ROB: Nortel to start filing Jan. 10

So Nortel is apparently going to start filing its audited statements from 2003 this week. Wow! They’re only two years late. Admittedly, Nortel has been doing any great shakes lately on the markets but the company has still been functioning. In 2003, it (apparently) did 9 billion in revenue with a positive EPS. While those numbers are in doubt, the company still seems to be surviving. So why is this restated information so important? Is it important to the company itself or is it only really a prerequisite for the markets? Should the company be making operating decisions with an eye to the market? There seem to be more questions here than constructive ideas. One thought, however, is that there are actually two types of information: the info for internal consumption and the info for external consumption. Perhaps NT is even doing itself a favour by drastically restricting the info for external consumption. Should Owens and Wilson focus on running the company or should they negotiate with share holders? Some would argue that those two things can’t be separated but I’m not so sure.

ROB: Open Text could top forecasts

It looks like OpenText may be making some money this quarter. They may even beat analyst forecasts. Where does this success come from? According to CEO Shackleton, the gains are largely due to the integration of the firm IXOS, which offers tools for data and email integration. There seems to be a lot of overlap between the product offerings of IXOS and OpenText. Did Shackleton just buy customers? Is this a bad thing?

Perhaps the lesson here is on information overload. If there’s little in the way of product differentiation or cost, perhaps customers just want an easy way to make a decision. Two major players partnered together certainly seems to offer an easier approach. It will be interesting to see if the this improved ease of decision making will actually translate to further growth in the core industries. As the two companies streamline their product offerings, I wonder what will go by the side in terms of sales, marketing, and development.

A timeline for theatrum machinarum

I've been exploring some of the great early machine books in order to understand some of the transitions that occured in the depiction of machinery. Luckily, many of these great works are now online. From LOC TJ144 and some other sources I've compiled a chronological list of resources:

• 1181-1204 Jazar¯i, Ism¯a`¯il ibn al-Razz¯az, The book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices
  
• 1230-1235 Villard de Honnecourt, Portfolio
• 1366-1405 Conrad Keiser, Bellifortis
  
• 1433 Taccola, De Ingensis V. II, The Notebook
• --1455 Gutenberg Bible--
  
• 1472 Valturio, Roberto, De Re Militaria
  
• 1485 Leon Battista Alberti, De re aedificatoria
  
• 1480 Francesco di Giorgio, Treatise of architecture and machines NOTE: also http://www.artonline.it/eng/opera.asp?IDOpera=782
  
• 1493 Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Madrid I
  
• 1578 Besson, Jacques, Theatrvm instrvmentorvm et machinarum
  
• 1579 Besson, Jacques, Theatre des instrumen mathematizue and mechanique de Iaques Besson dauphinois, docte mathematicien
  
• 1588 Ramelli, Agostino, Le diverse et artificiose machine
  
• 1583 Agrippa, Camillo, 16th cent. Trattato di transportar la gvglia in sv la piazza id San Pietro NOTE: most famous for applying geometry to fencing!
  
• 1615 Caus, Salomen de, Raisons des forces movvantes auec diuerses machines tant vtilles que plaisantes, aus quelles sont adioints plusi
  
• 1617 Strada, Kunstliche Abrisz allerhand Wasser- Wind- Rosz- und Handt Muhlen
  
• 1629 Branca, Giovanni, Macchine
  
• 1651 Hartlib, Samuel, Invention of machines of motion lately brought to perfection NOTE: maybe in early english books?
  
• 1656 Zonca, Novo Teatro di Machine et Edificii per uarie et Sicure Operationi
  
• 1661 Böckler, Theatrum Machinarum Novum
  
• 1670 Lana Terzi, Francesco, Prodromo; ouero, Saggio di alcune inuentioni nuoue premesso all'Arte maestra, opera che prepara il p. Francesco NOTE: Jesuit scientist, oft considered one of the fathers of flight
• 1680 John Wilkins, Mathematical magick, or, The wonders that may be performed by mechanical geometry
  
• 1719 Grollier de Servière, Gaspard, Recueil d'ouvrages curieux de mathématique et de mécanique; ou, Description du cabinet de Monsieur Grollier de NOTE: poor quality
  
• 1724 Leupold, Theatrum Machinarum Generale
  
• 1725 Leupold, Theatri Machinarum Hydraulicarum Tomus I
  
• 1725 Leupold, Theatri Machinarum Hydraulicarum Tomus II
  
• 1796 Grobert, Jacques-Francois-Loise, Description des travaux exécutés pour le déplacement, transport et élévation des groupes de Coustou
  
• 1811 Hachette, Traité Elementaire des Machines
  
• 1817 Lanz, Analytical Essay on the Construction of Machines
  
• 1818 Borgnis, Traité Complet de Mécanique Appliquée aux Arts
  
• 1826 Babbage, On a Method of Expressing by Signs The Action of Machinery
  
• 1834 Evans, The Young Mill-Wright & Millers Guide
  
• 1834 Poinsot, Outlines of a New Theory of Rotatory Motion
  
• 1841 Willis, Principles of Mechanism
  
• 1851 Willis, A System of Apparatus for the Use of Lecturers and Experimenters...
  
• 1861 Laboulaye, Traité de Cinématique, ou Théorie des Mécanismes
  
• 1866 Redtenbacher, Die Bewegungs-Mechanismen
  
• 1871 Brown, Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements
  
• 1875 Reuleaux, Lehrbuch der Kinematik, V.1 - Theoretische Kinematik
  
• 1875 Reuleaux, Lehrbuch der Kinematik, V.2 - Die praktischen Beziehungen...
  
• 1876 Kennedy, The Berlin Kinematic Models
  
• 1876 Kennedy, Book Review: The Kinematics of Machinery
  
• 1876 Reuleaux, Kinematics of Machinery
  
• 1877 Reuleaux, Briefe aus Philadelphia
  
• 1881 Kennedy, The Kinematics of Machinery
  
• 1885 Reuleaux, The Influence of the Technical Sciences upon General Culture
  
• 1885 Scientific American, Sibley College, Cornell University...
  
• 1886 Kennedy, The Mechanics of Machinery
  
• 1887 Rankine, A Manual of Machinery and Millwork Vol.1
  
• 1887 Rankine, A Manual of Machinery and Millwork Vol.2
  
• 1894 Reuleaux, The Constructor
  
• 1894 Thurston, The Animal as a Machine and a Prime Motor
  
• 1896 Zopke, Professor Franz Reuleaux, A Biographical Sketch
  
• 1899 Schröder, Catalog of Reuleaux Models
  
• 1902 Thurston, A History of the Growth of the Steam Engine
  
• 1903 Durley, Kinematics of Machines
  
• 1907 Voigt, Kinematische Modelle nach Prof Reuleaux, Part 1
  
• 1907 Voigt, Kinematische Modelle nach Prof Reuleaux, Part 2
  
• 1908 Gradenwitz, The Mutual Relations of Geometry and Mechanics...
  
• 1917 Grübler, Getriebelehre
  
• 1962 Ferguson, Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt
  
• 1963 Wankel, Rotary Piston Machines
  
• 1964 Hartenberg & Danavit, Kinematic Synthesis of Linkages
  
• 1972 Bickford, Mechanisms for Intermittent Motion
  

The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians also has some articles of interest:

• 1966, 25.2 90 "Drawings of Machines for Architecture from the Early Quattrocento in Italy" GUSTINA SCAGLIA
• 1977, 36.1 3 "On the Chronology of Francesco di Giorgio's Treatises: New Evidence from an Unpublished Manuscript" RICHARD J. BETTS
• 1988, 47.2 132 "The Francesco di Giorgio Material in the Zichy Codex" CAROLYN KOLB
• 1990, 49.2 161 "The Military Architecture of Francesco di Giorgio in Southern Italy" MICHAEL S. A. DECHERT
  

Last but not least, Michael S. Mahoney's paper Drawing Mechanics is very interesting. It is published in the book Picturing Machines 1400-1700.

ROB: CIBC asks court to block Genuity

As a new experiment, I’ve decided to start writing a short piece about something I’ve read the Globe’s business section each day. The focus of this exercise is to explore the information aspects of business dealings. For my first foray I intend to explore a recent spate of hirings on Bay Street.

A new startup—Genuity—has hired away a number of top performers from CIBC World Markets. CIBC has responded with legal action which extends to demanding access to their former employees’ BlackBerrys.

There seems to be two issues at play here. The first involves why Genuity wants to hire away talent. Obviously, those employees have the type of tacit knowledge required to prosper in the world of equities. More interesting, however, is CIBC’s demands to view the information contained on BlackBerrys. We could say that the most important knowledge and information that these employees contain is lodged in their heads and yet we have a direct inquiry into what is obviously explicitly articulated knowledge i.e., the contact information of clients contained on a BlackBerry. So although the tacit knowledge is important, there are the ever-present markers of communication such as addresses, etc. This information is essential to the functioning of the professional but the value of these professionals to Genuity is obviously much greater than just their rolodexes.

The presence of the BlackBerry is quite interesting. A BlackBerry is just a tool and yet it is an ubiquitous tool—people carry them all the time and they are constantly at hand. Could these information appliances act as a type of prosthetic? Do the affordances of these appliances present a major perturbation to the structuration of this particular profession? Have new reverse salients been introduced into the further development of the profession or the industry i.e., the legal ramifications and subpoena-bility of BlackBerry?

Humour in the Globe and Mail

An inspired rewrite of Don Maclean's American Pie showed up in the Globe this morning:

NORTEL NETWORKS

Bye, bye, to that

C-E-O guy

A long, long time ago, I can still remember, how this stock used to make me smile.

And I knew if he had the chance, Frank Dunn could make those earnings dance, then maybe we'd be happy for a while.

But Nortel Networks Corp. made me shiver, with the news that it delivered. Bad news in my e-mail, I read every last detail.

I can't recall how much I drank. I prayed the news was just a prank. The gear is good, the accounting stank. The year that Nortel tanked.

So, bye, bye, to that C-E-O guy.

Had some fun, out there in Brampton, Navy Bill's now my guy. The numbers were bad, staff was cut to bare bones, Singin' should they go back to buildin' phones? Why don't they go back to makin' phones?

I started sellin' -- Bye, bye, to that C-E-O guy. Got in trouble, in the bubble, when the stock was sky high.

Now at 4 bucks, maybe worth one more try? But I still look back and can't help but sigh.

And my losses, make me break down and cry. Richard Bloom

$4.16, down $1.33 (NT - TSX)

The rest of the article is pretty good too.

Dissertation thoughts

Here it is, a New Year; new thoughts; new prospects. I’ve been studiously not writing anything for almost a month (except for crafting the occasional obligatory response to confused questions!) I think that my wrists are almost back to normal and my wits are mostly restored. As I embark on this journey called “2005”—what an exciting title—I’ve got some ideas. These ideas should coalesce somehow into a dissertation. Time to get down to it…

The first stop on this adventure is to figure out a rough itinerary. I’m still not clear on how I’ll hit all of these places but I’m sure that will come together:

1. Abstract
2. Summary of Research
3. Background (review of the literature; where the problem came from; related problems, etc.; why hasn’t it been addressed; why I can do the research (maybe shift to end?)
4. Aims and Objectives: Aims (what I want to find out; why I’m doing the research); Objectives (specific things I’ll achieve to attain the aim)
5. Research Questions (basically the bridge to methods and materials)
6. Methods and Materials (what methods will I use or what materials will I require; specify equipment; specify analysis)
7. Deliverables
8. Significance
9. Bibliography

(thanks to http://anthropology.ac.uk/ResearchMethods/WritingaResearchProposal.html)

In addition to these rough locations, I have a whole list of things that I want to see and to or at least experience. My plan is to peruse an entire realm of adventures and gradually pick off the locations as I go. I’ve appended that list to the end of this entry and I’ll be updating with additional entries.

Here are some of my basic thoughts on why I want to make this journey in general. After undergoing many of the trials and tribulations of the PhD experience I’ve gained a bit of insight into both the field and my own skills and interests. First, I’ll mention my own skills and interests.

1. Perhaps it goes without saying, but I have to study something that I’m interests me. A recurring theme though my training as both an engineer and a social scientist is a fascination with visual representations and technology. I’m interested in how these things stabilize, and how humans perceive them.
2. At the same time, I still have an ongoing interest in the organizational and social dynamics of information. The question still remains from my days in software (a social science question): how do groups of people use information? I suppose there’s an addendum (an engineering question): how can we improve the ways that people use information?
3. I suppose there’s also a third personal aspect that needs addressing. I have a fundamental belief that whatever I do should be prescriptive or constructive in addition to being descriptive.
   

This notion of prescriptive vs. descriptive gives me a segue into some of my ideas about the general limitations of the field.

4. Much of the theory we’ve developed seems to be descriptive. We come up with enumerable theories for how people use information but it is difficult to generalize these theories across contexts. Each theory may be valid but they just don’t seem to accumulate.
   

The need for accumulation brings out any number of other concerns in our particular field. I’m particularly interested in the split between the tribes of academics, professionals, and IT types. While both academics and professionals have a vested interest in issues of information behaviour, the academics are increasingly relying on fairly complicated social theory while professionals continue in their use of survey based research that the academics despise. The theories used by the academics are meaningless to the professionals while the academics ignore the work of the professionals. Something needs to be done. Using Latourian notions of normal science, we have no centres of calculation and few common inscriptions used by both professionals and academics. We need some sort of common language.

Our field is inherently biblio-centric; we love words and books; however, increased use of “visual rhetorics” may get us somewhere. The field of engineering, for example, has developed extensive and varied visual languages to describe the world. These languages serve both to describe the world as it is and to prescribe what the world could be. The fluidity between these two states is quite remarkable. Engineering as a field has even been described as model for information science by authors such as Jud Copeland. Of course, engineering primarily deals with real things—machines, concrete, nitrogen—rather than the social structures of information behaviour. Still, the concept intrigues me.

So, here’s my plan: I’m going to create and validate a visual language to document patterns of information behaviour. The language must be based on what we know about effective visual communication and must be validated in some way. A visual language could be used by all of the various tribes of information science and may act as a boundary object to facilitate the accumulation of inscriptions. Furthermore, the visual language may act in both descriptive and prescriptive manners.

How do I get there? Well, I’m going to have to do a few things:

1. I’ll have to figure out what the best practice of visual languages. Tufte (of course) provides some pretty extensive guidance but my personal opinion is that he came to his conclusion with little rigour. I’m far more interested in the processes that led to the closure of some of the various forms we see in visual languages. There are a number of ways to explore this phenomenon: visual languages, diagrammatic reasoning, etc. One project that intrigues me is to explore the development of the engineering visual language. I’d like to conduct some sort of analysis of the various machine and pattern books of engineers through the ages. I imagine a time line that includes Villlard de Honnecourt and ends with the Victorian era. Perhaps the 11^th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica is a good cut-off. The period includes all of the various theatrum machinarum, the mechanical movements compendia of Brown and Hiscox, and a number of manuscripts in Old English Books Online. I suspect that visual languages underwent a dramatic change with the advent of modernism (i.e., sans-serif fonts, etc.). An interesting analysis would involve a content analysis of the various volumes of Architectural Graphic Standards. A similar analysis could involve trade literature. Luckily much of this work is now available online.
2. In describing a visual language there is also the issue of primitives—a classification problem. What things must the model describe? This is a much tougher problem.
   

Even if I know all about visual languages I need a way of building one out. Here’s what I propose:

1. Create a pattern language of the various theories inherent in information behaviour. I can perhaps start from our comps list and other existing bibliographies. The pattern language must be both descriptive and prescriptive as per Alexander’s tenants.
2. The second step would be to develop a visual language to document the pattern language.
3. The language would then have to be validated. The first means of validation would be through existing field data as a way of boot-stripping the project. By comparing the language to the data we have a way of revealing problems and concerns.
4. The second type of validation would involve personal use of the language in a new information setting to determine if I could possibly use the language.
5. The final type of validation may involve the use of additional participants to use the language and then conducting focus groups to judge their reactions to the use of the pattern language.
   

Let’s look at some of the possible outcomes of this approach:

1. Review of best practices in visual languages for social dynamics.
2. Critique of existing uses of visual languages in LIS.
3. A pattern language for information behaviour.
4. A proposed visual language for info behaviour.
5. Field tests of the visual language.
6. Focus group tests of visual language.
   

This all sounds about right. Since I have a meeting this afternoon, we’ll see how it goes!

NOTES:

- trade literature

-- BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.sil.si.edu/tradeliterature/bibliography.htm

-- INSTRUMENTS FOR SCIENCE http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Scientific-instruments/

- Ramelli's machines http://www.sil.si.edu/ondisplay/ramelli/

- Besson http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/HST/Besson/besson.htm

- Doodles drafts and designs

- Leonardo and the engineers of the renaissance

-- http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/ingrin/

- Portfolio of Villard

-- http://www.newcastle.edu.au/discipline/fine-art/pubs/villard/album-1.htm

- KMODDL Digital Library

-- http://kmoddl.library.cornell.edu/bib_noframe.php

Early English Books Online provides some references with diagrams

-- use keywords like diagram*

-- http://eebo.chadwyck.com/home

-- remember vitruvius Pollio

Carnegie Mellon has links to various sites, etc.

-- http://www.library.cmu.edu/Research/Humanities/History/hots.html

Architectural graphic standards

- 9th Ed. TAY NO LOAN TH2031.A84 1994

- 8th Ed. TAY TH2031.A84 1988

- 7th Ed. *v McMaster 1980

- 6th Ed. BRES NA2700.R18 1970

- 5th Ed. *v Nipissing 1956

- 4th Ed. *v TUG 1951

- 3rd Ed. *v TUG 1941

- 2nd Ed. * Waterloo Arch 1936

- 1st Ed. *v Toronto Arch 1932

DBW OS z121.p58 1973

DBW z124.s8 1996

DBW z244.5.M42 1992

DBW CB478.L65 2001

DBW nc998.5.a1l86 1996

DWB z246.b74 1996

MUS ML431.T285 1999

MUS ML431.S18 1989

DBW NC998.H57 1983

DBW P93.5.I28 2000

TAY Q223.C48 2003

KC BF231.M38P8

DBW OS GA102.3.K55 1990

DBW P93.4.S33 1996

BUS HF1008.C724 2000

TAY QA76.9.H85M57 2004

DBW BF241.E45 1996

DBW BL627.C37 1998

DBW BF311.C5522 1999

ARCC LOAN TA18.G4

DBW T15.H5713 1986

DBW OS TA175.L27 1980

DBW NA1123.B8P7

DBW TJ144.P73

DBW T40.L46L46

ARCC LOAN T17.H34

DBW OS T17.O46

DBW NC748.E33

DBW N7430.5.E34 1991

PICTURE PERCEPTION IS ARRAY-SPECIFIC - VIEWING ANGLE VERSUS APPARENT ORIENTATION

Source Perception & psychophysics [0031-5117] HALLORAN

yr: 1989 vol: 45 iss: 5 pg: 467

DBW BF233.P47

EXPLORING COMPATIBILITY WITH WORDS AND PICTURES

Source Human factors [0018-7208] SMITH

yr: 1981 vol: 23 iss: 3 pg: 305

ILL

From Ferguson's Obit:

"In addition, serious scholarship by a number of engineers, historians of technology, and art historians on late medieval and early Renaissance engineering-ranging from SHOT members Lynn White Jr., Bertrand Gille, Frank Prager, Ladislo Reti, Alex Keller, and Bert Hall to others including Gustina Scalia and Samuel Edgerton Jr.-made study of the visual aspects of Renaissance art and engineering an exciting area of reading, teaching, and research in the 1960s and 1970s."

Eugene S. Eerguson, "Leupold's Theatrum Machinarum: A Need and an Opportunity," Technology and Culture 11 (1971): 64-68 DBW T1.T43

Citing Prochaska:

Rhodes KV, Levinson W

Interventions for intimate partner violence against women - Clinical applications

JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 289 (5): 601-605 FEB 5 2003

Daniels JW, Murphy CM

Stages and processes of change in batterers' treatment

COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL PRACTICE 4 (1): 123-145 SUM 1997

Levesque DA, Gelles RJ, Velicer WF

Development and validation of a stages of change measure for men in batterer treatment

COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 24 (2): 175-199 APR 2000

Burge SK

Violence against women

PRIMARY CARE 24 (1): 67& MAR 1997

Burke JG, Gielen AC, McDonnell KA, et al.

The process of ending abuse in intimate relationships - A qualitative exploration of the transtheoretical model

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 7 (10): 1144-1163 OCT 2001 ** WOMEN **

Finding ways to reduce the prevalence of child maltreatment among fathers: A comment on the alternative approaches

Author(s): Bugental DB

Source: CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY-SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 11 (1): 112-115 SPR 2004

Title: Personality, interpersonal, and motivational predictors of the working alliance in group cognitive-behavioral therapy for partner violent men

Author(s): Taft CT, Murphy CM, Musser PH, Remington NA

Source: JOURNAL OF CONSULTING AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 72 (2): 349-354 APR 2004

Title: Ending intimate partner violence: An application of the transtheoretical model

Author(s): Burke JG, Denison JA, Gielen AC, McDonnell KA, O'Campo P

Source: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH BEHAVIOR 28 (2): 122-133 MAR-APR 2004

Envisioning Architecture : An Analysis of Drawing (Paperback)

by Iain Fraser, Rod Henmi NA

Design Drawing (Paperback)

by Francis D. K. Ching

Visual Studies: A Skeptical Introduction (Paperback)

by James Elkins

How to Use Your Eyes (Hardcover)

by James Elkins

Design and the Social Sciences (Hardcover)

by Jorge Frascara

Cognitive Science (Hardcover)

by Benjamin Martin Bly (Editor), David E. Rumelhart (Editor)