Proof of a Physical World essays

Proof of a Physical World essays Proof of a Physical World (i.e. Were not just floating brains) 1) The mind perceives or creates the physical world 2) The mind cannot create anything original A) The mind did not originate the ideas of the physical world, but still creates it 1) The mind can only borrow ideas from experience to create something 2) If an idea is borrowed, than the idea is not original A1) The mind cannot create anything original 1) I think, therefore I am: the mind is the only thing thus far that can be proven to exist 2) By necessity, it is our mind then, that creates the world A2) The mind perceives or creates the physical world 1) If something is not original, the idea has existed before 2) The mind did not originate the ideas of the world B) The ideas of the physical world existed before our mind perceived them 1) If our mind alone exists, then the physical world and its ideas could not exist before our mind perceived them 2) The ideas of the physical world existed before our mind perceived them C) Our mind alone does not exist Im not sure if this is the proper layout you want, so please give me some feedback on that. Further, Im not entirely sure if the words original and originate can be swapped as in Argument B. Any input would be super swell. Thanks. The idea exists that we are floating brains, and that the physical world is only existent because our mind perceives it. The argument is that there is no physical world, only our minds and their creations. I disagree: Regardless of whether our mind alone exists, it is our mind that perceives the physical world: a fact that cannot be argued. However, our mind is incapable of creating anything original. If I were to give a child a crayon and ask him to draw something who ...

Lesson Plan Writing Tips for Teachers

Lesson Plan Writing Tips for Teachers Lesson plans help classroom teachers to organize their objectives and methodologies in an easy to read format. Difficulty: AverageTime Required: 30-60 minutes Heres How to Write a Lesson Plan Find a lesson plan format that you like. Try the Blank 8-Step Lesson Plan Template below, for starters. You may also want to look at lesson plan formats for language arts, reading lessons, and mini-lessons.Save a blank copy on your computer as a template. You may want to highlight the text, copy, and paste it onto a blank word processing app page instead of saving a blank copy.Fill in the blanks of your lesson plan template. If you are using the 8-Step Template, use these step-by-step instructions as a guide for your writing.Label your learning objective as cognitive, affective, psychomotor, or any combination of these.Designate an approximate length of time for each step of the lesson.List the materials and equipment needed for the lesson. Make notes about those that need to be reserved, purchased, or created.Attach a copy of any handouts or worksheets. Then you will have everything together for the lesson. Tips for Writing Lesson Plans A variety of lesson plan templates can be found in your education classes, from colleagues, or on the Internet. This is a case where it isnt cheating to use somebody elses work. Youll be doing plenty to make it your own.Remember that lesson plans come in a variety of formats; just find one that works for you and use it consistently. You may find through the course of a year that you have one or more that fits your style and the needs of your classroom.You should aim for your lesson plan to be less than one page long. What You Need: Lesson Plan TemplateWell-Defined Learning Objectives: this is a key element, everything else flows from the objectives. Your objectives need to be stated in terms of the student. They have to be something that can be observed and measured. You have to list specific criteria for what is an acceptable outcome. They cant be too long or overly complicated. Keep it simple.Materials and Equipment: You will need to ensure that these are going to be available for your class when the lesson is being taught. If you are too ambitious and require items that your school doesnt have, you will need to rethink your lesson plan. Blank8-Step Lesson Plan Template This template has eight basic parts that you should address. These are Objectives and Goals, Anticipatory Set, Direct Instruction, Guided Practice, Closure, Independent Practice, Required Materials and Equipment, and Assessment and Follow-Up.   Lesson Plan Your NameDateGrade Level:Subject: Objectives and Goals:   Ã‚  Ã‚   Anticipatory Set (approximate time):   Ã‚  Ã‚   Direct Instruction (approximate time):   Ã‚  Ã‚   Guided Practice (approximate time):   Ã‚  Ã‚   Closure (approximate time):   Ã‚  Ã‚   Independent Practice: (approximate time)   Ã‚  Ã‚   Required Materials and Equipment: (set-up time)   Ã‚  Ã‚   Assessment and Follow-Up: (approximate time)

ARE THERE ENOUGH RESSOURCES FOR YOUNG MUMS AFTER PREGNANCY Dissertation

ARE THERE ENOUGH RESSOURCES FOR YOUNG MUMS AFTER PREGNANCY - Dissertation Example Conversely, collecting primary data is often prohibitively expensive. (Brown & Semradek, 1992). Primary data can take years to compile; secondary data, a matter of months. (Hopperth, 2005). Also, there is the issue of sample size – secondary research is often compiled by a government agency, with well-documented collection procedures and well-maintained data files. The information that is compiled is often comprehensive – everything from information on births, deaths, employment, income, etc. to specialized information, such as information about participant's attitudes, beliefs, and related family issues. (Hopperth, 2005). That said, there are issues with using secondary research. One of the issues is that of validity and reliability. Validity is if the study measures what it purports to measure, while reliability refers to the ability to give the same result consistently, even with different researchers, instruments and events. (Harris, 2001). Reliability can be reprod ucible, which means that different researchers will get the same result; stable, which means that the results do not change over time; and accurate, which means that process conforms to a known standard and yields what it is supposed to. (Harris, 2001). In order for the study to be valid, the outcome data needs to be complete. This is especially crucial when looking at statistical evidence over a period of time between different populations. (Sorensen et al., p. 436). Validity, as well as reliability and accuracy are all sensitive issues when dealing with secondary data, because of the problems with conceptualizing of the data, as well as dealing with errors that can occur when selecting, collecting, recording, filing, analyzing and publicizing the data. (Brown & Semradek, 1992). Therefore, the information that is compiled in desk based research, or secondary research, is often found on the Internet by using cites that cater to the topic at hand. Since the topic at hand is not one t hat is overly reliant upon statistics and other types of information that is kept by such organisations as the World Health Organisation, the information may be obtained through other means. One of these means is the database JStor, which provides a wide range of academic articles, as well as Google Scholar. SSRN is another database that has a wide range of articles. These sites were chosen because they provide a comprehensive database of academic articles that are written for topics such as this and other topics. These articles are often studies which are noted by the researchers who wrote the individual article, which provides valuable insight into the topic. The topic may be researched by inputting certain key words, such as lone parent, young mother, and services, and then the topics can be expanded from there. For instance, in this topic, there are a wide range of issues that need to be addressed. Social exclusion is one issue, and the way that this is researched is by inputtin g the key words of social exclusion and getting articles about this topic. Another topic is that of housing, and the same procedure can be used for this topic. In other words, there are issues that young mothers face that are not exclusive to young mothers – these issues are more universal. However, since desk based research is meant to be comprehensive, these secondary topics are included. Another way of approaching the desk based resea

Innovation and Enterprise (BBVA) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Innovation and Enterprise (BBVA) - Essay Example Innovation and Enterprise (BBVA) In most instances, innovation is commonly attributed to newness of a given aspect (Varis and Littunen, 2010, p. 128). However, they argue that there is no universally conclusive definition of the term since in the present world new knowledge is always coming up and not everything new can be classified as innovation. However, OEDC (2005, p. 101) described firm level innovation as planned change in an organization’s activities geared towards enhancing the organization performance. Innovation is differentiated based on main two aspects. The first looks at the object of change, such as product, market, process and organizational innovation (Oke, Burke and Myers, 2007, p. 735). Moreover, the type of innovation can be based on their how radical they are or their newness; that is based on the extent of change. According to Varis and Littunen (2010, p. 128), radical innovations usually bring up revolutionary changes and in some instances may trigger technological innovation. Basic ing redients of innovation are transferable and the most critical source of innovative ideas include the firm’s the employees, competitors and research (Beach, 2006, p. 1). Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria is a major retail bank in Spain that offers a wide range of financial services to both end-user clients and business customers. The bank was established in about one hundred and fifty years, and has grown significantly to open branches in USA, Mexico and South America. Currently, the bank is the largest in Mexico and is listed among the 25 major banks in US. Moreover, BBVA is among the few Western Banks operating successfully in Japan. By 2008, BBVA had 112, 000 employees serving more than 47 million countries in more than 30 countries (Ramis-Pujol and Droege, 2011, p.3). The bank has been able to balance its corporate principles while still focusing on customer service. In addition, BBVA views innovation as an engine for its future growth. Presently, BBBVA is one of the seven largest banks in the world measured in terms of market capitalization after joining this league in 2009. Types of Innovation by BBVA One of the types of innovation implemented by BBVA is product innovation when the bank came up with tu cuentas. Some years back, BBVA bank identified the great potential offered by internet technology to retail banking. The bank felt that its customers could appreciate more online banking services to better manage their financial activities and make them more open. The bank envisioned that customers could be more satisfied knowing what they spend their finances in, average money spent on different items in the budget and compare their spending trends with those of their peers. Moreover, the new product could help the customers develop strategies to optimize their spending habits. Tu cuentas was also developed to improve the user experience and increase its functionality and flexibility. Moreover, BBVA intended to allow its customers incorporate their banking information from other their accounts in other financial institutions. This last functionality was a unique service in retail banking. Given that the bank was financially and expertise constrained, it decided to

Fair Values in Accounting for Financial Instruments Essay - 2

Fair Values in Accounting for Financial Instruments - Essay Example Along with the depth development of financial instruments and fair value accounting practices by national standard setting bodies in many countries, fair value measurements have helped to create a more accurate representation of fact. Because of this, the FASB, IASB and other agencies continue to improve the recognition and measurement standards of financial instruments. For instance, in 1990, Richard C Breeden, the chairman of the SEC pointed out that historical cost for financial reporting does not help to prevent and/or defuse financial risk. As such, fair value accounting should be taken as the measurement of financial instruments (SEC, 1990). Although many people support the implementation of fair value, the debate about this has not stopped and has become fierce; especially after a financial crisis. As means of providing an example, FASB No. 157 provides a definition of â€Å"fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.†(Deans, 2007) There also have another defines set out by IASB including IAS 32 (presentation of Financial Instrument) and IAS 39 (recognition and measurement) which Fair value is defined as â€Å"the amount for which an asset could be exchanged, or a liability settled, between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm’s length transaction. (IASB) IAS 39 defines fair value slightly differently from SFAS 157† (Laux & Leuz, 2009). Firstly, the information provided by the fair value accounting method can be considered as more relevant. Generally speaking, such information should satisfy the requirements of relevance and reliability at the same time. Brath explains the quality characteristic of accounting information. In this way, he proposes that it includes reliability, relevance, predictive, timely, neutrality, comparability, etc. (Ball, 2006). Historical costs

Philippine National Bank (PNB) Essay Example for Free

Philippine National Bank (PNB) Essay Facts: The petitioners, Spouses Esmeraldo and Elizabeth Suico, obtained a loan from the Philippine National Bank (PNB) secured by a real estate mortgage on real properties in the name of the former. The petitioners were unable to pay their obligation prompting the PNB to extrajudicially foreclose the mortgage over the subject properties. Subsequently, the petitioners file a Complaint against the PNB before the RTC for Declaration of Nullity of Extrajudicial Foreclosure of Mortgage. The Complaint alleged that PNB filed a petition with the Office of Manadaue City Sheriff for extrajudicial foreclosure on the petitioner’s properties for an outstanding loan obligation amounting to P 1,991,770. 38. During the foreclosure sale, the petitioners claimed that PNB, as the lone bidder offered a bid amounting to P8, 511,000.00. By the virtue of the said bid, a Certificate of Sale of the subject properties was issued. PNB did not pay to the Sheriff who conducted the auction sale the amount of its bid which was P 8,511,000.00 or give an accounting of how said amount was applied against petitioners’ outstanding loan amounted only to P 1,991,770.38. Since the amount grossly exceeded the amount of the petitioners’ obligation, it is the legal duty of the winning bidder, PNB to deliver to the Sheriff the bid price or what was left thereof after deducting the amount of petitioners’ obligation. PNB failed to deliver the amount of their bid to the Sheriff or the amount of such bid excess. After a year, the issuance of the Certificate of Sale, PNB secured a Certificate of Final Sale and as a result, PNB transferred registration of all the subject properties to its name. Due to the failure of PNB to deliver to the petitioners the amount of its bid or even just the amount in excess of petitioners’ obligation, the latter averred that the extrajudicial foreclosure of the said properties and the Certificate of Sale and the Certificate of Finality of Sale, issued by the Sheriff, in favor of PNB, were null and void. PNB disputed petitioners’ factual narration and asserted that petitioners had other loans, which had likewise become due. The outstanding balance of P 1,991,770.38 was exclusive of attorney’s fees and other related obligations. PNB maintained that the petitioners’ outstanding obligation was already beyond the bid price of P8, 511,00.00. The RTC rendered its decision in favor of the petitioners. It reasoned that given that petitioners had other loan obligations which had not yet matured but became due by the date of the auction sale, does not justify the shortcut taken by PNB and will not excuse it from paying to the Sheriff the excess bid in the foreclosure sale. To allow PNB to do so would constitute fraud, for not only is the filing fee in the said foreclosure inadequate but, worse, constitutes a misrepresentation regarding the amount of the indebtedness to be paid in the foreclosure sale posted and published in the notice of sale. The CA reversed and set aside the decision of RTC. It held that even assuming that indeed there was a surplus and the [PNB] is retaining more than the proceeds of the sale than it is entitled, this fact alone will not affect the validity of the sale but simply gives the petitioners a cause of action to recover such surplus. Failure to remit the surplus is not tantamount to a non-compliance of statutory requisites that could constitute a jurisdictional defect invalidating the sale. Issue: Whether or not the extrajudicial foreclosure of the mortgage constituted on the subject properties is null and void. Whether or not should PNB deliver the excess bid in the foreclosure sale. Held: The petitioners argue that since the Notice of Sheriff’s Sale stated that their obligation was only P1, 991,770.38 and PNB bided P8, 551,000.00, the said Notice as well as the consequent sale of the subject properties were null and void. The Court held that the statutory provisions governing publication of notice of mortgage foreclosure sales must be strictly complied with, and that even slight deviations therefrom will invalidate the notice and render the sale at least voidable. Nonetheless, we must not also lose sight of the fact that the purpose of the publication of the Notice of Sheriff’s Sale is to inform all interested parties of the date, time and place of the foreclosure sale of the real property subject thereof. Logically, this not only requires that the correct date, time and place of the foreclosure sale appear in the notice, but also that any and all interested parties be able to determine that what is about to be sold at the foreclosure sale is the real pr operty in which they have an interest. The Court disagree with the finding of RTC behind the Notice of Sheriff’s Sale that the discrepancy between the amount of petitioners’ obligation as reflected in the Notice of Sale and the amount actually due and collected from the petitioners at the time of the auction sale constitute fraud which renders the extrajudicial foreclosure sale null and void. Notices are given for the purpose of securing bidders and to prevent a sacrifice of the property. If these objects are attained, immaterial errors and mistakes will not affect the sufficiency of the notice; but if mistakes or omissions occur in the notices of sale, which are calculated to deter or mislead bidders, to depreciate the value of the property, or to prevent it from bringing a fair price, such mistakes or omissions will be fatal to the validity of the notice, and also to the sale made pursuant thereto. Thus, we are of the view that the Notice of Sale in this case is valid. With regards to the delivery of the excess bid in the foreclosure sale, the Court said that under Rule 68, Sec. 4 of the Rules of Court, the disposition of the proceeds of the sale in the foreclosure shall be as follows: (a) first, pay the costs, (b) secondly, pay off the mortgage debt, (c) thirdly, pay the junior encumbrancers, if any in the order of priority, (d) fourthly, give the balance to the mortgagor, his agent or the person entitled to it. The application of the proceeds from the sale of the mortgaged property to the mortgagor’s obligation is an act of payment, not payment by dacion; hence, it is the mortgagee’s duty to return any surplus in the selling price to the mortgagor. Perforce, a mortgagee who exercises the power of sale contained in a mortgage is considered a custodian of the fund and, being bound to apply it properly, is liable to the persons entitled thereto if he fails to do so. Thus, the fact that the mortgagee is retaining more of the proceeds than he is entitled into does not affect the validity of the sale but simply give the mortgagor a cause of action to recover the surplus. In this case, given that the Statement of Account from PNB, being the only existing documentary evidence to support its claim, shows that petitioners’ loan obligations to amounted to P6, 409,814.92, and considering that the amount of PNB’s bid is P8, 511,000.00, there is clearly an excess in the bid price which PNB must return, together with the interest computed in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the court.

Analysis of Computer Use in Developing Country Education

Analysis of Computer Use in Developing Country Education Abstract This study identified the extent to which Iranian secondary school principals used computers and explored the relationship between a numbers of variables related to ICT use. These factors included high level of computer access, strong perceptions of the attributes of ICT, high level of computer competence, as well as the high level of transformational leadership behaviours, all contributed significantly to the level of computer use by principals. All four constructs are equally important but have varying impact on computer use. Therefore, all four constructs should be viewed in an integrated manner in accordance to the conceptual model proposed in this study. Keywords: ICT, Secondary school principals, Computer use Introduction One developing country that is currently pursuing the technological track in education is Iran. Irans National philosophy of Education calls for developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally balanced and harmonious. The catalyst for this massive transformation will be technology which will improve how the educational system achieves the National Philosophy of Education, while fostering the development of a work force prepared to meet the challenges of the next century. With respect to this vision, Ministry of Education provided ICT related workshops and courses for principals and teachers. The plan emphasized that they should acquire seven fundamental digital computing skills (Kousha Abdoli, 2004). Although several institutions have completed the training programmes of their staff, research studies have not been done on the efficiency of this plan, knowledge, skills, and attitude that principals and teachers acquire during these courses. In fact, national programmes in developing countries are not based on research. Hence, successes of these programmes are limited (Albirini, 2006a). In addition, the Ministry of Education in Iran has invested much more fund to facilitate integration of ICT in schools. In spite of this large expenditure of funds, the potential for ICT to alter how principals use computers for instructional and administrative purposes, how teachers teach and how children learn in Iranian schools has not been fully realized since many Iranian schools do not use ICT in their teaching and learning and administrative purposes (Jahangard, 2003). It displays that computer was provided with no supplementary measures to enable principals and teachers to develop positive attitudes toward ICT in education and to use them. Also, in exploring the literature about the implementation of ICT in schools, an area which is noticeably absent in research on ICT implementation and integration is the role of the school principals as technology leaders. Although, some research studies have demonstrated that ICT has a huge impact on the ways in which principals work (Yuen , Law Wong, 2003; Schiller, 2003), the ICT research literature has tended to overlook the role of the principal as technology leaders (Schiller, 2003; Michael, 1998; Riffel Levin, 1997). This gap in the research literature is rather strange because there is considerable literature relating to school effectiveness, school improvement and change which identifies the school principal as a key factor in bringing about successful change in schools (e.g. Hall Hord, 2001; Fullan, 2002). According to Schiller (2003), school leaders are key factors in implementation ICT in schools. They have a main responsibility for creating school change through use of ICT and facilitate complex decisions about integration of ICT into learning and teaching. Although the role of the principal in supporting technology integration is very important there are little Iranian researches on the role of the principal in the implementation of ICT. Also, little is known about the use of ICT by principals and factors that are related to their level of computer use. This article will report on these issues from an analysis of data gathered from secondary school principals in Tehran, Iran. Review of the literature Effective leadership is an important element in the success of schools seeking to implement change (Calabrese, 2002). Anderson and Dexter (2005) reported on the analysis of data from the 1998 Teaching, Learning, and Computing survey of more than 800 schools in the USA and concluded that although technology infrastructure is important, for educational technology to become an integral part of a school, technology leadership is even more necessary (p. 74). Without the support of school leaders the educational potential of information and communications technology may not be realized. They play various roles such as change agent, lifelong learner, main supporter, and resource provider in relation to ICT implementation in schools (Han, 2002). If principals want to lead effectively their school in technology integration, they should embrace technology and realize the role that technology can play in the teaching-learning process. In fact, it is difficult to imagine a leader who does not us e technology trying to convince teachers that it is important (Cafolla Knee, 1995, P.3). Therefore, principals need to understand the capacities of the new technologies, to have a personal proficiency in their use, and be able to promote a school culture which encourages exploration of new techniques in teaching, learning and management (Schiller, 2003). According to Albirini (2006a), access to computer resources has often been one of the most important barriers for the integration of technology in both developed and developing countries. Norris, Sullivan, Poirot and Soloway (2003) reported on the analysis of data from the snapshot survey of more than 4,000 K-12 schools in the USA and concluded that there was a significant and substantive correlation between level of access to computer and level of computer use. Also, Rogers (2003) stated that the perceived attributes of an innovation are one of the important factors in explaining the rate of adoption of an innovation. A large amount of the variance in the rate of adoption of innovations, from 49 to 87 percent, is explained by five attributes: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability (Rogers, 2003). The five attributes refer respectively to: (1) the degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes; (2) the extent t o which an innovation is perceived as consistent with the existing values, past experience, and needs of potential adopters; (3) the degree to which an innovation is perceived as relatively difficult to understand and use; (4) the extent to which the results of an innovation are visible to others; and (5) the degree to which an innovation is experimented with on a limited basis. Regarding the relationship between perceived innovation characteristics and computer technology adoption, Al-Gahtani (2003) conducted a quantitative research in Saudi Arabia and found that relative advantage, compatability and observability were positively related to the adoption of technology, whereas complexity was negatively correlated. Hence, innovations that are perceived by individuals as having greater relative advantage, compatability, observability, and less complexity will be adopted more rapidly than other innovations (Rogers, 2003). Principals attitudes toward ICT have been recognized as an important factor for the success of technology integration in education (Han, 2002; Mooij Smeets, 2001; Rogers, 2003). Attitude is defined as a positive or a negative feeling associated with performing a specific behaviour (Ajzen Fishbein, 2005). In fact, an individual will have a favorable attitude if he or she believes that the performance of the behaviour will lead to mostly positive results and vice-versa (Ajzen Fishbein, 2005). Ajzen and Fishbein (2005) indicated that attitudes consist of three elements: affect, cognition, and behaviour. The affective element refers to the individuals emotional feelings or liking of a person or an object. The cognitive element refers to the persons knowledge about a person or an object. The behavioural element refers to the persons overt behaviour towards a person or an object. A complete description of attitude requires that all three components be assess by obtaining measures of all the three response classes (Ajzen Fishbein, 2005). Han (2002) conducted a case study on pre-school leaders practices in the use of ICT and found that principals who have positive attitudes toward technology are very helpful and supportive in introducing these new technologies into the school. For example, they encourage their colleagues to have ICT training, equip the school with sufficient computers and ensure staff has access to relevant technology. Apart from that, Liaw (2002) stated that no matter how capable the technology is, the effective implementation of technology depends upon users positive attitudes towards the technology. According to Noraini Idris et al. (2007), individuals with positive attitudes will have positive feelings about people and situations; have a sense of purpose, excitement, and passion; approach problems in a creative manner; make the best out of every situation; realize that attitude is a choice; feel that they have control of their thoughts; and feel that they are making a contribution through their wo rk. Therefore, principals who have positive attitudes toward ICT feel more contented using it and regularly incorporate it into their tasks (Kersaint, Horton, Stohl Garofalo, 2003). According to Rogers (2003), innovation-decision process consists of five steps which are knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. These five steps usually follow each other in a time-ordered manner. Knowledge is the first stage of the successful adoption of computer technologies and it is essential for other steps in the innovation-decision process. If principals do not have enough competent in computer use, they cannot be expected to adopt computer technologies into their instructional and administrative tasks. Without the knowledge and skill of computer technology, principals might have a high level of uncertainty that influence their opinions and beliefs about the innovation (Rogers, 2003). In line with this idea, Felton (2006) stated that competence is a key to the use of computers by principals on a daily basis. In fact, competence in operating a computer and in utilizing software may improve the quality and efficiency of administrative performance in s chools. Improved quality could lead to improved decision-making. In order to achieve high levels of principals competence in ICT, there is a need to provide training, and perhaps unsurprisingly, there is a great deal of literature evidence to suggest that effective training is crucial if principals are to use ICT effectively in their work (Kirkwood, 2000). If training is inadequate or inappropriate, then principals will not be sufficiently prepared, and perhaps not sufficiently confident, to make full use of technology. Hence, lack of principals competence and lack of quality training for principals can be barriers to principals use of ICT. Many technology experts have indicated that the integration of ICT in education should occur in the light of the cultural conditions of the country and the prevailing school culture (Albirini, 2006b; Govender Govender, 2009). In fact, cultural barriers, either societal or organizational, are very important among the barriers to the adoption of technology. Societies and organizations can overcome most of the technical barriers through different means of support, but cultural barriers are harder to deal with. It is widely accepted that culture, within a society or an organization, shapes individuals perceptions of innovations. In the field of education, it has been noticed that principals reactions to technology innovations are mediated by their cultural perceptions (Felton, 2006). According to Rogers (2003), a cultural perception is a very general idea of social system norms. Also, it refers to the cultural suitability of computers (Thomas, 1987). Furthermore, Albirini (2006a) carrie d out a study examining the factors relating to the teachers attitudes toward ICT. He collected evidence from high school English teachers about their perceptions of computer attributes, cultural perceptions, computer competence, and computer access. The sample consisted of 63 male and 251 female teachers. The results showed that computer attributes, cultural perceptions, and computer competence are factors that explain the greatest amount of variance in computer attitudes. Also, he stated that cultural perceptions toward different computer-related technologies are key factors related to both the initial acceptance of these technologies as well as future behaviour regarding their usage. Similarly, Lee, Choi, Kim and Hong, (2007) conducted a study on the relationship between users cultural profiles and technology adoption in the context of the mobile Internet. Their findings of large-scale on-line surveys in Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan indicate that cultural factors have a significa nt influence on users adoption perceptions of mobile Internet services. So, they concluded that cultural differences are a contributing factor in the adoption of technology, particularly in third world countries. According to Flanagan and Jacobsen (2003), leadership plays a key role in the success of technology utilization in education. Thomas (2001) stated that there is a strong link between educational technology and school leadership. Leadership style is exhibited by the leader could help or hinder technology infusion (Flanagan Jacobsen, 2003; Thomas, 2001). One of the best styles of leadership that can change and transform individuals is transformational leadership (Northouse, 2001). Transformational leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality (Bass Riggio, 2006). In other words, transformational leadership is a process that both the manager and followers should change themselves (Northouse, 2001). Although the transformational leader plays an essential role in precipitating change, followers and leaders are inextricably bound together in the transformation process (N orthouse, 2001). This type of leadership is becoming more and more important to organizations, as workforces become more diverse, technology improves and international competition heightens. Transformational leadership is comprised of four distinct dimensions: charismatic leadership or idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration (Bass Riggio, 2006). Idealized influence (attributed) demonstrates attributes of principals that motivate respect and pride and display a sense of power and confidence; idealized influence (behaviour) refers to the principals behaviour to communicate values, purpose, and importance of mission; inspirational motivation refers to leaders that motivate and inspire others by challenging them to exert effort; Intellectual stimulation stimulates followers efforts to be innovative and creative by questioning assumptions, reframing problems, and approaching old situations in new ways; and individualized consideration focuses on development and mentoring of followers and attends to individual needs(Bass Riggio, 2006). Beatty and Lee (1992, as cited in Thite, 2000) conducted several case studies of the implementation of CAD/CAM systems in numerous British and Canadian companies in an effort to investigate the linkage between leadership and technological change in organizations. Through semistructured interviews and using a critical incident approach to assessing leadership abilities, the researchers tracked managerial involvement throughout the implementation process. The outcome of their qualitative research suggests that a transformational approach to leadership is likely to be more effective in overcoming barriers to change than a transactional leadership approach that concentrates on technical problem solving to the neglect of people and organizational issues. According to Burns (2003), transactional leadership involves exchanging one thing for another. In fact, the effective transactional leaders are expert in giving and taking. This style is useful for stable situations but is less useful for organizations that are faced to environmental turbulence or rapid change (Kirkbride, 2006). Transactional leadership was measured by contingent reward and management-by-exception ­ (active and passive). Contingent reward leaders explain the expectations of followers and the compensation they will receive if they meet their performance expectations. Management-by-exception-active leaders attend to followers mistakes and failures to meet standards and management-by-exception-passive leaders react to correct action after problems become serious enough (Bass Riggio, 2006). Regarding the importance of transformational leadership as an influence on principals use of technology, Christopher (2003) conducted a study at the University of Virginia. A self-designed instrument was used in this study. Leadership items were taken from Bass and Avolios Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Leader Form. Surveys were sent to a random sample of 397 principals throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, and 185 principals participated in the survey. Her analysis indicated that the overall extent that principals used decision support technologies was significantly correlated with their perceptions of all four transformational leadership behaviors (individual influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration). Also, she suggested that educational leadership programs should be provided to train principals to use technology as a management tool. If principals do not use technology on a consistent basis; the principal should not expec t the faculty to use technology regularly. Modeling the use of technology provides an affective method for exposing teachers to new strategies and demonstrating to the staff that it is acceptable to take risks and make mistakes, without the fear of retribution (Dawon Rakes, 2003) The study The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which secondary school principals use computers in Tehran (a large province in Iran) and to explore factors related to level of computer use by principals. Selected factors used in this study were based on Rogers (2003) diffusion theory, Technology Acceptance Model, and previous researchs which include perceived computer attributes; computer competence; computer access; principals attitude toward computers; leadership style of principals; and cultural perceptions. Principals profiles (gender, age, and administrative experience, type of school, and academic degree, as well as information regarding background in computer training) were also included in order to ensure maximum possible control of extraneous variables by building them into the design of the study (Gay Airasian, 2000). More specifically, this study addresses the following questions: What is the level of computer use by secondary school principals? What are the principals attitudes toward computers? What are the principals perceptions of: Computer attributes? Their level of computer competence? Cultural relevance of computers to Iranian society and schools? Their level of access to computers? What is the leadership style (transformational and transactional leadership) of principals? What is the relationship between the level of computer use by secondary school principals and their perceptions of each of the above variables? What is the proportion of the variance in the level of computer use by secondary school principals that can be explained by the selected independent variables and the relative significance of each independent variable in explaining the dependent variable? Methodology This was a descriptive study of an exploratory nature. Creswell (2003) stated that exploratory studies are most advantageous when not much has been written about the topic or the population being studied (p. 30).The target population in this study was Iranian secondary school principals in the province of Tehran during the 2007-2008 school years. The list of principals was based on the secondary principals Directory. The Directory is maintained and updated on a quarterly basis by Tehran Department of Education. The total number of secondary school principals was 1312 in the Directory of the Department of Education in Tehran. Furthermore, a set of questionnaire was used to obtain the required data for this study. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. Part A measured the perceived level of computer use by principals. Factors that were related to it were measured in part B. Questionnaires were distributed to 320 sample principals selected randomly from the population. In this study, stratified sampling was used because Tehran is one of the biggest cities in Iran and consists of 19 educational areas. Also, the population to be sampled was not homogeneous but, in essence, consisted of several subpopulations (Wiersma, 1995). When sub-populations vary significantly, it is advantageous to sample each subpopulation (stratum) independently. Researcher used this stratified sampling method to have less variability in selection. Two indispensable characteristics of measurement that must be considered in establishing the appropriateness and usefulness of measurement instrument are reliability and validity. Although theses instruments were valid, face and content validity of these instruments were established again by a panel of expert. To ensure that Iranian secondary school principals had a complete comprehension of the instrument used in the study, the survey was translated from English into Persian using the double back translation method to ensure the accuracy of the Persian version. Furthermore, Cronbachs alpha was used to measure internal consistency and calculated via the SPSS 15 statistical package. Cronbach alpha is the most common form of internal consistency reliability coefficient. The Cronbachs alpha coefficients for these scales were: Computer Access Scale=0.867, Computer Attributes Scale =0.909, Attitude toward ICT Scale =0.92, Computer Competence Scale=0.97, Cultural Perceptions Scale=0.611, Transformational leadership style Scale=0.812, Transactional leadership style Scale=0.596 and Level of computer use Scale=0.917. To carry out this study, first, approval was obtained from the Ministry of Education and also contact was made with the research department of Tehrans Ministry of Education A meeting was arranged to discuss the proposed study. Furthermore, a letter of introduction and a questionnaire packet were delivered to the superintendent in the research department for review. Finally, approval was received from the superintendent and permitted the researcher to attend the principals meeting in each educational area of the Ministry of Education. A total of 350 pockets were distributed among all members of the sample in these sessions. In the packet, there were materials. These materials include a cover letter, the questionnaire, and a stamped, addressed return envelope was enclosed for some respondents convenience in returning the completed questionnaires. The completed questionnaires were collected at the end of these sessions. Principals who could not fill their questionnaires completely were given approximately three weeks from that date to return the questionnaires by mail. In all, 350 surveys were distributed, 320 were returned, resulting in a return rate of 91.4%. All of the returned surveys, a total of 320, were used in the analysis. In this study descriptive statistics were used to describe and summarize the properties of the mass of data collected from the respondents (Gay Airasian, 2000). Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between each of the independent variables and the level of computer use by secondary school principals in Tehran. Furthermore, multiple regression was used to measure the degree to which the independent variables would explain the proportion of variance in the dependent variables and to identify the relative significance of each independent variable in explaining the dependent variable. By convention, an a level of 0.05 was established a priori for determining statistical significance. Findings and Discussion The findings indicated that about 51.6% of the respondents were males and more than half of the respondents (50.3%) were within the 45-54 age range. About 44.7% of the respondents had 21 or more years of experience. More than half of the respondents (53.1%) worked in private schools, and approximately 60.3% of the respondents held bachelors degrees. Moreover, the majority of the participants (95.5%) reported that they had computer training, and 83.8% of them had more than 60 hours training. In terms of the type of training, more than half of the principals participating in the study (52.8%) reported that they received their training through in-service training. Computer Use by Principals The dependent variable, level of computer use, was quantified by the score of 39 items using a five-point Likert scale. Each item was rated by respondents from 1 (Never use) to 5 (use daily). This scale was developed by Felton (2006). According to this questionnaire, four domains of computer use such as Internet use, hardware and software use, instructional use, and administrative use were measured. Table 1 Distribution of Mean Scores on the Computer Use Scale According to Table 1, the principals perceptions of the level of computer use were moderate; with an overall mean score of 3.32 (SD= 0.76). Also, findings indicated that principals spent a few times a week working on their computers. It would seem that Iranian principals need effective and extensive trainings to raise their proficiency in computer use and integrate technology into their schools. Moreover, analysis of collected data on the computer use scale showed that among the subscales of the level of computer use, Internet use had the highest mean (M = 3.49). Also, findings showed that nearly all the respondents used the Internet at home and at school , and the most frequent use of Internet was for sending and receiving e-mail (46.9% 2 or 3 times a week). It would seem that e-mail was the most accepted application among principals who were surveyed. In fact, there may be several reasons for this—e-mail is efficient, widely available, and effective. Thus, it is not surprising that email was accepted and used far more by the sample population of this study. Principals can increase their professional knowledge in the form of knowing current research, new technologies, and best teaching practices through the use of the Internet. Findings of this study showed that most of the respondents used a web browser a few times a week to explore professional and educational resources. Three reasons may underline the obtained results. The first possible reason is that low telecommunication density and very low bandwidth during peak hours sometimes makes it impossible to download files or software. Furthermore, most of the principals have little Internet experience; it was not comfortable for them to spend time on uses other than e-mail or some sort of urgent browsing. Lastly lack of knowledge and skill for searching and downloading the valuable professional and educational resources also limit the use of the Interne. In fact, the Internet can be an avenue for researching information and data. It helps principals to find information regarding their pr ofession and educational subjects in order to develop processes for effective decision-making and problem solving which result in better accountability (Felton, 2006). Therefore, trainings should be provided for principals to learn all possible Internet resources with underlying techniques of strategic browsing to enhance their Internet literacy (Atkinson Kydd, 1997). As for the hardware and software use subscale, the main use for computers was in word processing, whereas construction of spreadsheets, databases and presentations (such as Powerpoint) was used never or a few times a month. Only 2.5 percent of principals stated that they read spreadsheets daily at work with 20.0 percent indicating use 2 or 3 times a week, while 56.9 percent indicated that they had read never or a few times a month a spreadsheet. These results are consistent with Schillers (2003) study. He found that the word processing was the most frequently utilized software among the principals and they used it to create documents and slides. Regarding the instructional use domain, the majority of participants indicated that they two or three times a week used computers for recording observation; monitoring student achievement for specific objectives and grades; creating master schedules; recording discipline referrals; writing up classroom observations; monitoring achievement test data; locating curriculum resources; developing or write curriculum; and creating graphs and charts. Plomp and Pelgrum (1992) stated that one way in which computers might work their way into the school is through administrative use and that this might lead to the use of computers in instruction. An examination of data showed that mean score of the administrative use subscale was lower than another subscales, and computer use for instructional purposes was generally ahead of administrative uses. Moreover, findings indicated that within the area of administrative uses, communicating with staff, and members of the wider school, initiating and sust aining collaborative activities with colleagues within and outside their school were the areas of greatest use, while financial matters, maintaining of administrative records about students, using a programme to analyze information for solving problems, using technology to support levels of professional collaboration, and using technology to participate new kinds of professional development were the areas of least use. Therefore, the early assumption that the introduction of computers into schools for administrative purposes would spread to their use for instructional purposes was not supported by the data. Principals Attitudes toward ICT in Education Attitude scale contained 23 items that asked respondents to describe their attitudes towards ICT. This scale was developed by Albirini in 2006a and comprised of three subscales: affective domain; cognitive domain, and behavioral domain. Respondents attitudes were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicated positive attitudes towards ICT while lower scores indicated less positive attitudes. Table 2 Distribution of Mean Scores on the Attitude toward ICT Scale As Table 2 illustrates, principals attitudes towards ICT were positive, with an overall mean of 4.05 and a standard deviation of 0.44. Principals positive attitudes towards ICT exhibit their initiation into the innovation-decision process (Rogers, 2003). It seems that Iranian principals have already gone through the Knowledge and Persuasion stages (Rogers, 2003) and are probably proceeding to the Decision phase. As many theorists have indicated, attitudes can often foretell future behaviours (Ajzen Fishbein, 2005). Thus, it can be concluded that principals who have positive attitudes towards ICT in education, use computer in their administrative and instructional tasks once computers become more available to them. At this stage, principals exp