Oxford Internet Institute

Current projects

• OxIS: Oxford Internet Surveys

  Participants: Grant Blank, Julia Lefkowitz

  Research on access, use and attitudes to the Internet in Britain based on biennial surveys covering (for example) digital and social inclusion and exclusion, mobile use, social media, safety and privacy concerns, Internet regulation, and behaviour.

• WIP: World Internet Project

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Grant Blank

  The World Internet Project (WIP) carries out panel surveys in over twenty countries to help understand how individuals adopt and use the Internet and other technologies, as well as the resulting social, economic, political and everyday-life implications.

Past projects

• Breaking Barriers to e-Government

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Helen Margetts, Professor Rebecca Eynon

  Investigating the legal, organisational, technological and other barriers to expanding effective eGovernment services using the Internet and to define possible solutions at a European level to overcome such obstacles.

• Civil society participation in the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS)

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Victoria Nash, Dr Sonia Liff, Professor Stephen Coleman

  Achieving a deeper understanding of the nature, extent and potential of civil society groups' participation in the 2003 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and ICT policy making by establishing a cross-sector academic / practitioner dialogue.

• Clinical and psychological characteristics of Internet gamblers: web-based survey

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Victoria Nash, Joanne Lloyd, Professor Robert D. Rogers, John Geddes, Guy Goodwin

  Expanding our understanding of online gambling by undertaking a web-based survey of users of Internet gambling sites, covering areas such as demographic and occupational characteristics, psychological characteristics, and attitudes to risk.

• Cybertrust: The tension between privacy and security in an e-society

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton

  Perceptions of trust in online activities are significant factors influencing the kinds and extents of Internet use and interactions: this work draws on Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS) data to explore and refine key social determinants of cybertrust.

• Digital Choices and the Reconfiguring of Access

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton

  Research on how the use of the Internet in different, overlapping and interacting arenas is shaped by everyday and strategic choices about the design and use of the technology.

• Digitised Resources: A Usage and Impact Study

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Ralph Schroeder, Professor Mike Thelwall, Professor Eric T. Meyer, Dr Christine Madsen, Dr Kathryn Eccles

  This project combined quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure the impact of online scholarly resources and to develop a best practices toolkit that allows assessment of the impact of digitisation projects by researchers and funding bodies.

• EICN working group on child protection and mobile phones

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Victoria Nash

  An OII-led working group to gather information and develop policy recommendations about the practices of mobile network operators in Europe in relation to child protection in the era of third-generation (3G) multimedia mobile phones.

• Global Centre for Cyber Security Capacity-Building

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Ian Brown, Gillian Bolsover

  This Oxford-based Centre aims become a leading global resource for understanding how to deliver effective cyber security; OII Fellows Bill Dutton and Ian Brown lead its work on security cultures and regulation.

• Internet and productivity in public services: innovative pathways for e-government

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Paul Allan David, Professor Alexandre Caldas, Orges Ormanidhi

  Investigating indicators of productivity growth in public sector institutions across eight EU countries, including patterns and impacts of ICT use, organisational perspectives, and implications of the interaction of ICT usage and organisational processes.

• Internet Governance

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Jonathan Zittrain, Professor Ian Brown, Desiree Miloshevic

  A programme of seminars, forums and conferences informing our research on Internet governance.

• KNETWORKS: Dissemination and Networks of Knowledge in the Atlantic Area

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Eric T. Meyer, Dr Cristobal Cobo

  KNETWORKS aims to create a strong knowledge sharing and dissemination network in the Atlantic area to promote the exchange of good practices and implementation strategies for building and exploiting a 21st century knowledge and information society.

• Me, My Spouse and the Internet: Meeting, Dating and Marriage in the Digital Age

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Bernie Hogan, Dr Nai Li, Dr Grant Blank, Dr Monica Whitty

  The project uses survey data from Australian and UK couples to look at the significance and impact of the Internet on intimate relationships, including how people use ICTs to meet each other and maintain relationships, and how ICTs affect their behaviour.

• Media Literacy: Testing and refining criteria to assess media literacy levels in all EU Member States

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Monica Bulger, Emilie Normann, Kristian Pederson, Paolo Celot, Agnes Bruszik

  This project aims to develop and validate indicators of adult media literacy levels, in response to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive requiring that the European Commission report levels of Media Literacy in all EU Member States by December 2011.

• Networks for Web Science

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Jonathan Zittrain, Professor Yorick Wilks, Tim Berners-Lee, Professor Wendy Hall

  Establishing networks of researchers from different technical and social science research disciplines to begin to develop a Web Science research agenda through the exchange of PhD students and collaborative workshops.

• OeSS: The Oxford e-Social Science Project

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Paul Allan David, Professor Ralph Schroeder, Dr Marina Jirotka, Dr Annamaria Carusi, Dr Matthijs den Besten, Professor Eric T. Meyer, Dr Kathryn Eccles, Professor Christopher Millard, Professor Michael Parker, Dr Justine Pila, Professor Tina Piper, Dr Michael Spence, Professor David Vaver

  The Oxford e-Social Science project aims to understand how e-Research projects negotiate various social, ethical, legal and organizational forces and constraints, in order to help researchers avoid these problems when building scientific collaborations.

• Oxford Digital Economy Collaboration Group (ODEC)

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton

  ODEC aims to foster collaboration between researchers, businesses and public sector groups in the digital, Internet, and creative industries. It supports the projects and priorities of the newly established Connected Digital Economy Catapult (CDEC).

• Performance of distributed problem-solving networks

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Paul Allan David, Dr Tobias Escher, Dr Wolf Richter, Dr Matthijs den Besten, Dr Max Loubser, Dr Robert Ackland, David A. Bray, Irene Cassarino, Karen Croxson, Professor Jean-Michel Dalle, Dr Aldo Geuna, Dr Jukka-Pekka Onnela, Felix Reed-Tsochas, Philipp Tuertscher

  Addressing the uncertainties that surround the coordination and performance of 'Distributed Problem Solving Networks' (DPSN), as well as the areas in which these new Internet-based forms offer advantages over more familiar modes of problem-solving.

• Spam email: a qualitative study

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Leslie Haddon

  A qualitative study of how individuals view and manage unwanted email, particularly spam, based on semi-structured interviews of users.

• The e-Horizons Institute

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Paul Allan David, Professor Ralph Schroeder, Dr Marina Jirotka, Professor Anne Trefethen, Professor Paul Jeffreys, Professor Eric T. Meyer

  The e-Horizons Institute researched the coming technological breakthroughs in e-science that will have cross-sector social and economic implications as they are taken up by business, government and other actors.

• The Fifth Estate

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Elizabeth Dubois

  The Fifth Estate is a research project designed to examine critically the Internet's role in enabling new forms of democratic accountability and voice, comparable to the press of an earlier era.

• The Global Internet Values Project: International Perspectives on Privacy, Security, Trust, and Freedom in a Networked World

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Soumitra Dutta, Gillian Bolsover, Ginette Law

  This research aims to identify patterns and trends in individual attitudes and behaviours related to online trust, privacy, security and freedom.

• The World Wide Web of Science: emerging global sources of expertise

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Ralph Schroeder, Professor Alexandre Caldas

  The World Wide Web of Science project assesses whether, and to what extent, the Internet and the Web are transforming access to sources of scientific expertise, and whether these sources are becoming more concentrated or more diversified.

• ULab: European Laboratory for Modelling the Technical Research University of Tomorrow

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Rebecca Eynon, Dr Monica Bulger

  ULab will work as a University Laboratory, systematically reviewing, evaluating and experimenting with current practice in research, valorization, entrepreneurship and outreach activities in each of the five partner universities.

• World Wide Web of Humanities

  Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Ralph Schroeder, Dr Robert Ackland, Professor Eric T. Meyer, Dr Christine Madsen

  Establishing a framework for e-Humanities research using available open source tools and technologies and archived web content to create novel research interfaces to the first of many, scholarly, e-Humanities web collections.

• William Dutton discusses the Oxford Internet Institute

  Recorded: 5 November 2015

  Duration: 00:40:27

  Our Founding Director, Bill Dutton, returns to the OII for a "fireside chat" with our Deputy Director Vicki Nash, in which he discusses the OII and his own work.

• Dot Rural: Interviews

  Recorded: 1 October 2013

  Duration: 00:22:53

  Interviews about rural Internet.

• The Future of Research Libraries in the 21st Century: Interview with Dame Lynne Brindley

  Recorded: 25 April 2013

  Duration: 00:05:22

  Bill Dutton interviews the former CEO of the British Library before her talk at the OII on the future of research libraries in the 21st Century.

• Open Journal Publishing: Interview with Professor Dieter Stein

  Recorded: 28 February 2013

  Duration: 00:06:29

  Bill Dutton interviews Professor Dieter Stein, based at Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, before his talk at the OII on open access journal publishing.

• A Decade in Internet Time: William Dutton

  Recorded: 22 September 2011

  Duration: 00:06:47

  Professor William Dutton introduces the plenary session "A Decade in Internet Time" to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Oxford Internet Institute.

• The Fifth Estate of the Internet Realm

  Recorded: 26 October 2010

  Duration: 00:02:59

  Professor William Dutton discusses the main themes of his lecture in the OII's "Society and the Internet" lecture series. How does the Internet create a space for new forms of social accountability? Is it enabling a 'Fifth Estate'?

• Relationships and the Internet (Public Panel)

  Recorded: 4 December 2009

  Duration: 01:22:22

  This forum looks at the state of the art of academic research on relationships and the Internet and how this research informs research on the social aspects of the Internet in general, such as issues of trust and identity.

• After the digital switchover …

  Recorded: 26 November 2009

  Duration: 01:28:14

  At the launch of the International Journal of Digital Television, the speakers ask: After digital switchover will we still have television as such? Will it still need special regulation? Will we have gained or lost, socially and culturally?

• Social Networking Conference. Session 1: Online Social Networks

  Recorded: 7 April 2008

  Duration: 01:25:35

  A discussion of online social networks, covering online Social networks: 'Social Networks: Reconfiguring Access to People', 'Cyber tribes and information warfare' and 'Youth Work and Social Networking'.

• Social Networking Conference. Session 2: Intimate Relationships and Online Social Networks

  Recorded: 7 April 2008

  Duration: 00:38:11

  A discussion of intimate relationships and online social networks, covering intimate relationships and online social networks: 'Netiquette within Married Couples' and 'Stalking 2.0. Social Networking and Privacy: Incompatible Ideas?'.

• Social Networking Conference. Session 3: Businesses and Online Social Networks

  Recorded: 7 April 2008

  Duration: 01:06:40

  A discussion of businesses and online social networks, covering businesses and online social networks: 'Social networking and business practice: telecoms industry case study' and 'Social software in a hard world' and 'Wikipedia'.

• Through the Network (of Networks): The Fifth Estate

  Recorded: 15 October 2007

  Duration: 00:48:27

  The Internet and web are creating a new space for networking people, information and other resources: this has the potential to become an important 'fifth estate' to support greater accountability in politics, the media and other institutional arenas.

• Trust in the Internet as an Experience Technology

  Recorded: 6 November 2006

  Duration: 00:51:50

  Bill Dutton summarizes and discusses his paper 'Trust in the Internet as an experience technology' published in the journal Information, Communication and Society (iCS 9:433-451).

• Learning from Experience in eGovernment: Concluding comments

  Recorded: 26 June 2006

  Duration: 00:45:08

  Concluding comments from the 'Breaking Barriers to e-Goverment' project workshop: 'Breaking Barriers to eGovernment: Overcoming Obstacles to improving European Public Services'.

• Information, Communication and New Media Studies: Networking a Multidisciplinary Field

  Recorded: 3 February 2006

  Duration: 01:00:07

  Identifying the most promising approaches for connecting multidisciplinary research efforts focused on the growing social importance of ICTs in structuring diverse aspects of public life.

• Information, Communication and New Media Studies: Good for What?

  Recorded: 2 February 2006

  Duration: 01:40:01

  What do constituencies outside the research field expect from information, communication and media studies? Can it meet these expectations? Under what conditions? Perspectives are provided on the intersection between research and more applied agendas.

• CyberSafety Conference: Introductions

  Recorded: 9 September 2005

  Duration: 00:27:03

  Introductions to the 2005 Cybersafety Conference, focusing on the complex web of issues, assumptions and trade-offs involved in improving online safety and security at a personal, national and international level.

• CyberSafety Conference: Close / Ways Forward

  Recorded: 9 September 2005

  Duration: 01:34:10

  Closing notes from the 2005 Cybersafety Conference focusing on the complex web of issues, assumptions and trade-offs involved in improving online safety and security at a personal, national and international level.

• OII Professor William Dutton Wins Frederick Williams Prize, in Recognition of his Outstanding Contributions to the Study of Communication Technology

  24 June 2013

  William Dutton was awarded the Frederick Williams Prize at the 2013 ICA conference in recognition of his outstanding contributions to knowledge concerning the social uses and impacts of new communication technologies.

• The Internet in Britain, 2011: Topline Findings from the Oxford Internet Surveys (OxIS)

  17 October 2011

  Topline findings from the Oxford Internet Surveys (OxIS) 2011 Report: "Next Generation Users: The Internet in Britain 2011", presenting data on British access, use and attitudes to the Internet 2003-2011.

• Are you a Next Generation User of the Internet?

  17 October 2011

  The OxIS 2011 survey shows that nearly half of Internet users in Britain are 'Next Generation Users', who routinely access the Internet on the move using portable devices - more than double the proportion in 2007.

• Professor of Internet Studies appointed Chair of Ofcom Advisory Committee

  5 February 2009

  Professor William Dutton, Director of the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at Oxford University, is appointed as Chair of Ofcom's Advisory Committee for England and Member of the Advisory Committee for the South East region

• The Fifth Estate – through the network of networks

  16 October 2007

  The impact of the Internet as a new form of social accountability and why it should be defined as 'the Fifth Estate' is the subject of an inaugural lecture by William Dutton, the Professor of Internet Studies at Oxford University, on 15 October 2007

• New Virtual Research Seminar Series: Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Information Society

  22 January 2007

  The OII has partnered with the Open University of Catalonia to offer a fully virtual doctoral seminar series over a period of six months. The collaboration will explore new teaching methods for the information age

• Director appointed for the Oxford Internet Institute

  18 April 2002

  Professor William Dutton is appointed as the first Director of the Oxford Internet Institute, also becoming the University of Oxford's first Professor of Internet Studies and a Fellow of Balliol College

• Innovation in Higher Education: building a better future?

  22 May 2014

  Oxford University, in collaboration with academic partners, will hold a pre-conference (prior to the Seattle Conference) hosted at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

• Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS) 2013 Report Launch

  1 October 2013

  The launch of the OxIS 2013 Report, presenting a decade of OII-collected survey data on Internet use and attitudes in Britain.

• OII SDP Alumni Conference

  Thursday 12 - Friday 13 July 2012

  This mini-conference celebrates ten years of the OII's Summer Doctoral Programme. Comprising a one-day mini-conference with reception and dinner, this is a great opportunity for SDP alumni to reunite, present their research, and relive the SDP experience.

• The Converged World of the Internet in a Connected Digital Economy

  21 May 2012

  This workshop will explore strategies for building the strongest possible focus for collaboration on the Connected Digital Economy Catapult (CDEC).

• Digital Social Research: A Forum for Policy and Practice

  13 March 2012

  This one-day policy forum will bring together leading academics in the rapidly evolving field of Digital Social Research with key thought leaders from business, industry and government interested in the future of research policy and practice.

• Social Science and Digital Research: Interdisciplinary Insights

  12 March 2012

  Technical innovations are enabling scholars to reconfigure how they do their work across all phases of the research process, from discovery to dissemination. What are the implications of this for the foci, quality and significance of research?

• Next Generation Internet Users: Digital Divides, Choices, and Inequalities (Society and the Internet Lecture Series, Part 10)

  24 January 2012

  In this talk, Dr Blank and Professor Dutton explain how a new pattern of Internet access is developing through the use of a growing variety of devices than enable increasing mobility.

• Symposium on Relationships and the Internet

  Friday 09 - Saturday 10 December 2011

  This symposium is designed to engage a small group of academic researchers producing scholarship on how online contexts such as online dating and social media are facilitating and hindering personal, social and romantic relationships.

• Internet Governance and National Digital Policies

  Wednesday 09 - Thursday 10 November 2011

  Digital policy initiatives are emerging globally amidst a transnational effort to coordinate Internet governance. This seminar brings together key participants in global and national initiatives to govern the Internet.

• OxIS 2011 Report Launch

  17 October 2011

  The launch of the OxIS 2011 Report, presenting almost a decade of OII-collected survey data on Internet use and attitudes in Britain.

• The New Internet World: Shifting Patterns of Adoption, Attitudes and Behaviour (Society and the Internet Lecture Series, Part 1)

  11 October 2011

  In the last four decades there have been dramatic changes in who has access to the Internet, and how people use and view it. In this lecture Professor Dutton explores the emergence of a 'New Internet World'.

• Book Launch: Palestine Online, Transnationalism, the Internet and the Construction of Identity

  29 September 2011

  Miriyam Aouragh will discuss her new book, the research behind it, the implications for those affected by the Israeli-Palestine conflict and how it furthers understanding about the connection between electronic media, politics and national identity.

• A Decade in Internet Time: Open Plenary Session

  22 September 2011

  This two-hour session draws together the many themes of the OII-iCS conference 'A Decade in Internet Time'.

• A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society

  Wednesday 21 - Saturday 24 September 2011

  The Oxford Internet Institute and the journal, Information, Communication and Society are co-organizing a symposium to critically assess the last decade of social research on the Internet and identify directions for research over the next.

• Digital Policy Issues for the New Communications Bill

  24 June 2011

  A forum discussing the key issues that should be considered in relation to the Department of Culture Media and Sport's (DCMS) planned Green Paper on the UK communications sector.

• Moral Panics over the Internet

  11 April 2011

  This talk will identify some of the major 'moral panics' generated by public discourse on the use and impacts of the Internet.

• Following our Digital Footprints: Tracing the Policy Implications of the Future Digital Economy

  16 February 2011

  Bringing together senior academics, business leaders and policy-makers, this policy forum aims to identify the new and emerging policy implications of a digital economy driven by the collection, storage, use and re-use of personal information.

• Consumers and Internet Studies: a Workshop

  10 January 2011

  This workshop aims to facilitate further exploration of the fields and standing of Internet Studies focused on aspects of the consumer and consumer behaviour, and of providing direction for enhancing its substance, significance and impact.

• Expanding the Connected Kingdom: Policies and Strategies for Stimulating the UK Internet Economy

  22 November 2010

  This policy forum brings together senior academics, business leaders and policy-makers in order to identify policies and strategies that will help maximise the potential of the UK's increasingly significant Internet economy.

• Undergraduate Lecture Series (M3): The Fifth Estate of the Internet Realm

  25 October 2010

  The growing use of the Internet and related technologies enables the networking of individuals in ways that create a new source of accountability not only in government and politics, but also in other sectors. Is the Internet enabling a 'Fifth Estate'?

• Changing Perceptions of the Online World: Trust and Privacy

  5 October 2010

  This workshop is the fourth in a series of events looking at trends and insights emerging from the OII's OxIS surveys. The workshop will focus on changes in the attitudes of Britons toward trust, privacy and regulation in the online world.

• Information Innovation in the Digital Age: Keeping Pace with the Reinvention of the Internet and Web

  24 September 2010

  This workshop, the third in a series of events looking at trends and insights emerging from the OII's OxIS surveys, will compare and contrast the Internet's implications for research both in academic life and the everyday world.

• Book Launch: ‘World Wide Research’

  22 September 2010

  This event marks the publication of 'World Wide Research' by MIT Press, with a keynote on directions in digital social research and a panel discussion on the role of advanced Internet and Web technologies for research practices across disciplines

• Freedom of Connection – Freedom of Expression: The Changing Legal and Regulatory Ecology Shaping the Internet (IGF 2010 Workshop)

  14 September 2010

  This IGF 2010 workshop brings together a panel of experts to exchange views on policy recommendations to shape the changing regulatory ecology in ways that are conducive to maintaining both the free flow of information and the integrity of cyberspace.

• World Internet Policy Project (WIP2) Workshop

  6 July 2010

  This workshop will be the first organized around the World Internet Policy Project, and will be linked to the annual World Internet Project meetings. The organizers of the workshop invite abstracts of papers or presentations.

• Policy, Information, and Technology – An OII Policy Forum

  19 May 2010

  The aim of the forum is to discuss the general argument of the Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy's (WRR) draft report on the changing relationship between government and its citizens, and further specific themes.

• Unleashing the Potential of e-Philanthropy: Policy Forum

  14 April 2010

  For charitable organizations and initiatives, the Internet provides the opportunity to reach more people in more direct and personal ways. Are they grasping this opportunity?

• Europe Online: Empirical Perspectives on the Future of the Internet – An Oxford Internet Policy Seminar

  3 March 2010

  This seminar opens a series of Brussels based seminars organized by the OII with the support of Google. Bill Dutton, Katia Segers and Leen Haenens will consider countervailing trends concerning the Internet in Britain and children in the Web 2.0 world.

• Forum on Relationships and the Internet

  4 December 2009

  This forum will look at the state of the art of academic research on relationships and the Internet and how this research informs research on the social aspects of the Internet in general, such as issues of trust and identity.

• Public Panel on the Internet and Relationships

  4 December 2009

  This public panel discussion focuses on the significance and impact of the Internet on interpersonal relationships. Following an all-day forum on the topic, it will highlight the day's findings.

• Perspectives Workshop: Democracy in a Network Society

  Sunday 27 September - Friday 02 October 2009

  This workshop brings computer and social scientists together with legal scholars, practitioners, policy experts, and pollsters to chart and help plan the developing frontiers of new technologies for democratic processes in a networked society

• Oxford Social Media Convention 2009: Assessing the Evolution, Impact and Potential of Social Media

  18 September 2009

  This conference looks back at the evolution of blogs and other social media to give a nuanced understanding of the ways in which such tools have or have not made a difference at the social, political or economic level

• OxIS 2009 Report Launch

  22 June 2009

  The OxIS 2009 Report will be launched at the House of Commons with a large turnout of academics, regulators and industry people.

• The Multicultural Web

  30 April 2009

  Summary to come.

• Information and Web Science Doctoral Workshop

  18 March 2009

  A workshop aimed at doctoral students in the areas of information science, library science, web science, Internet studies, or related disciplines who are working on topics related to the Internet and other networked technologies.

• Launch of the OII’s MSc in Social Science of the Internet

  27 October 2008

  Summary to come.

• Fourth International Workshop on Human-Computer Conversation

  Monday 06 - Tuesday 07 October 2008

  This workshop brings together academic researchers and industrialists concerned with all aspects of human-computer conversation and the associated research issues of emotion, relationships, companionship, embodiment, ECAs, memory and evaluation.

• Meeting, Dating, Marriage and the Internet

  3 October 2008

  A forum exploring the history and future of academic research on online dating, and the role of the Internet in developing and maintaining intimate relationships, such as a marriage.

• You’ve Got Mail: Meeting, Dating, Marriage and the Internet

  2 October 2008

  This forum panel provides a critical perspective on the history and future of the Internet's role in meeting new people, dating, and developing lasting relationships, such as through partnerships and marriage.

• Oxford e-Research Conference 2008

  Thursday 11 - Saturday 13 September 2008

  Summary to come.

• Search!

  24 June 2008

  A workshop discussing the past, present and future of searching for information and content. Social science and technological approaches are used to look at this topic from the perspective of both the producers and the users of searchable content.

• Social Networking Conference

  7 April 2008

  Summary to come.

• Breaking Barriers to e-Government Workshop: Solutions for eGovernment

  31 October 2007

  Summary to come.

• Through the Network (of Networks) – the Fifth Estate

  15 October 2007

  The Internet and web are creating a new space for networking people, information and other resources: this has the potential to become an important 'fifth estate' to support greater accountability in politics, the media and other institutional arenas.

• OxIS Workshop: The Links between Digital Disengagement and Social Exclusion

  4 October 2007

  This first event in new series of workshops organised around the Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS) 2007 Report focuses on discussion of the links between social and digital inclusion.

• OxIS 2007 Report Launch

  24 July 2007

  Launch of the OxIS 2007 Report.

• Oxford Union Debate: This House believes that the Internet is the greatest force for Democratisation in the World

  18 May 2007

  Summary to come.

• Fostering Innovation in eGovernment

  9 March 2007

  Summary to come.

• The Next Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS)

  24 November 2006

  This interactive workshop will seek to gain feedback on the first two Oxford Internet Surveys (OxIS), conducted in 2003 and 2005, with a view to informing the design of the next survey, scheduled for spring 2007.

• Emerging Forms of Personal Identification and Identity Management in e-Government Service Relationships with the Citizen: Comparing Developments and Learning Lessons from Canada, USA and UK

  29 September 2006

  The Virtual Agora Project was launched at Carnegie Mellon University develop and test video, audio, and text-based tools to support collaborative information sharing and structured public discussion about civic issues.

• Journal of Information, Communication, Society: 10th Anniversary International Symposium

  Wednesday 20 - Friday 22 September 2006

  What evidence exists to support this idea of a significant step change in the development and social, economic and political diffusion of ICTs? This symposium seeks to take forward this debate by a critical analysis of key issues.

• Internet Governance for Development: Focusing on the Issues (invited workshop)

  1 September 2006

  Summary to come.

• DCC and DPC Joint Workshop: Policies for Long-term Curation and Preservation within Digital Repositories

  Monday 03 - Tuesday 04 July 2006

  Exploring the range of policies required to manage, preserve, and reuse the information held within digital repositories over time, and providing examples of the range and nature of the policies required and real-life experiences of implementing them.

• Learning from Experience in eGovernment: Why Projects Fail and Why They Succeed

  26 June 2006

  There have been a number of experiments in consulting with the public online. This talk considers how the public regards such opportunities, and some policy options which take into account existing barriers and opportunities.

• Qualitative e-Social Science: Issues in the Generation and Use of Video-based Data

  4 April 2006

  Summary to come.

• OII Research and Policy Workshop

  27 March 2006

  A workshop showcasing two areas of the OII's research addressing questions of real concern to government, industry and NGOs: generational and age-related patterns of Internet use, and Internet filtering conducted by national governments.

• Going Global: Civil Society Participation in the World Summit on the Information Society

  22 March 2006

  This event is limited to invited participants only.

• The Science of the Web

  15 March 2006

  Summary to come.

• Information, Communication and New Media Studies: Networking a Multidisciplinary Field (Invited Workshop)

  Friday 03 - Saturday 04 February 2006

  Identifying the most promising approaches for connecting multidisciplinary research efforts focused on the growing social importance of ICTs in structuring diverse aspects of public life.

• e-Participation in Established and Emerging Democracies: Early Experiences in Eastern Europe

  8 December 2005

  The focus of this workshop is to explore the role of the Internet in civic participation and democratic conversations with a focus on experience in the new democracies of Eastern Europe.

• Ethical, Legal, and Institutional Dynamics in e-Science: The case of eDiaMoND

  2 December 2005

  Discussing the ethical and legal issues that have emerged from the Diagnostic Mammography National Database Project (eDiaMoND), beginning with a presentation of the project, including its vision and implementation.

• Launch Reception: The Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS) Report 2005

  21 September 2005

  This is a launch reception for the Oxford Internet Surveys (OxIS) Report 2005 which presents results from OxIS 2003 and 2005. OxIS investigates the patterns and social implications of Internet use and non-use in Britain.

• Safety and security in a networked world: balancing cyber-rights and responsibilities

  Thursday 08 - Saturday 10 September 2005

  A conference to address the value choices and conflicts surrounding cybersafety in a converging world, featuring leading international authorities from government, industry, NGOs and academia (computer sciences, humanities, law and the social sciences).

• Breaking Barriers to e-Government Workshop

  17 June 2005

  This workshop will provide an overview of the 'eGovernment Barriers' project, which investigates the legal, organisational, technological and other barriers to expanding effective e-Government services using the Internet.

• OxIS Survey 2005 Workshop

  20 May 2005

  The results of the OxIS 2005 survey will be discussed.

• The Struggle over Internet Governance: Searching for Common Ground (closed workshop)

  6 May 2005

  Summary to come.

• The Struggle over Internet Governance: Searching for Common Ground

  5 May 2005

  The aim of this forum is to help inform negotiations and debates shaping the future governance, regulation and use of the Internet.

• New Approaches to Research on the Social Implications of Emerging Technologies

  Friday 15 - Saturday 16 April 2005

  A workshop that brings together engineers, computer scientists and social researchers to discuss alternative approaches to bridging research traditions on the evolution of technology, and how that evolution influences, and is influenced by, society.

• Whose Responsibility is Digital Inclusion?

  11 April 2005

  This half-day seminar will explore the very latest evidence on Internet use from the Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS), and discuss whether Government still has responsibilities to increase uptake, and, if so, which Department should be responsible.

• Identity, Technology and the Public Interest: New Directions for Research and Public Policy

  17 January 2005

  ID cards, biometrics and other technologies for collecting and managing information about the identity of individuals raise many issues for policy and practice.

• Women in IT: Thought Leadership Debate

  14 December 2004

  Summary to come.

• Reflections on the Civil Society Agenda

  10 December 2004

  Summary to come.

• eCampaiging Forum

  12 November 2004

  Summary to come.

• Can The Internet Survive? Internet Security, Technology and Governance: Problems and Solutions

  11 October 2004

  Summary to come.

• The Debate on Internet Governance: What’s at Stake?

  24 September 2004

  This joint OII-ISOC forum is designed to inform debate on the future of Internet governance in the UK and globally. It provides an opportunity for participants from industry, government, academia and civil society to contribute to the debate.

• Women in Computing Professions: Will the Internet Make a Difference? (Workshop)

  18 June 2004

  Summary to come.

• Women in Computing Professions: Will the Internet Make a Difference?

  17 June 2004

  Summary to come.

• The Next Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS): A London Workshop

  4 June 2004

  This meeting will discuss ways to build on the first Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS), conducted in the early summer of 2003, which will continue to play a role in the World Internet Project.

• The New Agenda for e-Democracy: Lessons from Initiatives Round the World (Policy Forum)

  7 May 2004

  Summary to come.

• Security and the Politics of e-Voting Research

  19 March 2004

  Dr Barbara Simons summarizes the findings of a paper she co-authored: A Security Analysis of the Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment (SERVE).

• The Internet and Governance: The Global Context

  Thursday 08 - Saturday 10 January 2004

  This conference brings together experts with diverse approaches to governance and the Internet in different continents.

• iCS Conference

  Wednesday 17 - Saturday 20 September 2003

  Summary to come.

• International Conference of World Internet Project

  Wednesday 16 - Saturday 19 July 2003

  Summary to come.

• Broadband Forum

  1 March 2003

  Summary to come.

• Politics of Code: Shaping the Future of the Next Internet

  6 February 2003

  Summary to come.

• Casting a Wider Net: Integrating Research and Policy on the Social Impacts of the Internet

  27 October 2002

  The Oxford Internet Institute's launch conference.

• What Happened to our Academic Culture?

  23 August 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  Universities – along with their centers, departments, and colleges – vary greatly in the vibrancy of their respective academic culture (intellectual climate). Nevertheless, no ... Read More What Happened to our Academic Culture?

• Pack Journalism – Digitally Networked

  19 August 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  Digitally Networked Pack Journalism Pack journalism is not only alive and well in the digital age, it is arguably more prominent than it could ... Read More Pack Journalism – Digitally Networked

• Talks in Europe on Quello Center’s Search and Politics Project

  16 July 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  I had a fascinating and challenging week in Europe speaking about the Quello Center’s work on search and politics. The findings of our project, ... Read More Talks in Europe on Quello Center’s Search and Politics Project

• Twitter Diplomacy Not Going Away: Taiwan Joins the Twittersphere

  7 July 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  I’ve written/blogged about the inevitable rise of digital diplomacy, and the need to adapt to it. President Donald Trumps’ use of Twitter is testing ... Read More Twitter Diplomacy Not Going Away: Taiwan Joins the Twittersphere

• Should Tweeting Politicians be able to Block Users?

  10 June 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  An interesting debate has been opened up by lawyers who have argued that President Trump should not block Twitter users from posting on Twitter. ... Read More Should Tweeting Politicians be able to Block Users?

• Talk on the politics of the Fifth Estate at University Institute of Lisbon, March 2017

  11 March 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  I had a quick but engaging trip to Portugal to speak with students and faculty at CIES at the University Institute of Lisbon. I ... Read More Talk on the politics of the Fifth Estate at University Institute of Lisbon, March 2017

• Orwell’s 1984: Must Reading for the Digital Age

  31 January 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  I have not taught an undergraduate course on the Internet and society for quite some time, but when I did, at USC, I had ... Read More Orwell’s 1984: Must Reading for the Digital Age

• Russian Hacking and the Certainty Trough

  7 January 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  Views on Russian Hacking: In a Certainty Trough? I have been amazed by the level of consensus, among politicians, the press and the directors ... Read More Russian Hacking and the Certainty Trough

• Twitter Foreign Policy and the Rise of Digital Diplomacy

  5 January 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  Recent Chinese concerns over ‘Twitter Foreign Policy” are just the tip of the iceberg on the ways in which the Internet has been enabling ... Read More Twitter Foreign Policy and the Rise of Digital Diplomacy

• Email Disrupting Life at Home?

  3 January 2017

  Author: Bill Dutton

  Email Disrupting Life at Home? Careful What You Ask For In France and other nations there is discussion of somehow banning email after 6pm ... Read More Email Disrupting Life at Home?

• Forthcoming Ukrainian Publication on Distributed Intelligence

  4 December 2016

  Author: Bill Dutton

  Aspects of my work on the role of distributed intelligence in problem solving, what I have called distributed collaborative networks, was published in English ... Read More Forthcoming Ukrainian Publication on Distributed Intelligence

• Don’t Panic over Fake News

  20 November 2016

  Author: Bill Dutton

  Fake News is a Wonderful Headline but Not a Reason to Panic I feel guilty for not jumping on the ‘fake news’ bandwagon. It ... Read More Don’t Panic over Fake News

• 10th Anniversary of OII’s DPhil in Information, Communication & the Social Sciences

  21 October 2016

  Author: Bill Dutton

  It was a real honour today to speak with some of the alumni (a new word for Oxford) of the Oxford Internet Institute’s DPhil ... Read More 10th Anniversary of OII’s DPhil in Information, Communication & the Social Sciences

• The 2016 US Presidential Election and the Institution of the Presidency

  8 October 2016

  Author: Bill Dutton

  One of the classic works on the governance of England is Walter Bagehot’s (1867) The English Constitution. He observed that through the evolution of ... Read More The 2016 US Presidential Election and the Institution of the Presidency

• A Virtual Professor: Putting Herself in the Hands of Others

  19 September 2016

  Author: Bill Dutton

  The Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University had one of its (now) annual retreats on a beautiful Friday in the clubhouse ... Read More A Virtual Professor: Putting Herself in the Hands of Others

• Is China changing the Internet, or is the Internet changing China?

  12 July 2013

  Author: Bill Dutton

  The global shift in the population of Internet users from North America and Europe to ’emerging’ nations such as China, is one of the ... Read More Is China changing the Internet, or is the Internet changing China?

• Can IT Industry be China’s New Growth Point

  4 December 2013 China Radio International

  
  

  Bill Dutton is interviewed by Shanming Qian of China Radio along with Professor Liu Baocheng of Beijing University about the information economy and China.

• Tech-savvy expats embrace flexible working

  29 October 2013 The Telegraph

  
  

  The finding in the recent Oxford Internet Surveys that many people use the Internet with reluctance is mentioned in an article about the way that expats organise their working lives.

• Most UK citizens do not find internet enthusiastic: Study

  4 October 2013 The Times of India

  
  

  The Times of India reports on the finding of the OxIS 2103 that many UK citizens use the Internet with reluctance.

• Over half of British internet users go online ‘without enthusiasm’

  2 October 2013 Phys Org

  
  

  A report of the OxIS 2013 findings that nearly half of the people who go online do so with a lack of enthusiasm

• Britain’s reluctant internet revolutionaries

  1 October 2013 The Daily Telegraph

  
  

  The 2013 Oxford Internet Surveys have charted the speed in which the digital revolutions is transforming life in Britain but it also reveals that almost four out of 10 people use it with reluctance.

• One in seven admit they hate the internet and fear it is ‘taking control of our lives’… but more of us are going online Read more: Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

  1 October 2013 Daily Mail

  
  

  Report of the finding of OxIS 2013 that many users of the Internet do so reluctantly.

• Last Word

  5 July 2013 BBC R4

  
  

  Bill Dutton pays tribute to ‘gentle, self-effacing’ Doug Engelbart, who died on 3 July. He was a visionary thinker who foresaw the potential of computers to connect the world long before others. He also famously invented the computer mouse.

• UM seminar on Social media and the Internet. William Dutton: ‘Fifth Estate’ challenging institutional authority

  11 December 2012 Macau Daily Times

  
  

  After Bill Dutton delivered a lecture to the University of Macao on the rise of the Internet, the Macau Daily Times interviewed him about the likely impact of the 'Fifth Estate' phenomenon now and in the future.

• NYT’s little problem in big China

  26 October 2012 The Guardian

  
  

  When the New York Times accused the family of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao of accumulating massive wealth the authorities closed down the Chinese language site.  However Bill Dutton says it is more a symbolic reaction than a political stance.

• Rural Chinese get online as mobile overtakes desktop

  19 July 2012 BBC News

  
  

  Mobile phones are now the most common way for people in China to connect with the Internet. These findings are consistent with the trend noted in other parts of the world says Bill Dutton. "We're moving to what we call next-generation users."

• Give an Hour: Revealing the habits of new web users

  2 July 2012 BBC News

  
  

  Since October 2011, 350,000 new users have been encouraged online through the Give an Hour campaign. Bill Dutton talks about what people are looking for on the Internet and how younger and older people share some common online interests.

• Top US universities put their reputations online

  20 June 2012 BBC Business News

  
  

  Elite US universities are launching ambitious online learning projects with the aim of "revolutionising education around the world". Bill Dutton comments on how the initiatives raise challenges for other educational institutions.

• Anti-piracy efforts divide web users

  20 January 2012 BBC News

  
  

  Bill Dutton analyses the events of a week in which parts of the web voluntary went off-line, Megaupload was shut down by the Department of Justice, and 'hacktivists' attacked US government and other websites.

• Brave new world

  1 December 2011 ESRC

  
  

  In the ESRC's annual magazine, Bill Dutton talks about the legacy of Alan Turing. Turing was a visionary and early inventor of computing, which led to the empowering of new forms of knowledge. Key to this is the concept of the Fifth Estate, Dutton says.

• How to lift the digital age barrier

  30 November 2011 The Guardian

  
  

  According to figures from the OII's Oxford Internet Surveys (OxIS), Internet use among people aged 65 and over sits at only about 30% and has not changed much since 2005, despite campaigns to get more older people connected.

• Screen test for the online classroom

  23 November 2011 BBC News

  
  

  The screen is an important part of the lives of students and young people, and technology is allowing online teaching services to move mainstream. Bill Dutton talks about the future of learning in an increasingly online world.

• Prof. Dutton: ”Next Generation Internet Users” w sieci szukają głównie rozrywki i multimediów Więcej

  24 October 2011 Gazeta Wyborcza

  
  

  William Dutton discusses findings from the 2011 Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS) at the 2011 World Internet Project (WIP) meeting in Poland.

• Pioneering Internet Institute marks 10th anniversary

  20 October 2011 Oxford Mail

  
  

  Outgoing OII Director Bill Dutton is interviewed on the occasion of OII's 10th anniversary: "The internet has exceeded what anybody could have imagined. It is not just changing how we know what we know, but what we know and even who we know."

• Study finds half of web users go online via mobile devices

  19 October 2011 Broadband Choice

  
  

  The characteristics of 'new generation users' of the Internet as revealed in the 2011 Oxford Internet Surveys are highlighted on the broadband website. They visit multiple locations, utilise several difference devices and contribute content.

• A networked world needs a ‘Fifth Estate’

  11 October 2011 Wired

  
  

  Bill Dutton on the 'Fifth Estate,' an independent forum analogous to the press, enabled by the web, comprising networked individuals: a new way to increase democratic accountability but also vulnerable to those who want to undermine it.

• Wie das Internet das Liebesleben bereichert

  27 August 2011 Science.orf.at

  
  

  William Dutton is interviewed after his talk on "Meeting and Dating Online" given at the annual Austrian Institute of Technology Forum in Alpbach (in German).

• The Birth of the ‘Fifth Estate’

  5 August 2011 Spiegel Online

  
  

  In an interview with Der Spiegel to mark 20 years of the World Wide Web, Bill Dutton talks about how it helps communities organize and its emergence as a 'Fifth Estate,' helping to hold accountable both governments and media around the globe.

• Spelling mistakes ‘cost millions’ in lost online sales

  13 July 2011 BBC News

  
  

  Poor spelling on websites can have adversely affect revenue according to an online entrepreneur. Bill Dutton comments that a tolerance of bad grammar on the informal Internet can translate into questions of trust on commercial sites.

• Blogging Against Bribery

  6 June 2011 BBC Radio 4

  
  

  Interviewed for a programme on how the Internet is being used to combat bribery in India, Bill Dutton says that these initiatives are a fine example of the "Fifth Estate" of networked individuals creating new forms of democratic accountability.

• Global Internet Culture Emerges

  28 April 2011 InformationWeek

  
  

  Internet users worldwide want privacy, security, trust, and freedom of expression, says a report from the Oxford Internet Institute, graduate business school Insead, and comScore.

• Web creator’s net neutrality fear

  19 April 2011 BBC News

  
  

  Bill Dutton warns of the risks in enshrining net neutrality in law, as part of an interview with Tim Berners-Lee conducted by Rory Cellan-Jones, the BBC Technology correspondent.

• Image of ‘wild west’ web makes for too many restrictions

  19 April 2011 Secure Computing

  
  

  Bill Dutton's challenge to the notion of an unfettered web is reported in the specialist journal for IT Security professionals.

• Web isn’t the “Wild West” – it’s already too regulated

  18 April 2011 PCPro

  
  

  "We cannot assume freedom of expression is an inevitable outcome of technology advances." Bill Dutton comments on regulation of the Internet to the W3C conference in Oxford, in advance of the launch of the UNESCO report on Freedom of Expression.

• Democratic potential of the Fifth Estate

  21 June 2010 PerAda Magazine

  
  

  Bill Dutton sets out the background to the emergence of a 'Fifth Estate' where networked individuals use the power of the Internet to access information online and use it to better hold government and institutions to account.

• Ofcom appoints nine new board members

  10 February 2009 mobile news

  
  

  Professor William Dutton, Director of the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at Oxford University, is appointed as Chair of Ofcom's Advisory Committee for England and Member of the Advisory Committee for the South East region

• Democracy on the line: The Fifth Estate?

  1 January 2009 Oxford Today

  
  

  In an in-depth article on the power of the Internet and its capacity to change lives, Bill Dutton describes how it has also enabled a "Fifth Estate" allowing for greater scrutiny and holding to account the government, the press and the establishment.