SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION IN DEVELOPMENT: THE SMALL SYSTEMS SYNDROME AND THE INVERTED BINOCULAR STRATEGY
| Pages | 38-48 |
| Date | 01 January 1983 |
| Published date | 01 January 1983 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026738 |
| Author | STEPHAN SCHWARZ |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION IN
DEVELOPMENT: THE SMALL SYSTEMS SYNDROME AND
THE INVERTED BINOCULAR STRATEGY
STEPHAN SCHWARZ
Royal
Institute
of
Technology
Library,
Stockholm
'Any declared intention of applying science and technology to development is—
and will remain—meaningless until the developing countries build and deploy
indigenous scientifically and technically trained communities. At present, how-
ever, such communities simply do not exist, or their sizes are tenths or hundredths
of what is needed.' Abdus Salam.
'(...) isolation
is
perhaps the most detrimental factor in the building of science in an
LDC.
Scientists cut off from communication are like birds with trimmed wings.
They struggle for a while, but then give up and quit research, settling down to
some routine semiscientific activity often of doubtful value. This is common oc-
currence in LDCs and in small isolated institutions in ACs.'
Michael
Moravcsik.
1.
PREAMBLE
THERE IS NOWADAYS a fair consensus among politicians, theoreticians and
practitioners involved in development strategies that
a
certain level of indigenous
science and technology (S & T) is a prerequisite for satisfactory control of local
production developments, and thereby reduced dependence on external interests.
From this understanding derives the need for access to scientific and technical in-
formation (STI) and the extension to the entire spectrum of 'know-what, know-
how, know-what-for' etc. that links basic research through technical R & D to
industrial production and marketing. That 'information transfer' (scientific,
technical, socio-economic) is regarded
as
being of key importance
is
clear from the
immense literature emanating from national and international bodies, reaching a
peak in the Unisist II and UNCSTD conferences. No doubt this is a serious con-
cern, even if it sometimes takes bizarre expressions, like the political weight given
to the subtle distinction between whether STI is 'a common property of human-
ity' or only 'an important asset'.
In spite of all the efforts, wisdom, experience and resources that
have
been spent
on elucidating the problem of STI transfer, progress in understanding what is
used, what can be used and what ought to be used (i.e. a comprehensive analysis
of the actual conditions present, the barriers—controllable and non-controllable
—to development, and the preferred new conditions, considering costs and bene-
fits) is meagre. There
is
the distinctive anticipation of Xmas
Eve,
and even austere
critics of the literature in many cases fall into the trap of commending the sort of
wishful thinking they themselves condemn. It
is
truly
a
difficult area, distinguish-
ing between the is, cans and oughts, and achieving new things of lasting value,
and it seems presumptuous trying to add anything that has not been said and re-
iterated before. Yet, the metaphor of
a
jig-saw puzzle seems to be applicable.
Journal
of
Documentation,
Vol. 39, No. 1, March 1983, pp. 38–47.
38
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