Introduction
Technology is playing a crucial role in the move towards a paperless society. Systems are being interconnected, and services are being delivered through paperless means. It is the new wave of service delivery. Many organizations offer services online and through the use of systems. It is one of the requirements that are needed in order to have systems and services through a paperless means. This paper will focus on how technology has facilitated the move towards a paperless society. It will focus on how technology has enhanced the move towards a paperless society. Technology has made it simple to access documents in electronic form. With the use of emails and personal computers, there is more information available in paperless forms and makes it simple to access information without the use of paper. It is having significant impact on trees because people are adopting the use of paperless societies than in past years when there was a need to have hard copies of print media. The internet is a significant player in the move towards a paperless society where information is being shared electronically.
There has been much concern on the move of the society towards a digital village and the less use of paper. According to Ayyanar and Edward Paul Raj (67), there have been many developments that are seen to be taking place in the world. These changes make it simple and easier for companies to move to a paperless society. Until now, the move to a paperless society is still the dream of any organizations. Many organizations strive to ensure that there is less use of paper in their offices. Although it is the case, the many offices in the world till want to keep records for their inter-office communications. Many offices communicate through electronic means like email but will keep documents in the form of hard copies for storage and retrieval purposes. It is still a phenomenon that is seen to be common for many organizations. Papers are used to maintain records and keep information about the data that they would want to be stored in their offices. It is still valued in the offices, and many organizations ensure that there is better a significant move towards a paperless society.
Technology has helped decrease deforestation
Technology has been seen as a key player in ensuring that there is less use of trees. It is a significant development because with the use of information systems, there has been a decrease in the use of trees. Initially, deforestation used to be on the rise. With the use of information systems and electronic forms of information, deforestation is seen to decrease. This trend has been attributed to the assurance that people have had towards the use of electronic systems. Organizations still do not trust the use of electronic systems the way they trust the documentation process. People fear that they might lose information that is important. The trust that people have towards electronic systems is higher than the trust that they have towards electronic methods and means. Instead of the use of technology to diminish the use of paper, technology has increased the reliance on e-mail, which is in itself decreased the use of paper.
The era of information overload has played a significant role in the management of information and the access to this information. People are searching for information on the internet, and the same people will end up printing information from the internet that is used for reference at later times. The process of searching and printing information from the internet has made it hard to access to demystify the use of paper. On the contrary, people keep on accessing information electronically and at the same time printing the electronic content so that they can be used for record purposes. With information overload, it means that there is much recording that is being done, and many papers are used. This trend shows that there is much deforestation that is happening because of the use of trees.
Source: FAO
It is unfortunate that many processes that are done on a daily basis are still carried out on paper. It is believed by many private and government agencies that paper-based records provide permanent records. It is because of these processes that the effort to move to a paperless society is still seen to be minimal. It is thwarted by the procedures and bureaucracies that are seen in many offices. If it would be possible to trust the use of technology and store records online, then it would be easier to achieve the objectives of the move to a paperless society.
Technology and paperless learning
According to Shepherd, Ian and Brent Reeves (73), there is much efforts that is seen to be taking place in the schooling system. There are many developments are seen to be taking place towards a paperless classroom. With the advent of mobile technologies, there is a lot of electronic and automation of the learning process. It helps in the development of the content and technologies that are used to guide the learning process. The trends that are seen to be adopted and carried out is the one where many education practitioners teach their courses through the use of education information systems. These systems enhance the move towards a paperless society. Students no longer to make notes on hard papers and books. There is now the development of systems where students keep their profiles online and will ensure that they access all the required information from the internet.
Many students are joining online classes and taking online courses. In these classes, the classroom is becoming a virtual one where assignments and class content are provided in a paperless medium. In enhances the development of a paperless classroom.
Hospitals and the paperless records
The use of health information systems is an issue of concern and has seen many hospitals and healthcare institutions adopting information systems. It not only provides a cheaper way of accessing client information but also enhances the collaboration between clients and the health care providers. Even nurses and doctors can collaborate in a more efficient manner with the use of information systems.
The records that used to be kept and exchanged between the nurses and doctors are not kept in electronic means. It is one of the ways in which paper is eliminated from the hospital. The use of electronic hospital records has enhanced the management of patient records. The authors advocate the adoption of electronic health records as it enables hospitals to operate efficiently and conveniently.
Art and paperless collaboration
There is also another development where architects and structural engineers are adopting the use of electronic systems in order to share their drawings. It is a development that is seen to enhance the adoption of a paperless society. This development is fronted by the sharing of knowledge and collaboration of one project by many developers. Engineers are not sharing their skills from any side of the world. It enables the engineers to have a platform that they can share information and ideas from anywhere. It is a development that has seen the developers and enhancers of paperless art and design. Designs are no longer being drawn in the paper. They are now being transferred to paperless media. It enhances the development and the enhancement of paperless media.
Conclusion
Technology plays a crucial role in the move to a paperless society. There are many developments that are seen to be taking place in the world of technology. The use of information systems in many institutions is a sure way in which paperless society is being realized. The few remaining hurdles is the building of trust to use electronic forms to store information for future references. There have been efforts to ensure that information systems will eliminate the use of paper documentations. It is the reason that there are a lot of researches which have been carried ou to find ways in which to eliminate the use of papers. Paper communication means is not only expensive, but cumbersome and tedious also. Technology is preferred as it is cheap and simple to achieve collaboration.
Works cited
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Green facts. Paperless society. 2014. 24 October 2014. http://www.greenfacts.org/en/forests/%20http://conservatree.org/learn/EnviroIssues/TreeStats.shtml
IT News Africa. Why paperless society remains a myth. 2011. 24 October 2014. http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2011/06/why-a-paperless-society-remains-a-myth/
Shepherd, Ian J., and Brent Reeves. "iPad or iFad–The reality of a paperless classroom." Mobility Conference, Abilene Christian University. Retrieved December. Vol. 30. 2011.
Waterson, Patrick, Yolande Glenn, and Ken Eason. "Preparing the ground for the ‘paperless hospital’: a case study of medical records management in a UK outpatient services department." International journal of medical informatics81.2 (2012): 114-129.
