Science

WEEK 6
INFORMATION
AGE
INTRODUCTION
 Highly modernized, automated, data-driven, and technologically advanced-
these best describe our society nowadays, as evidenced by how information
could be transferred or shared quickly. The different areas of society have
been influenced tremendously such as communication, economics, industry,
health, and the environment
 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 management of information by computers
network”. The information Age is also called the Digital Age and the New
Media Age because it was associated with the development of computers.
 According to James R. Messenger who proposed the Theory of
Information Age 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.
 HISTORY
History and emergence of the Information Age.
Date Event
3000 B.C. Sumerian writing system uses pictographs

to represent words.
2900 Beginnings of Egyptian hieroglyphic
writing.
1300 Tortoise shell and oracle bone writing.
500 Papyrus roll.
220 Chinese small seal writing developed.
100 A.D. Book (parchment codex).
105 Wood-block printing and paper is invented by
the Chinese.
1455 Johann Gutenberg invents printing press using
movable metal type.
1755 Samuel Johnson's dictionary standardizes
English spelling.
1802 The Library of Congress is 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 writes world's first
computer program.
1837 Invention of telegraph in Great Britain and the
United States.
1861 Motion pictures projected onto a screen.
1876 Dewey Decimal system introduced.
1877 Edweard Muybridge demonstrates high-speed
photography.
1899 First magnetic recordings.
20th Century
1902 Motion picture special effects.
1906 Lee DeForest invents electronic amplifying
tube (triode).
1923 Television camera tube invented by
Zvorkyn.
1926 First practical sound movie.
1939 Regularly scheduled television broadcasting
begins in the U.S.
1940s Beginnings of information science as a
discipline.
1945 Vannevar Bush foresees the invention of
hypertext.
1946 ENIAC computer developed.
1948 Birth of field-of-information theory
proposed by Claude E. Shannon.
1957 Planar transistor developed by Jean Hoerni.
1958 First integrated circuit.

1960s Library of Congress develops LC MARC
(machine readable code).
1969 UNIX operating system developed, which
could handle multitasking.
1971 Intel introduces first microprocessor chip.
1972 Optical laserdisc developed by Philips and
MCA.
1974 MCA and Philips agree on standard videodisc
encoding format.
1975 Altair Microcomputer Kit: first personal
computer for the public.
1977 RadioShack introduces first complete personal
computer.
1984 Apple MacIntosh computer introduced.
Mid-'80s Artificial intelligence separates from
information science.
1987 Hypercard developed by Bill Atkinson recipe
box metaphor.
1991 Four hundred fifty complete works of
literature on one CD-ROM.
Jan. 1997 RSA (Encryption and network security
software) Internet security code cracked for a
48-bit number.
“Truths of Information Age”  Undead information walks ever on.
by Robert Harris
 Media presence creates the story.
 The medium selects the message.
 Information must compete.
 The whole truth is a pursuit.
 Newer is equated with truer.
 Selection is a viewpoint.
 The media sells what the culture
buys.
 The early word gets the perm.
 You are what you eat and so is your
brain.
 Anything in great demand will be
counterfeited.
 Ideas are seen as controversial.
COMPUTERS
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.
TYPES OF COMPUTER:
Personal Computer
Desktop Computer
Laptops
Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s)

 Server
 Mainframes
 Wearable Computers
THE WORLD WIDE WE (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”.
The internet is a worldwide system of interconnected networks that facilitate data

transmission among innumerable computers. It was developed during the 1970’s by
the Department of Defense. In the early days, the Internet was used mainly by
scientists to communicate with the other scientists.
Google is now the most popular search engine, accepting more than 200
million queries daily. Back then, new forms of information were also introduced.
Electronic mail, or email was a suitable way to send a message to fellow

workers, business partners, or friends
Internet service providers like America Online and CompuServe set up electronic
rooms.
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.
HOW TO CHECK THE RELIABILITY OF THE WEB SOURCES

 AUTHOR
Take a look at the individual or organization running the website.

 KEEPING CURRENT
When was the last time the site was updated? Are new articles or topics added
regularly?
 BEYOND THE HEADLINE
If a headline seems sensational or radical, carefully read the article to determine

the source of the pronouncement.
 SOLID SCIENCE
Speaking of solid scientific research, check out what kind of evidence the website uses
to support their position.
 AUDIENCE
Who is engaging with the site? If reputable professionals (such as RDs, MDs, PhDs, or
other experts) are referencing or sharing information from the site, that o ffers added
confidence that it is a source of solid information.
 ASK QUESTIONS
If something doesn’t quite feel right, it probably isn’t. If you’re not sure how
something adds up, or if something posted seems too good to be true, leave a comment
or email the author or website administrator to learn more or to ask about their sources.
• AFA e- Newsletter (Alzheimer’s Foundation • Teacher OZ’s Kingdom of History
of America) • Illinois Digital Archives
• American Memory • Internet Archive
• Bartleby.com Great Books Online • Internet Archive for CARLI digitized
• Chronicling America resources
• Cyber Bullying • Internet Public Library
• Drug information websites: • Ipl2
National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus • Librarians’ Internet Index

Drugs.com • Making of America
PDR health • Maps

• Global Gateway: World Culture & Resources • Nation Master
• Google Books • Nursing sites:
• Googlescholar.com • AHRQ (www.ahrq.gov)
• History sites with primary documents National Guidelines Clearinghouse
PubMed (www.nln.nih.gov)
AMDOCS: Documents for the study of • Project Gutenberg
American history • Shmoop
Avalon Project • State Master

Internet Modern History Sourcebook • Virtual Reference

Science

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Science

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

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

Science

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

WEEK 6

 Information Age is defined as a “period starting in the last quarter of the

History and emergence of the Information Age.

3000 B.C. Sumerian writing system uses pictographs

1958 First integrated circuit.

Computers are among the most important contributions of advances

Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s)

THE WORLD WIDE WE (INTERNET)

Several historians trace the origin of the internet to Claude E. Shannon, an

The internet is a worldwide system of interconnected networks that facilitate data

Electronic mail, or email was a suitable way to send a message to fellow

APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS IN SCIENCE AND

HOW TO CHECK THE RELIABILITY OF THE WEB SOURCES

Take a look at the individual or organization running the website.

If a headline seems sensational or radical, carefully read the article to determine

National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus • Librarians’ Internet Index

PDR health • Maps

Avalon Project • State Master

You might also like