A recent international conference of Internet users highlighted the empowerment the computerized information network promises to countries around the world and some of the difficulties faced in promoting access, particularly in developing countries and former members of the Soviet Union. (MSE)

Discusses the likelihood that companies will use online services as an advertising medium. Topics addressed include the art of interactive marketing; advertising in the digital age; early experiments with interactive marketing, including the use of videotex and videodisc; and recent trends that set the stage for interactive marketing to personal…

Because of the schedules, preferences, and varied information needs of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (Texas), a system of computer and telecommunications technologies was developed to facilitate research and project planning. The system integrates cellular phones, voice mail, facsimile publishing, distributed document delivery, and…

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…

Discusses networked information resources used by reference librarians in research libraries. Highlights include the NREN (National Research and Education Network); the Internet; network architecture; the national information infrastructure; the effect of electronic information on reference desk transactions; the changing nature of research; the…

Argues that much work needs to be done to assess the impacts of global networking on academic institutional performance. How the academic networked environment can be defined, possible assessment criteria, the need for a user perspective, and specific research needs are discussed. (Contains 11 references.) (KRN)

Discusses prototype information infrastructure projects in northern California's Silicon Valley. The strategies of the public and private telecommunications carriers vying for backbone services and industries developing end-user infrastructure technologies via office networks, set-top box networks, Internet multimedia, and "smart homes"…

Describes the status of educational telecommunications networks operated and funded by state government agencies to support K-12 programs. Summaries of a 1993 survey and other recent studies are presented together with recommendations for network infrastructure, instruction, transport, funding, and evaluation development. (Contains 12 references.)…

Discussion of telecommunications and distance education focuses on a graduate level course, primarily online, that was designed to help educators become familiar with Internet resources. Topics addressed include computer-mediated communication (CMC); writing and CMC; cooperative learning and participant roles; challenges of online interactions;…

Discusses social implications of the changes in publishing that have resulted from advances in computer and network technologies. Topics addressed include the shifting publishing model; an information matrix; publishing in print and electronic formats; behavioral factors; multimedia; and future possibilities, including the need for information to…

Describes a study that investigated the activities of engineering students working on a collaborative design project in a distributed multimedia environment. Topics discussed include learning as a social process; face-to-face and video communication; problem-solving techniques; use of interactive media; the construction of knowledge; and group…

Suggests resources for school library media programs to help plan for and implement technology. Examples from other schools and districts are recommended that are available via the Internet. (LRW)

An evaluation was made of the use of a computer network in an undergraduate physics course at the University of Liverpool (England). Computer use by 54 students was assessed via path analysis techniques. Students' backgrounds are extremely important in connection with their use and perceived usefulness of computer networks. (SLD)

Describes microcomputer-based networks which have been implemented at Vanderbilt University's library to support technical services workstations that use NOTIS, catalog with OCLC, and transfer OCLC records to the NOTIS database using GTO (Generic Transfer and Overlay). It is noted that the network configurations can serve as models for other…

Described are some of the ways in which computers can enter invisibly into people's lives. The social issues that embodied virtuality will engender are discussed. The hardware and software, connected by wires, radio waves, and infrared that will allow this to occur are described. (KR)