Interview Analysis Essay Example for Free

Interview Analysis Essay For the interview section of the group project, I decided to interview a twenty-five year old woman who resides in the San Francisco bay area in California. Choosing to have her personal identity remain anonymous, the interviewee has granted us permission to refer to her as the alias Mary. Mary is currently married to a thirty year old man and has one nine year old son. Surprisingly, Mary did not contract the disease by having heterosexual intercourse with her partner like so many other women have gotten HIV. She had obtained the disease through intravenous means. Mary’s husband and son are not HIV positive. Mary has been living with HIV for the past six years. Throughout the interview, Mary had a very wise and warm aurora about her. Her cheery and positive attitude and optimistic outlook on life was evident. I questioned Mary of her understanding of HIV/AIDS before and after her diagnosis six years ago. She had explained that since she was nineteen years of age, she has struggled with depression and turned to shooting heroin as a coping mechanism. Mary, like most adolescents, was completely unaware she could obtain the disease through sharing needles; she thought HIV was spread only through homosexual intercourse. When Mary had discovered she was in fact positive of having HIV, feelings of embarrassment and fear, and thoughts of suicide swam though her head. Questions such as â€Å"how can I tell my husband (boyfriend at the time)†, â€Å"what will my family think†, â€Å"will I be able to see my son graduate or get married†. However, after years of continued counseling, Mary has come to a brighter understanding of her diagnosis. â€Å"Having HIV is not a death sentence and I can still live a semi normal life. † By attending support groups, conversing with individuals living relatively normal lives after obtaining the disease, going to therapy and talking with doctors, Mary found solace. â€Å"Even my husband (boyfriend at the time) was very supportive. I thought he would have ran for the hills! † Mary said, chuckling. Mary’s family were also understanding. Her family sends money to help pay the medical bills and offers an aiding hand in raising her nine year old son. Stated earlier in the interview, after obtaining HIV, Mary has had a very warm and vibrant aurora about her. Since learning of her condition, Mary has learned that she is stronger than she had previously considered herself to be. â€Å"I felt that I (could) handle anything thrown at me. † I really commend and praise Mary for her courageous outlook on her life. That even after hitting this speed bump, she has taken on a positive attitude and confidence regarding life. When I inquired Mary about how she told her family, she said she told her husband first then her other relatives at Sunday dinner. Tears were shed but eventually her family initially stood by her side. What really stood out to me the most during this part of the interview was her son’s reaction to the news. â€Å"My husband and I told my son together and explained to him what mommy has. He asked if I was going to die and I told him not for a very long time. He then preceded to play with his Legos as if I had told him it was raining outside. After asking Mary if she had anything to say to the other women of the world living with HIV, she smiled and stated â€Å"For all those beautiful, strong women of the world living with this condition, do not pity yourself. Keep your immune system working by eating healthy and taking vitamins and taking your meds. I know sometimes life seems unfair but it’s worth living. You’re all strong and beautiful. Never believe otherwis e. † This was the most inspiring words and heartfelt words Mary has said throughout the entire interview. For the past four years, Mary has been completely clean of drugs and alcohol. For the past five years, Mary has been attending therapy twice a month and has recently stopped frequently going to the doctor because monetary issues and her insurance has dropped her from her coverage. Mary still receives standard antiretroviral therapy to suppress the HIV virus and to stop it from progressing to AIDS and practices safe sex by using a condom and dental dam. To wrap up the interview I questioned if Mary had anything she would like relatives or anyone else to know about HIV. â€Å"For the relatives, it takes a village to raise a child. Even though I was nineteen years old, a mother and living on my own, I was in fact still a child. After being diagnosed, I was especially vulnerable; it was like I was born again†¦For the others, don’t judge a book by its cover. You never know who is living with this disease and never know how hard the struggle is to live with this disease. † It was really a pleasure and a treat to talk to such a kind, strong, woman who has been through so much in her life yet achieved so much regardless the circumstances. Mary is a wonderful mother, an attentive wife and has earned her Associates degree and is now a receptionist.

Free College Essays - The Sword in the Stone :: Sword in the Stone Essays

The Sword in the Stone The Sword in the Stone is a book about an adopted child named Wart. He is of royal blood and does not know this.   One day when Wart is in the forest, he finds a magician named Merlin.   Merlin comes home with Wart and agrees with Sir Ector, Wart's guardian, to become Wart's tutor.   Merlin goes about educating Wart by transforming him into different animals. Through each transformation Wart experiences different forms of power, each being a part of how he should rule as king.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first transformation plunges Wart and Merlin into the castle's moat as fish.   They proceed to meet the largest fish in the moat, who is the ruler.   This fish takes what he wants because of his size.   In a speech about power, he tells Wart that, "Might is right," and might of the body is greater than might of the mind. Because of the way the fish-king rules, his subjects obey him out of fear for their lives.   Wart experiences this firsthand when the fish-king tells him to leave.   He has grown bored of Wart, and if Wart does not leave he will eat him.   The king uses his size as his claim to power, therefore his subjects follow him out of fear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Wart's next transformation into a hawk, he soars into the castle's mews.   All the birds in the mews have a military rank. Their leader is an old falcon, who Sir Ector keeps for show.   The birds who rank below the falcon, hold her in highest regard because of her age.   She applies her power over the other birds with no concern for their lives.   In one instance, Wart is ordered to stand next to the cage of a crazy hawk who almost kills him.   On the other hand, her seasoned age brings respect, since she had not been released once she outlived her usefulness as a huntress.   This allows her to maintain a powerful grip over all the birds she rules through fear and respect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Next, Wart is transformed into an ant and posted within an ant colony. There is a single leader of the ants, and she is the only thinking

Political philosophy Essay

Among the many substantial contributions to the field of modern philosophy made by John Rawls, there is one particular aspect of his most memorable work that has been a subject of notable controversy among feminists and other critics of gender-based injustices. Rawls is widely regarded as having revolutionized the modern field of political philosophy by â€Å"breaking the intuitionism-utilitarianism deadlock† (Kymlicka, 2002, p. 55). However, according to critics like Susan Moller Okin, while Rawls has accounted for most institutions of society when elaborating his theory of justice, his categorization of family as a basic institution has led to an exclusion of those not qualifying as a â€Å"head of household† from the original position, creating the potential for significant gender-based injustices within his theory. This discrepancy has been extended by other critics including Eva Kittay, who demonstrates Rawls’ lack of attention to the issue of dependency. Throughout the course of this essay, we will examine these criticisms and others in determining the susceptibility to gender-based injustices present in John Rawls’ theory and principles of justice. An outstanding explanation and brief overview of certain key aspects of a philosophical perspective advocated by Rawls comes from Samuel Sheffler (2001, p. 20), stating: In summary, then, Rawls agrees with utilitarianism about the desirability of providing a systematic account of justice that reduces the scope for intuitionistic balancing and offers a clear and constructive solution to the priority problem; about the need to subordinate common? sense precepts of justice to a higher criterion; and about the holistic character of distributive justice. Rawls’ views may be regarded as revolutionary in that he was among the first to present a systematic alternative to utilitarianism that would account for intuitions that might be held as a necessity, and one of the first to attempt developing a systematic political theory to structure our different intuitions. Because of this, Rawls’ work has become a philosophical standard that has served as a basis for comparison of justice theory throughout recent generations (Kymlicka, 2002, p.54). It is for this reason that the theory of justice presented by Rawls has apparently drawn so much criticism. While containing a number of uncertainties, particularly pertaining to gender-based injustices and dependency, the intellectual contributions of Rawls have been invaluable to the development of the field of political philosophy, in general. Issues of justice pertaining to gender in Rawls’ theory would, upon reading most of his work, appear to be favorable toward equality for all classes of citizens. For example (Rawls, 1971, p.11): My aim is to present a conception of justice which generalizes and carries to a higher level of abstraction the familiar theory of the social contract as found, say, in Locke, Rousseau, and Kant. The issue to be examined is whether or not Rawls’ social contract theory applies a superior standard of justice to all members and classes within a given society. In A Theory of Justice, Rawls explains that â€Å"laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust† (1971, p. 3). He devises a method, a thought experiment, to evaluate the conditions that might exist under a â€Å"veil of ignorance† where â€Å"parties do not know their conceptions of the good or their special psychological propensities† (p. 11). These circumstances are what define the original position, as defined by Rawls, who then develops his theory on two principles that he believes would be agreed upon by those parties in the original position. The first principle suggests that â€Å"each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others†. The second principle states: â€Å"social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both (a) reasonably expected to be to everyone’s advantage, and (b) attached to positions and offices open to all† (p. 53). It is the ambiguity of the phrases â€Å"to everyone’s advantage† and â€Å"open to all† that has received the most scrutiny from feminists and other critics of gender based inadequacies in Rawls’ theory of justice. A feminism advocate and noteworthy critic of Rawls has been Susan Moller Okin, who has said, â€Å"[a]n ambiguity runs throughout John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice, continually noticeable to anyone reading it from a feminist perspective† (Okin, 1987, p. 44). While Okin concedes that Rawls’ â€Å"liberal principles can lead us to challenge fundamentally the gender system of our society†, she goes on to say that â€Å"this challenge is barely hinted at, much less developed†, referring to the evident lack of material presented by Rawls that might clarify, among other things, the outcome of wives and other women who are regarded as subordinates in the social institution of family. Okin criticises the predominantly-masculine terms of references used by Rawls to describe any individuals or persons mentioned in his theory, suggesting that the equal inclusion of women may not have been a foremost concern when Rawls developed the foundations for these principles of justice (p. 45). While it remains true, in A Theory of Justice, that Rawls uses masculine terms most frequently, it is unclear whether or not he does so in order to more effectively communicate his ideas to a contemporary philosophical audience, in which these predominantly masculine terms of references had been applied, almost exclusively, for generations. Okin’s next concern is with regard to Rawls’ assumption that family is a just institution. Based on the most relevant context in A Theory of Justice, pertaining to family as the first school of moral development, Rawls inadequately asserts that â€Å"family institutions are just† (Rawls cited by Okin, 1987, p. 48). Since it is Rawls’ intent and burden to demonstrate that both principles of justice as fairness are hypothetically agreeable between individuals in the original position, Okin makes a valid point with the following statement (p.49): †¦ [S]ince those in the original position are the heads or representatives of families, they are not in a position to determine questions of justice within families. This argument is sustained and further clarified by Kittay (1997, p. 229): If parties to the OP already have a determined social position relative to the family, they will not choose the principles of justice in ignorance of their social position. And in the framework of Rawlsian constructivism, only principles that we choose in ignorance of our social position will issue in fair principles with respect to the basic institutions. Since Rawls does want to say that the family is a basic institution, and since justice should then pertain to the family, the parties cannot be heads of households. With this in mind, it would appear Okin is correct when outlining this apparent flaw in the â€Å"veil of ignorance† envisioned by Rawls. Despite noting that Rawls does, on at least two occasions, seem to acknowledge that women may be equally likely to be regarded as a â€Å"head of family† or to be included in the original position, Okin challenges the ongoing assumptions present throughout Part II of A Theory of Justice and contends again that Rawls’ consistent employment of supposedly male terms of reference â€Å"has the effect of banishing a large sphere of human life — and a particularly large sphere of most women’s lives — from the scope of the theory† (Okin, 1987, p.50). Rawls discusses the issue of wealth distribution in A Theory of Justice and, in accordance with his frequent omission of wives and many other women from the original position, does not account for certain factors that may influence a woman’s success in the paid labor force. Okin states that, in all contemporary societies, â€Å"a much larger proportion of women’s than men’s labor is unpaid, and is often not acknowledged to be labor† (1987, p. 50). While this condition may not necessarily prevail under Rawls’ theory of justice, at least not when women are represented as a â€Å"head of household†, for any discussion of justice within the family, these issues would have to be carefully considered. An interesting example of a woman’s role in the public sphere, or lack thereof, in Rawls’ arguments aimed to support his theory of justice is that of a military draft. Despite his statement that there should be â€Å"no avoidable class bias in selecting those who are called for duty† (Rawls cited by Okin, 1987, p.50), Rawls had failed to include any mention of the exemption of women from this aspect of equal citizenship and civil duty (Okin, 1987, p. 50). Such exclusions are in stark contrast to the notion of â€Å"equality of opportunity† in a Rawlsian society as depicted by Kymlicka (p. 58): Why does the ideology of equal opportunity seem fair to many people in our society? Because it ensures that people’s fate is determined by their choices, rather than their circumstances. If I am pursuing some personal ambition in a society that has equality of opportunity, then my success or failure will be determined by my performance, not by my race or class or sex. Equality of opportunity is one of the challenges faced by Rawls when developing his theory of justice. As part of an adequate conception of social cooperation, political justice must account for dependency concerns. Rawls admits to the mostly unsupported assumption â€Å"that everyone has physical needs and psychological capacities within some normal range† (Rawls cited by Kittay, 1997, p.225). This is, of course, mostly untrue as a large percentage of the population will consist of people who are seriously ill, children, and elderly. Not only is dependency a factor for these individuals; it also applies to the caretakers whose overall functioning capacity in society would be reduced by their obligation to care for those who are in need of constant attention. Kittay outlines some of the reasons dependency concerns are relevant to social cooperation and political justice (1997, p.232): [F]irst, because they are rational and reasonable considerations in choosing a conception of justice; second, because a society that does not care for its dependents or that cares for them only by unfairly exploiting the labor of those who do the caring cannot be said to be well-ordered [†¦ ]; and, third, because when we reorient our political insights to see the centrality of human relationships to our happiness and well-being, we recognize dependency needs as basic motivations for creating a social order. The argument that issues related to dependency should be an important foundation for any theory of justice has been well-supported by Kittay and other critics. According to Kittay (p. 239), if we all â€Å"took turns being dependent and dependency workers, we would repay the debt, incurred during periods of dependency, of benefits-received-without-burdens-assumed†. Of course, such a circumstance does not reasonably exist and, therefore, the burdens and responsibilities of the dependency worker are drastically different than those of a fully-functioning citizen. The worker will simply not have the resources to maintain â€Å"an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties† as allocated by Rawls’ first principle of justice (Rawls, 1971, p. 53). In conclusion, Okin’s claim that Rawls’ theory of justice fails to address gender-based injustice both within the family and the public sphere is sustained with legitimate arguments and reasonable inquiry. Rawls’ theory of justice, at its current stage, does not appear to apply equally to all classes of citizens, namely women. The parties in the original position would have an inadequate â€Å"veil of ignorance† if their association to family was known, preventing an impartial assignment of ‘principles’. Kittay’s extension of the argument pertaining to gender-based injustices to dependency relations carries the significance of Rawls’ discrepancies even further when demonstrating the full extent by which dependency workers, which are predominantly female, are further constricted by Rawls’ failure to account for existing inequalities pertaining to dependency and dependency work. In essence, the lack of sufficient acknowledgement of gender-based injustice on behalf of Rawls may very well be the greatest weakness of his theory. With the passage of time, however, new developments in the field of political philosophy may give rise to a system that will account for these important variables. REFERENCES Kymlicka, Will. (2002), Contemporary Political Philosophy. Oxford University Press, New York. Okin, Susan Moller. (1987), â€Å"Justice and gender†. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 16: Kittay, Eva Feder. (1997), â€Å"Human dependency and Rawlsian Equality† in Feminists Rethink the Self, Meyers, Diana Tietjens Rawls, John. (1971), A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press. Sheffler, Samuel. (2001), ‘Rawls and Utilitarianism’, Boundaries and Allegiances: Problems of Justice and Responsibility in Liberal Thought. Oxford University Press, New York.

The Global Financial Crisis on India Essay - 2493 Words

Why do you think India remained relatively insulated from the financial crises? The contagion is truly global in a globalized world. How can the high priests of globalization in India expect to insulate the country from this all-pervasive crisis? - By S. Shivaraman It is not right to say that a country is insulated from financial crisis in today’s globalized world. In some way or the other there will be an effect of failed programme of one country on the other. The moment we say that we are global (global meaning when we do not have any restriction on transactions with other geography’s), we become non-insulated to the†¦show more content†¦Indian economy has been affected by the financial crisis but the effect is less for which there exists various reasons. But it does not mean that it is not affected at all, the individual areas show the effect of these financial crises in the economy. In this paper I will write about the reason for both why the effect was less and the areas which were affected by the financial crisis and how. â€Å"At the outset, it must be admitted that the abundant caution exercised by the former RBI Governor, Dr. Y. V. Reddy and going slow on opening up new complex financial products helped to insulate the country’s from a major financial crisis† . There have been reflective discussions on the effects of the Global Financial Crisis on India. Facts tell us that while the world economy seemed to be collapsing in 2008/09, India’s GDP expanded by 6.7%. The Federal Bank and the Bank of England cut their policy rates to rock-bottom levels to 0.25% and 0.50% respectively . This action was a means of adopting an expansionary monetary policy in pursuit of enhancing economic activity and investment amongst consumers and firms. At every Central Bank meeting, during the past 2 years, we saw governors extremely concerned about the recession. 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