Natural Language Understanding DS-GA / LING-GA 1012, Spring 2025 Overview Building computational systems that can communicate with humans using natural language has been a central goal for what we now think of as AI research. Understanding real, naturally occurring human language is the key to reaching this goal. This course will briefly survey the fundamental technical methods that have led to successes in language understanding, and will focus on methods for determining to what extent they are successful (evaluation), illuminating how they work (interpretability), and comparing them to humans (cognitive modeling). Analytical ideas from linguistics and the psychology of reasoning will be introduced as necessary. A major goal of the course is to prepare students to do original research in this area, culminating with a substantial final project that should meet the standards of published work in this field. Prerequisites Ideally, students will have had some experience with most of the following concepts. That being said, since this is a graduate-level course with students from a diverse array of backgrounds (data science, computer science, linguistics, and undergrads), we recognize that many students will be unfamiliar with one or more of the topics below. This is okay, as long as you feel comfortable looking up anything that you don’t understand or asking for help when necessary. Calculus and Linear Algebra Partial derivatives, gradients, vectors, matrices, matrix multiplication, vector spaces Probability and Statistics Probability distributions, conditional probabilities, Bayes’s theorem, linear regression Machine Learning and Data Science Features (discrete vs. continuous), optimization, train/dev/test, dimensionality reduction (e.g., PCA), deep learning Python Programming Basic syntax, iterables/comprehension, Jupyter notebooks, package managers (e.g., pip), modules, object-oriented programming, data types Textbooks Many of the readings, especially those assigned during the first half of the semester, will come from the following textbooks. SLP Speech and Language Processing, 3rd Edition Draft by Dan Jurafsky and James H. Martin D2L Dive into Deep Learning by Aston Zhang, Zachary C. Lipton, Mu Li, and Alexander J. Smola Ling1 Linguistic Fundamentals for Natural Language Processing by Emily M. Bender Ling2 Linguistic Fundamentals for Natural Language Processing II by Emily M. Bender and Alex Lascarides EOL Essentials of Linguistics, 2nd Edition by Catherine Anderson, Bronwyn Bjorkman, Derek Denis, Julianne Doner, Margaret Grant, Nathan Sanders, and Ai Taniguchi Schedule The list of topics for each week is subject to change. Most lectures will have a methodological section on how to conduct or report research; those are indicated in italics. Week 1 (1/24): Course overview; NLP fundamentals (slides, recording) ● Lab due to holiday (1/20) Topics: ● Symbolic and neural representations ● Challenges in language understanding ● Course overview Readings: ● SLP Chapter 6 (vector semantics and word embeddings) ● D2L Chapter 2 (skip Section 2.5), Section 4.1, and Sections 15.1–15.7 ● Ling1 Chapter 2 ● Ling2 Chapters 3 and 4 ● EOL Sections 5.1–5.4 and 4 and 7.5 Week 2 (1/31): NLP fundamentals (slides, recording) ● Lab (1/27): Word Vectors & Scaling up N-Gram Models, colab Topics: ● N-gram language models ● Classification and logistic regression ● Word embeddings and vector semantics ● Stochastic gradient descent ● Neural networks ● How to find a research question and do a literature review? ● Structuring team meetings Readings: ● SLP Chapter 3 (N-gram Language Models) pages 1-10, Chapter 5 (logistic regression), Chapter 7 (Neural Networks), ● D2L Chapter 1, Section 2.5, Chapter 5, Chapter 12 (skip Sections 12.7–12.9), Section 16.1, and Section 19.1 (the rest of the chapter is optional) Week 3 (2/7): Deep learning for NLP (slides, recording - starts 15 minutes late) ● Lab 002 (2/3) - Bag-of-Words Sentiment Classification , Colab ● Lab 003 (2/3) - Bag-of-Words + MLP Sentiment Classification Colab Topics: ● Neural networks as LMs ● Transformers ● Writing an abstract Readings: ● SLP Chapter 9 (Transformers) Week 4 (2/14): Language models (slides, recording), lab (2/10) ● Masked LMs ● Fine-tuning and transfer learning ● Zero-shot prompting for LMs ● In-context learning ● Instruction tuning ● Learning from human feedback ● Abstract rubric ● Finding good papers to cite ● Why and how to cite a paper Readings: ● SLP Chapter 11 (Masked Language Models), Chapter 12 (Model Alignment, Prompting, and In-Context Learning) ● Sanh et al. (2022): instruction tuning ● Prompt engineering guide ● Brown et al. (2020): language models as few-shot learners ● Ouyang et al., (2022): reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) ● Rafailov et al. (2023): direct preference optimization (DPO) Week 5 (2/21): Evaluation, lab (2/18) Topics: ● Classic NLU classification tasks (natural language inference, question answering) ● Commonsense knowledge and Winograd schemas ● Machine translation and reference-based evaluation ● Popular aggregate benchmarks (GLUE, BigBench) ● Human annotations, inter-annotator agreement, and inherent disagreements ● Automatic evaluation with LLMs ● Evaluating chatbots ● LM scaling behavior. and “emergent abilities” ● How to write a proposal Week 6 (2/28): Generalization, lab (2/24) Topics: ● Syntax ● Targeted evaluations ● Heuristics (“right for the wrong reason”) ● Robustness ● Adversarial evaluation ● Memorization ● Sensitivity to pretraining distribution (e.g. “embers of autoregression”) ● Compositional generalization ● Long context evaluation Week 7 (3/7): Fairness and safety, lab (3/3) Topics: ● Bias and fairness ● Evaluating safety ● Red teaming ● The NLP/AI publication landscape ● The structure of a research paper Week 8 (3/14): Interpretability: basic methods, lab (3/10) Topics: ● Probing tasks ● Dependency and constituency parsing ● Structural probes ● Attention head analysis ● Circuits ● Sparse autoencoders ● How to create good figures Week 9 (3/21): Interpretability: causal methods (guest lecture: Shauli Ravfogel), lab (3/17) Topics: TBD 3/28: No class (spring break) Week 10 (4/4) Reasoning, lab (3/31) ● Deductive reasoning ● Pragmatics ● Theory of mind ● Chain of thought and search ● How to cite and why Week 11 (4/11) Knowledge, lab (4/7) Topics: ● Faithfulness, attribution and factuality ● Retrieval augmented generation ● Model editing ● How to make a great poster Week 12 (4/18) Language models and humans: acquisition, lab (4/14) Guest: Michael Hu Topics: ● Inductive bias ● What can LMs teach us about human language acquisition? ● Synthetic data and meta-learning ● Curriculum learning ● Sample efficiency and the LM data gap ● The BabyLM challenge Week 13 (4/25) Language models and humans: comprehension, lab (4/21) Guest: Byung-Doh Oh Topics: ● Week 14 (5/2): Project presentations, lab (4/28)
CSC3064 Practical Assessment Objective You have just started a new job as a network security analyst at a security consultancy company. Your manager has asked you to investigate a network packet capture containing network activity related to a version of the malware family called Mirai, which was taken from a customer’s network a few years ago. You must analyse the packet capture and provide a concise presentation of your findings and recommendations according to the requirements on page 2. The packet capture, Assessment-1.pcap, is available to download from Canvas. You are required to submit a single mp4 video file via the Canvas Assignments page. This assessment is worth 40% of the available module marks. The submission deadline is 16:00 on 1st March 2024. Requirements You must produce a video report, no longer than 6 minutes, to address the following three parts: 1. Basic Analysis You are required to concisely present the following information at the start of your video. No other introduction or summary is necessary. You may wish to summarise information answering parts 1.a, 1.b, and 1.c in a single PowerPoint slide. This part of the video should take you less than 1 minute to present. a. For all protocols encapsulated by the transport layer, identify the percentage of bytes belonging to each protocol relative to the entire capture. b. Identify all IP addresses involved in the capture. c. State the IP address of the host where the capture was taken, as well as any other IP addresses that you think belong to the same network. Briefly, state any insights that might be inferred about other host IP addresses that you think is useful in understanding the behaviour of the malware. 2. Advanced Analysis Identify a diverse range of features from the capture that provide clear evidence of network activity and network Indicators of Compromise (IOC) associated with Mirai network activity. This part of the video should take you 2-3 minutes to present. • Use Wireshark to present your analysis. You are required to demonstrate that you can effectively use the Wireshark tool for packet analysis. • Provide a verbal and visual explanation of what you think happened in the network. You may want to consider a timeline of the communications that took place and walk through the evidence using Wireshark. • Be sure to clearly show onscreen the observable features or network Indicators of Compromise that you think are key pieces of evidence. • Discuss and display specific individual packets, protocol information, headers, IP addresses, payloads, etc. (anything you think is relevant), with commentary about how the information supports your discussion. 3. Demonstrate Network Security Measures For Part 3 you are required to use the two VMs that were used for Labs 2 and 3. This part of the video should take you 2-3 minutes to present. • Using the network activity and Indicators of Compromise identified in your answer for Part 2, use hping3 to create test packets that replicate those key features. hping3 will allow you to send created packets from one VM to the other. • Using whatever network security tools that you think are appropriate within the existing VM environment, propose and demonstrate network security measures that you would implement in a real network to provide protection and detection against the version of Mirai that you observed in the packet capture. • Briefly explain any pros or cons of your proposed network security measures,i.e. how effective you think each of your proposed measures would be against Mirai. • For guidance, the test packets you create with hping3 do not have to perfectly replicate the packets seen in the original packet capture. The expectation is that you create packets with features that are sufficiently similar to allow for meaningful testing of your security measures. • You should present a diverse set of security measures against various network indicators that you believe would be effective, i.e. several different measures and IOCs should be covered by your answer. • Provide a verbal and visual explanation to demonstrate and prove that your test packets and security measures work as expected. Note that for Part 3 you must create test packets that replicate features of interest that you found in the pcap. You do not need to use the Assessment-1.pcap file within the VM environment. You should not create your own alternative VM environment. You do not need to modify the VMs, apart from using the tools as covered in Labs 2 and 3. Guidance About the Capture File and Analysis Some packets have been removed from the original capture to ensure minimal cyber security risks associated with the content of the capture. This will not affect or hinder your ability to analyse the capture. Don’t visit any hosts or domains you find in the capture – this is not required for your investigation: • The hosts recorded in the file are not believed to pose a current security risk, however it is recommended that you do not visit any hosts, IP addresses, domains, or URLs that you discover. Don’t attempt to extract code from this capture or anywhere else on the Internet. This is not required for your investigation. Guidance About the Video Aim for around 5-6 minutes. Videos longer than 6 minutes will not be marked beyond 6 minutes. Target Audience In terms of the format and the audience, keep in mind the audience for your presentation is your manager at a security consultancy company. • Present your video as if your manager is sitting with you at your desk for 5 minutes and would like aquick but technically detailed update on your work. • The presentation should appear professional and convey depth of detail but be concise. References References are not required, unless for example you apply a particular detection approach for a specific IOC that you found somewhere online. In this case you should make the source clear. Video Capture You may use whichever video and audio capture tools you feel work best for you. However, you must ensure the audio is clear, and any text in Wireshark or the VMs must be clearly visible. One option is to use PowerPoint, which can capture very good quality screen capture videos with audio. For example, the links below discuss how to use PowerPoint to capture a video, and use of tools in Windows 10 for video editing, merging, etc. • https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/record-your-screen-in-powerpoint-0b4c3f65-534c-4cf1-9c59-402b6e9d79d0 • https://www.howtogeek.com/355524/how-to-use-windows-10s-hidden-video-editor/ Save your video as an mp4 file and upload it via the Canvas ‘Assignments’ submission page. Plagiarism and Collusion This is an independent piece of work and must be completed solely by you. You must not discuss or share your analysis with anyone else. The analysis that you present must be your work, and your work alone. This is an open-ended investigation. You are encouraged to find information and present solutions that you believe others may have missed. By submitting the work, you declare that: • I have read and understood the University regulations relating to academic offences, including collusion and plagiarism: http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/AcademicStudentAffairs/AcademicAffairs/GeneralRegul ations/Procedures/ProceduresforDealingwithAcademicOffences/ • The submission is my own original work and no part of it has been submitted for any other assignments, except as otherwise permitted. • I certify that that the submission is my own work, all sources are correctly attributed, and the contribution of any AI technologies is fully acknowledged.
Module information: Adaptive Systems [24/25] Module information Introduction Convenor's welcome Module Outline In the Cybernetic tradition,this module covers the principles of adaptivity as evidenced in various artificial and natural systems.Adaptive Systems is an interdisciplinary programme of research into systems which adapt themselves,spanning multiple sciences and branches of engineering. This is a relatively young field,and there is still much debate over its theory and philosophy.Students are strongly encouraged to enter into that debate,in classes and in coursework assignments.Throughout the module,we will study and discuss issues including the processes of self-adaptation,why they are required and beneficial,and which systems we can properly call adaptive. Central lecture and discussion topics include Cybernetics and its many offshoots,homeostatic adaptation,self-organising systems and active inference.For each topic,we will look at relevant examples of both natural and artificial instantiations. We wil follow Richard Feynman's maxim:"What I cannot create I do not understand",and your understanding and theories of adaptivity will be demonstrated and tested in simulated adaptive systems of your own making.To prepare you for that task,you will be taught the fundamentals of simulating adaptive systems in a series of six lab casses. Learning outcomes By the end of this module a successful student should be able to: ·Provide,explain and justify definitions of adaptivity and adaptive systems ·Simulate homeostatic and agent-based systems ·Demonstrate an understanding of specific adaptive systems and mechanisms by modelling and simulating them,analysing simulation results,and critical discussion of their implications and significance Assessments overview 100%of the module grade will come from coursework. There are two coursework assessments for this module. The first is a 1000 word report,which is due in week 8 of this term.This assignment is worth 20% of the module mark. The second is a 3000 word report,which is due in assessment period 2 week 1.This assignment is worth 80%of the module mark. Please refer to Sussex Direct for your exact deadline dates. For fullassessment briefs,including marking schemes and information on how you will receive your feedback,please refer to the Assessment and Feedback page (https://canvas.sussex.ac.uk/courses/31028/pages/assessments-and-feedback-2).
CS 230 Winter 2024 Tutorial 11 Coverage: DFA, NFA, and Regular Expressions Note: Transitions which represent the situation where you move from one state to another without consuming input are represented in different ways. Module 4 refers to ϵ (epsilon) transitions. Other sources use λ (lambda) to represent these kinds of transitions. Both are acceptable. There are other correct DFAs, NFAs and REs to these problems beyond those shown as model solutions. 1. Describe the language defined by the following DFA: 2. Describe the language defined by the following DFA: 3. Draw a DFA over the alphabet Σ = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, . that accepts any positive floating point numbers in base-10 (i.e. numbers that must include a decimal point). 4. Draw a DFA over the alphabet Σ = a, b, c that accepts strings that contain an even number of a characters and any number of b characters and c characters. 5. Which of the strings satisfies the following regular expression, where the alphabet is all lower case letters: ma.e arr∗gh (re)+ (a) mae agh ϵ (b) mace arrgh rere (c) ϵ arrrgh ϵ (d) make agh re 6. Draw a DFA or NFA that matches the following regular expressions: (a) (a|b)∗aba(bba)+ where Σ = {a, b} (b) a∗b.ba∗ where Σ = {a, b, c} 7. Write a regular expression and draw an NFA or a DFA that accepts simple mathematical expression that combines variables x and y with the mathematical operators +, −, ∗, and /. No brackets are allowed in the expression. For example, these are valid expressions: • x • x + y • y–x ∗ x/y These are invalid expressions • xy • x + • y + - x
ES3 51Z Imagery of the Environment Winter ‘24 Course Description: Imagery of the Environment takes a unique approach to Environmental Studies---what can world art teach us about environmental change and about our past and present relationships with nature? We’ll explore different cultures and times, investigating themes such as climate change, species extinction and distribution, conservation efforts, and our practical, spiritual and ethical ties to other species and to the Earth---using art (all 30,000 + years of it!) as a tool and inspiration. I’m very excited about this GE course! Welcome to the class! Objectives: After completing lecture and summary assignments you will be able to: · Discover how depictions of nature can serve as important historical indicators of environmental change. · Explore what nature-based imagery can teach us about the distribution, composition and/or extinctions of species worldwide. · Assess human impacts on the environment as evidenced in visual imagery. · Explore the themes and styles used in environmental imagery, both culturally and through time. · Analyze techniques of creation, including petroglyphs, rock paintings and sculpture. · Examine changing cultural and world views of nature as evidenced in environmental imagery. · Discover how environmental imagery has been used as advertisement, turning nature into commodity. · Explore the themes of the artist as naturalist/scientist and conservationist, in the past and today. Student Success Center Need help? Visit De Anza's Student Success Center for peer tutoring and workshops! The Student Success Center offers free tutoring for many De Anza classes. Visit http://www.deanza.edu/studentsuccess for our hours and information about workshops, group, drop-in, weekly individual and online tutoring. Or just stop by to chat or sign up. Student Learning Outcomes: · Assess and apply the criteria and objectives necessary to be successful in the Imagery of the Environment class. · Synthesize and evaluate the results/effects of historic art/environmental traditions (for example--biologists and the Renaissance; art of the Indian tiger; Chinese landscape art; Ansel Adams and landscape photography; Alexander Hogue and the Dust Bowl; species loss and Paleolithic cave art etc.). Recommended text: Johnson, Cathy 1997 "The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature", Available via Amazon.com etc. or 3 copies will be on reserve at the Stewardship Resource Center (SRC) at the Kirsch Center (with limited checkout time). The book is out of print but both new and used are still available and either edition is fine. Materials: · Artist’s drawing pad with good quality (9”x 12” drawing paper not too rough and not too smooth) available in the college bookstore, Aaron Brothers etc. · drawing pencils- I recommend 3B, HB and 3H. no charcoal pencils or colored pencils etc. · eraser- plastic and kneaded erasers · sharpener · An inquiring mind and eye! · A willingness to be still & quiet, to sit and observe. This is not an art class and no prior art experience is required!!! The art assignments are just an opportunity to gain hands on experience of the art process but are a significant part of the total points required to pass the class. The Course: Please view the orientation power point lecture posted along with the syllabus in the introductory module on Canvas at the top of the class page, for an overview of the class. Student Introduction and Quarter Summary: The first assignment gives me and your classmates a chance to hear about you, your goals and background. The second assignment is due at the end of the quarter and is a summary of how the quarter went for you regarding the art assignments and which unit had the most impact and why. Both assignments are worth 5 points each. Check due date list for due date. Class discussion posts: There will be 4 discussion posts that you will be required to comment on. They will not require any outside research but your own experience and opinion. I will be giving a prompt question that you will base your post on and hopefully spark conversations within the class. Each is worth 5 points. Weekly quizzes: There will be (9) 1-2 hour narrated video lectures, 2 per week. Accessing the Lecture videos is done through 3C media Solutions. The lecture playlist link is, this link is included throughout the Canvas class site: http://www.3cmediasolutions.org/playlists/646 You will see the complete list of lectures for the quarter, in the order they are presented on the site. Click on the lecture you want to view, and it will load in the screen at the top. There will be a quiz which includes 4-5 questions based on information presented in each lecture. Two unit quizzes will be posted every week and due the following week. The 1st quiz of the week is due the following Tuesday and the second is due the following Thursday, both before 11:30 pm of that day. The answers come directly from the audio lectures which can be accessed throughout the quarter. No additional research is necessary but of course encouraged. Sound capability on your computer is important to hear the lecture information and answer the questions. Points are based on clear and complete answers. Cutting and pasting passages from published work or the lecture notes is not allowed and if done, credit will not be given. Art Portfolio: There will be three studio art sessions during the quarter. All three lecture sessions will be viewed on videos using your class 3c media solutions video list. I will be introducing various techniques and the drawing assignments. You will complete (3) drawing assignments, (1) drawing will be completed during each session. The drawing assignments will be submitted through Canvas during the last week of the quarter as a power point. You will need to scan and save your images onto your computer then click and drag them into a power point document with just the images and their labels. Drawings will be graded only on time and effort invested and whether the drawing satisfies the requirements of the assignment. Additional sketches on your own time and choosing, as long as the subject is from nature, can be submitted with the your art assignments and will be counted as extra credit. Practice, Practice, Practice!!! You will be required to use your own NATURAL subjects, no photos. Final Presentation Project: You will investigate a theme related to this class and prepare a module (using power point etc.) A written slide by slide narrative summary on the subject will also be handed in. Both are due the last week as your final. Start thinking about possible topics, what you’re interested in, maybe a subject I introduce in lecture but don’t delve into with detail. A power point explaining the project further is available on Canvas in the first module at the top of the class canvas site. Your subject ideas will need to be OK' d by me before starting the project, see the calendar at the end of this syllabus for the due date. Research Summary: There will be a 1-page (350 words at least) research summary paper on an endangered species that you will choose from the list provided in the assignment information in the week 3 module. As part of this assignment, you are required to share and discuss solutions for saving the species you chose in endangered species solutions discussion post. Check the calendar for the due dates. Video Write Ups: You will be viewing 1 short video and 1 longer video during the quarter. Write ups are assigned to summarize the information presented and will be submitted through Canvas. These videos enhance the information presented in the lecture and are a valuable resource. Article Summaries: There will be articles posted relating to some of the units for further research. You are to choose (3) out of the 4 posted to read and write a summary about the important points the article presents. I encourage you to read all the articles and choose 3 that impacted or interested you the most. Due dates for these write ups are at the end of the quarter along with your art assignments and presentations. Any summary you submit beyond the 3 required will be considered extra credit. Grading: Weekly lecture quizzes 135 pts. (9 @ 15 pt. each) video write ups 25 pts.(#1 =10pts + #2=15pts) Research Summary 30 pts (20 for summary + 10 for solutions post) Final assessment project 100 pts.(75 pts. power point 25 pts. write up) Art Assignments 75 pts.(3 @ 25 pt. each) Introductions & end of quarter posts 10 pts. (5 pts. each) Class Discussion posts 20 pts. (4 @ 5pt. each) Article Summaries 30 pts. (3 @ 10 pts. each) Total possible point 425 points possible late assignments will receive 1-point deductions for every day that it is late! Grading scale for your final course grade: A= 90% - 100% B= 80% - 89% C= 70% - 79% D= 60% - 69% F = under 60%
Java Lab 1 Due: Wednesday August 30, 11:00 AM EDT In this lab, you will get your computer ready and tested for future labs in this course by • getting your Java and IntelliJ installed and running, • familiarizing yourself with IntelliJ IDE projects, and • understanding how to perform. test-driven development using Junit library. Here are the installation steps (as outlined in the Powerpoint Notes). 1. Install Java 17 SDK from Oracle: https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase/jdk17-archive-downloads.html Note that if you need a different version of Java for some other course, you can have more than one version installed. 2. Make sure everything is installed correctly by opening up a Terminal window (Mac) or Command (cmd) window (Windows) and typing: javac -version java -version 3. Install IntelliJ fromhttps://www.jetbrains.com/student/. Make sure you get the Ultimate version. After that, create a project and add the needed code: 1. Create a Project. Start up IntelliJ. Use Create New Project or File->New->Project, depending on how IntelliJ opens. You should use a dedicated folder for this course's projects and use a new folder within it for each new project. Name this project Lab1. 2. Download the file RelativeHumidity.java from Canvas and copy it into the src folder of the project. 3. The main( ) method is partially coded. You need to code the three formulas: first, Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion: Next, the saturation value for a temperature C in Celsius. Use this formula twice – once for the current temperature and once for the dew point: Finally, the relative humidity given the two saturation values using the formula: where sD is the dewpoint saturation and sT is the temperature saturation. Run your program with today's temperature and dew point. (http://bmcnoldy.rsmas.miami.edu/Humidity.html) Deliverable: Add your name and Andrew id to the comment at the top of the file. Upload the .java file to Canvas.
Task 1a Project Write-up Outline We will not be supplying example papers since this tends to encourage people to follow the example format and content too closely which hinders their own thinking and learning. Instead, use this outline to organise your report to make sure you include the necessary materials. See the link with more details about task 1a on the canvas ‘Assignments’ page. Individual reports must be no more than 4 pages in length in size 12 font, 1.5 line spacing (or
ACCT608 – Financial Accounting Section A: Company Information Task 01 [Background]: [A] Write a brief description of the company you have chosen (including an overview of its principal products/services, locations or areas of operations, etc). [B] Why did you choose this company for this assignment? [C] If you have to compare this company to others in the same general competitive space, who would they be? 1A. Brief Description 1B. Reason for choosing the company 1C. Peers/Competitors Task 02 [Chairman]: Read the Chairman’s letter/message or equivalent and offer a few summary paragraphs in your own words. What is your impression/assessment of the Chairman’s letter/message? [Note: You can use bullet points for brevity]. Task 03 [MD&A]: Read the management discussion and analysis (MD&A) or operating and financial review (OFR) or equivalent and offer a few summary paragraphs in your own words on how the company has performed in the last financial year and if you sense any significant issues going forward. [Note: You can use bullet points for brevity]. Task 04 [ESG]: Does the company have a sustainability or environmental report? Is it in an integrated or separate report? What is your overall assessment of the company’s ESG report/position/strategy? Task 05 [Audit Report]: Examine the auditor’s report. [A] Who is the company’s auditor? What kind of opinion did the company receive? [B] What were the “key audit matters” for the audit? Do the identified matters resonate with your understanding of the company and its financial statements? 5A. Auditor and audit opinion 5B. Key audit matters Section B: Overall financial statements and accounting policies Task 06 [Accounting equation]: Show your company’s basic accounting equation (A = L + E) and its long form. (CA + NCA = CL + NCL + Equity). Express the equations once in $ and once in %. 6A. Short form. ($ and %) $ % Asset (A) Liabilities (L) Equity (E) 6B. Long form. ($ and %) $ % Current Asset (CA) Non-Current Asset (NCA) Current Liability (CL) Non-Current Liability (NCL) Equity (E) Task 07 [Changes in equity]: Show the main movements in total equity in the last financial year. Clearly identify beginning equity, profit, other comprehensive income, dividends and (a summarised) “others”, resulting in ending equity. Explicitly confirm the beginning and ending total equity on the statement of changes in equity to the equity balances on the balance sheet. From Changes in Equity: From Balance Sheet: Beginning balance = Last year’s total equity = · Net profit = · OCI = · Dividends paid = · All thers = Ending balance This year’s total equity = Task 08 [Interesting accounts]: Examine your company’s balance sheet and income statement. What are some (say 3-5) account titles that sparked your interest (not necessarily the balances, just the titles). Why do you think these accounts are interesting/important? What did you find out about these accounts? Task 09 [B/S basic analysis]: [A] Examine the company’s balance sheets and carry out a horizontal and vertical analysis of major (say 8-10) account items. [B] Is there anything notable in your view? 09A: Horizontal and vertical analysis of Balance Sheet 09B: Notable items Task 10 [I/S basic analysis]: [A] Examine the company’s income statement and carry out a horizontal and vertical analysis of major (say 8-10) account items. [B] Is the analysis of expense done in a function or nature format? Is there anything notable in your view? 10A: Horizontal and vertical analysis of Income Statement 10B: Notable items Task 11 [Cash, cash flows and profit]: Examine the company’s cash flow statement. [A] Did the company use the direct method or indirect method in the cash flow from operating activities section? [B] Explain why the net profit/loss may not equal net cash increase/decrease during the year. [C] Explicitly show how the beginning and ending cash and cash equivalent balances on the cash flow statement tally with the numbers on the balance sheet. If there are differences, why? 11A: CFO Method 11B: Net profit/loss (from I/S) vs overall increase/decrease in cash (from B/S or CFS) 11C: Cash and Cash Equivalents in CFS vs Cash in BS Task 12 [Cashflows pattern]: Prepare a line or column chart consisting of Net Profit, CFO, CFI and CFF (as categories) for at least the last 3 years. What is your overall view of the company’s cash flow pattern? Task 13 [Accounting changes]: Did the company specify the adoption of any new/revised accounting standards, changes in accounting policy, estimates or assumptions in the last financial year? How do these changes, if any, alter financial statement numbers from the prior years, current year, and future years? [Note: you may need to screen through various estimates, e.g. useful lives, change of accounting methods, policies, etc] Task 14 [Revenue recognition]: [A] How does your company recognise the revenue items on its income statement? Provide some specific examples. Were there any parts of the revenue recognition policy that surprised you? [B] Does the company have unearned revenue of any kinds? If yes, how much? [Note: unearned revenue may be labelled in different ways, e.g. deferred income, contract liabilities, customer prepayments, advanced billings, etc] 14A: Extract of company’s revenue recognition policies 14B: Unearned revenue Section C: Elements of Financial Statements Task 15 [Trade receivables]: Look at the various notes related to trade receivables. [A] How did the management estimate the necessary allowance for doubtful debt? If expressed as an overall percentage to receivables, how much was it? Has this increased or decreased from last financial year? [B] How much was written off during the year? How much was charged to the income statement as receivables impairment expense? How does this year’s write-off and expense compare to last year’s? [Note: Allowance for doubtful debt may be labelled as expected credit loss, allowance for bad debt, etc and some companies may even inappropriately label this as “provision for doubtful debt”] 15A: Allowance of doubtful debt 15B: Write-off and Expense Task 16 [Inventory and COS]: [A] What was the inventory balance at the end of the year? How much was the cost of goods sold for the year? What do you think is the relationship between these two numbers? Has this relationship increased or decreased in the last year? [B] What inventory cost assumption did the company use? Did the company say how they arrive at “net realisable value”? Was any inventory valued at NRV or written down? [Note: For some companies, you may be able to proxy cost of sales with, e.g. materials consumed less changes in inventory, or employee benefits, i.e. salaries and wages, if it is a pure service company. If inventory/COS is really not applicable to your company, this task may not be relevant, and you can just answer “Not applicable”.] 16A: Inventory and COS 16B: Inventory assumptions and NRV Task 17 [PPE]: [A] What is the total PPE cost, accumulated depreciation and impairment and carrying amount of PPE? Give examples of the asset classes/categories your company uses for its PPE. What are the carrying amounts (and percentages) of these big items? [B] Was there any major addition, write-off or disposal of PPE during the year? Was there any gain/loss from the disposal? [C] What depreciation method(s) did it use? Do the PPE’s useful lives appear reasonable to you? Are all its PPE depreciated? Why or why not? [Note: Rights-of-use assets may be presented as a component of PPE or separately. For this assignment, consider ROU assets as part of PPE]. 17A: PPE balances and compositions 17B: Addition/Disposal/Write-off 17C: Depreciation Task 18 [Intangible Assets]: [A] What is the total intangible assets cost, accumulated amortisation and impairment, and carrying amount of intangible assets? Give examples of the asset classes/categories your company uses for its intangible assets. What are the carrying amounts (and percentages) of these big items? [B] Was there any major addition, write-off or disposal of intangible assets during the year? Was there any gain/loss from the disposal? [C] Do the intangible assets’ useful lives appear reasonable to you? Are all its intangible assets amortised? Why or why not? [Note: Goodwill may be presented as a component of PPE or separately. For this assignment, consider goodwill as part of intangible assets]. 18A: Intangible asset balances and compositions 18B: Addition/Disposal/Write-off 18C: Amortisation Task 19[Capitalisation]: Excluding outright asset purchases, did the company capitalise any other expenditures as components of PPE or Intangible assets? Provide some specific examples, if any. Task 20 [Liabilities]: [A] What are the company’s top 3 current and top 3 non-current liabilities? For context, indicate their percentages (over total liabilities). [B] What are the total interest-bearing liabilities due in the coming 12 months vs those beyond? Do you think your company can pay off the financial obligations that are maturing soon? 20A: Top 3 current and top 3 non-current liabilities 20A: Interest-bearing liabilities Task 21 [Provision]: If your company has “provisions”, how much and what was it for? How was it calculated? Has the provision increased or decreased in the last two financial years? [Note: allowance for doubtful receivables or inventory write-downs are not “provisions” per se, and ignore any taxes-related issues]. Task 22 [Contingent liability]: Examine your company’s contingent liability. What kind of contingencies do they have? What is the likelihood of these contingencies becoming real liabilities? Task 23 [Equity]: [A] What are the major components of your company’s equity? Indicate amounts and percentages. [B] Describe any major equity-related transactions or significant corporate actions (e.g. stock splits, rights issue) in the last financial year. [C] If your company paid dividends, indicate the amount and nature of the dividend payment. Is there an explicit dividend payout policy or guidance? 23A: Components of equity 23B: Equity-related transactions or corporate actions 23C: Dividends Section D: Financial Statements Analysis (for the last two FYs) [Note: I expect you to be doing your own calculations based on the company’s financial statements] Task 24 [CCC]: What is the company’s Cash Conversion Cycle? Do you note an improvement or a deterioration in the CCC? [Note: If there is no inventory or where cost of sales is an insignificant component of revenue, you may modify the CCC formulas/definition and elaborate on your adjustments.] 24A: Receivables Collection Period (days, 2 years) 24B: Inventory Resident Period (days, 2 years) 24C: Payable Outstanding Period (days, 2 years) 24D: Cash Conversion Cycle (days, 2 years) 24E: Commentary on above Task 25 [Liquidity]: What is your assessment of the company’s liquidity/solvency? Do you see improvements or deteriorations in these ratios? 25A: Current ratio (2 years) 25B: Quick ratio (if relevant, 2 years) 25C: Debt ratio (2 years) 25D: Times interest earned (2 years) 25E: Commentary on above Task 26 [Profitability]: What is your assessment of the company’s ability to generate sales, margins and returns? Do you see improvements or deteriorations in these ratios? 26A: Asset Turnover, Fixed Asset Turnover, Working Capital Turnover (2 years) 26B: Gross Profit Margin, Operating Profit Margin (or EBIT Margin), Net Profit Margin (2 years) 26C: Return on Assets, Return on Equity (2 years) 26D: Commentary on above Task 27 [DuPont ROE]: Decompose the company’s ROE using the DuPont technique. How has your company performance differed this year vs last year? 27A: Net Profit Margin (2 years) 27B: Asset Turnover (2 years) 27C: Leverage (2 years) 27D: Commentary on above Task 28 [Market-related ratios]: Find out the company’s share price at the end of the last two financial years and calculate the historical Price-Earnings Ratio and Price-to-Book ratio. What would these two ratios be at today’s price? If your company pays dividends, what is the dividend yield based on today’s price? 28A: Price-Earnings Ratio (2 years) 28B: Price-to-Book Ratio (2 years) 28C: Dividend Yield (if relevant, last year’s dividends at today’s price) 28D: Commentary on above Section E: Reflection Task 29 [Overall presentation]: What is your overall take on the company's annual report's look and feel, completeness and presentation? What do you like about it, and what don’t you like about it? Do you think it conveys adequate financial and non-financial information to shareholders and other stakeholders? Task 30 [Reflection]: Having completed the required activities for this assignment, reflect on how this assignment/workbook has helped you understand financial statements and annual reports. What are your 3 key takeaways/learning points?
6COM2005 Practical Assignment: Data Mining Semester AB 2024/2025 There are 45 marks to achieve, each translating to 1% of your overall module grade. There are three main tasks for this assignment plus an evaluation. For each main task, you have two options to choose from. Each option gives you the same number of marks and aligns completely with the later tasks. Pick the option, you feel more comfortable with. You also do not get additional marks if you hand in both options. (I will then choose at random.) Submission requirements You may discuss your general ideas and thoughts with peers but the work handed in must be distinctly yours and your own. The following documents must be submitted through Canvas as individual files, not a directory. (a) Cleaned and reduced data set as a csv-file (b) Python implementation of the clustering algorithm as a .py file (c) Python implementation of the classification model as a .py file (d) Training and test splits as csv-files (e) Your report in PDF format 1 Task: Prepare the data set [9 marks] Choose between these two data sets that are both sets are uploaded to Canvas. Download the data set of your choice. Use both numerosity reduction as well as feature reduction so that your data set only has 3 features (The class column does not count to these) and 1200 entries. In the report, explain how you chose the data to keep and justify the choices using concepts from the lecture (max 500 words). Focus on the main ideas and how your process employs these. [3 marks for the methods, 3 for the justification.] Save this data set as a csv-file for further processing and submission [3 marks]. 2 Task: Clustering [15 marks] Choose one of the following Clustering algorithms: k-means or DBSCAN. Make sure you remove the class column from the data set before clustering. 2.1 K-Means Implement the K-means algorithm to work with the cleaned data set. You can use parts of your implementation you created during the practical but will need to adapt it to work with 3-dimensional data [5 marks]. If you use a library for the core algorithm you will not get the marks for the implementation but can still achieve the marks for the results and evaluation. Choose the number of centroids for your data set and justify your choice in the report [3 marks]. Run the algorithm 3 times and store the results, so that it is clear which point belongs to which centroid in one or multiple csv-files for submission [3 marks]. In the report, create a section for your results. Add a table for each run that contains the final position of each centroid and shows the count of data points assigned to each cluster after the run.[4 marks] 2.2 DBSCAN Implement the DBSCAN algorithm to work with the cleaned data set. You can use parts of your implementation you created during the practical but will need to adapt it to work with 3-dimensional data [5 marks]. If you use a library for the core algorithm you will not get the marks for the implementation but can still achieve the marks for the results and evaluation. Choose 3 sets of parameters (ϵ and MinPoints) to run the algorithm with. State these in your report and justify why you chose these specific values [3 marks]. Run the algorithm 3 times with the different parameter sets and store the results in one or multiple csv-files for submission [3 marks]. In the report, create a section for your results. Add a table for each run that contains the count of core, border and noise points after each run. In a different table, list the count of data points assigned to the different clusters after the run. You may have differently many clusters for each run? [4 marks] 3 Task: Classification [15 marks] Choose one of the following Classification Algorithms: K-nearest neighbour or Gaussian naive Bayes. Make sure to store the class column in a separate variable to be used as labels for the algorithm. 3.1 K-Nearest Neighbour Implement the K-Nearest Neighbor algorithm to work with the cleaned data set. You can use parts of your implementation you created during the practical but will need to adapt it to work with 3-dimensional data [5 marks]. If you use a library for the core algorithm you will not get the marks for the implementation but can still achieve the marks for the results and evaluation. Choose 3 different values for k to create the model with. Split your data into training and test data. State these in your report and justify why you chose these specific values [4 marks]. Create the 3 models with the different k using your training data [3 marks]. Use the test data to evaluate your resulting classifier using the confusion matrix and accuracy [3 marks]. 3.2 Gaussian Naive Bayes Implement the Gaussian Naive Bayes algorithm to work with the cleaned data set. You can use parts of your implementation you created during the practical but will need to adapt it to work with 3-dimensional data [5 marks]. If you use a library for the core algorithm you will not get the marks for the implementation but can still achieve the marks for the results and evaluation. Choose 2 different ways to split your data into training and test data. State these in your report and justify why you chose these specific values [3 marks]. Create the 2 models with the different training data sets [3 marks]. Use the different test data to evaluate your resulting classifiers using the confusion matrix and accuracy. Make sure you use the correct test set for the classifier [4 marks]. 4 Task: Comparison and Discussion [6 marks] Lastly, compare your clustering results with the classification results. This is a very general task and there are manythings you can notice and discuss. For example, you could discuss the choice of parameters, what happens when the number of clusters matches the number of classes (or not), specific data points that are difficult to cluster or classify and why and many more. My expectation here is to see three points discussed within 200-300 words total. If you can fit four points in without getting superficial, great. If you only cover two but in depth, also great. Just stay within the 200-300 word range. Submission checklist Python files: • implementation of the clustering algorithm • implementation of the classification model Data set files (as csv): • Cleaned data set with 3 features (+ class), 1000 entries • Results of the clustering (up to 3 csv-files) • Training data set (1 for KNN; 2 for for Naive Bayes) • Test data set (1 for KNN; 2 for for Naive Bayes) Report with the following paragraphs (as pdf): • Data reduction explanation and justification • Clustering Method: Explanation and justification of the parameters • Clustering Results • Classification Method: Explanation and justification of the parameters • Classification Evaluation • Comparison and Discussion
English Language and Study Skills for Mathematics (EAP115) 2024-2025 Year 2 Semester 1 EAP115 Project Writing Coursework (Project WCW) Task Sheet [Final] Student Version Assignment: Write a Problem-Solution-Evaluation essay (800 ±10% words, excluding titles, section headings, the Reference List, and the Project Source Integration Chart (SIC)). Task: Write a Problem-Solution-Evaluation essay about one proposed solution which is evaluated to address one clear negative effect of globalization: Core Task Requirements All core task requirements must be fulfilled. Failure to fulfil any core task requirement means a points deduction from the EAP115 Project grade. You may fail if your essay does not meet all the core task requirements. You must: 1. write a Problem-Solution-Evaluation essay about one proposed solution which is evaluated to address one clear negative effect of globalization. 2. include all relevant sections: Introduction, Problem, Solution, Evaluation, Conclusion, and the Reference List with each including a relevant section heading. 3. use a minimum of 7 appropriate academic English language sources. - at least one visual aid such as a data set, graph, table, or chart must be used, cited, and referenced. Assessment Details • Assessment Type: Individual • Learning Outcomes assessed: A, B, C, D, E • Percentage of Module Mark: 50% o The EAP115 Project is comprised of WCW and SCW tasks o The Project WCW task is worth 40% of the total Project grade • Where and when to submit: Upload your submission (PSE essay, Reference List, and SIC) to the designated Dropbox on the EAP115 Assessment page on Learning Mall Core (LMC) before the submission deadline in Week 7 on Tuesday 1st April at 10:00. Please remember that dropbox submissions cannot be changed once the submission deadline has passed. It is the responsibility of the student to check the correct file is submitted and that it can be opened. Key Dates for the EAP115 Project WCW: A. Distribution of the Project WCW task sheet: Semester 1, Week 11 (Tuesday) B. First draft peer review: Semester 2, Class 2B C. First draft submission deadline: Semester 2, Week 3 (10:00 on Monday 3rd March 2025) D. First draft feedback returned: Semester 2, Week 5 (Friday 21st March 2025) E. First draft feedback individual tutorial: Semester 2, Week 6 F. Final submission deadline: Semester 2, Week 7 (10:00 on Tuesday 1st April 2025) G. Distribution of the Project SCW task sheet: Semester 2, Week 6 (13:00 on Friday 28th March 2025) *Any changes to these key dates will be announced by email and LMC announcement Formatting Requirements All written assignments must use these formatting standards: • Create and save the essay in a .doc or .docx format • Filename: EAP115-Project-Student ID number (e.g. EAP115-Project-3030609) • Line space: 1.5 • Word font: Calibri or Arial • Font size: 12 points • Include page numbers Important: • When citing and referencing, the XJTLU Harvard Referencing System must be used. The guide can be found on LMC here and on the XJTLU Library website here. - This includes all visual aids being clearly cited and referenced. • When submitting your Project WCW, please include your Project SIC. This should be included after your Reference List. The Project SIC can be found here. - The Project SIC will support how source information is used and how Reference Lists are compiled. • It is your responsibility to download your submitted file and check if the submission is a readable file. • You may receive 0% for an assessment if there is a technical issue opening a submission created using WPS or other unacceptable formats. Marking and Feedback o The final draft will be assessed using the EAP115 writing marking descriptor included on page 6 of this task sheet. o Feedback will be provided in line with standardized requirements agreed on EAP115 on failed features and penalties concerning Academic Integrity and Word Count issues. o You will receive individual feedback on the first draft of this essay at the end of Week 5. You must use this information to prepare questions for the individual tutorial sessions in Week 6, where you may ask your lecturer questions and engage in a discussion that will help you understand how to further improve your Project WCW first draft before the final submission deadline at the beginning of Week 7. o An assessment report for the Project will provide general feedback to all students after the exam moderation is complete and marks are released. Essay Format Your essay must be written using the following structure as introduced on EAP115: • Introduction: Briefly introduce and highlight the general problem of globalization in the opening sentence, and provide additional general background information. It is recommended to have at least one citation in the introduction. A valid thesis statement must be present at the end of your introduction. o The suggested word count for the Introduction section is around 100 words. o Consider using data, figures, or statistics to highlight this problem. • Problem: Based on your research and knowledge, introduce, describe and explain one clear negative effect of globalization listed in the Introduction. A clear topic sentence must be included at the beginning to indicate the purpose of this section. Supporting details such as evidence and examples must be cited. o The suggested word count for the Problem section is around 200 words. o Consider using data, figures, or statistics to highlight issues surrounding this one negative effect. • Solution: Based on your research and knowledge, introduce, describe and explain one solution to the one negative effect of globalization introduced in the Problem section. A clear topic sentence must be included at the beginning to indicate the chosen solution. Supporting details such as evidence and examples must be cited. o The suggested word count for the Solution section is around 150 words. • Evaluation: Based on your research and knowledge, discuss how effectively this one solution deals with the one clear negative effect of globalization. Evaluate this solution by describing at least one advantage and at least one disadvantage including supporting details such as examples and evidence to support your points. Finally, a clear stance must be evident to indicate if you believe this solution may solve the negative effect of the problem. You must include a clear topic sentence at the beginning to show the purpose of this section. o The suggested word count for the Evaluation section is around 250 words. o Consider using data, figures, or statistics to support the evaluation of this one solution. • Conclusion: A valid restated thesis statement should be offered before providing a brief summary of the main points of your essay. A final thought or future prediction regarding this topic could be used to conclude. o The suggested word count for the Conclusion section is no more than 100 words. • Reference List • Source Integration Chart Suggestions Task: o Read the Core Task Requirements on Page 1 and Essay Format on Page 3 when planning this task. o Is your one clear negative effect of globalization related to a logical theme? Logical themes include but are not limited to the economy, the environment, or society. - Consider your expertise and interest when considering a potential negative effect of globalization. o Organise your ideas clearly and logically. Plan carefully before attempting to write your essay. o Consider how the Introduction and Problem sections should tackle different aspects of this issue. o How should the Solution and Evaluation sections tackle different aspects of the solution? o What ‘additional general background information’ could feature in the Introduction? - Possibilities include a definition, historical context, recent trends etc. o Consider the difference between the Solution and Evaluation sections. o How should the Solution and Evaluation sections tackle different aspects of the solution? o Find and analyse several academic sources relating to the topic. Cite these sources to support your main ideas with details, reasons, explanations, data, or examples throughout your essay. o Consider carefully how data, figures, or statistics could be used to support and develop your idea. o When citing a visual aid such as a data set, infographic, table, chart, or graph then you must paste this into your essay. You should include this after the relevant section where it is cited such as the Introduction, but before the sub-heading for the following section. o You must paraphrase, summarise or synthesize ideas and data you use from sources. o a Source Integration Chart must also be provided to include this information. o for instance, focus on the relevant sections of the data and explain the important trends, rather than listing all the numbers or simply repeating them. o Include a range of integration techniques including integral and non-integral citations. Similarly, when using integral citations ensure that you utilize a range of appropriate and accurate reporting verbs. o Informal sources such as Wikipedia, UKEssays.com, Scribbr or Baidu, and sources not originally produced in English will reduce the essay quality and cause issues in Task. If you are unsure about the appropriateness of a source, please refer to items highlighted in EAP115 such as the CRAAP Test or SCAPR tests in Semester 1, Week 1. If you are still unsure after attempting to analyse the source, consider checking this with your EAP115 lecturer. Organisation: o Consistency and connections should be achieved throughout your essay from cohesion between the introduction, sections of the essay, and the conclusion by including: o an identifiable thesis statement at the very end of the introduction which should indicate the focus and structure of your essay. o clear topic sentences for each section of the essay should highlight the specific focus of that section. A citation will not be accepted as an appropriate topic sentence. o a restated thesis statement at the beginning of the conclusion which should align with your thesis statement. Language: o Consider how to use topic-specific vocabulary and how to reduce repetition. o Use a range of linking words (e.g. ‘In addition, For instance, However, Firstly’). o Follow the academic register in terms of lexical choices and grammatical structures. o Follow academic writing style. guidelines introduced in Year 1 EAP. o Proofread carefully to avoid causing issues for the reader. General: o Refer back to relevant feedback from Year 1 EAP and EAP115 on your academic writing. Try to correct any issues that you are already aware of. This is good practice to ensure that your EAP115 lecturer does not highlight the same issues in feedback resulting in less efficient feedback. - This includes global FWCW feedback and the FWCW assessment report. o After submitting your essay, check to see that it has been uploaded properly by downloading your document again and opening it. o Refer to the Project WCW marking descriptor on Page 6 of this task sheet and the assessment area on EAP115’s LMC page to understand what is required for a better-quality essay.
Programming Assignment 1 Write two programs that solves the Best Independent Set problem, as described in Problem Set 1. The first will use iterative deepening; the second will use simple hill climbing with random restart. Input Input should be a text file named "input.txt" in the same working directory as the code with the following contents: · Line 1: The target (a positive integer) and flags: "V" for verbose output or "C" for compact output. For the hill-climbing program, the number of random restarts to run. · Each vertex. Name (you may assume that this is a single alphabetic character) and value (a positive integer), 1 per line. · Blank line · Each edge: the names of the two ends. 1 per line. Your program should be robust as regards trailing white space at the end of a line of input or blank lines at the end of the input. Examples are given below. Search The programs should search through the state space until either: a) A solution is found. b) In iterative deepening, search to depth K finds no states at depth K. (That is, none of the states at depth K-1 have any successors). Thus, if there is no goal state to be found, the search to depth K will be identical to the search to depth K-1; then the program will terminate. c) In hill climbing, each hill climb is carried out from a random starting state until it reaches a solution or a local maximum. A random starting point is constructed by going through the list of vertices and accepting or rejecting each with probability 1/2. In doing the hill climbing part of the assignment, it's a good idea to write your code so there is a module where you can specify the starting state. That way, you can both replicate your code's behavior, which is useful in debugging, and compare it against my samples. However, the code that you submit should construct random starting states. Output The program should print out to standard output: · If a solution is found, the solution (just a sequence of vertices). If no solution is found, then "No solution found" · If the "verbose" flag is set then a trace of the search sequence, as illustrated below. Coding Programs will be accepted in Java or Python. Check with me about other languages. Submit The source code for the two programs. Also a README file for how to compile and run your code if there is anything non-obvious about that. Do not assume that the grader will read instructions passed in comments in code. Definitely do not write your code in such a way that the grader has to edit it in order to compile or run it (e.g. hard code a path that exists on your own machine). Grading Grading: 8 points for correctly running code. 2 points for well-written code. A programming assignment counts equally with a problem set in computing the overall grade. Input for iterative deepening program, for graph 1. Target = 18 18 V A 3 B 5 C 6 D 10 E 13 A B A C B D C E D E Output Depth=1. A Value=3. B Value=5. C Value=6. D Value=10. E Value=13. Depth=2. A Value=3. A D Value=13. A E Value=16. B Value=5. B C Value=11. B E Value=18. Found solution B E Value=18 The input for hill climbing is the same, except that you have to indicate the number of random restarts on the top line. E.g. 18 V 4 for a target of 18, with four random restarts, verbose output. In verbose output for hill climbing, you should indicate the value of the Error function as well as the cost for a state, and show all the neighbors that are being tested. (The order in which you enumerate neighbors doesn't matter.) Sample output Randomly chosen start state: A A Value=3. Error=15. Neighbors: {} Value=0. Error=18. A B Value=8. Error=13. A C Value=9. Error=12. A D Value=13. Error=5. A E Value=16. Error=2. Move to A E. Value=16. Error=2. Neighbors E Value=13. Error=5. A B E Value=21. Error=3. A C E Value=22. Error=9. A D E Value=26. Error=10. A Value=3. Error=15. Search failed Randomly chosen start state B C D B C D Value=21. Error=5. Neighbors A B C D Value=24. Error=11. C D Value=16. Error=2. B D Value=15. Error=8. B C Value=11. Error=7. B C D E Value=34. Error=21. Move to C D Value=16. Error=2. Neighbors A C D Value=19. Error=3. B C D Value=21. Error=5. D Value=10. Error=8. C Value=6. Error=12. C D E Value=29. Error=16. Search failed Randomly chosen start state A B C E. Value=27. Error=12. Neighbors B C E Value=24. Error=6. A C E Value=22. Error=9. A B E Value=21. Error=3. A B C D E Value=37. Error=27. A B C Value=14. Error=10 Move to A B E Value=21. Error=3 Neighbors B E Value=18. Error=0 Found solution B E Value=18. Another sample input and output. Input for Iterative Deepening 18 V F 3 G 6 H 8 I 9 K 8 L 7 F G F L G H G I H K H L I K Output Depth=1. F Value=3. G Value=6. H Value=8. I Value=9. K Value=8. L Value=7. Depth=2. F Value=3. F H Value=11. F I Value=12. F K Value=11. G Value=6. G K Value=14. G L Value=13. H Value=8. H I Value=17. I Value=9. I L Value=16 K Value=8. K L Value=15. L Value=7. Depth=3. F Value=3. F H Value=11. F H I Value=20. Found solution F H I Value=20 Same input for hill-climbing except that the first line is 18 V 3 Randomly chosen start state G H L G H L Value=21. Error=13 Neighbors F G H L Value=24. Error=19. H L Value=15. Error=10. G L Value=13. Error=5 G H I L Value=30. Error=19. G H K L Value=29. Error=21. G H Value=14. Error=10. Move to G L Value=13. Error=5. Neighbors F G L Value=16. Error=8. L Value=7. Error=11. G H L Value=21. Error=13. G I L Value=22. Error=6. G K L Value=21. Error=0. Found solution G K L Value=21.
Economics 496: Undergraduate Thesis Seminar II Spring 2024 Description: The economics distinction program provides a challenging, yet supportive environment for students to produce an original thesis in economics. In Thesis Seminar I, students will learn the paradigm for empirical research, identify an appropriate research topic, and conduct their empirical analyses. In Thesis Seminar II, students will refine their empirical analyses, learn the keys to effective writing, write their theses, and present their work to the economics faculty, staff, and students. Students who do not complete Seminar I satisfactorily will not be given permission to enroll in Seminar II. Prerequisites: Registration for the course is by invitation only. Students are required to complete the two-semester econometrics sequence, ECN 521 and ECN522, or its equivalent. (ECN410 is not an acceptable equivalent.) Students who have not taken these courses may take them in tandem with the economics distinction program. Course Requirements and Expectations: Students are expected to attend all classes and make consistent, satisfactory progress towards the completion of their projects. Evaluation: In Thesis Seminar II, students will be evaluated on four criteria: research log (1/4), class participation and presentations (1/4), department presentation (1/4), and the final project (1/4). Attendance is mandatory. Research log: I will document each student’s progress using a research log. Students must make consistent, satisfactory progress throughout the semester to receive full credit. Class participation and presentations: To be successful in the distinction program, students must provide regular updates on their progress. To facilitate this process, students will discuss and present their work to the class throughout the semester. Department presentation: At the end of the semester, students must present their work to the economics department, including faculty, staff, and students. Students will be evaluated based on the quality of the work, quality of the presentation, and the ability to adequately address audience questions, if any. Final project: At the end of the semester, students must submit a completedresearch paper. Students will be evaluated based on the quality of the work and the composition of their papers. Economics Seminars: The economics department hosts four economics seminars: applied microeconomics, public economics, trade and development, and econometrics. Students are strongly encouraged to attend one or more of these seminars.
Homework 6: Measuring Binary Search Trees and AVL Trees Overview and Objectives Organization of Classes and Files Empirical Testing of Data Structures Sample spreadsheet for your data - make a copy How to Test Challenge Bonus Problem! How to Submit Overview and Objectives Homework 6 is similar to Homework 3 and Homework 5, but instead implements two different kinds of binary search trees. Write the same methods for two different implementations of binary search trees— regular binary search tree and self-balancing AVL tree—and measure their performance empirically. Binary search trees satisfy the property that the key of each internal node is greater than all the keys in the respective node's left subtree and less than the ones in its right subtree. This property allows us to use an algorithm similar to binary search for insert(), find(), and remove(). The latter two operations may cause the tree to become less balanced, resulting in a degradation in performance for find(). A self-balancing tree can use property preserving rotations of groups of tree nodes to help keep the tree more balanced to ensure the performance of insert(), find(), and remove() are proportional to lgN, where N is the number of keys in the binary search tree. AVL Tree is one such self-balancing tree, which features two different types of rotation (single or double), each with two variants (left or right). Red-Black trees are another, which has 14 different rotations, making it less suitable for implementation in a Homework project. With each algorithm, it is important to identify what situation might cause the worst case execution time. We measure both the worst case execution time observed, the average case, and the best case. But most importantly, we want to understand what situations will cause each of these to occur. Run your program and collect measurements for the input test files: random.txt (which are randomly shuffled) and sorted.txt (which are sorted into ascending alphabetical order ignoring letter case). Your program should not ignore letter cases, so the words that start with an uppercase letter will all come before any words that start with a lowercase letter. Again, write many helper functions to do the hard work for the public methods. Not only does this practice keep our functions small and easier to understand/debug, this design allows us to use recursion if we wish to implement shorter and more elegant solutions. All three operations will have the same time complexity, because they are each proportional to O(h), where h is the height of the binary search tree. If things go well, h is proportional to jgN. However, in regular binary search trees, h can be proportional to N if the tree is skewed to the left or to the right. This skewing results from inserting keys that are somewhat sorted (in either ascending or descending order). Also, it is time to practice more C++! This is an ideal time for another iterator and to practice converting a class to be a template. Write an iterator for BST, and convert your BST hierarchy into a template where the types for both key and value are parameterized. Organization of Classes and Files Define a class hierarchy with a base class, named BST, and two derived classes named BSTree and AVLTree, with the public methods and the private helper functions provided in BST.h. Again, define a simple framework for measuring the performance of the methods insert(), find(), and remove(). Your goal is to understand the behaviors of both balanced and unbalanced binary search trees given different ordering of input data (one random and the other sorted). Keep your functions small and clean, so they are easier to understand, debug, and reuse!! Give each function a good name, descriptive of its purpose, with good parameters also with descriptive names. Some of the code you wrote in earlier homework assignments is reusable for Homework 6. Code for bst.h and other needed files is provided on the hw6 repo on GitHub. We also need class TreeNode— a helper class to implement a binary search tree—with three essential data members: key of type std::string, and left and right of type TreeNode*. We also add value (of any type) when implementing a map (as opposed to a set), and int height required for the balanced AVL tree. Use these names, so we are all speaking the same language. Do not add any other data members. Definitely do not add getters/setters. Each BST will have one important data member TreeNode * root, which is the pointer to access our linked tree, similar to how ListNode * head is the pointer to access our singly linked list contained within our classes. We add string name, and int count for better information output by our measurement framework. Data members root, count, name, class TreeNode, and methods find(), print(), and the iterator will be the same for both concrete types of BSTs. Factor them out and move them up to the BST class, so now we need to define them only once, and then they are inherited by the derived classes (BSTree and AVLTree). Write a random-access iterator for BST. Write it once at the BST level, and it will work for both concrete BST implementations. Use your iterators to write print methods for each concrete class. The print method should be void print(ostream & out) { for (auto e : *this) out · · · · · · · · ·
Problem Set 1 Assigned: January 22 Due: February 3 PLEASE NOTE: All assignments are due at the start of class, 11:00 AM, NOT at the end of the day. The “Best Independent Set” problem is defined as follows: Input: An undirected graph G, in which each vertex is marked by a positive value ; and a target value T. Goal: A set of vertices S such that (a) no two vertices in S are connected by an edge in G; and (b) the total value of the vertices in S is at least T. For instance, in Graph 1 below, with T = 16, there are three solutions: { C,D }, { A,E }, and { B,E }. In Graph 2, with T = 16 there are two solutions: { G,H,K } and { H,I }. The N-Queens problem is actually a special case of this, with the vertices being the squares on the chess board, an edge between two vertices if the squares attack, all vertices have value 1, and the target value is N. Problem 1 Consider the following state space for systematically solving the problem: State: A set of vertices, no two of which are connected by an edge. Successor to state S: Add some vertex V to S such that (a) V is alphabetically later than the vertices in S (to guarantee systematic search); (b) V is not connected to any vertex in S. Start state: The empty set. Goal state: A state that attains the target value. Show the part of the state space that would be generated if you use depth-first search in this state space to find the solution to graph 2 with T = 16. You should show this as a tree. I recommend drawing trees for assignments left-to-right typewriter format like this: If you want to use graphics software to make a nice looking tree, that’s even better, though more work for you. If you want to draw it out and photograph it, that’s OK, though less preferred. Problem 2 Show the tree of states generated in doing a breadth-first search of the state space in problem 1. Problem 3 A. Describe an instance of Best Independent Set where doing a breadth-first search will construct 1000 (or more) times as many states as doing a depth-first search. B. Describe an instance of Best Independent Set where doing a depth-first search will construct 1000 (or more) times as many states as doing a breadth-first search. (Hint: There is an instance where the correct solution contains only one vertex.) Problem 4 Consider the Best Independent Set on a graph in general with n vertices (not on the specific examples above). What is the maximal depth D of the state space? What is the branching factor B? Give a bound on the number of states in the state space (you should be able to get a bound much smaller than BD .) Problem 5 Consider trying to solve Best Independent Set using hill climbing in the following state space. State: Any set of vertices. Neighbors of state S: Either add one vertex to S or delete one vertex from S. Error function: Max(0,T-(Total value of the vertices in S)) + sum of the cost of all edges that connect two vertices in S where the cost of an edge is considered to be the value of its lower end. For example, in graph 1, suppose S= { A,C } and T = 16. Edge A - C is in G, value(A)=3, value(C)=6, so cost(A-C)=3. So Error(S) = Max(0,(16-9))+3 = 10. What is the sequence of states encountered doing simple hill-climbing in this space, to solve this problem for Graph 2, starting from state {F,G,H,I,J } with a target of T = 19?
F24 ADMS 3541 Case Study Analysis Assignment – Report and Presentation Due: November 13, 2023 at 11:59pm (Toronto time) Instructions • You may work in pairs within the same section. Working in pairs is not a requirement. o The filenames (both word & video) must include your first and lastname, e.g., Assignment_John_Doe. e.g., Assignment_John_Doe_Jane_Doe. o Submit only one copy on eClass if you work as a pair. o If you do not follow these submission guidelines a penalty will be assessed. • Written Report (10%): o Read the following case and answer series of questions. o If you work with someone else, you must write your names, student numbers and email addresses at the top of each assignment. o The assignment MUST be submitted as a Word document (.docx file). o Please organize your responses in a clear, professional format, labeling each section for easy reference. o Provide concise and clear responses for each section, focusing on analysis and explanation rather than description. Times New Roman, 11pt, Single-space recommended. o Show your work. o All work and answers must be TYPED. No handwritten work. • Presentation (10%): o Based on the financial case study you have analysed, you are required to “play” the role of a financial planner and present financial recommendations to the clients. The context is that you are their financial planner, and you arepresenting three actionable items to help them achieve their financial goals (Question 8). o Your presentation should be between 3 to 5 minutes long and should include 3 recommendations that you have for the clients. The presentation can be uploaded to YouTube (which is recorded using PPT, Zoom, phone, etc.) and submitted as a link to be examined. Alternatively, you can record the presentation using PowerPoint and submit PowerPoint file through eClass. o If working in a pair, both students need to be involved with the creation of the visual materials and presentation. o Students should have a camera on them when they present. o It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the video works and can be viewed by the markers. Iferrors occur, then the student will receive a reduction in marks. o Suggestions for an effective presentation: Assume that the individual watching/grading your presentation is the client. Assume the clients have not yet read your report. Dress for the role and speak clearly. Be consistent and present accurate information in a logical sequence. o Goals: 1. To present financial information using an approach which considers the audience receiving the financial information. 2. To present case recommendations in a professional and concise method with clear explanations. 3. To present information in a structured and accurate manner which summarizes the key findings and recommendations within the case. 4. To adopt appropriate visual aids for the clients and speak inaudible and clear manner Notes • Some details will be missing from this case study. Financial planners often have to work with incomplete information. When creating answers to this assignment, you will need to make assumptions. Please clearly state these assumptions and the markers will take these into consideration when marking. Instructor will not be answering any questions. • Any resemblance to any real person in this assignment is purely coincidental. Case Study: Financial Planning for Michael and Sarah Date: January 1, 2024 Michael (31) and Sarah (34) are a married couple living in Ontario, Canada, with one child, a daughter named Emma, who is currently 5 years old. Both are planning for their financial future, hoping to buy a home in four years. Sarah works full-time as a marketing manager for a private firm, while Michael is self-employed as a software engineer and earns income by working on various contracts. Their combined annual gross income is $120,000, with Sarah earning $65,000 annually and Michael earning $55,000. Both are concerned about their current financial standing, housing goals, and insurance coverage. Sarah contributes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI), paying $3,166 annually for CPP and $889 annually for EI. She pays $6,800 in federal taxes and $3,550 in provincial taxes. Michael's self-employment status brings added complexity to their financial situation, as he must manage his own taxes and CPP contributions, in addition to having no access to employer-provided benefits such as disability insurance or pensions. Michael is responsible for his own CPP contributions, paying both the employer and employee portions, which amounts to $6,332 per year. He does not pay into EI because he is self-employed. Michael pays $4,900 in federal and $2,500 in provincial taxes. Michael and Sarah rent a small apartment for $3,500 per month. Their monthly expenses include $850 on groceries, $300 on utilities and internet, $550 on transportation (covering gas, public transit, and car insurance), and $400 on entertainment and dining out. Additionally, they pay $250 per month for auto insurance. Michael has a student loan balance of $19,000, for which he pays $300 monthly, with six years left on the loan. As both are working, childcare costs are $1,000 per month due to nanny/kindergarten expenses. Each of them contributes $250 per month to their joint savings account. They always pay off their credit card balances in full and only use credit cards for convenience, with the option to stop using them if desired. They have $5,000 in a joint savings account and $1,000 each in individual checking accounts. Michael holds $3,000 in a TFSA, invested entirely in mutual funds. While Sarah does not currently have a TFSA, she has $5,000 in non-registered investment account entirely in mutual funds. Sarah contributed to her employer-sponsored RRSP, which has a current balance of $15,000 invested in mutual funds. Her employer matches her contributions dollar-for-dollar, up to 10% of her previous year's earnings. Michael, who is self-employed, has accumulated $12,000 in his RRSP, with a 50% allocation in mutual funds and 50% in stocks. They jointly own a car (2018 Honda CR-V) valued at $10,000, which they plan to keep for a few more years before replacing it; there is no outstanding auto loan on the car. Sarah and Michael are both non-smokers in average health. Sarah receives basic group life insurance and disability insurance through her employer. Her life insurance covers one year of her salary in the event of her death and disability insurance covers up to $4,500 per month, with a 120-day elimination period. Michael, being self-employed, has no life or disability insurance coverage. If either Michael or Sarah were to pass away, their household expenses would be significantly impacted. The following changes in expenses would occur: • Groceries and transportation expenses would be reduced by 30%. • Entertainment expenses would be reduced by 40%. • Monthly savings would be eliminated entirely. • Childcare expenses would be as follows in today’s dollars: o From now until age 17: $12,000 annually o Ages 18-21: $20,000 annually o After age 22: eliminated • Other expenses would remain the same in today’s dollars. Michael and Sarah aim to purchase their first home within the next four years. They already have a specific property in mind, which is currently valued at $725,000. To qualify for a conventional mortgage, they plan to make a 20% down payment. For the remaining balance, they anticipate a mortgage with a 6.25% annual interest rate (compounded semi-annually), a 20-year amortization period, and a 5-year term. They estimate annual property taxes at approximately $6,000 and monthly heating costs around $120. With property prices expected to increase at an annual rate of 3%, they recognize the importance of timely action. Michael and Sarah plan to use the funds currently in Michael’s TFSA and Sarah’s non-registered investment account toward their down payment. Over the next four years, Michael will contribute $7,000 annually to his TFSA, and Sarah will add $17,000 each year to her non-registered investment account, with both contributions made at the end of each year. Additionally, Sarah’s parents have offered $50,000 to support their down payment, which will be deposited into Sarah’s non-registered investment account one year from today. Assumptions: • Their costs (including anticipated property tax and heating) and wages (both gross income & take-home pay) will increase at an inflation rate of 2.5%. • Any of their investments will earn a before-tax rate of return of 6% p.a. or after-tax rate of return of 4% p.a. Required: 1. Prepare a combined balance sheet and monthly cash flow statement for Michael and Sarah. Create a balance sheet showing their assets and liabilities, and a cash flow statement detailing their income and expenses. 2. Calculate the liquidity ratio, asset-to-debt ratio, debt payments-to-net income ratio, consumer debt ratio, and investment assets-to-total assets ratio. Explain what these ratios mean for Michael and Sarah in everyday language. Identify if these ratios indicate any areas of concern and explain why or why not. 3. Calculate whether Michael and Sarah will have saved enough for a down payment on a house in four years based on their current plan. 4. Analyze their mortgage eligibility under the stress test. Explain how the stress test will affect their eligibility for a mortgage. Use the TDS (Total Debt Service) ratio of 44% to evaluate whether Michael and Sarah can comfortably afford the target amount of mortgage. 5. The TFSA is not the only option for funding the down payment. They could access funds in their RRSP through the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP), and they can also utilize the First Home Savings Account (FHSA), introduced in 2023, for this purpose. Compare the key characteristics of these three options: (1) TFSA, (2) RRSP HBP, and (3) FHSA. Which option do you believe is the most advantageous to this family, and what is your justification for this choice? 6. Identify at least five risks Michael and Sarah face and evaluate the severity and frequency of each risk identified. Propose appropriate risk mitigation strategies for each identified risk. 7. Using the expense approach, calculate life insurance needs for Michael and Sarah each. Following is additional information needed to apply the expense approach. They want to set aside CPP payments for emergencies and retirement. Thus, exclude survival/child CPP pension in your calculation. Assume each will become financially independent in their retirement years. They are expected to retire at age 65. Hints: Use after-tax real discount rate. Expenses will increase, matching inflation. 8. Provide three recommendations with actionable items for Michael and Sarah to address their concerns or improve their financial position. Use the analysis from the case study to support your recommendations.
LANG7402 Introduction to the Study of Language Part II: Syntax, Semantics, Application Pre-requisite: Curiosity, and diligence Objectives: This is the second part of a two-semester course that introduces students to five core components in linguistics: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. It will provide students with a solid grounding in fundamental concepts and methodologies of these five linguistic areas, which will enable them to tackle linguistic problems systematically and help them understand that despite superficial diversity, human languages share fundamental similarities in terms of the universal principles that govern their possible structures. This aim will be approached and achieved through exploring language data. Methods of formal analysis will be applied to data drawn from a variety of languages, with a focus on the analysis and comparison of English and Chinese. Systematic properties generalized from the analysis will be discussed in relation to their application to language teaching and other fields. Learning outcomes: By the end of the course, students should be able to: CILO 5 Analyze structures of phrases and sentences to illustrate the general principles that underlie structural patterns CILO 6 Explain structural and cognitive aspects of meaning which are relevant to the description and theory of grammar CILO 7 Identify patterns at the syntax and semantics interface CILO 8 Explain the values of linguistic study and its applications to the analyses of language-related phenomena Course Description: In this part, we look at the levels of syntax and semantics to complete the four major areas of theoretical linguistics (the other two were phonetics & phonology, and morphology, covered in Part 1). Towards, the end, we also take a look at a wider domain beyond linguistics in hope that students will understand applications from a broader perspective. Assessment: Coursework consists of l three reflections (20% x 2 chosen of the three) l Syntax take-home test (30%, 7th or 8th week) l Semantics take-home test (30%, 13th week) Language medium: English The course is taught in English. Reflections (40%) You are to write group reflections at strategic intervals of the course (see schedule below). These are to be done as a group (see Affinity Group Learning below). Each group is to submit a WORD file. A template together with instructions can be downloaded from BUMoodle. Fill in the parts in blue, then change the entire document to black. After commenting and grading your journal entrees, they will be posted online and made available to everyone in class. This is to facilitate mutual learning. Submission of Reflections: Reflections are to be submitted electronically as WORD files to the BU e-Learning Platform. Embed any special fonts. Please remember to include full names and student numbers of all group members, page numbers and date. Submissions should have their files appropriately named in the format “Course code-Groupname-.doc”. E.g. LANG7402-Tonic.doc would be the submission for the group called Tonic. Late submissions without proper justification and failure of compliance to format requirements will receive heavy penalties. Use APA style, including standard margins and font sizes. Syntax Take-home Test (individual 30%) and Semantics Take-home Test (individual 30%) You’ll be given a short test for each of the above areas. Each test takes about 2hours to complete. It will test your ability to engage in syntactic and semantic analyses. Both tests are open book and you’re free to consult any resources available to you. You can even consult one another. However, please ensure that you acknowledge your sources properly. If you take more time than 2 hours, that’s fine, simply indicate the number of hours you took. Note that taking a longer time doesn’t mean you’d do better. Test Performance Backup (capped at 18%) In case you did badly for one of the tests, here is a safety net. Throughout the course, there will be forum postings and discussions led by our TAs. These are highly structured and dedicated work they have done under my supervision. In case you failed one of the tests, we will replace that score with your forum participation performance. Your forum performance will be judged by the following rubric. Meaningful response to every post … /6 Follow-up to replies … /6 Quality of reasoning and argumentation … /6 Because this is a safety net, and should not be abused, the cap is at only 18% of the final score. This is more than enough to give a pass to anyone who failed one of the two tests. Affinity Group Learning: It is boring and unproductive to learn alone. Students are required to form. affinity groups and meet often to help each other. This allows for the pooling of individual talents and strengths to tackle problems that cannot be done alone. Group work is necessary because (i) in modern day research, it is necessary to learn how to work with other people; (ii) teamwork allows you to go into greater depths of learning that would be useful when you undertake greater scale research. Depending on class size, each group must minimally consist of 3 members and may not exceed the maximum of 6. Parasitic behaviours are frowned upon. Please do not hesitate to report parasites. You are also encouraged (but not obliged) to move around and change groups. That way you’d have the fun of learning with different classmates. Answers and the evaluation of your work: Being in a university means being near the frontier of knowledge. It is normal not to know the answers. What is important is the ability to ask the right questions and to find plausible answers. Any answer is a good answer in this course if it has the following characteristics: • Logical consistency • Empirical substantiation • Simplicity "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." – Albert Einstein. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is generally defined as ‘the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own’ (The New Oxford Dictionary of English). Here are some instances of plagiarism: 1. Copying material from the internet, books, papers, AI-generated content (with or without editing), without acknowledging the source. 2. Taking ideas and materials from friends via personal communication, without due acknowledgement in your work. 3. Posting assignment questions in one form. or another at internet forums/bulletin boards for help and answers. As an educated individual, the society expects you to be a person of honesty and integrity. As your teacher, I have faith that you are sincere about learning as you have faith in me that I am responsible in teaching. Plagiarism violates this faith and destroys the trust we have in each other. Plagiarism is a serious offence. Please do not plagiarize. Anyone found guilty of plagiarism would be given an F grade for the assignment or even for the course. Mode of teaching/learning: Three-hour sessions are held weekly in the form. of a workshop. Communicating with me (a personal note to students): I welcome communication (preferably polite ones). I welcome disagreement that is substantiated by evidence and by sound reasoning. Like all human beings, I can be wrong. By pointing out my mistakes, you’d be doing a great service to your classmates. You may write me email, come see me personally, or write anonymous letters to me if you want to provide any feedback. Remember that this is your education, and we must work together to make classes meaningful for you. Announcements: Announcements would be (i) made at the beginning of class; and (ii) posted over BUMoodle. While I would make every effort to disseminate information thoroughly, students are reminded of their responsibility to keep themselves informed and updated of class affairs. Suggested text/reference: Readings, where relevant, will be provided on Moodle. Overview of the course: To help you plan your time effectively, the following table provides a synchronized schedule on the progress of the course and the deadlines for things you must do. Week Themes Things to do 1 Linear grammars and constituency Discovering structure and testing them Make friends, form. groups! 2 Standard Theory and Extensions 3 Movement and Transformation d-structure, s-structure, Chomsky’s early model of grammar 4 Control Islands 5 Principles A, B, C 6 X-bar Theory (if we have time) Syntax Take-home Test 7 Discussing the syntax test Reflection on Syntax due! Semantics begin!! 8 I. Figuring out meaning 9 II. Types of Inferences 10 III. Formal representations 11 IV. Event Types V. Working with Event Structures Semantics Take-home Test 12 Discussing the semantics test Reflection on Semantics due! Thinking beyond linguistics 13 Who needs a linguist? Reflection on the enterprise of Linguistics due!
Tutorial 5 Structured Query Language (SQL) You have been hired as a SQL programmer for QQ Corporation. Your first task is to create some reports based on data from the Human Resources (HR) tables. 1. Your first task is to determine the structure of the DEPARTMENTS table and its contents. 2. You need to determine the structure of the EMPLOYEES table. 3. The HR department wants a query to display the last name, job code, hire date, and employee number for each employee, with employee number appearing first. Provide an alias STARTDATE for the HIRE_DATE column. 4. The HR department needs a query to display all unique job codes from the EMPLOYEES table. 5. The HR department wants more descriptive column headings for its report on employees. Name the column headings Emp #, Employee, Job, and Hire Date, respectively. 6. The HR department has requested a report of all employees and their job IDs. Display the last name concatenated with the job code (separated by a comma and space) and name the column Employee and Title. 7. The HR department needs your assistance with creating some queries. Because of budget issues, the HR department needs a report that displays the last name and salary of employees who earn more than $12,000. 8. Create a report that displays the last name and department number for employee number 176. 9. The HR department needs to find high-salary and low-salary employees. Display the last name and salary for any employee whose salary is not in the range of $5,000 to $12,000. 10. Display the last name, job, and salary for all employees whose jobs are either sales representative or stock clerk and whose salaries are not equal to $2,500, $3,500, or $7,000.
Math 132A Assignment 3 1. Find the first three terms of the Taylor series for at the point x0 = (1, −1)T . Evaluate the sum of these first three terms at p = (0.1, 0.01). What is the approximate difference of this with the true value of f(x0 +p)? 2. Find the first three terms of the Taylor series for at the point x0 = (3, 4)T . 3. Determine whether or not the following matrices are positive definite: (a) (b) (c) 4. Determine all minimizers (if any) of the following functions: (a) (b) (c) 5. Let f(x) = x2 +cos(x). Starting with the interval [1, 2], use the golden section method to locate an interval of width 0.1 that contains the minimizer x*. (You should use a calculator for the calculations but organize your work in a table please.)
