探花直播 of Cambridge - digital

鈥楧igital mask鈥� could protect patients鈥� privacy in medical records

cjb250 — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:00:51 +0000

Scientists have created a 鈥榙igital mask鈥� that will allow facial images to be stored in medical records while preventing potentially sensitive personal biometric information from being extracted and shared.

Digital manufacturing on a shoestring

lw355 — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 08:30:57 +0000

How approaches to low-cost digitalisation聽pioneered by Cambridge researchers are helping smaller UK manufacturers to go digital and reap the rewards of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Transcribing together

zs332 — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 09:27:10 +0000

Volunteers join together to help the Cambridge Digital Library聽transcribe the notebooks of notable British ecologist, Oliver Rackham.

Digital support

cjb250 — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:00:18 +0000

Research published today shows how digital providers are coming together to support the mental health needs of millions of users unable to access traditional services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unexpected experiences: Lucy Spokes talks about the excitement of a newly digital Festival

zs332 — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 07:00:56 +0000

Head of Public Engagement, Dr Lucinda Spokes, describes the difficult decision to pull the plug on the 26th Cambridge Science Festival in March this year and reflects on the breathtaking flexibility of the Festival going digital 鈥� at least for now.聽

Bringing Cambridge 探花直播 Libraries to you

sjr81 — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 12:41:56 +0000

We anticipate that by July 6, the 探花直播 Library will begin to provide limited services for students and staff to pick up books ordered online.

Anyone for digital democracy?

fpjl2 — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 12:23:18 +0000

探花直播recent release of the report from the Speaker鈥檚 Commission on Digital Democracy attracted significant attention but really only for one of the 26 recommendations. 探花直播report contained much that was good, some that was pedestrian, but it has all been swept away because one recommendation was of a different stripe altogether 鈥� to have online secure voting as an option in the UK by 2020.

Before getting into the detail of the report we should get one thing out of the way. This is a report that was long overdue, whether it came from the Speaker, a Select Committee or another part of the mangle that is government. With the speed that online has come to dominate our personal and professional interactions, it was a glaring omission that the UK government and the Parliament in particular had not addressed the digital world, their role in it and how it can be used to improve democratic outcomes. Granted the Government Digital Service (GDS) is working hard to improve how government services are accessed, although it is best to not get into an argument about whether gov.uk is an improvement or not (as Chris Cook did with his Christmas wish for 2014). However, anything that starts a stronger debate on how the machinery of government interacts with the public and policymaking is a good thing.

Let鈥檚 get the obvious out of the way first. Many of the recommendations are not specifically about digital, they are about democracy. 鈥淏y 2020, the House of Commons should ensure that everyone can understand what it does.鈥� You would have hoped that this would at least have been as aspiration for some time now. Reducing the amount of jargon, making procedures clearer, having a communications strategy 鈥� it is frustrating that we are still at such an early point in the evolution of the House and its relationship to the outside world that these actions are pending.

Efforts to improve public participation in policy making depends on people wishing to be involved, as well as assuming we have a shared model of how representation works. On the first point, our recent survey highlighted an expressed desire to be involved, which we included as part of our submission to the Commission. According to the poll while 7% of the public feel engaged in decision making in Parliament, 53% want to be involved. Now that number may be soft, as it is easy to say you want to be involved but actually being involved is another thing. Assuming half of those who express the desire to be involved would actually get involved, that鈥檚 a 19 point difference between the current state of affairs and what people want. If new digital tools, clearer websites and better outreach help in that regard, fantastic.

探花直播concern here is raising expectations that cannot be met. This is the case with recommendation 18 to have a 鈥榗yber chamber鈥� for public debate on issues being discussed in Parliament. 探花直播desire to be involved has been translated by some as 鈥榞etting my way鈥�. To caricature, when I tell my MP what should be done I expect that to happen. If we promote engagement such as that involved in a 鈥榗yber chamber鈥� without clarifying the process of discussion, negotiation and compromise that happens in almost all policy areas, then we鈥檒l be raising expectations that will be dashed, potentially worsening the situation further.

This leads to the second point on representation 鈥� how do we think representation works in the UK at the national level? Crudely the options have been characterised as having delegates (MPs who take our views on聽board as issues arise), trustees (MPs who can use their judgement on an issue), or party (where the party line is all). Is the approach in the report to tilt towards a delegate model of representation? It鈥檚 unclear reading the report. Without discussing how the link between the public and their representatives is construed, the report missed an opportunity to have a more fundamental conversation about the structure of the UK鈥檚 democratic system.

And then there is recommendation 26. Once the Commission鈥檚 report was released the news picked up on this to the exclusion of pretty much everything else in the report. From the BBC to the newspapers, the response was to acknowledge some of the good things in the report, but to be critical of the need for online voting. Is online voting necessary? Will having online voting improve turnout or improve the connectivity between the public and MPs? 探花直播answer to both questions is that we don鈥檛 know. 探花直播Commission says it is 鈥溾€� confident that there is a substantial appetite for online voting in the UK 鈥︹€� but does not present any evidence to back this statement up. 探花直播claim is that voting will become more accessible, but there is no evidence that even if it is more accessible that it will increase the rates of voting, or the subsequent engagement or satisfaction of the public with politics.

Overall the Commission should be regarded as successful in getting a conversation going on the modernisation of Parliament and its procedures. Letting in the sunlight should help increase trust and hopefully improve the speed and quality of policy making. However, this does seem to be an opportunity missed to have a deeper conversation on the nature of representation in the UK, and in a report with too many recommendations a mistake to allow one recommendation to overshadow all of the others.

Finbarr聽Livesey provided a submission to the Digital Democracy Commission on public engagement with policy making which can be accessed here.

This post was originally published on the blog site for the Cambridge Masters in Public Policy. Read more here.聽

Dr Finbarr Livesey 鈥撀� 探花直播 lecturer and Deputy Director of the MPhil in Public Policy 鈥� submitted research to Parliament鈥檚 recent report on digital democracy. Here, he discusses the report鈥檚 implications for the democratic process in the UK.

While 7% of the public feel engaged in decision making in Parliament, 53% want to be involved

Finbarr Livesey

Barney Brown

Online voting

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Silicon mashup as Valley hits Fen

fpjl2 — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:00:52 +0000

Silicon Valley has entered the modern lexicon as a high-tech Shangri-La, the nerve centre of the digital age. But its heels are being snapped at, and this week some of the great and good of Silicon Valley cross the pond, and will be stopping in Cambridge to doff their caps to the fenland upstart.

Home to an ever-expanding cluster of tech companies, 鈥楽ilicon Fen鈥� has become one of the most prominent centres of business growth in Europe. With what鈥檚 been termed the Cambridge Phenomenon only gathering momentum, the university at the heart of it all is the perfect place to host two days of free events that bring around 30 of Silicon Valley鈥檚 major players together with UK business leaders, investors and the students who will become the next generation of serial entrepreneurs.

探花直播Cambridge days will form the centrepiece of a series of events called 鈥楽ilicon Valley comes to the UK鈥�, dubbed SVc2UK, now an annual fixture in the calendar of every self-respecting UK tech-head, entrepreneur, angel and investor. To register for an event, visit: www.svc2uk.com/cambridge

鈥淭his is the fourth year for the SVc2UK series and it is bigger and more ambitious than ever before,鈥� says Sherry Coutu, a leading investor and SVc2UK co-chair. 鈥淲e hope that by inspiring our world-class students, who are overflowing with ideas to make change happen, we will reap rewards in the not-too-distant future.鈥�

Among the topics discussed will be the future of education in the digital era, posing the question 鈥榳hat will the world of education look like in 10 years time?鈥� at a free event on the 17 November (registration required). 探花直播panel includes: Reid Hoffman - SVc2UK co-chair and founder of the LinkedIn network, Greg Joswiak 鈥� Head of iPhones and iPads for Apple, and Joi Ito 鈥� CEO of Creative Commons and Head of the MIT Media Lab. Moderated by Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, the panellists are all involved in projects that may well change the face of education in the near future.

This year鈥檚 focus will be on 鈥楨conomy 2.0鈥� and re-writing the rules for economic growth. 鈥� 探花直播colossal power and potential of a digital world in making a real difference at a time of immense economic turbulence is at the heart of SVc2UK鈥� says Coutu. During the day of 18 November, a series of talks from some of the most powerful people in Silicon Valley will take place, designed to inspire audiences to investigate the world of high-tech start-ups and fast-growing, innovative companies.

Later on that day there will be a 鈥楤ig Data鈥� panel discussion looking at the digital future and the growth of internet commerce, where speakers will include Andrew McLaughlin 鈥� former CTO for Barack Obama, and Megan Smith 鈥� Google鈥檚 VP for business development, who has overseen such projects as Google Earth and Picasa. Speakers will also be visiting local 6th Form Colleges to encourage teenagers to think about the impact they could have on the world if they pursue entrepreneurship.

Earlier this year SVc2UK launched an 鈥楢ppathon鈥�, in which 1,500 students from 15 universities across the UK entered a coding competition to develop consumer applications using government data, with the aim of making positive social impact by enhancing the accessibility of key information. This innovative project was applauded by the current government, and SVc2UK counts Prime Minister David Cameron among its supporters, who said: 鈥淪ilicon Valley comes to the UK is one of the most important inward investment events of the year, bringing leading entrepreneurs and investors together with British technology companies to spark new connections. I warmly welcome the news that SVc2UK is rewarding the creative use of government data.鈥�

SVc2UK co-chair and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman says: 鈥淲hen it comes to entrepreneurship there are no borders, which is why I look forward to this event each year. I and the other entrepreneurs benefit hugely from meeting the inspirational businesses and students from the UK and Europe. And if in turn we help inspire the talent of tomorrow, then everyone benefits.鈥�

Main events will be taking place at the Cambridge Judge Business School and the Cambridge Computer Lab. Events are free but registration is essential.聽 Full details of the speakers and the programme of events can be accessed at www.svc2uk.com/cambridge

Interested in what our digital future will look like? This week Cambridge plays host to pioneers of some of the most exciting and disruptive Silicon Valley companies - including Google, Apple and LinkedIn - in series of free public events on the 17 and 18 November, where insights into world-changing ideas will be shared by the people who made them happen.

DeeKnows from Flickr

Colourised geek stuff

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