ICTs have become a very powerful community resource, viewed by many authors in this volume as two-way mechanisms, facilitating the perpetuation of and reflecting esteemed community values. The contents of this volume make it clear that ICTs have a huge capacity for incorporation into different forms of community action, including social change, community learning, community connection, and community development. Through studying the papers in this volume, readers can learn about multiple forms of ICTs and action and how action is understood, and improve their grasp of the complexities of social-technical relations. The chapters in this volume began life as papers at the Conference on 'Community Informatics - prospects for communities and action' in 2007, the fourth successful community informatics conference held at the Monash University Centre, Prato Italy. This book creates a platform for exchanging experiences, case studies, and possible solutions to address the difficulties in deploying ICT in many contexts, and will be of interest to all researchers and practioners who engage with ICT, particularly those in the community and developmental informatics field.
About the Author: Dr Larry Stillman is a Senior Research Fellow of the Centre for Community Networking Research, Monash University Australia. He has a particular interest in the relationship between theory and practice in the transformation of non-profit institutional cultures with technology. Additionally, he is increasingly involved in development informatics environments. Graeme Johanson As Director of the Centre for Community Networking Research (www.ccnr.net), Graeme has managed many practical projects at Monash University about the usefulness of ICTs for community improvement locally and internationally. Current projects deal with: sharing literacy skills in South Africa online; the power of mobile phones for poverty alleviation by improving women's roles in micro-enterprises in Indonesia, India, China and South Africa; Chinese migrants and social inclusion in cities in Australia and northern Italy; improving networks between community-based organisations, home businesses, and local government; the formation of a National Non-profit ICT Coalition; prototyping an annotation system for capturing and sustaining indigenous oral culture. He helped launch the International Development Informatics Association (IDIA) in 2007. Rebecca French completed her Master's of Information Management and Systems at Monash University in 2007, after employment as a Psychologist for 10 years. She is currently undertaking her PhD at Monash University Faculty if IT on information behaviour and knowledge sharing in welfare organisations, while working as a Research Assistant and Records and Information Management consultant with non-profit organisations.