Dear friends and colleagues,
We are nearing completion of fieldwork on our 2007 OxIS survey of use and non-use of the Internet in Britain. As you will see from Ellen Helsper's interview below, we are looking forward to the results which will address a number of current debates over the Internet. We are also approaching the deadline for 2007/08 applications for our new doctoral programme in Information, Communication and the Social Sciences. The contribution of our students to the intellectual life of the OII been outstanding: leading us into early discussions of the potential for an Oxford Master's degree in Internet Studies.
William Dutton, Director
1. Events Diary
2. New Website for OxIS
3. Working Paper
4. Webcasts
5. Recruiting: Research Assistants
6. Student Diary
1. Events Diary
Title: ONI Conference: The Future of Free Expression on the Internet
Date: Friday 18 May
Focus: The OpenNet Initiative is holding its first public conference to discuss the current state of play of Internet filtering worldwide. Results from the ONI's first global study of Internet filtering will be on the table for a day of discussion involving ICT development experts, speech and human rights advocates, journalists and bloggers, international lawyers and scholars, and others interested in state responses to online information flows.
Information and registration:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/oniconference07/Main_Page
2. New Website for OxIS
The OxIS survey is unique in Britain in providing data on how use of the Internet in Britain is changing. To support this work we have recently launched a website that will be the new home (and face) of OxIS:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/microsites/oxis/
You can find OxIS research highlights, forthcoming events, the OxIS mailing list and dataset request forms (etc.) We found OII Survey Research Fellow Ellen Helsper and asked her:
Q: So...why is OxIS important?
A: First, repetition of our surveys every two years makes trend analysis possible: and OxIS is unique in Britain for its broad range of data on Internet use. As an academic project, the results are made publicly available and so it is widely used as an instrument by policy makers, the business sector, academics and professionals, in the UK and worldwide. OxIS is also unique in Britain for its links with the World Internet Project (WIP) which allows for comparisons with 24 other countries.
Q: Are there any comparable datasets in Britain?
A: No! Other surveys are either much more limited in their scope or have been discontinued, and don't have the detailed social, psychological and attitudinal questions of OxIS. And commercial research in this area is market-oriented and not publicly available...
Q: What do you expect to see in the latest (2007) data?
A: An increase in social networking and creativity, especially among younger people, and we expect to see a further proliferation of broadband. What is important is that after this third wave of the survey we will be more certain of actual trends.
Q: And have you been surprised by any of the data so far?
A: The incredible (overnight) increase in Broadband access. The high level of trust that people seem to have in the Internet and their capacity to deal with negative experiences. The impact of age is also especially striking...life stage is really important, and we assume that proxy use is an especially important factor for older people.
Q: ...and concerned?
A: The largest gaps are still based on age, education and income: according to our last survey 40% of British people still do not use the Internet. Gender is also still a strong predictor for the way in which people use the Internet. Digital and social exclusion remains an important issue in the current connected world.
Q: And lastly: what are the future plans?
A: The 2007 Survey fieldwork is almost complete, with analysis of the data taking place over the next few months. The OxIS Report 2007 will launched by the beginning of July and a series of seminars and workshops will be organized around a number of research themes.
To find out more about OxIS, get involved, attend events, or simply have a look, visit the OxIS website:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/microsites/oxis/
3. Working Paper
On the theme of latest trends in social networking, Web 2.0 and citizen engagement, we have posted a new forum discussion paper:
'Reconfiguring Government-Public Engagements: Enhancing the Communicative Power of Citizens' (Dutton and Peltu)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/publications/FD9_pa1.pdf
This is the outcome of a recent OII/Cabinet Office Event 'Engaging with the 'Google Generation'' which considered the implications for governmental engagement with the public of emerging trends in online communication (such as social networking tools and blogs). Participants in the forum were impressed by the genuine desire of public servants to utilize the Internet and Web to better engage with the public, but we also had to face the very practical limits on government moving at the speed of the Internet.
4. Webcasts
Title: Strategies for the Long-Term in Infrastructure Design
Speaker: Dr David Ribes, University of Michigan
Focus: We do not yet know how to plan at the scale of centuries, or even decades: within infrastructure building endeavors, the science of the long-term is nascent. Dr David Ribes compiles insights drawn from comparative ethnographic studies of projects seeking to develop information resources for the sciences, outlines competing meanings of 'the long-term' and traces an extended example of a design strategy employed by participants.
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/?view=Webcast&ID=20070329_185
5. Recruiting: Research Assistants
Part-Time Research Assistants
We are looking for two highly motivated Research Assistants to be part-time content analysis coders for a new project at the OII on Internet-based humour. They will conduct detailed analysis of Internet-based comic texts about gender by systematic reading and interpretation of jokes, based on a codebook. Experience with content analysis and social science research is helpful, but not necessary.
Closing: midday on 23rd April.
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/newpositions.cfm
We are also looking for Research Assistants to help with the conduct of case studies within the Oxford e-Social Sciences (OeSS) Project. Those interested should contact Dr Ralph Schroeder at:
6. Student Diary
The students have left the building...expected back after Easter.
However: the next month is an important one for applications to our doctoral programme. The application deadline for 2007/08 entry is 18 May: after that, applications will have to wait until the autumn for 2008/09 entry (note that the deadline refers to fully completed applications).
Information on how to apply can be found at: