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SIGDOC Newsletter
December 2003
:: Volume 4, Number 4
Interesting Items
You can find a nice list of interesting articles at Technews http://www.acm.org/technews/
"E-Mail 'Cluster Bombs' a Disaster Waiting to Happen, Computer
Scientists Say"
Indiana University (12/10/03)
The December 2003 issue of ;login: features a report by researchers at
Indiana University Bloomington and RSA Laboratories in Bedford, Mass.,
that says miscreants could use Web sites to bombard the inboxes of Internet
users with hundreds or thousands of electronic messages in a short period
of time. Such email "cluster bombs" would generate a huge demand
on the bandwidth of an Internet connection that could make it difficult
for Internet users to perform online activities or even access the Web.
Moreover, bombers could apply the strategy to SMS (short message service)
messages to paralyze cell phone users. IUB computer scientist Filippo
Menczer and RSA Laboratories principal research scientist Markus Jakobsson
say a bomber could use special software called agents, Web-crawlers,
and scripts to fill out thousands of forms simultaneously, and then have
the automatic confirmation function of Web sites flood an inbox with
messages about whether the individuals want to subscribe to the site. "We
propose that Web forms be written so that the forms do not cause a message
to be sent to subscribers at all," says Menczer. "Instead,
the form would prompt subscribers to send their own emails confirming
their interest in subscribing."
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Article
"Buried Treasure?"
Financial Times-IT Review (12/10/03) P. 1; London, Simon
Economists have long dismissed the concept of a causal relationship between
IT investment and productivity growth, but theorists such as MIT's Erik
Brynjolfsson believe one exists, and over the last several years an unusual
trend has unfolded--significant productivity gains in the United States
despite sharp declines in business IT investment and economic growth--that
appears to support such a theory. Brynjolfsson explains that it can take
as long as five years for major IT investments to yield productivity
gains because most expenditures cover other elements--business process
redesign, consultation, training, etc.--that create intangible assets
to support and complement the technological components. The MIT economist
estimates that the ratio between IT spending and "support" spending
is roughly 10 to 1, based on a study across a spectrum of projects. Adding
weight to Brynjolfsson's argument is a study of productivity gains by
McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) concluding that the step-change in American
productivity growth in the 1990s was centered around the semiconductor,
wholesale, securities, retail, telecommunications, and computer manufacturing
sectors, which were characterized by IT investment accompanied by heated
competition with little restraint on services, price, products, and distribution.
MGI finds that managers were forced to develop and implement IT-related
innovations in response to these competitive pressures. Managers would
do well to consider the contention borne out by Brynjolfsson and MGI's
research: That IT's influence on productivity growth is only felt when
accompanied by major investments in human resources, innovation, and
business process overhauls. MGI director Diana Farrell says researchers
should now concentrate on understanding the "performance levers" relevant
to each company, which will enable managers to choose IT projects that
promise to yield the most productivity gains.
"Where In the World Is the Virtual IT Worker?"
NewsFactor Network (12/09/03); Ryan, Vincent; Long, Mark
Telecommuting has stepped out of the limelight at companies for a number
of reasons, most having to do with the trend toward offshore outsourcing
and the economic downturn; companies no longer feel as pressed to lure
the best new hires with perks such as telecommuting, and even the assumption
that telecommuting saves money is being challenged. Still, Gartner found
in a June 2003 survey that about one-third of executive respondents outsourced
or intended to outsource some of their IT functions, a variation on telecommuting
as the work is done remotely. Some of that work has gone overseas, where
developers get paid less than 20 percent what U.S. counterparts receive.
But Software Outsourcing Research executive director Marty McCaffrey
says offshore outsourcing has many hidden costs, including the extra
effort involved in coordinating a project remotely. Telecommuting, meanwhile,
has also been touted to save money, though those arguments may not hold
up while corporate revenues remain depressed; lack of office space, for
example, is no longer an issue as it was during the tech boom because
of years of downsizing. Still, the International Telework Association
and Council found in September that the number of U.S. employees who
work from home at least one day per month has increased 40 percent in
the last three years, while about 42 percent of those telecommuters work
from home one day per week. IT staff are the most likely to telecommute
because they can deal with technical issues better than employees who
are not as tech-savvy. Robert Half Technology's Jeff Markham says executives
are another segment being offered telecommute options. As the economy
improves, telecommuting may prove to be a mixed bag for IT workers because
it can make outsourcing a more likely option, while also signaling an
employer wants to retain that worker by offering a telecommuting option.
View Full Article
"IT Workers Feel Effects of the Long Downturn"
Dallas Morning News (12/07/03); Godinez, Victor
The downturn in the technology industry continues to have an enormous
impact on information technology workers. According to experts across
the industry, IT workers are overworked, concerned about job security,
and are not happy with their careers. "People who have been able
to hold on to a job or find a job have either taken a cut in salary or
benefits," says Wanda Brice, president and chief executive officer
at Computer Directions, a placement firm in Dallas. "If they have
remained employed as a full-time employee, they have watched colleagues
leave and get cut, and that's very demoralizing." Such sentiments
were reflected in a survey released by the Computerworld trade journal
last month that found that 55 percent of respondents said they were less
satisfied with their jobs compared with a year ago. Though IT workers
complained about their workload and budget cuts, Computerworld editor
in chief Maryfran Johnson said they expressed even more concern about
offshore outsourcing. IT workers expect more jobs will be outsourced,
and added that other job openings may be filled by foreign workers in
the United States participating in the H-1B or L-1 visa programs. Johnson
says, "What causes us more concern are...worry on the future of
the IT profession."
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Full Article
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