Infosys v3n004 (February 12, 1996) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/infosys/infs-v3n004 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * INFOSYS: The Electronic Newsletter for Information Systems * * Volume 3, Number 4 ISSN: 1173-3764 February 12, 1996 * * * * 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 = 5,003 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWS - From Edupage * * ANNOUNCEMENT - ISWorld Challenge Award * * CONTENTS - Information Technology for Development * * CONFERENCE - Methods Integration Workshop * * CONFERENCE - Internatnl Business Schools Computing Assoc (IBSCA) * * CALL FOR PAPERS - IS Stream, UK Operational Research Society * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Assistant Professor, Mgmt Info Systems * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Faculty, Integrated Science and Technlgy * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Visitor, Decision and Informatn Sciences * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Assist Professor, Management Info Systems * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Visiting Faculty, Information Systems * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWS - From Edupage * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * INDIA'S NEW SOFTWARE POWERHOUSE: The number of Indian software export companies has exploded in the past five years, from seven to more than 130, providing jobs for more than 100,000 programmers. Revenues reached about $500 million for the year ending March 31, 1995, about 50% higher than the previous year. "The industry is changing," says the head of one Indian software firm. "American customers now demand code that is rigorous, methodical and reengineerable. Indians know how to do it that way." (Forbes ASAP 4 Dec 95 p74) 64-BIT CHIPS SET TO OVERTAKE 32-BIT COUSINS If you think you're on top of things because you just switched over to a 32-bit system, think again -- 64-bit chips are expected to be the norm by the year 2000. Driving the change is the need for speed to run graphics- intensive computing applications and heavy-duty databases. So far, Digital Equipment Corp. is one of the few 64-bit chip suppliers with its own 64-bit operating system -- a must for taking full advantage of the 64-bit architecture. But industry experts emphasize the need to expand the horizon beyond 64: "Today's move toward 64-bit file systems and 64-bit processing are just stages in the evolution of information technology. It is important to recognize this and not develop solutions for 64-bit that are not sufficient for 128-bit and beyond." (Information Week 1 Jan 96 p39) RESUME BUZZ WORDS FOR '96: Employers of information systems experts in 1996 will be looking for people who know the Internet, client- server computing or networking, according to hiring executives. "IS organizations are looking for people experienced in working with the Internet, particularly regarding security issues and building firewalls," says the CEO of a Santa Monica, Calif. consulting firm. In the client-server area, expertise in C++, Visual Basic and Forte programming is in demand, as well as front-end graphical user interfaces, relational databases and help-desk support. Programmers who otherwise would be in the $50,000 to $60,000 salary category might see an extra $10,000 to $20,000 tacked on for these skills, say some recruiting experts. (Information Week 1 Jan 96 p64) THE POWER OF SMALL TEAMS: Sun Microsystems chief technology officer Eric Schmidt favors small teams and a focused approach to technical problems: "The proper arrangement at a company is a very large number of very small businesses. The best things were done by very small engineering teams, because a small engineering team is forced to make tradeoffs to do only one thing. They are very committed... But small teams go against human nature. Human nature is to build bigger and bigger enterprises." He cites examples to bolster his argument: "Unix was developed by two people. Java was done by a team of less than five, Mosaic was done by two to four people and the Mac system was done by about 12 people. Even DOS was actually developed by only two people." (Investor's Business Daily 17 Jan 96 A1) NOTES DOES THE NET: Analysts who predicted the demise of Lotus Notes as a result of the work-sharing advantages of the Internet may have been a bit premature in their estimations. In fact, the number of PCs using Notes has doubled in the past six months to 4.5 million, and is expected to hit 20 million in 1998 -- the break-even point for IBM's investment. "All the hype over the past six months has done us a tremendous service by espousing the benefits of collaboration," says Notes creator Ray Ozzie. Accordingly, Lotus has lowered its price for desktop software to $69 -- "in browser country" says CEO Michael Zisman -- and the company is concentrating on making new products that enhance connections between Notes and the Internet. The first step is persuading current users of the highly successful cc:Mail program to try Notes for their e-mail, and sort of ease into the new product line from there. "It's marketing simplicity," says an analyst with International Data Corp. (Business Week 29 Jan 96 p70) IT HOT BUTTONS GET HOTTER: An Information Week survey shows that nearly 60% of CIOs queried plan to boost information technology spending in 1996. Only 13% reported a planned decrease. But the money won't go for more hardware (at least not networking hardware) -- more than half the respondents said at least 75% of their 1996 budgets will go toward items other than equipment. And hot technologies will get hotter. Nearly 75% said they'll use the World Wide Web and online services this year, and all reported they'll be using client-server technology. The Internet will be used by half. One VP at a high-tech consulting firm put it this way: "To out- customize your competitors, you have to beat them on IT." (Information Week 8 Jan 96 p28) VISA, MASTERCARD AGREE ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM Visa International and MasterCard International have reached a truce over competing systems for processing Internet transactions, and will work together on a new technology called Secure Electronic Transactions that will allow software developers for World Wide Web sites to incorporate a standard system for accepting credit-card payments. "There will be a specification that's open for anyone to implement completely free of charge," says the chief scientist at Netscape, which had been working with MasterCard on its own system. "This is the right step for the industry to take, and we're really happy we're finally solving this problem." (Wall Street Journal 1 Feb 96 B2) DEAD INFORMATION ON THE WEB: Futurist Paul Saffo predicts the transformation of the Web in the next 12 months: "The Web as we know it today is dead. It's dead in two ways: because it's going to mutate into something else very quickly and be unrecognizable within 12 months, and secondly, it's dead because all it's got on it is dead information... Sure, there are links, but the links just lead to more dead information. It's a big information mausoleum. But with things like Java, you get animation. The information is alive... Today, if you think about it, it's really quite bizarre. You dial into a Web page. There may be a thousand other people at that page. But the only way that you even know anyone else is there is that the server is slow. The next big change is going to be finding ways to put qualities that we associate with MUDs today into Web pages so that you can interact with people." (Upside Feb 96 p26) 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 January 9, 11, 18, 28, February 1 and 4, 1996 issues. \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ANNOUNCEMENT - ISWorld Challenge Award * * Richard Watson, University of Georgia * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The governors of ISWorld have decided to make an annual award at ICIS to the university IS unit (eg the IS department within ABC University) making the most significant contribution to the development of ISWorld in the preceding year. The first award will be announced at ICIS Cleveland in 1996. The criteria for the award are: --contribution to teaching and learning --contribution to research --innovation in design and presentation --contribution to creating an IS community of scholars Equal weighting is given to each criterion. The winning IS unit will receive a virtual plaque to place on its ISWorld pages. The judging panel is: --Sid Huff, University of Western Ontario, Canada --Eduardo Morgado, State University of Sao Paulo, Brazil --Yves Pigneur, Lausanne University, Switzerland --Wei Kwok Kee, National University of Singapore --Rick Watson, University of Georgia, USA (Chair) Please contact any of the judges if you wish to nominate an IS unit's contribution to ISWorld. IS units associated with the judges are not eligible. I encourage you to become involved in the development of ISWorld and to enter the competition. You've got to weave it to win it. \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CONTENTS - Information Technology for Development * * Richard Heeks, University of Manchester * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Information Technology for Development Vol.6 (1): --Software Systems Maintenance in Africa, Evans Woherem --Technology Transfer vs. Technological Learning, Jorn Braa et al. --IT Landmarks in Chile, Ricardo Baeza-Yates et al. --The Missing Link: Information, Gerard Kenney Vol.6(2): --Basic Infrastructure in the new South Africa, Stephen Song and Shahid Akhtar --Telecommunications and Sustainable Development, Huguette Labelle --India's Information Technology Industry, Gopalakrishnan Haridranath and Jonathan Liebenau --Vietnam's IT-2000 Program, Phan Dinh Dieu and Nguyen Huu Le --Managing Information Technology in Uganda, Nora Mulira Information Technology for Development IOS Press, Amsterdam E-mail: marie-louise.kok@ios.nl Fax: +31-20-620-3419 \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CONFERENCE - Methods Integration Workshop * * Tony Bryant, Leeds Metropolitan University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Methods Integration Workshop March 25-26, 1996 Leeds, UK The aims of the Methods Integration Workshop are to promote the interests of researchers and users of software development methods which combine the use of formal methods with other heuristic or semiformal methods (including structured and object-oriented methods), to evaluate integrated methods in the light of current research and practice, and discuss future research directions and priorities. The Workshop will include both technical presentations and working groups with active participation. The workshop fee is 150 pounds + VAT (26.25 pounds). Acommodation will be available at local hotels at prices ranging from 30 pounds to 100 pounds per night. All bookings should be sent to the Organising Chair. Enquiries can be sent via e-mail to either: Programme Chair: Tony Bryant Leeds Metropolitan University Faculty of Information and Engineering Systems The Grange Beckett Park Leeds, LS6 3QS, England Voice: +44 113 283 2600 ext 3680 Fax: +44 113 283 3182 E-mail: a.bryant@lmu.ac.uk Organising Chair: Lesley Semmens Leeds Metropolitan University Faculty of Information and Engineering Systems Beckett Park Leeds, LS6 3QS, England Voice: +44 113 283 2600 ext 3680 Fax: +44 113 283 3182 E-mail: l.semmens@lmu.ac.uk \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CONFERENCE - Internatnl Business Schools Computing Assoc (IBSCA) * * Jim Swanson, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 24th Annual Conference of the International Business Schools Computing Association (IBSCA) July 20-24, 1996 Daytona Beach, Florida The International Business Schools Computing Association (IBSCA) is composed of people who are involved with teaching computing topics in the business area, and of those who are involved in providing support for computing in business schools. IBSCA's 24th annual conference will be held July 20-24 at the Daytona Beach Hilton Resort, Daytona Beach, Florida, hosted by the Aviation Business Administration Department of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Proposals are solicited for papers, panel discussions, small roundtable sessions, poster sessions, and workshops. Proposed presentatations will be considered for inclusion in the program based on the guidelines contained in the Call for Participation. NOTE: Deadline for receipt of proposals is March 1, 1996. There is a web page at http://erau.db.erau.edu/~bizweb/ibsca/ which contains pertinent information. Hard copies of the call for participation can be obtained from: Dr Jim Swanson, Conference Chair E-mail: swanson@db.erau.edu or Prof. Shirley Fedorovich, Program Chair E-mail: fedorovi@db.erau.edu \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALL FOR PAPERS - IS Stream, UK Operational Research Society * * Susan Gasson, Univ of Warwick * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Information Systems Stream OR38 - Annual Conference of the UK Operational Research Society 3-5 September, 1996 University of Warwick, UK The 38th OR Society Conference will take place this year at Warwick Business School. There will be approximately 20 streams running in 10 parallel sessions, including: Information Systems, Business Process Reengineering, Decision Support Systems, Group Decision Support, Artificial Intelligence, Systems Methodologies, Neural Networks and Simulation, to name just a few. Contributions are invited from both academics and practitioners. The Information Systems stream is concerned with the technologies and techniques of information systems, together with their applications. In particular, this stream focuses on the analysis of information technology in organisational settings. This perspective aims to identity and capitalise on the opportunities to use information technology for business goals. Whether the technology is innovative or more traditional, proper appreciation of the risks and the social implications of change need to be considered. Suitable topics include, but are not limited to: --information analysis approaches and methods --methods, tools and techniques for the development of information systems --methods, tools and techniques for the evaluation of information systems in an organisational context --project management approaches, techniques and methods --case studies of the management of information systems projects --case studies of the impact of information systems on organisational productivity or work-design --the heuristics of information system analysis, implementation and evaluation. The keynote speaker for the Information Systems stream will be Professor Bob Galliers, of Warwick Business School. In addition to the papers presented there will be two plenary speakers and a social programme. Submissions You do not have to produce a written paper for this conference - a 'paper' at the conference means a 20 minute presentation plus 10 minutes for questions/discussion. If you decide to present a paper, please submit a title and a brief abstract no longer than 100 words. Abstracts may be submitted electronically and should contain no mathematical symbols, graphs or tables. Please include full contact details, including an e-mail address where possible. In cases of multiple authorship the first author listed should be the person who plans to present the paper at the Conference. The conference fee is expected to be in the region of stlg350 plus accommodation (exact details will be available from the OR Society within the next two months). Important Dates: Submission of 100-word abstracts: Monday 18 February, 1996 Acceptance notification: Monday 8 April, 1996 Conference Tuesday 3 Sep - Thurs 5 Sep 1996 IS Stream Organiser: Susan Gasson OR'38 Conference Operational Research and Systems Warwick Business School University of Warwick COVENTRY CV4 7AL United Kingdom Voice: 01203 524582 Fax: 01203 524539 E-Mail: orssg@wbs.warwick.ac.uk For more general enquiries about the conference or for details of other streams, please contact Frances O'Brien at the address above or orsfo@wbs.warwick.ac.uk. \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Assistant Professor, Mgmt Info Systems * * P.C. Chu, Ohio State University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Ohio State University invites applications for tenure-track positions in MIS at the Assistant Professor level, beginning in the Autumn, 1996 quarter. Candidates should have a serious commitment to scholarly research and teaching, and they should be able to provide evidence of their ability and achievements. Applicants should possess a doctoral degree or be near completion of the degree. Preference will be given to candidates with research and teaching interests in the telecommunication area (broadly defined). To assure full consideration, candidates should submit their resumes, dissertation proposal, any research papers, and three letters of reference no later than March 31, 1996 to: Professor Lawrence A. Tomassini Chairman, Department of Accounting and MIS The Ohio State University 1775 College Road Columbus, Ohio 43210-1399 \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Faculty, Integrated Science and Technlgy * * James J. Pomykalski, James Madison University * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Program of Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) within the College of Integrated Science and Technology, James Madison University is recruiting for multiple faculty positions. The Program is seeking applicants who are interested in building this new college and in creating new undergraduate and graduate curricula. The goal is to produce graduates with strong problem- solving skills acquired from studies designed to integrate concepts from the sciences, liberal studies, and business. Interdisciplinary areas targeted for focus in the ISAT program are: energy systems, environmental studies, biotechnology, instrumentation and measurement, manufacturing and modern production, and knowledge technology. Faculty applicants will be considered in the following areas, but the successful candidate will have a broad interest in participating across the entire curriculum: Information and Knowledge Management. Applicants are sought to support teaching and curriculum development in knowledge-based systems and human computer interaction. Subject areas include knowledge-based systems, user interface design, multimedia design, virtual reality, and intelligent-systems development. An emerging interest in telecommunications provides an additional need for an applicant with background and industrial experience in this growing field. Curriculum development will be directed toward student understanding of data communications technology at a systems level. Positions also exist for candidates in the areas of Manufacturing and Modern Production, Energy Systems, Instrumentation and Measurement, and Technology Education. Faculty will be primarily responsible for curriculum development and teaching, although an interest in research is desired. Applicants should possess interdisciplinary experience in areas with a strong scientific base. Experience in the business or government sectors as well as in the academic environment is desirable. The PhD or equivalent is required. Appointments will be full-time and primarily at the associate and assistant professor level on a multi-year, renewable contract basis. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Send a letter of application with a resume and the name, address, and telephone number of three references to: ISAT Faculty Search Committee College of Integrated Science and Technology James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA 22807 In the letter, specify the area in which you wish to be considered. Review of applications will begin March 11, 1995 and will continue until suitable applicants are found. \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Visitor, Decision and Informatn Sciences * * Dick Elnicki, University of Florida * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Decision and Information Sciences Department at the University of Florida has a visitor position open in the 1996-97 academic year. We are looking for an individual, preferably on a sabbatical or leave, to teach our undergraduate introduction to IS course Fall Semester 1996 and Spring Semester 1997 OR to teach our MBA introduction to IS course Spring Semester 1997. The two-credit undergraduate course is taught on TV. Each semester it will have about 500 students with one live session and multiple replay sections. The three-credit MBA course is taught in an amphitheater-style classroom. It will have three sections. Since this is a teaching position, there will be NO research or service requirements or expectations. Applicants must submit evidence of excellent teaching experience. Your chair or dean should send us an e-mail or snail-mail letter of recommendation that includes a statistical summary of the your school's standard classroom evaluations. Your letter of application must include the visiting alternative you prefer. A resume may be included via a Web URL, land mail or FAX. Applications should be sent by e-mail to Dick Elnicki. Applications via land mail and FAX will also be accepted. A version of this e-mail with links to Web pages that will interest potential applicants is at http://www.nerdc.ufl.edu/~ufdis/visitor.html Dick Elnicki Professor, Department of Decision and Information Sciences College of Business Administration University of Florida Gainesville FL 32611-7160 USA Voice: 352-392-6640 Fax: 352-392-5438 E-mail: dicke@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu WWW: http://nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu/~dicke/ \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Assist Professor, Management Info Systems * * Alan Dennis, University of Georgia * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The University of Georgia invites applications for an anticipated tenure-track position in MIS at the Assistant Professor rank, beginning in September 1996. Candidates should be able to provide evidence of a serious commitment to teaching, research, and service. Applicants should possess a doctoral degree in MIS or should have completed all degree requirements by the time of appointment. They should have teaching interests in systems analysis and design, client/server computing (Visual Basic), and/or database. The MIS faculty at The University of Georgia currently has research programs in group support systems, executive information systems, decision support systems, commercial uses of the Internet, and data warehousing. To ensure full consideration, applications should be received by March 15, 1996. Applications should submit their vita and samples of their work to: Dr. Alan Dennis Department of Management Terry College of Business University of Georgia Athens GA 30602 Voice: 706-542-3902 Fax: 706-542-3743 E-mail: adennis@uga.cc.uga.edu WWW Home Page: http://www.cba.uga.edu/faculty/alan.html \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT - Visiting Faculty, Information Systems * * Maung K. Sein, Agder College * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visiting Faculty Department of Information Systems Agder College, Kristiansand, Norway We are seeking a visiting faculty member for the 1996-97 academic year. The duration can be either one year or one semester (Fall or Winter). We can accommodate visitors on sabbatical or leave of absence. The compensation can be at our normal rate or supplemental to the sabbatical pay or full expenses paid plus a stipend. The ideal visitor will be a mid-career academic (such as Associate Professor in US universities) who is seeking the experience of working in a foreign environment. The normal teaching load is 4 credits (one 4-credit course or two 2-credit courses). The visitor will not be required to shoulder any service responsibilities. We seek visitors with good research records and who are actively pursuing research currently. While the medium of instruction is Norwegian, our students are perfectly able and willing to receive instruction in English. We encourage prospective applicants to contact our previous visitors, Professors Bob Bostrom and Rick Watson, both of the University of Georgia, for their impressions. You may also contact our current visitor, Dr. Maung Sein (formerly of Florida International University, Miami, USA) at seinm@adh.no. For specific details, please contact: Carl Erik Moe, Head Department of Information Systems Agder College Tordensjolds gate 65 4604 Kristiansand Norway E-mail: carl.e.moe@hia.no The department's URL address is (in Norwegian): http://www.krs.hia.no/~wwwinfo/okonomi/edb.inst/ \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 listserv.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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *