Many challenges lie ahead in the development of a global information society. Culture and democracy are two areas which may be under particular threat. The book reflects on today's complex and uncertain cultural and democratic developments arising as a result of an increasingly global, technologically-connected world. In particular it focuses on the Internet, examining new metaphors for communication, defining the issues at stake and proposing options, actions and solutions. Among the issues discussed were: multi-cultural developments; cultural sensitivities and the involvement of cultural minorities; generation gaps; gender issues; technology access for the elderly and the disabled; technology transfer.

This volume honors the professional life of Jacques Berleur. He is known for his extensive work within the IFIP community to expose the nature of the ethical dilemmas of a society increasingly reliant on complex ICT infrastructures, to raise awareness of the social challenges this poses, and to influence action compatible with the ethical values of western democracy.

This global encyclopedic work serves as a comprehensive collection of global scholarship regarding the vast fields of public administration, public policy, governance, and management. Written and edited by leading international scholars and practitioners, this exhaustive resource covers all areas of the above fields and their numerous subfields of study. In keeping with the multidisciplinary spirit of these fields and subfields, the entries make use of various theoretical, empirical, analytical, practical, and methodological bases of knowledge. Expanded and updated, the second edition includes over a thousand of new entries representing the most current research in public administration, public policy, governance, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, and management covering such important sub-areas as: 1. organization theory, behavior, change and development; 2. administrative theory and practice; 3. Bureaucracy; 4. public budgeting and financial management; 5. public economy and public management 6. public personnel administration and labor-management relations; 7. crisis and emergency management; 8. institutional theory and public administration; 9. law and regulations; 10. ethics and accountability; 11. public governance and private governance; 12. Nonprofit management and nongovernmental organizations; 13. Social, health, and environmental policy areas; 14. pandemic and crisis management; 15. administrative and governance reforms; 16. comparative public administration and governance; 17. globalization and international issues; 18. performance management; 19. geographical areas of the world with country-focused entries like Japan, China, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, North America; and 20. a lot more. Relevant to professionals, experts, scholars, general readers, researchers, policy makers and manger, and students worldwide, this work will serve as the most viable global reference source for those looking for an introduction and advance knowledge to the field.

The present book contains the proceedings of two conferences held at the World Computer Congress 2010 in Brisbane, Australia (September 20–23) organised by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). In the first part, the reader can find the proceedings of the 9th Human Choice and Computers International C- ference (HCC9) organised by the IFIP Technical Committee TC9 on the Relationship Between ICT and Society. The HCC9 part is subdivided into four tracks: Ethics and ICT Governance, Virtual Technologies and Social Shaping, Surveillance and Privacy, and ICT and Sustainable Development. The second part consists of papers given at the Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Conference (CIP) organized by the IFIP Technical Committee TC11 on Security and Privacy Protection in Information Processing Systems. The two parts of the book are introduced by the respective Conference Chairs. Chapter 1 introduces HCC9, providing a short summary of the HCC conference series, which started in 1974, and explaining the overview of HCC9, detailing the rationale behind each of the tracks in this conference. The details related to the papers of each track are discussed by the Track Chairs in the respective introductions to the specific tracks of HCC9 (Chaps. 2, 10, 16 and 22). Finally, Chap. 22 introduces the CIP part.

This book is compiled of selected proceedings from the "Landscapes" Conference held at Turku University, Finland, in July 2005. The themes chosen for the conference – philosophy, ethics and sociological aspects, culture and education; social aspects; politics and regulation; economics and work; technology and emerging technologies – represent many of the perspectives from which to view this landscape. The papers illustrate the diverse impacts of the information society and the changing paradigms within education, law, health care, the workplace and on future societal infrastructures through research initiatives and the development of new technologies. In this book, IFIP WG9.2 has attempted to capture the new ‘emerging landscape’ of the Information Society. A picture of profound technological and social change emerges from this holistic approach. It offers a key to understanding the ramifications of computer technologies within the information society, and of the social accountability of all those who work with and are affected by them.

Governments, the media, the information technology industry and scientists publicly argue that information and communication technologies (ICT) will bring about an inevitable transition from "industrial" to "information" or "knowledge-based" economies and societies. It is assumed that all aspects of our economic and social lives, in both the public and private spheres, will be radically different from what they are today. The World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva 2003 - Tunis 2005) shows the importance of a worldwide reflection on those topics. Perspectives and Policies on ICT in Society explores the ICT policies of different nations and regions such as Africa, China, Europe, and India. The authors assess the arguments surrounding the impending new age, as well as some of the more sensitive issues of its developments. This progress will signal an expansion of ICT in many domains - the so-called ubiquity - such as in the workplace, the home, government, and education and it will affect privacy and professional ethics. The expansion will also encompass all parts of the earth, particularly developing countries. Such growth must take place in the context of historical dimensions and should underscore the accountability of professionals in the field. The intent of this book is to address these issues and to serve as a handbook of IFIP's TC9 "Computers and Society" committee. Thirty authors from twelve countries consider the ICT policies with their associated perspectives and they explore what may be the information age and the digital society of tomorrow. The book provides reflection on today's complex society and addresses the uncertain developments rising from an increasingly global and technologically connected world. Jacques Berleur is at the University of Namur, Belgium, and Chrisanthi Avgerou at the London School of Economics, United Kingdom.