Abackans Diversified Computer Processing, Inc.

Description

ABackans Diversified Computer Processing, Incorporated is 20 years old!!! The company started in Omaha, Nebraska as Rosalie J. Ackerman. M. S., a neuropsychology intern, and Martha E. Banks, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist, began to collaborate on research and the delivery of educational programs for the health care and lay communities. The name was created as a combination of the founders' names, and its similarity in pronunciation and function to "abacus", the original computer. The first collaboration involved a community reintegration workshop for women scheduled for release from a state prison. For many of the prisoners, it was the first opportunity to see an African American woman and a European American woman working together. A year later, Dr. Banks and Ms. Ackerman were invited to provide a series of workshops for parents of adolescents after a local epidemic of teen suicides. The company began with the purchase of an Apple II Plus computer with extra memory, CP/M, and statistical software. That computer was initially used for the analyses and word processing for Ms. Ackerman's dissertation. Upon completion of internship, Ms. Ackerman moved to North Carolina. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Banks moved to Ohio. The original computer equipment went south so that Ms. Ackerman could complete her dissertation. A duplicate system was purchased for use by Dr. Banks. In order to continue their collaboration, Ms. Ackerman and Dr. Banks exchanged files using direct wire connections to the telephone lines. (At the time, the Internet was merely a figment of the imagination.) They developed convention presentations for the American Psychological Association (APA), Association for Women in Psychology, Groves Conference on Marriage and the Family, Women's Computer Network, and other professional groups. In August of 1984, Drs. Ackerman and Banks presented a 12-hour APA-approved Category I continuing education workshop for psychologists entitled Microcomputer Applications for the Anxious User. It was the first personal computer workshop provided at an APA convention. The training began with a 4 hour lecture in a traditional conference room. For the second day of the training, APA rented a store with a 10-computer classroom. Drs. Banks and Ackerman led thirty psychologists through the basics of using computers and programming. By the end of the day, each of the psychologists had hands-on experience and had written a short program in BASIC. Drs. Ackerman and Banks provided similar experiential workshops at subsequent APA and other professional conventions. Our founders have made professional presentations across the United States, in Canada, and in Nigeria. For the first 15 years of ABackans DCP, the founders lived 150 - 1200 miles apart and conducted all of their collaboration through long distance file exchange and two or three annual meetings. Over the past 20 years, ABackans DCP, Incorporated has expanded to include 3 divisions:

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