Outsiders: an exploratory history of IS in corporations

This paper is an exploratory study that provides a brief history of information systems (IS) in corporations that are not part of the Information Technology sector, such as retailers, banks, government agencies and so on. It looks at the development of the IS function and the changing roles of IS practitioners in such organisations over the past 60 years, and assesses how they perceived themselves and were perceived by their peers, by business colleagues and by others. It uses the testimony of successful IS practitioners to provide a grounded perspective on the history of the IS worker over this time. The research identifies a trajectory of a gradual diminishment in the role and status of the IS worker in the corporation over the lifetime of the discipline. It observes that the IS worker has experienced changed fortunes: from a position of influence at the outset, leading to a peak of status and reward in the years up to the millennium; and to the present day where the occupation has a much lower profile. It ascribes this to the increasing commoditisation of IS, manifested by phenomena such as end-user computing, outsourcing and cloud computing. The paper is of relevance to academics who are interested in IS in the corporate organisation; to business professionals, who are sometimes bewildered by their IS colleagues; and to those who work in IS. The research is presented as an interpretative study and is intended to help future researchers frame questions and design research projects. It also aims to inform and witness, and provide a perspective on a currently neglected part of the business world

Experimental investigation of boundary layer instabilities and transition on sharp and blunt cones in Oxford’s High-Density Tunnel

Boundary layer instabilities and transition to turbulence on a 7-degree half-angle cone with varying nose-tip radii in Mach 6 and 7 flow are investigated using a combination of surface heat transfer measurements, surface pressure measurements, and high speed schlieren images. The experiments are performed at unit-Reynolds numbers ranging from [22-44]*10^6/m in University of Oxford’s High-Density Tunnel (HDT). The transition Reynolds number, Re_{X_T}, increases with increasing nose tip Reynolds number, Re_{R_N}, for Re_{R_N}<10^5. In this range, evidence of second-mode wave instabilities are observed in both schlieren images and surface pressure measurements. For 10^5 < Re_{R_N} < 4*10^5, Re_{X_T} remains constant and coherent streaks above the boundary layer are observed with schlieren imaging. Images of the interaction of these features with a boundary layer breaking down to a fully turbulent state are presented. The freestream disturbance environment is also varied through existence of several steady state plateaus created by the natural operation of the facility, and characterised with multi-point focused laser differential interferometry (FLDI). Re_{X_T} increases by 10-60% with increasing plateau number which is independent of Re_{R_N}. Variation in freestream fluctuation amplitude with frequency and Reynolds number are in agreement with previous studies while variation with plateau is not. The discrepancy is explained by receptivity functions which are sensitive to the inclination angle of disturbances. A method for measuring the inclination angle using correlated FLDI signals is presented and reveals a consistent trend with plateau number. The trend is physically explained by changes in the relative contribution of entropic and acoustic modes with time

Returns to Investors in Stocks in New Industries

We examine the returns to investors in publicly traded stock in new industries. We examine data from the United States on sellers of own-brand personal computers, airlines and airplane manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, railroads, and telegraphs. We find that a relatively small number of companies generate outstanding returns and many firms fail. Firms in new industries typically have high volatility of individual stocks' returns. Compared with indexes for the same period, expected returns of firms are higher for two industries, lower for one industry and roughly the same for two industries. Portfolios of firms in new industries generally have lower Sharpe ratios than the overall market

An Unexpected Revolution : the First Steps of the Computer Science (1935-1985)

L'essor de l'informatique au 20e siècle : du calculateur électronique à la programmation