Leading experts from academia, government, and industry present information, ideas, programs and initiatives that accelerate the creation of smart cities, fast systems, and global networks.

Over the past few decades, Austin, Texas, has made a concerted effort to develop into a “technopolis,” becoming home to companies such as Dell and numerous start-ups in the 1990s. It has been a model for other cities across the nation that wish to become high-tech centers while still retaining the livability to attract residents. Nevertheless, this expansion and boom left poorer residents behind, many of them African American or Latino, despite local and federal efforts to increase lower-income and minority access to technology. This book was born of a ten-year longitudinal study of the digital divide in Austin—a study that gradually evolved into a broader inquiry into Austin’s history as a segregated city, its turn toward becoming a technopolis, what the city and various groups did to address the digital divide, and how the most disadvantaged groups and individuals were affected by those programs. The editors examine the impact of national and statewide digital inclusion programs created in the 1990s, as well as what happened when those programs were gradually cut back by conservative administrations after 2000. They also examine how the city of Austin persisted in its own efforts for digital inclusion by working with its public libraries and a number of local nonprofits, and the positive impact those programs had.

The end of this century has witnessed dramatic changes in morality, history and geography. These changes were felt throughout the world, and also across the entire gamut of professional concerns. Even relatively remote and seemingly insulated activities such as science and technology have experienced, and up to a point contributed to, these dramatic changes. This volume presents a series of views on the effect of these changes on science and technology, and more specifically, on the international diffusion of new technologies. These views come from a variety of fields, among them history and sociology of science, political science, information sciences, marketing. Yet, most authors share an interest in science policy studies which permeates this collection. It would be fair to say that this volume belongs to the intellectual domain known as STS, i. e. studies in Science, Technology and Society. The authors come from nine countries, and their contributions are expected to reflect this diversity. It is well known that the dominant lingua franca in the end of the 20th century is Broken English, with the possible exception of a minority of native English speakers some of whom fail to learn this new language. An attempt was therefore made throughout this volume to conform to a certain standard of English usage and, at the same time, to preserve the local flavour of expression, and the stylistic and cultural dimensions of each chapter.

This volume contains the proceedings of the international conference "Complexity and Industrial Clusters: Dynamics and Models in Theory and Practice", organized by Fondazione Comunita e Innovazione and held in Milan on June 19 and 20, 2001 under the aegis of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (founded in Rome in 1604), one of the oldest and most famous national academies of science in the world. Fondazione Comunita e Innovazione encourages research and the dissemination of knowledge about social, economic, cultural and civil issues. It promotes research and innovation related to local production systems and industrial districts, with special reference to: the interactions between large companies and SMEs (small and medium-size enterprises), the effects of industrial districts on the development and welfare of their communities and of neighbouring areas, the effects of globalisation on these local systems of productions. Fondazione Comunita e Innovazione was created in Milan in 1999. It supports studies, publications, and events, both on its own and in cooperation with corporations, research institutes, foundations, associations and universities. It also grants scientific sponsorship to research that is in line with its mission, as set forth in its by-laws. The founding member of the Fondazione is Edison (formerly Monted:son). The other subscribing members, in historical order, are: Ausimont, Tecnimont, Eridania, Accenture, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Digital technologies are influencing the way we learn, live, work, and exist in different contexts of society in the digital age. There are a variety of learning systems that support innovative digital approaches, and universities and organizations around the world are investing in building their own e-learning platforms. Digital technologies are enabling wider access to education and new markets for student recruitment, resulting in increased income prospects for global higher education institutions. Technology enables numerous data and information sources, which give greater access to information and data. It also enables highly virtual environments, which impact teaching and the classroom. The widespread use and application of digital technologies in the teaching and learning process provoke pedagogical inquiry and mediation. It is in this context that Technologies for Sustainable Global Higher Education focuses on analyzing the application of digital technologies in the teaching–learning process. The chapters in this edited collection seek to answer questions relevant to the context of higher education, such as: What is the concept of digital technologies? How is digital technology used to mediate the learning process? What technologies are used to qualify education in higher education? This book provides answers to these questions by focusing on issues central to improving education through digital technologies, digital learning, and pedagogical practices in digital education. It also provides case studies of higher education institutions.

First published in 1997, this volume originates from the fourth cycle of GREMI (Groupe de Recherche Européen sur les Milieux Innovateurs) research, focusing on territorial innovative processes and the competitive advantages of the complex socio-economic fabric of milieu innovateurs. The book is divided into three parts. The first, written by the editors, deals specifically with the multi-faced dimensions of local development, placing particular emphasis on the role of territory in producing/reproducing learning processes, tacit/codified knowledge storage and government structures. The second part reports different case studies and their theoretical systematisation, carried out with the same methodology by some ten équipes working in ten different European countries. The last part is devoted to a more general view on the structural adjustment dynamics of innovative milieu, raising useful questions of strategy and policy.

The first English-language work on Korea's unique experiences with telecommunications, this book focuses on Korea's distinct political, economic, legal, socio-cultural and personal dimensions. It includes chapters on the relationship between political liberalization and telecommunications, education and public promotion of the information society, together with the role of new technologies in the reunification of Korea.