October 2016 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

IBM 610
by John Impagliazzo 25 Apr '18

25 Apr '18

Hi All, Allegedly, some consider the IBM 610 Auto-Point computer (1959) the ‘first personal computer’. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/plugboard.html Is this true – even slightly true?? John John Impagliazzo, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Hofstra University IEEE Life Fellow ACM Distinguished Educator

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Planning for SHOT meeting in Singapore, June 26-29, 2016
by Andrew Russell 10 Nov '16

10 Nov '16

Colleagues - It was nice to see so many of you for the SHOT and SIGCIS meetings this past weekend in Albuquerque. From my point of view things went extraordinarily well, and I don’t have words to express how happy I am about the quality of scholarship and spirit of camaraderie that I felt throughout the weekend. I think we all owe Nathan Ensmenger a special thanks for such a fantastic keynote presentation on computing’s environmental history - throughout the day people were calling it powerful, moving, transformative, etc. Also on Sunday, we celebrated the achievements of our colleagues, including: - the ten young scholars who were awarded travel grants from MIT Press, the Computer History Museum, and the Mahoney Fund. - Rebecca Slayton, winner of the 2015 CHM Prize for her book Arguments that Count - David Nofre, Mark Priestley, and Gerard Alberts, winners of the inaugural Mahoney Prize for their article “When Technology Became Language” - Sarah McLennan, winner of SHOT’s 2015 Robinson Prize for her paper “Computing and the Color Line,” presented in a session organized jointly by SIGCIS and EDITH, thanks to Marie Hicks and Ruth Cowan. The main purpose of this message is to reinforce and amplify my call on Sunday morning for proposals for SHOT in Singapore in June 2016. SHOT will issuing its call for papers very soon, with a deadline in late 2015. In anticipation, please be thinking about participating in one of the following ways: 1. Put forth an Open Panel Proposal for the main SHOT meeting. SHOT will place a special emphasis on “open panel” topics that SHOT will circulate widely as it publicizes the CFP. 2. Organize a Complete Panel Submission of 3 or 4 papers for the main SHOT meeting. Please feel free to use the list or to contact me (or anyone on the SIGCIS Exec) if you want to float ideas and/or find extra panelists. 3. Submit a paper or panel for the SIGCIS 2016 Workshop that will be held, as usual, at the end of the SHOT conference in Singapore on Sunday, June 26. We expect to issue the CFP for the SIGCIS Workshop well after the SHOT CFP is issued; watch this space in mid-November or early December for details. As you contemplate your participation in the Singapore meeting, please keep 2 additional things in mind: 1. This is a terrific opportunity to forge new bonds with colleagues working on computing and information-related history and STS topics in Asia and the Pacific. To that end, if you have contacts there who have not been active in SIGCIS or SHOT, please do encourage them to join the SIGCIS list and to reach out to me if they want to join or help organize a session. 2. If you are in North America or Europe, try not to be too put off by the expense of the trip - particularly if you are in the early stages of your career. SHOT and SIGCIS have been raising funds for this conference for some time, and the generosity of our communities has been nothing short of inspiring. Travel support will be available! In summary: SHOT and SIGCIS 2015 were fantastic; it’s now up to us to make SHOT and SIGCIS 2016 even better. Please get in touch with me (or the list) if you have questions, suggestions, etc. about making the most of our opportunities at the Singapore meeting! Cheers, Andy Russell SIGCIS Chair

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History of intellectual property in computing?
by McMillan, William W 28 Oct '16

28 Oct '16

Greetings, SIGCIS. I'm looking for historical sources on the development of intellectual property principles and practices to use in a graduate computer science class. Of course, there is plenty of information on IP in IT and the history of IP in general, but I would like to find sources that tell a story across the development of computing in particular and relate it to other factors in technology and society. Also, any syllabus examples or suggestions would be very welcome. Thanks, Bill

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Adjunct Position for Computers & Society
by Lee Vinsel 27 Oct '16

27 Oct '16

Hello SIGCISers, My college is hiring an adjunct professor to teach our course, Computers & Society, which was originally designed by Andy Russell before I took it over for four years. There's lots of latitude regarding *what* gets taught in the course. I paste the full ad below, but here is the bit that gives some description of the course. "This course examines the historical, social, political, and moral aspects of computers, the Internet, social media, and digital technologies more generally. The course topics and readings can be quite flexible, but usually consist of some computer history, ICT policy debates, computer and media culture, and ethical and societal aspects of the computing professions." And here's the link: https://www.stevens.edu/directory/division-human- resources/employment-opportunities Let me know if you have any questions. Lee Vinsel *ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR, SOCIAL SCIENCES* The College of Arts & Letters at Stevens Institute of Technology has spring 2017 adjunct openings in the Program in Humanities and Social Sciences for the following course: HSS 371 – Computers & Society This course examines the historical, social, political, and moral aspects of computers, the Internet, social media, and digital technologies more generally. The course topics and readings can be quite flexible, but usually consist of some computer history, ICT policy debates, computer and media culture, and ethical and societal aspects of the computing professions. See the Stevens Course Catalog for full description. http://www.stevens.edu/catalog/ Under this appointment, your responsibilities will include preparing and maintaining course syllabus, teaching assigned classes, attending all class sessions, grading and providing appropriate feedback to students, scheduling office hours, completing all assessments requirements, and attending at least one orientation meeting. You will also be required to provide your students and the College of Arts & Letters office with a comprehensive course syllabus before the start of the semester. The syllabus should include all course requirements, grading policy, assignments, expected exams and required reading. You will provide us with your textbook order in-time for materials to arrive well in advance of the first week of classes. Finally, you will be required to adhere to the policies as stated in the CAL faculty handbook. Qualifications: Experience teaching at the University level required. All candidates must have already taught the specific course listed, or an equivalent. On-line applications required at https://www.stevens.edu/directory/division-human-resources/employment-oppor… . Positions will remain open until filled. Applicants should be sure to include a cover letter, current c.v., statement of teaching philosophy, samples or link to work or portfolio (if applicable), and names and addresses of three references. For more information, please visit: www.stevens.edu/cal -- Assistant Professor and Director, Program on Science and Technology Studies College of Arts and Letters Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ 07030 leevinsel.com Twitter: @STS_News

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4-year support for doctoral study University of Colorado Boulder
by William Aspray 27 Oct '16

27 Oct '16

I am seeking a student to begin doctoral study in August 2017 to study the history of information or the history of computing under my supervision. The successful applicant would be admitted into the information science department, which means they would also be required to learn a significant amount of technical and social science material as part of their degree program. Four years of financial support is guaranteed, assuming continued good standing in the doctoral program. Admission is highly competitive. We are a new department in a new college.Our first doctoral students began study in August 2016. Both the department and the college are highly interdisciplinary. The department is particularly strong in human centered computing and design, although we represent many other research areas as well. The college faculty includes five historians of media, communication, and information (William Aspray, Lori Emerson, Janice Peck, Peter Simonson, and Ted Striphas), and there are ample opportunities to study across departmental borders. For more information about the program, including information about how to apply, see http://www.colorado.edu/cmci/academics/information-science/graduate-degrees. The application deadline is December 7. Interested students can contact me at: aspray(a)colorado.edu<mailto:aspray@colorado.edu> -Bill Aspray

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keyword: 'domain'
by David Ribes 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

Can anyone offer some leads on the use of the term 'domain' within computing and information circles? Such as 'domain scientist' or 'domain knowledge'... I've used the term for years as an in vivo category drawn from my fieldwork, but have little sense of its historical genealogy. It was already well in place by 2003 when I started fieldwork in the worlds of cyberinfrastructure, and I have some suspicion it may have come from knowledge management/business ... -- David Ribes Associate Professor Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) University of Washington http://davidribes.com

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ENIAC TM table
by Brian L. Stuart 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

Does anyone by any chance know of a scan of Table 6-13 from Goldstine's ENIAC Technical Manual? Neither the scan of the manual on archive.org nor the printed version from Periscope include it. In the table of tables, it's listed as "in an envelope attached to the back cover." The reason I'm looking is that I'm trying to use the setup shown in Figure 6-2 to identify and shake out bugs in my simulator. However, there appear to be some omissions/ errors/ambiguities in the scans of the figures. I'm hoping the setup information in that table will help clarify some of them. Thanks in advance, Brian L. Stuart

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CFP: SIGCIS meeting @ CHM, March 18-19, 2017
by Andrew Russell 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

Dear colleagues - We’re very happy to announce a special SIGCIS meeting on March 18-19, 2017, hosted and sponsored by the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. More information is below; for the full call for papers and registration information, please visit http://meetings.sigcis.org/. And please share widely! The purpose of the meeting, Command Lines: Software, Power, and Performance, is to draw together scholars from a variety of fields that study software, including the history of computing, science and technology studies, software studies, code studies, game studies, media studies, web and internet history, and computer science and engineering. The meeting hopes to explore the connections between the creation and use of software and “power” in multiple senses, and the connection between software and conceptions of technical and cultural “performance.” We are delighted that the meeting will begin with two keynote speakers - Kavita Philip of University of California, Irvine, and Tom Mullaney of Stanford University. The SIGCIS organizing committee now seeks proposals for short papers (15-20 min.) to present new work at the conference. We welcome work that hinges on, links to, or reacts against the themes of the meeting. We also welcome submissions that may not connect specifically with the themes but have bearing on the larger project of SIGCIS--the study of computing and sociotechnical change. We especially encourage submissions from graduate students and early career scholars. Deadlines and Submission Protocol Proposals for papers are due by December 30th, 2016. Decisions will be made by January 16th, 2017. Proposals should include: a one-page abstract (maximum 400 words) addressing the paper's topic, approach, sources, and relationship to existing literatures a one-page CV Please email your proposal to SIGCIS organizing committee by midnight (Pacific time) on December 30th to Conference Assistant kera [dot] allen [at] gatech [dot] edu. Financial Support SIGCIS and the Museum will be able to provide partial financial support to graduate students to present at the meeting. Please note in your proposal if you would like to be considered for a travel award. Location and Logistics The meeting events will be held at CHM at 1401 North Shoreline Boulevard, Mountain View, CA 94043. During the event, attendees will have access to CHM’s most recent major exhibit on software and its implications, Make Software: Change the World! There will be no official meeting hotel or transportation. The meeting has a $40 registration fee, waived for graduate and undergraduate students as well as independent scholars. Presenters and attendees may register here <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/command-lines-software-power-and-performance-t…>. We encourage early registration, as attendance will be limited. We hope to see you there! Organizing Committee David C. Brock, Computer History Museum <http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/author/dbrock/> Marie Hicks, Illinois Institute of Technology <http://mariehicks.net/> Laine Nooney, Georgia Institute of Technology <http://www.lainenooney.com/> Andrew Russell, SUNY Polytechnic Institute <http://arussell.org/>

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Request for help locating sources, archives: History of computerized human modeling in CA
by Alana Staiti 25 Oct '16

25 Oct '16

Hello SIGCIS, At the last SIGCIS meeting at SHOT Singapore, I was fortunate to receive feedback from attendees on my dissertation proposal. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to reach out to the wider group to ask for your help in pinpointing resources in the California area for an upcoming research trip. My research centers on the history of human modeling for computer graphics and animation, primarily for the entertainment industry (commercials, tv, motion picture), 1960s-early1990s. While I'm learning a lot about computer graphics and animation in general, I am focusing my research on *computerized human modeling* (human and animal bodies in motion, methods of traditional and computer animation, processes of digitizing, body scanning, motion capture, rigging, skinning, 3D graphics and "realism," etc.). In the interest of keeping this email brief, I'll lay out the people, places, and repositories that I've already identified. I've only reached out to a few of the people listed thus far, so if you are willing and able to connect me with anyone listed below (including archivists at these and other repositories) I would be grateful! If you can think of other people, places and/or resources that I would benefit from consulting, please let me know. Access to some of the company archives will be tricky. I welcome any and all suggestions/connections, especially for those repositories that tend to be more guarded. -people associated with the *Computer Graphics Lab @ NYIT *(Lance Williams, Alvy Ray Smith, Ed Catmull, Rebecca Allen) -people associated with *Robert Abel & Associates* (Kenny Mirman, Richard Taylor, Randy Roberts, Tim McGovern, [who is the motion model featured in the Brilliance Sexy Robot making-of film?]) -people associated with *Triple I* (Richard Taylor, Gary Demos, "Adam Powers Juggler" Ken Rosenthal) -LucasFilm -Pixar (John Lasseter late 1980s) -Computer History Museum -Disney archive & Disney family museum -Stanford University special collections -UCLA special collections -Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences archive Here are the archives I have already visited (or will do so in the near future) and people interviewed: -Animac & Scanimate (Dave Sieg, Ed Tajchman, Marilou Harrison) -Henry Fuchs, UNC Chapel Hill -Norman Badler, UPenn -Charles Babbage Institute -University of Utah -Smithsonian National Museum of American History -Library of Congress motion picture collection Thanks for reading, and thanks so much in advance for any suggestions and/or leads you can offer. SIGCIS, you're a lifesaver. Best wishes, Alana Staiti PhD Candidate Science & Technology Studies Cornell University

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Science wars quote that scientists can teach English but not vice versa
by Mark Priestley 23 Oct '16

23 Oct '16

Turing said it first, of course, albeit from the perspective of the English home counties rather than the American frontier. The ACE would be able to compute range tables, count butchers, solve jigsaw puzzles, play chess ... Cheers, Mark On 22 Oct 2016 04:24, "Ian S. King" <isking(a)uw.edu> wrote: Warning: I've been a Heinlein fan for most of my life. "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -- R. Heinlein, Time Enough For Love. G. Putnam's Sons, 1973. On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 7:31 PM, Allan Olley <allan.olley(a)utoronto.ca> wrote: > Hi, > Note that "Specialization is for insects." is a Robert A. Heinlein > quote (from Time Enough for Love apparently). As Abraham Lincoln said > "There are lots of poorly attributed quotes on the internet." ;) Feynman > was notably dismissive of academic philosophy at least and so not > necessarily one of the bridge builders. > I wanted to say the idea of an MIT humanities walk out puts me in > mind of Douglas Adams idea of a philosophers threatening to strike ("Who > would that inconvenience") in response to the construction of the super > computer Deep Thought. Where the computer's intended use raises the specter > of rendering philosophers obsolete by answering the ultimate question of > life, the universe and everything. > > -- > Yours Truly, > Allan Olley, PhD > > http://individual.utoronto.ca/fofound/ > > > On Fri, 21 Oct 2016, Dag Spicer wrote: > > … and let us not forget the many who straddle both disciplines: MDs with >> art history degrees; historians who are also engineers, airline pilots with >> MBAs… perhaps the whole dichotomy needs a refresh? Whatever line you’re >> on ("techies" vs "fuzzies”), Feynam’s advice is best: “Specialization is >> for insects.” >> >> :_) >> >> Dag >> >> >> On Oct 21, 2016, at 2:07 PM, Alberts, Gerard <G.Alberts(a)uva.nl<mailto: >> G.Alberts(a)uva.nl>> wrote: >> >> Dear Tom, why, no, your quote rests on an anti-Snow type of argument. >> Snow's plea is for mutual understanding and dialogue. He tries to avert the >> possible disdain for the humanities. His crucial point is that we should >> all know the second law of thermodynamics as an assett of our cultural >> baggage, just the same as we know quote from Shakespeare. Gerard >> ________________________________ >> Van: Members [members-bounces(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lis >> ts.sigcis.org>] namens Thomas Haigh [thomas.haigh(a)gmail.com<mailto: >> thomas.haigh(a)gmail.com>] >> Verzonden: vrijdag 21 oktober 2016 22:08 >> Aan: 'Lee Vinsel' >> CC: 'sigcis' >> Onderwerp: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Science wars quote that scientists can >> teach English but not vice versa >> >> It’s definitely a two cultures argument, but I think the quote was an >> updated version and nastier. Though I could be conflating after all this >> time. >> >> In the bigger picture I guess the difference between Snow and the 1990s >> dialog was that Snow was bemoaning the separation of science and the >> humanities and limited engagement with science by non-specialists. Whereas >> in the science wars, scientists were complaining that humanities people >> were pretending to engage with science but messing it up or challenging its >> authority. >> >> Tom >> >> From: Lee Vinsel [mailto:lee.vinsel@gmail.com] >> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2016 2:35 PM >> To: Thomas Haigh <thomas.haigh(a)gmail.com<mailto:thomas.haigh@gmail.com>> >> Cc: sigcis <members(a)sigcis.org<mailto:members@sigcis.org>> >> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Science wars quote that scientists can >> teach English but not vice versa >> >> Tom, >> I'm fairly certain that you are paraphrasing ideas from C. P. Snow's The >> Two Cultures, though the way I remember it is that scientists have some >> knowledge of literature whereas people in the humanities can't tell you >> what the laws of thermodynamics are. >> But maybe you have something else in mind. >> Best, >> Lee >> >> On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 3:32 PM, Thomas Haigh <thomas.haigh(a)gmail.com >> <mailto:thomas.haigh@gmail.com>> wrote: >> Hello SIGCIS, >> >> I was looking for a quote I recall reading in the days of the “science >> wars,” probably late-1990s, from a scientist saying something like: “If all >> the English professors got sick and we were called in then we would so an >> OK job teaching Shakespeare etc. based on what we know and the inherent >> triviality of the humanities. Whereas if the physics professors got sick >> then the humanities people would be completely unable to step in, because >> science is hard.” >> >> I tried constructing Google searches and doing Amazon’s search inside the >> book on Sokal & Bricmont’sFashionable Nonsense and similar targets, but >> didn’t locate it. >> >> NB: I’m just looking for the source here, not for people eager to >> reignite the science wars by arguing for or against the proposition. >> >> Best wishes, >> >> Tom >> >> _______________________________________________ >> This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<http://sigcis.org/>, >> the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those >> of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. >> The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/piperm >> ail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at >> http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org >> >> >> >> -- >> Assistant Professor >> Program on Science and Technology Studies >> College of Arts and Letters >> Stevens Institute of Technology >> Hoboken, NJ 07030 >> leevinsel.com<http://leevinsel.com/> >> Twitter: @STS_News >> _______________________________________________ >> This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<http://sigcis.org>, the >> email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of >> the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The >> list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/piperm >> ail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at >> http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion >> list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member >> posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list >> archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ >> and you can change your subscription options at >> http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org >> > > _______________________________________________ > This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion > list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member > posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list > archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and > you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listin > fo.cgi/members-sigcis.org > -- Ian S. King, MSIS, MSCS, Ph.D. Candidate The Information School <http://ischool.uw.edu> Dissertation: "Why the Conversation Mattered: Constructing a Sociotechnical Narrative Through a Design Lens Archivist, Voices From the Rwanda Tribunal <http://tribunalvoices.org> Value Sensitive Design Research Lab <http://vsdesign.org> University of Washington There is an old Vulcan saying: "Only Nixon could go to China." _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/ listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org

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