Information more than a tradable commodity

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 314, 21 November 1989, Page 13

Information more than a tradable commodity

The "user-pays" principal being applied to universities is teaching young people to regard information as simply another tradable commodity rather than a priceless treasure, a Massey University professor says.

Agronomy department head John Hodgson, in his inaugural address, said a monetary value could not be placed on information which contributed to knowledge and to the solution of society's problems. The "user-pays" concept is in danger of interfering with the university's task of educating and opening up young minds, he said. "Information is really only of use when it's freely available for exchange and interaction. In this sense the "userpays" policy is doing a major disservice to New Zealand by progressively choking off free exchange, as information is accorded monetary as well as intellectual value. "We have not yet reached the stage where information is accorded the same protection as military secrets, but we are all aware of circum-

stances in which freedom of communication has been interfered with in the interests of supposed commercial gain." Strictly monetarist attitudes were also stifling potentially important training and consultancy initiatives in developing countries. "The accounting procedures used to define full-recovery fees may be impcccable, though there is still much room for argument about the appropriate basis for computing research and training costs," Professor Hodgson said. "But, it is questionable whether conventional accounting procedures give adequate weight to the imponderable advantages to the country of kinds of contacts and confidcnces established in training programmes. "Also, given the extent to which the New Zealand approach to pasture and livestock management can influence emerging pastoral systems in other countries, we need to examine our collective consciences about the opportunities denied to developing countries from the application of a blinkered approach to training policies." Professor Hodgson said he was pleased to hear there may now be some flexibility in the government attitude to charging fees to overseas postgraduate students.