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A local area network (LAN) connects computers, printers, modems and other devices located near each other, often in an office environment. The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at the University of Wisconsin‐Milwaukee provides a case study of selecting and using a LAN in an academic program environment. Consideration of various types of LANs took place during the selection of a LAN for SLIS. The advantages of having a LAN at SLIS have been the sharing of printers and other devices, the use of electronic mail, improvement in office management and cooperative research, and easier access to information and files available in the school.

In the Spring of 1985, the library at the Mitre Corporation in Washington, DC, installed OCLC's LS/2000 integrated library system as a turnkey system on a Data General S‐140 minicomputer housed in the company's computer center. Access to the system was to be via the existing Sytek local area network. This paper is intended to convey the issues the library faced in designing, implementing and offering LS/2000 to users via the LAN. Discussed are LAN issues in general and how each was addressed at Mitre. They include: requirements, equipment, reliability, growth, security and traffic. The installation of the LAN and system interface is addressed next, followed by the benefits accrued by the use of a LAN for an online library system, includ‐ing: a. Convenience of the online public catalog. b. Increased visibility for the library within the organization. c. Further electronic communications with users. d. Shared resources. Finally, the drawbacks of using a LAN are probed, including: a. Distance of the user from library staff. b. Reliability of the LAN. c. Security problems. d. User expectations.

Brazil has one of the largest millennial populations in the world and offers a key case study of an important slice of time: the adolescence of millennials in the 2000s. This case study offers important insight into a unique Brazilian dynamic, the LAN house phenomenon: a Brazilian solution to spreading digital technologies to the economically disadvantaged. This chapter explores the social roles and functions LAN houses played to the Brazilian youth, ages 12–15, in the 2000s, when they were first introduced in Brazil. Three research questions guided this investigation.

RQ1. What were the main uses and gratifications of LAN house use among the youth in Brazil in the early 2000s?

RQ2. What was the social construction of “Internet” and “LAN house” among the Brazilian user of LAN houses and its potential to foster advancement?

RQ3. What key roles do LAN houses play today?

RQ1. What were the main uses and gratifications of LAN house use among the youth in Brazil in the early 2000s?

RQ2. What was the social construction of “Internet” and “LAN house” among the Brazilian user of LAN houses and its potential to foster advancement?

RQ3. What key roles do LAN houses play today?

Two distinct methods of the study were employed: a survey and textual analysis. The results showed that Brazilian youth used the LAN houses to check Orkut (a social network site), e-mails and the Microsoft System Network (MSN chat), download music and play games. The internet was mostly perceived to have a negative influence, have bad content and serve as a distraction. With the changes in telecommunication and mobile use, the LAN houses have diversified their services, still offering opportunities for gaming and socialization, but also catering to older and working class by providing services such as government document digitalization and preparation. This case study has implications or the introduction of digital technologies to adolescent populations in the growing economies and developing nations.

This paper uses a method devised by Geary and Stark to estimate regional GDPs for 24 Swedish provinces 1855–2000. In empirical tests, we find that the Swedish estimations yield results of good precision, comparable to those reported in the international literature. From the literature, we generate six expectations concerning the development of regional GDPs in Sweden. Using the GDP estimations, we test these expectations empirically. We find that the historical regional GDPs show a high correlation over time, but that the early industrialization process coevolved with a dramatic redistribution of productive capacity. We show that the regional inequalities in GDP per capita were at their lowest point in modern history in the early 1980s. However, while efficiency in the regional system has never been as equal, absolute regional differences in scale of production has increased dramatically over our investigated period. This process has especially benefited the metropolitan provinces. We present detailed sources of our estimations and also sketch a research agenda from our results.

Though Local Area Networks (LANs) have been much talked about over the past two or three years, their role in libraries has, with a few exceptions, been in the realms of speculation rather than active examples. The commonest way in which libraries encounter LANs is for the parent organisation to introduce the LAN and for the library to be included as part of that campus or organisational network: applications are, therefore, most often directed towards communicating with other departments and sharing common facilities such as electronic mail rather than towards the traditional automation activities of library housekeeping. This is not to say that LANs have no potential for housekeeping: Mel Collier in his introduction to LANs notes a number of ways in which LAN technology may be of direct benefit in a library environment; and the OKAPI online‐public access catalogue project at PCL (see pp 3–13)originated as an investigation into the potential of LANs for specific library‐housekeeping applications. What this preamble is leading up to is the news that Reading University Library has installed a LAN within the library with the intention of using it for library housekeeping operations. However, before going on to look at Reading's implementation in some detail, a little background on LANs may be useful.

Information systems auditors continue to encounter a proliferation of technologies demanding their attention and expanding the scope of their audit activities. The auditor faces the problem of management expecting adequate audit coverage even though it is impossible to be an expert in all technologies, and even though audit resources are not increasing at the same rate as audit areas. The local area network (LAN) is an example of just such a technology that manifests this three‐pronged problem. Few auditors are technically equipped to audit this area comprehensively yet these networks do pose risks and should be subject to audit. At the same time, new and specialized audit resources, in many cases, are not forthcoming. Discusses some basic aspects of LAN technology having audit and control impact, internal control as it applies to LANs, and presents ideas for auditing this area keeping in mind the realities of what is possible and practical for the auditor. Does not aim to provide a definitive audit approach, but puts forward ideas to stimulate and assist information systems auditors in formulating their own specific approach to LAN audits.

This paper aims to study how three incumbent mobile network operators (MNOs) in Germany forecasted, framed and responded in terms of their strategy to the emergence of the wireless local area network technology (W‐LAN) and how they interpreted this potential technological disruption in their own strategic context.

Drawing on empirical evidence from case studies conducted with these three major MNOs in Germany using the theoretical framework of disruptive technology, the results were then evaluated in a cross‐case analysis to study how these firms interpreted and reacted to the potential disruptiveness of W‐LAN. To meet this objective, an explorative, multiple and holistic case study design was utilized. Data was collected by the combination of information gained through semi‐structured interviews with key informants and background information that were publicly available. Interviews were conducted with company representatives using a semi‐structured interview guide. Information gathered from the interview, documentation and direct observations was transposed into a content analysis framework to enable easy analysis of the information gathered for each company.

As a result, significant differences for the respective MNOs between their perception of W‐LAN as a potential disruptive technology, their strategic development processes inside the organisation to understand the potential impact of W‐LAN on their respective business model, and to enforce an appropriate response strategy and structural implementation were identified. The results indicated that corporate representatives from each incumbent interpreted potentially disruptive technologies like W‐LAN from a different perspective and direction depending primarily on the strategic and structural context and their organisation's resources, processes, and values. The findings also identified that practitioners inside the organisation were aware about the disruptive technology concept but however did not react in accordance with the theory. Forecasting results and categorisation that prove wrong can still lead to taking the right action since it seems to provide better results than non‐forecasting and inactivity due to a lack of awareness of potential risks.

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalisation and need to be further studied in a larger number of cases with different technologies and industries.

For managers and forecasters the study indicates that they should consider the impact of the heterogeneity in firms when formulating a response strategy based on their respective perception of the impact of a potential disruptive technology on their business. They should also be considerate about the consistency between their motivation to respond, the strategic development processes inside their organisation supporting the development of the response strategy and the subsequent structural implementation. Threat‐framing seemed to be a key factor in unlocking resources even in the face of sustaining technological change and can be activated by threatening forecasts.

The consideration of incumbent heterogeneity in different framing settings and the resulting innovation categorisation with respect to the organisational actions and outcomes was not studied before.

Relativism, at least in some of its forms, is antithetical to sociology as traditionally practiced and conceived. (See, for instance, Benton and Crabb, 2001, pp.50‐74 and 93‐1006; Collins 1996a; Mann, 1998; Murphy, 1997; and Taylor‐Gooby, 1994). Hence, sociologists should consider abandoning traditional sociology or rejecting relativism. An example of the sort of relativism I have in mind is the philosophical theory that the truth and falsity of propositions is relative to the social context of their promulgation. Such epistemological relativism is expressed by Newton‐Smith when he says: “The central relativist idea is that what is true for one tribe, social group or age might not be true for an other tribe, social group or age” (Newton‐Smith, 1982, p.107).

Considers the popularity of LANs and CD‐ROM, and the nature of these technologies. Describes various hardware and software solutions that allow shared access to a common database, including LANtastic, OPTI‐NET, CD Connection, CD/Networker, and various Apple solutions, as well as the cost implications for CD‐ROM applications.

Continues on the theme of an earlier article, this time dealing with installation and maintenance of Local Area Networks. Discusses the importance of having a LAN manager and details problems likely to occur when installing a LAN.