The potential of advancing information and telecommunications technology to transform the workplace in higher education is examined. Demographic, social, and economic trends contributing to this trend and its advantages and disadvantages are also discussed. Suggestions are made for managing the transition to telework, including selection of…

Organizational flexibility is increasingly vital in business. The use of information technology allows people to work in whatever ways best enable them to contribute, through new patterns such as telecommuting. These new patterns require new approaches to personnel management. (JOW)

New communication and information technology is transforming the structure and law governing information markets and the economic, social, cultural, and political patterns of societies. This article discusses the effects of information technology (telecommuting, job growth in rural areas, distance education) and the role of the European Commission…

Discusses work done by information professionals and the increase in teleworking, using telecommunications technology; considers teleworkers' information needs; examines ways in which library and information science professionals can facilitate teleworkers' information access; and investigates information environments of 20 teleworkers and 20…

Examines prospects for rural areas within the Information Society, referring particularly to the European Union. Discusses effects of diminished distance from core markets, increased learning capacity through improved access to information, public policy emphasis on building infrastructure, disappointing outcomes for telecommunications initiatives…

This keynote address examines the social relations of information technology in the future. Examples of the recent history of technology related to transportation, printing, and nuclear energy are presented. Some troubling examples of the social relations of new information technologies that are emerging on a global scale are then discussed,…

It is estimated that by 2010 there will be 20 million full- and part-time telecommuters working in the United States. The purpose of this article is to assist employment counselors in their work with organizations in implementing e-worker programs as well as in their counseling of e-workers. The authors define e-worker, summarize the growth of…

Telework Centers are work locations used by firms to acommodate staff who live near the telework center location. A study examined the impact of using telework centers on communication, work groups/departments, performance, supervision, travel/environment, and type of work done in various locations. A case study approach was used to investigate 10…

A study combined results of a survey of employers in 18 European countries to establish the extent to which they are currently using eWork with European official statistics to develop models, estimates, and forecasts of the numbers of eWorkers in Europe. These four types of "individual" eWork were identified: telehomeworking;…

Includes five papers presented at the 1995 VTLS Inc. Fifth Annual Director's Conference in Roanoke (Virginia), entitled "Back to Basics: Rethinking Libraries." Topics include libraries' use of high technology, collection management and electronic publishing, public services and telecommuting clientele, what to expect of library school…

Objective: To lead a brief training session over a distance-learning network. Type of speech: Informative. Point value: 20% of course grade. Requirements: (a) References: Not specified; (b) Length: 15 minutes; (c) Visual aid: Yes; (d) Outline: No; (e) Prerequisite reading: Chapters 12-16, 18 (Bailey, 2002); (f) Additional requirements: None. This…

Rural communities have long experienced an outmigration of talented people to urban areas for better employment opportunities. The traditional rural economic model, especially prevalent in Appalachia and the rural South, involves outside capital promoting industrial development separated from community needs and culture. This, at worst, is…

This hearing on H.R. 5082, "The Telecommuting Act of 1992," focuses on how the developing telecommunications infrastructure can provide major benefits to the environment, employers, and the daily life of working people, who now have the ability to telecommute to their office from some alternative work site located nearer to their home.…

The need for lifelong learning is increasing as humanity transforms the planet into a global village. The growing number of people using the electronic infrastructure is creating new practices in which learning and work are intertwined. Professional educators must build the collective intelligence required for a knowledge-based society, and in…

Drawing on an ongoing project examining the literacies prevalent at an outsourcing site, this article explores the changing nature of workplace practices enabled by new information and communication technologies. It also examines the complex geopolitical dynamics of these practices, the discourses of development, and globalization. The author…