From thaigh at computer.org Mon Feb 1 11:48:20 2010 From: thaigh at computer.org (Thomas Haigh) Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 10:48:20 -0600 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] IEEE Life Members' Prize (Best article) - deadline April 15 Message-ID: <004b01caa35e$5ec62e20$1c528a60$@org> See below details for the IEEE Life Members' Prize (best journal article) -- this includes history of computing in its scope. So, although you probably didn't realize it, you're an "electrical historian." Encouragement of submissions was mentioned at the most recent IEEE Annals board meeting as a good strategy for boosting the visibility of our field. Looking at the names of the judges also suggests a possibly sympathetic audience for our work. You can nominate yourself, or someone else. Tom -----Original Message----- From: Andrew Butrica [mailto:abutrica at earthlink.net] Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2010 9:34 PM To: thaigh at computer.org Subject: IEEE Life Members' Prize Tom, I was wondering if you would distribute the following announcement regarding the IEEE Life Members' Prize to members of your SIG. Thanks in advance, Andrew Dear colleagues, If you or someone you know has published an article in 2009 dealing with any aspect of the history of electricity, electronics, telecommunications, or any other electrically-related field-and this entails history of technology in its broadest sense-please consider nominating it for the IEEE Life Members' Prize in Electrical History. Paper authors are encouraged to nominate themselves by submitting a copy of their article, and everyone is asked to submit notice of anything that they have seen published in 2009 that they feel is worthy of being considered for the Prize. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2010. The official prize announcement appears below. For more information, please contact Andrew Butrica, Prize Committee Chair, at abutrica at earthlink.net, or W. Bernard Carlson, SHOT Secretary at shot at virginia.edu. Andrew Butrica Prize Committee Chair THE IEEE LIFE MEMBERS' PRIZE IN ELECTRICAL HISTORY The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Life Members' Prize in Electrical History, supported by the IEEE Life Members' Fund and administered by the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), is awarded annually to the best paper in the history of electrotechnology-power, electronics, telecommunications, and computer science-published during the preceding year. Any article published in a learned periodical is eligible if it treats the art or engineering aspects of electrotechnology and its practitioners. The article must be written in English, although the journal or periodical in which it appears may be a foreign language publication. The prize consists of a cash award of $500 and a certificate. To nominate an article, please send a copy (paper or electronic) of the article to each member of the prize committee. Deadline for the 2009 prize is April 15, 2010. Andrew J. Butrica (chair) Apt. 913-South 5225 Pooks Hill Road Bethesda, MD 20814 abutrica at earthlink.net Robert MacDougall Department of History University of Western Ontario Social Science Centre 4328 London, Ontario N6A 5C2 CANADA rmacdou at uwo.ca Eden Medina School of Informatics and Computing Indiana University 901 E. 10th Street, Room 305 Bloomington, IN 47408 eden.medina at gmail.com Andrew J. Butrica MERCURIANS ANTENNA Newsletter P.O. Box 30224 Bethesda, MD 20824-0224 USA mercurians at earthlink.net www.mercurians.org From thaigh at computer.org Mon Feb 1 16:58:57 2010 From: thaigh at computer.org (Thomas Haigh) Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 15:58:57 -0600 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] CFP for 4S, Tokyo, Aug 25-29 Message-ID: <009001caa389$c20401d0$460c0570$@org> Hello SIGCIS members, Below is the call for papers for the 4S (Society for Social Studies of Science) conference. We?ve organized SIGCIS panels for three of the past four meetings of 4S and it would be fun to go back to Tokyo. Tokyo is not as expensive as people with vague recollections of the 1980s bubble tend to assume. Hotels are good value vs. New York or London (Expedia currently shows decent seeming options for not much more than $100 a night) and there?s always excellent fast food at affordable prices. Though with the recent collapse of the dollar vs. the yen it?s still not exactly cheap. It?s also perfectly possible to get around with only English ? the Subway is bilingual, hotel staff know some English, and there?s a lot of plastic food in the restaurants to point at. The conference falls within the summer break for the US and Europe, so you could combine the trip with some sightseeing in the region. On the other hand I?ll be spending much of the summer in Europe, and it would be nice to have some time just to write and relax. However I can still act as a clearing house of possible panel ideas even if I do not attend myself. In case you haven?t been before, 4S is diverse, chaotic, youthful, has a high acceptance rate, welcomes historical work but is not primarily historical, and usually gives only 12-15 minutes to speak. Review based on a short abstract, and no proceedings. There's usually a good body of IT related work, though biomedical topics are increasingly dominant. It doesn?t hurt to reference the theme (this time ?global contexts?), but it?s not usually required. The global contexts theme might work particularly well for members of the SOFT-EU project. Best wishes, Tom Haigh www.tomandmaria.com/tom From: webmaster at 4sonline.org [mailto:webmaster at 4sonline.org] Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 11:34 AM To: thaigh at computer.org Subject: Call for Papers ? Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) August 25 ? 29, 2010 | Tokyo Held jointly with Japanese Society for Science and Technology Studies Call for Papers: "STS in Global Contexts" Deadline for Submissions of Paper Abstracts and Session Proposals is February 15, 2010. The 2010 4S conference will be held with JSSTS (Japanese Society for Science and Technology Studies). This is the first 4S annual meeting in Asia. 4S members will have a chance to experience, interact with, and understand the cultural diversity of Asia. Furthermore, holding 4S in Asia opens the door to questions relating to universalities and cultural differences in STS concepts. This meeting will provide a good opportunity for reconsidering STS in global contexts as well as strengthening STS network worldwide. Submit paper and session proposals now. (http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/ssss/4s10) We are using the same submission site as last year. If you submitted or were included in a proposal last year, you already have a user ID. Guidelines Given the growing size of the 4S conferences and the desire to be as inclusive as possible, the program committee will need to make full use of the available time slots. Therefore, individuals may be listed for a paper presentation and one other role (such as session chair or discussant but not a second paper) for a maximum of two appearances. Paper abstracts may be submitted individually or by a session organizer. Submissions are in the form of abstracts of 500 words or less, and must include a summary of the paper's main arguments and methodology, as well as a brief statement on the contribution to the STS literature. Please choose the most suitable categories for your paper: A) Environmental Studies B) Biomedicine C) Food D) Information and Communication Technology E) Energy / Nuclear Power F) Engineering G) Gender Studies H) Economics / Market Studies I) Public Engagement / Social Movement J) Science Communication K) Science, Technology, and Public Policy L) Theory and Method M) Others Session proposals should be limited to 500 words total, and should contain a summary and rationale for the session, as well as a brief discussion of its contribution to STS. Session proposals should list names of all session organizers and panelists, including institutional affiliations and (electronic) addresses. Session proposals should be based on the assumption of one-and-half hour time slots with fifteen minutes per presentation. A typical session may have four papers, one discussant, and open discussion slot. You must have a minimum of three complete paper abstracts in order to submit a session proposal. The program committee may need to assign additional papers to proposed sessions. Session proposals must also indicate a subject category. Proposals for double and triple sessions on a single topic may receive a request to consolidate the topic into one panel or to break the multiple sessions into different topics. The meeting welcomes papers, sessions and events that are innovative in their delivery, organization, range of topics, type of public and which bring new resources to the STS community to explore these new relations and themes. Yuko Fujigaki, Porgram Chair sec4S2010 at hps.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp Meeting home page: http://4sonline.org/meeting This e-mail was sent from Society For Social Studies Of Science (webmaster at 4sonline.org) to thaigh at computer.org. To unsubscribe, please click on this link and follow the instructions: Unsubscribe From Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk Mon Feb 1 13:26:48 2010 From: Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk (Brian Randell) Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 18:26:48 +0000 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Secrets, spies and supercomputers In-Reply-To: <76a0f1d70907310541u34c816c5w1f87306a6a437afa@mail.gmail.com> References: <1912661086-1248991221-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-1344979091 -@bxe1067.bisx.prod.on.blackberry> <76a0f1d70907310541u34c816c5w1f87306a6a437afa@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Hi: >This week, BBC News is running a series of articles about pioneering >British computers and British computer pioneers. The series begins >with a look at research into computers developed at GCHQ after the >Second World War. Full story at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8490464.stm Cheers Brian Randell -- School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell From CeruzziP at si.edu Wed Feb 3 14:59:40 2010 From: CeruzziP at si.edu (Ceruzzi, Paul) Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 14:59:40 -0500 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Professor Randell's post on Spies & Supercomputers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thank you, Brian, for that post. A remarkable computer, and one whose existence has been kept secret all these years. At the risk of making a shameless self-promoting plug, I may add that I mentioned this on the IT History Society Blog , which I co-edit with Sandra Mols. Just below is my entry on the recent passing of Herb Grosch, which news to my knowledge has not yet been reported on this listserv. Best, Paul E. Ceruzzi, MRC 311, National Air and Space Museum, PO Box 37012, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012. phone: 202-633-2414. -----Original Message----- From: members-bounces at sigcis.org [mailto:members-bounces at sigcis.org] On Behalf Of members-request at sigcis.org Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 12:00 PM To: members at sigcis.org Today's Topics: 1. Secrets, spies and supercomputers (Brian Randell) >This week, BBC News is running a series of articles about pioneering >British computers and British computer pioneers. The series begins >with a look at research into computers developed at GCHQ after the >Second World War. Full story at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8490464.stm Cheers Brian Randell From bbatiz64 at googlemail.com Sun Feb 7 03:57:25 2010 From: bbatiz64 at googlemail.com (Bernardo Batiz-Lazo) Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 08:57:25 +0000 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Two good recent TV programmes on the history of computing that are worth viewing. In-Reply-To: References: <1A9A014FFC9A4C7DB797D3F28AED3B14@GreyBox> <4AD81F1A.4000105@manchester.ac.uk> Message-ID: In case you are interested in actually looking at the Podfather video outside the UK, it has now been uploaded to youtube (about 10 min clips) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpPUR3hJ16o&feature=related Also available for download http://www.downarchive.com/movies/documentary/51527-bbc-podfather-2009-dvdrip-documentary.html Best Bernardo On 18 October 2009 08:25, Bernardo Batiz-Lazo wrote: > Hi James > > I think you are spot on regarding -Micro Men-. Little for me to add > which I will do from the perspective of an ex-pat who actually owned a > Timex circa 1980. > > _Micro Men_ was indeed in need of a ?better introduction which briefly > told about US/IBM dominance and Wilson's 'white heat'. > > In my view the combination of comedy and factual in _Micro Men_ seems > to have made their errors and omissions more palatable. Certainly when > compared with claims made in _Podfather_ ?which positioned Noyce as > Godfather of Sillicon Valley and the digital revolution. I am not > disclaiming Noyce's importance, but a brief browse at Analee > Sexenian's work might have helped to tone down some of their more > outrageous claims (i.e. Noyce single handedly inventing Sillicon > Valley and venture capitalism). > > Reducing the genealogy of Fairchild Corp to Apple and Google (when the > producers did try to produce some form genalogy-tree graph) is the > kind of simplistic representation that media people are guilty of time > and again. > > It was interesting to see that the industry-university link and > communities of practice (as opposed to the lonely entrepreneur) were > strongly portrayed in _Micro Men_ ?while they were mute in > _Podfather_. > > When comparing both programs I was left wondering the extent to which > their distinctive treats were random or purposeful attempts to cater > to different audiences (with _Micro Men_ for the UK and _Podfather_ > for the US). > > But in spite of their shortcomings, I did not mind at all ending > Friday and Saturday night with respectively _Micro Men_ and > _Podfather_. > > Best > Bernardo > > 2009/10/16 James Sumner : >> Thanks to Bernardo for the heads-up, and to Neil for the first-hand >> recollection. The historical material in the BBC4 'Electric Revolution' season >> seems to be attracting a lot of interest: I hope it'll soon be available outside >> the UK. >> >> I thought I would chip in with some thoughts on _Micro Men_, as I research >> (slowly) in this area and have an interest in how technologies, and >> technologists, are portrayed for more general audiences. What fascinated me >> about _Micro Men_ is that it seemed to be two concepts welded together: a broad >> comedy about a caricatured version of Clive Sinclair, and a relatively careful >> attempt to make drama out of techie business history. >> >> I'd be interested to know what others made of this. It seems reasonable to >> assume that the piece was commissioned on the strength of the appeal of a >> favourite national myth (such were Sinclair's triumphs and disasters in the >> 1980s that he remains recognisable, I'd guess, to most people in the UK aged >> 30+). 'Factual' content in popular broadcast media is almost generally deemed to >> require some sort of sugar-coating: the approach used here arguably has some >> merits over the usual alternative, which is to tell very loud and breathless >> stories about how whatever is under discussion has 'changed the world'. >> >> The melding certainly had its problems. The pure farce scenes (Mensa groupies?) >> jarred with the plot, and the genre-clash was sometimes awkward. I particularly >> noticed the (non-)characterisation of Nigel Searle, who, as MD of Sinclair's >> firm, was perched on the interface between the Comedy Clive material and the >> attempt to portray real industrial developments. Conventional comedy logic would >> require Searle to be a stock henchman; strict representation, on the other hand, >> would have given no obvious grounds to differentiate him from the Acorn people >> with whom the narrative sympathises. In order to fit both halves, the fictional >> Searle became a cipher, relaying messages and influencing nothing. Meanwhile, >> the personalities assigned to the Acorn staff (Hauser as cosmic bluffer; Furber >> and Wilson as dull-and-duller; Curry, very improbably, as wide-eyed everyman) >> were as much inventions as Comedy Clive, and rather less upfront about it. >> >> As to names, places and chronology, however, this was closer to the documented >> evidence than the vast majority of drama-docs. More importantly, there were >> earnest and sometimes very successful attempts to represent an episode in >> technological identity-forming and the trajectories of the businesses involved, >> rather than going down the easy legend-making route. Capital, in this drama, was >> raised not by self-evident visionary brilliance, but by pandering to the bank >> manager's prejudice. There was no hint of the 'lone developer' myth. Tension was >> wrung from overoptimistic sales projections. Above all, the fictional Clive >> Sinclair mirrored his real-life counterpart in rating the microcomputers which >> defined his public identity as a distinctly secondary concern. >> >> It's in the nature of these productions to truncate, telescope and omit. There >> was only one simplification which I found seriously distorting: the virtual >> absence, until the closing scene, of the USA. Sinclair's principal rival from >> around 1982 was not Acorn but Commodore; the ill-fated Acorn Electron was an >> attempt to carve a share of a sector defined as much by Commodore as by >> Sinclair, while the even more ill-fated Sinclair QL was at some level a response >> both to the emerging office dominance of the IBM PC, and to Apple's visible >> commitment to promoting alternatives. Acorn's unreleased business machines, and >> both firms' adventures in the American retail market (via Timex, in Sinclair's >> case) further complicate the tale. Oddly, the show's closing caption -- "The >> home computer market is now dominated by giant American companies" -- presents >> the sloppiest message in the whole production. >> >> Cheers >> James >> >> >> Roger Neil Barton wrote: >> ?> IMHO the Bob Noyce telebio last night was as brilliant as the other >> programmes in the series in the series were terrible. ?In fact most lasted only >> a few minutes before I switched off and I missed the second (or more if there >> were more) part of the drama about Sinclair and Acorn. >> ?> >> ?> In Ken Tennet's blog he talks about "Acorn's descent into financial >> difficulty as the bank happily gives the company bigger loans for expansion, and >> it carries out an ill-advised stock exchange flotation." ?Acorn was not a client >> and I didn't do the float but I did organise and host a conference ('84 or 85?), >> on the paperless office (ha ha), at the NCC in Manchester to which I invited >> Acorn. ?I don't remember now but Acorn were represented either by Chris Curry or >> Herman Hauser. ?It was required by Stock Exchange rules then, and is legally >> obligatory now, not to make any statement that provides new information to the >> market without a formal statement to the Stock Exchange. ?The Acorn presentation >> included the jaw dropping news that sales were down some massive number and that >> the company would miss expectations by miles. ?By the end of the immediately >> following coffee break the share price had collapsed and they hurriedly >> departed. ?I'm sorry now I didn't persist with the drama but perhaps I'll catch >> up on the iplayer. >> ?> >> ?> kind regards >> ?> neil >> ?> >> ?> >> ?> Dr Roger Neil Barton >> ?> http://www.uclmail.net/~neil.barton/ >> ?> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bernardo Batiz-Lazo" >> >> ?> To: >> ?> Cc: >> ?> Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 12:34 PM >> ?> Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Two good recent TV programmes on the history >> ofcomputing that are worth viewing. >> ?> >> ?> >> ?>> A heads up to Ken Tennet's Blog (he is part of the Business History >> ?>> Unit at the London School of Economics): >> ?>> >> ?>> http://kdtennent.blogspot.com/2009/10/recent-business-history-on-bbc.html >> ?>> >> ?>> He comments on two recent tv programs on the history of computing. Not >> ?>> sure if everyone will be able to download and play.But at least you >> ?>> can get an idea from Ken and if really keen, then ask for a copy for >> ?>> your uni's library. >> ?>> >> ?>> You can keep up with Ken via Facebook. >> ?>> >> ?>> Best, >> ?>> Bernardo >> ?>> University of Leicester >> ?>> _______________________________________________ >> ?>> This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of >> SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and >> you can change your subscription options at >> http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members >> ?>> >> ?> >> ?> _______________________________________________ >> ?> This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of >> SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and >> you can change your subscription options at >> http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members >> > From thaigh at computer.org Mon Feb 8 16:03:53 2010 From: thaigh at computer.org (Thomas Haigh) Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 15:03:53 -0600 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] FW: 4S Meeting in Tokyo -- 9 more days to submit papers and sessions Message-ID: <001e01caa902$391f6cf0$ab5e46d0$@org> Hello everyone, If any of you are sitting on the fence or meaning to reply to my earlier call for possible participants in a SIGCIS panel then now would be a good time to do it. I had just one person so far express interest. The reminder below is full of links carefully chosen to excite you with Tokyo?s exotic allure? Tom From: webmaster at 4sonline.org [mailto:webmaster at 4sonline.org] Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2010 4:08 PM To: thaigh at computer.org Subject: 4S Meeting in Tokyo -- 9 more days to submit papers and sessions Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) August 25 ? 29, 2010 | Tokyo Held jointly with Japanese Society for Science and Technology Studies Haven't decided whether to go? Check out these Tokyo travel links. (The first two support multiple languages.) Tokyo Tourism Info http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/ Japan National Tourism Organization http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ Lonely Planet http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/tokyo Frommer's on Japan http://www.frommers.com/destinations/tokyo/0085020004.html Tokyo Convention and Visitors' Bureau http://www.tcvb.or.jp/en/ One Noodle at a Time in Tokyo http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/travel/31ramen.html?emc=eta1 "Tokyo Colors" movie http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/SUB/MOVIE/index.htm Session Matchmaking Post/view session calls on the new 4S message board , http://4sonline.org/forum. Call for Papers: "STS in Global Contexts" Deadline for Submissions of Paper Abstracts and Session Proposals is February 15, 2010. The 2010 4S conference will be held with JSSTS (Japanese Society for Science and Technology Studies). This is the first 4S annual meeting in Asia. 4S members will have a chance to experience, interact with, and understand the cultural diversity of Asia. Furthermore, holding 4S in Asia opens the door to questions relating to universalities and cultural differences in STS concepts. This meeting will provide a good opportunity for reconsidering STS in global contexts as well as strengthening STS network worldwide. Submit paper and session proposals now. (http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/ssss/4s10) We are using the same submission site as last year. If you submitted or were included in a proposal last year, you already have a user ID. Guidelines Given the growing size of the 4S conferences and the desire to be as inclusive as possible, the program committee will need to make full use of the available time slots. Therefore, individuals may be listed for a paper presentation and one other role (such as session chair or discussant but not a second paper) for a maximum of two appearances. Paper abstracts may be submitted individually or by a session organizer. Submissions are in the form of abstracts of 500 words or less, and must include a summary of the paper's main arguments and methodology, as well as a brief statement on the contribution to the STS literature. Please choose the most suitable categories for your paper: A) Environmental Studies B) Biomedicine C) Food D) Information and Communication Technology E) Energy / Nuclear Power F) Engineering G) Gender Studies H) Economics / Market Studies I) Public Engagement / Social Movement J) Science Communication K) Science, Technology, and Public Policy L) Theory and Method M) Others Session proposals should be limited to 500 words total, and should contain a summary and rationale for the session, as well as a brief discussion of its contribution to STS. Session proposals should list names of all session organizers and panelists, including institutional affiliations and (electronic) addresses. Session proposals should be based on the assumption of one-and-half hour time slots with fifteen minutes per presentation. A typical session may have four papers, one discussant, and open discussion slot. You must have a minimum of three complete paper abstracts in order to submit a session proposal. The program committee may need to assign additional papers to proposed sessions. Session proposals must also indicate a subject category. Proposals for double and triple sessions on a single topic may receive a request to consolidate the topic into one panel or to break the multiple sessions into different topics. The meeting welcomes papers, sessions and events that are innovative in their delivery, organization, range of topics, type of public and which bring new resources to the STS community to explore these new relations and themes. Yuko Fujigaki, Porgram Chair sec4S2010 at hps.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp Meeting home page: http://4sonline.org/meeting This e-mail was sent from Society For Social Studies Of Science (webmaster at 4sonline.org) to thaigh at computer.org. To unsubscribe, please click on this link and follow the instructions: Unsubscribe -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/attachments/20100208/54f57818/attachment.html From D.NofreMateo at uva.nl Wed Feb 10 07:11:31 2010 From: D.NofreMateo at uva.nl (Nofre Mateo, David) Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:11:31 +0100 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Query: Babel metaphor Message-ID: Dear colleagues, I am trying to chart the use of the Babel metaphor in the history of programming languages. Particularly, I am curious about the use of the visual metaphor. But I am a bit stuck with some basic factual information about the circumstances of the following two images : 1) The now famous cover of the issue of January 1961 of the Communications of the ACM is a obvious point of departure. I know that Alan J. Perlis was the editor at that time of the journal, but I cannot find any information related to the production of the picture (author, source, etc.). 2) The second picture is the supposedly ?first? language history chart, which appeared in Jean E. Sammet, ?Programming languages: history and future?, Comm. of ACM, 15, July 1972. According to Sammet, she got the idea from Christopher J. Shaw?s article ?Milestones in Computer Programming?, published in SIGPLAN Notices February 1965. But I have been unable to find any issue online or printed copy in the libraries in the Netherlands of the SIGPLAN Notices before August 1966, which it appears in all the collections as the first issue. Does anybody know about Shaw?s article? I would appreciate any information about these two images. Thank you very much. David Nofre .................................................. David Nofre, PhD Program of History of Computing Informatics Institute - Faculty of Science University of Amsterdam Science Park 107 1098 XG Amsterdam d.nofremateo at uva.nl -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/attachments/20100210/2e09caa4/attachment.htm From tmisa at umn.edu Wed Feb 10 10:02:47 2010 From: tmisa at umn.edu (Thomas Misa) Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:02:47 -0600 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Query: Babel metaphor In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: CBI has the archival records of the HOPL conference as well as Alan Perlis's papers. Might well be some clues for a researcher there! --- Tom http://purl.umn.edu/41304 Alan J. Perlis Papers, 1942-1989 Dates: 1942-1989 Creator: Perlis, Alan J. Extent: 6 boxes (4.5 cubic feet) Language: English Collection Number: CBI 64 Abstract: Collection contains correspondence, class handouts, lecture notes and visual aids, published articles and reports, subject files, audio tapes and videotapes relating to Perlis' work in computer science education, programming languages, and compiler programs. http://purl.umn.edu/40668 History of Programming Languages Conference Records, 1959, 1972-1993. Finding Aid. Title: History of Programming Languages Conference, 1978, Los Angeles, California records Dates: 1959, 1972-1993 Creator: History of Programming Languages Conference (1978 : Los Angeles, Calif.) Extent: 10 boxes (8 cubic feet) Language: English Collection Number: CBI 19 Abstract: Collection contains correspondence, reports, draft presentations, newspaper clippings, notes, memoranda, National Science Foundation grant records, publicity materials, and mailing lists relating to the planning and organization of the conference. Also includes conference proceedings in the form of black-and-white video cassettes, reel-to-reel and cassette audio recordings, black-and-white photographs, slides, transcripts of presentations, preprints of papers, and book drafts. On Feb 10, 2010, at 6:11 AM, Nofre Mateo, David wrote: > > Dear colleagues, > > I am trying to chart the use of the Babel metaphor in the history of > programming languages. Particularly, I am curious about the use of > the visual metaphor. But I am a bit stuck with some basic factual > information about the circumstances of the following two images : > > > 1) The now famous cover of the issue of January 1961 of the > Communications of the ACM is a obvious point of departure. I know > that Alan J. Perlis was the editor at that time of the journal, but > I cannot find any information related to the production of the > picture (author, source, etc.). > > > 2) The second picture is the supposedly ?first? language history > chart, which appeared in Jean E. Sammet, ?Programming languages: > history and future?, Comm. of ACM, 15, July 1972. According to > Sammet, she got the idea from Christopher J. Shaw?s article > ?Milestones in Computer Programming?, published in SIGPLAN Notices > February 1965. But I have been unable to find any issue online or > printed copy in the libraries in the Netherlands of the SIGPLAN > Notices before August 1966, which it appears in all the collections > as the first issue. Does anybody know about Shaw?s article? > > > I would appreciate any information about these two images. > > > Thank you very much. > > David Nofre > > .................................................. > David Nofre, PhD > Program of History of Computing > Informatics Institute - Faculty of Science > University of Amsterdam > Science Park 107 1098 XG Amsterdam > d.nofremateo at uva.nl > > > _______________________________________________ > This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion > list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ > and you can change your subscription options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members From thaigh at computer.org Wed Feb 10 15:00:30 2010 From: thaigh at computer.org (Thomas Haigh) Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:00:30 -0600 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] FW: [Sighfis-l] ASIST History Fund awards for 2010 announcement Message-ID: <005e01caaa8b$b37202d0$1a560870$@org> Hello everyone, Please find below this year's call for the ASIST paper ($500) and research ($1000) awards. They've been clarified a little this year, so it's clear that the paper must be unpublished and not committed to another venue. (The call also specifies APA style for submissions). ASIST's historical interest group has focused on the history of library and information science, but the addition of IT to its remit may open up the scope for proposals on the history of computing. Tom From: sighfis-l-bounces at asis.org [mailto:sighfis-l-bounces at asis.org] On Behalf Of WILLIAMS, ROBERT Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 2:25 PM To: sighfis-l Subject: [Sighfis-l] ASIST History Fund awards for 2010 announcement ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ASIST HISTORY FUND 2010 RESEARCH AWARD AND RESEARCH PAPER AWARD The ASIST History Fund Advisory Board announces the following two competitive awards for 2010: The ASIST History Fund Research Award: ??????????? This award will be for a maximum of $1,000 and will be awarded for the best research support proposal submitted by July 1, 2010. All topics relevant to the history of information science and technology may be proposed. The proposal should state: central topic or question to be researched, qualifications of the researcher (a brief vita should be included), a budget, and how the funds will be expended. All funds must be expended by June 30, 2011. Submit proposals to:? http://www.softconf.com/asist/History_Fund/? by July 1, 2010.? The ASIST History Fund Research Paper Award: ??????????? This award will be for a maximum of $500 and awarded for the best paper submitted by July 1, 2010. All topics relevant to the history of information science and technology will be considered. The paper should not have been previously published or submitted to a journal. The paper should not exceed 30 pages double-spaced, including notes/references, using the APA style manual. The ASIST History Fund Advisory Board will review all submissions and decide if an award is to be made by Sept. 1, 2010. If an award is made the winner will be expected to present the paper at the 2011 ASIST Annual Meeting and give first rights of refusal for publication to the Journal of The American Society for Information Science and Technology. Submit papers to: http://www.softconf.com/asist/History_Fund/ by the due date of July 1, 2010. For additional information contact: Robert V. Williams at: bobwill at sc.edu ************** The ASIST History Fund was established by the ASIST Board of Directors in June, 2000 for the purposes of supporting and encouraging research and publication in the history of information science and technology. The Fund is supported by donations (including book royalties) from ASIST members and others with an interest in the history of information science and technology. The Fund Advisory Board encourages further donations from anyone interested in supporting historical study of information science and technology.?? Members of the ASIST History Fund Advisory Board for 2010 are: Michael Buckland, Chair Julian Warner, Chair-Elect Trudi B. Hahn Ben-Ami Lipetz Samantha Hastings From holbrook at marshall.edu Sun Feb 14 12:44:29 2010 From: holbrook at marshall.edu (Holbrook, Daniel) Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:44:29 -0500 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] New member- about Dan Holbrook Message-ID: <85986C59E34C984384660A15603016398690EC5F40@MUXC09.marshall.edu> Hello all, Having just joined this email list, I am obeying the request to post a brief paragraph about myself. I am an associate professor and department chair in the Department of History, Marshall University, Huntington, WV. While I am not a historian of computing per se, I have done a bit of work on the history of electronic components, in particular semiconductor device manufacturing. My current research is focusing on contamination control technologies; again, not the history of computing, but, given the importance of clean rooms to the manufacture of electronic components, certainly related. More specifically, I am working on related histories of high efficiency air filtration, particle counters, dust and dirt in manufacturing, and, believe it or not, wiping and wipers, all within the context of contamination control in manufacturing.. I earned my Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University, studying under David Hounshell, Steve Klepper, and Wes Cohen. The latter two are organization economists, but sincerely interested in history. I have been reasonably active in SHOT, having served on several prize committees and the Program Committee. Dan From Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk Sun Feb 14 14:28:28 2010 From: Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk (Brian Randell) Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:28:28 +0000 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] British computer pioneers and their links Message-ID: Hi: Here is a better link to the set of pages that the BBC has just produced about early British computer projects. (Previously I'd only found (unlinked) individual pages.) Cheers Brian Randell -- School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell From thaigh at computer.org Mon Feb 22 17:40:54 2010 From: thaigh at computer.org (Thomas Haigh) Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:40:54 -0600 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] CFP SHOT 2010 -- SIGCIS Proposals? Message-ID: <009001cab410$18ee0950$4aca1bf0$@org> Hello Everyone, The Call for Papers for the 2010 SHOT Meeting is pasted below. The SHOT deadline in 31 March, and the conference takes place in Tacoma, Washington September 30-Oct 3. We also plan to hold a full day SIGCIS workshop on Oct 3, following the successful format of our 2009 workshop. A separate call for this will go out later. The current call is for the main conference. People can submit for both. This email list is available as a clearinghouse for those interested in assembling coherent panel proposals for the meeting. In addition, one of my main activities as chair has been to organize SIGCIS sponsored panels and work with authors to shape their abstracts accordingly. We?ve proposed 3 panels for each of the past three meetings. In 2007 all 3 were accepted, in 2008 just 1, and in 2009 2 of 3. So that's a two thirds success rate overall. Our sessions tend to be lively and well attended. If you are interested in taking part in a SIGCIS organized panel send me an informal message by the END OF THIS MONTH with an idea of what topic you would present. Try not to let cost put you off. As always, SHOT has travel grants available -- primarily for presenters who are graduate students, coming from poorer countries, or recent graduates without permanent jobs. Funding is not guaranteed but is often quite generous and well worth applying for. http://www.historyoftechnology.org/travel_grants.html In addition SIGCIS expects to have funds to make some small supplemental grants ($200 to graduate student members (and perhaps others in the same categories) to top up SHOT's awards. We will announce details for 2010 later. The statement of themes seems very inclusive and somewhat vague ? with the proximity of Seattle IT is mentioned as a welcome topic. Other themes we might be able to hit: globalization, consumption, ?the Pacific world.? The program committee mentions that it would like to see panels with diversity of countries, institutions, and outreach to ?scholars in aligned and/or related fields.? A welcome is also extended to those "new to SHOT." SIGCIS is well placed to satisfy those requirements. The call includes the usual statement to ?indicate if a proposal is sponsored by one of SHOT?s special interest groups.? However no policy on SIG sponsorship seems to exist, so we?re not sure there is a maximum number of panels beyond which sponsorship becomes counterproductive. Also we?re not sure if we can put the SIG ?stamp of approval? on relevant sessions organized by others. Perhaps in response to some requests for clarification we made last year the latest call clarifies a few items of SHOT practice formerly assumed to be tacit knowledge. It states that ?the Program Committee discourages scholars from presenting papers at two consecutive meetings held in North America.? Exceptions can be made for scholars traveling from overseas.? If you presented in the main conference at Pittsburgh but would like to be a chair or commentator then please let me know. Unless we hear otherwise we'll assume that having presented in the SIGCIS workshop in 2009 does NOT count against you in competition for the main SHOT program in 2010. Another clarification in the new CFP: ?in general we discourage panels with more than three papers.? Let's make 2010 another record setting year for the history of computing at SHOT. Tom ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- OFFICIAL CALL FOLLOWS, taken from http://www.historyoftechnology.org/shot2010cfp.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ Deadline: 31 March 2010 SHOT 2010?Call For Papers The Society for the History of Technology will hold its annual meeting in Tacoma, Washington from September 30 to October 3, 2010. The Program Committee invites paper and panel proposals on any topic in the history of technology, broadly defined. Sessions dealing with non-Western technologies are particularly welcome. Of special interest for 2010 are proposals that engage in themes that resonate with the concerns of the specific locale. These include: Consumption: In the popular imagination, the Tacoma-Seattle area is associated with several important corporate entities (Boeing, Microsoft, Nintendo, Starbucks, etc.) whose goods and services are deeply embedded in global consumer culture. At a moment in time when consumption, sometimes excessive, sometimes globalized, sometimes exploitative, is of great concern to both the public and policy-makers, Tacoma is an appropriate place for historians to (re)consider technologies of consumption. We are especially interested in papers that see production and consumption as coterminous processes and which historicize consumption as part of broader processes in the history of technology. We define consumption very broadly to include the public?s active engagement with technologies and technological systems, which may include environmental, communications, and obsolete technologies. The Program Committee encourages sessions dealing with topics appropriate to the meeting location, such as aerospace and maritime history, labor history, forest products, information technology, and themes relevant to the Pacific world. We also encourage historians of technology to reach out to scholars in aligned and/or related fields when constructing research proposals as one way to create a more interdisciplinary environment. Finally, we invite papers and panel proposals that emphasize the longue dur?e, particularly those that problematize demarcations such as modern/premodern, colonial/postcolonial, and preindustrial/industrial. As always, sessions dealing with pre-modern, Medieval, and ancient topics are especially welcome. The Program Committee's highest priority in evaluating paper and panel proposals is scholarly excellence. The Committee welcomes proposals for individual papers or sessions, as well as works-in-progress from researchers of all stripes (including graduate students, chaired professors, and independent scholars). It welcomes proposals from those new to SHOT, regardless of discipline. Multinational, international, and cross-institutional sessions are also desirable. We especially encourage proposals from non-Western scholars. For the 2010 meeting the Program Committee continues to encourage unconventional sessions; that is, session formats that vary in useful ways from the typical three/four papers with comment. These might include round-table sessions, workshop-style sessions with papers that are pre-circulated electronically, or "author meets critics" sessions. We also welcome poster proposals for presentation in poster sessions. Please note that in general we discourage panels with more than three papers. The DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS 31 March 2010. Please submit your proposals to The Shot Program Committee. Proposals for individual papers must include: 1. a one-page abstract (maximum 600 words) 2. a one-page curriculum vitae, including current postal and e-mail addresses Proposals for complete sessions must include: 1. a description of the session that explains how individual papers contribute to an overall theme. 2. the names and paper titles of the presenters 3. for each presenter, a one-page summary (maximum 600 words) of the paper?s topic, argument(s), and evidence used 4. for the commentator, chair, and each presenter: one-page c.v., with postal and e-mail addresses Please indicate if a proposal is sponsored by one of SHOT?s special interest groups. Submission Instructions: 1. Materials should be sent as a single text attachment to an e-mail message to the Program Committee Chair, Asif Siddiqi at shot.tacoma2010 at gmail.com 2. Proposals for complete sessions as well as individual papers should be submitted in one file. 3. Please adhere to the 600-word limit for each paper. Use no unusual fonts or special formatting, and save your attachment either as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Nearly all word processing programs, including those used on Apple computers can save text in the Rich Text Format. Do not use Adobe Acrobat (pdf). 4. Name your attachment with your last name and the word ?proposal?, e.g. ?Smith_proposal.doc?. 5. A session organizer should also deliver a description of the overall session. If you are organizing a session and proposing a paper in that session, you will be delivering both an ?abstract? and ?proposal?, plus your c.v. 6. If you are proposing a non-traditional session you may indicate that in the ?abstract.? These also require a curriculum vitae. General information: While SHOT rules exclude multiple submissions (i.e., submitting more than one individual paper proposal, or proposing both an individual paper and a paper as part of a session), scholars may both propose a paper and serve as a commentator or session chair. Generally speaking, the Program Committee discourages scholars from presenting papers at two consecutive meetings held in North America. Exceptions can be made for scholars traveling from overseas. Individuals are always welcome to serve as chairs and commentators and are encouraged to let the Program Committee know if they are available. For questions, please contact SHOT Secretary Bernie Carlson at shotsecy at virginia.edu. From plundin at kth.se Wed Feb 24 08:12:18 2010 From: plundin at kth.se (Per Lundin) Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:12:18 +0100 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] History of Nordic Computing: Final call Message-ID: <2010A388E0D04B9099D15636A23CA4B7@infra.kth.se> This is a reminder that the deadline (28 February) of HiNC3 is approaching. Please check http://dsv.su.se/hinc3/. Per Lundin & Benkt Wangler IPC co-chairs ??????????????????????????????????????? Per Lundin Div. of History of Science and Technology Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) SE-100 44 Stockholm Sweden Phone: +46 8 790 87 41 Fax: +46 8 24 62 63 http://www.teknikhistoria.se ??????????????????????????????????????? From bbatiz64 at googlemail.com Wed Feb 24 08:31:19 2010 From: bbatiz64 at googlemail.com (Bernardo Batiz-Lazo) Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:31:19 +0000 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Oxford DNB: Sir Edwin Nixon Message-ID: Hello Seems quite interesting and relevant but I don?t have capacity to deal with it. If anyone is interested then please contact Alex May at OUP directly. Kind regards, Bernardo From: MAY, Alex [mailto:alex.may at oup.com] Sent: 23 February 2010 11:22 To: b.batiz-lazo at leicester.ac.uk Subject: Oxford DNB: Sir Edwin Nixon Dear Dr Batiz-Lazo, As you may know, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography was published in September 2004 simultaneously in print (in 60 volumes) and online. Since then we have added some 2000 new lives to the dictionary ? 1000 covering the recently-deceased (people who died in 2001-5), plus another 1000 or so covering people who died before our original cut-off date of the end of 2000 ? as well as various lists, feature essays, teaching materials, etc. Thanks to an agreement with the Museums and Libraries Association the online version of the dictionary is now available in nearly all public libraries in the country (most of which allow ?remote access? from home computers), as well as in many university libraries throughout the world. There is more information about the dictionary on our website: http://www.oxforddnb.com. I am writing now to ask whether you might be willing to write the Oxford DNB entry on the late Sir Edwin Nixon, the chief executive of IBM, banker, and pro-chancellor of Leicester. What we would be hoping for is an article of approximately 1200 words to be delivered, if at all possible, by the end of April 2011. The fee we can offer for the article is ?100. This is, I realise, no more than an honorarium. Nevertheless, I am confident that if you were to write this article, it would be consulted frequently. I hope, also, that you might enjoy writing it. If you are willing to write this entry, we will send copies of the obituaries in the national broadsheets, GRO certificates, some sample entries, and various other materials. I hope very much that you will feel able to say ?yes?. With best wishes, Yours sincerely, Alex May --------------------- (Dr) Alex May Research editor, Oxford DNB Tel: 01865-355047 E-mail: alex.may at oup.com http://www.oxforddnb.com/ Oxford University Press (UK) Disclaimer This message is confidential. You should not copy it or disclose its contents to anyone. You may use and apply the information for the intended purpose only. OUP does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are those of the author only and not of OUP. If this email has come to you in error, please delete it, along with any attachments. Please note that OUP may intercept incoming and outgoing email communications. Oxford University Press (UK) Disclaimer This message is confidential. You should not copy it or disclose its contents to anyone. You may use and apply the information for the intended purpose only. OUP does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are those of the author only and not of OUP. If this email has come to you in error, please delete it, along with any attachments. Please note that OUP may intercept incoming and outgoing email communications. Oxford University Press (UK) Disclaimer This message is confidential. You should not copy it or disclose its contents to anyone. You may use and apply the information for the intended purpose only. OUP does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are those of the author only and not of OUP. If this email has come to you in error, please delete it, along with any attachments. Please note that OUP may intercept incoming and outgoing email communications. From jwcorta at us.ibm.com Sun Feb 28 09:30:35 2010 From: jwcorta at us.ibm.com (James Cortada) Date: Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:30:35 -0600 Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Quote on IT Productivity Message-ID: We have all heard variations of a quote that goes something like this, "If cars had improved as much as computers, you would be able to buy a Rolls-Royce for $5, etc." I may have found the original quote all quite by accident and thought you might want it: "If we compare the automotive and computer industries over the last 30 years, we find that if there had been similar progress in the auto industry as there was in the computer industry . . . then the auto industry would today be able to offer us a Rolls-Royce for $2.50 with an E.P.A. gas rating of 2 million miles per gallon." --an IT executive quoted in "Computing for Business Into the 1980s," Fortune (June 5, 1978), page 25 (full article pp. 23-86). If anybody has an earlier quote, share. Enjoy! Dr. Jim (James) W. Cortada IBM Institute for Business Value 2917 Irvington Way Madison, WI 53713 USA jwcorta at us.ibm.com 608-270-4462 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/attachments/20100228/fd1d0b7e/attachment.htm