Disciplinary sanctions in English Premiership Football: Is there a racial dimension?

This paper assesses the evidence for a racial difference in both the dispensation of formal disciplinary sanctions and in the number of fouls called by referees in professional football. The study uses a unique dataset comprising player match-level information drawn from five recent seasons of the English Premiership. These data were merged with data from other sources to identify, among other things, the racial affiliation of the player across four separate categories (viz., white, black, mixed race, and Asian). No systematic evidence of an unfair treatment of players from the non-white minority groups in respect of either the receipt of disciplinary cards or in the number of penalised fouls called by referees was detected.     

Vertragsschluß und Probleme des Internationalen Privatrechts beim E-Commerce

The use of the internet has developed significantly in recent years and has created new opportunities for the insurance sector. The virtual nature of the internet supports an effective medium for the sale of insurance products. An internet presence is a key part of an effective marketing and distribution strategy for every insurance company; despite uncertainties concerning expansion into an eletronic market, such strategies remain indispensable. The legal system is continuing to adapt to the ?intangible“ and borderless nature of e-commerce; clearly there remain problematic areas and issues which have yet to be adequately addressed. The article deals with essential questions related to the formation and the implementation of insurance contracts via the internet and focuses on still existing obstacles to the formation of the contract and possible solutions through the implementation of european directives. In this context, the digital signature plays a significant role. Furthermore, questions regarding the applicable law in the formation of contracts with international character will be addressed. In the light of the expansion of internet use and its facilitation of cross border contracts, consumer protection becomes more difficult. Efficient supervision and control of insurance providers that are located in other countries and offer insurance products on the internet is difficult to regulate.     

From Partners to Players: Extending the HR Playing Field

HR professionals must always be “becoming” or constantly changing and adapting. For the last decade, many have argued the business partner role as a complement to traditional HR administrative work. We argue in this paper that HR professionals should move beyond partners to become players. HR professionals as players are “in the game, on the field, making a difference” through their HR work. In this article, we suggest that to become players, HR professionals must learn to coach, architect, build, facilitate, lead, and provide a conscience to business leaders. Specific knowledge and tools for each of these roles are described. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Breakthrough in agricultural policy,or another policy failure?

Before the European summit in February 1988, EC agricultural policy was being criticized by almost all those affected. Farmers complained about low incomes and the lack of prospects, consumers and taxpayers about the high cost of agricultural support, politicians about spending commitments that could no longer be financed, agricultural economists about the waste of economic resources and trading partners about disruption of the world market. Have the decisions taken at the European summit set the Community on a fundamentally new course?     

A quantitative approach to stakeholder interests

In an age when the role, behaviour and performance of the firm are under greater scrutiny than ever before, it is important to pursue quantitative empirical research in the area of social auditing. Using data relating to one particular company, the various inputs and outputs attributable to the firm's different stakeholders, (shareholders, employees, consumers and the community) are examined and corresponding rates of return calculated. Considerable methodological and data problems arise and consequently the results need careful interpretation.     

Forecasting performance

It is widely accepted that accuracy represents the appropriate criterion for evaluation of forecast performance. Christine Martin, Lecturer in Operations Management, and Stephen Witt, Lecturer in Econometrics, at the Management Centre, University of Bradford, UK, present the results of a questionnaire survey of tourism practitioners and academics which support this view.