Knowledge Societies: Information Society For Sustainable Development.
(Editors) Robin Mansell, Uta Wehn. The Oxford University Press,1998
Pgs. 323.
Reviewed by: K.Ravi Srinivas, Madurai, PIN 625014, India
email: [email protected]
The effective application of Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs) for development purposes in developing countries is an
issue that has no easy answer. Whether they will be able to dervive
any significant benefit from ICTs given the high levels of illiteracy,
poor infrastructure and absence of factors that were rapid development
and expansion of ICTs in the developed world is a question that
has been examined by this volume, which is the outcome of the
UN Council of Science and Technology for Development(UNCSTD)'s
initiative to assess the implications of ICTs for developing nations.
It may not be out of place to mention at this juncture that the
debate on impact of ICTs has undergone a major change over the
last decade. Earlier studies particularly the ones done for Club
of Rome focussed on employment potential of ICTs and the related
issues like impacts of automation, deskilling, industrial development
etc.
However the internet revolution was not forseen at that time and
the convergence of information technogies and communication technologies
was hardly envisaged. Rapid developments in technology, deregulation
and privatisation, changes in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
Regimes and the decline in the cost of computers/ components over
the decade have brought in a fresh set of questions that have
been debated in many forums since the early nineties.
This volume tries to address this complex question and provides
a synthesis of various issues and controversies. Between those
who hail ICTs as the harbingers of the next revolution in our
lives, and those who warn that ICTs will result in a more polarised
world where the info-haves will be in a better position than the
info-have nots the debate may never end. But the real questions
being faced by developing nations are more complex , more challenging
and often the experience of the developed nations may be of little
relevance. But the policymakers, academics and activists in developing
nations cannot afford to take any extreme postion in the debate
and they need information and policy oriented perspectives that
could be used in using ICTs for development purposes. This volume
fulfills this need.
The basic argument of the volume is that developing nations need
to and can implement national ICT strategies as ICTs open up many
new opportunities for them and if properly used ICTs can help
them to in building knowledge societies. There is nothing new
perse in such an assertion for anyone familiar with debates on
the relevance of Science and Technologies would have come across
a similar position being expounded, by various international agencies/
UN organisations etc. But whether ICTs perse will result in knowledge
societies is a question that is being probed in greater detail
in various chapters of this volume.
The first chapter tells us why it is necessary for developing
nations to design and implement national ICTs strategies. The
emphasis shoule be on investing in social and technological infrastructure
and development of tacit knowledge and human resources is essential
to derive the best out of ICTs.The next chapter examines the diffusion
of ICTs and develops an indicators approach to pinpoint the relative
stregths and weaknesses of developing nations vis a vis the developed
ones.The Indications, Experience,Skills and Knowkdge (INEXSK)
indicators indicate that despite lack of data and not so postive
factors , combinations of infrastructure, experience and skills
could be used to initiate the building of knowledge societies.The
next two chapters (3,4) deal with technological innovation and
learning.It is pointed out that applications of ICTs for lefelong
learning, empowerment of citzinens, and participation by civil
society provide many new opportunities and challenges for developing
nations and the question of exclusion has to be taken into account
by developing nations lest ICTs result in more polarisation.
Chapters 5 and 6 deal with application of ICTs for sustainable
development. They give examples of how ICTs could be used to enhance
productivity, bring in transparency and efficiency in public administration,
and in sectors like health,agriculture and education. It points
out among the deveoping nations the wealthier ones are investing
in infrastructure development and in human resources for harnessing
ICTs for development.But many Least Developed Countries(LDCs)
are facing the risk of being left out in the informatics revolution
as they lack the infrastructure and capabilities. So creative
approaches are needed to share the available facilities and region
level coopeation is a must for LDCs.The subsequent two chapters
explore the issues relating to National Information Infrastructure(NII)
in developing nations. While some developing nations have gone
far ahead in this many others are yet to build up any strategy
for NII. Developing nations which have better scientific and technical
expertise coupled with local manufacturing capacity in ICTs are
able to take advantage of their strengths and are investing in
Electronic Commerce, software and hardware production.The next
chapter argues that market forces will not result in equitable
development of ICTs in developing nations. While privatisation
and deregulation may be helpful in attracting greater investment
in ICTs and in telecommunications they can result in new dualisms
as well. Policy makers should use variety of strategies ensure
that this does not happen.
The next two chapters provide an overview of the global trends
in ICT marketplace and in telecommunications. While the pressures
to open up ICTs and telecommunications emnate from developed nations,
committments made under trade regimes and MNCs in developed nations
the developing nations have to ensure that in the name of opening
up they need not
result in greater benefit for all developing
nations. The next chapter examines the issues relating to governance
of inform
ation services.Social equity and efficiency cannot be
sacrificied in the name of building information society.The new
rules of the game will result in restructuring of public and private
sector in ICTs and in telecommunications.In the next chapter an
overview of what strategies developing nations as diverse as Bermuda,
Singapore and South Africa are developing for development is provided
and the guidelines of the UNCSTD Working Group is also given.In
the following two chapters, the final chapters the consequences
of ICTs for social development and the options before them are
examined.
This volume thus covers a whole gamut of issues and questions,
ranging from Gender and ICTs to Electronic Commerce in developing
nations. Its major message is one of cautious optimism, that developing
nations can use ICTs for sustainable development provided they
have the vision, strategy and the will to do so. For LDCs using
ICTs is a difficult choice, given their present state of affairs,
but they may get excluded or marginalised in the global information
society if they fail to harness ICTs.The concerns expressed in
this volume are vaild.
The major shortcoming of this volume, if one may so
is that it
does not question the predominat assumptions about Information
Society and nature of ICTs. That is neither the theories about
Information Society nor the critiques from the left on application
of ICTs are given the importance they deserve(1). One does not
find references to the works of David Lyon or Kevin Robins, to
name a few, in this volume. Nor does one come across a reference
to various works of scholars like D.Schiller or Langdon Winner
who have questioned the major assumptions on social aspects and
applications of ICTs.
This volume is sensitive to needs and aspirations of developing
nations, particularly thr LDCs. It is also sensitive to issues
like Gender and ICTs, role of civil society, exclusion in information
society and naive faith in market forces. Thus it does not promote
ICTs as a panacea, and lays emphasis on social and institutional
aspects besides policies and strategies as much as on technologies.
It provides a cautious and realisitic assessment of ICTs and development.The
assessment provided by this volume is similar to the two reports
by Panos Institute on Telecommunications, and, Internet and Development
in the third world(2).
It deserves to be widely read and debated and I am sure that people
in developing nations will find it to be a much needed resource
book.
References:
(1) For a recent example refere to 'Cutting Edge:
Technology,Information, Capitalism and Social Revolution'.(Eds)
Jim Davis,Thomas A.Hirschl, and Michael Stack.Verso, 1997
(2) Refer to Panos Briefing No 23 'Telecommunications,
Development and the market', 1997 and Briefing No 28 'The
Internet and Poverty : Real Help or Real Hype' 1998. Panos
London,London (http://www.oneworld.org/panos/).
Comments on this review should be sent to K.Ravi Srinivas, Madurai,PIN 625014,India
email: [email protected]