Informatization or informatisation refers to the extent by which a geographical area, an economy or a society is becoming information-based, i.e. the increase in size of its information labor force. Usage of the term was inspired by Marc Porat’s categories of ages of human civilization: the Agricultural Age, the Industrial Age and the Information Age (1978). Informatization is to the Information Age what industrialization was to the Industrial Age. It has been stated that: :The Agricultural Age has brought about the agriculturization of the planet. The Industrial Age has caused among other things the industrialization of agriculture. The Information Age has resulted to the informatization of the agricultural industry (Flor, 1993). The term has mostly been used within the context of national development.

Everett Rogers Everett M. "Ev" Rogers (March 6, 1931 – October 21, 2004) was an American communication theorist and sociologist, who originated the ''diffusion of innovations'' theory and introduced the term '' early adopter''. He was distinguished professor ...

defines informatization as the process through which new communication technologies are used as a means for furthering development as a nation becomes more and more an

information society An information society is a society or subculture where the usage, Content creation, creation, information distribution, distribution, manipulation and information integration, integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drive ...

. However, some observers, such as Alexander Flor ( 1986) have cautioned about the negative impact of informatization on traditional societies. Recently, the

technological determinism Technological determinism is a reductionist theory in assuming that a society's technology progresses by following its own internal logic of efficiency, while determining the development of the social structure and cultural values. The term is ...

dimension has been highlighted in informatization. Randy Kluver of Texas A&M University defines informatization as the process primarily by which information technologies, such as the World Wide Web and other communication technologies, have transformed economic and social relations to such an extent that cultural and economic barriers are minimized. Kluver expands the concept to encompass the civic and cultural arenas. He believes that it is a process whereby information and communication technologies shape cultural and civic discourse. G. Wang describes the same phenomenon (1994) which she calls "informatization" as a "process" of change that features (a) the use of informatization and IT (information technologies) to such an extent that they become the dominant forces in commanding economic, political, social and cultural development; and (b) unprecedented growth in the speed, quantity, and popularity of information production and distribution."

Origin of the term

The term informatisation was coined by Simon Nora and Alain Minc in their publication ''L'Informatisation de la société: Rapport à M. le Président de la République'' which was translated in English in 1980 as ''The Computerization of Society: A report to the President of France''. ( SAOUG) However, in an article published in 1987 Minc preferred to use informatisation and not computerization. After the 1978 publication the concept was adopted in French, German and English subject literatures and was broadened to include more aspects than only computers and

telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

s ( SAOUG).

Social impact

Informatization has many far-reaching consequences in society. Kim (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

) 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 Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...

(ICT) that provide easy access to information on varied social and political issues.

In economic systems

Industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

propelled transformation of the economic system from agricultural age to modernized economies, and so informatization ushered the industrial age into an information-rich economy. Unlike the agricultural and industrial ages where economics refers to optimization of scarce resources, the information age deals with maximization of abundant resources. Alexander Flor (

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

) wrote that informatization gives rise to information-based economies and societies wherein information naturally becomes a dominant commodity or resource. The accumulation and efficient use of knowledge has played a central role in the transformation of the economy ( Linden 2004).

Globalization

Over the years,

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

and informatization have "redefined industries, politics, cultures, and perhaps the underlying rules of social order" ( Friedman 1999). Although they explain different phenomena, their social, political, economic, and cultural functions remarkably overlaps. "Although globalization ultimately refers to the integration of economic institutions, much of this integration occurs through the channels of technology. Although international trade is not a new phenomenon, the advent of communications technologies has accelerated the pace and scope of trade" ( Kluver). ::a) Globalization and Informatization will have great impact on cultural and social consequences of society. ::b) "Globalization and informatization are likely to diminish the concept of the national as a political institution" ( Poster 1999). Friedman (

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

) argues that as nation states decline in importance, multi-national corporations,

nongovernmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, and "superempowered individuals" such as

George Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...

gain influence and importance. As these non-political organizations and institutions gain importance, there are inevitable challenges to political, economic, and cultural processes. ::c) On the other hand, globalization and informatization allow for efficient flow of information. Individuals and societies are, therefore, greatly empowered to engage in international arena for economic, political, and cultural resources. ::d) "There is proliferation of information about lifestyles, religions, and cultural issues. The telecommunications and computer networks also allow for unprecedented global activism. This democratization of information increases the potential for international harmony, although it by no means guarantees it" ( Kluver). ::e) These twin forces greatly affects "centuries of tradition, local autonomy, and cultural integrity." ::f) "Finally, one of the potentially most devastating impact of the forces of globalization and informatization is that there is created an insidious conflict between the new global economic order and the local, or even tribal, interests" ( Kluver).

Measurement

Kim (

) proposed to measure the informatization in a country using a composite measure made up of the following extraneous variables: Education, R&D Expenditure, Agricultural Sector and

Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

. Kim also relates increasing democracy as evidence of social informatization. It supposedly take into consideration the three approaches to conceptualizing informatization namely the economic, technological, and stock. Each can be measured with economic data (e.g. GDP), ICT data (e.g. number of computers per population), and amount of information (e.g. number of published technological journals) respectively. Such composite measure is similar to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

's Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM) Variables (

) which are clustered into: overall performance of the economy, economic incentive and institutional regime, innovation system, education and human resources, and information and communication technology.

Difficulties with measurement

The measurement for the level of informatization is an ongoing area of development. Among the issues are the ambiguity of the definition of "information" and whether this entity can be quantifiable in contrast to the tangible products of industrialization. Taylor and Zang (

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

) explored the issues behind the limitations of current theoretical models in terms of quantifying the positive impacts of ICT projects, and provided critiques of the information indicators used to gauge and justify informatization projects. International organizations such as the United Nations, through its World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU); and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also recognize this challenge and have initiated efforts to improve the methodologies for measuring an "information society".

National laws

Informatization is recognized by states as important to national development. Some states have created laws implementing or regulating informatization. In

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

the State

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

enacted the ''Federal Law on Information, Informatization, and the Protection of Information'' on January 25, 1995. It was signed into law by President Boris Yeltsin on February 20, 1995.

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

had a ''Law on Information, Informatization and Protection of Information'' in 1998.

Through TV white space (TVWS) technology

TV white space refers to the unused TV channels between the active ones in the VHF and UHF spectrum. TV spectrum is commonly referred to as television "white spaces". TV white space can be used to provide broadband internet access, particularly in remote and rural areas (Edwards, 2016), and as such can serve as a tool for increasing information access and social and economic development. In 2008 The Federal Communications Commission voted to reallocate unlicensed white space spectrum for public use (White Space, n.d.)

References

*Edwards, S. (2016, October 25). ''TV white space: The 'most powerful development tool? Retrieved fro
devex.com/news/tv-white-space-the-most-powerful-development-tool-88868
*Flor, Alexander G. 1986. The information-rich and the information-poor: Two faces of the Information Age in a developing country. University of the Philippines Los Baños. *Flor, Alexander G. 1993. ''The informatization of agriculture''. The Asian Journal of Communication. Volume 3 Number 2. pp 94-103 *Kluver, Randy. ''Globalization, Informatization and Intercultural Communication''. https://web.archive.org/web/20080725001511/http://acjournal.org/holdings/vol3/Iss3/spec1/kluver.htm . Accessed 25 July 2008. *''Federal Law on Information, Informatization, and the Protection of Information Enacted By the State Duma 25 January 1995''. Available at https://fas.org/irp/world/russia/docs/law_info.htm . Accessed 7 August 2008. *Kim, Sangmoon. 2004. Social Informatization: Its Measurement, Causes and Consequences. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Hilton San Francisco & Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel, San Francisco, CA, August 14, 2004 nline PDF Available at *SAOUG. (n.d.) ''The Role of the South African Online User Group (SAOUG) in the Informatisation of Society''. Available at https://web.archive.org/web/20081121144659/http://www.saoug.org.za/archive/2003/0317a.pdf. Accessed 16 August 2008. *Linden, Geert van der 2004. Transforming Institutional Knowledge into Organizational Effectiveness: The Challenge of Becoming a Learning Organization. Speech delivered at the ARTDo International Management and HRD Conference, September 25, 2004. Available at http://adb.org/documents/speeches/2004/mo2004056.asp Accessed Sept. 13,2008. *Flor, Alexander G.2008 Developing Societies in the Information Age: A Critical Perspective UP Open University, Los Banos *The World Bank.(2008) ''Knowledge Assessment Methodology. Variables and clusters.'' Available a

Accessed September 19, 2008. *Friedman, T.(1999) ''The lexus and the olive tree: understanding globalization.'' Available at https://web.archive.org/web/20080725001511/http://acjournal.org/holdings/vol3/Iss3/spec1/kluver.htm. Accessed August 29, 2008. *Poster, M.(1999) ''National identities and communications technologies. The Information Societies.'' Available at https://web.archive.org/web/20080725001511/http://acjournal.org/holdings/vol3/Iss3/spec1/kluver.htm. Accessed August 29, 2008. *Law on information, informatization and protection of information. (2007) In Legislationline. Retrieved September 30, 2008, fro

*Taylor, Richard and Bin Zhang. Measuring the impact of ICT: Theories of Information and Development. (2007). Retrieved October 10, 2011, from https://web.archive.org/web/20120425055513/http://www.intramis.net/TPRC_files/TPRC%2008%20Taylor-Zhang%20Final.pdf #White Space (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2019, from http://fcc.gov/general/white-space

External links

International Informatization Academy ACADEMIE EUROPEENNE D'INFORMATISATION (European Academy of Informatization)World Bank's Knowledge Assessment Methodology
You can check the level of informatization or knowledge economy of your country and compare it with other countries using their online tools. {{Authority control Information Information technology Knowledge economy Knowledge sharing