February 2022 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

2021 Mahoney Prize nominations
by Elizabeth Petrick 10 May '22

10 May '22

Hello everyone, It's time for the 2021 Mahoney Prize for outstanding article in the history of computing and information technology, broadly conceived. Articles published in 2018, 2019, or 2020 will be considered. Self-nominations and nominations of others are both welcome. Please email a copy of the article to members of the prize committee, listed here: https://www.sigcis.org/mahoneyprize Deadline is May 1, 2021. Best, Liz ------------- Elizabeth Petrick Associate Professor Department of History Rice University http://elizabethpetrick.com/

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Historical Computing Machines Series Volumes
by STEPHEN KAISLER 19 Mar '22

19 Mar '22

Folks: Over the past four years, I have published six volumes in my Historical Computing Machines Series through Cambridge Scholars publishing of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. These books are available through their website: https://cambridgescholars.com The six volumes to date are: Birthing the Computer: From Relays to Vacuum Tubes Birthing the Computer: From Drums to Cores First Generation Mainframes: The IBM 700 Series Second Generation Mainframes: The IBM 7000 Series Mainframe Computer Systems: The General Electric Corporation The Univac Corporation: In From The Beginning The next book in the series: The Burroughs Corporation: Innovation in Architecture, will be submitted in a few week. The next books in the series are anticipated to be (tentative titles): Mainframe Computer Systems: Honeywell Incorporated Control Data Corporation: Speed and More Speed I continue to search for manuals, documents, reports, etc. that can help me provide an accurate picture of these machines that have contributed to the development of Computer Science and Information Processing. Steve Kaisler, D.Sc.

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SIGCIS 2021 conference report
by Elizabeth Petrick 27 Feb '22

27 Feb '22

Hello SIGCIS! I wanted to share the conference report I wrote for the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing on our SIGCIS 2021 Conference. You can see the write-up here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9717974 All the best, Liz Petrick ------------- Elizabeth Petrick Deputy Speaker of Faculty Senate Associate Professor Department of History Rice University http://elizabethpetrick.com/

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Fwd: RSVP Now! Women In Intelligence Conference
by Jonathan Coopersmith 25 Feb '22

25 Feb '22

No idea if any SIGCIS content. Stay sane and get a booster (partially for you; more for others), Jonathan Jonathan Coopersmith Professor Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4236 979.739.4708 (cell) 979.862.4314 (fax) America's "stab in the back"myth: https://theeagle.com/opinion/columnists/unnerving-similarities-to-jan-6/art… Preserving space archives: https://www.toboldlypreserve.space/ International standards battles: https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/geek-life/history/lets-thwart-this-terr… <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/geek-life/h…> *FAXED. The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine* (Johns Hopkins University Press) ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Bush School - INTA <bushschoolinta(a)tamu.edu> Date: Fri, Feb 25, 2022 at 3:48 PM Subject: RSVP Now! Women In Intelligence Conference To: Bush School - Graduate Students <bushschoolgradstudents(a)tamu.edu>, Bush School CS - Staff <bushschoolcsstaff(a)tamu.edu>, Bush School - Faculty < bushschoolfaculty(a)tamu.edu> [image: cid:image002.png@01D828CB.B25E0D50] [image: cid:image006.png@01D828CB.B25E0D50] <https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.goog…> [image: cid:image008.png@01D828CB.B25E0D50] <https://bush.tamu.edu/intelligencestudies/women/> [image: cid:image012.png@01D828CB.B25E0D50] [image: cid:image014.png@01D828CB.B25E0D50]

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A landmark session
by Research 24 Feb '22

24 Feb '22

Summing up, Doron Swade, noted our seminar last week as "a 'landmark session' ...successfully bridging conventional silos and tying the discussion of social and cultural aspects of the IT industry to technology." If you missed it you can catch up with the abridged video proceedings at https://archivesit.org.uk/learning-from-history/ Regards Tom Dr Tom Abram Director - Archives of IT research(a)archivesit.org.uk www.archivesit.org.uk<http://www.archivesit.org.uk/> > Subscribe<https://archivesit.org.uk/sign-up/> to our e-newsletter > Follow us on Twitter @ArchivesIT<https://twitter.com/ArchivesIT> > Please support us at https://archivesit.org.uk/get-involved-4/make-a-difference/ Registered Charity No: 1164198 This e-mail is confidential and may be privileged. It may be read, copied and used only by the intended recipient. If you have received it in error, please contact the sender immediately by return e-mail. Please then delete the e-mail and do not disclose its contents to any person.

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2nd call for abstracts HaPoP-5, 13 june 2022, Lille, France
by lidemol 21 Feb '22

21 Feb '22

Dear all, I am happy to send you the second call for abstracts of HAPOP-5 which is currently planned as a hybrid event in Lille (France) on June 13 2022 and to be co-located with the final PROGRAMme event. I also add that we will have some grants for young scholars and scholars who do not have access to institutional support -- details for those will be published later. If you would have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me or my co-chair Tomas Petricek, with best wishes, Liesbeth De Mol ======================== Second call for Abstracts ======================== *HaPoP 2022* /Fifth Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming (hybrid)/ 13 June 2022, Lille, France Maison Européenne des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société website: https://www.shift-society.org/hapop5/ Co-located with the final conference of the ANR-funded PROGRAMme project, 14-15 June 2022 (more details to follow soon). In a society where computers have become ubiquitous, it is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of computer programs, not just from the technical viewpoint, but from a broader historical and philosophical perspective. A historical awareness of the evolution of programming not only helps to clarify the complex structure of computing, but it also provides an insight in what programming was, is and could be in the future. Philosophy, on the other hand, helps to tackle fundamental questions about the nature of programs, programming languages and programming as a discipline. HaPoP 2022 is the fifth edition of the Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming, organised by HaPoC, Commission on the History and Philosophy of Computing (www.hapoc.org) as a hybrid event. As in the previous editions, we are convinced that an interdisciplinary approach is necessary for understanding programming with its multifaceted nature. As such, we welcome participation by researchers and practitioners coming from a diversity of backgrounds, including historians, philosophers, artists, computer scientists and professional software developers. WHAT IS A COMPUTER PROGRAM? This edition of the symposium will be co-located with the final conference of the ANR-funded PROGRAMme project which poses the basic question “What is a computer program?” This seemingly simple question has no simple answer today, but the responses one gives to it affect very real problems: who is responsible if a given piece of software fails; whether a program is correct or not; or whether copyright or patent law applies to programs. The project is anchored in the conviction that a new kind of foundational research is needed. The broad range of scientific and societal problems related to computing cannot be addressed by any single discipline. The question “What is a program?”, is a call for deeper critical thinking about the nature of programs that is both foundational, in the sense that it goes beyond specific problems, but also accessible, in the sense that it should be open to anyone who is willing to make an effort in understanding this basic technique from a broader horizon. In order to initiate new collaborations that critically reflect on the nature of programs and engage a broader community with the above issues, HaPoP 2022 is particularly looking for talk proposals that relate to the question “What is a computer program?” and offer a novel reflection from a variety of perspectives, including historical, practice-based, philosophical, logical, etc. SELECTED TOPICS OF INTEREST FOR THE SYMPOSIUM Possible and in no way exclusive questions of relevance to this symposium are: - What is a computer program? - Are we getting better at writing programs that solve the given problem? Is programming a specialist discipline, or will everyone in the future be a programmer? - What are the different scientific paradigms and research programmes developed through the history of computer programming? - What is a correct program? - Is a program a text? - Is it possible to eliminate errors from computer programs? - How did the notion of a program change throughout the history? - How are programs and abstractions born, used and understood? - What was and is the relationship between hardware and software developments? - How did theoretical computer science (lambda-calculus, logics, category theory) influence the development of programming languages and vice versa? - What are the novel and most interesting approaches to the design of programs? - What is the nature of the relationship between algorithms and programs? - What legal and socio-economical issues are involved in the creation, patenting and free-distribution of programs? - How do we understand the multi-faceted nature of programs combining syntax, semantics and physical implementation? - How is programming to be taught? PROGRAM COMMITTEE AND REGISTRATION HaPoP5 co-chairs are Liesbeth De Mol and Tomas Petricek. If you have any questions regarding suitability of a topic or format of the extended abstract, please contact Liesbeth at liesbeth.de-mol(a)univ-lille.fr or Tomas at tomas(a)tomasp.net. For quick questions, you can also use @tomaspetricek on Twitter. - Arnaud Bailly, Pankzsoft - Martin Carlé, Ionean University, Corfu - Liesbeth De Mol (co-chair), CNRS, UMR 8163 STL, Université de Lille - Andrea Magnorsky, Independent - Ursula Martin, University of Oxford - Baptiste Mélès, CNRS, UMR 7117 Archives Henri-Poincaré - Tomas Petricek (co-chair), University of Kent - Mark Priestley, National Museum of Computing, Bletchley - Giuseppe Primiero, University of Milan Information about registration and travel grants will be announced soon. Please check our webpage https://www.shift-society.org/hapop5/ regularly for updates. We will be also sharing updates via the HaPoC Comission web page (register to get updates via email) and on Twitter at @HaPoComputing. DATES, FORMAT AND SUBMISSION We cordially invite anyone working in a field relevant to the main topic to submit *a short abstract* (at most 200 words) together with *an extended abstract* (at most 1000 words with references included) through Easychair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapop50. Accepted papers will be given a 30 minute presentation slot including discussion. As with the previous editions, we also intend to submit a proposal for a special issue of a suitable journal for publication of full papers based on the symposium presentations. /Important dates/ Submission deadline: 18 March 2022 Author notification: 15 April 2022 HaPoP symposium: 13 June 2022 /Important links/ Submission web site: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapop50 Financial support: Coming soon Registraton site: Coming soon SUPPORT The symposium is supported by: - ANR (https://anr.fr/) - UMR 8162 Savoirs, Textes, Langage, Université de Lille (https://stl.univ-lille.fr/) - HAPOC (www.hapoc.org)

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15th CIFAS Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods in New York City
by Renzo Taddei 19 Feb '22

19 Feb '22

*Apologies for cross-posting.* *15th CIFAS Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods in New York City* Online: June 20 to July 1, 2022 – 9 AM to 12 PM EDT On-site in New York City: July 18 to 29, 2022 – 9 AM to 12 PM EDT [image: image.png] The Comitas Institute for Anthropological Study (CIFAS) is pleased to announce the 15th CIFAS Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods. In 2022, the course will take place in two sessions: one in an online format at the end of June and another returning to its face-to-face modality, in New York City, in July (provided sanitary conditions allow). The goal of the Field 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 Field 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, human ecology, 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. *Program:* - Foundations of ethnographic research - Theory and practice: social theories in the field - Research design - Data collection techniques - Planning the logistics of field research - Digital ethnography - Ethnography in interface with Social Network Analysis and other trends in the field of the digital humanities - Ethnography in specific fields of activity (applied social sciences, health, social service, environmental studies, public policy design, business, and others) - Principles of organization and indexation of field data - Analyzing field data; qualitative analysis software packages: basic principles The total workload of the course is 30 hours. In this edition of the summer school, the option of earning credits is not available. Places are limited. The tuition fee is US$ 1,200. *Comitas Field School Fellowship:* a limited amount of fellowships are available to students from underrepresented minorities and low-income countries. See information on how to apply at the end of the application form. The application should be completed online *here* <http://cifas.us/field-school-registration-form/>. For more information, please see https://cifas.us/field-school/ or email us at fieldschool(a)cifas.us.

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Histories of Computing in Oceania Virtual Conference
by Janet Toland 16 Feb '22

16 Feb '22

Any SIGCIS members interested in the history of computing in Oceania are welcome to attend this virtual conference on 23rd Feb 11am to 2pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time (which will be 22nd Feb for many of you). Attendance is free but you must register in advance. https://business.sydney.edu.au/events/research/2022/blhg/histories-of-compu… Dr Janet Toland Associate Professor in Information Systems Victoria University of Wellington/ Te Herenga Waka New Zealand Editor: From Yesterday to Tomorrow 60 Years of Tech in New Zealand https://history.itp.nz/

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Reminder: 2022 ACM FAccT deadlines this Friday February 18, 2022: Call for Tutorials, Community Keynotes, CRAFT, Doctoral Colloquium
by FAccT Publicity 15 Feb '22

15 Feb '22

Dear all, this is a reminder that the submission deadline for several calls at the 2022 ACM FAccT (Fairness, Accountability and Transparency) conference is fast approaching. The submission deadline for all of these calls is on Friday, February 18, 2022 at 11:59 PM AoE (Anywhere on Earth). This includes 1. the call for Tutorial proposals 2. the call for Community Keynote proposals 3. the call for CRAFT (Critiquing and Rethinking Accountability, Fairness and Transparency) proposals 4. the call for submissions to the Doctoral Colloquium. We also have a call for applications for DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) scholars. The deadline for this call is March 18, 2022 at 11:59 PM AoE (Anywhere on Earth). The 2022 ACM FAccT (Fairness, Accountability and Transparency) conference will be held both in-person and online. The in-person conference will take place in Seoul, South Korea on June 21-24, 2022. The online conference--including both live-streamed elements of the in-person conference, and online-only content--will also begin on June 21, with content and discussion available for two weeks from that date, and a library of content available subsequently. 1. Call for Tutorials Call: https://facctconference.org/2022/cft.html Deadline: February 18, 2022 at 11:59 PM AoE (Anywhere on Earth) Tutorials should address practical, technical, policy, regulatory, ethical, or societal issues related to FAccT for a broad audience. We are soliciting three types of tutorials for 2022: dialogue/translation tutorials, implications tutorials, and practice tutorials. We will give presenters either 45 or 90 minutes to present their tutorial. The tutorials track is curated: the Tutorial Chairs will select from the pool of proposals with the aim of ensuring broad coverage of disciplines and topics. We welcome perspectives from a variety of disciplines, including computer science, economics, law, philosophy, political science, communication, sociology, education, and social work. A goal of the tutorials track is that the diversity of perspectives represents the diversity of the populations impacted by this technology throughout the world. Note: ACM FAccT also solicits proposals on CRAFT (Critiquing and Rethinking Accountability Fairness and Transparency). Some proposals we receive under the CRAFT Call may be more appropriate as proposals for Tutorials, and vice-versa. In such cases, the Tutorial and CRAFT Co-Chairs may transfer such proposals to the other track, in consultation with proposal coordinator(s). If you have questions, contact tutorials(a)facctconference.org 2. Call for Community Keynotes Call: https://facctconference.org/2022/cfkeynotes.html Deadline: February 18, 2022 at 11:59 PM AoE (Anywhere on Earth) Do you have research or have you come across research that should have wider reach because of its importance to the daily lives of people and communities? Are you impressed with high-quality narrative and explainer videos or short documentaries that millions of people online find compelling and share with their communities? Here is your chance to receive funding of up to $5,000 USD and mentorship to support producing your own 15 to 45 minute video exploring a topic relevant to the FAccT community. Your video will be presented as a "Community Keynote" at the ACM FAccT 2022 Hybrid conference. We expect to fund 2-3 keynotes. Building on the successes of the 2021 ACM FAccT conference, the 2022 Chairs are issuing a call for applications to support innovative and highly-produced video content on any topic in the broad area of fairness, accountability and transparency in sociotechnical systems. This call is open to teams from all corners of the FAccT community and beyond. Community Keynote videos can be short documentary films, animated explainers, or video explainers paired with interviews with notable researchers, creators, activists, or community members. Eligibility: Anyone can apply--individuals or teams. Assessment criteria: The selection panel will be looking for potential to pair an innovative and visually interesting aesthetic with relevant substantive content. High production values are not required for the application video. It is more important that your video contain the information we are requesting above, but you may include visual samples if you believe it will be more informative for the selection panel. DEI focus: We are especially interested in spotlighting voices and concerns that receive inadequate attention, and particularly welcome submissions from members of underrepresented communities in the FAccT area, and in particular from the global South. If you have questions, contact general-chairs(a)facctconference.org 3. Call for CRAFT proposals Call: https://facctconference.org/2022/cfcraft.html Deadline: February 18, 2022 at 11:59 PM AoE (Anywhere on Earth) The ACM FAccT conference has predominantly focused on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency in computing systems. This focus on fairness, accountability and transparency has also attracted critique and renewed attention to the limitations of achieving these goals in computing systems without a broader consideration outside the more traditional ML fields. In the spirit of reflection and response, we invite academics of all disciplines and people representing different communities of practice (including journalism, activism, advocacy, public authorities, education, art, spirituality, etc.) to contribute to CRAFT, a program embedded in the ACM FAccT conference. This call invites contributions in the form of workshops, panels and other formats to: - Creatively address critiques of the field of fairness, accountability and transparency--its gaps, omissions and possibilities by taking a more holistic approach - Highlight novel modes of interaction with questions of fairness, accountability and transparency - Invite an interdisciplinary and cross-practice group of organizers, researchers, activists and artists to explore and inspire conversation and open future lines of research, collaboration and practice - Push beyond the epistemological and methodological boundaries of their research and practice In addition to contributions that explore the problem space in greater depth and from broader perspectives, we particularly encourage proposals that explore solution spaces, indicate mechanisms for positive change, or open possibilities for a greater conversation around countering automated injustices. We value proposals focused on interaction among participants, and we will prioritize formats that allow participants to share and explore starting assumptions, prior experiences or competing values and to foster community building, collaborative knowledge production and future engagement. Themes: - Modeling and (Non-)Deployment - Values, Assumptions and Context - Generating Higher Order Critiques - Emerging Problems - New Models of Engagement - Overlooked Disciplinary Approaches If you have questions, contact craft(a)facctconference.org 4. Call for Doctoral Colloquium Call: https://facctconference.org/2022/cfdc.html Deadline: February 18, 2022 at 11:59 PM AoE (Anywhere on Earth) The third annual ACM FAccT Conference 2022 invites applicants for the FAccT Doctoral Colloquium (DC). The ACM FAccT 2022 Doctoral Colloquium is open to PhD students (or others pursuing a relevant advanced degree, as well as recent grads of professional schools) doing research on fairness, accountability and transparency (or related topics) in relation to socio-technical systems. We are looking for students in computer science, philosophy, sociology, law, psychology, or any of the broad range of subjects contributing to this area. The Doctoral Colloquium is a unique opportunity to engage in substantive interaction with experienced researchers and peers regarding dissertation research and career objectives. Assessment criteria: Applications will be reviewed according to the following criteria: clarity and completeness of submission package and evidence of research progress. If you have questions, contact dc-chairs(a)facctconference.org 5. Call for DEI Scholars Call: https://facctconference.org/2022/cfs.html Deadline: March 18, 2022 at 11:59 PM AoE (Anywhere on Earth) ACM FAccT welcomes applications for the inaugural FAcct Diversity and Inclusion (DEI) Scholarships. One of FAccT's Strategic Goals is to innovate and lead on diversity and inclusion. This program seeks to advance this goal by funding scholars to conduct research that deepens our collective understanding of and advances DEI initiatives. Either individuals or small teams are welcome to apply. Applicants should describe the research that they want to conduct. The proposed work should leverage the FAccT conference/organization, and should have broader impacts (e.g., guidelines for practice, tutorials) and/or intellectual merits. We welcome a diverse range of methods - ethnographic, qualitative, quantitative, experimental, etc. Eligibility: Anyone who is interested in conducting research to advance the diversity and inclusion goals of the FAccT community can apply. Depending on the scope of the project, a small team of individuals (1-4 people) can apply as well. Funding and duration: The funding is provided as one-time payment of funds up to $25,000. The project can last from 6 to 12 months, and an extension can be granted depending on the project's scope. If you have questions, contact inclusion(a)facctconference.org Best wishes, Deb Raji & Annette Zimmermann ACM FAccT Publicity Co-Chairs

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Contact at Air and Space?
by David C. Brock 15 Feb '22

15 Feb '22

Dear All, We had someone offer the Computer History Museum a set of interesting technical documents about NASA’s Pioneer Program missions, and in particular about a Bendix Field Engineering Corporation computer system used for processing the data that the spacecraft returned. We thought that the set might be a good fit for the Air and Space Museum. Could someone tell me who might be the best person for the donor to contact? Best wishes, David +++++++++++++++ David C. Brock dcb(a)dcbrock.net 40 Russell Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 Mobile: 413-522-3578 Skype: dcbrock Twitter: @dcbrock Pronouns: he, him, his

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