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The Sheffield Public Access Services
is
designed for everyone: Stan Clayton, at
105 years old, could easily use the service.
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Why Sheffield
Public Access is Different
Sheffield Public DataWeb is a service focused around the needs of the general public.
It is devised to provide ‘e’access to all appropriate digital services. To do this and to make it fully accessible by all, irrespective of age, skill etc. several challenges had to be overcome, resulting in a public service that has physical access kiosks designed for all (i.e. the disabled) and these are in the community, in the streets, public and commercial buildings etc: these kiosks exhibit multiple features not found on others for example, remote monitoring, security monitoring, functionality sensing, usage gathering, weather sealing, vandal protection, antiglare, automatic security alarms and CCTV links etc…
Probably the most important feature of digital access is the information services themselves. These, usually Internet located, are developed for computer literate users. But the general community may not have these skills, and in anycase a public service must be quick and far simpler to operate than a desktop PC. Therefore the digital services themselves are intercepted by the PDWeb software, which automatically modifies the access framework for simpler operation without altering the information content itself.
The service provides public access email, public access Internet (secure) and ‘e’ services i.e. access to council and government services which are prioritised for speed and public accessibility.
The service can rapidly accommodate new layers of service, for example Smart Card operations and e-Vote services. The advantage of e-Voting based on this framework is that it is a natural extension and not a new hybrid single service, which by its nature is more expensive to operate.
The Sheffield Public DataWeb has the very simple target - to reach the majority of people in the city who either do not have access to a personal computer, or do not have the skills to use one. The project includes a touch-screen public access system developed for simplicity of operation. It also embraces simplified access to the Internet for the unskilled user who is the target audience. The application requires no initial Internet skills and to emphasise this point, the system was launched by the eldest man in the city who was 105 years old.
The system attempts to cover all of a citizen’s digital needs and to make a contribution to closing the digital divide whilst being a commercially successful venture. Politically, it increases access to democracy - as an example it allows the citizen to directly and interactively contribute to the work of the UK Parliament.
The technology was developed by a project of the Fourth Framework European Union Research based upon experience gained before the widespread introduction of the Internet. The system gathers services and information together at one point of access, and is able to include popular services such as football scores, lottery results and horoscopes, as well as essential public information. The familiarity which these service bring can be readily transferred to the more serious administrative and consultative applications which the service also provides. |
