1. 2008 ACS SA Chairman's Christmas Cocktail Party - Wednesday 10th December
2. Christmas Curry SIG - Friday 12th December
3. Meet the folks at the ACS PC Recycling Group - Tuesday 16th December
4. Computer Professional Education Program Update
5. ACS Membership Lifecycle Board Election - Nominations Sought
6. Green IT Attitude Survey
7. Survey on the Growth of SMEs in the ICT Sector
8. ACS Establishes E-security Task Force
9. Visa Subclass 457 Intergrity Review
10. Defence Force Spending in SA
11. 16% discount for Red Hat Courses at Etc…  Express Training Connections

Join the ACS SA Chairman, Professor Reg Coutts, SA BEC Members and ACS SA Staff at the beautiful Adelaide Zoo for an social evening of informal networking and some Christmas cheer!

Date: Wednesday 10th December 2008
Time: 5:30pm for 5:45 escort to the Rotunda
Venue: The Rotunda, Adelaide Zoo  - Enter at Service gates on Plane Tree Drive

Why? Xmas breakup. Get to know what's going on.

What do we do? We accept donated computers and equipment which we refurbish, reinstall software (windows and ubuntu linux) and offer to the community (low income individuals and groups) at low cost. Since we started we have placed more than 2000 computers in homes, schools and community organisations.

Date: Tuesday 16th December 2008
Time: 6:00pm
Venue: 642 South Road, Glandore

4. Computer Professional Education Program

The Society is calling for nominations for the position of Membership Lifecycle Board Director for a one year term commencing 01 January 2009, as no nominations were received in response to an earlier (28 October 2008) call for nominations. The incumbent Membership Lifecycle Board Director, Stephen Kowal, who is also the ACS Vice President (Membership Boards) has indicated he will not be nominating. Membership Lifecycle Board provides advice to the ACS National Board, through Vice President (Membership Boards) to develop strategies related to membership growth and membership retention.

Directors are elected by Congress and this will be done by e-vote – voting is secret preferential. Congress can elect any financial member as Director though there are restrictions placed on Companion, Affiliate & Student members but it is expected that only members of the Professional Division (Fellow, Senior Member and Member) will meet the selection criteria.

Applicants:

1. must be financial members of the Australian Computer Society;
2. must be active and recognized practitioners of a discipline relevant to the responsibilities of the position being applied for;
3. must be prepared to devote considerable time to the role in an honorary capacity;
4. should have a demonstrated track record in communicating technical and social issues to a general ICT and public audience;
5. should be familiar with the workings of committees; and
6. should have leadership experience. 

Board Directors are members of the ACS advisory body, Congress. A nomination form is available here. 

Nominations close at midnight on Tuesday 09 December 2009. Please note that applicants may be asked questions by members of Congress ahead of the e-vote and these questions and answers are to be relayed through the ACS National Office.

You are invited to participate in a research project being conducted by RMIT University, School of Business Information Technology. The aim of this research is to develop an understanding of the extent to which IT professionals are aware of and interested about Green Information Technology. 

To provide your input, simply click http://www.rmit.edu.au/bus/bit/green-it-attitude. The Survey takes 5-7 minutes to complete. Findings and results will be made available to ACS members.

You are invited to participate in a Swinburne University Survey into the antecedents of growth in SMEs in the ICT sector.  By participating in the project, you can familiarize yourself with areas that might be important to focus on when managing a small or medium sized ICT business. Results will be published through the website of the ACS  to enable participants to have access to some feedback. 

Through this research, participants can gain insight into the opinions of representatives of SMEs in the ICT sector, on important questions such as: Does planning enhance future firm growth? What configuration of resources supports firm growth? Are there any shortcuts possible on the long and difficult path of a growing firm? 

This questionnaire will take around 30 minutes to complete. Only details of a general nature are asked so it is not possible to identify you or your organisation thus ensuring confidentiality, anonymity and privacy for yourself and yourorganisation. Click http://opinio.online.swin.edu.au/s?s=4882 to proceed. 

For more information, please contact: Áron Perényi T: 03 9214 5893; M: 0405729055; E: aperenyi@swin.edu.au

The ACS has formed a new E-security Task Force, comprising Australia’s leading experts in e-security and ISP filtering. ACS Chairman, Kumar Parakala said the ACS has established the Task Force to take a leadership role, provide expert technical advice, and review e-security and ISP filtering proposals for the ACS to develop policy positions. These issues are of critical importance to the safety and security of Australian ICT infrastructure, on-line business models and internet users. “The ACS is pleased to see the Government is taking action on e-security issues, particularly with the recent review of e-security frameworks and policy in Australia and last weeks call for tenders on the pilot ISP internet content filtering scheme. Industry involvement is pivotal in providing actionable and realistic solutions in the e-security arena, ensuring we build and maintain business and consumer confidence,” said Mr Parakala. 

The Task Force will be lead by Vijay Varadharajan, Professor and Microsoft Chair in Innovation in Computing at Macquarie University and Director of Information and Networked System Security Research. Professor Varadharajan said: “We are aware of ISP level filtering testing conducted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), and the recent calls for tenders in the live pilot testing of ISP content filtering. We acknowledge that there have been strong industry views on these proposals. At this stage the Task Force will develop sound technical advice on the feasibility and governance of the various ISP filtering options being investigated.”   Details at http://www.acs.org.au/index.cfm?action=notice&temID=noticedetails&notID=913

10.  Defence Force Spending in SA

On page 62 in The Advertiser yesterday (27th November) there is an interesting story about defence spending. The story highlights the progress of the Australian Defence Force budget. [Full Story]

The Advertiser story is a perfect reminder for those who are interested but have not yet registered to attend the EICTA SATCOM Industry Day next week. If you’re interested in bidding for defence contracts but think it’s too hard or beyond your company, then join us next week to find out how your company can easily access this type of business contract.

Find out about;

• The defence commitment to SATCOM - $100 million to be spent
• The defence commitment to SMEs – why DMO needs you
• A wide range of skills, product and services required
• The defence commitment to Rapid Acquisition – timeframe pressures
• How EICTA and SME Gateway can be your gateway to SATCOM and other lucrative contracts Full media release

Please note: registrations close today! COB Friday Nov 28, 2008. Full Registration details

The full agenda and event details are here.

11. 16% discount for Red Hat Courses at Etc…  Express Training Connections

“THE NEW, ABSOLUTELY NEEDED, RED HAT COURSE, 1ST TIME IN AUSTRALIA” 

Are you an IT professional looking to gain knowledge in the Linux environment? ETC offer a wide variety of training with a 16% discount for ACS members. All courses are Red Hat accredited using qualified Red Hat instructors. This is an opportunity to increase your Red Hat skills or consolidate your knowledge and gain industry certifications as a Red Hat Certified Technician or Red Hat Certified Engineer.

The new schedules for 2009 are on the Etc web site: http://www.etc-australia.com

Your invited to a Red Hat information session at the Hilton Hotel on Tuesday 12th December see:

http://www.acs.org.au/sa/otherinfo/hilton_091208.doc for further information and bookings.