The Evolvement of Information Sharing and Access
Today, in the twenty first century, society functions through a digital media and mass production of literature. Universities function through libraries, online classes, and VPN access; medicine is made possible through the production of medical books are around the country, online access to medical research, the ability to share information with a doctor in another state; every part of society functions through the ability to share and access information at a faster rate. Information sharing and access can be seen all throughout history, however the evolvement of this was not heavily seen until the 1300-1400s when the production and desire for books became controversial. In the 1300-1400s the idea of the book was for holy use and when individuals desired fictional books it was seen as a devilish act. Through much debate, the book further involved into more production, which resulted in the birth of libraries, which resulted in the evolution of information sharing and access. This evolvement process allows for Universities, such as the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, to provide adequate access to information in order to gain a proper education through classes, such as Humanities 3990, an online class.
The idea of the book has been around for centuries upon centuries and in the 1300-1400s, the book became a massive controversy. The major reason for this controversy was the content of what one was allowed to read: “At the centre of this anxiety about what constituted suitable reading material… fiction was regarded as particularly suspect: likely to influence adversely, to stimulate inappropriate ambitions and desires, to corrupt” (Flint, 2001, 17). The anxiety reading c...
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...te. From only a few books that existed to numerous libraries to schools upon schools, information sharing and access is what has made society advance at the rates it has. Society would not be without the birth of such a powerful process that created the digital age.
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Some works show their true colors right away. Gene Edward Veith’s book, Reading Between The Lines, addresses philosophical ideas, literary sub genres, and reader criticisms in order to ascertain a Christian’s role in literature. He also goes through various historical periods and examines their more prominent works and schools of thought. While a select few of his conclusions about Christianity in relation to the arts have merit, others contain more damaging implications. Specifically, his statements regarding television represent inaccurate and offensive thinking.
Supporters of this book also claim that people should have the freedom to read what they want. ¨ What are these people afraid of ?¨ (Anaya). Anaya questions this because he wants to know why people want to ban this book and what book are going to be banned next. Anaya states that if they keep banning books for what it contains the society will start to suffer. Teachers´ fear that if they banned this book what book will banned next.
...up-to-date information. Technology became so prevalent that it extinguished the desire and need to read and instead told everyone exactly what the government thought they should know and because the people became so accustomed to getting their information through these devices books became useless.
These school boards and parents can claim that banning this classic will protect their children from these subjects and these thoughts, and that by doing so, they can create the world to be a perfect place with love and harmony. The religious can claim all the righteousness they want, that God made the civilized man and that without religion, we wouldn’t be where we are today. However, the true nature of these subjects isn’t in that they exist, but the fact that we simply just don’t want to think or admit that they exist within ourselves. We need to use this book as a textbook to life, or a sort of guiding hand that tells us we need to realize that without our civilizations and without our rules, the world would be a much ruthless place than it is today.
Bradbury attacks loss of literature in the society of Fahrenheit 451 to warn our current society about how literature is disappearing and the effects on the people are negative. While Montag is at Faber’s house, Faber explains why books are so important by saying, “Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores” (79). Faber is trying to display the importance of books and how without them people lack quality information. In Electronics and the Decline of Books by Eli Noam it is predicted that “books will become secondary tools in academia, usurped by electronic media” and the only reason books will be purchased will be for leisure, but even that will diminish due to electronic readers. Books are significant because they are able to be passed down through generation. While online things are not concrete, you can not physically hold the words. Reading boost creativity and imagination and that could be lost by shifting to qui...
Although writing has been around for thousands of years, the medium of books is a relatively recent phenomenon. In the mid 15th century, German Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press that made multiple, cheap copies of works that were easily available for the masses. With the help of other technological developments including the linotype in the mid-1880’s, the printing process became easier and faster and therefore books became cheaper and more available. Also in the mid-1880’s the development of public education increased the demand for books making them even more popular and ensuring them as a permanent form of media for the masses.
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The proponents of technology have always believed that technology is a product of independent creation and thus follows its own pace. They say that technology is forceful and society does not have a choice but to adapt to the changes that it imposes on the people. The members of any particular society may not be actually happy with the change but eventually they learn to accept it, as a result of which the process of change comes a full circle. This idea however is debatable because many critics point out that technology is in fact a planned phenomenon. Not only this but also they point out that there are certain forces that control and introduce technology into the society and that the expected changes from such an introduction is said to be a deliberate attempt at transforming the society. Marshall McLuhan wrote extensively about this subject in his book The Gutenberg Galaxy. The book is basically about the changes that were imposed in the European society as a result of the creation of the printing press in the fifteenth century. It was this printing press that was responsible for a number of changes in the society, which include the social, political and economic forces that were present at the time. The printing press was primarily responsible for the Protestant Reformation because a large number of bibles were available for everyone to read which meant, “Every man can be a priest.” The following essay will thus attempt to discuss McLuhan’s ideas in the light of the phenomenon of technology and discuss whether it is relevant to the current revolution in electronic publishing. The initial Gutenberg revolution discussed by McLuhan is just an introduction of other things to come. He is more interested in finding out about the...
However, iIn spite of the current pre-eminence of e-books, it may be argued that they are not likely to replace print books anytime soon or possibly at all. Both formats have their advantages and drawbacks, which makes for one of them difficult to replace the other. Moreover, they serve differents needs and purposes. E-books are famous for their portability. Hundreds of e-books can be stored on a single device. Thus e-books don’t take shelving space and are convenient to take on travel, while even a few paper books are bulky and quite heavy to carry around. Numerous e-books are in open access, while paper books are not routinely available free of charge. E-books may be acquired and accessed immediately online, a feature I enjoy especially and treasure most: many a time I was able to buy and read an e-book at home within minutes of learning of its existence. Needless to say, e-books are considerably easier to cite and quote than print books, since the copy-paste feature spares us the trouble of retyping the quoted text. Another important advantage of digital books is their specialized software, which makes reading much easier: search and reference tools, changeable font size and day/night mode, dictionaries. Last but not least, e-books conserv...
The phrase, "nothing is permanent except change itself" certainly applies when it comes to technology. In the past 10 years, because of changes in technology, expectations about providing and accessing information have changed dramatically. Instead of waiting to receive information from a provider or making a trip to the library, the current assumption is that information will be instantly available through the Internet. Previously, an intermediary such as a librarian may have performed the service of selecting information, but now the user is faced with sifting through and selecting the most relevant material from what frequently is an information glut. Although some individuals are comfortable with and relish the changing information environment, others may be struggling with understanding and managing the changes.
Through the years works of literature have been distributed through many different means. These means usually reflect and take advantage of the latest technologies. Dominant sources of literature have changed over time. Today, instead of scouring though the local library’s card catalog, prospective readers will likely log onto Amazon to find the latest book in their favorite genre. Media technology has made communicating increasingly easier as time has passed throughout history. Everyone is now encouraged to use media tools and is expected to have a general understanding of the various technologies available. Only time will tell what the future will hold for electronic media. The present avenues may one day be looked back upon as today’s Library of Alexandria and be just another ruin in the history of literature.
Today is an era of information explosion. In the past few years, many newly invented technological devices and software are now tightly integrated with our everyday lives. Today, people can look up almost any kind of information, make friends, communicate with others, and express ourselves with the simple touch of a button on a device we usually keep within arm’s reach. “Widespread use of technology is changing the way we work, learn, and communicate – even the way we carry out our regular, daily activities.”(Seifer and Mihalynuk) These devices not only benefit our livelihoods and increase our happiness, but they are also integral in advancing education, technology, development, and, in general, human evolution. The children of today, who have been raised in this era of information explosion, will undoubtedly reap such benefits and, in turn, advance society towards a better generation.
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Societies have evolved over recent centuries from agricultural communities to industrial giants. Sociologists, amongst others, are fascinated by the changes that have occurred in society, particularly since the advent of the industrial revolution to recent times. The last few decades have been referred to as the information era and this essay will be discussing the theories of several prominent authors, such as Daniel Bell, Frank Webster, Fritz Machlup and others, regarding the notion of an ‘information society’. The varying approaches have all have gained some momentum over the past few decades as technology advances. There will be some comment on their interpretations, how the information fits into our society, and the ways it has effect has possibly changed us. It will also see if any or all explain just what an information society is.