" In 1999 the IFZ - Inter-University Research Centre for Technology, Work and Culture launched the Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society (IAS-STS) in Graz, Austria. Since then the IFZ it the hosting institute of the IAS-STS. IAS-STS is broadly speaking, an Institute for the enhancement of Science and Technology Studies. The IAS-STS offers the opportunity to perform work focussing on technology and its relationship with society. Special attention in this context is paid to the areas of technology policy, technology diffusion, technology assessment, and social shaping of technology as well as technology-related analysis of gender and education issues."