Internet review

Citation

Crowston, K. (2002), "Internet review", Information Technology & People, Vol. 15 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/itp.2002.16115aag.001

Internet review

In this column, I will present some Web resources related to a paper that looks at ways of envisioning the use of information and communications technology (ICT). In their paper, Silva and Figueroa discuss the role of institutional intervention in the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Chile. If you would like to learn more about what is happening in Chile, Don Canada provides an overview of the information technology landscape in that country (http://www.american.edu/initeb/dc4388a/). A directory of Chilean IT companies can be found on Chilnet (http://www.chilnet.cl/rubros/TECNOL01.HTM), while Info Chile provides a directory of Web sites (http://www.infochilena.com/cl/e/).

A number of the projects described in the paper have a presence on the Web. Most of them have documents only in Spanish, but InterTrans or Babelfish (http://babelfish.altavista.com) provides a translation service.

One organization is La Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT, The National Commission for Scientific and Technological Investigation, http://www.conicyt.cl/). The Commission – similar in some respects to the Danish Board of Technology – was created in 1967 with the mission to advise the Chilean Government on science and technology "impelling scientific and technological development at the national level, so as to positively affect the quality of life of the Chileans".

The Red Educacional Enlaces (the "I connect" Educational Network) provides elementary and secondary schools with local area networks and a connection to the Internet (http://www.redenlaces.cl/). Interestingly, the site notes that the potential of ICT for education can only be triggered through positive attitudes of its actors before the innovation (http://www.redenlaces.cl/R3_pres/aplicaciones.html).

The Red Hemsferica Interuniversitaria de Informacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (RedHUCyT, the Interuniversity Hemispherical Network for Scientific and Technological Information, http://www.oas.org/SP/PROG/RED/covers.htm) is a project of the Organization of American States. The project connects the institutions of the member states to the Internet.

The Sistema de Información de Compras y Contrataciones Públicas (the System for Public Sector Purchases and Hiring, http://www.chilecompra.cl/Publico/entrada_publico.asp), allows a supplier to know what goods and services the Chilean state requires.

Finally, the SONDA Company, the authors' ICT success story, has a Web presence (http://www.sonda.cl/ and http://www.sonda.com/ as well).

As usual, you can avoid having to retype the URLs mentioned in this column by starting from the on-line version at http://crowston.syr.edu/itp/.

Kevin Crowston