BLOG@CACM – Page 43 – Communications of the ACM

Jun 4 2012

Although there are daunting technical challenges posed by big data in science and engineering, the social and economic challenges are just as difficult, though much less often discussed. Two issues merit special attention, the culture of sharing, within and across disciplines, and the economics of research data sustainability.

Daniel Reed

Computing Applications

Jun 1 2012

Protecting Against Data Breaches; Living With Mistakes

Jason Hong writes about security breaches and offers a three-pronged approach. Greg Linden discusses the differences between computers and the human brain and their tolerance of errors.

Jason Hong and Greg Linden

Architecture and Hardware

May 20 2012

U.S. Women in Computing: Why Isn’t It Getting Better?

We've known for over a decade that there are too few women in computing in the U.S., but recent reports point out that it's not getting better: Not in any academic degree, not in IT company management.

Mark Guzdial

Computing Profession

May 3 2012

Microsoft Research, New York City

Yahoo! laid off people. Unlike every previous time there have been layoffs, this is serious for Yahoo! Research.

John Langford

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

May 2 2012

Possible Hadoop Trajectories

Hadoop has spread rapidly in the last few years as a platform for parallel computation in Java, but we believe a lot of improvement will be required for serious production use in the science domain of a large national laboratory.

Michael Stonebraker and Jeremy Kepner

Computing Applications

MIT Adjunct Professor Michael Stonebraker

May 1 2012

Likert-Type Scales, Statistical Methods, and Effect Sizes

Judy Robertson writes about researchers' use of the wrong statistical techniques to analyze attitude questionnaires.

Judy Robertson

Computing Applications

Apr 26 2012

No, Maybe, Yes, Obviously: Telling the Future the Past

The Kubler-Ross model of the stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — is sometimes an apt description of the culture change required when technology transitions occur. High-performance computing has experienced this many times.

Daniel Reed

Architecture and Hardware

Apr 26 2012

The Call to Teach Computing to Everyone

Major media sites are exploring the idea of teaching computer science to everyone, as a requirement for understanding one's world.

Mark Guzdial

Computing Profession

Apr 19 2012

Hot Job Market For Computer Science Graduates

The newest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections predict that the already hot job market for computing professionals will become even hotter this decade.

Joel C. Adams

Computing Profession

Apr 19 2012

Turing’s Sunflowers

It's the Turing Centenary Year. Why not plant a sunflower to celebrate? Manchester University, Manchester Science Festival and the Museum of Science and Industry are asking people to grow sunflowers and count the number of spirals in their seed heads in order to test Turing's theory that the seeds grow in Fibonacci sequences.

Judy Robertson

Theory

Apr 2 2012

Using ‘Averages’ While Thinking About Social Behavior? That’s Probably Wrong!

Using "averages" as a metric while thinking about Social Systems is probably wrong.

Ed H. Chi

Data and Information

Apr 1 2012

The Power of Computing; Design Guidelines in CS Education

Daniel Reed writes about how computing systems increase human intellect and abilities. Mark Guzdial discusses the need to avoid polarized and extreme positions in education and the trend toward design-based research.

Daniel Reed and Mark Guzdial

Computing Applications

Mar 28 2012

Curriculum Standards Efforts Are Important: Help Reduce Committee Battles

Curriculum standards efforts are important. They help bootstrap new departments, and they help reduce pervasive curriculum committee battles.

Mark Guzdial

Education

Mar 26 2012

NITRD 20: A Day in Your Life

Progress in information technology over the past 20 years has dramatically changed our lives — in our daily routine, at play, and at work.

Jeannette M. Wing (with thanks to Erwin Gianchandani)

Computing Applications

Carnegie Mellon Professor Jeannette Wing

Mar 26 2012

Happy 20th Birthday to NITRD!

The theme of NITRD's 20th birthday symposium was to recognize that in just 20 years, computing research has made astounding progress and has had an astounding impact on our lives, setting us up for an even more amazing future.

Jeannette M. Wing

Computing Profession

Mar 20 2012

Avoiding the Rabbit Hole of Bad Science

The scandal surrounding the recently published so-called empirical evidence for precognition has caused psychologists to reconsider the way they analyze their data, and highlights the importance of replication. What can empirical subfields of computer science learn from this?

Judy Robertson

HCI

Mar 15 2012

Judea Pearl Wins 2011 ACM Turing Award

Judea Pearl, professor of computer science at the University of California, Los Angeles, is the winner of the 2011 ACM A.M. Turing Award.

Jack Rosenberger

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Mar 6 2012

COLT/ICML Open Problems and ICML Instructions

Open problems will be presented in a joint session in the evening of the COLT/ICML overlap day. If you have a difficult, theoretically definable problem in machine learning, consider submitting it for review, due March 16.

John Langford

Computing Applications

Mar 1 2012

Knowledgeable Beginners

Bertrand Meyer presents data on the computer and programming knowledge of two groups of novice CS students.

Bertrand Meyer

Computing Applications

Feb 22 2012

Design Adventures in a Children

The first in a series of articles about the design process used in a technology and play project in a children's hospital.

Judy Robertson

Computing Profession

Feb 20 2012

Why Don’t We Use Worksheets in Computer Science Education?

Worksheets (short, constrained, sets of exercises with mostly fill-in-the-blank, true/false, and multiple choice activities) are unusual in CS education. Use of worksheets is a natural progression towards a broader audience for CS education.

Mark Guzdial

Education

Feb 17 2012

Most Smartphone Apps Are Spyware

Why does this flashlight app use an Internet connection? Why does this Bible quotes app want my location data? Why does this game want my contacts list?

Jason Hong

Computing Applications

Feb 10 2012

All Grown Up Now: Service and Serial Reciprocity

Computing is central to the debate about so many aspects of our present and future that we have a duty and responsibility to be active and enthusiastic participants. By paying it forward (serial reciprocity), we create an environment where a new generation can thrive, just as the founders of the field did for us.

Daniel Reed

Computing Applications

Feb 1 2012

Researchers’ Big Data Crisis; Understanding Design and Functionality

Michael Stonebraker issues a call to arms about research groups' data-management problems. Jason Hong discusses the nature of functionality with respect to design.

Michael Stonebraker and Jason Hong

Computing Applications

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