The UK geography of the E-Society: a national classification

It is simplistic to think of the impacts of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in terms of a single, or even small number of, 'digital divides'. As developments in what has been termed the ?e-society? reach wider and more generalisedaudiences, so it becomes appropriate to think of digital media as having wider-ranging but differentiated impacts upon consumer transactions, information gathering and citizen participation. This paper describes the development of a detailed, nationwide household classification based on levels of awareness of different ICTs; levels of use of ICTs; andtheir perceived impacts upon human capital formation and the quality of life. It discusses how geodemographic classification makes it possible to provide context for detailed case studies, and hence identify how policy might best improve both the quality and degree ofsociety?s access to ICTs. The primary focus of the paper is methodological, but it alsoillustrates how the classification may be used to investigate a range of regional and subregional policy issues. This paper illustrates the potential contribution of bespoke classifications to evidence-based policy, and the likely benefits of combining the most appropriate methods, techniques, datasets and practices that are used in the public and private sectors. It is simplistic to think of the impacts of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in terms of a single, or even small number of, 'digital divides'. As developments in what has been termed the ?e-society? reach wider and more generalisedaudiences, so it becomes appropriate to think of digital media as having wider-rangingbut differentiated impacts upon consumer transactions, information gathering and citizen participation. This paper describes the development of a detailed, nationwide household classification based on levels of awareness of different ICTs; levels of use of ICTs; and their perceived impacts upon human capital formation and the quality of life. It discusses how geodemographic classification makes it possible to provide context for detailed case studies, and hence identify how policy might best improve both the quality and degree of society?s access to ICTs. The primary focus of the paper is methodological, but it also illustrates how the classification may be used to investigate a range of regional and subregional policy issues. This paper illustrates the potential contribution of bespoke classifications to evidence-based policy, and the likely benefits of combining the most appropriate methods, techniques, datasets and practices that are used in the public and private sectors

Uganda aquaculture value chains: strategic planning mission report

This report presents the findings and recommendations of a strategic planning mission to reevaluate the feasibility of WorldFish implementing a fish value chain research program in Uganda under the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish (L&F). The over-arching goal of L&F is to increase productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems so as to increase availability and affordability of meat, milk and fish for poor consumers and, in doing so, to reduce poverty through greater participation by the poor along animal source food value chains. This will be achieved by making a small number of carefully selected animal source food value chains function better, for example by identifying and addressing key constraints and opportunities (from production to consumption), improving institutional arrangements and capacities, and supporting the establishment of enabling pro-poor policy and institutional environments

Uganda aquaculture value chains: strategic planning mission: summary report

This report presents the findings and recommendations of a strategic planning mission to reevaluate the feasibility of WorldFish implementing a fish value chain research program in Uganda under the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish (L&F). The over-arching goal of L&F is to increase productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems so as to increase availability and affordability of meat, milk and fish for poor consumers and, in doing so, to reduce poverty through greater participation by the poor along animal source food value chains. This will be achieved by making a small number of carefully selected animal source food value chains function better, for example by identifying and addressing key constraints and opportunities (from production to consumption), improving institutional arrangements and capacities, and supporting the establishment of enabling pro-poor policy and institutional environments

The impact and penetration of location-based services

Since the invention of digital technology, its development has followed an entrenched path ofminiaturisation and decentralisation with increasing focus on individual and niche applications. Computerhardware has moved from remote centres to desktop and hand held devices whilst being embedded invarious material infrastructures. Software has followed the same course. The entire process has convergedon a path where various analogue devices have become digital and are increasingly being embedded inmachines at the smallest scale. In a parallel but essential development, there has been a convergence ofcomputers with communications ensuring that the delivery and interaction mechanisms for computersoftware is now focused on networks of individuals, not simply through the desktop, but in mobilecontexts. Various inert media such as fixed television is becoming more flexible as computers and visualmedia are becoming one.With such massive convergence and miniaturisation, new software and new applications define the cuttingedge. As computers are being increasingly tailored to individual niches, then new digital services areemerging, many of which represent applications which hitherto did not exist or at best were rarely focusedon a mass market. Location based services form one such application and in this paper, we will bothspeculate on and make some initial predictions of the geographical extent to which such services willpenetrate different markets. We define such services in detail below but suffice it to say at this stage thatsuch functions involve the delivery of traditional services using digital media and telecommunications.High profile applications are now being focused on hand held devices, typically involving information onproduct location and entertainment but wider applications involve fixed installations on the desktop whereservices are delivered through traditional fixed infrastructure. Both wire and wireless applications definethis domain. The market for such services is inevitably volatile and unpredictable at this early stage but wewill attempt here to provide some rudimentary estimates of what might happen in the next five to tenyears.The ?network society? which has developed through this convergence, is, according to Castells (1989,2000) changing and re-structuring the material basis of society such that information has come todominate wealth creation in a way that information is both a raw material of production and an outcome ofproduction as a tradable commodity. This has been fuelled by the way technology has expanded followingMoore?s Law and by fundamental changes in the way telecommunications, finance, insurance, utilitiesand so on is being regulated. Location based services are becoming an integral part of this fabric and thesereflect yet another convergence between geographic information systems, global positioning systems, andsatellite remote sensing. The first geographical information system, CGIS, was developed as part of theCanada Land Inventory in 1965 and the acronym ?GIS? was introduced in 1970. 1971 saw the firstcommercial satellite, LANDSAT-1. The 1970s also saw prototypes of ISDN and mobile telephone and theintroduction of TCP/IP as the dominant network protocol. The 1980s saw the IBM XT (1982) and thebeginning of de-regulation in the US, Europe and Japan of key sectors within the economy. Finally in the 1990s, we saw the introduction of the World Wide Web and the ubiquitous pervasion of business andrecreation of networked PC?s, the Internet, mobile communications and the growing use of GPS forlocational positioning and GIS for the organisation and visualisation of spatial data. By the end of the 20thcentury, the number of mobile telephone users had reached 700 million worldwide. The increasingmobility of individuals, the anticipated availability of broadband communications for mobile devices andthe growing volumes of location specific information available in databases will inevitably lead to thedemand for services that will deliver location related information to individuals on the move. Suchlocation based services (LBS) although in a very early stage of development, are likely to play anincreasingly important part in the development of social structures and business in the coming decades.In this paper we begin by defining location based services within the context we have just sketched. Wethen develop a simple model of the market for location-based services developing the standard non-linearsaturation model of market penetration. We illustrate this for mobile devices, namely mobile phones in thefollowing sections and then we develop an analysis of different geographical regimes which arecharacterised by different growth rates and income levels worldwide. This leads us to speculate on theextent to which location based services are beginning to take off and penetrate the market. We concludewith scenarios for future growth through the analogy of GIS and mobile penetration

Extreme vacuum technology developments

Ultrahigh vacuum environments technology development

Sierra Leone fish value chain analysis with special emphasis on Tonkolili District

The USAID-funded Sierra Leone Feed the Future (FtF) Agriculture Project implemented by WorldFish has completed its initial pilot phase (July 2015 to September 2016). During this phase, the project identified and tested interventions to develop integrated agriculture-aquaculture (IAA) farming systems and associated value chains to enhance food, nutrition and livelihood outcomes for rural households in Tonkolili District. This project emphasizes rehabilitation and improvement of fish and rice farming systems combined with nutritious vegetable crops. The assessment of existing fish and rice value chains in Sierra Leone was a key component of this initial phase to improve understanding of current farming systems and identify opportunities for interventions to increase productivity and income and improve nutrition among rural households in Tonkolili District. This report presents the key findings of the fish value chain assessment, with an emphasis on the development of the aquaculture sector and recommendations for potential value chain interventions in marine and freshwater fisheries and aquaculture sectors

A neighbourhood Output Area Classification from the 2021 and 2022 UK censuses

UK-wide multivariate neighbourhood classifications have been built using small area population data following every census since 1971, and have been built using Output Area geographies since 2001. Policy makers in both the public and private sectors find such taxonomies, typically arranged into hierarchies of Supergroups, Groups and Subgroups, useful across a wide range of applications in business and service planning. Recent and forthcoming releases of small area census statistics pose new methodological challenges. For example, the 2022 Scottish Census was carried out a year after those in other UK nations, and some of the variables now collected across different jurisdictions do not bear direct comparison with one another. Here we develop a methodology to accommodate these issues alongside the more established procedures of variable selection, standardisation, transformation, class definition and labelling