I'm Feelin' Techie Today

Fluency Milestone 12 - Digital Multimedia for Deadheads

2006-11-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

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?

2006-11-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

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?

2006-11-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-01T06:55:00.000-08:00

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

2006-10-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

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!

Fluency Milestone 7 - Excel and Hypothesis Testing

2006-10-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I have always envisioned Excel as a program for accountants and bookkeepers. I finally came around as an undergraduate, and took the time to learn the basic functions of Excel. They were interesting, but I never had a need for them. However, during the FLAG presentation, I had an “Aha!” moment. Actually, I had several “Aha!” moments that resulted from me clicking around within the functions men.

For my current employer, I often have to do before and after t-tests and ANOVA’s to determine the effectiveness of programs. I never have a statistics book handy, and my managers require me to report whether the test statistic surpassed the critical value, and not simply the test statistic and p-value. Therefore, I often have to delay my reports so I can dig through my old statistics books to find a table of critical values.

However, during the FLAG presentation, I found a few functions that will help me now, and will surely help me in the future as an analyst. I decided to create a spreadsheet that will allow me to input the alpha level and degrees of freedom, and the function will return the critical value. The first function is TINV, which provides the critical value for a t-test. If I want to test something at the .01 level of significance and my degrees of freedom are 35, I can simply insert the data and it returns a critical value of ~ 2.723. One word of caution – if you are performing a one-tailed t-test, you must convert it to two tailed. For example, if you measuring something at the .025 1T level of significance, you want to convert that to .05.

I also included an F-distribution and Chi-Square distribution calculator on this spreadsheet. Both of these will also come in handy in my current job, and any future analyst jobs I will have. Therefore, my “Aha!” moment for this week is three-fold. To begin, I found a quick and easy way to find critical values, which will save me time and hassle. Secondly, this opened me up to the possibility of doing more statistical work in Excel, as opposed to SPSS, which I find cumbersome at times. Finally, I found a great way to post documents like this, as opposed to simply describing them to you. Click on this link, and then click on the link for Milestone 7. It will take you directly to the Excel spreadsheet I created. Happy hypothesis testing!

Digital Governance Nugget 7 - Open Source Software and the Public Sector

2006-10-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

Having completed Garson Chapter 8, I was particularly interested in use and non-use of open source software in the public sector. I use both the Microsoft Office Suite and Open Office, and I have found that both are comparable. In fact, some of the programs offered by Open Office are actually superior to Microsoft.

What Garson pointed to, however, are some of the potential disadvantages of introducing open-source software into government. He exhibits that the introduction could be costly, inefficient, and legally complex. However, from my own experience, I have found Open Office and Linux to be user-friendly. Sure, there are a few functional differences, but Open Office’s Writer feels very much like Word, and Calc is very similar to Excel.

I searched for some additional information about implementing open-source software in government. I came across this zdnet site that is completely dedicated to information about governmental implementation of IT. Of particular interest is the commentary on open-source software implementation. What is clear is that others believe that government agencies would not find it difficult to implement Open Office.

This is all very important, because of the changing nature of government finances. Agencies are being required to cut costs, become cost-effective, and innovate. Although we are not there yet, government may begin to accept open-source software as a legitimate and cheaper alternative. One would be wise to familiarize his or herself with the technology now. Furthermore, for those of you going into the non-profit arena, open-source technology could be potentially beneficial to a small organization, whose costs must be kept very low. This is, in my opinion, just a hint of the things to come.

Fluency Milestone 6 - Trying My Hand at Encryption

2006-10-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

Since I am a self-proclaimed nerd, I found the Snyder discussion of encryption technology to be the most interesting topic covered so far. I find the intersection of technology and mathematics amazing. I spent a while researching and learning the Euler proof. I think many of us forget that computers are based on a number of mathematical properties, all stemming from the use of the binary number system.

The Snyder chapter and Garson's discussion of security go hand in hand. Garson reveals that the current administration has done little to bolster infrastructure security, and to reduce cybercrimes. The Snyder discussion on encryption provides one of the ways that the government can institute secure data transfer and storage. This will be increasingly important, as many of develop in our careers, perhaps to the level of agency director. Secure networks will still be a persistent requirement, and we will be called upon to find innovative ways to protect sensitive, even classified data.

With that said, I decided to try my hand at RSA encryption. What I will do is provide you with the encrypted message, my binary system, the necessary public key, and the required primes (and s by default). All you have to do is calculate and comment. The first person to accurately decrypt my message into cleartext wins my enduring respect (Doc is excluded).

Here is the encrypted code: 51, 10, 98, 171, 29, 93, 140, 105, 79, 8, 64, 33.

Here are the tools and information you'll need: The Public Key is 187. S (the private key) is 107. An easy way to obtain only the remainders is the MOD function on the scientific version of the Windows calculator. Once you obtain the remainders, you will need this site to decode into 6-bit binary. Use the decimal and binary columns. Once you have figured out all of the binary, simply convert using the 8-bit ASCII scheme (figure 8.6 in Snyder). You will understand the message immediately.

Therefore, my "Aha!" moment this week was that I could actually succeed in using RSA encryption. While I may never be an encryption specialist, it is important as public managers that we understand the first lines of defense within our information systems.

Digital Governance Nugget 6 - For Your Own Protection

2006-10-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

I typically do not hide the fact that I am a Conservative Republican, and I generally agree with most of this administration’s decisions. However, after reading Garson's review of security policy, particularly under the Bush administration, I have grown quite concerned. At a very basic level, my fear of cybercrime and cyberattacks is very real.

At the recommendation of Garson, I visited the Carnegie-Mellon CERT Coordination Center's website. I was completely amazed at the number of vulnerabilities identified and the number of fixes available. After exploring the site some more, I clicked on the header link for Evaluations and Practices. There is a column called "Governance," which appears to be a training program offered by CERT. Here, they teach organizations how to implement and maintain a strong security policy. As was pointed out in the Garson text, the Bush administration seems only to pay lip service to infrastructure security. Several CIOs have resigned already.

Out of curiosity, I decided to do a full scan for adware, Trojan Horses, viruses, and to check my firewall log to see what kind of traffic I am experiencing. AdAware returned 16 tracking cookies, which were innocuous compared to the other results. Norton Anti-Virus returned two critical objects, A004509.dll and WinKeyHook.dll. Both of these files log computer idle time (the time where you are not performing any activities and processor usage is at a minimum.) I can only imagine why these files are tracking my processor cycles. Thankfully, my TrojanScan revealed no current Trojan Horses. I examined my firewall log report, and it showed that in a twenty-hour period, I had 220 attempts to access ports that networks should not access without user-initiation, and two Denial-of-Service Attacks, and three attempts to modify a registry value.

I have nothing financially worthwhile on my computer. I do not make an excellent target for cybercriminals, yet they are clearly trying to access my computer. Imagine what a corporation or government agency experiences. Those government agencies that are logging vital highly sensitive personal information in databases are putting our privacy at risk. No security measure is foolproof, but applying a probabilistic method can reduce threats to a level of confidence that can be tolerated. Yet, the current administration does not seem willing to finance stronger infrastructure. This scares me, greatly. I would like to hear your comments on this.

Fluency Milestone 5 - Learning How to Learn

2006-10-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Call me old school, and by most accounts, I am old school. I look at the crop of young high school students that is preparing to move up into the halls of academia, and I worry about the future of research. I still vaguely remember the Dewey Decibel system, and the painful yet completely achievable method of scanning through books to find a few sentences of information.

I am not, however, a nostalgic person. Information is literally at our fingertips, but I have an uneasy feeling that many people do not know where or how to search. They do not know how to analyze the relevance, validity, and reliability of the information that they find. I have found it necessary to group my "Aha!" moment from last week into this week's. This grouped "Aha!" deals with the excellent way that Snyder shows the quest for knowledge in an increasingly complicated electronic frontier (to steal a term from lyricist John Perry Barlow.)

What this chapter provided me was an opportunity to understand the importance of primary and secondary sources on the internet. I remember learning about these in a library class in high school. What makes the internet so, well...amazing, is that while looking at a primary source, one can transfer to an image, a video, or even a secondary source. If you click on the John Perry Barlow link I provided above, you are transported to his own bio, on the eff.org website. Here, there are links to various causes, images, and a few poems and songs by the former Grateful Dead lyricist. This is all made possible by HTML and the HTTP protocol. If I were to look for this same volume of information in books, it would take quite a while.

I guess the moral to my milestone this week is that whether you fear or embrace IT, it is here to stay. If you embrace it and learn HOW to use it, it will benefit you in exponentially greater ways. Primary sources and secondary sources are a click away. Once you learn to analyze the validity of a document, you become a wise researcher. This ties into last week's milestone. Books were normally very authoritative and reliable, but not very timely. Now, we must question our sources, but we can generally rely on them to be up-to-date. This World Wide Web allows each of us to build webs of information that include various sources and media. This greatly enhances the learning experience. It is grounded in our innate human predisposition to be "curious creatures." Before I get too philosophical, I will end this posting.

Digital Governance Nugget 5 - According to this article, you won't read this.

2006-10-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

I found this article humorous and a bit ironic, since I am currently blogging. According to a LexisNexis sponsored survey, only 6% of Americans turn to "emerging media" for accurate and up-to-the-minute information. The survey defined emerging media as blogs, podcasts, and internet-only periodicals. As you can see from the article, 50% of respondents still choose traditional local news.

It appears that the internet, and in particular emerging media, may not be catching on as fast as some would hope. Everybody with the technical know-how is allotted space to post their opinions, but these opinions may be falling on deaf ears. Additionally, the substance of the opinion seems to matter greatly. After traditional lifestyle media, blogs, user groups, and chatrooms were the places where most individuals sought out information on pop culture. These internet resources have surpassed print media.

So, for now, it appears most people see blogging as a means to entertain, or find out about entertainment. Blogs have no caught on as great depositories of pertinent information. Could this change? I believe it will, but it is going to require a cultural change - one where the public accepts and even begins to understand IT. We are not there yet, but maybe soon.

Fluency Milestone 4 - Don't Assume the Burmese Mountain Dog

2006-09-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

I found much of what Snyder had to say about searching the internet to be highly relevant and useful. I admit that when I "Google" something, I never use the advanced search functions. Maybe it is due to laziness, or maybe I never realized what a boon it could be. I like that it allows users to limit the domains that are searched, and that is provides users with several categories of searches (with all of the words, with the exact phrase, with at least one of the words, without the words). Truthfully, for everyday searches, I will still use the basic Google search, but when I need relevant information for a project, the advanced search seems like a good place to start.

One concept that Snyder posed, and it is directly related to limiting and investigating search results, is that we should not assume too much about websites. The story of the http://www.gatt.org/ fiasco is particularly startling, given that complexity of the hoax. However, on a more basic level, the moral of the story is that we need to question the content. This is why I like Google Advanced Search feature. It allows you to limit domains, to perhaps .edu or .gov, which tend to be more authoritative on issues. As an example, I searched the word "breasts," on Google. I knew that it would return a mix of serious scientific information and prurient content. Indeed, I found sites that mockingly discussed whether breasts were sexual devices or for feeding. By limiting my search to .edu domains (the search looks like breasts: ".edu", I ensured that the majority of the content would be of scientific value.

Snyder shows that the computer does not supplant human logic. We may tell the computer to do task x and y, but if we do not clearly define x and y, we will end up with z, when we were looking for k. Once we arrive at k, we see that there are several k's. Once we select one of the k's, we must determine if it is valid given x and y.

This made me give some serious thought to the future of information. Here, I found my "Aha!" moment for the week. When we were forced to go to the library and get all of our information from books, we could reasonably assume that the information was factual and relevant. Timeliness, however, was a shortcoming. Now, we know that the information is timely, but we must question the validity and relevance. What I gained from this chapter is a conceptual framework, and this framework is not limited to searches. It deals with the availability of information and communication in general. My "Aha!" moment is the realization that there are upsides, and many downsides to all of this information availability. Netiquette, viruses, fictitious information, scams, privacy...our generation faces these major hurdles. We are the digital generation, but we have a lot of work ahead of us. This is especially true for those who will enter public service. We must find innovative ways to regulate, control, and encourage IT. These are often conflicting duties. However, as the law catches up with technology, there will be a great demand for public servants who are FIT.

Digital Governance Nugget 4 - The Digital Divide

2006-09-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Up to this point, I have reserved my "Aha!" moments for the Snyder text, but I must admit that I had a major "Aha!" moment when reading Garson's chapter on the digital divide. Naturally, the digital divide is important in many ways, but I never thought about how it relates to e-governance. As Garson points out, implementing information and communication technologies (ICT) in a public agency is often just "an add-on cost," since the digital divide requires agencies to maintain traditional variations of the services offered. For example, the IRS has an E-File system, and the traditional 1040-EZ. PennDOT offers online vehicle registration renewal, but allows Pennsylvanians to mail in the information, as well.

I must admit, many of the solutions offered do not convince me. Government intervention has had modest to substantial effect on increasing internet access, but as the text notes, this is simply a dichotomous measurement. What about continuous access and, more importantly, skilled access? I found a great site that purports to have a model that can solve the digital divide. Craig Warren Smith, Harvard professor and consultant to the UN Task Force on Information and Communication Technologies, administers this portal. Truthfully, this entire site is useful. However, I found the seven fallacies and nine truths about the digital divide particularly interesting.

Much of the content of this site mirrors the assertions made by Garson. In particular, the site suggests that dichotomous access is not enough. Government must strive to create a skilled set of users, or the Second Digital Revolution. Where Mr. Smith differs from Garson, however, is his belief in the ability of government to solve the problem. Mr. Smith asserts that while government must play a substantive role, the private sector must better interact with the public sector to create "disruptive technologies" and to better allocate resource to solve the growing problem. Furthermore, Mr. Smith doubts that a worldwide superfund would close the divide (see Fallacy 4).

As is evident from my previous posts, I am a bit of a cynic when it comes to this idea of e-governance. I like the idea of eventually reaching the level of e-participation, but I do not believe that we have the infrastructure, social readiness, or public outcry for full-fledged e-governance. While I may file my taxes online and register my vehicle, I can safely say that 80% of my close friends do not. As long as the digital divide persists, government agencies will still offer dual service methods, and the idea of full e-governance may remain just a pipe dream.

Fluency Milestone 3 - HTML Color Schemes

2006-09-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

When I originally posted this some time ago, I was not feeling particularly inspired. Therefore, I did a surface level discussion of HTML language and color schemes. However, the need for me to post files that are associated with the Milestones enticed me to create a very simple website to host the files. This was great, but the website was drab, and did little to create a FIT atmosphere. As such, I decided to rewrite this post, and connect it to my overhaul of my file-hosting website.

I did save a portion of my old post: I will first acknowledge that Snyder did an excellent job organizing and describing the information. In my experience, HTML is generally taught in a "code atmosphere." Snyder, however, shows what the output looks like at all times, and he does an excellent job of tying previous examples into new ones. Thus, it does not have that abstract "code atmosphere" feel to it.

Now, for the new material:
The website started as a plain black and white website with two links. However, using only skills obtained in the Snyder text, I was able to create a website that is not only user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. Many beginners shy away from the use of tables, as they appear to be an extra complication. However, tables can be a real boon to the website. They organize data efficiently, and prevent formatting glitches.

Therefore, my "Aha!" moment has transformed. With only basic HTML skills, we can all put together a first-rate website. Sure, it may only be your homepage, but this creativity is an invaluable skill in the professional world. Employers are not only trying assess your technical capabilities (i.e. HTML, JAVA, XML), but they are also trying to asses your creativity. If you can demonstrate a basic understanding of HTML, you demonstrate an ability to create. Furthermore, you technical capabilities may come in handy someday. Thus, you become a stronger candidate for a job, internship, or promotion.

I invite you to visit my website and explore what it has to offer. It will be an ongoing project throughout the rest of the semester. I may include links to non-class related material or political topics. I have no defined endpoint. If you have any suggestions for what you would like to see, comment on this post.

Digital Governance Nugget 3 - Pretexting

2006-09-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

Pretexting. Okay, I'll admit that I have never heard of this term before. So, I searched wikipedia, and here is what I found (Pretexting). Essentially, pretexting involves using deceptive methods to obtain personal information from private businesses, such as phone companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and Voice over Internet Providers (VoIPs). The perpetrator contacts these companies, and pretends to be a representative from a government agency or or other authoritative body. This information is then disseminated to marketing companies.

In this cnet.com article, the author lists several proposed bills that are stalled at some phase in the lawmaking process. Many of these bills would make pretexting a crime, unless done directly by a law enforcement agency. Of particular interest is HR4127, which encompasses a wide range of data security issues. In particular, the bill deals with the methods for detecting, notifying, and resolving issues of data security breaches.

It worries me that these bills are being delayed. The impetus to protect personal information is there. Is it politics that is slowing the process, or is there Congressional neglect of the issue? We should not have to worry about a data collector pretexting in order to obtain our information, and we should not have to worry about third party data brokers losing our personal information.

Fluency Milestone 2 - Remove me from your list!

2006-09-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

I'm guilty! Throw me to the lions, or at least come up with some penance that is equitable to my evil deed! After reading Snyder Chapter 12, I realized that I was guilty of not expecting the unexpected. I had applied to several graduate programs, and I was accepted to the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY-Albany) among others. Though I had not confirmed that I was going to attend, the admissions department placed me on a listserv called "Rocklist," which is named for the Rockefeller School of Government. Apparently, they did this for all accepted applicants.

Admittedly, I knew I was on this list, and I knew that I was probably not going to attend. I could have sent a courtesy email to the admissions department and list moderator to inform them of this, but I didn't. Low and behold, I received an email a few weeks later from a Chinese exchange student who was seeking housing in Albany. I thought nothing of it, but I did reply to the listserv informing the moderator that I would not be attending SUNY-Albany. Then, I packed my bags for a weeklong vacation in Germany!

Nach einer Woche mit Starkbier, Leberkaes, und Bayerischen Schloesser (After a week with Bock beer, Bavarian Meatloaf, and Bavarian Castles), I returned home to find my inbox full of 97 unread messages. Fifty-two of these were from Rocklist. Apparently, fifty-two others sent out the same email - "Please remove me from the list." Many of them replied off of other emails with the same subject line, which created subject lines that looked something like Re:Re:Re:Re:RE:Re:RE:RE:Please remove me from list. It was a mess. Finally, I get to an email sent by the list moderator informing everyone that the proper way to be removed from the list was to click on the Unsubscribe URL listed at the bottom of all emails sent by the list. I was embarrassed. This poor moderator must have been ripping her hair out.

Well, now I know that I should have probably expected this. In fact, I probably should have read the entire email for the Unsubscribe feature, since I had been on a listserv before. I liked Snyder's discussion on Netiquette. It's something we are all responsible for, since we are all equal users. The great collaborative and decentralizing powers of IT place a little more of the responsibility on each of us. I used poor Netiquette, as did fifty-two others. We collectively turned a useful listserv into a disaster. Lesson learned, now for my penance...

Digital Governance Nugget 2 - Privacy and Openness

2006-09-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

As an interest of mine is privacy policy and government surveillance, I was "googling" privacy and came across this article. According to the article from cnet.com news, there has been a steady rise in government spending aimed at classifying information, and a steady rise in government spending aimed at surveillance. In 1997, the government spent $3.4 billion on classifying documents, and $7.7 billion in 2005. Furthermore, the government has adopted several programs aimed at monitoring emails, internet searches, telephone conversations, and the like.

The government repeatedly produces the reasoning that surveillance and classification assist the War on Terror and protect vital government secrets. This is a logical argument, no matter what one's political or ideological orientation. As with private sector companies, certain information is proprietary; it must remain confidential in order to maintain the organization. The difference in the public sector, however, is the issue of accountability. How can Joe Citizen be sure that the information that is being classified really needs classified? How can Joe be sure that the government is not overstepping its boundaries when it is scanning through emails and phone records?

The answer, simply put, is that he cannot. He can, however, trust that the political process will work, and that the people will collectively decide if an administration is trustworthy. So, this is the other side of digital governance. The side that is not user-friendly, or even user-driven. We must trust that all of this new technology is really being implemented to protect us from the Bin Laden's and future Bin Laden's. It's like we are all being forced to make a technological leap of faith. As one can tell from the current political debate, it's a tough leap to make. In the long run, I think that the issues of privacy and accountability could make or break digital governance. If people feel there is no accountability, digital governance cannot survive.

Fluency Milestone 1: Conceptualizing Networks

2006-09-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

Being one of the resident "nerds" in this IT class, I must admit that I had my reservations about the Snyder text. Upon first glance, I assumed that it would all seem very elementary to me. Perhaps that influenced some of my early milestones, which came off as a bit arrogant and "nerdy." However, upon review of some of the early Snyder chapters, I realized that each of these chapters presented new concepts to me.

For instance, Chapter 3 presented an excellent overview of the way that networks operate. As any student, I have my weaknesses in IT, and networks happen to be my weakness. They always seemed so abstract to, because they are intangible. One cannot touch a TCP/IP or a LAN. I've heard of the terms TCP/IP and LAN, but I have never found a logical way of conceptualizing them. Snyder's use of the postcard analogy for TCP/IP and the party analogy for LANs was very useful. These analogies did an excellent job of illustrating both of these abstract concepts, and of also differentiating between Point-to-Point communication and Broadcast Communication. As I now understand, TCP/IP is an example of Point-to-Point communication, because it involves one sender and one receiver. Conversely, LANs operate on the concept of broadcasting.

I especially found the LAN analogy helpful. The call center in which I used to work was set up on a LAN, and I always became frustrated when there was "hiccup" in the system. I would print something, and the job would take too long. I would request a service, and there would be a "delay" in the network. Now, I understand the underlying concepts. I find it amazing, actually, that so much is going on. I mean, we are talking about random number generation, broadcasting, listening for distortion in a signal. This is amazing stuff. I am sure I will still become frustrated when I have to wait for my printout, but at least I'll appreciate the sheer amount of logic and activity that goes into a simple network.

My "Aha!" moment for this week is two-fold. To begin, I have a general understanding of how networks operate. I may never be a network administrator, or be able to solve a printing problem, but I will now be able to describe a problem in detail to a technical support specialist. I don't think many of us realize this at first, but even this level of knowledge is fluency. One of the technical support specialists at work often complained to me about a pervasive problem - people cannot describe their problems. They do not know the terms. Now, I know the terms, which will make me a more effective participant in the support process.

My second "Aha!" moment is on a more general level. I should have made a greater effort to read the material thoroughly, rather than dismissing it as elementary waste. I realize that this second "Aha!" moment has little to do with IT, but it does have to do with my development as a professional. As such, I see it related to being FIT. As a professional, you should not come to hasty generalizations about a piece of literature that you have not devoted some time to studying. Here, I fell into that trap. It took me a semester to figure it out, but the lesson was well worth it.

Digital Governance Nugget 1

2006-09-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

As I was browsing cnet.com, an excellent technology related news source, I stumbled across this op-ed piece on the OMB information security policy memorandum. Article. This stems from the recent loss of sensitive data (i.e. personal information on government employees) by the Veteran's Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Energy.

If you read the article, you see the author's assertion that the federal government's information security system is a disaster, and in need of a security czar to centralize the process. I found this article after reading Chapter 1 of Garson, and it is interesting that as the government pushes forward with the President's Management Agenda (PMA), more and more security breaches occur. The information that was lost was interaction level data (see Garson page 23 for the four levels of e-governance). I worry that if the government cannot maintain security within its internal systems, how will any consumer of e-governance feel comfortable filing his or her taxes online, or moving past transaction e-governance and into the transformation level?

I have grown comfortable over the past few years in completing transactions online, but I sometimes feel that I am in the minority. Identity theft is a frightening concept. Clearly, the government must change its direction, especially if its goal is widespread acceptance of digital governance.

Here's a link to the policy memorandum, for those who are interested.