ABSTRACT
implement new technology-based information systems and when they try to assess the difference such systems make for the organisation and its people. In the chapter by Geoff Walsham issues of globalisation and cultural diversity are discussed, and the discussion in this chapter gives one example of the recent move away from the universals and rationalism that have dominated western philosophy for the past four centuries. In this chapter we take the view that information systems can only work effectively when they work in the mother tongue of the users of those systems, as well as taking into account other local cultural factors. We focus on support for the local languages, and the extent to which software systems in the South Asia region currently work in local languages, looking at the two contrasting countries of India and Nepal. While little will be said of the other countries that make up South Asia - Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan - it is expected that the conclusions arrived at here will also be largely applicable to those countries.
