October 2019 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Konrad Zuse's 1936 patent - German text?
by Brian Randell 24 Sep '20

24 Sep '20

Hi Mark: I have a copy of the original 1936 Zuse patent application that I had translated into English for my Origins book. (It took some finding - some of my Zemanek documents had strayed into the middle of the Zuse documents, and so had obscured them! :-) It is a type-written document, on the letterhead of Zuse’s patent attorney Dr.-Ing. Bruno Wolf, Berlin Charlottenberg 5, Kantstrasse 85, dated 9.4.36 (i.e. 9 April 1936). It is some twenty or so pages in length. However I should warn you that some of the pages are barely legible (though could probably be deciphered by someone who knows German - which I don’t). I could scan this document for you if you wish. (I have about two inches thick of documents about Zuse’s work, including a number of patents and patent applications, some pre-war, immediately some post-war, together with several typescripts from him. My plan is that this material will be added to the archive of my files held in the Special Collections section of Newcastle University Library. This already holds all the extensive correspondence that I was involved in while compiling Origins.) Cheers Brian On 24 Jan 2017, at 10:58, Mark Priestley <m.priestley(a)gmail.com<mailto:m.priestley@gmail.com>> wrote: Dear list, Zuse's 1936 patent "Method for Automatic Execution of Calculations with the Aid of Computers" is reprinted in Brian Randell's "Origins of Digital Computers" collections. Does anyone know if/where I can get hold of the German original? Thanks in advance. Mark _______________________________________________ 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/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org -- School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 FAX = +44 191 208 8232 URL = http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/brianrandell.html

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AI Now Institute is hiring postdoctoral researchers at NYU
by Julia Thibaud 31 Oct '19

31 Oct '19

Hi all, TheAI Now Institute at NYU has launched its annual call for postdoctoral researchers, and wanted to share the listing with the SIGCIS community: https://ainowinstitute.org/join-us.html#postdoctoral-researcher. The application deadline is November 19, 2019. Please feel free to reach out with any questions:apply+postdoc@ainowinstitute.org. Warm regards,Julia -- POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERAI Now is hiring 1-2 postdoctoral researchers interested in joining an interdisciplinary and dynamic team of collaborative researchers. This two-year position is designed for scholars who want to engage with the social implications of AI and related technologies, and we welcome applications from all disciplines. AI Now provides postdocs with the opportunity to develop their scholarship at a top academic institution with a remit to collaborate with researchers and practitioners across different fields on cutting-edge issues. Postdocs will devote time to their own research and collaborative projects, as well as contributing to AI Now programs and events related to their research portfolio. Teaching is not expected, but can be an option, depending on a candidate’s availability and interest. AI Now is committed to accommodating and resourcing research agendas that fit within its mission. Postdocs will become a core part of a vibrant research community that includes reading groups, expert workshops, international conferences, regular salons, and site-specific travel. RESOURCES AND BENEFITS * Competitive salary and benefits * A generous research budget for conferences (including international), fieldwork, and research materials available as needed * Access to an exceptional network of established researchers spanning NYU and beyond, including civil society and industry practitioners * Relocation assistance available as needed QUALIFICATIONS Eligible candidates will have received their PhD in2018-2020 (conferred by August 2020). Start date for this position will be in September 2020. Postdoc positions are two years in length and this position will conclude in August 2022. Successful candidates will have extensive research experience and an established research track record, demonstrated by journal publications and/or conference papers, as well as other forms of academic participation, such as program committees and editorial boards. Candidates may be trained in any discipline, but should be focused on examining the complex social implications of AI and related systems, and be committed to working in an interdisciplinary environment. Candidates from all disciplines, both technical and non-technical, are welcome to apply. Examples of current research areas include: the construction of training data for supervised machine learning systems, gender and race representation and AI, the implications of algorithmic risk assessment and means testing in criminal justice and social welfare, the geopolitical implications of artificial intelligence, the role of industrial actors in the creation of modern AI systems, the political economy of the AI industry, the use of AI in the workplace and the changing nature of work, the relationship of healthcare practitioners to algorithmic systems, infrastructural analyses of AI, the history of AI, the maintenance of complex AI systems, and the political implications of machine vision. We are also open to a range of topics and approaches that go beyond these domains. The ideal candidate will enjoy bold and creative research design, working on collaborative teams, mentoring junior researchers, exploring new methodologies, and engaging broad audiences with their research. The AI Now postdoctoral program is located at New York University and candidates will be expected to spend the majority of their time on-site, with the exception of travel for conferences, research, meetings, etc. New York University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. New York University is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its hiring and promotion process without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth (or related medical condition), sexual orientation, partnership status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital, parental or familial status, caregiver status, national origin, ethnicity, alienage or citizenship status, veteran or military status, age, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, unemployment status, or any other legally protected basis. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS The application deadline for the2020-2022 class is Tuesday, November 19, 2019. To apply, please submit your information viaour online form, including PDF attachments for the following materials: 1. A research statement, no longer than two pages, on your research agenda, methodologies, and how this work connects to the mission of AI Now. 2. An abstract and chapter outline of your dissertation. 3. Two writing samples in English, such as journal articles, book chapters, essays, or equivalent. 4. Your CV; please indicate when you received/will receive your PhD. Feel free to contact us should you have any questions about the position at apply+postdoc(a)ainowinstitute.org APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS The application deadline for the2020-2022 class is Tuesday, November 19, 2019. To apply, please submit your information viaour online form, including PDF attachments for the following materials: 1. A research statement, no longer than two pages, on your research agenda, methodologies, and how this work connects to the mission of AI Now. 2. An abstract and chapter outline of your dissertation. 3. Two writing samples in English, such as journal articles, book chapters, essays, or equivalent. 4. Your CV; please indicate when you received/will receive your PhD. Feel free to contact us should you have any questions about the position at apply+postdoc(a)ainowinstitute.org Data Protection PolicyAI Now strives to minimize data collection andlimit use of data to the specific purpose for which it is collected. For job applications, we use a series of third party services to help store and organize applicant information. After our hiring process concludes, we save the minimal amount of data required for our HR compliance records and delete the rest. Unless compelled by legal process or pursuant to the applicant’s permission, we do not share any information we receive from applicants with any external person or entity. Should we receive any such legal process, we will attempt to notify the individual whose data is at issue if at all possible in a timely manner.ABOUT THE AI NOW INSTITUTE The AI Now Institute at New York University is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to understanding the social implications of AI technologies. It is the first university research center focused specifically on AI’s social significance. Founded and led by Kate Crawford and Meredith Whittaker, AI Now is one of the few women-led AI institutes in the world. AI Now works with a broad coalition of stakeholders, including academic researchers, industry, civil society, policy makers, and affected communities, to identify and address issues raised by the rapid introduction of AI across core social domains. AI Now produces interdisciplinary research to help ensure that AI systems are accountable to the communities and contexts they are meant to serve, and that they are applied in ways that promote justice and equity. The Institute’s current research agenda focuses on four core areas: bias and inclusion, rights and liberties, labor and automation, and safety and critical infrastructure. AI Now is affiliated across six different NYU faculties: theTandon School of Engineering, theSteinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, theLaw School, theStern School of Business, theCenter for Data Science, and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.ReplyReply allForward

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archival group of interest
by Jonathan Coopersmith 31 Oct '19

31 Oct '19

http://blog.archive.org/2019/10/30/fighting-misinformation-online/ Jonathan Coopersmith Professor Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4236 979.739.4708 (cell) 979.862.4314 (fax) Most recent oped: https://theconversation.com/can-sun-umbrellas-ever-become-fashionable-again… Apollo thoughts: https://today.tamu.edu/2019/07/19/would-apollo-11-have-happened-without-rus… *FAXED. The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine* (Johns Hopkins University Press) is the co-recipient of the 2016 Business History Conference Hagley Prize for best book in business history.

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Ann Johnson Institute Call for Book Manuscript Workshop
by David C. Brock 30 Oct '19

30 Oct '19

A unique new opportunity from the Ann Johnson Institute for Science, Technology and Society. Please share widely. Ann Johnson Institute Call for Book Manuscript Workshop The Ann Johnson Institute (AJI) for Science, Technology and Society at the University of South Carolina welcomes applications for a one-day book manuscript workshop to be held in September 2020. This workshop is targeted towards individuals at any career stage who have not previously published a monograph. The successful applicant will have a first-time book manuscript near completion at the time of applying. He or she will invite, and the AJI will fund, up to three senior experts in the author’s field as well as an acquisitions editor from a major scholarly press to campus. A small group of relevant experts within the South Carolina community may also attend. The purpose of this workshop is to support stronger and more rigorous manuscripts from first-time STS authors. Equally, it is geared toward developing communities of colleagues from different disciplines and geographical locations. The AJI is committed to building such communities from the bottom up, seeding them and positioning them to question and reframe complex problems. The AJI takes a broad approach to STS, envisioning it in partnership with historical, philosophical, scientific, engineering and medical approaches, because at the AJI community is the method. Workshop format · The successful applicant will be expected to deliver a full draft of their manuscript to all workshop participants no later than one month before the workshop convenes · During the workshop five hours will be devoted to a chapter-level discussion of the manuscript, with a break in the middle for lunch · There will be a notetaker and moderator for the duration of the workshop · The workshop will end with a dinner · Invited experts will provide written feedback to the author after the workshop, this feedback will take the form of a manuscript review from a university press Application The deadline for submissions is 1 March 2020. Please apply via email to aji4sts(a)gmail.com <mailto:aji4sts@gmail.com> with “AJI book manuscript workshop” in the subject heading. In the attachment to your email, please include: · Short CV · One-page description of the book project, including its current stage of development · Four to five names of senior experts to invite, please include their rank, University or home department, their field/specialty, and briefly why you would like to invite them (two sentences) +++++++++++++++ David C. Brock dcb(a)dcbrock.net 40 Russell Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 Mobile: 413-522-3578 Skype: dcbrock Twitter: @dcbrock

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Northwestern University Assistant Professor job announcement
by James Schwoch 29 Oct '19

29 Oct '19

Hello everyone, Northwestern University is searching for a new faculty member in an area of possible interest to SIGCIS. See attached, a short description is in this e-mail...Jim Northwestern University Department of Communication Studies Platforms, Identity & Culture The Department of Communication Studies at Northwestern University seeks to hire an assistant professor specializing in new technological platforms. The appointment will begin on September 1, 2020. Successful candidates will be expected to develop a strong program of scholarly research; contribute directly to undergraduate and graduate instruction in the department; and perform service. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in Communication or a related field. Salary will be commensurate with experience. Ideal candidates will research how platforms affect or relate to culture from humanistic or social science perspectives. We are open to the study of a variety of platforms, including social media, television/film, tech, AR/VR, gaming, music, radio/podcast, art, fashion, news/journalism or community-driven platforms. We are particularly interested in candidates whose work engages cultural identity (e.g. race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, citizenship status and class) and whose work will complement the department's existing expertise in community-based or creative approaches to understanding, critiquing, or experimenting with platforms.

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Exploring the Early Digital -- book and SHOT panel
by Thomas Haigh 26 Oct '19

26 Oct '19

Hello SIGCIS, I wanted to let you know about a book I edited which appeared earlier this year with Springer, and encourage those of you currently in Milan for SHOT to consider coming to our panel this afternoon. The book is called Exploring the Early Digital and features a lineup of some very well-known figures in the history of computing (TOC at the bottom of this message). It is based on a workshop held at Siegen University back in 2017. But we are mostly not talking about traditional computing topics instead the focus is on other kinds of digital technology, and on approaches engaged with the materiality and affordances of technology. My introduction and the series forewords by Gerard Alberts and Erhard Schüttpelz are online at http://early.digital so I wont write the full manifesto here. The SHOT panel features me as editor, Ron Kline and Ksenia Tatarchenko as contributors, Gerard Alberts as series editor, and Pierre Mounier-Kuhn as chair. Rather than the usual presentations, we aim to get through some short introductory remarks in 20-25 minutes and leave the rest of the time for discussion among everyone who attends. It is in the final conference slot, so if you fancy something a little different after two days of talks please come along. Our proposal to SHOT promised that the discussion would focus on: Benefits, and risks, of taking digitality seriously as an analytical category to frame a field of historical study (rather than purely as an actors category to tell the history of). Prospects for a historiographical convergence between the histories of computing, media, and communication to parallel the historical convergence of these areas. Unique contributions that members of the SHOT community can make to broader discussions of digitality, in areas such as digital humanities, algorithm studies, and digital media studies. Currently I am working with Sebastian Giessmann and the Media of Cooperation project at Siegen to develop some of these ideas further, to make digitality into a useful and coherent analytical category based on a bottom-up, historically responsible analysis of affordances that explain the remarkable power of modern hardware and software systems as something made possible by digital practices. We held some more workshops on that theme which should result in a second book called Becoming Digital. Ive been inexcusably lax in following up on those events, but the book project is now being rebooted so if you took part in one you have either heard recently from me with apologies or will do in the near future. The current, Exploring the Early Digital book is in the Springer series History of Computing which, as you know from some recent messages, now has a reasonable list price of $40 or so for nicely produced hardback books. In addition, if your university has a subscription you can download the entire book free of charge from the Springer digital library. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030021511 1. Introducing the Early Digital by Thomas Haigh <http://www.tomandmaria.com/tom> (University of WisconsinMilwaukee & Siegen University). 2. Inventing an Analog Past and a Digital Future in Computing by Ronald Kline <http://sts.cornell.edu/ronald-r-kline> (Cornell University). 3. Forgotten Machines: The Need For a New Master Narrative by Doron Swade <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doron_Swade> (Royal Holloway, University of London). 4. Calvin Mooers, Zatocoding, and Early Research on Information Retrieval by Paul E. Ceruzzi <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_E._Ceruzzi> (Smithsonian Institution). 5. Switching the engineers mind set to Boolean. Applying Shannons algebra to control circuits and digital computing (1938-1958) by Maarten Bullynck <http://www2.univ-paris8.fr/histoire/?page_id=2186> (Paris 8). 6. The ENIAC Display: Insignia of a Digital Praxeology by Tristan Thielmann <https://ischool.uni-siegen.de/en/issi/employees-and-members/thielmann/> (Siegen University). 7. The Evolution of Digital Computing Practice on the Cambridge University EDSAC, 1949-1951 by Martin Campbell-Kelly <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Campbell-Kelly> (Warwick University). 8. The Media of Programming by Mark Priestley <http://markpriestley.net/> (Independent scholar) & Thomas Haigh <http://tomandmaria.com/tom> (University of WisconsinMilwaukee & Siegen University). 9. Foregrounding the Background: Business, Economics, Labor, and Government Policy as Shaping Forces in Early Digital Computing History by William Aspray <https://www.colorado.edu/cmci/people/information-science/william-aspray> (University of Colorado Boulder) & Christopher Loughnane (University of Glasgow). 10. The Man with a Micro-calculator: Digital Modernity and Late Soviet Computing Practices by Ksenia Tatarchenko (Geneva University). Best wishes, Tom

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Fwd: [Edith.sig] Arriving SHOT Milan airport -- avoid $$$ taxi
by Laine Nooney 23 Oct '19

23 Oct '19

Hi all, Relevant info for those going to Milan, via Amy Bix and the EDITH list... ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Bix, Amy S [HIST] <abix(a)iastate.edu> Date: Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 5:58 AM Subject: [Edith.sig] Arriving SHOT Milan airport -- avoid $$$ taxi To: EDITH.SIG <edith.sig(a)mit.edu> Hello, everyone - Sorry to bother anyone not coming to SHOT Milan, but for those who are, we've been asked to spread the word that it's wise to avoid taking a taxi from the airport to hotel, which will run over $100.... Instead, the “Malpensa Express” train from MXP airport is convenient, runs 5.30 am to just before midnight, costs Euro 13 pp one-way, with tickets online, at station, or by “tap.” Arrives Milan at Station Cadorna, a 6-8 minute walk to conference hotel. Tom Misa has tweeted all this, plus detailed Google map with **walking** routes from Station Cadorna to conference hotel: https://twitter.com/tjmisa8/status/1185972325449109506 Hope to see people in Milan soon! yours, amy bix Dr. Amy Bix Professor of History Director, Consortium for Historical Studies of Technology and Science 633 Ross Hall, History Dept., 527 Farm House Ln., Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 office: (515)294-0122; fax: (515)294-6390; e-mail: abix(a)iastate.edu _______________________________________________ Edith.sig mailing list Edith.sig(a)mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/edith.sig

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SIGCIS Conference @ SHOT: Final Housekeeping
by Laine Nooney 21 Oct '19

21 Oct '19

Hi all, Just a couple notes for anyone joining us at the SIGCIS Conference this Sunday. *1. Keynote Change* As you may known, Prof. Safiya Noble was slated to be our keynote for the SIGCIS Conference in Milan. However, due to unexpected and unforeseeable family matters, Prof. Noble had to decline the keynote role a couple weeks ago. There's been lots of work behind the scenes to pull together a new keynote on a tight turnaround, and thus we are pleased to announce that our own SIGCIS Treasurer, Gerardo Con Díaz, will be serving as keynote (just in time for the launch of his new book, *Software Rights*!). The title of his talk will be: "What is Software?: Patent Law and the Many Natures of Software." *2. SIGCIS Badges* In contrast to recent years,* registered SIGICS attendees will have their own badges on Sunday, and these badges will be required to participate in the SIGCIS Conference*. This is part of a larger effort we are coordinating with SHOT to ensure that the costs of the SIGCIS conference are being supported by the membership/attendees. If you did not have a chance to register online, you will be able to do registration onsite in order to get a badge. All attendees should head to the registration table Sunday morning, between 8:00am and 8:45am, to pick up their badge. The general schedule, and a PDF of the program, can be found here: http://meetings.sigcis.org/conference-schedule.html Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you at SHOT and SIGCIS! -Laine Nooney, Vice-Chair of Meetings Laine Nooney <http://www.lainenooney.com/> MCC <http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/> @ NYU <http://www.nyu.edu/> Assistant Professor -Need to make an appt? Click, don't email: https://bit.ly/2GIHuK0 -Probably typed by voice recognition, so please cherish typos

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ACM human-computer interaction history effort
by Jonathan Grudin 18 Oct '19

18 Oct '19

Hello all, The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction has just initiated an effort to foster historical research by collecting materials that students, historians, and others can freely access. With no historians, taxonomists, data repository experts as yet attached to the project, there is ample opportunity to participate and lead parts of the project. There are three principal efforts. 1. Digitize paper and video material from the past. This is underway. Brad Myers of CMU is working on paper, Catherine Plaisant of UMD on video. 1. Collect oral histories of people who were involved in HCI in different times and regions. People with experience conducting oral histories would be welcome as advisors or participate. Limited funding to cover some costs or to conduct an initial model oral history is possible. Ron Baecker (University of Toronto Emeritus, Visiting Professor at Columbia University) is on point for this. 1. Design and build a searchable repository with links to existing digital material that describes, analyzes, or synthesizes aspects of HCI's past. Links not to primary source material but to material that takes a perspective on the past: Sites with anniversary commemoration meeting videos or transcripts, articles that consider an aspect of HCI history, and so on. The repository could include relevant non-digital museum archives and books with brief synopses. Finding help for (3), designing a flexible system to handle the storage and retrieval of information, the right tags and indices, is the task of Loren Terveen of University of Minnesota and me. A known difficult problem, with different terms used for the same thing at one time or at different times, the same word used for different things at one time or different times, some events occurring on a specific date, others over a stretch of time, some elements are parts of different wholes, and so on. Guidance on this would be great and active participation or leadership welcome. A starter set of essays, articles, and books can be pulled together, but planning will be needed to collect links to materials from different fields, times, regions and languages. We can reached at sigchi-history(a)acm.org<mailto:sigchi-history@acm.org>. Jonathan Jonathan Grudin Principal Researcher, Microsoft Affiliate Professor, Information School, University of Washington Website: jonathangrudin.com

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SIGCIS WANTS YOUR BOOKS!
by Laine Nooney 17 Oct '19

17 Oct '19

Hello SIGCIS membership! For those who missed the announcement in Andy Russell's prior email about upcoming SIGCIS events at SHOT Milan: *Con Diaz and I will be hosting a book raffle at the Friday SIGCIS lunch on October 25th, from 12:30-2pm*. Traditionally, books for auction/raffle are a mix of donations from MIT Press and our members. Which means...we want your books! If you've published anything--be it a monograph, edited collection, whatever--in the past 5 years or so and have a few copies to spare, please consider donating to the book auction! Funds from the book auction go directly to travel grants for our grad students. In other words: books = money = travel grants = bigger, better sigcis = more books in the future? Truly, a virtuous circle. If you've got books to spare, *please drop me an email*. Its easier for us to prepare if we know what might be in store! Ciao, Laine Nooney <http://www.lainenooney.com/> MCC <http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/> @ NYU <http://www.nyu.edu/> Assistant Professor -Need to make an appt? Click, don't email: https://bit.ly/2GIHuK0 -Probably typed by voice recognition, so please cherish typos

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