Case Study 6-2 Johnson & Johnson's Enterprise Infrastructure

6-2 Johnson & Johnson's Enterprise Infrastructure - Case Study Example This paper also looks at the strengths and weaknesses of this strategy. Johnson & Johnson Company is an American multinational company that has been manufacturing and marketing pharmaceuticals, consumer packaged goods and medical devices since 1886 when it was founded (Makower & Pike, 2009, p. 130). In 1995, this company had a plan to offer its key customer with an efficient customer delivery service system through a single point of contact (Ross, 2003, p. 32). This move involved a lot of changes in the company’s structure in view of the fact that, Johnson & Johnson has been operating as a decentralized corporation with nearly one hundred and fifty operating companies. This paper discusses this move by Johnson & Johnson’s towards providing an information technology infrastructure to support its single point of contact customer strategy. The one-face-to-the-customer strategy was meant to provide the key customers to this company with a single point of contact to this firm’s services and products. This strategy was known as the Johnson & Johnson Health care System that was formed for the purpose of marketing the products of all the existing companies under this umbrella company from a single point of sale (Weill & Broadbent, 1998, p. 19). From this single face, its big customers who consisted of large retail stores in the United States like, Wal-Mart could get access to the variety of products this company sold. This strategy was a response to the changing trends in the market from stand-alone customers like physicians and hospitals, to integrated delivery system where different stakeholder are becoming interconnected with an aim of delivering quality and cost effective health products. In addition this strategy was meant to ease the difficult work that these companies had made to its customers, in view of the fact that the customers had to bear with a large number of contracts with the various operating companies of

Comparative Economic Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Comparative Economic Development - Essay Example Industrialization of the society had positive as well as negative impact on societies. In Britain as well as in US, industrial revolution has led to inexpensive goods, transportation, and communication developments. From the others side, such issues as pollution, child labor and over-crowding of cities were also raised. Even though there were some differences between US and Britain in terms of industrial revolution, there is a respectable degree of similarities between the two revolutions (More, 2000: p.17-18). The causes of industrial revolution in Britain are still debated while most of the historians think that the revolution was the result of the social and institutional changes after the English Civil War. The following British Agricultural Revolution improved the efficiency of food production - farms became less dependent on human labor and people were forced into the cities attracted by the new opportunities in factories. England was expanding colonially and new financial markets have been created in the result of the international trade. Technological advances appeared all the time, steam engine being of the highest importance because transportation development gave the opportunity trade development. In addition, Great Britain had vast availability of the key resources and the dense population for the small geographic unit (Berlanstein, 1992: p. 57). For example, the availability of the coal, iron, tin and water power created the perfect environment for the further expansion of ind ustry. The industrial revolution in US has started after the Civil War. Unlike Great Britain when the industrial growth was spontaneous and fast growing, US already had some industrial developments and after the Civil War they started to expand to include petroleum refining, steel manufacturing and electrical power. The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain was completed in the same steps as in US with the only difference that US people already had an example to follow - British. Industrial expansion has changed the American society - two new classes appeared: rich industrialists and prosperous middle class workers (Green, 1939: p. 68). If British industry was self-sufficient, the American industry greatly benefited from the newly arrived immigrants and migrants from rural areas who were willing to work for low payment. As the result, in the 18th century the landed aristocracy became the ruling class in Britain. More and more people were moving to cities - their land was either abandoned or sold at the very low price. Rich people were willing to buy the land and as the result their property increased significantly. Further, these people invested funds into factories and machinery. There were two classes of aristocrats - those who were historically rich and came from noble families and those who managed to get land in the result of rural-urban migration (More, 2000: p. 95). The similar situation was in America with the only difference that land owners did not encourage people to migrate - there was enough land for everybody but there was nobody to work on it. Industrial revolution has much increased the power of landed aristocracy in America because they were able to reduce human power expenses. The trade issue was of significant importance for both nations, British and American. The most important difference was the

The Effect of Class Size on Student Achievement Dissertation

The Effect of Class Size on Student Achievement - Dissertation Example Therefore, it can be said that, though no significant relation of the class size to student success has been found, a smaller size of the class is preferred by people involved in the learning process. This can be explained by the fact that a smaller number of students makes it easier for a teacher to work with the group. In addition, students feel more comfortable emotionally and psychologically when studying in a smaller class. However, it should be mentioned that the limitations of the research do not allow to make any categorical or ultimate claims. First of all, the number of sample groups is not large enough to reach the statistically significant research results. Secondly, due to a great number of variables, such as differences in students’ prior knowledge, educational and social background, as well instructors’ teaching experience, no statistically grounded argument can be drawn out of the research. Furthermore, another limitation of the study is that there is no knowledge of how the same student would perform in a differently sized type of a class. Therefore, a greater and longer research should be carried out in order to give a definite answer to the question of whether class size influences student’s academic performance. It would be assumed that the hypothesis would have to be rejected. The majority of the people were strongly for reducing class size. It was proven in many studies that the overall progress of students, including achievement levels, did improve in smaller classes. So, the literature review suggests that the hypothesis should be rejected. However, the results of the carried out by me research have shown different results, which, actually, can be used to support the hypothesis. Still, as the analysis of the research suggests, the amount of data received does not allow making any statistically grounded claims. Although I do believe that Grant County high school teachers and students could benefit from a reduction in

Trust in the Press Essay Example for Free

Trust in the Press Essay Trust in the Press is essential in an ever changing society. Not only must the Press be trusted but it must be believed and must behave in an ethical manner. But what constitutes an ethical manner? Laws might be set to achieve certain outcomes and may not necessarily be ethical. What is legal and demanded by law may not be considered ethical from a journalistic point of view. With respect to your personal point of view of the above, discuss what you believe journalists have to do to maintain the trust and respect of the public. The historian Thomas Babington Macaulay introduced the notion of the media as the Fourth Estate; the role of a watchdog that checks on abuses of power by government and professionals.1 Lord Hutchinson, QC defence council for the ABC Case regarding the Official Secrets Act 1989, said it is the task of the press to examine, probe, question and find out if there are mistakes to embarrass the government.2 With such a role of responsibility, it is vital that the public trust what the press tell them. Codes and laws are in place to make sure journalists act as a collective conscience.3 In practice this is difficult as individual consciences come into play, along with the obstacles of time, money and competition that face journalists in their profession. One common rule among journalists is to never reveal your sources. If you do, your career will be tainted with mistrust. This journalistic ethical code secures a relationship with the public and provides protection. But there are laws that contravene this. Section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 says courts have the right to demand that journalists reveal their source if disclosure is necessary in the interests of justice or national security or for the prevention of disorder or crime. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 says police investigating a serious offence can obtain an order requiring the journalist to submit evidence considered useful to the court. It is difficult to defy the law, especially when the consequence could be imprisonment or a fine. However, I would still try to keep my sources confidential; otherwise they could face a fine or imprisonment. I would find that difficult to live with because I am just as responsible for protecting my sources and for imparting the information. In these circumstances I would argue for freedom of expression under the Human Rights Act 1998. Trainee journalist Bill Goodwin appealed successfully with this argument after he was fined for refusing to hand over documents concerning engineering company Terra Ltd. In another case the Guardian exposed their source Sarah Tisdall in 1984 under pressure from the courts. She leaked information about the delivery of cruise missiles to RAF Greenham Common and was jailed as a consequence.4 Where a source has taken the initiative and given a story to the press, especially in matters relating to national security, they must have recognised the risk and it is not unreasonable for them to take the consequences. There are legal reporting restrictions that a journalist can overturn. Section 39 and 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 can be lifted if a juvenile has committed a serious crime and naming them would act as a deterrent to others. Journalists often cite public interest in their reasons for disagreeing with the law and this is an ethical way to maintain the trust and respect of the public. Yet the problem lies in defining public interest. The Press Complaints Commission states that public interest includes: 1. Detecting or exposing crime or a serious misdemeanour 2. Protecting public health and safety 3. Preventing the public being misled by some statement or action of an individual or organisation5 Reporter Ryan Perry went undercover in 2003 as a footman at Buckingham Palace in order to observe their security methods. His report in the Daily Mirror highlighted the need for tightened security and this was achieved. His behaviour, although deceitful, was for the publics safety and I agree with German journalist Gà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½nter Wallraff who said, you have to disguise yourself in order to unmask your society.6 The BBC reiterates this in their guidelines for public interest: when dealing with serious illegal or anti-social behaviour it may occasionally be acceptable for us not to reveal the full purpose of the programme to a contributor.7 This is when the ethical behaviour of a journalist starts to depart from the ethical code of the public and indeed the law. I would find it difficult to lie in order to get a story but if it was for the publics benefit, I could do it. I do not think behaving this way, if it revealed vital information, could lose the respect or trust of the public. If the person I was exposing was a family member or boyfriend, I could not report on the story. I would not cover up their crime but similarly, I would not offer them up for public scrutiny. Ethical manner as a journalist is different to ethical manner as a daughter or girlfriend and in this case the personal is stronger than the professional. I do not think Perrys report on Buckingham Palace should have included photographs of private bedrooms and details on the storage of breakfast cereals. This does not come under the Press Complaints Commission code of public interest and I do not think it can be justified as ethical behaviour. Undercover work cannot be held up as ethical when the outcome is less important than the act and Perrys inclusion of these private details undermine the ethical reasons for reporting undercover. When it becomes a matter of what the public are interested in, rather than what they need to know, ethical manners begin to vary between journalists and other factors come into the equation. The media is to a certain extent controlled by the people who own the newspapers, radio stations and television companies. They pay the journalists salary and they ultimately make the decisions. A senior executive of News International said: If an editor went to Murdoch and said that he had carefully examined the PCC code of conduct on chequebook journalism and had come to the conclusion that to pay to get a story would be a breach of the code and, therefore, he hadnt done it, he would be fired.8 This shows that a journalists so-called ethical behaviour is not always their own. However the journalist can decide who they work for. If I was asked to pay for stories that revealed matters that I did not consider of public interest, then I would refuse and work for a different organisation. This is, of course easier said than done and when one organisation is willing to pay for a story, others follow suit to keep up with competition. The public are aware of this and join in the game. Neighbours of Shannon Matthews have begun to charge for their stories, and they know the media will pay. It is difficult not to succumb to this method of journalism when competition is so fierce but then motivation for talking to the press becomes about money rather than truth. The competition and pressure to get a good story causes some journalists to fabricate, especially in the television industry. Regulators Ofcom demonstrated the penalty of misleading the public when they fined ITV à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.675 million for phone vote scandals. Journalist Max Hastings said deceit is woven into the very nature of television. He described how some camera crews in war zones have encouraged soldiers to open fire so they can film dramatic footage that was missed when it actually happened.9 I understand the desire to produce a captivating documentary but asking soldiers to potentially put themselves and others in danger for dramatic effect, is not ethical behaviour. In television there is a fine line between deceiving the public and assuming they know about the editing tricks of the trade. Filming a sequence over a three-day period but presenting it as one day is not harmful deception but the reality of television production. The BBCs broadcast in 2007 of the Queen storming out of a portrait session was deceiving because editing gave a false representation of the actual events. Ofcom hold a similar view in regard to fairness. They say broadcasters should take reasonable care that material facts have not been presented, disregarded or omitted in a way that is unfair to an individual or organisation.10 When covering a story about parishioners protesting against their church being demolished, I was told by my editor to ask them to shout save our church for the camera. They did this and it brightened up the news package. It could be argued that this was unethical behaviour because it misled the public about the protest; as soon as I had gone, the shouting stopped. I did question my actions. However the desire to entertain the viewer, the opinion of my editor, the willingness of the protestors themselves and the low impact it would have on the public perception stopped me going against the decision. This is a minor case but it shows how potential deception in television is an ever-present reality. The need for impartiality is heavily stressed in journalism codes of conduct. Ofcom states that television and radio programmes must exclude all expressions of the views and opinions of the person providing the service on matters of political and industrial controversy and matters relating to current public policy (unless that person is speaking in a legislative forum or in a court of law).11 To be impartial as a journalist is not as simple as it seems; merely editing requires some personal judgement. As a reporter, it is not that easy to completely remove yourself from a story. Journalist Gill Swain said simply, dont get emotionally involved.12 Yet detach yourself too far and your reporting will get labelled as forensic.13 Sometimes the best journalism happens when you do engage emotionally and follow a story with passion. If Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein had not done that, the revelation of Watergate and eventual resignation of US President Richard Nixon in 1974 would have never come about. Personal interest and involvement can be a helpful motive in investigative journalism. A few years ago I wrote about my college boat club in a university magazine. I was told various stories about club money that had gone missing. As a member of that boat club, I felt obliged to find out what had happened and inform university students. After publication the head of the boat club asked me to her office to explain myself. She was unable to deny any of the facts. If I had not had personal involvement in this story, the financial difficulties of the boat club would have not been revealed. Yet the actual writing of the story should be impartial and not convey the opinion of the journalist. The public should trust that you are giving them a fair and accurate report on a matter of importance to them. However, sometimes personal belief and gut instinct that go against codes and ethical manners can benefit the public. During the time Senator Joseph McCarthy made charges that the United States government had been infiltrated by Soviet spies, American journalists had to abide by the strict codes of reporting without analysis or comment. They knew McCarthys claims were false but the journalistic laws meant they were unable to investigate his statements and tell the public the truth. More recently, the Washington Post, New York Times and New Republic all apologised to their readers for not being sceptical when reporting White House claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.14 Part of being a journalist is to face adversity and going against a law or code is sometimes the only way to tell the public the truth, but truth is what ultimately gains their trust and respect. Laws and codes are necessary to provide a benchmark for journalists to work from and maintain professionalism. Without them some journalists would lose sight of what fundamental principles they need to follow in order to behave responsibly. There are times when a journalists own instinct and ethical manner will maintain respect and trust of the public better than the codes. There are also instances when pressure, time and money prevent a journalist from maintaining those codes. Whatever the circumstances, the one rule that should be constant is that journalists are the eyes and ears of the public; their trust and respect should always take precedence. BIBLIOGRAPHY Frost, Chris. Media Ethics And Self-Regulation. Pearson Education Limited, 2000. Harcup, Tony. The Ethical Journalist. Sage Publications Ltd, 2007. Keeble, Richard. Ethics For Journalists. Routledge, 2001. Rosenstiel, Tom and Mitchell, Amy S., ed. Thinking Clearly: Cases in Journalistic Decision-Making. Columbia University Press, 2003. Welsh, Tom, Greenwood, Walter, Banks, David, eds. McNaes Essential Law For Journalists, 19th Edition. Oxford University Press, 2007. Wesbites: http://www.ofcom.org.uk 1 Richard Keeble, Ethics For Journalists (Routledge, 2001) 127. 2 Tom Welsh, Walter Greenwood, David Banks, eds. McNaes Essential Law For Journalists, 19th Edition (Oxford University Press, 2007) 415. 3 Keeble 131. 4 Keeble 29. 5 Tony Harcup, The Ethical Journalist (Sage Publications Ltd, 2007) 36. 6 Harcup 41. 7 Harcup 45. 8 Harcup 112. 9 Harcup 12 10 http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/codes/bcode/fairness/ 11 http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/codes/bcode/undue/ 12 Keeble 130. 13 Keeble 140. 14 Harcup 17.

romanticism in song lyrics :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a boy lays in a field of grass, near a stream, beneath the sun, he sings to the daisies. He is Mother Nature’s son. There is a childish peacefulness throughout the song. It is spiritual because Mother Nature is the stream and the wind and the field of grass. There is an almost surreal and dreamlike atmosphere and a certain sweetness in tone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The word choice and diction throughout â€Å"Mother Nature’s son† are directly related to the tone of the song. Words such as young, singing, all day long, boy, and son contribute to the youthfulness of the poem. Beside a mountain stream, pretty sound of music, and swaying daisies sing a lazy song are peaceful diction. Poetic devices such as assonance, â€Å"young country†, and alliteration,†sitting singing songs†, are euphonic, offering pleasant soft sounds. Inversion is used for emphasis â€Å"all day long, I’m sitting singing songs for everyone.† Nature is personified as a motherly being and human attributes are given to the daisies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The song presents to the listener a new ear to listen from. This ear is intuitive and can hear the sounds of nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the song â€Å"Mother Nature’s son†, there is a deep appreciation of the beauties of nature which is a highly stressed Romantic quality. Rationalism and physical materialism are condemned throughout the piece. It is easy to imagine a poor boy who has no cares besides his individual and his connection to nature. He seems so connected that he becomes the son of Mother Nature herself. There is freedom from idealization and rationality as the boy sings along with the sounds of the universe. Emotion is held above reason and the senses over intellect. â€Å"Listen to the pretty sounds of music... beneath the sun.† The boy hears the noises of the earth and feels the warmth of the sun and isn’t concerned with much more than the peace he has found.

Part Three Chapter IV

IV ‘Very sad,' said Howard Mollison, rocking a little on his toes in front of his mantelpiece. ‘Very sad indeed.' Maureen had just finished telling them all about Catherine Weedon's death; she had heard everything from her friend Karen the receptionist that evening, including the complaint from Cath Weedon's granddaughter. A look of delighted disapproval was crumpling her face; Samantha, who was in a very bad mood, thought she resembled a monkey nut. Miles was making conventional sounds of surprise and pity, but Shirley was staring up at the ceiling with a bland expression on her face; she hated it when Maureen held centre stage with news that she ought to have heard first. ‘My mother knew the family of old,' Howard told Samantha, who already knew it. ‘Neighbours in Hope Street. Cath was decent enough in her way, you know. The house was always spotless, and she worked until she was into her sixties. Oh, yes, she was one of the world's grafters, Cath Weedon, whatever the rest of the family became.' Howard was enjoying giving credit where credit was due. ‘The husband lost his job when they closed the steelworks. Hard drinker. No, she didn't always have it easy, Cath.' Samantha was barely managing to look interested, but fortunately Maureen interrupted. ‘And the Gazette's on to Dr Jawanda!' she croaked. ‘Imagine how she must be feeling, now the paper's got it! Family's kicking up a stink – well, you can't blame them, alone in that house for three days. D'you know her, Howard? Which one is Danielle Fowler?' Shirley got up and stalked out of the room in her apron. Samantha slugged a little more wine, smiling. ‘Let's think, let's think,' said Howard. He prided himself on knowing almost everyone in Pagford, but the later generations of Weedons belonged more to Yarvil. ‘Can't be a daughter, she had four boys, Cath. Granddaughter, I expect.' ‘And she wants an inquiry,' said Maureen. ‘Well, it was always going to come to this. It's been on the cards. If anything, I'm surprised it's taken this long. Dr Jawanda wouldn't give the Hubbards' son antibiotics and he ended up hospitalized for his asthma. Do you know, did she train in India, or – ?' Shirley, who was listening from the kitchen while she stirred the gravy, felt irritated, as she always did, by Maureen's monopolization of the conversation; that, at least, was how Shirley put it to herself. Determined not to return to the room until Maureen had finished, Shirley turned into the study and checked to see whether anyone had sent in apologies for the next Parish Council meeting; as secretary, she was already putting together the agenda. ‘Howard – Miles – come and look at this!' Shirley's voice had lost its usual soft, flutey quality; it rang out shrilly. Howard waddled out of the sitting room followed by Miles, who was still in the suit he had worn all day at work. Maureen's droopy, bloodshot, heavily mascara-ed eyes were fixed on the empty doorway like a bloodhound's; her hunger to know what Shirley had found or seen was almost palpable. Maureen's fingers, a clutch of bulging knuckles covered in translucent leopard-spotted skin, slid the crucifix and wedding ring up and down the chain around her neck. The deep creases running from the corners of Maureen's mouth to her chin always reminded Samantha of a ventriloquist's dummy. Why are you always here? Samantha asked the older woman loudly, inside her own head. You couldn't make me lonely enough to live in Howard and Shirley's pocket. Disgust rose in Samantha like vomit. She wanted to seize the over-warm cluttered room and mash it between her hands, until the royal china, and the gas fire, and the gilt-framed pictures of Miles broke into jagged pieces; then, with wizened and painted Maureen trapped and squalling inside the wreckage, she wanted to heave it, like a celestial shot-putter, away into the sunset. The crushed lounge and the doomed crone inside it, soared in her imagination through the heavens, plunging into the limitless ocean, leaving Samantha alone in the endless stillness of the universe. She had had a terrible afternoon. There had been another frightening conversation with her accountant; she could not remember much of her drive home from Yarvil. She would have liked to offload on Miles, but after dumping his briefcase and pulling off his tie in the hall he had said, ‘You haven't started dinner yet, have you?' He sniffed the air ostentatiously, then answered himself. ‘No, you haven't. Well, good, because Mum and Dad have invited us over.' And before she could protest, he had added sharply, ‘It's nothing to do with the council. It's to discuss arrangements for Dad's sixty-fifth.' Anger was almost a relief; it eclipsed her anxiety, her fear. She had followed Miles out to the car, cradling her sense of ill-usage. When he asked, at last, on the corner of Evertree Crescent, ‘How was your day?' she answered, ‘Absolutely bloody fantastic.' ‘Wonder what's up?' said Maureen, breaking the silence in the sitting room. Samantha shrugged. It was typical of Shirley to have summoned her menfolk and left the women in limbo; Samantha was not going to give her mother-in-law the satisfaction of showing interest. Howard's elephantine footsteps made the floorboards under the hall carpet creak. Maureen's mouth was slack with anticipation. ‘Well, well, well,' boomed Howard, lumbering back into the room. ‘I was checking the council website for apologies,' said Shirley, a little breathless in his wake. ‘For the next meeting – ‘ ‘Someone's posted accusations about Simon Price,' Miles told Samantha, pressing past his parents, seizing the role of announcer. ‘What kind of accusations?' asked Samantha. ‘Receiving stolen goods,' said Howard, firmly reclaiming the spotlight, ‘and diddling his bosses at the printworks.' Samantha was pleased to find herself unmoved. She had only the haziest idea who Simon Price was. ‘They've posted under a pseudonym,' Howard continued, ‘and it's not a particularly tasteful pseudonym, either.' ‘Rude, you mean?' Samantha asked. ‘Big-Fat-Cock or something?' Howard's laughter boomed through the room, Maureen gave an affected shriek of horror, but Miles scowled and Shirley looked furious. ‘Not quite that, Sammy, no,' said Howard. ‘No, they've called themselves â€Å"The Ghost of Barry Fairbrother†.' ‘Oh,' said Samantha, her grin evaporating. She did not like that. After all, she had been in the ambulance while they had forced needles and tubes into Barry's collapsed body; she had watched him dying beneath the plastic mask; seen Mary clinging to his hand, heard her groans and sobs. ‘Oh, no, that's not nice,' said Maureen, relish in her bullfrog's voice. ‘No, that's nasty. Putting words into the mouths of the dead. Taking names in vain. That's not right.' ‘No,' agreed Howard. Almost absent-mindedly, he strolled across the room, picked up the wine bottle and returned to Samantha, topping up her empty glass. ‘But someone out there doesn't care about good taste it seems, if they can put Simon Price out of the running.' ‘If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, Dad,' said Miles, ‘wouldn't they have gone for me rather than Price?' ‘How do you know they haven't, Miles?' ‘Meaning?' asked Miles swiftly. ‘Meaning,' said Howard, the happy cynosure of all eyes, ‘that I got sent an anonymous letter about you a couple of weeks ago. Nothing specific. Just said you were unfit to fill Fairbrother's shoes. I'd be very surprised if the letter didn't come from the same source as the online post. The Fairbrother theme in both, you see?' Samantha tilted her glass a little too enthusiastically, so that wine trickled down the sides of her chin, exactly where her own ventriloquist's doll grooves would no doubt appear in time. She mopped her face with her sleeve. ‘Where is this letter?' asked Miles, striving not to look rattled. ‘I shredded it. It was anonymous; it didn't count.' ‘We didn't want to upset you, dear,' said Shirley, and she patted Miles' arm. ‘Anyway, they can't have anything on you,' Howard reassured his son, ‘or they'd have dished the dirt, the same as they have on Price.' ‘Simon Price's wife is a lovely girl,' said Shirley with gentle regret. ‘I can't believe Ruth knows anything about it, if her husband's been on the fiddle. She's a friend from the hospital,' Shirley elaborated to Maureen. ‘An agency nurse.' ‘She wouldn't be the first wife who hasn't spotted what's going on under her nose,' retorted Maureen, trumping insider knowledge with worldly wisdom. ‘Absolutely brazen, using Barry Fairbrother's name,' said Shirley, pretending not to have heard Maureen. ‘Not a thought for his widow, his family. All that matters is their agenda; they'll sacrifice anything to it.' ‘Shows you what we're up against,' said Howard. He scratched the overfold of his belly, thinking. ‘Strategically, it's smart. I saw from the get-go that Price was going to split the pro-Fields vote. No flies on Bends-Your-Ear; she's realized it too and she wants him out.' ‘But,' said Samantha, ‘it mightn't have anything to do with Parminder and that lot at all. It could be from someone we don't know, someone who's got a grudge against Simon Price.' ‘Oh, Sam,' said Shirley, with a tinkling laugh, shaking her head. ‘It's easy to see you're new to politics.' Oh, fuck off, Shirley. ‘So why have they used Barry Fairbrother's name, then?' asked Miles, rounding on his wife. ‘Well, it's on the website, isn't it? It's his vacant seat.' ‘And who's going to trawl through the council website for that kind of information? No,' he said gravely, ‘this is an insider.' An insider †¦ Libby had once told Samantha that there could be thousands of microscopic species inside one drop of pond water. They were all perfectly ridiculous, Samantha thought, sitting here in front of Shirley's commemorative plates as if they were in the Cabinet Room in Downing Street, as though one bit of tittle-tattle on a Parish Council website constituted an organized campaign, as though any of it mattered. Consciously and defiantly, Samantha withdrew her attention from the lot of them. She fixed her eyes on the window and the clear evening sky beyond, and she thought about Jake, the muscular boy in Libby's favourite band. At lunchtime today, Samantha had gone out for sandwiches, and brought back a music magazine in which Jake and his bandmates were interviewed. There were lots of pictures. ‘It's for Libby,' Samantha had told the girl who helped her in the shop. ‘Wow, look at that. I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating toast,' replied Carly, pointing at Jake, naked from the waist up, his head thrown back to reveal that thick strong neck. ‘Oh, but he's only twenty-one, look. I'm not a cradle-snatcher.' Carly was twenty-six. Samantha did not care to subtract Jake's age from her own. She had eaten her sandwich and read the interview, and studied all the pictures. Jake with his hands on a bar above his head, biceps swelling under a black T-shirt; Jake with his white shirt open, abdominal muscles chiselled above the loose waistband of his jeans. Samantha drank Howard's wine and stared out at the sky above the black privet hedge, which was a delicate shade of rose pink; the precise shade her nipples had been before they had been darkened and distended by pregnancy and breast-feeding. She imagined herself nineteen to Jake's twenty-one, slender-waisted again, taut curves in the right places, and a strong flat stomach of her own, fitting comfortably into her white, size ten shorts. She vividly recalled how it felt to sit on a young man's lap in those shorts, with the heat and roughness of sun-warmed denim under her bare thighs, and big hands around her lithe waist. She imagined Jake's breath on her neck; she imagined turning to look into the blue eyes, close to the high cheekbones and that firm, carved mouth †¦ ‘†¦ at the church hall, and we're getting it catered by Bucknoles,' said Howard. ‘We've invited everyone: Aubrey and Julia – everyone. With luck it will be a double celebration, you on the council, me, another year young †¦' Samantha felt tipsy and randy. When were they going to eat? She realized that Shirley had left the room, hopefully to put food on the table. The telephone rang at Samantha's elbow, and she jumped. Before any of them could move, Shirley had bustled back in. She had one hand in a flowery oven glove, and picked up the receiver with the other. ‘Double-two-five-nine?' sang Shirley on a rising inflection. ‘Oh †¦ hello, Ruth, dear!' Howard, Miles and Maureen became rigidly attentive. Shirley turned to look at her husband with intensity, as if she were transmitting Ruth's voice through her eyes into her husband's mind. ‘Yes,' fluted Shirley. ‘Yes †¦' Samantha, sitting closest to the receiver, could hear the other woman's voice but not make out the words. ‘Oh, really †¦?' Maureen's mouth was hanging open again; she was like an ancient baby bird, or perhaps a pterodactyl, hungering for regurgitated news. ‘Yes, dear, I see †¦ oh, that shouldn't be a problem †¦ no, no, I'll explain to Howard. No, no trouble at all.' Shirley's small hazel eyes had not wavered from Howard's big, popping blue ones. ‘Ruth, dear,' said Shirley, ‘Ruth, I don't want to worry you, but have you been on the council website today? †¦ Well †¦ it's not very nice, but I think you ought to know †¦ somebody's posted something nasty about Simon †¦ well, I think you'd better read it for yourself, I wouldn't want to †¦ all right, dear. All right. See you Wednesday, I hope. Yes. Bye bye.' Shirley replaced the receiver. ‘She didn't know,' Miles stated. Shirley shook her head. ‘Why was she calling?' ‘Her son,' Shirley told Howard. ‘Your new potboy. He's got a peanut allergy.' ‘Very handy, in a delicatessen,' said Howard. ‘She wanted to ask whether you could store a needleful of adrenalin in the fridge for him, just in case,' said Shirley. Maureen sniffed. ‘They've all got allergies these days, children.' Shirley's ungloved hand was still clutching the receiver. She was subconsciously hoping to feel tremors down the line from Hilltop House.

Analysis of “Why I Love My Strict Chineses Mom” Essay

The correct way of raising a child? Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld’s essay â€Å"Why I love my strict Chinese mom† is a response to the all the negative feedback her mother had gotten for her essay â€Å"Why Chinese Mothers are Superior†. The intention of this essay is to persuade and inform the reader of why Amy Chua raised her daughter Sophia the correct way. Chua-Rubenfeld’s first argument is that the critics (the outsider) have no clue of what the Chua-Rubenfeld family is like (p. 2, l. 21). The fact that Chua-Rubenfeld is stating that â€Å"you don’t know what you’re talking about, because you don’t know me and/or my family† makes this a classical argument, which in reality is no valid argument. However, her main claim throughout the essay is supported by a strong warrant and ground. Chua-Rubenfeld’s main claim is that Amy Chua’s strict parenting forced her to be more independent and act as an adult. The way her mother did this was by pushing her daughte r to become more successful. Chua-Rubenfeld’s mother taught her that creativity takes effort, which in this case is used as Chua-Rubenfeld’s warrant: One should always work hard and push one’s self to the limit. And according to Chua-Rubenfeld this applies to everyone independent of one’s goals in life. Only by forcing body and mind one can truly achieve anything. Chua-Rubenfeld’s ground is very much connected to her claim and warrant, because she can see how her mother’s upbringing of her has made her independent, and has made her pursue knowledge. This is why Chua-Rubenfeld calls her mother â€Å"Tiger-mom†. The tiger symbolizes a fierce and brave person and the animal itself has a very high status. These are qualities that Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld appreciates, and thanks her mother for having. The Chua-Rubenfeld way of upbringing a child appears to be completely different from what experts believe is the correct way. In Kate Lovey’s article â€Å"Let them eat pizza: Parenting guru’s recipe for bringing up children† the reader is introduced to a different opinion. A parenting guru Dr Bryan Caplan claims that children’s lives are â€Å"shaped mostly by their genes and their own choices.† (p. 5, l. 18). This article is characterized by its great use of argumentative features. Dr Bryan Caplan bases his arguments on biological research and scientifically proved facts. The appeal form used is ethos, since the reader trusts the doctor because he has a certain authority. However, the arguments that he uses do unfortunately not  appear convincing, because he only bases his ground on quantitative data. It is possible to convince someone with statistical material but it involves using an amount of qualitative data, as it explains why statistics tell us what they do. The two previous articles may seem each other’s opposites, concerning the ways of raising a child. In A. S. Neill’s article â€Å"Summerhill – a radical approach to child rearing† he introduces another way of upbringing a child where he focuses on education. He clearly states that the important part of educating is helping the child in becoming better at what the child is good at. He supports his claim by using a lot of topological features. In the beginning of the article he incorporates a story about Nijinsky to demonstrate his point: The world will not develop geniuses if it does not spot and utilize the child’s talent. By incorporating a famous ballet dancer he engages the reader because the reader can hardly disagree on what Neill is saying. The reader is also engaged because education is such an important thing. Through the education one is developed. Therefore it is essential that the educational system is properly functioning. It is important to remember the function of our educational system. The future of the world depends on the teachers and the pupils, and education should prepare the children for the world. But there is a fine line between preparing and dictating. The society does not only need lawyers, doctors, and other jobs associated with high status. It is dependent on and needs cleaning ladies, police officers, engineers as well as an y other jobs. Therefore, in order to provide the world with smart and skilled people the educational system should develop the child’s natural talent and interests. This is also applicable when talking about the upbringing of a child. For example some kids may naturally be better at sport and the parent should thus reward and encourage the child. However, there is something called general education which should be incorporated in the learning process, because the child will probably have some difficulties in the modern society if this is ignored. Furthermore, it is necessary to teach the child how to behave in certain situations and also in general. But a lot of the upbringing of a child depends on the cultural background. Different cultures have different ways of raising children. Depending on the culture the values in the upbringing of a child may vary extremely. However, the parent should acknowledge that we live in a globalized world where the child will meet  different cultures. Ther efore the parent should prepare the child for an open mind.