A CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
ECOLOGY OF THE NEW ECONOMY
Sustainable Transformation of Global Information, Communication, and
Electronics Industries
Greenleaf Publishing invites contributions for a new book on 'Ecology of the
New Economy: Sustainable Transformation of Global Technology, Communication,
and Electronics Industries', to be edited by Jacob Park and Nigel Roome.
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Background: Issues and Questions
A 'revolution' is taking place in the development of global information and
communication technologies. Case in point: in slightly more than a decade,
the World Wide Web has gone from an idea of an obscure English scientist to
a consumer-oriented technology system with an expected one billion users,
including 700 million people outside the US, by 2005. The technologies that
enable this to happen are advancing rapidly and this is provoking new
companies as well as a series of new alliances between companies.
The growth has been so rapid and unexpected that little research and
analysis has yet been done on what impact this transformation has had or
will have on the ability of companies to meet the global sustainability
challenge.
As environmental strategy has traditionally been portrayed in terms of risk
cutting and resource efficiency, there is a danger that critical business
issues such as information technology R&D and e-commerce development are
examined separately and away from the wider sustainable business
perspective.
An important objective of the book is to explore, document and raise
awareness of sustainability concerns arising from the emerging global
information economy. The information economy is defined in the broadest
sense possible, including software, hardware, telecommunication -
traditional and wireless - and advanced communication technologies.
Some key issues and questions that will be examined in the book include:
* Case studies of how and to what degree sustainability concerns are being
integrated into the business model of electronic, telecommunication, and
.com firms
* The relationship between the diffusion of information and communication
technologies and the energy and resource intensity of companies
* The role of information and communication technologies in the shaping of
policies for sustainability, its impacts on sustainable or unsustainable
lifestyles and its implications for the interaction between companies and
other actors
* Corporations and the global digital divide
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Schedule
Abstracts of 250 words - preferably as e-mail attachments - should be sent
to Jacob Park (E-mail: [log in to unmask]), while selected
contributors whose abstracts meet the objectives of this project will be
invited to submit their papers by the dates shown below.
Contributors' guidelines can be found on the website of Greenleaf Publishing
(http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com) or by e-mailing Greenleaf Publishing
at [log in to unmask] The edited book is expected to be
published in autumn 2001.
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* Abstract submission deadline: 15 December 2000
* Contributors informed of their abstracts' acceptance: 2 January 2001
* Full-paper submissions: 28 February 2001
* Revision requests sent to contributors: 15 April 2001
* Final-papers deadline: 31 May 2001
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Project Organisers and Editors
Jacob Park is a Washington, DC-based research scholar in the Harrison
Program on the Future Global Agenda, University of Maryland, and a socially
responsible investment research consultant specialising in Japanese and
Asian equities for a London-based fund management company.
Nigel Roome is Professor, Sustainable Enterprises and Transformation at
Erasmus University, Rotterdam (Netherlands), and the Chair of the
Information and Communication Industries Focus Group, Industrial
Transformation Project, International Human Dimensions Programme on Global
Environment Change.
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For Further Information
Prospective authors are encouraged to contact Jacob Park (e-mail:
[log in to unmask], Tel: +1 202 285 6568, and Fax: +1 815 361 1865)
for additional information and/or to discuss ideas for contributions.
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