Taking some of the background information from the Tolkien legendarium such as the stories, poetry and the lore from The Lord of the Rings is essential to creating an understanding of what the actual quest of The Hobbit is about.

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"He had a lot of finance experience, and he really wanted to gain some more administrative and executive background to round out his experience, " recalls classmate Kelly McDonald, an information technology consultant and conservative party member.

WSJ: Relying on Classmates for Career Advice

Before getting into some of the specific aspects of the study, some relevant background information provided by study co-author Lawrence Sanders, PhD, professor of management science and systems in the UB School of Management.

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