This book presents a biographical history of the field of systems thinking, by examining the life and work of thirty of its major thinkers. It discusses each thinker's key contributions, the way this contribution was expressed in practice and the relationship between their life and ideas. This discussion is supported by an extract from the thinker's own writing, to give a flavour of their work and to give readers a sense of which thinkers are most relevant to their own interests.

Information is everywhere, and defines everything in today's society. Moreover, information is a key concept in a wide range of academic disciplines, from quantum physics to public policy. However, these disciplines all interpret the concept in quite different ways. This book looks at information in several different academic disciplines - cybernetics, ICT, communications theory, semiotics, information systems, library science, linguistics, quantum physics and public policy. Perspectives on Information brings clarity and coherence to different perspectives through promoting information as a unifying concept across the disciplinary spectrum. Though conceived as a contribution to the ongoing conversation between academic disciplines into the nature of information, the deliberately accessible style of this text (reflecting the authors' backgrounds at The Open University) will be make it valuable for anyone who needs to know something more about information. Given the ubiquity of information in the 21st century, that means everyone.

Information is everywhere, and defines everything in today's society. Moreover, information is a key concept in a wide range of academic disciplines, from quantum physics to public policy. However, these disciplines all interpret the concept in quite different ways. This book looks at information in several different academic disciplines - cybernetics, ICT, communications theory, semiotics, information systems, library science, linguistics, quantum physics and public policy. Perspectives on Information brings clarity and coherence to different perspectives through promoting information as a unifying concept across the disciplinary spectrum. Though conceived as a contribution to the ongoing conversation between academic disciplines into the nature of information, the deliberately accessible style of this text (reflecting the authors' backgrounds at The Open University) will be make it valuable for anyone who needs to know something more about information. Given the ubiquity of information in the 21st century, that means everyone.

Communication and collaboration via the Internet has risen to great prominence in recent years, especially with the rise of social networking, Web 2.0 and virtual worlds. Many interesting and worthwhile studies have been conducted on the technology involved and the way it is used and shaped by its user communities. From some of the more popular coverage of these interactions, it might be thought that these are new phenomena. However, they draw on a rich heritage of technologies and interactions.

Online communication and collaboration presents a very timely set of articles that cover a range of different perspectives upon these themes, both classic and contemporary. It is unusually broad in the range of technologies it considers - many books on these topics cover only a few forms of collaboration technology - and in considering well-established technologies as well as recent ones. It blends academic and popular articles to combine scholarly rigour with readability.

The book is divided into eight sections, covering the foundations of online communication and collaboration, together with current collaboration technologies such as wikis, instant messaging, virtual worlds and social network sites. These modern communication tools are considered in terms of their interactions but also looking back at lessons to be learnt from their technological 'ancestors'. The book also contains an extended case study of online collaboration, taking open-source software as its example.

Online communication and collaboration will be of relevance in a wide range of higher education courses in fields related to soft computing, information systems, cultural and media studies, and communications theory.

Communication and collaboration via the Internet has risen to great prominence in recent years, especially with the rise of social networking, Web 2.0 and virtual worlds. Many interesting and worthwhile studies have been conducted on the technology involved and the way it is used and shaped by its user communities. From some of the more popular coverage of these interactions, it might be thought that these are new phenomena. However, they draw on a rich heritage of technologies and interactions.

Online communication and collaboration presents a very timely set of articles that cover a range of different perspectives upon these themes, both classic and contemporary. It is unusually broad in the range of technologies it considers - many books on these topics cover only a few forms of collaboration technology - and in considering well-established technologies as well as recent ones. It blends academic and popular articles to combine scholarly rigour with readability.

The book is divided into eight sections, covering the foundations of online communication and collaboration, together with current collaboration technologies such as wikis, instant messaging, virtual worlds and social network sites. These modern communication tools are considered in terms of their interactions but also looking back at lessons to be learnt from their technological 'ancestors'. The book also contains an extended case study of online collaboration, taking open-source software as its example.

Online communication and collaboration will be of relevance in a wide range of higher education courses in fields related to soft computing, information systems, cultural and media studies, and communications theory.

This book presents a biographical history of the field of systems thinking, by examining the life and work of thirty of its major thinkers. It discusses each thinker's key contributions, the way this contribution was expressed in practice and the relationship between their life and ideas. This discussion is supported by an extract from the thinker's own writing, to give a flavour of their work and to give readers a sense of which thinkers are most relevant to their own interests.