Abstract: The role of appropriate technology in developing the Third World is the focus of this volume. The use of such technology, research, selection, and sources of it, and its application within the framework of development policy are among the many aspects of appropriate technology explored and analyzed in these essays. A broad range of theoretical surveys and specific case studies are also provided.

Abstract: It is not, I think, an exaggeration to say that sociologists, whatever their field of specialisation, have neglected the emergence in this country of information technology and the way it has taken on many of the characteristics of a new fashion. It is not surprising therefore, though equally alarming, that while the flood of public documents, media coverage and increasingly in the way these products are advertised, there is invariably reference to 'educational' implications, sociologists of education have hardly began to explore the issues. With the exception of Meighan & Reid (1982), it is not possible within the field, at least in what has been published, to recognise what the sociological issues might be. Yet what is not in doubt is the part information technology is envisaged as playing in economic and educational policy. One has only to cite MEP, ITEC's, TVEI, the DOI/schools microcomputer scheme, and the priorities given to 'new blood' and other appointments partly following acceptance of the Alvey Report, to see that these are definite lines of policy which embrace broader attempts to restructure education and training. Primary and secondary schools, and more recently teacher training institutions, are accepting the subsidies for hardware with alacrity. The traditional educational publishing houses are endeavouring to produce and market the software, and in-service courses of anything from two days to a year have begun to proliferate. All this is of course in the context of developments in the electronic game/arcade culture (Sudnow, 1983), the implications of which we as yet know little. In the mass media we have been presented with a series of futuristic predictions legitimated with varying degrees of academic sophistication (e.g. Gorz, 1983). These imply radical changes in the division of labour, which involve the wholesale disappearance of paid labour for all but a minority. In this brief paper I can do no more than hint at some of the issues that I and colleagues I have worked with [1] have been exploring. In doing so I will refer readers of this journal to studies which, though not in the strict sense sociological, nevertheless seem to point to some of the areas sociologists might be concerned

Abstract: The central message of this book is that the World Bank has had a substantial impact on the development and diffusion of technology in the Third World, and has become one of the main technological institutions catering to the needs of the developing world. The book's four parts cover: (i) mobilization of technology at the sector rather than the project level; (ii) applications of appropriate technology to meet the basic needs of the poor; (iii) problems of technology transfer in development of water resources, power generation and distribution, fertilizer production, private industrial investment, and the engineering industries; and (iv) efforts to develop global international research networks. The concluding chapter of the book attempts to draw all the threads together and to present a general reflection both on the role of the Ban as a technological institution and on the emergence of financial institutions as major actors in the mobilization of science and technology for development.

Abstract: This paper records the main points which were discussed by the study group on this theme. It concentrates on the implications of information technology for the organisation of work, for management and for management training.

Abstract: For the developing countries to take advantage of the accumulated and growing body of scientific and technological information, they must develop competence in choosing technology through an institutionalized technology policy. Third World experiences in developing and implementing technology policies are documented and analyzed in this volume. Issues such as the values shaping technology, selection of appropriate technology, technology transfer, technological self-reliance, planning, and development control are discussed in detail. Ideas for future policy development are evaluated.

Abstract: As the national organization concerned with the development and promotion of educational technology throughout education and training in the United Kingdom, it will not be surprising that the Council for Educational Technology (CET) has a major interest in the impact of information technology upon learning and teaching methods. As well as demanding a major development programme in its own right, information technology increasingly has implications for almost every aspect of CET activity including its own organization and ways of working. The following is an overview of CET's major IT activities. A fuller description will be found in CET's information sheet Education and Information Technology, freely available from the Council.

Abstract: Information technology, which has as its base the integration of computing and communication, is bringing about far-reaching changes in the economies and life-styles of the advanced industrialized countries. In India, the preoccupation so far has been in the development of computer technology to manufacture stand-alone computers. Even to accomplish this the industrial capability is very fragmented. The mastery of information technology in all its ramifications requires building up indigenous capabilities in a variety of sub-technologies. In this context, this paper analyses in some detail the current strengths and weaknesses in computer science and technology in India and the efforts that need to be made to build up a viable base in information technology to promote economic growth and modernize industrial practices.

Abstract: Managers in retailing and distribution have been bombarded in recent years with the results of the microelectronic revolution, in terms of the hardware, varying from electronic checkouts to robots in the warehouse, as well as more advanced software to operate the machinery. The underlying effect is an enormous expansion in the capacity of individuals and organisations to process information; and one which at the same time may fundamentally change the way in which companies operate, far more than has ever been the case in earlier periods of technological innovation. The point of this article is not to discuss the technology itself — but rather the opportunities and problems faced in adapting to the technology in distribution. In short, the focus here is on the management of the technology and the growing need for an information technology strategy.