Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Top 50 Project Management Blogs
There are three categories in this list, and they are focused on individuals who write about project management, blogs produced by businesses that sell software and other tools for project management, and several blogs with a special focus, such as women or students. Each blog is listed alphabetically by the blog title within these categories.
Click here to go to the original posting on Madison's blog.
Top 25 Open Source Project Management Apps
This list of the top 25 Open Source project management apps offers a wide variety of software tools, from those that provide simplicity for personal projects to complicated disaster-management software systems.
Click here to be redirected to the blog with all OSS packages listed.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
NASA employee background checks can continue
POSTED: 6:28 PM WED, JANUARY 19, 2011
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stop federal investigations into the private lives of people who want to work at government installations — even those who don’t have security clearances and don’t work on secret projects.
The high court turned away challenges to background checks of low-risk employees at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, despite claims from those federal contractors that the investigations were unconstitutional because they invaded their privacy.
“We reject the argument that the government, when it requests job-related personal information in an employment background check, has a constitutional burden to demonstrate that its questions are ‘necessary’ or the least restrictive means of furthering its interests,” Justice Samuel Alito said.
Employees said the agency was invading their privacy by requiring investigations that looked into their medical records and asked friends about their finances and sex lives. If the workers didn’t agree to the checks and fill out questionnaires on Standard Form 85 (SF-85) and Form 42, they were to be fired.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is NASA’s premier robotics lab, famous for sending unmanned spacecraft to Mars and the outer solar system. Unlike other NASA research centers, it’s run by the California Institute of Technology.
Lab scientists, engineers and staff are Caltech employees, but the campus and its buildings are owned by NASA.
A federal judge originally refused to stop NASA’s background checks while the lawsuit made its way through the courts. He was overturned by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Alito wrote, in a unanimous judgment for the Supreme Court, that the justices were not ruling on whether there was a constitutional right to “informational privacy.”
“We hold, however, that whatever the scope of this interest, it does not prevent the government from asking reasonable questions of the sort included on SF-85 and Form 42 in an employment background investigation that is subject to the Privacy Act’s safeguards against public disclosure,” Alito said.
None of the workers who sued work on classified projects or have security clearances, though several are involved in high-profile missions, including the twin Mars rovers and the Cassini spacecraft studying Saturn and its moons.
The government has been doing background checks on all civil service employees since 1953.
In 2007, NASA extended background checks for federal employees to its contract workers in response to a presidential directive that ordered government agencies to tighten security at facilities and computer systems by issuing new identification badges for millions of civil servants and contractors. The directive came in response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
“Form 42 alone is sent out by the government over 1.8 million times annually,” Alito said.
In concurring judgments, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas said they had simpler reasons for deciding against the NASA contract employees. “A federal constitutional right to ‘informational privacy’ does not exist,” Scalia said.
Alito said this case was not appropriate for answering that question. “We therefore decide the case before us and leave broader issues for another day,” he said.
The case is NASA v. Nelson, 09-530.
CALL FOR PAPERS FOR MARCH 25 - 26, 2011 ACADEMIC CONFERENCE, SAN ANTONIO - TEXAS, USA
Submission Deadlines:
SAN ANTONIO TX, USA - Feb. 28, 2011
Participants are invited to exchange ideas and share experiences on new research challenges, research findings and state-of-the-art solutions.
All Conceptual and Empirical papers are very welcome.
Full Papers, Research-in-Progress, Extended Abstracts, Workshops, Case Studies and Posters are invited !!
Simultaneous tracks in diverse disciplines will be held, covering a range of international research practices. Topics include, but are not limited to the following intellectual foundations and perspectives:
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY INTELLECTUAL PERSPECTIVES
***** All Research Philosophies are Encouraged! *****
(i.e. Hard, Soft, Hybrid and Triangulation Methodologies and Approaches)
Intellectbase Journals are listed in major publication directories: e.g. Cabell's, ProQuest, ABDC, Ulrich's Directory and JournalSeek and available through EBSCO Library Services. In addition, Intellectbase Journals are in the process to be listed in the following databases: ABI Inform, CINAHL, ACADEMIC JOURNALS DATABASE, Thomson SCI, Thomson SSCI and ERIC.
MARCH 25 - 26, 2011 ACADEMIC CONFERENCE, SAN ANTONIO - TEXAS, USA
GAO High-Risk List: Department of Defense Program Management
Janet St. Laurent, Managing Director, Defense Capabilities and Management, discusses the need for continued progress in DOD's program management. Issues include DOD's approach to business transformation, business systems modernization, the personnel security clearance program, support infrastructure management , financial management, and supply chain management. These are issues GAO has identified as high risk or a major government challenge.
Learn more: http://www.gao.gov/highrisk/index.php
Disclaimer: The U.S. GAO does not promote or endorse any non-Government or commercial content appearing on this page
Meet the PMI Founders
This video introduces the five PMI founders: James R. Snyder, Eric Jenett, J. Gordon Davis, E.A. "Ned" Engman and Susan Gallagher. It discusses how Project Management Institute was founded and enables the Institutes founders share their thoughts about the past and the future of the organization. The video was produced for the 2009 PMI Awards Ceremony, PMI Global Congress 2009—North America, held in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 10 October 2009.
MQ-9 Reaper 98" 4-Ch Brushless RC UAV Predator/Drone Aircraft * Build & Maiden Flight *
Great video on how to develop your own Predator Mini UAV! See http://www.nitroplanes.com/ for more airplanes.
Future Combat Systems
Video reminds me of the good times at Rockwell Collins and time spent in the Army & Navy Reserves.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
MBA Diploma Arrived
Monday, January 10, 2011
Cedar Rapids (Comedy) Trailer HD
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Nominated as the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Information Systems Technology & Planning (JISTP)
This last year has been a very busy year as I have been working very hard to make my doctoral degree count. I took on a new job in Baltimore, MD leaving a home behind in Huntsville, AL. I completed my Master of Business Administration (MBA) as that is one credential I felt was lacking as I continue to seek growth within the defense industry as a leader. I taught my first course at a traditional university with Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.) and Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) students. I published over 24 peer reviewed proceedings, and double blind peer reviewed publications listed in Cabell's, EBSCOhost, Ulrichs, Journals Seek, and more. This has been a very wonderful year indeed. And what better way to start the new year is to be nominated as a Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Information Systems Technology & Planning (JISTP). Doctor of Computer Science - Information Assurance Degree at CTU
Information Assurance Degree Concentration
Doctor of Computer Science - Concentration in Information Assurance
In today’s complex global business environments, the planning, upgrading and monitoring of security measures play critical roles in the protection of an organization’s computer networks and the safeguarding of its digital files and vital electronic infrastructure. Roles and responsibilities for professionals challenged with maintaining the integrity and safety of a company’s data are diverse, ranging from software engineers and computer scientists to those specializing in computer security from an information systems perspective.
Colorado Technical University’s Doctor of Computer Science with a concentration in Information Assurance (DCS-IA) is a degree program designed to develop leaders in managing enterprise information systems with an emphasis on information assurance. The three-year program is structured to provide students with the industry-current knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a diverse range of leadership opportunities that require the capacity to analyze the computer and information needs of an organization from an operational and strategic perspective.
Core coursework in this program focuses on a number of substantive areas relevant to the field of information assurance. For example:
- In Enterprise Security Architecture, students explore security as it relates to service‐oriented architecture (SOA), software‐as‐a‐service (SaaS), business‐to‐business architectures and cloud computing.
- In Foundations of Digital Systems Security, malware attacks are examined and vulnerability analysis and risk assessment are discussed, along with many other industry-relevant topics.
- In Governance, Quality, Compliance and Ethics, students study topics such as trust, security and privacy issues in enterprise computing and quality assurance issues in enterprise computing.
Elective courses in the DCS-IA program include:
- Business intelligence
- Networking and security
- Applications Security
- Communications Security and Countermeasures
- Strategy, Alignment, Portfolio Management
- Enterprise Management Concepts
- Managing, Planning, and Integrating EIS
- Enterprise Architecture Technology
- IT Service Management
The CTU DCS-IA program is a three-year program designed to provide candidates with the theoretical, research and applications capabilities necessary in the field of information assurance.
Year 1: Foundations
Year one focuses on introductory topics and research methods. Coursework covers introduction to enterprise information systems in general and security management in particular. In the research and writing component, students start identifying research-topic areas, analyze relevant literature and start preparing research proposals.
Year 2: Acquisition of Knowledge
With the foundations in place, each student develops an in depth understanding of the knowledge areas and research methods in information assurance. Course¬work covers information assurance, security foundations and enterprise security architecture. The research and writing courses further develop each student’s research.
Year 3: Leadership and Professional Advancement
Coursework in the final year of the program includes a course in governance, quality, compliance, and ethics, a course on futuring and innovation and two elective courses. The research compo¬nent results in documentation of the student’s applied research in either a dissertation or a series of publishable-quality papers.
Successful completion of the DCS-IA program can provide students with an applicable foundation of career-related knowledge and skills, including how to:
- Critically evaluate, analyze and solve problems within Information Assurance.
- Demonstrate expertise within a sub-discipline of Information Assurance by summarizing the state of the art, selecting an important problem, conducting research addressing the problem and extending current knowledge with the results.
- Communicate research results and prepare them for publication.
- Make well-rounded forecasts about future challenges and developments in Information Assurance.
- Demonstrate ethical behavior in all aspects of professional life including honesty, integrity, professional practice and protection of research subjects.
In addition to a quality curriculum based on industry standards, Colorado Technical University’s DCS-IA program is taught by an experienced team of computer science professionals who bring an impressive range of experience into their classrooms. Their firsthand knowledge and perspectives offer students the opportunity to learn from experts willing to share their understanding of the qualities and skills sought in today's competitive job market for skilled, senior-level leadership in Information Assurance.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT
Our mission as BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT (formerly known as British Computer Society), is to enable the information society. We promote wider social and economic progress through the advancement of information technology science and practice.