December 2020 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

An Encyclopaedia Britannica query, regarding Percy Ludgate
by Brian Randell 28 Dec '20

28 Dec '20

Hi: Season's Greetings everyone! I was wondering whether there was anyone on the list who has easy access to the 14th edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica (1929). I am trying to find out whether the article "Calculating Machines" by D. Baxandall has any mention of Percy Ludgate (1883-1922), the Irish computer pioneer. (I've been helping with a new paper on Percy Ludgate that has just been accepted by the Annals - see https://www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/an/5555/01/09261950/1oPzQDvL4k0 ) Baxandall's 1926 Science Museum catalogue "Calculating Instruments and Machine" did contain a mention of Ludgate - the only one I know of in the period between the First and Second World Wars. However, I've only just recalled that Baxandall contributed an abridgement of this to the 14th edition, and I am wondering whether he repeated anything about Ludgate from his 1926 Science Museum publication. Best wishes for the New Year Stay safe! Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/brianrandell.html

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New essay on Kidder's Soul of a New Machine in CACM
by thomas.haigh＠gmail.com 26 Dec '20

26 Dec '20

Hello SIGCIS, CACM has just published the first in what is supposed to be a trilogy of essays from me looking at classic representations of IT work. The first of these is "The Immortal Soul of an Old Machine," inspired by the 40th anniversary of the publication of Tracy Kidder's Pulitzer Prize winning book The Soul of a New Machine. It's a book that developers and historians both continue to find fascinating, as a blending of literary craft and engineering practice. My aim is to take the book apart to see how it works and discover what it can tell us about how tech work has (and hasn't) changed in four decades. I've been thinking about the book for almost thirty years, since reading it in the only Manchester University undergraduate computer science class that dealt with such things, and it was fun to go back with a new perspective to try to understand what makes it so readable and relatable. The second will look at Levy's book Hackers, with some discussion of relevant parts of Turkle's more critical depiction in The Second Self. And the third part will explore Ullman's Close to the Machine and the relatively recent TV show Halt and Catch Fire. Unfortunately this wasn't chosen as one of the paywall-free items for the current issue of CACM. Those of you with access might want to show your support for historical work by fetching it form the digital library via https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3436249. But for everyone else, you can get a copy at https://tomandmaria.com/Tom/Writing/CACMSoulOfANewMachine.pdf. Best wishes, Tom

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Bits & Bytes: News from the Charles Babbage Institute
by Jeffrey Yost 23 Dec '20

23 Dec '20

Dear Colleagues, Please find below the new CBI* Bits & Bytes*. In addition to write-ups of the October 2020 online symposium CBI's "Just Code: Power, Inequality, and the Global Political Economy of IT" (very special thanks from Con and I to our tremendous authors/presenters and to so many of you for attending), it contains news of a major new AI collection just acquired (and other CBI Archives news), a biography/remembrance of Gideon Gartner, and reminders of the Tomash Fellowship and Norberg Grants (for 2021 remote CBI archives use/scanning) competitions, both with deadlines in about three weeks (Jan. 15, 2021). Amanda and I also encourage submissions of short essays (2,000 to 3,500 words) on any topic/theme in computing and culture to the interdisciplinary journal *Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing & Culture*. We have some terrific content in the works for *Interfaces *in early 2021! Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season! Best, Jeff Fall/Winter edition of CBI's e-newsletter. View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/d9e41ab79cc8/cbi-bits-and-bytes-9442924?e=7e9b315345> <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *Bits & Bytes: News from CBI* *Help us build a brighter tomorrow for the study of computing and culture. * Give today! <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *Director's Desk* The global pandemic has temporarily changed our location of most of our work, but not the core of what we do—to work tirelessly to advance the understanding of computing’s past through our own research, and especially, facilitating the research of many others globally with our events, editing, and assistance and advice on projects and resources. Read more. <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *Wrap up of CBI’s “Just Code” Symposium* On Friday and Saturday, October 23 - 24, CBI held its interdisciplinary online symposium, “Just Code: Power, Inequality, and the Global Political Economy of IT," and was a grand success in every measure Read more. <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *Behind the Scenes at Just Code: Thoughts from Our Graduate Associates* Katherine Buse (PhD Candidate at UC Davis) and Lauren Ruhrold (PhD Candidate at UMN) worked as graduate program associates for the 2020 Just Code Symposium. Conference organizers Jeffrey Yost and Gerardo Con Diaz asked them to reflect on their experiences attending the conference and working behind-the-scenes. Their participation yielded new insights about power, technology, pedagogy, and their own research. Read more. <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> * From the Archives* This has been an interesting year for the Charles Babbage Institute Archives. Since March, U of M staff have largely been working remotely, including many of the Libraries full-time staff, and we’ve learned a number of lessons about service delivery and ensuring open access to our collections. Read more. <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *New CBI website to launch in late January* <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> The Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) is thrilled to announce that we will have a new website come next month. The site built in a much more user-friendly layout will allow for increased accessibility and improve the overall user experience for our visitors. *Read more*. <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture; Ongoing Call for Papers* In June 2020 Charles Babbage Institute for Computing, Information, and Culture (CBI) launched a new E-Journal, entitled *I**nterfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture*. Read more. <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *Remembering Gideon Gartner* Gideon Gartner, an unparalleled pioneer in innovating IT industry market research and analysis services and products passed away on Saturday, October 12, 2020. He and his wife Sarah have been extremely supportive of CBI’s research and archives programs, for which we are tremendously grateful. Read more. <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *Now accepting applications for the Tomash Fellowship in the History of IT* CBI is pleased to announce we are currently accepting applications for the 2021-2022 Tomash Fellowship in the History of Information Technology. The fellowship will be awarded to a graduate student for doctoral dissertation research in the history of computing. Read more. <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *Announcing 2021 Norberg Grant for CBIA Use* Each year, the Arthur L. Norberg Travel Fund within the Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) provides short-term grants-in-aid to help scholars with travel expenses to use the collections at CBI. Given the global COVID-19 pandemic, we will be awarding grants to use the collections remotely in 2021 through placing scanning orders based on our finding aids/guides. *Read more.* <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> *Solid State nominated for a Midwest Emmy* Two outstanding local public TV productions used Libraries’ resources in their runs for a Midwest Emmy. One was successful; each is worth a look. Read more. <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…> Subscribe <cbi@umn.edu?subject=I%20would%20like%20to%20receive%20Bits%20%26%20Bytes%20from%20CBI> Charles Babbage Institute COMPUTING, INFORMATION & CULTURE [image: Facebook] <https://umn.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ac86934aa6cefdac2c4dcaa2e&id=…>

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New book Digital Histories, on digital or computational history and its methods
by Petri Paju 17 Dec '20

17 Dec '20

Dear all Our new book, Digital Histories, on digital or computational history is available, online. Besides co-editing it I wrote a chapter that studies historians as users of computers from the 1960s onwards up until recent years. It's Chapter 3 in the book. I was looking at the topic through mostly Finnish materials and cases, and see that much more could be done on that general theme. If you know good sources or reflections on how historians' use of computers has evolved, I would be happy to hear of those for possible future use. It is an Open Access book published by the Helsinki University Press: Fridlund, M., Oiva, M. and Paju, P. (eds) (2020) Digital Histories: Emergent Approaches within the New Digital History. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33134/HUP-5 Here's the blurb: Historical scholarship is currently undergoing a digital turn. All historians have experienced this change in one way or another, by writing on word processors, applying quantitative methods on digitalized source materials, or using internet resources and digital tools. Digital Histories showcases this emerging wave of digital history research. It presents work by historians who – on their own or through collaborations with e.g. information technology specialists – have uncovered new, empirical historical knowledge through digital and computational methods. The topics of the volume range from the medieval period to the present day, including various parts of Europe. The chapters apply an exemplary array of methods, such as digital metadata analysis, machine learning, network analysis, topic modelling, named entity recognition, collocation analysis, critical search, and text and data mining. The volume argues that digital history is entering a mature phase, digital history ‘in action’, where its focus is shifting from the building of resources towards the making of new historical knowledge. This also involves novel challenges that digital methods pose to historical research, including awareness of the pitfalls and limitations of the digital tools and the necessity of new forms of digital source criticisms. Best wishes, Petri --- Petri Paju PhD, Researcher Dep. of Cultural history University of Turku

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[Book Announcement] Lives of Data: Essays on Computational Cultures from India
by Sandeep Mertia 17 Dec '20

17 Dec '20

Hello, (Hope you are safe and well. Apologies for cross posting) I’m happy to announce the publication of my edited volume, "*Lives of Data: Essays on Computational Cultures from India*", with the Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam < https://networkcultures.org/blog/publication/lives-of-data-essays-on-comput…>. It is available for download in ePub and PDF formats and for print-on-demand orders (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International). Foreword by Ravi Sundaram. Authors: Sandeep Mertia, Karl Mendonca, Sivakumar Arumugam, Ranjit Singh, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, Lilly Irani, Anumeha Yadav, Preeti Mudliar, Prerna Mukharya and Mahima Taneja, Guneet Narula, Gaurav Godhwani, Noopur Raval, Aakash Solanki, and Anirudh Raghavan. Blurb: *Lives of Data* maps the historical and emergent dynamics of big data, computing, and society in India. Data infrastructures are now more global than ever before. In much of the world, new sociotechnical possibilities of big data and artificial intelligence are unfolding under the long shadows cast by infra/structural inequalities, colonialism, modernization, and national sovereignty. This book offers critical vantage points for looking at big data and its shadows, as they play out in uneven encounters of machinic and cultural relationalities of data in India’s socio-politically disparate and diverse contexts. Lives of Data emerged from research projects and workshops at the Sarai programme, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. It brings together fifteen interdisciplinary scholars and practitioners to set up a collaborative research agenda on computational cultures. The essays offer wide-ranging analyses of media and techno-scientific trajectories of data analytics, disruptive formations of digital economy, and the grounded practices of data-driven governance in India.Encompassing history, anthropology, science and technology studies (STS), media studies, civic technology, data science, digital humanities, and journalism, the essays open up possibilities for a truly situated global and sociotechnically specific understanding of the many lives of data. Reviews: "This remarkable collection is the first major portrait and assessment of the social and technical relationalities that constitute the ecology of big data in India today. Equally remarkably, the authors represent the first generation of scholars of digital media who speak through an Indian lens while being totally conversant with the cutting edge of global scholarship on big data." — Arjun Appadurai, Goddard Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University "Wide-ranging and incisive, *Lives of Data* is essential reading for those who wish to understand the seductions and contingencies of being or becoming data-driven." — Lisa Gitelman, author, *Paper Knowledge* and editor, *‘Raw Data’ Is an Oxymoron* ... Regards, Sandeep Mertia PhD Candidate, Dept. of Media, Culture, and Communication New York University

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New Book
by James Cortada 16 Dec '20

16 Dec '20

Dear colleagues, I wanted to bring to your attention a book of possible interest. Rowman & Littlefield just published a book I wrote, *Building Blocks of Society: History, Information Ecosystems, and Infrastructures,* which brings together much of my thinking about how to write the history of information filled environments. It includes a series of case studies dealing with computer scientists, IBM sales staffs, and how our community of IT historians created their own information ecosystem, in addition to other case studies. Jim -- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada(a)umn.edu 608-274-6382

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New book about Militarization of Outer Space
by Ceruzzi, Paul 08 Dec '20

08 Dec '20

I want to call your attention to a new book edited by Alexander Geppert et al, on the Militarization of Outer Space. While Space History is not directly a SIGCIS topic, you will find that several of the chapters deal with human-computer interactions. Individual chapters may be downloaded separately, if you wish. Paul Ceruzzi https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781349958504 Militarizing Outer Space - Astroculture, Dystopia and the Cold War | Alexander C.T. Geppert | Palgrave Macmillan<https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781349958504> This book explores the dystopian and destructive dimension of the Space Age and challenges conventional narratives of a bipolar Cold War rivalry, concentrating on weapons, warfare and violence. It is the third volume in the European Astroculture trilogy. ... www.palgrave.com

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SIMNET past and future
by Jonathan Coopersmith 07 Dec '20

07 Dec '20

Fascinating area of desired research: https://warontherocks.com/2020/12/the-next-simnet-unlocking-the-future-of-m… Stay sane, keep washing those hands, and practice social solidarity as well as physical distancing, Jonathan Jonathan Coopersmith Professor Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4236 979.291.2925 (cell) 979.862.4314 (fax) Engineering elections: https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/security/engineering-principles… Racial disparities in waiting to vote: https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-long-time-to-vote-141267 *FAXED. The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine* (Johns Hopkins University Press)

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Assistant Professor of Critical Race Studies Position at George Mason University
by Alexander Monea 07 Dec '20

07 Dec '20

George Mason University is hiring an Assistant Professor of Critical Race Studies to teach in the Cultural Studies PhD Program, the Philosophy Department, and the Women and Gender Studies Program. See the full job at <https://jobs.gmu.edu/postings/49041> — details also posted below. Tenure Track Assistant or Associate Professor The George Mason University College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) invites applications for an interdisciplinary full-time, tenure-line position (assistant or associate level) with a research and teaching specialty in critical race studies, and an emphasis on how race and racialization interact with other forms of socially constructed identities, including but not limited to, gender, sexuality, class, and disability. George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason’s academic and culturally inclusive environment. Position Description: This position is a part of the College of Humanities and Social Science’s diversity cluster hire initiative designed to create a cohort of faculty across departments whose scholarship focuses on issues related to inequalities; underrepresented regions and languages of the world; underserved, vulnerable populations; race, racism, and antiracism; and intersectional approaches to the study of difference, diversity, discrimination, and social justice. This cohort will contribute to interdisciplinary programs and enhance the mentorship of a diverse student population. The College and the University are committed to providing a robust structure to support this cohort of interdisciplinary positions and those who hold them. Agreements will be worked out to ensure an equitable and just allocation of teaching and service responsibilities across participating units. We seek applicants whose work addresses such matters as environmental racism; connections between racial formations and capitalism; indigeneity; blackness and the afterlives of slavery; whiteness, colonialism, and decolonization; neoliberalism; or the prison-industrial complex. Disciplinary training is open. Preference will be given to approaches in the critical Humanities, including critical race studies, cultural studies, gender/sexuality/queer theory, media, globalization, articulation theory; or in philosophical approaches that connect directly with one or more of these fields. The appointment will begin in August 2021. Home Department: * Departmental home in Cultural Studies, Philosophy, or Women and Gender Studies, to be determined based on disciplinary expertise of candidate; * 2:2 teaching load, with releases as appropriate for administrative work. Responsibilities: * Sustain an active program of scholarly research in their areas of expertise, produce peer-reviewed publications, and participate in professional organizations and societies; * Complement existing faculty expertise in critical race studies and intersecting areas; * Contribute to interdisciplinary research and teaching collaborations within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; * Teach courses in the BA and MA programs in Philosophy and/or Women and Gender Studies, and/or the PhD program in Cultural Studies, and develop new courses that will expand the College’s offerings and serve students in related disciplines; * Mentor undergraduate and graduate student research; serve on thesis, field, and dissertation committees; * Advise students and contribute to the College’s commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community. Required Qualifications: * Ph.D. in relevant field with evidence of completion by August 2021; * Area of specialization: critical race studies; * Demonstrable potential for excellence in scholarship and in graduate and undergraduate teaching. Preferred Qualifications: * Teaching expertise in areas that complement existing teaching capacity in at least two of the participating units (Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Women and Gender Studies); * A commitment to activism, community engagement, and/or public-facing scholarship that reaches beyond the classroom to the wider community. Information about the University and College: George Mason University is a Carnegie Tier 1 Research [R1] university located in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and is the largest public university in the state of Virginia, with the most diverse student body in the state. In the summer of 2020, the Presidential Initiative on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) was established to ensure that George Mason University creates an inclusive and equitable campus environment in which every member of our community, without exception, is valued, supported, and experiences a sense of belonging. The primary purpose of this initiative is to position the university to become a national exemplar of anti-racism and inclusive excellence through its own reconciliation work. To ensure the greatest collective impact, the work of the task force is anchored in the scholarly, teaching and learning, and administrative expertise that exists within Mason’s colleges and schools around issues of diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice, conflict resolution and analysis, and the histories and social identities of individuals from marginalized groups. The Programs in Cultural Studies and Women and Gender Studies and the Department of Philosophy at Mason are committed to excellence in teaching and research across diverse perspectives and disciplinary lines. Each of these departments or programs collaborates with one another and with many other departments and units including African and African American Studies, Economics, Global Affairs, the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and the Schar School of Policy and Government, as well as the Center for Climate Change Communication and the Institute for a Sustainable Earth. * The PhD program in Cultural Studies was the first standalone Cultural Studies PhD program in the US. * The Philosophy department is home to the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy (IPPP) and to faculty who work on pressing issues of public and global concern, including climate change, international criminal law, global health justice, bioethics, and philosophies of race and gender. * The program in Women and Gender Studies is based on an integrated, co-curricular model, serving as both an academic unit in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and as a student affairs unit in University Life. Its undergraduate minor in LGBTQ studies was one of the first in the state. * George Mason University has recently chartered a Center for Humanities Research, which will both support faculty research through study leaves, and serve as an intellectual hub on campus. Alexander Monea Assistant Professor English | Cultural Studies George Mason University Alexander Monea Assistant Professor English | Cultural Studies George Mason University [cid:22ff3ecd-564b-4d91-bde8-1d7988fa1483]

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Vacancy: Archives Development Manager
by Research 04 Dec '20

04 Dec '20

Archives of IT (AIT), https://archivesit.org.uk/, is a charity that collects and presents oral history. Our focus is the people and organisations of the UK IT industry 1950 to 2020: who they are and how they worked to change the world with the devices that are to be found in the UKs excellent computing collections. AIT seeks to appoint a person to develop our approach to and funding for audience engagement. This is a hands-on role, demanding experience and skills in heritage management, fundraising, communications and knowledge of the industry. The appointment will initially be on an interim / project basis with the potential for extension to a permanent, executive role. Mail research(a)archivesit.org.uk<mailto:research@archivesit.org.uk> by 11 December 2020 for more information

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