Ashwani Saith, M. Vijayabaskar And V. Gayathri (eds), Icts And Indian Social Change. Thousand Oaks, Ca, London, New Delhi And Singapore: Sage, 2008. Rs750. 418 Pp

摘要

The relationship between technology and social change remains a subject of considerable debate, and any book in which it is a central element needs to take into account the range of different perspectives having a bearing on it. The broad examination of ICTs and social change in India offered in this book answers such a need to the extent of putting alongside each other the views of technocrats, for whom technology is a neutral set of tools and devices, and critical social scientists who see technology as constitutive of social relations. The aim of the book is to bring these divergent perspectives together in order to stimulate dialogue between them. The particular focus of the book is on the ways in which new technologies can transform the lives of the poor and socially marginalized. If their specific needs are not taken into consideration in how new technologies are developed and deployed, social divisions are likely to deepen or be perpetuated. For example, one chapter in the book takes up this issue by looking at the rapid recent diffusion of telephony in India and the potential this creates for reducing inequities in access to critical resources.