000			01804pab a2200169 454500
008			180718b2002 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aSelwyn, Neil
245			_aE-stablishing an inclusive society? Technology,social exclusion and UK government policy making
260			_c2002
300			_ap.1-20.
362			_aJan
520			_aIn many industralised countries information and communication technology (ICT) is now being seen as a ready means through which governments can address issues of social exclusion. Indeed, in the UK this perspective has been quickly translated into a multi-billion pound policy agenda aimed at using ICT for socially inclusive purpose. Yet, beyond rhetorical concerns over bridging the perceived 'digital divide' and alleviating disparities between the information 'rich' and 'poor', little critical consideration has been given to how technology is being used by governments to achieve socially inclusive aims. This paper therefore examines the UK government's ICT-based social policy drive through official documentation, policy statements and political discourse-considering the 'problems' that it sets out to address, the substance of the policies, and the perceived rationales and benefits for doing so. Having explored the official construction of these policies, the paper then examines how well founded this policy framework is in terms of achieving its stated aims of widening access to ICT and effective facilitating 'social inclusion'. The paper concludes by developing a critical perspective of such ICT policies which reveals deeper economic rationales informing this ostensibly 'social' policy programme. - Reproduced.
650			_aCommunication technology
650			_aElectronic governance
773			_aJournal of Social Policy
909			_a52997
999			_c52997 _d52997