Israeli troops and tanks massed along the Gaza border and the government said it had called up reserves for a possible ground operation, as the death toll increased to nearly 300 after Israeli aircraft pounded Gaza for a second day on Sunday.
Florida classifies occupational categories as consisting of the: Creative Class (30%), Working Class (26.1%), Service Class (43.4%), Agriculture (0.4%).
Reinforces the importance of creativity at all levels in the workplace … “ensuring that the creativity of the many is tapped and that the benefits of the Creative Age are extended to everyone.”
Challenges the Creative Class to take more of a leadership role in addressing three issues: : (1) investing in creativity to ensure long-run economic growth, (2) overcoming the class divide that weakens our social fabric and threaten economic well-being, and (3) building new forms of social cohesion in a world defined by increasing diversity and beset by government fragmentation.
Quoting Paul Romer: “We do not know what the next major idea about how to support ideas will be. Nor do we know if will emerge. There are, however, two safe predictions. First, the country that takes the lead in the twenty-first century will be the one that implements an innovation that supports the production of commercially relevant ideas in the private sector. Second, the new meta-ideas of this kind will be found. ” pg. 319
BUSINESS: “Innovation in America: A gathering storm? Confronted by Asia’s technological rise and the financial crisis, corporate America is losing its self-confidence. It should not.” The Economist, 22 November 2008.
Growing consensus says America’s technological lead is shrinking and once gone, we’ll be sunk.
Counterview from Amar Bhide of Columbia’s B School in new book, The Venturesome Economy.
OP-ED: How to Pay for a 21st-Century Military, New York Times, December 20, 2008
You want some tough love on the Pentagon budget to pay for the interventions (overwhelmingly SysAdmin in nature) we’re still waging and are likely to wage in the future, well . . . this is what the hit list looks like.
Simply brutal, but well chosen.
The much fabled train-wreck seems to have finally arrived.
(Thanks: pilgrimstevec)
The Planned Change principle generally includes three courses of action: Maintain/sustain the current system/process, evolutionary/incremental improvement or revolutionary improvement through re-design. The higher degree of change, the higher the risk. Risk can be minimized through use of the concept of Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). FCS incorporates all three approaches and a strategic assessment will help identify priorities for funding.
Why Funding Future Combat Systems Is A Must, (European Stars and Stripes)…Sen. John Cornyn, December 19, 2008, Pg. 19
The federal government has a solemn duty to provide our men and women in uniform with the best equipment available to ensure they can fight and win against any opponent on any battlefield on Earth. That is exactly the intent behind Future Combat Systems (FCS), the Army’s flagship modernization program, which represents a quantum leap in military technology. By making our ground forces lighter, faster and more lethal, and equipping them with weapon systems that are more survivable, more deployable, and more sustainable, FCS will change the way our Army does business.
In short, FCS is an interoperable family of cutting-edge ground vehicles, UAVs, ground robots, indirect fire weapons and sensors. Each component is interconnected through the FCS communications and data network, allowing for unparalleled information sharing. FCS will provide our soldiers the means to execute both counterinsurgency operations, now the most critical piece of the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the conventional warfare for which Bradleys, Abrams tanks and other legacy systems were designed. Whether battling uniformed military forces or insurgents who conceal themselves within a civilian population, FCS will enable our soldiers to see the enemy first, understand the situation, then act decisively.
But that’s only part of the story. FCS, at its core, is about soldiers; it’s about empowering them to make decisions that are quicker, better-informed and more sound. With individual soldiers functioning as intelligence assets, FCS will allow 360-degree information flow — streaming up to unit commanders, down to individual soldiers, and out to adjacent units — enabling better integration of actions against a foe.
We will digitally link our soldiers at every level, thanks to the FCS network and the new Ground Soldier System, which is separate but fully complementary to FCS. Soldier-worn and integrated into the body armor, the lightweight system consists of a compact computer, GPS unit, helmet-mounted display and communications system. It will allow us to maximize soldiers’ situational awareness.
Unfortunately for soldiers, the FCS program has had an uphill climb since conception. With a large price tag, it has been repeatedly targeted for funding cuts in Congress. FCS is highly complex — with 14 different platforms, more than 300 different technologies, and more than 600 contracts in place — which has made it difficult to tell the story of its potential.
The name itself has contributed to broad misperception, arguably sounding more like something intended to fight space-age enemies on distant battlefields than what it actually is: a family of game-changing weapon systems ideally suited to fight enemies on the streets of Iraqi cities, the unforgiving terrain of Afghanistan, and conventional battlefields. As such, it is past time for the Army to change the name.
FCS nonbelievers, some of whom argue that FCS will be of limited value in modern-day counterinsurgency operations, should take note that FCS addresses more than 80 percent of all “operational needs statements” (requests for new equipment and situational awareness capabilities) generated in the past two years by our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Moreover, early versions of FCS equipment are helping soldiers take the fight to the enemy and save American lives today. Our Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams are using small FCS-derived robots called “Packbots” to clear improvised explosive devices from the roads our troops travel. Packbots are also being utilized to clear buildings, caves and bunkers. In addition, for the past year, U.S. troops in Iraq have been flying more than 20 FCS-derived, back-packable UAVs, called “Micro Air Vehicles,” to spot IEDs before they kill or injure anyone. Even the latest enhanced armor kits for HMMWVs are based on FCS technology.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that our military should be “moving aggressively in wartime to provide resources needed now on the battlefield,” and the Army’s two-phased fielding strategy for FCS follows this guidance. Because infantry Brigade Combat Teams have been in the highest demand during post-9/11 combat operations, the Army will “spin out” essential FCS equipment to these units first.
New FCS equipment arrives on a regular basis at Fort Bliss, Texas, where the Army Evaluation Task Force is based. The AETF, whose ranks are filled by combat-seasoned soldiers, provides immediate feedback on the equipment before it is fielded to troops, representing a huge leap forward in the way the Army acquires weapon systems.
Our current inventory of Army weapon systems is aging rapidly and may not last as long as intended. That makes it even more crucial that the Army’s next weapon systems be fielded now, with the capability to defeat the threats of both today and tomorrow. With FCS, we have that technology in hand, and we have a golden opportunity.
John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he is the ranking Republican on the airland subcommittee, which is responsible
for oversight of Army weapons programs and funding levels.
First time I can recall seeing a reference to a Control (process behavior) chart in the local paper. Expect that it will be more common over the next 25 years.
Test you knowledge in assessing “scores and trends” ?
ISTEP+ Scores: It Depends, On How You Look at Them, by Jeff Abbott, Ph.D., J.D., published in the Indianapolis Star, Dec 23, 2008.
The public does not understand the statistically valid way of analyzing ISTEP+ test scores.
To repeat, it is of little statistical use to compare only one year’s test results with the previous year’s results. It is a meaningless comparison, particularly given the fact that the reported scores are from different groups of students, and that the tests compared are not even the same tests.
Test scores must be compared instead over a period of years to determine the trend of the scores. This can be done using an Excel spreadsheet, plotting the scores, preparing a line graph, and then adding a trend line.
The resulting chart shows that ISTEP+ scores for Indiana students are not dropping over the long run but are increasing. The linear trend line is going up from left to right, which indicates a positive trend in scores. Moreover, by using a widely used quality-process tool called a “Control Chart” it can be shown that the scores are increasing because of something other than random chance. (An upcoming issue of the Indiana Policy Review will explore this finding in depth.)
US officials said yesterday that they want answers from Russia on whether it is selling advanced surface-to-air missiles to Iran, a move the United States insists could threaten American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Plans to double the number of US troops in Afghanistan will see them suffer the same defeat as the Soviet army, the Taliban claims.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Washington could send up to 30,000 more troops over the next six months. The senior US commander in the country, General David McKiernan, had previously asked for more than 20,000 soldiers to counter the increasingly violent Taliban insurgency.
But Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman claiming to represent the fugitive leader Mullah Omar, said: “Russians also sent that many troops but were badly defeated.
“When the US increases its troop levels to that of the Russians, they will also be cruelly defeated.”
He added: “More troops – that means there will be more targets for the Taliban.”
Soviet forces lost 15,000 men in bitter fighting with US-backed Afghan resistance movements during their 10-year occupation of the country and withdrew in 1988.
The US reinforcements are due to arrive in the country in January and be deployed in the provinces of Logar and Wardak, on the southern flank of Kabul.
The insurgency of Islamist fighters has encroached on the capital this year, cutting several routes out of the city for westerners and aid agencies.
The Afghan government welcomed the prospect of more US troops, but said they should be used to train the Afghan Army and block the flow of insurgents from Pakistan’s tribal regions.
Sultan Ahmad Baheen, a foreign ministry spokesman, said: “These forces should be deployed in places where they are needed – particularly in Helmand and along our eastern borders, from where terrorists infiltrate into our country.”
Other US reinforcements are due to join British troops in Helmand, where commanders have described the insurgency as a “stalemate”.
BRUSSELS – Fellow NATO members must follow the United States in committing additional forces to Afghanistan, the alliance said yesterday.
Washington plans to send 20,000 to 30,000 extra troops to the area by the beginning of next summer to combat a growing Taliban insurgency, said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A NATO diplomat said the alliance wanted to avoid a situation in which two or three of the 26 allies did almost all the dangerous work.
The United States already has some 31,000 troops in the war-ravaged country.
Two articles in the local paper. The first one on education and the challenge of identifying indicators for measuring success. The second article recognized a company for successfully applying the Baldrige criteria which provides a model for identifying critical performance measures.
Problem Resolution? Use the Baldrige criteria to develop the consensus on how to measure the success of charter and public schools. Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.
Proposed moratorium on charter schools stirs debate, Whether achievement is better at special schools stirs debate, By Andy Gammill, Posted: December 22, 2008
Same old grind doesn’t apply. Cargill’s corn milling plant wins national Baldrige award for innovation. By Carolyn Duffy Marsan / Star correspondent. Posted: December 22, 2008
The U.S. Department of Commerce selects a handful of Baldrige Award winners each year, and the awards are handed out by the president of the United States. Winning the award shows an organization is committed to constantly improving its performance and the value of its products or services.
“It’s a very rigorous process,” said Harry Hertz, director of the Baldrige National Quality Program, and includes a 50-page self-assessment.
Department of Commerce examiners visited the Indianapolis plant in October during the vetting process for the award. Hertz said the examiners were impressed by Cargill’s process for turning ideas from employees into product innovations.
“One of the big things they’ve done over time is come up with innovative uses of corn,” Hertz said. “Just because you’re in an industry that’s been around forever doesn’t mean you can’t be making innovations and have innovative products. That’s the key to surviving and thriving in this challenging economy.”
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