code: @Nullable
    public static Short parseShortObj (@Nullable final Object aObject,
                                       @Nonnegative final int nRadix,
                                       @Nullable final Short aDefault)
    {
      if (aObject == null)
        return aDefault;
      if (aObject instanceof Number)
        return Short.valueOf (((Number) aObject).shortValue ());
      return parseShortObj (aObject.toString (), nRadix, aDefault);
    }
docs: Parse the given {@link Object} as {@link Short} with the specified radix.
  
  @param aObject
  The object to parse. May be <code>null</code>.
  @param nRadix
  The radix to use. Must be &ge; {@link Character#MIN_RADIX} and &le;
  {@link Character#MAX_RADIX}.
  @param aDefault
  The default value to be returned if the passed object cannot be
  converted to a Short. May be <code>null</code>.
  @return <code>aDefault</code> if the object does not represent a valid
  value.