VII PREFACE The contents of this volume is based upon presentations that took place during the international research symposium "Research on Impacts - Hope for Escaping the Negative Effects of an Information Society" in Walberberg on May 25 - 26, 1981. The symposium was organized by the Institute for Organization and Automation at the University of Cologne (BIFOA) within a research project on "Konstruktive Wirkungsforschung" and was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology. Information technology is considered to be the crucial factor for the future development of...