CIPS News

Successful CIPS NL Women in IT Conference Recap

JonathanElias — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:23:40 +0000

On Thursday, May 3^rd, 2012 the annual CIPS NL Women in IT (WIT) Conference was held in Newfoundland & Labrador. For the first time, the event went beyond the single site in St. John’s, and a smaller satellite event was simultaneously held on the province’s west coast in Corner Brook.

As in previous years, the WIT conference was held at the campus of the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) in St. John’s on Prince Philip Drive. The Corner Brook event was held at the College’s west coast campus on O’Connell Drive. In total, over 350 girls spent the day learning about the exciting careers of women at the forefront of the province’s advanced technology sector. Speakers interspersed talks about reasonable use of social media and the career adventures of a senior IT business analyst with hula hoop lessons and an art show. The province’s Chief Information Officer, Ms. Ellen MacDonald, delivered a keynote address live in St. John’s and simulcast to the audience in Corner Brook. In her address Ms. MacDonald talked of the wonderful opportunities a career in IT has given to her, and urged the girls to consider it too.

The annual WIT event in Newfoundland and Labrador is supported by local advanced technology firms, the provincial government’s Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development (IBRD), the NL Association of Technology Industries (NATI), and College of the North Atlantic (CNA). The largest public college in Atlantic Canada, CNA boasts 17 campuses across the province and is committed to expanding the CIPS NL WIT event to other campuses in future years. The College and its staff provide coordination and complete logistical support to ensure the conference’s success.

In 2013 we hope to grow the CIPS NL WIT conference to other areas of Newfoundland and Labrador. This year’s event was proof that this approach to exposing young women to all the choices within the sector strikes a note with this age group, seen in the feedback forms that urged us to continue holding this conference, in order to “let other girls enjoy this experience like I did”, as one girl wrote.

Also see:

Give ’em tech, girls - Business - The Telegram thetelegram.com

The hundreds of 14-year-old girls in the College of the North Atlantic’s gymnasium are the next hope to reverse a decline in women’s involvement in the technology industry.The Women in Technology conference saw 350 area Grade 9...

Click Here to Read Article

CIPS INTERVIEWS: Chat with Judea Pearl ACM Turing Award recipient in 2012 (Nobel Prize of Computing); Legendary pioneer, world-renowned distinguished researcher and professor UCLA

JonathanElias — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:03:11 +0000

INTERVIEWS by STEPHEN IBARAKI, FCIPS, I.S.P., ITCP/IP3P, MVP, DF/NPA, CNP, FGITCA

Chat with Judea Pearl ACM Turing Award recipient in 2012 (Nobel Prize of Computing); Legendary pioneer, world-renowned distinguished researcher and professor UCLA

This week, Stephen Ibaraki has an exclusive interview with Judea Pearl ACM Turing Award recipient in 2012.

Judea Pearl is a professor of computer science at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was director of the Cognitive Systems Laboratory.

Before joining UCLA in 1970, he was at RCA Research Laboratories, working on superconductive parametric and storage devices. Previously, he was engaged in advanced memory systems at Electronic Memories, Inc. Pearl is a graduate of the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. In 1965, he received a Master's degree in Physics from Rutgers University, and in the same year was awarded a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

Among his many awards, Pearl is the recipient of the 2012 Harvey Prize in Science and Technology from the Technion, and the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computers and Cognitive Science from the Franklin Institute. He was presented with the 2003 Allen Newell Award from ACM and the AAAI (Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence). His groundbreaking book on causality, Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference, won the 2001 Lakatos Award from the London School of Economics and Political Science "for an outstanding significant contribution to the philosophy of science."

Pearl is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of AAAI and the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He is President of the Daniel Pearl Foundation www.danielpearl.org, named after his son.

Pearl's Work

Judea Pearl's work has transformed artificial intelligence (AI) by creating a representational and computational foundation for the processing of information under uncertainty. Pearl's work went beyond both the logic-based theoretical orientation of AI and its rule-based technology for expert systems. He identified uncertainty as a core problem faced by intelligent systems and developed an algorithmic interpretation of probability theory as an effective foundation for the representation and acquisition of knowledge.

Focusing on conditional independence as an organizing principle for capturing structural aspects of probability distributions, Pearl showed how graph theory can be used to characterize conditional independence, and invented message-passing algorithms that exploit graphical structure to perform probabilistic reasoning effectively. This breakthrough has had a major impact on a wide variety of fields where the restriction to simplified models had severely limited the scope of probabilistic methods; examples include natural language processing, speech processing, computer vision, robotics, computational biology, and error-control coding.

Equally significant is Pearl's work on causal reasoning, where he developed a graph-based calculus of interventions that makes it possible to derive causal knowledge from the combined effects of actions and observations. This work has been transformative within AI and computer science, and has had a major impact on allied disciplines of epidemiology, economics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and statistics.

ACM Turing Awards announcement:
http://www.acm.org/press-room/news-releases/2012/turing-award-11/
http://amturing.acm.org/keywords/pearl_2658896.cfm

Author Profile, ACM Digital Library:
http://dl.acm.org/author_page.cfm?id=81100419881

Research subjects and home page:
http://amturing.acm.org/keywords/pearl_2658896.cfm
http://bayes.cs.ucla.edu/jp_home.html

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

The latest blog on the interview can be found in the IT Managers Connection (IMC) forum where you can provide your comments in an interactive dialogue.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/cdnitmanagers/

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic
:00:34:		Judea, you have a lifetime of outstanding research contributions influencing diverse domains with lasting significant global impact. Thank you for sharing your considerable expertise, deep accumulated insights, and wisdom with our audience.
:01:01:		When did you hear of this extraordinary honour, recipient of what is widely considered the Nobel Prize in Computing, the 2011 ACM Turing Award? How did you feel at the time? The reaction from your colleagues? From your family? "....It was a combination of pleasure and surprise because my main focus to research is not considered mainstream computer science....I was happy to see the awards committee appreciate the impact of my work on both the AI and on the peripheral fields now in computer science...."
:04:14:		What specific challenges in your education in Israel were catalysts to inflection points in your lifetime of contributions and how/why did this happen? "....I constantly remind myself and my audience that I owe a lot of what I've done to my education and to the spirit of nation-building in Israel...."
:09:55:		You talked about the fact that at the time, even though it was the early days and a time of austerity in Israel, there were no budget cuts and there was passion, excitement and interaction in the classroom. How would you contrast that with the current education system in the United States? "....I think it has to be revamped. Mathematics and sciences in general ought to be taught in the way it was discovered, in historical context and not hierarchical in terms of the logic of the subject matter....That gives students the idea that science is not a dry subject, but a human subject...."
:11:52:		Professor Pearl talks about how his work at RCA and his move into academia became catalysts or inflection points for his lifetime of contributions. "....At the time I had to find a job and I went to academia. It was easier at that time to go from industry to academia because industry looked down at academia...."
:16:39:		How has your work specifically and lastingly contributed to the following components: machine reasoning, natural language processing, computer vision, robotics, computational biology, econometrics, cognitive science, statistics, philosophy, psychology, epidemiology and social science? "....The list may give the impression that I'm expert in all these fields which would be wrong. You will notice that all the fields that you mentioned have one thing in common and this is uncertainty. They are embedded in uncertain and noisy data and they all need to have principles of filtering out the noise and extracting out meaning...."
:34:12:		I guess the causation research that you did really ties into philosophy itself? "....The question is why did they explain causation in terms of counterfactuals and not the other way around? It must be that counterfactuals are more cognitively plausible, less problematic, more deeply entrenched in our intuition...."
:40:54:		Additionally, can you profile your extensive research history, their lasting impact and valuable lessons you wish to share from each of your top research areas? "....I can summarize my lessons in three sentences: People reason with probabilities....People do not reason with probabilities, but people reason with cause-effect relationships....People do not reason with cause-effect relationships, they reason with counterfactuals....The impact itself is in the algorithms that are developed....One should classify the impact of my work into three layers: probability, causality and counterfactuals...."
:42:11:		I can see the progression in your work and as you gained insights, your insights evolved and that became inflection points not only in your life, but also major inflection points in your field as well. "....It has had impact on the field. It has given researchers in AI the comfort and the confidence that they can encode knowledge in the form and perform inferences on that knowledge, and also it's had a tremendous impact on the peripheral fields...."
:48:39:		You mentioned this concept of robotics; do you believe a robot with free will can be developed? "....When you asked the question 'would the robot be able to be equipped with free will', one could argue that every chess-playing machine has free will otherwise it wouldn't have chosen the move that it chose. It's a superficial way, but it's a very deep philosophical question....Most scientists that I talk to believe that free will is an illusion...."
:53:46:		Can you define what will be the outcomes of your current research and their applications? "....I cannot define; I can only hope that it will lead to more friendly conversation between man and machine; that it will lead to a more effective communication among robots when it comes to issues such as social good, collective aspirations. All these concepts that move us to actions, if we can transfer them to robot communities, will be a great achievement in terms of the ease in which we could communicate with robots....This counterfactual is a basic building block in social interaction...."
:57:46:		What are your most difficult challenges in research and what valuable lessons do you wish to share from these challenges? "....My greatest challenges were the transformation from one language to another, from probability to causal and from causal to counterfactual....I know if I had to teach young people from my experience the thing that I would encourage them most would be to have a flexibility to shifting languages...."
:59:03:		How do you create that ability to shift from one language to another? "....By demonstrating that you cannot solve a certain class of problems within one language and you can solve it easier within another one and demonstrate the ease of transformation...."
:01:01:36:		There's always this possibility of group-think where people are resistant to change. Why do you think that's so? "....With its many components I focused on the transformation from one language to another. Language is the greatest guardian of dogmatism, a propagator of dogmatism. People learn languages in their childhood and then they cannot shift and this happens in science too...."
:01:05:30:		Can you describe other areas which you may consider controversial or cause much discussion in the areas that you research? "....There is great controversy now in statistics whether counterfactual reasoning is beneficial. You cannot measure counterfactuals, you cannot refute counterfactual statements because it is introspective about things that didn't happen (what would have happened had I not done what I actually did). So these are philosophical questions and there's great controversy whether statisticians should resort to such a language...."
:01:07:56:		Another area of controversy would be this idea of religious myths being metaphors for genuine ideas that are difficult to express. Can you comment? "....I find the communication in believers to be meaningful. It is loaded with metaphors....Algorithmically it makes a lot of sense...."
:01:12:35:		Judea, you laid many of the foundational pillars as one of the top groundbreaking visionary innovators. Distilling from your experiences, what are the greater burning challenges and research problems for today's youth to solve to inspire them to go into computing? "....The greatest advice I could give to youth would be to listen to their intuition and to listen to their centuries old curiosity to understand themselves...."
:01:14:17:		To our youth with an interest in a future of computing but without the educational foundation, how would you explain your work in probability, causation, and calculus of intervention, Bayesian networks and counterfactuals? "....Students get an appreciation for the general strategy of taking an area that has not been encoded before and encoding it and seeing how your intuition gets amplified by formal algorithms. The amplification is universally appealing to all students, for all young people regardless if they are in computer science or outside computer science...."
:01:20:24:		Upon reflection what specific qualities make you excel and why? "....I can give you two answers:....lazy, lazy, lazy....hard work, hard work, hard work...."
:01:21:33:		Past, present, and future — name three (or more) who inspire you and why is this so? "....I was very influenced by stories about great scientists....Present day scientists if I were to choose would be Boole and Shannon...Einstein...."
:01:25:53:		You continue to make significant historical contributions. How will your growing status contribute to your vision for the world, society, industry, academia, and technology? "....When you have a greater status people expect you to say something smart and wise on every topic and I should resist it because I could not comment on every topic....In social science I do have a humble opinion about how the media distorts cause-effect relationships and I could utilize my expertise in this area, but I generally decline from commenting on fields on which I do not have expertise...."
:01:27:30:		You choose the topic area. What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved? "....Education, education and education....It includes science education. It includes social education...."
:01:35:04:		Please provide us with some history and your aspirations for the Daniel Pearl Foundation? "....When you have an image that immediately evokes the willingness to act, we can rally people to do good things. We are focusing on three areas: journalism, music, and dialogue...."

Music by Sunny Smith Productions and Shaun O'Leary

CIPS Alberta - Red Deer: Golf Tournament

JonathanElias — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:53:20 +0000

Date:

Sat, 06/02/2012

Event Location:

(Red Deer)

Location	Balmoral Golf Club, Highway 11 east of Red Deer
Start Time	6/2/2012 3:00 PM
End Time	6/2/2012 9:00 PM

Join us June 2nd, 2012 for 9 holes of Golf at the Balmoral Golf Club on Highway 11 east of Red Deer.

3:00 pm Registration

3:30 pm Golf Tournament Starts

7:00 pm Dinner

8:00 pm Prize Distribution

Texas Scramble Format
Putting Contest
Club & Cart rentals at course
Prizes!

Members: $55.00

Non-Members: $60.00

Dinner Only : $20.00

Please register online before May 25th at https://securegs.com/cipsab/

Contact Diana Balkwill (403) 314-2004; ext 2 (W); (403) 343-1806 (h) for more information.

Register Now!

CIPS MANITOBA 22ND ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

JonathanElias — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:44:05 +0000

Date:

Thu, 06/14/2012

Event Location:

(Winnipeg)

CIPS MANITOBA

22ND ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

It is the pleasure of the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) Manitoba to make a limited number of spaces available for members and non-members to enjoy a day of golf in the company of their peers in the information technology community. However, you must hurry. These spaces are available on a first come first served basis to those who submit their application along with the required payment. Register by May 11, 2012, and you will be entered in a random draw to win one of 10 spots in a half-hour group golf lesson with Pro Steve Wood. This event will sell out quickly.

Your registration fees include access to the driving range and putting green, a BBQ lunch, a great CIPS participation prize, green fees for 18 holes of golf, a motorized Golf Cart (2 golfers per cart), and a premium steak dinner package. Plus the chance to win a brand new Kia Optima Hybrid from Autotown Kia worth $43,000 with one swing of the club.

Once again, we have received overwhelming support from the Corporate Sponsors in the community. These sponsors help to make the day more enjoyable, less costly and full of prizes and surprises. Please acknowledge their representatives at each hole / activity and better yet, support them in the community when it is appropriate to do so. All participants will be eligible for the random drawing of prizes courtesy of our sponsors. Some specialty prizes and events are likely to occur, so come out and see what happens.

I look forward to seeing you at this great event.

Yours truly,

Ramon Ayre

Register at:

www.picatic.com/ticket/cipsmbgolf

Costs:

CIPS Members: $115.00

Non-Members: $135.00

Dinner Only: $ 45.00

Lunch Only: $ 15.00

Driving Range Opens @ 10:30 am

Registration @ 10:30 am

BBQ Lunch @ 11:00 am - Noon

Dinner Served @ 6:30 pm

Texas Scramble Shotgun Start @ 1:00 pm

If you have any questions, please contact:

Ramon Ayre

Tel: 771-3592

Email: ramon.ayre@mirageconsulting.com

MTR App Talent Quest

JonathanElias — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:15:47 +0000


MTR App Talent Quest

The MTR App Talent Quest aims to recruit the best talents to create new MTR software applications to enhance passengers' travelling experience in Hong Kong. The grand prize winner will receive HK$100,000. The challenge kicks off on 23 April 2012, at 00:01 Hong Kong time (GMT +8). Click here for enrolment now. Enrolment deadline: 15 June 2012，at 23:59 Hong Kong time (GMT +8) More information of contest will be available on: http://mtr.com.hk/eng/whatsnew/appcontest.html Encl. Leaflet

GTEC 2012 Registration Instructions and Promo Code for CIPS Members!

JonathanElias — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:47:36 +0000

CIPS – Canadian Information Processing Society

Promo Code: CIPSCONF2012

(FOR GTEC Standard Conference & Standard Next Gen CIO Passes) Conference Registration Instructions

Go to: https://gtec.reg.techweb.com/gtec2012/index/Registrations/Login

At “New Attendee Sign Up”, please enter your email address in the field provided and click “NEXT”.

Please note: If you are already a registrant and have received a Promo Code, please contact Silvia Villon at svillon@gtec.ca and she will adjust your record accordingly.

If your email address was registered in a past year’s event, you will be required to enter the password used at that time or to reset your password, click on the link ‘Forgot Password’. If you are entering the information for the registrant, you will need to contact them as the password reset goes directly to their email address.

There are 5 steps to the Registration process – please note that all fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory, and you will not be able to proceed without completing these fields. Also, each registrant is identified within the system by their email address, therefore, the same email address cannot be used for more than one person. Please ensure that you type your email correctly as a confirmation of your registration will be sent to your email address which you will want to bring with you onsite or you may print the viewable screen page for your files as a backup.

Password: Your password will be used to verify your identity if you need to login and make changes to your registration. Your password must be at least 7 characters and include at least one number.

NOTE: Your Promo code can be entered in Step #1.

Step 1: Contact Information

Complete as required – then click “Next” to continue

Step 2: Demographics

Complete as required – then click “Next” to continue

Step 3: Registration Packages

Select the (1) checkbox that corresponds to the package to which your promo code is discounted and enter the Promo Code for that package in the space provided beside “Promo Code for Group”. Once all is completed, click “Next” to move to the next page.

Step 4:

Review Information – If you have missed entering your promo code on the Package Page – you can enter on this page as well.

This is where you will have the opportunity to amend any of your information if needed.

Step 5: Payment – will be required by Credit card – VISA – MasterCard – AMEX is accepted.

Registration Confirmation will be emailed

This will confirm your registration details – please print as one will not be mailed.

IIBA Victoria Event: Death by Chocolate - Finding Success in Sticky Situations!

JonathanElias — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:31:42 +0000

Date:

Thu, 05/10/2012

Event Location:

(Victoria)

CIPS Members are invited to attend this event at member rates.

Click here for further details and registration information.

CIPS NL Women in IT event a huge success again this year thanks to the amazing volunteers

JonathanElias — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:34:32 +0000

Give ’em tech, girls - Business - The Telegram thetelegram.com

Click Here to Read Article

CIPS London Event "Mobile Workforce - Enhanced Service Delivery Through Secure and Effective Mobile Apps"

JonathanElias — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:58:04 +0000

Date:

Thu, 05/31/2012

Event Location:

(London)

CIPS London cordially invites you to join us on May 31^st, 2012 for a dinner and discussion with Anita Scott, Chatham-Kent Police Service

Mobile Workforce - Enhanced Service Delivery through Secure and Effective Mobile Apps

At a recent CIO Forum in Ottawa, Anita spoke on the topic of the Mobile Workforce with Enhanced Service Delivery through Secure and Effective Mobile Apps. http://www.insightinfo.com/cioforum.

CIPS London is pleased to welcome Anita to share her insights on:

· Mobility and data access limitations that challenged Chatham-Kent Police Service

· Meeting the business challenge for mobility and mobile applications – risks and benefits

· Deploying mobile applications – lessons learned

· Balancing security needs with user demands

· The big picture – mobile applications in government to improve productivity and reduce costs

Time: 17:00 to 21:00 pm

5:00 pm – Registration and Networking (cash bar)

6:15 pm – Dinner (please advise if you have any special dietary needs)

7:30 – 9 pm Presentation and Discussions

Networking to follow

Location: Best Western Lamplighter Inn

591 Wellington Road, London, Ontario

519 681-7151

Cost: $30 for CIPS members and partners (PMI and CIM)

$40 for non-members

Reserve your spot online at CIPS London Eventsor email deb@cips.ca

www.cips.ca

Anita Scott

Anita Scott has worked as an Information Systems Technician with the former Chatham Police Service and Chatham-Kent Police Service for nineteen years. Ms. Scott was the Project Manager for the Blackberry Pilot/Two Factor Authentication and she continues her role as Project Manager for Blackberry application enhancements. In addition to Ms. Scott’s role as project manager she also maintains a full case load of technology duties with the Chatham-Kent Police Service, including providing technical assistance to other Canadian Police Services and Government Agencies.

Ms Scott was a committee member of the former Ontario Municipal and Provincial Police Automation Cooperative (OMPPAC), and when OMPPAC evolved into the Ontario Police Technology Information Cooperative (OPTIC), Ms. Scott was the one of the members of the OPTIC research committee who travelled through-out Canada and the United States in search of a new Records Management System and Computer Aided Dispatch system, that met the mandate of the new Ontario Police Technology Information Cooperative to provide a state of the art Records Management System and Computer Aided Dispatch System to the member Agencies. This is the committee that identified Niche-RMS as the records management system for OPTIC.

http://bizblog.blackberry.com/2011/04/wireless-achievement-awards-finalists/

http://us.blackberry.com/business/leading/Securing_the_mobile_enterprise.pdf

Reserve your spot online at CIPS London Events

or email deb@cips.ca

www.cips.ca

On behalf of CIPS London we thank you for your support and hope to see you on May 31^st.

CIPS CONNECTIONS (e-newsletter) April 2012 - Vol 14, Issue 4

JonathanElias — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:25:30 +0000

The new issue of CIPS' E-Newsletter CIPS Connections is currently out.

Check out this month's issue and stay informed about CIPS news and benefits from your membership!

View Vol 14, Issue 4 (web version)

Not a CIPS Connections subscriber? Sign up for FREE

Win a Copy of "Securing the Clicks - Network Security in the Age of Social Media"

JonathanElias — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:06:58 +0000

Enter the draw by May 31st 2012 for your chance to win a copy of "Securing the Clicks - Network Security in the Age of Social Media"

Click Here to Enter!

Also make sure to check out the CIPS/McGraw-Hill Online Bookstore - CIPS Members receive 40% discount on selected McGraw-Hill computing titles and references!

http://www.mcgrawhill.ca/CIPS

April CIPS Volunteer of the Month: Lem Murphy, I.S.P., ITCP

JonathanElias — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:59:06 +0000

April 2012 CIPS Volunteer of the Month:

Lem Murphy, I.S.P., ITCP

Regional Director, CIPS Nova Scotia
CIPS Nova Scotia Rep, CIPS National Board
Database Administrator, CAE

About Lem:

What is your Background?

I didn’t touch my first computer until I was in high school, and in 1978 that was the TRS-80 Model 1 Level II with an extravagant 32Kb of memory, a cassette recorder to save programs and a choice of BASIC or Assembler. I haven’t been far from computers since.

Military College brought many shocks, not the least of which was in programming in FORTRAN on a DEC PDP-11 using punch cards. I finished my Bachelor of Science at Mount Saint Vincent University where in addition to my studies, I worked as a Student Computer Operator and as a Computer Lab Assistant (DEC VAX 780’s and Terminals).

I have worked in the defence industry ever since I graduated; it hasn’t all been at the same company and many times when the business card changed I was still sitting at the same desk doing the same job as always. The positions have changed from developer to System Administrator and Database Administrator, while the challenges have changed from solving programming problems, to bigger problems like leading a small team to complete Y2K changes and the more bewildering challenge of standing in a datacenter blackened by fire and working to have it operational within 24 hours of the flames being extinguished.

What type of Involvement have you had with CIPS?

I joined CIPS in 1994 but for the first few years my involvement was limited to attending events and networking. Then in 1998 I started thinking about applying for the I.S.P., so in 1999 I started studying for the ICCP exams, which I finally wrote in early 2000.

In 2001 Andrew Morrisey recruited me as the Treasurer of CIPS Nova Scotia during the last push of the Legislation project. Then in 2003 with the I.S.P. Legislation passed and Proclaimed, I slipped back into being a member. But then in 2006, I was recruited to be the Vice-President of CIPS NS, which led me to be part of the Informatics 2007 team in Halifax. As I changed role from President to Past-President, I also found myself as the CIPS NS representative on the CIPS CCITP / National Board, which I continue to serve on today.

What value has your involvement with CIPS provided?

Well, it’s safe to say that my current employment is a direct result of networking at one CIPS event in Halifax. In addition to the obvious benefits of networking, serving on the Provincial and National Boards has provided me with opportunities to meet, work with, and learn from other professionals which I otherwise would have missed.

I am a firm believer of certification as a demonstration of professionalism and competency and have worked hard to attain my credentials to show my personal commitment in a rapidly changing and expanding industry.

CIPS with its Code of Ethics, the commitment to continuing education and its professional certifications is a comfortable fit.

CIPS publishes the Guide to the Common Body of Knowledge

JonathanElias — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:25:11 +0000

Following the adoption of the CIPS Initial Body of Knowledge (iBOK) in 2005, CIPS embarked in 2010 on a project to define a more comprehensive document. The reasons for updating the 2005 CBOK were that:

The ICT market had changed; and
The CBOK was viewed as not specifying any ICT knowledge as mandatory components.

Under the leadership of Dr. Tim Lethbridge, I.S.P., ITCP, the Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) Committee was formed, with representation from across Canada and a variety of stakeholder group communities. The aims of the CBOK Committee were to undertake a review that would:

Provide for a common understanding of the nature and boundaries of the ICT profession;
Establish a shared knowledge base from which a unified and consistent version of IT related terminology can be derived;
Provide a framework of ICT “building blocks” that indicates how the requisite skills/knowledge for an ICT professional can be shaped and developed through programs of study and personal development;
Present a framework which is accessible and useful to all stakeholders; and
Provide a means of strengthening and promoting the profession

Achieving consensus by the profession on a common body of knowledge is a key milestone in all disciplines and consultation on the draft Guide, which was completed in the spring of 2011, took place through an outreach campaign involving the broader ICT community. The consultation involved over 175 IT practitioners from various ICT sectors.

The CBOK has now been finalized and applies to a wide variety of professionals, including IT managers, software developers, computer scientists, business analysts, and many others. It is divided into 8 knowledge areas, each with a list of topics and an expected knowledge level.

To ensure wide distribution, the CIPS Guide to the Common Body of Knowledge for Computing and IT (CBOK) is publicly available via the CIPS website at: www.cips.ca/CBOK

For more information on the CBOK project contact Gina van Dalen, CAE, Manager Professional Standards at gina@cips.ca

CIPS forms Taskforce on Re-engineering the CIPS Certification Program

JonathanElias — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:08:57 +0000

As has been reported in previous CIPS Connections, CIPS is currently undergoing a transformation to adapt to the changing world of IT and to improve what it can offer its members. Changes include, an overhaul of CIPS products and services, including the CIPS Professional Certification program. CIPS wants to restructure its Certification Program to better address the needs of the broader ICT profession and industry.

Created in 1988, the CIPS certification program was intended to provide a single, integrated certification to ICT practitioners and managers. It offered an independent “stamp of approval” that an IT professional’s skills and experience met national IT industry standards defined by the profession for the profession. Certification established evidence of an individual’s knowledge, understanding and competence. It demonstrated a commitment to professional standards, a commitment to continuing development of competence as an IT professional, and provided a differentiator when applying for jobs. Above all, the certification program was intended to create a climate and ethos of professionalism within the IT community.

In recent years, extensive research has been conducted by the our sister organizations, the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Australian Computer Society (ACS) as well as, the Information Communications and Technology Canada (ICTC) , to explore the needs of industry in the area of professional certification. The research resulted in the following high-level conclusions.

Professional certification has to:

Have a focus on both demonstrated breadth and depth (e.g. domain or technical specialization);
Recognize the capabilities on the technical, non technical and personal level through the use of an open comprehensive competence architecture;
Recognize knowledge of operations and management of an enterprise (profile needs to include business related capabilities);
Include practical assessment components to make it credible and robust;
Include recognition for previous work experience and other (vendor or professional) certifications obtained;
Demonstrate knowledge of a Code of Conduct/Ethics;
Clearly designate and differentiate between a professional and technologist ;
Be tied to a real value balance of skill, education, and experience and not simply to an "I can pass an exam" qualification.

According to the research, professional certification needs to be able to assist employers with clearly understanding what they are getting in a worker and would need to help employers recognize the specific competencies that ICT workers have. It should also help workers better understand the competencies they need to develop in order to progress in their careers, thereby providing them with a roadmap for life-long learning and professional development.

CIPS has taken this information into consideration and has embarked on a road to change its certification program. Although work has only started, an initial proposed direction has been defined. The restructuring effort will include a review of the need for recognition of a broader subset of IT workers and not just the traditional “P” professional level. Consideration will be given to the creation of a “technologist” certification ensuring that such a grading fits into the broader context of an overall qualification regime. This will then promote multiple entry points into the profession, and facilitate better career support to professionals. A certification program should not only recognize a practitioner’s current capabilities, experience, and responsibilities, but also provide tools to identify gaps between current and desired competency and identify ways of moving from current to desired recognition. The certification program review will also look at providing recognition of specialized areas of knowledge and expertise. Such recognition might include functional (e.g. enterprise architecture, business analysis, software development, etc.), application domain (e.g. health care, gaming, business, etc.), or other dimensions.

In addition, CIPS will be exploring the recognition of certification related courses and training materials to fill specific skills competency and/or knowledge acquisition gaps that are identified in the marketplace, as well as continuing the accreditation of college and university programs to support the certification model.

CIPS remains committed to developing a recognized IT profession. Re-engineering of the certification program therefore will ensure that the core elements of what defines an IT profession are maintained. They include:

Demonstrated initial education demonstrated through mastery of an appropriate portion of the CIPS Core Body of Knowledge.
Program Accreditation
Skills Development (demonstrated ability to perform work at a certain level of competence)
Committed to abide by the CIPS Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct
Commitment to ongoing professional development

A Taskforce and working groups are currently being formed and will shortly commence their work. It is anticipated that the new program will be launched later this year.

For more information on the restructuring program or if you would like to participate contact Gina van Dalen, CAE, Manager Professional Standards at gina@cips.ca or 905 602 1370 ext 2329.

The CareerMash Youth Tech Jams have inspired students to dream and share their ideas on the global digital revolution

JonathanElias — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:57:14 +0000

via CareerMash

On May 11, 2012, 300 GTA high school students will gather at the Ontario Science Centre to give voice to their opinion on the direction we should go in, as a global digital society. Some of the GTA's brightest students will talk tech with each other, and companies on site to display their most exciting projects and opportunities.

Throughout the month of April, CareerMash has hosted seven Youth Tech Jam sessions throughout Southern Ontario. There, they discussed questions and issues facing society, and how technology can help solve these problems. On May 11, the ideas they came up with will be voted on, and the best will be sent forward to industry decision makers at the World Congress on Information Technology in Montreal this October.

In addition to identifying what they feel is important as then next generation of employees and consumers, attendees will hear presentations on career opportunities in the field of technology, listen to a keynote address from Geneviève L'Espérance -- a 19-year-old one-woman powerhouse for all things tech who wants to take Fem Geek global -- and visit exhibitor booths showcasing what exciting projects and career opportunities are out there.

If your company would like the chance to interact with the next generation of innovators, contact Melanie Wood for more information.

CareerMash Youth Tech Jam Event Details:

When: May 11, 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (booths exhibited 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.)

Where: Ontario Science Centre, 770 Don Mills Rd, Toronto (South of Eglinton)

There is no cost to exhibit at this event

CIPS SK - Regina May Luncheon: "Cloud by Numbers"

JonathanElias — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:59:21 +0000

Date:

Wed, 05/16/2012

Event Location:

(Regina)

Presenter: Wilbour Craddock

Title: Cloud by Numbers

Date: May 16, 2012

Venue: Delta Regina, Umbria room

Registration Deadline: Friday, May 11, 2012

Presentation Overview Description

The word cloud computing brings more confusion than clarity for most people, with as many definitions as people responding to the questions “What is cloud computing?”. This presentation looks to demystify the cloud a little and look at the practical application the cloud may have and what implications this new wave of innovation may have on the tech sector and the economy as a whole.

Speaker Biography

Wilbour Craddock is a Technical Strategist with Microsoft Canada based in Regina. For the last 3 ½ years he has worked with Microsoft Ireland most recently as an Architect Evangelist focused on cloud technologies. The allowed Wilbour the opportunity to work with software companies developing SaaS solutions as well as large enterprises and public sector customers looking to cultivate cloud strategies. This role also allowed Wilbour the opportunity to speak at tech conferences across Europe and to work with multinational tech companies with EMEA operations based in Ireland like Dell, HP, Google, Intel, IBM, and PayPal in looking at the financial impact the cloud would have for the Irish Economy and the tech sector in general as part of industry and government working groups. Prior to joining Microsoft Wilbour worked with SaskEnergy and Saskatchewan Transportation Corporation in various roles, he is an ISP, ITCP and served as a board member and president of CIPS Regina prior to his move.

This event qualifies for 1.5 Education Credit

Menu

Fresh Baked Dinner Rolls and Butter

Grilled Chicken with Sundried tomato sauce, and rice
Seasonal greens with house dressing
Chocolate Mousse
Freshly Brewed Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee & Specialty & Herbal Teas

Agenda

11:30 am Registration

11:45 am Lunch

12:15 noon Introductions & Presentation begins

1:00 – 1:15 Questions & Adjournment

visit http://sk.cips.ca/ for up to date info.

CIPS SK - Saskatoon May Luncheon: "Defining a Profession"

JonathanElias — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:57:27 +0000

Date:

Tue, 05/29/2012

Event Location:

(Saskatoon)

Saskatoon Luncheon Presentation

Presenters:

Brenda Byers, I.S.P, ITCP & Derek Risling, I.S.P.

Venue: Saskatoon Club, Downtown , 417 - 21st Street East, Saskatoon

Title: Joint presentation to discuss:

Body of Knowledge - 'Defnining a Profession

IT Professionalism - "kind of a Big Deal" and the CIPS IT

Date: May 29, 2012, 11:30am

Venue: Saskatoon Club, Downtown , 417 - 21st Street East, Saskatoon

CIPS Members	$25	Non-Member	$30
CIPS Student Member	$20	Student Non Member	$25
Corporate Table (8)	$200

Registration: http://www.picatic.com/9146
RSVP May 25, 2012

Presentation Overview

CIPS established its initial Body of Knowledge in 2005.

Between 2010 and 2012, CIPS worked to define a new and more comprehensive document. This is designed to be used as a basis for activities such as certification and accreditation. It contains a list of topics about which any Computing Professional or Information Technology Professional should have some knowledge.

CIPS Strategic Planning An Opportunity for Change:

The Executive Committee recommended that a new strategic direction be set for the Society. In June 2011, the National governing board approved this recommendation and appointed the Strategic Planning Committee . Western Management Consultants were chosen by this committee, as a team of seasoned strategic leaders to undertake the development of a strategic renewal for the Society. Brenda will review the strategy and work to date.

IT Professionalism – “Kind of a Big Deal’ and the CIPS IT

Everyone agrees that IT professionalism is a “good thing”; but what does it really mean to be professional? Too often professionalism is treated as “soft” concept, lacking the well defined boundaries and rigour that is so prevalent in much of the other processes and standards within our industry. If we are to advance our province and our profession, we must all understand what exactly it means to “be a professional”, and demand true professionalism as the minimum standard of conduct from our employees, peers and partners.

Biography

Derel Risling, I.S.P.

With more than ten years experience in the IT industry, Derek has worked as a consultant, developer, manager, teacher, and analyst. Becoming involved with CIPS in 2008, and currently serving as director on the provincial board, Derek is actively engaged in the ongoing development of IT professionalism.

Brenda Byers, I.S.P., ITCP, PMP

Director Technical Systems, PotashCorp, manages the support, maintenance of the corporate IT Infrastructure. She manages projects of differing size and scope, from developing business cases and feasibility studies to process improvement and redesign of the PotashCorp IT infrastructure. The majority of her time is spent in the area of Program and Portfolio management, which includes providing technology architecture recommendations for corporate and divisional projects.

Agenda:

11:30am – 12:00pm Registration, Networking & Buffet lunch

12:00pm – 12:05pm Welcome, Announcements and Introductions

12:05pm – 1:00pm Presentation

1:00pm – 1:05pm Comments and Door Prizes

visit http://sk.cips.ca/ for up to date info.

SPIE event

JonathanElias — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:24:59 +0000

Date:

Thu, 06/21/2012

Event Location:

(Calgary)

Location	Fifth Avenue Place SW; West Tower, +15 Conference Room in NW corner of building (4 Ave and 2 Street SW corner)
Start Time	6/21/2012 11:30 AM
End Time	6/21/2012 1:00 PM

The enemy within your network – how to hack the Virtual LAN The use of Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) within the corporate network environment allows administrators amazing flexibility in reconciling complex logical design requirements with restrictive physical connectivity. But the use of VLANs does have it drawbacks and can present challenges for network administrators who are looking for added security from tight IT budgets. VLANs have been designed with efficiently and scalability in mind and should never be considered a security mechanism for the network.

Attend this luncheon to learn about:

Security threats to the VLAN environment
Secure VLAN design concepts
How VLANs can be easily hacked

As an added bonus you will receive a live Hacking demonstration of a VLAN environment

Wil Knol is a well known security consultant and hard core technology geek, all rolled into one. As a founding member of Protospace, he has spoken to students from SAIT and The U of C on hacker techniques. You can find him as @wintr on twitter.

Details:

Sandwiches and refreshments will be served so please arrive early enough (11:30) to get lunch and be seated by 11:45.
Non SPIE members will pay 15$ at the door by cash or cheque payable to SPIE. Receipts will be issued. Sorry, no credit or debit cards.
SPIE presentations are intended solely for the education of attendees. SPIE gives no assurance or recommendation of fit-for-use for any specific purpose.

CIPS Alberta Event: Business Intelligence SIG Meeting: "Data Governance & Transformation of, and Access to, Oil & Gas Information Through IHS"

JonathanElias — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:15:43 +0000

Date:

Tue, 05/22/2012

Event Location:

(Calgary)

Location	Bankers Hall Auditorium (lower level A/P3), 315 - 8th Ave. S.W. Calgary
Start Time	5/22/2012 12:00 PM
End Time	5/22/2012 1:00 PM

Data Governance & Transformation of, and Access to, Oil & Gas Information Through IHS

Speakers: Andy Marven, Alex Carter, Steven Marinoske, IHS

Canadian Information Processing Society presents...

A very interesting and instructive talk on the application of BI / IT in Upstream Oil and Gas, and other disciplines. This presentation will be very beneficial to personnel engaged in IT, Exploration, Production, Pipeline Operations, Utilities, Health etc.

In business since 1959, IHS is a leading source of information and expert analysis in pivotal areas, providing critical insight and shaping today’s global businesses. IHS provides comprehensive content, software and decision support with key capabilities and solutions focused on business information in the areas of: Energy & Power; Design & Supply Chain; Country & Industry Forecasts; Defense Risk & Security; Commodities Pricing & Cost; and, Environmental Health & Safety and Sustainability. Our long-standing focus on Canadian Energy information has led to the development of the most complete and trusted databases in the energy industry, and the development of software, information delivery and data management services to support them.

Companies in the oil & gas industry are looking to spend more time focused on their core competencies of exploring for oil & gas, and are relying more on others for data management. IHS takes raw data and applies stringent data governance techniques in order to create critical information that customers rely on to make high impact decisions and develop business strategies with speed and confidence. This critical information is consolidated and distributed through mechanisms like the IHS Information HubTM, and utilized across the industry via IHS fit-for-purpose software tools, third party and customers’ proprietary applications. IHS also provides customized solutions and services around the management, integration and delivery of data, including the integration and management of customers’ proprietary information.

Please register by emailing: hsherazi@shaw.ca

You will automatically be registered by sending the email. You don’t need to wait for confirmation.

All Welcome - No Admission Charge. Please extend this invitation to your friends and colleagues

Lunch will be provided by IHS

If you have any questions, please contact:

Chairperson: Sherazi GeoComp (403) 228 – 5423

Co-Chairperson: Nicki Chang Powless (email: nicki@kelman.com)

Executive: Zohreh Hajibaygi CNRL (403) 260-6122

Hassan Sherazi, M.Sc. (403) 228 - 5423

CIPS featured in GITCA newsletter

JonathanElias — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:08:48 +0000

The Global IT Community Association (GITCA) represents over 5 million IT professionals world wide through over 1000 member organizations, of which CIPS is one. In this month's GITCA journal CIPS is the featured member organization. The issue also features Stehpen Ibaraki's interview with Jerry Gaertner, President of CIPS Ontario.

CIPS News

Successful CIPS NL Women in IT Conference Recap

Give ’em tech, girls - Business - The Telegram thetelegram.com

CIPS INTERVIEWS: Chat with Judea Pearl ACM Turing Award recipient in 2012 (Nobel Prize of Computing); Legendary pioneer, world-renowned distinguished researcher and professor UCLA

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

CIPS Alberta - Red Deer: Golf Tournament

Location

Start Time

End Time

CIPS MANITOBA 22ND ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

MTR App Talent Quest

GTEC 2012 Registration Instructions and Promo Code for CIPS Members!

IIBA Victoria Event: Death by Chocolate - Finding Success in Sticky Situations!

CIPS NL Women in IT event a huge success again this year thanks to the amazing volunteers

Give ’em tech, girls - Business - The Telegram thetelegram.com

CIPS London Event "Mobile Workforce - Enhanced Service Delivery Through Secure and Effective Mobile Apps"

CIPS CONNECTIONS (e-newsletter) April 2012 - Vol 14, Issue 4

Win a Copy of "Securing the Clicks - Network Security in the Age of Social Media"

April CIPS Volunteer of the Month: Lem Murphy, I.S.P., ITCP

CIPS publishes the Guide to the Common Body of Knowledge

CIPS forms Taskforce on Re-engineering the CIPS Certification Program

The CareerMash Youth Tech Jams have inspired students to dream and share their ideas on the global digital revolution

CIPS SK - Regina May Luncheon: "Cloud by Numbers"

CIPS SK - Saskatoon May Luncheon: "Defining a Profession"

SPIE event

Location

Start Time

End Time

CIPS Alberta Event: Business Intelligence SIG Meeting: "Data Governance & Transformation of, and Access to, Oil & Gas Information Through IHS"

Location

Start Time

End Time

CIPS featured in GITCA newsletter