Infosys v2n022 (July 12, 1995) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/infosys/infs-v2n022 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * INFOSYS: The Electronic Newsletter for Information Systems * * Volume 2, Number 22 ISSN: 1173-3764 July 12, 1995 * * * * Editor: Dennis W. Viehland, Massey University, New Zealand * * Listowners: Greg Welsh, American University, Washington DC * * Peter M. Weiss, Penn State * * Sponsor: boyd & fraser publishing, Danvers, Massachusetts * * * * Current Subscribers = 3,910 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS * * * * * * * * * * * * * EDITOR'S NOTE - Oops! * * NEWS - From Edupage * * HEARD ON THE NET - Ten Most Desired IT/IS Skills for Managers * * ANNOUNCEMENT - MIS Camp at AIS-America's Conference * * ANNOUNCEMENT - ICIS 1994-95 Doctoral Dissertation Competition * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Workshop on Intelligent Decisn Support Systems * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Dean, Faculty of Business and Computing * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Dean, Information Technology and Service * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 0698* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EDITOR'S NOTE - Oops! * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * At the end of last month INFOSYS subscribers received a back issue copy of v2 n10 (Apr 4 95). Jim McIntosh, listserv master at American University, offers this explanation: "We found a couple of old files sitting on the listserv. Our supposition is that they were being queued when the listserv crashed. We debated deleting them or releasing them, and finally decided that there might be something in them someone needs even if it is late... so we released them. Now that we know where the files accumulate we will keep an eye out for them so this shouldn't happen again." \EOA 0699* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWS - From Edupage * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * RX FOR PC CARE: The average cost of maintaining a personal computer has increased 153% since 1987, and the average user spends more than $41,000 over five years to keep his or her PC running. The PC Asset Management Institute estimates that companies waste about $20 billion each year in overspending on PC management. The answer? Outsourcing, according to more than half of the 603 CIOs surveyed by Computer Sciences Corp, who put it at the top of their priority lists. The one hitch is that before jobbing something out, you have to know what you're letting go of, which requires taking inventory. "I'm avoiding it because I don't want to go around, crawling under desks and worrying about some missing PCs," says one. "PCs are two- year disposables. Do you keep track of paper clips?" (Information Week 6/26/95 p.36) CITY OF BITS: The MIT Press's first WWW book, "City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn," is about a new type of "city," constructed of interconnected virtual spaces on the network. The URL is , and the online version functions as a companion to its printed counterpart. Reader comments or queries are embedded in the text to become part of an on-going dialogue in which author and reader will interact. ("City of Bits," MIT Press, 1995) MOVE OVER, BOB: Bob, Microsoft's user-friendly interface, is just the beginning of a trend toward so-called social interfaces. Computer Associate's Simply Village uses a city metaphor, complete with streets, buildings, and a village square. Packard Bell's Navigator interface uses the floor plan of a house to guide users. And Novell's Corsair will allow developers to write social interfaces to link computers to backend services, offering metaphors such as a home office, a living room and a cityscape. Still, some experts dismiss the social interface approach as "kid stuff." "The social interface assumes PC users will spend lots of time at the beginner level, but the reality is people are embarrassed to have training wheels," says one. (Information Week 7/3/95 p.32) E-MAIL EVIDENCE ADMISSIBLE IN SEX DISCRIMINATION CASE: E-mail messages by a boss describing an employee as the "Spandex Queen" and referring to himself as "president of the Amateur Gynecology Club" are admissible as evidence in a lawsuit brought against Microsoft by a former employee. Microsoft had argued unsuccessfully that the messages were intended as workplace humor, and were irrelevant to the case. (BNA Employment Discrimination Report 6/21/95 p.786.) GIRLS AND GAMES: The video game market has long been targeting boys with their shoot 'em up adventure fantasies, and companies are starting to realize that they're missing out on half the market. Sega of America has had a Girls Task Force for the past two years, developing a series of products for girls. The results are in: girls' usage of Sega Genesis has risen from 5% three years ago to 20% in 1995. Meanwhile an Austin, Texas company called Girl Games is focusing exclusively on interactive products and an online service for girls, which will be available next year. And Los Angeles-based e-Girl Interactive is planning software and an online service for 1996. "Girls have a different reward system. They want games that allow them to create, undergo personal transformations, and play socially. Boys are generally apt to compete, wheras girls compete with themselves," says an e-Girl founder. (Digital Kids, June '95 p.15) INTERNET FACTS: Did you know that: In the first quarter of 1995, $47 million in venture capital was invested in Internet companies, compared with $42 million for all of 1994. The number of new Internet domains registered in Manhattan in May was 340, compared with 343 registered in British Columbia during the same time period. Twenty-eight percent of Internet users use local access providers. (The Internet Index 7/29/95) MOORE'S CANNIBAL PRINCIPLE: Gordon Moore, Intel co-founder and creator of Moore's Law, now has developed a Cannibal Principle to explain why competition in the computer industry is so vicious: "The whole point of integrated circuits is to absorb the functions of what previously were discrete electronic components, to incorporate them in a single new chip, and then to give them back for free, or at least for a lot less money than what they cost as individual parts. Thus, semiconductor technology eats everything, and people who oppose it get trampled. I can't think of another technology or industry quite like it." (Fortune 7/10/95 p.91) APPLE TARGETS HIGH-GROWTH MARKETS: Apple CEO Michael Spindler wants to focus the company on "high-growth market segments" such as publishing and multimedia, in education, business, entertainment and the home. "We don't want to be simply throwing Macs out there to do office work," he says. Spindler rejects the idea of making the Mac a more general-purpose machine: "This isn't diapers or soap or soda pop. We need to make computers that better understand their users." (Information Week 7/10/95 p.32) Editor's Note: Edupage, a summary of news items on information technology, is a service of Educom. This is an abbreviated list of news items of interest to the IS community from the June 20, 22, 27, 29, July 2, 4, and 9, 1995 issues. \EOA 0700* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HEARD ON THE NET - Ten Most Desired IT/IS Skills for Managers * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * On 23rd May, 1995 Andrew Stein of Victoria University of Technology asked the Careers in Information Systems (CIS-L) e-mail list the following question: What are the 10 most desired IT/IS skills that line managers and/ or general managers require today? 1. knowledge of PC/notebook operations 2. basic spreadsheet functions 3. windows software 4. spreadsheet macros 5. ability to speak & write well (communicate!) 6. self teaching (you are the manager of your own destiny) 7. ability to follow directions (regardless if it's the manual or the boss) 8. ability to think and plan 9. discern between global issues & immediate concerns 10. ability to smile while being flogged by the users! Please fill in and I will collate and return to the list. - - - - - - - Much of the ensuing discussion debated the merits of Andrew's list, especially the technical orientation of the top five. Representative of that debate was this comment: If you haven't guessed, the technical skills are not always the larger component of the job. Even in the public sector, understanding who your customer is and how to interact with them is CRITICAL!!! Except in this business, you might not lose the business per se, instead you'll lose political points and managerial support. I need staff that can think critically and discern the future. It is a very rare skill and one person that can think that way is worth his or her weight in gold -- or should I say, three or four techies. Thanks for the opportunity to connect. --Bryan Ruhf Michigan Dept of Health - - - - - - - Other CIS-L members addressed Andrew's question directly by contributing their own list of skills. Three of those lists are (slightly edited for space): "We were less specific in defining specific skill sets than you appear to be. What we did was to identify domains of IT knowledge that groups required. In our case, we assumed that infrastructure items (network backbones, procurement, systems support, etc) were handled by specialist organizations. We found, however, that the lines of business were really left to put all the pieces together. A compact version of our longer list: 1. Summary of the organization's workflow, IT capability, and expertise 2. Enough word processing/spreadsheet knowledge to work with 3. Enough presentation graphics skills to rough cut presentations 4. Heaps of communication skills (telephony and e-mail to the hilt) We found that the more they knew about (then) expensive items such as communications, the more they supported their people in this respect, and the more they relied upon their organization to provide information gathering/disbursment support. --Respondent not named at his/her request Here are some skills I nominate: a) the ability to look at a job, figure out which tools are needed (e.g. spreadsheet, database, wp), and apply them. b) being able to assimilate/understand the business function the IS/IT knowledge is being applied against. c) project management skills (you don't need to be an expert, but you do have to know how to manage a project). d) people skills ARE important skills in IS/IT e) everybody needs a smattering of word processing skills, but should aim for more than just "typing". Merging and columnar reports are two. Page design too. f) familiarty with a database or 4GL package, especially the ability to manipulate the data and produce "meaningful" information out of it. --George Rios UCLA Medical Center Top 10 IT/IS skills for line managers and general managers: 1. LAN knowledge and skills 2. DOS, WINDOWS, and UNIX operating systems 3. Telecommunication knowledge, including newer trends in ISDN, frame relay, SMDS, ATM 4. Relational DBMS 5. Internet applications: WWW, Gopher, listserv, usegroup, etc. 6. Strong business sense: knowing when and how to apply appropriate IS tools 7. Having the ability to learn new skills and knowledge in a very short time 8. Possessing a cheerful personality, and excellent interpersonal communication skills 9. Programming skills: C++, Visual BASIC, etc. 10 Basic PC skills: spreadsheet, word processor, presentation, graphics, etc. I feel that the importance of computer communications and telecommunications is often neglected by IS professionals. In order not to be limited by the traditional roles of IS professionals, we must also emphasize these fields, plus the management/business/ interpersonal issues. I purposely listed basic PC skills the last, because these are the skills that everyone needs, no matter what field he/she is in. --Eugenia Huang National Chengai University, Taipei On June 6 Andrew Stein closed the discussion with a thank you to all who contributed and this comment about his motivation to ask the question. A total of 15 responses were received. They were extremely cogent and very useful to me. The reason for the original question is that my research interest lies in the evolution of IT/IS skills that the new work processes are demanding. I am also interested in the relativity between technical...business...personal skills that the information worker will require. As an educator in IS my colleagues and I are constantly under seige from students and the wider business community re the applicability of the skills, concepts that we impart to our students. The original question asked for only IT based skills, yet the responses received covered the business based and the interpersonal based skill sets that are required. My simple question provided very meaningful answers yet left me no wiser into knowing the skill sets that managers; line, IS, general, will require as we approach 2000. It is trite to expect to develop a list of skills yet when the business environment and technology is constantly changing I feel we must ask the question. Any researchers etc interested in these and related issues please feel free to contact me. --Andrew Stein Victoria University of Technology \EOA 0701* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ANNOUNCEMENT - MIS Camp at AIS-America's Conference * * Laurie Kirsch, U of Pittsburgh * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MIS Camp at Association for Information Systems-Americas Conference August 24, 1995 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA MIS Camp is a junior faculty workshop for members of AIS. It will be held in conjunction with the Inaugural Americas Conference of the Association for Information Systems, which will be held August 25-27, 1995, in Pittsburgh, PA. MIS Camp will be held on Thursday, August 24, 1995, from noon to 10:00 p.m. The theme for the 1995 MIS Camp is "things they forgot to tell me in my doctoral program." MIS Campers will be led in a series of activities related to those "forgotten details" by the MIS Camp Counselors, including Cynthia Beath, Dick Boland, Sirkka Jarvenpaa, John L.King, Laurie Kirsch, and Allen Lee. Letters indicating an interest in attending MIS Camp are solicited from junior faculty who are beginning their second year in an academic position in the fall of 1995. In addition, MIS Campers should be: --teaching largely in information systems --interested in research on information systems --willing to articulate an interest in the MIS Camp theme --members of AIS A letter of interest (including detailed contact information) and a current resume should be sent to: Prof Laurie J. Kirsch Katz Graduate School of Business University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15260 Questions to: Voice: 412-648-7672 E-mail: lkirsch@katz.business.pitt.edu MIS Camp will be held at a location about one hour north of the Pittsburgh airport. Transportation will be arranged. The fee for MIS Camp will be $50, to cover food, transportation, and supplies. Your letter of interest must be received by July 18, 1995. Space will be limited to 18 campers, so please send your letter soon. If enough interest is expressed, we will investigate the possibility of an additional location for a second, parallel MIS Camp. \EOA 0702* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ANNOUNCEMENT - ICIS 1994-95 Doctoral Dissertation Competition * * Suzanne Rivard * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * International Conference on Information Systems 1994-95 Doctoral Dissertation Competition The International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) announces an annual award of $1,000 for the best doctoral dissertation in the Information Systems field. The winner and runners-up in the dissertation competition will be announced at the Annual ICIS Conference to be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, December 10-13, 1995. Eligibility: Dissertations must have been completed in the time period from September 1, 1994 to August 31, 1995. The dissertation must, in the opinion of the judges, be related to an important issue in the information systems field. Authors must be in good standing in their doctoral programs but need not be majoring in management information systems per se. Criteria for selection: In the opinion of the judges, the dissertation must: (1) make an original and substantive contribution to the understanding, development, or use of information services, and (2) represent high research standards, in terms of theory and method. Submission process: All manuscripts and accompanying information must be submitted in English, although ICIS wishes to encourage dissertations from all countries. The following must be submitted to ICIS and postmarked by September 21, 1995: --One copy of the dissertation manuscript in loose-leaf form (not bound). --Four copies of a single-authored paper, 5,000-6,000 words in length, that summarizes the dissertation and its contribution to the field. The paper should not contain the author's name, affiliation, or other identifying information. --A short letter from the student's thesis advisor or chairman of the doctoral program, attesting: (a) that the thesis meets all requirements for graduation with a doctoral degree and has been successfully defended during the time period September 1, 1994, to August 31, 1995; (b) that the paper and dissertation are regarded by the thesis committee as being representative of the best level of their department's doctoral work; (c) that the thesis meets the ICIS criteria for selection listed above. Works under consideration for publication can be submitted of they otherwise meet the criteria for selection. ICIS will not return submissions. Authors will retain full copyright of the submitted papers and dissertations. Dissertations and supporting documentation should be sent to: ICIS Doctoral Awards Program Attn: Suzanne Rivard Ecole des HEC 5255 Decelles Montreal, Quebec Canada H3T 1V6 Voice: (514) 340-6493 Fax: (514) 340-5634 E-mail: suzanne.rivard@hec.ca Selection process: Each submitted paper will be read and reviewed by a panel of university faculty members that has been selected and approved by the ICIS Operating Committee. Their valuations will be used to select those dissertations that merit more detailed assessment as candidates for an award. These dissertations will be reviewed by the ICIS dissertation selection committee who will make the final choice. \EOA 0703* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - Workshop on Intelligent Decisn Support Systems * * Andrew Blair, Univ of Technology, Sydney * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * First Australian Workshop on Intelligent Decision Support Systems 13 November 1995 Canberra, Australia The Intelligent Decision Support Systems (IDSSs) Workshop is concerned with the design, implementation, maintenance and use of computer systems which can support difficult decision making in areas of much uncertainty, incomplete information, human judgement, preferences and risks. The workshop will address the topics of: the nature of IDSSs, recent IDSSs which have been built, experiences with using recent IDSS development tools, methodologies for building IDSSs, issues with building Cooperating IDSSs, knowledge representation for IDSSs, Reasoning Methods for IDSSs and approaches for maintaining IDSSs. This workshop will be a full-day workshop on 13th November 1995 at the Eighth Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI'95) in Canberra, Australia. The proceedings will be published by AI'95. If the workshop papers are of a high standard, then an international publisher will be approached to publish these papers. The cost of workshops is set at $75 for conference attendees and $150 for others. The workshop will be limited to approximately 20 people. Authors are invited to submit four copies of their paper by August 18 describing either theoretical or practical work in any areas of IDSSs. Papers submitted should be double-spaced in 12 point Times Roman and not exceed 15 pages. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: --Nature of IDSSs --Recent tools for the development of IDSSs --Knowledge representation for IDSSs --Reasoning methods for IDSSs --Methodologies for building IDSSs --Applications of IDSSs --Cooperating IDSSs --Integration of heterogeneous components in IDSSs --Maintenance of IDSSs Four copies of the full paper must be sent to: AI'95 IDSS Workshop Organising Committee c/o Professor John K. Debenham School of Computing Sciences University of Technology, Sydney PO Box 123, Broadway Sydney, NSW 2007 Australia Important deadlines are as follows: 18 August 1995 Deadline for full paper 8 September 1995 Notification of acceptance/rejection 30 September 1995 Deadline for camera-ready paper version 13 November 1995 Workshop All queries on this workshop should be directed to: idss-request@socs.uts.edu.au \EOA 0704* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Dean, Faculty of Business and Computing * * Roger Debreceny, Southern Cross Univ< rdebrece@scu.edu.au> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dean of the Faculty of Business and Computing Southern Cross University The Faculty of Business and Computing at Southern Cross University offers courses in the discipline areas of Accounting, Computing, Economics, Human Resource Management, Marketing, and Management. The successful applicant will be expected to possess a doctorate and a distinguished record of achievement in industry or teaching, and research in an area related to one or more of the disciplines taught within the Faculty. In addition, applicants should be able to demonstrate high-level skills in academic leadership and management, together with the capacity to contribute to the processes in professional activities would be seen as advantage. Applications would be welcomed from women and those persons who are currently employed within industry and can demonstrate a successful record of achievements in a managerial capacity. Appointment to the position of dean will be on the basis of a four year performance contract, with the possibility of renewal. Concurrent with this appointment, the appointee may also be offered a substantive appointment at Professorial or Associate Professor level. Salary: $80,176 plus Decanal and portfolio allowances. Closing date: Monday 17th July, 1995. Further information relating to the position may be obtained from: Vice-Chancellor, Professor Barry Conyngham Voice: (066) 20 3701 E-mail: vc@scu.edu.au Written information about the University, Faculty and position may be obtained from the staff office: (066) 20 3667. Written applications, quoting the position, name and number, and setting out personal details, qualifications, work experience and the names, addresses and fax numbers of three referees should be forwarded to: Director of Staffing Southern Cross University P.O. Box 157 LISMORE NSW 2480 ph. (066) 20 3000 fax. (066) 22 4240 \EOA 0705* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Dean, Information Technology and Service * * Mary Helen Fagan, Salisbury State Univ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dean, Information Technology and Service Salisbury State University Salisbury, Maryland USA Salisbury State University invites nominations and applications for the position of Dean, Information Technology and Services. The Dean has responsibility for the management of academic and administrative computing, the library, telecommunications, instructional media and television services. The Dean, in collaboration with the academic deans and administrative officers, will provide leadership, vision and strategic planning for the information infrastructure for the university. The Dean is a member of the Deans' Council and reports to the Provost. Applicants for the position must have: --significant experience in the application of information resources and technologies in higher education --demonstrated success in the management of personnel and budgets --experience in the delivery of effective information and technology services --excellent leadership, interpersonal and communications skills. The review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Review of applications and nominations (with three references) will begin July 15, 1995. Please submit nominations or applications to: Dr. Thomas W. Dillon Search Committee Chair Dean, Information Technology and Services c/o Computer Services Department Salisbury State University Salisbury, Maryland 21801 E-mail: twdillon@sae.ssu.umd.edu \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ABOUT INFOSYS * * INFOSYS is an electronic newsletter for faculty, students, and * * practitioners in the field of Information Systems. INFOSYS * * publishes news items, requests for assistance, calls for papers * * announcements of professional meetings and conferences, position * * announcements, journal table of contents, 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 . * * * * INFOSYS is sponsored by boyd & fraser, publishers of educational * * materials for computer and information education. Contact Bill * * Lisowski or visit http://www.bf.com/bf.html * * or gopher.bf.com for more information about boyd & fraser. * * * * To subscribe to INFOSYS send the following one-line e-mail * * message to listserv@american.edu: 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. To cancel your subscription send the following * * message to listserv@american.edu: unsubscribe infosys * * * * 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. * * * * The INFOSYS Calendar of Upcoming Events is updated fortnightly * * and can be obtained in the following ways: * * --E-mail: send the following one-line message to * * listserv@american.edu: get infosys calendar * * --FTP: anonymous FTP to ftp.american.edu; file is pub/infosys/ * * infosys.calendar * * --Gopher: gopher to auvm.american.edu; choose INFOSYS * * --WWW: forthcoming * * * * INFOSYS Back Issues are archived by Robert McArthur at: * * AUSTRALIA: http://www.fit.qut.edu.au/~mcarthur/infosys/ * * by Eric Morgan (N Carolina State Univ) at: * * USA: ftp://ftp.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/infosys/ * * USA: wais://wais.lib.ncsu.edu/infosys * * USA: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/infosys-index.html * * by Brian Fitzgerald (University College Cork) at: * * EUROPE: http://www.ucc.ie/htbin/infosys * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *