Abstract

The main objective of this article lies in discussing dependecy issues as related to information development in NICs. The theoretical foundation was drawn from theories of 'dependency' and of 'information societies,' The main assertion of the dependency school (the more dependency, the less development) was applied for a test of the relationship between dependency on foreign scientific and technical information (STI) resources and indigenous STI development in NICs. Utilizing a case study method, this study explored the causes and results of dependency on foreign STI in a leading NIC­the Republic of Korea (ROK). First identified were the economic factors that might have influenced the ROK's dependency on foreign STI. Also investigated were the social factors that might have had associations with the R&D personnel's dependency on foreign STI. Regarding the development of information area, this study discussed general features in the process of producing, organizng, and gatekeeping indigenous STIIdentified regarding the ROK's information dependency was the R&D personnel's pattern of using foreign STI resources as well as the country's dependency on foreign STI resources. This study also discussed the socio-economic progress toward an information society in ROK for the past decades. Finally, specific linkages between the selected five variables were examined on the basis of the proposed four hypotheses.

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