"After almost three decades of experiments with donors and donor agencies in development, no comprehensive picture of the relationship between communication and development has appeared. We have no systematic research or justifiable theory on which to base efforts in this direction. We operate under
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a number of assumptions, the ultimate assumption being that those assumptions are correct. On a more concrete and positive note, several trends can be identified in the literature and work on the use of communication in development. In the last 10 to 15 years, five areas have been the focus of activity in the field.
1. First is the study of the impact of modern technology on development. The number of symposia and seminars in this area have been increasing quantitatively and improving qualitatively. For example, in 1983, two major international conferences were sponsored by Unesco (in Rome and in Istanbul) to discuss the role of modern technology in development.
2. A second emphasis has been in the area of strategy and planning. As more and more projects were ineffective or failed to materialize because of infrastructural and managerial inadequacies, it was realized that a careful process of planning and evaluation research must be included in any communication and development project.
3. A third apparent trend is toward viewing communication and development as an integrative process, not only considering all societal, political and economic factors of a given system, but also realizing the close relationship between modern technology and the existing infrastructure of communication, both human and mechanical.
4. The fourth level of growth has been in national communication policies, Stimulated by the controversy of the world information and communication debate, discussions in different international fora, including Unesco and its International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, have made the question of communication policy a dominant theme of communication and development efforts.
5. The fifth area, less defined and less concrete, is the transfer of technology and its potential for development, especially in the field of communication. Developments in this area have been encouraging in that writings on the transfer of technology have become increasingly related first to the area of communication policy, and second to the growing interest in technological assessment." (Conclusions, page 16)
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"Hinsichtlich der Anwendung von Kommunikationssatelliten in der Dritten Welt zum Zwecke zielgerichteter Entwicklungskommunikation sollen am Beispiel Indien Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des Technologieeinsatzes überprüft und entwicklungskommunikationstheoretischen Hypothesen gegenübergestellt werden
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. Aus der Falluntersuchung werden weiterführende Schlussfolgerungen abgeleitet. Dabei werden Konzepte und Strategien der Veränderung in wichtigen Sektoren der internationalen Beziehungen, gerade auch mit Blick auf die eigenständige Entwicklung von Dritte-Welt-Gesellschaften, aufgegriffen («Weltkommunikationsordnung»)." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Papers from an international conference held by the Protestant Academy of Arnoldshain (Schmitten, Federal Republic of Germany), the Protestant Association for Media Communication (Frankfurt, FRG) and the World Association for Christian Communication (London), with the common theme that all people a
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re entitled to equal rights of access to information technology. Articles discuss concentration of the media in both state and private hands, with its inevitable result on public opinion as it becomes more and more powerful; the danger that the increasing internationalization of media may prevent democratic control; and a final article, "Advertising and the Creation of Global Markets," contending that the new information technologies are creating an infrastructure that is making the 20th century "information age" a "commercial age" at a global level." (Eleanor Blum, Frances G. Wilhoit: Mass media bibliography. 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 Nr. 29)
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"This guide provides educational planners with an awareness and understanding of communication satellite technology, its current uses, and some of the tentative plans for educational experimentation. The first part introduces the general nature of communication satellites in terms of technological c
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ategories, basic economics, and evolutional processes. A detailed description of International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (INTELSAT) gives an up-to-date picture of an operational communication satellite system. The last part reviews ongoing and proposed experiments that could help revolutionize education over the next two decades. Eight national and international projects are described, in terms of general objectives, scope, cost, software, and evaluation. It is hoped that the satellite experiments will provide answers to many of the questions that communication experts, educators, and engineers have asked about the operational feasibility of using satellites in developed and less-developed countries. But the author also cautions that future success in this field depends not only on satellite technology per se but also the success of program content." (https://eric.ed.gov)
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"This report is the outcome of an expert mission, undertaken at the request of several Member States in the African region, by Unesco with the co-operation of the International Telecommunication Union and the Economic Commission for Africa. The mission approached its task from the point of view of t
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he economic feasibility of a regional satellite broadcasting system. By studying educational needs and costs, and projections of population and gross national product; believing that the massive use of television would be necessary to solve the problems of education and information dissemination in the region; having estimated the costs of the various components of a system for television distribution by satellite - the mission evolved a model of a system which met the criteria it established. The report describes that model and mentions a number of variations to it and a possible phased implementation. As the mission itself points out, the report is not to be construed as a recommendation for an African satellite system, but assesses the potentialities of this new technology in the African context, and identifies some possible options worth detailed investigation." (Foreword)
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