Response book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Response book - Essay Example yzed by a car accident at an age of 19 years, but regardless of the physical limitation, he has led a very successful and remarkable life as a world-travelling journalist traversing through the hills or Iran and Afghanistan as well as navigating through the Middle Eastern terrain stretches of sand in his wheelchair. Despite his disability, he has achieved what many able-bodied journalists have only imagined. The depiction of the disabled in this book goes contrary to the contemporary social expectations and attitudes. This is because the disabled people are not given the same opportunities as other people and therefore, they are not expected to amount to something as big as John Hockenberry. Reading this book helped me appreciate the role of wisdom and perseverance in overcoming even the greatest of obstacles. I derive a sense of peace in knowing that even if the humanity is greatly flawed with many disappointments, we can always fulfil our dreams and purpose in life and enjoy it. This book has changed my perception about people with disability. The author portrays a picture of a person who does not give excuses for his disability in order to evade tasks and therefore, the aspects of disability does not form part of his identity. Instead, he is in the front line when covering the refugee stories in war torn Kurdish, Iran and Afghanistan. The most inspiring part is the story he covered in the Gulf war is a steep mountain while clinging to the back of a donkey. His story is that of an extraordinary journalist exceeding the bounds of expectations by venturing into scary situations. Even in the midst of humor, his stories draw the readers’ sympathy. By being a member of the minority group in the society based on his disability, he deeply connects with the dying people in Afghanistan and the dying children in Somalia which looks like his motivation. Despite the major achievement of people with disability, the book presents a society that still holds reservations

Running head for publication goes here Essay Example for Free

Running head for publication goes here Essay 1. Introduction 3 1. 1. Purpose of Report 3 1. 2. Current Situation 3 1. 3. Identified Problems 4 2. Data and Knowledge 5 2. 1. What makes data good? 5 2. 2. How is information created? 5 2. 3. How is information used? 6 2. 4. How Dell utilized information 6 2. 5. How KAR Vehicles Ltd can benefit 8 3. Using Systems to Convert Data into Information 8 3. 1. Transaction Processing Systems 8 3. 2. Management information systems 9 3. 3. Decision Support Systems 9 3. 4. Expert systems 10 4. Conclusion 11 References 12 INFORMATION SYSTEMS 1. Introduction 1. 1. Purpose of Report This paper is to discuss and analyze the role of information systems in processing raw data such as statistics, sales figure and demographic data, into useful and valuable knowledge which can be used to support decision-making within an organization. Focus will be placed on a case study of Kar Vehicle Hire Limited, from which valuable real life experience and lessons can be drawn from. 1. 2. Current Situation. KAR Vehicle Hire Ltd has recently implemented a transaction processing system called K-VIS which utilizes a database containing details of vehicles, clients, hire bookings, vehicle collections and returns, vehicle maintenance schedules, etc, as well as other relevant information. Bookings are done through K-VIS and the appropriate information such as booking details, driver details and payment details are entered into and stored in the database. This data entry and updating is done manually by the office administrator. Other transactions and procedures such as the collection of vehicle is also carried out in a similar fashion. With the growing amount of information and data available in the new database, the potential for the use of this information to aid managerial decision-making by uncovering patterns or trends, or in other methods, has been discussed. Knowledge creation to support effective key management decision-making is then the primary concern of Kar Vehicle Ltd currently. 1. 3. Identified Problems The main problem here that KAR Vehicle Ltd faces is that of managing data and knowledge creation. Firstly, managing data is a challenging process, because the amount of data expands exponentially over time; is collected from many sources, both external and internal; and is scattered throughout the organization different branches. The introduction of K-VIS has helped to centralize the collection and storage of data in a standardized format and procedure; however, KAR Vehicle Ltd has limited experience in transforming data to information, and information to knowledge via a knowledge creation process. This requires data that can be understood by the managers and analysts of KAR Vehicle Ltd easily, be accessible conveniently, and hence be able to analyzed using a variety of tools according to their needs to produce information. This information can then be used in conjunction with the experience and personal knowledge of the managers and analysts to create knowledge, which should then be stored in a format that all organizational employees can access and apply, creating a flexible and powerful â€Å"learning organization†. (Rainer, Turban and Potter, pg 96-100, 2006) 2. Data and Knowledge 2. 1. What makes data good? Data is simply a collection of raw facts, figures and statistics collected by people and systems, and then stored in various format. By itself, raw data has no real significance and use, but like all raw materials, it has to go through a process to convert it to information about the world, situations and people, which becomes factual statements about the world, which has meaning and can be useful in certain ways. (O’Brien, 1994, pg. 19) But before raw data can be converted to useful information, it has to be good and â€Å"clean†; that is, data without errors (Rainer, pg 101, 2006). What makes data clean? â€Å"Clean† data which is error free should be accurate, complete, timely, consistent, accessible, relevant and concise. â€Å"Clean† data is of high quality and can be used to generate useful information about linkages and facts about the world. 2. 2. How is information created? Information is data that has been converted into a meaningful and useful context that links various facts together in a relationship which can be used to form factual statements about the world. It is the result of data that has gone through a value added process where it is aggregated, manipulated and organized; analyzed and evaluated; and finally placed in a proper context which is suitable for its purpose or designed end user. This value added process, or what we will call â€Å"data processing†, usually occurs in information systems. For example, raw data is entered by the office administrator and front line stuff into K-VIS, which organizes and process the data to form meaningful relationships, such as a customer demographic data, his sales and records history, a vehicular history and transactions history. 2. 3. How is information used? Information that has real value and is accurate and meaningful is very important to any business organization. Without timely and accurate information which is relevant, businesses would not be able to make informed decisions and carry out activities such as risk analysis, cost benefit analysis, demand forecasting and supply chain co-ordination, among other things. For example, Dell business model is entirely based on timely and accurate information about orders, demands, suppliers and inventory. Making use of accurate and timely information flows, Dell is able to exploit a fundamental competitive factor in its industry to its fullest – the value of time. 2. 4. How Dell utilized information Dell use of information technology to gather, process and disseminate information is vital to the success of it’s business model – namely direct sales and build-to-order – enabling it to make highly accurate and timely decisions about market forecasting to drive production and inventories. It kept track directly of customers’ PC inventory, allowing individual business users to order PCs directly rather than going through a middleman, allowing Dell to build a relationship with customers and making the collection of useful data automated and painless. This data, which was processed into meaningful information, helped Dell to segment its customers into different primary categories. This categorization helps Dell to respond to changes in different customer segments, and make decisions on which customer segment is the most profitable to develop and grow, and hence the segment in which to concentrate its resources on, offering highly customized services to gain and keep their business. In short, meaningful information helped tell to make decisions regarding its most profitable customers, and where its resources would be most efficiently expended on. Dell is also able to minimize part inventories by requiring suppliers to restock parts only as they are needed, and to have available specific components as they are needed to fill an incoming order. This is made possible through very close coordination between Dell’s sales and manufacturing arm, and between Dell and its suppliers. This is achieved by refining its business processes, developing close relationships with a limited number of key suppliers, all the while making heavy and extensive use of information technology systems to facilitate communication within and outside the company, making this close coordination possible and successful. (Kraemer, Dedrick and Yamashiro, 2000) 2. 5. How KAR Vehicles Ltd can benefit KAR Vehicles Ltd can benefit from the information stored in K-VIS as well in many ways. For example, customer demographic information could be used to foster closer customer relationships and to keep and retain profitable and valuable customers. In turn, profitable and valuable customers can be identified from their sales records, which can be analyzed to pick put high value and high volume customers. This information can also be used to create customers segments like Dell did, in order to make decisions as to how KAR Vehicles Ltd can distribute their resources most efficiently. Furthermore, KAR Vehicles Ltd can also make use of the information gathered in K-VIS to minimize inventory turn over rates, and to maximize resource usage. For example, KAR Vehicle managers could analyze sales history and periods, and then determine where and when car inventories should be kept and retained in order to meet demand. This can help KAR Vehicles to reduce its inventory stock, by making each car in its inventory more utilized. 3. Using Systems to Convert Data into Information 3. 1. Transaction Processing Systems. This is what the K-VIS basically is, a system that supports the monitoring, collection, storage and processing of data from the organization business transactions, each of which generates data. The TPS collects data continuously in real time, and are considered critical to the success of any enterprise because they support core operations. It is hence obvious that K-VIS is essential to the continued and efficient operations of KAR Vehicles business operations. 3. 2. Management information systems Management information systems summarize data and prepare reports. These reports are mostly for middle and low level managers, and concern a specific functional area. K-VIS is also a management information system, as we can see that K-VIS is used by the office administrator to print out multipart forms or VIF. 5 forms for all collections due for a particular day. These forms are then used for business transactions as appropriate, and also used to update K-VIS with any new information or details. 3. 3. Decision Support Systems Decision support systems provide computer-based support for complex, non-routine decisions, for both managers and knowledge workers. There are typically two categories of Decision Support Systems – Business Intelligence Systems and Data Mining Systems. These are usually used in conjunction with a data warehouse and allow users to perform their own data analysis. For example, K-VIS enabled with a decision support system module, could be used to conduct what-of analysis to test the impact of bringing in new inventories of cars, relocation of branch offices, or expanding their varieties of cars offered. 3. 4. Expert systems Simply put, expert systems can be thought of as a collection of rules as defined by an expert. These rules can then be used as â€Å"†¦information processors whose applications address highly specialized and restricted areas of expert human knowledge†, as stated by Murray and Murray (1988, pp. 3). The potential benefits of expert systems are enormous, and their applications highly flexible. Watkins and Eliot (1993) identify some of the benefits of integration between expert systems and computer-based information systems (CBIS) as: o Improving the operations and maintenance of the database o Improving sensitive analysis o Acting as a tutor o Making applications more useful and â€Å"intelligent† o Reducing maintenance costs. o Refining the query system This is the area in which KAR Vehicles Ltd should focus on, as it automates decision making support for managers, and can help KAR Vehicles Ltd to identify and exploit any strategic or competitive advantage available in their industry. 4. Conclusion In today highly competitive and complex business environment, the capability to collect data, process it into useful and meaningful information, and then utilize this information in efficient ways to create knowledge or a competitive advantage, is essential towards prosperity and even survival in the business climate. Information systems are indispensable when it comes to this tasks, and there are a wide range and variety of information systems, all of which can be integrated, to collect data, process data into meaningful information, and then make use of this information to support the decision making process used by the managers of KAR Vehicles Ltd. In doing so, competitive and strategic advantage can be potentially identified and achieved, and greater operational efficiency will result as well. References Kraemer, Kenneth L. , Dedrick, Jason. , and Yamashiro, Sandra., 2000, â€Å"Refining and Extending the Business Model With Information Technology:Dell Computer Corporation†, The Information Society, 2000 Murray, Jerome T. , and Murray, Marilyn J. , 1988, Expert Systems in Data Processing, A Professional’s Guide, McGraw-Hill O’Brien, James A. , 1994, Introduction to Information Systems, Richard D. Irwin, Inc Rainer, Kelly. , Turban, Efraim. , and Potter, Richard. 2006, Introduction to Information Systems, John Wiley and Sons Watkins, Paul R. and Eliot, Lance B. , 1993, Expert Systems in Business and Finance, John Wiley and Sons.

Reflective Nursing Essay | Leadership in AE

Reflective Nursing Essay | Leadership in AE For the purpose of this assignment I will explore my personal and professional development in my third year and throughout the entire course. In this assignment I will reflect on an episode of practice that happened in the accident and emergency department during my placement there. I will discuss my leadership role, supervision and delegation to others whilst I managed the minors area on a morning shift. I have chosen to reflect on this episode of practice as this is one of the first times I was truly allowed to manage an area during this time I was able to delegate to others, question my leadership style and make clinical decisions. I will use reflective practice to critically analyse my delegation and supervision of others and analyse my own professional development. Throughout this reflection I will also look into the theory that underpins the following areas, Clinical Decision Making; Leadership, Management and Teamwork; Delegation and Supervision of others and Continuing Professional Development. The main focus of this assignment will be my delegation and supervision of others as this is a very important part of being a nurse as the NMC (2008) says You must establish that anyone you delegate to is able to carry out your instructions and that You must make sure that everyone you are responsible for is supervised and supported. To critically analyse this I will use a recognised model of reflection, I have researched a number of different models of reflection to find one that is suitable for this and that Im comfortable using. Some of the models I have looked at include Johns model of reflection as cited in Siviter (2008) But I found that this to be to rigid and does not help me discuss my own development as well , and also requires the reflector to work under constant supervision and keep a diary. Another model I considered was Rolfe et al (2001) framework for reflective practice, but I found this not to be structured enough to adequately explore my development and create future action plans. The final model I looked at is the Gibbs (1988) model of reflection as cited in (Siviter, 2008). The Gibbs model is well structured and easily guides the reflector through the process allowing them to explore the reflection in depth and allow action plans to be created. I have chosen this model as I have used this mode l in the past and feel comfortable using it and I feel it is well suited to this episode of practice. During this assignment I will use a pseudonym for any patients I discuss to maintain confidentially in line with the NMC (2008) on confidentiality. Desciption I was working on a morning shift in the Minors area of the Accident and Emergency department with my mentor and her other third year student. The nurse in charge asked us if we wanted to take it in turns the run the minors depart for half the shift each. I was given the task of running the area for the morning half the shift. In addition to my mentor and the other student there was a HCA also assigned to the area. The minors area was not particularly busy this morning there was 3 patients in the area with another 2 or 3 waiting to be seen. One of the Doctors working with is in the area asked if I could do an ECG on one of the patients then refer them up to the cardiology ward as they needed to be admitted. I decided that I would hand the patient over to the ward as I had the patients full history and I would delegate the task of the ECG to the other student as I knew she needed to do this for her skills, my mentor went with her as she needed to be supervised to complete this skill. O n my way to make the phone call, a paramedic crew brought a child in the paediatric area of the minors bay. When a patient is brought into the area there paperwork has to be completed including observations. I decided to delegate this to the HCA as the other patient urgently needed to go to the ward. I asked the HCA to do a complete set of observation on the child who responded when I get round to it I explained to her that the observations were more important at that time than stocking a cupboard. After making the phone call I returned to the child and the HCA to ensure the observations where completed correctly and noted the Childs observations were not normal and may indicate acute appendicitis as I had seen this on a previous shift, at this point I took the results to the doctor and explained what I felt the doctor agreed and moved the child up in the waiting list to be seen next. Thoughts and Feelings When I was asked to run the minors area initially I felt very excited about this as I have not had many management opportunities during my course and I was getting to manage an area I have always been interested in and hope to eventually work in. When I started to get into the management role I started to find myself getting more and more anxious as I have never really worked in this environment before and that previous experience had been limited to wards which had more set routines. I felt comfortable being able to delegate to the third year student as I knew she would be competent to do the task I asked her I also felt confident in asking the HCA to complete observations as I knew they had training to work in this area. I feel that I could have asked the HCA in a different way to complete the observations as I felt the way I handled it was wrong and it led her to resent me for the rest of the shift because I was short with her. Overall I enjoyed the experience and felt a great dea l of satisfaction when I was able to identify a potentially critically ill patient and make the appropriate referral using my clinical judgement. Evaluation What I feel that was positive about this situation is I was able to practice my leadership and delegation skills which previously I have not had the opportunity to do. It has also given me a good insight into the importance of time management and prioritising tasks. This episode has given me a small insight into the importance of quality assurance because I had to check the observations and also allowed me to recognise my own limitation as I knew there was nothing I could have done for the child without referring to a doctor. What was negative about the situation I feel was my team working and management style could have been better as I could have explained to the HCA in more positive way. I feel I may not have needed to delegate the task of observations as I could have made the call and managed to complete the observations in a timely and safe manner. Analysis Delegation and supervision of others is an integral part of being a registered nurse. Delegation is defined as the process of transferring a task to a competent individual and giving them to authority to complete a selected nursing task in a selected situation Hanston Jackson(2004).

The Power of Music in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues Essay -- Sonnys B

The Power of Music in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues At first glance, "Sonny's Blues" seems ambiguous about the relationship between music and drugs. After all, the worlds of jazz and drug addiction are historically intertwined; it could be possible that Sonny's passion for jazz is merely an excuse for his lifestyle and addiction, as the narrator believes for a time. Or perhaps the world that Sonny has entered by becoming involved in jazz is the danger- if he had not encountered jazz he wouldn't have encountered drugs either. But the clues given by the portrayals of music and what it does for other figures in the story demonstrate music's beneficial nature; music and drugs are not interdependent for Sonny. By studying the moments of music interwoven throughout the story, it can be determined that the author portrays music as a good thing, the preserver and sustainer of hope and life, and Sonny's only way out of the "deep and funky hole" of his life in Harlem, with its attendant peril of drugs (414). The story's first encounter with music is after the narrator has learned of Sonny's arrest. He is thinking about the boys he teaches, and how they could all be "sucked under" (419) just as Sonny has been. He hears their laughter in the schoolyard and notes its "mocking and insular" quality, a noise made by disillusioned youth rather than the untainted, joyous sound one expects of children (410). One boy whistles a tune, a cool and moving, complicated and simple melody, "pouring out of him as though he were a bird," and the music manages to soar above the harsh sounds of disenchantment (410). Clearly this music is joy and salvation. Because he concentrates on this simple music, one boy does not curse and den... ..., because this tale is "the only light we've got in all this darkness" (438). "Sonny's Blues" is filled with examples of music and how it makes things better. The schoolboy, the barmaid, the mother, the brother, the uncle, the street revivalists, all use music to create a moment when life isn't so ugly, even though the world still waits outside and trouble stretches above. Music and the tale it tells provide hope and joy; instead of being the instrument of Sonny's destruction, introducing him to the world of drugs, music is his way out of some of the ugliness. For Sonny and the other characters in this story, music is a bastion against the despair that pervades stunted lives; it is the light that guides them from the darkness without hope. Works Cited Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues." The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 1992: 409 - 439.

Little Big Man

Directed by Arthur Penn, Little Big Man is a 1970 movie based on a 1964 novel by Thomas Berger. It stars Dustin Hoffman and Chief Dan George. The story begins as old Jack Crabb tries to recall the events of his long life for a biographer William Hickey. He had been a frontiersman, Indian scout, gunfighter, buffalo hunter, adopted Cheyenne homesteader, and witness and survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. However, among his varied life events, the fact that he was adopted by the Cheyenne gives him an unique perspective on both the white and Native American cultures of the 19th century. The movie unravels the white man’s attempted genocide of the Indian and provides an indirect commentary upon genocide then occurring in Vietnam. However, the movie is most noted for its celebrated toppling of the legend and heroic aura surrounding General George Armstrong Custer and his defeat at the Little Big Horn (Geyring, 1988).Little Big Man (1970) breaks many myths surrounding the w orld of the American West. It raises questions on many of the notions of the West that have come to dominate the popular consciousness. The new elements of Little Big Man that are in opposition to popular myths in western cinema include a decreased use of violence, increased use of non-traditional sexuality, critical views of historical masculine figures, more concern for the feelings of a woman, nontraditional sexuality and more focus on favoring â€Å"realism† over â€Å"romanticism†.Young Jack and his older sister Caroline were orphaned during a massacre of his wagon train. Jack is later raised by the Cheyenne leader Old Lodge Skins and taught the Cheyenne language whereas Caroline runs off.   Jack is given the name â€Å"Little Big Man† when, despite his short statures, he bravely volunteers to fight against the United States Army. After many adventures, he reunites with Caroline for a brief time. Jack finally settled down with a Swedish woman named Olga a nd even opens a general store. However, when his partner   deceives him and puts him in heavy debt, he is forced to close the store. George Armstrong Custer suggests they make a new beginning in the west.   But their stagecoach is attacked on the way and Olga is abducted by the Cheyenne. Jack later on, tragically finds Olga married to Younger Bear. He later marries Sunshine. Custer kills many of the Cheyenne leaders. Unable to take revenge on Custer directly, he leads them to their doom at the Little Bighorn in a smartly planned manner.Westerns Films   are the major defining genre of the American film industry. They usually represent the days of the expansive, untamed American frontier in the 19th century. The western film genre typically portray the conquest of the wilderness and the subordination of nature, in the name of civilization.   Usually, the film is based on forts, desert regions, isolated homestead, jail, small town main street etc. Other iconic elements in weste rns include the hanging tree, stetsons and spurs, lassos and Colt .45's, stagecoaches, gamblers, long-horned cattle and cattle drives, prostitutes with a heart of gold, and more (Dirks, 2007).The western film genre has been associated with America’s historical past.   Usually, the central plot of the western film is simple and based on conflicts between good and evil, white hat and black hat, settlers vs. Indians, humanity vs. nature, and so on (Dirks, 2007). Often the hero of a western meets his equal and opposite self in the form of the villain. Thus typical elements in westerns include enemies (often Native Americans), guns and gun fights, violence and human massacres, horses, trains and train robberies, bank robberies and holdups, runaway stagecoachs, shoot-outs and showdowns, outlaws and sheriffs, cattle drives and cattle rustling and distinctive western clothing (denim, jeans, boots, etc.) (Dirks, 2007).Little Big Man focuses on the settlement of the American West dur ing the middle- and late-nineteenth century. Crabb's is obsessively in search of his own origins. In relating his past, Crabb introduces several sets of parents over the course of the novel, including his birth parents, the Indians, and the Pendrakes. He does not sense any connection in the true sense to these people: â€Å"my Ma was well-meaning but ignorant. My Pa was crazy and my brother was a traitor. Then there was Caroline.They weren't much of a family, I guess, but then I was not with them long†. One also finds that Crabb could not have a family of his own despite two official marriages. He participates in almost every major event in the West at that time, beginning in 1852 and concluding in 1876 with the Battle of Little Bighorn.   Following Crabb in his search for roots the movie traces the complex issues of Western settlement, especially those raised by the collision of cultures and peoples.This breaks the myth of Western movies that the Native Indians are all sav ages and the white people are all decent settlers. Crabb is a White Man and he always remembers it. But he was brought up by the Cheyenne Indians from the age of ten.   When Crabb lives with the Indians, he cannot forget that he is white and while in the company of the whites, he seems more connected with the Indians; he confesses these conflicting attitudes when he runs away from the Pendrakes, his adopted parents in Missouri (Sinowitz, 1999).Crabb is derogatory in his speech and attitude towards both the Native Indians and the whites. When he is captured, he makes remarks such as â€Å"Indians of course invented the habit of smoking, and almost nothing else† and refers to the Indians as â€Å"barbarians.† As he proceeds to compliment them, he says â€Å"you couldn't get away from the fact that they wasn't white†. However, when he is among the whites later in the novel, Crabb realizes that he finds civilization meaningless. These ambivalent notions about the Indian world and civilization are very different from earlier Western type movies where the native Indians were the only villains.In most traditional Western movies, the settlement primarily involved bringing civilization to the West. In Little Big Man, Crabb even points out that the Indians are very mannerly.   He also indicates the barbarity of the whites. Instead of simply reversing the traditional roles of the Indians and whites, the movie shows us that in reality both groups are comprised of civil and savage men and values.In doing so, Penn revises traditional views of Western settlement and the tendency of observers neatly to categorize the roles various groups play in a historical process. The movie does not place any community as superior compared to another. But each culture along with its criticism is brought on an equal plane. The Little Big Man provides an increasingly positive representation of Native Americans who had been treated as â€Å"savages† in earlier films. Contrary to general American Western genre movies, this movie portrays the American Indians in a sympathetic light whereas the soldiers are portrayed as lunatics or violent barbarians (Sinowitz, 1999).Often considered the most American of film genres, the Western has long shaped the way the history of the West has been recorded in American culture.   When Western Movies brought in historical characters, the role they played was minimal. In this movie, we find that historical characters such as Custer and Wild Bill Hickok are treated with more detail. Crabb develops an obsessive hatred and then a strange admiration for Custer, and something of a friendship with Hickok.The film seems to make them more human and realistic with all their flaws and natural talents.   When Crabb meets Hickok, he is performing one of his famous stunts; however, Crabb downplays Hickok's shooting display and later does not really believe the legendary feats of Hickok. The movie reveals that the im ages of Hickok are most those projected by writers and press people. In effect, Crabb uses realistic portrayals of these historical figures to deflate the myths surrounding them (Sinowitz, 1999).In the movie Little Big Man, Penn parodies scenes and incidents from other Western movies (Sinowitz, 1999). There is a near reproduction of the climactic chase at the end of Stagecoach (1939), where John Wayne's Ringo Kid helps fend off an Indian attack on the coach . In Little Big Man, Penn converts this scene into a comic disaster instead of making it into a moment of heroic grandeur (Sinowitz, 1999). While in the movie â€Å"the Ringo Kid† and his companions shoot at Indians with a great deal of accuracy from the fleeing stagecoach, Crabb notes the need to use a shotgun, instead of a rifle from a moving stagecoach.Crabb also informs the reader that the apparent tough man traveling among the passengers on the coach dies of a heart attack before the Indians get close. Western movies such as Ford's The Searchers (1956) show Indians attacking a farm house in the   middle of the night and capturing Edwards's two nieces. In this movie, Crabb stresses that Indians never attack at night. Morever, Western movies generally involve the concepts of taking revenge. In Little Big Man, Crabb finally tracks down his own non-Indian wife and child and finds them   living with his greatest enemy among the Indians. But, knowing that they are content with Younger Bear, Crabb decides to leave them alone.The western films generally have a simplistic moral code.   For example, a white hat represents the good guy, a black hat represents the bad guy; two people facing each other on a deserted street leads to the expectation of a showdown; cattlemen are loners, townsfolk are family and community minded, etc. All western films can be read as a series of codes and the variations on those codes. Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves actually resurrects all the original codes and conven tions but â€Å"reverses the polarities†: the Native Americans are good, the U.S.Cavalry is bad. Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven uses every one of the original conventions, only reverses the outcomes instead of dying bravely or stoically, characters whine, cry, and beg; instead of a good guy saving the day, irredeemable characters execute revenge; etc. Here, in Little Good Man, the original codes and conventions are rewritten. Every person is treated as an individual with his own flaws in personality. Traditional Western movies had cowboy like heroes who were ruthless in their killings. ‘Unforgiven’ however, shows that even the gunslingers of the western had their own feelings and had to deal with a conscience after killing. In Little Big Man, Crabb gives up his gunslinger role the moment he sees Hickok kill another person in self-defense. Thus, there is more of a humanizing treatment to the western protagonists in Unforgiven and Little Big Man.As for the Native Amer ican characters, Little Big Man is more similar to â€Å"Dances with Wolves†. In the movie Dances with Wolves, the main protagonist Dunbar realizes that contrary to his belief that native Indians are barbaric people, they are a remarkable people, who are at one with the land and the earth.   He'd earlier been told that Native Indians were thieves, savages, and barbarians. But after knowing about them, he finds them both noble and intelligent.Dunbar becomes a friend and eventual member of the Tribe. He has found his place in life, and he is content and at peace. Here again we find that the Little Big Man does not place a similar halo around the native Indians. Rather, the movie etches out great characters among them who also have their flaws. Little Big Man differs from Dances with Wolves in the fact that it does not totally glorify the native Indians though it does focus them in a positive light.The reason why Little Big Man provides a neutral perspective towards the native Indians as well as towards the main protagonist Crabb is best explained by the words of authors Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner in their book â€Å"Camera Politica: the politics and ideology of contemporary Hollywood film†: â€Å"Fundamental social attitudes like patriotism, optimism, trust in government and business, sense of social security and so on were either deliberately overturned by such things as counterculture or undermined by events like Watergate.As a result the generic division which maintained boundaries around proper public dress and behavior or between public morality and immorality were crossed. Idealized cultural representations of public authority could no longer hold in a society in which young people scorned public figures and repudiated authority†. Thus, according to the authors, the neutral perspective is mainly due to the fact that during the period after 1967, America was in turmoil due to the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. Demarcatio ns between right and wrong were diffused and hence the movie of that period – Little Big Man (1970) – reflects that.Thus the movie â€Å"Little Big Man† marks a changing point in American Western Movies in many ways. This was due to changing times in history during the late sixties and changing perceptions. However, the movie was the first to start the revisionist Western trend in Hollywood, where age old western myths were shattered and new elements were added to this genre.Bibliography:Ryan, Michael. Camera Politica: The Politics and Ideology of Contemporary Hollywood Film.Dirks, Tim (2007). Westerns Films. http://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms2.htmlGehring, Wes D. (1988). Handbook of American Film Genres. Greenwood Press, 1988Meldrum, Howard Barbara (1985). Under the sun: Myth and realism in Western American Literature. Whitston Pub. Co., 1985Sinowitz, Leigh Michael (1999). The Western as Postmodern Satiric History: The Little Big Man. CLIO. Volume: 28. Issue: 2.

Study skill Essay

Study skill is defined as the different abilities that can be developed in order to improve a learner’s capacity to learn (MONDOFACTO, 2009). Based from the free dictionary (n. d. ), the term study skill is used for general approaches to learning, rather than skills for specific courses of study. There are many theoretical works on the subject, and a vast number of popular books and websites. In the 1950s and 1960s, college instructors in Zthe fields of psychology and the study of education used research, theory, and experience with their own students in writing manuals. Marvin Cohn based the advice for parents in his 1979 book Helping Your Teen-Age Student on his experience as a researcher and head of a university reading clinic that tutored teenagers and young adults. According to the National Commission on Excellence in Education (1984), many students are unsuccessful in school because they lack effective study skills (Mutsotso&Abenga, 2010). College students face various sources of academic stress, including demonstration of an ability to engage in challenging materials under time limitation (AfsanehHassanbeigi, JafarAskari, Mina Nakhjavani, ShimaShirkhoda, KazemBarzegar, Mohammad R. Mozayyan&HossienFallahzadeh, 2011) especially examination (Helen, 2013). To counter this, the commission recommends that study skills be introduced to students very early in the schooling process and continue throughout a student’s educational career (Mutsotso&Abenga, 2010). In a now classic study of study skills, Entwistle (1960) reported that students who voluntarily took a study skills course were more successful academically than similar students who did not voluntarily take the course(Mutsotso&Abenga, 2010). Haynes (1993) reported that improving study skills techniques can enhance academic achievement for students with poor study skills habits (Mutsotso&Abenga, 2010). One such initiative was launched by the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)(Mutsotso&Abenga, 2010). This initiative, â€Å"The Dynamics of Effective Study,† was intended to help students succeed in high school by providing them with essential study skills(cited in Louisiana Department of Education, 1987)(Mutsotso&Abenga, 2010). According to documents produced by BESE, the â€Å"Dynamics of Effective Study† course was designed to help students â€Å"learn how to learn† so that they can become effective, well-organized, and self-directed learners (cited in Louisiana Department of Education, 1987)(Mutsotso&Abenga, 2010).