Information Society

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Introduction

Information Society

Our society is being fundamentally changed by information technology. We see it everywhere: business processes rely almost completely on information systems; informal communication among family members occurs through Internet applications, such as email and real-time chat; crime can now occur electronically; and people can "spy" on you through information systems.

The information age has led to the information society. And much like other historical revolutions, our society will be forever altered because of it. For example, after the industrial revolution, we began to mass-produce items in factories that used to be crafted by hand. This change impacted us economically (the economy soared because factories could create cheaper products in a quicker fashion due to the division of labor), societally (factory hours were long and tedious), and politically (laws were passed to regulate the new ways of doing business). The information society is creating many of the same types of changes.

The purpose of this topic is to help you understand the nature and context of the information society, the profound impact information technology is having on individuals and organizations, and the attributes of the modern knowledge worker. As a knowledge worker, you will be confronted with these issues on a daily basis. Understanding how they impact human beings will be critical to your success.

After reading this topic, you should be able to:

Lesson 1: Information Society and Policy

There are very few other times in history when our society has been so impacted by a series of technological innovations. And as evidenced by emerging technologies, we have only seen the beginning of this information revolution. To deal with the challenge of our growing information society and globalization, information policies must be developed, which address such hot issues as privacy, intellectual property rights, and censorship.

After reading this lesson, you should be able to:

Information Technology and Information Systems

Information Technology and Systems

We are surrounded by information technology! But what is Information Technology? Information technology is defined as any technology, including the computer hardware, software, and telecommunications networks that enable the transmission, processing, storage, organization, and retrieval of information for the purpose of understanding, decision making, and action taking. Other types of technology include:

Information systems is defined as the combination of information technology, people, data resources, and other tools and techniques that collect, transform, and disseminate information within an organization. Early information systems did not utilize computers. An example is the library card catalog, still used in some school and community libraries. The hardware includes cabinets and index cards, the software and procedures involve cataloging schema (Dewey-Decimal System), the data is the bibliographic information on library holdings, the people are the librarians and the library patrons.

The most central part of the definition of an information system is that it should "work together to produce meaningful information for individuals and organizations." This statement contains 3 important ideas:

Information systems work together - Early information systems could exist in isolated social contexts. There was no need for exchange of information between systems. Therefore, their design was entirely independent. Today there is an increasing need for connectivity and information exchange between information systems to improve their effectiveness and efficiency.

Information systems produce meaningful information - An information system must add value to the data it contains by supporting individual or organizational decision making.

Information systems exist for people - Information systems were not developed because engineers thought they would be cool. They were developed to support human decision making. Therefore, the success of any information system is defined by its users.

Information systems may be categorized according to their purpose, their scope, or their architecture. They are often distinguished by their users and the information they produce.

Information Society

The information society has been preceded by different stages of human social and economic development, including the:

Agricultural society - an agrarian based economy with most people living and working on the land. Industrial society - since the 19th century many societies have developed an industrial based economy. Information societies are a modern phenomenon that developed with rapid economic growth and technological change as the material wealth of many countries, such as the United States, has exploded.

A society influences the organization and dissemination of information in that society. Information influences the structure and functions of a society.

An information society is characterized by:

Globalization

The economic and production output of societies is increasingly traded internationally. Globalization and international trade and exchange is expanding rapidly due to better interconnections through communication technologies. Multinational organizations and companies that operate in a global environment use information technologies extensively, and are more flexible and fast-moving.

Globalization issues include:

Globalization

The development of the Internet and telecommunications services has created national and global information infrastructures. The digital economy and e-commerce developed with the growth of national and global information infrastructures.

Global Information Infrastructure (GII) is the seamless web of interactive communications deployed at a worldwide level to provide an infrastructure for new services and activities based on the strategic use of all types of information. (OECD Report - Global Information Infrastructure - Global Information Society (GII-GIS), May 1996.)

National Information Infrastructure is the set of agreed rules, standards, procedures, guidelines, and incentives for collecting, updating, exchanging, and using information, building upon, and where necessary supplementing, existing national information societies.

Globalization of Information - the Digital Divide

The globalization of information flow via the Internet is providing more information to more people. Despite the increasing amount of information available internationally, a digital divide exists between the rich and poor, and developing and developed nations.

In the United States the percentage of school classrooms wired for Internet access increased from 3% in 1994 to 50% by 1999. However, despite the growth of the Web and e-commerce, many minority and socially disadvantaged groups in the United States are not connected to the Internet.

Information Policy

Information policy is the formal and informal procedures, laws, practices, and rules that affect the flow of information in a society. Information policies create rules that govern the information life cycle, including the collection, organization, dissemination, repackaging, and destruction of information.

Information policies are important because:

Information policy issues include many difficult issues related to information flow within a society. These issues are discussed below.

Literacy - In an information society, information and computer literacy are key issues. What constitutes an adequate literacy level for citizens in an information society and how should governments promote population literacy?

Government information dissemination - What are the obligations and limitations on the dissemination of government information? Should government information be freely available and how should it be disseminated?

Privacy- This includes the issue of protections for personal information such as financial or medical data. Many protections ensure that personal medical information is only disseminated with the consent of the patient or information rights holder. For example, the United States Federal privacy laws include the Privacy Act of 1974, Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, and the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act of 1982.

Intellectual Property rights - This includes the intellectual property and financial right protection for authors, including copyright, patents, and trademarks. This issue is important in an age when electronic copying and music services similar to Napster are prevalent.

Freedom of information - This includes the issues of public access rights to government information and the need to preserve and manage information. Federal and state laws guarantee the public right to access most government information under the United State Freedom of Information Act of 1968.

Censorship - Key issues include the policies related to the governments' right to censor personal and organizational information flows, e.g., movie ratings and control of obscene or pornographic materials.

Ethical issues - In an information society, what are the responsibilities of citizens in the protection and dissemination of information?

Access to Information and Communication Technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) allow people to exchange information electronically. Access to ICTs, such as telephones, cable television, Internet, and wireless services provide significant benefits to individuals and organizations. However, many low income people are not able to access and use ICTs.

Lesson Wrap-Up

The information society is characterized by the technology and scientific driven economy and is predicted to maintain consistent growth in the future. Keeping information policies up to date with new technologies will continue to be a challenge for information policy makers.

Now that you have completed this lesson, you should be able to:

Lesson 2: Societal Changes and IT

Years could be spent learning about how society has been changed (so far) by information technologies. Unfortunately, due to the lightning-speed pace at which we continue to change, it is difficult to look at the societal implications with a great deal of perspective. We are in the midst of it all. As with any historical change, however, it is important that we begin to attempt to see the impact of innovation upon us as a society.

After reading this lesson, you should be able to:

Impact of IT on Quality of Life

Impact on quality of life

What is quality of life? It is a term that is thrown around a lot, but what do we mean by it? Essentially it refers to the amount of emotional satisfaction that someone has with his/her surroundings. It does not necessarily correspond to financial satisfaction. For example, someone might say that a small town has a better quality of life because you can get out and take a walk in the fresh air, or because you do not have to commute on congested highways into a city. These people might make less money because they live in a small town with less opportunity, but they are happier overall. So, how does this relate to information technology?

Information technologies have the ability to impact our quality of life in many ways. However, many of these impacts are "double-edged swords" and can be debated at length.

Access and Mobility

Information technology can connect us to virtually anyone or anywhere. Businesses are connected to suppliers through massive networks and information systems; employees can be connected to these networks from home; friends can be connected or reconnected for socializing. In short, we have never been more able to gather information, communicate with people, and do our jobs from remote locations. We do not have to go to the library to find a journal article; we can simply use our computer and network connection to access the library remotely and download and print an article.

This access can make us more or less mobile (depending on what we want) and could very positively impact our quality of life. We may not have to battle traffic to get to the office; we could simply turn on our computer in our home office and get our job done. Alternatively, we can use this access to be more mobile and take advantage of our laptop and modem and dial into the office while on vacation.

Impact of IT on Quality of Life: Access and Mobility

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Yes, this type of access and mobility that allows working from home can drastically improve quality of life. Consider the professionals who decide to have a family. They can be at home to monitor their children and still stay involved in their jobs. It can be very refreshing to not have to get up at 5:00 AM and get everyone out the door to work and daycare.

Mobility

There are other issues to consider with all of this increased access, however. Our society (specifically, the United States) works more than ever today. Working from home can create a situation where there are no clear boundaries between work and home and many more than eight hours a day are spent on the job. In addition, being connected to your email and cellular phone while on vacation (while good if you need to deal with important business) can greatly reduce the amount of relaxation that you actually indulge in.

Impact of IT on Quality of Life: Task Length and Efficiency

It seems obvious that computers have a vast potential to decrease the amount of time it takes to perform redundant tasks. Consider how long it might have taken to type a twenty-page paper before the advent of word processing. Days could be spent typing, correcting, and revising and retyping. Now, we simply use our word processors to type a paper, and corrections and revisions are as simple as highlighting the text for revision and retyping that section. No longer do we have to retype entire pages for one simple correction! Businesses have also obviously used information technology to streamline the majority of their processes. There is tremendous potential to save time because of technology. Time savings at work should equate to a less stressful day, and better quality of life. Shouldn't it?

Not necessarily so. As we talked about previously, Americans are working longer days with less vacation than ever before. So, what happened to all of this time we are saving? That is hard to say. But, one can guess that time savings due to technology might be balanced out by time loss due to technology failure and upkeep. Others might guess that with increased technology access at work (the Internet, DVD drives in workstations, and MP3 music), we have found a lot more ways to "goof off" at work. In fact, most research has not clearly demonstrated that we are a more efficient work force because of information technology.

Solutions Scenario

Most Americans work 40-hour work weeks on average, but despite all the productivity-enhancing wonders of our Silicon Valley-centric age, Europe seems to have seized the high ground for the smart and relaxed future.

Impact of IT on Quality of Life: Improving Intellectual Skills through IT Access

Quality of life also has a lot to do with intellectual satisfaction. If you are interested in furthering your education and you live in a remote town with no colleges or universities in the area, you may not be very satisfied with your life. However, with new information technologies such as the Internet and World Wide Web, education can be as close as your home computer. Education can be obtained informally through the bevy of informational and instructional Web sites, or formally through the many degree-granting institutions that provide online instruction. The fact that you are working through this material online means that you are part of this revolution!

There is a tremendous convenience factor for online students. In addition, multimedia elements allow content to "come alive" in a way that might be hard to accomplish otherwise (even in the classroom). For example, in this course, you have probably seen multimedia simulations, graphics, or videos that enhance your learning.

Once again, however, there is a debate brewing about this access. With schools and universities increasingly relying on information technologies, our society is faced with a "digital divide" that separates those that can utilize technology for education and those who cannot. For example, school districts that do not have adequate funding cannot provide these rich resources to their students on outdated or nonexistent computers. And students that live in that small, remote town who do not have an up-to-date computer cannot take advantage of online degree programs. What happens to those on the other side of the digital divide? What happens to their quality of life?

The Impact of IT on Social Relationships

Think for a moment about how information technologies impact your social relationships. How much do you use email now? How much did you use it five years ago? How long has it been since you have written a letter with paper and pen? Undoubtedly, you can see vast changes in the way our society conducts its social relationships. Many more traditional forms of communication, such as phone calls, letter writing, and knocking on your coworker's office door and carrying on a conversation, have been replaced by electronic communication facilitated by information technologies. Email, chat, bulletin boards, instant messenger services, and listservs all are greatly impacting the way we communicate.

And as with many of the impacts we have discussed, there are definitely two arguments in this discussion. This use of information technology has given us the ability to communicate with people we might not normally be able to. Everyone has a story about someone they have come in contact with through email that they might have completely lost contact with otherwise. People are finding new friends, potential love interests, and keeping up contact with old friends online.

However (you knew that was coming), there are many social discussions that stem from these trends. It can be argued that we are losing our ability to have face-to-face discussions with people. Our heavy reliance on these new forms of communication may be altering the way we relate, talk, and correspond with people. Many argue that although we are more connected than ever, we are becoming physically isolated from other human beings.

The Role of IT in Government and Politics

There are many new "buzz words" being thrown around because of recent technological innovations. E-commerce, e-tailing, and e-government are a few that represent that transition to an "e-world." Specifically, however, the role of IT in government and politics promises to change many aspects of our lives. Although not as glamorous as e-commerce and entertainment, governmental and political shifts due to technology may impact you in ways that you have not thought about.

Many new services are being tested out and planned for e-governments across the country. On the most simplistic level, the World Wide Web is and will continue to become a major resource for all government-related information. Although government is generally a little slower to catch on, most federal and state agencies are beginning to embrace the Web for internal and external information dissemination (e.g., I wonder what time the DMV opens), forms distribution (e.g., I need to renew my drivers license), information requests (e.g. I need a copy of my birth certificate), and information submission (e.g., I need to file my federal taxes). These types of services could greatly streamline processes that are oftentimes overly complicated and inconvenient to accomplish.

eGovernment

As part of this information dissemination role, governments and political figures will need to utilize information technologies during election periods. This will impact governments and citizens alike. For example, political candidates ultimately will conduct campaigns as much on the Internet as they do on television and radio. Most voters will utilize the Internet to collect information on candidates and make voting decisions. Because of this, the next logical step is to allow people to vote online. Voter turnout rates are very poor in this country and the ability to cast your vote online may be very attractive to people. For example, Arizona's Democratic Party made history in March of 2000 when it allowed voters to cast their ballots online.

A third area where government will be impacted by IT is in policy decisions. New ways of doing business, new ways to commit crimes, and new ways to test free speech and other constitutional issues have all created new areas for policy research and decisions. Questions like whether to tax the Internet, how to handle copyright issues, how to protect children from Internet pornography and predators, how to protect privacy and the sale of information, and how to conquer the "digital divide" are all questions that will require political debate and possibly legislation.

Role of IT in Government

As you can imagine, however, the information technology human resources, infrastructure, and security (think about the Department of Defense!) necessary to accomplish all of these tasks and make all of these decisions are very extensive and expensive! One area that governments will need to address very soon is recruitment and retention of IT employees. Government jobs are notoriously low-paying, do not offer stock options, and are usually much more slow-paced than other IT positions.

In order to offer the services that citizens, taxpayers, and voters want, governments will need the same high-quality IT employees that business and industry recruit. And as of now, they are having a difficult time accomplishing this task because of major competition for employees.

The Role of IT in Leisure and Entertainment

New information technologies are obviously changing the way we work and communicate. In addition to this, IT is changing the way we play and the types of leisure activities we engage in. For example, computer games have been around for quite some time; the advent of network technologies have made them much more enjoyable for users who wish to play with specific people in any part of the world. In addition to traditional games, gambling using the Internet has become very popular and will most definitely be an area for e-governments to study and regulate.

Computer games are certainly not the only area for entertainment using IT. The World Wide Web itself has become a hobby for many people. People who enjoy reading books, newspapers, and magazines can now do all of those things on a computer. Shopping, chatting, and "surfing" on the Internet, based on your areas of interest (e.g., family history, gardening, or sports), are also quickly becoming popular hobbies. In addition, watching or listening to concerts, interviews, and sporting events are other ways that many people relax using information technologies.

One entertainment area that garnered much attention was the Napster debate. Napster was an Internet service that allowed millions of users to freely trade music online. Users stored MP3 audio files on their local machines and allowed others to browse and download from their collections using the free Napster software. Although the recording industry continues to attempt to shut down Napster-like sites, it is proving to be a difficult task as there are few laws that regulate these kinds of issues.

At the core of the debate is the belief that users are infringing on traditional copyright laws when they exchange the music. However, the biggest issue involved is that record companies are claiming major financial losses due to unrealized CD purchases. To address these issues, Apple broke new ground when it unveiled iTunes Music Store, a digital music distribution system. The file sharing debate is not going to disappear any time soon and will most certainly be another area where we will see more government involvement.

Lesson Wrap-Up

Society has changed a great deal, thanks to information technology. Information technology impacts our quality of life, social relationships, politics, leisure time, and the way we conduct business. As pointed out in this lesson, the impacts on individuals, organizations, and families can be both positive and negative. Information technology offers tremendous convenience while, at the same time, blurring the boundary between work and personal time. In any case, it is clear that we now live in a much different world.

Now that you have completed this lesson, you should be able to:

Lesson 3: Computer Crime and Security

With every new technology comes a new opportunity for crime. Thus, the information technology revolution is spawning new opportunities for unethical and criminal activity almost as quickly as the component technologies are invented. These crimes become more advanced on a daily basis, and the associated security issues should be the concern of every knowledge worker.

After reading this lesson, you should be able to:

Computer Crime Defined

Quite obviously, computer crime can be considered any criminal (or unethical) activity facilitated by or committed with computer and information technologies. As with crime in general, the range of unethical and criminal activities is quite broad. All of the following fall into the category of computer crime:

The most talked-about forms of computer crime usually deal with viruses and hacking into information systems to steal information or cause service interruptions or problems. Strangely enough, many forms of computer crime leave the criminal with only notoriety.

That is not to say that computer crime does not frequently benefit the criminal (many steal money, services, software, information, etc.). However, many criminal attacks are nuisance ones where service is interrupted, viruses are transmitted, and Web site content is replaced with erroneous or embarrassing material. In many of these cases, the perpetrators are simply looking for a challenge. And unfortunately, no system is 100% secure. Even if it is well-protected from the outside world, insiders within the organization can quickly and easily wreak havoc if they so desire.

Legal Issues Related to Computer Crime

As you have probably figured out by now, the Internet is much like the old west: all new terrain, little government regulation, new ways of doing business, and entirely self-regulated. Because of this, there are many opportunities for crime. However, instead of bank robberies, gun duels, and train derailments, we now have hackers breaking though powerful encryption to steal credit card numbers, individuals misrepresenting themselves and sending out racist emails from someone else's account, and networks being "derailed" because of denial of service attacks.

Add to this how quickly the Internet and information technologies are changing, and it is virtually (no pun intended) impossible for government and the legal community to stay ahead of the crime. Quite the opposite, our laws are very slow to adapt to this new world of information technology. Most of our laws were put on the books ten, if not fifteen, years ago and were enacted largely to protect federal government computers and systems that are crucial to our national security, as well as to curb commercial fraud. Most of the laws were not intended to deal with the broad range of computer crime that confronts us today.

In addition, and unlike most other technological innovations, information technologies and the Internet are truly global. For example, even if the United States enacts very powerful laws to curb cyber-crime activities, such as child pornography, our virtual neighbors may decide not to, thus making it very easy for citizens of the U.S. to engage in illegal activities. Obviously, the same example would be much more difficult to accomplish using broadcast television or radio. The Internet can allow people to become their own "broadcast" studio with comparatively inexpensive equipment.

So, what is the answer? Well, it is obvious that new laws will have to be put on the books to deal with cyber-crime activities. There are two basic schools of thought on how to deter this type of crime, however. The first says that monitoring and making the Internet less anonymous is the answer. The second school of thought would rather make Internet security tighter and create tools for law enforcement to use when dealing with cyber-criminals.

For example, if a country enacted cyber-crime laws based on the first rationale (making the Internet less anonymous), they may create laws saying that Internet users must register officially with the government before they can access any services. Or, they may mandate a form of "caller ID" for Internet users, which would more easily identify those accessing Web services. If a country utilized the second school of thought (making security tighter and giving law enforcement tools), they might enact laws to develop cyber-savvy police squads or force Internet Service Providers to create mechanisms that make investigation into criminal acts easier.

Regardless of the approach taken, it will be necessary for governments to act quickly and thoughtfully. In addition, it will definitely take a multinational effort to coordinate these laws and the enforcement of them.

Minimizing Security Problems

It is certainly not easy, but there are methods to cut down on computer crime. Entire departments within organizations specialize in this area, but it is still very important to know the basics for your own personal security.

The first rule of thumb is to stay well-informed. Go to the hardware and software manufacturers' Web sites and read their security updates. They may very well have an update for a system you are using that fixes a security hole.

Lesson Wrap-Up

Every new technology brings with it a new set of moral, ethical, and legal questions. Information technology is no different. IT is a more pervasive force in society than most previous technological advances in world history; therefore, the questions and implications are more serious. In this lesson, we have reviewed various types of computer crime and discussed some of the legal issues involved. We have also pointed out that many legal and ethical questions have yet to be answered. The field of information technology is a frontier in more ways than one.

Now that you have completed this lesson, you should be able to:

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