I'll suggest some ideas based on what I think would be meaningful in the context of other recent literature. If you like one of the ideas below, I'll write a few pages of Lit Review so we can refine our focus even more. Your topic interested me because of its importance; quality of care improves when there is a high level of interpersonal collaboration among health care professionals (Martin,Ummenhofer, Manser, & Spirig, 2010; Kalisch, Lee, & Rochman, 2010; Mohr, Burgess, & Young, 2008 ). Also, interpersonal relationships and support from colleagues is one of the most important factors in determining job satisfaction among nurses. In turn, nurse job satisfaction is positively correlated to patient satisfaction (Kutney-Lee, McHugh, Sloane, Cimiotti, et al, 2009). We can benefit a lot of people if we design a project that can lead to improved methods of overcoming barriers to collaboration or enhancing it in some way.

Identify relationships between Level of Collaboration and Work Locus of Control (LOC)

We could look for correlations between Work Locus of Control (LOC) (Spector, 1988) and the quality of collaboration between nursing professionals and physicians. Research has already established that people with internal LOC express more job satisfaction and excel at problem solving, coping with difficulty, and more (Ng, Sorenson, & Eby, 2006), so it can be expected that meaningful relationships will exist between LOC and the quality of nurse-physician collaboration. In a similar study, Tillman, Smith, and Tillman (2010) used quantitative methods to search for relationships between LOC and other important variables such as satisfaction with work, pay, opportunities for promotion, supervision, and so forth, because they wanted to contribute to scholarly discourse about the best ways to use LOC as theoretical construct for organizational psychology. We could do the same with a focus on this specific relationship between nurses and physicians. So, that's one quantitative option for you, maybe using the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration (JSATPNC) and also the 16-item Work Locus of Control Scale designed by Paul Spector (1988).

The research questions could be about the strength of relationships between several variables measured by the two data collection instruments.

However, at this point in the discourse it might be better to use a qualitative method to generate new theory by identifying an important concept for overcoming barriers to collaboration, because we already know collaboration is both imperfect and important, so it's not helpful to keep observing relationships between them, etc. It's better to find real insight through qualitative research and then perhaps in a followup study someone will use quantitative methods to lean more about the themes that emerge in analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from nurses and physicians asked to respond to one meaningful question.

Nurse-Physician Collaboration and Herzberg's (1959) Two-Factor Theory

Herzberg's (1959) two Factor theory is based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. People can't take interest in the higher needs until the lower ones are satisfied. Some needs among workers can be met with extrinsic motivation and others can be met with intrinsic motivation. A need for sufficient pay and safe working conditions must be met in order for people to have intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation leads to improved effort and better outcomes. Research shows that extrinsic motivation (pay, safe working conditions, benefits) is more important before all those needs are met, but after extrinsic needs are met the type of motivation that is most important is intrinsic motivation (opportunity to make a difference, opportunity to advance through performance).

Interestingly, some researchers treat the quality of interpersonal relationships as one of the extrinsic motivators that are necessary in order for people to have any job satisfaction at all. It could even be argued that potential for intrinsic motivation is limited until people reach a certain level of quality in their collaboration with colleagues. There is a threshold that can be crossed in the satisfaction of a healthcare professionals' extrinsic motivation after which it becomes easier to achieve the advantages of intrinsic motivation (Ismail & El Nakkache, 2014), and in light of this insight from research, we might ask nurses and physicians to reply to items on a Likert rating scale. That would enable us to quantify subjective data so it can be expressed numerically.

Example:

Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements.

To each statement, they would reply: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree.

I would need to write the statements based on concepts that emerge in the review of literature about nurse-patient collaboration.

**For this option, I don't yet have a sense of what the research question might be, but we could accomplish a lot by getting their responses to several statements.

Use grounded theory to identify the most important driving and restraining forces that affect efforts to increase the level of collaboration.

This subject would make a great qualitative project, especially since you have access to RN's who can give some data. We could make it simple and very meaningful by asking only one open-ended question. The rate of response would be high because it's only one question, and the whole study will be poignant in its simplicity. In fact, we can still use several research questions but it would be great to present the paper as though it really is about one essential question. I wonder what comes to mind for you, when I ask, What is the most useful question we could ask nurses and physicians about their collaboration?

My first idea is to approach it from the perspective of Kurt Lewin's famous (1947) change theory. We would complete the first step for using his model: Identify driving and restraining forces. We could ask nurses and physicians to describe the circumstances that drive them to collaborate more with one another, and we could ask them to describe the barriers that stand in the way. By doing that, we can identify the most important aspects of their professional relationship where leaders/administrators can direct initiatives for improving collaboration.

It's not even necessary to conduct interviews, because the question could be distributed online online and we'd use textual analysis or grounded theory to identify themes in their responses and relate those themes to one another. It would result in a 'core category' that represents the most prominent theme in their responses.

The research questions might be:

1. What are the driving forces that promote increased collaboration between nurses and physicians?

2. What are the restraining forces that prevent increased collaboration between nurses and physicians?

You can choose any of these, or suggest different ideas, and then the next step will be for me to review some relevant, recent literature and write some pages for the Introduction of Lit Review.

While I do that, I'll discover all the most recent research findings, and maybe some of them will contradict less recent findings or raise questions, etc., so after I write some pages I'll be better able to refine one of these topics and really nail down the best research questions to use.

After that, the research design can be informed by the research questions.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Simon (References below)

REFERENCES

Herzberg, F. (1973). Work and the nature of man. Cleveland, Ohio: World Publishing.

Herzberg, F. (1987). One More Time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review, 46 (1), 53-62.

Herzberg, F., Mausner, B, & Snyderman, B (1959). The motivation to work (2nd ed.).New York: John Wiley.

Ismail, H., & El Nakkache, L. (2014). Extrinsic and Intrinsic Job Factors: Motivation and Satisfaction in a Developing Arab Country - the Case of Lebanon. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 19(1), 66.

Kalisch, B. J., Lee, H., & Rochman, M. (2010). Nursing staff teamwork and job satisfaction. Journal of Nursing Management, 18, 938-947.

Kutney-Lee, Matthew D. McHugh, Douglas M. Sloane, Jeannie P. Cimiotti, Linda Flynn, Donna Felber Neff, and Linda H. Aiken. (2009). Nursing: a key to patient satisfaction. Health Affiliated, 28(4), 669-677.

Lewin, K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics. Human Relations , 1947, 1, 5-40.

Martin, J. S., Ummenhofer, W., Manser, T., & Spirig, R. (2010). Interprofessional collaboration among nurses and physicians: Making a difference in patient outcome. Swiss Medical Weekly, 140, 1-12.

Mohr, D. C., Burgess, J. F., & Young, G. J. (2008). The influence of teamwork culture on physician and nurse resignation rates in hospitals. Health Services Management Research, 21, 23-31.

Ng, T. W., Sorenson, K. L., & Eby, L. T. (2006). Locus of control at work: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(8), 1057-1087.

Spector. (1988). The Work Locus of Control Scale.

1. Maximizing personal fulfillment.

It is a critical part of students' lives to be able to fully satiate different parts of their daily activities in accordance to their personal development. Fulfilling homework takes away the free time that students would have taken into account for their personal development. What's the point of having academic degrees when you're not nurtured internally as a person?

2. Allowing students to stay on top of their game.

Reducing homework can allow students to focus more on their classroom discussions. Remember how many times you had to stay up late trying to finish assignments that teachers had bombarded you with a few days prior? While some may argue that these are small responsibilities and they pale comparison to the entirety of the degree program, it should still be noted that they do pile up regardless of the circumstances. It's nearly impossible to stay focused during a three-hour lecture when one haven't had sufficient sleep.

3. Internal needs of students are better acknowledged.

Self-development while growing up is not solely isolated to having outstanding academic records. Rather, personal growth is also marked by the development of your internal aspirations that are often easily seen when you are nurturing your hobbies and interests on the side. Educational institutions should respect these particularities that make individuals more tangible to who they truly are as people.

4. Missing out on major events.

One can recall numerous instances wherein you had to opt out of a family or friends' gathering due to the magnitude of homeworks that were given out. It's alright if it's every once in a while. However, for individuals who are involved in intensive learning programs, it would not be rare for them to skip out on numerous - even the most essential ones - events for the sake of not failing their subjects.

5. Beneficial for sporty individuals.

For students who involve themselves in quite intensive programs for sports, they are often sucked into the field because of the longevity of their career. Because of this, having an astounding amount of homework could potentially impede on their career paths because they may have it difficult to manage both sections of their lives. It would be helpful if academic institutions could respect those boundaries.

6. Giving more time for their personal growth.

When your entire career is reliant on the development of your hobbies, you become chained to the idea that you need to perfect your responsibilities and skills through nurturing the talents that you already have. When you're a student from a renowned institution and yet still have to deal with this immense pressure to fulfill all of your academic requirements, it becomes critical that your free time gets devoted to seeking and nurturing your own responsibilities.

7. A smoother ride for working students.

Life is tough, especially when you're dragged into laborious financial situations that restrain you. Oftentimes, these financial difficulties are potential reasons why a lot of students nowadays are getting involved into taking up part-time work responsibilities. When you're able to work and study at the same time, it saves time and provides you with the luxury of learning how to be responsible. When you come home from an intensive work period and still need to do a 10-page homework, there's no way that you'll be able to pass with flying colors.

8. For assistance of single parents.

There are innumerable golden stories nowadays of single parents who suddenly decide to finally finish their studies after all their children have finished. Because these stories are truthfully inspiring in terms of providing people with inspiration to advance their careers regardless, it would be beneficial for academic institutions to bear in mind that they do exist in the long-run. While these people are definitely not the majority, it still matters that they are taken into account.

9. To have a more active social life.

Isolation is a persistent concern that people have during the period that they enter academic institutions. The social circles of individuals as their academic requirements go up become depleted throughout time. While this may not be an initial concern, it can certainly grow into a lonesome situation for them. People who become isolated from these scenarios would therefore have a tendency to have long-term loneliness.

10. A better route for mental health.

Lastly, due to how crippling mental health concerns can be, the tremendous pressure placed on students to fulfill all of the academic requirements can be difficult to manage. When students are not well-rested because of the amount of "after-school work" that they need to accomplish, it becomes furthermore difficult for them to manage their day to day stress levels. In result, academic institutions should be more mindful of the space that they're exhausting in students' lives.

Call it step-by-step, status quo or the thing to do...the result is the same. Parents and teachers label a child "smart" to suggest he is more capable than others in the class. Here, college symbolizes success. The child takes Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school, only to bomb the actual exams and earn college credit. Remember, the "smart" kids are in AP classes, and the smart kids go on to college opening the door to a multitude of opportunities in the so-called real world, which is quite frankly the workforce. Fast forward four (or five) years and the smart kid graduates college. Degree-in-hand, he is ready to dazzle a soon-to-be employer with this degree, symbolic of hard work, tireless nights of studying, and most importantly being one of the smart kids. Unfortunately, the piece of paper symbolizes nothing more than failure to utilize the college environment, attain real skills, and set a higher standard. The smart kid has done nothing to seize this alleged advantage that he had over the kids who didn't take the AP classes and graduate college. The college degree fails to deliver on its promise of improved opportunities and a better life; yet, can we really blame education for the slacked mentality of a praised, smart kid?

Students are blinded by the mirage that is the finish line. "They mistakenly think that since they've made it through four years of jumping through professors' hoops, they deserve a great job. That's just not true" (Pozin, 2017, para 2). Now, let's consider the individual labeled non-capable and not worthy of the college experience. Over the last five years, this individual has worked for the same company, learned critical business skills, pursued advancement opportunities while demonstrating positive leadership and interpersonal skills. Comparatively, the college graduate is walking into the same company feeling he's entitled to a managerial position because of the degree, which is framed and stuck to the wall in his overpriced apartment shared with four roommates. Who, in this scenario is more worthy of the management spot?

The college degree has come up short. This is not an exaggeration, but a trend where the path to success is shaped by individualism, not the mythical path consisting of smart kid, college, degree, six-figure salary. Most college graduates will never apply the skills learned in their area of study, at least in the projected capacity (Merino, 2016). In fact, most are going to work in what David Graeber (2019) would label "Bullshit Jobs." Sure, college is a meaningful experience even for those who are better off tossing the degree in the garbage bin as it holds little value in the workforce, other than a credential claiming X amount of work has been completed under academic requirements. Moreover, let's account for the college students who have outsourced their projects to an experienced writer for a fee. This trend is all-too-common today, where parents, faculty and tenured professors would be mystified at the student sample size of those who did not write their own essays, or even participate in meaningless online discussion posts.

Education is accomplished through learned behavior. The formal elements of an educational institution and the end result, which is a piece of paper stating "Good Job" does not transition into the workplace. While four years in an educational setting has (potential) critical benefits in collaborative learning, instructional expertise, knowledge-based assessment and the like, too many are abandoning this opportunity. Instead, the goal is to get through college and obtain the degree. For this reason, so many are then asking, "now what?" and remain without any clear direction, usable talents, or desired skills adequate for the modern work environment.

References

Graeber, D. Bullshit jobs: A theory. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Merino, N. How valuable is a college degree? Greenhaven Publishing.

Pozin, I. "College students: In the real world, your degree is worthless." Inc.

Introduction

Attitudes toward career counseling: The role of public and self-stigma, by Wyndolyn Ludwikoski, David Vogel, and Patrick Armstrong is an examination of the role of various forms of stigma in the use of career counseling services by undergraduates. The problem that the research was intended to address was the problem of under-utilization of career counseling services in undergraduate colleges, despite a clear need for these services. According to the authors, the objectives of the study was "to examine the relationships between the stigmas associated with career counseling and attitudes toward using career-related services (Ludwikowski, Vogel, & Armstrong, 2009, p. 408)." The authors did not state a specific hypothesis or research question.

However, the authors did provide a substantial literature review that addressed a number of key topics in the research. The topics addressed the previous research on stigma and its effects on seeking out career counseling, levels of stigma, research on gender and stigma, and research on stigma related to career issues. This literature review provided a clear insight into the areas of discussion for the topic of the research and also provided a good justification for why the research that was addressed was necessary. Variables of interest in the study included stigma (public, close social, and self-stigma) as independent variables, and attitudes toward career counseling as the dependent variable (Ludwikowski, Vogel, & Armstrong).

Methodology

The survey design was a quantitative survey methodology, with a sample of 509 undergraduate university students enrolled in an introductory psychology class. The authors identified gender, year level, and race-ethnicity for the majority of students, but did not make any further other attempts to control for extraneous variables, particularly age, which could be relevant in an undergraduate population. Sampling was done using convenience sampling, with all volunteers for the study being accepted. (Volunteers were offered extra credit for participation, which does not pose a significant ethical problem but is something that should be kept in mind.) One area of potential bias in this study was the preponderance of first and second year students; these students may not have yet been faced with a significant need for career services, and so their responses may not be representative of the general college population.

The measurement instruments that were used were standard, tested instruments that had previously been tested for internal validity and reliability. A different scale was used for each item, with between five and 16 items for each scale (Ludwikowski, Vogel, & Armstrong). Internal consistency within the sample for each scale was 0.80 or above, indicating strong internal consistency and construct validity. The authors did not explicitly address ethics within their study, but there is no evidence that there are significant ethical problems within the study.

Data Analysis

The data analysis for this study used confirmatory factor analysis to create a measurement model, then used structural equation modeling to identify relationships between the variables. The authors clearly explained their procedures as well as their findings, and used a step by step approach to explain their model creation, bootstrapping, and other methods that were used to identify the model relationships. The authors also used gender as a demographic variable in order to determine whether there were differences between men and women. They presented two tables and one graph that demonstrated the relationships between the constructs. The researchers also interpreted the findings well, including discussion of the findings in terms of previous research. Overall, the presentation of the data analysis was effective.

Communicating Findings

The article included two pages of discussion on the findings. The first stage of the discussion compared and contrasted the findings to previous research in the area, pointing out areas where the research agreed as well as where it disagreed. The authors then discussed the implications of the findings in terms of practical application to college students, offering recommendations for improving college student use of career counseling services. They did discuss limitations in the study, acknowledging issues with the study design including the high level of first and second year students. There were a few discussions for further research as well, though these suggestions were primarily based on improving the strength of the full study. Ultimately, this discussion was concise, clear, and honestly identified both strengths and weaknesses of the study.

Concluding Remarks

Overall, I feel this research paper was very useful in understanding the topic area, despite the weaknesses in the study design (in particular the potential for error and bias in the sampling design). In particular, the robust analysis method and the grounding in previously tested and robust test instruments was useful in ensuring effective findings. The research is, as the authors noted, primarily correlational. However, it does provide insight into the attitudes of undergraduates toward career counseling, and some important insight into the ways that undergraduate uptake of career services could be improved. I would use it to improve offerings and reduce stigma in these service offerings, as well as to encourage students to overcome these stigmas. I would recommend it also for other career counseling professionals to understand reasons why individuals might avoid career counseling services.

REFERENCES

Ludwikowski, W., Vogel, D., & Armstrong, P. (2009). Attitudes toward career counseling: The role of public and self-stigma. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 408-416. doi: 10.1037/a0016180.

College students are often bewildered when it comes to getting an A mark on their research paper. The elusive score often drives a student to madness as he or she tries to push up their GPA score by writing an impressive research paper.

The aha-moment! That's the secret - use intelligent sounding words! The more complicated the word to spell is, the more the professor will see the student as an intelligent person.

Wrong! Using big words, as often referred to by rational academic paper writers, only shows the professor that you are out there to impress, not out to prove your knowledge on the subject that is based on scientific research and an understanding of the relevant information. To put it in context, complicated words impress no-one.

It is easy to understand why students would mistake using ancient English vocabulary or, sounding like Shakespeare the Bard in their papers. Some of the best books and literary works were published using such difficult to understand words. Therefore, it may seem that those literary geniuses were intelligent people. However, the fact is that these historical authors were using the English vocabulary of their era. Yes. Every era has its own style of English writing and vocabulary. That does not mean it is the best way to write in modern time. It merely represents how other people wrote during that time, using words that were relevant to their knowledge and society in the past.

Artistic English writing samples refer to text such as those written by our forefathers at the Lincoln Memorial that states:

In this temple

As in the hearts of the people

For whom he saved the Union

The memory of Abraham Lincoln

Is enshrined forever

In plain English, all the quote is trying to say is "Abraham Lincoln is an American hero whose war time actions helped built America so we will remember him forever."

So, does it mean that the 21st century cannot produce prolific writers and notable research work because our vocabulary is less complicated? On the contrary, within the next 25 years, our way of writing and word usage will be the living English language of the early 21st century. It will be using words that will sound complicated and impressive to the next generation of writers and researchers because these everyday English words will be a part of an "ancient" form of English. Those simple words that we take for granted today, will sound impressive and complicated for the future generations. So, don't fret about saying things straight out. You won't seem any less intelligent for using simpler words or sentence presentations. What matters now is that you can get the audience of your written work, be it a professor or peer reviews by classmates, to understand the point you are trying to make or the information you want to share.

To conclude -- go ahead, keep your presentations simple. Your intelligence will never be judged by the way you use complicated words anyway. In fact, you may even confuse your own professor, who may not be familiar with the outdated English words you might decide to use in your writing.

These days, websites have to cover articles and other types of content in a logical and scientific manner. Everything from the relevance of words to be used to the number of words for the whole article are all aimed at pleasing Google, Bing, Yandex, and other search engines. Some academic research services will opt to using a paid advertising formula that supplements search engines in finding and ranking web pages.

In other words, copywriters today are more of AI writers in human form instead of human writers. The majority of web copywriters tend to write for the search engines instead of the target audience and that creates problems.

When a company relies on an unproportional need for search engine optimization rather than natural language used by the target audience, the website may show up more on Google or Bing search pages, but it will also be less attractive to potential clients. When the page is crammed chock full of artificial keywords packed together in irrational sentence formations, the readers don't get the relevant information they came to the site for. Their tendency will be to move on to the next site (which can create a negative page bounce rate) that presents the information in a more human-friendly manner. That's what clients are looking for.

Prospective customers come to a page looking for information, so a quality SEO article researcher will write the page for the benefit of the person reading it. As long as the content is written informatively and the keywords are blended into the presentation seamlessly, the search engines will pick up on the page and position it in the proper place within the search rankings.

It is more important to write for the client rather than the search engine. The client may click on the page because of pure ranking, but he or she will hire the company only when there is clear information presented on the page that relates directly to the client's needs. Hence, the need for the writer to get out of the "SEO writing" mode and more into "Human reading and consideration" mode is more and more important. If the information makes sense to the reader, then the potential for making a sale is high. If content is written only for SEO purposes, one should not expect too much positive results because the visitor may not even stay long enough to finish reading the landing page.

Acceleration is one strategy used to ensure that gifted and talented students receive appropriate education; contrary to the many myths around acceleration, it is beneficial to students both academically and socially. Acceleration challenges gifted students, helping to prevent boredom and apathy (Board of Studies 2000, p. 38), and allows them to form relationships with other gifted and talented students who are on par with them intellectually.

Administratively, acceleration is relatively inexpensive; has been shown to be the most effective intervention for gifted students in terms of their academic performance; assists in affective adjustment (i.e. emotional relief from "fish out of water" situations); and prevents boredom and frustration.

Overall, the preponderance of research shows that the benefits of acceleration are not only numerous (socially, academically, and emotionally), but unambiguous, so much so that 'it is difficult to see how an educator could oppose it' (Merrotsy 2003, p. 134).

Yet this disconnect between the research and the persistence of myths surrounding acceleration is precisely an area of large concern. If educators continue to believe that acceleration is problematic for students (usually the concerns are social in nature), the fear is that they will not recommend it; they will oppose it if recommended; and/or they will not implement it properly. For example, Rogers notes that an accelerated pace when learning certain subject areas is essential, not ideal, in part because of the particular cognitive traits of most gifted and talented students [e.g. a 'craving for content that is new and different ALL THE TIME' (Rogers 2002, p. 125)].

This casts a different light on resistance to this method; that is to say, the primary reason for concern regarding acceleration is not that the method itself is flawed, but rather that educators, parents, and others who have control of the educational paths of gifted students believe it to be so. That they would allow myths to claim precedence over research-based fact is worrisome, especially when the ramifications for the students can be quite problematic.

References

Board of Studies NSW 2000, Guidelines for accelerated progression, Board of Studies NSW, Sydney.

Merrotsy, P 2003, 'Acceleration: two case studies of access to tertiary courses while still at school', TalentEd, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 10-24.

Merrotsy, P 2008, 'Acceleration', in N J Salkind (ed), Encyclopedia of educational psychology, vol. 1, pp. 4-8, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Rogers, K B 2002, Re-forming gifted education: matching the program to the child, Great Potential Press, Scottsdale, AZ.

Introduction and Topic

Cloud computing makes use of transmission capacities of high speed Internet servers or server clusters to process data from personal computers through Internet communication (Sultan). Server clusters are composed of a processing center that can handle large amounts of data. The server cluster also includes storage servers, calculation servers, and a resource data center that makes use of broadband. The exact configuration is usually determined according to the needs of the customer. The computing resources are distributed so that the supercomputer can meet the needs of the client.

The cloud computing is done through a virtualization of the data service center. This is combined with network resources, memory, storage, and a supporting architecture in order to accomplish the calculations necessary. These resources are allocated in a dynamic fashion in order to meet the immediate needs of the customer. This allows for increased resources during times of high computing needs and less resources when fewer computations are necessary. Instead of focusing on their physical hardware, a business using cloud computing can concentrate on the virtual resource layers necessary for their computing needs (Lytras et al.).

Recently, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have begun making progress toward mastering massive amounts of information (Alshamaila, Papagiannidis, and Li). Many businesses now have enterprise information systems. These systems are designed to meet the production and operation needs as well as the communications of a business. The majority of the enterprise access to the backbone of the network, which is now on line, is through broadband Internet connections. However, many SMEs still have considerable information management needs (Low, Chen, and Wu).

Many SMEs lack an overall plan for their enterprise information systems (Khosrow-Pour). This is frequently due to a lack of dedicated information professionals in these smaller businesses. Without a dedicated IT professional, many SMEs do not have a well-organized strategy for enterprise development. This means any additional software or hardware is purchased to meet immediate needs and may not benefit the overall system. A system that is well designed and thoroughly planned will begin with a single application. The various departments in the business are free to request specialty add-ons to the general system. The IT professional will ensure that these specialty software packages are completely compatible with the overall system and infrastructure. This ensures that the various subsystems are interoperable and can freely exchange information (Haider).

Another problem for SMEs handling vast amounts of information present in the modern business environment is the constraints of the telecom infrastructure (Kale). The infrastructure of the telecom system in which a business is operating often sets an absolute limit on the speed of calculations. However, there are methods for overcoming these limitations that are usually familiar to an IT professional. For example, instead of relying on a real-time data, the business may choose to do calculations on a previous day's information that has already been saved. Since the information is already in the system, the local telecom speed is usually not a limitation (Todorova and Smallbone).

Most SMEs have limits on the amount of resources they can invest in their enterprise information systems. The hardware necessary for most modern information management systems is costly. This means that the business must allocate a significant amount of capital for their information management needs. Additional costs come from software maintenance and development. There can be costly updates to both the hardware and software as well. Many SMEs that have reduced profitability for a financial quarter may choose to delay the updating of their information systems. This can result in information systems that are vulnerable to cyber-attacks (Kale).

As the global economy becomes more integrated, competition for business increases. This means it is increasingly important for an SME to have a well operating knowledge management system. The cost of hardware for this type of system to be done completely in-house is usually cost and space prohibitive. However, the cloud-based system can offer a viable alternative. Most of the cloud-based systems are less expensive than purchasing the hardware and software to do the calculations and data management in-house (Uden).

The cloud-based solutions for an SME are usually less costly than an in-house alternative (Todorova and Smallbone). This is because most organizations only need high levels of data management calculations to be done over a short period. When the calculations are being handled by an off-site supercomputer, the system will usually be able to compute all of the calculations necessary for the entire business in a few seconds or microseconds. This means that the business is only paying for the use of the computer system for a few seconds. Even for the most intensive calculations, this is less expensive than purchasing the necessary hardware and software. The cloud-based system also has the advantage of having rapid expandability (Khosrow-Pour).

Aims and Objectives

The aim of this research is to establish the present state of technology with regard to enterprise knowledge management through cloud computing among SMEs. While many SMEs have adopted the use of knowledge management systems, the majority have not yet transitioned to using cloud-based systems (Uden). Even the SMEs that have taken advantage of advanced knowledge management systems that are cloud-based still have a number of shortfalls with regard to their information management needs.

There are problems with the enterprise information systems in many SMEs. One of these problems is a lack of planning for the system construction. This is frequently due to the lack of a dedicated IT professional. Another problem is the limitations created by telecom infrastructure. An organization may be limited by the speed that their system can transfer information due to insufficient telecom infrastructure. Another problem faced by many SMEs is a lack of capital necessary for investing in an adequate information management system.

The Research Questions

This research is focused on determining the current state of technology for knowledge management with cloud computing among SMEs. This will be accomplished by answering the following three research questions:

1. To what extent do SMEs using cloud computing plan their information management systems?

2. What are the limitations placed on SMEs using cloud computing by telecom infrastructure constraints?

3. How much effect do limited funds have on SMEs use of cloud computing for their information management systems?

Methodology

Prior to gathering the primary data for this study, a thorough review of the literature will be done to determine the present state of knowledge. This study is meant to provide information regarding the present state regarding knowledge management by SMEs using cloud-based computing. The proposed research will serve to fill a gap in the literature regarding this topic. Specifically, there will be a search for gaps in the literature with regard to the extent that SMEs use cloud computing for information management, limitations provided by telecom infrastructure constraints, and the effect of limited funds on SMEs using cloud-based systems.

The proposed study will use survey research to gather primary data. Surveys are considered one of the best methods for gaining information regarding a phenomenon in its natural context. The survey allows gathering data without altering the circumstances in which an incident or other item of interest occurs. The particular methods used for collecting data with a survey depend on the purpose of the study and the situation. The data is collected from a specific sample of people using a systematic method. Traditionally, the surveys have been done using interviews and recording the responses on paper. The interviews were conducted in person or by telephone. Surveys were also sent by standard mail. The majority of surveys are now done over the Internet. This approach will be used for the proposed study.

Surveys can be broken down into interviews and questionnaires. This study will use a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be completed by the respondent and have consistent questions. The questions can be open or closed ended. The specific type of questionnaire survey used here will be one sent by email using closed ended questions. This type of questionnaire has a number of advantages. A questionnaire being sent by email allows for privacy when answering questions, long response categories, and visual presentations. A disadvantage of the email questionnaire is that a specific reading and writing level is needed, the method lacks flexibility, there is no ability for the researcher to explain questions in person, and high response rates are not likely. Other advantages of the email questionnaire include low-cost, access to geographically dispersed samples, low facility needs, and sufficient time for respondents to formulate their answers. Quick turnaround time can also be an advantage of the questionnaire delivered by email.

Survey Monkey will be used to develop the survey. The Survey Monkey company is cloud-based and specializes in helping people who are doing questionnaire research. The survey will be developed using the customizable survey development software provided by the company. Survey Monkey will also provide an appropriate group of subjects and collect the data. Once the data is collected by Survey Monkey, it will be sent to the researcher in digital format. This data can then be subjected to statistical analysis.

Time Plan

This entire project is expected to take four months. Gathering the information for the literature review and determining the gaps in the literature will take the first month. The second month will consist of developing the questionnaire and sending it to participants. The third month will involve collecting the data and doing the statistical analysis. The fourth month will involve the write up.

The Deliverables

This project will have three deliverables. The first deliverable is the systematic review of the literature. The literature review will be systematic and focus on the research questions. It will be targeted toward identifying, appraising, and then selecting the highest quality research available to answer the research questions. Every attempt will be made to include the best research available. The research will be sought out using a variety of search and meta-search engines. The search engines used will be Google, Google scholar, Yahoo, and Bing. The meta-search engines used will be Dogpile and Ixquick.

Another deliverable will be the questionnaire. The questionnaire will be developed using the Survey Monkey system. This system allows for more than 15 question types. Some of the question types include demographic questions, box questions, rating scales, and multiple-choice questions. The exact nature of the questionnaire will not be determined until the literature review is completed. The literature review will reveal the gaps in the literature being targeted. However, the questionnaires will almost certainly include demographic questions, multiple-choice questions, and rating scales. The questions will be formatted so that they are closed ended. This means that the subject will be indicating a number on the rating scale or one of several choices to a question. This will allow for ease of converting the answers to numeric data.

The third deliverable will be the outcome of the statistical analysis on the questionnaire data. The answers to the questions are likely to be represented by descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations. The statistical analysis will provide information explored in the discussion section of the write up. The meaning of these statistical findings will be discussed in relation to the information provided in the review of the literature. This will be done to answer the research questions and fill the gaps in the literature.

Proposed Chapter Headings

The proposed chapter headings for the project are as follows:

1. Front Materials.

2. Introduction and Background.

3. Review of the Relevant Literature.

4. Analysis and Results.

5. Conclusions and Recommendations.

6. References and Bibliography.

7. Appendices.

References

Alshamaila, Y., Papagiannidis, S. and Li, F. (2013). Cloud computing adoption by SMEs in the north east of England. Journal of Ent Info Management, 26(3), pp.250-275.

Haider, A. (2015). Business Technologies in Contemporary Organizations. Hershey: IGI Global.

Kale, V. (2014). Guide to cloud computing for business and technology managers. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.

Khosrow-Pour, M. (2013). Managing information resources and technology. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Low, C., Chen, Y. and Wu, M. (2011). Understanding the determinants of cloud computing adoption. Industr Mngmnt & Data Systems, 111(7), pp.1006-1023.

Luftman, J., Zadeh, H., Derksen, B., Santana, M., Rigoni, E. and Huang, Z. (2013). Key information technology and management issues 2012-2013: an international study. J Inf Technol, 28(4), pp.354-366.

Lytras, M., Ruan, D., Tennyson, R., Ordóñez de Pablos, P., García Peñalvo, F. and Rusu, L. (2013). Information systems, e-learning, and knowledge management research. New York City: Springer.

Sultan, N. (2013). Knowledge management in the age of cloud computing and Web 2.0: Experiencing the power of disruptive innovations. International Journal of Information Management, 33(1), pp.160-165.

Todorov, K. and Smallbone, D. (2014). Handbook of research on strategic management in small and medium enterprises. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Uden, L. (2013). 7th International Conference on Knowledge Management in Organizations. Berlin: Springer.