INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION
ONE STATE’S EXPERIENCE
Dr. William Mitchell
Professor of Information Science
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
wmmitchell@ualr.edu
“95% of all new jobs nationwide will require a moderate,
if not keen, knowledge of computers and the Internet.”
Bureau of Labor Statistics
“Between 1998 and 2008 employment in science
and engineering occupations is supposed to increase
by 51 percent… or four times the rate
for other occupations…”
Southern Technology Council
“…and jobs in the computer field will double
during the same time period.”
Southern Technology Council
“The U.S. will require more than 2 million new
information technology workers by 2008.”
Bureau of Labor Statistics
“…employers are still trying to fill over 900,000
new information technology jobs.”
…even though the economy is coming out of a cycle.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
“Only 17.3% of Arkansans 25 years old
and over had a college education in 1999.”
(Placing Arkansas last of all 50 states
and well below the national average of 25.2%)
2000 Statistical Abstract of the U.S.
Arkansas finished last in the nation
in the Milken Institute’s 2001 New Economy Index…
…while competing communities like Memphis,
Tulsa and Dallas have developed strategies
to lead in the New Economy.
“IT companies in Arkansas will create
7,200 IT jobs over the next decade”
Taimerica Management Company
“Half the growth in IT jobs is expected
in Central Arkansas, the primary market
of UALR.”
Taimerica Management Company
And that doesn’t even count the thousands
of jobs in Arkansas that now require computer skills
…skills needed in all fields during this new decade.
Our State’s best bet to change
the poor economic statistics
has been at…
Our campus-wide focus
on
technology
education
The George W. Donaghey
College of Information Science
and Systems Engineering
UALR has Arkansas' only comprehensive
information science and systems
engineering curricula developed in
partnership with today's top employers.
Based on extensive input from some of the nation's leading
knowledge-based industries such as ALLTEL, ArkSys, Acxiom
and others, UALR designed its College of Information Science
and Systems Engineering, better known as the Cybercollege,
to meet their demands. Our students can count on it. The
skills they will learn are the skills they will need to compete
the demanding technology arena.
 How to manage information.
 How to design and integrate complex systems in both
telecommunications and computer networks.
 Our state-of-the-art resources allow coursework to be lab,
equipment and student intensive.
The IT Report
A three-month study by an interdisciplinary group
of faculty clarified the hard (technical) and soft
(people) skills that Arkansas’ knowledge-based
companies wanted in their employees
(www.ualr.edu/~itreport )
Two new B.S. programs, Systems Engineering and
Information Science were instituted in addition to
an integrated, 18-semester credit, upper division
minor in Information Technology.
These new programs were implemented in the
Fall of 1999 using current faculty and a curriculum
outlined and articulated with the help of
consultants while simultaneously seeking to
recruit faculty for both BS programs.
Named for new departments
that were added to four
legacy departments
Information Science
Systems Engineering
Applied Science
Computer
Science
Engineering
Technology
Construction
Management
What
doesdegree
the CyberCollege
include?
Seven
programs:
Information Technology
Information Science
Computer Science
Applied Science
Systems Engineering
Engineering Technology
Construction Management
“Gee Whiz”
technology
is really all about recruiting
and retaining students,
faculty and partnerships!
Focused on
Arkansas’
Future leaders
…including women and minorities
recruited from all over the State, from
all backgrounds and circumstances
Special Note in 1999-2000 Catalog
The General Assembly of Arkansas during its regular legislative session 1999,
established the new Donaghey College of Information Science and Systems
Engineering at the University of Arkanasas at Little rock.
In order to be able to start the new college’s programs in the fall of 1999,
faculty committees moved quickly to develop the curricula for the two new
majors, the bachelor of science in information science and the bachelor of
science in systems engineering. These two new major programs of study have
been shaped by advice from the state’s knowledge-based companies and by the
national standards of the Accrediting Board for Engineering Technology.
At the time this Catalog went to press, the courses for the new information
science and systems engineering curricula have been outlined and accepted by
all campus approval levels. The information science and systems engineering
courses are listed in recommended four-year sequences in the catalog, along
with a number of related coursed that students pursuing the two new majors
should expect to complete. At press time, decisions on core course
requirements were pending. These decisions may affect the requirement listed
in this Catalog. After the fall 1999 semester has begun, students should
contact the dean’s office for complete information about degree requirements.
This program will be phased in over a three to four year period. In
the 1999-2000 academic year majors will be accepted into the first
year of the information science program and only the freshman level
courses will be offered.
Defining The Information
Science Program
Separated from the Computer Science
Department.
Modeled on programs at UN Omaha and
George Mason, both of which were already
well into the creation of new IT Colleges.
Mixture of Internet and database
technologies with support courses from the
College of Business and the same
Mathematics and Science requirements
needed for ABET accreditation. No input
from the Library Science area.
Curriculum Objectives
Intended to be more practical than the CS
curriculum, more guided by Industry needs (aimed
at providing useful skills each year of the
curriculum).
Intended to develop better soft skills than the CS
curriculum (emphasizing student presentations and
team work all the way through the curriculum).
Intended to orient students toward data and its use
by organizations (influenced by the success of
Acxiom Corporation, a local company that grew to
be a national leader in extracting marketing
information from public data repositories, and by
companies like WalMart that used data mining of
their transaction data to run the company).
Defining Information Science
Focus on Data systems, not algorithms or hardware.
Focus on how Data is encoded, stored, retrieved, and
displayed (user interface to access and communicate).
Focus on how Information is used in organizations
(decision support, visualization, Internet, etc.)
Focus on design of information systems for different
varieties of data, different kinds of applications—understand
unifying principles
Focus on the way the computer is used to model real
phenomena and activities, use the object paradigm to
construct models independent of technology.
Focus on analysis techniques and pattern recognition
applied to data stores and the Internet.
Understand how technology supports or distorts goals of
Information systems
Defining Systems Engineering
Modeled on University of Virginia
Two specialty tracks


Computer systems engineering
Telecommunications systems engineering
Emphasizes computer models and
simulations
Incorporates the Virtual Reality Center
Why shouldn’t they come?
With average
starting salaries
of $60,500
That’s over twice the state’s
median salary of $26,000
Technology Needs Mathematical Problem-solving Skills
Mathematics is an expanding discipline
Kinds of Problems
Games (rules suggest strategies)
Puzzles (highly formalized)
Goals (management objectives)
Algorithmic (clerical procedures)
“squishy” (to many variables, too few
constraints, unknown relationships)
Policy (cost/benefit of
strategies/commitment of resources)
Problem Solving Skills
What do these words have in common: Abhor, below, best,
cops, fist, ghost, adopt, belt, chips, demos, flux, hilt, begot,
bent, chops, first, fort, lost
Can you connect these nine dots with only four lines?
. . .
. . .
. . .
How do you determine if a loan applicant is a good risk?
How do you decide what stocks to hold in your portfolio
and when to change them?
How do you locate some information on the Internet?
How can the most current product information be made
available to every salesperson?
How do you implement a Java applet to display the
contents of the online customer’s past purchases?
How Many Consecutive Zeros
End 100! ?
•N! is by definition N*(N-1)*(N-2)*…5*4*3*2*1
A trailing zero denotes a multiple of 10 = factors
2&5
Half of the factors of 100! contribute a factor of 2
How many factors of 100! Contribute a factor of
5?
–5, 10, 15…,95, 100 = 20 factors with one 5
–25,50,75,100= 4 factors with two 5’s
–no numbers with three 5’s
•Therefore 24 fives-> 24 ending zeros!
What Is the Formula for 1+2+3+..+(N-1)+N?
Cases: N=0: sum = 0; N=1: sum = 1; N=2: sum=3; N=3: sum=6, etc. [given]
Sum
= 10
Graph of (x,Sum(x))
6
(looks like a parabola)
3
1
0
X= 0, 1, 2, 3, 4
Therefore, let’s GUESS that sum(x) is of the form ax2+bx+c. Then for the four points
we have already: x=0 0+0+c=0 => c is 0, so equation is ax2+bx
x=1a+b=1,
x=24a+2b=3 Solving the pair reveals a=b=1/2.
What Is the Formula for 1+2+3+..+(N-1)+N?
•Suppose sum is some function of K: sum(K) (a formula in one variable) for K=0,
K=1, K=N, etc. Then by definition, the formula for the next value after K=N
must produce the value [sum(N) + (N+1)]. In general, then, from the relation of
successive values we have
sum(K+1) = sum(K)+K+1 or
sum(K+1) - sum(K)=K+1
Now assume that the
formula for the sum() function is a polynomial in one variable:
an K n
+an-1Kn-1+…
+a2K2
+ a1 K
+a0.
Then sum(K+1) = an (K+1)n+an-1 (K+1)n-1+….+a2 (K+1)2+a1 (K+1)+ a0
The difference in these two expressions must reduce to K+1 for any
value of K!
But a0 (and every term in the first expression) cancels, so the constant term of the
difference is the sum of the constant terms from the second expression: an+an-1+
..+a2+a1. Similarly, the linear term, since a1K cancels, is (nan+(n-1)an-1+…2a2)K. In
like manner the coefficient of the squared term is also composed of the sum of
multiples of an, an-1, …a3 (since the a2K2 terms cancelled) and this sum must be zero,
requiring a3=a4=.. =an =0! This means that the first two equations yield 2a2=1 and
a2+a1=1, hence mandating that a1=a2=1/2 (and, as before, since sum(0)=0, a0=0).
•sum(K) is therefore the polynomial (K2+K)/2
Telescoping sums
Lets look at (K+1)2 – K 2 for successive values of K:
K=1:
4–1
=2(1)+1
K=2:
9–4
=2(2)+1
K=3:
16 – 9
=2(3)+1
…
K=(N-1):
N 2 - (N-1) 2
= 2(N-1)+1
K=N:
(N+1) 2 - N 2 = 2(N)+1
If we add up the differences of successive squares (the middle
column), the sum will have terms that appear twice with opposite
signs, so those terms cancel and the sum of N differences is just
(N+1) 2 -1.
However we also see that each difference is 2K+1, which when
summed (the third column) for each of the N values of K contribute
N 1’s and twice the sum of 1+2+3+…+(N-1)+N, whose value we
want, and which we will call S.
Therefore we derive the equation (N 2 +2N+1)-1=2S+N, which,
when solved for S=(N 2+N)/2
1+2+3+….(N-1) +N =?
The sum is the same as N+(N-1)+…+3+2+1
If we write the two equations for the sum
one under the other and add (equals added
to equals yields equals) we have that twice
the sum is:
[1+N]+[2+(N-1)]+…[(N-1)+2]+[N+1]
where every [ ] contains N+1. Note that
there are N [ ]s.
Therefore the sum is half of N*(N+1)
SN=N(N+1)/2
What is 101+102+103+…+199+200?


= S200-S100
= (100+1)+(100+2)+..+(100+100)
= (100+100+100+100+…1+2+3+…+100)
=(100)(100) + S100
Mathematical thinking thus combines the ability to
approach a problem from several different angles, using
facts and techniques absorbed in various contexts. The
problem-solver needs to be familiar with a variety of
standard problems as models for tackling new problems.
Numbers and Polynomials
Base 10 numbers differ from Roman Numerals
because the base 10 number is a shorthand for
a polynomial (a polynomial of the form anxn+ann-1
2
1
0
1x +…+a2x +a1x +a0x )
Note the PATTERN. Note that x0=1 by definition
•In the polynomial representation of a number, the
value of x is the BASE. For decimal numbers, x=10:
N=an10n+an-110n-1+…+a2102+a1101+a0
•What is the shorthand?
•N=anan-1…a2a1a0. For example 35417 means
3*104+5*103+4*102+1*101+7
•The rules for arithmetic follow from (or extend to) the rules
for doing arithmetic on polynomials.
Arbitrary Bases
Nothing changes in terms of the shorthand
notation for polynomial representation of
numbers when the base is other than 10.



In base 2, the number 1101 + 101 is 10010
1101
+101
1202 but since x=2, 2=x+0 and there is a carry
2010 and again the carry creates the new column
In base 3 the number 120+111 = 1001 because 231
is NONSTANDARD notation and the carry propagates
to form 301 and then 1001.
In base 16 we add the digits A,B,C,D,E,F to get 15
different symbols for each place. Then 37F+ DE2 =
<D+3><E+7><F+2> = <16><21><17>
=<16+0><16+6><16+1> = <16+0><16+7><1> =
<16+1><7><1> = 1171
Weighing up to 40 lb. Objects
•Can more than one weight be on the balance pan?
•Can weights be placed on either pan?
•Minimum required weights are: 1lb weight for 1lb object; 2lb
for 2lb object, 1 & 2 for 3lb object; 4lb for 4lb object, and with
1,2,and 4, weigh up to 7 lbs. Add 8lb weight and weigh up to 15
lbs, then add 16lb weight and weigh up to 31lbs. Finally add a
32 lb weight to balance up to 63 lb objects (base 2 representation
of the weight of the object) WHEN USING ONLY ONE PAN
• If both pans are used, the base 3 representation of the weight of
the object determines how many weights are needed. Digits 0
and 1 represent the weight in the normal pan, digit 2 represents
that weight in the object pan and the next higher weight in the
normal pan. A 24 lb object (2203) can be weighted with 27 in
one pan and 3 +object in other pan. A 15 lb object (1203) can be
weighed with 27 in one pan and both 3 and 9 in the other.
Technologists need to be able to calculate How Many,
How Much, How Often, How Long, How Fast.
Network: how many users, how many packets on
average, on peak, how long to determine route…
Database: how long to find, how long to update, how
many queries, how large…
Engineering: how much noise, how strong a signal,
how far before degradation, how asynchronous, how
reliable, ..
Interface design: user error rates, learning time,
response time, accuracy of response,…
Systems Designer: how many cases, how
many combinations of command sequences,
how flexible, how robust, …
IIan Pearson, British Telecom
“I work as a Futurologist. My day to day work is tracking
technology developments across the whole field of information
technology. I then use this knowledge for thought experiments
to develop future scenarios for BT.
“People sometimes argue about what is the most significant
future technology - IT, materials, biotechnology, space? The
argument misses the point. Technologies are converging.
Biotechnology already relies heavily on IT and materials
technologies, and will further develop as we explore space.
Many new materials and information technologies have already
arisen from discoveries in biology.
“Today information technology is the major driver of change.
In a few decades, with cheap chips and easy networking,
everything that should be connected will be connected.
Ubiquitous networks will mean that everything is in
communication all the time, everywhere. The chips-witheverything lifestyle will make the world much easier to live in.
NETWORKED COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE
At the center are the resource and connectivity layers, which contain a
relatively small number of key protocols and application programming
interfaces that must be implemented everywhere. The surrounding layers
can, in principle, contain any number of components.
Dr. Malcolm Gillis, President, Rice University
Royal Society of Edinburgh
September 25, 2001
“Unleashing 21st Century Technology”
The Grand Interface:
Bio-Info-Nano
In “Harvesting New Technologies For the 21st Century,”
April 19, 2002, President Gillis elaborated on the
computation component of Bio-Info-Nano:
“A vast Grid is evolving that will ultimately link an array of
distributed computing, enabling us to use the global
information system as a computational as well as an
information resource. Computational grids may well do for
the information revolution what the electric power grid did
for electricity early in the 20th Century
“The Grid, according to my Rice colleagues who work in this
field, exemplifies what may well be the three dominant
themes in 21st Century computing:
assets.
1. Distributed, pooled, resources rather than localized computing
2. Multidisciplinary computation, allowing collaboration on an
immense range of topics, combining the skills of computer scientists,
pure and computational mathematicians, statisticians, physicists, and
chemists.
3. Increasing integration of computation into our daily lives.
The Cybercollege of Arkansas is positioned to prepare our state
to participate in the exploitation of 21st Century Technology
1. Graduate Research collaboration between UAMS
and the Cybercollege
2. Systems Engineering focuses on
Telecommunication and design of computer
systems applications, using VRC and Grid facilities
3. Information Science emphasizes data
organization and mining, Internet utilization, and
a new bio-informatics minor.
4. Computer Science and Engineering Technology
contribute theoretical and practical exposure to
computing technology.
It must happen!