Showing papers in "IEEE Technology and Society Magazine in 2003"
TL;DR: The book does not offer a fluent narrative, as many traditional histories do, and readers may still feel the text to be disruptive as the scene jumps abruptly among Wall Street, Menlo Park, the U.S. patent court, Scientific American, product catalogues, and New York City government.
Abstract: IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Spring 2003 financiers when the progress of his technical developments did not meet expectation. When he tried to install the first electric light system in New York, he had to deal with the city government that had its own discourse, rhetoric, and political languages. The Languages of Edison’s Light is filled with these kinds of examples, examples showing how speech acts proceed interactively in the real world. The distinct perspective Bazerman adopts in doing the history of Edison’s perhaps most important invention has great strength. But it has a shortcoming, too. The book does not offer a fluent narrative, as many traditional histories do. Although we can understand why the author juxtaposed apparently unrelated stories, readers may still feel the text to be disruptive as the scene jumps abruptly among Wall Street, Menlo Park, the U.S. patent court, Scientific American, product catalogues, New York City government, the Chicago Exhibition, and General Electric. The different stories are united under a common abstract theme. They do not have obvious causal connections, or at least these connections were not obvious to this reader. Readers should realize that what they are going to encounter is not a comprehensive and integrated account of Edison’s entire career, a period of his career, or an invention of his. What they will read is a collection of chapters that look at the history of Edison’s incandescent light from the viewpoint of communication studies.
110 citations
TL;DR: In the study described here, 65 prospective computer or information science majors worked through a tutorial on the basics of Perl, and gender and race differences with respect to these factors were also investigated.
Abstract: In the study described here, 65 prospective computer or information science majors worked through a tutorial on the basics of Perl. Eighteen students were African American. All actions were recorded and time-stamped, allowing us to investigate the relationship among six factors that we believed would predict performance in an introductory computer science (CS) course (as measured by course grade) and how much students would learn from the tutorial (as measured by the difference between pre-test and post-test performance). These factors are: preparation (SAT score, number of previous CS courses taken, and pretest score), time spent on the tutorial as a whole and on individual chapters, amount and type of experimentation, programming accuracy and/or proficiency, approach to materials that involve mathematical formalisms, and approach to learning highly unfamiliar material (pattern-matching procedures). Gender and race differences with respect to these factors were also investigated.
40 citations
TL;DR: This paper considers computer self-efficacy and its relationship to gender and educational background and it is important to consider in attempts to understand why people choose to become involved in information technology.
Abstract: Research has demonstrated possible factors for low participation by women, including self-efficacy. This paper considers computer self-efficacy and its relationship to gender and educational background. Self-efficacy is based on self-perception and is defined as the belief an individual has about their ability to perform a particular task. Self-efficacy is important as it influences the choice of activities by an individual, the amount of effort they will expend on a task and how long they will persevere in stressful situations to complete the task. Self-efficacy beliefs about computing may be a factor in whether people choose to get involved in computing. Therefore, self-efficacy is linked to participation rates and hence important to consider in our attempts to understand why people choose to become involved in information technology.
31 citations
TL;DR: The paper considers how information and communication technologies can enhance poor people's opportunities by improving access to markets, health and education and ICT projects for poverty reduction in rural India.
Abstract: The paper considers how information and communication technologies can enhance poor people's opportunities by improving access to markets, health and education. It considers ICT projects for poverty reduction in rural India.
30 citations
TL;DR: This is a preliminary sort of the ethical and metaphysical issues arising and in general from virtual reality environments, which seem promising, but more analysis remains.
Abstract: This is a preliminary sort of the ethical and metaphysical issues arising and in general from virtual reality environments. The lessons we learned seem promising, but more analysis remains. Perhaps the most important lesson is that virtual actions and interactions have consequences for flesh-and-blood persons and hence, the flesh controllers of virtual action, whether they control directly (as in playing a character) or indirectly (as in designing a virtual world), have responsibilities for their actions.
23 citations
TL;DR: Considering the tremendous economic and educational advantages, and the professional opportunities, that are available to students who understand computer science, this is a critical time to understand what factors are influencing African-American and Latino/a students' enrollment decisions.
Abstract: Our research was conceived out of a desire to understand why so few underrepresented students of color are learning computer science at the high school level. High school is a critical time for pre-college preparation and for getting on the right "track" for college and future career opportunities. Yet, by college the number of students of color obtaining bachelors degrees in computer science is remarkably small. In this article, we discuss our research on the high school "computer science pipeline." We define the "computer science pipeline" as the curriculum and opportunities available to students to learn computer science within their schools. Considering the tremendous economic and educational advantages, and the professional opportunities, that are available to students who understand computer science, this is a critical time to understand what factors are influencing African-American and Latino/a students' enrollment decisions.
23 citations
TL;DR: The construction of the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) has been facilitated by the technological advancement of the microprocessor in the areas of speed, performance, power consumption, and cost.
Abstract: The construction of the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) has been facilitated by the technological advancement of the microprocessor in the areas of speed, performance, power consumption, and cost. The GII is expected to create a global computer network for use in personal, organizational, and governmental communications. The population of technologically advanced countries such as the United States has grown heavily dependent on the communication networks provided by the GII. As a result of this dependence, the associated technology and information systems become targets for Information Warfare attacks [1]. As stated in a United States Department of Defense report published in 1993 [2]:
20 citations
TL;DR: I trace the development of precautionary principles, starting with radiation protection, to the regulations in place in the year 2002 and to the formulation by the European Union of the Precautionary Principle and their relation to risk analysis, including cost benefit analysis.
Abstract: I trace the development of precautionary principles, starting with radiation protection, to the regulations in place in the year 2002 and to the formulation by the European Union of the Precautionary Principle, and their relation to risk analysis, including cost benefit analysis.
11 citations
TL;DR: Policy designed to increase women of Color in the information technology workforce should be based on research on women of color, because it may be the case that what works for one group will not work for another.
Abstract: Research on the degree trends in information technology focuses either on gender OR racial gaps. Since degree trends are different for women of color than for white women, it may be the case that what works for one group will not work for the other. Therefore, policy designed to increase women of color in the information technology workforce should be based on research on women of color. In the absence of such research, policy is often based on research either on men of color or white women. Basing policy for women of color on research or men of color or research on white women results in practices and initiatives that are flawed at best, and ineffective at worst. Therefore, much research needs to be done on women of color - specifically, African Americans and Hispanics.
11 citations
10 citations
TL;DR: A look at some departmental characteristics and practices, related to women's proportion of graduate enrollment in CS, indicates that women's representation is actually lowest in departments where faculty are of the highest scholarly quality, and that this situation may be affected by some recruitment and admissions procedures.
Abstract: Despite rising numbers of women in computer science (CS) graduate programs, women still comprised less than one-third of enrolled students in those programs in recent years. Efforts to raise the level of female representation resulted in mixed success. Departments where faculty reported putting the most effort into recruiting female graduate students generally enrolled women in no greater, and sometimes smaller, percentages than departments putting little into recruiting women. A look at some departmental characteristics and practices, related to women's proportion of graduate enrollment in CS, indicates that women's representation is actually lowest in departments where faculty are of the highest scholarly quality, and that this situation may be affected by some recruitment and admissions procedures.
TL;DR: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) as mentioned in this paper was introduced by the United States to provide a new and unprecedented right to control access to copyrighted works, and it has been used to prevent black-box devices from circumventing technological protections.
Abstract: Content owners in the United States received an anticircumvention entitlement in the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, and recent language in a European Union directive promises the equivalent to European content holders. In the United States, the statute was touted as legislation necessary to fulfill international treaty. However, such protection would already have been provided under the doctrine of contributory infringement, which attributes copyright liability to providers of technical devices that lack a substantial non-infringing use. This provision of U.S. law could have been employed against provision of so-called "black box" devices intended to circumvent technological protections. Instead, lobbying by content industries resulted in the enactment of so-called "implementing" legislation containing anti-circumvention provisions that far exceed anything contemplated by the treaty Starkly put, the DMCA creates a new and unprecedented right to control access to copyrighted works.
TL;DR: This report considers how scientists and policy makers are designing and advocating the use of technologies to proactively protect or serve societal values, including protecting minors from indecent content, protecting privacy, and protecting intellectual property rights.
Abstract: Considers how scientists and policy makers are designing and advocating the use of technologies to proactively protect or serve societal values. These include protecting minors from indecent content, protecting privacy, and protecting intellectual property rights.
TL;DR: The success of the Navy's Tomahawk, a program with relatively low secrecy when compared to the Air Force's CALCM, should be a lesson to military managers of future weapons procurement programs.
Abstract: The Tomahawk missile is the United States Navy's premier land attack cruise missile and has enjoyed significant positive press during both Gulf Wars and in the recent strikes in Afghanistan Considering the large and versatile weapon inventory of the US military, it is no small achievement for a single weapon to be considered the "weapon of choice" In fact, the United States Air Force has its own land attack cruise missile called the Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) Both the Tomahawk and the CALCM were conceived and initially developed under the same Department of Defense (DoD) program, the Joint Military Cruise Program Office These two missiles with nearly identical early development and missions experienced quite different fates The success of the Navy's Tomahawk, a program with relatively low secrecy when compared to the Air Force's CALCM, should be a lesson to military managers of future weapons procurement programs
TL;DR: The lessons learned from the Navajo can serve as a guide to various other groups who are separated from American society by the digital divide.
Abstract: The digital divide is a problem for many groups of Americans, and for one group in particular, Native Americans. The plight and struggle of the American Indian to gain access to the Internet is illustrated with the Navajo Nation. They have tried to gain Internet access through two approaches: decentralized and centralized initiatives. Learning through their experiences, the more centrally organized the initiative, the more effective it was in bringing the Internet to the Navajo Nation. The lessons learned from the Navajo can serve as a guide to various other groups who are separated from American society by the digital divide.
TL;DR: The article addresses Bill Joy's question "why?" by using religious mythology as an analytical tool of narrative interpretation.
Abstract: Bill Joy, Chief scientist for Sun Microsystems, agrees that coming advances in computing power seem to make it possible that an intelligent being will be built by the year 2030, and, that shortly thereafter, we will gradually replace ourselves with our robotic technology, achieving near immortality by downloading our consciousness. But Joy asks, if we are downloaded into our technology, what are the chances that we will thereafter be ourselves, or even human? Given the seriousness of the threat, Joy wonders why the development of new technologies proceeds without hesitation. The article addresses Joy's question "why?" by using religious mythology as an analytical tool of narrative interpretation.
TL;DR: The author examines the impact of sensors on four areas: industrial manufacturing, military operations, personal health, and individual freedoms.
Abstract: Microsensors promise to bring people into closer contact with computers and, in the process, change society significantly. The author examines the impact of sensors on four areas: industrial manufacturing, military operations, personal health, and individual freedoms.
TL;DR: This is the first part of an essay on developmental trends in science, technology and technology policy as they appear at the onset of the 21st century, to depict recent changes in the structure of industry, university, and government.
Abstract: This is the first part of an essay on developmental trends in science, technology and technology policy as they appear at the onset of the 21st century. These subjects are first surveyed to depict recent changes in the structure of industry, university, and government (the three major players in this arena). These changes represent substantial shifts in the way we do business and in the very nature of the business we do. Other changes are the result of self-perception, or misrepresentation of the role of each of the three primary agencies in the science economy. This misrepresentation may be the result of competition for access to resources (such as access to the highest level of skilled staff, or enhanced government funding), or for reasons as mundane as simple ego gratification. In any event, these misperceptions seriously impede our ability to formulate programs addressing real societal needs.
TL;DR: The intent here is to be illustrative, rather than prescriptive, when discussing issues raised, in the planned design of metadata, as well as in the use and ownership of the metadata content in electronic environments.
Abstract: Just as information contains the explicit and implicit values of its creators, so does the metadata that describes, summarizes, or represents that information. Consequently, issues arise in the planned design of metadata; in the creation of surrogates that represent data, text, or objects; as well as in the use and ownership of the metadata content in electronic environments. The intent here is to be illustrative, rather than prescriptive, when discussing issues raised.
TL;DR: The present edition reproduces the first one without change but adds two (unchanged) chapters from each of the author's subsequent books, from 1981 and 1987, from.
Abstract: 9 T he first edition of this book appeared in 1976. The present edition reproduces the first one without change but adds two (unchanged) chapters from each of the author’s subsequent books, from 1981 and 1987. Unchanged because, says the author, “I’m amazed to find how little I would say differently,” and “how little of substance I would want to change.” Also added is a new introduction. In this introduction, Florman decries that
TL;DR: Studies examining the underlying reasons why women and minorities are underrepresented in IT are examined.
Abstract: It is the policy of the United States government to encourage the progress of women and underrepresented minorities in science and engineering, including information technology (IT). For over a decade the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate (CISE) of NSF has been supporting projects designed to improve opportunities for women and minorities in computing. From an initial emphasis on increasing the numbers in graduate school studying computer science and engineering, CISE's emphasis broadened to include research. Studies examining the underlying reasons why women and minorities are underrepresented in IT.
TL;DR: David Monts, an experienced, licensed electrical (and nuclear) engineer, began working for the Physical Plant Services Department of the New Orleans campus of the University of Louisiana (UNO), which was responsible for building construction and renovation, but the administrative head, Frank Schambach, had no technical background.
Abstract: In January 1991, David Monts, an experienced, licensed electrical (and nuclear) engineer, began working for the Physical Plant Services Department (PPSD) of the New Orleans campus of the University of Louisiana (UNO). This department was responsible for building construction and renovation. Monts' immediate supervisor was John Michael Parnon, an architect, but the administrative head, Frank Schambach, had no technical background. On a number of occasions, Schambach, without consulting his engineers, underestimated the costs for certain jobs. When these projects threatened to go over budget, Schambach insisted on various cost-cutting measures. In some cases, these measures entailed improper practices that put people at risk. There were also situations in which engineering changes were made by people not licensed to practice in the technology involved. Monts repeatedly objected to these tactics. When these objections, though supported by his colleagues and supervisor, were repeatedly ignored by Schambach, Monts went to see the UNO attorneys. He reported the problems and asked for help. But before anything came of this, and just before another conversation was scheduled with them in July of 1996, he was summarily dismissed in a letter signed by Parnon and Schambach. The stated grounds for the dismissal were that Monts had a negative attitude with regard to his employment and that he disrupted weekly staff meetings by complaining and arguing about non-project related matters. Monts initiated a wrongful discharge suit, which the article considers in detail.
TL;DR: The objective of this paper is to define the global environment in which the MIMIC Program was planned, and to identify the elements that made it successful and therefore a valuable model, for public and private sector collaboration.
Abstract: The Department of Defense (DOD) Microwave and Millimeter Wave Monolithic Integrated Circuit Program was the culmination of advances in materials research, semiconductor physics, transmission media, modeling and simulation, device development, and manufacturing process development stemming from research conducted prior to and during World War II. Conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, MIMIC's objective was to achieve compact, low-cost, and highly reliable millimeter and microwave circuit functions that could withstand extreme environments in weapon systems. The program provided a. unique architecture in which goals were framed in system terms to provide the linking mechanism between materials research, device design, modeling, simulation, and testing. The program can be applied to four major areas of high technology: radar, communications, countermeasures, counter-countermeasures, and smart weapons. Economy was achieved by fabricating both the active and passive-circuit functions and interconnections in monolithic form in semiinsulating gallium arsenide wafers. When the program was being formulated in 1986, the market was principally military, but when it ended in 1995, the market was primarily commercial. Success of the MIMIC Program makes it a useful model for the design of other programs to achieve national objectives for defense or to improve competitiveness in international markets. The objective of this paper is to define the global environment in which the program was planned, and to identify the elements that made it successful and therefore a valuable model, for public and private sector collaboration.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The Computing Research Association is an educational non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC that supports programs to promote diversity in the computing research community through all four of its mission areas: community building, human resources, information gathering and dissemination, and public policy.
Abstract: The Computing Research Association (CRA) is an educational non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC. Its mission is to promote research and advanced education in computing. It members include computing research-oriented academic departments and government and industrial laboratories in the United States and Canada. Many of the major computing professional societies are affiliates of CRA and support CRA's activities. CRA supports programs to promote diversity in the computing research community through all four of its mission areas: community building, human resources, information gathering and dissemination, and public policy.