August 2007 - Vol. 50 No. 8

Features

Opinion Editorial pointers Aug 1 2007

It’s a long-standing e-commerce conundrum: knowing that consumers value a personalized online experience yet not knowing how to convince them to provide the information that makes it possible to give them that personalized touch. Alfred Kobsa, a computer science professor at the University of California, Irvine, tackles this quandary in this month’s cover story. Privacy […]

Diane Crawford

Computing Applications

News News track Aug 1 2007

News Track

MIT researchers made a 60-watt light bulb glow by sending it energy wirelessly from a device seven feet away. Experts call it the first step in a future in which cell phones and other gadgets get juice as needed without being plugged in first. The breakthrough, reports the Boston Globe, is called WiTricity. While the […]

CACM Staff

Computing Applications

Opinion Forum Aug 1 2007

Forum

The article "An Empirical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Systems Modeling and Verification Tools" by Anand Jeyaraj and Vicki L. Sauter (June 2007) seemed to have it backward by focusing on why "users do not adequately understand the system for which we seek approval." Rather, the great unrecognized major cause of function creep is our […]

Computing Applications

News ACM call for nominations Aug 1 2007

Call For Nominations For ACM General Election

The ACM Nominating Committee is preparing to nominate candidates for the officers of ACM: President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer; and five Members at Large. Suggestions for candidates are solicited. Names should be sent by November 5, 2007 to the Nominating Committee Chair, c/o Pat Ryan, Chief Operating Officer, ACM, 2 Penn Plaza, Suite 701, New York, NY […]

Computing Applications

Opinion Digital village Aug 1 2007

Better-Than-Nothing Security Practices

Security for general audiences.

Hal Berghel

Computing Applications

Opinion Viewpoint Aug 1 2007

Software Copyright and Role Models

Our words, ideas, and behavior profoundly influence our children and students to do good and not so good when using technology.

Amy S. Bruckman

Computing Applications

Practice Practical programmer Aug 1 2007

A Deja-Vu Look at Software Engineering Researchers Who Care About Practice

Reflections on institutes performing practice-relevant research.

Robert L. Glass

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Aug 1 2007

Privacy-Enhanced Personalization

Multi-pronged strategies are needed to reconcile the tension between personalization and privacy.

Alfred Kobsa

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Aug 1 2007

Dealing with Change: Components Versus Services

Understanding the philosophy behind components and services is necessary before choosing a solution to deal with change in software design.

Ahmed Elfatatry

Computing Applications

Practice Aug 1 2007

Modeling the IT Value Paradox

Assessing the value of IT investments has stumped managers and academics for years. If viewed as a commodity input, however, IT should be measured in the context in which the investment takes place.

Matt E. Thatcher and David E. Pingry

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Research and Advances Aug 1 2007

Theoretical and Practical Complexity of Modeling Methods

Highlighting the importance of taking into account typical usage when estimating the complexity of a systems development method.

John Erickson and Keng Siau

Computing Applications

Practice Aug 1 2007

Involving Top Management in IT Projects

Aligning business needs and IT solutions with the problem-mapping technique.

Jesper Simonsen

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Aug 1 2007

Designing Large-Scale Supply Chain Linear Programs in Spreadsheets

Developing techniques to create a complete supply chain model across an entire product line.

Larry J. LeBlanc and Michael R. Galbreth

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Aug 1 2007

A Classification of Product Comparison Agents

Using the ecological food chain as an analogy for agent classification.

Yun Wan, Satya Menon, and Arkalgud Ramaprasad

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Aug 1 2007

Unintended Invitation: Organizational Wi-Fi Use By External Roaming Users

Unauthorized users risk civil and criminal liability; Wi-Fi network providers risk system intrusion and disruption.

Janice C. Sipior and Burke T. Ward

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Aug 1 2007

Testing Object-Oriented Industrial Software Without Precise Oracles or Results

TACCLE tests an automated assembly system in which the expected outcomes cannot be precisely defined and the actual results cannot be directly observed.

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Aug 1 2007

Dynamic Decision Support Through Instantiation of UEML Representations

The resulting system inherits (on demand) from representations developed and maintained by partners engaged in business alliances.

Sagnika Sen, Haluk Demirkan, and Michael Goul

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Aug 1 2007

Corporate Governance of IT: A Framework For Development

Boards of directors are beginning to look beyond the accounting roots of IT governance toward the risk of legal liability and harm to product brand and corporate reputation.

W. "RP" Raghupathi

Computing Applications

Opinion Hot Links Aug 1 2007

Top 10 Downloads from ACM’s Digital Library

Communications of the ACM Volume 50, Number 8 (2007), Page 100 Hot Links: Top 10 downloads from ACM’s digital library Diane Crawford Table of Contents Tables Back to Top Tables Table. The Top 10 Most Popular Papers from ACM’s Refereed Journals and Conference Proceedings Downloaded in May 2007 Table. Top 10 Most Popular Magazine and […]

Computing Applications

Opinion Technical opinion Aug 1 2007

Offshore Outsourcing: The Risk of Keeping Mum

Breaking the code of silence.

Sakgasit Ramingwong and A. S. M. Sajeev

Computing Applications

Opinion Inside risks Aug 1 2007

Which Is Riskier: OS Diversity or OS Monopoly?

It is computer science "folk wisdom" that our computer systems, particularly the networks, are unnecessarily vulnerable because so many of our systems are either made by Microsoft, highly dependent on Microsoft software, or required to interact with Microsoft software. Many see this as a single point of failure, an Achilles’ heel. Analogies are drawn to […]

David Lorge Parnas

Computing Applications

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