April 2021 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

14th CIFAS SummerSchool in Ethnographic Research Methods
by Renzo Taddei 19 Apr '21

19 Apr '21

*Apologies for cross-posting. Please distribute to potentially interested people. Thank you.* 14th CIFAS Summer School in Ethnographic Research Methods July 19 to 30, 2021 – 7 PM to 9:30 PM (EDT time) The Comitas Institute for Anthropological Study (CIFAS) is pleased to announce the 14th CIFAS Summer School in Ethnographic Research Methods. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this edition of the summer school will take place online. The goal of the summer school is to offer training in the foundations and practice of ethnographic methods. The faculty works closely with participants to identify the required field methods needed to address their academic or professional needs. The summer school is suitable for graduate and undergraduate students in social sciences and other fields of study that use qualitative approaches (such as education, communication, cultural studies, health, social work, development studies, consumer behavior, among others), applied social scientists, professionals, and researchers who have an interest in learning more about ethnographic methods and their applications. The social isolation measures adopted across the planet due to the current pandemic have made digital ethnography, in all its variations, an option of choice for researchers who previously did not consider it. The summer school program was reformulated, devoting more time to the discussion of digital methods and the interface between ethnography and the field of digital humanities. Program: - Class 1 (Jul 19): Foundations of ethnographic research - Class 2 (Jul 20): Theory and practice: social theories in the field - Class 3 (Jul 21): Research design; ethics - Class 4 (Jul 22): Data generation techniques - Class 5 (Jul 23): Planning the logistics of field research - Class 6 (Jul 26): Digital ethnography - Class 7 (Jul 27): Ethnography in interface with Social Network Analysis and other trends in the digital humanities - Class 8 (Jul 28): Visual ethnography; ethnography in specific fields of activity (applied social sciences, health, social service, environmental studies, public policy design, business, and others) - Class 9 (Jul 29): Principles of organization and indexation of field data - Class 10 (Jul 30): Analyzing field data; qualitative analysis software packages: basic principles The total workload of the course is 25 hours. In this edition of the summer school, the option of earning credits is not available. The tuition fee is US$ 1,200. Applications online at https://cifas.us/field-school/ For more information, please write to renzo.taddei(a)cifas.us.

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] ATMs and the histrory of computing
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 14 Apr '21

14 Apr '21

Apologies should say it is at 14 30 hrs UK (0830 am Central USA) Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse my brevity. >>> On Tue, Apr 13, 2021 at 3:32 PM Bernardo Batiz-Lazo <bbatiz64(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> Some of you might be interested in the webinar below. >>> >>> Seminar: Computer Conservation Society (free but you need to register) >>> Title: Cash and Dash: How ATMs and Computers Changed Banking >>> Speakers: Bernardo Batiz-Lazo >>> Date: Thursday 15th April 2021 Time: 14:30 Location: Via the Internet using ZOOM. >>> About the seminar >>> In his recent book, Cash and Dash, Mr. Batiz-Lazo looks closely at the influence of the ATM on the retail banking journey and explores the drivers of long-term innovation. In this session he will cover the challenges of deploying new technology and examine the balance between investing in new innovation and maintaining existing technology all while securing the trust of customers. #innovation #technology #banking #fintech #digitalbanking #payments #ATM >>> https://www.computerconservationsociety.org/lectures/2020-21/20210415.htm >>> >>> -- >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ================== Twitter @BatizLazo >>> >>> Cash and Dash: How ATMs and Computers Changed Banking >>> By Bernardon Batiz-Lazo (Oxford University Press, 2018) >>> https://global.oup.com/academic/product/cash-and-dash-9780198782810?cc=gb&l… >>> >>> >>> The Book of Payments: Historical and Contemporary Views on the Cashless Society >>> Edited by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo and Leonidas Efthymiou (Palgrave, 2016) >>> http://www.palgrave.com/de/book/9781137602305 >>> >>> >>> Technological Innovation in Retail Finance: International Historical Perspectives >>> Edited by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo, J. Carles Maixé-Altés, and Paul Thomes (Routledge, 2011) >>> http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415880671 >>> >>> Home page: >>> https://researchportal.northumbria.ac.uk/en/researchers/bernardo-batizlazo(… >>> >>> Working papers: >>> http://ideas.repec.org/e/pba14.html >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 >> >> >> -- >> Assistant Professor >> Department of Science, Technology, and Society >> Virginia Tech >> leevinsel.com >> Twitter: @STS_News

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ATMs and the histrory of computing
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 13 Apr '21

13 Apr '21

Some of you might be interested in the webinar below. Seminar: Computer Conservation Society (free but you need to register)Title: Cash and Dash: How ATMs and Computers Changed Banking Speakers: Bernardo Batiz-Lazo Date: Thursday 15th April 2021 Time: 14:30 Location: Via the Internet using ZOOM.About the seminar In his recent book, Cash and Dash, Mr. Batiz-Lazo looks closely at the influence of the ATM on the retail banking journey and explores the drivers of long-term innovation. In this session he will cover the challenges of deploying new technology and examine the balance between investing in new innovation and maintaining existing technology all while securing the trust of customers. *#innovation* *#technology* *#banking* *#fintech* *#digitalbanking* *#payments* *#ATM* https://www.computerconservationsociety.org/lectures/2020-21/20210415.htm -- ================== Twitter @BatizLazo Cash and Dash: How ATMs and Computers Changed Banking By Bernardon Batiz-Lazo (Oxford University Press, 2018) https://global.oup.com/academic/product/cash-and-dash-9780198782810?cc=gb&l… The Book of Payments: Historical and Contemporary Views on the Cashless Society Edited by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo and Leonidas Efthymiou (Palgrave, 2016) http://www.palgrave.com/de/book/9781137602305 Technological Innovation in Retail Finance: International Historical Perspectives Edited by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo, J. Carles Maixé-Altés, and Paul Thomes (Routledge, 2011) http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415880671 Home page: https://researchportal.northumbria.ac.uk/en/researchers/bernardo-batizlazo(… Working papers: http://ideas.repec.org/e/pba14.html

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CFP: SIGCIS 2021: ONLINE EDITION // Proposals Due June 1, 2021
by Laine Nooney 13 Apr '21

13 Apr '21

SIGCIS 2021: ONLINE EDITION September 23-25, 2021 The 12th Annual (Virtual!) Conference for the Special Interest Group for Computing, Information, and Society meetings.sigcis.org CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: DUE JUNE 1 SIGCIS 2021 is an open call for any and all work related to the history of computing and information systems, broadly imagined. The SIGCIS community is especially welcoming of new directions in research and creative production, and encompasses academic professionals, museum and archive professionals, IT practitioners, artists and creative technologists, and independent researchers across the disciplinary spectrum. We maintain an inclusive atmosphere for scholarly inquiry, promoting diversity in STEM and supporting disciplinary interventions from beyond traditional history of technology. We especially encourage submissions from those who have not previously attended but wish to learn more about our community. Traditionally, SIGCIS holds its annual conference on the Sunday immediately following the annual conference for our parent organization, the Society for the History of Technology. While SHOT is going forward with an in-person meeting this fall, this year SIGCIS has elected to hold a virtual meeting earlier in the fall. We believe this choice will help ensure accessibility for our wide-ranging community, which includes many graduate students, early career scholars, precarious workers, and international scholars who may not be able to travel. Membership in SHOT is not required to submit to or attend SIGCIS. SIGCIS has always invited both traditional scholarship and alternative forms of presentation and discussion. We encourage participants to think creatively about what forms of engagement, presentation, and scholarship will help us bridge the experience of the last year and what is to come. Presentation formats include, but aren’t limited to: - Individual presentations of scholarly work - Pre-constituted panels or roundtables of 3-4 scholars plus a moderator/respondent - Virtual performances or exhibitions - Skill-shares and tutorials - Social activities - Lightning talk sessions VIRTUAL LOGISTICS AND ACCESSIBILITY In order to make SIGCIS 2021 as accessible as possible within the means of an all-volunteer organization, the following changes have been made to the traditional SIGCIS Conference format: - This year’s SIGCIS conference will not be co-located or co-timed with our parent organization, SHOT, so as not to conflict with SHOT’s in-person conference - Our traditional one-day, 3-stream conference will be re-organized as a multi-day, single stream event - Time-zone sensitive scheduling - Sliding scale registration fees; membership in SHOT is not required SUBMISSION PROCEDURES Submissions are due June 1, 2021 via Google form: https://forms.gle/C8ixar9s3JsCXq8d9. Submissions require: - 300-350 word abstract, summary, or prospectus (as appropriate for the submission type). Full panel proposals should additionally include 200-250 word abstracts for each paper that will be part of the panel. - 100-150 word bios for each participant If you are submitting a co-presented paper, pre-constituted panel, or other submission involving multiple participants, please only have one person submit for the group; contact and professional information for other participants can be included in the Bio submission section. Questions about the submission process should be sent to: xiaochang.li(a)stanford.edu. SIGCIS MEETINGS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Laine Nooney, New York University (SIGCIS Vice-Chair of Meetings) Morgan Ames, University of California, Berkeley Stephanie Dick, University of Pennsylvania Xiaochang Li, Stanford University

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CFP - The Computerization of Economics: Computers, Programming, and the Internet in the History of Economics
by Francesco Sergi 13 Apr '21

13 Apr '21

Dear colleagues, Please find below information on a call for paper that may be of interest. The Computerization of Economics: Computers, Programming, and the Internet in the History of Economics Edited by Marcel Boumans (Utrecht University), Cléo Chassonnery-Zaïgouche (University of Cambridge, CRASSH), Pierrick Dechaux (REhPERE), & Francesco Sergi (Université Paris Est Créteil, LIPHA) The special issue aims at gathering contributions investigating the “computerization” of economics: that is, the historical and social processes that have made computers and software a crucial, distinctive, and necessary element of economists’ practices. We are interested in computerization as a process actively shaping (and being shaped by) economics’ theoretical frameworks, empirical techniques, and economists’ distinctive research practices. The call is open to historians of economics and historians of sciences and technologies. We also welcome reminiscences from economists or computer scientists willing to share a retrospective and reflexive insight into the evolution, along their career, of their practices. Read the full call here: https://journals.openedition.org/oeconomia/10678 Deadline for abstract is the 1st of May 2021, full paper submission is expected by February 15th, 2022. During late Spring 2022, a workshop will be organized in Paris, where authors will be invited to present and discuss their papers. This event will depend on financial constraints and on the Covid-19 situation. For further information, please contact the editors of the special issue or send a message to oeconomia(a)openedition.org<mailto:oeconomia@openedition.org>. Best regards, Francesco Sergi Assistant Professor in Economics University of Paris Est Créteil LIPHA - Laboratoire interdisciplinaire d'étude du politique Hanna Arendt Co-directeur Département LEA Sénart OEconomia / History, Methodology, Philosophy - Managing Editor Twitter: @cescoeco https://rehpere.org/francesco-sergi

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] : Interfaces 2021 update
by Larry Masinter 09 Apr '21

09 Apr '21

Thank you for the pointer to the Interfaces article of Mice and Mentalité I and some of my colleagues (from PARC of the 70’s and 80’s, as well as newer collaborators) have been working to “restore” the Interlisp system so that it is usable on modern hardware, to take advantage of Moore’s law increases in performance through emulation of the underlying virtual machine. Much of the AI work at PARC (and earlier, DENDRAL work at Stanford) were done in Interlisp. Hypertext (in NoteCards), UI design tools (Trillium), task-oriented screen layout (Rooms) were all explored in systems built in Interlisp. I’m hoping we can provide infrastructure for running demonstrations of all of those. https://interlisp.org is an all-volunteer “open source” effort (https://github.com/interlisp) I was hoping to find more volunteers to help out, especially with externalities: the “History” section, an annotated bibliography, planning, recording screen-share video demonstrations, guidelines for new users of today. The Interfaces article sets the context. Thanks -- <https://LarryMasinter.net> https://LarryMasinter.net <https://interlisp.org> https://interlisp.org From: Members <members-bounces(a)lists.sigcis.org> On Behalf Of Jeffrey Yost Sent: Monday, March 29, 2021 6:00 AM To: sigcis <members(a)sigcis.org> Subject: SIGCIS-Members] Interfaces 2021 update Dear SIGCIS Colleagues, With Interfaces, we are now into our second calendar year/volume (started the journal late last May) and wanted to give a quick update. Also we'd like to encourage you to submit a short essay to us. In our first ten months our subscriber base (free) to get email alerts to new essays (approximately 8 to 10 times a year) has expanded at a rapid rate from 465 shortly after launch to 1,335 subscribers today and it keeps growing steadily! (Academics and graduate students from many fields and geographies make up the greatest share of the base, which also includes industry and government scientists, and others interested in computing--past, present, and future). Co-editor Amanda Wick and I are so grateful for the readership, many encouraging comments, course/classroom use, and thousands of views/downloads. We especially want to thank our authors, and the SIGCIS community. Essays on all topics/themes/fields/approaches in the domain of computing and culture are welcome. You can either email Amanda (abwick(a)umn.edu <mailto:abwick@umn.edu> ) or me (yostx003(a)umn.edu <mailto:yostx003@umn.edu> ) with your essay submission or if you prefer, you can bounce ideas off us first. The general ongoing call is at the site (click on the journal title in the banner below or on any of the article links or <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> here to go to the journal). We have very exciting content in process, and offer a quick turnaround in editorial review with short time spans from first submission to publication (about a month) given a continuous publication of articles rather than scheduled issues. In case you missed something and are looking for some mid Spring reading, below is a list of essay articles published, along with their abstract.. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Spring! Best, Jeff and Amanda, Co-Editors, Interfaces <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture Volume 2 (2021) [Note: The link on the banner above and on articles goes to the top of the journal, essays, most recent to earliest, are on long scroll. There is a button jump back to 2020] Published March 2021 (Just published last week) <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> “Of Mice and Mentalité: PARC Ways to Exploring HCI, AI, Augmentation and Symbiosis, and Categorization and Control” Jeffrey R. Yost, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota Abstract: This think piece essay comparatively explores history and mindsets with human-computer interaction (HCI) and artificial intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML). It draws on oral history and archival and other research to reflect on the institutional, and cultural and intellectual history of HCI (especially the Card, Moran, and Newell team at Xerox PARC) and AI. It posits the HCI mindset (focused on augmentation and human-machine symbiosis, as well iterative maintenance) could be a useful framing to rethink dominant design and operational paradigms in AI/ML that commonly spawn, reinforce, and accelerate algorithmic biases and societal inequality. Published January 2021 <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> “The Cloud, the Civil War, and the 'War on Coal'” Paul E. Ceruzzi, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution Abstract: The term “The Cloud” has entered the lexicon of computer-speak along with “cyberspace,” the Matrix,” the “ether,” and other terms suggesting the immateriality of networked computing. Cloud servers, which store vast amounts of data and software accessible via the Internet, are located around the globe. This essay argues that this “matrix” has an epicenter, namely the former rural village of Ashburn, Virginia. Ashburn’s significance is the result of several factors, including northern Virginia’s historic role in the creation of the Internet and its predecessor, the ARPANET. The Cloud servers located there also exist because of the availability of sources of electric power, including a grid of power lines connected to wind turbines, gas-, and coal-fired plants located to its west—a “networking” of a different type but just as important. Volume 1 (2020) [launched the journal in late May 2020] Published September 2020 “ <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> Cultural Networks: Infrastructural Implications of AT&T’s Picturephone” Malinda Dietrich, University of Colorado, Boulder Abstract: In 2020, video telecommunications seem ubiquitous. Between work and play, many people use a range of software to connect them with other people all around the world. This short essay begins to explore how we arrived at this seemingly universal technology by exhuming a failed technology: AT&T’s Picturephone. Through this historical exploration, we will come to see that infrastructure and culture are closely related, and that future work must be done to explore the social inequities that become apparent. Published August 2020 <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> “From Telecommuting to Mobile Work: The IBM Experience, 1890s-2020” James W. Cortada, Senior Research Fellow, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota Abstract: IBM was an early practitioner of remote working, beginning in the 1890s, but expanding this way of working in the 1980s. Customer engineers, programmers, systems engineers, salesmen, and consultants participated. Mobile work posed its own operational problems but offered benefits for improved service, productivity, and employee morale. However, its motives and practices remained controversial. Published July 2020 <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> “A Preface to Charles Babbage’s Ninth Bridgewater Treatise” Amanda Wick, Interim Archivist, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota “ <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> Charles Babbage’s Ninth Bridgewater Treatise” Margaret Dykens, Curator and Director of the Research Library San Diego Natural History Museum Abstract: As a foundational figure in the history of science, Charles Babbage is best known for his contributions to computing. In fact, his mechanical, programmable calculating machines are considered precursors to modern computers. These accomplishments were the primary reason for the naming of the Charles Babbage Institute, and its archivists have sought to honor its namesake through the purchase of rare books authored and inscribed by him. One such book is a fragmentary oddity, the Ninth Bridgewater Treatise, and a copy owned by the San Diego Natural History Museum that was recently examined by curatorial staff and prominent Babbage scholar, Dr. Doron Swade, holds curious clues to Babbage's approach to natural philosophy. Published June 2020 <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces?fbclid=IwAR0B1KQ0lqEF0t9exsaaMRXsJCaoULn…> “Of Bugs, Languages and Business Models: A History” Alejandro Ramirez, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University Abstract: A series of wrong decisions precipitated the Y2K crisis: adopting the 6-digit date format, using COBOL as the standard in business computing and discontinuing COBOL-teaching in many American universities shortly after it was adopted. Did we learn anything from this crisis? Published May 2020 <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces?fbclid=IwAR0B1KQ0lqEF0t9exsaaMRXsJCaoULn…> “Where Dinosaurs Roam and Programmers Play: Reflections on Infrastructure,Maintenance, and Inequality” Jeffrey R. Yost, Charles Babbage Institute, HSTM, University of Minnesota Abstract: This short essay examines two temporally separated crises (current unemployment system failures and Y2K), focusing on connections between infrastructural (largely COBOL-based) IT systems, maintenance, and societal inequality. "Injustice wears the same harsh face wherever it shows itself."-Ralph Ellison Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D. Director, Charles Babbage Institute Research Professor, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 222 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624 5050 Phone 612 625 8054 Fax

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Introducing "AI & its Discontents"
by Colin Kelley Garvey 09 Apr '21

09 Apr '21

Dear all — I am happy to announce the publication of "Artificial Intelligence and its Discontents,” a special double issue of Interdisciplinary Science Reviews that I guest edited. It covers AI across a number of critical intersections, from history, literature, and healthcare to epistemology, decolonization, and ethnography. I think there’s something for everyone in this expansive collection. Introduction Unsavory medicine for technological civilization: Introducing ‘Artificial Intelligence & its Discontents’ <https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YEWXJ4SWXIWINWQX9ZTX/full?target=10.1080…> (open access)- Shunryu Colin Garvey *My introduction to the issue is constructed as a brief literature review of the past 60+ years of AI criticism, and includes a rather extensive bibliography which you might find useful for teaching and/or further research. Articles (Linked articles are open access) 1. The lamp and the lighthouse: Joseph Weizenbaum, contextualizing the critic - Zachary Loeb 2. Artificial stupidity - Michael Falk 3. The science of artificial intelligence and its critics<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03080188.2020.1840821> (open access) - Harry Collins 4. Good governance as a response to discontents? Déjà vu, or lessons for AI from other emerging technologies<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03080188.2020.1840220> (open access) - Inga Ulnicane, Damian Okaibedi Eke, William Knight, George Ogoh and Bernd Carsten Stahl 5. Beyond ‘AI for Social Good’ (AI4SG): social transformations—not tech-fixes—for health equity - Cheryl Holzmeyer 6. Don’t touch my stuff: historicising resistance to AI and algorithmic computer technologies in medicine - Ariane Hanemaayer 7. Clinical translation of computational brain models: understanding the salience of trust in clinician–researcher relationships - S. Datta Burton , T. Mahfoud, C. Aicardi and N. Rose 8. Truth from the machine: artificial intelligence and the materialization of identity - Os Keyes, Zoë Hitzig and Mwenza Blell 9. Can artificial intelligence be decolonized? - Rachel Adams 10. Ethnographic artificial intelligence - Alan F. Blackwell PS - If your institution doesn’t provide access to this journal and you’d like read any of the pieces, you can find a copy of the whole issue on my webpage (http://www.shunryugarvey.com/publications/) Yours, Shunryu Colin Garvey ——— Affiliate Fellow, Institute for Human-Centered AI<https://hai.stanford.edu/people/shunryu-colin-garvey> (HAI) Stanford University shunryu(a)stanford.edu<mailto:shunryu@stanford.edu> www.shunryugarvey.com<http://www.shunryugarvey.com/> USA / +1 (812) 269-1069 日本 / +81 (080) 1356-2606 ——— Recent Publications: 2021 - “The ‘General Problem Solver’ Does Not Exist: Mortimer Taube & the Art of AI Criticism.”<https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9324949> IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 2020 - “COVID-19 Digital Health Innovation Policy: A Portal to Alternative Futures in the Making.”<https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/omi.2020.0089> OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology

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First Call for Papers - History of Computing, AI, etc. in the European South - Tensions of Europe Digital Workshop Festival
by Georgios Zoukas 08 Apr '21

08 Apr '21

Dear all, Please see below (and attached) the First Call for Papers for the International Digital Workshop on: Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Algorithms, Internet of Things, Social Media, Automation, Robotics and Cybernetics: Historical and STS Perspectives from Mediterranean/Southern/Southeastern Europe - June 29th 2021, 10 am – 6pm (CET) Part of the ‘Tensions of Europe Digital Workshop Festival’, 28 June-2 July 2021 (https://shtwebinars.nl/) The workshop aims to advance scholarly research and discussion on the appropriation, localization, adaptation, adjustment, maintenance, repair, use and reconfiguration in use of computing and related technologies in the context of Mediterranean, Southern and Southeastern Europe. We are interested in contributions that rely on historical and STS perspectives in order to address issues of relevance to the discourses and materialities of computing technology and science. Especially welcomed are: papers that address critically the rhetoric of universalism surrounding computing and related technologies; papers on the co-shaping of technology and society, from angles that take into account issues of relevance to work, leisure, gender, race, ethnicity, disability and borders/migration; and papers on the public history of computing and related technologies, which are in conversation with fields like Cultural and Media Studies, Cultural Heritage, Museum Studies, Digital History, Science Communication, Digital Heritage and Digital Humanities. Submissions may relate (without being limited) to the following topics: · Histories of computing, from mainframes to microcomputers (home and personal) · The emergence of the internet, the web, email and the social media in the European South · Historical and STS perspectives on the technologies associated with the so called ‘4th Industrial Revolution’: Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Algorithms, Internet of Things · Historical and STS perspectives on Automation, Robotics, Cybernetics Deadline for abstract submissions (250 words, plus a brief author CV): May 2nd 2021. Workshop participants will be invited to contribute to a special journal issue and an edited volume, which will focus, respectively, on historical and STS perspectives. Details on all of the above will be provided through the workshop website, which will become available together with the Second Call for Papers later in the spring of 2021. Initial Workshop Committee (to be completed by interested scholars from other countries): Aristotle Tympas, Professor, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Maria Roussou, Assistant Professor, Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens / Vice-Chair, Greek ACM-Women Chapter / Museum of Informatics and Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Giorgos Zoukas, Postdoctoral Fellow, Greek State Scholarships Foundation / Department of History and Philosophy of Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Abstract submissions: gzoukas(a)phs.uoa.gr For any inquiries, please contact: Giorgos Zoukas (gzoukas(a)phs.uoa.gr) Kind regards, Giorgos Zoukas

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When the Lights Went Out in Texas Event April 13
by Jeffrey Yost 08 Apr '21

08 Apr '21

Dear Colleagues, A CPH special event we at CBI want to share info. upon, and encourage you to consider attending next week. Please join speakers CBI Senior Research Fellow and da Vinci Medalist Prof. David E. Nye, Dr. Julie A. Cohn (Rice Univ.; author of the tremendously insightful book *The Grid*), Prof. Martin Melosi (Houston) and Prof. Joseph Stromberg (San Jacinto) for: WHEN THE LIGHTS (AND HEAT) WENT OUT IN TEXAS: THE TEXAS BLACKOUT IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT Univ. of Houston CPH Forum/Event, April 13th 12:00pm (CST) [image: When the Lights 2.jpg] REGISTERONEVENTBRITE https://bit.ly/3fMjjeX Best, Jeff *"Injustice wears the same harsh face wherever it shows itself."*-Ralph Ellison Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D. Director, Charles Babbage Institute Research Professor, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Co-Editor (w/ Gerard Alberts), Springer, History of Computing Book Series Founder and Co-Editor (w/ Amanda Wick), *Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture* c <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces>se.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> 222 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624 5050 Phone 612 625 8054 Fax

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HaPoC-6: second call
by lidemol 06 Apr '21

06 Apr '21

Dear all, I am happy to send you the second call for abstracts of HAPOC-6 which is currently planned as a hybrid event in Zürich, 27-29 October 2021. We have some very nice invited speakers, including Tom Haigh. I also add that we will also have grants for young scholars and scholars who do not have any institutional support -- details will be published later, with best wishes, Liesbeth HaPoC 2021: Call for Abstracts 6th International Conference on the History and Philosophy of Computing 27-29 October 2021 ETH Turing Centre, Zurich, Switzerland Website: https://hapoc2021.sciencesconf.org Email: hapoc2021(a)sciencesconf.org While computing appears as a technological and scientific field in constant progression, our conception and knowledge of computers are also subject to change over time. In particular, digital machines of the 20th century were inspired by the biological individual, replacing with a solipsistic mental view the cultural and social aspects attached to the image of machines in the 19th century. However, the growing cultural import of computing practices has become ever more pressing in our days in all dimensions of social life. Not only have cultural phenomena increasingly become the object of computational analysis, but computational practices have also proved inseparable from the cultural environment in which they evolve. Therefore, it is urgent to critically address the entanglement of computing practices with the main cultural challenges our epoch is facing. The global and collective nature of such problems (e.g. climate change, global pandemics, systemic inequalities, resurgence of totalitarianism, to name a few) requires a comprehensive perspective on computing, where social and cultural aspects occupy a central position. For these reasons, thinking about machines asks today for an interdisciplinary approach, where art is as necessary as engineering, anthropological insights as important as psychological models, and the critical perspectives of history and philosophy as decisive as the axioms and theorems of theoretical computer science. For more than a decade, the “History and Philosophy of Computing” Conference (HaPoC, www.hapoc.org) has contributed to building such an interdisciplinary community and environment. We aim to bring together historians, philosophers, computer scientists, social scientists, designers, manufacturers, practitioners, artists, logicians, mathematicians, each with their own experience and expertise, to take part in the collective construction of a comprehensive image of computing. Main Topics For HaPoC 2021, we welcome contributions from researchers from different disciplinary horizons who intend to participate in the debate on the impact of computers on culture, science, and society from the perspective of their area of expertise, and who are open to engage in interdisciplinary discussions across multiple fields. Topics include but are not limited to: - Historical and philosophical perspectives on computing knowledge, objects and practices - Social, cultural and pedagogical aspects of computing - Computing and the human sciences - Epistemological dimensions of computing - Impact of computing technologies - Computing and the arts The Program Committee is available at the conference website https://hapoc2021.sciencesconf.org/resource/page/id/4 Important Dates Submission deadline: April 15, 2021 Notification of acceptance/rejection: June 15, 2021 Conference dates: October 27-29, 2021 How to submit We cordially invite researchers working in a field relevant to the main topics of the Conference to submit a short abstract of 180-200 words and an extended abstract of at most 1000 words (references included) through EasyChair at: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapoc2021 Accepted papers will be presented in 30-minute slots, including discussion. Abstracts must be written in English. Please note that the format of uploaded files must be in .pdf. Submissions without an extended abstract will not be considered. Confirmed keynote speakers (NEW!): Barbara Liskov (MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab) Juliette Kennedy (University of Helsinki) Thomas Haigh (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) Mireille Hildebrandt (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Publication A selection of revised contributions to the Conference will be published in a Special Issue of Minds and Machines (Springer), under the title “Computing Cultures”. The call is already available at: https://www.springer.com/journal/11023/updates/18800754 Format and Fee (NEW!) Due to the current pandemic situation, HaPoC-6 will take place in a hybrid format, with attendance and contributions both on-site and online. We are happy to announce that the registration for this edition of HaPoC will exceptionally be free of charge, both for contributors and attendants. The HaPoC organization will also cover 2 lunches and a conference dinner for contributors. Online contributions are expected to be in real time, although pre-recorded talks will be accepted upon request. Travel Grants The Turing Centre Zurich and the HaPoC Council will propose a limited amount of travel grants to participants with accepted papers who are not beneficiaries of institutional support. More information will be soon available on the conference webpage and through the HaPoC website (www.hapoc.org) Organizers Chairs: Juan Luis Gastaldi (ETH Zurich, Turing Centre Zurich) Luc Pellissier (Université de Paris-Est Créteil) Organized by: Turing Centre Zurich (ETH) www.turing.ethz.ch In collaboration with: Collegium Helveticum (ETH-UZH-ZHdK) www.collegium.ethz.ch Chair of History and Philosophy of Mathematical Sciences (ETH Zurich, D-GESS) https://hpm.ethz.ch Under the auspices of DHST/DLMPST Commission for the History and Philosophy of Computing (HaPoC) www.hapoc.org

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