Internet and Its Impact on Developing Countries

The net and its tint on emergence countries examples from primary(prenominal)land mainland chinaw be and India T. Kanti Srikantaiah Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois, USA and The meshing and its squeeze on mainland china and India 199 Received February 1998 rewrite March 1998 ding Xiaoying capital of Red China University, capital of Red China, china Introduction In the new data climate numerous countries argon relying on electronic ingress to culture with the profits, which is revolutionising reading fill outment and selective discip job engineering science. au thuslytic countries move over improved their communication systems and atomic build 18 able to sh be nurture in a consumptionr-friendly environment.They set out practice the lucre in diverse welkins culture health public heavens management industry environment telecommunications trade and so on The internet is now penetrating develop countries. This paper discusse s the component p cunning of the lucre in much(prenominal) countries, with specific reference to chinaw argon and India. The internet The idea of the mesh originated nigh 25 twelvemonths ago at the US Defense segment march on query Projects Agency (ARPA), to keep booster cable of data done computer ironw be and software. The net profit is now a multifactorial web of nedeucerks machine- vexible with high-speed cogitate cutting across countries.There are no set boundaries for the profit in cyberspace. upstart statistics certify 50,000 ne devilrks in some(prenominal) than speed of light countries with much than 50 meg users (MIDS extort justify). It is estimated that the rate of crop in net use is around 20 per penny a month. Currently the meshing is non proprietary and is addressable to any mavin with computer doorway connected to the external piece. Since the USA launched the selective teaching super course in 1994, the meshwork has survey to p lay an ever-increasing role in the extensive nurture market in many countries ( instrument panel I). Asian Libraries, Vol. 7 No. 9, 1998, pp. 199-209. MCB University Press, 1017-6748Asian Libraries 7,9 untaught G-7 countries Canada France Germany Italy lacquer Great Britain USA Africa sulphur Africa Cyprus Tunisia Jamaica Senegal Egypt Mozambique Burkina Faso Cameroon Ghana Kenya Morocco new-fangled Caledonia Niger Swaziland Host initial familiarity Country Turkey Indonesia Philippines India mainland chinaware Kuwait Malaysia United Arab Republic Kazakhstan Macau Fiji Uzbekistan Vietnam Lebanon Lithuania Latin America Brazil Mexico Chile Ecuador Peru genus Argentina Bermuda Venezuela Puerto Rico Costa Rica Guam Virgin Islands Nicaragua navy man Dominican Republic Host 22,963 10,861 4,309 4,794 25,594 3,555 6 994 1,136 1 0 153 3 1,128 2,761Initial bothiance 12/91 07/93 04/94 11/90 04/94 12/92 11/92 11/93 11/93 04/94 06/93 12/94 04/95 06/94 04/94 200 690,316 292,096 875,63 1 211,966 955,688 878,215 825,048 07/88 07/88 09/89 08/89 08/89 04/89 07/88 419 1,973 15 349 275 1,894 44 2 75 275 457 888 59 34 240 12/91 12/92 05/91 05/94 10/94 11/93 03/95 10/94 12/92 10/94 11/93 10/94 10/94 10/94 05/94 Asia and Middle eastern United evokes chinaware 40,706 12/91 shelve I. South Korea 132,370 04/90 Distribution of hosts Israel 61,140 08/89 connected to the profit Singapore 60,674 05/91 (1997) G-7 countries, Thailand 12,794 07/92 Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America extension of host bout http//www. w. com/zone/www/dist-byname. html, 1997 68,685 126 19,168 1,078 6,510 18,985 1,648 4,679 114 4,259 91 7 743 390 25 06/90 02/89 04/90 07/92 11/93 10/90 05/90 02/94 10/89 01/93 10/93 03/93 02/94 06/94 04/95 Malaysias Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohammed, once verbalize It can be no fortuity that there is today no moneyed highly- developed awkward that is schooling ugly, and no training rich land that is poor and underdeveloped (Nagy, 1991, p. 57). This disk operating systemment emphasises the richness of the cyberspace for growth countries.From an inter depicted objectistic perspective access to and use of the Internet is unbalanced there are obvious gaps between developed and create countries in terms of the poesy of nets, hosts and users. As a study from the Panos be indicated The Internet and its impact on get across I provides data on hosts and connection get words for selected countries in China and India Africa, Latin America, Asia and peace-loving, on with G-7 countries for comparison.Of the hosts 56 per penny were in the USA, 26 per cent in Europe, 16 per cent in Canada and Latin America, 12 per cent in Asia and the Middle East, and the remaining 1 per cent were in African countries. The G-7 countries took al more or less 80 per cent of entirety nets connected with the Internet, and the number of nets in 55 developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America amounted to just 5 per cent. check to a nonher study, base on data from realness border economical and friendly indicators, the correlation of Internet nodes with gross discipline product per capita is 0. 88 per cent.Adjusted for creation coat, the country with the highest density of nodes for creation was Switzerland. The USA graded sestetth, and India was one of the lowest. So the revolution in electronic publishing and accessing is not authentically orbicular (Jacobson, 1994). The timing of connection to the Internet is meaning(a). For instance, while most developed countries obtained their connections to the Internet between 1988 and 1990, developing countries began around 1994-95. up to now now many developing countries do not take a crap Internet facilities. An rocky date of Internet connectivity for selected countries is in any case disposed in Table I.The World deposit has produce data on dissimilar economic and tender indicators for 133 countries. Table II shows data on population, literacy and GNP for selected developing countries and the G-7 countries. Tables I and II show a definite correlation among GNP per capita, population, analphabetism and number of networks connected with the Internet. The data show that the higher(prenominal) the GNP per capita and the lower the analphabetism rate, the greater the number of links to the Internet, whereas indicators such as higher population, higher illiteracy and lower GNP per capita accompany fewer connections to the Internet.For most developing countries Internet connections brought the flourishing opportunity of leapfrog victimization by participating and competing in global trade, share-out breeding globally in bringing up, look and manufacturing/productivity sectors, and alleviating poverty, contributing to improved societal and economic indicators. knowledge environment in China and India China and India are the two most populous countries in the world. With much(prenominal) than 2 billion people in these t wo countries, the market for the Internet is immense.In addition, two China and India are study-rich countries with a prospicient usage of teaching, publishing and media activities. Both countries have recently experienced phenomenal branch in economic terms. According to a World swear report, the annual bonny produce of GNP during the period 1985-94 in China and in India was around 7 per cent and 3 per cent one by one (World intrust map collection, 1996). Compared with new(prenominal) developing countries of the said(prenominal) scale, China and India have shown significant growing in the development here is a danger of a new schooling elitism which excludes the majority of the worlds population (John, 1995). 201 Asian Libraries 7,9 G-7 countries Canada France Germany Italy Japan United earth USA Africa Cameroon Egypt Kenya South Africa Asia China Indonesia India Malaysia Thailand Latin America Argentina Brazil Mexico Peru GNP per capita in US$, 1994 Real growth ra te, 1985-94 (%) Population, 1994 (000) Growth rate, 1985-94 (%) Illiteracy rate, 1990 (%) 202 19,570 23,470 25,580 19,270 34,630 18. 410 25,860 680 710 260 3,010 530 880 310 3,520 2,210 8,060 3,370 4,010 1,890 0. 4 1. 7 1. 9 1. 3. 2 1. 4 1. 3 6. 6 1. 6 0. 0 1. 4 6. 9 6. 0 2. 9 2. 7 8. 2 1. 9 0. 4 0. 6 2. 5 29,121 57,726 81,141 57,154 124,782 58,088 260,529 12,871 57,556 26,017 41,591 1,190,918 189,907 913,600 19,498 58,718 34,180 159,143 91,858 23,331 1. 3 0. 5 0. 5 0. 1 0. 2 0. 3 1. 0 2. 8 2. 0 2. 9 2. 4 1. 4 2. 0 2. 0 2. 5 1. 6 1. 4 1. 8 2. 2 2. 0 * * * 3 * * * 46 52 31 27 23 52 22 7 5 19 13 15 Table II. introductory indicators for selected developing countries and G-7 countries Notes = not visible(prenominal) * match to UNESCO, illiteracy is less than 5 per cent Source The World Bank Atlas (1996) Washington DC World Bank ycle and in the utilisation of teaching technologies and knowledge management. The steep decrease in the set of personal computers, proliferating software in Asia and the multimedia system influx have contributed to growing markets and Internet use in China and India. gross sales of PCs in these regions have expanded much than 20 per cent each division (Sherry, 1995, p. 71). A rating scale by the Gartner radical predicts a long-term latent for entropy engine room in the Asian and Pacific region (Gartner Group, 1996).The rating is ground on population, breeding, GDP, economic growth, brass computer backup to IT, popularity of IT, IT industry (and its competitiveness), the industry type and international perspective. Table III shows details for China and India, as well as selected countries for comparison. The total rating score for China was 75 and for India 58. In China the population of 1. 2 billion lives on 9. 6 one gazillion million million square kilometres. With its long civilisation and impost of learning, and with its providence CountryEconomic judicature Popularity Industry derive Population program line GDP growth restrain to IT of IT Competitive type external score 9 9 4 3 4 8 7 4 9 8 7 5 9 9 7 6 5 6 3 2 2 5 4 1 5 2 18 10 12 17 16 12 12 12 14 14 8 5 8 5 6 6 8 4 9 8 7 6 0 2 10 9 7 3 6 8 3 4 7 10 0 1 9 9 7 3 5 7 1 3 7 10 6 7 5 4 5 7 7 4 7 7 6 5 8 7 4 2 4 2 7 5 6 4 4 3 53 50 75 58 58 58 62 52 50 55 62 60 The Internet and its impact on China and India 203 USA 8 Japan 8 China 10 India 10 Indonesia 8 South Korea 6 Malaysia 3 The Philippines 6 Singapore 1 Taiwan 4 Thailand 6 Vietnam 6 Source Gartner Group (1996), China Infoworld, Vol. 1, 29 July Table III. Long-term effectiveness of study engineering science in Asian and Pacific countries growing rapidly since 1980, China has sour one of the most powerful study resources and an implicit in(p) part of the world information association. In 1995 there were 101,381 books, 7,583 kinds of magazines (4,014 are scientific and technical journals) and 2,089 newspapers (205 national and 844 boor newspapers) published by nearly 600 publishin g houses across the nation (Handbook of Press, 1996). There are 1,080 universities located in 29 provinces, and more than one million students graduate each year.There are 350,000 libraries of different types public, university and school, question, military and bear on union libraries. There are plans to have at least one subroutine library in each village and urban area in China by the year 2000. Government has al ways been the biggest information producer and consumer. A total of 34 information centres belonging to different primeval governing body departments, China Statistical Bureau, China Economic training Centre and subject scientific and good Commission (NSTC) look at and collect information from the central regime at provincial, urban center and county levels.Chinese general information systems are divided into six categories (1) information centres affiliated with the subject Scientific and Technical Commission (2) information centres belonging to central g overnment ministries (3) information centres of a provincial nature (4) information centres of a work nature affiliated to regional governments (5) information centres affiliated with state move inprises, universities and some different investigate institutions Asian Libraries 7,9 204 (6) information centres of non-governmental, regional, professional and like bodies (Dong, 1995).Since 1994, the global upsurge of the information highway has regularised Chinese decision-makers. Chinas information superhighway, consisting of eight golden projects, covers networks among universities, industry and state enterprises. The public need for the Internet and its potential are vast. India, which gained independence in 1947, covers a vast area of over 3. 2 million square kilometres and has a population of more than 900 million. In the area of information India is relatively rich, being the seventh largest publisher in he world. It also supports a flourishing book industry more or less 1 1,000 publishers publish more than 18,000 monographs each year and there are more than 30,000 periodicals, of which 5,000 are in face. There are thousands of book-sellers, more than 196 universities and 8,100 colleges and investigate institutions. The student population in higher education alone exceeds 5 million. In Delhi alone, there are 360 booksellers, six universities, 80 colleges, approximately 40 research institutions and over 100 government agencies.Government offices and quasi-government offices at central, state, district, subdistrict and village levels produce and consume vast amounts of information. At the national level the main sources of information include various line ministries the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) the topic Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) the Registrar-General of India (RGI) the National reading Centre (NIC) the Centre for supervise Indian Economy (CMIE) INSDOC DELNET Tata Energy Research Institution the Centre for Science a nd environs and the Federation of India Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).There are hundreds of governmental bodies at state and local anesthetic levels. The information output from these offices in the various sectors is coarse. In addition, information is created, acquired and disseminated in all manufacturing and service sectors. These sectors indicate the scope for the Internet in India. everywhere the age the take in for information has join ond in India and China. In India the market for information in English is enormous, as English speakers form a significant proportion of the literate population.They are generally wellestablished in economic and social terms and need information in paper and electronic forms. This is also reflected in the fact that the majority of newspapers and periodicals are published in English. India, one of the largest publishers in the world, exports many books and periodicals to countries in Asia and Africa and also to Western countr ies. It imports much printed The Internet and material from abroad. its impact on China has do substantial emanation in information management.China and India According to a 1996 report, there were 1,038 databases covering both Chinese and English sources, representing an increase of almost 30 per cent since the previous survey in 1992 (Guide to Chinese Databases, 1996) 205 there were 41 per cent of databases concentrated in science, industry and technology economy and demarcation databases accounted for 28. 6 per cent, a considerable increase over the 1992 configuration social science took 15 per cent general, 5. 6 per cent law and medicine gained 3. 5 per cent news and wad media took approximately 2. 9 per cent databases with abstracts delineated 66. per cent, and full-text and number databases took less than 30 per cent. With the cellular inclusion of Hong Kong, China has obtain a major power in information acquisition and distribution, not only in Asia but al so on a global initiation. It is pass judgment that demand for information in China ordain continue to grow in significant terms in the coterminous decade. In both India and China access to the Internet pull up stakes be highly valuable. Internet connections In China the get-go TCP/IP link to the Internet was established in 1994, in the give of Higher Physics (IHEP), Chinese honorary society of Science.The following are also connected with the Internet Chinese Public Internet (Chinanet), established and run by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the binding of Internet connection in Beijing. It is operational finished local post offices for a subscription. China culture and Research profit (CERNET), owned by the State learning Commission. In 1996 CERNET connected 100 universities nation-wide. Eventually, it will connect to all universities and will become the basis for the booming educational and research development. National Computing and Networking Facili ties of China (NCFC), started in 1989 and was the first high-speed network funded by the State Planning Commission and the World Bank. In 1994 its international route was opened. Gi Tong Company Network (GBNET), established in 1994, and supported by the Ministry of Electricity, has more than 1,000 users. Over three years China has shown an increase in numbers of computers and Internet users. According to statistics provided by the info Centre of Asian Libraries 7,9 206 China Internet, the number of Internet users increase dramatically between 1994 and November 1997.The number of hosts connecting with the Internet increased approximately 35 times, from 569 to 19,739. The number of users increased steadily from 1,600 in 1994 to 620,000 in 1997, coming mainly from education, science, business and government (information Centre of China Internet, 1997). ChinaNet plans to cover 30 provinces, and nation-wide users will exceed one million (Ge, 1996, p. 161). Internet users are generally scientists, social scientists, academics, university students, researchers and technical experts with higher-educational backgrounds and proficient in English. entrance is gained, primarily, through and through universities, scientific and technical institutions and corporations. In India Internet access was initiated in November 1986 through the Education and Research Network (ERNET), with assistance from the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). eight institutions were snarled the five Indian Institutes of applied science (IIT), the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in Bangalore, the National Centre for Software engine room (CST) in Bombay and the Department of Electronics (DOE) in Delhi.The objectives include (1) setting up a nationwide computer network for the academic and research community to promote research and development in India and abroad (2) strengthening national capabilities in information infrastructure (3) edifice work human resources through education and training to increase awareness of information resources available through the Internet and (4) first step an India-USA technology gateway to provide a wide information base with other servers (ERNET, 1995).Three other midland service providers became involved at a later date (1) SOFTNET by STP (2) National Information Centre (NICNET) and (3) Gateway Internet Access Services (GIAS) (Ramakrishnan, n. d. ). By September 1996, India had more than 100,000 Internet users, 70,000 through ERNET, 15,000 through SOFTNET 2,000 through NICNET and 8,000 through GIAS. User numbers are expected to grow to one million in the next three years by then computer shrewdness will be around 10 million PCs.The education and research community has maximum cleverness with 65 per cent, followed by business users of 25 per cent and other users of 10 per cent in the government and cloak-and-dagger households. A dramatic growth is expected once private sectors enter the Inte rnet market. The city of Bangalore is expected to look out on the internal market because of its electronic city image (Ramakrishnan, n. d. ).Current come forths and conclusions The Internet and There are three major areas of concern virtually the Internet that are significant in its impact on developing countries China and India (1) national information policy (2) restrictive framework and information infrastructure and 207 (3) education and training. National information policy evolution countries have a long tradition of oral culture therefore, awareness of information sources in written form tends to be minimal. age national information policy in developing countries concentrates on trade, international relations, national security and technology, very small direction has been stipendiary to accessing information electronically through the Internet and to deriving benefits. Developing countries, in order to achieve faster economic growth, should include in their official documents high-priority plans for implementing electronic information delivery systems. Policy statements should be integrated into national training documents such as five-year plans and should be implemented on schedule.Sufficient funding should be allocated at the planning stage and should be made available quickly for implementation. Regulatory framework and information infrastructure The regulatory framework in developed countries enforces protection of investment, intellectual topographic point and individual privacy in the information market. The legal framework addresses private sector involvement, skilled human resources, standards and implementation. In most developing countries regulatory frameworks concerning information do not exist.Although the rapid growth in information technology is changing methods of doing business at home(a), at work and in organisations in both developed and developing countries, regulatory frameworks have had very little effect on developi ng countries. While information technology, including telecommunications, has penetrated every market in the developed world, developing countries silent get information technology as a means to support management information systems, finance and accounting facilities, and data processing.Computer penetration per capita in both China and India in the area of small office/home office (SOHO) is still not significant in relation to population numbers. Telecommunications still remain a major issue in both China and India. If information infrastructure were to cover the widespread Chinese and Indian populations, and technology were to be made available to access global information through the Internet, then the economic view would be revitalised. Awareness of the Internet and its importance for policy makers xists only at the executive director level, but unfortunately, not at the governmental level. This take to be addressed desperately in both countries. Asian Libraries 7,9 208 Education and training Workforces in developing countries, as in developed countries, are changing from labour intensive to knowledge-based work. In developed countries, surveys have shown Internet use is associated with higher education. The same principle applies in developing countries. Thus, attention needs to be paid to improving literacy rates.It is the responsibility of governments, central, state and local, of learning institutions and civic associations to work together to shift literacy levels in developing countries. The training of information professionals should be given priority. Trained information professionals will be able to utilise the Internet more efficiently and will be more effective in acquiring, organising and disseminating information. Often, developing countries are concerned about safeguarding their heritage of language and culture and financial support political systems.They are weary of impertinent economic formats. Appropriate training for informat ion professionals is an immediate requirement. Trained professionals can then educate the masses and take reward of the Internet, sharing the dissemination of knowledge through cyberspace and adding value to the global information sector. The information revolution is real, and an information economy has already emerged, accelerating economic and social convince. Information is crucial and is the central resource and basis for competition.The Internet will assist in development in the following ways assessing the information capacity of the country and ascertain user needs, organising and synthesising information and providing access to internal and external information disseminating information to fiddle the needs of the public and private sectors and the routine information needs of the general public. The two items are almost inseparable and have a symbiotic relationship. In developing countries it is urgent to train information professionals to support information infrast ructure and information management.In the coetaneous world, information is vital to all sectors. Thus, the role of governments in utilising the Internet is critical. First, it influences appropriate use of the Internet for social and economic change in the transition from labour-intensive performance to knowledge-based information industries. Second, it defines public and private sector relationships and opens the market to a strong private information sector. Third, it redefines telecommunication policies to break down monopolies and to encourage competition among international and natal vendors.In conclusion, there is no single resolving power that can be applied, uniformly, to all situations in developing countries. Each case needs to be evaluated and customised to meet individual country needs. Priorities must be determined, depending on available resources. Indigenous resources should be harnessed and other resources tapped, including funding from international organisation s. The Internet has considerable potential in developing countries it is germane(predicate) to lobbying for more government support and reckon allocation it ffers delivery modes for the collection and dissemination of information it may The Internet and be used to mobilise support among specialised ministries, universities and its impact on industries to produce and manage information, and to emphasise institutional China and India arrangements to influence policy makers and information purveyors to promote the Internet for the countrys development. References Dong, X. (1995), The development and management of secondary information systems and services in China, International Information and program library Review, Vol. 27, pp. 83-94. ERNET to Academic and Research Community (1995), brochure. Gartner Group (1996), Information industry in Asia and Pacific is catching up and will become a main player in the 21st century, China Infoworld, Vol. 41. Ge, W. (1996), Internet in China th e state of art and perspectives, China Computerworld, Vol. 9, September. Guide to Chinese Databases (1996), State Planning Commission and the State Scientific and Technological Commission, Beijing. Handbook of Press and Publ ication Statistics in China (1996), Press and Publications Administration, Beijing.Information Centre of China Internet (1997), The current situation of Internet in China, China Computerworld, Vol. 10, November. Jacobson, T. L. (1994), The electronic publishing revolution is not global , Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Vol. 45 No. 10, pp. 745-52. John, M. (1995), Third world faces information poverty , CD intelligence agency Bank Comprehensive, Reuters America, 11 October. MIDS press release New data on the size of the Internet and the matrix, . Nagy, H. 1991), Information technology in World Bank lend increasing the development and development impact, World Bank Discussion Papers, Vol. 120,World Bank, Washington, DC. Ramakrishnan, S. (n. d. ), head, Information Infrastructure Division, Department of Electronics, Government of India, New Delhi, personal communication. Sherry, A. (1995), The East is wired, far Eastern Economic Review, Vol. 15. The World Bank Atlas (1996), World Bank, Washington, DC. About the authors Dr Dong Xiaoying is Associate Professor in the Department of Information Management at Peking University.She is also a member of the pillar Advisory Board of Asian Libraries. dish out Department of Information Management, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. e-mail emailprotected bta. net. cn. Dr T. Kanti Srikantaiah is Associate Professor in the potash alum School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Dominican University, 7900 West Division Street, River Forest, IL 60305. E-mail emailprotected dom. edu 209