Dust Over The City :: essays research papers

For Love Or Money People inevitably encounter many problematic situations in their lifetime. Some problems may be more serious than others, but the fact remains that it is alsways their choice as to how they will react and whether or not they will "sink or swim." A survivor is aperson who, depite whatever hardships they encounter, will face their problems head on and will not back down. They always do whatever humanly possible overcome these obstaclsand supersede eveyone’s excpectations and sometimes even their own. Such people share common characteristics ; steadfest courage, the ability to adapt and adjust and a perservering attitude. Through Jim and Masdeline Dubois the central characters in Dust Over the City, the author presents such a case as shown through their many ordeals and their reactions to them. This is evident in their encounter with other and Alains patients, their battle with loneliness and the decision to move to the mining town, adjusting to the new city and acc epting the fact with little provisions this is where they must live now. In Andre Langevins novel Dust Over the City the characters Alain and Madeline are the embodiment of two people that are newly wed and the problems that each other face may or may not be normal. Alain and Madeline were a very unhappy married couple and there were many things underlying their true feeling about each other. This is proved when Madeline meets someone. Alain is confronted with this great big beast of a man who works in a bare and owns the restaurant. The only thing Alain could do to survive the marriage and win Madelines live back was to fight back despite the unequal balance and size of strength and the poor odds of winning. When the author writes "The man was the size of a great black bear against this liitle man." This proves Alain love for Madeline was unconditional and leading to great advances. Through this incident we can readily see that this man was truly brave. He stood up, remained calm and the ultimately defeated this enormous man where he could have easily chose to give up and he would of most likely been slaughtered. It was his bravery that allowed him to survive. Also this married couple was being torn apart by the wife Madeline. She had moved with Alain to this new city and Alain a succesful doctor, may not have the greatest looks or a muscular body but he loves Madeline more than anything in the world.

Employment Law Compliance Plan Essay

As you begin the venture of establishing your new business, hiring your first employee or building an entire team of employees brings forth a whole new area for compliance regarding employment and labor laws; this includes both federal and state laws. Atwood and Allen Consulting has compiled an Employment Law Compliance Plan specifically for Landslide Limousines so that you are aware of any and all laws you must abide by as a new employer. Outlined below you will find a brief overview of each law (both state and federal), as well as a summary of consequences if you do not abide by these laws. State Laws The Texas Payday Law Under the Texas Payday Law, all Texas private employers must abide by this law regardless of the size or number of employees. This law requires employers to pay employees in full and on time on regularly scheduled paydays (Kizziar, Bracewell & Guiliani, 2012). Various types of compensation is subject to the Texas Payday Law, which includes compensation for services rendered regardless of how they are computed; commission and bonuses according to the agreement between the employee and employer; and certain fringe benefits due under written agreement with or by policy of the employer. An employer must also meet other obligations for payment of wages  to remain compliant with this law, this includes the following: An employer must pay wages to FLSA exempt employees at a minimum of once per month; FLSA non-exempt employees must be paid at a minimum of twice per month. Employers must have a designated payday, and must also post sufficient notice that is made available to all employees r egarding the designated payday. If an employer fails to establish designated paydays, the paydays will be the first and fifteenth day of each month (Kizziar, Bracewell & Guiliani, 2012). An employee who is terminated from employment must be paid no later than six (6) days from the termination date. Employees who voluntarily terminate their position must be paid on the next regularly scheduled payday. Commissions and Bonuses must be paid in the same manner and time frame in which other wages are paid. All wages must be paid to employees in US currency by check or direct deposit. Employees may receive wages earned in another form only if it is agreed upon between the employer and the employee. An employer may not withhold or garnish employee wages earned unless it is ordered upon by the court, federal or state law, or has the written authorization from the employee to do so. Consequences for Non-Compliance If employers do not abide by this law, an employee has the right to file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission. If the employer is found guilty of non-compliance of any of the above named provisions outlined in this law, the employer may suffer both civil and criminal penalties (Texas Workforce Commission, 2013). The Texas Minimum Wage Act Requirements The Texas Minimum Wage Act was adopted to establish a minimum wage rate for FLSA non-exempt employees in the state of Texas. Effective on July 24, 2009, Texas began to follow the federal minimum wage requirement of $7.25 per hour; as the federal minimum wage requirements change, the state requirements will also change resulting in an automatic wage increase (Texas Workforce Commission, 2013). The Texas Minimum Wage Act also requires employers to provide each of their employees with a written earnings statement, which provides information that enables employees to determine from a single document whether they have been  paid correctly for a given pay period. This Act also pardons numerous employers from its coverage. The primary exemption from the Texas Minimum Wage Act is for any person covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Other specific exemptions include: Employment in, of or by religious, educational, charitable or nonprofit organizations; Professionals, salespersons or public officials; Domestics; Certain youths and students; Inmates; Family members; Amusement and recreational establishments; Non-agricultural employers not liable for state unemployment contributions; Dairying and production of livestock; and Sheltered workshops (Texas Workforce Commission, 2013). Consequences for Non-Compliance If for any reason the employer does not comply with the Act, the employee may file a claim with the Texas Workforce Commission. If the employer is found guilty, they may be subject to civil penalties, with the addition of attorney fees and court costs. Federal Laws Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 This law makes it illegal to discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. This law also makes it illegal to retaliate against an employee if they may have complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. Title VII of the Act mandates employers to make reasonable accommodation for both applicants and employees in regards to religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 The Equal Pay Act of 1963 makes it illegal for an employer to pay different wages to men and women References Kizziar, J. H. (2012). The Texas Payday Law: Where Is My Paycheck? Retrieved from http:// (2012, January). The Texas Payday Law: Where Is My Paycheck? Kizziar News. Retrieved from http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/assets/KizziarJan2011News.pdf Texas Workforce Commission. (2013). Texas Minimum Wage Law. Retrieved from http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/texas-minimum-wage-law.html

Art History Difference Between Era, Period, and Movement

The words era, movement and period are plastered all over Art History, but I dont recall ever, in any class, going over what they are supposed to mean in comparison to one another. I cant find any credible references, either, but will do my best. First, no matter whether era, period, or movement is being employed in a situation, they all mean historic chunk of time. Secondly, art created during any of the three is distinguished by characteristics common to the era/period/movement. Whichever term is being bandied about, these two factors apply. The proper name of historic classification is periodization. Periodization seems to be a combination of art and science, and is only entrusted to Serious Professionals. Its mostly science, as far as I can tell, because those in charge of periodizing use as many factual dates as are at their disposal. The art part comes in when the Periodizers have to use words to describe dates. Someone, somewhere, is always going to disagree with somebody elses choice of words with an end result that, occasionally, weve got more than one term for the same time frame (and harsh, nay, scathing,  words flying between historians). Theres probably a strong argument for foregoing all of this English and using the Vulcan Mind Meld in this periodization business. Since thats (sadly) not possible, here are a few rules of thumb about Art History periodization. Rule of Thumb #1 Periodization is elastic. It is subject to change if and when new data is discovered. Rule of Thumb #2: Regarding an Era An era is usually long, as evidenced by the Baroque Era (around 200 years, if you count the Rococo phase). An even better example would be the Upper Late Paleolithic, an era which covered some 20,000 years worth of art and a bunch of geological changes. Note: In recent years, era has come to be employed with shorter blocks of time (the Nixon era) but that hasnt got much to with Art History. Rule of Thumb #3: Regarding a Period A period is generally shorter than an era, though they are sometimes used interchangeably. Going by the dictionary, a period should mean any portion of time. In other words, period is a bit like the catch-all category in periodization. If we havent exact dates, or the chunk of time in question was not a specific era or movement, then period will suffice! It seems to me that period mostly comes up in Art History when (1) some significant ruler was calling the shots in a specific geographic location (this happened a lot in the far East; Japanese history, in particular, is chock-full of periods) or (2) nobody was in charge of anything, as was the case during the Migration Period in the European Dark Ages. To confuse things further, however, certain individuals lay claim to having worked through this or that period. Picasso, for example, had himself both a blue period and a rose period. So, a period may also be singular to an artist—though I feel it would be more considerate of the rest of us (trying our hardest to keep things straight) to refer to such as his or her phase, fling, passing fancy, or temporary insanity. Rule of Thumb #4: Regarding a Movement A movement is less slippery. It means that a group of artists banded together to pursue a certain commonality for x amount of time. They had a specific objective in mind when they got together, whether it was a particular artistic style, political mindset, common enemy, or what have you. For example, Impressionism was a movement whose participants wanted to explore new ways of depicting light and color, and new techniques in brushwork. Additionally, they were fed up with official Salon channels and the politicking that went on there. Having their own movement allowed them to (1) support one another in their artistic efforts, (2) hold their own exhibitions, and (3) cause discomfort to the Art Establishment. Movements are relatively short-lived things in Art History. For whatever reason (mission accomplished, boredom, personality clashes, etc.), artists tend to hang together for months or years and then drift apart. (I think this has much to do with the solitary nature of being an artist, but thats just my opinion.) Additionally, movements dont seem to happen as frequently in contemporary times as they used to. Be that as it may, as one traverses Art History one sees a fair amount of movements, so its good to know what it meant, at least. In sum, just know that era, period, and movement all stand for certain amounts of elapsed time, within which artistic characteristics were shared. This is the most important point. People like me (and, possibly, you) lack the credentials to be in charge of assigning these terms, and so may be more happy taking others words for things. After all, Art History isnt Rocket Science, and life is full of other, more important stress factors than linguistic semantics.