Why Ada is not just another programming language
Ada's importance goes far beyond its initial limited goals. The worldwide interest in the usage of Ada is one of many reasons for its uniqueness.
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Toward real-time performance benchmarks for Ada
Benchmarks are developed to measure the Ada notion of time, the Ada features believed important to real-time performance, and other time-related features that are not part of the language, but are part of the run-time system; these benchmarks are then applied to the language and run-time system, and the results evaluated.
Computerized performance monitoring systems: use and abuse
An exploratory study of computerized performance monitoring and control systems reveals both positive and negative effects. Responses of 50 clerical workers from 2 organizations with computerized monitoring were compared to 94 individuals from 3 organizations in similar jobs without computerized monitoring. The results indicate that computerized monitoring is associated with perceived increases in office productivity, more accurate and complete assessment of workers' performance, and higher levels of organizational control. Respondents indicate that managers overemphasize the importance of quantity and underemphasize the importance of quality in evaluating employee performance. Workers perceive increased stress, lower levels of satisfaction, and a decrease in the quality of their relationships with peers and management as a consequence of computerized monitoring. The relevance of existing models of performance monitoring is examined in light of these findings.
Another look at automatic text-retrieval systems
Evidence from available studies comparing manual and automatic text-retrieval systems does not support the conclusion that intellectual content analysis produces better results than comparable automatic systems.
Novice mistakes: are the folk wisdoms correct?
An evaluation of two folk wisdoms serves to elucidate the underlying or "deep-structure" reasons for novice errors.
Computer anxiety in management: myth or reality?
Although many informal surveys in the business press have contended that computer anxiety has a significant adverse impact on managers' willingness to use microcomputers, the problem is neither as extensive nor as severe as once believed.
Computer instruction set usage by programmers: an empirical investigation
The elimination of unused instruction sets would encourage more uniform programming practices and could allow the inclusion of more useful instructions.
Metrics for Ada packages: an initial study
Many novel features of Ada present programmers with a formidable learning task. The study of four first-time Ada programmers suggests that a background in the software engineering practices supported by Ada is necessary to learn to use the features of the language.
Learning to program and learning to think: what’s the connection?
Focusing on thinking skills that are cognitive components of programming—rather than on intellectual ability—can illuminate the relationship between learning a programming language and learning more about thinking processes.
Operator work load: when is enough enough?
Three measures of operator mental work load were tested with a large, interactive computer system. Two—operator rating of time stress, and the ratio of the time required to time allowed for each subtask—proved to be significant and easy to use.
The results of a user questionnaire are used to determine the effects of 17 different independent variables on user satisfaction.
Viewpoint: Military direction of academic CS research
Most computer scientists know that the Department of Defense (DOD) supplies most of the funds for academic research, but few know how profoundly the funding situation has changed over the last decade. In 1976 most basic research in academic computer science was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) [see Figure 1]. In 1985 NSF's "market share" is much less than DoD's.
When applied research money is added in, as in Figure 2 (on the next page), DOD'S preeminence is even more marked. Allowing $25 million for industrial, state, institutional, and other support in 1985 (exact data are unavailable), I conclude that most academic computer science (CS) research is now directed by military agencies.
Factory automation and robotics
Selected from papers presented at the Symposium on Factory Automation and Robotics held September 9-11, 1985, at New York University
Impact of the technological environment on programmer/analyst job outcomes
Recent research has shown that key DP/IS personnel job outcomes (e.g., turnover, organizational commitment, job satisfaction) are affected by job design, leadership characteristics, and role variables. This study investigates another class of variables, the technological environment faced by DP/IS personnel, that might impact these job outcomes. The technological environment includes (1) development methodologies employed, (2) project teams and reporting relationships, and (3) work characteristics. Variables from all classes were found to impact DP/IS job outcomes. Over 11 percent of the variance in DP/IS job satisfaction is explained by these variables.
The impact of robotics on computer science
The rapid development of robotics and the resulting need for computer scientists to be better trained in traditional mathematics necessitate changes in computer science curricula.
Opportunities for research on numerical control machining
Numerical control (NC) machining could be reinvigorated by adapting robotic software technology. Regrettably, pressures are mounting in industry to constrain robots to NC standards, and the academic community views NC as an obsolete, solved problem, with little remaining scholarly challenge. Grossman examines the current status of APT, an NC language, and proposes the merging of APT with a modern robotics language.
Abstraction-based software development
A five-year experience with abstraction-based software-development techniques in the university environment indicates that the investment required to support the paradigm in practice is returned in terms of greater ability to control complexity in large projects—provided there exists a set of software tools sufficient to support the approach.
Novel security techniques for online systems
By ensuring entry to subsystems (zones) with different facilities and security levels, log-in procedures can do more than simply delay illicit access.
The British Nationality Act as a logic program
The formalization of legislation and the development of computer systems to assist with legal problem solving provide a rich domain for developing and testing artificial-intelligence technology.
Positive alternatives: a report on an ACM panel on hacking
A broad cross section of computer security experts, hackers, educators, journalists, and corporate executives examine hacking issues, problems, and possible solutions.
A computer science perspective of bridge design
What kinds of lessons does a classical engineering discipline like bridge design have for an emerging engineering discipline like computer systems design? Case-study editors Alfred Spector and David Gifford consider the insight and experience of bridge designer Gerard Fox to find out how strong the parallels are.
Andrew: a distributed personal computing environment
The Information Technology Center (ITC), a collaborative effort between IBM and Carnegie-Mellon University, is in the process of creating Andrew, a prototype computing and communication system for universities. This article traces the origins of Andrew, discusses its goals and strategies, and gives an overview of the current status of its implementation and usage.
An empirical study of the impact of user involvement on system usage and information satisfaction
"User involvement" in information system development is generally considered an important mechanism for improving system quality and ensuring successful system implementation. The common assumption that user involvement leads to system usage and/or information satisfaction is examined in a survey of 200 production managers. Alternative models exploring the causal ordering of the three variables are developed and tested via path analysis. The results demonstrate that user involvement in the development of information systems will enhance both system usage and the user's satisfaction with the system. Further, the study provides evidence that the user's satisfaction with the system will lead to greater system usage.
The relationship between benchmark tests and microcomputer price
A highly accurate model predicts microcomputer price based on benchmark performance by analyzing the impact on predicted price of fluctuations in system configuration and benchmark results.
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