Content Reading For It

LESSON 1
TOPIC SENTENCE, TOPIC AND CONTROLLING IDEA
A. READING
What is the Definition of Information Technology?
By Angela Atkinson
1
It seems that everything today is controlled by computers. From the supermarket to the doctor's office to the IRS, everyone keeps data on customers,
patients, clients or business contacts. In fact, the evolution of the Internet has literally connected the world. Information technology specialists help to
maintain and develop these computer systems.
History
 While the term "information technology" was first c oined in the 1970s, the inception of the original concept was actually during World War II, when
the military was actively developing electronic technology, which included computers. In fact, until the 1950s, the military was the primary source of
information technology progress. Since then, four major computer evolutions have occurred, each growing progressively physically smaller, yet
more capable. The first micro-computer was marketed in 1975. And in 1981, IBM introduced the first personal computer, forever changing the face
of IT. In fact, personal computers of today are capable of far more than even the most advanced systems of the 1960s, at literally a thousandth of
the cost.
Identification
 According to the Information Technology Association of America, information technology (commonly called simply IT) can be defined as "the study,
design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and
computer hardware." IT specialists handle everything related to computers, including data storage, database administration, and all other aspects
related to information storage, retrieval, transmittal, protection, and processing information securely. IT specialists may also design software,
manage computer hardware, design c omputer networks, and offer h elpdesk assistance.
Function
 Since many offices literally cannot function without their computer systems, IT specialists are an extremely important part of any team. In addition to
maintaining systems and s ystem data, IT specialists and managers are often responsible for assisting with business plans, especially in relation
to
IT. They may help choose a company's software and c omputer hardware systems, coordinate installation of these components, and provide direct
assistance to other employees in regard to these systems. They may set up email accounts, p asswords, and employee specific access to company
systems, among other things. Most IT specialists work a minimum of 40 hours per week in an office setting.
Considerations
 Those working in the IT field come from a variety of backgrounds. Most employers require a bachelor's degree for IT management positions, and
some prefer a master's degree with a focus in technology. For other positions, similar degrees can be required, but some companies will hire those
with v ocational degrees or e quivalent experience. IT experts also need to have a working understanding of business practices and laws specific to
their company's industry. For example, those working in the health care industry must be familiar with the HIPAA laws.
Potential
 If you're considering a career in information technology, it's a wise choice. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the IT field is
growing more r apidly than others. The field is expected to grow 16 percent by 2016. In fact, 264,000 computer and information systems managers
were employed in 2006. Of these, about one quarter worked in computer service related jobs like computer system designing and the related
services. IT specialists can find work in a variety of settings today, especially considering that most companies use some form of computer system.
B. EXERCISE 1: TOPIC SENTENCE
Determine the topic sentence of each paragraph in the previous reading passage.
Paragraph 1:
Topic Sentence:
It seems that everything today is controlled by computers.
Important information technology in today’s world
Paragraph 2:
Topic Sentence:
While the term "information technology" was first c oined in the 1970s, the inception of the original concept was actually during World War II,
when the military was actively developing electronic technology, which included computers.
History of information technology progress
Paragraph 3:
Topic Sentence:
According to the Information Technology Association of America, information technology (commonly called simply IT) can be defined as "the
study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer
hardware."
The definition of Inforrmaton Technology according to the IT Association of America
Paragraph 4:
Topic Sentence:
 Since many offices literally cannot function without their computer systems, IT specialists are an extremely important part of any team. In addition to
maintaining systems and s ystem data, IT specialists and managers are often responsible for assisting with business plans, especially in relation
to
Function of IT specialist and managers to maintaining systems and system data
Paragraph 5:
Topic Sentence:
Those working in the IT field come from a variety of backgrounds. Most employers require a bachelor's degree for IT management positions, and some prefer
a master's degree with a focus in technology.
Thee considerations of IT in accompany..
Paragraph 6:
Topic Sentence:
If you're considering a career in information technology, it's a wise choice. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the IT field is
growing more r apidly than others.
The reason why IT specialists is a good choice.
C. EXERCISE 2: TOPIC AND CONTROLLING IDEA(S)
Determine the topic and controlling idea(s) of each topic sentence determined in the previous exercise by underlining them.
D. EXERCISE 3: VOCABULARY BUILDERS

Match each following vocabulary (in column A) used in the reading passage with the appropriate word or phrase which has similar meaning in column B.
NO A B ANSWER
1. was coined (V) a equal (adj) 1.f
2. inception (N) b swiftly (adv) 2.g
3. a computer network (N) c secret code (N) 3.h
4 a helpdesk assistance (N) d an organized or established 4.i

procedure of data (N)
5. a system data (N) e a collection of computer 5.d

physical elements that build a
system (N)
6. a computer hardware system f was created (V) 6.e
(N)
7. password (N) g beginning (N) 7.c
8. vocational degree (N) h a collection of hardware 8.j

components and computers
interconnected by
communication channels that
allow sharing of resources and
information (N)
9. equivalent (adj) i a desk equipped with a 9.a

computer set used by user to
seek assistant (N)
10. rapidly (adv) j professional degree (N) 10.b

LESSON 2
OUTLINING
A. READING
Information technology
From Wikipedia
Information technology (IT) is concerned with technology to treat information. The acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal,
pictorial, textual and numerical information by a m icroelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications are its main fields. The term
in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review, in which authors Leavitt and Whisler commented that
"the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology (IT).". Some of the modern and emerging
fields of Information technology are next generation web technologies, b ioinformatics, cloud computing, global information systems, large scale
k nowledgebases, etc. Advancements are mainly driven in the field of computer science.
Information
The English word was apparently derived from the Latin stem ( information-) of the nominative ( informatio): this noun is in its turn derived from the verb
"informare" (to inform) in the sense of "to give form to the mind", "to discipline", "instruct", "teach".Information,in simple terms is the exchange of data
with one another.
R aw data is given structure and then is called information. Understanding this information is then called knowledge, which leads to an information ladder.
Technology
Information and communication technology spending in 2005
IT is the area of managing technology and spans wide variety of areas that include computer software, information systems, computer hardware, p
rogramming languages but are not limited to things such as processes, and data constructs. In short, anything that renders data, information or
perceived knowledge in any visual format whatsoever, via any multimedia distribution mechanism, is considered part of the IT domain. IT provides
businesses with four sets of core services to help execute the business strategy: business process automation, providing information, connecting with
customers, and productivity tools.
IT professionals perform a variety of functions (IT Disciplines/Competencies) that ranges from installing applications to designing complex computer
networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include d ata management, networking, engineering
computer hardware, d atabase and software design, as well as management and administration of entire systems. Information technology is starting to
spread further than the conventional personal computer and network technologies, and more into i ntegrations of other technologies such as the use of
cell phones, televisions, automobiles, and more, which is increasing the demand for such jobs.
In the recent past, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the Association for Computing Machinery have collaborated to form
accreditation and curriculum standards for degrees in Information Technology as a distinct field of study as compared to Computer Science and
Information Systems today. SIGITE (Special Interest Group for IT Education) is the ACM working group for defining these standards. The Worldwide IT
services revenue totaled $763 billion in 2009.
Technological capacity and growth

Hilbert and Lopez identify the exponential pace of technological change (a kind of Moore's law): machines’ application-specific capacity to compute
information p er capita has roughly doubled every 14 months between 1986-2007; the per capita capacity of the world’s general-purpose computers has
doubled every 18 months during the same two decades; the global telecommunication capacity per capita doubled every 34 months; the world’s storage
capacity per capita required roughly 40 months to double (every 3 years); and per capita b roadcast information has doubled roughly every 12.3 years.
10
B. EXERCISE 1: OUTLINING
Complete the following outline based on the previous reading passage.
Paragraph 1:
Main ideas:
Supporting details:
11
Paragraph 2:
Main ideas:
Supporting details:

Paragraph 3:
Main ideas:
Supporting details:

Paragraph 4:
Main ideas:
Supporting details:

Paragraph 5:
Main ideas:
Supporting details:

Paragraph 6:
Main ideas:
Supporting details:

Paragraph 7:
Main ideas:
Supporting details:

C. EXERCISE 2: VOCABULARY BUILDERS
NO A B ANSWER
1. microelectronics-based (adj) a a skill comprises all the 1.
disciplines related to managing
data as a valuable resource (N)
2. bioinformatics (N) b transmission (N) 2.
3. cloud computing (N) c combination (N) 3.
4. knowledgebases (N) d the delivery of computing as a 4.

service rather than a product,
whereby shared resources,
software, and information are
provided to computers and
other devices as a utility (like
the electricity grid) over a
network (typically the Internet)
(N)
5. raw data (N) e based on study and 5.
manufacture (or
microfabrication) of very small
electronic designs and
components (adj)
6. programming languages (N) f each person (adj) 6.
7. data management (N) g special kinds of database for 7.

knowledge management (N)
8. integration (N) h data collected from a source (N) 8.
9. per capita (adj) i the application of computer 9.

science and information
technology to the field of biology
and medicine (N)
10. broadcast (N) j artificial languages designed to 10.
communicate instructions to a
machine, particularly a
computer (N)
LESSON 3
SUBJECT, VERB, AND OBJECT
A. READING
Information and Communications Technology
From Wikipedia
Information and communications technology or information and communication technology, usually a bbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended
synonym for information technology (IT), but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the
integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers, m iddleware as well as necessary software, storage- and audio-
visual systems, which enable users to create, access, store, transmit, and m anipulate information. In other words, ICT consists of IT as well as
telecommunication, broadcast media, all types of audio and video processing and transmission and network based control and m onitoring functions.
20
The expression was first used in 1997 in a report by Dennis Stevenson to the UK government and promoted by the new National Curriculum documents
for the UK in 2000.
The term ICT is now also used to refer to the merging (convergence) of audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks through a single
cabling or link system. There are large economic incentives (huge cost savings due to elimination of the telephone network) to merge the audio-visual,
building management and telephone network with the computer network system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution and
management. This in turn has spurred the growth of organizations with the term ICT in their names to indicate their specialization in the process of
merging the different network systems.
Some of the dangers of ICTs include c yber-bullying, p hishing as well as
masquerading. Trends and new concepts in the ICT roadway
ICT is often used in the context of "ICT roadmap" to indicate the path that an organization will take with their ICT needs. It is also used as a n o
verarching term in many schools, universities and colleges stretching from Information Systems/Technology at the organisational end through to
Software Engineering and Computer Systems Engineering at the other.
Standards
Standards are very important for ICT, since they define the language that enables the technology to understand each other. This is especially relevant
because the key idea behind ICT is that information storage d evices can communicate in media-frictionless manner with communication networks and
computing systems. Open standards play a special role, as well as standards organizations such as the Telecommunications Industry Association in the
United States and ETSI in Europe.
21
Campaigns and Projects
Recently, many companies are coming up with campaigns to promote ICT and how it can be used to protect nature. Wipro was a leading company that
organized Earthian, wherein students came up with ideas to use technology t o benefit society.
UNESCO's Information for All Program (IFAP) provides a platform for discussion of and action on ethical, legal and societal consequences of ICT
developments.
B. EXERCISE 1: TOPIC SENTENCE

Determine the topic sentence of each paragraph in the previous reading passage.
Paragraph 1:
Topic Sentence:
Paragraph 2:
Topic Sentence:
Paragraph 3:
Topic Sentence:
Paragraph 4:
Topic Sentence:
Paragraph 5:
Topic Sentence:
Paragraph 6:
Topic Sentence:
Paragraph 7:
Topic Sentence:
Paragraph 8:
Topic Sentence:
C. EXERCISE 2: SUBJECT, VERB, AND OBJECT OF A
SENTENCE
Determine the subject, verb, and object of each topic sentence determined in the previous exercise.

NO A B ANSWER
1. abbreviated (adj) a observation (N) 1.
2. middleware (N) b equipments (N) 2.
3. to manipulate (V) c to profit (V) 3.
4 monitoring (N) d shortened (adj) 4
5. convergence (N) e a way of attempting to acquire 5.

information such as usernames,
passwords, and credit card
details by masquerading as a
trustworthy entity in an
electronic communication (N)
6. cyber-bullying (N) f a throughout term (N) 6.
7. phishing (N) g to control (V) 7.
8. an overarching term (N) h computer software that provides 8.

services to software
applications beyond those
available from the operating
system (N)
9. devices (N) i the use of information and 9.

communication technologies to
support deliberate, repeated,
and hostile behavior by an
individual or group, that is
intended to harm others (N)
10. to benefit (V) j merging (N) 10.

LESSON 4
SCANING: USING W-H QUESTION WORDS TO FIND
INFORMATION
A. EXERCISE 1: ANSWERING QUESTIONS WITH W-H

QUESTION WORDS
Answer each following question based on the previous reading passage.
1. What is software?
2. How many major classes do practical computer systems divide software? What are they?
3. How do computers operate?
4. What is application software?

5. What does user-written software include?
B. READING
Computer Software
Software is a program that enables a computer to perform a specific task, as opposed to the physical components of the system (hardware). This
includes application software such as a word processor, which enables a user to perform a task, and system software such as an operating system,
which enables other software to run properly, by interfacing with hardware and with other software.
Practical computer systems divide software into three major classes: system software, programming software, and application software, although the
distinction is arbitrary, and often blurred. Computer software has to be “loaded” into the computer’s storage (such as a hardware drive, memory. Or
RAM). Once the software is loaded, the computer is able to execute the software.
Computers operate by e xecuting the computer program. This involves passing instructions from the application software, through the system software,
to the hardware which ultimately receives the instruction as machine code. Each instruction causes the computer to carry out an operation – moving
data, carrying out a computation, or a ltering the control flow of instructions.
Application software
Application software is a subclass of computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to a task that the user
wishes to perform. This should be contrasted with system software which is involved in integrating a computer's various capabilities, but typically does
not directly apply them in the performance of tasks that benefit the user. In this context the term application refers to both the application software and
its implementation. A simple, if imperfect a nalogy in the world of hardware would be the relationship of an electric light bulb (an application) to an
electric power generation plant (a system).
The power plant merely generates electricity, not itself of any real use until h arnessed to an application like the electric light that performs a service that
benefits the user. Typical examples of software applications are word processors, spreadsheets, and media players. Multiple applications bundled
together as a package are sometimes referred to as an application suite. Some might bundle together a word processor, a spreadsheet, and several
other d iscrete applications.
The separate applications in a suite usually have a user i nterface that has some commonality making it easier for the user to learn and use each
application. And often they may have some capability to interact with each other in ways beneficial to the user. For example, a spreadsheet might be
able to be embedded in a word processor document even though it had been created in the separate spreadsheet application. User-written software t
ailors systems to meet the user's specific needs.
User-written software includes spreadsheet templates, word processor macros, scientific s imulations, graphics and animation scripts. Even email filters
are a kind of user software. Users create this software themselves and often overlook how important it is. In some types of embedded systems, the
application software and the operating system software may be i ndistinguishable to the user, as in the case of software used to control a VCR, DVD
player or Microwave Oven.
30
C. EXERCISE 2: SUBJECT, VERB, AND OBJECT OF A SENTENCE
Determine the subject, verb, and object of each sentence you have written as your answer in the previous exercise. If the subject and verb of your sentence
are not clear, revise your sentence(s).

NO A B ANSWER
1. executing (V) a changing (N) 1.
2. altering (N) b a worksheet (N) 2.
3. analogy (N) c distinct (adj) 3.
4 harnessed (adj) d carrying out (V) 4
5. a spreadsheet (N) e model (N) 5.
6. discrete f equivalence (N) 6.
31
7. interface (N) g impossible to tell apart (adj) 7.
8. to tailor (V) h connected (adj) 8.
9. simulation (N) i to fit (N) 9.
10. indistinguishable (adj) j part (N) 10.
E. EXERCISE 4: THE USAGE OF W-H QUESTION WORDS

Match these W-H question words in column A below with the usage given in column B.
NO A B ANSWER
1. What a Asking process 1.
2. Who b Asking person(s) as an object 2.
3. Where c Asking reason 3.
4 When d Asking thing(s) 4
5. Why e Asking possession 5.

6. Which f Asking person(s) as a subject 6.
7. Whom g Asking option 7.
8. Whose h Asking place 8.
9. How i Asking time 9.

LESSON 5
SCANING: USING IMPERATIVE QUESTION TO FIND
INFORMATION
A. EXERCISE 1: ANSWERING IMPERATIVE QUESTIONS.

Answer each following question based on the previous reading passage.
1. Mention the characteristics of the information age..

2. Describe DARPA..
3. Explain how the Internet truly became a global network.
4. Explain the progression of information transmission.

5. Describe the impact of information technology on automation, productivity, and job loss
B. EXERCISE 2: VOCABULARY BUILDERS

NO A B ANSWER
1. industrial revolution (N) a the creation of ever-smaller 1.

scales for computer (N)
2. information society (N) b the process of contracting a 2.

business function to someone
else (N)
3. computer microminiaturization (N) c production (N) 3.

4 a critical mass d a period from 1750 to 1850 4
where changes in agriculture,
manufacturing, mining,
transportation, and technology
had a profound effect on the
social, economic and cultural
conditions of the times (N)
5. obsolescence (N) e unequal distribution of 5.

income between genders,
races and the population in
general (N)
6. proliferation (N) f a society where the creation, 6.
distribution, diffusion, use,
integration and manipulation of
information is a significant
economic, political, and cultural
activity (N)
7. a service economy (N) g the stock of competencies, 7.

knowledge and personality
attributes embodied in the
ability to perform labor so as to
produce economic value (N)
8. outsourcing (N) h the existence of a sufficient 8.

amount of adopters of an
innovation in a social system
such that the rate of adoption
becomes self-sustaining and
creates further growth (N)
9. income inequality (N) i the increased importance of the 9.
service sector in industrialized
economies (N)
10. human capital (N) j the state of being which occurs 10.
when an object, service or
practice is no longer wanted
even though it may still be in
good working order (N)
C. READING
Information Age
From Wikipedia
A visualization of the various routes through a portion of the Internet.
The Information Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Digital Age, is an idea that the current age will be characterized by the ability of
individuals to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to information that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously. The
idea is linked to the concept of a digital age or digital revolution, and carries the ramifications of a shift from traditional industry that the i ndustrial r
evolution brought through industrialization, to an economy based on the manipulation of information, i.e., an i nformation society.
The Information Age formed by capitalizing on the c omputer microminiaturization advances, with a transition spanning from the advent of the personal
computer in the late 1970s to the internet's reaching a critical mass in the early 1990s, and the adoption of such technology by the public in the two
decades after 1990. Bringing about a fast evolution of technology in daily life, as well as of educational life style, the Information Age has allowed rapid
global communications and networking to shape modern society.
The Internet
The Internet was conceived as a fail-proof network that could connect computers together and be resistant to any one point of failure; the Internet
cannot be totally destroyed in one event, and if large areas are disabled, the information is easily rerouted. It was created mainly by DARPA; its initial
software applications where e-mail and computer file transfer.
Though the Internet itself has existed since 1969, it was with the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989 by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee and its
implementation in 1991 that the Internet truly became a global network. Today the Internet has become the ultimate platform for accelerating the flow of
information and is, today, the fastest-growing form of media, and is pushing many, if not most, other forms of media into o bsolescence.
What's more is that the very notion of our actions, our endeavors and especially our mistakes, being perfectly archived is somewhat terrifying to say the
least, no matter what level of accepted virtue or morality we may possess. There is a stronger sense of urgency to obtain success and well-being in
these modern times. People are more intellectually engaged than ever before, because of the Internet.
— Lallana, Emmanuel C. and Margaret N. Uy, The Information Age
Progression
The p roliferation of the smaller and less expensive personal computers and improvements in computing power by the early 1980s resulted in a sudden
access to and ability to share and store information for more and more workers. Connectivity between computers within companies led to the ability of
workers at different levels to access greater amounts of information.
 Information storage – The world's technological capacity to store information grew from 2.6 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 1986 to 15.8 in 1993, over
54.5 in 2000, and to 295 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 2007. This is the informational equivalent to less than one 730-MB CD-ROM per person in 1986
40
(539 MB per person), roughly 4 CD-ROM per person of 1993, 12 CD-ROM per person in the year 2000, and almost 61 CD-ROM per person in 2007. Piling
up the imagined 404 billion CD-ROM from 2007 would create a stack from the earth to the moon and a quarter of this distance beyond (with 1.2 mm
thickness per CD).[
 Information transmission – The world’s technological capacity to receive information through one-way broadcast networks was 432 exabytes of (optimally
compressed) information in 1986, 715 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 1993, 1.2 (optimally compressed) zettabytes in 2000, and 1.9 zettabytes in 2007
(this is the information equivalent of 174 newspapers per person per day). The world's effective capacity to exchange information through two-way
telecommunication networks was 281 petabytes of (optimally compressed) information in 1986, 471 petabytes in 1993, 2.2 (optimally compressed) exabytes
in 2000, and 65 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 2007 (this is the information equivalent of 6 newspapers per person per day). In the 1990s, the spread of
the Internet caused a sudden leap in access to and ability to share information in businesses, at home and around the globe. Technology was developing so
quickly that a computer costing $3,000.00 in 1997 would cost $2,000.00 two years later and only $1000.00 the following year.
 Computation – The world's technological capacity to compute information with humanly guided general-purpose computers grew from 3.0 × 108 MIPS in
1986, to 4.4 × 109 MIPS in 1993, 2.9 1011 MIPS in 2000 to 6.4 × 1012 MIPS in 2007.
Relation to economics
Eventually, Information and Communication Technology—computers, computerized machinery, fiber optics, communication satellites, Internet, and
other ICT tools—became a significant part of the economy. Microcomputers were developed and many business and industries were greatly changed
by ICT.
Nicholas Negroponte captured the essence of these changes in his 1995 book, Being Digital. His book discusses similarities and differences between
products made of atoms and products made of bits. In essence, one can very cheaply and quickly make a copy of a product made of bits, and ship it
across the country or around the world both quickly and at very low cost.
The impact on workforce

Concurrently during the 1980s and 1990s in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Western Europe, there was a steady trend away
from people holding Industrial Age manufacturing jobs. An increasing number of people held jobs as clerks in stores, office workers, teachers, nurses,
etc. The industrial world was shifting into a service economy.
41
The impact on jobs and income distribution
The Information Age has impacted the workforce in several ways. First, it has created a situation in which workers who perform tasks which are easily
automated are being forced to find work which involves tasks that are not easily automated. Second, workers are being forced to compete in a global
job market. Lastly workers are being replaced by computers that can do the job more effectively and faster. This poses problems for workers in
industrial societies, which are still to be solved. However, solutions that involve lowering the working time usually find high resistance.
Jobs traditionally associated with the middle class (assembly line workers, data processors, foremen, and supervisors) are beginning to disappear,
either through o utsourcing or automation. Individuals who lose their jobs must either move up, joining a group of “mind workers” (engineers, attorneys,
scientists, professors, executives, journalists, consultants), or settle for low-skill, low-wage service jobs.
The “mind workers” form about 20% of the workforce. They are able to compete successfully in the world market and command high wages. Conversely,
production workers and service workers in industrialized nations are unable to compete with workers in developing countries and either lose their jobs
through outsourcing or are forced to accept wage cuts. In addition, the internet makes it possible for workers in developing countries to provide in-
person services and compete directly with their counterparts in other nations.
This has had several major consequences:
Growing income inequality in industrial countries
The polarization of jobs into relatively high-skill, high wage jobs and low-skill, low-wage jobs has led to a growing disparity between incomes of the rich
and poor. The United States seems to have been more impacted than most countries; i ncome inequality started to rise in the late 1970’s, however the
rate of increase rose sharply in the 21st century (This analysis is rudimentary at best).
Increased opportunity in developing countries
Workers in developing countries have a competitive advantage which translates into increased opportunities and higher wages. The full impact on the
workforce in developing countries is complex; there are downsides.
The globalization of the workforce
In the past, the economic fate of workers was tied to the fate of national economies. For example, workers in the United States were once well paid in
comparison to the workers in other countries. With the advent of the Information Age and improvements in communication, this is no longer the case.
Because workers are forced to compete in a global job market, wages are less dependent on the success or failure of individual economies.
Automation, productivity, and job loss
There is another way in which the Information Age has impacted the workforce: automation and computerization have resulted in higher productivity
coupled with net job loss. In the United States for example, from Jan 1972 to August 2010, the number of people employed in manufacturing jobs fell
from 17,500,000 to 11,500,000 while manufacturing value rose 270%. It initially appeared that job loss in the industrial sector might be partially offset by
the rapid growth of jobs in the IT sector. However after the recession of March 2001, the number of jobs in the IT sector dropped sharply and continued
to drop until 2003. Even the IT sector is not immune to this problem. As such, modern society still has to solve this social problem.
The rise of information-intensive industry
Industry is becoming more information-intensive and less labor and capital-intensive. This trend has important implications for the workforce; workers
are becoming increasingly productive as the value of their labor decreases. However, there are also important implications for capitalism itself; not only
is the value of labor decreased, the value of capital is also diminished. In the classical model, investments in h uman capital and financial capital are
important predictors of the performance of a new venture. However, as demonstrated by Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, it now seems possible for a
group of relatively inexperienced people with limited capital to succeed on a large scale.
Innovations
 Analytical Engine – draft – 1837
 Stereoscope – 1849
 Z3 – first general-purpose digital computer – 1941
 Atanasoff–Berry Computer – electronic digital computer – 1942
 Colossus computer – first programmable, digital, electronic computer – 1943
 ENIAC general purpose electronic digital computer – 1946
 The mathematical framework of the theory of information – 1948
 Transistor – mark in the electronic development – 1947
 The formulation of the Hamming code – 1950
 Earliest form of the Internet – 1969
 Email – 1971
 Home video game consoles - 1972, widespread public application mid 1980s
 Personal computer – 1974, widespread public application early 1980s
 Laptop – 1980s, widespread public application 1990s
 World Wide Web – 1989, widespread public application mid 1990s
 PDA – 1990s
 Online g aming communities – 1990s, widespread public application early 2000s
 Cellular phones – 1984, widespread public application late 1990s and early 2000s
 Digital Camera and Webcams 1980s mainstreamed 2000s
 Digital Television 1990s, widespread public application 2000s
 Broadband mainstreamed 2000s and 2010s
 Wireless networking late 1990s
 GPS mainstreamed mid-2000s
 Satellite radio – circa 2001
 Smartphones widespread public application late 2000s early 2010s
 Tablet PC's 1990s (mainstream by 2010s)
LESSON 6
SCANING: USING W-H QUESTION WORDS AND IMPERATIVE
QUESTIONS TO FIND INFORMATION
A. EXERCISE 1: ANSWERING QUESTIONS WITH W-H QUESTION

WORDS AND IMPERATIVE
Answer each following question based on the reading passage.
1. What does the term information revolution describe?

2. Who introduced the term "scientific and technical revolution"? When and where?
3. How can we distinguish between information, data, knowledge, and wisdom?
4. Mention fundamental aspects of the theory of information revolution.

5. Describe Irving E. Fang (1997) six 'Information Revolutions' identification.
B. EXERCISE 2: VOCABULARY BUILDERS

NO A B ANSWER
1. aphorism (N) a component (N) 1.
2. constituent (N) b ahead of its time (adj) 2.
3. a knowledge society (N) c administration (N) 3.
4 futuristic (adj) d an original thought, spoken or 4

written in a concise and
memorable form (N)
5. to amalgamate (V) e linked processes of the 5.
accumulation and annihilation
of wealth under capitalism (N)
6. white-collar workers (N) f a theory that seeks to explain 6.

how, why, and at what rate new
ideas and technology spread
through cultures (N)
7. bureaucracy (N) g to integrate (V) 7.
8. market saturation (N) h persons who performs 8.

professional, managerial, or
administrative work (N)
9. diffusion of innovations (N) i a situation in which a product 9.

has become diffused
(distributed) within a market (N)
10. creative destruction (N) j a formal association of people 10.

with similar interests, who try to
make effective use of their
combined knowledge about
their areas of interest and in the
process, contribute to this
knowledge (N)
C. READING
Information Revolution
From Wikipedia
The term information revolution (sometimes called also the "information al revolution") describes current economic, social and technological trends
beyond the Industrial Revolution.
Many competing terms have been proposed that focus on different aspects of this societal development. The British polymath crystallographer J. D.
Bernal (1939) introduced the term " scientific and technical revolution " in his book The Social Function of Science in order to describe the new role that
science and technology are coming to play within society. He asserted that science is becoming a "productive force", using the Marxist Theory of
Productive Forces. After some controversy, the term was taken up by authors and institutions of the then-Soviet Bloc. Their aim was to show that
socialism was a safe home for the scientific and technical ("technological" for some authors) revolution, referred to by the acronym STR. The book
Civilization at the Crossroads, edited by the Czech philosopher Radovan Richta (1969), became a standard reference for this topic.
Daniel Bell (1980) challenged this theory and advocated Post Industrial Society, which would lead to a service economy rather than socialism. Many
other authors presented their views, including Zbigniew Brzezinski (1976) with his "Technetronic Society".
Information in social and economic activities

The main feature of the information revolution is the growing economic, social and technological role of information. Information-related activities did not
come up with the Information Revolution. They existed, in one form or the other, in all human societies, and eventually developed into institutions, such
as the Platonic Academy, Aristotle's Peripatetic school in the Lyceum, the Museum and the Library of Alexandria, or the schools of Babylonian
astronomy. The Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution came up when new informational inputs were produced by individual innovators, or
by scientific and technical institutions. During the Information Revolution all these activities are experiencing continuous growth, while other information-
oriented activities are emerging.
Information is the central theme of several new sciences, which emerged in the 1940s, including Shannon's (1949) Information Theory and Wiener's
(1948) Cybernetics. Wiener (1948, p. 155) stated also: "information is information not matter or energy". This aphorism suggests that information should
be considered along with matter and energy as the third c onstituent part of the Universe; information is carried by matter or by energy.
We can distinguish between information, data, knowledge, and wisdom. Data comes through research and collection. Information is organized data.
Knowledge is built upon information. Wisdom is knowing what to do with the knowledge—knowing how to synthesize the knowledge and make it useful
to humankind.
Data and information are easily transferable; knowledge built by a person is not certain that it can be transferred to another. Following this, the notion of
a "knowledge society" cannot be defined cogently. A wisdom society would have to be a f uturistic society in which all human beings were educated to
the highest level.
Information is then further considered as an economic activity, since firms and institutions are involved in its production, collection, exchange,
distribution, circulation, processing, transmission, and control. Labor is also divided into physical labor (use of muscle power) and informational labor
(use of intellectual power). A new economic sector is thereby identified, the Information Sector, which a malgamates information-related labor activities.
The theory of information revolution

The term information revolution may relate to, or contrast with, such widely used terms as Industrial Revolution and Agricultural Revolution. Note,
however, that you may prefer mentalist to materialist paradigm. The following fundamental aspects of the theory of information revolution can be given
(Veneris 1984, 1990):
1. The object of economic activities can be conceptualized according to the fundamental distinction between matter, energy, and information.
These apply both to the object of each economic activity, as well as within each economic activity or enterprise. For instance, an industry may
process matter (e.g. iron) using energy and information (production and process technologies, management, etc.).
2. Information is a factor of production (along with capital, labor, land (economics)), as well as a product sold in the market, that is, a commodity.
As such, it acquires use value and exchange value, and therefore a price.
50
3. All products have use value, exchange value, and informational value. The latter can be measured by the information content of the product, in
terms of innovation, design, etc.
4. Industries develop information-generating activities, the so-called Research and Development (R&D) functions.
5. Enterprises, and society at large, develop the information control and processing functions, in the form of management structures; these are
also called "white-collar workers", "bureaucracy", "managerial functions", etc.
6. Labor can be classified according to the object of labor, into information labor and non-information labor.
7. Information activities constitute a large, new economic sector, the information sector along with the traditional primary sector, secondary sector,
and tertiary sector, according to the three-sector hypothesis. These should be restated because they are based on the ambiguous definitions
made by Colin Clark (1940), who included in the tertiary sector all activities that have not been included in the primary (agriculture, forestry, etc.)
and secondary (manufacturing) sectors. The quaternary sector and the quinary sector of the economy attempt to classify these new activities,
but their definitions are not based on a clear conceptual scheme, although the latter is considered by some as equivalent with the information
sector.
8. From a strategic point of view, sectors can be defined as information sector, means of production, means of consumption, thus extending the
classical Ricardo-Marx model of the Capitalist mode of production (see Influences on Karl Marx). Marx stressed in many occasions the role of
the "intellectual element" in production, but failed to find a place for it into his model.
9. Innovations are the result of the production of new information, as new products, new methods of production, patents, etc. Diffusion of
innovations manifests saturation effects (related term: m arket saturation), following certain cyclical patterns and creating "economic waves",
also referred to as "business cycles". There are various types of waves, such as Kondratiev wave ( 54 years), Kuznets swing (18 years), Juglar
cycle (9 years) and Kitchin (about 4 years, see also Joseph Schumpeter) distinguished by their nature, duration, and, thus, economic impact.
10. D iffusion of innovations causes structural-sectoral shifts in the economy, which can be smooth or can create crisis and renewal, a process
which Joseph Schumpeter called vividly "creative destruction".
From a different perspective, Irving E. Fang (1997) identified six 'Information Revolutions': writing, printing, mass media, entertainment, the 'tool shed'
(which we call 'home' now), and the Information Highway. In this work the term 'information revolution' is used in a narrow sense, to describe trends in
communication media.
Measuring and modeling the Information Revolution

Porat (1976) measured the Information Sector in the US using the input-output analysis; OECD has included statistics on the Information Sector in the
economic reports of its member countries.
51
Modeling the Informational Revolution.
Source: Veneris (1984)
Veneris (1984, 1990) explored the theoretical, economic and regional aspects of the Informational Revolution and developed a systems dynamics
simulation computer model.
These works can be seen as following the path originated with the work of Fritz Machlup who in his (1962) book "The Production and Distribution of
Knowledge in the United States", claimed that the "knowledge industry represented 29% of the US gross national product", which he saw as evidence
that the Information Age has begun. He defines knowledge as a commodity and attempts to measure the magnitude of the production and distribution of
this commodity within a modern economy. Machlup divided information use into three classes: instrumental, intellectual, and pastime knowledge. He
identified also five types of knowledge: practical knowledge; intellectual knowledge, that is, general culture and the satisfying of intellectual curiosity;
pastime knowledge, that is, knowledge satisfying non-intellectual curiosity or the desire for light entertainment and emotional stimulation; spiritual or
religious knowledge; unwanted knowledge, accidentally acquired and aimlessly retained.
More recent estimates have reached the following results:
 the world’s technological capacity to receive information through one-way broadcast networks grew at a sustained compound annual growth
rate of 7 % between 1986 and 2007;
 the world's technological capacity to store information grew at a sustained compound annual growth rate of 25 % between 1986 and 2007;
 the world's effective capacity to exchange information through two-way telecommunication networks grew at a sustained compound annual
growth rate of 30 % during the same two decades;
 the world's technological capacity to compute information with the help of humanly guided general-purpose computers grew at a sustained
compound annual growth rate of 61 % during the same period.]
LESSON 7
EXERCISE
A. MAKING OUTLINE
Make the outline and abridged outline of the following reading passage.
B. READING
Information Society
From Wikipedia
The information society is a society where the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic,
political, and cultural activity. The aim of the information society is to gain competitive advantage internationally, through using IT in a creative and
productive way. The knowledge economy is its economic counterpart, whereby wealth is created through the economic exploitation of understanding.
People who have the means to partake in this form of society are sometimes called digital citizens. As Beniger shows, this is one of many dozen labels
that have been identified to suggest that we are entering a new phase of society.
The markers of this rapid change may be technological, economic, occupational, spatial, cultural, or some combination of all of these. Information
society is seen as the successor to industrial society. Closely related concepts are the post-industrial society (Daniel Bell), post-fordism, post-modern
society, knowledge society, Telematic Society, Information Revolution, Liquid modernity, and network society (Manuel Castells).
Definition
There is currently no universally accepted concept of what exactly can be termed information society and what shall rather not so be termed. Most
theoreticians agree that a transformation can be seen that started somewhere between the 1970s and today and is changing the way societies work
fundamentally. Information technology is not only internet, and there are discussions about how big the influence of specific media or specific modes of
production really is.
Some people, such as Antonio Negri, characterize the information society as one in which people do immaterial labour. By this, they appear to refer to
the production of knowledge or cultural artifacts. One problem with this model is that it ignores the material and essentially industrial basis of the society.
However it does point to a problem for workers, namely how many creative people does this society need to function? For example, it may be that you
only need a few star performers, rather than a plethora of non-celebrities, as the work of those performers can be easily distributed, forcing all
secondary players to the bottom of the market. It is now common for publishers to promote only their best selling authors and to try to avoid the rest—
even if they still sell steadily. Films are becoming more and more judged, in terms of distribution, by their first weekend's performance, in many cases
cutting out opportunity for word-of-mouth development.
Considering that metaphors and technologies of information move forward in a reciprocal relationship, we can describe some societies (especially the
Japanese society) as an information society because we think of it as such as letters.
The growth of information in society

The growth of technologically mediated information has been quantified in different ways, including society's technological capacity to store information,
to communicate information, and to compute information. It is estimated that the world's technological capacity to store information grew from 2.6
(optimally compressed) exabytes in 1986, which is the informational equivalent to less than one 730-MB CD-ROM per person in 1986 (539 MB per
person), to 295 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 2007. This is the informational equivalent of 60 CD-ROM per person in 2007 and represents a
sustained annual growth rate of some 25 %. The world’s combined technological capacity to receive information through one-way broadcast networks
was the informational equivalent of 174 newspapers per person per day in 2007. [4] The world's combined effective capacity to exchange information
through two-way telecommunication networks was 281 petabytes of (optimally compressed) information in 1986, 471 petabytes in 1993, 2.2 (optimally
compressed) exabytes in 2000, and 65 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 2007, which is the informational equivalent of 6 newspapers per person per
day in 2007. The world's technological capacity to compute information with humanly guided general-purpose computers grew from 3.0 × 10^8 MIPS in
1986, to 6.4 x 10^12 MIPS in 2007, experiencing the fastest growth rate of over 60 % per year during the last two decades.
Development of the information society model
One of the first people to develop the concept of the information society was the economist Fritz Machlup. In 1933, Fritz Machlup began studying the
effect of patents on research. His work culminated in the study "The production and distribution of knowledge in the United States" in 1962. This book
was widely regarded and was eventually translated into Russian and Japanese. The Japanese have also studied the information society (or johoka
shakai, 情報化社会).
The issue of technologies and their role in contemporary society have been discussed in the scientific literature using a range of labels and concepts.
This section introduces some of them. Ideas of a knowledge or information economy, post-industrial society, postmodern society, network society, the
information revolution, informational capitalism, network capitalism, and the like, have been debated over the last several decades.
Fritz Machlup (1962) introduced the concept of the knowledge industry. He distinguished five sectors of the knowledge sector: education, research and
development, mass media, information technologies, information services. Based on this categorization he calculated that in 1959 29% per cent of the
GNP in the USA had been produced in knowledge industries.
Peter Drucker has argued that there is a transition from an economy based on material goods to one based on knowledge. Marc Porat distinguishes a
primary (information goods and services that are directly used in the production, distribution or processing of information) and a secondary sector
(information services produced for internal consumption by government and non-information firms) of the information economy. Porat uses the total
value added by the primary and secondary information sector to the GNP as an indicator for the information economy. The OECD has employed Porat's
definition for calculating the share of the information economy in the total economy (e.g. OECD 1981, 1986). Based on such indicators, the information
society has been defined as a society where more than half of the GNP is produced and more than half of the employees are active in the information
economy.
For Daniel Bell the number of employees producing services and information is an indicator for the informational character of a society. "A post-
industrial society is based on services. (…) What counts is not raw muscle power, or energy, but information. (…) A post industrial society is one in
which the majority of those employed are not involved in the production of tangible goods".
Alain Touraine already spoke in 1971 of the post-industrial society. "The passage to postindustrial society takes place when investment results in the
production of symbolic goods that modify values, needs, representations, far more than in the production of material goods or even of 'services'.
Industrial society had transformed the means of production: post-industrial society changes the ends of production, that is, culture. (…) The decisive
point here is that in postindustrial society all of the economic system is the object of intervention of society upon itself. That is why we can call it the
programmed society, because this phrase captures its capacity to create models of management, production, organization, distribution, and
consumption, so that such a society appears, at all its functional levels, as the product of an action exercised by the society itself, and not as the
outcome of natural laws or cultural specificities" (Touraine 1988: 104). In the programmed society also the area of cultural reproduction including
aspects such as information, consumption, health, research, education would be industrialized. That modern society is increasing its capacity to act
upon itself means for Touraine that society is reinvesting ever larger parts of production and so produces and transforms itself. This makes Touraine's
concept substantially different from that of Daniel Bell who focused on the capacity to process and generate information for efficient society functioning.
Jean-François Lyotard has argued that "knowledge has become the principle [ sic] force of production over the last few decades". Knowledge would be
transformed into a commodity. Lyotard says that postindustrial society makes knowledge accessible to the layman because knowledge and information
technologies would diffuse into society and break up Grand Narratives of centralized structures and groups. Lyotard denotes these changing
circumstances as postmodern condition or postmodern society.
Similarly to Bell, Peter Otto and Philipp Sonntag (1985) say that an information society is a society where the majority of employees work in information
jobs, i.e. they have to deal more with information, signals, symbols, and images than with energy and matter. Radovan Richta (1977) argues that society
has been transformed into a scientific civilization based on services, education, and creative activities. This transformation would be the result of a
scientific-technological transformation based on technological progress and the increasing importance of computer technology. Science and technology
would become immediate forces of production.
Nico Stehr (1994, 2002a, b) says that in the knowledge society a majority of jobs involves working with knowledge. "Contemporary society may be
described as a knowledge society based on the extensive penetration of all its spheres of life and institutions by scientific and technological knowledge"
(Stehr 2002b: 18). For Stehr, knowledge is a capacity for social action. Science would become an immediate productive force, knowledge would no
longer be primarily embodied in machines, but already appropriated nature that represents knowledge would be rearranged according to certain designs
and programs (Ibid.: 41-46). For Stehr, the economy of a knowledge society is largely driven not by material inputs, but by symbolic or knowledge-based
inputs (Ibid.: 67), there would be a large number of professions that involve working with knowledge, and a declining number of jobs that demand low
cognitive skills as well as in manufacturing (Stehr 2002a).
Also Alvin Toffler argues that knowledge is the central resource in the economy of the information society: "In a Third Wave economy, the central
resource – a single word broadly encompassing data, information, images, symbols, culture, ideology, and values – is actionable knowledge"
(Dyson/Gilder/Keyworth/Toffler 1994).
At the end of the twentieth century, the concept of the network society gained importance in information society theory. For Manuel Castells, network
logic is besides information, pervasiveness, flexibility, and convergence a central feature of the information technology paradigm (2000a: 69ff). "One of
the key features of informational society is the networking logic of its basic structure, which explains the use of the concept of 'network society'"
(Castells 2000: 21). "As an historical trend, dominant functions and processes in the Information Age are increasingly organized around networks.
Networks constitute the new social morphology of our societies, and the diffusion of networking logic substantially modifies the operation and outcomes
in processes of production, experience, power, and culture" (Castells 2000: 500). For Castells the network society is the result of informationalism, a
new technological paradigm. Jan Van Dijk (2006) defines the network society as a "social formation with an infrastructure of social and media networks
enabling its prime mode of organization at all levels (individual, group/organizational and societal). Increasingly, these networks link all units or parts of
this formation (individuals, groups and organizations)" (Van Dijk 2006: 20). For Van Dijk networks have become the nervous system of society, whereas
Castells links the concept of the network society to capitalist transformation, Van Dijk sees it as the logical result of the increasing widening and
thickening of networks in nature and society. Darin Barney uses the term for characterizing societies that exhibit two fundamental characteristics: "The
first is the presence in those societies of sophisticated – almost exclusively digital – technologies of networked communication and information
management/distribution, technologies which form the basic infrastructure mediating an increasing array of social, political and economic practices. (…)
The second, arguably more intriguing, characteristic of network societies is the reproduction and institutionalization throughout (and between) those
societies of networks as the basic form of human organization and relationship across a wide range of social, political and economic configurations and
associations".[
The major critique of concepts such as information society, knowledge society, network society, postmodern society, postindustrial society, etc. that has
mainly been voiced by critical scholars is that they create the impression that we have entered a completely new type of society. "If there is just more
information then it is hard to understand why anyone should suggest that we have before us something radically new" (Webster 2002a: 259). Critics
such as Frank Webster argue that these approaches stress discontinuity, as if contemporary society had nothing in common with society as it was 100
or 150 years ago. Such assumptions would have ideological character because they would fit with the view that we can do nothing about change and
have to adopt to existing political realities (Webster 2002b: 267). These critics argue that contemporary society first of all is still a capitalist society
oriented towards accumulating economic, political, and cultural capital. They acknowledge that information society theories stress some important new
qualities of society (notably globalization and informatization), but charge that they fail to show that these are attributes of overall capitalist structures.
Critics such as Webster insist on the continuities that characterise change. In this way Webster distinguishes between different epochs of capitalism:
laissez-faire capitalism of the 19th century, corporate capitalism in the 20th century, and informational capitalism for the 21st century (Webster 2006).
For describing contemporary society based on a dialectic of the old and the new, continuity and discontinuity, other critical scholars have suggested
several terms like:
 transnational network capitalism, transnational informational capitalism (Christian Fuchs 2008, 2007): "Computer networks are the technological
foundation that has allowed the emergence of global network capitalism, that is, regimes of accumulation, regulation, and discipline that are
helping to increasingly base the accumulation of economic, political, and cultural capital on transnational network organizations that make use
of cyberspace and other new technologies for global coordination and communication. [...] The need to find new strategies for executing
corporate and political domination has resulted in a restructuration of capitalism that is characterized by the emergence of transnational,
networked spaces in the economic, political, and cultural system and has been mediated by cyberspace as a tool of global coordination and
communication. Economic, political, and cultural space have been restructured; they have become more fluid and dynamic, have enlarged their
borders to a transnational scale, and handle the inclusion and exclusion of nodes in flexible ways. These networks are complex due to the high
number of nodes (individuals, enterprises, teams, political actors, etc.) that can be involved and the high speed at which a high number of
resources is produced and transported within them. But global network capitalism is based on structural inequalities; it is made up of segmented
spaces in which central hubs (transnational corporations, certain political actors, regions, countries, Western lifestyles, and worldviews)
centralize the production, control, and flows of economic, political, and cultural capital (property, power, definition capacities). This segmentation
is an expression of the overall competitive character of contemporary society." (Fuchs 2008: 110+119).
 digital capitalism (Schiller 2000, cf. also Peter Glotz): "networks are directly generalizing the social and cultural range of the capitalist economy
as never before" (Schiller 2000: xiv)
 virtual capitalism: the "combination of marketing and the new information technology will enable certain firms to obtain higher profit margins and
larger market shares, and will thereby promote greater concentration and centralization of capital" (Dawson/John Bellamy Foster 1998: 63sq),
 high-tech capitalism or informatic capitalism (Fitzpatrick 2002) – to focus on the computer as a guiding technology that has transformed the
productive forces of capitalism and has enabled a globalized economy.
 Other scholars prefer to speak of information capitalism (Morris-Suzuki 1997) or informational capitalism (Manuel Castells 2000, Christian
Fuchs 2005, Schmiede 2006a, b). Manuel Castells sees informationalism as a new technological paradigm (he speaks of a mode of
development) characterized by "information generation, processing, and transmission" that have become "the fundamental sources of
productivity and power" (Castells 2000: 21). The "most decisive historical factor accelerating, channelling and shaping the information
technology paradigm, and inducing its associated social forms, was/is the process of capitalist restructuring undertaken since the 1980s, so that
the new techno-economic system can be adequately characterized as informational capitalism" (Castells 2000: 18). Castells has added to
theories of the information society the idea that in contemporary society dominant functions and processes are increasingly organized around
networks that constitute the new social morphology of society (Castells 2000: 500). Nicholas Garnham is critical of Castells and argues that the
latter’s account is technologically determinist because Castells points out that his approach is based on a dialectic of technology and society in
which technology embodies society and society uses technology (Castells 2000: 5sqq). But Castells also makes clear that the rise of a new
"mode of development" is shaped by capitalist production, i.e. by society, which implies that technology isn't the only driving force of society.
 Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt argue that contemporary society is an Empire that is characterized by a singular global logic of capitalist
domination that is based on immaterial labour. With the concept of immaterial labour Negri and Hardt introduce ideas of information society
discourse into their Marxist account of contemporary capitalism. Immaterial labour would be labour "that creates immaterial products, such as
knowledge, information, communication, a relationship, or an emotional response" (Hardt/Negri 2005: 108; cf. also 2000: 280-303), or services,
cultural products, knowledge (Hardt/Negri 2000: 290). There would be two forms: intellectual labour that produces ideas, symbols, codes, texts,
60
linguistic figures, images, etc.; and affective labour that produces and manipulates affects such as a feeling of ease, well-being, satisfaction,
excitement, passion, joy, sadness, etc. (Ibid.).
Overall, neo-Marxist accounts of the information society have in common that they stress that knowledge, information technologies, and computer
networks have played a role in the restructuration and globalization of capitalism and the emergence of a flexible regime of accumulation (David Harvey
1989). They warn that new technologies are embedded into societal antagonisms that cause structural unemployment, rising poverty, social exclusion,
the deregulation of the welfare state and of labour rights, the lowering of wages, welfare, etc.
Concepts such as knowledge society, information society, network society, informational capitalism, postindustrial society, transnational network
capitalism, postmodern society, etc. show that there is a vivid discussion in contemporary sociology on the character of contemporary society and the
role that technologies, information, communication, and co-operation play in it. Information society theory discusses the role of information and
information technology in society, the question which key concepts shall be used for characterizing contemporary society, and how to define such
concepts. It has become a specific branch of contemporary sociology.
Second and third nature

As mentioned earlier an information society is the means of getting information from one place to another (Wark, 1997, p.22). As technology has
become more advanced over time so too has the way we have adapted in sharing this information with each other.
"Second nature" refers a group of experiences that get made over by culture (Wark, 1997, p.23). They then get remade into something else that can
then take on a new meaning. As a society we transform this process so it becomes something natural to us, i.e. second nature. So, by following a
particular pattern created by culture we are able to recognise how we use and move information in different ways. From sharing information via different
time zones (such as talking online) to information ending up in a different location (sending a letter overseas) this has all become a habitual process that
we as a society take for granted (Wark, 1997, p.21).
However, through the process of sharing information vectors have enabled us to spread information even further. Through the use of these vectors
information is able to move and then separate from the initial things that enabled them to move (Wark, 1997, p.24). From here, something called "third
nature" has developed. An extension of second nature, third nature is in control of second nature. It expands on what second nature is limited by. It has
the ability to mould information in new and different ways. So, third nature is able to ‘speed up, proliferate, divide, mutate, and beam in on us from else
61
where (Wark, 1997, p.25). It aims to create a balance between the boundaries of space and time (see second nature). This can be seen through the
telegraph, it was the first successful technology that could send and receive information faster than a human being could move an object (Wark, 1997,
p.26). As a result different vectors of people have the ability to not only shape culture but create new possibilities that will ultimately shape society.
Therefore, through the use of second nature and third nature society is able to use and explore new vectors of possibility where information can be
moulded to create new forms of interaction (Wark, 1997, p.28).
Sociological uses
In sociology, informational society refers to a post-modern type of society. Theoreticians like Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens and Manuel Castells argue
that since the 1970s a transformation from industrial society to informational society has happened on a global scale. [15]
As steam power was the technology standing behind industrial society, so information technology is seen as the catalyst for the changes in work
organisation, societal structure and politics occurring in the late 20th century.
In the book Future Shock, Alvin Toffler used the phrase super-industrial society to describe this type of society. Other writers and thinkers have used
terms like "post-industrial society" and "post-modern industrial society" with a similar meaning.
Related terms
A number of terms in current use emphasize related but different aspects of the emerging global economic order. The Information Society intends to be
the most encompassing in that an economy is a subset of a society. The Information Age is somewhat limiting, in that it refers to a 30-year period
between the widespread use of computers and the knowledge economy, rather than an emerging economic order. The knowledge era is about the
nature of the content, not the socioeconomic processes by which it will be traded. The computer revolution, and knowledge revolution refer to specific
revolutionary transitions, rather than the end state towards which we are evolving. The Information Revolution relates with the well known terms
agricultural revolution and industrial revolution.
The information economy and the knowledge economy emphasize the content or intellectual property that is being traded through an information market
or knowledge market, respectively. Electronic commerce and electronic business emphasize the nature of transactions and running a business,
respectively, using the Internet and World-Wide Web. The digital economy focuses on trading bits in cyberspace rather than atoms in physical space.
The network economy stresses that businesses will work collectively in webs or as part of business ecosystems rather than as stand-alone units. Social
networking refers to the process of collaboration on massive, global scales. The internet economy focuses on the nature of markets that are enabled by
the Internet. Knowledge services and knowledge value put content into an economic context. Knowledge services integrates Knowledge management,
within a Knowledge organization, that trades in a Knowledge market.
Although seemingly synonymous, each term conveys more than nuances or slightly different views of the same thing. Each term represents one
attribute of the likely nature of economic activity in the emerging post-industrial society. Alternatively, the new economic order will incorporate all of the
above plus other attributes that have not yet fully emerged.
Intellectual property considerations

One of the central paradoxes of the information society is that it makes information easily reproducible, leading to a variety of freedom/control problems
relating to intellectual property. Essentially, business and capital, whose place becomes that of producing and selling information and knowledge,
seems to require control over this new resource so that it can effectively be managed and sold as the basis of the information economy. However, such
control can prove to be both technically and socially problematic. Technically because copy protection is often easily circumvented and socially rejected
because the users and citizens of the information society can prove to be unwilling to accept such absolute commodification of the facts and information
that compose their environment.
Responses to this concern range from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the United States (and similar legislation elsewhere) which make copy
protection (see DRM) circumvention illegal, to the free software, open source and copyleft movements, which seek to encourage and disseminate the
"freedom" of various information products (traditionally both as in "gratis" or free of cost, and liberty, as in freedom to use, explore and share).
Caveat: Information society is often used by politicians meaning something like "we all do internet now"; the sociological term information society (or
informational society) has some deeper implications about change of societal structure.
LESSON 8
EXERCISE
A. MAKING OUTLINE
Make the outline and abridged outline of the following reading passage.
B. READING
Information and Communication Technologies for Development

From Wikipedia
Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) is a general term referring to the application o
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within the fields of socioeconomic development, international development and human rights. The
basic hypothesis behind the approach is that more and better information and communication furthers the development of a society (be this to improve
income, education, health, security, or any other aspect of human development). In our times, the most tangible and effective way to improve
information and communication flows in a society consists in fostering ICT, ergo ICT4D.
The dominant term used in this field is "ICT4D" or "ICT4Dev" ("ICT for development"). Alternatives include ICTD ("ICT and development", which is used
in a broader sense) and development informatics.
The concept of ICT4D can be interpreted as dealing with disadvantaged populations anywhere in the world, but is more typically associated with
applications in developing countries. It concerns itself with directly applying information technology approaches to poverty reduction. ICTs can be
applied either in the direct sense, wherein their use directly benefits the disadvantaged population, or in an indirect sense, wherein the ICTs assist aid
organisations or non-governmental organizations or governments or businesses in order to improve general socio-economic conditions.
The field is becoming recognized as an interdisciplinary research area as can be noted by the growing number of conferences, workshops and
publications. Such research has been spurred on in part by the need for scientifically validated benchmarks and results, which can be used to measure
the efficacy of current projects. There is also a – somewhat loose – community of both technical and social science researchers that has grown up
around the annual ICT4D conferences.
Theoretical background
The ICT4D discussion falls into a broader school of thought that proposes to use technology for development. The theoretical foundation can be found
in the Schumpeterian notion of socio-economic evolution, which consists of an incessant process of creative destruction that modernizes the modus
operandi of society as a whole, including its economic, social, cultural, and political organization.
The motor of this incessant force of creative destruction is technological change. While the key carrier technology of the first Industrial Revolution (1770–
1850) was based on water-powered mechanization, the second Kondratiev (1850–1900) was enabled by steam-powered technology, the third (1900-
1940) was characterized by the electrification of social and productive organization, the fourth by motorization and the automated mobilization of society
(1940–1970), and the most recent one by the digitization of social systems. Each one of those so-called long waves has been characterized by a
sustained period of social modernization, most notably by sustained periods of increasing economic productivity. According to Carlota Perez: “this
quantum jump in productivity can be seen as a technological revolution, which is made possible by the appearance in the general cost structure of a
particular input that we could call the 'key factor', fulfilling the following conditions: (1) clearly perceived low-and descending-relative cost; (2) unlimited
supply for all practical purposes; (3) potential all-pervasiveness; (4) a capacity to reduce the costs of capital, labour and products as well as to change
them qualitatively”. Digital Information and Communication Technologies fulfill those requirements and therefore represent a general purpose
technology that can transform an entire economy, leading to a modern, and more developed form of socio-economic and political organization often
referred to as the post-industrial society, the fifth Kondratiev, Information society, digital age, and network society, among others.
ICT4D cube: an interplay between technology (horizontal: green), society (vertical: blue), policy (diagonal: yellow/red)
The declared goal of ICT-for-development is to make use of this ongoing transformation by actively using the enabling technology to improve the living
conditions of societies and segments of society. As in previous social transformations of this kind (industrial revolution, etc), the resulting dynamic is an
interplay between an enabling technology, normative guiding policies and strategies, and the resulting social transformation. In the case of ICT4D, this
three-dimensional interplay has been depicted as a cube. In line with the Schumpeterian school of thought, the first enabling factor for the associated
socio-economic transformations is the existence technological infrastructure: hardware infrastructure and generic software services. Additionally,
capacity and knowledge are the human requirements to make use of these technologies. These foundations (horizontal green dimension in Figure) are
the basis for the digitization of information flows and communication mechanisms in different sectors of society. When part of the information flows and
communication processes in these sectors are carried out in e-lectronic networks, the prefix "e-" is often added to the sector's name, resulting in e-
government, e-business and e-commerce, e-health, and e-learning, etc) (vertical blue dimension in Figure). This process of transformation represent the
basic requirements and building blocks, but they are not sufficient for development. The mere existence of technology is not enough to achieve positive
outcomes (no technological determinism). ICT for Development policies and projects are aimed at the promotion of normatively desired outcomes of this
transformation, the minimization of negative effects, and the removal of eventual bottlenecks. In essence, there are two kind of interventions: positive
feedback (incentives, projects, financing, subsidies, etc that accentuate existing opportunities); and negative feedback (regulation and legislation, etc)
that limit and tame negative developments (diagonal yellow-red dimension in Figure).
Opportunity
ICT is central to today's most modern economies. Many international development agencies recognize the importance of ICT4D – for example, the
World Bank's GICT section has a dedicated team of approximately 200 staff members working on ICT issues. A global network hub is also promoting
innovation and advancement in ICT4D. Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) is the world's first multi-stakeholder network, bringing together public
sector, private sector and civil society organizations with the goal of sharing knowledge and building partnerships in ICT4D.
Developing countries far lag developed nations in computer use and internet access/usage. For example, on average only 1 in 130 people in Africa has
a computer while in North America and Europe 1 in every 2 people have access to the Internet. 90% of students in Africa have never touched a
computer.
However, local networks can provide significant access to software and information even without utilizing an internet connection, for example through
use of the Wikipedia CD Selection or the eGranary Digital Library.
The World Bank runs the Information for Development Program (infoDev), whose Rural ICT Toolkit analyses the costs and possible profits involved in
such a venture and shows that there is more potential in developing areas than many might assume. The potential for profit arises from two sources-
resource sharing across large numbers of users (specifically, the publication talks about line sharing, but the principle is the same for, e.g., telecentres
at which computing/Internet are shared) and remittances (specifically the publication talks about carriers making money from incoming calls, i.e., from
urban to rural areas).
A good example of the impact of ICTs is that of farmers getting better market price information and thus boosting their income. Community ecenter in
the Philippines developed a website to promote its local products worldwide. Another example is the use of mobile telecommunications and radio
broadcasting to fight political corruption in Burundi.
History
The history of ICT4D can, roughly, be divided into three periods:
 ICT4D 0.0: mid-1950s to late-1990s. During this period (before the creation of the term "ICT4D"), the focus was on computing / data processing for back-
office applications in large government and private sector organizations in developing countries.
 ICT4D 1.0: late-1990s to late-2000s. The combined advent of the Millennium Development Goals and mainstream usage of the Internet in industrialised
countries led to a rapid rise in investment in ICT infrastructure and ICT programmes/projects in developing countries. The most typical application was the
telecentre, used to bring information on development issues such as health, education, and agricultural extension into poor communities. More latterly,
telecentres might also deliver online or partly online government services.
 ICT4D 2.0: late-2000s onwards. There is no clear boundary between phase 1.0 and 2.0 but suggestions of moving to a new phase include the change from
the telecentre to the mobile phone as the archetypal application; less concern with e-readiness and more interest in the impact of ICTs on development; and
more focus on the poor as producers and innovators with ICTs (as opposed to just consumers of ICT-based information).
Projects
Analyses
ICT4D initiatives and projects may be designed and implemented by international institutions, governments (e.g., e-Mexico initiative), consultants (e.g.,
Non-Profit Computing, Inc.), private companies (e.g., Intel's Classmate), non-governmental organizations (e.g., International Institute for Communication
and Development), or virtual organizations (e.g., One Laptop per Child). The projects can typically be evaluation research, matching a tool and a
problem, exploratory research, or constructive research.
A 2010 research report from the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre found "Very few ICT4D activities have proved sustainable...
Recent research has stressed the need to shift from a technology-led approach, where the emphasis is on technical innovation towards an approach
that emphasises innovative use of already established technology (mobiles, radio, television)." However, of 27 applications of ICTs for development, E-
government, E-learnings and E-health were found to be possible of great success, as well as the strengthening of social networks and boosting of
security (particularly of women).
The United Nations Development Center in Bangkok issued a list of over 100 case studies addressing one or more of the following issues:
 Access and Infrastructure

 Capacity building and Education
 e-Governance and e-Government
 Environment and Agriculture
 Free and Open Source Software
 Gender and ICT
 Health and Medicine
 Policy and Social Analyses
 Technical Innovation for Development
Problems
Projects which deploy technologies in underdeveloped areas face well-known problems concerning crime, problems of adjustment to the social context,
and also possibly infrastructural problems.
In many impoverished regions of the world, legislative and political measures are required to facilitate or enable application of ICTs, especially with
respect to monopolistic communications structures and censorship laws.
The literacy issue is one of the key factors why projects fail in rural areas; as education in literacy sets the foundation for digital and information literacy,
proper education and training are needed to make the user at least understand how to manipulate the applications to get the information they need.
Constant follow-up with the community is needed to monitor if the project has been successfully implemented and is being used meaningfully.
In the case of India, technological advancement has been more of leapfrogging in nature: the affordability of mobile phones allowed more people to
acquire mobile phones before learning to use personal computers and desktops. This unfamiliarity with computers could be seen as problematic as it
creates digital divide if technological devices provided are computers; a disconnect between computing technology and people causes difficulty for
some of the ICT4D project initiatives to take effect. For instance, in rural parts of India, the Ministry of Education rejected OLPC initiative due to lack of
facilities and trained professionals for computer teaching and maintenance. While closing the gap of digital divide through training teachers so that
technology may be used for teaching process is challenging, there is yet another problem of failing to recognize technology as a tool for learning
process. Studying how learners and/or students interact with technology is vital for developing and designing technologies for them.
70
Projects in marginalised rural areas face the most significant hurdles – but since people in marginalised rural areas are at the very bottom of the
pyramid, development efforts should make the most difference in this sector. ICTs have the potential to multiply development effects and are thus also
meaningful in the rural arena.
However, introducing ICTs in these areas is also most costly, as the following barriers exist:
 Lack of Infrastructure: no electrical power, no running water, bad roads, etc.

 Lack of Health Services: diseases like HIV, TB, malaria are more common.
 Lack of Employment: there are practically no jobs in marginalised rural areas.
 Hunger: hungry users have problems concentrating.
 Illiteracy: Text user interfaces do not work very well, innovative Human Computer Interfaces are required.
 Lack of means to maintain the project: some projects may be left to deteriorate in time because maintenance is sporadic and if a component breaks it is
costly to obtain skilled people and parts to make a repair..
 Lack of means to maintain the project due to short-terms grants
 Lack of support from the local government
 Social Contexts: the potential users living in rural marginalised areas often cannot easily see the point of ICTs because of social context and also because of
the impediments of hunger, disease and illiteracy.
 Possibility of encouraging brain-drain.
 Corruption is one of the factors that hampers the implementation of ICT projects in rural areas.
 Training and seminars must be conducted according to a suitable time for farmers, to make sure that their daily routine is not affected.
 Many applications are not user friendly.
 Projects are sometimes not being needs-driven and not relevant to local context.
Another significant problem can be the selection of software installed on technology – instructors trained in one set of software (for example Ubuntu)
can be expected to have difficulty in navigating computers donated with different software (for example Windows XP).
A pressing problem is also the misuse of Electronic waste in dangerous ways. Burning technology to obtain the metals inside will release toxic fumes
into the air. (Certification of recyclers to e-Stewards or R2 Solutions standards is intended to preclude environmental pollution.)
Finally, while the training, support, hardware and software may all be donated, it is rare for another vital component of technology, Internet access, to be
made available at a discounted rate. "In about half the countries in Africa, one year of [dial-up] Internet supply will cost more than the average annual
income."
71
Jurisdictional issues
One of the main challenges in overcoming the digital divide is to widen the influence of the respective policies from those carried out by just the
telecommunications authority to the entire public sector. While most of the national digital agendas are led by national telecommunications authorities,
such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and NTIA, the case of Chile shows that the funds managed by the telecom authority
represent less than 5% of the total funds spent by the overall government on ICT-related policies and projects (spread out over 22 governmental
departments), such as carried out the national health department, the education ministry or the finance department. The funds available for ICT4D
throughout the public sector are a large multiple of those spent by technology and infrastructure authorities alone.
Countries and international organizations usually do not know which agency manages which kinds of ICT-funds, and do not often make an effort to track
these resources. Since ICT for development is about more than providing mere access to technologies, the logical conclusion should be to coordinate
the funds and projects implemented by telecommunications and technologies authorities with those managed by the health, education, finance and
defense authorities.
The first task in coordinating usually consists of taking inventory of the funds available to the entire public sector. This is generally not done and not
even the actors and decision makers have a coherent picture about what is done. Double efforts / lack of synergies are the common result.
Lessons learned
Crucial in making any ICT4D effort successful is effective partnership between four key stakeholders:
 Public sector (governments – from developed nations, developing nations, international bodies, and local governments)
 Private sector (companies belonging to members of the target audience, multi-national organizations wishing to expand their markets to the 4 billion people
under US$2/day, pro-poor or social companies)
 Informal sector (NGOs, advocacy groups, think tanks)
 Representation from the target audience
InfoDev has published 6 lessons from an analysis of 17 their pilot programmes (see below). These lessons are backed by a variety of examples as well
as a list of recommendations:
 Lesson 1: Involve target groups in project design and monitoring.

 Lesson 2: When choosing the technology for a poverty intervention project, pay particular attention to infrastructure requirements, local availability, training
requirements, and technical challenges. Simpler technology often produces better results.
 Lesson 3: Existing technologies—particularly the telephone, radio, and television—can often convey information less expensively, in local languages, and to
larger numbers of people than can newer technologies. In some cases, the former can enhance the capacity of the latter.
 Lesson 4: ICT projects that reach out to rural areas might contribute more to the MDGs than projects based in urban areas.
 Lesson 5: Financial sustainability is a challenge for ICT-for-development initiatives.
 Lesson 6: Currently, the main two perspectives coming out of this sector are to emphasize the need for external aid to build infrastructure so that projects
can reach viability, and the need to develop and build on local talent.
A growing perspective in the field is also the need to build projects that are sustainable and scalable, rather than focusing on those which must be
propped up by huge amounts of external funding and cannot survive for long without it. Sustaining the project's scalability is a huge challenge of ICT for
development; how the target user will continue using the platform. ICT4D is not a one-shot implementation but rather it is a complex process to be
undertaken continuously, and the progress of each project evolves around the local education for, and adaptability of, the technology
Also, a number of developing countries have proven their skills in IT (information technology). Using these skills to build on ICT4D projects will tap local
potential and a key indigenous partner in the growth of this sector will be gained. The balance of trade for these nations due to imports in both hardware
and software might be an additional consideration.
Criticisms and challenges
As it has grown in popularity, especially in the international development sector, ICT4D has also come under criticism.
Questions have been raised about whether projects that have been implemented at enormous cost are actually designed to be scalable, or whether
these projects make enough of an impact to produce noticeable change. For example, in Sri Lanka journalist Nalaka Gunawardene argued that
thousands of pilot projects had been seeded without regard to generalisability, scalability, and sustainability, implying that these projects will always
require external funding to continue running and that their impact is limited. This sentiment echoes a 2003 report by the World Bank.
Further criticism of ICT4D concerns the impact of ICTs on traditional cultures and the so-called cultural imperialism which might be spread with ICTs. It
is emphasised that local language content and software seem to be good ways to help soften the impact of ICTs in developing areas.
Many fear of the potential of ICT to seriously widen the Digital Divide and the gap between people with access to the information economy and those
without such access. This issue was brought to the forefront of the international agenda and was heavily discussed in some major international political
meetings such as the G8 meeting in Okinawa, Japan last July, 2000. Anriette Esterhuysen, an advocate for ICT4D and human rights in South Africa,
pointed out that some ICT4D projects often give more emphasis to how ICT can help its beneficiaries economically rather than helping them create a
society where social justice and equal rights prevail. She believes that sustainable development can only be achieved if there are human rights and
people can speak freely.
Another point of criticism against ICT4D is that its projects are in the long term seldom environmentally friendly. Beneficiary communities are often given
the responsibility to dispose of the toxic electronic scrap when an equipment breaks down beyond repair. Since transporting the equipment to a
recycling facility is costly; the equipment is often disposed of improperly, thus contributing to the pollution of the environment.
Elements of successful ICT4D projects in Africa
These are elements that P. Clint Rogers PhD had observed in successful ICT4D Projects in Africa:
• Augment existing economic activity, focus on the strong point and make it even better.
• Increase relevance by involving the end user from the very beginning of the project.
• Build on existing infrastructure (e.g. radio, TV, mobile phones), and/or let the end user see how simple the infrastructure is.
• Think what can an African community has to offer to others, and not what others can offer to an African community.
Ulwazi: sharing digital knowledge
Ulwazi is an example of a successful ICT4D Project in Africa that is run by the eThekwini Public Library in Durban, South Africa. The project uses Web
2.0 technology to enable collaborative building of a database of indigenous knowledge from local communities in the greater Durban area. In this project
English is used alongside Zulu, the local vernacular, in an attempt to preserve and disseminate local history, culture and language. The ultimate goal of
the Ulwazi project is that a "sustainable people-centred, Afro-centric library service will be established using modern ICT technologies". This is an
example of an ICT4D project that facilitates knowledge sharing, collaboration and the preservation of cultural heritage. In their article "Content
development in an indigenous digital library: A case study in community participation" Elizabeth Greyling and Sipho Zulu noted some of the benefits of
the Ulwazi project to the community:
• Digital content with relevance to local communities becomes available on the internet.
• ICT skills are transferred to local communities.

• Local communities re-connect with their cultural heritage.
• African public libraries gain a foothold in the international information society of the 21st century.
Technology
ICT4D projects typically try to employ low-cost, low-powered technology that can be sustainable in developing environment. The challenge is large,
since it is estimated that 40 % of the world's population has less than US$ 20 per year available to spend on ICT. In Brazil, the poorest 20% of the
population counts with merely US$9 per year to spend on ICT (US$ 0.75 per month).
From Latin America it is known that the borderline between ICT as a necessity good and ICT as a luxury good is roughly around the “magical number”
of US$10 per person per month, or US$120 per year. This is the cost ICT people seem to strive for and therefore is generally accepted as a minimum.
In light of this reality, telecentre, desktop virtualization and multiseat configurations currently seem the most simple and common paths to affordable
computing.
ICT4D projects need to be properly monitored and implemented, as the system's design and user interface should be suitable to the target users.
ICT4D projects installed without proper coordination with its beneficiary community have a tendency to fall short of the main objectives. For example, in
the usage of ICT4D projects in those farming sectors where a majority of the population are considered to be technologically illiterate, projects lie idle
and sometimes get damaged or allowed to become obsolete.
Further, there should be a line of communication between the project coordinator and the user for immediate response to the query of, or the difficulty
encountered by, the user. Addressing properly the problem will help encourage the user via interactivity and participation.
Peer to peer dialogs facilitated by Cisco’s groundbreaking Telepresence technology is now being used connecting 10 centers around the world, to
discuss the best practices on the use of ICT in urban service delivery.
Also another innovation is a standard suite of city indicators that enabled mayors & citizens to monitor the performance of their city with others, this is
important to have consistent & comparable city-level data.
The Open Risk Data Initiative (OpenRDI) aims to encourage and facilitate countries to open their climate and disaster risk data to enable more effective
decision-making by providing the rationale, technical assistance, and tools for data sharing.
Artificial intelligence for development
Insightful applications of machine learning, reasoning, planning, and perception have the potential to bring great value to disadvantaged populations in a
wide array of areas, including healthcare, education, transportation, agriculture, and commerce. As an example, learning and reasoning can extend
medical care to remote regions through automated diagnosis and effective triaging of limited medical expertise and transportation resources. Machine
intelligence may one day assist with detecting, monitoring, and responding to natural, epidemiological, or political disruptions. Methods developed within
the artificial intelligence community may even help to unearth causal influences within large-scale programs, so we can better understand how to design
more effective health and education systems. And ideas and tools created at the intersection of artificial intelligence and electronic commerce may
provide new directions for enhancing and extending novel economic concepts like micro-finance and micro-work.
Machine learning holds particular promise for helping populations in developing regions. Unprecedented quantities of data are being generated in the
developing world on human health, commerce, communications, and migration. Automated learning methods developed within the AI community can
help to tease out insights from this data on the nature and dynamics of social relationships, financial connections and transactions, patterns of human
mobility, the dissemination of disease, and such urgent challenges as the needs of populations in the face of crises. Models and systems that leverage
such data might one day guide public policy, shape the construction of responses to crises, and help to formulate effective long-term interventions.
Machine intelligence has been pursued before in projects within the broader Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT-D)
community. These and other ICT-D efforts have already led to valuable ideas, insights, and systems. AI-D stimulates a larger focus on opportunities to
harness machine learning, reasoning, and perception to enhance the quality of life within disadvantaged populations.
Mobile telephony
Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants growth in developed and developing world between 1997 and 2007
The use of mobile phones as part of ICT4D initiatives has proven to be a success as the rapid distribution of mobile telephony has made it possible for
poor people to have easy access to useful and interactive information. For instance, in India the total number of mobile phone subscriptions reached
851.70 million in June 2011 among which 289.57 million came from rural areas with higher percentage of increase than urban. The unexpected growth
of affordability and coverage of mobile telephony services has increased its importance not just as a means of two way communication but that of ease-
of-access to information as well.
Mobile phones are now also capable of so much more than the exchange of information between two people through calling or text messaging.
Advanced models of mobile phones could also take photos, record video, receive radio frequencies to tune in to local AM/FM stations, share and
receive multimedia and even connect to the Internet and almost all of the features that come with being connected onto the World Wide Web. All these
features makes up for an even better device to aid in ICT4D projects.
According to a study conducted in Tanzania, the use of mobile phones has impacted rural living in various ways which include:
 Entrepreneurship and Job Search
Mobile phones reduce the cost of running a business and, in some cases, the technology could even enable a user to start one. A good example of this
would be the case of the many women in Pakistan who have been able to start small businesses offering beauty and hairdressing services, without having to
shell out money for setting up a beauty salons. Clients could easily contact them via their mobile numbers to set up an appointment and enjoy their services.
 Easy Access to Information
Mobile phones enables users to access valuable information such as prices, arbitrage and market or trade opportunities which could better prepare them for
future business transactions. Mobile telephony has empowered farmers and fishermen to realize their potential as businesspeople as they directly engage in
bargaining processes with their customers. On the buyer's side of the spectrum, buyers could also use their mobile phones to find out where the best quality
and well-price products are in the market.
 Market Inefficiencies
The use of mobile phones can also correct market inefficiencies therefore, regaining the balance in the supply market. The information and services that
could be available through mobile phones would prevent exploitation by middlemen or traders, provide employment opportunities (particularly for rural
women), reduce information gaps, save cost and time, and strengthen access of service providers to rural people. Community-relevant information regarding
education, emergency, situations, markets, weather, etc. could also be shared to empower women economically.
 Transport Substitution
The improvement in the information flows between the buyers and sellers make for a more effective bartering of information without traveling. This is
particularly significant in rural areas where traders need to travel to urban areas simply to check for demand and negotiate prices. Mobile phones eliminate
the need for middle men and journeys as traders could make sure that demand for their products exists even before leaving their rural homes.
 Disaster Relief
In cases of severe drought, floods, wars or weak economies, mobile phones could be used not just for enhancing business opportunities but also in keeping
in touch with one's home community. Mobile operators have also proven to be incredibly helpful in disaster relief efforts by providing emergency-related
communications infrastructure.
 Education and Health
Mobile services are being used to spread locally-generated and locally-relevant educational and health information.
 Social Capital and Social Cohesion
Mobile services enable participants to act together more efficiently to pursue shared objectives by promoting cooperation among social networks.
Esoko
Esoko is a successful ICT4D initiative which uses mobile phones to give farmers and their businesses the opportunity to share and receive information
quickly, affordably and efficiently. Founded in Accra, Ghana by a young and energetic team, the service provides information on prices, trades,
transports, contacts, projects and real-time updates on stock, harvests, etc. Esoko believes that being better-informed is a key factor in how markets
operate so they try to both push data out to the fields as well as pull data in from the field.
Esoko features a hosted application that is maintained and organized by their own team. This means that farmers need not acquire special software or
hardware to gain access to information. They simply need to log onto the Internet or request for the information via SMS from any phone in any country.
Over time, as the user sets their own set of networks and contacts on the platform, enabling them to choose the specific applications that could help
them the most which they would receive via simple SMS alerts.
Support and training to anyone who wants to better comprehend a sustainable and successful Market Information System are also available.
Notable events
Charging mobile phone from car battery in Uganda
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
A major event for ICT4D was the twin World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) - lead organisation was the International Telecommunications
Union (ITU). The first part of WSIS took place in Geneva, Switzerland in December 2003 (with a large ICT4D exhibition and an ICT4D symposium co-
ordinated by infoDev). The second part of WSIS took place in Tunis, Tunisia, in November 2005. One of its chief aims of the WSIS process was to seek
solutions to help bridge the so-called "digital divide" separating rich countries from poor countries by spreading access to the Internet in the developing
world.
Perspectives on the WSIS are available elsewhere on Wikipedia, and this covers links to civil society, Tunis 2005, US priorities at WSIS, media
responses, Tunis conference developments, roles for business and government, digital divide issues, the digital divide and the digital dilemma, common
ground, a civil society study on WSIS, and external links.
80
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Stocktaking
WSIS Stocktaking is a publicly accessible database of ICT-related implementation activities, initiated during the Tunis phase of WSIS. WSIS
Stocktaking Database has become an effective tool for the exchange of information on the projects in relation to the implementation of the 11 Action
Lines. Many of entries reflect more than one flagship initiative and project carried out by the WSIS stakeholders. ECOSOC Resolution 2010/2 on
“Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society” reiterated
the importance of maintaining a process for coordinating the multi-stakeholder implementation of WSIS outcomes through effective tools, with the goal
of exchanging of information among WSIS Action Line Facilitators; identification of issues that need improvements; and discussion of the modalities of
reporting the overall implementation process. The resolution encourages all WSIS stakeholders to continue to contribute information to the WSIS
Stocktaking database (www.wsis.org/stocktaking).
81

Content Reading For It

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Content Reading For It

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

LESSON 1

TOPIC SENTENCE, TOPIC AND CONTROLLING IDEA

It seems that everything today is controlled by computers.

Important information technology in today’s world

History of information technology progress

Function of IT specialist and managers to maintaining systems and system data

D. EXERCISE 3: VOCABULARY BUILDERS

1. was coined (V) a equal (adj) 1.f

2. inception (N) b swiftly (adv) 2.g

3. a computer network (N) c secret code (N) 3.h

4 a helpdesk assistance (N) d an organized or established 4.i

5. a system data (N) e a collection of computer 5.d

7. password (N) g beginning (N) 7.c

8. vocational degree (N) h a collection of hardware 8.j

9. equivalent (adj) i a desk equipped with a 9.a

10. rapidly (adv) j professional degree (N) 10.b

Technological capacity and growth

3. cloud computing (N) c combination (N) 3.

4. knowledgebases (N) d the delivery of computing as a 4.

7. data management (N) g special kinds of database for 7.

9. per capita (adj) i the application of computer 9.

Some of the dangers of ICTs include c yber-bullying, p hishing as well as

masquerading. Trends and new concepts in the ICT roadway

B. EXERCISE 1: TOPIC SENTENCE

D. EXERCISE 3: VOCABULARY BUILDERS

1. abbreviated (adj) a observation (N) 1.

2. middleware (N) b equipments (N) 2.

3. to manipulate (V) c to profit (V) 3.

4 monitoring (N) d shortened (adj) 4

5. convergence (N) e a way of attempting to acquire 5.

7. phishing (N) g to control (V) 7.

8. an overarching term (N) h computer software that provides 8.

9. devices (N) i the use of information and 9.

10. to benefit (V) j merging (N) 10.

A. EXERCISE 1: ANSWERING QUESTIONS WITH W-H

3. How do computers operate?

4. What is application software?

D. EXERCISE 3: VOCABULARY BUILDERS

1. executing (V) a changing (N) 1.

2. altering (N) b a worksheet (N) 2.

3. analogy (N) c distinct (adj) 3.

4 harnessed (adj) d carrying out (V) 4

5. a spreadsheet (N) e model (N) 5.

6. discrete f equivalence (N) 6.

8. to tailor (V) h connected (adj) 8.

9. simulation (N) i to fit (N) 9.

10. indistinguishable (adj) j part (N) 10.

E. EXERCISE 4: THE USAGE OF W-H QUESTION WORDS

1. What a Asking process 1.

2. Who b Asking person(s) as an object 2.

3. Where c Asking reason 3.

4 When d Asking thing(s) 4

5. Why e Asking possession 5.

7. Whom g Asking option 7.

8. Whose h Asking place 8.

9. How i Asking time 9.

A. EXERCISE 1: ANSWERING IMPERATIVE QUESTIONS.

1. Mention the characteristics of the information age..

3. Explain how the Internet truly became a global network.

4. Explain the progression of information transmission.

B. EXERCISE 2: VOCABULARY BUILDERS

1. industrial revolution (N) a the creation of ever-smaller 1.

2. information society (N) b the process of contracting a 2.