August 2009 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Association for Computing Machinery Records, 1947-2007: Online Finding Aid now available at the Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota
by Arvid Nelsen 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

The Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) is proud to announce the availability of the online finding aid for the collection: Association for Computing Machinery Records, 1947-2007 (CBI 205) at <http://purl.umn.edu/51982>. Everyone at CBI is excited to make this collection accessible and we invite scholars to make use of the materials on-site or to make inquiries and requests for information via phone, email, or IM on the CBI website, http://www.cbi.umn.edu/ CBI is preparing online and physical exhibits about the history of ACM, featuring materials from this and related collections housed here. The on-site exhibit will be on display in the atrium of the University of Minnesota's Elmer L. Andersen Library, January 11 -- March 5, 2010. Further information about both exhibits will be posted to this list and on the CBI website as it becomes available. I would like to thank Pat Ryan and the ACM for their generosity with this collection and its processing. I would also like to thank Loralee Bloom, Project Archivist, for all of her wonderful work on the collection, as well as her student assistant Valerie MacDonald, whom CBI was fortunate enough to retain after completion of the project and who will - no doubt - prove immensely valuable in our exhibition ventures. Thank you, R. Arvid Nelsen CBI Archivist -- R. Arvid Nelsen, Archivist Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota 211 Elmer L. Andersen Library 222 - 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 Phone: 612-625-4867 Fax: 612-625-8054 URL: www.cbi.umn.edu

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Hello, I'm new here
by julie hugsted 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

Dear Sigcis, I just joined the Sigcis mailing list and was encouraged to write a brief presentation of my studies and fields of interest - which I also find makes good sense so you know a bit of who I am and what I do. My name is Julie Hugsted, I study history on University of Aarhus, Denmark, where I currently write my masters thesis on historiography of computing. Since it is my impression that from institution to institution, people define historiography differently I will just clarify that it is the history of how the history of computing has been written that I work with. I have undertaken most of my masters degree on respectively Department of History and Area Studies: http://www.iho.au.dk/en and Department of Science Studies http://www.ivs.au.dk/en The latter is where I have undertaken most courses. I have focused on history of technology, mainly history of computing during my master. All the best Julie -- Julie Katrine Hugsted phone: DK: (+ 45) 51 92 02 83

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SIGCIS Workshop - Chairs and Commentators Needed
by Thomas Haigh 08 Aug '09

08 Aug '09

Hello everyone, Preparations are coming along nicely for the SIGCIS workshop, held all day on the Sunday of the SHOT meeting. SHOT registration is now live, at http://www.historyoftechnology.org/pittsburgh/pittsburgh_registration.html. The deadline for regular registration in September 15. The SIG pizza lunch meeting, which you should register for with the main SHOT registration at modest additional cost (just $5 for grad students thanks to a subsidy from SIG funds) is NOT THE SAME as the workshop. There will be no charge for workshop registration but we will have a web registration system up soon just for the workshop so we will know how many cups of coffee to order, people's meal preferences (meals at your own cost), how many for dinner, etc. When you register, please try to stay for the whole of Sunday, as we will have sessions up to 5:45pm and then a dinner in the evening for those able to stay overnight (or leave really late). Joe November, the program chair, has been keeping things updated on the draft program at http://www.sigcis.org/files/SIGCIS%202009%20Workshop%20Preliminary%20Schedul e%20--%2008-04-2009.pdf. Joe tells me that we still need chairs and commentator volunteers, as noted below. We will give preference to people who are not already on the workshop program as speakers. We want to bring as many SIGCIS members onto the workshop program as possible. This includes those who are already taking part as presenters, commentators or chairs in the main SHOT meeting. If you are interested please send your names and preferences to november(a)mailbox.sc.edu. Here's what we still need for the traditional sessions. Total one chair, three commentators. A commentator for Traditional Paper Session 2: The Computings of Management Lars Heide, Copenhagen Business School, "Punched Cards in German Management of Resources in the Second World War" David Anderson, University of Portsmouth, "The Corridors of Power: Patrick Blackett and the Political Context of Early British Computing" Jonathan Aylen, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, University of Manchester, "'You've got to roll with it': radical adoption of computers and changes to managerial routines at Llanwern steelworks, South Wales" Chair: Janet Delve, School of Creative Technologies, University of Portsmouth A chair and a commentator for Traditional Paper Session 3: Political Institutions in the Histories of Computings Andrew Mamo, "Computing Societies: Communications Technologies and Social Science in the Cambridge Project" Stephen Patnode, Temple University, "The Impact of Computers on Corporate Paternalism in the Post-war United States" David Nofre, Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, "The Dutch politics of computing and the limits of international cooperation, 1945-1965" A commentator for Traditional Paper Session 4: Computings as They Rose and Fell Dave Goodwin, Birkbeck College, University of London, "Digital Equipment Corporation: The mistakes that led to its downfall" Larry Owens, University of Massachusetts Amherst, "Walking Around Computerville: The PC and the Encyclopedia of Computer Science, 1976-1983" Chair: David Hemmendinger, Computer Science Department, Union College Best wishes, Tom Haigh

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SIGCIS History Page
by Thomas Haigh 01 Aug '09

01 Aug '09

Hello everyone, We recently added a little history section to the website, including material sourced from the CBI Newsletter on our early days and some reminiscences from early chairs Bill Aspray and Paul Ceruzzi. Turns out the group can be traced back to a 1987 meeting, so we are approaching our 22nd anniversary. Read it at http://www.sigcis.org/?q=node/71. If you were involved in the early days and have any corrections or additional information to incorporate then please email it to me. Memories of the first meeting would be particularly interesting. Best wishes, Tom Haigh

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