Development Communication Stefan Sonderling I will focus on important themes from the 3 Units.

Unit 9 Assumptions about social change: All societies change and progress in ways that are similar to Western societies, that is, they develop from simple, primitive systems to more complex, modern and industrialised societies. Third World societies are underdeveloped but are moving gradually toward modernity. Economic growth is the basis on which all other cultural and social development takes place. In other words, economic growth is the engine that drives all other social developments.

The lack of development is the fault of Third World countries because of some internal condition within these countries that prevented development. The internal condition was identified as traditionalism. Traditional cultural, social and political structures were seen as obstacles to the growth of efficient economic development and modernisation.

Historical periods of change or revolutions The agrarian revolution The early hunter-gatherer societies were nomadic because people were obliged to travel in their search for food. Gradually groups began to settle in more fertile areas where they could grow crops and tamed (domesticated) animals and provided themselves with food rather than be entirely dependent on nature. Such development brought stability and improved quality of life. The commercial revolution Improvements in transport and communication techniques lead to accelerated innovation and promoted new economic ideas. Merchants began to expand trade and commerce on an international scale and powerful European states began their conquest and colonisation of other parts of the world.

The industrial revolution During the 18th century, great technological innovations began to transform the economic and social structures of society. Small farming communities that were dependent on small- scale agriculture production were replaced with large-scale factory production systems. The decline in the demand for labour in agriculture and the increase in demand for labour in the factories resulted in a rapid growth of towns and cities. The information revolution During the second part of the 20th century new development in communication and information technology such as computers, telecommunication satellites, and new forms of media began to transform the social and economic structures of the highly-developed societies.

The characteristics of a modern society : The modern society was the Western industrialised society, Modern society was industrialised society: therefore, the Third World needed to develop its economy. Modern society was urban society where industry and economic activities usually develop around big cities Modern society was democratic capitalist society: therefore, the Third World needed to develop capitalist economy. Through such process the Third World would become modernised. Therefore, development was considered to be synonymous with modernisation and Westernisation. In other words, without modernisation or Westernisation there is thought to be no development.

The communication strategy for an effective diffusion : Focus on the needs of lower socioeconomic section of the population. Provide messages that are redundant to people of higher socioeconomic status Focus on late majority adopters and laggards. The development programme should concentrate on the late adopters and those that are lagging behind Tailor messages to the audience. The messages should be constructed for people of lower socio-economic status. Use high-access media channels. Use media channels that are accessible to the majority of the audience Select appropriate innovations. Priority should be given to innovations that are appropriate and useful to the audiences.

Use the personal touch. Organise people into small groups in which they can learn about the innovations from each other and share resources for adopting them. Use opinion leaders. Identify the opinion leaders in the community and concentrate the development efforts on them. The opinion leaders will diffuse the message among others in the community. Use participative planning. Provide means for people to participate in planning and execution of diffusion of innovations programmes.

Mass Media:Schramm widen the horizons of traditional people focus attention on development issues raise aspirations to achieve the benefits of development The mass media of information and new media of education can speed up development and mobilise human resources behind the national modernisation efforts. That is, the mass media could prepare individuals for change by establishing a climate for modernisation, and on a national level the mass media could be used by national leaders as a one-way channel to disseminate modern ideas to the public. The strength of the mass media was their ability to communicate and effectively disseminate information to a mass audience at a low cost.

Unit 10: NWICO Issues of communication that Nwico looked at: the West's domination over the means of international communication and information the imbalance in the international flow of information the West's monopoly over news about the Third World the Western media's negative and distorted reporting on the Third World All the above undermined development efforts and presented a distorted image of the national identity of Third World countries.

Characteristics that prevented development : Mutual distrust: The peasants were suspicious, evasive, uncooperative and distrustful of others. Perceived limited good: Peasants believed that all good things in life are available in limited quantities, and therefore, a person could improve one's position at the expense of another. Dependence and hostility toward government authority: Peasants depended on the authorities to solve their problems, but at the same time they distrusted the government. Family-oriented: The family played an important and dominant role in the life of peasants. Lack of innovativeness: Peasants did not like to adopt new ideas and had a negative attitude towards change.

Fatalism: Peasants believed that their destiny was predetermined and could not be changed. Limited aspirations: Peasants had a low level of motivation for achievement. Lack of deferred gratification: Peasants lacked that ability to postpone satisfaction of immediate needs in anticipation of better rewards in the future. Limited view of the world: Peasants were not time conscious and were bound to their place and community and had no orientation to the wider world beyond their immediate localities. Low empathy: Peasants could not imagine themselves in new situations or places.

Dependency Theory According to the dependency theory, the most important obstacle to development was the continuous external domination of the Third World by the West. The modernisation development programmes sponsored by the West were another attempt to dominate and exploit the Third World. This was a new form of colonialism or neo- imperialism. Foreign aid for development was seen as a method by which the United States and its European allies maintained a position of influence and control around the world.

Criticism against the modernisation theory. Abstractness of the theories of social change and the modernisation process The a historical nature of the assumptions about development Limited consideration of the indicators of development Overemphasis of the distinction between tradition and modernity Western or ethnocentric cultural biases in the assumptions

Unit 11:Human-centred perspective on development The growth-with-equity theory Basic needs approach Integrated rural development approach People-centred approaches Empowerment and emancipatory theories Sustainable development Women and development