Social, Cultural and Human Factors in Development

Social, cultural and human factors in development

Before understanding how socio-cultural and human factors affect rural development, it is necessary to understand that rural development is a complex phenomenon and differs from urban development in many ways. It involves a complex and dynamic interaction of various economic, socio-cultural, political and environmental factors. The concept of development has changed from the conventional view which solely focused on economic growth to a modern approach which essentially comprises of two key elements; overall socio-economic growth and positive change.

It largely depends on:

1. Development of infrastructures such as transportation, communication, education, health services, etc
2. Commercialization of agriculture and provision of facilities and services to promote the utilization and sale of rural products
3. Proper utilization and mobilization of locally available resources
4. Creation of opportunities for sustaining and promoting the lifestyle of rural society by providing employment, training and skill development, etc
5. Economic growth of the society as a whole which requires economic growth of each and every household in a rural society

Social factors in development

A society can be defined as an organized group of people from different personal and professional backgrounds associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic or other purposes. A society is a community of people sharing common customs, laws, culture, defined territories, and organizations. It can also have geographic meaning and can refer to a group of people who share a common culture in a particular region.

Various social factors can affect the development process directly or indirectly. Some of the many factors are described below:

• Family system

The decision maker of a family largely affects how the family functions which ultimately affects the way a society functions. Most of the rural Nepalese families are patriarchal in nature where the important decisions are made and the family is headed by a man or a group of men.

• Caste system

Prevalence of caste system is one of the major issues hindering the growth of most of the rural Nepalese societies. It results in poor social interactions, coordination, social harmony and mutual respect all of which ultimately lower the economic growth rate of a society.

• Discrimination against women

This is also one of the major issues that have raised the concern for uplifting the life standards of women in rural areas. Discrimination over women results in decreased family income performance, reduced economic development rate and increases a family's dependence on women for household tasks. Women in rural areas are still confined to doing the household tasks while men focus on the income generating tasks.

• Nepotism

It is defined as the unfair practice by a generally powerful person of providing services and jobs to relatives or people they favor. It results in an unbalanced distribution of employment in a society which ultimately affects the lifestyle of poor households.

• Bribery

The practice of bribing and being bribed has also affected the development and economic growth of rural societies in a negative way.

• Values and norms

These are the social expectations or guidelines that define how an individual or a household is supposed to behave. Values are the mindsets impressed on people which facilitate them on choosing the right things to do. The economic growth and development of a society also depend on how progressive and traditional minded its society members are.

• Mutual relationship, competition, and interaction

Increased mutual relationship and interaction between the society members result in increased collaborative efforts which ultimately increase the development rate of the society. For a good economic growth, a fair level of competition must exist among its members.

• Social opportunities

The development and economic growth of a vulnerable community largely depend on its access to opportunities for development. Its members must be provided with basic infrastructures of development and proper control mechanism such as authority, law and order must be established to ensure a proper utilization and mobilization of resources and opportunities.

Cultural factors in development

Culture is defined as the sum total ways of living built up by a group of human beings and passed down from one generation to another. Culture directly affects how the society members function and behave and they can and in some cases, they will result in differences as to how different societies differ in their way of functioning and behaving.

Culture consists of beliefs, behaviors, objects and other characteristics common to the members of a particular society. It is responsible for determining how each individual defines himself/herself and how he/she conforms and contributes to the society's shared values.

Some of the cultural factors affecting development are:

• Values and norms

These are the social expectations or guidelines that define how an individual or a household is supposed to behave. Values are the mindsets impressed on people which facilitate them on choosing the right things to do.

• Morality

It is defined as the act of conforming to the rules of right conduct. A moral person aids in the economic growth of a society as he/she has a good judgment and always chooses the right course of action to take which will always benefit the society as a whole.

• Traditional practices

Traditional practices can hinder or in some cases aid the economic development of a society. The severity of traditional practices determines the overall growth rate of a society.

• Religion and trust

Religion is one of the important factors determining the growth of a society. The acceptance of some development activities can vary according to religions and in some cases hinder the progress of a society. It is also important to establish a sound level of trust between the society members for a good economic growth rate of a society.

• Notion of justice

The sense of justice of a society can affect its development rate directly or indirectly. For a constant rate of development, it is essential to abolish and end the unfair practices in a society.

• Education

The level of cultural education in a society also affects the development of a society. The existence of cultural difference among various societies results in a difference in the level of awareness and perception of development activities in a society.

Human factors in development

Human beings are complex living species with a complex and dynamic set of needs which affects the way they behave and function. Human factors are diverse and vary from a person to person basis. Their skills, abilities and the way they behave largely affect the economic growth of a society. Some of the major human factors affecting development are listed as follows.

• Sympathy

The level of sympathy they have for other people and their society affects their perception of the importance of their contribution to their society's development.

• Human interest and need

Human needs and interests are dynamic in nature and they largely affect the level of their motivation to work for their society's development.

• Human rights

Access to people to basic human rights also affects their performance in contributing towards their society's development.

• Activeness

The level of activeness also determines the development of a society. The development rate of a society is high if its members are hard working.

• Educational and health status

It is essential that the society members have a good educational background and a sound health status if the society is to have a good economic growth rate.

• Level of optimism/pessimism

The level of optimism in people is another factor that facilitates humans to work towards achieving a set of targets. It also affects the level of acceptance and reaction to the development activities.

• Personality

Personality is one of the most important characteristics of a person as it is a visible aspect which is responsible for forming an impression on others. It largely affects how a person functions as it determines how well the person is recognized and accepted in a society.

• Rationality

It is defined as the exercise of logic and agreeableness to reason. It is responsible for facilitating a person to undertake the right course of actions that aids in the development of a society.

• Empathy

Empathy, in a simple sense, can be defined as the ability to share someone else's feelings. It is responsible for determining the level of mutual respect and social harmony which directly affect the coordination and understanding between the community members.

Reference

1. Wikipedia. (2016). Retrieved fromhttps://www.wikipedia.org/

Information from the handouts provided by my lecturer Mr. Gopal Joshi Subedi has also been used.