Emergent Properties Essay Example for Free

Emergent Properties Essay Emergent Properties Emergent properties are properties that come about when smaller components combine together to form a large unit that works together for a common purpose. The idea of emergent properties is based on the fact that the whole combined unit is more efficient than the sum of all of the units. These properties cannot be seen when the organisms are separated from one another, the organisms must be together for the properties to take effect. Emergent properties have come about for the fact that when combined, these organisms can perform much more complex and advanced tasks that the organisms would not be able to complete on their own. In nature we see many emergent properties arise from evolution. When birds branched off from reptiles during their evolution, they developed feathers instead of scales. These feathers do not enable flight on their own, however when combined to form a wing they become much more efficient. When these two wings come together to form a pair of wings the result is an extremely efficient form of transportation that is not only light but also water resistant. Another example of emergent properties would be evident in our brain. Which each brain cell does not possess much computing power, however when billions of them are combined together, the result is a very efficient computing unit that can provide us with such things as thoughts emotions and character. Each brain cell alone would not be able to do these things. Emergent properties exist all around us and we even display some of these properties. One example of emergent properties would be the collaboration of many human beings. Separated, our minds are powerful, but nearly limited. Once combined we can collaborate with each other and perform many tasks efficiently, such as running a county, for example. It is not a coincidence that dictatorships are notoriously unsuccessful. There are also many emergent properties that exist beyond living things. For example when you have a hurricane, essentially all you have is air and water at various different temperatures. The randomness of this collection of air produces a large air mass that has a specific circular motion which is very powerful and devastating to anything that comes into contact with it. The air itself and the water vapor would not be able to cause this force on their own. It is the random order that makes this hurricane so powerful and hard to predict. Another example of emergence away from biology is currency. Currency or money came about as people wanted to trade with one another, but had no medium to do so. Alone, a single person would not need money. It is only useful and evident as many people come together to form a group. Without this group the money would have no value because it’s value is determined by people who are willing to trade with it. In conclusion emergence is evident throughout nature and even past it. It is the way  complex systems  and patterns arise out of a  multiplicity  of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the understanding of communities and ecosystems where it be in living organisms or beyond biology.

To What Extent the East Asian Model Is Transferable To Other Developing Countries1 Essay Example for Free

To What Extent the East Asian Model Is Transferable To Other Developing Countries1 Essay The economic status of East Asia has become one of the most flourishing and positively growing regional economies in the globe in recent times and something to reckon with. The region has turned to be the home of the global significance as well as the most affluent economy consisting of countries such as; Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore South Korea and Taiwan. There have been numerous and major factors that have turned the economic success of the region to be a positive gain to the countries (Chang, 14). Some of the key constructive factors that have contributed to the developments of the positive economic status in the region includes: positive legal and political environments for both commerce and industry, through the plentiful natural wealth of different kinds, to ample supplies of comparatively low-cost, trained, and flexible employment. The success of the regional economic developments can highly be adopted in many other developing countries. This paper looks into the extent into which the model that has been adopted by the East Asian region, and how well is it suited to be adopted by other developing countries globally (the suitability of the East Asian model into the development of developing countries’ economies) (Hira, 21). Literature review The most successful developing countries over the last over the last half a century have come from East Asia. The rapid economic growth of the eight Asian economies which is often referred to as ‘East Asian Miracle’ brought along two major questions; (I) what policies and other factors contributed to that growth? (ii) And can other developing countries replicate those policies to stimulate equally rapid growth? There have been numerous analyses on the success and also based on case studies econometric data, and economic theory, offers a list of the ingredients that contributed to that success (Kwon et al, 32). Researchers have been done, concerning the model deployed by the East Asian economies and how the countries have managed to navigate through economic crises. World Bank and financial institutions, has conducted the applicability of the development model applied by the East Asian countries into the developing countries. The development evidence of the East Asian fin ancial system has been impressive, especially when compared to that of other developing countries. How can such a record be accounted for? What lessons can we draw from it? What has been the role of public policy? These are questions that have aroused heated debate in recent years, especially among the mainstream neoclassical school and the non-orthodox or revisionists (Saggi, 36). According to World Bank 1993, the ‘East Asian Miracle’ model has been a positive gain to the Asian economies which can as well be adopted in the developing countries. In addition, Haggard, 2004 noted that, there is no fixed definition of what is contained in the ‘East Asian model’ of development. How economies grew, how industrial structures were transformed, how governments intervened in solving coordination problems, pursuing efficient policies, making credible commitments, etc. varied depending on time and location (Hughes, 18). Different writers select different characteristics, often depending on what country (or countries) they are studying, and, at times, in function of their ideological preferences. At the clear risk of over-simplification, but so as to maintain the discussion manageable, four major features will be selected that have, arguably, been both common to, and crucial for, the experiences of Japan, Taiwan and South Korea over the periods he re examined (Chang, 26). Introduction The historical, trade and industrial growth in East Asia described as ‘East Asian Miracle’ brought a huge attention into the world and has provided a large literature on the economic development theories since then (World Bank, 1993). The countries, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, followed Japan, which itself was the very first country that succeeded, becoming an industrialized country outside the famous western economy, and achieved similar economic success in the phase of development following the Second World War from the 1950s to the 1970s and named as the four Asian Tigers. Then the three newly Industrializing economies (NIES) of Southeast Asia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia also managed to take off becoming large enough to reach the respective status of middle income countries in the second phase from the 1970s to the 1990s. (Chang 2006, World Bank, 1993, Jomo, 2001).The adoption of the given model led to the adoption of a strategies directed towards t his regional economic development and in turn coming to be a central aspect in development these economics and the model was denoted as the ‘East Asian Development Model (EADM)’. The model has different defining clauses and includes factors such as state control over finance, direct support for state owned enterprises by the government, import substitution industrialization in heavy industry and shift to export-led industry, a high dependence on export markets and a high rate of domestic savings among other practices. The nature of this model EADM was opposed to the protestations of the IMF-led Washington Consensus, model, which itself constitutes principles, and policies that are aimed at global economy work through the act of harmonizing the way that national economy operates. For example, the models work through the act of reducing barriers to international trade such as tariffs deregulation led to reductions in government control with the pushing for free trade practices. However, the World Bank’s influential study, on the East Asian Miracle represents the neo-classical claim in the current East Asian debate by acknowledging that, the frequent use of state intervention in the East Asian development process, but also inefficiency of the intervention. According to World Bank (1993), the intervention was not harmful, though still not helpful. However, it is widely recognized now that the export-push strategies in East Asia are very much linked to selective industrial policy and state intervention actively promoted economic growth in the region. According to Wade (1992), the development of a concept of the governed market theory, explains the East Asian success by three causes; (I) high levels of productive investment. (ii) Relatively an increased investment in certain key industries and finally (iii) exposure of many industries to international competition. It is argued that such economic policies, incentives, controls and risk spreading mechanism allow them to sustain rapid development, which produces different level productions and its huge outcomes in the private sector. This theory emphasizes on capital accumulation rather than resource allocation as per the orthodox theory as the principle source of growth (Nissanke Ernest, 11). It is unrealistic to assume that there is only one development model and it can be mostly agreed that nations have been taking their own or different ways of pursuing the EADM model with diverse development strategies. Hence, this paper will argue based on the World Bank’s famous distinctions of the model; Northeast Asian model; based on the Japanese paradigm of industrial policy and more active state intervention, which refers namely the NIEs countries Southeast Asian model; described that more open and market-friendly regimes, which refers ASEAN-3 countries; Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia It is often criticized that, the re-applicability of the Northeast Asian model by claiming is not possible in the contemporary context, not only because it ignores the importance of the global market, but also owing to the Unique historical context of Northeast Asia and the constraints under the new regime of the ‘WTO’. Therefore, the first goal of this paper is to refute the initial condition argument while addressing analytical shortcomings of this orthodoxy theory; it deals mostly with static concerns and thus has little say about dynamic changes, and also it downplays the social-political dimensions of the economic development, adopting just a kind of ‘economic determinism’ in their approach (Richter, 44). Positives from the East Asian Model Diversity in ecosystem, population, ethnicity, religion, social structure, and political regime Equally great diversity in GDP, per capita income, and economic development High growth sustained over a long period almost throughout the region. Associated with this high growth are high, savings and investment rates, active, but managed external opening, export orientation, industrialization, and general improvements in social indicators. Accomplishments and Characteristics of the East Asian Development Paradigm One of the major achievements of the model is the rapid economic growth of the region. For example, the implementation of the model led to the real income per capital grow four times bigger than it was previously in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. Another accomplishment of the model was declining inequality. This is whereby; the positive gains and economic developments were evenly distributed throughout the populations. Thirdly, the model led to a quick reduction of the technology gap through massive investment in human capital, importation of foreign technology, export orientation, and the opening of markets for foreign direct investment as a means of introducing advanced technology. Finally, the model led to reduction of poverty rates in the region (Saggi, 51). Adaptability of ‘East Asian Miracle’ into the Developing Countries (To What Extent Can the Model Be Used By the Developing Countries) Less developed, countries or better still developing countries globally are nations denoted by the poor living standard as well as underdeveloped in industrial aspects. Base as well as a low human development index, when compared to other countries. One of the aspects used to differentiate between a developed and an underdeveloped country is the value of the county’s GDP per capita. Less developed nations are countries that have not realized a considerable degree of industrialization in relation to their populations. In most cases, they are said to have medium or poor standards of livelihood. There is a well-built relationship connecting low earnings and high populace growth. Once an expansion strategy is chosen, the proper policy systems will in turn certainly be formed or laid down as the foot print to development, and in turn the outcome of economic growth is, to a greater extent, determined by whether the preferred developmental strategies are right or wrong. If only the m acroeconomic setting and government guiding principles are well thought-out, and not looking into positives and negatives of the given development plan, then a general idea of where the problems lie is impossible. Modification plans thus raised can barely give solutions to problems existing in the wealth of African states (Hughes, 40). The implementation of the East Asian Model in the developing countries would somehow be of great achievement in terms of development. One of the major contributors to the development of the East Asian is the growth driven by trade and investment. For each of the countries in the region, the long term growth path as well as the achievement of industrialization can be tracked by income trends as well as structural shifts in GDP and exports. The exceptional feature of East Asian growth is that it has been achieved through the very existence of East Asia as a powerful arena of economic interaction among its members, and not merely by â€Å"market-friendly† policies or good governance of individual countries alone (Kwon et al, 57). One of the achievement or realization that has contributed to the development of the East Asian regions in terms of economy is the realization of the economic growth through participation in a series of dynamic production network that is generated by pri vate firms. This has been benefited by Linked by trade and investment, a system of international division of labor with clear order and structure exists in the region. Taking this approach into the developing country, the model can be of positive gain to the developing nations. The model also explains the importance of the private sector in the economic development of a nation. This can be adopted in the developing nations as it would lead to the increase of the country’s GDP (Kwon et al, 68). Another point that can be borrowed from the East Asian development model is the interaction among the members of the region. Thus, can be deployed in other regions such as Africa and also becomes a success. This would lead to the formation of powerful arena in terms of economic interactions between different countries. Moreover, good governance should be adhered in order to achieve the benefits from the model implementations. For the developing countries to develop and adopt the model into positive gains, the developing countries, have no choice but to initiate development, and undertake international integration via trade and investment. The East Asia model has also described the need to have well established political, social and economical conducive environment for a better economic development. This van as well be adopted in the developing nations which are greatly denoted by poor political establishments, and deteriorated social and economic aspects (Hira, 71). One of the developing regions or countries is the African states. The biggest question that remains for the African states is: Can African learn from the ‘East Asia miracle’ development model? Yes, the model can be of great help to a number of African nations as majority of them are categorized as developing countries. Since 1970’s all the way to the late 1990’s, East Asia has experienced has embarked on a model that has resulted in an outstanding evidence of high and unrelenting fiscal growth. The model has become a development model to other developing regions as is the case of African states (Chang, 49). One of the major aspects of the model is the East Asian regions embarked on the plan to increase the value and the amount of exported goods and as well reduce the number of imported goods. Through the increase in the volume of exports from the Asian countries, there was an increase in the volume of finished goods and the success in export trade has seen maintenance of high deposition and domestic venture rates. This provides the capital essential for economic expansion. Consequently, reducing the dependence on foreign investment and embark on home trade, investment and in turn increasing the value of GDP (Nissanke Earnest, 63). Following the attainment of independence, the third world countries were faced with the task of identifying the right approaches to build up their economies. This was meant to exterminate poverty as soon as they could. Many of these countries (developing) turned to strategies that targeted industrialization acceleration. This opted choice by some countries brought along an economic system that was an unclear macro policy setting and designed distribution structures for properties and the micro-management need for self-sufficiency. The result of the countries that deployed this approach to develop their economy, were shocked as such economic structures smothered economic growth. In return the economies of these countries which followed such strategies didn’t step forward at all, as some of the nations fell behind development as they were faced with more problems (Chang, 80). In contrast to this scenario, the development plans adopted in the East Asia signified an extra choice and approach to economic development. The region members gave massive contemplations to their resource state of affairs, and in turn they took advantage of their ample labor availability resources which provided them with low costs of labor. This approach allowed them to establish industries that are labor intensive as an economy development take-off. In addition, in order to achieve positive results in their economy development, the countries had to adjust their industrial organization. This approach was deployed in the ‘East Asia miracle’ model, which turned to be a success in the region. However, the approach of the same by the developing countries would be of great benefit to the countries and their regions such as Africa (Richter, 55). Another advantage of the miracle model for the developing countries is that, it teaches the developing economies to sustain a constructive macro-economic situation as well as the correct basic policies. The Asian countries have maintained their debt within bearable limits. One of the factors that has dragged the economic development and prosperity of the developing economies is the massive and inability to control their debts. The countries are heavily indebted to the financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF, such that, they are unable to control their debts owed to another stable and developed countries. With the inability to control their debts, the developing countries couldn’t control their inflation as well as both their home and foreign debts to a definite extent. Most of the developing countries are agriculture products dependent in terms of their productions. The East Asian models for economic development guaranteed the effectiveness of their policies whic h in turn was to enhance an increase in agriculture production (Jomo, 76). Other positive which can be of great advantage and can also be adapted into other developing countries includes the foundation of fundamental sound development policies. A large portion of economy development in East Asian can be attributed to getting the fundamentals needed correctly. These factors or fundamentals include responsible and disciplined fiscal and monetary policies, which are beneficial in maintaining moderate rates of inflation in the developing countries. Inflation is one of the factors that are a hindrance to economic stability in these developing countries. In addition, the model called for the conducive economic environment for private investment. For the developing countries, it helps realize the vital and the importance of the private sector in the economic development of the countries. In addition to the importance of the private sector in the economic development, the East Asian â€Å"miracle† model also advocated for high investments in education. To th e developing countries, investment in education, such as post secondary education, vocational and technical skill training developed a better educated labor force suited for rapid economic development (Kwon et al, 86). High rising and saving rates were also a practice advocated by the model. The East Asian governments developed a relatively sound and stable financial system. This was achieved through strengthening prudential regulations and supervision of financial institutions and setting limits on competition. They also expanded the financial system network by promoting postal saving systems to successfully increase the accessibility of financial savings instruments to non-traditional savers. Finally, the fundamentally sound development policies included actively seeking foreign technology through foreign licensing, capital goods imports, and liberalization of foreign direct investment. The policies were some of the adaptable policies what would work well with numerous developing countries globally (Hughes, 98). In fact, since the 1970s, Africa nations have continuously explored and re-assessed their development strategies, so as to seek out with a unique development pattern suited to Africa. This exploration is still underway. In this regard, African country can gain some ideas from the experiences of East Asia. A favorable macroeconomic policy environment is needed to support the practice of comparative advantage development strategies. For this purpose, productive factor markets and finished products, markets, which are feasible and fully competitive, must be established, so as to conform to the smooth operation of the market mechanism. Some African countries are making efforts in this direction while adjusting their structure. Meanwhile, they should pay special attention to adjusting policies (Hira, 89). Agricultural policy for agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy in most African countries; the support of the agricultural sector is significantly to economic development. The experiences in East Asia have shown that with the right agricultural policies and a measure, agriculture plays an important role in pushing the national economies forward. Many African countries have improved, to differing degrees, in prices and the circulation of goods, as well as agricultural tax policies. But there is a long way to go. Improving the management of State assets and raising profits in most African countries. State enterprises play a significant role in production and employment. However, poor profits and large losses have become an emerging problem facing economic development. Many countries have proposed the privatization of State enterprises. So far, the process has made little progress and has had little effect. In this aspect they still need to explore new methods of reform (Nissank e Ernest, 78). Defining government functions either under the marketing economy or the planned economy, government plays a very important role in economic development, only differing in its functions. The experiences in East Asia have indicated that the government should intervene only in the fields where it is needed, leaving markets to operate freely. Only in those fields, such as developing human resources, constructing and protecting infrastructure, environmental protection and so on. Where markets are not able to operate, will the government need to intervene? This will create a stable, sustainable and fair environment for the operation of market mechanisms. Choosing suitable development strategies and forming correct policies, this is a precondition for achieving favorable results, but not the full condition for ideal development. An effective and powerful government is a basic guarantee for the realization of the development aim. During the past three years, the African economies have contin ually risen and the overall situation has been improved. But the adjustment of strategies and improvements in external conditions requires time. Africa will be able to step on the path of continuous economic growth only if it undertakes long-term efforts and carries out suitable economic reforms (Chang, 101). Reasons why the development model won’t work with other developing countries Letdown of the East Asian growth Model Despite the progress made by the East Asia region in terms of economic developments, criticisms of the model have been raised as well as the models, adapted to other countries such as the developmental one. In addition, the adaptability and sustainability of the model have been questioned. The path trodden by East Asia has not always been smooth as some nations in the region failing to achieve high growth, and the states were hit by occasional setbacks. East Asia has had its share of hardships in its history, with hot and cold wars, social instabilities and financial crises. In addition, the structural weakness of the model is a posing threat to the adaptability of the system into other countries economy development. Despite the weakness, not a sign of the end of the system, it may instead be a signal that the model in dire need of repair in order to be a success even to other different regions (Nissanke Ernest, 92). Moreover, the East Asian model has evolved over time and adapted to the changes that has occurred in the region such a political, societal and economic changes which have not only occurred in Asia but also in other parts of the world. The fundamental question from this is whether the model can adapt to some of the most significant changes and developments that change the economic landscape of the developing countries such as democratization and domestic economic liberalization, globalization in parallel with regionalization, and the emergence of a new economy driven by information technology. The model can be able to adjust to significant changes in the region, but at the same time fail to adapt to the same changes in other regions such as Africa (Chang, 120). East Asian countries were constantly showing a lot of structural strains and rigidities. The model was hampered by four main failures that affected the credibility and applicability of the model into the developing nations globally. One of the failures is that, the model neglected the differences involving the government mechanism and the elected policy as well as the market liberalization. In addition, the failure to reorganize the financial structure was a stumbling block for the model to be adopted in the developing countries. Finally, the congested and non-transparent corporate sector within the developing countries such as the African states was a stumbling block to the implementation of the model (Kwon at al, 136). Asian Financial Crisis In 1997 Despite the growing status as one of the blossoming economic growth globally, the east Asia economy had to overcome some worrying and threatening financial crises. The Asian region was at some time faced with a severe financial crisis, Fro example is the ‘Asian financial Crisis in 1997’ also known as Asian Contagion. This was a succession of money devaluations that had spread through a good number of Asian markets. This financial menace started in Thailand, and spread to other Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and South Korea. The  Asian financial crisis  was a period of  financial crisis  that gripped much of East Asia beginning in July 1997, and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to  financial contagion (Harrold, 66). The currency markets first failed in Thailand as the result of the governments decision to no longer peg the local currency to the U.S. dollar. Currency declines spread rapidly throughout South Asia, in turn causing stock market declines, reduced import revenues and even government upheaval. According to Krugman’s Paul view, the east Asia economic growth had historically been due to the increase of capital investment. However, the total factor productivity of the region had only increased marginally or not increased at all. In the case of long term prosperity, there ought to have grown only in total factor productivity and not capital investment. The collapse of the Thai Baht in July 1997 was followed by an unprecedented financial crisis in East Asia, from which these economies are still struggling to recover. A great deal of effort has been devoted to trying to understand its causes. One view is that there was nothing inherently wrong with East Asian economies, which have historically performed very well. These economies experienced a surge in capital inflows to finance productive investments that made them vulnerable to a financial panic. That panic–and inadequate policy responses–triggered a region-wide financial crisis and the economic disruption that followed. In addition, The weaknesses of the financial sector in the East Asian region were masked by rapid growth and accentuated by large capital inflows, which were partly encouraged by pegged exchange rates (Harrold, 103). Key Root Causes Of The Asian Financial Crisis In summary, the main causes of the financial crises in Asia were: Large current account deficits that left the countries vulnerable to changes in investor confidence and macroeconomic conditions (i.e., slower growth). Overvalued exchange rates that were often pegged to the U.S. dollar, which was, at that time, appreciating quite rapidly. Rapid and unsustainable increases in asset prices, especially stock market and real estate prices. A currency mismatch between assets and liabilities that left banks and enterprises vulnerable to exchange rate devaluations. Inadequate bank regulation and supervision. Implicit and explicit government guarantees that made high-risk projects (including projects which relied upon continued appreciation in real estate prices) attractive to investors. Political instability Lessons learned from the Asian crisis In East Asia, in addition to supporting the International Monetary Funds programs, the Bank provided Structural Adjustment Loans to prop up and re-capitalize on selected banks by supporting bond issues. In addition, the World Bank set up credit lines to help finance imports. The Asian crisis menace came as an eye opener and as a surprise to policymakers, investors, and academics alike, where buy despite majority accepting the menace was expected it would have been controlled and avoided too. This would be of great help to the developing economies such as the African States cases. The recommendations that were passed for the prevention of Asian financial crisis prevention would be of great help to prevent the re-emergence of such a case again. In addition, the crisis was an eye opener to the economies of developing countries as well as the importance of the IMF. These include conditional financing, bail out from the such menaces as well as the structural adjustment package. As seen from the Asian Financial Crisis case, financial intervention from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank played a vital role in reversing the scenario. As a result of the crisis, many nations adopted protectionist measures to ensure the stability of their own currency. Often this led to heavy buying of U.S. Treasuries, which are used as a global investment by most of the worlds sovereignties. Financial and government reforms in countries like Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia. It also serves as a valuable case study for economists who try to understand the interwoven markets of today, especially as it relates to currency trading and national account management. In summary, of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the East Asia’s experience suggests that while a classic panic may have played a role, financial sector weaknesses were a major contributor to the recent financial crisis. Such weaknesses appear to reflect the inability of lenders to use business criteria in allocating credit and implicit or explicit government guarantees against risk. This implies that it would be prudent to accompany efforts to spur recovery in East Asia by reforms designed to strengthen the financial system. ‘East Asian Miracle’ Application To African Countries (Kenya) From the early 1970s onwards, the nations of East-Asia, also known as the Asian Tigers due to their astounding growth and expansion economically that demystified the conformist economic theory based on the western model of growth that adopted industrial development as an approach for overall development. Numerous researchers have pointed out that, contrasting the western model, the Asian model is premised on capital build up as well as that of human capital, which are seen as influential in the growth of these countries economies. The Asian economic growth has been very notable such that it has served as a textbook case for strategy makers in numerous Least Developing Countries such as is the case in Africa (Nyongo, 2007). This growth incident has baffled various economic historians as well as geographical experiences recorded so far leading to researchers to argue that, success in Asian countries was based on an updated version of primitive accumulation and that, their success can be a model if only their high savings rates can be replicated. This is in   contrast to African economies such as Kenya, which took off at the same time and indeed rate as the Asian economies. Contlarry of the Asian countries, Kenya recorded dismal and unsatisfactory growth and development over the last two decades prompting a number of scholars to call the incident â€Å"a crisis of proportion. This rather tremendous contrast between the two regions, that so recently shared a similar turbulent past, raises many questions which should be of interest as well as a challenge to policy makers, especially in Africa to discern what went wrong with their policies and policy implementation, against what went right with Asian coun tries. Such questions that beg urgent answers are even more pertinent when one considers that, Kenya was poised to grow faster than the Asian countries considering its resource advantages. For example, at the time of self-government countries such Kenya and Ghana were said to have had a healthier growth prediction than any country among the Asian tigers. According to the world bank, (2003) â€Å"it would be hugely important for African researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to have the opportunity to observe directly the economies of East Asia and Southern Asia themselves to discuss economic policy reform directly with the academics, practitioners and policy makers from the Asian region.† However, one point that should be kept in perspective is that, there are no two nations that are similar so as to assume that expansion and growth in one can be replicated in the other. One point to be noted in cases of development, there are some fundamental factors that must be in place for a country to latch into the development phase and the rest depends on the model the country pursues to sustain the development. Many policy makers and indeed some academics in Kenya, and Africa at large have, for quite some time now, tended to attribute Africa’s poor development record of its historical past, specifically blaming it on her colonial legacy, and later neo-colonial ‘manipulation by western countries’. Such attitude holds no ground when one considers that Asian countries had a comparable historical environment, which limits the extent to which these arguments can be held to justify the poor development record of many African states 50 years on. One point to be noted when it comes to Kenyan case and other African countries is that, African economies at the time, were not capable of creating good governance on their own, nor could they be expected to assemble the human and capital resources necessary to ensure a development process. According to Nissanke (1998), the failure of African states to economically develop like the Asian case, after independence is that, whilst all seemed to have a common goal of accelerating the pace of economic growth and thus development, they tended to diverge on such issues as: the role of the state, the degree of openness that could be accommodated, the desirable partner of investment in social services versus economic services, and the government-private sector relations. The long-standing results obtained   were not dissimilar, suggesting that, failure was the outcome of a wrong mix of policies which are uncoordinated, absence of institutions, external environment, lack of societal prepared ness, which were by and large   constraints overcame by their Asian counterparts. Elsewhere O’Connel (1996) commenting on such failure, emphasized that, African states and especially Kenya, have evolved from a shortage of capital diagnosis of the 1960s and 1970s, to a diagnosis of policy failure of the 1980s and, finally, to a diagnosis of institutional failures of the late 1990s. However, other researchers who, when comparing the source of growth in Asia with those of Germany, UK, USA and Japan, conclude that, by far the most important source of economic growth in these countries is capital accumulation, accounting for between 48% to 72% of their economic growth (Nyongo, 2007). Others have pointed out that, it is rather a combination of both capital accumulation and human capital accumulation (learning by doing) which have been the productive engine behind the unprecedented growth, pointing out that, physical capital critical in the growth process, is rather passive and subsidiary to human capital accumulation. This contrasts to the above group of industrialized nations where technical progress played a vital role in their development, accounting for between 46% and 71% of their economic growth (Aryeetey International Conference). Whereas capital accumulation and indeed human capital development accounts for growth differentials between Africa and Asian countries, it all depended on policy choices each the countries in Asia took, for such development has not been uniform in most Asian economies either. Rather, Asian countries which have recorded unprecedented growth episodes have combined not only right and consistent policies over time, but also their societal preparedness had an even greater role to play to this end. It has thus been pointed out that, countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and of late Vietnam have all had an element of societal preparedness, which is highlighted in the culture of hard work, drive to succeed, and high propensities to save (Nyongo, 2007). Others even argue that, the Chinese culture (of hard work and their strive for excellence) entrenched in most of these countries in part explains their drive to grow at the rates that far exceed the growth recorded elsewhere. The dismal performance of a number of African economies has also been explained in the context that, factors attendant in the Asian region, were not to be found in African countries, and no wonder that, no one country latched into development phase close to the Asian Tigers (Aryeetey International Conference, 2003). Although many African countries have borrowed a leaf from their Asian counterparts, especially in the areas of human capital development, the new paradigm shift has mainly focused on institutional development. This is even more pertinent considering that, Africa has not been short of capital. Indeed, despite the massive foreign aid and to a lesser extent direct capital flows, African economies have not developed as expected. This reinforces the belief that, capital inflows, whether local or foreign, cannot make an impact in the absence of a conducive environment characterized by transparency, governments, good governance, democratic political economy, conducive economic, social-cultural, and legal environment (Harrold, 96). Findings and conclusions At the turn 21st century, there has much dialogue and discussion about the ‘miracle model’ in East Asia and its effectiveness in the economic development and its sustainability. The East Asian economic development model, which built the hypothetical and institutional structure of growth in the area, is liable along with the rest of what was one time called the East Asian Miracle. In an attempt to give a rich, textured analysis, it’s clear from the paper that, the model can be of positive gain to the developing countries in terms of economic development. Despite the ‘East Asian development model’ a workable option for the developing and less developed countries, it had its own shortcomings. The contributors provide a cohesive review of the East Asian development model, exploring its cultural heritage, the political context through which it arose, its basic assumptions, and its recent failures. In particular, they identify the causes and consequences of the Asian economic crisis, describe the features of economic development throughout the region, and discuss the strategic responses of Asian firms to newly  developing economies of countries such as African states. The sustainable and swift economic growth in East Asia has attracted wide attention in Africa, and they believe the successful experiences of East Asia should be followed to develop African national economy vigorously. It’s clear that the model deployed by the countries in the region (East Asia) was effective in raising the country’s GDP and in turn it was worthy to be deployed in the African countries which are an example of developing states. Despite the growing challenges over the time, the model can be of great help to numerous growing economies. However, the fact that the East Asian model is so attractive to many African countries is bound to have profound implications for development practitioners. Western aid is not the only game in town anymore, and the global development  agenda is no more immune from the influence of a rising Asia than the global economic system has turned out to be. Developing countries can now choose between an ever-growing variety of donors, trading partners, investors and development strategies. Whether or not we agree with the models they pick or even with the idea of a development model at all we would do well to listen to and engage with these views. Therell be no point in trying only to reform and improve western aid if the real debate is happening somewhere else. References Adams, Francis G.  Public Policies in East Asian Development: Facing New Challenges. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Praeger, 1999. Print. Aryeetey, E., International Conference Asia and Africa in the Global Economy. (2003).  Asia and Africa in the global economy. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. Chang, Ha-Joon.  Rethinking Development Economics. London: Anthem Press, 2004. Print Chang, Ha-Joon.  The East Asian Development Experience: The Miracle, the Crisis and the Future. London: Zed / TWN, 2006. Print. Harrold, P., Jayawickrama, M., Bhattasali, D. (1996).  Practical lessons for Africa from East Asia in industrial and trade policies. Washington, DC: World bank. Hira, Anil.  An East Asian Model for Latin American Success: The New Path. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print. Hughes, Helen.  Achieving Industrialization in East Asia. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Print. Jomo, K S.  Growth after the Asian Crisis: What Remains of the East Asian Model? New York: United Nations, 2001. Print. Kwon, Jene K., and Jung Mo Kang. The East Asian Model Of Economic Development.  Asian- Pacific Economic Literature  25.2 (2011): 116-130.  Business Source Complete. Web. 11 May 2014. Nissanke, Machiko, and Ernest Aryeetey.  Comparative Development Experiences of Sub- Saharan Africa and East Asia: An Institutional Approach. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate, 2003. Print. Nyongo, P. A. (2007).  A leap into the future: A vision for Kenyas socio-political and economic transformation. Nairobi: African Research and Resource Forum. Richter, Frank-Jürgen.  The East Asian Development Model: Economic Growth, Institutional Failure and the Aftermath of the Crisis. Basingstoke [u.a.: Macmillan [u.a., 2000. Print. Saggi, Kamal.  International Technology Transfer to Developing Countries. London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2004. Print. Source document

Why People Commit Suicide Essay

Why People Commit Suicide Essay Suicide is a very complex subject triggered by various multifaceted factors. The failure to meet ones expectations which may have been instilled as early as childhood may bring about a wide variety of emotions leading to people committing suicide for various reasons. Depression, physical or sexual abuse, horrible disappointments, severe financial loss, mental or emotional disorders, all trigger feelings of emptiness and hopelessness and are just some of the few psychological factors which may influence an individuals final and distorted decision of committing suicide as a means to put an end to these insufferable emotions. The foregoing, however, is just a superficial analysis touching merely upon the surface of the deep-seated source of suicide. This paper will thus attempt to provide a more in depth analysis of why people commit suicide by looking primarily at the sociological factors and in particular in relation to Durkheims work. Durkheim defines suicide as a general state of extreme depression and exaggerated sadness, causing the patient no longer to realize sanely the bonds which connect him with the people and things about him -pleasures no longer attract [Durkheim, 1951:63]. Durkheim further stated that man cannot become attached to higher aims and submit to a rule if he sees nothing above him to which he belongs to free him from allsocial pressure is to abandon him to himself and demoralize him [Durkheim,1951:110]. In Durkheims Interdiction To Suicide: A Study in Sociology, Durkheim expresses his concern in developing the conduct of sociology. He sees the main problem to be that sociology is mostly constructed on philosophical overviews, and does not answer the exact social questions. He suggests a methodology that will give the science of sociology strong baselines and real results. In his book, Durkheim applies these propositions and shows how sociology should be conducted, and firmly draws conclusions that expose to us the way in which we should be able to approach the difficulties of society. This study has been presented in such a way that it is probable to assess the relevance and accuracy of its meanings and deductions. Durkheim gives the importance of sociology far more than being just a tool to fix the world, but it is a lens, through which we see reality as a shared reality, one included of individuals who are determined by their realities.In this introductory chapter he investigates the act of suicide and explores its social roots by examining suicide rates in different social classes and correlating that with the characteristics of the society.(Durkheim, 1970) A differentiation is made between two types of suicide, positive and negative. In Durkheims words suicide is thus described as all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result [Durkheim, 1986:64]. A positive performance would be to discharge or to suspend an act. In this case, death comes as a straight product of the action. A negative act would be the scenario of remaining in a burning house or to refuse eating to the point of hunger. Death in this case is the indirect result of an individuals act. Durkheim believed that the areas with the highest rates of mental illnesses and alcoholism are not necessarily the areas with the highest suicide rates. Esquirol wrote that suicide may be seen to be for us only a phenomenon resulting from many different causes and appearing under many different forms; and it is clear that this phenomenon is not characteristic of a disease. [Esquirol, 1838:528]. Durkheim believed that suicide is not an individual act nor a personal achievement. It is produced by some power which is over and above the individual. Durkheim studied suicide vis a vis the relationship between individuals and society affirmed that suicide is a social phenomenon as well as establishing that there are no societies in which suicide does not occur. He asserted that what most people regard as an individual act is, in reality, the result of the social world. The evidence supporting this view are numerous. In addition to the stark differentiation made between positive and negative acts of suicide, Durkheims research concluded that the institution of marriage protects against suicide making the observation that suicide rates are higher among people that have lost their spouse and those who are divorced. Furthermore, Durkheim observes that suicide rates are higher among couples who have no children than couples who do, concluding that a human being needs to be loved and have a purpose in life. People who do not experience love in their life are the ones more susceptible to suicide. (Durkheim, 1951). The institution of marriage may thus play a vital role in ones decision to commit suicide. Whether marriage should be viewed positively in relation to suicide is however debatable. While on the one hand marriage may play a role in protecting against suicide by providing love, purpose, and stability in ones life it may, on the other hand, be a volatile institution that once shattered may inste ad be an instigator of suicide. Durkheim interestingly further observed that suicide rates are higher during times of peace than times of war because during the war people need to be unified in defending their country (Durkheim, 1951). This observation may, therefore, suggest that feelings of patriotism, honour as well as purpose tends to distant an individual from suicide. Furthermore, suicide rates also tend to be higher during rapid economic changes than in economic crises as rapid economic changes are sudden and difficult to endure. (Durkheim, 1951). This observation made by Durkheim may suggest that people are required to work harder in such economic times constantly being pushed to their limits in order to keep up with such rapid changes bringing about feelings of despair, restlessness and being under appreciated. According to Durkheims research, religion may also have an affect on suicide rates. Durkheims collected data suggested that Protestants are more likely to commit suicide than Catholics, due to the fact that Protestants are more idiosyncratic while Catholics are more communitarian (Durkheim, 1951). In other words, Catholics tend to have more social support. According to Durkheim people connecting and validating each other within a community plays an important role in preventing suicide making this kind of social integration important. Without this type of connection, people may experience feelings of depression and isolation pushing them towards suicide. Durkheim, however, seemed to identify two sides of the coin in relation to social integration, pointing out that where social integration is high people are more likely to commit suicide in order to avoid becoming burdens to society. Two distinct features are therefore identified by Durkheim; namely, social regulation and social integ ration. Integration is described as the degree to which collective sentiments are shared and regulation refers to the degree of external constraint on people[Ritzer, 1992:90]. Based on these two social forces, four types of suicide have been proposed by Durkheim. Durkheim differentiated between four types of suicide, the first being egoistic suicide. Egoistic suicide is viewed as stemming from an absence of social integration and is committed by people who are outcast by society and are insufficiently integrated into social groups and societies, they depend more on themselves than on a group of objectives and instructions. They are not socially combined or not socially tied to a community or group. These types of individuals find themselves powerless in finding their own individual place in society and experience problems adjusting to other groups and are given little or no social care. Suicide is therefore perceived as a solution to free themselves of the loneliness or excessive isolation. Durkheim points out that this type of suicide is mostly prevalent amongst those who are unmarried, widowed, divorced, have no children as well as those without any strong attachments to religious, social or community groups.(Durkheim,1951) The second type of suicide identified by Durkheim is anomic suicide. Anomic suicide is viewed by Durkheim as disillusionment and disappointment occurring when a person goes through extreme changes in wealth and is ultimately caused by a lack of social regulation. This type of suicide is most notable at times when society is rapidly changing leading to uncertainty. It is a type of suicide that stems from sudden and unexpected changes which Durkheim found mostly occurs during rapid economic changes than in economic crises. Durkheim interestingly points out that suicide is more evident in crisis that brings out disturbances in ones life rather than being attributed to poverty[Durkheim,1951:245]. Altruistic suicide is the third type of suicide that has been identified and according to Durkheim, this type of suicide occurs when individuals or a group are too close and intimate and stems from being overly integrated into society. It is the other side of the spectrum in social integration when an individual is so well integrated into society that they choose to sacrifice their own life in order to fulfil some obligation. Altruistic suicide, being a complex concept, can further be broken down into three types: optional, acute and obligatory altruistic suicide. Optional altruistic suicide is brought about by societal pressures that may, in fact, be well-intentioned. This can be seen in Japan where there is a high level of suicide amongst students because of stress and high expectations from others and the constant pressure to excel at school exams. Often the accompanying stress and anxiety push them to commit suicide; suicide in the victims perspective becomes the answer to freedo m of oppression from what society expects individuals to be. Acute altruistic suicide occurs when an individual kills himself in order to save another life. For example when a fire-fighter saves a person from a burning fire but the fire-fighter dies as a result. This is an act of heroism and self-sacrifice. It could be argued that it may by flawed to categories this as a type of suicide because suicide is mainly associated with a troublesome and stressed life, when in fact such an act may be a form of the righteous act. Obligatory altruistic suicidal refers to a type of suicidal where respect and honour plays an important factor. For example in India, Hindu women should kill themselves during their husbands funeral as an act of honour expressing that life after the death of their spouse was not worth living. If women from these communities insisted on living the y would lose public respect; in some cases, the usual funeral honours are denied, in another a life of horror is supposed to await him beyond the grave (Durkheim,1951).Connect these two paragraphs. Durkheim points out that altruistic suicide is part of the collective spirit (Durkheim,1970). For example, when the spirit inquires you to do something you are obliged to do so and which we, therefore, see in environments where society places a substantial amount of pressure and expectations on individuals which may, in turn, push an individual towards suicide as a means of escape. The final type of suicide is fatalistic suicide. Durkheim discussed this type briefly because it was seen as a rare phenomenon in the real world. Fatalistic suicide occurs in social conditions where an individual experiences universal persecution resulting from excessive regulation whose passions [were] violently choked by oppressive discipline(Durkheim,1970). Slavery and persecution are examples of fatalistic suicide in which an individual may feel that they are destined by fate to be in such conditions and choose suicide as the only means to escape such conditions These four types of suicide are categorised by the degree of integration and regulation of individuals in their surrounding society. According to Durkheim people commit suicide because of either too high or too low integration or regulation, Suicide is a social fact and is due to social forces. Individuals are more likely to commit suicide each time the condition of society leaves from a state of stability. Society preserves stability by integration and regulation Durkheims work has been critiqued on many grounds, for example, his emphasis on consensus and morality , thanhis positivist method and negligence of the individual as an actor, his description of suicide rates. Durkheims concept of suicide is thought to be more reinforced by argument than by fact. However, he is contributed to the growth of sociology and over a difficult theoretical framework To conclude suicide is not an individual act it is a social act. People commit suicide because they are not supported by society or they do not feel loved by their own family. If a person has no support in his life and no one to care about thenthey can feel valueless and this will lead to depression which may lead to suicide. Suicide rates are correlated with how well a person is integrated into society and the degree to which society regulates individual behavior. In general, suicide has some connection with social rules or standards and the individual.

How People with Autism Experience the World Essays -- Science Scientif

How People with Autism Experience the World Many of us have heard of the neurological disorder called autism, and have a general sense of what the term "autism" means and all of the typical behaviors that belong in its category. Yet, I must question how many of us out there who do take an interest in autism really understand how having this disorder can totally distort one's perception of what one experiences in the world. A person with autism senses things differently than we normally do, and also responds to them in other ways – what we would call "abnormal behaviors". Why is this so? According to scientists, MRI research studies have shown that the brains of autistic individuals have particular abnormalities in the cerebellum, brain stem, hippocampus, amygdala, the limbic system, and frontal cortex (7). This provides substantial evidence that autistic behaviors must be in some way caused by these abnormalities. The problem is that we do not know exactly how or why these abnormalities cause someone with autism to experience the world differently than we do. This underlying issue of autism has always greatly intrigued me, and yet the topic of sensory integrative dysfunction in autism has been overlooked for many years. Articles and documents addressing this feature of autism have begun to appear only recently. While conducting research for my paper, I found it a challenge to find articles that specifically talked about this topic that I desired so much to learn about. Thus, the ultimate goal of my discussion is to reveal a misunderstood, hidden world – the complicated sensory dysfunctions that underlie autistic spectrum disorder. What have we found out so far about how people with autism experience the world? Al... ...s and Communication Disorders http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Auditory_Processing_Problems.htm 8)Autism Today Page, An Inside View of Autism http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/An_Inside_View_of_Autism.htm 9)Pub Med Page, Nicotinic Receptor Abnormalities in the Cerebellar Cortex in Autism http://www.brainbank.org/HtmNew/Abstracts/LeeM.html 10)Pub Med Page, Stereological Evidence of Abnormal Cortical Organization in Individuals with Autism http://www.brainbank.org/HtmNew/Abstracts/Hutsler.html 11)Autism and Related Conditions Page, Sensory and Motor Disorders http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna/asa/definitions/sensory.html 12)National Center for Biotechnology Information Page, Neurofunctional Mechanisms in Autism http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 13)Autism Today Page, Sensory Disorder http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Sensory_Disorder.htm

Computer Fanatics - Good or Evil? :: essays papers

Computer Fanatics - Good or Evil? Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Charles Manson, and David Koresh were all fanatics of some nature. These fanatics did not have a helpful side effect for people but caused death and one of them a World War. Fanatics don’t all have to be bad though some fanatics helped our way of life or increased it with entertainment. Such fanatics like Michael Jordan and Larry Bird have made basketball a more enjoyable sport to watch. A fanatic is a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal. All of the above mentioned have had or have these qualities. One type of fanatic that has grown larger in numbers is the computer fanatic. With the rise of technology and the Internet kids and adults are becoming fanatical with computers. Some of the traits of a computer fanatic are a need or want to be around a computer most of the time, talks a lot about computers, and there incredible knowledge for them. A computer fanatic always wants to be around a computer and if he isn’t it’s almost like a withdrawal from a drug. To a computer fanatic a computer is almost like a drug and if he doesn’t get a constant supply of it then he gets moody or restless. Programmers and other computer technicians are almost all computer fanatics and they spend at least 40 hours a week on a computer. Computers to these people are basically there life and that is why the coined term computer nerd was created. A good example of a computer fanatic can be seen in the movie Matrix that the main actor is seen next to his computer asleep and it looks as if he hasn’t moved all day. They love computers like someone might love their wife. When a computer fanatic isn’t around their computer they are always talking about them. They will always at some point have to talk about some thing related to computers. They have a difficult time separating their computer from any other part of their life. It’s hard to carry a conversation with a computer fanatic because sooner or later they will mention something related to computers. Sometimes it can be interesting but usually they speak at a level of understanding that a non-computer fanatic would not understand. There level of understanding is above most normal people and that is another way to tell if they are computer fanatics.

Animal Testing Should Be Outlawed Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive 20

According to Biology Online, animal experimentation is defined as the use of animals in experiments and development projects usually to determine toxicity, dosing and efficacy of test drugs before proceeding to human clinical trials. Animal experimentation has been going on since ancient Greece when Aristotle and Hippocrates first made their model of the human body based on what they had observed through animal dissection. Then, Romans used animals to do more psychological tests on animals like pigs, monkeys and dogs. After that, the Renaissance period took up physiological studies. Since then, the 20th century had a huge increase in animal testing until 1980 when activists started standing up against the labs. Activists have not been very successful at protecting the animals’ rights in some cases and the past decades have seen a noticeable increase in animal testing for many reasons (Baumans). Today, despite activist’s efforts, animal testing is still commonly used. Ne vertheless, animal testing is unethical and should be outlawed. People in favor of animal testing believe that animals are needed for any sort of medical advancement. They believe that without testing on live animals, our medical field would not be able to make improvements. Scientists assume that humans would be hindered enormously if they did not test drugs on animals before they were released to the human world. They also think that animals are tested to do various behavioral and genetic testing. People in favor of animal testing are under the impression that the animals are a great help towards psychologists in finding out more about the brain and how the human brain works. They think that without the animals, nobody would be able to fully understand how the ... ...ety. aavs.org, 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. . Bantwal, Natasha. "Arguments Against Animal Testing." Buzzle.com: Intelligent Life on the Web. Buzzle.com, 2010. Web. 16 Nov 2010. against-animal-testing.html>. Baumans, V. "Use of animals in experimental research: an ethical dilemma?." Gene Therapy (2004): S64–S66. Web. 9 Nov 2010. . Goldman, Laura. "New System May Replace Lab Rats with Robots." Change.org. Change.org, 08 Aug 2010. Web. 16 Nov 2010. . "Research Alternatives." CHAI Online. CHAI Online: Concern for Helping Animals In Israel , 2010. Web. 16 Nov 2010. .

Prototype

Prototype Theory Rosch (1976) has proposed an alternative to the view that concepts are com ¬posed from sets of features which necessarily and sufficiently define instances of a concept. Rosch proposes that concepts are best viewed as prototypes: a ‘bird’ is not best defined by reference to a set of features that refer to such matters as wings, warm-bloodedness, and egg-laying characteristics, but rather by reference to typical instances, so that a ‘prototypical bird’ is something more like a robin than it is like a toucan, penguin, ostrich, or even eagle.This is the theory of prototypes. As we saw in the preceding section, individuals do have ideas of typical instances of colors, and these ideas are remarkably similar among vari ¬ous cultural groups. Such similarity in views, however, is found not only in reference to birds and colors.A variety of experiments has shown that people do in fact classify quite consistently objects of various kinds according to what they regard as being typical instances; for example, (1) furniture, so that, whereas a chair is a typical item of furniture, an ashtray is not; (2) fruit, so that, whereas apples and plums are typical, coconuts and olives are not; and (3) clothing, so that, whereas coats and trousers are typical items, things like bracelets and purses are not (Clark and Clark, 1977, p. 64). The remarkably uniform behavior that people exhibit in such tasks cannot be accounted for by a theory which says that concepts are formed from sets of defining features. Such a theory fails to explain why some instances are consistently held to be more typical or central than others when all exhibit the same set of defining features. Hudson (1996, pp. 75-8) believes that prototype theory has much to offer sociolinguists.He believes it leads to an easier account of how people learn to use language, particularly linguistic concepts, from the kinds of instances they come across. He says (p. 77) that: a prot otype-based concept can be learned on the basis of a very small number of instances– perhaps a single one– and without any kind of formal definition, whereas a feature-based definition would be very much harder to learn since a much larger number of cases, plus a number of non-cases, would be needed before the learner could work out which features were necessary nd which were not. Moreover, such a view allows for a more flexible approach to understanding how people actually use language. In that usage certain concepts are necessarily ‘fuzzy,’ as the theory predicts they will be, but that very fuzziness allows speakers to use language creatively. According to Hudson, prototype theory may even be applied to the social situations in which speech occurs.He suggests that, when we hear a new lin ¬guistic item, we associate with it who typically seems to use it and what, appar ¬ently, is the typical occasion of its use. Again, we need very few instances †” even possibly just a single one — to be able to do this. Of course, if the particular instance is atypical and we fail to recognize this fact, we could be in for some discomfort at a later time when we treat it as typical. Prototype theory, then, offers us a possible way of looking not only at how concepts may be formed, i. . , at the cognitive dimensions of linguistic behavior but also at how we achieve our social competence in the use of language. We judge circumstances as being typically this or typically that, and we place people in the same way. We then tailor our language to fit, making it appropriate to the situation and the participants as we view these. (Wardhaugh, Ronald. 1998. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 3rd ed. Blackwell Publishers Ltd. pp. 232-233. )