Transformation Of Information And Communication Technology

Nowadays, we are witnessing a radical transformation of the world into a knowledge society with an unprecedented proliferation of internet-based services. A huge part of the new developments in the key economic sectors are based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The widespread diffusion of the Internet, of mobile telephony and of broadband networks all demonstrate how pervasive this technology has become. Organizations and individuals all over the world are increasingly demanding and using ICT.

ICT is an umbrella term that refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications. It covers all the technical equipment to process and communicate information. It is often understood as a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information [1]. ICT covers two aspects: the aspect of information technology and the aspect of communication technology. Information technology encompasses all matters relating to the processing, use as a tool, manipulation, and management of information. Communication technology is everything associated with the use of tools to process and transfer data from one device to another [2] where the focus is on telecommunications mediums, such as the Internet, cell phone networks, and satellite technology.

ICT has proven to be a key technology and is inter-related with and affecting almost all sectors of life at varying levels. The transformations generated by the ICTs during the advent of the information and knowledge society place us in a frame of accelerated changes in the generation of information channels and the construction of knowledge [3].

The recent World Economic Forum (WEF) has clearly em...

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...ld and be of interest to Qatar and the whole community. Due to the importance of the topic for media workers, these findings may trigger further research that could be conducted or supported by the Qatari government and organizations working in this field

7. Timeline/Milestones

• August 2014 – February 2015: Performing an extensive review of international literature about the topic in general in order to understand all facets of the relationship between the journalism and ICT more thoroughly

• March 2015 – June 2015: o Perform a series of case studies of some Qatari publications and interview some newspaper reporters to gather primary information about their experiences with ICT in the workplace. o Analyzing the collected data.

• July 2015: o Developing recommendations that could be useful for journalism in Qatar based on the findings. o Writing the report.