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The purpose of this paper is to understand how emerging technologies and Web 2.0 services are transforming the structure of the web and their potential impact on managed learning environments (MLS) and learning content management systems (LCMS).

Innovative Web 2.0 applications are reviewed in the paper to explore how they incorporate a new paradigm, reshaping the web as an electronic platform for social networks, where users share, edit and collaborate on the publication of content.

The paper finds that, in this rapidly changing environment, educators need to consider the implications of these developments for the current design of the LCMS. An emerging generation of users influenced by social networking experiences and empowered to create, publish, appropriate and redistribute content may find the structures of the LCMS traditional and inflexible in contrast with the user‐centered approach of Web 2.0 services. This fundamental shift in the experience of the digital environment in the social world will require innovative solutions, including broad institution‐wide dialogues on the role of organizations in a Web 2.0 environment, innovative approaches to faculty training, a new emphasis on the role of faculty as learners in a rapidly changing environment, and rethinking the underlying architecture of the LCMS model.

The recent emergence of these new developments and the essentially fluid nature of these innovations on the web suggest that the conclusions here remain essentially speculative in nature.

This paper identifies a critical challenge in the integration of technology into the teaching‐learning environment and the re‐evaluation of the role of a vendor‐specific enterprise LCMS in the design of e‐learning facilities.

Characterizations of users’ experiences on the Web are beginning to appear. Recently released research suggests that Internet use may reduce psychological well‐being, for instance by increasing loneliness and depression. Our current study implies that using the Internet may provoke enjoyable experiences through the flow state, which may in turn positively influence an individual’s subjective well‐being and improve a person’s happiness, life satisfaction, and positive affect. By surveying 304 Web users through an open‐ended questionnaire, this study captures a picture of Web users’ flow experiences regarding their optimal situations on the Web. Results suggest that using the World Wide Web is an activity that facilitates flow, which generates an optimal, extremely enjoyable experience with total involvement and concentration. Symptoms and dimensions of flow states on the Web are reported directly from subjects’ responses, such as merging of action and awareness, a loss of self‐consciousness, the sense of time distortion, enjoyment, and telepresence.

Internet technology and, in particular Web‐based services, have the potential to revolutionise approaches to learning. These new forms of learning could provide additional educational opportunities for people with special needs to support their social integration and integration into the knowledge‐based economy. This paper starts with a short presentation on open Web‐based learning environments and knowledge forums followed by a discussion of some recent results on e‐learning and special needs users. Two examples of learning portals for supporting e‐learning forums developed within the European projects, EURO H 2000 and a DAAD German‐Romanian cooperation, are given. Ways of including users with special needs in projects on the design of learning materials and environments are also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of a web‐based constructivist learning environment, which was developed based on a course given to students in the Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM) on student learning.

In this paper, a web‐based multimedia‐mediated project was developed based on an Internet Applications course where students were taught to use specific web authoring tools to solve a web‐related problem. The mode of learning was geared towards a student‐centred, constructivist learning perspective where students were active learners, worked in a group environment and constructed knowledge and understanding in their learning process. An online survey was given to the students to assess their reactions towards this learning environment.

The results obtained were positive and satisfactory. In this learning process, students were able to understand the problem, work collaboratively, construct their own solutions, and determine their own learning outcomes. Feedback on the online survey provided further support of the students' positive attitudes towards this learning environment.

The implications of this research study are that students found that the web‐based learning environment allowed them to be more active participants in their learning process, increasing their critical and creative thinking skills as well as improving their problem‐solving skills. They learned “how to learn” and developed several learning skills such as communication, teamwork, collaboration and presentation, as well as achieving ownership of these learning outcomes. The use of multimedia‐ and web‐based tools for their project allowed them to be innovative in their presentations, making the project more fun for them.

This research provides educators with an innovative approach to teaching with technology, and students with a more effective learning environment.

This paper fulfils Malaysia's MSC initiative to include ICT in the classroom teaching environment and to focus on learner‐centred teaching and learning strategies. This constructivist‐based learning environment also enabled students to build their problem‐solving and collaborative skills as well as their creative and critical thinking abilities in order to meet the rising demands of twenty‐first century organisations.

It is now possible to deliver service in a virtual environment with little or no human interaction. This environment offers the opportunity of new ways of delivering service. This paper examines some of the existing theories of service quality and service management in the context of new Web‐based environment. It draws on field research involving empirical measurement of service levels. Two existing theories are re‐examined, the concept that automation leads to mediation between the customer and the service organisation – the “buffered core”, and the dimensions of service quality. In both cases the capabilities of the Web, and the removal of direct human interaction give cause for rethinking. The research leads to the view that the Web, rather than providing mediation, can provide direction connection between the customer and the service organisation. In addition, the accepted dimensions of customer service do not always fit the actual dimensions for service on the Web. Finally, this paper proposes an empirically‐based model that is based on the proposition that developing service in a virtual environment is sequence dependent. This “sand cone” model is illustrated with an example from the research.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the way in which brand positioning elements are manifested in the business‐to‐business (B2B) online environment.

The UK print industry is used to investigate the web site elements used to communicate positioning elements through the content analysis of corporate web pages of 30 UK print suppliers.

A framework is developed to show how web site communications are manifested in the online B2B environment.

Because the research vehicle is a sample of websites from only one industry the findings may not be transferable to all industries nor to the whole industry. However, the model is a useful framework for helping managers to plan their online communications.

The paper concludes by giving recommendations about how the framework can be used by practitioners in order to improve the linkage between communications messages and the means for transferring these messages.

This is a novel approach to examining branding elements in the online environment. Comparatively little literature exists which examines branding in the online B2B environment.

This chapter synthesizes findings from the reviews of education using Web 2.0, social networking, mobile learning, and virtual worlds, in light of the earlier chapters on context, technology, pedagogy, content, and design. Benefits and issues associated technology-enhanced learning are generalized, with an important finding being the quite different ways that different technologies contribute to each. Twenty technology-enhanced learning design principles are derived from abstracting the Web 2.0, social networking, mobile learning, and virtual worlds literature. The benefits, issues, and technology-enhanced learning design principles are then related to one another by virtue of 13 clusters of concerns, namely pedagogy, access, communication, content representation, collaboration, motivation and engagement, vicarious learning and reflection, digital learning capabilities, assessment and feedback, student-centered learning, learning communities, protecting students, and teacher support. The analysis enables the general learning technology literature to be linked to concrete examples and evidential sources, so that educators and researchers can construct a deep and connected understanding of technology-enhanced learning design.

Focuses on examining consumer characteristics that influence Internet users to adopt the Web for purchase related behavior (retail usage). The key constructs examined in relation to actual adoption are attitudes and perceived usefulness. Also focuses on variables that impact Internet users’ attitudes toward Web retailing, including Internet users’ shopping orientation, perceived Web security, shopping innovativeness, satisfaction with Web sites, importance of inspecting products and price sensitivity. Data was gathered via a self‐administered Web survey. A total of 392 completed surveys were obtained and the results indicate that such characteristics of consumers do influence attitudes towards using Web retailing. The results also indicate that attitude and perceived usefulness do predict adoption of the Web for retail usage. Finally, the results indicate that significant differences exist between adopters of Web retailing and non‐adopters in the price significance, need to handle products and purchase likelihood when they cannot handle products purchased via retailing channels.

This paper aims to develop a service‐oriented distributed multi‐robot system based on manufacturing message specification (MMS) and new‐generation distributed object technology – web services for realizing remotely monitoring and controlling multiple heterogeneous robots in the internet environment.

The study presents robot communication model and distributed multi‐robot monitoring and control software structure based on MMS and web services. In particular, monitoring and control software design of MMS concepts in web services environment using Unified Modeling Language model is discussed in detail. In addition, to verify the validity of the proposed design method, a multi‐robot prototype system for robot flexible assemble cell has been achieved. Its Server software is implemented in C++ with Visual Studio.NET being the development environment and Client software is programmed in Java with Borland JBuilder 9 being the development tool.

Finds that the communication structure following MMS can make the multi‐robot monitoring and control system have perfect robustness, interoperability and reconfigurability. Besides, web services technology can conveniently realize MMS services, also can successfully resolve the remote multi‐robot monitoring and control problem among cross‐network, cross‐platform and heterogeneous systems.

Provides an easy and low‐cost method for realizing heterogeneous multi‐robot remote driving. The web‐based distribution of the presented system is critical in enabling capabilities such as e‐manufacturing, e‐diagnostics and e‐maintenance.

The proposed system can be seamlessly integrated into other automated manufacturing systems or management systems in plug‐and‐play fashion. The combination of MMS and web services is in favor of real manufacturing equipments being embedded in the network, so the presented systematic methodology can be a useful reference for constructing web‐based reconfigurable manufacturing systems.

Provides robot communication model based on MMS and web services and presents service‐oriented distributed remote multi‐robot monitoring and control software architecture.

To argue that library web sites embedded in a new media environment initiate and demand new kinds of communication and new communication skills.

The paper is a short version of findings related to the author's research of the internet as a medium in libraries, especially in the domain of imaginative literature. The paper is based theoretically on findings of new media research. The approach is a theoretical clarification of what is new about new media and why new media may move librarians to new kinds of publicity and communication. This is illustrated by a presentation of the Danish library web site litteratursiden.dk, produced by librarians to inspire readers of fiction among library patrons.

Theoretical and practical findings by new media research have indicated several new media features concerning the internet and the web. The web is a hypertextual media environment – all web sites are part of a global media environment, a global publicity. Local web communication is already a global communication. The web interface is also a multimedia interface, and it gives the possibility of interactive, dialogic communication. Further web sites are “remediations” of media types and genres from other media. These features must be considered when analysing library web sites, and they must be considered in the education of librarians in the future. The Danish library web site litteratursiden.dk is used to demonstrate how a literary library web site may use the web as a medium, and how new skills are needed and developed. The site gives access to the fiction of library catalogues, but at the same time it is a literary magazine with news, essays and recommendations. The librarians operate in two kinds of space – the library space and the literary public space. The addressee is both the library patron and the common reader. This duplicity may be seen as an expansion of the reader advisory service and may be compared with similar advisory services in reader development programmes.

The world wide web and new media may change the roles of the librarian in public libraries. The library web site is embedded in a general media environment, which may demand new skills of media communication.

The paper aims to focus on the public librarian as a new media producer and communication expert.