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Introduction: During and since the Covid-19 pandemic there has been an intensified integration of digital technologies into the everyday lives of older people. We do, however, know little about the ways in which older people incorporate digital technologies and communications into their daily lives and their own meanings, embodiment and experiences of the digital during and since the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: The aim of our research was to explore the use of digital devices during and since the Covid-19 pandemic and to identify facilitators and barriers to incorporating digital devices into everyday life. The research involved a series of online focus groups with people aged between 63 and 86 years living in the United Kingdom and were conducted in 2022. Each focus group lasted around 90 min and data was audio-recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed thematically. Results: From the analysis, three interconnecting whilst analytically distinct themes around the meaning and experiences of using digital devices in everyday life during and since the pandemic, are thematically presented as: (1) Incorporating the digital into everyday life; (2) Social and digital connectivity; and (3) Challenges and limitations of the digital in everyday life. Discussion: The research has provided insights into the way digital devices were used by older people during and since the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, we highlight the increasing importance of digital connectivity and the ways in which older people actively engage (and resist) technologies of communication in their daily lives; and the significance of embodied co-presence and the immediacy of shared space and/or time is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statement of the problem: Smartphone technologies have changed the landscape of digital communication across society. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of and requirement for technical solutions to facilitate remote clinical communications. Despite the benefits of smartphones in a clinical communication context, there are risks associated with their use. Purpose of the study: The primary purpose of this study was to determine the extent of smartphone use among dental professionals in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). In addition, we sought to determine the perception and knowledge of potential pitfalls, risks, and limitations of these technologies among the same population. A smaller cohort of UK dental professionals was surveyed for comparison. Materials and methods: An online quantitative survey was distributed to evaluate dental professionals' knowledge and understanding of the risks and limitations of smartphone and mobile technology, providing general understanding of the current use of smartphone technology in healthcare in the ROI and the UK. Results: A total of 123 responses were received from dental professionals in the ROI (UK: n=77). The majority of dental professionals confirmed that they were aware of the risks associated with smartphone use and perceived that they were adequately skilled in digital professionalism. However, concerning practice regarding the communication of sensitive patient data was identified, with the potential for these data to be stored on insecure devices and cloud servers. Many ROI and UK dental professionals confirmed that they would need support to remove patient-identifying data when trading in their device. Conclusions: App, smartphone and mobile device ownership among dental professionals for clinical communications is widespread in the ROI (and UK), with respondents using their devices to send images (photos and radiographs) to one another. However, the risks of such activities are only partly acknowledged, with many having a lack of insight into data security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Widespread efforts to promote the use of building information modelling (BIM) as part of the construction industry transformation agenda in many advanced countries are yet to reach the wished-for effects. While there are various studies on the factors influencing BIM adoption, empirical evidence detailing how construction companies can successfully adopt BIM in their organisations remains scarce. This paper identifies and describes how enabling factors are implemented by large UK contractor firms to transform their organisations using BIM for projects. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative exploratory approach is employed in this paper. Data are gathered through 42 semi-structured interviews with professionals in strategic and management roles in construction companies in the UK, followed by case studies of five leading main contractor companies selected to provide examples of how they implemented the identified enablers. Findings: This research identifies and describes six key enabling factors that influence successful BIM adoption and implementation, namely, committed leadership and management; a digital transformation strategy with realistic objectives; building a capable supplier network; building trust-based relationships with clients; upskilling employees; and establishing a robust structure for effective collaboration and communication. Practical implications: Nine practical recommendations are provided to guide construction firms in taking steps to adopt and use BIM in their organisations and for their projects. Originality/value: This study provides empirical evidence detailing how key enablers are implemented towards successful BIM adoption and use by large UK contractors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) have emerged as a robust and cost-effective solution for buried pipeline monitoring due to the low cost (a maximum of a few tens of UK pounds (GBP)), low power supply capacity (in the order of 1 watt/hour) and small size (centimetre scale) requirements of the wireless sensor nodes. One of the main challenges for WSN deployment, however, is the limited range of underground data communication between the wireless sensor nodes of less than 3 m, which subsequently increases deployment costs for a utility owner for buried pipeline monitoring. A promising alternative to overcome this limitation is using low-frequency (<1 kHz) acoustic signal propagation along the pipe. This paper examines the feasibility of using low-frequency acoustic signal propagation along exposed and buried medium-density polyethylene (MDPE) pipes and makes predictions of the potential distances at which reliable data communication can be achieved. Quantification of the acoustic attenuation was performed using both analytical and numerical models in addition to laboratory and field experiments. The predicted acoustic data communication distance ranged between approximately 18 m for an exposed and approximately 11 m for a buried MDPE pipe. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using low-frequency acoustic signal propagation for achieving reliable wireless underground communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the3million—a major organisation that was formed after the 2016 Brexit Referendum to represent EU citizens in the UK, this article explores the role of online communication in supporting civic actors' lobbying and mobilisation strategies at local, national and international levels. Apart from multi-scalar dimensions of these civic organisations' work and of the way EU citizens themselves engage, we identify different strategies of impact. These are inter-linked and performed in a nonlinear fashion and include: emotionalising; politicising; channelling; contesting. These findings elaborate on the way multinational diaspora formation and mobilisation in the 21st century should be conceptualised, and their importance for stakeholder empowerment. We argue that contextual factors—both in terms of the socio-political capital of the people engaged in mobilisation and the features and dynamics of opportunity structures in a particular country and historical moment—are important in understanding why civic actors emerge, how they mobilise and the way their status and focus of their work transforms over time. The article significantly contributes to research studying the use of digital communications and especially e-newsletters and e-mails by non-state actors for mobilising and lobbying purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 21st century, governments developed national broadband plans to supply high-speed broadband networks for the emerging digital economy and to enable digital services delivery. Most national broadband plans are now focused on moving to ever faster networks, but there is a growing need to develop national digital communications strategies to focus on the demand-side of the broadband "eco-system". In this paper, we outline the approaches adopted by the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Korea to assist in the development (or renewal) of Australia's national broadband strategy, or, as we prefer, national digital communications strategy. The paper draws on the lessons learned from the case-study countries and the recent pandemic and considers some theoretical aspects of the broadband ecosystem. We conclude by suggesting a process to re-evaluate Australia's national digital communications strategy as it rolls forward, and to incorporate recent international trends to develop demand-side policies to enable greater adoption and use of existing broadband infrastructure and digital services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely communications are important in enabling young people with long-term conditions to stay engaged with their health and manage their condition successfully. This study considers the role of digital communication in helping young people engage with services and the clinical teams providing their care. Data are drawn from 165 young people and 173 NHS staff across 20 clinical settings in the UK treating a variety of long-term conditions. Although not the focus of the main study the intersection of digital technologies and timely communication in keeping young people engaged was apparent. We drew on theories of time to understand how time was conceptualised and used in the digital communications between young people and their clinical teams. Through the lens of time we show that digital communications are valued differently by young people with long-term conditions and their clinical teams. In the current policy landscape where there is an emphasis on digital technology understanding the temporalities of different groups will help in the introduction of appropriate digital communications channels. Done well digital communications have the potential to improve young patients' autonomy but this must be balanced with the needs of clinical teams, particularly loss of control over work patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the concept of the polymedia repertoire to explore how social meaning is indexed through the interplay of communicative resources at different levels of expression (from choice of media to individual signs) in digitally mediated interactions. The multi-layered polymedia repertoire highlights how people move fluidly between media platforms, semiotic modes and linguistic resources in the course of their everyday interactions, and enables us to locate digital communications within individuals' wider practices. The potential of our theoretical contribution is illustrated through analysis of mobile phone messaging between participants in a large multi-sited ethnography of the communicative practices of multilingual migrants working in linguistically diverse UK city neighbourhoods. Our analysis of mobile messaging exchanges in a day-in-the-life of these networked individuals reveals the importance of device attention in shaping interpersonal interactions, as well as the complex ways in which choices at different levels of a polymedia repertoire are structured by social relationships, communicative purpose and (dis)identification processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital transformation has had a profound impact on political communication. It has lowered the access barrier for actors to become publicly visible and reconfigured predominantly vertical flows of information into horizontal communication networks. Media-centric studies hold that these 'hybrid media systems' do not subvert the analogue order tout court, as the media still occupy a central role in selection and distribution processes. In contrast to this, social movement scholars interested in digital forms of mobilization show that civil society actors can directly engage their base and the wider public. Because of this focus, the status and role of the media in these connective efforts has remained largely neglected. This study extends the view of both media-centric and social movement research by asking how the media are included in civil society mobilization efforts online and what status and role they have. Analysing the online communication around the UK climate change debate over a 30-month period, we show that while the media account for a substantial amount of the actors in the networks generated by civil society actors and bloggers, they become more marginal with respect to the authority they command. Not only are they replaced by bloggers as focal points in these digital political communication ecologies, they become next to irrelevant in allocating visibility and attention to other actors. This has ambivalent consequences for democratic discourse, as online debates become more inclusive but also more fragmented, lacking common points of reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 15 years, productivity growth in advanced economies has significantly slowed, giving rise to the productivity paradox of the New Digital Economy – that is, the notion of increased business spending on information and communication technology assets and digital services without a noticeable increase in productivity. We argue that time lags are the most important reason for the slow emergence of the productivity effects from digital transformation. This paper provides evidence that underneath the slowing productivity growth rates at the macro level, signs of structural improvements can be detected. In the United States most of the positive contribution to productivity growth is coming from the digital producing sector. The Euro Area and the United Kingdom show larger productivity contributions from the most intensive digital-using sectors, although the United Kingdom also had a fairly large number of less intensive digital-using industries which showed productivity declines. We also find that increases in innovation competencies of the workforce are concentrated in industries showing faster growth in labor productivity, even though more research is needed to identify causality. Finally, we speculate that as the recovery from the COVID-19 recession gets underway the potential for significant productivity gains from digital transformation in the medium term is larger than during the past 15 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Digital Platforms Inquiry, as a case study in the new thinking about digital platform regulation taking place in many nations. With its focus upon the impact of digital platforms on news and journalism, the ACCC Inquiry parallels other reviews, such as the Cairncross Review on the Future of Journalism in the United Kingdom. While the Inquiry had a somewhat 'accidental' history, the core issues that it raised have acquired considerable political resonance in Australia. The concept of harms provides a useful lens through which to understand the ACCC's focus, as it identified harms caused by the market dominance of Google and Facebook for traditional news media businesses, and for consumers and citizens. Responding to the ACCC Final Report will present challenges in identifying the public good dimension of journalism and who should pay for it, the scope and reach of digital platform regulation and its relationship to media policy and regulation, and the scope for small nations to effectively manage the power of global digital platform giants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the pervasiveness of digitisation communications, those that are left behind are seen as socially excluded. In both academic and policy discourses, it is assumed that digital inclusion as a route into mainstream society is a desirable solution to problems of multiple exclusion and has led to many studies of the digital inclusion/exclusion of 'hard to reach' groups. Yet, Gypsy–Travellers, among the most marginalised people in society, have received little attention. Using data from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, we assess the impact of digital communications on Gypsy–Traveller communities. This article makes a contribution in the following ways: First, we address the theories of 'fields of inclusion' to show how exclusion and inclusion work together in different ways; Second, we explore how different policy frameworks in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom shape these possibilities; Third, we document the forms of inclusion that Gypsy–Travellers experience in terms of digital communications; Fourth, we look at how Gypsy–Travellers use digital communications to recreate their own cultures as well as selectively integrate with mainstream society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores how postgraduate students make course selection decisions in the digital era. An exploratory study with seven postgraduate student focus groups (UK, EU and International) gained a detailed insight into this important change. The availability of information, from an increased use of digital media had a significant impact on Higher Education postgraduate decision-making. The results found a circular decision-making approach with evidence of rational and emotional decisions where students do not always commence with a wide choice set. Online forums, Word-of-Mouth/electronic Word-of-Mouth from past/existing students, family and friends are important influencers, as students considered postgraduate study from one month to four years prior to starting a course. We identified 5 different application pattern categories, together with highlighting the importance of evaluating the students' pre-purchase experience during the application process. The research highlights the need for universities to continually engage during the decision-making process and to evaluate pre-purchase experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant tourist experience literature focuses on 'live' space and time activity, while pre- and post-components are often neglected despite the opportunities offered by increasing use of digital media communication (DMC). Focusing especially on the pre-festival experience but also addressing peri- and post-phases, this study examines the role of DMC in tourists' experiences at British rock music festivals. Interviews with festivalgoers revealed three core and inter-related themes: information, emotional response and communitas. Initial engagement with DMC enabled planning, generated feelings of anticipatory excitement and created a sense of communitas. Online activity reduced peri-festival but continued to enhance the live event experience, while the virtual communitas was extended at the post-festival phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this theoretically oriented review is to examine the role of space and spatial thinking in the changing teaching and learning environments in higher education. The starting point is that educational space is not a pre-set institution or only a physical space but a social construction. As such, space is a crucial element in the learning process and student engagement. In the paper, basic concepts of educational space and spatiality are discussed. The complexity of the relations between spatial understanding and student engagement is demonstrated by referring to a specific drama and theatre course as a case example. The case was a joint master-level course between two European universities (in UK and Finland) where multiple online platforms were used. By the means of the learning space in the case, we discuss the nexus of spaces, comprising a dynamic spatial plurality across the learning environments. Blurring boundaries between formal and informal spaces seems to give room for meaningful and embodied experiences - social, situational and emotional connectedness with students in different places. Formal ICT solutions of digital learning do not automatically pay enough attention to spatial aspects of learning and engagement. Understanding the connections between spatial thinking and the meanings of engagement and senses of belonging brings vital elements to the development of digital learning and learning environments. Parallel with the discussions of the distinctive role of interaction and communication in digital environments, spatial understanding can offer an important contribution to increase understanding of personal meanings of learning. Based on the theoretical reflections of the presented case, bodily experiences of the sense of "sharing a space" appears to interrelate with the feelings of belonging and ownership in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encryption protects digital information from unauthorized access by making it illegible to anyone without an encryption key. While this ensures the security of digital communications, it also prevents the government from accessing evidence it needs for national security investigations. This creates an apparent conflict between the private sector's desire for strong encryption and the government's interest in "back door" access, thus raising the normative question of whether governments should be able to legally require companies to maintain "back doors" to encrypted information. In view of the significant impact of this debate on economic, privacy, security, and diplomatic interests of states around the world, this Article explores two lines of inquiry: First, what legal frameworks should courts and legislators use to approach encryption? Second, which framework produces the best policy outcomes--in particular, which stakeholders are benefitted or harmed under each approach? To answer these questions, this Article examines legal approaches to encryption in the U.S. and U.K., countries with contrasting policies on the subject. It evaluates the pros and cons of each approach, situating encryption within existing legal frameworks. This includes the First Amendment argument of "code as free speech," government investigatory powers under the Fourth Amendment, and the U.K.'s Investigatory Powers Act permitting government-mandated back doors. This is the first paper clarifying, surveying, and comparing the legal approaches to encryption in the U.S. and U.K. Such a comparative analysis explaining the consequences of each legal approach could help countries choose the most effective approach to encryption. By applying existing laws to the novel problems posed by encryption, this Article generates new evidence against the implementation of encryption back doors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Digital communication between a patient and their clinician offers the potential for improved patient care, particularly for young people with long term conditions who are at risk of service disengagement. However, its use raises a number of ethical questions which have not been explored in empirical studies. The objective of this study was to examine, from the patient and clinician perspective, the ethical implications of the use of digital clinical communication in the context of young people living with long-term conditions.Methods: A total of 129 semi-structured interviews, 59 with young people and 70 with healthcare professionals, from 20 United Kingdom (UK)-based specialist clinics were conducted as part of the LYNC study. Transcripts from five sites (cancer, liver, renal, cystic fibrosis and mental health) were read by a core team to identify explicit and implicit ethical issues and develop descriptive ethical codes. Our subsequent thematic analysis was developed iteratively with reference to professional and ethical norms.Results: Clinician participants saw digital clinical communication as potentially increasing patient empowerment and autonomy; improving trust between patient and healthcare professional; and reducing harm because of rapid access to clinical advice. However, they also described ethical challenges, including: difficulty with defining and maintaining boundaries of confidentiality; uncertainty regarding the level of consent required; and blurring of the limits of a clinician's duty of care when unlimited access is possible. Paradoxically, the use of digital clinical communication can create dependence rather than promote autonomy in some patients. Patient participants varied in their understanding of, and concern about, confidentiality in the context of digital communication. An overarching theme emerging from the data was a shifting of the boundaries of the patient-clinician relationship and the professional duty of care in the context of use of clinical digital communication.Conclusions: The ethical implications of clinical digital communication are complex and go beyond concerns about confidentiality and consent. Any development of this form of communication should consider its impact on the patient-clinician-relationship, and include appropriate safeguards to ensure that professional ethical obligations are adhered to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Social sensing” is a form of crowd-sourcing that involves systematic analysis of digital communications to detect real-world events. Here we consider the use of social sensing for observing natural hazards. In particular, we present a case study that uses data from a popular social media platform (Twitter) to detect and locate flood events in the UK. In order to improve data quality we apply a number of filters (timezone, simple text filters and a naive Bayes ‘relevance’ filter) to the data. We then use place names in the user profile and message text to infer the location of the tweets. These two steps remove most of the irrelevant tweets and yield orders of magnitude more located tweets than we have by relying on geo-tagged data. We demonstrate that high resolution social sensing of floods is feasible and we can produce high-quality historical and real-time maps of floods using Twitter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Failure of critical national infrastructures can result in major disruptions to society and the economy. Understanding the criticality of individual assets and the geographic areas in which they are located is essential for targeting investments to reduce risks and enhance system resilience. Within this study we provide new insights into the criticality of real-life critical infrastructure networks by integrating high-resolution data on infrastructure location, connectivity, interdependence, and usage. We propose a metric of infrastructure criticality in terms of the number of users who may be directly or indirectly disrupted by the failure of physically interdependent infrastructures. Kernel density estimation is used to integrate spatially discrete criticality values associated with individual infrastructure assets, producing a continuous surface from which statistically significant infrastructure criticality hotspots are identified. We develop a comprehensive and unique national-scale demonstration for England and Wales that utilizes previously unavailable data from the energy, transport, water, waste, and digital communications sectors. The testing of 200,000 failure scenarios identifies that hotspots are typically located around the periphery of urban areas where there are large facilities upon which many users depend or where several critical infrastructures are concentrated in one location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents views of the author regarding shortage of journalists in Great Britain owing to money shortage. Topics discussed include tough time faced by newspapers in this digital age, a reports by Reuters Institute at Oxford University in Oxford, England regarding foreign correspondents and recruitments in the newspaper "Telegraph."

The article presents views of the author regarding digital advancements being a threat to journalism. Topics discussed include business and private lives interaction remaining dormant in digital mind of service providers, communications of journalists being susceptible to authorities interrogation and investigatory powers bill for security and privacy being implemented in Europe and Great Britain.

Background: Increasingly, the NHS is embracing the use of digital communication technology for communication between clinicians and patients. Policymakers deem digital clinical communication as presenting a solution to the capacity issues currently faced by general practice. There is some concern that these technologies may exacerbate existing inequalities in accessing health care. It is not known what impact they may have on groups who are already marginalised in their ability to access general practice. Aim: To assess the potential impact of the availability of digital clinician-patient communication on marginalised groups' access to general practice in the UK. Design and Setting: Realist review in general practice. Method: A four-step realist review process was used: to define the scope of the review; to search for and scrutinise evidence; to extract and synthesise evidence; and to develop a narrative, including hypotheses. Results: Digital communication has the potential to overcome the following barriers for marginalised groups: practical access issues, previous negative experiences with healthcare service/staff, and stigmatising reactions from staff and other patients. It may reduce patient-related barriers by offering anonymity and offers advantages to patients who require an interpreter. It does not impact on inability to communicate with healthcare professionals or on a lack of candidacy. It is likely to work best in the context of a pre-existing clinician-patient relationship. Conclusion: Digital communication technology offers increased opportunities for marginalised groups to access health care. However, it cannot remove all barriers to care for these groups. It is likely that they will remain disadvantaged relative to other population groups after their introduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the introduction of interactive digital television (DTV) in the UK at the turn of the millennium, and its take-up and use by early audiences. It discusses whether the processes of television technological convergence went together with 'consumer behaviour convergence,'1 enhanced audience engagement with the interactive TV services offered, and participation. Based on findings from a UK-wide survey and in-depth interviews with early Sky digital subscribers conducted during the early days of the service, the article shows that early interactive DTV was taken up because of its multichannel offering and thematic orientation and, interestingly, was approached and appreciated mostly as a television content provider. It thus notes a divergence on industry's attempts to promote convergence in broadcasting and on the level and pace with which users adopt and adapt to such change. In so doing it highlights the evolutionary nature and slow rate of change of cultural habits and forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Airwave Health Monitoring Study was established to evaluate possible health risks associated with use of TETRA, a digital communication system used by police forces and other emergency services in Great Britain since 2001. The study has been broadened to investigate more generally the health of the work force. Methods From 2004, participants from each force who agreed to participate were enrolled either with an enrolment questionnaire or a comprehensive health screening performed locally. This includes questionnaire, 7-day food diaries, anthropometry, measurements of cardiovascular and cognitive function, blood chemistry, coagulation and haematology. Blood and urine samples are stored in vapour phase liquid nitrogen allowing long-term access for biochemical or genetic analysis. Access to the resource is via an access committee and a steering committee, including external scientific advisers as well as representatives of the police officers and staff. Results By the end of 2012, the study had recruited 42,112 participants, of whom 35,199 (83.6%) had attended the health screening. Almost two thirds of participants were men and 71% of them were a TETRA user. Being in lower ranks (constable/sergeant and staff) was associated with a worse cardio-metabolic risk profile compared to higher ranks (inspector or chief inspector, superintendent and above). Conclusion The Airwave Health Monitoring Study is the only large-scale cohort study of police employees worldwide. The specificities of this sample, such as its well-defined job hierarchy, make it a particularly valuable occupational cohort. Participants have consented to the use of their data and samples for future, currently unspecified, research purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Leveson Inquiry has broken new ground for court and political reporting: for the first time a public inquiry held under the Inquiries Act 2005 has been played out live on the internet. Online media provided a chance for ordinary members of the public, non-profit groups and small media organisations to expand and question mainstream media narratives, as they watched, blogged and tweeted proceedings. This paper considers public access to the inquiry, arguing that digital communication has allowed for a newly liberated form of debate and enhanced the public's entitlement to report what they hear in court, in accordance with a longstanding legal tradition of open justice. Additionally, it has improved UK citizens' right to freedom of expression - which includes the right to receive as well as impart information and ideas. The public's increased access to inquiry resources and reporting tools does not necessarily indicate a greater role on the 'news stage', but it opens up the possibility for greater public influence on news discourse, and beyond that, political debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a response to a British government consultation "A Communications Review for the Digital Age." The response has been approved by the British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association (BILETA). It cites the need for the communications market to be flexible enough to support innovation while facilitating competition.

The last decade has been a period of unprecedented change for university libraries. The growth in numbers of students and staff has been accompanied by the move to a digital environment. Since 2009 they have had to cope with problems caused by a decreasing budget as well. They have to meet the increased demand for content on the one hand, and have to provide new digital services on the other, while keeping closer contact with their users. Among financial restrictions and personnel cuts there is a need for continuous innovation, for giving up old routines and for inter-library cooperation. Most of academic libraries are hybrid ones, holding both printed and digital content, because part of the content for researchers and students is not available in a digital form yet. Rarely used printed materials may be provided for the readers of a group of libraries, based on co-operation agreements. In the long term, providing open access may decrease costs, however, for the time being, it costs a lot to operate repositories. It is important for libraries to show that their services are closely related to the institution's success. The essay presents examples and ideas of how British academic libraries deal with this situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Bringing corporate strategies to life and engaging with staff have become key concerns of HR directors and CEOs alike in recent years. Active engagement and meaningful involvement in that strategy are difficult to achieve. This paper aims to document two successful internal communication projects in a multinational company, T-Mobile. Design/methodology/approach - ''Open'' was already an award-winning paper-based internal communication that, as part of T-Mobile UK's overall strategy for multi-channel internal communication, was migrated to a digital platform. This represented a cultural shift for the employees within the organization. Findings - T-Mobile and Words & Pictures co-developed an approach involving cartoon characters, each representing a strategic business focus, which captured the imagination of the mobile operator's employees and delivered impressive online statistics of engagement, including increased reader time and 95 percent readership enjoyment. This was supported by an increased employee understanding of key strategic issues. Practical implications - Words & Pictures concludes that other organizations wishing to achieve similar digital engagement should first understand the employees and their needs for communication and secondly should see the digital platform as a genuine opportunity to reinforce the brand. Originality/value - This T-Mobile and Words & Pictures case study focuses on two award-winning internal communications projects that were successful in improving employee engagement through the transferal from paper to digital communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the use of multiple digital tools for mediating communications, drawing on two recent empirical studies in which students and researchers in UK higher education worked on collaborative activities: how different tools were used and the quality of the communications and their contributions to collaborative working and knowledge construction are outlined. We draw on Pea's proposition that communications can be understood as transmissive, ritualised or transformative depending on their impact on other participants. Most of the students' communications were either transmissive or ritualistic, although there were also generative conversations offering mutual support. Researchers' conversations were more often transformative, using tools consistently, for specific purposes. Researchers matched the tool to the specific needs of the task, whereas the students chose tools based on friendship groups and lifestyles. Transformative communications were powerful in co-configuring new knowledge and resources, and the importance of the ritual communications in maintaining the social order was also essential to communications in collaborative settings. We conclude that close attention to protocols, social norms and patterns of use in digitally mediated 'conversations' is required to develop collaborative partnerships and support transformation practices amongst higher education 'workers'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a first attempt to describe and compare the adoption of e-Infrastructure across the UK, continental Europe, and the USA in the social sciences and humanities. A survey of early adopters identified three differences across these countries, each potentially affecting adoption: funding approaches, the technical configuration of projects, and research support. Our findings also suggest that the sustainable adoption of e-Infrastructure co-varies with the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and the involvement of other people in the adoption decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Web services (WS) are the modern response of traders and online service providers to satisfying the increasing needs and demands of the digital communities. WS formation and operation is based on a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network. Security is of paramount importance to WS and the ability to measure and evaluate the level of security available is key to establishing and continuing to develop the level of trust based on reputation developed by the provider of the WS. The greatest challenge in offering secure WS is to groups of people where the level of expertise of the user is low and the need for transparency of the service provision quite high, such as the case with services offered primarily to people in rural areas. Providers of such services face many challenges in balancing the requirements for performance, interoperability, and security against the cost of implementing secure systems and running profitable operations through low income generating WS. A review of services offered, of the users and the challenges in building online trust among providers and users are discussed for the case of rural areas in the United Kingdom. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Research on the risks associated with children's use of the internet often aims to inform policies of risk prevention. Yet paralleling the effort to map the nature and extent of online risk is a growing unease that the goal of risk prevention tends to support an over-protective, risk-averse culture that restricts the freedom of online exploration that society encourages for children in other spheres. It is central to adolescence that teenagers learn to anticipate and cope with risk - in short, to become resilient. In this article, we inquire into children and teenagers' responses after they have experienced online content or contact risks. Pan-European findings show that especially in Northern European countries with high internet access, parental perception of likelihood of online risk to their child is negatively associated with their perceived ability to cope. A comparison of representative surveys conducted among children in three relatively 'high risk' countries (Norway, Ireland and the United Kingdom) found that although the frequency of exposure to perceived online risks, especially content risks, is fairly high, most children adopt positive (e.g. seek help from friends) or, more commonly, neutral (e.g. ignoring the experience) strategies to cope, although a minority exacerbate the risks (e.g. passing risky content on to friends). Most strategies tend to exclude adult involvement. Significant differences in both risk and coping are found by gender and age across these countries, pointing to different styles of youthful risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If the development of digital radio is a revolution in audiences' consumption of the medium led by relatively recent advances in distribution technology, it is a limited one. Yet, in the United Kingdom the impact of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) has far outstripped that elsewhere in the developed world. Behind dramatic recent growth in receiver sales and listening hours lie concerted public and private sector investment, massive falls in unit pricing and a broadening of choice through the provision of additional, as opposed to simulcast, services. DAB is not having an easy ride, though, and competition from other digital media as well as doubts about the technology mean the revolution could still falter, as the commercial sector in particular struggles to maintain its investment and new services close. A brief flirtation with mobile television, once promising instant returns on that investment, ended abruptly this year, but television may again come to the rescue. The coming year will be decisive in determining whether in the UK radio does indeed have its own digital switch-over. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the main results of a comparative policy analysis about the introduction and development of digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom and Spain. Design/methodology/approach - After outlining the main policy responses forged in each case study, different national DTT models are suggested, described and compared. Similarities and differences are summarized and, finally, a conclusion is offered to explain why the service unfolded uniquely in each country Findings - The economic and technological dynamics of the television industry as a whole affected differently the development of DTT in the case studied since they were mediated by particular socio-political systems. Research limitations/implications - Owing to the fact that the paper presents a summary of a major research project, it does not offer in-depth detail of the main findings. Originality/value - The study belongs to the expanding area of comparative research and adopts a case study approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new breed of editors has emerged with the development of web journalism. Tom Whitwell, communities editor of Times Online, is one of them and here describes life in the fast lane of the information super highway. He writes: "Traditional [media] power structures are unlikely to last for very much longer. I've never been a staff newspaper journalist, but I've always understood it to be a hierarchical, politically charged operation, where questions of right and wrong are answered by seniority. The online world is still as political as any office, but there's an elephant in the room that can't be ignored for long: In print, you often have no real idea what sells your newspaper. Online, you know exactly what's selling your site, live, 24 hours a day. So the editor can certainly pay his old school chum to write a jolly column about nothing much in particular. But it will be immediately obvious if nobody much in particular is reading it. Similarly, a youngster toiling in an unfashionable backwater who works hard and promotes his or her stuff online can find an audience. It doesn't matter that it's never promoted on the homepage, because traffic can be found elsewhere - from blogs or news aggregators or Google searches." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a research team's experience using a virtual steering group to manage a research project. The main research project was concerned with the evaluation and development of interprofessional working among health and social care staff across primary and secondary care in the United Kingdom, with a focus on older people receiving intermediate care. Intermediate care is a service aimed at preventing unnecessary hospital admission; supporting early discharge from hospital; and reducing or delaying the need for residential care in the community. Intermediate care covers multi-agency and interprofessional working across the continuum of care. We examine one aspect—the use of a virtual steering group, which is an innovative approach aimed at facilitating user and carer participation in the research in a supportive and less intimidating way. The research team includes academics, practitioners, older people and carers, and representatives from the voluntary sector—all are equal members. The team believes it is important to actively involve clients and their carers in the development and direction of research because they can provide a unique perspective ensuring that the research addresses issues of importance to them as service users. We examine and discuss the importance of preparation, support, and training to meaningfully engage in the virtual steering group and the direction of this research. The paper concludes by making recommendations about this model of involving service users in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC) exchanges sequence data on a daily basis across its three member organizations in the USA, UK and Japan. This paper studies how this sequence database in MySQL can best take advantage of the increased transfer bandwidth of a Grid-optimized data communication protocol. Within the context of the UK Government Project Grid-oriented Storage (GOS) and the EC Project EuroAsiaGrid, GOS File System (GOS-FS) has been developed in our lab, which melds distributed file system technology with high performance data transfer techniques to meet the needs of WAN/Grid-based virtual organizations. A real-world test shows that the INSDC sequence database backing up operation, mysqldump, over the GOS-FS protocol beats those over the classic NFS protocol by 6 times over the link between Cambridge and Tokyo. Best of all, the multi-streamed GOS-FS protocol remains fully compatible with existing IF infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Britain is almost unique in giving its incumbent public service broadcaster, the BBC, a leading role in driving digital, thereby hoping to hasten digital take-up, and thus allowing analogue switch-off by 2012. This paper is divided into two parts. The first part investigates the recent historical past with respect to the making of policy, drawing on the analytical framework of policy cycles. Why has the British government given the BBC a lead role in the move towards digital transmission, and how does this decision link and interconnect with other interweaving policy debates surrounding the BBC licence fee and Charter renewal? In a media environment, increasingly driven by commercial considerations, what are the key policy motivations for entrusting a publicly funded institution with a lead role in the digital era, and what have been the main challenges and policy dilemmas in doing this? Part two considers how the BBC has responded to government policy initiatives. What are the key building blocks of its digital strategy and just how comfortably do these sit with its public service remit? For digital means much more than just broadcasting, demanding responses to changes in the way that audiences are likely to interact with content in future. Yet, in positioning itself as a content provider, whose content will be available on demand on myriad future platforms, the Corporation is increasingly impinging on what commercial operators believe is their future route to profitability. In the light of this analysis, the paper concludes by assessing the compatibility of government policy and BBC strategy given their at times diverging aims and objectives, and what this means for the continuance of a public service ethos into the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technical, legal, political, and social issues have hampered efforts to broaden data sharing among UK government departments. One of the major arguments against data sharing is that it violates the citizens' right to privacy. However, the new plans for personal data subvert these beliefs, outlined in the Human Rights Act, in favor of active risk reduction for a common good defined by the state. While advocating data sharing has become easier in light of child abuse and terrorism cases, implementation remains a problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand how, why and what citizen-focused services local authorities might consider and deliver on digital interactive television (DiTV). In trying to make interaction with local government more joined up and easier for the citizen, digital television has been employed by around 80 local authorities in the UK to determine what is best offered via this emerging channel, how efficiencies in service delivery can be achieved and to encourage participation and democracy. Design/methodology/approach - The project was run by offering a stable, centrally-hosted, centrally-funded, multi-platform technology to local government to investigate and manage their services. Alongside just "getting involved" a large research project involving 300 homes in West London was run with accompanying qualitative and quantitative research. Findings - The evidence indicates that the public is interested in using simple transactional and informational services at this point in time, as long as they are given the "directions" to find services. There are high expectations regarding the use of a wide range of services as the medium beds in and becomes more widely available. A large percentage of citizens expect to use DiTV to contact and communicate with the local government organisations just as they use the telephone today. Research limitations/implications - The research derives from pre-structured polls conducted through closed questioning and responses from the public were therefore inevitably limited by the reference frame provided by researchers. Originality/value - This paper provides a detailed view of how citizens use DiTV and expectations of use for the future. Analysis of usage data is supplemented by a DigiTV specified research project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Parliaments, as representative institutions, serve as communication channels between the public and the process of governance. The purpose of this paper is to consider the way in which this relationship has been conceptualised and various predictions about how it might change in the age of digital interactivity. Design/methodology/approach - Findings from a survey of officials from 44 European parliamentary chambers are presented, together with findings from surveys of participants in several UK online parliamentary consultations. Findings - The survey of European parliamentary officials suggests that digital information/communication technologies are being used widely, but that there is limited use of interactive features which allow citizens to comment and deliberate on policy issues. The surveys of participants in online consultations run by the British Parliament suggest that they might increase citizens' efficacy, although this might only be a short-term effect. Research limitations/implications - The European parliamentary survey was conducted in 2003, since when some parliamentary web sites and information systems have been developed. Practical implications - The paper considers the consequences of digital interactivity for parliamentary representation, combining conceptual and empirical perspectives. Originality/value - The survey of European parliamentary officials gathered data from 44 parliamentary chambers, making it one of the most extensive European surveys of its kind. The surveys conducted before and after participants took part in UK parliamentary consultations were the first ever to explore the experience and attitudes of such a group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has as its focus two key strands that are significant to contemporary media education. The first is the increasing move towards creative production work as the central and dominant feature of media studies courses. In UK schools, this has largely been facilitated by the rapid expansion of digital technologies. Whilst this offers unprecedented opportunities for students to construct advanced and highly polished artefacts, it has also created new challenges for the media teacher in relation to pedagogy and classroom management. The second strand is the emergence of globalised, commercial media cultures and their relation to new media forms facilitated by digital technology. Here, this paper is interested in the relatively new media form of the music video which, in its dominant mode of distribution and exhibition, exists globally as part of satellite and digital packages. Music video as a form is ideal for use in Media Studies as an object of study and as a framework for facilitating creative work. Based on practitioner research methods, this paper teases out the tensions that exist between popular culture, media education and digital technology, incorporating the way a sense of community located beyond the school can create opportunities for student creative work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the cultural, economic and political pressures and influences that determined the adoption of the `European' technical system of digital radio in the UK. Debates over the potential of the new technology to expand both programming content and the range of individuals, companies and organizations with access to radio broadcasting were curtailed in favour of a bureaucratic and technocratic approach to media policy and a desire by the European Commission to establish a new product for the consumer electronics market that would be developed and made in Europe. The article shows that the development of the new system resulted in a `forced marriage' between the BBC and the commercial sector and that the convergence between DAB and other `platforms' has profound implications for the relationship between public service broadcaster, government and industry. Furthermore, in order to encourage the larger commercial radio groups to commit themselves to the new technology, they were granted new and unprecedented control over content regulation. This had the effect of further consolidating the hold of dominant interests in the UK radio sector and stifling new initiatives and approaches to the medium. Finally, the article analyses the extent to which DAB digital radio has succeeded in establishing itself in the UK media landscape against strong competition from other, converging technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK's emergency services have dropped their old analogue walkie-talkies in favor of the Tetra-based digital radios as blue light services begin to piggyback on high-speed commercial networks and standards. Airwave's Tetra is expected to become the principal network that emergency workers use to stay in voice contact. Tetra supports data transmissions, and while Tetra may become the dominant data transmission standard, other wireless-based data transmission standards are likely to continue in use. With a 20-year lifespan, Tetra will have to coexist with a rapidly changing set of commercial bearers that could ultimately supplant it. The emergency services are gradually moving from a world where they have needed dedicated communications standards to one where additional software and hardware may be enough to do most of the work. Networks such as Mobitex and Tetra may be the fall-backs when more complex services fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor quality CCTV evidence requires a witness to make an identification of the suspect. Good quality CCTV images are often left to the jury, who are unfamiliar with the face. Psychological research has demonstrated that identification procedures for both known and previously unknown suspects should be very different. A visual comparison of high quality imagery may suggest that a more reliable decision regarding identity will be made. However, studies indicate that when an assailant is unknown, identification is poor even when the image is of high quality, regardless of format. As such, research has demonstrated that recognizing or matching unfamiliar faces even in optimal conditions is an extremely error prone process. This paper examines the current legal framework for identification from imagery in the light of psychological research. Incorrect identifications may not necessarily be safeguarded against in some situations, although further research is needed to elucidate reliable identification methods for criminal prosecutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the impact of the fusion of high-speed data networks and digital video content on broadcasting in the Great Britain. The latest Ofcom figures, released on September 15, 2005, estimate that digital television penetration has reached 63 percent of households. According to Graham Lovelace, one of the authors of the IPTV report, that the pull of broadband network television will replace the push of traditional broadcast television. With new digital technologies, telephone carriers and broadband service providers will be able to offer video services in competition with traditional cable and satellite providers.

This paper discusses the process of digital switchover and assesses the role the BBC services have played in driving overall digital take-up and therefore bringing forward the likely date of analogue switch-off. The first part examines the advantages and drawbacks of digital switchover, and identifies a number of challenges and policy dilemmas of making switchover an achievable objective. Part two presents an overview of current developments of digital television in the UK and outlines various measures proposed for encouraging digital take-up. The third and final part deals with the contribution of the new BBC services to digital take-up, considers free terrestrial platform Freeview's likely effect on commercial rivals, and assesses the effectiveness of the proposed free satellite platform FreeSat to accelerate digital adoption. The paper concludes that the new digital BBC services have played a significant role in enhancing consumer interest in DTV services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systems are being developed with the aim of managing the use of copyright protected works within the digital communications network. Such fights management systems are considered integral for the commercial exploitation and control of protected works within the new media. A central technology in such systems is fights expression languages, computer languages used to define and represent legal rights and relationships central to protected works in electronic licences. An electronic licence constructed with a rights expression language, however, may have difficulty in adequately representing and implementing legal rights and relationships central to copyright law. This difficulty is illustrated by examining how mandatory copyright exceptions under UK law for databases and computer programs might be incapable of proper representation and implementation. The particular difficulties for databases and computer programs might be representative of a larger theoretical difficulty with the digital management of legal rights and relationships. In particular, the abstraction and distillation of fights and relationships by rights expression languages recalls difficulties encountered by developers of legal expert systems. Discussion of formalism and legal expert systems might be of assistance in appreciating the shortcomings of rights representation objectives, and, in a broader sense, the difficulties in using technology to represent legal rights and relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the role digital television is playing in increased functionality of electronic services and on its implications for communication policy in Great Britain. Digital broadcasting delivers a range of new applications, including interactive services and online connectivity, to the home. Currently, there is a rapid development in fields of digital broadcasting and e-governance. There has been an agreement among media scholars that, in order to foster participation in common life, and in the interests of avoiding social exclusion, a broadcasting system should offer audiences shared and adequate access to a diverse and well-balanced menu of services that reflect, and provide for, the information and communication needs of society. The paradigm of Western European inheritance of public service broadcasting as regulated, free-to-air provision of generalist programme schedules has been conditioned by technology. Analogue transmission limited the effective spectrum, restricting terrestrial television carriage to a small number of channels. In September 1999 the British government announced its intention to terminate all analogue broadcast transmissions and switch over to an all-digital communications environment by the year 2010. In December 2001 the Digital Television Action Plan was launched selling out a series of actions to promote the take-up of digital television and ensure the switch-over to digital television is implemented by 2010.

Focuses on the deployment of asynchronous digital subscriber line 2 (ADSL2) broadband connectivity standard in Great Britain. Data rates supported by ADSL2 2; Advantages of ADSL2; Bandwidth provided by ADSL2 to users for upstream-intensive services.