September 2014 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

SIGCIS syllabus repository
by Christopher Leslie 30 Sep '14

30 Sep '14

Dear Colleagues, I’m writing to invite you to contribute to the SIGCIS Syllabus Repository (http://www.sigcis.org/syllabi) Would you please send any syllabi from courses you teach that touch on our SIG's scope: computers, information, and society. If you want to share your syllabus, please send a copy, preferably packaged as a single PDF file, to me at chris.leslie(a)nyu.edu together with a message giving SIGICS permission to post it on this page. If your syllabus exists on the web at a stable url, please include that in your message as well. Sincerely, Chris Leslie Christopher S. Leslie, Ph.D. Co-Director of Science and Technology Studies Program Faculty Fellow in Residence for Othmer Hall and Clark Street NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering 5 MetroTech Center, LC 131 Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 260-3130

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My CACM column "We Have Never Been Digital"
by Thomas Haigh 26 Sep '14

26 Sep '14

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let everyone know that my column "We Have Never Been Digital" was published in the September issue of Communications of the ACM. This builds on some comments I made in commenting on a SIGCIS session at the 2013 SHOT meeting, basically that as historians of computing we understand what "digital" actually means and have something useful to say on the subject to other humanists. It also makes the case for "the digital" as something that has its own history, and that reflects the kind of utopian rupture talk that humanists have good reason to be wary of rather than build their own identities around. I know that many within the digital humanities community share these concerns, but in the space available could not really delve into that. Perhaps something SIGICS could organize an event to explore the relationship of the history of computing to the digital humanities in the future? It can be read without an ACM subscription from http://www.tomandmaria.com/tom/Writing/CACM-WeHaveNeverBeenDigital.pdf Or, if you do have ACM access, from http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2014/9/177930-we-have-never-been-digital/fullt ext (it's not working right now, but will presumably be fixed). One of the intended features of this list is the announcement of new relevant publications by members, so please don't assume that this is a perk available only to SIG officers. If you published something related to the history of IT in the last few months then do go ahead and let the community know. Many of your potential readers are right here on this list and may otherwise never come across your work. Best wishes, Tom

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Seeking ICA panelists for Comm. History panel on technological reuse
by Meryl Alper 22 Sep '14

22 Sep '14

Hello all, Caroline Jack (a Ph.D. student in communication at Cornell) and I are putting together an International Communication Association (ICA) conference panel for the Communication History division on historical cases of technological reuse, revisioning, and repurposing, and are looking for fellow panelists with a diverse range of backgrounds and perspectives. Panel Description: "Use and reuse factor into the development and deployment of communication technologies among individuals, groups, and organizations across history in non-linear and unexpected ways. This panel focuses attention on historical cases and themes of reuse, revision and repurposing in areas including (but not limited to) devices, software, practices and techniques." If you are interested in taking part or have any questions, please email Meryl Alper at malper [at] usc [dot] edu. Feel free to share this call for panelists with others in your network. Best, Meryl -- Meryl Alper Ph.D. Candidate in Communication Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism University of Southern California malper(a)usc.edu merylalper.com

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FW: to SHOT, please -- CFP: Digital Practices in History and Ethnography Interest Group, Research Data Alliance
by Akera, Atsushi 18 Sep '14

18 Sep '14

Hi Everyone, FYI--from one of my colleagues here at Rensselaer: From: Kim Fortun [mailto:fortuk@rpi.edu] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2014 4:04 PM To: Akera, Atsushi; Scott Knowles Subject: to SHOT, please -- CFP: Digital Practices in History and Ethnography Interest Group, Research Data Alliance Scott, Atsushi, Can you please circulate this call for participation in the SHOT community? thanks, Kim ** please circulate ** CALL FOR PARTICIPATION New members are invited to join the Digital Practices in History and Ethnography Interest Group<https://rd-alliance.org/group/digital-practices-history-and-ethnography-ig.…> (DPHE-IG), in the Research Data Alliance (<https://rd-alliance.org/>RDA), an international initiative to facilitate the development of effective data practices, standards and infrastructure in particular research areas, and across research areas – aiming to enhance capacity to archive, preserve, analyze and share data, and for collaboration both within and across research communities. RDA’s DPHE-IG works to advance data standards, practices and infrastructure for historical and ethnographic research, contributing to broader efforts in the digital humanities and social sciences. Bi-weekly calls move the work of the group forward. Many meetings are “project shares” during which someone leading a digital project describes their efforts and challenges. Some calls are with other RDA groups (such as the Provenance Interest Group), aiming to draw their expertise into our work in history and ethnography. Our call-in meetings are on Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m. EST; see our schedule<https://rd-alliance.org/group/digital-practices-history-and-ethnography-ig/…> through May 2015, and let us know if you would like to share a project. Also see our annual report<https://rd-alliance.org/group/digital-practices-history-and-ethnography-ig/…> of activities, including a list of project shares thus far. RDA holds two plenary meetings<https://rd-alliance.org/plenary-meetings.html> each year at which interests group can meet, and interact with other interest groups. The next plenary is in Amsterdam, September 22-24. The following plenary will be in San Diego, March 9-11. Please join the group (just below the calendar here<https://rd-alliance.org/group/digital-practices-history-and-ethnography-ig.…>) and pass on this information to others who may be interested. We would especially appreciate help reaching people outside Europe and North America. Jason Baird Jackson (Indiana University), Mike Fortun (RPI), Kim Fortun (RPI), co-chairs -- Kim Fortun, Professor Department of Science and Technology Studies School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Science Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY 12180 518-276-2199<tel:518-276-2199> -- Kim Fortun, Professor Department of Science and Technology Studies School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Science Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY 12180 518-276-2199

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Our article on ENIAC and the first computerized Monte Carlo simulation discussed Klara von Neumann
by Thomas Haigh 15 Sep '14

15 Sep '14

Hello everyone, The recent mention on this list of Klara von Neumann as an underappreciated female pioneer of programming and scientific computation reminded me that she has a central role in "Los Alamos Bets on ENIAC: Nuclear Monte Carlo Simulations, 1947-48," which I recently published with Mark Priestley and Crispin Rope. This is the third and final paper in our series on ENIAC's 1947-1948 conversion to the modern code paradigm (i.e. the programming method introduced in von Neumann's "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC") and the implications of this for our conventional understanding of the story of the "stored program computer." The Monte Carlo code in question is the best documented programming effort of the 1940s and it was fascinating to reconstruct its evolution through the initial process of planning and over several major revisions. As I am recently urged you to beware the assumption that "firsts" are automatically important, I hope you will forgive me for mentioning in passing that this appears to be the first modern program ever executed. We hope that this paper will also be of interest to historians of science as well as to the core Annals audience, particularly as we fill some substantial narrative holes left by Peter Galison when he covered some of the same ground in his celebrated "Computer Simulation and the Trading Zone" (later the basis of a chapter in his even more celebrated Image and Logic). The paper is available from the IEEE Computer Society at http://www.computer.org/csdl/mags/an/2014/02/man2014020041-abs.html (please use this method if you have access, as the clicks benefit Annals) or from my personal website at http://www.tomandmaria.com/tom/Writing/LosAlamosBetsOnENIAC.pdf. Various supporting materials can be found at www.EniacInAction.com. Our thanks go to all those in the SIGCIS community who contributed to the papers in this series. Best wishes, Tom

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Diverse Smithsonian Fellowships
by Kidwell, Peggy 15 Sep '14

15 Sep '14

Just a note to let those interested know about a few Smithsonian fellowship programs, as application dates approach. The general Smithsonian predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships are described at: http://www.smithsonianofi.com/blog/2014/09/12/applications-for-the-2015-smi… . In addition to the fellowship program described there, there is one for short term visits to the collections sponsored by the Lemelson Center. It is described at http://invention.smithsonian.org/resources/research_fellowships.aspx, although details for 2015 are not yet posted. The Dibner Library also has a fellowship program for those wishing to use its collections. It is described at http://library.si.edu/fellowships/dibner-library-resident-scholar-program. Peggy Kidwell Curator of Mathematics Address for US Mail: MRC 671, National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution P.O. Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 Address for UPS or FedEx: MRC 671, National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution 12th St. and Constitution Ave. Washington, DC 20560 Email: kidwellp(a)si.edu<mailto:kidwellp@si.edu> Telephone: 202-633-3828

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Fwd: Mechanical fire computer components
by Brian Randell 15 Sep '14

15 Sep '14

Hi: A colleague just sent me this: > I don't know if you have seen this before, but last night I stumbled on an old training video describing how some of the basic components in a post WW2 mechanical fire control computer work. It was fascinating to see how they did integration, trigonometry, multiplication etc. > > It was a really interesting way to spend 41 minutes, hope you enjoy it. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1i-dnAH9Y4 (It makes a good change from the subject of email! :-) 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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Fwd: Re HuffPo article on Ayyadurai
by Andrew Russell 14 Sep '14

14 Sep '14

Hi everyone - I’m reposting below an email from Dave Farber's list - it's another interesting turn in this bizarre tale. Andy Begin forwarded message: > From: "Dave Farber via ip" <ip(a)listbox.com> > Subject: [IP] Re HuffPo article on Ayyadurai > Date: September 8, 2014 at 11:25:26 AM EDT > To: "ip" <ip(a)listbox.com> > Reply-To: dave(a)farber.net > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: "Declan McCullagh" <declan(a)well.com> > Date: Sep 8, 2014 1:49 AM > Subject: Re: [IP] HuffPo article on Ayyadurai > To: <jpgs(a)ittc.ku.edu>, <jpgs(a)comp.lancs.ac.uk> > Cc: <dave(a)farber.net>, <dnight(a)mit.edu>, <news(a)the-tech.mit.edu> > > [Dave, for IP if you like] > > Prof. James P.G. Sterbenz wrote to MIT prof Deborah Nightingale: > Do you plan to make a statement on your > Web page to protect your reputation, or do we assume that you are > (figuratively) in bed with Ayyadurai? If you do make such a statement > I would like a pointer and will include in with the other materials I > maintain on this case along with your original blog entry. > > I just noticed something unusual about the now-deleted Huffington Post article published under the name of MIT professor Deborah Nightingale. > > What's unusual is that paragraphs of that now-deleted article defending "email inventor" Shiva Ayyadurai are word-for-word identical to a web page called InventorOfEmail.com. It looks like Mr. Ayyadurai created that page himself, though I haven't checked. > > You can see this unexpected bit of synchronicity for yourself. Prof Nightingale's article is archived here: > https://web.archive.org/web/20140905024145/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/de… > "Those who promoted MAIL as "email," when the term "email" did not even exist in 1965, were attempting to redefine "email" as a command-driven program that transferred BCD-encoded text files, written in an external editor, among timesharing system users, to be reviewed serially in a flat-file." > "One would be hard-pressed to draw a historical straight line from MAIL to today’s email systems. MAIL was not "email", but a text messaging command line system, at best." > > The InventorOfEmail.com page, which Archive.org says predates Prof. Nightingale's HuffPo blog, is here: > http://www.inventorofemail.com/claims_about_email.asp > "Those who promoted MAIL was "email" when the term "email" did not even exist in 1965 are attempting to redefine "email" to be a command-driven program that transferred BCD-encoded text files, written in an external editor, among timesharing system users, to be reviewed serially in a flat-file." > "One would be hard-pressed to draw a historical straight line from MAIL to today’s email systems. MAIL was not "email", but a text messaging command line system, at best." > > Also it looks like about 10 paragraphs in Prof. Nightingale's now-deleted HuffPo blog, published September 2, appear in a Google+ comment posted under the name "Jason Rebule" a week earlier. That comment appeared in a KQED thread attacking critics of Ayyadurai. You can see the thread here: > https://plus.google.com/+KQEDSCIENCE/posts/emYcPo9ZjVw > > Similarly, another now-deleted HuffPo blog post in the series was published under the name of Rutgers technologist Robert Field. It uses this sentence: > https://web.archive.org/web/20140904233350/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ro… > "Standard histories of the Internet are full of claims that certain individuals (and teams) in the ARPAnet environment in the 1970s and 1980s "invented email." " > > That sentence also, according to Archive.org, had previously appeared on the InventorOfEmail.com site: > http://www.inventorofemail.com/claims_about_email.asp > > I don't see either Prof. Nightingale or Robert Field credited on the InventorOfEmail.com site. > > I presume there's a good reason why a Huffington Post guest blog published under the name of a well-known MIT engineering professor would be assembled in such a manner, but I confess I haven't yet been able to think of one. > > -Declan > > PS: I recall a CNET article written by some enterprising journalist who revealed the provenance of an anti-Net-neutrality op-ed published under the name of an MIT adjunct professor. The op-ed was actually written in part or in whole by a "secretive lobbying organization in Washington, D.C. called the LawMedia Group" that counted Comcast as a client. I would not dare to suggest, of course, that such a thing could be happening here. http://www.cnet.com/news/wanted-writers-for-d-c-tech-lobby-group-secrecy-ma… > Archives |

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First instructional videos for Macintosh?
by Luisa Emmi Beck 12 Sep '14

12 Sep '14

Hi SIGCIS members, I'm working on a radio story about the history of personal computing. I would like to find instructional videos for the first Macintosh or other personal computers. The goal is to give listeners a sense for how new and incredible the idea of personal computing was in the 1970s. Does anyone on this list know of where I could find such videos? I haven't been able to find anything on YouTube but I'm hoping to be able to track down a few instructional videos (or at least the audio portion of the videos). Thanks! Luisa (510) 856.7475 http://luisabeck.com/

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Email invention humor from FunnyOrDie
by Thomas Haigh 10 Sep '14

10 Sep '14

"The Inventor of Email Proposes to Fran Drescher Via Email <http://www.funnyordie.com/articles/27907efedb/the-inventor-of-email-propose s-to-fran-drescher-via-email> " by Pat O'Brien. http://www.funnyordie.com/articles/27907efedb/the-inventor-of-email-proposes -to-fran-drescher-via-email Reasonably funny, even if it does go for the most obvious characteristic of each member of the happy couple. Tom

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