Growth and Development of Internet - Case Study Example

Internet became available to the public in 1991 and today is an essential infra-structure for global communications, including trade and commerce. Its influence has pervaded every aspect of the society. The internet has helped the developing countries in poverty alleviation, health and education, in participating in global affairs. The development of internet has revolutionized the way people think, communicate and socialize. The internet has become a virtual marketplace which has reshaped the nature of the businesses around the globe (Prufer & Jahn, 2007). This paper will trace the history, growth and development of internet and how World Wide Web has changed the world which is based on the vision, hard labor and dedication of a few committed people. Internet is a network of networks that joins many government, university and private computers together. It provides an infrastructure for the use of e-mail, bulletin boards, file archives, hypertext documents and other computational resources (Slater, 2002). This network transports data and messages across distances which can be anywhere from the same office to anywhere in the world. The internet today is a widespread information structure and the initial prototype of internet is often called the National Informatics Infrastructure and has a complex history. The history of internet can be traced back to the launch and orbit of Sputnik I in 1957 which sent scientific and psychological shock waves in the science policy community as well as throughout American politics and the American public (Russell, 2001). This formed the basis for fundamental breakthroughs in American science, which resulted in a dramatic increase of federal spending on scientific research. Immediately after this, President Eisenhower created an agency known as Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA later known as DARPA) which would be responsible for coordinating advanced, high-risk research that could lead to technological breakthroughs for the military at the height of cold war. The idea of ARPA was basically shaped by a group of scientists who feared that the government either misused or misunderstood modern science and technology. Since World War II scientists had been exploring how advanced computing could enhance national security. The SAGE air defense system, funded by the Air Force was developed by the MIT scientists during the 1950s (Russell, 2001). Computers were initially used as batch processing number-crunchers but subsequently they were used to work with people in real time to solve complex problems. The concept of computer networking started in the early 1960s at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It was visualized that computers should facilitate communication between people and be a support for human decision process (Spinning & Lundh, 2004). When Licklider wrote the paper "Man-Computer Symbiosis" in 1960, it was published in the Institute of Radio Engineers journal Transactions on Human Factors in Electronics (APA, 2000). This paper resembles today’s internet as per an article in the MIT journal Technological Review. According to historian Paul Edwards, this paper “became the universally cited founding articulation of the movement to establish a time-sharing, interactive computing regime” (Russell, 2001). In 1961, after the Kennedy administration took over, the ARPA directors Ruina and Fubini centralized the research on computing technology under one program and Professor Licklider was asked to lead the office. Licklider took over as the first director of The Information Processing techniques Office (IPTO). As the leader, he created a model and disseminated a vision that guided the directors of the IPTO till the office ended (Hauben, n.d.). Licklider was aware how computer would revolutionize how people think and act. He could even visualize the problems that could arise as computer evolved and the remedial measures that should be adopted. He recognized that apart from command and control, every area of human activity involved information processing. He could envision that the computers could be involved in carrying out some of the steps involved in the problem solving process for the human (Hauben, n.d.). Thus it was important to establish human-computer interaction and such interaction would require libraries of software, hardware and different languages. Hence the problem of command and control in army became the base for interactive computing. Licklider was the backbone of what exists of the internet today. He published a number of papers and articles in simple language that all could follow. He is responsible for computer achievements like time sharing, interactive graphics, VLSI, the development of the ARPANET and then the development of the internet (Hauben, n.d.). The contribution of Leonard Kleinrock is also of great significance as he introduced theoretical results on queuing networks in 1961 apart from convincing another MIT researcher, Lawrence Roberts, of the theoretical feasibility of communications using packets rather than circuits, which was a major step towards computer networking (Slater, 2002). Kleinrock was the pioneer of digital network communications and help build the ARPANET. Kleinrock established and led the Network Measurement Center (NMC), which comprised of a group of graduate students working in the area of computer network. Subsequently in 1966, Roberts took up on himself to develop the ARPANET. He connected computers in Massachusetts and California with a low speed dial-up telephone line creating the first wide-area computer networking ever built in an effort to make the computers to talk together (Leiner et al., 1999). Even though the program did run well and it was possible to retrieve data from remote computers, the need for packet switching as suggested by Kleinrock became apparent. Roberts realized that it was not possible to run on circuit switched telephone system. Various efforts were then made to identify areas of network improvement. To develop the technology known as packet switching, the first ARPANET came into existence when the contract to develop and deploy a four node network was awarded to Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN) in 1968. The ARPANET soon reached Norway and England and through testing and refinements, a stable and mature internet technology was developed and in 1980 TCP/IP. This was adopted as a standard for the US Department of Defense. Gradually there was a widespread development of LANs, PCs and workstations. Hosts were then assigned names which made it easy for people to work on the internet. As the popularity of internet picked up and the number of users increased, the number of hosts had to be increased. As the users further increased, Domain Name Systems (DNS) was invented by Paul Mockapetris (Leiner et al., 1999). After that routers had to be replaced and more sophisticated software was employed. It was only by 1985 that internet as a technology was well established and supported a wide range of researchers and developers. As interconnection improved, electronic mails or emails became a regular phenomenon. By 1990 ARPANET was finally decommissioned and internet was here to stay. By late 1990s computers became a household item and researchers realized its potential in information sharing. The UNIX-based text interface was converted to hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) as it was replaced by the World Wide Web or simply WWW. This was more user friendly, easily navigable, it could link data objects, be they text or graphics and the credit for this goes to Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau. HTTP access was granted to a number of computers in May 1991 after the WWW was first demonstrated in 1990. By 1991 multimedia became popular and thereafter till today new technology is introduced on a monthly basis. Now modems can now transmit data at the speed of 1GB/s which is done through another new technology – ASDL in which the existing copper telephone wires are used. The World Wide Web is now one of the most popular forms of Information technology today. It is an information storage system that links computer based resources around the world. Transformation has taken place in the way exchange related activities take place. A website that serves as a marketing and sales point is a differentiator from competitors (Zsidisin, Jun & Adams, 2000). The web removes the physical and time restrictions. Operating costs are removed as are indirect expenses. Electronic fund transfer has enhanced the business process. Companies use internet technology and serve their customers through their websites. Internet has led to Business-to-Business (B2B) commerce. A website that serves as a marketing and sales point is a differentiator from competitors (Zsidisin, Jun & Adams, 2000). The web removes the physical and time restrictions. Operating costs are removed as are indirect expenses. The Web also strengthens B2B and B2C relationships as product information is available through multimedia such as sound and active pictures. Electronic fund transfer has enhanced the business process. Use of internet makes cooperative learning easier to implement as it allows for a rich exchange of information between members of a knowledge community (Fuks, Gerosa & Pereira de Lucena, 2002). Software is now available which includes tool for electronic mail exchange between the instructor and the entire group. Even real time chats and debates can be held online amongst the participants. The students use this platform to resolve doubts. At the same time, as with any technology, abuse of internet also is rampant. In an organization managers report abuse of the internet by the employees, which leads to time wasted on non-work related email, online chat, online shopping, downloading of games, music, and software, and thereby making the system vulnerable to virus. The efforts of companies in implementing codes of conduct to govern their employees’ use of internet have not been effective (Iles & Healy, 2004). Employees often view these codes as a means to control employee behavior, or to conceal company’s information system, which gives rise to resistance. Technological advances in internet have transformed relationships. Computers can change human values. Computers can carry out any task that you program it for. Today computers can even reason, calculate and make analogies. According to Professor Bynum, internet seeps into our lives unnoticed (Rogerson, 1996). Smart cards, credit cards, programmable domestic appliances are testament to this fact. Once technology develops and permeates the society, the definition of relationship too changes. Social transformation takes place, the way human beings react with each other undergoes a change. Computers, internet and technology are increasingly used in education. E-learning employs new multimedia technologies and the internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to resources and services, as well as remote exchange and collaboration (Alonso, Lopez, Manrique & Vines, 2005). Computer-based instructions can individualize the learning process as it can accommodate individual needs, interest, current knowledge, and the learning styles of each student (Kulik, 1994 cited by Schacter, 1999). A lot of significance has been attached to the development of formal and informal networks. Computer networks create new forms and channels of communication, shaping the life and being shaped by life at the same time. The era of computers has imprinted influential effects on social contact and more importantly it is a media of research and an invaluable tool for information and learning. The progress has been so rapid that today even internet governance is a controversial issue. Today every countrys economy and administration depends on the internet and it is natural that these countries want to be a part of the governance, said Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, to The Washington (2005). Thus internet has come a long way since the idea was first conceived and developed by Licklider in the 1960s. It has changed the way people work, interact and communicate, it has transformed the method teaching and learning; it has enhanced communication and improved social networking. It is a household name and has reduced the costs of communication and traveling. It is used practically in every field of business – marketing, finance, in different industries like the health sector, education, research, banking, building relationships and information exchange. Internet governance may be able to control abuse to come extent but internet is now an indispensable part of people’s lives. Even a nation’s economy is now dependent on the internet. The benefits far outweigh the pitfalls and this is precisely the reason it has pervaded every section of the society. References: Alonso, F., Lopez, G., Manrique, D., & Vines, J., (2005), An instructional model for web-based e- learning education with a blended learning process approach, British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 36 No 2 2005217–235 Fuks, H., Gerosa, M. A., & Pereira de Lucena, C. J., (2002), Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 17:1, 23 -38 Hauben, R., (n.d.), Creating the Vision for the Internet, 02 Dec 2007 Iles, J. & Healy, M. (2004), The TQM Magazine, Vol. 16 No. 5, 2004 pp. 354-358 Leiner et al., (1999), A Brief History of the Internet, 02 Dec 2007 Prufer, J., & Jahn. E., (2007), Dark clouds over the Internet? Telecommunications Policy 31 (2007) 144–154 Rogerson, S. (1996), Computers and Human Values, 02 Dec 2007 Russell, A. L., (2001), Ideological and Policy Origins of the Internet, 1957-1969, 02 Dec 2007 Schacter, J. (1999), The impact of education technology on student achievement, 02 Dec 2007 Slater, W. F., (2002), Internet History & Growth, 02 Dec 2007 Spinning, P., & Lundh, Y., (2004), Features of the Internet history, TELEKTRONIKK, 02 Dec 2007 The Washington Times. Publication Date: November 18, 2005. Page Number: A22. Zsidisin, G. A., Jun, M., & Adams, L. L., (2000), The relationship between information technology and service quality in the dual-direction supply chain, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 11 No. 4, 2000, pp. 312-328 Read More