Chapter 1

Abstract

Looking to next years for post-industrial, ‘techno-elite’ cultures (i.e. US, European Union, Japan, Australia), the primary societal change driver is expected to be a paradigm shift from an organization-centric society revolving around an external workplace to an individual-centric society centered around the home as well as the local and virtual communities. An expected paradigm shift from an organization-driven societal architecture (i.e. communities and social activities focused around large companies or organizations) to an individual-centric societal architecture (increased choice and availability of opportunities focused around individual wants and desires) is referred to as a neo-renaissance [1]. A neo-renaissance lifestyle is a home, local community, and virtual-community-centric societal architecture. This new lifestyle is due to a growing workforce composed of digitally connected free-agent workers able to work from any location. Boundaries between work and personal life will become increasingly blurred [2]. The neo-renaissance, decentralized business culture is dominated by a virtual workforce that can be engaged anywhere on the globe, and business will be conducted from any location by a virtual workforce of free agents. Focus shifts away from the corporate site as the primary workplace to the virtual workspace of the virtual office, collaboration centers, and virtual communities. Due to this growing of virtual communities, a strong interest towards the automatic evaluation of intellectual and human capital as expressed in virtual communities is also growing [3].