Microcomputers are an increasingly important tool in all aspects of development as the need to handle and assimilate vast quantities of information becomes ever more critical for both the international development community and the developing countries. In addition, the microcomputer represents the first significant technological advance that a dev

The growth of microcomputer applications in industrialized countries is predicated on an existing base that includes the ready availability of affordable hardware and software, trained personnel, capable maintenance, efficient communication systems, and a benign environment; applications are selected and facilitated by a wide range of underlying ex

This report is based on a conference on the applications of microcomputers in development sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in collaboration with a host country.

Computerization, microcomputers, technological change, developing countries - information processing, technology transfer, information system, telecommunications cost, sectoral applications in agriculture, health service, energy and local government, case study of Sri Lanka. Bibliography, flow charts, graphs, glossary, illustration, maps, statistical table, tables.

An examination of the policy initiatives required to create or improve the necessary support systems - affordable hardware and software, trained personnel, capable maintenance and a benign environment - for microcomputer applications in developing countries.

This book focuses on the pioneering applications of an expert system in development relate to agriculture in many of the developing countries, introducing the reader to some of the key concepts underlying most expert systems.

This book is a collection of reviews of microcomputer programs of special relevance to those people around the world who are responsible for the management of the current and future affairs and business of their countries.

Information is a major development resource, joining the ranks with human, natural and financial resources. Therefore, development agencies must understand the role of information and information technologies (informatics) in the developing countries to respond to a rapidly evolving global environment. The ongoing information explosion in the industrialized economies contrasts sharply with the information poverty of developing countries. This poverty takes many forms, including poor information support for macroeconomic and sectoral policy formulation and implementation, limited access to information for rural populations, and isolation of researchers and professionals from international research findings and so on. Informatics applications offers new ways to make the most of the managerial and institutional resources of developing countries, with the most widespread benefits likely to come from applying it to priority sectors. Governments are recognizing their roles as information providers and users, facilitators of information technology diffusion, and providers of information and communication infrastructures, as well as their role in setting policies for informatics. During the 1990s the impact of information technology will be felt increasingly. Developing countries at all levels of development must stay abreast of the information revolution : they cannot afford to ignore this "second industrial revolution."