Academic literature on the topic 'International Association for Labor. German Section'

The purpose of writing this article was the desire to acquaint readers with the most significant scientific views of a respected colleague, a scientist in the field of labor law, Professor Manfred Weiss. For the review, the scientific research of Professor Weiss over the past ten years, concerning the most pressing problems of labor law, was selected. The result of studying the works of Professor Weiss was the systematization and presentation of the problematic issues he studied within the framework of three sections of the article. In the first section, assessing the risks of labor law delegitimization, Professor Weiss explores the transformation of the world of work at various historical stages, including the present one. Labor law should be adapted to modern conditions in several areas: the search for new models of organizing the collective will of workers; expanding the scope of labor law; mitigating the risks posed by new forms of employment; human rights and protection against discrimination. The second section of the review of works is devoted to the transnationalization of labor relations. According to Weiss, the lack of decent labor standards in global supply chains and the irresponsibility of multinational corporations are acute. Tools to counter these forces should be sought not in national labor law, but in the international context. Attempts to develop binding international standards have so far been unsuccessful, and according to Weiss, international framework agreements have the greatest potential in regulating labor relations with a transnational element. Finally, the third section brings together Professor Weiss' reflections on the impact of digitalization on the world of work. Recognizing the inevitability of human displacement by artificial intelligence and robots in certain areas, the scientist is concerned about the development of early solutions to several of the most pressing problems in the interests of respecting the rights and interests of workers. These include strengthening the role of lifelong learning, revising the scope of labor legislation in a circle of people, revising the concept of working time, strengthening the protection of personal, official and commercial information, changing the approach to protecting the life and health of an employee and searching for a new concept of work-life balance, finding ways development of collective representation. The professor recognizes the positive aspects of the impact of digitalization on the world of work, but on the condition that its negative consequences in the form of objectification of labor subjects will be overcome.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of successful Vaginal Birth after One Cesarean Section in our tertiary care institution and to determine the causes of its failure.Material and Methods: This study was conducted in department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Shifa International Hospital and Shifa Foundation Community Health Centre Islamabad Pakistan from Feb 2011 to Dec 2014. This study included 592 patients who presented in labor room emergency reception of Obs/Gynae department at term with previous one scar having fulfilled the laid down inclusion criteria for VBAC during ante-natal care. The patients were admitted in hospital and were allowed to proceed for spontaneous labor under vigilant monitoring on complications of trial of scar. Immediate emergency cesarean sections were performed, where indicated.Results: Out of 592 patients 70.7% were delivered vaginally after previous one cesarean section and 29.3% had emergency cesarean section. Leading indications for repeat cesarean section was fetal distress, failure to progress and scar tenderness. No maternal and fetal complication occurred in our study. The success rate of Trial of labor after one previous cesarean delivery was lower in obese (64.38%) as compared to non-obese women (82.06%) (p<0.001). Women with previous successful vaginal delivery had a success rate of 88.2% compared with 62.25% in women without such a history (OR 4.4; 95% CI 2.7-7.2 p <0.001).Conclusion: Vaginal birth after one lower segment cesarean section should be encouraged with vigilant monitoring provided no obstetric contra-indication to vaginal birth exists.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.15(4) 2016 p.546-550

The article presents an overview of the materials of the annual scientific conference «Lomonosov readings-2019», reflecting the reports made at the section «Individual and work in the digital economy», dedicated to the significant date - the 100th anniversary of the International labour organization (ILO). The speakers actively discussed the development of social and labor sphere of modern Russia, its future in the conditions of digitalization and humanization, the problems of formation and development of human potential and transformation of labor relations in the digital economy, as well as prospects and risks in the regional, sectoral and corporate labour markets in connection with digitalization. The discussions identified and justified the need to consolidate efforts to establish an Association of labor economists, to continue the tradition of holding annual international inter-University scientific conferences for the exchange of scientific ideas and consistently project the position of the ILO in science, practice and in the teaching process.

Gunther Hellmann, Klaus Dieter Wolf, and Michael Zürn (eds.), Die neuen Internationalen Beziehungen. Forschungsstand und Perspektiven in Deutschland (Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 2003), pp. 614.The intensification in recent years of interest in the history and sociology of IR (as a discipline) has been manifested in a growing number of publications dealing with aspects of different IR communities. The appearance of a weighty and semi-official volume summarising the state of the art in German IR is therefore a noteworthy development, and one that merits attention beyond the German-speaking world where it will find its main audience. I refer to this volume as ‘semi-official’ because it has been published under the auspices of the Section for International Politics of the German Political Science Association (Deutsche Vereinigung für Politische Wissenschaft, DVPW). The book does not attempt to speak for IR scholars in Austria or Switzerland and so represents a national rather than a linguistic community, though not all the contributors teach at universities in Germany.

In Sturgeon, the European Court of Justice considered that EC Regulation 261/2004 on Air Passenger Rights breaches the principle of equal treatment. It held that air passengers with a delay of three hours or more have a right to compensation, unless the airline can prove that the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances. After a brief look into how airlines generally perform with regards to their obligations under Regulation 261/2004 (section 1), I will summarize the Sturgeon decision as it was handed down by the European Court (section 2), set out the airlines' response to Sturgeon, which amounts to a boycott of the European Court's decision (section 3), analyse the questions referred to the European Court by the High Court in London in which the airlines challenge the validity of Sturgeon (section 4), and briefly comment on questions referred by the German Federal Court on the application of Sturgeon (section 5). My conclusion (section 6) will be that the European Court cannot but confirm Sturgeon, because the decision is compatible with both the Montreal Convention and the Grand Chamber decision in International Air Transport Association (IATA). This conclusion is in line with the opinion I published in January 2010. This article may be misunderstood as presenting a consumer view on Air Passenger Rights. However, it only aims to predict, from an independent perspective, what the European Court will decide in the pending cases with respect to Sturgeon.

Annotation: The available data on COVID-19 and pregnancy indicate that pregnancy and childbirth increase the likelihood of infection with the virus due to changes in the body, primarily in the respiratory and immune system organs. However, the association with the deterioration of the clinical picture in comparison with non-pregnant women of the same age group has not been proven. In this article (literature review), we analyzed data about how COVID-19 affects the course of pregnancy and examined the features of the application of anesthesia for patients undergoing cesarean section, based on international experience, due to the fact that pregnant women who develop pneumonia associated with COVID-19, have an increased risk of obstetric complications, premature birth, premature rupture of membranes, preeclampsia, cesarean section. Complications associated with a new coronavirus infection increase the need to receive anesthesia, which should be safe for the woman in labor, the fetus and medical personnel. Our knowledge of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, disease progression and clinical course of COVID-19 is constantly changing as more and more information becomes available. The research is based on articles on cases, case series, observational studies and randomized controlled trials describing women affected by coronavirus during pregnancy issued in 2019-2021. As a result of the study, it was concluded that in pregnant and maternity women with COVID-19, it is recommended to use conduction analgesia methods.

There are only a few studies that have studied the prevalence of psychotic experiences (PEs) in a representative population-based sample and a broad range of age. The association and predictive role of PEs in the context of psychotic and other mental disorders remains a subject of discussion. The Mental Health Module of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults is the first wave of a German health monitoring survey describing:– the distribution and frequency, the severity and the impairments of a wide range of mental disorders;– risk factors as well as patterns of help-seeking and health care utilization;– associations between mental and somatic disorders.A total of 4483 participants participated in the mental health section of the survey. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview, the Launay-Slade Hallucination Scale and the Peter's Delusion Inventory were used to assess PEs by clinically experienced interviewers. We can confirm and extend previous findings for younger age groups that PEs are very frequent psychopathological expressions in the general population across genders and all age groups. PEs rates were elevated among those with other mental disorders, particularly among possible psychotic disorders, PTSD and affective disorders. This points to the relevant role of PEs as a marker for psychopathology and mental disorders. Future prospective studies will have to focus on specific properties of psychotic experiences such as their appraisal or underlying social influences to determine their significance for the prediction of psychotic and other mental disorders.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

Background: Historically, most caesarean delivery took place because of or in association with obstetric complications or medical illness. However, rates of elective primary caesarean deliveries with no clear medical or obstetrical indication are rising dramatically. The most common indication for primary c-section include in order of frequency labor dystocia, abnormal or indeterminate fetal heartrate tracing, fetal malpresentation, multiple gestation, fetal macrosomia. Many other factors that have contributed to the increasing rate of caesarean include improved surgical technique and patient demand and pressure on caregivers to practice “defensive medicine”. The increasing rate of caesarean section is a matter of international public health concern as it increases the caesarean related maternal morbidity and fetal complications as well as the cost of health care as compared to normal delivery. Methods: This study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at PDU Medical College and Hospital Rajkot, Gujarat from January 2021 to June 2022. Results: The study was conducted on 234 cases, the percentage of primary caesarean section in the study population of PDU Medical College Rajkot was found to be 2.96%. In this study, 38.46% of patients belonged to 26-30 year age group. In this study, 78.63% of multigravida patients were 2nd and 3rd para. There were 41.45% of cases underwent LSCS for foetal distress, 12.39% for antepartum haemorrhage, 12.82% for malpresentation and rest for various other indications. 33.33% of the study population in this study belonged to Robson’s group 3, 26.92% were included in category 4a, 15.81% belonged to category 4b. Among all deliveries 94.87% were live births whereas 5.98% were still births. Conclusions: Many unforeseen complications occur in women who previously had a normal vaginal delivery. It is recommended that all antenatal patients must be booked and receive proper and regular care. Also 100% deliveries in multigravida should be institutional deliveries in order to reduce maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality.

Edwin Keiner held the chair for General Pedagogy and Social Pedagogy at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano until his retirement in October 2019. From 2014 to 2017 he also served as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Education at the same university. Prior to that, he worked as a professor for the History of Education and Socialisation at the University of Bochum and as a professor for General Pedagogy at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He has studied the theory and the history of education as an academic discipline with special interest in a comparative perspective. His academic focus is on methodology, historical and comparative research on educational research, and historical, empirical and comparative as well as interdisciplinary approaches to and in educational research. For several years he took over the role as chairman of the Commission for Research on Educational Research and of the Section for General Pedagogy of the German Educational Research Association. In addition, Keiner was very active in the European Educational Research Association (EERA) for example as the first elected representative of all networks and member of the EERA Council. In 2018, Keiner succeeded in bringing the annual «European Conference on Educational Research» (ECER) with about 3,000 participants to the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy, South Tyrol. He was a member of the «International Research Community ‘Philosophy and History of The Discipline of Education’» (University Leuven, Belgium) for almost 20 years and member of the editorial boards of Paedagogica Historica, European Educational Research Journal and Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability. At present, Edwin Keiner works part-time as a senior professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Frankfurt/Main, Germany.

Resumen: En el período de referencia no hay nuevas quejas “abiertas” o “en seguimiento” ante el Comité de Libertad Sindical que afecten al Estado español. Tampoco el Informe del Comité de Libertad Sindical núm. 387, adoptado en su 334.ª reunión (Ginebra, 25 de octubre – 8 de noviembre de 2018) refieran alguna problemática en relación al Reino de España.Ocho sentencias del TEDH son objeto de comentario, seis que afectan directamente al estado Español, y otras dos, relativas a la influencia de la ética religiosa en el empleo y al devengo de las vacaciones no dis­frutadas por fallecimiento del trabajador que pueden iluminar algunos aspectos de la legislación nacional.La primera sentencia analizada del Tribunal de Justicia es la del 11 de julio de 2019 [asunto: C-60/17]. Somoza Hermo c. Esabe Vigilancia en un supuesto de subrogación contractual en transmisión de empresas por imperativo del convenio colectivo. Se trata comprobar si es posible que el convenio colectivo limite la responsabilidad solidaria característica de la normativa comunitaria en supuestos de transmisión de empresas. La STJUE de 25 de julio de 2018 [asunto: C-96/17]. Vernoza Ayovi c. Consorci Sanitari analiza el sistema singular del sistema de extinción de los contratos de trabajo de los trabajadores indefinidos no fijos y su acomodación a la normativa comunitaria.En la STJUE de 7 de agosto de 2018 [asunto: C-472/16]. Colino Sigüenza c. Ayuntamiento de Va­lladolid se aborda el problema de la si existe una transmisión de empresa cuando una empresa continua con una actividad tras el cese de la anterior empresa en una adjudicación pública (escuela municipal de música) si ha existido un tiempo sin actividad por parte de ninguna empresa.La STJUE de 11 de septiembre de 2018 [asunto: C-68/17]. IR c. JQ, en un asunto que no afecta a España, analiza si las actividades profesionales cuya ética se sustenta en la religión pueden discriminar a un trabajador por haberse vuelto a casar sin haber anulado el anterior matrimonio. De lo que se trata es de averiguar qué requisitos y bajo qué condiciones es legítimo imponer que determinados trabajadores profesen la ética de la entidad religiosa para la que trabajan.La STJUE de 19 de septiembre de 2018 [asunto: C-41/17]. González Casto c. Mutua Umivale, sí afecta al ordenamiento español. Se trata de determinar si la evaluación de riesgos en el trabajo nocturno debe ser predicable de trabajadores que efectúan trabajo a turnos en los que alguno de ellos, efectiva­mente puede ser en horario nocturno, especialmente en aquellos casos en los que la trabajadora ha soli­citado la prestación por riesgos durante la lactancia natura.En la muy interesante S TJUE de 6 de noviembre de 2018 [asuntos acumulados: C-569/16 y C-570/16]. Stadt Wuppertal y V.W c. M.B. se analiza, para el ordenamiento jurídico alemán, qué ocurre con el disfrute de las vacaciones anuales retribuidas de aquellos trabajadores que no pudieron disfrutar de ellas aunque ya había trabajado tiempo suficiente para devengar una parte sustancial de las mismas. Como resolución singular para nuestro ordenamiento debe citarse la S TJUE de 21 de noviembre de 2018 [asunto: C-619/17]. Ministerio de Defensa c. Diego Porras II, que versa sobre la indemnización que procede por terminación de un contrato de interinidad.La STJUE de 21 de noviembre de 2018 [asunto: C-245/17]. Viejobueno y Vara c. Consejería de Educación aborda una problemática muy específica, la finalización de la relación laboral del docente al acabar el curso académico, y la discriminación que sufrirían los trabajadores por no disfrutar las vaca­ciones anuales retribuídas.En el ámbito del TEDH se ha reseñado la sentencia de 6 de noviembre de 2018 en el Asunto: Vicent del Campco c. España (demanda núm.: 25527/13), sobre responsabilidad patrimonial de la ad­ministración y acoso en lugar de trabajo. En un procedimiento para la exención de la responsabilidad de la Administración (educativa, en este caso) por no haber evitado una situación de acoso laboral en el trabajo se condena a la Administración a satisfacer una determinada cantidad económica a una víctima de acoso. Pero el Tribunal identifica al acosador por su nombre y apellidos y relata de manera detallada las circunstancias del caso. El acosador no sólo no había sido parte en el procedimiento Contencioso-Administrativo, sino que tampoco tenido conocimiento de la tramitación de dicho procedimiento. Se entiende perjudicado y acude al TEDH solicitando la reparación de su derecho pues entiende que se han vulnerado su derecho a la vida privada y familiar (art. 8) y su derecho a un proceso justo (art. 6).Palabras clave: convenio colectivo, transmisión de empresas, trabajador indefinido no fijo, ad­judicación de servicio público a otra empresa, discriminación por motivos religiosos, trabajo a turnos, trabajo nocturno, prevención de riesgos laborales, riesgo durante la lactancia natural, vacaciones anuales retribuidas, fallecimiento del trabajador, contrato de interinidad, indemnización por finalización de con­trato, funcionarios docentes interinos, extinción objetiva del contrato de trabajo por falta de necesidades docentes, responsabilidad patrimonial de la Administración, procedimiento Contencioso-Administrati­vo, acoso en lugar de trabajo.Abstract: In the reference period, there are no new “open” or “follow-up” complaints before the Committee on Freedom of Association that affect the Spanish State. Nor does the Report of the Commit­tee on Freedom of Association, No. 387, adopted at its 334th meeting (Geneva, October 25 - November 8, 2018) refer to some problems in relation to the Kingdom of Spain.Eight judgments of the ECHR are subject to comment, six that directly affect the Spanish state, and two others, relating to the influence of religious ethics on employment and the accrual of holidays not enjoyed due to the death of the worker that can illuminate some aspects of the national legislation.The first judgment analyzed by the Court of Justice is that of July 11, 2019 [case: C-60/17]. So­moza Hermo c. Esabe Surveillance in a case of contractual subrogation in the transfer of companies by virtue of the collective agreement. The aim is to check whether it is possible for the collective agreement to limit the joint and several liability that is characteristic of Community legislation in cases of transfer of companies.The S TJUE of 25 July 2018 [case: C-96/17]. Vernoza Ayovi c. Consorci Sanitari analyzes the sin­gular system of the system of extinction of the work contracts of undefined non-fixed workers and their adaptation to the community regulations.In the SJJE dated 7 August 2018 [case: C-472/16]. Colin Sigüenza c. Valladolid City Council addresses the problem of whether there is a transfer of company when a company continues with an activity after the cessation of the previous company in a public award (municipal music school) if there has been a time without activity by any company.The SJJE of 11 September 2018 [case: C-68/17]. IR c. JQ, in a matter that does not affect Spain, analyzes whether professional activities whose ethics are based on religion can discriminate against a worker for having remarried without having annulled the previous marriage. What it is about is to find out what requirements and under what conditions it is legitimate to impose that certain workers profess the ethics of the religious entity for which they work.The S CJEU of 19 September 2018 [case: C-41/17]. González Casto c. Mutua Umivale, does affect the Spanish legal system. The aim is to determine if the assessment of risks in night work should be pre­dicable of workers who work shifts in which some of them can actually be at night, especially in those cases in which the worker has requested the benefit for risks during lactation natura.In the very interesting S TJUE of November 6, 2018 [cumulative matters: C-569/16 and C-570/16]. Stadt Wuppertal and V.W c. M.B. it is analyzed, for the German legal system, what happens with the enjoyment of paid annual holidays of those workers who could not enjoy them even though they had already worked enough time to earn a substantial part of them.As a singular resolution for our ordinance, the SJJEJ of November 21, 2018 [case: C-619/17] must be cited. Ministry of Defense c. Diego Porras II, which deals with the compensation that comes from the termination of an interim contract.The S TJUE of 21 November 2018 [case: C-245/17]. Viejobueno y Vara c. The Ministry of Education addresses a very specific problem, the termination of the teacher’s employment relationship at the end of the academic year, and the discrimination suffered by workers for not enjoying the annual paid vacation.In the field of the ECHR the sentence of November 6, 2018 in the Subject: Vicent del Campco c. Spain (demand no .: 25527/13), on property liability of the administration and harassment in place of work. In a procedure for the exemption of the responsibility of the Administration (educational, in this case) for not having avoided a situation of labor harassment at work, the Administration is condemned to satisfy a certain amount of money to a victim of harassment. But the Court identifies the harasser by his first and last name and tells in detail the circumstances of the case. The harasser not only had not been a party to the Contentious-Administrative proceedings, but also had no knowledge of the processing of said procedure. The injured party is considered to be in the ECHR requesting the reparation of his right, since he understands that his right to private and family life has been violated (Article 8) and his right to a fair trial (Article 6).Keywords: collective agreement,transmission of companies, indefinite worker not fixed, adju­dication of public service to another company, discrimination on religious grounds, night work, pre­vention of occupational hazards, risk during breastfeeding, paid annual holidays,death of the wor­ker, interim contract, compensation for termination of contract, temporary teaching staff,objective termination of the employment contract due to lack of teaching needs, management liability of the Administration,contentious-Administrative Procedure, harassment in the workplace.

Abstract On Sunday evening, 23 August 1931, an extraordinary assembly of men and women gathered in the Amsterdam Koloniaal lnstituut for a conference which was to last until Friday morning, 29 August 1931. Economic experts arrived from all five continents to participate in the deliberations of the meeting, called to debate “World Social Economic Planning: The Necessity for Planned Adjustment of Productive Capacity and Standards of Living.” While the topic was certainly not a standard theme for international congresses at the time, and whereas the geographic spectrum rep resented lent an unusual dimension to this gathering, what was perhaps most remark able was the breadth of social and professional interests represented at this meeting. Economists and industrialists, statesmen and trade unionists, journalists and architects, factory inspectors and factory owners, engineers and communists; a remarkable assortment of individuals hailing from every imaginable social and professional background assembled in the Koloniaal Instituut for what became known as the 1931 World Social Economic Planning Congress. Among the well-known per sonalities present were RudolfWissell, the former German secretary of labor; Fritz Naphtali, the head of the German trade union research association; Friedrich Pol lock, a leading member of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research; French jour nalist and politician Bertrand de Jouvenel; Dutch social democrat F. M. Wibaut, the eminencegrise behind Amsterdam’s exemplary municipal housing development project; Albert Thomas, the director of the Geneva International Labor Bureau; the Brookings Institute economist Lewis L. Lorwin; Valeri V. Ossinsky, the leading Soviet economic expert; H.S. Person, the managing director of the American Frederick Taylor Society; and leading industrialists from many countries. It was an unprecedented meeting of minds concerned about the state of disarray of economies and societies in 1931. Person formulated the concerns of the participants in the following manner: “We have come to the conclusion that individualistic enterprise has in deed constructed a magnificent and efficient economic machine, but that it has finally reached a stage of evolution in which individualistic industry is unable to keep it in order and operate it properly.

Abstract Since its inception, social democracy has been an international phenomenon, organized in national sections but with multiple links and avenues of exchange connecting the varied strands across political frontiers. Regular international congresses were held to coordinate the political responses to the challenges of the day, although, in practice, it remains to be determined what, if any, impact the decisions reached at the international gatherings had on the daily practice of national parties. Certainly by the 1930s the social democratic International was little more than an empty shell. Yet some form of international center continued to exist, and regular meetings of the LSI executive and bureau were held in frequent succession. The memoirs of Adolf Sturmthal, a key employee of the LSI in Zurich and, later, Brussels, are a fascinating reminder of the impressive international contacts maintained between social demo crats in Europe up to the outbreak of World War 11.1 Personal contacts were, however, only one dimension facilitating potential intellectual cross-fertilization and exchange. A well-developed network of social democratic publications reinforced the public committrnent to an internationalist perspective. In each of the five countries under review, social democrats controlled a plentiful and generally lively party press with, in each case, one national daily newspaper as the informational backbone, at least for as long as conditions of legality prevailed. A network of foreign correspondents kept each national section abreast of information from abroad. German, Austrian and Spanish social democracy furthermore published important theoretical journals with significant attention to international events. Rudolf Hilferding’s Zeitschrift für Sozialismus (ZfS) provided a much-needed forum for reflections on the tragedy of German labor. As much of its readership was dispersed among the few remaining democracies in Europe, there existed more than purely intellectual reasons for heightened attention to what used to be considered “foreign affairs.” Theoretical analyses of fascism, the changing nature of the state and the strategies of united and popular fronts stood side by side with up-to-date assessments of the latest Comintern twists, politics in Spain and the most recent programmatic in novations of the British Labor Party.

Information communications technology (ICT) has been identified as a key enabler in the achievement of regional and rural success, particularly in terms of economic and business development. The potential of achieving equity of service through improved communications infrastructure and enhanced access to government, health, education, and other services has been identified. ICT has also been linked to the aspiration of community empowerment, where dimensions include revitalizing a sense of community, building regional capacity, enhancing democracy, and increasing social capital. In Australia, there has been a vision for online services to be used to open up regional communities to the rest of the world. Government support has been seen “as enhancing the competence levels of local economies and communities so they become strong enough to deal equitably in an increasingly open marketplace” (McGrath & More, 2002, p. 40). In a regional and rural context, the availability of practical assistance is often limited. Identification of the most appropriate online services for a particular community is sometimes difficult (Ashford, 1999; Papandrea & Wade, 2000; Pattulock & Albury Wodonga Area Consultative Committee, 2000). Calls, however, continue for regional communities to join the globalized, online world. These are supported by the view that success today is based less and less on natural resource wealth, labor costs, and relative exchange rates, and more and more on individual knowledge, skills, and innovation. But how can regional communities “grab their share of this wealth” and use it to strengthen local communities (Simpson 1999, p. 6)? Should communities be moving, as Porter (2001, p. 18) recommends (for business), away from the rhetoric about “Internet industries,” “e-business strategies,” and the “new economy,” to see the Internet as “an enabling technology—a powerful set of tools that can be used, wisely or unwisely, in almost any industry and as part of almost any strategy?” Recent Australian literature (particularly government literature) does indeed demonstrate somewhat of a shift in terms of the expectations of ICT and e-commerce (National Office for the Information Economy, 2001; Multimedia Victoria, 2002; National Office for the Information Economy, 2002). Consistent with reflections on international industry experience, there is now a greater emphasis on identifying locally appropriate initiatives, exploring opportunities for improving existing communication and service quality, and for using the Internet and ICT to support more efficient community processes and relationships (Hunter, 1999; Municipal Association of Victoria and ETC Electronic Trading Concepts Pty Ltd., 2000; National Office for the Information Economy, 2002). The objective of this article is to explore whether welldeveloped and well-implemented online services can make a positive contribution to the future of regional and rural communities. This will be achieved by disseminating some of the learning from the implementation of the MainStreet Regional Portal project (www.mainstreet.net.au). To provide a context for this case study, the next section introduces some theory relevant to virtual communities and portals. The concept of online communities is introduced and then literature is reviewed to identify factors that have been acknowledged as important in the success of online community and portal initiatives.