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This paper explores the concept of digital modernity, the extension of narratives of modernity with the special affordances of digital networked technology. Digital modernity produces a new narrative which can be taken in many ways: to be descriptive of reality; a teleological account of an inexorable process; or a normative account of an ideal sociotechnical state. However, it is understood that narratives of digital modernity help shape reality via commercial and political decision-makers, and examples are given from the politics and society of the United Kingdom. The paper argues that digital modernity has two dimensions, of progression through time and progression through space, and these two dimensions can be in contradiction. Contradictions can also be found between ideas of digital modernity and modernity itself, and also between digital modernity and some of the basic pre-modern concepts that underlie the whole technology industry. Therefore, digital modernity may not be a sustainable goal for technology development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a dearth of systematic evidence concerning the extent to which being located in economically advantaged regions assists firms in accessing knowledge from global sources. This paper explores the issue by utilizing data from a survey of firms in the UK. It shows that local knowledge sourcing widely assists firms in economically advantaged regions by acting as a springboard for international knowledge sourcing, whilst this is not the case for their counterparts in disadvantaged regions. The analysis suggests that the springboard effect and the geography of external knowledge networks are associated with regional economic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning health systems (LHS) use digital health and care data to improve care, shorten the timeframe of improvement projects, and ensure these are based on real‐world data. In the United Kingdom, policymakers are depending on digital innovation, driven by better use of data about current health service performance, to enable service transformation and a more sustainable health system. This paper examines what would be needed to develop LHS in the United Kingdom, considering national policy implications and actions, which local organisations and health systems could take. The paper draws on a seminar attended by academics, policymakers, and practitioners, a brief literature review, and feedback from policy experts and National Health Service (NHS) stakeholders. Although there are examples of some aspects of LHS in the UK NHS, it is hard to find examples where there is a continuous cycle of improvement driven by information and where analysis of data and implementing improvements is part of usual ways of working. The seminar and literature identified a number of barriers. Incentives and capacity to develop LHS are limited, and requires a shift in analytic capacity from regulation and performance, to quality improvement and transformation. The balance in priority given to research compared with implementation also needs to change. Policy initiatives are underway which address some barriers, including building analytical capacity, developing infrastructure, and data standards. The NHS and research partners are investing in infrastructure which could support LHS, although clinical buy in is needed to bring about improvement or address operational challenges. We identify a number of opportunities for local NHS organisations and systems to make better use of health data, and for ways that national policy could promote the collaboration and greater use of analytics which underpin the LHS concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]