- Members - lists.sigcis.org

SIGCIS Travel Awards - Year-end fundraising drive
by Andrew Russell 20 Dec '18

20 Dec '18

Dear colleagues - I’m writing to request your support, once again, for the SIGCIS Travel Awards <https://www.sigcis.org/travelaward>. We raise funds for these awards to help emerging scholars attend our meetings and present their work. We now have 10 years of experience running SIGCIS workshops and conferences, and there is no doubt in my mind that these travel awards are the single most important mechanism we have to broaden the range of participants at our meetings, which, in turn, serves as an investment in the future of our field. The full history of our award recipients is available on our website <https://www.sigcis.org/travelaward> - it really is a remarkable group of scholars and subjects. At the SHOT and SIGCIS meetings in St. Louis in October 2018, we had a very successful fundraising campaign. I am deeply grateful for the generosity of our members who bid on books at our auction on Friday, contributed to the money cup at the SIGCIS lunch on Friday, and/or put money in Laine’s hat at the beginning of our Sunday conference. However: with the 2019 SHOT and SIGCIS conferences taking place in Milan, Italy <https://www.historyoftechnology.org/annual-meeting/2019-shot-annual-meeting…>, we’re seeking more support for the additional costs of travel to Milan - hence my appeal to you today. We are an all-volunteer organization, and SHOT’s umbrella means that we are in the wonderful position of being able to use every penny that you donate to support our Michael S. Mahoney Travel Awards. It’s simple, and direct, and an amazingly efficient way to support emerging scholars. Here’s how you can contribute: - If you are a SHOT member, you can make a contribution online <https://shot.press.jhu.edu/membership/contribute> - you’ll simply need to log in with your SHOT username and password, and then provide credit card information. - If you are not a SHOT member - or if you prefer writing checks to online donations - you can send a check to SHOT Treasurer Richard Hirsh. The check should be payable to “Society for the History of Technology”; please be sure to indicate that the donation is for SIGCIS. Richard’s address is: Richard Hirsh SHOT Treasurer Virginia Tech Dept. of History (0117) 220 Stanger Street Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 USA richard(a)vt.edu <mailto:richard@vt.edu> I’d be very happy to answer any questions you might have about our travel awards program, or about SIGCIS in general. Thank you all for your generous support of SIGCIS, and I hope you all enjoy a peaceful holiday season. Best wishes, Andy Russell SIGCIS Chair — — — — — — — — — — — Andrew L. Russell, Ph.D. Dean, College of Arts & Sciences SUNY Polytechnic Institute Donovan Hall - 2123B 100 Seymour Road Utica, NY 13502 t. 315-792-7317 w. https://sunypoly.edu/ e. arussell(a)arussell.org

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What happened on the list last year
by drjoy 17 Dec '18

17 Dec '18

Hello SIGCIS Colleagues, First, thank you for your many on- and off-list messages of congratulations and support for my book. I deeply appreciate them, especially in the context of what I'm about to share. Those of you who were on the list last spring saw my work savaged by a man named Brian Dear. Even then, I received on- and off-list messages of support for my scholarship. But what happened publicly was only one piece of a terrible, terrible year. Here is a fuller picture: https://medium.com/@drjoy/why-im-firing-michigan-state-sexual-harassment-on… SIGCIS as an organization did the right thing, and for that, I'm grateful.Regards, Joy

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Death of Evelyn Berezin
by Len Shustek 10 Dec '18

10 Dec '18

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Death of Evelyn Berezin
by Matthew Kirschenbaum 10 Dec '18

10 Dec '18

Evelyn Berezin---software programmer, entrepreneur, and creator of the Redactron word processor line---has died. NYT obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/obituaries/evelyn-berezin-dead.html?acti… While SIGCIS understands that headlines declaring the "first true word processor" are always going to be debatable, the Redactron (née "Data Secretary") was an important early competitor to IBM's better-known products, aided by what was, at the time, a daring advertising campaign in the pages of Ms. Magazine. It was one of the very first commercial products to use integrated circuits, and was arguably more a general purpose computer than a word processor. In *Track Changes*, where I tell her story at more length, I wrote that Evelyn Berezin "remains a relatively unknown and underappreciated figure, with nowhere near the stature of other women who played significant roles in computer science science and the computer industry and have since been recognized by historians." (The only novelist I identified as using a Redactron product was Robyn Carr. But perhaps there were others.) Ms. Berezin was, I believe, in residence at the CHM several years ago, and perhaps someone from there might comment further. Best, Matt -- Matthew Kirschenbaum Professor of English and Digital Studies Director, Graduate Certificate in Digital Studies Printer's Devil, BookLab University of Maryland

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Our People-Centered Digital Future | Right now via webcast!
by Yosem Companys 10 Dec '18

10 Dec '18

Today is the "Our People-Centered Digital Future" sponsored by Constellation Research <https://www.constellationr.com/about>. By March 2019, 50% of the world will be connected to the Internet, an inflection point that marks an important moment for examining the “unfinished work” of the Internet and discussing the community norms, human rights and social contracts required in this exponential digital era. The event recognizes both the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights <http://www.unesco.org/new/en/brasilia/about-this-office/prizes-and-celebrat…> (UDHR), the event also recognizes the 50th anniversary of the "Mother of All Demos <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_of_All_Demos>." The event is well underway. Internet co-inventor Vint Cerf and Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee have already delivered their introductory remarks. If you missed their talks, don't worry. You can click on the Livestream timeline below to view them. There are many more events to come today into the late evening. This is a simulcast of the YouTube feed at https://youtu.be/S87r9Bn058s> (which does buffer occasionally), but with added AI captions and speaker names. Below are the Livestream links: - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ourdigitalfuture/ - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/DigitalCooperation - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/coppaat20 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/CITIDFS-ICO - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ConnectedNE - https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/js-nyc-nov18 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/swissigf18 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/iotsecurity2018-4 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ukigf18 - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/routingsecurity/ - http://www.mnn.org/live/2-lifestyle-channel - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/diversity/ - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/VisionsIG For more, please see: - Event: https://www.constellationr.com/events/PCDF - Agenda: https://www.constellationr.com/events/PCDF/agenda/2018-12-10 - Livestream: https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ - SLI.DO: http://sli.do/ourdigitalfuture - #OurDigitalFuture: http://bit.ly/ourdigitalfuture - #StandUp4HumanRights: http://bit.ly/2PgVDOQ - Permalink: https://isoc.live/10734/ *** This email is brought to you via the Program on Liberation Technology at Stanford University at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech and Joly MacFie at joly(a)punkcast.com *****

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NYCDH Week 2019, February 4-8
by Kimon Keramidas 10 Dec '18

10 Dec '18

<http://dhweek.nycdh.org/> Join us for the Kickoff Day and a week of workshops Hosted by NYCDH <http://nycdh.org/> and taking place at institutions throughout New York City, the 4th annual NYCDH Week <http://dhweek.nycdh.org/> is for all who are interested in the digital humanities ● Learn new techniques and skills at free workshops ● Discover new digital humanities projects ● Engage with the vibrant NYCDH community Kickoff Day: Information and Democracy The week begins Monday, February 4, at Fordham University with a day-long event that features special keynote speakers, round tables, lightning talks and networking sessions. Our theme is Information and Democracy. This year's keynote speaker will be data journalist Meredith Broussard, assistant professor of journalism at New York University and author of Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World. Location details <https://www.fordham.edu/info/20962/maps_and_directions/4658/directions_to_l…>: Fordham University, Lincoln Center Campus, 113 W. 60th St., 12th Floor Teach Your Workshop at NYCDH Week Workshops are made possible by members of the NYCDH community who volunteer time to organize and teach each sessions. Graduate students, librarians, faculty, museum workers, independent scholars, tech companies and others are welcome to become part of our programming. To sign up to teach a workshop please use this form. <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfDK247j9T-ilQpnuMiHBZRxaotCwFRDRl…> Registration <http://dhweek.nycdh.org/workshops-2019/> to attend a workshop will be opened soon! Participating Institutions Bard Graduate Center, Columbia University, CUNY Graduate Center, Fordham University, METRO NYC, New York Public Library, NYU, Pace University, Pratt Institute, and The Frick Collection Cheers, Kimon Kimon Keramidas, Ph.D. Clinical Associate Professor XE: Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement <http://as.nyu.edu/ceh.html> New York University 14 University Place New York, NY 10003 Co-Director - ITMO University International Digital Humanities Lab Co-Director - OutHistory.org <http://outhistory.org/> Co-Curator - The Sogdians: Influencers on the Silk Road, Freer|Sackler Asian Art Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution <https://www.freersackler.si.edu/> Co-Founder - Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy <http://jitpedagogy.org/> Co-Founder - NYCDH.org <http://nycdh.org/> P 212-998-3691 T @kimonizer W http://kimonkeramidas.com <http://kimonkeramidas.com/> The Interface Experience: Forty Years of Personal Computing Exhibition <https://www.bgc.bard.edu/gallery/exhibitions/10/the-interface-experience> The Interface Experience: A User’s Guide Winner of the 2016 Innovation in Print Design Award from the American Alliance of Museums Buy Book <http://store.bgc.bard.edu/the-interface-experience-a-users-guide-by-kimon-k…>

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Call for Invited Speakers - Data Then and Now - University of Washington Seattle
by Megan Finn 07 Dec '18

07 Dec '18

https://escience.washington.edu/data-then-and-now-call-for-invited-speakers/ application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfX0aHky9k3yp3Jv-aXEwHTWb9EY4fPoGQ… --------------------------------------------- From: David Ribes <dribes(a)gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2018 10:12 AM Call for Invited Speakers - Data Then and Now - University of Washington Seattle We are soliciting applications for guest speakers for a new invited lecture series at the University of Washington that resides at the intersection of data science and STS. We know there is a lot of great and relevant scholarship from Science and Technology Studies out there that might not have crossed our desks yet, so we are doing things a little differently when it comes to selecting speakers for this invited seminar series: At least half of our speakers will be selected from a pool of applicants who respond to this call. We are looking to fill spots for the remainder of this academic year (February - June, 2018). If you are interested in being one of our speakers, please read and complete this application (available dates are listed therein). Consideration of applications will begin immediately and will continue until all spots are filled. The title and theme of the seminar series is 'Data, Then and Now' -- a title intended to evoke a sense of historicism about what was data (whether 1540, 1980, or 2017), along with the emerging present of data (whether 1540, 1980, or 2017). Talks need not be straight histories of data technologies or practices, but the point of the series overall is to draw out the antecedents and continuities of our current data-centric moment. For this speaker series we are looking for STS scholars (broadly construed, but not too broadly), who will share their research on related topics. For an example, see our inaugural lecture delivered by Nicole Nelson. Talks should be “tuned” for a highly diverse audience in terms of disciplinary background, as we expect a mix of STS scholars and researchers who practice data intensive computational methods. We encourage scholarship that engages technical issues but does so in a "human readable" manner. We welcome examinations of political topics (of whatever flavor), but done in a politic manner. We are excited by theory, but more so if done via grounded empirical investigations. We welcome applications from senior faculty, junior faculty, postdocs, as well as visiting or research professors. The speaker series is a collaboration between the eScience Institute, the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering, and the Science, Technology and Society Studies program at the University of Washington. Hotel, travel, and group dinner expenses will be covered. Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot support visa applications, and can only pay for travel from North America. Scholars from other regions are welcome to apply if they will be in North America for some other reason and would be willing to tack on a trip to Seattle. We look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Data Then and Now Organizers David Ribes, Human-Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) Anissa Tanweer, eScience Institute University of Washington

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DUE Dec 5 // Call for Research Travel Award - Software Preservation
by Jessica Meyerson 03 Dec '18

03 Dec '18

Research Travel Award: Study Software Preservation and Emulation in Libraries, Archives in Museums OVERVIEW The Fostering a Community of Practice: Software Preservation and Emulation Experts in Libraries and Archives (FCoP) [IMLS grant RE-95-17-0058-17] project is calling for FCoP Research Travel Award applications <http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/fcop-research-travel-award/> from October 24, 2018 - December 5, 2018. Research undertaken using the FCoP Travel Award will take place at two of the six FCoP project sites: University of Arizona <http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/fcop/#fcop-team4>, Guggenheim Museum <http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/fcop/#fcop-team2>, University of Virginia <http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/fcop/#fcop-team1>, University of Illinois <http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/fcop/#fcop-team6>, Living Computers: Museum + Labs <http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/fcop/#fcop-team5>, Georgia Tech University <http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/fcop/#fcop-team3>. Research outcomes are expected to complement the efforts of the FCoP project, and the Software Preservation Network <http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/about/> more broadly, which seeks to bring software preservation into mainstream digital preservation practice (addressing specific legal, metadata and technical preservation and access challenges). RESEARCH TRAVEL AWARD DESCRIPTION In complement to research-in-practice currently underway by members of the FCoP cohort, the FCoP Research Travel Award will fund an academic researcher (doctoral students, post-docs or junior faculty/pre-tenure faculty) to travel up to four times (two visits each to two different project sites - once earlier in their project timeline and once closer to completion of their projects) in order to observe and document different organizational approaches to software preservation and emulation. The researcher will be expected to submit at least two peer-reviewed open access journal articles before May 2020. Important practice-based questions driving the creation of the FCoP Research Travel Award include: 1. How are the outcomes of local problem solving, policy development and changes to practice translated to shifts reflected in discussions between cohort members? 1. How do these outcomes help us to focus the field on areas of activity that would benefit the most from collective action? 2. How does each organization translate system-level activity into their local context? 1. Where are their major gaps in the translation of more general tools and outcomes in local organizational contexts? 3. What types of data are more or less comparable across organizational contexts? 1. Where else can we look to understand the relationship between local and field-level changes to practice? 2. How does the available data limit our understanding of which strategies are most effective for broadening participation in software preservation? Given these practice-based questions, we invite scholars from information studies, sociology, law, sociotechnical systems/science and technology studies, communication studies, public policy, economics, organizational studies, and related fields to apply for the award. In particular, the FCoP team is looking for proposed research that advances understanding of practice through the lens of one or more of the following research areas: Standards Development and Sociology of Standards; Information Infrastructure; Capacity Building and Economic Sustainability of Public Institutions; Cross-institutional and Cross-sector Alignment (Collective Impact); Information and Technology Policy; Legal Advocacy for Cultural Institutions; and Social Impact of Public/Private Partnerships. Any research resulting from the travel award should aim to build stronger theory and empirical evidence in at least one of these areas. Regardless of the applicant’s scholarly/discursive community, researchers will be asked to explicitly address the ways in which their research methods speak to the goals of “participatory action research” in their application. Selection for the/Benefits of the FCoP Research Travel Award includes: - $5,000 travel award to be used primarily for airfare, hotel accommodations, ground transportation and travel per diem. If, after completing their research site visits, the researcher’s travel costs are below the $5,000 allotted, additional uses including conference registration costs and publication costs may be considered. - Direct access to FCoP Cohort members for interviews and observation - Access to Software Preservation Network community resources - Action research opportunity that has the potential to make a significant impact on cultural stewardship practice All FCoP Research Travel Award applications must include: - Research Statement - How does the fellowship fit into your research agenda - How will you bring your research interests and skills to bear on the intended practical outcomes of the project - 1-3 well-defined research questions that could be answered in the scope of this research travel award - CV from the Applicant - 2 Letters of Recommendation APPLICATION TIMELINE >From October 24 to December 5, 2018 the FCoP Project Staff for the FCoP Research Travel Award <http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/fcop-research-travel-award/> MORE INFORMATION: For more details about the FCoP project, check out the project website: http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/fcop/

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Fact Checking Before Internet
by James Cortada 02 Dec '18

02 Dec '18

Bill Aspray and I are exploring how fact checking was done between the early 1950s and the mid-1990s using computers and networks, that is to say, before the wide use of the Internet, snopes, Wiki etc. If you are aware of specific examples, or documentation, about this use of computing, please let us know. We are interested in all manner of fact checking, not limiting it to press challenges of statements by politicians, hoaxes, and faulty scientific research. Thanks for your help. -- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada(a)umn.edu 608-274-6382

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Practitioner memoirs free download
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 01 Dec '18

01 Dec '18

Colleagues Below a link to a personal recollection by Stuart McEwen Jenkins, https://bit.ly/2U4c0Sw Stuart was the Engineering Project Manager at De La Rue Systems from 1969 to 1985 resulting in the creation and development of a number of bank note dispensing machines for use by retail banks on both sides of the Atlantic. Some of these inventions were really transformations of previous De la Rue teller assist devices and some were specifically developed OEM cash dispensing modules for NCR, Diebold and other European ATM manufacturers. Hence I believe this story might be of interest to computer historians and maintainers. With thanks to Stuart who has kindly made this item freely available. Best wishes Bernardo Bangor University (Wales)

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