October 2007 - Vol. 50 No. 10

Features

Opinion Editorial pointers Oct 1 2007

It was only a matter of time before outsourcing branched off in so many directions it would turn back on itself. Where industry was once motivated to move production or support operations to vendors many time zones away in order to cut costs, a new trend is fast emerging that promotes such opportunities much closer […]

Diane Crawford

Computing Applications

News News track Oct 1 2007

News Track

Psychologists are experimenting with virtual reality-based therapy to treat U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq who show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). VR therapy, they find, provides methods for re-creating visual, auditory, and thermal cues to set the stage for treatment of veterans suffering from the disorder, which often causes nightmares and flashbacks. The Associated […]

CACM Staff

Computing Applications

Opinion Forum Oct 1 2007

Forum

The article "A Roadmap for Comprehensive Online Privacy Policy Management" by Annie I. Antón et al. (July 2007) provided a nice framework, but its discussion of the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) needs clarification. For one thing, it said "The P3P language does not have a clear semantics and can therefore be interpreted and presented […]

Computing Applications

Opinion Technology strategy and management Oct 1 2007

Extreme Programming Compared with Microsoft-Style Iterative Development

Highlighting the similarities---although they might be superficial in some cases---in software development practices.

Michael A. Cusumano

Computing Applications

Opinion Legally speaking Oct 1 2007

Does Copyright Law Need to Be Reformed?

Considering the issues involved in developing a simplified new copyright law and associated administrative mechanisms.

Pamela Samuelson

Computing Applications

Opinion Technical opinion Oct 1 2007

Reflections and Trends in the Expansion of Cellular Wireless Services in the U.S. and China

Charting the evolution of business capabilities and communication technology and standards.

Katia Passerini, Karen Patten, Michael R. Bartolacci, and Jerry Fjermestad

Architecture and Hardware

Opinion Viewpoint Oct 1 2007

Why We Compete in DARPA’s Urban Challenge Autonomous Robot Race

The robots will have to find their own way, sensing and predicting their whereabouts through automated perception, planning, and control.

Sebastian Thrun

Architecture and Hardware

Opinion International perspectives Oct 1 2007

Post-Conflict Communications: the Case of Liberia

Liberia, founded in 1847 by freed African slaves from the U.S. is a relatively small country with approximately 3.3 million inhabitants (see Figure 1). Unrest has been common within Liberia for more than 25 years, with two major civil wars in this time period. These years of conflict have seen nearly one-third of the population […]

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Why ‘Nearshore’ Means that Distance Matters

When sourcing abroad, a growing number of companies now weigh whether the location is near vs. far.

Erran Carmel and Pamela Abbott

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Nearshore Locations in Three Principal Global Clusters and Their Respective Attributes

Erran Carmel and Pamela Abbott

Computing Applications

Practice Oct 1 2007

[Software Patents] The Good, the Bad, and the Messy

The goal of improving patent quality remains elusive both from an economic and process perspective.

Matt E. Thatcher and David E. Pingry

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Knowledge Services on the Semantic Web

Developing infrastructures for trading knowledge services using semantic technologies.

Gregoris Mentzas, Kostas Kafentzis, and Panos Georgolios

Computing Applications

Practice Oct 1 2007

[Getting Ideas to Market] Current Issues Faced By Technology Entrepreneurs

A great idea does not always result in a successful product. Often the winners are the ones to make it over all the hurdles along the way.

U.N. Umesh, Len Jessup, and Minh Q. Huynh

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Inspiring Students to Pursue Computing Degrees

Their aspirations are our possibilities.

Asli Yagmur Akbulut and Clayton Arlen Looney

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Physical Product Reengineering with Embedded Information Technology

Physical products increasingly incorporate an IT component, requiring manufacturers to adapt their production and support processes.

Prabhudev Konana and Gautam Ray

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Business Process Development Life Cycle Methodology

An innovative roadmap brings together the worlds of business processes and Web services, harnessing their power to construct industrial-strength business applications.

Michael P. Papazoglou and Willem-Jan van den Heuvel

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Business Applications of Unstructured Text

Crunching unstructured text rather than numbers is the basis for a new class of high-value applications ranging from regulatory compliance monitoring to business intelligence.

William L. Kuechler

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Social Phishing

Sometimes a "friendly" email message tempts recipients to reveal more online than they otherwise would, playing right into the sender's hand.

Tom N. Jagatic, Nathaniel A. Johnson, Markus Jakobsson, and Filippo Menczer

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Necessary Measures: Metric-Driven Information Security Risk Assessment and Decision Making

Use measurable, reliable real-world metrics to improve information security decision making.

Wade H. Baker, Loren Paul Rees, and Peter S. Tippett

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Leveraging the Flexibility of Your Data Warehouse

How data warehouse flexibility affects its use.

Richard J. Goeke and Robert H. Faley

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Oct 1 2007

Deterring Internal Information Systems Misuse

Deterring employee intentions to misuse computer systems requires complementary technical and procedural controls.

John D'Arcy and Anat Hovav

Computing Applications

Opinion Hot links Oct 1 2007

Top 10 Downloads from ACM’s Digital Library

Communications of the ACM Volume 50, Number 10 (2007), Pages 118-118 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 July 2007 Table. Top 10 Most Popular Magazine and […]

Computing Applications

Opinion Inside risks Oct 1 2007

Toward a Safer and More Secure Cyberspace

Readers of this column are familiar with descriptions of cybersecurity threats and potentially dire consequences, particularly as more critical activities become dependent on cyberspace. They also recognize the high ongoing burden of living with and defending against cyberattacks. At the same time, many policymakers (including those with responsibility for security) have a wide range of […]

Herbert S. Lin, Alfred Z. Spector, Peter G. Neumann, and Seymour E. Goodman

Computing Applications

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