Rural Poverty Alleviation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rural Poverty Alleviation - Essay Example In a large and diverse country like India, it is not surprising to experience the kind of hardships and obstacles that appear to hinder every attempt at large scale alleviation of poverty in general and rural poverty in particular. India is a vast democracy of myriad tradition and culture. She is also multi-lingual and in the grip of traditional customs and religious beliefs. Influential politicians, religious leaders, film stars and iconic sportsmen don the mantle of role models and guides. The television perfectly and effectively keeps everyone pre-occupied with live performances and programs, leaving the common man and woman, boy and girl with little time for serious issues of life and responsibilities. Lest I am branded as pessimist, let me hasten to add that India has achieved the targets of rural poverty alleviation to an appreciable extent in the six decades after independence. By and large, there is more prosperity in villages now than before. Government schemes like Jawahar Rojgar Yojana, Drought Prone Area Programs (DPAP), Panchayati Raj, land reforms, etc. have been designed with the common man in the rural backyard in mind. The rural folk enjoy a better transport and communication system, they are politically, economically and academically more aware, and successive five-year plans, especially from the sixth five-year plan onwards, have bestowed more privileges and benefits on them. (8th Five Year Plan) Statistics of the National... Government schemes like Jawahar Rojgar Yojana, Drought Prone Area Programs (DPAP), Panchayati Raj, land reforms, etc. have been designed with the common man in the rural backyard in mind. The rural folk enjoy a better transport and communication system, they are politically, economically and academically more aware, and successive five-year plans, especially from the sixth five-year plan onwards, have bestowed more privileges and benefits on them. (8th Five Year Plan) Conversely, however, the sheen in these progressive schemes and undertakings lost their shine with corruption at every level, powerful hold by vested interests, political compulsions and exploitation. Statistics of the National Rural Employment Program and Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Program (RLEGP), showing the extent of finance involved in rural employment programs in the Seventh Five Year Plan, are reproduced below: Performance of NREP in the Seventh Five Year Plan Year Resource availability (Rs. crores) Expenditure: (Rs. crores) Employment Generation (in million mandays) Manday Cost(Rs.) Wage-Non- Wage Ratio 1985-86 593.08 531.95 316.41 16.81 60:40 1986-87 765.13 717.77 395.39 18.15 60-40 1987-88 888.21 788.31 370.77 21.26 59:41 1988-89 845.68 901.84 394.96 22.83 57:43 Performance of RLEGP in the Seventh Plan Year Resource availability (Rs. crores) Expenditure (Rs. crores) Employment Generation (in million mandays) Manday Cost (Rs.) Wage/Non- Wage Ratio 1985-86 580.35 453.17 2.47.58 18.30 57:43 1986-87 649.96 635.91 306.14 20.77 57:43 1987-88 648.41 653.53 304.11 21.49 58:42 1988-89 761.55 669.37 296.56 22.57 58:42 (Source: 8th Five Year Plan) Disillusionment with Rural Life Mass migration of people from hinterland and rural areas into cities and, to a lesser extent, towns and

Childhood eating disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Childhood eating disorders - Essay Example The key points found within this research, in regards to this underlying problem, details other causative factors such as socialization, educational, depressive states, personality traits, and a myriad of other complex, and hidden causes perpetuating upon the main problem, which is the eating disorder itself. The point of this research was to try and bring more concise facts into the reasons this disorder has become a growing concern in the medical field today. The ways in which it could be prevented and controlled are all touched upon as well. The ultimate point that was clarified in concluding this research was the fact that more attention to the signs and characteristics of eating disorders among children needed to be focused on, in order to ensure youths have an emotionally balanced and productive life in the best way possible. Childhood Eating Disorders do not appear out of thin air. There is always an underlying cause for this type of disorder among children and it could be from any number of things. Many doctors believe that there are multideterminants to diagnosing an eating disorder among children. As has been mentioned, there are a number of causative factors that can be held responsible. One of these happens to be the occurrence of sexual abuse. Oddly enough, this type of traumatic episode can lead children to turning to food as an escape. The only thing this does is mask the much larger problem, as well as leading to health complications (Petrie, Tripp 2001). What has been pinpointed in the correlation between sexual abuse and the development of an eating disorder is the fact that when children are sexually abused they develop a self-perception that is filled with negativities. They perceive their body image as a negative thing, their self-esteem lowers, and more than anything else they become embarrassed and ashamed of their own bodies. Food is simply a comforting experience for them and they use it to conceal their other emotions away from their peers, family, and the doctors treating them. Periods of severe domestic violence harshly impact a child's chance at a normal life, especially in their control over their eating habits. As with sexual abuse, children who are beaten are statistically shown to use foods as a type of sheltering avoidance of their circumstances (Salisbury & Wichman 2004). Children between the ages of 6-12 struggle constantly with anxiety, mood swings, and eating disorders. They get headaches, stomachaches, can't co ncentrate, and develop a very passive characteristic about their life in general (Salisbury & Wichmann 2004). Food is their reprieve, their escape away from reality. Early intervention into situations such as these can prevent these occurrences from happening. Nevertheless, these are not the sole causal factors of the development and progression of an eating disorder among young people. Some of the other possibilities that lead to this particular disorder are, social, cultural, developmental, psychological, and physical/physiological causative reasoning (Petrie, Tripp 2001). In a social context the problem is centered basically around the concept of thin is beautiful, and this especially impacts young girls. They go on crazy diets, some to the point of starvation just to