Infosys v1n011 (March 20, 1994) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/infosys/infs-v1n011 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * IIIII N N FFFFF OOO SSSSS Y Y SSSSS * * I NN N F O O S Y Y S * * I N N N FFF O O SSSSS Y SSSSS * * I N NN F O O S Y S * * IIIII N N F OOO SSSSS Y SSSSS * * * * INFOSYS: The Electronic Newsletter for Information Systems * * Volume 1, Number 11 March 20, 1994 * * * * Editor: Dennis W. Viehland, Massey University, New Zealand * * Listowner: Greg Welsh, American University, Washington DC * * * * Current Subscribers = 2,742 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS * * * * * * * * * * * * * EDITOR'S NOTE - Best New List on the Net: NetEd-L * * NEWS - From EDUPAGE (March 7, 13, 15, 17, 1994) * * ANNOUNCEMENT - Careers in Information Systems (elec mail list) * * CALL FOR PAPERS - International Information Management Assoc * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Dynamic Modelling and Information Systems * * CALL FOR PAPERS - BCS Specialist Group on IS Methodologies (ISM) * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Modelling Dynamics of Organizations and IS * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Computers in Context: Joining Forces in Design * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Neural Network Applications (J Applied Exp Sys) * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Lecturer, Info Systems, Dept of Comp Sci * * CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS * * HEARD ON THE NET - Maturity in Datacomm Products * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 0088* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EDITOR'S NOTE - Best New List on the Net: NetEd-L * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University (d.viehland@massey.ac.nz) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Last month INFOSYS and other electronic discussion groups announced the formation of NetEd-L, a mailing list for teachers of datacoms and telecoms courses. NetEd-L has immediately become one of the most active and meaningful IS lists -- meaningful in that real electronic conversations are taking place! Most messages to IS lists and newsgroups are announce- ments, with a question thrown in occasionally. (This was one reason why INFOSYS emerged as a newsletter instead of a general IS discussion forum.) However, most of us would prefer our electronic discussion groups to be full of helpful hints, connected messages, and a small number of constantly changing discussion threads. This is happening on NetEd-L. For example, the discussion threads that have taken place so far include: --Introductions: what courses members teach, background, why they got into datacoms or telecoms, research areas --Textbooks: what textbooks are used; why; pros and cons; use of supplemental materials --Some technical discussion: comparisons of single and multi-mode fiber, ATM, UTP, 10BaseT, technology underlying the Internet --Syllabi used in datacoms/telecoms --A proposal for a distributed telecommunications textbook --What training in datacoms/telecoms do managers need --Answers to perplexing student questions: the discussion concluded with this comment by the person who initiated the thread: "First of all, I would like to thank everyone who answered the questions I posted last week. I am looking forward to impressing my students tomorrow with these answers and with the story of how I obtained them through consulting experts all over the world!" --What do students do during lab time --What should be included in a datacoms/telecoms course: Two quotes from this thread appear in "Heard on the Net" at the conclusion of this issue. Don't miss it! Maybe this discussion will be a brief burst of chatter and then settle down to be what most other groups are. Even so, approximately sixty NetEd-L members have benefited from the discussion so far. Finally, a tip of the professional hat to Raymond Panko (University of Hawaii), the NetEd-L moderator. NetEd's success is in no small part due to the active interest he takes in the discussion. Thanks, Ray. You have initiated the best new IS group on the Net, Information Systems needs more electronic forums like it. (For information on how to join NetEd-L see the "Heard on the Net" article in this issue of INFOSYS.) \EOA 0089* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWS - From EDUPAGE (March 7, 13, 15, 17, 1994) * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University (d.viehland@massey.ac.nz) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ANNUAL REPORTS ON CD ROM. Oracle Corporation and Adobe Systems are two of the companies that are offering their shareholders CD ROM versions of their annual reports. "The magic of CD ROM is that you can make a little show of it," says an Oracle executive. (New York Times 3/5/94 p.21) PROJECT MUSE. Johns Hopkins University will make three scholarly journals available on the Internet for the next few weeks, and is soliciting feedback on its system for displaying full text and images electronically. Project Muse uses the World-Wide Web protocol and Mosaic software. Directions for finding it are available from suelewis@jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu. (Chronicle of Higher Education 3/9/94 A25) DATABASE COMPETITION. Oracle plans to release a competitor to Microsoft's best-selling Access PC database program later this year. Oracle is also developing an Oracle Workgroup Server, designed to support networks of 10 to 50 PCs. The workgroup software will challenge Microsoft's comparable product, SQL Server. (Wall Street Journal 3/15/94 B6) IBM LEADS IN PATENTS. Although Japan occupied 6 of the top 10 positions in the list of companies receiving U.S. patents, IBM topped the list -- the first time an American company has done that in almost a decade. (New York Times 3/14/94 C1) EVERYONE'S NIGHTMARE: An error in a computer message has cost Chilean taxpayers at least $207 million, when a futures trader accidentally typed "buy" instead of "sell." One politician bemoaned the typo, saying, "Among the great scoundrels and fools of Chilean history, there will be a place for Mr. Davila -- and his computer." It's gotten so bad, there's now a new verb making the rounds: davilar, loosely translated to mean "to botch things up miserably." (Wall Street Journal 3/16/94 A1) NUMBER FOUR: AST Research has leaped over Dell and Gateway 2000 to become the fourth-largest computer maker after IBM, Apple, and Compaq, and accounts for more than 25% of all computers sold in China -- where sales are expected to expand 20% each year for the rest of the decade. (U.S. News 3/21/94 p.54) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The cover story in the Communications of the ACM says the reason you hear less these days about AI is that it's working so well in so many fields -- agriculture, medicine, transportation, education and telecommunications, with commercial applications increasing from 8 in 1986 to 1500 in 1993. (CACM 3/94) \EOA 0090* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ANNOUNCEMENT - Careers in Information Systems (elec mail list) * * Al Bento, University of Baltimore (earvaben@ube.ubalt.edu) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New Internet/BITNET Discussion List Careers in Information Systems (CIS-L) Where is the profession going? What will happen after downsizing, rightsizing, reengineering, end-user computing, etc? What will happen to the undergraduate and graduate programs in IS? What jobs, if any, are to be these programs preparing for? The new CIS-L is intended to be a forum for these discussions, and to create data bases on enrollment in IS programs, placement of new graduates, job market for existing professionals, etc. It will also collect and distribute files relevant for research, and/or obtained as result of research on the broad topic of Careers in Information Systems. Some of these files will be available in the Fall, 1994 and the others will depend on your contribution. HOW TO JOIN? Send the following one-line e-mail message to listserv@ube.ubalt.edu: subscribe CIS-L first-name last-name HOW TO SEND MESSAGES TO THE LIST? Send regular e-mail messages to: cis-l@ube.bitnet or cis-l@ube.ubalt.edu When you subscribe (join) the list, documentation for additional commands, like how to obtain files, stop receiving messages, resume receiving messages, will be automatically transmitted to you. For additional questions regarding CIS-L contact Al Bento at the University of Baltimore, earvaben@ube.bitnet or earvaben@ube.ubalt.edu. \EOA 0091* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - International Information Management Assoc * * Barbara Schuldt, U of Wisconsin, (schuldt@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Fifth Annual Conference of the International Information Management Association "Productivity and End User Computing: What is the Payoff?" October 5-7, 1994 Las Vegas, Nevada Workshop, papers, symposium and panel proposals will be blind reviewed. Papers should follow the style recommended by the American Psychological Association's Publication Manual. TRACKS --Information Fundamentals --International and Cultural Diversity Implications --Information Tools --Quality Issues for Information Systems --Knowledge Builders --Applications in Communications --Public Administration and Education --Health Care Information --Methodologies for Developing End User Applications --Specific Industry Applications --GIS Applications IMPORTANT DATES Submission Deadline: April 1, 1994 Acceptance Notification: May 1, 1994 Final Version Due: May 31, 1994 For additional information contact Barbara Schuldt (Program Chair) College of Business University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Oshkosh WI 54901 USA phone (414) 424-0076 fax (414) 424-7413 e-mail schuldt@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu \EOA 0092* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Dynamic Modelling and Information Systems * * Alexander Verbraeck, Delft Univ (a.verbraeck@is.twi.tudelft.nl) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Second Call for Papers -- please note extended deadlines Fourth International Working Conference on Dynamic Modelling and Information Systems September 28-30, 1994 Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands Dynamic modelling is an approach for analyzing dynamic aspects of organizations and their information systems. The approach recognizes that activities happen concurrently in organizations, and that methods are needed to model concurrency within organiza- tions and information systems. At this fourth conference, special interest will be paid to comparing different approaches for dynamic modelling, to the construction of professional tools for dynamic modelling, to empirical studies on dynamic approaches of information systems analysis and design, and to the transfer of the technology to government and commercial organizations. DYNMOD-IV is organized by Departments of Information Systems and Systems Engineering, Delft University of Technology HOW TO SUBMIT: The papers to be submitted for this conference cover several areas, including: --formal representations --petri-nets --simulation and animation --dynamic modelling tools and dynamic CASE tools --workflow analysis and tools for administrative logistics --dynamic approaches for business process redesign --empirical research and the use of dynamic modelling in practice The papers will be chosen after blind reviewing. Full papers can be up to 30 pages in length and occasionally even more. In addition, several interesting papers that are not yet mature enough to be included in the conference proceedings ("short papers") will be given a shorter presentation time and may be included in the regular proceedings or published separately. One copy of an extended abstract (6 pages or more) or a full paper (20-30 pages) should be sent to a.verbraeck@is.twi.tudelft.nl Or four copies should be sent by regular mail to: Dr. Alexander Verbraeck Program Chair DYNMOD-IV Dept. of Information Systems Delft University of Technology P.O. Box 356, 2600 AJ Delft, The Netherlands Tel: +31 (15) 783805 / 784475 Fax: +31 (15) 786632 / 787022 E-mail: a.verbraeck@is.twi.tudelft.nl Time-schedule (please note: changed deadlines!) Apr 15, 1994 Deadline for submitting abstracts / full papers May 15, 1994 Notification of acceptance / rejection Aug 1, 1994 Deadline for submitting full papers Sep 1, 1994 Deadline for submitting camera-ready papers Sep 28-30, 1994 Conference If you wish to participate in the conference (limited to 85 participants) or to receive a full call for papers please contact the Program Chair at the address given above. \EOA 0093* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - BCS Specialist Group on IS Methodologies (ISM) * * Nimal Jayaratna, Heriot-Watt University (nimal@uk.ac.hw.cee) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * British Computer Society Specialist Group on Information Systems Methodologies (ISM) 31 August - 2 September 1994 Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh The second annual conference of the British Computer Society Specialist Group on Information Systems Methodologies (ISM) will be held between 31st August and 2nd September 1994 (coincides with the last week of the Edinburgh Festival). It has three streams: --management, strategy and organisational focus --techniques, tools and software focus --information systems development focus The last is very much interdisciplinary. The call for papers deadline is being extended to 30 April 1994. Authors are asked to submit three copies of papers (10-12 single- spaced pages). For an information pack, please contact the Group Chair or the Conference Chair: Nimal Jayaratna, Group Chair Christine Lissoni, Conference Chair nimal@uk.ac.hw.cee gbibm4ll@ibmmail Heriot-Watt University IBM UK Limited Riccarton P.O.Box 41 Edinburgh EH14 4AS North Harbour, Portsmouth PO6 3AU Scotland England United Kingdom United Kingdom \EOA 0094* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Modelling Dynamics of Organizations and IS * * Alexander Verbraeck, Delft Univ (a.verbraeck@is.twi.tudelft.nl) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Modelling the Dynamics of Organizations and IS Minitrack Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - HICSS 28 January 3-6, 1995 Maui, Hawaii Papers are invited for the minitrack on Modelling the Dynamics of Organizations and Information Systems. There is little argument that organizations are dynamic systems. Dynamism is an inherent characteristic of our society in general and of organizations in particular. It is apparent not only in day-to-day processes but also in the way organizations react to changes: changes within an organization, changes in its information processing capability and changes in its environment. This inherent dynamism makes it so difficult to analyze and understand problems with respect to organizational performance. This HICSS minitrack provides one of the key international platforms on which these two issues can be discussed: --How to model organizations as dynamic systems in order to gain insight in their structure, processes and decision making vis-a-vis their performance? --How can this knowledge be used in engineering more effective organizations and information systems? Instructions for submitting papers: 1. Submit six copies of the full paper, consisting of 20-25 pages double-spaced including title page, abstract, references and diagrams directly to the minitrack coordinator. 2. DO NOT submit the paper to more than one minitrack. The paper should contain original material and not be previously published or currently submitted for consideration elsewhere. 3. Each paper must have a title page which includes the title, full name of all authors, and their complete addresses including affiliation(s), telephone numbers(s), and e-mail address(es). 4. The first page of the paper should include the title and a 300-word abstract. DEADLINES: March 15, 1994: Abstracts due for review by coordinators (optional) June 1, 1994: Full papers (see above) due Aug 31, 1994: Notification of accepted papers mailed to authors Oct 1, 1994: Camera-ready manuscripts due; one author must be registered Nov 15, 1994: All other authors must be registered All abstracts and papers to be sent to the minitrack coordinators: Pieter W.G. Bots, Henk G. Sol and Alexander Verbraeck Delft University of Technology The Netherlands Phone: +31 15 782948 Fax: +31 15 783429 E-mail: hicss-28@sepa.tudelft.nl For more information on the Conference, please contact the Conference Coordinator: Pamela Harrington Voice: (808) 956-7396 FAX: (808) 956-3766 E-mail: hicss@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu \EOA 0095* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Computers in Context: Joining Forces in Design * * Susanne Bodker, Aarhus University (bodker@daimi.aau.dk) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Third Decennial Conference Computers in Context: Joining Forces in Design August 14-18, 1995 Aarhus, Denmark The theme of the 1995 conference has been chosen to facilitate discussion of design of computer applications in context -- enabled by the joint cooperative forces of professional designers and end- users. The conference addresses both the design of computer tools, applications and systems, their use and, in particular, the close relationship between design and use. Contributions focusing on the following topics are encouraged: --Representations: scenarios, prototypes, object oriented models, and design schemes --Tools and Techniques: interface builders, design tool kits, application frameworks, computer supported cooperative design --Practice: cooperation, artefacts, integration of design and use, project management, quality assurance, tailorability, prototyping --Design Strategies: organizational change, politics, ethics, literacy, resource build-up, gender, and minorities. --Masterpieces: success stories of computer systems in use Papers should not exceed 10 pages in the double column format available through the organizers. Direct paper enquiries to Morten Kyng, e-mail: mkyng@daimi.aau.dk. Panel proposals should not exceed four pages and include: an abstract, panellists, theme, contents of intended discussion, panellists' statements, relevance to the conference and to the audience. Direct panel enquiries to Peter A. Nielsen, e-mail: panielsen@iesd.auc.dk. Workshop proposals should not exceed four pages and address: theme and objective, planned activities, the organizers, the relevance of the organizer's background, duration, maximum number of participants. An abstract should be included. Direct workshop enquiries to Kaj Gronbak (kgronbak@daimi.aau.dk) or Kim Halskov Madsen (halskov@imv.aau.dk). Tutorial proposals should not exceed four pages and include: the objective of the tutorial, the style and duration of the presentation, the contents, the intended audience and the level of the tutorial, and the background of each instructor. Direct tutorial enquiries to Susanne Bodker (bodker@daimi.aau.dk) or Arne Kjaer (a_kjaer@imv.aau.dk). Contributions must be sent in six copies to: Computers in Context Aarhus University Dept. of Computer Science Bldg. 540 Ny Munkegade 116 DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Important Dates: Contribution deadline: January 5, 1995 Notification to author(s): April 1, 1995 Final versions due: June 1, 1995 Conference: August 14 - 18, 1995 \EOA 0096* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Neural Network Applications (J Applied Exp Sys) * * Alan Sangster, Aberdeen University (a.sangster@aberdeen.ac.uk) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Call for Papers The International Journal of Applied Expert Systems Special Issue on Neural Network Applications to be published late 1994. To date, much of the published literature on neural computing has dealt with the implementation and theory of different neural network models and large numbers of these have now been described. Comparatively little attention has been paid to a whole range of equally demanding problems associated with the operational deployment of neural systems. In particular, most organisations expect to gain the most benefits from neural networks when they are used alongside other techniques. This implies, for example, that networks embedded within existing computing environments are more desirable than the stand-alone 'brain-in-a-box' approaches usually seen in research-oriented work. This special issue is intended to promote discussion of these points. Relevant topics for papers include: --Hybrid systems involving both neural and knowledge-based components --Comparisons of automated learning systems based on logic (eg, rule induction) with neural systems --Integration of neural components within more conventional computing frameworks --Issues relating to network re-training in service, to track changes in operational conditions --Real-world examples of applications which clearly demonstrate the unique advantages of a neural solution --Methodologies for choosing between alternative neural topologies and optimising network configurations --Approaches to validation and interpretation of network results Submission deadline: 31st May 1994. Three copies of each manuscript should be sent to: Alan Sangster, Editor, IJAES Department of Accountancy University of Aberdeen Dunbar Street Aberdeen AB9 2TY United Kingdom a.sangster@aberdeen.ac.uk \EOA 0097* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Lecturer, Info Systems, Dept of Comp Sci * * Guy Fitzgerald, Birkbeck College, U of London (guy@dcs.bbk.ac.uk) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Birkbeck College is a School of the University of London. Its primary purpose is to provide courses for mature students who are engaged in full-time employment. Most of the teaching is therefore conducted in the evenings. The College is one of the UK's premier research institutions which, despite its relatively small size was ranked 12th in the country in the recent (1992) Research Selectivity Exercise and the Department awarded a Grade 4 (5=top). This new appointment is a continuing step in the development of Information Systems in the College. The appointee will be expected to demonstrate academic expertise in an appropriate area related to Information Systems, although the Department has a preference for information systems development and business information systems. The post is mainly to support the teaching on the BSc. in IS and Management. The person may be a recently completed (or about to complete) PhD, or an experienced lecturer who wishes to move for the bright lights of London, or perhaps someone with relevant business and practical experience. The appointment is a permanent post (subject to a satisfactory probationary period). Interviews will be mid/end May '94, with a Sept/Oct start date. Phone or e-mail for informal discussions (+44 (0)71 631 6254). Guy Fitzgerald Cable and Wireless Professor of Business Information Systems Department of Computer Science Birkbeck College Malet Street London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)71 631 6314 Fax: +44 (0)71 636 4971 E-mail: guy@dcs.bbk.ac.uk \EOA 0098* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS * * Dennis W. Viehland, INFOSYS Editor (d.viehland@massey.ac.nz) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an abbreviated Calendar of Upcoming Events. A full Calendar will be included in v1 n12, to be issued within a few days. March 25, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline ACM 1994 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work "Transcending Boundaries -- People, Places, and Time." October 22-26, 1994 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Contact: cscw94@cs.unc.edu (see article 0077, INFOSYS v1 n9) March 24-26, 1994 ACM SIG Computer Personnel Research Conference "Reinventing IS: Managing IT in Changing Organizations" Alexandria, Virginia USA Contact: jross@sloan.mit.edu (see article 0057, INFOSYS v1 n7) March 25, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Annual Conf of International Business Schools Computing Assoc July 17-20, 1994 Baltimore, Maryland USA Contact: bapna@moe.morgan.edu (see article 0068, INFOSYS v1 n8) April 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Information Systems Special issue on Scientific Databases Contact: yannis@cs.wisc.edu (see articles 0042, INFOSYS v1 n5; 0059, INFOSYS v1 n7) April 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline International Conference on Information Technology and Socio-Economic Development: Challenges and Opportunities" January 9-11, 1995 Marriott Hotel, Cairo, Egypt Contact: m.odedra-straub@gaia.comlink.apc.org (see article 0069, INFOSYS v1 n8) April 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline 5th Annual Conf of the International Information Management Assoc October 5-7, 1994 Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: schuldt@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu (see article 0091, INFOSYS v1 n11) \EOA 0099* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HEARD ON THE NET - Maturity in Datacomm Products * * Dennis W. Viehland, INFOSYS Editor (d.viehland@massey.ac.nz) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Extracted from a conversation in neted-l@busadm.cba.hawaii.edu (electronic discussion group for Datacoms and Telecoms Teaching). NetEd-L is a new list (see INFOSYS article 0055, v1 n7) and members are introducing themselves, including what they teach and how. My course is for MIS majors. Unlike EE students, they will never have to build a router. But they will have to buy them and integrate them. So I focus on purchasing decisions in my class. Whenever we look at such things as X.25, Frame Relay, and ATM, I focus on when each might be suitable. One of the core ideas I use is the "Purchasing Cube." I point out that there are three dimensions to every purchase. One is cost, another is performance. This is an obvious tradeoff. If you want more, you have to pay more. I try to teach what happens over a product life cycle -- from the initial premium one has to pay to the hidden costs of purchasing obsolete equipment, especially when taking a life cycle perspective. The third dimension is maturity, which is the trickiest one. There is a real danger is living at the "bleeding edge," when you are really beta testing products, and when some critical features needed to make the products work economically or even work at all are missing or unacceptably weak. --Prof. Raymond R. Panko, University of Hawaii (panko@dscience.cba.hawaii.edu). I think Ray's point about maturity touches on something that I often bang on about, and makes teaching datacomms a lot more difficult than most fields of IT education. Standalone PCs and their accompanying paraphernalia are now so familiar that they need very little technical understanding (I use the word understanding rather than knowledge advisedly, because it's the mental model of a system that a student has to build that's important) to use. Even when there are issues of compatibility most packages now provide for straightforward conversion between numerous different formats. Datacomms are different: I've heard very skilled presenters lapse into a fog of acronyms when forced to explain the configuration of a simple network to a lay audience. Whether that's because datacomms are immature, or because they need a lot of maturity to sort out these issues, I'm not sure. But they haven't reached the level of maturity where you can just buy a component, switch it on, and use it and the divisions between what needs to be visible to users and what doesn't (the inside or outside of Ray's purchasing cube) remain unclear. --Martin Rich, City University Business School (London) (m.g.rich@city.ac.uk) To subscribe to NetEd-L, send the following one-line message to maiser@busadm.cba.hawaii.edu: subscribe neted-l You should recieve a confirmation message stating your successful subscription to the list. If you have any problems subscribing to the list, please send an e-mail message to postmaster@busadm.cba.hawaii.edu who will then help subscribe you. The listowner is Raymond Panko, University of Hawaii (panko@dscience.cba.hawaii.edu). \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * INFOSYS is an electronic newsletter for faculty, students, and * * practitioners in the field of Information Systems. INFOSYS * * publishes news items, requests for assistance, announcements of * * professional meetings and conferences, position notices, a * * calendar of upcoming events, comments on recent publications, * * abstracts of papers that authors are willing to share, and other * * items of interest to the Information Systems community. * * * * INFOSYS is published biweekly, more frequently if volume requires * * it. INFOSYS operates as an electronic mailing list on listserv * * software at American University in Washington, DC. The editor is * * Dennis W. Viehland (d.viehland@massey.ac.nz). * * * * To subscribe to INFOSYS send the following one-line electronic * * mail message to listserv@american.edu (Internet) or listserv@auvm * * (Bitnet): subscribe infosys yourfirstname yourlastname * * (e.g., subscribe infosys John Smith). You will receive a welcome * * letter that will tell you more about INFOSYS and listserv. * * * * Guidelines for submitting articles to INFOSYS are published in * * the Welcome message each new subscriber receives (or e-mail "GET * * infosys welcome" to listserv@american.edu). Send articles to * * infosys@american.edu or d.viehland@massey.ac.nz. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *