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Ithiel de Sola Pool papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MC-0440

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Ithiel de Sola Pool papers

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

Extensive files of Pool's many communications studies include correspondence and reports of the SIMULMATICS project on Vietnam and Vietnam Study interviews; work for the Naval Ordnance Test Station; projects for American government agencies and foreign countries, including Japan and Egypt; correspondence about communication and public opinion in India; questionnaires and computer print-outs of the "Acquaintance Study"; the Violence Study; Elites; Contact Networks; a study of Japanese reaction to the 1981 television miniseries "Shogun"; a 1953-1955 analysis of the relationship between the American business community and United States foreign trade and tariff policies; and information about other projects on cable television, satellite broadcasts, human factors in communications, telecommunications, and communication in foreign policy.

Pool's activities as a member of the MIT Department of Political Science and the Center for International Studies are documented in correspondence with colleagues, reports, memoranda, course materials from classes he taught, and notes of the 1967 MIT Committee on Student Environment. Pool's activities outside MIT are documented in correspondence concerning conferences, seminars, and workshops he participated in, as well as speeches and talks he gave. Correspondence with professional organizations include the Bureau of Social Science Research, the National Academy of Sciences, the Council of Social Science Data Archives, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Copies of articles he published and papers he gave are included. As this collection is not fully processed there is material that is not included in this description.

Boxes 218 and 219 contain unprocessed manuscript drafts, notes, and background materials for a book that Pool was writing about President Carter titled In His Words. The book was never published.

Dates

  • Creation: 1941 - 1984

Creator

Access note

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Digital Access Note

Some parts of this collection are available online. Links to specific online digital items are found within their entry in this finding aid.

Conditions Governing Use

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Biography

Ithiel de Sola Pool, professor of political science and director of the International Communications Program of the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was a leading authority on the study of public opinion.

Born in New York City in 1917, Dr. Pool earned the BA in 1938, the MA in 1939, and the PhD in 1952 from the University of Chicago, where he served as a research assistant from 1938 to 1942. In 1942 he became assistant professor of political science at Hobart College and in 1948, associate professor. In 1949 he was appointed assistant director of the Research Program in Revolution and the Development of International Relations of the Hoover Institute on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University.

Pool joined the faculty of MIT as associate professor of political science in 1953 and was promoted to professor in 1958. On leave from the Institute during the academic year 1957-1958, he was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

Pool was a leader in the development of techniques by which detailed projections of public opinion can be made through the simulation of attitudes and attitude changes on a computer. This technique makes possible not only the analysis of polls but the prediction of the reactions of various groups to hypothetical questions. In 1959 Pool and his associates founded the Simulmatics Corporation for the application of simulation methods. His technique was used for election studies during the presidential campaign of 1960.

Under a grant from the US Office of Education, Pool conducted studies to determine the character of the audience of educational television and the effectiveness of the medium. A report on such studies was made in a book, The People Look at Educational Television, published in 1963, of which he was one of the authors.

Pool was the author or co-author of a number of articles and books on international relations including American Business and Public Policy: The Politics of Foreign Trade. He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Air Force and of the Advisory Board of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, California. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the American Political Science Association, the American Sociological Association, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ithiel de Sola Pool died in 1984.

Extent

215.6 Cubic Feet (214 record cartons, 6 manuscript boxes, 1 audiocassette)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Ithiel de Sola Pool, professor of political science and director of the International Communications Program of the Center for International Studies (CIS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was a leading authority on the study of public opinion. Pool was a leader in the development of techniques by which detailed projections of public opinion can be made through the simulation of attitudes and attitude changes on a computer. The collection contains correspondence, reports, and background materials on his communications studies including the SIMULMATICS project on Vietnam, a study of Japanese reaction to the 1981 television miniseries "Shogun,” projects for American government agencies, and information about projects on cable television, satellite broadcasts, telecommunications, and communication in foreign policy. His activities as a member of the MIT Department of Political Science and CIS are documented in correspondence with colleagues, reports, memoranda, course materials.

Location

Materials are stored off-site. Advance notice is required for use.

Appraisal note

Needs review.

Processing Information note

Some collection descriptions are based on legacy data and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. Description may change pending verification. Please contact the MIT Department of Distinctive Collections if you notice any errors or discrepancies.

Related Names

Subjects

Digital Material

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Preliminary Inventory to the Papers of Ithiel de Sola Pool
Status
Ready For Review
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository

https://libraries.mit.edu/distinctive-collections/
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