CIPS CONNECTIONS 
April, 2011 - Vol 13, Issue 4
Connecting you to news affecting CIPS and the IT Profession
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In This Issue
Get Involved in Building the Guide to the Common Body of Knowledge for Computing and IT (CBOK)
The Quest for Canada's Smartest IT
CIPS Blog: "Form vs Function"
Free Copy of "Computers without Machine Code - A New Type of Computer" by Bernard A Hodson
GTMA Honours Former CIPS National President George Fierheller
ICEC 2011
ICTC - Apply NOW for the Career Focus Program
Invitation to Participate in I-ADVANCE Beta Testing
2011 IFIP World CIO Forum - Call for Papers
Interviews/Blogs/Podcasts
CIPS IT Resources
 Cips Events
cips it job postings
CIPS Community
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New CIPS Certified Member Ring!

I.S.P. and ITCP holders can now order a 

CIPS Certified Member Ring! 

4Es 

More info:www.cips.ca/CIPSring  
 
CIPS/McGraw-Hill Online Bookstore

CIPS Members receive 40% discount on selected McGraw-Hill computing titles and references!

 

Get Involved in Building the Guide to the Common Body of Knowledge for Computing and IT (CBOK)

cbok survey 

Following the adoption of the CIPS Initial Body of Knowledge in 2005, CIPS has now embarked on a new project to define a more comprehensive document. The work is in line with CIPS' ambition to build a profession for IT, and the Guide to the Common Body of Knowledge for Computing and IT (CBOK) will:

  • Establish the boundaries of the profession;
  • Establish a shared knowledge base from which a unified and consistent version of IT related terminology can be derived;
  • Establish the breadth of knowledge required, including mandatory knowledge areas;
  • Clarify to employers and users the basis of the expertise of IT Professionals and what to expect from them;
  • Provide guidance to the ongoing renewal process of the CIPS certification program and accreditation criteria; and
  • Provide guidelines to educators and course designers of what knowledge and skills to deliver.

The Guide does not purport to define the body of knowledge, but rather to serve as a compendium and guide to the body of knowledge that has been developing and evolving over the past decades. The CBOK will contain a list of topics about which any computing or information technology professional should have some knowledge of.

Consultation with CIPS Member Community

Consensus by the profession on a common body of knowledge is a key milestone in all disciplines and has been identified by CIPS as crucial for the evolution of IT towards professional status. The current draft Guide, written under the auspices of the Common Body of Knowledge Committee, is part of a multi-year project designed to reach such a consensus.  Consultation on the draft Guide has now started through an outreach campaign involving the broader IT community.  This consultation will wrap up June 30th 2011, at which point the CBOK Committee will review the feedback and produce the final document.

CIPS Members have an opportunity to become actively involved in the development of the CBOK by completing an online survey. Click here for the survey

The survey lists each topic in the draft CBOK and it requires you to document your opinion about a) the importance of the topic to computing/IT professionals, and b) the validity of some of the references describing the topic. The survey should take about 45 minutes to complete.

There will be a prize draw from among the participants who choose to leave their name and email address at the end of the survey. The prizes are eight $50 Futureshop gift certificates to be drawn from among the first 500 survey respondents who leave their email address, or from those who respond by June 30, 2011 (whichever comes first).  

 

The Quest for Canada's Smartest IT 

Canada's Smartest IT

 

The Quest for Canada's Smartest IT is an annual competition which both celebrates and educates businesses. 

 

In 2011 the Quest again sets out to find the best examples of how mid-sized companies in this country are using technology to help themselves, their organizations and the community. Go to www.smartest-it.ca to share your success and enter the competition or leverage the wealth of tools, whitepapers and other resources made available for free. Key focus areas for this year include the cloud, management risk, business intelligence, connected enterprise, green IT, and cost-effective IT

   

 

CIPS Blog: "Form vs Function", CIPS Alberta, Marc Heuman

 

Form vs Function

Being in the IT sector, the range of discourse for a blog can be quite broad.  I'm hoping that I can touch on just the right type and amount of content to satisfy more than just the editor's request.  Since there are more IT directions than politicians to vote for, I'll dedicate this blog to several disparate topics.

  

Phone, tablet or pen and paper. 

First up, I can't help but blog about my current self-directed experiment.  I purchased a tablet a couple of weeks ago.  Seemed like a natural extension for me since I already had a smartphone.  The line of thinking was pretty typical.  Something I thought worked in a 4 inch form factor would work even better in a 10 inch form factor.   Same operating system, same functionality.  When I am at my desk, I tend to spend most of my time in documents, spreadsheets, project plans, presentations, email and calendars.  Out and about, I rely quite a bit on access to all the same things, but more so to read rather than edit.  What I found was that a 4 inch smartphone is "almost" enough, but the 10 inch tablet is too much.  The phone has a great web browser, notifications, integrates all my personal and professional email and calendars, and when I'm bored, can play music, a movie, or even a decent game of backgammon.  The tablet can too, but I have to carry it around almost like luggage.  It's huge!  And not to say that I'm not always politically correct, but I can somewhat unobtrusively use my phone during a meeting to read or respond to an important email, check facts, etc.  Try being stealthy with a 10 inch flat screen monitor.  My phone also has both cell/data and WiFi connectivity, while the tablet is WiFi only.  While I can easily set up the phone as a WiFi hotspot, I am then draining batteries on two devices, and I always have to keep the two of them together.  I love being connected, but I've found that being able to put something comfortably in a pocket is more convenient.  So... function over form for me.  However, it is a lot cooler playing Angry Birds on a 10 inch screen.  And that is the struggle.  Convenience vs cool factor.  What matters most to you?

 

Click Here to Read More

 

CIPS Volunteers and Members - share your blog posts by contacting us at [email protected]

 

Free Copy of "Computers without Machine Code - A New Type of Computer" by Bernard A Hodson

Computers Without Machine Code"Computers without Machine Code - A New Type of Computer" covers much of what took place in Canada from 1951 to the present day, touching on many CIPS activities, including the CIPS conference at the Banff Springs Hotel which attracted 650 people when Bernard was CIPS program chairman.


Bernard A Hodson served as CIPS National President 1983-1984 and 1967-1968.


Bernard has graciously offered to provide a free copy of his book to the first two CIPS member that send an email [email protected].


(Available in print form, and as an e-book with Kindle (Amazon), Nook (Barnes and Noble), Google e-books, and PublishAmerica)


Click Here to Read More

         

GTMA Honours Former CIPS National President George Fierheller 

via www.itworldcanada.com  By:  Dave Webb     On: 08 Apr 2011     For: ComputerWorld Canada 

GTMA honours 'the man who can't say no'

 

ICT industry vet George Fierheller was feted by the marketing alliance he helped found for helping to raise more than $350 million for charitable causes. He's also the first recipient of ComputerWorld Canada's IT Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement

 

The Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance feted co-founder George Fierheller, a Canadian ICT veteran and tireless charity fundraiser, at a gala at Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel on Thursday.  

Plaudits came from friends, colleagues, politicians and national figures for "the man who can't say no," so-called for his willingness to take up any charitable cause put before him.  

Fierhellen joined IBM Canada Co. in 1955, left to found computing services company Systems Dimensions Ltd. in 1968, then moved to Vancouver in 1979 to create Premier Cablesystems Inc. In 1980, Premier merged with Rogers Cablesystems Inc. Fierheller spearheaded the drive for cellular radio spectrum licences for what would become Rogers Cantel Inc. in 1983.  

Click Here to Read More

 

Note: Mr. George A Fierheller was CIPS National President 1970-1971  

      

ICEC 2011

Date: Wed, 10/05/2011 - Sat, 10/08/2011           Event Location:  Vancouver

 

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the prestigious 10th International Conference on Entertainment Computing, under the auspices of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). Based on the very successful first international workshop (IWEC 2002) and the following international conferences (ICEC 2003, ICEC 2004, ICEC 2005, ICEC 2006, ICEC 2007, ICEC 2008, ICEC 2009, ICEC2010) will be an international forum for the exchange of experience and knowledge amongst researchers and developers in the field of entertainment computing. Different submission types are invited that present scientific, engineering, design and artistic ideas or improvements to existing techniques in the broad multi-disciplinary field of entertainment computing. Please see the call for participation for details. 

 

As CIPS is a member of IFIP, CIPS members are eligible for a discount for this event.

     

ICTC - Apply NOW for the Career Focus Program

ICTC is taking applications again for the 2011-2012 year!

 

The most recent phase of the Career Focus program has been filling up very quickly. 

 

Information and Communications Technology Council helps employers to hire graduates to fill their ICT employment needs.

 

ICTC, with funds from the Government of Canada, is able to offer eligible companies a subsidy of up to $10,000 over a maximum 12 months.

 

If you are interested in the Career Focus Program please visit here for more information, criteria and applications forms.

 

For additional information, contact:

Ad�le Descarie
Phone:  613-834-6871
Fax:      613-834-8251
Email :  [email protected]

     

Invitation to Participate in I-ADVANCE™ Beta Testing

IT and ICT Practitioners, Consultants, Managers, Directors, CTOs, CIOs are invited to participate. 

Beta testers will take an online exam for one of the six ICT designations in order to test the test items' difficulty and quality.For more information...

No preparation is required. Time commitment:2 - 2.5 hours (including registration). An ICTC representative will be onsite.

Based on the results of this exam, I-ADVANCE™ beta testers can receive one-year certification, once the cut-score has been determined and the I-ADVANCE™ program becomes operational.

Click Here to Read More

     

2011 IFIP World CIO Forum - Call for Papers

Nowadays, the economic globalization, capital globalization and globalization of crisis management are strongly underpinned by the application of information technology. IT is increasingly becoming a crucial stimulus for economic growth, innovation and transformation. As leaders of the IT sector, CIOs play an important role in realizing the value of IT. Sharing of knowledge and experiences of CIOs, and integrating the power of IT to spur national economic progress and formulate effective business strategy are among the primary objectives of the  International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). 

 

With the afore-mentioned objectives in mind, IFIP has approved the proposal by the country representatives of China, India, Netherlands, Germany, America and South Africa etc to organize the World CIO Forum. As a global platform to discuss relevant IT related issues and topics in national policy formulation, business sustainability and environmental conservation, IFIP has authorized the Chinese Institute of Electronics to host the first World CIO Forum. The Forum will invite distinguished members of the government, business, IT and academic communities to present and share their knowledge and experiences to enrich the participants, expected to be more than 1000 attendees from across the globe. 

 

Author Instruction

All papers must be in English. Please carefully read the instruction and download relevant files. You are strongly encouraged to use LaTeX2e for the preparation of camera-ready manuscript. Manuscripts must be accompanied by a signed copyright form.

For more details, please find out at www.springer.com/series/6102

                            www.worldcioforum.com

 

Important Dates

Full paper submission: July 10, 2011

Notification of Acceptance: August 1, 2011

Camera-ready Manuscript: August 15, 2011

 

Click Here to Read More

     

Interviews, Blogs & Podcasts
by Stephen Ibaraki FCIPS, I.S.P., ITCP/IP3P
 Stephen Ibaraki
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