ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows that much of the initial application of the microcomputer was in automating a process already familiar and being done by other means. It presents an insightful appraisal of the Egyptian National Health Information System. The book deals with energy planning, illustrating with examples that the microcomputer changes not only how analysis is carried out, but what analyses are performed, and the same point observed in the MinAg project in Tunisia. It suggests that “microcomputers are used extensively to teach energy planning and analysis techniques in the Energy Management Training Program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.” The book analyzes the enormous impact which the microcomputer has had in several government ministries in Kenya. It describes some of the problems which faced Kenyan officials, and how the microcomputer helped to overcome these problems.
