This article discusses the danger of a growing digital divide between rural and other areas. It presents broadband as increasingly necessary for the delivery of information, health, education, business, social security, public and leisure services. Access to broadband has become vital for rural communities to participate in a progressively digital economy and to overcome problems of physical and social isolation. Yet rural areas are among those most excluded from fast broadband developments. Although this is partly due to technological/economic barriers in reaching more remote locations, even where technology is available, adoption can still be low in rural areas. This article explores the problems of providing broadband in rural Britain, considers various technological approaches and concludes with key development areas for policy and government.

Studies of social capital have concentrated upon either formal associative behaviour or informal social relations (networks). This article looks at the relationship between these two ty'pes of social capital by examining social networks, social and family support (informal social capital) on the one hand and associational behaviour along with social trust (formal social capital) on the other. Using the Eurobarometer 62.2 covering a representative sample of 27 countries the analysis found that with this approach, regions in Europe can be grouped according to the two dimensions, whether they are high on both forms of social capital (complementarity) or whether informal social capital substitutes for formal social capital (substitution). The Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands had the highest levels of all forms of social capital. In the South and East of Europe informal social capital was more important, but whilst in the South this was mainly in the form of family support, in the East informal support outside the family was also important. Thus, we can speak of 'social capital regimes' to better understand the various cultures of participation and cohesion across Europe.

The paper considers the idea of 'household strategies' as a concept that takes into account the motivations and agency of actors in society, as a method of analysis through looking at the intersection of different economies in household behaviour and as a unit of analysis, with a focus on households rather than individuals. Although the concept of household strategies has been criticised in each of these dimensions, it has nevertheless remained an important empirical tool of investigation in different parts of the world. Indeed, household strategies have become perhaps even more salient under conditions of social change such as those found in studies of post-Communism as well as socalled post-Fordism. The danger of an over-emphasis on agency implied by this approach can be counteracted by considering structural factors which have emerged in empirical studies and which constrain the creation and deployment of household strategies. However, such constraints are not just objective but also culturally defined. Seen in this way, household strategies can be developed as an aspect of comparative research and can help to elucidate the social factors underlying economic behaviour. The paper ends by suggesting certain conditions under which household strategies are likely to become especially important.

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In rural UK, businesses are often isolated and have much to gain from healthy networks, yet studies show that many rural business owners fail to network effectively. Information communications technologies offer new ways to network that might benefit rural businesses by expanding their reach. This study looked at online and face-to-face networking behaviour among rural micro-enterprises in Scotland in relation to the development of bonding and bridging social capital. Given the challenges of remoteness faced by many rural businesses, online networking is particularly useful in developing bridging capital, but is an unsuitable context for building the trust needed to gain tangible benefits. The article therefore highlights the importance of face-to-face interactions in developing trust and bonding social capital. Rural business owners face distinctive challenges with respect to online communications, which are explored in this article.