Individual Impact

2008-06-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

The “Great Man” theory of history is usually attributed to the Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle, who claimed that “the history of the world is but the biography of great men.” The lives and the ideas of these great men and women have led to important fields of study like Philosophy, Astronomy, History, Science and Economics.

This blog, which was created as a collaborative effort of students enrolled in English 101 at the George Mason University, contains information about the impact of such great men and women on their field of study. This information was published, in part, to help other college students explore the different subjects offered at the university by investigating individuals who have left an impact on these fields, and to help with future student research projects through the interactive links and websites provided on this blog.

2007-06-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

Software Guru: His impact on Software Processes

by Sonali Parthasarathy

Abstract:

This paper examines the impact of Dr. Watts Humphrey in the field of software Engineering by analyzing the effects of Personal Software Process (PSP) which he introduced on the key performance dimensions of engineers like estimating and planning their work, quality of their work, quality of the software developed and productivity. In order to understand the impact of PSP on these performance dimensions, a case study can be examined. In particular, this paper discusses the impact of PSP training by examining each project undertaken by Advanced Information Systems, Illinois (AIS). The results of the projects with respect to the four performance areas would indicate the effectiveness of PSP. The individual parameters or variables that affect the personal software process also help in the understanding of PSP.

Few people have heard about Dr.Watts S. Humphrey outside the software world, but in the field of Software Engineering he is a “Super Star”. His vision for software quality has brought us to where we are today. Without him we would still be using software that is defective, costly and delivered way past the deadline. Founder of the Software Process Program of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), he introduced the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) through his book Managing the Software Process, that provided companies with a framework that focused on the management environment needed to complete the work on time. It involved planning, configuration management and various policies and practices. Although CMM explained the principles to be followed, there were no clear-cut directions to actually carry it out. In 1994, Dr. Humphrey developed PSP (Personal Software Process), which provided a streamlined approach enabling software engineers to implement the CMM principles. It concentrated on how to accomplish the policies and practices laid out by CMM. “ In PSP, individuals gather measurements related to their own work products and the process by which they were developed, and use these measures to drive changes to their development behavior” (Johnson and Disney 347). By undergoing the PSP training software engineers can not only enhance their performance but also improve the quality of the software developed.

But what inspired him to introduce CMM and then PSP? Before joining the Software Engineering Institute, Dr. Humphrey worked for IBM between 1959 and 1986. His experience in IBM and discussions with other people in the software industry convinced him that software practices on the whole were terrible. Engineers were very disorganized and concentrated on coding and testing without first laying out a plan! The solution was to get people working on a framework that would improve these processes. Such a framework was the CMM. But although CMM improved the management system, it did not improve the way engineers worked. So before teaching engineers the proper method to plan their work he decided to try it out himself. As he wrote programs, he made plans and recorded the time, size and defects for all those programs. This led him to introduce the Personal Software Process (PSP). He also published two books – A Discipline for Software Engineering (1995) and PSP- A Self Improvement Process for Software engineers (2005) to teach engineers the principles of PSP.

Convincing engineers to adopt PSP was in and by itself a challenging task. Engineers as a “breed” are not open to changes unless they have hard evidence that the new method would be more effective. Dr. Humphrey realized that nothing short of compulsion would change their behaviors. PSP was introduced experimentally in 1994 in three companies– Advanced Information Systems (AIS), Motorola and Union Switch & Signals. Dr. Humphrey used the results of these companies to emphasize the importance and effectiveness of PSP. In each company, software engineers were trained in the PSP methods. The effectiveness of PSP was measured based on the results of the individual projects that implemented PSP techniques.

According to Dr. Watts Humphrey, Personal Software Process is a self-improvement process that enables software engineers to “control, manage and improve” their working habits (A Discipline for Software engineering 1). It provides a structured framework with guidelines and procedures that engineers can follow to assess and improve the quality of their work. But plunging directly into the PSP methods could be quite overwhelming. The key to understanding any new technology, is training. PSP training offered by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has seven process levels in which each level introduces a new element of PSP successfully building on the previous materials (Appendix B). By the end of the PSP training engineers would be well conversant in PSP methods and would be ready to apply it in the real world.

To truly understand the positive impact PSP has had on the software industry, a thorough examination of a case study is required. The rest of the paper will discuss the effectiveness of PSP by analyzing the results of projects undertaken by Advanced Information Systems (AIS), Illinois.

Advanced Information Systems located in Peoria, Illinois with a subsidiary in Madras, India offers software development, consultancy services, Internet services and process training. They set up business applications for their clients as well as take up contract work at the client site. Initially AIS offered a spring course in PSP outside working hours taught by instructors who were unqualified in PSP. Needless to say, only half the engineers completed the course. Realizing their mistake, AIS sent one engineer to the SEI for PSP instructor training. Subsequently more engineers completed the training and began adopting the techniques (Ferguson et al. 27).

The first project, which applied the PSP methods, was for a Fortune 50 client in 1995. After completing three of the nine components, AIS realized that the project was going to exceed its internal deadline as well as external commitment. In lieu of this, the management decided to train the engineers in the PSP methods. The remaining components: four to nine were then completed after negotiating new deadlines with the client (Ferguson et al. 27). For components four to eight, the schedule estimate was either greater than or equal to actual schedule (fig: 1, Appendix A). Moreover the scheduling estimation error decreased to about -10.4 percent from a whooping 394 percent (fig: 2, Appendix A). In fact, the overall defect density i.e. defects per lines of code improved by 78 percent with 0.76 defects per 1,000 lines of code before PSP training and 0.17 defects per 1,000 lines of code after training (Ferguson et al. 27). This ultimately resulted in an overall productivity of 7.4 percent.

The next three projects were carried out in 1996. All three projects used the same language platform and tools but project B was undertaken by PSP-trained engineers while C and D were not. When acceptance tests were conducted, project C had 11 defects, project D had 6 and project B had only one. However when usage tests were carried out the customers found one defect in project C, none in B and 14 in D (Ferguson et al. 28).

AIS carried out three other projects: projects E, F, G. Projects E and F, with 2,255 and 1,400 lines of code, respectively, both used one PSP-trained engineer. Project G, with 6,196 lines of code, required three engineers, two of whom were trained in PSP (Ferguson et al. 28). All three projects were completed successfully with no defects during customer tests.

The above seven projects clearly illustrate the progression in the overall productivity and quality of the software as more and more engineers were PSP-trained and gained more practical experience. Of particular interest is project E in which the engineer provided the client and the AIS management weekly schedule planning templates so that they could keep track of the project status. These PSP methods not only reduced the need for supervision but also helped shorten the project duration (Ferguson et al. 28). Further these results were typical of the study conducted by the SEI on 298 engineers (Hayes and Over 14).

To further argue the effectiveness of PSP, an examination of an experience report given by one of AIS’s project engineers Jagadish Kamatar would be helpful. He started the first project after undergoing partial PSP training. As a result the engineers overestimated the effort by 10% (Kamatar and Hayes 86). The project team then did a defect analysis to analyze where they had gone wrong. In order to use the methods properly in projects, the engineers need to be well versed in the PSP methods. According to Dr. Watts Humphrey, Limited PSP training inhibits engineers from understanding the concepts well enough to be used in real projects (“ Personal Software Process-Status and trends” 74).

In his second project Kamatar reviewed the defect log with the checklist to make sure that the defects were being caught. The effort estimation accuracy for the second project was an aggregate 6.7 percent overestimate as opposed to aggregate 9.7 percent underestimate in the first project. Moreover the defects removed before compile (Yield) was consistently above 50 percent. With all the above improvements the productivity increased by 62 percent (Kamatar and Hayes 89). He also caught a greater number of defects in his second project thereby improving his skills.

From the experience report given by Jagadish Kamatar it is crystal clear that complete PSP training improves the skills of the engineers helping them develop efficient, reliable software. Dr. Humphrey and the other SEI computer experts concluded that PSP was an effective tool in ensuring an improvement in the four performance dimensions of engineers: estimation and planning, quality of their work, quality of the work produced and the productivity (Introduction to PSP 2).

Many engineers in the field acknowledge the usefulness of PSP and have tried to single out the individual factors that influence the productivity. A team of three software engineers measured the performance of 53 engineers in university settings and used regression methods to identify variables that affect the productivity and quality of the product (Zhong 47). Their results showed that A/FR (appraisal to failure ratio) and Yield are two primary factors (predictors) affecting personal software processes. A/FR is the balance between the review effort and the compile-and-test effort. Yield is the percentage of defects removed before first compile (Zhong, Madhavji and El Emam 78). By understanding the individual factors that influence productivity we can concentrate on those aspects to improve our skills.

Software is being used in high-risk environments like missiles, spacecrafts and medicine. Therefore there exists the need to develop effective, reliable software within the time period. Personal Software Process introduced by Watts Humphrey provides a streamlined approach for software engineers to enhance their performance thereby improving productivity and quality of software. Experimental studies performed by various software engineers, re-iterate this point. PSP is a growing model and its benefits are undeniable. With further research into the critical factors influencing a personal software process, we will get a better understanding of the impacts of PSP method. So lets hail the software guru!

Appendix A

Figure 1: schedule estimates

Ferguson, Pat et al. “Results of Applying the Personal Software Process.” Computer. 30.5 (1997): 24-31.

Figure 2: schedule estimating errors

Ferguson, Pat et al. “Results of Applying the Personal Software Process.” Computer. 30.5 (1997): 24-31.

Appendix B

A brief overview of the seven process levels:

PSP0 – This is a generic process level in which engineers use the current practices. The new PSP technique introduced is time and defect measures (Humphrey PSP-self improvement process 20).
PSP0.1 – This process level introduces size measurement as well as a model for engineers to record the problems and solutions to those problems (Humphrey PSP-self improvement process 36).
PSP1 – This process introduces PROBE, a regression size-estimation technique that uses historic data to determine the size and accuracy of the current project (Humphrey PSP-self improvement process 85).
PSP1.1 – This process level introduces earned value tracking which provides an easy way to track and report problems (Humphrey PSP-self improvement process 119).
PSP2 – This process level uses design and code reviews to find defects before testing. Quality measures are also introduced (Humphrey PSP-self improvement process 142-143).
PSP2.1 – In this level, design specification strategies are introduced to create defect-free programs (Humphrey PSP-self improvement process 216).
PSP3- This process level covers design verification techniques and methods for engineers to adapt themselves to different environments.

Works Cited

Ferguson, Pat et al. “Results of Applying the Personal Software Process.” Computer. 30.5

(1997): 24-31. Expanded Academic. George Mason U Lib., Fairfax, VA. 31 May 2007 <http://www.expandedacademic.com>.

Hayes, Will and Over, James W. The Personal Software Process: An Empirical Study of the

Impact of PSP on Individual Engineers. (CMU/SEI-97 TR-001) Pittsburgh, Pa.: Software

Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 1997.

Humphrey, Watts S. A Discipline for Software Engineering. MA.: Addison-Wesley, 1995

Humphrey, Watts S. Introduction to the Personal Software Process. MA.: Addison-Wesley, 1997

Humphrey, Watts S. PSP-A Self-Improvement Process for Software Engineers. NJ.: Addison-

Wesley, 2005.

Humphrey, Watts S. “The Personal Software Process-Status and Trends.” IEEE Software. 17.6

(2000): 71-76

Johnson, Philip M and Disney, Anne M. “Critical Analysis of PSP Data Quality: Results from a

Case Study.” Empirical Software Engineering. 4 (1999): 295-410.

Kamatar, Jagadish and Hayes, Will. “An Experience Report on Personal Software Process.”

IEEE Software. 17.6 (2000): 85-89 ProQuest. George Mason U Lib., Fairfax, VA. 31 May 2007 <http://www.proquest.com>.

Zhong, Xiaoming, Madhavji, Nazim H. and El Emam, Khaled. “Critical Factors Affecting

Personal Software Processes.” IEEE Software. 17.6 (2000): 76-83 Expanded Academic. George Mason U Lib., Fairfax, VA. 31 May 2007 <http://www.expandedacademic.com>.

Zhong, Xiaoming. Factors influencing a personal software process [thesis]. McGill University.

2000 86 p ProQuest. George Mason U Lib., Fairfax, VA. 31 May 2007 <http://www.proquest.com>.

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Secret of an incredible genius

2007-06-20T10:25:00.001-07:00

Michael Dell is the founder of Dell Computers Corporation, a multibillion dollar manufacturers of personal computers and is one of the world's largest corporations.
His personal fortune is estimated at $15.8 billion
He is the 9th Richiest American and 30th in the world

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Because of Henry

2007-06-20T10:19:00.001-07:00

Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile industry. His accomplishments would impact the landscape of America and its development in the twentieth century. One of his more impactful accomplishments was the Model T. It would become the vehicle for the masses.

Henry Ford: A Car for the Masses

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About the Author: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcs4fzm5_2hq2z6n

This Thing of Ours: Martin Scorsese's Influence on The Sopranos

2007-06-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Martin Scorsese left an indelible mark on the gangster genre beginning early in his career. He once said of the Mafia, “The lifestyle is so rich—I have a love-hate thing with that lifestyle.” (Smith, 197) Mean Streets and Taxi Driver journeyed through the criminal underbelly of New York and previewed what was to come later in his career. In 1990, Goodfellas burst onto the scene, and allowed for the audience to fully enter the Mafia world for the first time; viewers were not simply witnessing a fictional event, they felt welcomed into the family. David Chase chose to emulate this narrative structure with The Sopranos, combined with intrusive, voyeuristic cinematography. The Sopranos brought something new that modern television had yet to see, “Chase and HBO have chosen to defy network conventions and deliver a television show that brilliantly illuminates what it means to be human.” (Gabbard, xi) But the similarities do not end there. In fact, David Chase owes much to Martin Scorsese regarding the superficial elements such as actors, locations, props, and music. More importantly, the underlying recurring themes and motifs prevalent throughout Scorsese’s films, including family, responsibility, authority, love and loss, and respect all exist within The Sopranos. I will address these similarities and comparisons and explain how Martin Scorsese’s Mafia films inspired the creation and success of The Sopranos, a post-modern gangster epic. Read the rest of the article.

The Course for Betterment of Human Life : Understanding the Synesthesia in Kandinsky’s Abstract Painting

2007-06-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Wassily Kandinsky:

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian: Василий Кандинский, first name pronounced as [vassi:li]) (December 16 [O.S. December 4] 1866 – December 13, 1944) was a Russian painter, printmaker and art theorist. One of the most famous 20th-century artists, he is credited with painting the first modern abstract works.
Born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa. As a young man he enrolled at the University of Moscow and chose to study law and economics. Quite successful in his profession—he was offered a professorship (chair of Roman Law) at the University of Dorpat—he started painting studies (life-drawing, sketching and anatomy) at the age of 30.
In 1896 he settled in Munich and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. He went back to Moscow in 1914 after World War I started. He conflicted with the official theories on art in Moscow and returned to Germany in 1921. There he taught at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture from 1922 until the Nazis closed it in 1933. He then moved to France where he lived the rest of his life, and became a French citizen in 1939. He died at Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1944. *

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* - Reference: Wikipedia

2007-06-20T10:06:00.002-07:00

Michael Dell was born on February 23, 1965
He is the founder of Dell Computer Corporation , a multibillion dollar
manufacturer of personal computers and is one of the world's largest corporations.
Michael Dell personal fortune is estimated to be around $15.8 billion
He is the 9th Richiest American and 30th in the world

Ludwig von Mises’ Theory of Money and Credit Against The German Super Inflation of The 1920’s

2007-06-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Mike Gardner

Research Essay

Ludwig von Mises

Contrasting Ludwig von Mises’ Theory of Money and Credit Against The German Super Inflation of The 1920’s

Life in Europe in the early 1900’s was great. The Industrial Revolution had taken many people’s dreams and made them true. But war would soon take this all down, and would turn one countries’ economy into a horrible lifestyle for many. In Germany, it would effect every single person.
Throughout history, there has always been a place and a need for a way to barter, or exchange goods and services. As we have seen through history, people gain more and more intelligence and wisdom on how to make these transactions flow better. In the year of 1912, a man by the name of Ludwig von Mises created a theory to better enhance these transactions, in which he called the Theory of Money and Credit.
Ludwig von Mises, a great and science-changing economist, would help people figure out how and why the economy works how it does, and why we cannot try and change an entire countries’ economy overnight. His theory of money and credit would explain it all, and hopefully this paper will help explain to you what has taught so many others. The main point that will be discussed through this paper will be how Ludwig von Mises transformed the social science of economics by way of his theory of money and credit.
In the early 1920’s, a great super inflation occurred in Germany. The inflation rate was rising as fast as they could print the money, and wives of the printing press workers would come get stacks of money just to buy a loaf of bread. The exchange rate before the inflation was 8 marks to the dollar, and only three years later it was up to 4.2 trillion Marks per Dollar! Now people would have to wonder why someone would try and do this, but know one could figure it out; except for Ludwig von Mises. With this, I will show you even how prompt and true he was in knowing that a country would do this, even though he had thought of this theory before this inflation in Germany took place:
“I have come to realize that my theories explain the degeneration of a great civilization; they do not prevent it. I set out to be a reformer, but only became the historian of decline.” (Butler, 322)
Von Mises knew that the countries’ leaders were thinking like classical economists, that being that the wealth of a nation is the amount of money that the one particular nation has. Now, he knew that this was wrong, and he wanted others to better understand why this theory and way of thinking does not work. This is why he came up with his theory of money and credit.
Life today would not be as we know it if it was not for his explanation. He taught many people, as he was a professor in Austria for many years. Two of his students went on to become some of the most well known economists of the modern day, coming up with theories of their own and helping advance the science. If it weren’t for von Mises, economies across the world would be vastly different from their current state, probably even our own.
Anyways, his theory of money and credit explains the nature, function, and value of money, as well as how it should be contained in banks with concerns to interest, credit, and inflation across economies. Ludwig von Mises’ works came along in the “Austrian School” of economics, and in turn he created his own school and methods. It would come at a time that was poised at overthrowing the classical school, and its main point was that the individual, not the business, who became the fundamental building block for an economy.
Now, first off we would ask how could Ludwig von Mises come up with a theory that would help revolutionize the entire economic thought. The answer is not that simple, but explainable. He realized how the classical school was wrong with their ideas and ways of transferring, collecting, and storing money, not only for banks but for governments as well. And soon he figured out a method and idea that would drastically change economics, and that was his theory of money and credit.
The reason that his theory is so vitally important to economics, although it is know longer used, is that it was a transfer point from the classical way of thinking, to the modern day economic way of thinking. His theory would hold true to many events, and one event in particular would be that of the great super inflation of the 1920’s in Germany.
To give you a little back ground on the great super inflation, Germany’s head economic leaders thought that it would be a good idea to continually print out money, thinking that it would help make their country rich and prosperous. Well, in turn it destroyed the economy, because it took their Mark, which at the time one American dollar was equal to about eight Marks, and after three years of this continually printing money, turned the economy into a disaster. One American dollar after only THREE years was worth 4.2 TRILLION Marks! Now just imagine having to carry around a truckload of money just to go grocery shopping at the local store. It would be absurd.
von Mises explains how this would happen if different events were to occur. His points are key and vital to economics, and this disaster in Germany proves it. He tells us that you can not just raise the amount of money in one’s country because of credit monies. This is credit money, which is money that isn’t really there; it is basically like an IOU. This is basically what Germany was doing without even knowing it. They were creating money that in the end meant absolutely nothing, and here is one of von Mises’ statements that proved that:
“The social demand for money in the narrower sense is no longer the sum of the individual demands for money in the narrower sense, and the social demand for money in the broader sense is by no means the sum of the individual demands for money in the broader sense.” (von Mises, 133)
Ludwig von Mises is key to the social science of economics because of his theory. He would predict this event that happened in Germany before it would even happen. He said that a great catastrophe would occur if a country would raise their exchange rates. What they did went all against his ideas, and they were basing their mindsets on the Classical Economic School of thinking, which again is the more money one country has, the wealthier the nation is.
When Germany’s economists set out their plan to print out more money, they were in hopes of helping the economy grow and prosper, due to it’s loss during World War I. Although they did rebuild everything astonishingly fast, they eventually ruined their international economy because first off, who would want to invest in a country that just went to war with the world? And secondly, who would want to invest money in a country that had inflation rates going through the roof everyday for ten years?
Ludwig von Mises would again help explain why this kind of inflation rate would ruin a country, and how it would be horrible for an economy. He says that inflation will first off, slowly, but in Germany’s case quickly, ruin the economy by having people make the same wages, but prices will rise. This would make people able to buy less and less of what they need, and in turn ruin people, which would ruin a country.
Throughout the history of economics, only very few people have been able to bring about concepts that would indeed change the course of history; von Mises being one of those people. Without the help of Ludwig von Mises and his explanations as to what went wrong and how to prevent such disasters, life today would not exist as we know it. His theory of money and credit helped pave way for a new breed of economic thinkers, and he would come to help the entire scene of economics. His theory would come to help all businesses and people alike as soon as he printed his ideas, and life as we new it changed overnight.

Bibliography
von Mises, Ludwig. Money, Method, and the Market Process. Massachusetts: Kluwer, 1990.
von Mises, Ludwig. The Theory of Money and Credit. New York: Irvington-On-Hudson, 1971.
Bellofiore, Ricardo. Between Wicksell and Hayek. Malden: October 1998. Vol. 57, Iss. 4; p. 531.
Mulligan, Robert. Spontaneously Evolved Social Order Versus Positive Legislation in English Constitutional History. Kluwer: March 2004. Vol. 17, Iss. 1; p. 41.
Butler, Eamonn. Ludwig von Mises. London: Gower, 1988.
Smith, Matthew. On Interest and Profit: Thomas Tooke’s Major Legacy to Economics. Oxford: Aug. 1, 2006. Vol. 25, Iss. 1; p. 1.
Ebeling, Richard. Selected Writings of Ludwig von Mises. Indiana: Liberty Fund, 2000.

Mileva Maric - The Reality behind Relativity

2007-06-20T09:42:00.004-07:00

Abstract:

A century ago a woman could not even dream about becoming a scientist. That idea was considered outrageous. There were some women that remained forgotten in the shadows of the men they were with. One of them was Mileva Maric, Albert Einstein’s first wife. Many people have never even heard of her before, but the truth is that she was more of a genius than the greatest physicist himself: her husband. An introspect into her early life, as a female student, and as a wife, an analysis of destroyed marriage, her humble and loving character, and the treatment she got form Einstein and other men who considered women inferior, will eventually show us that appearances are deceiving. From the love letters between her and Albert, we will observe how she was deceived into a marriage that ended up bringing a lot of sorrow in her life. Thus, her dream to become a physicist was shattered.

The purpose of the paper is to show how Mileva Maric, Albert Einstein’s first wife and love contributed highly to the development of the famous Theory of Relativity, theory for which her husband won the Nobel Prize, and also a theory for which she was never given any credit. This will involve a profound historical analysis of the personality of Mileva, her relationship with Einstein, his attitude towards her and others, and the struggles in her live.

The life of Mileva Maric is not even close to what we would expect. When we hear about Albert Einstein and his life we focus only on him, but never on the actual people that appeared in his life, and that they might have disserved a lot more credit that they actually did. When we have a very shining light in front of us we tend to forget that something else might lie behind it, something that might actually even enhance the brightness of the light we are looking at.

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Clara Barton: Angel of the Battlefield

2007-06-20T09:42:00.003-07:00

Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912), better known as Clara Barton, was a pioneer American teacher, nurse, and humanitarian. She has been described as having had an "indomitable spirit" and is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross. [1]

Clara Barton, who is credited with the formation of the American Red Cross, believed that one of the most important features that should be included in this foundation is its ability to provide help for others at all times: in times of war and in times of peace. It was this feature, in fact, that convinced the government to fund the foundation. Without the Red Cross in times of peace, aid during the aftermath of a natural disaster, assistance after a terrorist attack on a nation, or help with an ongoing issue in less wealthy countries would be virtually non-existent. A couple of instances where the Red Cross has been needed for its relief efforts, along with reasons Barton believed it is needed, will be examined to show how it is essential for the safety, protection, and lives of millions, even during times of peace. What will also be explored is the necessity of the Red Cross through scrutiny and possible corruption of its leaders.

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Clara Barton circa 1851 believed photographed in Clinton, New York. Earliest known photograph of Clara Barton.

Clara Barton circa 1865 by Mathew Brady, Washington, D.C. Most famous and widely circulated photograph of Clara Barton.

Clara Barton circa 1906.

Clara Barton National Historic Site

[2]

References: [1] Wikipedia, [2] Wikimedia Commons

Dropping the Bombs: How Henry Stimson Influenced the Decision

2007-06-20T09:42:00.001-07:00

Dropping the Bombs:

How Henry Stimson Influenced the Decision

In 1945 President Harry S. Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. As with any other administration, he had many top government officials who advised him on domestic and foreign issues. Henry Stimson was Truman’s Secretary of War and after Truman took the presidential office, Stimson had the greatest influence on the crucial decision to use the atomic bomb, more than any other person who Truman trusted to counsel him. There is quite a bit of proof to suggest that Stimson had the most dramatic influence on the President’s foreign policy in terms of both the Soviet Union and Japan all of which were considered when strategizing the atomic bomb’s use.

On April 25, 1945, thirteen days after Franklin Delano Roosevelt died, Harry Truman was first informed of the development of the atomic bomb and how it would affect America’s relations with other countries by Stimson (Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy 61). Stimson originally encouraged this topic of discussion with the President by saying that it had “such a bearing on our present foreign relations and ... such an important effect upon all my thinking in this field," (Alperovitz, “Historians Reassess”). During this conversation Stimson also told the President, in short, that the atomic bomb would be critical in our dealings with other countries and would be key in shortening the war (Giovannitti, 51; Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy 105). Later, Truman said the discussion specifically covered the effect the bomb would most likely have on our interactions with other countries and that “Stimson’s view was a consistent judgment that the atomic bomb would add great power to American diplomacy once it was developed. He considered that no major issue could be realistically discussed with out an estimate of the bomb’s role… (Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy 105). In Stimson own words two years after the bombs were dropped he described the memorandum with President Truman where he informed the President that in four months a “terrible weapon” that could “destroy a whole city” would probably be ready and the United States was the only country at the time that had the resources to construct said weapon, at least for the time being, but undoubtedly it was not a position to be held indefinitely. He also eluded to the idea that if the weapon was properly used that it could be an opportunity to bring peace (Stimson, 99).

After the President had been briefed on the development of the bomb, Stimson suggested a specific group of people to be charged with the “function of advising the President on the various questions raised about the conduct of the war by the imminent readiness of an atomic weapon and also suggest plans for the longer-term development and control of atomic energy,” (Batchelder, 51; Stimson, 100). After he had gotten the President’s approval, he wasted no time bringing this committee into being (Giovannitti, 53). The group then became known as the Interim Committee and Stimson was its chairman. In Henry Stimson’s 1947 article in Harper’s Magazine, he explained that the committee’s discussions “ranged over the whole field of atomic energy in its political, military, and scientific aspects,” (100).

Before the actual use of the atomic bombs, Stimson believed that the new weapon was “one that should be produced and used as a means of shortening the war and minimizing its destructiveness,” (Batchelder, 67). He had successfully convinced the President and the Interim Committee of the political value of the atomic bomb’s capacity to hasten the end of the war and save American lives (Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy 165). Stimson believed that the Japanese had been fighting with great tenacity in defense of their empire and would continue to fight fiercely to protect their homeland and millions of American soldiers would be saved by altogether avoiding a mainland invasion by American forces and thereafter informed Truman of this belief (Holmes). Stimson was certain that to bring about Japan’s surrender a colossal blow must be dealt to convincingly prove our power and argued this point to the President (Batchelder, 68). He ensured President Truman that the quickest way to produce the desired affect on Japan was not to attempt it by diplomatic means of persuasion, but rather to increase U.S. military pressure until the Emperor and all of his military advisors realized the bleakness of their fight (Batchelder, 86). The Scientific Panel, which consisted of a number of nuclear physicists involved in the development of the atomic bomb, opposed the use of the bomb, fearing that it would start a nuclear arms race and wanted to turn over the secrets of the bomb over to an international agency to use for more peaceful quests, rather than for war, but Stimson rejected the panel’s suggestions and recommended to the President that to bomb be used on Japan to ensure its surrender (Holmes).

The United States government not only wanted to get Japan to surrender “unconditionally” but to also do so without Soviet Union interference or mediation and they recognized the opportunity the bomb presented to them. Stimson told Truman that he believed that the bomb would fortify America’s position and end the war before the Soviet Union could enter it (Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy 165). He urged the President that “the thing to do was to get this surrender through before Russia…should get down in reach of the Japanese homeland… It was of great importance to get the homeland into our hands before the Russians could put any substantial claim to occupy and help rule it,” (Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy 238). By July of 1945 Japan had been significantly weakened by our evermore violent attacks and it had been known that its military leaders had been making offers to the Soviet government, trying to use the Russians to arbitrate a negotiated peace (Stimson, 101). Stimson even regarded the bomb as the “master card” of diplomacy and specifically described it to the President as such:

Let our actions speak for words. The Russians will understand them
better than anything else.... we have got to regain the lead and perhaps
do it in a pretty rough and realistic way.... we have coming into
action a weapon which will be unique. Now the thing is not ... to indicate
any weakness by talking too much; let our actions speak for themselves. (Alperovitz, “Historians Reassess”).

After the Interim Committee decided that the bomb was definitely going to be used, a strategy to do so still needed to be developed. Stimson influenced President Truman to send a warning to Japan “of what is to come” and said that the warning should precede any actual forceful occupation of the homeland and include plenty of time for a response (Gioannitti, 148). The scientists on the Scientific Panel backed up Stimson’s argument, suggesting a very detailed account of the bomb’s devastating potential be given or that we demonstrate the atomic weapon on an unpopulated area (Holmes). In the end it was Stimson with the sole responsibility of advising the President on matters involving the use of the bomb and he was free to adjust any proposals made by the Interim Committee as he wished (Batchelder, 57).

When it came down to deciding which cities would be most strategic to bomb, Stimson agreed with the President that the best mark for the bombs would be a vital war plant with a large number of employees with workers’ houses bordering it (Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy 163). Giovannitti and Freed quoted President Truman as having said that he “asked Secretary Stimson which cities in Japan were devoted exclusively to war production. He named Hiroshima and Nagasaki among others…” (249). Stimson convinced the President that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the best targets, stating that Hiroshima was an army center and that Nagasaki, an important seaport, contained major industrial plants (Holmes). Truman was successfully persuaded by Stimson and he exercised his presidential power by giving the go-ahead to the American forces to drop the ruinous weapon on the two major Japanese cities that Stimson recommended.

As Truman’s Secretary of War, Stimson was the most important man in the government with complete information on the highly secret nuclear development project (Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy 105) and his influence on President Truman was remarkable and almost without limits due to his proximity to all matters of the bomb. In Alperovitz’s book Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam, he even confirms this directly by saying that “Truman often chose to follow Stimson’s advice over most others,” (148). Afterward, Stimson was publicly known as the leading American official identified with the construction and use of the atomic bomb and emphasized his belief by becoming the main spokesperson for the decision (Alperovitz, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb 428). The President himself gave Stimson “great credit” for the atomic bomb’s development (Drummond).

Bibliography

Alperovitz, Gar. The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and the Architecture of an American Myth. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.

Alperovitz, Gar. "Hiroshima: Historians Reassess. (Atomic Bombing)." Foreign Policy n99 (Summer 1995 n99): 15(20). Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale. George Mason University. 4 June 2007.

Alperovitz, Gar. Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam. Colorado: Pluto Press, 1994.

Batchelder, Robert C. The Irreversible Decision. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1961.

Drummond, Roscoe. “Potsdam Made Bomb Decision.” The Christian Science Monitor 7 Aug. 1945: 1-2.

Giovannitti, Len, and Fred Freed. The Decision to Drop the Bomb. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1965.

Holmes, Thomas. "The Dropping of Atomic Bombs on Japan." Social Eduacation 69.4 (May-June 2005): 209-213. Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale. George Mason University. 4 June 2007.

Stimson, Henry L. “The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb.” Harper’s Magazine 194.1161 (February 1947): 97-107. Fenwick Library microfilm. George Mason University. 4 June 2007.

William Bernbach: The Ad Man

2007-06-20T09:41:00.005-07:00

William Bernbach: The Ad Man

It was around the late 1940s when William Bernbach found that his passion and his excellent ability in advertising would focus and revolve around the growth and execution of novel and inventive ideas. He made his way into the marketing world at a time when the United States industry was trying to avoid the huge agencies, service operations and scientific research. They would prefer minor creative concepts and intuitions (Fox, 5). Even though advertising workers before wrote for the wider scale of consumer consumptions, Bernbach was the one to help start the introduction of a personal and authentic emergence in advertising. Bernbach was one of the trio, which included Leo Burnett and David Ogilvy, and they took credit for guiding advertisement production in a new era in the 1950s and 1960s. This was also known as the Creative Revolution (Fox, 20).

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Why I wear a shirt made in China and drive a car made in Japan: Influence of David Ricardo's Theory of Comparative Advantage on International Trade

2007-06-20T09:41:00.003-07:00

David Ricardo:

David Ricardo (18th April, 1772–11th September, 1823), a political economist, is often credited with systematizing economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus and Adam Smith. He was also a businessman, financier and speculator, and amassed a considerable fortune.*

Abstract:

As we go about our daily lives, it is easy to overlook the importance of international trade. Economists almost unanimously agree that the optimum benefits of international trade can only be achieved with free trade: trade without government intervention. Economists support the argument with a theory proposed by a prominent economist, David Ricardo, known as the theory of comparative advantage. While presenting the following research paper, the author makes the assumption that the reader has a clear understanding of the theory of comparative advantage. (Please see the paper titled “Explanation of the Theory of Comparative Advantage” in Appendix A) Next, the trade policies that were established prior to David Ricardo’s time would be stated and compared with that proposed by David Ricardo. Furthermore, the relationship between comparative advantage and free trade and specialization would be mentioned followed by a discussion on the economics gains from trade. Finally, the continuing influence of the theory of comparative advantage in modern economics and politics will be discussed. In essence, the research paper would focus on the influence of David Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage by describing the relationship between the theory and free trade.

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Appendix A >>>>

Appendix B >>>>

* - Reference: Wikipedia

John D. Rockefeller: Corrupt Titan or Admirable Businessman?

2007-06-20T09:41:00.002-07:00

John D. Rockefeller is infamous in the business world for having a monopoly on the oil industry. The breakup of his company, Standard Oil, in 1911 by the Supreme Court solidified his place in business history. Known for his cutthroat tactics, Rockefeller commonly undercut his competitor’s prices and drove them out of business, using tactics such as bribery, physical threats, and sabotage (Wooten 34). Rockefeller’s organized efficiency made it hard for any competitor to keep up. By the 1870s, Standard Oil owned between 90 and 95 percent of the country’s refineries (Brands 87). But despite the fact that he remains one of the most hated businessmen of all time, John D. Rockefeller’s success came because his skills as a business administrator helped him eliminate inefficiencies within the industry.

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Software Guru: His impact on the Software Process

2007-06-20T09:41:00.001-07:00

Biography

Dr. Watts Humphrey is the Founder of the Software Process Program at the Software engineering Institute(SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University. A Fellow of the Institute, he also works as a research staff. Prior to joining SEI, Dr. Humphrey worked as the Director of programming for IBM Corporation. He got his bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Chicago, a master's degree in physics from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He is the author of many books including Managing the Software process(1994), PSP- A Self-Improvement Process of Software Engineers(1995) and TSP: Coaching Development Teams (2006).

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauts presented Mr. Humphrey with the Aerospace Software Engineering Award in 1993. Mr. Humphrey was awarded an honorary Ph.D. degree in software engineering by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in 1998. In 2005, Dr. Humphrey was awarded the prestigious 2003 National Medal of technology for his contributions to the software community.

For more information please visit: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/

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Pro-Choice: An analysis of the open source movements

2007-06-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

The open source movement is not new. It’s not a novel buzzword thrown around by the media, and it’s not a passing trend. The concept of open source can trace its very roots to the origins of programming in the 1950s with the development of the PDP system (one of the world's first modern programmable computers) and then took off with the creation of Richard Stallman's (pictured at left) Free Software Foundation and Linus Torvalds's release of the first official Linux kernel. In some way, each of these developments has affected the economic, intellectual, and practical aspects of our increasingly technological society. The origins of the PDP system triggered the development of modern day software engineering; The Free Software Foundation champions copyright reform and changes to intellectual property rights; The Linux kernel has developed into one of the major challengers against the Microsoft Windows behemoth.

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This work is licensed under a form of the Creative Commons License.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Social Security Act

2007-06-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

The stock market crash of 1929 caused our nation to go through a dreadful stage known as the Great Depression. Alarmed by the increasing numbers of unemployment and in applications for aid or relief becoming rather distressing, our nation’s 32^nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt wanted to fix the hardships by proposing a number of projects through a plan known as the New Deal. Unemployment was and still is a national economic issue that Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to restore by putting into action the Social Security Act. The Social Security Act had amendments made to it throughout the years ever since it was created in 1935. Although the Social Security Act faced numerous challenges, it is considered one of the greatest moral successes of the 20^th century.

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