Archive for category: Art

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Exam Preparation (QSP7CAP) for the period of Sep 2019
Week 6
Question:
It is possible to have a target price contract under the main options in the NEC ECC, but target price contracts are not possible under the JCT SBC or the FIDIC Red Book contracts.
Critically evaluate why this is the case and discuss the main effects that a target price contract will have on the role of the parties and the contract administrator when compared with a contract based on a lump sum price or a bill of quantities.
Hints:
In writing your answer for this exercise, you might like to pose the following questions to yourself:
 Is it the risk sharing nature of target contracts that employers who use traditional forms of contract avoid?
 JCT does have the provision for target contracting in its constructing excellence (CE) contract
 Will target arrangements help the parties to work together more collaboratively?
 True target contracting requires the contractor’s site accounts to be open for inspection
 Can the use of a target contract allow for earlier contractor involvement in the project?
 How do the share arrangements in the contract work and can different share arrangements promote different behaviours?
Consider various sources in your answer.
Week 7
Question:
Critically analyse the ways in which the Employer and the contract administrator, under the standard forms of contract, can engage with and influence the supply chain on a large construction project, which has been awarded to a single main contractor.
Hints:
Points to consider
In writing your answer for this exercise, you might like to pose the following questions to yourself:
 Can there be any direct contractual link from the employer to a subcontractor?
 The contract administrator’s role in approval/acceptance of subcontractors
 Named lists and nomination
 Framework agreements
Consider various sources in your answer.
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Week 9
Question:
The assessment of extensions of time is an important aspect of the role of the contract administrator.
Critically discuss this statement, paying attention to the causes of extensions of time and how these would be assessed by the contract administrator under the NEC ECC and, either the, JCT SBC or the FIDIC Red Book form of contract.
Hints:
Points to consider
In writing your answer for this exercise, you might like to pose the following questions to yourself:
 What is the main benefit to the Contractor of an extension of time?
 What is the significance of the contract programme in assessing extensions of time?
 Can the Society of Construction Law Delay and Disruption Protocol be used to assist the assessment?
 Do the different forms of contract treat extensions of time differently?
Consider various sources in your answer.
Week 10
Question:
Critically discuss the significance of change in a construction contract and explain the distinction between voluntary change and involuntary change.
Hints:
Points to consider
In writing your answer for this exercise, you might like to ask yourself some questions which could include:
 Is change in a construction contract inevitable?
 Why are construction contracts more prone to change than contracts for factory-produced products?
 Which party is more likely to benefit from change to a construction contract?
 Is there a connection or correlation between the amount of change during the contract administration and the type of contract chosen through the procurement stage?
 Do forms of contract that actively promote a partnering relationship increase or decrease the amount of change that takes place in a construction contract?
Consider various sources in your answer.
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Week 11
Question:
Discuss how standard forms of contract provide for the management of any changes that take place during the construction phase of contracts. Critically analyse the responsibilities of the parties and the contract administrator in managing contract change and describe any significant differences in the provisions of the different forms of contract.
Hints:
Points to consider
In writing your answer for this exercise, you might like to ask yourself some questions which include:
 Change in construction contracts is almost inevitable
 What sorts of change might take place?
 Some change is forced on the contract by events outside the control of the parties
 Other change might be imposed on the contract by a party or by mutual agreement of the parties
 What are the possible effects of different types of change?
 Who finally decides on the effects of a change?
 Do the different standard forms of contract produce different outcomes for change?
Considering various sources in your answer.
Week 12
Question:
Critically discuss the role of insurance in construction contracts. Use scenarios or examples to illustrate and support your essay.
Hints:
Points to consider
In writing your answer for this exercise, you might like to ask yourself some questions which could include:
What insurances are commonly bought for construction contracts?
Who provides the cover?
What activities are uninsurable?
What are the essential aspects of an insurance contract, and how do these apply to insurance for construction?
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Week 13
Question:
The regular and timely payment of instalments of the contract price is a key element of the administration of a construction contract; providing funding for the Contractor’s work. However, the payment of money before the contract is completed is also a possible risk from the Employer’s point of view.
Critically assess the various administrative provisions in the standard forms of contract, which provide for timely payments to the Contractor, together with the ways in which the Employer can cover the financial risk of paying out money before the project is completed.
Hints:
Points to consider
In writing your answer for this exercise you might like ask yourself some questions, which could include:
 The importance of timely payments for cash flow and in reducing financing charges for the contractor
 In the UK, the provisions of the Construction Acts. Are there similar statutory provisions elsewhere?
 Can advance payments be made?
 What security does the employer have on the money paid before completion of the works?
 How do bonds work and do they provide extra security?
Week 14
Question:
Critically analyse how the contract administrator can anticipate and manage potential disputes between the parties under the standard forms of contract.
Hints:
Points to consider
In writing your answer for this exercise, you might like to ask yourself some questions which could include:
 The distinction in contract law between a disagreement and a dispute.
 Who are the potential disputes between?
 What is the contract administrator’s role in settling disputes?
 Are these different under the different standard forms of contract?
 What other skills are necessary in the contract administrator’s role?
 What happens if a dispute is not avoided?

Final Paper Guidelines

Fall 2019

 ART 101 History of Art                                       

Tips on Writing a Successful Paper

NOTE:  The paper must be a minimum of three (3) double spaced pages in length.  For ART101 the work(s) discussed must be from the Western world – created before or during the Gothic period (roughly before 1300 CE.) If you are considering working on an architectural project it must have been influenced by a building from the past (prior to 1300CE). 

Writing a Museum Research Paper 

Regardless of whether you choose to visit a museum or gallery and write about what you see or write an architectural research paper based on visiting a monument, these tips will be very helpful. Since many beginning students are uncertain about what to write about a work of art, provided here is a brief outline of some points you should consider.

Works of art have been analyzed according to many different schemes. The following presents one such scheme and it is not intended to be followed literally, but merely to help you make a systematic analysis of the work of art you choose. Many of the categories will overlap, and some are obviously more important for certain works than for others. Each work of art is a unique experience, and must be treated as such, the following outline will help you

Introduction:
Give the title of the works, the names of the artists who created them, if known, the country and time period when it was created, and the museum where it now exists. Make a note of the date of your visit to the museum.

Is the work a painting, a graphic, a sculpture or a piece of architecture? What materials were used: tempera, acrylic, oil, stone, wood, metal, ceramic, etc.? What technique was used: engraving, lithography, etching, low or bas relief, high relief, casting, carving, etc.?

Why did you select a given work or works? What interested you?

Context and Subject Matter:
What was the cultural context of the work? What meaning did it have for the people that created it?

What is represented? Is it a portrait, a genre scene, a mythological or biblical scene? Are there symbols in the work? What does it mean? If you know the source of the story, for example the illustration of an ancient myth or a biblical story, give the appropriate citation. How is the subject portrayed? What is its emotional context?

 Formal Elements:
Artists use the formal elements of line, color, value, texture, shape, and rhythm to describe form, space, plane, and mass. Space can be three dimensional, as in sculpture or architecture, or two dimensional as in a painting. Artists may use devices like linear perspective to give the illusion of three dimensional space on a two dimensional surface, or they may use the properties of color and line to create spatial movement on the surface plane. Plane refers to flat two-dimensional space and generally refers to the surface of a painting or graphic. Mass, which is also known as “volume” refers to three dimensional space.

Answering the questions will help you to analyze how the artist used the formal elements of art to create the work of art you are considering. If you are writing about a piece of sculpture, just use the questions that apply. Try to use as many as you can.

Do the lines go primarily in horizontal and vertical directions, echoing the frame of the work, or are they primarily diagonal?  Are the lines flowing or jagged? Can you follow the edges of the forms? Are the edges of the forms sharply delineated or are the brush strokes obvious, tending to obscure sharp edges and lines?

Are the forms arranged in orderly patterns or do they seem chaotic? Do they seem to be static, or do they create a sense of movement? Do the forms create an illusion of three dimensional space or do they seem to lie flat on the surface? Is there a strong sense of three dimensional mass or is the emphasis on surface texture? Is the texture smooth or rough?

How does the artist use light? Does the light come from a consistent source? Does it seem to mold objects into three dimensions or does it flatten them? Are there strong contrasts of light and dark or only subtle modulations? What sort of emotional effect is produced by the light and dark?

What colors does the artist use? To what degree are the colors saturated (intense hues) or grayed? Are the colors complementary or analogous? Is the color used realistically, symbolically or expressively?

Conclusion:
Use the conclusion to sum up your reaction to the work. Here are some questions you may wish to answer. In what way do the formal elements support or contradict the ideas implicit in the subject matter? How was the work displayed and what effect did that have on your appreciation of it?

Finally:
The title page should contain your name, the title of your essay, the class for which you are writing the paper, and the date. You may wish to prepare a cover sheet with an image of the work that you are discussing, perhaps from a post card you purchased at the museum or from an image you downloaded from the web. If you use footnotes, be sure to use the correct format.

Review:

The NOVA Reading & Writing Center’s mission is to facilitate student success through improved studying, reading and writing skills. Tutors will assist you in all subjects and disciplines with every aspect of the reading and writing processes. Regardless of your ability level, They can help you improve your reading and writing  Here is the link for the Reading & Writing Center:www.nvcc.edu/annandale/asc/writing/index.html (Links to an external site.) .Once on this page various links can be accessed for suggestions to improve your essays addressing: your thesis, support, use of evidence, use of source material, arrangement, as well as grammar and mechanics.

Tips:
Don’t wait until a few days before the paper is due to write it. Start your writing early and let your draft sit for a few days before doing the final editing. Read for logical structure, make sure that your paragraphs each develop a single idea. Above all, be sure that you have checked your spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Word processing has made these tasks much easier, but there are still errors that computers cannot catch. Be sure that you have numbered the pages and that your paper is neat and clean. You might ask a friend to check your paper for errors before you turn it in. Above all, do not turn in the first draft! (You will find that learning to write and rewrite in order to create clear and logical papers is one of the most important things you can learn in college, no matter what you do after you graduate.)

Some Additional Notes on Museum/Research Papers:
While a museum paper is based primarily upon your direct relation to works of art, you must include some aspects of a research paper in your final product. This involves looking up information about a work of art or a series of works. The process involved in writing a research paper is intended to introduce you to the various tools and sources that you will need to be able to find information to develop ideas of your own while at the same time giving credit to the sources of your information.

A major task will be locating appropriate source material. Books, articles, and web sources can all be consulted. You will be able to find a good number of books cited in the bibliographic section of our text, Gardner’s Art through the Ages. These have been reviewed for their scholarship and so can be important in getting you started. You will find that both the bibliographies of these books as well as their footnotes will lead you to other sources. Be sure to check the books and periodicals in our library, and don’t be afraid to consult the librarian, if you have a difficult topic. Librarians enjoy helping.