IN THIS ISSUE

At Home on the Web ...................... 3

Book Review: “Data Smog”.............. 7

Calendar ........................................ 8

Campus Operators ......................... 2

Computer-Based TechnologyTraining Open Labs ......................... 4

Data Center Relocation .................... 2

Ergonomically Speaking .................. 6

From Administrative to ComputingSupport .......................................... 4

IT Scholarship Recipients ................. 3

Technology Support Program ........... 3

Transition ....................................... 8

Virtual Heart Creators ..................... 5

Computer Resource Specialist Rod Paulino tests out training materials at theSelf-Paced Learning Lab in Hart Hall.

PERSPECTIVE

Special Issue: Staff and Technology

Integrating TechnologyInto Business FunctionsNew Skills for New Ways of WorkingBY MICHELE PLATTEN

see Business Functions on page 8

Perhaps nothing more vividly demonstrates the impact tech-nology has on the workplace than the recent introduction andintegration of DaFIS, the new campus financial system. DaFISis just one technology-driven change in a continuum of past,present and future technological workplace integrations. Ad-ministrative applications on the scale of DaFIS challenge all ofour technical competencies and fundamentally alter the waywe get the business of the university done. These new adminis-trative systems don’t just automate the old way of doing things,they change the way business is conducted. As knowledgeworkers, UC Davis staff and managers are being asked to domore complex and subtle tasks involving problem-solving andcritical thinking. It is important for us to pay close attention tothe challenges posed by the integration of technology into corebusiness functions, from the need for new skills to the need fornew ways of thinking and operating.

In 1997, UC Davis sponsored the Partnership Forums se-ries, which brought nationally renowned employment scholarsto campus to talk about the effects of new technologies on thecampus and on the individuals who have to learn how to usethem. Sue Miller Hurst, educator and one of the top thinkersfor business strategy and management, underscored the impor-tance of life-long learning as the path to the future for indi-viduals as well as organizations. Jennifer James, urban-culturalanthropologist and author of Thinking in the Future Tense: Lead-ership Skills for a New Age, shared her insights into technology’simpact on the business and the culture of the university. She

outlined eight building blocks for workers to understand andadapt to change. William Bridges, author of the seminal worksManaging Transitions and Jobshift, described change as a signifi-cant event that is followed by a three-phase transition processconsisting of an ending, a “neutral zone,” and a new beginning.These speakers shared the perspective that technologicalchange is redefining the global future and requires individualsto develop radically new characteristics and outlooks.

We are 18 months down the road from the insights pro-vided by this cadre of experts, and in the midst of a huge, tech-nology-driven, campus-wide transition that is revealing thechallenges major change brings. One of the main challenges isthat of training. As the primary means of accessing informa-tion, communicating, and processing core business functions,technology is a tool that we all must become adept at using tocontribute to the work of the campus.

UC Davis has long supported campus-based technologytraining through the campus-sponsored Staff Development &Professional Services (SD&PS) program. SD&PS, in partner-ship with Information Technology, offers a technology train-ing program that reflects both technical and managementconsensus about the essential skills and priorities for today’slearning organization. The result of this collaboration is thedevelopment of a solid core of technology courses, rangingfrom operating systems to sophisticated database and desktoppublishing applications. In October 1997, the Office of Ad-ministration, in partnership with the Office of the Provost and

Information Technology,opened new staff technologytraining labs in TB 134 and135. In addition to this spe-cially designated space inwhich to hold traditional-style classes, a significant ad-dition to this year’s program-ming is Computer BasedTraining (CBT). This alter-native to instructor-ledlearning supports efforts bystaff to acquire or enhanceskills over a broad range oftechnical topics — over 300courseware titles are availablefor self-study.

By linking business ob-jectives to the capabilities ofa new system, we are chal-lenged to consider new waysof working. This in turnleads us to question how to

Photo by Xavier Foucaud

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http://it.ucdavis.edu/it.times/

Information Technology Times • Volume 6, Number 102

Operators Give UC Davis Personal VoiceBY RICHARD DARSIE

Callers to the main UC Davis campus tele-phone number are often surprised — not tomention relieved and delighted — to findthemselves conversing with a “real person”instead of the all-too-familiar recording. Asthe first point of contact for the campus, UCDavis’ team of telephone operators brings awelcome personal touch to campus commu-nications.

The operators work for Directory Ser-vices, a unit of Information Technology’sCommunications Resources. Directory Ser-vices offers a number of functions critical tothe campus: keeping the campus and UCDavis Medical Center directory (in bothprint and electronic form) up to date, order-ing calling cards and commercial directoriesfor UC Davis personnel, and answering callsto the main UC Davis telephone number.

Summer is always a busy time for Direc-tory Services, for this is when the campus di-rectory is produced for the upcoming aca-demic year. Pat Elkins, manager of the unit,supervises this huge task, which requires sev-eral months of careful coordination, check-ing and editing.

“Keeping on top of the constant changesin campus departments and employees is afull-time job,” says Linda Nixon, DirectoriesAssistant.

A Team at Your ServiceWhile providing directory assistance is animportant function, the operators’ service toUC Davis goes far beyond this aspect of theirduties.

“We’re not just telephone operators —we’re the campus information center,” saysSandy Peiffer, operator team supervisor.

The operators’ job can be challenging.They must fill many roles, from simply redi-recting calls to the appropriate campus de-partment to reassuring worried parents ofUCD students who haven’t heard from theirchildren for too long, helping new studentsget acquainted with the campus, andtroubleshooting difficult or traumatic situa-tions, including the occasional crank call.911 calls and bomb-threat calls, whichshould go to the UC Davis Police Depart-ment, are occasionally misdirected to the op-

erators. “We face a new challenge everyday,” says Peiffer, recounting the timewhen a caller asked for ‘Kerry’ — nolast name known. Miraculously, the op-erators were able to track her down. Onanother occasion, late one afternoon,close to 5 p.m., a woman called, desper-ately seeking a beef marinade recipe fora dinner party that evening!

The operators offer a variety ofother telephone services to the campus,including operator-assisted conferencecalls and calls involving the deaf orhard-of-hearing.

The operators are highly consciousof the importance of good customer ser-vice. “We’re here to serve the campusand the taxpayers of California,” em-phasizes Peiffer. This attitude perme-ates the entire team. They regularly goto great lengths to find answers for theircallers, whatever the situation. For ex-ample, one caller sought instructionson the use of a home canner she hadpurchased; the call was quickly referredto the appropriate department: FoodScience and Technology.

Humor and Team SpiritWhat does it take to be a campus opera-

tor? “A sense of humor is essential,” saysPeiffer. Callers often reach Campus Informa-tion after prolonged and frustrating encoun-ters with Voicemail menus elsewhere oncampus. Handling annoyed or even angrycallers demands restraint, interpersonal skills,and patience. Other valued qualities aregrammar and communication skills, as wellas a sense of teamwork. New operators trainby sitting with experienced staff until theyfeel comfortable answering calls on theirown.

“Teamwork is so important in this group,”says Peiffer. “They’re a close-knit group andgo out of their way to help each other out.”The team as a whole has a wealth of collec-tive information and experience; individu-ally they rely on each other for problem-solv-ing. And, of course, there is a camaraderiethat arises from the shared experience of be-ing on UC Davis’ “front lines.”

Creative OutletsThe operators come from a variety of back-grounds, and many hold other jobs to fill outtheir work week. They hold professions rang-ing from animal technician and X-ray techni-cian to church secretary and artist. Manyhave found a relaxing outlet in creative en-deavors like landscape design, seascape paint-ings, and cartoons.

With their operators’ headphones on,they quickly switch gears to become com-puter-savvy, resourceful professionals. Theheart of each operator’s workstation is a CTI(computer-telephone interface) system thatlinks a multiline phone system to a PC, allow-ing all the features of the phone system —plus added speed call features — to be ac-cessed via the computer. A backup system isin place in case of computer failure. The samecomputer serves to transfer calls and accessthe Directory Retrieval System, the elec-tronic version of the directory which is up-

dated daily. The system is very fast and so-phisticated, allowing searches to be made byfirst name, last name, or any portion thereof.It places a vast information resource at theoperators’ instant disposal when respondingto callers’ queries. The operators can tell bylooking at their monitor whether an incom-ing call is from on- or off-campus; this infor-mation can be crucial in an emergency situa-tion. The database is an important resourcefor the operators, and so are their formidablepowers of recall: an experienced operatorknows a requested number from memoryabout 75% of the time.

The operator team answers an average of6,000 calls each week. How glad are callers toconnect with a real person? According toPeiffer, “one day, someone sang the Hallelu-jah Chorus!”

Pat Elkins, Zack O’Donnell, Linda Nixon, andSandy Peiffer from Communications Resourcescontributed to this article.

Cartoon by Michelle Hoglund, one of the artists on the campus operator team.

Directory Services encourages all campus and UC Davis Medical Center members tosubmit their listing information. The deadline for submissions to the 1998-99 printeddirectory has passed, but the electronic directory is continually updated throughout theyear. Inclusion in either directory is optional for individuals, but it is to your advantage tobe listed, especially if you are new to the campus, so that the operators are able to locateyou to transfer calls. Changes or additions to the electronic directory can be submitted atany time by filling out the directory update form available in the campus directory.

The 1998-99 directory is scheduled for distribution later this fall.

Directory UpdatesDATA CENTER RELOCATION UPDATEDelays in the bid process for the renovation of the former Repro Graphics building have pushedthe relocation of Data Center equipment from Hutchison Hall to the new building further into thefall. The latest schedule established by Architects and Engineers indicates that the renovatedfacility will be ready for occupancy by mid-November. The first systems should be moved intothe facility in late November, and the relocation completed by March 1999. A firmer schedulewill be published when the bid process is completed in late August. For more information on theData Center relocation, visit the Data Center Web site at http://ir.ucdavis.edu/dc/.

Information Technology Times • Volume 6, Number 10 3

If you provide technology support to yourdepartment and are not yet familiar withthe Technology Support Program (TSP),read on and find out why 306 of your col-leagues are now enrolled in this program.

The TSP is coordinated by the Divisionof Information Technology and is designedto help departments plan and implementthe use of information technologies. Theprogram was launched in Summer 1995 fol-lowing the explosion of information tech-nology use on the campus. Since then, par-ticipation has grown steadily. By July 1998,198 campus departments had joined theprogram.

By enrolling in the TSP, you will be-come known as a Technology Support Co-ordinator (TSC) and will gain access to anumber of services, including:• Ongoing training. In 1997-98, ap-

proximately 50 courses were offered ona variety of topics, such as administer-ing servers, technology consulting, de-veloping a departmental technologyplan, Perl, networking concepts, andsupporting UC Davis administrativeapplications. The Fall 1998 list ofcourses will be available on the Web athttp://tsp.ucdavis.edu in early September.Note: You have to be enrolled in theTSP to be able to access the list ofcourses.

• An individual IT Representative whoacts as your personal contact if you areunable to solve a problem.

• Special electronic support services.You will be subscribed to two electronicmailing lists: one for announcementsand the other for open discussionamong TSCs. You will also have accessto online documentation via the Webat http://tsp.ucdavis.edu/.

• Outside technical support servicesand IT-sponsored events. Many timesthese special events are scheduled earlyto provide TSCs with future productinformation that may help them antici-pate or address departmental technol-

ogy concerns.• Invitations to IT-sponsored training

sessions. TSCs will often be providedwith advanced training on products tohelp address departmental technologymigration and transition concerns.

• Gartner Group Research and Publica-tions. The Gartner Group is an infor-mation technology industry researchgroup that provides services to thecampus (at reduced fees) by arrange-ment with the UC Office of the Presi-dent. Gartner Group consultants pro-vide insight into current and futuretrends in information technology andthe ways in which new informationtechnologies may affect how depart-ments will function in the future.

• Participation in beta test programswill give you the opportunity to evalu-ate and provide feedback to vendors onfuture versions of products.

• Regularly scheduled informal TSCgatherings provide a forum for focuseddiscussion and problem solving on top-ics selected by TSCs.

• Inclusion in the TSC directory. Aquick reference guide to all TSCs in thesupport network, including phonenumbers, addresses, and email ad-dresses.

• Use of Computer Training Facilities.As a TSC, you will be able to scheduletime at an IT computer training facilityto conduct computer training sessionsfocused specifically on your owndepartment’s needs.

Enrolling in the TSP will not in itself solveall your departmental computing and sup-port needs, but it will provide a resource forgood, reliable results. If you wish to join orobtain more information about the Tech-nology Support Program, send email totsp@ucdavis.edu or visit the TSP Web site athttp://tsp.ucdavis.edu.

This article is adapted from information postedon the TSP Web site.

Seven campus members enrolled in theTechnology Support Program (TSP) wereawarded scholarships by Information Tech-nology to attend the 11th annual Universityof California Computing Services Confer-ence (UCCSC) at UC Santa Cruz from June30 through July 2. The purpose of the confer-ence was to provide computing professionalsfrom all nine UC campuses with the opportu-nity to meet and discuss computing supportissues and strategies.

“The conference is a meeting of ourpeers,” said Pat Kava, manager of IT ClientServices, which administers the TechnologySupport Program. “It provides a valuable fo-rum for exchanging ideas that have workedwithin the UC structure, and it’s smallenough to allow personal interactions to takeplace. That means Technology Support Co-ordinators (TSCs) and IT staff can meet eachother and talk about local issues in a compan-ionable atmosphere.”

“Perhaps the most important aspect ofthe conference is that department technicalsupport people come back with a greaterawareness that UC Davis is doing thingsright and is actually in the forefront of theways campuses support technology in highereducation,” Kava said.

Five of the scholarship recipients agreedto share their perspectives on the conference.

Phil Knopp, Internal Medicine, UC DavisMedical Center:The conference began with group sessions, inwhich computing subjects common to allcampuses were presented. First came presen-tations from representatives of the Office ofthe President on the California Digital Li-brary and the Authentication Workgroup,then a series of group discussions that con-

Scholarship Recipients AttendTechnology Conference

cerned site licensing of software, wireless con-nectivity, Web site construction, and emailpolicy, among other topics. Finally cameseminars on subjects such as spam, call track-ing, and data projection. And this was just thefirst day!

The following day was made up of fourmore sets of seminars, ranging from databaseson the Web, the CBT (Computer BasedTraining) rollout throughout the University,Year 2000 compliance, Microsoft NT supportissues, campus-wide scheduling and calendar-ing, and many other issues. In all, it served upa pretty heavy helping of computer-related is-sues faced every day on campus. UC Davis ascompared to other campuses is doing quitewell. To our credit, we have rolled out bothCBT and DaFIS, a major financial trackingsystem, upgraded email servers, and led theway to handling Year 2000 compliance. Ithink we are setting a leading example inthese areas, and while we all have a way to go,the campus computing staff at Davis is meet-ing the challenges head on.

Bill Heekin, University Extension:The conference provided an excellent oppor-tunity to share computing developments andhindrances on multiple levels – campus-, de-partment-, and system-wide. As one of over30 computer support staff from UC Daviswho attended, I participated in sessions thatrelated to real-world situations in my depart-mental computing environment, includingWindows NT Support, Remote Access Op-tions, Help Desk Performance, LaunchingCBT Training, and Software Site Licensing.While the conference locale was great, it wasincidental to the opportunity to discuss com-puting support concerns and to network withstaff from other campuses and departments. I

was particu-larly im-pressed bythe numberof sessionsled by theUC DavisInformationTechnology/InformationR e s o u r c e sstaff (UCDappears to beahead of thecurve inmany areas).In addition,the confer-ence was anopportunityfor me tohave several

educational conversations with the UCD In-formation Technology Client Services staff.

Karen Kluge, Planning & Budget Office:Attending UCCSC afforded me the oppor-tunity to expand my perspective and to real-ize that those of us developing applicationsand supporting users on the various UC cam-puses face many of the same challenges, buthave not all chosen to implement the samesolutions. I found it very instructive to hearwhat my counterparts at other campuseshave tried, what they liked, and what they

didn’t like. I was pleased to learn that UCDhas a reputation among the other campuses asa positive role model in many areas of infor-mation technology. And it was equally inter-esting to be challenged when I discussed ap-proaches that we seem to take for granted lo-cally, that we consider status quo, but othersregard differently.

Tricia Marshall, Division of Education:The most obvious benefit of the conference is

Four of the Technology Support Coordinators who attended the UCCSC Confer-ence. From left to right: Phil Knopp, Tricia Marshall, Ron Purnell, Karen Kluge.

see Conference on page 8

Top Ten Reasonsto Join the Technology Support Program

Photo by Xavier Foucaud

Information Technology Times • Volume 6, Number 104

New!Computer-based Technology

Training Open Labs

If, like Roseanne Serrao, you are lookingfor alternatives to classroom-based tech-nology training or simply for a quiet placeto learn, away from constant interruptions,plan to explore the world of training deliv-ery via the Web. With cbt at ucd, offeredthrough a comprehensive site licenseagreement between the University of Cali-fornia and CBT (Computer Based Train-ing), all UC Davis affiliates have access to300 different courses, on topics rangingfrom Netscape to Java programming, fromInternet concepts to Oracle.

You may access cbt at ucd courses in oneof three ways:• by purchasing a CD-ROM at the UCD

or UCD Medical Center Bookstore:This is the recommended method forhome use. For many, the simplest wayto run CBT Sytems courseware is froma standalone courseware CD. A CD in-cludes between 35 and 50 coursesgrouped by topic (e.g., all of theMicrosoft Office courses are availableon a single CD) and all the softwareyou need to run a course. The averagecourse length is 4 hours. Note: A Win-dows computer (e.g., Windows 95,Windows NT or Windows 3.1x) is re-quired to use the CBT coursewareCDs. The contents of each CD is de-scribed in detail in the “Get the Courseson CD” section of the cbt at ucd Website.

• by downloading a course to your com-puter or laptop hard drive. Note thatcourses average 15 megabytes and cantake a very long time to download witha modem connection.

• by connecting directly to the cbt at ucdWeb site. This is the preferred methodfor users with direct connections to theInternet. Since July 24, on the fourthFriday of each month, TB 135 is openfrom 1 - 4 pm for staff interested in us-ing CBT courses. The full schedule is

located at http://it-training.ucdavis.edu/.This Open Lab is offered as a drop-inopportunity. There is no need to pre-register; you will be accommodated on afirst-come, first-served basis.

Suggestions for getting the most out ofCBT courses:• Take the pre-assessment test at the be-

ginning of each course. The goal is notto track and report individual test scoresbut to assess which topics you alreadyknow. This will help tailor the experi-ence to your needs and reduce theamount of time you spend on eachcourse.

• Take the test at the end of the course.This will demonstrate to you the extentto which the course content was worth-while.

• If you need to stop/pause the course(e.g., work interruptions, time allottedper day, etc.), use the “bookmark fea-ture” to return to the location when youleft the course.

• Complete an evaluation form for eachcourse you take. The breadth of coursesavailable and the feedback you providewill determine which courses will be of-fered to the campus in upcoming quar-ters.

• There are suggested courses for officeapplications and technical areas. Pleasecheck the Web site at http://cbt.ucdavis.edu/ for details.

IT Training staff contributed to this article.

ResourcesArticle: “cbt at ucd: An Alternative to

Classroom Technology Training,” IT Times,March 1998. (http://it.ucdavis.edu/it.times/v6n6mar98/cbt.html)

Web site: http://cbt.ucdavis.edu/Email: cbt@ucdavis.edu (for questions on

technical issues and course content).

From Administrative to Computing Support: It’s All About ChangeBY AVIVA LURIA

Ask Roseanne Serrao and she’ll tell you thatmaking a career move entails a certainamount of risk. A combination of faith in herown abilities, avid interest in computing, per-sistence, willingness to learn, and hard workhelped Serrao make a risk pay off.

As an administrative assistant in the In-stitute of Transportation Studies (ITS),Serrao had been hired to provide clerical sup-port to the associate director. But she foundherself drawn to the computing end of things.

Technical support for her department wasprovided by Engineering’s Academic Com-puter Support unit (EACS). Serrao learnedabout maintenance and troubleshooting bywatching the technical staff in action. In ad-dition to assisting with the replacement ofrouters, Serrao installed new computer hard-ware, and took care of software downloadsand upgrades for her co-workers. But whenanother administrative assistant left, Serraowas swamped. She had enrolled in the Tech-

nical Support Program, but performing herjob duties in addition to another person’smeant she had little time for classes. Instead,she studied on her own time.

“I used CBT [Computer Based Trainingcourses] quite a bit for Windows NT, TCP/IP,and network concepts,” Serrao says. “Ibought a PC so I could take the CBT coursesat home.” The classes helped, but Serraofound it took hands-on experience for thelessons to be meaningful: “It’s when you’reout there doingit that thingsstart to click foryou.” So shesigned up forthe CRS (Com-puter ResourceS p e c i a l i s t )pool, a programthat providesthe campuswith techni-ca l l y - sk i l l edt e m p o r a r yworkers. Andshe gave ITSher notice.

“It was abold move,” shesays. “I had tosit my husbanddown and tellhim I was quit-ting my job, be-cause I’m thebenefit holderin the family. But I thought that if I put my-self in the position to be trained, I wouldlearn.”

Immediately upon Serrao’s handing inher notice, the EACS team hired her,through the CRS pool, for a six-month as-signment. EACS Director Tom Fortis says hewas impressed from the start with Serrao’s in-terest in learning about her office’s comput-ing systems. “She seemed to have an aptitudefor many aspects of computer technology,”he says. Serrao’s administrative backgroundcame in handy. “She was the perfect personto deal with the problems that arise on a dailybasis in the administrative offices,” saysFortis. “Problems with email, word proces-sors, and spreadsheets were most common.”

Serrao credits Fortis and IT employeesTami Eastman, Debbie Edwards, AnnMansker, and Pete Peterson with lending thesupport she needed to apply for technical po-sitions. “When you don’t have a degree orthe professional experience, it’s scary,” shesays. She was also held back by her own highstandards. “I’d apply for jobs and when they’dcall me for an interview I would thank themand tell them that I thought I needed moreclasses.” Then a phone call came from TomMcCaw, MSO for the Department of Human

Physiology. McCaw said the newly-createdprogrammer position Serrao had applied forallowed room for training.

“I said, ‘Let me think about it and I’ll callyou back,’” says Serrao.

With encouragement by Fortis, Serrao didattend the interview and was offered the job.

“Roseanne is very ambitious by natureand has been anxious to learn the functions ofher job description that she was inexperi-enced in,” says McCaw, noting that Serrao

had experience on the Macintosh side butlacked training on the PC side. “She’s taken itupon herself to enroll in a myriad of classesoffered through UC to educate herself.”

“They have been so supportive and pa-tient,” Serrao says of McCaw and co-workersRoger Adamson and Dennis Waring, “andI’m always teasing myself and teasing themthat I just don’t know enough. I don’t thinkyou ever get to a point in this field when youbecome comfortable – things change everyday. It’s been a lot of learning and it’s startingto feel like I’m of real assistance to them now.That was my main goal.”

What are McCaw’s feelings on hiring em-ployees to learn on the job? “I personally haveexperienced very positive results,” he says.“The employee feels that you have providedfaith in their ability to learn and perform thejob, and in most cases, the positive results area reflection of this.”

Serrao is preparing her department forNetwork 21 cutover in September and a hostof new computer hardware that will arrive inthe fall. “I find that in a new position, thingschange so much that you have to be veryopen to change,” she says. “If you’re willing todo that it works out well. It’s all aboutchange.”

Computer programmer Roseanne Serrao and her supervisor, MSO Tom McCawof Human Physiology.

Photo by Aviva Luria

Information Technology Times • Volume 6, Number 10 5

Creators of Virtual Heart Shine in Multimedia WorldBY AVIVA LURIA

A favorite at both Odyssey ‘97 and ‘98, theSchool of Veterinary Medicine’s ComputerAssisted Learning Facility (CALF) createsinnovative award-winning multimedia edu-cational materials for veterinary students.Visitors to Odyssey ‘98 had the opportunity toview The Virtual Heart—a three-dimensionalrendering of a canine heart—and The VirtualLung, created by placing a video camera intothe lung of a horse. The Virtual Lung, termed“expanded virtual reality” software, featureseven more close-up photography than TheVirtual Heart, and enables the user to view, inthree dimensions, the lung breathing.

Art, Science, and Good Marketing SkillsAs for the brains behind these projects, theCALF team is made up of staff membersDave Magliano, Rick Hayes, Don Preisler,and Janine Kasper. Although all four are ex-perienced multimedia programmers, eachhas his or her area of expertise: Hayes is agraphic designer, Preisler is a photographer,and Kasper is a doctor of veterinary medi-cine. “I’m the designated computer geek,”says Magliano.

Most visible are Magliano and Hayes,who not only staffed the CALF booths atOdyssey, but also have made appearances andpresentations at various conferences. In fact,the CALF serves as a type of marketing divi-sion for the School of Veterinary Medicine,both by having a presence at conferences,and by producing promotional posters anddisplays for the school, such as those on viewat the Sacramento airport. Multimedia pro-grams produced by the CALF are perhapssome of its best marketing yet—twelve(about 5% of the total number) can be pur-chased through the facility’s catalog. At lastmonth’s American Veterinary Medical Asso-ciation convention, where the CALF had abooth promoting its software, Magliano andHayes demonstrated programs to veterinaryschools, animal health technician programs,private practice veterinarians, and students.Sales have been steady over the past fiveyears, but have picked up substantially thisyear with the addition of Windows titles to itslist of Macintosh ones, Magliano says. Pro-ceeds from the sales, after faculty royalties, arerecycled into development of new programs.

Why Multimedia Educational Software?The CALF was instituted in 1991 by then-Associate Dean of Academic ProgramsGeorge Cardinet III to provide instructionalsupport to the faculty of the Department ofAnatomy in the School of Veterinary Medi-cine. The CALF’s first programs were de-signed for anatomy instruction but soon werein use schoolwide. Now CALF-producedsoftware, ranging from simple programs cre-ated in an afternoon to more complex onesthat have taken years to complete, is used in

roughly 50 courses at UC Davis.What are the advantages of programs

over textbooks? First off, says Magliano, mostveterinary textbooks have few color photo-graphs. “The computer is the cheapest way todeliver hundreds of full color images,” hesays. Convert a recent program containing2,500 color photos into a textbook, and eachbook will cost around $300, he says. A fur-ther advantage is the speed of delivery. Infor-mation can be made available to studentsvery quickly, and this information can be cus-

tomized. “And the programs let you do thingsthat you can’t do any other way – simula-tions, for example,” says Magliano.

Compared to the hundreds of medicalschools, there are only 31 veterinary schoolsin the United States and Canada. This rathersmall market means that producing educa-tional software for veterinary medicine stu-dents is not commercially viable for most pri-vate companies. This, coupled with the factthat the CALF tailors its software to profes-sors’ and students’ needs, makes its productsextremely valuable.

“There aren’t many other vet schools do-ing this,” says Magliano. “Our faculty occa-sionally purchase programs outside, but theseusually aren’t designed for the professionalveterinary medicine curriculum. Most of theprograms our faculty use are customizedhere.”

A Behind-the-Scenes LookTalk to Magliano and Hayes, whose enjoy-ment of their work is evident, and you maycome away with the impression that produc-ing multimedia is easy. In truth, it requires

expert skill, tremendous patience, and me-ticulous teamwork. The Virtual Heart , whichwas funded by a grant, was produced on astrict two-month deadline. A team of five tosix people tackled the various aspects of theproject, from “VR” (virtual reality) photogra-phy to design of the user interface, content,and programming. “There was a lot of overlapbetween these jobs,” Magliano says. “Thecontent person had to know what interfacehe had to fit his information into. The pro-grammer had to know what kind of data he

was going to get from the VR people. Weoverlapped and cross-trained, but everyonewas responsible for a piece of the puzzle.”

Unusual Career PathsNeither Magliano nor Hayes followed whatmight be the typical career path of a com-puter specialist. Magliano graduated from UCDavis with a BS in biological sciences. Then,while a lab technician on campus, he didgraduate work in computer science at Sacra-mento State, and built one of the first PC-based image processing systems on the UCDavis campus in the mid-1980s.

Hayes, who studied zoology with a minorin art, worked as an illustrator, graphic de-signer, and paintbox artist (graphic designerfor video), before returning to UC Davis towork at Creative Communication Services.He has been at the CALF for about five years.

What are the qualities that make a suc-cessful CALF team member? “We like tolearn new things,” says Magliano. “Everyproject we undertake we try and push the en-velope a little farther, get some new technol-ogy in front of the students, provide tech-

niques or approaches that weren’t otherwisepossible. Projects that we’re working on rightnow, we couldn’t have done even last year.”

Last summer, for instance, Magliano andHayes began International Animal Health onCD-ROM. The large amount of video in-volved precluded them from making it aWeb-based application. Now, with the ad-vent of new formats for streaming audio andvideo, they are converting the applicationfrom CD to the Web. While they’d like tohave time to update each program in their li-brary, they acknowledge that the technologydriving some of the older programs meets theneeds they were designed to accommodate.

For instance, one of the first programsproduced by the CALF was Canine Osteology:an Interactive Atlas, which illustrates thebones of the dog. “People are still buying it,and it was published in 1992. It’s still our best-selling package, and that’s because it’s up tothe job,” Magliano says.

“If we were going to re-do it today I’d usevirtual reality and all the bones would rotatearound. This is something we wanted to do atthe time but couldn’t,” he says.

Keeping Pace with TechnologyWhat keeps Magliano and Hayes motivated?Both say they find their jobs fun and satisfy-ing. By teaching a required first-year comput-ing class, they meet all incoming students.“Every class is a little more computer-savvythan the previous one,” says Magliano. “Itputs the pressure on us to keep up with what’scurrent,” Hayes adds. The CALF team re-ceives a good deal of positive feedback fromboth students and faculty.

To keep up with ever-evolving technolo-gies, the staff consults the World Wide Web.Print magazines become obsolete too quickly,says Magliano. “I spend about the first hour ofevery morning on the Web, getting up to dateon what’s current for the day.” He and Hayesdon’t often have a chance to interact withother technology professionals, sonewsgroups and mailing lists are extremelyhelpful. Here they get first-hand evaluationsof specific software packages from the “hard-core user base. In the old days, I’d go to theMacWorld conference every January to findout what was new,” Magliano says. “Now,through the Web, we know exactly what’s go-ing on everywhere.”

Hayes says one of the most gratifying as-pects of his job is “looking at somethingyou’ve been working on, whether for an houror a year, and seeing it functioning. It’s likegetting instant feedback.”

Says Magliano: “When you can actuallymake something and see it finished, you feelas though you’ve contributed something.”

Visit the CALF on the Web at http://www.calf.vetmed.ucdavis.edu

Representation of the Virtual Heart developed by the CALF team.

Information Technology Times • Volume 6, Number 106

BY JANET FORD, PT, MS

E R G O N O M I C A L LY S P E A K I N G

Get Moving

With 200 bones controlled by over 600 majormuscles, our bodies were designed for move-ment, not sitting relatively still in front of acomputer screen. Luckily, there are a numberof ways to incorporate movement into yourday.• Take “micro-breaks.” Most effective when

taken as often as once per hour, micro-breaks are short 30-60 second breaks thatallow you to change body positions. Mi-cro-breaks are especially helpful if youperform continuous computer work, andthey give you an opportunity to do one ortwo of your favorite stretches. For ex-ample, the sunflower exercise, shown atright, relaxes and stretches tense muscles.

• When possible, arrange your schedule toallow for a variety of activities. Inter-sperse standing and walking activities,such as making copies or retrieving files,throughout the work day instead of savingthem for a single time block.

• Stand whenever possible — when retriev-ing items in an overhead cabinet, whenon the phone, when helping a client, orwhen discussing issues with a colleague.

• If you’re facilitating a meeting, incorpo-rate a 30-second standing break midwaythrough to serve as a stretch break and toimprove participant alertness.

• Avoid computer-related activities or sit-ting during longer breaks or lunch. In-stead, choose activities that require you tostand or move about. Get out and exer-cise, whether you walk, run, swim, or sim-ply run an errand. Take the stairs ratherthan the elevator.

• Try to incorporate 20-30 minutes ofmovement or exercise most days of theweek. This could include activities likegardening, or exercises such as walking,biking, or swimming.

• Learn to listen to your body. If it feelstense, stiff, or tight, MOVE!

To request an instruction sheet with addi-tional stretches for computer users, pleasecontact the Health Awareness Program athealthaware@ucdavis.edu.

Environmental Health and Safety WebPage: http://ehs.ucdavis.edu/ergback/.

Send questions about ergonomics toergonomics@ucdavis.edu. All correspondencewill be kept confidential.

Stretching at Your Computer or DeskHealth Awareness Program

(530) 752-1984http://hr.ucdavis.edu/ehealth/haware.htm

Handouts:Stretches for office workers developed for theUCD Health Awareness Program.Contact healthaware@ucdavis.edu.

Books:Stretching at Your Computer or Desk, by BobAnderson. Available for check out throughthe UCD Health Awareness Program bycontacting healthaware@ucdavis.edu. Avail-able for purchase through Shelter Publica-tions (http://www.shelterpub.com/).

Online Book:Stretching and Flexibility: Everything You NeverWanted to Know, by Brad Appleton.

http://www.enteract.com/~bradapp/docs/rec/stretching/stretching_toc.htmlVery detailed treatment of this subject. No il-lustrations, but extensive descriptions.

Desk Stretches:h t t p ://www. sh e l t e r pub . c om/_ f i t n e s s/_desk_stretches/desk_stretches_large.gifIllustration of simple exercises to do at yourdesk.

Shoulder Circles:Shrug shoulders to-ward ears, then rotatethem back and downin a circular motion.Repeat 3-5 times.

Full Arm Movements:With hand onopposite hip,

raise arm across bodywhile turning palm tothe sky.

Continue movingarm down then backto side. Repeat 3-5times.

Front Neck Stretch:Place hands just be-low collar bone. Tilthead toward oppo-site shoulder, thenlift chin slightly.Hold 10 seconds.

Head Nod:Clasp hands behindneck. Tuck chindown slightly. Hold5 seconds. Return toupright. Repeat 3-5times.

Sunflower:Begin in prayer posi-tion.

Breathe in and raisearms.

Separate arms andmove them to thesides while breathingout.

End in positionshown.Repeat 3-5 times.

Information Technology Times • Volume 6, Number 10 7

DATA SMOG:Surviving the Information Glutby David ShenkPublished by HarperEdge, 1997Reviewed by Nancy Harrington

These days it’s easy to feel overwhelmed bythe need to make decisions and fulfill respon-sibilities in both our work and personal lives;so much to worry about, so little time! Evenour own campus has a special task force fo-cusing on staff workload issues that most of usare all too aware of. In his book, Data Smog,David Shenk, media scholar and Internet en-thusiast, suggests that our environment ispolluted with too much data — data gener-ated by technology. He sets about describingto us the connection between data escalationand a variety of social and physical ills, in-cluding attention deficit disorder, loss of ci-vility, lack of privacy, and even road rage.

Shenk includes both anecdotal and sta-tistical citations about unanticipated effectsof some technologies. In one example, awoman’s fax machine worked too well. Shebegan to notice that “it transmitted informa-tion across the country and world so quickly,

...becoming a kind of taskmaster that insistedon faster and faster work,” reminiscent ofCharlie Chaplin’s movie, Modern Times.Now, of course, fax transmission seems hardlyzippy at all compared to the rate at which in-formation traverses the Internet. But con-sider how many of us grow irritable waitingthe few mo-ments it takesour lunch toheat in the mi-crowave, or forthe light to turnfrom red togreen.

While muchof Shenk’s bookfocuses on infor-mation and itsrelation to poli-tics, govern-ment, and jour-nalism, a smallportion does ad-dress effects oftoo much datain the work-place. “In theoffice, an aver-age of 60 per-cent of eachperson’s time is now spent processing docu-ments,” Shenk states. “Two-thirds of businessmanagers surveyed report tension with col-leagues, loss of job satisfaction, and strainedpersonal relationships as a result of informa-tion overload.” Shenk fails to provide com-parative statistics from, say, ten years ago thatwould help support his contentions. Never-theless, many of the phenomena he describes

BOOK REVIEW

are likely to sound familiar to any of us:• Fewer and fewer silent moments as the

media become pervasive—TVs in shop-ping malls, pagers in movie theaters (re-minding me of my own experience in lineat the post office when the customer at

the counter kept thepostal worker waiting inorder to take a call on hercell phone).• A correlation betweenhigher levels of sensoryinputs and decreased will-ingness to help strangers(goodbye, Good Samari-tan!).• A correlation betweenhigher levels of informa-tion and people’s in-creased confidence intheir judgments... with nocorresponding increase inaccuracy.

One particularlychilling bit of researchShenk shares indicatesthat one-third of peoplesurveyed would be willingto lose one of their fingersrather than give up theuse of their computer for

the rest of their lives. “[T]echnologies becomeextensions of our bodies,” he writes.

Does Shenk offer us any solutions to thesedifficulties? Indeed, he suggests four generalantidotes to data smog:• Be your own filter: Turn off the TV, avoid

“news-nuggets,” leave the pager and cell-phone behind, get off junk mail lists

(Shenk tells you how on page 223).These actions can help you regain con-trol over the pace of your life.

• Be your own editor: Limit your own out-put of data, avoid sending frivolousemail. We should “be more economicalabout what we say, write, publish, broad-cast, and post online.” Limiting the infor-mation we need to sort through can resultin greater civility as “people feel less needto be sensational to attract attention.”

• Simplify: Think about which technolo-gies you really need and embrace the sim-plest ones that can get the job done.Choose those “tools whose function any-one can plainly understand.”

• De-nichify: Read general interest maga-zines, avoid specialized jargon.

Shenk’s solutions seem tepid at bestagainst the formidable descriptions of the dif-ficulties he sees. And although he rejects thelabel of neo-Luddite, his lengthy descriptionof using a “pin-hole camera” to illustrate sim-plicity certainly made me wonder.

Still, books of the genre that examine theunintended and sometimes unnoticed conse-quences of technologies (Postman’sTechnopoly, Stoll’s Silicon Snake Oil) generallydo contain thought-provoking notions andprovide some measure of balance to our grow-ing love affair with data. This book is no dif-ferent. It’s an easy and interesting read, espe-cially for anyone who hasn’t thought aboutthe topic until now.

Nancy Harrington is Human Resources Coordi-nator for the Division of Information Technology.

This month, “At Home on the Web” features asingle site, from the Aquaculture and FisheriesProgram. In addition to the description, we offera perspective on the site from those responsiblefor creating it.

The Center for Special Programs serves as anumbrella for related programs that focus on aspecific subject or species. Each of the cur-rent programs — Aquaculture & Fisheries,the Center for Animal Welfare, the Centerfor Avian Biology, the Center for Range andForested Ecosystems, and the Contained Re-search Facility Project — brings together a di-verse group of University faculty and re-searchers. To better disseminate informationabout each of these programs, administrativesupport staff Jan Campbell and Nicole

Gibson teamed up with Rob Brower of WebDesign Services to design and implement aseries of individualized Web sites.

“Jan and I had specific ideas about layout,design, and content of the Aquaculture andFisheries Program (AFP) Web site, but weneeded a professional Web design person tomake our ideas work,” says Nicole Gibson.“Neither of us had the time or knowledge toput our ideas on the Web, and we didn’t wantto take HTML classes. On the introductorypage, we wanted a series of buttons in theform of graphics illustrating the content ofthe pages they linked to.” The pictures weretransformed from Microsoft Publisher files toHTML documents. The text is based uponexisting documents produced over thelifespan of the AFP (20 years). “We wantedto convey the background of the programs,related research, services offered, useful infor-mation and links for the general public, andresources for prospective UC Davis stu-dents,” says Gibson.

A home page for the Center for SpecialPrograms eventually will link together thesites for the five programs, allowing new sitesto be added in the future.

Main screen of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Program Web site, found athttp://aquafishprog.ucdavis.edu/.

Information Technology Times • Volume 6, Number 108

The IT Times is published by the Division of Information Technology, University ofCalifornia, Davis, to inform the campus community and others of informationtechnology services, facilities, and activities at UC Davis. It is distributed free ofcharge to members of the user community and to other universities. Use of trade orcorporation names in this publication does not constitute endorsement by theUniversity of California, Davis. IT Times articles may be reprinted as long as thesource is accurately quoted and credited.

Editor: Babette Schmitt (530) 752-5965

Writer: Aviva Luria

Webmaster/Desktop Publisher: Richard Darsie

Designer: Marianne Post

Digital Imaging: Gabriel Unda

Email: itpubs@ucdavis.edu Web: http://it.ucdavis.edu/it.times/

learning about current computing issues ateach of the campuses. But the intangibles areeven more beneficial — such as meetingother technical support personnel to ex-change ideas and solutions.

In my opinion, one of the most interest-ing uses of technology by one of the UCcampuses is UC San Diego’s internally de-veloped GenericLink. GenericLink is a Webapplication development tool intended togive all of the campus Web-based applica-tions a consistent look and feel. The Web-based engine was designed to be easy fornon-programmers to use, and has alreadybeen used to develop such applications asStudentLink, TravelLink, EmployeeLink,FinancialLink, and DataLink. Making eachof these applications Web-based means thatthey work on any platform with a Webbrowser, thereby avoiding platform compat-ibility problems such as those faced by usersof the Financial Information System at UCDavis (DaFIS).

For an overview of GenericLink, seehttps://mendel.ucsd.edu/cgi-bin/genericlink.pl/901502695/Node59694.

Conferencecontinued from page 3

Ron Purnell, Mechanical and AeronauticalEngineering:It was reassuring to learn that staff at all nineUC campuses is grappling with many of thesame issues that we are, and hearing ideas andsolutions from our peers at other campuseswas a valuable experience. Because Network21 was delayed for a year and we had just fin-ished the first year of implementing a new fi-nancial system (DaFIS) and the inherent dif-ficulties of such a large change, I went to theconference wondering how well UCD wouldstack up against the other campuses in termsof our computing environment. I came awayfeeling we were among the best. We are doingmore with remote access (RAMP), dormitoryconnectivity (ResNet), staff computing sup-port (TSP), and advanced email services(IMAP servers) than many of the other cam-puses. I especially enjoyed learning that UCDavis leads the way in CBT (ComputerBased Training). Other campuses are gettingstarted with it, but the offerings we have hereare tremendous.

The 1998 University of California Com-puting Services Conference Web site is athttp://www2.ucsc.edu/uccsc/.

Next year’s conference will be held at UCSanta Barbara, in late June or early July.

Business Functionscontinued from page 1

develop what are sometimes radically newskill sets required by these emerging tech-nologies. Staff Development and ProfessionalServices, together with IT Training, is com-mitted to helping UC Davis employees anddepartments meet these challenges head on,first by recognizing the inevitability of andneed for change, by examining and trans-forming our perspective, and by developingand enhancing our skills.

Michele Platten is co-manager of Staff Develop-ment and Professional Services.

C A L E N D A R

Visit the IT Calendar online for a schedule ofevents during the coming month.

http://it.ucdavis.edu/calendar/

TRANSITION

Joan Garganowas appointedDirector of theCalifornia Digi-tal Library (CDL)Technologies,effective Sep-tember 1, 1998.In her new posi-tion, Joan willprovide leader-ship for the tech-

nical design and implementation of the Cali-fornia Digital Library. A collaborative effort ofthe nine UC campuses, the California DigitalLibrary (CDL) is housed at the University ofCalifornia Office of the President, which is re-sponsible for the design and creation of sys-tems that support the shared collections of theUniversity of California.Joan Gargano is the Director of DistributedComputing Analysis and Support (DCAS),one of six departments of the Division of Infor-mation Technology. In that position, she is re-

sponsible for advising the campus and Infor-mation Technology on networked systems ar-chitectures and applications; systems design,planning and support; and advances in tech-nology that will have a substantial effect oncampus computing in the next few years.She has played a key role in campus andUniversitywide strategic planning for informa-tion technology, including serving as chair ofthe Universitywide Authentication Work-group. She has also been active in nationaland statewide information technology andpolicy initiatives, including participation in theCoalition for Networked Information Initiativeon Institution-Wide Information Strategies, theGolden State Education Network Communi-cations Task Force, the Internet EngineeringTask Force, K-12 Workgroup, and the Instruc-tional Technology Networking Consortium.Ken Weiss will serve as the interim director ofDistributed Computing Analysis and Support.The California Digital Library can be found athttp://www.cdlib.org/.

IT Director AppointedDirector, California Digital Library Technologies

ResourcesThe books referenced in this article are avail-able for checkout by university staff atSD&PS (located in TB 121):• Bridges, William. Managing Transitions:

Making the Most of Change, 1991.• Bridges, William. Jobshift: How to Prosper

in a Workplace Without Jobs, 1995.• James, Jennifer. Thinking in the Future

Tense: Leadership Skills for a New Age,1996.

For more information on SD&PS resources,call 752-1766 or visit the Web at http://sdps.ucdavis.edu/.

24 Document Management: An Introduction:11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, Center forAdvanced Information Technology, 165Shields Library, 752-5711. DocumentManagement is the process of organizing allof your documents (paper and electronic) toincrease accessibility and usefulness (e.g., bycategorizing, storing, and recalling informa-tion more effectively and efficiently).

26 Computer Viruses: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., Centerfor Advanced Information Technology, 165Shields Library. Every computer user todayshould be aware of the potential dangers ofviruses. This presentation gives a compre-hensive overview of computer viruses.

August 1998

NEWTSP COORDINATOR

Tecoy Porter was recently hired as the new Coordina-tor for the Technology Support Program (TSP). Tecoycomes to UC Davis from Project Coordinator and Se-nior PC/LAN Technician positions with Aerotek DataServices Group and served as Computer Training Ad-ministrator for SMUD for three years. Tecoy holds anMBA from California State University, Sacramento. Hestarted in this position on August 18, 1998.For more information on the Technology Support Pro-gram, see page 3 or visit the TSP Web site at http://tsp.ucdavis.edu/.

TIMESIT