protected static BigInteger convertValueToBigIntegerDatatype( Object aValue )
	{
		if ( aValue == null )
		{
			return null;
		}
		else if ( aValue instanceof BigInteger )
		{
			return (BigInteger) aValue;
		}
		else if ( aValue instanceof String )
		{
			String str = (String) aValue;
			if ( str.trim().length() == 0 )
			{
				return null;
			}
			else
			{
				// -- Trim leading and/or trailing spaces --
				str = str.trim();
				return new BigInteger( str );
			}
		}
		else if ( aValue instanceof BigDecimal )
		{
			return new BigInteger( aValue.toString() );
		}
		else if ( aValue instanceof Boolean )
		{
			Boolean bool = (Boolean) aValue;
			if ( Boolean.TRUE.equals( bool ) )
				return new BigInteger( "1" );
			else
				return new BigInteger( "0" );
		}
		else
		{
			throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Unsupported convertValueToBigIntegerDatatype() datatype " + aValue.getClass() + " value: " + aValue );
		}	
	}