Population explosion or overpopulation denotes a situation in which the number of people living in a country rapidly exceeds its carrying or sustaining capabilities. It is not just the quantity of people but the ratio of it in connection with the natural or artificial resources at hand. Population explosion can occur due to a number of reasons such as a step-up of birth rates, down slope of mortality rates with the advent of modern medical sciences, a simultaneous increase in immigration and decrease in emigration and so on. Although India occupies only 2.4% of the world's total land area, Indian demography comprises of nearly 1.12 billion people, which is roughly one-sixth of the world's population popu lation and second largest in the world next to China.
INTRODUCTION
The rapid growth of o f the world's population over the past one hundred years results from a difference between the rate of birth and the rate of death. The human popula-tion will increase by 1 billion people in the next decade. This is like adding the whole population of China to the world's population. The growth in human population around the world affects all people through its impact on the economy and environ-ment. The current rate of population growth is now a significant burden to human well-being. Understanding t he factors which affect population growth patterns can help us plan p lan for the future. The purpose of this unit is to examine some important factors about o verpopula-tion. This unit addresses: (1) the definition of overpopulation (2) the causes o f rapid population growth, (3) the consequences of rapid population growth, and (4) ac-tions and strategies that can be developed to solve problems caused by overpopula-tion. overpo pula-tion. This unit consists of core knowledge about the causes and consequences of overpopulation, overpo pulation, lesson plans, teacher resources, student reading list, a list of speak-ers and a bibliography. Although this unit is intended primarily for students in grades 5-8, teachers in both elementary and high school can use this unit to explore key ideas and concepts about the population explosion.
THE DEFINITION OF OVERPOPULATION
In the past, infant and childhoo d deaths and short life spans used to limit limit popula-tion po pula-tion growth. In today's world, thanks to improved nutriti nutr ition, on, sanitation, and medical care, more babies survive their first few years of life. The combination o f a continu-ing high birth rate and a low death rate is creating a rapid population increase in many countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa and people generally lived longer. Over-population is defined as the condition of having more people than can live on the t he earth in comfort, happiness and health and still leave the world wo rld a fit place for future generations.1 What some people now believe that the greatest threat to the future comes from overpopulation.
It took the entire history of humankind for the population to reach 1 billion billion around aro und 1810. Just 120 years later, this doubled to 2 billion people (1930); then 4 billion in 1975 (45 years). The number of people in the world has risen from 4.4 billion people peop le in 1980 to 5.8 5. 8 billion billion today. to day. And it is estimated that the population cou ld double again to nearly 11 billion in less t han 40 years. 2 This means that more people are now being added each day than at any other time in human history. Looking ahead, world population is projected to exceed 6 billion before the year 2000. And according to a report by the United Nation Population fund, total popu-lation is likely to reach 10 billion by 2025 and grow gro w to 14 billion by the end of the next century unless birth control use increases dramatically around the world within the next t wo decades.3 Both death rates and birth rates rat es have fallen, but death rates have fallen faster than birth rates. There are about 3 births for each death with 1.6 births for each death in more developed countries ( MDCs) and 3.3 births b irths for each death in less de-veloped countries( LDCs). The world's population continues to grow by 1 billion people every dozen years.4 On one hand, so me politicians politicians call ca ll for countries, especially MDCs to increase their population size to maintain their economic growth growt h and military security. On the other hand, cr itics denote that one out o f five five people peop le living here today is not properly prop erly supported and believe that the world is already limited in resources. These critics maintain that slowing world population growth is one of the most ur-gent issues Those who believe that the world is overpopulated argue that if we do n't sharply lower birth rates, we are raising death rates by default5
THE CAUSES OF RAPID POPULATION GROWTH
Until recently, birth rates and death rates r ates were about the same, keeping the population stable. People had many children, but a large number of them died before age five.6 During the Industrial Revolution, a period of history in Europe and North America where there were great advances in science and technology, the success in reducing death rates was attributable to several factors: (1) in-creases in food production and distribution, (2) improvement in public health (water and sanitation), and (3) medical technology (vaccines and antibiotics), along with gains in education and standards o f living within many developing nations.7 Without t hese attributes present in many children's lives, they cou ld not have survived common diseases like measles or the flu. People were able to t o fight and cure deadly germs that once killed them. In addition, because of the technology, people could produce more and different kinds of food. Gradually, over a period per iod of time, these discoveries and inventions spread througho ut the world, lowering death rates and improving the t he quality of life for most people.8 Food Production Distribution
It took the entire history of humankind for the population to reach 1 billion billion around aro und 1810. Just 120 years later, this doubled to 2 billion people (1930); then 4 billion in 1975 (45 years). The number of people in the world has risen from 4.4 billion people peop le in 1980 to 5.8 5. 8 billion billion today. to day. And it is estimated that the population cou ld double again to nearly 11 billion in less t han 40 years. 2 This means that more people are now being added each day than at any other time in human history. Looking ahead, world population is projected to exceed 6 billion before the year 2000. And according to a report by the United Nation Population fund, total popu-lation is likely to reach 10 billion by 2025 and grow gro w to 14 billion by the end of the next century unless birth control use increases dramatically around the world within the next t wo decades.3 Both death rates and birth rates rat es have fallen, but death rates have fallen faster than birth rates. There are about 3 births for each death with 1.6 births for each death in more developed countries ( MDCs) and 3.3 births b irths for each death in less de-veloped countries( LDCs). The world's population continues to grow by 1 billion people every dozen years.4 On one hand, so me politicians politicians call ca ll for countries, especially MDCs to increase their population size to maintain their economic growth growt h and military security. On the other hand, cr itics denote that one out o f five five people peop le living here today is not properly prop erly supported and believe that the world is already limited in resources. These critics maintain that slowing world population growth is one of the most ur-gent issues Those who believe that the world is overpopulated argue that if we do n't sharply lower birth rates, we are raising death rates by default5
THE CAUSES OF RAPID POPULATION GROWTH
Until recently, birth rates and death rates r ates were about the same, keeping the population stable. People had many children, but a large number of them died before age five.6 During the Industrial Revolution, a period of history in Europe and North America where there were great advances in science and technology, the success in reducing death rates was attributable to several factors: (1) in-creases in food production and distribution, (2) improvement in public health (water and sanitation), and (3) medical technology (vaccines and antibiotics), along with gains in education and standards o f living within many developing nations.7 Without t hese attributes present in many children's lives, they cou ld not have survived common diseases like measles or the flu. People were able to t o fight and cure deadly germs that once killed them. In addition, because of the technology, people could produce more and different kinds of food. Gradually, over a period per iod of time, these discoveries and inventions spread througho ut the world, lowering death rates and improving the t he quality of life for most people.8 Food Production Distribution
The remarkable facts about the t he last 150 years has been the abili a bility ty of o f farmers to increase food production geometrically in some places. Agricultural practices have improved in the United States in the last two centuries. Much of the world experi-enced agricultural success, especially in the last 50 years. Between 1950 and 1984, for example, the amount of grain harvested worldwide increased from 631 million tons to 1.65 billion billion tons. to ns. This represents a gain of 2.6 times at a time when the world population increased by only 1.9 t imes.9 In more recent years, the technology has produced a broader variety of tech-niques: new kinds of seed, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and more sophisticated machinery. The use of technology has made possible the rapid rap id expansion of agri-culture in the United Stat es and other MDCs and LDCs. The use of pesticides in LDCs, for example was expected to increased between 400 to 600% in the last 25 years of the twentieth century. 10 During the past 10 years, the world's food production has increased by 24 per cent, outpacing the rate of population growth.11 However, this increase was not evenly distributed throughout the world. For example, in Africa, food pro-duction decreased, while population increased. And world cereal production fell in 1993, according to the FAO, which predicted a food shortage in 20 countries during 1994. 12 However, most experts agree t hat there is no shortage of food, and that equitable distribution should be sufficient to meet all needs for the future. Lack of o f money to buy food is the problem pro blem of malnourishment. Pov-erty, in effect translates the world adequacy into national and local shortages. Within households, men and boys have priority pr iority for whatever food is available, while women and children, especially girl children are the first to suffer malnutrition. Few resources are available to women, even though they are o ften re-sponsible re-sponsible the for food supply.13 Improvement in Public Health
People have concerns about surviving daily living, such as meeting basic needs: food, water, and housing. First, access to safe drinking water was related to the incidence of epidemic diseases d iseases such as cholera and child c hild survival. Less than 50% of the population p opulation had access to safe drinking dr inking water before 1990. By 1990, access to safe drinking water had increased by 75 per cent. But between 1990 and 2000 the numbers of people without access to safe water are projected to increase. 14 An increasing number of countries both developed and develop-ing are approaching the limits of sustainable water use based on t heir own re-newable resources.15 Second, the pressure to provide adequate housing increases as the population grows. More than half of the developing world's population po pulation will be living in urban areas by the t he end of the centur y. This growth outstrips the capacity to provide prov ide housing and services for others. In some countries, finding a place to live is hard, especially for women. Some women and children are forced to live in the poorest community where they are open to exploitation and abuse.16 The priorities for getting rid of poverty, improving food supply, ending malnu-trition, and providing adequate housing co incide at all points with those required for balanced po pulation growth. Conquest of Disease
The biggest population story of the last hundred years has been the co nquest of disease. Scientists have learned a great deal about the ways to prevent and cure many types of disease. Thus, millions of people who would have died of disease a century ago are more likely to live to old age. The most effective tools in the con-quest of disease have been improved knowledge about nutrition, vaccinations, bet-ter public health practices and the development of new medicines17 In the late 80s, a baby born in Iceland was 32 times more likely to live to the age of one year as a baby born in Afghanistan.18 The major reason for this large differ-ence in survival rate is nutrition. When young children get enough of the right kinds of food, they are likely to live to be adults. In many nations the peo ple know about proper nutrition for young children a nd adults. Unfortunately, in many LCDs the people lack the money and skills that would allow them to use the knowledge about nutrition they already have. As a result, infant death rates and therefore, overall death rates, remain high in many LDCs. 19 The second most important factor is vaccinations. As far back as 1800, scien-tists knew how to use vaccines to protect peo ple from infectious disease. Use of that knowledge has reduced t he rate of diseases like influenza, smallpox, po lio and rubella in MDCs. Again, lack of resources has prevented many LDCs from mak-ing similar use of vaccinations to reduce the rate o f infectious disease and death rates in their countries. Moreover, vaccines are still not available for some dis-eases-malaria is the most obvious example and t he greatest concern in LDCs.20 Third, better public health practices-- the germ theo ry of disease, discovered by Louis Pasteur in the 1870s clearly demonstrated that a person's health was also a community problem. Sewage dumped into a public water supply could cause dis-ease throughout the community. With this understanding, the science of public health was born. Today, public health measures like waste treatment, water purifi-cation, vaccination, and nutritional education are we ll developed in MDCs. How-ever, public health measures are st ill absent in many LDCs. As a result, disease continues to spread and cause high death rates.21 And finally, with the advent o f new medicines, disease was less of a pro blem in MDCs because medical science has invented a whole range of new medicines with which t o treat everything from infections to pneumonia. In many LDCs, new drugs and medicines are simply not available. 22 As stated earlier, death rates in MDCs have fallen largely because of improved health and medical knowledge and because of better health and medical practices based on that knowledge. Death rates in many LDCs remain high because the money, personnel and facilities needed to put that knowledge into practice are not available.23 Progress in medical science has, therefore, had a great effect on the population of most nations of the world. Nearly everywhere death rat es have fallen. At the same time, birth rates, at least in the LDCs, have remained high. This combination of high birth rates and low deat h rates have led to the population explosion in many co untries throughout the world.
The end of the population explosion worldwide will be determined by ho w much countries invest in family planning efforts to lower fertility and slow do wn popula-tion growth. Different populations grow at different rates around the wo rld. This depends on how many children families have and the number of years someone is expected to live. The population of many countries in Asia, Africa and Lat in America are growing the fastest, especially where large families are still important. These poorer, less developed countries (LDCs) tend to have shorter lives and higher infant death rates. When couples know some of their children may die, they choose to have more. However, many couples wish to limit family size, but lack the informa-tion and means to make these choices. 24
THE CONSEQUENCES OF RAPID POPULATION GROWTH
Rapid human population growth has a variety of consequences. Population grows fastest in the world's poorest countries. High fertility rates have historically been strongly correlated with poverty, and high childhoo d mortality rates. Falling fertility rates are generally associated with improved standards of living, increased life expectancy, and lowered infant mortality. Overpopulation and poverty have long been associated with increased death, and disease. 25 People tightly packed into unsanitary housing are inordinately vulnerable to natural disasters and health problems. However, most of the world's 1.2 billion desperately poor people live in less developed countries ( LDCs). 26 Poverty exists even in MDCs. One in five Soviet citizens reportedly lives below the country's official poverty line. In the United Stat es, 33 million people - -one in eight Americans are below the official poverty line. The rapid expansion of popu lation size observed since the end of World War II in the world's poorest nations has been a cause of their poverty. 27 Poverty is a condition of chronic deprivation and need at the family level. 28 Poverty, is a major concern of humankind, because poverty everywhere reduces human beings to a low level of existence. Poor people lack access to enough land and income to meet basic needs. A lack of basic needs results in physical weak-ness and poo r health. Poor health decreases the ability o f the poor to work and put them deeper into poverty. Instead of allowing poverty to persist, it is important to limit our number be-cause in dense populations too many lack adequate food, water, shelter, education and employment. High fertility, which has been traditionally associated with pros-perity, prestige, and security for the future, now jeopardizes chances for many to achieve health and security. 29 Rich and poor countries alike are affected by population growth, though the population of industrial countries are growing more slowly than those of deve lop-ing one. At the present growth rates, the population of economically developed countries would double in 120 years. The Third World, with over three quarters of the world's people, would double its numbers in
about 33 years. This rapid dou-bling time reflects the fact that 37 p ercent of the developing world's population is under the age of 15 and entering their most productive childbearing years. In the Third World countries (excluding China), 40 percent of the people are under 15; in some African countries, nearly half are in this age group. 30 The world's current and projected po pulation growth calls for an increase in efforts to meet the needs for food, water, health care, technology and education. In the poorest countries, massive efforts are needed to keep social and economic con-d itions from deteriorating further; any real advances in well-being and the quality of life are negated by further population growth. Many countries lack adequate supplies of basic materials needed to support their current population. Rapid population growth can affect both the overall quality of life and the degree of hu-man suffering on Earth. 31
ACTIONS AND STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE DEVELOPED TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS
There is controversy over whether population growth is good or bad. Over-population and continuing population growth are making substantial contributions to the destruction of Earth's life support systems. In the past, human popu lations have rarely been subject to explosion. In numbers. The powerful long-term mo-mentum that is built into t he human age structure means that the effects of fertility changes become apparen t only in the future. For these reasons, it is now conven-tional practice to use the technology of population projection as a means of better understanding the implications of trends. Population projections represent the playing out into the future of a set of as-sumptions about future fertility and mortality rates. More public education is needed to develop more awareness about population issues. Facts like the size o r the growth rate of the human population should be in the head of every citizen. Schools should inform students about popu lation issues in order for them to make projections about t he future generations. Action plans and strategies can be developed to increase public understanding o f how rapid population growth limits chances for meeting basic needs. The spirit of open communication, and empowerment of individual women and men will be key to a successful solution to many population problems. Collective vision about health care, family planning and women's education at the community level build a basis for action. The creat ion of action plans help to meet challenges to find coop-erative solutions. Free and equal access to health care, family planning and educa-tion are desirable in their own right and will also help reduce unwanted fertility. Individual choice, human rights and collective responsibility are key to al-lowing families to plan the size and spacing of their children. It is essential to achieve a balance between population and the available resources. Teachers, par-ents, community workers and other stakeholders should
extend the range of choices about available resources to individuals, especially women, and by equal-izing opportunities between the genders from birth onwards. Teachers, parents, other educators, politicians and other concerned citizens can practice how to make good decisions in everyday life. Decisions about family size, and resource w ill affect the future generations. Through commu-nity forums, specific issues about the population growth can be discussed and possible action plans can be developed. Teachers, as well as students can use the information super highway to gain knowledge about other countries' population and resources. Teachers can help students with problems and dec ision making on a daily basis. The investigation of world population will raise the level o f awareness, so that we can learn to handle problems based on data. This data can help us to analyze our situations in a practical way. Teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders can look for trends in the po pulation explosion. They can hold community meetings at school to discuss how this issue presents a challenge to the big picture of human population on the planet "Earth". Urbanization , urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a resu lt of global change. Urbanization is also defined by the United Nations as movement of people from rural to urban areas with population growth equating to urban migration. The United Nations [2] projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at t he end of 2008.
Urbanization is closely linked to modernization, industrialization, and the sociological process of rationalization. Urbanization can describe a specific condition at a set time, ie. the proportion of total popu lation or area in cities or towns, or the term can describe the increase of this proportion over time. So the term urbanization can represent the level of urban relative to overall population, or it can represent the rate at which the urban proportion is increasing. It is now a universally recognized fact that the progress of man depends upon social planning, upon a perfect harmony between man and his total environment. Till comparatively recently, men lived in village communities and their culture, mode of living, food and social organization were adjusted to their surroundings. Modern urbanized life has produced a new environment, creating new problems of adaptation. Urbanization is a problem which has assumed g igantic dimensions in some of the technically and industrially advanced countries of the world. It means the concentration of population in the economically developed and industrialized centres and other big cities. This leads to much congestion and many social and economic problems. The most noticeable evil associated with over-urbanization is the marked deterioration in the environment of the city and the appearance of slums. Modern cities have grown in a haphazard and unplanned manner due to fast industrialization. Cities in developing countries become over populated and over-crowded partly as a result of the increase in popu lation over the decades and partly as a result of migration of persons from the co untryside to the big industrialized cities in
search of employment, or in search o f a higher standard of living and better living conditions. As decent habitation is not possible for them to afford, the poor are driven by necessity to living on foot paths or in slums under most intolerable conditions of incredible squalor, dirt and disease, in fact, they are unfit for habitation, a disgrace to the community. Being devo id of hygienic and sanitary considerations, they breed all kinds o f epidemics. They become the nerve centres of all the worst vices and crimes, for all kinds o f persons earning their livelihood by dubious means² beggars, thief's, pickpockets, prostitutes, chromic drunkers, vagabonds, g amblers and drug pedlars and the like co me to live in slums. Urbanization has created another vital problem, t hat of population of the environment. According to a biologist, the price of pollution could be the death of man. Pollution is the direct outcome of the application of science and technology to human problems. The invention, preparation and experiments of nuclear weapons, the increasing use of science and technology in industr y and agriculture, the carbon and smoke e mitted by chimneys and motor-cars, and chemical wastes and poisonous exhausts²this has been causing disastrous environmental pollution in big industrial cities. Another serious and insurmountable problem is that o f housing the ever-growing and migrating population in big cities. Due to the paucity of houses to accommodate the people, the once beautiful cities are being reduced to slums. This pressure of population has led to the construction of vertically rising sky-scrappers to accommodate the maximum number w ithin the minimum space. But they have themselves given birth to many problems such as fire hazard, in sanitary conditions, lack of civic amenities like parks, playgrounds and parking space, congestion, traffic jams. Urbanization consequent upon industrialization has denied to a large section of the people even elementary civic amenities²pure drinking water, underground dra inage, electric supply, hospitals and dispensaries, well-built and well-run schools and colleges and pucca roads. The absence of these amenities raises the incidence of personal and social pathology ²delinquency, crime, prostitution, mental illness, alcoholism, drug addiction etc. Urbanization disturbs the equilibrium between demand and supply in the economic market, resulting in larger demands and lesser supplies. It is very difficult to get pure food, milk and other commodities, even pure drinking water. Everything is cither impure or adulterated or spurious. Sociologically, urbanization has led to the breaking of joint families and the establishment of 'nucleus' families. People in the cities forfeit the anc ient ideals of corporate living; they tend to become self-centered. They live in their o wn grooves and flats without having any soc ial contacts with their neighbors, or other fellow beings. Last, but not the least, the defence of the country is very much handicapped if the armed forces have to consider the suffering and loss involved if metropolitan cities are subjected to aerial bombardment in the event of a war. Cities which are highly urbanized and densely populated are more valuable than those in which the population is diffused and decentralized. The most effective way to tackle the problem of urbanization is to make the economy of the villages and small cities fully viable. It can be revitalized if the government undertakes a massive
rural development programme. Surplus rural manpower shou ld be absorbed in the villages themselves. In this way the village econo my shall become self-sufficient and autonomous. Then, old1 cities should be made cleaner and fit places for poor man's habitation by demolishing slums and 'Jhuggis' and by constructing neat and spacious houses for the poor at subsidized rents. Expansion of buildings should be horizontal and well-spread over. All civic amenities shou ld be religiously provided and ensured. Thirdly, the Go vernment should not allow any new industries to be set up in the already congested big industrialized c ities. Industries, Government offices and headquarters should be diffused and decentralized and shifted at smaller centres. It is within the power of man to create a healthy environment for the human race. What is needed is a readjustment of social and moral values.
[edit] Movement
[3]
Percentage of population which is urbanized, by country, as of 2006.
As more and more people leave villages and farms to live in cities, urban gro wth results. The rapid growth of cities like Chicago in the late 19th century and Mumbai a century later can be attributed largely to rural-urban migration. This kind of growth is especially commonplace in developing countries. The rapid urbanization of the world¶s population over the twentieth century is described in the 2005 Revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects report. The global propo rtion of urban population rose dramatically from 13% (220 million) in 1900, to 29% (732 million) in 1950, to 49% (3.2 billion) in 2005. The same report projected that the figure is likely to rise to 60% (4.9 [4] billion) by 2030. However, French economist Philippe Bocquier, writing in THE FUTURIST magazine, has calculated t hat "the proportion of the world population living in c ities and towns in the year 2030 would be roughly 50%, substantially less than the 6 0% forecast by the United Nations (UN), because the messiness of rapid urbanization is unsustainable. Bot h Bocquier and the UN see more people flocking to cities, but Bocquier sees many of t hem likely to leave upon discovering that there¶s no work for them and no place to live."[5]
Percentage of World Population: Urban vs. Rural.[6] According to the UN State of the World Population 2007 report, so metime in the middle of 2007, the majority of people worldwide will be living in towns or cities, for the first time in history; this is referred to as the arrival of the "Urban Millennium" o r the 'tipping point'. In regard to future trends, it is estimated 93% of urban growth w ill occur in developing nations, with 80% of [7][8] urban growth occurring in Asia and Africa. Urbanization rates vary between countries. The United St ates and United Kingdom have a far higher urbanization level than China, India, Swaziland or Niger, but a far slower annual urbanization rate, since much less of the population is living in a rural area. y
y
Urbanization in the United States never reached the Rocky Mountains in locations such as Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Telluride, Colorado; Taos, New Mexico; Douglas County, Colorado and Aspen, Colorado. The state of Vermont has also been a ffected, as has the coast of Florida, the Birmingham-Jefferson County, AL area, t he Pacific Northwest and the barrier islands of North Carolina. In the United Kingdom, two major examples of new urbanization can be see n in [9] Swindon, Wiltshire and Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. These two towns show some of the quickest growth rates in Europe.
Center of São Paulo, one of the largest metropolises in the world. [edit] Causes
Population age comparison between rural Pocahontas County, Iowa and urban Johnson County, Iowa, illustrating the flight of young adults (red) to urban centers in Iowa.[10]
The City of Chicago, Illinois is an example of the early American grid system of develop ment. The grid is enforced even on uneven topography.
Example of rapid and expansive urban development in Manila, as opposed to the slums hidden in shockingly close proximity.
Urbanization is not always attributed to high density. In Ma nila, the cost of living has forced residents to live in low quality slums and shant y towns Urbanization occurs naturally from individual and co rporate efforts to reduce time and expense in commuting and transportation while improving o pportunities for jobs, education, housing, and transportation. Living in cities permits individuals and families to take advantage o f the opportunities of proximity, diversity, and marketplace competition. People move into cities to seek economic opportunities. A major contributing factor is known as "rural flight". In rural areas, often on small family farms, it is difficult to improve o ne's standard of living beyond basic sustenance. Farm living is dependent on unpredictable environmental conditions, and in times of drought, flood or pestilence, survival becomes extremely problematic. In modern times, industrialization of agriculture has negatively affected the economy of small and middle-sized farms and strongly reduced t he size of the rural labour market. Cities, in contrast, are known to be places where money, services and wealth are centralized. Cities are where fortunes are made and where social mobility is possible. Businesses, which generate jobs and capital, are usually located in urban areas. Whether the source is trade or tourism, it is also through the cities that foreign mo ney flows into a country. It is easy to see why someone living on a farm might wish to take their chance moving to the city and trying to make enough money to send back home to their struggling family. There are better basic services as well as ot her specialist services that aren't found in rural areas. There are more job opportunities and a greater variety of jobs. Health is ano ther major factor. People, especially the elderly are often forced to move to cities where there are doctors and hospitals that can cater for their health needs. Other factors include a greater variety of entertainment (restaurants, movie theaters, theme parks, etc) and a better quality of education, namely universities. Due to their high popu lations, urban areas can also have much more diverse social communities allowing others to find people like t hem when they might not be able to in rural areas.
These conditions are heightened dur ing times of change from a pre-industrial society to an industrial one. It is at this time that many new co mmercial enterprises are made possible, thus creating new jobs in cities. It is also a result of industrialization that farms become more mechanized, putting many labourers o ut of work. This is currently occurring fastest in [citation needed ] India. [edit] Economic effects
One of the last houses of the old Russian village of Lukeryino, most of which has been demolished over the last 30 years to make way for 9-story apartment buildings in the growing city of Kstovo, such as the one in the background In recent years,[when?] urbanization of rural areas has increased. As agriculture, more traditional local services, and small-scale industry give way to modern industry the urban and related commerce with the city drawing on the resources of an ever-widening area for its own sustenance and goods to be traded or processed into manufactures. Research in urban ecology finds that larger cities provide more specialized goods and services to the local market and surrounding areas, function as a transportation and who lesale hub for smaller places, and accumulate more capital, financial service provision, and an educated labor force, as well as often concentrating administrative functions for the area in which they lie. Th is relation among places of different sizes is called t he urban hierarchy. As cities develop, effects can include a dramatic increase in costs, often pricing the local working class out of the market, including such functionaries as employees of the local municipalities. For example, Eric Hobsbawm's book T he age of t he revolution: 1789±1848 (published 1962 and 2005) chapter 11, stated "Urban development in our period [1789±1848] was a gigantic process of class segregation, which pushed the new labou ring poor into great morasses of misery outside the centres of government and business and the newly specialised residential areas of the bourgeoisie. The almost universal European division into a 'good' west end and a 'poor' east end of large cities developed in this period." This is likely due the prevailing south-west wind which carries coal smoke and ot her airborne pollutants downwind, making the western edges of towns preferable to the eastern ones. Similar problems now affect the developing world, rising inequality resulting from rapid urbanisation trends. The dr ive for rapid urban growth and often efficiency can lead to less equitable urban development, think tanks such
as the Overseas Development Institute have even proposed policies that encourage labour [11] intensive growth as a means of absorbing the influx of low skilled and unskilled labour. Urbanization is often viewed as a negative trend, but can in fact, be perceived simply as a natural occurrence from individual and corporate efforts to reduce expense in commuting and transportation while improving opportunities for jobs, education, housing, and t ransportation. Living in cities permits individuals and families to take advantage of the opportunities of [12][13][14][15] proximity, diversity, and marketplace competition. [edit] Environmental effects
The urban heat island has become a growing concern and is increasing over the years. The urban heat island is formed when industrial and urban areas are developed and heat becomes more abundant. In rural areas, a large part of the incoming solar energy is used to evaporate water from vegetation and soil. In cities, where less vegetation and exposed soil exists, the majority of the sun¶s energy is absorbed by urban structures and asphalt. Hence, during warm daylight hours, less evaporative cooling in cities allows surface temperatures to rise higher than in rural areas. Additional city heat is given off by vehicles and factories, as well as by industrial and domestic [16] o o heating and cooling units. This effect causes the city to become 2 to 10 F (1 to 6 C) warmer [17] than surrounding landscapes. Impacts also include reducing soil moisture and intensification [18] of carbon dioxide emissions. In his book W hole Eart h Discipline, Stewart Brand argues that the effects of urbanization are on the overall positive for the environment. Firstly, the birth rate of new urban dwellers falls immediately to replacement rate, and keeps falling. This can prevent overpopulation in the future. Secondly, it puts a stop to destructive subsistence farming techniques, like slash and burn [13] agriculture. Finally, it minimizes land use by humans, leaving more for nature. [edit] Changing forms
Massive urbanization in Delhi, India resulted in tremendous strain on the city's infrastructure. The planned Dwarka Sub City can be seen in foreground while the unplanned and congested residential areas of West Delhi are visible in the backgro und. Different forms of urbanization can be classified depending o n the style of architecture and planning methods as well as historic growth o f areas.
In cities of the developed world urbanization traditionally exhibited a concentration o f human activities and settlements around the downtown area, t he so-called in-migration. In-migration refers to migration from former colonies and similar places. The fact that many immigrants settle in impoverished city centres led to the notion of the "peripheralization of the core", which simply describes that people who used to be at the peripher y of the former empires now live right in the centre. Recent developments, such as inner-city redevelopment schemes, mean that new arrivals in cities no longer necessarily settle in the centre. In some developed regions, the reverse effect, originally called counter urbanisation has occurred, with cities losing population to rural areas, and is particularly common for richer families. This has been po ssible because of improved communications, and has been caused by factors such as the fear of crime and poor urban environments. Later termed " white flig ht" , the effect is not restricted to cities with a high ethnic minority population. When the residential area shifts outward, this is called suburbanization. A number o f researchers and writers suggest that suburbanization has gone so far to form new points of concentration [19] outside the downtown both in developed and developing countries such as India. This networked, poly-centric form of concentration is considered by some an emerging pattern of urbanization. It is called variously exurbia, edge city (Garreau, 1991), network city (Batten, 1995), or postmodern city (Dear, 2000). Los Angeles is the best-known example o f this type of urbanization. Rural migrants are attracted by the possibilities that cities can offer, but often settle in shanty towns and experience extreme po verty. In the 1980s, this was attempted to be t ackled with the urban bias theory which was promoted by Michael Lipton who wrote: "...the most important class conflict in the poor countries of the world today is not between labour and capital. Nor is it between foreign and national interests. It is between rural classes and urban classes. The rural sector contains most of the poverty and most of the low-cost sources of potential advance; but the urban sector contains most o f the articulateness, organization and power. So the urban c lasses [20] have been able to win most of the rounds of the struggle with the co untryside...". Most of the urban poor in developing co untries able to find work can spend their lives in insecure, poorly paid jobs. According to research by the Overseas Development Institute pro-poor urbanisation will require labour intensive growth, supported b y labour protection, flexible land use regulation and investments in basic services.' [21] Urbanization can be planned urbanization or organic. Planned urbanization, ie: planned community or the garden city movement, is based on an advance plan, which can be prepared for military, aesthetic, economic or urban design reasons. Examp les can be seen in many a ncient cities; although with exploration came the collision of nations, which meant that many invaded cities took on the desired planned characteristics of their occupiers. Many ancient org anic cities experienced redevelopment for military and economic purposes, new roads carved through the cities, and new parcels of land were cordoned off serving various planned purpo ses giving cities distinctive geometric designs. UN agencies prefer to see urban infrastructure installed before urbanization occurs. Landscape planners are responsible for landscape infrastructure (public parks, sustainable urban drainage systems, greenways etc) which can be planned before
urbanization takes place, or afterward to revitalize an area and create greater livability within a region. Concepts of control of the urban expansion are considered in the American Institute of [22] Planners. 19
Social Problems 19.1 Introduction India is one of the developing nations of the modern world. It has become an independent country, a republic, more than a half century ago. During this period the country has been engaged in efforts to attain development and growth in various areas such as bu ilding infrastructure, production of food grains, science and t echnology and spread of education. The life expectancy has increased and many diseases have been controlled. However, there are many areas in which Indian society is experiencing a variety of problems. Some of these problems have their roots in our colonial past while others are related to demographic changes, socio-political conditions and cultural processes. This lesson tries to acquaint you with some of the problems and the psychological factors involved in them. You will learn about some of the possible ways in which psycholog ical interventions can help in dealing with the pro blems. 19.3 Poverty A large section of the Indian society is suffering from poverty. Poverty is a pheno menon Social Problem :: 20 1 which is objective as well a subjective. Objectively poverty implies a dehumanizing condition in which people are unable to look after the basic needs. Subjectively poverty stands for perceived deprivation. As such it is relative and any body can feel poor by comparing himself as herself with a rich person. Poor people lack the necessary resources and capacity to satisfy basic needs like food, shelter, health and education. They live under difficult conditions which are not co nducive for development of their human potential. As you have learned earlier in the lesson 10 and 11 that for healthy human development a child needs environmental support for survival and development. Poverty interferes with development in many ways. For instance lack of or inadequate nutrition arrests mental development during early childhood. The unavailability of stimulating environment and absence o f effective role models decreases the motivation level. A large section of poor children do not go to school. Even if they go they become drop outs and fail to complete education. In this context it may be po inted out that poverty is also related to the social structure. A number of low caste, scheduled tribe and backward communities have been put to discrimination for many centuries. They are socially disadvantaged and are deprived from the experiences necessary for development o n account of their membership of specific groups. In this sense they are doubly deprived. Studies have shown that the children from the background of poverty and social disadvantage lag behind their counterparts from the enriched background. Their cognitive development and performance is found to be at a lower level. Studies of perception, memory an intelligence have demonstrated it several times. The studies have also shown that the performance between the advantaged and disadvantaged children increases with advancing age. It has also been found that the poverty condition is demotivating and makes a person more vulnerable. Low level of achievement motivation and greater need for dependence in these people make them less effective in coping with the problems of every
day life. As a result the poor become marginalized and can not contribute to the mainstream of the society. The question why some people are poor has been answered in many ways. The search for causes of poverty has lead to many answers. It has been located in the individual, in the social structure, or the culture of the people. For instance many people blame the victim and consider the poor as responsible for the characteristics or dispositions of the people. A detailed analysis of the problem of poverty shows that poverty is caused by multiple factors. The social and economic structure in India promotes inequality, and social disadvantages. The life in the poverty condition reinforces certain behaviour pattern, values and coping styles which, reduce t he chances of upward social mobility. 19.4 Social Tensions The Indian society consists of people from different religious, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. Since long there has been cultural give and take between the people from 202 :: Psychology India and other countries. Since 1947 when India gained political independence the country has been engaged in the gigantic task of nation building. Efforts have been made to put nation on the path of socio-economic development. The transformation of nation as a se lf sufficient and cohesive political entity has pro ved to be a difficult challenge. The co lonial past, socio-economic disparities in the society and ra ised aspirations have culminated in a complex situation. Traditionally the Indian soc iety was hierarchically arranged and the different communities and caste groups showed a pattern of social distance in which low caste, tribals and minority groups were discriminated against and looked down upon. Many of the communities were considered as untouchables. The Indian constitution prohibits against such discrimination and has a bolished untouchability. However, it is still practiced in certain ways. All these cond ition have created a situation in which various kinds of social tensions have become very frequent events are as follws : 1. If we look at the historical trends we notice that the partition of India led to considerable degree of violence and the harmonious relations between Hindus and Muslims were disturbed. As a result suspicion and mistrust has developed between Muslims and Hindus. This has led to a number of clashes and conflicts which have been violent and have generated hatred. 2. Various parts of the country are experiencing separatist movements. You must have read about political movements in North East part of India (Assam, Nagaland, Tripura) where demands for separate political identities have been ra ised from time to time. The Kashmir region is experiencing the negative impact of crossborder terrorism and people are suffering. The Nuxalite movement in certain parts (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh) is also creating political instability and problems of governance. 3. Caste-related prejudice and discrimination has also been o n rise in certain parts of the country. In the course of socialization people acquire negative attitudes and stereotypes. Many times these are not founded in our real life experiences. Instead, they are based on false information, personal impressions and hearsay. However, they are very powerful and shape our behaviour in important ways. Thus if we have prejudice against some one it may lead to aggression, hostility and harm doing towards the target groups. In recent years inter group conflicts related to caste have moved from the social to the political arena of life. Infact caste based
alliances, groups and organization are growing fast. They utilize caste-related identity for political gains. Today caste-affiliations are not so important in social or religious matters as they are in political matters. In t his context the rise of low caste groups who often call them selves Dalits is beco ming a prominent feature of modern India. The presence of this group has changed the complexion of Indian political scene. Social Problem :: 20 3 On the whole the Indian soc iety is currently experiencing social tensions of various kinds. They are related to the pattern of social change. In particular the rise of middle class migration of people from villages to cities, increase in the degree of economic inequality, spread of education and media are playing key role. The tensions in the lives of people at individual, family and community level is clear ly visible. Most of the conflicts and tensions revolve aro und the issue of identity. Assertion of separate identity and promoting the same with different tactics is becoming a central problem. People use identities in an emotionally charged wa y to create a group structure for promoting certain goals. Thus associations, committees and organizat ions are created to serve these purposes. The creation of identity involves strategies which en hance similarity within the group and difference between the groups. In this way a diversion of ³in group´ or ³own group and ³out group´ or other group is created. This kind of differentiation is present in almost all societies. This also implies that the differences across groups cannot be totally eliminated. Some psychological intervention for enhancing group behaviour Since groups are inevitable and constitute an important part of our social reality what we need is to recognize the essence and value of pluralism. All groups are important and play distinct role. We need to appreciate this diversity in our social life in a positive manner. The approach should be to evolve a strategy in which diverse groups and communities are able to live distinct patterns of life the wa y they want. The various groups or communities should compliment each other and help in achieving their goals. Super ordinate goals may be created that may be shared by all the groups. To this end the following steps may prove very helpful. 1. Increasing dialogue amongst the diverse groups existing in the society. 2. Building an atmosphere of mutual trust and harmony. 3. Equity and equality o f opportunity for different groups needs to be ensured. 4. Greater opportunities for mutual care, respect and complementarity need to be created. INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.1 Fill in the blanks in the appropriate words 1. Objectively poverty implies a ____________ condition. 2. Subjectively poverty stands for ______________ deprivation. 3. Poverty interferes with ______________. 4. The cause of poverty is located in the ____________ of the people. 5. The Indian constitution has abolished ___________. 6. Building an atmosphere of _____________ and ___________ can enhance group behaviour. 204 :: Psychology 19.5 Gender Discrimination
Women and men are equally important for the growth and development of individual and social lives. The women play the important role as mother and the same makes it unique. However, careful analysis of Indian society indicates t hat the situation is not good for women folk. The sex ratio o f male and female in the India population has been changing and becoming unfavourable towards women. In the Indian society women are considered major contributors to family and society. We have gods and goddesses both and one of the incarnation of lord Shiva is Ardhanareeshwar, which is made of half male and half female in its constitution. Unfortunately this equality and prominence te lls an incomplete fact. The women are also subjected to discrimination in learning, dowry deaths and exploitations of various kinds which are very co mmon. In fact the women are beco ming targets of atrocities of many types. The same is manifested in discrimination against them from very early period. The incident of infanticide, early marriage, emphasis on domestic activities and lessor emphasis on education and career have made women¶s lives full of problems. They are discriminated against from early childhood. The Indian dependence on others (e.g. parents, husbands) becomes fate of the majority of the women fo lk. The pattern of discrimination against women varies across rural, urban and tribal areas. T hey are assigned diverse responsibilities and treated as relatively weaker and less competent. This image is still prevailing in various sections of the society. It is reflected in the discriminatory practices in the family such as distribution of work, food and social activities. The girl child is usually burdened with respo nsibilities that are beyond her capacity. Such exploitations function as obstacles in the process of deve lopment and growth of the girl child. When a girl child matures and beco mes an adult she is often found to be physically weak and mentally constrained. They are neither able to realize their potentials nor able to contribute to the mainstream of society. The ir contributions are often limited to family and that too are ignored. However, some Indian women have been able to overcome the barriers in their path and became successful in many walks of life. In this connection one can mention the names of Pandita Rama Bai, Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi who emerged as leaders at national level. The provsion for education, legal provisions about the age of marriage and reservation for women in various walks of life has co ntributed to change in their situation. Today t he presence of women in various occupations and public offices is much more prominent than what it used to be dur ing earlier periods. However, the Indian society has still to go a long way as for as gender equality is concerned. 19.6 Some Other Social Problems : Corruption, Illiteracy and Urbanization . As a developing country India is facing a number of problems which need careful analysis Social Problem :: 20 5 and demands steps for their solution. These pro blems are many in number. The salient ones include corruption, illiteracy and urbanizat ion. Let us briefly discuss these problems. Corruption refers to those transactions which involve undue bene fits to some people who don¶t deserve or are not entitled for them. Such transactions make so me people recipients of financial benefits, physical and social resources that make these people capable of exhorting power over others and co ntrolling the rewards and punishments for others. This is often reflected in the formation of a nexus between politicians and criminals. Use of money to bribe and drawing benefits that are not feasible under the law of the land. Misuse
and misappropriation of resources for personal benefits is creating a gu lf between ³haves´ and ³have not´. The use of black money and scams of various types that have been discovered in recent years clearly tell that corruption is adversely influencing the growth and development of Indian society. Illiteracy is another major problem before the soc iety. It¶s a sad state of affairs that a country which had higher level of literacy (than British) at a time when British came two centuries ago is now facing the challenge of a huge number of people who are illiterate and cannot read or write. The lack of these skills renders them deprived o f the opportunities for upward social mobility. Such people have to depend on others for various things and are exploited in various ways. For example the poor rural people are asked to put their thumb impression of various legal documents and are subjected to exploitations and legal hassles. Keeping these negative consequences in view the government is trying to universalize primary education. The lack o f reading and writing skills makes a person incapable of availing the various opportunities to help themselves. Each and every educated person, therefore, is expected to contribute to the literacy mission and making it a success. Urbanization is another problem that deserves serious attention. There is increasingly greater migration from villages to cities. This situation is generating pressures on cities which were meant for a definite size of population. The limited civic facilities, civilian organizations and structures are facing difficulties in meeting the demands o f the people. The mega cities like Mumbai, Kolkata Chennai and Delhi ha ve crossed the limits for which they are capa ble of. This situation creates a number of problems such as unauthorized and illegal activities, emergence of slums, problem of waste disposal creation of foles, crime and health related problems. The social organization, economy and environmental planning in many cities are becoming unmanageable. Also, urbanization is linked with certain kinds of attitude like consumerism and individualism. Consumerism emphasizes on exploitation of resources for personal consumption without any concern for society and environment. This attitude is responsible for the ecological imbalance that is widely experienced in today¶s world. Similarly the individualistic attitude favours the view that t he individual is the ultimate reality and all processes need to be explained at individual level. The individual is free and responsible to his or her self only. The social problems described above deal with different domains of life. You can see that 206 :: Psychology the solutions for these problems require inputs from different disciplines. The role of psycho logy is prominent as it deals with behaviour. Modification of attitudes, feelings and pattern of behaviour are significant. Psychologists can contribute by providing strategies for achieving these goals. Social commentary
In his essay on S ocial Infrastructure As Important As P hy sical Infrastructure published in India Development Report 2002, Kirit S. Parikh had pointed out, ³With a literacy rate of 65, we have 296 million illiterates, age seven years and above, as per the 2001 census. The number of illiterates today exceeds the population of the country of around 270 million at Independence, age seven and above.´ In his book T he Argumentative Indian, Amartya Sen notes, on the basis of investigations by Pratichi Trust, set up with the proceeds of his Nobel award, carried out in West Bengal and
Jharkhand, that absenteeism of comparatively well-paid teachers, particularly where bulk of the students come from scheduled castes and tribes, poses a major problem. Students are circumstantially forced to go in for private tu itions. He concludes, ³Sometimes the very institutions that were created to overcome disparities and barriers have tended to act as reactionary influences in reinforcing inequality« The teachers¶ unions, which have a very positive role to play in protecting the interests of teachers and have played that part well in the past, are often turning into an influence that reinforces the neglect of the interests of children from desperately underprivileged families. There is evidence o f hardening of class barriers that separate the newly a ffluent teachers from the impoverished rural poor.´
INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.2 State whether the following statements are Tru e or False: 1. Men are more important for growth and development of the so ciety. 2. The sex ratio of female in india is decreasing. 3. The girl child is discriminated in family and social activities. 4. India has achieved gender equality. 5. Corruption refers to benefits to some peop le who are not entitled for them. 6. Illiteracy is a major problem before the society. 19.7 What you have learnt A large section of the Indian society is suffering from poverty. Poverty is a phenomenon which is objective as well a subjective. Objectively povert y implies a dehumanizing condition in which people are unable to look after the basic needs. Subjectively poverty stands for perceived depr ivation. Causes of poverty has lead to many answers. It has been located in the individual, in the social structure, or the culture of the people. The life in the poverty condition reinforces certain behaviour pattern, values and coping styles which, reduce the chances of upward social mobility. The Indian society consists of people from different religious, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. The transformation of nation as a self sufficient and cohesive p olitical entity has proved to be a difficult challenge. Traditionally the Indian society was hierarchically arranged and t he different communities and caste groups showed a pattern of social distance in which low caste, tribals and minority groups were discriminated against and looked down upon. The Indian constitution prohibits against such discrimination and has abo lished untouchability. Women and men are equally important for the growth and development of individual and social lives. Social Problem :: 20 7 In the Indian society women are considered major contributors to family and society. We have gods and goddesses both and one of the incarnation of lord Shiva is Ardhanareeshwar, which is made of half male a nd half female in its constitution.
some Indian women have been able to overcome the barriers in their path and became successful in many walks of life. India is facing a number of problems which need careful analysis and demands steps for their solution. These problems are many in number. The social problems described above deal with different domains of life, the solutions for these problems require inputs from different disciplines.
Every issue that our society faces is like a link of a chain. Each issue is connected to another, either directly or indirectly. The chain o f issues in this society that we live in, the strongest link of that chain is illiteracy. Illiteracy is the mother of a ll issues as it gives birth to many other issues like poverty, unemployment, child labour, female foeticide, population burst and many more. It is very hard to digest that the land of the Vedas is one of the countries with the highest illiteracy levels and shows the inability of our government to utilize programs like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and National Literacy Mission. Even co untries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and the like have achieved, in lesser time, a much better percentage of literacy. Literacy is a reasonably good indicator of development in a society. Spread and diffusion of literacy is generally assoc iated with essential trait of today¶s civilization such as modernization, urbanization, industrialization, communication and commerce. This fact can be clarified as all the developed countries like America and Canada have very low illiteracy rates, whereas countries like India, Turkey and Iran have a very high rate of illiteracy. World Bank studies have established the direct and functional relationship between literacy and productivity on the one hand and literacy and the overall quality of human life on the other. A person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with any understanding in any language, is treated as literate. As per 2001 Census, the overall literacy rate of India is 65.38%. The difference between the highest and the lowest literacy rate in India is very high. Kerala has the highest literacy rate which is 90.92 %, while Bihar has the lowest with 47.53 %.
Illiteracy in India is characterized by wide gaps between the urban and rura l populations. The rural population depends mainly on agr iculture and the rate of illiteracy is high, while the urban population is more of the µemployee class¶ and also more educated. Even amongst the male and female population, there is a wide disparity in literacy. The male literacy rate is 75.96% and female literacy rate is 54.28%. The social system in India promotes education for the male gender while the female population, especially in the deep interiors of the country, is kept away from schools. Several efforts have been made on part of the government to deal with illiteracy. The National Policy of Education -1986, declared that the whole nation must pledge itself to the work of eradicating illiteracy, particularly in the 15-35 age g roup. The National Literacy Mission came into being in 1988 and started striving to involve all sections of the co mmunity in the literacy endeavour. The 1992 Education Policy envisaged free and compulsory elementary education of satisfactory quality to all children up to the age of 14 before India entered the 21st Century. The Supreme Court in its 1993 ruling held that children had a fundamental right to free education. Ex ± President A.P.J Abdul Kalam gave his assent to t he Constitution (83rd Amendment) Bill, 2000, and the ³right to education´ was incorporated in the Constitution as a fundamental right. The country had failed to implement the provisions of Article 45, providing for compulsory and free education of children up to 14 years of age within 10 years from the commencement of the Constitution. India is developing but at a very slow rate, this is not the fault of a corrupt government; it is due to this problem of illiteracy only. Literacy enables a person to think rationally, to be understanding, to be more responsible and to make his/her own decisions. A literate person is aware of all his fundamental rights and duties. Literacy is the ultimate solution to fight problems like communalism, terrorism and under development. Our government is of the people, for the people and by the people, but what is the use if people can not even make the right choice? Illiteracy can bring down even the most powerful nations down, so if we are to become a developed nation, the government should first remove the problem of illiteracy by introduc ing effective programs with proper implementation and budget. It is ironical that even today, our leaders and people¶s representatives give literacy a very low priority, pitting poverty alleviation, food, clothing, shelter, work, health etc. above it. They fail to perceive literacy as part of the development process, as an endeavour to improve the quality of life, as the process of building awareness among the weaker sections, as part of democratisation of political power, as the arrangement to give their due, to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. They are unable to appreciate the relevance of literacy in matters like infant mortality, immunisation, children¶s participation in primary schools, population growth, family planning, wo men¶s emancipation, social evils like child marriage, dowry, bride burning and so on. Neglecting the issue of illiteracy can hurt the development o f India very badly. Not only the government, but every literate citizen should contribute in battling with the de mon of illiteracy. Our motto should be ³each one teach one´, if we are to become a developed nation. One of the initiatives is ³Teach India´, whose aim is to provide a platform to educated Indians to provide assistance in basic education to the unprivileged children. ³Teach India´ will connect
educated individuals with the specialist educat ion providers. Its now turn of the youth to step up and take the responsibility on their shoulders to take this nation towards the light of literacy. In the words of the new President of the United States, Barack Obama ³Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we¶ve bee n waiting for. We are the change that we seek.´. The time for the change is now, I am ready for it, are you? Drug Addiction: A Psychological and Social Problem Bertrand Russell in 'The Conquest of Happiness' has said that the sole reason of unhapp iness finding refuge in the heart of man is the unhindered growth of "self-centered passions". These passions are more often materialistic. And in the pursuit of materialistic passions, man becomes alienated from the society. Failure in his pursuit often leads him to discontentment and dejection and he finds himself a misfit in this world. In t he modern world, none is unaffected by stress. The stress to outdo the other in this mad rat race of consumerism often leads to depression. Even children are not spared from this. They are suppo sed to fare better than their classmates in examinations and other co-curricular activities. So man, r ight from childhood, has to face the brunt of being born in this fast changing society.
A section of the youth, unable to cope with the expect ations of their loved ones, either end their lives or experiment with drugs, for seeking te mporary escape from the rigors of life. The illusive and momentary escape and mental relaxation provided by the initial intake, encourages people to indulge in them more often. The body then becomes totally dependent on drugs and cannot survive without the daily dose. With regular intake the amount required to produce the effect also increases. This physical and mental dependence on drugs is called 'drug addiction'. Drug abuse is a psychiatric, psychological and social problem. While persons of all ages and at all places are open to drug use the most susceptible among them are the youth. It has attained the proportions of almost an epidemic among the youth. It is mostly introduced to an unsuspect ing person by his friends and is usually observed that once addicted to drugs, they initiate others to drugs. Some youngsters take to drugs because they want others to believe that they are superior and mature, as such things are taken by older people. Some get addicted because they are poked fun at if they do not use drugs. And some take drugs just to seek company or break boredom. In addition to t hese other factors that lead to drug addiction are - lack of parental care and supervision, lack of moral and religious education, media and pop culture, broken homes, hatred for any authority, etc. Seeking refuge in drugs relieves tensions, eases de pressions and removes inhibitions, although the period of ecstasy is apparently short-lived. Drugs, broadly speaking, are chemical compounds which when consumed alter the way the body functions. Drugs are prescribed by physicians to cure diseases and sometimes to enhance physical and mental capacities. But, psychotropic drugs accompany the risk of the patients' becoming dependent on them. They are classified into four groups. Tranquillizers, also known as depressants like 'compose' induce a feeling of calmness, relaxation and drowsiness. Opiate such as opium and heroin are physically addictive. They are used as intoxicants to relieve pain.
Stimulants like cocaine produce feelings of excitement, increase self-confidence and flow of ideas. Hallucinogens can alter a person's thoughts, feelings and perception. LSD, marijuana, cannabis are different hallucinogens. The pro file of a majority of drug addicts is the same. They start off during their teenage by smoking a cigarette. And some of them graduate into bigger things like opium and smack. The first experience with drugs is not very pleasant, but the kick or ecstasy it provides to the brain makes the user seek more. The myth that t he use of drug provides great peace and tranquility has led many people to fall prey to this habit. Indeed drugs have many dimensional effects on human body and mind, which are highly harmful. People addicted to opium tend to loose weight, sterility and a total disinterest in work. Heroin addicts suffer from muscle cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, shivering and perspiration, if they are unable to procure their daily dose. LSD can cause severe damage to the central nervous system. Drug abusers, being careless, run the risk of contracting many diseases a fter using contaminated needles, some of the diseases being blood poisoning, serum hepatitis and also AIDS. Failure in getting their daily dose of drugs because of shortage of money can also make them resort to crime and murder. Drugs can reduce cognitive operations making it difficult for the youth to develop a functional set of values and ideals. Reduced cognitive operations lead to poor academic performance and a decline in self-esteem. A drug addict in due course gets alienated from the mainstream of the family, neighborhood and society. Our country has been confronted with the problem of an increased trafficking in drugs. The northern region is the hub o f growers, suppliers and couriers. Cultivation of poppy ad opium is legal in U.P., Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for medicinal purposes, but a large part of it finds its way into the illegal trade. Drug trafficking is also patronized by the politicians and the bureaucrats for their own benefits. The a mount of money involved in the trafficking has made the narcotics mafia stronger than the government. The law enforcing departments often find it difficult to prosecute the criminals because of their dubious involvements with the politicians. A major portion of the drugs available in India is smuggled from Afghanistan and Pak istan. The Government of India has enforced stringent laws to curb the menace of drug trafficking. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985 have made drug offences non-bail able. The Narcotics Control Bureau has on several occasions intercepted huge hauls o f drugs. The government should ban the cultivation of all the drug-yielding crops and provide the growers with alternate professions to sustain themselves. Article 47 of the Constitution enjoins that the State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of consumption, except for medicinal purposes, intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health. The Ministry of Welfare has been implementing the Scheme for Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse since t he year 1985-86. The Ministry is assisting 373 voluntary organizat ions for maintaining 459 centers all over the country. An amount of Rs. 225 million was spent under the scheme in the year 2001-02. Society, on its part, should also feel responsible towards t he menace and help the go vernment in eradicating it. We just can't blame the students. They find rank hypocrisy everywhere. T hey see
the wide gulf of difference between the great values taught in the c lassrooms and the outside world of elders that promote the sub-culture o f corruption, greed, deceit and subtle violence. They can't reconcile these two extremes. The family being the basic unit of the society should make a concerted effort towards the development of children. There should be regular counseling sessions in schools and colleges to guide students to cope with the stress on ca mpus and in their life after their academic pursuits are complete. T he NGOs like the Narcotics Anonymous give counseling and treatments to several drug abusers and resto re their shattered lives. The family, friends and relatives of the patient should effectively contribute towards his rehabilitation.
Drug addiction and work Drug addiction is one of the most serious social problems of our time. Noone can avo id this reality. If we accept that drug addiction is a social problem, then we are also accepting that it is everybody's problem, that is, each o ne's problem - a responsability for all and each o f us. This connection between society and individual, a bond among (all) people and at the same time people's organizations, is the common mark for all big problems of our time: drug addiction, AIDS and other health problems, war, famine, social justice, citizenship, segregation, racism, environment sustainability, security in the cities, consumism, etc... All problems that d erive from the way society is organized (and its us that shape its organization).
Responsability. What is the meaning that we are all responsible? That we are all "guilty"?... Thinking of "guilt" and "guilty ones" is living in the past. The idea o f responsability aims at the future, at managing the problem. It is here that we all have a role to play. We must all assume that our cooperation is crucial. And each one's contribution starts by our own conduct and continues with a senseful involvement in the community life. To be responsible is to respect a fulfilling way of life, to cultivate an ethic att itude towards our own way of life and others ways. Looking at drug addiction from this point of view, it is fundamental to relate it with work. Society is made of the individuals and the organizations that are built from the individuals. And work-related organizations are very important in the society we live in. These organizations also have their responsabilities. To understand and to manage problems such as drug addiction requires the involvement of dedicated organizations but depends on the way people participate in them and relate to each other within them (and vice-versa). Let us move step by step. What are we talking about afer all? Drugs? Drug add iction?... We all have a fair idea of what are those about. But the subject continues to be polemic. There are many controversial ideas under passionate discussion. To understand eac h other, some questions and proposed answers follow. We do not expect full agreement on what we write here. But we ask that you think on what we write.
What are drugs?
"Drug" designates in general all substances that are capable of modifying one or more functions of the living organism. Only a part o f the drugs are related to addiction: those are the psychoactive drugs, which can modify the functions of the Central Nervous System (CNS). The CNS is very important. It has a big influence on the way we perceive the world around us and on the way we deal with it. Consciousness, orientation, perception, thinking and reasoning, memory, awareness, time of reaction and qua lity of decisions... all can be affected these substances. What we are, the way we see ourselves and how we stand by others as well. The feelings, the motivations, the values. The re lationship with parents, with children, with husband/wife, with girl/boyfriends. With the family, with school, work, and friends. All can be deeply affected by drug consumption. The essential concept on this influence is addiction.
What is addiction?
There are different psychoactive drugs. They can be distinguished by their geographic origin, by the way they are produced, by their effects, by the threats associated to their consumption, by the way different cultures and law systems face t hem, etc.. But the more important is what they have in comon, the addiction they can provoke on those who take them. Addiction is always a consequence o f the way a person relates with the substance. All drugs have positive and negative aspects and can be utilised better or worse by different consumers. Addiction is an inadequate utilization. Then an addicted person might be held responsible for his/her addiction. It is very important to discuss this idea, and we will later, while focusing on addiction as an illness. But finally, what is addiction? There is physical addiction, as the organism's inadequate adaptation to the reg ularly consumed drug. When the organism misses the drug, it reacts in a way that triggers a great amount o f suffering in the consumer. As is known, not every drug will do that. There is another form of addiction, o ne that can be provoked by all psychoactive drugs and is far more threatening: psychological addiction. It is a process whereby the drug progressively takes over the consumer's way of life. Generally it comes with an illusion of power and of control of situations, and a negation of addiction. The consumer is not aware o f what is happening inside and rejects all warnings from friends and family. The moment comes when the drug is the only reason for living and being for this person. Family, school, work, friends, everything ceases to count. At this point, recovery is extremely difficult since withdrawing the drug from the person is equal to taking away the reason to live. It is the total void, unbearable for any human being. When we discuss addiction we should not forget co-addiction. This develops in some peo ple involved with drug addicts. Friends, colleagues, lovers, family members can go to the point of becoming addicts in trying to deal with the addict's problems. They start to live for these problems and give up their own lives. This reaction is natural in people who become concerned
with others, in particular when they love them deeply. But it ends in worsening the evolution of the addict's problem and, besides, the co-addicts also develop their own problems and need help to recover.
Are the drug addicts ill?
Drug addiction is not an ordinary illness from many people's points of view. Many even go to the point of denying that it might be a health problem. This ambiguity towards drug addiction is reminiscent of the ambiguity with which society alwa ys faced mental problems in general. The main reason for these doubts is the paradox between the impression they get that the mental ill are weak persons and the impression that they are responsible for their problems (they are that way because they want to). Why then is only a minority mentally affected, while living in the same world and with t he same pressures and difficulties as the remainder? The obvious a nswer seems simple: we, the normal people with some balance in our lives, are strong, while they, the disorganised, are weak. Mas human reality always outdo simple and obvious answers. We must admit that we are not like unbeatable fortresses and that these problems will not happen with us. We must admit that there is no "us" and "them", but human beings who, in essence, are a conjugation of particular strengths and weaknesses. And drug add iction gives us a good opportunity to reflect on this reality. Drug addicts are prime responders for their treadings between life without drugs and life dependent on drugs. So much so for undertaking the essential steps towards their recovery. But when they depend they are ill because they do not control this situation and their lives. They need help, and this means they need treatment. It goes the same way with most of the diseases plaguing the world at the end of this century, which are more and more the result of what we are and what we do, increasingly marked by the dimension mental health/ mental illness. We are partially responsible for our health, a resource we need to cultivate everyday the life through. We are increasingly responsible for the quality of ou r living, even when we are ill -- note that the diseases of the end of this century tend to be chronic and of prolonged development (AIDS, cancer, vascular and heart diseases, etc.). Why is the addiction?
The opinion prevails that drugs are the main cause for our problems. Quite the contrary. Our problems are indeed the cause for the importance drugs gained in our lives. What are those problems?... Tough question, because they are so many, are intertwined in each other, that is difficult to find a thread within. This notwithstanding, we try to list some of them, but not to forget that the explanation does not rely on one or a few of these problems. Actually, one must seek in the combination of all. Being. Drug addiction is a problem of Being, but the explanations must be sought in the circunstances surrounding it. Drugs, people with pro blems, their lives and the lives in their
families, social institutions such as Family, School, Work or Street. The cities and society. Television and other forms of illusion. Politics and eco nomy. The drugs. The effects drugs have on each person are a way of looking at an explanation. Drugs produce an illusion of well-being and of power. It is an artificial illusion, but some peop le become used to "be" like that but require drugs for that. Dependency and denial , mentioned before, are also strong reasons for explaining this illness. The people. People who become dependent are another perspective necessary for understanding the problem. Different life histories and ways to be: for example, a weak notion of self, an inadequate expectancy for living, a lust for living and winning fast, a disproportionate fear of the future, suffering from Being that for some can beco me unbearable... Family, School and Streets . Disoriented family, torn by present da y individualism. Mass schooling offering little and discouraging further searches. Family, Schoo l, not coping with the prime mission of educating, building the Person. Lost family, unassuming of responsabilities. The School that cannot replace the Family. For teh youth there remains little room for finding a meaning for their lives, to find the Being. Without a route and a Being, it becomes very dangerous to live in the "Streets". Work and the Family. Many lose themselves in drug addiction even before it is time for them to get a first job. Another struggle of our time, however, is between Family and Work. Work pushes the Family into the background. We are what we do, we are our work. That is the way things are at present, while we forget our children, who are nothing yet. But to grow in the Family is essential to the Being. It is in the Family that the roots of Being are formed. To grow further, in School, in the Streets and at Work, is possible only from these roots. To balance Family with Work is one of the challenges our time poses to each o f us so that we continue to be (recall that we talked about each one's responsibility). The City. Huge Mass, obliterate, made of persons without identity nor Being. Drugs are the epitome of life in the cities, of life without Being. It is the city mass that is killing the respect humans had for the Being. Society. Inflated individualism and materialism. Everything is reduced to nu mbers, to the nonBeing. The (human) Being, isolated, is not Being, is a number among numbers. The (human) Being builds and cultivates itself in its relation with other Be ings. It is from the respect towards others that a respect for ourselves and the sense for an existence with dignity and responsab ility is formed. Television . The illusion. Just like drugs. Life exterior to us, running so fast that do es not give enough time to feel and to think. No time for Being, for becoming ourselves. Politics and Economy . Drugs are a social and global problem, which makes them a political problem. It is the task of politicians to pro duce the vision, to define the strategy and to promote a mobilization of that same responsability from all and each o f us. Unfortunately they have the use
of spending time with things that may be more urgent -- but are less important. As to Economy, we all know that drugs make one of the World's biggest trades. Some countries are economically dependent. Anyway, the trading tentacles reach everywhere. We cannot say that politics and aconomy ahve created the problem just by themselves, but we can assert that they contributed to its beginnings and growth. Moreover, we can say that their contribution to dealing with solutions is indispensable. What are the prime drugs?
Alcohol continues to be the drug of highest consumption and the one that produces the highest rate of problems for the society as a who le. It is estimated that 10% (1 million) of the po pulation in Portugal has problems related to the consumption of alcohol. Serious health prob lems, violence in the Family, road and work accidents, social protection and healthcare expenditures are examples of the consequences from alcohol consumption. Illegal drugs are a different matter. Hashish (Cannabis, etc.) is the o ne with highest consumption in Portugal, however the o ne that brings most trouble is heroin. There is cocain and similar drugs as well. Current estimates indicate between 50,000 and 150,000 Portuguese people addicted to illegal drugs. The main consequences o f this problem are the destruction of lives and families. Urban criminality comes next in the ro w. Directly or indirectly, drugs are the cause for half of the prison population in Portugal to be condemned. The health, social and criminal costs from drug consumption are beyond rating. Secularism is the belief that government or other entities should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs.
In one sense, secularism may assert the right to be free from religious rule and teachings, and t he right to freedom from governmental imposition of religion upon t he people within a state that is neutral on matters of belief. (See also Separation of church and state and Laïcité.) In another sense, it refers to the view that human activities and decisions, especially political ones, should [1] be unbiased by religious influence. (See also public reason.) Some scholars are no w arguing [2] that the very idea of secularism will change. Secularism draws its intellectual roots from Greek and Roman p hilosophers such as Marcus Aurelius and Epicurus, medieval Muslim polymaths such as Ibn Rushd, Enlightenment thinkers like Denis Diderot, Voltaire, John Locke, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine, and modern freethinkers, agnostics and atheists such as Bert rand Russell and Robert Ingersoll. The purposes and arguments in support of secularism vary widely. In European laicism, it has been argued that secularism is a movement toward modernization, and away from traditional religious values (also known as "secularisation"). This type of secularism, on a social or philosophical level, has often occurred while maintaining an official state church or other state support of religion. In the United States, some argue that state secularism has served to a greater extent to protect religion from governmental interference, while secu larism on a social level is [3][4] less prevalent. Within countries as well, differing political movements support secularism for [5] varying reasons.
Secular society
In studies of religion, modern Western societies are generally recognized a s secular. This is due to the near-complete freedom of religion (beliefs on re ligion generally are not subject to legal or social sanctions), and the lack of authority of religious leaders over political decisions. Nevertheless, religious beliefs are widely considered a relevant part o f the political discourse in many of these countries. This contrasts with other Western countries where religious references are generally considered out-of-place in mainstream politics. Among the first to delineate the nature o f a secular society, D. L. Munby characterizes a secular society as one which: 1. Refuses to commit itself as a whole to any one view of the nature o f the universe and the role of man in it. 2. Is not homogenous, but is pluralistic. 3. Is tolerant. It widens the sphere of private decision-making. 4. While every society must have some common aims, which implies there must be agreed on methods of problem-solving, and a common framework of law; in a secular soc iety these are as limited as possible. 5. Problem solving is approached rationally, through examination of the facts. While the secular society does not set any overall aim, it helps its members realize their aims. 6. Is a society without any official images. Nor is there a common ideal type o f behavior with universal application. Positive Ideals behind the secular society 1. 2. 3. 4.
Deep respect for individuals and the small groups of which they are a part. Equality of all people. Each person should be helped to realize their particular excellence. [22] Breaking down of the barriers of class and caste.
Modern sociology has, since Durkheim, often been preoccupied with the pro blem of authority in secularized societies and with secularization as a sociological or historical process. Twentiethcentury scholars whose work has contributed to the understanding of these matters include D. L. Munby, Max Weber, Carl L. Becker, Karl Löwith, Hans Blumenberg, M.H. Abrams, Pet er L. Berger, and Paul Bénichou, among others. Some societies become increasingly secular as t he result of social processes, rather than through the actions of a dedicated secular movement; this process is known as secularization.
Violence against women Fact sheet N°239 November 2009
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facts: Violence against women is a major public health problem and a violation of human rights. Lack of access to education and opportunity, and low social status in communities are linked to violence against women. Violence by an intimate partner is one of the most common forms of violence against women. A wide range of physical, mental, sexual and reproductive, and maternal health problems can result from violence against women. Many women do not seek help or report violence when it occurs.
The United Nations defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual o r mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. There are many forms of violence against women, including sexual, physical, o r emotional abuse by an intimate partner; physical or sexual abuse by family members or others; sexual harassment and abuse by authority figures (such as teachers, police officers or employers); trafficking for forced labour or sex; and such traditional practices as forced or child marriages, dowry-related violence; and honour killings, when women are murdered in the name of family honour. Systematic sexual abuse in conflict situations is another form o f violence against women. Scope of the problem y
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a 10-country study on women's health and domestic violence conducted by WHO, Between 15% and 71% of women re ported physical or sexual violence by a husband or o partner. Many women said that their first sexual experie nce was not consensual. (24% in rural o Peru, 28% in Tanzania, 30% in rural Bangladesh, and 40% in South Africa). Between 4% and 12% of women reported being physically abused during pregnancy. o More about the study Every year, about 5,000 women are murdered by family members in the name of honour each year worldwide. Trafficking of women and girls for forced labour and sex is widespread and often affects the most vulnerable. Forced marriages and child marriages violate the human rights of women and girls, yet they are widely practiced in many countries in Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
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Worldwide, up to one in five women and one in 10 men report experiencing sexual abuse as children. Children subjected to sexual abuse are much m ore likely to encounter other forms of abuse later in life.
Health effects
Health consequences can result directly from violent acts or from the long-term effects of violence. y
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Injuries: Physical and sexual abuse by a partner is closely associated with injuries. Violence by an intimate partner is the leading cause of non-fatal injuries to wome n in the USA. Death: Deaths from violence against women include honour killings (by families for cultural reasons); suicide; female infanticide (murder of infant girls); and maternal death fr om unsafe abortion. Sexual and reproductive health: Violence against women is associated with sexually transmitted infections such as H IV/AIDS, unintended pregnancies, gynaecological problems, i nduced abortions, and adverse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, low birth weight and fetal death. Risky behaviours: Sexual abuse as a child is associated with higher rates of sexual risk-taking (such as first sex at an early age, multiple partners and unprotected sex), substance use, and additional victimization. Each of these behaviours increases risks of health problems. Mental health: Violence and abuse increase risk of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep difficulties, eating disorders and emotional distress. Physical health: Abuse can result in many health problems, including headaches, back pain, abdominal pain, fibromyalgia, gastrointestinal disorders, limited mobility, and poor overal l health.
Social and economic costs
The social and economic costs of violence against women are enormous and have ripple effects throughout society. Women may suffer isolation, inability to work, loss of wages, lack of participation in regular activities, and limited ability to care for themselves and their children. Who is at risk?
Though risk factors vary, some characteristics seem to increase the likelihood of violence. The potential risk factors can be grouped into the following subsets. y
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Individual: Personal attributes associated with higher risk of violence include: limited education, a young age, lower socio-economic status, limited education, a history of abuse and substance use, and, for partner violence, the choice of partner. Partner traits that put women at risk include alcohol or drug use, low educational level, negative attitudes about women, and witnessing domestic violence against women or being abused as a child. Family and relationship: Within families, risk of violence increases with marital conflicts, male dominance, economic stress and poor family functioning. Community: Within communities, the risk is higher where there is gender inequality, and a lack of community cohesion or resources.
