Closed community

Development

Frederic Clements was an American ecologist and pioneer who studied vegetation formation and development, he created the idea that plants are supposed to birth, grow/mature, and decay. Their life cycle is similar to that of a human being. Clements also tested a theory known as "climax community"; he used areas of vegetation in comparison to actual communities. The community (fauna or human) is always constant and thriving, even if there were to be a catastrophic event, an individual or small group can manage to survive and regrow or rebuild in the same area they originated or relocate elsewhere and succeed. The concept of many plants and animals coexisting together, having an ecosystem and building upwards was the theory he aimed for (example: rain forest). The general theory later failed due to the fact that there was little or extremely basic comparable information about the logic of a being, the concept worked more in favor towards smaller organisms. Also, the theory became outdated and later on replaced with new sociological facts or science theories.

Pros

• Security of residing in a controlled/supervised area
• Easier to find common interest, idea development with someone in your community
• Being able to finish work more efficiently, naturally, and more originally due to having no interference with exterior

Cons

• Limitation and "cut-off" of diversity which leads to more difficulty accepting or incorporating outside concepts
• Constantly having the same people in a closed area within a large communities of 50 or more can cause a resident to feel overwhelmed with an urge to escape
• The fear of being overpowered or intimidation/competition
• Can close themselves so off from advancements that have a hard time reintegrating into society

In a 1957 article published in the Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, archaeologist Eric R. Wolf argued that the organization of subsistence farmers into "closed, corporate communities" is a recurrent feature "in two world areas, widely separated by past history and geographical space: Mesoamerica and Central Java."

Medicine in closed communities

Infectious disease presents particular challenges to closed communities; external action (from the government or outside medical personnel) may assist in stopping the spread of the disease.

Religious and cultural communities

Some religious or ethnoreligious communities are considered closed. For example:

• The Amish are regarded as closed community; the Amish intentionally set themselves apart from the modern world.
• Since the 11th century, the Druze have been a closed community.

Closed countries

Examples of closed countries

• Japan (formerly) – under the Sakoku policy of the Edo period, Japan secluded itself from Western influences, controlling contact.
• North Korea – see also North Korean defectors. Often regarded as the world's most secretive state.
• Soviet Union – Soviet diplomat Anatoly Dobrynin wrote in his memoirs: "In the closed society of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin was afraid of emigration in general (irrespective of nationality or religion)" for fear of causing domestic instability.
  • See also Refusenik
  • "closed cities" – secretive, specially controlled zones that contained nuclear reactors, uranium mining, processing, and production, and other sensitive facilities continue to exist in Russia today.
• Burma (Myanmar) – formerly a closed society and international pariah, Burma underwent political reforms beginning in 2011 that made its society more open.
• Eritrea – Human Rights Watch has described Eritrea as one of the world's most closed countries. Eritrea has a closed, militarized, and heavily fortified border with Ethiopia, its regional rival with which tensions are high.

References

References

1. http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/09/paper/viewFile/228/571{{dead link. (May 2025)
2. Wuthnow, Robert. (2013-01-01). "Small-Town America: Finding Community, Shaping the Future". Princeton University Press.
3. http://www.esf.edu/efb/schulz/seminars/mcintosh.pdf{{dead link. (May 2025 {{Bare URL PDF). (March 2022)
4. "Frederic E. Clements".
5. "Archived copy".
6. "Should your online community be open or closed? {{!}} Online Community Results".
7. Wolf, Eric R.. (Spring 1957). "Closed Corporate Peasant Communities in Mesoamerica and Central Java". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology.
8. (1992-03-01). "Prophylactic Oral Acyclovir in Outbreaks of Primary Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection in a Closed Community". Pediatrics.
9. (2000-02-01). "An Outbreak of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 1 in a Closed Community in Southern Israel". Clinical Infectious Diseases.
10. (1964-06-01). "The feeding of oral poliovirus vaccine to a closed community excreting faecal viruses". The Journal of Hygiene.
11. (2016-02-01). "Outbreaks of Invasive Kingella kingae Infections in Closed Communities". The Journal of Pediatrics.
12. Charles E. Hurst & David L. McConnell, ''[https://books.google.com.co/books?id=SvxpZ37sRd8C&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=An+Amish+Paradox:+Diversity+and+Change+in+the+World%27s+Largest+Amish+Community&hl=es&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=An%20Amish%20Paradox%3A%20Diversity%20and%20Change%20in%20the%20World's%20Largest%20Amish%20Community&f=false An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community]'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), p. 253: "The Amish encourage a tight, closed community in which they are expected to marry other Amish, but doing so amplifies the potential for certain chronic inherited health problems, which in turn lead to great medical expenses and heavier economic burdens on the Amish community."
13. Linda Dayer-Berenson, ''[https://books.google.com.co/books?id=EAn7QNG1Y9kC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Cultural+Competencies+for+Nurses:+Impact+on+Health+and+Illness&hl=es&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Cultural%20Competencies%20for%20Nurses%3A%20Impact%20on%20Health%20and%20Illness&f=false Cultural Competencies for Nurses: Impact on Health and Illness]'' (Jones & Bartlett, 2007), p. 297: "The social organization of the Amish is guided by a desire to avoid assimilation and acculturation into dominant American culture ... a closed community like the Amish").
14. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, ''The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700'', 5th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 272.
15. Farhad Daftary, ''The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines'', 2d ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 189: "Henceforth, the Druzes became a closed community, permitting neither conversion nor apostasy."
16. "The Seclusion of Japan".
17. "Exposing North Korea - Photo Essays".
18. "North Korea exposed: Censorship in the world's most secretive state". Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.
19. Robert G. Kaufman, ''[https://books.google.com.co/books?id=49cTCgAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=Henry+M.+Jackson:+A+Life+in+Politics&hl=es&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Henry%20M.%20Jackson%3A%20A%20Life%20in%20Politics&f=false Henry M. Jackson: A Life in Politics]'' (University of Washington Press, 2000, p. 282.
20. Yegorov, Oleg. (May 2, 2016). "A sheltered existence: Life in Russia's closed cities". [[Russia Beyond The Headlines]].
21. (1998). "Burma: Prospects for a Democratic Future". Brookings Institution Press.
22. (May 18, 2002). "Tiniest of Openings in a Closed Society". Washington Post.
23. [[Shanthi Kalathil]] & Taylor C. Boas, [https://books.google.com/books?id=N1zZm6z8nmkC&pg=PA91 Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule] (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2003), p. 91.
24. [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/inside-myanmars-transition-isolation-openness Inside Myanmar's transition from isolation to openness], PBS ''NewsHour'' (April 14, 2014).
25. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16546688 imeline: Reforms in Myanmar] (July 8, 2015).
26. ''[https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/eritrea World Report 2014: Eritrea]'', Human Rights Watch.
27. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13349078 Eritrea country profile], BBC News (October 30, 2017).
28. Darko Janjevic, [http://www.dw.com/en/eritrea-accuses-ethiopia-of-border-attack/a-19326337 Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of border attack], AFP, Reuters, Associated Press (June 13, 2016).