Science, Technology, and Society

LESSON 9: INFORMATION AGE YEAR EVENT

220 BC Chinese small seal writing was developed
According to Webster Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary,
100 AD Book (parchment codex)
Information is "knowledge communicated or obtained concerning a
105 AD Woodblock printing and paper war invented by the
specific fact or circumstances."
Chinese
The Information Age is defined as a "period starting in the last 1455 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press using
quarter of the 20th century when information became effortlessly movable metal type
accessible through publications and through the management of 1755 Samuel Johnson's dictionary standardized English
information by computers and computer networks" spelling
(Vocabulary.com, n.d.). 1802 The Library of Congress was established Invention of
The Information Age is also called the Digital Age and the the carbon arc lamp
New Media Age because it was associated with the development of 1824 Research on persistence of vision published
computers. 1830s First viable design for a digital computer Augusta Lady
Byron writes the world's first computer program
According to James R. Messenger who proposed the Theory 1837 Invention of the telegraph in Great Britain and the
of Information Age in 1982, "the Information Age is a true new age United States
based upon the Interconnection of computers via
1861 Motion pictures were projected onto a screen
telecommunications, with these information systems operating on
1876 Dewey Decimal system was introduced
both a real-time and as-needed basis. Furthermore, the primary
1877 Eadweard Muybridge demonstrated high-speed January
factors driving this new age forward are convenience and user-
photography
friendliness which, in turn, will create user dependence."
1899 First magnetic recordings were released
History and emergence of the Information Age 1902 Motion picture special effects were used
1906 Lee DeForest invented the electronic amplifying 'ube
YEAR EVENT
(triode)
3000 BC Sumerian writing system used pictographs to
1923 Television camera tube was invented by Zvorkyn
represent words
1926 First practical sound movie
2900 BC Beginnings of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing
1939 Regularly scheduled television broadcasting began in
1300 BC Tortoise shell and oracle bone writing were used
the US
500 BC Papyrus roll was used
1940s Beginnings of information science as a discipline
1945 Vannevar Bush foresaw the invention of hypertext Evolution of Man and Information

➢ Because of the abundance of information, it was difficult to

1946 ENIAC computer was developed
collect and manage them starting in the 1960s and 1970s.
1948 Birth of field-of-information theory proposed by Claude
➢ During the 1980s, real angst set in. Richard Wurman called it
E. Shannon
"Information Anxiety."
1957 Planar transistor was developed by Jean Hoerni
1958 First integrated circuit ➢ In the 1990s, information became the currency in the business
1960s Library of Congress developed LC MARC (machine- world.
readable code) ➢ Information was the preferred medium of exchange, and the
1969 NIX operating system was developed, which could information managers served as information officers.
handle multitasking
Types of Computers
1971 Intel introduced the first microprocessor chip
1972 Optical laserdisc was developed by Philips and MCA 1) Personal Computer (PC’s)
1974 MCA and Philips agreed on a standard videodisc ➢ These are the most common type of computers, used by
encoding format the individuals for everyday tasks like browsing the
1975 Altair Microcomputer Kit was released: first personal internet, creating documents or gaming.
computer for the public
2) Desktop Computer
1977 RadioShack introduced the first complete personal
➢ It is described as a PC that is not designed for portability.
computer
➢ The assumption with a desktop is that it will be set up in a
1984 Apple Macintosh computer was introduced
permanent spot.
Mid Artificial intelligence was separated from information
1980s science ➢ A workstation is simply a desktop compart that has a more
1987 HyperCard was developed by Bill Atkinson recipe box powerful processor, additional memory, enhanced
metaphor capabilities for performing special group of tasks, such 3D
1991 Four hundred fifty complete works of literature on one graphics or game development.
CD- ROM was released ➢ Most desktops offer more storage, power, and versatility
January RSA (encryption and network security software) Internet than their portable versions (Uthastory.org, 2017).
1997 security code cracked for a 48-bit number
3) Laptops 7) Wearable Computers
➢ These are portable computers that integrate the ➢ They serve materials that are usually integrated into a
essentials of a desktop computer in battery-powered cellphone, watches, and other small objects or places.
package, which are somewhat larger than a typical ➢ They perform common computer application such as
hardcover book. databases, email, multimedia, and scheduler
➢ They are commonly called notebooks. (UShistory.org, 2017).
4) Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)
The World Wide Web (Internet)
➢ These are tightly integrated computers that usually have
no keyboards but rely on a touch screen for user input. ➢ Several historians trace the origin of the Internet to Claude E.
➢ PDA are typically smaller than a paperback, Iightweight, Shannos, an American Mathematician who was considered as
and battery powered (UShiryong, org, 2017). the "Father of Information Theory”.

5) Mainframes ➢ The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected networks

➢ These are huge computer systems that can fill in entire that facilitate data transmission among innumerable computers.
room. It was developed during the 1970s by the Department of Defense.
➢ They are especially used by large firms to describe the ➢ In the early days, the Internet was mainly used by scientists to
large, expensive machines that process millions of communicate with other scientists.
transactions every day.
➢ The Internet remained under government control until 1984
➢ The term "Mainframes" has been replaced by enterprise
(Rouse, 2014).
server.
➢ Companies like Intel developed faster microprocessor so
➢ Although some supercomputers are single computer
personal computers could process the incoming signals at a
systems, most comprise multiple, high-performance,
more rapid rate (Ushhtory.org, 2017).
parallel computers working as a single system
(UShisory.org, 2017). ➢ Sergey Brin and Larry Page, directors of a Stanford research
project, built a search engine that listed results to reflect page
6) Server
popularity when they determined that the most popular result
➢ It refers to a computer that has been improved to provide
would frequently be the most usable. The researchers launched
network services to other computers.
their company in 1998.
➢ Servers usually boast powerful processors, tons of
memory, and large hand drives (Ushistory.org. 2017).
➢ Google is now the world's most popular search engine, accepting ➢ The human brain cannot store all the genetic sequences of
more than 200 million queries daily. organisms, and this huge amount of data can only be stored,
analyzed, and be used efficiently with the use of computers.
➢ Back then, new forms of communication were also introduced.
Electronic mail or email was suitable way to send a message to ➢ The development of a consolidated formal database, known as
fellow workers, business partners, or friends. SWISS-PROT protein sequence database, was initiated in 1986.
It now has about 70,000 protein sequences from more than 5,000
➢ Internet service providers like America Online and CompuServe
model organisms, a small fraction of all known organisms.
set up electronic chat rooms.
➢ These are made available as public domain information in the
➢ "Surfing the net" became a pastime in and of itself (UShaory org,
larger interest of research community through the Internet
2017).
(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) and CD-ROMs (on request from
➢ The current Information Age has spawned its own breed of www.resb.org). These databases are constantly updated with
wealthy influential brokers, from Microsoft's Bill Gates to Apple's additional entries (Madan, n.d.).
Steve Jobs to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.
Some of the software tools which are handy in the analysis
➢ Critics charged that the Internet created a technological divide include (Madan, n.d.):
that increased the gap between the members of the higher class
and lower class of society. • BLAST (used for comparing sequences)
• Annotator (an interactive genome analysis tool)
➢ Nowadays, the unregulated and loose nature of the Internet
• Gene Finder (tool to identify coding regions and splice
allowed pornography to be broadcast to millions of homes. Also,
sites)
cyberbullying is an issue that poses alarm worldwide.
➢ The sequence information generated by the human genome
Applications of Computers in Science and Research
research, initiated in 1988, has now been stored as a primary
➢ One of the significant applications of computers for science and information source for future applications in medicine.
research is evident in the field of bioinformatics. ➢ The present challenge to handle such huge volume of data is to
➢ Bioinformatics is the application of information technology to improve database design, develop software for database access,
store, organize, and analyze vast amount of biological data which and manipulation and device data-entry procedures to
is available in the form of sequences and structures of proteins- compensate for the varied computer procedures and systems
the building blocks of organisms and nucleic acids-the used in different laboratories.
information carrier (Madan, n.d.).
➢ The much-celebrated complete human genome sequence which 1) Who is the author of the article/site?
was formally announced on the 26th of June 2000 involved more - Look for an "About" or "More About the Author" link at the top,
than 500 x 1018 (500 million trillion) calculations during the bottom, or sidebar of the webpage.
process of assembling the sequences alone. This can be - Some pages will have a corporate author rather than a single
considered as the biggest exercise in the history of computational person as an author.
biology (Madan, n.d.). - If no information about the author(s) of the page is provided,
be suspicious.
➢ Moreover, from the pharmaceutical industry's point of view,
- Does the author provide his or her credentials?
bioinformatics is the key to rational drug discovery. It reduces
- What type of expertise does he or she have on the subject he
the number of trials in the screening of drug compounds and in
or she is writing about? Does he or she indicate what his or her
identifying potential drug targets for a particular disease using
education is?
high-power computing workstations and software like Insight.
- What type of experience does he or she have? Should you
➢ This profound application of bioinformatics in genome sequence trust his or her knowledge of the subject? Try searching on the
has led to a new area in pharmacology-Pharmacogenomics, Internet for information about the author.
where potential targets for drug development are hypothesized - What kinds of websites are associated with the author's
from the genome sequences. name? Is he or she affiliated with any educational institution?
➢ Molecular modeling, which requires a lot of calculations, has - Do commercial sites come up? Do the websites associated
become faster due to the advances in computer processors and with the author give you any clues to particular biases the
its architecture (Madan, n.d.). author might have?

➢ In plant biotechnology, bioinformatics is found to be useful in 2) Who published the site?

the areas of identifying diseases resistance genes and designing - Look at the domain name of the website that will tell you who
plants with high nutrition value (Madan, n.d.). is hosting the site.
- For instance, the Lee College Library website is:
How to Check the Reliability of Web Sources? http://www.lee.edu/ library. The domain name is "lee.edu."
The following guidelines can help us check the reliability of This tells you that the library website is hosted by Lee College.
web sources that we gather. It is noteworthy to consider and apply
the following guidelines to avoid misinformation. (Lee College
Library, n.d.).
 - Search the domain name at http://www.whois.sc/. The site - Is it aimed at people from a particular geographic area?
provides information about the owners of registered domain - Is it aimed at members of a particular profession or with
names. What is the organization's main purpose? Check the specific training?
organization's main website, if it has one.
5) What is the quality of information provided on the website?
• Is it educational?
- Timeliness: When was the website first published? Is it
• Is it commercial? regularly updated? Check for dates at the bottom of each
• Is it a reputable organization? page on the site.
- Do not ignore the suffix on the domain name (the three-letter - Does the author cite sources? Just as in print sources, web
part that comes after the "."). The suffix is usually (but not sources that cite their sources are considered more reliable.
always) descriptive of what type of entity hosts the website. - What type of other sites does the website link to? Are they
Keep in mind that it is possible for sites to obtain suffixes that reputable sites?
are misleading. - What types of sites link to the website you are evaluating? Is
- Here are some examples: the website being cited by others?
• .edu ≠ educational.
• .com = commercial. Examples of Useful and Reliable Web Sources
• .mil = military 1. AFA -Newsletter (Alzheimer's Foundation of America
• .gov = government newsletter)
• .org = nonprofit 2. American Memory - the Library of Congress historical digital
3) What is the main purpose of the site? Why did the author write collection.
it and why did the publisher post it? 3. Bartleby.com Great Books Online - a collection of free e-
- To sell a product? books including fictions, nonfictions, references, and verses.
- As a personal hobby?
4. Chronicling America - search and view pages from American
- As public service?
newspapers from 1880-1922.
- To further scholarship on a topic?
- To provide general information on a topic? 5. Cyber Bullying - free collection of e-books from ebrary plus
- To persuade you of a particular point of view? additional reports and documents to help better understand,
prevent and take action against this growing concern.
4) Who is the intended audience?
- Scholars or the general public?
- Which age group is it written for?
6. Drug information websites: 17. Making of America - a digital library of primary sources in
• National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus American social history.
• Drugs.com 18. Maps - from the University of Texas at Austin collection.
• PDRhealth Includes historical and thematic maps.
7. Global Gateway: World Culture & Resources (from the Library 19. NationMaster a massive central data source and a handy way
of Congress) to graphically compare nations. It is a vast compilatior. of data
8. Googie Books from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, ard OECD.
9. Googlescholar.com 20. Nursing sites:
10. History sites with primary documents: • AHRQ (www.ahrq.gov)
• AMDOCS - Documents for the study of American history • National Guidelines Clearinghouse(www.guideline.gov)
• Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and • PubMed (www.nlm.nih.gov)
Diplomacy (Yale Law School) 21. Project Gutenberg the first and largest single collection of free
• Internet Modern History Sourcebook - Colonial Latin electronic books with currently over 20,000 e-books available.
America 22. Shmoop literature, US history, and poetry information written
• Teacher Oz's Kingdom of History primarily by PhD and master’s students from top universities
11. Illinois Digital Archives - the Illinois State Library working with like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale.
libraries, museums, and historical societies in Illinois 23. StateMaster a unique statistical database which allows you to
provides this collection of materials related to Illinois history. research and compare a multitude of different data on US
12. Internet Archive - a digital library of Internet sites and other states using various primary sources such as the US Census
cultural artifacts in digital form. Bureau, the FBI, and the National Center for Educational
Statistics. It uses visualization technology like pie charts,
13. Internet Archive for CARLI digitized resources.
maps, graphs, and scatter plots to provide data.
14. Internet Public Library
24. Virtual Reference selected web resources compiled by the
15. ipl2 - a merger of Librarians' Internet Index and Internet Public Library of Congress.
Library. Special interest may include the "Literary Criticisms"
page which can be found after clicking on the "Special One can also visit the university library and seek help from
Collections" link. librarians as they are knowledgeable, and the library has a rich
collection of online library resources that are very useful for
16. Librarians' Internet Index
academic and research purposes.