The Role of Information Technologies Today

1. The Role of Information Technologies Today

2. The existence of humanity on planet Earth, and the formation of society and the state flood related information and are caused by information. Small wonder that in the beginning was the word of the Bible: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was barren and empty, darkness was over the deep; and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said: Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness of night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day."

3. Information in the history of civilization has always played a decisive role and serves as the basis for decision-making at all levels and stages of development of society and the state. In the history of social development there are several information revolutions associated with dramatic changes in the production, processing and circulation of information, which led to a radical transformation of social relations. As a result of these transformations Company acquired in a certain sense a new quality.

4. First information revolution associated with the invention of writing, which led to the huge qualitative and quantitative leap in the development of the information society. Now you can capture knowledge in a tangible medium, thereby more accurately transmit them from generation to generation.

5. The second information revolution (mid XVI century) caused by the invention of printing. Opportunity replication and dissemination of information, increased availability of people to knowledge. This revolution has radically changed society has created more opportunities to learn the cultural values ​​of once large segments of the population.

6. The third information revolution (late XIX century) due to the invention of electricity, which has given the telegraph, telephone, radio, allowing to quickly share information and accumulate in significant quantities. Consequence of this revolution - increasing degree diffused information, increasing information "coverage" of the population by means of broadcasting. Increased role of the media as mechanisms for disseminating messages and knowledge over large areas and ensure their living on their citizens, increased availability of members of the public to messages and knowledge. Significantly increased the role of information as a means of influencing the development of society and the state, there was the possibility of rapid communication between people.

7. The fourth information revolution (mid- XX century) is associated with the invention of computer technology and the advent of the personal computer, networking communications and telecommunications. It became possible to collect, store, process and transmit information in electronic form. Increased efficiency and speed of creating and processing of information in the computer's memory began to accumulate virtually unlimited amounts of information, increased transmission speed, search and retrieval.

8. Today we are experiencing the fifth information revolution associated with the formation and development of cross-border global information and telecommunications networks, covering all countries and continents, penetrating into every house and acting simultaneously on each individual , and the huge mass of people. The most striking example of this phenomenon and the result of the fifth revolution - the Internet. Thanks to the Internet enormously increase the speed and volume of information, there are new and unique possibilities of production, transmission and dissemination of information search and retrieval, new types of traditional activities in these networks.

9. We are witnessing a significant increase in the role and place information in the life of individuals, society and the state, the impact of information on the development of the individual, society and state. Information has now become a powerful real tangible resource that has even more value than the natural financial, labor and other resources. Information has become a commodity to be bought and sold. Information has become a weapon, arise and terminate information wars. Most actively develops and enters into our lives cross-border information internet. • All this seriously transforms life of the individual, society and state. Civilization as a whole and each of us in particular are at the stage of formation of a new type of society - the information society. This society is still unclear to many. Social system and the laws that are key regulators of this system are significantly behind the pace of development of the information society , from the rapid rate of onset of us new information technologies and the World Wide Web Internet - "building material" information society.

10. What exactly is the information society? In accordance with the concept of 3. Brzezinski, Daniel Bell, Alvin Toffler, and supported by other foreign scientists, the information society - a kind of post-industrial society. Considering the different development of society as a " shift stages, proponents of the information society associated with the dominance of his becoming the" fourth", the information sector of the economy, following the three prominent sectors - agriculture, industry and service economy . However, they argue that capital and labor as the basis of industrial society are giving way to information and knowledge in the information society. • Information society - particularly not known stories. Difficult to define it, but you can list the main features and characteristics: • availability of information infrastructure consisting of cross-border information and telecommunication networks and distributed information resources in them as knowledge assets; • massive use of personal computers connected to cross-border information and telecommunications networks . It was massive, otherwise it is not society, but the totality of its individual members ; • prepared by the members of society to work on personal computers and in cross-border information and telecommunications networks ; • new forms and activities Tits or in virtual space ( everyday activity in networks , sale of goods and services , the communication , recreation and entertainment, medical services , etc.); • everyone the opportunity to instantly obtain Tits of complete, accurate and reliable information ; • almost instantaneous communication with every member of society every , everyone with all and all with each; • transformation of the media , media integration and Tits , creating a unified environment propagation media - multimedia; • lack of geographical and geo-political boundaries of states - participants Tits "collision" and " breaking " national legislations in these networks , the establishment of new international information law and legislation.

11. A typical example of the information infrastructure of the information society - the Internet. Today, the Internet more than fills the information space in all countries and on all continents and is the principal active agent and the information society. • There are two assessments of the Internet content. According to one source ( controlled by the Internet) at the beginning of 2000 there were more than I Internet billion documents on the server 4 million, according to other sources ( "invisible" or "deep" the Internet) it contains more than 550 billion documents. In general, the volume of information resources grow exponentially in the Internet.

12. The U.S. and Europe are in the information society a few different ways. • U.S. were pioneer in shaping the basic practical implementation of information infrastructure - the technological basis of the information society. In 1993, the U.S. government issued a report with the development plans of the national information infrastructure. To study the problems associated with the construction of the Research Institute, established a Working Group on Information Infrastructure. • In a specially prepared report recommended the basic principles of the information society : the promotion of private investment ; the concept of universal access ; assistance in technological innovation ; providing on-line access ; protection of privacy , security and reliability of networks ; improved management of the radio spectrum ; protection of intellectual property rights ; coordination of national efforts ; providing access to government information . In accordance with this report, the U.S. has taken the course of building the information superhighway as a technological means allowing everyone to find information , entertainment to their liking , and which is defined as all technologies related to the production, processing, storage and dissemination of information , be it TV , computer network , satellite broadcasting , commercial online companies .

13. Reports of the working groups to study the processes associated with these problems are devoted to humanitarian topics - health, education, preservation of privacy and information protection of intellectual property rights, etc. Given the global nature due to the impact of information and communications technology initiative of national changes gradually develops into a global one. • In Europe, attention is also paid to the information society. A strategy for entry into the information society in Europe, prepared and implemented recommendations for entering into it. • Resolutions and Council of Europe documents devoted to different aspects of the information society in Europe. The European Commission in February 1995 to establish a forum to discuss common challenges of the information society. 128 members are users of new technologies, different social groups, content providers and service providers, network operators, government and international institutions. The purpose of the Forum - to trace the development of an information society in areas such as the impact on the economy and employment; the creation of social and democratic values ​​in the "virtual community"; impact on the public, public service; education, vocational training, training in the information society; cultural dimension and the future of the media; sustainable development, technology and infrastructure.

14. Draws attention to the fact that if Europe is not able to quickly and efficiently adapt to the conditions of the information society , it is waiting for a loss of competitiveness in the face of U.S. and Asian economies , as well as social exclusion within the European community. Problems of development of the information society are presented in the first annual report of the Forum "Networks for people and communities." • Almost every European country has a program dedicated to the development of the national policy in building the information society, and this policy is not perceived as a deer fashion, but as an imperative, failure is fraught with the loss of competitiveness of the whole country, the comparative decline in living standards, the loss rate of development and with discarding advanced economic, trade and technological positions. • Considering the problem of the information society as a whole, we see the need for timely adaptation to the new realities of the information the old rules governing traditional sectors -telecommunications, television and other media.