January 2024 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

BBC: Unseen images of code breaking computer that helped win WW2
by Brian Randell 19 Jan '24

19 Jan '24

Hi: >From the BBC: “By Shiona McCallum Technology reporter GCHQ has released never before seen images of Colossus, the UK's secret code-breaking computer credited with helping the Allies win World War Two. The intelligence agency is publishing them to mark the 80th anniversary of the device's invention. It says they "shed new light" on the "genesis and workings of Colossus", which is considered by many to be the first digital computer. <snip>” Full text and photos: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67997406 These photos are fascinating, particularly the one showing a separate large set of plugboards. My assumption is that the Colossus shown is one of the later production model. Cheers 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 = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html

2 1

Colossus at 80
by Brian Randell 18 Jan '24

18 Jan '24

Hi: Here is the official GCHQ press release: https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80 Cheers 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 = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html

4 6

Zoom Panel: New Books on Computer/Machine Vision
by James E. Dobson 17 Jan '24

17 Jan '24

Dear SIGCIS, I wanted to share the announcement and registration link for a panel next week on three recent books on the (media|cultural) history of computer and machine vision and machine learning that I imagine would be of interest to some here. Jill Walker Rettberg will be speaking about her Machine Vision: How Algorithms are Changing the Way We See the World (Polity, 2023); Jussi Parikka will be talk about his recent Operational Images: From the Visual to the Invisual (Minnesota, 2023); and finally I’ll present on material from The Birth of Computer Vision (Minnesota, 2023). A little more information on the panel can be found here: https://www.uib.no/en/machinevision/166577/machine-visions-new-books-parikk… This Zoom-based discussion will take place on Wednesday, January 23rd at 12:00pm Eastern / 9:00am Pacific. Zoom registration here: https://uib.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5ckcuirpj0iHNeBMlFIG7CIwk44xjvvtsjQ#/… Best, Jed -- James E. Dobson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing Dartmouth College

1 0

Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods in New York City
by Renzo Taddei 16 Jan '24

16 Jan '24

*17th CIFAS Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods in New York City* On-site in New York City: July 22 to August 2, 2024; classes will run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT time. Online: meetings are on Tuesdays and Thursdays between August 13 and September 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EDT time. The Comitas Institute for Anthropological Study (CIFAS) is pleased to announce the 17th CIFAS Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods. The course is offered in two versions: one in its face-to-face modality in New York City in July and one online in August and September. The Field School aims 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, and consumer behavior, among others), applied social scientists, professionals, and researchers who have an interest in learning more about ethnographic methods and their applications. *Program:* o Foundations of ethnographic research o Ethics in fieldwork o Theory and practice: social theories in the field o Feminist, multi-species, and decolonial perspectives o Action research, multimodal research, and co-production o Research design o Data collection techniques o Planning the logistics of field research o Risks in the field o Digital ethnography o Ethnography in interface with Social Network Analysis and other trends in the field of the digital humanities o Ethnography in specific fields of activity (applied social sciences, health, social service, environmental studies, public policy design, business, and others) o Principles of organization and indexation of field data o 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 number of fellowships are available to students from underrepresented minorities and low-income countries. The application should be completed online at https://www.cifas.us/field-school/field-school. For more information, please email us at fieldschool(a)cifas.us.

1 0

Cortada on IBM corporate culture
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 16 Jan '24

16 Jan '24

1 0

ADIS cold-war air defense
by Guy Fedorkow 15 Jan '24

15 Jan '24

2 1

CFP: 2024 ACM History and Archiving Fellowship call for proposals - Due Feb 15
by Tracy, Kim 14 Jan '24

14 Jan '24

SIGCIS members, The ACM History Committee’s call for proposals for the history and archiving fellowship program is now open. We’d appreciate your sharing this call with anyone who may be interested. The full call can be found in the link https://history.acm.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ACM-fellowship_CFP_2024.… or on the ACM History Committee Website (history.acm.org) The deadline for submissions is February 15th, 2024. The ACM History Committee’s 2024 fellowship competition is for research and archiving projects on or centrally-related to ACM history. The History Committee plans to support up to four projects with awards up to $4,000. The History Committee has awarded over 40 fellowships<https://history.acm.org/projects-and-initiatives/fellowship-for-the-advance…> since the start of this fellowship program in 2009. Thanks for any help in getting the word out, --Kim On behalf of the ACM History Committee Kim W. Tracy Asst. Professor of Practice in Computer Science and Software Engineering (he/him/his) ROSE-HULMAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 5500 Wabash Avenue | Terre Haute, IN 47803-3999 Room: Moench D216 | tracy(a)rose-hulman.edu<mailto:tracy@rose-hulman.edu> Phone: 812.877.8343 | Fax: 812.877.8343 www.rose-hulman.edu<http://www.rose-hulman.edu>

1 1

Understanding information history: an Aspray for the new year
by Gerard Alberts 04 Jan '24

04 Jan '24

Readers of this list might be interested to know that the history of computing series<https://www.springer.com/series/8442/books> I edit, gives authors the chance to write shorter manuscripts called SpringerBriefs in History of Computing<https://www.springer.com/series/15184>. They are published more quickly than a full-length manuscript and are available to readers in both printed and electronic form. The briefs format is open to trying your novel ideas: essays in the true sense of the word. We have just published a SpringerBrief (98 pp.) by Bill Aspray, entitled Understanding Information History: The Case of America in 1920<https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-44134-9>. Scholars have been writing about information history for approximately 25 years, about half as long as our tradition of scholarly writing about computer history. There is still discussion underway of the nature and scope of information history, and this brief book provides a heavily illustrated case study. The book retells the history of the United States in 1920 from an information perspective. It provides an alternative, information-oriented account of commonly told stories about farming, government administration, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and Prohibition. It points the reader to the history of a number of information-oriented institutions and activities that the traditional histories only occasionally cover: the print media, libraries, public and higher education, advertising, scientific research institutions, management consulting, financial services industries, office appliances, and communications technologies. It then examines academic efforts to “discipline information” drawn from the precursor areas of computer science and information science. A final theory chapter discusses what one can learn from this case study about the nature and scope of information history. The book is intentionally written to be easy to assign to students or serve as the basis for lecture notes and illustrations. Thus, we recommend for all students of information history: an Aspray for the new year. Best wishes, Gerard SpringerBriefs in History of Computing<https://www.springer.com/series/15184> Book series History of Computing<https://www.springer.com/series/8442/books>

3 3