Presents a literature review that covers the following topics related to virtual communities: (1) information and virtual community; (2) virtual communities and communities of practice; (3) virtual communities and virtual arenas, including virtual community networks; and (4) networked virtual communities. (Contains 175 references.) (MES)

Presents a history of library cooperation and technological advancement in North Carolina libraries from the Depression years to the early 1990s. Discusses early library cooperation and development of the North Carolina Information Network (NCIN). Describes the seven task forces on: Bibliographic Database, Document Delivery, Funding, Public…

An electronic requisition and purchase-order system helps Louisville's schools stay legal and efficient. Designated individuals in schools create requisitions electronically and route them to the purchasing department, which generates and sends out paper purchase orders after checking the requisitions for correctness and legality. (MLF)

Discusses Paul Otlet's idea of an international center for the storage and dissemination of information called "The Mundaneum." Highlights include the influence of positivism, centralism, and monumentalism on Otlet; the ideas of Georges Bataille; international coordination through a worldwide network; and the role of architectural…

National surveys of telehealth networks, 1994-99, examined program characteristics; clinical activities (telemedicine); nonclinical activities related to continuing medical education, paraprofessional training, health promotion, administration, and research; technology; and barriers to growth and sustainability. Despite growing utilization,…

Discusses the use of one-way video, two-way audio teleconferencing as a teaching medium. Describes the teleconference facilities of Tulsa Junior College, the College Satellite Network and National University Teleconference Network, and the roles played by various people and groups in teleconferencing. Considers the cognitive aspects of video…

IMPACT II programs encourage teachers to form networks to exchange their ideas with one another and with other teachers in the system. Teachers attend workshops, visit each other's classrooms, swap ideas, and generally keep in touch by newsletters and conventions. (SI)

Distance learning systems are networks that transmit interactive instruction from one central location to multiple geographically separate ones. Lists steps for selecting and implementing distance learning in a school district that are based on experience in implementing TI-IN United Star Network's Star Schools project. (MLF)

A video teleconference can be especially successful in helping adult learners assimilate and use complex information because it offers both an interactive element and the capacity for live demonstration. A teleconference in Wisconsin and Ohio which included 60 sites and 1,500 participants is described. (JD)

The most important results of computer networking experiments on campus may be increased use of technology, but the projects did not always take the directions anticipated. The projects also highlighted problems in social and educational systems that must be solved before computing can be comfortably integrated into higher education. (MSE)

Discusses information networking in Bangladesh and describes the formation of the Information Network on Rural Development (INRD) which was initiated by the Center on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP). Organization, membership, activities, participation, and finance are examined. (four references) (LRW)

Describes legal challenges and opposition to the Communications Decency Act (CDA) provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Groups opposing the CDA provisions argue that forbidding the distribution of explicit materials over the Internet is a form of government censorship. World Wide Web sites that contain Telecommunications Act…

This first in a series of articles on organizing electronic network-based instructional interactions describes and compares macro-organizational elements, strategies, and tactics of three popular electronic networks: the FrEdMail Network, the National Geographic Kids' Network, and the AT&T Learning Network. (Contains five references.) (LRW)

Recognizes a need for systematic standardized mechanisms to identify, locate, and describe Internet resources. Discusses the initiatives for organization of networked information resources, the development of subject search tools, and the need for global efforts to maintain a catalog and to review online information for currency. (JKP)

Discusses efforts to define and simplify working with copyright law. These efforts include the Fair Access and News Media Conference, the IALL Permissions Project and Copyright FAQ. Copyright is an evolving law, with definition arising from court cases, accepted practices, and untested interpretations based on expert opinions. (CK)