THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON SOCIETY 10The crucial role of information and communication technologies in stimulating development is twofold. On the one hand, it allows countries to leapfrog stages of economic growth by being able to modernize their production systems and increase their competitiveness faster than in the past. Secondly for those economies that are unable to adapt to the new technological system, their retardation becomes cumulative. The globalization of the economy & the pressure of international competition are dissolving boundaries between nations, institutions & discipline, creating a distributed knowledge production system that is becoming increasingly global