organizational analysis in computer science.txt

1000 HOWTOs for various needs [WINDOWS]

                              NOTES

[1] See Dunlop and Kling, 1991a for an accessible introduction to
these debates. Economic statistics about national level
productivity are inexact, and sometimes weak. Baily and Gordon
(1988) examined the extent to which measurement problems account
for the difficulties of seeing the positive computerization show
up in the US national productivity statistics. They concluded
that measurements were inexact, and very poor in some sectors
like banking, measurement errors were not the primary cause of
difficulties.

[2] Organizational Informatics is a new term, and I have found
that some people instantly like it while others are put off. I've
experimented with alternative labels, like Organizational
Computing, which has also resulted in strong and mixed reactions.
Computing is a more common term than Informatics, but it's too
narrow for some researchers. Informatics also can connote
"information," which is an important part of this field.
Sociological Computer Science would have the virtues of being a
parallel construction of Mathematical Computer Science, but
doesn't connote information either. I have not yet found a short
distinctive label which characterizes the field and whose
connotations are rapidly grasped by both outsiders and insiders.

[3] Jacky's early study was based on published reports, while
Leveson and Turner's more thorough study was based upon a
significant body of original documents and interviews with some
participants.

[4]  One hears similar concerns about teaching mathematics to CS
students. CS students are much more motivated to learn graph
theory, for example, when they learn those aspects which best
illuminate issues of computation and when their teaching includes
some good computing examples.
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                        ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper builds on ideas which I've developed over the last
decade. But they have been deepened by some recent events, such
as the CTF report. They were also sharpened through a lecture and
followon discussion with colleagues at the University of Toronto,
including Ron Baeker, Andy Clement, Kelley Gottlieb, and Marilyn
Mantei. Rick Weingarten suggested that I write a brief position
paper reflecting those ideas. At key points, Peter Denning and
Peter Neumann provided helpful encouragement and sage advice. I
also appreciate the efforts of numerous other friends and
colleagues to help strengthen this paper through their comments
and critical assistance. The paper is immeasurably stronger
because of the prompt questions and suggestions that I received
in response to an evolving manuscript from the following people:
Mark Ackerman, Jonathan P. Allen, Bob Anderson, Lisa Covi, Brad
Cox, Gordon Davis, Phillip Fites, Simson Garfinkel, Les Gasser,
Sy Goodman, Beki Grinter, Jonathan Grudin, Pertti Jarvinen, John
King, Heinz Klein, Trond Knudsen, Kenneth Kraemer, Sharyn Ladner,
Nancy Leveson, Lars Matthiesen, Colin Potts, Paul Resnick, Larry
Rosenberg, Tim Standish, John Tillquist, Carson Woo and Bill
Wulf.
                            APPENDIX

            Published Materials about Computer Risks

Unfortunately, there is no single good book or comprehensive
review article about the diverse risks of computerized systems
to people and organizations, and ways to mitigate them. The
Internet board, comp.risks, is the richest archive of diverse
episodes and diverse discussions of their causes and cures. While
its moderator, Peter Neumann does a superb job of  organizing
discussions of specific topics each year and also creates
periodic indices, there is no simple way to sift through the
megabytes of accumulated comp.risks files.

Computerization and  Controversy edited by Charles Dunlop and Rob
Kling (1991) includes two major sections on "security and
reliability" and "privacy and social control" which identify many
key debates and reprint some key articles and book excerpts which
reflect different positions.  Another major source is  a series
of articles, "Inside Risks, which Peter Neumann edits for
Communications of the ACM.

This is a list of this series of articles, to date:
(All articles are by Peter Neumann unless otherwise indicated.)

Jul 90.  1. Some Reflections on a Telephone Switching Problem
Aug 90.  2. Insecurity About Security?
Sep 90.  3. A Few Old Coincidences
Oct 90.  4. Ghosts, Mysteries, and Risks of Uncertainty
Nov 90.  5. Risks in computerized elections
Dec 90.  6. Computerized medical devices, Jon Jacky
Jan 91.  7. The Clock Grows at Midnight
Feb 91.  8. Certifying Programmers and Programs
Mar 91.  9. Putting on Your Best Interface
Apr 91. 10. Interpreting (Mis)information
May 91. 11. Expecting the Unexpected Mayday!
Jun 91. 12. The Risks With Risk Analysis, Robert N. Charette
Jul 91. 13.