Trans-European networks (TENs) are a key theme in the process of integration for the EU as it enters the next millennium. The attainment of these networks stretches across many different areas of European policy and economy. The development of TENs is about establishing a series of infrastructure networks that complement the broad changes in the European economy facilitated by the development of the Single European Market. The book examines the development of TENs in the three key sectors: transport, energy and telecommunications, noting key themes and issues that need to be faced in their attainment. Attention is also paid to common problems in their realisation most notably the financing problems. The EU's strategy to develop these networks is essentially market-led yet, as the financing issues indicate, a consensus between the states in allowing commercial investment in infrastructure is proving elusive.

This book provides an overview of the current state of discussion from different perspectives. It starts with the European view. Representatives of the CEC present the political strategies and objectives of the IV Framework Programme regarding education and training supported by technology and telematics. International experts join the discussion, specifying political, cultural, sociological, psychological and market factors which determine the success of the implementation of new learning environments. How should learning systems be developed and evaluated: this question is tackled in the following section. Specific project desciptions show how the involvement of different user groups has been achieved: home learners, small and medium-sized enterprises, large companies, secondary and tertiary education. The perspective then shifts to the different components of learning systems: the management of virtual space, the economical production of learning material, the use of simulation... A more technology-oriented section discussing questions of different technologies and standards concludes the publication.

Examining the nature of telecommunication networks and the rationale for the developement of trans-European networks, the study explores the features networks need to exhibit if they are to complement the broad themes of Europe's industrial policy, and demonstrates the economic importance of advanced telecommunications to business. The final chapters of the volume offer an analysis of the technology associated with the three chosen priorities of the EU in the development of advanced telecommunication infrastructure: * the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) * the development of telematic networks * the development of broadband networks.

Through an integrative framework developed by the authors and drawn from international political economy and corporate strategy literature, this book examines the interface between public policy and corporate strategy in network development within the context of the European Union's trans-European network (TENs) initiative.

This book contains contributions about the past, present and future of e-learning in twelve European countries. The papers are written by experts about their respective countries, together with one paper that deals with the subject from a transnational perspective. The main question treated and answered in this book is how digital media has contributed to Higher Education Development in different national contexts. Beyond a mere description of the situation in different countries, the socio-technical approach adopted in this book also offers the opportunity to make comparisons and thus fosters understanding between experts from different disciplines and cultures. This book takes stock of a decade of digital media in Higher Education in Europe by presenting a first comparative approach and encouraging discussion by adopting a relativist rather than a generalist approach. Readers are thus stimulated to envisage how e-learning might have developed in their own work and learning context and to shape how it may do so.