Abstract:

Governments - new and almost new - are confronted with the immediate need of knowing what policies are acceptable to whom and under what terms. This need is not always recognized. Yet a recent statement by a Cabinet Minister in one country that communications can no longer remain a one-way street points up a growing acceptance that policy and planning must meet some degree of acceptance. Business- particularly commercial interests seeking new markets or capital interested but wary of investments in unknown areas - need studies ranging from the simplest of consumer shelf counts to a more sophisticated analysis of Government attitudes towards foreign business. The mass media lack the most fundamental readership or listenership statistics. Television, with unlimited appeal to populations tragically short of recreation facilities and eager for news, can scarcely expand further with safety, without the guide-lines which public opinion surveys can supply. Turning the coin to its other side, the area offers to those who would practise research there new opportunities to wrestle with some very difficult and sophisticated professional and social problems. It even offers an opportunity to make a living if the support discussed later in this paper is forthcoming.