victor@WATSON.IBM.COM (Barbara Simons) (03/28/91)
The following items are contained in this note:
1. Report on ACM's position on privacy (in response to Lotus Marketplace).
2. Request for input on some issues/questions related to the National
Research Council's Computing Science & Telecommunications Board's (CS&TB)
study on the Scope & Direction of Computer Science.
3. Information about a new ACM Committee on Eastern & Central Europe (CECE).
4. Information about a new ACM task force on using technology to improve
education for K - 12.
5. Report on ACM's position on computer games and request for volunteers
and related information.
6. Information about how to join ACM.
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1. Report on ACM's position on privacy (in response to Lotus Marketplace).
The following statement was passed by ACM Council and will be issued as
a press release:
Whereas the ACM greatly values the right of individual privacy;
Whereas members of the computing profession have a special
responsibility to ensure that computing systems do not diminish individual
privacy;
Whereas the ACM's Code of Professional Conduct places a
responsibility on ACM members to protect individual privacy; and
Whereas the Code of Fair Information Practices places a similar
responsibility on data holders to ensure that personal information is
accurate, complete, and reliable;
Therefore, be it resolved that
(1) The ACM urges members to observe the privacy guidelines
contained in the ACM Code of Professional Conduct;
(2) The ACM affirms its support for the Code of Fair Information
Practices and urges its observance by all organizations that collect
personal information; and
(3) The ACM supports the establishment of a proactive governmental
privacy protection mechanism in those countries that do not currently have
such mechanisms, including the United States, that would ensure individual
privacy safeguards.
========================
2. Request for input on some issues/questions related to the National
Research Council's Computing Science & Telecommunications Board's (CS&TB)
study on the Scope & Direction of Computer Science.
ACM's involvement up till now in the study has been the $40K in funding
that we contributed.
ACM has recently been asked by the Committee to provide input on
three issues/questions:
1. Given the diversity of current research in computer science and
engineering, what areas of research in computer science and engineering
hold the greatest short-term/medium-term/long-term payoffs in
scientific, social, or economic/commercial terms? What is the
reasoning behind those judgements?
2. What is the adequacy and health of the coupling between academic
computer science and engineering and the computer industry? What could
be done to strengthen those links and promote more effective interaction?
The SCOPE committee is interested in both the research/technology transfer
aspects (e.g., how might academic research be better connected to the
needs of industry) and the educational aspects of these questions (e.g.,
how well does the education received by computer science and engineering
graduates match the needs of industry).
3. To what extent is it desirable for computer science as a discipline
to embrace commercial applications and computational science?
Why or why not?
The ACM Executive Committee will be establishing three small Task Forces
to develop draft position papers on each question, with the papers to
be brought to ACM Council for endorsement in June (1991).
If you would like to have input into one or more of the Task Forces,
please contact me. Please be sure to include information about your area
of expertise.
========================
3. Information about a new ACM Committee on Eastern & Central Europe (CECE).
ACM COMMITTEE ON EASTERN & CENTRAL EUROPE
Chair: Laszlo Babai
ACM Headquarter liaison: Fred Aronson
The objective of the committee is to advise ACM in assisting
computer scientists and students in Eastern and Central Europe
and in establishing ACM chapters in those countries.
One of the initial efforts of the committee will be to work with ACM
in helping some universities and research libraries in the region
obtain much-needed technical literature.
Given the economic deterioration and the lack of hard currency
that these countries are experiencing, this is a highly non-trivial
undertaking. Depending on financing and special programs that might
be established, additional programs might eventually be created.
The target countries for this initial effort
are listed below. We intend to expand the program to
include other countries as time and resources permit.
Target countries: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania,
Yugoslavia
The committee needs volunteers who can assist with locating and corresponding
with computer scientists in Eastern and Central Europe, approaching
publishers about making contributions to the program, determining
priorities based on need and people served, and matching needs with
available resources.
If you are interested in volunteering for this effort, please contact
Laszlo Babai at laci@gargoyle.uchicago.edu. Be sure to include in your
message information about your background and on how you might be able
to help.
========================
4. Information about a new ACM task force on using technology to improve
education for K - 12.
Chair: Teri Perl
Goal: Given the belief that technology has a significant role to play
in addressing many of the problems that face education today,
to identify a suitable and effective role for ACM to play in
helping shape the process.
The task force is still in the initial information gathering phase.
Teri is interested in information about potential funding
from both corporate sources and from private foundation.
She can be reached at tperl at atl.calstate.edu.
========================
5. Report on ACM's position on computer games and request for volunteers
and related information.
The following statement was passed by ACM Council and will be issued as
a press release:
The pool of potential female and minority scientists and engineers
remains virtually untapped, despite demographic trends pointing to the
urgent need to train substantial new talent from these sectors. There are
products, such as computer games, which are the first significant
introduction to technology for most young people. Many girls and minority
children do not identify with most of these products which are currently
on the market.
It is in society's best interest that these products attract and be
accessible to these children.
Through the appropriate mechanisms, ACM will form a proactive
interest group which will address these concerns.
VOLUNTEERS: Gwen Bell, the Founding President of the Computer Museum
in Boston, has already agreed to be a member of the group.
If you are interested in volunteering, please respond to me.
If you have any expertise that you feel might be of special use,
please let me know.
Related information:
Last week the annual Computer Game Developers Conference was held
in San Jose. The front page of the Wed. March 13 business section
of the S.J. Mercury News contains an article that begins:
War, violence and sexism, long the hallmarks of many computer
games, came under fire Tuesday at a meeting of 500 computer
game designers in San Jose.
A couple of days ago I met with the Consumer Software Committee of the
Software Publishers Association, who happened to be holding their annual
meeting in San Francisco. Based on their comments at that meeting,
there appears to be a good chance that the Association will issue some
statement encouraging its members to design and market games to
all children, including girls and minorities.
========================
6. Information about how to join ACM.
ACM is becoming much more actively involved in issues important to
the computing field. If you support ACM's involvement in these kinds
of issues and are not currently a member of ACM,
I urge you to demonstrate your support by joining.
You can obtain a membership application from any issue of CACM.
If you can not get ahold of CACM, you can obtain an application from:
ACM
P.O. Box 12114
Church Street Station
New York, NY 10257
The costs are:
$71 Voting Member (You are asked to have a Bachelor's degree,
equivalent level of education, or four
full-time years of experience. The Bachelor's
does not necessarily have to be in computer science.
I don't know if it has to be in a related area.)
$71 Associate Member (No membership requirements)
$21 Student Member (You must be a registered student at an accredited
educational institution, and a faculty member must
certify your status.)
$66 Joint member of the IEEE-Computer Society
$57 Member of one of the following overseas computing societies
ACS (Austraila), AFCET (France), AICA (Italy) BCS (United Kingdom)
BIRA/IBRA (Belgium), CIPS (Canada), CSZ (Zimbabwe), GI (Germany),
HKCS (Hong Kong), ICS (Ireland), IPA (Israel), IPSJ (Japan),
NGI (Netherlands), NZCS (New Zealand), SCS (Shanghai).
Spouse members:
Voting Members 1st person + CACM $71 2nd person, no CACM $48
Student Members 1st person + CACM $21 2nd person, no CACM $14
$35 Retired members (Annual income from part time and consulting work
does not exceed $2500; age + years of ACM membership
must exceed 75)
One can also join a SIG without joining ACM. While that would be less
expensive than joining the SIG and ACM, it would not be as effective in
demonstrating support for the activities listed above.
Barbara Simons, National Secretary, ACM