Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
THE INFORMATION AGE
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Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
Activating Prior Learning: (share this to class)
a. What are the impacts of social media, its advantages and
disadvantages?
b. What is the difference between social media and traditional media?
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Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
Definition of Information Age
The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, or
New Media Age), is a 21st century period in human history characterized by the
rapid shift from traditional industry that the Industrial revolution brought through
industrialization, to an economy based on information technology. According to
Messenger J.R. (1982) in his theory of information age that 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
an as needed basis. Furthermore, the primary factors driving this new age forward
are convenience and user- friendliness which, in turn, will create user dependence.
The Information Age is the idea that access to and the availability of
information is the defining characteristic of this current era in human civilization.
It is coupled tightly with the advent of personal computers, but many computer
historians trace its beginnings to the work of the American mathematician Claude
E. Shannon. At age 32, as a researcher at Bell Laboratories, Shannon published a
landmark paper proposing that information can be quantitatively encoded as a
series of ones and zeroes. Known as the “Father of Information Theory,” Shannon
showed how all information media, from telephone signals to radio waves, to
television, could be transmitted without error using this single framework.
By the 1970s, with the development of the Internet by the United States
Department of Defense, and the subsequent adoption of personal computers a
decade later, the Information or Digital Revolution was underway. More
technological changes, such as the development of fiber optic cables and
microprocessors, accelerated the transmission and processing of information. The
Worldwide Web, used initially by companies as an electronic billboard for their
products and services, morphed into an interactive consumer exchange for goods
and information. Electronic mail (email), which permitted near instant exchange of
information, was widely adopted as the primary platform for workplace and
personal communications.
The digitization of information has had a profound impact on traditional
media businesses, such as book publishing, the music industry, and more recently,
the major television and cable networks. As information is increasingly described
in digital form, business across many industries has sharpened their focus on how
to capitalize on the Information Age.
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Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
Companies whose businesses are built on digitized information have become
valuable and powerful in a relatively short period of time. Author Larry Acler of
Real Media Group stated that “the companies which define the Information Age
are the ones that know consumers the best.” He points out that just landowners
held the wealth and yielded power in the Agrarian Age, and the manufacturers
such as Henry Ford and Cyrus McCormick accumulated fortunes in the Industrial
Age, the Digital Age spawned its own breed of wealthy, influential brokers, from
Microsoft’s Bill Gates, to Apple’s Steve Jobs, to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
History of Information Technology
Information technology has been around
for a long time, as long as people have been
around, because there were always ways of
communicating through technology available
at that point in time. There are four main ages
that divide the history of information
technology.
1. Pre-mechanical Age
The Pre-mechanical Age is the earliest age of information technology. It can
be defined as the time between 3000 BC and 1450 AD. Early alphabets were
developed, such as the Phoenician alphabet.
As alphabets became more popular, and more people were writing
information down, pens and paper began to be developed. Egyptian scrolls were
popular ways of writing down information. Around 100 A.D., the first numbering
system was created by the people from India. The calculator that was developed as
the very first information processor, was the abacus.
2. Mechanical Age
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Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
The Mechanical Age can be defined as the time between 1450 and 1840. A
lot of technologies were developed in this era, as there is a large explosion of
interest. The slide rule (an analog computer used for multiplying and dividing) was
invented. Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline, which was a very popular
mechanical computer. Charles Babbage developed the different engines which
tabulated polynomial equations using the method of finite differences.
3. Electromechanical Age
The Electromechanical Age can be
defined as the time between 1840 and 1940.
This saw the beginnings of telecommunication.
The telegraph was used in the 1800s. The
Morse code was created by Samuel Morse in
1835. The telephone was created by Alexander
Graham Bell in 1876. The first radio was developed by Guglielmo Marconi in
1894.
The first large-scale automatic digital computer in the United States was the
Mark I, created by Harvard University around 1940. It was 8 feet high, 50 feet
long, 2 feet wide, and weighed 5 tons – huge! It was programmed using punch
cards. It was from this huge machine that people began to look at downsizing all
the parts to first make them usable by businesses and eventually in homes.
Mark I, the first
large scale computer
4. Electronic Age
The Electronic Age is what we are currently
in. It can be defined as the time between 1940 and
now. The ENIAC was the first high-speed digital
computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve
a full range of computer problems. This computer
was designed to be used by the US Army for
artillery firing tables. Also, during this time, high-level programming languages
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Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
were created such as FORTRAN for scientific research, and COBOL for
businesses.
There are four main sections of digital computing:
4.1 The era of vacuum tube punch cards, like the ENIAC and MARK I.
4.2 The second generation replaced the vacuum tubes with transistors.
4.3 The third generation replaced transistors with integrated circuits.
4.4 The fourth and latest generation brought in central processing units
(CPUs). It was in this generation that the personal computer (Apple II), and
the graphical user interface (GUI) were developed.
Impact of Information Technology on Society
Information technology is a comprehensive term that includes all types of
technology used for exchanging, storing, using or creating information. Commonly
used information technology equipment includes computers, servers, peripheral
devices, Internet connectivity and phone systems.
Information technology benefits the business world. It allows organizations
to work more efficiently to maximize productivity. The advantages that IT offers
on enterprises are faster communication, electronic storage, and the protection of
records. Rapid communication can help increase productivity in the business.
Likewise, email servers, routers, internal company billboards and chat services can
serve as the backbone of company communications.
IT equipment are used to send business status reports to executives, to
update employees on critical business projects, and to connect with business
partners and customers, etc. IT has become a way of life; it is all about
communicating in real time. Redundant tasks can be centralized in one location
using IT. A large company could centralize their payroll function to lower
employee cost. Economic efficiencies can be realized by migrating high-cost
functions into an online environment. Companies can offer email support for
customers that may have a lower cost, than a live customer support call.
Cost savings could also be found through outsourcing opportunities, through
remote work options and lower cost communication options. IT systems give us
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Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
remote access to our company’s electronic work, so that we can work at home or
while on the road, increasing productivity.
IT greatly changed our private lives due to increase in the use of computers,
which has resulted to high dependency on IT. This new way of communicating has
removed pro-activeness and thinking ability, though it makes socializing easier.
Information technology has improved our transportation system as it aids
travel from one country to another easier through control of air traffic, online
reservations and bookings.
There is also a negative effect on our health from too much use of
computers. It causes injuries on our hands, eyes and wrists: carpal syndrome, eye
irritation and dryness.
Another negative effect is obesity, coming from too much watching of TV
shows online through the internet.
The use of IT has raised privacy issues as information is easily shared
among people, and this affects both the private and public sectors.
Impact of Information Technology on the Labor Market
In the labor market, there is high demand for technological know-how in
most industries. All activities are carried out using technology, the use of
telephones or the internet to communicate. Technology bridges the gap and
reduces jobs requiring humans in this area. Firms move their businesses and jobs to
countries where they can benefit from low production costs like cheap labor and
raw materials.
Impact of Information Technology on Education
Information technology eases studying through easy access to research
materials and complementing the traditional lecture method in conducting classes.
Information is easily passed from lectures to students through the internet via
email, which simplifies the interaction between student during coursework.
Distance learning through the internet is highly supported with tutorial videos, and
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Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
is used by some prestigious universities to enable people from different
geographical locations obtain a degree, thereby creating a room for expansion in e-
commerce.
Impact of Information Technology on Business and Market Structure
Information technology reduces the geographical distance between the
workplace and home. Many industries, like the software industry, make use of this
to overcome local market competition for engineers in software, by targeting
countries that pay lower wages like in India. Firms can outsource for investment
from other countries with better infrastructures and use information technology
through telecommunications in their marketing processes. IT brings about product
awareness, choice and a more interactive and professional way of marketing
products tailored to consumers’ needs and services, both in the own country of
production and other countries as a marketing strategy.
Advantages of Information Technology in Business
• Increases production and saves time
• Improves communication
• Improves data storage, file management and data reporting/analysis
• Improves financial management
• Cuts costs of operation and increases return-on-investment
• Improves business to customer relationships
• Improves business competitive advantage
• Credit cards and smartcards make payment safer
• Electronic bill presentation and payment
Disadvantages of Information Technology in Business
• Implementation expenses
• Job elimination
• Security breaches
• Internet security issues
• Faulty products and duplication
• Problems with privacy.
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Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
Advantages of Information Technology in Society
• Improved innovation
• Improved entertainment
• Improved social discovery
• Globalization of knowledge
• Improved communication.
Disadvantages of Information Technology in Society
• Cyber sickness
Advantages of Information Technology in Education
• Online education has made educational materials and data accessible
anywhere
• Technology has created new methods of education
Disadvantages of Information Technology in Society
• Over-dependence on Information technology
• Poor quality publications are available online.
Advantages of Information Technology in Banking
• Online banking and convenient payments
• Fast credit
Disadvantages of Information Technology in Banking
• Prone to money laundering.
• Danger of breach of security.
The Positive Effects of Information Technology on Society
• Worldwide learning
• Curiosity and creativity are stimulated
• More connections are made.
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Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
First Semester, A.Y. 2021 – 2022
The Negative Effects of Information Technology on Society
• Isolation.
• Lack of social skills
• Obesity
• Depression
• Poor sleep Habits
• Predation
• Increases bullying (cyber-bullying)
• Lack of Privacy
References:
Javier, M. CONTENT-SCIENCE-TECH-SOCIETY-PhilSCApdf/
Social Media in the Information Age Lesson 2. Uploaded by Jonathan Manigo.
Retrieved from: [Link]
Development of Information Age Lesson 1. Uploaded by Jonathan Manigo.
Retrieved from: [Link]
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