CHAPTER 7: THE INFORMATION AGE

OVERVIEW

We live in the information age, which according to Wikipedia is a period in human

history characterized by the shift from industrial production to one based on information
and computerization. At this moment, we can observe the fast growth in COMMUNICATION
and INFORMATION Technology. However, there are challenges facing the new
information age which you will explore in this chapter. Thus, this unit covers the so
called the Computer Age, the Digital Age. This unit also deals with the development of the
information age and its impact on society.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit you will be able to:

1. Link learned concepts to the development of the information age and its impact
on society

2. Illustrate how the social media and the information age have impacted our lives
Expanding your Knowledge

The Information Age

A period starting in the last quarter of the 20th century information became
effortlessly accessible through publications and through the management of information by
computers and computer networks.
A period in human history characterized by the shift from traditional industry that
the industrial revolution brought through industrialization, to an economy based on
the information computerization.
The period of human history, also referred to as Computer Age or Digital Age, which
comprises the innovations that have emerged in the computing and cybernetics after the
Industrial Revolution
The current era, in which relatively much larger amounts of information are widely
available generally through network platforms.
The Information Age is a true new age based upon the interconnection of computers
via telecommunications, with these information systems operating on both a real-time and
as- needed basis. Furthermore, the primary factors driving this new age forward are
convenience and user-friendliness which, in turn, will create user dependence. (James R.
Messenger, Theory of Information Age, 1982)

Historical development of Information Age

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Age#/media/File:LongWavesThreeParadigms.jpg
TIMELINE OF THE INFORMATION AGE

Time Important Development

1.3000 BC Sumerian writing system used pictographs to represent

words
a.SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
first civilization in Mesopotamia
b.CUNEIFORM
-cuneiform means “wedge-shaped”
-wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets
- made my means of blunt reed for a stylus
-more linear

2. 2900 BC beginnings of Egyptian hieroglyphic script

a.HIEROGLYPHIC
- hiero – “holy”, glypho – “writing”
-combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements
-total of some 1,000 distinct characters
-characters are more detailed

3.1300 BC Tortoise shell and oracle bone writings were used

And earliest written records of Chinese civilization
a.ORACLE BONES
shoulder blades of oxen or plastrons of turtles
b.CARAPCE
outer shell of turtles
used during the Shang dynasty for divination

4. 500 BC Papyrus roll was used

PAPYRUS
-made from a plant
- chief writing material in ancient Egypt
- flexible smooth surface – which accepts and retains ink without
blur or smudge

5.220 BC Chinese small seal writing was developed

a.SMALL SEAL SCRIPT
- small and vertically rectangular form of shouten(小篆, small seal
script)------leading further to creating the first Chinese dictionary,
the Erya
- remained popular through the Han dynasty
- preserved on numerous stone stelae or inscribed stone slabs,
used for official documents and ceremonial purposes
-archaic form of Chinese calligraphy

6.100 AD BOOK (parchment codex)

- - replacement for papyrus roll
 PARCHMENT
made from the skin of an animal
OLDEST BOOKS
made from compiled parchment

7.105 AD Woodblock printing and paper was invented by the Chinese

- Image is carved in reverse on a piece of wood
- the block is then inked and printed on a substance like paper or
fabric
- INK wasmade from plant pigments, animal liquids or animal bile

8.1455 Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable printing press

MOVABLE PRINTING PRESS
- more efficient than the wood block printing style
-uses movable components to reproduce information on a medium
(paper
9. 1755 Samuel Johnson published his book, A Dictionary of the
English Language
-standardized English spelling
-one of the most influential dictionaries in the history of English
language
-consists of more than 40,000 words
-written for 8 years o used in clarification of English words

10.1802 a.LIBRARY OF CONGRESS was established in US

- main research arm of the US
- largest library in the world
-200 million resources per year
1-mainly for lawmaking

b.CARBON ARC LAMP was invented

-contains 2 carbon rods and when are touched together, produces
an electric arc
- the rods are drawn apart, maintaining the arc, and electric
current heats
- tips of the carbon rods are heated and carbon vaporizes (highly
luminous) thus, produces the bright light
- used in the libraries
- used for projection and assimilation of information in libraries

11. 1824 Research on Persistence of Vision (POV) was published.

POV 
-concept of how our brain sees individual images as a sequence of
motion  -when still images are fast tracked, it appears like it is
moving
- leads to motion picture
12. 1830s First design of digital computer was made
-called computer because it is mainly for computing basic
arithmetic operations
- CHARLES BABBAGE 
-inventor  called his invention as Analytical Engine
AUGUSTA LADY BYRON
- commissioned to translate notes into English and then
augmented it
- made the first ever computer program
- assisted by Babbage 1837 o Telegraph was invented. o
TELEGRAPH  invented by Samuel Morse
- revolutionized long distance communication
- transmits electric signals over the wire laid between stations

MORSE CODE
set of dots and dashes to each letter of the English alphabet
-simple transmission of complex messages across telegraph lines
- used in WW I
- First publicly-shown “talking pictures”
- synchronized sound effects and orchestral music
- no dialogue

13. 1939 Began regular US television broadcasting on April 30

BROADCAST
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt opening the New York World’s
Fair
-seen by an estimated 1,000 viewers
-roughly 200 televisions o programs were transmitted from the
NBC mobile camera trucks to the main transmitter which was
connected to an aerial atop the Empire State Building

14. 1940s Beginning of Information Science as discipline

INFORMATION SCIENCE
- computer sciences, cognitive science, psychology, mathematics,
logic, information theory, electronics, communications, linguistics,
economics, classification science, systems science, library science
and management science o AS A DISCIPLINE
- discipline that deals with the processes of storing and
transferring information

15. 1945 -Vannevar Bush foresaw the invention of hypertext

MEMEX
-name of the hypothetical proto-hypertext that Bush described in
his 1945 The Atlantic Monthly article “As We May Think”
- a device in which individuals would compress and store all their
books, records, and communications

- influenced the development of early hypertext systems

(eventually leading to the creation of the World Wide Web) and
personal knowledge-based software
14. 1946 ENIAC computer was developed
ELECTRONIC NUMERICAL INTEGRATOR AND COMPUTER
- first electric general-purpose computer
- built during WW II by the US

15. 1948 FIELD-OF-INFORMATION THEORY

- born out of Claude Shannon’s landmark paper, A Mathematical
Theory of Communication
- invention of the compact disc, the feasibility of mobile phones,
the development of the Internet, the study of linguistics and of
human perception, the understanding of black holes, and
numerous other fields INSERT 5TH GROUP

16. 1984 Apple Macintosh computer was introduced. The Macintosh

was the first computer to come with a graphical user interface and
a mouse pointing device as standard equipment. With the coming
of the Mac, the personal microcomputer began to undergo a major
revolution in its purpose in serving humankind. No longer merely
a mathematical tool of scientists, banks, and engineers, the micro
was becoming the tool of choice for many graphics artists,
teachers, instructional designers, librarians, and information
managers. The Macintosh GUI also paved the way for the
development of multimedia.

17. Mid 1980s

Artificial intelligence develops as a separate discipline from
information science. With the development of computer
programming involving ever increasing levels of complexity,
inheritance, and code re-use culminating in object oriented
programming, the software foundations for AI were laid. Artificial
Intelligence today is best defined as a collection of electronic
information processing tool that can be applied in a myriad of
innovative ways to existing information technologies. The main
purpose of the development of artificial intelligence is for it to
used to do more of the tedious labor in finding and presenting the
appropriate needed information in humanity's vast collection of
data.

16. 1987
Hypercard was developed by Bill Atkinson. Apple
Computer introduced Hypercard to the public by bundling it with
all new Macintosh computers. Hypercard made hypertext
document linking possible for the average person who wished to
build an information network linking all his or her electronic
documents that could be entered or pasted into a Hypercard stack.
HyperCard is useful development tool for a wide range of
applications, including multimedia presentations, and computer-
based training materials. It has a built-in script language -
HyperTalk.
 17. 1991 World Library Incorporated produced a fully searchable
CD- ROM containing 450 (later expanded to 953) classical works
of literature and historic documents. This demonstrated the
power of the CD-ROM (has a greater storage capacity than optical
laserdisc) to take the text content of several bookshelves and
concentrate it on one small piece of plastic.
1987 o RSA Internet Security – encryption and network security
software; to provide protection for the data and information in the
Internet

The Impact of Information Age

The Information Age is now upon us. In the world today, technology is used all
around us. Through the use of computers, cell phones, pagers, calculators, video game
consoles and many other technologically advanced products, communication has changed
dramatically. The information age is changing peoples every day activities and making
tedious tasks run more efficiently. Personal use and business-related use of computers and
technology are constantly increasing. Although there are many positive aspects of the
Information Age, there are also many negatives, such as how the Internet is unregulated.
Also, there's a very large legal issue over privacy, as well as many ethical issues computer-
users face daily. Many believe that this era, as developed as it currently is, will continue to
progress and evolve over the years to come.
Our lives have changed greatly because of technology. The Internet has opened up a
whole new world of information that everyone can access and utilize. When a student has a
project to complete and research is required, years ago the student would have gone to the
library and spent hours searching through stacks of books just to find some relevant
information. Now, a student can create a query on the Internet through a search engine and
is presented with thousands of resources available at their fingertips.
The Internet not only provides information but also may new forms of
communication. We can correspond with people across the globe through web-cams,
instant messaging and e-mail. This is the reason why globalization is becoming a reality. As
a result of globalization, people can communicate with relatives over the Internet and
businesses can connect with unlikely partners.
Not only has communication grown through the Internet but also through newer cell
phone technologies and PDAs. In an increasing number of cases, cell phones are replacing
land lines and are gaining more uses.