Is computer science science or are computer scientists scientists?

Editorial

Is computer science science or are computer scientists scientists?     

Rogers–Ramanujan computer searches

We describe three computer searches (in PARI/GP, Maple, and Mathematica, respectively) which led to the discovery of a number of identities of Rogers–Ramanujan type and identities of false theta functions.     

Cokriging—a computer program

Cokriging is a process wherein several variables can be jointly estimated on the basis of intervariable and spatial structure information. Presented herein is the program COKRIG, for punctual cokriging, a program in a simple form to demonstrate the utility of cokriging. Equation solution follows a modification of a method developed for the solution of large-scale linear systems. Several example problems show that, at least for earthquake data, the inclusion of intervariable information results in a more accurate BLUE (best linear unbiased estimator).     

Do computer systems really pay-off?

Over recent years IBM-UK has worked with a number of other organisations to appraise the financial returns achieved from computer systems. Using a standard methodology called SESAME, approximately 170 applications across a range of industries have been reviewed to date. This consistent base of information allows senior executives to compare the financial performance of computer systems with other investments; to set reasonable financial targets for new systems development; and to judge the ‘return on investment’ from their computer systems with that achieved by other companies. This paper provides an overview of the SESAME methodology, discusses some results of individual studies and summarises the general conclusions emerging from this work.     

Human–computer cooperation for future computing

The Journal of Supercomputing -     

随身携带你的电脑carry the computer

俗话说”金窝银窝,不如自己的狗窝”,套用到电脑上也是这样。毕竟,最好用的还是自己那台。可很多时候难免碰到一些“陌生”的电脑,好比去网吧或者出差办公,总不可能把自己的电脑搬过去吧。有没有什么好办法,让自己第一时间熟悉这些陌生的电脑呢？今天《电脑迷》来了四位：人,他们就是抱着这样的疑问来求助小编的。     

A longitudinal study of health complaints in professional computer work: Effects of computer‐aided design

Employees from the design and manufacturing departments of 4 companies participated in a longitudinal questionnaire and interview study of health complaints related to computer‐aided design (CAD). Data was collected on 2 occasions at 4‐year intervals. The severity of musculo‐skeletal complaints, eye complaints and skin rashes were approximately the same on Occasions 1 and 2. No results demonstrated a relation between the amount of CAD work and the severity of health complaints. There were more musculo‐skeletal and eye complaints reported by women than by men, whereas complaints were also more common among older CAD users than younger ones. Participants with a greater work load or less support from leaders reported a greater severity of musculo‐skeletal complaints. Great work load and less leader support were not connected with the amount of CAD work.     

What does computer support for cooperative work mean? a structurational analysis of computer supported cooperative work

Technical developments in electronic communication and computing coupled with new understanding of relationships between computers and work processes has given impetus to a significant amount of research in the area of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). Much of this work, however, lacks strong theoretical foundations, and there is no clear definition of CSCW, the major research questions of the field, or appropriate strategies for research. In this paper we suggest Giddens' theory of structuration as a conceptual foundation for CSCW research and propose a formal definition for CSCW. We conclude by discussing seven implications of the framework for future research into: (a) platform software features, (b) research methods, (c) systems development approaches, (d) features of CSCW development methodologies, (e) interactions between CSCW use processes and organizational structures, (f) interactions between work processes and CSCW applications, and (g) larger social change due to adoption of CSCW applications.     

Community computing as human ‐ computer interaction

There is too little engagement between community computing and human - computer interaction. In the future there should be more. Better integrating community computing and human - computer interaction can help to make HCI richer and more comprehensive, conceptually and methodologically. It can help HCI to have more of an impact on society and on everyday collective life. Six examples are briefly discussed.     

Brain–computer interfaces for space applications

Recent experiments have shown the possibility to use the brain electrical activity to directly control the movement of robots. Such a kind of brain–computer interface is a natural way to augment human capabilities by providing a new interaction link with the outside world and is particularly relevant as an aid for paralysed humans, although it also opens up new possibilities in human–robot interaction for able-bodied people. One of these new fields of application is the use of brain–computer interfaces in the space environment, where astronauts are subject to extreme conditions and could greatly benefit from direct mental teleoperation of external semi-automatic manipulators—for instance, mental commands could be sent without any output/latency delays, as it is the case for manual control in microgravity conditions. Previous studies show that there is a considerable potential for this technology onboard spacecraft.     

Four different perspectives on human–computer interaction

This paper will stress the value of a multi-perspective view on the use of computers. It will argue that the ability to apply more than one perspective is valuable to designers of computer applications, to researchers dealing with human-computer interactions, as well as to users of a particular computer application. As a means for that the paper will present the systems perspective, the dialogue partner perspective, the tool perspective, and the media perspective. All four perspectives will primarily be characterized in relation to human-computer interaction, and the characterizations will be based on a common set of concepts presented in the beginning of the paper. The last section of the paper will, with the help of a few examples, illustrate the value of applying multiple perspectives.