Perspectives, a blog of ideas from The Johns Hopkins University

A pair of musical selections for the new president

Posted on 20. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

Today, to mark the inauguration of Barack Obama, the Peabody Conservatory offers two quintessentially American songs. The first, performed by Danya Katok of State College, Pa., and entitled “Simple Gifts,” is a Shaker song of the mid-1800s arranged by Aaron Copland.

“Simple Gifts” was the basis of the instrumental music played by four prominent musicians, including Peabody clarinetist Anthony McGill, just before President Obama took the oath of office. Danya Katok is a second-year Master of Music candidate in Voice in the studio of faculty artist Ah Hong.

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Tiffany Wharton of Nashville performs the second piece, “At the River,” an 1865 hymn tune also arranged by Aaron Copland with words and melody by the Rev. Robert Lowry. Tiffany is a first-year Master of Music candidate in Voice in the studio of faculty artist Stanley Cornett.

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Robert Muckenfuss, vocal coach at the Peabody Conservatory, accompanies both women on the piano.

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Education advice for Obama: Keep kids learning in the summer

Posted on 19. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Center for Summer Learning in the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, is a passionate advocate for keeping kids engaged in learning – in fun and creative ways — when school is out. Fairchild knows that low-income kids are particularly vulnerable to falling behind their peers during the summer. (Learn more about the research here). Here are Fairchild’s views on how the new administration should address the issue:

The historic election of Barack Obama has significant implications for the field of summer learning. As many who follow this issue know, President-elect Obama has been a long-time champion of summer learning and has been honored for his leadership with a 2008 Champion of Summer Learning award from our center.

Obama’s record on summer learning is extensive: In 2005, he and Senator Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., introduced the Summer Term Education Program for Upward Performance, or STEP UP Act, to create the first federal program to exclusively target the summer months as a strategy to close the achievement gap. In 2007, then-Sen. Obama and Mikulski attached STEP UP as an amendment to the larger America COMPETES Act, which was signed into law by President Bush in the summer of 2007. While STEP UP is now authorized in law, it has not had any funding appropriated by Congress. In addition to STEP UP, Obama pledged to invest $500 million to fund summer learning programs that could be run by faith- and community-based organizations.

Our center, the National Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University, is leading a major effort to have a $50 million in funding for STEP UP included as part of the FY2009 federal budget. Thus far, STEP UP has not been included in either the House or Senate versions of the FY2009 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill, although there are several opportunities for Congress and Obama to fund the program. First, Congress has not completed final action on the FY2009 budget and is likely to revisit the issue now that the election is over. If funding is not included in the FY2009 bill, Obama has the opportunity to include STEP UP funding in his FY2010  budget request, which will likely be issued in February. While Congress has the final say on funding decisions, inclusion of STEP UP in the president’s budget would be a critical first step in making this program a federal policy priority.

Still, there is no guarantee that STEP UP or other summer learning programs will be funded. The current economic crisis will have an impact on the ability of the federal government to invest in new programs, such as STEP UP. Additionally, summer learning will face stiff competition from other policy priorities.

However, we remain extremely optimistic about the prospects of working with the new administration to secure the first federal funding dollars dedicated exclusively to supporting summer learning.

The center has sent several policy recommendation documents to Obama’s transition team, including joint recommendations with other education organizations.

We urge all summer learning advocates to visit a Web site created by the Office of the President-elect at http://change.gov/page/s/yourvision where they can share their vision for what America can be and where President Obama should lead this country.

This is a critical time. It is imperative that summer learning advocates contact their congressional delegation and the new administration to make the case that a federal investment is essential to the academic and developmental success of children.

The center will continue to lead these efforts and urges interested parties to visit our Web site at http://www.summerlearning.org.

We invite you to join us in shaping policies that will affect the education and well being of our nation’s children for years to come.

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Reinventing the social charter of U.S. business

Posted on 19. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

In the face of a struggling economy, high unemployment and uncertainty about the future, Lindsay Thompson, Phd., professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, specializing in business ethics, suggests the new administration examine the emerging role of business in a changed world order as it works to strengthen the global economic scene.

Generations of Americans have counted on the traditional social contract as the foundation of peace and prosperity – a foundation now threatened by global forces that cannot be effectively controlled by even the most powerful nation in history. Millions of people who have looked to the wealth-generating power of business and free markets as a platform for human flourishing have instead found devastating risk, threat, and uncertainty. The implications for American business are profound and far-reaching. The current crisis provides an opportunity, then, for President-elect Barack Obama to engage diverse stakeholders in a critical re-imagination of American business as a sustainable foundation for a peaceful, prosperous global society.

Here is where Johns Hopkins University could play an important role. With the launch of the Carey Business School to promote “business with humanity in mind,” the university adds another field of study to a portfolio of intellectual talent, policy expertise, and professional education programs uniquely positioned to amplify the knowledge of the Obama administration.  This is an opportunity for the university to step up in a concerted way, drawing on intellectual talent not just from its new business school but from all its diverse divisions to create a sort of unofficial think tank at Johns Hopkins on the future of business and the social contract.

The promise of business as a platform for human flourishing is not without risks. The current financial crisis is a grim reminder that business does not provide for human needs in times of austerity; the state remains responsible for ensuring social security and stability when markets fail and jobs disappear. While the modern corporation has proved to be the uncontested engine of wealth creation in the global economic order of free market capitalism, questions remain about the limits of its current form within a market that in the future will demand responsiveness and adaptability.

Seeking relief from the barrage of costly, contradictory legal and ethical constraints they encounter while doing business internationally, some companies regard government as the enemy and seek to relocate, go private, or lobby for deregulation. As the legal environment of business globalizes, however, it will not necessarily provide a platform of robust opportunity for people up and down the economic scale. Business has a long way to go in becoming a reliable means of vertical economic integration across the globe.

In light of these conditions, Johns Hopkins University has the potential to engage scholars and leaders from diverse disciplines and sectors to collaborate in a critical exploration of the emerging role of business in a radically transforming world order. With campuses stretching from Baltimore to Washington, Johns Hopkins is the most readily accessible knowledge enterprise in the capital region. The Obama Administration would do well to make use of it in any reconsideration of business’s role in society.

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Building bridges, renewing and strengthening old ties and preparing to compete in a new old order

Posted on 19. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

The latest issue of SAISPHERE is out and in it, faculty members from  the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, sound off on the top priorities for the new president as related to their fields of study. We continue with part six of their advice:

Riordan Roett Director of Western Hemisphere Studies and the Latin American Studies Program
Build Bridges to ‘Responsible’ Western Hemisphere Nations

The new Western Hemisphere issues for the next administration will be the old issues: the drug cartels, free trade, relations with Cuba, and how to respond to the rise of so-called populist governments in Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Hopefully, the administration will focus on building bridges to the “responsible” regimes in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay, and selectively in Central America and the Caribbean, to support economic integration and poverty reduction initiatives.

Riordan Roett background and contact information

Kent Calder Director of the Japan Studies Program
Renew the Strategic Relationship With Japan

Crucial priorities for the incoming administration in relations with Japan will include broadening transpacific dialogue on social and economic questions and developing a shared concept of national security. Joint projects in the energy and environmental area would also help reinforce bilateral relations with this important ally.

Kent Calder background and contact information

David M. Lampton Director of the China Studies Program
Prepare to Compete With China

Reform in China requires reform in America. China’s growing economic and intellectual strengths necessitate an increase in U.S. capacities to keep ahead on the treadmill of globalization. A United States that fails to boost its own capacities will feel threatened by a successful China, overmilitarizing what should be primarily an intellectual and economic competition. The best way for Americans to be confident in their relationship with China is to make progress at home and win friends abroad.

David M. Lampton background and contact information

Charles F. Doran Director of the Canadian Studies Program
Strengthen Ties With Canada

Inside less than a month, the politics of North America has been turned upside down. Two new governments are coming to power, one in Canada, the other in the United States. Although the change of government in Canada amounts to more of a shuffling of the cards of administration than the American election, both must make good on their promises of change. The imperatives of energy can cement ties between Canada and the United States. Diplomatic challenges are on the horizon in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. By getting their own houses in order, Canada and the United States are now better able to meet these ordeals.

Charles F. Doran background and contact information

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Piece of APL history floats in past inaugural parade

Posted on 17. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

The APL float passes in front of the reviewing stand. Click for larger view.

It’s not easy to score a spot in a presidential parade, but 48 years ago, Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory did just that. Having developed the Transit Navigation Satellite System for the U.S. Navy, APL was invited to be a part of the Navy’s float in John F. Kennedy’s inaugural parade in 1961.

The Transit program, the first worldwide, all-weather satellite navigation system, was born shortly after the launching of Sputnik 1, on Oct. 4, 1957, when APL scientists William Guier and George Weiffenbach noted a Doppler shift in the satellite’s signals and a difference in signal pattern from one pass to the next. The two researchers concluded that a satellite orbit could be accurately determined by Doppler tracking.

At that point, Frank T. McClure, former deputy director of APL, hypothesized that by knowing a satellite’s orbit, one could deduce where the listening station (ship or ground ) is located. Thus was born the idea of a Doppler navigation system and the Transit Navy Navigation Satellite System.

Transit satellites l-A and l-B were the first two satellites launched to test the Doppler shift’s navigation application. The l-A satellite, launched in 1959, did not achieve orbit. Satellite I-B was successful, travelled 1.1 billion miles in its journey around Earth before its orbit decayed and it burned up in the Earth ’s atmosphere in October 1967.

Several more satellites were tested and refined before the Transit system became operational in 1965. The Navy was able to use the system to not only guide Navy ships, but to also guide commercial, cruise, and sporting vessels of many nations. Over 80,000 Transit navigation receivers have been placed in service over the years. Because of its pinpointing accuracy, Transit became the first worldwide satellite surveying system.

After 30 years of operation, the Transit system has been replaced with the Global Positioning System (GPS), a constellation of satellites developed by the Air Force and now used for ship, aircraft and automobile navigation.

As the folks at APL like to tell it, it’s because of their Transit Navigation Satellite system that people around the world will be able to watch President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday

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SAIS faculty offers advice to incoming president on Russia, Asia and North Korea

Posted on 17. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

The latest issue of SAISPHERE is out and in it, faculty members from  the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, sound off on the top priorities for the new president as related to their fields of study. We continue with part five of their advice:

Bruce Parrott Director of the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program
Thread the Needle on Russian Relations

After an extended period of contraction and decline, Russia is reasserting itself on the international scene. The new White House team will have to decide whether to put the accent on resisting Moscow’s new assertiveness in regions such as the Caucasus or cooperating with Moscow in areas such as Iran and Afghanistan.

Bruce Parrott background and contact information

Karl D. Jackson Director of the Asian Studies Program and the Southeast Asia Studies Program
Focus on Northeast and South Asia

Regardless of the election outcome, the next president of the United States will have spent significant time in Southeast Asia. Both are more likely than other recent presidents to travel to the area. That said, policy toward Southeast Asia will have less importance in the next administration than policy toward Northeast or South Asia. This is the way it has been for 20 years, and it is unlikely to change because Southeast Asia is relatively peaceful and prosperous and therefore does not merit the intense policy concentration it did during the Cold War.

Karl D. Jackson background and contact information

Jae-Jung Suh Director of the Korea Studies Program
Move North Korea to the Front Burner

North Korea’s nuclear program remains a serious challenge to our national security and to the international nonproliferation regime, demanding immediate attention from the new U.S. president. Past experiences amply demonstrate that only when the president commands a clearheaded and coherent strategy can he prevent the challenge from escalating into a crisis, and only then can it be turned into an opportunity to build stability and peace in the region.

Jae-Jung Suh background and contact information

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Presidential preinaugural whistle stop in Baltimore, 1861

Posted on 16. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

The president-elect and outgoing chief executive James Buchanan pass the northwestern base of Capitol Hill en route to Lincoln’s inauguration. Harper’s Weekly, March 16, 1861. Library of Congress. (Click for larger image)

President-elect Obama is likely to get an enthusiastic welcome Saturday in Baltimore, one stop on his whistle-stop train trip down the Northeast Corridor en route to Washington and the inauguration. That wasn’t true for Abraham Lincoln, who — because of concerns about mob violence — had to sneak through Baltimore at night on his way from Illinois to Washington.

And, as Johns Hopkins alumnus Michael Burlingame notes in his newly published Lincoln biography, Mary Todd Lincoln’s pre-inaugural trip through Baltimore — after Abe’s — was downright harrowing.

“On the evening of February 23, Mary Lincoln and the rest of the presidential entourage reached Washington. In Baltimore, an unruly mob had greeted them with three loud cheers for Jefferson Davis and three groans for Lincoln. As the party detrained in the Monumental city, the crowd surged back and forth with such force that it drove people off the platform and trampled them. Roughneck boys and men, not content merely to knock the hats off of leading Republicans, surrounded Mrs. Lincoln’s car, insulting her rudely. Captain John Pope overheard many ugly expressions and observed several menacing faces amid the crowd, which he thought “consisted precisely of the people capable of [committing an] outrage.

“Nonetheless, at lunch Mrs. Lincoln told her hosts `that she felt at home in Baltimore, . . .’ “

Source: Pages 40 – 68, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, Volume II: I Am Now Going to Be a Master, by Michael Burlingame (Sadowski Professor of History Emeritus at Connecticut College.); The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008.

Burlingame’s multi-volume biography was published by the Johns Hopkins University Press in time for the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth this year. Burlingame, who received his PhD from the university in 1971, takes a comprehensive look at Lincoln’s life, including his time in the White House and his battles with aggressive office seekers, hostile newspaper editors and field commanders.

Barack Obama, who is known to admire Lincoln, has said he will take the oath of office on the same Bible that the 16th president used at his swearing-in.

To read more of Michael Burlingame’s new biography, which was published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth on Feb. 12, you can read this sample chapter which concerns the inauguration (PDF).

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SAIS offer the president-elect advice on India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa

Posted on 16. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

The latest issue of SAISPHERE is out and in it, faculty members from  the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, sound off on the top priorities for the new president as related to their fields of study. We continue with part four of their advice:

Sunil Khilnani, director of the South Asia Studies Program
Tailor Policies Toward India and Pakistan

The challenge facing U.S. policy toward South Asia is summed up in the titles of two recent books: India: The Rise of an Asian Giant and Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan and Afghanistan. [The] incoming administration will … need to craft a differentiated regional policy. Policy toward Pakistan must reject the debilitating habit of pursuing the short term at the expense of the long term and of staking everything on particular individuals—it should engage with all elements in civil society and encourage accountability. With India, the new U.S. presidency will need to recognize India’s autonomy as it acquires a growing array of global governance responsibilities while being prepared to assist in addressing India’s internal problems. And the new president must be prepared not to duck some hard choices concerning where U.S. interests in the region lie.

Sunil Khilnani background and contact information.

Thomas Keaney, acting director of the Strategic Studies Program
Balance Afghanistan and Iraq

The new administration will have to balance the resources and presidential attention needed to confront a worsening situation in Afghanistan while continuing gains in stability in Iraq. The policy will face attempts by al Qaeda to frustrate these goals in both countries.

Thomas Keaney background and contact information.

Peter M. Lewis, director of the African Studies Program
Re-engage with Africa

Africa will present major challenges and significant opportunities for the next administration. Problems of security, humanitarian need, poverty and poor governance will continue to demand international efforts and resources. The region’s increasingly strategic position in global energy markets and the continuing urgency of the HIV/AIDS pandemic claim special attention from Washington. At the same time, Africa’s emerging markets hold considerable promise, and prospects for democratic development remain encouraging in a number of countries. While the United States has dramatically increased aid to Africa in recent years, our political and economic influence has receded. The forthcoming administration will face the challenge of enhancing our political engagement with the continent and renewing our support for governance and economic change.

Peter M Lewis background and contact information.

P. Terrence Hopmann, director of the Conflict Management Program
Promote Peace between Israel and the Palestinians

Considering the many conflicts around the world that have received insufficient attention during the U.S. preoccupation with Afghanistan and Iraq, it is hard to identify one that has the highest priority. However, when forced to choose, it seems evident that serious efforts to resolve the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians are most critical, especially considering the relative lack of attention given to it since 2000. A solution will not be sufficient to bring peace and stability to the troubled Middle East. And progress in this direction will be difficult, if not impossible, in the absence of a just settlement of this most serious protracted dispute. This issue thus must receive very urgent priority from the next administration.

P. Terrence Hopmann background and contact information.

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Washington alternatives: Where to watch the inauguration on Hopkins campuses

Posted on 15. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

Faculty, staff and students who would like to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama at noon on Jan. 20, can get together at a number of open viewings. We know of the following locations (more may be arranged before Tuesday):

• At Homewood, a showing is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Shriver Hall Auditorium, and live coverage will be streamed in Mason Hall.
• The Carey Business School will show the proceedings from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Downtown Center’s Berman Auditorium.
• The School of Nursing viewing will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Pinkard Building’s Alumni Auditorium, with overflow space in Room 217.
• Inauguration coverage will be available at the School of Public Health throughout the day on the large screen in the Monument Street gallery, at Feinstone Hall and in the Hampton House auditorium.
• Beginning at 11:30 a.m., Johns Hopkins Medicine will show the events in Hurd Hall, Turner Auditorium and the Asthma and Allergy Center at Bayview.
• Also beginning at 11:30 a.m., APL staff will be able to watch the swearing-in and inaugural address on monitors in the cafeterias. In addition, APL Web Video will offer the choice of CNN or FoxNews coverage streamed to individual computers.
• At the Peabody Institute, TVs in Unger Lounge and in each residence hall lounge will be tuned to the ceremonies in Washington.
• SAIS, in Washington, will be closed for the day.
• Venturing off-campus but not heading to Washington? The Baltimore Sun has a round-up of alternative ideas for enjoying the inaugural events without actually being there.

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Lester Spence: “40 big ideas for Obama”

Posted on 15. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

Lester Spence, an assistant professor of political science in the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, is a man of big ideas, so much so that he penned a list of them for the president elect. He calls the list “40 Big Ideas for Obama,” and likens it to a sort of wish list for the new administration. Spence who specializes in racial, urban and black politics, as well as public opinion, recently discussed what he considers to be symbolic consequences of a Barack Obama presidency. Hear him here.

The following is a partial list of Spence’s 40 ideas:

• Free college tuition. “In order to meet the challenges the United States and the world are facing head-on, we need to take advantage of our greatest asset – our  human capital. We can’t do that if families are either unable to send their children to school because they do not have the financial resources, or bogged down in debt after doing so.”
• Promote micro-loans. “A sizeable gap exists between the developed and the developing world, even taking into consideration the economic challenges the U.S. faces. Giving individuals from the United States and other developed countries the ability to support the endeavors of entrepreneurs in developing nations can go a ways in alleviating poverty.”
• Universal preschool. “Universal preschool works. Participants read better, they write better, they understand math better, even when socio-economic background is considered. If our children really are our future, it’d be tragic not to fund programs that have been shown to work.”
• Make Election Day a federal holiday. “The United States prides itself on its democracy and on the ability her citizens have to participate. But while over 50 percent of registered voters routinely participate in national elections, the U.S. ranks far below other developed nations here. Making Election Day a federal holiday would not only increase participation, it would give the act of choosing our representatives the weight it deserves.”
• Support parental leave. “We continually emphasize responsible parenthood, but when we do not give parents the ability to take time off to raise their children like other developed nations, we do our parents and our children a disservice. Supporting parental leave would further emphasize the importance of family and further develop human capital.”
• Bring scientists back into government. “According to government reports, almost 900 Environmental Protection Agency scientists reported political interference in their scientific work. This has had horrible consequences for our environment, and has further reduced American trust in government. Bringing scientists back into government will not only help to restore legitimacy, and bring back respect for truth, but it will also help bring U.S. policy on the environment back in line with reality.”
• Stop trying youth as adults. “The United States has the one of the highest documented incarceration rates (and the highest total prison population) in the world. According to the Campaign for Youth Justice, over 7,500 youth are incarcerated in U.S. jails every day. The Center for Disease Control finds that placing youth in adult prisons is often counter-productive as these youth are more likely to commit crimes upon being released compared to youth in other types of prisons, and are more likely to be assaulted while in prison themselves. Ending this practice will go a ways in developing a saner response to crime and punishment.”
• Give 47 million Americans the ability to get sick. “Approximately 47 million Americans don’t have health insurance. Of course, this leaves them vulnerable to health challenges, but it also leaves those of us with health insurance vulnerable as well. Placing all Americans in the same risk pool by creating a single payer plan will reduce costs, increase coverage, and increase health.”
• Promote a living wage. “There is something dreadfully wrong with the image of a hard-working citizen standing in a food line. But this is becoming more and more common as citizens across the country are struggling to make ends meet, working in jobs that keep them in rather than taking them out of poverty. There should be a floor to wages under which no society that claims itself as civilized should go.”

The full list of Spence’s suggestions for Obama is available at his blog.

(Home page photos by flickr.com users dfinnecy, teotwawki, Leo Reynolds, auntie p, Eva the Weaver)

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Advice from SAIS Part 3: Addressing climate change and forging new transatlantic partnership

Posted on 14. Jan, 2009 by Tracey Reeves.

The latest issue of SAISPHERE is out and in it, faculty members from  the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, sound off on the top priorities for the new president as related to their fields of study. We continue with part three of their advice:

Scott Barrett, director of the International Policy Program
Lead on Climate Change

Climate change is the greatest collective action problem the world has ever faced. The Kyoto Protocol was meant to address it, but Kyoto has not worked. The United States rejected Kyoto but did not propose an alternative. The world is waiting for an alternative. It is waiting for U.S. leadership.

Scott Barrett background and contact information.

David Calleo, director of the European Studies Program
Forge a New Transatlantic Partnership

Relations between Europe and the United States have deteriorated badly over the past decade. Neither is responding adequately to the demands of a rapidly changing world. In many aspects, each has been defeating the other. Both are caught in nostalgia and admiration of past achievements. The United States, which is severely weakened, needs to reduce its hegemonic pretensions in Europe and develop a real transatlantic partnership. Before this happens, Europe must define and assert its own interests more forcefully and effectively, particularly with Russia and the Middle East. The price of failure will be high on all sides.

David Calleo background and contact information.

Previously: Part One of Advice from SAIS. Part Two of Advice from SAIS

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