- ASC Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University - Blacksburg, Virginia
- April 11 - 13, 2002 pp 41-46
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An Interactive Multimedia Case Study for Teaching Legal Concepts in Construction
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Khaled Nassar and Anas Al-Khatib Bradley University Peoria, IL |
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Although construction law and the legal concepts are some of the most important topics introduced in any construction management curriculum, they tend to be one of the "dry" and less eventful courses. This paper presents an example of an interactive multimedia case study for presenting legal concepts of construction law. The user will learn about the legal concepts through a role-playing game in which the user has to make a series of decisions through the course of a multimedia case study. The outcomes of the user’s decisions are coded in the interactive case study and drive the succeeding events. The tutorial is implemented using Flash and Action Script (a web-based multimedia development kit) that can be posted on-line.
Key Words: Legal Concept, Construction Law, Interactive Multimedia Case Study, Flash, Action Script |
Introduction
In order to prepare students for the challenges of managing large construction projects, it is important to offer the students a well-rounded curriculum that contains all the essential topics of construction practice. Construction law is one of the most important topics encountered in the construction industry and therefore has become a standard course in most construction curricula. The instruction methods used in the teaching of construction law rely, for the most part, on traditional methods such as standard lectures and case studies. These traditional teaching methods are often found by students to be "dry" and sometimes not interesting (White 2001). Case studies are an excellent method for providing students with necessary skills to solve various construction claims and contracts problems that are encountered in the real world.
In this paper a method for enhancing the presentation of traditional construction law case studies through an interactive computerized system is described. The interactive case study employs a role-playing technique in which the students assume the roles of participants in an actual real life case study. The case study is truly interactive, in that the students get to make a series of correlated decisions that represent various actions that participants of the real life, case study, could have made. These decisions in turn guide the remaining series of events in the case study and conclude with the resolution of the case. By experimenting with different decisions, the users can learn about the consequences of their decisions and the legal concepts that guide them. Computerized interactive case studies can be used to augment the presentation of the actual cases in the related construction law courses. Furthermore, since the interactive case study is developed using a web based multimedia package, it can be posted on-line to supplement the course material. In the next section the legal concepts presented in the case study are briefly described. This is followed by a description of the interactive case study and a sample run of it. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for future modifications are provided.
Legal Concepts Introduced
There are a number of legal principles and doctrines that are usually presented in any construction law or contracts course. Although it is impossible to introduce all the legal concepts in a single case study, some case studies offer the possibility of presenting more than one. Through the decisions made by the students playing the roles of the participants of the case study, the students can learn about a number of different concepts. Legal doctrines presented in the proposed case study include promissory estoppel, contract ambiguity rules, handling of changes and additions to the contract and, methods of dispute resolution, and Table 1, shows a brief description of each of these concepts
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Table 1
Legal Concepts Introduced |
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Promissory Estoppel Promissory estoppel is a principal by which a contract becomes binding in spite of the fact that no formal agreement was made between the parties concerned. Estoppel is essentially the result of the court action asserting that an agreement or contract exists, based largely on the behavior or actions of the parties involved. This matter arises when there is an implied agreement. In another words, what a party does or says, even without a written document, may create a contract.
Contract Ambiguity A contract is ambiguous if it is capable of having more than one reasonable meaning, looking initially only at the meaning each party is giving to the contract. A contract can have a patent ambiguity or a latent ambiguity. A patent ambiguity (which is an obvious or open discrepancy, error or contradiction) is resolved in favor of the party who drafted the document. On the other hand a latent ambiguity which is resolved against the drafting party
Changes and Additions to the Contract The "changes" clause in a construction contract allows the owner to make changes in the contract without affecting the validity of the contract. In many contracts the parties agree in advance on certain items, such as overhead and profit, to be paid to the contractor for changes. If the parties do not agree in advance, the law will usually require the owner to pay a reasonable amount, including overhead and profit.
Methods of Disputes Resolution Negotiation is a voluntary and informal process in which the parties may or may not use counsels and there is no limit to the argument, evidence and interests, which may be canvassed Mediation is a process a mediator acts as a facilitator assists the parties in communicating and negotiating more effectively, thereby enhancing their ability to reach a settlement. Mediation is not a process to force compromise, and each party's limitations are respected. The mini-trial is A combination of negotiation, mediation and adjudication processes. In this process, the parties select a mutually acceptable adjudicator, to preside over an abbreviated hearing and to render an opinion if the business executives are unable to negotiate a settlement. Arbitration is the appointment of an arbitrator, an independent, neutral third person who renders a final and binding decision called an award. The advantages of arbitration over court adjudication are low costs and speed. Litigation is the common resolution in the legal system. |
(Sweets 2000, Hinze 2000). As will be described in the next section, a scenario is created in the tutorial in which the user will have to make decisions that will bear consequence to the legal concepts in Table 1.
Description of the Interactive Case Study
The case study describes a contract between the owner and the contractor for the installation of windows in a motel and restaurant complex (White 2001). The contract, plans and the specification did not specify the color of the windows to be installed. The owner verbally instructed the contractor to install white windows. The contractor installed the windows and then a dispute arose over compensation to the contractor for the removal and replacement of the white widows with bronze windows. Given this brief introduction, the user can play in the tutorial in two roles either as the owner or the contractor. The sequence of events is shown in figure 1.
If the user decides to play the role of the contractor a number of decisions have to be made as the tutorial progresses. The first decision is to decide whether or not to send the change order to the owner for the extra work or to do the work without sending the change order. At this point the user is given the highlights from the original contract to examine any clauses that affect changes or additions to the contract. If the contractor decides not to send the change order to the owner and performs the work then this will mean that he/she has waived his/her right by doing the extra work for no additional cost. Implicitly, the contractor in the case study has to decide whether the ambiguity (not specifying the color of the window) in the contract was a patent or a latent one. The type of ambiguity will determine if it is resolved against, or in favor of the drafter, which is the owner in this case (see Table 1). Pending the decision of this step, the owner proposes a new contract.
The second decision to be made by the contractor is whether to sign the contract that the owner has proposed or not. Among the different highlighted clauses shown to the users is a clause in the agreement that reads the following: "the contractor will remove the white windows and install bronze windows for no costs". In addition to the proposed contract, the owner verbally promised the contractor to award him/her a future contract if the contractor would accept the owner’s new contract and perform the work. At this point of the case study, the legal doctrine of promissory estoppel comes to play since the owner may be liable to award the second promised contract (see Table 1). If the contractor decides not to accept the new proposed contract then, the next decision is to settle on the kind of dispute resolution method the contractor will use. Similarly, if the contractor decides to accept the new contract and the owner decides not to award the second contract, then the next decision is to settle on the kind of dispute resolution method the contractor will use.
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Figure 1a. The Flow and the Decisions to be made in the tutorial |
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Figure 1b. The Flow and the Decisions to be made in the tutorial |
On the other hand, if the user decides to play the role of the owner, the first decision becomes whether or not to grant the change order sent by the contractor for replacing the windows with ones of the new color. The case study comes to a short end, if the owner accepts the change order since the contractor will complete the work and the owner will pay the additional cost! On the other hand if the owner decides not to accept the change order then a dispute will arise and the contractor will stop the work on the site until the matter is resolved by any of the dispute resolution techniques. The other alternative for the owner is to promise to reward him/her a future job. The owner makes his/her next decision after the contractor signs the new contract (suggested by the owner) to complete the work for no costs. At this point the owner has to decide whether to honor his verbal promise to award the future job to the contractor or to award it to another contractor with a better reputation. Implicitly, the player taking on the role of the owner has to be aware of whether the doctrine of promissory estoppel is applicable here or not. Throughout the tutorial, discussions and explanations about the concepts introduced (such as disputes resolution, rules for ambiguities and conditions for promissory estoppel) are presented.
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Figure 2 The Decisions Taken by in the example |
A Sample Run
The interactive tutorial was tried by a number of students to test its functionality and usefulness. Most students mentioned that it was enjoyable and that it is an "eventful" way to augment presenting the topics in a standard lecture format. Furthermore, the students found the tutorial easy to follow and user friendly. Figure 2, shows the decisions taken by one of the students who used the tutorial. In this particular case run the student chose to play the role of the owner. The student then decided not to accept the change order that has been sent by the contractor. So the contractor stopped the work, to which the student (owner) proposed a new contract. The contractor signed the new contract and after completing the work the student (owner) agreed to award the contractor a new contract in another property. The dispute resolution section was therefore averted in this run. Nevertheless the interactive case study provided the student with a supplementary presentation on the dispute resolution techniques with a what-if scenario.
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Figure 3. Sample Screen Dump of the Tutorial |
The tutorial was developed in Flash and Action Script. Flash is a multimedia system for developing web-based presentations, interactive demonstrations and, tutorials (Flash 2000). Action Script is the scripting language packaged with Flash that allows for coding actions and interactivity. Figure 3 shows a screen dump of part of the presentation. The case study presentation is obviously non-linear in nature, in that the user is taken to different parts of the case study based on the user’s input (unlike traditional linear presentations in power point for example).
Conclusions and Recommendations for Future Development
Construction law and the legal concepts are one of the most important aspects of construction practice. In this paper an interactive multimedia case study for teaching legal concepts in construction was presented. The tutorial is designed to augment the lectures by providing a supplementary role-playing case study.
Future modifications include the adding of more case studies, more decisions, and using sound effects and, narration to introduce more concepts and ideas. A library of case studies can be developed utilizing similar presentations. Also, an interesting modification will be the ability to have multiple role-playing in the same case study. In this case, multiple users can assume multiple roles. The decisions of a single user will affect the outcome and therefore the decisions of the other. This provides interaction between the users and will make the case study more enjoyable.
References
Flash Users Guide (2000), Macromedia Company
Hinze, J. (2000), Construction Contracts, second edition, Mcgraw Hill
Sweets, J. (2000), Legal Aspects of the Architecture, Engineering and the Construction Process, second edition, Brooks Cole
White, J. (2001), Principles and Practices of Construction Law, Prentice Hall
