code: public static boolean isOfSubClassOf(Object object, Class<?> clazz) {
          if(object == null || clazz == null) {
          	return false;
          }
          try {
              object.getClass().asSubclass(clazz);
              return true;
          } catch(ClassCastException e) {
              return false;
          }
      }
docs: Returns whether the given object is an instance of a subclass of the given
  class, that is if it can be cast to the given class.
  
  @param object
  the object being tested.
  @param clazz
  the class to check.
  @return
  whether the object under inspection can be cast to the given class.