SOCIOCULTURAL INNOVATIONS AND DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGE

INNOVATION IN RU DEVELOPMENT IS NORMALLY ANALYZED IN TERMS OF THE DIFFUSION MODEL; THE SOCIAL LEARNING MODEL MAY BE MORE VALID, ESPECIALLY FOR SOCIOCULTURAL INNOVATIONS. IN THE SOCIAL LEARNING MODEL INFORMATION FLOW FROM USERS TO DESIGNERS IS A VITAL ELEMENT; THE BEST RESULTS OFTEN APPEAR WHEN THE DESIGNERS ARE THE USERS. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY SUGGESTS THAT THE KEY PROBLEM IS TO ORGANIZE RU PEOPLE INTO CHANGE-SEEKING GROUPS RATHER THAN TO TRAIN THEM IN NEW TECHNIQUES. A KEY ELEMENT IN THIS STRATEGY IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MONITORING RESULTS, AS OTHERWISE PEOPLE MAY MISTAKENLY SEE USELESS INNOVATIONS AS BENEFICIAL. 1 TABLE. MODIFIED HA.