BIOL10002 Report: Individual Progress Task Hypothesis & predictions, and Results figure & caption 1. Based on your knowledge of catalase and how [temperature/pH/salinity] influences enzymes, what do you think will happen to catalase activity as [temperature/pH/salinity] changes? Write a hypothesis for the relationship across the range tested and include a detailed prediction of the outcome of the experiment assuming the hypothesis is correct (approx. 50-100 words). [2 marks] 2. Insert your catalase activity graph here (suggested file format, .png or .jpeg, adjust size as needed) [2 marks] 3. Write an informative caption for your figure (approx. 50-100 words). [2 marks] [Maximum 200 words total]
BEEM062 Main Assignment Part B Brief March 28, 2025 Abstract Your main assignment (80%) must be handed in by Friday 25th April 2025. It consists of two equally weighted parts: part A) A 1,600 word essay; and part B) A technical task-based assignment. This document outlines your tasks for Part B, which on its own contributes 40% to your overall module grade. For Python based tasks, you MUST solve them using Jupyter Notebooks, with each line of code stored. You will submit your assignment as a set of documents with your notebooks stored separately (with the .ipynb extension so that they can be easily verified). You are welcome to store your own code on your own github repository or elsewhere, but the .ipynb files must be submitted. Since you submit one file, the best way to do this is to submit your part A document, and include a link to a repository (you can use your onedrive or any other) that contains all your files in one folder. Please do not submit large data files, and as ever, please pay attention to cyber security good practice (do not submit/share API keys). Note that any code files that are not .ipynb do not need to be submitted (you can use screen shots). 1 Gradient Descent with Python and NumPy (30 marks) From a Jupyter notebook in Python, extract two time series of your choice from the CryptoCompare API, calling one xt and the other yt. You do not have to use the CryptoCompare API (for example you can use the Nasdaq Data Link API). Depending on availability, choose your own frequency and time period, making sure that you can analyse both time series by treating them each as a one dimensional array of the same length, and make sure they are reasonably long (more than 100 observations). Use the numpy library to find OLS estimates of α and β and in the following specification, where et is an assumed white noise error: yt = α + β + xt + et Analytically from standard OLS formulae By trial and error Machine Learning with a Gradient Descent (GD) Algo-rithm One challenge you may encounter is obtaining convergence, depending on the underlying data. In words, describe why convergence to a Loss Function minimum may be difficult to obtain in practice, and how this might be overcome. 2 Time Series Forecasting with Regularisation (35 marks) Create a Python notebook that produces a time series forecast of a financial time series of your choice. Pick one single financial time series that you are interested in (eg the Bitcoin price in Sterling), and conduct your analysis in stages: 1. In the first stage, you must describe why you have chosen the series, and what factors you think affect it. Where relevant, describe any general trends, specific events, and what variables you think may drive it. Distin-guish between variables that you should be able to obtain, versus those you cannot. 2. Extract the relevant time series (you could use the cryptocompare API calls already used, or any other). 3. Conduct analysis. You must reduce a larger model with many variables (more than 10) down to a smaller model by applying L1/L2 Regularisation. Scikit learn has examples of implementing the combination of L1 and L2 called elastic nets. Pay attention to stationarity, and use the Scikit learn implementation that uses cross validation (CV) to pin down the hyper parameters (weights on L1 and L2). Also, for the purposes of CV it is important to split time series appropriately by using Scikit learnís TimeSeriesSplit procedure. 3 Build an Experiment Platform. (35 marks) In this section you are expected to apply the skills we developed building a smart contract using the sCrypt platform. However, feel free to use any other approach you have learnt on other modules or elsewhere, as long as you achieve the same objective. Overall, design and implement a platform. that allows a researcher to set up a simple experiment like the Ultimatum Game, playing out the experiment on the blockchain (in the case of sCrypt, it uses the BSV blockchain). Your platform. will play out the experiment on-chain, with the logic enforced by the smart contract. Choose your game from ONE of the following options: 1. Ultimatum Game Player A proposes a split of a pot (e.g. 1000 satoshis). Player B either accepts or rejects it. If accepted, both receive as proposed. If rejected, neither gets anything. 2. Dictator Game Player A decides the split of the pot unilaterally. Player B has no choice but to accept. 3. Trust Game (2-Step Transfer) Player A decides how much to send to Player B. The amount is tripled. Then Player B decides how much to return to A. 4. Modified Ultimatum Game Same as Ultimatum, but Player B can only accept/reject if the o§er is above a threshold (e.g., >300 satoshis). 5. One-Way Puzzle Incentive Post a question or riddle on-chain. The first participant who solves it and unlocks the funds using a contract-defined condition (e.g., a correct answer hash) wins. 3.1 Procedure Overall, proceed as follows: 1. Write up your overall design in words. 2. Write a smart contract that encodes your experiment logic (with sCrypt, you can then compile and test it locally). 3. Deploy the contract (with sCrypt, you can deploy it to the test or main net using small amounts of satoshis, eg 1000). 4. Build a simple front end (html/css/js) that shows how a participant could interact with the contract. 3.2 Submission For this task, include screen shots (not the code files) in your submission that show you set up the contract logic, compiled and deployed the contract, and any relevant evidence (eg the txids on test or main net, if using sCrypt). You do not have to submit the actual code files, this part can all be based on screen shots. Note that you must not submit your own private keys used in any of the stages. For the front end part, again, there is no need to submit the actual code files, you can just submit screenshots to show it.
Complex Networks and Innovation– BUSM132 Semester B, 2024-2025 Coursework Guidelines Students are expected to carry out the research project either in groups of two or three members. Groups of more than three members are not allowed. The project must be comprehensive and original in analysis, accurately grounded in theory and literature, and must convey a clear message. It may include theoretical syntheses, the proposal of new and exploratory conceptual models, theoretically grounded discussions of methodology, analysis of historical developments with clear implications for current and future theory, theoretically relevant discussions of timely and important network issues, and comprehensive literature reviews with strong theoretical implications. Students must choose one of the following titles, or discuss their proposed topic with me and have it approved: 1. Critically assess, compare and contrast the random Poisson network model and the “scale-free” network model proposed by Barabási and Albert. With the aid of examples, discuss whether and the extent to which these models offer an accurate representation of real-world networks. Also define why these models are useful to study. 2. In the social sciences, scholars seem to agree on the importance of network structure, but disagree on the relative benefits of opposite types of structures. Some regard closed network structures (cohesion) as the source of social capital and innovation. Others have argued in favour of the benefits of open network structures (brokerage). With the aid of examples, critically assess, compare and contrast the network mechanisms underpinning these (apparently) opposing views of social capital. 3. By drawing on the Barabási-Albert “scale-free” network and the Watts-Strogatz “small-world” network, critically assess the implications of different network structures and properties (e.g., clustering, average distances) for real-world processes such as, for example, information and innovation diffusion, opinion dynamics, and viral marketing. Learning Objectives: The objective of the project is to allow students to develop the ability of undertaking independent work, while applying and extending ideas and methods introduced in the course. Learning Outcomes: Depending on the selected subject and approach, students should be able to: • start up or redirect a line of inquiry; • draw upon multiple disciplines; • employ diverse methods, including qualitative, field, survey, archival, laboratory and computational methods; • focus on different kinds of networks including acquaintance networks, co- authorship networks, inter- and intra-organizational networks; • make a theoretical contribution; • provide new empirical findings; • achieve genuine integration of theory and data; • provide a theoretically-driven review and integration of an important research area. Project Format: The project must be word processed or typed on A4 paper, double-spaced, 11-point font, with 1- inch margins all around. The maximum length will be different depending on group size: • Group of 2 students: maximum length of 3,000 words • Group of 3 students: maximum length of 4,500 words These maximum length constraints reflect the idea that, each student is expected to contribute 1,250-1,500 words. Pages must be sequentially numbered. Sections and sub-sections must be clearly identified and sequentially numbered. The project must include: - The title and word count - Students’ ID numbers; and group identifier; - An abstract (up to 200 words): The abstract should summarise the project and conveying its broader implications and be devoid of mathematical symbols, acronyms, citations, or technical jargon - Keywords (up to five) - An introduction - Literature review - Analysis - A final section with a critical discussion of the main findings - Bibliography References cited in the text should be listed alphabetically by author at the end of the project, beginning on a separate page headed “References”. Please use “Harvard” style referencing. Avoid references to unpublished works and websites. Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively and incorporated into the project. Tables and figures should complement arguments presented in the text. Endnotes and footnotes should be kept to a minimum. If the note is necessary, it should be indicated in the text. Assessment: Overall assessment will be based upon: - Problem identification - Critical analysis of theoretical background - Data collection (where applicable) - Methods (where applicable) - Analysis and evaluation of results - Conclusions - Organisation, style. and presentation - References Deadline: The project is due on Thursday 17th April 2025 15:00 UK time. Students must follow the instructions on QMPlus as to how to submit the project. For further details, please refer to the School’s policy on deadlines.
Empirical Finance Spring II 2025 Assignment 1 - 200 pts Here are the assignment objectives: • Source earnings event data for publicly traded stocks. • Evaluate whether the “Sell the News” phenomenon is evident. • Develop an investment strategy, analyze its performance using summary statistics. For example, take a look at the Yahoo Finance earnings calendar: It provides a list of companies announcing earnings on March 11, 2025. While not all com- panies have this information, for some you can find whether their earnings beat market expectations. Based on that, you can manually assign positive or negative scores. You can download individual historical stock price series https://www.investing.com/ for free. You can also use the Bloomberg Terminal we have access to at Hopkins for this purpose. Specifically, you can view Netflix’s historical earnings announcements here: Here are the instructions: (1) Pick at least 20 of your favorite companies. Ideally, these should be well-known firms. Collect at least 10 cases of earnings for each company, including historical stock prices, earnings announcement dates, and assigned scores (positive or negative). Ideally, try to obtain roughly half with positive scores and the remaining with negative scores. Be careful when measuring the impact of an earnings announcement on stock prices. If the announcement was released after hours, it's more accurate to measure the change from the closing price on the announcement day to the opening price the following day, rather than relying on close-to-close price changes. Obviously, if the announcement was released pre-market, you should still compute the close-to-open change—but using the closing price of the day before the announcement and the opening price on the announcement day. To be concrete, the above Netflix example includes at least 10 cases, with at least 5 assigned negative scores. You can download the corresponding historical stock (open/close) prices from https://www.investing.com/ and compute the impact by (i) taking the log transformation of prices and (ii) calculating changes in close-to-open prices around the announcement. (2) Provide summary statistics—that is, the average changes in log prices on earnings announcement days—using the full sample as well as subsets based on positive and negative scores. Discuss your findings in the context of the sell the news" phenomenon. Do you find any evidence supporting or contradicting it? (3) Now, expand the holding period beyond just intraday changes to include multiple days. See if any patterns emerge when positions are held over a longer horizon. For example, you can calculate the return from buying three days before the announcement and selling on the announcement day (assuming the announcement is made after hours). This strategy avoids being directly affected by the announcement itself, as the posi- tion is closed beforehand. Similarly, you can examine returns from buying after the announcement and selling a few days later. Use your creativity to explore and report any meaningful findings—for example, av- erage returns from specific holding period strategies (e.g., holding for xx days). If no clear pattern emerges, that in itself is still a valuable finding.
CS 330, Spring 2025, Homework 7 Due Wednesday, April 2, 11:59 pm EST, via Gradescope Homework Guidelines Collaboration policy You must write up each problem solution by yourself without assistance, even if you collaborate with others to solve the problem. You must also identify your collaborators. If you did not work with anyone, you should write ”Collaborators: none.” It is a violation of this policy to submit a problem solution that you cannot orally explain to an instructor or TA. Typesetting Solutions should be typed and submitted as a PDF file on Gradescope. You may use any program you like to type your solutions. LATEX, or “Latex”, is commonly used for technical writing (overleaf .com is a free web-based platform for writing in Latex) since it handles math very well. Word, Google Docs, Markdown or other software are also fine. Content of the Solution. When a problem asks you to design an algorithm, a complete (a.k.a. full credit) solution always consists of a description of the algorithm using pseudocode (thus not actual code) with well-chosen comments, preferable some short and high level description in English so that the reader has an idea of what the code does, a proof of the correctness of the algorithm and a running time analysis. Here are some guidelines specific to the solution of DP problems: Any solution should cover 4 main parts: 1. Clearly state what the subproblems and variables are. e.g. WIS: OPT(j) is the max value solution on jobs 1; . . . j if sorted by earliest finish time. Knapsack: OPT(i,w) is the max value solution on items 1 . . . i with capacity w. 2. write the recursive formula (including base cases!) and a detailed explanation while the parts of the formula correctly compute the objective. You can omit the induction proof that would apply it to each index. 3. write the pseudocode for your algorithm (bottom-up or top-down are both fine) and analyze its running time. The explanation of the recursive formula serves as proof of correctness, you don’t need to write anything in addition here. 4. (*) write the backtracking algorithm and analyze its running time. No proof needed as the algorithm is mostly reverse-engineering of the recursive formula. However, it will be graded both on correctness and efficiency. (*) You can either write backtracking as a separate algorithm to be run after the DP algorithm or you can incorporate the backtracking steps in your DP algorithm, both are acceptable. Make sure to include clear comments in your code. Organizing a Conference (Again) You are at it again! You have been tasked with organizing the schedule for another conference. In order to raise the profile of your conference you decide to invite some very famous speakers to give keynote presentations (keynotes are talks that everybody at the conference attends). Because of this, you have to make sure that you schedule the talks so that none of them overlap. These famous people are very busy and have inflexible schedules. In particular, each of them sends you one specific time interval (si, fi) when they are available. The presence of each potential speaker adds to the prestige of your event. In particular, speaker i contributes vi amount. Unfortunately you are operating on a budget and you can only invite K speakers. Design a dynamic programming algorithm that takes as input a list T with the availability and prestige of each potential speaker. T [i] = (si, ti, vi) is a tuple with the time interval that speaker i is available and the value of their presence. Further, you also have the budget K as input, each speaker has a ”cost” of 1 unit. After the backtracking, your algorithm should return a set of speakers - within your budget - that maximize the total prestige (value) of your conference. Catering Events You are a caterer who provides food for events, such as the above conference. In order to do so you have to buy the ingredients in advance of each event. The amount of ingredients you need depends on the number of participants pi at event i. You cater one event each week, hence you shop for supplies once per week. The wholesale restaurant supplier where you buy your ingredients has two options; you can either get a per person rate r. For example, if there are pi participants then you would pay r · pi total for this week. The other option is to pay a flat rate price c for the whole event, thus your cost for the week is c. However, this latter options requires you to commit to the flat rate 4 weeks in a row. Thus, you pay 4 · c over 4 weeks. Here is an example input and solution. Suppose that the per person price is r = $150, the weekly flat rate is c = $2000. Your optimal cost for these 15 weeks would be 8c + (11 + 8 + 15 + 10 + 11 + 8 + 5)r = 26200. week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 # participants 25 1 50 20 11 8 15 20 10 3 30 10 11 8 5 solution c c c c r r r c c c c r r r r Write a dynamic programming solution to find the minimum cost travel plan when as input you are given the list P with P [i] = pi the number of participants, for each of the next n weeks. After backtracking you should return the choice (per person r or lat rate c) for each week.
49275 NEURAL NETWORKS AND FUZZY LOGIC (Autumn 2025) ASSIGNMENT 1 QUESTION ONE [50 marks] Two perceptron classifiers are trained to recognise the following classification of eight patterns x with known class membership d. Q1.1 [Discrete Perceptron Training] [25 marks] The first classifier is a discrete perceptron as shown in Figure Q1.1. Assign “+1” to all augmented inputs. For the training task of this classifier, the learning constant is η =0.05 and the discrete perceptron learning rule is used. The initial weight vector Assuming that the above training set may need to be recycled if necessary, i) Calculate the final weight vector w81 after 10 cycles. (A simulation code needs to be included) ii) Demonstrate that the final weight vector in (i) correctly classifies the entire training set. iii) Plot the pattern error curve and the cycle error curve for 10 cycles (80 steps). Comments both curves. iv) Change the learning constant to 0.2 (η =0.2) and create a plot of the cycle error curve. Compare this curve with the one presented in (iii), and provide a discussion on the differences observed. Note: The following formulae may be used to calculate the pattern error curve and the cycle error curve. There are 8 patterns in this question, i.e. P=8. Pattern error: Cycle error: Figure Q1.1 Discrete Perceptron Classifier Training Q1.2 [Continuous Perceptron Training] [25 marks] The second classifier is a continuous perceptron with a bipolar logistic activation function as shown in Figure Q1.2. Assign “−1” to all augmented inputs. For the training task of this classifier, the delta learning rule is used with an arbitrary selection of learning constant η = 0.2 with the same initial weight vector w1 in Question 1.1. Assuming that the above training set may need to be recycled if necessary, i) Calculate the weight vector w9 after one cycle and the weight vector w161 after 20 cycles. (A simulation code needs to be included) ii) Obtain the cycle error at the end of each cycle and plot the cycle error curve. How would the weight vectors w9 and w161 classify the entire training set? Discuss your results. iii) Change the learning constant to 0.6 (η =0.6) and create a plot of the cycle error curve. Compare this curve with the one presented in (ii), and provide a discussion on the differences observed. iv) Provide a solution that can be implemented to achieve a classification error of zero after training. Figure Q1.2 Continuous Perceptron Classifier Training QUESTION TWO [50 marks] Inverted Pendulum System The inverted pendulum system shown in Figure Q2.1 consists of a pole and a trolley on which the pole is hinged. The trolley moves on the rail tracks to its right or left, depending on the force exerted on the trolley. The control goal is to balance the pole starting from nonzero conditions by applying appropriate force to the trolley. Our control goal here is to balance the pole without regard to the trolley position and velocity, with x1 = θ and x2 = θ as the angular displacement and angular velocity of the pole. The relevant equation of motion is given by Assume that trolley mass mc = 1.0 kg, pole mass m = 0.1 kg, half-length of pole l = 0.5 m, gravity acceleration g = 9.81m/s and F is the applied force in Newtons. From the above equation of motion, the state equations of this inverted pendulum system can be derived as where Assuming that the sampling time T = 0.02 sec, and using backward difference discretisation, the dynamics of the inverted pendulum system can be approximated by The task here is to design a control system, whose inputs are x1∈[−0.2,0.2] rad, x2∈[−1.0, 1.0] rad/s, and whose output is F∈[−10, 10] N such that the final states will be x1=0 and x2=0. Fuzzy logic is required for the control of this inverted pendulum system. In this simple fuzzy logic controller, a set of linguistic variables is chosen to represent 5 degrees of angular position x1 [−0.2, −0.1, 0, 0.1, 0.2], 5 degrees of angular velocity x2 [−1.0, −0.5, 0, 0.5, 1.0], and 5 degrees of control force F [−10, −5, 0, 5, 10] as shown in Figure Q2.2. The generic rule set in the form. of “Fuzzy Associate Memories” is shown in Figure Q2.3. The initial states of this inverted pendulum system are given to x1(1) = -0.05 rad and x2(1) = 0.4 rad/s. 2.1 If the Centre of Area (COA) defuzzification strategy is used with the fire strength αi of the i-th rule calculated from i ) Determine the defuzzified control force F(1) and next state vectors [x1(2), x2(2)]. ii) Use the results of i), determine the next defuzzified control force F(2) and next state vectors [x1(3), x2(3)]. [35 marks] 2.2 If Mean of Maximum (MOM) defuzzification strategy is used with the fire strength αi of the i-th rule calculated from Determine the defuzzified control force F(1) and the next state vector [x1(2), x2(2)] [15 marks] Figure Q2.1 An inverted pendulum system Figure Q2.2 Membership functions of an inverted pendulum system Figure Q2.3 Generic Fuzzy Associative Memories
ECON 499 Senior Project for Economics Majors ● During the junior year, students explore ideas for research topics for their senior project ● Student decides topic prior to registering for ECON 499 Senior Project ● Student reviews list of economics professors and looks for professor with research interests or teaching areas that match the student’s research topic. ● Student identifies a 1st, 2nd, 3rd choice for instructor for ECON 499 ● Student completes Directed Study and Registration forms. Submit to assigned Academic Advisor ● Academic Advisor works with CBPM to help student get registered for ECON 499 ● Student schedules meeting with professor to start discussion ECON 499 research project Economics Professor Research interests and Teaching areas Dr. Ryan Lee Research interests: trade agreements, labor market effects of immigration law, impact of ballot drop boxes on voting, and government policies such as these topics: Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, Student Loan Forgiveness, Infrastructure, Section 8 Housing, School Vouchers, SNAP (Food Stamps), Paid Family and Medical Leave, Opioid Crisis, Pollution, Crime. Teaching areas: Macro Economics Comparative Economics, Public Finance & Fiscal Policy Dr. Tong Zeng Research interests: econometric theory and applications in different areas such as microeconomics, health, marketing, management and finance. Teaching areas: economic analysis (microeconomics), econometrics, statistics, business statistics, applied quantitative analysis and econometrics in finance. Dr. Ahmed Ispahani Teaching areas: Macro and Micro Economics, International Economics, and other courses Dr. Gonyung Park Teaching areas: Intermediate Micro Economics, Macro and Micro Economics, and other courses ECON 499 Senior Project This is the culminating activity required for economics majors. Students will investigate and research an economic idea, theoretical issue, policy problem, or interest. Students will prepare and write their research paper under the guidance of an economics faculty member. Requirements: • Paper should be a minimum of 30 pages in APA format • Refer to below rubric table Resources: • Conduct Literature Review • Research, read, and synthesize literature from economics journals and other scholarly articles about the chosen research topic into an annotated bibliography. • Student support and resources • Schedule an appointment with a librarian in the Wilson Library to learn about student resources (how to research articles, APA format, research guidance) • Academic Technology Support Office (technology, SPSS, Qualtrics, other software) • Academic Success Center (tutoring for writing and statistics)
ISIT950/MICT950 (2025) Systems Development Methodologies Group Project You will work together as a team to develop a business-related software project. You may use any programming language, any development tool, and any project management tool to complete the project. The final deliverables will include a project report, user manual, and source code. Important Notes • This project description provides only the high-level goals of this project. Accordingly, the team MUST elicit more detailed and specific require- ments, such as getting feedback from your tutorial demonstrator. We acknolwdge that the requirements may change during the development phrase project (this is to simulate real-life projects). • You need to form a group of up to 5 people by the Wednesday of Week 3. Please submit the group details via Moodle. One submission for one Group • Undergraduates and postgraduates CANOT be in the same group. • All work must be submitted to the Moodle site and email submission will NOT be accepted. Task Your Tasks are to 1. Form and structure your group (up to 5 students), allocating roles and responsibilities to your members. 2. Choose one software development methodology (e.g., Agile methods such as Scrum) for your group to follow. Select one project management tool (such as Taiga) that supports that methodology to use. 3. Choose any programming language and tools to complete the development of a given software system (described below). This should include all software development activities from requirements specification, through design, implementation, and testing. Note: Refer to Moodle for more detailed requirements, grading cri- teria, and submission deadlines. Project Description: Smart Booking Management System Background Many businesses, including clinics, gyms, and educational insti- tutions, require an efficient appointment scheduling system to minimize manual errors and enhance the customer experience. This project aims to develop a Smart Booking Management System that allows users to book, manage, and cancel appointments online, while also enabling administrators to view and adjust schedules in real time. Core Functions • User Portal: Account registration & login, online view available time slots, appointment, modification, cancellation, appointment reminders, push no- tifications, etc. • Admin Portal Manage schedules (set reserved periods), batch man- age reservations, view and export reservation data, user management (masking/permission assignment), etc. Basic Workflow Customers can browse available services using the category function, which includes options such as medical appointments, fitness classes, co-working spaces, and personal consultations. Additionally, customers can use the keyword search function and apply filters (such as time slots, availability, and ratings) to find their preferred service providers. Once a customer selects a service and a preferred time slot, they can proceed to book the appointment. Customers have the following service options: • Membership subscription: Customers pay a fixed membership fee monthly or annually and receive exclusive benefits, such as priority book- ing, discounts, or free rescheduling. Customers can choose whether to renew or cancel the membership. • Pay-per-booking: Customers pay per appointment without any sub- scription. The total service fee for individual bookings may be higher than that of membership users. Accordingly, the order will be charged based on the customer’s service selection. Upon successful booking, the service provider (e.g., doctor, trainer, consultant) will receive a notification containing the appointment details, customer contact information, and any special requests. The provider can either accept or decline the booking. If the booking is declined, the system will automatically notify the customer, and the payment will be refunded. Once the appointment is confirmed, customers will receive reminders. After the appointment is completed, customers can rate the service provider and leave reviews, while the provider can also review customers. In addition, business owners should be able to manage their profiles, update their available time slots, and edit their services. They should also have access to revenue reports over a selected period. To ensure the system’s robustness, the team must generate test data of sufficient size to simulate real-world usage, including at least 10 service providers and 50 bookings. A script. should be written to randomly generate this data. Addition-ally, implementing continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) is mandatory. The team must set up a CI/CD pipeline to automate the build, test, and deployment processes, ensuring efficient and reliable software development. Final Notes This project is designed to simulate real-world software development, re-quiring you to deal with changing requirements, team collaboration, and technical challenges. Be proactive in managing tasks, gathering feedback, and refining your implementation. For further details, check Moodle regularly for updates regarding: • Submission deadlines • Grading rubrics • Additional requirements & announcements
Assessment Descriptor Module: ITAO7109 – Analytics with Artificial Intelligence Semester: January to April 2025 Assignment: Individual Report on Country-Level Performance Submission: before Monday 4th April December 2025 23:59 hrs Word count: 3,000 (excluding references and appendices) P.S. This module is assessed 100% by an individual written project. Please also note that the dataset that has been given to be used for this assessment is based on an available dataset downloaded for Educational purposes from a well-known source Kaggle. The module teaching team does not own the data set and hence, cannot comment on the accuracy of data or can be held liable for any misinformation that might be presented in the dataset. This is only to be used for educational purposes. A multinational company (mostly operating based in the UK and ROI) is now considering expanding its business to many other EU countries and the rest of the world. However, any global business venture has a wide variety of challenges/implications that need to be addressed by proper risk-benefit planning. This requires a thorough assessment of country-level performance in terms of global economic factors such as GDP, and Import/Export among others. The dataset provided has many such variables with a vast pool of data. Based on this dataset, Students are asked to produce a report of 3000 words (+/- 10%, excluding appendices and reference list) based on the following information. Assessment Task In the first stage of the project, the company would like to better understand the country-level performance. The company currently uses Excel for reporting, but the insights generated are a little less interactive for them. Hence, they would also like to understand how more advanced dashboarding tools can be used to support decision-making. They have therefore asked you to develop a dashboard and analysis as an initial proof of concept that can be presented to the board. They would also like you to provide a written summary of the insights gained from the dashboard. The company has also heard about more advanced business analytics in the media, but they do not have expertise in this area. They are interested in understanding more about this area and whether there are opportunities to apply more advanced analytics in their business. They do not want you to implement this yet as they are unsure about the value. As a consultant, you are keen to promote this as a potential follow-on project, and will therefore discuss the opportunities and challenges of this in the final report. The technical and written tasks that you should carry out are detailed below: Part 1 (20% of the overall Marks): Using the relevant software, carry out an exploratory analysis of the data. You should produce at least five visualisations and a country-level performance dashboard for senior supply chain managers, and potentially for other business users. Include any relevant visualisations and the final dashboard in your report. Part 2 (30% of the overall Marks): After the initial stage, the company would like to explore the use of predictive analytics to help the organisation to examine how the country’s economy is performing based on various indicators and where the country will be in the future in terms of its economic performance so that they can plan on business expansion/development decisions. To do this they would like you to build a model to predict country performance. They would also like to gain insights into the factors that may be contributing to the county’s economic performance and what they should do about it. Part 3 (20% of the overall marks) In this part of the project, you are expected to use a generative AI tool (discussed in the class) for conducting a descriptive analysis of the data. Part 4 (30% of the overall marks) This is the final part of the project. In this part, you will use a tool with automated machine learning features (discussed in the class) for conducting predictive analytics. You will run various models and select the best model. After conducting these analyses, you will submit a report. The maximum word count for the assignment is 3000 words (excluding tables, figures, references and appendices). Students will be penalized for exceeding the word count by more than 10%. Harvard referencing style. should be used. Students are required to submit the assignment via CANVAS by 11:59 pm on 4th April 2025. Students must submit the written report along with screenshots/exported images of the dashboard, visualisations, and outputs from various tools. The written report should cover the following areas (but is not limited to these): 1. Background Introduction: Provide an overview of the business problem. Where appropriate include references to the wider literature. 2. Analysis, results and discussion: a) Discuss the design of the solution, providing a brief description of the analytics tasks undertaken and reasons why these were used. b) Present the results from the visualisation of the data and from the predictive model. c) Also compare the results from parts 1-4, and critically examine if the findings from different parts are similar or different, and together what they imply. 3. Concluding Remarks: a) Implications: Consider the main implications of the project for both theory and practice. Consider any limitations of the project. b) Recommendations: · Drawing on the analysis and wider literature, provide recommendations that the company could take to expand into the global market. · Drawing on the wider literature, summarise the benefits and limitations of advanced analytics, and recommend a project for follow-up work. 4. List of References: This should be listed following a Harvard style. Please refer to the University’s library website for more information on Harvard Referencing. 5. Appendices: In the appendices, you may choose to include some of the software outputs/screenshots. If you chose to furnish your screenshots here, you need to signpost that in your main report where to find those. In addition, the individual assignment will be assessed using the postgraduate conceptual marking scale as recommended by the University (as outlined in Appendix 1 and the Queen’s Management School Postgraduate Student Handbook for further information). The following criteria are also considered when assessing the assignment: · Demonstrate wide reading and understanding of the assignment task · Ability to synthesise and critically evaluate relevant material · Quality and relevance of evidence/example presented to support position/claims · Structure including planning, organising, flow and coherence · References – quality of citations and correct style. used · Overall presentation Please note that the School has a number of policies governing the submission of student work. For all elements of assessment associated with this course, you must be familiar with the School’s policies on: · ‘Participation, Preparation for Classes and Private Study’; · ‘Preparation and Submission of Assessed Work’; and · ‘Plagiarism, Collusion and Fabrication’. These policies are detailed in the Queen’s Business School Postgraduate Student Handbook. Appendix 1: Conceptual Equivalents Scale Postgraduate Module Descriptor Mark Band Criteria Determinator within Grade Band A (Outstanding) 80-100 · Thorough and systematic knowledge and understanding of module content · Clear grasp of issues involved, with evidence of innovative and original use of learning resources · Knowledge beyond module content · Clear evidence of independence of thought and originality · Methodological rigour · High critical judgement and confident grasp of complex issues Originality of argument A (Clear) 70-79 · Methodological rigour · Originality · Critical judgement · Use of additional learning resources. Methodological rigour B 60-69 · Very good knowledge and understanding of module content · Well-argued answer · Some evidence of originality and critical judgement · Sound methodology · Critical judgement and some grasp of complex issues Extent of use of additional or non-core learning resources C 50-59 · Good knowledge and understanding of the module content · Reasonably well argued · Largely descriptive or narrative in focus · Methodological application is not consistent or thorough Understanding of the main issues Marginal Fail 40-49 · Lacking methodological application · Adequately argued · Basic understanding and knowledge · Gaps or inaccuracies but not damaging Relevance of knowledge displayed Weak Fail 0-39 · Little relevant material and/or inaccurate answer or incomplete · Disorganised · Largely irrelevant material and misunderstanding · No evidence of methodology · Minimal or no relevant material Weakness of argument
UA 323 Problem Set 3 Development Economics Due: April 3rd This problem set if based on the paper “Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China: The Effect of Sex-Specific Earnings on Sex Imbalance”, by Nancy Qian (2008). Read the paper and answer the following questions: 1. What is the key question that the paper tries to answer? Not the practical thing they actually do, but the Big Picture question. 2. Could the author answer this question by comparing sex ratios and educational investments across households that have the same total income, but where the wife earns a higher share of the income? Why or why not? 3. To answer the Big Picture question, the paper uses a difference-in-differences approach. 3.1 Describe the approach. 3.2 What is the underlying assumption that must hold for this approach to deliver an unbiased estimate of the causal effect of increasing women’s income share within the household? Explain clearly what this assumption means in this context (it is not sufficient to mention the name of the assumption). On Brightspace, you can find a file called TeaChina with some of the synthetic data that allow replicating the analysis in Qian et al. (2008), as well as an accompanying file with the variable labels. 4. Upload your dataset in R. Notice that the dataset is in .csv format, and not the standard .xlsx – this is avery common format for data. You can import data in this format using the read_csv command. So, if you wanted to upload a dataset called Dataset.csv in R you would use the following code: data
BEEM062 Main Assignment Part A Brief Your main assignment (80%) must be handed in by Friday 25th April 2025. It consists of two equally weighted parts: part A) A 1,600 word essay (choose either option 1 or 2); and part B) A technical task- based assignment (which will be given to you later in the term). This part contributes 40% to your overall module grade and must be handed in with part B) by Friday 25th April. Word counts are approximate, with + or 10% leeway). Option 1: Write a Business Report on a FinTech Firm of your Choice Choose one FinTech firm and write a Business Report making future strategic recommendations. Your report should include the following sections 1. Preface (100 words) • A very short summary of what the report is about, and what its main findings are 2. General Background (700 words) • History of the firm, any current data you can find • what areas is it disrupting (you may use the WEF framework or any other) 3. Recommendations (700 words) • Some strategic direction for the future (opportunities and threats for the firm) • Justification for your recommendations 4. Summary (100 words) • A very short recap of your analysis and conclusions Option 2: Explore potential disruptions to payments systems over the next 50 years Write an essay exploring your perception of the important potential disruptions to payments systems. In class we have discussed examples (AI-powered autonomous payments; Quantum Resistance; CBDCs with Smart Contracts; Decentralised Stablecoins). Your essay should explain what these potential disruptions are, and what they might mean in practice. For both option 1 and 2 you should also include a final section called (References’. Make sure your essay is as up-to-date as possible. You will be given credit for drawing on course materials. You also may find it useful to access the FT and Economist (for free) via library resources, in addition to material covered on the module to ensure you are as up-to-date as possible on current trends. To do this go to https://libguides.exeter.ac.uk/, then cIick on (Go to A-Z List, button on the right hand side:
MECH3110 Mechanical Design 1 Fasteners Assignment Guidelines (20%) Type Individual assessment Submission Submit your .pdf file via Moodle. Name your files in the following format: zID_FastenersAssignment.pdf E.g., z5160675_FastenersAssignment.pdf Due date Week 8 – Friday 11:55 pm Weighting 20 % Marking Your file submission will be marked by course staff. The marks will be returned two weeks after the assessment deadline. Background In December 2024, Darson visited Christchurch, New Zealand, to present at the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE) Annual Conference. During an evening stroll, he came across a local landmark—the Christchurch Swings (#chchswing)—a popular installation that integrates large beams and suspended swings, providing both aesthetic appeal and recreational use (Figure 1(a)). Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the beams were connected by fasteners, forming the key structural joints of the installation, as shown in Figure 1(b). Christchurch is well known for its seismic activity, having experienced several significant earthquakes in recent history. In such an environment, fail-safe design is critical. Fail-safe design refers to engineering strategies that ensure structures remain safe and functional even when components fail. This approach is essential in earthquake-prone regions to prevent catastrophic failures and protect public safety. Fasteners play a critical role in the integrity of any structure, especially in load-bearing applications like the #chchswing. If a fastener joint fails, fail-safe mechanisms—such as redundancy in the design—must ensure that the structure does not collapse. In this assignment, you will apply your knowledge of fasteners to design the joint system that secures the beams of the #chchswing while ensuring fail-safe principles are incorporated to enhance structural safety. Your Tasks In this assignment, your objective is to design a fastener joint for connecting the steel beams of #chchswing, such that the whole structure will not collapse even if another fastener joint fails. The joint must ensure safety, durability, and appropriate load-bearing capacity with a reasonable factor of safety. In this assignment, we will focus on the single swing at the front only, not the twin swing at the back of Figure 1(a). Remember, your goal is NOT to find the most accurate answer to an engineering mechanics question. Your goal is to come up with a practical and conservative design for the fastener joint to ensure safety. Figure 1 (a) Darson on #chchswing (single swing at the front). (b) The frame of #chchswing is held together by fasteners. (c) An example of how this public structure can be abused (the twin swing at the back). Figure 2 (a) Dimension of the single #chchswing at the front. (b) the approximate dimension of the beam cross-section. The exact dimension of this I beam depends on your selection. Specifically, you are to: 1. Design the location of the hanger/chains of the swing on Beam BC, ensuring the person is positioned roughly at the centre of the frame. for optimal stability and aesthetics (i.e. instaworthy). 2. Select an I-beam from a supplier’s catalogue for the structure. The width and height of the beam cross-section are approximately 250 mm based on visual inspection. Justification of beam selection is outside the scope of this assignment. 3. Pick a joint (Joint B or Joint C) to analyse. In reality, all joints should be analysed, but for this assignment, focusing on one joint is sufficient. 4. Design the placement, number of fasteners, and spacing between the fasteners at your selected joint (refer to Figure 1(b)). 5. Adopt a fail-safe design principle and analyse the safety of your selected joint assuming the other joint has failed due to seismic conditions: a. If you choose to analyse Joint B, assume Joint C has failed, and Beam CD has collapsed, leaving only structure ABC under loading. b. If you choose Joint C, assume Joint B has failed, and Beam AB is no longer supporting structure BCDE. 6. Construct a free-body diagram of Beam BC and calculate the normal force, bending moment, and shear force at your selected joint. a. Make conservative assumptions regarding loading conditions. Refer to Figure 1 (c). b. Will all fasteners at this joint carry the same load? If not, how can we ensure our design is conservative? 7. Develop a preliminary design of the joint and select a set of preliminary fasteners from a supplier. 8. Construct the spring model of the joints and determine spring rates, k. 9. Determine the pretension force for the fasteners. 10. Produce the spring rate diagram for the fasteners. 11. Conduct a failure analysis of the fasteners, including a. the factor of safety against fastener yielding (load factor nL). b. the factor of safety against joint separation n0 . c. Examination of the possibility of shear failure. Consider all modes of shear failure. Discuss the role of pre-tension during your shear failure analysis. 12. Discuss your results and conclude whether your proposed design is suitable for the application. If not, re-iterate. 13. For your final design, specify the size, property class, length, and pre-load for the fasteners, as well as the diameter, depth, and threading requirements for the holes required. Important tips: 1. The steps above are just suggestions to help guide the design process. They don't have to be followed in a rigid, step-by-step manner. 2. This assignment is designed to be a practical engineering exercise that emphasises conservative design principles over exact numerical precision. 3. Feel free to use computer tools, such as the “measure” function in SOLIDWORKS, to help you analyse the geometry, weight, and centroid of the structure. 4. Make conservative assumptions and justify them wherever needed. Deliverable You are tasked with the responsibility of preparing a comprehensive report that outlines the outcomes of your investigation. The report should contain the analysis and decision-making process. This professionally formatted document will concisely summarise your findings and provide all the necessary engineering documentation required to verify your conclusions. The report will have, at a minimum, the following sections: • Title Page • Executive Summary • Table of Contents • Introduction • Main Body • Conclusion • Bibliography • Appendices • Design calculations. • Catalogue excerpts. • Engineering drawings, • Design tables and charts from the textbook, etc. A detailed guide on how to write a design report can be found in “Project Report Guidelines” on Moodle (the guidelines for the project report of your Gearbox Prototyping Assessment). Formatting • Formal language: Engineering reports should be written in third-person narrative. Avoid the use of informal and personal language, such as “I think … .” and “We did … .” . Instead, it should be “Something was performed to … ”. • Figures and tables: Wherever possible, you should use figures and tables to convey information. It is significantly easier to refer to a figure or table than to read half a page trying to describe something. However, whenever you include figures and tables, you MUST always introduce and refer to them. Never put in a figure/table without explaining what it is and its importance to the analysis using text. A small figure is a useless figure. Ensure that the information is concise and easily read. All figures and tables must have proper captions. o For figures, the caption should be below the images. o For tables, the caption should be above the table. o Proper references should be added to the captions of figures and/or tables if necessary. • Page limit: Your report must not exceed a maximum of 15 pages, from the introduction to the conclusion sections. Your report should only be as long as required to convey all the information needed concisely. Do not write filler or irrelevant material, as it detracts from the professional tone of your report. A short, concise, to-the-point report that details everything you need and nothing more is a joy to read. Marks for this report will be awarded on quality and not quantity of the work. • Multi-level headings are standard practice in engineering reports and assist in creating the table of contents. Please be sensible with the number of levels, especially in a short report like this one. Three levels should be ample, e.g., “2.1.3 Preliminary Fastener Selection” . • Page numbering: The title page should not have a page number, but everything after that should. All page numbering before the introduction should be in Roman numerals (i.e. i, ii, iii, iv, etc.), with the numbering switching to numbers at the Introduction (the introduction section is on page 1). • Referencing: You may choose any referencing system (e.g., Harvard, IEEE, etc.) you like, but please ensure all information sources are referred to, and the referencing style is consistent throughout the report. File Submission The assignment is due at 11:55 pm on Friday, Week 8. You must submit your .pdf file to the Moodle submission box before this time. During submission, name your files in the following format: zID_FastenersAssignment.pdf. E.g., z5160675_FastenersAssignment.pdf. Work submitted late without an approved extension is subject to a late penalty of five percent (5%) of the maximum mark possible for that assessment item, per calendar day. The late penalty is applied per calendar day (including weekends and public holidays) that the assessment is overdue. There is no pro-rata of the late penalty for submissions made part way through a day. Work submitted after five days (120 hours) will not be accepted and a mark of zero will be awarded. For example: • Your course has an assessment task worth a total of 100 marks (Max Possible Mark) • You submit the assessment on time and you get 60/100 (Awarded Mark) • You submit the assessment 1 day late and the late penalty of 5% per day is applied (5% deducted/day from maximum possible mark for that assessment item) • Your adjusted final score is 55/100.
CSC343, Winter 2025 Assignment 3 Due: Wednesday, April 2nd by 4:00pm Learning Goals By the end of this assignment you should be able to: • identify tradeoffs that must be made when designing a schema in the relational model, and make reasonable choices, • express a schema in SQL’s Data Definition Language, • identify limitations to the constraints that can be expressed using the DDL, • appreciate scenarios where the rigidity of the relational model may force an awkward design, • formally reason about functional dependencies, and • apply functional dependency theory to database design. Part 1: Informal Relational Design In class, we are in the middle of learning about functional dependencies and how they are used to design relational schemas in a principled fashion. After that, we will learn how to use Entity-Relationship diagrams to model a domain and come up with a draft schema which can be normalized according to those principles. By the end of term you will be ready to put all of this together, but in the meantime, it is instructive to go through the process of designing a schema informally. The domain Gotta Love Games (GLG) is a student club at the University of Toronto dedicated to board game enthusiasts. They are seeking your assistance in creating a proof-of-concept version of a database to manage various aspects of their operations, such as tracking their inventory of board games, club members, and events they organize. The information outlined below is what the database needs to store initially. While additional features will be added later, that will not be part of your current task. • The club needs to maintain name, email-id and level of study (Undergradute, Graduate, Alumni) of all club members. • Executive members of the club that help run the club have extra data associated to them with their current role in club and the date since they assumed that responsibility. All executive members are also members of the club. • Board games have titles, category (Strategy, Party, Deck-building, Role-playing, Social-deduction), a mini- mum and a maximum player limit, publisher and a release year. The club also wants to track when a game was acquired and the physical condition (New, Lightly-used, Worn, Incomplete, Damaged) it is currently in. “Incomplete” games can still be played while “Damaged” ones cannot. • GLG owns multiple copies of some games and that needs to be tracked. • GLG holds several events which have a name, location and date. • Events with the same name can occur multiple times. For example, they hold a weekly event that happens every week and some special events that happen once in a term or year. • There can be multiple game sessions held at any event each involving a particular board game that was played by some members of the club and is facilitated by one exec member of the club. • All game sessions are assumed to run for the entire duration of the event. No member can participate in two game sessions happening at the same time. • No exec member should be facilitating two game sessions at once. They should also not be playing any other game while they are facilitating a game session, they can however be playing the same game as they are facilitating. • Events have an organizing committee which is comprised of multiple exec members (one of which is a organizing lead) and must always have a lead exec member. The organizing team stays the same for the multiple occurences of any event. For example, all weekly game nights are organied by the same exec team. Some features above are not realistic, but they simplify your assignment. If we have not constrained something, assume it is unconstrained. For example, if I said houses have windows but didn’t constrain it further, you should be prepared that a house may have no windows, 1 window, or many windows. Define a schema Your first task is to construct a relational schema for our domain, expressed in DDL. Write your schema in a file called schema.ddl. As you know, there are many possible schemas that satisfy the description above. There is no single right answer we are looking for. Instead, we are looking to see how the schema you choose deals with the principles below. We aren’t following a formal design process for Part 1, so instead follow as many of these general principles as you can when choosing among options: 1. Avoid redundancy. 2. Avoid designing your schema in such a way that there are attributes that can be null. 3. If a constraint given above in the domain description can be expressed without assertions or triggers, it should be enforced by your schema, unless you can articulate a good reason not to do so. 4. There may be additional constraints that make sense but were not specified in the domain description. You get to decide on whether to enforce any of these in your DDL. You may find there is tension between some of these principles. Where that occurs, prioritize in the order shown above. Use your judgment to make any other decisions. Additional requirements: • Define appropriate constraints, i.e., - Define a primary key for every table. - Use UNIQUE if appropriate to further constrain the data. - Define foreign keys as appropriate. - For each column, add a NOT NULL constraint unless there is a good reason not to. • All constraints associated with a table must be defined either in the table definition itself, or immediately after it. • To facilitate repeated importing of the schema as you correct and revise it, begin your DDL file with our standard three lines: DROP SCHEMA IF EXISTS A3GLG CASCADE; CREATE SCHEMA A3GLG; SET SEARCH_PATH TO A3GLG; You may create IDs, or define additional columns if you feel this is appropriate. Use your judgment. There may be things we didn’t specify that you would like to know. In a real design scenario, you would ask your client or domain experts. For this assignment, make reasonable assumptions. Keep track of these in writing, as we will ask you to articulate them at the top of your DDL file. Document your choices and assumptions At the top of your DDL file, include a comment that answers these questions along with proper justification: Could not: What constraints from the domain specification could not be enforced without assertions or triggers, if any? Did not: What constraints from the domain specification could have been enforced without assertions or triggers, but were not enforced, if any? Why not? Extra constraints: What additional constraints that we didn’t mention did you enforce, if any? Assumptions: What assumptions did you make? Instance and queries Once you have defined your schema, create a file called data .sql that inserts data into your database. This file should insert the data that is described informally in file glg-data .txt. You will also need to insert more data of your own choosing. You may find it instructive to consider this data as you are working on the design. Then, write queries to do the following: 1. Find the percentage of club members who have participated in at least one game session at each event (only include events with game sessions). 2. For each game in the inventory, report the total number of times it has been played in game sessions. 3. Find the board game that has been facilitated the most by a single exec member. 4. Identify the club member who has participated in the highest number of unique game sessions as a player. 5. For each event, report the average number of participants per game session. We will not be autotesting your queries, so you have latitude regarding details like attribute types and output format. Make good choices to ensure that your output is easy to read and understand. Write your queries in files called q1 .sql through q5 .sql. Download file runner.txt, which has commands to import each query one at a time. Once all your queries are working, start postgreSQL, import runner.txt, and cut and paste your entire interaction with the postgreSQL shell into a plain text file called demo .txt. We will assess the correctness of your queries based only on reading demo.txt, so it must show the results of the queries. There is no need to insert into tables (since we are not autotesting). There will be lots of notices, like: Eg. INSERT 0 1, psql:q2.sql:16: NOTICE: view ”blah” This is normal, and we are expecting to see it. What to hand in for Part 1 Hand in plain text files schema.ddl, data.sql, and q1 .sql through q5.sql, and demo .txt. These must be plain text files. IMPORTANT: You must include the demo file, and it must show the output of your queries, or you will get zero for this part of the assignment. How Part 1 will be marked Part 1 will be graded for design quality, including: whether it can represent the data described above, appropriate enforcement of the constraints described, avoiding redundancy, avoiding unnecessary NULLs, following the priorities given for any tradeoffs that had to be made, and good use of DDL (choice of types, NOT NULL specified wherever appropriate, etc.) Your queries will be assessed for correctness, as evidenced by the demo .txt. Your code will also be assessed for these qualities: • Names: Is every name well chosen so that it will assist the reader in understanding the code quickly? This includes table, view, and column names. • Comments: Does every table or view have a comment above it specifying clearly exactly what a row means? Together, the comments and the names should tell the reader everything they need to know in order to use a table or view. For views in particular, Comments should describe the data (e.g., “The student number of every student who has passed at least 4 courses.”) not how to find it (e.g., “Find the student numbers by self-joining . . .”). • Formatting according to these rules: - An 80-character line limit is used. - Keywords are capitalized consistently, either always in uppercase or always in lowercase. - Table names begin with a capital letter and if multi-word names, use CamelCase. - attribute names are not capitalized. - Line breaks and indentation are used to assist the reader in parsing the code. Part 2: Functional Dependencies, Decompositions, and Normal Forms In your answers for this part, please list all attributes in final relations and FDs for each part in alphabetical order. This will make it easier for the graders to read your answers. Within each individual FD, this means stating an FD as XY → ABC, not as Y X → BCA. Also, list the FDs in alphabetical order ascending according to the left-hand side, then by the right-hand side. This means, WX → A comes before WXZ → A which comes before WXZ → B. You could also combine FDs with the same LHS in your final answer. 1. Consider a relation R1 with attributes ABCDEFGHIJ and functional dependencies F1 , where: F1 = {AB → C, CD → E, DE → F, B → D, EF → H, H → G, GH → I, I → J} (a) Identify which functional dependencies prevent R1 from satisfying BCNF. • Justify why each violating functional dependency does not satisfy the BCNF condition based on the definition of superkeys. (b) Apply the BCNF decomposition algorithm to decompose R1 into a lossless, redundancy-free set of BCNF relations. • Step-by-step decomposition: At each step, identify the violating dependency, determine the new relations, and project the functional dependencies onto the decomposed relations. • Ensure the final relations are alphabetically ordered, both in terms of relations and attributes within each relation. (c) Does your final schema preserve all functional dependencies? Provide a formal proof using attribute closures. If dependencies are lost, discuss how dependency preservation could be ensured. (d) Use the Chase Test to verify that your decomposition is lossless. Clearly demonstrate each step of the test. (e) Find a decomposition of R1 into n − 1 relations, R2 , R3 , ..., Rn such that: • Ri is in BCNF for all i, 2 ≤ i ≤ n • R2 , R3 , ..., Rn share at least one attribute in common (i.e., R2 ∩ R3 ∩ ... ∩ Rn is non-empty) • R2 ▷◁ R3 ▷◁ ... ▷◁ Rn does not reconstruct R1 (i.e., the decomposition is lossy) 2. Consider a relation R2 with attributes KLMNOPQRS and functional dependencies F2 , where: F2 = {KLS → M, MN → PQ, NP → QR, PQ → R, RS → O, S → L} (a) Compute a minimal basis for F2. • Show the process of removing extraneous attributes, eliminating redundant dependencies, and ensur- ing minimality. • Present the final functional dependencies in alphabetical order, sorting by left-hand side and then right-hand side. (b) Compute all candidate keys for R2 using the minimal basis. • Show all calculations using attribute closures. • Explain why each candidate key qualifies as a minimal superkey. (c) Apply the 3NF synthesis algorithm to decompose R2 into a lossless, dependency-preserving collection of 3NF relations. • Do not “over normalize”. This means that you should combine all FDs with the same left-hand side to create a single relation. • If your schema includes one relation that is a subset of another, remove the smaller one. (d) Prove that your decomposition is lossless using the Chase Test. Clearly document each step of the test. (e) Does your final schema allow redundancy? If so, explain where redundancy might occur and whether it can be reduced while maintaining dependency preservation. Show all of your steps so that we can give part marks where appropriate. There are no marks for simply a correct answer. You must justify every shortcut that you take. Type your answers up using LaTeX or Word. Hand in your typed answers, in a single pdf file called a3.pdf. Handwritten submissions will not be accepted and will receive a grade of 0. Final Thoughts Submission: Check that you have submitted the correct version of your files by downloading it from MarkUs; new files will not be accepted after the due date. Forming groups: Make sure you have created your group in MarkUs as soon as you decide to work with a partner. Make sure you both see the group as expected. The deadline for getting assistance from us in creating your groups is Tuesday, April 1 (one day before the deadline). We strongly recommend you create your group before then. Marking: The marking scheme will be approximately this: Part 1 70%, and Part 2 30%. Some parting advice: It will be tempting to divide the assignment up with your partner. Remember that both of you probably want to answer all the questions on the final exam. A reminder from the syllabus: “If you choose to work with a partner, we expect that you are working together on all parts of the assignment. If you choose to work with a partner in another way, you are responsible for all issues that arise from splitting up the work.”
INFS6071: Individual Assignment 1, S1-2025 Background (Assesses: LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4) Task Part A: Critical Path Analysis Description of Requirements: You are employed as a Project Manager at Comarda and have been awarded a contract to develop a new website for Assum Pullum Express, a new fast-food chicken chain opening several stores across New South Wales. The project's scope and work breakdown structure have already been decided upon. Tasks and their contents, durations (unique durations of tasks will be provided to each student in an email), and resource requirements are shown in Table 1. Predecessors of tasks imply which tasks must be conducted before the current task can be started. Activity Code Task/Activity Duration in days* Predecessors A Define Requirements Provided individually to students via email. - B Co-Design Workshop A C Design Website Layout B D Develop Frontend (Iteration 1) C E Develop Backend (Iteration 1) C F Set Up AWS Environment A G Integrate Frontend and Backend (Iteration 1) D, E H Test Website (Iteration 1) G, F I Feedback and Review H J Develop Frontend (Iteration 2) I K Develop Backend (Iteration 2) I L Integrate Frontend and Backend (Iteration 2) J, K M Test Website (Iteration 2) L N Final Review and Adjustments M O Deploy to AWS N P Final Review and Launch O a. Create a network diagram using the activity on node (AON) notation representing the project, as presented in the unit. (3 marks) • Identify the Critical Path: Use the table to determine the task sequence that forms the critical path. • Calculate Start and Finish Times: For each task, calculate the earliest start (ES), earliest finish (EF), latest start (LS), and latest finish (LF) times. • Calculate Free Slack Time: Determine the slack time for each task. • You may use PowerPoint to draw and copy the diagram into your assignment document. These results will be entered into an 6online quiz’ in Canvas to allow for automated individual marking. You should not use Microsoft Project or any other project management software for this part ofthe assignment. b. In the context of the above project with Assum Pullum Express, explain possible key challenges in managing projects using its critical path. Please use appropriate references to support your explanation. (2 marks) Part B: Project Analysis “The top reason for project failure is the project itself. Wrong projects are ones that defy conventional business rationale, creating outputs that either few people want, that add little to no real value, or that undershoot the desired benefits because they are so difficult to achieve. In short, they fail in rationale and objective reasoning. They are sometimes called 6white elephants. 9” (Wu & Misra, 2023) Project management is a critical discipline in business. It aims to ensure that projects are within scope, completed on time, within budget, and to the desired quality standards. However, not all projects succeed. Understanding why projects fail is essential for future project managers to learn from past mistakes and improve their skills. This assessment aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities and challenges in project management by analysing real-world examples of failed or questionable projects. Importance of Analysing Failed Projects • Learning from Mistakes: Analysing failed projects helps identify common pitfalls and mistakes, providing valuable lessons for future projects. • Risk Management: Understanding the risks that led to project failures can improve risk management strategies. • Improving Processes: Insights from failed projects can improve project management processes and methodologies. • Stakeholder Communication: Failed projects often highlight stakeholder communication and management issues, offering better lessons on handling these aspects. • Innovation and Adaptation: Learning from failures encourages innovation and adaptation, helping project managers to be more flexible and responsive to changes. You are to conduct independent research into one of the following projects: • Ant Group’s IPO Suspension • Apple Lisa • Australian Inland Rail Project • Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) • Boeing 737 Max • Google Glass • Queensland Health Payroll System • Snowy 2.0 • Sydney Light Rail • WeWork IPO To accomplish this, 1. Students must select a recent failed project from the list, above, and conduct a detailed analysis; presenting their findings in a report. The report should cover the following aspects: • Project Overview: Brief description of the context (country, industry, markets, company, products/services), the project, its objectives, timeline and key stakeholders. • Potential Reasons for Failure: Detailed analysis of the key factors that potentially led to the project's failure. There could be contradictory indicators or varied ideas presented in the literature. These reasons should be linked to the Project Management Performance Domains and Project Principles. • Impact: Examination of the impact of the failure on the organisation/government and stakeholders. • Lessons Learned and Recommendations: Key lessons can be learned from the project failure. Suggestions for how the project could have been managed differently to avoid failure. Notes 1. Have a proposed project management case study to present to your tutor in your week 6 tutorial. 2. All requirements about the case under investigation should be addressed (Support your argument using appropriate references –e.g. news, trade press and academic) – with a maximum of 10 references (referencing is to be in APA7 format). 3. You may investigate a problem that occurred anywhere in the world, but all references, including the incident's source of information, must be available in English. The Deliverable Total written report: 2,000 ±10% words (excluding in-text references and reference list). Part A: Critical Path Analysis ≈ 300 words Part B: Case Study Analysis ≈ 1,700 words Note: Please prepare a concise response using tables, diagrams, and charts. Submission Requirements Submit your report (Individual Assignment 1) by the due date shown on Canvas. You will find the link to submit the report in the Assignment section of Canvas. The report should be formatted using A4 paper size, 1.5 line spacing, 2.5cm margins, and a sans-serif font size of at least 12pt (e.g., Arial, Helvetica, Calibri, Aptos) . Late submissions will be penalised in accordance with the University and Business School Policy as set out in the UoS outline.
ECN5007 Applied Econometrics and Research Methods TIME SERIES COURSEWORK 2025 This is the third and final assignment for ECN5007 and represents 20% of the final module grade. It is an individual assessment. There is one question which has multiple parts. ATTEMPT ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION. There are 25 Marks in total. The mark for each part of the question is indicated in bold. The data file‘TS_CWK_25.xlsx’is provided within the time series assessment folder of the ECN5007 portal EACH STUDENT HAS THEIR OWN DATASET. PLEASE REFER TO THE FILE ‘Dataset Key’ IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY YOUR PERSONAL DATASET. This file can be found within the time series assessment folder on the ECN5007 portal. If you do not use the data set assigned to you, you will receive NO MARKS for the assessment. Please make sure you put your STUDENT ID NUMBER and corresponding DATASET NUMBER on the cover sheet of your assessment submission. MARKING CRITERIA o Appropriate use of econometric methods o Providing correct solutions the questions. o Providing clear interpretations for your analyses limited credit will be given for output without interpretation or comment. There is no specific word limit for the piece. Most questions require two or three sentences of explanation. You will need to use GRETL for this assignment a copy is available from the ECN5007 DLE site. Please present all GRETL output within your answer rather than as appendices. Submit ONLINE to the ECN5007 DLE site on or before 3pm Thursday 1 May 2025 Late work will receive no marks. Marks will be returned within 20 working days of receipt. Please refer to the Module Handbook, in particular, Sections 9-16 for further information on for example, academic offences, extenuating circumstances etc. ASSESSMENT QUESTION The file‘TS_CWK_25.xlsx’shows quarterly data for a hypothetical country’s real GDP (£bn, GDP) and Unemployment rate (%, U) from 2000 Q1 to 2024 Q4. Both series have been seasonally adjusted. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU USE THE DATA SET THAT HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO YOU. a. Make any transformation(s) necessary to the variables so that changes can be interpreted in percentage terms. State what transformation(s) you have made. (1 MARK) b. Test the transformed variables for stationarity using the Augmented Dickey- Fuller (ADF) test with 4 AR lags and interpret the test results. Perform any further transformations and tests necessary to demonstrate that stationarity in both variables has been achieved. (3 MARKS) (Note: you should retain any transformations made in part a and b throughout the remainder of question one) c. Model GDP as a function of U using 4 distributed lags. Test back the lags of this model using the 5% significance level. (2 MARKS) d. Interpret the value of R-squared and its statistical significance for the final model of part c. (1 MARK) e. Interpret the individual model coefficients and their statistical significance for the final model in part c. (2 MARKS) f. Show how you calculate the long-run elasticity of GDP with respect to U in the final model estimated in part c. Interpret the calculated value. (2 MARKS) g. Test the final model in part c for first-order autocorrelation. Comment on whether the model is adequately specified. (1 MARK) h. Estimate an Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model with one AR lag and two DL lag. Repeat steps fand g for this model i.e. show how you calculate the long-run elasticity and test for first order autocorrelation. Make sure you interpret the elasticity and the autocorrelation test. (3 MARKS) i. Explain briefly what is meant by the term‘structural break’in the context of a time series econometric analysis. Test whether there is a structural break at any point in the model estimated in h. (2 MARKS) j. Use the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) lag selection tool to determine the optimal lag structure for a VAR model between GDP and U, selecting 4 as the maximal lag structure. (Note - this tool is found under Model > Multivariate time series > VAR Lag selection) (1 MARK) k. Based on this evidence, estimate an appropriate VAR. Comment on the nature of Granger Causality between the variables. Does the implied Granger Causality make‘economic sense’? Explain. (3 MARKS) l. Use the VAR model estimated in j to forecast GDP and U for 2025 Q1 through to 2025 Q4. YOU MUST SHOW THE WORKINGS OF YOUR FORECASTS CLEARLY TO RECEIVE CREDIT. NOTE the forecasts of GDP and U should ultimately be presented in terms of their respective units in levels. (3 MARKS) m. Considering the modelling approaches of parts c, h and j, which approach do you prefer and why? (1 MARK)
INFS6024 Managing Data at Scale Individual Assignment Assessment Details The purpose of this assignment is to enable students: • Analyse, identify, and define organisational data management challenges based on the- oretical foundations and best practices • Propose and justify data management strategies for real-world organisational scenarios Tasks Read the case study: John Deere: Revolutionizing Farming With Big Data. Conduct inde- pendent research to understand business processes involved in the use of analytics, precision agriculture, and equipment management in the agricultural industry. Then, answer the ques- tions. John Deere utilises big data analytics to drive precision agriculture, enhance farmer decision- making, and optimise equipment performance. All aspects of the data cycle need to be ad- dressed to ensure improvements in farming efficiency, sustainability, and farmer relationships. You have been hired as a consultant to help John Deere enhance its data management with the goal of uncovering insights through predictive analyses to further improve their offerings and farmer outcomes. John Deere has identified the following three subject areas for you to focus on: • Precision Agriculture Optimization: The process where farmers and agronomists use data collected from fields, equipment, and external sources to make informed decisions about planting, fertilizing, harvesting, and other farming practices. • Farmer Decision Support: The strategies and methods utilized by John Deere to em- power farmers with data-driven insights, tools, and platforms to improve their overall farm management and business operations. • Equipment Performance Management: The use of advanced telematics, sensor data, and analytics to monitor equipment health, performance, and predict maintenance needs, minimizing downtime and maximizing efficiency. Answer the following questions: 1. Make a clear case for the need for data management focusing specifically on the three subject areas. Discuss the problems that will impact the three subject areas due to poor data management and why data management at scale will make a difference to John Deere and its farmer customers. 2. Draw a detailed data flow diagram for “Precision Agriculture Optimization” AND “Equip- ment Performance Management”. Provide a short explanation of each (in total, two data flow diagrams and related explanations). Highlight areas that may be common across these and how John Deere can optimise the effort or solutions in these areas through data reuse. 3. Draw a logical data model for “Farmer Decision Support”. Clearly mark all data entities, attributes, relationships, and cardinality. Describe the logical model and justification of design choices including business rules (e.g., a farmer can manage multiple farms, but the platform interaction is primarily at the farm level), and assumptions (e.g., farmers will access the platform. via web and mobile interfaces) (in total, one logical data model and explanation). Explain how you would confirm that the business rules are the right ones for the subject area. Explain how you would verify the accuracy of the logical data model. 4. Draw a data management architecture for the management of data specific to the John Deere case study. The architecture should support all three subject areas. Justify the choice and reasoning behind each component of the architecture. 5. Describe two use cases that would be enabled by analytics (one for “Precision Agriculture Optimization” and one for “Farmer Decision Support”). Explain how your data manage- ment architecture would support the two use cases. Be specific. Submission Requirements • 1500 word limit (everything is included in the word limit: references, appendices, figures, tables, etc.). • Submission document requirements: – Include question numbers with the answers (1.1., 1.2.,…,2.1.1,…, 2.2.1,2.2.2,…) – Questions that you do not answer will receive zero marks. – Format: Double line spacing, 2.5cm margins, and font size of no less than 12pt. – Student Identification (SID) must appear in the header on the top right-hand side of each page of the document. Do not include your name. – Page number should be on the bottom right-hand side of each page. – File name should be of the format: SID-Stream-Year-Semester * Example: 1234567-CC2-2025-S1.docx – Assignments should be print-friendly and should not contain a cover sheet. – Assignment can be submitted as Microsoft Word document or as pdf. – Word Length: Where the student exceeds the word length, the student will lose 10% of the total marks when the submission is 10% above the word length and 10% for each 10% over-length thereafter. • Submit an electronic copy via Canvas by the due date. – Use the submission link provided on Canvas in the Assignments Tab (located on the left-hand menu bar). – Should submission problems occur, please contact the unit administrator as soon as possible. – Late assignments will be penalised in accordance with Business School Policy as set out in the UOS outline • Avoid using foreign languages in the assignment and submission documents. • References – All references are included in the overall word count. – Make sure appropriate referencing and referencing style is used (e.g., APA). See Canvas for more information. Other Instructions 1. Make sure that you have reviewed the weekly materials in detail, including the slides, weekly readings, discussion board postings, weekly activities, and other external re- sources. 2. Incorporate the theoretical and methodological foundations from the lectures to assist with your arguments. 3. Conduct independent research and use external references to support your responses. Building upon the lecture content by including new and additional references can lead to a higher mark. 4. Draw informed conclusions. Build upon your knowledge and understanding of the weekly materials, learning activities, and research. All materials presented in your answers should be synthesised, summarised, integrated, and reviewed with a critical eye. 5. Submission summary table below: Deliverables Format Length A single document that includes answers to all questions. A single document uploaded to Canvas as Microsoft word doc or pdf Up to 1500 words
ACCT2003 COMPUTERISED ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS ASSIGNMENT 1 – SERVICE BUSINESS Assignment requirements This is an individual assignment is based on chapters 1 to 6 of the Accounting with MYOB in the ‘Cloud’ text book, but presented in a different format. You are employed by this business to computerise their accounting records, and to do that you are required to use the online education version of MYOB. Once you have setup the business and entered opening balances, you have one month’s paperwork to record for the business. This paperwork includes, office memos, invoices for customers, bills from suppliers, cheque butts, supermarket dockets, bank deposit slips, cash receipt vouchers and statements from Square that provide details of electronic payments. This assignment must be submitted in Blackboard using the link provided (see unit outline for due date and time). The submission must include all the PDF reports listed below. You must add your tutor as a user so that they can access your MYOB data file. Read the information provided carefully, as you have to use that information in order to correctly set up the data file, record transactions and complete this assignment. Follow these guidelines: · When you create the data file, include your student number in the ‘business name’ field, e.g. Snoopy’s Grooming 12345678. If you forget, we will not be able to give you any marks for this assignment. · The trial balance as at 31 January provides the general ledger opening balances, but account numbers have not been given to you. You have to decide what the Chart of Accounts looks like. MYOB will assist you, but remember to take care to classify the accounts correctly and use appropriate header accounts. Presentation of the financial reports is important. · This is a service business. Use the service layout for both customers and suppliers. · You are required to complete a bank reconciliation for the main business bank account at the start and end of the month. · At the end of the month, you are required to prepare the following reports in PDF format. The reports should look professional, with appropriate headings, subaccounts and subtotals. o Profit and loss for the period 1/07/2024 to 28/02/2025 o Balance sheet as at 28/02/2025 o Banking reconciliation for the Bendigo Everyday Account at 28/02/2025 o Receivables reconciliation with tax as of 28/02/2025 o Unpaid bills as of 28/02/2025 o GST report for the period 1/02/2025 to 28/02/2025 Business background Snoopy’s Grooming is a small pet grooming business owned and operated by Peta Lawson. She is a sole trader and has been in business for a number of years with a very good reputation. Most customers pay electronically, and for this, the business uses an intermediary (Square) who provide weekly statements detailing who has paid. Square charge a commission of 1% which is automatically charged to the business bank account, weekly. When customers pay by cash or cheque, this is banked at the end of the week. Some of our clients are organisations, and we invoice them for services provided. The business operates from rented premises at 32 Cecil Avenue, Cannington, 6107 in Western Australia, phone number 9350 7789. The business has two employees (you) and a trainee groomer (Megan Jackson). They are paid fortnightly. The business is registered for the goods and services tax (GST) and PAYG (Pay as You Go) Withholding, and its Australian Business Number (ABN) is 26 008 672 177. GST and PAYG are reported quarterly. The accrual basis is used for both accounting and GST purposes. Accounting policies Accrued expenses such as the liability to pay employees for time worked between the last pay date and the end of the month, are journalized at the end of the month, and reversed at the start of the following month. Invoices to customers are GST inclusive. Invoices from suppliers may be GST inclusive or exclusive. Prompt payment discounts are not offered to customers, but some suppliers offer the business prompt payment discounts. No inventory records are maintained because when the business buys pet toys, food, baskets etc to on sell to customers the quantity on hand is normally minimal. Prepaid expenses such as insurance are initially recorded as a prepayment, and applicable amounts for the month are journalized at the end of each month. Depreciation of property, plant and equipment is based on rates provided by the Australian Taxation Office, and amounts calculated are rounded to the nearest dollar. Purchases of equipment costing less than $300 are expensed immediately.
COM265 Quantitative Research Methods Semester 2, 2024-2025 Research Proposal Deadline: 23:59 on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 Submission method: LMO Word limit: 1600 (+/- 15%) excluding reference list. Weight: 50% of the final grade Resit: S Learning Outcomes: A. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature and processes of quantitative research C. Evaluate the significance and quality of quantitative scholarly works Overview You will create a research project by completing one of the research proposal forms on LMO (found in the folder labeled "Research Proposal Forms”). The goal of this assignment is to outline a plan for an empirical, quantitative study in a compelling and realistic manner. Collaboration with other students on the research proposal is not permitted. You must develop a relevant and engaging research question, justify its scientific and social significance, discuss the theoretical background of your research question, and formulate at least two testable hypotheses. Next, you should define the relevant constructs in the hypotheses, select an appropriate quantitative method, explain the design of your proposed study, and provide a brief interpretation of the expected outcomes from your proposed study. Further details can be found in the Research Proposal Forms. Things You Must Be Aware Of Literature: The research proposal must include an appropriate number of sources, particularly in the ‘scientific background' section. However, more significant than the quantity of sources is the depth of your discussion regarding these sources. Your analysis should demonstrate that you have carefully read these sources, considered their content, and related it to your research design. Merely citing a large volume of literature superficially will not lead to a good grade. Writing Style. Please write in a concise, simple, and clear style. Avoid overly long and complex sentences and ensure the reader can follow the logic of your argument. Should you use AI tools to edit and polish your writings, please cite such use in line with the latest APA standards. Format & Ethics: The research proposal must adhere to the latest APA formatting standards. Direct quotations must be clearly indicated with quotation marks and should include the source. Plagiarism and other violations of academic integrity will be penalized according to XJTLU guidelines. Marking Criteria Key Aspects Poor Unsatisfactory Average Satisfactory Excellent Research Question and Relevance (10%) The research question is absent or meaningless; societal and scientific relevance of the topic are not justified. (0-2%) The research question is vague or incoherent; societal and scientific relevance of the topic are not justified sufficiently. (3-4%) A clear research question is stated; societal and scientific relevance of the topic are justified sufficiently. (5-6%) There is a well-formulated, relevant, and interesting research question; societal and scientific relevance of the topic are justified convincingly. (7-8%) There is a highly interesting and innovative research question; societal and scientific relevance of the topic are argued engagingly and convincingly. (9-10%) Scientific Background, Hypotheses, and Definitions (35%) Very little relevant literature is discussed; no testable hypotheses are derived logically from the theory; no usable definitions of constructs are given. (0-7%) Little relevant literature is discussed; hypotheses are not testable or derived logically from the theory; constructs are defined poorly. (8-14%) Sufficient relevant literature is discussed; testable hypotheses are derived logically from the theory; definitions of constructs are given. (15-21%) Sufficient relevant literature is discussed in depth; interesting testable hypotheses are derived logically from the theory; novel and useful definitions of constructs are given. (22-28%) A large amount of relevant literature is discussed in great depth; very interesting testable hypotheses are derived in a logical and highly creative way; highly insightful, useful and novel definitions of central concepts are given. (29-35%) Methods and Study Design (40%) The choice of quantitative method is not justified sufficiently; the design of the method is not explained sufficiently; sampling and recruitment are not explained; prospective methodological difficulties and their solutions are not discussed. (0-8%) The choice of quantitative method is justified poorly; the design of the method is vague and unconvincing; the plans for sampling and recruitment lack depth or are not viable; prospective methodological difficulties and their solutions are only discussed perfunctorily. (9-16%) The choice of quantitative method is justified sufficiently; the design of the method is explained; plans for sampling and recruitment are viable; prospective methodological difficulties and their solutions are discussed. (17-24%) The choice of quantitative method is justified convincingly; the design of the method is explained in depth; sampling and recruitment strategies are explained convincingly; prospective methodological difficulties and their solutions are discussed in an insightful way. (25-32%) The choice of quantitative method is argued brilliantly; the design of the method is explained in great depth; sampling and recruitment strategies are explained very convincingly; prospective methodological difficulties and their solutions are discussed in an insightful and highly creative way. (33-40%) Expected Outcomes, Discussion, and Conclusion (15%) The interpretation of the expected outcomes is missing or completely unconvincing; there are no valid alternative explanations. (0-3%) The interpretation and discussion of the expected outcomes is vague and unconvincing; the alternative explanations are shallow and not logical. (4-6%) There is sufficient interpretation and discussion of the expected outcomes; there are valid alternative explanations. (7-9%) There is a good interpretation and discussion of the expected outcomes; the alternative explanations are insightful. (10-12%) There is a brilliant and deep interpretation and discussion of the expected outcomes; the alternative explanations are highly insightful. (13-15%)
