Home January 1998 Vol 59 No 1 Dosa book review

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January 1998, Vol. 59, No. 1

Book Review

Dosa, Marta. Across All Borders: International Information Flows and Applications: Collected Papers. Lanham: Scarecrow Pr., 1997. 420 p. $69.50, alk. paper. (ISBN 0-8108-3198-8). LC96-21269.

Publication of a book that is no more than a collection of previously printed articles is a gamble. Two of the most obvious dangers are the lack of a sustaining theme and the reproduction of material that is so old as to be obsolete. This volume contains twenty-one papers originally published between 1974 and 1994 in sources that are admittedly often obscure and, no doubt, now hard to acquire. The articles are grouped into six main themes: the role of information in economically developing societies; information-sharing through human resource networks; information and problem-solving; information policies; information education and training; and transnational corporations and Third World information flows.

Dosa is based at Syracuse University and has had experience of an impressive range of international projects. The undoubted strength of this collection of papers lies in the interdisciplinary, global, and humanistic approach that informs all of her writing about international information flows. It is refreshing to read work that declines to use the clichéd assumptions and religious fervor typical of so much writing on information technology. Dosa is clearly concerned about people and their environment, and all her questions stem from this: For example, how can the South benefit from First World technology; can the technology be made mutually acceptable; and what is the exact nature of information diffusion? People occupy a central position in her work as the agency that turns data into knowledge, and she has a recurrent concern about building bridges between North and South when considering the role of information in economic, social, and cultural development. Another important thread running through the book is that of communication as a basis of trust and mutuality, and this is where Dosas own experience and personality emerge most clearly.

Important insights stem from Dosas writing. To give just a few examples: Information is value laden, far from neutral, and may be disruptive and at worse imperialistic; indigenous information systems have the ability to harness initiative, creativity, and motivation which may be impeded by imported systems; and the main impact of consultants is felt after they have left the scene of their intervention. Dosa also explores topics such as South--South cooperation; equity and the information economy; and ideological and social influences on environmental information transfer. One of the most impressive of her insights concerns the theory/practice gap, especially where this is exacerbated by tensions between imported and indigenous systems.

In introducing the concept of information fatigue, Dosa writes: "people are tired of hearing about supersystems and superproducts, they just want the right information when they need it." It is a pity, however, that the rest of this book is not so forthright. There is, unfortunately, a rather tired air to much of it and a distinct feeling of déjà vu. The importance of cultural sensitivity and respect for indigenous information systems and practices by those purveying international aid now is so established that it hardly needs spelling out at great length. The consequence of republishing a set of articles is that there is considerable repetition. Too many of the contributions culminate with a plea for more research and lack what is missing from so much academic writing of this type: a clear, unambivalent, and challenging idea of what the author is thinking.

Disappointingly, the author has failed to provide an up-to-date overview of the field. In this way, she could have drawn the readers attention to the ageless truths in her writing while explaining the passages that now are of historic interest only. Instead, she has engaged the services of a colleague to write an introduction which does little more than pick out general themes and explain the structure of the book.

The books technical quality is high. A comprehensive bibliography of twenty pages is divided by theme and subdivided into international and country studies. The index is separated into name and subject sections. The former is a comprehensive listing of citations whose full bibliographic description is found at the end of each paper. The latter contains some quaint references, for example, "electronic mail, see computer-mediated communication (CMC)." It also highlights some of the jargon that permeates the text: "criticality resonance," "quality circles" and "parallel organizations" are just a few unfortunate examples.—Christopher Merrett, University of Natal, Pietermaritzbúrg, South Africa.