The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has tied up with world leading academic institutions to embark on an international research project to study the long-term impact of the Internet on society. This study is to be conducted over three years initially to track the changes that the Internet has brought to the society. A national survey will be administered annually to monitor such changes.

NTU has joined the Center for Communication Policy at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Bocconi Business School at Bocconi University at Milan, Italy, to form the core international team for this study. Another 15 countries in Asia, Europe, Latin American and Africa are expected to join the project over the next 3-5 years. "This is going to be a truly international project of a global scale. And we are glad to be a partner to it," commended Professor Eddie Kuo, Singapore Project Director and Dean of the School of Communication Studies at NTU.

The Singapore project is jointly sponsored by SBA, NCB and TAS, with a grant of about $400,000 for the three-year study.

Expressing his support to the project, Brigadier-General (NS) George Yeo, Minister for Trade and Industry, and former Minister for Information and the Arts said: "The Internet will turn our lives upside down but, exactly how, no one knows. Its effects will be both constructive and destructive. Some cultures will adapt better to it than others. We have an opportunity now to do surveys of the effects of the Internet on individuals, families, social groups and businesses while the technology is still at an early stage of development. We should do this longitudinally and across cultures. The results of the survey research may help us reduce the negative side-effects of the Internet."

He added, "The UCLA/NTU/Bocconi study is therefore very timely. We in Singapore are delighted to take part in this international research effort. The results will be of great interest to us."

Mr. Niam Chiang Meng, Chairman of SBA also commented: "We are indeed pleased to be the first Asian country to participate in this international project in partnership with UCLA. Singapore is among the first countries in the world with an advanced nation-wide information infrastructure which will wire up virtually every individual, home, school and office."

He added, "With one of the highest Internet usage in Asia, this pioneering study will allow us to explore for the first time the social impact of the Internet in the Singapore context. The findings will enable policy makers to respond more effectively to the challenges ahead."

The Singapore research team comprises scholars in communication, sociology, information technology, and business and policy studies. In addition to Professor Kuo, the multidisciplinary team consists of Associate Professor Alfred Choi, Sub-Dean of Communication Studies at NTU; Associate Professor (Adjunct) Arun Mahizhnan, Deputy Director of Institute of Policy Studies (IPS); Associate Professor Christina Soh, Director of Information Management Research of School of Accountancy and Business, NTU, and Assistant Professor Lee Wai Peng of SCS. The first national survey will be conducted in August this year.

In explaining the significance of the study, Professor Eddie Kuo said: "We all feel the Internet is changing our life in many ways, in work, business, leisure, as well as family and interpersonal relations. Its impact is going to be greater increasingly over time. This longitudinal study will allow us to monitor the trends of Internet development, the patterns of Internet usage, and the social impact of this new technology on Singapore and Singaporeans."

He added, "We are excited to team up with reputed academic institutions such as UCLA and Bocconi (Italy) in this international project. This provides a valuable comparative perspective in our understanding of the impact of the Internet. The collaborative team plans to invite other country teams to join this international study. From Singapore, we will try to invite collaborators from Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as our SE Asian counterparts to join the project. The Singapore Team at NTU will be happy to play a key coordinating role in this and other related areas of research in Asia."

Announcing the launch of the international project in Los Angeles yesterday, coordinator of the project Dr. Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy stressed that the study "will explain how the Internet is changing the world --today, tomorrow, and 20 years from now.

"Everyone either loves or hates the Internet, but there's no question that

the impact of the Internet is real and profound -- certainly the most important communication technology of the generation to come," Cole said. The Internet Study will provide "the first long-term exploration of how life is being transformed by computers and the Internet, with year-to-year comparisons of the social and cultural changes produced as people use this extraordinary technology. This study is also the first to analyze these broad questions about the Internet on a global scale."