March 2007 - Vol. 50 No. 3

March 2007 issue cover image

Features

Opinion Editorial pointers Mar 1 2007

Editorial Pointers

The ferocious effects of Mother Nature, most notably in the form of Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami, have motivated a growing legion of practitioners and researchers to rethink, and react, to the role IT plays and should play to enhance emergency response and crisis management. Natural disasters—hurricanes, wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and more—can have […]

Diane Crawford

Computing Applications

News News track Mar 1 2007

A team of Hewlett-Packard scientists created a new computer chip design enabling an eightfold increase in the number of transistors on a chip without making the transistors smaller, reports the San Jose Mercury News. After a decade searching for new ways to boost chip performance as well as make elements of chips so small they […]

CACM Staff

Computing Applications

News ACM A.M. Turing Award nominations solicited Mar 1 2007

ACM A.M. Turing Award Nominations Solicited

Nominations are invited for the 2007 A.M. Turing Award. ACM’s oldest and most prestigious award is presented for contributions of a technical nature to the computing community. Although the long-term influences of the nominee’s work are taken into consideration, there should be a particular outstanding and trendsetting achievement for technical contributions, which constitutes the principal […]

CACM Staff

Computing Applications

Opinion The business of software Mar 1 2007

The cost of risk on software projects.

Phillip G. Armour

Computing Applications

Opinion Viewpoint Mar 1 2007

Fixing Federal E-Voting Standards

Without a threat model and a system model, voting standards cannot ensure the integrity or accuracy of the voting process.

Earl Barr, Matt Bishop, and Mark Gondree

Computing Applications

News SIGs announce candidates for election Mar 1 2007

SIGs Announce Candidates For Election

In accordance with ACM Bylaw 6, the following SIGs will hold elections in 2007: SIGAPP, SIGART, SIGBED, SIGecom, SIGOPS, SIGPLAN. ACM Policy and Procedures require that those SIGs holding elections notify their membership of candidates for elected offices. Here is a list of SIG(s) that have submitted their slate of candidates in addition to those […]

CACM Staff

Computing Applications

News ACM fellows Mar 1 2007

The ACM Fellows Program was established by Council in 1993 to recognize and honor outstanding ACM members for their achievements in computer science and information technology and for their significant contributions to the mission of the ACM. The ACM Fellows serve as distinguished colleagues to whom the ACM and its members look for guidance and […]

CACM Staff

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Emergency response information systems: emerging trends and technologies Mar 1 2007

The slow and inadequate response to the devastations caused by Hurricane Katrina in the southern U.S. and the Indian Ocean tsunami that flooded coastal areas across South and Southeast Asia have left deep marks in the emergency management community. Essential emergency management coordination processes broke down in the immediate aftermath of these disasters, and even […]

Bartel Van de Walle and Murray Turoff

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Emergency response information systems: emerging trends and technologies Mar 1 2007

Human-Computer Interaction: The Human and Computer as a Team in Emergency Management Information Systems

Building the computer as part of the emergency management team ensures that people continue to do the things they do well, supported by the technology, not driven by it.

Liz Carver and Murray Turoff

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Emergency response information systems: emerging trends and technologies Mar 1 2007

Decision Support Systems

Decision support system" (DSS) has become a multifaceted term covering a wide range of functions and uses, too many to list fully here. For example, systems might support operational, tactical, or strategic decision making. They might simply provide summaries of data; they might forecast future developments in the context of present circumstances or they might […]

Simon French and Murray Turoff

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Emergency response information systems: emerging trends and technologies Mar 1 2007

Agent-Based Systems For Disaster Management

In recent years agent technology has been successfully applied to many different domains such as e-commerce, control systems, and information gathering and management. Because this technology features the use of artificial intelligence to coordinate collaborative behavior in distributed systems, it supplies a powerful basis for proactive applications in complex organizations. Efficiently responding to large-scale disasters […]

Frank Fiedrich and Paul Burghardt

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Emergency response information systems: emerging trends and technologies Mar 1 2007

Collaborative Adhocracies and Mix-and-Match Technologies in Emergency Management

Using the emergent interoperability approach to address unanticipated contingencies during emergency response.

David Mendonça, Theresa Jefferson, and John Harrald

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Emergency response information systems: emerging trends and technologies Mar 1 2007

Communication Challenges in Emergency Response

A primary challenge in responding to both natural and man-made disasters is communication. This has been highlighted by recent disasters such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina [2, 5, 6]. A problem frequently cited by responders is the lack of radio interoperability. Responding organizations must work in concert to form a cohesive plan […]

B.S. Manoj and Alexandra Hubenko Baker

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Emergency response information systems: emerging trends and technologies Mar 1 2007

Online Forums Supporting Grassroots Participation in Emergency Preparedness and Response

"When danger arises, the rule in normal situations is for people to help those next to them before they help themselves."

Leysia Palen, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, and Sophia B. Liu

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Emergency response information systems: emerging trends and technologies Mar 1 2007

Public Warning in the Networked Age: Open Standards to the Rescue?

The sharing of information about threats and hazards is one of humankind’s most basic social activities. Warning others and—often simultaneously—enlisting help are essential functions in any community. Our aim here is to outline how modern public warning has developed and suggest some directions where it could be heading. In industrialized societies, public warning is often […]

Art Botterell and Ronja Addams-Moring

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Emergency response information systems: emerging trends and technologies Mar 1 2007

Open Source Software For Disaster Management

Evaluating how the Sahana disaster information system coordinates disparate institutional and technical resources in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Paul Currion, Chamindra de Silva, and Bartel Van de Walle

Computing Applications

Practice Mar 1 2007

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Technology Leaders

What do CEOs expect from technology? What do they expect from their technology leaders? How should technology leaders "brand" themselves? Today'stechnology leaders would do best to learn the specific leadership skills required to meet IT's ever-changing challenges.

Stephen J. Andriole

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Mar 1 2007

Time-Critical Information Services

Emergency medical services have never been more ready for the implementation of time-critical interorganizational information services for the public good.

Thomas A. Horan and Benjamin L. Schooley

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Mar 1 2007

Theoretical Reflections on Agile Development Methodologies

The traditional goal of optimization and control is making way for learning and innovation.

Sridhar Nerur and VenuGopal Balijepally

Computing Applications

Practice Mar 1 2007

The Effects of Online Advertising

Consumers' first impressions (and loyalties) are made in the opening moments of a Web site visit and the degree to which that visit may be intruded by pop-ups, pop-unders, and banner ads.

Scott McCoy, Andrea Everard, Peter Polak, and Dennis F. Galletta

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Mar 1 2007

Envisioning Intelligent Information Technologies Through the Prism of Web Intelligence

Users and businesses alike get to turn their raw data into new science, technology, and money.

Ning Zhong, Jiming Liu, and Yiyu Yao

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Mar 1 2007

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Implications For Large-Scale IT Outsourcing

Until they are certain that outsourcing IT management is the best possible option, firms would do well to maintain and invest in their own in-house IT assets.

James A. Hall and Stephen L. Liedtka

Computing Applications

Opinion Hot links Mar 1 2007

Top 10 Downloads from ACM’s Digital Library

Communications of the ACM Volume 50, Number 3 (2007), Pages 101-102 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 December 2006 Table. The 10 Most Popular Courses at […]

Computing Applications

Opinion Technical opinion Mar 1 2007

The (Un)Predictability of Computer Science Graduate School Admissions

Providing a general calculator for students to compare where they are likely to get accepted for graduate school.

Nigel Ward

Computing Applications

Opinion Inside risks Mar 1 2007

Risks of Risk-Based Security

Information technology trade publications report increasing information security losses, questionable risk management and risk assessments, and underfunding and understaffing. Government departments receive low grades in security. Legislators react by adopting draconian laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley. The poor state of information security derives from a fundamental risk-based approach to security. Management deals with risks every day, […]

Donn B. Parker

Computing Applications

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