One of the intended outcomes of this research was to examine the claim that ICT polices could enhance the development of some form of social capital within Grimethorpe. As already discussed in Chapter 4, there is evidence that the social cohesiveness and inclusion, interactions and participation in community life of Grimethorpe have changed dramatically for the worse since the closure of the pit. One of the aims of the CTCs therefore was to help try and rebuild some of these measures within the local community. A key part of this was based on raising awareness in the village of their facilities, people needed to know that they could access ICT and the Internet at these facilities. Through increasing participation the centres would then be able to develop the ICT capabilities of the people of Grimethorpe. At the same time this would help to facilitate the improvement of one or more of the related social capitals - bonding or bridging. These aims combined with economic regeneration were at the heart of the Objective 1 South Yorkshire’s ‘Measure 21’ directive. They were also part of the previous Labour Government’s and the incumbent Coalition government’s ICT policy remit.
6.4.1 Bonding social capital
As already discussed in Chapter 2, bonding capital takes the form of strong social ties between family, close friends and associates (Putnam, 2000). Former mining communities were said to have high stocks of social capital before the pits closed, where longstanding residence and dense kinship networks ‘reinforced traditions of mutual aid’ (Waddington et ai, 2001, p. 71). This was no different in Grimethorpe as several participants who were interviewed demonstrated. They felt there was a ‘better sense of community
before the pits closed because people were closely knitted together" - pointing
to higher levels of bonding capital; and people were more willing to ‘help if you
needed if - referring to reciprocal actions. Others pointed to how you could ‘leave your doors unlocked and feel safe in the wider community" - alluding to
higher levels of trust. A lot of these conditions were seen to break down or at least change for the worst after the pit closed and for many of the participants
these were felt very keenly. Of course, there could be an element of looking at the past through rose tinted spectacles, but it does serve to highlight the fact that bonding capital social capital was now perceived as lacking within the community.
At both the GEVH and the Learndirect centre there was evidence of how ICT and the Internet were helping to produce and reinforce bonding social capital, but this was on a small scale. For example, there were several voluntary workers at the centres who gave their time freely and shared their skills with others. Without these instructors, the participants at the GEVH would not have had anyone to teach them the basic computer skills they were learning. Similarly, the tutor at the Learndirect centre was only part-time and without the volunteer worker participants would have also found an empty ICT room when the tutor was not there. Each of the volunteers expressed how extremely proud of their work they were and had how they had built up some very good relationships with the people attending the centre. It is this kind of behaviour that Field (2003, p.21) refers to as ‘voluntary activities that mutually improve the common environment’. The volunteers were extremely happy to be in a position to help and the participants equally so having someone to teach them. In a similar way ICT and the Internet can enable individuals to ‘thicken’ their existing ties and to generate new ones. For example, by accessing the Internet and using email people are able stay more readily in touch with close friends and family members (Hampton, 2002; Pew Foundation, 2006; Benckler, 2006). This was certainly true of the members of staff and the volunteer workers at the CTCs who used the Internet. For example, Bill and Gary kept in touch with friends and family via email whilst at work. However, none of the participants at any of the three centres had actually used the Internet and therefore any of the online facilities to enhance communication and cannot be thought of as having ‘thickened’ existing ties within their own families or communities85. So, while some sociologists have represented the Internet as helping to create ‘a revolutionary growth of social capital’ (Lin,
S5 Having said this, one person at the Learndirect centre was familiar with the Internet but not for the purposes o f emailing or creating any form o f contact with other people.
2001, p.237) this can only happen if you are actually connected to and able to use the Internet.
6.4.2 Bridging social capital
Another aspect of social capital, bridging capital, represents weaker, extended social ties between different groups that could help foster inclusion. According to Stone and Hughes (2002, p.5) bridging social capital involves ‘overlapping networks in which a member of one group can gain access to the resources of another group because of overlapping membership’. This refers to the ties that are formed with those from other social circles that provide important links to new sources of information and support. Bridging social capital is more ‘outward-looking’ than bonding social capital and can include people from across the social spectrum. It helps people get ahead by working together to resolve similar problems in a locality, such as forming a neighbourhood watch to deter vandalism or graffiti.
With regard to the three CTCs individuals attending had demonstrated this form of social capital much better than the bonding capital. Here, a geographically dispersed group of people had become very good friends by attending either the GEVH or the Learndirect centre. They had become used to and learned to trust other members of the group, looking forward to their weekly/twice weekly meetings in order to talk to and enjoy the company of likeminded people. However, they did not use ICT and the Internet to keep in touch either within or outside of the centres, mainly because none of the participants had a computer at home. Face-to-face contact was still the most prevalent form of communication for participants at the centres.
When discussing how the staff at the centres used ICT and the Internet the idea of how technology could enhance bridging social capital could be seen more clearly. All staff used emails for communicating between each other and family and colleagues, whilst Bill, Gary and Jane also used online discussion groups. According to Zillien and Hargittai (2009, p.5) online discussion groups come in handy to ‘develop new ties to like-minded people in what are looser,
more fluid, differentiated, interest-based, elective and far-flung networks’. In this respect Bill and Gary used the same discussion group to talk to a widely dispersed group of people concerning community networking. Through this online discussion group they were able access and take advantage of information concerning the experiences of other people in the field. This resulted in some of the people holding a conference organised to discuss the viability of community networking. Similarly, part of Jane’s work as a Learndirect tutor was to host online discussions concerning the courses she taught at the centre. She was also part of an online discussion group available only to Learndirect tutors and like Bill and Gary, was able to make acquaintances and contacts with a likeminded people from across the country. One of the main reasons for using the site was to share good practice and ask for solutions to problems that arose at the centres.
6.5 Discussion
One of the intended outcomes of this research was to examine the claim that ICT polices could enhance the development of some form of social capital within Grimethorpe. As already discussed in Chapter 4, there is evidence that the social cohesiveness and inclusion, interactions and participation in community life of Grimethorpe have changed dramatically for the worse since the closure of the pit. One of the aims of the CTCs therefore was to help try and rebuild some of these measures within the local community. A key part of this was based on raising awareness in the village of their facilities, people needed to know that they could access ICT and the Internet at these facilities. Through increasing participation the centres would then be able to develop the ICT capabilities of the people of Grimethorpe. At the same time this would help to facilitate the improvement of one or more of the related social capitals - bonding or bridging. As already mentioned, these aims combined with economic regeneration were at the heart of the Objective 1 South Yorkshire’s ‘Measure 21’ directive and part of the previous Labour Government’s and the incumbent Coalition government’s ICT policy remit. Creating physical access to ICT and the Internet in local CTCs can play an important role in helping those who are socially excluded overcome the digital divide. For example,
Stanley (2003) makes clear that the social support found within CTCs is often viewed as a crucial part of developing the confidence in people to use computers and move towards information society inclusion - something clearly visible in the above accounts. Nevertheless, simply providing physical access to ICT and Internet at the centres does not necessarily mean people will automatically attend and use them (Selwyn, 2003). This is also something that is supported by this research where apart from several members of staff none of those attending the centres came from the actual village. This lack of attendance at the centres raises a number of questions concerning the success of government and Objective 1 South Yorkshire’s actual policy aims.
6.6 Conclusion
This chapter has examined whether or not the physical access to CTCs in Grimethorpe has helped the residents join the information society. Investigating the way the centres operated and the reasons why people attended the centres, allowed a clear evaluation of how access to ICT and the Internet were being represented and used. This led on to an appraisal of whether or not ICT and the Internet were helping to build social capital within the community. Although bonding social capital was only evident in those who staffed the centres, bridging social capital was apparent among those attending. More importantly, what is evident from the above discussions is the fact that the CTCs were not being patronised by the residents of Grimethorpe. Policies aimed at providing access, raising awareness, increasing participation and developing the ICT abilities of the people of Grimethorpe were not seen to be working. In Chapter 7 the analysis is taken further by outlining the impact of Grimethorpe’s CTCs on helping to build ICT skills of the local community.