110 research outputs found

    Ambivalent Nation: How Britain Imagined the American Civil War

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    In Ambivalent Nation: How Britain Imagined the American Civil War Hugh Dubrulle makes a valuable contribution to the body of scholarship that seeks to expand the temporal and geographical frame that scholars employ when examining the American Civil War. Through an analysis of the way that Britons discussed topics including American politics, race, nationalism and the military during the antebellum, Dubrulle reconstructs popular attitudes on the eve of the conflict. He then highlights the areas of continuity within British Civil War discourse. By treating British responses to the Civil War as part of an on-going conversation, Dubrulle emphasizes the ‘passionate ambivalence’ that characterized popular attitudes towards the conflict. Furthermore, he offers a valuable codicil by suggesting that such an analysis public discourse also enriches our understanding of the Palmerston administration’s diplomatic approach in which ‘sentiment and policy’ seemed so at odds. Dubrulle places on emphasis on viewing the United States through a postcolonial lens and this approach pays dividends. It allows him to tease apart the different ideological strands that made up the Anglo-American connection in this period. Dubrulle’s introductory vignette (focused on a hoax letter to the London Times in 1856 regarding ‘railways and revolvers in Georgia’) is indicative of the value of such an approach and suggests that it has the potential to further disrupt our assumptions about the Anglo-American relationship. Crucially, the post-colonial lens helps to shed light on the contradictions that emerged when Britons tried to define American national character

    Failing to Make That Connection:An Analysis of the Web Reservation Facility in the Top 50 International Hotel Chains

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    Consumers increasingly expect to be able to locate and book suitable hotel accommodation in a single seamless process over the World Wide Web. By assessing the facilities provided by the top 50 worldwide hotel companies, the current level of sophistication of hotel Web reservations facilities is established. Factors such as the provision of search facilities, on-line availability and rate quotations and security are examined. In addition, a comparison is made between the information obtained over the Web and that available through each company’s call centre in an attempt to assess the accuracy and credibility of data obtained through Web reservations sites

    Webonomics: Better Business Through the Web

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    Develop an effective online presence to reach a worldwide audience

    The intervening role of agreeableness in the relationshp between trait emotional intelligence and Machiavellianism: reassessing the potential dark side of EI

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    Previous research into the potential ‘dark’ side of trait emotional intelligence (EI) has repeatedly demonstrated that trait EI is negatively associated with Machiavellianism. In this study, we reassess the potential dark side of trait EI, by testing whether Agreeableness mediates and/or moderates the relationship between trait EI and Machiavellianism. Hypothesized mediation and moderation effects were tested using a large sample of 884 workers who completed several self-report questionnaires. Results provide support for both hypotheses; Agreeableness was found to mediate and moderate the relationship between trait EI and Machiavellianism. Overall, results indicate that individuals high in trait EI tend to have low levels of Machiavellianism because they generally have a positive nature (i.e. are agreeable) and not because they are emotionally competent per se. Results also indicate that individuals high in ‘perceived emotional competence’ have the potential to be high in Machiavellianism, particularly when they are low in Agreeableness

    An Expert System-Based Approach to Hospitality Company Diagnosis

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    This paper describes the development of a prototype Expert System-based Analysis and Diagnostic (ESAD) package for the Hotel and Catering Industry. This computerised tool aids the hospitality manager in methodically scrutinising the hotel unit and environment, combining key information with systematic reasoning. The system searches through its extensive knowledge base, investigating complicated relationships. The number of possibilities considered is increased which will broaden the depth and breadth of the analysis and therefore should improve the quality of the managers decision making

    Hollywood\u27s White House: The American Presidency in Film and History

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    Winner of the 2003 Ray and Pat Browne Book Award, given by the Popular Culture Association The contributors to Hollywood’s White House examine the historical accuracy of these presidential depictions, illuminate their influence, and uncover how they reflect the concerns of their times and the social and political visions of the filmmakers. The volume, which includes a comprehensive filmography and a bibliography, is ideal for historians and film enthusiasts. The essays are supported by numerous sources that provide some good leads . . . the chronological filmography will come in handy. Recommended. -- Library Journal This well-written book, with contributions by both film critics and historians, is an interesting study of the real presidency and the reel presidency. -- USA Today Magazine An excellent example of the American theater. . . . We are the audience. We will be a much more informed audience after reading the essays in this book. -- Ray Browne, Journal of American Culture A scholarly examination of the portrayal of the American presidency in film. -- Choice Winner of the 2004 Ray and Pat Browne Award given by the Popular Culture Association.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_american_popular_culture/1005/thumbnail.jp

    Hollywood\u27s Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film

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    Offering both in-depth analyses of specific films and overviews of the industry\u27s output, Hollywood\u27s Indian provides insightful characterizations of the depiction of the Native Americans in film. This updated edition includes a new chapter on Smoke Signals, the groundbreaking independent film written by Sherman Alexie and directed by Chris Eyre. Taken as a whole the essays explore the many ways in which these portrayals have made an impact on our collective cultural life. Raises interesting issues and challenges readers to consider the complex realities of American Indian cultures and Indian/non-Indian relations that major motion pictures often fail to communicate. -- American Graduate Important and groundbreaking work. -- Bookman News Enables readers to construct a cinematic chronology of the Hollywood Indian and to comprehend the larger cultural forces at work interpreting the Indian-white past on screen. -- Choice Rollins and O’Connor have skillfully blended a variety of thoughtful veiwpoints. -- Chronicles of Oklahoma A collection of quality essays, put together by two of the leading experts in this particular topic area. -- Communication Booknotes Quarterly Hollywood\u27s representation of Indians is a subject which up till now has generated a lot more heat than light. This welcome new collection of essays covers a lot of ground . . . including a valuable piece on Michael Mann\u27s The Last of the Mohicans and earlier versions of Cooper\u27s \u27Leatherstocking Tales,\u27 a surprisingly and convincingly sympathetic essay on Dances with Wolves , and an informative account of Pocahontas . -- Edward Buscombe Will become the standard source for reference for an important subject, not only in American contemporary popular culture, but for evolving attitudes in a new century. -- Film and History The essays provide valuable ways to think about the meaning and impact of Hollywood\u27s portrayal of American Indian characters. -- Great Plains Quarterly Offers an engaging and timely update to previous critical anthologies. -- H-Net Book Review An engaging and timely update to previous critical anthologies. -- Journal of American Culture The value of this collection resides in the concentrated attention it gives to the portrayal of Native Americans on film. -- Journal of American Ethnic History The essays are solid pieces that place the films in a proper historical and artistic context. -- Journal of American History The essays add to the growing literature on films about American Indians, and individually, they provide interesting insights into the process of movie-making and viewing. -- North Carolina Historical Review A welcome contribution to the lively and timely debate on the representation of ethnic minorities in the media. -- Zeitscrift fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik An excellent set of essays on the subject. -- Choicehttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_film_and_media_studies/1022/thumbnail.jp

    Why We Fought : America\u27s Wars in Film and History

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    Film moves audiences like no other medium; both documentaries and feature films are especially remarkable for their ability to influence viewers. Best-selling author James Brady remarked that he joined the Marines to fight in Korea after seeing a John Wayne film, demonstrating how a motion picture can change the course of a human life—in this case, launching the career of a major historian and novelist. In Why We Fought: America’s Wars in Film and History, editors Peter C. Rollins and John E. O’Connor explore the complexities of war films, describing the ways in which such productions interpret history and illuminate American values, politics, and culture. This comprehensive volume covers representations of war in film from the American Revolution in the 18th century to today’s global War on Terror. The contributors examine iconic battle films such as The Big Parade (1925), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), From Here to Eternity (1953), and Platoon (1986), considering them as historical artifacts. The authors explain how film shapes our cultural understanding of military conflicts, analyzing how war is depicted on television programs, through news media outlets, and in fictional and factual texts. With several essays examining the events of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath, the book has a timely relevance concerning the country’s current military conflicts. Jeff Chown examines controversial documentary films about the Iraq War, while Stacy Takacs considers Jessica Lynch and American gender issues in a post-9/11 world, and James Kendrick explores the political messages and aesthetic implications of United 93. From filmmakers who reshaped our understanding of the history of the Alamo, to Ken Burns’s popular series on the Civil War, to the uses of film and media in understanding the Vietnam conflict, Why We Fought offers a balanced outlook— one of the book’s editors was a combat officer in the United States Marines, the other an antiwar activist—on the conflicts that have become touchstones of American history. As Air Force veteran and film scholar Robert Fyne notes in the foreword, American war films mirror a nation’s past and offer tangible evidence of the ways millions of Americans have become devoted, as was General MacArthur, to “Duty, honor, and country.” Why We Fought chronicles how, for more than half a century, war films have shaped our nation’s consciousness. Peter C. Rollins is Regents Professor Emeritus of English and American Film Studies at Oklahoma State University and is former editor of the journal Film & History. He is the coeditor of numerous books, including Hollywood’s Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film. John E. O’Connor is professor emeritus of the Federated Department of History at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University. He is also a founding editor of Film & History and the coeditor of several books. “Why We Fought is not only a thoughtful reading of war films and history, but it is a significant contribution to scholarship. Understanding why we fight is more relevant today than ever before since Americans continue to explore their national identity, their country, and themselves.”—Michael K. Schoenecke, coeditor of All-Stars and Movie Stars: Sports in Film and History Although it is sometimes waged for selfish and extraneous ends, warfare is fundamental to developing human cultures. Regardless of its end, warfare continues to be depicted in documentaries and analyzed more in the imagination than on the battlefield. Battles that are re-created on the stage and silver screen depict the motivations, actual experiences, and consequences of combat. . . . This penetrating collection of essays by two of the best editors of history and film looks deeply into movies\u27 interpretations of why we have fought and examines the ways in which war has been presented to us. --Ray B. Browne, Professor of Popular Culture, Emeritus, Bowling Green State University Peter C. Rollins and John E. O\u27Connor have compiled a historically sound, inclusive, and diverse, interdisciplinary portrait of American wars in film. Each essay has its own bibliography, and the ending filmography is nothing short of superb. Technically and conceptually, this book is, perhaps, the most powerful of its kind produced to date, and it will doubtlessly be lauded as a breakthrough in the studies of war films. --Robert C. Doyle, author of Voices from Captivity: Interpreting the American POW Narrative “This wide-ranging and sophisticated anthology incorporates a broad spectrum of analytical perspectives that establish major film treatments of America’s wars in cinematic and historical contexts, while demonstrating the synergistic relationships between the two approaches.”—Dennis Showalter, Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century “A useful addition to an academic, arts, or film library, this book covers films based on every war fought by the United States.” --Xpress Reviews Rollins and O’Connor’s finished product is a great resource. It is chronologically organized, and uses a variety of mediums and types of analysis. This collection provides an appropriately complete illustration of how war has been depicted and its role in understanding American history. --David R. Buck, southwestjournalofcultures.blogpsot.com Rollins and O’Connor have assembled a rich, varied collection of essays that explore all US wars in order, from the American Revolution to Iraq. Essential. --R. D. Sears, Choice Not only will you learn a lot about the movies, but you’ll also re-examine the context of the film’s creation. . . . A fascinating book. --Book Bit for WTBF- AM/FM These outstanding essays provide proof of the war film genre’s lasting legacy in American history and cinema. --History News Network, hnn.us “The book takes on depictions of every conflict from the American Revolution to September 11 and its aftermath, showing how films have shaped America’s understanding of its history.” --Colloquy “An excellent compilation of essays on war films.” --VVA Veteran Rollins and O’Connor have provided a starting point with which to analyze the influence of wars and conflicts in movies, documentaries, and television shows. --On Point The methodology is to examine a particular film, a pair of films or series to explore the reasons given for having to fight it, the portrayal of combat, and the other political and social implications. --NYMAS Named as a Choice Outstanding Academic Titles. Winner of the 2008 Ray and Pat Browne Award.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_film_and_media_studies/1023/thumbnail.jp
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