Communication, Technology and the Development of People Book

In the global quest for sustainability developers and investors have failed to deal adequately with the social dimension, the development of people and institutions. This book explores the reasons why this should be so, and offers possible solutions now being presented by advances in digital technology systems. Bernard Woods' argument shows how the root of the problem lies in the reductionism of Western education systems and the confined traditionalism of current approaches to development. By building a new conceptual framework which links the potential of the information revolution with the social prerequisites of sustainable development, he offers a new way forward. The basis of this is the new software delivery utilities, and the potential of their social applications, which can for the first time draw the private sector into the delivery of public services on a large scale. The book describes the new paradigm of development that the combination of these advances, outlines new opportunities that a major paradigm shift will open up, and looks to the new hope that this offers for the future.Read More