kevoy_essay

This essay was submitted on request by: Kevoy Jackson Shanna-Kay Findlater Jean-Pierre Kavanaugh Kimberley McDermott

Aggreypedia thanks you for your cooperation in spreading the goal of sustainable development that Professor Aggrey Brown envisioned.

In the context of development, analyse the attached article as discussed in the course.

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“Sturge Town gone to the dogs” she said, her voice laced with annoyance. ‘We need development in the area –new construction. We also need to plant the land, but laziness taking over; they (some young people) only want to bring down our history to nothing.” Jamaica Observer (2009). This excerpt from the Jamaica Observer provides a platform for thorough discussion on the broad topic of development. Categorization of development therefore is a prerequisite to establish grounds for this discussion. Without controversy, it can be said that the history of a community affects its development and Sturge Town is no exception. Though human development is being achieved to an extent in North West St. Ann, economic growth which is posited to be a primary fuel necessary in achieving human development by some schools of thought, has been stagnated.

Development can be viewed as a “normative concept” (Nixson, 2001) and its definition will vary among different people, countries and political parties. According to Nixson (2001), Michael Todaro reasons that the basic core values necessary to act as a guideline to understanding the central meaning of development are sustenance, the ability to have basic needs met; self-esteem which refers to a feeling of worth and dignity; freedom which involves a society having a wide spectrum of choices. This suggests that development is a collaborative, ongoing process with the betterment of humans being its focal point. “The human development school distinguishes itself from the economic growth school in that the latter focuses on expanding only one choice, income, while the former seeks to enlarge all human choices, social, economic, cultural, political” (Harris, 2001). Development then should not be confused with growth, which its main focus is extracting maximum profits from available resources, with no concern for future generations.

In the context of development, analyse the attached article as discussed in the course.

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The article ‘North West St. Ann Residents Stay Strong’ serves to highlight some of the developmental concerns of residents of the area. The article reminds us that Sturge Town which was established in 1840 as Jamaica’s second free village and it can be gathered that it was agrarian in nature. This in itself has had major present-day implications. The predominant economic activity of farming, has not only continued to today, but was preserved in its almost original form, with no mention made of modifications done to keep pace with the emergence of new agricultural technology over the period. The only difference is the transformation of the agricultural sector from being productive to subsistence farming.

In the older community members’ effort to retain their culture, they have been narrow minded in their ideas of fostering economic growth and has constructed a blockade against progression. This means that there will be less funds overall to spend on developmental initiatives which will in turn perpetuate the cycle of regression.

A number of perspectives on development come out in the article. One of which is represented in the interview with Laurena Ingram. She places emphasis on encouraging acceptable social graces and language in the younger generation. This view of development ties into the Human Capital View, which posits that modern cultural values are a prerequisite for development.

Another standpoint on development comes from the 97 year old who believes “you can’t depend on other people to solve your problems, you have to help yourself”. She is human and sustainable development in action; she is almost a centenarian and still operates a pimento farm, where she employs not only herself, but other women from the community.

Sustainable development is characterized by Nixson (2001) as that which meets the needs of

In the context of development, analyse the attached article as discussed in the course.

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the present generation without placing in jeopardy the ability of the future generation to meet theirs.

A hallmark of Kathleen Tracey’s interview is code switching. This is the seamless interchange of the Creole variety and Standard English. This in the view of many is one of the most important signs of development as it indicates that the speaker was formally educated. If this case is representative of the community, two of the features used to measure the Human Development Index (HDI) would be satisfied, life expectancy at birth or longevity and educational attainment or knowledge, factors stated by Nations Online (2011).

In the interview of 85 year old Betrice Christie, it is apparent that she essentially believes the key to development lays in construction and farming. This juxtaposes Laurena Ingram and Kathleen Tracy’s belief to an extent as they expect development to start from within. She does make mention of the fact that cultural values should be retained, as she reflects on a time when active community child-rearing was the norm. The perspective most closely related to this would be the Modernization Theory because although she makes mention of cultural values, the starting point of her developmental view is on economic grounds.

The argument of whether economic growth is needed for development will always arise and will possibly even give rise to the issue of rural versus urban development. In the case of Sturge Town, economic growth is a necessity. It is expressed that the price of pimento has experienced deflation and the road leading to this rural community is “narrow” and “bumpy”.

The latter isolates the residents from urban areas and advancements in technology, restricts communication and possibly access to outside resources. A picture in the article features a boy with many medals who hopes to one day compete in the Olympics and further his In the context of development, analyse the attached article as discussed in the course.

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education. Though this shows a great level of self-esteem and ambition, his guardian’s financial ability to foster this, or even governmental or private bodies to support this dream, comes into question. Within the Human Development Paradigm, productivity is a key aspect and even within the HDI, income, holds some weight. The ultimate goal must never be forgotten though. The United Nations Development Programme (1990) postulated that “people are the real wealth of a nation. The basic objective of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives. This may appear to be a simple truth. But it is often forgotten in the immediate concern with the accumulation of commodities and financial wealth.”

A reciprocal relationship exists between the history of Sturge Town and its development as with any region or area. Today, their options seems limited, hindering certain aspects of human development from taking place, but based on one’s perspective, different views on their development can be arrived at. All forms of development are interconnected and support each other, but the ultimate goal is to create a better standard of living for the citizens of a country. Therefore, in a country’s pursuit of sustainable and economic growth as a unity and not one without another, in an effort to improve the quality and longevity of the lives of its people, it is truly reinforcing human development as the central focus.

In the context of development, analyse the attached article as discussed in the course.

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References

Harris, J. M. (2001). A Survey of Sustainable Development: Social and Economic Dimensions. United States of America: Island Press.

Nations Online: Countries of the world. (2011). The United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) rankings for 2011 (Top 50 countries high human development).

Retrieved October 3, 2013, from Nations Online: Countries of the world: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/human_development.htm Nixson, F. I. (2001). Development and Economics (Vol. II). Jordan Hill: Heinemann Educational Publishers.

United Nations Development Programme. (1990). Defining and Measuring human. Retrieved October 3, 2013, from Human Development Reports: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_1990_en_chap1.pdf

In the context of development, analyse the attached article as discussed in the course.

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