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Information and communication technologies (ICTs) represent a major opportunity for world development. However, the “digital divide” is increasing rather than diminishing existing inequalities. This paper suggests several ways in which experiences with ICTs can be shared and in which more resources could be mobilised to support local ICT projects and locally‐defined goals. The activities of the Commonwealth’s agencies in this area are used to provide illustrations of a variety of initiatives. It is argued that strategic action on the part of agencies within their own organisations and in co‐operation with others is likely to help to facilitate the process of constructing a stronger knowledge base for knowledge‐driven development, but that there is no room for complacency. In addition to improved co‐ordination and co‐operation, effort is needed to focus on the purposes and goals of knowledge‐driven development, rather than on the short‐term interests of individual stakeholder organisations.

There is a need to understand both theoretically and empirically the dominant guiding principles that are becoming embedded in people's technologically mediated interactions and what the alternatives may be. Aims to provide an evaluation of the work of Rob Kling in helping to find guidance on these issues.

The paper combines narrative with argument and analysis.

How people communicate in different organisational contexts is informed by the way meanings are created (in this study, contractual understandings to supply material goods) and how various processes can be made to work in both offline and online environments. The results of this study illustrate one of Rob Kling's dictums: the social context of information and communication technologies (ICT) development matters.

Provides a contribution to the literature on Kling's work on social informatics.

The purpose of this paper is to present a brief history of the information society and a research framework addressing the challenges of ensuring that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are applied in ways that are enabling and responsive to the varied contexts in which people live their lives.

Examination of why insights arising from research that is critical of the mainstream vision of the information society are rarely influential in debates on ICT policies, of the outstanding research questions around the promotion of investment in ICTs in support of sustainable development goals, and of the components of an alternative research framework that could be pursued by those concerned with social and technological innovation.

The analysis of policy discussion in this area indicates that there may now be an opportunity to re‐enter some of these debates, particularly those in which it is clear that there are many important issues that are reappearing on the ICT policy agenda. Some of the most difficult issues are highlighted including the need to give greater attention to measures supporting more differentiated information or knowledge societies.

The paper demonstrates that there are signs of learning and an awareness of unequal power relationships among stakeholders in ICT policy debates that may contribute to a shift in priorities towards a more context sensitive research framework that would be of value to those who are preoccupied by efforts to improve the material conditions of people's lives.

This article aims to provide a critical understanding of contextual issues surrounding international business from a political economy of communication perspective.

The approach is based in classical dialectics and proceeds from a Marxian perspective. It includes a literature review of major theorists in political economy of communication and an analysis of present institutional relationships that frame international business in the context of corporatism.

The main argument is that current practices that dominate international business can no longer be considered as any kind of capitalism and that political economy of communication is necessary for comprehending this system. Current business practices are a form of corporatism in which ownership is separated from control, business is separated from industry, and the idea of a “going concern” is subject to “overriding concerns”. To understand the implications of these factors, political economy of communication needs new theories of value, labour, mediation, and meaning.

The work is limited by the current pace of change, by alternative, non‐Marxist definitions of capitalism which are not taken into account here, and by the variegated nature of global business practices. The work is limited to dominant practices and definitive relationships.

The paper provides a useful perspective for understanding the future direction of international business, specifically in terms of communication, culture, and understandings of value.

This paper offers an alternative, non‐capitalistic view of “globalisation” within a Marxist framework and proposes a new theoretical and analytical synthesis for political economy of communication.

The purpose of this paper is to examine recent developments in European policy debates concerned with whether governments should intervene in the digital intermediary marketplace to protect the public’s interest.

The paper discusses the public’s interest in the evolution of the digital intermediary marketplace, considers the economics and policy literature on the case for policy intervention in the market dynamics of digital platforms and examines the extent to which policy makers in Europe are catching up with changes in the market for digital platform services.

It is argued that policy-makers need to broaden the evidence base upon which they consider whether policy intervention is needed beyond economic analysis. This is essential to ensure that the European digital intermediary marketplace develops in line with economic, social and cultural goals.

The case is made for measures to ensure continuous and integrated monitoring of developments in the digital marketplace based on economic indicators and evidence on the diversity of media content.

Suggestions are made about the need for innovations in the way policy makers develop the required evidence base for their decisions.

The paper draws attention to the need for proactive policy making based on a consideration of economic, social and cultural goals to ensure that digital intermediaries are held accountable.

The paper provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the dynamics of the digital intermediary ecology and assesses the extent to which the European digital market strategy provides an integrated initiative that is likely to be implemented.

Haworth Press, the well known publishers in the library and information science field, have recently cottoned on to an interesting idea: devote a special issue of one of their journals to a special theme, and at the same time produce a hardback book, reasonably priced, that reproduces the articles. The idea is to appeal to a market other than the libraries that will typically subscribe to the Haworth journals. Success depends upon the collection of chapters forming a coherent whole. This book, reproduced from a special issue of The Reference Librarian, partly succeeds. The 150 page hardback book comprises seven articles, from five different authors (two authors supply two articles each) with an editor's introduction. The articles are fairly typical journal articles, reporting research results; some could easily have graced the pages of Online and CD‐ROM Review. The articles vary somewhat in length and style, but generally either review the literature of a particular topic, or describe some recent research work. The title is somewhat misleading, as the book is NOT comprehensive; a better subtitle would have been ‘Aspects of Use and User Behavior’.