California Association of Realtors
County Economic Profile Subscribers Database
Converted a number of separate existing files into a consolidated Access database to streamline tracking of subscribers to California CEP reports, resulting in faster management reporting, better control of costs and expenses, and improved customer services. Provided staff training in Access and PowerPoint.
Median Home Price Press Release
Converted an existing DBase III database for all reporting California counties and consolidated information into an Access database for faster turnaround of monthly press reports and special responses to media inquiries. Provided staff training in Access and PowerPoint.
Trends Newsletter
Replaced a manual data entry process with an automated input and re-calculation program.
Re-formatted monthly real estate trends data for both newsletter print layout and for Web page online retrieval. Provided staff training in Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.
International Real Estate Web Page
Design and development of a members-only Web page and Bulletin Board System (in collaboration with Dara Ghahremani) to provide international real estate professionals with news, online consultant roster, statistics, meeting/conference, global business conditions, and a market information exchange network. Provided staff training to facilitate independent maintenance and update of their own Web pages.
County Economic Profiles
Converted 24 California County Economic Profiles, plus state and national profiles, from Harvard Graphics to Microsoft PowerPoint, provided staff training for future updates and maintenance.
Corporate Training
Provided staff training for Economists, Marketing, Public Policy and Administrative support
personnel in public and private data sources on the Web, key search
engines and how to interpret search results. Assessment and
recommendations for re-work of the corporate Web site.
Date: May 1997 to 2000
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Client: California Association of Realtors
Contact: Leslie Appleton-Young, Chief Economist; G.U. Kreuger, Assistant Economist
The Internet -- Your Roadmap to the Information Superhighway
Elizabeth Ghaffari, as president of Technology Place, was invited to participate in public
panel, sponsored by KNX 10.70 Newsradio, the Los Angeles Times, and the City of Los
Angeles Library, on the topic of "The Internet: Your Roadmap to the Information
Superhighway". Held at the Mark Taper Auditorium of the L.A. Downtown Central
Library in March 1995, the panel included experts from U.S.C.'s Information Sciences
Institute, the L.A. Times' TimesLink/Prodigy project, and the City of Los Angeles'
Information Services offices.
Ms. Ghaffari's role in the panel was to present the Internet from the perspective of the
business person or the average consumer trying to select from available electronic
options. In that capacity, she provided a layman's introduction, translating the media's
marketing hyperbole which dominates the presentation of the Internet world.
Date: March 1995
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Client: KNX 10.70 Newsradio, CBS Radio
Contact: Bob Scott, Panel Moderator, and Monica Marotte, Asst. Director, Community Services
Imagine The Future: Commuting on the Information Superhighway
Elizabeth Ghaffari served on a panel of consultants in the TDM field at the April 1995
ACT Western Regional Conference, on the topic of which technologies might be
appropriate to complement other aspects of a business trip reduction program.
Specifically, she presented an overview of how access to the Internet resources might
be valuable for employee transportation coordinators, employers, and commuting
employees.
Ms. Ghaffari gave several examples of how she and her business clients use the
Internet resources for business research gathering purposes and to avoid making trips.
She provided examples of the power of electronic mail in expanding business reach
through effective use of online communication. Finally, she focused on the key
business questions that needed to be answered in the development of business-to-business or
business-to-consumer products and service on "the 'net".
Date: April 1995
Location: Anaheim, CA
Client: Association for Commuter Transportation, Southern California Chapter
Contact: Aaron Hanson, Panel Moderator
Online TDM Information Resource Distribution System
Technology Place's participated in a multi-member project to provide Technical
Assistance to California Transportation Management Associations (TMAs), with
COMSIS Corporation, for the California Department of Transportation
(CALTRANS). Technology Place is assisting the project in the design and
development of online electronic information sharing techniques.
Technology Place provided technical assistance to support the introduction of
online information access services to the over 50 transportation management
associations (TMAs) located throughout California. The firm's charter was to
evaluate, recommend, and implement an online information resource which
would make available to statewide TMAs a database of 650 document citations
and original material covering the spectrum of TDM literature and TMA
formation and operations.
The project included efforts to demystify online information resources for
average business people (the executive directors), assemble a wealth of
information from the field (from CALTRANS' District offices, consultants, and
local and municipal transportation resources), organize the data into a logical
menu structure, evaluate and recommend cost effective online information
network access methods to be used during the project period.
By year end, over one-third of the clients were online and receiving training and
other educational or support material to facilitate their use of available
resources.
Other project features included wider access to other Internet conference areas
developed and supported by local, regional, national, and international
counterparts in related professions.
The database of TDM material was later incorporated into the CALTRANS
statewide customer information delivery system as chartered by the Strategic
Marketing Plan.
Date: 1994-1995
Location: Sacramento, CA
Client: California Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Improvement
Contact: Michael Seaman
Prime: COMSIS Corporation
Contact: Lori Diggins
Permitting Research and Survey
Technology Place, on assignment from The Planning Center, provided support
technical review and analysis regarding a survey project for Pacific Bell Mobile
Services, the California wireless communications service subsidiary of Pacific
Telesis Corporation. PBMS was interested in expanding cell site locations
throughout its California service area. To streamline that process, the
telecommunications departments of all municipalities, and the county of Los
Angeles were surveyed and their requirements for review and approval of cell
site locations documented. Additional plan and procedures data and information
were assembled through extensive telephone surveys conducted by the staff of
The Planning Center.
From this large collection of research data, Technology Place extracted
the patterns of high level strategic decision-making criteria that would guide the
specific locational choices. Seven general criteria were found to be significant
concerns across the bulk of interviewed city and county telecommunications
representatives. In addition, another seven specific decision criteria were
described in detail as the common denominators among jurisdictional issues
cites by those cities with practical experience in actual site review and
evaluations.
Using this information, the client was able to develop a streamlined site selection
process and prepare a comparative scoring scheme to guide its staff in their
review of possible locations within each targeted jurisdiction.
Date: 1994
Location: Irvine, CA
Client: Pacific Bell Mobile Services
Prime: The Planning Center
Contact: Susan DeSantis
System Software Managers Online Information Network
Elizabeth Ghaffari, while in charge of Project Management of the Production
Services Department, First Interstate Services Company, established the online
information server used to support System Software departments in 7 data
centers serving 11 western states. She was responsible for the assembly,
organization, and dissemination of information among system software
managers in the remote data centers with an emphasis on technical data
covering the product evaluations, contracts, and implementation
recommendations for IBM MVS and VM mainframe operating system software.
She provided systems support, coordination and communication among systems
software technicians, corporate contract and vendor representatives. She made
executive-level presentations to key senior Production Services management at
the top operating levels of each of the Service Company's separate and
independent data centers.
She drew from her prior 6 years' experience as a timeshare consultant and
information systems professional, responsible for technical support and problem
resolution regarding an ever-increasing variety of mainframe and microcomputer
software products to support the banking enterprise's clientele.
Date: 1988
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Client: First Interstate Services Company
Contacts: Kevin O'Byrne, Resource Management and Lew Gruber, Corporate Contracts
Multi-Media Video - Career Development Foundation of Oman
Technology Place was the prime contractor and principal producer of a multi-media video for the
Career Development Foundation of Oman. The international
project was handled as a pure "telework" endeavor: the client communicated
all project requirements and feedback electronically or through transmitted
written instructions to the project production team located around the world.
The Foundation had just completed design of its innovative training program,
serving the Omani population in their pursuit of future technical employment
opportunities. In January 1992, the Foundation scheduled an international
introduction of their marketing strategy to promote the training program to
corporate firms based in Oman. The client wanted to include a computer-based
multi-media presentation in their inaugural event. In addition, they wanted a
video of the presentation which could be used by their marketing staff in
promotional sessions at client locations.
Technology Place developed the storyboard, script, presentation format, and
coordinated the work of sub-contracting designers and production staff at HSC
Software in Santa Monica, CA. Together, the team directed and produced a 10
minute PC-based computer presentation and a video which were highlighted at
the inaugural ceremonies, opening the latest of the Foundation's training
facilities.
In addition, Technology Place (working with TLC Media Works of Los Angeles)
prepared the Foundation Director's Opening Statements, welcoming corporate
leaders and dignitaries from around the world.
This project represents a very early instance of multi-media development
projects at a time that sound and video graphic cards were just being
introduced. For this reason, the partnership between the Foundation and its
international contractors was seen as evidence of all of the organizations' ability
to use, effectively, the very latest available technology.
Date:1991-1992
Client: The Career Development Foundation of Oman; Ruwi, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Contact: Sheila Diwakar
Sub-contractor: HSC Software, Santa Monica, CA
Contact: Thomas C. Chesney
Sub-contractor: TLC Media Works, Los Angeles, CA
Contact: Laurence Dean Cohen
