As the international community moves inexorably towards a "smart" future, the position of Australia's non-urban areas in that future is less certain. The (re-elected) Australian federal government made a commitment to moving Australian cities forward as part of the international "smart city" movement. However, the effectiveness…

For many years, debates over telecommunications network policy were marked by a relative lack of partisan and ideological conflict. In the last decade, this has changed markedly. Today, debates over a whole set of issues, including broadband competition, net neutrality, copyright, privacy, and others, have become more contentious. These…

This paper provides guidance on the issue of universal Web accessibility for individuals with physical challenges, who need accommodations to fully participate in the electronic world. Four categories of information facilitate understanding the complexity of the issues. These categories are: U.S. legal mandates; international accessibility policy…

This paper contains the transcript of the speech of United States Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley delivered at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C. on July 29, 1998. The focus of the speech was the promise and possibilities of technology in education. Discussion includes the following: the "digital divide" in technology use…

A two-phase study examined the skills required of competent end-users of computers in the workplace and assessed the computing awareness and technological environment of first-year students entering historically disadvantaged technikons in South Africa. First, a DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) panel of nine representatives of local business and…