CIT 596 2025 - HW8 Oral This homework deals with the following topics * Greedy algorithm * MST Please read these instructions • WEAPARTE = Write an Efficient Algorithm in Pseudocode or Plain English, Analyze its Run Time, with an Explanation. • The homework has to be submitted in electronic form as a pdf file. You can use any editing software you want in order to produce the pdf. Handwritten solutions get a 0. • If a question asks you for an algorithm (and a time complexity is not specified in the question itself), we expect you to write pseudocode and analyze the algorithm in terms of big-O time complexity. • As with all HWs, remember not to sacrifice correctness while striving for efficiency. • We will not worry about the distinction between O and Θ . As long as you provide a tight bound (for example if an algorithm is actually O(nlog n) and you say O(n3 ) you will lose points) you are fine. • If you are explaining the running time of a graph, it is important to mention whether your graph is being stored in an adjacency list representation or an adjacency matrix representation. • If you have any doubts on whether you are making assumptions about ‘in-built’ func- tions, please ask us on Piazza. You are also strongly advised to read Piazza. • The number of points associated with a question is a general guideline for toughness and/or amount of writing we expect. Sometimes a question might be worth 4 or 5 points only because it is lengthy. • A result shown in class and/or provided by the textbook (Algorithms Unlocked) can be used as is. The same goes for pseudocode that you want to just use as is. • You are allowed to write things like ”Run bfs” or ”Run dfs”. Remember that if you do so, we will assume you mean the standard (as per the textbook/lecture) algorithm. If you want to modify an algorithm then it is your job to write out the full pseudocode. You are allowed to use the pseudocode from the textbook/notes as a starting point. 1. (10 points) Khutulun was a heroic warrior and wrestler of Mongolia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khutulun). She once had to ride a horse through a desert while her enemies were in pursuit. Once she crossed the desert she knew she would be safe. She knew that she and her horse could last a maximum of 10 miles in the desert before dehydration would set in. She knew that water sources (streams, lakes, wells) were all along a particular straight route. Finally, she also knew the location of each of these places that had water. These water sources were not evenly spaced. She also knew the length of the road was R miles. For the purposes of this problem we are also going to assume that there is a way that Khutulun can cross the desert and survive. That is, we will not deal with the morbid situation where the last source of water is 30 miles from the end. In order to evade her enemies, she obviously wanted to stop to drink water the fewest number of times possible. Each water source had enough water in it for her and her horse to be able to quench their thirst and last 10 miles from that point. Khutulun was able to figure out a greedy strategy that helped her make the fewest number of stops (while obviously not dying of dehydration). What was this strategy? Describe it first in plain English. Now, assume that Khutulun started from the beginning of this route. The water sources’ locations are in an array called ws. ws[0] gives you the number of miles (from the origin of the desert) to the first location. ws[1] gives you the number of miles to the second location from the origin of the desert. There are n such locations. Write an algorithm to figure out the places where Khutulun should stop for water. Your algorithm should return a boolean array called stop. stop[i] should be true if Khutulun should stop and false if she should skip that water source. Remember to analyze the runtime of your algorithm. 2. (10 points) A graph G is called a Phillytree (totally made up term) if it is connected and has at most n + 76 edges, where n is the number of vertices. WEAPARTE to get a O(n) runtime algorithm that takes as an input a graph G that is known to be a Phillytree and returns a minimum spanning tree of G. You are allowed to assume that edge weights are distinct. You are not allowed to assume anything else about the weights. Hint : The correct algorithm is not a modification of Prim’s or Kruskal’s so please do not think along those lines. 3. (10 points) You have already computed a minimum spanning tree on some graph. As- sume this MST is given to you as a list of edges. Now your annoying teacher increases the weight of one of the edges (u, v) in the graph. You are given what u and v are. How would you recompute the minimum spanning tree efficiently? What is the run time of your algorithm? Please explain briefly.
ISE 537 Spring 2025, GPP Homework 5 (100 pts in total) Howework 5 Please submit Python Notebooks or PDF files that contain your Python code. 1. (Value Iteration Algorithm for Student Dilemma.) Let us consider the so-called Student Dilemma. It is a Markov decision process with 7 states, among which states 5 , 6, 7 are terminal states (observe that there are no arrows going out from these states). All the transitions are Markov and are labeled on the picture. For example, in state 1, we can choose to either work or rest. If we rest, then with probability 0.5 we will transition to state 2, and with probability 0.5 we will stay in state 1. The rewards marked in red are the rewards we can get as long as we stay in the state. For example, we will collect reward 0 as long as we are in state 1, no matter if we choose to rest or work. Consider an infinite horizon decision-making problem (without discount, i.e. γ = 1) until reaching one of the terminal states. The goal is to find the policy that maximizes the expected sum of rewards before achieving a terminal state. Recall that the Bellman equation (a) The optimal value function of states 1, 2, ··· , 7 satisfy: Question: Please explain how to fill in the blanks? (b) We also covered in class the Value Iteration Algorithm to calculate the numerical solution of (1): i. Initialization at iteration 0: Let V(0)(s) be any function V (0) : S → R ii. Given V (i) at iteration i, we compute: iii. Terminate when V (i) stops improving; e.g., when maxs|V(i+1)(s) — V(i)(s)| is small iv. Return the greedy policy Question: Please implement the algorithm to solve (1) (ideally with a Python note- book). Stop when maxs|V(i+1)(s) — V(i)(s)| drops below 10−2 . i. How many iterations does it take to reach this error level? ii. Please report your estimated values of V (1), ··· , V (7). iii. Describe the out-put greedy policy.
COMP9024 25T1 Assignment Trip Planner Data Structures and Algorithms Objectives The assignment aims to give you more independent, self-directed practice with advanced data structures, especially graphs graph algorithms asymptotic runtime analysis Admin Marks 2 marks for stage 1 (correctness) 2 marks for stage 2 (correctness) 4 marks for stage 3 (correctness) 2 marks for stage 4 (correctness) 1 mark for complexity analysis 1 mark for style. ——————— Total: 12 marks Due 16:59:59 on Tuesday 22 April (week 10) Late Reduction by 5% of maximum mark per day late, capped at 5 days (= 120 hours) E.g. if you are 25 hours late, your mark will be reduced by 1.2 (= 10% of max mark) Aim You're in a new city and would like to plan a walking tour of some of its landmarks. Luckily we’ve seen a number of algorithms in class to help with path planning. Unluckily, the city isn't necessarily connected, at least not on foot. To help, there are ferries to help people get around. Your objective is to write a program tripPlan.c that generates an optimal trip between landmarks, based on user preferences. Input Landmarks The first input to your program consists of an integer l > 0, indicating the number of landmarks in the city, followed by l lines of the form. landmark-name Here is an example: prompt$ ./tripPlan Number of landmarks: 4 TheRocks CircularQuay ManlyWharf ManlyBeach You may assume that: The input is syntactically correct. The maximum length (strlen()) of the name of a landmark is 31 and will not use any spaces. Names are case sensitive. No name will be input more than once. Hint: To read a single line with a landmark name you should use: scanf("%s", name); where name is a string, i.e. an array of chars. Walking Links The next input to your program is an integer w ≥ 0, indicating the number of walking links between landmarks, followed by w × 3 lines of the form. landmark-1 landmark-2 walking-time where the third line denotes the time, in minutes, it takes to walk between the two landmarks. Note, this link may be walked in either direction, from landmark-1 to landmark-2, or from landmark-2 to landmark-1. Here is an example: Number of walking links: 2 TheRocks CircularQuay 6 ManlyWharf ManlyBeach 8 You may assume that: The input is syntactically correct. Only landmarks that have been input earlier will be used. The walking time will be a strictly positive integer. Ferry Schedules The next input to your program is an integer f ≥ 0, indicating the number of ferries on any day, followed by f × 4 lines of the form. departing-landmark departing-time arriving-landmark arriving-time Here is an example: Number of ferry schedules: 2 CircularQuay 0930 ManlyWharf 0952 ManlyWharf 1000 CircularQuay 1022 You may assume that: The input is syntactically correct. Only landmarks that have been input earlier will be used. All times are given as 4 digits in hhmm format (hh – hour, mm – minute), and are valid, ranging from 0000 to 2359. The arrival time is strictly later than the time of departure. All ferries reach their destination before midnight. Trip Plan The final input to your program are user queries: From: TheRocks To: ManlyBeach Departure time: 0915 You may assume that: The input is syntactically correct. Only landmarks that have been input earlier will be used. Two different landmarks will be given. No expected plan will roll over into the following day. Your program should terminate when the user enters "done" when prompted with From: From: done Happy travels! prompt$ Stage 1 (2 marks) Stage 1 requires you to generate a suitable data structure from the input. Test cases for this stage will only use queries FromLandmark, ToLandmark, DepartureTime such that: there exists at most one direct connection between FromLandmark and ToLandmark; should such a connection exist, this connection is the shortest path between FromLandmark and ToLandmark; and should such a connection not exist, no other path between FromLandmark and ToLandmark will exist. Here is an example to demonstrate the expected behaviour of your program for a stage 1 test: prompt$ ./tripPlan Number of landmarks: 3 CircularQuay ManlyWharf TheRocks Number of walking links: 1 CircularQuay TheRocks 8 Number of ferry schedules: 1 CircularQuay 1130 ManlyWharf 1152 From: TheRocks To: CircularQuay Departure time: 0000 Walk 8 minute(s): 0000 TheRocks 0008 CircularQuay From: CircularQuay To: ManlyWharf Departure time: 0100 Ferry 22 minute(s): 1130 CircularQuay 1152 ManlyWharf From: done Happy travels! prompt$ If there is no connection that satisfies the requirements, then the output should be: No route. From: CircularQuay To: ManlyWharf Departure time: 1200 No route. Stage 2 (2 marks) Stage 2 requires you to implement a basic path finding algorithm. Test cases for this stage will only use queries FromLandmark, ToLandmark, DepartureTime such that: there exists one, and only one, simple path that connects FromLandmark and ToLandmark; this path does not involve any ferries; and the DepartureTime is 0000. Here is an example to demonstrate the expected behaviour of your program for a stage 2 test: prompt$ ./tripPlan Number of landmarks: 7 Barrangaroo CircularQuay FingerWharf RoyalBotanicGardens SydneyHarbourBridge SydneyOperaHouse TheRocks Number of walking links: 6 Barrangaroo TheRocks 17 TheRocks SydneyHarbourBridge 16 TheRocks CircularQuay 8 CircularQuay SydneyOperaHouse 6 SydneyOperaHouse RoyalBotanicGardens 9 RoyalBotanicGardens FingerWharf 11 Number of ferry schedules: 0 From: Barrangaroo To: SydneyHarbourBridge Departure time: 0000 Walk 17 minute(s): 0000 Barrangaroo 0017 TheRocks Walk 16 minute(s): 0017 TheRocks 0033 SydneyHarbourBridge From: SydneyHarbourBridge To: RoyalBotanicGardens Departure time: 0000 Walk 16 minute(s): 0000 SydneyHarbourBridge 0016 TheRocks Walk 8 minute(s): 0016 TheRocks 0024 CircularQuay Walk 6 minute(s): 0024 CircularQuay 0030 SydneyOperaHouse Walk 9 minute(s): 0030 SydneyOperaHouse 0039 RoyalBotanicGardens From: done Happy travels! prompt$ 2025/4/18 16:54 Stage 3 (4 marks) For the next stage, your program should find and output a simple path from FromLandmark to ToLandmark that: may involve one or more ferries; and the DepartureTime won't necessarily be 0000. Note that to board a ferry, it is necessary to arrive at the departing landmark no later than the time the ferry departs. In all test scenarios for this stage there will be at most one simple path that satisfies all requirements. Here is an example to demonstrate the expected behaviour of your program for stage 3: prompt$ ./tripPlan Number of landmarks: 4 TheRocks CircularQuay ManlyWharf ManlyBeach Number of walking links: 2 TheRocks CircularQuay 6 ManlyWharf ManlyBeach 8 Number of ferry schedules: 2 CircularQuay 1130 ManlyWharf 1152 CircularQuay 1200 ManlyWharf 1222 From: TheRocks To: ManlyBeach Departure time: 1125 Walk 6 minute(s): 1125 TheRocks 1131 CircularQuay Ferry 22 minute(s): 1200 CircularQuay 1222 ManlyWharf Walk 8 minute(s): 1222 ManlyWharf 1230 ManlyBeach From: TheRocks To: ManlyBeach Departure time: 1200 No route. From: done Happy travels! prompt$ Stage 4 (2 marks) For the final stage, if there are multiple possible routes, your program should take into account the additional user preference that: of all possible routes, choose the one with the shortest overall travel time. You may assume that there will never be more than one route with the shortest overall travel time. Note also that travel time includes any time that may be spent waiting for a ferry. Here is an example to demonstrate the expected behaviour of your program for stage 4: prompt$ ./tripPlan Number of landmarks: 9 Barrangaroo CircularQuay DarlingHarbour FingerWharf RoyalBotanicGardens SydneyHarbourBridge SydneyOperaHouse TheRocks WatsonsBay Number of walking links: 6 Barrangaroo TheRocks 17 CircularQuay RoyalBotanicGardens 9 DarlingHarbour Barrangaroo 8 RoyalBotanicGardens FingerWharf 11 TheRocks CircularQuay 8 TheRocks SydneyHarbourBridge 16 Number of ferry schedules: 1 Barrangaroo 1600 CircularQuay 1611 From: DarlingHarbour To: FingerWharf Departure time: 1552 Walk 8 minute(s): 1552 DarlingHarbour 1600 Barrangaroo Ferry 11 minute(s): 1600 Barrangaroo 1611 CircularQuay Walk 9 minute(s): 1611 CircularQuay 1620 RoyalBotanicGardens Walk 11 minute(s): 1620 RoyalBotanicGardens 1631 FingerWharf From: DarlingHarbour To: FingerWharf Departure time: 1600 Walk 8 minute(s): 1600 DarlingHarbour 1608 Barrangaroo Walk 17 minute(s): 1608 Barrangaroo 1625 TheRocks Walk 8 minute(s): 1625 TheRocks 1633 CircularQuay Walk 9 minute(s): 1633 CircularQuay 1642 RoyalBotanicGardens Walk 11 minute(s): 1642 RoyalBotanicGardens 1653 FingerWharf From: DarlingHarbour To: WatsonsBay Departure time: 1600 No route. From: done Happy travels! prompt$ Complexity Analysis (1 mark) You should include a time complexity analysis for the asymptotic worst-case running time of your program, in Big-Oh notation, depending on the size of the input: 1. the number of landmarks, l 2. the number of walking links, w 3. the number of ferry schedules, f. Hints If you find any of the following ADTs from the lectures useful, then you can, and indeed are encouraged to, use them with your program: linked list ADT : List.h, List.c stack ADT : Stack.h, Stack.c queue ADT : Queue.h, Queue.c priority queue ADT : PQueue.h, PQueue.c weighted graph ADT : WGraph.h, WGraph.c You are free to modify any of the six ADTs for the purpose of the assignment (but without changing the file names). If your program is using one or more of these ADTs, you must submit both the header and implementation file, even if you have not changed them. Your main program file tripPlan.c should start with a comment: /* … */ that contains the time complexity of your program in Big-Oh notation, together with a short explanation. Testing We have created a script. that can automatically test your program. To run this test you can execute the dryrun program that corresponds to this assignment. It expects to find, in the current directory, the program tripPlan.c and any of the admissible ADTs (Graph, WGraph, Stack, Queue, PQueue, List) that your program is using, even if you use them unchanged. You can use dryrun as follows: prompt$ 9024 dryrun tripPlan Please note: Passing dryrun does not guarantee that your program is correct. You should thoroughly test your program with your own test cases. Submission For this assignment you will need to submit a file named tripPlan.c and, optionally, any of the ADTs named Graph, WGraph, Stack, Queue, PQueue, List that your program is using, even if you have not changed them. You can either submit through WebCMS3 or use the command line. For example, if your program uses the Graph ADT and the Queue ADT, then you should submit: prompt$ give cs9024 assn tripPlan.c Graph.h Graph.c Queue.h Queue.c Do not forget to add the time complexity to your main source code file tripPlan.c. You can submit as many times as you like — later submissions will overwrite earlier ones. You can check that your submission has been received on WebCMS3 or by using the following command: prompt$ 9024 classrun -check assn Marking This project will be marked on functionality in the first instance, so it is very important that the output of your program be exactly correct as shown in the examples above. Submissions which score very low on the automarking will be looked at by a human and may receive a few marks, provided the code is well-structured and commented. Programs that generate compilation errors will receive a very low mark, no matter what other virtues they may have. In general, a program that attempts a substantial part of the job and does that part correctly will receive more marks than one attempting to do the entire job but with many errors. Style. considerations include: Readability Structured programming Good commenting Collection Once marking is complete you can collect your marked submission using the following command: prompt$ 9024 classrun -collect assn You can also view your marks using the following command: prompt$ 9024 classrun -sturec You can also collect your marked submission directly through WebCMS3 from the "Collect Submission" tab at the top of this page.
MKMR310 Final Exam for Spring 2025 Part III (Total of 50 Points) A charitable organization that aims to protect animals and the environment is planning to hold a fundraising event for animal welfare in July. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness about the importance of animal welfare and attract potential donors to fund ongoing efforts to protect animals. To achieve their goals, the organization needs to determine the location of the event. Additionally, they want to know whether they can attract people interested in environmental conservation to attend. Please open the ‘Final_Data.sav' file in SPSS and conduct the following analysis. 21. Descriptive Analysis: Explore the dataset. (Total 10 points) 1. What is the sample size (the number of respondents)? 2. How many respondents use the internet less than two hours per day? 3. What percentage of respondents are retired? 4. What is the cumulative percentage of respondents with an annual household income of less than $50,000? 5. What is the mean age? 22. To plan a successful fundraising event, it's important to understand where potential donors are located. Therefore, we will conduct a data analysis to determine where the organization can hold the event. Specifically, we will use the 'animal' and 'citysize' variables to investigate the following research question: Do people who live in different city sizes have different interests in animal welfare? 1. What are the null and alternative hypotheses for this test? (3pts) 2. What test statistics should you use for this test? (2pts) (Highlight the Answer) a. T-test b. ANOVA c. Chi-square d. Correlation 3. What is your statistical conclusion of the hypothesis test for this research question? (5pts) a. Fail to reject; People who live in different city sizes have the same interests in animal welfare. b. Reject the null; People who live in different city sizes have different interests in animal welfare. 4c. Fail to reject; People who live in different city sizes have different interests in animal welfare. d. Reject the null; People who live in different city sizes have the same interests in animal welfare. Descriptive Statistics – “I am interested in animal welfare” Rural and towns < 50k 543 3.7348 1.38775 0.05955 Small city 50K–500K 469 3.7292 1.40710 0.06497 Medium city 500K–2M 868 3.7903 1.36940 0.04648 Large city > 2M 1008 3.9147 1.37673 0.04336
MGDI72162 Contemporary issues in development finance ASSIGNMENT The essay should be submitted by the deadline indicated by your programme administrator. Important: report right at the top of the 1st page the essay question you are addressing. Please do not change it or come up with a different title! Assignment Weight: 100% of the final mark 12pt font size, with 1.5 or double line spacing. Word limit: 3000 words (excluding references, tables, and abstract). Choose one of the following questions. Essay Question 1: Using one or more variables for financial sector development (e.g., from the World Bank’s Global Financial Development Database), investigate whether finance affects economic growth. 1. Choose a sample of countries and explain why you select such countries (e.g., a selection of advanced economies and emerging and developing economies, following the IMF classification: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo- database/2023/April/groups-and-aggregates ). 2. The analysis should be conducted using a selection of statistical methods, which may include descriptive methods (e.g., scatterplots, time series plots or other) and inferential methods (e.g., regression analysis). 3. Carefully interpret each bit of empirical evidence you present. This means you need to link your findings to the essay question. Your results should be used to produce evidence illustrating the arguments you present (e.g., support for some countries, but not for others). Essay Question 2: Finance has an impact on how income is distributed in the economy. While many would agree with this idea, it is still controversial whether its effect relieves or exacerbates inequality and whether it is significant. Using one or more proxies for financial sector development (e.g., from the World Bank’s Global Financial Development Database) and measures of income inequality (e.g., from the World Income Inequality Database or the World Wealth and Income Database), discuss whether the above idea finds empirical support. For your analysis, you should: 1. Choose a sample of countries and explain why you select such countries (e.g., a selection of advanced economies and emerging and developing economies, following the IMF classification: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo- database/2023/April/groups-and-aggregates ). 2. The analysis should be conducted using a selection of statistical methods, which may include descriptive methods (e.g., scatterplots, time series plots or other) and inferential methods (e.g., regression analysis). 3. Carefully interpret each bit of empirical evidence you present. This means you need to link your findings to the essay question. Your results should be used to produce evidence illustrating the arguments you present (e.g., support for some countries, but not for others). Essay question 3: Dimensions of financial development (e.g., financial depth or access to finance) show large variations across countries. Why? Using one or more variables for financial sector development (e.g., from the World Bank’s Global Financial Development Database or World Development Indicators), empirically investigate at least one factor explaining why an economy may have higher levels of financial development than others. For your analysis, you should: 1. Explain why you select a certain country or sample of countries. 2. The analysis should be conducted using a selection of statistical methods, which may include descriptive statistics (e.g., scatterplots, time series plots or other) and inferential methods (e.g., regression analysis). 3. Carefully interpret each bit of empirical evidence you present. This means you need to link your findings to the essay question. Your results should be used to produce evidence illustrating the arguments you present (e.g., support for some countries, but not for others). Further guidance 1. Statistical software: although Stata is strongly recommended, you may use other software packages should you wish to do so. Some guidance on how to perform basic statistical analysis using Stata is available on Blackboard. 2. Use the literature, and your knowledge from quantitative methods courses, to identify the appropriate methodology. If you try to replicate the methodology used by other authors, this should be duly acknowledged and justified. Use standard academic sources to search for publications and also use your reading list to identify relevant literature. 3. Suggested essay structure: o Introduction A brief survey of the related theoretical and empirical literature (hint:you should be keep this part very focussed, otherwiseyou will have no space leftfor the empirical analysis and interpretation of the results) o Description of the data and methodology o Analysis o Conclusion o Appendix o References
PUBH7600 Assessment 2 Structured critical appraisal of a research article Due date 6 May 2025, 2 pm EST Instructions This assessment is based on the learning objectives and concepts from Modules 2,3,5 and 6 and the required readings. This assessment will contribute 50% towards the overall assessment for this course. Article to review: Chen et al. (2025) “Ultraprocessed food consumption and obesity development in Canadian children” JAMA Network Open 8 (1): e2457341 Read the article. Undertake a structured critical appraisal of the article by answering the questions. Please justify your answers with information from the article, and your viewpoint, based on the critical thinking skills and knowledge you have developed in this course. When answering each question, you are required to use your own words, not just a “copy and paste” from the article. The questions give you an indication of the recommended length of your answers. Your assignment should be typed as a Microsoft Word document, with adequate space left between questions. Be as succinct and clear as possible in your answers and use the suggested length of response for a question and the marking rubric as a guide to how much detail is required. Once you have completed your assignment, attach the coversheet, upload and submit it for marking through the Turn-It-In link on Blackboard by 2 pm on 6 May 2025. Question 1: Study design a) What is the main research question of the article? Include the PICO elements in your answer. (1-2 sentences). b) Identify the type of study design used in this article. List and contrast the key advantages and limitations of this study design (1-2 paragraphs) c) Was this the most appropriate design to answer the research question? Justify your answer (1 paragraph) Question 2: Study Participants a) What was the source population for the study outlined in this article? (2-3 sentences) b) How were participants recruited/selected in the study? (1-2 paragraphs) c) Do you think the study had any selection bias? Why or why not? Describe the potential impact of results (1-2 paragraphs) Question 3: Measurement a) Identify the main exposure recorded in this article. How was it defined and measured? (2-3 sentences) b) Identify the key outcomes for this article. How were they defined and measured? (1-2 paragraphs) c) Do you think this study had any measurement bias? Why or why not? Describe the potential impact on results (2-3 paragraphs) Question 4: Chance a) Did the study have enough participants to minimise the role of chance? Describe the potential impact on results. (2-3 sentences) Questions 5: Interpreting results a) How were the main results reported and interpreted by the authors? (1-2 paragraphs) Question 6: Confounding a) Did the authors attempt to control for confounding? How did they do this? Have all potential confounders been considered? (1 paragraph) Question 7: Validity a) Based on your critical examination of this study (from question 1 to 6), would you consider it to be internally valid? Why or why not? (1/2 – 1 page) b) Do you think the finding of this study are generalizable to other populations? Why or why not? (1/2 page) Question 8: Causality a) Discuss the evidence the authors present on whether the observed associations could be causal. Use up to three of Bradford Hill’s “criteria” to support your argument (up to 1 page)
Data Mining & Census Records In today’s lab, we will consider the socio-economic and political dimensions of the Northern Spotted Owl “controversy.” The in-class and post-lab components are all contained on this one handout. With the listing of the Northern Spotted Owl as a Federally Threatened Species, and the passage of the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994, the timber industry argued that a moratorium on logging in old growth forests would have adverse effects on rural communities dependent on timber. These included a number of primary effects, including lost jobs and income, and a number of dramatic secondary effects, including “increased rates of domestic disputes, divorce, acts of violence, delinquency, vandalism, suicide, alcoholism, and other problems,” that the timber lobby predicted might follow from lost jobs and income. This week in lab we will “mine” data publicly available through the U.S. Census Website (and related websites) to investigate how one timber-dependent community, Forks, WA (on the Olympic Peninsula), may have been impacted by the ban on old growth logging put into place by the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (which applied to all of western Washington, including east slope of the Cascades). The learning goals for this week’s section activity are as follows: 1. To generate and test hypotheses related to the possible socio-economic effects of a major change in environmental policy (i.e., the Northwest Forest Plan) on a timber-dependent community. You could apply these same concepts to analyze the impacts of a change in any policy on any number of other kinds of relevant communities. 2. To understand the use of indicators to analyze an abstract concept like Socio-Economic Well-Being (SEWB). 3. To understand the benefits and drawbacks of data mining – using one or more sources of data collected for another purpose to test a hypothesis or answer a question related to your own research. 4. To gain expertise in accessing and analyzing data available on the U.S. Census Website. This is a fantastic repository of publicly available data that you may choose to draw on during your capstone research projects. And note that these data can be housed in other places too, which may have more user-friendly interfaces, e.g. www.ofm.wa.gov, https://www.ipums.org/. 5. To better understand the concept of a control group. 6. To understand how the concept of Diversity, using Simpson’s Index (which we used in an ecological context in the last lab), can be applied to employment diversity. Sources and Inspiration: Donoghue, E. and Sutton, N. (2006) Socioeconomic Change in Planning Provinces of the Northwest Forest Plan Region. Northwest Science 80 (2): 73-85 https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/27205 Sarathy, B. (2006) The Latinization of forest management work in southern Oregon: A case from the Rogue Valley, Journal of Forestry 104:359-65. Lab Procedure We will test the hypothesis that the ratification of the 1994 NW Forest Plan caused a decline in socio economic well-being (SEWB) in Washington timber communities. In this lab, one of the towns you will use as a test case is Forks on the Olympic Peninsula (they once called themselves the “Timber Capital of the World”). Step 1) With your classmates, brainstorm a list of factors that might be associated with SEWB. In other words, how would one “operationalize” the concept of SEWB? Step 2) Now, with your classmates, how do you predict that these factors should change before and after the NW Forest Plan. Step 3) Talk to each other about an ideal experimental design for addressing the hypothesis above. Will you need to sample more communities? If so, why? And which? Try to be specific. Hint: Forks is a timber dependent community within the region affected by the NW Forest Plan. Post-Lab (Part 1): Now that you’ve thought about what you need to do, work in small groups to test the hypothesis above. You must work with at least 2 communities. Forks, WA will be one of them. Question 1: How do you predict that these factors should change before and after the NW Forest Plan? Complete this table with your predictions (higher or lower), in each cell, and label Town B with an actual name. Researchers often fill out tables like this, prior to collecting data. You could also sketch out graphs if you wanted to. Indicator of SEWB 1990 Census Prediction Forks 2000 Census Prediction Forks 1990 Census Prediction Town B 2000 Census Prediction Town B EmD 0.1281 0.1275 Ed 10.5% 10.0% PUn 4.82% 8.87% PP 13.57% 20.5% MHI $ 26,851 (1990 dollars) $35,576 (adjusted to 2000 dollars) $ 34,280 (2000 dollars) To access census data for Forks, WA (and other communities of your choosing), first go to www.ofm.wa.gov. Click on “Washington Data and Research” in the top bar. Then go to “Decennial Census Data”. Click on 1990. Scroll down to Forks, WA. Click on the link and download the zip folder. Now go to 2000. Scroll down and click on the “4 page demographic profiles” for WA state. Scroll down to the data for Forks city, WA. Open the pdf which contains tables DP-1 through DP-4. These data should be comparable to what you just opened for 1990. Test the above hypothesis for Forks, WA, looking at SEWB in five different ways. Make sure you display your data as clearly as possible. If you need to do any small calculations on the census data before you present the data, you should do so. Make sure you consider your experimental design discussion from earlier, and include data from at least one additional population besides Forks. Note that when looking at income, you should consider adjusting for inflation using this tool: https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Question 2: Complete this table with resulting values in each cell. Replace Town B with an actual town. Indicator of SEWB 1990 Census Result Forks 2000 Census Result Forks 1990 Census Result Town B 2000 Census Result Town B EmD Ed PUn PP MHI Question 3: From your data analysis, did the 1994 NW Forest Plan likely cause a decline in socio economic well-being (SEWB) in Washington timber communities? Please elaborate on your results in a paragraph, using complete sentences. Post-Lab (Part 2): Question 4: Brinda Sarathy suggests that demographics of people employed in forestry have shifted from white to Latino. Do you have any sense of whether this might be true in Forks, WA? Support your argument with data in the format of a table, again using a control community. You will likely want to look at 2-3 variables (including a demographic control) to address this hypothesis. What are they and why did you choose these variables? Question 5: Discuss the results: If you supported the hypothesis, are there any limitations to your ability to confidently make this argument with the data at hand, of if you rejected the hypothesis, what are some reasons why that might be?
Department of Economics Problem Set 4, 2025 ECON0010: Introduction to Mathematics for Economics Question 1: Matrix Algebra Consider the following three matrices, sometimes called the Pauli Matrices, and the vector-space of 2 ×2 matrices of the form. . a] Show that the set of matrices like A is a real vector space, and that the Pauli matrices are elements of this set. . b] Show that the three Pauli matrices form. a linearly independent triplet. We define a new ‘Transpose’, the so-called Hermitian transpose Mt as Mt = (MT)* , and we use this to define a “double-dot” product on the vector space of matrices A : B = Tr[A . Bt] . . c] Show that matrices of the form of A satisfy At = A, and for two matrices calculate A : A, B : B and A : B. . d] Find the characteristic equations for the eigenvalues of the Pauli matrices, determine their eigenvalues and their eigenvectors, and comment on your result. Question 2: Constrained Optimization Consider a community of agents j = 1, ..., n, and suppose each agent has a private opinion sj on some issue I, but also a public opinion σj. We assume that the preferences of the community are given by a utility function and because we are mainly interested in the relative scale & orientation of the two opinion-distributions we fix their shared scale by a constraint , the positive sign of this ensures that, on average, agents prefer their private and public opinions to align. . a] Write down a Lagrangian for this constrained optimization problem. . b] Find the first-order conditions and comment on the nature of the equations and their possible solutions if we assume A is symmetric. Suppose it is a system with 3 agents and the matrix A is . c] Find the solution with the highest utility, sketch how the opinions of each of the agents changes with θ and comment on your results. Now suppose that the matrix A is not symmetric, but . d] Find the solution with the highest utility, sketch how the opinions of each of the agents changes with θ and comment on your results. Question 3: Difference Equations Consider a firm with a production function f[x, y] = 10 (x y)1/3 and facing wage costs C = 2 x + 5 y. Assume that the firm is ‘learning’ where its optimal usage of resources x andy is in a process described by gradient-learning with respect to the profit they make. . a] Find the profit-function π[x, y] and the system of difference equations that determine (→)[t] = {x[t], y[t]} if the learning-rate is γ. . b] Find the stationary state Suppose the firm has reached the stationary state some time ago, and suddenly there is a small shock in the price of one of the inputs px → px + δpx . As a result the firm’s response will lead to a small change in their use of resources, i.e. . c] Find a linear approximation to the equations for the firm’s response , find the stationary state for , and check for stability. . d] Now an economist argues that a better model would be to assume that changing resource usage comes at an additional administrative and logistical cost equal to They argue that the firm would not be gradient-learning, but would follow an optimal path to the equilibrium. Find the Euler equations for this scenario, also their linearized form, and comment on the difference this makes compared to the gradient- learning case. Question 4: Optimization Consider the following function f[] of n variables = {x1, ..., xn} and with a symmetric n × n, symmetric, matrix M with strictly positive eigenvalues, We are interested in whether this function has any local optima. . a] Find the first-order conditions for the local optima. . b] Suppose we rewrite = x , where x is the length of and a unit vector in the same direction. Show that whenever is parallel to an eigenvector of M there is a solution for x as long as the corresponding eigenvalue is positive. . c] Suppose Find the eigenvalues of M, the normalised eigenvectors, the corresponding solutions to the FoCs and determine any constraints on the value of a for all solutions to be real-valued. . d] Suppose a = 1/2, find the (local) maxima , calculate f[] and determine at a = 1/2. Question 5: Differential equations Consider an agent with an opinion σ[t] and preferences described by . a] If we assume that this agent learns what the optimal opinion is by a process described by gradient-learning, with a learning-rate γ, find the differential equation satisfied by σ[t] and establish wether there is a stationary state σs? . b] Solve this equation assuming that initially the agent is ‘neutral’, i.e. σ[0] = 0. A researcher now proposes a different model. They suggest that the evolution of the agent’s opinion is described by the equation η - R σ[t] + μ σ,, [t] = 0 with μ > 0 . . c] Find a solution for this equation for which σ[0] = 0 and , and comment on the difference between this solution and the one from the model used in a] and b]. . d] Show that the new model-equation can be found as the result of the agent choosing an optimal path, assuming preferences given by under suitable initial- and final-conditions and comment on why this model is actually more general by finding an equation describing the case where the agent is discounting future utility at time t by e- r t, and discuss the effect of future-discounting on the solution.
King’s International Foundation - 2024-2025 Module Information Module Title Business & Society Module Code 0LEC30BS Assignment Details Assignment Title Summative 3 - Final Essay Weighting The Essay contributes 40% of your final grade for this module Deadline Tuesday 22nd April 2025, 11am Feedback Return Wednesday 21st May 2025, 8:30am Module Learning Outcomes Assessed Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 Word Count 1200 words (+/- 5%) Criteria Used in Assessment Academic Written Assessment Marking Criteria File Types Accepted Microsoft Word and Adobe pdf Suggested Time Necessary to Complete 15 hours approx. Task Please select one of the 4 questions listed below and write an academic argumentative essay on it. Lecture Weeks Topic Question Weeks 11 & 12 Financial Crisis Reflect on one of the financial crises mentioned in the lectures and discuss its impact on a specific country. Consider its impact in terms of risk and accountability. Weeks 13 & 14 Business Shaping Society Identify a specific company using media and nudge theory to influence consumer behaviour, as discussed in the lectures. Critically evaluate the ethical implications of such practices. Weeks 17 & 18 Business Serving Society Identify a real-world example of a business in the health or education industry that has implemented innovative practices to serve society. Based on the lectures, critically assess the effectiveness and ethical considerations of these practices. Weeks 19 & 20 Globalisation & Ethics How does globalisation influence ethical business practices? Using one of the case studies from the lectures (Quiqup or Aramco), describe two successes and two failures of the company in maintaining ethical standards internationally. Sources: You must have a minimum of 4 sources in your Reference List. Of these 4, 2 must be any of the 4 Core Texts in the B&S Essay Source Pack. The maximum number of sources you can include are 5. You can include Core Texts from the Respond to a Text Source Pack and up to 2 can be B&S lectures. We strongly recommend you to also look for sources in the module’s My Reading List, which is organised by topics. The last slide of your lectures and seminar PowerPoints, always includes a list of relevant readings. The Reference Lists in each of the articles of the Source Packs may also be useful. We also recommend researching for sources in the KCL Library or Google Scholar. When discussing a business, you may need to investigate their corporate website. If you draw data or facts from these Websites, these must be part of your sources. All your sources must pass the CRAAP test, i.e., be current, relevant, authoritative, and purposeful. All your sources must be written in English. They may have been originally written in a language other than English, but in these cases, they must also have been published in English. Example: These could 2 examples of valid Reference Lists – A) This student has chosen question 4 from the brief (How does globalisation influence ethical business practices? Using one of the case studies from the lectures (Quiqup or Aramco), describe two successes and two failures ofthe company in maintaining ethical standards internationally). They have met the requirement of a minimum of 4 sources and the requirement of including 2 Core Texts from the Essay Source Pack. Aside from the 2 Core Texts, they have included the company’s website and a Core Text from the Respond to a Text Source Pack. Reference List: Aramco (2025). “Aramco Plans to Enter Philippines Retail Market with Agreement to Acquire 25% Stake in Unioil” . Aramco Latest News.https://www.aramco.com/en/news- media/news/2025/aramco-plans-to-enter-philippines-retail-market Eagle, L., Czarnecka, B., Dahl, S., & Lloyd, J. (2020). “Electronic, New, and Social Media” . Marketing Communications. Taylor & Francis Group. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kcl/reader.action?docID=6349495 Delgado Marin, C. (2025) “Lecture W20- Globalisation & Ethics – Failures” . Business & Society. King’s College London.https://echo360.org.uk/lesson/G_3300a3ff-a6af-4d18-a907- 197629b61ec9_f1eff4af-c973-4e28-a0a7-eabba83554b7_2025-03-19T13:03:00.000_2025- 03-19T14:00:00.000/classroom Joshi, M., & Klein, J. R. (2021). Global Business in the Age of Transformation (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192847232.001.0001 B) This other student has also chosen question 4 from the brief (How does globalisation influence ethical business practices? Using one of the case studies from the lectures (Quiqup orAramco), describe two successes and two failures ofthe company in maintaining ethical standards internationally). They have met the requirement of a minimum of 4 sources and the requirement of including 2 Core Texts from the Essay Source Pack. Aside from the 2 Core Texts, they have included the company’s website and a Core Text from the Respond to a Text Source Pack. However, they have added a fifth source, which, in this case, is an article they have found in “Interesting Readings” slide of the lecture of W20. Reference List: Aramco (2025). “Aramco Plans to Enter Philippines Retail Market with Agreement to Acquire 25% Stake in Unioil”. Aramco Latest News.https://www.aramco.com/en/news- media/news/2025/aramco-plans-to-enter-philippines-retail-market Eagle, L., Czarnecka, B., Dahl, S., & Lloyd, J. (2020). “Electronic, New, and Social Media”. Marketing Communications. Taylor & Francis Group. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kcl/reader.action?docID=6349495 Delgado Marin, C. (2025) “Lecture W20- Globalisation & Ethics – Failures”. Business & Society. King’s College London.https://echo360.org.uk/lesson/G_3300a3ff-a6af-4d18-a907- 197629b61ec9_f1eff4af-c973-4e28-a0a7-eabba83554b7_2025-03-19T13:03:00.000_2025-03- 19T14:00:00.000/classroom OECD (2017). “Fixing Globalisation: Time to Make it Work for All”. Better Policies Series. Paris: OECD Publishing.http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264275096-en Joshi, M., & Klein, J. R. (2021). Global Business in the Age of Transformation (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192847232.001.0001 Assignment/Submission Procedure The deadline for this task is 11:00am on 22nd April 2025. Submission after 10:59:59 will be considered a late submission and may result in penalties. Assignments must be submitted on time. Penalties for non-submission and late submission are detailed in the King’s Foundations Student Handbook. You must submit the assessment electronically via the KEATS module page. Please ensure you submit via Turnitin. You may practise submitting a piece of work usingTurnitin practice site. This is to help you check you are submitting the correct document and the similarity % on Turnitin. This submission is NOT marked and will NOT be checked by tutors. You may want to first watch this video tutorial that you can find in ‘Assessment Submission Guidance’ section in the B&S KEATS site. The assignment must include a completedcover sheet. This document can be found in the ‘Assessment’ section on the module KEATS page. Assignments are marked anonymously, and so you will need to submit using your student number (i.e. the number on your student card). This number should be clearly visible on the first page of the assignment. Please do not include your name on any part of the assignment. Please name your assignment with your student number and BS.Essay (i.e. name of document: “1976046_BS.Essay”). Word Limit The suggested word count for this task is 1200 words. Title and reference list are not included in this total. No penalty is applied for assignments which are up to 5% over the suggested work count. This means that the upper limit is 1260 words. 2% will be deducted for every 5% over the upper word limit (see theKing’s Foundations Student Handbookfor details). There is no penalty for under-length assignments; however, assignments that are more than 5% below the suggested word count are unlikely to give adequate answers to the questions set. Do not use headings or visual data (i.e. graphs, diagrams) in your assignment. Style. and Referencing Guidance Use 12pt Arial or Times New Roman font. Written assignments should be 1.5-line spaced, with a single empty line between paragraphs. All the sources should be adequately cited and included in a Reference List at the end of your submission, which should also include an entry for any Lecture and any Core Text from the Source Pack that you have referenced in your essay. You must follow the APA 7th Reference and Citing Guide as per the KCL APA 7th guidance. All the entries in your Reference List must be edited consistently (i.e. same punctuation, same order in the details, same use of capital letters or italics, etc.). The Reference List entries must be organised in alphabetical order by the writer’s surname. Mitigating Circumstances If you are unable to submit your assignment by the deadline above and you believe you have a valid reason for this, you must complete the Mitigating Circumstances process. Information and guidance can be found via the ‘Assessment’ section onStudent Services Online.
CHE204 Intermediate Inorganic Chemistry Coursework 2 (Due on Thursday, April 28th 10 am) Note: 1. Group discussion is allowed but plagiarism is strictly forbidden. 2. Your answer should be handwritten, not typed. Crystal Field Theory 1. The solid state structure of crystalline MF2 is shown in the figure below. The variation in lattice energies for MF2 given in the table below. 2NiF 2FeF 2Latticeenergies(kJ/mol)29853060297629262780Transition metalcomplexes[MnCl] 26n+[Fe(CN)] sµ (9 marks) 3. Account for the colors and intensities of the following groups of complexes ions in aqueous solution. Briefly explain your reasoning. a) [Cr(H2O)6]2+ (blue) vs [Cr(H2O)6]3+ (violet) b) [CoCl4]2– (blue) vs [Co(H2O)6]2+ (light pink) c) 262+KMnO ent,ε dm –1 –1~1100~10 (14 marks) 4. A spinel is a metal oxide with a general formula of AB2O4. The two metal ions occupy one tetrahedral and two octahedral sites. If the octahedral sites are occupied by M(II) ions, it is known as a normal spinel. If one of the octahedral sites is occupied by an M(II) ions, it is known as an inverse spinel. a) For NiFe2O4, list all possible chemical formulae with oxidation states of Ni and Fe for normal and inverse spinel structures, respectively (5 marks) b) If the oxidation state ofFe is +3, would you predict that NiFe2O4 would adopt a normal spinel or an inverse spinel structure? Explain your reasoning on the basis of the calculated crystal field stabilization energy (CFSE). (Assumptions are: Δt = 4/9Δo; (Δo)Fe = (Δo)Ni; (Δo)2+ =(Δo)3+ ; and both iron and nickel oxides are high-spin cases.) (10 marks) Ligand Substitution Reactions 5. For solvent exchange reaction of metal ions: [M(H2O)n]Z+ + n H2O* [M(H2O)n]Z+ + n H2O a) Outline the effects of the charge (Z) and the radius (r) of the metal ion MZ+ and CFSE on the rates ofthe reactions. (6 marks) b) Arrange the following complexes in increasing order of the substitution rates by H2O. Justify your answer. [Mn(H2O)6]2+ [Cu(H2O)6]2+ [Co(NH3)6]3+ [Rh(NH3)6]3+ [Ir(NH3)6]3+ (8 marks) 6. For a ligand substitution reaction, a) What is meant by ΔV‡ and ΔS‡? Explain in general terms how these parameters are measured. (4 marks) b) The ligand exchange reaction of [Pt(MeCN)4]2+ with free MeCN has been studied. The value of ΔS‡ was –88 J K-1 mol-1 and ΔV‡ was –4 cm3 mol-1. What does this suggest about the mechanism. Explain your reasons in detail. (4 marks) c) Second order rate constants, k2, for the reaction of trans-[Pt(PEt3)2Ph(MeOH)]+ with pyridine (py) in MeOH to give trans-[Pt(PEt3)2Ph(py)]+ vary with temperature as shown below. Use the data to determine the activation enthalpy and activation entropy for the reaction. (10 marks) d) Given the reactants PPh3, NH3, and [PtCl4]2- , propose efficient routes to both cis- and trans- [PtCl2(NH3)(PPh3)] (8 marks) Descriptive Transition Metal Chemistry 7. For the following statements of transition metal chemistry, which is(are) NOT true. Give your reasons. a) Transition metals have high melting points in their elemental form. b) Transition metals can have multiple oxidation states. c) Transition metals are poor conductors of electricity. d) Transition metals are large in atomic volumes and therefore not very dense. (5 marks) 8. Answer the following questions, a) Completed separation of tungsten from molybdenum in the ores is much more difficult than the separation of chromium from tungsten. Why? b) The oxidation state of +8 is very rare but does exist in Ru and Os. Identify the metal complexes with +8 oxidation states and comment on the observation. (6 marks)
ACOF001, BABC011, CCOF001, DADC001, IITC001, EITC001, SATC001 Semester 1 Assessment Item Name Assessment Task 2: Reading, Research and Evaluation Weighting 25%: Part A (60%); Part B (40%) Due Date Part A: Week 5 Tutorial A (in-class activity) Part B: Week 6 (take-home activity) Assessment item description A description of the assessment item is as follows: Purpose: This assessment enables you to apply the reading, research and evaluation skills that you have learnt on this course. This assessment requires you to answer questions about a discipline-specific reading, to write a research question and to evaluate texts in terms of their relevance to your research question. Subject learning outcomes (SLOs) & Language learning outcomes (LLOs) On successful completion of this assessment item, you should achieve the following outcomes: SLO1: SLO3i: purposefully select, and critically evaluate meaning-making in, a range of relevant texts systematically apply academic conventions to maintain academic integrity Assessment item brief For this assessment item you are required to do the following: Understanding the sequence of learning and assessment: · In Weeks 2, 3 and 4, you read a discipline-specific reading to develop your reading skills. · In Week 5, Tutorial A, you read a different discipline-specific text and answer questions. · In Week 5, you write a research question based on this discipline-specific readings; you locate and select an additional reading and a video relevant to your research question. · Due Week 6, take home assessment: develop your research question, evaluate the reading that you read in Week 5 Tutorial A, and explain how your additional texts are relevant to your research question; support your claims with a quote and an image. Part A (in class) 1. read a text and answer questions Part B (take home) 1. write a research question; 2. undertake a CRAAP test on the small text done in Week 5, Tutorial A; 3. explain how your additional texts (reading and video) are relevant to your research question; 4. provide a quote and an image; 5. explain how the quote and the image support your explanation; and 6. write a reference list on a separate page Example of citations Note: When you copy directly from any reading, you must always use quotation marks (“……”) and a citation with a page number. For example: “Movement through exhibition spaces of an art museum is generally a taken-for-granted phenomenon” (McMurtrie, 2022, p. 94). McMurtrie (2022, p. 94) states that “movement through exhibition spaces of an art museum is generally a taken-for-granted phenomenon”. When you copy directly from the video, you must use a time stamp. For example: Erickson states that “inflation is not the principal cause of the cost-of-living pressures” (TED, 2020, 1:45). Assessment item submission requirements Part A in-class (60%) You will read a small text and answer questions as a quiz. You will be given the text on the day on Canvas (using Lockdown Browser, if applicable) When you come to class, 1. Take your computer and a pen out of your bag. 2. Place all phones, bags, cameras, smartwatches, sunglasses and hats, etc. at the front of the classroom. 3. Return to your seat. 4. Access your quiz on your computer. 5. Receive an A4 piece of paper from your teacher for notes. 6. Do the quiz. 7. Remain silent if you finish the quiz early. You must leave Lockdown Browser on (if applicable) and close your computer until ALL students have finished and your teacher has collected ALL A4 sheets of paper. Part B take-home (40%) Submit a word document to Canvas. Copy and paste the instructions and write your answer below each instruction. Please note: your grammar is not graded; we don’t expect perfect English. 1. Write a research question; 2. Undertake a C.R.A.A.P. test on the small text done in Week 5, Tutorial A (maximum 75 words per answer) o Currency: Explain why the topic/content is current and timely, using personal real-life examples where possible. o Relevance: Describe how the text relates to your research question and the discipline-specific reading. o Authority: Justify why the author or speaker is considered an authority on this topic. o Accuracy: Provide evidence from the text that supports its accuracy. o Purpose: Analyse the purpose of the text and how it addresses the audience. 3. Write the names of your additional texts (reading and video) a….. b…. 4. Briefly explain how these two texts are relevant to your research question (maximum 100 words); 5. Support your claims by providing a quote and an image from the resources; 6. Briefly explain how the quote and the image support your explanation (maximum 150 words); and 7. Write a reference list on a separate page. All work must be original: your own words, own style, own voice, and your own understanding. Definition of “original”. Original work is work produced by the individual student which demonstrates the student’s own understanding, thoughts and ideas, while maintaining academic integrity. If you go over the word limit, you may need to defend your work in a viva voce. We can ask you to explain all or any part of your submission in a meeting with your teacher and the Academic Coordinator. If you need an alternative method of submitting, please talk to the Academic Coordinator.
COMP285/COMP220 Lab test (Ant and Junit) Date April 2019 Computer Science For this test you must produce a build directory and ant build file. You must also produce a Junit java test file call RegistrationHelperTest.java with tests to test the code found here. A stub form. of this test file is provided for you, please remember to change the method getStudentID() so that it returns your 8-digit student id. There are 2 files, RegistrationHelper.java and RegistrationHelperTest.java NOTE The RegistrationHelper java you have been contains no bugs. So all tests should pass. RegistrationHelper.java is the file you will be testing and it should be copied into the src directory. IMPORTANT The package name for all the files in this project needs to be labtest, so please copy the files into the correct source directories. So RegistrationHelper.java needs to be in srclabtest Here is the specification of the code. There is 1 method called boolean checkUsernamePassword(String username, String password) This method will return true if both the username and password are valid, if the username or password are invalid it will return false. The following are the validation rules: 1. If either the username or password are null then the method will return false. 2. The username must be at least 8 characters long and must start with an alphabetic character (A-Z, a-z). 3. The username must be no more than 12 characters long. 4. The password must be last least 8 characters long. 5. The password must contain at least one lower case letter. 6. The password must contain at least one upper case letter. 7. The password must at least one a digit. 8. The password must have a special character one of the following ! “ £ $ % ^ & * ( ) The test source files for this lab test should be stored in testsrc. There should be a directory called buildclasses where the classes are stored. (Please turn over) Your ant file should compile Main.java and RegistrationHelperTest.java and then leave the result in buildclasses. Submission Your submission must consist of the following A zipped up file which is the whole build directory, the name of this file should be named LabtestXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXXX is your long University id number. This zipped file must contains. A build.xml file which compiles makes output directories if needed, copies files from testtargetClaases to buildclasses, builds the test code and runs the Junit tests and also produces reports about the tests in XML and HTML. The directory structure should have the following directories buildclasses Containing all classes for the application (test and target classes) testreports Stores HTML and XML reports testsrc Test code containing the code RegistrationHelperTest.java src Containing the files Main.java and RegistrationHelper.java lib Any libraries you may need e.g. JUnit Marking The marks are assigned as follows: Quality of the Junit file 50% broken down as Appropriate structure of file and readability 10% Ability to reveal bugs 40% Quality of Ant file 50% broken down as Production of correct final outputs 25% Formatting, readability, good use of properties 25% Note for the “Ability to reveal bugs” part of your assessment you tests must do the following: 1. Run with no failure if the code has no bugs, if your tests fail for the bug free code, then you will get zero marks for this component. 2. Reveal bugs if the code has bugs in it, your tests will be tested against various versions of the code with bugs that have been added on purpose TIPS Make each assertion test case test only 1 issue at a time. Check all boundaries, edge cases.
Fundamental AI and Data Analytic (EIE1005) Workshop 4: Developing Game AI with OpenAI Gym A. Purpose This workshop provides students the opportunity to train and test a game AI model based on reinforcement learning using OpenAI’s Gym library [1,2]. B. Things to do 1. Follow the instructions in the worksheet to install the required software modules. 2. Run the programs provided to train and test the agent in the game FrozenLake, a game environment provided by OpenAI’s Gym library [1,2]. 3. Analyze the programs to understand the important parameters of reinforcement learning. 4. Answer the questions in this worksheet and submit it to the Blackboard. C. Equipment PC with the following software: · Windows 10 or above · Anaconda Navigator (version 2.0.3 or above) · Spyder version 4.2.5 or above D. Introduction - FrozenLake FrozenLake is part of the Toy Text environment of Gym [1,2]. It involves crossing a frozen lake from Start(S) to Goal(G) without falling into any Holes(H) by walking over the Frozen(F) lake. The agent may not always move in the intended direction due to the slippery nature of the frozen lake. For each move, the agent can make one of the following four actions: 0: LEFT 1: DOWN 2: RIGHT 3: UP The state of the agent is represented by an integer of value from 0 to 15 calculated by the following equation: row × total number of columns + col (where both the row and col start at 0). For example, the Goal position in a 4×4 map can be calculated as follows: 3 × 4 + 3 = 15. The number of possible states is dependent on the size of the map. For example, a 4×4 map has 16 possible states. The number of all states of a 4×4 map is shown in the diagram below, where the corresponding built-in game environment is also shown. The agent can be trained by reinforcement learning using the standard application program interface (API) provided by Gym. The built-in reward scheme is as follows: Reach goal(G): +1 Reach hole(H): 0 Reach frozen(F): 0 Refer to the course notes [3] on the meaning of action, state, and reward in reinforcement learning. E. Workshop Part I: Preparation 1. Login to your computer. 2. Launch Anaconda Navigator by clicking search and typing Anaconda Navigator (Anaconda3). Then press Enter (see the figure below). 3. In the Anaconda Navigator window, launch Spyder by clicking the button Launch. 4. Spyder is an integrated development environment (IDE), particularly for Python programming [4]. It includes advanced features for Python program editing, testing, and debugging. The Spyder IDE mainly contains three windows: Editor, Debugger, and Console. The Editor window is for editing Python program codes. The Debugger window provides detailed information on the program execution, including the values of the variables. The Console window allows the user to interact with the IDE. This workshop does not require you to do programming. You will mainly input your commands in the Console window and see the results. 5. The OpenAI’s library Gym is used in this workshop. Gym includes a standard API focused on reinforcement learning. It contains a diverse collection of reference environments, each of which is presented in the form. of a computer game. To install Gym, type the following command in the Console window and press Enter. pip install gymnasium 6. Please enter the following commands, pressing Enter after each line. Wait approximately 20 seconds after each command: pip install gym[toy_text] pip install gymnasium[toy-text] 7. Restart the kernel by clicking Console -> Restart kernel in the top menu (see the figure below). Note that if your program hangs due to whatever reason, you can also restart the kernel to make the program run again. The system is now ready for program development. Part II: Play FrozenLake without training 1. Copy and paste the following Python program codes to the Editor window. Avoid making any changes, such as adding spaces or tabs. ##################################################### # EIE1005 - Workshop # Reinforcement Learning for Game AI # ##################################################### # Baseline Program ##################################################### import gymnasium as gym # 1. Load Environment env = gym.make('FrozenLake-v1', render_mode='human', is_slippery=False) # 2. Parameters setting rev_list = [] # rewards per episode calculate # 3. Initialize the environment init_state = env.reset() # Reset environment s = init_state[0] rAll = 0 j = 0 while j < 99: j+=1 # Randomly generate action and get the reward state, reward, terminated, truncated, info = env.step(env.action_space.sample()) env.render() print("Current state: ", state, end = " ") print("Reward = ", reward) if state == 5 or state == 7 or state == 11 or state == 12: break input("Press Enter to continue:") print() rAll += reward s = state if terminated or truncated == True: break rev_list.append(rAll) env.render() In the above Python program, all statements that start with the # symbol are not program codes, but comments. The comments are usually used for explaining the program codes. Pay attention that all indentations in the program codes need to be followed exactly. The program cannot be executed if any indentation is modified. 2. Save the program with the filename FrozenLake_baseline.py to your Desktop folder by pressing File in the top menu and then selecting Save as... A window will be opened to let you select the folder and enter the filename. Then run the program by pressing the Run button under the top menu. A game board will be generated (If the game board does not appear, click its icon on the Windows taskbar. Alternatively, avoid maximizing the Spyder window; instead, resize it and drag the game board to a corner so that both windows do not overlap.). 3. Once the Run button is pressed, the game will run and the agent will make the first movement. The current state after the movement and the reward obtained for the movement will be shown in the Console window. It will also ask and wait for the user to press Enter to continue. Pressing Enter in the Console window will let the game continue and the agent will make another move. You will find that sometimes the agent does not move after you press Enter. It is because the system asks the agent to move out of the boundaries of the game. In this case, the agent will stay in the original state. (The program is not hanging; it completes quickly and then waits for your next input. Please consider moving the game board outside the main screen so you can observe the rapid movements.) 4. Play the game until the agent reaches a Hole such as the following: Then capture the screen of Spyder at that time (you can first click the Spyder window and press the +Shift+S buttons together on your keyboard; Alternatively, type "Snipping" in the Windows search bar to open the software.). Select the region.Then paste the screen capture by pressing ctrl-v in the box below. Your screen capture needs to show the current state and reward values in the Console window. Question: What are the current state and reward values as shown in the Console window? Compared with the game board screen, does it match the expected result? Comment on whether the current position of the agent matches. Part III: Training the agent 1. You will find that the agent can never reach the goal no matter how many times you play since the agent has not been trained. Its movement is randomly generated by the program. We will start training the agent. Open a new file by clicking File in the top menu and then click New File….. A new window will be opened in the Editor window. Copy and paste the following Python program codes into it. Avoid making any changes, such as adding spaces or tabs. ##################################################### # EIE1005 - Workshop # Reinforcement Learning for Game AI # ##################################################### # Training Program ##################################################### import gymnasium as gym import numpy as np # 1. Load Environment env = gym.make('FrozenLake-v1', is_slippery=False) epis = int(input("Enter the number of games to play for training: ")) if epis
ESSAY TITLES FOR : LA906 International Investment Law Assessment : Coursework (summative assessment) Submission Date : 24 April 2025 at 12pm (noon) GMT Essay weighting : This essay counts for 100% of your overall mark for the module Word limit : 4000 words Please read the following instructions carefully. 1. Word Limit Essays must not be longer than the word limit stated above. The number of words used must be stated on the front of your essay. Anything written beyond this word limit will not be marked and you will not get any credit for it. There is no margin above the word limit. The word limit includes all of the main text of the essay, including quotations and text within footnotes. References and citations in footnotes do not count against the word limit. The bibliography does not count against the word limit. 2. Submission and Late Submission Penalties The essay must be submitted via Tabula by the date stated above. We recommend you submit it at least 30 minutes before the deadline as it can take a few minutes to upload. If your work is received after the deadline, even by a few seconds, a late penalty will be applied to your mark. Late penalties accumulate at a rate of 5 points per day for every 24-hour period by which the deadline is exceeded, rounding up to the next 24-hour period. It is your responsibility to ensure that you can clearly identify the final version of your work (e.g., by using an appropriate filename that includes "_final" at the end) and to upload the correct version before the deadline. Ensure that everything is in one single .pdf file. It is not possible to substitute a revised version after the deadline. You should upload your files in sufficient time before the submission deadline to check that you have uploaded the final version of the correct essay for that module and that the file can be opened and read and is not corrupted in some way. If necessary, the uploaded file should be replaced before the submission deadline. Your student ID number should be clearly indicated on the first page of your work. Do not put your name on your essay, as all work is marked anonymously. It is also your responsibility to submit the assessment for the correct module. Including the module code/name in the filename would be advisable (e.g., "u123456_LA456-RocketLaw_final"). Please refer tohttps://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/student-hub/pg/assessmentsfor further information on submission via tabula. 3. Marking Scheme for Law Assessments Your work is marked by a member of the academic staff and marks are moderated by another staff member. Marks are provisional and subject to moderation. Although marks are not negotiable, you may arrange a meeting to discuss your mark with your tutor after receiving any feedback. Particular care is taken with all work which receives a mark of less than 50% or is on a borderline between classes. Such work, along with other samples, may be referred to the external examiner. In marking we pay particular attention to how clearly you develop your ideas, how correctly you identify and understand the issues for analysis, how critically you engage with the literature and materials relevant to your topic, how clearly you develop your ideas and arguments, how correctly you set out the law where applicable, how critically you engage with other views, and how effectively you engage with the essay title. You will not get credit for lack of clarity, failure to provide evidence for your assertions, material that is not relevant, and for being overly descriptive, rather than analytical, in your approach. For a full explanation of the marking criteria please refer to the Postgraduate Taught Handbook (Red Book) https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/student-hub/pg/extra/llm_handbook_2024-2025.pdf and the LLM Feedback Information https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/student-hub/pg/extra/llm_feedback_information_2024- 2025_.pdf 4. Good Academic Practice Please make sure that you familiarise yourself with what constitutes poor academic practice and academic misconduct. Be aware that the submission of text written by generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT) is not allowed and will be treated as academic misconduct. Other uses of AI are governed by the University’s and School’s rules on AI and any specific instructions given for this assessment. See the Law School’s Academic Integrity Guidelines on our online student hub pages (see http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/current/gapand in the Postgraduate Taught Handbook (Red Book) https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/student-hub/pg/extra/llm_handbook_2024-2025.pdf You should familiarize yourself with the Law School’s Policy on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and take careful note of the Guidance to Students on the permitted and prohibited uses of GenAI. https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/student-hub/pg/extra-pgr/wls_ai_policy_2024_adopted- final.pdf You should also familiarize yourself with chapter 4 of the University’s Institutional Approach to the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity (institutional_approach_to_the_use_of_artificial_intelligence_and_academic_integrity.pdf (warwick.ac.uk)). If there is a finding of poor academic practice, then any material that is not properly referenced will be ignored by the marker and you will gain no credit for it. This is likely to result in a low mark. A finding of academic misconduct will result in a mark of 0. ESSAY TITLES/QUESTIONS: Choose one essay from the following essay titles: 1. ‘The ‘‘grand bargain’’ of international investment law – offering protection in return for increased investment flows – has proved to be an illusion. Maintaining international investment agreements in their current form. only brings risks to developing nations. The demise of these agreements cannot come a day too soon.’ Critically discuss. 2. ‘Arbitral awards finding host states in breach of fair and equitable treatment are far less persuasive than those finding them not liable. This indicates an unacceptable level of bias among investment arbitrators.’ Critically discuss. 3. ‘Regulatory autonomy of host states is overemphasised in criticisms of international investment law. All states occasionally enact misguided laws and regulations and act unacceptably in other ways. International investment law is rightly there to provide at least some protection when this happens.’ Critically discuss. 4. ‘ICSID arbitration is the most powerful dispute resolution mechanism in international law. Using such a mechanism for protection of a single class of actors - foreign investors - is not warranted. Returning to the procedures offered by commercial arbitration instruments would be more than sufficient.’ Critically discuss. SKILLS: For this essay we will assess the following skills in particular and the feedback on your essay will reflect this: Comprehension of the topic; analysis of the issues; critique; incorporation of relevant scholarship based on topics covered in the module and the reading set for classes; structure, signposting and presentation of your essay.
Advanced Manufacturing Processes (MECH60132): 1. Aims and Objectives This laboratory exercise aims to further enhance the understanding of basic characteristics of precision laser processing through the blended learning of the use of different laser systems. The procedure involves the processing of standard laboratory materials such as, stainless steel and polymers. The overall aim of the project is to make each undergraduate student their own keying, made using the laser systems in the laboratory. · To introduce the operating procedures of complex laser systems and demonstrate their use in advance production. · To understand the effects of operating parameters and material used on the process result. · To familiarise the use of analytical equipment such as optical microscope for the examination of processed samples. · To understand the basic safety issues involved in laser processing. 2. Exercises Laser cutting, marking and Micromachining will be demonstrated. In all cases, the following basic steps are undertaken: · Brief introduction to the layout of the laser system. · Experimental Preparation, which involves the startup of the laser systems, the alignment of the processing table and the scanning equipment, the preparation of work pieces, safety systems, etc. The procedures should be noted. · Examination of Samples: This involves the use of optical microscope. Surface patterns, damage analysis, as well as size comparisons will be undertaken. · Calculation of beam sizes, fluencies, and other measurement parameters. 2.1. System A – Cutting Exercise The machine used is an HPC fibre laser cutting system, which is coupled to a 3-axis CNC stage. The following will be demonstrated and performed in the exercise: · Alignment Process: Setting up of a sample in the process region. · Cutting Exercise: Setting up programs that will be used for cutting of materials. Variation of the processing parameters such as velocity, power, and gas mixture will be assessed. · Analysis of results: This will involve use of optical microscope to determine optimal cutting and processing speeds. · Cutting the keyring: Using the parameters determined a few key rings will be cut. 2.2. System B – Marking laser system A laser marking system and Nutfield galvanometer will be used for the exercise. The following will be demonstrated: · Alignment Process: Setting up of a sample in the process region and location of laser beam focal position. · Laser ablation exercise: This involves machining the materials surface to determine the correct marking parameters. · Marking the keying: Using the parameters determined marking of the key rings can be done. 2.3. System C – RF CO2 Laser The laser used is a RF CO2 laser machine, which is coupled to a CNC stage operated. The following will be demonstrated and performed in the exercise: · Alignment Process: Setting up of a sample in the process region and location of laser beam focal position. · Laser ablation exercise: This involves machining the materials surface to determine their ablation rates. After alignment, the procedure will be performed using several different processing parameters. Parameters and their effects should be noted. · Analysis of results: This will involve use of optical microscope to determine hole depth. Note: In your report you will be required to provide information regarding pulse energy, fluence, etc for the parameters used during the exercise! 3. Assessment The assessment for the laboratory is on Blackboard. Please see blackboard for your online submission date. Feedback and marks will be given after all once all assessments have been submitted. MSc Advanced Production Processess Laboratory Assessment (MACE 60132): Question 1 (6): What was the maximum average power and units of each laser system used? HPC Cutting Laser UV Marking Laser CO2 Laser Question 2 (6): Please summarise the experimental procedure and show how the samples looked after cutting. Show all the parameters used for laser cutting. Attached an annotated picture or diagram and describe the key areas of each experimental setup. Question 3 (10): Please plot a graph of measured width against the average power, for Oxygen and Nitrogen. Please include any approximate errors and titles required (Example graph show below). State the experimental determined parameters used for laser cutting and why they were chosen. Question 4 (Marking System 6): Please summarise the experimental procedure for the Marking laser system and give the details of how the experiment was performed during the laboratory. Special mention to the parts of the laser system. Show all the parameters used when calibrating the laser and how describe how the colour was formed. Attached an annotated picture or diagram and describe the key areas of each experimental setup. Question 5 (6): Calculate the fluence, which was used to mark your samples? Please show the Equations and working. Question 6 (2): Please Insert a picture of the completed key ring. Question 7 (4): Please summarise the experimental procedure for the RFCO2 laser and give the details of how the experiment was performed during the laboratory. Show all the parameters when using the laser. Attached an annotated picture or diagram and describe the key areas of each experimental setup. Question 8 (8): Please plot a graph of showing the change of depth at a result of increasing the number of pulses using an appropriate graph-plotting package. Showing how these results change with laser fluence, F? Question 9 (8): Please plot and graph showing the change of etch rate, x against the change in fluence, lnF, using the beer lambert equation as demonstrated in the laboratory. Question 10 (4): Determine the approximate threshold fluence FT and absorption coefficient, α, (with units) from the graph plotted in question 9, by fitting a line of best fit through the points. The threshold fluence is calculated where line crosses the x-axis. Value Units Threshold Fluence Absorption Coefficient Question 11 (5): Evaluate your contribution to the laboratory work and assess whether you functioned effectively as an individual and as a member of a team. How well do you think the entire team worked to accomplish the aims of the laboratory? (100-150 words)
IDBQM001 Quantitative Methods for Business 2024-2025 Coursework Assignment This assignment is worth 25% of the total marks. Task: The dataset representing the quarterly average rental prices for apartments in a fictional metropolitan area over the past 10 years (2014-2023). The data is categorised by three distinct neighbourhoods A, B and C, and for each neighbourhood, it is further divided into two apartment types: 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments. Using the techniques taught in your course, analyse the data and provide insights. You may choose to undertake some of the following tasks: 1. Calculate Rental Price Indexes: track the changes in average rental prices over time for each neighbourhood and apartment type. 2. Examine Correlations: Identify any potential correlations between rental prices of different apartment types within the same neighbourhood or between different neighbourhoods. 3. Forecast Future Rental Prices: Use regression analysis to predict future rental prices for each neighbourhood and apartment type. 4. Compare Neighbourhood Dynamics: Analyse and compare the growth rates of rental prices across the neighbourhoods and discuss the potential reasons behind any observed differences. You should present your findings with appropriate visualisations and provide a summary of your key insights. 1000 words (plus appendices and references)
ECON372 2025FC Assignment 1. Due Date is Friday 11th April by 11.59pm by file upload. Question 1 (18 marks) Consider an electricity market where the base of the demand curve is vertical and varies linearly between 4000MW and 8000MW (so is equally likely to be found anywhere in that range). Above 7500MW demand can be curtailed at a price of $5000/MWh. The market is competitive with three types of plants as below. Technology FC per MWh Variable costs per MWh Carbon Emissions in tonnes per MWh Peak (diesel peaker) $15 $200 25 Mid (gas) $30 $40 10 Baseload (hydro) $50 $0 0 (a)What is the optimal amount of baseload plant that should be built? (2 marks) (b) What is the duration of the price spike so that the peaker plant just recovers its fixed costs? (2 marks) (c) What is the optimum mid-load capacity? (2 marks) (d) What is the total capacity and hence peak capacity? (2 marks) (e) Sketch the load duration curve and the offer stack (2 marks) (f) Show all plants just cover costs (4 marks) (g) Suppose now the government imposes a tax of $30 a tonne. Suppose there is no change in capacity (so capacity doesn’t adjust). Calculate the profit that each type of plant makes. Why do some plants make a profit even though the market is competitive? (4 marks) Question 2 (18 marks) Consider a owner of a mine which can operate for two periods in a perfectly competitive market. The price in the first period is p0 and in the second period it is p1. The interest rate is r and there are constant marginal costs for mining MC for both periods. The market demand curve is qt=a-bpt. The initial stock of mineral in the mine is R0. (a) Write down the Hotelling rule with perfect competition with constant marginal costs. (1 marks) (b) If a=20, b=1, R0=10, r=0.08 and MC=8 find the mining path and the price. (4 marks) (c) Suppose that the owner of the mine is a monopoly write down the Hotelling rule for a monopoly with constant marginal costs of mining. (1 marks) (d) Find the mining and price path (4 marks). (e) Now back to the competitive market explain what you would expect for the mining path if the second period MC increased. (4 marks) (f) Test your intuition by solving with MC0=8, MC1=10 (4 marks)
BIOLOGY 4405B Short scientific communication assignment General Instructions Overall weight to final mark in course (15%) Objective: You are the newly hired science writer at the journal Science and you have been asked to write a two-page news article on a recent scientific paper. Your editor asks you to succinctly summarize the essence of the paper but more importantly to set the significance of the results and conclusions of the paper in their proper context by also referring to some other recent publications relevant to the main article you’re reporting on. She gives you some examples from earlier issues and you see that those articles all had some graphical elements like photos and keystone figures. The deadline for the fully formatted news article is March 26th by midnight. The article goes to press the following day, so you don’t want to be Iate with it. Expectations: • Select one article from the class reading list (or another recently published article, check with Dr. Sass); do not use the article that you chose for the group presentation • Based on the critical reading and interpretation prepare a 2-page scientific news article that you might find in the (news’ section of Science or Nature (single-spaced, multi-column). • Write the article for the non-specialist and use language and concepts that are easily understandable by anyone with basic scientific training. • Use appropriate figures or tables to best convey the essence of the article. • Make connections to some other research in the field as well. • Submit news article by March 26th in a format ready for publication (pdf please). • Please submit through OWL. Turnitin will be used to check for plagiarism. • Please use as much creativity as you’d like to get your message across. Grading rubric for Short scientific communication assignment (out of 10 points) Comments and Suggestions Organization & clarity (3 marks) Ideas are presented in logical order with effective transitions (segue ways) between major ideas; the writing is clear and concise (“it flows well’) and the reader gets a very clear sense of the ‘big picture’ as well as the major points argued. The article has a clear beginning, middle and end. Content (4 marks) The reader is educated about different aspects of the paper under review in a concise and engaging manner. The writer is very comfortable with the material, highlighting examples and drawing information from several unique resources including references from other scientific articles (or books) and perhaps also from governmental (non-governmental) reports. Presentation (3 marks) The report is professionally laid out with well-chosen figures and tables and shows some creativity by its author to convey key information in a short piece both textually and graphically. References are properly cited using endnotes and condensed reference list is provided. The paper is well edited with no grammar and spelling mistakes. The 2-page limit is adhered to.
