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In this paper, we introduce the themes addressed and the approaches used in this special issue. We start by briefly discussing the state of the art in research and policy making related to science, technology and ageing. We argue that an important gap characterizes this state of the art: current approaches do not consider material practice and materiality to be an inherent part of later life as constituted in contemporary societies. Science and Technology Studies (STS) provide both the theories and methods to address this gap, and thus deploy a theoretical and empirical understanding of science, technology and ageing that captures how later life co-evolves with the practices of technology use and design. We briefly discuss how the articles in the collection each contribute to such an understanding across various locations. We conclude that, together, the contributions specify a perspective on the socio-material constitution of later life that implicates an important agenda for the future study of ageing and gerontechnology innovation.

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This article presents an historical account of the governing principles of e-government in Denmark from 1994 to present day. With a point of some policy analytical themes and with empirical data retrieved from elite interviews and official documents, we are presenting the history of the governing of e-government. Based on notions such as e.g. centralising-decentralising; bureaucracy-networks we are able to find patterns of continuity and change. From being a small part of a national Information Society strategy in the early 1990s, in which the actors were supposed to be guided by visions based on certain "Danish values", the policy domain has in the 00s increasingly become subject to traditional hierarchical control, which has resulted in a more coercive integration of government information systems.

TQM is a managerial innovation that is likely to have profound consequences on the delivery of health services. As an innovation, it is important that attention be given to the fundamental research issues associated with implementation and impact. Using a variance and process perspective, selected research issues are identified within organizations and among work units within these organizations. The variance perspective at both the organizational and work unit level considers the explanation of impact and adoption at a particular point in time. The process perspective considers the particular steps or events in the overall adoption process. The managerial implications for each perspective are discussed.