Research Proposal: Study on Transportation Infrastructure during Terror Attacks

Why could such attacks occur at the first place? What are the factors that place the transport infrastructure prone to the terrorist attacks? Can such factors be eradicated to ensure the security of the citizens? How can intelligence be enhanced to put to stop such terrorist attacks? Needless to say, it would, and it practically did in 1997, as Islamic extremists organized to execute suicide bombings on the New York City’s subways. A fortuitous information made it possible for police forces to foil the plan.^{^[4]}

1.2 The Purpose and Significance of the Study

The intent of this paper is to examine the transportation infrastructure during terror attacks to realize the causes, vulnerable factors, effects and ways to put to stop of such malicious activities. The thesis will be able to help the security stakeholders to understand the factors that could leave the country vulnerable to terrorist target. The paper will collect different views from victims who faced terrorist attacks in the transportation network. Measure got from the respondents will be used to amend ways that could be ideal and perfect to prevent and stop such terrorist attacks on the U.S. soil. The goal of this thesis is to yield a perfect plan and suitable ways of comprehending how to prevent any future terrorist attacks.

1.2 Research Aim and Objectives

The aim is to study the transportation infrastructure during terror attacks by utilizing a qualitative survey study design. The study will entail a collection of targeted population views regarding terrorist attacks and what they expect to be done to prevent terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. The research study will focus on the terrorist attacks on the transport system on U.S. soil. The study will cover different aspects that make the country susceptible to terrorist attacks.[5] The elements will be selected mainly from the research as directly associated to enhance the national security sector and the development safety of the country’s citizens involved in the transport infrastructures.

The aim of Study. Broadly, the research seeks to study the Transportation Infrastructure during Terror Attacks to enhance the security system.

Specific Objectives

To identify the factors that lead to a terrorist attack on the transport systems.
To identify the ideal measures to deal with terrorism in the transport systems.
To examine the scientific ways, that can be used to deal with terrorism in the transport systems.
To provide the recommendations that can help the security stakeholders in the country make informed decisions on how to counteract the terrorist attacks.

1.3 Problem statement and research questions

How can the security in the Transportation Infrastructure be enhanced to prevent and stop the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil?

1.4 Research questions

What are the factors that lead to a terrorist attack on the transport systems?
What are the ideal measures to deal with terrorism in the transport systems?
What the technological ways that can be used to deal with terrorism in the transport systems?
What are the recommendations that can help the security stakeholders in the country make informed decisions on how to counteract the terrorist attacks?

Chapter 2

Literature Review

Recently, terrorists linked to worldwide Jihad killed nine individuals and wounded 70 on Manila’s Metro and then intimidated to discharge poisonous gas in Moscow’s subways. Islamic extremists commenced missions to bomb the commuter railway station in Paris in 2000. Also, the same year suicide bombers carried a terrorist attack in Israeli buses.[6]

The preference for making travelers utilize the non-public vehicles is unrealistic and would maximize gridlock result in increasing the nation’s fatality toll from the vehicle accidents.^{^[7]} Additionally, any current set of security and safety procedures should offer a net protection benefit; it ought to displace the possibility towards other similarly vulnerable targets. For instance, it might make little perception safeguard only structures in the north region of the highway when terrorists could conveniently initiate bombs on the southern part. Trying to keep terrorists off airliners presents a net surveillance benefit. As terrorists exhibited on 9-11, a hijacked plane could be transformed into a missile that wipes out countless numbers. Security approaches to protecting international airport lobbies, nevertheless, provide lesser net positive aspects. The same condition applies to trains and buses. Terrorist assaults on public service are nothing different. After all, the resort to the issue of what could be done to fend off or put a stop to a similar assault from happening^{^[8]}. Regrettably, it needs a major calamity to spur consideration sufficiently to mobilize the political affiliations to consider the essential measure. Valuable issues are always in the shadow of traumatic events.

Terrorist attacks are not because those held responsible for security and safety are unable to envision what terrorists could do. It is relative that individuals hardly ever support costly and conceivably disruptive precautions to safeguard them against issues that have not taken place.^{^[9]} The truth is that since terrorists could attack whatever thing, at anyplace, anytime, individuals should endeavor to protect the potential targets that terrorists exhibit a proclivity to assault. For anyone identified to murder in the quantity and also prepared to kill senselessly, train stations, subways, and buses are worthy goals. Such places tend to provide the terrorists an easy getaway. Crowds of people in enclosed surroundings are specifically susceptible to both ordinary explosives and special weapons.^{^[10]} Terrorist assaults on public transport infrastructures bring about striking loss and alarm which are the general objectives of terrorism. The terrorists who focus on carriage systems tend to be keen on slaughter. A study of just about 1,000 terrorist assaults on transport systems established that the percent of those that involved fatalities 37 % had increased more than the proportion of terrorist attacks typically. The study revealed that two-thirds of the ground transport assaults perished; 74 % of the lethal attacks engaged numerous fatalities, and 35 % involved 9 or maybe more casualties.^{^[11]}.

The security measures on the ground transportation could not be the same as compared to that of modern aviation. Practically 60,000 screeners are required to examine the two million travelers who take a flight from U.S. international airports each day. The equivalent general assessment system for the roughly 26 million individuals journeying would need thousands and thousands of screeners and thus might cost tens of large amounts of money^{^[12]}. Railway stations, subways, and buses should continue to be widely accessible, hassle-free, and low-priced. The deployment of explosive sniffers and armed security personnel may not be shifted quite quickly to subway stations or even bus stops^{^[13]}. The gaps could be substantial and costs exorbitant Thus, suspending the public transport.

2.1 Theoretical Framework

The literature review divided into measurable factors will entail the effects of Terrorist activities; Root causes of terrorist attacks, Vulnerability Factors, Security measures on terrorism and Government security upgrade. The theoretical framework will involve the measurable factors which will use of previous researches done to answer the research questions.

Chapter 3

Methodology

3.1 Research Design

On Veal previous studies, the research will employ qualitative research whereby it will be an ex-post facto research design.[14] Ex-post facto research is a method of teasing out possible antecedents or events that have happened and cannot, for this reason, be engineered or manipulated by the investigator. Hilliard defined ex-post facto research like that in which independent variable or variables have already occurred and in which the research started with the observation of the dependent variable or variables.^{^[15]} The choice of ex-post facto design, as opposed to other research designs, was motivated by the fact that this study seeks to determine retrospectively the influence of selected factors regarding the study the transportation infrastructure during terror attacks as pertained by the respondents’ opinions. In the context of educational and social science research, the phrase ex-post facto means after the fact or retrospectively.^{^[16]} If an individual finds the behavior of another person constructive, one will be inspired then a valuable subjective norm is anticipated. If an appropriate individual notices the conduct as negative, and the own desires to meet the prospects of these “others,” then the understanding is likely to be a negative absolute norm for a person. Attitudes and subjective norm could be measured on scales by making use of the phrases or terms such as agree/disagree, good/wrong, and like/unlike.

It could be reasoned that, in ex-post facto research, the investigator does not manipulate the independent variables to establish the extent to which if influences the dependent variable. Rather, the study attempted to investigate any existing relationships between the independent and dependent variable retrospectively.^{^[17]} Consequently, the variables are taken as they are in a natural setting, and the research attempted to establish the relationships and effects are occurring. The research will then study the variables in retrospect for their possible relationship. The ex-post facto research design was chosen for this study in view of the fact that besides data collection, the research attempted to establish any causal link between the respondents’ opinions regarding the study the transportation infrastructure during terror attacks and independent variables retrospectively.

3.2 Location of the Study and the Target Population

The location will be on the victims faced with terrorist attacks in the US

3.3 Sample and Sampling Procedure

To validly generalize the findings from the sample to a defined population, the sample should be representative of the population. According to Veal research, will use the stratified sampling method to select the respondents from the targeted population to fill up the questionnaires.[18] The method focuses on particular subgroups based on the demographic groupings. The approach is loftier to random sampling method since it reduces the sampling error. The subgroup is a subset of the populace is believed to be sharing, at least, one respective characteristic. The subgroups could be males and females. First the study identifies the relevant sub-groups and their explicit representation in the populace. According to Veal, the stratified sampling will be used to choose the adequate number of subjects from each sub-group.^{^[19]} “Adequate” refers to the sample size big enough to ensure that the sub-group represents the populace. When sampling, the respondents will have to be between 18 and 45 years old.

Though the project could be intentionally designed, there exists the possibility that communications with the respondents may unintentionally harm them in some inadvertent way. It is the research responsibility to deliberate on whether any form of injury might occur as part of the research and the trained research assistants need to ensure that mechanisms are established to remove any potential harm. It is, indispensable that the research carefully evaluates the probable for injury to arise and make sure that the study is carried according to the appropriate ethical standards thus by considering how research could negatively affect the respondents.Thus, after completing a pilot study, the research made the necessary changes to the instrument. Subsequently, the study will use several trained research assistants to administer the questionnaires and collect the data from the specified group. The paper will make use of anonymity thus making the respondents feel more confident that all given information will be treated with confidentiality.

Bibliography

Berdica, Katja. “An introduction to road vulnerability: what has been done, is done and should be done.” Transport Policy 9, no. 2 (2002): 117-127.

Coutermarsh, Richard Alfred, John Reid Eastman, and Mark Miller. “Internal hydraulic locking apparatus and methods for making and using same.” U.S. Patent 7,950,748, issued May 31, 2011.

DuTemple, L. A. (2002). The New York Subways. Twenty-First Century Books.

Frykberg, Eric R. “Medical management of disasters and mass casualties from terrorist bombings: how can we cope?” Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 53, no. 2 (2002): 201-212.

Gill, Pamela. “Identifying Factors Related to Guidance Counselors’ Attitudes Toward Visual Arts Programs in Public Schools.” Marilyn Zurmuehlen Working Papers in Art Education 6, no. 1 (1987): 28-33.

Greiper, Scott, and Mark Sauter. Beyond Aviation: The Emerging Ground Transportation Security Market. Legend Merchant Group, 2006.

Hilliard, Russell E. “The effects of music therapy on the quality and length of life of people diagnosed with terminal cancer.” Journal of Music Therapy 40, no. 2 (2003): 113-137.

Hobfoll, Stevan E., Daphna Canetti-Nisim, and Robert J. Johnson. “Exposure to terrorism, stress-related mental health symptoms, and defensive coping among Jews and Arabs in Israel.” Journal of consulting and clinical psychology74, no. 2 (2006): 207.

Holgersson, Annelie, and Ulf Björnstig. “Mass casualty attacks public transportation.” Journal of Transportation Security 7, no. 1 (2014): 1-16.

Horgan, J. (2009). Walking away from terrorism: accounts of disengagement from radical and extremist movements. Routledge.

Mueller, John E. Overblown: How Politicians and the terrorism industry inflate national security threats, and why we believe them. Simon and Schuster, 2006.

Nesser, Petter. “Chronology of Jihadism in Western Europe 1994–2007: Planned, prepared, and executed terrorist attacks.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 31, no. 10 (2008): 924-946.

Savitch, H. V. (2005). An anatomy of urban terror: Lessons from Jerusalem and elsewhere. Urban Studies, 42(3), 361-395.

Tan, A. (2002). Terrorism in Singapore: Threat and implications. Contemporary Security Policy, 23(3), 1-18.

Veal, Anthony James. Research methods for leisure and tourism: A practical guide. Pearson Education, 2006.

Wells, K., & Bradley, D. A. (2012). A review of X-ray explosives detection techniques for checked baggage. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 70(8), 1729-1766.

1. Berdica, Katja. “An introduction to road vulnerability: what has been done, is done and should be done,” Transport Policy 9, no. 2 (2002): 118.
2. Holgersson, Annelie, and Ulf Björnstig. “Mass-casualty attacks on public transportation,” Journal of Transportation Security 7, no. 1 (2014): 5.
3. Tan, A. (2002). “Terrorism in Singapore: Threat and implications,” Contemporary Security Policy, 23(3), 8.
4. Nesser, Petter. “Chronology of Jihadism in Western Europe 1994–2007: Planned, prepared, and executed terrorist attacks,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 31, no. 10 (2008): 929.
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1. Hobfoll et al., “Exposure to terrorism, stress-related mental health symptoms, and defensive coping among Jews and Arabs in Israel.” Journal of consulting and clinical psychology74, no. 2 (2006): 207.
↑
Horgan, J. Walking away from terrorism: accounts of disengagement from radical and extremist movements, Routledge. (2009).
Greiper, Scott, and Mark Sauter. Beyond Aviation: The Emerging Ground Transportation Security Market, Legend Merchant Group, (2006).

Coutermarsh, Richard Alfred, John Reid Eastman, and Mark Miller. “Internal hydraulic locking apparatus and methods for making and using same,” U.S. Patent 7,950,748, issued (May 31, 2011). ↑
↑
↑
Mueller, John E. Overblown: How Politicians and the terrorism industry inflate national security threats, and why we believe them, Simon and Schuster, (2006).
Frykberg, Eric R. “Medical management of disasters and mass casualties from terrorist bombings: how can we cope?,” Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 53, no. 2 (2002): 201-212.

Savitch, H. V. (2005). An anatomy of urban terror: Lessons from Jerusalem and elsewhere. Urban Studies, 42(3), 361-395. ↑
↑
↑
DuTemple, L. A. (2002). The New York Subways. Twenty-First Century Books.
Wells, K., & Bradley, D. A. (2012). A review of X-ray explosives detection techniques for checked baggage. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 70(8), 1729-1746. ↑
↑
Veal, Anthony James. Research methods for leisure and tourism: A practical guide, Pearson Education (2006).
Hilliard, Russell E. “The effects of music therapy on the quality and length of life of people diagnosed with terminal cancer,” Journal of Music therapy 40, no. 2 (2003): 113-137.

Hilliard, Russell, 134. ↑
↑
↑
Hilliard, Russell, 137.
Gill, Pamela. “Identifying Factors Related to Guidance Counselors’ Attitudes Toward Visual Arts Programs in Public Schools.” Marilyn Zurmuehlen Working Papers in Art Education 6, no. 1 (1987): 28-33. ↑
Hilliard, Russell, 138.
Veal, Anthony James. ↑
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