About this Issue

About this issue...

The inaugural issue of the electronic journal of the Berglund Center for Internet Studies, The Journal of Education, Community, and Values: Interface on the Internet, appears at an epochal moment in American history. The events of September 11, 2001, will forever change us as a country. Obviously, we would prefer that the Journal was not beginning in the shadow of these tragedies. But we believe that the events themselves are directly related to the even more sweeping changes that have crept up on us less dramatically: the advent of the information society, the impact of the internet, the "Third Wave" society, Globalization, however one prefers to phrase it. Accordingly, we hope that the Journal will, in both this issue and the future, help us to better understand ourselves as citizens of this country, and of our world.

There are many advantages to publishing electronically. Chief among these is ease and speed of dissemination. Despite the fact that we were well along in our production process on November 11, we were able to solicit an article from one of our Berglund Fellows, Deborah L. Wheeler of the University of Washington, on "Islam, Technology and Community: Muslim Cyberpractices and their Global Meanings." Deborah is regarded as a leading authority on issues dealing with Islam and the Internet. In my opening editorial, "Netwar," I begin an extended analysis of a related topic, the impact of the Internet upon warfare, with particular reference to the recent acts of terrorism.

Despite the gravity of the events of September 11, for most of us, the challenge is simply to go on with our professional lives. Additional articles in this issue have been chosen to reflect a wide range of internet-related activities. Ken Bush, a Professor of Physical Therapy, discusses a project to train faculty from a wide variety of fields in basic multimedia production skills for use in their classes in his piece, "Training Faculty to Work in Multi-Media: A Report of a Workshop at Pacific University." Alyson Burns-Glover, a Professor of Psychology, discusses the impact of cultural differences on electronic communications in "Culture, the Classroom, and Electronic Contacts:Talk story and Email communications." Linda Casser, Associate Dean of Academic Programs in the College of Optometry at Pacific University, discusses an initiative to require all entering Optometry students to bring laptop computers to school in her article, "Pacific University College of Optometry: The First Optometry Program to Require Laptop Computers of its Entering Students."

Regular features in the Journal will include reviews of significant books dealing with the Internet by Drew Harrington, University Librarian at Pacific University. In this issue Drew reviews the work by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid, The Social Life of Information and the work Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty and the Internet Worldwide, by Pippa Norris.

Another regular feature will include a column by Mark Szmansky, another Berglund Fellow and Professor of Education in the Eugene Program of Pacific University, who will post current information on sources of funding for Internet-related activities. His first topic is Grant and Workshop Issues and Opportunities for K-16 Educators.

The Journal welcomes all communications. We are interested in the impact of the Internet upon society and individuals, including business and education. To inquire as to our interests in publishing particular pieces, please see our Call for Submissions. We pay for pieces published as "articles."

We are also interested in working with editors who might be responsible for regular features to be published in the Journal. to inquire as to our interests, please contact <barlowj@pacificu.edu>.

We hope that you find The Journal of Education, Community, and Values: Interface on the Internet , useful to your work and a complement to your own interests in the impact of the Internet.

Jeffrey Barlow
Editor