Editorial

Citation

Bruce, H. (1999), "Editorial", Internet Research, Vol. 9 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr.1999.17209baf.001

Editorial

The research and reviews section of Internet Research is now being edited from a different part of the world. Having recently accepted an appointment at the University of Washington, I find myself in the depths of a northern hemisphere Winter. This is a considerable adjustment from an Australian Summer. There is a constant in my life, however, and that is the demand to get this section of our journal prepared for publication four times per year. In this issue we again demonstrate the scope of the research agendas that are confronting scholars and developers with an interest in internetworking issues. The application of Internet technologies and techniques is various and the need to find ways in which these technologies can contribute to improving our lives is an intriguing and ongoing challenge. The two research reports appearing in this issue of the journal are further case in point.

The research conducted by Williamson, Stillman and Bow has the admirable intention of finding out how online services accessed through the Internet are assisting people with disabilities to seek information and to communicate with others. The Internet infrastructure is, of course, widely promoted as a network where benefits are equitably distributed. But is this really the case? The literature on the divide between technology rich and technology poor is growing. This division is particularly acute for certain groups in our community including people with disabilities. It is easy to claim that the Internet will liberate disabled people. The need to understand what sort of adaptive equipment is required by disabled people to ensure that they have access to Internet services and benefits is vitally important as is support in the form of training. The information needs of disabled information users has been studied in the past but the Internet presents a unique context for studying these needs. Adapting the communication services of the Internet to the social needs of disabled people who might otherwise have limited capacity to mix with others is an important objective.

The work being conducted by Farkas in Hungary is also very interesting. The scope that the Internet represents for integrating information management systems that incorporate various information media is well documented. Farkas provides us with a particular case in point ­ the development of a Hospital Information System called MediNet Millennium that can deal with multimedia content as well as text and numerical information.

For those researchers who might be thinking about contributing a work-in-progress report to the Research and reviews section of this journal, please do not hesitate to contact the editor. My new contact details are: E-mail: harryb@u.washington.edu; Fax: (206) 616 3152. As always, the contributors to this section of the journal welcome correspondence from fellow researchers.

Harry Bruce