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Explains the necessity for measurement of Internet growth so that capacity, commercial potential, etc. may be planned and assessed. Argues that this cannot be measured merely by packet counts and user registrations. Presents detailed analysis of over 13,000 sites, worldwide. Develops a mathematical model which can be used to predict growth, by individual countries and globally. Offers further topics for future research.

The rapid advances in computer networking technology in the late 1980s have led to a corresponding increase in locations wishing to participate in computer networks. As more sites adopt a common communication protocol and connect to local networks that may themselves be connected into a national network, opportunities abound for information sharing and collaborative research. A major roadblock to experiencing the benefits of this connectivity, however, is the difficulty of knowing what information is available on computers throughout the network. Several approaches are being explored to provide access to this “virtual library.” A combination of library and computer networking skills will be necessary to design appropriate tools that will allow all users to participate in the developing networked information environment.

Recent growth of the Internet has greatly increased the amount of information that is accessible and the number of resources that are available to users. To exploit this growth, it must be possible for users to find the information and resources they need. Existing techniques for organizing systems have evolved from those used on centralized systems, but these techniques are inadequate for organizing information on a global scale. This article describes Prospero, a distributed file system based on the Virtual System Model. Prospero provides tools to help users organize Internet resources. These tools allow users to construct customized views of available resources, while taking advantage of the structure imposed by others. Prospero provides a framework that can tie together various indexing services producing the fabric on which resource discovery techniques can be applied.

A ‘World Wide Web search engine’ is defined as a retrieval service, consisting of a database (or databases) describing mainly resources available on the World Wide Web (WWW), search software and a user interface also available via WWW. After intro ducing early Internet search engines, which are pertinent as precursors for the current range of WWW search engines, the problems of searching the WWW (link persistence, lack of integrated search software) and the resulting search engine types (keyword or directory) are analysed. Search engines of all types are then compared across their generic features (database content, retrieval software, and search interface), rather than on a search engine by search engine basis. Finally, wider information access issues aris ing from the nature of the Internet and web search engines are considered, and a general strategy for using web search engines is proposed.

This article describes the development of the Central Medical Library website at the Medical Faculty of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The aim of the website is to serve as a guide to the library resources and services. The website is built with a uniform graphic design and a menu driven structure. The structure partitions information space by providing meaningful subject categories that enable efficient exploring by browsing. Because the categories are limited in their granularity a search engine based on the Harvest system is included. An evaluation of website access was carried out by analysing and exploring the web server log files using data warehousing and OLAP (On‐Line Analytical Processing) technology. Finally some possibilities for future development of the website are suggested.

This paper reports on an Internet‐based system for hypermedia information discovery and retrieval and wide‐area distributed asynchronous collaboration designed and built at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). The system, called NCSA Mosaic, integrates cleanly into existing Internet protocols, formats, data sources, and environments, and provides powerful new capabilities for using and sharing information across the Internet.

Drucker's views about ethics are supported by the philosophical foundations of Aristotle and Confucius with regard to the responsibilities and interdependencies that exist between individuals, organizations, and societies. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate Peter F. Drucker's work in the field of ethics as being applicable to the twenty‐first century and beyond.

The approach used to research the topic was qualitative and constructive in nature. Primary resources relied on published scholarly work from Peter F. Drucker and Aristotle, in connection with work from other scholarly sources.

The research demonstrates the continued viability of Peter F. Drucker's work in the field of ethics, as being applicable to the twenty‐first century and beyond.

The paper offers substantive underpinnings for the current study of ethics in the business disciplines, while at the same time suggesting that “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose” (The more things change, the more they stay the same).

As a contribution to honor the life and works of Peter F. Drucker, the paper is original in that Drucker's work in the field of ethics is highlighted. The paper is supported by ancient philosophical underpinnings that offer a foundation for Drucker's work and allow his lessons to continue for generations to come.

Analysis of organizational decline has become central to the study of economy and society. Further advances in this area may fail however, because two major literatures on the topic remain disintegrated and because both lack a sophisticated account of how social structure and interdependencies among organizations affect decline. This paper develops a perspective which tries to overcome these problems. The perspective explains decline through an understanding of how social ties and resource dependencies among firms affect market structure and the resulting behavior of firms within it. Evidence is furnished that supports the assumptions of the perspective and provides a basis for specifying propositions about the effect of network structure on organizational survival. I conclude by discussing the perspective’s implications for organizational theory and economic sociology.

This introduction to the 20-year anniversary issue of Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations notes that the role of organisations in society, the international and multidisciplinary scope of business ethics and the importance of narrative, issues identified in the early volumes, remain important.