جامعه اطلاعاتي ، جوامع معرفتي ، شكاف هاي ديجيتال و ضرورت هاي جديد توسعه

Information-based Society, Knowledge-based Communities, Digital Gaps and New Requirements of Development

This paper, first, introduces theories and views on development of an information-based society and the new conditions "informationalization" has created globally. It, then, compares the characteristics of an information-based society and a knowledge-based society. The related literature shows that the information revolution has brought about two key challenges: one is filling the digital and the other is ensuring the future of freedom of expression. To better understand the global trend in communications, the article also examines international communications policies in the contemporary era and discusses World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva and Tunis . The writing also introduces two global indicators named "electronic preparedness " and "digital opportunity With these two new indicators, the status of countries in the world as well as the digital gap will be investigated. The findings indicate that although Iran ranks 17th among international internet users, in 2008 its electronic preparedness does not see a remarkable growth.