Legal Studies Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Legal Studies - Case Study Example The EAT held applying the test in Salmond on Torts. The counsel for the employers argued that the liability for the acts done by the other employees which had the effect of causing physical and verbal abuse to Jones cannot be put on the employers as such acts cannot be taken as having been done 'in the course of employment' under section 32 (1) of the RRA and therefore there is no question of vicarious liability to the employers. The contention of the counsel for the employer arguing that the tortuous acts of the other two employees cannot be held as 'acts done in the course of employment' will not hold ground, as the counsel based his argument on the basis of judgment in the case of Irving v The Post Office1, in which case there is no indication that the court relied on the subsection (1) of section32. Hence the counsel for the employer has based his argument on a wrong footing and hence his argument cannot be held valid under the law. The issue before the Court of Appeal was not to find whether treatment given to Jones can be regarded as a 'racial harassment'. The sole ground of appeal was that the industrial tribunal had been wrong to regard the racial harassment as having been "done by a person in the course of his employment" for the purposes of section 32(1). 4. (i) : Waite L.J was convinced about the representation of the counsel for the employee on pointing out that there are distinctions that greater remedies are available under the law including damages for the injuries to the feelings than those that can be claimed under Tort against an employer under the common law and "the total absence from the concept of vicarious liability in tort of any provision corresponding to the reasonable steps defence under section 32(3)." Waite L.J preferred the argument of Mr. Allen to that of Mr. Buckhaven due to the fact that there are no similarities between the statutory construction and the purposive construction on a plain reading of the section 32 (1) and that the phrase 'course of employment' is subjected to the gloss imposed on it in the context of vicarious liability on the common law context. 4. (ii). Mr. Allen argued substantial differences occur when the vicarious liability for Tort under the common law is considered against the statutory concept of section32. Counsel further submitted that the above position of the employers' liability under claim of Torts is to be contrasted with that under section 32 (1) of the RR Act where every action of a person in the course of employment are attributed to the employer "whether or not ... done with the employer's knowledge or approval." This argument of Mr. Allen is having substance and hence is preferable than the argument of M

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Project management - Essay Example Keeping in view the importance of the advertisement, the Electronic Arts Incorporation (our client) decided to advertise their products over the internet, sale of the products (eCommerce) and along with development of videos (EA Inc., 2014). The Electronic Arts Inc. selected the Rubicon (Project Vendor and I am the Project Manager) to initiate the development of eCommerce enabled website along with the online videos for the advertisement. The vendor Rubicon is one of the leading companies for selling and buying of the advertising globally (Rubicon, 2014). In the initial sections of the document examines the scope, objectives, goals and the critical success factors of the project. The document proceeds with explaining the project management methods include: the Gantt Chart, critical path, network diagram and financial plan (cost estimates) of the project. Moreover, the document includes the organizational chart showing the internal and external organization as well as a responsibility assignment matrix. The document further contains an evaluation of the risks involved in the project and how they (risks) avoided by the vendor. The last part of the document contains suggestions for alternative project management methods and guidelines for the project to bring back it to the track, if there is slippage in the schedule of the project. The Rubicon (Project Vendor) utilizes eight (8) human resources to complete the project within specified time, including the project manager (me), database administrator, eCommerce specialist, website developer, website designer, content developer, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert and video editing specialist. There are four (4) basic or predefined success factors of a project, including cost, schedule (time), scope and quality. A project is said to be successful if the project has

Racial Bias in the Premier League

Racial Bias in the Premier League Racism in Football – Will We Ever Kick It Out?   An Econometric Evaluation of Racial Biases in the Premier League Abstract Racism and discrimination have unfortunately played a major role in football, essentially since the creation of the sport due to social, political, and economic reasons. Although racism is not as prevalent as it was before the 21st  century, there are still issues with the subject that exist to this very day. Various types of discrimination occur within the sport and despite attempts from the FA alongside institutions such as FARE and Kick It Out, the issue and the effect it has on many players, does not look like disappearing anytime soon. Therefore, the aim of this essay will be to introduce and analyse the different types of discrimination that occur within British football, with the assistance of literature reviews and critical evidence, and delve deeper into the problem at hand using a fixed effects linear regression model. This model will investigate whether racial bias is at play when it comes to disciplinary sanctions given out by referees.   I will be analysing the pheno menon of racism as an issue in football, with a specific focus on British football and its biggest competition, the Premier League, with my hypothesis stating that: Darker skinned players are more likely to be booked than lighter-skinned players, which was proved to be false. The results found show no considerable evidence that referees exhibit racial bias against any form of skin tone, with this conclusion seen as a credit to training and anti-racism institutions. 1. Introduction The primary purpose of the following paper is to introduce and analyse the topic of racial biases within a high-profile team sport worldwide, and in this context, test for the presence of racial discrimination in the application of disciplinary sanctions in British football and the Premier League. Regarding other pieces of work, this specific type of issue has been the subject of only two other studies to date in the context of a professional team sport, with Price and Wolfers (2010) providing an application to professional basketball in the US and Witt and Reilly (2011) providing research on the Premier League.   With a focus on player, referee and game-specific fixed effects, the authors differ in their concluding findings. Price and Wolfers find â€Å"more personal fouls are called against players of a particular racial group when the games are officiated by opposite compared to own-race refereeing crews†, thus displaying clear racial biases. On the other hand, Reilly and Witt conclude that there is â€Å"no evidence of unfair treatment of players from racial minority groups in the accumulation of disciplinary cards†. With differing outcomes shown, it will be intriguing to see my findings and how they compare to the work done prior to mine. In an attempt to evaluate the relationship, if one is found, between racial discrimination and disciplinary sanctions, we first have to break down the topic through existing studies on racial discrimination within British football. This will be done throughout the section â€Å"Literature Review† which has been split up into 3 sub-sections. The first section entails me analysing discrimination in monetary terms, with both wages and the valuation of players based solely on their race to be discussed. Naturally following, the lack of playing opportunities or rather opportunities in their primary position is researched in the third section. Finally, we come to the fourth section in which we introduce the inspiration behind the essay and the reasons why this was chosen. A proposition of racial bias in referees come to fruition and biases that referees may already exhibit outside racial terms are introduced and deliberated upon. With previous studies reviewed, we next move on to introducing our model. This model will aim to question and analyse the relationship between racial bias and disciplinary sanctions in the English Premier League and evaluate whether or not this correlation truly exists. In order to investigate this proposed relationship, the model consists of a framework that uses a rich dataset on players for all games played in the Premier League between the 3 seasons of 2014/2015 and 2016/17, the most recent full seasons completed to date. The key emphasis in this model will be the correlation between the skin tone of a player and the number of disciplinary sanctions served over a playing season as measured by the accumulation of yellow and red cards. Becker’s (2010) Economics of Discrimination was intriguing in terms of the analysis as he uses for a similar model to mine and provided an alternative theoretical framework in the sense that Premier League referees, who during this time were all white, could exhibit on average a taste for discrimination against opposite race (or non-white) players. However, I would prefer to interpret refereeing decisions as subject to the potential influence of unintended or implicit discrimination, rather than a deeper issue, due to the training they receive on a weekly basis and the benefit of the doubt is given to them due to the pressure they are placed under every game. Summary statistics collected from my preliminary model are then analysed and initial findings are discussed upon the subject. The following section details the econometric methodology. The structured body of the empirical model has been inspired by work written by Reilly & Witt (2011) on the same topic. Differences in our bodies of work lie with a richer dataset from myself, beginning with the 2014/15 season whereas Reilly and Witt took their data from the Premier League season of 2003/04. I also opted to include the number of red cards a player received to get a more accurate representation of disciplinary sanctions. Variables such as Position and Games Played were included in my model whereas Witt and Reilly chose to include Age and Native Language spoken. Finally, the most distinct change comes from the dependent variable tested against. Both pieces of work tested for the racial bias of course with our hypotheses remaining similar, however, my main independent variable was the shade of their skin whereas their variable was the race of a player. Asian, Black, White and Mixed Race were the categories chosen for the authors mentioned and I elected for 5 distinct categories of Very Light, Light, Mixed, Dark and Very Dark. Concluding remarks will follow the econometric methodology and empirical results have been discussed. One of my expectations prior to the experiment taking place will have to do with the disciplinary sanctions recorded. I will be expecting the total amount of cards to be higher in comparison to a previous study done on the same topic purely down to how the culture of the game has changed.   Yellow cards are usually awarded to players who exhibit actions of ‘foul play’, whether that be a single violent challenge or an accumulation of softer tackles, but there can also be acts by players that will warrant a straight yellow/red card, regardless of their skin tone. Professional fouls e.g. intentionally stopping a fast break, taking off your shirt during a celebration, time wasting, and dissent are all actions that are given bookings, per the rules of the law.   With these occurring regularly throughout a game and have no bearing on the racial bias from the referee, there is no doubt these would influence my findings. Red cards on the other hand are less regularly given out, as they are awarded for more serious offences e.g. violent conduct, or if a player receives two yellow cards. These evaluations and more will be summarised in the conclusion and whether racial bias plays a part in determining disciplinary sanctions will indefinitely be found during this essay. 2. Literature Review Now of course, extreme forms of racism have died down in recent times, mainly due to the efforts and genuine attempts by authorities such as Kick It Out and FARE, and also with the abolition of the colour ban in worldwide sports, occurring in the mid-21st century.   Despite this, there are still extensive amounts of evidence prevalent today that exhibit racial discriminatory practices in modern times. Becker (2010) found various forms of discrimination within sports which included the following topics: Inequality in compensation, inequality in hiring standards and inequality of positions (both playing and managerial). With this in mind, current literature on various types of discrimination that have occurred in British football, and more notably the Premier League, will now be reviewed. 2.1 – Discrimination in Monetary Terms The theme of racial discrimination in monetary terms in England has attracted limited research, mainly due to the restrictions on access to salary data to the common researcher. However, an exception comes with the work of Szymanski (2000) who was able to indirectly examine racial salary discrimination through the exploitation of wage bill information. The information was taken from a panel of 39 clubs that had played in the English 1st Division between the 1978/79 season and the 1992/93 season (became Premier League in 1992/93 season). This test assumes all teams were operating on or within their own production frontiers, with the labour market for players being highly competitive. Szymanski found that clubs with an above average proportion of black players tended to perform, on average and with other things being equal, at a higher level in relation to their wages. Although at first, this does suggest that owners are allowing lighter-skinned players to underperform without any monetary repercussions in comparison to their darker peers, Szymanski also found no evidence of consumer or fan-based discrimination, which could also mean that this wage bill was just put down to smart business from each of the club’s management. Continuing on from this and the theme of discrimination in monetary terms, Reilly and Witt (1995) and Medcalfe (2008) provide studies in using transfer fees that clubs pay for their players, concluding that there is no racial discrimination regarding the price of a player once their overall talent and skillset has been taken into consideration. However, there is a widely held perception that British players are over-valued compared to foreign players. Even though the Premier League is increasingly global in its appeal to audiences and players worldwide, the requirement that eight out of the club’s 25-man first-team squad must have spent at least three years at an English or Welsh academy before their 21st birthday adds an artificial hike to the cost of those players, with the demand for ‘home-grown’ players at a continuous high (Foster, 2016). Players such as John Stones, Jordan Pickford, and Michael Keane all fit the criteria and have since been bought for a combined fee of  £107.5 million from clubs looking to meet the home-grown rule. Contrastingly, players that were purchased from foreign clubs such as Riyad Mahrez, Ngolo Kante and Eden Hazard (all of whom have gone on to win the PFA Player of the Year Award for the last 3 years) combine for a transfer fee of only  £38.4 million, with each of their individual expected transfer fees increasing exponentially since arriving in the Premier League (SkySports, 2018). Although clubs might just have a British preference in order to match their required home-grown quota, there is clear evidence that British players that are coming into the Premier League are regarded as more valuable compared to their foreign peers, giving them a perceived advantage based on race rather than footballing talent. 2.2 – Discrimination in Playing Opportunities There has also been a case made in various literature for how discrimination can play a role in the labour market that is football. Dr. John Mills was the most prominent researcher on the topic, with his study in 2018 finding that skin tone in English football continues to have a significant impact on which positions footballers play on the pitch.   This research was unique in the sense that a 20-point rating scale was used opposed to the usual binary form of classifying skin tone (generally either black or white) and was collated, reviewed and ratified by around 1,300 researchers. His research found that footballers of a darker skin tone are more likely to occupy peripheral positions traditionally associated with athleticism and strength while teammates of a lighter skin tone are more likely to fill central positions conventionally considered to need organisational skills and creativity (Mills et al., 2018). Is there a racial dimension to this problem or is it simply lazy coaching from above? Additionally, Goddard and Wilson (2008) conducted a study based on the potential effect that a player’s race can have on his labour market transition probabilities. These probabilities are calculated with the dependent of variables of divisional transition, initial status, and retention, using a three-equation model. They concluded with the findings of hiring discrimination against black players, with these players having higher retention probabilities even though they tend to be employed by teams of a higher status divisionally. This means black athletes need to perform at a higher than average level in comparison to their white equals, suggesting discrimination in the hiring labour market. The work of Goddard and Wilson (2008) also seems to suggest that there are stereotypes within Western culture around black athletes being more naturally athletic, whilst white athletes tending to be more creative and intelligent, which has also been reflected in certain media outlets and pundits within the sport when referring to the work of black players. Another approach used to investigate this topic came in the work of Bachan, Reilly and Witt (2014), where they explored the correlation between racial composition and match outcomes for the French and English national teams. This was done using match-specific variables which included the make-up of the first 11 of the respective teams. Although no solid evidence was found to suggest that racial biases played a part in the team’s performances, there were still areas of concern. Reports stated that a former English coach was given instructions to make sure the national team was predominantly made up of white players, with the French following suit in openly questioning the choice of black players in the national side, totally disregarding talent and choosing race instead (Bachan et al, 2014). Even national players fall victim to racial profiling, with countries unwilling to go down the avenue of the ‘typical black player’ even if the talent is there, thus affecting their playing opportunities severely. 2.3 – Referee Biases With stereotypical racism seen to be prevalent throughout the history of British football, I would now like to introduce the inspiration behind my proposed econometric model, with alleged racial biases from referees to be analysed. Looking at the behaviour of referees in generally, Dawson and other researchers (2007) found that across the period of 1996 to 2003 in the Premier League, referees were inclined to award more disciplinary points (yellow/red cards) to the away team rather than the home team (Dawson et al., 2007). Although this may be the case, analysis done by Reilly and Witt (2011) found that, compared to referees that officiate in the premier tiers of football in Italy, Germany & Spain, English referees are much more professional in terms of their bias.   They are continuously subject to a high degree of scrutiny, whether that comes from social media in today’s day and age, or from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) which has just recently come into fruition.   In addition to this, Premier League referees are monitored by a match assessor who gives them grades on their performances which is discussed during a compulsory meeting every 2 weeks (PGMOL, 2018). Referees are generally required to make decisions within the second, so there can be some form of tolerance when permitting bias upon them. However, this leniency would not excuse a more sinister form of bias-motivated by race. Although this is a serious accusation, all Premier League referees working today are drawn from the white ethnic group, making the proposition more likely to occur, even unintentionally. Payne (2006) took this study on using laboratory evidence and concluded on the theme of ‘weapon bias’ – the idea that an individual’s tendency to unknowingly make stereotypical decisions will increase with the need to make decisions rapidly, which is the case 99% of the time for referees, especially in high leverage moments (Payne, 2006). Another form of potential referee bias was conducted in the study done by Reilly and Witt (2013). Tests for home biases were undertaken using player/match level data, with the measured bias coming in the form of the strictest sanction, the red card. Although evidence was found for home biases in the Premier League, this did not occur through this form of disciplinary actions, but rather smaller factors that would not have a major effect on the game e.g. fouls given.   Further studies took place by Reilly and Witt in 2016, with the use of both random effect and player-specific models and a non-panel pooled logit model, to test for potential biases in the number of bookings given to the away team. Credit to refereeing training and the employees themselves, as next to no evidence was found to suggest referees were succumbing to pressure from external factors (Reilly & Witt, 2016).   As the measure of social pressure in this experiment was the fans in attendance, especially in the Premier League, the fact that referees are not swayed to make decisions that would have a major effect on the game to favour the home team, should be recognised and praised.      The prospect of racial bias in regards to referees in the Premier League intrigued me the most during my research, with the effect that a yellow card can have on the overall result of the game often underrated. A booking, especially one given to an integral member of the team, could change the game plan of said player, perhaps rendering them unable to make a tackle with the knowledge that he may be cautioned for the second time. Sanctions could also have implications for a player’s wage rate if a club’s pay structure is related to disciplinary actions. Both of these factors and many more would put clubs with a large number of darker skinned players at a distinct disadvantage and if there is a racial bias shown in referees, especially in a high-profile league like the Premier League, this type of behaviour could result in extreme backlash from fans, players and organisations alike worldwide. All in all, this research prompted me to delve deeper into this proposed form of discrimination through a unique and detailed dataset and interrogate whether or not there is a relationship between race and disciplinary sanctions, which will now be discussed in the following section. 3. Data After introducing, discussing and analysing various forms of racial discrimination in British football, I would like to research whether or not these effects could ‘trickle down’ to the referees involved in the game, as they play a vital role in the game of football which often gets overlooked. With significant evidence pointing to discrimination, stereotypes and racial bias in other forms of the game, could it also be found in refereeing decisions concerning darker players? In this model, I will be investigating whether or not darker players or more likely to get booked/penalised for fouls, with aggressive stereotypes playing a part. 3.1 – Collection of Data All the data that has been used to create this econometric model was provided by the Premier League’s official website and the following statistics were taken for each player found in this database: Number of yellow cards, Number of red cards, Age, Fouls committed, Games played and their playing position. I was also able to extract their skin tone through this website, and the racial classification of these players was based on the review of colour photographs found both on the official Premier League website and the player’s respective club website (Premier League, 2018). Players were classified solely on the shade of their skin rather than their background as this an experiment that is purely trying to investigate whether or not there is racial bias, therefore making the data used validly. These players were divided into 5 distinct groups based on their skin tone, which are as follows: ‘Very Light’, ‘Light’, ‘Mixed’, ‘Dark’ and ‘Very Dark’.   I have also chosen this classification as skin colour/tone would be the first thing that a referee would see when dealing with a player and if racial bias were to be found, referees would stereotype based on their first impression, which in this case would be their skin colour alone. Even though the Premier League is a league based in Britain, I still opted to classify players by skin tone specifically, therefore separating Black British and White British players, however this may be a route to go for in a further study of the topic as there may be a bias towards home-grown players regardless of their complexion. White British players often fell into the category of ‘Very Light’ whereas White European players made up the majority of the ‘Light’ group but also featured in the former group mentioned significantly. Black British, Black European, and Black African players featured across the categories of ‘Mixed’, ‘Dark’ and Very Dark’, with those of Asian descent all featuring in the ‘Very Light’ category. A time-varying covariate has also been constructed in the form of the age variable. Players at or over the age of 33 at the beginning of the respective season have been defined as ‘veterans’ as seen in Table 1. This variable gives us an idea of how age affects your overall play when it comes to receiving sanctions. At their ages, their footballing experience gained could give them the edge when it comes to avoiding a sanction as they know how the referee tends to act during particular situations. However, these ‘veterans’ could also see their performances declining, resulting in steps missed and late tackles, often resulting in an influx of yellow cards. Players represent the unit of observation in this experiment and are taken from the 22 clubs that featured over the 3-season period of 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 that this dataset covers. These clubs include: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Hull City, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham, Watford & West Ham. All first-team players that had made at least one appearance for a Premier League club listed above between the seasons of 2014/2015 to 2016/2017 were eligible for this experiment. Fixed effect dummy variables for the 22 clubs also feature in this analysis, with the inclusion of these variables ensuring control for the differing club cultures, as clubs with a more aggressive style of play are more likely to be given a greater number of bookings. This panel is comprised of 1,605 observations carried out on 1,012 players, with close to 37% of players remaining in the Premier League for multiple seasons during this 3-year period. 3.2 – Summary Statistics Table 1 (can be seen on Page 18) provides a description of both the variables used in the model and some specific summary statistics found using the data taken from the players. Standard deviation is represented by the numbers in parentheses found underneath their respective values. In order to incorporate both forms of disciplinary sanctions into this model, I have taken yellow cards to the equal one card and red cards to equal two. For example, if a player has received 5 yellow cards and 1 red card over the course of a season, his total card count will be set at 7. I have done this as although red cards are rare in comparison to yellow cards, I wanted to take into account all forms of punishment received by players and consequently given out by referees. The average number of cards received per player across all seasons was 2.64, with the seasons holding the largest and fewest number of issued cards being 2014/15 and 2015/16, with an average of 2.82 cards and 2.32 cards respectively. The average foul count was just under 16 committed, with the 2015/16 season again showing signs of leniency from referees throughout this season, with dataset low average of 14.7 fouls committed per player. The average player in the sample also played around 19 games per season across the dataset used. ‘Veteran’ players only accounted for 8% of the data, a testament to how tough the demands of the Premier League are, with most of these players operating as goalkeepers and defenders. As expected, the distribution of players in terms of their playing position is concentrated between midfielders and defenders, with these 2 positions combining to account for over 72% of the sample size. Additionally, the skin tone â€Å"Very Light† was the largest player skin tone throughout the dataset, with just over half of the players falling under this category. This again was expected as the majority of players in the English Premier League are home-grown British players. Out of the 1605 observations collected in the database, almost 29% did not receive a yellow or red card throughout the 3 seasons.   This statistic will have major implications for the model, which will be discussed in the section â€Å"Econometric Methodology†. Relevant notes for the table are as follows: Summary Statistics represent the means of the relevant variables, numbers found in parentheses represent the standard deviation. This data will now be for a preliminary exercise, with the differences in both fouls committed and cards received in comparison to their skin tone to be examined.   Due to the nature of this model, we will first allocate players to either a â€Å"white† or a â€Å"non-white† category, for the purpose of this initial experiment. As we are researching potential racial bias in a predominately white league, I felt that placing players into these two distinct groups, to begin with, would be interesting. Essentially, the two skin tones of â€Å"Very Light† and â€Å"Light† will fall into the former category and â€Å"Mixed†, â€Å"Dark† and Very Dark† will fall under the latter. This will be done with a set of parametric (T-Test) and non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U-Test) in order to determine if there are any significant differences statistically across these 2 groups. Both types of tests were used to assess any statistical differences between the population means for the t-test and the population median for the Mann-Whitney U-Test.   Where the standard t-test results may lack in applying for attributes, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney is able to apply for both variables and attributes, giving us a more reliable set of results. Having both types of statistical tests available also allows us to account for if there was no information about the population with regards to the non-parametric test, although this would not be a problem in our framework, with the number of observations and players known. Our parametric test also assumes that variables are measured on either a ratio or interval level, with both fouls committed and the total number of cards, falling under the latter category (Surbhi, 2016.) The results found for the aforementioned categories are reported in Tables 2 and 3 respectively. Table 2: Fouls Committed Table 3: Cards Received 3.3 – Initial Findings The data shown above will now be used to analyse and examine any differences that may have been found, concerning both fouls committed, and cards received across the two distinct skin groups. During this introductory exercise, I have used a set of both parametric and non-parametric tests in order to determine if any statistical differences lie at a 5% level. Dealing with fouls committed first, the point estimate for the foul count was greater with darker players across all seasons on average, with the data also being statistically significant at the 5% level. On the other hand, the point estimate for the total cards received was higher for the lighter group, was significant across all seasons on average, and was only not significant during the 2015/16 season at the 5% level.   Therefore, the results from this preliminary exercise show that lighter skinned players are penalised less than darker skinned players are, however, darker players do receive fewer cards on average. These initial results are interesting, to begin with; however, the differences in card count especially might not be accurate with these simple tests. A key characteristic that would affect the outcome of the total amount of sanctions that a player might receive would be his position. Naturally, goalkeepers are less likely to find themselves in a position to commit a foul and thus receive a booking, in comparison to a midfielder or a defender. Additional factors such as the club the player plays for, the age of players and even the number of derbies a player participates in, have not yet been considered. Because of this, a more thorough analysis of this topic requires the use of a more advanced econometric test, which will be done in the next section. 4. Econometric Methodology Assuming omitted factors from the previous experiment such as Position and Games Played vary across participants, we will be able to account for these factors using a standard linear regression. This allows for a relationship between covariates and fixed effects to be seen, but there is no necessity for a parametric distribution to be specified. All observations will be used in this model but players who do not feature for more than one season make no obvious contribution to the within-group variation, therefore making no difference to the estimates of the included covariates. Fixed effects for all players are attainable in this framework, however, which is very useful given the role of the time-invariant factor of race (any given season) (Reilly & Witt, 2011). 4.1 – Regression Model A total of 5 variables were used in the linear regression ran through the STATA software in order to establish any correlation with the following variables and the total number of cards received: Skin tone, Games Played, Position, Seasons and Fouls committed. The independent variables of Skin tone and Position variables are expected to have the biggest effect on the number of total cards received, with Skin tone forming the foundation of my hypothesis and Position naturally affecting my results. This leaves me with the formula for my linear panel regression as follows: CARDSi = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1SKINTONEi + ÃŽ ²2FOULSi + ÃŽ ²3GAMESi + ÃŽ ²4POSITIONi + ÃŽ ²5VETERANi +â‚ ¬i  Ã‚  Ã‚   where CARDS is the total number of cards received (yellow and red), FOULS are the number of fouls committed by a player and GAMES are the total amount of games a player has appeared in, in a given season i which is also present for all other variables. There are a few variables that have not been taken into account due to the inability to quantify them in a regression, although they might have a minor effect on the number of cards a player receives e.g. club culture, nature of the player. These are incorporated into the error term, â‚ ¬i. The variables SKINTONE and POSITION represent ordinal and nominal data respectively and are each represented by their own dummy variables as seen in Table 1. Likewise, VETERAN is a dummy variable equal to 1 if the player is over 33 years old, and 0 if otherwise, which again can be seen in Table 1. With the nature of the linear regression, I could encounter some drawbacks using a linear panel method as the dependent variable is assumed to be continuous rather than ordinally discrete. As I am dealing with count data throughout this model, a Poisson model will also be run in order to offset this problem. Unlike the linear panel model, this model will not include players that have received zero yellow cards in their appearances, as they would make no contribution to the conditional maximum likelihood function. The estimation of these models with fixed effects can occur using either a conditional maximum likelihood estimator or an unconditional estimator. The conditional procedure is conditioned on the sum of the counts for the individual over time, giving us an easier estimation process (Reilly & Witt, 2011). Also, with the econometric software of STATA that I have used, there will be no biases included due to the problem of ‘incidental parameters’. This allows my estimation of the method and use of software to leave me with both valid and reliable results. 4.2 – Hypotheses With the main question of this model being whether or not darker skinned players are more likely to be booked than lighter skinned players, we now also have to introduce our hypothesis in formula form, which can be written as: H0:ÃŽ ²1 ≠¤ 0 H1:ÃŽ ²1 > 0 This shows both our null hypothesis in H0, stating the slope of the regression line is less than or equal to zero and our alternative hypothesis in H1, stating the slope of the regression line is greater than zero. The alternative hypothesis represents our initial question, if there is a positive correlation between a darker skin tone and the likelihood of a player receiving a disciplinary sanction, with the null hypothesis naturally stating the opposite. In our results, if our coefficients for the categories Mixed, Dark and Very Dark are greater than zero (assuming results are also found to be significant at the 5% level), we can conclude there is a relationship between skin tone and bookings within this model, by rejecting the null hypothesis and accepting the alternative hypothesis. The conclusion of our overall hypothesis should really only hold if the opposite instance is present for the Light and Very Light categories. Essentially, if the coefficients for the two categories are also positive, we cannot differentiate between the two race categories, as they have the same correlation in terms of bookings. Further evaluations of our results will be discussed in the following section, â€Å"Empirical Results†. 5. Empirical Results With the foundation of the regression introduced and explained, we are now able to use the above mentioned to find our empirical results. The estimated model provides a deep exploration into our hypothesis, with variables such as Position played, and Games Played used in this experiment that would have a direct effect on the hypothesis of whether skin tone affects the referee’s decisions when it comes to disciplinary sanctions. Time dummies are included in the framework (relevant seasons) in order to account for any potential altercations in refereeing policy over time in the Premier League. For example, the rule that players will receive bookings for simulation/diving was only implemented in 2017 which would affect our dataset and the potential outcome of the results in comparison to seasons prior. The main catalyst for disciplinary sanctions is expected to be the number of fouls committed due to obvious reasons, and this variable will also feature in the empirical specification, with the linear and poisson model exhibiting 1605 and 1142 fixed effects respectively, specific to each observation found across all 3 seasons. Further analysis of the empirical results calculated using the regression found in Table 4 will be discussed in the next section. Relevant notes for the table are as follows: ***, **, * represent statistical significance at the 1%, 5% and 10% level respectively and represents the base group of estimation and these variables have been omitted in the regression. The number of club controls within the database is set at 21, with one club omitted as the base club. Table 4: Fixed Effects Model for Cards Received 5.1 – General Analysis With the results shown above, we can deduce various findings. When looking at the number of cards given out by referees as the seasons go, there is evidence of leniency within the Premier League. On average, the total amount of cards received by players has decreased by around 0.19 cards, with the largest decrease coming in the 2015/16 season at 0.3 cards per game, which was also found to be significant at the 1% level. However, leniency in cards received does not correlate with leniency in fouls given as evidenced with an increase in fouls, although relatively small, at roughly 0.1, with the commission of an extra foul increasing the card count on average (and ceteris paribus) by the same value. This was anticipated prior to the regression and unsurprisingly, this variable accounted for over 50% of the variation in total cards received also. Being a ‘veteran’ player was deemed to decrease the total amount of cards, although only minimally at the 5% level, suggesting experience does outweigh a natural decline in overall athleticism, but only marginally. Analysing the data, the average number of cards received per player was at 2.64 across all seasons, with both models revealing evidence of a positive skewness, which can be seen in Figures 1 and 2 below. This number is much higher compared to the study undertook with data in 2003/04 to 2007/2008 in which only 1.82 cards were given out on average (Reilly & Witt, 2011). This is most likely due to there being stricter rules implemented in order to protect players rather than underlying racial factors. There have also been bookings given out to players due to simulation (diving) or professional fouls (intentional fouls done to stop a fast break). Both actions are straight yellow cards which would obviously affect the data and would have nothing to do with stereotypes or racial biases. Figure 1: Kernel Density Plot for Linear Panel Model Fixed Effects Figure 2: Kernel Density Plot for Poisson Model Fixed Effects 5.2 – Position Analysis Position wise, the results show that the field position of a player has a statistical influence on the variable of cards received. On average (and ceteris paribus), goalkeepers receive around one less booking in comparison to forwards, with this data found to be significant at the 1% level. This result makes sense considering goalkeepers are rarely called into action in which they must commit a foul compared to forwards who are usually tasked with pressurising opposing defenders and committing ‘professional’ fouls, to slow down play, which warrants a straight yellow card per the rulebook. However, when goalkeepers are committing fouls they are usually the last man, meaning these fouls are more likely to lead to straight red cards, thus affecting the card count substantially for the goalkeeper position. Additionally, goalkeepers are the main culprits when it comes to receiving ‘professional bookings’ for time wasting. Goalkeepers tasked with taking goal kicks use this as the perfect opportunity to time waste unfairly to gain the desired result. As a result of this, referees often give out straight bookings as a signal to the keeper to hurry up, on top of adding on additional time. One result that stood out to me was the reversal of the coefficient for goalkeepers, with a negative correlation between cards and goalkeepers found with the linear model but a positive correlation found with the linear data. With goalkeepers rarely pulled up for bookings to begin with, eliminating goalkeepers with no bookings would have given us a small sample size with a high tendency to receive bookings, thus skewing the data. In terms of midfielders and defenders, these two positions are statistically more likely to receive one more card compared to forwards, which was expected. Defenders just edge out midfielders when it comes to receiving sanctions, which are again found to be significant at the 1% level and was also expected prior to the experiment taking place. Overall, there is shown to be a clear variation in total cards when it comes to a player’s primary position, with approximately 90% of the variation in the fixed effects model down to a player’s different position. 5.3 – Skin tone Analysis From the preliminary exercise that took place initially, there did appear to be a racial undertone to the decisions of the referees in terms of disciplinary sanctions. Players with a darker skin tone were penalised more often than their lighter-skinned peers, although they were also booked less often as well in comparison. In this model however, there is no evidence of racial bias towards darker skinned players in this panel when controlling for match performance affecting variables and a variety of other club controls.   With negative coefficients for Mixed, Dark and Very Dark players ranging from around -0.5 to -0.75 for both linear and poisson data, we can see that the slope of the regression line does satisfy the condition for the null hypothesis at the 5% level. This means we cannot reject the null hypothesis and fail to accept the alternative hypothesis, giving us a conclusion of no racial bias being exhibited towards darker players in terms of disciplinary sanctions. In fact, the evidence claims at a 5% significance level that mixed race, dark and very dark players are receiving around a half fewer bookings compared to very light players, and light players are getting booked at a rate of 50% more often, on average and ceteris paribus, with the trend continuing on through our poisson model. Our regression coefficients also show a correlation to where you are more likely to receive a booking if you are a lighter player, with numbers decreasing across the range of skin tones, for both the linear and poisson data.   Although there could be a case made that using the significant evidence found (other factors still have to be taken into account), referees are carrying themselves in a more lenient manner with players outside their skin tone (as all referees in this database would be classified as very light), we can conclude with our original hypothesis being false. There is no evidence on the basis of both the linear and poisson model, that darker skinned players are a victim of racial bias and therefore are not more likely to receive disciplinary sanctions compared to their lighter-skinned counterparts. Conclusion This paper has introduced and analysed various forms of racial discrimination that have been displayed throughout British football and mainly the Premier League. With studies on the topic done prior to mine, a hypothesis was formed and tested to examine whether or not racial biases play a factor when referees give out sanctions to players, namely darker skinned players. The key research question was answered using an econometric model analysing a fixed effects panel model. The evidence gained from this model gave a strong indication that there is no distinct correlation between darker skinned players and an unfair treatment when it comes to bookings, with there even being evidence of a greater leniency when it comes to referees with darker skinned players. With referees (who in this sample were all white) displaying no evidence of a racial bias towards non-white players and thus their own race, this could be taken extremely positively on both anti-racism institutions and training that these referees receive. In his own study, Dr. Witt took from referees being cleared of any form of racial bias that â€Å"This may also reflect the fact that referee behaviour is heavily informed by the anti-racist initiatives that have characterised the professional game in England over the last decade or more† (GetSurrey, 2013). Anti-racism institutions such as Kick It Out and FARE could have played a part in referee behaviour when it comes to this issue, as these movements would be responsible for referees becoming more racially sensitive and aware over time, thus explaining the outcome observed from our model.    In terms of future research that may be done on this agenda, additional variables that were not used in this framework, or are hard to quantify in a sense, have to be held accountable for. Variables such as the effects of league position, the culture of a club, fixtures played home or away, the number of derby games and crowd attendance could all potentially have a significant effect on sanction outcomes. Factors like this would allow for the club, referee and game effects to be controlled which would provide us with more accurate and perhaps more insightful findings into disciplinary outcomes and whether or not these would have a significant effect on the racial bias as well, remains to be seen. References Bains, J. and Patel, R. (1996).  Asians cant play football. Solihull: Asian Social Development Agency. Bachan, R., Reilly, B. and Witt, R. (2014). Team performance and race: evidence from the English and French national soccer teams.  Applied Economics, 46(13), pp.1535-1546. BBC (2017).  Why couldnt I go to Man Utd trial? [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-birmingham-41428071/son-challenges-dad-why-couldn-t-i-go-to-man-utd-trial [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]. Becker, G. (2010).  The Economics of Discrimination. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Benedict, R. (1942).  Race and racism. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Dawson, P., Dobson, S., Goddard, J. and Wilson, J. (2007). Are football referees really biased and inconsistent? Evidence on the incidence of disciplinary sanction in the English Premier League.  Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 170(1), pp.231-250. Foster, R. (2016).  How football clubs calculate the cost of buying players in the transfer market. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/04/clubs-calculate-cost-transfer-market-leicester-southampton [Accessed 17 Jan. 2018]. GetSurrey (2013).  Football study shows no racial bias from referees. [online] GetSurrey. Available at: https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/football-study-shows-no-racial-4820620 [Accessed 26 Feb. 2018]. Goddard, J. and Wilson, J. (2008). Racial Discrimination in English Professional Football: Evidence from an Empirical Analysis of Players Career Progression.  Cambridge Journal of Economics, (33), pp.295-316. Medcalfe, S. (2008). English league transfer prices: is there a racial dimension? A re-examination with new data.  Applied Economics Letters, 15(11), pp.865-867. Mills, J., Ing, C., Markham, T. and Guppy, F. (2018). It is not Black and White: A comparison of skin tone by playing position in the Premier League and English football.  International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, p.174795411774974. Payne, B. (2006). Weapon Bias.  Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(6), pp.287-291. PGMOL (2018).  Referees, About PGMOL | Premier League. [online] Premierleague.com. Available at: https://www.premierleague.com/referees [Accessed 22 Jan. 2018]. Premier League. (2018).  Premier League Club Statistics, Team & Player Stats. [online] Available at: https://www.premierleague.com/stats [Accessed 26 Feb. 2018]. Price, J. and Wolfers, J. (2010). Racial Discrimination Among NBA Referees.  The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125(4), pp.1859-1887. Reilly, B. and Witt, R. (1995). English league transfer prices: is there a racial dimension?  Applied Economics Letters, 2(7), pp.220-222. Reilly, B. and Witt, R. (2011). Disciplinary sanctions in English Premiership Football: Is there a racial dimension?  Labour Economics, 18(3), pp.360-370. Reilly, B., and Witt, R. (2013) Red cards, referee home bias and social pressure: evidence from English Premiership soccer, Applied Economics Letters, 2013, Vol. 20, No.7, pp.710-714. Reilly, B., and Witt, R. (2016) Disciplinary Sanctions and Social Pressure in English Premiership Soccer, Working Paper Series, Vol 88. SkySports. (2018).  Transfer Centre (Sky Sports). [online] Available at: http://www.skysports.com/football/team-transfers [Accessed 17 Jan. 2018]. Surbhi, S. (2016).  Difference Between Parametric and Nonparametric Test (with Comparison Chart) Key Differences. [online] Key Differences. Available at: Difference Between Parametric and Nonparametric Test [Accessed 15 Mar. 2018]. Szymanski, S. (2000) A Market Test for Discrimination in the English Professional Soccer Leagues, Journal of Political Economy, 108, 590-603. Van den Berghe, P. (1967) Race and racism: a comparative perspective. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

War from 18th Century Naval Capabilities to the War of 1812 :: essays research papers

WAR FROM 18TH CENTURY NAVAL CAPABILITIES TO THE WAR OF 1812   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The English Navy has to obviously be strong to protect an island, and had already been tested against sea powers of Spain and the Netherlands. France, which was not susceptible to an attack from the water, began to build it’s naval fleet and became a threat to the English merchant vessels. England began to realize the importance of having a strategy through an allied coalition in which their greatest contribution to the alliance would be though sea power and the four elements of the merchant marines, a struggling navy, strategic materials, and good offshore bases.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The eager French divided naval forces into two fleets: Mediterranean and Atlantic. In an effort to stop the French from maintaining trade routes, the English enacted the â€Å"Rule of 1756† which prohibited anyone from taking over the French trade routes in time of war, but would continue to subsidize the German raiders. The French tactic at sea was to try and get ahead of the superior English vessels and fire while moving forward to increase the range of each round; once the ship was disabled, the French would then flee or turn and destroy. The English preferred a straightforward approach, which sometimes meant to move within pistol range in order to increase the accuracy of their weapons. Both sides agreed that they needed to improve accuracy as well as the rate of fire. It was British tenacity as well as strong naval traditions that allowed the island country to survive and be the strongest empire that the western world had ever known.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In America the two groups of populations from England and France were not religiously yoked together. The French stood strong with Catholicism and the English were not going to be bound by the laws of the Catholic Church any longer. As far as fighting skills, the French had a leg up when it came to wilderness warfare. The French worked closely with the Indian population and learned a great deal about how to live off of the land while being employed by it as well, for example as a trapper. The English on the other hand took to the fields of the new world to become farmers, and many of them had to be taught how to shoot a weapon.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once the idea of revolution the streets, which had spawned from texts like Common Sense, the individual new states were forced to fight independently against England.

Battle of Gettysburg and Union

The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the American Civil War. This is the most famous and important Civil War Battle that occurred on July 1st-3rd 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. More importantly Gettysburg was the clash between the two major American Cultures of their time: the North and the South. The Confederacy had an agricultural economy producing tobacco, corn, and cotton, with many large plantations owned by a few very rich white males. These owners lived off the labor of sharecroppers and slaves, charging high dues for use of their land.The Southern or Confederate Army was made up of a group of white males fighting for their independence from federal northern dictates. The Union economy was based on manufacturing, and even the minorities in the North were better off than those in the South most of the time. The Northern politicians wanted tariffs, and a large army. The Southern plantation owners wanted the exact opposite. The South was fighting against a governm ent because they thought they were being treated unfair. An analysis of the Battle of Gettysburg reveals one challenge facing the Union and the Confederacy was unjustified taxes and slavery.The battle began on July 1, 1863. The Battle of Gettysburg began when the Confederate cavalry ran into the Union horsemen. Both sides then called for backup. The Confederates’ back up arrived first; they now had twice as many men as the union. Soon after Union General John Reynolds arrived, he was shot in the back of the head and killed instantly. They confederates drove the Union south of town. Everyone set up for battle and waited until day two. The excitement of the battle began on day two, July 2, 1863. By morning, 150 thousand Union and Confederate troops had joined at little Pennsylvania town.The Confederates occupied a line west of the Emmetsburg Road, along the Seminary Ridge. While the Union men waited along Cemetery Ridge. The union had an advantage because; Cemetery Ridge was a somewhat more elevated. On day two the Union won overall. The following events occured on day two: Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, Battle of the Wheatfield, Battle of the Peach Orchard, and the Battle of Cemetery Hill. The number of casualties in the Battle of Gettysburg was enormous compared to any war. The casualties of just day two are the union at 8,750 and the confederate at 6,500. One of the major events from day two was the Devil’s Den.It is unique because the Confederate won which was very uncommon. â€Å"Devil’s Den is the name given to a ridge strewn with large boulders south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and about 500 yards west of Little Round Top on the Battle of Gettysburg battlefield. The origin of the name is uncertain. On July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the area around Devil’s Den saw intense fighting as part of General Robert E. Lee’s flank attacks, when Lieutenant General James Longstreet†™s Confederate corps attacked the divisions of Major General Daniel Sickles’ III Corps of the Army of the Potomac.Some 5,500 Confederates from Major General John Bell Hood’s division ultimately captured Devil’s Den from 2,400 defenders drawn from Major General David Bell Birney’s division. It was one of the few Southern successes in that day’s fighting. Total casualty estimates are over 800 for the Union, more than 1,800 among the Confederates. † (The Devil's Den) This event/location is also significant because Major General John Bell Hood was wounded and was forced to yield his command. There were two main locations of the Battle of Gettysburg, they were Little and Big Round Top.Little Round top is the smaller of the two. It is located between Taneytown and Emmetsburg roads. At the time of the battle â€Å"it was known locally by various names including Sugar Loaf. † (Little Round Top) Major General Governor K. Warren, chief enginee r of the Army of the Potomac, rushed troops to Little Round Top; they arrived minutes before the Confederates did. The 20th Maine Regiment charged late in the battle, which foiled a flanking attempt by the 15th Alabama. Overall the battle at Little Round top the union won. The final day of battle was on July 3, 1863.Both the Confederates and the Union had their plains of winning the battle. Robert E. Lee from the Confederate side decided they should charge into the middle of the Union line and break the line into two. When Robert E. Lee decided on the Plan to charge through the middle of the Union line Major General George Pickett knew it would not succeed. He tried to talk Lee out of it, but Lee instructed Pickett to charge. Major Picket followed these orders. This is known as Pickett’s Charge. The charge took place â€Å"between Seminary and Cemetery ridges, Gettysburg battlefield, Pennsylvania. (Pickett’s Charge)While all of this was occurring â€Å"General Slocum attacked Confederate troops at Culp’s Hill to regain territory loss the previous day. This fight lasted for a good 8 hours finally forcing the Confederates to retreat off of Culp’s Hill. † (Gettysburg Day Three) In the end the Union won. â€Å"Culp’s Hill was the right-most flank of the â€Å"fishhook† line formed by Union Army troops during the Battle of Gettysburg and saw fighting all three days of the battle. Culp’s Hill has two rounded peaks with a narrow saddle between them.Although heavily wooded and unsuitable for artillery, the main peak of Culp’s Hill rises substantially above the surrounding landscape, at a little over 200 feet above the town of Gettysburg and 127 feet higher than Cemetery Hill. With Baltimore Pike, critical for Union Army supplies and preventing Confederate advance on Baltimore or Washington, DC, to the east and Confederates approaching from Rock Creek to the west, Culp’s Hill was critical to Union strategy. † (Culp’s Hill) The Union had two main places throughout the three days they were located. Cemetery Hill was the site of Army’s weaponry.The hill is north of Cemetery Ridge. The defense of the Union line begins to â€Å"to turn east to form the â€Å"fishhook† line to Culp’s Hill. † (Cemetery Hill) Cemetery Ridge is about two miles long and 40feet above surrounding land. The Confederate Army launched attacked the Union many times at Cemetery Ridge. These attacks took place on day two and three. On each attack they were forced to fall back on each occasion. On November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln gave a famous speech called The Gettysburg Address. The speech was a dedication to the Soldier’s National Cemetery.Soldier’s National Cemetery is a cemetery for Union soldiers killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. The speech is as follows: â€Å"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new natio n, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we cannot consecrate — we cannot hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the g reat task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. † (Gettysburg Address Text) The actual main speaker of the night was Edward Everett. He spoke for two hours all from memory. Finally, the Battle of Gettysburg was won by the Union.The war didn’t end slavery, but instead furthered the advancement in ending slavery. Years after the war in 1865 the 13th amendment was adopted and slavery was then on out illegal. The war was not just about slavery, but also about taxes. The higher taxes came about to the south when Lincoln needed money. All in all the Battle of Gettysburg is the bloodiest war and had the most causalities. Works Cited â€Å"Battle of Gettysburg. † Summary ; Facts. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. historynet. com/battle-of-gettysburg;. â€Å"Cemetery Hill. † Gettysburg. N. p. , n. d. Web. 09 Dec. 012. ;http://www. historynet. com/cemetery-hill;. â€Å"Cemetery Ridge. † History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Cemetery Ridge Comments. N. p. , n. d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. historynet. com/cemetery-ridge;. â€Å"Culp's Hill. † History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Culps Hill Comments. N. p. , n. d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. historynet. com/culps-hill;. â€Å"The Devil's Den. † History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online The Devils Den Comments. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. historynet. om/devils-den-gettysburg;. â€Å"The Gettysburg Address. † History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online The Gettysburg Address Co mments. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. historynet. com/the-gettysburg-address;. â€Å"Gettysburg Address Text. † History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Gettysburg Address Text Comments. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. historynet. com/gettysburg-address-text;. â€Å"Gettysburg Day Three. † Battle of Gettysburg, Gettysburg Battle Summary, Gettysburg Address. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. ivilwaracademy. com/gettysburg-day-three. html;. â€Å"Little Round Top. † Battle Summary ; Facts. N. p. , n. d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. historynet. com/little-round-top;. â€Å"Pickett's Charge. † Pickett's Charge. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. . Samit, Christian G. â€Å"Battle of Gettysburg — Day Two. † History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Battle of Gettysburg Day Two Comments. America's Civil War Magazine, 29 Aug. 2006. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. hi storynet. com/battle-of-gettysburg-day-two. htm;.

Prp Theories

HUMAN RESOUCE MANAGEMENT CONTENTS 1. Introduction1 2. Literature review2 2. 1Emergence of PRP2 2. 2Concept of PRP3 2. 3Relevant theories of PRP4 2. 3. 1Maslow’s hierarchy of needs & Herzberg’s motivational theory4 2. 3. 2Equity theory in PRP5 3. Case study6 3. 1Case one: â€Å"Why Do Companies Use Performance-Related Pay for Their Executive Directors? † (Bender, 2004)6 3. 2Case two: â€Å"Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service† (Dowling & Richardson, 1997)9 4. Analysis and Evaluation of PRP Theory in Business Organisations11 4. 1Comparison11 4. Contrast12 4. 3Performance related pay theory in business organizations13 4. 3. 1Motivates employees and improve their performance14 4. 3. 2Facilitates change to organizational cultural14 4. 3. 3Encourages the internalization of performance norms15 4. 4Problems of PRP in practice15 4. 4. 1Setting performance objectives16 4. 4. 2Assessment and ratings17 4. 4. 3Reward17 5. Concl usion18 Reference19 Appendices21 1. Introduction Nowadays, Human Resource Management has become a strategic and coherent approach more than just managing the competencies and skills of employees in an organization. Armstrong (2002) noticed that HRM is much more focus on people not jobs, and so does business organization (Lewis, 1998). Yet, people have been placed as an important role of business. To this extent, this essay will take a critical look at PRP which is based on people, and also considered as an essential and sensitive part of the HRM in organizations today. The paper starts with a brief review of recent literature which reports studies of PRP systems. It continues with describing two case studies related to the practical discrepancy to PRP theories. It goes on to our own independent critical analysis by comparing the PRP theories and practice in real world. Finally, there are conclusions being drawn about the appropriateness of PRP in a research environment. 2. Literature review 2. 1 Emergence of PRP Performance-related pay (PRP) emerged in the early 1980’s which attempts to relate individual performance at work to reward, aiming to motivate people ad develop performance-oriented cultures. Besides business organisations, some public institutions such as governments and universities also adopt PRP as an essential level for championing values. By comparing with other payment schemes, the PRP idea was whole-heartedly accepted by employers and played a much more positive effect on improving employees’ behaviour and organisations’ culture. According to the IPD research into performance management practices in 1997, 43 per cent of respondents had PRP; additionally, IBS research in 1998 showed that 61 per cent of answers satisfied their merit pay. These figures make it easy to see that PRP have been widely applied among organizations whatever businesslike or public facility (Armstrong, 2002). There are a variety of reasons why organization may applied PRP. Armstrong and Murlis (1994) stated that ‘it is right and proper for people to be rewarded in accordance with their contribution’. According to Pilbeam & Colbridge (2002), there are a number of factors contributing to the emergence of PRP, which is identified in Figure 1. The Thatcher legacy and ‘enterprise’ values in the public sector Increasingly competitive environment and concern with employee performance Unitary and neo-unitary employment relations perspectives Reassertion of the ‘right to manage’ and increasing managerial control Influence of HRM demagogy & Strategic integration of reward Trends towards individualism and the weakening of collectivism Emergence of PRP Figure 1: Factors contributing to the emergence of PRP (Pilbeam & Corbridge, 2002) 2. 2 Concept of PRP ACAS (1990) defined individual performance-related pay (PRP) as â€Å"a method of payment where an individual employee receives increases in pay based wholly or partly on the regular and systematic assessment of job performance†. Additionally, Murlis (1996) claimed a significant distinction between the use of PRP to managing performance straight from the motivational stimulation of financial rewards (motivation) and the use of PRP to identify different levels of performance (reward). Based on these points, PRP can be commented as a combination of three key factors: motivation, performance and rewards, which work in two ways that motivating people to achieve expected performance; and rewarding these people who have achieved successful performance. Based on these three factors and their relationships, Pilbeam and Corbridge (2002) identified three stages for PRP application: Firstly, setting individual performance criteria by imposition, discussion or agreement firstly; secondly, assessing performance against individual performance criteria which established in stage1; thirdly, allocating pay to the assessment of performance by the exercise of managerial prerogative. 2. 3 Relevant theories of PRP 3. 2 2. 3. 1 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs & Herzberg’s motivational theory in PRP Maslow’s (1943, 1987) hierarchy of needs and the two factor theory of Herzberg (1959) indicated that pay can be considered as the most effective way to satisfy human’s need and further to motivate people to work more effectively, which means appropriate payment can stimulate employee to achieve successful performance that maximizing organisation’s benefits. Kessler and Purcell (1922) noted that employees will be easily motivated if there is a direct and close relationship between performance and reward. Therefore, PRP schemes could motivate the employees to increase their efforts to accomplish good performance. 2. 3. 2 Equity theory in PRP The Equity theory of Adams (1965) identified that employees have a strong need to be treated fairly which can be balanced by an equity between their input like work performance and output like rewarding. Compared to other types of pay like non-incentive pay which is based on collectively-negotiated rule, PRP associates employees’ productivity with their behaviour, rewarding employees for their successful performance, which is much more fair and reasonable. From these theories, we can see that PRP has brought a lot of potential benefits on improving HRM efficiency of organization. However, there are some shortages in PRP application in practice, which will be discussed in following two empirical case analyses. 3. Case study 3. Case one: â€Å"Why Do Companies Use Performance-Related Pay for Their Executive Directors? † (Bender, 2004) The paper focused on the issue of rewards to the listed companies’ executive director. There are variable ways to pay the rewards. Thus the performance-related pay introduced to this paper. At the beginning of this paper prior research introduces three types of theory to explain why companies use performance-related pay: agency theory , motivation theories (expectancy, equity), and institutional and legitimacy theories. Research designing utilized 12 companies’ interviews with 35 persons who stand in different positions. These interviews lasted for two years from December 2001 to May 2003. The interviews reflected different opinions about the influence of PRP. Some of the answers demonstrated PRP could motivate people to do work well: Alan Wilson, chief executive of Skandia UK regarded pay as a motivator; a HR director thought if everyone was paid the same base salary, they would always do the same. But a part of the respondents denied that PRP made an effort in motivating people in the work. A CEO argued that whether PRP works depends on which market you were in and also on when the people were on flat salaries. Also another respondent held a neutral idea on motivation of PRP to managers. A CEO categorized his employees into two types: one type chased money and the other worked for vocational interests and he realized that PRP was in a position to exert influence on those who chased money and not on employees worked for vocational interests. At the end of this part the author reaches the conclusion that lack of money is a de-motivator. Furthermore, interviews demonstrated some different ideas: a) Payment represents personal value of employees. The more contribution you have made, the more you can earn; b) Focus and fairness: according to the answers from interviewees, we can find that the company adopts PRP with the intention to make executives focus on their work efforts and fairness can improve employees’ performance; c) The need to provide alignment: here is a large number of factors influence performance in long-term and some of those cannot be observed currently; d) Other reasons to introduce performance-related pay: the requirement of government to adopt PRP and because of everybody has it so you has to have it; e) Problems with performance-related pay: a consultant pointed out that PRP system would bring unpredictable problems especially in long-term and it is difficult to select appropriate measure and tar gets. Market Practices Need for Legitimacy Need to Attract and Retain Implement a performance-related reward scheme Set performance measures and targets and use it to communicate strategy Directors’ actions and behaviours Business performance Performance-related award Monetary award Increased human capital for future negotiations Effect on individual’s self worth Figure 2: Why Companies use performance-related pay (Bender, 2004) In the final part, the author summarizes this case study according to three theories mentioned at the beginning of our description and draws figure 1 to show why companies performance-related pay. . 2 Case two: â€Å"Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service† (Dowling & Richardson, 1997) This paper includes 4 sections. Section 1 explains the NHS system which means the performance related pay system for general management in 1989. Section 2 concludes the evaluation criteria and explanatory framework. PRP is introduced on the initiative of management. According to Cannel a nd Wood’s survey, PRP could be introduced to overcome problems with existing systems, o encourage employees’ motivation, to improve communication with work force, to reduce problems of recruitment. Kessler suggested that the PRP might also be used to improve the fairness of a payment system, to reduce union influence and the importance of collective bargaining, can also give additional influence to line managers. The purpose of PRP is said to reward those manage who achieve a more than competent standard of work and motivate managers to perform better. Section 3 values the efficiency of the scheme and four measures are utilized to check the outcome of the scheme. Managers had to be assessed by their supervisors and receive reward based on their performance if they had finished targets set at the beginning of the year. In NHS, the HR department designed the PRP system in order to motivate managers. However, through self-reported data from the managers covered by the PRP system, a majority of respondents saw the scheme as having little or no effect on their motivation to do their jobs well. Also the authors did not found solid evidence to show that there are corresponding negative consequences of PRP. The initial examination of the raw data clearly suggests that the three elements of the scheme achieved different degrees of success. The objective-setting elements seemed to be widely supported. It could be observed that the scheme's rewards were either not appropriate or not sufficiently attractive to act as a motivator. PRP include the way in which performance standards are set and monitored. Section 4 explains the effects of PRP in the NHS. About 85% respondents showed satisfaction with the objective –setting process. Furthermore, they also agreed that the challenge offered by the objective measures increase their determination to achieve their goal set before. On the other hand, there was also much critical comment on reward system such as subjectivity and appraiser bias. In addition, the PRP reward system was always cash limited. 4. Analysis and Evaluation of PRP Theory in Business Organisations 2 3 4. 1 Comparison Both of the two cases are involved in the topic of PRP, and focus on the effectiveness of PRP scheme. In addition, both of the researches partly agree that PRP is successful in some areas or in some extend, however, PRP is still not a perfect scheme due to various reasons. As what has been pointed out to be the problems in PRP, among all of the reasons mentioned in the papers, the objective-setting process has been pointed out in both of the researches, which indicates that this might be one of the key points which should be considered to improve PRP scheme. What is more, both of the papers mention that PRP is introduced in order to â€Å"attract and retain executives with the potential of large earnings†(Bender, 2004) and â€Å"to improve the fairness of a payment system, to generate employee commitment† (Dowling and Richardson, 1997), which can be considered as the positive points of PRP. 4. 2 Contrast The methods used in the research in the two cases are different. The case about PRP in the National Health Service used both quantitative and qualitative date from a questionnaire survey (Dowling and Richardson, 1997). While, the case conducted by Bender (2004) used qualitative date from an interview survey. Moreover, the perspectives used in the two papers also vary. As to the reasons why PRP is not more successful, Dowling and Richardson (1997) consider that there are three kinds of employees as being particularly important: firstly, those who think that the objective-setting process of PRP is coped with terribly; secondly, those who think the assessments are handled badly; lastly, those who believe that the rewards are not attractive enough to encourage their motivation. They hold the opinion that PRP has a less important influence on these people, which indicates that the improvement of objective-setting process, assessments and rewards might lead to improving the effect of PRP. While, the paper conducted by Bender (2004) indicates that the reason that PRP is not so successful is also related to the market in which directors are. Besides, salary and rewards are not the only recourses that could motivate managers. For instance, leisure can also play a significant role in the performance of managers. Additionally, PRP scheme has less important impact on those people who mainly work for vocational interests. Meanwhile, this paper (Bender, 2004) pays more attention to the reasons that PRP is used by companies. The writer points out some more reasons from interviews with directors other than the strong points of PRP which have been mentioned above. To be exactly, pay can be deemed as a symbol of worth and how much one can earn is associated with the self esteem for the executives. In the end, we can see from the two papers that PRP has developed successfully from 1997 to 2004 because what are reflected in the papers shows us that PRP has been used much more and been recognized in a wider range. As a result, we can conclude that with the use of PRP, this scheme has become and also will become more and more mature and contribute a lot to business organizations. 4. 3 Performance related pay theory in business organizations This section conducts analysis of two empirical cases critically and assesses the value of PRP theory and benefits it achieves in business organizations. The whole objective of pay related systems like the PRP and other HRM theories is obviously to bring or add to the value of business organizations. When we take a look at the first paper, it is obvious that on the average PRP increases an organization’s value. The following are the perceived benefits of the PRP theory: 4 5. 1 5. 2 5. 3 5. 4. 1 Motivates employees and improve their performance The human needs hierarchy theory of Maslow (1943, 1987) and the two factors theory of Herzberg (1959) indicate that in modern society satisfying human needs like payment is in a position to motivate people to work harder. Furthermore, in business organisations payment related to performance can stimulate people to accomplish the performance that organizations want. Kessler and Purcell (1992) claimed that if direct relationship exists between effort, performance and reward, employees would be motivated. PRP schemes act exactly as this direct link motivating the employees to increase their efforts. 5. 4. 2 Facilitates change to organizational cultural Kessler and Purcell (1992) argued that PRP refers to flexibility, dynamism, entrepreneurial spirit and careful allocation of resources, leading to a performance-orientated culture. Therefore, the introduction of PRP facilitates change in business organizations culture from collectively negotiated formula to individual contribution, which assists in solving problems, increasing value of organizations, and reducing problems of recruitment and retention. 5. 4. Encourages the internalization of performance norms â€Å"PRP can encourage the internalization of the organisation’s goal or norms of behaviour among the employees of the organization† (Geary, 1992). In the implementation of PRP, the organisation’s norms of behaviour can be enhanced by rewarding congruous work effects and by punishing incongruous performance. Th ereby, it strengthens management control and clarifies job roles within organizations. 5. 4 Problems of PRP in practice Theoretically, PRP can produce many benefits for organizations, which have been demonstrated above. However, there are always gaps between theories and practice of PRP. In this part data from the NHS case will be utilized to illustrate some problems of PRP. Figure 3 above shows that only 2 percent respondents consider PRP as the motivator for them to work harder while respondents with opposite idea accounts for 45 percent. Also 67 percent respondents embrace neutral idea on the question of whether PRP scheme affect motivation to do the job and 77 percent respondents did not feel more co-operation after the introduction of PRP scheme. Question| Negative Positive| Does PRP have effect on your motivation to do the job well? 2| 3| 67| 25| 4| You consciously work harder because of the PRP scheme. | 45| 26| 17| 10| 2| You focus on PRP objectives rather than other activities. | 34| 34| 20| 10| 2| PRP changes co-operation level among colleagues| 2| 12| 77| 8| 1| Figure 3: PRP in the National Health Service (Dowling and Richardson, 1997) 5. 5. 4 Setting performance objectives It is essential for organizations to set up clear and measurable objectives so that the behaviour of employees can be guided by objectives. However, imposition and narrowness of PRP in objective-setting could lead to failure of the implementation. What’s more, short term approach stemming from narrow and misleading objectives could make employees ignore intangible aspects and long-term tasks. Therefore, the weakness of PRP in objective-setting could discourage behaviour that is not financially rewarded and prevent business organizations from functioning well. 5. 5. 5 Assessment and ratings Assessment and ratings are indispensable stage of PRP system. In practice, two crucial elements during these processes, scales of ratings and fair appraisals made by managers are difficult to achieved, which make employees not satisfied with ratings given to them. As Belfield and Marsden (2002) argued that the use of PRP will do more harm than good if the right monitoring environment is not in place. 5. 5. 6 Reward PRP regards reward as the motivator for employees to work hard, which is often not the case in practice. Maslow’s theory of the Hierarchy of Needs (1943) stated that payment is not the only need of human beings. Besides payment, people also have mental requirements such as belongingness needs, esteem needs and self-actualization. 5. Conclusion After critical analysis and assessment we can finally reach the conclusion that in theory PRP is in a position to provide business organizations certain benefits such as motivating employees, improving their performance, attracting executives, facilitating change in organizational culture and encouraging the internalization of performance norms. However, due to imposition and narrowness in objective-setting, unfairness and inaccuracy in assessment and ratings, and diversification of human needs, theoretical benefits of PRP cannot be reached. Therefore, more attention should be paid on the gap between HRM theories and their application in practice so that HRM theories can assist business organizations in increasing their values. Reference ACAS, 1990. Appraisal-related Pay. London: ACAS. Adams, J. S. , 1965. Inequity in social exchange. In: Berkowitz, L. ed. , Advances in experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press, 267-299. Armstrong, M. , 2002. Employee reward. 3rd ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Armstrong, M. ; Murlis, H. , 1994. Reward Management, London: Kogan Page. Belfield, R. ; Marsden, D. , 2002. Matchmaking: the influence of monitoring environments on the effectiveness of performance pay systems. Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. Bender, R. , 2004. Why Do Companies Use Performance-Related Pay for Their Executive Directors? Corporate Government, 12(4), pp. 521-533. Dowling, B. ; Richardson, R. , 1997. Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service. The Intematioruil Joumal of Human Resource Management, 8(3), pp. 348-366. Herzberg, F. , 1959. The Motivation to work, New York: John Wiley. Geary, J. F. , 1992. Pay, control and commitment: linking appraisal and reward. Human Resource Management Journal, 2(4), pp. 36-54. Kessler, I. ; Purcell, J. , 1992. Performance-related pay: objectives and application. Human resource management Journal, 2(3), pp. 16-23 Lewis, P. , 1998. Management performance-related pay based on evidence from the financial services sector. Human Resource Management Journal, 8(2), pp. 66-77 Maslow, A. H. , 1943. A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, pp. 370-396. Maslow, A. H. , 1987. Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper ; Row. Murlis, H. , 1996. Pay at the Crossroads. London: Institute of Personnel Development. Pilbeam, S. ; Corbridge, M. , 2002. People Resourcing: HRM in Practice. 2nd ed. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. Appendices Tow papers: Bender, R. , 2004. Why Do Companies Use Performance-Related Pay for Their Executive Directors? Corporate Government, 12(4), pp. 521-533. Dowling, B. ; Richardson, R. , 1997. Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(3), pp. 348-366.

Inferno and Infernal

Inferno and Infernal Inferno and Infernal Inferno and Infernal By Maeve Maddox When I see the word inferno, I think fire, but originally, the word did not carry the connotation of intense heat. The association with burning derives from beliefs taught by some religions about the afterlife. The OED offers only one definition of inferno: Hell; a place of torment or misery compared to hell; a place likened in some respect to the Inferno of Dantes Divine Comedy. Merriam-Webster offers three definitions of inferno: 1. a place or a state of torment and suffering. 2. a place that resembles or suggests hell in being dark, noisy, chaotic, lawless. 3. intense heat. English speakers, British as well as American, use inferno to mean an intense conflagration: Tracking the inferno: where wildfires are hitting California, other states hardest- The Guardian. Scientists find planets that survived red giant inferno- The London Times. Thirty people feared dead and 40 more injured after shopping centre inferno causes mall to collapse in Russia  - The Daily Mail. Multiple fire departments reported to the scene of the inferno just after 7 p.m. Sunday, and spent nearly the next 12 hours battling the blaze.- Galloway Patch (New Jersey). Small Fire Becomes Inferno, Burning Homes in California- New York Times.   Like inferno, the adjective that derives from it, infernal, refers to the realm of the dead or a place of punishment after death: Paradise Lost  opens with the fallen angels in hell. Mammon proposes that they build an infernal kingdom of their own, imitating the majesty of heaven through the material riches of the kingdom of hell. Infernal is commonly used as a synonym for hellish, damnable, damned, diabolical, and fiendish. Here are some examples: City Tells Ice Cream Trucks To Keep That Infernal Racket  Down When will these so-called â€Å"voters† stop with their infernal meddling? Will you stop with your infernal fear-mongering? Gatlin and his ilk have brought not only themselves down with their infernal lies  but the whole athletics community. I turned my eye towards him and immediately caught his eye, which he kept staring upon me for more than a minute, with the most infernal expression I have ever seen upon a human face. An â€Å"infernal machine† is â€Å"a machine or apparatus maliciously designed to explode and destroy life or property, especially one in the form of something harmless. For example: To greet the Princes return to Sofia this month, the Chief of the Russian Secret Police sent him an  infernal machine disguised as a  box of the finest cigars.- Sherlock Holmes and The Case of The Bulgarian Codex, Tim Symonds, 2012. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureUse a Dash for Number RangesUsing "May" in a Question

Portugal essays

Portugal essays Mediterranean Europe consists of four countries; Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy. I have chosen to write on Portugal. I will thoroughly explain the following topics. Where Portugal is located, and the type of physical place it is. How the Portuguese people interact with their environment. Also, the movement of people, goods, religion, etc, in Portugal. Lastly, the types of regions that is located in Portugal. Portugal is located on the western portion of the Iberian Peninsula, in Mediterranean Europe. Its capitol is Lisbon. The absolute location of Portugal is 39N to 30N and 8W to 00W. Portugal shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain. Therefore, the only country bordering Portugal is Spain. Portugal's population is 10,066,253 people. Their population growth rate is .18%. Which means roughly 20,000 new people join the country each year. The time difference between Portugal and Chicago, Illinois is six hours. The cost of a one-way coach ticket from Chicago, Illinois to Lisbon, Portugal would be $514. I would use American Airlines, because it is the cheapest and the most dependable airline. It would take approximately nine hours to travel from Chicago, Illinois, to Lisbon, Portugal. When we travel we would pass over the following states and bodies of water in order; Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the Atlantic Ocean. Those are just a few characteristics of where P ortugal is located. Next, is a description of the type of place Portugal is. Portugal's climate is divided into two different areas. In the north it is a mild rainy climate, and in the south it is much warmer and drier. Portugal is made up of mostly plateaus and plains. It is mountainous North of the tagus river, and flat with rolling plains in the south. There are three major rivers running through Portugal; Tagus, Douro, and Guadiana. The people of Portugal are mostly Roman Catholic. Over 96% of Portugal's ...

Analysis Of Dantes Inferno English Literature Essay

Analysis Of Dantes Inferno English Literature Essay Dante’s Inferno represents a microcosm of society; that is, laymen, clergy, lovers, wagers of war, politicians, and scholars are all collected into one place and punished for their worst ‘ and most human ‘ attributes. Hell, despite its otherworldly appearance and brutal, ugly nature, is somewhat humanized by the fact that those who are punished come from ‘every country’ (Dante 3.123) and every walk of life, regardless of age, race, sex, or creed. While Dante Alighieri did not invent the idea of Hell as a place of punishment for the wayward and sinful souls in the afterlife, he did create the most ‘powerful and enduring’ (Raffa 1) imagining of a concept which has received significant attention in biblical, classical, and medieval works. Dante’s Divine Comedy was written sometime between 1308 and 1321 and is considered â€Å"the supreme work of Italian literature† (Norwich 27). It is an epic poem divided into three separate se ctions: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso ‘ Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, respectively. The personal element of the journey through Hell in Dante’s Inferno literally explores the descent of one man into sin; through the use of poetic justice, both contemporary and historical figures, and mythological figures, Dante crafts an immediate and enthralling work dealing with the nature of sin and its place in society. The concept of poetic justice is famously explored in Inferno, where it is put to ‘dramatic effect†¦ devising appropriate torments for each particular sin’ (Raffa 3). From Limbo to Treachery, Dante catalogues and documents the punishment of sinners both infamous and beloved, famous and unknown. In every case, the punishment fits the crime in a twisted and malignant fashion ‘ after all, the poem does discuss the realm of Satan, the Christian embodiment of evil. The nine circles of Hell described in Inferno are as follows: Limbo, Lust, Glutto ny, Avarice and Prodigality, Wrath and Sullenness, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery. These nine circles are based off of the idea of the Seven Deadly Sins, with some additions ‘ such as Limbo ‘ created by Dante. The poem begins with Dante lost in a dark wood, assailed by three beasts he cannot evade, and unable to move ‘straight along’ (Dante 1.18) the road to salvation, represented by a mountain. A lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf ‘ symbolizing pride, envy, and avarice, respectively ‘ block Dante’s path to the top of the mountain, forcing him to descend into the depths of Hell with Virgil. The entire journey documented in the Divine Comedy is an allegory for man’s fall into sin before achieving redemption (represented by Purgatorio) and eventually salvation (represented by Paradiso). Before Dante even enters the gates of Hell, he is introduced to his guide for the first two realms of the afterlife, Inferno and Paradiso. For th is role, Dante chose Virgil (70-19 BCE), who lived under the rule of Julius Caesar and later Augustus during Rome’s transition from a republic into an empire, and is most famous for the Aeneid. Two episodes in Virgil’s work were of particular interest to Dante. Book IV tells the tale of Aeneas and Dido, the queen of Carthage, who kills herself when Aeneas ‘abandons her to continue his journey and†¦ [found] a new civilization in Italy’ (Raffa 8). Book VI recounts Aeneas’ journey into Hades to meet the shade of his father and learn of future events in his journey. Many elements in the Aeneid are present ‘ in heavily modified form ‘ in Dante’s Inferno. Many of Dante’s mythological elements are based on Book VI of Virgil’s Aeneid, which recounts Aeneas’ visit to the underworld. Virgil imbued his version of the underworld with a ‘fluid, dreamlike atmosphere’ (5), while Dante instead strives for gr eater realism, providing sharply drawn and tangible figures.