An editorial is presented on the effect of computer technology on informatics policies in developing countries. (BB)

Questions are raised which cover a wide range of epistemological, cultural, ethical, and practical problems related to the teaching of informatics. (BB)

Discusses the early commercial development of the computer, with particular emphasis on the work of John Mauchly and the UNIVAC I. (CWM)

This first article includes background material on computers that will be of value in understanding subsequent papers in the series. It also discusses the advantages and problems of implementing computer-based educational materials at locations and on machines for which the materials were not originally designed. (BB)

Determines the essential skills needed by personnel in the entry-level data processing jobs of programmer, computer operator, and keypunch operator as determined by two representatives from industry and two from education. (Author/IRT)

A survey of public attitudes towards computers in society is discussed. The technological realities of computers are described, and the conclusion is drawn that most people have little idea of what they would do with a computer if they had one. (DT)

Designers of computer-based material are forced to express interactivity with concepts from the logical-mathematical paradigm of computer science. The results of three psychological experiments point to differences between the dominant paradigm and the subjects "intuitive" way of understanding interactive computer behavior, which shows…

Since its founding in 1990, the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) has focused on publishing and accessing intellectual property. This article presents an interview with CNI's new executive director, Cliff Lynch discussing future changes, scholarly communication and the Internet, the University of California Berkeley's MELVYL, computer…

Presents a brief history of Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace, focusing on her primary role in the development of the Analytical Engine--the world's first computer. Describes the Ada Project (TAP), a centralized World Wide Web site that serves as a clearinghouse for information related to women in computing, and provides a Web address for…

A new approach to information science, activity theory emphasizes the centrality of practice as doing and activity and foregrounds setting and context as essential orienting concepts. It can provide information science with a rich, unifying, and heuristically valuable vocabulary and conceptual framework that will facilitate the continual…

Astrobiology is a relatively new field of study in science, one that has found a home in the curriculum of many major universities. It is a multidisciplinary field that draws participants from a range of scientific specialties: geology, physics, chemistry, engineering, computer science, and of course biology and astronomy. At the middle level, it…

This article traces the historical development of the boundaries around computer software and hardware. On one hand, the author documents ongoing discussions about the technical equivalence of hardware and software. On the other hand, he accounts for the stubborn persistence of these terms as markers for two distinct spheres of technology,…

The topic of random numbers is investigated in such a way as to illustrate links between mathematics, physics and computer science. First, the generation of random numbers by a classical computer using the linear congruential generator and logistic map is considered. It is noted that these procedures yield only pseudo-random numbers since…

This work presents innovative cybernetics (feedback) techniques based on Bayesian statistics for drawing questions from an Item Bank towards personalized multi-student improvement. A novel software tool, namely "Module for Adaptive Assessment of Students" (or, "MAAS" for short), implements the proposed (feedback) techniques. In conclusion, a pilot…

The Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside has developed and implemented an innovative, multidisciplinary undergraduate curriculum in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics (MBB). The objective of the MBB program is to give students a hands-on facility with molecular biology theories and laboratory techniques, an…