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Computer History Museum Prize from SIGCIS
by Thomas Haigh 01 Apr '09

01 Apr '09

Hello everyone, Today is the deadline for submissions to the Computer History Museum prize. A good number of books have been received already by the prize committee, but if you have one (published 2006-8) that hasn't been dispatched yet then now would be a good time to run to the post office with copies for each of our three inaugural judges: Tom Misa, Paul Ceruzzi, and Jen Light. The call is on our website at http://www.sigcis.org/?q=node/56 and in various other places around the Internet thanks to the promotion efforts of Jeffrey Tang, the SIGCIS secretary. (And no, this isn't an April Fools' Day prank). We talked about the prize a little bit at our lunch meeting in Lisbon back in October, but now it's really happening I wanted to share a few thoughts with the full SIGCIS membership. The prize is a small but significant step in the maturation of our field. As sociologists of science would tell you, the emergence of a new sub discipline relies on the creation of new institutions and practices to support new identities. Some of these came long ago to the field, such as Annals of the History of Computing and the CBI's Tomash fellowship. Others will take a great deal of enthusiasm and money to accomplish and remain projects for the distant future. But the CHM prize is now a reality and fills one of the most important of the remaining gaps. We now have a ceremony in which members of our SIG gather every year to celebrate an outstanding work of scholarship, chosen by their peers within that same community because it advances in some exciting way our collective project. Over the years the growing list of its recipients will document the future evolution of the field and showcase some of the best work in the history of technology. For this achievement there are some people who need to be acknowledged. Thanks to the vision and generosity of a donor who wishes to remain anonymous we have a pledge for indefinite support of the $1,000 a year cash prize plus an endowment amount of at least $20,000 in the event of the donor's death. That lets us launch the prize at a respectable level freeing up our homespun fundraising for other projects such as graduate student travel and workshop organization. SHOT seems to have taken the cash amounts out of its prize descriptions online, but it is comparable financially with many of our parent society's major awards. So thank you, Donor X. You've made a real difference. Things moved very quickly from tentative discussion at our 2007 lunch meeting of the possibility of SIGCIS initiating a prize. By early 2008 we had our funding pledge. SIGCIS does not have a significant fundraising operation and does not plan to develop one. So we are dependent on formal and informal collaboration with other organizations in the field. I am enormously grateful to veteran curator Doron Swade, who attended out 2007 meeting and took the idea back with him to the Computer History Museum where he was then working as a consultant. The museum's chairman, Len Shustek, brought the prize idea to the attention of our donor and sealed the deal. Without Len's willingness to use his charm and connections on our behalf the prize would still just be a vague prospect for the future. But it takes more than money to make a prize. We were determined to learn from best practices in the area and to make the prize as credible as possible. An ad-hoc steering committee consisting of Tom Misa (chair), Bill Aspray, Mike Mahoney, and Paul Ceruzzi was recruited and charged with setting up policies and procedures for the prize. Should it be for books or articles? Awarded every year? Open to popular books? What to call the field it recognizes? Drawing on a deep familiarity with the field and long service on other prize committees the committee answered these, and many other questions. This was Mike's last service to the SIG, and as always his advice guided us well. Tom and Paul also agreed to stay on as judges to give continuity from the policies set by the ad-hoc committee into their practical implementation. As their mailboxes fill with hefty volumes the judges have a good deal of reading ahead of them, and also deserve our thanks for the time this will require away from their own research and other commitments. I hope that as many of you as possible will be able to join us in Pittsburgh this autumn for the presentation of the first prize. Best wishes, Tom Haigh

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Chairs and commentators needed for SHOT panels
by Thomas Haigh 29 Mar '09

29 Mar '09

Hello everyone, We're putting the finishing touches on two new SIGCIS panel proposals for the SHOT 2009 meeting. These are (provisionally) entitled . Paths Not Taken in the History of Information Technology . Materiality Meets Practice Each needs a chair and a commentator. Volunteers are sought. You are allowed to chair a session and present in another one. I'm not sure whether you can comment and present at the same meeting. The presenters are all based in North America and all male, so gender and geographical diversity would be particularly helpful in chairs and commentators. The deadline is coming up, so if you're interested please let me know ASAP. Tom

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Free to good home -- AFIPS Fall & Spring JCC proceedings.
by Ceruzzi, Paul 27 Mar '09

27 Mar '09

Fellow SIG members: I have a semi-complete set of AFIPS Fall and Spring Joint Computer Conference proceedings, which I would like to give to a good home. I offered them to CBI, which already has most of them (I sent them a few to fill in gaps), to J.F. Ptak, who no longer deals much in this subject, and to the Smithsonian Archives, which is not interested. I don't have time to do an exact inventory, but I estimate about 30 volumes. If you've ever used them you know they are quite heavy, so I will have to ship them in multiple mailings. I don't think I can handle an international shipment. The ideal recipient would be a library where they would be appreciated. I would love to keep them myself but I am really hurting for space, both at work and at home. Paul E. Ceruzzi, MRC 311, National Air and Space Museum, PO Box 37012, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012. phone: 202-633-2414. -----Original Message-----

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ACM-HC: Short-term Fellowships in ACM History (deadline 30 April)
by tmisa＠umn.edu 27 Mar '09

27 Mar '09

Dear colleagues, Please think seriously about developing a proposal for this new fellowship opportunity. As I mentioned in the "early" version, this is an experiment. If there are numerous, high-quality proposals it's more likely that the experiment will continue. The 'fine print' is true: there are not extensive requirements or restrictions; the intent is to cultivate ACM history -- and to draw attention -- and use -- to the ACM research materials. Best, Tom Misa ===================================================== website: <history.acm.org/content.php?do=fellowship> ACM History Committee Short-term Fellowships in ACM History The Association for Computing Machinery, founded in 1947, is the oldest and largest educational and scientific society dedicated to the computing profession, and today has members in more than 100 countries. To encourage historical research, the ACM History Committee announces a new program of short-term fellowships in ACM history. This year we plan to make up to two $2,500 awards to support historical research on the wide variety of ACM related activities, including ACM members, officers, and prize winners, as well as ACM as an organization. Successful candidates may be of any rank, from graduate students through senior researchers. To Apply: Applicants should send 2-page CV as well as a 750-word project description that [a] describes the proposed research project; [b] identifies the importance of specific ACM historical materials, whether traditional archival collections or online historical materials (oral histories, digitized conference papers, ACM organizational records, et al.); and [c] discusses the project's planned outcome (e.g. conference paper, journal article, book or dissertation chapter, teaching resource, museum exhibit, etc.). In preparing a proposal, applicants should examine the extensive list of ACM historical resources posted at <history.acm.org/content.php?do=fellowship>. Other research materials relating to ACM's rich history may also be used. Applications should include a letter of endorsement from their home department or institution. Proposals are due by 30 April 2009. Proposals should be submitted as .pdf documents to <history-webmaster(a)acm.org>. Notification of awards will be made within six weeks.

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CFP - Conference on History of Records and Archives, London, July 2010
by Thomas Haigh 25 Mar '09

25 Mar '09

Hello everyone, You'll find below a call from a related group whose existence I was previously unaware of. The themes given appear to have a business history focus that would be relevant to people studying the history of data processing, accounting, office management, etc. Note the early deadline - 14 months before the meeting! Tom From: Barbara Craig [mailto:] Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 8:25 AM To: Matthew Gilmore; HTECH-L-request(a)SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU; thaigh(a)computer.org; info(a)archimuse.com; devorsey(a)amnh.org; rozov(a)nsu.ru; millarj(a)lib.muohio.edu; digicult(a)cec.eu.int; susanmclinney(a)mail.ogc.umn.edu; ANTHRO-L-request(a)listserv.buffalo.edu Subject: CALL FOR PAPERS - I-CHORA 5: Fifth International Conference on History of Records and Archives Good morning Moderators: I enclose and attach a call for papers which we think will appeal to you readers. Many thanks in advance for posting this call for I-CHORA 5 and we hope many of you members will consider submitting proposals. blc ............................................................................ ............................................................................ ........................................................................ *Apologies for cross-posting* CALL <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ichora5/papers.htm> FOR PAPERS I-CHORA 5: Fifth International Conference on History of Records and Archives 'Records, archives and technology: interdependence over time' Following previously successful I-CHORA conferences in <http://www3.fis.utoronto.ca/research/i-chora/ichora1programme.html> Toronto (2003), Amsterdam (2005), <http://www3.fis.utoronto.ca/research/i-chora/home.html> Boston (2007) and <http://www.archivists.org.au/ichora/ICHORA4/index.html> Perth (2008), <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> The National Archives, <http://www.infostudies.ucl.ac.uk/> University College London and <http://www.liv.ac.uk/lucas/> University of Liverpool are delighted to announce the forthcoming I-CHORA to be held in London from Thursday 1 to Saturday 3 July 2010. Proposals are now invited for papers, which may address (but are not restricted to) issues in the following themes: 1. Early technologies and the origins of recordkeeping 2. Technology, records and the growth of bureaucracy 3. Creating and using records in the workplace 4. Responding to technological change Please submit 500-word abstract by 30 April 2009 For more information please visit our website at: <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ichora5> http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ichora5 I-CHORA5(a)nationalarchives.gov.uk Records, archives and technology: interdependence over time -- Barbara L. Craig Faculty of Information 140 St. George Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G6 Canada Tel: 416-978-7093 Fax: 416-971-1399 (Not a Private Fax) E-Mail: Barbara.Craig(a)utoronto.ca

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Ph.D. scholarships in history of User Interfaces at IT University of Copenhagen
by Anker Helms Jørgensen 16 Mar '09

16 Mar '09

Dear Colleagues. Please pass this announcement to relevant parties. Thanks – Anker Helms Jorgensen, IT University of Copenhagen. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A n n o u n c e m e n t - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At the IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) a considerable number of Ph.D. study scholarships are offered in a broad range of areas within IT, among these User Interface History. The PhD will last three years and will commence in the fall 2009. The scholarships are fully funded. The applicants are expected to submit a max. 5 page research proposal. The application deadline is April 16. For further detail see below. User interface history To the best of my knowledge, no historians have yet embarked on user interface history, although user interfaces are as old as digital, electronic computers. So far only researchers from Human-Computer Interaction and Media Studies have addressed their history. This PhD call aims at attracting applicants with a degree in history of techology or history of computing. ITU and history ITU offers the PhD scholarships although ITU does not have a study program in technology history. The reputation of ITU in this area is limited, but history is considered important at the ITU. The PhD student will be supervised by me (Anker Helms Jorgensen) who in recent years has done research in history of user interfaces. Although being a relative newcomer in history of computing, I have substantial experience in PhD supervision as I have supervised 11 PhDs - at the ITU and University of Copenhagen - in HCI, virtual worlds, and video games. My approach to user interface history The background to my interest in user interface history interest is threefold. Firstly, my activities in HCI as researcher, teacher and practitioner for three decades. As time passes, interest in the past often surfaces. Secondly, user interfaces are coming of age and I find that the time is ripe to address their history – just like the history of computers and computing has been addressed for several decades. Many papers and books address selected aspects of HCI history and user interface history – some in great depth – but only a handful of papers address user interface/HCI history in general. Written mostly by HCI scholars, their historiographic genre must be considered internalistic - with a few exceptions. Thirdly, the generation growing up seems to have very little knowledge about historical aspects of user interfaces - and computing for that matter. I would like to help remedy this by creating more focus on user interface history. My aim is to adopt a contextual approach as this seems timely and most beneficial. My recent paper “Context and Driving Forces in the Development of the Early Computer Game Nimbi”, appearing in the July issue of IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, illustrates this approach. The key point is that early gaming was far more than entertainment and invoved organisational and social aspects such as educating the general public about the potential of computers. In addition, my approach to user interface history is “history from below”. This contrasts current studies, most of which address the development of the predominant graphical user interface and the influence of early visionaries such as Vannevar Bush, Douglas Engelbart and Alan Kay, i.e. a “history from above” approach. Examples of “from below” projects are plugboard programming, portraits of user interface designers of the 1960s, the role of the pervasive IBM 3270 display protocol, and the user interface of WordPerfect (a loved and hated word processor of the 1980s). Further detail Applicants are expected to submit a maximum 5 page project proposal. I’m more than willing to help potential applicants write a convincing project proposal. We expect that successful applicants have earned a MA in Technology History, History, or similar. The deadline is April 16 at noon Danish time. For further detail please visit http://www1.itu.dk/sw65235.asp http://www1.itu.dk/graphics/ITU-library/Intranet/Personale/ Stillingsopslag/TAP/Stillingsopslag%202009/PhDSpring%202009-2.pdf Please don’t hesitate to contact me for further information: anker(a)itu.dk, phone: +45 72 18 50 20. -o-o-o-o-o-o-o- Anker Helms Jorgensen Associate Professor, PhD IT University of Copenhagen Rued Langgaardsvej 7 DK-2300 Copenhagen S Denmark anker(a)itu.dk http://www1.itu.dk/sw4489.asp +45 72 18 50 00

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"pre-announcement" of new ACM short-term history fellowship --> 30 April deadline
by tmisa＠umn.edu 12 Mar '09

12 Mar '09

Dear colleagues, The ACM History Committee has created a new source of support for computer history, aimed naturally enough at research on activities in which ACM played some important role. The announcement will formally be launched when the <history.acm.org> site is updated, but the basic information is all here (see the announcement text below). The "back story" is this: ACM has devoted substantial resources in recent years to creating historical documentation (about its members, its prize winners, and about its organization -- both its central HQ and its three dozen SIG's). The ACM History Committee (which I recently joined) wants to make sure that these research materials actually get USED. As an experiment, ACM-HC created this "short term fellowship" to attract historians' attention to these materials as well as to support two projects directly. The awards are modest, $2,500; but the conditions are rather wide-open. You might travel to Stanford and use ACM-relevant materials there, or to Hagley, or anywhere (even CBI). There are also on-line materials, including some organizational records, conference proceedings, and a growing set of oral histories with ACM luminaries. (For some of these, you'll need access to the ACM Digital Library.) The deadline for proposals is SOON -- 30 April. Please have a look at the announcement below, or the formal announcement soon to appear on <history.acm.org>. Then, please frame a research project that has *some* significant ACM angle: for instance, you might investigate how an ACM conference sparked interest in a particular set of computing developments; or investigate one of the ACM Turing Award winners; or even examine some organizational aspect of ACM's universe of SIGS). Merely mentioning that someone was an ACM member is likely under-the-bar for significance. We hope to get a solid out-pouring of proposals. Especially if there are a good number of high-quality proposals, it's more likely that future funding would be continued -- possibly even expanded. Thanks for your attention! Best, Tom Misa ==================================== ACM History Committee Short-term Fellowships in ACM History The Association for Computing Machinery, founded in 1947, is the oldest and largest educational and scientific society dedicated to the computing profession, and today has members in more than 100 countries. To encourage historical research, the ACM History Committee announces a new program of short-term fellowships in ACM history. This year we plan to make up to two $2,500 awards to support historical research on the wide variety of ACM related activities, including ACM members, officers, and prize winners, as well as ACM as an organization. Successful candidates may be of any rank, from graduate students through senior researchers. To Apply: Applicants should send a 2-page CV as well as a 750-word project description that [a] describes the proposed research project; [b] identifies the importance of specific ACM historical materials, whether traditional archival collections or online historical materials (oral histories, digitized conference papers, ACM organizational records, et al.); and [c] discusses the project's planned outcome (e.g. conference paper, journal article, book or dissertation chapter, teaching resource, museum exhibit, etc.). In preparing a proposal, applicants should examine the extensive list of ACM historical resources posted at <history.acm.org> (click on Links and choose ACM Research Materials). Other research materials relating to ACM's rich history may also be used. Applications should include a letter of endorsement from their home department or institution. Proposals are due by 30 April 2009. Proposals should be submitted as .pdf documents to <history-webmaster(a)acm.org>. Notification of awards will be made within six weeks. ============================================

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30th anniversary of the CD
by Sandra Mols 12 Mar '09

12 Mar '09

Dear colleagues, To those who may interested, I here forward a mail regarding a recently past conference on the 30th anniversary of the CD, With apologies for crossposting, Sandra Mols -------- Message original -------- Sujet : Upcoming events IEEE Benelux Section Date : Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:11:03 -0500 De : IEEE E-Notice <owner-ieee-e-notice(a)ieee.org> Références : <A12344586649147546325.jra(a)info.fundp.ac.be> Dear IEEE member, On March 6 we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the creation of the compact disc (CD) audio player by Philips. This outstanding achievement will officially be recognized as an IEEE Milestone. Everyone is invited to attend this celebration event in Eindhoven, but advance registration is required. See also http://www.ieee.nl/milestone.html for all details and the registration form. It is also my pleasure to announce the newly elected members of the 2009 IEEE Benelux Section Executive Committee : Chair: Georges Gielen, K.U.Leuven Vice Chair: Wim van Etten, retired from U Twente Secretary: Dirk Van Hertem, K.U.Leuven Treasurers: Dirk Rabaey, Alcatel-Lucent & Jan Bergmans, TU Eindhoven We will update you regularly about upcoming events within the Benelux. You can also find this information on our website : www.ieee.be or www.ieee.nl If you have not re-registered yet as IEEE member for 2009, please do so before the end of February 2009 ! Sincerely, Georges Gielen Benelux Section Chair 2009-2010 benelux(a)ieee.org

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Opportinities at Leicester's School of Management
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 02 Mar '09

02 Mar '09

Could you kindly inform any business or economic historian in the disciplines below as we welcome people with that research profile. We are particularly interested in attracting an accounting historian. The School has a strong "critical management" inclination so that profile would also be attractive. The University is ranked solid as 20th in the UK and the School had a higher research profile than the average return in the last REA. Thanks, Bernardo =========== Jobs at the University of Leicester School of Management http://www.jobs.ac.uk/jobs/YB970/Lecturer_in_Marketing/ http://www.jobs.ac.uk/jobs/YB969/Lecturer_in_Human_Resource_Management/ http://www.jobs.ac.uk/jobs/YB968/Lecturer_in_Strategy_Operations/ http://www.jobs.ac.uk/jobs/YB967/Senior_Lecturer_in_Accounting_and_Finance/ Closing date 26th March.

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SHOT 2009 CFP. Deadline March 30. SIGCIS panels being assembled soon.
by Thomas Haigh 23 Feb '09

23 Feb '09

Hello everyone, It's that time of year again. SHOT, our parent society, meets in Pittsburgh on 15-19 October. The deadline for proposals is March 30, in about five weeks time. In case you are unfamiliar with SHOT's procedures, here is a capsule version: SHOT allows submission of individual paper proposals or proposals for panels. Panels are usually three or four papers plus a commentator devoted to a coherent topic or theme. However the call mentions openness to other formats. Reviews are made on the basis of abstracts. Full papers are not required at any point for review and are not published. However, if your paper is accepted you are expected to send some kind of draft to the commentator ahead of time. SHOT does not release any comments from reviewers. As at other history conferences people sometimes literally read their papers, but more lively styles of presentation are welcome. The theme is "Reform(ed) Technologies" which seems oriented toward industrial decay but, according to the call, also includes "new uses of old technologies, and issues of maintenance." The theme is not usually a big deal at SHOT, but it doesn't hurt to invoke it where possible. The full CFP is online at http://www.historyoftechnology.org/annual_meeting/2009SHOT_cfp.pdf The history of computing has been well represented at the last few conferences. Many of the panels including computer material are submitted independently of SIGCIS. However, we also try to organize coherent panels based on submissions from members. Interested people send in draft abstracts, which I then help to edit and attempt to assemble into thematically arranged panel proposals. This went very well for the 2007 meeting, where we received 12 promising abstracts and submitted three successful panel proposals. It went less well for 2008, where only one of our session proposals was accepted. So whether going with a SIGCIS organized panel helps your chances or not will depend on whether 2008 was a blip or a trend. If you are interested in taking part in a SIGCIS organized panel then please email me WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK a short description of the research you are interested in presenting. Do not reply to the entire list. I will assemble these, circulate them among people who are interested, and start to look for themes. If possible panel themes emerge I may send another general call to SIGCIS members for additional proposals on a particular theme. There are two additional reasons you might want to consider taking part in a SIGCIS-organized panel. The first is that we have the ability to offer some supplemental funding for graduate students who are presenting at the meeting. See http://www.sigcis.org/?q=node/55. This works along with SHOT's own travel assistance for graduate students and other needy types, http://www.historyoftechnology.org/awards/travelgrants.html. Our funds are limited, so priority will be given to students on SIGCIS sponsored panels. The second is that SIGCIS plans to offer a full day of workshop programming on the final day of the conference. So if, as happened last year, a worthy SIGCIS panel proposal is rejected for the main conference then it would stand a good chance of appearing on the SIGCIS program. Our provisional workshop theme is "Mike Mahoney and the Histories of Computing(s)." Of course we hope to do more with this workshop than just salvage conference panels, so look out for more information on the workshop format over the next month or two. SHOT allows SIGs to sponsor panels but has never clarified what this means with any formal policy or procedure. So far we have only sponsored panels we organized, but if you have a panel you are organizing but would like to attach SIGCIS sponsorship then let us know and we'll try to come up with our own policy for this. As well as the sessions themselves, SIGCIS usually organizes an informal dinner on one evening and holds its official lunch meeting on another day. Both have been very well attended recently and provide a great opportunity for meeting others in the field in a friendly environment. So we hope to see as many of you as possible in Pittsburgh this autumn. Best wishes, Tom Haigh www.tomandmaria.com/tom

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