Rural communities face a dilemma in their efforts to keep pace with knowledge developments. Their remoteness makes access to knowledge of the outside world difficult, time-consuming, and costly. At the same time, the fact that there is access of a sort can mean that local knowledge becomes lost or discarded as somehow inferior. The pervasiveness…

Information for development has become one of the most pressing issues of the last decade, which Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have to tackle on an urgent basis. The need and urgency for planning national information systems has been clearly pointed out in several international conferences. Major research and development centers of…

This document presents the proceedings from the 5th International European University Information Systems (EUNIS) Conference on Information Technology that took place in Helsinki, Finland on June 7-9, 1999. Topics of the conference proceedings were divided into five tracks (A through E): Use of Information Technology in Learning and Teaching;…

The role of professional and local-personal networks as a source of knowledge development in the new knowledge-based economy was examined in a 15-month study that focuses on people working in the multimedia industry in Montreal, Quebec. The study focused on the modes of exchange and learning, collaborative work, and management and development of…

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) offer opportunities for renewed development for many rural and remote areas that have long experienced economic decline and outmigration. But there is a risk of a territorial digital divide between urban and rural areas. Investments in telecommunications infrastructure and services tend to be…

This paper presents a review of the Virtual Factory Teaching (VFTS) project, a Web-based, multimedia collaborative learning network. The system allows students, working alone or in teams, to build factories, forecast demand for products, plan production, establish release rules for new work into the factory, and set scheduling rules for…

Describes techniques developed for providing continuing education to individuals solving medical reference requests over a telephone teleconference network linking library personnel in nonurban public libraries, systems libraries, and small hospital libraries. Background, project aims, and teleconferencing techniques, including their advantages,…

Considers the impact of Remote Electronic Access and Delivery of Information (READI) upon library services, discusses the uses of online public access information systems in a library setting, describes videotex systems currently in use, and outlines possibilities for the creation of local databases, automatic borrowing of books, and other…

Demonstrates how to develop, implement, and manage an institutional Web site, based on a project administered by the Ottawa General Hospital (OGH) library staff. Emphasizes that planning and organization are the most important skills needed to develop a Web site. A table outlines the OGH Web Site Work Plan. (AEF)

Emergence of global communications networks raises questions about the nature of pluralism, community, delivery of education, construction of knowledge, and role of comparative educators in a postindustrial world. Ownership, access, and definition and distribution of knowledge will become major policy issues. Networking experiences in telemedicine…

Describes the aims of an evolving teaching resources database, TeleTeach, which is part of a computer-based teacher support network called TeleNex. The article discusses how TeleTeach's unique features may contribute toward building an electronic community of reflective teachers, suggesting that teaching materials are potentially complementary to…

Software programs and Internet and World Wide Web addresses that are available to facilitate data sharing by colleges and universities are listed. Included are government sites, institutional research offices and services, and information on emerging technologies that offer promise in this area. (Author/MSE)

The Pennsylvania State University Libraries and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) collaborated to bring the entire NTIS bibliographic database online on the University-wide information system and make it available for searching at all 21 Pennsylvania State campuses. This article also reviews the level of database and technical…

Discusses the use of shared information networks within organizations to decrease information hoarding and maximize operating efficiencies. Network development issues discussed include choosing the department responsible for development, selecting information to be included in the network, designing the information format, distribution strategies,…

Describes a project that aims at providing information retrieval services in which the user, connected to a network node, will be able to access databases in host information centers without the need to re-establish connections when changing databases. The current status of the project and planned network services are discussed. (eight references)…