Monday, September 3, 2001		IT Bookshelf

Information Technology and Globalisation
By S. K. Bansal, APH Publishing Corporation, New Delhi.
Pages 306. Rs 600

ADVANCES in the basic technologies of communications and information processing, have by virtue of shrinking the world, given a major boost to globalistaion. Information technology, with its capacity to degitise any form of information, has changed the way we communicate, with the national boundaries becoming that much more diffused.

The book, written by S. K. Bansal, covers various topics relating to information technology and its role in globalisation, including information and society, network communications, technological change, freedom of information, new information and communication technology, personal computers, information management, etc.

In the first chapter, the author discusses the paradoxical role of new technologies in an "information society." Be it the field of communication, education or entertainment, new technologies can lead to improvement in the "quality of life." But their extensive use at workplace in different sectors may result in increase in unemployment, warns the author. The gap between the rich and the poor or the computer-literate and print-literate may widen.

"Globalisation of Communication" talks of cross-border TV channels that telecast various programmes relating to news, sports, theatre, music, business, etc., worldwide through a network of satellite. A brief history of these channels brings out the evolution of the medium.

A community information service is a must in a society so that people can access assembled information at one place. Different forms of information service and their advantages have been discussed in detail.

A computer network provides computing and two-way data communications. It needs a common "language" to communicate successfully. A chapter, "Network Communications," explains the elements required for effective communication.

The importance of freedom of information was first recognised in 1789 with the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen that asserts "the free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man…." The Declaration of Rights and Obligations of Journalists was adopted in 1971 in Munich. The book puts the development of the whole gamut of information in a perspective through such bits of history.

Given the glut of information that can be generated in such conditions, information management becomes an imperative. This field has in itself become a specialisation and whole chapter has been dedicated to the issue.

Mediapersons or anybody delving in information can see from the book how the various aspects of technology and information meet each other to make the world a better place.

— Pardeep Dhull