Communication and the Globalisation of Poverty

Karin Wilkins and Jody Waters

Computers represent a critical technology facilitating major transitions in current communication systems (Jacobson and Zimpfer 1993). Because they are increasingly being used in development projects, computer technologies warrant careful attention. The following article critically assesses institutional discourse on the role of new communication technologies in development projects. In order to consider the potential benefits and limitations of these technologies, the authors contextualize their review within historical discussions of the role of media in the process of strategic social change. They then explore institutional discourse concerning the nature of development and the role of communication technologies in development projects that use computer technologies.

James M. Wall

Cuban film director Fernando Pérez was inspired to make Life Is to Whistle by the work of modernist painter René Magritte, in whose work ‘reality does not stop being reality, but is, at once, another reality.’ Magritte’s paintings have been described as ‘elaborate fantasies constructed around commonplace situations.’ Life Is to Whistle is an energetic look at commonplace situations in Havana, Cuba, where economic life remains difficult but where dream life is open to another reality, perhaps one that is guided by a divine hand.

Philip Lee

In a world of social and economic exploitation, a world often racked by civil and military conflict, what price global ethics? The following article reviews Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice, a major contribution to the debate about the ‘impossible dream’ of protecting and improving the lives of ordinary human beings.

John P. Ferré

In 1992 Media Development caused a small stir by taking the theme ‘Mass media facing death’, noting that not many studies at that time had studied the topic seriously. The following article discusses public response to death in the popular cartoon series ‘For Better or For Worse’, concluding that ‘the study of audience responses to media death is rich with opportunity and importance.’

Christopher Robert Deacy

Is it possible that the power and popularity of the mass media are such that some of the functions traditionally associated with religious agencies, institutions and discourse are capable of being communicated through, and performed by, the medium of film? The author explores this thesis in the following article which suggests that, at the very least, film can be seen to wrestle with, and to bear witness to, some of the most fundamental themes and insights which lie at the heart of religious specifically Christian activity.

Nazmul Huda Mohd. Sharif Uddin

How can modern communication technologies benefit people at the grassroots? A question whose answer is often more complicated than the simple solution proposed in the following article. It illustrates the practical uses to which cellular phones can be put in one of the poorer countries in Asia.

Julio de Santa Ana

Al llegar al fin del siglo XX, casi comenzando el venidero, se debe constatar que las expectativas creadas luego de la Segunda Guerra Mundial de poder erradicar la pobreza en nuestras sociedades, no han llegado a concretarse. Hubo un momento en el que se crearon condiciones que llevaron a muchos a creer que sería posible desencadenar procesos económicos, sociales y políticos que tendrían como consecuencia la superación de las condiciones de vida de las masas pobres del planeta. Cuando finalizó la tragedia bélica predominaba entre los líderes políticos y académicos la convicción de que era necesario evitar que se repitieran situaciones semejantes a las que hicieron que la humanidad desembocara en el horror de la guerra.

Does technology contribute to greater freedom and equality for all people?
Jane Regan

Does the information age offer a panacea for social fractures and economic ills? The author of the following article argues that The challenge for those hoping today to finally make real the ideals enunciated 200 years ago is to struggle against what even the mainstream US press has called “killer capitalism”, and as part of that, to gain control of the information superhighways in the name of the people.

Jeff Powell and Menno Salverda

Money lenders are a killer for poor communities, which can rarely afford the interest rates. That’s why some are starting up their own ‘community currencies’.

Jung Mo Sung

Social apartheid and exclusion are the themes of the following article in which the author argues for a society that includes everyone. ‘We will have to recognise, freely, beyond market logic, the right of all people to have the real possibility of living a good and decent life. In other words, this means recovering the value of solidarity.’