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.

Through the years, the principal message of the a ~Human Choice and Computersa (TM) (HCC) tradition and its associated conferences has been: there are choices and alternatives. The special theme of HCC7 is Social Informatics, which includes in itself a promise of a less technically biased approach to informatics, whilst An Information Society for All adds the ethical aspects to it. When developing the infrastructure and applications in an information society, we should strive to afford people equal opportunities to information technologies.

Professor Rob Kling introduced the name Social informatics in its widely known Computers and Controversy. He was director of the Center for Social Informatics at Indiana University, Bloomington. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2003 at age 58, leaving a rich heritage in the field. This HCC7 conference honours his work and memory, and it develops further the cultivation of Klinga (TM)s legacy.

In this volume, Social Informatics takes in two directions. The first part supports the readers in creating their interpretation of the meaning of Social Informatics. The second, more extensive, part develops an overview of various applications of Social Informatics. Researchers inspired by Social Informatics touch unbelievably many areas of human and social life.

Ethics, culture, politics, and law are a few areas within the realm of Social Informatics. The conceptualisations of information societies and ICT policies expand the domain towards economic, organizational, and technical issues. Additionally, this volume further develops the successful applications that require valid concepts and methods. These aspects demonstrate the power of Rob Klinga(TM)s legacy. Scientific knowledge is the most durable form of that heritage because it does not decrease when used; on the contrary, diligent applications bear multiple fruits to continue that legacy.

Thank you, Rob!

Jacques Berleur is at the University of Namur, Belgium.

Markku I. Nurminen is at the University of Turku, Finland.

John Impagliazzo is at Hofstra University, USA.

The developments of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are not always continuous but may be influenced and shaped by unforeseen events and are therefore difficult to predict and control. This applies especially to the impacts of September 11 (2001) events on how ICT is used in economic and public applications. But even under pressures of terrorist actions, it is essential that Human Choice dominate how Information and Communication Technologies are shaped, applied and used.
Human Choice and Computers: Issues of Choice and Quality of Life in the Information Society presents different views about how terrorist actions are influencing political and social discussions and decisions, and it covers questions related to legitimacy and power in the Information Society. Ethical principles are important guidelines for responsible behavior of IT professionals. But even under strong external pressure, long ranging aspects such as education and the roles of developing countries in the Information Society are important to discuss, especially to enable all to actively participate in information processes.
The topics covered in this book include:

-Quality of Life and Quality of Working Life;
-Ethics and Social Accountability in the Information Society;
-Responsibility of IT Professionals;
-Legitimacy, Legality and Power in the Information Society;
-Roles of Developing Countries in the Information Society;
-Education and Social Impact;
-History of Computing;
-New Horizons of the Information Society;
-UNESCO Panels: "Information for All" and "Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace." This volume contains the edited proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Human Choice and Computers (HCC-6), which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and held in conjunction with the 17th IFIP World Computer Congress in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in August 2002. As with the five preceding conferences, starting with HCC-1 in 1974, IFIP's Technical Committee 9 has continued to set the agenda for human choices and human actions vis-a-vis computers."

Human Choice and Computers: Issues of Choice and Quality of Life in the Information Society presents different views about how terrorist actions are influencing political and social discussions and decisions, and it covers questions related to legitimacy and power in the Information Society. Ethical principles are important guidelines for responsible behavior of IT professionals. But even under strong external pressure, long ranging aspects such as education and the roles of developing countries in the Information Society are important to discuss, especially to enable all to actively participate in information processes.

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.

The principal message of the 'Human Choice and Computers' (HCC) tradition and its associated conferences over the years is that there are choices and alternatives. In this volume, Social Informatics takes two directions. The first supports readers in interpreting of the meaning of Social Informatics. The second, more extensive part develops an overview of various applications of Social Informatics. Researchers inspired by Social Informatics touch many areas of human and social life.

UR Reader consists of a set of essays written by international authors many 0 of whom are acknowledged experts in one or more aspects of information technology (IT) and its implications for society. The contents have been influenced by the fact that the relationship between IT and society has to be considered in an holistic context. Our purpose has been to present this series of essays in the loosely related perspectives of landscapes which reflect that holism. As editors, we have chosen to leave people free to select the different perspectives and traverse the landscapes in any manner they choose. The Reader seeks to raise social awareness of the issues at stake when we talk 1 about computers and social accountability and aims to encourage wider discus sion of the issues involved. It has a normative set of aims and indicates a determi nation to explore a possible reshaping and restructuring of information technol ogy according to human needs. In an Epilogue, new pointers are given for action. In what follows, we describe the rationale behind "The Information Society: Evolving Landscapes"; we move from the conference held at the University of Namur in June, 1988, which shaped the perspectives, then on to the various routes by which the landscapes can be traversed."