98 Book Reviews 
eight sections of the book. One finds solace in that the editors were aware of 
this and have tried to overcome it, in some sections, by cross referencing topics 
covering the same points. 
In summary therefore Parts I, II and III should be consulted by all 
concerned with development work. For practitioners involved in specific 
issues consultation should be made of the other parts dealing with their area of 
concern. These parts are concerned with social and economic development, 
health, agriculture and disasters. Here one finds very interesting detailed 
treatment of specific programmes with examples experienced in the field. For 
example, on energy sources and use mention is made of strides made in India 
and China in biomass production, etc. 
I recommend this book as a must for all development workers in the Third 
World: for Zimbabwean workers Oxfam's experience in the handbook will be 
invaluable given the developmental problems the country is currently facing. I 
see this book going a long way in assisting development workers in the Third 
World. It could also be used in schools that are teaching development as a 
subject. 
Reviewed by Luke K. Jonga, Norwegian People's Aid, Harare, Zimbabwe. 
About Understanding - ideas and observations on cross-cultural 
communication, Andreas Fugelsang, Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, 
Uppsala, Sweden, 1982, 231 pgs, US$12,00. 
A major aim of this interesting book is to increase our understanding of crosscultural 
communication, and especially its relations to language and media 
technology. Fugelsang introduces the task by contrasting modern western 
logical thought with third world thinking patterns. He abhors the notion that 
those who use traditional modes of thought are "illiterate, irrational and 
prelogical", proposing that such misconceptions are due to an ethnocentric 
language trap. In other words, when western scientists analyse the so-called 
'tribal cultures', they do so through culturally biased eyes, obviating 
perception of wholeness, unity and order. Fugelsang's main argument here is a 
restatement of the Whorf-Sapir principle of linguistic relativity that perception 
of reality is a function of the language used, which differs from culture to 
culture. If cross-cultural communication is to occur, mutual understanding is 
necessary. Unless observers have a similar linguistic background, perceptions 
of reality will differ.
Book Reviews 99 
Psychologists have examined this proposition extensively. They conclude 
that there is little to justify the claim that language differences determine or 
restrict thought in the direct way that Whorf claimed (Dodd and White, 1980: 
291). Nevertheless, there seems substance in Fugelsang's propositions, 
provided we extend 'language' to incorporate other communication modes, 
including media, gestures and signs - as indeed did the linguistic philosopher 
Wittgenstein - together with the attitudes, beliefs and judgements that colour 
all forms of communication. 
Fugelsang admits these qualifications in his discussion of the need to 
'demystify our words', his argument devolves on a set of Western 'myths', 
including 'the logical universe', 'the world of pure reason', 'the essential 
goodness of modern technology', 'the validity of the consumer society as a 
model for national development,' 'the beauty of the educated mind' and 'the 
poverty of illiteracy'. All this is fair enough, as is his assertion that third world 
social practitioners should become aware of their unwitting acceptance of 
these myths, so that their efforts towards social transformation might become 
more meaningful. 
Reasonable too is his claim that we do not fully understand the ongoing 
process of social transformation, nor do we know how to process the 
information that is involved. But here we come to a case of the 'byter bit'. In 
his ensueing discussion of information theory entitled "The Opposite of 
Uncertainty", Fugelsang is paradoxically forced into the tricky terrain of 
abstract logic, with the result that some sections may not be easily understood 
by the readers to whom the book is addressed. Be this as it may, the gist of this 
chapter is that social transformation is best approached through programmation. 
The word 'programme' is used to refer to the planning of a series of 
actions in a certain order which, in fact, serves to forecast future -events in 
reality. Fugelsang maintains that everyone uses programmes, giving as 
examples: the Bemba farmer, whose programme for agriculture is shaped by 
tradition and personal experience to provide the biggest yield; the Copenhagen 
delicatessen owner, whose recorded accounts ensure higher efficiency and 
greater profits; the Tollai wild pig trapper in New Guinea, who knows how and 
where to set his traps for maximal entrapment; and the NASA space exploration 
programme, whereby information about the solar system is revealed 
(interestingly he does not add the capitalistic spinoff which also accrues). In 
each example, Fugelsang claims, information is processed in the same way, by 
describing sequences of action in reality aimed at reducing uncertainty. The 
important consideration here, he argues, is that such programmes are recorded 
in different languages which can lead to cross-cultural communication
100 Book Reviews 
problems, the subject of his next chapter. Before considering this I should note 
my reservations regarding Fugelsang's assertions about programmedetermined 
actions. 
Literary speaking, a programme means 'something written before'. In 
Fugelsang's usage this is obviously not the case, since neither the Bemba nor 
the Tollai use writing. Admittedly, the advent of modern computerisation 
broadened the meaning of 'programme', so that now perhaps it is legitimate to 
use it to describe any action-plan, whether formulated or not. Nevertheless it 
seems relevant to refer to a distinction drawn by the reviewer some 20 years 
ago between the action systems of traditional and modern societies (Mundy- 
Castle, 1968;seealso 1984). The crux ofthat argument is that programmation 
characterises modern societies and serves to delimit freedom of action, since it 
creates the illusion of a future that is already 'there'. 
Such delusory certainty guides programme-determined man into the easy 
life of pre-ordained security, provided the programme fits life's exigencies and 
denies him his capacity for spontaneous, ad hoc determination of behaviour. 
The latter characterises traditional societies, whose 'programmes' (to use 
Fugelsang's term) are not explicitly formulated and in consequence are far 
more adaptable and versatile than those that are written. 
In his examination of the problems of language and cross-cultural 
communication, Fugelsang focuses on cultural differences between third and 
modern worlds in fundamental concepts like space, time, measurement, 
objectivity, subjectivity, the spirit world and cosmology. He makes the 
important point that culture is the language in which people structure their 
experience so that they may share knowledge with each other. He recognises 
the need for further classification of conceptual differences that arise between 
oral and written language users, and launches in to a fascinating historical 
account of the history of writing. To this he adds a section questioning the 
cross-cultural validity of Piagetian conservation procedures for cognitive 
development assessment, stating that Piaget's theory may not be applicable 
in Africa. 
Important here is that assessment of conservation acquisition depends on 
meaningful testing, which requires the grasping of children's intentions. 
Conventional Piagetian procedures often fail in this condition, so that 
conservation is not elicited, whereas if intentions are grasped, conservation is 
observed. The problem for the cross-cultural psychologist is to break the 
meaning barrier, and this requires study of nonwestern communication 
modes.
Book Reviews 101 
Fugelsang considers this problem in his chapter on words and concepts, in 
which he argues that traditional thought is not fundamentally different from 
modern scientific thought. This proposition is not new (e.g. Horton, 1967; Gay 
and Cole, 1967). The important question raised concerns the influence of 
writing on cognition and communication, and the work of Levi-Strauss (1966) 
and Goody (1971) suggests it has a powerful effect. As Goody observes, 
literacy encourages special forms of linguistic activity associated with special 
kinds of problem raising and solution, in which lists, formulae and tables play a 
prominent part. Fugelsang makes no reference to these works, yet they are 
relevant to his thesis. 
Chapter 7 is concerned with the logic of spirits, a theme on which the 
reviewer has also written (Mundy-Castle, 1984). I am not quite sure that I 
agree with Fugelsang's conclusions that memory pictures and eidetic imagery 
are sufficient explanation for the 'existence' of spirits, and that seeing a spirit 
is the same as seeing a mental image. Nor am I happy with his denigration of 
the idea that magic is irrational. Perhaps I am the victim of a language trap, but 
I still have a great respect for irrationality, and, for that matter, magic and 
witchcraft. When Fugelsang argues that magic is simply a rational attempt by 
people to control their reality, I am tempted to conclude it is he who is caught in 
a logic trap. 
In the remaining chapters, Fugelsang develops his ideas on cultural life in 
traditional villages, notably in Papua New Guinea and various parts of Africa. 
As with the rest of the book, these make interesting and provocative reading, 
and the whole work is profusely illustrated, with well-chosen photographs, 
pictures, tables and diagrams. There is a useful chapter on visual perception 
and its relation to pictorial and other forms of visual communication, and an 
excellent chapter on the promise and problems of community health in the 
village. 
I hope that this review conveys my admiration for this excellent book. It is a 
must for anyone engaged in cross-cultural education, primary health care and 
nutrition, and would make useful reading for most psychologists, sociologists 
and social workers, especially those engaged in Third World endeavours. 
Reviewed by Alastair Mundy-Castle, University of Zimbabwe, Harare. 
References 
Dodd D H and White R M (1980) Cognition: Mental Structures and Processes, Allyn 
and Bacon, Boston.
102 Book Reviews 
Gay J and Cole M (1967) A Study of Learning among the Kpelle of Liberia, The New 
Mathematics and an Old Culture, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York. 
Goody J (1971) The Domestication of the Savage Mind, Cambridge University Press. 
Horton R (1967) "Philosophy and African Studies", in D Brokensha and M Crowder (eds), 
Africa in the Wider World, Pergamon, Oxford. 
Levi-Strauss S (1966) The Savage Mind, Chicago University Press. 
Mundy-Castle A C (1968) "The Development of Nations: some psychological considerations" 
in Journal of Social Issues, 24, 45 - 54. 
Mundy-Castle AC (1984) "Are Western concepts valid in Africa. A Nigerian Review", in S H 
Irvine and J Berry (eds), Human assessment and Cultural factors, Plenum, New York. 
Mundy-Castle A C (1985) "Human Behaviour and National Development: Conceptual and 
Theoretical Perceptives", in Olowu A A (ed) Human Behaviour and the Challenges of 
National Development in Nigeria, Ife, University Press. 
Measurement and Analysis of Socio-Economic Development, Donald 
McGranahan, Eduardo Pizarro and Claude Richard, UNRISD, Geneva, 1985, 
no price stated. 
Social Indicators for Human Development, Ian Miles, Pinter, London, 
1985 £18.50. 
The two books for review present very different UN perspectives from which to 
tackle the important question of how to understand and conceptualise 
development. McGranaham's book is a very technical work published by the 
UN Research Institute for Social Development, precisely subtitled "An 
enquiry into international indicators of development and quantitative interrelations 
of social and economic components of development". Miles' book, 
though physically much smaller, has a much wider interest, for the author 
seeks to elaborate on how social indicators "can be used in attempts to assess 
and improve the human condition" (p. 1), and is a report presented to the UN 
University under the auspices of its Goals, Process and Indicators of 
Development (GPID) Project (see Journal, Vol 1, No 1, article by Valashakis 
and Martin). 
McGranahan's book is not easy reading. Some 171 pages of figures, and 
graphs are consigned to annexes, while the text itself presents arguments for 
combining a number of quantitative cross-national statistics to form indicators 
for relative development. Correlation and regression, as commonly understood, 
are rejected as methods of statistical analysis in favour of what is called 
a 'correspondence system of anaylsis', a form of regression analysis that does 
not choose between dependent and independent variables. Some 19 key 
indicators are selected (e.g. expectation of life at birth, per cent adult male 
labour in agriculture, per capita energy and steel consumption, combined 
primary and secondary school enrolment) and charted on a 'development