Professional associations are good investments. Whether you are networking for a job, keeping skills up to date or just seeking the company of colleagues, your reward from participating will exceed your investment many times over. A recent inquiry about local Philadelphia area associations that focus on IS/IT related topics provided the basis for this post.
While I don’t mean to slight national associations, I have only included groups that I know to have an active chapter in the Philadelphia area, just as a way to illustrate the F2F aspect of association activity. Many of these have an affiliation with a national organization, while others are strictly local. Techies outside Philly can use this list to get ideas about groups that might exist in your area. Even if you do not live in an urban area, you I encourage you to explore ways to network with other IS/IT professionals who meet face to face even if you have to take the first step.
Just choose the place to meet, and a discussion topic for the first meeting and then post an announcement to Meetup or Craigslist. Just DO it! I promise you will be rewarded many times over! As always, I welcome your comments or any additional suggestions for this growing list of Philly area associations.
Regards,
Tim Siftar
| Acronym |
Name |
Comments |
| SIM |
Society for Information Management
|
“Delivering Business Value Through IT Leadership”
… a ‘by-invitation’ federation of senior information managers experienced in both information systems and general management. |
| NWCT |
Network of Women in Computer Technology |
… to advance careers for professionals in Information Technology through education, mentoring, and providing outstanding professional networking opportunities. |
| PMIDVC |
Project Management Institute Delaware Valley Chapter |
The PMI Delaware Valley Chapter will provide a forum for project management professionals to promote the principles of the Project Management Institute througth networking with other project management professionals, sharing project experiences, providing and receiving training, and supporting project management professional in their certification efforts. |
| PSSUG |
Philadelphia SQL Server User Group |
We are a community of SQL Server database professionals, meeting monthly in different locations throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. We specialize extensively in SQL Server DBA, and Business Intelligence topics. |
| DAMA |
Data Management Group |
…If Services provide the “How”, it is the Domain Model that more importantly provides the “What”…. |
| PKMG |
Philadelphia Knowledge Management Group |
KMG was formed in 1999 to provide a forum for understanding and applying the ideas of Knowledge Management. |
| PHLOUG |
Philadelphia Area Oracle User Group |
Share information with other Oracle User Groups. Network with other local Oracle users. Share hints and tips with fellow members. Learn from the exciting guest speakers at every meeting. Express your views and ask questions about Oracle technology. |
PHLOUG
DBA
SIG |
Philadelphia Area Oracle User Group DBA Special Interest Group |
Our SIG provides a forum of support and technology to Oracle database professionals at all levels. Whether you’re a beginner, or an expert, SIG strengthens community, increase networking, unveil the latest technology innovations, and reveal the techniques that turn novices into experts and experts into gurus. |
| PANMA |
Philadelphia Area New Media Association |
PANMA hosts networking and educational events, where we encourage the connections among our members, offer business opportunities and enjoy good times with friends. We are web designers, graphic artists, database developers, programmers, information architects, marketers and other professionals supporting the regional digital development community. |
| PAJUG |
Philadelphia Area Java Users Group |
The group exists solely as a vehicle for sharing information about Java and Java-related technologies among our members. Our speakers address a broad range of topics, with the common thread being that all presentations touch on an aspect of Java technology and the overwhelming majority of presentations get to the ‘code level’. The group currently does not allow pure product demonstrations. |
| ? |
Philadelphia Drupal Group |
Join with other Drupalers from Philadelphia and southeast Pennsylvania, South Jersey and the Wilmington-Newark area! From open source hackers to themers to all-around web site developers, Drupal attracts people with a variety of interests and they’re all represented in our area. Come out to an event and meet others passionate about Drupal! |
| ? |
Philly Net Squared
supporting the event:
Philly NetTuesday |
Technology for social change, non-profits using web 2.0 to advocate for causes, changemakers spreading the word and hosting decentralized fundraisers through social networks like MySpace and Facebook — that’s what Philly NetSquared is all about! |
| ? |
Philadelphia PHP Users Meetup Group |
Meet and learn from PHP developers in the Philadelphia area. Come to a PHP Meetup to exchange ideas and talk about code, architecture, innovation, and MySQL, LAMP, CMS systems like Drupal and Mambo/Joomla, open source web development in general. Anyone interested in PHP is welcome! |
| ? |
Philadelphia Linux Meetup Group |
Meet other local Linux enthusiasts to talk about the latest news and software. To share tips and tricks especially in the areas of user applications and general computing… |
| SEOGrail |
Search Engine Optimization Philly |
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is increasingly becoming the hub of the integrated marketing (online and offline) paradigm of e-age. Meet other local people who are interested in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques and more general issues related to Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Gather and share advice and info on better ways to work with search engines and off course network and develop synergies. |
| ? |
Philadelphia Standards Organization |
The Philadelphia Standards Organization is a grass roots collective of designers, developers, and internet consultants promoting the use of Web Standards through education and collaboration in the Philadelphia region. The Organization also strives to serve as a resource for the pursuit of best practices in the design and development of web sites and applications around the globe. |
As IT industry insiders are well aware, having the right “magic quadrant” or “hype cycle” graph from Gartner Research can be tremendously helpful in framing a discussion of IT strategy options. Should your organization invest in the next “new” tech fad? What vendor has a proven record in delivering value? Each graph reflects the position of multiple technologies and/ or vendors into one deceptively simple image. It does this by synthesizing the conclusions of dozens of reports on individual technologies along with the collective views of an editorial panel of top flight Gartner IT consultants.
With Drexel’s recent service upgrade, students can now directly access the Gartner Research Portal and browse interactive online versions of reports we previously had only as flat PDF’s. How is that better? On the portal, by mousing-over datapoints on a hype cycle or magic quadrant you are instantly shown additional information on each vendor or technology mentioned. This supports more intuitive browsing and leads to a faster, more productive research experience.
To try out this feature, first search for the keyword “gartner” in the library catalog, or browse it on the library’s list of databases. (Or use THIS LINK.)
Log into the Gartner portal using your DrexelOne ID/PW. See the left-side of the portal front page for either the Hype Cycle or Magic Quadrant reports. Use the link to “view all” for a full list. Choose a report that sounds interesting, open it and find the main chart of the report. When you mouse-over the individually charted data-points notice they are clickable and lead you to more info.
Let me know what you think!
Now everyone at Drexel can use THIS LINK to create a personal portal account on the native Gartner interface instead of the old locally hosted version we had. To create your own account just use your DrexelOne ID/PW at the prompt. You can then set up a personalized alert profile, browse up-to-the-minute content and access the full Gartner backfile.
Quick Start:
See Gartner’s quick-start guide or 3 minute training video to get oriented. A Gartner alerts profile is a “must-have” for all IS / IT students. It is also highly valued resource by leaders the fields of business and administration who gain valuable context from Gartner’s emerging technology forecasts and “hype cycle” reports.
Background:
Gartner is the global leader in providing accurate and current research for the IT industry. Providing help to translate complex IT issues to comprehensive advice and meaningful analysis, Gartner offers the combined brainpower of 1,200 research analysts and consultants who advise executives in 80 countries every day. They publish tens of thousands of pages of original research annually and can help you make smarter and faster decisions.
NOT just for IT geeks:
With a primary focus on the enterprise, Gartner offers the strategic level trend spotting and directional “which way is the wind blowing” perspective on all sorts of technology as they affect business, consumer, education, government and research fronts. Well worth your time to check out.
IT cases are great teaching and learning tools. If you’re a faculty member teaching students with limited professional exposure, you have only so many ways of “making it real” for your class. Similarly, if you’re a student, how can you prepare yourself for a co-op or professional position when you have few details about the job, and little experience to draw upon when challenging situations arise?
On both counts, I recommend the following “IT Cases” that we now have full-text from the publisher IGI Global as a starting point. This publisher releases the cases within the context of several journals with a focus on either a particular technology or industry – which helps when browsing. There may also be a way to keyword search all of the cases from the advanced search. FACULTY: Contact me about related teaching notes and exam materials.
Let me know what you think!
Tim Siftar
iSchool Librarian
Cases on Database Technologies and Applications
Cases on Electronic Commerce Technologies and Applications
Cases on Global E-Learning Practices
Cases on Global IT Applications and Management
Cases on Information Technology and Business Process Reengineering
Cases on Information Technology and Organizational Politics & Culture
Cases on Information Technology Entrepreneurship
Cases on Information Technology in Higher Education: Implications for Policy and Practice
Cases on Information Technology Planning, Design and Implementation
Cases on Strategic Information Systems
Cases on Telecommunications and Networking
Cases on Worldwide E-Commerce: Theory in Action
Annals of Cases on Information Technology
Annals of Cases on Information Technology Applications and Management in Organizations
International Journal of Cases on Electronic Commerce
Journal of Cases on Information Technology
Why would I use an information science & technology encyclopedia? Let’s recall for a minute, why we liked encyclopedias so much back in middle school. They cover all the big topics, provide all the core concepts, are written in accessible language and, with each entry at just a few pages in length, they are quick to read. Later in high school when you learned about bibliographies, you may have recognized that encyclopedias can be handy in directing you to the central books and articles on a topic through the list of references at the end of each entry. But, you might ask, how does this work for info sci & tech topics? My advice – Try it. You’ll like it! Links follow:
Titles include the following: (each title is linked to full-text)
Encyclopedia of database technologies and applications
Encyclopedia of decision making and decision support technologies
Encyclopedia of developing regional communities with information and communication technology
Encyclopedia of digital government
Encyclopedia of distance learning
Encyclopedia of e-collaboration
Encyclopedia of e-commerce, e-government, and mobile commerce
Encyclopedia of gender and information technology
Encyclopedia of human computer interaction
Encyclopedia of information ethics and security
Encyclopedia of information technology curriculum integration
Encyclopedia of Internet technologies and applications
Encyclopedia of knowledge management
Encyclopedia of mobile computing and commerce
Encyclopedia of networked and virtual organizations
Encyclopedia of portal technologies and applications
Encyclopedia of information communication technology
Encyclopedia of artificial intelligence
Encyclopedia of human resources information systems : challenges in e-HRM
Encyclopedia of healthcare information systems
Encyclopedia of data warehousing and mining
Encyclopedia of multimedia technology and networking 2009
Encyclopedia of virtual communities and technologies
These are just the encyclopedias from the newly added collection of over 800 e-books on information systems & technology topics from the publisher IGI Global. To see a full list of all the books, search the catalog for “igi” and choose the record for InfoSciBooks. Click on the little “i” in the circle for more information – all the new IGI books are linked from that following page. Enjoy!
You want ‘em? We got ‘em!
Delivered right to your browser!
(Drexel ID/PW required)
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Drexel University has purchased a license to Burton Group’s IT Research Reports. These are tactically focused to keep IT managers ahead of the curve on new tech and marketplace developments. Used by Drexel’s IRT, Burton Group reports are part of a proprietary knowledgebase built on their research and real-world experience from hundreds of global enterprise consulting engagements. Their reports ranging from 25-50 pages with loads of practical advice – much more in-depth and technical than Gartner or Forrester reports with which you may be familiar.
BurtonGroup’s content is based on something they call “Reference Architecture” that describes the underlying principles of a particular technology. Then they supplement the core document annually with more formulaic “if-then” logic pieces to help an IT manager make planning decisions that are up to date with technology and marketplace developments. You can read more about it (here).
Due to publisher restrictions, only full-time Drexel Faculty and Staff may sign up to view BurtonGroup content directly HERE.
Students and adjunct faculty may view the index of content on their website (see links below) and request full-text of individual reports through Tim Siftar, the IST Librarian.
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An O’Reilly book titleed “Head First Design Patterns” that is the required textbook for SE 311 (taught by Asst. Professor Yuanfang Cai) was just added to our Safari Books collection. It is very useful for understanding design patterns. It’s not in the Library’s main book catalog yet, but will be soon. To access it in Safari, you must log into the Safari Books database and search for it by title there.
Head First Design Patterns by Bert Bates, Elisabeth Freeman, Eric Freeman, Kathy Sierra
Publisher: O’Reilly Pub Date: October 2004 Print ISBN-10: 0-596-00712-4 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-59-600712-6
Pages: 676
Get in touch if you want other O’Reilly books added to Safari! We have a rotating collection of about 600 in there and update the collection just a few times a year. Between updates, your sugestions help to get the best ones added!
See below for links to new info-systems and technology books available from Drexel Libraries – right through the browser!
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