Harvesting CPU Cycles from the Academy

Harvesting Excess CPU Cycles From The Academy

Economies of the Grid - Thinking Small
A Pilot Study and Framing Literature Review

Gordon M. Groat |資料來源
Doctor of Philosophy Student

Center for the Study of Higher Education
The University of Arizona

Page 1 of 24


Selected Technology

The technology/information system selected is actually more of a policy than a

system, at least to begin with. The core of this is the implementation of a computational

grid fabric management strategy in support of collaboration with large scale data storage,

retrieval, and transmission capabilities to bolster the capacity of the Arizona Genomics

Institute and Computational Laboratory (AGI). While that seems narrowly construed,

singling out AGI, the policy that underpins grid fabric management is meant to facilitate

future grid collaborations both within and external to the institution.

Grounding Literature

The curious paradox exists that organizations can influence the behavior and

values of the individual, while the organization itself is constructed or

composed of these same individuals. In the case of Higher Education, perhaps the most

telling saying with respect to “control” over constituencies involved in a consensus

management scheme is one that is often quoted: “It’s like trying to herd cats.” This, of

course, simply means that while it is not uncommon for the institution to have a clear

vision of its desired image, the challenge is for leadership to translate that vision into

strategic action items that can move towards eventual attainment of the image sought.

This task is increasingly complex as more represented constituencies are involved in the

dialogue and it also become more complicated the further it departs from the trajectory of

the organizational saga (Clark 1972).

In the work Academic Capitalism by Sheila Slaughter and Larry L. Leslie

(Slaughter and Leslie 1997), the themes of shifting faculty increasingly into activities that

resemble capitalism informs the political and economic underpinnings that are powerful

Page 2 of 24


influences in the institution while resource dependency theory casts a hue upon the lens

of analysis (Pfeffer and Salancik 1978). Finally, the notion of budgetary incrementalism

and the recognition that budgeting is both a political and economic negotiation as

described by Wildavsky informs the method of implementation for the selected

technology and underpinning policy (Wildavsky, Boskin et al. 1982; Wildavsky 1988).

Grid Fabric

The institution selected is the University of Arizona (UofA) and the technology

involved is designed to facilitate grid collaboration in biogenic and biomedical research.

This proposal is designed to be folded into emerging strategic initiatives of the institution.

Prudence guides a focus of centrality vis-à-vis the new strategic vision of the institution,

and biogenic research was thusly selected as the implementation point of a larger campus

wide policy of grid fabric standardization. The expression “grid fabric” relates to

adoption of Globus and Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) standards, which has

already been done with Condor (UnivWisconsin 2004) on the U of A’s existing scientific

grid, UAGrid (UAGrid 2004).

The Seduction of Academic Capitalism

The University of Arizona has, in recent years, pursued a strategy of partnering

with industry in various research initiatives directly related to different aspects of

biogenic and biomedical research and the institution is richly invested in areas that hold

prospects for technology transfer activities. This is perhaps best evidenced by significant

direct investment in a large technology park. The institution has been increasing its

portfolio of academic investments and it has a pattern of continually positioning itself

closer to the marketplace. Such activities are reconciled with academic capitalism as a

Page 3 of 24


supporting girder underpinning the construction of these institutional initiatives

(Slaughter and Leslie 1997).

Research in biogenic and biomedical sciences also contributes to the sense of

identity the institution has. The image of the institution, however, is constantly being

negotiated by external and internal parties. In addition to the dynamics of internal and

external influences relative to perceptions of image and identity as described by Gioia

(Gioia 1996), it should be noted that state revenues streams have not kept pace with the

rising cost of education. The increased demand for finite resources combined with

compressed internal budgets serves as a motivating factor for the institution to seek

external resources (Pfeffer and Salancik 1978). A prudent financial advisor might

encourage an investor to diversify their portfolio, so too, administrators in higher

education might find it prudent to explore promising revenue streams in order to mitigate

the impact of compressed revenues streams from state budgets.

Political Collaboration: Flight of the Condor

The proposal is politically constructed to support three interrelated biogenic

initiatives, namely, the International Genomics Consortium (IGC), the Translational

Genomics Research Institute (TGen), and the Arizona Genomics Institute and

Computational Laboratory. This technology policy speaks to the need for a system wide

normalization of data structures that may serve as part of the underpinning architecture

for future grid deployments.

The objective of standardizing open source middleware combined with cluster

supported operating systems for personal computers and workstations that can accept grid

fabric and interface efficiently with enterprise data solutions is a long term objective that

Page 4 of 24


will require significant political cooperation between different research centers within

and external to the institution. The object, simply stated, is to eventually siphon off

significant amounts of unused central processing unit (CPU) power, sometimes referred

to as “cycles”, without causing interruptions to anybody’s work. Harvested cycles can

then be redistributed to other research activities. Fortunately, an existing successful

model exists at the institution that is fully compatible with the selected technologies,

namely, the University of Arizona Grid Project (UAGrid) managed by the Research

Computing Group. UAGrid uses a Globus derivative software called Condor (UAGrid

2004; UnivWisconsin 2004). Condor is an open management system that supports high

throughput computing and it has existing grid management fabric in place. Because of

this existing resource, the Research Computing Group obviously has an important stake

in “the flight” of the Condor.

Extraction of Surplus: Harvesting Cycles

Within the proposed technology policy is an action item designed to create a

second grid of similar size leveraging existing resources. A second beta-grid testing site

for harnessing surplus computational power is almost irresistible. It is an existing

homogenous group of 233 Personal Computers (CCIT 2004), all of which are currently

networked and located in the Information Commons attached to the Main Library. To

mitigate any inconvenience to students, a strategy of partial utilization during off peak

hours would be implemented in a similar manner to the UAGrid (UAGrid 2004). The

harvesting site is situated in close proximity (<1km) to the Marley Building where AGI is

housed, and it should be noted that underground infrastructure for data transmission

hardware exist and are owned and operated by the institution. This potentially vast

Page 5 of 24


expense is thusly mitigated and the plan requires no external negotiations relative to

leasing fiber, nor are there any royalty provisions attached to bandwidth consumption to

constrain the project. Harvesting in support of AGI research is a supplemental goal

designed to reconcile the proposal with the strategic vision of the institution.

Standardization

Standardization fosters the ability to exchange data more opportunely and it is no

mistake that this also sets the stage for enhanced collaboration initiatives on an

international scale. This territory is fertile with opportunities for the creation of

knowledge capital. Conventional wisdom could suggest the potential rewards of such

collaboration might clearly outweigh what is undoubtedly a plethora of unanswered

questions regarding ownership and intellectual property matters, especially in

collaborations external to the institution (Goodenow 1996).

The Framework for Advancement

An institutional grid fabric decision package provides a framework for grid

expansion while gathering a direct alignment with centralized political resources. It also

seeks to extend the capabilities and opportunities for the institution to gather the

momentum desired by government entities currently supporting biogenic and biomedical

initiatives. By imbedding the proposal into the heart of the collaborative infrastructure of

the statewide biogenic initiatives it is hoped that external resistance, if any, will be

obfuscated.

If the substantial commitment to biogenic research is to bear the fruit desired, then

there will, no doubt, be continual growth patterns in the quantity, nature, and

computationally intensive requirements of an increasing portfolio of biogenic research

Page 6 of 24


projects. In order to maximize distributed resources, some management of computational

overhead may enhance collaborative interaction opportunities via grid research portals

connecting to geographically and economically disparate computing facilities that are

beyond the capability and budgetary reality of the institution (Kaufmann and Smarr

1993).

Budget Constraints

It is no secret that the UofA has been chronically pressured by its operating

budget constraints. The institution also has a history of consensus management and when

the annual budget rolls around, it is not a shock that the traditional engagement of turf

protection ensues as the annual battle of the budget grips the campus. This battle of great

fame and repute is affectionately called the “All Funds” budget process. The all funds

process quickly brings to mind the axiom, “where you stand depends on where you sit” as

an expression that captures the essence of the “all funds” negotiations. Challenging

financial environments nurture the desire of various constituents to diversify revenue

streams so that their income models are not isolated to the goodwill and generosity of the

central administration. This, in turn, benefits central administration by providing a

modicum of financial leverage and ability to exert direct and potent influence over

strategic initiatives, sometimes even acting as an incubator of certain initiatives.

Campus Wide Implications

The impetus is obviously designed to place a measurable increase of

computational power directly into the hands of the AGI and later to other scientific

research communities within the institution. This is the narrow and short term focus of

the technology and the policy. The larger picture, and hopefully, the more exciting one is

Page 7 of 24


the prospect of generating campus wide policy to support a larger scope scientific data

standardization initiative.

Technological Change

When speaking of technological change, the common view emphasizes

automation and other capital-intensive production devices. Such technological change

transforms the nature of human interaction with work in a manner that seems rather

straightforward. Organizational theories provide a framework to predict responses to the

introduction of global technology changes in the institution.

Image Enhancement

The work of Gioia and Thomas speaks to an ongoing negotiation relative to

institutional image. The notion of a negotiated image grounds the perception of strategic

change. The dynamics of both organizational image and identity are constantly being

revised and sometimes pushed in certain directions. Moving the UofA towards a more

elite level of research is a centerpiece of a major institutional strategy entitled “focused

excellence” (UAPresident 2003) and this interfaces with the notion of an upgraded

institutional image. In this context, image is understood to be how the external

constituents view the organization whereas identity is construed to mean how internal

constituencies view the organization (Gioia 1996). Change may also be viewed as being

potentially influenced by external forces while reaffirming organizational needs for

external legitimacy (Gioia 1996; Drummond 2003).

Mimetic Isomorphism

When making strategic changes, institutions sometimes engage in a pattern of

behavior that has been described as a mimetic strategy whereby the institution attempts to

Page 8 of 24


become increasingly like a similar institution that has already been successful in the

space the changing institution desires to occupy (DiMaggio 1983). It is arguable that one

of the strongest influences as a motivator for change is money, and while that is a gross

oversimplification, it still stands to reason that success in biogenic and biomedical

research could carry potentially enormous financial rewards for the participating

collaborators and institutions. The attraction of revenue should not be discounted, but

rather, it should be recognized as a legitimate activity of the institution during a time of

constricted revenue and dwindling unrestricted funds from donors and patrons.

Tenets of academic capitalism provide a lens to examine the motivational factors that

surround strategic decisions related to these biogenic and biomedical initiatives

(Slaughter and Leslie 1997).

Administrative Lattice

In this case, the technology and policy selected are aligned with the quadrant of

applied research (Stokes 1997) and it also represents a technological expansion of the

workspace that will probably add some layering onto administrative tasks and, perhaps,

be the genesis of more managed professionals (Rhoades 1998). Because a grid

management team and architecture already exists within the campus, the new technology

and technology policy may not be seen to have significant potential to drive up

administrative costs initially. It can be argued that academic endeavors that, in fact, reach

into multiple disciplines and engage a variety of internal and external constituencies are,

over time, likely to add to the administrative lattice (Pew 1990).

Page 9 of 24


Centrality relative to the Institutional Agenda

It is interesting how the differing echelons of an institution view the genesis and

desired outcome of strategic changes that are relative to their own place within the

institution. Once again, the axiom applies, where you stand depends upon where you sit.

It seems logical to believe that the relative health of a given center, department, or

college within the University depends of a variety of issues including mission centrality

relative to institutional goals. In many instances it is prudent to speak to internal and

external funding considerations (Clark 1972; Shapiro 1990).

On the basis of centrality relative to strategic institutional goals, one can argue

that it is quite likely that where units are perceived relative to the central strategic goals

of the institution will have a very real and measurable impact on their bottom line over

time. This can be positive or negative depending on the position occupied and the

changing perceptions of centrality, but for the purposes of this particular technology, it

has been intentionally aligned with research that is seen to be focally central to the short

and long term strategic goals of the institution.

Status of Centrality

Because this technology furthers high profile initiatives of the central

administration in addition to the state and federal governments, it can be argued that if

implemented, it shall be seen as having the status of centrality. It is also designed to

enhance inter-departmental collaboration and inter-institutional collaboration, further

compelling the notion of centrality. The perception of centrality, it can be argued, tends

to create a more receptive political environment especially when political participants and

Page 10 of 24


stakeholders contrive their own ability to benefit, either directly or indirectly, from the

deployment of such technology.

Biogenic / Biomedical Inertia

Since biogenic and biomedical research has inertia with various stakeholders in

state, county, and municipal constituencies, there is scant need to argue for the virtue of

political centrality. The key stakeholders in biogenic and biomedical research are

derivative of the key policy makers in various organizations that comprise the support

base for the burgeoning biogenic research initiatives in Arizona. One needs to look no

further than the current Board of Directors of TGen to see an excellent example of this

derivation (TGen 2004). The nexus of TGen board members and higher education

include the three university presidents, complimented with the governor of the state. Of

course, the remaining directors each carry their own potent basket of resources and

influence.

Given these circumstances, it would seem logical that any policy that embraces

the vision of these stakeholders would benefit from an increased likelihood of positive

reception by both internal and external constituencies.

The Six Propositions

The six propositions sound entirely prophetic and almost illusory in nature, but

with a degree of introspection, propositions and responses began to present themselves

couched in the language of higher education research. The six propositions are resultant

of an overt attempt to reconcile new technology policy and new technology

implementation with the greatest probability of success while recognizing the most likely

detractors from this goal. The six propositions include:

Page 11 of 24


1. Centrality to the research agenda of the university as well as state and federal

government.

2. Limited cost - low resource implementation strategy.

3. Enhancement of institutional image relative to peers.

4. Incremental implementation of grid fabric.

5. Expansion of the administrative lattice.

6. Competitive acquisition as a power building strategy.

Discussion of the Propositions

Centrality to the research agenda of the university and the state is a tactic that

seeks to fold this initiative into existing high priority projects. By aligning the proposal

with high profile initiatives it is less likely to meet resistance from the authors of those

initiatives, namely, the central administration of the institution. Centrality alignment

relative to the mission (Clark 1972; Shapiro 1990) is a focused strategy designed to

maximize the potential for top level support.

Because the institution is invested in the areas of biogenic and biomedical

research and because a significant source of operational capital derives from federal

grants in these areas, it is likely to sustain support because it converges with the agenda

of federal funding agencies, namely the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The potential

rewards from an alliance with powerful external funding sources like the NIH can be a

seductive force (Slaughter and Leslie 1997).

Limited cost initiatives, low resource implementation strategy. This strategy takes

into account the cyclical nature of higher education funding as explained by Hovey’s

balancing wheel effect. The strategy here is to recognize that the current economic and

Page 12 of 24


funding climate has produced budget recessions and increased tuition. Accordingly, it is

probably a more prudent course of action to maneuver the technology into place without

competing for fiscal resources. By doing this, the effect is that of the Camel’s nose in

budgeting, it gets the technology in the door and strategically locates it to be in a position

for back loading onto established budget lines in future budget negotiations.

The low cost low resource implementation strategy is also a backdrop to pass a

standardization policy. In essence, it may be thought of as a pork barrel policy attached to

a popular policy, it is functionally designed to initiate policy without invoking the

political baggage associated with the need for changes in reallocated resource distribution

patterns. Because of the open architecture of the existing research grid, the UAGrid, there

are no conflicts likely to emerge from a policy that would otherwise seek to impose a new

structure. Rather than imposing new structures upon UAGrid, this policy seeks to extend

the structure of UAGrid, also increasing collaborative efforts for UAGrid and thereby

enhancing the centrality of both the policy and the existing grid fabric.

Enhancement of institutional image relative to peers. Seeking to enhance and

supplement central initiatives lends momentum to the leadership agenda. By positioning

policy to generate image enhancement through the generation of a large scale cluster in

support of both students and scientific research at the institution, it gathers status

enhancement for the institution relevant to its peer institutions, thus supporting the

institutional needs for external legitimization (Pfeffer and Salancik 1978). It also

contributes to the process of electronic reconstruction (Selwyn 1999) of the institutional

image through direct collaboration with both the ICG and TGen.

Page 13 of 24


Incremental implementation of initial grid fabric. The proposed capture grid and

underlying grid fabric are designed to function as a cluster resource with some portal

shell services that could be extended at a later time (Berman, Fox et al. 2003). This is

initially proposed on a very small scale with limited extra-departmental resources

required, thus alleviating the potential for political infighting over resource reallocation.

It functionally weaves additional grid fabric into the institutional core through an

incremental pathway, reducing again, the chances of conflict in a highly political process

(Wildavsky 1984).

Expansion of the administrative lattice. Not all consequences of policy are seen as

a positive development from all quarters. In this case, it is likely that there will emerge

questions of the potential for additional administrative lattice at the institution as a direct

result of this initiative. These questions are likely to be resultant of the hue that shades

the fundamental differences between faculty and administration. Faculty bear witness to

shrinking budget numbers, relatively speaking, while sustaining constant negotiations

surrounding the production of knowledge, an area increasingly encroached upon by

expanding staff and professional lattice (Rhoades 1998).

Competitive acquisition attempts as a power building strategy. Another possible

response may be attempts by remote administrative units to acquire control of certain

aspects of grid fabric deployment and maintenance due to the proximity of the

technology to central administration’s vision and the political favor of state and federal

government agencies. In an attempt to expand resources, some organizations within the

institution, operating out of the necessity to fight for all possible funding, may find the

seduction of federal and state government benevolence to be so overwhelming as to incite

Page 14 of 24


their strategic maneuvering to gather control over aspects of grid fabric policy. A number

of entities immediately come to the forefront of imagination, but there is no way of

forecasting precisely which units or departments may entertain the notion of a functional

takeover driven by external funding promise. It should be noted that the UAGrid, which

is part of the center for computing and information technology’s research computing

group, can arguably be considered a potential participant in negotiations surrounding

domains of interest due to their established position on campus.

Patterns of Implementation

Because the initial stages of this technology will address only the need for wide

area data management, this accretes time to monitor the development of the data

structures and their appropriate use prior to engaging any designs of expanded grid

collaboration. These considerations will drive the development of institutional grid

collaborations with AGI, ICG, and TGen.

Incrementalism

The reason an incremental pattern of development is available at all is the un-

catalogued amount of computational overhead currently built into the existing

infrastructure of higher education. Since there is a zero-sum zero-loss fascia sculpted for

the proposal, a toehold may be gained on a very central and strategic stage, this sets the

stage for a slowly metered growth pattern, thus inculcating the technology and the policy

into the institution (Pfeffer 1982). Target systems can be characterized by dynamic output

without extricating maximum potential benefit from resources controlled by the

organization. This is especially true where computational overhead is concerned and it

can be found in large samples scattered throughout the institution.

Page 15 of 24


Predictions

Some assumptions have been made in this paper. First, the assumption that

control over the proposed CPU harvest site will be relinquished without negotiation. This

is not likely, but since the control resides with the library, the negotiation is seemingly a

fair engagement.

For all this glowing optimism, the reality is that there will be continuing

negotiations with the many different areas of the institution as would be participants seek

entrée to grid research in the 21st century. Gathering resources sufficient to try and exert

some level of institutional management over grid research activities is a significant

departure from the daily operational considerations of the institution. But if private

industry and governmental research agendas are indicative of future funding

opportunities for higher education, then positioning in the biogenic and biomedical space

may prove to be both insightful and profitable for the institution.

The Grid as an Academic Red Herring

In spite of the promise grid research holds, the fact is that it has not proliferated at

the exponential rates that were predicted early on. Instead it has, on an international

scale, been a slower and more orderly pace. The very nature of research and how it is

conducted is diametrically in opposition to the open source, open code, free sharing

environment forecasted by early advocates of grid research. In higher education there are

only a few scattered locations and a smattering of institutions that actively engage in grid

research. Of course, all the most prestigious names are there from both private industry

and higher education, this comes as no surprise because they have sufficient resources to

sustain such endeavors.

Page 16 of 24


Faculty Interaction

The vast majority of active faculty does not directly participate in grid research at

the current time. Short of contributing their personal CPU time to one of the various non-

profit grid organizations engaged in different research projects, there are few

opportunities for most faculty to actively participate in space of grid research. An

example of a non-profit research grid is “Grid.org” which boasts over 2 million member

devices (grid.org 2004) and is involved with a number of different projects of scale.

A grid with more than 2 million member devices is a substantial grid in scope, but

the general idea, reduced in size by an order of magnitude, captures the essence of the

desire to create policy that seeks increased standardization of research intensive

computational resources where possible. The girders of support for institutional research

may increasingly have grid components built into funding opportunities in much the same

manner that interdisciplinary research has widely been encouraged.

Growing Capacity

Growing capacity is predicted on the basis of a well known technological

principle. In the case of technological proliferation due to exponential growth in

computational capacity at competitive prices, the proverbial invocation of Gordon

Moore’s law (Moore 1965) is inevitable. Moore’s law states that the number of

transistors the industry would be able to place on a computer chip would double every

couple of years. This has come to pass and then some. In 1971 the industry placed 2,250

transistors on the model 4004 computer chip, today that number is 410,000,000 for the

Intel® Itanium® 2 processor.

Page 17 of 24


Because these basic measures of technology have grown in conjunction with

continued price reductions, the ability of scientists to explore previously unimaginable

calculation sets has proliferated due to the dramatic increases in computational power

available to them. This computational throughput is obviously extended by research grids

and in some cases; it may arguably be the genesis of certain gains in institutional equity

vis-à-vis computational resources.

Correlation to Knowledge Production

Grids have not become a powerful force in academe as of yet. The deployment of

grid fabric at isolated pockets of the institution does not invite widespread collaboration

by faculty as previously discussed, nor does it offer the promise of correlating to the

knowledge production activities of the vast majority of faculty. It is quite understandable

then, that grid collaborations resemble little more than an academic red herring to most

faculty who are engaged in the daily activities of knowledge production.

TeraGrid

In spite of the slower than expected growth of grid research, tens of millions of

dollars continue to pour into grid research annually (Kaufmann and Smarr 1993). One

single project, the TeraGrid, with funding from one major federal benefactor, The

National Science Foundation (NSF) exemplifies a strong and continuing investment

pattern with 98 million dollars invested in various participating centers from 2001-2003

(National Center for Supercomputing Applications (U.S.), San Diego Supercomputer

Center. et al. 2001).

In short, for most of academe, grid research is not a central topic and they receive

little if any benefit from grid research infrastructures. For the few major institutions that

Page 18 of 24


have positioned themselves to participate in grid research activities, there has been

terrific promise and dramatic improvements in research abilities in computationally

intensive environments.

Shifting Policy

This proposed shift in institutional policy is designed to open the door to a niche

specialization in the grid research environment. Granted, these are relatively new

developments for the institution, but they are developments that should continue to

impact progressive research initiatives in various areas of the institution. It is probably a

colossal understatement to suggest that it may be while before grid research activities

bear fruit for the majority of faculty to savor. But in the cases where significant grant

revenues have been acquired in pursuit of grid technologies, it can be suggested that

wherever those institutions engage in central reallocation of resources, some funds, as a

result of an economic multiplier effect, have probably been extended into the lives of

more faculty than one might suspect.

Thinking Small

The initial project does not call for significant investment nor does it propose a

significant change in institutional policy. Instead, it is designed to be meager and small

precisely because there is not literature to support the notion of grid research as an

activity that will be rapidly embraced. Available findings suggest that private industry is

generally not “promiscuous” with their inter-organizational collaborations (Powell 1996).

Instead, they tend to solidify established ties rather than expand a significant number of

new collaborations. This defensive posture presents a challenge to the establishment of a

Page 19 of 24


standardized grid fabric suitable to support research collaborations outside of previously

established relationships.

The policy of standardizing grid fabric prepares the institution and paves the way

for enhanced institutional interdisciplinary collaboration. However, it should be noted

that some of the people who actually participate in interdisciplinary collaborations and

engage in multi-scope research collaboration understand that data structures in different

departments within an institution can be quite dissimilar; never mind the complications

that are, quite obviously compounded when extending to other institutions, governmental

agencies, or private corporations. Anderson notes that such differences can literally

amount to what is essentially a function of comparing apples and oranges (Anderson

2001). This is insightful and it supports the findings of Powell relative to industry

preferring to deepen existing successful ties rather than explore new and uncharted

collaborative projects.

Promise with Caution

Wildavsky wrote about the political process associated with budgeting and he

painted a vibrant picture of how budgets are negotiated, highlighting the illustration with

the hue of understanding that negotiations continually shape the process. Still, it seems

that whenever corporations of substantial size and reputation enter into the equation,

elements of the institution become more willing to be adventurous; they seem willing to

assume more risk for the promise of greater reward.

International Business Machines (IBM) has created strategic alliances with higher

education, with ICG, and of course, with TGen. These arrangements predictably include

an architecture to deploy Globus on Linux clusters using WebSphere to exploit the Open

Page 20 of 24


Grid Services Structure (TGen 2003). This combined with a nexus of federal grant money

from the NIH, state and municipal funding, and substantial private foundation support

have combined to make it a deliciously attractive forum for institutional involvement.

The shifting priorities of the federal government also constitute a reason to

proceed with caution in the advancement of the notion of federal grants as a stable or

predictable source of revenue. While this certainly seems to favor the proximal growth of

grid research, it is by no means a guarantee of any extensive period of financial well

being. The federal government enjoys the prerogative of shifting funding priorities in

addition to shifting certain responsibilities onto state and local governments (Hovey

1999). Recognizing and managing these research efforts independently of federal funding

may one day prove to be the only way to sustain such activities, but for the present and

foreseeable future, the contrary is true.

Summary

Framing the six propositions with organizational theory produced a theme that

weaved a story reflective of the influence of academic capitalism. Contextualizing the

active environment and examining possible responses and patterns of implementation has

drawn heavily on themes of external power as well as discussions of image and identity.

Finally, in an attempt to obfuscate resistance, the tenets of resource dependency theory

are imbedded in the efforts to avoid conflict over scarce resources. Recognizing that any

new policy or technology is likely to be received with a cautionary eye, it was thought to

be prudent to bundle the policy with existing initiatives in order to gain centrality while

folding the technology into existing infrastructure.

Page 21 of 24


It is hoped that the technology would gather sufficient support through the nature

of its relative positioning in the institution. But in the event it does not, it is hoped that the

greater good of the initiative is really to establish a policy of standardization at the early

stages in the development of grid research activities such that it will sustain a unified

movement for a standardization of the grid fabric not only in the institution, but also on a

local and state level.

Page 22 of 24


Works Cited

Anderson, M. (2001). "The Complex Relations between the Academy and Industry:
Views from the Literature." Journal of Higher Education 72(2, Special Issue: The
Social Role of Higher Education): 226-246.
Berman, F., G. Fox, et al. (2003). Grid computing: making the global infrastructure a
reality. Chichester, England; New York, Wiley.
CCIT, University of Arizona (2004). Lab_Info, Accessed October 7, 2004, URL:
http://compguide.arizona.edu/lab_info.html
Clark, B. R. (1972). "The Organizational Saga in Higher Education." Administrative
Science Quarterly 17(2): 178-184.
DiMaggio, P., Powell, W. (1983). "The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism
and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields." American Sociological
Review 48(2): 147-160.
Drummond, C. (2003). "Strategic Planning for Research Administration." Journal of
Research Administration 34(2): p4, 7p.
Gioia, D., Thomas, B. (1996). "Identity, Image, and Issue Interpretation: Sensemaking
During Strategic Change in Academia." Administrative Science Quarterly 41(3):
370-403.
Goodenow (1996). "The Cyberspace Challenge: Modernity, Post-Modernity and
Reflections on International Networking Policy." Comparative Education 32(2,
Special Number (18)): 197-216.
grid.org (2004). What is grid.org? Accessed October 6, 2004, URL, http://www.grid.org/
about/
Hovey, H. A. (1999). Can the states afford devolution? the fiscal implications of shifting
federal responsibilities to state and local governments. New York, Century
Foundation Press.
Kaufmann, W. J. and L. L. Smarr (1993). Supercomputing and the transformation of
science. New York, Scientific American Library: Distributed by W.H. Freeman.
Moore, G. E. (1965). "Cramming more components onto integrated circuits." Electronics
38(8).
National Center for Supercomputing Applications (U.S.), San Diego Supercomputer
Center., et al. (2001). TeraGrid. [United States, s.n.
Pew (1990). "The Lattice and Ratchet." Policy Perspectives 2(4): 1-8.
Pfeffer, J. (1982). Organizations and organization theory. Boston, Pitman.
Pfeffer, J. and G. R. Salancik (1978). The external control of organizations: a resource
dependence perspective. New York, Harper & Row.
Powell, W., Koput, K. (1996). "Interorganizational Collaboration and the Locus of
Innovation Networks in Biotechnology." Administrative Science Quarterly 41(1).
Rhoades, G. (1998). Managed professionals: unionized faculty and restructuring
academic labor. Albany, State University of New York Press.
Selwyn, A. J. H. N. (1999). "Surfing to School: The Electronic Reconstruction of
Institutional Identities." Oxford Review of Education 25(4): pp. 501-520.
Shapiro, H. A. J. Z. (1990). "Are Retrenchment Decisions Rational? The Role of
Information in Times of Budgetary Stress." Journal of Higher Education 61(2).

Page 23 of 24


Slaughter, S. and L. Leslie (1997). Academic capitalism: politics, policies, and the
entrepreneurial university. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.
Stokes, D. E. (1997). Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation.
Washington, D.C., Brookings Institute Press.
TGen (2004). TGen Board of Directors, Accessed Oct. 6, 2004,
http://www.tgen.org/about/index.cfm?pageid=33.
TGen, T. G. R. I. (2003). TGen, Arizona State University, and International Genomics
Consortium Select IBM Technology for Research on Genetic Links to Diseases,
Collaboration Includes Joint Research to Identify the Genetic Markers for Various
Cancers, Accessed Oct. 5, 2004, URL: http://www.tgen.org/news/index.cfm?
newsid=25
UAGrid (2004). The University of Arizona Grid Project, Accessed October 7, 2004 URL:
http://uagrid.arizona.edu/
UAPresident (2003). Focused Excellence, Accessed October 6, 2004, URL: http:// http://
president.arizona.edu/initiatives/focused-excellence/
University of Wisconsin (2004). "Condor High Throughput Computing."Accessed
October 7, 2004, URL http://www.cs.wisc.edu/condor/
Wildavsky, A. B. (1984). The politics of the budgetary process. Boston, Little, Brown.
Wildavsky, A. B. (1988). The new politics of the budgetary process. Glenview, Ill., Scott,
Foresman.
Wildavsky, A. B., M. J. Boskin, et al. (1982). The Federal budget: economics and
politics. San Francisco, Calif.
New Brunswick, U.S.A., Institute for Contemporary Studies;
Distributed by Transaction Books.

Page 24 of 24

Harvesting CPU Cycles from the Academy

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Similar to Harvesting CPU Cycles from the Academy

More from Gordon M. Groat

Recently uploaded

Harvesting CPU Cycles from the Academy