May 2006 - Vol. 49 No. 5

May 2006 issue cover image

Features

Opinion Editorial pointers May 1 2006

Editorial Pointers

Twenty years ago Terry Winograd and Fernando Flores published a controversial book about system design that doubted artificial intelligence would ever show signs of true intelligence. The book, Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design, sent the AI community reeling while giving wings to a new perspective that emphasized language rather than symbols […]

Computing Applications

News News track May 1 2006

RFID tags, often debated over their surveillance capabilities, may be as vulnerable to destructive software viruses as other computing devices. The New York Times reports a group of computer researchers affiliated with Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam recently demonstrated how it is possible to infect a very small portion of the memory in an RFID chip […]

Computing Applications

Opinion Forum May 1 2006

The answer to the question "Is the Crouching Tiger a Threat?" in Robert L. Glass’s "Practical Programmer" column (Mar. 2006) is both yes and no. Yes in the sense that the U.S. position as computing/IT superpower is indeed threatened and no in the sense that more opportunity for rewarding employment in the world is good […]

Computing Applications

Opinion Hot links May 1 2006

Top 10 Downloads from ACM’s Digital Library

Communications of the ACM Volume 49, Number 5 (2006), Pages 15-16 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 February 2006 Table. The 10 Most Popular Courses at […]

Computing Applications

Opinion Security watch May 1 2006

Scoping Identity Theft

The computer's role in identity theft incidents may have been misgauged through overestimates of reported losses.

Rebecca T. Mercuri

Computing Applications

Opinion Staying connected May 1 2006

Laws governing surveillance must keep pace with technology.

Meg McGinity Shannon

Computing Applications

Opinion President's letter May 1 2006

Revisiting My Campaign Statement

Two years ago I entered the race for ACM President with my campaign statement. In the second-to-last President's Letter of my term, I thought I would revisit what I said we would do and reflect on what we did.

David A. Patterson

Computing Applications

Opinion Viewpoint May 1 2006

Beyond the Algorithmization of the Sciences

Algorithmic thinking is transforming both the descriptive sciences and the humanities, bringing them all closer to the mathematical core of computer science.

Thomas A. Easton

Computing Applications

News May 1 2006

2006 ACM Elections

Research and Advances Two decades of the language-action perspective May 1 2006

In 1986, Terry Winograd and Fernando Flores published Understanding Computers and Cognition—A New Foundation for Design [3]. They offered a sharp critique of the field of artificial intelligence, which was completing 30 years of pursuit of its Holy Grail of expert systems software and other intelligent systems without many demonstrable results. At the same time, […]

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Two decades of the language-action perspective May 1 2006

Innovation as Language Action

By learning seven foundational practices, anyone can become a skillful innovator.

Peter J. Denning and Robert Dunham

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Two decades of the language-action perspective May 1 2006

Action and Media in Interorganizational Interaction

Coordinating the role of IT with business processes.

Göran Goldkuhl

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Two decades of the language-action perspective May 1 2006

The Deep Structure of Business Processes

Delving beneath organizational surface structure to reveal the essential structure of business processes.

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Two decades of the language-action perspective May 1 2006

The Language-Action Perspective as a Basis For Communication Support Systems

Developing a framework for effective design principles.

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Two decades of the language-action perspective May 1 2006

Designing a New Foundation For Design

The book in which Fernando Flores and I introduced our version of the language-action perspective had an ambitious and provocative subtitle: Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design [8]. This special section of Communications offers the opportunity to apply the hindsight of nearly two decades to the implicit claim in that phrase, asking how the perspective has been successful as a foundation and promises to be so in the future.

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Two decades of the language-action perspective May 1 2006

The Pragmatic Web: A Manifesto

The Web has been extremely successful in enabling information sharing among a seemingly unlimited number of people worldwide. The ever-growing amount of documents on the Web, however, results in information overload and often makes it difficult to discover the information that is relevant. The goal of the Semantic Web is to develop the basis for […]

Mareike Schoop, Aldo de Moor, and Jan L.G. Dietz

Computing Applications

Research and Advances May 1 2006

Adaptive Web Information Extraction

The Amorphic system works to extract Web information for use in business intelligence applications.

Dawn G. Gregg and Steven Walczak

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Research and Advances May 1 2006

The Collaborate/Integrate Business Technology Strategy

Before investing in the technology, business managers must focus on their collaborative business future and the extent to which their technology can be integrated.

Stephen J. Andriole

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances May 1 2006

The Web of System Performance

Because information system performance is multidimensional, specialist theories of performance dimensions must be integrated into a model of system design.

Brian Whitworth, Jerry Fjermestad, and Edward Mahinda

Computing Applications

Research and Advances May 1 2006

Discovery of Knowledge Flow in Science

Recognizing and understanding knowledge flow between scientists is valuable for science. Discovering, managing, and utilizing such knowledge are advanced services of the e-science knowledge grid environment.

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances May 1 2006

How UML Is Used

Many UML projects are not Use Case driven.

Brian Dobing and Jeffrey Parsons

Computing Applications

Research and Advances May 1 2006

Is Information Systems a Reference Discipline?

The frequent citations to IS research suggest its role in advancing science.

Pairin Katerattanakul, Bernard Han, and Alan Rea

Computing Applications

Practice May 1 2006

Exploring the Privacy Implications of Addressable Advertising and Viewer Profiling

Collecting consumer viewing habits will come back to bite advertisers who do not understand or appreciate how consumers feel about privacy infringement.

William E. Spangler, Kathleen S. Hartzel, and Mordechai Gal-Or

Architecture and Hardware

Opinion Technical opinion May 1 2006

Musings of an ‘Old-School’ Programmer

A traditional style of software development can be just as productive as a more modern approach.

Stephen B. Jenkins

Computing Applications

Opinion Inside risks May 1 2006

Like most other technologies, RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) systems have pluses and minuses. In their most common applications, passive RFID tags enable rapid contactless determination of the tags’ serial numbers, in theory helping to reduce erroneous identifications. However, this technology becomes dangerous whenever the binding between the tag and its context of use is in doubt. […]

Peter G. Neumann and Lauren Weinstein

Computing Applications

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