SUO: RE: Call for Volunteers for Methodology Project
Dear Jon,
There are always distortions, whoever gets the job (yes even me!!!)
That is why there is a call for volunteers, and the community can
vote from amongst those who volunteer. That process we already have,
though informally.
I appreciate the niceties that we are creating a document that will
apply to itself. I think that will give what we are doing an extra
frissant.
Matthew West
Principal Consultant
Shell Information Technology International Limited
Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7934 4490 Other Tel: +44 7796 336538
Email: matthew.west@shell.com
Internet: http://www.shell.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jon Awbrey [mailto:jawbrey@att.net]
> Sent: 23 October 2003 12:08
> To: SUO
> Cc: West, Matthew R SITI-ITPSIE; Jim Schoening
> Subject: Re: Call for Volunteers for Methodology Project
>
>
> o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o
>
> Matthew,
>
> This was just a worry that occurred to me very late in the process.
> I am sure that you understand that this worry is wholly independent
> of your particular case, which I personally consider to be the best
> of all possible cases -- indeed, I withdrew my own volunteership for
> the methodology task when when you announced yours, with the thought
> being "Who better?".
>
> But here and now we are talking about the institution of a
> general rule,
> at the very least, the setting of a precedent, that will
> serve to guide
> us and to determine our proceedings throughout what we may
> hope to be a
> happy and indefinite future of cases whose particulars remain
> unforeseen,
> and there our general, if slightly unpleasant duty is to consider also
> the worst case scenarios, and not just the best.
>
> So here we are, already talking about a particular question
> of methodology,
> before we can even get down to deciding our next step in the
> more general
> course of settling on methodology.
>
> The question, then, expressed in generic terms, would be:
>
> | Shall a person who is the leader of a particular project,
> | also be permitted to serve as the leader of the project
> | for deciding the general methodology of our proceeding?
>
> That is just my first off-the-cuff draft of a formulation,
> and I will call on others to help me capture the essence
> of the question.
>
> As I said, it was only rather tardily that a number of
> worst case scenarios began to tug at my attention, but
> I can hardly bring myself to doubt that, if you call on
> your own imagination, in the generic case independently
> of your own immediate situation, you will see what I am
> worried about. Namely, the possibility of a distortion
> arising that would be deleterious to the optimal conduct
> of our proceedings, on account of general and particular
> interests becoming confounded in and also by a particular
> individual.
>
> That is my present concern.
>
> In sum, the question is not about the possible lack of motivation,
> for we already enjoy a maximal case scenario in that respect, with
> a verifiable abundance of highly motivated individuals. The issue
> is more to the point of having many different directions of motive,
> a panoply of "vectors" of individual motivations, if you will, and
> that brings us finally to the really big question: How can all of
> these diverse thrusts be brought to sum up to a positive resultant
> along the lines of commonly espoused aims, and not borne off track
> by the overweighting of private benefits and special interests?
>
> That is the question.
>
> Jon Awbrey
>
> o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o
>
> West, Matthew R SITI-ITPSIE wrote:
> >
> > Dear Jon,
> >
> > I've not quite disappeared yet.
> >
> > I would argue the opposite. It should be a comfort that the
> > Project Leader for one of the projects leads the procedures
> > project, because it makes it more likely that they will
> > support the development of projects. Having someone
> > motivated for the product of a project in charge of
> > it has always been seen as a good thing where
> > I come from.
> >
> > I would hope that the other project leaders would be active in
> > the development of this project too, as well as those who feel
> > that the projects have got out of control and are unresponsive.
> >
> > In any case the checks and balances are in place. The SUO
> Group is the
> > final authority, and the project leader -- to be effective
> -- must serve
> > the Group. Developing stuff that gets rejected is just a
> waste of time.
> >
> > Matthew West
> > Principal Consultant
> > Shell Information Technology International Limited
> > Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA, United Kingdom
> >
> > Tel: +44 20 7934 4490 Other Tel: +44 7796 336538
> > Email: matthew.west@shell.com
> > Internet: http://www.shell.com
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Jon Awbrey [mailto:jawbrey@att.net]
> > > Sent: 23 October 2003 04:27
> > > To: jim.s3@juno.com
> > > Cc: standard-upper-ontology@ieee.org; West, Matthew R SITI-ITPSIE
> > > Subject: Re: Call for Volunteers for Methodology Project and
> > > 4D Ontology
> > > Project
> > >
> > >
> > > o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o
> > >
> > > Jim,
> > >
> > > I'm not sure that I would want to pose it as an objection,
> > > and I wouldn't
> > > want to start a discussion of the question unless Matthew can
> > > be present
> > > for it, but I would like there to be some consideration
> of a possible
> > > conflict of interest between the same person being champion of one
> > > particular project and also overseeing the development of general
> > > procedures for evaluating all projects, including his/her own.
> > >
> > > Jon Awbrey
> > >
> > > o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o
> > >
> > > jim.s3@juno.com wrote:
> > > >
> > > > SUO WG,
> > > >
> > > > Are there any objections to Matthew West serving as
> Project Leader
> > > > of the Methodology Project and the 4D Ontology Project?
> There were
> > > > no other volunteers.
> > > >
> > > > Jim Schoening
> > > > Chair, SUO WG
> > > >
> > > > --------- Forwarded message ----------
> > > > From: "West, Matthew R SITI-ITPSIE" <matthew.west@shell.com>
> > > > To: <jim.s3@juno.com>
> > > > Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 10:59:40 +0100
> > > > Subject: RE: Call for Volunteers for Methodology Project
> > > and 4D Ontology
> > > > Project
> > > >
> > > > I volunteer to serve as Project Leader for both projects.
> > > >
> > > > Matthew West
> > > > Principal Consultant
> > > > Shell Information Technology International Limited
> > > > Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA, United Kingdom
> > > >
> > > > Tel: +44 20 7934 4490 Other Tel: +44 7796 336538
> > > > Email: matthew.west@shell.com
> > > > Internet: http://www.shell.com
> > > >
> > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > From: jim.s3@juno.com [mailto:jim.s3@juno.com]
> > > > > Sent: 14 October 2003 03:44
> > > > > To: standard-upper-ontology@ieee.org
> > > > > Subject: SUO: Call for Volunteers for Methodology
> Project and 4D
> > > > > Ontology Project
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > All,
> > > > >
> > > > > Following on from the recent ballot, this is
> a call for
> > > > > volunteers to server as Project Leader for one or both of the
> > > > > Methodology
> > > > > Project and 4D Ontology Project.
> > > > >
> > > > > Jim Schoening
> > >
> > > o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o
> o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o
>
>