development

In the social sciences, the acquisition by a society of industrial techniques and technology; hence the use of the term ‘developed’ to refer to the nations of the Western capitalist countries and the Eastern communist countries, and the term ‘underdeveloped’ or ‘developing world’ to refer to poorer, non-aligned nations. The terms ‘more economically-developed countries’ (MEDC) and ‘less economically-developed countries’ (LEDC) are now used.

Since the 1960s there has been growing awareness of the damaging effects of human activities on the natural environment, and the assumption that industrial development is good has been increasingly questioned. Many universities now have academic departments of development studies that address the theoretical questions involved in proposed practical solutions to problems in the developing world. These nations face a number of conflicts between their need to develop economically and the environmental consequences of that development. Most developing countries have an increasing population, chiefly because death rates are decreasing and birth rates remain high, and this puts new pressures on already scarce resources. Developing nations are being encouraged to work their way out of their problems through sustainable development, using technology appropriate to local needs and resources. The World Bank and other international organizations provide funds for development.

Economies and resources About three-quarters of the world's population live in developing countries. These are the world's poorest nations, and most are in Africa, Asia, and South America. Although many are rich in natural resources, most have economies based on agriculture, and few have developed a significant industrial base. For the majority, living standards are abysmally low. Such nations typically suffer from shortages of food, few sources of power, and a low gross domestic product (GDP); fixed capital such as plant and machinery is scarce, as is social capital, such as good education and health systems and stable government. Productivity is limited by famine, disease, illiteracy, and inadequate equipment, and the greater part of the population lives in rural areas, dangerously dependent on one or two main crops. If these crops fail, the people suffer.

Development programmes Richer nations have set up organizations and programmes to help developing countries to conquer poverty, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), established in 1951 to provide development aid for the developing world. The UNDP encourages funding of projects aimed at dealing with environmental problems, as well as projects that have the potential to advance sustainable development. The overall problem, however, is vast – the developing world consists of about 120 countries, almost all of which have expanding populations – and progress is slow. Some countries, especially in Africa, are becoming even poorer.

Interdependence and global issues Many developing countries are former colonies of Western European nations and there is a certain amount of interdependence between the industrialized nations and the developing countries, many of which export raw materials to the industrial nations in exchange for manufactured goods. However, there are conflicts between developed and developing nations on global environmental issues. For example, a reduction in rainforest exploitation, or in the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), seen by the developed nations as necessary to control global warming, is regarded by developing nations as detrimental to their economic development.

Child welfare The vast difference in child welfare is a key indicator of the gulf between the quality of life in developed countries and in developing nations. One of the principal indicators used by UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) to measure the well-being of children is the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) – the number of children who die before their fifth birthday for every 1,000 live births (a measure that includes the infant mortality rate, those who die under the age of one). In 1990, the U5MR for developed nations such as Germany, Japan, and the USA was below 10; in some African countries this figure was as high as 300. Differences are even more marked for females because of cultural and religious attitudes. A baby girl born into a rich, developed nation has a life expectancy of 81, is assured of adequate nutrition, hygienic living conditions, and advanced medical care, enjoying in many aspects equal opportunities, including a high standard of education. Her counterpart in one of the poorer developing nations has a life expectancy of 43, a high probability of being malnourished throughout childhood, minimal health care, and a less than a one in four chance of learning to read or write. Of the 300 million children not in school in developing countries, two-thirds are girls – from the age of five, many are used as unpaid domestic labour, forced to work to contribute to the family's income, or sold into slavery.

Political implications In the latter part of the 20th century the developing nations have become increasingly aware of their economic problems and demanded a fairer distribution of global wealth, financial aid and favourable trade agreements from industrial countries. To them, economic differences between developed and developing countries are more important than political differences. In the 1960s, countries of the developing world began to use the United Nations (UN) to promote their interests; today, developing nations have the majority of the votes in the UN General Assembly.

development

In biology, the process whereby a living thing transforms itself from a single cell into a vastly complicated multicellular organism, with structures, such as limbs, and functions, such as respiration, all able to work correctly in relation to each other. Most of the details of this process remain unknown, although some of the central features are becoming understood.

Apart from the sex cells (gametes), each cell within an organism contains exactly the same genetic code. Whether a cell develops into a liver cell or a brain cell depends therefore not on which genes it contains, but on which genes are allowed to be expressed. The development of forms and patterns within an organism, and the production of different, highly specialized cells, is a problem of control, with genes being turned on and off according to the stage of development reached by the organism.

development

In music, the compositional process of extending and developing material. In particular, the term refers to the central process of sonata form, following the exposition, where thematic material is subjected to various developments, and the harmony undergoes more adventurous modulation than in the exposition or recapitulation, generally avoiding the tonic key before its reappearance in the recapitulation. The usual procedure is to develop the first or second subjects or both, but the procedure is by no means fixed and new matter may be introduced at will.