Critical study of how music uniquely expands our understanding of experience Essay Example for Free

Critical study of how music uniquely expands our understanding of experience Essay Music has long existed in our society as a form of culture, entertainment and the like. In fact every civilization known to exist had had a great deal of benefits from music. There are lots of people who see music as nothing more than plain entertainment however there are those who holds in the claim that music gives us something more than entertainment per se. There are claims that music could affect us in a number of ways. Music has considerable effects on one’s mind, body and emotions. Music that are abundant in beats in a way could fuel one’s body, music carried out with feelings could affect one’s emotional status and could either make one cry with misery or laugh with joy, classical music could stimulate the mind, and so on and so forth. There are people who are greatly aware of the effects music could wrought on a person and this could greatly be seen on our everyday experiences. Movies, films, news, see the importance and know the effects music could have on every individual and thus music is key parts in every movie made nowadays. Have you ever seen a movie that doesn’t have an original sound track or a movie that did not make use of background music? Ever seen a documentary and the like who did not use music in the background while portraying the videos or documents they have? Having seen some of the uses music could have it may now suffice to say that music is indeed an important aspect in our lives and it plays fundamental role in today’s society (as well as on societies which existed thousand of years ago). As was stated music is an essential part of every culture, of every society and thus it is of no surprise that music is seen as a part of our everyday routines. Music could have fundamental effects on one’s emotion. Think of an instance wherein certain music affected you emotionally. Say you heard a certain song and it evoke within you some sort of emotions like pain, happiness and the like. I remember for an instance a conversation I have had with a friend of mine. He always loves to listen to the lyrics of Ever After of Bonnie Bailey and Come Around by Rhett Miller. He told me that he love listening to Ever After because that used to be their theme song (of his ex girlfriend) and he loves singing Come around because he can relate to that particular song. Thus, seemingly music indeed has certain effects on our emotions. I even remember claiming that my friend is such a masochist because he loves listening to sad songs such as Come Around when he has a choice to do otherwise. Similarly music has certain ways of affecting one’s mood. However it is not really known how do music affects a person physiologically and psychologically as well. Thus, a question may arise as to how do certain music affects a person’s mood. In order to determine how music affects a person’s mood one must first know the root as to how music inspires a person’s emotion. There are two contrasting viewpoints who tried to answer this particular puzzle. These views are called emotivist and cognitivist. For an emotivist they believe in the notion that we feel certain emotions as a form of response everytime we hear certain music. The cognitivist on the other hand believes otherwise. The cognitivists believes that there is more to humans than emotions and thus they believe that we get to decode certain musical emotions on a rational level, thus it shows that the cognitivists do not really believe that we really get to experience musical emotions. In order to see whether the beliefs of the emotivists are correct or not an experiment needs to be conducted in order to see if there are certain music models which could draw out coherent physiological reactions from different kinds of people. This experiment is needed in order for us to see if we really do experience emotions when exposed to a particular music. It is in this regard that a study had been conducted by Krumhansl wherein two groups of student were used. These particular groups of students each partake different activities. The activity went as follow: One group of 40 students dynamically rated the levels of sadness, fear, happiness, and tension in six sample pieces intended to evoke sadness, fear, or happiness. They did so by adjusting a slider on a computer while the music was playing. A separate group, consisting of 38 college students, was hooked up to physiological sensors monitoring a variety of cardiovascular, electrodermal, and respiratory responses which recorded their change over time. Both groups heard the six musical samples with a 90-second pause in between each. The physiological measures taken from the second group were compared with the degree of sadness, fear, happiness, and tension reported by the first group. Both the physiological measures and emotional ratings were recorded as they changed during the course of the piece. Therefore, correlations could be drawn between the intensity of certain emotions and physiological symptoms. (Boswell) The results shown by the experiment was in accordance to the side of the emotivists. Each of the musical selections was rated as having the intended emotion, and consistent physiological responses were found for each measured emotion: sad music was correlated with a decreased heart rate, lowered finger temperature, increased blood pressure, and decreased skin conductance level; happy music with faster and shallower breathing, and fear-invoking music with a slower pulse, faster breathing, and decreased finger temperature. These effects were consistent during the duration of the pieces. (Boswell) This is further proof that the emotivists position was indeed supported by the said experiment. The fact that there was a coherent physiological modification that was produced by the different music used in the said experiment were behavioral evidence enough that those college students indeed experienced certain emotions all throughout the time they were exposed to the music used. This result contradicted the claim that emotions could only be transmitted once a person gets to recognize a certain passage present within a particular music. Another study was made by Sloboda. Sloboda attempted to identify the exact musical composition which brings about definite physical emotional responses. Examples of the said responses are tears, trembling, and the like. The study made use of questionnaire which was dispersed to five hundred British citizens. However, only eighty-three persons send back the survey. It is an important thing to know that those eighty-three persons who answered the survey were experts in terms of music, particularly classical music. The said survey had went on as follow: Participants were instructed to indicate the frequency with which they experienced certain physical responses as an effect of music within the last five years, as well as the piece of music and, if possible, the specific part of the piece or musical event that provoked it. In addition, they were asked to say whether the response was consistently evoked. (Boswell) A huge number of the partakers claimed that they were able to experience certain physical emotional responses such as mirth, trembling, tears, lump in their throats and the like for the last five years of their lives. However the survey showed that women are more prone to experiencing tears as compared to men. Men on the other hand, especially those already on their thirties, claimed that they experienced more laughter than compared to other age. Just as was the case on the experiment conducted by Krumhansl, the survey conducted by Sloboda also showed a great deal of consistency to each piece of music they were exposed to. This particular survey also showed the extent of the consistency in that the reactions remained consistent even though they have heard the certain musical piece for more than fifty times. A further point of interest is that there are particular melodic constructions which showed to have consistent effects upon the partakers of the said survey. Appogiaturas for one were consistent in bringing tears into surface. The experiment also showed that a series of changes in terms of harmony incite trembling, whereas quickening brought about faster heart beats. However, if there is a certain drawback in the said study is the fact that it was conducted with the use of questionnaires. We could have no way of knowing if the person who answered it had answered truthfully or if s/he is merely bluffing. Thus, in a way we have no way of making sure that the partakers of the said survey indeed experienced the particular emotions and physical responses they reported they have experienced for the past five years. Another factor is the fact that those who participated in the survey were all expert on the field of music and thus we could not really deduct from this survey alone that the rest of the world would also act or feel the same way. However there are certain studies which had been conducted which show that very little difference exists between those who have musical expertise and those who have none. In addition, the records stated by the partakers of the said survey regarding their experiences of physical signs of emotions are not really unusual. Thus, in a way we could say that the study conducted by Sloboda also supported the position held by the emotivists. We should also take into account the fact that the physical responses reported by the survey partakers are in fact common in all human beings since we all share the same autonomic response system. However, we should also take note of the fact that our capability to utilize the said system in order for us to feel or experience certain emotions brought about by music is in a way, a learned process. This particular claim is supported by the fact that very young children do not really get to experience the said responses. Even those adults who have different kinds of music as compared to ours are not likely capable to experience the said responses brought about by the music we listen into. Thus, Sloboda claimed that the link between musical compositions and emotions is a learned process which is also dependent on one’s culture. However, this does not necessitate that we do not really get to experience or fell certain emotions from listening to certain music. It only tells us that we may not be able to relate nor are we likely to experience certain emotions from listening to other music that are completely different from ours. Fact is, Sloboda even claimed that if we are to be exposed to music completely different from ours we could still get to relate to that music although it would take time. Therefore even though the link between musical compositions and emotions is a learned process, evidences and studies still show the stand held by the emotivists that we are indeed capable of feeling or experiencing certain emotions simply by listening to a particular music. Thus those who participated in the studies conducted have steadily testified that they have indeed experienced true emotions when they listened to certain music. The researches conducted also accounted for the fact that very little difference in terms of recognizing emotions could be seen between those who have musical expertise and those who have none. Thus this accounted for the emotivists view that we could indeed experience certain emotions simply by listening to certain music, although it is still not clear what inclines us to be affected in certain ways. Research conducted claims that there is really no ground in saying that somewhere in our brains there could be located a region dedicated mainly to process musical data. In contrary, the errand of musical processing is extended to the whole region of our brains. Thus whereas the right brain is responsible for the emotions evoked while listening to music, the left brain is quite responsible for looking at music in a more rational ground thus it tends to critically examine music. There are even proofs which show that the primeval region within our mid brain is the one responsible for our emotions we experience while listening to music. Thus a primeval region within our midbrain engages itself with the task of realizing and appreciating music in an emotional way. However, the specific region wherein music is being developed (if ever there is one) is yet to be known. A study which involves this particular interest was conducted by Schmidt and Trainor. Schmidt and Trainor studied whether or not frontal brain electrical activity correlated with intensity and positivity or negativity, or valence, of emotion. The study showed that the left frontal brain is the one responsible for experiencing positive emotions whereas the right frontal brain is the one responsible for experiencing negative emotions. Thus, emotions such as happiness, interests and the like are product of the left frontal brain whereas emotions such as horror, revulsion, pain and the like were made by the right frontal brain. Therefore it would suffice for us to say that when listening to happy tunes our left frontal brain is likely to be triggered whereas listening to desolate songs would trigger our right frontal brain. It also follows that the intensity of music could affect the intensity of the frontal activity. The hypothesis stated above had already been confirmed. A careful selection of music which would likely draw out positive emotions triggered the left frontal brain whereas a careful selection of music which would likely draw negative emotions triggered the right frontal brain. Thus, the frontal activity of the brain increases every time the intensity of certain music also increases. Thus in a way this is also another proof which supports the emotivist view that listening to certain music could make a person experience certain emotions. Thus a similarity between music and language could be seen. Both language and music alike is inclined to be interpreted subconsciously. Thus, this seems to show that humans have a biological structure which enables music to draw emotions from each of us. And though this particular structure is yet to be known, researchers concluded that the said structure is not composed of a single area on the brain. On the contrary, researchers believe that such structure is made up of an interaction of the different systems which could be found within our brain. It is due to music’s many uses that music is also deemed to have considerable effects on the field of medicine. There are certain accounts taken from the Bible, artifacts, as well as studies that show that music could have considerable effects on a person’s health and well-being. In fact, there are historical inscriptions taken from Egypt, Greek, China and other known civilizations which praise music’s ability in medical matters. Music is widely considered to have medical importance and it is in this regard that music even such a term such as music therapy. After World War II the United States of America even see to it that music therapy would be used on wounded soldiers who were tormented by physical as well as emotional traumas taken from the war. Physicians and nurses alike saw how music helped alleviate some of the soldiers or veterans pain by merely engaging themselves on musical activities. It is on this regard that hospitals started employing musicians to help better their patients’ status. Music had been very helpful in bettering the patient’s emotional as well as psychological status and as many people learned of these certain benefits derived from music, National Association for Musical Therapy came to existence. The need for musical therapy became wide range to the point that the National Association for Musical Therapy or NAMT allied themselves to other musical organizations which in turn resulted into the foundation of the American Music Therapy Association or AMTA. The ranges of music therapy vary widely in that it not only caters to emotional sickness since it also proved to be beneficial in sickness suffered under physical injuries. Music therapy helped people in terms of their perceiving pains. There are a number of reasons why they consider music as an effectual means in limiting perceived pains. First, music could divert a person’s mind from the pain at hand or from the pain a person perceives. Second, music could help in terms of giving a person some kind of control. Thirdly, music could help counter pain since it could help a person in releasing endorphins which are necessary in giving a person some sense of well-being. Fourth, slow music could help a person in terms of relaxation in that it slows a person’s breathing. Take a person with leukemia for an example. Let’s say Person A needs to undergo a certain surgery necessary to cure his leukemia. One should admit that surgical procedures are indeed frightening and thus Person A could not help but be afraid of what’s on store for him and thus Person A’s blood pressure continues to rise and this in turn has a crucial effect on Person A’s healing process. This particular thing could also heighten Person A’s awareness or perception of pain. One’s pain could not be measure by anyone and thus there is no standard in terms of the amount of pain a person could have. It is in this manner that music therapy comes into the picture. We have already enumerated the reasons why music therapy is considered beneficial in medicine and thus in this manner one could be lead to speculate that music therapy could indeed lessen one’s pain perception because it could work in certain ways in order to lessen a person’s perceived pain. Disturbance or diversion could help in certain ways in lessening one’s sense perception and thus it could help moderate the pain a person undergoes. This pain moderation could be redirected to the cognitive section which could be seen in the Gate-Control Theory of Pain. Pleasant music naturally applies or concentrates on a person’s pleasant stimulus which in turn concerns the capability of the information processing system. Since the music would be busy attending to the pleasant stimulus of a person it naturally follows that the person’s occupation would be diverted from the pain-causing stimulus. It is ion this regard that music is considered important in distracting a person because distraction presents a person with an escape by means of imagination which in turn is a crucial means in lessening stress, nervousness and fear which are important factors which constitutes pain. Thus enjoyable imagination could promote some sense of control to a person which could decrease a person’s nervousness and feeling of being powerless. Thus since music helps transfer our attention away from painful experiences it provides us with a strategy we could use when we undergo painful experiences, may it be physically or emotionally.

Porter Generic Stratey Essay Example for Free

Porter Generic Stratey Essay The key drivers of competitive advantage are cost leadership and differentiation product †¢COMPETITIVE STRATEGY- the means by which an organisation seeks to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Porter suggests that competitive strategy means taking an offensive or defensive action to create a defendable position to cope with the competitive forces- this would lead to greater returns †¢Porter suggests that a firm’s strengths fall into two headngs; cost advantage and differentiation. By applying these strengths in a broad or narrow focus, three generic strategies result: COST LEADERSHIP, DIFFERENTIATION AND FOCUS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦they are generic because they are not specific to a firm or industry. †¢4 strategies to gain a competitive advantage: COST LEADERSHIP-(superior profits through lower costs), DIFFERENTIATION-(higher profits by adding value the products areas that are of real significance for customers who are willing to pay a premium price), FOCUS STRATEGY-(concentrate on a specific area on the market) †¢COST LEADERSHIP- concentrates on becoming the lowest cost producer through economies of scale. With this, the organisation can compete on price with the potential to earn higher unit profits. Cost reduction provides the focus for the orgaisations strategy. Competitive advantage is achieved by driving costs down. There is room for only one cost leader †¢Firms that succeed in cost leadership have the following strengths: access to capital to make big investment, design skills, high level of expertise in manufacturing process, efficient distribution channels †¦. EXAMPLES- RYANAIR, TOYOTA, TESCO, AND WALMART †¢Cost leadership is often seen as a strategy that aims to attract customers with low prices made by low costs†¦.. ut this doesn’t necessarily mean the lowest selling price, but due to low costs, the profit margins are higher †¢DIFFERENTIATION- this strategy calls for a development of a product or service that offers unique and valued attribute by customers. The customers believe that the product is different than rivals. the uniqueness gives a product added value which enables companies to charge a higher price premium. Successful differentiation- differentiating products from competitiors, charging a higher price†¦. an base differentiation on omage, durability, after-sales customer service/ needs strong RD †¢HOWEVER, adding value increases a firms cost base for a product which reduces the unit profit margin- these costs can only be recouped if the consumer is willing to pay the premium price. Also, customers must recognise these differences†¦. EXAMPLES: BMW, MIELE (HIGHER QUALITY DOMESTIC APPLIANCES), BANG AND OLUFSEN, MERC, ETC †¢Benefit a chance of charging a premium price, demand for differentiated less elastic, above average profits, additional barriers to entry? Risks difficult to sustain, higher costs, risk of creating differences, comsumers may become too price sensitive, compititors who attain a focus strategy may achieve greater differentiation. †¢FOCUS STRATEGY- Like differentiation, but organisation concentrates on one or more segments of the market, this may offer the firm more security for achieving its competitive advantage†¦. However there are specific requirements for the focus strategy†¦. Firms benefit form specialisation, differentiation on a lower scale, so the costs are lower than full scale differentiation

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.

Free Great Gatsby Essays: Sensational, Blatant, Ugly and Pointless :: Great Gatsby Essays

The Many Flaws of The Great Gatsby There are a few, very rare, moments where Fitzgerald allows some insights in the characters of his novel, The Great Gatsby. These occasions should be marked red. Most of the time, the story annoys the reader with imaginary pictures of the Golden 20’s, which really were never that golden, or images of our hero, Gatsby. All the wonderful things that critics see in the story: the novel of manners, love, American Dream, and romance have been interpreted into the story long after the fact. There are some slight hints towards these topics, but they are not really developed by Fitzgerald (e.g. the love between J. Gatz and Daisy Fay). The missing relationship between Gatsby and Daisy is but one of the flaws of the novel. Fitzgerald shows a lack of care in developing Gatsby as a person of the "New Money", dreaming all the day, having and being tasteless in everything he has and is, in addition to being a criminal (though there ´s no real evidence for that), and developing Daisy as a character, coming from a well-known family "Old Money" and being not guilty ("white", to use Fitzgerald ´s riduculas color symbolism). It was just impossible for a mediocre writer like Fitzgerald was, to develop a relationship between such different persons (though they have one thing in common: their lack of taste). The Great Gatsby is an absurd story. One cannot consider this â€Å"masterpiece† as a love story - the only love is one by a shy daydreamer, admiring a lady from the upperclass and doing every possible stupid thing to get her, but who, after not having succeeded, becomes a "tragic hero". Just blindly applying ancient and worn storylines doesn’t make a good book. One cannot consider it as a plain record of lifestyle in the 20 ´s because it simply is not. To suppose that it is a symbol for the American Dream (which isn ´t dreamt by Americans only) it is just ridiculous. These things are not definable by some characters written on a virgin white (color symbolism !!!) sheet of paper. The same goes for those who consider The Great Gatsby as a romantic novel: Ripping off people who buy alcohol, accumulating that dark (color symbolism !!!) money and then filling a pool with it, just to impress a teen love is not very romantic in the opinion of most people.

Comparing Dover Beach and Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay

A Comparison of the Victorian and Modernist Perceptions as Exemplified by Dover Beach and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock    Matthew Arnold and T.S. Eliot, in their respective poems, share a sense of alienation, not only from other people but from nature and God as well. Arnold is writing in an age when the place of man in the universe is coming into question, for the first time since the advent of Christianity. He can no longer take the same solace in nature and the love of God that his Romantic predecessors did. While Arnold comments on isolation, however, he still addresses himself to a lover in Dover Beach, whereas Prufrock is presented as a man who has completely retreated within himself. Eliot's isolation is total. In the industrialized age of Arnold, people no longer were able to look upon nature for inspiration; the unpopulated country of Wordsworth's time was no longer accessible to a centralized people. The increased pace of life and urban crowding obviated the Romantic's luxury of reflection in natural solitude. While the poet observes nature in Dover Beach, the experience is metaphorically useful, but not an end unto itself, nor does it bring any comfort. Rather, Arnold uses the futility that he sees in the ocean's tides to illustrate the fruitlessness of human endeavor. Although the sea appears calm [line 1], beneath the surface there is this almost cruel drama being played out, as the pebbles are dragged and flung by the waves and dragged back again, producing a "grating roar." [lines 9-12] The image of human beings as pebbles on the sand recurs in the third stanza, when Arnold refers to the "Sea of Faith" which has withdrawn and left the rocks exposed as "naked shingles." Eliot later a lso repudiates t... ...he colloquial almost instantaneously. Arnold's final paragraph serves a sort of summing-up of Dover Beach as a whole. At the conclusion of Prufrock, Eliot leaps into an apparently tangential thought about mermaids. It's not his job to explain what Prufrock is talking about. Eliot has turned the enigma of modern living into a poem, rather than using his work to provide an answer to the questions that humanity must deal with. Arnold seems to be mourning for a time past when people could look to faith for answers to questions of import. Eliot acknowledges that those days will never return and instead encourages the reader to apply a personal meaning to The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Works Cited: T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. ed. M. H. Abrams New York, London: Norton, 1993.

Human Resources Challenges Essay -- Business Management

Introduction Some of the challenges that organizations' human resource department face are, operations, policies and procedures and selecting highly qualified candidates. Management depends on human resource department to select candidates through recruitment, interviewing and application screening. I will discuss a few methods that human resources departments use to select potential candidates through credit reports and social media. Credit Reports Organizations have been using traditional recruitment methods, placing help wanted ads in newspapers to look for potential candidates. Human resource department application selection process requires candidates to go through an interview, background check and credit investigation. The reason organizations do a credit investigation is to make sure candidates are creditable and trustworthy. By conducting a credit investigation human resource department can compare information on a candidate’s profile to make sure it coincides with information on their credit report. A good credit report would consist of no judgments, bankruptcy; pass due payments or any repossession. Base on the application process, this would be the ideal candidate for the job. Organizations will not hire candidates if their credit report, reported any negative blemishes. Organizations would be afraid if candidates had a lot of blemishes on their report, it would cause issue for the company, especially i f their job required a candidate to handle money transactions. Organizations view candidates as if they were having trouble handling their personal money affairs, they could not be trust to handle the organizations reasonability’s. Human resource department would not hire a highly qualified candidate wit... ...ponsibilities within an organization, the challenges they are face with is recruiting the right candidate for the position. It requires application screening, interviewing, background, and possible credit investigations. However there are many recruitment tools human resource departments can use to recruit candidates, social media, been the most popular. With so many challenges human resources face it is important to make sure they hire highly qualified candidates. Works Cited Fairley, J.. (2010, November). EMPLOYERS FACE CHALLENGES IN SCREENING CANDIDATES. Workforce Management, 89(11), 7. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Complete. (Document ID: 2188682971). Sheehan, P.. (2010, October). Social recruiting targets job candidates. Long-Term Living, 59(10), 31. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Complete. (Document ID: 2176149381).

Audit in Private and Public Sector

Audit in private and public sector * Research problem Private companies have lack of confidence, since they are not sure for property of financial records. Procedures and numbers of company are not reviewed regularly. Most importantly, internal controls are getting poorer, and reliability of financial statements is not attaining progress. In addition, errors on tax payment are influencing the yearly activity of company. All these pitfalls happen as result of ignores of annual audit. Many transactions happen during a year in bank account of private companies.The bank sees all these transaction; however, the responsible body for the money is board members. The main responsibility is to control whether or not funds are used appropriately. Therefore, financial records should be audited regularly. * Purpose of research The research will increase the awareness of financial makers within private companies. Through interviews private companies will see determine what is lacking their compani es. Annual tax control by Administration of Taxes is resulting on high amounts of punishment. This happens as result of lack of importance for external and internal control.The effort of research will be seen in changing the current managing method existing in companies. Annual audit expenses take place within companies’ expenses, rather than leaving the biggest place to marketing expenses of company. Not the last but the least, the audit companies will invest to increase the communication with private companies, in order to contribute in proper and right annual financial statements. * Significance of research The audit will determine the need for internal control in company, which increase reliability of financial system in company.The audit contributes to close the financial year properly, and start with a new year. All the misuses of funds and mismanagement of financial system are covered primarily by audit. Most importantly audit prevents issues of becoming bigger in a co mpany, which will negatively affect in upcoming years. The audit program also includes the comparison between actual income and expenses, and budgeted ones. Thus, the further planning of budget is supported by the audit analyses of previous years. Auditor checks some group samples of expenses, whether are approved, valid, and are spent from right category of budget.In addition, auditor checks bank statement of company, and look after high values of transactions, which are completed with printed checks. * Quantitative Research questions and hypotheses 1. How was the effect of entrance of European standards for business operation into Kosovo’s system? H1. It was very confused at the beginning, however with much training and presentations held by Ministry of Economy & Finance, it was settled down within company. H2. The European standards could not match with the previous financial system; therefore it took a long time to get adapted by company, and whole staff. . What are the d ifficulties of implementing audit report recommendations into company? H1. The audit recommendations often are difficult to be implemented within one fiscal year. The recommendations regarding the structure of company, and operation system can take longer time, in order to be implemented. H2. Recommendations are mostly concern of management staff, since they are responsible to control the implementation. Most of recommendations are denied by managers, and it takes a long time to verify these recommendations internally. Research design and rationale for its selection The research contains two group studies, the company overview before audit process implementation and overview after audit. Moreover, in statistical analyses two groups will include with a single measurement subject: never audited companies, and rarely audit companies. In this research, the implementation of audit process will be monitored, and the influence of audit findings in management will be measured. There will be some anonymous questions and answers will be asked after the implementation of process. Research methodology and rationale for its selection This study was focused on audit manual of office of general auditor in Kosovo, and aim to see the time by time changes in control method of companies. The designed questionnaire expected to shape the confusion of management, internal control, external control, and right financial statements in a company. A detailed questionnaire was designed with an objective to shape the interest of managers to apply annual audit, their management style of expenses, and the effect of errors happening in annual financial statements.The three questions are asked regarding the planning phase and planning documents that effect the beginning phase. Secondly, three questions are used for the percentage of materiality and its usefulness during choosing the number of samples to audit. Also the audit program as main documents for starting the audit phase should be des igned according to nature of audited entities. Finally, four questions are designed for the influence of audit findings for correctness of entity further. Be sure to include basic data collection considerations including sampling, population description, data collection procedures and feasibility of data collection. Firstly, the easier access of research is taken as potential population. However, the region and city of location will limit the research. The research will target private companies with over 500,000â‚ ¬ annual turnover, and private companies that have at least 15 employees. Private companies with high annual turnover are not obliged still by the law to implement annual regular audit, therefore, these companies are the target point to research the effect of annual audit.From this large group of companies, there is a list of some companies that have been punished by Administration of Taxes in Kosovo. Companies in punishment list are obtained by the department of macro business inspectors. These companies are anonymous and will not be published in research paper, since the confidence agreement is signed before obtaining the list. The same criterion is applied to all companies in list, so that all companies are equal opportunity of selection. * Instrument description and validationThe inconsistencies within this research are covered by questionnaires, and final draft of audit report. The first part of the instrument includes general information for company’s nature, the quality of financial statements, the experience of employees and management. However, the rest part of the instrument assess final draft report of audit where is presented the current situation of company, the findings that negatively affect financial statements, and recommendations to omit further errors. Statistical analysis methods Method applied to statistical analyses is paired test, since there are two groups to compare for correlation. This method is adaptable since a audit process can be repeated annually to two group of companies: the ones that never applied annual audit, and the ones that rarely applied annual audit. The values of audited companies are possible to be correlated with values of not audited companies. Most importantly, subjects are harmonized before starting collection of data’s.The second usable method is linear correlation, in order to measure group X (never audited companies) and group Y (rarely audit companies) for one single subject, and analyze the strength of association. References * Office of General Auditor in Kosovo, Independent Agency, February 2013 * Administration of Taxes in Kosovo, Public Institution, March 2013 * â€Å"M&K† Company, Accountant and Audit Services, February 2013 * â€Å"Dili Commerce:† Company, Instruction Services, February 2013