Introduction to International Development, Practice Quiz: Chapter 22

. The pragmatic view on ICTs and development argues that ________.

a) ICTs are affecting society economically, socially, and culturally

b) ICTs make existing inequalities worse

c) ICTs are luxury goods, not basic needs

d) ICTs are not the driving force of development

e) ICTs create a vacuum for capitalism

. ICTs provide ________.

a) efficiency gains

b) reduced travel and transportation times

c) more easily maintained family connections

d) more security

e) all of the above

. Older ICTs were based on ________, while newer ones are more ________.

a) industry / entertainment

b) one-way communication / interactive

c) collective gain / profit

d) Northern interests / Southern-oriented

e) mechanical equipment / ideas-based

. The pessimistic view of ICTs and development argues that ________.

a) people in the developing world will never gain widespread access to ICTs

b) existing inequalities will be exacerbated by ICTs

c) rapid, but unstable growth will be produced by ICTs

d) ICTs are only useful if applied appropriately

e) none of the above

. ________ technologies are those that suit the environmental, cultural, and economic contexts to which they are transferred.

a) Useful

b) Pragmatic

c) Ideal

d) Appropriate

e) Efficient

. ________ is NOT an argument that we live in an "information society."

a) The technological argument

b) The economic argument

c) The environmental argument

d) The occupation argument

e) The spatial argument

. ________ are sets of personal links between people across the world who are involved in paid or unpaid care work, such as cleaning or childcare.

a) Global care councils

b) Global care committees

c) Global care lobbies

d) Global care chains

e) Global nurses' unions

. ________ is a statement that accurately reflects the social determinism view of technology.

a) "Social class determines access to technological resources"

b) "Society is driven by technological advancement"

c) "Social interaction drives the development and use of technology"

d) "Face-to-face interaction is increasingly rare as technology advances"

e) "Technology is a tool to advance one's social standing"

. ________ is the focus of the economic argument that we live in an "information society."

a) The growth of jobs based on informational work

b) The convergence of technologies which allow people new ways of working

c) The calculation of the significance of technologies in five industrial groups

d) The global spread of culture via new ICTs

e) None of the above

. ________ is a statement that accurately reflects the dependency theory view on technology and development.

a) "Development in one area promotes growth in another"

b) "Divides between the periphery and core continue to exist in the information age"

c) "Social divides can be eliminated through economic development"

d) "Development in one area implies development in another"

e) "Information and communications technologies have no impact on development"

. Technology can be developed and transferred in a number of ways. It can also be ________.

a) created

b) bought

c) copied

d) stolen

e) all of the above

. According to the United Nations Development Programme many technologies can be used for ________.

a) human development

b) increasing income

c) improve people's health

d) participating fully in communities

e) all of the above

. The economic perspective on the information society measures the information society by the following except ________.

a) the process of economic development and industrialization

b) classifying technologies according to five broad primary industry groups

c) education and media

d) information machines and information services

e) law, insurance, medicine, and other information activities such as research and development, non-profit work

. The occupational argument has shifted towards ________.

a) the distribution of occupations

b) a "white-collar society"

c) industrial labour

d) apparent predominance of occupations

e) informational work

. A people-centred, inclusive, and development-oriented Information Society means ________.

a) everyone has the opportunity to create, access, and utilize information

b) everyone could share information and knowledge

c) capability of communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality of life

d) both A and B

e) all of the above

. New ICTs are a product of technological convergence.

a) True

b) False

. The focus of universal service policies is to promote particular availability of connections by individual households to public telecommunications networks.

a) True

b) False

. Universal access refers to a situation where every person has a reasonable means of access to a publicly available telephone.

a) True

b) False

. New ICTs are characterized by their interactivity.

a) True

b) False

. The spatial perspective is based on the informational networks that now connect locations and affect how society organizes around time and space, thereby leading to a "flat world."

a) True

b) False

. Since ICTs are tools, their impact on organizations depends on the people who design what the system is supposed to do and on how people, in the end, use it.

a) True

b) False

. Appropriate technologies typically require fewer resources, cost less, and have minimal negative impacts on the environment.

a) True

b) False

. "Earthbags" are natural building alternatives that make use of bags filled with local, natural materials.

a) True

b) False

. "Appropriate technologies" have a limited environmental impact, but they usually cost more.

a) True

b) False

. The term "appropriate technology" has its origin in the work of Manuel Castle on the kinds of technology that fit small-scale, grassroots, and community-centred organizations. These technologies are appropriate to the environmental, cultural, and economic context in which they are used.

a) True

b) False

. Technological determinism suggests that technology drives the evolution of society.

a) True

b) False

. The economic perspective on the information society derives from the work of Peter Singer.

a) True

b) False

. The occupational argument has shifted toward the distribution of occupations has shifted towards a "white-collar society" and away from industrial labour.

a) True

b) False

. As Castells explains that a network society has the "simultaneous capacity to include and exclude people as well as territories and activities."

a) True

b) False

. Optimists see the use of ICTs as a necessity that helps to encourage the sustainable development of individuals, communities, and nations.

a) True

b) False

Introduction to International Development, Practice Quiz: Chapter 22

Quiz Content