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The chapter addresses the unique aspects of Brazil’s news agencies and the Brazilian news syndication market. It reveals the pattern of Brazil’s two prevailing business models regarding the wire services industry: that of the State, particularly the federal government, which invested little in a nationwide distributor to peripheral and alternative media; and that of major media conglomerates, which set out their syndication services labeled as “news agencies” in order to multiply profits with no extra labor. In the latter case, an asymmetrical relationship of dependency and circularity ensues between these major conglomerates and regional media groups, who rely on these “news agencies” to perpetuate their dominance in local markets. The chapter also assesses a few causes for this unique model and describes the main players in Brazil’s news agency sector. A concise historical background is presented (Molina, Morais, Saroldi & Moreira) and provides context for the present-day players in the news agency business in Brazil, including the institutional framework they form with their customers, predominantly smaller newspapers. The chapter analyzes attributes of the Brazilian news agency ecology, including the parallel reach of distribution networks belonging to the private and state-owned agencies; the adaptation of conglomerate agencies to challenges entailed by the digital convergence (shrinking newsrooms, multitasking staff); and the prevalence of the interconglomerate model within the Brazilian news syndication industry.

Just as in real estate, the key success factors for business in cyberspace are location, location, and location. Potential customers on the Internet tend not to be widely dispersed but are found to clog together at virtual water‐holes, known as communities and defined by common interest. In response, every respectable company established its own virtual landmark, i.e. portal, during the (short) era of Internet hype in an attempt to attract customers. Often enough with little success. We propose a different way of thinking. The key to improving profits and margins is in understanding the Internet as a tool rather than a place to be. Companies do not have to build their own Internet water‐hole. Instead, they have to leverage existing online and offline communities. Companies have to access these communities and serve their customers at their place of convenience. This article illustrates how the application of this idea results directly in increased margins and lower customer servicing costs. It explains the drivers of potential gains from understanding virtual communities.

This chapter presents an overview of the Brazilian regional media groups that are characterized by cross-ownership of media outlets in the four main reference platforms for news coverage: daily print, radio, broadcast television, and Web.

The research uses institutional documents to explore the history and operating mode of the groups that own the 50 best-selling newspapers in the country. The theoretical approach is guided by the notion of “spatialization” applied to business communication by Vincent Mosco, and by the concepts of “region,” “regionality,” and “regionalization” based upon authors aligned with the critical thinking approach in the field of geography.

The study identifies the multiple geographical scales at which these groups operate, as well as their dominant business models and the sources of their owners’ capital. Based on this analysis, it argues that the variables which are applied to the large-circulation media at a national level cannot be automatically transferred to the regional and local levels.

The study of regional media reveals a landscape that has not received adequate attention from communications researchers worldwide. It also points to problems which deserve more investigation and elaboration. This represents a new challenge for media studies, for the political economy of communication, and for the nascent field of geography of communication.

This chapter provides a distinctive and nuanced approach to the Brazilian media system. It can inspire other studies on regional communication which take into account the specificities of their geographic scales.

The study aims to determine the awareness and extent of use of Web 2.0 technologies in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

The study is a questionnaire-based survey on the usage of Web 2.0 technologies among students, research scholars and library and information science professionals of the IITs and IIMs. The research data of the respondents were acquired by visiting their respective institutes. The sample of the study reveals that 1,400 questionnaires were distributed among the users of select IITs and IIMs; 1,100 questionnaires were received, showing a response rate of 78.57 per cent.

The findings of the study imply that young respondents are genuinely interested in the activities of Web 2.0. Also, respondents were found to be aware and making use of such applications in their research and academic works. Social networking sites have received prominent responses among all categories of respondents. Web 2.0 technologies are mostly used for exploring useful and up-to-date information, academic and research and socializing. The time consumption and fear of misusing personal information are major obstacles in accessing of Web 2.0.

This study encompasses the population of select IITs and IIMs. It also signifies the potential of Web 2.0 in the academia.

This study profoundly demonstrates the impact of Web 2.0 technologies on higher education in India. This study may establish as a valuable guide for researchers in understanding Web 2.0 in its proper perspective.

The research provides reliable and factual data, which are worth and justifiable and highlight the considerable observations on the topic, which will be very useful for researchers in this area.

To report the highlights of the 2005 Online Information Conference.

Provides a brief review of the conference.

The conference offered a wide variety of timely presentations on online content and information management solutions

This paper is a useful summary of a conference of interest to library and information management professionals.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between union renewal strategies and the adoption and implementation of information and communication technologies by trade unions.

The research centres on a case study of an Australian trade union, exploring the fit between recent changes to the industrial strategy and information technology strategy. It involved interviews with union officials and a review of union documentation.

Information and communication technologies have the potential to promote union renewal by enabling new forms of participation and activism. However, to achieve these outcomes the technologies must be part of an integrated union renewal strategy. The internal political processes of the union will shape both the union renewal strategies and the role and use of technology in implementing these strategies.

The research is based on a single trade union, thus limiting the generality of the conclusions drawn.

The paper concerns a relatively new research area on trade unions and offers a critical perspective on the use of information and communication technologies by trade unions.

The purpose of this paper is to review future and emerging information systems.

General review and survey of selected research and development topics.

Illustrates the multi‐ and trans‐disciplinary nature of cybernetics and systems. Aims to further research and development activity.

The choice of review provides an awareness of the current trends in these areas of endeavour but are necessarily selective.

The reviews are selected from a global database and give a studied assessment of current research and development initiatives.