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Guide to the Internet EncyclopediaGuide to the Internet Encyclopedia
The Internet Encyclopediais a comprehensive summary
of the relatively new and very important field of the In-
ternet. This reference work consists of three separate vol-
umes and 205 chapters on various aspects of this field.
Each chapter in the encyclopedia provides a comprehen-
sive overview of the selected topic intended to inform a
board spectrum of readers ranging from computer pro-
fessionals and academicians to students to the general
business community.
In order that you, the reader, will derive the greatest
possible benefit fromThe Internet Encyclopedia,we have
provided this Guide. It explains how the information
within the encyclopedia can be located.ORGANIZATION
The Internet Encyclopediais organized to provide maxi-
mum ease of use for its readers. All of the chapters are
arranged in alphabetical sequence by title. Chapters titles
that begin with the letters A to F are in Volume 1, chap-
ter titles from G to O are in Volume 2, and chapter titles
from P to Z are in Volume 3. So that they can be easily
located, chapter titles generally begin with the key word
or phrase indicating the topic, with any descriptive terms
following. For example, “Virtual Reality on the Internet:
Collaborative Virtual Reality” is the chapter title rather
than “Collaborative Virtual Reality.”Table of Contents
A complete table of contents for the entire encyclopedia
appears in the front of each volume. This list of titles
represents topics that have been carefully selected by the
editor-in-chief, Dr. Hossein Bidgoli, and his colleagues on
the Editorial Board.
Following this list of chapters by title is a second com-
plete list, in which the chapters are grouped according to
subject area. The encyclopedia provides coverage of 11
specific subject areas, such as E-commerce and Supply
Chain Management. Please see the Preface for a more de-
tailed description of these subject areas.Index
The Subject Index is located at the end of Volume 3. This
index is the most convenient way to locate a desired topic
within the encyclopedia. The subjects in the index are
listed alphabetically and indicate the volume and page
number where information on this topic can be found.Chapters
Each chapter inThe Internet Encyclopediabegins on a new
page, so that the reader may quickly locate it. The author’s
name and affiliation are displayed at the beginning of the
article.All chapters in the encyclopedia are organized accord-
ing to a standard format, as follows:Title and author,
Outline,
Introduction,
Body,
Conclusion,
Glossary,
Cross References, and
References.Outline
Each chapter begins with an outline indicating the
content to come. This outline provides a brief overview
of the chapter so that the reader can get a sense of
the information contained there without having to leaf
through the pages. It also serves to highlight important
subtopics that will be discussed within the chapter. For
example, the chapter “Computer Literacy” includes sec-
tions entitled Defining a Computer, Categories of Com-
puters According to Their Power, and Classes of Data Pro-
cessing Systems. The outline is intended as an overview
and thus lists only the major headings of the chapter. In
addition, lower-level headings will be found within the
chapter.Introduction
The text of each chapter begins with an introductory sec-
tion that defines the topic under discussion and summa-
rizes the content. By reading this section the readers get
a general idea about the content of a specific chapter.Body
The body of each chapter discusses the items that were
listed in the outline section.Conclusion
The conclusion section provides a summary of the mate-
rials discussed in each chapter. This section imparts to the
readers the most important issues and concepts discussed
within each chapter.Glossary
The glossary contains terms that are important to an un-
derstanding of the chapter and that may be unfamiliar to
the reader. Each term is defined in the context of the par-
ticular chapter in which it is used. Thus the same term
may be defined in two or more chapters with the detail of
the definition varying slightly from one to another. The en-
cyclopedia includes approximately 2,500 glossary terms.xxxi