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This article presents a brief background of the personal computer boom in Lagos, including the early history of computing and the rise of technology entrepreneurship in Nigeria. I then discuss the impact of Nigeria's structural adjustment program on the expansion of the local computing industry. Next, I detail the landscape of Nigerian personal computer boom in late 1980s and 1990s and discuss how innovative technologists drove the industrial and societal expansion of computer use in Nigeria by responding to the demands of global capital and state economic policies. Finally, I explore the reasons behind the eventual decline of the personal computer boom and examine its impact on Nigerian information technology, particularly focusing on relationships between the political and socioeconomic environment and broader industry changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a time when artificial intelligence and autonomous systems (AI/AS) are providing more opportunities for personalization and time savings than ever before, it?s critical to pause for a moment to ask, ?How will machines know what we value if we don?t know ourselves?? This isn?t rhetorical, and the play on words is intentional. While it may come easy to criticize programmers creating the code defining AI/AS, where machines or systems that mirror human values come into play, we as individuals need to identify, test, and codify these attributes so we can best help technologists align their creations with our deeply held beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hackathons and other well-intentioned efforts to solve social problems using technology must also include the meaningful participation of affected individuals and communities. Otherwise, technologists may start from an incomplete or monolithic understanding of the problem, as illustrated by common technology solutions for gender-based violence (GBV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a detailed empirical process study to explore the mechanisms that drive complex hierarchically integrated technologies to regress in apparent maturity (“switchback”) over the course of their innovation pathways. Three mechanisms are identified that explain the underlying behavior: switchbacks occur 1) as a natural discovery dynamic, the result of mid-pathway efforts to fill gaps revealed through systems integration; 2) as a strategic framing used by technologists to survive funding shortfalls; or 3) as a revisit of known problems in response to uncertainty in a discrete mission opportunity environment. Although switchbacks are traditionally thought of as deviant events that should be suppressed by managers, this study reveals that many “switchbacks” represent a natural, and necessary, part of the complex technology development process. The implications of these findings are demonstrated by analyzing one dominant funding decision heuristic in terms of the assumptions it embodies and its consistency with the above-described mechanisms. The analysis reveals that efforts to eliminate switchbacks may stifle important innovations without necessarily improving efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Open source intelligence (OSINT) represents a new, public, transparent, and constitutionally friendly approach to intelligence gathering. As such it should be of considerable interest to technologists, journalists, and civil libertarians. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

If usability is to be a valuable, empirical methodology ... then where's the science in usability analysis? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on the Humanitarian Technology Challenge (HTC), initiated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Inc. and the United Nations Foundation (UNF). It notes that HTC allows a forum for marshalling IEEE members' talents to humanitarian challenges. It aims to develop a methodology for collaboration as well as artifacts that address humanitarian technological needs. It adds that the HTC project works through technologists and humanitarians' collaboration.

Two or more parties typically establish a business relationship using a contract, but a large gap still exists between the provisions of contracts produced by lawyers and the details of computer security and performance addressed by technologists. Some contractual clauses address legal issues that technology can manage as well - the TrustCoM framework offers a paradigm for automating these clauses as technical operations. If a business relationship forms across a service-oriented architecture, the parties involved often manage their collaboration as a virtual organization (VO). In TrustCoM, agreements are the key means of steering VO collaborations and mitigating the risks inherent in integrating processes and resources across organizational boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of planning and performing information technology (IT) strategy. Planning is a process that ensures the alignment of technology efforts with the company's execution of their IT activities. The high-level view of technology development and execution require business managers, technologists and professionals to have a deep understanding of IT and business alignment. This scheme will bring business enterprises to exceptional gains from a cost and revenue perspective. INSET: How Does a Project Management Office Work?.

Many studies have been performed previously to investigate different theories of motivation and, more specifically, how to motivate technical professionals. The problem with these studies is that they consider groups of scientists, engineers, or technical professionals as a whole or ‘on average,’ despite the fact that not all technical professionals are the same. One particular set of individuals—technical visionaries—is a key driver of technical innovation and new product development within technology- intensive organizations. While the literature intimates the existence of these highly innovative individuals in industry, technical visionaries have not been investigated in a systematic manner. Through in-depth interviews with 24 technical visionaries, identified as such by managers in their firms, this study identifies what methods are used in industry to motivate these exceptional individuals, what works and what does not. Our results show that technical visionaries are first and foremost motivated by internal factors, including the desire to see their ideas become a reality, and enjoying working ‘on-the-edge,’ and innovating. While many aspects of standard incentives and reward systems used to motivate technical professionals in general are also motivating for technical visionaries, these results indicate that they are motivated by additional factors not generally discussed in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a panel discussion by several technologists regarding the rehabilitation of robotics at the International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. They talked primarily on the advantages and disadvantages of robotics in the society and its rehabilitation. They also emphasized the increase in manufacturing of robotics which is greatly replacing a number of jobs. There is a fear that robots may replace the future livelihood of many people.

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Will technologists continue to have a say in the future of the network? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents different viewpoints of technologists on human technological civilization. One believed that science and technology could benefit the industry in several ways while another regarded its relationship with the society as technological somnambulism. These reactive views were in pursuit of technological development characterized by a harmonious technology.

The article focuses on the application of ethical principles in technological innovations such as machineries. Machine ethics is concerned with how machines behave toward human users and other machines. The goal of applied ethics in machines is to encourage technologists to create a technological design that is guided by an acceptable ethical principle or set of principles that directs the intelligent agents of the machine. The behavior of fully autonomous robots with ethical dimension is likely to be more acceptable in real-world environments than that of machines without such a dimension.

Social enterprises flip the motto, "don't be evil," and aim to make good. The featured Web extra is the latest installment of the Forward Slash podcast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jobs-inspired Apple and NeXT products were platforms for many of the amazing innovations we take for granted today. This Web extra video features Charles Severance, Computer's multimedia editor, reflecting on how products from Steve Jobs, Apple, and NeXT often were an inspiration to creative technologists building entire new technologies over the past 30 years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Every organization should have a mix of technologists and business experts. Where, in your organization, are the business experts? It seems most US businesses lack any true business expertise. Where are the positions for "generalists" who can perform multiple functions? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Pervasive computing has always involved blurring the boundaries between disciplines. Any serious attempt at a pervasive computing deployment typically involves bringing together researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including technologists, application specialists, and social scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article offers information on the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Society on Social Implications of Technology (IEEE-SSIT), a group focused on analyzing how technology affects the world and how technological applications could improve the world. The group is open to all IEEE disciplines and to those who are interested in the social impacts of the works of technologists. The activities and accomplishments of IEEE-SSIT are cited.

New IEEE-USA President Ron Jensen has identified advancing US innovation, entrepreneurship, and competitiveness as his priorities for 2011. “Engineers and technologists are innovators and job creators,” Jensen said. “The more technology specialists we unleash in the workforce, the better our opportunity to revitalize the US economy. Our nation's ability to innovate new products and services will help us to compete globally and create jobs in the United States.” [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the changes that have been introduced in the publication of "IEEE Communications Magazine" and presents an appeal made by the author of the article to the readers. Since the magazine serves the two large constituencies, that is, the academic community and the industry professionals, therefore, the articles published in it are written in an accessible style without to much emphasis given on a high level of expertise. Since industry participation is very important in influencing the direction and ensuring that the articles of the magazine continue to serve the needs of industry, therefore, the author of the article makes an appeal to the industry professionals to send their articles, papers and responses to be published in the magazine.