A compilation of authoritative reports from seasoned researchers working in eight different countries on five continents, this volume examines the concept that conditions of local feasibility are constitutive of research practices not simply obstructions to the realization of an ideal. The result documents the effects of political and cultural factors on research projects and offers culturally sensitive researchers a wealth of practical knowledge.

This volume explores how a number of developing countries -- including India, Malaysia, Columbia, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia -- are responding to the pressures of the information society. Infrastructural development, policies, and social systems are investigated, and models of information technologies and society are proposed in order to better reference the differences and similarities among the nations profiled. The authors identify the social technology perspective via the assimilation of technology in lifestyles and social systems. From this perspective, the diffusion of technologies is analyzed with a critical eye for theories of culture lag, diffusion and innovation, and technological determinism and liberalism. The social perspective is a new addition to development studies, and the reader may see how, as the global information society comes into focus, the social dimensions are more important than some theorists originally envisioned.

A compilation of authoritative reports from seasoned researchers working in eight different countries on five continents, this volume examines the concept that conditions of local feasibility are constitutive of research practices not simply obstructions to the realization of an ideal. The result documents the effects of political and cultural factors on research projects and offers culturally sensitive researchers a wealth of practical knowledge.

This volume explores how a number of developing countries -- including India, Malaysia, Columbia, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia -- are responding to the pressures of the information society. Infrastructural development, policies, and social systems are investigated, and models of information technologies and society are proposed in order to better reference the differences and similarities among the nations profiled. The authors identify the social technology perspective via the assimilation of technology in lifestyles and social systems. From this perspective, the diffusion of technologies is analyzed with a critical eye for theories of culture lag, diffusion and innovation, and technological determinism and liberalism. The social perspective is a new addition to development studies, and the reader may see how, as the global information society comes into focus, the social dimensions are more important than some theorists originally envisioned.

The various theme discussed in the publication provide an insight into various topics, which form part of the syllabi of various professional courses in book publishing, printing, and mass communication, journalism, etc.