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The author discusses some events and studies in the 1990s related to information technology and academic libraries. There was said to be enthusiasm for accessing and exploring the internet that created the need for libraries to learn about it. The importance of text recognition, optical character recognition, and text formatting in American Standard Code for Information Interchange is mentioned. High Performance Computing and High Speed Networking Applications Act of 1993 is also mentioned.

The article highlights some of the significant events and issues for the journal "Information Technology and Libraries" in the 1980s. The journal references the term "online" frequently from the first issue through the last of the 1980s. The term "microcomputer" was frequently used because of the emergence of the personal computer in the work environment during the time. Several articles focused on the physical design of search terminals and optimizing the ergonomics of computers.

The fall of the Berlin Wall precipitated an unprecedented surge in studies of young East Germans and comparative youth studies in in East andWest. Researchers sought to discern the social consequences of the "great experiment" of transformation. The field of youth studies therefore provides a useful case for exploring a history of knowledge approach to contemporary German history. This articles focuses on "epistemes of unification" and identifies moments of knowledge circulation, traveling data, traveling concepts, and the "writing back" of self-proclaimed "former GDR researchers," in order to move beyond diffusionist interpretations that see East German research taken over by Western models, practices and actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of History in Africa: A Journal of Method is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Professor Peter L. Reichertz is one of the most significant pioneers in the field of medical informatics worldwide. In 1969, 50 years ago, he became Professor at the Hannover Medical School. On the occasion of this anniversary an attempt was made to report on the scientific work of Peter Reichertz and to reflect on this work in the light of medical informatics knowledge today. The aim of this study was to search publications listings in the Peter L. Reichertz Archive, in Pubmed/Medline, and in the Web of Science. As well as to analyse contents and communication approaches to help in classifying Peter Reichertz's scientific publications. Three comprehensive publication lists were identified: the Print Bibliography (384 publications), the Disc Bibliography (285 publications) and the Selected Publications Bibliography (111 publications). Based on the last bibliography, a classification was built along the semantic dimensions of (1) major topics, (2) fields of publication, and (3) publication languages. Major contents of Peter Reichertz's research in informatics were medical informatics as a field (including education), informatics applications in medicine and health care, and health information systems. Clear shifts over time were observed. To his research on informatics applications, in the 1970s health information systems was added as topic, which then became a major part of his research. While in the 1960s and earlier German was a major publication language, from the 1970s onwards this shifted to English as the major language. Peter Reichertz very early identified the potential of computers in medicine and health care. He did not just use information and communication technology and information processing methodology as if they were other technology, such as microscopes or ultrasonic devices, for improving diagnosis and therapy. He was visionary enough to very early see the revolutionary potential of informatics for biomedicine and health care, with consequential impact on research and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article recounts significant events in the 1970s that influenced information technology and libraries. Topics discussed include the factors that influenced library automation during the decade, the history of the formation of the Integrated Library System (ILS) and the emergence of microprocessors and high performance computing and how they impact information and library sciences.

The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project aims to make low-cost computers accessible to the 'world's poorest children,' presuming that the gadgets will support their empowerment via education. The project's success globally, however, has been mixed at best, with many countries terminating their purchases due to cost, inadequate infrastructure, and negative side effects. In October 2010, Ghana suspended the country's 3-year participation. This study examines the complex history and failure of OLPC Ghana in two pilot schools, one urban and one rural, with particular attention to gender bias. The analysis draws on interviews with government personnel, students, and teachers in the pilot classes. Despite lacking electric power in the rural community, UNDP's Millennium Villages Project played a strong support role, making OLPC somewhat more effective with less of a gender divide in the rural school than in the urban school in Accra. Both pilot schools faced severe sustainability challenges raising decade-old questions about modernity and technological determinism. Further, in both schools, particularly the urban school, a digital divide by gender was evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 3 decades of The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing history share the same 3 decades as the birth of the information age and health information technology (HIT). This article summarizes the history of HIT and the corresponding publication history of The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing. Health information technology content has evolved from being the "how-to operate" topic of a publication to being integrated within a nursing practice publication. The article concludes with current HIT challenges and implications for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the second in a two-part series exploring the development of the early history of information technologies, from the 1940s to the present. This article describes the evolving information infrastructure used by historians in support of their research on the history of computing and of the role of IT practitioners, computer executives, scientists, and universities in creating that support since the 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Remarks to the SIGCIS annual meeting "Computing and the Big Picture," November 9, 2014, Dearborn, Michigan. Provides an overview of computing history in several fields and calls for greater conversation across these research streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The immediate postwar period saw the emergence of the first digital computers as well as developments in cybernetics, brain research, and information theory. In this era, questions of mechanical intelligence came to the forefront in public media. In Britain the BBC broadcast radio talks by many leading practitioners in these fields in which they discussed their work and speculated on its implications for conceptions of intelligence. Generally, speakers were either skeptical or unskeptical toward the issue of intelligent behavior in machines. The skeptics, who tended to have backgrounds in physical science and mathematics, usually took reductive approaches to argue that machines could not be intelligent. The nonskeptics, who tended to have a biological orientation, usually avoided reductive approaches and conceded that the distinction between machines and animal brains might not be clear-cut. These differing interpretations of new technology, their association with distinct intellectual traditions, and their promotion via a wide-reaching and respected medium are seen as instances of social shaping of technology in action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-World War II secret state (governmental bodies that handle national security, including signals intelligence, spying, counterintelligence, and some aspects of policing, as well as the central bureaucratic mechanisms of their control) is a lacuna in the history of UK computing. This article assesses the extent to which the UK secret state was a major user of computing technologies and examines the character of its computing tasks, as well as its relationships with industry and government, more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New topics in the history of technology develop through stages. For the history of the online world, different stages have been marked by different dominant interpretations, moving from technical and teleological narratives about just a few favored systems and individuals to a more eclectic mix. Narratives are also influenced by still-living pioneers. But these changing stories are not just interesting for the historiography of cyberspace. They directly affect what source material gets valued and thus preserved, an effect hugely amplified by the fragility of digital media. Early biases can become self-fulfilling by erasing the source materials that could support competing points of view. This article details practices that have developed in response to such challenges at collecting institutions, using the Computer History Museum as a case study in the hope that it may prove useful to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer history displays in museum galleries and exhibitions traditionally focus on iconic machines and progressive lineages of hardware production. This approach has been widely criticized as unrepresentative of computing's wider context but is, in any case, becoming increasingly awkward as historical attention turns to the era of small, cheap, undistinguished personal computers and standardized networking. This article presents a range of more user-focused display approaches for consideration. In particular, I address the value and practicalities of period "set dressing" for hardware and hands-on interaction with software and call for greater hybridization between approaches devised for static galleries and for mobile displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is part of a two-part series exploring the development of the early history of information technologies, from the 1940s to the present. It argues that historians have developed this new field along the lines evident in other historical categories, evolving from accounts of machines and individuals to more complex historiographical issues involving research methods, institutions, groups, and whole nations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of RED - Revista de Educación a Distancia is the property of Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the development of paper based information technology in the 18th century, focusing on the system of paper slips used by botanist Carl Linnaeus in his research. Other topics include systems of information storage, the format and content of slips of paper used in Linnaeus's botanical research, and the adoption of Linnaeus's system by his son and other future scientists.

The article discusses the history of information technology culture and resources in Italian universities, with a focus on the 50th anniversary of the first computing center at the University of Turin in Turin, Italy. Topics discussed include the history of computing in Italy, beginning in the 1950s, the establishment of the center in Turin, and the ELEA computer system used.

An essay is presented on the spread of computing and information technologies from the 1940s onward. It comments on historiographical methods at the micro- and macro-levels. The author considers cell phone and Internet use. He also notes that prices decrease and usability increases as technology is developed. Other topics include social and legal environments, public and private leadership, and the role of Asian countries.

The article discusses the transition from classical Information Technology (IT) systems to new agile systems of software development, providing a case study in the development of a distribution system for a middle-sized businesses. Topics include the classical waterfall model of software development, invented in the 1970s by Winston Royce, and news agile models of development that reconceive the relationship between business variables and constants.

The article reports on a conference on the history of the information society, held in Potsdam, Germany, from October 11-13, 2012. Topics of discussion included the computerization of business in Germany, the use of information technology during the Cold War, and the emergence of computer gaming and hacking subcultures.

A captive centre is a business unit that is owned and provides services to the parent firm from an offshore location. In this paper we seek to apply a historical perspective in order to understand what factors shaped its development path. In particular we are interested to document and explain changes that took place in the captive sector vis-à-vis extant country attractiveness frameworks. To achieve this objective, we examine changes that multinationals introduced in their offshore captive investments concerning the type of the captive they set up, the functions they offshored through a captive centre and to which location. Information was collected from secondary sources on offshore captive investments made by Fortune 250 global firms between 1985 and 2010. On the basis of the analysis the paper considers the importance of disrupting factors to the extant country selection literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationship between time and telegraphy. With the introduction of the telegraph, it became for the first time possible to transfer information in greater speed. With the new range of possibilities opened, it was widely believed that man had overcome time itself. This article, however, sets to demonstrate that quite the opposite is true. Time had not been overcome, rather, it had simply changed its rhythm. Ever since modern information technology had been introduced, time had not vanished nor was it vanquished. The only thing that has changed is the human perception of it. Far from rendering time insignificant, shorter time spans increasingly gained importance. Thus, technology did not overcome time, but rather altered the human perception of it.

In this article, the author discusses the study of information science institutions such as libraries, archives, and museums. It is suggested that historians of these subjects would benefit from a study of related topics such as the history of information technology, social informatics, and the business and economic history of technology. Several topics for future study are presented, including the way technology has transformed society, the professionalization of the information field, and the education of information workers.

An essay is presented discussing the historiography of information science and technology from the 1960s to the beginning of the 21st century. Comments are given comparing and differentiating the historical discipline on information science and technology (IST) from the history of libraries and library science. The growth of published literature and dedicated societies on the history and development of the field is outlined. Forecasting for the future of the discipline is also given.

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to examine the contributions of Estelle Brodman, PhD, to the early application of computing technologies in health sciences libraries. Methods: A review of the literature, oral histories, and materials contained in the archives of the Bernard Becker Medical Library at the Washington University School of Medicine was conducted. Results: While the early computing technologies were not well suited to library applications, their exciting potential was recognized by visionaries like Dr. Brodman. The effective use of these technologies was made possible by creative and innovative projects and programs. The impact of these early efforts continues to resonate through library services and operations. Conclusions: Computing technologies have transformed libraries. Dr. Brodman's leadership in the early development and application of these technologies provided significant benefits to the health sciences library community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread usage of the Web and the Internet--as information and communication technologies (ICTs)--is a recent important public sector innovation. In general, various descriptive models present a linear progression of stages--typically, going from routine online tasks that previously required people to visit agencies and then on to higher level connections, including creation of e-democracy. In addition, observers employ e-government and e-governance interchangeably, thereby, inhibiting distinguishing between them. Alternatively, they are discrete patterns with the former stressing service delivery transactions and the latter networked participatory interactions. These developments are traceable through the history of information technology in the public sector and in the application of theories of information technology and social change. The relationship between e-government and e-governance--which can be termed the dual e-gov construct--is both asymptotic and curvilinear whose trajectories converge twice. Their second convergence produces certain unintended consequences--negative spillovers--which impact democracy detrimentally. In order to continue employing ICTs to promote citizen empowerment in government, these spillovers need to be articulated and addressed. The conclusion suggests ways to recognize the onset of these potentially harmful effects on democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Too often the history of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is wrenched out of the history of technology and presented as something altogether separate and therefore different, rendering previous analyses irrelevant. However, there are sufficient analytical tools to hand without the continual invention of new paradigms to understand the current stage of technological advance. To support this contention, in this article, the continuing relevance of Lewis Mumford is explored. Mumford's discussion of the megalopolis and the emergence of the invisible city as its most developed state make a direct link with the networked information society, establishing a link between the information society and Mumford'sanalysis of the previous history of technology.At the centre of Mumford'sdiscussion of this history is the dialectic interaction of authoritarian and democratic technics. Mumford's notion of technics stresses that technologies can not be divided from the social relations in which they appear. In the information society,this dialectical pair map onto the twin dynamics of enclosure and disclosure. The former dynamic represents the control of information through commodification and marketization, the latter the recognition of the empowering and emancipatory qualities of ICTs. Up until now,discussions of the information society have regarded only one or other dynamic as normal, whereas utilizing Mumford'sinsight, the contradictory character of the information society can be theorized without rendering the second dynamic abnormal. Thus, the article concludes that recourse to Mumford's ideas, to re-embed ICTs in the history of technology, allows a more nuanced and fruitful treatment of current developments in information society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is much impressive scholarship by computer historians, there is little that is broad enough to cover more than a single company or a single country, and many historical studies are much narrower than this. In this article, William Aspray briefly describes a useful conceptual tool for thinking historically about information: the information domain, which is an academic field of study that gives prominence in one way or another to some notion of information. The main point of this discussion of information domains is to suggest that the historians of computing should become more familiar with the literature on the history of libraries, archives, museums, conservation, and information science and see how they can learn from and integrate this knowledge into their own work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Records events and resources that are important to the history of computing. Collections included in the Computer Museum History Center in Mountain View, California; Second Annual Vintage Computer Festival; Corporate history Web site of Texas Instruments.

Examines the status of information technology in the Victorian period in The Difference Engine, a novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Narrative technology in the academic Victorian studies; Information technology to revolutionize social order; Cultural agenda in the novel.

Features the evolution of cyberspace in the electronic industry in the United States. Origin of the word `cyberspace'; Assembly of the rudimentary home computer in the 1970s; International Business Machine as the first major company to enter the microcomputer market with its PC line; Establishment of the first computer network in 1969; Development of the bulletin board systems; Advances in diagnostic scanning modalities.

The article discusses computer development from Charles Babbage's Analytic Engine through the Turing machine and John von Neumann's mathematics. It focuses, however, on Babbage's writings on the man-material chain of production, then traces the history of writings on the human-machine relationship from the 18th through 20th century and the advent of cybernetics and information technology.