Fame and Glory in Dantes Divine Comedy Essay -- Divine Comedy Inferno

     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "What is fame? Fame is but a slow decay   Even this shall pass away."   Theodore Tilton  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, is a poem laden with such Christian themes as love, the search for happiness, and the desire to see God. Among these Christian themes, however, is Dante's obsession with and desire for fame, which seems to be a surprising departure from conventional medieval Christian morality. Indeed, as the poem progresses, a striking contradiction emerges. Dante the writer, in keeping with Christian doctrine, presents the desire for fame and glory among the souls of Inferno in order to replace it with humility among the souls of Purgatorio. Yet this purification of desire is not entirely embraced by Dante, who seems preoccupied with his own personal fame and glory. Therefore, how do we reconcile the seemingly hypocritical stance that the souls must strip themselves of pride and become humble, yet Dante can continue in h is quest for fame and glory and still be saved? This contradiction is developed as the reader and the character Dante travel through Inferno and Purgatorio and is resolved in the second sphere of Paradise. It is this sphere, which allows for fame and glory for honorable reasons, that permits us, as readers, to resolve this tension. It is in this sphere that Dante elucidates that fame is not always bad, but only becomes so when one's motives are impure.    The power of fame and glory is nowhere more powerful than among the souls of Inferno. The importance of earthly fame is particularly apparent in the figures of the several shades who have asked Dante to recall their names and stories on Earth. In fact, it is this promise of fame that induces most of the souls to ... ... of Paradise when we find that fame can have a place in paradise if it is sought for righteous reasons.    Works Cited Ciardi, John, trans. The Divine Comedy. In The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Expanded Edition. Vol. I. Ed. Maynard Mack. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995. Works Consulted Bergin, Thomas Goddard. Dante. New York: Orion P, 1965. ---. Dante's Divine Comedy. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice, 1971. Niven, Larry and Pournelle, Jerry. Inferno. New York: Pocket Books,1976. MacAllister, Archibald T. Introduction. Inferno. By Dante. New York: Mentor, 1954. Pinsky, Robert. The Inferno of Dante. New York: Harper Collins, 1994. Shippey, T.A. "Into Hell and Out Again". Times Literary Supplement, 8 July 1977, .820. Spinrad, Norman. Introduction to Inferno, by Niven and Pournelle. Boston: Gregg Press, 1979.   

Personal Reflection on the Loss of my Aunt

I have been very lucky in that I have not suffered the loss of an immediate family member or significant other; however, I have suffered the loss of a family member that was incredibly important to me during my childhood and with whom I was particularly close: my aunt. In this paper, I discuss this loss and my own process of grief.I present this process more-or-less chronologically, bringing up relevant theories of loss along the way. When I was young, my family lived a short distance away from my aunt and her family. Her son, my cousin, was about the same age as me, and we spent a lot of time together.During the summers, I was at their house every day, and we took extended vacations together every summer. During the school year, weekends were spent at her house, and it was often she who picked me up from school. Because we spent so much time together, we developed quite a close relationship. Later on, my family moved, but I called my aunt at least once a week, and I spent as much ti me as possible with her. In addition to being my godmother, she easily became my confidant, someone who I could talk to about anything, and I loved being able to spend time with her.The bad news about her diagnosis with cancer (a rare form of leukaemia) came when I was 13. The entire family rallied behind her. When she tried a macrobiotic diet, we all joined her. When doctors suggested a bone marrow transplant, everyone who was eligible got tested to see if they were a match. When she needed frequent blood transfusions, we all got our blood tested to see if our blood would be better for her than the supply in the blood bank. Throughout this whole process, the thought that my aunt could die never crossed my mind.I never even considered it as a possibility: even when she lost all her hair from chemotherapy, even when she lost too much weight, even when she was incredibly pale from anaemia. It is quite possible that my uncle, her primary caregiver, suffered from anticipatory grief, or grief suffered in anticipation of death. Mallon (2008) remarked that this type of grief can be experienced by the person who is dying as well as their family. When I moved away from home, I still talked to my aunt frequently. Every time I talked to her, she sounded in such good health.The last time I talked to her, she was being very active and had taken up playing tennis. I called her for her birthday, but she wasn’t home, so I left her a message on her answering machine wishing her happy birthday and saying that I would call her back. My life was very hectic at that time, and I didn’t get a chance to call her for a couple of days. Three days after her birthday, my mom called me and told me that my aunt was in the hospital with internal bleeding. She told me that it was serious and that I should try to come home to see my aunt. I got off the phone and bought a plane ticket for the next day.I called my mom back to tell her when I would arrive, and as I was talking to h er, she received the news that my aunt had died. I was in complete shock. I could not understand how this could have happened. I was on the phone with my mom, and I couldn’t say anything. One of my first reactions was feeling guilt. I felt so guilty for thinking that all my little stresses were so important that I couldn’t take five minutes to call my aunt and wish her a happy birthday. I wondered if my aunt knew how much I loved her and how much she meant to me. My mom stayed on the phone with me as long as she could, but she had other phone calls to make.I was geographically distanced from my family, and all I wanted to do was be with people who had known my aunt, who understood what a wonderful person she was, and who knew how much she meant to me. I called some friends, and they came over to keep me company. I am very grateful that they were there for me, but at the time, all I could think about was how much I wanted to be with my family. The next day, I flew to my aunt’s home town for the funeral. The whole extended family was there as were about a hundred of the people who knew her well. Because she was cremated, there was no visitation.While I respect this decision for cremation, I would have very much appreciated the chance to see my aunt one last time. At the church, in place of the coffin, there was a framed picture of my aunt in front of the urn carrying her ashes. The service was very personalized. Even if I had not considered the fact that my aunt might die, she and my uncle had put a lot of thought into her memorial service. They had chosen music that had meaning for them, including the song they first danced to at their wedding. This personalized service falls in line with a characteristic of modern-day Western memorials cited by Valentine (2006).The author mentions qualitative research that has shown that these memorials are â€Å"often creative and highly idiosynchratic [sic], reflecting the tastes and the emotions of the family involved† (Bradbury, 2001, p. 221; cited in Valentine, 2006). During the service, I noticed a lot of different grieving styles. Some, like myself, cried a lot. Others, like my grandmother, made a concerted effort not to cry (or at least not to let anyone see them cry). My grandmother actually wore sunglasses in the church so that no one could see her tears. At the time, I wondered why she did not want anyone to witness her sorrow.After all losing a child (even one who is grown up) must be one of the greatest losses one could experience. Immediately after the service, there was a reception at the church. All of my aunt’s friends and colleagues from her work came and introduced themselves to the family and spoke about how wonderful a person my aunt was. At the time, I found this ritual to be a bit strange. I wanted to go back to her house and be with my family. Looking back on this experience, however, I see that these people wanted us to know how influential a pe rson my aunt was outside of the context in which we best knew her.They also wanted to be there to support us in our time of sorrow. Now, I am very appreciative of their kind thoughts. When we returned to my aunt’s house, I noticed a huge collection of butterflies flying around her front porch. This was such an odd occurrence that I now always associate butterflies with my aunt. Whenever I see a butterfly, I think of my aunt and imagine that she is watching over me. This association came later in the grieving process and is an example of what has been termed continuing bonds. At the house, someone had laid out plates and plates of food.There was even more food (including seven hams) in the refrigerator and freezer. At the time, the last thing any of us could think about was eating, and I thought how bizarre it is that when someone dies, friends and neighbours rush over with casseroles and hams. After reflecting upon this experience, it seems that this is their way of showing t hey care. While they cannot really do anything to ease our suffering, they can at least ensure that the family has all of their material needs so that they can focus their attention on the grieving process.The family gathered around albums of photos. We told stories about my aunt. This reminiscing meant a lot to me. At last, I had a chance to talk to people who knew my aunt. We told stories about all of the great summer vacations, about all of the times my aunt caught us kids doing things we weren’t supposed to be doing, about all of her volunteer work, about all of the kids she had mentored, about what she was like as a young girl, about how she met my uncle, and about how she and my mom became best friends. All of these stories were very therapeutic for me.They gave me further knowledge about my aunt and solidified my conception of her as being a defining influence on my life. Although I wasn’t quite ready to accept the fact that she was gone, I was beginning to real ize that she would never really be gone because her existence had marked me as a person. How I lived my life was a reflection of her. Without her, I would not be who I am now. The way in which I look at this is another example of a continuing bond, though this one is more intangible than the butterflies mentioned above.Now that I am fully able to embrace this idea, I feel that I have moved through the grieving process, at least for the primary loss of my aunt. I still have not, however, fully dealt with the secondary loss. After my aunt’s death, my uncle (my godfather) distanced himself from our family. Perhaps we remind him too much of his wife. Perhaps he feels that he has no connection to us without her as she was our blood relative. I, however, will always consider him to be part of my family, and I am a bit angry that he doesn’t want to continue having a relationship with me.Valentine (2006) remarks that bereavement has been traditionally marginalized and that the primary goal of grief counselling has been the severing of ties and attachments with the deceased. This is the type of thought that underlies many of the different â€Å"stages of grief† theories. One example of a â€Å"stages of grief theory† is that of Kubler-Ross. Kubler-Ross (1997) developed a five-stage model for the grief process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Another example is Parkes’s three phases of grief, modelled on the four-phase model of Bowlby.Each of these theories seems to conceive of grief as a linear process: there are stages that an individual must pass through on the way to accepting, or adjusting to, their loss. For me at least, these theories do not describe my own experience of dealing with grief. For example, I never passed through the denial, anger, and bargaining phases of Kubler-Ross’s model. One model that resonates well with my own experiences is Bowlby’s four stages of grief (1980). In an ear lier work, Bowlby outlined his theory of attachment, whereby individuals develop emotional bonds with others.Death disrupts this attachment bond, and the bereaved then passes through four phases: numbness and disbelief, yearning and searching, disorganization and despair, and reorganization (Bowbly, 1980). In my experience, I had definitely developed an attachment bond with my aunt. When my mom first told me that my aunt had died, I was in disbelief. I began to pass through the second stage immediately after the funeral. At first I was not able to sit still, I simultaneously wanted to be in my aunt’s home with my family and to walk in the woods around her house alone.All of the reminiscing my family did gave me an outlet for my preoccupations with thoughts of my aunt. Once I returned home, her death really hit me (stage three). I was once again geographically distanced from my family, and I was beginning to realize that I would never have the chance to talk to my aunt again, to ask for advice, and to go for walks on the beach. Eventually, I was able to get to stage four through the acknowledgment of continuing bonds. Klass, Silverman, and Nickman (1996) presented the idea of continuing bonds.This model contrasts traditional notions of bereavement in that it does not emphasize completely detaching oneself from the deceased. By creating continuing bonds, the bereaved can continue to have a sort of relationship with their loved one after death. For me, I have developed two continuing bonds with my aunt. The first is whenever I see a butterfly, I think of my aunt and imagine her looking out for me. These moments allow me to reflect, at least briefly, on the course of my life and question whether I am holding to the ethical and moral principles she instilled in me.The second continuing bond is related to the first. I acknowledge the fact that part of who I am is a result of her influence. I know the kind of person she was, and I turned to her so many times f or advice, that I can still hear her voice inside my head and I know what she would say to me. Both of these continuing bonds illustrate Klass, Silverman, and Nickman’s (1996) concept of continuing bonds as active relationships, as opposed to static memories. In conclusion, grieving is a complex process that every individual will experience differently.An individual’s process will be determined by their relationship with the deceased, the support of family and friends, cultural and societal factors, and how they are able to re-interpret their relationship with the deceased. Scholars from many different fields have developed different models for the grieving process. For me, the model that fit the best was Bowlby’s attachment theory and four phases of grief. Continuing bonds, as described by Klass, Silverman, and Nickman, was essential for me to move through the grieving process.ReferencesBowlby, J. (1980). Loss: Sadness & Depression. London: Hogarth Press. Hooym an, N. R. & Kramer, B. J. (2006).Living through Loss: Interventions across the Life Span. New York: Columbia University Press. Klass, D. , Silverman, P. R. , & Nickman, S. Continuing Bonds: New Understandings of Grief. London: Taylor & Francis. Kubler-Ross, E. (1997).On Death and Dying. New York: Scribner. Mallon, B. (2008).Dying, Death and Grief. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Valentine, C. (2006).Academic constructions of bereavement. Mortality, 1 (11), 57-78.

Affirmative Action As A Means To Diversify The U.S. Workforce

In the USA, federal affirmative action regulations are supplemented by state and municipal laws and ordinances. Furthermore, the laws that constrain affirmative action in the workplace are related but not identical to those that control affirmative action in university and college admissions.At the federal level, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) are responsible for most equal opportunity and affirmative action regulations and enforcement.When considering the effects of affirmative action, the interests of various stakeholders must be taken into account. The primary stakeholders are the target groups, other non-target groups, organizations that have affirmative action plans (AAPs) and society at large. The phrase ‘effects of' implies a causal relation.However, causal conclusions can rarely be drawn in affirmative-action research because scholars cannot control whether organizations have AAPs or the dimensions (e.g. race and gender) that determine who is targeted by those plans.The purpose of affirmative action is to improve the outcomes of target groups. Research indicates that the size and even the existence of demonstrated benefits on employment have varied across time, location, target group and job level (Holzer and Neumark 2000; Smith 2001).In addition, minority status (African American or Hispanic) contributes to college and university admission only among the most selective institutions, where it increases the probability of admission by up to 10 per cent (Kane 1998). Among African Americans, admission to such selective colleges and universities is associated with an increased probability of graduation, post-baccalaureate education and professional success (Bowen and Bok 1998).On the other hand, the use of affirmative action in the USA is associated with decreased employment outcomes for white males (Holzer and Neumark 1999, 2000).The relative paucity of ‘reverse discrimination' charges filed with the EEOC suggests that these effects are due primarily to the elimination of the privileges often enjoyed by white males rather than to the use of strong preferences for female or minority applicants.Because elite universities reject so many whites and accept so few minority students, the negative impact of affirmative action on white applicants is quite small (Kane 1998).On a broader scale, the long-term effect of having a diverse student body appears to be positive for all groups and for society as a whole. Diversity in higher education is associated with individual changes in attitudes and abilities that enhance participation and success in an increasingly diverse democratic society (Bowen and Bok 1998; Gurin et al 2004).Opponents of affirmative action argue that workplace AAPs depress the performance of organizations, which are forced to hire less competent employees.Supporters argue that affirmative action improves organizational performance b y eliminating economically inefficient discrimination and increasing workforce diversity. Research finds that organizations that use affirmative action in selection tend to hire minority individuals whose educational credentials are slightly lower than those of their white male hires.However, this difference in education does not lead to a corresponding difference in performance, perhaps because these organizations have developed superior human resource practices that enable them to identify high potential individuals and improve their capacities after they are hired. In short, workplace affirmative action does not appear to have a substantial effect, either positive or negative, on organizational performance (Holzer and Neumark 1999, 2000).An important question is whether individuals who are selected in the context of an AAP are stigmatized by others. The discounting principle of attribution theory suggests that one's confidence in the importance of a potential cause is lower when other plausible causes are available.For example, if a Hispanic man is hired by an organization with an AAP, two plausible causes for his selection are competence and ethnicity. But if the organization does not have an AAP or if the new hire is a white male, the remaining plausible cause for selection is competence.Ratings of the new hire's competence would therefore be lower when he or she is a target group member than in other situations. Experimental research finds precisely this effect.This stigmatization can be eliminated by providing unequivocal evidence of the new hire's competence, but it is not eliminated by ambiguous evidence of competence (Heilman et al. 1998). Given the continued prevalence of negative stereotypes of racial minorities, along with the common assumption that affirmative action involves preferential selection, it is likely that stigmatization is relatively common.Although most research on stigmatization has focused on the workplace, the same logic applies t o college and university admissions. Virtually all research in this area has been limited to evaluations of paper stimuli; the extent to which such stigmatization is maintained in the context of workplace interactions is unclear.

buy custom Cockpit Security Technology essay

buy custom Cockpit Security Technology essay Risk is evident in every industry man is able to manage. The Aviation Weekly is a media platform dedicated to assessing risks associated with aviation industry. Aviation industry accidents are the most devastating according to the kind of emotional criticism and media insinuations that always point to torts against negligence. Therefore, safety measures such as physical walls, scrutiny of crewmembers and passengers is common I s all airport in order to seal terrorist activities from travelers. Federal government agencies have put in place experienced security official and special aids like sniff dogs to clear suspicions from the bay area. This paper looks at what the article says concerning assessment of risks and how this relates to the aviation government.In pursuit of this purpose, the paper consists of three major parts, what the article says about risk assessment, the relation of risk assessment to aviation government, and conclusion. Risk Assessment Cockpit security technology has unveiled methods of fencing off cockpit doors coupled with video camera. The government is dedicated to risk assessment and recommendations such as arming pilots are likely to be adopted and implemented. The aviation industry is looking to introducing a risk based approach to security. Risk in aviation especially in regards to security is an issue seriously handled by the industry. Airports have introduced advanced security systems with the capacity to monitor and evaluate a mass of travelers. The security mechanisms range from body scanners, baggage screening, reinforced cockpit doors, and arming pilots. Some of the security measures have not worked, e.g. explosive trace detection portals, and federal air marshals. Governments Role In spite of the statedd precautions, risk-assessment is a progressive matter in the aviation industry. Government can only issues travelling documents after clarifying the identify, purpose of travelling and time of conducting business. The traveler information can then merge with government intelligence to improve effectiveness of risk assessment. US policy makers are however reluctant to implement the risk-management system for fears of racial and ethnic profiling. In addition, bilateral disagreements on protection of passenger information present another challenge for an integrated risk-management system for the aviation industry. Conclusion The governments need to be more vigilant in implementing the policies, which will to improve the current risk-management policies already in place. World governments need show greater cooperation in promoting new risk assessment methods for the overall good of the aviation industry. Buy custom Cockpit Security Technology essay

Should you still consider becoming a telephone operator

Should you still consider becoming a telephone operator It’s an iconic image from the middle of the 20th century: a telephone operator sitting at a crazily lit-up switchboard, wearing headphones and directing phone calls wherever they need to go. Technologically, we’ve moved on and digitized- average calls don’t need that kind of human help anymore. But what about those operators? Are there still jobs out there for efficient people with great phone skills? Short answer: yes. The job just looks much different than it used to. Today’s telephone operators are specialty agents, working directly in customer service to manage large volumes of phone calls, or in places like hotels or other hospitality facilities that may have their own internal phone systems. Instead of manually placing calls, today’s telephone operator is likely juggling multiple lines, performing triage on incoming calls in a call center or other multi-line phone operation. They’re also employed in emergency dispatch centers and other places where a human voice and expertise is needed to route calls quickly and efficiently to the right place.Where can you find phone operator jobs?Because the job landscape for phone operators is much different than it was just 30 years ago, you’ll need to use some creativity in your  job search. You might want to start by looking at particular industries instead of making general searches. Look for openings at telecommunications companies, as well as logistics companies, hotels, and other industries that still rely on phone bookings or reservations or that offer a lot of phone support (like call centers).Phone companies also still employ live people for directory assistance calls who handle things such as questions about public phone numbers and addresses and assist people with placing international calls. Phone operators are also still needed to help people place collect calls- sure, these are not quite as prevalent as they used to be with unlimited cell phone calling pl ans, but they’re still relevant enough to require phone operators to place them.How many phone operator jobs are out there?According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2012 there were fewer than 14,000 people specifically designated as â€Å"phone operators,† but that number expands once you include the hospitality industry, emergency dispatchers, and other support jobs that rely almost entirely on communicating by phone.What skills do phone operators have?Phone operators are essentially customer service personnel, and need to have a certain set of skills:People skillsCommunication skillsCustomer service focusOrganizational skillsProblem solving skillsMost companies will provide on-the-job training for its operators, but there’s no special training or educational program specifically for phone operators.So should you consider becoming a phone operator?If you have the skills and a strong sense of nostalgia, then why not? We haven’t become an entirely digital society yet, and sometimes an authoritative and knowledgeable human voice is absolutely as necessary as it ever was.

Research Proposal on Convicted Felons and Time in Prison Paper

Proposal on Convicted Felons and Time in Prison - Research Paper Example Even if a person is accused of felony, he is more likely to find the best legal representative at one of the law firm to clear their name (Saferstein, 2003). Every nation and state has his or her own regulations and laws that govern the felony crime together with their punishment. Generally, the felony crimes are considered serious infractions compared to other crime. Some of the examples of felony crimes include the rape, arson, murder, theft that reaches a given monetary threshold and assault that causes harm to a person (Morgan, M. (2000). Majority of nations and states punish the convicted individuals for lesser crimes such as jail time below one year, community service, and fines. However, for felony criminals, they receive much harsh treatment. It is not strange for a victim convicted for felony to serve long jail terms, large penalty or even both. Additionally, one might be ordered by the court to pay restitution. Restitution is when a person convicted for a given crime is financially compensated. Finally, when the law approves it and the crime is seen to be serious, there is high chance that one receives a death penalty due to co nviction of felony. Depending on the committed felony together with historical factors, a person and his attorney are allowed to reduce the punishment. Specifically, a person is more likely to undergo probation. Probation is the suspended time of jail. Sometime a person can serve a certain jail term before probation, but other times a felony victim can see probation rather than a jail time. Probation does not mean that a person is free (Petherick, Turvey, & Ferguson, 2010). There are conditions that one has to meet like maintaining job and undergoing counseling. Additionally, violating the terms of the probation can lead to severe penalties like imprisonment. For those who are charged with conviction of felony, parole is one the possibilities. Parole is defined as the condition release for

Increasing Literacy and Reading Competency of a Four-Year Old Learner Assignment

Increasing Literacy and Reading Competency of a Four-Year Old Learner - Assignment Example appraisement, educational adjustment profile (EAP), specialist report, assessment - minimum 3 types, research literature - minimum 4). 2. Use positive language to highlight what the student can currently achieve. Do not use a deficit approach. Avoid comparisons with the norm. I am particularly interested in finding out about the student's interests, likes and dislikes and learning characteristics. What do you already know about what works for this student Melanie (pseudonym name) is a healthy four year-old girl, currently attending K1 in Modern Montessori International Group (MMI). Through the use of appraisement observation (Wood, 1992), it has been noted that when she is asked to read a selection and later on asked of what she has understood about it, she loses track of the entire reading subjecting her to forgetting even the simple words that she has already come across within the reading. Besides that, it could be noted too that even though she is asked with regards the meaning of the words that she was already given familiarity to while reading the material given to her, she has the hardest time remembering them during the first time of questioning. If closer observance is paid to the reading process of Melanie at home, it would likely lead to different end results, as per suggested by the Educational Adjustment Profile (Balasundarm, 1998). If one lets her read a line that includes very simple words that she already knows or has come across earlier, there is no reason why she could not finish the task. As for a fact, she will readily do the reading from the beginning of the text as required continuously up until the end of the reading piece. However relating the different meaning of the words in the reading becomes a hard matter for her to complete. Through the use of one-to-one assessment method (Steven, 2008), I, as the teacher of Melanie, was able to observe her different developments based from the number of practices and trainings that she has undergone such as phonics, reading comprehension and other word based programmes that are all aimed to help an individual verbally comprehend with written pieces of reading. Through a systematic process of gathering the data I was able to keep a record on how well my niece is making improvement based from the daily activities that I handle with her in a regular basis. I used both formal and informal assessments to ensure that the Melanie is making progress. This means that the assessment could happen during or even after classes (ASHA, 2009). Through this mandated procedure, I am sure to be able to help Melanie enhance her skills on understanding words and their context even after class allowing her to see things in a practical manner. As noted through the said observation I learned h ow my niece has become much patient and perseverant in accepting the lessons I present to her making her better acquainted with the lesson thus pushing her to develop further in her learning. Planning (350 words) 1. From what you know about the student, prepare an individualised education plan (IEP) for