Digital Nation

The long-term social benefits of building an inclusive information society: a national action plan. As our social institutions migrate into cyberspace, the digitally disenfranchised face increasing hardships. What happens when—in search of quick and cheap fixes—a government office shuts down and is replaced by a public Web site? What happens when a company accepts only online job applications? Inevitably, those most in need of the services and opportunities offered are further marginalized. In Digital Nation, Tony Wilhelm shows us how to build a more inclusive information society, offering a plan that reaps the benefits offered by the new technology while avoiding the pitfalls of social exclusion. Technology, he tells us, isn't the problem—it's the use of technology that can empower or control, unite or divide; we need to recover the ideas of social justice and fairness that have been lost in the rush to make things faster and cheaper. In Wilhelm's vision of an inclusive digital nation, everyone can take advantage of the new technology. With everyone part of the information society, we can revolutionize the way we educate our citizens, deliver healthcare, and engage in productive work. The result will be increased efficiency and productivity that will lead to long-term savings of billions of dollars and an enhanced quality of life as technology expands choice and opportunity. We can begin to bring this about by expanding access to computers and making it easier to acquire digital literacy skills. To do nothing—to turn a blind eye to the promise of an inclusive technology—would cost us socially and economically. Digital Nation's call for action sets the terms for a new debate on bridging the digital divide.

Why the privatization of British Telecom signaled a pivotal moment in the rise of neoliberalism, and how it was shaped by the longer development and digitalization of Britain’s telecommunications infrastructure. When Margaret Thatcher sold British Telecom for £3.6 billion in 1984, it became not only, at the time, the largest stock flotation in history, but also a watershed moment in the rise of neoliberalism and deregulation. In Visions of a Digital Nation, Jacob Ward offers an incisive interdisciplinary perspective on how technology prefigured this pivot. Giving due consideration to the politicians, engineers, and managers who paved the way for this historic moment, Ward illustrates how the decision validated the privatization of public utilities and tied digital technology to free market rationales. In this examination of the national and, at times, global history of technology, Ward’s approach is sweeping. Utilizing infrastructure studies, environmental history, and urban and local history, Ward explores Britain’s nationalist and welfarist plans for a digital information utility and shows how these projects contested and adapted to the “market turn” under Margaret Thatcher. Ultimately, Visions of a Digital Nation compellingly argues that politicians did not impose neoliberalism top-down, but that technology, engineers, and managers shaped these politics from the bottom up.

Reporting makes a significant difference not just in the amount of public affairs information available to a community, but also in the amount and type of conversations about self-governance that take place in the digital world. Simpson argues that without daily professional journalism, the audience is forced to craft their own news feeds, often resulting in conversations without foundation.

This book constitutes the refereed conference proceedings of the 16th IFIP WG 6.11 Conference on e-Business, e-Services and e-Society, I3E 2017, held in Delhi, India, in November 2017. The 45 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 92 submissions. They are organized in the following topical sections: Adoption of Smart Services; Assessment of ICT Enabled Smart Initiatives; Analytics for Smart Governance; Social Media and Web 3.0 for Smartness; and Smart Solutions for the Future.

As modern technologies continue to develop and evolve, the ability of users to adapt with new systems becomes a paramount concern. Research into new ways for humans to make use of advanced computers and other such technologies through artificial intelligence and computer simulation is necessary to fully realize the potential of tools in the 21st century. Advanced Methodologies and Technologies in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Simulation, and Human-Computer Interaction provides emerging research in advanced trends in robotics, AI, simulation, and human-computer interaction. Readers will learn about the positive applications of artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction in various disciples such as business and medicine. This book is a valuable resource for IT professionals, researchers, computer scientists, and researchers invested in assistive technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer simulation.

In recent years, it has become apparent that there are very distinct gaps between developed and developing regions in the world, especially in regards to e-government systems, infrastructures, and processes. Digital Public Administration and E-Government in Developing Nations: Policy and Practice examines e-government from the perspective of developing nations and addresses issues and concerns of developing systems and processes. This publication is a valuable and insightful tool for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and students in different fields who are interested in information systems, public policies, politics, and media and communication studies.

"The architecture of the Nation's digital infrastructure, based largely upon the Internet, is not secure or resilient." It's a horrifying wakeup call that bluntly opens this report on one of the most serious national security and economic threats the United States-and, indeed, the world-faces in the 21st century. And it sets the stage for the national dialogue on cybersecurity it hopes to launch. Prepared by the U.S. National Security Council-which was founded by President Harry S. Truman to advise the Oval Office on national security and foreign policy-this official government account explores: the vulnerabilities of the digital infrastructure of the United States what we can do to protect it against cybercrime and cyberterrorism how to protect civil liberties and personal privacy in cyberspace why a citizenry educated about and aware of cybersecurity risks is vital the shape of the public-private partnership all these efforts will require Just as the United States took the lead in creating the open, flexible structures of the early Internet, it must now take the initiative in ensuring that our digital networks are as secure as they can be, without stifling the unprecedented freedom of opportunity and access the information revolution has afforded us all. This report is the roadmap for making that happen, and it is required reading for anyone who works or plays in the 21st-century digital world: that is, all of us.