The Information Age - Lecture notes 6

Sources:
• https //laedc. org/2016/07/22/la-times-socal-aerospace-industry-poised-grow/
• https //theppcspecialists, com/technology-acceptance-model/
• https .//www.surveycre st com/blog/infoimation-age-precursor-to-infrastructure-age/
• https://techweet.com/in-the-infoimalion-age-we-must-specialize-to-survive.html
Week Covered: Week 7
Lesson Objectives: At the end of this module, the students are expected to:
1. define Information Age;
2. discuss the history of Information Age; and

3. understand the factors that need to be considered in checking website sources.

Week 7
ACTIVITY NO.1
SEARCH, SEARCH! Using your web browser, search the following items.
1. Highest mountain in the Philippines _____________________
2. Largest Province in the Philippines _____________________
3. Biggest Flower in the Philippines _____________________
4. 2020 Human Population in the Philippines _____________________
5. Longest Beach in the Philippines _____________________

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 6. Father of Information Age __________________________
7. Sexiest woman in PH in year 2011 __________________________
8. Highest Paying Job in PH in 2020 __________________________
9. Most Famous Tiktoker as of today __________________________
10. Most Followed person on Instagram __________________________
Based on your searching, what are the advantages of using internet browser in retrieving
information?

ACTIVITY NO.2
WATCH and LEARN! Retrieve this video by accessing the given link below and answer the
succeeding questions.
Guide Questions:
Information Age 1. Based on the video, Information Age is
otherwise known as

2. What are the advantages of Information

Age cited in the video?

3. What about the disadvantages?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57X49fmC0qg&t=19s

• Our society is best described nowadays as highly modernized, automated, data-driven, and
technologically advanced because of how information can be retrieved, shared, and stored in
just one click for a matter of seconds.

• The different components of society have been influenced greatly such as communication,
economics, industry, health, and the environment. Despite our gains due to the growing
development of information technology, the rapid upgrade of information also has
disadvantages.

• Life is accompanied by endless transmission of information that takes place within and
outside the human body. According to Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary, information is
“knowledge communicated or obtained concerning a specific fact or circumstance.” Hence,
information is a very important tool for survival.

• The Information Age is defined as a “period starting in the last quarter of the 20th century when
information became effortlessly accessible through publications and through the

[Lawsin, N. (2020). Science, Technology, and Society. Instructional Material for Dissertation, Improving STS
Teaching Practice Through Transversal Competencies Towards Seamless Blended Digital Learning] 69
 management of information by computers and computer networks” (V ocabulary.com, n.d.).

• The means of conveying symbolic information (e.g. writing, math, other codes) among
humans has evolved with increasing speed. The Information Age because it was associated
with the development of computers.

• According to James R. Messenger who proposed the theory of Information Age in 1982, “the
Information Age is a true new age based upon the interconnection of computers via
telecommunications, with these information systems operating on both a real-time and as-
needed basis. Furthermore, the primary factors driving this new age forward are convenience
and user-friendliness which, in turn, will create user dependence.”

History

The table below traces the history and emergence of the Information Age (United States
American History, 2016)

Table 1. Timeline of the Information Age

Year Event

3000 BC Sumerian writing system used pictographs to represent words

2900 BC Beginnings of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing

1300 BC Tortoise shell and oracle bone writing were used

500 BC Papyrus roll was used

220 BC Chinese small seal writing was developed

100 AD Book (parchment codex)

105 AD Woodblock printing and paper was invented by the Chinese

1455
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press using movable metal type

1755 Samuel Johnson’s dictionary standardized English spelling

1802 The Library of Congress was established Invention of the carbon arc lamp

1824 Research on persistence of vision published

1830s
First viable design for a digital computer
Augusta Lady Byron wrote the world’s first computer program

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1837 Invention of the telegraph in Great Britain and the United States

Motion pictures were projected onto a screen

1861
1876 Dewey decimal system was introduced

1877 Eadweard Muybridge demonstrated high-speed photography

1899 First magnetic recordings were released

1902 Motion picture special effects were used

1906 Lee DeForest invented the electronic amplifying tube (triode)

1923 Television camera tube was invented by Zvorkyn

1926 First practical sound movie

1939 Regularly scheduled television broadcasting began in the US

1940s Beginnings of information science as a discipline

1945 Vannevar Bush foresaw the invention of hypertext

1946 ENIAC computer was developed

1948 Birth of field-of-information theory proposed by Claude E. Shannon

1957 Planar transistor was developed by Jean Hoerni

1958 First integrated circuit

1960s Library of Congress developed LC MARC (machine-readable code)

1969
UNIX operating system was developed, which could handle multitasking

1971 Intel introduced the first microprocessor chip

1972 Optical laserdisc was developed by Philips and MCA

1974 MCA and Philips agreed on a standard videodisc encoding format

1975
Altair Microcomputer Kit was released: first personal computer for the
public

1977 RadioShack introduced the first complete personal computer

1984 Apple Macintosh computer was introduced

Mid 1980s Artificial intelligence was separated from information science

Downloaded by Made! Coyoca ([email protected])

1987 Hypercard was developed by Bill Atkinson recipe box metaphor
1991
Four hundred fifty complete works of literature on one CD-ROM was
released

January RSA (encryption and network security software) Internet security code
1997 cracked for a 48-bit number

• As man evolved, information and its dissemination has also evolved in many ways.
Eventually, we no longer kept them to ourselves; instead, we share them and manage them in
different means.
• Information got ahead of us. It started to grow at a rate we were unprepared to handle.
Because of the abundance of information, was difficult to collect and manage them starting in
the 1960s and 1970s.
• During the 1980s, Richard Wurman termed the “information Anxiety.” In the 1990s,
information became the currency in the business world. Information was the preferred
medium of exchange and the information managers served as information officers.
• In the present generation, there is no doubt that information has turned out to be a commodity,
an overdeveloped product, mass-produced, and unspecialized. Soon, we become overloaded
with it.

• Different authors have diverse, contrasting ideas on the evolution of the Information Age. In
spite of this, we can still say that information is a very important tool that helps improve our
way of life. One thing's for sure, the Information Age will continue to move forward and far
greater than our minds could imagine.
• In the article of Robert Harris, "Truths of the Information Age" (n.d.), detailed some facts on
the Information Age.
1. Information must compete. There is a need for information to stand out and be recognized in
the increasing clutter.
2. Newer is equated with truer. We forgot the truth that any fact or value can endure.
3. Selection is a viewpoint. Choose multiple sources for your information if you want to receive
a more balanced view of reality.
4. The media sells what the culture buys. In other words, information is driven by cultural
priorities.
5. The early worm gets the perm. The first media channel to expose an issue often defines the
context, terms, and attitudes surrounding it.
6. You are what you eat and so is your brain. Do not draw conclusions unless all ideas and
information are presented to you.
7. Anything in great demand will be counterfeited. The demand for incredible knowledge,
scandals, and secrets is ever-present; hence, many events are fabricated by tabloids,
publicists, or other agents of information fraud.

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 8. Ideas are seen as controversial. It is almost certainly impossible to make any assertion
that will not find some supporters and some detractors.
9. Undead information walks ever on. Rumors, lies, disinformation, and gossips never truly
die down. They persist and continue to circulate.
10. Media presence creates the story. People behave much differently from the way they
would if being filmed when the media are present, especially film news or television
media.
11. The medium selects the message. Television is mainly pictorial, partially aural, and
slightly textual, so visual stories are emphasized: fires, chases, and disasters.
12. The whole truth is a pursuit. The information that reaches us is usually selected,
verbally charged, filtered, slanted, and sometimes, fabricated. What is neglected is often
even more important than what is included.
Computer
Computers are among the most important contributions of advances in the Information Age
to society. A computer is an electronic device that stores and processes data
(information). It runs on a program that contains the exact, step-by-step directions to
solve a problem USHistory.org. (2017).
Types of Computer

Computers are associated with numerous terms and descriptions. Most people suggest the
dimensions, intended use, or the computer's power. While the term "computer" can apply
to virtually any device that has a microprocessor in it, most people think of a computer as
a device that receives input from the user through a mouse (hand-guided directions tool)
or keyboard, processes it in some fashion, and presents the result on a screen.

1. Personal Computer (PC)

• It is a single-user instrument. PCs were first known as
microcomputers since they were a complete computer but built on
a smaller scale than the enormous systems operated by most
businesses.
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2. Desktop Computer
• It is described as a PC that is not designed for portability.
The assumption with a desktop is that it will be set up in a
permanent spot. A workstation is simply a desktop computer
that has a more powerful processor, additional memory, and
enhanced capabilities for performing special group of tasks,
such as 3D graphics or game development.

• Most desktops offer more storage, power, and versatility than their portable versions
(UShistory.org, 2017).
https://nanat1997. weeblv. coin/types-of-coinDuter.htinl
3. Laptops
• These are portable computers that integrate the essentials of a
desktop computer in a battery-powered package, which are
somewhat larger than a typical hardcover book. They are
commonly called notebooks.
https ://nanat1997. weeblv. coin/tvDes-of-computer.htinl

4. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)

• These are tightly integrated computers that usually have no keyboards but
rely on a touch screen for user input. PDAs are typically smaller than a
paperback, lightweight, and battery powered (UShistory.org, 2017).
http://itsolutiontest. blogspot. com/2015/10/personal-digtal-assistant-pda.html

5. Server
• It refers to a computer that has been improved to provide network services to other computers.
Servers usually boast powerful processors, tons of memory, and large hard drives (UShistory.org,
2017).

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/439030663652988961/ http://atozhardware.
blogspot. com/2012/02/facts-and-myths-servers.html

6. Mainframes
• These are huge computer systems that can fill an entire room. They are used especially by
large firms to describe the large, expensive machines that process millions of transactions every
day.
• The term "mainframe" has been replaced by enterprise server. Although some supercomputers
are single computer systems, most comprise multiple, high-performance, parallel computers
working as a single system (UShistory.org, 2017).

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 https://igcseicttan. wordpress. com/1 -1-type-of-computers/

7. Wearable Computers
• They involve materials that are usually integrated into cell phones, watches, and other small
objects or places. They perform common computer applications such as databases. email,
multimedia, and schedulers (UShistory.org, 2017).

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/the-time-for-wearable-computers-has-finaIly-airived

The World Wide Web (Internet)

• Several historians trace the origin of the Internet to Claude E. Shannon, an American
Mathematician who was considered as the "Father of Information Theory." He worked at Bell
Laboratories and at age 32, he published a paper proposing that information can be quantitatively
encoded as a sequence of ones and zeroes.
• The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected networks that facilitate data
transmission among innumerable computers. It was developed during the 1970s by the
Department of Defense.

• In case of an attack, military advisers suggested the advantage of being able to operate on
one computer from another terminal. In the early days. the Internet was used mainly by
scientists to communicate with other scientists. The Internet remained under government
control until 1984 (Rouse, 2014).

• One early problem faced by Internet users was speed. Phone lines could only transmit
information at a limited rate.

• The development of fiber optic cables allowed for billions of bits of information to be
received every minute.

• Companies like Intel developed faster microprocessors so personal computers could

process the incoming signals at a more rapid rate (UShistory.org, 2017).

• Back then, new forms of communication were also introduced

Electronic mail, or email. It was a suitable way to send a
message to fellow workers, business partners, or friends.
Messages could be sent and received at the convenience of the
individual. A letter that took several days to arrive could be read
in minutes.

https://www.staceyeburke.com/blog/the-top-10-reasons-email-signatures-have-issues/ http://www. youtube.

com/watchPv=ta YRBBpk8yk
https://neurogadget.net/2016/11/11/gmail-vs-yahoo-mail-features-improvements-comparison/45947

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 • Internet service providers like America Online and CompuServe set up electronic chat
rooms. These were open areas of cyberspace where interested parties could join in a
conversation with perfect strangers. "Surfing the net" became a pastime in and of itself
(UShistory.org, 2017).

• Consequently, companies whose businesses are built on digitized information have become
valuable and powerful in a relatively short period of time, the current Information Age
has spawned its own breed of wealthy influential brokers, from Microsoft's Bill Gates to
Apple's Steve Jobs to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.

https ://www. businessinsider. com/how-googe-apple-facebook-amazon-microsoft-make-money-chart-2017-5

https://buzz.money.cnn.com/2013/08/29/google-stock-underperform/
• Critics charged that the Internet created a technological divide that increased the gap between
the members of the higher class and lower class of society. Those who could not afford a
computer or a monthly access fee were denied these possibilities. Many decried the
impersonal nature of electronic communication compared to a telephone call or a
handwritten letter.

https://medium.com/meltmedia-blog/education-in-technology-the-digital-divide-f294c4f6f812

• On one hand, the unregulated and loose nature of the Internet

allowed pornography to be broadcast to millions of homes.
Protecting children from these influences or even from meeting
violent predators would prove to be difficult.
• Nowadays, crimes in various forms are rampant because of
the use of social media. Cyberbullying is an issue that poses
alarm worldwide. Consequently, we need to be aware of the

possible harm and damage due to abuse of these advances in the Information Age.

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Applications of Computers in Science and Research

• One of the significant applications of computers for science and research is evident in the field
of bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is the application of information technology to store,
organize, and analyze vast amount of biological data which is available in the form of
sequences and structures of proteins--the building blocks of organisms and nucleic acids--
the information carrier (Madan, n.d.).

https://blog.f1000. com/2017/02/01/H000prime-f1000priine-faculty-launch-bioinformatics-biomedical-
informatics-computational-biology/?platfonn=hootsuite

• Early interest in bioinformatics as established because of a need to create databases of

biological sequences. The human brain cannot store all the genetic sequences of organisms
and this huge amount of data can only be stored, analyzed, and be used
efficiently with the use of computers.

https://phys.org/news/2015-04-online-bioinfonnatics-tool-sig[nfcaiitly-multiple.html

• While the initial databases of protein sequences were maintained at individual laboratories, the
development of a consolidated formal database, known as SWISS-
 PROT protein sequence database, was initiated in 1986. It now has about 70,000 protein
sequences from more than 5,000 model organisms, a small fraction of all known organisms.
(Madan, n.d.).
• Computers and software tools are widely used for generating these databases and to identify
the function of proteins, model the structure of proteins, determine the coding (useful) regions
of nucleic acid sequences, find suitable drug compounds from a large pool, and optimize the
drug development process by predicting possible targets.

• Some of the software tools which are handy in the analysis include: BLAST (used for
comparing sequences): Annotator (an interactive genome analysis tool); and Gene Finder
(tool to identify coding regions and splice sites) (Madan, n.d.).

https//ta verna.incubator. apache, org/introduction/ta verna-in-use/bioinformatics

• The sequence information generated by the human genome research, initiated in 1988, has
now been stored as a primary information source for future applications in medicine. The
available data are so huge that if compiled in books, the data would run into 200 volumes of
1,000 pages each and reading alone (ignoring understanding factor) would require 26 years
working around the clock.
• The much-celebrated complete human genome sequence which was formally announced on
the 26th ofJune 2000 involved more than 500 x 1018 (500 million trillion) calculations during
the process of assembling the sequences alone. This can be considered as the biggest exercise
in the history of computational biology (Madan, n.d.).

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 Moreover, from the pharmaceutical industry’s point of view, bioinformatics is the key to
rational drug discovery. It reduces the number of trials in the screening of drug compounds
and in identifying potential drug targets for a particular disease using high-power computing
workstation and software like Insight.

https://healthunits.coin/news/will-phanmacogenoinics-reach-physicians-clinic-anytime-soon/

• This profound application of

bioinformatics in genome sequence has led
to a new area in pharmacology-
Pharmacogenomics, where potential targets
for drug development are hypothesized
from the genome sequences, Molecular
modeling, which requires a lot of
calculations, has become faster due to the
advances in computer processors and its
architecture (Madan, n.d.).

https://healthunits.com/news/wiIl-pharmacogenomics-reach-physicians-clinic-anytime-soon/

• In plant biotechnology, bioinformatics is found to be useful in the areas of identifying disease

resistance genes and designing plants with high nutrition value (Madan.n.d.).
How to Check the Reliability of Web Sources

• The Internet contains a vast collection of highly valuable information but it may also contain
unreliable, biased information that mislead people. The following guidelines can help us
check the reliability of web sources that we gather. It is noteworthy to consider and apply the
following guidelines to avoid misinformation. (Lee College Library, n.d.)
1. Who is the author of the article/site?
• How to find out?
o Look for an “About” or “More About the Author” link at the top, bottom or sidebar of the
webpage. Some pages will have a corporate author rather than a single person as an author. If
no information about the author(s) of the page is provided, be suspicious. o Does the author
provide his or her credentials?
o What type of expertise does he or she have on the subject he or she is writing about?
o Does he or she indicate what his or her education is? o What type of experience does he or she
have? o Should you trust his or her knowledge of the subject? o Try searching on the Internet
for information about the author. o What kinds of websites are associated with the author’s
name? Is he or she affiliated with any educational institution? o Do commercial sites come
up? Do the websites associated with the author give you any clues to particular biases the
author might have?
2. Who published the site?
• How to find out?
o Look at the domain name of the website that will tell you who is hosting the site. For instance,
the Lee College Library website is: lee.edu” This tells you that the library website is hosted
by Lee College. o Search the domain name at http://www.whois.sc/. The site provides
information about the owners of registered domain names. What is the organization’s main
purpose? Check the organization’s main website, if it has one. Is it educational?
Commercial? Is it a reputable organization? o Do not ignore the suffix on the domain name
(the three-letter part that comes after the “.”). The suffix is usually (but not always)
descriptive of what type of entity hosts the website. Keep in mind that it is possible for sites
to obtain suffixes that are misleading. Here are some examples: .edu= educational .com=
commercial .mil = military .gov = government .org = nonprofit
3. What is the main purpose of the site? Why did the author write it and why did the publisher
post it?

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 • To sell a product? • To provide general information on a
• As a personal hobby? topic?
• As public services? • To persuade you of a particular point of
• To further scholarship on a topic? view?

4. Who is the intended audience?

• Scholars or general public?
• Which age group is it written for?
• Is it aimed at people from a particular geographic area?
• Is it aimed at members of a particular profession or with specific training?

5. What is the quality of information provided on the website?

• Timeliness: When was the website first published? Is it regularly updated? Check for dates at
the bottom of each page on the site.
• Does the author cite sources? Just as in print sources, web sources that cite their sources are
considered more reliable.
• What type of other sites does the website link to? Are they reputable sites?
• What types of sites link to the websites you are evaluating? Is the website being cited by
others?

STUDENT’S REFLECTION

1. How can Information Age help to promote sustainable development?

2. How does solution-oriented mindset be cultivated by Information Age?

3. How can Information Age improve your:

3.1. critical and innovative thinking
3.2. interpersonal skills
3.3. intrapersonal skills
3.4. global citizenship
3.5. healthy lifestyle
3.6. media and information literacy

4. How does the Information Age help to promote Science & Technology in the
5. As an individual, how do you confront your social media friend(s) who share(s) fake
news or fake information on social media platforms?

REFERENCES

Bautista, D.H.S, et.al. (2018). Science, Technology, and Society. MaxCor Publishing House Inc.
Quezon City, Philippines
Harris, R. (n.d.). "Truths of the Information Age." Accessed February 26, 2017.
http://www.virtualsalt.com/infotrue .htm.
Illinois Valley Community College. (n.d.). "List ofuseful and reliable web sources. "Accessed
August 2, 2017. https://www.ivcc.edu/ library.aspx?id=4038.
Lee College Library. (n.d.). "How Can I Tell ifa Website is Reliable?”. Accessed August 2, 2017.
https://www.edb.utexas.edu/petrosino/Legacy Cycle/mf im/Challenge%201/website%
20reliable.pdf.
Madan, M. (n.d.). "Bioinformatics-an aid for biological research. ” Accessed August 2, 2017.
http://www.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/genomes madanm/articles/bioinfo.htm.
Messenger, J. R. (1982). "The Theory of the Information Age. ” Accessed February 26, 2017.
http://www.informationage.org/briefhistory.html.
Rouse, M. (20140. "Information Age ” Accessed February 27, 2017.
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Information-Age.
Serafica, J.P.J, et.al. (2019). Science, Technology, and Society 1s Edition. REX Bookstore, Inc.
Quezon City, Philippines
United States American History. (n.d.). "The Information Age timeline. ” Accessed February 26,
2017. http://u-s-history.com/pages/h3974.htm.
US History.org. (n.d.). "Living in the Information Age.” Accessed February 26, 2017.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/60d.asp.
Vocabulary.com. (n.d.) “Information Age. ” Accessed February 26, 2017.
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/information%20age.

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