Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
By Phil Withers Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted:
In this blog Professor Phil Withers, Chief Scientist at the Henry Royce Institute calls for an ‘Internet of Materials’ to help the UK to innovate faster, smarter and with a more competitive edge. A new material or process can utterly transform a sector, or even our lifestyle. Failing fast in the lab and learning quickly […]
By Terry Hanley Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Health and Social Care Posted:
In the coming weeks, the House of Commons Education and Health Select Committees will be hearing oral evidence on their inquiry into children and young people’s mental health and the role of education. Members of the Manchester Institute of Education have written three blogs expanding on some of the key issues in their submission and […]
By Julia Mueller Filed Under: Featured, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted:
We won’t stop Googling our symptoms any time soon, so why aren’t online health information resources more effective? An interdisciplinary study between Computer Science and Health Sciences is trying to answer the question, explains Julia Mueller. The internet is increasingly becoming an important health information source and many people routinely turn to the internet to […]
By Daniel Dresner Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted:
The scale and vast cost of cyber crime has been made clear in the last few weeks. Daniel Dresner suggests that stronger industrial standards may be the best response. Cyber crime is reportedly costing the UK up to £34bn each year. Within that total, personal identity fraud is rising fast and is now responsible for […]
By Tarlok Teji Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
Creating a coherent digital policy that addresses both opportunities and threats is likely to prove a challenge for the new Government, argues Tarlok Teji. One of the major policy challenges facing the new Government is defining our relationship to the hyper-connected digital world. While that world brings fantastic opportunities, it also creates risks of global […]
By David Omand Filed Under: Featured Posted:
The internet is more than an enabling technology: it also enables criminals and terrorists to do evil in ways that were never before possible, explains Sir David Omand. The internet presents a range of challenges and threats that are new – for the individual, for businesses and for governments. Let us consider human activity today […]
By David Omand Filed Under: Featured Posted:
Intelligence agencies are responding to the threats posed in the internet age. We should be relieved, argues Sir David Omand. Faced with the growing threats posed in the internet age, UK law enforcement has reorganized. It is recruiting more cyber professionals, notably through the new National Crime Agency. Increasingly the police have looked to the […]
By David Omand Filed Under: Featured Posted:
Effective controls and regulations ensure that the UK’s intelligence agencies use their advanced knowledge of cyberspace for the collective good, argues Sir David Omand. Our law enforcement and intelligence agencies can answer complex questions about legitimate targets that would previously have been hopelessly intractable. That capability in the hands of authoritarian governments can be used […]
By Anita Greenhill Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology, Whitehall Watch Posted:
The ‘darknet’ is being used by criminals and political dissidents to avoid surveillance. Anita Greenhill suggests ways that governments can tackle it. While most people use the internet’s legitimate channels to shop, search for items, or communicate with friends and family, there are some who hide in the internet’s cracks and shadows. These less known […]
When Internet freedom contrasts with a lack of wider political freedom, it may be an indicator of likely revolution, explains Professor Richard Heeks. In April last year I wrote a blog revealing that research showed Ukraine to be the country most likely to undergo a revolution. Given recent events, I was fascinated to look back […]