Discussion of legal and ethical issues raised by the growth of research networking focuses on two general areas: (1) communication, prepublication, and publication; and (2) the network as a distribution environment. Issues considered include joint authorship, rights in computer conferencing, derivative works, control of dissemination, site…

Surveys four possible types of multimedia computer systems: hypermedia, multimedia database, multimedia message, and virtual reality systems. The potential use of multimedia computer systems as public access systems in libraries is discussed, including fiscal, legal, organizational, standardization, and technological challenges that would have to…

Both a classification of the relatively new standards-setting consortia and a theoretical basis for their emergence are developed. It is noted that the theory is based on the confluence of political theory and the theory of markets, and the implications of these consortia for the standards-setting process are considered from theoretical and…

New policies are needed for the U.S. telecommunications industry. The continuation of current policies--which emphasize customer and convenience services to the near exclusion of developing domestically produced equipment and improving infrastructure--will constrain the domestic growth of U.S. corporations and make it difficult for smaller…

Examines the internationalism of the network marketplace through case studies of the London Stock Exchange and I. P. Sharp Associates, a Canadian computer service bureau. Discussion focuses on the importance of transnational computer networks to the production of information services and marketplace expansion, and global information policy issues.…

Discusses political implications of the restraints imposed by business groups and how they are affecting the depository library program, the National Research and Education Network, and the National Information Infrastructure. Highlights include pertinent legislation; the architecture of information networks; and possible future outcomes,…

Discussion of the impact of the use of information technology on democratic potential highlights the concept of the autopoietic state as a basis for determining appropriate communication policy principles in a network environment. Topics addressed include the relationship between information and power; systems theory; chaos theory; and the…

The rapidly developing and changing networking and telecommunications environment now being implemented in the United States and across the globe is explored. The creation of a flexible and inexpensive digital network allowing instantaneous access by any individual to information of any type is now within our grasp. A primer on the technology…

Discussion of computer-mediated communication (CMC) describes the SIPP (Survey of Income and Program Participation) ACCESS project, which provides access to statistical data through electronic networks; summarizes research on use of CMC by scientists; profiles communication by social scientists in the SIPP ACCESS network; and offers policy…

Examines the history and present state of federal initiatives in electronic networking, particularly the National Information Infrastructure and National Research and Education Network; discusses electronic publishing; and considers implications for national policy. Topics addressed include commercialization; community networking; end-user…

This paper is intended to provide interested librarians with a basic knowledge of research networks (as opposed to library networks), focusing specifically on the manner in which they can be used by the international library community to support library functions and improve access to bibliographic information, as well as the technical and policy…

Discusses European Community policy relating to information technology and the information industry. Topics addressed include the information services industry; transborder information flow, including electronic mail, data owner responsibility, and software piracy; digital data networks; electronic data interchange; telecommunications; information…

An explosion of information has created a crisis for today's information age. How to use the best information resources, tools, and technology must be determined. To do this, leadership must exist at the interagency level to promote a coherent information policy. It is also important to find ways to educate users of information regarding the tools…

This book provides an overview and status report on the progress made in developing the National Research and Education Network (NREN) as of early 1991. It reports on a number of investigations that provide a research and policy perspective on the NREN and computer-mediated communication (CMC), and brings together key source documents that have…

Proposals for shaping the National Information Infrastructure (NII) lack sufficient provision for supporting locally controlled information delivery systems, which could serve all the people, regardless of class or community environment. A system of federally sponsored National and Regional Institutes for Information Democracy could help meet this…