| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Eriksson, Sören
(author)
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Näringsliv
- 2007
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In: Jönköpings kommuns historia. - Lund : Historiska Media. - 9789185507207
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Book chapter (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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| 3. |
- Sjöblom, Gustav, 1976-
(author)
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Systemutveckling och långtidsplanering vid SAS Data i Stockholm, 1964–1982 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 5 december 2007
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Systemutveckling och långtidsplanering vid SAS Data i Stockholm, 1964–1982” [Systems development and long-range planning at SAS Data Services in Stockholm, 1964–1982] took place at Tekniska museet [The National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 5 December 2007 and was led by Gustav Sjöblom. SAS was a pioneer in advanced computer systems development, beginning with the development of the reservations system in Copenhagen in the late 1950s. Computer systems development was initially carried out in the individual departments of SAS, but in 1963–64 SAS Data Services was established as a separate department directly under the CEO – rather than as a part of the financial department which was customary at the time – by bringing in staff with experience of rationalisation and computing from different departments within SAS. SAS Data Services was geographically divided with major offices in Copenhagen and Stockholm and a smaller office in Oslo. The theme of the witness seminar was the work carried out in Stockholm, where the department initially specialized in systems development and long-range planning, while operations and programming was based in Copenhagen. The Stockholm group soon embarked upon an ambitious and holistic plan for improving SAS operations by means of a large number of integrated computer systems such as MATS for Material Supply and Inventory Control, MOPS for Maintenance Overhaul and Planning, RES for Reservations, LOCS for Load Control and Planning and OPS for Operational Planning and Control. Although the individual systems were cutting-edge and considerable in size, what made SAS stand out was the consistency in systems planning and the integration of different systems into a long-range plan and into the core of SAS business management.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Sjöblom, Gustav, 1976-
(author)
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IT-konsultbranschens uppkomst och tillväxt, 1964–1985 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 1 april 2008
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”The rise and expansion of IT consulting, 1964–1985” took place at The National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm on 1 April 2008 and was led by Gunnar Hesse. The panel consisted of representatives of many of the pioneers in Swedish IT consulting, including Lars Irstad, who founded the industry leader Programator in 1964; Lars Spångberg who founded RIAB as an offshoot of the Federation of Swedish Industry in 1968; Thord Wilkne, one of two founders of WM-data in 1969; Göran Garvner who founded Modulföretagen in 1972; Per Olof Persson, a leading figure in Statskonsult, the state-owned firm that was the biggest IT consultancy in Sweden in the 1970s; Kaj Green, the first CEO of Cap Gemini Sweden; Leif Nobel, CEO of Data Logic from 1979, and Hans G. Wahlberg, one of the founders of Enator in 1977. The seminar was divided in three parts. The first dealt with the period of early entrepreneurship up to c. 1975. It was agreed that there was no shortage of demand for consulting services and that the main challenge consisted in recruiting skilled personnel and managing them. The second part dealt with the expansion that set in from the mid-1970s. Here it was agreed that the management of knowledge workers still constituted the single biggest challenge, followed by the need to establish consistency in method. At this point a divergence in business strategy can be seen. WM-data became a provider of American standard applications in order to tie the customer base more tightly. Programator were successful in the minicomputing market and established joint ventures with several large companies, in effect taking over their IT departments. Enator moved up the value chain and aimed at integrating management consulting and IT consulting. By 1985 all the major companies were listed at the stock exchange and the industry may be described as well-established.
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| 7. |
- Sjöblom, Gustav, 1976-
(author)
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Standardekonomisystem för stordatorer – EPOK, EPOS & FACTS, 1969–1986 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 29 januari 2008
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Standardekonomisystem för stordatorer – EPOK, EPOS och FACTS, 1969–1986” [Standard accounting information systems for mainframe computers – EPOK, EPOS and FACTS, 1969–1986] took place at The National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm on 29 January 2008 and was led by Gunnar Hesse. In the early years of computing accounting information systems were tailor-made for each customer. In the early 1970s increased demand for financial knowledge coincided with new capabilities in database technology and the first standard applications appeared on the Swedish market. On the basis of the successful service bureau system Bore, IBM Sweden developed FACTS, launched in 1975 and later rebranded FMS for the international market. The second standard accounting information system to appear in Sweden was EPOS, developed by the consultancy RIAB in co-operation with the Swedish association of slaughterhouses and sold in the market from 1976. The third system, EPOK, was developed by the computing division of the building materials group Euroc by a group of controllers and computer technicians in close cooperation and marketed externally from 1977. A fourth actor represented in the seminar was the IT consultancy WM-data, which after a short attempt at in-house development settled in 1981 for importing American accounting systems to support their consulting business. Differences in systems design, customer orientation and business strategy were discussed at length. It was concluded that while the initial software development was very successful, all providers ran into a similar set of limitations of the market: the small number of companies capable of investing in a mainframe computer system, the divergent business interests and business cultures of different actors, the lack of de facto standardization because of customization of systems and a wide range of technical platforms, and the difficulty of expanding abroad in a fragmented market.
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| 8. |
- Sjöblom, Gustav, 1976-
(author)
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Standardisering och integration av datasystem inom godstransportbranschen, 1970–1985 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Flygfältsbyrån i Göteborg den 11 mars 2008
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Standardisation and integration of computer systems in the freight transport industry, 1970–1985” took place at Flygfältsbyrån in Göteborg on 11 March 2008 and was led by Anders Svedberg. The panel consisted of providers of transport services (shipping, forwarding) as well as their customers (mainly Volvo) and representatives of academia and the Göteborg region. The seminar dealt with the rise of information systems in the transport business from a user perspective. The discussion centred on the difficulty of coordination and standardization in a business which needs to integrate a large number of actors with divergent interests. The computerization strategies of the two leading Göteborg shipping companies, Broströms and Transatlantic, were discussed in some detail, as was Volvo’s efforts to integrate the information systems in their supply chain A main theme was that logistical visions and the availability of information technology solutions were often out of step, the one sometimes being ahead of the other with interchanging roles over time. A second theme was the existence of practical obstacles to the implementation of open or integrated computer systems, or more generally to advanced logistical solutions: business strategies which often favoured unique solutions, lack of coordination, and a shortage of funds in a business which generally was not highly profitable. It was nevertheless concluded that as a result of a farsighted perspective among sellers and buyers of transport, academic experts and the public authorities, Sweden in general and the Göteborg region in particular, acquired a leading position in the development of materials administration and logistics and the concomitant information systems as well as education in these fields.
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| 9. |
- Sjöblom, Gustav, 1976-
(author)
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Varuhushandelns datorisering före 1980 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 29 september 2008
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”The computerization of the department stores” took place at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm on 29 September 2008 and was led by Gustav Sjöblom. The panel was composed of representatives of four major Swedish department store chains (Turitz & Co, Åhléns, KF, and IKEA) as well as representatives of two suppliers of cash registers (IBM and ADS Anker). The seminar was divided into two parts, the first dealing with the initial period up to c. 1975, when mainframe computers were introduced to rationalize back office functions such as ordering, invoicing and the production of documents. The second part dealt with the development from the early 1970s, when computers were introduced into the stores. Turitz was an early and successful user of order systems and direct measurement at the counter. Åhléns was a pioneer in OCR-reading and the use of in-house terminals for ordering, which was deemed so successful that the computerization of the checkouts was delayed until the 1980s. KF appointed a group to deal with the department stores from 1968 and began full-scale computerization with the KAP system for furniture sales in 1975. IKEA was a late starter in the use of computers, but had a rapid and successful systems development from c. 1968, culminating in the KTS system developed between 1975 and 1977.
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| 10. |
- Lundin, Per, 1971-
(author)
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Documenting the Use of Computers in Swedish Society between 1950 and 1980 : Final Report on the Project “From Computing Machines to IT”
- 2009
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This final report contextualizes, describes, and evaluates the project “From Computing Machines to IT,” which was carried out during 2007–8 as a collaboration between the Swedish Computer Society, the Division of History of Science and Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), and the National Museum of Science and Technology. The project aimed to create, collect, preserve, and disseminate sources on how computing shaped and transformed Swedish society between 1950 and 1980. For this purpose, it adopted a user-centered perspective on the history of computing. In the project, more than 160 interviews were conducted, almost 50 witness seminars were arranged, and about 230 autobiographies were acquired with the help of traditional questionnaires as well as an Internet-based collection of memories (the Writers’ Web). The created sources consist of more than eight thousand pages of text. All in all, nearly seven hundred people contributed with their stories. The contacts with these people generated, in turn, several donations of archival records, artifacts, movies, and photographs. In this final report, it is noted that a shift toward a more elaborated user perspective has followed with the growing interest in the recent historiography of computing to understand “how computing has changed the world.” Also discussed in the report is how the user concept has been understood by scholars, and it is pointed out that the literature on users fails to acknowledge two categories of users: those not involved in technological invention and innovation, and those empowered by government or corporations with the authority to adapt technology to fit their needs. It is argued that mainly the latter group, which is denoted “elite” users, has had the power to shape major historical transformations. It is concluded that the project mainly has aimed to document the actions of elite users. Earlier international documentation efforts in the history of computing are, furthermore, surveyed, and it is pointed out that these have mainly focused on documenting the role of pioneers in computing technology and largely ignored the users of computing technology. Thus, the research tools and methods that they have developed, used, and refined for documenting pioneering figures—in particular the oral history interview—cannot uncritically be adopted for documenting the activities of users. Lacking an obvious model to blueprint, the project “From Computing Machines to IT” chose to employ an ensemble of different methods for documenting the use of computers in Swedish society. Traditional oral history interviews and collections of autobiographies were used alongside new self-structuring and time-saving methods, such as witness seminars and the mentioned Writers’ Web site. Finally, it is stressed that the active interest of the communities of computer users was pivotal for realizing the project. In order to arouse their interest, two things were considered crucial: firstly, the importance of an active and continuous collaboration between historians and practitioners. This collaboration shaped the methods, the organization, and the theoretical approach of the project; and, secondly, the importance of creating events where practitioners are given the chance to gather for discussing and remembering their historical past and, at the same time, socialize. While witness seminars and the specially designed Writers’ Web were seen as pure intellectual ventures by historians, they were actually received as social events by practitioners.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Nilsson, Mikael, 1976-
(author)
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Tools of Hegemony : Military Technology and Swedish-American Security Relations, 1945-1962
- 2007
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This doctoral thesis analyze the process whereby Sweden gained access to American guided missiles during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It also tracks the Swedish efforts to develop guided missiles domestically. The concept of hegemony is used to interpret these processes, the dynamic in the Swedish-American relationship, and its consequences for the Swedish policy of neutrality.Sweden’s domestic guided missile development program, begun in the end of World War Two, met with great difficulties already by the end of the 1940s, and had entered a cul de sac by the early 1950s. The reason for this was a contunuous lack of funding and personnel, as well as a lack of foreign hardware and know-how. By 1947 the United States had largely established its hegemony in Western Europe, and the U.S. government then sought to gain the consent of the Swedish government as well. The U.S. government used its preponderant position, and pressured Sweden to adapt its policies by withholding vital technology from the Swedes. The U.S. refusal to deliver arms to a neutral Scandinavian Defense Union was significant in this respect. Sweden gradually gave its concurrence through a series of steps, most importantly the participation in the Marshall Plan in 1948, and COCOM in the summer of 1951. The confirmation of the U.S. government’s acceptance of Sweden came in the summer of 1952 when was made eligible to buy armaments in the United States under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act (MDAA).However, Sweden was not granted access to American guided missiles. This was an experience shared with most of the NATO countries (with the limited exception of Britain and Canada). During the course of the 1950s the United States was forced to change its position, due to prodding from the nato allies. The annual nato meetings were used as a platform by the nato countries in this endevour. The U.S. government reversed its non-disclosure policy in 1957 because of worries that its hegemonic position was threatened if it did not provide these weapons to its allies. Guided missile deliveries to Europe was used as a means to keep the alliance together, and to preserve U.S. hegemony in Western Europe.Because of its consent to U.S. hegemony Sweden gained access to U.S. missiles at the same time, and many times even before the NATO countries. Sweden was the first Western European country to purchase Sidewinder (1959) and Hawk (1962), and license manufactured two versions of the Falcon missile. Because of these deliveries the development of Swedish surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles was halted. Sweden was dependent upon the U.S. for deliveries of additional missiles in wartime, and this could have become a problem for Sweden’s ability to defend its territory against Western intrusions, since Sweden’s defense was based on help arriving from the West if Sweden was attacked by the USSR. The Swedish government, using the Royal Air Force Board as a proxy, signed a memorandum of Understanding in 1961 which gave the U.S. government the rigth to any improvements to the Falcon missiles, as well as the right to use them anywhere in the world. Sweden had thus de facto become a part of the U.S. military’s supply line.
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| 16. |
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| 17. |
- Östlund, David
(author)
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A knower and friend of human beings, not machines : The business career of the terminology of social engineering, 1894-1910
- 2007
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In: Ideas in History. - 1890-1832. ; 2:2, s. 43-82
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The terminology of ‘social engineers’ and ‘social engineering’ has been used in divergent ways in different historical contexts. Against the backdrop of the predominantly negative usages of recent decades, not least in critical evaluations of the Swedish welfare state, this article brings out the application that originally turned the terms into common goods. The business career of the expressions started in 1894 with an essay by the relatively radical Dutch industrialist J. C. Van Marken, and received its last major impetus in a book by the moderate American social reformer W. H. Tolman in 1909 (in French 1910). The main idea was that there was a parallel function to fill, alongside that of technical expertise, within modern industry. Dealing with human beings, solving problems within (and perhaps around) the workplace, was just as important for private companies as handling materials and machinery, not least in terms of efficiency and profitability due to motivation and loyalty among the workers. Van Marken’s and Tolman’s approaches are compared, mirroring the encounter between social reform and business management within ‘the labour question’ of the era. The functional parallel introduced by them, stressing the non-technical nature of the social engineer’s professional qualifications, including the talents of the diplomat, is also contrasted with the original version of the usages revolving around the machine metaphor (still the conceptual core in latter-day pejorative applications of the terminology), which was popularized as a positively-charged rhetorical tool in a religious context in 1911.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
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Datacentralerna för högre utbildning och forskning : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 27 mars 2008
- 2008
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Editorial collection (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Datacentralerna för högre utbildning och forskning” [The Data Processing Centres for Higher Education and Research] was held at Tekniska museet [The National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 27 March 2008 and was led by professor Sture Allén. The main questions dealt with the introduction of the data processing centres, its development and influence on higher education and research, as well as the closure and transformation of the centres. The centres came into existence because of the great expenses that were connected to the acquisition of computers. In the witness seminar different views were represented, such as the one of The Swedish Agency for Public Management which was responsible for the acquisition, the managers of the centres as well as the users of the centres. The centres have had a great influence on both education and research and have affected the mode of working with computers. Among other things, the creation and use of different programs emerged at the centres.
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| 20. |
- Elenius, Lars, 1952-
(author)
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Industrialization in northernmost Europe
- 2007
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In: The Industrialisation process in the Barents region. - Luleå : Luleå tekniska universitet. - 9789197604727 ; , s. 9-15
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)
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| 21. |
- Elenius, Lars, 1952-
(author)
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Kategoriernas makt på Nordkalotten
- 2009
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In: Är vi inte alla minoriteter i världen?. - Stockholm : Ordfront förlag. - 9789170375163 ; , s. 78-95
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
- Emanuel, Martin, 1977-
(author)
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ABC 80 i pedagogikens tjänst: Exempel på tidig användning av mikrodatorer i den svenska skolan : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Cloetta Center i Linköping den 23 september 2008
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”ABC 80 i pedagogikens tjänst: Exempel på tidig användning av mikrodatorer i den svenska skolan” [ABC 80 in Education: An Example of Early Use of Micro Computers in the Swedish School] was held at Cloetta Center in Linköping on 23 September 2008 and was led by Magnus Johansson. The seminar focused on technical and educational aspects of the Swedish micro computer ABC 80, manufactured by the Luxor company starting in 1978. Geographically, it focused on the region of Östra Götaland. The seminar treated the origins and development of the ABC 80, marketing efforts addressing Swedish schools, various prerequisites for introducing and using these and other micro computers in secondary and higher secondary schools, as well as the actual use of computers in different school subjects. The seminar revealed the domination of teachers in Mathematics and Science regarding the use of computers for educational purposes. Roughly focusing the period 1978–85, the use of computers in education mainly included programming, calculation and for controlling and measuring in laboratory work. It was rather a fascination of the new technology than ideas about how it might influence education that impelled the teachers to use computers in their teaching. The participants also stressed the importance of ABC 80 and other micro computers for computer use in schools, due to increased affordability and flexibility in comparison with minicomputers.
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| 26. |
- Emanuel, Martin, 1977-
(author)
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Datorn i skolan: Skolöverstyrelsens och andra aktörers insatser, 1970- och 80-tal : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 30 oktober 2008
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Datorn i Skolan: Skolöverstyrelsens och andra aktörers insatser, 1970- och 80-tal” (The Computer in School: The National Board of Education and Other Actors’ Efforts during the 1970s and 1980s) was held at The National Museum of Science and Technology (Tekniska museet) in Stockholm on 30 October 2008 and was led by Thomas Kaiserfeld and Martin Emanuel. The seminar focused on the larger national projects dedicated to computers in Swedish compulsory schools. Most of them were conducted by the National Board of Education, such as the DISand PRODIS-projects (Datorn I Skolan, Computer in School; PROgramvaror och Datorutrustning I Skolan, Software and Hardware in School) in the 1970s and early 1980s, and the so-called three-year campaigns and the DOS-project (Datorn Och Skolan, Computer and School) later during the 1980s. While the 1970s was mainly a period of experimental and policy-related work, the 3-year campaigns meant financial support for schools’ purchase of hardware, and the later DOS-project aimed at software development. A few projects run by other actors in the field were also treated, such as the PRINCESS-project, a research and development project at today’s Department of Computer and Systems Sciences in Stockholm. This project turned towards computer-support in education, and the technology procurement project for developing a Swedish school computer, named TUDIS and it was managed by the National Swedish Board for Technical Development (Styrelsen för teknisk utveckling). In 1984 this led to a consortium led by Esselte Studium developing the Compis computer. Assembling representatives from all these project and actors, the seminar also treated issues of coordination and conflict, success and failure regarding the efforts on computers in education.
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| 27. |
- Emanuel, Martin, 1977-
(author)
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Folkbildning kring datorn 1978–85 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 9 oktober 2008
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Folkbildning kring datorn 1978–85” (Adult education and computers 1978–85) was held at Tekniska museet (The National Museum of Science and Technology) in Stockholm on 9 October 2008 and was led by Ulla Riis assisted by Martin Emanuel. The seminar focused on different efforts to increase computer literacy as well as awareness of the role of computers and information technology in society and on human life, in particular by means of study circles given by adult education associations. From the perspective of these associations, the content of the circles, the recruitment of trainers and participants and the accessibility to computers was dealt with. The different initiatives to stimulate such study circles and stipulate their content and target groups from above, e.g. by the Swedish Council for Planning and Coordination of Research (Forskningsrådsnämnden) and the Swedish National Board of Education (Skolöverstyrelsen), were however treated in greater detail. Particular attention was given to the initiative “Broader Computer Education and Training” (Bred datautbilding) led by the Swedish Commission for Informatics Policy (Datadelegationen) starting in 1982. The “broadness” was supposedly twofold. Firstly, the education and training should reach many people. Secondly, it should have a broad content, mediating knowledge about computers, i.e. the technology, as well as its use and its consequences. The roots of and motives behind these initiatives were discussed at depth. Key ingredients in this respect was to counteract increasing gaps in knowledge levels on what was considered a future key technology, and the concerns and strategies of the different parties on the labor market in relation to new information technology.
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| 28. |
- Gribbe, Johan, 1979-
(author)
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Tidig flygradar : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 15 april 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar “Tidig flygradar” [Early airborne radar] was held at Tekniska museet [the National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 15 April 2008 and was led by Gunnar Lindqvist. During the seminar, the development and use of airborne radar systems in the Swedish air force during the 1950s and 1960s was discussed and debated. The use of airborne radar in the night fighters Mosquito and Venom, and its impact on fighter tactics, was covered in detail. The technical collaboration between the French electronics firm CSF, the radar division of the Royal Swedish Air Board and LM Ericsson was underlined as a crucial factor behind the successful introduction of the first Swedish built radar systems in the strike and night fighter versions of Lansen. Development of the Lead collision course fire control system, and integration between radar and guided missiles, were critical undertakings in the development of airborne radar systems in the first Swedish supersonic fighter Draken. The subsequent efforts to modify the radar systems to counter electronic jamming were touched upon. Finally, the development of the PS-37 radar, developed in collaboration between the Royal Swedish Air Board and LM Ericsson for use in the strike version of Viggen, was covered in detail.
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| 29. |
- Larsson, Ebba, 1980-
(author)
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Fastighetsdatasystemet : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 30 september 2008
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Fastighetsdatasystemet” [the Land Data Bank System] was held at Tekniska museet [The National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 30 September 2008 and led by Sture Hallström. The seminar dealt with the establishment of the Land Data Bank System and the rationalization in the handling of data on real properties and land. The main focus was directed towards the computerization of the real property register [fastighetsregistret] and the land register [inskrivningsregistret] and the different challenges this computerization of the manual registers faced. The organisation to carry this out was the Central Board for Real Estate Data, which started its work in 1968. A number of important inquiries supported the development of the Land Data Bank System, mainly two Governmental reports: the Real Estate Registration by the Swedish Register Committee in 1966 and EDP and Land Registration by the Land Register Committee in 1969. In finding the final design of the system, there were some political and emotional disagreements. The reformation of the property unit designations posed a particular concern. Another issue was the fact that the system came to be a personal register and questions of integrity arose. The technical matters caused some problems as new technologies like database management systems and the use of terminals and data communication were introduced. However, the core of the system has been stable and adaptable to changes over time. A legally binding start of the system could take place in Uppsala county in 1976, followed by Gävleborg and Stockholm county. The complete changeover took longer than anticipated, about 20 years, but was agreed to be well worth it. Suggestions to why the process could run so smoothly are that the Central Board for Real Estate data was a small, manageable and independent organisation, as well as having strong and open minded leaders. The coordinate system and its applications have expanded rapidly, for example in the use of the Global Positioning System, GPS. The Swedish Land Data Bank System has attracted great interest from all over the world and staff from the Central Board for Real Estate Data has assisted other countries in improving their systems for real property and land registration.
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| 30. |
- Lindgren, Sofia, 1980-
(author)
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Dataföreningar i Sverige: Framväxt och förändringsmönster 1949–1990 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 26 september 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Dataföreningar i Sverige: Framväxt och förändringsmönster 1949–1990” [Computer Associations in Sweden: Growth, Development and Changes 1949– 1990] was held at Tekniska museet [the National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 26 September 2008 and was led by Per Lundin. Representatives from four different computer associations were gathered in order to discuss the organisations and their activities, namely Svenska Dataföreningen, Svenska Samfundet för Informationsbehnadling, Systemutvecklarnas Riksförening and Riksdataförbundet. In 1990 these organisations merged as one organisation. The discussions at the seminar highlighted the various cultures that embodied the different organisations and how they have been organized. However, one aspect that has been a frequent theme in all the organisations is that of education. The organisations have worked with education related to computers on the whole, as well as with further education for its members. These activities have taken place in the form of publications, seminars and conferences. In connection to the matter of education, it was mentioned that the Swedish education system has not been quick enough to establish computer education. Financial difficulties forced the organisations to merge, in order to receive financial support from the industry. This underlines the close connections that these organisations have had with the industry through the years.
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| 31. |
- Lindgren, Sofia, 1980-
(author)
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Fackpress inom dataområdet: Exempel från 1960- och 1970-talet : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 14 oktober 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Fackpress inom dataområdet: Exempel från 1960- och 1970-talet” [Professional Magazines Concerning Computers and Computing: Examples from the 1960s and 1970s] was held at Tekniska museet [the National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 14 October 2008 and led by Patrik Lundell. It dealt with the rise of magazines that focused on computers during the 1960s and 1970s. Representatives from magazines with different perspectives about computers were invited to the seminar. The seminar highlighted the different character each magazine withheld, also concerning the organization of the magazines in question and the ideas behind this. Furthermore the magazines’ varying approaches to ideas concerning whether or not people skilled in technology were needed in the editorial staff, in order to pursue the journalistic work about computers were discussed. The seminar also discerned how the journalists experienced how computer companies with different methods tried to affect the magazines’ ways of reporting about the companies and their businesses. This was usually carried out in a way that the journalists at the seminar experienced as a method for the computer companies themselves to control the actual reporting. One example of this method is that of the magazines’ funding. Since the magazines depended heavily on income from advertisements in the actual magazines made by the computer companies, the companies threatened to withdraw their advertisements from the magazines when they disagreed with the content of the published material.
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| 32. |
- Lundin, Per, 1971-
(author)
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Administrativ systemutveckling i teori och praktik, 1960–1980 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 26 november 2007
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Administrativ systemutveckling i teori och praktik, 1960–1980” [Administrative Data Processing in Theory and Practice, 1960–1980] was held at Tekniska museet [the National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 26 November 2007 and was led by Eva Lindencrona. A topic for discussion was the problems in data processing that eventually led to the emergence of systems development during the 1960s. The development of more formalized methods during the 1970s were debated in length, and it was noted that virtually every company and public authority developed its own methods. Furthermore, the establishment and impact of the national guidelines for systems development, SIS-RAS, received attention. The panelists belonging to the university sector highlighted the crucial role Börje Langefors played, professor in Information Systems at the Royal Institute of Technology/ Stockholm University, in the early establishment of Computer and Systems Sciences in Sweden. On the other hand, the practioners present stressed that many of the more formal methods developed by academics never reached trade and industy or public authorities. Finally, the seminar touched upon the importance of conferences such as NordSAM and NordDATA at a Nordic level, and IFIP at an international level.
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| 33. |
- Lundin, Per, 1971-
(author)
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Den skandinaviska skolan i systemutveckling under 1970- och 1980-talen: Exemplen DEMOS och UTOPIA : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 31 mars 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Den skandinaviska skolan i systemutveckling under 1970- och 1980-talen: Exemplen DEMOS och UTOPIA” [The Scandinavian School in Systems Development during the 1970s and the 1980s: The Examples DEMOS and UTOPIA] was held at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm on 31 March 2008 and was led by Per Lundin. It treated the emergence of user participation in systems development during the 1970s. The project DEMOS which started in 1975 focussed on the consequences of computerization and its prime concern was how employees should be able to influence organization and planning of work in companies. In its approach DEMOS was inspired by the pioneering work made by Kristen Nygaard and the Norwegian trade union in the beginning of the 1970s. The project UTOPIA followed DEMOS. It began in 1981 and was a joint project between the Swedish Centre of Working Life (Arbetslivscentrum), KTH, Aarhus University and graphic workers in the Nordic countries. UTOPIA dealt with trade union based development of, and training in, computer technology and work organization, especially text and image processing in the graphic industries. It was emphasized at the seminar that the cultural, political and social context was important concerning the development of the Scandinavian School, especially the radicalization of the universities in the wake of 1968 as well as the legislation of the Codetermination Act (Medbestämmandelagen, MBL) in 1976. Also discussed was the different computer policies developed by unions such as the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO).
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| 34. |
- Lundin, Per, 1971-
(author)
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Styrbjörn: Utvecklingen och användningen av ett konstruktions- och produktionssystem för skeppsbyggnad vid Kockums under 1960- och 1970-talen : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid AVEVA AB i Malmö den 2 oktober 2007
- 2008
-
Reports (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Styrbjörn: Utvecklingen och användningen av ett konstruktions- och produktionssystem för skeppsbyggnad vid Kockums under 1960- och 1970-talen” [Styrbjörn: The Development and Use of a System for Construction and Production in Ship-Building at Kockums during the 1960s and 1970s] was held at AVEVA AB in Malmö on 2 October 2007 and was led by Tomas Ohlin. It dealt with the development, use, and diffusion of Styrbjörn, a computer-based system for construction and production in ship-building developed by the shipyard Kockums during the 1960s and the 1970s. Originally, Styrbjörn was a numerical system for construction of body details, but soon developed into an integrated system for both construction and production of ships. At the seminar, the cooperation between Kockums and Saab was highlighted. Kockums used the Saab manufactured computer D21 as well as the programming language ALGOLGENIUS created at Saab. Together the two companies developed KOCK, a derivative of ALGOL-GENIUS specially designed for ship-building. When the Saab computers disappeared from the market in the beginning of the 1970s, Styrbjörn was rewritten to the programming language PL/I and was thus made compatible with IBM computers. Also discussed during the seminar was the transition from main frame computers to mini computers during the 1970s and the beginning of 1980s and the implications this shift had for Styrbjörn.
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| 35. |
- Lundin, Per, 1971-
(author)
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Tidiga e-postsystem : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 14 februari 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Tidiga e-postsystem” [Early E-mail Systems] was held at Tekniska museet [the National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 14 February 2008 and led by Lars Ilshammar. It dealt with FOA’s purchase of a DEC 10 computer, a prerequisite for using early existing e-mail programs such as NIH Mail and FORUM Planet, in the early 70s. The so-called TERESE-project on regional development and telecommunications experimented with the FORUM-system. The computer scientist Jacob Palme’s development of the KOM-system, which started in 1978 was discussed. Several companies independently developed IBM-based e-mail systems around 1980. The airline company SAS had a system named MAIL in operation 1981. The car manufacturer Volvo as well as the manufacturer of ball and and roller bearings SKF developed, in close cooperation with IBM, the systems MEMO and MEST respectively An observation made by the panelists was that these systems were developed alongside ordinary work, just for fun. Decisions were based on visions rather than economical calculations such as cost-benefit analysis.
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| 36. |
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| 37. |
- Orrghen, Anna
(author)
-
Tidiga söksystem : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet iStockholm den 21 januari 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”Tidiga söksystem” [Early Information Retrieval Systems] was held at Tekniska museet [The National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 21 January 2008 and was led by PhD Anna Orrghen. Different aspects of the use of digital technology in the development of information retrieval systems were discussed and debated, with special emphasis on research libraries. The witness seminar focused on three Swedish research environments that developed IR systems during an early stage: the main library at The Royal Institute of Technology (KTHB) where the systems ABACUS, EPOSVIRA, KOMPOST, TRIP and 3RIP were underlined in the discussion, the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOA) and the development of CORSAIR and Karolinska Institutet (KI) where the development and use of MEDLARS and MEDLINE took place. The main questions dealt with the origin and development of those systems, the importance of international collaboration and the role of SINFDOK as an important financier.
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| 38. |
- Peralta, Julia, 1971-
(author)
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ADB i folkbokföring och beskattning : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 17 januari 2008
- 2008
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The modern Swedish state administration is tax administration sector. In the beginning this development today in the frontline when it comes to carry on an effective activity both in a national and an international perspective. One very important factor has been the ability to implement modern information technology. This development started already in the sixties especially in the was very much depending on pioneers and driving spirits. The witness seminar ”ADB i folkbokföring och beskattning” [Computerization Within Civic Registration and Taxation] was held at Tekniska museet [The National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 17 January 2008 and was led by the Administrative Services Manager of the Swedish Tax Agency, Alf Nilsson. This seminar illustrates, through persons who were active during the early period, when the tax administration started its work to modernize and simplify its processes both in the tax area but also in civic registration.
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| 39. |
- Peralta, Julia, 1971-
(author)
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ADB-tekniken och den Allmänna försäkringen : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 12 februari 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar” ADB-tekniken och den Allmänna försäkringen” was held at Tekniska museet [The National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 12 February 2008 was led by Olli Aronsson. The ambition to discuss the factors that had the greatest impact on the use of IT in the Swedish Social Security administration during 1960–1990, what was achieved and which were the results of the use of IT. The panel consisted of former senior managers from the Swedish Social Security Agency and from the Swedish Agency for Public Management. These two agencies were very much involved during these three decades in the IT development process. Several new on-line applications were introduced from 1973 i.e. old age pensions, health insurance, child allowance, etc. The large business volumes forced the social security administration to develop its own software for database management, transactions processing and network management that were in the frontline of what the IT industry could develop in these years. The risks involved in such parallel development were underestimated but luckily enough, systems were delivered on time. During the 1980s a lot of investigations were made concerning how to decentralize the system structure. None of those ideas were realized. The effects of the use of IT in the social insurance were that IT proved to be an enabler for fast decided social insurance reforms made by the politicians in the 1970s. In cases like the child allowance the centralized systems proved to reduce false double payments. Staff could also be reduced significantly when applications for the allowances were avoided by new effective data routines between the national registrations system and the social security systems. Since the structure of the systems created in the 1970s were more or less the same over 20 years the economics of the systems were profitable. Due to the organizational structure in the social insurance during this period with a central governmental social security agency and independent regional social security organizations, the full potential of the rationalization was hard to achieve.
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| 40. |
- Peralta, Julia, 1971-
(author)
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Statskontoret : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 5 februari 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar “Statskontoret” [The Swedish Agency for Public Management] was held at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm on 5 February 2008 and was led by Lars Dahlberg. Statskontoret, which came under the Ministry of Finance, played an important role in the computerization of the state sector in the 1960s and 1970s. In the beginning of 1963 Statskontoret was given a central and strategic role and parts of its earlier functions were transferred to a state-owned consultancy firm and special organizations (i.e. DAFA). These were set up to run many of the newly developed systems under the control of Statskontoret. Statskontoret’s three different roles in this context were in focus during the seminar. The first was “the system-developer”. The Ministry of Finance insisted that Statskontoret should play an important role – adding competence but also exerting a certain amount of control – side by side with the agencies which were to use the new computer systems. The second role concerned giving priority to the needs of the different agencies and the financing and purchasing of the computers the agencies needed. Statskontoret was the biggest computer-purchaser in Europe and all the international computer vendors were eager to push their interests. The third role was setting technical standards for the government computer systems. The cooperation between Statskontoret and the different agencies rested on a sort of “power-balance” and worked on the whole quite well. The relationship between Statskontoret and vendors was businesslike. On a few occasions decisions were taken favouring the Swedish computerindustry. Towards the end of 1980s many of the functions that Statskontoret had were delegated to the agencies, which were described in the seminar. Statskontoret kept its role as purchaser and as coordinator and builder of an ITinfrastructure for the public sector and setting standards.
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| 41. |
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| 42. |
- Sjöblom, Gustav, 1976-
(author)
-
Dagligvaruhandelns datorisering före 1985 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 20 oktober 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”The computerization of the everyday commodity trade before 1985” took place at The National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm on 20 October 2008 and was led by Roland Fahlin. The panel was composed of representatives of the three major Swedish supermarket chains (ICA – represented here by ICA Eol and ICA Hakon – KF and Dagab) as well as the department store chain Åhléns, together with representatives of three suppliers of cash registers (IBM, ADS Anker and Hugin). The seminar was divided into two parts, the first dealing with the period up to the mid-1970s, when mainframe computers were introduced to rationalize back office functions such as ordering, invoicing and the production of documents. The second part dealt with the development from 1975, when computers were introduced into the stores.
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| 43. |
- Sjöblom, Gustav, 1976-
(author)
-
Införandet av streckkoder i Sverige : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 22 oktober 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar ”The introduction of bar codes in Sweden” took place at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm on 22 October 2008 and was led by Gustav Sjöblom. The definition and implementation of EAN – a European standard for the identification and printing of unique article numbers – was a major innovation in the wholesale and retail trade, which led to substantial rationalization and revolutionized the generation and usage of sales data for ordering, marketing etc. The seminar panel was composed of three members of the Swedish and European EAN committees (representing suppliers and trade respectively); representatives of four major Swedish chains (ICA Essve, Åhléns, KF, and Dagab); and one supplier of cash registers (ADS Anker). The seminar was divided into two parts, the first dealing with the period from the initiation of European negotiations on the definition of the EAN code structure in 1973, to the signing in 1977 of the Swedish agreement between the suppliers’ organization DLF and the major chains. The theme of the second half was the implementation of EAN codes in actual practice, including manufacturers printing the EAN symbol on the packages and the supermarket chains installing equipment for reading and data capture. The EAN code was introduced in a few stores in 1981 and spread rapidly so that retailing in practice could be based on EAN from c. 1983.
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| 44. |
- Skoglund, Crister
(author)
-
Föreställningar om informationssamhället under 1980-talets första hälft : transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 27 maj 2008
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar “Föreställningar om informationssamhället under 1980-talets första hälft” [Ideas about the Information Society during the first half of the 1980s] was held at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm on May 27 2008 and was led by Crister Skoglund and Bernt Skovdahl. The panel consisted of representatives both of those who around 1980 were enthusiastic for, and those who were sceptically against, the belief that we were entering the Information Society. Two projects were discussed regarding new ways to use computers; TERESE and KOM. The first one mentioned was an attempt to facilitate cooperation between entrepreneurs and the second one was a computer forum for open discussions. In many ways they foreboded what later became everyday practice on the Internet, but at this time they were questioned. Not at least the idea to use big and expensive mainframe computers for such a “simple” task as to let ordinary people communicate with each other. During the seminar those who had been sceptical to the term “Information Society” stated however, that they were not against using computers for communication between ordinary people, but opposed the grand claims made by those who equalised an “Information Society” with a “Knowledge Society”. The sceptics found their theories of knowledge naïve and challengeable. In Sweden we thus got an epistemological debate outside the academic philosophical circles that has implications to this day. A third theme in the seminar was the attitude to computers in the Swedish labour movement. A shift from a positive view, over a more doubtful period around 1980, back to a new positive attitude could be noted. From 1985 the main doctrine was that the workers should conquer the new technology instead of opposing it.
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| 45. |
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| 46. |
- Thodenius, Björn, 1964-
(author)
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De viktigaste drivkrafterna för att utnyttja IT inom försäkringsbranschen mellan 1960–1985 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 28 november 2007
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar “De viktigaste drivkrafterna för att utnyttja IT inom försäkringsbranschen mellan 1960–1985” [The Major Driving Forces for IT Use in the Insurance Industry] was held at Tekniska museet [the National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on November 28, 2007 and was led by Rune Brandinger. Different aspects of the use of information systems and information technology in the early days in Swedish insurance companies were discussed and debated at the seminar. Insurance companies were the first to use commercial computers and the discussion started with the first routines that were automated using computers. The fact that the insurance business started using computers at an early stage is probably because of the uniqueness in the quantity of statistical data that are used and compiled. The insurance industry is also the most extensive user of data processing in the private sector. Some important milestones making an important step in data processing were identified, such as the start of using Swedish social security numbers, and car registration numbers as identifiers in the computer systems. This both cut costs and provided a higher level of service to customers. Without the use of computers the expansion in the business would not have been possible, at least not without enormous numbers of employees. The insurance industry has a long tradition of mergers and acquisitions and IT has played an important part in most of the mergers in the studied time period. IBM was the preferred supplier in the industry but there were also Swedish companies like Datasaab. In the 70’s and the 80’s Swedish insurance companies were in the fore-front of successful IT use.
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| 47. |
- Thodenius, Björn, 1964-
(author)
-
Teknisk utveckling i bankerna fram till 1985 : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 12 november 2007
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar “Teknisk utveckling i bankerna fram till 1985” [Technical Development in the Swedish Banking Industry before 1985] was held at Tekniska museet [the National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on November 12, 2007 and was led by Thomas Glück. Focus of the seminar was the development of information technology in Swedish banks, starting with the first use of electronic computers in the late 1950s and the 1960s. The seminar covered aspects dealing with technical issues, hardware issues and system and software issues. Different technical systems and products were discussed. IBM played an important role as a major supplier but beside other international players there were also some Swedish initiatives in the early years. The use of methods and methodological questions were discussed. In the first years everything was built from scratch, including operating systems, terminal interfaces and so on. The use of methods, at least documented methods, were sparse in the pioneering years. As the use of computers increased and the systems themselves grew larger, standards began to emerge and there was a number of infrastructure issues and the establishment of common platforms. Good examples of the development are the electronic bank clearing system as well as the two giro systems, Postgirot and Bankgirot. As the systems grew larger, the need for more formalized methods and documentation increased.
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| 48. |
- Thodenius, Björn, 1964-
(author)
-
Uttagsautomater : Transkript av ett vittnesseminarium vid Tekniska museet i Stockholm den 16 januari 2007
- 2008
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The witness seminar “Uttagsautomater” [Automated Teller Machines (ATM)] was held at Tekniska museet [the National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on January 16, 2007 and was led by Rune Brandinger. At the seminar the birth and evolution of the Swedish ATM were discussed in detail. Among the first ATMs used was one machine built by the Swedish company Metior which was installed at Upsala Sparbank in 1967. What is said to be the first on-line ATM in the world was installed at Oxie Härads sparbank in Malmö in August 1968. In Sweden two major and competing systems were developed. The Swedish savings banks used the name Minuten, launched in 1977, and the commercial banks used the brand name Bankomat. Besides the savings banks working on a common platform all the major Swedish commercial banks cooperated in the development of ATMs in the consortia Bankomatcentralen, which was jointly owned by the commercial banks. The evolution of the Swedish debit and credit cards were also discussed. An early test of a Point-Of-Sales terminal was made in 1979, within the SVAN project that was run by the Swedish savings banks. Köpkort and later Eurocard were two early examples of Swedish debit and credit cards. In addition to Metior a number of Swedish companies were part of the early ATM development, including Bofors, ASEA, SAAB and later on Ericsson. In an international and European perspective Sweden was a very early adopter of the ATM technology. The seminar covered a number of different aspects on the use of ATMs including issues as security and accessibility.
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| 49. |
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| 50. |
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