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[¶1.] This book had its origins in a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 1986-1987, during which a great deal of the conceptual framework was developed. Much of the research on military organization and emerging military doctrines was supported by a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Individual Fellowship for Research and Writing in International Security in 1987-1988. There is no way I can express my gratitude to either of these foundations for the time and space their support provided for thinking and reflecting on what was then still a dynamic and often turbulent time of technical change in computing and networking. Other kinds of support were provided by the Institute of International Studies, both intellectually and through funding of field work overseas, and by the Institute of Governmental Studies, which provided me not only with office space but with a hospitable, supportive working environment. The research on highly reliable organizations that underlies a great deal of the work on organizational analysis and operator expertise was supported in part by Office of Naval Research contract N-00014-86-k-03123 and National Science Foundation grants SES-8708804 and SES-8911105.
[¶2.] My thanks also to the managers of air traffic control centers, and of several nuclear power plants and the utilities that own them, to senior officers who facilitated our entry into the U.S. Navy, and to the many operators who shared their workspace, their time, and their thoughts with us, often for long periods, with grace, courtesy, and hospitality. They seemed at the time to share many of the concerns expressed in this book, and I hope they do not find that they have been misrepresented.
[¶3.] There is no way that I can adequately express the degree to which I am indebted to my colleagues on the organizational work, in particular Todd R. La Porte, Karlene Roberts, and Paul Schulman, who provided an atmosphere of continued excitement and stimulation throughout the project. Our work is not yet done, and I hope that this volume will contribute to it some modest value added. Without the skills and insights of Alexandra von Meier, my student, colleague, and compatriot in much of the field work, much of what is subtle and indirect in the data on operators would have been missed entirely. The military analysis would have been impossible without the expert knowledge and advice of Chris C. Demchak on matters organizational as well as professional; her help in the field and on the autobahn in Germany was indispensable. Members of the Berkeley Global Stability Group, particularly Ernst Haas, provided the kind of intellectual support and reflective criticism that one always hopes for but rarely finds in academia. Janet Abbate and Paul Edwards were incredibly generous in sharing their own unpublished work, as well as their unpublished manuscripts, as was Kären Wieckert, to whom I also owe a very special debt for her encouragement, advice, insight, and willingness to read and argue about various chapter drafts. And, finally, I am eternally grateful to Anne Middleton, with whom life is a constant exchange of housework, humor, advice, intellectual support, and penetrating and detailed criticism of both concept and writing. All of these friends and colleagues have helped make this a better book; the responsibility for its shortcomings and failures are mine alone.
Berkeley, California
May 3, 1996