Stephen F Austin State University - Stone Fort Yearbook (Nacogdoches, TX)

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The high-tech world 12 CP 6

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Political decisions will be made more often at the grassroots level. Churches, schools and family structures will be changed. Govern- ments will have to adapt to societies made up of minorities of all kinds. Electronics and com- puters will create a new sphere of information in homes and businesses with more people working at home. The key political unit of the past, the nation-state will be modified. Instantaneous global communication will be a way of life. The media will appeal more to in- dividual ' s special interests than to the masses. New industries in computer and data processing, aerospace, petrochemicals, advanced communication and others will replace old industries in oil, coal, tex- tiles, steel, auto, rubber and machine tool manufacture. These are part of Alvin Toffler ' s vision of the future which he presents in The Third Wave . Society is a product of three great waves of changes, according to Mr. Toffler. The first wave descended upon the world when agricultural societies began around 10,000 years ago. About 300 years ago the industrial revolution formed a second wave of changes that permeated the world. Today, society is facing a third wave of perva sive technological changes that is in conflict with the second wave because the changes are happening very quickly. Old ways of thinking, old formulas, dogmas and ideologies, no matter how cherished or how useful in the past, no longer fit the facts, Toffler says. We cannot cram the embryonic new world of tomorrow into yesterday ' s conventional cubbyholes. Toffler uses waves as metaphors for change We cannot cram the embryonic new world of tomorrow into yesterday ' s conventional cubbyholes. because waves are strong forces which man cannot stop but which can be put to positive use. No metaphor tells the whole story from all sides, and hence, no vision of the present, let alone the future can be complete and final. The author concludes, In a time of exploding change - with personal lives being torn apart, the ex- isting social order crumbling, and a fantastic new way of life emerging on the horizon - asking the very largest of questions about the future is not merely a matter of intellectual curiosity. It is a matter of survival. Mr. Toffler says that the long-range view of the third wave should invoke optimism even though the transitional years ahead are likely to be stormy and crisis ridden. When I say something ' will ' happen, he says, I assume the reader will make appropriate discount for uncertainty. Southwestern Bell ' s communication tower is pictured on the left. When American Telephone Telegraph broke up into eight separate companies in 1984, Toffler ' s prediction of the disintegration of large corporations seemed to be fulfilled, at least in part. Opposite Page: As individuals assume larger roles in a diverse society, one is likely to see more people using automatic teller machines like this one in the University Center. Photos by Lauren Davit

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of SFA computers By Mark Palace Imagine yourself in one of the most difficult classes you have ever taken. The first few weeks go by, and you realize the dreaded first test day is quickly approaching. Sure enough, the professor walks in one morning and an- nounces that the test questions have been compiled. However, there is no test date. The professor simply states that you are to take the test at your con- venience within the next two weeks. You are instructed to go to the com- puter center, type in your class on one of the dozens of terminals, and the test will appear on the screen. After you have completed the test, your score will automatically appear. You cannot believe it. You can take the test any time you want, eliminating the pressures of all night cramming. You feel you may even be able to raise you test score because of the individuality and convenience of this new system of taking exams. The scene described above is not a scene of the future. Brigham Young University is currently using a com- puter test service program that enables students to take a test at their in- dividual convenience. However, not only has Brigham Young utilized computers to benefit the students, but colleges across the nation have witnessed the computer boom that has ignited in the rapidly changing world of high tech. Here at SFA computers have revolu- tionized different methodologies in near- ly every department. At the heart of this high-tech revolution across our campus is the Computer Center. Mr. Billy Click, director of the center, is a vital key in computer development on campus. He says that SFA purchased its first com- puter in 1963 for accounting. He also states that over the last 21 years, the supply of computers and computer terminals has been continual- ly upgraded. Although the first people working with computers on campus worked in the fiscal office, expansion allowed the development of the Com- puter Center in 1969. Since its forma- tion, the Computer Center has become a campus utility. Over the past 15 years, this utility has enabled nearly every department to grow in the high-tech world of com- puters. Of these departments, the one probably most familiar to the majority of students is the library ' s online system. Installed only about five years ago, it is a perfect example of how com- puters have become part of everyday life on the SFA campus. Other departments which have grown in the computer field include the math department, which had its first microchip computer installed only about four years ago; the School of Education, which has 20 computers to teach computer literacy; and the history department, which now uses a computer system to place hundreds of test questions at the professors ' fingertips. If the teacher desires, he or she can use this system to select certain ques- tions to be compiled and typed out into test form. Despite these and many other departments ' utilizing computers in- dividually, the computer science depart- ment uses about 50 percent of all com- puters in the Computer Center. Along with the impact of computer technology at SFA came the formation of the University Computing Committee in 1982. The committee, whose members are appointed by President William R. Johnson, handles all pro- posals for new computers requested by individual departments. Their main concern is whether or not each purchase would be the best possi- ble way to solve any departmental pro- blems. The committee ' s chairman, Dr. Craig Wood, is also head of the com- puter science department. Dr. Wood states that the main frame computer system on campus is the Central Pro- cessing 6 (CP-6). This system, along with dozens of ter- minals across the campus has enabled SFA to provide its students with the educational advances necessary in the modern, technological world. Overall, the computer systems used at SFA have grown immensely and will continue to grow as the high-tech revolution engulfs the world. In fact, the single largest computer purchase by the Computer Center occurred this past summer with a total of 80 computers added to the already growing supply. It may not be long before students can walk into the Computer Center and take a test in calculus, psychology or any other subject as a result of the high-tech developments at SFA. At left is an internal view of Central Processing 6 (CP-6), the campus ' s main frame computer. CP-6 - 13