POVERTY

Poverty may be defined as the level of income lower than that needed for meeting the basic requirements of food, clothing, and shelter for a family

Poverty line is an imaginary standard which is drawn on the basis of the minimum desirable nutritional standards. People whose income level is insufficient to achieve this minimum nutritional standard are said to be below the poverty line. The term ‘poor’ is used to describe these people.

Kinds of poverty

-          Mass Poverty – When a majority of the people are deprived of a minimum level of living and are made to continue at a bare subsistence level, the society is said to be plagued with mass poverty

-          Absolute poverty – A person is said to be in absolute poverty, if his income is not sufficient to provide him with the basic requirements / nutritional minimum.

-          Relative poverty – The relative poverty standard is a measure of poverty be comparison of different levels of incomes of different groups or classes in a given community. Relative poverty indicates inequalities of poverty. It arises on account of unequal distribution of wealth, property and incomes, and exists in all societies.

Causes of poverty

-          Overpopulation – Resources and employment opportunities are inadequate to support the rising number of people

-          Underdeveloped economy – 72% of our population live in rural areas where economic development is low. Migration to cites does not help as Industrial development is also slow. Information technology is booming, but it supports / employs only a small number of people.

-          Poor agricultural productivity – Ignorance of improved techniques, small land holdings, use of out dated techniques and inability to purchase modern machinery result in poor agricultural productivity.

-          Illiteracy – A low level of education keeps people untrained and unskilled and they are unable to obtain better paid jobs.

-          Resources – India possesses both natural and human resources in abundance. E.g., water, minerals, labor, etc. but they still remain underutilized and underdeveloped.

-          Colonial rule – British rule shattered the economic structure. Zamindari System, decline of handicrafts, drain of wealth etc. enhanced the already existing poverty.

-          Mode of production – the means of production and income are highly concentrated among a few. The culture of consumerism encourages diversion of resources for the satisfaction of the wants of the rich minority at the cost of the poor majority.

 

Consequences of poverty

-          Abject poverty implies low income and very low standard of living

-          Poverty slows down the rate of economic growth

-          Extreme poverty brings about demoralization of society and increases crime.

-          The per capita income in India is very low, therefore the standard of living of an average Indian is very low

-          Majority of India’s population is underfed. The poor quality of food results in chronic malnutrition and many diseases.

-          Houses of the poor have no proper ventilation, no proper drainage, insufficient drinking water and many live in slums in unhygienic surroundings.

Remedial measures for eradicating Poverty

The World Development Report 2000-2001 proposes a strategy for attacking poverty in three ways:

-          Promoting opportunity – Material opportunities are of great importance to poor people. Overall economic growth will help in generating opportunity. Attention must be paid to build the assets of the poor by expansion of schooling, nutrition programs, mother and child health programs, etc.

-          Empowerment – The potential for economic growth and poverty reduction is influenced by State and social institutions. By decentralization, the government can bring service agencies closer to poor communities and poor people.

-          Enhancing Security – Reducing vulnerability – to economic shocks, natural disasters, ill health and disability – is an essential part of enhancing wellbeing. When poor people are helped to cope with shocks, they are in a better position to take advantage of new market opportunities.

ELECTIONS IN INDIA

India is a democracy and has a parliamentary system of government. Our country has a federal set up – Parliament at the center and legislative assemblies at the state level. (The third level of Panchayat Raj has been added – 1992)

The Parliament and legislative assemblies are law making bodies. The Indian Constitution provides for election on the basis of territorial constituency. Under this system the country is divided into constituencies. A single candidate is elected from each constituency.

The Constitution has given every adult Indian a right to vote i.e. we have universal adult suffrage. The candidate with the highest number of votes is elected. The age of voting is lowered to 18 years. In a democracy, people decide who shall be their representative by the exercise of franchise. The exercise of franchise by citizens is known as elections. A person who has the right to vote is called a voter. Collectively all the voters form the electorate.

The election to the office of the President is indirect. The president is elected by the members of our electorate college which consists of:

1.    Elected member of both houses of parliament

2.    Elected members of the legislative assemblies of all states.

The President is elected in accordance with the system of proportional representation of a single transferable vote. He holds office for a term of five years.

Election to the office of Vice President takes place in a similar manner except that here the electoral college consists of only elected members of both houses of parliament.

For conducting elections in a fair manner, the Indian Constitution has made provisions for an independent election machinery. The commission is headed by the Chief Election Commissioner. He/She has officers to assist him/her.

The essence of Parliamentary Democracy is Party Government. The election commissioner has the right to recognize political parties for allotment of symbols. It recognizes parties either as All India Parties or State Parties. A party which is recognized in four of more states enjoys the status of a National Party and that which is recognized by less is a State Party.

To be recognized as a party:

-          A Party should secure at least 6% of the total votes cast in each state

-          A party will not be recognized if it contains a name of a living person

A person convicted for crime will not be allowed to contest elections.

Election malpractices:

-          Appeals to religion, caste, etc.

-          Terrorism

-          Booth capturing

-          Selection of unsuitable candidates

-          Use of money / financial power

CORRUPTION

Corruption is the exploitation of public office for private gain. It involves accepting money or favors, as a motive or reward for showing a favor or disfavor while performing official duties. The Indian Penal Code gives a lengthy explanation of corruption.

Corruption is a two-way affair. It involves the receiver of an unlawful reward and the person or organization which offers such a reward.

Types of corruption

Corruption is of two types

1.    Cooperative Corruption – In cooperative corruption, a corrupter voluntarily offers a bribe to a corrupt individual. A bribe by businessmen to government officials, by politicians to mafia, etc. are examples of cooperative corruption. Most cases of corruption are those of cooperative corruption.

2.    Extorted Corruption – Corruption is said to be extorted when a corrupt official extracts a bribe and a citizen agrees to give the same for avoiding harassment of persecution. The Policeman’s ‘hafta’ collection and the local ‘dada’s fee’ involve extorted corruption. Similarly, for getting any work done from government departments, the bureaucratic system requires a lot of signatures. Even the routine ones are affixed after ‘speed money’ has been offered

 

Causes of corruption

A variety of factors and forces have contributed to the alarming growth of corrupt practices everywhere

-          Consumerism and Demonstration Effect – The prevailing consumerism urges people to acquire money in any manner possible. The desire to have consumer durables like refrigerator, TV, etc., is further influenced by the demonstration effect. Demonstration effect is the demonstration of a higher living standard by those who can afford it. Such demonstration by the well-to-do affects their less well-to-do relatives, friends and neighbors who try to imitate the higher living standard.

-          Scarcity – Scarcity, real or artificial disturbs the market forces and increases the prices. Producers and traders take advantage of the situation and resort to black marketing. The situation is worse when a country suffers from natural calamities like floods, earthquakes, etc.

-          Narrow loyalty – Strong loyalty to the caste, ethnic, religious or linguistic community adds to corruption called ‘nepotism’. National or larger welfare is discounted in favor of caste or ethnic welfare. Promoting the undeserving and non-competent family members by politicians is a common feature in Indian politics.

-          Corruption by politicians – The patronage system is adopted by political parties to win the largest amount of political support in exchange of certain appointments. Such appointments are assured to those people, who can produce the desired results in elections without any consideration of merit.

-          Corruption by officials – Corrupt officials are usually lax in enforcing contracts so that the favored company may use shoddy, inferior quality of materials and thus make an extraordinary gain.

-          Corruption by policemen – Laws against gambling, theft, liquor, and prostitution are entered into the statute books and policemen are duty-bound to enforce them strictly. However, laws are seldom enforced with severity. It becomes difficult for the honest policemen to maintain honesty against the power of higher corrupt officers.

Effects of corruption

Corruption is like a contagious disease. It spreads from one to the other and weakens the entire system.

-          Moral degradation – Corruption is against the morality of any society. People indulge in wrong things for private gain. There are cultural distortions whereby people may almost cease to distinguish between right and wrong.

-          Social indiscipline – When corruption is widespread it becomes a part and parcel of life. People lose faith in integrity.

-          Hinders social welfare – A welfare society aims at maximization of welfare. With corruption, private gain becomes the priority against social gain and ethics get discarded.

-          Economic distortion – Corruption creates a section of people with ill-gotten money. They spend lavishly and wastefully and resources are used to meet their demands against the basic needs of the masses.

-          Checks economic progress – Quick decisions and smooth functioning of economic agents are essential for progress. Bribes are given to make the files move fast and genuine people are deprived of opportunities.

 

Measures to prevent corruption

-          Legislative measures – The Prevention of Corruption Act of 1947 was the first government effort at controlling corruption. The Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 widened the definition of public servants by including office bearers and employees of public organizations. These acts regard corruption and a cognizable offence and empower the police to arrest the suspected person without a warrant.

-          Simplifying rules and procedures – The more rules there are the greater is the scope for corruption. Since income tax, excise and customs departments are notorious for corruption, tax laws need this reform the most.

-          Sunshine Laws – Rules must be such that public scrutiny becomes possible. Government procedures should be made open. Such laws called sunshine laws would require that there be public comments and discussions before the relevant law is formulated.

-          Appointments for short tenure – Administration should be carried out with the help of experts from all walks of life who are appointed for limited duration. This will cleanse the political system.

-          Judiciary as a ‘watch dog’ – Controlling corruption is the function of the executive but when the executive is corrupt, the judiciary is forced to take on the duty of a watchdog.

-          Declaration of assets by politicians – It is desirable that it be made compulsory for all elected representatives of people to declare their assets.

-          Social action against corruption – Social action can take various forms:

a.    Public Interest Litigation

b.    Right to Information – Bill passed on 11^th May 2005

c.    Committed media – Newspapers, TV, etc. play an important role in exposing scams and keeping the common man aware of the details of corruption

d.    Role of NGOs – NGOs create mass awareness about corruption and guide citizens about the procedures for fighting corruption e.g. AGNI

e.    Humiliating corrupt individuals – This method may help in controlling corruption because the threat of social boycott is effective.

 

INTERGROUP CONFLICTS

Def: A group is ‘a number of people who share some common characteristics’.

Characteristics of groups

A feeling of unity among members is essential to form a group. The members of a group treat each other as their own and a sense of fellowship between them develops naturally.

A sense of ‘we’ feeling among members develops among members of a group, whereby they help each other and defend themselves collectively against harmful elements. They treat others as outsiders.

A group is characterized by common ideals, interests and values of life, shared by its members and this similarity or commonness promotes unity among them.

A group is marked by the similarity of behavior of its members. Each group has certain customs, social norms and procedures that are acceptable to its members. Members violating them are punished. Thus, group has control over actions of its members.

 

Some suggestions to minimize Intergroup conflict

Intergroup conflicts lead to serious social and political disorders threatening even the vital interests of the nation. Therefore, every citizen of India must find ways and means to resolve such conflicts.

Social thinkers have suggested three methods

Cooption – To coopt means to add. If two groups do not agree on a certain issue, members of the dissenting group are absorbed in the dominant group through what is called as cooption. When the dissenting members get an opportunity to express their views and understand the other groups point of view, it is comparatively easy to resolve the conflict.

Accommodation – means willing to oblige the other or readiness to listen to the other’s points of view and to accept the solution if found satisfactory. Conflicting parties can resolve their conflicts by accommodation each other’s demands, views and claims.

Cooperation – is the basis of social life. Since no one is totally self-sufficient, one has to seek the help of others to achieve ones goals and satisfy ones needs. Human beings cooperated with each other to achieve common and diverse goals. Cooperation helps to achieve our objectives more effectively and efficiently by working together. It creates positive human relations and bonds of interdependence between the cooperating parties. By cooperating with each other we also derive social and psychological benefits such as feeling of security.

The forces of communalism, casteism, linguism and regionalism have been thwarting progress in the direction of building a strong and prosperous India based on ideals of democracy, secularism, social and economic justice. These forces can be overcome only by inculcating in Indian people faith in the ideals of national unity, secularism, equality, or more balanced economic policy.

 

COMMITMENT

Commitment to Self: Most people fulfill their need to work, to get monetary benefits so that they and their families can live in comfort. Work also enhances their self-esteem and adds meaning to life.

To achieve the goals one has set, knowledge of self is important. Introspection and self analysis will give a clear understanding of potential and abilities and also of strengths and weaknesses. The self-image is to be created based on realistic evaluation of oneself, value system and accurate expectations from himself and what he will be able to achieve.

Once the individual is aware about himself, he is in a position to make meaningful contributions to the organization and commitment to himself.

Commitment may be of two types:

GROWTH ORIENTED COMMITMENT	COMFORT ORIENTED COMMITMENT
-          Prefers challenging work	-          Prefers routine work
-          Prefers shouldering responsibility	-          Avoids responsibility
-          Objective in attribution	-          Subjective in attribution
-          Do not expect loyalty from others	-          Expect loyalty from others
-          Motivation is high	-          Motivation is low
-          Drive satisfaction from higher order needs	-          Higher order needs make them uncomfortable
-          Do not use authority	-          Use authority
-          Doing one’s best is the philosophy of life	-          Eat, drink & be merry is the philosophy of life
-          Prefer multidirectional communication	-          Prefer unidirectional communication
-          Realistic self esteem	-          Unrealistic self-esteem
-          High stress tolerance	-          Low stress tolerance
-          Prefer self-direction in decision making	-          Prefer external control in decision making

 

The growth-oriented person not only provides for his own growth, but helps his subordinates as well

 

Commitment as a student

The life of a student is carefree and devoid of major responsibilities except to him/herself and his/her studies. This is a period where one’s loyalties should lie with studies as this is laying the foundation for the future. The structure of one’s career and future life depends on one’s performance. Doing well in school and college also gives a sense of pride to one’s parents. Assessing one’s potential and following ones aptitude is equally essential.

School and college instill discipline, sense of integrity and responsibility int eh student. Commitment as a student means giving off the best to the institute in all respects. Being creative and proactive in ones behavior at the student stage will help face future problems and responsibilities in the same manner.

Commitment to work or task

The right kind of work can lead to satisfaction, opportunities for achievement, new experiences and personal growth of the individual.

Three psychological states influence commitment to work

-          Experienced meaningfulness – work must be seen as important, valuable and worthwhile.

-          Experienced responsibilities – the person must feel responsible and accountable for the results of the work performed

-          Knowledge of results – feedback must be received on a fairly regular basis concerning how effectively the work is performed.

Commitment to work can also be increased by job enlargement, job enrichment and job rotation.

Job enlargement broadens the scope of workers’ job. Job enlargement reduces boredom, expands feelings of responsibility and meaningfulness and increases satisfaction.

Job enrichment adds responsibility. Through job enrichment, autonomy, responsibility and control become part of a worker’s job. This in turn leads to greater satisfaction, higher motivation and increased productivity.

Job rotation is often used to alleviate the ill effects of boredom and frustration experienced by workers in performing simple jobs.

GOAL SETTING

 Goals can be long term or short term. Usually a long-term goal is an end goal – as to what you ultimately want to be. In order to achieve this long-term goal, one may need to set short term goals. Achieving the end objective could be through small steps. Achieving success in the small steps encourages one to proceed further. Goal setting is an art, and if done well will invariably lead to success.

Therefore, goals have to be SMART

S – Goals have to be specific. They have to identify the target and steps toward that have to be set

M – Goals have to be measurable

A – Achievable

R – Realistic / Reasonable

T – Timebound

 

Goals have to realistic and reasonable because this gives the impetus to achieve. The fact that it is within ones means and capabilities will help to keep motivation to achieving the end.

Working against a deadline always helps and one can measure ones progress towards getting the end result.

Realistic goal setting needs to be taught to all children in schools and colleges, because this goal forms an anchor in the life of the child, adolescent, young and the old. Once the small goals are realized, and achieved, further goals can be set. When small goals are set, an occasional failure will not deter the person from changing his course of action and modifying his goals is achieving the end.

VOCATION AND CAREER

 VOCATIONAL CHOICE AND IDENTITY

The choice process of an occupation is very complex. Most young people have direct contact with an extremely limited number of occupations. Young people today seek work that is interesting and in which they will be able to use and develop their special talents. These talents are set by educational choices. Thus, the occupations to choose from become limited.

The term occupation refers to a specific set of related jobs and positions in the occupational structure. A career, on the other hand, incorporates the idea that there is continuity in vocational development. The sequence of jobs or positions pursued by an individual over time is defined as that person’s career.

Need for career planning

The question of ‘what to do next’ plagues most people. It becomes critical (especially) as students approach major life decisions with further educational and occupational plans. Young people are in the process of defining themselves as adults in the world.

Decisions about work have a significant impact in adulthood. Occupation is a significant determinant of an individual’s social status and exerts a major influence of his/her way of life, his/her values and on his/her attitudes. The work he/she does enables him/her to meet important human needs for economic survival and provides an arena, in which, he/she can develop self-esteem and personal fulfillment.

Career is a lifelong companion and will influence one’s position in society and will contribute to the overall happiness of the individual. Blindly acquiring any degree without thought for the future is foolish in this age of professionalism.

 

VOCATIONAL CHOICE – PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Psychological approaches can be categorized into two major groups:

Vocational choice as an event

People attempt to match their personal characteristics with those required by occupation in making vocational decisions. The main characteristics are:

-          Ability – more intelligent students choose higher level jobs and less intelligent choose (social service) field which require less extensive educational preparation.

-          Interests – Most people discover interests in occupations once they start off on it, others pursue their interests in acquiring jobs. A job that is of interest will give more satisfaction and fulfillment.

-          Personality – Variables like values, needs, risk-taking tendencies, achievement motivation, extroversion, personality styles and cognitive styles influence the kind of occupations chosen. Personality factors need to fit well to make a success of the occupation chosen.

Vocational choice as a process

The stages of process of vocational development are explained in the form of developmental theories

-          Ginzberg’s Theory of Vocational Development – This theory incorporates aspects of basic personality development in the form of different stages

 

a.    The Fantasy stage (Up to 11 years)

At this stage, the child’s choices are unrealistic. The child shifts his orientation from play to work. In this attempt to cope with this frustration of dependency, children enact adult roles in a variety of occupations without taking into consideration their talent, interest, ability, or attention to reality. It is in this stage that children pretend to be movie stars, politicians, teachers, doctors, or bus conductors. These are occupations that attract them due to their power, prestige and glamour or interest.

b.    The Tentative Stage (between 11 to 18 years)

Adolescents gradually become aware of their own abilities, interests and values and develop a more realistic view both of themselves and the world of work. Also, at this stage, they need to make an occupational choice because of the course of education they need to take.

c.    The Realistic Stage (18 to early 20’s)

Young adults explore a variety of occupational alternatives to crystalize a choice and finally to specify it in terms of a particular field and specialized occupation within that field.

 

Most individuals may not be able to achieve exactly what they want, but efforts are generally made. They attempt for the best possible fit between themselves and the world of work i.e. a process of optimization rather than compromise.

 

Super’s Self-Concept Theory of Vocational Development

This theory comprises a dynamic aspect of personality development, viewed through a series of developmental changes. Super highlights the importance of the development of a person’s self-concept. The self-concept at this stage is a vocational self-concept. Vocational self-concept can eb defined as a person’s view of himself in relation to the world of work. In making occupational choices, people attempt to choose occupations that they perceive as congruent with their picture of themselves. The stages of development, as outlined by Super, cover the entire lifespan.

a.    Growth stage – Between childhood and early adolescence, the critical tasks for the child are to develop a concept of himself and an orientation to the world of work.

b.    Exploratory stage – Begins in early adolescence and ends in early adulthood, the young person moves from tentative choices to an early trial period in which he attempts to implement choices with relatively less commitment to these choices.

c.    Establishment stage – Early adulthood to middle age, the person begins to settle down, choices become stabilized and advance in a chose occupation.

d.    Maintenance stage – From middle age until retirement individuals are concerned with preserving the gains they have achieved and are preparing for retirement.

e.    Decline stage – Following retirement, there is a general slowing down and disengagement from the world of work.

Super, in his theory, uses the concept of vocational maturity. The critical dimensions of vocational maturity are a sense of playfulness, about one’s life, exploration of the world of work, amount of information about self and occupation and ability acquire to make decisions and reality orientations.

Each individual has to assess his capacity, intelligence, potential, interest, ability and motive in selecting a job. The personality characteristics are also essential. If an individual chooses a job for getting money, he may not be satisfied with his job. Therefore, knowing one’s self is important.

There are numerous influences from different areas that set the course of events. Starting from the ideas, the family has, the educational discipline that is chosen, the area in which one lives, the peer group and culture one has, the pressure from society could affect the kind of career one chooses.