Social impact of informatization

Exercise 9. Read and translate the text.

Exercise 8. Before reading the text, give Russian equivalent to the following words. Make up sentences with each word.

Exercise 5. Make up a short dialogue with your partner, in which you describe to him this term in your words.

Exercise 4. Choose of the definitions, which is the best, in your opinion. Prove your answer. Express your opinion and try to give your own definition of this term.

Origin of the term

The term informatisation was coined by Simon Nora and Alain Minc in their publication L'Informatisation de la sociйtй: Rapport а M. le Prйsident de la Rйpublique which was translated in English in 1980 as The Computerization of Society: A report to the President of France. However, in an article published in 1987 Minc preferred to use Informatisation and not computerization.

Exercise 3. Questions under discussing:

1. What does the term “informatization” mean?

2. Who used this term first?

3. Which Ages do you know?

4. How does Everett Rogers define informatization?

5. Has anyone of the observant cautioned about the negative impact of informatization?

6. What helps to minimize cultural and economic barriers?

7. How does G.Wang describe informatization?

8. Who and when coined this term?

Exercise 6. Say TRUE or FALSE to the following statements. Use information from the text:

1. “Informatization” and “informatisation” mean the same.

2. Informatization means that geographical area, an economy or a polocy is becoming information-based.

3. Everett Rogers states, that informatization develops the usage of new devices and technologies in order to develop the society.

4. G. Wang describes informatization as a process of decrease in the speed, quantity, and popularity of information production and distribution.

5. Alain Minc chose the term computerization instead of Informatisation in an article published in 1987.

Exercise 7. Put the words together:

communication area

cultural technologies

geographical Age

labor force

Agricultural industry

dominant impact

agricultural force

negative development

far-reaching propel

repercussion usher

living scarce

view commodity

centrality redefine

arena overlap

participative diminish

issue proliferation

Informatization has many far-reaching consequences in society. Kim (2004) observes that these include repercussions in economics, politics and other aspects of modern living. In the economic sphere, for example, information is viewed as a focal resource for development, replacing the centrality of labor and capital during the industrial age. In the political arena, there are increased opportunities for participative democracy with the advent of information and communication technology (ICT) that provide easy access to information on varied social and political issues.