Who
Am I? What qualifies me to make accurate
statements and not just prophecies about nature and the human relationship to
the environment?
© 2004
Joseph George Caldwell. All rights
reserved. Posted at
Internet web sites http://www.foundation.bw
and http://www.foundationwebsite.org
. May be copied or reposted for
non-commercial use, with attribution. (
What qualifies you?
A
couple of weeks ago, a visitor to my website sent me an e-mail in which he
posed the following question:
“…I
understand that you have a PhD in statistics and have worked for the DOD and
studied literature regarding your subject matter; however, what qualifies you
to make accurate assessments and not just prophecies about nature and human[kind’]s relationship with the environment? What were some of your specific
positions/jobs, etc?”
My
immediate reaction was that who I was and what I had done were irrelevant –
that the assessment of the truth or worth or utility of my writing should be
based solely on its own merits. Perhaps
this is because criticism of my views is often in the nature of ad hominem attacks
(“racist, sexist, warmonger” etc.), rather than in the nature of reasoned
arguments of why my views may be unfounded or incorrect. Moreover, most of my writing is not concerned
with prophecy at all – it is mainly concerned with strategy for
accomplishing a desired type of planetary outcome. I am not concerned with prediction of an unconditional
future of some sort (i.e., an “average” prediction that is not premised on any
particular conditions or set of assumptions), but with “playing the game of
life” in such a fashion as to achieve a conditional future of a desired
sort (e.g., a planet with an intact biosphere and an extant human race (the
desired outcome), brought about by the actions of a synarchic
planetary government (the condition)). I
am sufficiently optimistic that I believe that it is possible for someone (or some
group) to counter the out-of-control economic system that is destroying the
biosphere and causing mass extinctions, and, at the right time and under the
right conditions (e.g., in the wake of a planetary catastrophe, such as the
outbreak of global nuclear war), implement a quite different,
long-term-sustainable system. In short,
I am much more interested in convincing people to work toward a desired
planetary goal, than in simply conjecturing what the future might be in the
absence of any assumptions about efforts that might be undertaken to modify or
control it. My interests lie more in
strategies for planetary control than in prediction (or “prophecy”) of
an uncontrolled system.
When
I received the e-mail query, I was vacationing in
And
so, I answered my correspondent’s question with a quick summary of my approach
and my credentials. Here, with considerable
amplification, is my response. While I
can see the utility of relying on an ad hominem assessment as a quick and approximate surrogate
for assessing the validity of someone’s work or assertions, it can never be the
equivalent of a direct assessment of the work itself. Although I have a PhD in a branch of
mathematics, if you ask me what the sum of 37 and 47 is, and I (or Jesus Christ,
or anyone else) tell you (inadvertently) that it is 74, the correct answer, the
truth, is still 84 (even God cannot lie with mathematics). While ad
hominem arguments may be legitimately used to
draw initial attention to someone’s work, they can never serve as a basis for
establishing truth, validity, or utility.
Finally,
I will emphasize that what is important in my work lies in the realm of
strategic planning (and game theory and systems engineering, and whatever else
is useful in assisting rational planetary management), rather than in
prediction (“prophecy”) of what may occur in an uncontrolled world, and so it
is my credentials in those areas that I address here. I will, however, also include a few comments on
my credentials relating to my “predictive” abilities.
Some preliminary remarks
on my approach to planetary management
If
you are asking whether I have some sort of formal certification or experience
in “planetary management,” then, of course, I don’t have any (and neither does
anyone else, since we are “playing this game for the first time”). Mainly, I just use logic -- ratiocination. And I read a lot. I am not alone in my forecasts or predictions
of what lies ahead. M. King Hubbert published his seminal work in 1949 (see Kenneth S. Deffeyes' Hubbert's Peak,
2001). Catton
wrote his classic, Overshoot, in
1980. Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen
wrote The Entropy Law and the Economic
Process in 1971. Herman E. Daly
wrote Beyond Growth in 1996. The late René Thom did his work 0n
catastrophe theory decades ago, as did Jay Forrester (on system dynamics, in
which the tendency of dynamic systems to fail catastrophically if commonly
observed). Thomas F. Homer-Dixon wrote Environment, Scarcity and Violence in 1999
(based largely on earlier work). Joseph Tainter wrote The
Collapse of Complex Societies in 1988.
David and Marcia Pimentel wrote Food,
Energy, and Society in 1979. Richard
Leakey wrote The Sixth Extinction in
1995. Michael Klare
wrote Resource Wars in 2001. Liddell Hart wrote Strategy in 1929.
Machiavelli wrote The Prince
and The Art of War five hundred years
ago, and Sun Tsu wrote The Art of War in 500 BC. The
best overall source of information on the end of the petroleum age is Jay
Hanson’s Dieoff
website, http://www.dieoff.com , which has
been online, I believe, for the better part of a decade. My analysis of a situation includes a review
of the facts, reading what many other people have to say on similar matters,
technical analysis using the best appropriate tools, creativity, and common
sense. My qualifications to make
accurate assessments are, to a degree, dependent on the validity of what many
other people have to say (for example, state-of-the-world data, history, other
knowledge, and methodologies). If you
reject their statements of fact or conclusions, then you may reject mine as
well.
When
I investigate something significant, I usually collect a lot of information
about it, and I spend a lot of time thinking about it. My major piece on population and the
environment is Can
My record in prophecy
While
much of my work is concerned with logical analysis of a problem and the
application of the techniques of systems engineering and other methodologies to
find a solution, there are some instances in which I state opinions and make
predictions (e.g., that conservation is doomed, that the current global
industrial system will likely collapse catastrophically, and that global
nuclear war is likely). There is a large
body of knowledge concerned with this topic (including statistics, simulation
and modeling, systems analysis, technological forecasting and content
analysis). One of the difficulties in
assessing the abilities of someone working in this area is that predictions
involve the future, and we often do not have an opportunity to objectively
compare predictions to eventual outcomes.
The ancient Hebrews had a good test of a prophet – he was asked to make
a prediction, and if it didn’t come true he was put to death. Now, I’m not recommending that in my case,
but I would like to point out several things.
First,
as recommended by Sir Isaac Newton (in his classic book, Observations
Upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John, Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, 1991),
I do not place specific dates on my predictions. This practice alone is the single most
important factor in enhancing the validity of a prediction or “prophecy.” I am pretty sure, based on existing
scientific knowledge, that the current global
socioeconomic system will collapse catastrophically – I am just not very
certain about the date. (About the only
time I have deviated from associating dates with my predictions is my
conjecture that this decade (2001-2010) is the one in which Hubbert’s
Peak is occurring. I am not at all alone
in this conjecture, and the recent rapid rise in the
price of oil and the inability of the world’s producers to increase production
seems to be bearing it out.)
Second,
I do place dates on all of the
articles that I write, so the reader is always aware when it was written (and that
I am not making a prediction after the fact, as is done, e.g., in some
instances in the Bible). Third, I rarely
revise my pieces, except in the week or so after I first post them (to improve
wording, or add some explanation or amplification). Fourth, consider the topics on which I have
made observations or predictions, and assess whether my views have been on or
off the mark. I believe that you will
see that I am generally on the mark. I
started writing Can
Consider
some of the predictions / observations / assessments that I have made. On the matter of immigration, long ago I
pointed out the folly of our porous borders and expressed my view is that it is
rapidly changing (destroying is perhaps the better word) our American culture. Last night I saw a CNN special on immigration
(Immigrant Nation, Divided Country),
in which it was estimated that there are now 7-20 million illegal aliens in our
country. (The current situation is
absolutely incredible – the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation
Security of the Department of Homeland Security, Asa
Hutchinson, stated on the program that it just didn’t seem humane to deport an
illegal alien family after they had two babies who were US citizens (under our
“birthright” policy of granting citizenship to any baby born on US soil,
regardless of circumstances).) I wrote
long ago that
Long
ago, I stated my opinion (“predicted”) that the environmental movement was
doomed, that most conservation measures were a waste of time, and that the
species extinction would continue unabated under the current system of
planetary management. It has. Since I started writing on population and the
environment (in 1993 or 1994), my view has been that industrial society is
doomed – that all world leaders are striving for more and more industrial
development and activity, regardless of the cost to the environment or the risk
that it poses to future generations of mankind and other species. Nothing has changed in this regard.
The
most popular piece on my website at the present time is It’s the Oil, Stupid!.
I wrote this article last August – September, i.e., over a year ago. In the time since then, events have not
diminished the validity of my views in the matter of
I
could cite other examples of my opinions / predictions and their over-time
validity. Some of my predictions have
not yet had time to materialize (e.g., a suitcase nuclear bomb on an American
city, or the catastrophic collapse of Western industrialized society). The point that I am making is to look at my
work as a whole, from the time that I started writing, and assess whether you agree
that my views have stood the test of time.
This, perhaps, is the best available way of assessing “my ability to
make accurate statements and not just prophecies about nature and the human
relationship to the environment.”
My approach to planetary management
I
should point out that, in addition to the occasional predictions that I have
presented on my website, I have a great deal of experience in statistical
forecasting. In 1970, before the
publication of G. E. P. Box’ and Gwilym M. Jenkins’
classic text, Time Series Analysis, Forecasting
and Control, I developed and marketed the first commercially available
general-purpose Box-Jenkins forecasting computer program package.
As
a statistician who has worked much in time-series analysis, forecasting, and
game theory, I am often involved in making predictions, none of which will come
true exactly. The best that can be done
in many real-world situations is to estimate the likelihood of alternative
futures, e.g., by specifying a probability distribution over a set of possible
outcomes. As a person who has spent much
of his life dealing with uncertainty, inference, estimation, and the
development of strategies, I am well aware that, in significant areas, the
future is unlikely ever to come true exactly as anyone predicts, especially in
an uncontrolled environment. It is very
important to realize that we are involved in a game – the game of life – and
that this game has many players with many different value systems and
objectives. Prediction of outcomes is
more appropriate in non-game contexts.
In game contexts, it is important to recognize that the outcome may be
very difficult to predict (it will depend on who “wins” the game), and the best
that can be done is to identify a good goal (relative to one’s value system)
and to develop a strategy that is likely to work well to achieve that
goal. This is the approach used in my
book, Can
In
my view, it is very important to view the Earth as a controllable system. At the
present time, the actions of world leaders are directed toward destroying its
biosphere and increasing the likelihood of human extinction. The point is that human activity is making
macroscopic changes in the planet’s biosphere (mass extinction of species,
killing of lakes and seas, global warming (e.g., melting of ice packs),
deforestation, desertification, destocking of
seas). One thing to keep in mind,
however, is that Earth is a natural biological system, and mankind is
totally incompetent to assert active
control over it. The best that man can
do is to “back off,” and let Nature do its work, i.e., he can assert passive control. That is, the best method of control of the
natural environment is to maintain such a low profile in the environment that
Nature can do its amazing work the way it always has. (I have made this point many times in the
past. Recently, it was emphasized on a
website that summarized Can
Systems engineering Is the most important tool
The
most important tool in planetary management is systems engineering. Systems engineering is the discipline
concerned with the development (design and implementation) of systems for performing
specified functions or accomplishing specified goals. The major components of a systems engineering
project are needs analysis; development of an operational concept; technology
review; requirements analysis; functional analysis; specification of evaluation
criteria; synthesis of alternative system designs; evaluation of alternatives
with respect to the criteria; selection of a preferred alternative; top-level
design; detailed design; prototyping; optimization; implementation; and
test. The truly creative part of systems
engineering is the synthesis of alternatives.
Some people have a lot of talent in this area, others do not. Creative skill can be enhanced by experience,
practice, discussion with others, contemplation, meditation, autosuggestion,
and reading. The design and development
of the system may embrace a wide range of disciplines, including all of the
basic sciences and engineering fields as well as specialized technical skills
such as statistics (e.g., simulation and modeling; estimation, prediction and
control of stochastic processes; experimental design; evolutionary operation;
statistical decision theory); operations research (e.g., optimization, game
theory, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic), and control theory (system
identification; system control). Systems
engineering may be applied to any field.
As an example of a systems engineering application, see my book, The
Value-Added Tax, where I used systems engineering to develop a new tax
system for the
In systems engineering, knowledge
of many fields is important
In
order to develop a good strategy for controlling any system, it is necessary to
know a lot about the system. The Earth’s
biosphere is a complex system – too complex to be amenable to control by
physical man. What is feasible to control, however, is the human population. In order to do so effectively, it is
necessary to have knowledge of many fields, spanning all bodies of knowledge –
including both the ‘hard’ (objective-oriented) sciences and the ‘soft’
(subjective-oriented, social) sciences.
The hard sciences include mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and
many combinations of these, such as agriculture, geology, computer science,
communications, oceanography and the like.
The soft / social sciences include history, politics, economics,
philosophy, metaphysics, sociology, education, psychology and the like. And, of course, there are many application
areas that combine elements from both hard and soft sciences, such as all types
of engineering, military science, information technology, “business,” and
medicine.
In
my own case, I have experience in a broad range of technical and nontechnical fields, and a wide variety of applications
areas. I have a BS in mathematics and a
PhD in mathematical statistics (dissertation in information theory / coding
theory). I have formal education in all
of the basic hard sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology) and a
number of social sciences (economics, psychology, philosophy, languages). Much of my professional career has been spent
as a statistician and an operations researcher / systems analyst. My lifetime career has exposed me to a wide
variety of technical (analytical) methodologies and substantive (application)
areas. In my career, I have worked in a
wide range of application areas, including defense; health; education; welfare;
economics; economic development; civil rights; international trade; public
finance; tax policy analysis; agriculture; banking (commercial banking and
central banking); information technology; vocational rehabilitation;
transportation; planning, evaluation and analysis of public programs; industry;
commerce; textiles; pharmaceuticals; test and evaluation of military
communication systems; information theory and coding theory; research; teaching
(professor of statistics); consulting; and management.
Two
fields that are particularly important with respect to achieving a desired
planetary management system are education and psychology.
The
development of anything new will always build on previous knowledge. Apart from tapping in to the universal consciousness,
there are four main ways of acquiring knowledge: formal education; informal
study (including private study and short courses); experience (including life
experience, vocational experience, and learning from others); and reading. I place a tremendous value on formal
education, and strove to get the best education that I possibly could. My BS degree in mathematics is from a fine
university –
By
means of informal study, I have expanded my knowledge far beyond my formal
education. This has enabled me to work
as a consultant and researcher in many fields.
My knowledge of game theory, lagrangian
optimization, sample survey design and analysis, time series analysis, database
design, systems and software engineering, public finance, Spanish, and the
guitar were all acquired after I completed my formal education.
I
am a voracious reader. I have a personal
library of thousands of books on a wide variety of technical and nontechnical subjects.
Whenever I become involved in a new subject, I usually purchase dozens
of books (sometimes hundreds of books) on the subject. (I make some use of libraries, particularly
if I am near a major university, but generally I find that large bookstores and
Internet bookstores such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble have a vastly larger
variety of sources on most subjects that I am interested in.)
Other useful skills: game theory,
education, strategic planning, and psychology
The
main point of the articles posted on my website is to motivate and create an
enabling environment for rational (sane) planetary management. The goal of rational planetary management is
to control Earth’s biosphere (or, more correctly, assure that we do not
interfere with its normal operation) so as to preserve it and keep the
likelihood of mankind’s untimely extinction extremely low. The central focus of my activities is the
development of strategies to bring this about.
My view (conceptualization, abstraction, idealized representation) of
the world is a very large game (many players over a long time) or control
system, and my goal is to develop strategies for ensuring that the game moves
to a configuration (state) that I desire (viz., a long-term-sustainable system,
with a stable, largely preserved biosphere and extant human population). Given my focus and viewpoint / perspective,
the most important area of my qualification, apart from systems engineering, is game theory (and related areas such as statistical
decision theory, optimization and control).
Other important areas are education (a primary purpose of my website), strategic
analysis and planning, and psychology (used in a broad sense, to include a wide
range of intellectual, mental, emotional and spiritual areas). Given the importance of this area, scrutiny
of my qualifications should focus on my capabilities in game theory, education,
psychology and related areas.
My skills in game theory
In
the field of game theory, I have some significant accomplishments. This includes the development of optimal
procedures for waging large-scale missile warfare, and the development of
practical (numerical) procedures for solving general-sum (nonzero-sum) games. My paper, Subtractive
Overlapping-Island Defense with Imperfect Interceptors, develops a strategy
for waging large-scale missile warfare. With
respect to the problem of solving general-sum games, I will note the
following. The theory of nonzero-sum
games was developed mainly by Professor John Nash, the subject of the book and
movie, A Beautiful Mind. Nash developed an elegant solution to
nonzero-sum games. It is called the
“bargaining solution,” or the “Nash equilibrium.” The only problem with Nash’s solution is that
it is not explicit – his proposed solution is “nonconstructive.” He describes the properties of a good
solution, but he does not tell how to actually find it. It is similar to the problem in zero-sum (or
constant-sum) games – the optimal solution is known to be at a “saddle point,”
but the main difficulty is actually finding that point. The problem is complicated very much when
constraints (such as resource constraints) are added to it. In my paper, Conflict, Negotiation and General-Sum Game Theory, I develop an
approximate methodology for determining explicit solutions for Nash’s
bargaining solution.
On
the practical side, I might add, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that I enjoy playing
games very much. In high school, I was a
creditable chess player. While a member
of the Lambda poker club (successor to the IDA/WSEG poker club), I held my own
against some of the best technical minds in the world (e.g., Hugh Everett), at
one time winning for thirteen games (monthly meetings) in a row.
My skills in education
In
the realm of education, I will note that, in my graduate education I was
trained to be a researcher and professor.
The Statistics Department at
At
one point in my professional career, however, I did some teaching, serving as
an adjunct professor of statistics at the
Dr. Caldwell is an excellent lecturer.
Very well prepared. I liked the way he summarized what we did in
the previous class at the beginning of each class.
Always prepared. Very thorough examinations. Summary at beginning of
class.
Instructor was very clear and cared about his
teaching..
He understood and explained material well.
Very fluent and he was well prepared for class
meetings, reasonable reviews.
Gave good examples which
prepared me very well for tests.
Very well prepared, always
on time. Very good, organized teacher.
Did a good job in
explaining and presenting his lecture.
Instructor was always prepared for calss and gives very good explanations about the subject.
Well prepared, easy to understand (good
speaking voice and delivery).
Organized, brings material across very
well. One of the best
instructors at the U of A.
The instructor is very good. He is easy to understand and gives good
examples of the concepts.
Mr. Caldwell gives clear explanations to the
problems. I feel as though he is an
excellent instructor. He is also very
polite.
He was always enthusiastic about teaching. Gave clear lectures of
difficult-to-understand material.
The instructor had a well organized
presentation.
He did a good job explaining difficult
concepts.
I liked this course! Very interesting.
Mr. Caldwell was very prepared and
understandable. I would recommend other
students to have him as a teacher.
In
addition to university teaching, I developed and marketed a popular commercial
short-course entitled, Sample Survey Design and Analysis, which I presented in
various cities and to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Bureau of the
Census.
In
summary, I have demonstrated skills in education – a primary ingredient in the
mission of preparing the planet for a minimal-regret population.
My skills in strategic
planning
I
have spent a considerable portion of my career in the area of strategic
planning. Much of this was in the area
of ballistic missile warfare. In this
application area, my approach was to develop a mathematical representation, or
model, of the real world, and derive strategies that were optimal with respect
to the model. More specifically, I
formulated missile warfare as a resource-constrained game (zero-sum or
general-sum, depending on the application), and used the Everett-Pugh
Generalized Lagrange Multiplier (GLM) methodology to determine a solution.
In
most realistic games, the players employ randomized strategies. They are aware of the resources available to
the enemy, but not of his strategy for employment or deployment of his
resources.
In
addition to strategic planning, I have directed projects in modeling of
tactical warfare (e.g., tactical air warfare in theater-level operations). I have also developed and exercised war-game
models, and participated in war gaming exercises (at the
My skills in psychology (in
the broad sense)
One
of the important areas in effecting change from our current planetary
management system to a rational one is that of psychology. As I indicated above, I use this term loosely
to include a wide range of intellectual, mental, emotional, and spiritual
areas. If the global population is to be
mobilized to support a move to a minimal-regret population (or other) system,
it will be necessary not only to educate them in the benefits of this approach,
but to motivate them to act to bring it about and maintain it. As a professional teacher (professor), I have
demonstrated skills in education and in motivating students to learn. With respect to the motivation of global
populations to change, I have essentially no direct experience. I have fairly wide knowledge of many areas
dealing with the mind, such as motivation, religion, meditation, philosophy,
and spirituality, but I am not a political or religious leader.
Given
the stranglehold that the current global economic system has on the world, and
the hypnotic attraction of most people to increased material welfare and more
industrial production, it will take a considerable effort in the area of mass
psychology to bring about meaningful change on a large scale. We are currently engaged in a massive program
of psychological warfare; to prevail in this struggle, it will be necessary to
engage the enemy fully. The world’s
population has been convinced that improvements in material welfare are all
that matters. But, under the current
system of planetary management, more people live in squalor, poverty and
disease every year. They are being told
that their standard of living can be improved.
But this requires living space and a healthy biosphere, and for six
billion people (Earth’s current population), a massive increase in the amount
of commercial energy. Be we have run out
of space, our biosphere is being destroyed, and we are about to run out of
oil. The standard of living for the
world’s masses, as bad as it presently is, is about to fall drastically in the
very near future.
With
the advent of a war of terror, people are kept in a constant state of fear and
insecurity. They are in the process of
trading their freedom for a promise of restored security, safety, and survival
and they will soon have none of these.
The situation is exactly as
described by George Orwell in his prophetic 1948 novel, 1984, with daily television broadcasts of violence and war at the
gates of the empire. See, in particular,
section entitled The Theory and Practice
of Oligarchical Collectivism, by the fictional
author Emmanuel Goldstein, which closes with the following paragraph:
“The
war, therefore, if we judge it by the standards of previous wars, is merely an
imposture. It is like the battles between certain ruminant animals whose horns
are set at such an angle that they are incapable of hurting one another. But
though it is unreal it is not meaningless. It eats up the surplus of consumable
goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a
hierarchical society needs. War, it will be seen, is now a purely internal
affair. In the past, the ruling groups of all countries, although they might
recognize their common interest and therefore limit the destructiveness of war,
did fight against one another, and the victor always plundered the vanquished.
In our own day they are not fighting against one another at all. The war is
waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of the war
is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of
society intact. The very word 'war', therefore, has become misleading. It would
probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to
exist. The peculiar pressure that it exerted on human beings between the
Neolithic Age and the early twentieth century has disappeared and been replaced
by something quite different. The effect would be much the same if the three
super-states, instead of fighting one another, should agree to live in
perpetual peace, each inviolate within its own boundaries. For in that case
each would still be a self-contained universe, freed for ever from the sobering
influence of external danger. A peace that was truly permanent would be the
same as a permanent war. This -- although the vast majority of Party members
understand it only in a shallower sense -- is the inner meaning of the Party
slogan: War is Peace.” (For the complete
text of The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, see the SynEarth
website for
The
people are being told that the United Nations, the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization will solve the world’s
economic and social problems, and bring freedom from want and disease – even
prosperity – for all. But these agencies
have accomplished nothing. Compared to
fifty years ago, when they began their missions in earnest, billions more
people have lost their freedom, their land, their health, and their
livelihoods, and they are living meaningless, desperate lives in squalor and
disease. In order to achieve a rational
planetary management system, it will be necessary to expose all of these lies
for what they are, and show people the way to a better, healthier planet and a
better life for mankind.
A
global mind-shift, or “paradigm-shift,” such as a religious reawakening or
global transcendental experience, may well be required. This is unlikely to happen by itself, but
rather as the result of a catastrophic event – or a committed, focused and
persistent effort to bring about meaningful change. This I will leave to others – my primary role
is analysis and education, not organization, mobilization and implementation.
My current activities
In
my view, the solution to the world’s environmental crisis will involve
spirituality and religion, as well as specialized knowledge, will, desire, and
action. To this end, I have at times contemplated
direct action in politics and religion, but these efforts have not “gotten off
the ground.” I established the Church of
Nature (http://www.churchofnature.com
(or http://www.foundationwebsite.org/indexCN.htm
)) dedicated to resolution of the environmental problem, and on two occasions
contemplated going into politics in the US (but abandoning these plans on both
occasions when I accepted overseas assignments – see http://www.foundationwebsite.org/indexAIM.htm
(2001 platform) or http://www.foundationwebsite.org/PositionStatement.htm (2003 platform) for my domestic political
views (archived versions with modified hyperlinks)). (The main problem that I have at present is
lack of time. I do not really lack
resources – I have never asked for or received financial contributions from
anyone to underwrite my planetary management work, and I do all of it my spare
time, using my own resources.) At the
present time, it appears that my efforts will continue to be restricted to
educational efforts on my Internet website, rather than in direct political,
religious or spiritual action of some sort, or in traditional education or
research and development via a brick-and-mortar institution of some kind. (As long as my efforts are restricted to the
Internet, negligible expense is involved.
I have been asked more than once, however, to produce my works in
hardcopy, in order to reach a larger audience.
If and when I see that I am no longer able to be effective using solely
the internet, I may do so, and at that time I may have a need to tap additional
resources.)
Although
progress, on a part-time level-of-effort, is slow, it has been steady. The Foundation
website now receives thousands of visitors and hits every month, and traffic to
the site continues to grow year by year.
I don’t get a lot of e-mail from readers, but all that I do is either
sincere inquiry or very positive commentary.
One of the advantages of working overseas, as I have been
doing for much of the last decade or so, is that I have much more time to work
on planetary management than if I were back in the
The
move to rational planetary management will not occur until conditions are
right. In 1950, no one was interested in
the least in rational planetary management – the global environmental crisis
was just beginning to manifest. At the
present time, prior to sliding down the back side of Hubbert’s
Curve, the planet is in the stranglehold of a powerful global economic /
industrial system. But this system
thrives on the energy from oil, and global oil production is about to
peak. (There is a lot more coal, but
coal is a poor substitute, in today’s modern industrial society, for versatile
oil.) Very soon, things will begin to
change drastically, and for the worse, and the world will be receptive to
change.
Things
will probably not “start to pop” until Hubbert’s Peak
is clearly manifest, and global oil production begins a noticeable decline –
that’s really when all hell breaks loose.
(The Peak will probably not be well-defined, but rather “fuzzy,” because
of random fluctuations in supply and demand.
The Peak was not expected to occur in 1993-4, when I began work on
planetary management. It is expected to occur in this
decade. It is probably occurring right
now (i.e., we are likely in the middle of the part of Hubbert’s
Curve which, when “smoothed” a few years from now, will clearly be seen to be
the Peak.) Our times, over the next few
years, are going to be the most exciting in the history of the world.
A note on character,
independence and motivation
In
examining the characteristics of a person as a quick means of conducting an ad hominem
assessment of his views or works, it is important to consider his character,
independence and motivation. (This
reveals further the problem with ad hominem appeals – your can never actually prove
anything about the truth of the person’s assertions, no matter how much you
know about the person. More is never
enough. Knowledge of the condition or
nature or abilities of the man will never be a substitute for a scientific
assessment of the validity of what he says.
While testimony from expert witnesses may be accepted in courts of law,
it can never serve as a satisfactory means of assessing the truth in something
that really matters (like the fate of mankind and the biosphere).) From a legal viewpoint, my reputation is
sound – I have never been convicted of any crime. With respect to the independence of my views,
I will comment that I have worked almost my entire career as a consultant. Early in my career I worked with large
consulting firms, such as Research Triangle Institute, Planning Research
Corporation, Lambda Corporation / General Research Corporation, and Bell Technical
Operations. Mid-career, I either ran my
own contract research firm (Vista Research Corporation) or served as an
independent (freelance) consultant for a number of clients. Since 1991 (the past 13 years) I have served
as a freelance independent consultant , working for clients such as the Bank of
Botswana, the US Agency for International Development, and Canada Trust, either
as a direct-contract employee (such as the Bank of Botswana) or a
consulting-firm intermediary (such as my current USAID work through the
consultancy Academy for Educational Development). I once served as an expert witness
(statistician) for a law firm in a trial in
While
I am not independently wealthy and therefore unable to work on planetary
management full time, I make a good living, and I have been able to work at it
for extensive periods of time between long-term consulting assignments. I have never received a grant to work on
planetary management, and so I am beholden to no on for my views. I should note that no one is funding “my
kind” of rational planetary management (a global “minimal-regret” population of
ten million people, consisting of a single-nation high-technology population of
five million and a geographically dispersed (globally distributed) primitive
(hunter-gatherer) population of five million).
Since my view is that it is large human numbers and industrial activity
that is destroying the biosphere, it is unlikely that I will ever receive
substantial funding. Hardly anyone would
consider spending the profits derived from an industrial system to point out
the evils of that system and work toward its replacement. Also, given my extreme views in the matter,
and my “racist, sexist, warmonger” reputation (whether deserved or not), it is
probably unlikely that any environmental or other group would wish to hire me
or fund me – I would probably flunk their course on gender / ethnic
sensitivity!
Since
my consulting practice pays me adequately, and I take pride in the independence
of my views, I have no incentives to tailor my views to suit any vested
interests.
Cultural background
With
respect to cultural background, I was raised a Christian (Baptist / Presbyterian),
and I subscribe to the philosophical views of Christianity as an ideal system
of morality and social behavior (for individuals – no state could continue to
exist if it “turned the other cheek”). I
was born in
In
1958 I received a full scholarship (General Motors College Scholarship) to
attend
I
worked most of my early career in the
My
professional career has been very interesting and rewarding, and, from my
viewpoint, very successful. It has
provided me with the freedom and wherewithal to do virtually anything that I
wanted to do (although not everything – I would need several more lifetimes for
that!), and to engage in a very wide variety of experiences. From a technical viewpoint, I was able to
work on and solve very challenging problems.
I have had the opportunity to work with some of the world’s greatest
scientists, including Hugh Everett III (one of the world’s great physicists, developer
of the parallel-universe concept in physics and of the Generalized Lagrange
Multiplier optimization method) and Raj Chandra Bose
(one of the world’s great mathematicians, “father” of the mathematical theory
of experimental design, inventor of the Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenguem
error-correcting codes, and solver of one of Euler’s conjectures). In my overseas consulting career, I have had
the opportunity to consult at the highest levels of government, working closely
with governors of a central bank and participating in meetings with cabinet
ministers and a president.
In
brief, my culture is white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, with substantial exposure to
foreign cultures. It was during my
posting in
I
married early and had three children. We
had a rich family life, but some severe blows as well (wife dying of cancer,
son paralyzed in an auto accident, another son with serious legal
difficulties). My children are all grown
now, and I am in a second happy marriage.
Outside of work, while the children were growing up, we spent many happy
vacations. I served as a scoutmaster of
our church Boy Scout troop for 11 years, and occasionally participated in a community
band (baritone horn). While my children
were young, most of my spare time was dedicated to family activities (lawn and
house care on the weekends; soccer games, track meets, swim meets and other
school events; scouting; picnics and other family outings; visits to the
relatives; family vacations, church activities; croquet and badminton in the
back yard; gardening). Outside of family
life, social life was somewhat restricted in those days, including things such
as an occasional Lambda square dance and stage plays in
I
have seen the world’s great natural wonders (Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls, Iguaçu
Falls, the Grand Canyon, the Salt River Canyon, the Okavango Delta, the wild
game migrations in Kenya (Amboseli, Masai Mara), Cappadocia, Karchner Caverns, Natural Bridge) and manmade wonders (the
Pyramids at Giza, Luxor,
the Valley of the Kings and Queens, Abu Simbel, the
Parthenon, Delphi, the Coliseum in Rome, Ephesus, Aphrodite’s Temple, Petra, Jeresh, the Crusader Castles, the Slave Castles (Kumasi Fort, Elmina and Cape
Coast Castles) of Ghana, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, the Eiffel Tower, Old
Fort Henry, the St. Louis Arch, Notre Dame Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, the
Kremlin, Washington National Cathedral, the Washington Monument, Stonehenge, the
Statue of Liberty, the view of New York City from the top of the Empire State
Building (and the World Trade Center), the pyramids and ruins of Central
America, the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the great
cities of the world). I have flown all
over the world in jumbo jets. My wife
and I have visited many game parks and other tourist destinations, and played
golf in wonderful settings around the world.
I have had just about everything worthwhile that money could buy (and
maybe a few not-so-worthwhile things, as well!). Education, profession, family, hobbies, excitement,
adventure, the mystery of life, good health, good friends, a great country, nice
homes, great vacations, cars (old cars, new cars, sports cars, family cars),
clothes, books, electronic equipment, and countless other material possessions
– I’ve had it all. Life was great. I have seen, experienced, and possessed the
best that the physical universe can offer.
All of this has been very exciting and interesting – not just
participation in the modern world, but participation in the science and
technology that built it. Were the
modern world not destroying the biosphere (and causing incredible human
misery), I would like to see it continue.
But it cannot continue in a world of large human numbers and large
industrial production. At the present
time, it is a matter of too much of a good thing. It is not science or technology that is
inherently bad – knowledge is only good or bad as reflected in its applications. It is the use of it to smother the world with
human beings and industrial waste that is the current problem – and that
problem can be fixed.
My
country and my profession served me very well.
By my middle thirties, I owned a fine home in Fairfax County, a fine
office building in old-town Alexandria, and condominium in the finest high-rise
resort buildings in Ocean City, Maryland (English Towers), where my neighbors
were the likes of Frank Perdue (of Perdue Chickens) and former Vice-President
Spiro Agnew. As a family, we spent a
good portion of each summer at the beach.
In short, I had all that life could offer – a wonderful wife and family;
an interesting, successful career; and sufficient money to purchase all of the
material possessions and vacations that we desired. I have no motivation whatsoever, stemming from
how it has treated me, to wish the early decline of the industrial world, which
has been exceedingly good to me. The
matter is simply that I see that this lifestyle, for the large numbers of
people currently occupying the planet, is rapidly destroying our biosphere, and
that it will not continue. We are
ruining the biosphere, causing the extinction of thousands of species each
year, and threatening our own extinction or relegation to a barren, ruined
planet for the remainder of time. Continuing
this lifestyle for this many people is not an option; the only meaningful consideration is deciding what system of planetary
management will replace it (or letting Nature decide for us, if we do not
decrease our numbers and industrial activity – and, in view of the terrible
damage we have inflicted, she will not be kind to us).
My
birth country (
In
summary, I have sufficient wherewithal to be independent in my views, and no financial
incentive or other motivation to influence my views. At present, I am working on a USAID-funded project
to develop a management information system for the Zambia Ministry of
Education. My background and work
experience have been varied, challenging, and interesting, and there has been
no single extraordinary event or experience that has had a profound influence
on my (planetary management) views. My
primary motivation is that I have looked at the situation (mankind’s dramatic
destruction of his very home), seen that it is very stupid and very wrong, and
decided to do something about it. With
my varied career (statistics, operations research, systems engineering, applied
to many fields), I have a wide variety of skills and experience with which to
address the problem. The only real issue
is how. For insight on that, you may be
interested to read my piece, The Good
Life (“a life inspired by desire, guided by love, and facilitated (enabled)
by knowledge”).
Some closing remarks on
the importance and role of predictions about coming world events
Since
much of what I write about deals with the future, it can be characterized or
represented as “prophecy.” My goal is to
develop strategies to bring about a long-term-sustainable planetary management
system, and my main “prophecy” is that that goal will be realized. Additional to that, however, I do make a number
of predictions about what may to happen along the way – on the path – to achievement
of that goal, and that should be taken into account during the course of
strategic planning and actual play of the game.
In some cases, these are events that, in my view, are likely to happen,
whether they are likely to have a serious impact on the outcome or not. At the other extreme, they are contingencies
that may be very unlikely, but would have a major impact on the outcome.
As
I mentioned earlier, these predictions involve events such as collapse of the
global industrial system, or global nuclear war. That global oil reserves are exhausting is a
fact. About the only thing to predict
about it is when the peak will occur, and how long the
process of exhaustion of reserves will take.
The more interesting predictions in this regard are what may happen or
is likely to happen as that takes place.
Once again, since we are dealing with a dynamic system over which we
have some control, attention should center more on strategies for dealing with
that event when and as it happens, than in predictions about what might happen
if no positive control is exercised. The
importance of predictions, in this context, is to identify planning
contingencies. It does not really matter
very much whether they come true or not.
What is important is that they be recognized in advance as
possibilities, so that contingency plans may be adopted to enable fast,
effective response when and if they occur.
The
situation is similar to that in military planning, wargaming,
business continuity planning, and disaster recovery planning. The
It
should be recognized that I place rather little importance on whether the
events that I predict may happen along the way to achievement of the goal of a
rational planetary management system.
All of the events, significant or otherwise, that may happen along the
way are simply contingencies. As they
occur, they simply make the game more interesting and exciting, but they will
not affect the final outcome. The focus
of attention in establishing a rational planetary management system should be
on strategies for playing this multi-player time-sequential game, no matter
what events occur along the way.
Prediction of what particular events may occur is difficult to do with
much accuracy, but it doesn’t really matter.
What is important is to anticipate a full range of contingencies, and to
have contingency plans developed so that as these anticipated events happen,
“our side” of the game can respond quickly and effectively, and move the game expeditiously
and confidently on to the final desired state.
What is even more important is to have a gaming system in place that
works well in the face of unanticipated
events. Hubbert’s
Peak may occur this year, or it may not.
The mass species extinction may continue, or it may not. Suitcase nuclear bombs may be placed on 1,000
of the world’s largest cities, or they may not.
None of this really matters. Some
of these events (such as Hubbert’s Peak) are
virtually certain to occur, whereas some (such as a “suitcase-bomb” global
nuclear war) may not occur at all. What
matters is that, as the significant events of the future unfold, whatever they
may be, we are able to take full allowance of them to move the state of the
world’s planetary management system, and hence the state of the world, to the
desired goal. Management is the ability
to monitor and control, and respond effectively to change, and good management
– leadership – is the ability to respond to unanticipated change. To be able to effectively address unforeseen
contingencies, it is important to have a strong management / leadership process
in place, to have demonstrated skills in tactical warfare, to understand the
situation fully, and to deep the eye on the target, the goal, of establishing a
rational planetary management system.
To
assess my abilities and the validity of my views, the main thing to focus on is
the logic underlying my predictions (including the methodologies employed, the
correctness of the data / facts / premises, and the reasonableness of my
assumptions). Second, take a look at
whether my observations, without revision, have stood the test of time. And finally, as requested by my e-mail
correspondent, take a look at my credentials, qualifications, and experience in
the field of strategic analysis and related fields. Examine my technical papers (e.g., Synchronizable Error-Correcting Codes; Conflict, Negotiation and General-Sum Game
Theory; Subtractive Overlapping-Island
Defense, and The Value-Added Tax), and assess their
correctness, creativeness, and level-of-difficulty. Contact my previous employers, clients, and
colleagues and as them for their opinion of my work. With respect to specific positions and jobs,
I have spent a career in technical work (operations research, statistics,
systems analysis, systems and software engineering, optimization, game theory,
and the like, in many applications areas (e.g., defense, health, education,
welfare, public finance, economic development, industry, banking). Following are three résumés
(military, business, economic development) that describe some of my background
and experience (contact information deleted).
In
closing, I will remark that what qualifies me to make accurate assessments and
not just prophecies about nature and mankind’s relationship to the environment
is my determination and skill in playing the game of life. Throughout my life, although there are
certainly events over which I have no control, I have been able to achieve all
of my major life objectives (education, family, career, avocations (e.g.,
music, guitar, languages, world travel)). At this stage of my life, my fervent goal is
to bring about the eventual establishment of a rational planetary management
system, or, if my life is not sufficiently long to see the materialization of
such a system, to arrange things, to set things in motion, (via education and
organization) so that this goal is eventually achieved. I intend to succeed.
I
rather view the issue of prophesying the eventual state of the world as similar
to the problem of predicting where an arrow will be at a future time. If you don’t tell me anything about the arrow
or its context, I can’t really tell you very much at all about where it will be
in the future. But if you tell me that it is an arrow in Howard Hill’s quiver,
and that he is in an archery contest, I will predict that the arrow will soon
be in the bull’s-eye of a target. (For the younger generation: Howard Hill, who died in 1975, was the
greatest archer of the twentieth century.) The issue is whether what we are dealing with
is a random, uncontrolled system, or a system under positive control. If someone asks you to predict where your
neighbor’s car will be next Saturday night, you may or may not be able to
predict this with much accuracy. If you
are asked to predict where your car will be next Saturday night, then you have
an excellent chance of being correct in this “prophecy,” since you are in
control of the car. External events
might occur (you might die of a heart attack the day before, or your car may be
stolen), but, odds are, you will be able to make the prophecy come true. At the present time, the world is moving
helter-skelter toward ecological ruin and the extinction of mankind. At some point, enlightened people who care
about the future will take charge, and move to realize a better future. Why? Because the alternative is ruin or death, and I don’t see that as a
rational choice, or a spiritual choice.
Whether
I am able to see the implementation of a rational planetary system does not
bother me at all. All that I can do is
the best that I can, given my knowledge and capabilities. Moses never reached the Promised Land, and
John the Baptist did not live to participate in Christ’s mission. Achieving a rational planetary management
system is a tremendous undertaking, and it will not be accomplished by a single
person overnight. I am reminded of the
role of Hari Seldon, the psychohistorian in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction
series, Foundation. He conducted his analysis of the situation
and set his plans in motion centuries before the fall of the Galactic Empire
took place.
I
was watching a movie the other evening called The Dish, starring Sam Neill.
It was about events at Parkes Radio Telescope
/ Observatory during the Apollo moon landing in 1969. At one point, when advising a young fellow
to be more aggressive in approaching a young lady, Neill made the following
remark: “Failure is never quite so frightening as
regret.” If, even in the face of
incredible odds, we try to save the planet and fail, then we can still take
pride in our efforts (as
Epilogue
If
you have read this far, congratulations – you are
certainly persistent. There was a reason
for my very over-long discussion of my credentials. At this point, I hope that you realize the
hopelessness of evaluating someone’s work on an ad hominem basis. You now know a lot about me relative to my
work and motivations relative to planetary management, but, despite all of this
information about me, you still don’t know anything more about the validity of
my views on that subject. At best, a
person’s reputation may tempt you to read his material (just as you may be
inclined to read another book of an author you enjoyed, or a movie director
whose previous films you enjoyed), and I hope that this is the case here. But his credentials have no bearing on the
truth or validity or utility of what he says.
It
is the same as with revelation in religion.
No matter how real or true or incredible a spiritual experience or
revelation may be to someone, it is still entirely subjective, and, without
further analysis, sheds no light on the nature of things in the physical world
(of our five senses). (It certainly
sheds light on things in the spiritual
world, since it is in fact real in that world.)
A revelation, just as a dream or hunch or spontaneous idea, may be very
useful as an hypothesis, or in suggesting a course of investigation, or in drawing
attention to a philosophy, but the establishment of the truth or validity or
utility of the revelation with respect to the physical universe must be determined,
using the scientific method, in the physical universe.
A
speaker may have great charisma, but charisma gets you just so far – he must
have something significant to say.
Charisma may get the attention of his audience, but only the content of
his message will continue to keep the audience’s attention.
It
is my sincere belief that, because of my natural talents and abilities and the knowledge
and skills (and experience) that I have acquired through life, I correctly
understand the nature of the environmental dilemma facing mankind, and I have
identified some potential solutions that deserve consideration. I am by nature a rather private person – most
of my early writings were first released using a pen name (perhaps nom de guerre is the better word
here). It was at the insistence of a
friend that I started using my real name on my environmental and
socio-political publications. Until now,
I never bothered to elaborate on my credentials and background on my website,
not just because I am a private person, but more so because I thought that they
were largely irrelevant. If a review of
my credentials motivates additional people to read what I have to say and
consider it, however, then that information will have served a useful purpose, and
to that end it is gladly shared.
JOSEPH G. CALDWELL, Ph.D.
Project and Program Director
Expert in Ballistic Missile Defense and National Security
Consultant in Strategic Studies; System Simulation,
Modeling, Analysis, and Development; and Test and Evaluation
Education...
Ph.D.,
Statistics,
B.S.,
Mathematics, Carnegie‑Mellon University, 1962
Consultant...
to US government agencies, state governments, and
corporations
Director/Supervisor of
major projects in...
o strategy and
tactics (national security, ballistic missile defense, theater-level
operations)
o artificial intelligence / expert systems (automated
scenario generation)
o multisensor fusion; situation
assessment; estimation, prediction, and control; correlation/tracking;
satellite surveillance systems
o simulation and modeling (ocean surveillance, ballistic
missile defense, communications-electronics)
o systems and software engineering (structured analysis /
design; object-oriented design)
o system development
(requirements, design, implementation and test)
o test and evaluation (communications-electronics, C4IEW)
o statistical applications (test design, data analysis,
statistical methodology, survey design)
o scientific programming (statistics, optimization,
graphics; expert systems, spatial analysis)
o operations research and statistics
o geographic information systems, mapping information
systems
o programming languages / development environments / tools /
mathematical software packages: C, FORTRAN, Visual Basic, MS-DOS/Windows, UNIX,
SAS, SPSS, Statistica, dBASE/FoxPro/Access,
SQL, ArcView GIS, MATLAB, Numerical Recipes, many
others
o
standards: ISO 9000 Quality Management; ISO 12207 Information Technology;
DOD-STD-2167A, MIL-STD-498 Software Development; Carnegie Mellon University
Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model (SEI CMM)
Manager of contract research / system
development firm (seven years); successful bidder on numerous technical
contracts, including four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts. Manager of R&D
department of major US Army test and evaluation center. Director of more than
twenty projects.
Chief information officer of the
central bank of
Professor
of Statistics at the
Developer of
technical seminars and computer program packages in defense applications,
sample survey, forecasting, and geographic information systems
Languages:
Spanish, French; limited German; "street" Arabic; native in English
Summary of Experience. Dr. Caldwell's professional career in systems
analysis, system development, research and management has centered on the use
of modern analysis techniques to solve practical problems in government,
commercial, industrial, and defense applications. His career includes founder and manager of Vista
Research Corporation, manager of the R&D Department and Principal Scientist
of the US Army Electronic Proving Ground's Electromagnetic Environmental Test
Facility, and consultant or employee to major contract firms (Bell Technical
Operations, SINGER Systems and Software Engineering, General Research
Corporation, Planning Research Corporation, Research Triangle Institute).
Current
address: [deleted]
SUMMARY OF WORK IN MISSILE DEFENSE. The following paragraphs summarize work in
ballistic missile defense and related areas.
Derivation of Optimal Ballistic Missile Area Defense. Derived the optimal
solution to the problem of allocating imperfect (less than perfect reliability)
area interceptors to defense sites.
This problem is technically referred to as "subtractive
overlapping-island defense with imperfect interceptors." It is technically difficult because it is a
two-sided optimization problem (a resource-constrained game) involving a
"nonlinear, noncontinuous, nonconvex
payoff function." The solution to
this problem is necessary to compare alternative ballistic missile defense
system configurations, and to make decisions about sizing and allocation of
interceptor stockpiles. This work is
described in the report, Subtractive Overlapping-Island Defense with
Imperfect Interceptors, US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Report
ACDA/ST-166.
Derivation of Optimal Ballistic Missile Point (Local)
Defense. Derived the optimal solution to the problem of allocating imperfect
point-defense (hardsite defense) interceptors to
local defense sites. As in the
case of area interceptors, this problem is technically difficult to solve,
since it involves nonconvex, noncontinuous
payoff functions. This solution is
needed to compare alternative defense configurations in the case of point
defense (e.g., defense of an isolated radar facility, or a target of such
importance that its interceptors would not be used to defend alternative
targets). This work is described in the
report, Some Problems in Ballistic Missile Defense Involving Radar Attacks
and Imperfect Interceptors, US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Report
ACDA/ST-145.
Hardsite Defense Model. Developed the HARDSITE
computer model to analyze ballistic missile defense systems. The model included treatment of imperfect
interceptors, reprogramming of interceptors, decoy silos and sites, redundant
radars, local (modular) and area defense, multiple reentry vehicles (RVs),
decoy RVs, and multiple weapon types.
The model determines the optimal preallocated,
randomized, (min-max) defense-offense strategies, taking radars into account,
and can also be used to determine the value of simple nonoptimal
strategies. This work is described in
the report, HARDSITE Defense Model, Office of the Assistant Secretary of
Defense Contract DAHC15-68-C-0187.
Conflict, Negotiation, and General-Sum Game Theory. Developed a computationally tractable
general-sum (non zero-sum) game-theoretic solution to war, taking into account
the effect of the threat of war on negotiations (this work found a practical
solution to John Nash’s bargaining solution to a non zero-sum game). (Game-theoretic formulations arise in the
evaluation of weapon systems since it is important to evaluate all systems when
optimally deployed.) Most war gaming, weapons
allocation, and force procurement models have been developed using either
zero-sum payoffs (one player's loss is the other's gain), or ignoring the
relationship of conflict to negotiation.
This work shows how optimal strategies for the difficult mathematical
problem of solving a general-sum game (which represents war better than the
zero-sum formulation) can be approximated by the solution to a particular
zero-sum game derived from the general-sum game. This work is described in the report, Conflict,
Negotiation, and General-Sum Game Theory, Office of Naval Research Contract
N00014-69-C-0282.
Naval
Combat Damage Model; Multiple Resource-Constrained Game Solution. As part of a project to determine a model to
assess the value of naval general-purpose forces, methods were determined for
solving matrix games having multiple resource constraints. A solution was determined by combining the
method of generalized lagrange
multipliers and the Brown-Robinson method of fictitious play. This work is described in the papers, Naval
Combat Damage Model, ONR Contract N00014-69-C-0282 and Multiple
Resource-Constrained Game Solution, ONR Contract N00014-69-C-0282.
US Navy Systems Simulation Program. As part of the effort to
design the Naval Satellite Ocean Surveillance System, determined methods for
performing correlation/tracking and multisensor
fusion of surveillance data. This
work is described in the reports, Correlation/Tracking Performance Study
and Improvements to the Systems Simulation Program, Navy Space Systems
Activity (NAVELEX).
Evaluation of Alternative Missile Tracking Systems. For the Advanced Ballistic
Missile Defense Agency, conducted a study to compare the performance of
alternative missile tracking algorithms.
The study centered on analysis of the performance of autoregressive
integrated moving average (ARIMA, or "Box-Jenkins") models compared
to the Kalman filter and alpha-beta trackers. The work is described in the report, Box-Jenkins
Filter Feasibility Study, Advanced Ballistic Missile Defense Agency, Contract DAHC 60-71-C-0048.
This work laid the groundwork for the development of the “Cassandra”
tracker, a Bayesian, nonlinear missile tracker subsequently developed by G
Lucas and Hugh Everett III. (Cassandra
is not only appropriate for tracking maneuvering missiles, but for identifying
“turning points” in financial markets.)
CAREER
SUMMARY
Management
and Scientific Consultant (1974-present)
Served
as independent consultant to numerous consulting firms and other organizations,
including Planning Research Corporation, General Research Corporation, Bell
Technical Operations, Western Research Company, Chemonics,
Academy for Educational Development in systems and software engineering, system
development, project and program management, management information systems,
statistics, operations research, research design, program monitoring and
evaluation, and strategy and policy analysis in defense and other application
areas. Recent assignments include:
Management Consulting / Information Technology / Senior
Management. Currently
(2002-2003) serving as technical advisor to the Zambian Ministry of Education,
to develop a management information system to store and retrieve data collected
in the annual school census (US Agency for International Development / Academy
for Educational Development). Prior to that (1999-2001), served as Director of Management Systems
(chief information officer) of the Bank of Botswana (
Automated Receiver Operating Characteristic System;
Diagnostic Imaging Systems. Conducted requirements
analysis and specification for the statistical system of an automated receiver
operating characteristic (ROC) system.
The goal of the development effort was to develop an easy-to-use,
microcomputer-based system for facilitating the design, implementation and
analysis of receiver operating characteristic experiments. (A ROC experiment is an experiment designed
to determine and describe the accuracy of a diagnostic system, such as a
computer imaging system. The system is
to make a decision about what alternative state of nature is true, based on an
(image) observation. The ROC methodology
lends itself well to graphical presentations on microcomputer screens, e.g., in
medical diagnostic imaging systems or military multisensor
fusion applications.)
Personnel Management Information System for the
Government of
Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Projects;
Management Information Systems; Geographic Information Systems. In
President,
Director, Vista Research Corporation (1977-81, 1988-91)
Founded and operated contract research firm specializing in strategic
and tactical analysis, simulation and modeling, program monitoring and
evaluation, artificial intelligence applications, and software systems
development. Winner of
four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts. Major projects include the following:
Research in Artificial Intelligence for Noncommunications Electronic Warfare Systems; Geographic
Information Systems; Expert Systems. Directed project for the
Electronic Warfare / Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition
(EW/RSTA) division of the US Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM),
to develop the Scenarist, a knowledge-based system to generate scenarios for
use in evaluating electronic warfare systems and concepts. The Scenarist positions military units and
equipment on maps using rules that take into account tactical doctrine,
geographic features, friendly mission, and enemy threat. The system uses digital mapping data and is
based on an object-oriented parametric representation of military units. The system, coded in C and operating on
MS-DOS or UNIX-based microcomputers, contains an easy-to-use graphical user
interface. The system used digital
terrain data extracted from the US Army's Geographic Resources and Services
(GRASS) geographic information system (GIS), and incorporates the US Army Corps
of Engineers' C-Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) expert system.
Tactical Theater Air Warfare Methodologies. Directed project for the
Air Force Aeronautical System Division / Wright Aeronautical Laboratories (ASD/AFWAL)
at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, to develop an analytical theory for the
generation of tactical air warfare scenarios to be used as a basis for
evaluation of air warfare tactical systems and concepts. The approach involved the development of a rigorous
mathematical framework for tactical combat; it incorporated elements of game
theory (resource-constrained nonzero-sum games) and artificial intelligence
(knowledge-based simulation).
Fast Algorithms for Real‑Time Estimation,
Prediction and Control. Directed project for the
Office of Naval Research to investigate improved algorithms for real‑time
estimation, prediction and control.
Improved algorithms are needed to provide a solution to a critical
problem faced in both industrial and defense applications ‑‑ the
fact that the algorithms used to implement state‑of‑the‑art
statistical estimation, prediction and control techniques are too slow and
failure-prone for many real‑time or near‑real‑time
applications of high interest, even using the fastest computers. Under this project, a new estimation
algorithm was developed and analyzed.
The algorithm, a type of "structured neural network," was
demonstrated by applying it to solve multiple linear regression problems in
"ill-conditioned" situations, such as the case of a singular or
near-singular design matrix (multicollinearity).
Manager,
R&D Department, US Army Electronic Proving Ground's Electromagnetic
Environmental Test Facility (Bell Technical Operations, 1982-88)
Test and Evaluation in Communications‑Electronics. Served as Manager of Research and Development and Principal
Scientist of the
o Dynamic Electromagnetic Systems Combat Effectiveness
Model. Directed project to develop measures of effectiveness for defense C‑E
systems and explore means of linking large‑scale C‑E models to
large‑scale tactical combat models.
o Simulation of Realistic Electromagnetic Environment for
Stress Load Testing. Directed project to demonstrate the
feasibility of simulating a realistic C‑E signal environment for loading
the EPG Stress Loading Facility.
o Simulation Model Architecture / Intelligence Electronic
Warfare (IEW) Model Extension. Directed project to develop a dynamic event‑driven simulation model architecture
for C‑E test and evaluation.
o Statistical Analysis of Voice Scoring Data. Conducted a
components-of-variance analysis of data from voice scoring of data from noisy
voice communications.
o Requirements Specification for Computer-Graphics
Deployment Analysis System. Supervised a systems engineering effort to develop a modern
computer graphics system to interface existing EMETF communication system
simulation programs.
OTHER EXPERIENCE. In addition to the
preceding positions, served as a consultant or senior employee to a number of
other firms. Projects supervised,
directed, or contributed to include the following:
Simulation and Modeling.
Directed or consulted to the development and application of numerous simulation
models, including:
o
o US Navy's Systems Simulation Program (to evaluate
alternative satellite surveillance systems)
o MICROSIM Microsimulation
Forecasting Model for Human Development Service Programs
o Simulation Model to Perform Economic Evaluation of
Alternative Modes of Chemical Manufacturing
Intelligence
Fusion; Correlation/Tracking Developed
algorithms for correlating and tracking ocean vessels using data from
satellites and other sources. Algorithms
involved use of statistical models to estimate parameters of interest (e.g.,
location, direction, speed of ocean vessels), by combining spatial and temporal
multisensor data.
Developed simulation models to compare performance of alternative
correlation / tracking methodologies.
Methodology took into account the temporal and spatial irregularity of the
data-capture technology.
Strategic
Studies, Optimal Allocation, Game Theory. Directed the following studies:
o Analysis of Hardsite Defense
(Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis)
o Nonzero Sum Game Analysis of Defense Systems (Office of
Naval Research)
o Analysis of Subtractive Overlapping‑Island Ballistic
Missile Defense System with Imperfect Interceptors (US Arms Control and
Disarmament Agency)
The
preceding studies involved the development of new theory for analysis of
complex optimization problems involving two-sided, nonlinear, nonconvex, discontinuous objective functions in both the
sequential-move and simultaneous-move (game) contexts.
Scientific Programming. Much
career work has involved the sophisticated use of the computer to solve
difficult estimation and optimization problems.
In the field of weapon systems analysis, developed a computer program
which could automatically select the optimal solution from the multiple set of
generalized Lagrangian solutions, in the case of a
discontinuous, non‑convex payoff function. Developed new optimization
and estimation components for some of the largest defense-system simulation
programs, including the US Navy's Systems Simulation Program and the Department
of Defense QUICK war game model.
Statistical Software Development. Developed the first commercially available computer program package
for implementation of the Box-Jenkins time series methodology. The Box-Jenkins (autoregressive-moving
average) models are useful in system identification problems, such as time
series analysis, forecasting, control, digital signal processing (DSP) and
linear predictive coding of speech. The
software analyzes spatial or temporal data in both the time and frequency
domains (correlation and spectral analysis), and uses nonlinear statistical
algorithms to estimate model parameters.
Sample
Survey Design. Developed the sampling plans for a number of national and state
sample surveys.
Communication Theory. In
doctoral dissertation, developed the best known class of codes for correcting
both additive and synchronization errors in noisy communications channels.
Experimental Design and Quality Control. Developed statistical experimental designs for test and evaluation,
simulation model run‑sets, chemical and physical experimentation, and
industrial quality control applications.
Technical Training. Developed the popular short course, "Sample Survey Design and
Analysis," which has been conducted on both a public (advertised) and
private (in‑house) basis. Has lectured government and contractor organizations on sample
survey, time series analysis, statistical forecasting methods, and microsimulation.
Served as professor of statistics at the
Computer Languages, Packages, and Systems. Heavy experience in applications programming
in FORTRAN, C, Visual Basic, database (dBASE/FoxPro/Access),
SAS, and GIS on mainframe computers, minicomputers and microcomputers under a
variety of operating systems (MS-DOS/Windows/NT, UNIX, IBM, CDC, UNISYS, and
others); experienced in application of statistical program packages, including
SAS, SPSS and BMDP. Strong microcomputer
experience, including the development of graphics-based microcomputer software
for geographic information systems applications. Familiar with a variety of
commercial microcomputer software (e.g., word processing, electronic
spreadsheet, presentation, data base, groupware, desktop publishing,
accounting).
Publications. Over fifty publications in the areas
described above, and books on global population, energy and the environment,
and tax reform.
Honors. Tau Beta Pi
National Engineering Honorary Society
General
Motors Scholarship (Carnegie‑Mellon University,
NASA
Fellowship (
Positions.
Consultant, 1974-present (various organizations, including Bank of
Botswana (1999-2001), Academy for Educational Development (1994-95, 2002-03),
First Union National Bank (1996-97), Chemonics
(1991-92))
President and Manager, Vista Research Corporation,
Adjunct
Professor of Statistics,
Director of Research and Development and Principal Scientist of US Army
Electronic Proving Ground's Electromagnetic Environmental Test Facility, Bell
Technical Operations, Tucson and Sierra Vista, AZ, 1982-86, 1986-88
Principal Engineer, SINGER Systems and Software Engineering,
President and Manager, Vista Research Corporation,
Vice President, JWK International Corporation,
Annandale, VA, 1974-76
Principal, Planning Research Corporation, McLean, VA, 1972-74
Member of the Technical Staff, Lambda Corporation / General Research Corporation, McLean, VA, 1967-72
Senior
Operations Research Analyst, Deering Milliken
Research Corporation, Spartanburg, SC, 1966-67
Operations Research Analyst, Research Triangle Institute, Research
Triangle Park, NC, 1964-66
jgcmil17.doc(12/03)
J. George Caldwell, PhD
Consultant in Statistics, Mathematics and
Information Technology
Summary: Consultant in information technology,
operations research and statistics to business, finance, industry, and
government. Specialist in forecasting /
time series analysis / stochastic processes; financial modeling / risk
management; optimization and optimal strategy determination; sample survey
design and analysis; simulation, modeling, and analysis; systems and software
engineering; data base design and implementation. Experienced in use of modern statistical
analysis and database software (e.g., SAS/Oracle, SPSS, Microsoft Access, ArcView GIS, CHAID, Visual Basic, C, Fortran,
SQL, Xbase) on UNIX and Microsoft Windows operating
systems. Strong mathematical background
(PhD in mathematical statistics), with experience in complex mathematical
operations and algorithms such as linear operators, ARIMA models, matrix
methods, statistical and optimization algorithms, numerical methods, Monte
Carlo simulation. Recent banking risk management experience. Very strong programming
skills (time series analysis, optimization, financial modeling / risk
management). Diverse
international experience.
(Currently working overseas – looking to return to US.)
Experience
2002 – 2004, Management
1999 – 2001, Director of
Management Systems, Bank of
1998, Management Information System Consultant, Asian
Development Bank / Academy for Educational Development,
1997 – 1998, Consultant in Risk Management, Canada Trust Bank /
Strategic Sourcing Inc.,
1996 – 1997, Statistical / Operations Research Consultant, First Union
National Bank / Strategic Sourcing, Inc.,
1995 – 1996, Statistical consulting in
1993 – 1994, Software Engineering / Database Design, Government of
1991 – 1993, US Agency for International Development / Chemonics, Program Monitoring and Evaluation,
1989 – 1991, President, Vista Research Corporation, Director of project
to develop expert system for automatic military scenario generation,
Prior to 1989, operated as an independent consultant or associate of various consulting
firms and other organizations, including:
Founder and Manager of
Vista Research Corporation, Tucson, Arizona and Alexandria, Virginia, contract
research firm specializing in statistical / research design, simulation and
modeling, policy analysis, and program evaluation in government and defense
applications. Contracts with US
Department of Health and Human Services, US Department of Education, US Air
Force, US Army, US Office of Naval Research, US Agency for International
Development, US Department of Agriculture, Government of the Philippines,
African Development Bank, various state governments and private firms. Seven years.
Director of Research and Development and Principal Investigator of the US Army Electronic Proving Ground's
Electromagnetic Environmental Test Facility, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Four years.
Professor of Statistics at the
Other qualifications: Working knowledge of French and Spanish. Director of over twenty
technical projects. Developed the
first commercially available Box-Jenkins computer program package for
prediction, forecasting, and control of stochastic (time series)
processes. Author of
over fifty technical publications, including a book on tax reform.
Education:
PhD, Statistics,
BS, Mathematics,
Contact Information:
[deleted]
bus20040506.doc
Joseph George Caldwell, PhD
Contact
Information: [deleted]
KEY QUALIFICATIONS: Management consultant. Consultant in information technology; systems and software engineering; management information systems; database design; statistics; economics; program planning, monitoring and evaluation; policy analysis; strategic planning and analysis. Consultant to US government agencies, state governments, corporations and foreign governments. Director/supervisor of projects in the areas of:
o
monitoring and evaluation, institutional development, planning and policy
analysis of government programs in health, education, human services, urban
problems, rural development, agriculture, environment, economics, public
finance, tax policy analysis, cost-benefit analysis, personnel management
information systems, engineering, decentralization, privatization, and
democratization efforts
o international development in
o
information technology: computer models, management information systems design
and implementation; database design; data modeling; Director of Management
Systems (chief information officer) with the Bank of Botswana (Botswana’s
central bank); systems and software engineering; ISO-9000 Quality Management
Manager of contract research firm (seven years); successful bidder
on numerous technical contracts, including four Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) contracts. Director of more than twenty technical projects. Adjunct Professor of Statistics at the
EDUCATION: PhD, Statistics, 1966,
BS, Mathematics,1962,
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE (in development
applications):
Feb 2002 – present (March 2004). Technical Advisor
in Educational Management Information Systems, Academy for Educational
Development,
Jan 1999 – Jan 2001. Director of Management Systems, Bank of
Botswana, Botswana. Responsible for all information technology
operations for the Bank of Botswana, Botswana’s central (reserve) bank (IT
vision, strategy, policy, procedures, operations, acquisition, training, staff
development)). The Bank’s computer
system is comprised of over 300 networked microcomputers running under Windows
NT, Novell 4.1, UNIX, Windows 95/98/2000 operating systems. Software applications include Microsoft
Office 97/2000 software and banking-related applications in support of banking
operations, foreign reserve management, portfolio management, accounting, and
human resources. Managed
a department of 16 IT professionals, reporting to the Deputy Governor and
Governor. Introduced
modern IT management systems, including ISO 9000 Quality Management, ISO 12207
Information Technology Standard, the Software Engineering Institute Capability
Maturity Model, and modern software and systems engineering tools (Popkin System Architect, CA ERWIN (Entity Relationship
Modeling for Windows), CA BPWIN (Business Process Modeling for Windows). Supervised approximately 30 IT projects.
Apr – Oct 1998.
IT Specialist, Educational Management Information
System Design for Secondary Education Sector Development Project, Asian
Development Bank / Academy for Educational Development,
Sep 1997 – Mar 1998. Consultant in Risk
Management, Strategic Sourcing Inc., / Canada Trust Bank, Bank Risk Management,
May 1996 – Jul 1997. Statistical Consultant to
Strategic Sourcing Inc. / First Union National Bank, Statistical and
Optimization Computer Models in
Nov 1995 – May 1966. Survey Statistician, Income
and Employment Survey for
May – Jun 1995. Sample
Survey Design and Sampling Statistician, Academy for Educational Development /
USAID, Malawi. For the Malawi Ministry of Education, Dr.
Caldwell developed the sample design for the Annual Primary School Survey. Previously, the annual school survey was a
census of all 3,400 schools and three million students; the amount of time and
effort required to collect and process all of these data was placing a serious
burden on the Planning Unit resources.
The sampling plan involves a probability sample of 500 schools selected
with probabilities proportional to a measure of size (the previous year's
enrollment) using the Rao-Hartley-Cochran
method. With the probability sampling
approach, all of the information required by the Planning Unit will be available
for a fraction of the effort required by the previous approach.
Jun 1993 – Dec 1994. Personnel Management Information System
Developer, Civil Servant Personnel Management Information System, Academy for
Educational Development / USAID,
The system development effort was conducted in
full compliance with the DOD-STD-2167A software development standard, and
included the production of almost 1,000 pages of detailed system documentation,
including a System Design Document, Software Requirements
Specification, Software Design Document, Software Programmer's
Manual, Software Product Specification, and Software User's
Manual. The project included
on-the-job training of members of the Department's Management Information
Systems Unit (systems analysts, programmers) in systems engineering
(requirements analysis, technology assessment, synthesis of alternatives,
specification of evaluation criteria, selection of a preferred alternative,
top-level design, detailed design (optimization), implementation, and test),
the modern software engineering discipline (structured, top-down design),
management information system design, dBASE, software
development project management, and basic microcomputer upgrading and repair;
and classroom instruction for system users (personnel officers) in use of the
system for data entry and retrieval (queries and report generation).
Mar 1991 – Oct 1992. Manager of Monitoring and
Evaluation, Chemonics International / USAID,
Oct 1979 – Jan 1982. Project Director / Chief of
Party, Economic and Social Impact Analysis / Women in Development (ESIA/WID)
Project, Vista Research Corporation / USAID / NEDA,
Oct 1975 – Sep 1976. Project Director /Supervisor, Economic Policy
Analysis for the Government of Haiti, JWK Intl Corp / USAID, Haiti. Under a
contract funded by the US Agency for International Development, this study determined
agricultural and tax policy changes that the government of Haiti could employ
to increase foreign exchange and increase the income of the small farmer. The study addressed five commodities ‑‑
coffee, cotton, sisal, mangoes, and meat (major emphasis on coffee). The project included the use of sample
surveys to collect up‑to‑date data on commodity prices. A major goal of the project was the transfer
of policy analysis capabilities to members of the Haitian Ministry of
Agriculture. Dr. Caldwell supervised a
team of four Ph.D. consultants (economists) on this project.
Management Information
Systems / Systems and Software Engineering / Computer Models, Systems and
Applications. Dr. Caldwell has directed numerous software
engineering projects, applying the principles of systems and software
engineering. This approach includes
requirements specification and analysis, technology review, synthesis of system
alternatives, cost-effectiveness analysis of alternatives and selection of a
preferred alternative, detailed design, implementation and test. For the software subsystem he utilizes
top-down, structured design, and has experience using international standard,
including the ISO 9000 Information Technology Standard, the US Department of
Defense's Software Development Standard (DOD-STD-2167A and MIL-STD-498). He has extensive hands-on microcomputer
systems development experience. He
designed and implemented a 50,000-line C-language microcomputer program (an
integrated geographic information system / expert system), and personally
conducted all of the software and database design and most of the programming
for the information systems work in Egypt and Malawi (dBASE
and SPSS command languages, Quattro Pro presentation graphics, C programming
language). In a recent banking
application, he developed a geographic information system application (ArcView 3.0 GIS, SAS) to identify good locations for bank
automated teller machines (ATMs). He
recently developed simulation/optimization system for a bank to determine
optimal loan pricing strategies (Windows NT, Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0). Dr. Caldwell's computer experience includes
mainframe, mini- and microcomputer applications. Most recent work has been on 30x86 microcomputers
(using MS-DOS, Windows, and UNIX operating systems). His system design work includes both hardware
and software system design. Much
experience with MS-Windows application development systems (Visual Basic,
C/Visual C++, Visual Fortran, Visual FoxPro).
Computer Models for
Forecasting and Demographic Analysis. Dr. Caldwell developed the first
commercially‑available general‑purpose Box‑Jenkins
computer-forecasting package, and microcomputer software for making demographic
projections (cohort-component, synthetic estimation). For the US Department of Health and Human
Services, he directed the project to develop a prototype microsimulation
forecasting model and a statistical reporting system to provide the data
required by the model. The model ‑‑
called MICROSIM ‑‑ was developed to forecast caseloads and
expenditures for HHS programs under various policy assumptions.
Artificial Intelligence /
Expert Systems / Geographic Information Systems. For the US Army Communications-Electronics Command, directed a
project to develop an expert system to position military units and equipment,
taking into account the location of friendly and opposing forces, mission,
tactical combat rules, and digital terrain data. The system incorporated the NASA-developed
C-Language Integrated Production System ("CLIPS") expert system and
used digital mapping data extracted from the US Army's Geographic Resources and
Services System (GRASS) geographic information system (GIS). The system was developed for MS-DOS-based 80x86
microcomputers, and included a comprehensive graphical user interface (mouse,
windows, and menus).
Privatization,
Decentralization, and Democratization. Broad experience in monitoring,
evaluation, and policy analysis related to privatization, decentralization, and
democratization, with special emphasis on the development of
"harmonious" tax systems that support these objectives; director of
several national-level cost-benefit analysis projects. In the Haiti agricultural policy analysis
project mentioned above, emphasis was on the identification of changes in tax
policy that would increase small-farmer incomes. In the Egypt LDII-P project, a major thrust
of the project was to implement the infrastructure development projects at the
village level, using local contractors.
Training was provided in project planning, design, selection,
contracting procedures, monitoring, and financing; Dr. Caldwell directed the
development of systems to facilitate decentralized (local-level) development,
and to monitor progress in local capacity to design, implement, and finance
local-level projects. In the Philippines
ESIA/WID project, heavy emphasis was placed on assessment of the role of women
in development and on estimation of income changes associated with development
projects. In his book on tax policy, Dr.
Caldwell presents a systematic methodology for tax system development
("tax engineering") which takes into account social, economic, and
political constraints and objectives.
Management Consulting /
Business Experience. Dr. Caldwell has substantial experience in
management consulting to industry, including consulting, training, and system
development in forecasting, quality control, product improvement, process
control, and economic analysis of production alternatives. He founded and managed his own contract
research firm (Vista Research Corporation, operated full-time for seven years),
and set up a ladies' fashions importing/retailing firm (Sonora Marketing
Corporation). In these efforts, Dr.
Caldwell designed, implemented and managed all major functional components of
the operations (marketing, production, and finance).
Statistics / Sample Survey
Design / Program Monitoring Systems. Dr.
Caldwell developed the design for many important national sample surveys and
statistical reporting systems. He
specializes in the development of analytical survey designs to collect data for
model development, and has developed new techniques for handling nonresponse in longitudinal surveys. Surveys and reporting systems include:
o
o
o
o
o Professional
Standards Review Organization Data Base Development Study
o Study of Impact
of National Health Insurance on Bureau of Community Health Service Users
o 1976 Survey of
Institutionalized Persons
o Sampling Manual
for Utilization Review of Medicaid
o Sampling Manual
for Social Services (Title XX) Reporting Requirements
o Sampling Manual
for Office of Child Support Enforcement Reporting Requirements
o Dept. of
Housing and Urban Development Housing Market Practices Survey
o Research Design
for the Urban Arterials Section of the Highway Capacity Manual
o Elementary and
Secondary School Civil Rights Survey
Evaluation Research. Dr.
Caldwell has conducted a number of evaluation research studies, including the
following:
o Evaluation
Survey of USAID Local Development Projects in
o Social Services
Effectiveness Evaluation for
o Day Care Cost‑Benefit
Study
o Vocational
Rehabilitation Evaluation Standards Study
o Cost‑Benefit
Analysis of National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and
o Medicaid
Standards Impact Assessment
Public Finance. In
addition to his work in tax policy analysis and cost-benefit analysis, Dr.
Caldwell directed studies to develop alternative allocation / matching formulas
for major state/federal programs:
o Vocational
o Medicaid and
AFDC Matching Percentage Formula
Operations Research and
Statistics in Industrial and Commercial Applications. Dr.
Caldwell has applied a wide variety of operations research and statistical
techniques to solve practical problems in industrial and commercial
applications. Applications include the
use of simulation and modeling, experimental design, and statistical
forecasting techniques to solve problems in process control, statistical
quality control, demand forecasting, and economic analysis of alternative modes
of production in the textile and pharmaceutical industries, and test and
evaluation of electronic systems and equipment (communications and noncommunications).
Technical Training. In
addition to his role as university professor, Dr. Caldwell developed the
popular seminar, "Sample Survey Design and Analysis."
Computer Languages, Packages,
and Systems. Heavy experience in applications programming
in FORTRAN, C/C++, Visual Basic and dBASE/FoxPro on
mainframe computers, minicomputers and microcomputers under a variety of
operating systems (MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, UNIX, IBM, CDC, UNIVAC, and
others); experienced in application of statistical program packages, such as
SAS, BMDP, and SPSS. Strong
microcomputer experience, including the development of graphics-based
microcomputer software for geographic information systems applications. Familiar with a variety of
commercial microcomputer software (e.g., word processing, electronic
spreadsheet, data base, desktop publishing, accounting). Experience working in a
Microsoft Windows / UNIX network environment (VB, SAS, Oracle), using
Hummingbird, NT and Lotus Notes networking software. Familiar with Microsoft
Office suite of products (Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint) on Windows
95/NT/XP/2002 or UNIX client/server system.
LANGUAGES: English (native); working knowledge of French and Spanish; limited
German and Arabic (for transportation, household use)
GEOGRAPHIC EXPERIENCE: USA, Canada, Haiti, Philippines, Egypt, Malawi,
Ghana, Bangladesh, Botswana, Zambia
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: Institute for Management Sciences and Operations
Research (INFORMS), American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical
Statistics
HONORS / AWARDS: Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honorary
Society, General Motors Scholarship (Carnegie‑Mellon University,
Pittsburgh), NASA Fellowship (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
PUBLICATIONS: Over fifty publications in the
areas described above, and books on tax reform and global population (list
available on request). Many articles on diverse topics (politics, music, guitar, defense,
religion / spirituality / philosophy, science fiction).
POSITIONS:
Consultant, 1974-present (various organizations, recently including the Academy for Educational Development, Chemonics International, First Union National Bank, Canada Trust, Western Research Company)
Director, Management Systems Department, Bank of Botswana, 1999-2001
President and Manager, Vista Research
Corporation, Tucson and Sierra Vista, AZ, 1988-91
Professor of Statistics, University of
Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1982-86
Director of Research and Development and Principal Scientist of US Army
Electronic Proving Ground's Electromagnetic Environmental Test Facility, Bell
Technical Operations, Tucson and Sierra Vista, AZ, 1982-86, 1986-88
Principal Engineer, SINGER Systems and
Software Engineering, Tucson, AZ, 1986
President and Manager, Vista Research
Corporation, Alexandria, VA, and Tucson, AZ, 1977-81
Vice President, JWK International
Corporation, Annandale, VA, 1974-76
Principal, Planning Research Corporation,
McLean, VA, 1972-74
Member of the Technical Staff, Lambda
Corporation / General Research Corporation, McLean, VA, 1967-72
Senior Operations Research Analyst, Deering Milliken Research Corporation, Spartanburg, SC,
1966-67
Operations Research Analyst, Research
Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC, 1964-66
jgcdev20040318RevChron.doc
List of Publications -- Dr. J. George Caldwell
1. Caldwell, J.G., E.L. Hill, and W.K. Grogan,
Determination of Shelter Configuration for Ventilation, Final Report R‑OU‑177,
Research Triangle Institute / US Office of Civil Defense, Durham, North
Carolina, 1965
2. Caldwell,
J.G., Synchronizable Error‑Correcting
Codes, Ph.D. Doctoral Dissertation, Institute of Statistics Mimeo Series
No. 469, Department of Statistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
North Carolina, 1966
3. Caldwell,
J.G. and R.C. Bose, "Synchronizable Error‑Correcting
Codes," Information and Control, 10, 1967
4. Caldwell,
J.G., Economic Simulation and Analysis Report, Sales and Price Simulator,
and New Product Generator, (reports on proprietary work done for
client), Lambda Corporation, 1969
5. Caldwell,
J.G., T.S. Schreiber, and S.S. Dick, Some Problems in Ballistic Missile
Defense Involving Radar Attacks and Imperfect Interceptors, ACDA/ST‑145
SR‑4, Special Report No. 4, Lambda Corporation / US Arms Control and
Disarmament Agency, 1969
6. Caldwell,
J.G., Subtractive Overlapping Island Defense with Imperfect Interceptors,
ACDA/ST‑166, Lambda Corporation / US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency,
1969 (Secret)
7. Caldwell,
J.G., Documentation for the time series analysis program: TIMES, Lambda
Corporation, 1970
8. Caldwell,
J.G., Conflict, Negotiation, and General‑Sum Game Theory, Lambda
Paper 45, Lambda Corporation, 1970
9.
10. Caldwell,
J.G., Hardsite Defense Model, Volume 1
(Mathematical Description) and Volume 2 (Program Description and User's
Manual), Lambda Corporation / Office of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
(Systems Analysis), 1971
11. Caldwell,
J.G., Box‑Jenkins Filter Feasibility Study, Lambda Corporation,
1971
12. Caldwell,
J.G., AMTRAK Passenger Car Inspection Plan, American Management Systems,
Arlington, Virginia, 1971
13. Caldwell,
J.G. and J.P. Mayberry, Naval Combat Damage Model, Lambda Corporation /
Office of Naval Research, 1972
14. Caldwell,
J.G. and G.E. Pugh, Multiple Resource‑Constrained Game Solution,
Lambda Corporation, 1972. Also:
15. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Correlation/Tracking Performance Study ‑‑ DCP Input
(U), Vols I and II, Report R‑1650, Planning
Research Corporation / Navy Space Systems Activity (NAVELEX), 1973 (Secret)
16. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Improvements to the Systems Simulation Program, Vols. I and
II, Report R‑1801, Planning Research Corporation / Navy Space Systems
Activity (NAVELEX), 1974 (Secret)
17. Caldwell,
J.G., Sampling Manual for Utilization Review, Office of Information
Sciences, Social and Rehabilitation Service, US Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, 1974
18. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Vocational Rehabilitation State Allocation Study, Social
and Rehabilitation Service, 1974
19. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Day Care Cost Benefit Study, Social and Rehabilitation
Service, 1974
20. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Design Task for a Survey of Persons in Long Term Care
Institutions, General Research Corporation / Office of Assistant Secretary
for Planning and Evaluation, US Department of Health, Education and Welfare,
1975
21. Caldwell,
J.G., Sample Design for National Health Insurance Survey of BCHS Users,
J.G. Caldwell and Associates / Health Services Administration, 1975
22. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Workload Reporting Validation Guidelines, Pennsylvania
Bureau of Employment Security / Analytic Systems, Inc., 1976
23. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Vocational Rehabilitation Performance Evaluation Standards
Study, Rehabilitation Services Administration, 1976
24. Caldwell,
J.G., Sampling Manual for Title XX Social Services Reporting Requirements
(SSRR), Social and Rehabilitation Service, 1976
25. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Benefit‑Cost Analysis of Alcoholism Treatment Centers,
National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1976
26. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Assessment of Cost and Operational Impacts of SNF/ICF Standards,
Social and Rehabilitation Service, 1976
27. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Agricultural Policy Studies in Haiti, US Agency for
International Development, 1976
28. Caldwell,
J.G., Sample Design for PSRO Data Base Development Study, J.G. Caldwell
and Associates, 1976
29. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Development of a Data Base to Determine the Impact of PSRO
Concurrent Review on Hospital Utilization, General Research Corporation,
McLean, VA, and SysteMetrics, Inc., Bethesda, MD,
1977
30. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Analysis of Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Performance,
Rehabilitation Services Administration, 1977
31. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Subsampling of Nonrespondents in Longitudinal Studies, Killalea Associates / National Center for Education
Statistics, 1977
32. Caldwell,
J.G., Sampling Plan for Selection of SMSAs in the
Housing Market Practices Survey, US Department of Housing and Urban
Development, National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing, Washington,
DC, 1977. Survey results presented in Measuring
Racial Discrimination in American Housing Markets: The
Housing Market Practices Survey, US Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Office of Policy Research and Development, April 1979
33. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Analysis of Federal Matching Assistance Percentage (FMAP)
Formula, Health Care Financing Administration, 1978
34. Caldwell,
J.G., Sample Design for Study of Quality of Flow in Urban Arterials,
J.G. Caldwell and Associates / Alan M. Voorhees & Associates / Planning
Research Corporation / US Federal Highway Administration, 1978
35.
36. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Measuring the Effectiveness of Social Services, Volumes I
and II, Vista Research Corporation / State of
37. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Microsimulation Forecasting
Model for Human Development Services Programs, Vista Research Corporation /
Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Office of Human Development
Services, US Department of Health and Human Services, 1980. Report consists of six volumes: (1) Report on
Project Activities, Executive Summary; (2) Report on Project Activities; (3)
MICROSIM: User's Manual; (4) MICROSIM: Detailed Model Description; (5)
MICROSIM: User's Guide; and (6) MICROSIM:
38. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Technical Memoranda for the project, Micro Component of the
Economic and Social Impact Analysis / Women in Development (ESIA/WID) Project,
National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Vista Research Corporation /
Government of the Philippines, 1979 ‑ 1981
39. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Dynamic Electromagnetic Combat Effectiveness Model (DESCEM):
Measures of Message Delay, US Army Electronic Proving Ground, Electromagnetic
Environmental Test Facility, 1984
40. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Realistic Electromagnetic Environment for Stress Load Testing,
US Army Electronic Proving Ground, Electromagnetic Environmental Test Facility,
1984
41. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Simulation Model Architecture and Intelligence / Electronic
Warfare Model Extension, US Army Electronic Proving Ground, Electromagnetic
Environmental Test Facility, 1985
42.
"Modeling and Simulation Architecture for Dynamic Electronic System
Testing at the US Army Electronic Proving Ground's Electromagnetic
Environmental Test Facility," paper presented at the
"Government/Industry -- Partners in Testing" US Army Test and
Evaluation Symposium, US Army Test and Evaluation Command / American Defense
Preparedness Association, Aberdeen Proving Gound,
March 19-21, 1985
43.
44. How to
Stop the IRS and Solve the Deficit Problem, book on reform of the US tax
system, Vista Research Corporation, Sierra Vista, Arizona, 1987 (427
pages). Republished as The
Value-Added Tax: A New Tax System for the United
States, available at Internet web site http://www.foundationwebsite.org .
45. Caldwell,
J.G., et al., Methodology for Analysis of Voice Scoring Facility Data,
US Army Electronic Proving Ground, Electromagnetic Environmental Test Facility,
1988
46. Caldwell,
J.G., et al., Simulation Analysis of Alternative Voice Scoring Methodologies,
US Army Electronic Proving Ground, Electromagnetic Environmental Test Facility,
1988
47. Caldwell,
J.G. and R. Reiner, "System Testing Using the
Stress Loading Facility," The ITEA Journal of Test and Evaluation,
Vol. IX, No. 1, pp. 36-47, March 1988
48.
49.
50.
51. Caldwell,
J.G. et al., Input to the US Agency for International Development Request for
Proposals RFP EGYPT 91-008, Management Information System for the Egyptian
Health Insurance Organization Cost Recovery Program, produced under
contract to the US Agency for International Development, Cambridge Consulting
Corporation, Reston, Virginia, 1990
52. Caldwell,
J.G., Scenarist Automated Scenario Generation System, Final Report for
the Project, Research in Artificial Intelligence for Noncommunications
Electronic Warfare Systems, produced under contract to the US Army
Communications-Electronics Command, Vista Research Corporation,
53. Caldwell,
J.G., Sample Design for Sharqiya Pilot Test,
and Sample Design Alternatives for Subproject Field Visitation System,
sample design reports produced for the USAID-funded project, Local Development
II - Provincial, Chemonics International Consulting
Division, Cairo, Egypt, 1991
54. Caldwell,
J.G., Analysis of Survey of Nonoperational
Subprojects, Chemonics International Consulting
Division, Cairo, Egypt, 1991
55.
56. Caldwell,
J.G., LDII-P National Subproject Field Visitation Survey, Chemonics International Consulting Division, Cairo, Egypt,
1992
57.
58.
59. Caldwell,
J.G., Requirements Analysis and Specifications for the Statistical Subsystem
of the Automated Receiver Operating Characteristic System, Western Research
Company, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, 1993
60. Caldwell,
J.G., System Documentation for the Personnel Management Information System of
the Government of Malawi Civil Service, including System Design Document,
Software Requirements Specification, Software Design Document, Software
Programmer's Manual, Software Product Specification, and Software
User's Manual, Malawi Department of Human Resources Management and
Development, Lilongwe, Malawi, 1994
61. Caldwell,
J.G., Description of the Statistical Subsystem of the Automated Receiver
Operating Characteristic System, Western Research Company, Inc., Tucson,
Arizona, 1995
62. Caldwell,
J.G., Sample Design for Malawi Annual Primary School Survey, J. G.
Caldwell, PhD, Spartanburg, SC, July, 1995
63.
64.
65.
jgcpubs.res(12/95)
(Publications since 1995 are mainly proprietary reports
for clients, and the books and articles posted at http://www.foundationwebsite.org
.)