Globalization of business, internationalization of trade, and increasing prevalence of multi-cultural interdisciplinary teams are beginning to redefine the nature of office work. Different-time/different-place/different-culture teams will become the norm. Same-time/same-place/same-culture teams will become the exception. The International Office of the Future (IOF) will be a dramatically different environment than that which exists in the majority of today's organizations. Prospects for the IOF give rise to numerous questions, which are addressed in this book. What are the salient issues? What design options or solution strategies exist to address these issues? How might these design options be best implemented? What are their implications? In addition, a number of specific topics will be discussed including: multi-cultural team productivity, IT platform requirements, and global telecommunications.

TRACK 1: Innovative Applications in the Public Sector The integration of multimedia based applications and the information superhighway fundamentally concerns the creation of a communication technology to support the ac tivities of people. Communication is a profoundly social activity involving interactions among groups or individuals, common standards of exchange, and national infrastruc tures to support telecommunications activities. The contributions of the invited speakers and others in this track begin to explore the social dimension of communication within the context of integrated, information systems for the public sector. Interactions among businesses and households are described by Ralf Strauss through the development within a real community of a "wired city" with information and electronic services provided by the latest telecommunications technologies. A more specific type of interaction between teacher and student forms the basis of education. John Tiffin demonstrates how virtual classrooms can be used to augment the educational process. Carl Loeffler presents yet another perspective on interaction through the integration of A-life and agent technologies to investigate the dynamics of complex behaviors within networked simulation environments. Common standards for communication in the form of electronic documents or CSCW (Computer Supported Cooperative Work), according to Roland Traunmiiller, provide en abling technologies for a paradigm shift in the management of organizations. As pointed out by William Olle, the impact of standardization work on the future of information technology depends critically upon the interoperability of software systems.

Monograph Series of the International Council for Computer Communications, Volume 1: The Office of the Future: Communication and Computers focuses on the advancements in the processes, technologies, techniques, principles, and approaches involved in communication and computers, including computer based tools, data gathering and information retrieval, and office automation. The publication first elaborates on the automated office of the future, tools to support the communication activity, and text editing tools for generating, organizing, analyzing, and transforming information. Discussions focus on generating, organizing, and analyzing information, basic message system concepts, impact of computer networks, and other processes in the office. The text then examines the integration of computer based tools, data gathering and information retrieval tools, coordination tools in the office of the future, and tools to support office processes. The manuscript ponders on the integration of the spoken word with interactive computer based office support systems, underlying technology, digital channel, and software aspects of the office environment utilizing the micro-processor. Topics include single board computer, advances in digital computer communications technology, future directions for digital networks, bandwidth availability, and storage and retrieval of voice information. The book is a dependable source of data for computer science experts and researchers interested in the relationship of communication and computers.

This book contains the papers presented at the 5th International Conference on Object-Oriented Information Systems - OOIS '98, which is to be held at the University de La Sorbonne, Paris, France, 9-11 September 1998. The papers published in this volume outline recent research in object-oriented concepts and principles, object-oriented methods and tools, as well as reports on industrial projects from both researchers and practitioners in the field. The conference especially highlighted areas of significant interest to industry, which provide innovative directions for the development of next generation systems such as: - coping with legacy systems; transition to object technology; lessons learned from large scale projects using objects; object relational design.

Why the United States lags behind other industrialized countries in sharing the benefits of innovation with workers and how we can remedy the problem. The United States has too many low-quality, low-wage jobs. Every country has its share, but those in the United States are especially poorly paid and often without benefits. Meanwhile, overall productivity increases steadily and new technology has transformed large parts of the economy, enhancing the skills and paychecks of higher paid knowledge workers. What’s wrong with this picture? Why have so many workers benefited so little from decades of growth? The Work of the Future shows that technology is neither the problem nor the solution. We can build better jobs if we create institutions that leverage technological innovation and also support workers though long cycles of technological transformation. Building on findings from the multiyear MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future, the book argues that we must foster institutional innovations that complement technological change. Skills programs that emphasize work-based and hybrid learning (in person and online), for example, empower workers to become and remain productive in a continuously evolving workplace. Industries fueled by new technology that augments workers can supply good jobs, and federal investment in R&D can help make these industries worker-friendly. We must act to ensure that the labor market of the future offers benefits, opportunity, and a measure of economic security to all.