This is a case study competition involving teams of CICS master's candidates. They work all week on a technical and organizational problem, then present their solutions before panels of judges from CICS faculty and Accenture consultants, usually themselves CICS alumni. Because of the generosity of the sponsoring company, there are modest cash prizes for first and second place teams, and the recognition that accrues from winning a stringent professional competition.

The Center's candidates and loyal alumni have often blogged their reflections and offered advice. Here are some of their posts:

Notable knowledge-value added by Joel is this link to the PDF of the winning, 41-page package,
"Telecommunications Consulting Services Proposal."

Jared Linder, like Joel Patrick, selected as CICS Student of the Year in his graduation year, posted his advice
in "Accenture: Challenging."

A 2009 master's degree graduate, Eric Maroun,
posted this at "Accenture Challenge."

There are more accounts. Try searching on "Accenture Challenge" and you'll find them.
Good luck!

JEG

Yet a weblog community like cicsworld.org is a blogging site that aggregates a whole set of weblogs into one community. This site, arising out of the research of the graduate program Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS) is the community of over 50 bloggers who write on matters of interest to information and communication sciences. The site was the brainchild of Joel Patrick, who was its original architect.

Right now a number of bloggers are working in community on topics such as the information renaissance, Web 2.0, plagiarism as an issue in the work of scientists and other scholars, the European renaissance, and much more.

Vishal Malhotra summarizes a set of books in a graduate course in CICS that will be of use to any professional in
"REQUIRED BOOKS FOR ICS 601 ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD."

Vish also has a great post on "21st Century Information Renaissance."

Here are a couple of good posts from upcoming CICS graduate Brian Dockter's weblog:

A good linked post on the unique CICS Placement Seminar and

a real interesting post on new news from the old European Renaissance:
"A New Painting by Leonardo da Vinci?"

A blog community, versus individual blogs, is a single portal into the Internet world where you can read lots of interesting things in a short time. This is the information renaissance answer to a serious intellectual and business magazine of the print era. An example of that is The Economist, edited in London.

Yet a weblog community like cicsworld.org is a blogging site that aggregates a whole set of weblogs into one community. This site, arising out of the research of the graduate program Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS) is the community of over 50 bloggers who write on matters of interest to information and communication sciences. The site was the brainchild of Joel Patrick, who was its original architect.

Right now a number of bloggers are working in community on topics such as the information renaissance, Web 2.0, plagiarism as an issue in the work of scientists and other scholars, the European renaissance, and much more.

Vishal Malhotra summarizes a set of books in a graduate course in CICS that will be of use to any professional in
"REQUIRED BOOKS FOR ICS 601 ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD."

Vish also has a great post on "21st Century Information Renaissance."

Here are a couple of good posts from upcoming CICS graduate Brian Dockter's weblog:

A good linked post on the unique CICS Placement Seminar and

a real interesting post on new news from the old European Renaissance:
"A New Painting by Leonardo da Vinci?"

A blog community, versus individual blogs, is a single portal into the Internet world where you can read lots of interesting things in a short time. This is the information renaissance answer to a serious intellectual and business magazine of the print era.

In dealing with complex phenomena, and complexity itself as a concept, we need to avoid the trap of oversimplifying, and simplistic thinking in general. Some things can’t be made simple, but they can be made clear.

Clarity is the great ally of complexity.

In 1996 this is an example of Brian Arthur's conclusions:

Playing one of the increasing returns games in the casino of technology requires several things: excellent technology, the ability to hit the market at the right time, deep pockets, strategic pricing, and a willingness to sacrifice current profits for future advantage. All this is a matter not just of resources, but also of courage, resolution, will. And part of that resolution, that courage, is also the decisiveness to leave the market when increasing returns are moving against one. . . .

Technology comes in successive waves. Those who have lost out on this wave can position for the next. . . The ability to profit under increasing returns is only as good as the ability to see what’s coming in the next cycle, and to position oneself for it—technologically, psychologically, and cooperatively. In high tech, it is as if we are moving slowly on a ship, with new technologies looming, taking shape, through a fog of unknowingness. Success goes to those who have the vision to foresee, to imagine, what shapes these next games will take.

And now we have Brian Arthur in 2009, in The Nature of Technology, reinforcing what he explored first a decade ago.

It follows that once a region—or a country for that matter—gets ahead in an advanced body of technology, it tends to get further ahead. Success brings success, so that there are positive feedbacks or increasing returns to regional concentrations of technology.

Source: W. Brian Arthur, The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves. New York: Free Press, 2009, p. 161.

This is part of his book's conclusions chapter. A great way to close this entry:

We should not accept technology that deadens us; nor should we always equate what is possible with what is desirable. We are human beings and we need more than economic comfort. We need challenge, we need meaning, we need purpose, we need alignment with nature.

Source: W. Brian Arthur, The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves. New York: Free Press, 2009, p. 216.

This is an interview with an academic who moved on to a job in a think tank
research institute:

Scott Keeter, who earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, successfully navigated the transition from an academic job to a quasi-academic career in 2002. After 24 years as a faculty member in political science studying public opinion, political participation, and voting behavior, he joined the Pew Research Center and is now its director of survey research and chief methodologist.

See below for a good view on professional networking, following a kind of odd question about it.

Next, there's a quote with an emphasis on what you really learn in graduate school, and how that helps your career:

Keeter: It really wasn't intentional on my part, at least at first. I just found myself in a place where I met academics doing applied work and who liked to network. But, subsequently, I have made a great effort to network myself. As your readers know, the job-search process in the private and nonprofit sectors is usually quite different from the one used in academe. Jobs are often not as well publicized in the private and nonprofit world, which means that knowing where to look, or having contacts who let you know about opportunities, is more important.

Private and nonprofit organizations also have more flexibility in their hiring decisions, and personal contacts and recommendations may count for more. Those differences make networking more important, both for the employer and for the prospective employee. I certainly don't think of networking as a necessary evil. I really enjoy meeting new people and finding out what they are doing.

Here is some important emphasis on what you learn in graduate school:

Question: How is your academic training an asset in your work?

Keeter: The graduate-school experience teaches important content and skills, but it also instills discipline and focus. Those qualities are essential for success in almost any field but very much so in survey research.

Networking; knowing where to look; contacts who let you know about opportunities; discipline; focus.

These are keywords for career development in the knowledge society driven by an information economy.

Good hunting, and good luck to you, as you progress in your career.

JEG

Here's the money quote:

"In postindustrial societies, attention has become a more valuable currency than the kind you store in bank accounts. The vast majority of products have become cheaper and more abundant as the sum total of human wealth increases. Venture capital dollars have multiplied like breeding hamsters. The problems for businesspeople lie on both sides of the attention equation: how to get and hold the attention of consumers, stockholders, potential employees, and the like, and how to parcel out their own attention in the face of overwhelming options. People and companies that do this, succeed. The rest fail. Understanding and managing attention is now the single most important determinant of business success. Welcome to the attention economy." (p. 3)

This book and its theoretical approach tell us what to do after we go beyond providing information access. Now the work is to get the attention of those awash in information flows. It's worth your attention.

JEG

He is one of the thought-leaders produced by the Center for Information and Communication Sciences
master's program at Ball State University.

I recommend you read in its entirety his latest post, "A New Coat of Paint"
Tuite says:

[A]t least a passing comment is needed to address the seemingly endless stream of FUD ["Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt"] coming out of the security segment of the IT world regarding social networking and the associated softwares. The simple fact of life is that the only absolutely secure software is one never installed, and the only safe network is one powered down. There are varying degrees of security and hardening, but it is more guaranteed by the policies and implementations of technology than by any one software.

Note the force of the well-written phrase: "The simple fact of life is that the only absolutely secure software is one never installed, and the only safe network is one powered down."

Here are two potential examples of messages:

1) To: People
From:ctuite@bsu.edu
Subj: CM02 will be taken down for maintenance at 17:00 today.

or the second, more standard:

2) To: People
From:ctuite@bsu.edu
Subj: CM02 down for maintenance

To my co-workers - this afternoon, the CM02 server will be brought down so that some maintenance may be performed.

There is some background information needed here. The audience is a group of co-workers who know the terminology. They are also extremely busy - I've said before that we first overclocked the machines, then we overclocked ourselves. Therefore, why would there be a need to stick to the standard business format of a subject line, then a more expansive restatement of the message? A quick blurb is not only acceptable, it must also be preferred, given the audience and environment.

When I worked at Bellcore, now Telcordia Technologies,
its professionals were so busy, and we received such a torrent of email, that many people there literally stopped reading emails, unless the messages were sent from your boss, your family, or your real friends.

People started using the "Subject" line to send the essential information, so at least you got your true message across to people who wouldn't open messages. It worked. It was email-receipt-queue as bulletin board.

Thank you once again, Charles Tuite, for helping your colleagues by seeing to it--the issues of our field, deeply
thought through and well-expressed.

1. Alumnus Charles Tuite has a great blog called "Seeing to It"
He hasn't said this, but I reckon the name comes from his university login, which I see a lot--"ctuite"--and I have no doubt he gets told "see to it" often, by the people who recognize (and exploit) his competence, including me...

Here follows a great quote from his continuing reflections on technology and design, often inspired by watching his smart daughter, who's a Toddler, First Class. This is from an entry he calls "Sophie Tech":

2. Another great CICS blogger is Amy Clevenger, one of the administrative staff of the Center.
She has a blog called "The Rolling Relic: Life, Love and A 1960 Shasta Airflyte"

You can look it up and find Amy's reflections, philosophic and everyday, that make an interesting read.
You'll also learn more than you ever knew about a Shasta Airflyte, a true classic.
The pictures are great too.

Now,
"Onward!"
as one of my true friends always says,
since

We have miles to go...

Lots of discussion here about how communities
can survive and prosper in the 21st century information economy.

I found a great quote attributed to Robert Solow, economist:

"Over the long term, places with strong, distinctive identities are more likely to prosper than places without them. Every place must identify its strongest most distinctive features and develop them or run the risk of being all things to all persons and nothing special to any...Livability is not a middle-class luxury. It is an economic imperative."

Source is the Wikipedia article on Solow, with quotes at bottom of article

ITERA is International Telecommunications Education and Research Association,
holding a joint conference with ACUTA,
now known as the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education.

Miles O'Brien is keynote speaker. He is demonstrating via a multimedia presentation on stage.

He has brought in via BGAN, a blogging correspondent from the Himalayan mountains in Nepal
Here's a definition of BGAN:

Broadband Global Area Network or BGAN for short, is a global Satellite Internet Network with telephony using portable terminals.

Keith Cowing is going to Mt. Everest to cover this event--former astronaut Scott Parazynski 's expedition climb of the mountain.

Here is the site for the climb: http://onorbit.com/everest

It's an example of the new media kind of journalism,
made possible by converged information and communication technologies.

Information is on the move.

Recent Copyright Cases

Not too much new legislation. Here some key legislative efforts coming forward however.
Note these:

--Fair Copyright in Research Works Act, H.R. 801

--Higher Education Opportunity Act

--Orphan Works

Cases

1. Cambridge University press et al v. Patton et al (Goeroge State) fair use case

2. Author's Guild et al v. Google, Inc.
2.1 scanning books--publishers sued; finally publishers and Google drafted a settlement; have till 05 May 2009 to opt out; June 2009 will be judge's decision; books that are still in copyright, but out of print;

3. Warner Bros. v. RDR Books (Harry Potter lexicon); court agreed with J. K. Rowling, author, lexicon was infringement; a fair use case

4. Siegel v. Warner Bros. (Superman); court agreed with plaintiffs--a "reversion of rights" case; original creators got rights back because

Obama image issue "Fairey and the AP"

1. Fairey's famous image based on AP photograph

2. argument is that it's "transformative" use

3. variant Patrick Corrigan, The Toronto Star "Hope" looks like Fairey's image

Questions and Discussion--

Dwayne Buttler: there's a difference between a "copy" and a "substitute" use; example "thumbnail" use on Internet; a tiny reproduction, literally a copy, but not a substitute use

Discussion--"underlying use" depends on facts of the case or situation; (Buttler) change of use is the "elegance of the fair use doctrine"

The basic questions:

1. Is the work copyrighted at all?

2. How do you plan to use the work?

3. Is the work covered by a license?

4. Does the law contain a specific exception allowing your use?

5. Will I need permission from the copyright holder?

1. You have to figure out if you even have a problem--if it's not copyrightable (example: US government documents), you don't have a problem at all.

2. How DO you plan to use the work? Key to the entire issue.

3. Permission of copyright holder? Good to ask, at the least.

4. Limitations on Exclusive RIghts in US Copyright Law:

Sec 107 - fair use doctrine

Sec 108 - libraries & archives

Sec 109 - transfer of copies

Sec 100 - performances & displays

See also www.copyright.gov

5. Students approach Sec. 107 the four fair use factors as

acronym PANE

Pupose and character of the usue

Amount of the protion used

Nature of the copyrighted work

Effect on the value or potential market

6. Guidelines for classroom use--not the law, but some organizations use them; they tend to be "publisher-centric"--publishers have long been involved in copyright "conversation"; these guidelines are narrow, in that context

7. Case: Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985)
Memoirs of Gerald R. Ford, president, on A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford

7.1 many First Amendment issues; still, the court found for Harper and against Nation
7.2 "when does idea become subsumed into the work?" (publishing is key)

8. Case: Sony Corporation v. Universal Studies, 464 U.S. 417 (1984) Sony Betamax case

9.Case: Campbell v. Aucff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569 (1994)

9.1 Second Circuit Court (New York) is THE copyright court in USA
9.2 because a "transformative" use, a kind of parody;

10. Case: Basic Books v. Kinko's, 758 F.Supp. 1522 (S.D.N.Y. 1991)

10.1 about making "course packs"--answer: course packs are NOT fair use; in decision, an issue, the professor does't go in and make it; rather, the vendor sought out the professor; Kinko's a "bad faith defendent"; left open the issue that a noncommercial entity like a university COULD make a course packs; issue "purpose and effect"

11. Case: Bill Graham Archives v. DK Ltd, 448 F.3d 605 (2nd Cir. 2006)

11.1 Grateful Dead posters published in book; the decision based on "transformative" idea that the original purpose of the posters was not impinged by the use of the images in a book

12.New issue: Book Goodnight Bush "an unauthorized parody" of Goodnight Moon

13. What about "orphan" works--no one knows who created them, or owns the copyright, off on the Internet especially

14. Prof. Buttler: "Liability is the Death Star?"

14.1 Sec. 504(c)(2)

--who ... employees, nonprofit educational institutions, libraries, archive.

-- what.... requires court to remit statutory damages if you usue good faith and reasonably believe use is fair sue.

-- why ... understanding 4 factors and fair-use evidence "good faith" and "reasonable"

Question--what do you mean "publish"

Answer--see definitions in Sec. 101

The BSU Library is chief developer of this conference. There are a number of other supporting organizations such as Digital Policy Institute, which I am representing today on behalf of its Senior Research Fellows.

The BSU Library Dean Arthur Hafner gives a welcome with notice that there are over 110 participants from 10 states here today.

Dr. Fritz Dolak, chairs the conference. He is the director of the BSU Library's Copyright and Intellectual Property Office. The conference's main focus is on copyright use, done legally, in academic settings.

First speaker is Michelle Cooper, J.D. Her presentation is an introduction to basic copyright:

2. You don't need to register it with the US Copyright Office formally, as in the old days. However, registration gives you significant legal grounds in court to defend your copyright.

3. You should put a notice of copyright. The "c in a circle" [ © ] international copyright sign is a good idea.
This keeps the "innocent use" defense from being employed.

4. Fair use is a way you can use copyrighted work on these four factors:

4.1 PURPOSE -- What is the purpose of the use?

4.2 NATURE -- What is the nature of the work?

4.3 AMOUNT -- How much of the copyrighted work is being used?

4.4 EFFECT -- What is the effect of the use on the market or the postential market of the work?

on "Creativity, Innovation , and Entrepreneurship: It All Starts with a Mouse"

1. Defines creativity--doing something different that is accepted

2. Innovation--bringing ideas into reality that change a domain

2.1 first enterprise to make a given technical change is an innovator; following ones are imitators

3. Entrepreneurship--finding and developing new sources of income or revenue

3.1 new new = new products and services

3.2 new old = new markets for existing products and services

3.3 management/optimization versus entrepreneurship

5. Entrepreneurship education:

5.1 preparation

5.2 knowing what to do when opportunity arises

6. Opportunity + preparation + luck
Pasteur: "Chance favors those with a prepared mind."

6.1 see Malcolm Gladwell book, "Outliers"

7. See "Talent is Overrated" by Jeff Colbin, book

7.1 Business opportunity comes from having a background in an area that lines up with the right timing and social contacts.

8. BOTH luck and social contacts are critical, especially in mentors, allies, supporters

9. "Big success is greatly affected by what seem like luck and chance events.

9.1 "huge home run really is hard work and luck"

10. Walt Disney "greatest entrepreneur in the 20th century"

10.1 Disney not the best animator, yet had talent for building the business, and finding animators; grew company during Great Depression, after beginning in 1926

10.2 Walt + Roy Disney married two animators, and made the business as a family business

10.3 put all on business on "Snow White" a full-length animation

10.4 went into television--"Mickey Mouse Club"

10.5 for Disneyland, hired former Navy admiral Howe, used to shipbuilding projects

10.6 Your projects don't have to be perfect--see YouTube on opening day of Disneyland; four times as many people showed up as expected; Ronald Reagan was host, with Art Linkletter

10.7 first thing they built was the castle--a symbol, when the place was just being built; Disney didn't really become wealthy till after Disneyland was built

10.8 then went to Florida, bought more land surrounding than in Disneyland; Orlando Florida, 29,500 acres (only half are developed at present); bought from name, "Walter Disney" spelled backwards

10.9 EPCOT -- Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow; Disney didn't have a chance to see it come to fruition, but Roy Disney did.

10.10 Disney: "I hope we don't lose sight of one thing--it was all started by a mouse."

11.0 Next entrepreneur story = Steve Jobs

11.1 Steve Jobs, orphan; adopted, but lived near Bill Packard of H-P, who gave old computers to play with

11.2 Jobs and Wozniak built Apple starting 01 April 1976; not a great time in economy

11.3 "Calvin and Jobs" based on Jobs

11.4 Apple fired Jobs in 1980s; he buys graphics group from George Luckas; John Lassiter animator draws desk lamp as movie "Luxo, Jr." and begins as symbol for Pixar Animation Studios; see YouTube chess game animation; got Academy Award; then "Toy Story" was their big hit (distributed by Disney); then "Bugs Life" and "Finding Nemo" (made $800Million)

11.5 finally Disney corp had to buy Pixar--Jobs is the biggest Pixar shareholder

12.0 Tips for beginning technology entrepreneurs

12.1 start with what you're really interest in

12.2 what public domain holds this interest?

12.3 who is the typical customer in this domain? (see Proctor & Gamble for work on understanding customer)--must start with customer, not with technology

12.4 what problems do they really have?

12.5 what solution can you offer them?

12.6 don't get caught up only in uniqueness or complexity

12.7 create and execute (get creators and executors to actually work and work together)

13.0 Lessons for experienced entrepreneurs--

13.1 Never forget your mouse.

13.2 Business is a human enterprise. People want to be around people who are passionate

13.3 "Dream and do!"

1. Prof. K-D covering communication as basis of leadership.

2. Historical coverage of 20th century management approaches,
starting with Taylor on scientific management
of work processes in directing time and motion,
through the human resources model, with people as the prime means getting work done.

3. Major focus on attitude; participants think it's one of the most important attributes
of "who we are and what we are"--

4.1 Suggestions for this point--especially in criticisms:

-- criticize the work, not the person
-- give criticism bracketed by positives
-- Kirsten Smith: consider them innocent before assuming them guilty

4.2 Prof. K-D says, "don't be afraid to make a mistake" and references Bill Gates, who says "hire people who have made a major mistake"--they should have learned from it, and maybe learned more by their mistakes.

Here's a quote paraphrasing Gates, from the link in 4.2:

Reflecting on his early mistakes, Gates considers each and every one a part of the learning experience that got him to where he is today. For Gates, making mistakes was simply a natural part of the experimentation process. He always kept his calm and rationalized that every mistake was “correctable”, with the important thing being to “wake up and see what the results were.” What has always been significant for Gates is not the mistakes that he made along the way, but what he learned each time in bouncing back from them. And, there was always something to be learned.

4.4 There is nothing more powerful than being able to control yourself, and not enter into other people's way of treating you, and thinking about you. And one of the main ways you do that is through communication and verbal responsiveness.

4.5 One participant, owner of IT consulting company, gives first hour free consultancy meeting. Principle going in = 80:20. "We will listen 80 percent of the time in the upcoming meeting; speak 20 percent." You have to make the assumption that you are there because they want to have your competencies, so listen to what they are outlining.

5.0 Only seven percent of communication is by verbal means; the rest of communication is nonverbal.
Thus if you only listen to or get the words, you're missing most of the communication.

5.1 Your intrapersonal communication determines most of your interaction with other people

6.0 Prof. K-D gives out an exercise in intrapersonal communication approaches, which refracts participant responses into five styles:
-- Avoiding
-- Accommodating
-- Competing
--Compromising
--Problem Solving