Thursday, October 31, 2019

Russian Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Russian Revolution - Essay Example The decision to end the demonstrations by resignation of the Tsar’s was made by the Duma, which was the Russian legislature from 1905 to 1917. The reason why the Duma requested for Tsar’s resignation is because they wanted his son to take over power and rule. The October Revolution of November 1917 took place in St Petersburg. Workers’ Soviets and the Bolshevik Party planned a coup to overthrow the Provisional Government in St Petersburg. The main aim of the October revolution was to seize power from the Provisional Government and replace the monarchy rule and make Russia a communist state. After the Bolshevik and the Vladimir Lenin  took over power in the October Revolution, they allowed for elections to be conducted, but they later on changed their minds after they got less than twenty five percent votes in the elections. The collapse of the Russian monarchy government and the Provisional Government made the government to be perceived as weak and incompetent. During the February Revolution the military was summoned, but contrary to the expectations by the Tsar, the military refused to follow the orders and instead ended up fighting the police.1 World War 1 was a major factor that led to the Russian revolution in 1917.Due to the war, there was a high increase in the number of soldiers that were needed to go and join the war. Young men and horses that were used in the farms were taken leading to the decrease in the number of outputs in the forums. Due to this, the standard of living was damaged and the peasants were not happy about the decision Tsar had made to join the war. Productive farms in Russia found most of their labourers taken out to join the war. Moreover, inflation occurred and most of the peasants could not afford to buy expensive goods. Workers in the cities could not get good jobs that could give them a better pay. When these workers tried to agitate for better pay, they were

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Secularism in British Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Secularism in British Society - Essay Example For centuries in Britain, monarchs ruled by Crown and Church. There is also the belief that the pope is the god on earth and must have supreme authority over the state. The pope has the right to depose the king throughout the ages. Around the year 1900, English people believed in social progress. "Public drunkenness became rare and alcoholism ceased to be an accepted fact of private life. Literacy became nearly universal, sanitation and diet improved at every level of society. People put great effort into staying clean, and governments built infrastructure that enormously increased the availability of water to common people. Wages nearly doubled in a generation"(Himmelfarb and Knopf 1995). Britain was so powerful empire with colonies. She was rich commercially as well as in military. It was the era of rapid industrialization and urbanization. On the second half of 19th century, Britain was on the verge of "moral and social collapse". The country was in chaotic condition. Himmelfarb and Knopf noted that "society was riddled with class and racial prejudices that most people today would find gruesome." There was economic crisis, poverty, ignorance and diseases. Crime was so common that they even have to transport criminals to other state such as Australia. Furthermore, "cities were growing in an almost unregulated fashion as the impoverished peasantries were driven off the land." The government was so corrupt even making the parliament as the tool of aristocratic factions. There was a sense of moral degradation in the state. Many professed to be Christians yet denying its true essence. Poor workers were asked to work for long hours at low wages. The society was separated from the religious world and religion becomes a personal matter. The idea of the sacred that was long a tradition was lost. People were increasingly concerned on achieving worldly things for personal gains. Secularization has progressively pervaded Britain. Theocracy ceased to have influence or authority on the Englishmen's social and political life. Religion lost its role in shaping political and social policies. It has become even irrelevant to the lives of ordinary people. Levels of Christian observance are even becoming lower than they used to be. The good "Victorian values" people used to follow were viewed as despotic and hypocritical, and gathered too much intellectual reaction. This cultural change could be traced back to the age of enlightenment. It was the era of philosophy and intellect as well as scientific and cultural development that promoted reason as the prime source and rightful for authority. It gradually created a crisis of faith in Britain. Some of these newly-bred philanthropists were non-believers. Some liberal churches rejected some traditionally known doctrine such as the doctrine of Hell. There was widespread absence at churches, which they normally do every Sunday.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Images In The Novel Oliver Twist English Literature Essay

The Images In The Novel Oliver Twist English Literature Essay The aim of the following thesis is to present the image of a child in Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. On the strength of this novel, the author will attempt to discuss the importance of a childs psychological, physiological and emotional needs, and ways of their fulfilment in the process of a childs development. Children are innocent and defenceless human beings and to ensure their safe and proper growth, they need to be provided with an environment conducive to their healthy development. Adults often overlook the importance of their childs needs, they are simply unaware of their existence, and in consequence, children mature into troubled and unstable individuals. The lack of parental support, which often results in neglect, abuse and childs humiliation, may in fact seriously injure the childs psyche. Most Charles Dickens novels feature an image of a child Pip, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield; in his portrayals Dickens argues that children and adults perceive the world differently. In spite of their limited knowledge and experience children are acute and sensitive observers. In his novels, Dickens shows children, who struggle with the adversities of adult life, children who have no childhood and must survive against the hostile society of the Victorian England caught in the frenzy of the Industrial Revolution. The author relies often on his own experiences, his childhood was disturbed by the tragedies in his own family, which gives his novels a sense of authenticity. Charles Dickens was born on 7th February 1812 in Portsmouth in England as a son of John and Elizabeth Dickens. His fathers irresponsibility and lack of ambitions were the reasons why his family situation was often uncertain. He was always in debt and, as a consequence, in 1824, when Charles was only twelve years old, his father was imprisoned, together with his family. However, through his uncles instigation, young Charles found employment at a newly opened blacking factory and was spared from the prisons sentence. Michael Slater, Dickenss biographer, shows how this experience influenced small Dickens: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Dickens leaves no doubt as to the degree of the psychological and emotional earthquake suffered by his twelve-year-old self: It is wonderful to me how I could have been so easily cast away at such an ageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ No advice, no counsel, no encouragement, no consolation, no support, from any one [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] I might easily have been, for any care that was taken of me, a little robber or a little vagabond.  [1]   Dickens is an expert at childrens feelings and emotions, and through his works, he urges adults to be sensitive towards their fragile personalities. His novels, and his child characters, witness the abuse of children in the Victorian Period. His works were to give voice to children who desperately needed help and who rarely were able to communicate their needs and even more seldom obtained the help they needed. The first chapter of the following thesis is divided into four parts. In the first part, the author will describe the importance of childrens psychological needs necessary to their proper growth. The emphasis will be placed upon the needs fulfilment methods and the consequences of not fulfilling them: a lack of a childs psychic stability, problems in adolescence, etc. In the second part of Chapter One, the author will discuss violence against children in the Victorian Period and its consequences. On this occasion, the ideas of a Polish psychologist, Aleksandra Sobkowska will be presented in the context of the recent findings of New Psychology. Still in Chapter One, I will introduce Abraham Maslows psychological theory of the hierarchy of human needs. At the end of the same chapter, the author of the thesis will present the figure of Charles Dickens as a victim of the Victorian epochs Industrial Revolution, a victim of social injustice and economic deprivation, a victim of childhood i nterrupted. The Second Chapter will focus on the characterization of and the role of children in the Victorian society in the period of the Industrial Revolution. On that occasion, Oliver Twist, Dickenss portrayal of children in the historical and socio-economic context, will be discussed in detail and placed in the context of the Maslowian theory of the hierarchy of needs. In this chapter, the author will also ponder on Dickens involvement in the struggle against a childs exploitation; it is not clear whether in his books, the author aimed at evoking sympathy for the children and their plight, and thus he wrote mainly for the adult readership; or attempted to elucidate children on the causes of their unjust and despicable conditions. Chapter One Childrens needs and violence against children. The aim of the following chapter is to present the importance of needs in childrens psychological growth. In the course of Chapter One, the author of the thesis will refer to the foundations of Abraham Maslows theory of the hierarchy of needs. The author will also discuss different types of violence against children as the most detrimental element in a childs psychological development. Finally, Charles Dickens life will be placed in the context of the Victorian period. Childrens psychological needs Psychological needs of a human being are of great importance first and foremost for children, however, adults very often forget about it. Satisfying a childs material needs such as clothing, feeding, etc, they are convinced that they adequately fulfil their parental responsibility. In the light of modern psychology such an attitude is viewed critically. Though easily convinced that material goods are all they need, children become increasingly dissatisfied. Disturbing signals in our daily life children committing serious crimes, children becoming addicted to alcohol and drugs, adolescents dropping out of school; are all but proof of the existence of an area in a childs psyche that remains overlooked and neglected. Children differ significantly from one another; therefore, each child has to be treated separately whether it is by its parents or educators. Adults usually realize far too late how important they are for their childrens development, generally when their children start misbehaving and cause problems.  [2]  In order to prevent such a situation, it is necessary to study the mechanism of the needs formation; then consciously new and positive needs a need to discover, to know, to feel good about oneself can be created. As far as the mechanism of creating new needs is concerned, they are formed first through satisfying the needs that already exist. It is very important to offer children the opportunity to develop new and valuable needs, and rewarding responses of the environment have a great influence on childrens psychic growth. One of the main needs that are worth mentioning here is the need of emotional contact between a mother and a child. At the beginning, this contact has a more physical character, but in time, the character of this contact changes. It has a more psychological sense and needs another form of fulfilment.  [3]  Parents are able to create proper conditions to form a childs personality; to achieve this aim, parents must continuously observe and recognize their childs needs and try to understand them. Many factors have an influence on a harmonious course of a childs development, including all psychophysical processes, and affect the childs future stance point of view, and the way she or he is perceived by the society.  [4]   Human needs are divided into: material, biological, organic and psychological ones. Generally, psychological needs are additionally divided into: A need of safety shaped in ontogenesis A cognitive need An activity need A need of independence and personal development An emotional and social interaction need A sense of belonging and acceptance need A possession need b. Violence against children as the negation of proper development A child who is harmed is the one who is suffering due to improper behaviour of other people, mainly parents and guardians, and who experiences injustice and a sense of powerlessness. This process, whether intentional or unintentional, and resulting from adults actions, may have a negative influence on a childs physical or psychological development.  [5]   Dickens stories abound in episodes involving both psychological and physical abuse among children. Children rob one another of dignity and belongings. They accumulate anger and frustration in themselves. They are weak and dominated by adults and find abusing their equals or weaker ones as the only possible way of venting their anger. Violence against children leads unavoidably to violence in children. This too is a result of a childhood interrupted, of a thwarted development. Violence against children is the most perverted form of violence; children are defenceless and innocent human beings at a formative stage, who are susceptible to a physical and to psychological injury. Though violence may reside in children themselves, for example, in unwanted, problematic, chronically ill or disabled children; in the majority of cases, children are victims of violence perpetrated by adults. Violence occurs in many different circumstances, and may have different forms, but generally three groups of reasons for its occurrence may be distinguished: violence in children directed against others (children as well as adults) is a result of the childrens frustration with their own health (disabled and chronically ill children), with their social and indirectly economic status (orphaned children, children of alcoholics, etc.) and, importantly, often is a consequence of war; violence in parents directed at children which often is a result of social pathologies dysfunctional families; violence being a result of a familys social isolation owed to their religion, ethnicity, social or economic status, etc. According to Aleksandra Sobkowska, a Polish psychologist, there is a conventional division of violence against children based on its type: physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Negligence of children is sometimes considered to be the mildest form of violence, however, it is most common, and it is extremely harmful and just like any other form of psychical abuse beatings, torture, etc. extends its effects into the sphere of a childs psyche. Therefore, the distinction between physical and psychological abuse, at least in terms of their lasting effects psychical and psychological scars overlap and blur. In Sobkowskas view, psychical abuse of children has cognitive, emotional and behavioural consequences a childs abuse syndrome may be manifested by: a lack of a sense of security a lack of a sense of belonging to the closest people a lack of or low self-esteem spiritual loneliness a feeling of being harmed a feeling and consciousness of guilt and shame difficulty in forming relationships. In Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, there are many examples of child abuse and violence ranging from the very basic lack of alimentation: Unfortunately for the experimental philosophy of the female to whose protecting care Oliver Twist was delivered over, a similar result usually attended the operation of her system; for at the very moment when a child had contrived to exist upon the smallest possible portion of the weakest possible food, it did perversely happen in eight and half cases out of ten, either that it sickened from want and cold, or fell into another world, and there gathered to the fathers which it had never known in this.  [6]   through terrible living conditions; An unfinished coffin on black tressels, which stood in the middle of the shop, looked so gloomy and death-like that a cold tremble came over him, every time his eyes wandered in the direction of the dismal object: from which he almost expected to see some frightful form slowly rear its head, to drive him mad with terror. The recess beneath the counter in which his flock mattress was thrust, looked like a grave.  [7]   resulting in a sense of fear and spiritual loneliness: He was alone in a strange place; and we all know how chilled and desolate the best of us will sometimes feel in such a situation. The boy had no friends to care for, or to care for him. The regret of no recent separation was fresh in his mind; the absence of no loved and well-remembered face sank heavily into his heart.  [8]   Psychological violence is a conscious destruction or significant limitation on a childs possibility of proper development. Ranging from insults, as can be seen in the following episode from Oliver Twist: Get downstairs, little bag o bones. With this the undertakers wife opened a side door, and pushed Oliver down a steep flight of stairs into a stone cell, damp and dark, forming the ante-room to the coal-cellar, and denominated the kitchen.  [9]   It is hard to draw any conclusive ideas as to what future awaited Oliver, and whether his childhood filled with pain brought to bear on his life as an adult. There is a note to the preface of Charles Dickens Oliver Twist which say: It tells the story of an unfortunate orphan boy from his early years in the harsh environment of the workhouse, to his struggle for survival in the dangerous world outside its gates.  [10]   A parallel between the story of Oliver Twist, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a boy who dares to ask for more  [11]  and the life of Charles Dickens is evident. As a young boy, Dickens was forced to work in one of Britains infamous sweatshops, or as they were often referred to, children factories. His fathers debts put the whole family in prison; only young Charles was spared his freedom, however, in exchange for hard labour in a blacking workshop. In a way similar to most children from poor neighbourhoods of London, Dickens suffered pains of poverty hunger and all things most children his age would take for granted. Hunger haunted little Charles, something that is echoed in the story of Oliver Twist, but what pained him more was his hopelessness against the odds set by the cruel society of the 19th century Britain. Britain was undergoing a period of transformation; the Industrial Revolution was at its peak; many people fled the impoverished countryside and settled in big cities. There, they we re exploited by the capitalist industrialists. Slavery was by then outlawed in Britains overseas colonies, importing cheap labour was out of the question, yet the growing economy needed hands, many hands, inexpensive hands. In such circumstances, children became a commodity cheap and easy to manage. Factories soon filled with little children whose parents, all the while working themselves to near death, still failed to make ends meet. This is an era of Britains great economic expansion; this is an era that witnessed the birth of communism. Britain was getting rich, or at least the rich were getting richer; for the rest the society was falling apart. Many children faced a very bleak future; orphaned (mostly through abandonment); deprived of any possibility for social advancement, just like Oliver Twist, veered onto the dangerous path of crime. Dickens resisted the temptations of becoming a criminal; perhaps, in that sense, he was lucky; his contacts with Londons underworld remained luckily within the confines of his fantasy. I might easily have been, for any care that was taken of me, a little robber or a little vagabond  [12]  Dickens, a literary giant of the Victorian England, was first and foremost, its victim. As a child, he suffered all the deprivations shared by most of his books characters Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist, Pip and David Copperfield; whose lives stories became a great testimony of Britains shameful past a past tainted by abuse against the innocent and the weakest children. c. Maslows hierarchy of needs This part of the thesis is based on the psychological theory authored by Abraham Maslow. Among other things, he wrote about human nature being good or at least neutral. It cannot be assumed that a child is born with a bad nature.  [13]  Because of its pessimistic, negative and restricted conception of human nature, Maslow became very critical of psychology. Unlike other scientists, he conducted his tests on healthy people, people without, for example, brain injuries; and he reached a number of new and innovative conclusions concerning personality. He claimed that psychology is much more occupied with peoples weaknesses rather than strengths; that the main focus of psychological studies is sin, and virtue tends to be omitted.  [14]   Maslows hierarchy of needs is represented by the following diagram: Maslow recognises, and illustrates his notion by means of a pyramid, that human needs can be divided into five levels, four of which represent deficiency needs (referred to also as basic needs) and are associated with human physiology. Only when those needs are satisfied, a human develops a need of self-actualization (referred to also as growth needs). d. Society in the Victorian Age Dickens hero, Oliver Twist, lived in a difficult time characterised by changes and the resulting serious crisis in the politics, economy and religious life. Victorians expected progress, rapid changes that were to improve their daily lives; apart from the elite, life in the nineteenth century was very hard for most of simple citizens, especially for children. Many peasants, driven away from the countryside by the prospects of better lives in the cities, fell victim of industrial exploitation and the capitalist system of economy. Cities grew in population too rapidly, forcing many to live in squalid neighbourhoods filled with filth and crime. Urbanization meant more places of work, but the cost of living in big cities often exceeded an average familys means. Families were large or too large; people lived in overcrowded houses in hand-to-mouth conditions. Industrial production was carried on at great risks and causing suffering of men, women and children. Britains status as the worksho p of the world was achieved at a great human cost  [15]  . People including small children worked fifteen or sixteen hours a day in, most of the time, unbearable conditions. The majority of people the so-called working class, which ironically included the unemployed, lived in the scruffiest of households. The industrialists treated the less fortunate, especially children, simply, and only, like objects, manpower. Children were exploited more than adults, because they never dared to ask for more. What is more, parents willingly agreed to this exploitation, even of very small children (often younger than six years of age), because they, too, could earn a few pennies. This extra income for starving families was at times a matter of life and death. Children employed in industry, suffered and often fell ill, at times irreversibly. Their childhood was taken away from them, but what is more, the precarious working and employment conditions, often forced them into the streets where they begged or stole to survive. Most children were denied the stability of having a home, being abandoned by their parents. Sometimes they were subjected to violence or solitude, being under-nourished or even starving, covered with rags, sleeping in empty cellars. Deprived of love and support from adults, they were neglected and lonely among others. The working class children had no rights and their hardship earned them no respect. People in Victorian England believed they were doing what was best for their children. But they were gripped by an idea which was widespread at that time that children were empty vessels, containing nothing worthwhile until filled with what adults judged best.  [16]   Dickens in his novels depicted the Victorian societys major problems. The writer portrayed the society in all its variety, touching all their problems but the theme to which he always returned, was the family, childhood, injustice, inequality, crime, corruption, scandals, poverty, as well as the suffering of children. Whatever he wrote was written with passion, because he experienced seeing life, from the point of view of the poor people and abused children. In his time, few people understood children as well as Dickens did, and he was the first writer who described childrens thoughts and feelings capturing the way they spoke, behaved, and suffered. Chapter two Childrens needs and violence against children based on Dickens novel Oliver Twist. The aim of the following chapter is to present the connection between a childs needs and life in the Victorian Age on the basis of Dickens novel Oliver Twist. Oliver Twist is the first novel in which Dickens speaks out against social injustice and an inadequate economic system that condoned the plight of the poorest, yet the largest, segment of British society. His, is not a portrait of a happy and harmonious family, but a debt-ridden, broken family where children, unless employed in Britains worst workshops, are viewed as a burden. The author tries to show terrible conditions in workhouses where poor people were forced to live and work if they could not pay their debts. In his novel Oliver Twist, Dickens also draws a critical picture of charitable foundations and their involvement in childrens orphanages. Additionally, Dickens sheds light on Londons dangerous criminal underworld. The main character of the novel, Oliver, is a neglected, illegitimate child. He does not know his father and his mother died at his birth. He is brought up as an orphan in cruel conditions in an orphanage typical of the Victorian Age. This small and lonely child is drawn into the world of brutality and violence. The fact that he does not have parents increased his loneliness and difficulties in life because he is deprived of their support which is very important, especially at the beginning of everyones life. Having a normal life is important for a child, but for Oliver that proved an unattainable dream. Oliver spends the first nine years of his life in a badly run home for young orphans and later he is transferred to a workhouse for adults. There, not only does he lack means to secure himself a decent upbringing, but is constantly short of the essentials such as sufficient amount of food, a room to sleep or clean clothes. When he is nine, he is still a child and he does not understa nd the world around him, especially his own status. Once, he asks an adult what it means to be an orphan: Boy, said the gentleman in the high chair, listen to me. You know you are an orphan, I suppose? Whats that, sir? inquired poor Oliver. The boy is a fool I thought he was, said the gentleman in a white waistcoat.  [17]   Oliver is afraid of adults; he does not understand why strangers decide about his future and his life, and in their presence he often trembles and cries. One of the most important and memorable images in the novel is the moment when Oliver feels extreme hunger and asks for something more to eat: Please, sir. I want some more.  [18]  This famous scene is symbolic in that sense that it expresses Olivers revolt against his situation. He does not understand that such behaviour is unacceptable in the workhouse and he is beaten as a result and then put up for sale, like an object, not a human being. Oliver acts against the rules because the situation in the workhouse is abnormal; his basic needs are not satisfied. The living conditions in the workhouses of the 19th century Britain were very severe and often these harbingers of modern day sweatshops resembled more prisons than houses. The treatment of children was terribly bad, some of them even starved to death. The sufferings of children in the Victorian Age indicate that their basic needs were not satisfied. The fundamental, basic needs which are essential for our survival, such as proper nourishment, a place to sleep, warmth were not met then. According to Maslow, food occupies the lowest level of the pyramid in the hierarchy of needs, and belongs to the very primitive group of needs, which are essential for survival; refusing proper nourishment to hungry people, especially children is the negation of humanity. What is more, Oliver Twist is denied safety and stability; he is an unloved and lonely child thrown into unsympathetic adult world, where he lacks parental love, affection and protection. In Maslowian theory, Oliver is denied access to the second developmental level and his need to feel safe remains unfulfilled. At the beginning, Oliver is not aware of his situation; gradually, however, he comes to realize his standing: I am a very little boy, sir; and it is so- so à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ So what? inquired Mr Bumble in amazement. So lonely, sir! So very lonely! Cried the child [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦].  [19]   This small boy feels he should have some rights as a human being and he seeks love. It is only natural for a boy like Oliver to look for love and a sense of belonging, a feeling that gives people a sense of stability. Again, the fundamental need, the third level of the Maslowian pyramid representing the hierarchy of needs necessary for a childs proper physiological and psychological development remains unfulfilled. Although he leaves the workhouse, his circumstances never improve; he moves in with Mr. Sowerberry, an undertaker. Subjected to moral and physical oppression, Oliver continues to feel lonely, cold and abandoned; in his new home he has no place to sleep: Then come with me, said Mrs Sowerberry, taking up a dim dirty lamp, and leading the way upstairs; your beds under the counter. You dont mind sleeping among the coffins, I suppose? But it doesnt much matter whether you do or dont, for you cant sleep anywhere else.  [20]   Another boy, named Noah Claypole, who too is a worker at Sowerberrys workshop, constantly abuses Oliver, but the main character endures his fate without a word of complaint. One day however, acting on an impulse, Oliver fights off Noahs attacks. He fights in defence of his mothers name but despite his innocence, Oliver is severely punished. This situation illustrates the Maslows notion of violence being a result of a thwarted development in an environment where a childs basic needs remain unfulfilled; violence and other forms of anti-social behaviour are a consequence. In other words, a child who is deprived of an opportunity to fulfil his needs uses aggression, turns to aggression; he/she does not act like a normal child. This moment in the novel marks another important transition; Oliver demands to be respected he reacts with violence against the insults used with regard to his mother an action that points to the fourth level of the Maslowian pyramid, the need of esteem. Oliver decides to escape because he refuses to endure his treatment. He chooses London hoping to change his life for better. In spite of being exhausted and hungry; he does not give up and is still full of hope and determined. He meets Dodger, who offers him a helping hand. Unaware, Oliver joins a gang of juvenile pick-pockets, run by a Jewish emigrant named Fagin. Dodger and other young boys, and now Oliver, roam the streets of London stealing, when they can, hanging out, laughing. Fagins gang creates an authentic society and provides these unwanted boys with security and a sense of belonging. Oliver has never known this kind of life; he is drawn to it to gain respect amongst peers, but also to feel accepted, relied on, and needed. At the beginning, Oliver does not realise that he has joined a criminal group. He does not understand the whole situation but tries to be a quick learner and to acquire new skills, i.e. pick pocketing. However, because he has little experience, or simply because he still is a naÃÆ' ¯ve little boy, he gets caught and arrested. Fortunately for Oliver, Mr. Brownlow, one of the gangs victims, recognizes the boys innocence, exonerates the boy during the investigation and takes him into his custody. Oliver leads now a better life, at last, but he is not sure if his benefactor will not one day send him back into the streets of London. He asks Mr. Brownlow: Oh, dont tell me you are going to send me away, sir, pray! [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] Dont turn me out of doors to wander in the streets again. Let me stay here and be a servant. Dont send me back to the wretched place I came from. Have a mercy upon a poor boy, sir!  [21]   Mr. Brownlow, however, reassures the boy of his true devotion to his upbringing: My dear child, said the old gentleman, moved by the warmth of Olivers sudden appeal, you need not be afraid of my deserting you, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [22]   A few weeks later, however, Oliver is kidnapped by Nancy a prostitute who is incited by Fagin. What is more, he vanished precisely when Mr Brownlow entrusts him with money and sends him shopping. Oliver does not think about himself but is afraid that Mr. Bro

Friday, October 25, 2019

Drinking Alcohol and Driving :: Exploratory Essays, Drunk Driving

Alcohol and Driving Imagine being in a bar with a few of your good friends. Everyone is drinking and having a good time. Your are going to leave and go home, but you friends won't let you because they know the dangers of driving after having a few drinks. Instead they ca ll a cab to give you a ride home. You would be extremely lucky to have such smart friends. Drunk driving is a very serious problem in our society today, but it is becomming socially unacceptable causing the numbers of alcohol related traffic fatalites t o decline considerably. Drunk driving can be very deadly. Yet many people drive while under the influence everyday. Drivers who are drunk are blamed for the loss of as many as twentyfive thousand lives in highway crashes each year and hundreds of thousands of severe injurys. It is thought that drunk drivers have a long history of doing this and many prior arrests. In addition, most of those killed are just innocent victims whose behavior did not contibute to their deaths. These last two statements are both false. On aver age a drunk driver that kills has never been involved in a alcohol related accident before and have no proir convictions for drunk driving. The part about the people killed are just innocent bistanders is overaggerated also. Most of the drunk drivers v ictims are the drivers themselves, their often passengers, and the drunken pedestrains and cyclists. Despite this drunk driving is still very dangerous. It is the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in America today. In fact it is said that ab out 40 % of the population will be involved in a alcohol related crash during their life. Drunk driving is especially dangerous to young people, who seem to be more involved than others. Drunk driving is the number one cause of death among y oung people, accounting for 20% of all deaths from ages 15 to 20. Drunk driving is such a hard thing to overcome though. In our society alcolol is overwhelmingly accepted as a facilitator of sociable interaction, and the great majority of adults drink. But steps a re being taken and the numbers of deaths are declining. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities have been decreasing lately. As a proportion of all traffic fatalities it has been decreased since 1982. In fact since 1982 the number of alcohol releated traffic fatalities has decreased 30%, from 25,165 to 17,699, w hile alcohol-related traffic fatalitites, as a proportion of all traffic fatalities, decreased from 57% to 45%.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Practice Analysis of ‘Pleasantville’ Movie

‘Pleasantville’ is an expertly crafted film in which one can appreciate and be exposed to the social issues America faced during the 1950’s. The courtroom scene towards the end of the film successfully encapsulates the essence of the film: a characters transformation from repression to enlightenment. While the costumes present a distinction between the ages, the contrasting colours express various emotions of each character. Each character possesses a differing level of awareness about their true roles which become apparent as the film progresses.The use of colour in ‘Pleasantville’ signifies both personal and political change. The colours associated with each character are evocative of their personal attributes and self-discovery. Mary Sue is seen wearing blue, a colour which connotes wisdom and understanding. This can be contrasted with how Mary Sue was depicted previously in the film; she embodied all that was ‘wrong’ during the 1950â €™s, a socially repressed era. The black and white characters reflect a far more conservative and traditional take on the world, in their eyes women’s only role is to bear children and to take care of the home.Despite the discrimination against those who are coloured, one cannot deny upon watching the film that they are clearly more liberated and alive. David’s blue shirt mirrors his assertiveness, control, and genuine determination to save all those who had not yet discovered their true selves. Bill’s coloured skin contrasted with his white clothing demonstrates an alternate approach to achieving a ‘coloured’ world to David, for he remains fairly impartial throughout the court case, emphasising his desire for compromise.The attention to detail of the use of colour throughout the film highlights the racial discrimination and the civil rights movements of the 1950’s. It is interesting to remark upon the fact that during the court room scen e it is all the coloured characters sitting in the upper gallery, this being where the African-Americans had to sit in US courthouses at that time. With regards to the judge himself, he appears to be a victim of his own mania.His violent speech regarding the colours which were used by David and Bill merely reveals the richness of his own repressed emotions. His inherent rage is revealed as he turns from black and white to colour; we can appreciate his obstinacy to permit change through this colour transformation. We are positioned with the people of colour in this narrative. The strict regulations of society during the 50’s are represented by those painted in black and white, meanwhile those in colour contrast the 50’s to depict the liberated 90’s.The birth of popular culture erupted during the 1950’s; Teenagers became more independent of their parents, conflict between the desires of the parents and the teenagers increased and this eventually established the term ‘generation gap’ to appear in American English during the 1960s. As a consequence of living in an era in which presentation and how people conducted themselves was treated with the upmost reverence, it is imperative to remark upon the use of costume design in the film.Those ‘coloured’ characters tend to be shown wearing rather more adventurous, provocative outfits, something which would have been frowned upon during this era in which the adaption to the most minor changes such as costume is impossible. The costumes are appropriate to the pseudo-1950s TV-setting. We must remember that the colours and designs are heightened and exaggerated and are not intended to be naturalistic in order to convey a convincing political argument and emphasise upon the need for change and reform in society.The camera action throughout the film is of notable importance, especially when considering the court room scene. The high angle shot in which the judge looks down on David and Bill portrays the power and dominance of those who have abided by the rules and stuck to the traditional conventions of society. However, as David gains confidence he is framed in a low-angle shot thereby making him appear to be the authoritative figure in control. Increasingly, David dominates the frame. The inclusion of the extended close-up shot of George enables the audience to engage with his emotional release.Editing also supports dialogue in this clip, an example being when David is speaking of his mother, the film cuts to a shot of Betty. This heightens the emotional essence of the scene, and encourages the audience to applaud David’s courage and essential goodness. Furthermore, editing also confirms the separation of black and white and colour until the end of the scene when all characters unite and emerge into a coloured world, filled with emotion and diversity. The presence of music in this particular scene differs depending on the emotions of the cha racters.Music acts as an emotional release; laughter within the courtroom at the end of the scene establishes unity among the people and signifies the end of the crisis. Moreover, the non-diegetic music of the birds tweeting as the characters exit the court room and are exposed to a coloured world is immensely refreshing and promotes the idea of a new beginning. The looks between George and Betty in this scene cannot be ignored, here the non-diegetic music is romantic and underscores the climactic moment in which George turns from black and white to colour.Throughout the film music reflects the mood. The scene at Lover’s lane is filmed with rather seductive and sensual music in order to encourage the audience to appreciate that the younger generation were undergoing not only a personal transformation but also embarking on a sexual journey. In conclusion, ‘Pleasantville’ represents a parody of contemporary problems whilst reflecting common fears and fantasies abou t life, God, and freedom. Essentially sex is equated with freedom.In addition, we can appreciate that pain brings risk but also liberation; the art of fiction too liberates various characters which we can appreciate is somewhat ironic given the characters themselves are situated in a television programme. Moreover, one cannot deny ‘Pleasantville’ essentially satisfies all expectations with regards to film watching; it provides entertainment whilst also sending across a political message and portraying a vivid image of life in the 1950’s.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Analysis of Internationalisation Strategy Tesco and Lidl Essay

Question 1: Globalisation has, in the last few decades, been one of the dominant trends in retailing. Retailers around the globe are striving for higher global market shares. The food retailing industry which has an oligopolistic market, especially, has strong competition although, with a few large firms dominating the market. Among them Tesco and Lidl are one of the major European retailers. Tesco is the UK’s largest retailer with 28.7% market share, which is 11% more than its closest rival, ASDA (Statista.com, 2015), and is the 5th largest retailer in the world (Deloitte, 2015). And Lidl is the main retail chain (accounting for more than 70% of its sales) of Schwarz group, which is the 4th largest retailer in the world (Deloitte, 2015). Both of these firms are based in Europe with Tesco being a British firm and Lidl a German. These firms are similar not only in their revenues and market shares but also in the generic strategy they have adopted. In terms of business operation, both firms follow Porter’s cost leadership strategy. However, Tesco also incorporates the differentiation strategy (Baroto et al., 2012), hence pursuing a hybrid strategy combining the two, while Lidl solely follows the no-frills cost leadership strategy (Geppert et al., 2015). Both these firms have internationalized in different countries around the globe. Lidl has mainly focused its internationalisation in the European markets, while Tesco, in addition to expanding in different eastern European countries, has also started its operations in drastically different markets such as South Korea, China, India and The USA. However, they have followed different strategies in their modes of entry into foreign markets, with different levels of success. The decision to and the outcome of internationalisation for these two firms have depended on different factors like government regulation, availability of the factors of production, their business operation strategy and so on. One of the main criteria for internationalisation for firms is to possess some sort of competitive advantage, in order to overcome the threats and difficulties usually associated with entering into a new foreign market (Vernon 1966). Lidl being a discounter has a huge advantage in terms of price compared to other supermarkets and hypermarkets. As a result of its no-frills strategy, Lidl can significantly reduce costs in different stages of its logistics and supply chain. Entering into a new country has a lot of challenges and firm  size is one of the things a firm must consider when choosing a country for internationalisation. If th e firm does not have significant market share in its domestic market, it will find it difficult to maintain its operations in foreign markets. In Lidl’s case, they have built a very strong domestic market and therefore, had a strong foundation for further expansion to foreign markets. From Lidl’s previous Foreign Direct Investments, it is evident that that the firm has adopted both acquisition strategy as well as Greenfield investment. However, it has mostly focused on Greenfield investments (Nayak, 2011). Greenfield investment, which entails starting the operations from scratch, gives firms more freedom in selecting their business strategy in terms of choosing suppliers and managing logistics etc. This market entry strategy allows firms to fully utilize their company-specific advantages (Ando, 2005). One of the reasons Lidl chooses this strategy as their international mode of entry, is because of its consistency with their business model. Lidl, like other hard discounters, follows a global standardised strategy (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1989), where majority of the decisions are made by the corporate headquarters, in things like variation of product assortment, design of store outlets or policies and procedures and there is very little localisation (Geppert,201 5). This allows Lidl to implement its own strategic model into a new business in a foreign market. However, in addition to centralizing the strategic aspect of the business, they also centralize some physical aspects of it. â€Å"A global retail strategy relies on standardization to achieve economies of scale and of replication. This means that in different countries similar product lines, distribution system, communication, service level and store design are used† (McGoldrick 2002). Lidl’s business strategy includes a standardized supply chain which allows it to efficiently operate its business in different countries and also provides an economies of scale. Upon entering a foreign market, they set up regional distribution centres (RDCs) to service a significant number of their stores in a certain region. They source their products (except perishables) through their headquarters in Germany and those products are distributed through the RDCs to their respective regional stores. Each of the RDC is linked to a regional management headquarters and they supply around 60 a nd 120 stores (Geppert, 2011). Through this kind of horizontal FDI, Lidl operates in its foreign  markets just as it does in its domestic market. Also, the fact that Lidl has expanded into countries that are geographically closer makes this strategy and business model very effective. This strategy is also consistent with the gravity model of bilateral trade which states that volume of trade is inversely proportional to the distance between the countries and directly proportional to the size of the economies. Lidl’s operating countries are geographically closer to each other and they, as a result, incur less transaction costs, which allows a discounter like Lidl, to adhere to its cost leadership strategy in its foreign markets as well. Moreover, Germany’s central location in Europe as well as it being the largest economy in Europe increases the prospect and efficiency of trade. Furthermore, due to Lidl’s choice of internationalisation strategy, factor abundance plays an integral role, especially in terms of land and space. Greenfield investment requires land to build new stores or the availability of already built stores. â€Å"Discounters’ stores are standardized not only in neighbouring markets, but worldwide, which allows for efficient in-store processes† (Warschun, 2011). Therefore, Lidl which follows a similar standardization strategy, requires specific sizes of land and stores in different parts of the country it wants to expand to. An exception in this case is Sweden, which is geographically a bit farther relative to other countries. Lidl, establishing a Greenfield investment, built their own warehouse in South West of Sweden, however, the warehouse was still served by the same logistics firm used by Lidl in Germany, Pape (Nyberg, 2007). This still allowed for the standard distribution process to be implemented, as Pape is already familiar with Lidl’s business model and distribution modes. Government policies, in both domestic and foreign markets, also have a significant effect on food retailers and their decision to internationalise. In 1968, a retail planning policy was devised in Germany in order to protect the small stores by limiting the size of stores outside city centres and special zones (Geppert et.al, 2015). This helped discount stores like Lidl by stopping bigger competitors from introducing huge supermarkets and hypermarkets. As a result, Lidl gained a significant portion of the market share in the German food retailing market. This strong position in their domestic market meant they had the resources and the motivation to expand  into other markets and a strong domestic presence also benefits Lidl’s centralised business model. Since then, Lidl has expanded rapidly, mostly in European markets, and the number of Lidl stores in Lidl’s major operating countries can be seen from the table below. The table above shows that the total number of stores Lidl had in 2011 in its foreign markets is three times its number of stores in Germany, its domestic market. This shows that Lidl’s endeavours in foreign markets have been successful as majority of their international efforts have resulted in a profit. Lidl doesn’t publish country-by country profit figures, although, its turnover in the UK in 2012, which was  £202 million, increasing by around 40% in the five years since the recession hit (Gibb, 2013), shows that it is making a profit. In 2012, Lidl’s overall profits were up by 37% (Kantarretail, 2012). This can partly be attributed to the recession, because of which the demand for cheaper discounted goods increased, however, it can also be attributed to Lidl’s mode of entry into new markets and its business strategy which takes into account the local culture of the community and country in its foreign markets. For example: Lidl locally sources its pe rishable food products in the UK locally and uses it as its marketing strategy to attract local consumers and to create a friendly brand image. Similarly to Lidl, Tesco also has a very strong presence in its domestic market as it is the market leader in the UK. Being among the top five retailers in the world, Tesco has stores in various countries in Asia and Europe. After achieving rapid growth and gaining the highest market share in the UK, the move to enter foreign markets was part of Tesco’s disciplined international growth strategy (Tesco Annual Report, 2014). Tesco has also adopted Horizontal Foreign Direct Investment in most of its international expansions, usually acquiring existing retailers in foreign markets and implementing its own business strategy like undercutting competitors and introducing own brand products and its club card scheme and so on (corporatewatch.org, 2004). For example: Tesco’s acquisition of American company K-mart’s stores in Czech Republic in 1996 (tescoplc.com) and it currently has more than 300 stores there (Tescopoly.org) Tesco’s first  attempts at internationa lisation were not very successful as their acquisitions of relatively small supermarket chains in Ireland and France were divested soon after acquisition (Geppert et al., 2011). Tesco, then changed their strategy in acquisitions by acquiring larger foreign firms rather than smaller ones. In addition to the acquisition of K-mart in 1996, they acquired 26 S-Mart stores in Hungary in 1995, and ventured into the Irish market again in 1997, this time acquiring the market leader Associated British Food (ABF) (Geppert et al. 2011). As they grew Tesco has favoured large hypermarkets for its international stores rather than supermarkets, since in most countries it is easier to get planning permission for these than it is in the UK. (corporatewatch.org, 2004). One of Tesco’s main strategy in internationalisation has been to understand the market and operate in accordance with the local shopping culture to build better relationship with the consumers as well as suppliers. This is much easier to achieve in choosing acquisitions or joint ventures than through Greenfield investments. Through acquisitions, as a result of the knowledge of local customs and associations on part of the acquired firm, the investing firm can take advantage of pre-existing business network with suppliers and distribution chains. It also takes over the brands (in some cases), the reputation and the existing market share of the acquired firm and this can result in a stronger market presence very quickly (Marinescu & Constantin, 2008). Therefore, using an entry strategy suitable with a lot of market research, Tesco has had success in its foreign expansion in European markets. Some examples include its operations in Hungary, where they strongly focus on local suppliers and 85% of their sales are through local products and In India where they operate a scheme to donate to local charities and organisations (tescoplc.com). The following table with Tesco’s number of stores in 2011, shows that unlike Lidl, Tesco has more stores in its home market compared to all of its international inves tments and the proportion of sales is higher in its domestic market as well since it brings in about two thirds of its total revenues from its home market (Thomas et al., 2013). Contrary to its success in the European markets, Tesco has recently suffered some major setbacks in internationalisation in Asian markets like Japan and  China, and the US. Tesco entered the US market in 2007 and instead of using their tried and tested approach of acquisitions or joint ventures, they preferred to adopt a different strategy and entered the market by establishing a new wholly owned subsidiary as a Greenfield investment. This meant that they did not possess the local knowledge about the market and consumer behaviour. In addition, they initially filled their management positions with mostly British expats instead of hiring locally (Silverthorne, 2010). Competing as a new business in a highly oligopolistic market requires a strong strategy and considerable market research and knowledge about the consumer base so, a lack of that meant Tesco could not entice American consumers. Moreover, their timing of internationalisation was also unfortunate as recession had seriously effected Tesco’s chosen states of California, Nevada and Arizona. Tesco is estimated to have made more than  £1 billion in accumulated loss (Finch & Walsh, 2012). Similarly, also in China in 2013, Tesco had to fold its unprofitable business into a state-run company as a minority partner; this was attributed to a difficulty foreign companies like Tesco, have in negotiating with suppliers and regulators in a fast-growing but tricky market. Furthermore, Tesco also withdrew from the Japanese market in 2012 in a â€Å"move that follows decisions to†¦ focus on investing in its British home market† (Thomas et al., 2013). Tesco’s exit from Taiwan can be credited to low factor abundance, as all the most attractive sites for expansion already been developed or were held under future development option by Carrefour, who had been a well-established retailer in the country. In addition, the highly complex land ownership system was a hindrance for Tesco’s as it obstructed the transfer its skills in site location analysis and property development (Lowe & Wrigley, 2010). However, Tesco has had success in Asia, with Thailand, and South Korea, which is its largest foreign market. Tesco outperformed its global rivals Wal-Mart and Carrefour in South Korea and they were forced to exit the market leaving Tesco as the dominant international retailer there (Lowe & Wrigley, 2010). Tesco had entered both South Korea and Thailand through joint ventures rather than acquisition, this key difference helped the firm massively as the partnerships with local firms offered Tesco the knowledge of local business/regulatory conditions and consumer culture, plus it provided the opportunity to build upon the ‘local’ appeal, especially in  South Korea where Tesco had partnered with Samsung and the use of the name, Samsung-Tesco, proved to be vital (Lowe & Wrigley, 2010). Tesco’s failures in internationalization in some of the Asian and the American markets does show to some extent that geographical distance might have played a part even though the size of the economies involved were quite large. The culture of these markets were very different and as per Krug man’s love of variety model, individuals’ tastes are even more diverse, and Tesco could not adapt to these vastly different markets. In these kind of markets, a joint venture, like it adopted in its Korean and Thai markets, seemed to be the preferable option. Comparing and analysing the strategies of Tesco and Lidl’s shows that, in order to have a successful internationalisation and subsequently continue to have a strong foreign market, the firms must be strong in its domestic market. Both firms use different primary strategy to enter into foreign markets but their internationalisation strategy suits their respective business strategy, as Tesco’s opts for quick growth and seeks to be a market leader in all of its markets usually by acquiring large existing retailers, while Lidl opts for greenfield investments in order to maintain its cost leadership and utilize its standardized supply and distribution chains. Both firms use Horizontal FDI, which does decrease international trade as their services are usually aimed at host country, however, individual governments welcome Horizontal FDI as it boosts the local economy by providing jobs as well as increases competition. In Tesco’s case, it has recently turned its focus on its home market, as it has been losing market share in the UK and two thirds of its revenue come from the UK, however Lidl is growing more internationally and plans to open more stores in its already existing international markets like the UK (Butler, 2014). The world is very small now, especially with the ability to replicate technology easily and the power to move freely between countries. However, the strategies these two forms have used and their effectiveness in different countries show that, although there are fewer differences in consumer cultures and market structures, these differences still matter and play an important role in the success and failure of firms. The ability of a firm to understand the consumer culture is key when it comes to internationalisation. Furthermore, the gravity model does hold to an extent even in the case of internationalisation of firms, as evident from Tesco’s  failure to penetrate most Asian markets they entered compared to their successes in most European markets they ventured into. Tesco’s success in Thailand and Korea shows that a Joint venture with a locally established company would be the ideal mode of entry into risky markets. And a firm’s Internationalisation strategy must also be consistent with its business strategy in order to have a consistent growth in the foreign market after a successful entry. Reference: Baroto, M. B., Abdullah, M. M. B. and Wan, H. L. (2012) ‘Hybrid Strategy: A New Strategy for Competitive Advantage’, International Journal of Business and Management, 7. doi: 10.5539/ijbm.v7n20p120. Bartlett C.A., Ghoshal, S. (1989): Managing across Borders. The Transnational Solution. Boston., Mass: Harvard Business School press Butler, S. (2014a) ‘Lidl launches  £220m UK store expansion programme’, The Guardian, 27 June. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jun/27/lidl-launches-store-expansion-programme (Accessed: 7 April 2015). Corporate Watch (2004) Tesco Plc, Corporate Watch. Available at: http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/company-profiles/tesco-plc#international (Accessed: 9 April 2015). Deloitte (2014) http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/tw/Documents/consumer-business/tw-cb-retailing2014-en.pdf, Deloitte. Available at: http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/tw/Documents/consumer-business/tw-cb-retailing2014-en.pdf ( Accessed: 8 April 2015). Finch, J. and Walsh, F. (2012) ‘Tesco’s American dream over as US retreat confirmed’, The Guardian, 5 December. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/dec/05/tesco-american-dream-retreat-us-fresh-easy (Accessed: 6 April 2015). Geppert, M., Williams, K. and Wortmann, M. (2014) ‘Micro-political game playing in Lidl: A comparison of store-level employment relations’, European Journal of Industrial Relations. doi: 10.1177/0959680114544015. Geppert, M., Wortmann, M., Czarzasty, J., KaÄŸnicioÄŸlu, D., Kohler, H.-D., Rà ¼ckert, Y., Royle, T., Uà §kan, B. and Williams, K. (2011) Work and Employment Relations of European Multinational Grocery Retailers – Discounters and Hypermarkets. Hans-Bà ¶ckler-Stiftung. Available at: http://www.boeckler.de/pdf_fof/S-2009-317-1-1.pdf (Accessed: 6

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Workforce Merging Sandstone University and Redbrick Institute

The Workforce Merging Sandstone University and Redbrick Institute Introduction A merger is the process of a company combining with another company and totally absorbing the infrastructure, facilities and functions (Bontis 1999, p.434). Amalgamation involves merging between commercial companies, and later forming a common name for the merged companies. Two existing companies are unified to form one fully functional company that carries out all activities under one name (Hild 2004, p.2).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Workforce Merging: Sandstone University and Redbrick Institute specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When a company is soon to restructure through merger or acquisitions, then there is need to understand the role of human resource management all through the process (Hild 2004, p.3). This means that before and after the merger, the HR must collaboratively work with the workforce to ensure higher levels of a successful merger between companies. Hilda (2004) notes there ar e challenges that are bound to face the HR department as a result of mergers and how the takes up the issues and activities directly affect the productivity of the work force (P.4). This is why the human resource management is vital in achieving success or failure in mergers. Key stakeholders The merger between Sandstone University and Redbrick institute of technology to form All-star University is one of the many institution mergers in Australia. The merger was important to ensure asset stability in financial assets and build on extra knowledge, talent and technology (D’Souza et al 2001, p.24). The major shareholder’s of the All-star University includes, the government, Sandstone University’s main sponsor. The government main’s interest is to have the institution offer more courses to the public and acquire as many students as possible to boost the university courses and have people opt for the All star university. If the school could add more business, related subjects more students would register and the government will reduce its sponsorship to the university. The students are the second stakeholders, after the merger, the students have been pressuring the university to add more courses to its curriculum. The students are demanding for more courses because the merger benefits the students because they get to be taught by academics that have knowledge, experience and experts in technology (Pattanayak 2005, p.400).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The local business community also has their interest in All-star University because Redbrick staff has been known to have a wide experience. They also take a modern approach to teaching students in business related fields practically, preparing them for the real world. This coupled with highly educated and experienced lecturer’s the local business community entrus t their employees to go through the university to better the company’s human resource (Hild 2004, p.3). The local business feel the school is potential in building their employees talent and they need to add more business oriented subjects. The academics from Sandstone University and Redbrick also make up the stakeholders, the academics have different interests. Sandstone university academics have a traditional academic approach and still encourage public service, entered academia, banking and consulting. The lecturers also placed research publications above practical experience in the world of academia. Their main interest is to keep earning according to the union’s agreement and that is according to seniority and also to maintain the prestige of the university. Meanwhile the interests of Redbrick’s academics’ main interest lie on teaching programs that one can apply to modern day business. The academia’s main interest is to keep graduates into di versified range in the various business related fields. These lecturers’s take pride in teaching excellence and encourage students to be more practical preparing them for the real world. The last union is the right and left union, the left wing tertiary academics union is involved in determining the Sandstone’s academic staff, which is often on seniority. The union’s basic interest is to determine the academics salary and rate of performance. HR challenges The merging between Sandstone University and Redbrick institute of technology is bound to raise a few HR challenges because a lot of attention is on focused on human elements (Hild 2004, p.6). The HR department is bound to witness a lot of insecurity and anxiety among the employees (Pattanayak 2005, p.400).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Workforce Merging: Sandstone University and Redbrick Institute specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This w as seen first developing from the Sandstone’s academic who expressed their dissatisfaction on the fact that the university was merging with an institution. The staff at Sandstone remain with doubts on job security (Bontis 1999, p. 435); cost and performance was to be used to rate all staff at All stars and the Redbrick staff were better in practical tasks. Culture clashes are bound to be experienced in All-star university, because Sandstone University has different ideologies from Redbrick’s staff. Sandstone’s staffs believe in the culture of research and theory, the lecturer’s approach is based on paper work. While Redbrick encourages their students to take a practical approach and tend to not take the professors at Sandstone University seriously. The HR has the challenge to align the two cultures in order to have all staff to work together as a team. Difference in culture could also be seen due to the attitudes and beliefs of the staff, the staff at San dstone take union and tenure seriously while the staff at Redbrick does not. The human resource department has the great challenge to create a system that will even out all employees (Hild 2004, p. 8). The Redbrick and the Sandstone staff have different cultural practices and it is up to the HR department to establish what should be optional and what system should be compulsory. If cultures crash the two may not work as a team and this may lead to direct failure of All university. The staff at Sandstone has 90% of the staff with PHD’s while Redbrick has only 20% of the staff working with PHD’s. The lecture’s at Sandstone feel like they need to continue with the union’s pay system, where the higher lecturers earn more. This may pose a challenge and bring a difference in power and politics between the two forces. Because the professors may feel offended and lack to corporate with the other lecturers, since they feel superior to the Redbrick’s staff. The staff at Sandstone being more learned than the Redbrick staff may feel superior and expect better and special treatment. The HR has the challenge of treating the professors as equals and also encouraging the other staff to feel appreciated. The HR has to estimate the budget that will fund the transition cost that will help all staffs to go through training to adopt the new system. The HR has to first come up with a system for both staff and allow training schedules for the employees (Hild 2004, p. 8). The program established will need an implementation stage and a monitoring system; these procedures will require funding to the last step.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The HR has got to plan for this transition period and ensure the training is effective. The Sandstone staffs already have a negative attitude towards the amalgamation, and this may affect the level of cooperation among workers. The 20% reduction in workers is to an extent a delicate issue because the HR manager has to choose from the Sandstone University and the Redbrick University. Both have their strengths and weakness and the HR department is faced with the task of having to choose the best employees. The HR is faced with the risk of lose or mismanagement, which could affect the productivity of the company. This could then lead to financial drain because the employees left in the company will be a liability to the company. The HR has to come to terms with layoffs, which bring anxiety and tension among workers, this is a major de-motivating factor among companies. The other issue involves facing an un-anticipated turnover of events, which could see some academics resign from the i nstitution (Secord 2003, p. 267). The academics in Sandstone University feel that merging with an institution would be lowering the university prestige among the local community. This is because Redbrick only has 40% of its total staff as PhDs holders while 90% of Sandstone’s staffs have PhDs. The lecturer’s feel at Sandstone that they have more long term experience in teaching and have the best approach to lecturing, due to the long experience. The third challenge that the HR managers could face is procedural integration, where they have to combine the two company systems and structures (Pattanayak 2005, p.401). Sandstone has full time students mostly, while Redbrick has full time and part time students. This may mean reshuffling the courses, dates and time schedules. The pay for Sandstone staff members is determined by the left wing academics union and it depends on the seniority. Redbrick on the other hand are paid on contracts and less than 50% of the staff at redb rick have a union. 85% of the staff at Sandstone has tenure, while only 20% of the Redbrick staff has tenure. These differences in systems that dominate each institution will have to identify a way to integrate the central control function for both institutions to one major body (Hild 2004, p. 8). Sandstone University has a more formal approach as opposed to Redbrick the HR will look in closely to ensure that a compromised is reached. All stars are covered with a 10 million loss and to keep up with the budget guideline, the university has to reduce the head count by 20%. This is also one of the greatest challenges for the HR department because the HR managers have to screen very carefully from both institutions and consider the best candidates to select (Secord 2003, p. 268). 90% of the Sandstone’s staff holds a PhD while Redbrick has only 40% of the total staff holding PhDs. However, the Redbrick lecturers are more practical and excellent in the way they deliver lecturers. T his means the HR has to carry out an appraisal to ensure that the best employees are retained, the HR should be cautious to strike a balance in both institutions. The HR department according to Pattanyak (2005) has to look closely at the effectiveness of each employee and how well they will blend with the new company policies (P.403); a reduction of 20% is a large number means that many employees will be rendered jobless. While this may see some academics laid off, the pressure of the HR department is to see that the ones who remain are the most productive and resourceful. The pay may also pose a challenge to the HR department once the two companies are merged (Secord 2003, p.268). The Sandstone staff is paid according to seniority, while the Redbrick staff is paid on contracts and depends on their specialty. The HR department has the challenge of reviewing the remuneration package of each employee and come up with a pay package. While doing this they are posed with the challenge of causing negative attitude amongst the staff (Pattanayak 2005, p. 405). The Sandstone academics feel that they are senior in their profession and have a research role and should be compensated better that the Redbrick employees who only have a few PhD holders. The Redbrick staff has a practical approach and while they consult, their courses have become popular amongst the employees. This means that as the HR plans for the remuneration package there is the risk of job dissatisfaction from some lecture’s who may feel underpaid (D’Souza et al 2001, p. 25). Lastly social cultural integration May arise as a challenge to the HR managers; this is because both institutions have their own organization cultures and belief which they hold dear (Hild 2004, p. 8). The Sandstone academics are research oriented and believe that a research publication is better than a practical experience. Redbrick academics on the other side believe that a practical approach rather than theory based learning is the best way to lecture the graduates. These differences could break down employee communication when the company is merged. The HR department has the hard task of addressing culture and integrating the system, and finds a common ground from which the staff can start sharing (Pattanayak 2005, p. 405. Logical and practical recommendations For the HR managers to overcome the above issues, before the merger the human resource managements need to spend time with the financial analyst to see how the merger will affect the employees financially (Donaldson 1994, p. 46). The management at All star University have to take up the leadership policy seriously. The staff will adopt the new system easily based on how well they are led; if the management is disorderly then the staff members will exhibit the same (Donaldson 1994, p.46). The leader also must have an implementation strategy for the new company, for it to succeed; the management must outline the implementation plan and how to follow it up. The managers of All Star University must have well thought goals and objectives to see through the merger. The staffs at Redbrick and Sandstone University have a lot of differences, and this will mean that the managers will require a lot of planning and strategizing to turn these differences to similarities. The HR for instance must find a common remuneration system that pays both the Redbrick and Sandstone staff. The HR department must carefully draw a new tenure system that allows all staff to join and this system must share a common interest, without discriminating. The HR has to be diligent on soft issues such as the reduction of staff from both the University and Institute. Reduction of workers in a company may lead to conflict of interest on the HR side, where the manager may feel obligated to retain some employ. Here the managers should act on behalf of the organization and carry out their duties without favoring anyone. The managers should use past experien ce from companies who have undergone amalgamation successfully (Hild 2004, p. 8). This way they are bound to borrow a few strategies that could be of great help to the company. Many companies due to the tough economic times undergo merging to strengthen their financial position. All Stars should borrow the best practices of such firms and adoption techniques applied to see through the combination. Key talent should be identified early before the merging process so as to ensure that the key players in both organizations are retained (Hild 2004, p. 8). The staffs at University are highly educated and most possess Ph.D while the staffs at Redbrick are experienced employees who take up a practical approach, making them popular amongst physical companies. This means the managers need to look into such issues so as to make structured decisions on who stays and who is laid off. The staff needs to show also the will to adopt, it would be useless to take up an employee who is not willing to adapt to the new environment. Communication is key for any merger to be declared successful; this should involve the stakeholders of both the university and the institute. The University has the government, parents, students and the community at large to consult before they implement the whole process. The process of communication allows the stakeholders to have time to prepare for the different environment. Communication also communicates the key objectives and future plans of the organization (Hild 2004, p. 8). Lastly communication paves way for planning and strategizing for both management and stakeholders. Every plan needs to be established and ruled carefully to ensure its clear and well applied in the whole process. Getting people from both the Sandstone university and the Redbrick institute of technology, absorbed together earlier in stage. The two institutions of learning should be brought together and explained to the process of the merger and explain the reasons behind it and its benefits. Honesty is an important aspect because the HR is dealing with adults and being transparent eases less tension among the employees (Pattanayak 2005, p. 407). Since the All University will need to do a 20%, reduction the HR should not do the reduction all at once to but in stages. During the reduction the HR should look careful at both sides and consider the best resources to stay and who to release (Bontis 1999, p. 455). The HR department should ensure that they integrate and orient the employees who remain into the system and carry out seminars to train the employees on how to cope in the new systems and strategy (Donaldson 1994, p. 50). The HR department should draw a new organization structures and define the roles of each employee with clarity, and assign the different tasks favorably. The pay package guide should be explained to both sides and all factors should be considered to compensate the workers laid off (Secord 2003, p. 270). Manpower planning should be realistic in all to ensure the retained employees are up to the task and can deliver efficiently. Conclusion Managers in an institution need to remember that human resource is essential to the success of the company. When commercial companies decide to merge the workforce is always affected especially where the new formed company has to lay off some staffs. This poses the HR challenge of having the human resource to retain the best employees and inculcate them to the new organization. The nature of success highly depends on how the human resource is handled in the company. The HR should make it an important not therefore to take the workforce through the merging process. References Bontis, N. (1999) Managing organization knowledge by diagnosing intellectual capital: framing and advancing the state of the field. International journal of technology management. 18(5). P.433-462 Donaldson, G. (1994) Corporate restructuring: managing the change process from within. New York: Harvard Busi ness school. D’souza, et al. (2001) Determinants of performance improvements in privatized firms: The role of restructuring and corporate governance. New Orleans: AFA. Hild, A. (2004) Empirical evidence on shareholder value effects of corporate restructuring. Journal of business economics-investment and finance. 7(2). P.1-12 Pattanayak, B. (2005) Human resource management (3rd Edition). New York, Routledge. Secord, H. (2003) Implementing best practices in human resource management. London, Person Hall.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Ethology Essays - Ethology, Animal Welfare, Behavioural Sciences

Ethology Essays - Ethology, Animal Welfare, Behavioural Sciences Ethology The biological study of animal behavior is called Ethology. All behavior is a reaction to a stimulus. John B. Watson influenced animal behavior in the twentieth century. He published a book in 1924 called Behaviorism. Jakob von Uexkull and O. Heinroth started a school that taught about animal behavior. There are two categories of animal behavior: "genetically determined" or "environmentally determined." Animal behavior is the different ways that animals do different things, such as hunting. An example of this would be how a lion hides in the grass to hunt their prey. Some of these are instinct or they must learn from their parents or the hard way. Examples of animal behavior When a jackdaw bird first makes its nest, it has to learn Page 3 new ways to make it. It might start trying to make its nest with light bulbs and other items that are not needed to make a nest. When it uses a twigs to make the nest, it finally learns that twigs are the best item to make the nest with. The jackdaw stores what it learns, and it only uses the twigs that it used earlier. When ducklings hatch out of their eggs, they follow their mother. During this time they learn the differences in males and females. They will need this when they grow older, and use this for mating. If they were to follow other species they would do the things that they do and be with them. A very important part of a bird's learning is learning the different songs. The young male can only learn the territorial song. This song can only be learned during the first eight weeks of its life. Some birds that her other birds' songs. The bird can never learn that song. They are not exposed to their species' song until late in the first year of their life. Most animals learn new things from trial-and-error. If an animal tries to attack a group, but instead the group defends themselves very well and the animal fails. After it fails it will stop trying to hunt it. This is called trial-and-error. If a light turns on a young rat might not know what to do. After it grows more Page 4 mature it will automatically leave the room. If you train an animal right it would do what you want it to do. You could train a pigeon to dance if you give it food. Some procedures are sometimes used on humans to lower their heart rate or alter their brain waves. Researchers are interested in the way behavior is like adaptations, but learning with behavior is a faster way. They say that behavior evolves such as science says that animals do. They say this because now, because of humans, there are many different environments that animals have to learn to deal with. They say that different behaviors solve different problems. Flexible Learning will teach an animal to respond to unpredictable situations. Another example of animal behavior is the sun dance of the honeybees. When a honeybee finds nectar in a flower it will tell the other bees in the hive. It does a dance to tell the other bees exactly where the nectar is. They also use angles from the sun to determine where the nectar is. A certain dance stands for different places. One more example of animal behavior is when sea gulls, dogs, as well as other animals have the same movements when being attacked. Some would stretch their necks to make them Page 5 look larger than they are. They would sometimes crouch low and bring their neck up. This is usually used for defense. Animals such as the grouse would puff up their feathers to make them look much larger. This is used on attacks. Animals in the same group would fight against each other to gain status in the group. They fight for who would be the leader of the group. Animals have a way of telling each other apart. Prairie dogs touch each others teeth, seals do the same, and chimpanzees touch hands to tell each other apart. Genetics of Behavior Some birds have special cells that make it do specific things with its eggs, such as detect it

Saturday, October 19, 2019

An Introduction To Sequences In Mathematics English Language Essay

An Introduction To Sequences In Mathematics English Language Essay This is an introduction to sequences. In mathematics, that is, discrete mathematics have learned about sequences, which is an ordered list of elements. The sequences is about arrangement of objects, people, tasks, grocery items, books, movies, or numbers, which has an ‘order’ associated with it. Like a set, it contains members and the number of terms. This members is called elements or terms and the number of terms is also called the length of the sequences. Sequences having a natural numbers. There are all even numbers and odd numbers. This usually defined according to the formula: Sn = a, function of n = 1,2,3,†¦a set A= {1,2,3,4} is a sequence. B = {1,1,2,2,3,3,} is though the numbers of repeating. There are specific sequences that have their own formulas and methods for finding the value of terms, such as arithmetic and geometric sequences. List of numbers, finite and infinite, that follow some rules are called sequences.P,Q,R,S is a sequences letters that diff er from R,Q,P,S, as the ordering matters. Sequences can be finite or infinite. For this example is finite sequence. For example of infinite is such as the sequence of all odd positive integers (1,3,5,†¦.). Finite sequences are sometimes known as strings or words, and infinite sequences as streams. The empty sequence ( ) is included in most notions of sequence, but may be excluded depending on the context. In this topic means sequences, there are covered about indexing, operation on sequences, sequences of integers, subsequences, increasing, decreasing, nonincreasing, nondecreasing, sigma notation, and pi notation. Besides that, in this topic also discuss about changing the index and limit in sum. Background A sequences was created by Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (1180-1250). Pisano means â€Å"from Pisa† and Fibonacci which means son of Bonacci. He known as by his nickname, Fibonacci. He was born in Pisa which is now part in Italy, the city with the famous Leaning Tower. He p layed important role in reviving ancient methematical skills, as well as making significant contributions of his own. He was known for a great interset in math. Because of the Fibonacci Series, He is most known. A series of numbers approaching nature reality. For example, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 233, 300, 377, †¦The sum of the 2 preceding numbers are from each succeding number. Fibonacci was a member of the Bonacci family and traveled all around the Mediterranean as a boy. He traveled with his father who held a diplomatic post. To excel in solving a wide variety of mathematical problems, His keen interest in mathematics and his exposure to other cultures allowed Fibonacci. Fibonacci is probably best known for discovering the Fibonacci sequence. Besides that, A sequences is also was created by Leonardo Fibonacci. He is the Italian mathematician. He also known as Leonardo of Pisa, documented the mathematical sequences often found in nature in 1202 in his book, â€Å"Liber Abaci† which means â€Å"book of the abacus†In the sequences, each number is sum of two numbers, such as 1 + 1 = 2, 1 + 2 = 3, 2 + 2 = 4, and so on. That sequence can be found in the spirals on the skin of a pineapple, sunflowers, seashells, the DNA double helix and, yes, pine cones.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Affirmative Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Affirmative Action - Essay Example The phrase â€Å"affirmative action† was introduced by Executive Order 10925. EO 10925 was issued by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961, which urged employers to actively adopt policies and safeguards against discriminatory practices in their workplace. Four years after, EO 11246 made it mandatory for federal contractors and subcontractors to: (1) identify underutilized minorities, (2) assess availability of minorities, and if available, (3) to set goals and timetables to fill vacancies with minorities with the aim of reducing such underutilization. In 1967, EO 11375 extended the benefits of AA to women. The further expansion of the application of AA was made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court when it promulgated the Bakke decision. In this case the Court was asked to rule whether or not it was unconstitutional for universities to give preference for blacks and minorities in admitting applicants for placement, because it violated the doctrine of â€Å"equal protections of the laws.† The Court ruled that â€Å"racial preferences are permissible if their purpose is to improve racial diversity among students, and if they do not stipulate fixed minority quotas but take race into account as one factor among many (Dworkin, 79). Today, AA is more widely observed, but as employment prospects and educational placements become more competitive, more people are raising questions about the propriety and fairness of AA. In defense of affirmative action According to the study by Bowen & Bok (cited by Dworkin, 79), the success of racial integration is attributable to AA in education, because it has enabled a higher rate of graduation among African American students, which led to more African American leaders in industry, professionals, community leaders, and subsequently a more sustained interaction and lasting friendships among the races than would have been otherwise expected. The benefits of AA are not in themselves the moral argument; the argument is th at where for past centuries racial minorities have been constrained to live in conditions of extreme social and economic disadvantage, it is but right that AA provide for them now an advantage over the majority to make up for the adverse conditions they have been subjected to. The implications are more than merely symbolic, and the effects referred to are more than just economic. Present-day descendants of slaves and people of color start life from a position of disadvantage in institutionalized society as a result of the limitations imposed on their ancestors. This is known as the â€Å"stigma theory† (Soni, 581). Parents denied an education because of their race will provide little inspiration for their children to conceive of and aspire for such education. The moral precept that all people are created equal, to be applied with effect, refers to enabling individuals be perceived and regarded the respect of equals. AA not only provides reparation for the past, but more pragm atically speeds up the slow process of transforming social perception. An African American, or woman, or a person with a disability, are persons who, in aspiring for the opportunities provided by the equality clause, struggle under the weight of social perception which, while not discriminatory per se, tends to manifest in subtle ways of stereotyping that renders the â€Å"equality† superficial. In this manner, AA provides an active catalyst to accelerate the social transformation to true equality. Critique of affirmative action Detractors of AA point out that the policy has been implemented by positive and aggressive action â€Å"

What has happened in a CHOSEN EUROPEAN ECONOMY over the last two years Assignment

What has happened in a CHOSEN EUROPEAN ECONOMY over the last two years - Assignment Example Firstly, by taming expectations, actual inflation can be controlled; and secondly, this will also lead to stability in employment and output. Similarly, purpose of the fiscal policy (whereby the government alters public expenditure and taxation policies) is to boost aggregate demand of the country, which in turn is expected to improve growth rate of the economy (Lawton, 2013). In the wake of the global financial crisis, Germany, like most other developed countries, is following the policy of fiscal tightening. Germany is a member of the programs undertaken by Euro Plus Act and main commitment of this program was to reduce debt of the government. High debts of the government are not supportive for the long run as this increases the risk of default. Polices of the government are being heavily guided by withdrawal of stimulus and measures of consolidation coupled with reduction of social security benefits. Fiscal consolidation measures followed by German government have been effective in bringing down both the structural and actual deficit of the country. The deficit of the government was brought down below the reference figure of 3%. The general finances of government had also shown a surplus in 2012 for the first time, after the crisis. This makes it clear that the country has been successful in achieving the medium-term budgetary goal and structural deficit is within 0.5% of GDP. Bringing down structural deficit is also important for controlling long-term stability of a country; and in case of Germany, it has been observed that in 2012, the structural net borrowing was only 0.31% of GDP, which was well within control of the government. Even in 2013, structural deficit was below the stipulated value of 0.35% (Deutsche Bank, 20 13). On expenditure side of the fiscal policy, main focus of the government in the last two years has been to increase investment in research and developmental programs and education. The rationale behind doing

Rape in women study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rape in women study - Essay Example For example, in primeval times the decrees of society were written and imposed just by men. This resulted in laws that were unfair and that did little to put a damper on men from raping women. Even though the nation has witnessed the rates of crime plummet in current years, rape prolongs to be a key worry in America. In accordance with Annette article, â€Å"Rates of Crime Are Down... However, What About Rape?" in the Ms. Magazine, "an approximated 15 percent of women are molested or raped at some stage in their lives" (Jack 546). At the same time, big cities for instance Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York have witnessed the rates of crimes that are violent for example, murder, theft, and provoked physical attack plummet, however, rape has not been so providential. In the majority of these cities, where cases of rape have been reported have decreased only by a few proportion points, while in several of these cities, reported cases of rape have in fact augmented. Rape is a pandemic that is gradually infecting our whole nation, and except a few radical actions are taken without delay, this plague may never be alleviated. If we are truthfully concerned in having our homeland purified of this infection, we ought to start by removing from our minds the concept that rape happens just amid the underprivileged (Jackson 8). On the contrary, what surprises me is the manner in which these rapists go free or are given short sentences. This is because the government has neglected this issue by lack of instilling laws that are stern with regards to rape cases (Wood & Eagly 699). Again, the ministry of health ought to be vulnerable by training its staff members on collecting the rape kits appropriately. Additionally, the crime labs ought to be fully equipped. Case is the lab report. The report ought to affirm what examples were assessed, what sort of DNA test was carried out, and which models could (and could

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Articaine and Lidocaine for Maxillary Infiltration Anesthesia Article

Articaine and Lidocaine for Maxillary Infiltration Anesthesia - Article Example The results calculated by the authors do not show any statistically noteworthy differences for commencement and duration of anesthesia between the articaine and Lidocaine solutions. It is manifested that, Lidocaine has been extensively used to produce local anesthesia. The authors agree that Articaine is an amide-type local anesthetic and is in use for the past 37 years also, they agree that Articaine is equivalent to, but not superior to, prilocaine for infiltration anesthesia. The authors state that results of comparative studies with lidocaine have been contradictory, because of the variation of epinephrine in the anesthetic agent. Lidocaine with epinephrine is the drug of choice in clinical practice in Finland but for patients with cardiovascular disorders, articaine with its lower epinephrine content is usually chosen with the intention of evading the systemic side effects of epinephrine. The authors have specified the purpose of the study to get a comparative account for the commencement of anesthesia and the duration of action of the commonly used solutions of 4% articaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine and 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine. The authors have selected twenty healthy volunteers (12 female, 8 male) with a mean age of 23.8 yr. The subjects were dental students with no history of allergic reaction to amide-type anesthetic agents and were not on regular medications and had intact lateral incisors. The authors got the protocol for the study, approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital. The test solutions were- 4% articaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine (Ultracain ® DS, Hoechst AG, Frankfurt, Germany) and 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine (Xylocaine  ®-Adrenaline, Astra, S6dertalje, Sweden). Infiltration anesthesia of the upper lateral incisor was carried out twice in all subjects in such way that each subject received both test solutions.Â