In the year 1975, Muriel Miguel, a Rappahannock/Kuna woman and a native of Brooklyn, New York, organized a radical workshop which has now evolved as one of the oldest and ongoing theatre group in all of the United States and Canada- the Spiderwoman Theatre. In retrospect, the pioneering workshop gathered Native and non-Native women in the country which also included Miguel’s sisters Gloria Miguel and Lisa Mayo in New York City’s Washington Square Methodist Church. Today, Spiderwoman Theatre continues its reputation as a successful Native feminist theatre group, spawning 35 years in strong existence. On that note, this research paper attempts to analyze on what brought Spiderwoman Theatre to the pinnacle of stage success. In the same way, it also highlights the theatre’s aboriginal and feminism origins.

In order to gain insight on how Spiderwoman Theatre has evolved and transformed into what is now seen as an unprecedented, widely acclaimed success, it is essential to include an overview of the theatre itself and its founders. The Spiderwoman Theatre Company was founded by a group that worked mostly with performers coming from a Native American background. The sisters Muriel Miguel, Gloria Miguel and Lisa Mayo grew up in Brooklyn, New, York, just like their mother and grandmother. Their father, on the other hand, was a Kuna Indian originating from the San Blas Islands off the Panama coast. Muriel tells that their father found it hard to make a living in the unfamiliar culture of Brooklyn. In effect, he turned to earning money by performing snake oil shows where the family dances for money. The sisters during their young ages felt uncomfortable with this kind of living which is why they shifted their attention to formal education (Amerinda Editors). In school, they were attracted by the inviting force of the theatre. Here, they spent their energies and talents by turning their performances into an art form rather than a spectacle for senseless amusement.

Having discussed part of the aboriginal roots of this theatre company, it is also significant how it basically emerged from its feminist roots. To regard it as coming from its own kind of feminism cause is explicably a matter of explaining how women became largely involved in the Spiderwoman Theatre. First and foremost, the most obvious one can be pointed out to the name of the theatre group itself.  The name of the company is coined from a goddess in the Hopi mythology. Spiderwoman, the Hopi goddess, taught men and women how to weave after ‘weaving’ them to life.  Initially, the theatre started as a workshop which experimented through the weaving of stories, images, music, feelings, bodies and spaces. The women actors practiced and structured the basics of their dreams and stories.

After that, they improvised in order to polish their works and act it out. At the start of the workshop, the group taught their audience about the hand games of the Native Americans. While creating her own story, one woman plays the Spiderwoman while doing the act of finger-weaving. To continue the story, another performer then wove her story into the first performer. The group continued in weaving, storytelling, dancing and acting out their structured stories in a spontaneous fashion while the improvising musicians played with bowls, rocks, gongs, flutes, a saw and other handmade instruments to accompany the “weaving act.”

In the “Women in Violence” performance, women were portrayed to have emerged from strong causes. Each of the performers in this particular act presented herself as a clown which comes from a peculiar, goddess-given trait of her own. For instance, a strong circus woman named Gloria, placed a flashlight which is hidden in between her skirt’s metallic skirts for her to be able to search for herself beyond the reflected image beneath. Lisa, an “exploiting iconic blonde beauty,” used a tight black dress painted with white lines that outlined her fundamentally female parts and long blonde curls which were held together with a huge sparkling bow. According to Muriel, the aim of this workshop answers the necessity to work with the feelings of anger and isolation, feeling about the Indian situation and movement in the current period and the women’s own violence as women and as Indians. In many ways, the “Women in Violence,” as a paradoxical depiction of women undergoing the strains of feminist aspects and cultural issues, has been instrumental in achieving the goals of the Spiderwoman Theatre’s founders and confirmed the group’s long-standing existence in the theatrical sphere.

According to Wilmeth, Spiderwoman Theatre emerged as one of the so-called feminist movement. In order to connect this theatre company to its feminism roots, it is also crucial to determine how feminist movements surface and how these movements moved to achieve their aims. Feminist theatre, as an alternative theatre movement, began in the early part of the 1970s decade. It proliferated alongside the radical political movements that time which created manifestos gathered around urban centers all throughout the country. These local and innumerable groups comprising of women performer in theatres spoke directly to the public regarding gender equality, women’s subordinate position in the dominant culture and the potential and practical solutions to those issues (255).

The theatre production is an interwoven dialogues, actions/movements and music that connect to various narrative strands which often add “slapstick comedy.” The first Spiderwoman production, “Women in Violence,” premiered in 1976 in New York with huge success, which consequently brought the group to Europe. In the year 1979, the motion picture “The Spiderwoman Theatre Group from New York” was produced during the “Lysistrata Numbah” tour of the company. During the premier of their “Lysistrata Numbah” performance in 1977, the Spiderwoman Theatre produced a satire of female gender stereotypes through a spectacle of likeable and less likeable characters. In its typical production genre, Spiderwoman Theatre serves to scrutinize the contemporary society, the history, resistance and survival of the Native Americans and most fundamentally the feminist ideals and issues portrayed in many of the theatre’s performances (React Feminism Editors).  Rebecca Schneider, assistant professor of theater and performance theatre, said that the manner of story weaving that is intrinsic to the Spiderwoman Theatre gives more than just mere delight to the audience experience of its stage plays (Cornell University Editors). These story weavings are accorded with some tiny flaws which allow each one of us to reconsider our human experiences, our roots and our view of feminism.

In any organization, one of the most defining parameters that measure success is in terms of how well does one particular organization perform in achieving its goals and mission statements. Spiderwoman Theatre states that their mission is to “present exceptional theatre performance and to offer theater training and education rooted in an urban Indigenous performance practice. We entertain and challenge our audiences and create an environment where the Indigenous, women’s and arts communities can come together to examine and discuss their cultural, social and political concerns” (Spiderwoman Theatre.org Editors).

From the very beginning, the theatre has centered on diversity as their foundation. The Miguel sisters spearheaded such collective diversity of women who come from varying races, ages, worldview and sexual orientation. This joint effort to create a team, a theatre company, is rooted from the feminist movement in the 1970s decade. Similarly, it also sprang out from cynicism with the way women were treated during the radical political movement of that time. They began to question cultural stereotypes, gender roles, economic and sexual oppression. They raised significant concerns involving issues of racism, sexism, ‘classism’ and violence in women’s lives.

The Spiderwoman Theatre was a breakthrough in terms of its storytelling and story weaving which became the basis for creating their moving theatrical pieces. With Muriel as the critical “outside eye” of the theatre company, the performers wrote, performed and portrayed personal and traditional stories. Their performances were wholly layered with text, movement, music, sound and visual images. By weaving humor with popular culture and personal accounts, coupled by their shocking styles of presentation, the theatre was able to excite the hearts and enliven the spirits of women, along with men, in their audiences not only in New York but also in the United States, Canada and in many places around the globe.

On how the Spiderwoman Theatre has imbibed aboriginal contexts and roots can be traced back particularly in the beginning of the 1980s. During that decade, many of New York’s Indigenous communities which are based nationally and internationally hailed the women of the Spiderwoman Theatre as a “powerful voice” which gives avenue for the rest of the world to hear their concerns. Because of this, the theatre company emerged as a foremost power for artists, cultural artisans and for Indigenous women. Moreover, the works of the Spiderwoman Company relatively connect the traditional art forms of cultural dance, storytelling, music and practices of the contemporary theatre of the Western world. Originating in Brooklyn, the works of this theatre group is sourced from their personal histories and experiences in being “city Indians.”  By becoming the precursor of the Indigenous theatre movement in America and Canada, the original members of the Spiderwoman Theatre have become mentors to the Indigenous writers, performers, and educators. Apart from presenting their personal works, the group is collaborating and integrating the work of these artists into the theatre company. The women of Spiderwoman Theatre are relentlessly putting their best foot forward to continue their dream of creating an artistic domain wherein indigenous forms of the culture and the arts are autonomous to become the important element of the entire environment of the arts (Spiderwoman Theatre.org Editors).

The aboriginal lineage of Spiderwoman Theatre is linked to their own sense of identity which plays sensibly in a manner of irony, illustrated by double visions and contradictions. In many of their stage plays, they humorously emphasize their lack of familiarity with the Native languages in paradox to their childhood identification and fascination with a typical white girl in the Western world. It initially gives the impression of being somewhat detached to a certain degree from their aboriginal origins, as a way to portray how the new culture has influenced the people with Native roots. Eventually though, their authentic identities are slowly unraveled in wayward manner.  Along with the inevitable humor and funny scenes injected in the theatrical pieces, the concept of Native identity is never set aside. Such practice is crucial to convey the essential message staged in every presentation. Without such stable element , the theatrical piece itself is barren and lifeless despite the humor it integrates (Diner). Thus, as Rebecca Schneider puts it: “Much of Spiderwoman’s work is related to the issue of Indianess, adroitely played in the painful space between the need to claim an authentic, native identity and their awareness of the appropriation and the historical commodification of the signs of that authenticity ” (Schneider, 161).

Of course, the concrete proof of success is also determined by citations and awards given to this theatre company. Over the years, they have been recognized and honored with various awards and distinctions. In the year 1997, as part of the Native American Women Playwrights Archive at Miami University located in Oxford, Ohio, as the founding contributors, they were given honorary Doctorates of Fine Arts for their personal works and great contributions in the theatre field. During the year 2005, the Spiderwoman Theatre received another honor as they were included a vital part of the exhibit, New Tribe, New York, in New York City’s National Museum of the American Indian by the Smithsonian Institution. Last year, the Spiderwoman Theatre was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Caucus for Art (Spiderwoman Theatre.org Editors, 2011).

At this point, let us look at one of the Spiderwoman Theatre piece and its portrayal and impact to either or both contexts of feminism and aboriginal roots, particularly that of a Native Indian. In Winnetou’s Snake Oil Show from Wigwam City, there is a sort of destabilization in terms of stereotype centered at the multiple differences created by the Spiderwoman Theatre itself. Spiderwoman challenges the fixity of the term “princess” when they portray such role aside from declaring a commitment to challenge the so-called ‘multipurpose’ view of feminism. Spiderwoman’s princesses portray a danger of purposely re-fitted identities (Haugo). Hence, parodies are created which intensifies the disruption of the images.

Some known authors have critically examined elemental value of the Spiderwoman Theatre, the kind of theatre which hosts feminine audience for the most parts. In his Processual Encounters of the Transformative Type, Jill Carter called the Spiderwoman Theatre a “newly mobilized feminist collective.” He also adds that the clowns created by this theatre company that aims to carry its artists an audience in the course of the stories are the “archetypes of contemporary feminine humanity. Such archetypes serve to eventually become the medium of discovery and revelation at the end of the day. By way of their involvement and assistance, both performer and the spectator are drawn in an unconventional way of revealing and confronting themselves in public through their own histories and accounts. The aggressive environments which enact violence towards women and where women play and act with their own violence are transformed into a healing avenue wherein the fundamental human responsibility, accountability, value, possibility and dignity may be recognized, reclaimed and most of all, celebrated (Carter, 264).

Apart from its reference to feminism, Carter suggests that the theatrical pieces, written and produced by the Spiderwoman Theatre, consist an additional and supplementary store to what he termed as Indigenous Knowledge. They have victoriously documented the survival and resistance of the Natives. The theatre also celebrated the “artful existence” despite of the seemingly unwelcoming society and the deceitful urban social structure of America during the last part of the twentieth century. With specificity, the mola or the multi-layered quilt used by the Spiderwoman Theatre as a signature backdrop since 1976, serves a cultural and aboriginal purpose. This particular material signifies the Miguel sister’s connection to their Kuna ancestry. Aside from that, it is also a “material representation” of the processes of drama and performance which is viewed to have originated from the artistic mola-making craft of the Kuna (271).

Furthermore, molas are the Kuna nation’s traditional textiles which come from the independent territories of Kuna Yala, or known today as the country of Panama. These molas, as large part of the Spiderwoman Theatre contain the founder’s aboriginal Kuna roots from Kuna perception, cosmology and identity.  The crucial role that the mola plays in Kuna heritage is best described in Monique Mojica’s own words that goes “It is this thickness, this multi-dimensional knowing applied from the principles of Kuna women’s art that I believe is the centre pole of my writing and following the lead of Spiderwoman Theater, it has become the heart of my theatrical form. And I want that thickness in my work.” Mojica, as an actor and playwright of the Spiderwoman Theatre, is committed to the “strengthening the continental links among the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.” (Knowles). The works embodied in the Spiderwoman Theatre is a bridge built by the contemporary artists in an attempt to share the process while they are still searching for means to tightly ground themselves in artistic forms and structures, crafted in an aboriginal way.

k.Spiderwoman Theatre has endured as their works surface from the foundations of their cultural heritage. The subjects explored by this theatre group are certainly not exclusive to the Native communities including violence towards women, domestic abuse as well as the assimilation and loss of culture.  The theatrical pieces incorporate the themes of oral tradition and native myth, in other words- a storytelling tradition- which has the realms of the contemporary life that are used to analyze the issues (Abbot, 167). Again, by using the personal histories and life experiences as the basis of their story weaving and storytelling, Spiderwoman Theatre mirrors the “tapestry of humanity and weaves a web of connections among people. Just like the Hopi goddess, Spiderwoman is ever present to give guidance and counsel by way of their work.

Works Cited

Carter, Jill. Processual Encounters of the Transformative Type from the book Troubling tricksters: Revisioning critical conversations by Linda M. Morra, Deanna Reder .Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010.

Schneider, Rebecca. The Explicit Body in Performance. New York : Routledge, 1997.

Wilmeth, Don B. The Cambridge guide to American theatre. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Web sources

Diner, Robyn. “Not-So-Exotic-Indians: Irony, Identity and Memory in Spiderwoman’s Spectacles.” Thirdspace.ca. March 2002. <http://www.thirdspace.ca/journal/article/viewArticle/diner/57> 08 May 2011.

Abbot, Larry. “Spiderwoman Theatre and the Tapestry of Story.” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies. 1996. <http://www2.brandonu.ca/library/cjns/16.1/abbott.pdf> 08 May 2011.

Amerinda Editors. “Professional Bio: Spiderwoman Theatre.” Amerinda.org. 2004.

<http://amerinda.org/naar/spiderwoman/spiderwoman.htm> 08 May 2011.

Cornell University Editors. “Cornell will host symposium on Native American representation.” Cornell.edu. 28 March 2002. <http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/02/3.28.02/indiansindians.html> 08 May 2011.

Haugo, Ann. “Colonial Audiences and Native Women’s Theatre: Viewing Spiderwoman Theatre’s Winnetou’s Snake Oil Show from Wigwam City.” Journals.ku.edu. 1999.

<https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/jdtc/article/download/3327/3256> 08 May 2011.

Knowles, Ric. “Monique Mojica”. The Literary Encyclopedia. 05 March 2008

<http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12028> 09 May 2011.

Mojica, Monique. “Spiderwoman Theatre.” Eastcoastnative.com 2008. <http://eastcoastnative.com/page04.html> 09 May 2011.

React Feminism Editors. “Spiderwoman Theater (USA, founded 1975).”

<http://www.reactfeminism.org/artists/spiderwomantheatre_en.html> 09 May 2011.

Spiderwoman Theatre Editors. 2011. “Mission.” Spiderwomantheater.org. 2011.

<http://www.spiderwomantheater.org/SpiderwomanAboutUs.htm> 09 May 2011.

1A. Cognitive and Social Development of children (ages 5 to 11)

Various scholars have tried to explain both the cognitive and social development that occurs during the human development. For instance, Erickson theory of social and cognitive development explains various stages of life that are experienced in the entire process of development. According to Weiten (2010) Erickson’s theory cites that conflict occurs at every developmental milestone of children thereby resulting into a favourable outcome. As such, one must therefore learn and resolve both the strengths and weaknesses that accompany every stage in the process of evolving self which is characterized by trust Vs mistrust (Weiten, 2010). Kaplan (2005) terms the child’s ability to cope with such stress and adversity as resilience.

Various virtues such as hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, caring, and wisdom particularly important in helping children to go through the various changes the occur in their social and cognitive self. Similarly, the success in the process of development will depend on the individual’s ability to resolve both his and her strengths and weaknesses (Haig & Rod, 2010). He stresses that the failure to solve this problems, i.e. the problem of mistrust, during the early stages of life may lead to its re-appearance in the later stages in life. The other social developmental milestones at the age of 5-11 that were identified by Erickson include self-motivation or intrinsic drive, identity versus confusion, generality versus absorption and integrity versus despair (Weiten, 2010).

Pre-occupational (2-7yrs) and concrete operational (7-12yrs) as cited by Piaget’s theory of cognitive development offers concrete developmental milestone in the life of children aged between 4 and 11 years (Weiten, 2010). This includes progress in symbolic thought and struggle with the principle of conservation as a result of flaws in preoperational thinking. The later is characterized by centration, irreversibility, and egocentrism (Weiten, 2010).  As a matter of fact, children within the age of 5 to 7 find it hard to undo something and also to comprehend that other views that are different from theirs do exist. For instance, these children would attach human qualities to other non-living things such as being curious of when an inanimate object such as an ocean would stop to rest (Weiten, 2010).

For instance, when a child watches the same volume of water that is being poured into two containers of different width, he/she would express his/her belief that the water in the two containers are not of the same volume (Weiten, 2010; Haig & Rod, 2010). This is because such child concentrates only on one aspect, the width. Such children merely act on the physical objects and can not perform various mental operations. Children at this stage are also prone to asking many questions about what happens around them based on their primitive reasoning and also concentrate on a few selected characteristics.

The next stage of concrete operational (7-11 yrs) is characterized by acquisition of internal transformations, manipulations, and reorganization of mental structures (Weiten, 2010). That is, the child begins to solve most of the mental problems experienced at the initial stage. The children also learn how to use their logics to explain the happenings around them appropriately. At this stage, the child can now concentrate on a number of characteristics, can distinguish different objects, and can also name the objects based on different aspects. Although children between the ages of 7 and 11 years have attained some level of mental operation, still they can only perform those mental activities that involve images of tangible objects and actual events. That is, the children at level of cognitive development can only solve problems that are related to the actual objects or events and not otherwise.

Two major critical components of cognitive developmental milestones are attained by children between the age of 7 and 11 years. This includes mastery of reversibility and decentration (Wieten, 2010; Haig & Rod, 2010). Decentration is the ability of the child to embrace more than one feature of an aspect or problem at ago thereby offering the child the ability to appreciate the varied means of looking at things (Kaplan, 2005). On the other hand, reversibility as cited by Piagent’s theory of cognitive development allows the children aged between 7 to 11 years to mentally undo an action.

The social development of children aged 5 to 11 years can be explained using Vygotsky theory of social development. It explores that the changes in socialization and social behaviour patterns of children as they develop in terms of their consciousness and cognition an aspect that is known as constructivism (Wieten, 2010; Haig & Rod, 2010). Most children learn as they socialize and interact with one another through plays. Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice that is on both the social level which comes first and then the individual level which comes later. The child’s first social development first occurs between the individuals (inter-psychological) and then learning through group experience. Consequently, the children at the age of 7 to 11 years tend to enjoy playing with one another from (group plays) where they internalize various social aspects (Haig & Rod, 2010). Most of children at the age of 5 to 11 years imitate what people do especially those that they consider to be their models. Similarly, they acquire satisfaction of certain innate biological needs as emphasized by Freud’s theory. Wieten, (2010) cited that in Erickson’s theory, he emphasizes the desire and quest to meet social needs one of the changes that occur in children aged between 7-11 years. This includes the need to acquire new friends and treat opposite sex differently.

From Vygotsky’s view children at the age of 7 to 11 acquire the ability to do or perform certain tasks on their own. He refers to this as zone of proximal development (ZPD) which he describes as the ability of the student to perform a task independently as compared to his ability under the guidance of others. Children at the age of 7 to 11 years also attain resilient or stress resistant status, and defy expectations. That is, the children acquire ability to adapt to any environment even one that is composed of stressors (Kaplan, 2005).

The Relevance of the Theories

At the age of 5 years, the child is expected to join kindergarten school. The child therefore begins to learn from the wider school community and thus the parent-child bond is weakened. As such, the child begins to internalise various aspects of life that begins to influence his/her understanding of the surrounding world. At the age of 6 most children, in kindergarten, have adjusted to fit into the school community where they develop new friendship networks with the fellow children as well as relation with the teachers. The child also begins to have a better understanding of how the world around her works and somehow begins to be independent.

B.  Adolescent and Adult Developmental Characteristics:

Erick Erickson theory posits that all the stages that precede the adolescent stage, human development majorly depend upon what is done to an individual. However, it is evident that when an individual reaches adolescent stage he/she begins to be independent. This is because adolescent is a stage at which an individual is neither a child nor an adult. At this stage in life the adolescent’s major concern is to find their own identity in life. The individual therefore have to struggle with both the social interactions and the moral issues. Similarly, the adolescents also face the challenge to separate themselves from the larger society. Various developmental milestones characterize this stage.

Role Confusion: Erickson’s theory of development cites that at this stage the individuals seem to withdraw from their responsibilities and any failure to solve this problem may lead to role confusion (Kotre, 1984). This is the stage at which one develops his/her individual philosophy in life. As such, adolescents tend to embrace the ideals that are conflict free rather than the reality. Despite the fact that this age group have no much experience, they constantly find it easy to replace the ideal with experience. Adolescent’s brain seeks immediate reward more often than the younger children seek and has not developed the ability of self control demonstrated by maturity as in the case of the adults (Temple University, 2011).

Most adolescents readily engage in risky behaviours. This is probably because their brains are wired biologically to engage in such behaviours. Those who are still at teenage stage are more sensitive to rewards and highly influenced by such things as opposed to children and adults. Some of the risky behaviours that the teens involve themselves into include binge drinking, smoking and careless driving. The Adolescents on the other hand are addicted to various behaviours because of the activity that takes place at the mesolimbic dopamine in their system (Temple University, 2011).

Adult hood stage: Erickson separates this stage to young, middle, and late adulthood (Haig & Rod, 2010). During the young adulthood the individual experiences either intimacy Vs solidarity. Any failure in this may lead to isolation. In addition the basic strength of the adults is founded in the level of affiliation and love. As such, the adults constantly seek one or more companions and love which may later lead them to marriage (Weiten, 2010). Erickson’s theory explains that any adult who fails to establish meaningful relationship often resort into isolation as a way of defence. However, those who succeed in their relationship look at themselves as being superior to others (Haig & Rod, 2010).

The middle adulthood: this is period occurs between the age of 35 to 65 years and may extend to above the 65 years in some individuals. This is a stage where the outcome of the ego development is expressed as either Generativity Vs self absorption or stagnation in case of failure (Weiten, 2010). These changes were postulated by Erick Erickson. Most individual at middle adulthood obtain and utilize their strength in serving the society in various productive areas. They also receive the necessary care and they want to be in charge of their families. On the other hand, the individuals have role of ensuring that culture is transferred to the family (Weiten, 2010). At a later stage, middle adults can be faced with the middle age crisis resulting from the need to redefine their roles especially as their children leave their homes to establish their families.

At late Adulthood: an individual either experiences integrity or despair based on his/her failures or achievements. This is the time when an individual looks back to see the way he/she has lived his/her life. This measure is basically meant to help the person to determine whether he/she has been able to achieve the anticipated goals o life or not. Such people find fulfilment and integrity whenever they realize that they have been able to achieve certain state. However, feelings of failure and despair develop one is not able to ascertain any fulfilment or success in life (Weiten, 2010).

2 a. Comparison and Contrast between the Behaviourists and Constructivists Stand on Child Thinking and Learning

Behaviourism and cognitive theorists are similar based on the fact that they are all focusing on explaining human behaviour (Roeckelein, 2006). The difference however is that whereas behaviourism explains human learning in terms of the overt processes, constructivists use the covert mental processes to account for the learning process. A child therefore acquires a new behaviour by linking the information in the environment to the cues that she/he already has in the mind according to cognitive theory of learning. The behavioural theorists however argue that children learn plainly through the modification of their environment by the people around them.

Learning takes place through association of environmental stimuli and certain behaviour according to behaviourists.  Roeckelein (2006) cited that a child who is punished for certain behaviour therefore begins to associate the behaviour with an aversive stimulus (punishment) and stops the behaviour according to behaviourists. The cognitive school of thought however argues that this thinking and learning takes place in the covert process in a child’s mind. The child has to relate the cues of the punishment and link it to the response that invited it. The learning process is only successful when the child is successful in connecting the behaviour with the punishment through a cognitive process (Roeckelein, 2006).

Behavioural theorists believe that learning involves alterations in the environment within which observed or desired behaviour is occurring. Therefore a child’s learning process is influenced by the consequences that a particular response brings. Positive reinforcement of a particular behaviour in a child enhances learning of the behaviour. While negative reinforcement discourages certain behaviour. According to behaviourists therefore, learning takes place through positive and negative reinforcement. However, the cognitive theorists maintain that a child is actively involved in the learning process is not passively a victim of environmental manipulation. For a child to learn a particular behaviour or response, the child must link the information that was formerly learned with the current information.

Cognitive theorists stress that a child has a mental ability to organize the learned information in the mind and reproduce it (Roeckelein, 2006). This is the function of the memory. From the already learned concepts, a child learns new concepts by relating them to initial information. A teacher could therefore use the already familiar concept of addition to help students find answers to another related simple problem. Behaviourists however, emphasize that positive reinforcement could be used to shape the way the child learns the material through shaping technique. A teacher could for example give a student a candy for the new learned exercise.

2B. Major Behavioural and Cognitive Theorists and their Major ideas

The most conspicuous figures in behaviourism include John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, B.F Skinner, and Edward Thorndike among others. Pavlov is a significant figure in behaviourism because of his famous classical conditioning experiment. In this approach, Pavlov posited that learning is a reflexive process in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to produce a response that was evoked by another stimulus. Pavlov’s experiment gave him the title as the founder of behavioural psychology (Roeckelein, 2006).

John B. Watson was the first psychologists to come up with the name ‘behaviourism’ (Roeckelein, 2006). Watson whose psychology developed from Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiments posited that behaviour is observable and has a relationship with other observable events in the environment of an organism. Watson’s theory of behaviourism was thus focused on the effects of environmental stimuli on behaviour.

B.F Skinner is remembered for his famous ‘Skinner Box’ experiment that contributed in the development of operant conditioning as a behavioural theory. In operant conditioning, behaviour is considered caused by the consequences that it invites (Roeckelein, 2006). Aversive stimulus reduces behaviour while a pleasant stimulus promotes a response according to Skinner.

Edward Thorndike was another behaviourist who is remembered for his ‘law of effect’ illustration of operation conditioning. Roeckelein (2006) cited that he argued like Skinner that behaviour is dictated by the consequences that it evokes. A behaviour that is reinforced is thus likely to reoccur while a behaviour that is punished disappears.

Cognitive theory is associated with constructivists such as Albert Bandura and Jean Piaget. Cognitive theorists are concerned with the development of a person’s thought process. Albert Bandura is significant for his popular social cognitive theory of human behaviour. His theory that is commonly known as the social learning theory, maintains that behaviour is learnt through observation of the events in one’s social environment (Roeckelein, 2006).

Jean Piaget is popular for his theory of cognitive theory.  His theory has been widely used in explaining the stages in the development of children. This theory has been greatly influential in educational and learning approaches. He maintained that children’s thinking is not entirely smooth but rather is phased with points when the child acquires new skills and capabilities.

2C: Applications/Implications of Behavioural and Cognitive Theorist for Instruction of Young Children

Both behavioural and cognitive theories have been applied in the instruction of young children.  Piaget’s cognitive development theory has been largely applied in education of young children. Roeckelein (2006) cited that when children manifest the thinking that Piaget called concrete operational, they develop a concept of numbers. This has been used in the elementary education by elementary teachers to teach young children basic calculations. Teaching of elementary grade children is thus greatly informed by the Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.

Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory of learning has been used by teachers to train young children new behaviours. The child learns certain behaviour by observing what other people are doing. In a class a child will learn, by observing other children that it is time to sit and follow the instructor’s directive. Either the child learns how to write by watching the teacher write a letter on the reading board. When an instructor punishes a child for misconduct, the other children will avoid the same behaviour as since they witnessed the instructor punish it. Social learning has thus been applied in instruction of young children (Roeckelein, 2006).

Behaviourism has been applied mostly through conditioning of the behaviours of children. This is done mostly through the use of punishments, negative and positive reinforcements. Instructors negatively reinforce a behaviour that is not desired by subjecting the child to an aversive stimulus like being denied a candy for misconduct while others are given (Roeckelein, 2006). A child who progresses well in elementary calculations is reinforced /motivated with a candy. When children learn to associate certain learning responses with reinforcement they will repeat them. This promotes learning of new concepts. When children associate certain behaviour with punishment from the instructor, they will tend to avoid it. Therefore behaviourism and Thorndike’s law of effect are greatly applied in the instruction of young children.

3. A. Description of a Student with Motivation Issues in my Class

In this question I will give a case study of an 8 year old child; Mary who was born to black immigrant parents staying near the city of California. Mary was in her second grade in Kinsley School. She was a big bodied girl who at her age weighed 25 kilograms. From the first observation, one could easily realise that there was something unusual with the pupil.

Contrary to other pupils in her class and her peers, Mary was always in isolation and even avoided going for games. She suffered from withdrawal problems because of being stigmatised by other pupils who constantly teased her because of her weight. I learnt that contrary to her then poor performance, Mary was a very bright pupil during her kindergarten and her grade one levels. It is thus this body image that affected her performance and battered her self-image.

For one week I tried to establish observe her daily behaviour and to establish a closer relationship with her. I used this relationship to understand what Mary’s problem really was. Mary had many negative perspectives about her size. All the stories she narrated to me pointed out how at such a younger stage, Mary had known several stories of the ladies with similar body sizes who never achieved in life. According to her belief such ladies were always not well groomed and not accepted in the society.

Mary’s condition was made worse by the stereotypes about the fat ladies in her school. The problem had a great negative effect on her self esteem and determination to achieve in life. She thus needs motivation to build her self-esteem and change her perspective and attitude towards life.  This will restore her self-confidence enable her to overcome the teasing of the peers and the maltreatment from the parents. Restoration of her self-esteem and confidence will improve even her performance.

3B. Analysis of Mary based on Self Determination and Self-Efficacy Theory

Self Determination theory is based on the principle that an individual has the right, autonomy and internal locus of control over his/her own life (Brown, 2007). Mary thus needs to be motivated and encouraged to take control of her life and avoid being vulnerable to her environment. The fact that many girls with her body size have always failed should not make her seal her fate as a failure. Self determination is achieved only through support from the institutions in one’s environment (Brown, 2007). This implies that Mary has become vulnerable and isolates herself because of she lacks psychosocial support. The key people in her environment such as teachers, peers and parents should provide Mary with a supportive context for self determination. She also needs to take control over her own attitudes, regulate herself and overcome the teasing and the stereotypes. She can increase her choice, define her own self-image and enhance her self direction.

Self Efficacy Theory stresses the capability of an individual to organize and execute the actions relevant for management of prospective situations (Urdan & Pajares, 2006).  It is an individual’s belief in his ability to succeed in a certain situation. This theory is supported by Bandura’s Social cognitive theory of development where people interpretation of their experiences, there own believes and cognition enable them to evaluate themselves and adjust their behaviours accordingly. Self efficacy thus provides the basis for individual motivation and personal accomplishments in the long term (Urdan & Pajares, 2006).

Mary can therefore overcome her situation of being teased and stigmatised by boosting her image and esteem. She can succeed in life just like the other girls with medium sized bodies succeed. She should therefore overcome the challenges of being isolated and feel free to interact with other children knowing that she functional as they are. With this approach, Mary can even challenge the parents’ attitude and work hard, improve her academic performance and succeed in life. The stereotypes of failure can thus be broken when Mary pursues her goals efficaciously. Her body size is thus not a hindrance since there are others with the same sizes that are achievers because they believed in themselves.

3C. Strategies that can be Employed to help Mary using Self Determination and Self-Efficacy Theories

Self-efficacy theory strategies

Self-efficacy theory could apply the verbal persuasion strategy in dealing with Mary’s motivational needs. In this strategy, Mary can be motivated using positive verbal feedbacks especially from her teachers, peers and parents. This involves encouraging Mary that she can accomplish her goals in life. Convincing Mary that she can achieve her academic dreams and accept her body size not as a barrier to success but as ‘normal’ is good self-efficacy strategy (Urdan & Pajares, 2006).

The modelling strategy can also be used under the self-efficacy theory. In this approach, Mary can be exposed to other people who had big body sizes and still achieved their dreams in life. Exposure especially to her age mates with big bodies that are free to interact with their peers, studious and registering better grades can particularly challenge Mary to work hard and also excel in the work that she does. Exposure to peer models can particularly help Mary to increase her esteem, motivation and self-efficacy (Urdan & Pajares, 2006).

Self-determination theory strategies

The autonomy strategy can be used to boost Mary’s self image and determination in life. This means that the people around her such as the peers, teachers and even the parents should be able to build her self image and esteem (Brown, 2007).This is possible especially when her locus of control is built. The teachers and peers should encourage Mary that even with her condition; she can still perform well as other children. Either, the autonomy strategy involves encouraging Mary not to allow the peers stereotype and tease her. When Mary learns that her destiny is absolutely in her hands and not dependent on social evaluation, she will learn to be aggressive and succeed despite her size and the social labels she is already struggling with.

Intrinsic motivation strategy is based on the belief that if a person has an internal sense of personal drive the external barriers become insignificant (Brown, 2007). If Mary can change her attitude towards her body size and attitudes towards her social environment she will be able improve even her currently declined academic performance. Intrinsic motivation will push Mary to continue interacting and associating with her peers even if she does not get much extrinsic motivation from the parents, teachers and even her parents.

4. A. Nature and Importance of Developmentally Appropriate Practice for Preschool and Elementary School Child

Developmentally appropriate learning is a system that focuses on the child as a developing human being and lifelong active participant in the learning process. The child constructs meaning and knowledge through her interaction with others and the materials and items in the learning environment (Mayesky, 2009). The environment should thus be structured in such a way that both the learners and the teacher learns from one another. In this setting, the classroom should be created in such a way that the interests of the children are taken into account.

In this approach the teacher is also expected to create a learning environment where the learners can easily develop their skills, pursue their interest and practice to be independent (Nutbrown, 2011). In this system of learning, children are allowed to choose the various activities in which they would want to engage themselves. The learners should also be allowed to determine the duration for which such activities should last. The space in the learning process should also be large enough to allow for free movement of children between 5-11 years (Nutbrown, 2011).

The parents can apply the developmentally appropriate practice in enhancing optimal development of their children (Mayesky, 2009).  The parents can select child play activities that are developmentally appropriate to the growth and development of their children. Child play and learning activities should include creative exercises such as art activities. The parents should thus allow children to use arts to illustrate what is going on in their minds, express themselves in relation to their environment and interact with each other (Mayesky, 2009).

Further, the parents can be encouraged by a teacher to adopt the ‘show and tell’ approach of learning to help their children. This can serve to help children to develop communication, listening and problem solving skills. Through this parents can be able to learn what the children feel, think and capability of the children in solving their own problems. Such forums may be appropriate in enabling children to develop new ideas and concepts about life and their interactive environment.

4. B. Two Instructional Activities that is developmentally appropriate to Language-Age 8-11.

Scaffolding activities: Scaffolding for children aged between 8 and 11years involves a teacher/instructor providing contextual supports to children to find meaning. The teacher thus supports the learning process of a child through various activities such as simplified language, teacher modelling, visuals, and graphics and hands-on-learning (Nutbrown, 2011).

The teacher’s role is to facilitate learning through simplifying the language. The teacher can achieve this by shortening selections, mostly using present tense and avoiding the use of idioms. In a language class, a teacher can implement scaffolding by asking children for completion answers and not generation ones (Nutbrown, 2011). For example using a method where children are given a list of answers to choose from. Use of visual aids is particularly common in scaffolding especially for language learning. Children can also use a think aloud strategy where for example the children are encouraged by the instructor to read sentences aloud.

Front Loaded Support: This is used during the introduction of new information with front loaded support. Here the teacher offers the support to the student until he is able to perform the task independently. This process begins with the teacher performing the activity in question while the student watches, in the second step, the teacher still performs the task but with the help of the learner. In the third step the teacher now leaves the student to perform the task with his assistance (Nutbrown, 2011). In the last step of support the learner now performs the task while the teacher watches. This helps the learner to relate the new information to the older one and learn progressively. The teacher also provides security to the children. Here the teacher seeks the improvement of the understanding of the children (Nutbrown, 2011).

5. High/Scope Educational Approach for Children Aged between 3 and 8 years

There are various approaches in educating young children between this age group. One of these approaches is commonly referred to as the High/Scope as the most appropriate approach for children aged between 3 to 8 years. This approach views children as active learners and contributors to their own learning process (Munsch & Levine, 2010).  They learn best from activities they plan, execute and reflect upon. The role of the adult in this approach is therefore to plan learning activities on the basis of children’s interests, facilitate learning through encouragement and engage in adult-child interaction strategies that are positive (Munsch & Levine, 2010).

This approach is referred to as an active learning approach since it enables children to learn from personal interaction with ideas, more direct experience with physical objects, and by applying logical thinking to the learning activities and experiences (Munsch & Levine, 2010).  Adults and children are therefore partners in the learning process. In this approach, either the adults or the child can initiate the learning process.

Elements of the High/Scope Curricula

A set of teaching practices for the interaction between the adult and the children. Such practices may include adult child interaction where teachers and children are all active partners in the interaction and can also be referred to as intentional teaching (Jackman, 2012).  The learning process thus involves striking a balance between the adult instructor and the child learner (Brophy, 2010). The adult-children interaction seeks to encourage learning in specific content and to help the children resolve any kind of conflict.

Classroom arrangement, material and equipments; in this approach there is careful arrangement of both the available space and the various learning materials. The approach thus promotes active learning. This may be done through dividing the centre into several areas which are of interest to the children. Such areas may include specific areas for house, book, small toy, house, art, water and sand.

Daily routine: in this approach the children are made able to anticipate what happens next and thus have a sense of control. This is achieved through a consistent daily routine plan. Some of the key elements of this routine include time for groups, greetings, outside time and time for the review of the plans of the day.

Curriculum content: in this approach the curriculum is built for the activities initiated by both the teacher and the children. The curricula main areas of focus include the various approaches used in the learning process, the social, emotional and physical development, arts and sciences, literacy health issues and the children well-being. From these areas, 58 key indicators of development are derived from within these key areas (Merch, 2011).

Assessment: in this approach the various instruments are developed for accessing both the progress of the children and the quality of the program. The children progress is evaluated based on the Child Observation Record (COR). Another tool, program Quality Assessment is used to evaluate the quality of the program in various areas (Jackman, 2012). These include the management of the program, the qualification and the development of the staff, the involvement of the parents and the services provided for by the family, planning and assessment of the curriculum, the daily routine and the learning environment (Brophy, 2010).

The strengths of the approach: This approach therefore has defined teaching practices that enables the creation of relevant programs. In the approach, there are also tools for assessment of the learning process. It is therefore easy to measure how well the teachers involved teach and the extent to which the children learn. The approach also, through the encouragement of group times in its daily routine, allows the learners to benefit from the diverse individual experiences from one another (Brophy, 2010).

The group time here provides a good opportunity for the teacher to introduce new learning materials, concepts and activities. The approach also meets the high standard for the progress of the child and program quality. The assessment approaches that are used here cover all the aspects of areas of child development and reflect the widely accepted practices in the field. The approach can therefore be employed in a various states and among the professionals (Brophy, 2010).

There are other principles used in the Reggio Emilia approach to children learning that are also applicable to this approach. These are outlined as follows;

Community support and parental involvement: In Reggio Emilia’s Approach, it is a tradition that the larger community supports the families with young children. The children’s welfare is viewed as state’s collective responsibility. Both the infant and the pre-primary program in this approach are financially supported by the community. In Italy it is witnessed that some citizens have even registered as members in various school committees. This gives the citizen an opportunity to participate in the formulation of various educational policies (Himmelman, 1999).

This gives parents an opportunity to discuss various child development concerns and to plan curriculum. In the approach, the parents are also involved in the evaluation of the learning process. Noting that in the High/Scope approach both the learner and the adult are viewed as equal partners in the learning process, the approach therefore takes into account the contribution from the members of the larger community.

The second principle that applies to both the approaches is Concept of viewing the teacher as a learner. Both the approaches are based on the understanding that the teachers should continuously seek to enhance their understanding of the learners. The teachers in both cases play the role of an observer and seek to understand each child’s uniqueness. The teacher basically provides a favourable environment for the learning process (Kilpatrick, Barrett & Jones, 2003).

Both the two approaches also embrace the role of the environment in the education process. In the Reggio Emilia’s approach, the way in which the learning environment is organised is of much interest and is significant in enhancing the learning process.  Reggio Emilia’s approach, as with the high/scope approach maintain that the child’s learning environment facilitates the learning process of the preschoolers (Kilpatrick et al, 2003). In the approach the learning environment is referred to as the “third teacher”. The spaces therefore we planned. In all the approaches the environment is arranged in such a way that it engages anybody viewing it. The environment in both the approaches has well designated spaces for the activities which are done in groups (Brophy, 2010).

The environment in both cases is also designed in such a way that it leaves enough space for the interaction of the learners. The environment in the high/scope approach also involves proper display of the equipments and materials that facilitate the learning process. As a learner interacts with the environment, learning process becomes more practical and real to the child (Brophy, 2010).

6. Ways in which my Masters Degree Program has influenced my present Position

This Masters Degree program has been relevant and useful in many ways. The course has elevated me to a position where I now qualify as an educational psychologist having completed my training in education psychology. After completing coursework and practical training in this course, I have sharpened my skills and capabilities. This will increase my chances of securing a better employment position with the education and social development sector. I am empowered to seek employment with various research institutions including universities. I have built my ability to research in areas like learning and education, cognitive and social processes of human development psycho-educational studies.

The course has also equipped me with skills necessary to participate in various undertakings aimed towards the improvement of the education sector. Such undertakings may include the development of the curricula and the formulation and revision of existing education policies to take into account the needs of various age groups and needs by the learners; the disabled children. My understanding of the role of educational psychologists in curriculum development and management has significantly been shaped by this course.

In the learning process and training in this course, I have been well equipped with knowledge necessary in the designing of a proper learning classroom for any given age group especially the children. My understanding of the classroom management has also improved as the course has enlightened me on the various components of a learning environment. Besides, through this course I have leant the role of designing the learning environment to suite the learning needs and the stage of development of the learners.

The course has also enhanced my capacity to solve the various problems that are a hindrance to the learning process. These are such problems as low learning motivation by individuals. Designing of developmentally appropriate learning programs has been enhanced in me through the training. As such I am able to help in education program development and for learners in different stages of development. With the understanding that every individual different and every group is unique, I stand a better chance of assisting in problem solving based on proper understanding of the context of the presenting problem and challenge.

The skills and knowledge on both the learning process and cognition that I have acquired through this course put me at a better chance of integrating relevant information concerning the learning and cognition process. This can greatly enhance my ability in training parents, teachers and other key persons working with children to be effective in their approaches. I can now evaluate various assumptions in the formal education. Such assumption includes the proposition that students are always able to retain both the skills and knowledge they obtain from school. They are only passive receivers of new information in the learning process and not necessarily participative in learning environment.

The course exposed me to theories of development including the cognitive theories, behaviourism, and the social theories. The knowledge of such theories has thus enabled me to understand the difference in the behaviours exhibited by different personalities. Educational Psychology has enhanced my knowledge and skills in the leadership. This is because my understanding of the individual behaviour and behaviour modification has been enhanced.

This course has enhanced my ability to interpret research findings. The course has also equipped me for better facilitation of the teaching and learning processes. I can thus practice best teaching practices in both a class set up and at the community college level. I can also take up an advanced job related study in masters. This is because the course work has also left me better place to pursue my ambitions of further studies in human learning.

References

Armstrong, T. (2000). Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. 2^nd Ed.  Alexandria: Association.

Brophy, J. E. (2010). Motivating students to learn. New York: Routledge.

Brown, J. S., & Duguid, P. (2000). The social life of information. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press..

Brown, L. V. (2007). Psychology of motivation. New York: Nova Science Publ.

Burns, M. (2000).  About teaching Mathematics: A K-8 Resource. 2^nd Ed.  Sausalito: Math Solutions Publications.

Damon, W., Lerner, R. M., & Eisenberg, N. (2006). Handbook of child psychology: social, emotional and personality development: New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Goodyear, P., De Laat, M., & Lally, V. (2006). Using Pattern Languages to Mediate Theory-Praxis Conversations in Designs for Networked Learning. ALT-J, Research in Learning Technology, 14 (3), 211-223.

Haig, K., & Rod, P. (2010). Introduction to psychology. California: Wadsworth Publishers Company.

Jackman, H. L. (2012). Early education curriculum: a child’s connection to the world. Belmonte: Wadsworth.

Kaplan, H. B. (2005). Understanding the concept of resilience. Handbook of Resilience in Children, 1(3), 39-47.

Mayesky, M. (2009). Creative activities for young children. Clifton Park: Demar.

Munsch, J. & Levine, L. E. (2010). Child development: an active learning approach. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.

Nutbrown, C. (2011). Key concepts in early childhood education and care. London: SAGE.

Peterson, R. (1992). Life in a crowded place: making a learning community. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishers.

Roeckelein, J. E. (2006). Elsevier’s dictionary of psychological theories. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Saucier, G., & Goldberg, L. R. (2001). ‘Lexical studies of indigenous personality factors: Premises, products, and prospects’. Journal of Personality, 69, 847-880.

Schrage, M. (1990). Shared minds: The new technologies of collaboration. New York: Random House.

Temple University. (2011). Presence of peers heightens teens’ sensitivity to rewards of a risk. ScienceDaily.

Urdan, T. C. & Pajares, F. (2006). Self-efficacy and adolescents. Greenwich: Information Age Publishing.

Vernon, A. (2009). Teaching and counselling gifted and talented adolescents. Information Age Pub Inc.

Weiss, L. G., Saklofske, D. H., Prifitera, A., & Holdnack, J. A. (2006). Advanced Clinical Interpretation: Advanced Clinical Interpretation. Academic Pres

Whiteman, W. D. & Christiansen, A. (2008). Processes of Sibling Influence in Adolescence:  Individual and Family Correlates. National Council on Family Relations: 57, 24-34.

Weiten, W. (2010). Psychology: themes & variations. 8^th Ed. Belmont, California: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Introduction

Instances of steroid use by sportsmen were first observed during the 1954 World weightlifting Championships. The Soviet team had first taken part in the 1952 Olympics at Helsinki and their performance was not noticed but they put up a remarkable performance in 1954 when the Soviet team dominated in most of the weightlifting categories. It turned out that the Soviet team was taking testosterone injections to enhance their performance. There have also been unsubstantiated reports that testosterone was used by the German team during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. However, in the case of the Soviet team the issue was confirmed because discarded syringes were found in the dressing rooms of team members. At the same time, it is also known that anabolic substances were used to enhance performances even during the first Olympics that were held in Greece. Athletes would ingest certain foods and herbs and it is known that they were advised to only meat for several months before sports events.

It is known that meat, which contains high content of Creatine and Vitamin B considerably enhances and improves athletes’ performance. Use of testosterone is documented as far back as 775 BC. Olympic athletes were encouraged to consume even sheep testicle that was known to be a source of testosterone. During ancient periods athletes did not participate in events to win medals or for the reason that they loved the games, but took part because they received exceptionally big financial rewards for every event that was won. This paper will examine issues relating to the chemical make up, principles of muscle building and preparation of steroids and why they are controlled substances. The adverse physical and mental risks along with drug testing and normal medical uses for anabolic steroids and growth hormones will also be examined. It is also important in this context to discuss the research efforts concerning use and abuse of steroids and the legal consequences of the same.

Main Body

In the current sports environment, professional athletes are known to have well paid contracts and because steroids have the potential to improve performances and to heal injuries, it is not surprising that research activities have been enhanced to develop better and acceptable alternatives for testosterone. The Germans had started taking steroids during the 1960s in order to improve their performance in sports. Dr. Manfred Hoeppner had recommended in his 1968 report to the East German government that athletes should be administered steroids. Consequently, in the following few decades, German athletes dominated most world sporting events across the world and took away the maximum number of medals and awards. Other documented records in this regard reveal that Thomas Hicks had ingested brandy with strychnine and cocaine when he won the marathon in the 1904 Olympics. A few decades later American athletes were found to be using nitroglycerine in order to expand their heart valves. Later, athletes started using Benzidrine, which is an amphetamine (Daniels, 2003).

However, no compound was found to be as effective and powerful as anabolic steroids, which were invented by Dr. Ziegler. Any athlete looking for extra advantages could make use of anabolic steroids in order to perform better. By ingesting anabolic steroids athletes, football players, weight lifters and body builders could train harder and for longer periods with much better results. Steroids have the ability to enhance protein synthesis and allow new muscles to develop much faster as compared to other conventional methods. The enhanced muscle power and strength of sports participants allowed them to perform better and get higher financial rewards. Under such circumstances, the race for steroids intensified and athletes across the world wanted to know of the sources from where to get such substances. Several nations entered the race to develop these substances and to develop procedures for using them. In 1968, the World Health Organization made official complaints about the excessive production of steroids and their use. Pharmaceutical firms had started offering kickbacks to doctors for prescribing anabolic steroids. The practice was largely adopted in countries such as Jamaica and Kenya whose athletes started performing exceptionally in Olympic Games.

During the same period, professional games in the US had gained popularity and athletes were able to support themselves on the basis of their performance in sports. The International Olympics Council issued a ban on anabolic substances and provisions were made for penalizing athletes for breaking the ban. In 1972, Rick de Mont, an American swimmer was caught using ephedrine, which was an approved medicine for treating asthma. Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to win the Mr. Olympic title by allegedly taking steroids. The use of steroids in Olympic Games continued for some decades and the International Olympic Committee was virtually ineffective in imposing its ban on steroids. Athletes had also found novel ways to avoid detection and were caught only when disclosure was made about them by team mates or others. Anabolic steroids had become a common feature by the 1990s and sporting professionals as well as school level sports participants had started taking steroids in large numbers (American College of Sport Medicine, 2002).

The chemical makeup and preparation of steroids can be better understood from the fact that they are lipophilic composites of low molecular weigh that are obtained from cholesterol. Steroids are produced primarily through a process whereby endocrine glands such as adrenals, ovary and testis are synthesized and then made to enter the blood stream. They impact the central nervous system and the peripheral tissues while coordinating behavioral and physiological response for the required biological objective. In spite of the comparatively simple nature of steroids, they have the potential to occur in different biological and active conditions. Such characteristics can occur because of a large number of secreted compounds through the process of synthesizing steroid tissues. Moreover, circulating tissues have the potential to get increasingly metabolized indirectly on organs such as the liver and its tissues whereby steroids get converted into active forms before they become effective in terms of their biological response (Yesalis, 2000).

It is known that testosterone is a male hormone and plays a major role in building muscles. Therefore, athletes take extra doses of testosterone, which has to be injected in the body. But it has a number of adverse side effects such as lowered levels of high density lipoprotein that is beneficial for the heart and lowers the harm accruing from low density lipoproteins. But it stimulates prostate tumors and creates clotting and liver complications. Anabolic steroids can also make users more aggressive, while cosmetic changes can occur in terms of acne, enhanced hair growth on body and baldness. Because anabolic steroids are synthetic substances that are also present in male hormones, more and more attempts are being made to produce testosterone in ways that are legally acceptable. The present status of steroids is that they need to be prescribed medically but because of activities such as smuggling and illegal distribution and synthesis in laboratories, they are mostly available quite easily and hence abused.

Testosterone can also be obtained by using pro-hormones that are converted by the body into testosterone. The first such substance was 4-androstenedione that was developed by German scientists for German athletes participating in the Olympics. But the use of anabolic steroids has become a hot topic in being actively discussed by the media and government at different levels. The media believes that steroids are an increasing problem and that its abuse is becoming quite common amongst school children also. The Journal of the American Medical Association researched in 1998 about the patterns of steroid use amongst male adolescents and it was found that 68.8 percent schools reported the use of steroids amongst their students. On an individual basis it was found that amongst the 12th grade students, almost half of them were exposed to the use of anabolic drugs. The outcome of the research was that 6.7 percent of 12th grade males in schools were using anabolic steroids. About 68 percent of the users were found to be sixteen or lesser years of age (Powers, 2005).

As per a 2005 survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the use of anabolic steroids amongst students had increased by more than 100 percent from 1992 to 2004. About 6 percent of the 15, 000 students that were examined consented to having tried steroids. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has held that the situation is now better and only about 4 percent of high school students tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2008. Comprehensive drug testing policies have not been actively forced upon players of baseball. The most famous stories of baseball players using steroids are of Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi. The two players were suspected of using anabolic drugs during the time when the BALCO scandal was uncovered. Bonds held that he was motivated to use steroids by his trainer, who told him it was a nutrition supplement comprising of a pain relieving ointment and flax seed oil that would give him relief from the arthritis he was suffering from. Greg told the jury that he made use of a pair of untraceable steroids known as the clear and the cream, both being provided by his trainer during the tournaments held in 2003. Steroid policies became effective in football in 1987 but to have a clear picture of steroids in this sport it is first required to understand the pattern of high school practices in this regard. It appears that educational efforts in this regard have not proved to be very effective.  It is surprising that in a 2009 survey almost ten percent NFL players had consented to using banned anabolic steroids during football games. Sixteen percent of the forward players consented to the use of steroids. A player such as Shawne Merriman, who was the most powerful player in the 2005 NFL Rookie had tested positive for using steroids and was thus banned for four years (Kochakian, 2009).

Barry Bonds is believed to be one of the most powerful baseball players that played in major league baseball. He recorded the highest ever career home runs and was voted as a member of the 14 All Star games. He won the MVP award seven times and won the Gold Glove Awards eight times. He was convicted of supplying anabolic steroids to athletes although he declared himself innocent. He suffered a great deal subsequently in being indicted for perjury and obstructing justice charges. He is now free but no team is willing to engage him in view of his past record of using anabolic steroids (Council on Scientific Affairs, 1988).

Another example of steroid users is Jose Canseco who was renowned for intense power and hold in the game. He was able to get 462 home runs during the sixteen years that he played. Jose was modest enough to accede that his achievements were not because of his field performance but because he took steroids. He was the first sportsman to come out in this regard and speak the truth about the power behind his extraordinary performance. He chronicled his use of steroids in his book titled Juiced Wild Times that included the complete story about the problems he faced and what made him to get into the habit. He opened up about the problems associated with major league baseball and over the years his allegations and assertions have largely proved to be correct in terms of describing the use of steroids amongst specific players.

However, steroids are mostly used in individual performances such as weight lifting, cycling and athletics. Football has not been largely associated with steroid use or other performance enhancing drugs. The game is known to suffer more from the relationship it has with recreational drugs. A typical example in this regard is of Diego Maradona who was excessively hooked on to cocaine that ultimately forced him to retire from active playing. However, there has been considerable hype about football as a game because action is not taken against players that are involved in scandals relating to the ingestion of steroids (Pat, 2004).

Anabolic steroids are used mainly because of their ability to retain protein and to promote growth of tissues, but mostly they are abused. The benefits include the enhancement of both stamina and strength, along with the recognition and wealth that are brought with better performances. However, the risks are more and can vary from psychological transformation to infertility to cancer. Additionally, there is added risk of losing confidence in terms of the concept of fairness that goes with successful competition in sports. Such risks obviously imply that the use of steroids should not be legalized in sports and rightly, many countries and international sports organizations have banned their use. At the same time, there are determined steroid suppliers that have somehow managed to ensure that steroids are always available. They continue to remain ahead in the race despite strict testing programs and restrictions on the distribution of anabolic steroids. Such circumstances have led to a debate whether it is alright to ban steroids. But all exposures relating to the use of steroids have not led to protests by the media and sports associations. For example, the case of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is presently governor of California, aptly demonstrates that the practice is not considered to be very undesirable. The use of steroids has been widely documented in wrestling, which is evident from the popularity it gets from the ratings on television programs.

The legal position relating to the use of steroids varies in different nations. Some countries have provided for strict controls and prescriptions on steroids while in some countries they are legally permitted. Anabolic steroids in the US are presently categorized as falling under Schedule III under provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. The law provides for possession of anabolic steroids to be a punishable offense, which can be up to a year’s imprisonment. Illegal possession or distribution of steroids with the intention to sell or distribute is punishable up to ten years in prison. Canada too has strict laws in this regard and anabolic steroids and related substances comprise of controlled drugs that fall under the Fourth Schedule, implying that it is not legal to distribute or sell such substances unless proper prescription is accompanied with the request to purchase the same. But in Canada, the possession of steroids is not a punishable offense under provisions of the first, second and third schedules. Those found guilty of the offense of selling and buying anabolic steroids in Canada can be imprisoned for eighteen months. Countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Australia and Portugal also have strict laws to prevent the use of anabolic steroids. The United Kingdom has a policy whereby anabolic drugs are categorized as falling under Schedule C of the Controlled Drugs. Conversely, such substances are not illegal to possess, distribute and use in some nations such as Thailand and Mexico.

Conclusion

In view of the circumstances relating to the use of steroids and their adverse consequences on sports persons and society at large, it is felt that the use of steroids in sports should not be legalized. They should be used only in the context of treatment when prescribed by medical professionals. Using steroids enables a person to become big and strong quickly but they eventually kill. The basic reason for the use of steroids in sports is to feel good about one’s achievements and to gain financially. Using steroids is nothing less than cheating because they create an imbalance amongst opponents in sports whereby one participant gets an edge over others in terms of getting unjustified advantage. Using steroids is bad in every respect because it is unethical as well as harmful for the body in addition to creating unfair competition. Eventually, the use of steroids leaves the player or sports person with a sense of guilt as had happened with Barry Bonds and Jose Conseco. They were total wrecks in later life and could not have a sense of achievement because of their habits that they advertently got involved in. It is thus correct to say that if steroids are allowed and legalized, the very spirit of sports will be destroyed. They can be used beneficially only for medical purposes and for no other purpose.

Works Cited

American College of Sport Medicine. Position stand on the use of anabolic – androgenic steroids

in sports. Medical Science Sports Exerc, 2002.

Council on Scientific Affairs. Drug abuse in athletes, Anabolic steroids and growth hormone.

JAMA, 1988.

Daniels, R. C. The Anabolic Steroid Handbook. Richard C Daniels, 2003.

Kochakian, D. Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise. Human Kinetics, 2009.

Pat L. Anabolic Steroids: And Other Performance-enhancing Drugs, CRC Press, 2004.

Powers, M. Performance-Enhancing Drugs, SLACK Incorporated, 2005.

Yesalis, C. E. Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise. Human Kinetics Publishers, 2000.

Diabetes, often referred to as a lifestyle disease, is very common nowadays. We know people who have this kind of disease or at least one or two in the family has this. In the United States, it is estimated that almost 24 million of the general population is affected by diabetes in lifelong terms. In 2007 alone, roughly 1.6 million of people at the age of twenty above are diagnosed with this condition. Not to mention, there are still a lot of people who have not still received prompt diagnosis and medical attention yet display the signs of symptoms of the dreaded disease (National Diabetes Information Editors, 2011). The sections hereafter will discuss on the main basic points one must understand about diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association (2010) pointed out that diabetes affects chiefly the metabolic functioning of the body. The way the body utilizes digested for energy and growth is affected. The food that people eat is usually broken down into glucose. This glucose forms as kind of sugar present in the blood and this is the main source of fuel or energy for the body. Problems arise when such glucose or blood sugar becomes abnormally high. In the normal body process, digestion allows the glucose to be used up by the tissues and cells of the body for energy, growth and repair. Cells in the body contain a membrane or covering that does not automatically allow substances like glucose to get inside it. In order for glucose to get inside the cells, a hormone called insulin must be available. This insulin is normally produced by a large gland behind the stomach called pancreas.

During eating, the pancreas is signaled by the brain to produce the adequate amount of insulin so that the blood sugar in the bloodstream can be taken up by the cells. However, in diabetes, the pancreas is unable to produce sufficient amount of insulin. At most instances, it produces very small or no amount of insulin at all. Another problem is that the cells of the body cannot respond the properly to the insulin that is produced. This is called insulin resistance. It means that an abnormality is happening as the “doors” that allow entry of glucose in the cells cannot be opened. The pancreas will not cease in producing insulin because the cells have very little amount of sugar inside it. But still, resistance will not allow the access of glucose in the cells. As a result of these, the glucose builds up in the bloodstream and becomes a by-product as it is excreted with urine (Emedicine Editors, 2010). So, although the body contains large amount of sugar in the blood, it is not able to convert this into the desired component to fuel the cells. Sometimes, the increased amount of insulin can eventually lead the entry of blood sugar into the cells. However, the pancreas would be exhausted and would be unable to compensate with the body’s increasing insulin needs. Consequently, the excessive glucose in the bloodstream due to the failure in cellular entry will start to build up in tissues around the kidneys, heart, eyes and nerve endings. Such build-up explains the short-term and long-term complications of diabetes.

How does one determine if he or she has diabetes? In the early stage of the disease, only few symptoms may appear so one will not know right away if he or she is already suffering from the condition. The rapid and serious effect of diabetes is seen on its complications on the eyes, kidneys and cardiovascular system. If you experience frequent urination, extreme thirst and/or hunger, sores, bruises and wounds that heal slowly, dry and itchy skin, unapparent weight loss, blurry vision, abnormal fatigue or drowsiness, tingling or lack of sensation in the hands or feet, recurrent skin, gum, bladder or vaginal yeast infections, you may be at the brink of having the disease(Mayfield, 1998).

Diabetes affects people of all ages and races. But there are various groups in terms of gender, age and ethnicities who are at a greater risk of developing the disease. The occurrence is much higher in men but the serious effects of this disease are more prevalent among women. Women with diabetes tend to have lower survival rates and poorer quality of life compared to men who have the disease. Complications of the disease, such as blindness, are also more seen in women. Pregnant women may also acquire the condition during pregnancy. This is termed as gestational diabetes. Certain racial groups are also highly affected by diabetes. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islander Americans are at higher risk for diabetes especially the type 2 form of the disease. The explanation to this, according to many researchers, is that the ancestors of these ethnic groups had developed a certain kind of gene ought to be “thrifty” in nature. This means that this gene allowed them to store foods in preparation for famines where foods were scarce. Over time, when the scarcity of food became uncommon for these groups in America, the genes that were once of use were no longer working the same way it did for their ancestors. Meanwhile people with certain lifestyles are at risk of the disease. People, who have unbalanced diet like high cholesterol and low fiber meals, above 45 years old, overweight, and who have sedentary lifestyles are included. A family history of diabetes can impose the development of the disease because the inherited genes are more susceptible to diabetes (CDC editors, 2010).

Moreover, the cause of diabetes can be attributed to the abnormal function and cell’s resistance at a metabolic level, as described earlier. In Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune reaction, or when the body destroys and attacks its own cells, happens. The exact cause of such reaction is unknown but it can be attributed to triggers that include:  infection with a particular virus or bacteria, exposure to chemical toxins from foods and exposure to cow’s milk during infancy. Such assumptions are still unproven though. Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is caused by variations in insulin production and glucose transport to the cell. It can be due to unbalanced diet, obesity, physical inactivity, some medicines, pregnancy and other conditions in the body which can affect production of insulin such as pancreatitis. Stress and high blood pressure also have direct relationship to the occurrence of diabetes.

Treating diabetes, in type 1 and type 2 cases, varies in each individual who has the disease. The goal of treatment is centered in keeping the levels of blood sugar in the blood as normal as possible. It would entail self-management, medical intervention and more importantly modification in lifestyle. Insulin injections are the most common treatment for diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, it would also include exercises, balanced diet along with insulin doses. Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand covers weight reduction, complying with diabetic diet and medications to maintain the normal level of glucose in the blood. Weight reduction and exercise can be helpful to the whole treatment process because it increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Thereby, cells can permit the entry of glucose in order to lower sugar levels in the blood. Oral medications are given as maintenance treatments, in case lifestyle modification is not enough. Furthermore, there is no acknowledged absolute cure for diabetes. At the moment, continued scientific and clinical researches are made in the hope curing diabetes (McCulley, 2008). The transplantation of islets, which are cells that carry insulin in the body, is one example of the current subjects that is still under investigation. Thus, the management of diabetes, at the moment, is still on the preventive and treatment levels.

People who already have diabetes are advised to modify their lifestyles. If the condition is associated with obesity, weight reduction is called for. It can be in the form of doing exercises but it does not necessitate heavy workouts. Moderate activities like walking for 30 minutes could help a lot in this sense. Activities of daily living which are advantageous include taking the stairs instead of elevators and walking to work if possible.  Aside from that, living with diabetes also means being conscious of the foods that one takes in. One should avoid foods that are high in salt and cholesterol as well as carbohydrates. A healthy diabetic diet includes fruits such as apples, oranges and peaches. Vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, beans and peas, and green leafy vegetables also top the list. Fiber rich foods to also include grains would be a great diet alternative because fiber delays sugar absorption or build up, so as to lower down glucose levels.

In the end, the way to get diabetes in clear perspectives from its cause down to its management entails awareness. Timely medical consultation is also of major help. Keeping blood sugar levels as normal as possible is the central factor in having healthy and longer life in spite of having diabetes.

References

Book

McCulley, DeWayne. (2008) Death to Diabetes: The 6 stages of Type 2 Diabetes Control and Reversal. Webster New York. De Wayne Publishing.

Electronics

National Diabetes Information Editors. (2011). Diabetes. Retrieved March 28, 2011, fromhttp://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/overview/index.htm#more

Mayfield, Jennifer. (1998). How do I know if I have Diabetes.? Retrieved March 28, 2011 http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/diabetes/basics/327.html

Medline Plus. (2010). Diabetes. Retrieved March 28, 2011,from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diabetes.html

American Diabetes Association. (2010).Diabetes. Retrieved March 28, 2011,from <http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/>

Emedicine Editors. (2010). Diabetes Mellitus. Retrieved March 28, 2011,from <http://emedicine.medscape.com/>

CDC editors. (2010). Learn Your Risk for Diabetes and Take Steps to Protect Your Health. Retrieved March 28, 2011,from http://www.cdc.gov/Features/DiabetesAlert/

The originality of a person largely contributes to his or her perceptions on social and cultural elements, which are found to be dominant in almost all societies. According to various American psychologists, the originality of a person significantly contributes to the social class in which the person finds himself or herself. In American societal settings, there are a number of races which clearly distinct themselves from each other. The races include; the whites, African Americans, the Hispanics and the Indian Americans to mention but a few.

Basing on surveys which have been conducted in the United States, people from the same race is much likely to interact, socialize and collaborate in certain activities as compared to individuals from different races. For instance, African American children have been demonstrating a higher degree of collaboration among themselves than when juggled among other races. Previous and even current societies have molded society members to be accommodative to people from their own race. As a consequence, the rule seems to favor mono-racial or individuals whose mother and father are from the same race as compared to multiracial children.

Basing on the article by David Brunsma on interracial families, biracial element has an effect on the racial classification of a person. A study which was carried out in longitudinal study of early childhood showed that children from a biracial background are more biased to identify themselves with the race which is dominant in that society. For example, a child whose father and mother is from Hispanic and a white respectively is more likely to identify him or herself with the mother’s race as compared to that of the father. In American societal settings, Hispanics are less dominant hence more prone to discrimination and other negative race-linked practices. Conversely, white are more dominant and classified at a higher social status in comparison to Hispanics. According to Brunsma, being a biracial child will accrue a negative perception on one of the races while favoring the dominant (Brunsma 5).

Biracial children are more prone to behavioral problems which are linked to racial lineage. This creates a clear picture that the originality of a person distinctively determines his or her acceptability in a given society. According to Udry and Hendrickson-Smith, biracial children are much likely to engage in drug abuse, premature sex or even suicidal attempts. In addition, such children have recorded poor scores in their class work in comparison to mono-racial children. These factors are linked to complexity and technicality of self-identification. In such children, race is a major cause of social problems exhibited in American societies (Udry 3).

Nevertheless, according to Barbara Tizard and Ann Phoeniz article, teenagers had a positive notch on the biracial issue. To teenager, biracial factor offered them a ticket to venture or socialize with different people from diverse backgrounds. To them, it cleared the barriers which exist on being a single race or a mono-racial person. According to surveys conducted in United States, cultural and social practices exhibited by these races determined the striking balance of identification. For instance, majority of American teens would like to have parents from either a white or an African American origin or a combination of the two (Phoeniz and Barbara 5).

Margaret Keiley evaluates how biracial factor affects individual’s perception on the issue of race. Children from different races have a problem of clearly identifying themselves in the society as compared to mono-racial children. Some of them have unique physical characteristics which are absent in other society members (Margaret 3). As a consequence, they are sidelined in social activities. In addition, they are frequently mistaken or associated with other distant races which they do not actually originate from.

Works Cited

Brunsma, David L. Interracial Families and the Racial Identifiacation of Mixed-Race Children:            Evidence form the Early Childhood Longtitudinal Study. Social Forces 84.2,            (2005):1131-1157. Print.
Margaret, Keiley K.  Biracial Youth and Families in Therapy: Issues and Interventions. Journal             of Marital and Family Therapy, 26.3, (2000): 305-315. Print.

Phoeniz, Ann, and Barbara, Tizard. The Identity of Mixed Parentage Adolescents. Journal of   Child Psychology, 36.1 (1995): 1399-1410. Print
Udry, Hendrickson-Smith L. Health and Behavior Risks of Adolescents with Mixed
Race Identity. American Journal of Public Health, 93.11, (2003): 1865-1870. Print.

Water privation entails the insufficient supply of quality water. The commonness of water depletion in many of localities has largely been common, even as this pattern shows clear signs of worsening; future water privation on a global scale is almost a certainty. At this very moment, more than ‘a billion people in developing countries,’ (Siegel, and Talantis (63-64), has access to safe drinking water this has caused economic and water poverty (Lall, Heikkila, Brown and Siegfried 1-17). This trend calls for quick and proper measures to be implemented by various governments and departments that oversee the water supply, to guarantee adequate safe water for all. The most appropriate way of mitigating hardships of water is through integrated river basin management.

Not usually a sensible foreboding. But human’s most grave problem in the 21st century may not be conflicts or famine or illness or even the disintegration of civil stability; it may be the inadequate supply of fresh water. Population increase, pollution of the environment and climate change, all enhancing, thus are expected to unite to present a swift decrease in the supply of water in the near future, according to Lall, Heikkila, Brown, and Siegfried (1-17). Actually, that supply is by now problematic for up to a 30 percent of the world’s population.

Currently, 1.1 billion persons lack access to safe water and further 2.4 billion lack proper sanitation facilities; such populations are found in the developing economies. Yet the reality that these statistics are likely to deteriorate inexorably has not been correctly handled by the world community. In spite of apparent status of the predicament, political dedication to overturn these tendencies has not been in practice (McCarthy 1). Grappling with inactivity at the management level and a globe’s population not properly abreast with the degree of the challenge, the international water privation will reach unparalleled levels in the coming years.  Acute water privation translates to hunger, ill-health and death. MacCathy (1) suggests the report released by World Water Development Report in 2003 confirms an alarming projection. By the mid-21st century, the worst scenario of water scarcity is likely to visit no less than seven billion persons in 60 states, but if the proper policies are implemented this trend may be reversed to two billion individuals in 48 states.

Even though water is an easily accessed stuff on the planet, only 2.53% of it is not salt, the rest is saline. Additionally, of the freshwaters, 65% is frozen and locked up in icecaps and lasting snow cover. What is obtainable, in lakes, aquifers, rivers, and precipitation run-off, is now coming under more and more pressure from numerous directions at simultaneously. Population increase is the prime propeller. The augmenting numbers of humans to over six billion by 2000 meant that the consumption of water nearly doubled in five decades. It is notable, between 1970 and 1990 accessible per capita supply of water decreased by 30% (MacCathy 1). Although birth rates are currently slowing, globe population is still expected to augment by 50% as much for the second time, to almost 9.3 billion persons by 2050.

Demand, actually, comes not merely from the necessity to drink, the need to clean and the demand to handle human waste, significant though comprise these issues; the really enormous calls on the supply of water which originates from industrial sector of the developed economies, and, in the increasing popularity of the agricultural world. Imperatively, watering of crops grown in hot arid lands consumes 70 per cent of the entire water used worldwide. Pollution, from manufacturing industry, farming and not least, sewers, adds another vicious pressure. Close to 2 million tons of human waste are channeled every day into water sources. According to MacCathy (1) one liter fecal material is enough to contaminate almost eight times the volume of fresh water. Currently, reports estimate indicate that all over the world there are close to 12,000 cubic kilometers of wasted water, which is far more compared with the whole amount available in the globe’s ten largest rivers at any particular moment. Nonetheless, it can be noted, if rate of water pollution and population growth increases uniformly, the world will eventually cede 18,000 cubic kilometers of the resource within the next four decades; this will be approximately nine times the volume all countries presently use for watering crops.

All that is not proper; though enhancing the pressure on the supply of water, further is climate change. The effect of climate change as projected by UN scientists is likely to account for almost 20% of the enhancement in water privation. While more precipitation is projected to pound in high latitude regions during winters, such as northern Europe, and Britain, in several drought-prone regions, with an extension to a number of tropical regions, rainfall is expected to decline further. Eventually the quality of water is likely to worsen with increasing levels of pollution and varying water temperatures Siegel, and Talantis (62-65). Additionally, the threat of the global growth of towns: currently, 48% of the Earth’s inhabitants reside in urban areas, and within the next two decades, the proportion is projected to hit a high 60%. Urban areas usually have more easily available clean water supplies compared to rural ones; nonetheless, their challenge is that such township areas concentrate wastes owing to poor sewer systems. MacCathy (1) notes: “Where good waste management is lacking, urban areas are among the world’s most life-threatening environments.”

The gravest, direct repercussions of water privation will apparently affect human health. The availability of clean water can be perceived as both trivial as well as an advantage: Water-related infections are among the most prevalent causes of human ill-health and death. In addition, water-borne diseases, for example gastric infections resulting to diarrhea, are caused by consuming polluted water; vector-borne illnesses, for instance schistosomiasis, and malaria are transmitted by the small snails and mosquitoes that use water as their breeding places. Millions suffer from such infections. In 2000, 2.2 million people were suggested to have passed on due to water and sanitation linked illnesses; about half the number died of malaria. The greater part of the victims was below five years of age. The world’s increasing need for fresh water has also been linked to soaring environmental strain; 60% of the globe’s largest rivers have witnessed their stream flows disrupted by reservoirs and, of the living things that prefer inland aquatic environments, thus affecting the existence of 24% of mammals and 12% of birds.

It is notable, one such agency is the Global Water Partnership (GWP), which was created by institutions like the World Bank and the United Nations (GWP). GWP can provide the technical expertise, advice, and funding sourcing that certain governments may require.

The main technical procedures in IRBM is the restoration of freshwater ecosystems, which encompass re-planting of trees in riparian areas, reconstructing stream waterways form and in-stream ecosystems, removing hindrances or implementing simulations of natural flow systems, reducing eutrophication in large water bodies, restoring water flow to reclaimed wetlands and reinventing native species. Re-establishment of innate uses of land within catchment areas is also another class of activities that is imperative to a lasting program for a deteriorated aquatic system. Some agencies and communities believe that water pollution phenomenon the most effective way to prevent water privation, rather than IRBM, which they say is not realistic and mere paper pushing.

Pollution prevention is the aim of water pollution control, instead of pollution treatment. Pollution prevention and minimization of waste encompass non-technical and technical measures aimed at the prevention of the production of pollutants and waste (Helmer and Hespanhol 1). “It is the conceptual approach to industrial production that demands all phases of the life cycle should be resolved with the aim of minimizing or preventing harm to humans and the environment. This involves the design phase of the product, the selection, fabrication and arrangement of raw materials,” the production and assembly of final products, and the management of all used products after their usability is over” (Helmer and Hespanhol 1).

Siegel, and Talantis (63) suggest that water privation in the future is almost a certainty because of the abuse that our water resources are being subjected to. Right now, more than a billion people are suffering from the gradual depletion of water resources. Despite the fact that the surface of the earth is mostly covered with water, this is not relevant because the issue is the supply of fresh water. The most sustainable and effective way to address the possibility of water privation is through river basin management. It has several stakeholders consisting of international agencies, business, and more importantly, the people themselves who share the water. Some people believe that water pollution control is more effective but this is not the case.

One feasible approach to mitigating the challenges of recognizing non-point source contaminators is to ensure all industries producing diffuse contaminats undertake the implementation of practices and technological innovations that decrease the release of polluting substances into waterways (Siegel, and Talantis 62-65). For instance, all cultivators could grow riparian buffers purposely to help in nutrient filtration or cover crops to decrease leaching. Alternatively, ranchers may opt to protect water ways using fences to restrain livestock dung from being washed to the waterways.

Conclusion

Generally, water pollution control does have its merits, but poses problems like toxicity that could potentially harm the water itself and the species subsisting in it, as well as being very costly. Water pollution control is also part of river basin management, although from a broader perspective. Because of the far reaching scope of river basin management, the perceived disadvantages of water pollution control are mitigated. In fact, water pollution control can only be effective and sustainable if used under the process of river basin management.

Works Cited

Dourojeanni, R. “Water Management at the River Basin Level: Challenges in Latin          America.“2001. Accessed 4 April 2011 from         http://www.bvsde.paho.orglbvsacd/aquaiamer.pdf.

Global Water Partnership. “Strategic Goals.” 2011. Accessed 07 April 2011 from

http://www.gwp.org/eniOur-approachiThe-Global-Context.

Helmer, R., and Hespanhol, 1. “Water Pollution Control – A Guide to the Use of Water    Quality Management Princi ples.” 1997. Accessed 4 April 2011 from

http://www.who.intlwater_sanitation_healthlresourcesquality/watpolcontrol.pdf.

Lall U, Heikkila T, Brown C, Siegfried T. Water in the 21st Century: Defining the Elements      of Global Crises and Potential Solutions. Journal of International Affairs, 61.2    (2008): 1-17.

McCarthy, Michael. Water Scarcity Could Affect Billions: Is This the Biggest Crisis of All?      (Web, March 5 2003). Retrieved from           http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0305- 05.htm

Ramakrishna, V. and Babu, B.V. “Fresh Water Depletion – A Crisis: Causes &    Remedies.”n.d. Accessed 4 April 2011 from http://discovery.bits-        pilani.ac.in/~bvbabulFrshwaterE&P98.pdf.

Siegel, Paul S., and Talantis, Billie S. Water intake as a function of privation interval when        food is withheld. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 43.1 (1950):         62-65.

University of Michigan. “Human Appropriation of the World’s Fresh Water Supply. 2000.

Accessed 4 Apri12011 from http://www.globalchange.umich.

edu! globalchange2/ current/Iectures/freshwater _supply/freshwater.html.Web

World Wildlife Fund. “A Holistic Approach.” 2011. Accessed 7 April 2011 from

http://wwf.panda.org/about_ our_earth/about_freshwater/rivers/irbm/

Fernando Alonso is widely regarded as “the best pound for pound” driver currently in the Formula One World Championship. Over the years since he has been in the sport, he has grown to become an individual who is adored by many but is also hated by others; this disparity is the result of a certain personality traits which are not only conflicting, but are also contradictory with each other like the disparity. The fiery Spaniard, cool to the point of detachment, ruthless, calculating, and loveable are just a few words that could be used to describe Alonso’s personality. These several descriptions fall under a variety of personality components including another possible self, motivation and emotion, temperament, and mental models. The concepts mentioned are interrelated and emerge over time with the development of his personality and his career to complete the equation of his personality dynamic (Hasan, 1997).

Similar to other drivers of this category Fernando Alonso’s motorsport career started at a very young age with go-karts in his home country of Spain. His first experience with a go-kart was a unique one. His father originally constructed a kart intended for his sister of which she had no interest in. The cart was passed down to Fernando who immediately had a liking for it. Although young, the personality component (learned content) for driving karts began to manifest at this stage and would govern his future urges and needs (Lanyon & Goodstein, 1997). Alonso would go on to compete in a number of racing competitions across the world, winning the championship in several of the categories before entering the realm of pro.

According to Erik Erikson emphasis on developmental change, children go through several stages arriving at a stage that begs to question “Who am I?” Clearly, Fernando’s childhood was a key factor in his development in where he was heavily influenced by his handed down gift and competition (Lanyon & Goodstein, 1997). I believe Erikson would have concluded that Alonso’s chosen identity was influenced by his social-cultural climate. Being involved in so many racing competitions staged in different areas created the paved the way to this simple but complex question (Hasan, 1997). Another perspective that can be taken is the Humanistic approach. According to the humanistic perspective “each person operates from a unique frame of reference in terms of building Self Regard or their self concept. Self Concept is one’s own belief about themselves.” (Hasan, 1997) This somewhat egocentric concept highlights the facts that one is free to do as they please according to their own interests. Furthermore “it is based upon the belief that well developed, successful individuals are best placed to make a positive contribution to society.” (Lanyon & Goodstein, 1997) Alonso’s unwavering dedication to his childhood passion is a clear example of this perspective.

A number of variables change when moving into the professional world of Formula One. The physical demands are extreme, the pressure to perform is infinite, the media exposure is constant and overbearing, and the travel to various continents is everlasting (Hasan, 1997). Many enter this world, but very few actually survive. Fernando’s first year in the sport started slowly with no race wins or any championship points. It was not until his third year where he finally picked up his first race win. He picked up further wins in successive seasons and won back-to-back world championships in his fifth and sixth seasons.

McClellands Motivational needs theory is applicable to this stage of Alonso’s career. His model follows the concept “that an individual’s specific needs are acquired over time and are shaped by one’s life experiences.” (Hasan, 1997) Alonso’s early successes in previous categories propelled his motivation to succeed in his professional career, displaying another segment of McClellands theory, the need for achievement. “People with a high need for achievement (nAch) seek to excel and thus tend to avoid both low-risk and high-risk situations.” (Lanyon & Goodstein, 1997) Only part of this theory applies in Fernando’s case. McClelland believes high achievers only choose work between the two spectrums of risk, never the latter.

As I previously stated this world of motorsport is a very elite one with ever pressing variables often times beyond ones control. The feedback he could have received from the individuals closest to him at the time could have had a form of impact on his achievement need. This pressure also contributes to the development of negative personality traits which are eminent from the learning theory and the contingent theories (Hasan, 1997). Among the negative moments, the most prominent moment in Alonzo’s career was in 2006 towards the end of the year. The sheer pressure of performing to win, and the self image contributed to the mental state which Alonzo experienced.

During this time he felt his team did not want him to win the championship. The fear of expulsion emerged from the lack of motivational feedback, coupled with a faltering self image and increased environmental pressure that created subtle fear. The manifestation of that fear could be seen in Alonzo’s feelings of being held back (Hasan, 1997). His tumultuous year at a new team in 2007 and his feelings towards his team, also in 2007 when he ran his teammate of the track at the race in Belgium represent the problems that he had adjusting his beliefs with his environmental image. It can be deduced and observed that the environment in the previous team pushed him to a stature wherein he felt in-charge, however in the new team he had to earn the trust and the respect of his team mates which he failed to do from the beginning.

The environmental factors even then presented a confusing image to Alonzo. In Alonzo’s own opinion, he was a person who could win. This was the behavior which he had learned along with the environmental factors that lead him to believe in the fact that he was not the temperamental Spaniard the world  purported him to be (Hasan, 1997). However, the response from his team mates was against what he had learned as a child according to Erik. As per McClelland’s theory, while the motivation was present Alonzo was unable to access the means as he would need to touch an extreme which was not plausible.

In 2010 Alonzo unsuccessfully tried to move back to his previous team, his character breakdown was prominent near the end of the year when he gesticulated to another player for causing him the championship; all of these are signs of emotional and psychological breakdown. It is apparent that in Alonzo, his alternative self contradicted with the environmental factors, and the lack of positive feedback contributed to the breakdown (Lanyon & Goodstein, 1997). What he had learned in the environment was not supplement by the feedback that he was getting from the environmental variables. This is to say that he was unable to cope with the contingent result and only focused on the perceived outcome.

What can be observed in Alonzo’s personality is how this breakdown could have been avoided with the positive environmental feedback and a controlled self image to the extent of integrating the ability to withstand shock. Also according to Erik’s theory, Alonzo did not recognize the positive environmental feedback; rather, he only regarded it as forced reflection of the self image. The distinction between the environmental feedback and the self image would have enable Alonzo to remain relatively stable even when the feedback was withdrawn. This goes on to show that Alonzo had a dynamic personality; such a personality is prone to drastic changes and fluctuations.

References:

Erik Erikson And Psychosocial Development. (2011). Retrieved April 11, 2011, from Essortment: http://www.essortment.com/erik-erikson-psychosocial-development-50823.html

Hasan, Q. (1997). Personality Assessment: A Fresh Psychological Look. Gayan Books.

Hierarchy of Needs. (2011). Retrieved April 11, 2011, from Hubpages: http://hubpages.com/hub/Humanistic-Theory-Hierarchy-Of-Needs

Lanyon, R. I., & Goodstein, L. D. (1997). Personality assessment. John Wiley and Sons.

McClelland’s Theory of Needs. (2011). Retrieved April 11, 2011, from Net MBA: http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/mcclelland/

The reign of Franklin Roosevelt as the president of the USA was one of the most important in the American history. The Social Security Act (SSA) remains the most influential legislation (Arnoa 25). Prior to its enactment on 14 August 1935, the poor, disabled and the elderly found it difficult to live. This was made worse by the Great Depression. During this time, employment rates dropped drastically, jobs were lost, and poverty levels shot. The enactment of the law primarily aimed at providing a steady income for retired workers. Adults aged 65 or older were targeted. The Committee on Economic Security (CES) initiated plans that would prompt workers to contribute part of their wages into a consolidated account (Leff 289). Subsequent modifications of the law have been occasioned by variations in demographic and economic trends. Increase in the population and fluctuations in the economic growth have been key considerations. Most scholars have supported the system on social grounds. However, some have critically questioned the sustainability of the system. The funding of the system, as well as the benefits that accrue from it seems to be the points of contention about the system (Arnoa 36). Whereas either side in the debate support the benefits of social security, the liberal ideas have often played against conservative ideas in government control, taxation, spending for social security- contentions that will remain for some time to come.

The first argument regards ownership and choice. The fact that the USA is experiencing resource incapacitation in the support of the system is evident. Previous financial crisis characterized by high expenditures and flat contributions may recur (Orszag & Diamond 115). SS deficits are possible in situations where the unemployment rates are high and wages are low. Consequently, the accruing benefits will drastically drop. Population growth has always been thought to be important in the realization of a successful SS. According to the USA federal government the debt base broadens (Arnoa 38). However, the economic growth fluctuations are unpredictable. It is therefore absurd for the government to affirm that an increase in population will be matched by an increase in SS contributions. A situation where expenditures exceed contributions is undesirable. The funding of the government debt becomes difficult. Consequently more borrowing is observed. The SS deficit is questionable. Why should the government opt for external funding due to uncontrolled internal debt? The future health of the system is therefore critical. The fact that many people are reaching retirement age due to the ‘Baby Boomers’ should not be ignored (Leff 289).

The second argument revolves around government taxation. The revenue realized from the SS system should be increased to reduce the regression of the payroll tax. It should be noted that people earning up to $ 72,600 are subjected to SS payroll taxes. The growth in average earnings dictates the level of increase in the cap of earnings (Orszag and Diamond 120). The past 20 years have been characterized by an imbalanced growth of earnings between the high and the middle income groups. Increased SS revenue is ensured when the cap on earnings is raised. This will ultimately ensure that the payroll taxes are non-regressive. The future funding of the SS system will be made possible through tax increase. A decrease in the payroll tax should not be advocated for. It has also been proposed that benefits should be taxed. However, the move is undesirable. It will see the low and moderate-income beneficiaries highly taxed. The tax burden of this income groups will increase while that of the high-income group will fall (Weisbrot and Baker 22).

Another common argument regards wealth redistribution. The USA is characterized by a great financial inequality. The richer have been getting richer while the poor continue to languish in poverty. The reason behind this trend has been the level of wages offered for new jobs. Whereas old jobs offer high wages, current jobs offer low wages (Weisbrot & Baker 23). In addition, the latter may lack retirement plans or health coverage. Similarly, the SS benefit structure exhibits considerable degrees of inequities. Some workers receive lower returns than others. It is common phenomenon to have workers pay for SS benefits not within their scope. In addition, workers are deprived the freedom to control their yearly contributions. In view of this the long-term financial problems inherent with the system should not widen the wealth redistribution gap (Orszag & Diamond 130).

Another common argument in social security reform revolves around trading off wealth creation for social insurance. The internal rate of return has been considered a monetary advantage. It should be noted that SS is a social insurance program, rather than an investment plan. The annuities enjoyed by retirees are adjusted to take care of yearly inflation. The monetary compensation associated with SS system is not enough (Orszag & Diamond 132). The beneficiaries of the system include surviving spouses, children and the disabled. A person, who regards the system as a source of monetary gain alone, underestimates the real value of the system.

Other arguments revolve issues of charitable entitlements, particularly safety nets or earned benefits. Citizens from most countries enjoy safety net activities as a right. However, USA citizens do not enjoy such activities as rights. The only exceptions are the public education for schoolchildren and Medicare funded healthcare for older adults (Weisbrot & Baker 24). In USA, the SS ensures that people work for social benefits. This is usually not the case in other countries. Good citizenship and compliance with laws are usually enough for citizens to enjoy social benefits. Charitable ventures are neither earned nor a right. It should however be proved beyond reasonable doubt, that indeed one is poor. Means-tested programs are common in the USA. However, most of these programs are criticized for their lack of objectivity in ascertaining those that qualify for ‘charitable’ entitlements (Orszag & Diamond 134).

The last ideological argument around social security in the US regards intergenerational equity and particularly on issues regarding supposed burden of social security for future generations. Differences in financial opportunities have been addressed by safety net policies (Weisbrot and Baker 26). Consequently, people with intergenerational histories of poverty and mental incapacitation have been empowered. The economic and social disadvantages have had negative ramification on the affordability of social benefits. Compensatory assistance is the best tool to address the intergenerational inequity. Communities characterized by high poverty levels, low employment rates and low literacy levels should be offered compensatory assistance (Orszag & Diamond 135).

Debate on social security reforms also revolves around whether to privatize social security schemes or not. Central in this argument is whether the schemes are bankrupt or financially sound- issues that would enable privatization. It has been observed that most workers never receive benefits associated with the system (Weisbrot & Baker 29). The long-term solvency is only guaranteed if all the stakeholders play their respective roles properly. It has been argued that higher earners would not benefit from SS benefits as the low earners would, once the tax ceiling is raised (or eliminated). The SS should not be viewed as a private savings scheme (Leff 290). There is need to ensure that fairness is nurtured in the system. The USA should ensure that the system changes with the increasing population needs. Otherwise, financial crisis may erupt in future.

Another issue regarding supposed privatization pits “Pay as you go” against “transition costs”. The pay-as-you-go system has been criticized for its nature to upset the balance between the expected future taxes and benefits. Situations of increased unemployment will lead to decreased payroll tax. A system where transition costs are put into consideration will ensure that bankruptcy is averted (Leff 290). The transition to a fully funded system will minimize cases of unclaimed funds.  The accumulation of economic reserves coupled by increased benefits will be enhanced. Transition to a fully funded system will not only avert the financial problems associated with the pay-as-you-go system. Rather, young workers will accumulate substantial amounts of benefits in their retirement accounts (Weisbrot & Baker 29).

The last argument pits “definite contribution” against “definite benefits” plans. The definite contribution plan allows both the employer and the employees to contribute to the individual account (Weisbrot and Baker 30). The contribution rather than the benefit is not known. On the contrary, the definite benefit plan ensures that individuals receive a given percentage on a monthly basis. The latter plan is the best on grounds of ensuring that one receives benefits commensurate to his/her contribution, salary and length of service (Orszag & Diamond 139).

In sum, it is clear that; Liberal ideas for ages will antagonize conservative ideas in US social security reforms. Several ideological differences that focus on the ownership and choice of SS funding, government taxation and wealth re-distribution have been highlighted. In addition, arguments over safety nets and benefits, wealth creation and social insurance, intergeneration equity have been discussed. Similarly, privatization concerns in regards to the system’s financial position have been outlined. In addition, pay-as-you-go costs are compared with transition costs. Finally, the nature of plan adopted dictates the nature of benefits realized. Definite benefit plan is superior to the definite contribution plan. Essentially, in the social security reform debate, liberal ideas will antagonize conservative ideas for long.

Works Cited

Arnoa, Peter et al. Social Security and mortality: The role of income support policies and population health in the United States. Journal of Public Health Policy. 2011. Advance online publication 17. <http://www.palgrave-journals.com/jphp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/jphp20112a.pdf>. Accessed 09 April 2011

Democracy Now! Social Security under Attack: Cuts Proposed, Higher Retirement Age Suggested – A video report. <http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/19/social_security_under_attack_cuts_proposed>. Accessed 09 April 2011

FactCheck.org. “Bush’s State of the Union: Social Security ‘Bankruptcy?”. FactCheck.org: commentary on the speech. <http://www.factcheck.org/article305.html> Accessed 09 April 2011

Leff, Mark H. “Robert Ball and the Politics of Social Security”. Journal of American History, 92 (1), (2005): 289-290

Orszag, Peter, and Diamond, Peter. Saving Social Security-A Balanced Approach. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2005.

US Government Accountability Office, Social Security Reform: Answers to Key Questions. <http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-193SP> Accessed 09 April 2011

Weisbrot, Mark, and Baker, Dean. Social Security: The Phony Crisis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.

India’s struggle for freedom and its consequent independence from the British colonial rule occupies a significant space in British Imperial history, inspiring a debate that attempts to decode the collapse of Britain’s imperialistic ambitions on the subcontinent. The debate has been ensued by historiographical interpretations on the nature and causes behind the downfall of imperialism, analysing social, political, economic and cultural dimensions of the context. Judith M. Brown points at the significance of Indian independence in the imperialist backdrop, stating that the event had a manifold impact on British imperialism as well as on international scenario in the post World War context, beginning with drastic changes in the “logistics of the Empire”1. Brown calls pre-independent India the “cornerstone”2 of British colonial “economic, military and political power”3. Studying the various historiographical perspectives available on the subject,  this paper will argue that the decline of British Imperialism in India was not the result of a uni-dimensional cause, but the outcome of a number of factors that contradict or complement each other.

A study of the decay of imperialism on Indian Territory would trace back to the advent of imperialism to the country. Norman Etherington tries to explain imperialism as a phenomenon interlinked with capitalism, observing that the former arose out of the capitalist nation’s need to expand its markets as a primary solution to a possible proletarian discontent in the face of a dwindling economic scope4. Arguing that while imperialism was “in some ways good for

1Judith M. Brown, India; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV- The Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press: 1999), 421.

2Ibid., 421.

3Ibid , 421.

4Norman Etherington, Reconsidering Theories of Imperialism, History and Theory, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Feb., 1982), pp. 1-36 (Blackwell Publishing for Wesleyan University).

capital”5, Etherington says that the continued scramble for markets across the globe would ultimately usher in an era fraught with rivalry between competing capitalist nations. The consequence of this phenomenon would be the development of hitherto underdeveloped regions that would in turn bring about an “antithesis”6 whereby a class-conscious working class would join hands with an impoverished peasantry to fight the colonial government for “national liberation”7.

Etherington’s notion of a “century of war”8 closely resembles Rosa Luxemburg’s interpretation of the World War. Considering the World War as the culmination of conflict between capitalist nations seeking to divide the world among themselves, Luxemburg said that imperialism marked the last phase of capitalism which was developing towards the turning point of “turning point of the present world war”9. If imperialism is indeed perceived as the zenith of capitalism and mutual struggle for markets abroad, then what marked the collapse of British imperialism in India? Etherington and Luxemburg talk about the conflict between capitalist countries resulting in a world war. But, did World War herald the end of Britain’s imperialistic aspirations in the Raj? If it did, then how does Etherington’s concept of a joint struggle staged by the peasant and the proletariat fit into the Indian context?

According to Paul B. Rich it was the First and the Second World Wars that corroded Britain’s

5Norman Etherington, Reconsidering Theories of Imperialism, History and Theory, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Feb., 1982), pp. 1-36 (Blackwell Publishing for Wesleyan University), 3.

6Ibid.,3.

7Ibid., 3.

8Ibid., 3.

9Ibid., 11.

“early imperialist climate”, an heirloom from the preceding Victorian and Edwardian epochs10. According to Judith Brown, what brought about the end of the British Raj were not so much the national movement and the prolific changes taking place in political and social spectrum as the “pressure of war”11. However, Brown also says that the relatively peaceful exit of the British from Indian Territory implied that the national government replacing the colonial rule would follow a path of continuity rather than marking a break with the previous administration. According to Brown, “imperial endings powerfully affect what comes after”12. Hence, as Brown puts it, the country “inherited a structure of administration designed to achieve Imperial ends rather than goals of national reconstruction”13.

Etherington’s concept of a struggle for national liberation contributing to the collapse of British imperialism in India is discussed by Brown who observes that the unprecedented turmoil witnessed by India during the period between the beginning of First World War to the second half of the twentieth century unfurled a national movement that influenced the country’s socio-political and economic situations. Although Brown argues that it was the far-reaching political developments that resulted in independence in 1947, she points out four major aspects of India’s relationship with Britain in the face of an impending collapse of imperialism: the first of these was Britain’s inability to protect its long term interests in India, which persuaded the imperial government to chalk out plans to facilitate a gradual withdrawal.

10Paul B. Rich, British Imperial Decline and the forging of English Patriotic Memory, c1918-1968 (Great Britain: History of European Ideas. Vol. 9, No. 6, pp. 659-680, 1988), 659.

11Judith M. Brown, India; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV- The Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press: 1999), 445.

12Ibid., 444.

13Ibid., 444.

The rising popular tensions in the Raj made an effective control over the dominion increasingly difficult, thereby accelerating the downfall of British imperialism in India. This sentiment was reflected in the Cabinet minutes of the Labour Government, as it concluded that the unreliability of the Indian army had reached a point where there was a constant threat of things getting out of control if faced with situations that could trigger a civil war14. According to WM Roger Louis, India was “becoming ungovernable”15, presenting the Colonial administration with a political and military crises of the ‘first magnitude’16. On similar lines, Lord Wavell remarked in 1947 that an attempt to control India in spite of having lost the power to do so would prove fatal to the government17.

Judith M. Brown points at the evolution of a powerful national movement as the next theme that determined the decline of British imperialism in India. Brown draws attention towards its ‘attempted’ international image as one guided by Gandhi, juxtaposing it with the actual limitations of its scope and its “strategic effectiveness”18. The question here would be whether Brown’s definition of the national movement would be conspicuously defined by political changes, a valid question since Brown, in the beginning of her essay, states that political changes brought forth India’s independence. This definition restricts the scope of national movement and its role in the collapse of British imperialism.

14WM Roger Louis, The Dissolution of the British Empire, chapter 14; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV- The Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press: 1999), 332.

15Ibid., 332.

16Ibid., 332.

17Ibid., 332.

18Judith M. Brown, India; WM. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV- The Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press: 1999), 422.

An alternative explanation is provided by ID Gaur who questions the interpretations of Indian national movement, stating that any attempt to “homogenize” the people so as to portray a unified movement merely reveals an effort to hide the “hegemony” of a particular class19. The national movement was a multifaceted phenomenon that successfully encapsulated a number of contradictions within itself. Gaur then observes that these paradoxes manifested themselves at “various levels”20, such as between British Imperialism and the Indian farmers, British Imperialism and the Indian National Congress, British Imperialism and the Indian middle class, British Imperialism and Gandhian resistance, British Imperialism and the proletariat21, etc.

According to Karl Kautsky, this struggle for independence should be seen as a ‘counter-pressure’, the expected outcome of the establishment of an industrial state’s domination over an agrarian state22, the phenomenon which Kautsky identifies as the starting point of imperialism. In Kautsky’s point of view, political sovereignty is the key to success in this race for domination, and the competition soon leads to a full-fledged war. Etherington points out the loopholes in Kautsky’s thesis, stating that the definition of hinterland is flawed in several aspects. However, if Kaustky’s thesis highlights political sovereignty as the extra edge in imperialism, then Brown’s observation on Britain’s increasing vulnerability and Rich’s statement’s on British government’s inability to control the Indian Territory can be construed as the decline of its imperialism.

John Darwin attributes the decline of British Imperialism to the devastating outcome of the

19ID Gaur, Essays in history and historiography: India’s struggle for freedom. (Anmol Publications: 1998), 66.

20Ibid., 66.

21Ibid., 66.

22Norman Etherington, Reconsidering Theories of Imperialism, History and Theory, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Feb., 1982), pp. 1-36 (Blackwell Publishing for Wesleyan University), 14.

Second World War23. Asserting that the War brought about the accelerated downfall of Britain’simperialistic ambitions, Darwin argues how the “catastrophic British defeats in Europe and Asia between 1940 and 1942 destroyed its financial and economic independence”, which he calls the “the real foundation of the imperial system”24. According to Darwin, the Indian independence in 1947 heralded the decline of British Imperial power. The Raj had channelled Indian resources into the War, and in the face of growing disapproval from the Indian National Congress, it had assured complete freedom “once the war was over”25. Popular antagonism against the Colonial government steadily began to rise in the post war period, and soon the Empire lost one of its wealthiest colonial territories, further weakening its economy.

Darwin’s argument ignores the various other factors that accelerated the process of decline over the years, while solely zeroing in on the Second World War. Darwin’s thesis on the Indian independence in 1947 as the onset of downfall of British imperialism contradicts Keith Jeffery’s opinion that the impact of the Second World War “did much to strengthen the Imperial system”26. Jeffery acknowledges the widespread developments taking place in India during the Second World War, but states that these were inevitable changes whose timing was facilitated by the war. Nevertheless, he discusses the British inability to ignore the Nehruvian indifference towards the colonial government’s declaration of war without consulting the national leaders and the growing demand for the Raj’s commitment to Indian independence, concluding that the price

23Dr.John Darwin, Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire (BBC History).

24Dr.John Darwin, Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire (BBC History).

25Ibid.

26Keith Jeffery, The Second World War, Chapter 13; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV- The Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press: 1999), 306.

paid by the Empire, however, to defend itself during the second World War was its own self.

Karl De Schweinitz’s theory about the decline of British Imperialism in India is connected to an ideology of inequality. Schweinitz explains how this “changing inequality”, that constitutes Britain’s Imperial history in India was sustained by the latter’s inability, unwillingness or perhaps even a lack of interest in asserting a public interest against British Imperialism27. If we consider this perspective to analyse the decline of British Imperialism in India, then we would need to conclude that the fall of the Empire was brought about when India was finally able to mobilize public dissent against Britain’s imperialist designs. This hypothesis implicitly points at the role of a public opinion in the collapse of British Imperialism, thereby overlooking the socio-cultural and economic changes as well as the multidimensional nature of the national movement that contributed to the decline.

According to Schweinitz, it became increasingly difficult for the British administration to ignore Indian public opinion as was evident with the Nehruvian policy of distancing itself from the war efforts in a bid to bargain for sooner national liberation. Nevertheless, Nicholas Mansergh opined that despite this lack of co-operation, the country’s participation in the Second World War sought to prove “not so much the measure of autonomy India had so far acquired as the extent of her dependence”28. Although it can be said that India’s participation in the war was based on a stick-and-the carrot principle, it cannot be ignored that the Nehruvian line of abstinence from Britain’s war effort did not have a wider impact- clearly, public opinion was still divided along ideological and perhaps pragmatic lines.

27 Karl De Schweinitz, The rise and fall of British India: imperialism as inequality (Methuen: 1983), 239-240.

28 Nicholas Mansergh, The Commonwealth Experience (New York, 1969), p. 295.

Robin J. Moore notes that there has been a rise in the amount of research on the role of the Second World War in accelerating the erosion of the British imperial power in India. Moore offers three aspects of this phase of transformation between independence and the end of the Second World War, arguing that the economic, military and administrative conditions underwent remarkable changes and “affected British-Indian bilateral relations”29. Moore explains this by referring to the massive strengthening and ‘Indianization’ of the Indian colonial army, about whose loyalty there were widespread apprehensions owing to the mounting pressure for freedom30. The number of enlisted soldiers reached a whopping two million during the Second World War.

According to Martin Wainwright, the ‘expansion of India’s capabilities’ is closely connected to the downfall of British imperialism31. The war gave an unexpected boost to Indian industries, thereby triggering an unprecedented development in the country. Wainwright highlights the production of arms and ammunition and capital investment32. Moore refers to B.R. Tomlinson’s observation that the war resulted in a huge inflow of sterling to India, and discusses Partha Sarathi Gupta’s argument on how the impact of a rising tide of popular protests on INA trials has been scarcely documented. All these theses underline the importance of war in bringing about the decline of the Empire. Moore argues that Britain’s awareness about the disastrous consequences of an inglorious exit from India worked behind its need to stage a peaceful

29Robin J. Moore, India in the 1940s; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume V- Historiography (New York: Oxford University Press: 1999), 235.

30Ibid., 235.

31Ibid., 235-236.

32Ibid., 235.

withdrawal and help install a government in its place. But, the question here would be whether an added emphasis on war as the reason behind this decline overshadows the various sequences of events that have unfolded over time.

J. G. Darwin seeks attention to philosophy behind the policies that London pursued”33 as he tries to locate the causes behind the fall of British imperialism in India. If seen from this point of view, the notion of a peaceful exit being the camouflage for the political panic is mirrored in the Cabinet minutes which went on to conclude that “withdrawal from India need not appear to be forced upon us by our weakness nor to be the first step in the dissolution of the Empire”34. Roger Louis argues that the British intention to envisage a continued allegiance to the cause of imperialism from the newly independent nation did not materialize. So, did India’s independence in 1947 indeed mark the end of British Imperialism?

The answer to that question lies in Ranjit Sau’s classification of the four phases of imperialism. Sau traces the first phase back to the sixteenth century and states that the phase was characterised by “colonial plunder with brute force”35. A major part of nineteenth century constitutes the second phase, which is marked by the expansion of markets in the colonies and the search for raw materials. The third phase is covered by the last three and the first three decades of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, respectively. Sau says this phase corresponds to Lenin’s idea

33J.G.Darwin, The Fear of Falling: British Politics and Imperial Decline since 1900; Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Fifth Series, Vol. 36 (1986), pp. 27-43; 28.

34WM Roger Louis, The Dissolution of the British Empire, chapter 14; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV- The Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press: 1999), 329.

35Ranjit Sau, The Theory of Unequal Exchange, Trade and Imperialism; Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 11, No. 10 (Mar. 6, 1976), pp. 399+401-404; 399.

of the high-point of capitalism which replaces the export of capital with finished goods from imperialist countries. According to Sau, the final phase began in the 1930 and was marked by what he calls an “unequal exchange in international trade” which surpasses profits, royalty and dividends36. If the drain of resources and unequal exchange are the hallmark of final phase of capitalism, then the decline of British imperialism in India can be said to have occurred with the declaration of independence in 1947 when Britain relinquished its control over the peninsula.

Was imperialism the cause of its own demise in British India? If World War is indeed looked upon as the final nail in the coffin of British imperialism in India, then in the light of arguments put forth by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Kautsky and Norman Etherington- about imperialistic race for the division of the world leading to war- one can conclude that imperialism brought about its own end. In this case, the wave of socio-political and economic changes that had been taking shape in India would assume secondary significance as these would then be mere by-products (in Etherington’s thesis, struggle for national liberation is an outcome of imperialism abroad) of an on-going process of imperialism.

Darwin offers a perspective that takes into consideration a number of developments taking place between 1900 and 1914 heralded the impending decline of British imperialism in India37. In the years following the First World War, the British government encountered numerous changes that seemed to prophesy the downfall of its imperial power: in India, it failed to check the wave of national movement under the leadership of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who would not settle for anything less than complete independence.

36Ibid., 399.

37J.G.Darwin, The Fear of Falling: British Politics and Imperial Decline since 1900; Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Fifth Series, Vol. 36 (1986), pp. 27-43.

John Darwin states that Britain’s decision to oversee the evolution of a national government in India and stage a relatively uneventful withdrawal hints at the waning imperial power of the country. Darwin calls this policy a ‘grudging acceptance’ of imperialist downfall, followed by the realization that the situation could be salvaged only by “fabian tactics and in a spirit of almost Metternichian futility”38. Darwin says the fault lay with the initial brash confidence of British legislators who refused to see the fermenting antagonism in India. While using an iron fist to deal with political dissent in the colony led by Indian National Congress, Britain’s definition of trouble was a possible invasion of India by its imperialist rivals. The colonial government introduced legislations like the India Act of 1935 with a view to cripple a pan-India movement by inducing what they called “provincial jealousies”39.

From Britain’s perspective, the new legislations promising Indians participation in administrative affairs were meant to be safety valves that would prevent pressure from building up within the nation.  What the policy makers did not see was the strengthening of a national movement that finally rose in magnitude to demand total separation from British control. In this case, what brought about the collapse of British imperialism in India was the inability of the law makers to see beyond their short term objectives in the country. The situation, according to Darwin, was exacerbated when the Second World War began. The contingencies of war inadvertently led to large scale developments and mobilization in India, thus strengthening the demand for freedom. The British sentiments were aptly reflected in a letter dated March 1940, written by Lord Linlithgow to Baldwin: the chief point expressed was that the Second World War, provoked by

39John Darwin, Imperialism in Decline? Tendencies in British Imperial Policy between the Wars; The Historical Journal, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Sep., 1980), pp. 657-679.

Hitler had ‘offset’ the British interests in Indian political scenario40.

B.R.Tomlinson seeks to analyse the end of British imperialism on Indian soil from an economic angle. Contrary to Darwin’s theory on the inability of policymakers to understand the long term repercussions of colonial legislations in the twentieth century, Tomlinson argues that the national movement was encouraged by British government’s failure to implement effective economic policies during the war and the post war period41. There was a tide of campaigns against British economic policies in the twentieth century, led by economic nationalists who branded them as exploitative and anti-Indian. Swadeshi movement and Drain of Wealth theory were used to mobilize popular sentiments against the imperial government. By 1947, the imperial powers on Indian Territory had been remarkably weakened and the British government was left with no choice other than staging a peaceful exit from the colonial region, hoping to “secure a bargain with successor governments which had the political roots necessary to run the interventionist economic system now required”42.

The decline of British imperialism in India is not an overnight phenomenon that occurred due to a single cause. It will not be possible to provide a linear explanation to the episode, as the downfall involved political, economic, social and intellectual elements that contributed in one way or another, in India and abroad. A particular theory cannot explain the causes and characteristics of the decline of British imperialism, as the various subtexts ensconced by the event do not conform to any specific straitjackets. On the other hand, the fall of imperialism had

40Linlithgow to Baldwin, 22 Mar. 1940, Baldwin papers, box 107.

41B.R. Tomlinson, The Political Economy of the Raj: The Decline of Colonialism; The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 42, No. 1, The Tasks of Economic History (Mar., 1982), pp. 133-137

42Ibid., 137.

far-reaching consequences for British population in Great Britain. Hence, it can be concluded that each of these above given explanations defines the collapse, while complementing or contradicting each other.

Bibliography:

Brown, Judith M. India; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV- The Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press: 1999).

Darwin, Dr.John.  Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire.  BBC History< http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/endofempire_overview_01.shtml> 26 February 2011.

Darwin, J.G. The Fear of Falling: British Politics and Imperial Decline since 1900; Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Fifth Series, Vol. 36: 1986.

Etherington, Norman. Reconsidering Theories of Imperialism, History and Theory, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Feb., 1982), pp. 1-36. Blackwell Publishing for Wesleyan University.

Gaur, I.D. Essays in history and historiography: India’s struggle for freedom. Anmol Publications: 1998.

Jeffery, Keith. The Second World War, Chapter 13; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV- The Twentieth Century.  New York: Oxford University Press: 1999.

Letter from Lord Linlithgow to Stanley Baldwin, 22 Mar. 1940, Baldwin papers.

Louis, WM Roger. The Dissolution of the British Empire, chapter 14; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV- The Twentieth Century. New York: Oxford University Press: 1999.

Mansergh, Nicholas. The Commonwealth Experience .New York, 1969.

Moore, Robin J. India in the 1940s; Wm. Roger Louis. D.Litt., FBA (Ed.) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume V- Historiography New York: Oxford University Press: 1999.

Sau, Ranjit. The Theory of Unequal Exchange, Trade and Imperialism; Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 11, No. 10: Mar. 6, 1976.

Schweinitz, Karl De. The rise and fall of British India: imperialism as inequality. Methuen: 1983.

Tomlinson, B.R. The Political Economy of the Raj: The Decline of Colonialism; The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 42, No. 1, The Tasks of Economic History: Mar., 1982.

Webster, Wendy: Englishness and Empire 1939-1965. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005.

The book Off the Menu: Asian and Asian North American Women’s Religion & Theology edited by Rita Nkashima Brock, et.al. is an incredible piece of literary work capturing concepts, insights and thoughts that are both novel and instrumental in their cultural importance, literary implications and religious relevance to its setting. This paper is a critical critique of the book where it will focus on three insights from the readings and will reflect deeply on them in an attempt to demystify all the angles touching on their inclusion in the book. The paper will critically analyze these concepts with the view of attempting to bring to understanding their implication to the audience and the society at large. In so doing, the paper will be in two parts: Part One covering pages ix to 162 and part Two covering from page 163 – 208.

Part One

From the word go, the authors of the book Off the Menu offer an array of composition that is loudly unorthodox and therefore new to the palate. The newness comes from exploring and testing the boundaries of truths, as we know them and presenting new frameworks from which one proceeds to understand the meaning of being Asian in the global setting and in light of contemporary issues- a revamped perception. This is the area that makes the authenticity and the relevance of the book quite historic as it is plausible.

Off the Menu has been arranged in four main parts from which specific issues are discussed and analyzed by the authors. These parts are: History and Identity, Reinventing Spiritual Tradition, Reorienting We-Self, and Embodied Agency. The book addresses the issue of racial discrimination in a manner that is both novel and wise. All of these four parts of the book address the issue of race albeit in varying approaches and degrees. History and Identity section addresses heinous historical injustices that have been perpetuated on non-natives of America. In the section of Fishing the Asia Pacific: Trans-nationalism and Feminist Theology, Kwok Pui Lan asserts that in order to address the issues affecting Asian women, there should be a transnational analysis of the intersections of race, labor, state, and gender in the age of global economy (Brock, Jung, Kwok & Yang 2007, 5). The rest of the essay takes off from Kwok’s deconstructive approach to redefining identities within transnational scope. This idea is well discussed in the book and raises questions regarding equality of the all people and postulates viable probability of there coming a time when peoples’ worth and honour shall not be pegged on their ethnic origin (Brock, Jung, Kwok & Yang 2007, 160).

That notwithstanding however, the authors appear to be overwhelmed by their quest for equality as they are obsessed with calls for freedom and equality to appear to tailor their preaching to appeal to peoples’ awareness of self rather than remaining true to the traditional primal goal of preaching which is to win souls to God (Brock, Jung, Kwok & Yang 2007, 158 – 159). This is particularly so when you consider Miss Saigon’s comments regarding her espousal to an Asian businessman where she makes it intrinsically appear sinful to hold a different opinion for those who were not in agreement with trans-racial marriages.

Part Two

The second part of the anthology, Reinventing Spiritual Tradition, proposes new ways of approaching and consuming the religious, the Asian flavor. Jung Ha-Kim warns of the danger of total assimilation of Asian religious culture into the American system. He claims that there is in the absorption a tendency to lose the borrowed ‘entity’ or ‘dish’ completely (Brock, Jung, Kwok & Yang 2007, 207). Bundang, on the one hand, provides a descriptive approach on how the Filipino Catholics in northeastern Florida practice their faith. Based on her field research, Bundang claims that diasporic Filipino Catholic communities follows almost similar patterns of expressing their faith with that of their home country while diverging on some religious points such as the homogenization of religious experience (Brock, Jung, Kwok & Yang 2007, 198 – 199). The third part of the anthology, Re-orienting We-Self, proposes that in order to avoid alienation, dehumanization all of which are part and parcel of globalization and multicultural existence, we must learn how to reorient our selves or our links with the rest of those around us/ with the rest of the world (Brock, Jung, Kwok & Yang 2007, 168).

The discussion contained in the second half of the book is very authentic and rich in facts and detail. If there is one word that encapsulates all the ‘tasty’ critical studies in the anthology, then it is the word daring. Staying true to the purpose of the anthology, which is to offer Off the Menu Course, the essays saunter into untrodden territories or at least the ‘unfamiliar and the not so popular’. This is where the strength of the anthology lies. It dares to deconstruct views about what it is to be Asian and a woman at that and in a world that is increasingly getting smaller because of globalization. The essays challenge the readers by way of pedagogy, ethnography, logic, and deconstruction to re-inspect every aspect of Asian identity- the self and the community (Brock, Jung, Kwok & Yang 2007, 188).

Conclusion

In summary therefore, Off the Menu is a literary anthology that has great insights some which have been captured in the foregoing discussion. Diversity is one complementary term that best describes Off the Menu. In the preface, the editor previews the diversity that is to characterize the collection as she writes, “Given its inception, PANAAWTM members have recognized the complex, historical, cultural, linguistic, and class backgrounds among us…we became keenly aware that the cultural heritages, struggles, and intellectual traditions of Asian and Asian North American women are diverse…” (Brock, Jung, Kwok & Yang 2007, xiii – xiv). The heterogeneity of Asian identity/make-up is translated into the anthology as the editors choose essays that tackle the divergences while proposing non-standard ways to integrate the dislocated parts for the purpose of solidarity. Off the Menu earns a point for recognizing the diversity among Asians and placing a check mark on the fact that there is no one single definition of Asian. This runs counter to the common belief that a set of characteristics can sum up the Asian identity. Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans may all look alike and their historical backgrounds may converge at one point or another but still each nationality stands unique in relation to the other. No culture among the thousands in Asia is ever a replica of another.

The comprehensiveness of the anthology accounts for the substance. The essays explore a wide range of subjects under the imagined heading, Theology and Religion from the Perspective of Asian Women in a Multicultural Transnational State. Varied aspects of the discourse on Asian Women identity are discussed in the anthology such as historical, religious/ spiritual, environmental and cultural. What further adds to the comprehensiveness of Off the Menu is its multidisciplinary approach. Not content to delve only on theology and religion, the essays take reference from other academic and non-academic sources such as sociology, anthropology, biology, history, economics, philosophy, language, and linguistics. By all means, such kind of a collection cannot slip through the eyes of critique without being branded spectacular, grandeur or an equivalent as far as quality literary prowess involvement is concerned. Inasmuch as the book has a number of its limitations as its sexist perspective of favouring the female gender, it can be justifiable accepted given the setting of the time of its publication which considered the female gender weaker, worthless deserving to be discriminated against. In one word, the book Off the Menu is spectacular both in content and relevant quality!

Bibliography

Brock, Rita Nkashima, Jung Ha Kin, Kwok Pui Lan, & Seung Ai Yang, eds. Off the Menu: Asian & Asian North American Women’s Religion & Theology. Louisville, London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007.