Impact of New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on Socio-economic and Educational Development of Africa and the Asia-Pacifice: Private

A PILOT STUDY  

Levi Obijiofor and Sohail Inayatullah with Tony Stevenson

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  

This preliminary research on ICT adoption in Africa and the Asia-Pacific suggests that there are serious barriers to their use in educational and socioeconomic development, such as issues of infrastructure support, access to the ICTs, training and skills development, and hierarchical social relations which determine who has access to ICTs. Generally ICTs are considered appropriate, even though there remain concerns over economic priorities, basic needs or computers.  

However, the implementation of ICTs is occurring in a context where the cultural and institutional barriers are not well addressed. The assumption often made is that if one just purchases a few computers and modems, a post-industrial society can magically result. Africans and those in the Asia-Pacific are generally in the position of consumers and thus in a position where they cannot yet define the media in their terms.  

At the same time, conservative attitudes entrenched in Asia-Pacific countries and concern over basic needs inhibit appreciation of the importance of new ICTs. For example, in Fiji and the Philippines, people believe ICTs are not the most important needs in their societies and that people can always find a way to get along if ICT use becomes a matter of "life and death".  

Basic education, equipping schools with enough texts and reducing the teacher-student ratio, and seeing culturally relevant programs on television seem to be the major concerns of most of the respondents. There is also fear that the Internet could corrupt the morals of their society through easy access to pornography and other culturally "reprehensible" material.  The use of ICTs for interactive education, for pedagogy that leads to communication and information richness is not yet  adequately understood or developed.  

ICTS AS APPROPRIATE 

However, even with these words of caution, in Africa and Asia-Pacific, almost every interviewee considered ICTs as appropriate to their society for various reasons, even in the face of poverty. The reasons were as follows: for Africa,  

·         ICTs were generally seen as the basic tool for survival in the next century;

·         ICTs were seen to enhance efficiency in the workplace;

·         there was a high belief in ICT ability to increase the ease and speed of social communication and at the same time obviate the problem of transportation;

·         ICTs help solve socio-economic problems;

·         among university academics, ICTs help them reach out to colleagues in other parts of the world and keep them up to date with developments in their disciplines;

·         there was the belief that ICTs help to monitor crime in society, and

·         there was the ultimate belief that ICT usage will make Africa to become part of the global trend.  

As one respondent commented:  

                They help to do things better, they show a measure of development. And if we're going to be plugged into the world, particularly in the next century, on the continent of Africa and..., we necessarily must be part and parcel of the information age. And information technology is an imperative that Africa would miss at its own risk.  

In the Asia –Pacific countries studied, specific reasons for the use of ICTs included:  

·         online technology enables local doctors to consult with their international colleagues and other doctors in the scattered island communities;

·         the most appropriate technologies were seen as the ones that enabled the communities and organisations to communicate more efficiently (example was given of e-mail);

·         ICTs promote distance education at all levels;

·         instantaneous availability of data through ICTs;

·         the future of education is heavily dependent on ICTs;

·         Internet access helps productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish;

·         ICTs are useful for job search by youths; and

·         ICTs are essential for the knowledge era.

As respondents said:  

… we can’t deny that the next century would be a knowledge century and the world is developing towards becoming more and more knowledge-intensive, and IT will be the technology for development of four aspects of man’s activities: industry; manufacturing services; farming, agriculture and fisheries; and health services. (Phil/WP)  

I’d say it’s appropriate. I’d like to be in touch with the world pretty much instantaneously… I think the Internet is the most appropriate new ICT to develop because it’s information as you require, when you require it. (Fiji/TP)  

INHIBITING FACTORS  

Against the background of the perceived appropriateness of ICTs to Africa and Asia-Pacific, the crucial research question was: why are these technologies, given their usefulness, not yet commonplace in all the countries we studied? Among the African respondents, a wide range of factors inhibit the widespread introduction and use of the new technologies. These factors include:  

·         ignorance about the importance of and need for ICTs which makes even those rich enough to acquire them apathetic to ICTs;  

·         general poverty which leads to the perception of computers, for example, as alien and luxury acquisitions;  

·         poor maintenance and repair culture in which spare parts and technical ‘experts’ from the manufacturers are imported whenever the technologies break down; this leads to waste of resources, time and money;  

·         poor infrastructural support base; examples include inefficient electricity and telephone systems;  

·         lack of support from the government leading to underfunding of science and technology programmes in tertiary institutions;  

·         illiteracy and lack of basic computing skills; these two points are closely related -- in the African countries studied, tertiary institutions are funded by government and it follows that where government is apathetic to the need for ICTs, the educational institutions will not be provided with adequate funds to acquire and teach these technologies;  

·         lack of a science and technology policy; this has consequences at two levels – lack of policy impedes the growth and development of a culture of science and technology, and also, at the educational level, downplays the significance of science and technology in the perception of students); and  

·         the absence of democracy which feeds political unrest and the unwillingness of foreign investors to invest in the area of ICTs.  

·         perception of the technologies (example, computer) as a status symbol or statement of one’s hierarchy in society.  

 

Thus in Africa, ignorance is far more major obstacle and those aware, mostly the educated and literate people in the private sector, say as much as they appreciate the need and importance of ICTs, the economic situation in their countries and general poverty make it difficult for people who need these ICTs to acquire them. In Ghana, for example, the per capita income is US$400 and the average cost of a computer (plus modem and telephone line, etc) is US$1500. Also in Nigeria, to acquire a computer/modem, ISP subscription and telephone line would require the total annual income of a graduate. Compared to the Asia-Pacific countries studied, more people in Africa see the need for these ICTs inspite of traditional ways of doing things but are hampered by poverty.  

What are the reasons for their lack of  diffusion in the Asia-Pacific? A range of factors were seen as inhibiting the use of new ICTs.  

·         high cost of the ICTs leading to restriction of access to the new technologies;

·         conservative attitudes – people are comfortable maintaining the status quo, doing things the way they are used to;

·         lack of deregulation and government legislation which gives monopoly to a few information technology companies;

·         poverty and harsh economic climate;

·         infrastructural problems such as inadequate telephone lines and lines cutting off when someone is logged onto the Internet;

·         health and social welfare commitments undercutting attention to ICTs;

·         lack of basic education and computing skills;

·         political culture which discourages open sharing of information (Philippines)

 On the whole, in all the countries and regions we studied, we found that ICT growth and development are being driven by the private sector – private businesses -- with token support from the government. Many saw the future of ICTs as positive and believed that their use in health and education could be quite dramatic. Mind-boggling, with only our imagination as limits was the type of language used by participants.  

Developing African and Asia-Pacific countries are caught in a Catch-22 situation: without using these new technologies, their future generations will further lag behind and will find themselves further impoverished. If they use these technologies without addressing some of the concerns and needs of their societies, they could be placing their carts before their horses. What is needed most is effective and efficient, not to mention wise, telecommunications and culture policy, as well as research that informs such policy.  

The new communication technologies have their strengths and drawbacks, they should not merely be seen as apolitical tools but as embedded in culture, politics and our mutual futures.  

IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS 

Moving this research to the implementation phase, we recommend the following:  

·         Implementation must be linked to local problems, specifically to poverty alleviation. This linkage must be direct, showing stakeholders the benefits of using ICTs for economic growth.

·         Implementation must also show how ICTs can transform education, making it far more interactive and empowering for students and professors/teachers. CD-ROMS and access to the web must not only be inexpensive, but as much as possible be locally driven, based on local content.

·         Implementation must help transform users of ICTs in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region from consumers to producers of new knowledge and wealth. Dissemination of hardware must include software support, institutional linkages, and servicing. This must be done in the context of local cultural practices including those that inhibit ICT use (hierarchical  institutional practices).

·         Implementation must occur within a policy context guided by participatory action research, where all stakeholders in an iterative manner define their needs, goals and concerns.

 

IMPACT OF NEW INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICTs) ON SOCIOECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA AND THE ASIA-PACIFIC:  

A PILOT STUDY  

Levi Obijiofor and Sohail Inayatullah with Tony Stevenson

 

Preamble  

This is a report of a UNESCO-sponsored study of four African countries and two Asia-Pacific countries. The countries in which this study was conducted are Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda (Africa), Fiji and the Philippines (Asia-Pacific). The study was conducted over the period January 1998 and April 1999.  

Aims  

The study aimed to determine the:  

·        specific ICT needs of Africa and Asia-Pacific regions;  

·        current status of the emerging technologies and plans for their diffusion;  

·        appropriateness of ICTs to cultural, regional and national contexts and their replicability across geography and culture; and

 

·        problems and opportunities associated with ICT diffusion in the two regions

 

·        perceptions of the likely futures of ICT diffusion.  

Research Methodology  

This study adopted an interpretive research strategy which allows a researcher to interact with a social group being studied as well as enable the researcher to observe and record the processes of decision‑making and social practices. According to Fetterman (1989), "the ethnographer conducts research in the native environment to see people and their behaviour given all the real‑world incentives and constraints... Understanding the world ‑‑ or some small fragment of it ‑‑ requires studying it in all its wonder and complexity" (pp. 41‑42). Patton (1990) vividly describes the situation thus: "The neutral investigator enters the research arena with no axe to grind, no theory to prove, and no predetermined results to support.  Rather, the investigator's commitment is to understand the world as it is, to be true to complexities and multiple perspectives as they emerge, and to be balanced in reporting both confirming and disconfirming evidence" (p. 55).  

The four African and two Asia-Pacific countries selected for the study were chosen purposively. Owing to funding problems, we could not conduct the study in as many Asia-Pacific countries as we did in Africa.  

Despite its political problems, Nigeria is regarded as a major economic and military power not only in the West African sub-region but also in the whole of Africa. It is also regarded as the most populous country in Africa. It was thus chosen for inclusion in this study. Our question was:  To what extent have the ICTs impacted on the country's sociopolitical and economic development?  

Ghana is one of the emerging economic success stories in Africa and it was thus considered appropriate to investigate the status and impact of the new ICTs in such a country. Similarly, Uganda is regarded as one of Africa’s economic success stories under the leadership of President Yoweri Museveni and thus it was included in the investigation of new ICTs have impacted or are impacting Uganda’s economic development. Cote d'Ivoire -- formerly known as Ivory Coast -- is a major French-speaking country in the West African sub-region and was included as well. The Philippines was included because of its strong non-governmental organization culture, in the hope of better understanding of how ngos view ICT use and diffusion. Fiji was chosen, both for its multicultural mix, as well as for its housing of the University of South Pacific, the premiere university in the Pacific.  

People interviewed in the African countries included Internet Service Providers (ISPs), communication and computer science academics in leading universities, computer and telecommunications equipment retailers, government policy makers in ministries and agencies, and editors of major newspapers. In Fiji, we also interviewed an official of Telecom Fiji Ltd., an information technology official of the University of the South Pacific, a manager of Fiji TV Ltd., a managing director of a technological company, five secondary school teachers, five postgraduate students and five business women. In the Philippines, we interviewed a former secretary of science and technology in the previous Philippines government, an official of the Philippine Greens, a program manager in a United Nations agency in Manila, president of one of the local universities, and an official of the national computer centre.  As a condition for agreeing to be interviewed, some of the respondents in all the countries requested anonymity either due to the sensitive positions they occupied in government offices or because they did not want to be identified. We have tried to protect the identities of the respondents by referring only to their country of origin and not by their real names whenever a comment is reproduced in the analysis section of this report. A total of 47 people were interviewed in the four African countries while 24 people were interviewed in Fiji and the Philippines.  

Methods of data collection  

The methods used in collecting data for this study consisted of semi‑structured personal interviews, focused group interviews, examination of historical documents and personal observation. The adoption of multiple methods or triangulation in social research has been endorsed by various researchers because they help to overcome flaws inherent in the use of one method.  For example, Patton (1990) argues that "Combinations of interviewing, observation, and document analysis are expected in much social science field work."  He argues that studies which adopt only one method "are more vulnerable to errors linked to that particular method... than studies that use multiple methods in which different types of data provide cross‑data validity checks" (Patton, 1990: 187‑188).  

Research questions  

The major questions that underpinned this study were:  

·        Do ICTs transform the debate on educational and development theories and practice? In other words, do they challenge or reinforce the old paradigms of development?   

·        What are the ICT needs of Africa and Asia-Pacific countries?  

·        What is the current status of the emerging technologies and plans for their diffusion in these regions?  

·        How appropriate are ICTs to cultural, regional and national contexts and their replicability across geography and culture;  

·        What sociocultural and economic factors enhance or inhibit the use and adoption of new ICTs? and  

·        What are the problems and opportunities associated with ICT diffusion in Africa and the Asia-Pacific?  

·        What are the futures of ICTs in Africa and the Asia-Pacific, and are there differences between preferred and likely futures of ICT development?            

Literature: overview 

This review examines current arguments and debates concerning the impact, real and imagined, of the new information and communication technologies in developing societies, in particular Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Given the rapid changes in the nature and structure of the ICTs as well as the claims and counter claims about the impact of ICTs on socioeconomic development, a review of this nature is important to help policy makers and organisations committed to the development of Africa and the Asia-Pacific region to separate fact from wishful thinking and to focus on the most useful and practical strategies and technologies. While there is evidence of the usefulness of ICTs in many developed societies, questions of their appropriateness in a range of situations remain. In other words, are the new ICTs appropriate for every developing society, in particular Asia-Pacific region and Africa? If they are, which strategies and which particular ICTs are more effective for educational purposes and for socioeconomic development?  

The new information and communication technologies (ICTs) are widely perceived as major tools for kickstarting ailing economies and consequently assist developing societies `catch up' with the developed world, including those groups that have lost out of the mainstream of development. To what extent do the new ICTs facilitate the education of the mass of people in Asia-Pacific region and Africa, and uplift the conditions of disadvantaged groups in these societies? Do ICTs allow them to empower themselves without having to lose their unique cultures, that is, without having to develop? Indeed, are the new technologies appropriate for the development of traditional societies? Do they (ICTs) fit the local indigenous cultures? In essence, will the new ICTs launch these societies and communities thereof on the path of socioeconomic development or will they subject them to further dependence? For example, it has often been argued that, without the successful adoption and implementation of the new ICTs in the developing world, future generations in these societies will further lag behind. However, research is yet to inform on the problems and opportunities of ICTs adoption. These questions are examined in this review essay.  

The emergence of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) -- examples include the Internet, computers, interactive multimedia systems, and digital telecommunications -- has dramatically altered theoretical and practical assumptions about the role of communication technologies in development. Today, the role of the ICTs in developed and developing societies has become the subject of academic focus and research, regional and international seminars and conferences. As the new millennium approaches and as we contend with the expanded uses of the information superhighway, the interface between communication and development calls for serious reconsideration. While advocates are hopeful that the new technologies would provide urgent solutions to present and future problems, pessimists disagree, pointing to the dangers and pitfalls of the new communication technologies, such as: (1)  the marketing of pornographic products on the Internet; (2) the damage to children in terms of creating a virtual world divorced from nature; (3)  the perpetration of organised crimes; (3) the likelihood that they may widen the existing gap between the `information rich’ and the `information poor’, and; (4) further cultural impoverishment by continuing the one-way communication between North and South.  More centrally is that ICTs create an information based economy and not a communicative society (Inayatullah and Leggett, 1999).   

Background  

Long before the emergence of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs), communication and development scholars had argued that there was a strong link between communication technologies -- especially mass media technologies -- and level of socioeconomic development in a country.  Hence, the mass media of radio, television, newspapers and magazines were regarded as the drivers of socioeconomic development. Leading this campaign were communication scholars such as Everett Rogers, Wilbur Schramm, Lucian Pye, and Daniel Lerner among others. According to their views, a certain number of mass media channels were required in every developing country that wished to be developed. This argument was based on the assumption that the mass media carried within them elements of modernity.  As early as 1958, Daniel Lerner had argued in his seminal book  -- The Passing of Traditional Societies -- “No modern society functions efficiently without a developed system of mass media” (p. 55). In a similar tone, Lucian Pye stated:  

            It was the pressure of communications which brought about the downfall of traditional societies. And in the future, it will be the creation of new channels of communication and the ready acceptance of new content of communications which will be decisive in determining the prospects of nation-building (Pye, 1963: 3)  

As a reflection of the mood of the era, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommended, in 1961, a minimum mass media target for developing countries.  According to UNESCO, "Every country should aim to provide for every 100 of its inhabitants at least 10 copies of daily newspapers, five radio receivers, two cinema seats and two television receivers" (quoted in Yu, 1977: 177). A major assumption underlying this view is that mass media messages reach all segments of a society and that messages, once received, will impact on the greater population in the same way as was intended by the mass media.  However, research evidence has shown that there are factors which limit access to mass media in the rural communities. There are also social and cultural factors which mass media messages must overcome before such messages are accepted or rejected in traditional societies (see, as examples, Grunig, 1971; and Reddi, 1989).  

Against this background, it was widely assumed that the mere presence of the mass media led to the transformation of societies and individuals. According to Shore (1980), what was needed in this perspective was to "change the attitudes, values and aspirations of the individuals in the population; from that would result the benefits of modernization with which such change was identified" (p. 20).  

It did not take long, however, for communication scholars and world leaders to realise that the link between mass media presence and socioeconomic development could also often be negative, especially in developing societies. According to Lerner and Schramm:  

            Throughout the less developed regions, people have been led to want more than they can get. This can be attributed in part to the spread of the mass media, which inevitably show and tell people about the good things of life that are available elsewhere ... As people in the poor countries were being shown and told about “goodies” available in developed countries, they were also being taught about their own inferiority -- at least in terms of wealth and well-being. Recognition of the disparities between the rich and poor countries produced among some a sense of hopelessness, among others a sense of aggressiveness. Both apathy and aggression usually are counterproductive to genuine development efforts (Lerner and Schramm, 1976: 341-342).  

Despite the weaknesses in the earlier theoretical assumptions, compelling arguments remained for assuming that new communication technologies hold the key to socioeconomic development of many societies. For instance, advocates of ICTs point to how the Western world experienced the impact of industrial technology and found it to be an indispensable tool of development. The belief then was that if industrial technology aided the socioeconomic growth and development of Western nations, it should also propel socioeconomic growth in developing nations. As Ashby et al (1980) explained: "Industry, especially capital goods industry, was viewed as the leading growth sector of the economy. Rural society in low-income countries was viewed as economically stagnant and culturally tradition bound" (p. 154).  As the rural individual was perceived to be traditional, it followed, according to the dominant Western perspective, that the first objective in any program of development will be to transform traditional societies to `modern' ones. Against this background, a major question arises: do new ICTs hold the key to the transformation of developing societies? In other words, do they (ICTs) challenge or reinforce the old paradigms of development?  

It is not everyone that is overly captivated by the magical effects of the new ICTs. Some have counselled caution over expectations from the new communication technologies. For instance, Kryish (1994) cautions that current predictions for the information superhighway are distinctively similar to predictions made about Cable television in the USA two and a half decades ago. In each era, Kryish argues, advocates depicted the technology as `revolutionary', predicting that traditional methods of work, play, learning, and commerce would be transformed; that people would carry out their activities in the comfort of their homes, and that the new technologies would provide answers to all problems (Kryish, 1994). Kryish contends that as US Cable TV did not develop as expected, people should not rely too heavily on arguments which promote new technologies as autonomous, revolutionary and utopian.  New technologies exist in certain political and social frameworks, they are embedded, and thus the ways in which they change society are based on these cultural codes. New technologies might make it easier, for example, to work from home, however, this ignores the social function of work, of a place where individuals meet, make friends, find identity. Telecommuting, thus, while transport efficient, may continue the cultural impoverishment, the anomie, that individuals face in large cities (Inayatullah, 1998)  

 In an analysis of the technological adaptation process of the Maori of New Zealand, Schaniel (1988) explains that new technology may create change in society, and that the direction of change is determined by the nature and function (use) of that technology in the adopting culture (1988: 493-498).  

Uses of the new technologies  

Tehranian (1990) argues that the new technologies, like the old, should be viewed neither as technologies of freedom nor of tyranny, but basically as technologies of power that lock into existing or emerging technostructures of power. He believes that information technologies play a dual role in society. On one hand, they open up opportunities for centralisation of authority, control and communication typical of the modern industrial state, and on the other hand, they supply alternative channels of cultural resistance and ideological mobilization for opposition forces. The `Big Media' (such as national press, broadcasting and mainframe computers) are identified with the centralising forces while the `Small Media' (such as the alternative press, small scale audio visual production and transmission facilities and personal computer networking) provide the avenues for community resistance and mobilization. On this basis, one can argue that the new communication technologies serve the interests of both the privileged and the underprivileged classes in society.  

In a related sense, Stevenson, Burkett and Myint (1993) argue that the new communication and information technologies can strengthen the centralised industrial, command economy or decentralise empowerment for finding creative solutions to local and global problems through new social technologies. Increasing globalisation, facilitated by the new technologies, has brought about changes which flow through to local communities. Paradoxically, however, these local communities are forced to make international connections in order to solve local problems.  

Technologies and development  

The link between technological growth and socioeconomic development is hinged on various arguments. McQuail (1987), for instance, contends that "One clear promise of the new technologies is an increase in communication of all kinds, between individuals and also between persons..." But this argument overlooks the fact that before increased communication can take place, the communicators must have access to the new technologies or must possess the werewithal to purchase the communication tools.  

Some researchers have also indicated the need for the new ICTs to address problems of human needs. For instance, while highlighting the significance of telecommunications technology for "some new means of bringing people together", Stevenson (1991) wonders if the new telecommunications technologies, monopolised by the privileged industrialized world, will be "enough to address the world's most serious problems of poverty, hunger and alienation." The implication is that new communication technologies which do not address immediate human needs are not quite useful to human society no matter how effective they may be in increasing communication among people.  

Africa’s dilemma  

In Africa and elsewhere, arguments as to whether the continent should acquire the new communication technologies have assumed robust dimension. The major issues centre around the question of priorities. Is it appropriate for African leaders to ignore the basic needs of their people and hop onto the bandwagon of the new communication technologies?  Will acquisition of new communication technologies transform African economies, lead to greater food production and improved quality of life, health and housing, overcome poverty and illiteracy, and end internecine civil strifes? Indeed, can Africa thus afford not to adopt new ICTs?  

In a world in which the developed and developing countries pursue different goals and priorities based on the different levels of their technological endowments, the new communication technologies are bound to be viewed with both optimism and suspicion. Indeed, it was former president Julius Nyerere of Tanzania who painted a grim picture of the African scene when he reportedly said that while the industrialised world may be travelling to the moon with ease -- as a result of their technological advancement -- African leaders are still grappling with the problem of how to reach their people in the villages.  

Taking the Internet and other emerging electronic networks as an example, Jegede (1995) doubts their ability to accelerate Africa's development even as he recognizes the need for Africa to share information and ideas with the rest of the world.  

            If we had everyone in Africa electronically networked today, it would not necessarily develop Africa. In fact, what it would do, and appears to be doing at the moment, is divert attention from all other problems of development making people believe that getting hooked to the superhighway is the panacea for Africa's problems (p. 221).  

Jegede strengthens his case by citing some disturbing statistics about Africa. According to him:  

            Three quarters of Africa's population is illiterate (so hooking them to the Internet is out of the question); three quarters of Africa is rural without basic facilities of electricity and telephone (so hooking up to the Internet can only be restricted to the urban areas); three quarters of universities in Africa have depleted library resources, have overworked academics and run computer science departments without computers ... and there are currently 200 million personal computers world-wide but less than one percent of them are located in Africa... (Jegede, 1995: 221).  

Although Jegede's views may sound grim or irredeemable, they present an idea of the scale of problems facing Africa in the sphere of communication technologies alone.  

Nonetheless, there are individuals who do not share Jegede's pessimism.  Djamen et al (1995) have argued that "Electronic networking will not only enable Africans access global data but will also help the entire world to access information on Africa in Africa. Thus, the present situation in which Africans do not directly control their own data would be reversed" (pp.  228-233).  

Beyond the question of data generation and security/protection, Odedra-Straub (1995) argues that electronic wiring of Africa and the subsequent easy access of Africans to various networks, including the Internet, would not "necessarily mean that the technology and easy access to information will automatically have a positive impact on the development process of Africa" (pp. 225-227). She points out that the adoption of the new technologies in Africa would not be simple and would require "skilled human and financial resources, ... in addition to changes in the social, cultural, managerial, political and organisational `environments'" (p. 227).  

Perspectives from Asia-Pacific region  

With particular reference to the Philippines, de Ayala (1996) foresees changes to large and small scale business processes brought about by the new technologies. Not only will consumers be in closer contact with suppliers and producers, the new technologies will also eventually lead to better educated, more knowledgeable, more critical but less loyal customers. The downside of this development, in a developing economy such as the Philippines, is that the fledgling domestic national markets may be stifled by regional trading blocs and international markets which promote intense competition. On a similar note, Chin (1995) believes that the development of information technology infrastructure in the Philippines rests on the national plan (NITP 2000 program), the objective of which is to create a well-informed computer literate society capable of using information technology as an everyday tool to enhance work and living.  

While outlining the enormous potential of the Internet to promote Pacific Islands products and tourism in a global market, Lomas (1995) states that very few people in the Pacific Islands have access to the Internet. Access, availability and efficient services are the telecommunications concerns for widely scattered islands of the Pacific region, some of them with rugged terrain.  

Regulating the new communication technologies  

Although many governments may be giving top priority to acquisition of the new technologies because they are perceived as pivotal to overall development, there is however a growing anxiety or unease among these governments to curtail the use of the technologies by groups engaging in unauthorised conduct or groups which challenge the authority of various regimes. "Many Asian governments share the dilemma of desiring to control the distribution of information whilst recognising... that national economic and technological development requires increasing access to broadband networks and the information they provide" (Lambert, 1996).  However, these same governments "feel profoundly threatened by the concept of a medium in which they cannot control access to information..."  

The question of controlling access to the new technologies is not peculiar to Asia alone. An attempt in 1996 by the United States government to ban "indecent" materials on the Internet was rejected by a US federal judge who ruled that the Internet deserved protection from government legislation. The US government however indicated it would appeal the ruling. At issue here is the challenge posed to individual freedom to communicate as against the desire of various governments to control the moral content or `political correctness' of what is communicated.

 

Questions of access

 

Whatever may be the advantages of the new technologies, the problem of access remains a major concern. Just as access to the mass media is limited in rural areas of developing countries, so too will access to the new technologies be limited to a few affluent people, due mainly to the high costs of the new communication technologies. Take for example a developed country such as Australia where the question of access to the new technologies has resurfaced following the emergence of digital video communication (DVC).  On this, Lennie (1993) observes that potential questions about its use as a new form of interactive television and associated home information services have arisen as a result of the anticipated high cost of DVC for domestic consumption and the increasing privatisation of such services. These imply that disadvantaged groups could have reduced access to information and other needed essential services. At stake here are questions concerning access to and uses of the new technologies, the ability or inability of average citizens to acquire them vis-a-vis the high cost of the new technologies, and their broader impact on socioeconomic development.  

Apart from the question of access, fears also exist about the impact of the new technologies (especially satellite technology) on authentic local cultures and national sovereignty. This worry is based on the ground that the new communication technologies are not value-free because they come packaged with the value orientations of their manufacturers (see, for examples, Moran,