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…

Examines ethical considerations involved in the transfer of appropriate information technology to less developed countries. Approaches to technology are considered; two philosophical frameworks for studying ethical considerations are discussed, i.e., the Kantian approach and the utilitarian perspective by John Stuart Mill; and integration of the…

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…

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…

Discusses worldwide efforts to use technology as a distance learning tool, particularly in less-developed countries. Topics include telecommunications and transfer of knowledge, including subject matter, pedagogy employed, and use of appropriate technology; and examples of three projects currently underway in less-developed countries to help…

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)

Discusses how the lack of information infrastructures supporting scientific and technical research hampers attempts to transfer certain information technologies, such as online database searching, to developing nations. It is argued that laserdisk information storage technologies, such as CD-ROM, conform more closely to the prevailing conditions…

The problem with developing technology in the South Pacific is similar to that of most developing countries. The size of these island nations and the market alternatives compound the problem in the South Pacific. Although there have been some piecemeal efforts in the South Pacific to develop technology, none has made more than a limited impact. In…

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…

In order to better understand problems encountered in meeting the particular agricultural education and training needs of students from developing countries, 30 students enrolled in the College of Agriculture at the University of Minnesota in academic year 1983-84 were interviewed to assess individual backgrounds and agricultural training to date,…

Provides a rationale for considering English for specific purposes in terms of "appropriate technology"; surveys the philosophical and intellectual underpinnings of the appropriate technology movement; defines key terms and clarifies them with language teaching examples; and briefly considers some objections to the notion of appropriate…

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…

These eleven papers focus on the need for technology education (TE) to address technological problem solving from a more holistic and appropriate level--less high tech, more thoughtful, and using available resources. "Philosophical Rationale for Appropriate Technology (AT)" (Robert C. Wicklein, Charles J. Kachmar) discusses concerns and…

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…