LAAAJMEATI 11.UVIL

ED 233 709 IR 010 800

AUTHOR Haassen, Andrew; And OthersTITLE Development Communication Report No. 42, June

1983.INSTITUTION Agency for International Development (Dept. of

State), Washington, D.C. Clearinghouse on DevelopmentCommunication.

PUB DATE Jun 83NOTE 18p.PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) Reports

Descriptive (141)JOURNAL CIT Development Communication Report; n42 Jun 1983.

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Adult Basic Education; Community Development; Design

Requirements; *Developing Nations; *EducationalRadio; Educational Television; *Health Education;*Instructional Materials; Literacy Education;Material Development; Production Techniques;*Puppetry; *Rural Development

IDENTIFIERS Botswana; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Ethiopia;India; Kenya

ABSTRACTIn addition to the lead article by Andrew Hanssen,

Steven Kozlow, and Anne Olsen, this publication contains thefollowing articles related to communications in developing nations:(1) "World Communications Year, 1983"; (2) "Field Research inBotswana Leads to More Relevant Media Production," by Chris Garforth;(3) "Kenya Explores New Ways of Producing Literacy Materials forBasic Education," by Muriithi Kinyua; (4) "Changing Health Behaviorsin the Hospital Setting," by Bette Booth; (5) "Rural Developmentthrough Puppetry," by Bunker Roy; (6) "Information Resources; Placesto Contact, Publications to Order," by Judy Brace; (7) "Radio FormatsOffer Choices," by Esta de.Fossard; (8) "Community Radio in EcuadorMeeting People's Needs," by Kurt Hein; and (9) "Housing FinanceSoftware Package." In addition, two columns discuss current resourcematerials: "A Communicators Checklist" offers book reviews by JoanDassin, Maurice imhoof, and Michael Laflin, and Barb Minor reviewsfive ERIC listings in "On File at ERIC." (LMM)

*************************************************************x********** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made* from the original document. *

****************************************************,:******************

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER IERICI

This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it.

Minor changes have been made to improvereproduction quality.

Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official NIE

Cr% position or policy.

NMt*f

CZ

Development Communication Report

No.42

June83

RADECO: Radio-Based Primary Educationin the Dominican Republicby Andrew Ilatissen, Steven Kozlotv, and Anne Olsen

Many of the governments of thedeveloping world are racingeconomic constraints which pre-vent them from adequately Pro-

viding their school-age populations witheducational services. The Dominican Repub-lic, like many other developing nations, can-not accommodate the demand for access toits formal school network by its burgeoningschool-age population. Scattered throughoutthe country's Southwest Region are literallyhundreds of communities containing tens ofthousands of children who are denied the op-portunity for education because the govern-ment simply cannot afford to build enoughschools and train enough teachers. It is in-creasingly evident that the Dominican gov-ernment will not in the near future have theresources to substantially expand the formalschool system.

The approximate out-of-school populationin the Southwest Region of the DominicanRepublic is 120,000. The cost of constructionof a single classroom there is estimated atUSS14,(0). To incorporate 120,000 addition-al students into the formal school system,with each classroom serving 110 students intwo sessions a day, would require a capital in-vestment of more than USSIS million. In ad-dition, the recurrent expenses for such itemsas personnel services, materials, and equip-ment that an additional 120,(XX) studentswould require woinld total More than $5million yearly. A more cost-effective strategyof education must he developed if the Do-minican government is to provide all of itspeople with basic education. And once devel-oped, a successful strategy could he repli-cated around the world.

InterAnwrica Research Associates wascontracted by AID's Bureau for Science andTechnology to implement an innovative ap-proach to primary education in the Domini-can Republic.

Barahona, a town of 15,000 people in theSouthwest part of that small Caribbean re-public, is the base for the Radio Educativo

Comunitario (RADECO) Project, which ex-plores the use of radio as a means of teachingbasic literacy and numeracy skills to childrenbetween seven arid fourteen years of age whodo not have access to formal schools.

The methodological base for theRADECO project was laid by the AID-funded Radio Mathematics in Nicaragua(RMN) program, developed in collaborationwith Stanford University in the mid-1970s.The Radio Mathematics in Nicaragua projectdemonstrated that students within a formalclassroom will respond to and learn mathe-matics from a radio broadcast. In fact, theRN1N students scored nearly a full standarddeviation higher on an end-of-year math testthan did a control group: students in compar-able classrooms who did not receive radio in-struction. In the course of that project, a so-phisticated system of formative evaluationwas developed and standardized. RADECOseeks to develop a similar program for pri-mary-level reading and to adapt the RMNmath materials to the unique circumstancesof its own non formal education program.

(RADIX() continued on page 11)

In this issue . . .

WCY 83 and USTTIRADECO Project Teaching

Rural Children in the D.R. 1

Field Research with Farmersin Botswana 3

Producing Low-Cost LiteracyMaterials in Kenya 4

Puppets Changing Attitudesin India 5

Information Resources Roundup 7

A Communicator's Checklist 8

On File at ERIC 12

Radio Formats OfferDiversity 14

Successful Community Radioin Ecuador 16

-:40,444,hr,W,a",:(4, 4',W4YAW,InCif:Af .1*V"

ANNEE MONDIALE DESCOMMUNICATIONS

WORLD COMMUNICATIONSYEAR

AND MUNDIAL DE LASCOMUNICACIONES

DCR is honored to be among the(ions approved by the U.S. CoiWorld Communications Year 83 tithe official WCY 83 logo.

Readers of this newsletter will be into learn of one wide-ranging progra'is an official initiative of WCY. Thesharing its telecommunications experdeveloping countries around the wejoint venture between major Amerincommunications firms and the U.S.nient. The new program, the U.S. 1munications Training Institute (USoffering programs at the senior man;and advanced technie'al levels in antstrengthen the planning and opentelecommunications systems as a partional development.

Private sector firms are providtraining, equipment, and funding foistitute, which is administered by aDirectors representing both inclusigovernment. The United States govnhas served as a catalyst in bringing, therations into the program and in estathe course curriculum in discussionsresentatives of developing nations.

All programs are offered without elparticipants, although trainees, or thecoring governments or organizations.sponsible for securing the individual'tenet: and travel expenses. Limitedships to help underwrite sonic of 0penises may, be available through US-

The first of these programs was IIspring, when USIA and USTTI t

sponsored an unusual project entitlemunications Te'clinology and Poliobrought together 28 people from 26 ccon a five-week program in the United

(WCY 83 continued on page 21e.e.,...Nt.:gar-r4vAck*set.unotho.0**44 .0,444,..Anyboz,4 .e.tfr*symr

"work: Lommunications rear is a specific set of activities formingpart of the United Nations system's action to foster balancedsocial and economic development."

From Principles and Objectives of WCY

(WCY 83 continued from page 1)The project, administered by the Academy

for Educational Development, was under theoverall auspices of USIA's International.Visitor Program. Participants came fromsuch diverse countries as England, Hon-duras, Israel, The Gambia, Kenya, Australia,Ireland, and Lebanon. They were all high-ranking people from the telecommunicationssectors of their countries; many had engil'neering backgrounds; several have repre-sented their country at major internationalmeetings. They were keenly interested notonly in the new telecommunications technol-ogies being developed in the United States,but in their applications and in the policy op-tions surrounding them.

The project opened in early April in SanFrancisco, California, where Dr. WilburSchramm delivered the opening address,"The History of the Future." Other speakersand experts met with the group and discusseda range of topics from satellite systems tofiber optics to office automation and digitalswitching. The visitors were received at threecompanies whose products typify technolog-ical advances in the United States. The visi-tors then traveled to Alaska, where, as guestsof Alascom (the Alaska. Telephone Com-pany), they spent a week of in-depth study ofa vast underpopulated region linked almostentirely by satellite communication. Flyingnext to Florida, the visitors were joined byeleven more international participants for a

schedule that included visits to NASA, anearth station manufacturer, a seminar by theAcademy for Educational Development, andattendance at the International Associationof Satellite Users annual conference.

The final phase of the project took place inWashington, D.C., and focused almost en-tirely on telecommunications policy issues,domestic and international. Wide-rangingdiscussions with panelists addressed suchtopics as "Deregulation of Common Carriersin the U :ited States," "International Tele-communications Legislation," and "TheRole of a Domestic Satellite Carrier." Rep-resentatives from 12 United States telecom-munications corporations met with thevisitors to discuss their countries' trainingneeds in the short and long term. These werethe corporations who are providing special-ized training programs beginning in June1983 for individuals from the developingworld. The project gave senior officials fromthe companies and the various countries aunique opportunity to help shape future pro-grams of the U.S. TelecommunicationsTraining Institute.

A final weekend 'retreat' in Marylandenabled the visitors and a small group ofAmerican experts to discuss important as-pects of the global telecommunications revo-lution that is now taking place and that willaffect the lives of so many in the future. Suchmeetings and discussions directly support theprinciples of World Communications Year.

(4 - :,'otoroxichfu.tk-.111

Aluscom photo 11) Son Held

The first technical course USTTI will offeris a six-week Radio Spectrum Management.Course, offered by U.S. government agenciesand scheduled to start in mid-June in Wash-ington, D.C. A four-week training programin Telecommunication Systems: Network De-sign and Management, offered by AT&T, isscheduled to begin in mid-July at the AT&Ttraining center near Princeton, New Jersey.

Other courses to be offered later in the falland winter of 1983 include:

Information Systems fot Telecommunica-tions Management, by IBM;Satellite Communications Managementand Technology, by COMSAT, HughesAircraft, and the AID Rural Satellite Pro-gram;

Broadcast Systems Operations and Man-agement Technology, by Harris Corpora-tion;

Telecommunications Transmission Sys-tems and Technology, by SCS Telecom,Collins Transmission Systems Division ofRockwell International, and GTE;

Telecommunications Technology, byMCI; andTelegraph and Telex Systems Design,Maintenance, and Management, by West-ern Union and TRT.

The Academy for Educational Develop-ment is assisting USTTI in its operations. Forfurther information about the U.S. Telecom-munications Training Institute contactUSTT1, Academy for Educational Develop-ment, 1414 22nd Street, N.W., Washington,D.C. 20037, U.S.A. Telephone: (202) 862-3857; telex: ACADED WSH 89660; cable:ACADED Washington, D.C.

By Mary W. Brady, Senior Project Director,Academy for Educational Development.

Development Communication Report, publishedquarterly by the Clearinghouse on DevelopmentCommunication, has a circulation of over 5.000. Thenewsletter Is available free of charge to readers Inthe developing world, and at a charge of US $10.00per year to readers in the Industrialized countries.

A center for materials and information on 'moor.tant applications of communication technology todevelopment piublems, the Clearinghouse is goer-ated by the Academy for Educational Development,a nonprofit planning organization, and supported bythe Bureau for Science and Technology of the U.S.Agency for International Development as part of itsprogram in educational technology ano develop-ment communication.

The views expressed in Development Communi-cation Report are those of the authors and notnecessarily those of its sponsors. Original materialIn the Report may be reproduced without prior per.mission provided that full credit is given and that Iv,ocopies of the reprint are sent to the Editor.

Readers are Invited to submit typed manuscripts

Field Research in Botswana Leads ti.)More Relevant Media Production 1

by Chris Garforth

In interpersonal communica-tion, an extension worker canadjust the way he or she presentsideas in immediate response to

audience reaction. A media communicator,however, must often determine the form andcontent of his message before there is anychance for feedback. This article, excerptedhere and reproduced by permission frontReading Rural Development Communica-jons Bulletin 16, examines the experience inBotswana which shows that it can be possible!o obtain feedback from rural people to help*sign media relevant to their perception of'heir problems, to their technical knowledge,and to their existing practices.

An important part of extension workerraining should be the development of sensi-ivity to other people's points of view, other)eople's ways of interpreting and talkingbout the world around them.But the problem is not so easy to solve

vhen media are used as channels of commu-tication. In a face-to-face dialog, the 'con-ent' and the language of the communicationict is developed on the spot, in response tohe feedback between the two people in-,'dyed. In media communication, on theither hand, the content, form, and languagere usually determined before there is anyhance of feedback. How does the person!esigning the media decide what informationr ideas to include, or what concepts andiords will be most readily understood, ociith what attitudes and preconceptions theudience will approach a particular topic?'here is a further problem too; in face-to-ace dialog, we can quickly tell if we are talk-tg too quickly or too slowly, if we are boringle other person, if he or she has not under-.00cl a particular phrase. In media commu-ication, there is usually no possibility of ad-isting the speed and complexity of the com.iunication.These are genuine problems. There is plen-of evidence from around the world to bug-

2st that media communication is often inef-!ctive because it is trying to share irrelevantformation, in incomprehensible languagend that includes both words at:d pictures),inappropriate forms. One way of tackling

,e problem is to include some systematic re-arch in the process of designing and pro-Icing media. Research which triesin theintext of a particular media project or cam-tignto, answer some of the questions>sed above. This has been done in Bot-

culture. The job of this t(nit is to providemedia producersradio 'producers, jour-nalists, artists, photograttlierswith infor-mation about their audiehce that will helpthem produce comprehelasible media that

1contains relevant informa ion. The two mainingredients of this research are:

1. topic research, whiph includes studiesof the audience':, knowledge, attitudes,and practices concjerning the topic inquestion; and

2. pretesting.A couple of examples qrill show how actionresearch has improved' communication be-tween agricultural ext:nsion workers andrural people.

Grass Fires: lnfotnation Needed,Not PerOtasion

First, the Glass FiriI :s Campaign. Uncon-trolled grass fires are a regular feature of thedry winter months in; Botswana. They de-stroy vast tracts of gritting land, exposing adelicately balanced eco-system to the ravagesof wind and the hc,avy showers of nextspring. Cattle and wiild animals die or gohungry. Homes are often threatened. TheGovernment has pas ,ed laws forbidding thelighting of fires in fiyds or in open country-side, except under thi;: strictest control. In ad-dition, regular educational campaigns are

Imounted, using radi2, leaflets, posters, andvillage meetings to: publicize the problemsand encourage more care in the use of naturalresources.

An action researt[h study in 1978 showedthat it was time fol. a change in approach.Another campaign ,ivas to be planned and forthe first time an el :ment of action researchwas included at the.early stages. A survey ofpeople's knowledgefires was carried 01villages, and public

and attitudes about grasst in a random sample ofdiscussion meetings were

held in the same!: villages. This researchshowed that the ploblem and the causes ofgrass fires were alrFady widely known; therewas no need to kelep telling, villagers of thedangersthey well! only too well .aware ofthem. What they clIcl want to know was howthey could minimi2,e the dangers.

During the reseaich we had expected to en-counter defensive !ntitudes concerning grassfires, because fire i: still used clandestinely byhunters, for parasi e control, and to encour-age the growth of !,ew grass. But in fact atti-tude3 towards the ilea of controlling and pre-venting grass fires were extremely positive.The overwhelmiM: response was that any

"There is plenty of evidencefrom around the world to sug-gest that media communicationis often ineffective because it istrying to share irrelevant infor_7_mation, in incomprehensiblelanguage . . in inappropriateforms."

breaks was unfamiliar to most people, andthat the legal provisions relating to grass fireswere not widely known. These findings pro-vided two major themes for the campaign:the planning and construction ovfire breaks,and the legal duties and responsibilities ofrural people under the Herbage PreservationAct. A leaflet explaining the legal provisionswas produced, together with a slidetape pro-gram describing how one village had set.about the planning and construction of a net-work of fire breaks to protect their villageand farm lands. Although ;Ms campaign wasonly one small part of a long-term educa-tional program, the research that went into itprovided those responsible for that programwith new insights into the existing knowY-edge, attitudes, and information needs ofrural people.

Livestock Parasites: LearningFrom Farmers

The second example shows what can hap-pen if this kind of preliminary research is notdone. A slidetape program, together withother materials, was produced on the subjectof parasite control in cattle and other live-stock. This was part of a campaign to en-courage farmers to take regular actionagainst both external and internal parasiteswhich carry disease as well as cause generaldebilitation. The slidetape program wasbased on the latest technical informationavailable and was prepared by extensionworkers who had had several years field ex-perience. It began with a general warningabout the damage caused by parasites andthen pursued the two themes of externalparasites and internal parasites.

When the materials were pretested it be-came obvious that this structure was not asclear as had been hoped. Unfortunately, notonly were the Setswana words unfamiliar tomany farmers, the concepts themselves werenot those commonly used by livestock own-ers. They spoke of 'ticks' (which are the mostserious external parasites) and they spoke of'worms.' But they did not use an all-embrac-ing category of 'parasites' to link these twospecific concepts. This use of unfamiliar cate-gories hindered communication in this case.Most farmprc fnnnrl tho clirlotnno nrnarnr.,

3

Kenya Explores New Ways of ProducingLiteracy .MaterialS'for Basic Educationby Muriithi Kier vua

The 1980s should be regarded asyears of 'innovation in educa-tion, particularly in adult liter-acy. For most Third World

countries, the 1960s were years of experimentwith methods and materials. These wereyears of reconstruction, and most of the new-ly independent countries of Africa were busytrying to sort out their development priori-ties. Many governments recognized the valueof literacy as a tool for national developmentand supported Unesco's World ExperimentalLiteracy Program. During this time, most ofthem had high hopes of catching up with themore industrialized nations. However, theirhopes of achieving a high growth rate werecrushed by the oil crisis of the early 1970swhich affected the economies of both devel-oped and developing countries. Educationalprograms which had enjoyed aligh priorityhad now to compete for the scarce financial

'resources with other development projects. Itis not surprising, therefore, that for mostThird World countries, innovation in educa-tion in the 1980s will meaitmaking the mostout of their meager resources and becomingmore self-reliant, for as foreign aid continuesto shrink, countries' educational needs con-tinue to grow.

Background

Kenya, like many Third World countries,is faced with the problem of high illiteracy.According to a survey carried out in 1976,slightly more than half of the adult popula-tion was found illiterate. In fact, whenlaunching the National Literacy Campain inDecember, 1978, the President of Kenya, HisExcellency Daniel arap Moi, observed, "It isestimated that 35 percent of all male Kenyansabove the age of IS, and 70 percent of all fe-male .Kenyans in the same group, cannot readand write." By declaring war on illiteracy,the President opened the way for all Kenyansto develop their abilities, enrich their lives,and participate more fully in the social, eco-nomic, cultural, and political life of thiscountry. (See "Kenya'S New Literacy Pro-gram," by Judy Brace, DCR 39, Sept. '82.)

That was four years ago and since then alot of development has taken place. To real-ize the dream of a fully literate nation, a De-partment of Adult Education was created in1979. By April the same year, the Depart-ment had recruited 3,000 full-time literacyteachers who were given a two-week course inmethods of teaching adults reading, writing,and numeracy. on completing the introduc-tory course, they went back to their villagesto start literacy classes. Another 5,000 part-

time teachers were recruited to support theprogram, and by 1981, the number ofteachers involved in the program had grownto about 15,000.

The next major problem which faced theDepartment after the recruitment of teacherswas providing learning materials for theadults who had continued to enroll in largenumbers. For a country with over 42 locallanguages, developing reading materials canbe an enormous problem As most people in-volved in adult education are aware, the pro-cess of writing primers is a very slow one in-volving surveys of learners' needs, linguisticsurveys, and organization of writers' work-shops. If the primer being developed is to hefunctional, a period of pretesting must beallowed. It might take months or even a yearbefore a primer finds its way into the literacyclass. The bureaucratic tender system used toaward printing contracts in many ThirdWorld countries does not make the produc-tion of primers any easier.

Writing primers for the Department ofAdult Education has not been a simple task.Since 1979 we have managed to produceprimers in only 15 languages. Furthermore,the primers so far produced represent largegeographical and linguistic areas which donot necessarily have homogeneous learningproblems. This makes it hard for the. primersto focus on any specific learning needs.

The Low-Cost Print Media Project

As we have already noted, with the generaleconomic recession in the Third World coun-tries, progress is no longer a matter of seek-ing financial allocations to solve developmentproblems, but of trying to find more cost-effective means of solving them. Kenya is noexception, and with the prevailing economicclimate, the term "low cost" was bound togain more prominence. In fact, "low cost"has come to be equated with appropriateeducational technology.

The Department seems to have recognizedthe problems with developing primers, and,in 1980, with the help of the British Council,it initiated an experimental project in low-cost print media. At that time, some teacherswho had no primers had started to improvisein one way or another by producing theirown teaching materials; those who could notproduce materials were using books meantfor children. The questions which were wor-rying the Department were: How could theshortage of learning materials be alleviated?Was it possible to provide teachers withenough skills to help them overcome theirdaily teaching problems? How could progress

be achieved in the most economic way?What the Department wanted most was to

provide teachers with skills to enable them tosolve their teaching problems. The aim of thelow -cost print project was therefore two-

To test whether it was possible to re-duce cost and time by producing mate-rials locally instead of relying on na-tional headquarters;

ii) To improve teachers' skills in the designand production of learning materials.

To try the new idea, two pilot projectswere begun in two districts of Kenya, Meruand Kisumu. Depending on their success,they would be expanded to cover the wholecountry.

Workshops to Train Trainers

The first step was to organize a trainingworkshop for the facilitators who wouldtrain teachers and monitor the project in thepilot districts. A two-week workshop wasorganized in Meru in November 1980. About30 participants drawn from the pilot districts,the national headquarters, the Institute ofAdult Studies, University of Nairobi, and theBritish Council attended. During the twoweeks, the first curriculum for the low-costproject was discussed. The facilitators also;earned new skills and methods which theywere later to pass on to the teachers. Fol-lowing this preparatory workshop, thefacilitators returned to their respective dis-tricts ready to organize the first workshops.From January to June 1981, the two districtsorganized a series of workshops to trainteachers in low-cost materials productiontechniques. About 290 teachers were trainedin Meru District on how to produce low-costmaterials and use them effectively withlearners. They learned survey techniques todetermin'e learners' interests, explored theuse of locally available resources for teachingaids, and produced and pretested materialswith learners. They also learned how tooperate simple reproduction equipment likethe handpress and duplicator. Among thematerials they produced were word cards,syllable cards, booklets, and picture cards.Kismu District was able to train 75 teachers.

Evaluation reports from the two pilct dis-tricts were used to refine the low-cost trainingcurriculum. It was generally agreed that thelow-cost training workshops should helpteachers acquire the skills to:

conduct surveys to determine the interestsand characteristics of local people;produce simple visual aids like word cardsand syllable cards;plan illustrations and booklets;use simple graphic techniques and letter-ing;use simple reproduction equipment likehandpress and duplicators;improvise.

(continued on pap 10)

r.

Changing HealthBehaviors in theHospital Setting

by Bette Booth

Studies indicate that people are mostlikely to change health-related behaviorsif they are intercepted in a critical healthsituation. The Ethio-Swedish PediatricClinic in Addis Ababa,' Ethiopia, is at-tempting to change health behaviors byintercepting parents accompanying theirchildren at the out-patient and in-patientwards. Parents, both "mothers andfathers, are prescnted with a 20-minutecassette tape on a health problem andgiven a supplementary pamphlet withthe same information. Both the cassetteand booklet are written in Amharic,which is reportedly spoken by 70 percentof the population. Topics covered in-clude: vaccinations, breastfeeding, sup-plementary weaning foods, communi-cable diseases; accident prevention, in-testinal parasites, and' harmful tradi-tional practices.

The sessions, which last about 45minutes, are a welcome break for thewaiting parents. While parents and someolder children gather, a cassette of livelylocal music is played to help people feelcomfortable and establish an informalatmosphere. The nurse gives a brief in-troduction and then plays the healthcassette. Group discussion which fol-lows gives the parents the opportunity toask questions and clarify points. At theend of the meeting the participants aregiven a five- to seven-page pamphletwhich gives the same information inmore detail. The recent literacy cam-paign in Ethiopia has reportedly raisedliteracy, from 7 to 45 percent, and of-ficials believe that at least one person inevery home can read and serve as atranslator for the materials.

Nurse Mulu-Brhan Djote, Maternaland Child Health -Coordinator, andsome of the ward nurses write the scriptsand produce the cassettes. The pam-phlets, which were originally funded byUNICEF, are now printed by the Educa-tion Section of the Ministry of Health.Nurse Djote hopes to incorporate form-ative evaluation of the impact of the cas-sette-pamphlet program.

Fot further information, contact NurseMulu-Brhan Djote, Maternal and ChildHealth Coordinator, Ethic-SwedishPediatric Clinic, Addis Ababa,Ethiopia.

Rural Development through Pupp,tryby Bunker Roy

This article from India illustrateswhat impact appropriate coin-mtinication can Juice at the vil-lage level. Folk media and tradi-

tional interpersonal. commtinication for de-velopment are sometimes overlooked in favorof muss media and a dazzling array of tech-nical communication devices. Here, we are'reminded of what one charismatic leader us-ing traditional media for change can acconz-plish at the grassroots level.

If there is one resource India's plannersand policy makers have grossly and criminal-ly neglected for the socio-economic develop-ment of the poor in the rural areas, it is thetraditional communication media. While a

hot and pointless debate rages on over radioand television, and our experts are squab-bling over which is the best and most effec-tive medium of spreading the message, so tospeak, we are allowing this incredible humanskill of communicating with each other todie. A great resource is staring us in the face,and we are either unable or too stupid to rec-ognize it. This failure indicates a bankruptcyof ideas and imagination which should be.acause of much concern.

In the Sixth Plan Document of the Govern-ment of India, published by the PlanningCommission, traditional communicationmedia is mentioned under the chapter re-lating to culture.

Natural CommunicationResources Overlooked

Culture?, Consigning these communicationskills to history and keeping them in a glasscase? When half the 600,000 villages in Indiaalready have roving theatre groups, puppe-teers, oral historians, and minstrels, living amiserable existence, but possessing the art ofreaching the people, of conveying ideas simp-ly and at little cost? What on earth is wrongwith us? No country in the world has such arich variety for the asking, accepted andunderstood by the rural poor with roots inevery village in India. Why do we not havethe ability or the inclination to recognisethislet alone use it? Really, for aping theWest we have no peers. In the West, there is adesperate search for traditional media, andthey are very envious of our personalized par-ticipatory rural-based communication chan-nels; they are amazecirat the callousness andindifference with which we treat these re-sources.

When such media has been used largely forentertainment, scepticism on the part of theplanners for development and extension pur-poses is understandable. But what is un-forgivable is their blinkered approach rulingout the possibility of using local media on anexperimental basis and seeing its impact.

.7.470ahrolab

Village-level communication could changethe rural poor's way of thinking and tacklingproblems, their attitudes to certain govern-ment schemes and programs, and, what ismore, make people aware of what is happen-ing around them for their own welfare.

Messages that would take months to ab-sorb through radio and televisionif absorbed at allcould be conveyed through apuppet show in one evening!

The people who sit in front of the idiot boxwatching programs of urban dance anddrama are not the poorinkhe villages. Theywill not understand what is)happening. Butwhen puppet shows are orAnized, everyoneattends and they laugh at each other. Weknow; we have seen this happening in andaround Tilonia.

Shankar Singh is an ordinary one -timeshepherd boy with an extraordinary skill inPuppetry. He worked as a laborer in a faminerelief camp in a village in Jawaja (Ajmer Dis-trict in the Indian State of Rajasthan), soongot himself a degree which he found to beuseless, but it helped him get involved in a

marginal way in an adult education programsponsored by the Government of India. Hisattempts at persuading his superiors to lethim try his hand at puppetry failed. One dayhe strolled into Tilonia and very hesitantlysuggested that he would like to work withpuppets and could he possibly get a job inTilonia? He got a small group of amateursfrom the village together and started holdingmodest shows in the nearby villages, im-provising all the time, weaving stories out oflocal gossip, bringing out a moral after re-shaping true incidents so that everyone in thevillage could recognize the characters andhave a good laughmuch to the discomfortand uneasiness of the village-level govern-ment functionary sitting in the audience. Itwas not only a subtle process of awareness -

building, but a crucial way of developingpeople from non-persons to human beings.

Developing People, Not Things

Shankar Singh is firmly of the view thatrural deVelopment means, essentially, the de-velopment of peoplenot things. He hasbeen to all the celebrated places where pup-petry has been developed as an art, but he hasfound puppetry too centralised and toodivorced from the village situation. He hasseen the art and the skill of the rural peopletaken away from them to be fossilized inbuildings located in cities when all along theart should have been alive, changing, adapt-ing, mixing, and absorbing the complexitiesof rural life. He has managed to do just thatwith his puppets, giving them an educationalbias. But his work is not without struggle.

(continued on page '6)

5

(Puppets continued from page 5)

He went to the annual camel fair in Push-Ar, perhaps the,largest and most colorful inidia, requesting that he be allowed to put upbrief show, The organizers laughed at him,You? We have renowned artists from allver the country coming here; we have nevercard of yougo home." With a littleersuasion from a sympathetic bureaucrat,

was given 15 minutes. By the time his showas -over four hours later, the audience hadw elled to thousands and they would not letim go. He appealed to them all with local)kes in the language and expression theynew best, at the same time getting acrossaiousmessages on equality for women, onto evils of untouchability, on the need toay minimum wages to agricultural laborers,n national integration, and on the ills ofioneylending. Largely because of his showsnd their apparent impact, the Governmenticluded puppet shows as a means for pro-wling national integration under the

0-Point Program o.f Mrs. Indira Gandhi into State of Rajasthan, and schools were en-ouraged to use the media.

When he started getting requests from re-iote schools where there was no electricity,r even roads, this hardly slowed downhankar Singh. Often. he set up an impro-ised stage on a bullock cart, got petromaxesorganized for lighting, and got the show go-ng. The schools paid his expenses. He

tarted getting invitations to local villageairs, primary and middle schools, local func-ions to honor a local politician or bureaurat, and he never missed an opportunity toit them broadside and make them squirm.At one function v:here the guest of honor

vas the Forest Minister, Shankar Singhaunted him through the puppets and askeddm what sort of social forestry program was;oing on in his State when saplings. prepared)5/ children and voluntary groups in the Disrict had not been lifted by the Governmentor weeks, and when 500,000 saplings barely100 miles away were lying useless? Within aweek tractors and trolleys came and pickedhe saplings up. The voluntary group had not)een able to get to the bureauCrat or minister.

Shankar Singh's legendary puppet charac-er in this area is Jokhim Chacha, a 300year-ild Muslim who has the audacity to call thehief Minister of the State 'his child,' the In-

pector of Schools 'my grandson,' and oldespected women in the village 'my daugh7er'and get away with it. Jokhim Chacha isn much demand. If a school building needsepair and a contribution from the commo-nly is expected, Jokhim Chacha is called andis appeals to the audience. If the attendancen the evening school is dropping, Jokhim:hacha is called to persuade the parents in'runt of the whole village to get them to agreeo start sending their children again. If familyManning cases need to be motivated he is.oped in; if higher castes are practicing un-

"Radio and television arenot half as powerful asthis medium because pup-petry invites, indeeddemands, the participationof the people in their owneducation,"

touchability where some hand pumps havebeen installed, Jokhim Chacha is dispatchedto settle it amicably; if the poor have to heshown how moneylenders are bleeding themdry and keeping them poor, only JokhimChacha can do it. In many villages money-lenders have conic to him quietly and tried tobribe him to.stop the show. Their business,they reluctantly confess,iffers badly afterpeople have seen his show.

Jokhim Chacha is Shankar Singh's crea-tion. No one else, we have found, can handlethese sensitive topics with so, much flair andget away from the village without beingstoned. Chacha is the pacifier, he settles dis-putes, and his name is enough to makechildren go wide-eyed with awe. He is thecarrier of messages, revealing how the vil-lage-level government servant manages tokeep the poor poor.

Radio and television are not half as power-ful as this medium because puppetry invites,indeed demands, the participation of the peo-ple in their own education. There is no fixedlength for performances. If the audience isalive, shows can go on for hours; if it is

deadand Shankar Singh can make it outimmediatelyhe winds up fast. Since he hasa bewildering variety of themes up his sleeve,he makes an effort to pick up local gossip,fresh... disagreements between agriculturallaborers and moneylenders (and their,

names), and then uses them much to thedelight of the villagers who are amazed thatJokhim Chacha should be so aware of theproblems in their village, He weaves thesereal personalities around themes that have adirect bearing on their everyday lives.

The story of Dukkal, the landless laborerwho becomes a farmer after the governmentgives him land becomes serious when vil-lagers see the rich farmer grabbing that landand murdering him in the process while thegovernment looks on impotently. This, ofcourse, has parallels in real life which cannotbe ignored, and has the desired effect on theaudience. After a puppet show on minimumwages was put on for rural women working infamine relief camps, months later for the firsttime in the history of this area, 300 womenrefuse:I to take the wages because they werebeing discriminated against and they were being asked to sign for amounts they were notreceiving. We traced this rare expression ofcourage and unanimity to the puppet show.

Fortunately, recognition has not spoiledShankar Singh. Though his village-madepuppets have reached Australia andSwitzerland, he himself has no wish to travelwhere he is not understood. The puppets hehas made hirie generated income for his sec-tion to the extent he is now self supporting.From ;he 100 villages he has visited, he hasmanaged to collect more than-Rs 10,000 frontdonations and he is training people fromother States how to use the puppets effec-tively. The fact that lie is responsible for col-leetise attitudes changing on sensitive issuesis a source of much satisfaction for him. Thepity is the government still refuSes to rec-ognize this skill and resource as an input inrural development. ,

1-or further information, contact Banker,Roy, The Social Rork and Research centre,Tamar 305 816, Madanganj, Dist. Ajmer,Rajasthan, huhu.

(Field Research continued from page 3)

.that farmers do have their own remedies forticks. No mention had been Made in the cam-paign materials of these local techniques,either to suggest that they were ineffective orto show how they could be adapted to in-crease their effectiveness. These various pit-falls could have been avoided if a study hadbeen carried out on existing methods of tickand worm control and on the words and con-cepts farmers use when talking among them-selves about parasites.

Action Research: A MethodNot A Methodology

This type of research is called 'action re-search' because it is action oriented: its solepurpose is to help media producers improvethe effectiveness of their communications. Itdoes not set out to generate or test hypothe-ses about mcciia communication in general; itsets out to provide information that can beused by media producers in planning specificmedia on a specific topic. In providing thisservice, action research makes use of a widevariety of research techniques. There is no'standard methodology of action research: re-st:Pith methods are selected according to theparticular task at hand. For example, in thedesign and testing of a series of cassette pro-grams and supporting material for use bygroups of villagers in Western Botswana, apreliminary series of public meetings washeld to discuss what topics should be includ-ed. This was followed by more formal sur-veys to assess what precise information peo-plawanted on each of the selected topics. At-titudes were assessed using simplified attitude

(continued on page 7)

(Field Research continued from page 6)

"The important distinguish-ing feature of action re-search is not a particularmethodology, it is that the

. results must be' immedi-ately useable by those whoare to produce themedia."

scales. Cassettes, magazines and flip ,:hartswere pretested both within and outside thevillages involved in the group meetings, usingindividual interviews and group discussions.People's conceptual structures were exploredin informal discussion; alternatively, moreformal methodssuch as classification testsof various kindscould have been used. Theimportant distinguishing feature of action re-search is not a particular methodology, it isthat the results must be immediately useableby those who are to produce the media. Theonus is on the researcher to choose appropri-ate methods and then to present the resultsquickly and in a useable form.

In Botswana, then, action research hasproved useful in identifyingand oftenavoidingthe misunderstandings that arisein media production when people from dif-ferent backgrounds communicate with oneanother. It has helped media producersidentify distinct audiences, make more pre-cise decisions on the content of their media,assess the literacy levels and media access ofvarious audiences, and collect some feedbackan the impact of their media.

reprinted veil!: permission from Readinglural Development Communications Butte-in 16, December 1982, University of Readi-ng, Agricultural Extension and Rural Devel-;patent Centre, London Road, Reading SG1AQ, United Kingdom.

Vote: About Understanding, by Andreas Fu-;lesang, reviewed in DCR #40, is now availa-ile from Decade Media Books, Inc., 30 East12nd Street, New York, NY 10017, USA.lie price is US$12.00.

Vote: Against the Grain: The Dilemma of'roject Food Ald, by Tony Jackson with)eborah Eade, reviewed in OCR #41, is now.vailable from the Institute for Food and Dc-elopment Policy, 1885 Mission Street, San'rancisco, CA 94103, USA. The price is US9.95, plus $1.00 for postage and handling.

Information Resources:Places to Contact, Publications to Order

by Judy Brace

0 The readership of DCR is

remarkable for the breadth anddepth of its interests. We- hopethat through the newsletter we

not only encourage the application of com-munications media to these varied interests,but that we also foster a spirit of support andencouragement by identifying a variety ofavailable information resources.

We are pleased to see that the Network ofEducational Innovation for Development inAfrica (NEIDA) continues its good work as a"network of existing innovative national andregional institutions and organizations,brought together so that they may benefitfrom one another's experiences and exper-tise." The NEIDA Coordinating Unit en-deavors, through a variety of publications, toshare the efforts of the entire network:NEIDA information, a quarterly bulletin;Inventory of Innovations, reporting on inno-vative projects; Innovation and Change, aseries of in-depth studies on important edu-cational experiences in Africa; a Directory ofNational Coordinating Centers AssociatedProjects and Associated Regional Networks.updated periodically. To request further in-formation about NEIDA's activities andpublications, write to the NEIDA Coordina-tor, B.P. 3111, Dakar, Senegal.

Those of you who wish to broaden yourreadings in the issues of Women in Develop-ment may find a new series from the Interna-tional I ribor Office appealing. Women,Work and Development is the name of theseries that includes, to date, five monographsresulting from ILO research and technical co-operation, dealing with "issues related to theactual and potential roles of women in devel-opment----particularly their economic con-tributions and how these are changing as aresult of their own efforts. . . ." and exter-nal policies. To request a publications list,U.S. readers may contact the Washingtonbranch of the International Labor Office,1750 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington,D.C. 20006, USA, while readers abroad maywrite to ILO Publications, InternationalLabor Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzer-land.

Information management is a concern ofmany of DCR's readers. The issues of tech-nology transfer, information flows, and in-formatics, are all timely and underlie manydevelopment activities. A very worthwhilemembership organization, Data for Develop-ment (DFD), attempts to give form and orderto all these interrelated issues. Data for De-

Q

C")

velopment has as its general aim, "to studyand evaluate the role of information in eco-nomic and social development, and to pro-mote international cooperation and exchangeof experience in that field." Some of the ef-forts in which DFD is involveAclude assist-ing governments to plan integrated govern-ment information systems; developing infor-mation systems specifications for integratedrural development; and planning informationsystems for environmental management.DFD has begun a series of regional seminarsthat will.coincide with regional pilot projectsand regional study groups to promote infor-mation systei.:7. in public administration. Totie all of these activities together, DFD pub-lishes a quarterly newsletter in English. Forinformation about publications and member-ship, contact the Secretariat, Data for Devel-opment, 343 Boulevard Romain Rolland,13009 Marseille, France.

Readers who work in the areas of healthmay want to bz reminded at,out the manygood resources available from the Institute ofChild Health in London. Their TeachingAids at Low Cost (TALC) has developed andmakes available books, slides, flannelgraphs,charts, and other communication aids forhealth workers. TALC also acts as distribu-tor for the African Medical and ResearchFoundation (AMREF) publications.

The Institute coordinates the internationalCHILD-to-Child program that has devel-oped or reported on a whole series of innova-tive ways in which older children can becomeinvolved in the health care and education oftheir younger brothers and sisters. A recentissue of the program's Newsletter evaluatesresults of the program to date, and includes achart of the ways in which communicationshave been used in support of new ideas andpractices,

Persons working, or planning to work, inhealth care delivery in developing countriesmay wish to investigate the four short coursesoffered regularly by the Institute. For infor-mation about the courses, as well as aboutthe TALC and CHILD-to-Child activitiesand publications, write to the Institute ofChild Health, 30 Guilford Street, LondonWC1N 1EH, United Kingdom.

DCR readers who know Spanish and whowould like to learn more about nontradition-al higher education in Latin America will beglad to know of the Center for Studies onMedia, Education, and Communication

(continued on page 13)

7..

A Communicator's Checklist

Practical Research in DistanceTeaching: A Handbook for Develop-ing Countries, by Roger Mitton(Cambridge, International Extension

allege, 1982), 323 pp.

Developers are often impatient and resent-of research. Action oriented, they see that

search efforts take valuable resources awayom practical and immediate activities. Rog-Mitton's practical research manual should

) a long way in winning converts to researchhich supports the tremendous effort, time,id money that go into good development.'ith missionary zeal he sets out to transforminto believers in research.He is too modest when he claims the book"designed primarily for people doing dis-nce in developing countries." It isue that specific examples are drawn froms experience at the Lesotho Distance Teach-g Center, and the examples are stronger for

. Because of its approach to practical re-!arch and its lucid organization and style,Le book should have wide readership amonglucational and social development Workers.The book is a well-organized manual. Inle opening chapters, it links research to ac-on, action that developers have perhaps al-mdydecided is important but for which they)n't have all the necessary information toisure success. The major portion of the)ok discusses research methods that areAsk: to distance teaching and to many otherlucational projects as well The next sectionLmonstrateS applications of research in

istance teaching, but again the applications) far beyond this 'one educational sphere.he final section of the book, linking action

research, suggests what happens after thesearch is completed. This organizationtables the reader to choose the portions ofle book that are most helpful in his or herork without reading the entire book at oneBing,The major strengths of the book are its

lear definitions and superb organization.aeli chapter is preceded by a summary'hich lists and describes the major topics.'hese statements do not tell yOu everythingou need to know about the subject, but theysilicate clearly whether the chapter is usefulrid practical for the reader's work. Chapter

for instance, is about questionnaires, par-cularly those used by interviewers. The top-s include: what goes on the first page.;

reakdown of general questions into specific

ones; closed and open questions; categorizinganswers in advance; pre-coding; bad ques-tions (and therefore good ones); branching;the last page; self-completed questionnaires;and translation. Each toPic is covered in de-tail with specific examples that are generaliz-able to many situations in which question-naires might elicit needed information. Sam-ple questions and formats are plentiful.

There is an especially good chapter onprocessing data. The importance of accuracyand detailed record-keeping are explained ra-ther than preached. From my experience, oneof the most difficult points to get across tonovice researchers is the importance of accur-acy, They are often willing to make sweepinggeneralizations based on imprecise figuresand inaccurate records. Without insulting thereader's intelligence or honesty, Mitton isable to explain the importance of accuratedata and how to achieve accuracy. This samechapter explains how to make use of a com-puter in research. It makes enjoyable readingeven if you don't have a computer, and itadds to your general understanding of dataanalysis.

There are many good researchers but fewgood writers about how to .do research. Mit-ton is an excellent writer-teacher. One set ofinstructional materials developed at the Leso-tho Distance Teaching Center was a cookerybook. I suspect that Mitton learned a greatdeal from this experience. His practical re-search handbook reads like a well-writtencookbook. The ingredients and quantities arecarefully described. If alternatives are accept-able, they are mentioned. The order of activi-ties is dearly indicated as well as an explana-tion of what happens as a result of each activ-ity. There is nothing equivalent to grand-mother's recipes: Bake wild done. A little.salt. Season with spices to taste, At eachstage of the research, specific examples aregiven from the author's experience. The de-scriptions are clear, the examples understand-able to anyone working in education and so-cial research, and the style personal and inter-esting.

Examples of research methodology thathave gone wrong are amusingly described. Ifelt most sympathy for the researcher whoseproject was modified beyond repair while hewas in bed with tick-bite fever.

The author does not make unrealisticclaims for research. He suggests throughoutthe book that some research is a waste ofmoney because it isn't well thought out, or it

it)

is badly designed or conducted. Good re-search, however, can put facts in place ofopinions and delusions: He concludes, "Re-search cannot guarantee that people willadopt the best policies, but it can bring a bitof realism to their thinking." This manualcould go a long way toward convincing devel-opers that research is not only practical, it ispossible.

Available from the International ExtensionCollege, 18 Brooklands Avenue, CambridgeCB2 2HN, United Kingdom, for US$28.50.Price for individuals in Third World coun-tries is US$20.50.

Reviewed by Maurice Imhoof, Senior Project Di-rector, Academy for Educational Development,and Project Director for the AU) Radio LanguageArts Project in Kenya.

The Programme-Maker's Handbookor Goodbye Totter TV, by HarrisWatts, (London, Starstream Books,1982), 230 pp. Distributed in the

USA by Kumerian Press.

The Programme-Maker's Handbook setsout to provide a series of Do's and Don'ts fortelevision production. It incidentally, andperhaps unwittingly, raises the question ofwhether it is possible to transfer televisionproduction skills from one culture toanother. Is it possible to isolate purely techni-cal processes from style and substance? Arethere television 'arts' which are universal andapplicable to every setting? Can one concen-trate on technical matters and ignore the vo-cational environmentcareer structures, cul-tural expectations, pay levels, industry status,technical support systems, workloadsor isit reasonable to expect that if one teaches amethod of production then these other fac-tors will change and adapt to that method? Isthere any point in writing a book of this na-ture unless it is for a specific broadcastingsystem in which the environment is propi-tious or where draconian changes to the sys-tem are foreseen?

But first, what is The Programme-Maker'sHandbook about? It illustrates what not todo through its description of the mythicalSan Totta Television Corporation, which isthe worst of its kind in the world. The intro-duction states: "The erratic progress of itsofferings each evening and its shaky attemptsat programme-making soon earned it the

name of "Totter" television." Its staff, Gen-eral Manager Magnus Vision, Sports Produ-cer Caesar Andante, Current Affairs Produ-cer Eustace Sugar, Commentator RomeoLandmark and Women's Producer VirginiaDonna are unifdrmly awful. Its programs arepredictable, superficial and formula- bound.

From using Sin Totta TV a's'an illustrationof how not to make television programs,Watts then takes the reader through most ele-ments of The process from finding and re-searching ideas to putting them on film orvideotape. He is comprehensive in his ap-proach, clear and concise in his explanations.The second half of the book consists of allthe bits he couldn't put in the first half:lighting, sound, legal problems, graphics,finishing with a section called "You want to,work in Television?" He writes easily and:ntertainingly and the illustrations areDelightful.

He is very much a BBC prOduct, andworked on prestigious BBC programs. HeAlso worked in Malaysia, Brunei, Nigeria,Libya, and Singapore. He states that aNigerian broadcaster gave him the idea forhe book in the first place. One wonders,:herefore, who the book is intended for. It

:laims on the cover to be a "guide for televi-sion producers, universities, colleges andschools,- amateur film-makers and video en-husiasts ", which suggests a Western reader-;hip; but the situation he describes is that of athird World country. The station has a Latintame. The staff went for training overseas,nut, says Watts, these courses do not take ac-:ount of unreliable program services (such as)oor cameramen and editors). "Nor do the:ourses take into account the biggest handi-:ap which Totta producers start with: theylaven't seen many good examples of the sort>f programmes they are trying to make."

And this is his biggest conceptual problem.-lc states elsewhere that San Totta Televisionollows formulae in its programming, andightly says that formulae are constantly be-rig replaced by those who developed them,mplying that there is no single way to pro-Ince a program. But he implies, by referringo "good examples" of television program-:ling, that there are "proper" ways to pro-Ince programs and that San Totta does notollow those methods. If he is writing for aIritish reader, then his judgements are ap-ropriate, although his use of San Totta Tel-vision as an illustration seems unkind andnneccssary. If his readers are to be ThirdVorld practitioners, then one must questionis judgements as well,The values of the book are British. I hap-

en to approve of them because I grew up:kit the BBC as my model. I agree that pro-ramming should be both entertaining ittid'formative, but the ntost rudimentary sur-:ys of broadcasting overseas show thatthers do not agree. Most programming in,frican countries, for example, tenth to be

either entertaining or informative, and themixtures vary bet6en 70 percent and 30 per-cent for either ,depending on the country.Most 'Latin American broadcasting opts formore entertainment programming becausemost stations there are commercial ratherthan government owned. Similarly, styles ofbroadcasting in Africa favor discussion pro-grams, 'talking heads.' Whether this is be-cause there is a Ito itage of discussion in someAfrican societies which has Fong been re-placed in Western societies, or because theprograms are quicker to produce and there-fore meet the exigencies of providing a sub-stantial proportion of production locally outof a single studio, I don't know. If one alsoaccepts that the alternative that is financiallyfeasible is to import old "Lucy Shows," orsolemn science prograMs that extol the tech-nological wizardry of the countries that pro-vided them, -then perhaps the local talkingheads using local languages are not such abad idea. I am certain that Watts' judgementthat the reasons are laziness, ineptitude, or alack of imagination (which underlie San Tot-ta) tells only a fraction of the story.

Television is an urban, middle-class phe-nomenon in most lesS2cleveloped countries.Watts suggests that these viewers see Kojakand complain that indigenous productionslack its polish and verve. He is correct, andwhile television remains inaccessible to. therural poor, there may be nothing wrong withaiming at Kojak or BBC production values.But there is a danger in institutionalizingthese values. When television spreads its sig-nals more widely, it may discover that "quickand dirty" production methods are more ap-propriate to the needs of the country and thatmore authentic cultural values are demand-ed. The precedent lies in radio programming:radio programs for farmers astonish Westerncars by their apparent dullness and the avidi-ty of the listenership; Indian farmers criti-cized farm progra:hs for tiwir lack of rele-vance and truth when producers used actorsto boost the entertainment value. The point isnot that dullness is a virtue, but that it maynot be the vice that those brought up in theBritish tradition of broadcasting assume.

It should be stressed that there is much inthe book that is helpful and practical. Watts'emphasis on planning and research cannot befaulted, although it may not always be feasi-ble. ButIto say that a jump-cut is bad is to re-flect a convention. A jump-cut may not look"bad" to someone visually illiterate in West-ern conventions, merely incomprehensible,But so may the telescoping of time by the useof cutaways, which seems perfectly accept-able to us,

I wish someone of Mr. Watts' experienceand writing ability would undertake researchinto what is universal in television productionpractice and link it to the critical factors ofsystem organization. Such research would beinvaluable since it would prevent the endless

;-process of reinventing the wheel every time.aproduction course is mounted for a newbroadcasting institution.

Reviewed by Michael Laflin, who worked in radioand television in Kenya, and is currently with theInstitute for International Research which is assist-ing the Government of Liberia to develop a net-work of rural radio stations.

91

Available from Kumerian Press, 29 BishopRoad, West Hartford, Connecticut 06119,USA, for US$20.90 hardback, $12.50 soft-back.

Women and Development: (nuidelinesfor Programme and Project Plan-ning, by Caroline Pezzullo (Santiagode Chile, Comisidn Economica para

America Latina, CEPAL, 1982), 123 pp.

This book is an indispensable manual fordevelopment planners in general and devel-opment communicators in particular. It pro-vides an ingenious, step-by-step game planfor women to become involved as "free and.equal partners" in the development process.Three interrelated steps are seen as funda-mental: 1) awareness of the facts of a `situa-'tion'; 2) assessment of their causes and de-sired changes; and 3) action (individual andgroup) to close the gap between the two. On.'ly through these steps can women participatefully in development at the community, na-tional, regional, and international levels, andovercome their historical inequality. Com-munications, furthermore, is seen as the"lifeline" of the whole process, a mechanismfor social change through which people share"information, knowledge, experience, ideas,skills, motivations and aspirations."

Women and, Development was originallyprepared for the Caribbean Regional Train-ing Workshop in Programme/Project Plan-ning Skills, funded by the Voluntary Fund ofthe United Nations Decade for Women andheld in flarbados from June 14 to June 26,1981. This volume also includes the manytheoretical and practical planning questionsdiscussed at the conference, It is divided intotwo parts: Programme Planning and ProjectPlanning. In the first, guidelines are given totnational organizations, either governmentalor voluntary, to organize their programplans. in the second, community-based proj-ects ate discussed. National-level projectsthat may be essential to program objectives,such as those influencing policy, legislationor the mass media, are also suggested. Thefocus in Part II is on linking women in thecommunity to the broader picture of nationaldevelopment activities, Throughout thebook, specific steps for developing programplans and for involving women in the variousstages of project identification, impletaenta-

(continued on page IG)

.11.

Checklist continued from page 9)

lion, and evaluation are explored.ft'omen umfbeve/opment is intended as a

flexible reference manual`for national plan-ners and prkrram officers froin a variety ofgovermht al, non-governmental, and vol-untary organizations. It has multiple uses:besides aiding in program planning; projectidentification and implementation, and pro-posal writing, Wean help women's organiza:lions, create income-generating activities andserve as a management tool or as a practicalguide for organizing workshops on any as-pect or level of the development process.

The volume is itself an outstanding exam-ple of effective communication. It invitesparticipation by including an evaluation sheetof the volume as well as exercises that allowthe reader to identify titeappliCation of thesuggested steps in the planning process. Inaddition, the book addresses the reader in apersonalized, friendly tone. The precise butsimple language contributes to the overall .in-pression that development is not just a re--tote phenomenon decided on by unknownplanners, but a process that can he initiatedand brought to fruition by women them-,selves, , Finally, appendices provide compre-hensive and conveniently organized lists obrelated reading materials and resource organ-izations. A so-called Impertinent PERT chart(for Program Evaluation and Review Tech-nique), allows,Nvonien to break down organi-'rational tasks into easily identifiable categor-ies and simple units.

Caroline Pezzullo has done a formidablejob organizing and presenting this material.Although the proof of its utility will be in theprograms and projects women design and int:plement, Women awl Des'elopment is inher-ently valuable. It suggests a way to forgelinks between professional women with or.,ganizati9nal experience and community wo-men with practical knowledge, facilitatingthe participation of women at many levels ofdevelopment. Since communications is seenas crucial to every phase of this process,moreover, the volume is especially useful todevelopment communicators, as well as todevelopmentalists in general_ Indeed,Wonted and Development: Guidelines forProgramme and Project Planning ought tobe required reading for all those who supportthe goals of the United Nations Decade forWomen: Fqualit y, Development, and Peace,

lvailable for US$6,00 per copy from UnitedVationN Publications, Romps A-3315, NewYork, NY 10017, (IS.I or from the Palais de.%'Notions, 1211 Geneva 0, stilt:yr/ow.

Reviewed by Joan Vassin, Assistant Professor orCommunications at Fordhant University and Re-touch Associate, Institute of Latin American andIberian Studies, Columbia University.

9

New Booklet Available

The United Nations Department' ofPublic Information has published a newbobklet, illustrated with photographs,drawings, and newspaper articles, enti-tled "Improving Communications aboutPeople .with Disabilities." The I8-pagebooklet grew out of the recommenda-tions of a, united Nations Seminar, heldin June 1982, on Ate role of the informa-tion media in helping to accomplish thegoals pf the International Year ofDisabled Persons, Seminar participants .

were disabled and non-disabled special-ists in the media and in rehabilitationfields.

The group developed guidelines tohelp people working in the media to im-prove public perceptions of people withdisabilities. Those guidelines, as well asexamples both of N constructive andharmful publicity, are included. The'booklet is in English), and is availablefree from the United Nations. Divisionfor Economic and Social Information,Department,of Public Information, NewYork,' NY 10017, USA; or from Re-habilitation International, 432 ParkAvenue' South, New York, NY 10016,USA.

(Low-Cost Materials continued from page 4)

The workshops tried to blend theory withpractical work. Discussions were alwaysrelated to production exercises, and mostworkshops followed a pattern: on the firstday, participants learned how to design asurvey instrument, which they then took intothe field to discuss and 'find out learners'needs, From the .survej, results, the par-ticipants planned learning materials. Attermastering production skills, they produce,'the first drafts which they took back to thelearners for pretesting. The last few. days 'ifthe workshop were spent on revision of thelearning materials produced and on final pro-duction. The highlight of the workshop wasthe exhibition of the materials the par-ticipants produced, which included booklets,picture cards, work (milk, syllable cards,posters, and pamphlets.

One year after the pilot lject,,it was de-cided the projectss,thould he expanded tocover the whole country. A national trainers'workshop was organized in Mombasa fortwo weeks in October 1981 to train trainersfor the second phase of the project. Duringthe two weeks, participants, who were drawnTrout all the administrative provinces ofKenya, were taken through the-low-cost cur-riculum. As well as learning a variety of skillsin low-cost materials production, theylearned how to organize a low -cost training

4 0*,

workshop so they could go hack and.--presenttraining workshops in their own districts.

By the end of 1983, it is projected thatworkshops will have been held in all thedistricts in the country. The Department hasbeen monitoring the project closely, and it ishoped a major evaluation can be carried outtowards the end of 1983.

Observations

There is a lot of es idence which shows thatrelevant and cost-effectise materials can heproduced locally.. Such materials, if well de-signed, can make the education being pro-vided ihore relevant for individual and com-munity development..

Our experience from the low -cost projecthas shown that low in cost does not necessari-ly mean low in quality. We have conic to real-ize that a waste biscuit packet can he turnedinto a beautiful card; a waste detergent car-ton can he turned into a picture card usingcharcoal and soil. We have realized there is alot of talent among our teachers; sonic arehorn artists, others are good at writing stor-ies, while some are good at caligraphy. It is

this combination we have been looking for atthe grassroots level, whereby a supervisor canget together with a few teachers and producehigh-quality learning materials locally.

There are signs that the project is having amultiplier effect. Originally, the Departmenthad planned to train only the full-timeteachers, but observations in districts wheretraining has already taken place show part-tinie 'and self-help teachers have also bene-fited. Most of -them are now de'signing andproducing word and syllable cards.

It is obvious that the success of the low-cost print project will depend very much onthe availability of funds which will make itpossible to train teachers in the remainingdistricts. Observations have also revealed theteed to train officers who are in charge of Oleiteracy progranvat the district level to ensureflident coordination,Apart from the obvious benefit of training

teachers in new approaches to materials' pro-duction, the project has taken learning closetto the community, since before they can de-sign materials, teachers have to carry out alearners' survey to find out learners' interests,

There is no doubt that enormous econotides can be achieved by simplifying the pro-duction of teaching materials. Our expe-rience in the low-cost project ha); shown thatThird World countries do not base to betrapped in the web of Modern education tech-nology. There is need for continuous searchfor a technology which is appropriate both inWs( mid in'ineeting local educational needs,Low-cost print canoe one way of achievingthat technology.

Murlithi Kinytia is an Education Wilco andCraphic Designer with the Department of AdultEducation, P.O, 11ox 30117, Nairobi, Kenya.

...which can be used repeatedly over manyyears. The estimated recurrent cost of trans-mitting RADECO lessons and maintainingthe required network of support for 120,000students is slightly over $3 million yearly.

Connnunity Survey

In designing the RADECO project, it wascritically important to assess the actual needsof the unserved communities in the moun-tains of the Southwest Region of the Domini-can Republic. The community outreach ef-fort is particularly crucial in a program ofnon formal education. While RADECO's"teacher" is the radio program it broadcasts,a human infrastructure must be created tocomplement the instruction.

The Project team began by visiting the re-mote communities and simply talking to thepeople. The team was surprised to learn thatthe campesinos saw education as their mosturgent need. The people living isolated livesin the mountains wanted to be able to write aletter to a friend in a nearby community, toread an obituary notice about a relative in a

newspaper, and to shop in the local grocerystore without fear of being cheated.

Extensive micro-community research wasconducted, using local outreach peopletrained in data collection by Project staffmember Anne Olsen and a part-time consult-ing anthropologist. The social reality whichthey explored helped to shape the curriculumand its delivery system. Because children inthe region begin work at age five or six, radiolessons would have to be broadcast at the endof their workday, between 4:00 and 5:00 inthe afternoon. Health and nutrition informa-tion are basic to survival, so the team decidedto incorporate health and nutrition contentinto the radio lessons. The team made the de-cision to recruit paraprofessionals solelyfrom the communities in which they lived be-cause rains and mud make the communitiesphysically isolated at certain times of year.They tried to recruit primarily women, be-cause many households are headed by singlefernles who have the full responsibility ofsupporting themselves and their children. Inaddition, the team found that female para-professionals would be much less threateningto students and parents being served by theradio !:ssons.

After three or more visits, the outreachteam asked the communifks to help by sug-gesting candidates to become radio-auxili-ares, by listing potential students, and by sug-gesting possible sites for the enramada orshelter that would protect the children from.he sun and rain as they listened to the radiobroadcasts, Thus the communities were in-iolved in the decision-making process andnade contributions of goods and labor.

message can be delivered in several alternateforms, the most typical of which is by radio.Such nonformal education projects as ACPOin Colombia and Radio Santa Maria in theDominican Republic use radio to teach basicliteracy and numeracy skills to motivatedadults with high rates of success. RADECOdiffers from such programs in one crucialway: the RADECO student is not an adult,but a child. The unique needs of children re-quire a more specifically aimed program ofinstructional materials and support services.

RADECO faced the task of incorporatinginstruction in mathematics, reading, andwriting; in social studies and health segments;and in entertainment and physical exercise,for an entire grade-level into a single, daiiy,hour-long broadcast. The resulting programhad to be fast-moving enough to hold theinterest of a seven-year-old child and, at thesame time, fit 3 sufficient amount of instruc-tion into each broadcast so that the requiredskills would be learned. Ostensibly one-halfof the program instructs in the skills ofmathematics, and the other half in readingand language capabilities. In practice, eachportion will contain social studies and sciencemessages incorporated directly into readingand math sequences. Participatory physicalexercises and brief entertainment sections(consisting of a song or a joke) will break in-struction into segments small enough for a

child to assimilate. Each lesson is writtenaccording to a schema which focuses onseveral skills. The radio lessons will em-phasize a specific skill until the qualitativeand quantitative results of testing prove itwell learned.

Desirable Qualities

Their outreach work with the communitiesinvolved with the RADECO Project has ledthe team to identify a number of qualitativecharacteristics that a nonformal educationprogram should have.

If education is seen as a development inter-vention rather than simply the linear expan-sion of the formal school system in some newform, then the Project:

1. Will provide low-cost employment op-portunities for the parents of its clients;

2. Will be reasonable enough in its recur-rent costs so that it can be broadly dis-seminated with the available govern-ment financial resources;

3. Will be truly participatory in the sensethat the communities themselves willdetermine the management, selectingtheir radio-auxiliares, the location ofthe services, and their contribution tothe Project;

4. Will use the raditi not only to instruct inthe basic academic skill areas, but will

13

5. Will base its radio lessons on a kredge of local circumstances, indigeexperience, cultural strengths to bebrated, and social problems tcsolved;

6. Will consolidate its services with thevices of other ministries and other acies working in the same region onferent aspects of the same problem

7. Will be prepared to expand intoareas such as the intermediate gradmeet needs such as better nutrition,giene, and health.

RADECO is one part of the effort to ta productive social and economic infrastture in the Southwest Region. It is no"experiment," although it may have umtive components to it;,it is not an isolatedtoral program; and it is\not an ad hoc orgzation which will disappear at the end ofProject.

Testing and Evalualion

RADECO began broadcasting in Jam1983, and is currently serving 1,000 chilcin 23 communities. The project is usingformative evaluation model developedNicaragua for the Radio Mathematics Pect by Jamesine Friend.

The process of formative evaluation iscial to the development of the radio lesscRather than stockpiling a year's worthbroadcasts and sUbsequently testing to demine if children have mastered the requiobjectives, the developing and testing ofsons go on simultaneously throughoutyear. Children in select communitiestested every week in order to determine ttgrasp of certain skills. If a sufficient perceage of students demonstrates knowledgethose skills, the step to instruction in msophisticated tasks can be taken. If not, e

phasis on the former objectives will be mataMed. Thus, in the course of a year, a seiof lessons are developed that have alrevbeen demonstrated to teach children the (jectives set at the beginning of the progra

The Community-Based Radio AssisiNon-Formal Educational Project in theminican Republic (RADECO) has discoveian important variable in the course of its bzline testing which attests to the effectivelyof another nonformal educational projectthe Dominican Republic.

Project staff are pretesting entering figrade students in formal schools as well asthe Project's study centers. The team cserved marked behavioral differences frcclassroom to classroom at different schooAlso, teseWsults appeared to be significandifferent.

The coordinator of the Project's evalution component and his colleagues identifi

(continued on page 15)

Resources Information Center) files reviewedin this column are concerned with geographicand cultural factors in educating the isolatedpopulations, audiovisual materials, educa-tional radio, school libraries and develop-ment, and minicomputers for informationhandling. All are available on microfiche andin paper copy from the ERIC Document Re-production Service (EDRS), P.O. Box 190,Arlington, Virginia 22210, USA.

Broadbent, R. F., Ed. Education of theIsolated: Geographic and Cultural As-

pects. Selected Papers from the 22nd AnnualConference of the Australian College of Edu-cation (Alice Springs and Darwin, Australia,May 14-20, 1981). 1981. 123pp. (ED 223 245)

The 11 papers in this collection focus onisolation in education, with emphasis onproblems associated with geographical re-moteness and with socio-cultural barrierswhich also give rise to isolation. Five papersconcentrate on distance education and pos-sible measures for its use in social and educa-tional processes to deal with isolation;readers are caution ea uot to be too optimisticabout technological solutions. The establish-ment of a national center for researchingproblems and finding solutions to the provi-sion of education in rural Australia is de-scribed, and the concept and operation of theOpen University and its success in developingdistance communication methods are dis-cussed. Other papers consider barriers to ed-ucation posed by cultural differences, Ian:guage, social background, and socio-politicalstructures. Four of these papers deal withspecific areas of Australian isolation relatedto Australian Aborigines, in particular, andinclude reviews of specific programs and re-search projects. Available from the Aus-tralian College of Education, 916 SwanstonSt., Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia, for$6.50 plus postage, or from EDRS inmicrofiche only for 97c.

Donoghue, Beverly Emerson. TextileVisual Materials: Appropriate Technol-

ogy in Action. 1982. 14pp. (ED 222 188)An innovative educational medium

screenprinted visual aids on cloth is one al-ternative to conventional media in Africa,where visual materials are important commu-nication tools but conventional media andmaterials are often scarce. A production pro-cess for cloth visual aids was developed andevaluated in Ghana and Sudan through theimplementation of several experimental proj-ects. Unlike paper nd electric/electronic vis-ual media, cloth is familiar and can be locallyproduced with unskilled labor. Results indi-cate a preference for this type of cloth-based

1972, economic and political stability in

Ghana have deteriorated, producing a moreurgent need for locally developed products.A feasibility study conducted in 1980 foundcloth in short supply and need for visualmaterials large; however, for educationalpurposes, a supply of cloth could be pro-vided. In Sudan, the development of textilevisual aids is more advanced, with allmaterials needed available locally. The ap-proach is significant in that, instead of trans-planting a Western communications medi-um, the strategy takes advantage of localmaterials and resources. Available fromEDRS in microfiche for 97c or in paper copyfor $2.15.

Nguchu, Ruth Rukunga. The Extent toWhich Radio Is Used in Teaching of

Home Science in Urban Primary Schals inKenya. African Studies in Curriculum Devel-opment and Evaluation. No. 30. 1981. 48pp.(ED 222 193)

-This-study-surveyed parents-,-fieadmasters,and home economics (home science) teachersfrom 12 primary schools in Nairobi to collectinformation on the extent of radio use inteaching home economics, the reasons foruse or non-use, and parental attitudes towardeducational radio programs in general. Up-per primary (standard 4-7) home economicsteachers completed a questionnaire, while in-formation from headmasters and parents wasgathered through interviews and discussions.Results based-on a small -sample show thatfew schools used home economics radio les-sons, and that the subject is not even taughtat some schools. Many teachers trained touse radio lessons are not using the programs,and some are unaware that the programs ex-ist. Survey results indicate a need for morebroadcast and program materials, slowerprogram pacing, audiotapes of the programs,teacher inservice training, more radio receiv-ing equipment, and more home economicsclassrooms. Available from EDRS in micro-fiche for 97c or in paper copy for $3.90.

Beilke, Patricia F. School Libraries andPriorities for Development: Selected

Comments. 1980. 18pp. (ED 222 164)This paper examines the establishment and

development of school libraries within a con;text of international educational improve-ment and proposes three discussion questionsfor the meeting of the Section on Statistics ofthe Management and Technology Division ofthe International Federation of Library Asso-ciations (IFLA). The paper is divided intonine sections, which discuss: the purpose ofschool libraries; the improvement of schoollibraries and education; the familiarization of

necessity tor joint planning by teacneischool librarians; the need for stimulatthe development of school library maand equipment; the availability of contechnology to school librarians; and alection of school library statistics. Thealso identifies three questions for later csion, including IFLA contributions t

Unesco and World Bank educationanalyses, IFLA guidance of needed emental projects for education, andsupport of a specific proposal toNicaragua to form an association for psional librarians and develop a systtgathering and reporting statistics. A listreferences is provided. Available from 1in microfiche for 97c or in paper col$2.15.

Go -Grif fiths, Jose-Marie. ApplicariMinicomputers and Microcompul

Information Handling. 1981. 105pp. (f199)

This Unesco study assesses the appliof both minicomputers and microcomto information-handling procedure!makes recommendations for autossuch procedures, particularly in devenations. The report is based on a surexisting uses of small computing equiin libraries, archives, and informationwhich was conducted from October 1May 1980. Following a description ofaims and layout, a discussion of the iof computer technology on informatiodling traces the history of the relations]tween computers and information syand outlines historical changes that htcurred in computer technology. Ex;given of small-scale computing equiusage in information handling deal priwith microcomputers and include uprojects. Other chapters clarify tenni,and formulate definitions, identifycomponents of minicomputer systeterms of equipment selection criteria, 1current trends in information systenservices development, and predict cwhich will affect information handlineffect of these changes on informatiofessionals and educators is considererecommendations are made for furthertigations, education . and training rments, and standards for systems andmentation. Report annexes Providetional information on terminology, miputer manuRcturers, and microcoisystems. Available from EDRS in miceonly for 97C..

Barbara B. Minor, Publications CoonERIC Clearinghouse on Information Re!School of Education, Syracuse UniSyracuse, New York 13210, USA.

1 ;

(Brace continued from page 7)(CEMEC). The Center plans to collect re-ports, studies, theses, and other documenta-tion that will be made available to profession-als in the fields of educational and socialcommunication. They will also provide a cen-tral connection between national distanceteaching organizations throughout the hemi-sphere. A recent issue of their journal (publi-cation frequency is unclear), Medio Educa-don ComunicaciOn, contained articles on al-ternative education, creativity in nonconven-tional systems of education, an overview ofthe past decade of educational technology inLatin America, regional cooperation on dis-tance education at the university level, as wellas academic research reports. For more infor-mation about the Center's activities or to re-quest the journal, write to CEMEC, Casilla137, Sucursal 2, 1402 Buenos Aires, Argen-tina.

DCR readers of French may-Wish to avail_themselves of an -annual-publication of ab-

stracts of French language communicationdocuments: articles, books, research reports,government studies. Bibliocom, in some twothousand entries, gives coverage to commu-nication theory, research, mass media, tele-communications, interpersonal communica-tions, and provides ex austive headings andcross references to ens a easy access to thematerials. Bibliocom, p fished by the Uni-versite Laval in Quebec, shduld be of particu-lar use to academic institutions and research-ers, and those who wish to keep abreast ofwhat's being written about communication inFrench. For information about Bibliocom,readers may write to INFOGES Inc., P.O.Box 1845, Succursale Place d'Ari-neMont-real, Canada H2Y 3L9.

A major reference work from the UnitedNations is a two-volume Directory of UnitedNations information Systems. To provide ac-cess to the information gathered and dissemi-nated by the organizational members of theU.N. family, this Directory is a carefully re-vised version of an earlier edition with specialattention given to design and organization.The results of this attention are impressive.

Volume I is devoted to "Information Sys-tems and Data Bases," and is available ineither English, French, or Spanish. Each ofthe U.N. member organizations that providepublic information is listed and described (35are included), and all information systemsand databases within each of these organiza-tions are profiled on a single page with uni-form data. The kinds of information avail-able from the United Nations range from theFertilizer Advisory, Development, and Infor-mation Network for Asia and the Pacific, tothe Outer Space Affairs Division ReferenceCollection, to the Aquatic Sciences and Fish-eries Information Service, to the Photo Li-brary of the International Telecommunica-

tions Union. The profile of this latter entryreveals that the ITU Photo Library has a col-lection of 10,000 photographs in black-and-white and in color; that it makes these availa-ble to the mass media, training institutes, andthe ITU publications service; and that it is-sues an annual catalog.

Volume II of the Directory is a tri-linguallisting by country of where "input centers orcontact points . . . and depository libraries"are to be found. Because of the complexity ofthe information contained in this volume,there is careful use of uniform acronyms, In-ternational Organization for Standardization(ISO) codes, and special symbols and graph-ics, to guide the user through the material.This is a resource that no information serviceshould be without. Once received, it shouldnot be shelved and forgotten, but be kept athand, and the sources tapped. To order theDirectory of United Nations InformationSystems, contact the Inter-OrganizationBoard for Information Systems, Palais desNations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.

"assessing needs," "making print materialswork," and "are the materials doing theirjob?" the manual can go a long way towardreassuring community organizations that de-velopment of print materials for new readersis within their capacity. I suspect that there isperhaps too much text and too few illustra-tions, as well as a tendency to explicate ratherthan to get on with production techniques.However, since there is probably very littleon this subject available in Spanish, this pub-lication's usefulness will outweigh its some-what awkward translation from the English,and will provide much-needed guidance tosupport new readers. Como Crear Materialespara Neo-Lectores is available for US$4.00from the International Reading Association,P.O. Box 8139, Newark, Delaware 19711,USA.

One of the richest sources of informationon distance education is the British OpenUniversity. There is a strong commitmentthere to sharing research and empirical find-ings, from which we can all benefit. Their

In an effort to encourage communication Distance Education Research Group (DERG)support_in_projects_designed and /or- fu nded_is-putting out-a-series-of-papers (DERG

Papers) that belong in any serious collectionon the subject. The first paper, The Credibili-ty of Distance Education, addresses all the is-sues that come up with regard to the accept-ance of the notion of successful education ata distance. A fairly technical discussion ofThe Admission System in Distance TeachingInstitutions constitutes Paper Number 2. Pa-per Number 3 is in two parts, The EuropeanExperience of the Use of Mass Media, andDistance Methods for Adult Basic Educa-tion, Main Report and Appendices. This is a

thorough review of the planning, design, andimplementation approaches to adult basiceducation delivered via media and other tech-

by the World Bank, the Bank has issued HeliPerrett's study, Using Communication Sup-port in Projects: The World Bank's Experi-ence. The best aspect of this study is the ac-knowledgement that projects whose aim is tomotivate human action in a development ac-tivity will benefit from the design and incor-poration of a communication component.Dr. Perrett has carefully identified benefitsand difficulties, especially within the Bankcontext; she has provided planning frame-works, support functions, Bank sector expe-riences, and media selection criteria.

Annexes include communication supportspending per Bank project; a "prc1-0;:inanalysis" to clarify_ project_ needs before niques at a distance.building in communication support; a tableof advantages and disadvantages of differentmedia and their applications; and the outlineof a Bank communication support trainingcourse. This is a well-balanced presentation,providing development program plannerswith the kind of information that makes un-derstandable the nature and purposes of sec-toral applications of communications. ThisWorld Bank Staff Working Paper Number551 is available for US$3:00 from WorldBank Publications, 600 19th Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20433, USA.

A serious need to be addressed by a literacyprogram is that of making available appro-priate reading materials to encourage the de-velopment of the newly learned skills. TheInternational Reading Association has pub-lished, in Spanish, a four-step manual on de-veloping reading materials for the newly liter-ate, Como Crear Materiales para Neo-Lec-tores. Divided into "working with otheis,.".j

A very nice case study of the Costa RicanSt ate Distance University is the subject of Pa-per Number 4. The careful planning andgrowth of this institution should be consid-ered by any country planning a similar ven-ture. A compact overview of the OpenUniversity itself is the subject of PaperNumber 6, The Open University of theUnited Kingdom: An Evaluation of an Inno-vative Experience in the Democratisation ofHigher Education. Paper Number 7 is a casestudy of the Empire State College/State Uni-versity of New York Center for DistanceLearning. All these papers, and informationabout other publications of the Open Univer-sity, are available from the Distance Educa-tion Research Group, the Open University,Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA,United Kingdom.

Judy Brace is the Acting Director and ResourceCenter Manager of the Clearinghouse on Develop-ment Communication,

13

Radio FormatsOffer Choicesby Esta dc' Fossard

Esta de Fossard's article on Ra-dio Listening Groups in DCR39, September 1982, was re-ceived with enthusiasm by our

readers around the world. In this current arti-cle, the author discusses the variety of for-mats available for informational radio pro-grams.

Drama: A drama is a fictional work in whichthe actors play the parts of believable peopleengaged in realistic activities. The story de-velops through what the characters say to oneanother. Sometimes sound effects are used tohelp the audience understand the setting ofthe play or certain events in the playfor ex-ample, the sound effect of fire crackling maybe used to help the listeners understand thatthe drama is dealing with a fire in a village.Drama is a very effective format because it

allows the-listeners-to-become-personally-in-volved in the lives of the people being por-trayed by the actors.

Story: In this type of program, a narrator (orstoryteller) tells the story. There are no actorsplaying the parts of the characters; the nar-rator is the only person we hear. Sometimesthe narrator might alter his or her voice as hereads the speeches of the various charactersin the story, but where the drama uses a num-ber of actors, the story uses only the one nar-rator who reads or tells the story to the audi-ence.

Interview: In this type of program, an an-nouncer or a reporter asks questions of some-oneusually someone recognized as an au-thority in his or her field. The questions aredesigned to encourage the interviewee (theperson being interviewed) to give the listenersthe type of information they need to under-stand the topic. In an interview program, thelistener can hear both the interviewer askingthe questions and the interviewee giving theanswers.

Discussion: This program will use a numberof authorities giving their views on a particu-lar topic. It is also called a "panel discussionprogram." A panel discussion often uses achairman or a moderator to control the dis-cussion and direct specific questions to thevarious members of the panel.

This program format is particularly suitedto a topic that has more than one acceptablepoint of view. For example, the question offamily planning is a suitable topic for a paneldiscussionthere are those who will speak infavor of it and those who will speak againstit, and there is really no definite right orwrong answer in every situation.

Speech: A speech is a formal presentation byan important authority. It is usually deliveredby a person in high position on an importantoccasion. It is rare that a speech is used as aformat for delivering the type of informationthat would be used by a radio listeninggroup. A more suitable format would be the

Talk: A talk is a less formal version of aspeech. It is usually given by someone who isa recognized authority ir, the field and maycontain opinions as well as facts. This makesit very suitable for use by a radio listeninggroup who can air their own feelings aboutthe speaker's opinions.

Magazine: A radio magazine program doesmuch the same things as a printed magazine:

a. it presents a number of different ideason one particular topic, or

b. it presents a number of different ideason a variety of different topics.

A radio magazine program can combine anumber of different formatsfor example,you might find a short drama, an interview, anews announcement, and a spot (see below)in the same magazine program.

flits name indicates, a news programgives information on the latest newsthingsthat are happening now.

Documentary Feature: A documentary (orfeature) takes an event that has happened in

thepast and makes a special program of it inorder to highlight particular points that theproducer would like the audience to be moreaware of. Sometimes the subject of a featurewill be set in the future, in which case thefeature is making some suggestions about fu-ture possibilities, rather than reporting onsome real event that happened in the past.

Spot: A spot is a very short announcement(usually no more than three minutes) thatgives only the most important information ona particular topic. The Health Department,for example, might run a series of spots to re-mind people to have cholera shots.

Jingle: This is similar to a spot, but it is set tomusic. A jingle is often associated with ad-vertisements, but the use of any message setto music can be a very effective way of catch-ing the audience's attention.

Quiz: A quiz is an interesting way of invitingan audience to find out how much they knowon a certain topic. There are two types:

a. the quiz where two or more teams com-pete against one another in answering aset of questions. Usually a prize is givento the team that answers the most ques-tions correctly.

b. the quiz where one announcer poses thequestions . . . then a 10-second pause is

left in which the audience can attemptto answer the question in their homes,and then a second announcer gives theright answer. 1 0

Question & Answer: This type 'of programcan be done by inviting listeners to send inquestions by mail, or to record their ques-tions on tape for a visiting reporter. In ethercase, the radio program provides an expert orexperts to give the answers to the questionsposed by the audience. It is important to ex-ercise tight control over a question andanswer program, so that people do not abusethe airwaves by using the program to air allsorts of gripes and grievances. ua

Esta de Fossard is an international media consult-ant specializing in informational radio and televi-sion. She is the author of many books and articles.

Housing FinanceSoftware Package

A Housing Finance Software (HFS)package has been developed by the

SettIe--

ments_(UNCHS /Habitat)ments (UNCHS(Habitat) to assist smallhonSing and 'site schemes in fmancialmanagement' and reporting. The HFSpackage designed' to, store a financialdatabase T iirivecl;. from individual ac-031.tit -:transietions, and to :Manipulatethe,'database,' 'so' that organizations areOroilidid'with"accountand Management.reponS;;The:His can handle both loanand Savings necOUnts.

HFS can.

:uied, by, any housing fi-nance organization AO create' a Ioan ac-cOtintirig '.database; a savings accountdatabaSe; 'monitoring'; Schedule for

.

loans; a loan repayment schedule; a loandefault:notice and list; and a number ofmanagement 'reports regarding =the fi-nancial status of daily operations. In ad

HFS -can generate 15-, 30-, and60-day Management reports.

HFS is intended to run on a 64 ICbytemicrocomPUter with a minimum of1,200 Kbytes of disk storage. Up to7,000 aceonfitican be in the database us-

. _

ing current-,", available disk storagedevices :The sOftware is written inCBASIC andisintended to operate withany CP/M operating system (Version2.2 or

His is provided free of charge to anynonprofit, Parastatal, or governmentagency: UNCHS will assist in advisingon hardware, installing the software,and L 'training . personnel to operate'thesystem .-For further information contact

:Jerry.C.:'COiner, Advanced TechnologyApplidations:PrOject; UNCHS (Habi-tat);-P.O.Iliox 30030, Nairobi, Kenya.

(RADECO continued from page I I)

the salient variable as participation in theUNICEF preschool program as implementedby the Doir:aican Ministry of Education inthe Southwest Region. The preschool pro-gram works with children ages three throughsix and operates on an expanding basis in thearea. It now takes in over 30,000 children inrural areas of the impoverished Southwest.

Front. the team's observations, childrenwho had attended preschool had no difficultyholding a pencil or using it to mark drawingsproperly, no difficulty understanding test in-structions, little difficulty turning the pagesof the test booklet, and were better disci-plined than non-graduates: Their test scores,too, were significantly higher than non-pre-schoolers'. These results are not surprising inthe light of the results of the Head Start Pro-gram in the United States, and other studiescarried out in the Caribbean area.

RADECO has done field-testing of draw-ings, sounds, and other items to be used inthe programs and tests. From student ques-tionnaire forms, staff has foimd that 70 per-cent of the students work with their parentspicking coffee or (Zing subsistence farming.Sixty-five percent have had at least one yearof formal schooling, and 95 percent listen tothe radio (in communities where there areradios; one or two communities withoutradios have been discovered). All of this fieldinformation has helped the team to better de-sign the program.

The evidence continues to point to the factthat a nonformal education program canmake a significant contribution towards im-proving educational services in developingcountries.

ConclusionThe RADECO Project addresses two con-

cerns. First, it meets some of the pressingneeds of the Dominican Republic's South-west Region, which has the highest rate of il-literacy and the lowest life expectancy of anypart of the country. At the same time, it pur-sues a cost-effective strategy of educationthat can be implemented' in a variety of set-tings. The concerns are complementary. If anew strategy of education can be developedsuccessfully in the Dominican Republic,there is no reason why it should not be equal-ly successful in other areas which face thesame constraints and concerns.

Andrew Hanssen is the RADECO Project's Ad-ministrative Coordinator; Steven Kozlow is Coor-dinator of the Project's Evaluation Component;Anne Olsen was formerly the Deputy Chief-of-Party, RADECO Project.

For further information, contact James91sen, Chief-of-Party, RA DECO, ApartadoPostal No. 57, Barahona, RepUblica Domini-.ana; or, Donald Foster-Gross, Projecttlonitor, S&T/ED, Room 609-J SA -18,4gency for International Development,)epartinent of State, Washing.ton, D.C.'0523, USA.

(Radio Baha'i continued from page 16)

and utilization of those services. RadioBaha'i staff discovered that the farmers sel-dom listened to Ministry announcementsbroadcast on the government station, did notunderstand them, and were unable to actupon the information provided in them. Inaddition, many of the topics being targetedby the Ministry were not perceived as relevantor urgent by the farmers.

On visiting the Ministry, the agriculturalprogram production team from Radio Baha'iwas told of the difficulties frequently facedby agents in the field: they live in provincialcenters, far from the villages; they visit thevillages only occasionally; many experiencelanguage barriers; they are viewed with suspi-cion and distrust. Even under the most Fav-orable circumstances, agents are often so-licited to supply the seeds, fertilizers, andequipment that farmers desire but cannot af-ford.

Given these problems, the radio staff sawan opportunity for the station to serve as anintermediary between the Ministry and thefarmers. They wanted to producc_a_programthat both expressed the farmers' needs andprovided answers to those needs.

A seventeen-year-old indigenous youth (agraduate of the local agricultural trainingschool) was recruited to serve as the programproducer. He enlisted the assistance of twoother Otavalefians, one an older woman, theother an elderly farmer. (Both come from aremote village, are illiterate, and have neitherformal training nor previous experience inradio.)

Using a mobil van provided by the CIDAgrant, the production team visits villages inthe region._ Portable tape recorders are takento homes and fields, and farmers and theirfamilies are invited to discuss and recordtheir concerns. In this manner, farmers froma number of different communities are ableto express and share their concerns with otherfarmers in the region. The two older radiostaff serve as the moderators for the discus-sion sessions and provide continuity when thesessions are later edited for inclusion in pro-grams.

Having identified and recorded some ofthe farmers' major concerns, the staff thenvisits local Ministry offices and interviews ex-perts about the issues raised by the farmers.Segments recorded on the farms and at theMinistry offices are combined with scriptedmaterials and music into a daily 30-minuteprogram in Quichua entitled "TarpucpacYuyay," which roughly translates intoEnglish as "The Thought/Knowledge/Opin-ion of the Farmer." Motivated by the pro-gram's innovative approach, one Ministry of-ficial has started writing short, informationalscripts for inclusion in the broadcast.

The program airs between 5:30 and 6:00a.m., the period selected as "optimal" by thefarmers themselves. Both the farmers nc1the

I I

Ministries have responded enthusiastically.The program provides the farmers with ameans of communicating with each other andwith the Ministries at the saute time that itprovides the Ministries with a means bywhich their assistance can be made more rele-% ant and credible. When first approached bythe Radio Baha'i staff', the experts offered in-formation on how to plant wheat and barley.However, discussions with the farmers hadrevealed that their most pressing concern wasthe elimination of a plague among theirchickens and pigs. When the staff presentedthis concern to the experts, appropriate andrelevant in formation was provided im-mediately to the farmers via the radio. In thisway, the program is helping to reverse the"vertical" process by which the agriculturedevelopment professionals had been addres-,sing rural problems. "Tarpucpac Yuyay"serves as a credible change agent by ensurir.gthat the development messages it broadcastsare appropriate and relevant to the needs ofthe audience.

Commitment to Indigenous Muir'

The staff at Radio Baha'i are aware of thestation's important role as an educator anddisseminator of development messages, butthey also are conscious of the need to main-tain the station's primary role as the voice ofthe campesino. This role is realized effec-tively through the use of Quichua, indige-nous staff members, and programming thatpromotes the dignity and value of the indige-nous people and their culture. Special em-phasis also is given to promoting the role ofwomen in community life and to the educa-tion of children. While such policiesdemonstrate the station's commitment to itsaudience, the programs' effectiveness iswholly dependent upon the creation andmaintenance of a large and loyal listenership.Perhaps the most significant factor thus farcontributing to Radio Baha'i's success, andthe main reason for its popularity, has beenits commitment to playing indigenous music..

A future article will examine the role thatRadio Baha'i has played in the revitalizationof traditional music among the Indians of theOtavalo region, both through its program-ming and through its sponsorship of what hasbecome Ecuador's most popular festival oftraditional music.

For further information contact MarceloQuinteros, Executive Director, Radio Baha'i,Apartado 14, Otavalo, Ecuador.

Kurt Hein served as the Assistant Director ofCanadian International Development Agency's(CIDA's) Rural Radio Development Project inOtavalo. He is currently the Executive Producer ofthe Academy for Educational Development'sRadio Language Arts Project in Nairobi, Kenya.

15

Community Radio in EcuadorMeeting People's Needsby Kurt J. Hein

A previous article (See DCR 40,December 1982) examined sev-eral of the reasons for the popu-lar appeal of Radio Baha'i, a

community radio station serving the rural, in-digenous farmers (campesinos) in the regionsurrounding Otavalo, Ecuador:

it broadcasts predominantly in Quichua,the home language of the audience, whileother stations broadcast almost exclusively,in Spanish;most of the staff, including several women,is recruited from among the local people;it places a priority on program contentover sophisticated broadcast technology;the equipment is a far cry from "state-of-the-art;"the staff, many of whom are HE:crate, hadno prior training in broadcasting.As a result of these policies, the programs

authentically reflect the values, the tastes,and the sounds of the people for whom theyare intended. The result is a large, loyal, andresponsive audience. This article examinesspecific programming innovations that havecontributed to the station's popular appealamong the campesinos.

The Local News Program

One of the programs inspiring listenerloyalty is El Noticiero Local, The LocalNews. Because the station's purpose is toserve the rural farmers and to focus on theirneeds and interests, traditional news stories,such as thoseprovided by the wire services,are avoided. Rather, the station has initiateda twice-daily news broadcast designed to

DevelopmentCommunication Report

enable villagers to communicate import intlocal events to one another.

Most of the villages are without electricityand are accessible only by footpath, makingwidespread communication virtually impos-sible. Therefore, a typical Local News pro-gram will include stories about lost children,lost identification papers, lost livestock, com-munity dances, and mingas, communitywork parties. These announcements arebroadcast both in Quichua and Spanish andprove to be one of the region's most popularradio programs.

Radio Baha'i broadcasts these messagesfree of charge; all that is required is that theindividual deliver his or her message to thestation or to the station's news office in theregion's other major town. The most com-mon means of delivering these announce-ments is in person, meaning that some peoplemay spend half a day or more walking to thestation. It is common to see several campe-sinos sitting outside the station offices, hav-ing travelled together to deliver their messageand to greet the station staff. It is also com-mon to find livestock on the grounds, await-ing the arrival of their rightful owner! In a re-cent year, more than 2,000 messages were de-livered to the station in this manner, repre-senting virtually every community within thestation's 50-mile (80 km) broadcast reach.

The news program serves many of thecommunications needs of the audience and itis also an effective vehicle for the dissemina-tion of development-oriented messages, es-pecially for short-term campaigns. Becauseof the program's popularity, many civic

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agencies request to have messages included init, Short announcements arc produced by thestation staff for broadcast throughout theday, but the messages achieve their greatestimpact when incorporated into El NoticieroLocal:

During an outbreak, of hoof-and-mouthdisease, the Ministry of Agriculture andLivestock asked Radio Baha'i to produce aspot announcing to farmers the nature ofthe disease and the availability of vaccine.After two weeks, more than 250 head ofcattle had been.treated, compared to sevenduring the month prior to the newsfeature.A national campaign was inaugurated toprovide identity cards to illittratt.. campe-

sinos, people who previoLAy had beendenied this important document. The localCivil Registry reported that the campaignin Otavalo was one of the most successfulin the country because it had been pro-moted on El Noticero Local.Doctors from a rural health center re-quested assistance in promoting their offerof free eye care. They returned to the sta-tion shortly after the spot began to be airedin the news program to request that thespot be terminated. More than 450 peoplehad come to the clinic the day after thefirst announcement, more than the cliniccould accommodate.

CIDA's Rural Radio Development Project

In 1980, Radio Baha'i was awarded a smallmatching-funds grant by the Canadian Inter-national Development Agency (CIDA). Thepurpose of the grant was to augment RadioBaha'i's cultural and agricultural program-ming. Research indicated a disparity betweenthe information and services offered by agen-cies such as the Ministry of Agriculture andLivestock and the farmers' knowledge about

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WCY- 83 /USTTI; RADECO Project;18 Botswana Field Research; Puppetry;

Information Sources; Radio Outreach