Rugby Union and Nationalism in Irelandnat Research Paper

Rugby Union and Nationalism in Irelandnat - Research Paper Example What the considerations of this context to be explored includes historical accounts of Irish rugby, British media portraits of Irish rugby union, and the views of contemporary international Irish rugby players. The concept of "identity" can be summarized as the deep-rooted subjective feelings and valuations of any group of people who share common experiences and cultural characteristics (Bloom, 1990). Individuals are not tied to one identity but with their multiple and complex personal identities that are continually molded by societal dynamics. National Identity is among these where within its terminology: the nation and feelings of "nationness" are largely articulated through national culture (Schwarz, 1992). A national culture in many ways is composed of a set of competing discourses bound to the actions of specific social groups. Dominant social groups can therefore manufacture identities about "the nation" the public, can relate. Identifications with the nation are deeply anchor ed in "national history" is continuously narrated through stories, memories, and images. This symbolic historical ritual of narrations is consequently loaded with the "recollection of shared experiences" of a people in the form of an "imagined community" (Anderson, 1983), which gives meaning onto the nation. However, this representation can also become part of a person's "second nature" and turned "real" for example, through sporting affiliations rather than simply imagined. When considering the relationship between sport and the nation, it has been widely acknowledged that sport and national identity have been closely associated over the past century and a half. Sporting competition arguably provides the primary expression of imagined communities; the nation (at least temporarily) turning real in the domain of sports. (Bale, 1986) states that, "Whether at local, regional or national level, sport is, after war, probably the principal means of collective identification in modern life ." Brief History of Sports and Nationalism of United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Historically, sporting identities have reflected also the national identities within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The "Celtic Fringe" has used sports in various ways as a means of asserting its own national identities. For example, in the late nineteenth century, Irish cultural nationalists, eager to reclaim their cultural identities by forging a new Irish nation, rejected "British" sports and established their own Gaelic games under the arm of Gaelic Athletic Association (Mandle, 1987). Case study: Documents that Relate Rugby Union, National Identity, and Ireland Diffley (1973) and Van Esbeck (1974, 1986, 1999) extensively documented the "story" of Irish rugby and here is a brief overview of the official histories of the relationship between rugby union and national identity in Ireland. Van Esbeck (1974) states that, "the essential physical character of the game is certainly compatible with the essential character of the Irish temperament. . . ." implying present is a special tie between rugby and being Irish. Diffley's (1973) accounts: The players may . . . play as intensely as teams from any other country but . . . in the

Factors Can Affect Validity Reliability Of Systematic Review Nursing Essay

Factors Can Affect Validity Reliability Of Systematic Review Nursing Essay Systematic review with meta-analysis are considered more objective than other types of reviews such as traditional reviews because it involve the application of scientific strategies in ways that limit the bias but the interpretation of the systematic process like any other type of research is subject to bias and this articles will illustrate the sources of bias in every step of conducting a systematic review and what is its types and ways. Keywords: Systematic review, Bias, Meta-analysis Introduction A systematic review is an overview of many studies that used clear and reproducible methods while a meta-analysis is a mathematical synthesis of the results of two or more primary studies that address the same hypothesis in the same way. Systematic reviews are very popular so about 2500 new English language systematic reviews are indexed in Medline annually (Mother D, Tetzlaff J, Tricco a, et al). While the number is impressive ,the quality of their reporting is not always ideal which lead to some kind of biased results and thus shrink their usefulness. Although meta-analysis can increase the precision of a result, it is important to ensure that the methods used for the review were valid and reliable. (Greenhangh. 1997) Speaking generally,there are two sources -at least- can generate bias in systematic reviews: the risk of bias in the included studies which it can exaggerate the results of a treatments effectiveness by 18% (Pidal J, Hrobjartsson A, Jorgensen KJ, et al) and the review itself as it has a little control over the reporting of RTCs but it can apply considrable control over conducting and reporting the review, thereby minimizing the bias of review itself. In this article we will try to spot the sources of bias in every step of conducting a systematic review and what is its types and ways and after that we will talk in details about each factor might cause a bias including publication bias, time lag bias, citation bias, the influence of external funding on the validity of systematic review and outcome reporting bias. Assessing the Quality of a Systematic Review General Tips (step-by-step) Fundamentally, the quality of a systematic review and the reliability of its result are contingent on both the quality of the included studies and the quality of the methodology used to produce the systematic review. The first most important step in conducting systematic review is proposing a clear, specific,focused and concise question which will guide the review process after. Searching for articles to be included can be retrieved by electronic databases, searching by hands through appropriate journals and by contacting researchers in the area of interest. To avoid the bias in the retrieval of articles the search strategy specified in the protocol must include as much details as possible. In most cases this amounts of to a list of keywords and how they will be combined for use in electronic search engines. Some knowledge of the capability of each subject specific database is important at this point, as some databases operate a thesaurus search system and others operate on the basis of keywords only. Next step, selective inclusion studies may bias the results of systematic reviews if selected based on report characteristics which called Biased inclusion criteria and low methodological quality of studies included in a systematic review is another important source of bias (Strerne JAC, Egger M, Smith GD 2001) and inclusion of data from sources other than randomized trials reduces the reliability of the conclusions of a systematic review on issues of prevention and treatment, so they should be thoroughly considered and properly defined to avoid ambiguity and to inform the validity of the review. As protocol availability may decrease the biased post-hoc changes to methods and selective outcome reporting, this information should be included in the review protocol to minimize this bias. Even if the study has high internal validity, it may not to be generalizable(high external validity). There is often a trad-off between internal and external validity. To decide about the generalizability of the study is to explore whether the study population appears to be representative of the population to which you wish to apply the results and even in similar populations, differences in the settings and in culture or other contextual factors, should also be considered.(Petticrew M, Robert, H 2008) Reviewing the results of a number of studies of course itself provides a est of generalizability, if the results have been replicated in several settings with different population, then this gives an indication of whether the results are transferable. If the number of studies is large enough, it can suggest the range of effect sizes to be expected in different settings. Generalizability is not often assessed separately in systematic reviews, though consideration of the issue is included in some critical appraisal checklists. (Deeks J, Dinnes J, DAmico R, Sowden A, Sakarovitch C. 2003) The risk of bias of a particular study is a key component in the assessment of studies that affect the validity of the results of a systematic review. Therefore, reducing the risk of bias assessment can be completed by using scales, checklists and every individual component should be reported for each study.(Sandrson S, Tatt ID, Higgins JP 2007). As the protocol developing, all the outcomes derived from the included studies should be considered and the outcome of primary importance should be differentiated from the secondary outcomes as recent surveys have showed that the outcomes selectively reported in final reports were significantly more likely to be statistically significant than those omitted (Chan AW, Hrobjartsson A, Haahr MT, et al 2004). Therefore, if a review does not identify important variables clearly, the review risks being subject to bias. So, the reviewer might select statistically significant variables and ignore the ones were initially important by the reviewer. When it comes to analysing data, the analysing method is determined by the review question and the type of data collected and it should include a narrative synthesis for describing the results and risk of bias. The next step is usually determining if statistical synthesis is appropriate to apply or not. Indeed, such forced analysis might in the axiom garbage in garbage out, providing useless results which it will discussed Later. When the results of the analysis are ready, there are many different way to represent them but sufficient details should be presented to dtermine the potential threats to validity. As conclusion in the review, the reviewer should discuss the risk of bias, strength, limitation, weakness and applicability of the evidence for each main outcome to ensure that clinicians have all the information to interpret the results. A table outlining the users guides to the Medical Literature highlight critical appraisal questions for systematic reviews and meta-analyses may help to reduce the bias in every step when conducting a systematic review.(Table 1) Table 1. Questions should be considered in determining if the results of systematic review are valid. ( adapted from Crowther, MA. Cook, DJ 2007) Did the overview address a focused clinical question? Were the criteria used to select articles for inclusion both defined and appropriate? What is the likelihood that relevant studies were missed? Was the validity of the included studies assessed? Were the assessment reproducible? How precise were the results of the overview? In assessing the value the review, it is important to consider the following question: Can the results be applied to my patients, and will the results help me care for my patients? Are the benefits worth the harms and costs? Garbage in garbage out? The quality of component trails is important as an example if the raw material is not that quality, then the findings of reviews may also be the same. So what we put in exactly what we get out. Clearly, the studies included in systematic reviews should ideally be of high methodological quality and free of bias as possible. The biases that threaten the validity of clinical trials are relate to systematic differences in the patients characteristics at baseline (selection bias), unequal provision of care apart from the treatment under evaluation (performance bias), biased assessment of outcomes (detection bias) , and bias due to exclusion of patients after they have been allocated to treatment groups (attrition bias).(Altman 1991) Some reviews produced discordant results precisely because the authors chose to ignore the quality of component trails. The same reviewers were considerably more thorough in their attempt to identify all-relevant trails,Independent of publication statue or language of publication. Although the quality of component trails happened to be more important in this particular situation, the dissemination of findings from clinical trials is known to be biased, and a comprehensive literature search is an essential intergradient of high-quality reviews. (Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001) Putting the light on dissemination of research findings, Scherer et al. showed that only about half of abstracts presented at conferences are later published in full. The fact that sustainable proportion of studies remains unpublished after the study had been completed must be a concern as a large information remains hidden from reviewers. Making things worse, the dissemination of research findings is not a random process, rather it is strongly influenced by the nature and direction of results. (Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001) Type of reporting bias Definition Publication bias The publication or non-puplication of research findings, depending on the nature and direction of results Time lag bias The rapid or delayed publication of research findings, depending on the nature and direction of results Duplicate publication bias The multiple or singular publication of research findings, depending on the nature and direction of results Citation bias The citation or non-citation of research findings, depending on the nature and direction of results Language bias The publication of research findings in particular language, depending on the nature and direction of results Outcome reporting bias The selecting reporting of some outcomes but not others, depending on the nature and direction of results Figure 1.2 (Adapted from Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001) Publication Bias In a 1979 article on the file drawer problem and tolerance for null results Rosenthal said, where the journals are filled with the 5 per cent of the studies that show type I errors, while the file drawers back at the lab are filled with the 95 per cent of the studies that show non significant results. (Rosenthal R. 1979). The file drawer problem has long been recognized in the social sciences: as a review of psychology journals found that of 294 studies published in 1970s, 97% rejected the null hypothesis at the 5% level.(Sterling TD.1980) It is thus possible that studies which suggest a beneficial treatment effect are published, while an equal mass of data pointing the other way remains unpublished. In this situation, a systematic review of the published trails could identify a spurious beneficial treatment effect, or miss an important adverse effect of a treatment. In the field of cancer chemotherapy such publication has been demonstrated by comparing the result from studies identified in a literature search with those contained in an international trials registry (see figure 1.2). (Simes RJ. 1986) Time lag bias Published studies continued to appear many years after approval by the ethic committee. Among proposals submitted to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Ethics Committee in Sydney, 85% of studies with significant results as compared to 65% of studies with null results had been published after 10 years (Stern JM, Simes RJ. 1997). The average time to publication was 4.8 years for studies with significant results comparing to 8.0 years for studies with null results. In fact, the time lag was attributable to differences in the time from completion to publication.(Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001) 0.7 1.0 1.3 Published 16 (1908) Registered 13 (2491) Survival ratio (95% confidence interval) Figure 1.2 (adapted from Simes) These findings indicate that time lag bias may be introduced in systematic reviews even when most or all trails will eventually be published. Trails with positive results will dominate the literature and introduce bias for several years until the negative results finally appear. The influence of external funding and commercial interests Many systematic reviews are funded by organizations such as pharmaceutical companies. As in the design of randomized trials, the design of systematic reviews can be influenced (particularly through manipulation of inclusion and exclusion criteria) to select a particular set of studies. As a result, such systematic reviews may present a biased viewpoint. Careful assessment of the quality of the systematic review should reveal the flaws in their design. Another way in which bias can be introduced is through biased interpretation of the results of a systematic review funded by industry or authored by investigators who are influenced by industry.(Crowther, MA. Cook, DJ 2007) External funding was associated with publication independently of the statistical significance of the results. Funding by government agencies was significantly associated with publication in three cohorts of proposals submitted to ethics committees whereas pharmaceutical industry sponsored studies were less likely to be published in two studies. Indeed, the pharmaceutical industry tends to discourage the publication of negative studies which it has funded. (Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001). Duplicate publication bias Once a list of articles is obtained, they should be reviewed by two or more individuals and compared with a list of pre-developed inclusion and exclusion criteria The production of multiple publications from single studies can lead to bias in a number of ways. Two or more systematic reviews on the same topic may arrive at different conclusion, which raise concern about validity. Studies with significant results are more likely to lead to multiple publications, which makes it more likely that they will be located and included in a meta-analysis. Moher and Johansen and Gotzsche described the difficulties caused by redundancy and the disaggregation of medical research when results from multicentre trail are presented in several publications. It may be impossible for reviewers to determine whether two papers represent duplicate publications of one trail or two separate trails, since example exist where two articals reporting the same trail do not share a single common author. (Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001). Citation bias The perusal of the reference lists of articles is used to identify additional articles that may be relevant. The problem with this approach is that the act of citing previous work is far from objective and retrieving literature by scanning references lists for many possible motivations such as decoration and showing up-to-dateness and knowledge may thus produce a biased sample of studies. (Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001) Language bias Language bias still evident in many reviews (Hearther, 2009). Reviewers are often exclusively based on trails published in English. For example, among 36 meta-analyses reported in leading English-language general medicine journals from 1991 to 1993, 26 had restricted their search to studies in English language. Reviewers in other countries will published their work in local journals as well as English language journal if their results are positive while negative results will just be published in local journals. This is demonstrated for the German language literature when comparing articles published by the same author, 63% of trails published in English had produced significant results as compared to 35% of trails published in German. Thus bias could be introduced in meta-analyses exclusively based on English-language reports.(Figure 1.3) (Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001) Figure 1.3 (adapted from Egger et al.) Outcome reporting bias Reporting the outcome can be influenced by the results: the outcome with the most favorable findings will generally be reported. (Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001). The future of unbiased, systematic reviewing Reporting biases is potentially serious problem for systematic review. While the Cochrane Collaboration has a simple aim -help people to make well informed dicisions about healthcare-, there are many challenges that must be met to achieve this aim. Ethical and social challenges include finding ways to continue to build on enthusiasm while avoiding duplication and minimizing bias, to ensure sustainability and to accommodate diversity. Logistical challenges include finding ways to identify efficiently trails and manage criticisms and updates of reviews. Methodological challenges include developing sound guidelines for deciding what types of studies to include in reviews, effective ways of communicating the results of reviews and summarizing the strength of evidence for specific effects. (Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001). Conclusion and Summary points In summary, There are numerous ways in which bias can be introduced in reviews and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. All these biases are more likely to affect small studies therefore, their results need large treatment effect to be significant. On the other side, the large studies invest more money and time that means they are more likely to be high methodological quality and published even if their results are negative. Bias in a systematic review may become evident through an association between the size of the treatment effect and study size. Reliability and validity often not established within quality assessment instrument (Heather, 2009).If the methodological quality of trials is inadequate the findings of reviews of this materials may also be compromised. Publication bias can distort findings because trials with statically significant results are more likely to be published, and without delay, than trials without significant results. Among published trails, those w ith significant results are more likely to get published in English, more likely to be cited, and more likely to be published more than once which means that they will also be more likely to identified and included in reviews. The choice of the outcome that is reported can be influenced by the results. The outcome with the most favorable findings will generally be reported, which may introduced bias. Criteria for inclusion of studies into a review may be influenced by knowledge of the results of the set of potential studies. The definition of eligibility criteria for trails to be included, a comprehensive search for such tails, and an assessment of their methodological quality are central to systematic reviews. Systematic reviews are thus more likely to avoid bias than traditional, narrative reviews.(Eddger,M. Dickersin, K. Smith,G, S 2001) Nevertheless, the systematic review is a powerful research methodology which answers question on the the basis of good evidence and provides researchers with a valuable, impartial, comprehensive and up-to-date summary of the work conducted in a specific area.

Symbolism and Allegory in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay -- Kill Mockingb

Symbolism and Allegory in To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee uses symbolism extensively throughout To Kill a Mockingbird,, and much of it refers to the problems of racism in the South during the early twentieth century. Harper Lee's effective use of racial symbolism and allegory can be seen by studying various examples from the book, namely the actions of the children, of the racist whites, and of Atticus Finch. One of the more effective allegories in the novel is the building of a snowman by Jem and Scout. There was not enough snow to make a snowman entirely out of snow, so Jem made a foundation out of dirt and then covered it with what snow they had. If the snowman was made completely out of snow, Jem's action would not be so significant. Scout is very surprised when she sees the brown snowman and she exclaims: "Jem, I ain't never heard of a nigger snowman." (72), and to this Jem replies: "He won't be black long." (72). Scout's words indicate the strange nature of the snowman which is half-black, half-white. Jem, however did not find it peculiar and he "scooped up some snow and began plastering it on". Gradually Mr. Avery turned white? (73). The symbol of the snowman, like every other symbol in literature, may have various interpretations depending on the reading of the individual. In the specific case the snowman can be seen in two ways. Firstly, this alteration from black to white can be considered as a merging of the two races into one, without any differences between them to separate them, an equality of black and white people. The change of colour (black to white) suggests the superficiality of the colour of the skin, which should not be a criterion for judging people and dividing them into categories. Atticus's... ...r the two victims of human malice suggests the power Harper Lee sees in symbolism, which carries the message better than words. At this point she seems to agree with J.B.S. Haldane, a British Scientist, who stated: "In fact, words are well adapted for description and the arousing of emotion, but for many kinds of precise thought other symbols are much better" (Tripp). Perhaps this is the reason Harper Lee chooses to declare her rejection of prejudice and racism through the use of symbols; because they are more effective than words. Works Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. 1960. New York: Warner Books, 1982. Tripp, Rhoda Thomas. The International Thesaurus of Quotations. New York: Harper and Row, 1990. "To Kill a Mockingbird." Sparknotes LLC. 2003. Barnes & Noble Learning Network. 2 Nov. 2003 .

Appraising Employees at the San Diego Zoo Essay

1. What skills does Black think employees need to work successfully in the area of HR? The skills that Black thinks employees need to work successfully in HR is for them to be commercial, challenging, and focused on delivery and excellence. They must also understand change and transformation, excel at operations, and balance tactical and strategic thinking and acting. They will have to be able to manage and navigate organizational complexity and ambiguities and not be afraid to say no in order to establish boundaries with the business. 2. What are some of the outcomes of the company’s new HR strategy? I think the outcomes of the company’s new HR strategy has been great. Early on there were some employees that were unsure about the charges, especially the long-time employees that were used to the old ways. Now it seems everyone sees how it has helped the company and everyone is happy and enjoys working for Lloyds. Another outcome is that the company is being recognized outside the firm. Lloyds was in the Sunday Times top 100 Best Companies to work for in the UK. It was also UK’s top 40 Business Brands by an independent researcher. 3. What do you think might be some of the challenges of establishing HR policies for global company? I think there are many challenges when establishing HR polices for a global company. Some of the challenges is the different geographies, culture, employment laws, employee compensation and benefits, taxes and business practices.Creating a global mind-set within the HR group, creating practices that will be consistently applied in different locations/offices while also maintaining the various local cultures and practices, and communicating a consistent corporate culture across the entire organization. 4. What types of situations do you think might require an HR manager to say â€Å"no†?I think the HR manager should say no, when the employees are requesting things that go against the company policies. CASE STUDY 2 1 .Evaluate the conduct of Peter Lewiston against the EEOC’s definition of sexual harassment. Peter’s actions definitely shows sexual harassment when compared to the definition of the EEOC. The second form of sexual harassment is what caused a hostile environment for Beverly and is classified as unwelcomed sexual conduct which has an effect of interfering with job performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive  working environment. Peter made it his business himself to enter her environment by spending extra time in her classroom with her and her students which were unwelcome advances. Peter also begged again and again asking Beverly out on lunch dates, which she continuously denied. Peter also spoke (e.g. verbal) on Beverly appearan ce and the feelings he had for her as well as giving flowers, cards and notes, all of them were unwelcome and was told to Peter by Beverly. Peter harassed her in a physical form too, stalking her and staring when she walked to her car, also attempting to touch Beverly. All of Mr. Lewiston’s actions created an extreme hostile environment for Beverly Gilbury. 2. Should the intent or motive behind Lewistons conduct be considered when deciding sexual harassment activities? Explain.Peter actions should surely be taken into consideration. If an employee was to touch another employee, it could mean a signal for saying hello or congratulations, or see you later it might not mean anything.However, if employee that was touched had emotional feelings for the employee the touchers touch can be percieved as trying to fondle. If the touched is okay with this, there is no problem, but if toucher was asked repeatedly to stop, there could be reason for a sexual harassment suit. 3. If you were the districts EEOC officer, what would you conclude? What disciplinary action, if any, would you take? If I held the position of EEOC officer, I would evaluate the evidence such as, letters, statements, and legal documents and would recommend that the enployee accused, Mr. Lewiston would, be terminated for creating a hostile work environment for the victim in this case.

Cantaberry Tales Compare To Inferno Essay

Canterbury Tales Compared to Dante’s Inferno This study will explore the themes of innocence and guilt in the â€Å"Hell† section from Dante’s Divine Comedy and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The study will focus on the uses each author makes of urban and more natural settings to convey messages about innocence and guilt. While both Dante and Chaucer make use of this motif in making their thematic points, a great difference exists between them. Chaucer’s primary purpose is to present a humorous and compassionate portrayal of human existence including innocence and guilt, or goodness and evil while Dante’s essential purpose is moral and instructional. Chaucer uses urban and country references in his portrayal of the human condition as a means of drawing a contrast between the goodness and evil of humankind. Again, we must keep in mind that Chaucer uses setting to reveal truths about humanity from an empathic perspective. He does not want to judge, but to entertain and perhaps inspire compassion for self and others as flawed beings. Therefore, when he uses natural or urban settings, he is not saying that human beings are good when they are in Canterbury, and evil when they are out in the countryside. At the same time, that is precisely the apparent truth of the matter. As Chaucer paints the picture of human desire and passion, there is an intimate connection between that passion (which can lead to a loss of innocence) and a natural setting: When April with his showers sweet with fruit The drought of March has pierced unto the root And bathed each vein with liquor that has power To generate therein and sire the flower; When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath, Quickened again, in every holt and heath, The tender shoots and buds . . . And many little birds make melody . . . (So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)— Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage . . . To Canterbury, full of devout homage (Chaucer 159). The clear suggestion by Chaucer here is that there is something very sweet but potentially very corrupting about nature, while the urban center of  Canterbury offers relief from the guilt and sinfulness which nature engenders in the weakness of human flesh. At the same time, Chaucer knows that the apparent differences in the behavior of human beings in the city, or in a sacred environment, and in the natural setting where passions are free to work their wiles, as they will, are indeed only apparent differences. The nature of humanity, as perceived and portrayed by Chaucer, is a thoroughly corrupted one. However, unlike Dante, Chaucer does not have much to say in judgment of humanity for that corruption. Chaucer accepts the sinfulness, selfishness and loss of innocence of humanity as an integral part of the history and development of the race. In other words, people may agree to behave righteously when they are in the holy city, but once they are free again to behave as they will, t hey will quickly be consumed by their personal passions. Nature is also shown in Dante to be full of powerful and dark forces, which can tempt a human being off the path of righteousness. Dante writes that Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself in a dark wood, where the right way was lost. Ah! How hard a thing it is to tell what this wild and rough and difficult wood was, which in thought renews my fear! So bitter is it that death is little more (Dante 1). The â€Å"city† or the path of the true way is symbolized by the high hill, in contrast to the dark wood of the life of the passions and senses: â€Å"But after I had reached the foot of a hill, where that valley ended which had pierced my heart with fear, I looked upward, and saw its shoulders clothed already with the rays of the [sun], which leads man aright along every path† (Dante 1). Here we see the light of goodness contrasted with the darkness of sin or temptation away from the state of innocence. It is no coincidence that the phrases â€Å"city of lights† or â€Å"city upon a hill† are meant to stand in contrast to the â€Å"darkness† of the natural environment, a darkness which can bewilder human beings and lead them to take part in behavior which Dante clearly believes is both self-destructive and destructive to others. Dante’s depiction of Hell is not meant to entertain but to change the behavior of  his readers so that they will choose behavior which will lead them to the â€Å"city† of Heaven, rather than behavior which will lead to the dark wood and, eventually, damnation: A place is there below, stretching as far from Beelzebub as his tomb extends. . . . My Leader and I entered by that hidden road, to return into the bright world; and . . . we mounted up . . . so far that a round opening I saw some of the beautiful t hings which Heaven bears, and thence we issued for again to see the stars (Dante 52). In Dante, we read of the â€Å"wicked city† which represents hell (22), but it would be fair to say that human beings in Dante’s conception are subject to temptation, sin, guilt and the loss of innocence wherever they are on earth—in the city or in the country. Heaven is the only locale which offers human beings respite from such corruption. In Chaucer, we find little of the kind of solemn judgment offered by Dante at every turn. For example, Chaucer writes of a friar—a religious man—who was â€Å"a wanton and a merry, A limiter, a very festive man† (Chaucer 162). His ribaldry is not affected by whether he is in a town or in the countryside—he is always willing to have a good time: â€Å"In towns he knew the taverns, every one,/ And every good host and each barmaid too† (Chaucer 163). Despite the fact that Canterbury is seen as the goal of the pilgrimage and can therefore be said to be a city symbolizing goodness and innocence, or restoration of innocence through religious activity, this in no way suggests that Chaucer sees the city as the repository of goodness and nature as the repository of evil. Instead, Chaucer sees human nature as the abiding force at work in shaping the behavior of human beings. A human being can be good or evil in the city, just as he can be good or evil in a natural environment. The Clerk, for example, is shown to be a miserable creature, although he is full of the education and philosophy and sophistication, which the city of Oxford offers (Chaucer 164). Again, the basic difference between Dante and Chaucer cannot be deciphered merely by focusing on the uses of urban and country settings in their works.  The differences in the authors’ uses of settings do not shed essential light on the two texts without our awareness first that Dante means to judge and warn and Chaucer means to celebrate and understand. To Dante, all settings—urban or country—stand full of temptations which can deliver human beings into the pits of Hell. The fact that Hell is portrayed in urban terms merely means that there is much organization in Hell, rather than perhaps the chaos we might presume. Dante by use of the city as the setting for Hell means also to place it in stark contrast to the glorious city of Heaven. Dante wants to show that Hell is an essential part of the intricately organized and ordered machinery of the universe, and his use of the urban environment gives this sense of order and organization far more readily that would a natural setting. We must keep in mind the purpose behind this manipulation of setting—Dante wants to affect the behavior of his readers and he means to do so by warning them that a very carefully designed Hell—as carefully designed as a city—awaits them if they stray from the path of goodness. Chaucer, on the other hand, aims to portray humanity in all its passion and waywardness, with a sense of acceptance and celebration rather than condemnation or warning. Chaucer gives the reader the clear sense that—whether in the country or in the city, whether in the midst of sin or the middle of innocence—the author is one with the reader. It does not matter whether the action is taking place in the city or the country in Chaucer’s tales—there is a sense of empathy bonding the author, the characters and the reader. Even when Chaucer enters into a lengthy treatise on the different sins and their remedies, the reader has the feeling that he is not the kind of strict judge of humanity which Dante is or would like to be. The uses of setting in the two works is not particularly crucial to an understanding of the books overall, but such a focus can help us understand certain elements of the works, such as the organization of the city which  allows Dante to show that hell is an integral part of the universe created by God and not merely an imaginary place of punishment. In addition, such a perspective is useful in showing the apparent contrast in Chaucer between the city of Canterbury and its promise of absolution from sin, and the natural environment which leads to the free expression of the passions of human beings which in turn lead to the commission of those very sins. The city or country cannot be seen as symbolic of guilt or innocence in Chaucer, simply because Chaucer believes human nature to be susceptible to corruption in any environment. At the same time, whereas Dante judges humanity for its corruption, Chaucer tends to forgive and seeks ways to ease the suffering of guilt and sin. Works Cited Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Cressida and The Canterbury Tales. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1987. Dante. Divine Comedy. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1987.