[Air-l] terminology to describe developing countries

[Carolyn Wei]

Hello,
A few weeks ago I asked for input from this list on terminology to 
describe developing countries that had some analog technological 
infrastructure, if not the most digital, cutting-edge stuff. I had been 
calling such places "digitally emergent."

Here's a synthesis of the comments I received from others on the topic, 
which are helpful for providing a more granular understanding of the words 
I've heard or used to describe developing places.

* Second World (as in First, Second, and Third World. see 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World) -- very problematic term. It 
has ambiguous, multiple meanings. It is obsolete in the sense that it 
references a Soviet presence that no longer exists.

* Fourth World -- see Manuel Castells' work. socially powerless 
places/people such as women, children, or ethnic minorities. Can mean 
ethnic minority populations who are not fully represented by their 
nation-state/government. Can also suggest completely unindustrialized 
places.

* Information rich or information poor. a way to characterize societies as 
they transition to knowledge-based economies. "Information rich" suggests 
people with access to information, e.g., through the Web, newspapers, etc. 
This rich/poor split can apply to international digital divides as well as 
domestic divides (like well-connected/not connected people and places in 
the US)

* Technology adoption terms applied to countries (see WIPO 
http://www.wipo.int/copyright/ecommerce/en/html/index.html#5 ; these terms 
are taken from the UNDP Human Development Report 2001 
http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2001/en/pdf/completenew.pdf). These 
reference the amount of technological and human resources that are present 
for technology adoption:

"leaders" - e.g., Finland, US, Japan
"potential leaders" - e.g., Mexico, Greece, Czech Republic
"dynamic adopters" - e.g., Philippines, Brazil, China
"marginalized" - e.g., Sudan, Senegal, Nepal

Thanks!

Carolyn Wei
Dept. of Technical Communication
University of Washington