waashk/acm huggingface dataset:
the software sampler workshop: intermediate training for university microcomputer users  the acquisition of microcomputers has changed the nature of user support at the ohio state university. the pioneer micro users of a few years ago primarily desired assistance in these areas:  • introductory terminology, "computerese" vocabulary;  • setting up their new systems;  • communicating with the mainframes on campus.  as users gained experience on their systems, training demands evolved. now micro users want training in the "big three," word processing, data base management, and electronic spreadsheets.  in this paper, i shall examine this evolution in training support. what is taught, including a basic outline of objectives, and specific examples of materials, will be discussed. finally, a plan for administration will be given.  susan jenkins
using actors in an interactive animation in a graduate course on distributed system  we describe and evaluate an experiment where actors were used to simulate the behaviour of processes in a distributed system in order to explain the concept of _self-stabilisation_ in a graduate course on distributed systems.  a self-stabilising system is one that ensures that the system's behaviour eventually stabilises to a safe subset of states regardless of the initial state. protocols satisfying this elegant property, which enables a system to recover from transient failures that can alter the state of the system, are often hard to understand, especially for students that have not studied distributed computing and systems before.  the experiment was part of an introductory course on distributed computing and systems for graduates in october 2000. the purpose of this interactive animation was to introduce to the students the basic concepts behind self- stabilisation (eligible states, transient faults, execution convergence) before their formal introduction.  all of the students had a degree either in mathematics or computing science and had taken a course on algorithms before. however, most of the students did not have a background in distributed systems or distributed algorithms. the latter was not only the motivation for preparing this method of presentation but also what made this a challenging effort.  the feedback from the class was that the concept and this teaching method were very well received. we could observe that their understanding evolved to the point that they were able to successfully come up with ideas for solutions and argue for/prove their correctness. as suggested in [1], dramatisation of executions can help the students to understand new issues and complications. this work shows that this is true even for graduate level courses. in our experiment we could conclude that dramatisation can be almost as powerful as a programming exercise in the teaching process; sometimes even more efficient, especially when we need to teach new concepts to an audience with diverse educational backgrounds. in analysing the results of our method we make a combination of the _qualitative_ and _quantitative_ approaches [4].  boris koldehofe philippas tsigas
the use of student workers in computer lab management at the university of scranton  the computing systems department of the university of scranton has been very successful in implementing a program utilizing student workers to staff its extensive lab facilities. this program was initiated in the early 1980's with a hand full of students staffing one lab, and has grown to the point where we now employ over 60 students to staff eleven labs with more coming on line every year. the fact of the matter is that student employees have become the backbone of our lab support systems.  in the early days the department was small and the student workers were under the supervision of the director. as the department grew, and more students were employed, they were eventually assigned to the assistant director and later to other professional support staff. by 1985, running the labs had become involved enough to require establishment of the position of computer lab coordinator (the current title for this position is information support analyst - labs) to oversee lab management and the growing number of student employees.  t. j. hughes
teacing breadth-first depth-first  this paper argues that current approaches to teaching the introductory course for the cs major fail to provide students with an accurate sense of the nature of our field. we propose that an introductory course focused on a single sub- field of our discipline could better prepare potential majors by using that sub-field as a vehicle to present an overview of the techniques and principles fundamental to computer science. we discuss our experience with such a course based on the field of computer networks.  thomas p. murtagh
conducting a survey of computer technology graduates (abstract only)  the curriculum committee of the computer technology department at ipfw requested a survey of our graduates with degrees in computer technology. the following are reasons cited: to identify more closely the strengths and weaknesses of the computer technology program from the standpoint of our graduates. to permit the department to more closely tailor our curriculum to reflect the changing needs of our graduates. to identify topics of specific courses that need to be added to our curriculum. to determine the need to offer a graduate program in mis.  a committee consisting of one faculty member and a representative from the ipfw alumni association conducted the survey: designing the survey instrument and the cover letter, supervising the distribution of the survey, collecting the replies and recording them in a statistical database. the data have been tabulated and are now being analysed.  the survey was designed for the ease of completion by our graduates and for the ease of tabulation of the responses.  questions in the survey covered the following areas: general background of graduates, including starting and current salaries; location, size and primary business of employer; and primary job responsibilities. assessment of computer technology curriculum in terms of: theory / application balance quality of courses offered knowledge of faculty. recommendations concerning subjects that need to be added to the curriculum and courses that may be outdated or are perceived to be of little value.  survey forms were mailed to approximately 650 graduates during the winter of 1985 - 86. we have received 135 replies, giving us a 20% response.  dale k. hockensmith
the discrete structures course (abstract only): making its purpose visible  discrete structures texts are notorious for their lack of examples from computer science. one response to this problem is to teach the discrete structures course as a course in pure mathematics. however the end result is computer science students completing the course without understanding the reason it is required. a second response to the problem is to give the course a computer science flavor by requiring the writing of programs illustrating the mathematical ideas introduced. this approach still does not address the real issue of why the course is required. a third response, the one advocated by this paper, is to supplement the text with examples and exercises showing how the mathematical concepts are actually applied in various areas of computer science. this paper examines some appropriate computer science examples and exercises and discusses the author's experiences when incorporating them into the discrete structures course at s.u.n.y. at plattsburgh.  ann fleury
the certificate in computer programming: five years of data  the certification effort in the computer field has been in existence since the initiation of it by the data processing management association, with the 1962 certificate in data processing (cdp) examination. dpma then started an examination for business computer programmers, called the registered business programmer (rbp) examination, giving it first in 1970. with the formation of the institute for the certification of computer professionals (iccp) in 1973, these examinations were placed under the supervision of the board of directors of iccp, composed of members of the sponsoring societies. acm was one of the founding sponsors, and actively supports it.  although the rbp examination was temporarily withdrawn during the early days of iccp, it was restored as the business specialty of the certificate in computer programming (ccp), first offered in 1977. two other specialty examinations were also established, one in scientific programming, and one in systems programming. the three examinations have a section, called the general, which is in common, with questions mixed and given without candidates knowing which ones they are. each examination specialty has different questions mixed with those from the general section.  joyce currie little
selecting a consultant: a maxi problem in the mini-micro world  in the last decade there has been a significant increase in the number of computer users. much of the increase can be directly attributed to the development of mini-micro computer systems. vendors of these systems have recognized the tremendous potential market in both education and small businesses and their marketing campaigns have placed professional educators and small businessmen in a position to be challenged by peers as well as competitors.  however, many of the educators and businessmen do not have the talent to select and integrate a computing system into their current environment. countless stories illustrate the frustrations those people have experienced as they attempted to make the transition into the world of computing. many of the stories also contain statements of dissatisfaction with outside consulting services.  this paper will focus on the latter situation. it will contain a survey of the consulting practices associated with both business and education, a summary of efforts to establish a certification program for computer professionals, and offer suggestions on how to select a computer consultant for mini-micro computer systems.  allen k. henry
plagiarism monitoring and detection - towards an open discussion  plagiarism in programming courses is a pervasive and frustrating problem that undermines the educational process. often plagiarism falls in the gray area separating profitable peer-peer collaboration, excessive dependence on others, and outright cheating. unless the evidence is compelling, pursuing suspected plagiarism is generally not worth the emotional and legal risks to student and teacher alike. this paper proposes a metrics-based approach to monitoring patterns of similarities among student programs that may signal the onset of excessive collaboration or plagiarism. publishing anonymous results from monitoring creates a climate in which plagiarism is discussed openly.  edward l. jones
realistic student projects  when a student performs a project, under the supervision of a faculty member, it is important that the student feel that the project is of merit and reflects both the student's capabilities as well as the student's interests. all too often the project is fine unto itself but has no connection to the student's other studies or background except that the project falls in the same major field.  therefore it is important to create a project, in cooperation with a student, that is not only challenging in itself but also relies heavily upon the student's previous coursework. it should mimic project work as performed outside the academic sphere in that it yields a useable result.  through the use of techniques such as a contract for project grade, outlining attainable goals agreed upon by both the student and the instructor, the student gains an understanding of the project in relation to the student's entire course of studies, as well as future endeavors.  william j. joel
academic and administrative computing in small and medium sized colleges  the problems of computer usage at small and medium sized colleges range from inadequate staffing for computer science course offerings and programs to having to share the computer resource with administrative staff. of course, the sharing of the computer does in fact put a strain on administrative staff as well. in addition, the high salaries paid by industry make it difficult to recruit and retain qualified people. representatives from administration, computer science faculty, and computer science faculty who are now part of business and industry will meet and discuss these and other related problems as they apply to their particular school organization. hopefully a set of partial solutions and/or a call for action will result from this pannel discussion.  francis l. schneider
the pioneer days of scientific computing in switzerland  scientific computing was established in switzerland by e. stiefel, assisted by h. rutishauser, a.p. speiser, and others. we cover the years from the foundation of the institute for applied mathematics at the eth in 1948 to the completion of the ermeth, the electronic computer built in this institute, in 1956/57. in this period, stiefel's team also solved a large number of real- world computational problems on another computer, zuse's z4, rented by the institute. along with this work went major contributions to numerical analysis by rutishauser and stiefel, and rutishauser's seminal work on compiling programs, which was later followed by his strong commitment in algol.  we have tried to include some background information and to complement h.r. schwarz's article [scw81] on the same subject.  m. gutknecht
using qualitative research software for cs education research  research in computer science education has become more and more important in recent years. both quantitative and qualitative research methods yield interesting results, but most researchers in our field rely on software for only the quantitative methods. this paper describes one of several packages on the market that support qualitative research methods. these packages make qualitative research less unwieldy and provide the researcher with excellent tools for doing far more detailed analysis of the data than is possible by hand. the data for such analysis may come from a variety of sources including on-line or written tests, programming assignments, and exit interviews for assessment purposes. the results of qualitative research can produce a better understanding of the larger picture in the environment under study.  m. dee medley
consulting is not a matter of facts  we can look at consulting as a function rather than as a personification. more and more, user services consist of a group of people each having their own different area of expertise. they may each have primary responsibilities in areas quite separate from user consulting.  the assembling of a consulting staff can be seen as a three-part ongoing project. first, obtain the people who can bring the necessary variety of skills to the group. second, make plans to spread the knowledge each brings among the others in the group. third, the challenge that may bring success or failure to the entire effort, turn the "visiting experts" into consultants. we have recently had to face the situation of initiating a diverse group of people into the world of consulting.  nancy o. broadhead
a capstone course for a computer information systems major  this paper describes the current form and organization of humboldt state university's cis 492: systems design and implementation, the capstone course for the computer information systems (cis) major. since spring 1998, this course has combined a team programming experience on a large-scale database project with discussions of a software engineering classic, frederick brooks jr.'s "the mythical man month"[1]. students seem to find this combination valuable, and it is hoped that this paper can impart some useful ideas to others in designing a cis/mis capstone course.  sharon m. tuttle
work-unit environments of information systems and non-information systems people: implications for end-user computing and distributed processing  this study investigates whether work-unit environments differ for information systems (is) and non-information systems (non-is) employees. within the same occupational level, i.e., within clerical, technical- professional, and managerial level personnel, no differences are discovered in the overall work- unit environments of is and non-is employees. speculation is presented suggesting that (1) the management of end-user personnel need not change as they become more involved in performing information systems tasks and (2) is and non-is personnel in distributed processing environments should be managed similarly.  thomas w ferratt larry e short
gender differences in is career choice: examine the role of attitudes and social norms in selecting is profession  the proposed research will systematically assess the causes of gender-related differences in attraction to information systems (is) as a career. we propose a theory of reasoned action (tra)---based model of intention to pursue an is career which incorporates work value congruence, attitudes, norms, and self- efficacy. undergraduate students in an introductory is course, which for many will be their first introduction to the field, will be surveyed to test this model and also the extent to which their perceptions change with exposure to is through the course.  k. d. joshi kristine kuhn
applying ethics to information technology issues  the articles in this special section express a common theme; the use of information technology in society is creating a rather unique set of ethical issues that requires the making of new moral choices on the part of society and has spawned special implications for its members. technology itself is not the only, nor necessarily the most responsible, cause of these issues. all ethical questions arise initially out of human agency. technology, due to its capability to augment mental and physical powers of human beings, does stand in the role of a coconspirator. the hire of power-enhancing capabilities makes technology an inducer of sorts, a necessary but not sufficient underpinning to many of the ethical issues we face today.  richard o. mason
beyond traditional computer literacy  a new approach to computer literacy is emerging, an approach that de- emphasizes the traditional overview of hardware and software and minimizes the teaching of traditional programming methodology. this paper describes the design and implementation of a literacy course intended to develop effective users of common applications software, including word processing, spreadsheets, graphics and database management. the paper continues by demonstrating how many academic computer science concepts can be effectively introduced using this approach.  v. arnie dyck james p. black shirley l. fenton
implementing computer-based systems  there is an underlying philosophy behind much of the published literature that implementation is a rational, deterministic process and a belief that the people affected by the change will behave in a manner consistent with the implementor's view of the world. this results in simplistic analyses of change management such as alter's (1980) four suggestions: divide the project into manageable pieces, keep the solution simple, develop a support base and meet user needs. gordon, lewis and young (1977) note: "policy making may be seen as an inescapably political activity into which the perceptions of individual actors enter at all stages. in this case, implementation becomes a problematic activity rather than something that can be taken for granted as in the rational process model; policy is seen as a bargained outcome, the environment as conflictual and the process is characterized by diversity and constraint."  gerard mccartney
from zero to sixty in seven months: managing the change to a new computer system  a new system ?! the very words strike fear into even the most hardened of user consultants. such is the nature of system implementation and conversion that even grown analysts have been known to prefer the job of ibm jcl debugger to that of managing the change to a new (and heaven forbid), another manufacturer's mainframe.  this presentation will outline some of the steps taken at the university of northern iowa to make the transition from one computer system (hp-2000) to another (harris 800). before i begin, i must clear up some common misconceptions: we are the university of northern iowa. mail addressed to ohio or idaho is not likely to reach us; and yes, there are three state universities in iowa!  terry a. ward
a semi-automated approach to online assessment desirable though fully automated assessment of student programming assignments is, it is an area that is beset by difficulties. while it is not contested that some aspects of assessment can be performed much more efficiently and accurately by computer, there are many others that still require human involvement. we have therefore designed a system that combines the strengths of the two approaches, the assessment software calling upon the skills of the human tutor where necessary to make sensible judgements. the technique has been used successfully on a systems programming course for several years, and student feedback has been supportive. david jackson
hardware protection against software piracy  a system that prevents illicit duplication of proprietary software is suggested. it entails the customization of the programs for each computer by encryption. the use of a public key cryptogram for this purpose means that anyone can customize programs, but neither other programmers nor the people having complete access to the target computer can obtain copies that will run on other machines. a possible implementation of the system is considered in some detail. it is based on a hardware security unit that is attached to the computer and that decrypts and obeys some parts of the program.  tim maude derwent maude
satisfaction of it professionals with employment arrangements in traditional and virtual contexts  retention of it personnel is a difficulty encountered by many organizations today, particularly for those who work in virtual organization contexts. however, the fit between it employees' preferred work arrangements and their current work arrangements and this fit's impact on it employees' intention to stay has been an under-researched phenomenon. this paper develops a conceptual framework, based on rousseau's [38] psychological contract theory, to address the retention concern. additional literatures that enhance the conceptual framework suggest that the antecedents of fit, besides preferred employment arrangement, include it employee stages and anchors, it competencies, and organizational factors, including it human resource practices. it human resource strategy, in turn, impacts the organizational factors. the conceptual framework incorporates additional antecedents of intention to stay, including other employment opportunities, virtual team factors, and individual factors. the paper also suggests an initial empirical study to explore the concept of fit and its antecedents as an initial point of departure for the examination of the conceptual model.  thomas w. ferratt harvey g. enns jayesh prasad