Boom of Knowledge and New Professions

The information technologies changed people’s worldview. However paradoxical, they are a reason and solution of the problem of escalation of information and knowledge. Exactly they allow preserving, processing and circulating a great deal of information but due to them we are ″piled″ with data. The first editions of encyclopedia Britannica (1745 – 1785) have been prepared by 1–2 people and 1989 year’s edition has been prepared by 12500 specialists. The big American universities increase double their funds every 16 years. In a declaration for the universal access to basic communication and information services, made in 1997, from UUN General Secretary and the organizations of the Union of the United Nations, a big importance is given to knowledge and information in the international relations as key factors for globalization processes and division of labour.

For building of new theoretical and practical knowledge and skills that harmonize with rapid technological changes, the biggest responsibility bears education. Prognoses of the Bureau of Employment Statistics at the Ministry of labour in USA, point that in 2005 all professions will require a longer training period, the number of low qualified professions will decrease significantly, and for the perspective ones knowledge in languages, mathematics, information technologies will be necessary as well as problem solving skills.

The origin of new professions in information society is due to changed realities in respect of information, namely:

ü Access to information from every point of the world;

ü Wireless services with total coverage;

ü Intelligent networks with interactive services;

ü Information services as new forms of activity.

Already realities are professions like information manager, network administrator, system manager, data administrator and etc. that did not exist till some years ago. The development of information technologies in information society creates preconditions as for improvement of labour conditions and psychological climate in labour teams as well as for some negative effects. In many cases the information technologies make work more satisfactory as they decrease boredom and eliminate the reiteration. The computer networks allow bigger access to information, increase and widen the management control. The information services increase efficiency and the telecommunication progress gives much more flexibility of employees in offices, at home, on road and etc.

On the other hand, the information technologies could affect negatively upon the quality of work because of the stress caused by strong control exerted upon employees. Some professions become useless and for number of others specific skills are required such thus the majority of workers do not have.

On-line meetings and conferences eliminate personal contact and depersonalize working place. Telecommunication technologies increase communication speed over human capacities, limits and make labour stressful and exhaustive. In the era of fax machines, e-mails, local and global networks, from people is required a prompt answer for everything.

Fears, expressed by scientists and great number of people without occupation, that the information technologies will decrease workers’ number and will increase unemployment, turned out groundless.

In recent years there are a lot of openings for employees without a specialty but computer literate. The telecommunication progress opens a global market for business limited until recently into local markets. Technologies like wireless portable computers home fax machines, cellular phones, pagers and other electronic devices from type ″do everything everywhere″ dilute limits between rest and work at home and in office and allow bigger centralization. As a whole, we could say that in the information society there is practically no elimination of already existing professions but limitation of number of employed in old-fashioned productions, on account of appearance of great number of new professions.

Moral Issues

The rapid development of technologies in information society reveals great number of ″white spots″ in existing legislations. New temptations and dilemmas appear in contacts in cyberspace and as it’s different of personal intercourse, many people do not have clear idea for the results of their actions in it. Ethics in the information society does not concern only individuals. Many organizations have not worked their own rules of conduct, which the employees and the firm as a whole should keep. The firm ethics includes policy activities and decisions that a firm undertakes to reach its organizational goals. Basic ethic organizing rules are:

ü Only authorized access to computer resources;

ü Respect to other people’s rights;

ü Confidentiality of the assigned information;

ü Every employee to use his/her knowledge and skills to inform society in all spheres of his/her competence;

ü Confirmation that the products of one’s work are used in a social responsible manner;

ü Not to use confidential or personal information for personal favour.

In the information society where much of the data is kept in enormous computer data bases containing personal information for the life of everyone individual /bank deposits, medical records, personal and real property and etc./ the information technologies allow unwanted break in, in the personal room of people. There are great number of still unsolved cases in respect of the right of personal inviolability, intellectual property, copyrights and etc.

Right to private life is an ethic right of individuals to be alone and to manage the information flow concerning them. Abreast of this individual right however there exist the right of organizations and governments that have undertaken a lot of responsibilities and are obliged to possess certain personal information. For example, the government is concerned for its citizens’ health and is obliged to know whether they suffer from infectious diseases; the companies need to know address, telephone number and personal interests of their clients to sell their product and services; banks have to know depositors’ incomes in order to grant credits and etc. How to defend citizens’ interests without breaking their right to private life? In many countries create laws for individual protection against encroachment on personal inviolability. In spite of that, in last 10 years many people feel unprotected and as a reason for that point computers. According to a survey among Americans, 79% are concerned for the right of private life, 76% – feel they do not control personal information and 67% – consider that in order to protect their right of private life in future computers must be limited (Loden, K.,1994) The information society, where the world is a ″global village″ interlaced in cable communication networks – physical cover of the virtual reality, could not be irresponsible for its young citizens who are ″bombard″ with every kind of information by traditional and new media. Children are the biggest fans and consumers of world information network – Internet. They are also the future inhabitants of digital ″global village″, where they will meet different cultures, customs and values. But they are also the most vulnerable citizens of the information society because of their informed characters and understanding for good and evil, because of their unformed value system. That’s why the easy access to pornographic information and plenty of violence examples pose the question of minor’s protection from inadequate information, but at the same time preservation of their right to access of information.

Accordingly the Convention on children’s rights, all governments should secure a free access of children and young people to information because of their social and cultural uniting, as parallel with that, they should guarantee their protection from harmful to them information on TV and radio programs, commercials and printed works, music, Internet and all media which in one or other way could manipulate, misinform or stimulate violence.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14