Information Age - Annotated Bibliography Example

CRITICAL EVALUATION FORM Information Age in terms of its implications for the society Source Details Paul Kendall Is the digital age rewiring us? URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/9913452/Is-the-digital-age-rewiring-us.html This article initially enlists the adverse effects of the digital age on the modern human society. It explains how the age of information technology has affected the way we live, interact and socialize with our fellow beings. It states how the digital gadgets have changed our feelings and our outlook towards life in general. It also pinpoints the compromise of privacy which is a consequence of the emergence of the information age. But at the end, the article lays down a number of ways in which technology is beneficial and can be used to make good the damage it has hitherto caused. The information type is news and the format is that of a news article. 2. Two opposing perspectives on the Information Age a) A positive perspective Source Details Author: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory and the Metiri Group Title: enGauge 21st Century Skills: Literacy in the Digital Age URL: http://pict.sdsu.edu/engauge21st.pdf This book presents a very bright and positive perspective on the modern age of information. It mainly focuses on the gifts of the digital age in the sphere of education. The ideas explored in this book include the differences created in the world of literacy by the IT-enabled methodology of teaching and learning, the ease of communication, the rise in productivity and the growth of inventive thinking. b) A critical perspective Source Details Author: Alec Ash Title: An interview with Nicholas Carr on Impact of the Information Age URL: http://fivebooks.com/interviews/nicholas-carr-on-impact-information-age This interview with Nicholas Carr reveals a critical exploration of the different facets of the digital age. Carr ardently speaks about the points he had put forward in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” and his book “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains”. He elaborates on the critical issues such as attention deficit and information overload that are associated with the upsurge of the information age. Out of the two sources, the one which comes closer to my personal point of view on the issue and appeals to me more is the book “enGauge 21st Century Skills: Literacy in the Digital Age”. It holds a greater authoritative and credible tone, owing to the range of illustrations and explanations it offers to highlight the redeeming impact of digitization in the field of education. On the other hand, the views of Nicholas Carr on the information age, as expressed in his interview, are a product of his own personal and subjective judgement and lack empirical evidence, which reduce the credibility and authority of the source. 3. Need-specific sources on the Information Age a) Background information for a student’s undergraduate research paper Source Details Author: James D. Torr Title: The Information Age URL: http://www.dikseo.teimes.gr/spoudastirio/E-NOTES/I/Information_Age_Viewpoints.pdf The book is a collection of the viewpoints of various authors on the impacts of the information age on the modern-day society, economy and governments and presents a brief snapshot of the future prospects of this age of information technology. It enumerates the benefits of information age to the society in the form of the internet and online communities, which has initiated a spread of freedom and democracy. It states that greater access to information has fuelled economic growth and helped the governments to regulate their public better. But it also presents certain opposing views which hold that the impact of the information age on socio-economic spheres is not only negative but also drastically detrimental. b) Scholarly argument about an issue pertaining to the information age Source Details Author: Donald J. Leu Title: Literacy and Technology: Deictic Consequences for Literacy Education in an Information Age URL: http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~djleu/Handbook.html This paper focuses on the treatment of literacy as a technological deixis. The rapid growth of information and communication technologies has led to a gamut of parallel developments in the arena of education and literacy. The author shares the theoretical perspectives involved and explores the social and historical contexts related to the issue. Then he puts forward his own definitions and views on the concepts of literacy, classroom learning, teacher education, literacy research and public policy. He also reviews the latest technologies and their applications in the zone of literacy, thereby summarizing their cumulative impact on modern education. c) Preparation of teaching material for high school class Source Details Author: James R. Messenger Title: Defining the Information Age URL:http://www.informationage.org/Videos.html The video chosen for this section is based on the Theory of the Information Age – a concept developed within AT&T in the year 1982. It provides apt learning resources for the high school students by outlining the history and origin of the information age and then introducing functional concepts like just-in-time manufacturing and inventory, the ISDN system and transmission of information in the form of audio, video and data. It also underlines reliability and economy of transmission of data as the two most vital criteria that make the information age a boon to mankind. d) Journalistic article about the impact of the information age on health Source Details Author: Hua My, Alfi M, Talbot P Title: Health-Related Effects Reported by Electronic Cigarette Users in Online Forums URL: http://www.jmir.org/2013/4/e59/ This research paper provides a comprehensive insight of the short-term effects of the use of e-cigarette. The study has been carried out through a systematic analysis of various posts from three online forums on e-cigarettes. The paper gives an overview of the number and types of health hazards caused by e-cigarette use; their impact on the organ systems such as digestive, respiratory, sensory and neurological; and the resulting system interactions. The paper concludes that e-cigarette use can lead to a number of positive and negative effects on one’s health and that online forums serve as a valuable resource for arriving at this conclusion. e) Serious social and political implications of the information age Source Details Author: Dr. Chin-fu Hung Title: China’s Socio-political Development under the Fifth Generation Leadership: Perspective from the Wei-Quan Movement in the Internet Era URL:https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CCoQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarnegieendowment.org%2Ffiles%2FHung_Panel%2520III.pdf&ei=EeYEU6CrJIz7rAeV9oDABQ&usg=AFQjCNE9WXS8vtyoWuAVj3YF_1r-hlHAiw&bvm=bv.61535280,d.bmk This paper explores the impact of the information age on the socio-economic and political life of China. It states the influence of internet, social media, SMS and blogging on the lives of the Chinese citizens. With the ease of sharing and transmitting information in the 21st century, facilitated by the ICTs, the people of China are becoming more and more aware of their rights and duties as citizens of the nation. This has given rise a growing consciousness of civic rights, also known as the wei-quan movement. Such a socio-cultural revolution in the country has attracted the vigilance of the national government in the form of strict cyber laws and regulations. 4. An image located from additional searching which sparked my imagination Source Details Author: Cagle Cartoons; Published on Nov 11, 2011 Title: An image on “Information Age” URL: http://www.allvoices.com/cartoons/c/88119480-information-age This image gives a very interesting pictorial representation of the progress made by the US owing to its use of the modern information technology. Prior to the advent of the new information age, USA was mainly concentrating on its manufacturing sector with its use of traditional methods of production. But with the coming of digitization, it also made enormous progress in the service sector, by employing the benefits of ICT to fuel its service industry. 5. An alternative perspective on the Information Age An aspect of the information age that has been overlooked by most of the sources is its impact on governments and their methods of governance. A very modern and utilitarian element of ICT is the scope of using it to improve a country’s governance. The system of e-governance can be put to practice so as to overcome the hassles in the general administration processes. E-governance system would help in swift dissemination of information and easy access to services. This would enhance not only the effectiveness but also the efficiency of the governmental policies and programs. Read More