REPLY 5-1 JWJ (125 words and 1 reference)
Longitudinal designs are a unique type of research method that is characterized by observing the lives of participants over time. Terman’s study of giftedness, for example, contacted the participants every 5 or 10 years. With the data they gathered in the 75 years, over 100 articles and almost a dozen books have been written (Goleman, 1995). Longitudinal studies allow researchers to analyze groups of people over many years. This type of study can yield a good understanding of cause-and-effect links that may be missed in other studies. However, there is no perfect research design and there are some problems with this type of design. For example, there are threats in internal validity as the participants may drop out of the study over time (Privitera, 2018). In some cases, there is motivation from the participants to complete the study and that motivation and not age has determined the change (Privitera, 2018). In other cases, the participants may learn to take the assessment and that could lead to inaccurate results.
REPLY 5-1 RC (125 words and 1 reference)
A longitudinal design study observes changes across the life span by observing the same participants over time as they age (Privitera, 2020). Lewis Terman started a longitudinal study on gifted children in 1921 that is still going today by other psychologist. This study is amazing to read about because the amount of time that it has continued and the different generations it has studied is significant. There are many benefits with a study of this type. As times change so do the way kids learn and how teachers teach. There are programs and special opportunities now that were not available in the 1920’s and can significantly increase the success rate of these gifted children. While reading about Terman and his thoughts on people, his motivation for this type of study could have at best been questionable. There was an article that discussed Termans motivations that have been questioned such as the sterilization of certain traits in certain individuals (Cherry, 2020). The cons/limitations of conducting a longitudinal study are the amount of time and money that is required throughout the years to keep it going. Another problem is that participants are known to drop out after so many years. People tend to not want to participate in something once they move on to new chapters of their lives. If longitudinal study depend on surveys to provide the most information they set themselves up for report bias because people can lie on surveys (Simkus, 2021).
REPLY 5-2 JT (125 words and 1 reference)
Quasi-experimental design is most useful in situations where it would be unethical or impractical to run a true experiment. Explanatory research method is superior then the predictive method because, in the explanatory research method, it attempts to look out for the cause of every question (how, why, when, where) and tries to answer it and also explain the possible effect of the cause. Quasi-experimental studies encompass a broad range of nonrandomized intervention studies. These designs are frequently used when it is not logistically feasible or ethical to conduct a randomized controlled trial. A true experiment uses random assignment of the participants while quasi-experiments does not. This allows its wide use in ethical problems. Quasi-experiments allot the participants based on a study, unlike true experiments where they have an equal chance of getting into any of the groups. Here are a few of the reasons why quasi-experimental design may be chosen over true experimental design: Ethical concerns are common when working with human subjects. The researcher may be interested in studying a pre-determined group (such as a specific class of students).

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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