Communications of the ACM articles from January 1998

Communications of the ACM archives from January 1998

Corporate shortcut to standardization. (Joint Technical Committee for Information Technology)
January 1, 1998... Screw threads are stable. If a standard for a screw thread is developed or reconsidered by standards developers every five years, then the market is satisfied that the standard is responsive to market needs. The International Organization of...

Access charges under scrutiny. (access fees to government records)
January 1, 1998... Should citizens or companies be required to pay for access to government data? That's the question prompted by state and local governments' increasingly frequent efforts to charge for access to computerized maps, court records, the safety records...

We are no longer a priesthood. (knowledge creation)
January 1, 1998... ". . . Knowledge production is becoming less and less a self-contained activity, it is neither the science of the "universities" nor the technology of industry. It is no longer the preserve of a special type of institution, from which knowledge...

Computers across campus. (campus-wide computer initiatives)
January 1, 1998... In 1994, when Educom President Robert Heterick chided American colleges and universities with the observation that "The shoemaker's children have no shoes!" his metaphor hit home. The shoemaker he was referring to was the nation's system of...

A strategic plan for ubiquitous laptop computing. (includes related article on Acadia's University's initiative of integrating notebook computers into its undergraduate curriculum)
January 1, 1998... Wake Forest University's ambitious blueprint to equip its students with IBM Thinkpads loaded with powerful software reflects the image of a radically new campus environment by the turn of the century. Computers are becoming standard equipment...

Combining universal access with faculty development and academic facilities.
January 1, 1998... Drew University's strategy to integrate technology into the curriculum has been a 15-year work in progress, one that continues to evolve with the needs of the faculty and students, and with time. In 1983, Drew University's College of Liberal...

The future of ubiquitous computing on campus.
January 1, 1998... We are about to enter the third wave of the computing revolution. University campuses have been at the forefront of each of these technology revolutions. The first wave constituted the mainframe era, and universities established glass-house...

Changes in computer purchase, distribution, and maintenance.
January 1, 1998... In 1983, Drexel University established a policy that all incoming freshmen would have personal access to a microcomputer. The policy was implemented to ensure that all students, not just the engineers or the computer science majors, would be...

Laptop computers in an integrated first-year curriculum. (Ross-Hulman Institute of Technology's integration of laptop computers in its curriculum)
January 1, 1998... At Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a curriculum that blends science, engineering, and mathematics builds on computing power through student-owned laptops. A curriculum that integrates calculus, computer science, physics, engineering...

The digital agora: Using technology for learning in the social sciences.
January 1, 1998... A Web-based interdisciplinary project at Acadia University allows students to become active participants in their own learning process. Acadia University is the first laptop university in Canada. The Acadia Advantage program has each incoming...

Computers and systemic change in higher education. (plans to integrate computers at Commonwealth College)
January 1, 1998... At Penn State's Commonwealth College, the strategic gameplan for computer - fitting a dozen campuses focused first on the needs of the faculty members and then on the incoming students. The Royer Center for Learning and Academic Technologies...

Hardware and software choices for student computer initiatives.
January 1, 1998... Laptops or desktops? Should students buy them or universities lease them? And software, what about the software? These are just a few of the questions to consider when creating a plan for campus-wide computing. When debating a campus-wide...

The case for desktops. (Air Force Academy's policy on purchasing desktops for its students)
January 1, 1998... Why would a university as technically oriented as the Air Force Academy, with a population of 8,000 users connected by a $32 million network, have its students purchase desktop computers instead of laptops? On campuses where all students are...

Do electronic marketplace lower the price of goods?
January 1, 1998... The efficiency of electronic means for commerce is sometimes countered by increased product cost, as demonstrated in this case involving an auction system for used cars in Japan. Electronic marketplaces have become increasingly popular...

Quest for Java. (includes related articles on the results of the Quest for Java contest)
January 1, 1998... Student programmers use Java to do more than spice up Web pages. More than 100 ACM student members from around the world participated in the first "Quest for Java" contest sponsored by ACM and IBM, concluding last fall. Judged on their ability...

Protecting the infrastructures.
January 1, 1998... The president's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection (PCCIP) has completed its investigation, having addressed eight major critical national infrastructures: telecommunications; generation, transmission, and distribution of electric...