A report examined the implications of easier access to global communication; surveyed the increasing use of the internet in Britain and how this applied to local and global networks; and discussed how individuals and communities could build networks, and the challenges this brought.
Source: William Dutton, The Local Impact of the Global Internet: The effect of new technology and global communication on individuals and communities in Britain, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Nov
A report by the government-appointed 'Digital Champion' called for radical improvements to government internet services in order to provide higher-quality and more convenient services to users. It said that public services should increasingly be provided digitally 'by default'. The government endorsed the report.
Source: Martha Lane Fox (UK Digital Champion), DirectGov 2010 and Beyond: Revolution not Evolution, Cabinet Office
Links: Report | Response | Cabinet Office press release | CIT press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2010-Nov
A report examined children's relationship with the internet and modern technology, and considered the challenges it posed for adults' ability to safeguard their welfare. Parents and children were becoming complacent about the dangers of internet use, and making unfounded assumptions about safety.
Source: Digital Lives: Childwise Monitor Special Report 2010, Childwise
Links: Summary | Childwise press release | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Oct
A report examined young people's experiences of using the internet. Failure to recognize digitally excluded youths as a group requiring focus and support would lead to their isolation from mainstream society – making it harder for them to succeed in education, find a job, and apply for the support they needed.
Source: Young People and the Digital Divide, Catch22
Links: Report | Catch22 press release
Date: 2010-Sep
An article examined the social impact of new surveillance technologies on the lives of school children living in a northern city.
Source: Michael McCahill and Rachel Finn, 'The social impact of surveillance in three UK schools: "angels", "devils" and "teen mums"', Surveillance & Society, Volume 7 Number 3/4
Links: Article | Telegraph report
Date: 2010-Jul
A new book examined social theories relating to health and illness. Using case studies, it looked at the expanding jurisdiction of medicine over issues such as binge drinking, obesity, the prominence of therapy, and the search for happiness.
Source: Peter Kennedy and Carole Kennedy, Using Theory to Explore Health, Medicine and Society, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Jun
An audit report reviewed the data systems used to support delivery of the Labour government's public service agreement 4 – to 'promote world class science and innovation in the UK' – over the period from 2008.
Source: Review of the Data Systems for Public Service Agreement 4, National Audit Office
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Jun
A report said that civil society organizations would have to undergo a profound shift in organizational culture in order to benefit fully from social technologies. Social media were not always being used effectively, with organizations often using them to broadcast their message rather than engage with their online community. (Social technologies are websites, services, and applications that allow users to engage in social behaviours online or on a mobile phone.)
Source: Suw Charman-Anderson, Making the Connection: Civil society and social media, Carnegie UK Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Mar
A progress report by an independent adviser said that the United Kingdom was a world leader in child internet safety: but it needed to make faster progress to stay ahead of advances in technology.
Source: Tanya Byron, Do We Have Safer Children in a Digital World? A review of progress since the 2008 Byron Review, Department for Children, Schools and Families
Links: Report | Hansard | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Mar
The opposition Conservative Party published its technology manifesto. Key policies included: legislating to create a powerful new 'right to government data', enabling the public to request and receive government datasets; extending 'superfast' broadband across most of the population; and publishing online every item of central government and quango spending over £25,000.
Source: Conservative Technology Manifesto, Conservative Party
Links: Manifesto | Conservative Party press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2010-Mar
A report examined the implications of internet communication technologies for the accountability of public services.
Source: Adam Pickering, Cannot Find Server: Reconnecting public accountability, Centre for Public Scrutiny
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Mar
A report mapped the evidence relating to the indicators, prevalence, and consequences of online risks to children – as well as effective safeguarding measures and regulation.
Source: Thomas Spielhofer, Children's Online Risks and Safety: A review of the available evidence, UK Council for Child Internet Safety
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Mar
The government published a plan designed to promote the take-up of digital technology. It highlighted the economic, social, and cultural advantages of greater participation.
Source: National Plan for Digital Participation, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Plan | DBIS press release | Consumer Focus press release | DC10plus press release
Date: 2010-Mar
A report said that the language used to talk about older people and technology was often 'ageist', and underplayed the diversity of their usage, attitudes, and experiences. People, of whatever age, were 'multi-dimensional' and technology needed to support multi-dimensional lives and experiences.
Source: Simon Roberts, The Fictions, Facts and Future of Older People and Technology, International Longevity Centre – UK
Links: Report | ILC press release
Date: 2010-Feb
A report by a committee of MPs said that a government proposal to charge people with fixed phone lines 50p per month to help fund ultra-fast broadband was unfair: most of those who would pay the tax would not benefit from the faster service. The focus should instead be on providing basic broadband for all and allowing markets to deliver higher speeds.
Source: Broadband, Fourth Report (Session 2009-10), HC 72, House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee/TSO
Links: Report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2010-Feb
A government strategy document said that savings to the public purse of £3.2 billion annually from 2013-14 were to be made through transformations in public sector information technology.
Source: Government ICT Strategy: Smarter, cheaper, greener, Cabinet Office
Links: Strategy | Cabinet Office press release
Date: 2010-Jan
The government announced the national roll-out of a scheme giving 270,000 low-income families a free computer and free broadband access, in an attempt to close the digital and educational divide between rich and poor families and to help keep parents in touch with their child's progress. Families with children aged 7-14 who were entitled to free schools meals would be able to apply for a grant to buy a computer and broadband connexion from an approved supplier, after meeting strict eligibility criteria.
Source: Press release 11 January 2010, Department for Children, Schools and Families
Links: DCSF press release | ATL press release | New Start report | BBC report
Date: 2010-Jan