Monday, September 28, 2009

Free Cyber Security Training Certificates

Check out these Free Cyber Security Training certificates:

https://www.act-online.net/

Registration is required, but the courses are fully online and free. CEUs are available through the University of Memphis for a small processing fee.

IA General / Non-Technical

Information Security for Everyone
DHS Approved: TEI Course Number: AWR-175-W

Cyber Ethics
DHS Approved: TEI Course Number: AWR-174-W

Cyber Law and White Collar Crime
Under Review by DHS

IA Technical / IT Professional

Information Security Basics
DHS Approved: TEI Course Number: AWR-173-W

Secure Software
DHS Approved: TEI Course Number: AWR-178-W

Network Assurance
DHS Approved: TEI Course Number: AWR-138-W

Digital Forensics Basics
DHS Approved: TEI Course Number: AWR-139-W

IA for Business Professionals

Business Information Continuity
DHS Approved: TEI Course Number: AWR-176-W

Information Risk Management
DHS Approved: TEI Course Number: AWR-177-W

Cyber Incident Analysis and Response
Under Review by DHS

Friday, September 25, 2009

Should Employers "Stalk" Employees on Facebook?

Herein lies the problem... Nearly anything that you discuss or post anywhere could be taken out of context by someone and used to "stalk" you. On social networking sites, the term "stalk" means to hunt for information that would harm someone and harass them with it. Isn't that what businesses are doing when the look at social networking sites to perform background checks?

For example, say that you mention in the lunch room that you and your family had a great time at Disneyworld; this information gets around the company and your boss thinks you don't need a raise right now, because you can afford to go to Disneyworld.

Now, add Facebook to the mix. You or one of your family members mention on Facebook that you had fun in Disneyworld. Everyone is able to snoop around and find the pictures, etc. The problem is not that you used Facebook; the problem is that people in your company may not understand how to properly use social networking sites. Hence, just because you took your family to Disneyworld doesn't mean you don't need a raise.

Facebook is not the problem, but it does make it easier for the company to stalk employees and misuse information. That same information could be obtained by eavesdropping in the lunch room or driving by an employee's house and looking through the windows.

The problem is sharing information with people at work in general and not necessarily through Facebook. Social networking may accelerate dysfunctional processes already present within an organization. Of course, who wants to work for a company that operates like that?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Twitter 101 for Business on SlideShare

Check out this Twitter 101 for Business on SlideShare:

http://www.slideshare.net/simplyarun/twitter-101-for-business-2016139

Pay particular attention to the Best Practices slides 11 through 13. Slide 12, the contents of which I have annotated here, is very useful for businesses learning how to take advantage of Twitter's collective audience:
  1. Businesses can ask questions, float ideas, and solicit feedback;
  2. Search Twitter for comments about a new product launch;
  3. Find satisfied and dissatisfied customers, and provide service accordingly

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

What is the Job Design Framework for Information Systems?

The job design framework (Pearlson & Saunders, 2005) is used by information technology professionals to assess how emerging technologies can affect work within the organization. The goal is maximum effectiveness of the information system within the organization.

The relatively simple framework of job design questions enables the linking of information system decisions with organizational strategy. Hence, key characteristics of jobs are designed with respect to information systems to facilitate performance, effectiveness, and overall satisfaction of the worker. The following questions are asked:

What tasks are to be completed? What are the outcomes, inputs, and transformation of the inputs into outputs?

How will the tasks be performed? Specialist? Computer?

Who will complete the tasks? What skills? What department? What workgroup?

Where will the tasks be performed? Locally? Remotely? Dispersed group?

How can information systems increase performance, effectiveness and satisfaction of those performing the tasks? How can humans and information systems work together? How will information technology transfer be accepted and even embraced?

Reference

Pearlson, K. E. & Saunders, C. S. (2005). Managing and using information systems. A strategic approach (3rd ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA(SM)

Check out the Free Management Libary's Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA(SM):

http://www.managementhelp.org/np_progs/org_dev.htm

This is a free, non-degree granting program that covers the basics of operating a non-profit organization from the perspective of the CEO / Executive Director.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Peachtree and Quickbooks Video Accounting Training

TeachUComp, Inc. (Home page, n.d.) features low-cost video training for basic accounting, Peachtree and Quickbooks.

Basic Accounting -- covers the bookkeeping aspects of the accounting cycle separate from any specific computerized solution in 3 hours and 92 video lessons.

Peachtree Training -- explains how to exploit the power of this classic accounting package in 8 hours and 122 video lessons.

Ouickbooks Training -- explains how to setup Quickbooks with enough detail to make the software powerful enough to facilitate the early stages of your company's growth.

Reference

TeachUComp (n.d.). Home page. Retrieved September 21, 2009 from http://www.teachucomp.com

Friday, September 18, 2009

Understanding Accounting Ledger (Debit / Credit) Entries

Financial Statement Account Type Normal Balance To Increase To Decrease
Balance Sheet Assets Debit Debit Credit
Balance Sheet Liabilities Credit Credit Debit
Balance Sheet Equity Credit Credit Debit
Income Statement Revenue Credit Credit Debit
Income Statement Gains Credit Credit Debit
Income Statement Expenses Debit Debit Credit
Income Statement Losses Debit Debit Credit

Thursday, September 17, 2009

You Can Call Me Floyd

I’m saddened to hear of Mr. Floyd Fulton's passing in Paradise, CA on September 1st. He was my Yuba City High School electronics teacher for three of fours years that I took shop. He taught me about quality, important electronics stuff, and to try new things but NOT burn down the shop... He was also a good Christian example. A few months back, when I was trying to get Comcast to make their "comcastic" cable service work, I drew again (for what seemed like the thousandth time) from my electronics shop training. Mr. Fulton suffered a stroke several years ago. When I visited him in the nursing home, he said, "You can call me Floyd." I couldn't. I had too much respect for him. Many thanks to Ken and Patricia Atwood, who helped minister to Mr. Fulton all these years!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

General Manager's Role in Information Technology Management

General Managers are today expected to take on the following roles with respect to Information Technology management:
  • Knowledgeable and conversant in current information technology to engage MIS managers and other mid-level managers
  • Help to initiate and design information systems, outsourcing and support
  • Aware of how information technology benefits an organization
  • Willing to invest in advanced information technology to help grow the business
  • Able to draw daily information from software and systems to hold employees accountable
  • Briefed on information already available in the organization
  • Aware of ways in which the current system can be upgraded and expanded
  • Need to know enough about information systems to train new employees to be productive users of information
  • Able to understand how the organization's information systems add value to the customer

Friday, August 28, 2009

Survey Invitation for Consultants and Medical Professionals

Survey Invitation for Consultants and Medical Professionals

Please consider this invitation to participate in the online research survey.

As part of my Ph.D. program at TUI University I am conducting an organizational behavior study on impressions of competency in the workplace targeting medical and consulting professions. If you are a consultant, physician or nurse, your participation will help scholars and organizations to better understand the role of impressions of competency at work.

A link to this web-based survey is listed below. This survey is voluntary and you may exit it at any time. Your replies will be strictly confidential. This survey will last approximately 15 minutes.

Your time is valuable and in appreciation for your effort you will be offered a chance of winning a prize. At the end of the survey, you will have an opportunity to enter your email address into a drawing to win one out of two $100 American Express gift certificates.

If you have any questions or comments about this study, you may contact me at 1-917-239-4045, email jhaber@tuiu.edu, or reach Dr. Stephen Fitzgerald, the Dissertation Chair, at sfitzgerald@tuiu.edu with any questions. For more information about my research on impressions of competency, please visit www.impressionsOFcompetency.com

If you are a consultant, click here to enter the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=EKsL0JUjnso3mXUVy_2fmA2w_3d_3d

If you are a medical professional (e.g., nurse, technician) click here to enter the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=yuZ0ZQdeCDCkz0v_2fxZHXLA_3d_3d

If you are a physician, click here to enter the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=LuFGLYIb8ORqjSHJrubZew_3d_3d

Thank you,

Julita Haber
Doctoral Candidate,
College of Business Administration
TUI University
jhaber@tuiu.edu / www.tuiu.edu

Monday, August 3, 2009

How to Read Journal Articles in Eight "Easy" Steps

How to Read Journal Articles in Eight “Easy” Steps

by Dave Wagner (dvwgnr@gmail.com)

October 2005 (Revision 2)

As you work on assignments and consult outside resources, you will notice a broad range of opinions expressed toward the topics that you are researching. Try to use a critical eye toward practitioner-oriented and even scholarly articles. Here is a simple method for disassembling all research articles to ascertain their usefulness (Flaschner, 2003; Trochim, 2001):

1. Identify the article and scholarly journal in APA style. Why was this article written? What is the driving force or main purpose behind this article? Could the article best be classified as reporting, descriptive, explanatory, or predictive/causal?

2. In a nutshell, what is the article really about? What is the central hypothesis or main proposition that the author is trying to express/explore? Is the main hypothesis a measure of association or a measure of difference?

3. Construct Validity? Is there a flow of ideas from referenced, research literature toward the central hypothesis or main proposition of the article? Briefly explain it. (Contrast that ideal with armchair anecdotes and subjective opinion that may not apply beyond the current setting.) What references were quoted? How many? Are they scholarly or relevant to the subject?

4. More Construct Validity? In the instance of a cause and effect relationship being described (i.e., the reliance on advertising revenue causes online media businesses to fail), look for a description of how the cause (i.e., the independent variable) and the effect (i.e., the dependent variable) are being measured. What is the level of measurement (i.e., nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio)? What is the unit of analysis (i.e., individual, group, corporate, societal)? Do the units of analysis match between variables? Sometimes the article is only about how causes are related to other causes or effects are related to other effects. Try to ascertain how the proposed relationship in the hypothesis(es) was measured or could be measured.

5. External Validity? Look at the sample. Did the author look at a large sample, multiple cases or are the conclusions drawn from one specific instance or no sample at all. Having no sample does not make the author’s conclusion wrong but it does open the point to investigation. Could the sample be generalized to other samples, settings or populations? (e.g. If students were asked to rate the taste of soft drinks, does that apply to other consumers or not?)

6. Internal Validity? Examine the setting in which the data was collected. Observation. Review of documents. Survey. Experimentation. Personal interview. Did the data collection process make sense? Were there any data collected to support the author’s central hypothesis?

7. Conclusion Validity? (Or Statistical Conclusion Validity?) Was there any statistical or qualitative analysis of the information collected that would support the hypothesis? Identify the five steps of hypothesis testing as best you can. Identify the statistic. Are the statistical methods appropriate for the level of measurement of the data?

8. What are the implications of the research and the holes (i.e., opportunities) in the arguments that might lead to future research? Perhaps you can suggest some research to extend the article.

References

Flaschner, A. B. (2003). Touro University International RES610 Advanced Data Analysis Coursework.
Trochim, W. M. K. (2001). The Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2nd. Ed., Cincinatti, OH: Atomic Dog Publishing.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Bernard Madoff Ponzi Scheme Video

Since this is an general MBA content blog, I thought you might enjoy watching the PBS Frontline video about the Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme. I've introduced this video into several of the courses I teach as a springboard for discussions about accounting, information systems, and quantitative reasoning. This is an optional activity that takes about an hour. Students need high bandwidth Internet.

I ask students to try to identify what went wrong with "Wall Street" to allow Mr. Madoff to run such a fraudulent enterprise and evade detection for decades, including some of the following questions:

Did you notice that Madoff's investment firm had a fake information system that was used to produce simulated trades and client statements?

Who was to blame? Investors? Accountants? SEC Regulators? News Media? Mr. Madoff's Employees? Fund Managers? Who?

Do you see how helpless investors can be when even truthful information is reported by publicly-traded companies...?

Here is the link:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/madoff/

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Accepting Proposals with Positive Contribution Margins

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, as the common expressions goes, but is that true in all cases. It is common in small and medium-sized businesses to accept proposals from the sales force that offer positive contribution margin, regardless of other operational aspects. In effect, these orders cover variable costs and are at production / sales levels above break-even. That is, fixed costs are covered. However, it is possible to create problems by accepting all orders are above break-even, without thinking about the big picture. For example, the pricing strategy (such as a market penetration strategy) may set the quoted price far above the level of positive contribution. In this case, sales management and company management will want to be judicious with respect to the price they accept in the case of volume discounts. Why? It is possible that large quantity orders at higher prices (and therefore higher contribution margins) may be in the sales pipeline that will be far more profitable for the company. It is possible that excess capacity could be used fulfilling orders with lower profitability. Simply accepting orders priced above break-even does not maximize profitability without some careful sales management.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Personal Finance Cash Flow Analogy

Without business-related accounting experience, it sometimes can be difficult to understand the relationship between cash flow and net income, and the need for prudent managers to think about both. Your personal finances can provide an interesting analogy. Clearly, we can continue to get "cash flow" from credit cards, in the form of purchases and cash advances, but without earnings (i.e., net income) one won't be able to pay even the minimum payment on the credit card loans, which would be an outflow of cash. If you were to maintain your check book on Quicken (or use QuickBooks as overkill), this relationship between income earned and cash received would be obvious. Still, one could earn money by working for a business, but without the receipt of payment for that work, cash is not realized. Hence, net income is important but cash flow is a necessity as well.

Monday, June 29, 2009

University of Toronto Attitude Study

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues List on behalf of David de Jong
Sent: Mon 6/29/2009 11:49 AM
To: SPSSI@LISTS.APA.ORG
Subject: Seeking participants for online study


Hi there,

Could you please forward this to anyone who might be interested in participating? Instructors of psych classes may feel free to circulate this within their classes.

Thank you,

David de Jong

_________


I'm a researcher with the University of Toronto. We're conducting an online study, which asks people about their attitudes on a number of topics. It will take 10-15 minutes of your time.

All of your answers are absolutely anonymous and confidential. A full explanation of the background and purpose of the study is provided upon completion. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate. This study has been approved by the University of Toronto Ethics Review Board.

To thank participants for taking the time to participate, at the end of the study you'll be offered the opportunity to enter into a draw to win a $50 (US) gift certificate to Amazon.com.

If you'd like to participate, follow this link:

http://web.psych.utoronto.ca/gmacdonald/onlinestudy.html

Thank you.

David C. de Jong

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Recruiting Adult Women for an Online Study about Self Identity and Social Identity

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues List on behalf of Jeannetta Williams
Sent: Tue 6/23/2009 10:39 AM
To: SPSSI@LISTS.APA.ORG
Subject: colleague seeking research participants


Hello-

I am writing to my colleagues in SPSSI to ask for your help in recruiting
adult women participants for an online study of self and social
identity. As an incentive, participants may enter a raffle drawing for a
Visa gift card. If you are willing to do so, I would appreciate your
participation in the project and am asking for your willingness to forward
the information below to your students.

Thank you.
Dr. Jeannetta Williams
St. Edward's University
E-mail: Jeannetw@stedwards.edu


Hello!

I am current recruiting adult women for an online study about self identity
and social identity. Participants will be asked to complete a set of online
surveys. The surveys will take approximately 20-30 minutes (maximum) to
complete. This study has been approved by the SEU Human Subjects Review Board.

As an incentive for participation, study participants may enter a raffle
drawing for one of four Visa gift cards.

If you would like to participate, please click the link below or paste the
URL into your web browser:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=pcsAYS_2b6YmlH7qRLqIb8QA_3d_3d

Thanks so much and good luck in the raffle!

Dr. Jeannetta Williams
Assistant Professor of Psychology
St. Edward's University
E-mail: Jeannetw@stedwards.edu

Survey on Spending Habits, Household, and Personality

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Peter Caprariello [mailto:pcaprari@psych.rochester.edu]
Sent: Tue 6/23/2009 8:36 AM
To: David Wagner
Subject: RE: [SPSP GSC listserv] seeking advice about recruiting online samples


Dave

I appreciate your offer. I include a short intro and the link below:

I'm a graduate student in psychology at the University of Rochester. I'm
looking for a nationally representative sample of volunteers to take my
survey. The survey is brief, it takes about 6-7 minutes to complete, and
asks questions about your spending habits, your household, and your
personality. There is a link at the bottom that will direct you to the
survey. Your responses are confidential and anonymous, and the survey has
been approved by the University of Rochester ethical review board. My
contact information is included in the survey if you have questions.
Thanks in advance. The link follows below.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=lm_2fWijxRQf1ahK_2btRq8NBg_3d_3d


Best,
Peter

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Student Survey on Attitudes toward the CPA profession

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: AICPA Communications
Date: Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Subject: The AICPA requests your help
To: dvwgnr@gmail.com


Dear Educator:

This is a reminder that the student survey on attitudes toward the CPA profession and the educational requirements will close on June 23 (an extension from the original June 21 close date). It is also a request for your continued assistance in distributing the survey link to your students and encouraging their participation. We currently have almost 1000 participants including undergraduate and graduate students along with recent graduates but would like to have more participation in order to ensure we have a broad representation of student attitudes.

We also want to encourage you to please forward the survey link to non-accounting colleagues and ask them to forward it to their students as we are also interested to learn the thoughts of students who have not chosen to pursue accounting. Students are also encouraged to forward the link to other students.

The survey can be accessed at this link.
http://email.aicpa.org/cgi-bin15/DM/y/eeD50SJsEU0HA50nUa0EL

Currently the research on these topics tends to be dated and based almost exclusively on analyses of CPA Exam scores. It is our hope that by launching this survey we can gain some general insight as to whether or not the requirement to complete 150 hours of college coursework in order to (a) take the CPA Exam and/or (b) become a licenses CPA has an impact on students' interest in and intent to become a CPA.

The survey window will remain open until June 23, 2009. As it will only take a matter of 5 to 10 minutes, we ask that you please encourage your students to complete it as early as possible.

We appreciate your support.

With thanks,

The American Institute of CPAs

Friday, May 29, 2009

Participants needed for investigation of mental health professionals’ evaluations of clients, treatment conceptualizations and demographic information

From: Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues List on behalf of Taylor LockerSent: Fri 5/29/2009 5:59 AMTo: SPSSI@LISTS.APA.ORGSubject: request for participation

Greetings SPSSI members!

I am hoping that some members who are also mental health professionals (or in training) may be interested in completing a short survey (5-10 minutes) pertaining to treatment planning and clinician characteristics. Please read the below information if interested and feel free to pass this request for participation to your colleagues. Thank you for your time and support!

http://survey2.psych.ufl.edu/survey103/start.htm

Taylor Locker

*******************************************************************************************************************
I am a graduate student at the University of Florida. Under the supervision of Martin Heesacker, Ph.D., I am investigating mental health professionals’ evaluations of clients, treatment conceptualizations and demographic information. I am seeking participation by practicing mental health professionals. Please consider participating or forwarding this email to your colleagues.

You will be able to access the online survey from the following hyperlink: http://survey2.psych.ufl.edu/survey103/start.htm

The online survey contains informed consent, questions regarding treatment recommendations, measures pertaining to different aspects of your personality, and questions regarding your demographic characteristics.

You will remain anonymous in the current study. Identifiable information will not be asked as a part of the study. The length of the survey is approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Participation in the study is voluntary and you are free to withdraw from the study at any time. Furthermore, any individual’s information collected through this study will be kept confidential. Only group scores will be presented.If you have any questions regarding this study, please do not hesitate to contact Taylor Locker (taylor.locker@ufl.edu) or Martin Heesacker, Ph.D. (heesack@ufl.edu). Furthermore, this study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Florida. If you have questions or concerns regarding your or your students’ participation in this study, you may contact the IRB02 Office, Box 112250, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-2250, phone (352) 392-0433. All reports or correspondence will be kept confidential.

I thank you in advance for your time and support.

Sincerely, Taylor Locker
Martin Heesacker, Ph.D.
Counseling Psychology Program
University of Florida

Friday, May 22, 2009

Respondents Needed for Study of Impressions of Competency in the Workplace

As one part of my Ph.D. program at TUI University I am conducting an organizational behavior study to validate and improve a newly developed questionnaire. Your participation will help to provide scholars and practicing managers with an instrument for measuring impressions of competency in the workplace (i.e., 'Social norms of showing competency in the workplace').

A link to this web-based survey is listed below. This survey will take approximately 3 minutes to complete. Your replies will be strictly confidential and you may choose to stop the survey at any time. This survey is voluntary.

Your time is valuable and in appreciation for your effort you will be offered a chance of winning a prize. After completing the survey, you will have an opportunity to enter your email address into a drawing to win $100 American Express gift certificate. The winner will be announced a week after the survey is closed.

This study requires as many respondents as possible. If you know of others in the field or friends and family that would be equally qualified and interested, please pass this invitation onto them. I would greatly appreciate your help.

If you have any questions or comments about this study, you can contact me at 1-917-239-4045, email jhaber@tuiu.edu, or reach Dr. Stephen Fitzgerald, the Dissertation Chair, at sfitzgerald@tuiu.edu.

Link to online survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=w8CPRqPTetFBBx46_2fTKZZA_3d_3d

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Julita Haber
Doctoral Candidate, Core Asst Professor
TUI University, College of Business Administration
Email: jhaber@tuiu.edu or julitahaber@hotmail.com
Web: www.tuiu.edu

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Teachers Needed for Survey on Inclusive Teaching

From: Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues List on behalf of Heather D Hussey
Sent: Thu 4/30/2009 5:49 AM
To: SPSSI@LISTS.APA.ORG
Subject: Inclusive Teaching

Hello Everyone,I am writing one last time to humbly request your participation in a survey that assesses attitudes and behaviors related to inclusive teaching. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of New Hampshire. I hope to receive responses from teachers as well as teaching graduate students at several colleges and universities to obtain representative information about these issues across many different types of institutions and teachers. Survey responses will be anonymous and all data will be kept confidential. This survey takes only about 20 minutes to complete. At the end of this survey you will have the option of entering a drawing to win 1 of 2 Blackberry phones.To participate in the survey, please go to this link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/teachingattandbeh

Results will be very valuable for my research; these data are for my doctoral dissertation in Psychology. In addition, information from this survey will help identify factors that may make it easy or difficult for faculty to include multicultural material into their teaching. Many institutions have stated increased diversity as a goal, and results from this survey could help institutions find ways to make that goal a reality.If you can take the time to participate in this survey, I would appreciate it very much. As you may know, most research in psychology focuses on undergraduates (who are easy to recruit). For this study, we really need information about the attitudes of teachers. Your participation would provide extremely valuable information.

Thank you for your time,
Heather D. Hussey
University of New Hampshire
Department of Psychology
Conant Hall
Durham, NH 03824
hfauteux@unh.edu

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Participation Needed for Spokesperson Credibility Study

On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 3:43 PM, Robin Grantham wrote:

Hi. I am looking for people who might be willing to participate in a study for my dissertation. My topic is spokesperson credibility. For instance: two spokespersons of equal credibility (on paper) appear in two TV news interviews. With all other variables being equal (neutral interviewer, same topic, same message about the topic), audience members might find one person very believable and the other not at all believable.

Anyone who watches news on the Internet or TV, or is involved in their local community is invited to participate. You will be asked to watch a short videotape and answer approximately 50 questions, and you will also be asked to answer some questions about yourself. Your responses are anonymous and confidential. You will not be asked to provide your name or other identifying information. I would be grateful if you would be willing to participate in this study.

The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of TUI University.To participate in this study, go tohttp://www.surveygizmo.com/s/116189/77hbx. I would also appreciate if you could share this link with of your friends, colleagues, or family who may be willing to participate. Please be aware that the video is in Windows Media format, and works best with Internet Explorer or a IE plug-in.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at rgrantham@tuiu.edu. You may also email me if you wish to receive a copy of the results, regardless of your participation.Thank you in advance for your participation and assistance with completion of my dissertation.

Sincerely,

Robin Grantham
Ph.D. candidate, ABD, Business Administration
TUI University
rgrantham@tuiu.edu

Monday, April 20, 2009

Have you taught research methods or do you know someone who has?

From: Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues List on behalf of Kathryn QuinaSent: Mon 4/20/2009 3:13 AMTo: SPSSI@LISTS.APA.ORGSubject: Have you taught research methods or do you know someone who has?

This is from a PhD candidate at URI with whom I have worked a lot - and on a topic I care a lot about! Beth is doing a really interesting examination of the research methods course. Please consider taking a few minutes to help her out either filling it out yourself or passing it on to someone who has. Thanks! Cheers, Kat (kquina@uri.edu)

I am hoping that anyone who has taught research methods might be willing to participate in a study for my dissertation. I am developing and validating a measure of students' attitudes toward research methods and in addition to administering the measure to students, I am asking instructors or professors who have taught research methods in psychology to answer a short survey. Any professor or instructor who has taught research methods in psychology is invited to participate. You will be asked to answer some questions as you believe the average undergraduate would answer them, and you will also be asked to answer some questions about yourself. Your responses are anonymous and confidential. You will not be asked to provide your name or other identifying information. I would be grateful if you would be willing to participate in this study. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Rhode Island.

To participate in this study, go to:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=apye_2fMlw_2fFNtUt0zJPr4Vg_3d_3d. I would appreciate if you could please share this link with any other professors or instructors who may be able to participate, at URI or elsewhere.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at edimond@mail.uri.edu. You may also email me if you wish to receive a copy of the results, regardless of your participation.

Thank you in advance for your participation and assistance with completion of my dissertation.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Dimond, M.A.
Ph.D. candidate, ABD, Behavioral Science
Instructor and Research Assistant
Department of Psychology
University of Rhode Island

Friday, April 10, 2009

The Writing Loft: Write a Nonfiction Book in 30 Days

The Writing Loft: Write a Nonfiction Book in 30 Days

http://www.thewritingloft.com/nonfiction.html

The course fee for Write a Nonfiction Book in 30 Days is a modest $67 (Writing Loft, Home Page, n.d.)

Here is the quoted description: "Ninety percent of all published writing is nonfiction. The world is clamoring information; information of any kind. Publishers are searching for authors to supply that information. Opportunities for nonfiction writers are everywhere. Those who have given it a try are making sizable incomes writing about what they already know. This class will show you how to research, write, and produce a viable draft in only 30 days.This class is for you if you've: never written before; never attempted a full-length project; have an expertise or information others would like to have; have very little time to write; [or] have a desire to write a book."

This looks like an interesting distance learning (DL) class for those who may want to start a book.

Reference

Writing Loft. (n.d.). Home page. Retrieved March 3, 2008 from http://www.thewritingloft.com/nonfiction.html

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Leadership Effectiveness and Enabling Others to Act

Kouzes and Posner (1997) suggest a strong relationship between the effectiveness of leadership and the process of enabling of others to act. Indeed, leaders create a climate of collaboration that enables others to act.

By fostering collaboration and building spirited teams, they actively involve others under their supervision and outside their responsibility. Leaders help create an atmosphere of trust and human dignity – those who would lead must demonstrate that they understand that encouraging mutual respect sustains extraordinary efforts. Leaders strengthen others through providing followers a choice and sharing information about the tasks being pursued. Each follower feels powerful and capable through leadership responsibility that is shared throughout the organization.

Organizations that foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust can reach the goal by consuming fewer resources. Organizations with leaders who share power and information, provide options, help develop core competencies, use people to get important things done and support their efforts strengthen employees in unique and powerful ways toward self-leadership.

In sum, leadership that grows a collaborative environment and self-leadership initiative on the part of employees improves organizational performance.

Reference

Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (1997). The leadership challenge (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

SPSS Transform Recode into Different Variable in MS Excel to Reverse Response Scales

While SPSS allows one to perform some interesting transforms on variables from within the software package, it is often much cleaner to perform data transformations and variable computations from with MS Excel before data Import into SPSS.

While using MS Excel, suppose your response data for a 1 to 10 “Likert scale” is in column B and you want to recode it into Column C:



Use the Choose Function in MS Excel to reverse scale as follows:
1. Enter “=CHOOSE(B1, 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1)” without the quote marks into Column C
2. Copy the function in Step 1 down the column for the remainder of Column C.
3. Use Paste Special Values to copy the values in Column C over the function.
Note: The Choose Function uses an “index” scheme to decide how to replace the values. For example, the first index location #1 appears in the function argument list immediately after the cell B1, so a response value of 1 becomes 10, and so forth.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Free Online Computer Classes for Workforce Development

HP Learning center - free online classes
Free, online classes, available 24/7: www.hp.com/go/learningcenter

Microsoft Office and Adobe

· Adobe Photoshop CS2: advanced
· Microsoft® Excel 2007, advanced part 1: analyzing data
· Microsoft® Excel 2007, advanced part 2: charts and graphics
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: create a PivotTable
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: extreme
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: filter data
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: intermediate
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: link and unlink content between two workbooks
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: record a simple macro and edit it in VBA
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: take a tour of the interface and learn basic skills
· Microsoft® OneNote: creating and using notebooks
· Microsoft® OneNote: getting started
· Microsoft® PowerPoint 2007: create a new slide master
· Microsoft® PowerPoint 2007: customize the PowerPoint interface
· Microsoft® PowerPoint 2007: introduction
· Microsoft® Word 2007: advanced
· Microsoft® Word 2007: intermediate
· Microsoft® Word 2007: take a tour of special features
· Microsoft® Word 2007: take a tour of the Ribbon
· Microsoft® Word 2007: use the Track Changes feature


Operating systems

· Microsoft® Outlook 2007: tips and tricks
· Microsoft® Windows Vista Sidebar: adding gadgets
· Microsoft® Windows Vista advanced customization: back up the registry
· Microsoft® Windows Vista advanced customization: increase bandwidth for network and internet connections
· Microsoft® Windows Vista: advanced customization
· Microsoft® Windows Vista: find files using basic Search
· Microsoft® Windows Vista: troubleshooting and maintenance
· Microsoft® Windows Vista: tune up your PC
· Microsoft® Windows Vista: use Disk Cleanup


·Programming and web

· Adobe Dreamweaver CS3: introduction
· Adobe Flash CS3: beginning web animation
· Building your first web page UPDATED!
· Computer programming: introduction
· Intermediate website design
· JavaScript: web programming basics
· Microsoft® Access 2007: introduction
· Microsoft® Expression Web: building websites
· Microsoft® Project 2007: introduction


PC solutions

· Combating spam and spyware (with podcast)
· Evaluating desktop virtualization solutions
· Exploring and implementing Gobi and 3G technology
· Firewall basics (with podcast)
· HP Backup and Recovery Manager: schedule backups
· HP ProtectTools: security at your fingertips (quick lesson with podcast)
· Simple backup strategies with HP Backup and Recovery Manager (quick lesson with podcast)
· Simplify your IT infrastructure: reduce total cost of ownership
· Wireless networking with Bluetooth


Servers and storage solutions

· Disaster preparedness through virtualization (quick lesson)
· ERP: resource planning solutions
· Introduction to storage networks
· Linux 101: a beginner's guide
· Linux 201: administering Linux for users
· Linux 301: introduction to Linux system administration
· Network attached storage basics
· Protect your data: back up to tape, disk and the network
· Understanding Microsoft® Windows Server 2008
· Virtualize your infrastructure: deployment


Business skills

· Build your business identity with a new logo
· Color your business: develop a marketing color scheme
· Create marketing materials that align with your goals (quick lesson)
· Create your own marketing materials with free templates
· Funding a new small business
· Improve your personal networking skills
· Marketing writing tips: five mistakes to avoid (quick lesson)
· Meet the HP Smartphone: get connected, get more done (quick lesson)
· Promote your business with social networking
· Save money, be energy efficient
· Ten tips for printing better marketing materials in-house (quick lesson)


Computing and networking

· HP Backup and Recovery Manager: restore files
· HP Backup and Recovery Manager: schedule backups
· IT infrastructure and its challenges: outsource or hire? (quick lesson)
· Laptop PCs: basic troubleshooting and repair (quick lesson)
· Laptop PCs: troubleshooting wireless problems (quick lesson)
· Network administration best practices
· Networking 101
· Servers 101
· Simple backup strategies with HP Backup and Recovery Manager (quick lesson with podcast)
· Six steps to computer security (quick lesson)
· Graphic arts
· Color your business: develop a marketing color scheme
· Create marketing materials that align with your goals (quick lesson)
· Create your own marketing materials with free templates
· Disaster preparedness through virtualization (quick lesson)
· HP Backup and Recovery Manager: restore files
· HP Backup and Recovery Manager: schedule backups
· IT infrastructure and its challenges: outsource or hire? (quick lesson)
· Marketing writing tips: five mistakes to avoid (quick lesson)
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: create a PivotTable
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: filter data
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: link and unlink content between two workbooks
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: record a simple macro and edit it in VBA
· Microsoft® Excel 2007: take a tour of the interface and learn basic skills
· Microsoft® Windows Vista Sidebar: adding gadgets
· Microsoft® Windows Vista advanced customization: back up the registry
· Microsoft® Windows Vista advanced customization: increase bandwidth for network and internet connections
· Microsoft® Windows Vista: find files using basic Search
· Microsoft® Windows Vista: use Disk Cleanup
· Microsoft® Word 2007: take a tour of special features
· Microsoft® Word 2007: take a tour of the Ribbon
· Microsoft® Word 2007: use the Track Changes feature
· Save money, be energy efficient
· Simple backup strategies with HP Backup and Recovery Manager (quick lesson with podcast)
· Six steps to computer security (quick lesson)
· Ten tips for printing better marketing materials in-house (quick lesson)
· Wireless networking with Bluetooth (quick lesson)
· Writing a high-impact business plan

http://www.hp.com/go/learningcenter/