quite intense and confusing for these children.

HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Gregg+D.+Caruso%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CDkQ9AgwAg&biw=1280&bih=697” Caruso (2012) conjectures that a human being is just an agent through which unconscious forces of the mind act. They also share on the socio-cultural influence on a person’s character. This was developed in negating Freud’s position, which underestimated the impact of socio-cultural effect on a person’s character. Freud is of the view that external forces influence person’s response to the world. Freud claims that human freedom does not need be influenced by Biblical Christian oracles but on human liberty and free will .He believes in human freedom and God’s sovereignty. His predecessors argue that human freedom and divine sovereignty are guided by Biblical principles ( HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22John+Lemos%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CFYQ9AgwCA&biw=1280&bih=697” Lemos , 2013) .Freud advocates for determinism and argues that human behavior is determined by the perfect will of God. In this regard, he establishes a relationship between metaphysics and the study of epistemology. This implies that there should be a correlation between knowledge and reality. According to Berofsky (2012), Freud interlinks human behavior to scientific discoveries and knowledge of existence of God, the Almighty. In addition, he argues that the study of being results to dismissal of the study of knowledge given that human behavior must be explained by theoretical knowledge. He employs analytical skills and dexterity in his arguments, which commands more appeal.

Personal opinion

My view is that individuals usually make independent decisions out of free will hence the need to embrace the free will as a determinant of human behavior. However, the external forces are equally ital. in the many decisions arrived at, by man. In fact, most decisions and behaviors exhibited by man are as a result of past experience. For instance, the legal decisions made in the modern times are subject to precedents made many years ago. This reveals that the deterministic view is indispensable in human life. In addition, the psychodynamic theory also puts into perspective the aspect of determinism. This theory holds that human behavior is pegged upon the childhood experiences of a child. Therefore, there is need to incorporate both perspectives in human behavior because both views perfectly apply in determination of human behavior and future decisions .decision making can be subjectively or independently made by a person. Some decisions are based upon past events or some external aspects .For instance, when we are born we have a canvas which has a certain design on it which cannot be changed. This makes the human being determined and we have the 3 basic colors of ,which we can chose to color a painting as we choose out of our freewill .moreover, we can mix the colors to have more colors through our own volition. These decisions perfectly belong to the determinism theory. However, the decisions made out of a person’s own judgment independent of past events or external factors. This may be almost impossible because a decision must be based upon a reason, which apparently must involve past events or some internal or external aspect.

Conclusion

All the views indicate that human beings being and behavior is influenced by both determinism and free will hence an interactionist approach is to be applied in determining the human behavior. Although both views have weaknesses it is apparent that both apply in the human behavior. The aspect of moral accountability does not augur well with the determinism theory given that the determinism theory holds that a human being’s decision making is subject to external forces and natural laws. Free will is a vital aspect of a legal system hence the determinism view does not count given that legal cases involve the free will of the accused person. The reason for contradiction of either of the views is that whereas the universe is presumed to be deterministic in nature human beings are not deterministic .This owes to the fact that human beings can freely decide and make informed decisions.

References

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HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Richard+Langdon+Franklin%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CEQQ9AgwBA&biw=1280&bih=697” Franklin.R.L. (2007).  HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=51wIAQAAIAAJ&q=free+will+VS.+Determinism&dq=free+will+VS.+Determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=19eDUq3rG8WJtAah4oDQDw&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA” Freewill and determinism: a study of rival conceptions of man

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Campbell.J.K., ‎ Rourke.M, and ‎ Shier .D.(2010). HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=zydkUGosAJcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=free+will+VS.+Determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=19eDUq3rG8WJtAah4oDQDw&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBQ” Freedom and Determinism. Hoboken, N.J.,

John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from

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Pereboom.D. (2009).  HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Evjb7LIrgCAC&pg=PA213&dq=free+will+VS.+Determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=19eDUq3rG8WJtAah4oDQDw&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBg” Free Will (Second Edition).Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co. Retrieved from

HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Evjb7LIrgCAC&pg=PA213&dq=free+will+vs.+determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YG” http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Evjb7LIrgCAC&pg=PA213&dq=free+will+vs.+determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YG

HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Perry+D.+Westbrook%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CFIQ9AgwBw&biw=1280&bih=697” Westbrook.P.D. (2012).  HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=U1geAAAAMAAJ&q=free+will+VS.+Determinism&dq=free+will+VS.+Determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=19eDUq3rG8WJtAah4oDQDw&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBw” Free will and determinism in American literature Basingstoke,

Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from

HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=U1geAAAAMAAJ&q=free+will+vs.+determinism&dq=free+will+vs.+determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Pl” http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=U1geAAAAMAAJ&q=free+will+vs.+determinism&dq=free+will+vs.+determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Pl

HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22John+Lemos%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CFYQ9AgwCA&biw=1280&bih=697” Lemos.J. (2013).  HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=29XqeQ0kQpYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=free+will+VS.+Determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=19eDUq3rG8WJtAah4oDQDw&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCA” Freedom, Responsibility, and Determinism: A Philosophical

approach. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from

HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=29XqeQ0kQpYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=free+will+vs.+determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4Bd” http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=29XqeQ0kQpYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=free+will+vs.+determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4Bd

Berofsky.B. (2012).  HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=J1Gd8OIEowAC&q=free+will+VS.+Determinism&dq=free+will+VS.+Determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=19eDUq3rG8WJtAah4oDQDw&ved=0CFoQ6AEwCQ” Free will and determinism. Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Pub. Retrieved

from

HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=J1Gd8OIEowAC&q=free+will+vs.+determinism&dq=free+will+vs.+determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PlW” http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=J1Gd8OIEowAC&q=free+will+vs.+determinism&dq=free+will+vs.+determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PlW

HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Gregg+D.+Caruso%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CDkQ9AgwAg&biw=1280&bih=697” Caruso.D. (2012). Free Will and Consciousness: A Determinist Account of human

existence. Los Angeles, SAGE. Retrieved from

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Homelessness In America

Homelessness in America is an issue of concern since it has affected a vast population. Military veterans, children, individuals fleeing domestic violence, mentally ill and families with children constitute the homeless in America. This implies that homelessness is an issue that affects different individuals (Bringle, 2011). Different factors have contributed to homelessness in America, which include political factors, social and medical factors, and economic factors. Economic factors contribute immensely to the situation of homelessness in America; such factors include low incomes, lack of affordable medical care and lack of affordable housing (Hill & Stamey, 1990). Different interventions from the state and private entities have been formulated in an attempt to respond to the issue of homelessness. For instance, different laws and programs have been formulated and implemented in order to provide a solution to the homelessness issue. These programs and laws has made the number of homeless individuals to decline. An increase in the number of such laws and programs will help in mitigating the number of homeless individuals further. Thirty years from now, America’s next generation will view today’s responses to homelessness as just.

There are various responsive programs that tend to alleviate the problem of homelessness in America. One of the programs is the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP). This program assists veterans that experience homelessness in gaining meaningful employment and increasing the efficiency of cooperation across all programs that serve veterans experiencing homelessness (Dreier & Appelbaum, 1991). This program is the only program, which works specifically on issues relating to employment of veterans that experience the problem of homelessness while utilizing a client-focused case management model in connecting veterans with the other social benefits and services (Bringle, 2011). The service providers implement the following grant funded activities: career counseling, job placement, workshops and job training among others. Different case managers work with veterans in ensuring that they access the full spectrum of majority benefits and education opportunities available to the veterans from state, federal and local sources.

This program follows virtue ethics since it considers doing rightful things to the veterans; it concentrates more on the welfare of homeless veterans in obtaining employment, which is considered as one of the ways through which homeless individuals can get income that can assist them in becoming independent in obtaining basic wants, thus helps in mitigating the number of homeless veterans. Besides, this program follows retributive justice since it focuses on providing what homeless individuals deserve. Funds are usually distributed to eligible veterans by the Veterans Employment and Training Services office (McNamara, 2008). This program has led to a reduction in the number of homeless individuals in America through helping homeless veterans to acquire employment; the acquisition of employment by the homeless veterans contributes a lot to the financial strength of the homeless veterans. As a result of the homeless veterans becoming employed, they become capacitated to afford accommodation. Therefore, the HVRP has led to the reduction of the homeless individuals (Dreier & Appelbaum, 1991). The HVRP is a just program since it provides employment services to homeless veterans that deserve assistance. The distribution of education and benefit opportunities is available to all the homeless veterans facing employment issues.

Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) is another program that responds to the problem of homelessness in America. The FVPSA provides the chief federal funding stream, which is dedicated to the support of urgent shelter and supportive services to victims of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence. Apart from providing support to these victims, FVPSA also offers support to dependents of these victims. Domestic violence is deemed to create vulnerability to homelessness for children and women having limited economic resources. Amid mothers having children that experience homelessness, above 80% have experienced domestic violence previously. Domestic violence entails the exertion of financial control that leaves victims with few resources and poor credit. Finding affordable, safe housing is an immense obstacle that women who experience domestic violence face. However, with the intervention of FVPSA, domestic violence women with their children are able to have safe and affordable housing. FVPSA support grants to territories, states, domestic violence coalitions and tribes.

Through the state and territorial grants, domestic violence coalition grants, and tribal grants, the FVPSA make it feasible to reach the target groups. The three grants have varied appropriations, which make it effective in distributing resources to the target groups. The target groups of the FVPSA are former and current domestic victims together with their dependents, victims in need of technical assistance, and the entire community that deserve education and awareness regarding domestic violence and the related issues (Quigley et al, 2001). The FVPSA follows virtue ethics and retributive justice since it focuses on the needs of individuals and concentrate on doing the rightful thing rather than doing wrong. Through providing education on awareness of domestic violence and providing support to the domestic violence victims and their dependents is a rightful action, which FVPSA provides. The services provided by the FVPSA are just since it does not concentrate on providing its services to one area or region, but it is diverse. Besides, the target group does not only comprise of the current domestic violence victims, but also provides support to former victims and dependents of domestic violence victims. In addition, the FVPSA is just because it focuses on benefiting the entire community rather than a given region or tribe. One of the consequences of this response is the creation of a well educated community regarding domestic violence and associated issues through the response’s action of creating domestic violence awareness. Another consequence of this response is the mitigation of homeless domestic violence victims and their dependents through the support services that the response provides.

Another response to the homelessness problem is Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (GBHI) program. This program enables communities to achieve the expansion and strengthening their treatment services for individuals experiencing homelessness and who also have mental illness, substance abuse disorders, or both. This response supports programs such as mental health services, substance abuse treatment, wraparound services, outreach services, staff training, screening services, educational services, job training, and relevant housing services. Affordable, permanent housing that is associated with health, employment, mental health and other supportive services provide consumers with a long term community based housing option. Such housing approach combines housing support and intensive personalized support services to the chronically homeless victims having substance use disorders and mental disorders. The grants provided by this response fund programs, which assist in addressing the complex health requirements of the chronically homeless population. From the inception of this response program, approximately 43,819 individuals have obtained grant-supported services. Thus, reducing the number of homeless individuals. Under this response program, supportive housing has been defined to be a housing which is permanent, affordable and associated with health, employment, mental health and other supportive services, which provide a consumer with a long term community based housing option. This program targets homeless individuals having substance abuse and mental health disorders. The GBHI program follows virtue ethics since it concentrates on the needs of the individuals with chronic homelessness issues with mental and substance abuse disorders. The response also follows retributive justice because chronically homeless individuals receive support services that they deserve.

This response program is just since it does not only consider providing housing services, but focuses on providing supportive housing that combines the services of employment, health, housing and other relevant issues, which when combined gives a person a long lasting solution to homelessness. Besides, this response program is just because it does not consider giving a temporary solution to the problem of chronic homelessness, but offers a permanent solution to the problem. In addition, the distribution of resources is through nonprofit entities, which presents a fair way of distributing funds. The GBHI program leads to a reduction in the number of individuals facing the problem of chronic homelessness. In addition, this response program leads to strengthening of individuals through employment, training, housing, and health support through the different programs that it offers. Furthermore, this response program leads to a reduction of the number of individuals engaging in substance abuse due to its education and awareness program to individuals abusing or intending to abuse substances.

Other than the above responses to the problem of homelessness, there is also another response which is Services in Supportive Housing (SSH). This program was developed in order to assist in preventing or mitigating chronic homelessness through funding services for persons and families that experience homelessness and living with substance or mental disorder. The program addresses the need of having treatment and provision of services to families and individuals. This program focuses its attention on service provision in a participant’s housing facility; this is different to different community-level settings. Because of this, special attention is paid on the quality and quantity of service provided, which seek in enhancing the functioning level and extended housing stability for participants. Evidence based practices are required by this program so as to ensure effectiveness. Besides, the program’s grantees are also required to have permanent housing components and funded by other resources. Services, which are supported under this program entails intensive case management, substance abuse and mental health treatment, outreach and engagement, and help in obtaining benefits. However, the program is not limited to the above services.

The chief target group of this response program entails individuals experiencing chronic homelessness problems and substance abuse and mental disorders. The funding of this program is through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This program concentrates on doing the rightful thing to the homeless individuals, who have a mental or substance abuse disorder. Therefore, the response program follows virtue ethics. The provision of services is not in regard to a certain region or individual, which indicates that the response program is just. Besides, the response program is just because it involves nonprofit entities in the distribution of resources. Furthermore, the program focuses on offering chronic homeless individuals what they require most; therefore, it follows retributive justice. This response program leads to a reduction in the number of individuals that have chronic homelessness. Also, this response program leads to mitigation in the number of persons engaging in substance abuse.

In addition, responses to the problem of homelessness have been through development of laws. For example, the development of Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act aimed at ensuring that homeless children and the youths become protected and educated. According to this Act, every school district should have a liaison officer that looks at the needs of the homeless students. This Act follows retributive justice since homeless children and youths are offered support to education and housing, which is a requirement that they deserve to have. Besides, the law follows virtue ethics since it concentrates on dealing with individual problems of homeless children and youths. In distributing the resources, the law provides an effective guide, which depicts that the law is just. In addition, the law is just since it ensures that homeless youths and children get an opportunity to learn and have proper housing. These are basic wants, which homeless children and youths may not get; however, because of this law, children and youths have an access to proper housing and education. This response has led to a decline in the number of homeless children and youths in America. The response has also increased the number of homeless children and youths that receive education and become independent.

Furthermore, another response entails Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP). This program offers homelessness prevention help to households that could become homeless, and offers rapid re-housing help to individuals that are homeless as defined under the Homeless Assistance Act. By the conclusion of 30th September 2012, the program had prevented approximately 1.3 million individuals from becoming categorized as homeless through the programs funding. The grantees for this program are usually eligible in different activities, which include administrative costs, data collection and evaluation, housing relocation and stabilization services, and financial assistance. This response program follows virtue ethics since it concentrates on doing the rightful thing of supporting the homeless individuals; therefore, it concentrates on solving problems affecting homeless individuals. Besides, this response follows retributive justice since it focuses on providing support to homeless individuals based on what they deserve. The response is just because it does not seek to favor a certain group or certain individuals, but seeks to cater for the homeless individuals without regard to what makes individuals become homeless. This response program has led to a reduction in the homeless individuals. Besides, this response program has led to preventing individuals from becoming homeless.

Conclusion

Homelessness is a major problem facing Americans. Poverty emerges as the dominating factor in leading to homelessness. In order to alleviate the number of individuals experiencing homelessness, different state and private actors must recognize that homelessness is an issue that requires different interventions which can be through the creation of laws, policies and programs that focus on alleviating the problem (Dreier & Appelbaum, 1991). The existing interventions have made an attempt to mitigate the problem, but there is a need to come up with other responses that will help in alleviating the problem further. Thirty years from now, the American generation that will follow will view the current responses as just since they involve the guidance of laws in their implementation and are not skewed.

References

Bringle, J. (2011). Homelessness in America today. New York, NY: Rosen Pub.

Dreier, P. & Appelbaum, R. (1991). American Nightmare: Homelessness. Vol. 34 (2), pp. 46-52.

Hill, P. R. & Stamey, M. (1990). Journal of Consumer Research: The Homeless in America: An Examination of Possessions and Consumption Behaviors. Vol. 17 (3), pp. 303-321.

Kryder-Coe, J. H., Salamon, L. M., Molnar, J. M., & Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies. (1991). Homeless children and youth: A new American dilemma. New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.A: Transaction Publishers.

McNamara, R. H. (2008). Homelessness in America. Westport, Conn: Praeger.

National Alliance to End Homelessness (n.d). Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.endhomelessness.org/” http://www.endhomelessness.org/.

National Healthcare for the Homeless Council. (2011). Criminal justice, homelessness & health.

Quigley, M.J., Raphael, S. & Smolensky, E. (2001). Homeless in America, Homeless in California. Vol. 83 (1), pp. 37-51.

HLS Response And Recovery

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc377539098” Factors guiding response PAGEREF _Toc377539098 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377539099” Decision making in cases of incomplete or misleading information PAGEREF _Toc377539099 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377539100” Analysis frameworks for structured situation analysis and risk assessment PAGEREF _Toc377539100 h 2

Factors guiding responseIn a rescue operation response following a disastrous event, the basic guiding factors are determined by the nature of the disaster in line with the general security and response preparedness on the ground. The realization that human effort may only take care of certain emergency situations has made it necessary for the Department of Homeland Security to formulate policies that will enable emergencies bearable to some extent. Emergency preparedness is a major factor that guides the rest of the required procedures to a significant extent. For instance, how well response and recovery facilities are upgraded as well as the communication structure in the event of an emergency determines success of the appropriate operations (White House, n.d). Presence of a clearly laid strategy and recovery plan facilitate the rolling out of assistance in cases of emergencies. Case dependent factors are beyond human control but may be anticipated such as weather and terrain of the disaster location.

Decision making in cases of incomplete or misleading informationAccording to Cooper (2005, p225), information should be solicited from as broad scope of sources as possible. An allowance of misleading information is created and the reliance on every piece of information done after scrutiny has been done to create a sensible lead to rescue. The author prescribes certain guidelines that should be followed in the debriefing procedure that ought to extract useful and accurate information from the available sources. In all cases, a logical comparison of pieces of information should be in existence to avoid errors.

Analysis frameworks for structured situation analysis and risk assessmentFrameworks are designed from risk management and emergency preparedness approaches that assist in setting up an integrated system. Every component of risk area is considered and effective responses deliberated from a structured approach under the framework.

Under risk assessment frameworks, risks are identified and a thorough analysis carried out to determine the level of threat that they pose to security (Stellman, 1998). The framework then becomes useful in the establishment of the appropriate procedures to be undertaken in the event the risks blow up into a disaster.

References

White House (n.d) “Homeland Security,” Retrieved from: HYPERLINK “http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/homeland-security/” http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/homeland-security/

Stellman, J. M. (1998) Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety: Chemical, Industries and Occupations, Geneva, Switzerland: International Labor Organization

Cooper, D. C. (2005) Fundamentals of search and rescue. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudbury,_Massachusetts” Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning