Holes Essay Example for Free

Holes Essay There are many different challenges that Stanley Yelnats (the main character) from the bestselling novel Holes written by Louis Sachar has to over come. Stanley was first seen in the movie when a tilted shot of shoes hit him in the head and he fell on the ground portraying he was weak and a bit stupid. Stanleys personality was also displayed when his mum was so shocked when the police came around to their house telling them Stanley had stolens, this shows that Stanley had never commited a crime before and wasnt usually a trouble maker. The movie directed by Andrew Davis portrays everything the book does and it shows nearly all the insight into Stanleys life that author describes in the book. There are many challenges but the main one is breaking the curse that Stanleys family has been stuck in for more than 100 years. This challenge shows many significant themes in this book like friendship, determination and fate. The main dispute for Stanley was breaking his family curse. Although he didnt know if it was even real and that he had broken it , it was clear for the audience watching the movie that he had. The curse was put on his family more than 100 years ago when the first Yelnats, Elya Yelnats went to a fortune teller called Madame Zeroni. She made him a deal that he could have one of her small pigs if he carried Madame Zeroni up the mountain when he was done making the pig nice and fat so he could give it to the father of the girl of his dreams. When he noticed that the girl really was stupid like Madame Zeroni warmed him he decided to move from Lativia to America. However he forgot to carry Madame Zeroni up the mountain so she put a curse on his family forever. This was portrayed by a dissolve of Madame Zeroni repeating that she will put a curse on his family to Elya leaving Lativia. The low angle of Madame Zeronis face made it obvious that she was not kidding and very serious about the curse. When Stanely carried Hectoria Zeroni (a descendant of Madame Zeroni) up â€Å"Gods Thumb† which was also portrayed with a low angle making it look very commodious, he broke the family curse. This challenge portrayed many key ideas and themes and one of them was friendship. Zero (Hector Zeroni) and Stanley didnt know eachother at all but due to them both being the outcasts of the group they started to get to know eachother and Stanley started to teach Zero how to read and Zero helped dig Stanley holes so he wasnt so tired and could teach him. These lessons however were then stopped by the Warden, who was introduced by a high angle on her boots which already made her look threating as you could compare it to some movies where the thief or cowboys boots got introduced before their face which usually portrayed they were a significant character that usually was there to cause harm. However this didnt stop Zero and Stanleys friendship growing, when Zero ran away form the camp as he had enough of it Stanley had to go and rescue his only close friend he had at the camp. This shows Stanleys friendly love for Zero portrayed by the dissolving of Stanley walking through the dessert and than of the sun showing how hot it was. The soundtrack of mysterious music kept you guessing to see if Stanley would end up finding Zero or not. The orange overalls that all the boys at Camp Greenlake wore made Zero recognizable in the dessert. The audience knew that when the two boys rejoiced both of them were very content due to the soundtrack turning from mysterious to faster more lively music. Another key idea that the challenge portrayed was change. Change for Stanley, his family and Hector Zeroni. There were many unanswered questions that produced tension, secrecy through the entire movie but these questions were all answered when Stanley broke the curse. There was quite a journey to break the curse for Stanley and during this period his character changed dramatically. He used to a gullable, weak , little boy that couldnt stand up for himself. But he turned into a strong, smart young adult that could even save someones life. His weak side was displayed through a high angle of Stanley searching for a camera in the shower, that he got told the Warden of the Camp had installed. This shows how gullable he was and believed everything the other boys in his hut said. As well as giving his findings in a hole to another boy who got a free day off as the Warden though he found it not Stanley. However when he was in the middle of the dessert. He saw â€Å"Gods Thumb† and took iniative. When Hector was to weak he carried him up and saved his life as he found water which the boys definitely needed as they were tired and dehydrated. When Stanley broke the curse it changed many other things mostly for his life and family. His dad finally created a way to make sweaty feet/shoes not smell and Stanley found his treasure that was buried for more than 100 years by Kissing Kate Barlow. This changed his entire lifestyle and he gave half of his treasure to Hector who used that to hire private investigastors and find his mum who he hadent seen for more than 4 years. As you can see the main challenge definitely portrays some key ideas and themes. It displays the friendship betweeen Stanley Yelanats and Hector Zeroni which is definitely one of the most important friendship. Furthermore it explains how Stanley, Hector and both of their families changed. Stanleys personality changed showed everyone how much you can change due to your circumstances and enviroment around you. He teaches everyone a good lesson and I would definitly recommend this to any person my age.

Annette Lareau: Annotated Bibliography

Annette Lareau: Annotated Bibliography Critical Annotated Bibliography of key texts focused on  Annette Lareaus reserach Social researchers have stressed the importance of understanding the social stratification and its impact on children and parents as a whole (Lareau A, 1999). Annette Lareau is a professor of Sociology at University of Pennsylvania. She achieved her PhD in Sociology from University of California, Berkley.   Her ground- breaking research involves, investigating questions like the influence of social stratification on families.   She has done substantial fieldwork examining the lives of American people. She has focused on the impact of social structural forces, parenting styles like concerted cultivation, educational inequalities and if they participate towards shaping vital aspects of childrens lives.   She has written many books and articles stressing on how class can make or break families present and future. Her work contributes to broaden our understanding towards the class system. The body of Annette Lareaus work that I have chosen assesses vital issues in American society, which effects children, parents and families as a whole.   It discusses vital issues like the role of class system in middle class, working class and poor families in raising their children, their daily lives, varying parenting styles and their role in childrens present and future prospects. Lareau, A., 2011. Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. University of California Press. Annette Lareaus book Unequal Childhoods with an update a decade later is a step forward in comprehending the importance of learning and understanding the impact of class system on family lives and parenting styles in African American and White families and is an excellent effort to fill in the gap in relevant research studies. She investigated how parental practices differ among White, Black, middle class, working class and poor families and the role it plays in shaping childrens future conclusively. Annette showed that class system plays a vital role in American families lives and uncovered the practices involved in reproduction of inequalities in the society. The author performed in-depth studies with 12 different families using participant observation as her studying approach providing detailed information about the families. Children participating in the study were aged 9-10 years old.   As part of the research, the author with the support of her assistants spent about one month with the families and gathered detailed information about them.   The research involved following the participants to afterschool activities, doctors visit and spent time at their homes. A key point that Lareaus ethnographic study showed is a particular parenting approach called concerted cultivation.   While visiting participant families, she observed that Black and White middle class families are very much involved in facilitating their children to achieve their goals.   They encourage, inspire and monitor their childrens academic achievements and play an active role in their lives. These parents were always interested in listening to their childrens voice and did not discourage them to show their opinions.   As a result, these children became more confident in speaking their minds, which helped them to develop their overall confidence, self-esteem and development.   In contrast, the rearing style of children belonging to working class and poor families in both Black and White families were limited due to lack of resources.   They relied on schools to take care of their children and gave their children extra time to play.   She contrasted these two parenting approaches and discovered that both of these parenting styles were beneficial, but children belonging to middle class were more successful in schools. She argues that African American families face racial discrimination in many areas e.g. employment and live in racially segregated neighbourhoods but interestingly,   White and African-American middle class families follow the same parenting style and there was no observation of racial discrimination. An exclusive point that Lareau observed was the conversational differences between parents and children e.g. children from middle class families were mostly involved in engaging conversations with adults, which helped these children to gain confidence.   Whereas, the parents of children from working and poor families showed authority and the children mostly showed compliance and rarely participated in engaging conversations with adults.   These differences show how middle class children acquire confidence and grasp the ability to demand whereas working class children are not very demanding. In conclusion, this study showed that class matters more than race but provided limited discussion on the impact of race in childrens lives and their future and lacks the information on the role of extended families in middle class young adults. Lareau recognises that there is a gap in studying the effects of class in childrens lives, positive parenting strategies and inequality due to class and therefore calls for   in-depth research in this field. Lareau has performed a review on her study by visiting the families again.  Ã‚   Children involved in the study are now young adults.   She interviewed these young adults their siblings and parents.   Lareau discovered that the importance of social class, she had observed when these children were younger (10yrs) old developed with time. Middle class parents kept playing an active role in their childrens lives despite them moving away from their homes.   These young adults continued seeking parents guidance. Their parents were massively involved in handling situations to increase their growth potential. On the contrary, parents belonging to working class and poor families considered their children now grown ups and the young adults agreed to this view.   Extended families play an important role in shaping children belonging to working class and poor family children. In conclusion, middle class children accomplished more educational achievements than the working class and poor family kids. Parenting styles shape childrens lives as they grow into young adults to prepare them for independent successful lives. Overall, an excellent and enlightening study. Lareau, A., 2002. Invisible inequality: Social class and childrearing in black families and white families. American sociological review, pp.747-776. This research studies the effects of social class, culture, race and their interaction by investigating the function and contribution of social class system in children ages of 7-10 years old. Using an ethnographic data, Lareau aims to study the associations and connections among Black and White parents, their children and distinctions in childrearing techniques.   She found that class differences are more noticeable than racial differences and that parenting styles are a way to reproduce class-based advantages. Lareau compares two different parenting approaches to learn and report their benefits and disadvantages. Middle class parents encouraged their children to be highly involved in extracurricular activities using a concerted paradigm to stimulate and develop their talents and capabilities. On the contrary, working class parents used the childrearing method called accomplishment of natural growth paradigm.   This method involves providing, love and care for the children, givi ng them a lot of freedom and unregulated recreation time and space. As a result, Lareau observed that middle class children found it easy to adapt to the school environment, as they followed the same expectations and structured activities at home. These parents encouraged, praised and respected their childrens wishes and these positive elements were an ongoing feature of middle class families. Lareau argues that the range of activities influence family lives. The importance of structured activities results in weak family and social bonds. The author points out that as middle class children were so busy participating in after school activities they barely had any time to visit their extended families. However, this study involved limited; discussion about childrens relationship with extended families e.g. grandparents. Another important point that Laruea raised in this research is the use of language. She observed that middle class children engaged in healthy discussions with their parents and other professionals whereas, working class and poor families did not involve in continued discussions frequently with their parents.   All parents and children were involved in having conversations with professionals, but middle class children were more skilful in holding conversations with others.   The study shows that socioeconomic status can influence social connections. Children from working and poor family background has a wider range of social connections in compare to the middle class children. The author showed, that race does not seem to have a great impact in shaping childrens lives.   Although Black parents were increasingly worried about their childrens lives outside due to racial problems. In conclusion, this is an enlightening ethnographical study, with expressive and illuminative data, but as it is concentrated on a small sample therefore; it is very difficult to generalise the results to public. Lareau, A., 2000. Social class and the daily lives of children, A study from the United States. Childhood, 7(2), pp.155-171. Laurae strived to explore the social class differences by designing and performing a detailed and comprehensive study in comparison to studies performed in the past where childrens research was limited to the contexts of schools and families.   Childrens out of school activities have a significant influence on middle class parents lives.   The author provides a detailed account of how parents felt when they had to make time to take their children to participate in out of school activities. This article aims to investigate the function of social class in moulding and forming daily lives of children. This study discusses three main issues, what shapes childhood, rhythm and pace of life and to what extent parents and childrens lives interact with each other. The author collected detailed ethnographic data of children aged 7-10 years old.   Eighty children participated in this study from African American or White families over the period of 3 years.   The author aimed to observe the associations between children and parents in their daily lives. The study took place in North-eastern metropolis and Midwestern community in a white working class neighbourhood. The study involved interviews from all mothers and most fathers and childrens classroom observations. While observing children from middle and working class families, Lareau found that their lives are very different from each other.   Middle class boys occupied themselves in structured activities arranged by their parents/carers and focused on developing new skills.   Whereas, working class boys spent their time participating in informal activities e.g. free play, visiting kin and hanging out. Working class boys were much more social then middle class boys.  Ã‚   She revealed that both parenting approaches has benefits and drawbacks.   This research-studied boy in more detail than girls and some gender differences were observed e.g. girls were encouraged to participate in gymnastics rather than football.   The author states that covering aspects of race, gender and class can also show us if there is any link between these categories. The research reports that African American people has a fear of being subject to discrimination from White people and encouraged their children to be friends with black children which confirms the racial inequalities in the society. The result showed that children from middle class families spent time in structured activities organised by adults.   The foundations of these activities are skill development and public performances, which may result in knowledge enhancement.   The structures of these activities were very similar to school activities; therefore, attending school was a similar but not exclusive experience for these middle children. Observing the working class children shows a different picture.   These children do not follow a structural system in their lives; they do find organised and structured activities somewhat difficult. They liked to hang out and visit their extended families.   Lareau claims that race does not play a sufficient role but the role of class differences are clear in the daily lives of children. Overall, this is a fantastic detailed ethnographical study, which uses only a small sample of participants from limited sides of community and the author did not mention the methods employed to examine the collected data set.   Weininger, E.B., Lareau, A. and Conley, D., 2015. What Money Does not buy: Class Resources and Childrens Participation in Organized Extracurricular Activities. Social Forces, 94(2), pp.479-503. In this study Lareau et al, aimed to examine an important question of significance, which is class position in the society and its effects on childrens lives. In the past researchers have concentrated on family resources and school characteristics.   The authors stepped up this research by moving towards how children spent their time in after school activities and whether race and class differences influence childrens lives.   They concentrated on the belief that middle class parents involvement in their childrens lives encourages them to participate in structured afterschool activities, which consequently leads to future success. This research deployed a large national data set to analyse the influence of class.   The sample is restricted to Black and White children.   The children participated in this study were only chosen from private or public schools.   The author employed longitudinal survey data and time diaries collected in 2002-2003 in order to get comprehensive list of childrens activities within the course of 24-hour periods. Lareau et al aimed to investigate class differences and stated that parents from all social groups consider childrens participation in extracurricular activities vital, but some parents face challenges and constraints for example transportation or lack of time. Another key point that they revealed in this study is that parents approaches to childrearing are different due to social class.   Middle class parents practice concerted cultivation parenting style and encourage their children to participate in after school activities to support them to enhance their academic and career goals and aspirations. Observing the working class and poor families revealed that they prioritise their focus on their childrens protection and let them participate in informal play and give them space.  Ã‚   The study-employed good confound control to get robust results. The Lareau et al argues that average American children are spending approximately 4 hours weekly engaging in extracurricular activities, but children from middle class engage in a lot more activities.   Their mothers are more educated and they have resources to support their children to participate in more extracurricular activities.   The study showed that childrens engagement in extracurricular activities are related to positive results in education and employment. The authors explored the question, whether it is just the class inequalities, which differentiates families decision for their children to participate in extracurricular activities or is there a link with cultural values, as well? The authors identifies that socioeconomic status of families has a direct impact on how children spend their time after school. Due to high expenditures childrens participation in afterschool activities varied for e.g. people living in small cities and rural areas spent less money on childrens extracurricular activities less than families living in larger cities. The results of this study states that it is not just the materialistic resources, which matters maternal education, demographic characteristics e.g., gender, age, race other factors like work, labour market and cultural aspects they are all important.   The study does not discuss whether atypical childrens participation in extracurricular activities was any different from typically developing children. The study is restricted to Black and White American families. The study reveals that socioeconomic status matters, but just removing these barriers is not a guarantee that children will enrol in extracurricular activities.   Cultural aspects also influences how much time and money parents spend on children to participate in these activities. Weininger, E.B. and Lareau, A., 2009. Paradoxical pathways: An ethnographic extension of Kohns findings on class and childrearing. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(3), pp.680-695. Class division is a vital topic of research in family studies.   A few studies have focused on its influence on family lives.   Reflecting on detailed interviews the authors aimed to extend Melvin Kohns study on childrearing standards by investigating parental responsibilities to autonomy and conformity. The study provided effective theoretical and empirical background of Melvin Kohns research studies on social stratification.   Using a secondary data, which involved 88 children aged 8-10 years old selected randomly. The participants were children from two elementary school classrooms.   The study-involved even number of American Black and White children but only involved a small number of Hispanics and Asians.   Although, it would have been useful to employ even number of all races as Hispanics and Asians are important part of American society. Lareau et al found that parents from middle class families encouraged their children to have self-control and self-direction and the results are consistent with Kohns research. It is difficult to conclude a general connection between class, self-direction and conformity The author raised the issue of variation in parental values on extracurricular activities for children. The author observed variation in values across different economic class of the families.   Middle class families were keen to expose their children to successful life chances and options while keeping them under supervision, which enhanced childrens self-esteem, self-confidence, self-worth and helped them to do well in their present and future.   Working and poor class families on the other hand did not give much importance to send their children for leisure activities.   They used their resources to provide and protect their children and they let their children develop naturally. The study shows a complicated picture of child rearing and emphasizes the need to understand parental values and parental behaviours in detail. It will be a step forward to continue to study the influence of social stratification on families. Conclusion: Annette Lareau has contributed immensely in the field of sociology.   She has ingrained herself researching American families in order to investigate how social inequality continue to sustain itself and is passed on generation after generation. The key texts are current and are grounded in sociology and psychology. The common thread in these studies are the impact of class and the role of parenting in childrens lives. There are commonalities among the texts such as middle class parents use concerted parenting styles by providing opportunities, supervised learning experiences to their children for their best interest, and do well. She has worked hard with American, families to show how class differences and children rearing techniques differ from working class to middle class and poor families and the impact of these differences on childrens future prospects. She showed that parenting is not as simple as saying that bad parents raise their children ineffectively and good parents raise children who are successful in their lives. It is much more complex. While investigating the class inequalities in American families Lareau study regarding working-class families is very influential.   Her research with working class reveals that class reflects cultural and economic variations.   Lareaus approaches of researching with children and families are very ambitious and effective.   She employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches in her research for the results to be robust.   Her research helps us to understand the effects of class and race on children in middle, working and poor class families. These studies show new light to sociologists, social scientists, and anthropologists, a new direction towards learning how race, culture and parenting fuse together and play a role in shaping childrens lives.   The author identifies the importance of both parenting styles but the author does not describe which one is more effective, when it interacts with race. These studies raise an important question. Do middle class parents work harder in supporting their children in school and teach them how to deal with racism than working and poor families?   Race and class inequalities can make childrens lives much more difficult and their future insecure. Social scientists can carry her research forward by focusing on which parental approach is more beneficial for children and how class and race interacts. Bibliography: Lareau, A., 2011. Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. Univ of California Press. Lareau, A., 2002. Invisible inequality: Social class and childrearing in black families and white families. American sociological review, pp.747-776. Lareau, A., 2000. Social class and the daily lives of children, A study from the United States. Childhood, 7(2), pp.155-171. Lareau, A. and Horvat, E.M., 1999. Moments of social inclusion and exclusion race, class, and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of education, pp.37-53. Weininger, E.B., Lareau, A. and Conley, D., 2015. What Money Does not buy: Class Resources and Childrens Participation in Organized Extracurricular Activities. Social Forces, 94(2), pp.479-503. Weininger, E.B., and Lareau, A., 2009. Paradoxical pathways: An ethnographic extension of Kohns findings on class and childrearing. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(3), pp.680-695. http://currents.ucsc.edu/05-06/11-28/lareau.asp Education and Stratification in Developing Countries: A Review of Theories and Research Annual Review of Sociology Vol.27:1-504 (Volume publication date August 2001) DOI: 10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.77 Education and Stratification in Developing Countries: A Review of Theories and Research Annual Review of Sociology Vol.27:1-504 (Volume publication date August 2001) DOI: 10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.77

Weight Issues In Wrestling :: Health Nutrition Essays

Weight Issues In Wrestling What do Billy Saylor (19 years old) at Campbell University in North Carolina, Joseph LaRosa (22) at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Jeff Reese (21) at the University of Michigan all have in common? They are all dead now, victims of one of the ghastly secrets of college wrestling. All three boys were engaged in dehydrating practices trying to lose weight in order to qualify for their first college-wrestling matches. Reese was trying to lose 17 pounds so that he could wrestle in the 150-pound weight class. His two-hour workout in a rubber suit in a 92-degree room cost him his life. He died of rhabdomyolysis -- a cellular breakdown of skeletal muscle under conditions of excessive exercise, which, combined with dehydration, resulted in kidney failure and heart malfunction (Iowa Gazette - December 22, 1997). LaRosa was also riding a stationary bike and wearing a rubber suit when he collapsed and died. Saylor was riding a stationary bike in a predawn workout when he suffered a h eart attack (Washington Post - January 14, 1998). Physicians are of the consensus that excessive dehydration as a means to lose weight can harm bodily functions, possibly leading to kidney failure, heat stroke or a heart attack. Why then do the wrestlers engage in these dangerous activities? Legendary University of Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable had this to say in an ESPN report: "They (wrestlers) think they are indestructible. But I’ll tell you what -- those three athletes thought they were indestructible, too. And they aren’t around to talk about it."Wrestlers believe that it is mind over body; they can accomplish anything and nothing bad will ever happen to them. So, LaRosa’s behavior on that fatal day in November wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for many college wrestlers. He was wearing sweats over a rubber suit and riding a stationary bike in a steam-filled shower room. His body temperature reached 108 degrees. He was trying to make weight for his match the next day, and wrestling’s rules did little to discourage such dangerous practices. The logic in wrestling is to make the lowest weight you can in the weigh-ins, which are 24 hours before the match. Then you can replenish and rehydrate your body over the course of the 24 hours between the weigh-in and the match. This will give you an advantage in the competition b ecause you really will be bigger and stronger then most of the wrestlers in that lower weight class.

Dante’s Inferno: Contrapasso Essay

Contrapasso means suffer the opposite. It refers to the punishment of souls in Dante’s Inferno by a process either resembling or contrasting with the sin itself. There are many examples of contrapasso in Dante’s Inferno, as he travels ever deeper into the depths of hell. In the Inferno, we are given a tour through Hell by Dante, who is a middle-aged man. The Inferno is a story of a journey given by two different Dantes: Dante the pilgrim and Dante the author. He has a natural emotion of pity, which he is often reprimanded for. At the beginning of his journey, he is confronted by three animals. These animals represent the three rings of Hell. The first one is the she-wolf, representing incontinence, the second is the lion, representing violence, and the third is the leopard, representing fraud and deception. According to Dante, fraud and deception are the worst sins, followed by violence, then incontinence. Virgil is Dante’s guide throughout this treacherous journey. Dante uses the concept of contrapasso to express his own views on ethics of various sins, reflecting on the cultural and political state of Italy at the time. Before Dante and Virgil enter Hell proper, they find the opportunists in the vestibule. They are running around wildly chasing a banner, while nude being stung by hornets and wasps. When the split came between Satan and God, they tried to stay neutral, and now they must suffer their punishment. Here, the banner symbolizes a leader, serving as a direct punishment for their indecisive nature. They come across limbo next, where the virtuous pagans are. These are the souls of good non-Christians, who are stuck in limbo because they were never baptized and never went to church to study Jesus. This is where Virgil and the poets reside. Limbo is not a bad place to be, and their only punishment is that they will never get to see the face of God. This is a fitting punishment because while alive they never knew of God, and now they are forbidden from him. They encounter the least offensive sinners in the first ring of Hell, represented by the she-wolf. Once inside the gates of Hell, Dante encounters the Carnal (or lustful). The souls who are in this first section of Hell are so because they let their lusts control them in life. The punishment of the Carnal is that they are trapped in a whirlwind, blizzard storm. They see the object of their lust, but they cannot have sex in Hell. They are doomed to chase their love around in the whirlwind, and they cannot satisfy their needs in any way. Contrapasso is appropriate here because while living they could not control their urges and always satisfied their needs, but now in Hell they are not allowed to. In circle three of Hell, we find the gluttons. Ciacco is a representative of the gluttons whom Dante knows personally. Ciacco means hog in Italian. Because gluttony is a sin of incontinence, their punishment is wallowing around in a slushy mound of garbage. The gluttons are in a storm of putrefaction. Gluttony was considered a major sin back in Dante’s day. Also in this circle are the hoarders and wasters. They contribute to each other’s punishment as they are in a constant rock war. Hoarders and wasters are two extremes. This is contrapasso because the hoarders are constantly trying to take the rock, while the wasters are trying to get rid of it. Next, they come across the wrathful and sullen. They are stuck in the Marsh of Styx. The sullen were drawn within themselves and tried not to associate with others in life, they took a sour disposition towards life. Their punishment is appropriate because they are stuck at the bottom of the marsh, beneath the slimy surface. Moving along through Hell, Dante and Virgil come across the heretics. This is a sort of a transitional stage between the sins of incontinence and violence. A heretic is anyone who doesn’t adhere to strict Catholic doctrine. Heretics committed some of the worst crimes, according to Dante. Their punishment was to spend eternity in a grave on fire. Contrapasso is in effect here because heretics thought that the soul dies with the body, and since they believe their souls died, they are entombed. Some of them even have to share tombs with people they hated. The second category of sinners is the violent. There are three types of violence: violence against neighbors, violence against self, and violence against God. The violent against neighbors are stuck in the river Phlegethon. This is a river of boiling blood, and if the sinners try to escape, centaurs shoot them with arrows. This is contrapasso because these violent souls left their victims in a pool of blood when they murdered them, and now they are stuck in a pool of blood. Violence against self is the next form of violent sin. Those who committed suicide became trees. Since they rejected God’s gift of body, they are forced to stand still and see the human life they rejected. This is their contrapasso, also whenever a limb from the tree falls off, they feel it. The final form of violence is that against God. These blasphemers, who curse God, are punished in circle seven, round 3. They are forced to lie in a field of burning sand and a fire rain constantly falls down on them. This is ironic because it is the first time while Dante is in Hell that we actually see fire. Circle eight of Hell begins the worst sins, those of fraud and treachery. These sins are the worst because it breaks the trust of the individual. The usurers are loan sharks. They do not further mankind, they just want money. According to The Holy Bible, it is unnatural to charge usury. Their punishment is to carry a pouch with lead weights around their necks. They constantly have to fight off fire and chains from lashing devils with their hands. This is their contrapasso because they used to use their greedy hands to abuse people by taking their money. The panderers and seducers are punished by having to constantly run from one side to another, and demons are there whipping them. The second section contains the flatterers. Because they lied and figuratively slung excrement from their mouths, they are punished by wallowing in excrement, which they flatter. This is a perfect example of contrapasso. The fortune tellers and diviners presumed to have the power to see God’s future, but most of them are just tricksters. Their contrapasso is that their heads are twisted completely around, and they can no longer see what’s ahead of them. Dante sees weeping shades slowly marching in single file, each one covered from head to foot with a golden cloak lined with lead. It is appropriate because on the outside the cloaks look beautiful, but on the inside they are horrible, like the hypocrites, and they are weighed down by their guilt. Contrapasso for thieves is depicted as serpents chasing nude sinners, and when the snake bites them, they burst into blames and disintegrate. Sometimes they become the serpent, and the serpent becomes them. This sets out to show that thieves can’t even claim their own bodies. Also, the snakes represent trickery, and the serpents steal the thieves’ bodies, just as they stole. Bertrand de Born was guilty of separating father and son (King Henry II and son), which caused war. His contrapasso is walking around with his head separated from his body, carrying it like a lantern. It is also symbolic of the father being the head of the family, and his body is separated from it because he separated them. In the ninth circle of Hell, Cocytus, Dante encounters the absolute worst sinners, including Satan. These sinners are frozen with the memory of their sins, and they cannot move. These evilest of sinners are in a sea of ice. Sins of betrayal are in the ninth circle. They were cold hearted and fake in life with no warmth of heart. A unique encounter Dante has is with Count Ugolino and Archbishop Ruggiere. In life, they made a deal, but it went awry. Now, the count feeds on the head of the archbishop. Since the archbishop imprisoned him and sons, they starved to death, thus his contrapasso is that Ruggiere is Ugolino’s last meal for all of eternity. At the end of the journey, Dante encounters Satan. He is bigger than the giants with three heads. Each head is chewing on the worst sinners in history up to that point: Judas, Brutus, and Cassius. They represent hate, impotence, and ignorance to contrast the three highest virtues of Heaven. Satan is at the center of the universe. His main punishment is that he is frozen and can’t do anything. This is the ultimate contrapasso. Dante highlights that Satan himself is an example of contrapasso as Satan’s sin of seeking God’s place as ruler of Heaven resulting in him forever ruling over the damned. Here, the sin reflects the punishment as Satan aims to raise himself higher and as a result is cast down into the depths of the Inferno. Dante takes us on an intriguing and eye-opening journey throughout his Hell. He uses contrapasso as a way to show the many different sins and how he thinks they should be punished. Dante also places real people in his Inferno to point out the cultural and political state of Italy at that time. While he does this, he is pretty fair and impartial about who belongs in which area of Hell. Near the end of his journey, Dante finally realizes that the sinners got what they deserved, and he no longer pities them. By having Satan frozen in ice, Dante is portraying the message Satan cannot do anything, unless you let him because he is not that powerful.

Top 4 CHALLENGES for Executives and Assistants

Top 4 CHALLENGES for Executives and Assistants According to founder and CEO of Office Dynamics International, Joan Burge, There is no greater relationship in the workplace than that of an executive and an assistant. This may seem like hyperbole if you havent had a really terrific working relationship with an executive or an assistant who gets it. If youre at the top of the food chain, try to see your assistant as a strategic partner; if youre in a support role, take advantage of these tips to improve your standing and the dynamics at work!1. BandwidthNobody has enough time in the day. Executives may have more than one assistant, or assistants may be supporting more than one executive (every one of which wants to feel like your Top Priority). Between the two of you, you may be fielding as many as 400 emails a day- have systems in place and revise them as necessary!  Be aware of the speed and intensity of the information flowing across your executives desk, and let that inform the pace of your interruptions, meetings, and indepen dent work.2. Digital DependencyTheyre working from multiple devices and may ask you do to the same. While that may make them feel independent and tech savvy, its important (for them and for you!) to realize that an empowered executive assistant is as valuable as the Cloud in terms of coordinating information and monitoring plans.3. DelegatingWith all the self sufficiency of scheduling software and remote access, its easy for executives to forget how to use their assistants most effectively. Companies lose time and money when execs underutilize support staff. Know your role, advocate for appropriate ways to expand it, and always be a reliable asset.4. Frustration in CommunicationWith complaints ranging from I dont have time to teach my assistant to do this job to I have no idea what this executive wants from me, some of the hardest aspects of the relationship to master are the simplest- how you perceive one another and what you expect from one another. Be verbal, follow-up, and be wi lling to disagree and resolve it! Dont be so wrapped up in status you forget to think like a team.Tips  for AssistantsInitiate ConversationTalk about your relationship as a teamGet clarification on likes and dislikesPut yourself on the execs calendar and leave it, unless theres an emergencyThink like an executive- anticipate needs and prioritize accordinglyGo the extra mileAttend meetingsRead everythingUnderstand the scope of their wordTips  for ExecutivesHave clear assignments and deliverablesDemonstrate the qualities you want to seeBe comfortable with disagreementRely on your assistant; dont micromanageBe appreciative- post-mistake shouldnt be the only time you give feedbackRecognize that your assistants job requires skillExecutives and Assistants are Struggling TodayRead More at officedynamics.com

Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA essays

Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA essays In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide a national policy that supports families in their efforts to balance their work and family responsibilities by taking reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. The FMLA provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year.  ¡The FMLA also seeks to accommodate the legitimate interests of employers, and promotes equal opportunity for men and women ¡ (Executive Summary, 1999). Before the Family and Medical Leave Act, employees had access to family and medical leave in two ways: (1) Voluntary or collectively bargaining employer policies (2) Policies required by state leave statutes The Act was passed because Congress found that: h The number of single-parent households and two-parent households in which the single parent or both parents work is increasing significantly; and h It is important for the development of children and the family unit that fathers and mothers be able to participate in early childrearing and the care of family members who have serious health conditions; h To balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families, to promote the stability and economic security of families, and to promote national interests in preserving family integrity; h To entitled employees to take reasonable leave for medical reasons, for the birth or adoption of a child, and for the care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition; and h To promote the goal of equal employment opportunity for men and women. (Employment Standards Administration, 1999) The FMLA applies to all public agencies, private/public elementary and secondary schools, and employers who employed 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year and are in the commerce industry (The Family and Medical Leave Ac...

Free Essays on DESCARTES EXISTENCE OF GOD

In his meditations, Descartes points out that there are three types of ideas; they can be innate, adventitious, caused by things outside of one’s self, and others that can be invented by us, such as ideas of mermaids or unicorns. After he concludes that God must necessarily exist, which will be discussed in more detail later on in this paper, he closes in to the fact that his idea of the Perfect Being cannot be adventitious, coming from without, nor can it be invented by him. Thus, this idea must be innate since he has a clear and distinct perception of God’s existence, and that Descartes must have been created by God with such an idea already in him. The idea of a Perfect Being in Descartes’ mind consists of an infinite, eternal, immutable, independent, supremely intelligent as well as a powerful substance, which created him and everything else. Thus he realizes that the idea of God must have far more objective reality than he has formal reality because God is an infinite substance where as he himself is only a finite substance. Having explained the idea of Descartes’ perfect being lets go into more detail on the process he uses to prove that such being actually exists. Descartes’ proof of the existence of God occurs in the Third Meditation. He builds his entire argument upon his proof in the previous meditation that in order for him to think, he must exist. From this single observation, Descartes notices that the idea of his existence is very clear and distinct in his mind; based upon this clarity and the fact that he has just determined his own existence, he deduces a rule such that the things that he sees as very clear and very distinct are all true. Descartes starts his proof by dividing â€Å"thought† into four categories; ideas (concepts), volitions (choices), emotions (desires), and judgments (beliefs). He then breaks down these categories to discover which types of thoughts can yield error. The first thing to ... Free Essays on DESCARTES EXISTENCE OF GOD Free Essays on DESCARTES EXISTENCE OF GOD In his meditations, Descartes points out that there are three types of ideas; they can be innate, adventitious, caused by things outside of one’s self, and others that can be invented by us, such as ideas of mermaids or unicorns. After he concludes that God must necessarily exist, which will be discussed in more detail later on in this paper, he closes in to the fact that his idea of the Perfect Being cannot be adventitious, coming from without, nor can it be invented by him. Thus, this idea must be innate since he has a clear and distinct perception of God’s existence, and that Descartes must have been created by God with such an idea already in him. The idea of a Perfect Being in Descartes’ mind consists of an infinite, eternal, immutable, independent, supremely intelligent as well as a powerful substance, which created him and everything else. Thus he realizes that the idea of God must have far more objective reality than he has formal reality because God is an infinite substance where as he himself is only a finite substance. Having explained the idea of Descartes’ perfect being lets go into more detail on the process he uses to prove that such being actually exists. Descartes’ proof of the existence of God occurs in the Third Meditation. He builds his entire argument upon his proof in the previous meditation that in order for him to think, he must exist. From this single observation, Descartes notices that the idea of his existence is very clear and distinct in his mind; based upon this clarity and the fact that he has just determined his own existence, he deduces a rule such that the things that he sees as very clear and very distinct are all true. Descartes starts his proof by dividing â€Å"thought† into four categories; ideas (concepts), volitions (choices), emotions (desires), and judgments (beliefs). He then breaks down these categories to discover which types of thoughts can yield error. The first thing to ...