We hear a lot about the “development” process and yet very few of us really know what it is or what it means. The concept of development is highly vague and as a matter of fact is usually described as the ability to improve the quality of life of a person. It can be defined as the capacity for people to enjoy their lives, the capacity of a nation to achieve development and the ability of individuals to participate meaningfully in the development process. Development occurs on all scales and can affect every aspect of life including infrastructure, politics, economy, social organizations, families, communities, families, and individuals.
The term “development” has been widely used in the context of many social sciences and humanities literature and is used to refer to the process that makes an event unique and increases its impact. In the research field, development studies attempts to describe patterns in social interaction and development over time and space that reveal the processes that create and support a dynamic entity. These models and processes are then used to explain and predict the outcomes of development.
The theories of development draw on many different areas of study such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, decision theory, complex systems, political science, engineering, and management to mention a few. Complex systems theory deals with understanding how the distribution of input as well as output within a system influences both its maintenance and success. Empirical arguments as well as deductive reasoning are used to support the validity of theories and help to construct a framework for understanding development. Empirical arguments come from observation and researchers use various techniques such as meta-analyses, case studies, and simulation to test these arguments and their impacts. The goal of the discipline is to describe various theories and illustrate how these fit various models and empirical examples of development.