In this course we focus on the private sector’s role related to our nation’s critical infrastructure, as well as the necessity of ensuring the goods and services they offer are provided in an uninterrupted manner. The combination of these two issues will serve as the primary focus of this written assignment.

First, select one (1) of the following critical infrastructure sectors that you have an interest in (links take you to their sector specific plans). Chemical, Commercial Facilities, Communications, Critical Manufacturing, Dams, Energy, Financials Services, Food and Agriculture, Healthcare and Public Health, Information Technology, Transportation Systems, Water Systems.

Then discuss the most prevalent threats your chosen sector currently faces, as well as how a private sector organization within this sector could enhance its ability to provide its essential services when facing such threats and hazards. This latter section relates to private sector organization Continuity of Operations Planning, focused on current threats and hazards you address.

You can find the primary components of such a plan in the document Continuity Guidance Circular 1 (CGC 1) Continuity Guidance for Non-Federal Entities. Additional information concerning this assignment can be found below and attached.

Make sure you read the instructions carefully and that you focus your paper on answering the assigned questions. This assignment is a research paper, not an opinion paper, so you need to use scholarly sources to support your thesis. Use formal academic writing and do not use the first person such as I or my; see the OWL site on academic writing style. Make sure you use APA style in-text parenthetical citations at the end of every sentence where you are quoting another’s ideas (or any information) that is not your own thoughts and words, like this (Bergen, 2015, para 14). Citations are required for paraphrases as well, but not the page or paragraph number in that case. I highly recommend you use the APUS writing guide which can be found in the university library or at this link: APUS Research Writing and Style Guide. You are welcome to use supplementary sources to compliment the assigned readings based upon your research, but make sure you use scholarly and credible sources (do not use open websites and you never want to use wikipedia for a college level paper). Also, dictionaries and encyclopedias as well as general news sites (like CNN) are not appropriate for college level research papers. Do not cite the weekly lessons as those are only basic information to start off the topic with. You need to use mainly scholarly and reputable academic books and journal articles. Refer to the guide provided to you as an attachment here titled “How to find scholarly research sources for HLSS Courses.” Also, see the APUS Library Homeland Security Program Guide for good sources, as well as the APUS Research Primer and the APUS Library Research FAQs. For formatting, the best option is to use the attached example paper as a template (for formatting purposes only).

Requirements:

– Written according to the APA style and format;

– Use Times New Roman 12 point font;

– 1 inch margins on all sides with no paragraph indentation other than the first line by .5 inches

– Double space all text (no extra lines or spaces after a paragraph or section headings and no added font sizes or lines either)

– At least 5 FULL pages of content but no more than 6 pages.

– A respectable number of credible resources used, cited in the paper as in-text citations, and included on the reference page. A good rule of thumb is at least 2 scholarly sources per page of content (at least 10 scholarly references for this 5 page paper). Use those sources provided to you throughout the course (listed in the announcements), as well as other material obtained from conducting your own research. Freely utilize appropriate and reputable academic sources, summarize in your own words and cite accordingly. See the attached tip sheet on how to find scholarly sources in HLSS courses.

Be mindful of excessive direct quotes as the paper should not contain just a string of various quotations. Make sure you comply with all academic integrity standards expected by APUS and as slide 14 of the APUS Academic Integrity presentation posted in course syllabus (and the week 1 introduction forum) states “Quotes cannot make up more than 10% of the text of your assignment.” So paraphrase where you can and provide your own analysis and synthesis of your research. The bottom line for academic integrity is to write an original work for this assignment (not copied from anywhere on the internet or a recycled content of your own previous papers) to to properly cite your references.