Analyzing Group Process and Skill Selection Research Paper

Analyzing Group Process and Skill Selection - Research Paper Example The group has two Professors who act intermittently as group facilitators and group therapists. The group is sitting in chairs in a small circle in a relatively large and empty room. The circle immediately sets the group up to manage issues around closeness and distance. The circle formed allows the members to make (or not make) eye contact. Additionally, who is to say that people are comfortable sitting at such close proximity to each other In a physical structure where members might feel they can't manage the intensity of the group experience physically, i.e. physically move away from the group, the members are left to find other ways to regulate their experience. Let us look at how the members of this group manage being in a group and what the group is most interested in. The group's primary focus is personal survival and the self-regulation of emotions. The group initially focuses on films which tell stories of survival. However, as time passes, it becomes clear that the group members are talking about their own survival, their own struggles in life, and whether 'breaking down' will leave them weak and overwhelmed. The group sets the pitch early on by discussing very emotional challenges in their life through the objective vehicle of 'favorite film'. This sets the pitch and the group is involved early on in a struggle of regulation. How much emotion How much is too much Professor Rullo's role is to encourage and facilitate emotion and self-disclosure. Meanwhile, Professor Smith's role is to sum up emotional experiences for the group and to contain the boundary for the emotional expressions for the group. The group finds itself moving between the people who are comfortable with emotions (Renee and Amy) and the people who are less comfortable (Roosevelt and Maria.) These two sub-groups within the group are partly generated by the Professors taking opposite positions which leaves the group in the position of taking 'sides'. This tension is difficult for them to experience and there is an obvious tension after Amy cried about her 9-11 experience and Professor Smith interrupts her story and reminds her of Maria's struggle to open up earlier, and how Professor Rullo told Maria, "That's enough". Amy hears Professor Smith say, "that's enough" and she bolts her emotion down. There is some silence in the group and Roosevelt expresses this discomfort and uncertainty by gesturing a thumb to leave the room; he does this approximately three times. At this point, the group is at a crossroads: to disclose or to be objective, to survive or breakdown. The next significant moment for the group is when Natasha B. responds to Renee's concerns about being, "Scared to open that box." Natasha B. sobs about how tough life is for her and for others in the group and she demonstrates the level of cohesion in the group. Immediately following her sobs, we see two things happen almost simultaneously. Firstly, Taryn smiles, presumably with discomfort. She has done this before when someone else was in distress. Immediately after Taryn's smile, Professor Smith captures the emotion in the room and begins to sum it up again, talking of "The struggle, the accomplishments." Later on in the session we see this theme of emotional self-regulation once more. In this vignette, we see Professor Rullo redirect the group. Camille says, "I don't want to have an emotional breakdown." Professor

The Problems Surrounding Corporate Governance Are Rooted In the Essay

The Problems Surrounding Corporate Governance Are Rooted In the Peculiar Nature of Corporate Shareholding - Essay Example This essau declares that the recent economic crises and scandals have forced much expert attention on the system of corporate governance, its regulations, leading to the public disclosure of many of the financial figures associated with the processes. Here, attention has been specifically focussed on the shortcomings, related to the primacy of shareholder values that dominate the entire system. This paper makes a conclusion that the shareholders in most of the cases did not have a major role in creating the major financial crises of the 2000-2001 that had resulted in the economic breakdown of many of the large financial corporations. Despite some line of thinking that did not put the shareholders entirely above the line of guilt, it is more or less certain, that in majority of the cases the shareholders are mere bystanders, and do not have the power or the status to handle or interfere in the corporate governance, though it is certain that their investments are considered as playing a dominant role. Thus, it is evident that in this peculiar nature of the corporate shareholding system, where the shareholders have no rights on the nature of the investments made, yet their financial capital interests are given primary importance, do not have much of role in the problems faced in the line of the modern corporate governance. The problems within the corporate governance emerge mo re from the lack of effective regulatory and monitoring systems, that should focus more on the activities of the assets managers and investors, and the nature of the investments that are being made.

Fair Representation of Financial Statements

Fair Representation of Financial Statements 1. INTRODUCTION The Financial Reporting Standards Board was formed to resolve the problems faced by the international financial reporting regiment. In particular, it hopes to promote the standardization of international accounting standards through its International Accounting Standards (IASs) to facilitate transactions and improve financial markets. Underscoring the FRSBs philosophy is to enable the fair presentation of financial statements. This report discusses this concept and evaluates whether the application of a standardized accounting reporting regiment would achieve its objectives with a critical examination of some accounting standards. 2. FAIR PRESENTATION DEFINED Whenever we mention the fair presentation of financial statements, we are referring to the accounting concept of true and fair view. The phrase true and fair in an accounting context does not have the same meaning as true and fair in a general context. Thus, true in an accounting context does not mean in accordance with the facts or not false and fair in an accounting context does not mean just or unbiased. The most generally accepted interpretation of true and fair in an accounting context is that accounts are true and fair if they are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Thus courts have held that accounts based on historical cost present a true and fair view. Riley has pointed out that the various Companies Acts require the presentation of a true and fair view and not the true and fair view. The implication is that in a particular circumstance no single view is true and fair but that there are several views each of which is true and fair. Presumably, any generally accepted accounting method provides a true and fair view. There are some who argue that different accounting standards does not inhibit the adoption of fair presentation while others believe that a uniform international standard like IAS is the best means of achieving fair presentation of financial statements. 3. THE CASE FOR DIFFERENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS 3.1 Diversity is Desirable It has been argued by some that a range of accounting methods is desirable because of the diverse circumstances of different businesses. In some circumstances one method would be desirable and in other circumstances some other method would be most appropriate. Diverse accounting methods are necessary because of diverse circumstances. For example, it could be argued that when a non-controlling interest in another company is acquired and where there is a substantial influence over its policies, the equity method would reflect the circumstances more accurately than simply showing the investment at cost. Given a variety of accounting methods, it is argued that management should choose the one which best reflects the unique circumstances of the situation. The ability to choose the most appropriate method should lead to comparability of accounting reports. More meaningful comparisons would be possible because accounting reports reflect the circumstances in each case. The independent auditor should ensure that management selects the most appropriate method for the presentation of a true and fair view. If management does not choose the best method, the auditor will not confirm the presentation of a true and fair view and a qualified audit report should result. 3.2 Arguments Against International Financial Reporting Standards Just as there are many compelling arguments in favour of IAS, there are also equally compelling arguments against it. One of the major criticisms against IFRS is that poorly developed and developing countries view it as a form of imposition of rules or neo-colonization by economically superior countries (Mednick, 1991). Secondly, standardization goes against the inherently flexible nature of accounting. One of the key principles of accounting is substance over form, so providing international standards would be contrary to this. When accounting rules are standardized or harmonized, they cannot possibly be flexible enough to fit into the enormous scope of different national situations, legal systems, stages of economic growth and cultural differences. Instead of aiding progress, such rigid and inflexible standards may actually hinder it. Next, some experts argue that it will be very difficult for international accounting standards bodies like the IASB to reach a universal consensus on some issues. As a result, concessions and compromises will have to be made so that it becomes acceptable to the international community (Berton, 2000). When this happens, the standards become inadequate and permissive. Another argument against international accounting standards is that it could be dangerous as the standards may erode profits and cause volatility in the balance sheets of the companies (Parker, 2002). As a result, companies need to educate their investors about the effects of international accounting standards on the reported profits and liabilities. Finally, some have expressed concern that international standardization or harmonization may cause standard overload. Companies that have to deal with social, political, national and economic pressure will be overextended to comply with the more complex and expensive international requirements. This may add to operating costs. 4. THE CASE FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS 4.1 Problems with Diversity There is the availability of a wide choice of accounting methods. For many transactions, accountants are able to choose from a selection of accounting methods each of which is equally acceptable and which often give widely different results. However, there are two main types of criticism leveled against this kind of diversity. One, it is suggested that the availability of several acceptable alternative accounting methods for a single transaction could make the accounting reports of different companies non-comparable. Differences in reported results could reflect different accounting procedures rather than different performances. For example, suppose that Company A expensed all research and development expenditure, used FIFO for inventory and depreciated its assets on a straight-line basis. Any differences in the reported profits and balance sheets of the two companies would be due, at least in part, to differences in accounting procedures and any assessment of relative performance and financial position would be difficult to make. The critics argue that diversity in accounting methods reduce the utility of accounting reports by measuring corporate performance in different ways. Two, it is also suggested that the availability of different accounting methods allows management to choose those methods which give the desired result. In other words, profits could be manipulated by the choice of accounting method. If management wants lower profits, conservative accounting procedures could be used. Choosing accounting procedures to satisfy management objectives is sometimes described as creative accounting. In America, researchers have found substantial evidence of creative accounting. The critics regard creative accounting as particularly bad and conclude that financial statements cannot be used with any confidence to measure or compare managerial performance. The common element of these two criticisms is that the availability of a choice of accounting methods leads to a lack of comparability in accounting reports. 4.2 Increased Disclosure The second argument for IAS is to seek increased disclosure. Two types of increased disclosure are suggested. One, it is argued that the problems of diversity could be at least partially overcome by detailed disclosure of accounting method. Under this proposal, accounting reports would include a statement of the methods used to compute depreciation, unearned income, inventory and so on. It is suggested that this additional data would enable statement users to recast the accounting reports into a form suitable for comparison with the reports of other years or other companies. Two, it is suggested that where an accounting method is different from that used in the previous report, the fact of the change of method and the effect of the change on reported profits or balance sheet items should both be disclosed. With this additional information statement users would be able to restate the accounting reports of a company to make them comparable on an interpreted basis. The effect of creative accounting would be disclosed. It should be noted that the increased disclosure response leaves companies and their auditors with a choice from a range of accounting methods. Diversity in accounting method is not reduced. The increased disclosure allows statement users to make accounting reports comparable by recasting them in the form they need. Increased disclosure is a solution to the problem of diversity can be criticized on the grounds that the benefits may not be shared equally by all statement users. It requires a statement user with accounting skills to recast financial reports on a comparable basis. Statement users without access to these skills would receive no benefits from these additional disclosures. Indeed, they may be worse off as sophisticated statement users recast the financial reports and to make better decisions. Any solution to the diversity problem which places the one on statement users and which could therefore discriminates against a group of users is clearly unsatisfactory. 4.3 Increased Uniformity It is also widely believed that a universal adoption of IAS would contribute to uniformity of financial statements internationally. When different standards are used, it is sometimes difficult to compare the financial performance of two companies. Comparability would eliminate misunderstandings about the reliability of foreign financial statements and would remove one of the most important impediments to the flow of international investment. Narrowing the range of choice of accounting methods is usually described as increasing uniformity. In most cases, increased uniformity is achieved by issuing statements of accounting principles or standards which specify the accounting method for a particular transaction or event. Increased uniformity means that the same accounting methods are likely to be used in the same circumstances by different companies and at different times. The onus is on management and accountants rather than statement users. There are several arguments used to support the case for greater uniformity of accounting method. Firstly, the most important argument is that uniformity of accounting procedures will allow comparisons of accounting reports. Similar situations will be reported in a similar way and results will be directly comparable. Any difference in reported results will be due to differences in the circumstances and not in the accounting method. Secondly, many accountants believe that increased uniformity would make their jobs much easier. Choosing an accounting procedure is for many accountants time consuming and difficult. It may lead to conflict between management which wants creative accounting and accountants who believe that another method is more appropriate. With uniformity, the chance of conflict over accounting method would be reduced. Thirdly, with uniformity, accountants would be better able to defend their procedures in court. Because their choices would be limited, they could not be accused or choosing an accounting method to meet the needs of any particular group. This in an important consideration for accountants. 4.4 Cost Benefits There are numerous financial benefits of having IAS. The first is that it decreases the cost of data collection (Choi et al, 1999). Time and money will be saved on consolidating divergent financial information when more than one set of reports is required to comply with the different national laws or practice. Secondly, it is believed that the ease of comparison of information and the reduced cost of collecting data will help spur the development of capital markets through the inflow of foreign capital (Don and Thomas, 1995). Investors, financial analysts and foreign leaders will be able to understand the financial statements of foreign companies and they would be able to compare the investment opportunities that will assist them to make the correct investment decision. This in turn will also facilitate the movement of funds. As taxes are levied on the total income of a business, it would be of great help to national tax authorities around the world if net income was calculated on si milar accounting principles and practices. In addition, this will provide firms with a competitive advantage. International accounting and disclosure standards would make it easier to conduct the competitive and operational analyses needed to run a business. It will also become easier for top management to manage important relationship with stakeholders such as customers and suppliers. Multinational corporations will benefit the most and it will also become easier for them to fulfil the disclosure requirements for international stock exchanges. Finally, harmonization of accounting standards will decrease audit costs and increase the efficiency of the audit (Choi et al, 1999). 5. DIFFERENCES IN ACCOUNTING TREATMENT To better understand how universal adoption of IAS would eliminate differences in accounting treatment, let us consider some examples of divergent accounting treatment. For this purpose, a comparison is made between IASs and the United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US-GAAP). 5.1 Changes in Depreciation or Amortization Method According to IAS 16 and IAS 38, there is an explicit stipulation that changes in depreciation or amortization method must be accounted for as a change in estimate. However, US-GAAP treats these changes as changes in policy by demonstrating the cumulative effect of the change in the income statement. These require retrospective changes, which are not required by IAS. 5.2 Impairment of Assets IAS 36 uses a discounted impairment trigger, because the value in use is by definition a discounted value. Reversal of impairment losses recognized in prior years is allowed. On the other hand, in the US-GAAP, if the sum of the expected cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset, the entity shall recognize an impairment loss. This means that the impairment trigger is an undiscounted amount. Reversal of previously recognized impairment losses is prohibited for assets to be held and used. 5.3 Impairment of Goodwill According to IAS, the recoverable amount of a cash generating unit should be compared with the carrying value of its net assets. Resulting impairment losses should first be deducted from goodwill and then from other assets on a pro-rata basis. However, US-GAAP requires determination of the implied fair value of the goodwill. If the implied fair value is less than its carrying value, this carrying amount should be reduced. Such a goodwill impairment test cannot affect the carrying values of other assets. 5.4 Business Combinations in-process Research and Development For IAS, purchased in-process research and development that meets the recognition criteria for an intangible asset should be valued at fair value. Even if it is not a separate identifiable intangible asset, the IAS method results in capitalization of those costs as part of goodwill. Under US-GAAP, purchased in-process research and development assets both tangible and intangible should be charged to expense at acquisition date if no alternative future use for the assets can be determined. 6. INCONSISTENCIES IN IAS Although IASs are deemed to improve fair reporting, there are occasional inconsistencies that often hamper their effectiveness. Indeed, the IASB has tried to correct some of these inconsistencies, but there are still flaws in the overall framework. The following are some of the inconsistencies that have been corrected in recent years. 6.1 Classification of Tonnage Taxes in IAS 112 In some countries, shipping companies are allowed to choose to be taxed on the basis of tonnage transported, tonnage capacity or a notional profit instead of the standard corporate income tax regulations. In the past, tonnage capacity was regarded as a basis for taxable income. This is based on a flawed assumption. Income taxes are calculated on taxable profit which implies net, rather than gross amount. Taxes either on tonnage transported or tonnage capacity are based on gross instead of net amount. Therefore, such taxes would not be considered income taxes and would not be presented as part of tax expenses in the statement of comprehensive income. 6.2 Accounting for Sales Cost in IAS 38 Some problems arise among real estate developers. IAS 2 does not permit selling costs to be capitalized as inventory if the real estate units are considered to be inventory. However, other standards conclude that some direct and incremental costs recoverable as a result of securing a specifically identifiable contract with a customer may be capitalized in narrow circumstances, for example in IAS 11 (Paragraph 21) and IAS 18 (Appendix 14(b)(iii)). Hence, it is not possible to reach a conclusion on the appropriate accounting for board categories of selling and marketing costs in all circumstances. 6.3 Disclosure of Idle Assets and Construction in Progress in IAS 16 In accordance with paragraph 74(b) of IAS 16, an entity is required to disclose the amount of expenditures recognized in the carrying amount of an item of property, plant and equipment in the course of its construction. Paragraph 79(a) encourages an entity to disclose the amount of property, plant and equipment that is temporarily idle. Paragraph 112(c) of IAS 1 requires an entity to provide in the notes information that is not presented elsewhere in the financial statements that is relevant to their understanding. The disclosure regarding idle assets might be particularly relevant in the current economic environment. Therefore, IASB should review all disclosures encouraged with the objective of either confirming that they are required or eliminating them. 7. CONCLUSION To end, all accountants agree that the fair presentation of accounting and financial statements is important. However, what exactly constitutes fair presentation is a contentious and debatable matter. Some insist that adopting IFRS is the best way of achieving this objective while others assert that substance is more important than form and that it is perfectly acceptable to use different accounting standards so long as it shows some form of fair presentation. While I personally believe that it would be ultimately benefit the international financial community to have one standard to prevent confusion, its implementation is still some years away.

Descriptive Essay - The City Dock :: Descriptive Essay, Descriptive Writing

The perfect place in the city is one that is incredibly versatile – it may be bustling with activity one minute and nearly deserted the next. The city dock has been a mainstay of the city for as long as anyone can remember, and it has a different effect on everyone. Everyone can appreciate the dock for his or her own reasons. One of the best aspects of the city dock is the amount of activity that can almost always be found if you know where to look. Every year the Great Dock Canoe Race – an event in which teams of two people race a canoe across the bay - is held at the dock, and you’re guaranteed to find many teams racing their canoes in the bay. Hundreds of people crowd the dock to watch and then move next door to the Dock restaurant to celebrate with the winning team. Right off the dock is a tiny stretch of restaurants and quaint shops, and then of course there are the boats. Of the dozens of boats - from sailboats to houseboats to leisure ships, from red to white to yellow - that are anchored at the city dock, you’re sure to strike up a conversation with one of the friendly people who live here, and it’s a great place for casual parties with friends. On the last Fourth of July, my friends and I gathered on the top deck of my father’s houseboat to watch the fireworks d isplay that lit the sky. It offered an amazing vantage point from which we could see across town. The city dock, however, can also be a solitary place. When you sit on the top deck of a boat, it seems like you are all by yourself in the world. From that height, you have a birds’ eye view of the dock and the bay, and though there may be people around the dock below you, you are removed from their action. It’s the best way to take a break from the stress and activity of the day.

Compare and Contrast the Aca’s 5 Moral Principles (Autonomy, Nonmaleficence, Beneficence, Justice, Fidelity) with Clinton & Ohlschlager’s 7 Virtues on Co P. 248-249.

The American Counseling Association has identified several moral principles to assist in guiding their members and others interested in the helping professions. Of these the following five will be compared and contrasted with various biblical ethics identified by Clinton & Oblschalager (2002) as being seven virtues (pp. 248-249): autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and fidelity. The seven virtues are composed of the following: accountability and truth-telling, responsibility to love one another, fidelity to integrity, trustworthiness in keeping confidentiality, competent beneficence, humility in justice, and sufferability (ibid). Autonomy is defined as â€Å"the freedom of clients to choose their own direction† (Corey, G. , Corey, M. S. , & Callanan. 2007, p. 17). Nonmaleficence is the avoidance of actions which may hurt clients (ibid). Beneficence is promotion of the welfare of others (p. 18). Justice refers to being fair in equal distribution of resources and care without biases of any type (ibid). Fidelity refers to one keeping their word as a professional (ibid) The virtue of accountability and truth-telling shares the similarity with the moral principle of fidelity in that both mandate being truthful in our words and promises. Above that this virtue also requires that one be held accountable to another counselor or one’s pastor (Clinton & Oblschalager, p. 248). The virtue of the responsibility to love one another shares with the principle of nonmaleficence the characteristic of doing others no harm, yet goes beyond that to include the Spirit given gift of demonstrating love for one another (ibid). The virtue of humility in justice basically mirrors the principle of justice. Both these traits should mean the counselor will never judge the individual seeking help and to never discriminate in the allocation of resources. The virtue of humility in justice also entails remembering to be humble in emulation of the Messiah who only sought for others to be restored to a right relation with God (p. 249). Competent beneficence is a virtue comparable to the principle of beneficence. They both are focused on the wellbeing f others and on the awareness of the counselor to be culturally competent (ibid). The virtues of trustworthiness in keeping confidentiality, fidelity to integrity and sufferability can be placed side by side with the principle of nonmaleficence since they all entail the mandate of not allowing the client to suffer any harm due to the counselor’s words or actions. Fidelity to integrity also entails the counselor’s personal integrity as needing to accompany h is professional integrity (Clinton & Oblschalager, p. 248). Ultimately, the clients we encounter as Christian counselors do have autonomy to choose this principle and go in whatever direction they choose to go. Nevertheless, this is not a shared characteristic with any of the seven virtues. In our practice we are to recognize that God has moral absolutes and a perfect way in which God has chosen for us to walk (Clinton & Oblschalager, p. 246). To utilize the seven virtues we must remember that doing good, telling truth, loving one another, and the rest of the virtues all point directly towards our creator. Therefore, although our clients may choose to ignore our godly counsel, we are in debt to them and our vows of service to God to inform them and encourage them to cease from sinful behaviors and to turn those behaviors around to reflect behaviors demonstrated . References Clinton, T. , & Ohlschlager, G. (Eds. ). (2002). Competent Christian Counseling: Foundations and Practice of Compassionate Soul Care. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press. Corey, G. , Corey, M. S. , & Callanan, P. (2007). Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions (7th ed. ). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole

Travelling Experience

Can you remember your best experince in another country? Last summer (in 2007), I traveled to the United States for working and spending some time with my friends. I stayed two months in that country. I decided to travel because I wanted to do something different. I was bored about all my daily activities, so I decided to take the risk. I traveled alone for getting a job in the same company than a friend of mine. Traveling to the United States was one of the best experiences that I ever had. When I arrived to the United States, a friend of mine went to pick me up.So, I went to his house for leaving my luggage, and for taking a shower. After that, we went to a restaurant and we spent a nice time talking about our lives. At night, we went to a nice night club. I had a very nice day, but I was tired, so we decided to comeback to the house. In the following days, I got a job. I was working for Mc Donald's in the mornings, from 8 am to 3 pm. I really enjoyed my job because I met many peop le from USA and another countries. Sometimes I worked in the Drive-thru window, other times in the kitchen, and also in the front of the store.I had a good schedule because I was busy only in the mornings, so I had much free time in the afternoons. On my free time, I did my daily activities like cleaning the house, washing my clouths and so on. After finishing our activities, we used to have parties in the house. Sometimes we used to go out to different restaurants, and some weekends we traveled to another state named Loussiana. There we had a good time at the Casino, and some other times at a night club too. So, in conclusion, I think it was a nice trip, because I met new people from many places. Besides, I did everything that I wanted, because I had to take my own desicions.

The Educational Promise of Social Media

The Educational Promise of Social Media Some schools have banned the use of cell phones during school hours to avoid distractions and restrict communications between students and teachers over social media.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Educational Promise of Social Media specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thomas, H., Susan, L., Mary, G. (2010) states that, The American Library Association believes that if students are prohibited from using the social media, it only leaves them without knowledge for protecting privacy and therefore should be educated to use it in a responsible and ethical way. Facebook is one of the influential sites. A teacher for instance, can connect to reach his students and also contact their families. It also provides instant learning to the students by updating them on different developments during snow days. Some students, who use Skype, twitter and Facebook can contact the different authors and also undertake long distant pro jects with other students. There are so many groups that interact over such websites. They come from different cultures and backgrounds. The results of such interaction are very good. Most people who interact come from different races and therefore do share a variety of information. Social media may also be integrated into classroom by allowing the students to access social media sites (Toppo, 2011). Management software can be installed to allow the staff to monitor the activities being done on the internet or while using the social media. Students may use the social media in a negative way and this may make them develop very bad characters within a very short time. There should be a curriculum that explains how to use social media to benefit the students learning. This enables them to use it in a more meaningful way to have a positive impact in their development. A child, who learns on the use of internet for learning purposes at a very young age, becomes very active intellectually . The staff should then watch the students as they conduct themselves while using the internet for learning. This helps in preventing them from accessing certain sites like the pornographic sites. Such students copy the same characters and then try to put them into practice and therefore end up destroying their lives.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Facebook may also assist the teacher to connect or communicate with the students and parents as well as share the information of the school with other educational stakeholders. Students may receive assignments over Facebook and do them. Social networking has also been in use for a long time to specifically promote social interaction between different people. For example the teachers and students can interact positively and avoid the negative effects of social media. Teachers can post pictures, assignments and other tasks. Online classrooms can be done effectively by using technology to allow teachers in helping students to solve different questions online and any further assistance required. Any announcements or advertisement can also be posted on the internet to allow students access them but teachers should not have profile. The students can also interact in the public. This becomes very useful in the interaction of different groups over the website. Social websites are such an important resource for the students if only used effectively. Every student who makes use of these resources in a positive way can perform better than those who do not make use of the internet. The use of social media can only be useful if the students or children are closely watched and guided on how to make use of it for positive development. This is the only way that we can benefit from the use of social media. References Thomas, H., Susan, L., Mary, G. (2010). Instruction: A Models Approach. Allyn Bacon. Toppo G. (2011). Soci al media find place in classroom. USA Today.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Educational Promise of Social Media specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

The Critical Evaluation Essay Leo Szilards Argument

The Critical Evaluation Essay Leo Szilards Argument Even those people who do not know the details of the â€Å"Manhattan Project† have strong negative associations while focusing on the notion. The explanation to this phenomenon is in the fact that the â€Å"Manhattan Project† is the assignment developed by a group of the US scientists who worked out the atomic bomb to prevent the Nazi attacks during World War II.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Critical Evaluation Essay: Leo Szilard’s Argument specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the history of using the first American atomic bombs is associated with Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki the population of which suffered significantly from the dangerous effects of atom (Bernstein). The group of scientists who created the weapon of mass destruction tried to prevent the usage of atomic bombs with the help of providing the petition to the President. Although the petition was developed by th e head of the project Leo Szilard and signed by the scientists who participated in creating the bomb, the argument presented by Szilard cannot be discussed as effective to persuade the audience to change the decision. In â€Å"A Petition to the President of the United States†, Szilard follows the definite structure, accentuating the introductory part and concluding statements. However, the main part of the petition does not include the factual information to support the claims presented in the introductory part. Thus, the author uses the effective hook to draw the audience’s attention to the petition and appeal to the readers’ emotions. Szilard states, â€Å"Discoveries of which the people of the United States are not aware may affect the welfare of this nation in the near future† (Szilard). This statement makes people continue the reading of the petition. The audience of the petition is the President of the USA. That is why, the direct appeal to the Pres ident is presented in the further sentence, â€Å"It places in your hands, as Commander-in-Chief, the fateful decision whether or not to sanction the use of such bombs in the present phase of the war against Japan† (Szilard). The next paragraphs are expected to provide the arguments for the President to make the right decision and not to use the atomic bombs in the war against Japan. However, the body paragraphs include only vague considerations which are not supported by any evidences or data and developed only to evoke the definite emotions (Gest).Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The tone of the petition can be discussed as emotional rather than convincing. The author uses general sentences in which there are a lot of words with different connotative meanings, but there is the lack of factual arguments to support the main ideas presented by Szilard. Fo r instance, stating â€Å"We feel, however, that such an attack on Japan could not be justified in the present circumstances†, Szilard does not present any reasons why the attack on Japan cannot be justified (Szilard). In spite of the fact the author appeals to the morality and ethical principles, there are no arguments associated with morality in the petition’s text in order to state strictly that the usage of atomic bombs is impossible or to accentuate the impossibility of the annihilation of cities and people with references to moral laws. That is why, it is necessary to note that the author uses the convincing tone ineffectively because it is based only on the emotional aspect. To support the view on the effectiveness of Szilard’s usage of the tone which is rather unconvincing in the context of the petition and the problem discussed, it is important to pay attention to the modes of persuasion used by the author. The petition is developed by the scientists wh o created the atomic bombs. That is why, it is possible to speak about the authors’ authority. Szilard uses the ethos, stating â€Å"We, the undersigned scientists, have been working in the field of atomic power for a number of years† (Szilard). From this point, the participation of the author in creating the atomic bomb can be discussed as the reason to take Szilard’s arguments into consideration and pay much attention to their discussion. Nevertheless, the author does not provide the necessary arguments to support his authoritative position in discussing the question. However, the author concentrates on using the pathos in his text. The petition can be considered as rather emotional. Szilard is inclined to use emotionally vivid comparisons to present the idea, for instance, â€Å"a nation †¦ may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale† (Szilard). The focus on appealing to the audienceâ⠂¬â„¢s emotions cannot be used as the effective method to organize the petition. The next fallacy of the argument is the lack of the factual information and data which can be used to support the author’s ideas. Szilard presents ambiguous sentences which can be interpreted not in favor of the author and contribute to developing contradictions in understanding the vision. Moreover, providing the key ideas, Szilard does not concentrate on their support with evidences and facts to build the logical argument. For instance, the statement â€Å"atomic bombs are primarily a means for the ruthless annihilation of cities† has no any supporting facts after it (Szilard).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Critical Evaluation Essay: Leo Szilard’s Argument specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To conclude, Leo Szilard’s argument cannot be discussed as successful because it has weaknesses in structure, and the tone of the author is not convincing. Furthermore, the modes of persuasion are not used effectively to make the audience change the view. The text lacks the logical arguments and factual information to make the petition credible and persuasive. Bernstein, Barton. â€Å"An Analysis of â€Å"Two Cultures†: Writing about the Making and the Using of the Atomic Bombs†. The Public Historian 12.1 (1990): 83-107. Print. Gest, Howard. The July 1945 Szilard Petition on the Atomic Bomb. n.d. Web. Szilard, Leo. A Petition to the President of the United States (July 3, 1945). n.d. Web. atomicarchive.com/Docs/ManhattanProject/SzilardPetition.shtml.

Booker T Washington Essays - Booker T. Washington, American Slaves

Booker T. Washington an African American was born on April 5, 1856 in Hale?s Ford, Virginia. Booker T. Washington was born into slavery but however he was freed by the Civil War in 1865. Also, Booker T. Washington?s original name was Booker Taliaferro. Washington?s father was an white man and his mother was one of the slaves of James Burroughs. Later on Booker T. Washington?s mother remarried a slave by the name of Washington Ferguson and when Booker was enrolled in school, he took the last name of his stepfather becoming known as Booker T. Washington. However, even though Booker T. Washington went to Franklin County school, he was not there as a student but to carry books for one of James Burroughs's daughters since it was illegal to educate slaves that time. In the summer of 1865, Booker T. Washington migrated with his siblings to Malden, West Virginia to join his stepfather. However, even though Washington?s mother couldn?t read herself, she encouraged Booker T. Washington to rea d by buying him spelling books. As time went on Washington?s mother also enrolled Booker T. Washington in an elementary school. Encouraged by his teacher Booker T. Washington learned how to read and write but he still wasn?t satisfied, he wanted to pursue his education. At the age of sixteen, Booker T. Washington left Malden and enrolled at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, in Hampton, Virginia. However, Washington didn?t have enough money to pay for his school fees so he worked at the school to pay for his education throughout the way. Due to his education and strong beliefs Washington was an African American educator, orator, author and a dominant leader. From 1878-1879 Washington attended Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C., and returned to teach at Hampton Institute. ?The president of Hampton, Samuel C. Armstrong recommended Washington to become the first principal at Tuskegee Institute.? (wikianswers.com) Tuskegee Institute was opened in July 4, 1881. The year af ter the institute opened booker T. Washington purchased former plantation which went on to become the permanent site of the campus. Under Booker T. Washington?s directions, the students learned how to provide for their basic necessities themselves. ?The main goal of Tuskegee Institute was not to produce farmers and tradesmen, but teachers of farming and trades who taught in the new high schools and colleges for blacks across the South.? (wikipedia.com) Now Tuskegee Institute is known as Tuskegee University.In his whole lifetime Booker T. Washington married three times. First, he married Fannie N. Smith and had one daughter. Fannie died in May of 1884. Next, Washington married Olivia A. Davidson. They had two sons Booker T. Washington Jr. and Ernest Davidson Washington before she died in 1889. Last, Booker T. Washington married Margaret James Murray who outlived Washington and died in 1925. Despite Washington?s, widespread work, his health was getting worse rapidly. He died in his ho me in Tuskegee on November 14, 1915 at the age of fifty nine. It was later discovered that the reason for his death was hypertension. Booker T. Washington was buried on the campus of Tuskegee University near the University Chapel.

Death and Dying by Rosamond Rhodes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Death and Dying by Rosamond Rhodes - Essay Example From biological point of view, death is marked by a point where the entire or a part of the organ system ceases to work. Again, from a social point of view, death is marked by the point where a physician or a socially authorized person, after assessing a body, declares it dead. Moreover, from a moral point of view, death is that point where a person ceases to be a person i.e. when he/she can no longer act out of reasons or when they cannot be held responsible for their behavior. There are many criteria on the basis of which a person can be declared dead. First is the cardiopulmonary criterion whereby, when a person stops breathing and his/her heartbeat stops as well, the person is declared dead. This criterion has been followed by many organized religious bodies across the globe as a standard for declaring a person dead. Next is the brain dead criterion whereby a person is declared dead if his/her full brain cannot function and will never be able to function again. Studies have revea led that cardio respiratory death shortly follows brain death. Brain death, whereby a brain becomes permanently non functionary, has been accepted socially as a standard as good as the cardiopulmonary standard. The need to declare death on the basis of death of the brain has gained importance because it gives the physicians a perfectly legal and social sanction to declare a person dead, maintain the dead body using technology and remove the transplantable organs in a way such that it leads to a better functioning of the organs in the recipient. The third and most controversial criterion is the cortical death criteria. Cortical death is where a person is declared dead on the basis of the disability of a person to function as a person. Individuals who have lost cortical functions, as argued by some physicians and bioethics, have lost their capacity to feel and thus have lost everything that makes life worthwhile. Under this standard, people who are in a persistent vegetative state or those who are suffering from permanent coma can be declared dead. According to the author, by following this criteria of declaring a person dead, a scenario which would be physically, mentally and economically challenging for both patient and his/her loved ones can be avoided. Moreover, given the scarce medical resources, a significant amount of these resources can be saved by shifting them from patients in the persistently vegetative state to the treatment of those who have moral existence.2 But the reason behind the controversy surrounding this third criterion lies in the fact that different people perceive life in different ways. Whether a person should endure pain, humiliation or prolonged unconsciousness or not, is an individual’s own attitude/preference. The patients who are in an active state can make their own decisions by accepting or refusing to undergo a treatment. But for those who cannot make these decisions on their own, a person very chose to him/her takes thes e healthcare related decisions on his/her behalf. A person can, in advance choose a person whom he/she

What Postmodernism Is Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What Postmodernism Is - Essay Example The essay "What Postmodernism Is" concerns postmodernism era. Postmodernism intends to establish that it is not in the power of human beings to change the world for their own benefits. Humans do not possess an unlimited potential to understand the world. Modernists were of the view that it is possible to understand reality with complete certainty by way of observation and reasoning. Modernism ended abruptly when philosophers began to question the ability to understand truth objectively. The postmodernist is suspicious of such realities. They do not have any concrete reason to defy such objective facts. It is only suspicion and virtue of hypocrisy that keeps them from believing in them. Some objective realities are simply inescapable. There cannot be a world in which there is no objective truth. For example, hurting kids under every circumstance is completely wrong. There cannot be any possible world in which such a practice could be considered acceptable. If this objective reality is denied and it is assumed that reality cannot be understood objectively, then it is hypocritical. I think that there are many realities which are perfectly understood by everyone. This is because truth can be described objectively which suggests that truth is completely attainable. A world where truth is not attainable would be a picture of complete chaos. This is why postmodernism is hypocritical. If there is no absolute truth as postmodernists suggest, then everyone would be free to violate moral principles/

SAB 310 UNIT 7 ASSIGN Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

SAB 310 UNIT 7 ASSIGN - Assignment Example The requirements include a specific numbers of different sports available for women and men, participant’s minimum numbers and number of events for different sports, criteria used to schedule the games, and overall financial awards in terms athletics for the students involved. The mens football institutional teams are also grouped into 3 divisions which include within the first group I-A, group 2 or I-AA, which is related to team attendance registers and competiveness. Most competitors who have taken part in these games have not only grown with the competitions but have also enhanced their skills. The NCAA contests of championship have become the focal point of continental media through merchandising efforts. Additionally, the most institutional championships have been the Basketball Tournament for men. This is evident from the sale of broadcast rights by televisions for above game tournament which were sold in 1999 to CBS. The total cost was for $545 million per year on average. Most of the profits made on the championship and game events which include broadcast rights were directed to institutions to support athletics membership programs. This has greatly helped in managing and running championship events which support different world wide initiatives. The most common members and requirements of the NCAA body include marketing strategies, licensing requirements, and promotions that deal directly with the NCAA promotion of different brands within the NCAA championships. The NCAA membership or service division of the national office has a main responsibility of helping institutional members from different universities and colleges to comprehend comply and understand different and vital legislations in relation to NCAA. Membership functions are vital in service provision. These functions include providing the institutions and the public with available access to knowledgeable

The Hexagon of Excellence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Hexagon of Excellence - Assignment Example When there is effective communication, teamwork and trust, the organization is headed for excellence. With increased trust, project funding can be brought down from the executive level to intermediate management (Schein, 2010). This characteristic reduces the cost and time of methodology execution. Training and education is a significant aspect that has both quantitative and qualitative results. Quantitatively, the product development time is shortened while higher quality decisions are made faster. The cost of project is lowered through a reduction in paperwork and the number of people involved while higher profit margins are realized. Qualitatively, there is improved visibility and emphasis on results with enhanced coordination. The morale of workers increases resulting in improved customer relations (Kerzner, 2005). Training and education are necessary to maintain a competitive workforce. The strategy helped the previous employer to maintain innovativeness in project implementation, which continuously made work easier, less expensive and also boosted the morale of employees. There was a project management curriculum that was reviewed annually to incorporate new areas of competence. It contained a core competency prototype for the elementary and advanced abilities that a project manager was required to possess. All the training programs were focused on supporting the core competency skills. Moreover, trainings were conducted regarding ethical behaviour within the company as well as when interacting with customers. Project managers were also taught on decent business practices. Project management executives were also involved in senior managers’ workshops and trainings designed to enhance maturity of project management (Rothaermel, 2012). Organizations lose huge sums of money through wasted project spending leading to low shareholder value. A major factor contributing to such losses is failure to align projects with corporate

The different between simulated reverberation using corner speakers in Research Paper

The different between simulated reverberation using corner speakers in the room and real reverberation - Research Paper Example Another researcher has found that the effects of steady-state suppression are similar in simulated and real reverberant environments. Therefore, there are advances that are closing the gap between the simulated and real reverberant environments, and there are commonalities as well. The following describes the differences between the two environments as well as the common ground that they share. Simulated verses Real Reverberation Simulated reverberation creates a diotic sound field (like loudspeaker in front) prone to spectral cancellations. C.f. to â€Å"amplitude mapping† / â€Å"summing localisation†. The diotic sound field may be replicated by the researcher, such as with the study done by Arai et al. (2007). They wanted to evaluate the effect of overlap-masking on speech intelligibility, so they conducted a study where they presented stimuli diotically through headphones connected to a computer. They were further able to adjust the sound level to the comfort of eac h subject. They found that the intelligibility of speech in reverberation was inversely correlated with the amount of overlap-masking (Arai et al., 2007, p. 440). ... n acoustic field is considered to be perfectly diffuse in a volume V if the energy density is the same on all points of this volume V† (Nelisse & Nicola, 1997, p. 3517). According to Kopco and Shinn-Cunningham (2002), however, this diffusion depends upon where the listener is in the reverberant room. For listeners in the center of the room, the reflective surfaces are located relatively far from the listener, which makes the sounds from all positions in the room diffuse to the listener. On the other hand, when the listener is close to a wall, early reflections are prominent, and these early reflections’ magnitude and timing depends upon where the source is in relation to the listener (Kopco & Shinn-Cunningham, 2002, p. 109). They also found that the reverberation effect on localization varies dramatically depending upon where the listener is positioned in the room, while the effects of room position on localization are modest (Kopco & Shinn-Cunningham, 2002, p. 112). On the other hand, Moorer (1979) found that diffusion is one of the reasons that simulating reverberation does not sound like real reverberation, and found that the effects of diffusion are most prominent when the walls are irregular, as opposed to flat, which is the case with most concert halls. For instance, Moorer cites the case of the Boston Symphony Hall, with its fluted side walls and box well ceiling. This configuration causes a confusion of sounds which are caused by the multiplicity of the diffused sources of sounds that are reflected from every irregularity in the room. Therefore, everything but the first few images are washed out, which means that artificial reverberation has a difficult time simulating the acoustics of a concert hall, which is the source of real reverberation (Moorer, 1979,

SAB 310 UNIT 7 ASSIGN Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

SAB 310 UNIT 7 ASSIGN - Assignment Example The requirements include a specific numbers of different sports available for women and men, participant’s minimum numbers and number of events for different sports, criteria used to schedule the games, and overall financial awards in terms athletics for the students involved. The mens football institutional teams are also grouped into 3 divisions which include within the first group I-A, group 2 or I-AA, which is related to team attendance registers and competiveness. Most competitors who have taken part in these games have not only grown with the competitions but have also enhanced their skills. The NCAA contests of championship have become the focal point of continental media through merchandising efforts. Additionally, the most institutional championships have been the Basketball Tournament for men. This is evident from the sale of broadcast rights by televisions for above game tournament which were sold in 1999 to CBS. The total cost was for $545 million per year on average. Most of the profits made on the championship and game events which include broadcast rights were directed to institutions to support athletics membership programs. This has greatly helped in managing and running championship events which support different world wide initiatives. The most common members and requirements of the NCAA body include marketing strategies, licensing requirements, and promotions that deal directly with the NCAA promotion of different brands within the NCAA championships. The NCAA membership or service division of the national office has a main responsibility of helping institutional members from different universities and colleges to comprehend comply and understand different and vital legislations in relation to NCAA. Membership functions are vital in service provision. These functions include providing the institutions and the public with available access to knowledgeable

The different between simulated reverberation using corner speakers in Research Paper

The different between simulated reverberation using corner speakers in the room and real reverberation - Research Paper Example Another researcher has found that the effects of steady-state suppression are similar in simulated and real reverberant environments. Therefore, there are advances that are closing the gap between the simulated and real reverberant environments, and there are commonalities as well. The following describes the differences between the two environments as well as the common ground that they share. Simulated verses Real Reverberation Simulated reverberation creates a diotic sound field (like loudspeaker in front) prone to spectral cancellations. C.f. to â€Å"amplitude mapping† / â€Å"summing localisation†. The diotic sound field may be replicated by the researcher, such as with the study done by Arai et al. (2007). They wanted to evaluate the effect of overlap-masking on speech intelligibility, so they conducted a study where they presented stimuli diotically through headphones connected to a computer. They were further able to adjust the sound level to the comfort of eac h subject. They found that the intelligibility of speech in reverberation was inversely correlated with the amount of overlap-masking (Arai et al., 2007, p. 440). ... n acoustic field is considered to be perfectly diffuse in a volume V if the energy density is the same on all points of this volume V† (Nelisse & Nicola, 1997, p. 3517). According to Kopco and Shinn-Cunningham (2002), however, this diffusion depends upon where the listener is in the reverberant room. For listeners in the center of the room, the reflective surfaces are located relatively far from the listener, which makes the sounds from all positions in the room diffuse to the listener. On the other hand, when the listener is close to a wall, early reflections are prominent, and these early reflections’ magnitude and timing depends upon where the source is in relation to the listener (Kopco & Shinn-Cunningham, 2002, p. 109). They also found that the reverberation effect on localization varies dramatically depending upon where the listener is positioned in the room, while the effects of room position on localization are modest (Kopco & Shinn-Cunningham, 2002, p. 112). On the other hand, Moorer (1979) found that diffusion is one of the reasons that simulating reverberation does not sound like real reverberation, and found that the effects of diffusion are most prominent when the walls are irregular, as opposed to flat, which is the case with most concert halls. For instance, Moorer cites the case of the Boston Symphony Hall, with its fluted side walls and box well ceiling. This configuration causes a confusion of sounds which are caused by the multiplicity of the diffused sources of sounds that are reflected from every irregularity in the room. Therefore, everything but the first few images are washed out, which means that artificial reverberation has a difficult time simulating the acoustics of a concert hall, which is the source of real reverberation (Moorer, 1979,

End-of-life Essay Example for Free

End-of-life Essay End-of-life care is a form of medical treatment which is usually provided for terminal illnesses, when the condition is no longer curable and every effort should be made at improving the quality of life rather than increasing the duration of life. Cancer is one condition which is incurable during the advanced stages. End-of-life usually does not involve provision of anticancer treatment but concern for lowering the physical symptoms (especially pain so that the patient is comfortable), addressing the psychosocial issues and the spiritual concerns, so as to improve the quality of life. Often an ethical dilemma exists at the situations under which end-of-life care should be started. The need to provide end-of-life care arises out the physician’s obligation to ensure that the patient can live and die with dignity, compassion, comfort and respect. Two of the cases which demonstrate the physician’s obligations to the patients were the Ann Quinlan case (1976) and the Cruzan V. Harmon case (1988) (Meisel, 2005 Rekel, 2007). In the Quinlan case, Ms. Quinlan suffered irreversible damage to the brain cortex and was left in a permanent vegetative state. She required ventilator support, artificial nutrition and artificial hydration to maintain her medical and nursing care. She could be kept alive for any duration, but this was morally not required and not in the patient’s best interest. The physician’s refused to remove ventilator support and hence the family had to go to the New Jersey Court. The court in the landmark decision permitted to remove ventilator support as it was not in the patient’s best interest. The court had said that although the patient was in a permanent vegetative state and did not have to ability to make a decision about withdrawing ventilator support, it did not mean that she could not exercise her choice and give her decision. The decision-making could be made by a surrogate who would be doing so in the best interest of the patient. In the Roe vs. Wade case, the court gave the decision that the patient could control their medical treatment and had the right to make decisions. In the Cruzon case, after the ventilator was removed, the patient survived for about 10 years. The Missouri court in this case did not follow the advice of the parent’s on removing life-saving support. The court said that all measures should be done in best interest of the patient, and if there were not clear evidence of the patient’s wishes, then the legal guardian should be acting in the patient’s best interest. The court said that even if there was a need to prolong life through ventilator support, if there was no evidence that the patient’s best interest would be fulfilled. In the case Westchester County Medical Ctr (1988), the New York court said that there had to exist clear and convincing evidence whenever important decisions had to be taken by the surrogate (Meisel, 2005 Rekel, 2007). Some of the common ethical issues regarding medical treatment have been ‘beneficence’ and ‘non-maleficence’. The physician should do treatment that benefits the patient and does not cause more harm. They should help reduce the suffering and help the patient to return to health. However, in the end-of-life issues, the patient would be dying due to the terminal cancer condition, and using life-sustaining treatment would not have any potential benefits, as it would prolong life, but not improve the quality. In this case medical treatment is doing lot harm than benefits, and hence using it would be inappropriate. However, a clear judgment has to be made in the clinical-decision making and one of the most important issues is whether the patient has made the intention of withdrawing all the life-saving treatment and instead goes into palliative care (in which symptomatic treatment would be provided so as to improve the quality of life during the last few days). Having the patient make this decision is based on another ethical principle known as ‘autonomy’. The patient has the right to choose or disregard whichever treatment he/she wants as the have the right to control any act that is done with their body (Walker, 1999 Meisel, 2005). Implications of risk management – †¢ Mainly with the use of opioids to manage pain (especially from its prolonged use) †¢ Clinical practice guidelines and protocols should be followed to ensure the greatest amount of benefits for the patient in the form of improved quality of life and lowered discomfort levels (Hoffman, 1998). The right to autonomy of the patient should not be disregarded under any circumstance. The patient has the right to choose palliative treatment or reject it based on their own choices. The patient may also want to undergo curative treatment for cancer even though the survival rate may be low. The patient should be informed of the benefits, risks, options, outcome and costs of all forms of treatment available. The physician should answer all the queries the patient has of all the available forms of treatment. No treatment should be done against the will and intention of the patient. If the patient is not able to make a reasonable decision as they may not be legally competent, then the surrogate (including the family member or a legal guardian) of the patient should make a decision on the patient’s behave, keeping in mind the clear interests of the patient (Walker, 1999, Meisel, 2005 Rekel, 2007). There may be a lot of competing loyalties between the patient and the organization:- †¢ The organization may try to keep the interest of the patient in mind and may do all that it can to reduce sufferings, improve the quality of life and ensure a peaceful end †¢ The organization may demonstrate a greater opinion towards anticancer treatment as it would involve higher costs (even though it is not beneficial to the patient anywhere) †¢ Even though the patient can benefit to a reasonable extent from anticancer treatment, the organization may force end-of-life care on the patient, as the family members have provided consent. In this case the family members would be having conflicting interests with the patient and may want a faster end to the patient. To prevent any conflicting interest of other parties, it is important that any decision made regarding use of anticancer treatment of initiation of end-of-life care should be clearly justified and documented through evidence-based findings. An ethical approach should be initiated to ensure that all issues are sorted out keeping the patient’s interest in mind:- †¢ The physician should ensure maintaining autonomy of the patient at all stages †¢ If the patient is not competent enough to make a decision by himself, decision-making should be done by the surrogate keeping in mind the patient’s interest and choices †¢ It is the obligation of the physician to ensure that the patient lives †¢ The patient’s competence needs to be determined so that a reasonable decision can be ensured †¢ The patient has to be informed of all the alternative choices available at all the stages †¢ In case of diagnosis of a terminal illness, confirmation should be taken from two physician’s (second opinion) †¢ In case of terminal illness, and the patient choice palliative care, efforts should be made at all stages to improve the quality of life (through symptomatic treatment of physical problems, addressing the psychosocial and spiritual issues), rather than on prolonging life The other issues which need to be addressed include:- 1. Active Euthanasia – This is legal in only a few states of the world including Netherlands and Belgium. The patient should make a reasonable decision, and should be a native from that state in which euthanasia is legalized. The physician himself would take the active step of ending the patient’s life. The patient should be diagnosed with a terminal illness 2. Physician-Assisted Suicide – This has been legalized in the US state of Oregon, PAS has been legalized. The patient would perform the active step of ending life and the physician would merely assist the patient. The patient should be diagnosed with a terminal illness (in which death would be certain within 6 months). The patient should be legally competent to make a reasonable decision (Rekel, 2007). References: Hoffmann, D. E. (1998). Pain Management and Palliative Care in the Era of Managed Care: Issues for Health Insurers†, Journal of Law, Medicine Ethics, 26(4), 267-289. http://www. aslme. org/research/mayday/26. 4/26. 4c. php Meisel, A. (2005). Ethics, End-of-Life Care, and the Law: Overview, Retrieved on August 16, 2008, from Hospice Foundation Website: http://www. hospicefoundation. org/teleconference/books/lwg2005/meisel_jennings. pdf National Cancer Institute (2002). End-of-Life Care: Questions and Answers, Retrieved on August 16, 2008, from NCI Website: http://www. cancer. gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Support/end-of-life-care Rekel, R. (2007). Rakel: Textbook of Family Medicine, 7th ed, Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier. Walker, R. M. (1999). Ethical Issues in End-of-Life Care, Cancer Control, 6(2):162-167. http://www. medscape. com/viewarticle/417700_1

Utilization Of IT In Property Management Information Technology Essay

Utilization Of IT In Property Management Information Technology Essay Information Technology, or IT, has become an enabler in multiple areas of human life, including professional practice of all kinds. The practice of property management cannot be accepted. With a case study of estate surveying firms in Lagos, this paper investigates the level of utilization of IT in the professional practice of property management. Data was collected using questionnaires, which were administered using the cluster sampling method. The paper shows that IT is not being significantly employed in the practice of property management in Lagos. It further reveals that the relative high overall cost of its adoption is most probably responsible for the foregoing. In this wise, the paper recommends that the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, the custodian of the profession, should provide leadership in the utilization of it, while individual and collective efforts of the firms should be geared towards this area. Key words: Information Technology, Property Management, Professional Practice, And Estate Surveying Firms INTRODUCTION The world of today is being propelled by information, in profound proportion, via the agency of Information Technology (IT). Information, in these present times, more frequently described as a fourth resource, is as essential as land, labour and capital in the production process; and advances in IT have tremendously facilitated the processes of gathering, storing, handling and utilizing this vital resource (Brady, 1991; and Olawore, 1999). The foregoing underlines the aptness of terming this 21st century the Information Age (Emeagwali, 2003). Significant changes have come about due to the rapid growth of IT; the outstanding change being the increasing globalisation of the world. There is the increasing transmutation of the present-day world into a more homogenised geographical entity with no boundaries, hence, the famous clichà © the world is a global village (Owasanoye, 2001). The most revolutionary agent of this development is the Internet, an offshoot of modern IT. The Internet h as lowered the cost of doing business; made it possible for a consumer to access goods or services without leaving the confines of his home or office; and has given its users an opportunity to advertise and operate across frontiers, across borders and beyond the control of national governments. IT has been, and will continue to be, applied to the multifarious facets of the life of the ubiquitous modern-day man. It is common knowledge that virtually all categories of professional service providers are now leveraging on the cutting edge afforded by modern IT so as to progressively leapfrog competitors, proactively respond to the ever-dynamic demands of their respective clientele and ultimately add value to their bottom line. Modern IT has changed business landscapes and expanded the frontiers of service delivery (Osadolor, 2002). For example, banks and financial services providers have created their own system of electronic funds transfers; the travel industry uses electronic informat ion services for booking, time tabling and pricing; stock exchanges have evolved automated trading systems; while estate agents now utilize the platform of the Internet to market real estate in their portfolio (Owasanoye, 2001; and Akomolede, 2002). Situated in the context that property managers are also included in the category of professional service providers carrying on the practice of ensuring that a clients property investment is kept in a state to enhance its functionality, prolong its lifespan, yield an optimum return and achieve the investors general objectives, hence, IT is of useful purpose to the practice. Similarly, central to proactive property management practice is an efficient system of record keeping in its entirety. Against this backdrop and given the myriad of responsibilities of the property manager coupled with all sorts of complexities presented by properties and their occupants, an enabling tool as IT cannot but be deployed. Furthermore, if the foregoing is critically examined in the context of the emerging milieu of increased client awareness and requirements, it reinforces the imperative of property managers substantially leveraging on IT to drive, and step up the quality of, service delivery (Longe, 20 01). However, even in the absence of an in-depth inquiry, by casual observation, it can be conjectured that there is a yawning gap between the levels of sophistication that are being attained vis-à  -vis the adoption of information technology in the contemporary professional practice of property management in both the developed and the developing economies. The practice of property management (like its umbrella practice of estate surveying and valuation), in most developing economies, inclusive of Nigeria, is lagging behind that in the developed economies (like the United Kingdom) specifically in terms of the application of modern enabling tools of information technology. Though, it cannot be said that there is blanket non-utilisation of IT in the practice of property management by estate surveying firms in Lagos, Nigeria, as a typical example of a city in the developing world, but to what extent is IT adopted in the practice? This is the central question that this paper intends to answe r with the aid of an empirical study carried out in 2005. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT The term Information Technology has been variously described. IT, being the acronym for Information Technology, has been broadly defined as a term that encompasses all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange, and use information in its various forms (business data, voice conversations, still images, motion pictures, multimedia presentations, and other forms including those not yet conceived)1. However, in simple terms, the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English (6th edn) furnished a definition of IT as the use of electronic equipment, especially computers, for storing, analyzing and sending out information. It is common knowledge that IT has wide-ranging applications; it has been applied to virtually every aspect of human life. It has found useful application in science, commerce, engineering, education, recreation, entertainment, research, medicine, governance, religion, agriculture, real estate marketing, project management, banking, airline reservations and so on (Brady, 1991; Alile, 1997; Ojo, 2000; Ayo, 2001; and Akomolede, 2002). It is also of useful purpose to the various facets of the professional practice of property management. Property management à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ the other term under review à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is an integral aspect of the profession of Estate Management. Thorncroft (1965) defined estate management as the direction and supervision of an interest in landed property with the aim of securing the optimum returns. These returns need not be financial but may be in terms of social benefits, prestige, status, political power or some other goals or group of goals. In consonance with the traditional aim of general estate management, property management entails the practice of directing, supervising and controlling interest in land and landed property so as to enable it yield an optimal return. Specifically, property management is that aspect of the real estate profession devoted to the leasing, management, marketing and overall maintenance of the property of others2. According to Olajide and Bello (2003), property management can be defined as the application of skill in caring for the property, its surroundings and amenities, and in developing sound relationship between the landlord and tenant and among tenants themselves, so that the property as well as individual premises would give value both to the landlord and tenant. Basically, its purpose is to secure for the property owner the maximum continuous net return on his investment over the life of that property and to maintain the physical aspects of the property for optimum efficiency and economy (Weich, 1967; and Kyle, 2000). In essence, the primary functions of property management are threefold: achieve the objectives of the property owners, generate income for the owners, and preserve or increase the value of the inve stment property (Kyle, 2000). Towards this end, comprised in the professional services rendered by property managers are: (a) rent collection and remittance; (b) selection of tenants; (c) property maintenance; (d) marketing of vacant accommodation; (e) administration of estate personnel and services; (f) administration (maintenance) of estate records; (g) routine management inspection and correspondence; (h) enforcement of lease covenants; and (i) any other function as reasonably expected of a property manager or as stipulated in the management agreement between the parties (the property manager and the client). All these services can be driven by IT. The following are some identified application areas where IT has been of beneficial use in the practice of property management. a. Filing: It is asserted that a property manager cannot survive without his records (Nwankwo, 2004). If he cannot maintain a good filing system, he will always be in difficulty. Hence, the hallmark of an efficient management office is a good filing system (Kyle, 2000). Data should be sorted and segregated into separate files for easy collection, retention and retrieval of records. Records can be kept manually by means of simple registers, record cards, schedules that are referred to often, reminders, files and so on; but the trend now is computerization (Nwankwo, 2004). A computerized data system has a number of advantages over a manual system including the ease of storage, the ability to retrieve large amounts of data as required, economy of space, and reduction of operational cost and time (Olawore, 1999). With a computer database, records relating to clients properties can be effectively maintained. Database such as computerized property management system (CPMS) e.g. EstMan is available in the market to all property managers desirous of computerizing their operations (Adebiyi, 2003). The CPMS comprises various elements such as data relating to the properties, the landlords, the tenants and the leases in a digital form. It is designed to aid the management and administration of commercial, industrial and residential properties. The software allows the myriad of information to be retrieved quickly, eliminating the need to refer to bulky files or having to refer physically to leased documents often by extracting vital information and making them ava ilable to be looked at or pointed out whenever needed. b. Financial Record Keeping: This is a crucial activity in property management that deserves a separate mention given that the cardinal aim of property management is securing the maximum return (Olajide and Bello, 2003). Accounting software programs allow tedious book keeping calculations to be performed automatically, including accounts receivable (e.g. rents and service charges), accounts payable (e.g. ground rents, rates and insurance premium), payroll, inventory and general ledger (Kyle, 2000). Accounting programs can generate various reports that are valuable for financial planning and evaluations, including monthly budgets, cash flow studies, profit and loss statements and reports to owners. Some even can write and print a cheque, while entering that directly into the bank balance summary, thus maintaining even more up-to-the-minute control. c. Word Processing/Generation of Notices and Reports: Word processing is used when composing and typing almost any kind of letter, report, or newsletter; it is easy to insert or delete characters, words, lines, paragraphs or even pages of text and correspondence can be merged with mailing lists to generate mass mailings. Drafting a document, letters to delinquent tenants for example, which can be time-consuming, will be made easier and faster with the aid of this software. According to Kyle (2000), at the very least, the new software programs offer a template for letters (for proper form) as well as pre-written form letters to meet all sorts of needs: late notices, eviction notices, lease termination and letters on all types of problems (e.g. excessive noise). If the software does not have a letter one needs, after drafting it, one can save it to reuse. Specifically, in connection with review and renewal of tenancies and other action dates, a completely automatic key dates system is available (Stapleton, 1994). Further, graphic software programs can produce a variety of graphs and charts to use in presentations and reports, and can also be used to create advertisements, brochures and tenant newsletters. d. Property Marketing and Tenant Selection: The World Wide Web, a network of interconnecting computers, is quickly becoming a vehicle for advertising, marketing and communication (Kyle, 2000). The Web enables users to create their own websites to display information easily accessible to the public. Adebiyi (2003) identified the benefits accruable to professional firms with websites: Information can be provided to the user free, or via subscription service, or for a specific payment; it provides the firms with shop windows available to any client or applicant 24 hours of the day; it can display an innovative brochure of the firms professional services, clients properties available for sale or letting and they market to the widest audience without any boundaries to working days. In particular, Alile (1997) identified that, with multimedia technology, a contemporary offshoot of IT, marketing rental properties has become more sophisticated in the sense that you can walk through houses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ without leaving your room. Apart from marketing, the Internet can serve the purpose of tenant selection. Kemp (2000) reported a special Web property management solution, the Rentals.com on-line property management system. Through Rentals.com, rental property owners and managers can create a personalized website. From the site, one can show pictures/floor plans of all properties; access a private, virtual office; track site traffic; schedule viewing appointments; view rental applications; and obtain rental news and advice from experts in the real estate industry. The benefits of this system are obvious: a clutter-free workspace and a round-the-clock virtual, paperless office, amongst others. e. Office Automation: Office automation deals with acquisition and distribution of information, communication (internal and external), and information processing. It has, therefore, a variety of facets including communications, publishing, and data processing. Very few, if any, offices can run without the use of some automated equipment. The amount of automation needed depends, again, on the size of the operation and the type of properties involved (Kyle, 2000). Office equipment such as fax machines, typewriters, word processors, calculators and specialized accounting equipment (including computers) are fundamental once the business begins to grow. For communication purposes particularly, with a local area network (LAN), computer users in the same office can share data, including text or data files, whole programs, scanned images, incoming and outgoing fax messages, blueprints and voice messages. LANs increase the efficiency of computers, software and printers, which make inter-office communication better, faster and cheaper. LANs differ in speed, reliability, and compatibility with various computer hardware, so a wise property manager will consult a LAN expert before making a purchasing decision. Further, with a modem and a phone line, computers can communicate with each other over long distances, sending computerized data (e-mail) to another computer hundreds or thousands of miles away. Since the modem transfers information directly to another computer, there is no need to print out the information on paper first, which increases the speed and efficiency of the communication. The data can be viewed on the receiving computer screen or printed out on paper. f. Tracking Maintenance: According to Holmes (1994), IT has enhanced the planning and organization of maintenance. Software packages have been developed for most activities. There are 3 main areas which require IT support; the first for handling work recording and monitoring, the second for condition assessment analysis, and the third for cost predictions. Within these areas a range of linked programs can be used to supplement the process; for example, an asset register will greatly help with work ordering. On a general note, Stapleton (1994) described the benefits of the application of IT to the practice of property management as follows: Problems can be identified quicker and performance be analyzed in a more rigorous way. Information for regular review by policymakers is more readily available and more work can be handled by the same staff. He, however, attached a caveat that the application of IT does require a substantial commitment by the existing staff and considerable care is required in the way the concept, the technology and the system are introduced. In spite of the gains of the adoption of IT in the practice of property management (and estate surveying and valuation in general), Adebiyi (2003) suggested that, by casual industry analysis of the use of IT, not a deliberate inquiry, it is indicated that there is low-level utilization and awareness by a significant proportion of estate surveying firms in the Nigerian real estate industry. He opined that IT is often seen by those who do not use it as an unknown technological threat, both complex and expensive, requiring extensive training and bringing an additional and unnecessary complication to professional life. In the light of the foregoing, Adebiyi (2003) offered an admonition thus: It is important for (Estate) Surveyors who do not use IT to consider the changes that have taken place over the last few years, the current speed of changes and facilities available to assist Surveyors. It is also advisable for them to have some understanding of the ever more rapid developments that will affect all practitioners in the foreseeable future. They need to consider how IT awareness and use can enhance not just their efficiency and business performance, but also the professional advise they give to property company and developer-clients or to tenants. THE INVESTIGATION Bearing in mind that it is an observable tendency for estate surveying firms to exist in pockets or congregate together in geographical areas around Lagos (i.e. the population of estate surveying firms is largely distributed in clusters), hence, it is apposite to adopt the cluster sampling method as the suitable approach to generating a representative sample for study here (Asika, 1991). According to Asika (1991), generally, a sample size of 10% of the population size is adequate enough to validate and generalize the findings of a study to the entire population. Given that there are 477 estate surveying firms in Nigeria as offered by Nwankwo (2004) and assuming that all the firms have an operational office in Lagos, then applying 10% to this number of firms and leaving ample room for safety, the total sample size for this study is therefore 50 and will be spread over four main identified clusters (convergence areas) in the Lagos metropolis. Response Rate As indicated in Table 1 below, an evaluation of the individual response rates of the cluster areas reveals that all areas are fairly represented (with the minimum response rate being 80%), and the average response rate being 84%. For all practical purposes, this is acceptable and valid for statistical analysis. Table 1: Response Rate According to Cluster Area Cluster Area Target Response Actual Response Response Rate (%) Lagos Island 20 17 85 Victoria Island/Ikoyi 10 8 80 Surulere 5 4 80 Ikeja/Opebi 15 13 87 Total 50 42 84 Source: Field Survey, 2005 Extent of Utilization of Information Technology in the Practice Seven specific areas of the practice are examined vis-à  -vis the adoption of information technology, namely: Preparation of schedules of letting; Preparation and communication of management notices and reports; Preparation of clients statements of accounts; Rental property marketing; Mode of receiving applications from prospective tenants; Mode of receiving complaints from sitting tenants; and Property record keeping. A schedule of lettings serves a major purpose in the practice of property management and it is frequently required. It aids rent collection. Hence, the mode through which it is drawn up is very crucial. Two modes can be identified: manual and computerized or a combination of both. Fig. 1 reveals that 64% (or 27 out of 42) use the manual means, 12% (or 5 out of 42) use the computerized means while 24% (or 10 out of 42) use both the manual and computerized means. It can then be reasonably concluded that the majority of the respondents still rely on the manual mode of extracting relevant data from rental payments register in order to draw up schedules of letting. This method is, however, adjudged to be inefficient and susceptible to errors. Table 2: Preparation of Management Notices and Reports Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By handwriting By using typewriter 2 4 5 By using word-processors 42 84 100 By using property management software 6 12 14 Total 50* 100 119 Source: Field Survey 2005 * Note: Total number of responses is greater than the total number of respondents because each respondent gave multiple responses. The cumulative frequency count by the multi-response analysis was thus greater than the total number of respondents. Table 3: Communication of Management Notices and Reports Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By staff hand delivery 37 26 88 By courier service 27 19 64 By postal service 15 10 36 By phone 29 20 69 By e-mail service 21 14 50 By short message service (SMS) 16 11 38 Total 145* 100 345 Source: Field Survey, 2005 *Note: See Table 2 for explanation In preparing management notices (such as rent demands) and reports, 4 methods are identifiable as shown in Table 2. Survey reveals that word processors are of general application, and used by all the respondents (or 100%) while 6 out of 42 (or 14%) use special-purpose property management software. 5% (or 2 out of 42) of the respondents still use typewriters. And to communicate the notices and reports, a combination of 6 options are open to the respondents (see Table 3). Staff hand delivery features most prominently as the means through which most of the respondents communicate notices and reports (37 out of 42 or 88%). E-mail service, a main IT option in the context of this study, ranks 4th and adopted by 50% (or 21 out of 42) of the respondents. Table 4: Preparation of Clients Statements of Accounts Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By manual calculations 27 43 64 By using accounting software 29 47 69 By using property management software 6 10 14 Total 62* 100 147 Source: Field Survey, 2005 * Note: See Table 2 for explanation Accounting software, a general application software, finds the widest use amongst the respondents in rendering accounts to landlord-clients (see Table 4), followed closely by manual means of extracting relevant data from account books and balancing the accounts (27 out of 42 or 64%). The use of special-purpose property management software ranks last (a distant 3rd). Table 5: Rental Property Marketing Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) To-Let board placements 42 31 100 Print media advertising 42 31 100 Property bulletin distribution 36 26 86 Internet advertising 16 12 38 Total 136* 100 324 Source: Field Survey, 2005 * Note: See Table 7 for explanation Table 5 indicates that all the respondents market available rental accommodation by board placements and print media advertising. However, only 16 out of 42 (or 38%) advertise via the Internet. Hence, it can be fairly concluded here that IT has not found popular use amongst the estate surveying firms in marketing rental property. Table 6: Mode of Receiving Applications from Prospective Tenants Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By phone 39 47 93 By physical appearance at office 42 51 100 By applying on-line 2 2 5 Total 83* 100 198 Source: Field survey, 2005 *Note: See Table 2 for explanation Table 6 shows that only 2 out of 42 (or 5%) accept on-line applications from prospective tenants that intend to let advertised rental accommodation in spite of its benefits of round-the-clock accessibility. All the respondents dwell on prospective tenants physically visiting their offices. Applications through the phone are also accepted by 39 out of 42 (or 93%). Table 7: Mode of Receiving Complaints from Sitting Tenants Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By phone 39 26 93 By letters 42 28 100 By physical appearance at office 37 25 88 By short message service (SMS) 13 9 31 By e-mail service 18 12 43 Total 149* 100 355 Source: Field Survey, 2005 *Note: See Table 7 for explanation It is not uncommon for sitting tenants to forward complaints about relevant matters demanding the attention of property managers. Different channels are created through which these complaints are received. Table 7 reveals that the multitude of complaints is received through letters by all the respondents while SMS is the least used mode. E-mail service is the 4th most frequently used mode of receiving complaints from sitting tenants (18 out of 42 or 43%). Table 8: Mode of Property Record Keeping Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) Cabinet filing 40 63 95 Electronic database 24 37 57 Total 64* 100 132 Source: Field Survey, 2005 *Note: See Table 2 for explanation From table 8, 95% of the respondents (or 40 out of 42) adopt cabinet filing while 57% of the respondents (or 24 out of 42) use electronic database. Both cabinet filing and electronic database are complementary; though the latter offers easier access to relevant information. Having examined seven salient areas of the practice of property management in Lagos in relation to the adoption of IT, it can be summarized thus: IT is being relatively put to use in all the examined areas of the practice of property management in Lagos; however, the extent of adoption, on the whole, is below average. Table 9: Respondents Ranking of the Reasons for the Current Extent of Utilization of IT in the Practice of Property Management Reason Absolute Frequency Weighted mean score Strongly Agree 5 Agree 4 Undecided 3 Disagree 2 Strongly Disagree 1 Relative underdeveloped state of the property management practice in Lagos 3 11 0 18 10 2.50 Relative non-availability of IT tools for property management in Lagos 5 5 8 19 5 2.43 Relative high cost of adoption of IT in the property management practice 2 19 5 16 0 3.17 Relative non-sophistication of clients served by property management firms in Lagos 3 8 6 22 3 2.64 Relative small sizes of the operations of the property management firms in Lagos 2 3 6 19 12 2.14 Source: Field Survey, 2005 Respondents were asked to score five probable reasons for the below-average utilization of IT in the practice of property management in Lagos on a 5 point Likert scale. The results as shown in Table 9 above show that the relative high cost of adoption of IT in the property management practice is the most probable reason for the current extent of utilization of IT in the practice. IT is widely viewed to attract huge costs for its application in the practice of property management. Relative non-sophistication of clients served by the property management firms ranks 2nd. However, ranking last is the relative small sizes of the operations of the property management firms. A possible interpretation of this is that the respondents see the sizes of their operations as substantial enough to warrant the deployment of IT. Further, to gauge the practice-wide perception of the adoption of IT, respondents were asked to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with this statement: The increased adoption of IT in the practice of property management in Lagos can have a significant positive impact thereon in terms of increased profitability, broadened client base and excellent service delivery. Out of 42, 28 (or 67%) strongly agreed, 13 (or 31%) agreed and 1 (or 2%) was undecided. On the basis of this, it can be said that, in the absence of constraints, the firms are willing to significantly increase the level of utilization of IT in the practice of property management. From the foregoing, it can be stated that the relative high cost of adoption of IT in the practice of property management, amongst others, is the most probable reason for the current extent of utilization of IT in the practice. Hypothesis Testing Research Hypothesis To be tested in t