Information technology (IT) professionals face markedly different kinds of challenges in developing countries from the ones in developed countries. Based on the research literature and our fourteen years of fieldwork in Iringa, Tanzania, we have identified eight groups of technical characteristics of IT work that significantly affect the work of…

Aspects of developing countries that may make computer-integrated manufacturing inappropriate include (1) inadequate infrastructure; (2) lack of capital; (3) policies regarding use of local products; (4) many small and medium-sized businesses; and (5) management practices. Higher productivity depends more on skilled management and workers and more…

The author describes the 1987 exchange program "Women and Appropriate Technology." The program concentrated on appropriate technology in relation to rural women. She also describes a pilot appropriate technology project carried out in Kenya that involved the construction of three community buildings (a laundry and two bathrooms). (CH)

Argues that the underdevelopment of national information sectors is a major factor acting against developing nations and lists a number of problems for which developing nations must provide effective solutions if their respective information sectors are to support national development. An agenda of activities for the 1990s to address this…

Discussion of the use of appropriate educational media and technology in developing countries focuses on conditions in Zimbabwe. Poverty as a cultural factor is examined, transferring technology from one country to another is discussed, and the need for skilled and trained personnel is emphasized. (LRW)

Argues that the development of science education policy in postapartheid South Africa requires understanding of the links between science- and technology-based development strategies and investment in science education. Analyzes innovations in production technology (post-Fordist production methods and flexible specialization) that may have…

The flexibility of the Convention as the organizing instrument of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), has allowed evolutionary changes in the composition of the organization (originally established in 1865) and has enabled it to modify its agenda so as to integrate the new demands of the Third World constituency for development…

The ongoing flow of monetary assistance and technological transfer from developed to developing countries is examined and its success gauged. Two examples are cited: "The Mumias Sugar Company--A Success Story in Kenya," and, "The Sao Francisco River Power Development in Brazil--A Disaster along the River." The paper also…

The Diffusion of Appropriate Educational Technology in Open and Distance Learning in Developing Countries project was designed to determine awareness and use of educational technologies and communications media in developing countries, to identify factors constraining wider use of educational technologies by developing nations, and to explore…