"whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching"

Very interesting statistic from an article in the Wall Street Journal:

(I)n Rialto, Calif., where an entire police force is wearing so-called body-mounted cameras, no bigger than pagers, that record everything that transpires between officers and citizens. In the first year after the cameras' introduction, the use of force by officers declined 60%, and citizen complaints against police fell 88%. 

It isn't known how many police departments are making regular use of cameras, though it is being considered as a way of perhaps altering the course of events in places such as Ferguson, Mo., where an officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager. 

What happens when police wear cameras isn't simply that tamper-proof recording devices provide an objective record of an encounter—though some of the reduction in complaints is apparently because of citizens declining to contest video evidence of their behavior—but a modification of the psychology of everyone involved. 

The effect of third-party observers on behavior has long been known: Thomas Jefferson once advised that "whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching." Psychologists have confirmed this intuition, showing that something as primitive as a poster with a pair of glaring eyes can make test subjects behave better, and even reduce theft in an area.

This technology seems to be used in some Maryland police departments. 

Thinking about employment and industrial development

I quote from a recent post on Roger Peike Jr.'s Blog:

Consider that from 1970 to 2001 jobs in the overall economy grew by 1.8% per year. In government they grew at half that rate. From 2001 to 2011 government jobs grew at 0.4% per year -- less than half the rate of the previous three decades.

• If government jobs had grown 2001-2011 at the same rate as government job growth 1970-2001, then the US would presently have 1 million more jobs.  The current unemployment rate would be 6.4% rather than 7.0%.

• If government jobs had grown 2001-2011 at the same rate as overall growth of jobs in the US economy 1970-2001, then the US would presently have 3.03 million more jobs. The current unemployment rate would be 5.1%.

What could the US government do with 3 million more employees?  Oh, I'm sure we could think of something.

Could we use more teachers, more public health workers, more government employees protecting our environment and managing our wildlife? I suspect so. How about an increase in public servants providing mental health, emergency medical and child welfare services? We should not base our public policy on slogans ("Government is not the solution to our problems, it is the problem.")

Peike also provides this graph:

The graph shows the long term trend of reduction in U.S. manufacturing employment and increase in U.S. employment in service industries.

Manufactured goods tend to be eminently tradable. As transportation technology and communications technology have improved and consequently international transportation and communications infrastructures have improved, the costs of transporting goods from country to country have dropped. Labor intensive manufacturing has migrated to countries with relatively low labor costs, and the United States and other countries with relatively low capital costs have specialized in capital intensive manufacturing. There are exceptions, such as food processing which the manufacturing plants have to be close to the sources of raw materials, but the U.S. focuses on manufacturing with lots of capital per worker. Manufacturing remains a major factor in the U.S. GDP. As Pieke states:

While manufacturing has shrunk dramatically as a proportion of all jobs, since 1950 the US has only seen a decrease of 3.7 million manufacturing jobs.

 Once unionized manufacturing jobs provided high school grads with entry into the middle class; no longer! Now we are educating large numbers of young people through college, and many of them are taking jobs that don't fully use the capacities generated by their educations -- if they can get jobs at all.

I think we need a new industrial strategy. The country needs to develop new industries that will produce goods and services utilizing a highly skilled and educated workforce, with value added that justifies good salaries enabling workers to status in the middle class. And it needs to develop many, big industries fast.

How to do so? I don't know. I suppose offering easy immigration to anyone offering ideas for such industries is one step. Tax breaks for new enterprises in new industries. Government support for universities pioneering in technology development and education in new industrial areas seems important. Perhaps some protective tariffs and strong IPR for new industries.

I am suggesting that we not focus policy on training for existing industries, but on developing new industries for the workforce of the future.

Montgomery Planning Board advances master plan for White Oak Science Gateway

Source: The Washington Post

The Montgomery County Planning Board approved a land-use blueprint Thursday that officials hope will eventually transform the long-neglected White Oak section of the eastern part of the county into a “new Silicon Valley” for medical and life sciences research. 

The five-member board voted unanimously to send the White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan to the County Council and County Executive Isiah Leggett for review. The project’s anchor would be LifeSci Village, a joint venture of the county government and Percontee, a private developer.

 This is a great place for life science research, with the NIH headquarters, a number of existing firms, and access to a number of universities. The initiative should provide good jobs in the county and add to the tax base! It may also help people through research findings and help the national economy.

Local Leaders Support the CCT project.

U.S. Rep. John Delaney, my Congressman, and Ronald J. Daniels, President of the Johns Hopkins University, have published an editorial calling for support of the Corridor Cities Transitway project.

The CCT would connect the area between Shady Grove Metrorail Station and Clarksburg, incorporating communities that currently do not have convenient access to mass transit. It will be made up of rapid-transit vehicles that in addition to speed will look and feel very much like a rail system. The rapid transit vehicles that the CCT would use would allow for faster commutes and ease congestion on the county’s major roadways in the nearby areas.

They note that Montgomery County has very strong technological institutions and is well placed to compete with Nothern Virginia and Washington DC for the emerging high tech businesses.

 Montgomery County is at the forefront of scientific innovation, has a highly educated work force and a high quality of life for its residents. People from around the world want to move here because the county has some of the best institutions in the world, such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and a host of others along the I-270 Technology Corridor. If current growth projections continue, Montgomery County’s population will swell to over 1.1 million in the next 20 years.

However, to support the development of a cluster of innovative technology institutions, the public sector will have to invest in infrastructure. The CCT is one element of that proposed investment. 

Maryland working to transform research base into commercial success!

I quote from a WBALTV story:

Maryland leads the nation in how much it spends on research but the University System of Maryland -- which includes 13 colleges and universities -- is trying to take research to a new level by creating more small businesses off campus. The goal so far is to try and create more than 300 new businesses over the next decade. 

"We're making a very concerted effort to work with the state, with the governor's support, to grow our capacity, to start companies and to transfer this research into economic gain for Maryland and to build jobs," said William Kirwan, chancellor of the university system.

As a Maryland resident and a former University of Maryland faculty member, I am pleased!

Maryland Technology Development Corporation - TEDCO

Maryland to see new legislation to reduce gun fatalities

Maryland's Governor Martin O'Malley is introducing gun legislation in the state legislature. He will unveil a three-pronged strategy focused on gun safety, school safety and mental health.

1.) Gun safety: We should ban military-style assault weapons, limit large ammunition capacity, and require licenses for handgun purchases. We respect the rights of hunters and sportsmen and that's why our licensing requirements will NOT apply to shotguns or rifles. 

2.) School safety: We will invest in security upgrades for schools, including cameras at entrances, automatically locking doors, shatterproof glass and buzzer entrance systems. We will also establish a "Maryland Center for School Safety," which will amplify our efforts by gathering meaningful data and serving as a central hub for collaboration between our federal, state and local law enforcement partners.  

3.) Mental heath: We will improve data sharing practices between federal and state officials. In addition, we will invest more to improve mental health services so we can intervene early and reduce the potential for violent behavior. We'll expand crisis intervention teams, expand response services and establish a center for excellence on early intervention for serious mental illness. 

How about gun licensing requiring passing a written test on gun safety and an in person demonstration of safe handling of the type of gun to be owned? Someone would have to show a license to buy a gun and someone found with a gun without a license would be guilty of a crime. Guns would seem to be a lethal as cars and we demand a license to drive. 

More on Stem Cell Research

The New York Times has a good article on the history of the limitations on stem cell research in the United States. It concludes:

But scientists are still merely at the threshold of understanding how the body’s 200 different types of cell interact with one another. It seems likely to be years before biologists know all the settings that must be adjusted in a human cell’s chromosomes to make it become a well-behaved cone cell in the retina or a dopamine-making neuron of the type destroyed in Parkinson’s.

The Washington Post also has an article on stem cell research today, focusing on the possibility that Maryland's $18.4 million budget for stem cell research this year may be cut. The article stresses:

Even critics acknowledge that interest in Maryland's program -- which also funds other, less controversial types of stem cell research -- has been strong. During fiscal 2008, the program received 122 applications for funding, of which 58 were approved, including research related to prostate cancer, breast cancer, brain cancer, cartilage repair and liver regeneration.

Even recognizing that severe cuts are going to have to be made in the state budget, this is not the place to do so. First there is a considerable sunk cost which has gone into the preparation of 147 research proposals, and it would be wasted if none are funded. Moreover, scientists who have competed for funds in good faith tend to go elsewhere if the government reneges on the promise of funding.

The more important arguments are:

• Stem cell research is important, offering huge potential for biomedical applications as well as for the creation of knowledge:
• Maryland has a great potential in this field with Johns Hopkins, the NIH, and other research centers, and may well develop an important commercial hub with stable funding for the early stage research;
• Federal funding will not flow this year in adequate amounts, and indeed as other states are cutting back, it is an opportunity for Maryland to get a further lead.

The total needed is quite small in comparison with the Maryland budget and should be protected.

Good News for Maryland

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IB), a non-profit educational organization with more than 2,500 IB World Schools around the globe, has selected Maryland as the location of its new global center for the IB Americas region. The new center, which will be located in Montgomery County and will be operational by 2010, will have more than 100 employees who will manage operations and assessment for nearly 1,500 schools in 28 countries and territories in the Americas.

There are 91 IB World Schools in the Maryland, DC and Virginia area, more than two dozen public schools across Maryland.

Founded in 1968, the IB works with more than 2,519 schools in 132 countries to offer programs to more than 684,000 students ranging in ages 3 to 19.

To learn more about the IB Americas visit www.ibo.org/iba/.

Maryland Bio 2020 Initiative

The BIO 2020 Initiative is a comprehensive, targeted plan to leverage Maryland’s science and technology assets and nationally acclaimed workforce to attract and grow the bioscience opportunities of tomorrow in Maryland.
Governor Martin O'Malley.

The Maryland Bio 2020 Initiative includes:

• The creation of the “Maryland Biotechnology Center” – a “one stop shop” to showcase and support biotechnology innovation and entrepreneurship in Maryland, and consolidate various State, academic and private sector ventures. The Center will bring together TEDCO’s tech transfer initiatives, DLLR’s industry regulatory functions and various UMD initiatives. Industry experts at the Center will build or expand the state’s relationship with federal labs, universities, and private sector companies.
• Expanding and Improving Maryland’s Biotech Investment Tax Credit: Under the proposal, Maryland would double its Biotech Investment Tax Credit in FY 2010 and again by 2013, a move that would leverage almost $50 million in private investment for Maryland biotech companies each year. Currently, Maryland’s $6 million Biotech Investment Tax Credit is an effective and highly successful equity-building program that is usually exhausted within months of fund availability each year.
• Growing Maryland’s Technology Incubator Network: Under Governor O’Malley’s proposal, Maryland will invest $60 million over the next ten years to leverage $120 million in private and federal investment funds and grow Maryland’s incubator network by 50%. A recent study found that there is a strong demand for additional space. Maryland’s incubators comprise more than 453,061 square feet, create more than 14,000 jobs, and provide $104 million in state and local taxes. Additional funds would help expand existing incubators, build new incubator sites, and provide related programs to help Maryland’s small technology companies take their ideas to market.
• Continuing to Grow Maryland’s Nation-Leading Stem Cell Research Fund: The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund was created in 2006 to promote state-funded stem cell research and cures through grants and loans to public and private entities in the State. Under the Governor’s proposal, Maryland will continue to invest in life-saving stem cell research. The Governor is proposing at least $20 million annually dedicated for this purpose. During the first two years of the O’Malley-Brown administration, the State has invested $42 million in stem cell research. To date, over $36 million and 86 research applications have been funded. The Fund is the third largest state funded program in the nation.

Maryland is moving up in technology readiness

The Milken Institute has announced that Maryland has climbed into the No. 2 ranking nationwide for technology economy preparedness.

“This is tremendous news for the State of Maryland,” said Governor O’Malley. “With strong partnerships between the public and private sectors, and collaborative research with universities, we have been able to strengthen our position as a national and world leader in the research and development of groundbreaking new science with the potential to reshape the landscape of 21st century medicine. The results of the Milken study are further evidence that Maryland is highly competitive in drawing, retaining, and growing technology-based businesses.”

Check out the Milken report, State Science and Technology Index. For those of you in developing nations, it might be useful in planning partnerships, visits to the United States, and its methods might be adapted to your country.

Rockville City Profile

The World Bank has published a primer on reducing vulnerabilities to climate change impacts and to strengthening disaster risk management intended for East Asian cities titled Climate Resilient Cities. The city of Rockville, Maryland, my local town of about 60,000 people, is profiled as a prototypical small city with an effective set of policies.

Read the Profile (PDF, 10 pages)

Comment: Congratulations to the folk who manage Rockville! JAD

Montgomery Campus Innovation Center to Open

According to the Washington Post Montgomery County Extra today:

The Germantown Innovation Center, on the upper county campus of Montgomery College, is to take in its first tenants in the coming weeks, with a grand opening for the 32,000-square-foot business incubator set for Oct. 20

The $6.65 million county project, funded with state assistance, is intended to host 25 to 35 start-up companies, with county economic development officials providing business and technical support. About one-third of the companies should be biotechnology based, and half should be technology firms.

Also planned are an $85 million Bioscience Education Center, with classrooms and state-of-the-art laboratories for students, and a 40-acre Science and Technology Business Park, intended to create a hub of biotech businesses in a place where students can learn from them.....

The county approached the college about the business park in 2001. A previous county-sponsored project, the Shady Grove Life Science Park, was thriving, and officials said they thought Montgomery would benefit from another bioscience and technology park.

The business park is expected ultimately to create nearly 4,000 full-time jobs.

About 100 students a year go through the Montgomery College biotechnology program, and enrollment is expected to more than triple as the program expands to meet the growing demand for biotech expertise in our workforce.

The Germantown campus also has partnered with the University of Maryland at College Park, which has agreed to relocate its Montgomery-based biosciences degree program from the Universities at Shady Grove to the proposed education center in Germantown. Students who completed an associate's degree in biotechnology at Germantown would be able to complete a University of Maryland at College Park bachelor's degree on the Germantown campus......

The college is working with five Montgomery high schools to develop biotech academies, and with the help of a $600,000 National Science Foundation grant, it is also working with middle school teachers to promote bioscience education and careers.

Comment: This is so good an approach that it should serve as a model for other regions and other countries. It ties education from junior high school, high school, two-year college, and university to serve the complete manpower needs of an evolving and expanding high technology industry.

In the case of Montgomery County, bioscience industries are already well under way, and there are nearby government research centers such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

There is an active industrial development office of local government, and hundreds of Post Docs working in the local area. Indeed, the county runs an annual program to encourage these scientists to stay and work locally when their training ends. There are already a number of technology incubators.

Congratulations to all involved! JAD

Activate

ACTiVATE is a year-long program at the University of Maryland which trains women with significant technical or business experience to be entrepreneurs and to create start-up companies from inventions from Maryland research institutions and federal agencies. Admission to the program is competitive.

Chesapeake Crescent Innovation Alliance

Source: Biotech Transfer Week

Research universities from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, have formed a collaboration designed to drive regional innovation, economic performance, and global competitiveness, public/private collaborative Chesapeake Crescent said this week.

The new partnership, to be named the Chesapeake Crescent Innovation Alliance, will examine areas of potential cooperation in regional centers of excellence, entrepreneurial development, early-stage investment, and technology transfer.

Participating institutions include Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech University, the University of Maryland system, George Mason University, and George Washington University......

The new alliance is being formed as an outgrowth of the Chesapeake Crescent Initiative, which was launched last year by Governors Tim Kaine of Virginia and Martin O’Malley of Maryland; Washington, DC, Mayor Adrian Fenty; federal legislative and executive officials; and more than 20 leading regional business executives.

"New NSF Survey Finds Six States Account for Nearly Half of State Agencies' R&D Expenditures"

Source: John E. Jankowski, National Science Foundation InfoBrief NSF 08-309, May 2008.

"Results of a new survey show that state agency expenditures for research and development and R&D facilities topped $1 billion in state fiscal year 2006. Expenditures of six states, Pennsylvania, California, New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Florida, accounted for 49% of all state-agency research and development. This InfoBrief presents summary statistics from that survey."

Comment: Of course, California and New York are big states, so the comparison is somewhat unfair. Still, it seems clear that Maryland, and indeed the area including Washington, Virginia and Maryland spends less than one might wish on research and development, especially as compared with California and New York. We may not develop economically as much as we desire in the future as a result. JAD

Repeal the Maryland "Tech Tax"

Rich Stewart
owner of Datacare Inc
a computer firm in Annapolis
Help Save This Man's Company!

In one of those fiascos that occur at the end of legislative sessions, the Maryland legislature passed a tax on information services that will go into effect on July 1st unless repealed. That tax would put Maryland industry at a disadvantage with respect to the the industries of other states. That is an important industry for our economic future!

Governor O'Malley has come up with a good plan to substitute a tax on those earning more than $1,000,000 per year and spending cuts. It has to be passed quickly by the Maryland legislature and the Tech Tax repealed.

Go to Maryland Needs IT
and register your support for the O'Malley plan with your legislators.

Its Easy!

Read more in today's Washington Post.