Indeed, despite a wave of ‘techno-optimism’ in the early 1990s, more recent
analyses of ICT access and usage, in both urban and rural areas, suggest that claims that
the Internet will inevitably result in the ‘death of distance’ as a barrier to employment and
social inclusion are at best premature (Grimes, 2000; Van Winden, 2001; Graham, 2002).
The introduction of new technologies has generally tended to benefit the least
disadvantaged, while large numbers of individuals continue to be excluded as a result of
their educational of financial status. Servaes and Heinderyckx (2002: 105) argue that a
genuine or perceived lack of need explains the failure of many individuals to use ICT, but
also note that: “denying a need is in some cases a legitimate cover-up for ignorance, fear
or lack of financial means”. More affluent and skilled workers are much more likely to
possess the skills, knowledge and financial resources to fully exploit the opportunities
offered by the Internet and other technological advances (Russell and Drew, 2001).
Beyond these more obvious problems surrounding skills and access to the required
technology, it has also been suggested that the relative failure of some groups and
communities to embrace ICT can be traced to issues of ‘culture and content’. The
promised dynamism and responsiveness that was supposed to characterise ICT-based
provision is not particularly evident in the UK, where official information sites and
helplines largely continue to treat the client as a passive consumer of highly structured
services (Corrigan and Joyce, 2000). Meanwhile, localised initiatives have often failed to
fully identify the needs of communities, or to provide a role for end-users in the design
of services (Day, 2001). As a result, it has been suggested that the content of ICT-based
services has not managed to bridge the ‘cultural distance’ between service professionals
and information-users (Hellawell, 2001). Nevertheless, UK policy makers remain
convinced of the value of ICT in providing services, especially in rural areas (DEFRA,
2000; Scottish Executive, 2000). In the specific area of provision for the unemployed, the
national employment service, Jobcentre Plus, has promoted its ‘Internet job bank’ and