December 2014 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Fwd: [Air-L] CFP: Digital Material/ism
by Andrew Russell 14 Dec '14

14 Dec '14

Dear SIGCIS list - I expect this journal and call for papers will be of interest to many on this list - mainly as a potential venue for manuscript submission, but also as an opportunity to reflect upon the journal’s aims and inspiration, and how they related to the history of computing and information (I noticed that the word “history” appears only once in the CFP). Cheers, Andy > Begin forwarded message: > > From: "Richterich Annika (LK)" <a.richterich(a)maastrichtuniversity.nl> > To: "air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org" <air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org> > Date: December 14, 2014 at 6:10:45 PM EST > Subject: [Air-L] CFP: Digital Material/ism > > Call for Papers − Digital Material/ism: How Materiality shapes Digital Culture and Social Interaction > > > First Issue of 'Digital Culture & Society' > http://www.transcript-verlag.de/content/t/digital_culture_and_society_cfp_m… > > Abstract deadline: February 1, 2015 > > > The idea of a society, in which everyday smart objects are equipped with digital logic and sensor technologies, is currently taking shape. Devices connected as learning machines to the 'Internet of Things' necessitate further research on issues related to digital media and their materiality. In this context, media, culture and social theories, dealing with the materiality of digital technology, have gained increasing relevance. > > Investigations of digital material have given rise to a wide range of (new) research questions, approaches, and issues. From the early 2000s onwards, we can identify two major strands of research that developed: (1) from the technological and material conditions of hardware and software towards (2) the social/political/economic/legal infrastructures and power relations of proprietary networks and platforms. The eventual establishment of research fields such as software studies, critical code studies, media archaeology and the notion of the post-digital − represented by scholars such as David Berry, Wendy Chun, Alexander Galloway, Mark Hansen, Katherine Hayles, Friedrich Kittler, Lev Manovich, William Mitchell, Anna Munster, Adrian Mackenzie, Jussi Parikka, Eugene Thacker, and others, − can also be understood as indicators of an institutionalisation of ‘media-materialistic’ research. For the first issue “Digital Material/ism”, the newly founded Digital Culture & Society journal calls for further methodological and theoretical reflection on issues of digital materiality and digital materialism. > > Approaches may be rooted in (digital) media and cultural studies, as well as social sciences. Interdisciplinary contributions, for example, those from science and technology studies, are likewise welcome. > > Paper proposals may relate to, but are not limited to, the following topics: > - the internet of things, smart objects and ambient intelligence > - augmented environments > - wearables (and augmented reality) > - hardware studies and Open Hardware > - hacker, Maker and DIY Culture > - post-digital media research > - media ecologies and e-waste > - agency of assemblages > > We invite submissions, which may react to, and expand on to the following questions of “Digital Material/ism”: > > 1. Field Research and Case Studies: > We invite papers on socio-technological developments related to digital media materiality. Articles may examine usage and production, as well as spaces and contexts of smart objects; e.g. wearable computing devices, or beacons. Contributions may be based on (empirical) case studies. They may likewise address discourses of truth and evidence related to digital media materialism; e.g. in a metaphorical sense (see Boomen 2014) or as governmental alignment, such as “forensic materialism” as suggested by Kirschenbaum (2008). How do materialistic positions tacitly use metaphors of clinical or administrative control to assure the relevance and societal benefits of their devices? How is the notion of ‘smart/ness’ used in order to promote new forms of technological interactions with, and surveillance of the physical environment? > > 2. Methodological reflection: > We invite contributions that address methodological issues of approaches focused on digital media materiality. What are the methodological implications of such technological developments? What ethical challenges do researchers face; e.g. related to the data enabled by new digital media technology and their material features? > > 3. Conceptual/theoretical reflection: > We invite papers that address key notions in the discussion of digital materiality, and question epistemological assumptions. 'Materiality' is a crucial term, which only entered the discussion of digital media studies in the 2000s. Historically, how was the notion of materiality developed with regard to digital media? Moreover, in which philosophical traditions do the key representatives of 'Digital Materialism' place themselves? In what ways do they assume canonical models when examining the ‘transcendental,’ ‘empirical,’ or ‘historical-material’ conditions of data networks? Following Matthew Kirschenbaum’s (2008) conception of “formal materiality” as “the imposition of multiple relational computational states on a data set or digital object” (Ibid, p. 12), we are interested in the practical relevance of the materiality of recording, storing and processing (alongside the technical modelling of storage, digital objects, discrete data and metadata-guided processing operations). Thereby, we subsequently consider the results of Matthew Fuller’s (2003; 2008) work, “Software as a historical knowledge base”: it has its own history and does not only follow technological norms and standards, but also yields social, institutional and cultural settings. > > Deadlines and contact information: > Initial abstracts (max. 300 words) and a short biographical note (max. 100 words) are due on: February 1, 2015 > Authors will be notified by February 16, 2015, whether they are invited to submit a full paper. > Full papers are due on: May 1, 2015 > > Please send the abstracts and full papers to: > Ramón Reichert – ramon.reichert(a)univie.ac.at > Annika Richterich − a.richterich(a)maastrichtuniversity.nl > > References: > Boomen, M. van den (2014) Transcoding the Digital: How Metaphors Matter in New Media. Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam. > Fuller, M. (2008) Software Studies. A Lexicon. Cambridge: MIT Press. > Kirschenbaum, M. (2008) Mechanisms: New Media and the Forensic Imagination, Cambridge: MIT Press. > Latour, B. (1987) Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers through Society, Harvard: Harvard University Press. > Montfort, N. (2003) Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction, Cambridge: The MIT Press, pp. 85-93. > > > Further information on the Digital Culture & Society journal and the current call for papers can be found on: > http://www.transcript-verlag.de/content/t/digital_culture_and_society_cfp_m… > _______________________________________________ > The Air-L(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list > is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org > Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > > Join the Association of Internet Researchers: > http://www.aoir.org/

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Babbage's Language of Thought
by Brian Randell 12 Dec '14

12 Dec '14

Hi: This comes from the Plan 28 Blog: > Babbage's Language of Thought > This is a guest post by Adrian Johnstone, Professor of Computing at Royal Holloway, University of London. > > Babbage has been called the 'great-uncle' of modern computing, a claim that rests simultaneously on his demonstrable understanding of most of the architectural principles underlying the modern computer, and the almost universal ignorance of Babbage's work before 1970. > > There has been an explosion of interest both in Babbage's devices and the impact they might have had in some parallel history, as well as in Babbage himself as a man of great originality who had essentially no influence at all on subsequent technological development. > > In all this, one fundamental question has been largely ignored: how is it that one individual working alone could have synthesised a workable computer design over quite a short period, designing an object whose complexity of behaviour so far exceeded that of contemporary machines that it would not be matched for over one hundred years? > > I believe that the answer lies in the techniques Babbage developed to reason about complex systems. The Leverhulme Trust have recently made a major award to myself and my collaborator Prof Elizabeth Scott which we will use to document, formalise and implement simulators for Babbage's Notation. The team also includes Plan 28’s Dr Doron Swade, who is the foremost authority on Babbage, and Dr Piers Plummer who has an extensive background in chip design, computer architecture, mechanical CAD and programming language compiler design. The work will be based in Royal Holloway's Centre for Software Language Engineering. <snip> Full article at http://blog.plan28.org/2014/11/babbages-language-of-thought.html Cheers Brian Randell School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brian.randell

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Query re. readings on global history of computing
by Paul N. Edwards 12 Dec '14

12 Dec '14

Dear colleagues, I’m putting together an upper-level undergrad course on “Computers and the Internet: A Global History,” and I would really appreciate suggestions for my course reading list. I’m intrigued by the opportunity created by recent scholarship to look at regions of the world usually left out of the traditional US-UK story. I am looking for well-written, short (or readily excerptable) work that will appeal to an audience of juniors and seniors, some from History and some from the iSchool. I’m particularly looking for refs on Africa, Asia, and South America. I’m interested in video as well as writing, and accessible primary source collections too. Period is from Babbage to the present. Here’s most of what’s on my reading list so far (not including US-UK oriented material) Campbell-Kelly, Aspray, and Ensmenger, Computer Medina, Cybernetic Revolutionaries Cortada, Digital Flood Edwards and Hecht, “History and the Technopolitics of Identity: The Case of Apartheid South Africa” Jenkin, "Talking to Vula: The Story of the Secret Underground Communications Network of Operation Vula." Shapard, “Islands in the (Data)Stream: Language, Character Codes, and Electronic Isolation in Japan” Takhteyev, Coding Places: Software Practice in a South American City (Brazil) Gerovitch, “‘Mathematical Machines’ of the Cold War: Soviet Computing, American Cybernetics and Ideological Disputes in the Early 1950s.” Gerovitch. “Internyet: Why the Soviet Union Did Not Build a Nationwide Computer Network.” De Lacy, Justine. 1989. "The Sexy Computer.” (on Minitel) McHenry and Goodman, “MIS in Soviet Industrial Enterprises: The Limits of Reform from Above” (1986, CACM) Flamm, “Government and Computers in Japan and Europe,” from Targeting the Computer Best, Paul ___________________________ Paul N. Edwards Professor of Information and History, University of Michigan A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming (MIT Press, 2010) Terse replies are deliberate (and better than nothing) University of Michigan School of Information 4437 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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Fwd: IHPST NEWSLETTER: November 28, 2014
by Dag Spicer 11 Dec '14

11 Dec '14

Thought this might of interest… is anyone teaching the “philosophy of computing?” Should they? Does computing (outside of AI) involve philosophy? Dag -- Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 1401 North Shoreline Boulevard Mountain View, CA 94043-1311 Tel: +1 650 810 1035 Fax: +1 650 810 1055 Twitter: @ComputerHistory Begin forwarded message: From: IHPST <ihpst.info(a)utoronto.ca<mailto:ihpst.info@utoronto.ca>> Subject: IHPST NEWSLETTER: November 28, 2014 Date: November 28, 2014 at 1:02:59 PM PST To: IHPST <ihpst.info(a)utoronto.ca<mailto:ihpst.info@utoronto.ca>> IHPST NEWSLETTER November 28, 2014 IHPST NEWS COLLOQUIUM Wednesday December 10, 4:00 p.m., Location – Victoria College, 2nd floor, Room 213 “Why did HPS Die?” Hakob Barseghyan, Assistant Professor, IHPST, University of Toronto When HPS was born in the 1960s, its main rationale was that we could study the actual workings of science in order to use that knowledge to answer some key philosophical questions concerning science, such as “what makes science rational?”, “what is the demarcation between science and non-science?”, “what makes one theory better than another?” and ultimately “what is the logic of scientific change?”. Kuhn and other founding fathers of HPS held that in order to get a better understanding of PS we must refer to HS. Lakatos’s famous dictum that “philosophy of science without history of science is empty; history of science without philosophy of science is blind” was not just his own view; it was the guiding principle that was in the foundation of the original HPS. Yet, what we observe nowadays is historians and philosophers pursuing their separate projects with essentially very little overlap. If we call things by their names, “HPS” has become a mere umbrella term these days. So why did the original HPS die and how can it be revived? If you have an accessibility or accommodation need for these events, please e-mail Denise Horsley directly at denise.horsley(a)utoronto.ca<mailto:denise.horsley@utoronto.ca> to make appropriate arrangements. * * * * * * * * ** OTHER NEWS Stay current with the U of T community: The Albert Memo: http://www.vic.utoronto.ca/News___Events/Albert.htm U of T News: http://www.news.utoronto.ca/ * * * * * * * * * * * ---

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Query readings on global history of computing
by Jay Hauben 10 Dec '14

10 Dec '14

Dear Paul Edwards, Maybe too old, too technical or too playful but of value is: "Exploring the Internet: A Technical Travelogue" 1992 by Carl Malamud Take care. Jay On Tue, 9 Dec 2014, members-request(a)sigcis.org wrote: > 1. Query re. readings on global history of computing > (Paul N. Edwards) > > Dear colleagues, > > I?m putting together an upper-level undergrad course on ?Computers and the Internet: A Global History,? and I would really appreciate suggestions for my course reading list. > > I?m intrigued by the opportunity created by recent scholarship to look at regions of the world usually left out of the traditional US-UK story. > > I am looking for well-written, short (or readily excerptable) work that will appeal to an audience of juniors and seniors, some from History and some from the iSchool. > > I?m particularly looking for refs on Africa, Asia, and South America. I?m interested in video as well as writing, and accessible primary source collections too. Period is from Babbage to the present. >

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a significant note and two lesser notes
by Dave Walden 05 Dec '14

05 Dec '14

Dear All, 1. I am pleased to announced that Nathan Ensmenger has been appointed editor-in-chief of the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. He will take office on January 1. Until then, feel free to send Annals ideas to both him and me. In any case, please continue to think of the Annals as a possible place for publication of your computing history research, either for peer-reviewed papers or for submissions to the departments (biographies, anecdotes, events & sightings, interviews, ...). 2. Walter Isaacson is in the Boston area promoting his Innovators book. He will be at a Harvard Book Store event (held in the Brattle Theater, I think). He was on WGBH radio today. On the radio, he said there would be a Grace Hopper Day at Harvard tomorrow (Saturday) and a panel on women in computing; see the introduction in italics at http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/12/grace-hopper-computing-pionee… 3. Edgar Daylight has published a new (100interview booklet of Knuth. It is available from Amazon. I read it last night and enjoyed it. There is a bit more in it about his debate with Martin Campbell-Kelly and a good bit more on his ideas about computing history, the definition of computer science, plenty of computing history to which he has been neear, etc. It is available from amazon.com. Best regards, Dave -- home address: 12 Linden Rd., E. Sandwich, MA 02537 home ph=508-888-7655; cell ph = 503-757-3137 (often don't carry it) email address: dave(a)walden-family.com; website: <http://www.walden-family.com/bbn/>http://www.walden-family.com/

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ACM History Committee --> 2015 fellowship + workshop
by Thomas J. Misa 03 Dec '14

03 Dec '14

Hello all, An announcement of the ACM History Committee's upcoming 2015 support for research in computing history. As in the past, ACM HC will directly support research projects with an award up to $4,000. This year we plan on holding the (already announced) research workshop in conjunction with the SHOT and SIGCIS annual meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico during 8-11 October 2015 (precise details to be finessed). Prior awardees will be receiving an invitation to attend this workshop, also with a travel supplement. You can see the list of past ACM HC awards here:<http://history.acm.org/public/public_documents/acm_history_fellows.php> A "word of wisdom" to the community: ACM HC believes it has been successful in funding top-quality history research, and a number of people on this list have benefitted. The necessary payback, however, is to make certain that ACM HC hears from awardees about any papers, presentations, lectures, or other outcomes from the funded project. We keep a list of such "project deliverables" at the page listed above. Great projects and well-reported outcomes . . . continuing enthusiasm for future funding of research projects . . . . Best, Tom Misa ACM History Committee chair =============================================== ACM History Committee Call for Proposals 2015 Research Workshop on ACM History The Association for Computing Machinery, founded in 1947, is the oldest and largest educational and scientific society dedicated to the computing profession, and today has more than 100,000 members around the world. To help illuminate ACM’s history the ACM History Committee (ACM-HC) will organize a workshop in conjunction with the SHOT and SIGCIS annual meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico during 8-11 October 2015. Beginning in 2009 ACM-HC has supported nearly 20 research projects on ACM’s storied history. These projects have examined ACM’s activities in computer science education, accreditation, and international exchanges; ACM’s founding and early organization; ACM’s Turing Award; regional computing communities and federal government policy; advocacy and recruitment; and research in graphics, hypertext, networking, and artificial intelligence. We invite research projects that relate to one or more of the following workshop themes: Public policy, government relations, and computing Computing education and professionalization Organizational innovation: special-interest groups, conferences, and publications in computing We will support up to four projects with awards of up to $3,000 each. Successful candidates may be of any rank, from graduate students through senior researchers. All awardees must be willing to present a paper to the ACM history workshop in mid-October 2015. A $1,500 supplement for workshop travel, lodging, and meals will be provided—in addition to this project award. Previous ACM HC awardees will be invited to the workshop and similarly supported. To Apply: Applicants should send a 2-page CV as well as a 750-word project description that [a] describes the proposed research; [b] identifies the importance of specific ACM historical materials, whether traditional archival collections or online historical materials (oral histories, digitized conference papers, ACM organizational records, etc.); [c] discusses any project outcome besides the ACM history workshop (e.g. journal article, book or dissertation chapter, teaching resource, museum exhibit, website); and [d] outlines a timeline for completing the project—including, specifically, your willingness to contribute a 10-page (2500-word) paper to the mid-October 2015 ACM history workshop. Workshop papers will be pre-circulated to workshop attendees; revised papers may be published. In preparing a proposal, applicants should examine the document “ACM Research Materials” posted at <history.acm.org/content.php?do=links> as well as “Sources for ACM History,” CACM 50 #5 (May 2007): 36-41 <doi.acm.org/10.1145/1230819.1230836>. Other research materials relating to ACM may also be used. Applicants should include a letter of endorsement from their home institution or an external scholarly reference. Proposals are due by 1 February 2015. Proposals should be submitted as a single pdf-format document to <history-webmaster(a)acm.org>. Notification of awards will be made within 6 weeks. =================================================================

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Laine Nooney on Softporn Adventure in the Atlantic
by Thomas Haigh 03 Dec '14

03 Dec '14

Hello everyone, A teaser on the Onion's AV Club just alerted me that our own Laine Nooney has published a fascinating article in The Atlantic showcasing her work on the history of Sierra Online's early Softporn Adventure (later remade as Leisure Suit Larry). I was lucky enough to comment on this material when she presented it at SIGCIS-sponsored session during the SHOT 2012 meeting in Copenhagen. Laine also served on our workshop organizing committee earlier this year. http://www.avclub.com/article/read-how-first-erotic-video-game-presaged-cult ure--212483 http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/12/the-odd-history-of-the -first-erotic-computer-game/383114/?single_page=true As Laine explains, the Softporn advertising shoot featured a bounty of naked women (all Sierra employees) in a hot tub with a butler and a computer. In contrast I recall Larry itself, played with my fellow interns during the lunch break at a small computer company in 1990, as curiously reluctant to engage in wish fulfillment or titillation. The pathetic antihero spent the game squandering money in a depressing environment humorously attempting with little success to score. Also no onscreen nudity. Checking an online walkthrough suggests that it was necessary to get married to complete the game! No consequence-free hot tub orgy for you. Also great: her quoted characterization of the computer as a "sexless tool". Best wishes, Tom

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CHM Blog: Our ENIGMA goes to Hollywood!
by Dag Spicer 02 Dec '14

02 Dec '14

http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/road-trip-chm-enigma-machine-goes-to-h… Dag -- Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 1401 North Shoreline Boulevard Mountain View, CA 94043-1311 Tel: +1 650 810 1035 Fax: +1 650 810 1055 Twitter: @ComputerHistory

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New CBI Newsletter (Fall 2014, Vol. 36:2)
by Charles Babbage Institute 01 Dec '14

01 Dec '14

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