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Congress 2013
On June 5, 2013 the History and Archives group will be presenting a paper at Congress in Victoria, Canada
"Click, Whir, Zing, ZOT! You've Got a Date!: The Early Use of Computers on a University Campus"
Abstract
How were computers discussed by a university public? Computers
made their way onto the campuses of large post-secondary
institutions beginning in the late 1940s1. This paper looks at how
computers and computing were discussed through the student and
university newspapers of the University of Alberta. A combination
of content analysis and close reading methods teased out three
themes that will be discussed in the paper:
1. How computers became research and funding priorities in the
University. How a breadth of faculties including Arts and Education
were experimenting with computing early on.
2. How the administrative use of computers contributed to growing
anxieties on campus specifically about privacy and data
collection.
3. How the computer was used for entertainment purposes like dating
and match-making.
Though the University of Alberta had a Computing Centre beginning
in 1957 the first mention of the world ???computer??? in the
Gateway student newspaper appears in a 1959 article describing
ongoing campus construction projects; one of which includes a
designated space for the University???s new digital computer, also
referred to as the ???electronic brain???2. Originally used for
research purposes in math, science, and engineering, the computer
quickly became a useful tool in other faculties including Arts,
Education, and Agriculture. By 1965 the University of Alberta was
on its third computer, the IBM 7040, and it was being used around
the clock.???Image - Users of Computing Facility for Research
In addition to research, the computer was used for a number of administrative purposes on campus as well. From the assembly of the telephone directory4 to accounting services5 computers assisted with day-to-day activities, though not always with the appreciation of staff and students. In the late 1960s anxieties over the use of computers in society and the potential threat to privacy grew as catchphrases like ???Do not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate??? indicate.6 At Sir George William University in Montreal students protesting discriminatory treatment by a faculty member occupied and then set fire to the University???s Computer Centre causing $2 million dollars in damage7. The protestors??? choice to take over this building is symbolic of the importance of the computer for universities at this time as well as students??? distrust and contempt for these machines. Nevertheless in the student newspaper a number of articles at the same time were dedicated to computer dating and matchmaking. Regardless of the apparent suspicion of computers university students always found time for love. The project team???s ultimate goal is to understand public perceptions of computing (and humanities computing) in Canada but to do so we must first understand the history of the discourse around computing on campus.
BibliographyLubar, Steven. ??????Do Not Fold, Spindle or
Mutilate???: A Cultural History of the Punch Card.??? Journal of
American Culture, Vol 15, issue 4 (Winter 1992), pages 43-55.
DOI:??10.1111/j.1542-734X.1992.1504_43.x
Oke, David. ???Quaret-million deficit for SU.??? Gateway, October 5, 1976, Page 3.
Scott, D.B. ???The Computer Centre.??? Folio, December 15, 1965, Page 1-2.
Unknown. ???$2 million damage at Sir George William as frustrated students burn, smash comp centre.??? Gateway, February 13, 1969, Page 3.
Unknown. ???New Telephone Directory.??? Gateway, October 25, 1963, Page 4.
Unknown. ???Three Modern Buildings with Better Facilities
Nearing Completion.??? Gateway, November 6, 1959, Page 9.
Paper
In the early years of computing how were computers discussed by
a university public? A 1966 article in the University of Alberta
student newspaper The Gateway
begins with:
- begins with: "Attention, love-starved students. Tired of sitting home on Friday nights reading "Gulliver's Travels"? Board with lonely carrels in Cameron Library? Throw away your books, your solitude, and your inhibitions. Cupid Computer, the scientific approach to dating is presently being introduced at the U of A". After filling out an 80 question survey that was then run through a computer to determine compatibility, Cupid Computer participants were promised the chance to find "ideal" dates. Originating out of London, Ontario from the company Computronics the program spread to campuses across Canada and hailed as "Canada's foremost IBM Dating Service" (Coryphaeus, 1966-67, v7, no09, pg 3-4). Considering that dating is likely part of the normative experience of most university students it is not surprising that the topic of computer dating appears in the student newspaper."Attention, love-starved students. Tired of sitting home on Friday nights reading "Gulliver's Travels"? Board with lonely carrels in Cameron Library? Throw away your books, your solitude, and your inhibitions. Cupid Computer, the scientific approach to dating is presently being introduced at the U of A".
After filling out an 80 question survey that was then run through a computer to determine compatibility, Cupid Computer participants were promised the chance to find "ideal" dates. Some questions posed relate to: sex, race, religion, smoking and drinking behaviour, for males whether or not they have access to a car and for females whether or not this matters, how attractive one's friends find them, how political one is, one's position on skinny dipping, and whether or not one would try LSD. Originating out of London, Ontario from the company Computronics the program spread to campuses across Canada, brought to campus by university students themselves, and was hailed as "Canada's foremost IBM Dating Service" (Coryphaeus, 1966-67, v7, no09, pg 3-4).
. Computers made their way onto the
campuses of large post-secondary institutions beginning in the late
1940s (Scott, "The Computing Centre") and being the first
to deal with the coming of the computer campuses offer a unique
perspective. By looking at these early discussions of computers, by
way of three separate publications from the same campus, we can
tease out an early social history of the arrival of computers in
Canadian society through the lens of post-secondary
education.Computers made their way onto the campuses of large
post-secondary institutions beginning in the late 1940s (Scott,
"The Computing Centre") and being the first to deal with
the coming of the computer campuses offer a unique perspective. By
looking at these early discussions of computers, by way of three
separate publications from the same campus, we can tease out an
early social history of the arrival of computers in Canadian
society through the lens of post-secondary education. This study
looks at early references to computers in three University of
Alberta publications: The Gateway*, New Trail, and
This paper will:
- Describe our methodology;
- Present an historical account of the arrival of computers on the University of Alberta campus;
- Identify the themes that appear such as research and fundingpriorities, growing anxiety around privacy and data collection,rebellion on campus, and playful attitude of students as seen inthe discussions around computer dating and matchmaking.
Methodology
Our methodology was a combination of content analysis and close
reading. Peel's Praire Provinces is a resource of the
University of Alberta Libraries; an online bibliography of books,
newspaper issues, and other materials related to the development of
the Prairies, as well as a searchable full-text collection of many
of these items. Using this website we searched The Gateway,
New Trail and Folio for all references to computer
and downloaded for reading and coding all the relevant articles.
The content analysis rubric was developed iteratively and coded for
things such as:
- Title, Author and Year;
- Type of reference (i.e. news, classified, advertisement or opinion piece);
- The presence of photos or illustrations;
- Category of application (Science, Commerce, Industry, Government, the Arts and Humanities, the Library, or Education);
- Gender of named people;
- Discourse features such as the computer being described as a 'brain';
- Departments or faculties mentioned;
- Hype or anxiety present in the reference; and
- Types of computers mentioned where applicable.
The content analysis produced history and themes.
History
The first reference to a digital computer comes in 1957 from New
Trail. The article "Electronic Brain Aids UniversityResearch" describes a direct line teletype communicationsystem with FERUT, a high speed digital electronic computer fromthe University of Toronto???s computation centre; according to thearticle ???Ambitious problems in the fields of physics,mathematics, engineering, statistics, etc., can now be solved onthe campus in a matter of minutes???. (
Shortly following the success of this teletype link with FERUT in1957 the University of Alberta became the third university inCanada with a computing facility, preceded by the University ofToronto in 1948 and the University of British Columbia also in1957. The Royal McBee LGP 30 was primarily used for numericalcalculations and after its arrival was quickly being used aroundthe clock. Soon the LPG 30 was replaced with an IBM 1620 and an IBM7040 after that. The improvement in the speed of calculations wasmeasured in terms of electric desk calculators and human operators;the calculation speed of the LPG 30 was roughly equivalent to 500human operators. With the purchase of the IBM 1620 in 1961 thisspeed increased 20-fold and then another 60-fold in 1964 with theaddition of the IBM 740. The increased speed combined with accuracyof calculations by the digital computer meant that research thatwas "previously unthinkable" could be done. (Scott,Folio, "The Computer Centre Part One, Vol 2, No. 8, 1965)
Themes
*
By the time of the arrival of the IBM 740 on campus the Computer
Centre was being used by over 30 different departments from nine
different faculties. Though the highest rate of use was from
departments located in the Faculty of Science researchers also
included members of the Arts and Education communities.
Though we know that each of these faculties are making use of
the computer for there research the discussions around the type of
research are most relegated to the use of computers in medical
research. Two articles from 1967, in
There is only limited mention of computers used in Arts
research. The first mention is in a 1963
The introduction of computers to the university public is presented
through the lens of medical research.
This study looks at early references to computers in three
campus publications: the student newspaper One of the most powerful themes we found coming out of the
student news paper the
Another 1966 article describes semi-computerized registration at the U of A and the author states: "Since we are doomed to become slaves of bureaucracy and the computer anyway, we might just as well go whole hog and have the machine work out the gory details which are just messed up by the human elements involved" (unknown, all hail the machine, September 28, 1966, 4, Gateway.)Similar in sentiment is another 1996 article describing the author's take on the university system in general; over population, impersonal computer programming, lack of a well-balanced education, and depersonalization caused by the computer. He finishes with the statement "Where all this leads us, I won't attempt to answer. Perhaps the ultimate cynic would look forward to the day when cybernetics will be able to replace us all." (Walker, a way of life, 26 January 1966, Gateway)</br>
Computer job placement programs also appear around this time similar to the aforementioned computer dating services. BIB - Biographical Inventory Blank - is a questionnaire designed to determine which areas of work a student is best suited for after it is fed through a computer.
- Jackson, 1972, point - Re: dehumanizing nature of U of A???s registration procedure and pre-registration report. Author states the U of A is not a pioneer in computer programming.
- Das, 1974, 1984? - Describes technological change - good and potentially bad: crime surveillance - police state; artificial insemination - motherhood in a test tube; computer dating (ideal mate) - gimmicky arranged marriages;
- Fisk, 1975, The evils of university ???education??? - Describes the ???evil tendencies??? of university education in Canada: anti-personal (computerized registration, payment), moral failures
- Krause, 1979, Lock up your data - Security concerns re: the university computer system. Issues regarding legal protection against computer theft.
- Parker, 1979, New feudalism dawning - Speculation on the evolution of society into a Feudal State. Predicts education will decrease while technology increases.
One of the most interesting themes we see develop is in the lack
of discussion on the topic of campus rebellion in both
Other articles in
End with computer datingSet of anxieties, but playful with students (dating brought by students)
The arrival of Cupid Computer on campus in 1966 was not the first attempt at match-making at the U of A. The year prior it was excitedly reported that a computer would be used to select dates for the Wauneita dance hosted annually by a women???s fraternity. Sadly the necessary instructions did not arrive on time and ???computerized romance proved to be a failure??? (Unknown, 1965, Computerized romance proves to be a failure)
IBM keeps it in the family [1]