ICTs and Indian Social Change: Diffusion, Poverty, Governance (Hardback)

Ashwani Saith (editor), M Vijayabaskar (editor), V Gayathri (editor)

£47.99

Hardback 420 Pages / Published: 20/05/2008

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Synopsis

ICTs and Indian Social Change: Diffusion, Poverty, Governance is the first book of its kind that puts together the optimistic voices of techno-idealists, critical social science perspectives on technology and a range of empirical material on the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on the lives of people. The book traces these processes across urban and rural spaces of work, consumption, e-governance, and highlights the new kinds of social identities they are fostering in India. It opens up an arena for dialogue between activists, technologists, policy makers and academia on using ICTs for development.

The book is a logical sequel to ICTs and Indian Economic Change: Economy, Work, Regulation that addressed the implications of the growth of ICT-based sectors in India for macro-economic development and industrial efficiency. This volume views the diffusion of ICTs in India primarily in the socio cultural realm. In responding to the pioneering voices of innovators in ICTs, it provides empirical and theoretical assessments and critiques of some of the important though often latent, premises that underlie these powerful initiatives.

Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc
ISBN: 9780761936121
Number of pages: 420
Weight: 550 g
Dimensions: 215 x 139 x 28 mm

MEDIA REVIEWS

The book brings together a set of papers on the relationship between new technologies and socio-economic divides, deployment of new technologies in governance and other public policy initiatives to overcome such divisions. It says that the services sector has arguably been the driver of India's growth process in recent years. The contribution of IT related services to this phenomenon is widely acknowledged and well documented.

-- Press Trust of India
This...book...put's together the optimistic voices of techno-idealists, critical social science perspectives on technology and a range of empirical material on the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS) on the lives of the people. It traces these processes across urban and rural spaces of work, consumption, e-governance, and highlights the new kinds of social identities they are fostering in India and opens up an arena for dialogue between activists, technologists, policy makers, and academia on using ICTS for development. -- Free Press Journal

Of value to those who seek urgent changes!

-- Hindu Business Line

It's the first book of its kind that puts together the optimistic voices of techno-idealists and a range of empirical material on the impact of Information and Communication Technologies on the lives of people.

-- Mail Today

This collection of papers gives a useful overview of the contribution of information and communication technologies to India's economic development.... The editors point to the importance of understanding the trajectory of growth in other low-income economies and the role of public policies in this direction.

-- Development Policy Review

As a volume dealing with information and communication technologies, with a focus on economy, work an regulation, the contents of this volume are fairly predictable-the role of the state, infrastructure provisioning, global competitiveness, diffusion of technologies, and the impact on labour markets and labour processes....the volume is excellent reference material.

-- Journal of South Asian Development