The UK Government has set targets for its services to be available online by 2005. It is hoped that electronic public services will improve quality and efficiency of delivery, enhance public access to essential services, and achieve cost economies. While attention initially focussed on the...

In the case of health information the quality and authenticity of the digital information have always been a matter of major concern for health and information professionals. This paper seeks to explore these concerns from the consumers' perspective. It addresses issues around the consumers'...

Purpose – The CIBER group at University College London are currently evaluating a distance education initiative funded by the Department of Health, providing in‐service training to NHS staff via DiTV and satellite to PC systems. This paper aims to provide the context for the project by...

Purpose – Television has long been cited by viewers as their primary and most trusted source of news, especially in relation to news of national and international affairs. Aims to explore the issue of trust in the television news. Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines narrative...

Purpose – This study provides insights into the early market for e‐books in the UK through survey research with members of a large online panel. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from an online panel established by a leading commercial internet research company. Members of...

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to outline a triangulated methodology for studying usage of electronic health information systems which combines the quantitative data accrued from computer logs with qualitative data from in‐depth interviews and observation. Design/methodology/approach –...

Purpose – Parliaments, as representative institutions, serve as communication channels between the public and the process of governance. The purpose of this paper is to consider the way in which this relationship has been conceptualised and various predictions about how it might change in the...

Purpose – The paper aims to provide a benchmark study of the European Union (EU) e‐government policy within the e‐Europe programme. The main objective of the European strategy for the development of e‐government was that the member states should ensure “online public services”. To...

Purpose – In light of the phenomenon of blogging in the 2004 US presidential campaign, this article aims to examine blogging during the 2005 British general election campaign. The article seeks to establish how widespread blogging was, the extent of bloggers' partisanship, what issues blogs...

Purpose – Bristol City Council has received national and international recognition for its local e‐democracy work. This paper seeks to tell the story of three phases of development of local e‐democracy in Bristol. In summarising findings from the national evaluation of the Local...