Social Implications and Challenges of E-Business

The rapid development of the Internet and E-Business has created not only lucrative economic opportunities, but also significant social challenges, with profound implications for individuals, communities and for our society as a whole. However, the social implications and challenges of E-Business are still inadequately researched and poorly understood today. Social Implications and Challenges of E-Business explores the profound social implications and challenges of E-Business, investigates how the rapid development of the Internet and E-Business shapes, and is shaped, by various social forces; and highlights the enormous difficulties and challenges involved in applying E-Business technologies and principles in public services and other non-business activities.

The purpose of this collection of 14 papers is twofold. It explores the social implications and challenges of e-business and e-commerce in terms of social inclusion and exclusion and the digital divide; the social shaping of e-business technologies; the changing nature and patterns of work and social articles; and online identity, security, risk, trust, and privacy. It also looks at applications of e-business technologies and principles in public services and nonbusiness activities. Editor Li (U. of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK) has consequently arranged the selected papers in two corresponding sections, the first of which contains discussions of classifications for qualifications undertaken by e-learning, social implications of e-mentoring, social implications of distance education in Alaska, games-based e-learning, integration of internal and external customers in public services, electronic policing, and benchmarking the usability and content usefulness of Web sites. The second addresses the influence of the Internet on relationships between consumers and vendors, social implications for managing project stakeholders, a framework for innovation theory, the role of trust and power in shaping the use of electronic markets, social aspects of open source software, and barriers and prospects in challenging digital inequalities. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)