Since the U.S. Department of Defense initiated the development of networked computers in 1969, Internet technologies have rapidly advanced and revolutionized the way we communicate and conduct business. The second wave of the technological revolution came with intranet technology in the mid-1990s. With the intranet, organizations have strengthened the powers and speed of data gathering and sharing, communication, collaboration, and decision making within a firewall-protected organizational boundary. The third wave of this technological evolution, extranets, began in the second half of the 1990s. Many believe that it is the key technology enabler that is triggering a revolution in the structure and operations of many organizations in the new Internet-driven global economy. In addition to maturing Internet technologies, several technology drivers, as well as business drivers, further pushed the emergence of new types of organizations--virtual corporations, virtual organizations, extended enterprises, and trans-enterprise systems.

Critical appraisal of architectural design and management in the digital age through international perspectives Architectural Design and Management in the Digital Age delivers an evaluation of digitalisation in the evolving processes of architecture, providing a holistic treatment of the subject in terms of technologies, human context, emerging concepts, and the management of digital projects. This book includes analysis of: the advantages of digital technology in appropriate circumstances, but also to appreciate that alternative methods may continue to provide considerable benefits for other situations. the implications of the digital world for creativity and architectural quality, the diversity of people who could be involved, and reaching the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. the role of the architect and other professionals within design and management processes. how emphasis on data management is creating diverging practices, which involve new concepts and definitions that require interpretation, especially with regard to experiences of design processes in different countries. Providing fresh reflections on a myriad of timely topics, Architectural Design and Management in the Digital Age: international perspectives is an essential resource for researchers, academics, and advanced students in architecture, design management, and construction, along with professionals in those disciplines.

The guide is aimed primarily at urban planners, but older citizens can use it to monitor progress towards more age-friendly cities. At its heart is a checklist of age-friendly features. For example, an age-friendly city has sufficient public benches that are well-situated, well-maintained and safe, as well as sufficient public toilets that are clean, secure, accessible by people with disabilities and well-indicated. Other key features of an age-friendly city include: well-maintained and well-lit sidewalks; public buildings that are fully accessible to people with disabilities; city bus drivers who wait until older people are seated before starting off and priority seating on buses; enough reserved parking spots for people with disabilities; housing integrated in the community that accommodates changing needs and abilities as people grow older; friendly, personalized service and information instead of automated answering services; easy-to-read written information in plain language; public and commercial services and stores in neighbourhoods close to where people live, rather than concentrated outside the city; and a civic culture that respects and includes older persons.

Within the book Social Responsibility in the Information Age: Issues and Controversies, the term "society" refers to the world at large, nations, cultures within nations, and interaction among peoples. It examines who is affected, why, how, and where, and what impact those changes have on society. This exciting title will address the changes information resource management, information technology and information systems have made upon society as a whole.