August 2010 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Dissertations (fwd)
by Allan Olley 30 Nov '10

30 Nov '10

I may be telling people what they already know but to continue on James point, the largest repository of US and Canadian dissertations is a commercial database operated by ProQuest (accessible through a library subscription, but not open access). ProQuest also holds contracts for supplying much of the microfilm dissertation service in this region and so even if an electronic copy is not available you can often order a copy from them. When they print a copy from microfilm they also create an electronic copy in at least some cases. For example, I ordered a thesis from Columbia 1965 and after I ordered it an electronic copy was available). There are many dissertations on history of computing and allied fields in Proquest, I'm not going to try and list any here, sorry. A list of on-line sources of theses and dissertations is given by Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations: http://www.ndltd.org/find Several of these are open access including Theses Canada (unfortunately a very limited set of actual electronic theses available). I just noticed, ProQuest is running a service for open access dissertations (a very small set compared to their subscription service) here: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/ I could find two dissertations of probable interest, freely available for download on my own quick search of this service: Communities of innovation: Cyborganic and the birth of networked social media by Cool, Jennifer Catharine, Ph.D. University of Southern California. 2008: 420 pages; AAT 3341717. White House computer adoption and information policy from 1969 -- 1979 by Laprise, John Paul, Ph.D. Northwestern University. 2009: 262 pages; AAT 3386523. -- Yours Truly, Allan Olley http://individual.utoronto.ca/fofound/ On Wed, 30 Jun 2010, James Sumner wrote: > A belated follow-up to Jim's message about access to Masters and PhD > dissertations: > > The British Library's Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) is shaping up > to be very effective both as a clearing-house for information about > dissertations available digitally, and as a direct-access repository. I'm > surprised it's not better publicised. See: > > <http://ethos.bl.uk> > > The database attempts to list every research thesis/dissertation completed at > a higher education institution in the UK. If a copy has been deposited with > the British Library (which is usually the case) and has no access > restrictions, it can be scanned and prepared for electronic download. > > The beauty of this provision is that, once any user has ordered a thesis to > be digitised, it becomes available to later users at *no charge*. (Users > requesting theses have to register, but there are no restrictions on > registration. Users outside the UK are welcome.) > > A quick search on obvious keywords showed the following as currently > available for direct free download: > > --- > The growth of the Indian software industry : a social history > Author: Warrier, Meera. > Awarding Institution: University of East Anglia > Awarded: 2003 > > The roots and early history of the British home computer market : origins of > the masculine micro. > Author: Haddon, Leslie G. > Awarding Institution: Imperial College London (University of London) > Awarded: 1988 > > Technology, consumption and the future : the experience of home computing. > Author: Skinner, David Ian. > Awarding Institution: Brunel University > Awarded: 1992 > > A history of the theory of recursive functions and computability with special > reference to the developments initiated by Godels incompleteness theorems. > Author: Adams, R.G. > Awarding Institution: Hatfield Polytechnic > Awarded: 1983 > > Learning languages with computers : a history of computer assisted language > learning from 1960 to 1990 in relation to education, linguistics and applied > linguistics. > Author: Fox, Jeremy. > Awarding Institution: University of East Anglia > Awarded: 1991 > > The impact of e-Government in the UK > Author: Organ, Joseph John > Awarding Institution: University of Leeds > Awarded: 2006 > --- > > Theses which have not been digitised usually attract a one-off fee of £40 for > digitisation. Depending on the awarding institution's access policy, however, > digitisation is sometimes free (though there may be a wait of up to 30 days > before access is available). > > The system will also try to link to full-text versions held in local > repositories such as <etheses.whiterose.ac.uk> where it can. > > Hope you find this useful! > Best > James > > On 12/06/2010 17:01, James Cortada wrote: >> Thanks to those of you who were able to respond to this request for >> information. Some of my favorite sigcis e-mail is of this sort as I then >> go and look at many of the citations mentioned. >> >> I particularly like it when colleagues mention their Masters and Ph.D. >> dissertations and provide a link to where we can obtain a copy. This is >> of extraordinary importance because it is incredibly easy not to be >> aware of important research. Therefore, I would like to suggest that if >> you have not shared with everyone your dissertations, that you do so >> electronically, if you can. I for one have kept a copy of each >> dissertation that has been made available through this sigcis so that >> there is at least one copy that gets preserved outside of the normal >> places, and for European and Asian dissertations, a copy in the USA. I >> hope others do the same, particularly at such institutions as CBI and >> universities. >> >> Regards, >> >> Dr. Jim (James) W. Cortada >> IBM Institute for Business Value >> 2917 Irvington Way >> Madison, WI 53713 USA >> jwcorta(a)us.ibm.com >> 608-270-4462 >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> This email is relayed from members(a)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(a)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

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History of open-source
by Evan Koblentz 10 Sep '10

10 Sep '10

Apologies if I've asked this before .... does anyone know of a solid history of open-source computing?

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Vacuum Tube Development Committee
by Evan Koblentz 09 Sep '10

09 Sep '10

Last week I visited Harvard's archives of the Radio Research Lab, and found some meeting minutes of the Vacuum Tube Development Committee (1943-1945 timeframe) .... I can't find much online that nicely summarizes this committee and its activity / purpose. Can someone here point me to a good overview?

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Info: Workshop on Zuse, Bremen Sep 30 2010
by julie hugsted 31 Aug '10

31 Aug '10

Hello, a brief promotion of this exciting workshop on the work of Konrad Zuse in Bremen. It is part of a 100 years celebration of Konrad Zuse's birth. Here is a link to the general activities during the Year of Zuse: http://www.horst-zuse.homepage.t-online.de/horst-zuse-zuse-jahr-2010-html/e… And here is a link and below a copy/paste about the workshop: >From the web: http://www.horst-zuse.homepage.t-online.de/informatik-geschichte-html-2008/… Excuse my German, but I preferred posting it in German rather than skipping it due to heavy work load, I did not have time for translation. Parts are in English as well as the general website. My excuses if it has already been posted and I somehow forgot The best regards Julie » Neue Forschungen zu Konrad Zuse « Workshop der „Fachgruppe Informatik- und Computergeschichte“ Leitung Hans Dieter Hellige (Universität Bremen) Termin 30. 9. 2010, 9.00 - ca. 19.00 Uhr Ort Campus der Universität Leipzig, Universitätsstraße 3 Hörsaalgebäude, Raum S 229 9:00-10:30 Uhr Perspektiven der Zuse-Forschung Leitung: Rudolf Seising (European Center for Soft Computing, Mieres) 9:00-9:30 Rudolf Seising Einführung: Die Zuse-Forschung und die Probleme der Pionier-Geschichten 9:30-10:15 Wilhelm Füßl (Deutsches Museum München) Der wissenschaftlich-technische Nachlass Konrad Zuses als Grundlage für neue Forschungsfragen und eine biografische Neubewertung 10:15-10:30 Diskussion 10:30-11:00 Kaffeepause 11:00-13:00 Uhr Konrad Zuse als Erfinderunternehmer im NS-Staat Leitung: Wolfgang Coy (Humboldt-Universität Berlin) 11:00-11:45 Hans Dieter Hellige (Universität Bremen) Die Kontrollnetze und 'Rechnenden Räume' des Konrad Zuse im Dritten Reich 11:45-12:30 Ulf Hashagen (Deutsches Museum München) Von Berlin ins Allgäu: Der Erfinderunternehmer Konrad Zuse 1945-1948 12:30-13:00 Diskussion Kommentare: Paul Ceruzzi (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.) Stephan Lindner (Universität der Bundeswehr München) 13:00-14:00 Mittagspause 14:00-15:30 Uhr Konrad Zuses Rolle als Unternehmer und Technologievermittler Leitung: Friedrich Naumann (Technische Universität Chemnitz) 14:00-14:45 Horst Zuse (Technische Universität Berlin) Unternehmenskultur, Entscheidungsstrukturen und Führungsprobleme in der Zuse KG 14:45-15:30 Hartmut Petzold (Berlin) Konrad Zuses Beziehungen zu N. Joachim Lehmann und anderen DDR-Computerpionieren 15:30-16:00 Kaffeepause 16:00-18:00 Uhr Konrad Zuses Beiträge zur Informatik-Forschung und -Theorie Leitung: Gerard Alberts (Universität Amsterdam) 16:00-16:45 Klaus Waldschmidt (Universität Frankfurt a. M.) Konrad Zuse und die parallele Rechnerarchitektur – Einige Gedanken und Beispiele 16:45-17.30 Roland Vollmar (Universität Karlsruhe) Konrad Zuses informatisches Universum 17:30-18:30 Schlussdiskussion: Konrad Zuse – Neue Sichten und Fragen Leitung: Paul Ceruzzi

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Donate your books for auction....
by Thomas Haigh 30 Aug '10

30 Aug '10

Hello SIGCIS members, As those of you who have attended our annual lunch meeting in recent years are aware, our annual auction of donated history of computing books is the SIG's main income source for its annual operating expenses. The tradition was inaugurated at our 2007 meeting in DC with the late Mike Mahoney as auctioneer. Last year the auction raised about $800 to fund several of the graduate student travel awards for year's meeting. While the MIT Press remains a very generous sponsor of the event we do also rely on our members to provide books. Now is a good time to look at your bookshelf for spare or duplicate copies of works in our field and consider finding them a loving new home. The auction is specifically for historical works related to the history of computing, both scholarly and popular. So please either put a book or two on one side and bring it with you to Tacoma or mail me the books within the next two weeks so I can carry them myself. If you're interested in the latter option send me a personal reply and I will verify the details and give you my mailing address. We're off to a good start, as Paul Ceruzzi already sent me two boxes of books. SHOT is a registered charity so the value of the book(s) can be treated as a charitable donation and deducted from your taxable US income (if you itemize -- consult your tax professional, etc). On request we can track the amount raised from your donation and sent a receipt. Best wishes, Tom Haigh www.tomandmaria.com/tom

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IBM 1401: The Musical! (almost)
by Thomas Haigh 30 Aug '10

30 Aug '10

This odd discovery brought a smile to me on a frustrating day: http://www.amazon.com/IBM-1401-A-Users-Manual/dp/B000S5AMS2 ($4.95 download) http://www.amazon.com/Ibm1401-Users-Manual-Johann-Johannsson/dp/B000I0SGSA/r ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 <http://www.amazon.com/Ibm1401-Users-Manual-Johann-Johannsson/dp/B000I0SGSA/ ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1282877401&sr=1-1> &s=music&qid=1282877401&sr=1-1 (regular CD) Summary: Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson has recorded an orchestral work inspired by and incorporating the sounds of the first IBM 1401 installed in Iceland. (Perhaps the first computer in Iceland Petri Paju would know this) The title is IBM 1401 A Users Manual. Its also interesting to see that the trick of generating music via radio interference long predated the microcomputers of the 1970s, as the sounds are supposed to have come from his fathers work in 1971. Its not actually a musical, but parts were apparently used for modern dance and there are some spoken passages. Im playing the first track (movement?) right now, and it is deeply strange. This should put everyone in the right mood for the Materiality and Immateriality theme of our forthcoming workshop. If only more Icelanders back in 2006 had put their quirky ingenuity into celebrating old technology rather than structuring financial deals. Tom

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Write biographies for Annals
by Thomas Haigh 28 Aug '10

28 Aug '10

Hello SIGCIS members, Here's another invitation, following one I sent out about eighteen months ago that has already lead to several interesting published biographies. The flow has slowed rather recently, so it seemed time for another appeal. I am writing to encourage you to submit material for the biographies department of IEEE Annals of the History of Computing (www.computer.org/annals) which I've been editing since 2002. This can be a great way of getting new research into print quickly. You can read all the details at http://www.tomandmaria.com/tom/resources/annalsbiographies.htm But briefly: biographies should be carefully researched, add some new information or perspectives, and be 2,000 to 3,000 words in length. Subjects do not have to be dead, and in fact about half of our subjects are still alive. Researching a good biography is a lot of work, and so I encourage you to think of making a biography an initial or additional publication as part of a broader project. Having done the research on a particular story or institution it is common to learn a lot about the lives of individuals, but often this material is not fully used in the main book or article. You may also find yourself ready to contribute a biography at a relatively early state in the overall project. Biographies can also be peer reviewed on request. (As departmental articles the default is a speedier process where you work directly with me on revisions). This might be particularly attractive to those of you getting your publications counted for tenure or other review processes. Annals is widely indexed, and available at pretty much all research universities via the IEEE Digital Library. We're also told that the biographies are a favorite feature of the publication with our loyal subscriber base. Best wishes, Tom Haigh

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Stan Viet passed away
by Evan Koblentz 27 Aug '10

27 Aug '10

*http://tinyurl.com/28kejof*

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Postdoc opportunity: Michigan Society of Fellows
by Paul Edwards 26 Aug '10

26 Aug '10

All - I wanted to be sure that people on this list, in particular, know about the remarkable postdocs at the Michigan Society of Fellows. These are three-year postdocs — an incredible deal, and highly prestigious (and competitive). Eight fellowships are awarded each year. Four are open to any field; the other four are specifically in the humanities. It's possible to make a good case that some kinds of work in history of computing should count a "humanities," though proposals need to make that case explicit since some referees may need to be educated. To apply, you must have received the Ph.D. or comparable professional or artistic degree between June 1, 2008 and September 1, 2011. I don't have any influence over the selection of fellows and I don't know details of the Society, but during the SHOT meeting (or offline) I'll be happy to talk about Michigan with anyone interested in applying. For more information: http://www.rackham.umich.edu/sof/ - Paul ————————————————— Paul N. Edwards, Professor of Information A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming (MIT Press 2010) Terse replies are deliberate (and better than nothing): five.sentenc.es University of Michigan School of Information 3439 North Quad 105 S. State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285 (734) 764-2617 (office) (206) 337-1523 (fax) pne.people.si.umich.edu

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2010 Workshop - preliminary schedule posted
by Thomas Haigh 25 Aug '10

25 Aug '10

Hello SIGCIS members, We have now posted the current schedule for the 2010 workshop at www.sigcis.org/workshop10 along with a few other pieces of useful information. One of these is that registration for SHOT itself is required for the workshop, and the deadline for regular registration there is September 10. Paul Edwards has now chosen a title for his keynote speech: "Friction: Rethinking Speed, Power, and Possiblity in the History of Information Infrastructures. Hes also agreed to run the dissertations in progress session for us. We still need a chair and commentator for one of the sessions and a commentator for another one preferably people who are not already on the workshop program. The abstracts are also online. If you want to make any further changes to your abstracts let Jeff Tang know secretary(a)sigcis.org. Another reminder: For those in the sessions based on precirculated material (the roundtable discussions, the works in progress session, and the dissertations in progress sessions) please remember that you need to send Jeff your full text PDF files so that he can add them to the website. The sooner the better for this, but the deadline is September 15. Im pasting the current version below, but we expect to make further updates so please always rely on the web version rather than what you see below. Tom Materiality & Immateriality in the History of Computing Sunday October 3, 2010, Hotel Murano, Tacoma, Washington Stream A (room TBA) Stream B (Room TBA) 9:00-10:30 Opening Plenary: * Introduction to the Workshop and its Theme by Thomas Haigh, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee * Keynote Address: "Friction: Rethinking Speed, Power, and Possiblity in the History of Information Infrastructures" by Paul Edwards, University of Michigan 10:30-10:45 Coffee break 10:45-12:00 Roundtable: Computers, Information and Society in the Classroom * Andrew Russell, Stevens Institute of Technology (chair & organizer) * Nathan Ensmenger, University of Pennsylvania * Eden Medina, Indiana University, Bloomington (withdrawn -- replacement TBA) (Short presentations to introduce pre circulated documents, followed by general discussion) Roundtable: Science Fiction & the History of Computing * David L. Ferro, Weber State University (chair & organizer) * Janet Abbate, Virgina Tech * Eric G. Swedin, Weber State University * Thomas Haigh, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Short presentations to introduce pre circulated documents, followed by general discussion) 12:00-1:30 Lunch break (group lunch option TBA) 1:30-3:30 Dissertations In Progress Chair/Commentator: Paul Edwards, University of Michigan * <http://www.sigcis.org/dp1> The Akademgorodok Computing Center (1958-1990) Ksenia Tatachenko, Princeton University. * <http://www.sigcis.org/dp2> Digital Equipment's Rise and Fall, Could it Have Been Avoided? Dave Goodwin, Birkbeck College London. * <http://www.sigcis.org/dp3> A History and Ethnography of the Cocoa Software Community. Hansen Hsu, Cornell University. * <http://www.sigcis.org/dp4> Connecting Minds in a Multimedia Episteme: The Academic Supercomputer Centers and the Construction an Advanced Cognitive Infrastructure for the U.S. Research Community: 1983-1993 Kevin Walsh, University of California, San Diego. (Short presentations to introduce pre circulated dissertation proposals, to be discussed in turn by workshop participants) Traditional Papers: Teaching & Showing Chair: Olga Pantelidou, University of Athens Commentator: TBA * <http://www.sigcis.org/t4> The PLATO Computer-Based Education System: Teacher's Tool or Teacher? Christopher MacDonald, Princeton University. * <http://www.sigcis.org/t6> Car Navigation Systems A History of Associative Clusters. Tristan Thielmann, University of Siegen. * <http://www.sigcis.org/t7> A Material History of Bits. Jean-François Blanchette, UCLA. * <http://www.sigcis.org/t9> Museums and the Material Culture of Video Games. Petrina Foti, Smithsonian NMAH. (4x20 minute presentations followed by a 10-15 minute comment and general discussion) 3:30-4:00 Coffee break 4:00-6:00 Works in Progress Chair/Commentator: TBA * <http://www.sigcis.org/wp1> Multi-sided markets and on-line distribution of working papers: A brief history of NEP, 1993-2005. Bernardo Batiz-Lazo, University of Leicester and Thomas Krichel (Long Island University & Novosibirsk State University, Russia). * <http://www.sigcis.org/wp2> Making Computers Logical: Edmund Berkeleys promotion of logical machines. Mai Sugimoto, Kyoto University. * <http://www.sigcis.org/wp4> Investing in interactive skills a reinterpretation of the Swedish internet boom and bust, 19942004. Gustav Sjöblom, Chalmers University of Technology . * <http://www.sigcis.org/wp5> Meta Filter: Coming to Agreement with Interactive Computer Technology. Sharon Irish, UIUC. (Short presentations to introduce pre circulated papers, to be discussed in turn by workshop participants) Traditional Papers: Place & Space Chair: Ann Johnson, University of South Carolina. Commentator: Peter Meyer, Bureau of Labor Statistics. * <http://www.sigcis.org/t2> The Material History of Digital Electronics: The Development of Silicon Manufacturing Technology at Fairchild Semiconductor. David C. Brock, Chemical Heritage Foundation & Christophe Lecuyer, University of California. * <http://www.sigcis.org/t5> The World Looks to Britain: Technology Transfer, Heterogeneous Engineering, and British Computing Companies Attempt to Capture the Indian Market, 1955-1965. Maria Hicks, Duke University. * <http://www.sigcis.org/t8> Wat' Forever: Computing Education at the University of Waterloo. Scott M. Campbell, University of Waterloo. * <http://www.sigcis.org/t10> Materiality, modernity and space: The British banks and their computer centres, 19611963. Ian Martin, Open University & University of Manchester. (4x20 minute presentations followed by a 10-15 minute comment and general discussion)

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