Jonathan Ezer

Perceptions of Information Technology in India: a Study of the Institutional Forces That Impact How Technology is Taught, and Learned, at Indian Universities Jonathan Ezer

This dissertation examines how the idea of I. T. is constructed at Indian universities. The findings indicate that for a variety of reasons, higher I. T. education in India is markedly Western-focused, instrumental and technocratic. At Indian Universities, I. T. is seen as an industrial tool used to solve western business problems. Surprisingly few people see I. T as a tool to solve local Indian problems. These characteristics of higher I. T. education in India are impacted by a process of institutional collaboration ? several diverse institutional forces are acting in ways that are coherent and mutually reinforcing. The findings are consistent with Angell?s theory of the Information Age, characterized by a looming conflict between Old and New Barbarians.