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Announcing new journal: Engineering Studies! Also please join INES!
by INES Announcements 17 Feb '09

17 Feb '09

Colleagues interested in scholarly studies of engineers and engineering, We are writing to ask your help in building interdisciplinary engineering studies as an international field of scholarly research by joining the International Network for Engineering Studies (INES) and contributing manuscripts to its new journal Engineering Studies: Journal of the International Network for Engineering Studies. INES was born in Paris, France in 2004. The founding co-coordinators are Maria Paula Diogo (History, U Lisbon, Portugal), Gary Downey (STS and Engineering Education, Virginia Tech) and Chyuan-Yuan Wu (Sociology and STS, National Tsing Hua U, Taiwan). INES supports workshops and the journal, as well as the sharing of bibliographies and syllabi (the latter beginning Fall 2009, see http://www.inesweb.org/ for details). The publisher Routledge/Taylor & Francis offers INES members the amazingly low subscription rate of US $46, their cost. INES membership, including the subscription, is US $56. The extra US $10 is for bank and web costs, and to subsidize members who qualify for the discounted rate of US $46 (students, retired persons, residents of non-OECD countries). The standard individual rate is US $190 US / £ 98 / € 152. Please go to the INES site now and join! (http://www.inesweb.org/join) [Note: if you are willing to sponsor a member for one year at the discounted rate or are in need of such sponsorship, contact Crystal Harrell at crcrigge(a)vt.edu. She is serving as matchmaker.] Please also contact your library representative personally and ask him/her to purchase a library subscription. The rate is reasonable. A library recommendation form is available at: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/library.asp (We recommend a phone call given that libraries are currently making difficult choices.) Finally, please consider submitting a manuscript. See below for aims and scope. For complete submission guidelines, see www.tandf.co.uk/journals/engineeringstudies<http://seewww.tandf.co.uk/journals/engineeringstudies> . The editors are Gary Downey (Virginia Tech) and Juan Lucena (Colorado School of Mines). They are supported by Jen Schneider (Colorado School of Mines) as Managing Editor, Brent Jesiek (Purdue) as Web Editor, and Kacey Beddoes (Virginia Tech) as Assistant Editor, as well as 12 Associate Editors and 30 Editorial Board members (see below for names and affiliations). Best, Gary Downey, Maria Paula Diogo, and Chyuan-Yuan Wu INES Co-Organizers Brent Jesiek INES Web Editor *-- * *Engineering Studies: Journal of the International Network for Engineering Studies * *Aims and Scope * Engineering Studies is an interdisciplinary, international journal devoted to the scholarly study of engineers and engineering. Its mission is threefold: (1) to advance research in historical, social, cultural, political, philosophical, rhetorical, and organizational studies of engineers and engineering; (2) to help build and serve diverse communities of researchers interested in engineering studies; and (3) to link scholarly work in engineering studies to broader discussions and debates about engineering education, research, practice, policy, and representation. Engineering Studies is published three times yearly by Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, beginning in 2009. *Vision Statement* The field of engineering studies is a diverse, interdisciplinary arena of scholarly research built around the question: What are the relationships among the technical and the nontechnical dimensions of engineering practices, and how do these relationships change over time and from place to place? Addressing and responding to this question can sometimes involve researchers as critical participants in the practices they study, including, for example, engineering formation, engineering work, engineering design, equality and diversity in engineering (gender, racial, ethnic, class, geopolitical), and engineering service to society. Engineering Studies juxtaposes contributions from distinct disciplinary and analytical perspectives to encourage authors and readers to look beyond familiar theoretical, topical, temporal, and geographical boundaries for insight and guidance. The diversity in the editorial staff and board is designed to map the diversity in the field and support its persistence. While prospective authors are invited to reflect on and anticipate how their work might prove helpful to others elsewhere, both within the academy and beyond, they can also feel comfortable imagining familiar audiences and producing familiar modes of analysis and interpretation. The heterogeneity of perspectives in engineering studies is its lifeblood, and the goal is high quality scholarship in every case. *Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2009* "Doing Gender in Engineering Workplace Cultures: Part I - Observations From The Field" Wendy Faulkner, University of Edinburgh "The Engineer as Judge: Engineering Analysis and Political Economy in Eighteenth Century France" Antoine Picon, Harvard Graduate School of Design and Ecole nationale des Ponts et Chaussées "An Historico-Ethical Perspective on Engineering Education: From Use and Convenience to Policy Engagement" Carl Mitcham, Colorado School of Mines "What is Engineering Studies For?: Dominant Practices and Scalable Scholarship" Gary Lee Downey Virginia Tech *Associate Editors* Atsushi Akera, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA Diane Bailey, Stanford University, USA Konstantinos Chatzis, Université Paris-Est - LATTS (UMR CNRS), France Maria Paula Diogo, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal Joseph Herkert, Arizona State University, USA Ann Johnson, University of South Carolina, USA Ulrik Jørgensen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Scott Knowles, Drexel University, USA Donna Riley, Smith College, USA Julia Williams, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, USA Matthew Wisnioski, Virginia Tech, USA Chyuan-Yuan Wu, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan *Editorial Advisory Board* Marcos Azevedo da Silveira, Pontificia Universidad Catolica- Rio, Brasil Stephen R. Barley, Stanford University, USA Sharon Beder, University of Wollongong, Australia Bruno Belhoste, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France Li Bocong, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Taft Broome, Howard University, USA Louis Bucciarelli, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Ivan da Costa Marques, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Michael Davis, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA Christelle Didier, Université Catholique de Lille, France Wendy Faulkner, University of Edinburgh, UK David E. Goldberg, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Irina Gouzevitch, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, France André Grelon, L'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, France Jang Gyu Lee, Seoul National University, Korea Deborah Johnson, University of Virginia, USA Ronald Kline, Cornell University, USA Eda Kranakis, University of Ottawa, Canada Gideon Kunda, Tel Aviv University, Israel Jack Lohmann, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA Tony Marjoram, UNESCO, France Peter Meiksins, Cleveland State University, USA Carl Mitcham, Colorado School of Mines, USA Antoine Picon, Harvard University, USA Bruce Seely, Michigan Technological University, USA Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University, USA Amy Slaton, Drexel University, USA Knut H. Sørensen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway Dominique Vinck, University of Grenoble, France Rosalind Williams, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

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Origin of the words 'program' and 'programming'?
by Marie Gevers 16 Feb '09

16 Feb '09

Could anybody tell me when and in which circumstances the words 'program' and 'programming' did appear? Marie Gevers Dr. Marie d'UDEKEM-GEVERS Chargée d'enseignement et maître de conférence Conseillère à la formation Faculté d'Informatique Facultes Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix Rue Grandgagnage 21 B.5000 Namur Belgique Tél.: 32 (0) 81 72 49 73 FAX : 32 (0) 81 72 49 67 http://www.fundp.ac.be/universite/personnes/page_view/01001574/

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Congressional Research Service Report Dump
by John Laprise 09 Feb '09

09 Feb '09

Wikileaks has taken receipt of the complete catalog of Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports. The CRS writes non-partisan reports on every conceivable topic addressed by Congress. All of these materials are supposed to be in the public domain but are released to the public at the discretion of members. Previously, only a very select few reports were ever made public. Apparently (and my guess), some member of congress who wished to remain anonymous gave them all to wikileaks. Their website is understandably under a considerable load at the moment. http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Change_you_can_download:_a_billion_in_secret_Congr essional_reports John Laprise Doctoral Candidate Media, Technology, and Society Program School of Communication Northwestern University

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Mechanical Brain metaphor
by Ceruzzi, Paul 02 Feb '09

02 Feb '09

Konrad Zuse independently came up with the same analogy in 1937. In his diary from June 20 of that year, he wrote: "For about a year now I have been considering the concept of a mechanical brain." [mechanischen Gehirns] The diary entry is reproduced in his autobiography, p. 68-69. The notion came to him after he decided to use the binary system in his calculating machine, then realizing that the same binary logic devices that were used to calculate could also be used to make logical decisions: he called the former a "mathematical brain," and the latter a "language brain." No mention of giant size, although his eventual realization of the concept, in the Z4, was physically quite large. What is interesting here is that this was Zuse's private diary, so he was using the analogy to gain an understanding of the computer for himself, not to explain it to others (although he would do that later). The whole issue of anthropomorphizing the computer has a long and contentious history. Eckert & Mauchly were especially angry with von Neumann for taking their ideas, expressed in the language of electrical engineering, and expressing them in terms used by those studying the human nervous system & brain. Paul E. Ceruzzi, MRC 311, National Air and Space Museum, PO Box 37012, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012. phone: 202-633-2414. p.s.: I agree that this ought to be written up somewhere. Maybe Sandra & I could put hit in our blog: <http://ithistory.org/blog/> Sandra? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2009 09:16:00 +0000 (GMT) From: Sandra Mols <sandramols(a)yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Another question - "Giant Brains" To: Sigcis <members(a)sigcis.org> Message-ID: <503307.6006.qm(a)web25304.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Another potential source for reflections is the popular press from the late 1940s, through which the news of EDSAC, ENIAC etc percolated around. The Renwick papers held at Cambridge Uni Library (engineer who worked with Wilkes on the EDSAC mercury delay lines) contain a few papers published in such press that display the same kind of 'brain' comments, expanding interestingly on how right/wrong it is to attribute 'brain' characteristics to a machine, howeve sophisticated and engineeringly impressive. I never found, though, the use of 'giant brain' as an expression in these. The emphasis seems more on the programming possibility, electronics, and marvels of speed the combination allows. Berkeley might have a first in creating the term. Best, Sandra Renwick Papers - CSAC 84.2.82 ? Box 1-File D3: Series of Press Cuttings and Photographs from 1940s?1950s Daily mail, October 1947 ? A Don Builds A Memory. 4ft. tubes in his ?brain? ? Anonymous Cambridge Daily News, 3rd October 1947? ?Brain? will know the answers to 1,000 questions a minute ? Anonymous Discovery , February 1948 ? Cambridge?s High-Speed Calculator ? Anonymous, p.40 Daily Telegraph, 17.6.49 ? New ?Brain? Store Orders. Calculations At 15,000 A Minute ? Anonymous The Star, 5.7.49 ? ?Merrick Winn Sees A Room Full of Astonishing Gadgets ? It?s A MECHANICAL BRAIN? ? Winn, M. The Spectator, 15.7.49 ? Nicolson, H. - Marginal Comment ? p.76 ----------------

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Newlyn/Phillips Machine workshop, University of Leeds Tuesday 3rd Feb 2009
by Graeme Gooday 01 Feb '09

01 Feb '09

List members interested in the history of analog computing might want to take a look at the outline of a workshop below at Leeds University Business School on Tuesday 3rd Feb 2009. For further information about the project to redevelop the Leeds prototype of the Newlyn/Phillips machine, contact Dr Greg Radick G.M.Radick(a)leeds.ac.uk <mailto:G.M.Radick@leeds.ac.uk> or Michael Finn, ph07maf(a)leeds.ac.uk <mailto:ph07maf@leeds.ac.uk> ________________________________ The Newlyn/Phillips machine now displayed in Leeds University Business School is the original prototype of the hydraulic computer developed by A.W.B. Phillips of the London School of Economics and Professor Walter Newlyn of the University of Leeds for modelling macro-economic systems. The machine and its descendents were highly influential in the development of Keynesian economics in the 1950s, and are of interest to economics, to historians of computing, and to historians of science (hence the involvement of Mary Morgan in the program below). 1.30 - 3.00 Open Workshop. Chair Professor Giuseppe Fontana, Leeds University Business School 1. Introduction to the Leeds Machine Project. Dr Greg Radick (Centre for History and Philosophy of Science, University of Leeds) 2. "The Creation of the Newlyn/Phillips Hydraulic Machine" Professor Mary Morgan (LSE) Walter Newlyn's role in inventing the famous hydraulic model of the macro-economy known as the Phillips Machine has often been overlooked, yet his contributions to the machine's design and creation were as important as those of Bill Phillips. Phillips famously knew little economics, whereas Newlyn understood the circulation of money from his participation in the pre-War commodities market. This paper discusses how they combined their different expertises - and their shared pleasure in getting things to work - to create the first prototype, the Mark I machine, for Leeds (forerunner of the better-known Mark II machine, an example of which is housed in the London Science Museum). 3. "Resurrecting the Cambridge Machine", Dr Allan McRobie (Cambridge University Engineering Department) With objects of historical significance there is always a dynamic tension between conservation and restoration. Given the existence of the beautifully conserved Machine in the Science Museum, the decision was made by the Dept of Economics in Cambridge to restore their Machine to full working order, albeit with minimal intrusion on the original workings. Over the summer of 2003, Allan - with help from technicians in the Engineering Dept and advice from economists - undertook the refurbishment. The Cambridge Machine now works and - moreover - is safe to work with. Allan has since given many working demonstrations of the Machine to a wide variety of audiences. This short talk describes what was involved, with a view to assessing what might be involved in the Leeds Machine project. 3.00 - 4.00 Coffee / Visit to the Leeds Machine ________________________________________________________________________ __________________ Graeme Gooday, Professor of the History of Science and Technology & National Teaching Fellow Department of Philosophy Woodhouse Lane University of Leeds LEEDS LS2 9JT United Kingdom E-mail: g.j.n.gooday(a)leeds.ac.uk <mailto:g.j.n.gooday@leeds.ac.uk> Phone: 0113 343 3274 FAX: 0113 343 3265

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The development of language and metaphor in computing and the internet
by Sue Thomas 01 Feb '09

01 Feb '09

Dear all I've joined this list at the suggestion of Evan Koblenz, and it certainly looks like the place I need to be! I am a UK writer/academic from De Montfort University, England, and currently British Academy - funded Visiting Scholar in the Dept of English at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). I'm interested in the use of nature metaphors in the history of computing and the internet, e.g. surfing, clouds, fields, roots, etc. This is explained in full on my website http://www.thewildsurmise.com/ I have two requests: . I will be at UCSB until the end of April and I would be delighted to hear from any list members in California who worked on the development of computers and the internet and would like to share their own knowledge. I would be happy to visit you, speak on the phone, or just email - whatever works for you and where you are. . In general terms, I would be interested to hear about any other research in this area in any part of the world. I'm starting my research here but my enquiries will extend to other countries over the next couple of years. Thanks for your attention Best wishes Sue __________ Sue Thomas Professor of New Media, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK Currently Visiting Scholar, English Dept, University of California Santa Barbara http://www.thewildsurmise.com/ sue.suethomas(a)gmail.com

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Information Automation
by John Laprise 01 Feb '09

01 Feb '09

In 1969, National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger order the National Security Council to initiate an "information automation" project and this led to the introduction of computers to the White House. Interested parties can email me.my soon to be completed dissertation is on the adoption of computers and the origins of information policy in the White House during the 1970's. John Laprise Doctoral Candidate Media, Technology, and Society Program School of Communication Northwestern University

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ENIAC move from Penn to Aberdeen
by Evan Koblentz 31 Jan '09

31 Jan '09

Does anyone know the details about how ENIAC was physically moved from Penn to Aberdeen? I've heard conflicting accounts of whether it was put on trucks or train(s). I would like to read a detailed and accurate account of the moving process -- exactly how it was done, by whom, what problems they encountered, etc.

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BRL computer reports?
by Evan Koblentz 29 Jan '09

29 Jan '09

This week I "discovered" the Army's Ballistics Research Lab computer reports from 1961 and 1964 here: http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/on-line-docs.html#History. Does anyone know if the BRL continued publishing such reports after 1964, and if so, where I might find them (ideally online)...? - Evan

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IEEE Life Members' Prize in Electrical History
by Rob MacDougall 27 Jan '09

27 Jan '09

Dear colleagues, This is the annual call for submissions for SHOT's IEEE prize in electrical history. If you or someone you know has published a deserving article in 2008 dealing with any aspect of the history of electricity, electronics, telecommunications, or any other electrically-related field -- and this should includes most work in the history of computing -- please consider nominating it for the IEEE Life Members' Prize in Electrical History. Paper authors are encouraged to nominate themselves by submitting a copy of their article, and everyone is asked to submit notice of anything that they have seen published in 2008 that they feel is worthy of being considered for the Prize. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2009. The official prize announcement appears below. For more information, please contact me at rmacdou(a)uwo.ca. Robert MacDougall Prize Committee Chair THE IEEE LIFE MEMBERS' PRIZE IN ELECTRICAL HISTORY The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Life Members' Prize in Electrical History, supported by the IEEE Life Members' Fund and administered by the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), is awarded annually to the best paper in the history of electrotechnology--power, electronics, telecommunications, and computer science--published during the preceding year. Any article published in a learned periodical is eligible if it treats the art or engineering aspects of electrotechnology and its practitioners. The article must be written in English, although the journal or periodical in which it appears may be a foreign language publication. The prize consists of a cash award of $500 and a certificate. To nominate an article, please send a copy (paper or electronic) of the article to each member of the prize committee. Deadline for the 2008 prize is April 15, 2009. Robert MacDougall (chair) Department of History University of Western Ontario Social Science Centre 4328 London, Ontario N6A 5C2 CANADA rmacdou(a)uwo.ca Susan Schmidt Horning Department of History St. John's University 8000 Utopia Parkway Jamaica, NY 11439 schmidts(a)stjohns.edu Andrew J. Butrica P.O. Box 30223 Bethesda, MD 20824-0223 abutrica(a)earthlink.net

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