Legal Liability Nunn vs. Massachusetts Essays - Types Of Insurance

South Carolina State University Department of Health Science Article # 2 Legal Liability Nunn vs. Massachusetts Case # 12-3712 Submitted for: P.E. 413 Legal Aspects of Sports Presented To: Dr. Crystal S. Nixon Submitted By: Orangeburg, SC October 6, 2015 Facts of the case: 1.In August of 2010 two former NBA referees, Ronald Dunn and Donald Vaden, filed a suit against Massachusetts Casualty Insurance Company alleging false supplemental disability insurance policies that were issued to them. 2.Sales representative Steven Lucas for Sun Life of Canada, who falls under the title of disability expert, provided the former referees with inaccurate information. 3.Sales representative Steven Lucas assisted former NBA referees Ronald Dunn and Donald Vaden in completing the application for Sun Life of Canada over the phone still providing false information. 4.Plaintiffs received their copies of Massachusetts Casualty Insurance Company supplemental disability insurance policy but never read the policy. 5.The policy included a Notice of 10 day right to exchange. This policy clause stipulated that the plaintiffs could return the policy if they were not satisfied with the results within ten days. Issue of the case: Should the referees except that they were irresponsible for not reading the contract before committing to the insurance company? Answer: True Ruling: Not Guilty My reaction to the case: My primary reaction after reviewing this case was that the Massachusetts Casualty Insurance Company was responsible for the misrepresentation that was conducted by an employee of their company. However, after further review I believe that the negligence is on the part of the plaintiffs. It was their irresponsibility that allowed them to sign a contract without reading the fine print. Any contract or legal document falls under the requirement of the recipient to review. If I were in the plaintiffs shoes I would have believed that I could file a suit under the pretence that I was given false information. However, the referees must take responsibility for not completely following the guidelines of the contract which is simply to read the contract. As a future sports professional, I have learned to pay close attention to anyone selling me insurance, and to be mindful of what I am signing. If I sign a legal binding document then it is my responsibility to accept w hatever stipulations come with the document. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAAahUKEwj9iZLB_q3IAhULdD4KHWaZCSM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcaselaw.findlaw.com%2Fus-2nd-circuit%2F1658154.html&usg=AFQjCNF8rXHRkLV9VH2E3nquAOHBR4yyJQ&bvm=bv.104317490,d.cWw

Generational buying motivations for fashion by Laura Portolese Dias

Generational buying motivations for fashion by Laura Portolese Dias Summary of the article As it was stated in the introduction part of the article under analysis, a study was conducted to test one hypothesis whether buying motivations of representatives of generation X and generation Y are identical when they reach a particular age.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on ‘Generational buying motivations for fashion’ by Laura Portolese Dias specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Providing clear definitions of the two generations, the article discusses the differences in lifestyles and perceptions of jobs and consumer goods in representatives of both generations and marketers’ strategies applied to these age groups. The study combined three research methods, including those of a survey mailed to high school teachers and college tutors, several day observations conducted by one person at the local mall and interviews with experienced marketers. The results retrieved from the sur vey and discussed in this article focused mainly on the demographic characteristics of the participants with only a few sentences devoted to the clothing brands preferred by representatives of different generations. The discussion of the results of observation and interviews was fragmented and included only a few remarks of particular individuals without detailed summary and critical analysis of the collected data. The article discussed the research limitations which mainly focused on the specifics of the research design. The two tables included into the article contained the summarized information on the survey results. The discussion of the research results focused mainly on attitudes of representatives of generation X and generation Y to different criteria in making a choice of certain clothing items and a place for shopping. The conclusions drawn by the author from these results were rather unexpected because they touched upon the dominant personal characteristics of generations and even their attitudes to purchasing the real estate. The following discussion of the advertizing strategies used for each generation were not linked to the research results and based mainly upon the author’s personal opinion.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Even though the author concluded that the hypothesis included into the introduction regarding the identical needs and motivations in representatives of different generations is valid, the rest of the discussion does not support this claim. Positioning of the paper within the academic area As it is stated in the title of this article, it was intended to be a practitioner paper and to have certain practical implications. Regarding the positioning of this paper within the academic area, it can be stated that it may be relevant for marketers developing advertizing strategies for clothing companies and c lothing malls. However, analyzing the choice of the hypothesis for this study as well as the discussion of the research findings, it can be stated that the research findings of this paper cannot be readily used by marketers in their professional practice. This article can be of little value for the marketers because of its limitations and lack of evidence for drawing the conclusions which were made by the author. Dias did not discuss the main motivations for conducting this study which could include the lack of research of certain problems or certain limitations of similar studies which were conducted previously. The disparity between the research goals, methods, results and conclusions significantly reduces the value of this paper. Its findings could be of potential value for the marketers if the author had aligned the discussion of the research results with the main hypothesis and research objectives. Critique of the paper: the six strengths of the article Analyzing the research d esign, methods and manner of representation of the achieved results, it can be stated that the article under analysis has a number of strengths and weaknesses. The first strength of this article is the use of the statistics data and precise definitions of the age groups of generation X and generation Y. This characteristic enables the potential readers of this article to obtain a clear understanding of the research question and the main characteristics of the participants. The second strength of this paper is the use of in-text citations.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on ‘Generational buying motivations for fashion’ by Laura Portolese Dias specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The parenthetical citations show the amount of preliminary research conducted by the scholar and support the claims made by the author with assumptions of other researchers working in the same domain. The third strength of this article is a detailed description of the research methods, sampling and research participants involved into the study. This description enables the target audience of this article to evaluate the relevance of the chosen research methods and validity of the received results and conclusions. The fourth strength of this paper is the combination of three research methods. The combination of different approaches might be helpful for comparing the achieved results to ensure their validity and compensating for particular limitations attributed to each of them. This complex design could have improved the reliability of the study. The fifth strength of the article is the discussion of limitations of each of the three research methods. According to Bryman and Bell (2007, p. 105), the awareness of limitations of the topic area and research methods can lead the researchers and readers towards better understanding of the research problem. Therefore, the discussion of limitations included into this artic le demonstrates the author’s broad understanding of the research problem and the potential value of her findings. The sixth strength of the paper under analysis is a substantial discussion section which was intended to interpret the research findings. The discussion section is valuable for explaining the main conclusions made in the study and pointing out at the major premises making the author to draw such conclusions. Therefore, the organization of the paper under analysis as well as the research in general has a number of strengths which increase the significance of this paper. The six weaknesses of the article and suggestions for improvement Apart from the limitations of the study design discussed by the author, this paper has a number of weaknesses which offer a potential for improvement in case if a similar study is conducted in the future.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The first weakness of this study is the disparity between the reference list and the in-text citations. For instance, in the introduction part Dias (2003, p. 78) mentions a book Generation X by Coupland and even provides particular examples from this book but does not include in-text citations and does not include this source into the reference list. The same goes for the statistics data retrieved from the US Census Bureau which is not properly cited either. Additionally, in particular episodes the author makes claims without supporting them with citations of certain reliable sources that is inadmissible for a scholarly article. As to the reference list, it contains only four sources which are not enough for conducting a profound research. Even though these sources are relevant and significant, they are insufficient for a scholarly research. The recommendation for improvement is to include a more detailed literature review, add up to twenty sources to the reference list and use in-t ext citations when making certain claims for which support of legitimate sources is necessary. The second weakness of this paper is the disparity between the research goals and methods. The three research methods are aimed at collecting the data which is irrelevant for supporting the main claim made in the introduction part of the article. According to Adams, Raeside, and Khan (2007, p. 32), to evaluate the quality of a particular research, one should answer the question whether the conclusions made by the author make logical sense in their relation to the hypotheses formulated at the beginning. Analyzing the initial hypothesis and the conclusions drawn by the scholar, it can be stated that they make logical sense. However, taking into consideration the methods used in this research, the survey and observation results, it can be stated that the conclusions concerning the identity of the buying motivations in representatives of different generations could not be drawn from the resear ch results discussed in this article. Therefore, even though the conclusion is linked to the initial hypothesis, it does not have logical sense, taking into account the research results and the argumentation provided by Dias. The recommendation for improvement of this point is to align the research methods with the main hypothesis and objectives. The third weakness of this paper is the use of observation method for defining the consumers’ buying motivations. Cooper and Schindler (2011, p. 215) noted that one of the main limitations of the observation method is its inappropriateness for gathering information on such topics as preferences and attitudes. Therefore, the method of observation is not suitable for the research question. The suggestion for improvement would be to replace the method of observation with a more appropriate technique. The fourth weakness of this article is the inappropriate distribution of surveys for gathering the information on the attitudes of generat ion X and generation Y. By sending these surveys to colleges and high schools, the scholar could not access the representatives of both generations. Though the age of college students can vary, the majority of college population is no older than 23. Consequently, taking into account the year 2003 when the survey was conducted, it can be stated that both groups of participants belonged to the generation Y who were born between the years 1981 and 2002. The suggestion for improvement of this significant weakness is to send a part of surveys to enterprises and ask the employees to answer them. The fifth weakness was discussion of limitations before the discussion of the research results. This feature can reduce the validity of the research results. The recommendation for improvement is to include this section before the main conclusion. The section of limitation is valuable but it should be one of the final parts of the scholarly article because it offers the improvements and directions for further research of the topic. The sixth weakness is the tables on page 84 which are difficult to interpret and are not the best way for presenting the research results. The improvement of this point can be achieved by changing the structure of these tables and their graphical layout. Consequently, this article has a number of significant weaknesses which substantially decrease the value of this paper. Validity and reliability of the research findings Judging from the weaknesses of this article which were discussed in the previous section, it can be stated that the findings of this study cannot be regarded as valid and reliable. The inappropriateness of research methods for exploring this topic, the inconsistency of the research goals, methods and outcomes, not to mention the overall organization of report and insufficient references decrease the value of this article and do not allow making any generalizations. Not to mention the convenient sampling that was mentioned by the a uthor as one of the limitations of the study, the sample was not representative and even did not include the required number of representatives of the generation X. Additionally, the results of the recent studies have presented conclusions opposite to the conclusion made by Dias (2003). Van Den Bergh, Behrer and Kerkstoel (2011, p. 11) noted that generation can be defined as a product of current times and people cannot become identical to their parents when reaching a particular age. The assumption made by Dias (2003, p. 85) concerning the same categories of products as their parents bought, including cars and baby clothing does not mean that generation Y will select the same products and the same brands. Therefore, this claim cannot be a basis for generalization. In general, the findings of this article could be of practical value for marketers, but further research is required for investigating this question and minimizing the limitations. Conclusion As it can be seen from the cri tique of the main strengths and weaknesses of the article by Dias, the study of generational buying motivations had significant limitations which reduce the validity, reliability and practical value of its findings. Due to the inappropriate research methods and the discrepancy between the research goals and methods, on the one hand, and the research results and conclusions, on the other hand, the argumentation provided by Dias (2003) cannot be regarded as sufficient for supporting her hypothesis. References Adams, J., Raeside, R., Khan, H. (2007) Research methods for graduate business and social science students. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications. Bryman, A. Bell, E. (2007) Business research methods. New York, Oxford University Press. Cooper, D. Schindler, P. (2011) Business research methods. 11th edition. New York, McGraw Hill. Dias, L. P. (2003) Generational buying motivations for fashion. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 7 (1), pp. 78 – 86. Van Den Bergh, J., Behrer, M. Kerkstoel, G. (2011) How cool brands stay hot: Branding to generation Y. Philadelphia, Kogan Page Limited.

Based in and based out of

Based in and based out of Based in and based out of Based in and based out of By Maeve Maddox M. Arun writes: Is it correct to say I work out of New York- to mean that ones workplace is in New York. Or to say I am based out of New York to mean you live in New York? It sounds a wrong to me! The use of out of described here may be a regional thing. It is not standard English. Ordinarily, the expression to work out of a place is used this way: Mr. Patel works out of his house. Mr. Patel has a home office where he runs his business or fulfills the obligations of a job (telecommuting). George works out of New York. George lives in New York, or his companys office is in New York, but his work takes him to various places. As for based, a person or a business can be based in New York. To say that one is based out of New York seems to mean that the person or business is located somewhere other than in New York. It seems a curious choice for someone to say Im based out of New York to mean merely I live in New York. I suppose that the use of based in this context could represent an effort to distance oneself from the place lived in: Im based in New York for now, but my real home is in Alabama. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Synonyms for â€Å"Angry†10 Types of TransitionsHyphenation in Compound Nouns

What Next For Apple Inc. After Steve Jobs Death Essay

What Next For Apple Inc. After Steve Jobs Death - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that after Steve Job’s death in 2011, most of Apple’s competitors thought that they had a nice opportunity to overtake them in the software industry. Most of Apple’s competitors at the time of Steve Job’s death included Samsung Electronics, Amazon, Google, Nokia, and Sony. The Smartphones and tablets that were being produced by Apple mostly had competition from Amazon’s Kindle Fire and the Nook. However, Apple was the leading firm before 2011 because of Steve Job’s strategies that he had used in the market many analysts believed that it was the end of Apple industry. With Steve’s death, the company had stiff competition from google’s Android system. Furthermore, the iTunes were facing competition from Netfix that wanted to take over the living rooms in the world stage. Facebook had also come into being and wanted to dominate the internet business by coming up with their own windows tha t would an access to the internet while Amazon was entering into the tablet market at Job’s time of death. Cooke had now to battle with google and to maintain the image of the company. The Apple company faced competition mainly on her Tablet industry and the emergency of google Android and the Blackberry’s Smartphones. In the year of Job’s death, Blackberry industry announced the release of a new Smartphone that had quite touching features that changed the way business people operated. The move was intended to edge over Apple’s iPhone that had not been in the market for long at that time. (Stephen, Jerry, & Richard 1993). The blackberry release had nice features such as touch screens, slide-out keyboards that was a clear indication of the of the step they had taken in the production of the phones. This enabled different business people to be in touch with the world. Thus blackberry had a higher power in the production of such phones that posed a greater competition to her competitors mainly Apple (Peter 2012). The use of corporate strategy and strategic outsourcing was vital. Rivalry In the traditional business, the issue of competing firms often drove profits to almost zero. In any competitive environment the competing firms come up with different strategies in order to edge out their competitors. Therefore a firm without any competitive advantage would find herself operating on losses or lost most of their customers to their competitors. Due to the competition from Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Nook tablets, the Amazon had decided to lower her prices in order to outweigh Apple’s tablets (Manjoo 2010). However he continues to assert that Apple decided to attract more customers by increasing the features of the Tablet and coming up with more applications that would be used by the business people (Apple's strategy 2009). Threat of Substitutes These refer to products from other industries apart from Apple that have the same or similar functions to customers. The move by google to produce Android prompted a move by Apple to produce iPhone 5 that would compete with the product that serve the same purpose. The industry faced the challenge of implementing the iPad That had been launched just before Job’s death , in Steve job’s management the Apple company had managed to create Apple 2, Macintosh, the iTunes, the iPod and the iPad in order to deal with other substitute products from other industries (Mary & Robert 1994). They used business level strategy to deal with the threat from other similar products. Buyer Power Most companies and other government agencies mostly issue blackberry to their employees for business transactions a show that the Apple company is really facing much competition to attract her customers in the industry. The blackberry company is though promising new an operating system that would be in much

Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Hinduism - Essay Example This paper will discuss Hinduism as a religion and a way of life. As earlier stated, Hinduism is considered by most people as a way of life rather than a religion (Flood 21). This is due to the fact that those who practice it have diverse beliefs, some of which appear to be unique to some communities for example in the rural areas and others for those living in urban areas. As it will be discussed later in the paper, these people have different gods whom they pray to. That not withstanding, they have various common beliefs that make them united under one umbrella of Hinduism. Apart from the belief that the term Hinduism was derived from Indus River, there are other theories which try to explain its meaning. For example, some people believe that the name was an invention of British people in the era of colonization while others believe that it was a term that was used by Persians to refer to India. However, Hinduism is believed to be one of the most ancient religions as several reports indicate that it was already in existence as early as 10000 B.C (Flood 29). One major aspect of Hinduism that has continued to attract criticism especially in the modern world of freedom and democracy is the caste system. This refers to the categorization of people into groups and sub groups on the basis of their family lineage as well as their occupation (Hawley 14). One of the major drawbacks of this system is that it marginalizes people of certain castes such that they cannot be allowed to socialize or intermarry with those of higher castes, who are accorded more privileges and respect in the society. The highest level in the Hindu caste system comprises of the Brahmins, who are considered to be the intermediaries between the gods and humans. In fact, the Hindu tradition defines Brahmins as the most excellent among all humans (Hawley 19). Due to this, they are entrusted with the responsibility of conducting religious rituals in

Dumping in our Waters Essay Example for Free

Dumping in our Waters Essay Water is probably one of the most important resources we have. People can survive without food for several weeks but without water we couldnt live for more than a week. Millions of liters of water are needed every day worldwide for washing, irrigating crops, and cooling industrial processes, not to mention leisure industries such as swimming pools and water sports centers. (Internet Source) Despite our dependence on water, we use it as dumping ground for all sorts of waste, and do very little to protect the water supplies we have. There are several threats to our water resources. Oil spills kills thousands of seabirds and can wreck water desalination plants and industrial plants drawing their water from affected coastline. (EBSCO CD-ROM source) Poor management of existing water resource can lead to these resources running out or at least shrinking. Much of the pollution in the rivers and seas comes from chemicals, mainly from agriculture. Another pollution issue, which is not brought up often, is thermal pollution. As you can see we have many problems in our waters and we need to protect the waters. In the long run water pollution is going to harm us more than we now it, because a little bit of our ocean is dieing and sometime in the future its going to kills us. The thing thats worries me the most is the animals. The animals in the ocean are dieing everyday in the ocean because of the bad pollution we have right now. Every year millions of animals dies because of the water pollution we have and 65% of the sea animals die because of the pollution. (Internet source) Companies, industries and people litter in our waters and for sure that is not a good thing. We need to learn that we are not going to live very long if we keep doing this. Every year it has gotten worse, the water pollution has gone about 3% every year and that a whole lot more litter and killing that we do. (Internet source) People like us cause water pollution. Dumping our trash into the ocean is one thing that causes this problem. Another is an oil tanker spilling oil in the ocean or not recycling our trash is seriously destroying the waters even more. The effect by all this water pollution is killing the waters but also a big part is killing our animals. Sea animals are very important to our lives. One of the main problems is the oils spill we have every year. People call this oil slicks a common name for oil spills. One of the hugest media surrounding oil spills was Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War. (Internet Source) He caused many oil spills during the war and that serious killed many of the animals in the ocean. Although measures have been taken to prevent spillage from oil tankers, there will still be accidents as the world use oil, and there is always the possibility of oil being spilled in war or by terrorist activity. (EBSCO CD-ROM source) Oil also gets into the sea from many other sources. On a graph 37% of oil pollution comes from industrial discharges and urban run-off. 33% from vessel operation, 12% on tanker accidents, 9% on atmosphere, 7% on natural sources, and last 2% from exploration production. (Internet source) Oil pollution is a major problem in water pollution and there is really no simple solution to this problem but what we can do is try to prevent, come up with ideas to stop the pollution and protect our waters. For many years has been used as coolant in industry, especially in power stations. It was never though of as a problem back in the day, because nothing was actually added to the water. However, higher temperatures can cause enzymes and microbes to speed up, and can eventually kill sea animals. Change in temperature can cause fish to migrate to regions where the water is best for them, but kill any species, which cannot move away. (Internet Source) Recently people have realized that only small changes in temperature are need to have considerable environment impact. One possible solution is to use the excess heat from industry to heat home. (Internet Source) In the book Water is everyones business it says this might sound very attractive but it is only practical when the homes are fairly close to the power station, and even promise cheap heating is not enough to persuade many people to live next door to a power station. (Behrman A.S. 121) This subject brings me up to my next one, which is a world without trout. If water temperatures keep rising such possibly thing might happen. Unless something is don trout and salmon will be eventually killed because of thermal pollution. The primary cause of this warming water trend and cold water fishery decline is by carbon dioxide. Although transportation produces whopping amounts of atmospheric pollution, fossil fueled power plants alone  generate 40% of the carbon dioxide in our air. Ways to prevent this is to find other sources to light up our houses. Now a days companies and industries have found other resources and it has been helping a little bit at a time. Last of all Drugs in the waters has cause many problems as well. Most drugs are in local streams, rivers, and perhaps even farms, as sewage bio solids used as fertilizer. Most drugs that are not used or have been used are being trashed in our oceans. Now what kind of people does that? This is serious is harming the waters, animals, and even us. Chemicals that come from drugs float around in the water and you dont even now about this. How does that make you feel because, many people have gotten sick of this pollution and even died. If people have gotten sick of this it takes a while before it kicks in but for sure you get a good dose of sickness. This serious is a big problem that we can easily prevent. Its so simple just dont trash the waters with the drugs, anywhere than the waters that we so need. This student from West Torrance high school sponsored a poll asking the students whether they think water pollution wills damage our ocean in the long run? 96% of the students think it would. The other question was do you think we should take care of the ocean more because of all the pollution? 87% of the students said yes and 13% said no. (Poll) This poll shows you that we should take care of our waters and think about what pollution is going to do to us in the long run. In conclusion all these problems that we have in the world should try to be prevented or stopped. We all can be a part of this by not littering because you really dont now where that trash is going. Most of it goes to the ocean and it kills the waters. Slowly and slowly the waters are going to be destroyed and we really need it. Water is probably the most important that we need to live. Without water we would die, animals would die and everything would die. This essay should be consider by all of the people because in the long run we are not going to live very long if we still pollute the waters. We need water in many different ways and we cannot live without it. Also the animals that we have should not go through the pain of dieing because we are polluting the waters. They have not done anything to  us so we shouldnt do anything to them. Prevent the water pollution in the world as little but as you can because you never now what possibilities it can do.

Wicca the Complete Craft by D.J. Conway Essay -- Wicca the Complete Cr

Wicca the Complete Craft was written by D.J. Conway. This book was published by Crossing Press in 2001. It covers and goes through very thoroughly the many ceremonies, traditions, holidays, beliefs, and much more of the Wiccan religion. Wicca the Complete Craft was written with the intent to help someone go through the process of joining the Wiccan religion rather than a reference for someone to simply learn about the religion. Do not let me mislead you though, the book provides wonderful insight into the religion. It was just not written with that intent. It provides numerous list and step-by-step instructions but very little pictures and diagrams. The content of the book did not require a whole lot of diagrams or pictures, list and step-by-step instructions were adequate enough. I give Wicca the Complete Craft 4.7 stars on a 5.0 scale. The only thing that stopped me from giving Wicca the Complete Craft a solid 5.0 stars was that the author, D.J. Conway, came of as somewhat biased at times. It was very subtle, but he would slip in comments that the book could do without. You can tell he is very passionate and very serious about his religion, Wicca. I think that is fantastic but the comments that he slipped in every so often may turn people away or agitate them. I brushed them off and I am so glad I did because the Wiccan religion is fascinating and I learned so much from Wicca the Complete Craft. Wicca is an extremely old religion. Wiccan beliefs and views are so alien to the more modern religions like Christianity and Judaism. A major aspect of the Wiccan religion is covens. A coven is basically a group of 3 or more Witches (Witches are what people of the Wiccan religion call themselves) that gather together ... ... He touched base on everything you need to know to become a Witch. He even provided exercises to help you along with your journey to becoming a Witch. For the spell work aspect of the Wiccan religion he provided step-by-step instructions on several different spells. He thoroughly goes through all the processes to become a Witch. He made the reading easy to understand and if there is a word you do not recognize you can most likely find it in the multiple little dictionaries he has provided on words that have to do with the Wiccan religion throughout the book. When the need arises he provides pictures and charts. In the chapter on runes there is a particularly handy chart. There are a lot of lists in this book and they are a load of help. Overall Wicca The Complete Craft was an outstanding read. Works Cited Wicca the Complete Craft by D.J. Conway

Baroque Assignment

The period of art known as Baroque began in the late 16th century. The period introduced art that was complex, rich, and extravagant. This was a time when optimism was the law of the land and a more confident and self-assured attitude made itself known. This is reflected in most of the artwork in this period.Paintings in the Baroque period were more complex than sculpture, and it showed in almost every painting. (Gardner, 397, 402) The painting, â€Å"The Geographer† by Jan Vermeer, is an example of Baroque art in the 17th century.Encompassing the theme of cartography, the sea chart, globe, and the like, (Harden) the painting shows a man, interrupted from his work, looked out the window. It is interesting to note that the man in the painting might be Anthony van Leeuwenhoek. It has been said that the man in this painting fits the mold of an intelligent man, knowledgeable from literature and observation. (Gowing) This would certainly fit van Leeuwenhoek. In regards the the rest of the painting, there is an abundance of objects on the left, leading the viewer's eye to that area.It seems that the few objects on the right of the painting are unimportant. This painting embodies the four main characteristics of Baroque paintings: the use of diagonals, suspense, tenebrism, and snapshot quality. Diagonals play a major role in â€Å"The Geographer†. In fact, almost every line is at an angle to imply perspective. This gives the painting depth. Everything is on a diagonal, to the point where it almost looks as if the picture is slanted to one side.Other details to note are the compass in his hand moving at the same angle as his arm, creating movement in the direction of his other hand, creating a circle. Most of the movement of the piece leans to the left. Even the shadows seem to be at a diagonal. It seems as if the man in the painting is looking out the window at something. It looks as if he is disturbed, or shocked, with what he sees. Perhaps he was inter rupted from his work to witness something awful. This is the most exciting moment. The viewer can imagine what he is looking at, none of the possibilities pleasant.This is how the painting is suspenseful. One can only imagine what happened before, or what will happen after, this picture was painted, but one can be sure that this moment is the beginning of something exciting. Tenebrism is defined as a style of painting that uses violent contrasts of light and dark. In â€Å"The Geographer†, this is apparent. The strongest light source in the picture is on the left, adding even more emphasis to this side of the painting. The man's face is lit quite well, the viewer must be able to see his face for the viewer to understand his anguish.What he is working on is also well-lit. The wall, where nothing seems to be happening, also where there are no diagonals, is cast in shadow, making this wall unimportant. There seems to be stark lines of shadow, and then of light. (Harden) This con trast adds to the painting's shocked and disturbed feel. Looking at the painting reminds the viewer of looking at a photograph. The colors are rich, the strokes barely noticeable. However, more importantly, the painting resembles a photograph because of the emotion that is caught by the artist.It seems as though the artist painted this at top speed, just to catch the shocked look on the subject's face. Of course, it is impossible to paint that fast, and this is why it resembles a photograph. The characteristics of Baroque art in the 17th century show themselves in â€Å"The Geographer†. In an age of complexity, Vermeer took a subject and animated him with the use of shadow and light. The subject was captured in a state of shock, which leaves the viewer curious as to what he was looking at. Also, one cannot help but to notice the quality of the painting.In an age when optimism was the rule, this painting lends itself to a darker corner of the world, and Vermeer makes it work b eautifully. ? Gardner, Helen. Art Through the Ages. Chicago: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1959. ? Gowing, Lawrence. â€Å"Vermeer†. Essential Vermeer. 1950. 2001. 28 Jan 2009. http://www. essentialvermeer. com/cat_about/geographer. html ? Harden, Mark. â€Å"Jan Vermeer: The Geographer†. WebMuseum, Paris. 14 Oct 2002. 29 Jan 2009. http://www. ibiblio. org/wm/paint/auth/vermeer/geographer. html

Agriculture, Solution to Nigerian economy Essay

Agriculture is one of Nigeria’s most powerful tools in addressing its goals of creating more employment, better public health, and greater economic growth. The transformation of agriculture would stimulate small- and medium-sized industries that are in fact the engine of economic growth. The need to focus on agriculture stems from the fact that the sector accounts for 70 per cent of the people in the rural areas, the growing demand for food and, more importantly, the about 44 per cent contribution of agriculture to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In order to achieve economic transformation, it would require more investments in agricultural research and development and the development of infrastructure. Nigeria needs to build its defence against biological threats to crops just as is being done for the military. Agriculture in Nigeria in recent decades has been a neglected sector and the gains have been constrained by weak institutions and inadequate infrastructu re. These constraints are well known, less known are the limited application of technologies, the low skill base in the sector, and its aging population. The young are fleeing rural areas and the production side of the sector. Similarly, financial institutions view the agricultural sector as risky addressing and so it receives a very small portion of commercial credit. Getting the young interested in agriculture and developing a supportive financial system to facilitate the access of farmers, traders, and processors to credit could go a long way in several national needs. Effort should be made in Nigeria to depend less on development partners, to move from comparative agricultural production to competitive production, to improve human capital, and to tap into the vast human resources available – the youths – for development. Government should also make efforts in repositioning agriculture as a prime mover for Nigeria’s growth and development. The transformation of ag riculture would bring many benefits to the country. Such benefits could include the reduction in the level of unemployment and conservation of foreign exchange, among others.

Free Essays on The Age Of Reform

The Age of Reform It is the historian Richard Hofstadter’s thesis that the leading themes of the Populist movement were: an idea of agrarian dominance, a concept of natural harmonies, the belief in a social class struggle, a fear of conspiracy, and anti-Semitism. The first major theme of the Populists was an idea of a golden age of farming growth. The party supported the Agrarian myth that a state with a healthy economy was dominated by an agricultural income. This archaic point of view caused the Populists to be nostalgic of the early years of the nineteenth century. This ideal made many partisans to believe in an effort to restore the United States to the economy that existed before the Industrial Revolution. The second major topic of the Populist Party was the belief of natural harmonies in the social class. To the Populist mind there wasn’t a conflict between the worker and the farmer. They believed that both groups had a fundamental value in the function of society. The Populists believed that, although there were many classes in American civilization, there were only two important divisions, the oppressed and the oppressors. Moreover, it was accepted that both the factory worker and farmer were the oppressed. The third dominant premise of the Populists was that there was a constant class struggle between the monetarily powered and the workers of America. Many believed that with the death of this â€Å"aristocracy† the problems of both the industrial worker and farmer would end. Since the old parties of the United States were those who put the oppressors in power, the Populists believed that the creation of a new, independent party was the only solution to the growing problem. Another belief of the Populist Party was that a conspiracy against the workers of the nation existed. Although they were not the only individuals who supported this fear, the Populists advocated most heavily the dread that a plot betw... Free Essays on The Age Of Reform Free Essays on The Age Of Reform The Age of Reform It is the historian Richard Hofstadter’s thesis that the leading themes of the Populist movement were: an idea of agrarian dominance, a concept of natural harmonies, the belief in a social class struggle, a fear of conspiracy, and anti-Semitism. The first major theme of the Populists was an idea of a golden age of farming growth. The party supported the Agrarian myth that a state with a healthy economy was dominated by an agricultural income. This archaic point of view caused the Populists to be nostalgic of the early years of the nineteenth century. This ideal made many partisans to believe in an effort to restore the United States to the economy that existed before the Industrial Revolution. The second major topic of the Populist Party was the belief of natural harmonies in the social class. To the Populist mind there wasn’t a conflict between the worker and the farmer. They believed that both groups had a fundamental value in the function of society. The Populists believed that, although there were many classes in American civilization, there were only two important divisions, the oppressed and the oppressors. Moreover, it was accepted that both the factory worker and farmer were the oppressed. The third dominant premise of the Populists was that there was a constant class struggle between the monetarily powered and the workers of America. Many believed that with the death of this â€Å"aristocracy† the problems of both the industrial worker and farmer would end. Since the old parties of the United States were those who put the oppressors in power, the Populists believed that the creation of a new, independent party was the only solution to the growing problem. Another belief of the Populist Party was that a conspiracy against the workers of the nation existed. Although they were not the only individuals who supported this fear, the Populists advocated most heavily the dread that a plot betw...

3 Reasons to Buy Your Real Christmas Tree Early

3 Reasons to Buy Your Real Christmas Tree Early The weekend after Thanksgiving is traditionally when​ most Christmas tree buying occurs. The decision to delay buying your holiday tree can certainly be determined by personal reasons including family tradition, religious doctrine and a post-Thanksgiving getting into the Christmas spirit barrage of media hype. If you are not bound by any of these or other personal preferences, you might want to consider shopping for and buying a Christmas tree a bit earlier in November. Buying early will pay off with less competition for higher quality Christmas tree selections and could ultimately result in a fresher holiday tree  if properly displayed and watered. Here are some of the reasons to buy a tree early. The Best Trees Are Harvested Early   You should consider mid-November as the  time to plan and follow through on your Christmas tree purchase. Christmas tree farms typically open during the middle of November and start cutting trees for lot sales. These are commercial wholesale farms (who often sell high-quality trees out the front door) and smaller tree farms catering to cutting your own tree. These types of Christmas tree farms promote early sales in designated sections where Christmas trees are of age and in prime shape. Obviously, these areas yield better trees at the beginning of the season, and its when you need to plan your visit. Farms selling trees online actually insist you place your order early in November. Although pricey, Ive found holiday trees purchased on the Internet to be of higher quality than even the premium selects growing on a tree farm. These trees are the growers best of the season crop and harvested first. Farms that supply online broker/sellers or farms that actually sell online take the best trees of their  plantation. They will arrive in perfect condition and are stand-ready (some farms even provide temporary stands with the tree). Instead of having to pick the perfect tree, you have professionals select the best for your holiday season. Get a Better Quality Tree Mounted in a Stand Most people dont realize that many Christmas trees bought on lots were cut in early to mid-November. So, when these trees are not purchased until after Thanksgiving, the drying process is well advanced and needle retention is often compromised. You are just as well off, and in our opinion much better off, buying the tree early and following our recommendations on how to prepare it for optimum freshness over the rest of the season. Although you just might luck out and get a fresh tree late in the season, you should not consider yourself getting a fresh tree by purchasing after Thanksgiving weekend. You just get a lower quality tree (picked over) with shedding needles as you delay your purchase. The sooner you get your Christmas tree in a watering stand after cutting, the longer will be the trees needle retention. The above reasons are the perfect excuse to buy a tree early and enjoying it during the Thanksgiving season. You should not consider yourself getting a fresh tree by purchasing later. The odds are that you just get a lower quality tree with shedding needles if purchased in December.   Avoid a Short Buying Season   Every year is different when it comes to Christmas tree availability. Christmas tree sales in numbers can vary annually because some years will have less shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas than others. This means that tree sellers will be busy over a shorter period of time and you will not have as many days to shop for a Christmas tree. Natural disruptions (insects, disease, fire, drought or ice) can cause regional Christmas tree shortages which can make certain Christmas tree species hard to find. In any event, buyers need to plan and purchase early to pick from the best holiday trees on the lot.

Describe the evidence for environmental changes since the Last Coursework

Describe the evidence for environmental changes since the Last Interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e, approximately 130,000 year - Coursework Example With such information in mind, it is then relevant to discuss such issues in this paper. This being the key points of this paper, the research question is: what is the evidence for environmental change in the tropical since the last interglacial? The tropical region history The tropic is a region on the earth surrounding the equator. The region is commonly found at the northern hemisphere at latitude 23.4378? N on the tropic of cancer and it is also found at the southern hemisphere at latitude 23.4378? S on the tropic of Capricorn. The tropical region is a place where the sub solar point is reached by the sun. A sub solar point is a region where the sun is directly overhead the equator which happens once in a year. There is a direct distinction between the tropics and other climatic and biomatic regions of the earth, with the latitudes that appear in the middle and the Polar Regions on a different side of the equatorial zone Climate distribution of the tropical The tropic has its own climate distribution that may be different to other geographical areas. The tropics sometimes can be used generally to refer to a tropical climate which means that the area has warm to hot and moist all year round, additionally there is the sense of lush vegetation. Most of the tropical regions experience dry and wet seasons where the wet season or rainy season or the green season has an occurrence in that it covers only one to several months that is if the average annual rainfall drops in the region. It is believed that the areas having wet seasons are exposed to dissemination across the tropics and the subtropics. A wet season month is one month that that experiences an average precipitation of about 60 millimetres as per the classification of Koppen in the tropical regions. However the tropical rainforests on a technical bench do not experience wet or dry seasons on grounds that their rainfall is distributed equally throughout the year. It is noted that some areas which experien ce prolonged rainfall are subjected to breaks in rainfall during mid-season that is if the intertropical convergence zone or monsoon trough gain a movement towards the pole ward of their original location during the middle of the warm season. Facts depict that if the warm season or the summer season experience wet season then precipitation will occur mainly in the late afternoons or in the early evening hours. The wet season is a season where there is an improvement in the quality of air; also there is an improvement in water quality while the vegetation grows significantly thus causing late yield of crop in the season. Floods cause a huge effect both on the environment and the habitants of the area. It is depicted that there are overflows in the river banks and the animals move to a higher ground while there is loss of soil nutrients and increase in soil erosion. During these harsh conditions, the animals design a survival strategy for them to survive along the harsh conditions of wet seasons. It is unfortunate that there are identified food shortages in to the wet season that is brought by the previous dry seasons since the crops are yet to mature. It is not obvious that regions found in the tropics have a tropical climate. Such regions include the snow-capped peaks which include the Mauna Kea not forgetting the Mount Kilimanjaro and additionally the Andes. Other regions also include the northern parts of Chile and Argentina. Tropical ecosystem Apart from the tropical climate, the tropical