Introduction
The national government has promoted the nation’s security and integrity by methodically preparing for the dangers that pose the most significant risk to national security, such as terrorist attacks, cyber pandemics, and major natural disasters. National security and homeland defense are closely related concepts. National security, which is viewed as a responsibility of the government, is the protection and defense of a nation-state, including its population, economy, and institutions. National security, which was first thought to be a defense against ground offensive, is now widely known to encompass non-military components, such as security from terrorism, reducing crime, economic stability, energy independence, ecological security, food production, and cyber-security.
This annotated webography is intended to provide information to anyone who is curious about the homeland security and homeland defense agencies in the United States. With the use of many websites that depict important organizational participants in homeland security, this annotated webography aims to offer internet-based research advice. The seven web pages included in this webography represent public and private organizations, governmental agencies, and states, and they highlight their contributions to homeland security. This research focuses on the varied roles played by the businesses that own the websites, the user-friendly elements employed on the online platforms, and the advantages and disadvantages of each website. The webography also has images from each website’s home screen. Individuals can better comprehend Homeland Security websites by exploring the listed websites.
US Department of Homeland Security
The dedication and determination of Americans across the country in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks gave birth to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its goal to ensure the safety of the American people. This website is a typical political web page. The design is simple but pleasant, which means that page navigation will be simple and intuitive. The site is one of the official resources of the US authorities; this is confirmed by the banner at the very top of the web page.
The site is designed as a news page, which is a definite plus for the average user. The page, in addition to the news posted on the site itself, also offers to watch thematic news from social networks in order to simplify the study of information and provide a more familiar interface in the form of well-known social networks. In general, this page does not cause negative emotions at the first transition to it, which gives the user the opportunity to provide information in a reasonably convenient way. The only negative that can be emphasized is that the site looks old, but this does not affect the user experience in any way.
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency
The Office of Management and Budget, which is in charge of overall government cyber security, works closely with CISA to safeguard and defend the home front as the coordinator for the information security squad. This website is made in colorful and youthful colors, which softens the political context for the user, thereby causing positive emotions. However, these same colors are a definite disadvantage, as they can confuse the reader and distract from important information. The site is an information board that shows upcoming events, news, and information about activities. The site is one of the official resources of the US authorities; this is confirmed by the banner at the very top of the web page.
The main disadvantage of this resource is a raw look, which does not give confidence to this page at first sight, but the banner about the ownership of this resource by the authorities assures the user. Using the site is not the easiest, but for the most part, it is also intuitive. The advantage of this resource is a good and understandable sorting of data so that the user can get acquainted with a specific area. In general, this page evokes strange emotions when connected, which is not a sign of a good web page.
The Homeland Security & Defense Business Council
The top businesses that provide technology, goods, and solutions to the national security economy make up the non-profit, non-partisan commercial participation group known as the Homeland Security & Defense Business Council. This web page has a balanced design and causes profound emotions when you go to it. This feature is positive for pages of a political nature. This page is a business card that talks about the life of the business council. Getting to the main page, the user can get acquainted with the goals and views of the company and only then go to the news and past events. The company has well balanced its corporate goals with public safety needs.
This web page creates only positive emotions for the user: a successful company that is engaged in the protection of the population in various areas of everyday life. The main advantage is the correct provision of information; the user will easily remember the phrases as they are short and informative. The downside may not be an obvious need to access this resource for an ordinary person; the page was created for those who know what they are looking for. In general, this page leaves severe and strict emotions, which is a plus for sites in this category.
The Center for Homeland Defense and Security
The Center for Homeland Defense and Security has carried out a variety of programs designed to aid existing and emerging leaders in Homeland Defense and Security to develop the initiatives, techniques, programs, and organizational elements required to destroy terrorism and prepared to respond to natural calamities, and address threats to the public protection across the United States. This web page evokes highly positive emotions for the average person. The design is moderately severe and moderately colorful, which gives the human eye the opportunity to focus on the information and also be distracted while thinking about what has been read. The site is an information board, which is structured in several colors. The study of information becomes simple, and each user will quickly understand the navigation on the page.
In general, this web page shows an example of how to create information resources of a political nature properly. The main advantages of this page are the usage design and data structuring. The downside may be that in order to get acquainted with some data or information, the user needs to go a lot between pages, which suggests that although the information is structured, it is not always presented in the best way.
The Mississippi Department of Homeland Security
The Mississippi Office of Homeland Security’s mandate is to collaborate with federal, state, and local emergency workers in the case of both artificial and environmental catastrophes, as well as to strive to avert threats and terrorist attacks within the state and to react to them. This website offers in-depth guidance on recognizing suspicious behavior, identifying it, and reacting to a terrorist act or risk of terrorism. This web page is a news and information portal with a simple and strict design in political tones. When going to the page, the user is greeted with colorful pictures of the activities of the service, which are of interest in learning about the organization. The site has news threads from various social networks, which makes it easy to move on to studying information in a more familiar way.
In general, the page leaves positive emotions, which is a definite plus for the organization, so it easily attracts new readers. The site has complex navigation, which makes it extremely easy to use. When reading news and events, the user can also stay on the main page because all the necessary information is present there. The downside of this site is the extreme simplicity in some aspects, which sometimes causes negative emotions when familiarized; the developers should reconsider the sectional division of the site.
The Office of Homeland Security
The primary duty of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) is to improve Hawaii’s safety readiness and resilience through an all-encompassing, incorporated, mutually reinforcing, pertinent, proactive, flexible, and expense exertion in order to avoid, protect against, respond to, and recover from intrusions, environmental catastrophes, and advanced threats. This page is a news resource with a colorful design and a slight political tinge. The site has news threads from various social networks, which makes it easy to move on to studying information in a more familiar way. When reading news and events, the user can also stay on the main page because all the necessary information is present there.
The main disadvantage of this resource is its raw look, which does not give confidence to this page at first sight. The site looks quite simple, which also sometimes repels the user. However, despite the colorful design, the site shows a large amount of information on the main page, which allows the user to get acquainted with the news and actual events quickly. In general, this page evokes strange emotions when connected, which is not a sign of a good web page.
The Leidos Company
Leidos uses technology, engineering, and research to make the world safer, better, and more effective. Leidos is recognized for upholding the most outstanding standards of morality and ethics, and this is true of the way we handle data privacy and security. The Defense Group is composed of thousands of skilled security experts, including eminent academics and former members of the security and defense communities. This website is an example of a private organization that is a serious player in the security market. This site is a modern example of a good site for getting acquainted with all the necessary information. The main page is designed as a business card that talks about every aspect in which the influence of the organization is present.
The site contains a large amount of information that, at first glance, confuses the user, but studying each section, one gets the impression of seriousness in the intentions and pleasant success of the company. The main advantages of this website are modernity and design. Any user will be able to understand the site navigation as it is the most intuitive and was created according to the latest web development trends. The downside is a large amount of information, which in some places is presented in a very concise version so as not to overload the visual background, but the site should first of all be informative.
Conclusion
To summarize, this study showed that most of the websites related to the defense of the homeland are built like a news portal with the addition of information about a specific organization. At the moment, the study of information on these resources is not always comfortable due to incorrect site construction or data structuring; however, there are pages on which all elements are arranged harmoniously, which contributes to the study of information.
As the work was studied, there were minuses such as indistinct design, which significantly interfered with focusing on information. There were also sites on which the priority in providing information was incorrectly set, which means that the most crucial theoretical knowledge the user can get after reading all the news and entertainment moments. In general, the study of these resources left more positive emotions, which suggests that the study of theoretical information is possible simply by going to the web page of a political organization. However, all of the above minuses indicate that websites in this area still need to be developed to work with the user.
References
CISA. (2022). Cybersecurity & infrastructure security agency. Cisa.Gov.
Center for Homeland Defense and Security. (2022). CHDS. Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
DHS. (2022). Home | homeland security. Dhs.Gov.
Leidos. (2022). Homeland.
MOHS. (2022). Home | MOHS. Homelandsecurity.Ms.Gov.
OHS. (2022). Office of homeland security. Dod.Hawaii.Gov.
The Homeland Security & Defense Business Council. (2022). The Homeland Security & Defense Business Council. Homelandcouncil.Org.