Denison, T. (2004). Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 11(2), 70-79.

Denison, T., & Robinson, M. (2004). In T. Denison (Ed.), Proceedings of the 12th Victorian Association for Library Automation Biennial Conference and Exhibition (VALA 2004). (pp. 1-14). Melbourne, Australia, 3-5 February.

VALA Conference Proceedings

Hotels

Useful information can be found on the Monash Prato website.

The Prato tourism information service is also very helpful

Trains

Florence's Santa Maria Novella station is the main rail node from the rest of Italy and Europe. The Galilei from Paris and the Italia Express from Frankfurt stop at Santa Maria Novella. However, Il Pendalino, Italy's express "bullet" train, stops at the Firenze Rifredi station. You can take Eurostar (the faster ones) trains from Rome to Florence of course, and there are direct Eurostar trains from Prato Centrale to Rome (but not the other way around). Check the Trenitalia website.

Prato is on the Florence-Lucca-Viareggio and the Florence-Bologna lines, with more than 30 trains daily from Florence (about 30 min.).Trains are less frequent in the middle of the day. Have lunch. You can see an online timetable, though it is in Italian, but type in Firenze S.M. Novella (the main station) and Prato to see the times (in the drop-down box for Prato that will appear, choose P. Centrale or P. Serraglio).

IMPORTANT: At the Santa Maria Novella Florence railway station pay attention to the 'airport screen' in front of the platforms for trains (see the picture above: the screen is on the far left in the middle), which stop in Prato, though big timetable posters behind glass are at the start of each platform. However, these don't appear to always be accurate, especially in the middle of the day, so you may need to get an extra cup of coffee.... The two Prato stations appear in smaller fonts in the list of other trains (eg Via Reggio, Prato Centrale, Prato Al Serraglio Pistoia on the airport screen). Useful information in English about services at the station. Enjoy the 1930's architecture.

All trains on Florence-Lucca-Viareggio and the Florence-Bologna routes stop at Prato Centrale station, a 15-minute walk southeast from the Monash Center, but only some trains (again, check the information sign at Florence) stop at very convenient Prato Porta Serraglio station, outside the gate very close to the Duomo piazza, and Monash is just down via Garibaldia, left on Via Pugliesi. The chocolate shop just opp. the station is sensational. Trains run in both directions until about midnight. Don't try to buy a ticket in the main booking hall in Florence - get one from the newspaper & tobacco kiosk on the 'concourse', or from a ticket machine. Tickets are about 2.50eu. If you don't have a validated ticket (put it in one of the machines on the platform), you can get a hefty fine .

Maps

The animated maps on the Prato Centre website can show you exactly
how to walk out of the stations to the Centre. Also see the map below . The centre is next to the letter 'K'.

Other information

Buses also go to Prato from outside the Florence railway station, but it is a bit confusing trying to find the right stop, unless your Italian is good enough. CAP and LAZZI buses go there.

The taxi from the Stazione Centrale may take far longer to get to the Monash Centre than by foot, but on your first visit, you may get lost or tired carrying luggage!

There is a excellent Coop supermarket - with high tech personal price scanners that may defeat your tech. skills - not far from the Monash Centre on Via Tiziano, up from the corner with Via Archivesovo Martini (near the river), but local food is of course outstanding.

Trains also service Florence from Pisa Airport.

About Prato

A Brief Background

Prato is a small but thriving Tuscan city, with a beautiful historic
centre and a vibrant cultural and economic life. Famous since the
renaissance for its textile industry and still renowned for its
manufacture of fine Italian fabrics. The city has a population of some
180,000 inhabitants. A growing percentage of these are immigrants from
mainland China, the Indian sub-continent, north and west Africa and
elsewhere. The story of textiles in Prato is told in its textile museum.
The communal, provincial and regional governments, are progressive in
outlook and active in European community affairs. They have welcomed
the presence of an Australian academic institution, Monash University,
in the heart of their city. For further information about the city,
visit Prato's Civic Net site.

May 2, 2005. The Centre for Community Networking Research at Monash University has finalised the consultation process and presented the Draft Information Economy Strategy for Australian Civil Society to the Information Economy Division of the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. See the attachment.

The Challenge, the Outcome, and the Opportunity.

From http://www.itu.int/wsis/basic/about.html.

The Challenge

The global information society is evolving at breakneck speed. The
accelerating convergence between telecommunications, broadcasting
multimedia and information and communication technologies (ICTs) is
driving new products and services, as well as ways of conducting
business and commerce. At the same time, commercial, social and
professional opportunities are exploding as new markets open to
competition and foreign investment and participation. The modern world
is undergoing a fundamental transformation as the industrial society
that marked the 20th century rapidly gives way to the information
society of the 21st century. This dynamic process promises a
fundamental change in all aspects of our lives, including knowledge
dissemination, social interaction, economic and business practices,
political engagement, media, education, health, leisure and
entertainment. We are indeed in the midst of a revolution, perhaps the
greatest that humanity has ever experienced. To benefit the world
community, the successful and continued growth of this new dynamic
requires global discussion

Denison, Tom. In Marshall, S. & Taylor, W., proceedings of the 5th International IT in Regional Areas Conference, Caloundra, Queensland, 15-17 December 2003. Available in the 2003 ITIRA proceedings at ITIRA website

Abstract
In 2002, the Centre for Community Networking commenced a research programme aimed at improving the understanding of the use of communications and information technology (ICT) by community and third sector organisations within Australia. The immediate goal of this research was the creation of the Monash Community ICT Index. This paper represents the first attempt to provide a more in-depth analysis of the data obtained in that survey, setting the results in the context of research undertaken by Zook (2001), Castells (2001) and Adamic (2001), who consider that not only is the Internet a natural fit with “winner-take-all” markets but reinforces existing patterns of geographic centralisation in the information society and economy. It will pay particular attention to factors such as the location and size of organisations, and whether there is any support for the notion of a digital divide in the social communications networks and creators of knowledge within the Australian community sector.