The information society is understood. Scientific electronic library
1. Concept, prerequisites for the emergence and theories of the information society
2. Features of the information society and its contradictions.
Since the mid-60s, Western sociologists and social philosophers (D. Bell, D. Riesman, O. Toffler, A. Touraine, etc.) have been actively discussing the issue of the entry of the most developed countries into a qualitatively different stage of social development, characterized by them as a “post-industrial” or “information” society. These conversations were sparked by whole line factors.
Firstly, everyone then was impressed by the rapid development of science and technology, as mentioned above.
Secondly, in the mid-70s there was a global energy crisis. Oil-producing countries did not want to sell the contents of their subsoil to the West for next to nothing and raised prices. As a result, Western industry is faced with the urgent need to implement energy-efficient solutions in production and construction, as well as to increase product profitability. Having overcome this crisis, Western countries have entered a new technological stage.
Thirdly, just in the early 70s, the old financial system (it was called Bretton Woods) collapsed. As a result of the introduction of floating exchange rates, the dollar began to prevail in all international payments and began to play the role of world money. Thus, the West received almost limitless opportunities for expansion. And for any expansion that combines economic and political aspects, appropriate ideological support is needed.
Well, fourthly, by this time the USSR had so lost its development momentum that no opposition was expected on its part.
Information society is a term used to designate the current state of industrialized countries, associated with the new role of information in all aspects of their life, a qualitatively new level (scope) of production, processing and dissemination of information.
Information society is a society in which the majority of workers are engaged in the production, storage, processing and sale of information, especially its highest form - knowledge
There are two approaches that interpret the historical place of the information society differently. The first approach, expressed by Jürgen Habermas, E. Giddens, considers Information society as a phase of industrial society.
The second approach, voiced by D. Bell and Alvin Toffler, fixes the information society as a completely new stage following the industrial society (the second wave, according to Toffler).
Prerequisites for the formation of the information society:
Features of the information society:
Intellectual and creative labor displaces the labor of the individual directly involved in the production process;
Development of the service sector;
The main thing becomes work aimed at receiving, processing, storing, transforming and using information.
Creativity takes on primary importance in motivating work activity;
Creation of new needs and values, new economic sectors and market segments.
Changes in employment;
The problem of the information crisis has been solved, i.e. the contradiction between the information avalanche and information hunger is resolved;
The priority of information is ensured compared to other resources;
The main form of development will be the information economy;
The basis of society will be the automated generation, storage, processing and use of knowledge with the help of the latest information technology and technology;
Information technology will become global in nature, covering all areas of human social activity;
The information unity of the entire human civilization is being formed;
With the help of computer science, every person has free access to the information resources of the entire civilization;
Humanistic principles of social management and environmental impact have been implemented.
In addition to the positive aspects, dangerous trends are also predicted:
- the increasing influence of the media on society;
- information Technology may destroy the privacy of people and organizations;
- there is a problem of selecting high-quality and reliable information;
- many people will find it difficult to adapt to the information society environment. There is a danger of a gap between the "information elite" (people involved in the development of information technologies) and consumers.
Theories of the information society:
Jurgen Habermas German philosopher and sociologist
According to Professor W. Martin, the information society is understood as a “developed post-industrial society” that arose primarily in the West. In his opinion, it is no coincidence that the information society is establishing itself primarily in those countries - Japan, the USA and Western Europe - in which a post-industrial society was formed in the 60s and 70s.
William Martin made an attempt to identify and formulate the main characteristics of the information society according to the following criteria.
- Technological: the key factor is information technology, which is widely used in production, institutions, the education system and in everyday life.
- Social: information acts as an important stimulator of changes in the quality of life, “information consciousness” is formed and established with wide access to information.
- Economic: Information is a key factor in the economy as a resource, service, commodity, source of added value and employment.
- Political: freedom of information leading to a political process characterized by increasing participation and consensus among different classes and social strata of the population.
- Cultural: recognition of the cultural value of information by promoting the establishment of information values in the interests of the development of the individual and society as a whole.
At the same time, Martin especially emphasizes the idea that communication is " key element information society".
D. Bell: Defines the information society through the changes taking place in real society
A new social order based on telecommunications
The revolution in the organization and processing of information and knowledge, in which the computer plays a central role, is unfolding simultaneously with the emergence of a post-industrial society.
Three aspects of post-industrial society are particularly important for understanding the telecommunications revolution:
1) transition from an industrial to a service society;
2) the critical importance of codified theoretical knowledge for the implementation of technological innovation;
3) transformation of new “smart technology” into key tool systems analysis and decision theory.”
Alvin Toffler “The Third Wave” is an American sociologist and futurist, he studied in detail the response of society to this phenomenon and the changes occurring in society
According to Toffler, the development of science and technology occurs in spurts, or more precisely, in waves. Since the mid-50s, industrial production began to acquire new features. In many areas of technology, a variety of types of equipment, types of goods, and types of services are increasingly being discovered. The specialization of labor is becoming increasingly fragmented. Expanding organizational forms management. The volume of publications is increasing. According to the scientist, all this led to extreme fragmentation of economic indicators, which led to the emergence of computer science.
Studying the information age worker, Toffler notes that he is more independent, more resourceful, that he is no longer an appendage of a machine. However information age unemployment is inherent, and the problem of unemployment becomes not so much a quantitative problem as a qualitative one. It's no longer just a matter of how many jobs there are, but what types of jobs are, where, when, and who can fill them. Today's economy is extremely dynamic, industries that are experiencing depression coexist next to prosperous ones, and this makes it difficult to solve the problem of unemployment. And unemployment itself is now more diverse in its origin.
His main works advocate the thesis that humanity is moving to a new technological revolution, that is, the first wave (agrarian civilization) and the second (industrial civilization) are being replaced by a new one, leading to the creation of a super-industrial civilization.
The “third wave” brings with it a truly new image life based on diversified, renewable energy sources; on production methods that render most factory assembly lines obsolete; on some new (“non-nuclear”) family; at a new institute that could be called an “electronic cottage”; on the radically transformed schools and corporations of the future. The emerging civilization brings with it a new code of conduct and takes us beyond the concentration of energy, money and power.”
T. Stoneier INFORMATION WEALTH: PROFILE OF POST-INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY
There are three main ways in which a country can increase its national wealth: 1) continuous accumulation of capital, 2) military conquests and territorial increments, 3) the use of new technology that converts “non-resources” into resources. By virtue of high level development of technology in the post-industrial economy, the transfer of non-resources into resources has become the main principle of creating new wealth. information exchange leads to cooperation. Information is therefore a resource that can be shared without regret.
A. Touraine: French sociologist
“...the concept of a post-industrial society... - here investments are made at a different level than in an industrial society, that is, in the production of means of production. The organization of labor affects only the relations of workers among themselves, and therefore the level at which production operates. Post-industrial society operates more globally at the management level, that is, in the production mechanism as a whole. This action takes two main forms. Firstly, it is innovation, that is, the ability to produce new products, in particular as a result of investments in science and technology; secondly, management itself, that is, the ability to use complex information and communication systems.
It is important to recognize that a post-industrial society is one in which all elements of the economic system are affected by the actions of society on itself. These actions do not always take the form of conscious will embodied in an individual or even a group of people. This is why such a society should be called a programmable society, a designation that clearly indicates its ability to create models for managing production, organization, distribution and consumption; Therefore, this kind of society appears at the operational level not as a result of natural laws or specific cultural characteristics, but rather as the result of production, thanks to the action of society on itself, its own systems social action."
1. Information society: concepts, definitions, concepts
Information society.1
The role of the state in the formation of the information society. 9
Concept for the development of the information society of the European Community. 12
Self-test questions:19
On the other hand, the penetration of information technologies into people's private lives can threaten the privacy of citizens. The price for convenience, speed of transmission and receipt of information, various information services - a person must constantly report personal data about himself to information systems - loss of anonymity.
Due to the particular sensitivity to the collection of personal information, the documents of the European Community (Building the European Information Society for Us All. First Reflections of the High Level Group of Experts. Interim Report, January 1996) offer the following recommendations:
· collection and storage of identifiable information should be minimal;
· the decision to open or close information should be left to the people themselves;
· when designing information systems, it is necessary to take into account the need to protect personal information;
· citizens must have access to the latest technologies to protect personal privacy;
· the protection of personal information and privacy should become the central point of a policy that ensures the right to anonymity of citizens in information systems.
Intensive implementation of information technologies in government agencies makes it possible to:
· bring them closer to citizens, improve and expand services to the population;
· increase internal efficiency and reduce public sector costs;
· stimulate the creation of new information equipment, products and services by the private sector through adequate public policy.
The following principles should apply regarding access to public information:
· information should be open to everyone;
· basic information should be free. A reasonable price should be charged if additional processing is required, bearing in mind the cost of preparing and transmitting the information, plus a small profit;
· Continuity: information must be provided continuously, and must be of the same quality.
As a rule, the reason for failures in the implementation of information technology implementation projects both at the level of enterprises and the state is the inability to combine technological innovations with organizational ones.
1.2. The role of the state in the formation of the information society
Rapid development of ITT, convergence of computer systems, communications various types, entertainment industry, production consumer electronics lead to the need to reconsider ideas about the information industry, its role and place in society. Many countries are now adopting new laws and restructuring the activities of government bodies responsible for the formation and implementation of information and telecommunications policies.
State information policy– regulatory activities of government bodies aimed at developing the information sphere of society, which covers not only telecommunications, information systems or the media, but the entire set of industries and relations associated with the creation, storage, processing, demonstration, transmission of information in all its forms - business, entertainment, scientific and educational, news, etc.
Such an expansive interpretation of information policy seems justified today, since the digitalization of information and the latest telecommunications and Computer techologies are intensively eroding barriers between various sectors of the information industry.
Comprehensive consideration of the processes occurring in information sphere society, modern methods its state regulation is very important for Russia, since in this area the state has not fully decided. Existing attempts to write concepts of information space only partially solve the problem, since the space itself is formed not so much by the state as by the market and new commercial structures. The history of the Russian computer market confirms this. An analysis of foreign practice in regulating the information sphere of society allows us to highlight a number of areas, which include:
· encouraging competition, combating monopolism (control over the concentration of ownership in the media, issuing permits for mergers of companies, decisions on the disintegration of large monopolistic companies);
· ensuring the right and technical capabilities to access information and information resources for the entire population;
· respect for freedom of speech;
· protecting the interests of national minorities and the younger generation in the information sphere;
· protection of national cultural heritage, language, opposition to the cultural expansion of other countries;
· ensuring information security;
· protection of intellectual property, fight against piracy;
· fight against computer and high-tech crimes;
· control over the use of information and telecommunication technologies in government institutions;
· censorship in global computer networks.
Among the most significant trends in the foreign information industry in recent years are the revision of previously established rules for its regulation: deregulation of the telecommunications market, allowing cable, telephone, cellular, satellite and other companies to compete in each other's markets; weakening control over the concentration of ownership in various media. As a result, there is both vertical and horizontal integration of information markets and the means of its transmission.
Development of the information industry and new information relations in Russia is largely stimulated by global processes in this area - deregulation of the telecommunications market, privatization of state telecom operators, creation of new information conglomerates, including both information delivery means (cable and telephone networks, satellites, computer systems, etc.), and content producers - television and film studios, publishing houses, news agencies.
IN currently there is a wave of major mergers abroad information companies world into large associations that will control the market for the creation and distribution of mass information in the next century. These transformations are a response of leading information companies to the opportunities created by new technologies and changes in the regulatory system of the information industry. Since this process is extremely dynamic, Russia has only a year or two to take its rightful place in the system of international information relations.
Preserving competition and combating the monopoly of individual manufacturers or firms providing services is the cornerstone of government regulation. In the field of telecommunications, mergers of various companies at the national and interstate levels must occur with the permission of the relevant authorities, in the USA these are the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, which determine whether the merger of two or more companies will lead to the emergence of a monopoly, which will eliminate competition and, as a consequence, over time will reduce the quality and variety of services provided to the business world and the population, leading to higher prices. All large American companies, such as AT&T, Microsoft, IBM, television companies, which are now looking for partners in their own and foreign markets, are under the close attention of these bodies.
There are large gaps in Russian information legislation - laws on the right to information, on the protection of personal data, and on television have not been adopted. The laws on the protection of copyright and related rights, on the media, and on participation in international information exchange require additions. However, new ones are being added to the old unresolved problems. On the agenda is the regulation of the already begun process of concentration of ownership of domestic mass media, the merger of newspapers, their association with television channels, news agencies, and financial groups. There are no documents regulating the procedure for the formation and maintenance of departmental information resources, access to them by citizens. Rules for the acquisition and operation of information and telecommunication technologies in government agencies have not been established, which leads to uncontrolled and irresponsible spending of significant amounts; computer and information systems do not make the expected contribution to increasing the efficiency of government agencies. It is necessary to develop your “own” Internet based on Russian information. The development of normative documents regulating the sale of information resources created by government agencies is very relevant. Resources that are not subject to denationalization, such as statistical information, must be clearly listed. Finally, it is necessary to decide what the place and role of Russia is in international programs such as the Global Information Infrastructure.
1.3. Concept for the development of the information society of the European Community
Since 1994, the European Community has made the task of building an information society one of its highest priorities. Significant success has been achieved in the implementation of the Action Plan (Europe and the global information society, 1994), which defined the strategy for Europe's movement towards the information society:
· liberalization of the telecommunications sector has been successfully launched;
Efforts have been made to ensure social orientation information society, support for regional initiatives to achieve coordinated development;
· an action plan in the field of education has been formulated;
· supported the European content manufacturing industry, which is expected to create an additional 1 million jobs over the next 10 years;
· scientific development programs have been successfully implemented;
· The European Commission has become an important instrument for developing common rules that are necessary for the transition to a global information society.
Taking into account what has already been achieved before European countries new tasks are being set:
1. Improve the business environment through effective and coordinated telecommunications liberalization, create the necessary conditions for the implementation of e-commerce.
2. A transition to lifelong learning is necessary. The “Learning in the Information Society” initiative is working in this direction.
3. The significant consequences of the information society for the individual have prompted a debate aimed at placing people at the center of the ongoing transformations. As a result of the discussion, the Green Paper “Living and Working in the Information Society: People First” (Green Paper, 1996) was released. It is about creating new jobs, protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens, especially privacy.
4. Today the importance of global cooperation and the establishment of rules for creating an information society is clear. They affect intellectual property rights, data protection and privacy, the distribution of harmful and illegal content, tax issues, information security, use of frequencies, standards. Multilateral agreements within the European Union are needed to establish common rules in these areas
The European Commission established a Forum to discuss common problems formation of the information society. Its 128 members represent users of new technologies, various social groups, content and service providers, network operators, government and international institutions. The purpose of the Forum is to trace the process of formation of the information society in six areas:
· impact on the economy and employment;
· basic social and democratic values in the “virtual community”;
· impact on public and government services;
· education, retraining, training in the information society;
· cultural dimension and the future of the media;
· sustainable development, technology and infrastructure.
Thus, the prerequisites and real ways of forming and developing the information society in Russia are now understood. This process is global in nature, and our country’s entry into the global information community is inevitable. Use of material and spiritual benefits information civilization can provide the population of Russia with a decent life, economic prosperity and the necessary conditions for the free development of personality. Russia must join the family of technologically and economically developed countries as a full-fledged participant in world civilizational development while maintaining political independence, national identity and cultural traditions, with a developed civil society and the rule of law. It can be expected that the main features and characteristics of the information society will be formed in Russia under stable socio-political conditions and deep economic transformations in the first quarter of the 21st century.
The characteristic features and characteristics of the information society include:
· formation of a unified information and communication space of Russia as part of the world information space, full participation of Russia in the processes of information and economic integration of regions, countries and peoples;
· the formation and subsequent dominance in the economy of new technological structures based on mass use promising information technologies, computer technology and telecommunications;
· creation and development of a market for information and knowledge as factors of production in addition to the markets for natural resources, labor and capital, the transition of society's information resources into real resources for socio-economic development, the actual satisfaction of society's needs for information products and services;
· increasing role of information and communication infrastructure in the system of social production;
· increasing the level of education, scientific, technical and cultural development by expanding the capabilities of information exchange systems at the international, national and regional levels and, accordingly, increasing the role of qualifications, professionalism and creativity as the most important characteristics of labor services;
· creation of an effective system for ensuring the rights of citizens and social institutions to freely receive, distribute and use information as the most important condition democratic development.
The need to transition to an information society is closely related to the change in the nature of the impact of scientific and technological progress on people's lives. At the end of the 20th century, the speed of change in technological structures in production, technologies for providing products and services, and the management of these processes increased significantly. If at the beginning and even in the middle of the century such changes occurred in periods of time significantly exceeding the lifespan of one or two generations, then today a change in the technological structure occurs over more than short term. At the same time, the lifestyle of the majority of the population, the socio-psychological model of behavior of people and society as a whole is radically changing. The behavior patterns of the current and future generations are beginning to differ especially significantly - known issue"fathers and sons". Obviously, one of the factors that can, to a certain extent, weaken the impact of such changes in lifestyle on a person’s psyche is the level of information readiness of a person for future changes. One of the most important indicators lifestyle changes in the second half of our century is the development and use of new information and communication technologies in all areas social life and activities, the level of production and consumption of information products and services by society. There is an obvious change in attitudes towards information and an expansion in the possibilities of obtaining and using information to enhance human potential and its development in many directions.
All of the above determines the emergence and need to solve a complex socially significant problem - the creation of a socio-psychological model of behavior of a member of the information society, identifying “points” and methods of influence that will ensure normal adaptation and comfortable existence of a person in the information society, and will reduce contradictions between generations.
It seems that the most effective influence is exerted by the education system, which should accustom the child, adolescent and adult to the need for constant changes in lifestyle, to perceive, follow and preserve the national traditions and cultural heritage of their country.
Conclusions:
INFORMATION SOCIETY is one of the theoretical models, used to describe a qualitatively new stage of social development, which developed countries entered with the beginning of the information and computer revolution. The technological basis of society is not industrial, but information and telecommunication technologies.
The information society is a society in which:
1. Information becomes the main economic resource, and the information sector comes out on top in terms of development rates, number of employees, share of capital investments, and share in GDP. ITT is becoming the main means of increasing production efficiency and strengthening competitiveness both in the domestic and global markets.
2. There is a developed infrastructure that ensures the creation of sufficient information resources. This is primarily the education system and science. There is a redistribution of resources in favor of science and education. In the United States, the so-called accumulated human capital is three times greater than the assets of all American corporations. Intellectual property becomes the main form of ownership. IN competition For the world championship, a new factor appears - the level of development of information infrastructure and industry.
3. Information becomes a subject of mass consumption. The information society provides any individual with access to any source of information. This is guaranteed by law (military and state secrets are also determined by law) and technical capabilities. New criteria for assessing the level of development of society are emerging - the number of computers, the number of Internet connections, the number of mobile and fixed telephones, etc. The legal foundations of the information society are being developed.
4. A unified integrated information system is being formed based on technological convergence (merging telecommunications, computer-electronic, audio-visual equipment). Unified national information systems are being created (in the USA - in the 1980s, in Western Europe - in the 1990s).
5. The information society is emerging as a global one. It includes:
· global information economy»;
· one world information space;
· global information infrastructure;
· the emerging global legislative and legal system.
In the information society, business activity flows into the information and communication environment. A virtual economy, a virtual financial system, etc. are being formed, which raises complex questions about the mechanisms of their regulation and connections with the real, “physical” economy
Self-test questions:
1. What is the “information society”
2. What is the global stage of historical development of mankind?
3. What are the main provisions of the concept of the information society
5. Five stages of the process of formation of the information society (according to A.I. Rakitov)
6. Distinctive features of the information society
7. Criteria for the transition of society to the post-industrial and information stages of its development (according to I.V. Sokolova)
8. Additional criteria for the transition of society to the information stage of development. A society is considered informational if:... (according to A.I. Rakitov)
9. Dangers of information technology development
10. The benefits that information technology gives to society
11. Principles for developing access to public information
12. What is “State Information Policy”
14. What is the strategy for Europe’s movement towards the information society
15. Characteristics and signs of the information society
16. How does the globality of the information society manifest itself?
Literature:
Democracy carried out through a referendum. Referendum (from lat. referendum- what must be reported) or plebiscite - in state law, the adoption by an electoral body of decisions on constitutional, legislative or other domestic and foreign policy issues.
Information society. The state and trends in the development of information technologies and their impact on the life of society and citizens. Electronic services, e-government, e-inclusion, e-business, telemedicine and other facets of the information society.
Development modern society impossible without information technology, which allows us to talk about a new phase of social development, which is called the “Information Society.” The development of the concept of the information society was carried out by many outstanding scientists of the world, such as W. Martin, M. Castells, M. McLuhan, Y. Masuda, T. Stonier. The author of this term is considered to be Yu. Hayashi, a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
The information society is a stage of development of society when the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has a significant impact on the main social institutions and spheres of life:
- economics and business sphere,
- public administration,
- education,
- social services and medicine,
- Culture and art.
Communication means - telephony, radio, television, the Internet, traditional and electronic media - are the technological basis of the information society.
Let's see how the information society can manifest itself in various areas of our lives.
Economic: information is used as a resource, service, product, source of added value and employment, e-business is developing. There is no need to send a representative to a business partner from another region; documents are certified with an electronic digital signature. There is no need to waste time choosing a product; just look through the online store catalog. There is no need to visit the tax office to submit tax returns. No need to travel time to get the job done (for some types professional activity). You don’t need to go to the ticket office to buy a train ticket; you just need to order it and pay for it remotely.
Political: freedom of information leading to the development of electronic democracy, electronic state, electronic government. To express your opinion on a particular issue or to form a group of like-minded people to implement any initiative, just go to the corresponding website on the Internet. For getting public services it is enough to fill out the request form remotely, and after a certain time receive the necessary document in your Mailbox. E-government will be discussed in more detail in the next lecture.
Electronic government is a way to increase the efficiency of government activities based on the use of information systems. It is understood that the executive (electronic government), and legislative (electronic parliament, electronic democracy), as well as judicial bodies (electronic justice) function using ICT.
We can say that the process of establishing an electronic state is currently underway, as evidenced by the emergence of the Unified Portal of Electronic Democracy Russian Federation
(http://e-democracy.ru/). The “Electronic Democracy” system makes it possible to participate in management decision-making, public discussions of official documents and monitoring the activities of government bodies.
Social: information acts as an important stimulator of changes in the quality of life. To get specialist advice, the patient does not need to go to medical Center, but it will be enough to leave your documents on the portal and get in touch with a specialized doctor at the appointed time (telemedicine). To get help in an emergency, just use single number emergency services(for example, the “Care” system, which will be discussed in more detail in one of the following lectures). To get a student ready for school, all you need to do is download a set of textbooks from the regional educational portal and save them in an e-book.
Cultural: recognition of the cultural value of information (e.g. UNESCO Digital Heritage Project). To select literature on a topic of interest, just use the electronic catalog of any library throughout the country. To visit a foreign museum, just visit the corresponding website. To get an education at any university in the world, you need to turn to its distance learning resources.
We can say that the information society is most manifested in countries that are characterized as a “developed post-industrial society” (Japan, USA, Western Europe).
Here are some dates, strategies and programs. In March 2000, the European Union adopted a 10-year operational strategy for economic, social and environmental renewal, called the European Research Area (ERA). The goal of this strategy is the EU's transition to a knowledge-based economy, which should become the most dynamic and competitive in the world.
One of the projects that stimulates intensive economic development and strengthening the EU’s position in the international market, the largest political project “Electronic Europe” (eEurope) has become, within the framework of which many programs can be implemented both within EU member countries and at the level of the European Commission.
In 2000, G8 leaders adopted the Okinawa Charter for the Global Information Society. The Charter points out the importance of developing the information society to improve the well-being of citizens and the development of the economy as a whole. It explains how new technologies and their diffusion are a key driver of socio-economic development in countries today. The Charter also points to the need to introduce national and international strategies for achieving the objectives.
The development of the ideas of the information society can be considered the concept of a “knowledge society” supported by UNESCO, which places emphasis on humanistic principles. Economic and social functions capital shifts to information, and the university becomes the core of social organization as a center for the production, processing and accumulation of knowledge. It is especially emphasized that in the “knowledge society” the priorities should be the quality of education, freedom of expression, Universal access to information for all, respect for cultural and linguistic diversity.
The development of the information society inevitably leads to the fact that many specialists work in the field of production and dissemination of information. This requires not only new skills and new knowledge, but also a new mindset, desire and ability to learn throughout life.
Unfortunately, in our country there is still an insufficient level of development of the information technology industry, which leads to a lag behind world leaders. The formation of an information society in Russia is also hampered by the insufficient level of dissemination of basic skills in the use of information technologies both among the population as a whole and among state and municipal employees.
The problems that hinder the efficiency of using information technologies to improve the quality of life of citizens are complex. Their elimination requires significant resources, coordinated implementation of organizational changes and ensuring consistency in the actions of government authorities.
As a result of the implementation of the federal target program “Electronic Russia (2002-2010)”, a certain groundwork was created in the field of introducing information technologies into the activities of public authorities and organizing the provision of public services.
Since the development of the information society is a platform for solving higher-level problems - modernizing the economy and public relations, ensuring the constitutional rights of citizens and freeing up resources for personal development, the Information Society Development Strategy and Government program“Information society (2011-2020)” (Fig. 1.1).
Rice. 1.1. Components of the Information Society program
The Program activities in accordance with the Strategy should provide the following results:
Formation of a modern information and telecommunications infrastructure, provision of quality services on its basis and ensuring a high level of accessibility to information and technology for the population;
improving the quality of education, medical care and social protection of the population based on information technology;
Improving the system of state guarantees of constitutional rights of man and citizen in the information sphere, increasing the efficiency of public administration and local self-government, the quality and efficiency of the provision of public services;
Development of the economy of the Russian Federation based on the use of information technology, increasing labor mobility and ensuring employment of the population;
Increasing the efficiency of public administration and local self-government, the interaction of civil society and business with government authorities, the quality and efficiency of the provision of public services;
Development of science, technology and engineering, as well as training of qualified personnel in the field of information technology;
Preservation of the culture of the multinational people of the Russian Federation, strengthening of moral and patriotic principles in the public consciousness, as well as the development of a system of cultural and humanitarian education;
countering the use of the potential of information technologies to threaten the interests of Russia.
Currently, the technical and economic aspects of the development of the information society are coming to the fore. Unfortunately, the social and humanistic aspects of this process are not yet developing sufficiently.
It should be noted that such a complex socio-economic phenomenon as information inequality is widespread in Russia. Many localities and social groups do not yet have access to information technologies and are falling out of the information society. To solve this problem, a set of measures is needed, including not only the development of telecommunications infrastructure, but also the elimination of “information illiteracy” of citizens, assistance to low-income segments of the population in purchasing computer equipment, and the creation of public access points.
Thus, in modern world Information technologies have a significant impact on the life of society and citizens in all spheres of public life. In Russia, with the support of the state, the process of becoming an information society is taking place: the federal target program “Electronic Russia” has been implemented, the “Strategy for the Development of the Information Society” and the state program “Information Society” have been adopted.
Practice
Exercise 1.1
Read the article “Russia needs electronic democracy” (http://experttalks.ru/book/export/html/325).
Please formulate your attitude towards Internet democracy and the idea of electronic voting.
Exercise 1.2
Watch the video “Electronic services: tested on yourself” (http://rutube.ru/tracks/4693692.html).
How do you assess the situation the journalist found himself in?
Do you have experience in receiving electronic services? Positive or not so positive?
The information (post-industrial) era began around the middle of the 20th century with the emergence of pockets of post-industrialism in industrialized countries. They quickly turned into regions of post-industrialism. Post-industrial society is becoming the leading one in the world. International organizations of a post-industrial type appear, and the UN becomes a body of the post-industrial era. The basic systems of the information society are also changing.
Technological basis This society consists of information technology, automation of production processes based on computers and cybernetics, globalization of information and technological relations. The basis of informatics is mental work, spiritual capital and knowledge (theoretical and applied), information technology, and computer technology.
Demosocial system The information society is characterized by: the emergence of a mass of migrants and national diasporas, the growth of megacities, a mass consumer society, mass culture, environmental pollution, a significant middle class, a demographic explosion, confirming the fears of Malthus.
Economic system characterized by: automation and computerization of production processes; growth in the number and power of transnational companies (TNCs); private, collective and state property; dominance service sector(medicine, education, leisure, etc.); production, exchange and consumption of knowledge (information); turning science into a direct productive force of society, and technical specialists (experts, consultants) into a leading professional group; dominance of financial capital.
Politic system information societies are characterized by: a strong democratic legal social state; developed civil society (parliamentary democracy, free media, etc.); taking into account the interests of different social classes; middle class political culture; the growing influence of international political organizations.
For spiritual system industrial society is characterized by: the transformation of science into the leading form of social consciousness; the flourishing of the system of general, secondary and higher education; weakening influence of world religions; the development of art and the emergence of its new directions; postmodern thinking; growing influence of mass culture; dominance of television, etc.
Social subjectivity characterized by a strengthening of the role of the spiritual and a weakening of the unconscious, the growth of the value-rational, the spread of solidarist principles, the co-evolution of liberal, social democratic, conservative, communist and religious ideologies.
In the information age, countries coexist with different types societies (formations and civilizations): liberal-capitalist, Soviet, social-democratic, etc. Between and within world religions, related religious communities and world civilizations, there is a struggle for dominance and the creation of a new world society, formation and civilization of earthlings . All this is accompanied by a deepening environmental crisis.
The urban population becomes predominant. Man is forced out of material production; it is being replaced by machine guns. Scientific and technological progress is accelerating, the employment structure of the population is changing. The personnel of information enterprises requires a new management style: creative, intellectual, moral. Labor motives are improving: workers prefer lower wages, but work according to their interests, which gives them the opportunity to make their own decisions. All more people combine family, work, self-education and sports in their lives.
The institutional structure of the information society so far includes six types of enterprises: economic (banks, exchanges, savings banks, etc.), social (pension, medical, sports, etc.), scientific, production (industry, construction, agriculture , transport), voluntary (organization of the environment, assistance to the elderly, etc.), households. Universities, research centers, and academic institutions are becoming the main institutions (institutions) of post-industrial societies.
The information society is based on TNCs. The development of the world under the influence of TNCs “corresponds to the natural trends of universal evolutionism - the mechanisms of self-organization that determined the development of all living things.”
The previously backward countries of Asia followed the path of liberal capitalist and then bourgeois socialist societies. For example, from 1950 to 1990, South Korea's GDP grew 120 times. The world system of socialism began to lose the scientific, technical, economic and demosocial confrontation with social democratic societies. New technologies, product samples, life improvement ordinary people showed the weakness of Soviet society (formation and civilization). In 1991, the world system of socialism and the USSR collapsed. The countries of the Soviet bloc were not ready for the post-industrial era.
As a result of the collapse of the socialist system, the world balance of countries with different types of societies was disrupted. There has been a separation of developed (“golden billion”), developing and undeveloped countries. A hierarchical pyramid of countries has emerged: post-industrial capitalism (USA), bourgeois socialism (“old” European democracies), bourgeois socialist orientation (Eastern Europe), Soviet socialism (Cuba, North Korea), state capitalism (Russia and some other CIS countries); colonial capitalism (many African countries).
Expansion has increased American civilization in the sphere of worldview, institutions, lifestyle. It meets fierce resistance in other civilizations: Islamic, Buddhist, Orthodox. The Islamic civilization included countries with different social formations - from post-industrial (Saudi Arabia) to primitive communal (Afghanistan). Civilizational confrontation sometimes turns out to be more important than formational uniformity.
The current world is a hierarchy of all technological and civilizational types of societies: agricultural, industrial, information. Information societies play a leading role in relation to industrial ones, and the latter - in relation to agricultural ones. The base of this pyramid is narrowing, and the central - industrial - part is expanding. This corresponds to the stratification pyramid in developed countries of the world. It is obvious that for a growing humanity, the transition of most agrarian societies to industrial ones, and the latter to information ones, is fraught with environmental disaster: the natural environment cannot withstand the technogenic load. There is a need to slow down technological transition and manage globalization.
In the context of globalization, the deepening environmental crisis, and post-industrialization, a renunciation of profitability and power as defining values is required, and therefore a renunciation of the economic greed and political ambition of entire classes and peoples of developed countries. To do this, it is necessary to mitigate the demosocial gap, the dominance of some countries over others on property, political, national and other grounds. The problem of creating an ecological society of earthlings has risen to its full potential. In this regard, N. Moiseev, like other scientists, do not exclude the emergence of a new international totalitarianism, a kind of post-industrial Middle Ages.
September 11, 2001 was apparently evidence that the neoliberal society (formation and civilization) of the United States was causing outrage in the world. The worldview of individualism, the superiority of the strong and rich, the exploitation of the world, double standards, and the movement toward environmental disaster received opposition from Islamic fundamentalism. It became clear: to make the world safer, we need to make it more just. This is the only way developed countries can get rid of terrorists who are getting closer to increasingly dangerous types of weapons.
The world is faced with the need to radically change international relations in the context of the ongoing scientific revolution, an approaching environmental disaster, and blatant social inequality between countries. To solve these problems, the UN and its institutions need to return to the fight against the aggressive aspirations of the “advanced” countries. Relationships between countries from different historical eras should be reconsidered towards greater equality and justice. The West needs to share more with other countries rather than exploit them; it is necessary to impose stricter restrictions on the sale of weapons from developed countries to other countries and thereby stop the arms race; we finally need to start creating world democratic state, civil society, economy and spirituality.