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Denis L. Baggi

Founder, TF/TC on CGM, 1992Chairman, Working Group for IEEE 1599, 2001-8

Author, Survival KIT, 1995 (in the present TAB Handbook)

Technical Community ModelsProposal to IEEE-CS TAOC

TCCGM

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Summary of the presentation

TCCGM

I. Brief mention of CS problems, assessed by experts, 2005 to present

II. One (modest) proposal to extend the reach of the CS - while maintaining its engineering/scientific quality and nature - by engaging the Liberal Arts and Humanities (Las Vegas, May 12, 2008)

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Problem Statement

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IEEE Computer Society declining:•Membership•IP relevance to Industry •Attraction from emerging technologies•Financial reserves

TC organization, leadership, practices, and initiatives are a part of this problem

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Present Reality

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Computers are pervasive, used in all disciplinesComputer users from other disciplines contribute significantly to computing science and technologyCS does not attract them: lack of credibility

See: Addressing the Evolving Profile of Computer Professionals, IEEE

COMPUTER, October 1997, pp.84-85.http://www2.computer.org/portal/web/tandc/messages/-/

message_boards/message/894037

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Credibility issues: from CS studies

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CS no longer relevant, overrun by academics, need more applications of technology than pure engineering, not enough international, breadth of books too limited, incorrect educational material, non relevant topics in local chapters, no practical content relevant to work (IEEE Computer Society 2007 Member Survey, Readex Research, 35 pages)Focus shifted from technology deployment to research publication venue, papers with interest to researchers but little value to practitioners, 84% academic, 16% industry/government, need for a new CS financial model, value offered by IEEE/CS/ComSoc has not kept pace with changes, need for a researcher-practitioner-user model (Report to the IEEE CS TAB: Regaining Industry/Government Participation, Joe Bumblis, 2005, 26 slides)Low degree of connection to members, insufficient attention to “members of tomorrow”, 92% male, need for new initiatives, a new non-engineering image for the CS, “Practitioner” not defined (IEEE Computer Society 2007 Member Survey, Deborah M. Cooper, 52 slides)

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Credibility issues: my own experience

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•Even less credibility outside of engineering/scientific circles•Members of “interdisciplinary” TC’s contribute to the TC but do not become CS members, dislike the CS•Practitioners using computers in non-engineering areas look at the CS with contempt (See “scandal Rocchesso”, 1998)•Volunteers contribute with enthusiasm, yet CS officers and staff hamper their work until they give up

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Credibility issues (continued)

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•CS tends to substitute quality with adherence to procedures, processes, checklists, bureaucracy; inability to look at contents (applies to all bodies, initiative, TC’s, articles, conferences...)•Remember: a looser structure enhances quality•CS Officers and Staff are unable to see the CS as a whole: TAB, SAB, Pub, etc. As a CS body, a TC should contribute to all - the CS won't work if it acts as a set of sealed compartments•Lack of international vision, emphasis on local bureaucratic procedures and legal matters

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What has changed?

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New Trends:

Contribution to “Computing” does not come only from Science and Engineering

“... what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world...” (Steve Jobs, “Triumph of the Nerds part 3”, PBS)

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Percent non-Tech Users by TC Domain

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Software EngineeringTest Technology

Computer ArchitectureData Engineering

Design AutomationDistributed Processing

Mass Storage SystemsMicroprocessors and Microcomputers

Microprogr. and MicroarchitectureOp. Sys. and Application

Parallel ProcessingComplexity in Computing

Computer CommunicationsFault Tolerant Computing

Systems PackagingVLSI

Autonomous and Autonomic SystemsMultiple Valued Logic

Real-Time SystemsNanoelectri, Nanoarch, Nanocomp

Computer ElementsEng. of Comp Based Systems

Pattern Analysis and Machine Int.Scalabe Computing

Embedded Systems CodesignInformation AssuranceComputer Languages

E CommerceIntelligent Informatics

SimulationBioinformatics

Computational MedicineDigital Libraries

Learning TechnologyMath. Foundations of Comp.

Security and PrivacyServices Computing

Visualization and GraphicsComputer Generated Music

InternetWearable Information Systems

Game TechnologyHuman Centered Information Systems

Electr. and the EnvironmentMultimedia Computing

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Why Change?

Note. This is not a luxury such as “it would be nice but...” “our priorities are...”, but a necessary - and not sufficient -

condition for survival and expansion

A Computer Society must appeal to practitioners who are NOT of engineering/scientific background

•if the trend continues, it won’t depend on present engineering, but on the growing Integration of Systems for human/computer interaction (new business opportunities, e.g. iPhone•To satisfy growing needs, it becomes necessary to invest in interdisciplinary subjects: CS has to encourage new fields and (TC) activities

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Solution

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Continue with quality of publications, conferences, ...

Continue with “traditional” engineering TC’s and activities

AND use this quality to credibly capture professionals not only of engineering background,

but from

the real world“we who work in computer network defense (and are the world's expert practitioners in the area) look to sociologists, cognitive experts, biologists, and others to help use develop the technologies we need”Jack Cole, IEEE, 2009

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Solution

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Expand IEEE-CS Technical Community (TC) and COI organization, scope, measures, and purpose from solely Academic and Research

To include

Computer Industry Professionals

who come from

Outside of Engineering or Science

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Proposal

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Vision. The CS represents and supports all those who contribute to computing in their activities: computer scientists and professionals, psychologists, sociologists, physicians, lawyers, musicians, artists, ... Mission. The CS is open to new proposals and new kinds of members, to extend its quality beyond engineering and technology, with flexible models for Technical Committees, publications, conferences, vitality evaluation,...

(lot of editing required, but the substance is there)

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IEEE Membership

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Associate Member grade is designed for technical and non-technical applicants who do not meet the qualifications for Member grade, but who would benefit through membership and participation in the IEEE, and for those who are progressing, through continuing education and work experience, towards the qualifications for Member grade. Member grade is limited to those who have satisfied IEEE-specified educational requirements and/or who have demonstrated professional competence in IEEE-designated fields of interest. For admission or transfer to the grade of Member, a candidate shall be either: (a) An individual who shall have received a three-to-five year university-level or higher degree (i) from an accredited institution or program and (ii) in an IEEE-designated field (b) An individual who shall have received a three-to-five year university-level or higher degree from an accredited institution or program and who has at least three years of professional work experience engaged in teaching, creating, developing, practicing or managing in IEEE-designated fields; or (c) An individual who, through at least six years of professional work experience, has demonstrated competence in teaching, creating, developing, practicing or managing within IEEE-designated fields. Affiliate A Society Affiliate is a non-IEEE professional who is generally a member of another professional Society and wishes to affiliate with one of IEEE's Societies. For an annual Affiliate fee paid to IEEE plus the individual Society's membership dues, the affiliate is admitted to membership in a specific IEEE Society.

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IEEE-designated fields •Engineering•Computer sciences and information technology•Biological and medical sciences•Mathematics•Physical sciences•Technical communications, education, management, law and policy

No contradiction, as long as bullet 2 includes what described by Steve Jobs (slide 11), and all disciplines that make a heavy use of computers such as in the liberal art and humanities

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Informal Definition of TCDedicated to • common technical interests• breaking new grounds• novel areas • needs and enjoys CS support

• Communications, e.g. newsletter, web portal, special magazine issues welcome letters, email

• Provide a forum for discussion of technical topics, e.g. technical meetings

• Focal point of industry and academia,• Other technical activities • Awards for technical excellence• Satisfies the needs of Membership• CS infrastructure & funding• Organized e.g. Officers, Charter, P&P,

planned activities, reports • Produces and shares IP

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Checklist used by TAB to assess Vitality

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Web presenceCommunications, NewslettersConferencesParticipation to meetingsPublications, Membership Promotion and AwardsCollaborationsUnique Initiatives, ImpactElectionsAnnual Report and Budget

Not appropriate to all TC’s

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Advantages of the Criteria

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•Objective•Well suited to scientific/technological societies

•Special case of model (see Math: “+” vs. Op)•do not always favor innovation

Disadvantages of the Criteria

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Negative examples

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•TAB rules has stifled rebirth of a TC by applying blindly and insisting on criteria such as newsletter, constitute an Ex Com, propose activities such as conferences, workshops, tutorials, publications, ongoing projects by members•Some TF’s did not even take off because its members, who looked forward to joining the CS, were turned off by its insistence on bureaucratic criteria

Positive examples• TC that tried out new models and structures, generated scientific and newspapers articles, conferences, TV, videos, two projects financed by international funds, standard and book accepted, and yet put on probation by TAB - it did not respond to the checklist of established “vitality criteria”

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Recommendations for TC’s(Ideas by Shukri Wakid)

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•Strive for creativity, new initiatives and sponsors, business value for the CS; joint ventures with universities, industry, government; non-competitive technologies, open standards•new activities, initially supported by the CS, must have self-financing•the traditional TC model is valid but not unique: in engagement with liberal arts and humanities etc., TC’s assemble and disassemble •Vitality assessment includes innovation, intellectual knowledge and output, and attractiveness, to extend the reach of the CS in unexplored areas

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Markets for TC’s

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•contributing to journals in related areas•contributing to conferences in related areas•establishing contacts with industries in related areas•in a nutshell, going beyond the standard pattern, with the encouragement of the CS that has constantly favored innovative initiatives, regardless of procedures

For many TC’s there exist possibilities to “expand their market” by:

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Other Actions

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TCs, COIs etc. follow new models with activities and programs designed by and for members in an interdisciplinary way.

Examples:• section in COMPUTER (see TC forum)• joint conferences with non-engineering societies (e.g., ICMC, with better quality)• “advertising” in non-engineering publications, interdisciplinary transactions; new magazines; new types of books; programs and exchanges with non-engineering societies; openness to new initiatives, extend existing practices

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Concrete Actions (1)

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Motion #1: CS supports the definition of a new Vision and Mission to extend its reach to all computer professionals beyond science and engineering

Vision. The CS represents and supports all those who contribute to computing in their activities: computer scientists and professionals, psychologists, sociologists, physicians, lawyers, musicians, artists, ... Mission. The CS is open to new proposals and new kinds of members, to extend its quality beyond engineering and technology, with flexible models for Technical Committees, publications, conferences, vitality evaluation,...

(from slide 14)

Concretely:• CS sets up a committee to write new Vision/Mission• CS nominates responsible members to contact associations dedicated to the Liberal Arts and Humanities• The TAOC Handbook will be modified accordingly

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Concrete Actions (2)

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Motion #2: CS supports alternative models for TC and revises the TAB (T & C) handbook accordinglyStrive for creativity, new initiatives and sponsors, business value for the CS; joint ventures with universities, industry, government; non-competitive technologies, open standardsnew activities, initially supported by the CS, must have self-financingthe traditional TC model is valid but not unique: in engagement with liberal arts and humanities etc., TC’s assemble and disassemble Vitality assessment includes innovation, intellectual knowledge and output, and attractiveness, to extend the reach of the CS in unexplored areas (from slide 21)

Concretely:• CS sets up a committee to redefine and broaden TC tasks and vitality criteria• CS nominates responsible members to constantly and dynamically update models for TC’s•The TAOC Handbook will be modified accordingly

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