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Introduction to Steriods

Drugs have been used in sports almost as long as sports themselves have been around. The ancient Incas discovered that the ashes from burned leaves of the Coca tree gave the people great stores of energy, and made sleep unnecessary for hours or even days, it was later discovered to be the stimulant cocaine. They would take it before long hunts, battles, and even found it useful in ancient sport competitions. It wasn't until 1886 that the first drug-related death in sports occurred. A bicyclist took a mixture of cocaine and heroine, called the "speedball," and died from it. Little were the doctors aware the epidemic that would follow in the next century.

Anabolic steroids, developed in the 1930's in Europe, are drugs that help to build new body tissue quickly, but with drastic side effects. Anabolic means the ability to promote body growth and repair body tissue. It comes from the Greek word anabolikos meaning "constructive." Steroids are basically made up of hormones.

Steroids were not always used for sports, they started out the same way most drugs did, medicinal purposes. Victims of starvation and severe injury profited from it's ability to build new tissue quickly. They also helped prevent muscle tissue from withering in patients who had just had surgery. Steroids are used to treat Addison's disease.

Anabolic steroids are drugs that come from hormones or from combinations of chemicals that achieve the same result as hormones. Hormones may be given to an individual in their natural state, or in a synthetic one. The synthetic state is sometimes more potent than the natural one. Testosterone and progesterone are hormones used in steroids, another kind comes from the adrenal glands, which secrete various necessary bodily chemicals. The steroids themselves can be taken orally, as tablets or powders, and can also be liquids that are injected into the muscles.

The steroids taken by athletes contain testosterone or chemicals that act in similar way to testosterone. Testosterone is found in men and women, but in women it is present in much smaller amounts, mainly because it is produced in the testicles in men. More than one hundred and twenty steroids are based on the hormone testosterone. There are many brand names, such as Durabolin, Winstrol, Pregnyl, and Anavar.

Basically anabolic steroids control the bodily functions that are normally under control of the bodies natural testosterone. As well as turning women into men and men into manly men it has a stimulative effect on skeletal muscle mass, some visceral organs, the hemoglobin concentration, and the red blood cell number and mass.

Of course, most people take anabolic steroids illegally to stimulate growth in muscle cells. Once a person is born, he/she will not grow anymore muscle cells throughout their life. So when muscle mass increases it is the individual cells growing in girth to compensate for either an increase in work, or the release of androgen hormones(found in all anabolic steroids.) Exercise alone can stimulate the girth of muscle cells to increase by anywhere from thirty to sixty percent. The presence of androgen hormones allows for even greater growth. Anabolic steroids act like our natural androgen hormones in that they stimulate anabolic metabolism in the muscles. Anabolic metabolism involves the buildup of larger molecules from smaller ones and includes all the constructive processes used to manufacture the substances needed for cellular growth and repair. As a result of steroids stimulating anabolic metabolism, muscles increase in size to a substantially greater size than they would have been if the individual only exercised.

Doctors take different views on prescribing steroids. Most dislike the use of them in sports, and some will not prescribe them at all for use in sports. They see them as dangerous for healthy individuals, and the taking of drugs to get a winning edge they see as cheating. Others don't like steroids, but will prescribe them, knowing their patient, if not given them by their doctor, will get them from somewhere else. This way they can regulate them, tell the patient the correct way to use them, and keep an eye on them. Still others doctors consider steroids safe when administered under medical supervision, which includes carefully regulating dosages and watching for the first signs of trouble.

A fourth view doctors take is recognizing the possibility that although sometimes steroids do serious harm, the same can be said of minor drugs, such as aspirin. Millions of people take aspirin daily, because the benefits greatly outweigh the risks, and suffer no harm as a consequence, and the doctors feel the same is true about steroids. When under medical supervision, doctors feel their patients are safe because of their good physical condition and the drugs can be stopped if trouble begins to show. They feel that with steroids, much like with aspirin, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks.

None *of these views can be proven correct or incorrect, but one thing is certain. Steroids used without medical supervision do the greatest harm. The athletes generally do not know how much to take and take doses too large right from the start.

Many doctors believe that steroids can lead to heart attacks and even strokes. Steroids cause extreme bloating because they create an imbalance of chemicals in the body and to regain that balance the body holds water. This extra fluid raises the blood pressure and could cause strokes and heart-attacks. Steroids are also suspected of bringing on liver and kidney failure. The steroids seem just as capable of destroying tissues as creating it.

Women are seen as being especially endangered by steroids because of the increased amounts of testosterone. Testosterone steroids are androgenic drugs, which means they promote masculinity, as seen in the young basketball player mentioned above. Although women produce small amounts naturally, it is a male hormone. The testosterone present is kept in balance with estrogen, the female hormone. Like testosterone for males, estrogen gives females their feminine characteristics. The woman may bald, grow excess bodily hair, including a moustache, they lose the gentle curves of their body, their skin roughens, weight is gained, and the voice deepens. An unborn child is also endangered, female's unborn babies will develop such male traits as extra hair, and all unborn children, according to a few doctors, are subject to be handicapped and deformed.

Men also are endangered. They may experience a shrinking of the testicles, called atrophy, accompanied by a lowered sperm count, a lessening of sexual desire, infertility, and an enlargement of the prostate gland that men under fifty usually do not suffer from. Men will often develop breasts like those of a woman.

Steroids are dangerous when used incorrectly, and should be used only under medical supervision. It has undesired side effects for men, women, and even the unborn. When abused steroids are no longer anabolic, they stop building the bodies tissue and start tearing it down as anything will when used in excess.



Bibliography
Davidson, Julian M. Groliers Encyclopedia. Steroids. New York: Grolier, Inc., 1993
Dolan, Edward F. Jr. Drugs in Sports. New York: Franklin Watts, 1986.
Strizak, Alan Marc. MD. Groliers Encyclopedia. Sports Medicine. New York: Grolier, Inc., 1993.
Taylor, Willam N. MD. Macho Medicine. North Carolina: Mcfarland & Company, Inc., 1991

Information on MOHAN Foundation

MOHAN is an acronym for Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network and was launched in Chennai on 4th November 1996. MOHAN Foundation was started by a group of like-minded and concerned medical and non-medical professionals committed to increasing the reach of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.

MOHAN Foundation comprises four core groups that carry out the different activities of the foundation. These groups are:

1. Public Education for Organ Donation
2. Indian Transplant Newsletter (ITN)
3. Patient Support group (PSG)
4. Indian Network for Organ Sharing (INOS)

In India, approximately 1500 transplants have been done from cadaver organ donations in the last 10 years and of these almost 400 have been done in Tamil Nadu. MOHAN Foundation from the year 2000 to 2007 has facilitated donation of 387 solid organs and 338 eyes.

For more information about this Foundation, visit this link

Introduction to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

1.0 BASIC FEATURES OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an effort to universalise elementary education by community-ownership of the school system. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. The SSA programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children, through provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode.

1.1 WHAT IS SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

  • A programme with a clear time frame for universal elementary education.

  • A response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country.

  • An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education.

  • An effort at effectively involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions, School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum level Education Committees, Parents' Teachers' Associations, Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass root level structures in the management of elementary schools.

  • An expression of political will for universal elementary education across the country.

  • A partnership between the Central, State and the local government.

  • An opportunity for States to develop their own vision of elementary education

1.2 AIMS OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 6 to 14 age group by 2010. There is also another goal to bridge social, regional and gender gaps, with the active participation of the community in the management of schools.

Useful and relevant education signifies a quest for an education system that is not alienating and that draws on community solidarity. Its aim is to allow children to learn about and master their natural environment in a manner that allows the fullest harnessing of their human potential both spiritually and materially. This quest must also be a process of value based learning that allows children an opportunity to work for each other's well being rather than to permit mere selfish pursuits.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan realizes the importance of Early Childhood Care and Education and looks at the 0-14 age as a continuum. All efforts to support pre-school learning in ICDS centres or special pre-school centres in non ICDS areas will be made to supplement the efforts being made by the Department of Women and Child Development.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

  • All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, ' Back-to-School' camp by 2003;

  • All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007

  • All children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010

  • Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life

  • Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010

  • Universal retention by 2010

1.4 WHY A FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTATION (AND NOT A GUIDELINE)

  • To allow states to formulate context specific guidelines within the overall framework
  • To encourage districts in States and UTs to reflect local specificity
  • To promote local need based planning based on broad National Policy norms
  • To make planning a realistic exercise by adopting broad national norms.

The objectives are expressed nationally though it is expected that various districts and States are likely to achieve universalisation in their own respective contexts and in their own time frame. 2010 is the outer limit for such achievements. The emphasis is on mainstreaming out-of-school children through diverse strategies, as far as possible, and on providing eight years of schooling for all children in 6-14 age group. The thrust is on bridging of gender and social gaps and a total retention of all children in schools. Within this framework it is expected that the education system will be made relevant so that children and parents find the schooling system useful and absorbing, according to their natural and social environment.

1.5 SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN AS A FRAMEWORK AND AS A PROGRAMME

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has two aspects – I) It provides a wide convergent framework for implementation of Elementary Education schemes; II) It is also a programme with budget provision for strengthening vital areas to achieve universalisation of elementary education. While all investments in the elementary education sector from the State and the Central Plans will reflect as part of the SSA framework, they will all merge into the SSA programme within the next few years. As a programme, it reflects the additional resource provision for UEE.

1.6 BROAD STRATEGIES CENTRAL TO SSA PROGRAMME

  • Institutional Reforms - As part of the SSA, the central and the State governments will undertake reforms in order to improve efficiency of the delivery system. The states will have to make an objective assessment of their prevalent education system including educational administration, achievement levels in schools, financial issues, decentralisation and community ownership, review of State Education Act, rationalization of teacher deployment and recruitment of teachers, monitoring and evaluation, status of education of girls, SC/ST and disadvantaged groups, policy regarding private schools and ECCE. Many States have already carried out several changes to improve the delivery system for elementary education.

  • Sustainable Financing - The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is based on the premise that financing of elementary education interventions has to be sustainable. This calls for a long -term perspective on financial partnership between the Central and the State governments.

  • Community Ownership - The programme calls for community ownership of school-based interventions through effective decentralisation. This will be augmented by involvement of women's groups, VEC members and members of Panchayati Raj institutions.

  • Institutional Capacity Building -The SSA conceives a major capacity building role for national, state and district level institutions like NIEPA / NCERT / NCTE / SCERT / SIEMAT / DIET.

  • Improvement in quality requires a sustainable support system of resource persons and institutions.

  • Improving Mainstream Educational Administration - It calls for improvement of mainstream educational administration by institutional development, infusion of new approaches and by adoption of cost effective and efficient methods.

  • Community Based Monitoring with Full Transparency - The Programme will have a community based monitoring system. The Educational Management Information System (EMIS) will correlate school level data with community-based information from micro planning and surveys. Besides this, every school will be encouraged to share all information with the community, including grants received. A notice board would be put up in every school for this purpose.

  • Habitation as a Unit of Planning - The SSA works on a community based approach to planning with habitation as a unit of planning. Habitation plans will be the basis for formulating district plans.

  • Accountability to Community - SSA envisages cooperation between teachers, parents and PRIs, as well as accountability and transparency to the community.

  • Priority to Education of Girls - Education of girls, especially those belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and minorities, will be one of the principal concerns in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

  • Focus on Special Groups - There will be a focus on the inclusion and participation of children from SC/ST, minority groups, urban deprived children disadvantaged groups and the children with special needs, in the educational process.

  • Pre-Project Phase - SSA will commence throughout the country with a well-planned pre-project phase that provides for a large number of interventions for capacity development to improve the delivery and monitoring system. These include provision for household surveys, community-based microplanning and school mapping, training of community leaders, school level activities, support for setting up information system, office equipment, diagnostic studies, etc.,

  • Thrust on Quality - SSA lays a special thrust on making education at the elementary level useful and relevant for children by improving the curriculum, child-centered activities and effective teaching learning strategies.

  • Role of teachers - SSA recognizes the critical and central role of teachers and advocates a focus on their development needs. Setting up of Block Resource Centres/Cluster Resource Centres, recruitment of qualified teachers, opportunities for teacher development through participation in curriculum-related material development, focus on classroom process and exposure visits for teachers are all designed to develop the human resource among teachers.

  • District Elementary Education Plans - As per the SSA framework, each district will prepare a District Elementary Education Plan reflecting all the investments being made and required in the elementary education sector, with a holistic and convergent approach. There will be a Perspective Plan that will give a framework of activities over a longer time frame to achieve UEE. There will also be an Annual Work Plan and Budget that will list the prioritized activities to be carried out in that year. The Perspective Plan will also be a dynamic document subject to constant improvement in the course of Programme Implementation.

1.7 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN SSA

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan takes note of the fact that provision of elementary education is largely made by the government and government aided schools. There are also private unaided schools in many parts of the country that provide elementary education. Poorer households are not able to afford the fees charged in private schools in many parts of the country. There are also private schools that charge relatively modest fees and where poorer children are also attending. Some of these schools are marked by poor infrastructure and low paid teachers. While encouraging all efforts at equity and 'access to all' in well-endowed private unaided schools, efforts to explore areas of public-private partnership will also be made. Government, Local Body, and government aided schools would be covered under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, as is the practice under the Mid Day Meal scheme and DPEP. In case private sector wishes to improve the functioning of a government, local body or a private aided school, efforts to develop a partnership would be made within the broad parameters of State policy in this regard. Depending on the State policies, DIETs and other Government teacher-training institutes could be used to provide resource support to private unaided institutions, if the additional costs are to be met by these private bodies.

1.8 FINANCIAL NORMS UNDER SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

  • The assistance under the programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will be on a 85:15 sharing arrangement during the IX Plan, 75:25 sharing arrangement during the X Plan, and 50:50 sharing thereafter between the Central government and State governments. Commitments regarding sharing of costs would be taken from State governments in writing.

  • The State governments will have to maintain their level of investment in elementary education as in 1999-2000. The contribution as State share for SSA will be over and above this investment.

  • The Government of India would release funds to the State Governments/Union Territories only and instalments (except first) would only be released after the previous instalments of Central government and State share has been transferred to the State Implementation Society.

  • The support for teacher salary appointed under the SSA programme could be shared between the Central Government and the State government in a ratio of 85:15 during the IX Plan, 75:25 during the X Plan and 50:50 thereafter.

  • All legal agreements regarding externally assisted projects will continue to apply unless specific modifications have been agreed to, in consultation with foreign funding agencies.

  • Existing schemes of elementary education of the Department (except National Bal Bhawan and NCTE) will converge after the IX Plan. The National Programme for Nutritional Support to Primary Education (Mid-Day-Meal) would remain a distinct intervention with foodgrains and specified transportation costs being met by the Centre and the cost of cooked meals being met by the State government.

  • District Education Plans would inter–alia, clearly show the funds/resource available for various components under schemes like PMGY, JGSY, PMRY, Sunishchit Rozgar Yojana, Area fund of MPs/MLAs, State Plan, foreign funding (if any) and resources generated in the NGO sector.

  • All funds to be used for upgradation, maintenance, repair of schools and Teaching Learning Equipment and local management to be transferred to VECs/ School Management Committees/ Gram Panchayat/ or any other village/ school level arrangement for decentralisation adopted by that particular State/UT. The village/ school-based body may make a resolution regarding the best way of procurement.

  • Other incentive schemes like distribution of scholarships and uniforms will continue to be funded under the State Plan. They will not be funded under the SSA programme.

For more information about this Programme, visit this link

Introduction to JNNURM

JNNURM was launched by the Govt. of India in December 2005 to encourage creation of financially sustainable inclusive cities. The objective of the Mission is to give focused attention to planned development of identified cities including peri-urban areas, outgrowths and urban corridors to foster dispersed urbanization, ensure adequate funds to meet the deficiencies in urban infrastructural services, provide basic services to the urban poor including security of tenure at affordable prices, improved housing, water supply and sanitation, ensure delivery of other existing universal services of the Government for education, health and social security and establishment of linkages between asset-creation and asset-management. The Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing and Slum Development Program (IHSDP) under JNNURM are dealt by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.

1.Need for Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)

As per 2001 population census 285.35 million people reside in urban areas. It constitutes 27.8% of the total population of the country. In post-independence era while population of India has grown three times, the urban population has grown five times. The rising urban population has also given rise to increase in the number of urban poor. As per 2001 estimates, the slum population is estimated to be 61.8 million. The ever increasing number of slum dwellers causes tremendous pressure on urban basic services and infrastructure. In order to cope with massive problems that have emerged as a result of rapid urban growth, it has become imperative to draw up a coherent urbanization policy/strategy to implement projects in select cities on mission mode.

2. Mission Statement

Reforms driven, fast track, planned development of identified cities with focus on efficiency in urban infrastructure/services delivery mechanism, community participation and accountability of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/Parastatals towards citizens.

3. Mission Strategy

i. Planned urban perspective frameworks for a period of 20-25 years (with 5 yearly updates) indicating policies, programmes and strategies of meeting fund requirements would be prepared by every identified city.This perspective plan would be followed by preparation of Development Plans integrating land use with services,Urban transport and environment management for every five year plan period.

ii. Cities/Urban Agglomerations/Parastatals will be required to prepare Detailed Project Reports for undertaking projects under identified areas.

iii. Private Sector Participation in development, management and financing of Urban Infrastructure would be clearly delineated.

iv. Funds for the identified cities would be released to the designated State Nodal Agency, which in turn would leverage, to the extent feasible, additional resources from the financial institutions/private sector/capital market.

v. Funds from Central and State Government will flow directly to the nodal agency designated by the State, as grant. The nodal agency will disburse central assistance to ULBs or para-statal agencies as the case may be, as soft loan or grant-cum-loan or grant.

vi. A revolving fund will be created to meet the operation and maintenance costs of the assets created under the Mission.

4. Mission Objectives

a) Focussed attention to integrated development of infrastructural services in the cities covered under the Mission.
b) Secure effective linkages between asset creation and asset management so that the infrastructural services created in the cities are not only maintained efficiently but also become self-sustaining over time.
c) Ensure adequate investment of funds to fulfill deficiencies in the urban infrastructural services.
d) Planned development of identified cities including peri-urban areas, out growths, urban corridors, so that urbanization takes place in a dispersed manner.
e) Scale up delivery of civic amenities and provision of utilities with emphasis on universal access to urban poor.
f) To take up urban renewal programme, i.e., re-development of inner (old) cities area to reduce congestion.

5. Duration of the Mission

The duration of the Mission would be seven years beginning from 2005-06. During this period, the Mission will seek to ensure sustainable development of select cities. An evaluation of the experience of implementation of the Mission would be undertaken before the commencement of Eleventh Five Year Plan and if necessary, the programme calibrated suitably.

6. Scope of Mission Programme

The main thrust of the sub-Mission on Urban Infrastructure and Governance will be on major infrastructure projects relating to water supply including sanitation, sewerage, solid waste management, road network, urban transport and redevelopment of inner (old) city areas with a view to upgrading infrastructure therein, shifting industrial/commercial establishments to conforming areas, etc.

7. Mission Components

7.1 Admissible Components - Projects pertaining to the following will be admissible under the Sub-Mission on Urban Infrastructure and Governance.

i. Urban Renewal i.e redevelopment of inner (old) city areas [this would include items like widening of narrow streets, shifting of industrial/commercial establishments from non-conforming to `conforming’ areas to reduce congestion, replacement of old and worn-out water pipes by new/higher capacity ones, renewal of sewerage/drainage/solid waste disposal systems, etc].
ii. Water Supply (including desalination plants) and sanitation
iii. Sewerage and Solid Waste Management
iv. Construction and improvement of drains/storm water drains
v. Urban Transport, including roads, highways/expressways/ MRTS/metro projects.
vi. Parking lots/spaces on Public Private Partnership basis
vii. Development of heritage areas
viii.Prevention & rehabilitation of soil erosion/landslides only in case of Special Category States where such problems are common and
ix. Preservation of water bodies.

NOTE: Land cost will not be financed except for acquisition of private land for schemes/ projects in the North Eastern States and hilly States viz Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jammu & Kashmir.

7.2 Inadmissible Components - Projects pertaining to the following will not be admissible under the Sub-Mission.
i. Power
ii. Telecom
iii. Health
iv. Education
v. Wage employment programme & staff component

Information Source: JNNURM Mysore city website

For more information about this mission, visit this link

Biodata, Resume and CV

Biodata, Resume and CV

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