Fluency Milestone 12 - Digital Multimedia for Deadheads

For quite some time, I have been a Deadhead, and very interested in show trading community. In the world of jambands, this is the community of individuals that record live shows, enhance the sound quality, compress the format, and post them online. While this may sound much like Napster and Kazaa, the difference is that the music is completely free and legal. This is because many of these bands allow free "patches" into the soundboard during concerts, or at minimum, allow individuals to set up microphones and DAT machines or CD burners on the concert floor.

With that said, I found Snyder's discussion of digital media compression to be very interesting. I do not personally record shows, but I do frequently download them from sites such as archive.org and etree.org. These sites link show traders to each other, and they create an online database of files. When I first started downloading shows, I had to get the proper software. Many of these files were in formats I never heard of - lossless formats. These formats include .shn (Shorten), and .flac (Free Lossless Audio Codec). I knew these formats were lossless, but I was unsure of what that really meant.

While the sites provide a general overview of lossless versus lossy, Snyder explains that in lossless compression, the original representation of 0's and 1's can be perfectly reconstructed. In lossy compression, some of the data, usually on the high end of the audio spectrum is lost. Therefore, the lossless format allows users to decompress the .flac or .shn files back to .wav files (the format needed to burn audio to CD), without a loss of data.

There is, of course, a tradeoff with lossy and lossless formats. The lossless format cannot be compressed nearly as much as MP3's. As Snyder notes, MP3's can achieve compression ratios greater than 10:1. Therefore, lossless files tend to be much larger than MP3's. An MP3 file may be 4MB large, whereas a FLAC file may be 20-30MB. On a large hard drive, this is not a problem. However, if you have little room left on your hard drive, you may find that these files quickly dissipate your resources.

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of these programs is that they are Open Source (.Flac more so than .Shn). This means that the community that uses the software is constantly collaborating to improve it. Furthermore, the software is free of cost. In one sense, this was a necessity because of the culture and community that uses the software. Nevertheless, these are high quality file formats, and all of the support software (such as decompression tools, bit torrent, FTP clients, etc.) can be obtained free, as well.

In closing, my "Aha!" moment for the week was one of those, "So this is how ____ works" moments. I have used lossless compression for some time but never bothered to learn the inner-workings. I am sure that many end-users of computers operate countless programs, without the slightest idea of how they work. The beauty of understanding the underlying structure is that you are able to troubleshoot, learn, and adapt. These will serve you well not only in your personal life, but in your professional life, as well. This seems to be what FIT is all about. It is more than learning a few programs. Being FIT means being inquisitive, and willing to learn new things. I may never use audio compression as a professional, but if I am able to educate myself about computer programs utilized in my organization, I will be a step ahead of the rest.

Fluency Milestone 11 - Universality and the Smart Consumer

Upon reading, I believe that Chapter 23 in Snyder is particularly useful to the average computer consumer, and to managers of firms and business units. Although some of the chapter focuses on the epistemological debate over whether computers can learn, think, and be creative, Snyder touches on a very important concept - Universality. The Universality Principle reveals that computers have the same "power," because all computers are loaded with the same 6 basic machine language instructions: Add, Subtract, Set_To_One, Load, Store, and Branch_on_Zero. Therefore, computers compute the same way, and the only inherent difference is the speed at which they compute.

This is extremely important for consumers of computer technology. I hear countless friends claim that their computers are "old," "outdated," or "incompatible" with new software. To an extent, this may be true, but the unit as a whole is not incompatible. Often, simple upgrades can remedy hardware-software conflicts, for a fraction of the price of a new computer. For example, say you are currently running a desktop computer with only 128MB of RAM. This was a sufficient amount of memory 5 years ago, but many software companies are releasing complex programs that require 1GB or more of RAM. A consumer could simply buy a new computer for $1000. However, a FIT consumer would go to www.cdw.com, and see that a 1GB memory upgrade can be purchased for only $94.00. Alternatively, say you have run out of storage space on your hard drive. A new hard drive can be purchased for a little over $100.

Many of you may find these savings too small to purchase components piecemeal. In fact, the monolith companies such as Dell and Gateway rely on this. Indeed, many consumers many not find a savings of $400-$500 attractive enough to upgrade components. However, imagine yourself in charge of a unit in government. This was my "Aha!" moment for the week. As a public manager, one of my responsibilities will be to maximize the efficiency with which I use resources (my budget). Often, as infrastructure becomes outdated, refurbishment is a better choice than replacement. The Snyder chapter helped me see that a new computer may not be the answer. New software and hardware can help to fill in the technological gaps. Multiply a $500 savings over 30 computers and you see a significant savings. The Universality Principle makes this possible.

A second, and related, "Aha!" moment is the concept of work. Prior to deciding whether to upgrade or replace, a wise public manager must weigh the kind of work that the computers will be doing. Word processing and spreadsheet software will draw fewer resources that econometric modeling software. This relates to the work-proportional-to-n algorithm versus the work-proportional-to-n^k algorithm. Even everyday consumers can benefit from a needs analysis. Do you really need to spend an extra $100 dollars for a top of the line video card, when you will mainly use your computer for word processing? It appears to me that this chapter is perhaps one of the most beneficial to the average consumer. In a world of tighter budgets and unstable revenues, it is a necessity for future public managers.

Digital Governance Nugget 11 - Cost Overruns

After completing Garson's chapter on Needs Assessment and Project Management, it has become clear to me that the government continues to struggle with cost-effective contracts. I wanted to point to this July 2006 article from the New York Times that describes the GAO's recent study on Defense Department contracting. The focus of this article is on weapons systems and fighter planes, which naturally integrate many IT systems. The GAO reported that DoD projects ran as much as fifty-percent over budget, and most programs are delayed by several years. If you look at the timeline of development for the F-22A provided at the beginning of the article, you get a sense of the contract mismanagement.

Naturally, all parties involved were quick to assign blame for the damaging study. The GAO has repeatedly concluded that the cost overruns and delays are a direct result of the DoD's hierarchical bureaucracy, and its craving for high-tech systems. Additionally, the GAO concluded that the DoD was exercising poor financial management, and neglecting to appropriately cost out programs. The DoD defended its management, and suggested that the cost overruns were a function of wartime demand, and an overall transition to a more lethal, tactical military. Contractors were particularly vocal in their suggestion that the DoD constantly revised contract requirements, changed budgets, and slowed programs. In their view, these factors were the predominant reasons for cost overruns in delays.

The GAO has been quick to retaliate. It claims that the DoD paid over $8 billion in bonuses to military contractors, regardless of performance. Furthermore, the GAO suggests that contractors are shielded from market forces that would normally entice manufacturers to deliver weapons systems quickly.

As Garson points out, effective project management is imperative to reduce these overruns. The GAO hints to this, as it indicates that frequent turnover of project managers at the Pentagon can be partially to blame. The literature on contract management is voluminous, but perhaps one of the best places to start is The Reinventors Fieldbook, by David Osborne and Peter Plastrik. They offer several suggestions about structuring performance incentives, effective contract negotiation, and bidding. Furthermore, several companies provide instructional seminars on effect project management.

I must admit that I was never particularly interested in contracting prior to this class. However, I have read some of the literature available, and it appears that there is much room for improvement. As the government outsources a greater number of activities, public managers will be required to be familiar, if not experts, in contract management. This will be especially true in the IT sector, as government lacks the experienced personnel to produce these services in-house.

Digital Governance Nugget 10 - Datamining and Contracting Gone Awry?

This Government Computer News article may hint at things to come in a newly Democrat controlled Congress. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security has announced that over the next several months, the DHS IG will conduct an audit of the Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight, and Semantic Enhancement (ADVISE) program. This program mines through numerous databases, in an attempt to infer terrorist threats. At a cost of $40,000,000, oversight of the contracting of system design and security features to protect data loss is seemingly overdue.

In data mining, software searches through many interrelated databases, in an attempt to create a model of data that reveals relationships. Miners accomplish this through probability theory, Bayesian networking, and applied logic. Data mining works not only on databases, but can be applied to images and text (similar to Dr. Shulman's QDAP project). When applied to databases, however, the risks are particularly intolerable. Privacy advocates have long criticized data mining by the government, especially when the government outsources the data mining function to a third party.

The GCN article goes on to explain that other programs are to be audited, namely the Secure Border Initiative, FEMA's Disaster Housing Plan, and Max HR. The government outsourced these databases an IT functions to Boeing, Computer Sciences Corp., and Northrop Grumman, respectively. The concerns of these audits are on the procurement and bidding aspects of the contracts. In particular, the Max HR program used a blanket purchase agreement with Northrop Grumman, and may have bundled dissimilar functions together.

I especially liked this article, because it touched on so many of the topics that Garson has covered so far. We spent a great deal of time discussing privacy, and the potential threats to it. Additionally, we discussed the role of outsourcing in a discussion board, and the potential impacts that it can have. Here, we see the oversight community possibly starting to fight back. If this is any sense of what's to come, we can expect to see a greater number of audits, oversight hearings, and reforms. As some of us become public managers, these issues will continue to be at the forefront of the technology debate. Regardless of whether you are managing a high-tech IT program or a simple clerical program, contract negotiation, bidding, and outsourcing will still be important. We would be unwise to ignore these, or dismiss them as fleeting.

Fluency Milestone 10 - JRI! My Adventure in a Simple Database

I have a feeling that after reading the chapter in Snyder, many of you may be wondering how applicable this is to you. Well, read my previous milestones! In all seriousness, however, it is hard to conceptualize all of these topics, because you do not currently run a business, or operate as a database administration. Therefore, I am going to walk-through the planning steps that I completed in order to design a simple database. I did not design any queries. The database consists of two basic tables, and a one-to-one relationship.

Step 1: Perform a Needs Analysis: To put it simply, my major weakness is my lack of organization. In between school and work, I hardly have time to apply for internships. Moreover, I find it difficult to track where I sent resumes, where I sent follow-up letters, and so on. My need was to have a centralized database that would allow me to input and store this information.

Step 2: Approximate and revise a physical design: Because I am comfortable viewing information in the Datasheet View, I did not determine it was necessary to design an interface (such as a Form or Report). However, I have placed this database on my website. If you want, you can modify it to suit your own needs.

Step 3: Implement the physical design: Here, I simply designed both tables in Design View, and then established a relationship based on Organization (this is the name of the organization with whom I applied).

Step 4: Design the logical database: As I indicated earlier, I did not create any queries in this database. Because I established a relationship, I can actually view information from both tables simultaneously by clicking on the plus sign next to the organization name.

Step 5: Implement the logical database: Because I did not create an queries, I did not have to translate anything into SQL.

Step 6: Implement the GUI: Again, since I considered myself the end user, I did not create a GUI (such as a data entry form or report). However, if my entrepreneurial spirit gets the best of me, I would create a user-friendly form to market my product.

Step 7: Evaluate the usefulness and (possibly) revise: This, of course, will be an ongoing process. If anyone decides to use this, let me know. Perhaps you can think of some functionality that is missing.

Thus, my "Aha!" moment for the week was that I could apply a methodical approach to database design. I identified a need, created the structure, and implemented the design. As my previous posts indicate, database design is not limited to those employed as database administrators. The ability to organize and manipulate information is an invaluable skill, particularly in the public sector. While this database is hardly a complicated one, it does help me to hone in my database skills. These will serve me well in the future.

Digital Governance Nugget 9 - DIY Campaigning

Many of you have heard the claims made by various sources that the internet has changed the way power structure of information. No longer can the major networks assume monopoly over news information. Blogs, internet news sources, and internet-only entertainment have made great strides in competing with the major networks. However, as I indicated in Nugget 5, at least one survey questions the credibility afforded these “alternative” news sources.

I added that preface to this Nugget, as it highlights a few important questions. How far will the internet revolution take us? Will alternative media ever gain widespread acceptance and credibility? I ask these questions, after reading this article posted by ZDNet Government that highlights the use of the internet to manage a political campaign. The article follows Arkansas independent gubernatorial candidate Rod Bryan, who uses such resources as MySpace, bulletin boards, e-newsletters, and blogs. He is running an "e-campaign."

Mr. Bryan claims that the internet acts as a great leveler, and that it allows him to compete with the major parties. However, I tend to agree with the position of Republican political consultant Bob Vickery. He points out that "e-campaigns" are aimed at the most apathetic portion of the electorate – young people. He mused, "Why don't we put political ads on Xbox and Playstation? Because those kids don't vote!"

Therefore, while the internet may be driving down the financial barriers to entry for campaigning, it is not, in my opinion, changing the behavior of the electorate. Furthermore, I believe that an "e-campaign," much like a blog or internet news source, may still lack much of the credibility and widespread acceptance that traditional campaigns have developed. I do not know if I subscribe to the school that believes the internet will be the great leveler in politics. While I do acknowledge that it significantly reduces barriers to entry, it has yet to change many of the deep-rooted norms and values of the American political culture.

Digital Governance Nugget 8 - Who Stole My Election?

This October 31 article from the Kansas City Star reveals that much of the fear over e-voting has not been eased. As the article explains, activists are rallying against the use of electronic vote counting. Bev Harris, of blackboxvoting.org, suggests that the 2006 election will be completely illegitimate. While I do not share her view or level of concern, it does reveal that the electorate is not informed enough about e-voting. Part of this blame falls on the manufacturers of the systems, who refuse to release proprietary source code. Also to blame, however, are the precincts for not explaining e-voting and calming fears.

This article also points to an interesting dilemma. On one side, activists want to ensure that a fair election occurs, and that all votes are counted equally and accurately. On the other side, activists have been strongly critical of any measure to ensure voter integrity. For example, to ensure that voter fraud is kept to a minimum or eliminated, the Republican director of the St. Louis election board mailed over 5,000 letters to individuals who have recently registered. Activists soon claimed that this maneuver was illegal. Missouri introduced an additional measure that required photo-ID cards to vote. The State Supreme Court struck this measure down.

I can understand why the court ruled this measure unconstitutional, as the potential for de facto discrimination is evident. However, all of this leaves me wondering what measures would be acceptable to the e-voting activists. Are they so staunchly against e-voting that there is no room for compromise, or is there an acceptable amount of oversight that could calm their fears? With less than a week to go, little can be done except for the inevitable lawsuits to follow. However, we must strategically examine this issue, and find some kind of compromise. Surely, the activists must be willing to accept some form of e-voting, provided that oversight and the proper checks and balances are in place.

Fluency Milestone 9 - Queries and a Practical Database

We left off last week in the midst of a discussion about the importance of databases in the public sector. As I indicated, the student-teacher dialogue resulted with a discussion between our “tech-guru” and me. This was necessary, as I was experiencing problems with designing the queries and relationships in the database we used for our FLAG presentation (see my website to download or view this database.) Much of what the "tech-guru" told me parallels Snyder's discussion of queries.

Student: As a future analyst, I wonder why I wouldn't store all of the information in one table, as opposed to several relational tables?

Teacher: As you begin your career as an analyst, you will discover how difficult it is to accumulate all information into one table. Some of the information that you need will come from proprietary data sources, others will come from databases that have such as vast amount of information, that it would be difficult to pare it down into one overarching table. Thus, you will need to be able to create queries, establish relationships, and pare down the information that is available

Student: Will I need to know SQL to accomplish this?

Teacher: At first, you may want to learn how to create queries using Design View in Microsoft Access. After you have grown accustomed to creating queries, you may want to learn the SQL language. It is much more robust than a visual query, and it teaches you more about the physical structure of databases.

Student: Why is there a difference between logical and physical databases? Teacher: The entire idea of networked computing is to move more power to the user, as opposed to the centralized server. By allowing users to customize queries and information, the integrity of the data stored centrally is maintained, and the power to create and innovate is shifted to the user.

What the "tech-guru" told me made sense. I assembled my tables, created the relationships, and built the queries. Now that I feel comfortable with visual queries, I will attempt to translate one or two into an SQL query. I have never used SQL before, so this will be a learning experience for me, too. If you refer to the query titled JoinQuery, you will see that we wanted to obtain the Social Security Number, Last Name, First Name, and Position from the table EmploymentApp, the previous employer from the table EmploymentVerif, and the Credit Rating from the table CreditReportingAgency.

As you can see from the visual query, it is relatively simple to accomplish. The SQL language, on the other hand, is a bit more in-depth. Here is what it would look like:

SELECT EmploymentApp.SocSecurNum, EmploymentApp.LastName, EmploymentApp.FirstName, EmploymentApp.Position, EmploymentVerif.PreviousEmploy, CreditReportingAgency.CreditRating

FROM (EmploymentApp INNER JOIN CreditReportingAgency ON EmploymentApp.SocSecurNum = CreditReportingAgency.USTaxpayerID) INNER JOIN EmploymentVerif ON EmploymentApp.SocSecurNum = EmploymentVerif.SocSecurNum

WHERE (((EmploymentVerif.PreviousEmploy <> None) AND ((CreditReportingAgency.CreditRating) > 650))

You might ask yourself the benefits of compiling a query through SQL. Simply put, it affords you more control, and eliminates some of the risk of errors. Because you are physically typing out every procedure, you are constantly scanning your query to ensure all of the commands are in place. I will admit that SQL can be a bit more challenging, but the versatility that it creates is priceless, especially if you are charged with creating a large database in your professional career. Furthermore, you may encounter database programs that do not utilize a visual query. Here, you expertise in SQL will prove useful, even if the program does not use the SQL language. As was discussed in the Snyder chapter on the Digerati, companies try to approximate industry-standard languages and GUIs. As such, the language required by the specific program may be quite similar to SQL.

Fluency Milestone 8 - Getting to First Base

After my FLAG presentation, I gave some serious thought to how I would create a milestone for this week. Our group went over several concepts, but I felt like one aspect was missing. Perhaps this was due to the limitations imposed by presenting information germane to the chapter. What I want to do is show why databases are so important, and why fluency in general is so important. For those of you who have taken a Philosophy class, you are no doubt familiar with the format of a teacher-student dialogue. I will attempt to replicate that in this post, and Milestone 9. This dialogue is based on an in-depth conversation I had with a "tech-guru" at work, and a few in-house seminars that I have attended.

Student: Why should I even bother to learn IT? I plan on doing (x) when I complete school.

Teacher: Simply put, if you are not familiar with the basics of computing and information management, you are at a disadvantage. There are a lot of ambitious, tech-savvy individuals out there with the same credentials as you. If a firm has to make a decision between the two of you, they would logically choose the candidate with and understanding of IT.

Student: Ok, but why should I learn databases? There are so many computer programmers and database administrators in the marketplace. I feel like I can briefly learn what my professor (i.e. Doctor Shulman) teaches me, and then dismiss it.

Teacher: That would be unwise. Most students do not realize how often they encounter databases, because they are accustomed to the one-size-fits-all Microsoft Access database. When you login to your Yahoo! email account (probably during work or class), you are submitting the Test data to a query. The query then seeks your account within a table, verifies your password from a table, and determines if you should be permitted to login. Somebody has to design the architecture, but many within an organization need to understand the architecture to find ways to improve it, and identify problems before they reach the tipping point.

Student: Well, how does this all apply to the public sector? I understand the private sector need to organize customer accounts and the like, but I do not understand why a mid-career analyst needs this information!

Teacher: The simple answer is that the most efficient and logical way to organize information is in a database. Say that you are employed as a policy analyst for the FDA. You want to evaluate a recent immunization program, and its effectiveness in preventing Virus X. You would need to find the database that the FDA used to store the immunization information, query the information to obtain a random sample, and perhaps build a new database to gather information from a follow-up questionnaire to assess effectiveness. Even at a more basic level, the familiarity with databases will make you a more knowledgeable and reliable worker. By the way, these are the things Human Resources looks for when promotions are due.

...To be continued. Thus, my "Aha!" moment for the week is a realization of how central databases are to the private and public sector. Because of movements to lower costs and make government more efficient, databases are a logical way to maintain data cheaply and efficiently. One cannot simply avoid them in his or her professional career. As the complexity of public service delivery grows, so will the need for professionals who understand the form and function of databases.

Off-topic: If you need some inspiration

This posting is just my way to link to a tangentially related YouTube video of FunTwo playing Canon, originally by Pachabel. If anything, this is an inspirational video, and my jaw still hits the floor when I see this. I'm sure many of you have viewed this already, but if not, hold on to your seats. Canon. Enjoy!