Introduction / Alison A. Carr-Chellman -- China's online education : rhetoric and realities / Ke Zhang -- The gap between e-learning availability and e-learning industry development in Taiwan / Jiang Jia Qi -- Distance education and online technologies in India / Priya Sharma -- Online learning and differential participation in a democratic society : Ireland as a case study / Sarah Fitzpatrick and Paul Conway -- E-learning, democracy and social exclusion : issues of access and retention in the United Kingdom / Ormond Simpson -- International study circles / Ben Salt -- A critical look at distance education in Turkey / Husra Gursoy -- Canada's SchoolNet : wiring up schools? / Leslie R. Shade and Diane Y. Dechief -- The new frontier : Web-based education in U.S. culture / Alison A. Carr-Chellman -- New Zealand : is online education a highway to the future? / Bill Anderson -- Towards borderless virtual learning in higher education / Colin Latchem -- Development and democracy in Namibia : the contribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) / R. Kavena Shalyef and Hilda Nakakuwa -- Can you lead from behind? : critical reflections on the rhetoric of e-learning, open distance learning and ICTs for development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) / Wayne Mackintosh -- Stalled : e-learning as thwarted innovation / Robert Zemsky and William F. Massy -- Conclusion / Alison A. Carr-Chellman.