ACS Logo Australian Computer Society

NSW Branch Conference 1996

Information Systems Driving Radical Change


Some photos from the dinner & conference:
Worthington, da Cruz & Macdonald1 Brendan Hannelly2 Don Loughry3 Gail Burke4 Audie Pili5 Vijay Khandelwal & audience6 Warren Hosey7 Rob Thomsett8
  1. At the Cocktail Party: Tom Worthington, ACS President; Marghanita da Cruz, IT Consultant & Andy Macdonald, Chief Government Information Officer (also: high resolution version)
  2. Opening the conference: Brendan Hannelly, ACS
  3. Don Loughry, Commonwealth Bank
  4. Gail Burke, Macquirie Bank
  5. Audie Pili, Anderson Consulting
  6. Vijay Khandelwal, University of Western Sydney & audience
  7. Warren Hosey, University of Western Sydney
  8. Rob Thomsett, The Thomsett Company

The ACS: 30 years of Radical Change

Chairman's Opening Address

by Tom Worthington, President of the Australian Computer Society

9am, 3 December 1996, Sydney

Announcement & Summary

Tom Worthington will present the results of a three month personal project on the future of the organisation in the on-line environment. This follows from his work in on-line policy development and implementation for the Federal Government and consultation with the President's of the world's computer societies, meeting in the UK on global electronic operations. Tom will outline a vision for the future based on this work.

About the speaker

Tom Worthington is current National President of the Australian Computer Society. Away from the ACS Tom is Deputy Director, Information management Planning, Australian Department of Defence. Tom is co-author of the ACS InfoBahn Policy, the Defence Representative on the Commonwealth Group, and one of the authors of the new Architecture For Access To Government Information.

Book Now

For conference details and booking, http://www.acs.org.au/nsw/events/conf1996/ e-mail: iqpc@ozemail.com.au or ph (02) 92621990 or fax (02) 92621858

Draft of 2 December 1996: The content of this talk will be developed here. Suggestions and comments welcome: tom.worthington@tomw.net.au

< Contents >

Tom Worthington

< Introduction >

Thank you to the NSW Branch for inviting me to open the 1996 conference. In ten minutes I want to tell you four things:
  1. First, I want to remind you that you are part of a radical industry and tell you of the ACS's part in it
  2. Second, I want to tell you what radical changes I see in the next year or so, based on three months thought
  3. Third I want to outline a proposal for radical change in the Department of Defence, as an example
  4. Last I want to invite you to join me tonight for the ACS's 30th Birthday Party.
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< The radical industry we work in >

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At a conference in Melbourne recently, I sat on a panel with a science fiction experts and future-oologists. They speculated about what might happen with technology in the future, I talked about my work that week: "...on the way here on the bus I got an e-mail message from Defence Headquarters with a speech for the Minister's home page ...". This wasn't fiction, but my normal working day.

IT is an industry which keeps reinventing itself. Not only the technology, but the terminology changes. What doesn't change is that there is a constant enthusiasm for new ideas and a need for this to be tempered by experience. Through the last 30 years, the Australian Computer Society has been part of making the change happen and attempting to make those changes positive.

Some of you will remember when PCs were new, or have seen it in history books. I lived through that time and recall the excitement. I also remember the problems that uncontrolled use of unsupported, unreliable PCs caused in organisations which were used to orderly mainframes. We have tamed the PC, making it a bit dull, but more of a reliable tool. The Internet is now causing similar excitement and problems, not only in organisations but the whole community. In the last few years the ACS has helped write public policy to address the issues, while getting IT professionals ready to apply the technology for serious applications. Its going to get more exciting and problematic in 1997.

The ACS continues to provide the standards for professional knowledge and conduct, even though the technology being worked on keeps changing. The ACS has set Australian IT professional standards through its accreditation of IT courses and with examinations for decades. Our new ACS Core Body of Knowledge has brought those standards up to date. The Code of Professional Conduct and Professional Practice expands on the ACS's long standing Code of Ethics. The ACS certification program shows how all IT professionals need to keep expanding their skills.

< Looking for the on-line future >

Steering Committee1 Melbourne Exhibition Center2 Robyn Williams on Wired Audio3 ACS Logo4 Day one: Presidents of BCS, ACM, IPSJ, GI, CEPIS & ACS5 Professor Robin Milner and Tom Worthington6
  1. Strategy for Information Technology Research in Australia
  2. The New Digital Economy
  3. Lifestyle Futures Forum
  4. Electronic Mail in the Document Management World
  5. Computer Societies Agree on International Cooperation
  6. Encryption & Electronic Commerce in Australia
Andy Hopper

< Radical change for DoD >

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See also