Communications of the ACM articles from December 1991

Communications of the ACM archives from December 1991

Editorial pointers. (Editorial)
December 1, 1991... The first conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) was held in Austin, Texas in December of 1986. The introduction to the conference Proceeding describes the area as an "exciting new field," and the conference program...

Newstrack. (brief articles)
December 1, 1991... JUSTICE PREVAILS... Fueled by the unrelenting rise in computer crime statistics, the U.S. Department of Justice has established a five-member unit to help break this international fever. Headed by Scott Charney, the new unit is charged with...

What do system administrators really do? (Viewpoint)
December 1, 1991... Have you ever been asked, "What do you do for a living?" When I say "Oh, I'm a computer scientist," the usual reply is something like, "Oh, really, my brother works at a bank." Of course, the inquirer most likely has no idea what a "Unix...

Wide-area collaboration. (includes related article on Relcom use during the 1991 Soviet Union coup)
December 1, 1991... Since my temperament draws me to groupware, I have read about and taught it, and tried many groupware programs. This has been interesting, but the only groupware that has really affected my work is electronic mail on wide-area networks. My...

Computing in a less-developed country. (International Perspectives)
December 1, 1991... Almost all of the nations of Latin America are so-called less-developed countries (LDCs). But unlike many such countries elsewhere, quite a few have recently attempted to install more democratic, or at least less authoritarian, governments...

Computing in Chile: Leading the way for other South American LDCs? (less-developed countries) (International Perspectives)
December 1, 1991... Chile may show us where Paraguay is heading. In 1970, Chile elected a Communist government, which was overthrown in a bloody coup led by Augusto Pinochet in 1973. Pinochet's government sharply reversed the then-typical Latin American...

CSCW introduction. (computer-supported cooperative work) (Cover Story)
December 1, 1991... Collaboration is a sign of maturation. A child is nurtured at home before venturing into the world. An idea is first developed then introduced to a larger community. We work on a software module in isolation before integrating it. ...

Toward an open shared workspace: computer and video fusion approach of TeamWorkStation.
December 1, 1991... Groupware is intended to create a shared workspace that supports dynamic collaboration in a work group over space and time constraints. To gain the collective benefits of groupware use, the groupware must be accepted by a majority of...

Putting innovation to work: adoption strategies for multimedia communication systems.
December 1, 1991... Multimedia communication systems promise better support for widely distributed workgroups. Their benefits for complex communication--problem-solving, negotiating, planning, and design--seem obvious. Introducing appealing new technologies...

Designing for cooperation: cooperating in design.
December 1, 1991... This article will discuss how to design computer applications that enhance the quality of work and products, and will relate the discussion to current themes in the field of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). Cooperation is a key...

Electronic social fields in bureaucracies.
December 1, 1991... Advanced computer tools designed to facilitate collaboration in a common task or across functions have had a remarkably disappointing record of diffusion and adoption [16]. Technologies that are unresponsive to users' needs will not find...

Update on National Science Foundation funding of the 'Collaboratory.' (Brief Article)
December 1, 1991... NSF-funded collaboratories are experimental and empirical research environments in which domain scientists work with computer, communications, behavioral and social scientists to design systems, participate in collaborative science, and...

Cooperation, coordination and control in computer-supported work.
December 1, 1991... Researchers disagree about the definition of computer-supported cooperative work [CSCW], but the current definitions focus on the technology. CSCW may be seen as a conjunction of certain kinds of technologies (described elsewhere in this...

Collaborative computing: collaboration first, computing second.
December 1, 1991... These articles on Collaborative Computing will seem out of place to a number of readers from the computer science community. Interesting articles perhaps, but what do they have to do with computers? Where is the science--that is, where is...

Accredited programs in computing: followed by year of initial accreditation.
December 1, 1991... There are two agencies recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Accredition and the U.S. Secretary of Education to accredit programs in the computing field. The Computer Science Accreditation Commission (CSAC) of the Computing Sciences...

Index to communications of the ACM. (Association of Computing Machinery)
December 1, 1991... Entries in this index are technical papers, short communications, award papers, educational reports, special sections, and topical articles. Algorithms are indexed separately. The KEY in each entry gives the volume number and year...

Technical correspondence.
December 1, 1991... The column, "Benchmarks for LAN Performance Evaluation," by Larry Press (Aug. 1988, pp. 1014-1017) presented a technique for quickly benchmarking the performance of LANs in an office environment. This piqued our interest since office...

Calendar of events.
December 1, 1991... January 5-8 2d International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sponsor: IJCAII. Contact J-L. Lassez, IBM TJ Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 704, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598; fax (914) 784-6307;...

Calls for papers.
December 1, 1991... January 3* South Central Small College Computer Conference Oklahoma City, Ok. Apirl 11-12. Submit four copies of paper to Sue Fitzgerald, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Rockhurst College, 1100 Rockhurst Rd., Kansas City, MO64110; email:...

Collaborative efforts. (Inside RISKS ) (Brief Article)
December 1, 1991... This issue of Communications focuses on social and organizational influences governing collaborative uses of computers and communications. Here we review some of those influences from the perspectives of the risks involved. Large...