The term paradigm shift is used to describe a fundamental and major transformation in the established paradigm of a community. The term paradigm shift first derived from the work of Thomas Kuhn in his study of how scientific assumptions and theories change over time through a nonlinear process. Since the 1960s, the concept of a paradigm shift has also been used in numerous non-scientific contexts to describe a profound change in a fundamental model or perception of events. In this more general sense, the term paradigm means the cognitive framework, pattern or model from which people operate and a paradigm shift is a transformation into a new overall state.