ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces information technology (IT) and provides the historical context in which human services IT is developing. Human services are provided by a delivery system consisting of consumers, laws, regulations, resources, organizational structures, and professionals. Technology encompasses the tools, techniques, and procedures of a profession or trade. The chapter compares the components and functions of a computing system to those of a stereo system and traces the history of information storage, information processing, programming, languages, and telecommunications technologies. The purpose of a stereo system is to serve the user by converting stored signals into sound, according to user specifications. Although the computer is the basic IT, IT also includes telecommunications, networking, and any other electronic technology used to collect, store, process, and disseminate information. The chapter explores IT as the latest in a series of information technologies that have revolutionized society. It concludes with a historical analysis of information's use in the human services.
