Archive for November, 2009
Sir Tim Berners-Lee on Linked Data and the Semantic Web
Posted by: | CommentsSeveral people have asked me about linked data and the semantic web – given our recent call for interest in an upcoming Government 2010 event focusing on open data, linked data and government apps.
In this interview with Sir Tim Berners Lee (from the BCS web site) Sir Tim talks about HTML, linked data, semantic web, video embedding – and lots of interesting stuff.
Some rather silly questions for Sir Tim via Twitter as well. Video below the fold.
Young People Not Getting The Political Education They Want?
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In a YouGov poll for the Citizenship Foundation almost 4,000 14-25 year-olds were asked about their attitudes towards political participation, politicians and power in the UK.
Results show that although young people think politicians can’t give straight answers, have abused their expenses and make promises they can’t keep, that still believe they are they best people for the job. And despite the MPs’ expenses scandal and the near-collapse of the global economy, a significant majority of Britain’s young people still intend to vote.
Interest in politics has risen among young people as a result of the financial crises, but they feel they are not getting the economic and political education that they want.
The poll, commissioned by the Citizenship Foundation to mark its 20th year, found that.
- 64 per cent of young people intend to vote when they are eligible to do so;
- The recession, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the MPs’ expenses scandal are the issues that have increased their interest in politics;
- Young people are most likely to learn about politics online, rather than at school or college or from their families;
- They want more school time spent on politics, economics and the law.
Chief Executive of the Citizenship Foundation, Dr Tony Breslin, commented on the results of the survey:
‘This poll demonstrates unequivocally that young people want to learn more about politics, law and economics and they want their schools and colleges to help them do so. In light of this research, those schools or colleges that have neglected or marginalised the Citizenship curriculum – or those who would advocate doing so – must think again. But securing every young person’s right to good Citizenship Education isn’t a job just for educators: politicians from all parties must also recommit to Citizenship Education in the build-up to the forthcoming election to ensure that we don’t lose the ground we have gained since Citizenship became statutory in 2002.’
Daily Telegraph and Virgin Media Hold Digital Economy Debate
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Telegraph.co.uk and Virgin Media are hosting a panel discussion today “to explore some of the key themes and issues raised by the Digital Economy Bill.”
Among the panelists participating in the live debate will be Ed Vaizey, the shadow minister for culture, and Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of UK Music, which represents the commercial music industry.
They’ll also be joined by Jill Johnstone, director of Consumer Focus, and Jon James, an executive director at Virgin Media.
You can follow the debate live online at www.telegraph.co.uk/technology from 1.15pm today (Thursday).
You can send your questions ahead of the live discussion. You can email your questions to digidebate@telegraph.co.uk.
The Twitter hashtag is #digidebate
Open Data and Gov Apps: Call for Interest
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s early days but we’re tentatively planning an event focused on open data and government apps (we’ll come up with a more elegant title in due course).
If you would like to speak at this event – that is likely to take place in one of the devolved capitals (Edinburgh, Cardiff or Belfast) – please contact us. We will have both panel discussions and keynotes. The event will be live streamed free of charge and we’d expect to have a big stream audience across the UK and internationally. We also hope to be able to offer a limited number of places at the live broadcast for a very nominal sum.
This event will go into much more depth in terms of the platforms and applications that are behind the next breed of online government service provision. We want the discussion to focus on how open data is creating better, richer citizen experience. We’d like to hear about best practice, about shared experiences, about linked data…
In short we want the event to push the boundary.
If you are a local authority, or NGO, or government department or government agency, we want to hear from you. Tell us about your experiences and initiatives. Tell us which vendors have helped. Tell us about budgets reduced or satisfaction improved or citizens engaged.
The time-frame is still in flux but we’d like to run something before the end of March or early April at the latest. But we’d like to start building the schedule sooner rather than later.
Please use our contact form in the first instance. Tell us in just a few words what you’d like to talk about and whether you’d like to take part in a panel or make a presentation.
Needless to say, I’ll keep you posted via G2010.co.uk and via Twitter and our Linkedin Group
Stuart McRae, IBM – Collaboration Evangelist with IBM’s Lotus Software
Stuart McRae is an Executive Collaboration Evangelist with IBM’s Lotus Software, responsible for articulating IBM’s vision for Collaboration & Social Software for the Enterprise. Stuart supports key customers, partners, marketing events and analyst briefings worldwide with a blend of technical, business and market experience.
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Live Video Streaming by Switch New Media and Quadriga Consulting
New Video: Martin Greenwood SOCITM – The Web Channel and Local Government
Posted by: | CommentsKeynote Presentation: The Web Channel and Local Government – Martin Greenwood, SOCITM
Martin Greenwood runs Socitm Insight, the research arm of Socitm, the association for ICT and related professionals working in the public and voluntary sectors.
Data collected by Socitm Insight through its Website take-up and Channel value benchmarking services show that the web is local authorities’ cheapest service delivery channel and (contrary to what many managers believe) also the most popular. However, it is also the least successful, with between 10% and 40% of web enquiries ending in failure, giving rise to potentially large volumes of ‘avoidable contacts’ through other, more costly, channels.
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Live Video Streaming by Switch New Media and Quadriga Consulting
Council redirects used PCs from landfill to residents
Posted by: | CommentsBy Tony Collins of Computer Weekly…
A council has ended a contract for the disposal of its used computers and plans to make the machines available to local residents, particularly the disadvantaged.
Tony Collins
Details of the plans were revealed by Stephen Hilton, a panellist at the G2010 government IT conference. He leads work at Bristol City Council to enable many more local people to go online. Bristol is a founder member of the DC10 Plus network of local authorities and other organisations which are aiming to promote social inclusion through the use of technology.
During a discussion at G2010 on “The Internet and Social Inclusion”, Hilton said that Bristol City Council has re-tendered what had been a contract for the disposal of its used computers. Seven companies are on a shortlist to make the council’s used computers, between 900 and 1,200 machines, available to local communities and individuals.
GSMA and the University of Manchester to establish Innovation Centre
Posted by: | CommentsThe GSMA, which represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Manchester to establish an m-Health Innovation Centre in Manchester, which will act as a UK focus for m-Health activity. The goal of the GSMA’s m-Health initiative is to foster innovative mobile applications and services in healthcare that will focus on promoting healthier lifestyles and early intervention.
The Manchester m-Health Innovation Centre will conduct multidisciplinary research, bringing together researchers, healthcare organisations and industrial partners to conceive, develop and evaluate mobile health innovations. A major focus will be on citizen-led health and wellbeing, using mobile technology to enable people to play a more active role in determining their own health, providing a more personalised and responsive interface to public services. The initiative recognises that innovative health products are important because they can help reduce the cost of healthcare as well as create new growth opportunities for the mobile industry.
The centre in Manchester will encourage innovation by: providing a forum for collaboration and sharing ideas; providing in-depth analysis of the market for m-Health; signposting key opportunities; conducting pilot trials; organising community-building events; providing m-Health education and training; and offering online resources and one-to-one services to support the emerging m-Health community. Multidisciplinarity will be a critical part of the ethos of the centre, with successful innovation drawing on a combination of insights into health needs, novel technology, an understanding of issues of trust, privacy and individual motivation, and new business models and approaches to technology adoption.
“A combination of mobile and healthcare can deliver tremendous benefits, such as cost savings for healthcare providers as well as convenience and improved quality of life for patients,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer at the GSMA. “We are delighted to be collaborating with the University of Manchester, a leading centre for Health Informatics research, innovation and education, and whose deep expertise and focus makes them an ideal partner for our m-Health collaboration.”
“We very much value the opportunity to work with the GSMA to translate our innovative ideas into practice,” said Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell FRS, Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Manchester. “Sustainable health and wellbeing represent a major challenge for society worldwide, and the transformational potential of mobile technology in promoting innovative citizen-led health initiatives provides exciting opportunities.”
The Manchester m-Health Innovation Centre is working on a variety of health and wellbeing projects which can utilise mobile technology including ‘assisted living applications’ for example prompting patients, such as people with psychotic disorders, to record the medication they are taking, their symptoms and their mood in real time via their mobile phone. Using mobile technology for prompting and feedback is particularly relevant to young people, who are the largest group of sufferers of psychotic disorders in the UK. Other projects are planned such as Virtual Health Kiosks for monitoring blood pressure, pulse, temperature and glucose levels at home or in the office. The kiosks will be linked seamlessly and securely to clinical and/or personal health record systems via mobile technology.
A Busy Digital Policy Week
Posted by: | CommentsThis week is looking like it will be one of the busiest for digital policy – and it is only Tuesday. The news has been flooded with stories from Remembrance Sunday to the shooting at the Army base in Texas. However, we need to look at some of the stories coming out of the digital policy world. Below is a quick summary of them and their potential implications:
Ofcom stall in BBC HD digital rights request
First, in a bit of a shock move, Ofcom has stalled on approving a BBC request for DRM controlled HD content. A number of critics, including the Open Rights Group and Tom Watson, MP, have said that locking down the content will “prevent consumer choice” and “absolute power to control who may access its HD services”. Ofcom is seeking further recommendations and will be reviewing all feedback prior to making its final decision. This news is much welcomed in the sense that Ofcom is thinking twice about policy decisions. However, we must be aware that if BBC ‘locks down’ its HD content it will limit its HD service to only preferred hardware providers. This choice, though possibly preventing some piracy, will be more detrimental in the long run to the BBC and consumers both.
Home Office to monitor and retain data
Second, the Home Office is going to go ahead with plans to have UK communications firms monitor and retain data. It is clear that this story has been flying below the radar of both the media and consumers. Not only is this plan technically challenging, it has widespread budget and policy implications. £2 Billion in funds will be needed in order to support the activities including payments to the communication service providers would be required to retain, sort, and disseminate all data collected and these funds will, of course, come from additional tax revenue. These data requests will burden communication service providers with the additional cost of time, money, and man power. This policy will, no doubt, take resources away from the companies involved in conducting their daily business. Furthermore, privacy policy implications will be widespread. How will terms of service by these providers change? And will consumers know about where their information is residing? This is an ill conceived and not well thought out plan.
Digital Economy Bill to be announced in Queen’s speech
Third, and finally, the Digital Economy Bill will be announced in the Queen’s speech next week. We can not ignore this potentially radical shift in Internet Service Provider (ISP) network management. Various government spokespeople have denied that non-file sharers will feel the impact. However, this is a key bill to watch next week. Not only would ISPs becoming ‘policemen of the Internet’, but ISPs would be required to work with rights holders to manage legal actions. How this Bill is received and ultimately brought into law will impact how ISPs do business, how consumers manage their home networks, and how rights holders deal with their intellectual property. There is a potential for due process to be passed by as ISPs rightly and wrongly accuse their customers of illegal downloading. There will be a presumption of guilt before innocence for the accused and a administrative burden for all involved.
I often think that digital policies are not given the amount of attention in the media that is needed or required. Digital issues impact privacy, government policy, taxes (and their burden on taxpayers), as well as how we communicate, interact, and live our lives. All of these policies announced this week have the potential to impact all of us and those who govern us.
Guest Posts Welcome
Posted by: | CommentsI’d like to start adding some guest posts to the Government 2010 blog.
If you would like to write a post on any of the broad subjects covered on the site I’d be delighted to hear from you. The site gets great traffic and I’d be happy to put a cross-link to your own site if the post is published.
Let me know if you have an idea for a post focused on eGovernment, eConsultation, Open Data, Mashups…any topic within the next generation/Government 2010 remit.
I look forward to hearing from you.
