Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Informative speech outline Essay

1. In order to give a good informative speech first thing you have to do Is to choose a good topic, and if you are doing your speech for school, pick a topic you are familiar with. It will help you to be a better speaker. 2. It will be helpful if you will include things you do and like into your speech. But it does not mean that you have to talk about stuff you know, make sure to do a good research and try to find something new and significant for you and of course your listeners. Read more:Â  Informative essay outline 3. It is important to narrow down your topic, so you can be able to cover your topic in the time allotted. 4. If you are making speech about popular stuff like obesity, bullying etc make sure you do a good research and try to find stuff people might do not know, at this point your speech won’t be boring. 5. From your list of topics, choose one to develop into your thesis. Your thesis is simply a specific statement expressing clearly in a single sentence what exactly you’re going to do. The last significant thing you have to know is that thesis has to be as specific as possible. References: ColoState.edu 1. Why is the topic appropriate for your audience? In my opinion movies are part of our lives, everybody watch them, therefore I have decided that this topic is going to be interesting not only for me but also for the audience. 3. How is your topic narrowed to conform to the time limits for the speech assignment? I am trying to be specific In order to narrow my speech and make sure that I make time. 4. What is your specific purpose statement? 5. What is your central idea? 6. How will you introduce your topic and what method(s) of gaining attention do you use in the introduction? Intro – How much work goes into making a good movie? Â  Inorder to get an attention of my audience I am going to use the questioning method. 7. How do you establish your credibility in the introduction? 8. Write the preview statement you will use in your introduction. Today I am going to talk about filmmaking. Not everybody aware of how hard is it to make a good movie. Firstly I will tell you about preproduction, which is one of the hardest steps in making a movie, secondly I’m going to talk about production and in conclusion you will learn what is postproduction period. 9. What method of organization will you use in the speech? I will use topical method of organization. 10. State in full sentences the main points to be developed in the body of your speech. I will give you some insight on what it takes in order to make some of your favorite movies. The film production has three main stages preproduction, production and postproduction. 11. What information will you include to adapt the content of your speech so it will be clear and interesting to your audience? Be specific. My speech will consist the information about preproduction, production and postproduction. Basically the information of how the movies are being made. 12. How will you conclude and what method(s) of reinforcing your central idea do you use in the conclusion? Using a quotation by Banksy Film is incredibly democratic and accessible, its probably the best option if you actually want to change the world, not just re-decorate it.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Cell Phone Use in Schools

Cell Phone Use in Schools. With all the innovation in the last decade, cell phones have become apart of daily life for people all over the world between using cell phones to contacts family and friends to playing a little game of bejeweled. But what many schools are considering, is allowing the use of cell phones in schools. Cell phones can offer as a learning tool to students. Also, cell phone use in class brings some harm to the classroom. In addition, Policies about cellular devices have altered in schools across the U.S. A critical issue affecting many is allowing or banning cell phone use among students. Cell phones offer as an easy, accessible learning tool that most students already have. Besides a convenient tool for students, cell phones make it easier on teachers. Teachers can create a class blog for students to communicate or debate on issues from class (Rogers). This class blog gives them the ability to constantly have access to talk to their classmates via web from home, the classroom, and potentially anywhere (Rogers).The teacher can monitor the class blog at her convenience as well, not just in a classroom setting (Rogers). Also, way a cell phone may be used in a classroom setting as a research tool. Students can search for background information on subjects. Rather than looking for words in a dictionary or spending time in the library looking for that book, all the information a student could possibly need is at the tip of his/her fingertips. Lastly, teachers and administrators can set up polls using websites like wiffiti. om or polleverywhere. com enable students to answer polls anytime, anywhere (Engel and Green).Teachers and administrators can set up polls for a class, a certain grade, or something that involves the entire school. Now it’s easier for students to be involved with issues on campus and have on say about the decisions or changes being made about their school (Engel and Green). Overall, the endless benefits of cell phone us e for students will provides unlimited learning tools. Throughout the U. S. many schools have cell phone policies specific to their high school but many schools are changing the policies. Many schools across the board have become more lenient in allowing cell phone for students in the classroom or on campus. At Dickison High School, like many other high schools, their policy has been lifted and allows students to use phones during lunch (Wishmayer). Lifting the policy was intended to give the high schoolers enough freedom so less texting and calling would take place during class (Wishmayer).Although cell phones include disadvantages such as being a distraction to students or being used to cheat on assignments, with the help of schoolteachers and administrators, strategies of preventing abuse of cell phones can be enforced among students. One solution to cell phones abuse is making the phones visible to the teachers (Ferriter). Most teachers and professors worry about sneaky students texting answers to other students. William Ferriter says his solution is, â€Å"†¦require students to place their cell phones on the top right-hand corner of their desks when they come into class.That way you will know if someone is texting or calling a friend when they're supposed to be learning. † Secondly, teachers should holds kids accountable and force them to act responsible (Ferriter). Talking about responsibility and accountability will not get to the rebel sitting in the back corner or kid that attends class once every two weeks but some of the kids will be understanding and aware of the choices they are making. Using threats of banning cell phones is not the right approach and will probably be ignored anyways.Lastly, unless school policies state otherwise, if a student is not using his or her cell phone appropriately, the teacher may confiscate the phone until the end of the class period or even day. For violating dress code, students receive punishments of so me sort. If breaking the rules of dress code has a punishment, cell phone policies should be able to have punishments for cell phone abuse. With all the advanced in the last few years, cell phones have become a major apart of every day life for people across the United States.Firstly, cell phones may provide as a learning tool with the endless resources. On the other hand, cellular telephones can distract students and could be used as a way of cheating. In addition, policies about cellular devices have altered in schools across the U. S. Lastly, there’s ways to prevent abuse of cell phones with help and support of faculty. In order to make a decision in being for or against cell phones, schools must weigh the benefits and harms of cell use of students and find a solution with the best interest of the school.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Analysis of One Art

Analysis of One Art Analysis of â€Å"One Art† The opening stanza of Elizabeth Bishops’â€Å"One Art†reveals the clear statement of the poem; the struggle with mastering the issue of loss. Bishop uses the significance of structure and word choice to further the meaning of the poem. She crescendos each stanza to create a firm foundation for the dramatic conclusion, and incorporates expressive words throughout the poem to illuminate the last stanza’s attitude shift from that of carelessness to seriousness. â€Å"One Art† approaches loss in a rather sidelong manner. It does not dive straight in and attack the large issues, but instead begins with meaningless objects. In so doing, Bishop aligns these unimportant possessions with the more significant ones. As the poem progresses, the objects mentioned become increasingly more meaningful, as does their loss. Bishop not only purposely guarantees opportunities to rehearse this art of mastering loss, but supplies materials br anded â€Å"with the intent to be lost.† She forces the second stanza to visualize with the ruminations of the first. Readers learn precisely how to master this art, and are urged to practice to make it into a virtuous habit: â€Å"Lose something every day.† A further instruction counsels the approval of that resulting disorder—the â€Å"fluster†Ã¢â‚¬â€produced by undue agitation. Bishop implements a progressively dynamic, almost uncontrollable, schedule of loss in the third stanza then simply shifts the focus to the next lesson. No longer does she express manageable, solicitous incidents; the poem has moved beyond them to overwhelming concerns: places, names, and destinations. The â€Å"intent† of the first stanza blossoms into the broader intentions of â€Å"where it was you meant to travel† of the third stanza. The reader must supply a relative example to correspond with this line. After Bishop struggles to induce specific details from t he reader she abruptly introduces the lyric â€Å"I† in the very next stanza. Her experiential familiarity, suppressed in the first half of the poem, surfaces as she is clearly experiencing aggravation in the reader’s ability to apprehend the previous lessons of loss. She quickly shifts and summons a specific personal item, â€Å"my mother’s watch,† making tangible the feeling of irretrievable loss. This registry of loss continues to the next line where she is missing â€Å"three beloved houses.† Bishop demonstrates the truth of this loss by exploiting what is, after all, the first true disaster in the poem. The speaker, further emboldened by self-knowledge, begins the very next stanza again with â€Å"I lost.† However, she approaches the unspecified yet concrete type of loss: â€Å"two rivers, a continent,† the loss of which suggests the impermanent nature of earth itself. The tercets have logically built up from small, keys, to larg e, continent, with demonic precision and momentum. Yet the items lost become increasingly personal through each stanza. This movement holds its momentum properly until the final tercet is reached. Bishop introduces the final stanza with a dash, clearly emphasizing breakage and resistance. Loss and love are significantly enjambed within the first two lines of this final stanza. They not only confess how loss and love are bound, but give continuing evidence of â€Å"I love,† risked with a solitary parenthesis in the line. The most intimate words are not understated by being parenthesized but jump out as a temporary withholding as her most prominent resistance to accepting loss is unfolding. There appears a breakdown, not only in the speaker, but in the certainty of the statement â€Å"The art of losing isn’t hard to master† by the addition of â€Å"not too hard† and an admission of strain with the fiercely whispered â€Å"(Write it!)† between the stu ttered double â€Å"like.† Here conflict explodes as the growing tension within the desire to repeat the poem’s refrain yields to the doubts of its accuracy. The imperative self-prompt â€Å"(Write it!)† conveys the immense energy needed to utter the last word of â€Å"disaster.† The repetition of â€Å"like† postpones, ever so fleetingly, the final word that hurts all the more. The inevitability of â€Å"disaster† ironically recalls the fatalism of true loss.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Mrs. Fields Cookies Growth Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mrs. Fields Cookies Growth - Case Study Example The information system configured for Mrs. Fields’ Cookies was actually based on the ‘fit’ between the organizational structure, culture and the organizational goals. It was built distinctively for the operations of Mrs. Field’s Cookies within a given business market (fresh baked cookies) and it addressed the needs and requirements of the firm in forecasting demand, anticipating sales, allocating resources, tracking sales records and measuring the performance of each of the different outlets. Apart from these, the information management system was also equipped with ‘strategic intelligence’ in assisting managers (regional or store managers) making decisions fast without wasting time dealing with paperwork or any bureaucratic procedures. In general, the information system management approach undertaken by Mrs. Field’s Cookies was very enhancing and facilitated the growth and expansion of the firm as it enabled Debbi and Randy to maintain control on the one hand through centralization of operations and management. At the same time, however, employees were left to do work that was essential for business growth and which involved primarily the promotion of sales. The Acquisition of La Petite Boulangerie Within the expansion strategy of Mrs. Cookies Fields’, diversification was attempted through the acquisition of La Petite Boulangerie (LPB). Randy and Debbi show that acquisition as an excellent way of leveraging marketing opportunities by capitalizing on their brand name (according to the case study â€Å"the Mrs. Fields' name was demographically well established, and Randy believed whatever they put it on would sell†) and by extending the concept of a simple cookie store to diversifying into a ‘combination’ store (sit-down cafe). In undertaking LPB, Randy and Debbi sought to further stimulate the growth of the firm by diversifying its initial business and offerings. Their aspirations were ba sically driven by two factors: the first factor relates to the fact that Mrs. Field’s Cookies was a growth-oriented company and therefore opportunities offered were quickly grasped (despite the fact that in the early years Debbi was rather reluctant in growth because of her perceived control loss). In addition to that, Mrs. Fields’ Cookies had already acquired other firms in the past (within the expansion strategy program) and had managed to successfully incorporate them into the business structure, philosophy, and culture of the company (as in the case of the Famous Chocolate Chip Company).  

Artificial Intelligence in Art project (multimedia installation) Essay

Artificial Intelligence in Art project (multimedia installation) - Essay Example Artificial intelligence is fused with multimedia to make the subjects more â€Å"human.† The processes are aimed at making human beings feel comfortable in the company of the creations. The creations create the feeling of cloning human companionship. The articulation of the two, is aimed at stimulating those human actions, e.g. feeling, touching and seeing, that seem complex to replicate. The whole topic of artificial intelligence in multimedia production cannot be described by one project or system. Artificial intelligence is a wide and broad area. To explore all corners of artificial intelligence, the report is mainly focused on the system and projects that expound on artificial intelligence based on multimedia. Several case studies on art project that incorporated artificial intelligence are described below. Case studies Thomas Ray, Tierra (1998) The Tierra is software created to represent natural evolution in the medium that is natural. The software uses artificial intelli gence to create a virtual computer that runs on an evolving operating system. The software uses an evolving operating system called Darwinian operating system (Ackley & Littman, 1990). The Darwinian operating system has its architecture based on executable machine codes. The machine codes evolve with each execution. The machine codes can be either be mutated or recombined. Despite the changes in the codes, the resulting codes remain functional. The functionality of the codes is durable. The code evolves through the process of natural selection. The code improves itself with each change in the natural selection. The Darwinian operating system manages the memory that the software uses. Time is shared accordingly among the services that run along with the program. The operating system also controls the factors that tend to affect and distort the course of evolution. The factors include disturbances on the cycles, the mutation rates, and allocation of processor time to each creature tha t is within the covered ecosystem (Ackley & Littman, 1990). The operating system also records birth and deaths, a sequential code that covers all the creatures, and a gene bank where successful genomes are stored. The program uses artificial intelligence to automate ecological analysis. All types of interactions that take place among the creatures in the simulated ecology are recorded. The system produces synthetic organisms. The synthetic organisms are based on a metaphor of the computer. The CPU time is used as the energy in the ecosystem. The memory is used as the material in each organism within the ecosystem. Mutation is responsible for creating new forms into the ecosystem, a process represented by the evolving machine codes. Evolution precedes the ecosystems natural selection. Natural selection is represented by the competition of the different genotypes for energy (CPU time) and material (memory space) (Ackley & Littman, 1990). The system combines both artificial intelligenc e and multimedia using digital communities to diversify the ecosystem. The digital communities are used to represent coexistence and competitive exclusion, regulation of the population through parasite/host density, punctuated equilibrium, and enhancement of the community diversity through parasitic effect. The software represents a natural evolution in the digital medium. Kenneth Rinaldo, Autopoeisis (2000) Autopoiesis is an installation of robotic

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Structural members in concrete bridges and highway Essay

Structural members in concrete bridges and highway - Essay Example CORE MEMBERS There are many elements that have to be understood before the structure of any structure like a bridge or a whole highway can be comprehended. Engineering laws are always based on key elements. Some key elements of both the structures will be explained quite extensively along with the types of bridges which have these elements present in them. Some of those key elements are: Beam This element in the bridge is the horizontal structure which withstands vertical weight known as bending for example gravitational load or load due to wind. Beams in bridges can either be made of reinforced concrete, steel or wood. Any type of beam can be categorized by their profiling. Some of the examples of beams are I-Beam, T-Beam and box beam. Column Column is known to be the vertical structure designed for carrying lateral weight. It is one of the most important components of the bridge. This is the first portion of any bridge that has to be built. The horizontal weights like slabs and bea ms are placed once the column has been constructed. Foundation Foundation is the lowest layer of support of a structure. It can either be deep or shallow. This is usually the first part of the design when the project is being planned. The phases or implementation will be later discussed in the report. The foundation is the component of the structure which holds the columns on which the beams lie. Therefore it can easily be said that a solid foundation, which has holding capability is the one which is best for any kind of bridge, otherwise the structure can be massively damaged causing human and financial loss. Types of Bridges There are various types of bridges that have been developed over the period of time, when the human brain has... It is evident from the study that there are many elements that have to be understood before the structure of any structure like a bridge or a whole highway can be comprehended. Engineering laws are always based on key elements. Some key elements of both the structures will be explained quite extensively along with the types of bridges which have these elements present in them. Various steps are under-taken for the completion of both, the bridge and a highway alike. A construction company has to set up its goals and designs even before the first brick is laid. The construction steps are explained in detail in this section of the paper. This paper will render light over some of the examples of successful as well as some disastrous bridge/highway designs. This report can be concluded by describing an analogy in which a bridge/highway is created between two factious towns. The amount of length saved to the community of the two people can be somehow converted in the time saved travelling in their cars on the route when the bridge was not present. It can be safely said that more time of their lives will be saved by this then their actual lives. Such an impact has been brought upon by this simple everyday invention, about which we don’t think about while travelling. A road/highway/bridge has evolved the way man travels. Long journeys which were earlier not possible without aircrafts or boats are now been travelled due the connection made by this smart structural invention by mankind.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Persuasive apology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Persuasive apology - Assignment Example I am also a family man with a lovely God-fearing wife and a son and have great respect for them. I have constantly taught my son the value of being polite and honest as well as not letting emotions overcome the situation. I clearly let my emotions for failing the course repeatedly take control against my better judgment. I sincerely pray that you may find it in your heart to forgive my actions and words and not throw me out of the school. The book of First John 1: 9 says that â€Å"If we confess our sins†¦he will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness.† My actions have been unrighteous and I seek forgiveness. The good book also says in Mathew 6: 14 â€Å"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, the heavenly father will also forgive you.† Your forgiveness to me will mean a lot to not only me but my family and the Lord our father. I assure you and the entire fraternity that I will be an obedient, honest and honorary student from now henceforth if you only find it in your heart to grant me another chance to complete my remaining

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Westboro Baptist Church or Current Controversial Topic Essay

Westboro Baptist Church or Current Controversial Topic - Essay Example Later, in his testimony during the court case about the WBC’s deplorable actions—actions that should be stopped by community action and by legislation—Snyder stated, â€Å""They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family. They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside† (â€Å"Father† n.p.). The Westboro Baptist Church, located in Topeka, Kansas, has been protesting at funerals since 1991. As of 2009, they claim to have participated in over 41,000 protests in over 650 cities, and spend an average of $250,000 a year on picketing. They travel all over the U.S. to picket the funerals of anyone associated with gay people. For example, they picketed at the 1998 funeral of murder victim Matthew Shepherd and the 2010 funeral of Elizabeth Edwards because she supported gay people (Borger n.p.). The WBC also protests at funerals of slain military personnel like Snyder’s.Why would the WBC participate in such activities—activities that even Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly calls â€Å"evil and despicable† (Cohen n.p.)? ... They picket at funerals to express their views, and to get the word out about their opposition to gay rights, the Catholic Church, Jews, and other topics. They believe that anyone who is opposed to their way of seeing things is going to hell, and they feel compelled to make sure that people know this. Several weeks after Matthew Snyder’s funeral, for example, the WBC denounced Snyder’s family for raising their son Catholic. There have been many responses to their actions. One of these is through the courts, which is what the Snyder family did. Later in 2007, they sued Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church, and two of Phelps’ daughters on several legal grounds, including defamation and invasion of privacy. The suit claimed that Phelps’ religious views did not expose the Snyders to public hatred or scorn. The WBC’s main defense, in addition to exercising their constitutional right to free speech and free assembly, was that they had complied with al l local ordinances regarding picketing and had obeyed all police instructions. The picket occurred 1000 feet from the funeral site, in a location cordoned off by the police, and could neither be seen or heard by the funeral participants. The judge, in his instructions to the jury, said that they needed to decide â€Å"whether the defendant's actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection† (Donaldson-Evans n.p.). This is the crux of the argument against the WBC, and perhaps explains the outcome of the case: the jury awarded Albert Snyder almost $3 million in punitive damages for invasion

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Issues in Multicultural Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Issues in Multicultural Education - Essay Example For instance, cultural diversity in the US public schools is growing at rapid pace in the present decade. As a result, the teachers are facing intense problem to deliver education facilities to a culturally diverse classroom. A common problem identified by teachers in this context is the successful understanding of the needs of the each diverse student and providing education assistance effectively. As argued by Fullan (1991), the teachers should be capable of understanding the uniqueness of each student and successfully control the diversities to improve the students both academically as well as behaviorally within a diverse classroom. (2) Who is involved? (A) As part of the problem? The problem of cultural diversity in the classroom is especially faced by students and teachers, which result in poor performance of the learners in their curriculum. Generally teachers and students face significant problems to convey the intended information to each other, which in turn causes significant miscommunication problems. Additionally, differences between the cultural backgrounds of the students and the teachers, also raises the proper identification of students’ values (Worrell, n.d.). ... (3) What is the proposed solution? Identifying the Key Student Differences Each student in the classroom is unique in relation to their behavioral traits, learning capabilities and styles, feelings as well as responsiveness. These distinctive parameters for any specified child becomes more apparent in a diverse environment. Therefore, teachers should be capable to meet successfully with the ‘point of need’ of every child to provide efficient guidance as per their requirements (Worrell, n.d.). In this regard, lessening the teacher and student ratio within a classroom setting shall provide with greater opportunity to teachers in monitoring the needs of every student distinctively and more critically. Improve Co-Relation with the Students’ Families For the better understanding of the students’ societal and cultural background, the school authorities should increase communication with the students’ parents or legal guardians. This method undoubtedly woul d support the teachers to understand the background of the student and modify the teaching process accordingly (Worrell, n.d.). Introduce School-Wide â€Å"Cultural† Alliance Effective communication among the students of several cultures along with successful collaboration through cultural programs and activities shall assist teachers to meet the requirements of the both ends (London, Gurantz & Norman, 2011). Culturally Responsive Teaching Method To enhance cultural responsiveness throughout the teaching method, teachers should be research oriented for better understanding of the capabilities of each student. Teachers should be capable to identify the deficiencies and also the

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Human Resource issues at Amazon Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Human Resource issues at Amazon - Coursework Example Within the warehouses the houses a mix of 1600 full-time part-time and temporary workers. Most of the temporary workers are hired by the company before the holiday season and fired after that period. The task designed to most of the labours inside the warehouse is to pack boxes. The warehouse is located over an area of 600,000 square foot. Inside these warehouses, the workers are required to pack boxes at the rate of 240-250 boxes per hour if the size of the shipment is large and up to 500 boxes per hour are the size of the shipment is small. In comparison to other companies in the same industry, this rate is excessively high. Amazon, as it is found, sets the rates higher than can be performed by the employees. It is expected even by Amazon that people won’t be able to attain the high productivity rates for which there are paid between $9 and $14 an hour. The workers are expected to work for 10 hours a day for four days in a week. In the holiday season when the shopping spree of the customers increases Amazon recruits temporary workers who have to work for 11 hours per day for four days in a week along with the regular staffs. The overtime in the holiday period is mandatory for the workers. The workers are given a 30-minute lunch break for which they are not paid. In addition, they are given two paid breaks each of the duration of 15 minutes. During the break, every minute is counted and the workers have to take a break at the ring of the bell and have to be back at their work at the ring of another bell.

Indian tribe`s inherent sovereign authority Essay Example for Free

Indian tribe`s inherent sovereign authority Essay INTRODUCTION: U.S Chief Justice John Marshall, in his milestone trilogy of   his decisions on Indian law in 1] Cherokee Nation v.Georgia 2] Johnson v.Mclntosh and 3] Worcester v. Georgia framed the foundation for Indian law viz. Indian tribes are under the trust protection of the federal government which stands good even today. As such, many tribes are enjoying the quasi-sovereignty status and have organized their own governments together with functional legislative, executive and judicial branches. Indian tribal courts function more or less in their Anglo-American colleagues and offer an intra-tribal tool for dispute resolution. The Supreme Court held in â€Å"Oliphant v.Suquanmish Indian Tribe â€Å"that for want of congressional action, tribes lacks inherent jurisdiction to punish outsiders.   Congress yet to legislatively recognize the Oliphant by extending jurisdiction to tribal courts to try criminally any non-Indians for the felony committed in the Indian regions This research paper will divulge how this jurisdictional predicament causes a practicable problem in United States Judiciary and possible ways and means to address the issue. INDIAN SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY TO EXERCISE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION OVER NON-INDIANS- AN ANALYSIS: Crimes against native Indians are unleashed by non-Indians on daily basis. Crimes committed by non-Indians are cognizable offence that can be prosecuted only by federal district court by federal prosecutors. Unfortunately, many federal prosecutors have abandoned their duty to pursue crimes in Indian country committed by non-Indians due to overburden. The emergence of the Indian courts owed its origin to the tribal justice systems that predate the European settlement of America. On the basis of the age old convention, Congress has recognized the sovereign authority of tribes to maintain their own courts. But, Congress has limited that sovereignty as tribal courts have little jurisdiction over non-Indians .This is mainly intended to ensure that Indians are guaranteed the same constitutional rights as other Americans. As a result, tribal courts over the last two decades have lost their elite authority to try cases involving grave felonies and to enforce criminal penalties on non-Indians. In the year 1990, Supreme Court stripped Indian tribal courts of the power to hear cases involving Indians of a different tribe. But the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs later voted to reinstate that right to tribes for the next two years. [1992 to 1994]. In 1968, Congress established the Indian Civil Rights Act to offer on tribes requirements akin to those found in the Bill of Rights. There are about 147 tribal courts that exercise jurisdiction over nearly two million Indians in the United States in the year 1992. Tribal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over civil cases that arise between Indians on the reservations. But, if the plaintiff or defendant is other than Indian, state courts may have a simultaneous or even exclusive exercise rights to hear the case. In, â€Å"Oliphant v.Suquamish Indian Tribe† , 435 U.S, 55 L.Ed , 2d , 98 S.Ct, 48 U.S.L.W .4210 it was held that no inherent rights is ascribed to any Indian tribal courts to prosecute and punish non-Indians for offenses committed on Indian lands. It was the contention of the Indian tribes that jurisdiction is automatically conferred on them for trying any offenses of criminal nature on non-Indians in tribal lands as Supreme court made an opinion describing Indian tribes as â€Å" quasi –sovereign entities’. However, Supreme Court has observed in the present case that whenever efforts have been exercised in the past, it has been observed that there exists no jurisdiction. The tribal is having no authority to try non-Indians as it was established by earlier judicial opinions and also according to the general view of the executive authorities. But Judge Marshall, joined by the Chief justice dissented in the above case by taking the view that the power of preserve order on the reservation was a sine quo non of sovereignty that the Suquamish originally possessed. He further noted that in the absence of positive extraction of such rights by any treaty or statue ,the tribal enjoy as a necessary aspect of their sovereignty the right to try and punish all persons who commit offenses against tribal law within the reservation. In the past years, several Supreme Court rulings have drastically delineated the power of American Indians to govern their territories. The High Court ruled in 1978 that tribal courts cannot prosecute whites or other non-Indians for some felonies committed on tribal land. In one case, the justice held that a tribal court has no jurisdiction over crimes committed on that tribe’s land by members of another tribe. There are certain rulings that restricted Indian authority in taxation and zoning. Tribal leaders argue that U.S government apparent move away from recognizing ‘inherent sovereignty â€Å"of the Indian nations, which predate the arrival of whites to this continent makes them to worry. Though, the tribal leaders were not asking to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling in Oliphant v. Squamish Indian Tribe but they were demanding to overturn the High Court rulings in Duro V. Reina, which prohibited the Salt River Prima-Maricopa Indian Community in Arizona from prosecuting on a misdemeanor of weapons charge by an Indian man who lived in Salt River but was a member of a tribe in California. Thus, the rulings left a judicial void in states that do not assume jurisdiction over such misdemeanors and Congress temporarily restored jurisdiction to the tribes during 1990. 2.1 CRIMINAL JURISDICTION TO TRY NON –INDIANS TO COMBAT TERRORIST THREAT: In their effort to revive an amendment to the Homeland Security Act that would offer criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians to combat terrorist threats on Indian lands. But opponents were of the view that it will topple a 25-years –old Supreme Court decision â€Å" limiting and defining Indian sovereignty â€Å" and could lead to tribal power grabs which may affect of millions of non-Indians. Further, there is a proposal to reclassify the tribal governments as â€Å"states â€Å"under HSA law which facilitate tribes to receive sufficient federal funding and technical expertise to play a meaningful role in fighting terrorism. During 2003, the Senate Indian Affairs committee tried to add some amendments to homeland security bill but it was not successful as some group hit the panic button claiming that amendment would authorise control over all people for all purposes. The vested group fears that there would be other jurisdictional grabs by the tribal governments and tribes could exert authority over non-Indians by ignoring the fact that non-Indians cannot vote in tribal elections. The proposed amendment which has been officially designated as S.578 and the department itself has supported the first 12 sections of the amendment or those that would authorise the reclassification of tribal governments as states [not local government] in dealing with terrorism. But as per Heffelfinger, who is also chairman of the Attorney General Advisory Committee’s Native American issues subcommittee commented that the departments itself is not supporting section 13 , which would offer tribes the power to â€Å" enforce and adjudicate violations of civil , criminal and regulatory laws committed by any person on land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribal government. But, as per 2000 census, non –Indians account for more than 48% of reservation residents who live on or near Indian reservations from discrimination â€Å"by state, federal or tribal government or their policies. Some critics view the proposed amendment to the Homeland Security Act violates the 1978 â€Å"Oliphant v.Suquamish Indian Tribe† rulings where Supreme Court observed that tribes do not have criminal jurisdiction to try and punish non-Indians. In real situation, the state or federal government is toothed with the power to arrest and try criminal offenders who are not Indians on Indian lands.   In other words, there is no need to arm the tribal government to initiate criminal proceedings on non-Indians on tribal lands as the state or federal government has adequate power to execute the same. [1] 2.2 OVERBURDENS OF FEDERAL COURTS: One the problem faced by tribal is that some of the felonies committed by non-Indians on tribal have been let off due to overburden of cases in federal courts and Supreme Court judgment which   had declared that non-Indians can not be prosecuted by the tribal courts. For instance, military courts do not have jurisdiction to prosecute the civilians who have infringed military’s interest. In such cases, â€Å"special assistant United States attorneys† [SAUSA’s] have the authority to prosecute such violators who have committed crimes against military personnel and property. The same strategy can be followed in the tribal cases also. Thus, the department should authorize Indian prosecutors to sue in the federal courts for the crimes committed by the non-Indians within Indian country.   2.3 USE OF MEHTAMPHETAMINE: Another issue encountered by the American tribes and tribal groups is their relentless fight against use of methamphetamine which they regard an epidemic on tribal lands. Lummi Nation of Washington, an American tribe is waging war with meth by imposing rigorous punishment to offenders. Some tribes are addressing the issue through new drug courts. Methamphetamine production and trafficking on tribal reservation with huge geographic areas or tribes adjacent to the U.S. –Mexico border is rampant. As the tribal states enjoy sovereign status, criminals are generally not subject to state jurisdiction in most of the cases. As the local law enforcement authorities have no jurisdiction in Indian country and tribal law enforcement agencies take the responsibility to enforce the relevant law enforcement functions. To combat the use of meth in tribal areas, Indian Tribes Methamphetamine Act of 2007 and Indian Tribes Methamphetamine Reduction Grants Act of 2007 were introduced in January 2007.   The legislation would permit Indian tribes to be eligible for funding through the department of Justice to exterminate the scourge of meth production, sale and usage in Native American communities. Enough safeguard measures are built in to avoid any potential misrepresentation of the above legislations. It has been clearly stated in section 2 [a] [4] of the bill , the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance is toothed with power to award grant funds to a state ,territory or Indian tribe to â€Å" explore ,detain and indict individuals â€Å"   involved in illegal meth activities. Further, it does not authorize a grantee state, Indian tribe or state to pursue law enforcement activities that it otherwise has short of jurisdictional authority to pursue. 2.4 PUBLIC LAW 280 Normally, states do not have jurisdiction over the internal legal of the sovereign tribal governments. Under certain circumstances, Congress has extended special exceptions this general principle. Under Public Law 280, six states were given exclusive jurisdiction over the Indian country within the state borders. Thus, states like New York, Kansas have the exclusive right over to prosecute the crime committed within the Indian country as the federal government has ceded its jurisdiction. Federal government ceded their prosecuting authority to states in these states. But it has created unfavorable situations as most states are reluctant and intransigence to cognize crime on Indian reservations seriously. Many state district attorneys are reluctant to exercise their limited resources on Indian crime. Thus, Public Law 280 has resulted in lawlessness in almost all Indian reservations. Ceding the federal authority over Indian territories to states has ended in a lacuna. It is painful to note that even if a state government has inherent authority in a particular Indian region, it sometimes lacks institutional strength to exercise authority in that region. Further, there exists always simmering tension between Indians and state governments. It is to be observed that since Worcester v.Georgia, states have no authority or very little authority over Indian country. The real reason for tension between tribal and state government is the criticism of action of state police department as they always rubbing on the wrong side of the tribal cultural practices. A study conducted by Carole Goldberg Ambrose[2] revealed that relationships between state and tribal are often got off to potholed and sometime unfeasible. Frequently, California tribal members complained that when state police tried to solve the tribal problems, they often failed as they were disrespectful to tribal sovereignty, lacked cultural compassion and always deployed excessive force. Further, if the alleged offence is a violation of generally applicable federal statutes like sedition and mail theft, the federal government is alone having exclusive jurisdiction to try the offence and natives are not exempted from such offence 2.5 OLIPHANT V. SUQUAMISH INDIAN TRIBE’- AN ANALYSIS: In, ‘Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe’ case, Supreme Court held   that as the tribal court lacks inherent jurisdiction to prosecute non-Indians for the felonies committed on Indian jurisdiction and recommended that it is the Congress to decide whether Indians tribes should finally be authorized to try non-Indians . Thus, Supreme Court decision may not be final and binding since Congress retains authority in exercise of its plenary power. Oliphant case centered around the incidents that happened on the Suquamish Reservation located near Port Madison, Washington. Indian tribes had waived all of their land claims in Washington state under the Treaty of Point Elliott which was signed in 1855 and accepted to settle on a 7300 –acre reservation located near Seattle. The tribes adopted a criminal code in 1973 and any infringement of tribal’s criminal code is prosecuted in the Suquamish Indian provisional Court. It is the claim of the tribes that they have jurisdiction to try non-Indians for any violation or infringement in their land. In support of their claim, they have displayed billboards in prominent places at the entrances to the Port Madison Reservation warning the public that entry onto the Reservation would be deemed implied consent to the criminal jurisdiction of the Suquamish tribal court and one may hilarious to note that Suquamish tribal specifically excluded non-Indians from serving on tribal court as juries. Supreme Court had placed the burden of proof on the tribe to substantiate its contention of jurisdiction. The tribe argued that its jurisdiction over non-Indians emerged involuntarily from the Tribe’s retained innate powers of government over the Port Madison Indian Reservation. Tribe has argued that flow of criminal jurisdiction is automatic over all persons on a reservation –Indian or non-Indian and is arising out of a ‘sine qua non ‘of tribal sovereignty. Supreme Court has rejected the argument of tribal claiming inherent jurisdiction on multiple grounds. Supreme Court concluded that Congress had positively expressed its intention not to grant Indian tribes the power to punish non-Indian after thoroughly examining the opinions of attorney generals, history of treaties, legislative history and district court decisions. Supreme Court once again asserted that Congress which is being law making authority is having sole discretion to decide whether the tribal can prosecute non-Indians for felonies in their land. In the Oliphant’s case, Justice Marshall joined by Chief Justice Burger took the opposite view as the Marshall believed that tribes processed the innate jurisdiction over non-Indians and that congressional action was necessary to strip off Indians of that jurisdiction. Oliphant decision was a major set back to Indian community claim of sovereignty in the following respect: It publicized that Indians were toothless to dissuade non-Indians from committing crimes against them. Tribes viewed that Supreme Court decision had indeed handcuffed their law enforcement activities. Tribes viewed the decision as a major blow on their powers to safeguard their own people. Decision culminated to an awkward situation to tribes by restricting their power to judge, prosecute or punish with tribal law and tribal courts, the non-Indians who commit felonies on tribal land. 2.6 DURO V.REINA- AN ANALYSIS: Duro v.Reina is a subsequent case after Oliphant. This case has further minimized the power of the tribal court to punish â€Å"outsiders â€Å", people who are not members of the tribe. Albert Duro was the member of one sect of Indian tribe namely Torres-Maritinez Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians. It was alleged that Duro killed a boy on the Salt River Indian reservation. Salt River Indian tribes attempted to prosecute Duro in their tribal court. The federal district court restrained the Salt River Prima –Maricopa Indian Tribe to prosecute Duro who belongs to Torres tribe. Thus, Supreme Court also concurred the federal district court view and held that Indian tribes did not have jurisdiction over Indians who were members of other Indian tribes. This made the Congress to exercise its plenary power and Supreme Court decision was amended or altered by the Congress through amendment U.S.C 1301 to authorize the tribal courts to exercise â€Å"criminal jurisdiction over all Indian and not just member of Indians. Critic’s view that Supreme Court had crushed the Indian rights is a bit of hypocritical as the Congress can always make use of its plenary power –a-type of legislative veto –to correct the intrinsic relationship as articulated by the Court. 2.7 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY OF U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: According to survey conducted by Justice Department of U.S., American Indians suffer from certain violent crimes like robbery, rape at a rate twice the national average. About 30,000 crimes of violence are committed against Indians each year. Native Indians complained that their attackers were under the influence of alcohol or meth at a greater than the national average. It is alarming to note that Indians were fatalities of interracial violence at a startling rate of 72% and 91% of sexual assaults against the tribal members. Further, offenders against Indian tribes were about 70% It is to be noted that a crime committed against an Indian by non-Indian which occurs outside of Indian country is subject to state jurisdiction and therefore is not reported in the above statistics. Thus, the above statistics reveal a disturbing picture of crimes against Indians and Indians face a disproportionately higher rate of violent crimes than any other races in U.S.A. For instance, Indian victims are reporting about 30,000 possible violent crimes to police each year and out of this, police could not solve more than 28,000 incidents or about 94% of the crimes reported remain uninvestigated or go unpunished. Further, Indians are also affected by the property crimes and victimless crimes committed by the non-Indians and these were not included in the above statistics since these were of civil nature.   The main reason for such alarming rates of criminal reports are being uninvestigated is mainly due to great distance between federal courts and tribes and overburdened law enforcing department. One of the allegations against Indian judiciary is that Indian courts do not bestow equal justice to non-Indians. For example, in Oliphant case, the Court took note of the fact that non-Indians were excluded from occupying juries’ role in Suquamish.   Thus, a doubt arises whether non-Indian constitutional right to be tried by an Indian jury could deliver unquestionable justice to the accused. The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 ensures basic due process protections to Indians who are tried in tribal courts and to ensure non-Indians offenders rights, the same process of protection can be extended to non-Indians. As such, non-Indians allegation that tribal courts are iniquitous may not hold good. 2.8 POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS FOR AVOIDING OLIPHANT TYPE OF INCIDENTS IN FUTURE: Federal court is already overburdened with cases like violations under a]Patriotic Act , b]Money Laundering Act 3] RICO 4] Narcotic Offenses 5] Interstate Crimes 6] National Security Offenses 7] Stock Exchange Commission 8] Other type of Crimes .Whereas , offenses committed by non-Indian in tribal areas are of nature of minor offences like 1] reckless or speed driving 2] drunk driving 3] petty assault 4] petty theft 5] Vandalism 6] Littering   7] Parking Violations . Naturally federal prosecutors do not give more importance to these offenses and hence lion’s share of these offenses went unpunished. To instill confidence on tribal community, Congress should seriously think of creating exclusive federal courts which may be designated as â€Å"special courts â€Å" for prosecuting offenses committed on tribal by non-Indians in tribal areas.   For instance , in the District of North Dakota , Chief Judge Rodney Webb to address the problem faced   by Indians against felonies committed by non-Indians held meetings with the officials for their prosecution As per ICRA [Indian Civil Rights Act], Indian tribes may not impose any penalty or punishment which is longer than for a term of one year and a fine of $ 5000 or both. This clearly demonstrate that tribal courts have limited authority to try minor offenses like less serious felonies or misdemeanors there by leaving serious crimes to the federal government . Further, there is a misconception among non-Indians that tribal courts are not like Anglo-American tribunals. It is pertinent to note the remarks made by Justice Rehnquist in Oliphant that â€Å"some Indian trial court systems have become progressively much classy and resemble in many ways their state counter parts†. Hence, non-Indians should be properly educated and Congress should see that they are convinced by drafting a new legislation extending tribal courts power to prosecute non-Indians within the parameters designed by the Congress in this regard. One another remedy is to depute special law enforcement officer to investigate or prosecute the crime. A â€Å"special assistant district attorney â€Å"may be appointed to represent the district attorney for a particular case or a special investigating officer may be deputed to execute restricted law enforcement functions. Thus, the power to deputize is also known as a statutory grant. A statutory grant is having inherent power to specially deputize any higher officials. The deputization will be more advantageous as it would satisfy the interest of the all concerned including tribal and non-Indian offenders though the offenders will be punished under federal or state laws not under the tribal laws. CONCLUSION: De-facto immunity is being used as scapegoat by non-Indian offenders against Indians. It is really a shame that American judicial system is dissuading Indians to punish the non-Indian offenders who have committed felony in their lands under tribal criminal laws. It is real predicament that majority of the crimes against Indians by non-Indians escape punishment. The Oliphant v Suquamish Indian Tribe case is a severe blow to the Indian legitimate rights which Congress should come forward to redress. Congress should exercise its plenary power as it had done in Supreme Court decision in Duro v.Reina which was later amended or altered by the Congress through amendment U.S.C 1301 to authorize the tribal courts to exercise â€Å"criminal jurisdiction over all Indian and not just member of Indians. Further , to instill confidence on tribal community, Congress should seriously think of creating exclusive federal courts which may be designated as â€Å"special courts â€Å" for prosecuting offenses committed on tribal by non-Indians in tribal areas. One another remedy is to depute special law enforcement officer to investigate or prosecute the crime. The deputization will be more advantageous as it would satisfy the interest of the all concerned including tribal and non-Indian offenders though the offenders will be punished under federal or state laws not under the tribal laws. Deputization will assimilate all law enforcement agencies together to work unitedly.   Deputization is the need of the hour as it will bring all the parties involved under a single umbrella within the current jurisdictional. Further, as in the case of military courts which do not have jurisdiction to prosecute the civilians who have infringed military’s interest and in such cases, â€Å"special assistant United States attorneys† [SAUSA’s] have the authority to prosecute such violators who have committed crimes against military personnel and property. The same strategy can be followed in the tribal cases also. Thus, the department should authorize Indian prosecutors to sue in the federal courts for the crimes committed by the non-Indians within Indian country. BIBILIOGRAPHY Chiu, Elaine M. Culture as Justification, Not Excuse. American Criminal Law Review 43, no. 4 (2006): 1317+. Christofferson, Carla. Tribal Courts Failure to Protect Native American Women: A Reevaluation of the Indian Civil Rights Act. Yale Law Journal 101, no. 1 (1991): 169-185. Dutton, Bertha P. American Indians of the Southwest. Revised ed. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983. French, Laurence Armand. Addictions and Native Americans. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2000. Griffiths, Curt Taylor. Natives and Criminal Justice Policy: the Case of Native Policing. Canadian Journal of Criminology 26, no. 2 (1984): 147-160. Henderson, Dwight F. Congress, Courts, and Criminals: The Development of Federal Criminal Law, 1801-1829. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. Johansen, Bruce Elliott, ed. The Encyclopedia of Native American Legal Tradition. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. La Prairie, Carol. Aboriginal Over-Representation in the Criminal Justice System: A Tale of Nine Cities. Canadian Journal of Criminology 44, no. 2 (2002): 181+. Lawson, Paul E. When States Attorneys General Write Books on Native American Law: A Case Study of Spaeths American Indian Law Desk book. American Indian Quarterly 19, no. 2 (1995): 229-236. Nielsen, Marianne O. and Robert A. Silverman, eds. Native Americans, Crime, and Justice. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996 Nourse, V.F. Reconceptualizing Criminal Law Defenses. University of Pennsylvania Law Review 151, no. 5 (2003): 1691+. Parman, Donald Lee. Indians and the American West in the Twentieth Century. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1994. Pevar, Stephen L. The Rights of Indians and Tribes: The Basic ACLU Guide to Indian and Tribal Rights. 2nd ed. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992. Prucha, Francis Paul. The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1984. Ramirez, Deborah A. A Brief Historical Overview of the Use of the Mixed Jury. American Criminal Law Review 31, no. 4 (1994): 1213-1224. [1] â€Å"Indian Wants Jurisdiction to Combat Terrorism Threat â€Å", Washington Times, Jan 26, 2004. [2] Carole Goldberg –Ambrose, â€Å"Public Law 280 and the problem of Lawlessness in California Indian Country, 44 UCLA L.Rev. 1405 [1997].

Monday, July 22, 2019

April Morning by Howard Fast Book Review Essay Example for Free

April Morning by Howard Fast Book Review Essay The book April Morning by Howard Fast is a dramatic story of the bloody battle of Lexington set up with a one day structure from the view of a fifteen year old boy turning into a man. In the book we see the life of Adam Cooper changing from child to man in the matter of one day. Each chapter is a different time period of the day telling us what has happened and what the effects were on his life. Adam Cooper is a fifteen-year-old boy living in colonial Lexington, Massachusetts with his family. He feels demoralized by his father, Moses Cooper, but finds consolation from Granny Cooper, his paternal grandmother. When a meeting of the township Committee is called on the evening of April 18th, Adam wishes to attend but his father questions whether or not his son is a man and has earned the right to attend the meeting. Instead of attending the meeting, Adam visits his neighbor Ruth Simmons, a distant relative whom he loves whom he loves and sees himself marrying in the distant future. When his father returns home from the meeting, Adam eavesdrop as Moses tells his wife Sarah and Granny Cooper what happened, as the colonial communities prepare for a possible confrontation with the British army. During the late night early morning, a rider arrives in Lexington, waking up the community with news that the British army is on the march to Concord to take out supplies and ammunition that is being stored by colonists for a possible rebellion. Once the news of the night rider reaches the town the committeemen hold a muster for the militia, and Adam decides to sign the muster book and commit to fighting for the militia. His father is present when he is signing the muster and allows for it to happen. Moses Cooper no longer sees his son as a boy but as a determined man willing to fight for his family and community. Both Adam and his father prepared themselves for the battle and a total of seventy militia men wait for the arrival of the British army. Moses Cooper argues persuasively with the committeemen that the small number of men can’t stand up to the thousands of Redcoat troops they will be greeting alone, and so its decided that they will state their case but do no more; they decide to talk it out rather than to fight. However when the British finally reach Lexington, the officers are sneeringly dismissive of the colonists and tell them to leave the common and a mysterious shot is fired causing the British troops to begin firing on the colonists. The British massacred the small militia that stood in front of them, and Adam watched as his father and other men he had known his entire life be shot down. Adam hides in terror and cannot go home because of the British troops in town and it is unsafe. Adam is off to the woods to find the rest of the militia and he is almost discovered by British soldiers, but before they do so are called away to march towards Concord. Adam runs from the British and is shot at by redcoats, only to be caught in the grip of an older colonial man named Solomon Chandler, who helps Adam and provides him with some consolation and food. Adam joins Chandler on his journey to meet up with more members of colonial militias. Along the way, other colonists join the two, also ready to fight the British. Once at the pasture, Adam is greeted by Cousin Simmons and The Reverend, and is relieved that others from the Lexington militia had survived. Though the various town committees and militia have general instructions, there isnt a single leader chosen to lead the battle. It was a confused time for the colonists fighting and finally Chandler guides them and instructs the men waiting at the pasture to split up into groups according to the firing range of their weapons. Adam and the other men in his group lay under the brush and fire at the redcoats, Adams gun does not reach a far distance so he does not shoot but watches instead; he see the burning of Lexington and the bloodshed of the redcoats. Through the mist of all of the battle Adam seems to fall asleep leaving everyone to believe that he is wounded and dead. When Adam wakes up he finds that the battle has moved to a distant location; he hears Cousin Simmons and The Reverend talking, meets them, and they all agree to go home to Lexington, or what is left of it. Once home Adam is greeted with relief and happiness by the surviving members of his family and others from the town. Adam is now treated like a fully-grown man when he was only recently considered a simple child to everyone. Adam makes peace with his fathers corpse, and then helps to carry the casket to the church. At the church Adam lights some extra candles so his father won’t have to rest in the dark of night. Cousin Simmons makes sure that Adam is aware this battle was only the start, and that he must consider his other responsibilities as the new head of household when deciding if hell continue to fight. When Adam returns home his mother is already asleep but Granny Cooper is awake and says she knows he will go back into battle eventually. He puts off the question for the time being, and is relieved to finally go to sleep and end this momentous day. The book is a great and quick read being that it is only 202 pages long. The text gets you involved and makes it feel as if you are there with Adam Cooper through the battles and his day. You feel as if you are standing next to Adam while on the field holding your riffle awaiting the battles. The pressures and emotions that the boy is going through as he transitions into an adult are heartfelt and many people can relate to Adam in some ways. The pressure of becoming a man over night and resuming all these responsibilities he never had to deal with before is a struggle that many can relate too. I personally would definitely recommend this book to my peers as well as to younger and older audiences. This book in my opinion was very good in the fact that it drew me in and kept me wanting to read more as the story went on. I don’t usually like reading and the fact that this book makes me want to keep reading and not stop till it was finished in my opinion makes this a good book. Fast is a great author and knows how to draw in an audience. Overall this was a great book and I would definitely recommend it to all.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Training and development

Training and development Training and development Human Resource Development (HRD) can be universally recognised as a very effective approach to improve performance within training. Training consists of a variety of experiences that intend to enhance and develop skills and knowledge in order to accomplish organisational objectives, to improve and change organisational aspects within the work place (Bramley 1996; Broad Newstorm 1992). According to Manpower Services Commission (1981) training is a planned process to modify attitude, knowledge, skills, or behaviour through learning experience to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. Its purpose in work situation is to develop the abilities of the individuals and to satisfy the current and future needs of the organisation. In the same way development is a type of progression in which persons may find it more effective when learning through experiences. It is a procedure that helps people make use of the skills and knowledge that their past teachings and training has given them, this helps not only in present jobs but also anything that may come up in the future. It personifies theories and ideas connected with psychological growth, greater immaturity and increased confidence. According to Ivancevich (2004), training and development are processes that provide (or at least try to) a personnel with information and skills they need in order to understand the organisation and its goals. They are designed to help a person continue to make positive contributions in the form of good performance. Training helps personnel do their current work better while development prepares them for the future. Training is an important process to every personnel. It is a systematic process in which an individual is aided to alter his behaviour in a direction that will achieve the organisations goals. Ivancevich (2004) describes the goals of training as training validity, transfer validity, intra-organisational validity, and inter-organisational validity. Training validity determines if the trainees learn skills or acquire knowledge or abilities during training while transfer validity determines if these learned skills or acquired knowledge or abilities result to improvement on job performance. Intra-organisational validity determines if the job performance of a new group of trainees in the same organisation that developed the program comparable to that of the original training groups job performance. Finally, intra-organisational validity determines if the validated training program in one organisation can be applied with successful results in another organisation. Noe (2003) defines training as â€Å"planned effort by a company to facilitate personnel learning of job-related competencies† including knowledge, skills, or behaviours that are critical for successful job performance. Training helps personnel master knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviours emphasised in training programs and to apply them in their day-to-day activities (Noe 2003). As argued by Noe (2003), training is a process which not only needs basic skills, which would be skills that are sufficient enough to perform ones job, but also needs skills at an advanced levels which enables a person to use high technological information and share it with other personnel. This would be perfect in order to gain competitive advantage. A good understanding of the customer and the system is also a key aspect within training. Al of these put together collectively defines intellectual capital. A training initiative which requires generating intellectual capital is a training which goes by the name of high -leverage training. According to Carnevale (1990), high-leverage training, which is linked to strategic business goals and objectives, uses an instructional design process to ensure the effectiveness of training programs, and compares or benchmarks the companys training programs against other companys training programs. According to Richard M. Hodgetts and Fred Luthans (1976), training is a procedure of changing behaviour and attitudes in a way that increases the success of reaching ones targets. According to both theorists culture, customs and work habits of the local people should also be taught in training process. And if all the above mentioned factors along with other factors are considered properly it would boost towards the success of any establishment. Formal training programs are not seen to be enough in accordance to todays fast moving world, this is the thought contributed by the author Hall (2004). A few other things the author believes is that in order to uphold certain standards that are commercial and cost effective, the people should be execution experts. A lot of senior executives believe that budget will stay tight, even after a full economic recovery, and that headcount, time. IT support, and other resources will continue to be in short supply. The opportunity and demand for enterprise-wide initiatives to bring about wholesale change will only increase. If you are a leader of learning, your future and the future of your organisation depends on your ability to make significant initiatives happen despite the challenges of day-to-day work. To acquire this you need to become an execution expert. Todays best-in-class learning professionals operate differently than those who came before them. Their thoughts are focused on 3 areas: business strategy, resources, and execution. (Hall 2004, p65-6). Two different training methods are identified by the authors (Ferris et al, 2006), the first set of training is described as the routine training which is given to all level of working staff. The other set of training however, is a type of training in which political skills is the main and important component of training and development process and is aimed mainly for senior executives. As the work force moves up the chain of command to higher jobs at wider scales, technical capability is less important and political skill takes its place. When the centre for Creative Leadership studied why once-promising executives failed on the job, lack of social effectiveness emerged as a leading cause. The political skill which is mentioned quite a bit, is a type of skill that distinguishes successful and efficient managers from those managers who are inefficient. It is also an ability which merges together social intelligence which facilitates and adjusts to situations where differentiation and changes are of demand. In return this helps in developing and advancing the working conditions. Training and development at individual level:- To identify each persons own knowledge, skills and abilities in order to assess each individual and progress them at the pace According themselves. Psychology theorists e.g. Likert (1961), Mayo (1933) cited by Younglin (2001) entails that employee satisfaction and well being are related to performance, but in those theories they did not explicitly hypothesize about the appropriate level of analysis, for example individuals, groups or organizations. Assessments and one to one meetings allow employees to reflect on their own learning needs in relation to their work aims. It also provides well controlled learning experiences linked to professional and administrative needs, goals and job requirements. Individual levelled training and development is the base and the stepping stone of any needs assessment. All managers have different emphasis on specific needs collaborating with their job description, level of education and intelligence experience and personal choice. Focusing on employees individual needs appraisals makes it easier to compile personal development plans that suit each employee according to their own level of competency. Training and development at organisational level:- It is vital for organisations to focus on peoples capability to foresee, adapt and respond to sudden changes in the environment. Training and development will have to join together it with corporate goals. It must be accurate with what the business leaders are trying to achieve. In order for training to seem more appropriate, its programme will revolve around business related matters for the future. In practice, its achievements will shoulder on developing apparent training objectives from the tactical issues of the business. Effective managers are created in an environment where there is continuity in the learning manner. A high level of experience, expertise and mind power of the internal as well as external trainers is essential, along with their commitment and capability to maintain a healthy relationship committed to management maturity. The method of learning can often engage unlearning certain behaviours and attitudes. certainly, in relation to organisations (Hamel Prahalad 1994, cited in Cole, 2000, p268) found that ‘creating a â€Å" learning organisation† is only half the solution. Just as important is creating an â€Å" unlearning organisation†to create the future, a company must unlearn at least some of its past. According to Cole (2000) training and development of workforce is a concern that is faced by more or less all the establishment. The quantity and excellence of training carried out varies a lot from organisation to organisation. Therefore most of the establishments are adapting systematic approach to the training and development of their employees. Organisations use systematic training cycle to perform a logical sequence of activities commencing within the organisations starting with the training policy, assessment of training needs, carrying out training and evaluations. Cole (2000, p.278) summarises that this training cycle is quite beneficial within an organisation. The systematic approach to training and development arises from the amount of internal and external stress for alteration in the organisation. Firstly in a systematic approach is to develop a policy statement to act as a channel to the organisations intentions regarding the weight and track to be given by to training and development. Secondly initialise a set of roles for those in charge for implementing the policy and thirdly to set up a appropriate structure of training posts and procedures, and to allocate adequate funds to the training establishment. As all the steps are followed with completeness then one can focus on the analysis of training needs, evaluation and review of training carried out. Training policy Establishments mostly deal with a wide range of policies dealing with human resources. Policies are set by the establishments to develop their employees and to monitor their performance by certain training and development programs and courses, conducted internally or externally. According to Cole (2000),training focuses on learning needs and are mainly associated to existing responsibilities and duties which are narrowly linked to short, medium and long term business plans and are seen as an key element of an establishment to prove to its consumers, training and development are the key to success of any organisational goals which indicates the overall plan of an organisation, execution of training and development programs provides a direct link to the organisational goals for those who are accountable for the best possible results. Most of the organisations have a extended tradition of raising their own managers and professionals and providing them with in-house courses according to organisational needs. Some of the organisations rely on external management trainings and courses. Training needs Needs assessment is the process of determining if training is necessary (Noe 2003) and identifying the organisations training needs (Ivancevich 2004) and answering the question of whether training addresses the organisations needs, objectives and problems (Arthur et al. 2003). According to Noe (2003), if the needs assessment phase, the first phase in the instructional design process, is poorly conducted, training will not meet the desired outcome or financial benefit for the company, regardless of the training method and the learning environment. According to Boydell (1985) there are three levels of training needs which are to be studied before putting the programs in to practice. This three-step process consists of organisational analysis, person analysis and task analysis. There are a few factors linked with organisational analysis, such as when given the company resources is the relevant training appropriate, where is training needed in the organisation, which goals can be accomplished through personnel training, and if to determine as to wether or not training can be used to improve a companys success ( Noe 2003, Arthur et al. 2003, Ivancevich 2004). When assessed at an organisational level we must see the general weaknesses the organisation has perceived in its priorities and what would be the prescribed remedy that would be required in alteration of the organisational culture. According to Noe (2003), there are three factors to be considered before choosing training as a solution, these three factors being, the companys strategic direction, managers and peers support for training activities and the training resources available.(Noe 2003) Training to some level should help a company achieve its business strategy. If one was to define a business strategy, it is said that this is an approach which refers to a plan that joins together the companys goal, policies and actions (Meister 2000). Noe (2003) also mentions that â€Å"the strategic role of training influences the frequency and type of training, and how the training function is organised in the company.† (p 42) it is more likely the regularity of training will be higher in companies where training is expected to be a factor in the achievement of the companys business strategies and goals as a post to those companies where in training is done randomly or unplanned. Also it is said that the higher the strategic role of planning, it is more likely that the company will organise the training purpose using a virtual training organisation or corporate university models. (Noe 2003) The managers and peers support for training activities is a critical factor in considering a training programme. To be successful, managers and peers should have a positive attitude in participating a training activity. Furthermore, managers and peers should be willing to provide trainees with information on how they can effectively use knowledge, skill or behaviours learned in the training activity (Bramley 1996). To determine the initiation of a training activity it is essential for the company to have all necessary resources. For example if a company decides to hire a consultant for training purposes it is vital for that consultant to provide a high quality level of training. According to Noe (2003), it is advisable that a company use request for proposal (RFP) because it helps to identify the consultants or vendors who qualify for the criteria. RFP includes the type of service the company is seeking, the type and number of references needed, the number of personnel to be trained, the funding for the project, the follow-up process used to determine the level of satisfaction and service, expected date of completion, and the date when proposals must be received by the company (Noe 2003). Person analysis is a procedure which helps the establishment to identify the personnel and how they need to be trained. The analysis verifies all the necessary personnel readiness for training and development, such as personnel abilities, attitudes, beliefs, and enthusiasm. All these factors are vital for the person to learn from the training activity and apply it to the job. Being ready and fully aware for training also means that the work atmosphere will aid with learning and will not hinder with any kind of performance (Noe 2003). The present abilities (skills, knowledge and attitudes) of each staff member concerned had to be assessed against the higher standards needed to carry out their work satisfactorily and any short falls remedied through training. An indicator of the need for training is poor performance measured by customer complaints, low performance ratings, or on-the-job incidents such as accidents and unsafe behaviour. Job changes are also an indicator of the need for training. Job changes can be improvement of the current level of performances or the need for personnel to complete new tasks. (Noe 2003) According to Rummler and Brache (1996), factors such as, person characteristics, input, output, knowledge, consequences and feedback control personnel performance. Persons qualities are what construct the knowledge, skills and abilities of the personnel. The above mentioned factor of input refers to the directives that enable the personnel to know when, what and how to perform but at the same time also, the resources such as equipment, time or budget contributes also to the performance. Output is the standard according to the personnel of how the job is performed. A consequence is an aspect that gives encouragement to the personnel when they perform well. Feedback is the information the personnel receive while they are performing (Noe 2003). Ivancevich (2004) describes task analysis as the identification of the tasks, knowledge, skills and behaviours that should be covered in a training program. According to Schneier, Guthrie and Olian (1988), there are four steps involved in task analysis. First, select the job or jobs to be analysed. Then, build up a preliminary list of tasks performed on the job. This can be done by interviewing and observing expert personnel and their managers and talking with others who have performed a task analysis. Third, confirm the preliminary list of tasks by asking several questions regarding the tasks a group of subject matter experts in a meeting or through a written survey. Through this, the management can determine which tasks must be included in the training program. Important tasks that are frequently performed and of moderate to high level of difficulty should be included in the training while tasks that are not important and infrequently performed should not be included. However, since there are tasks that are important but are less frequently performed, managers and trainers should determine whether these tasks should be trained for. (Noe 2003) The last step is to identify the knowledge, skills or abilities needed to successfully perform the tasks identified. Similar in identifying the tasks to be trained for, knowledge, skills or abilities necessary can be learned through interviews and questionnaires. It is important to know the level of difficulty in learning knowledge, skills and abilities (Bramley 1996). Ivancevich (2004) points out that these assessment categories are important. However, training assessment should focus on the personnel needs because it is at the individual or group level that training is conducted (Ivancevich 2003, p114). According to Kirkpatrick, there are four ways to determine the personnel needs for training. These are through observation of the personnel, listening to the personnel, asking the supervisors about their personnel needs, and examining the problems the personnel have with regards to their job (Kirkpatrick 1996). Michalak and Yager (1979) further stresses that by doing this, the manager is actually conducting a performance analysis. There are steps in performance analysis. First step is the evaluation of the personnel performance and determining if there is a behaviour discrepancy in the personnel performance. Next, the cost and value of correcting the identified behaviour discrepancy should be determined. Then, determine if the personnel can do the expected job if he wanted to (Ivancevich 2004). Then, establish a standard and communicate this clearly to improve job performance. Then, remove obstacles that might cause behaviour discrepancy. Next, the manager should give the personnel time to practice the skills, knowledge and abilities needed in performing their job. Next, decide if the job should be redesigned. If all else fails, the managers should take matters to the next level and decide whether to transfer the personnel to another department or to terminate his contract. However, performance analysis may result to a problem in the driving force. Corroborations such as reward, punishment, or discipline may be essential to create stimulus for the whole work force. Performance analysis may also lead to recognising a need for training and development. However, some organisations avoid doing training needs assessment. According to Schneier, Guthrie and Olian (1988), the possible reasons for this are lack of information on conducting training needs assessment, management scepticism on the effectiveness of training needs assessment, poor planning and lack of time in doing training needs assessment. But Schneier, Guthrie and Olian (1988) stress that training needs assessment should be done because there are many benefits that result from doing this such as improving the training function, tying in with other personnel/human resource management (P/HRM) programs and improving their efficacy, and increasing legal defensibility. Training Process Though typically the shortest phase in the training process, the training program itself encompasses a myriad of details which must be thought about carefully in order that a program will run smoothly, remain true to its defined objectives, and facilitate the transfer of knowledge. Coordinating the logistics of a training program is a detailed and essential step in planning a successful training program. As Van Wart, Cayer, and Cook (1993, p.235) point out, careful planning results in substantially fewer problems, headaches, and even disasters. Countless items such as facilities, room set-up, scheduling, registration, snacks, name tags, audio-visual needs, correspondence with trainees, social events, and the compilation of training materials must be taken into account to insure a successful program. In addition, it is important to plan in advance how to open and close a training session, to avoid awkward transitions and a poor climate during the session (Nadler Nadler 1994). Another important consideration is the materials and kit which will be used to communicate information to the participants. Handouts, textbooks, manuals, and other visual aids (VanWart, Cayer, Cook 1994) enhance the training environment and give participants tangible records of their training to take away and refer to when a refresher is necessary. There should be plenty of materials for all of the participants and extras for those who may register at the last minute. Equipment should be checked to make sure it is in good working condition prior to the program (Nadler Nadler 1994). And finally, as with most things in life, it never hurts to have a contingency plan. A training program may incorporate many different types of strategies for communicating information and fostering a learning environment. Lectures, group activities, discussions, videos, games, guest speakers, case studies, presentations, panel discussions, outdoor interventions, and hands-on skill training are but a few examples of the variety of methods which exist for use in training situations. Beary (1994) suggests that trainers should use questions in training to serve as icebreakers, determine knowledge levels and attitudes, stimulate discussion, share knowledge, make transitions, and build teams. Harris (1994) puts forth his P.R.A.C.T.I.C.A.L. model for better-than-average presentations which calls for attention to be paid to: Partnerships, Rhetorical questions, the Ability to be spontaneous, Conversational style, Tone of voice, Involvement, Creativity, Acute relevance, and Lucidity. Harris also provides four verbal tools which can be used to vary presentations through language. Analogies, alliteration, plays on words, and rhymes can be useful ways to draw attention to material which may require spicing up. A trainer would certainly want to consider his or her audience before using some of these tools. A group of firemen may not be impressed by rhyming skills, while a group of writers might find it very refreshing. Kaeter (1994) suggests several ways to create a training culture, which, she explains, will enhance the environment and may even help a trainer to deal with the ever-present resistant trainee. Her ideas include: researching the situation in advance, making knowledge relevant to those situations, facilitating rather than lecturing, making a clear link between the person, the job, and the goals of the organisation, not ignoring resistant participants, deflecting attacks by drawing in the group, and being available after training for questions and one-on-one discussions. Given that in almost every training situation, there will be one or two individuals who are resistant to the ideas being presented, (or to the very idea of being at a training program) it is important to create a culture which deals proactively with resisters and allows learning to occur for everyone. In addition to those presented here, there are hundreds of other useful approaches to conducting effective training programs. The important thing to recognise is that each method and strategy has inherent strengths and weaknesses, and that there is not one method or strategy whose use will result consistently in a flawless training program. A combination of methods, strategies, and techniques makes for a rich, diverse, cooperative, and instructive training situation. In any training situation, it is important to appreciate the variety of ways that people learn, and to use techniques, which will meet the needs of a diverse group of learners (Armstrong 1988). While some individuals may learn kinaesthetically, others may be more receptive to visual or auditory techniques. A trainer must design his or her program to incorporate elements which will be useful to all types of learners, also taking into consideration the knowledge, skills, abilities, and motivation that trainees bring to the training situation. (VanWart, Cayer, Cook 1994, p 139) According to Bramley (1996), learning situations should be sequenced so that various styles of learning are integrated into the whole. A useful model, based on adult experiential learning, is the Kolb (1984) cycle of learning (see Figure 2). This model requires that activity in all four stages take place for effective learning to occur. Training which is designed with a variety of learning styles in mind will greatly encourage trainees to incorporate the knowledge into their own way of thinking, and transfer the training into the workplace. After logistics and strategies are determined, the designer must decide the most appropriate method for gathering evaluations and feedback from the participants. This step can be used to identify opportunities for further training, to enhance learning, to identify problems and possible solutions, to assess the impact of the training, and to monitor changes in thinking related to the training (Brinkerhoff Gill 1994). Such information can be obtained through observation of reactions to training programs, through learning reviews provided by participants (Bramley, 1996), or through pre and post-testing of skills, attitudes, and behaviours. In addition, there are a variety of questionnaire types which can be utilised for evaluations. Regardless of the type of questionnaire, which is used, however, it is crucial to gather feedback from as many of the participants as possible, to give them a forum for providing the most honest and detailed feedback possible, and to take future action based on the responses (Kirkpatrick 1996). Another valuable method of gaining feedback from participants is to speak with them individually, perhaps at some point during the program, or in a scheduled meeting or discussion group held shortly after the program takes place. It is vital to remember that changes in attitude do not necessarily equals change in behaviour. While information about attitudes may drop light on trainees immediate reactions and learning, such information alone is not necessarily a good indicator of long term changes in behaviour or overall results of training. As demonstrated by this study, it is important to collect a variety of data at several differing intervals, in order to gain the best understanding of the training and the outcomes of it. Evaluation of Training The final stage of the systematic training process is the evaluation of training. This can be done by comparing the results, especially the benefits, with the objectives of the training program set in the assessment phase (Ivancevich 2004). As mentioned in the introduction chapter, many companies are increasingly concerned if training adds value to organisations and training departments are continuously justifying the effectiveness of training (Phillips 1996; Holton 1995). Preskill (1997) asserts that the most appropriate method to determine the effectiveness of training is through training evaluation. As Jones (2006, p.42) said, â€Å"It is essential for HRD practitioners to use the training evaluation method in order to determine whether an organisation receives a significant return on investment in terms of human resources, time and money.† There are many reasons as to why training evaluation should be done. Evaluation can be a tool for informing the trainees of their progress, modifying and improving programs and instructor performance, and providing evidence to managers that problems and issues have been addressed and solved (Laird 1985). Training effectiveness is also a measure of the training departments credibility (Kirkpatrick 1996). Other benefits brought about by doing training evaluation are increased confidence in the trainers claim, increased legitimacy of the training function in organisations, justification for continued support, valuable feedback for improving training methods (Phillips 1996, Jones 2006). Noe (2003 p98-9) summarises these reasons in the following: to identify the programs strengths and weaknesses; to evaluate whether the content, organisation and administration of the program contribute to learning and the use of training content on the job; to identify which trainees benefited most or least from the program; to gather data to assist in marketing the program to determine the financial benefits and costs of the program; to compare the costs and benefits of training and non-training investments; to compare the costs and benefits of different training programs to know which training program is best to use. As with any other evaluation process, criteria should be established for easier evaluation. Ivancevich (2004, p77) points out the three types of criteria — internal, external, and participants reaction. However, participants reaction can be included in the internal criterion. The internal criteria are concerned with the content of the training program. The external criteria are concerned with the ultimate goal of the program. Many training evaluation models were developed. The most popular of which is Donald Kirkpatricks (1994) four-level evaluation criterion. According to thi

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Development Of Art :: essays research papers

What Is Art? -An In-Depth Analysis-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human’s have always struggled to express themselves. Art, is considered by many to be the ultimate form of human expression. Many assume that art has a definition, but this is not the case. Art, it can be said, is â€Å"in the eye of the beholder.† This simply means that what you consider art, someone else would not. Art is part of a person’s internal emotions, which signifies why different people see art as different things. Every type of culture and era presents distinctive and unique characteristics. Different cultures all have different views of what art can, and would be, causing art itself to be universally renowned throughout the world. The first art to be recorded was done by the early Egyptians who used it as a form of communication and to signify their religious beliefs. Their beliefs were centered around their many Gods which helped in aiding their visual representations. What made Egyptian art unique, was that every picture told a story of an important event in the society, which helps us study who they were as a people, and what their life struggles were. This primitive form of art laid the ground- work for the many types of art which would follow it. The next important era was the time of Greek art. Their work was greatly influenced by the Egyptians. Their early art was very geometric in shape and glorified Gods and people in their works. Eventually as time progressed, they began to soften their edges and lines and concentrate on the human form, which they considered the most beautiful of all creation. Christian art was the next big leap for art. This art was more colorful and displayed vivid images and scenes. The introduction of the mosaic was probably the greatest contribution of the period. In the fifteenth century, the Renaissance period involved brighter colours and new mediums that the world had never seen before.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through these early stages of art discussed above, it shows how the foundation for today’s modern works was laid out. They show how art has developed from simple cave paintings, to the tremendous force in society that it is today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Art is one of the most intriguing and exiting forms of human expression. A picture can tell a thousand words and often stir up feelings inside the viewer. Art is all around us.buildings,electronic equipment like a computer, and even automobiles are all a form of art.

A Bout De Souffle :: A bout de souffle Jean-Luc Godard

'A bout de souffle', Jean-Luc Godard's eerste 'feature' film (1960), heeft een vrij simpele verhaallijn, dat geschreven is door vroegere collega en vriend Francois Truffaut: Een man steelt een auto in Marseilles en rijdt naar Parijs. Tijdens deze rit wordt de hoofdpersoon, Michel Poiccard, aangehouden door de politie wegens het overschrijden van de maximum snelheid, waarna hij een agent neerschiet en rennend verder gaat naar de lichtstad. In Parijs moet hij geld ophalen bij een vriend van hem en probeert hij een Amerikaanse vrouw, Patricia, over te halen om mee te vertrekken naar Rome. Zij twijfelt over haar liefde voor Michel, wat resulteert in verraad, aangezien ze uiteindelijk, wanneer ze op het punt staan Parijs te verlaten, de politie informeert over het adres waar Michel op dat moment zich bevindt. In plaats van te vluchten besluit Michel te blijven en op de politie te wachten om naar de gevangenis te gaan. Maar wanneer de politie arriveert, werpt een vriend een pistool naar he m in een laatste poging hem te redden. De politie raakt in paniek en schiet Michel neer, waarna hij wankelend door de straten loopt om uiteindelijk aan het einde door zijn knieà «n te zakken en te sterven. Dit is in grote lijn het verhaal in 'A Bout de Souffle' en hoewel de film amuserend kan zijn zonder een poging te ondernemen de film te analyseren, kan de status van 'meesterwerk' alleen begrepen worden door een analyse van zijn historische context. We moeten, vooral in een film als 'A Bout de Souffle', proberen de cinematografische stijlen in Europa en Amerika in 1960 te begrijpen. Er zijn drie aan elkaar gerelateerde feiten over Godard en zijn 'A Bout de Souffle' die de film tot een nieuw historische mijlpaal maken op het gebied van de kunst (met name de audiovisuele kunst). Ten eerste, was Godard extreem bewust van de relatie van zijn medium met andere vormen van expressie. Vooral literatuur, filosofie en de schilderkunst. In zijn stijl valt deze 'interconnectiviteit' tussen de verschillende media duidelijk op te merken. In een interview in 1962 zegt hij: "Voor mij is de continuà ¯teit van alle vormen van expressie erg belangrijk."# Ten tweede, hoewel 'A Bout de Souffle' een enorme afkeer kent van de geaccepteerde methodes van cinematografie, kende Godard zijn plek in de evolutie van filmstijl, en kunnen we zien dat deze afkeer een manifestatie is van het bewust zijn van die geaccepteerde norm.