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Table of ContentsIntroduction.................................................................................................................................................3

Key Impact of Information Systems and Technology...................................................................................3

Social Impact...........................................................................................................................................4

Business Impact.......................................................................................................................................4

Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................4

References...................................................................................................................................................5

IntroductionHumans have always been social animals, and hence are influenced by cultural and social issues. This has led to the development of societies of humans. According to the dictionary, “A society can also refer specifically to any group of people, other animals and/or plants and the interactions within that group. This can be anything from a small neighborhood to the entire global community. Religion, ethnicity, interests, political opinions or other relating factors may help form a group of people.” (Web directory)

Interaction between humans at a social or cultural level takes place primarily because of dissemination and communication of information. The primary form of communication between two individual can be visual, verbal or through symbolic gestures and transfer of ideas. But in order to communicate with a large number of people, new social communication methods have been devised over the years. It started with the advent of the clay tablet, to telegraph and telephone, going on to faxes.

One of the popular explanations for the current changes occurring in the world is that we are in a major revolution which has been dubbed as the Third Wave (Bell D, 1973). First was the Agricultural Revolution, then the Industrial Revolution, and now we are in the Information Revolution. The current information and knowledge era came to age with the launch of the internet. Due to this communication which was previously one-to-one and on a more intimate basis became larger, more social and participative.

Using the internet, instantaneous emails, wikis, blogs, streaming videos, video chat and web broadcasts became a reality. Using these methods now people could socially communicate to a large audience at negligible cost. The internet has shaped the culture of different parts of the world more than anything before it, as we would consider in the following essay. Hence information flow plays a decisive role in the development of culture and society.

Key Impact of Information Systems and TechnologyBefore going any further let us first understand what Information systems encompass in the context of this essay. According to Alexandrou, M., “information technology refers to both the hardware and software that are used to store, retrieve, and manipulate information. At the lowest level one has the servers each with an operating system. Installed on these servers are things like database and web serving software. The servers are connected to each other and to users via a network infrastructure. And the users accessing these servers have their own hardware, operating systems, and software tools.” Although Information technology is not limited to computer hardware and software alone in today’s knowledge economy. Information technology also encompasses the uses, distribution and security of information and related areas.

Our society is transforming in a fundamental way, and the information revolution or the Third Wave is an important part of the phenomenon which involves multiple and interdependent causes. These include human values, culture, politics, economy and science. This revolution is creating a reorganization

of human life. The society, education, psychology, science, economy, religion and technology are all changing, since they are all reciprocally interconnected (Lombardo T, 1997).

A new realm of social informatics has developed which is defined as “an interdisciplinary field of study, comprising of issues and semantics that have bearing on the design, uses and consequences of information and communication technology” (Sawyer and Rosenbaum, 2000 p. 89).

Social ImpactInformation technology has influenced religious practices by making the information more accessible to everyone. This has led to propagation of religious practices, and fundamental values to whoever chooses to follow that religion (Brosnan M J, 1998). But the more relevant debate is whether IT has influenced the social attitudes and customs of different religious institutions.

The social attitudes of people across the globe have changed as an individual is not a citizen of a particular society but a global citizen. They are better informed about the various elements than ever before. Also in today’s knowledge economy they have access to information about a specific product, service or organization so that they can make informed decisions with regard to their interactions with that entity (Bannon L et al, 1982).

The education paradigm has also undergone a massive change with the advent of the information economy and has now influenced the education establishments. Till the previous times the aims of universities and other educational institutions was the creation of information through research and debate. But because of easy access to information now the focus has also shifted on the dissemination and protection of that information (Loos E et al, 2008). Also the research methodologies have undergone a huge change due to the free access of information from around the world through the internet, hence facilitating collaborative research across the globe.

Business ImpactInformation technology (IT) has played a crucial role in the development of the contemporary society. It has transformed the whole world into one global village, a global economy and a global society. All these are dependent on the free and fair distribution and dissemination of information. Business now can capitalize on global opportunities with internet offering them a medium to communicate their business model and value to any customer in the world. In today’s world, IT provides the communication and analytical power to trade and manage business at a global level, which is primarily to coordinate and communicate with suppliers, distributors and customers anywhere in the globe (Anderson B et al, 2007).

ConclusionThe world is increasingly becoming dependent on information and technology as a driver of growth, of which internet is a major part. Developing nations are deriving incredible advances from this technology for updating their knowledge and development (Campbell M J, 1989). A new IT culture has developed in the society of today which is a proponent of free information access, free will and thought process. People are not afraid of debating about topics which are a taboo in their small society as they can do so

in the global society. Hence information technology has had massive impact on the culture and society of today and will continue to do so in the future.

ReferencesALEXANDROU, M. (N.D.). DEFINITION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. RETRIEVED MAY 10, 2010, FROM HTTP://WWW.MARIOSALEXANDROU.COM/GLOSSARY/INFORMATION_TECHNOLOGY.ASP

ANDERSON, B., BRYNIN, M., GERSHUNY, J., AND RABAN, Y (2007). INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES IN SOCIETY: E-LIVING IN A DIGITAL EUROPE. HOBOKEN, NJ.

BANNON, L., BARRY, U., HOLST, O. (EDS) (1982). INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IMPACT ON THE WAY OF LIFE. EEC CONFERENCE ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY HELD IN DUBLIN, IRELAND, 18-20 NOVEMBER 1981

BELL, D. (1973). THE COMING OF POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY. NEW YORK: BASIC BOOKS.

BROSNAN, M.J. (1998). TECHNOPHOBIA: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. ROUTLEDGE, LONDON.

CAMPBELL, M.J. (1989). NEW TECHNOLOGY AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: THE SOCIAL IMPACT. ROUTLEDGE, LONDON.

LOMBARDO, T. (1997). THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: LEARNING, LIVING, AND LOVING IN THE FUTURE. LABYRINTH, 5(2). RETRIEVED MAY 10, 2010, FROM HTTP://WWW.MCLI.DIST.MARICOPA.EDU/LF/SPR97/SPR97L8.HTML

LOOS, E., MATE-MEIJER, E., HADDON, L. (EDS) (2008). THE SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY. ALDERSHOT, ENGLAND.

SAWYER, S. AND ROSENBAUM, H. (2000). SOCIAL INFORMATICS IN THE INFORMATION SCIENCES: CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND EMERGING DIRECTIONS. [ELECTRONIC VERSION] INFORMING SCIENCE. 3 (2), 89-95 AVAILABLE AT HTTP://WWW.INFORM.NU/ARTICLES/VOL3/V3N2P89-96R.PDF

WEB DIRECTORY. (N.D.). RETRIEVED MAY 10, 2010, FROM HTTP://WWW.LINKSFINDING.COM/DIRECTORY.ASPX? PR=SOCIETY/