Technology in a Cold Climate: Interconnected Society

1 1 2
John Farrington , Peter Edwards & Sarah Skerratt

1 - RCUK Rural Digital Economy Research Hub, University of Aberdeen

2 - Scottish Agricultural College

Interconnected Society – Benefits and Challenges

Abstract
When considering the interconnectedness of society and the roles that technologies may play,
commentators and analysts largely fall into two distinct camps – those who believe firmly in
the enabling powers of technology to increase our civic and civil connectedness and those
who see the threats of technology leading to a dystopia of computer-driven isolated
individuals.

Underpinning these shifts towards technology-enabled connectedness, there is much written

about, and focus upon, providing access, where access to technology (and particularly
broadband) is seen as the essential component which will ensure progress towards ubiquity
and thus use, and by inference social inclusion. It is argued here that there is, in addition, a
need to look “beyond access” (Hellawell, 2001) to how people experience the technology, the
environments in which they do (Skerratt, 2008), and the adaptations they make. Further, there
is a need to differentiate access and adaptation geographically, and this paper focuses on the
example of rural areas, and the potential for their interconnectedness, given the dispersed
nature of the population over sometimes inhospitable (to ICTs) terrain.

While some recent software advances (most notably to support social networking) have
helped create vast on-line communities of connected individuals, the next generation of the
Web will facilitate much greater connectedness between people and machines.

Once we bring these dimensions of complexity into the analysis, we can assess more
effectively the benefits of such technologies for supporting and enhancing interconnectedness
in society.

Introduction

What are the benefits of a more interconnected society and how could connectivity help us meet the
challenges we face? It is important at the outset, when addressing this question, to identify the
expectations of benefits as distinct from benefits. The expectations are set out in the literature as well as in
policy statements not only in the UK, but underpinned by Information Society visions from across Europe.

We are living in what has variously been described as an ‘information age’ and ‘knowledge society’
(Castells, 2002; OECD, 2001; Allen & Dillman, 1994). Information provision, and networking (allowing for
exchange of information and experience), are seen as critical for survival, socially, economically and
environmentally (Servon, 2002). Access to information, support, individuals with expertise, and up-to-the-
minute news digests, are seen as important elements of ‘social justice’, and as such, should be available
to all, irrespective of geographical location (Scottish Executive, 2000).

The largely metropolitan trend towards “24/7 connectivity” at high speed, facilitated through a range of
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their associated infrastructures, are increasingly
seen as the norm. There is, according to some commentators, an apparent ubiquity of access to always-
on, high-speed, computer-mediated communication (CMC) through broadband-enabled email, websites
and portals. This, in turn, skews channels of information and service provision towards online media. As
stated by the OECD (2001), “The Information Society and the New Economy, based on virtual networking
and knowledge oriented activities, are rapidly becoming a reality…” (p.15). The implications of this
connected, international ‘society’ are highlighted in many European documents relating to eEurope and
now i2010, for example:

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 “As the knowledge-based economy advances, the exclusion from ICT becomes more and more a
barrier to economic, employment and social opportunities and to using public services.
Disadvantaged areas and groups are at higher risk of lagging for various reasons including low
income and poverty, lack of ICT infrastructures, awareness and training opportunities, or
difficulties of access because of disabilities. On the other hand, ICT can overcome barriers of
distance, distribute more equally knowledge resources, and generate new services…Thus, the
risks of the digital divide need to be transformed to digital opportunities by actions focused at
disadvantaged groups and areas.” (European Commission, 2001, p.17).

At Member State level, for example in the UK, we can see similar expectations of digital technology, not
only in terms of overcoming geographical challenges, but also in terms of establishing a “digital revolution”
where the UK and its constituents are centres of excellence and innovation. The following examples are
illustrative. In A Smart Successful Scotland (Scottish Executive, 2001), the vision for the business sector is
that:

“We are living through a revolution in digital telecommunications, affecting how most Scots and
most businesses work, communicate and succeed. If we are not connected we shall not compete.
Embracing the Digital Age is not an option but a necessity for success. And it has already
arrived. Meeting the challenges of raising productivity, encouraging entrepreneurship, raising skill
levels and connecting globally, will create a self-reinforcing upward spiral of growth. We need
Scottish based businesses to be more creative and better informed about global change. We want
the workforce to be better skilled and have a capacity to learn and re-learn and to be better
informed about job opportunities. We want those detached from the labour market to be better
placed to take up economic opportunities. We want widespread digital connections to speed
information flow around Scotland and back and forth between Scotland and the world.” (p.7)

When considering rural areas, and the need for high-speed, high-quality digital connectivity, the Scottish
Executive states its expectation that:

“Information and communications technology can reduce the constraint of peripherality and enable
the development of a less geographically centralised economy … there is real potential for the use
of technology to make significant difference to many of the services and employment opportunities
available to our rural communities.” (p.14)

There is a widely-held expectation that remote and rural areas are said to benefit disproportionately from
usage of digital technologies, primarily because of the distance-shrinking and social inclusion potential of
such media (Cairncross, 1997) – indeed Cairncross (2001) argues that such technologies lead to, have
already led to, the “death of distance”. Further, Grimes & MacLeod (2003) state that:

“the Internet, and associated advanced services, have the potential to liberalise spatial barriers by
way of e-commerce, and reduce the real costs of public service delivery through e-government. It
can facilitate access to business networks, and reduce the transactional cost of information
exchange. (pp. 2-3)

The above vision is consistent with Executive expectations of ICT from 2000, where the first Scottish
Strategic Framework for E-commerce (2000) stated:

“The Internet is dissolving conventional boundaries. It is removing the restrictions of

geography and time…[I]t is reconfiguring the economic map, opening access to a truly
global economy. The business playing field is being levelled”. (cited in MacLeod &
Grimes, 2003)

These visions are seductive. It is the conclusion of a number of authors, however, that such visions are not
being realised to the extent initially expected. If we look, for example, at the Small and Medium Enterprise
(SME) sector, Grimes (2004) observes that “It is clear, however, that despite the conviction of policy
makers in relation to the potential which the digital economy may present to rural enterprise, and despite
the obvious considerable efforts made by development agencies to promote and operationalise these
policies, the diffusion of sophisticated uses of the internet in the form of e-commerce in rural Europe is
moving quite slowly for a variety of reasons” (p.1, emphasis added). Further, Cruikshank (2005) states
that: “it is clear that many SMEs are not taking advantage of this apparent opportunity”, citing Drew 2003,

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who comments “surveys in several European countries show that SMEs have been slower to adopt e-
commerce than their larger counterparts” (2005, p.66). Further, Wagner et al (2003) comment that:
“despite technology facilitating improved business practices in terms of developing electronic markets,
electronic data interchange and Internet commerce, a number of SMEs have not taken advantage of this
new mode of carrying out business” (cited in Cruikshank, 2005, p.66). Further, MacLeod and Grimes
(2003) conclude that:

“One of the major weaknesses of much of the research in this area to date has been the absence
of solid empirical analysis of the reality of how businesses in rural areas are coming to terms with
such new opportunities. Policy formulation has been based, perhaps more on theoretical
assumptions which may be difficult to justify, than on a close appreciation of the reality of
challenges facing businesses in rural areas to exploit whatever opportunities that might be
associated with the new technologies.” (p2.)

Policy Statements & Connectedness

Some of the euphoria has evaporated over time, therefore, due to an increasing evidence base of barriers,
divides, hot spots and not spots. Such inequalities were recognised in the ESRC’s E-Society Research
1
Programme which ran from 2003-2007 , and were also highlighted in the 2000 PAT Report on accessing
2
digital technologies in deprived communities .

Most recently, in the UK policy context, two reports highlight the challenges to ensuring societal
interconnectedness through digital technologies. These reports are:

• Digital Britain (Final Report, Dept of Culture, Media and Sport and Department of Business,
Innovation and Skills, 2009), and

• Mind the Gap: Digital England – A Rural Perspective (Commission for Rural Communities, 2009).

Digital Britain (2009) is focused mainly on large-scale issues of the challenges of deployment of Next
Generation Broadband and its role in Britain’s relative competitiveness, and is not specific about the role of
digital connectedness in society. It does, however, recognise an important aspect of the digital landscape -
that digital technology has yet to reach large proportions of the population. For example:

“The technology revolution we have seen in the last 10 years has brought enormous benefits. Yet,
today, over 15 million adults in the UK still do not use the Internet. If we are going to maximise the
benefits across society, we must also ensure that we address the needs of those 15 million….
those not using the Internet [also] risk missing out on the full benefits of digitally delivered public
services, which can provide greater flexibility and personalisation for the user” (p.32)

Digital Britain also recognises potential economic disadvantage among those not connected:

“It is already increasingly the case that those without access to the Internet suffer economic
disadvantage. Their opportunities and livelihoods can be compromised by exclusion from the
digital world. More fundamentally, they miss out on areas of learning for themselves and their
families and increasingly, they may begin to miss out accessing the full benefits of online public
services from health to financial services and employment advice. They miss out on the easy
access to relevant information ….. [and] access to news is part of daily life as well as an essential
ingredient for democracy”. (p.32)

The particular issues of lower levels of rural broadband connection, the market challenges posed in
improving this situation, and the special needs of rural areas (low population densities, and distance) are
recognised in Digital Britain:

“This technology is particularly critical for certain sections of society. For example, for families with
school age children where the Internet is essential for educational purposes, for the unemployed

1
http://www.york.ac.uk/res/e-society/
2
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/social_exclusion_task_force/assets/publications_1997_to_2006/
pat_report_15.pdf

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 as more job search is conducted online and for the physically and socially isolated, such as the
elderly, people with disabilities and those living in rural and remote areas, for whom the Internet
can bring huge new opportunities for engagement and participation”. (pp. 30-31).

Digital Britain is powerful in highlighting areas of life that can be impacted by connectedness or its lack:
economic position, life experience, isolation, and participation in democratic processes.

The second report, Mind the Gap, from the Commission for Rural Communities, is more direct in its
aspirations for social connectedness through digital connection. It is also naturally focused on the rural
domain, in England. It identifies the problem thus:

“Lack of access to digital technology, inadequate broadband and mobile telephone coverage
combined with lack of engagement with digital technology all contribute to a complex set of issues
for rural communities and residents”. (p. 13).

One of its basic aspirations is that it “wants everyone living in rural areas to be able to access services at
the same level as their urban counterparts”. (p. 20). It

The reasoning and evidence presented in one of its priority areas, “social and community cohesion”, takes
us closer to a notion of a connected society:

“Community cohesion lies at the centre of what makes a strong, vibrant and safe community. It is
an important issue for all of us, whether we live in the heart of a big city or in a leafy village. Within
rural areas it is particularly important because of the geographical factors which can lead to
isolation. Community cohesion is about inclusion, and building good relations between different
parts of the community. It is about a wide variety of factors including the relationships between
young and old and between residents with differing interests. Community cohesion is also about
the interdependency between the environment and how people live and work with and within it”.
(p.20).

Based on these two reports, it is possible to identify an emphasis upon building relationships between
different parts of the community. In a 'connected society', digital connectedness could be a means of
making information readily and universally available, a means of enabling communication between
individuals and groups, and (relatedly) a means of creating conditions under which individuals, families,
groups and businesses can realise their full social and economic potential either through digital
connectedness or with its aid. Arguably, the need for such connectivity has never been greater, with
factors such as slowing economic growth, a continuing globalised capitalistic paradigm, growing social
problems arising from Britain's 'broken society', and sharp falls in public spending, combining to create an
unusually challenging environment for the creation of inclusive and cohesive communities.

Further, both reports argue that digital connectedness can contribute significantly to greater inclusion and
combat societal trends towards ‘separation’ and ‘disengagement’. Groups who could particularly benefit
from digital connectedness include people in low income households including those without employment,
older people, single person households with young children, young people, people with disabilities, citizens
attempting to connect with and influence the delivery of services, and rural dwellers who, in addition to
these ‘disconnecting’ life experiences, might experience remoteness or isolation through distance and
travel cost, or absence of close social networks. The potential benefits of the application of digital
technologies to contribute to a connected society include: gains in welfare, well being and quality of life
through networks of support; better tailored service delivery, e.g. in healthcare and transport; closer
participation in citizenship; more direct lines of communication between governance and citizens; access
to better information streams, e.g. for job seekers; and channels for the realisation of business
entrepreneurship and new business models.

An example of the application of digital technology in healthcare, where care is increasingly delivered by
teams of health professionals and carers, ranging from hospital consultants, through GPs, pharmacists,
nurses and paramedics to family carers, is the use of intelligent agent software [Bradshaw, 1997] to
process patient sensor information and send information to the right health care deliverer at the right time
so that the right intervention can be made. This approach can also be used in the management of chronic

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pain in ageing populations, especially in rural areas where ‘remote delivery’ might be the only practicable
means.

Commentary from other sources also echoes these aspirations of connectedness through digital
technologies. Barry Wellman, the Toronto-based researcher and polemicist on a digitally-enabled present
and future, developed the concept of “networked individual” as a positive demonstration of progress,
democracy and a functioning society (Wellman, 2002), arguing that our commitment to one another in
society need no longer be constrained by our physical locale and even our identity, thus setting us free
from who and where we are. He argues for this utopia, stating that it already exists and is not only of the
future. Similarly, Cairncross’ view that distance and geography are no longer relevant as connections
emerge and are cemented globally through the internet, and a range of Web 2.0 technologies (see
technology discussion below).

However, communication on its own, not excepting the new dimensions of digital connectedness (its
immediacy, width, depth and potentially universal access), does not meet these goals. There are two key
needs in using digital connectedness to reach these goals. One is to understand, through research, how
best to enable people, communities and businesses to connect with each other and with information (using
the term in its widest sense), using innovative digital technology. This involves understanding both the
potential of digital technology, and the social processes involved in encouraging and enabling digital
connectedness on the part of society and economy. It will also require re-thinking and at times reforming
the delivery of services in public and private sectors: this has begun but there are yet more revolutions in
the interaction between services and society to be realised through digital means.

Shaping of technology by communities, by users, has been the core of the Community Informatics
movement (e.g. Gurstein, 2007; Servon, 2002; Keeble and Loader, 2001) in both the USA and UK. Based
around the argument that equity of access to information comprises a component of social justice
(Castells, Foreword to Servon, 2002), a movement around harnessing technology and adapting it to
causes identified by communities themselves for the outcome of social justice, has been growing over the
past 15 years. Although not without its critics, what this movement shows is the emerging need by
communities to shape and adapt technology to ensure “fit” and longevity. This is what Hellawell (2001)
focuses on in her publication “Beyond access”, where she discusses the development of content by users.
Skerratt (2003b, and then 2008) takes this further and presents a timeline (Figure 1) showing the emerging
focus of inquiry and analysis, shifting on simply providing access and putting broadband and computers
into communities, but working with such communities to ensure that such provision “fits”, makes sense, is
appropriate to need and appropriate to the cultural setting in which it operates. This means that co-
construction (after McCown, 2002) remains essential. This orientation, by definition, then also requires that
analysis of the benefits and impacts of digital technologies should include these softer, cultural
components (Skerratt, 2003b, 2005 and 2006).

Access

Access, Content
& Capacity
(Servon)

Access, Content
& shared
participation
• Infrastructure environments
• Access points
(public &
Access, Content,
private)
shared participation
environments,
• Relevant content & participatory
co-development environments
• Increasing • User-friendly
relevance of environments
applications • Sensitivity to place
• Training (physical & social)
• Embedded in
relationship &
peer networks • Co-construction of
relevance and added
value (after
McCown, 2002)
Figure 1 - Source: Skerratt (2008), p.100.

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Technology Futures

Some recent software advances (most notably Web2.0 tools to support social networking) have had a
profound effect by helping to create vast on-line communities of connected individuals; systems such as
Facebook or LinkedIn demonstrate how relatively simple technologies have been embraced by users as a
means to capture relationships and build connected communities. The technology landscape is however
constantly shifting and it is interesting to pose the following question: What new opportunities for
connectedness might emerge from the next generation of digital technologies?

The Web in its current form provides a flexible and highly scalable platform for dissemination of information
and knowledge across the globe. However, the representation used (statements in natural language with
some formatting instructions) means that the content on the Web is inaccessible to software systems. The
concept of a Semantic Web [Berners-Lee, 2001] has thus emerged, as a means to represent knowledge
on the Web in a way that is accessible to both humans and machines. The ambition is to create a Web
that acts as a universal medium for data, information, and knowledge exchange. Key Semantic Web
technologies such as RDF (Resource Description Framework) and OWL (Web Ontology Language) are
used to describe things such as people, events, or tractor parts. Berners-Lee has referred to the network
of linked data resulting from use of these technologies as the Giant Global Graph, in contrast to the HTML-
based World Wide Web.

Figure 2 presents a view of technology [Kelly, 2009] in which machine connectedness and human
connectedness are considered as two orthogonal dimensions. Connections between people are enabled
by a host of social networking/media sites, while machine to machine connections deliver the infrastructure
needed to power the Internet or mobile phone networks. The white space between these two realms has
been characterised by Kelly as the next (third) generation of the Web. Web3.0 will link humans and
machines more tightly and massively than now. The white space in Figure 2 is exactly where most
Semantic Web efforts are aimed; these technologies thus act as a bridge between the two forms of
connectedness, and will be important in delivering new forms of application to support the interconnected
society.

Figure 2 - Two Variants of Connectivity With a Shared White Space (Source:

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/Global AI.jpg)

The Market & Policy Futures

There are three portions of the digital market, as seen in the Digital Britain Report. The ‘first third’, where
demand is robust, will be supplied by the market. The ‘second third’ can be dealt with by inducements and
legislation. The ‘final third’ is more problematic. The proposed 50p per month landline levy could raise
£1billion over 3-5 years, and would be expected to lever out another £2billion from the private sector. The
total £3billion would, it is argued, be enough to provide the final third. However, this framework for
investment is clearly subject to the UK’s political landscape.

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In the absence of revenue to fund investment in the ‘final third’, there is fallout benefit across multiple
places and sectors, including rural societies, poorer communities, and SMEs - so the costs of universal
high speed broadband should be derived from multiple places. This view is not strongly pervasive in the
UK, in contrast to Europe, and poses challenges for UK Government and industry leadership. The
historical evidence is one of reluctance by government to “interfere” in the free market of provision of
telecoms bodies, and this continues to result in hot spots and not spots of access and support. An
outcome of this has been community-led broadband, particularly in rural areas lying beyond the reach of
an enabled exchange. Examples include Cybermoor in Alston, Cumbria, originally funded under a DTI
project, and since evolved into a social enterprise supporting other similar rural communities to access
broadband and harness the technologies in ways which are appropriate for their communities (see
www.cybermoor.org); a second example is Connected Communities in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland,
where it was considered unlikely for the telecoms industry to invest in broadband connectivity due to the
sparsity of population and distance from major centres (see www.connectedcommunities.co.uk), and an
individual entrepreneur decided to set up a subscriber network to overcome this disadvantage.

The future leaders will therefore, in all likelihood, comprise firstly continuing prioritisation and intervention
at a European level, since:

“Information Society policy, from European to local level, now recognises that market forces will
not provide a good standard of broadband infrastructure to all geographical areas…and that the
provision is only advantageous if individuals will take it up and exploit the capabilities of the new
technology…” (Talbot and Gillespie, 2008, p.171)

Secondly, national governments (in the devolved administrations) will lead in continuing to seek to match
practice with rhetoric, in the interests of economic regeneration and social inclusion. The above reports
build on work since the mid 1990s (including the 2000 PAT Report on closing the digital divide in
disadvantages communities, and the ESRC E-Society research programme 2003-2007).

Thirdly, alongside these will be regional and enterprise development agencies which increasingly have it
within their remit to encourage use of broadband and associated technologies, particularly in the micro-
enterprise and SME sectors. Finally, the on the ground leaders, in both rural and urban contexts, will
continue to push for, and achieve, communal ICT centres for those on low income and for those with no
other form of provision. These entrepreneurs will continue to form a vital part of the provision landscape
which – together – seeks to harness the benefits of connectedness that can be realised from application of
digital technologies.

References

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