QIM512 Multimedia-based Instructional Design Assignment 2: Instructional Analysis and Performance Objectives Due: 11 December 2024 Purpose: Building upon the groundwork laid in Assignment 1, this assignment extends the instructional design process. Drawing from the instructional goal identified in Assignment 1, derived from the Needs Assessment, you need to perform an instructional analysis based DCC Model. This involves the creation of a hierarchical diagram that visually organizes the instructional components. Subsequently, your task is to formulate specific objectives for each delineated segment within the hierarchical diagram, ensuring a comprehensive alignment between the analysis and the corresponding performance goals. The completion of this assignment will showcase your ability to translate overarching instructional goals into a detailed and organized framework, emphasizing the integration of insights garnered from the needs assessment phase. Learning Objectives: This assignment will be used to assess your performance on CLO1: Design a multimedia-based instructional material involving needs assessment, content-, learner, and context analyses, learning outcomes, assessment instruments and instructional strategies Guidelines: 1. Based on the instructional goal that you have generated from Assignment 1: Needs Assessment, please conduct an instructional analysis. You need to submit a hierarchical diagram of the instructional analysis that you have conducted. For the diagram, you may use tools such as Lucidchart or other platform/tools to create it. 2. Then, create the objectives for each of the boxes in the hierarchical diagram of your instructional analysis.
EECS 388 - Project 5: Forensics Fall 2024 due Thursday, December 5 at 6 p.m. This project counts for 9% of your course grade. Late submissions will be allowed with the use of late days. This is a group project; you must work in teams of two and submit one project per team. Note that the final exam will cover project material, so you and your partner should collaborate closely on each part. Strict no-leaks policy. In this project, you play the role of a computer forensic analyst working to solve a case. Since you don’t want to be fired for jeopardizing an ongoing criminal investigation, you need to follow a strict policy on collaboration. You are bound by the Honor Code not to communicate with anyone regarding any aspect of the case or your investigation (other than within your team or with course staff). The number of pieces of evidence you find, the techniques you try, how successful said techniques are, the general process you follow, etc. are all considered part of your solution and must not be discussed with members of other teams. Start early. It may be impossible to complete this project before the deadline unless you begin several days beforehand. Please plan accordingly. Solutions must be submitted via the Autograder and Gradescope, following the submission details at the end of this spec. To ensure you can get started on-time, please make sure to register your partnership in the Autograder by November 21st @ 11:59 pm Introduction In this project, you will play the role of a forensic analyst and investigate the theft of company secrets from SuperDuperSketchyCorp (SDSC). SDSC became aware of the theft after The Media ran a story regarding one of their closely guarded secrets. The case went cold when the leading suspect, Leslie Nielson, fled the country and disappeared. Officers seized their computer, but the hard disk was encrypted and investigators were unable to crack the password. No further evidence could be found. The other possible leads are: - Leslie’s Twitter account @LeslieNielson5. - Leslie’s Linkedin. Investigators just recently caught a break when they found the hard disk encryption password on a sticky note in Leslie’s home office. They’ve decrypted the device and made it available for your analysis. Your job is to conduct a forensic examination of the disk image and document any evidence related to the crime. If you find sufficient evidence, a case can be brought against Leslie. Objectives Understand how computer use can leave persistent traces and why such evidence is often difficult to remove or conceal. Gain experience in using forensic techniques to investigate computer misuse and intrusion. Learn how to retrieve information from a disk image without booting the operating system, and understand why this is necessary to preserve forensic integrity. Getting Started The tools and techniques you use for your investigation are up to you, but here are some suggestions. General Knowledge A working knowledge of Linux is helpful for this project. If you don’t have this yet, you may need to spend time Googling and/or experimenting to get up to speed. The course staff will also answer general Linux questions as a last resort. For an excellent reference book, try UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook by Nemeth, Snyder, Hein, and Whaley. Also, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_partitioning for some additional background. Live Analysis Live analysis is a forensic technique in which the investigator examines a running copy of the target system. HQ has used the disk image of Leslie’s physical computer to produce virtual machine images that might be useful in getting a more holistic view of their activities than can be easily provided by dead analysis (e.g. easily interacting with graphical programs, seeing positioning of files and applications around their computer, etc.). They have provided virtual machine images for VirtualBox and for UTM. HQ heard that you set up a virtual machine in your previous project and thinks that referring back to these skills might be useful here. From first booting up these images, HQ observed that Leslie may have instituted some measures to prevent their computer from being booted by others, but hopes that you will be able to circumvent these. Dead Analysis In dead analysis, the forensic investigator examines data artifacts from a target system without the system running. We suggest trying dead analysis with the Autopsy open-source forensics tool, which we ship as a Docker image. We have already performed the intensive disk image ingest process using Leslie’s drive, and have provided an Autopsy case which has the analysis available to you to explore. Running Autopsy in Docker 1. Download the Autopsy case: leslie-drive.tar.xz. 2. Place this file in the root of your project directory (i.e. on the same level as evidence and tokens.txt ). 3. Decompress the case directory: tar -xJf leslie-drive.tar.xz . Make sure to decompress the case file in your host, rather than in the development container, as copying files into the development container appears to happen instantaneously but actually takes more time in the background, often causing issues related to decompressing the file while it is still being copied. 4. Open your project directory in VS Code, then reopen the directory in the development container. See the Docker guide for more information. 5. Once the container has booted, navigate to http://localhost:38805 in your web browser (or vnc://localhost:38855 in a VNC client). After clicking “OK” to the first pop-up, you may be greeted with an empty gray window for some time. It is loading behind the scenes; after a minute or so, you should see the Autopsy home screen pop up. 6. Select “Open Case”, then navigate to /workspaces/project5/leslie-drive and open leslie-drive.aut . 7. After the case has been opened, the tree on the left gives you various ways of examining the data. Try expanding “Data Sources” to view the partitions and file system. You can also try running a keyword search using the button in the upper right corner of the window. 8. In addition to hints dropped elsewhere, here is an incomplete list of things to try: Examine the system logs. Check for deleted or encrypted files. Search for strings that may indicate relevance to your investigation. Password Cracking Password crackers may be helpful in trying to brute-force decrypt password-protected files. John the Ripper is the canonical Unix password cracker. Because HQ is confident that John will be useful in your investigation from a cursory investigation of Leslie’s drive, they dedicated time to providing you with it via the project’s development container. HQ, however, does not know what lies ahead and what might be useful as you uncover more; you will be responsible for discovering, obtaining and successfully using tools in other domains throughout the course of your investigation. When using a password cracker, it is wise to first make sure that the password is not susceptible to a dictionary attack and does not use a restricted character set (e.g., lowercase letters, letters only, letters and numbers only) before spending time on a full brute-force crack. It is also a good idea to crack a very vulnerable password first to make sure you are using the tool correctly. Like any intensive calculation, password cracking takes time. It may be impossible to dedicate the time required to it if you do not start early enough. Please plan ahead. Tasks and Deliverables The two main deliverables for this project are a list of all the tokens that you find, and a report where you state your case for either the guilt or the innocence of the defendant. In addition, if you recover files that are relevant to your responses, name them in your report and include them with your submission in a tarball named evidence.tar.gz . (Add evidence to the evidence directory then run make to generate this.) To get you started, here are three questions to ask yourself as you begin your investigation. You do not necessarily have to answer them in the report, but they can serve as good starting points. 1. What operating system does the suspect use? 2. Are there any personal files that the suspect may have left on the machine? 3. Do there appear to be any suspicious usage patterns that suggest malicious activity? Be on the lookout for evidence of any other machines or network services or websites that the suspect may have used. These may contain important evidence and raise further questions you’ll need to investigate (hint, hint!). Before attempting to access any such external leads, check with HQ via their self-service portal at SuperDuperSketchyCorp.biz/admin/permissions. If you don’t receive permission, but you still believe a site might be relevant, please email HQ directly at [email protected]. The subject line should begin with “388 P5 Permission”. Failure to ask permission is guaranteed to be a waste of time and may violate the course ethics policy or result in a grade deduction. You do not need to ask HQ for permission to investigate Leslie’s disk image, Twitter account, or LinkedIn, since you have been cleared to do so by this project spec. Do not attempt to log in anywhere, besides the permissions site, with your University of Michigan password! We record certain student actions, and we do not want to see your actual password show up in our logs. The Report The report is the focus of your deliverables and will be a substantial portion of your grade. It should specify whether or not Leslie is guilty of a crime. If so, explicitly state the crime and back up this claim with evidence. Your tokens.txt file serves as a list of your findings. You do not have to specify each of these findings, instead provide a discussion of the most important specific pieces of evidence. Your report should be readable as a standalone document. The length limit for the report is one page, single spaced. You need to prioritize what evidence you present. Much like a prosecutor would have to in court, you should include pieces of evidence from many distinct sources. While we don’t expect a legal brief, your report should be clear, professional, and easy to read. The Token List The purpose of the token list is to allow us to identify exactly what you found in your investigation. As you complete your investigation, you should be on the lookout for tokens in the form. #token-# or some slight variation of this syntax. All tokens must be spelled exactly as they appear to get credit. Misspelled tokens will receive no credit, with no possibility of a regrade. Including extraneous content in your list will also result in a deduction. The tokens are used for grading only and should not be mentioned in your report. tokens.txt in your repository should have one token per line, without the surrounding token syntax. Using the same example as above, if you encounter the string #token-# during your investigation, you should only add Thisisthetoken to tokens.txt . The Evidence Folder The purpose of the evidence folder is for you to collect all evidence you deem important to your investigation’s outcome. We may also reference your evidence folder to understand how your investigation progressed. You should not refer to the evidence folder in your report. There is no strict guideline as to what can belong in the evidence directory; original files or curated screenshots are all acceptable. Filenames and subdirectory structure do not matter. Run make in the root of your project directory to generate evidence.tar.gz from your evidence directory; you will submit this file to the Autograder.
Final Project Template - AU3410 Project Title: e.g., Impact of Beer Consumption on Sleep Quality Objective: e.g., To investigate how beer consumption affects sleep quality among adults. Project Phases: 1. Introduction and background: o Objective: explain why you are interested in the proposed project 2. Research Question and Hypothesis: o Objective: Formulate a clear research question and hypothesis. o Activities: § Develop a research question (e.g., “Does beer consumption before bedtime affect sleep quality?”). § Formulate a null and alternative hypothesis (e.g., “Consuming beer before bedtime decreases sleep quality compared to not consuming alcohol.”). 3. Experiment Design: o Objective: Plan the methodology for the experiment. o Activities: § Define the target population § Define the sample and determine the sample size § Choose a sampling method (e.g., random sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling, etc.) § Design the experiment 1. Selection of the outcome variables (e.g., sleep duration, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings) 2. Selection of the factor (treatment) variables 3. Choice of the experiment 4. Additional techniques (blocking, randomization, balance checking, etc.) [optional] § If relevant, discuss ethical considerations [optional] 4. Data Collection: o Objective: Gather data from participants. o Describe how you recruit subjects and collect your data, the instruments you use, etc. o Activities: § e.g., Recruit participants and divide them into control and experimental groups (or several groups if you intend to use ANOVA). § e.g., Have the experimental group consume a specified amount of beer before bedtime over a set period (e.g., 2 weeks). § e.g., Use sleep tracking devices or apps to monitor sleep quality. § e.g., Collect self-reported data on sleep quality through questionnaires. 5. Data Analysis: o Objective: Analyze the collected data to test the hypothesis. o Activities: § e.g., Clean and preprocess the data. Check outliers. § e.g., Descriptive statistics and data visualization § Use statistical software (e.g., JMP, R, Python) to perform. descriptive and inferential statistics. § e.g., Compare sleep quality metrics between the control and experimental groups. 6. Results and Discussion: o Objective: Present and discuss the findings. o Activities: § Create tables, graphs, and charts to visualize the data. § Discuss the assumptions § Discuss the potential issue of confounding, sample size, selection bias, measurement error and their consequence on the validity of the study § Discuss the implications of the findings. § Identify any limitations of the study and suggest areas for future research. 7. Conclusion and Recommendations: o Objective: Summarize the project and provide recommendations. o Activities: § Summarize the key findings and their significance. § Provide recommendations based on the results (e.g., advice on beer consumption and sleep hygiene). 8. Contribution Statement and References if applicable Deliverables: · Experiment design plan (optional; deadline Nov 8th, 2024) · Final project report (no less than 5 pages, deadline Dec 4th, 2024) · 5-min verbal presentation of your project (no slides; no need to prepare; talk through your project report in class; Nov 29th, Dec 2nd, Dec 4th) Grading Criteria (a total of 30 points): · The proposed research question is interesting and original (5 pts) · Efforts in data collection (10 pts) · Section of experiment design: clear demonstration of you applies Stat 3410 to your project (7 pts) · Data analysis, result presentation, and conclusions (5pts) · Discussion of assumptions and statistical Issues (3 points) · Students contributing less than others in a team project will receive a penalty
ACC309 Accounting Analytics (S1, AY2024/25): Oral Presentation (Worth 30% of Total Grade) The Task: Using the AMPS Model to Address the Question of Loan Payment • For details, please refer to the textbook, page 648, Chapter 11, Project 1 (Appendix A). • Please use the data file ‘LoanStats3a.xlsx’ available on Learning Mall under the section ‘ Presentation’ . Do NOT use the one on CONNECT. You presentation should include the following information: 1. Ask the Question Please refer to the textbook for the question. 2. Master the Data Illustrate the steps you have taken to ensure no data is missing, there are no errors in the data, and the data has been transformed into a form. that is ready for analysis. 3. Perform. the Analysis Present your analysis results using appropriate data visualization techniques. Interpret the results and answer the question. 4. AI Usage Explain how AI is used in your project. Submission Instructions: Each student must submit an oral presentation video filea and a PowerPoint fileb to the submission boxes under “Presentation” in the “ Module Information” section on the Learning Mall (LM) module page by the deadline. Presentation Submission Deadline: 11:55 pm Sunday, Week 13 Notes: a. Notes for the video: 1) You can use Tencent Meeting to record the presentation. 2) The file name for submission should be “ACC309 Presentation XXXXXX”, where “XXXXXX” is your student ID. 3) The length: 5±1 minutes. The video size should be no larger than 100MB. If your video is too large, you can resize it using https://www.freeconvert.com/video-compressor. 4) You must show your face in the video. 5) Please make sure that the submitted video can be played by Windows Media Player. b. Notes for the PPT file: 1) The file name for submission should be “ACC309 Presentation XXXXXX”, where “XXXXXX” is your student ID. Marking: Presentations will be judged according to Appendix B “ACC309 Oral Presentation Assessment Form” and Appendix C “ACC309 Oral Presentation Assessment Rubric” .
BCIT - Architectural & Building Technology Fall 2024 BLDG 1200 – Building Construction 1 Lab Exercise – Structural Design Analysis – Worksheet #2 Roof Rafters, Ceiling Joists, Roof Joists & Ridge Beam Exercises Given: Conventions: All exterior dimensions to outside face of wall sheathing All interior dimensions to centre of walls and beams Structure: Lumber: SPF No. 1 & No.2 Exterior walls: 38x140mm (2x6”) studs with 13mm (1/2”) plywood sheathing Interior walls: 38x89mm (2x4”) studs Note: Include units (all metric) in your answers. If necessary, review the lecture material for clarifications on span, supported length, end bearing, etc. If necessary, review “Structural Design Analysis – Worksheet #1” . Part 1 – Roof Rafters & Ceiling Joists Based on the partial roof plan and partial building section on the next page, provide solutions for the roof rafters and ceiling joists. Choose the smallest lumber size possible at the largest on-centre spacing that the span tables will allow. Assume the attic space is not accessible by a stairway. Given: Project location: Cloverdale, BC Dimensions: A: 9150mm C: 450mm Ridge board size: 38x235mm (2x10”) Total roof span: From 9.4.2.2. & Division B – Appendix C – Table C-2 Cb: Ss: Sr: Specified Snow Load (S): Roof rafter span: Roof rafter size & spacing: @ o.c. Ceiling joist span: Ceiling joist size & spacing: @ o.c. Design Reality: The length of lumber can range, starting at 8’, with 2’ increments up to 24’ . Lengths of 8’ to 16’ are more readily available. Lengths longer than 16’ cost more and are more prone to twisting, warping and bending. Although the code will permit long spans for ceiling joists, they are not practical to use. Typically, two shorter ceiling joists will be used, supported by an intermediate interior loadbearing wall or drop beam. If an interior loadbearing wall is located at the middle of the floor plan to provide intermediate support for the overlapping ceiling joists, determine the following: Ceiling joist span: Ceiling joist size & spacing: @ o.c. Part 2 – Roof Joists & Ridge Beam Based on the partial roof plan and partial building section on the next page, provide solutions for the roof joists, ridge beam and concentrated point loads. For the roof joists, choose the smallest lumber size possible at the largest on-centre spacing that the span tables will allow. For the ridge beam, choose the option that uses the least number of plies. Given: Project location: Greenwood, BC Dimensions: B: 9150mm C: 450mm Span of the Ridge Beam: 2.80m Total roof span: From 9.4.2.2. & Division B – Appendix C – Table C-2 Cb: Ss: Sr: Specified Snow Load (S): It’s recommended to solve the ridge beam first. Knowing the number of plies (width) for the ridge beam will help determine the span of the roof joists. Ridge beam supported length (tributary width) Ridge beam solution: Size of P9 point loads (W x End Bearing): X Roof joist span: Roof joist size & spacing: @ o.c.
FIT9132 Supplementary Assessment 2024 S2 Please note that this is a supplementary assessment. You must clearly show a satisfactory understanding of the key areas covered in the unit, namely database design (including normalisation), SQL and NoSQL. To demonstrate this required understanding, you MUST attempt all five tasks. ENSURE your ID and name are added to EVERY file you submit. Generative AI tools cannot be used in this assessment task In this assessment, you must not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to generate any materials or content in relation to the assessment task. This whole assessment task requires students to demonstrate human knowledge and skill acquisition without the assistance of AI. TASKS: ● Task 1: Relational Algebra (10 marks) ● Task 2: Database Design (25 marks) ● Task 3: Normalisation (15 marks) ● Task 4: SQL (30 marks) ● Task 5: NoSQL (20 marks) Total Available Marks = 100 mks Your work will be assessed as either Pass or Not Satisfactory, detailed grade/feedback will not be provided for these tasks. If you are assessed as having reached a Pass level (at least 50 marks out of the available 100) and you have attempted all questions, your unit grade will be upgraded to 50% P, otherwise your mark will remain as it stands with a grade of N. DUE: MONDAY 9th DECEMBER 2024 at 4:30 PM via MOODLE SUBMISSION. It is your responsibility to ENSURE that the files you submit to Moodle are the correct files, no work will be marked from GitLab ● We strongly recommend after uploading a submission, and prior to actually submitting,that you download the submission into a NEW EMPTY folder and double check its contents GIT STORAGE Your work for these tasks MUST be saved in your individual local working directory (repo) under the Assignments folder in a subfolder called Supp. In your local repo, please create a new folder called Supp under Assignments. Place the supplied task4-es.sql, task5-json.sql, and task5-mongo.mongodb.js files in this folder and add/commit/push to your remote repo before starting any work. Your work must be regularly pushed to the FIT GitLab server to establish a clear history of your approach's development. ● Tasks 1, 2, 3 and 5 require a minimum of three pushes for each task as you develop your solutions, ● Task 4 requires a minimum of five pushes (at least one for each completed part of the question). Failure to satisfy this requirement will mean that your work will not be accepted, and as a result, your grade will remain a fail grade. Before submission via Moodle, you must log into the Git Lab server's web interface and ensure your files are present in your individual repo and that their names are correct. In arriving at your solutions for for this supplementary work you are ONLY permitted to use the SQL and NoSQL structures and syntax which have been covered within this unit: ● Topic 6 Workshop and Applied 7 - Creating & Populating the Database ● Topic 7 Workshop and Applied 8 - Insert, Update, Delete (DML) and Transaction Management ● Topic 8 Workshop and Applied 9 - SQL Part I - Basic ● Topic 9 Workshop and Applied 10 - SQL Part II- Intermediate ● Topic 10 Workshop and Applied 11 - SQL Part III - Advanced ● Topic 11 Workshop and Applied 12 - Non-Relational Database SQL/NoSQL syntax and commands outside of the covered work such as the use of WITH, COALESCE, EXIST, BEGIN … END or other PL/SQL, will NOT be accepted - they will be assigned a grade of 0 mks. Views must not be used in completing these tasks. If you are having issues with the Monash CISCO VPN please install and use the appropriate Global VPN: ● Monash International VPN for China ● Students not in China - Global Protect (you may ignore the "only available to the VP Services portfolio until further notice" message) Any queries or concerns while working on these tasks, must be emailed to your unit's role account. Please note that the role account will not respond to such enquiries over the weekend. For this reason it is important that you get started as soon as possible, please do not leave the tasks to the weekend when assistance with password resetting will not be available. Task 1: Relational Algebra (10 marks) The following relations represent part of the Endangered Species database. Please refer to the case study in Appendix A to observe the business rules. SPECIES (spec_genus, spec_name, spec_popular_name, spec_family, spec_natural_range) ANIMAL (animal_id, animal_sex, animal_added, centre_id, spec_genus, spec_name) EXCHANGE (exchange_no, exchange_date, exchange_from_centre_id, exchange_to_centre_id, animal_id, et_code) CENTRE (centre_id, centre_name, centre_address, centre_director, centre_phone_no) EXCHANGE_TYPE (et_code, et_description) Write the relational algebra operations for the following queries (your answer must show an understanding of query efficiency): i. Show the animal’s id, sex, species’ popular name for all animals kept in the centre named ‘Alice Springs Desert Park’ . Note that only one centre is named ‘Alice Springs Desert Park’ . [4 marks] ii. For each breeding exchange that happened between 1 Jul 2018 and 31 Aug 2018 (inclusive), show the exchange number, exchange date, centre name in which the animal was transferred from, centre name in which the animal was transferred to, animal id, species genus and species name. [6 marks] Submission Requirement: A single PDF file called task1-ra.pdf containing your answer for the above questions. Task 2: Database Design (25 marks) The Last Curtain Theatre Company is an amateur theatre group that holds plays at various theatres in and around your local city. At present, all information concerning the plays they run, the artists involved, and ticket sales are kept manually using a textbook and a diary. As demand is growing for their plays, the Last Curtain Theatre Company has decided to embrace modern technology and implement a database to keep up with their growing information needs. For each play, the company records a play number to identify the play, the play name and the name of the writer of the play. For each artist, a record is kept of their given name, family name, address, contact telephone number and whether they are a member of the company or not. An artist number, to identify an artist, should be assigned automatically by the system A show is the on stage presentation to an audience of a particular play in a particular theatre on a particular date and time (a given play is never offered in two theatres at the same date and time). Some plays are popular and may be shown multiple times, even within one year. The artists and the theatre involved with the production of a play may change for each show. The number of people attending a given show is recorded. Each theatre is identified by a theatre number, In addition the details of its location (street and town), the theatre manager’s name, contact phone number and the number of seats the theatre holds are recorded. In order to produce the company yearbook, it is important to keep track of the role of each artist in each show. In a given show, an artist may perform several roles and a given role may be played by several artists in the same show. Currently, bookings for tickets are taken in person or over the phone. Each booking is assigned a unique booking number. Clients may pay for their tickets when they book or when they arrive at the theatre. Only the details of the client (client name and contact number) who booked the seats are kept, not each individual theatregoer. Each client is assigned a unique client number. For a booking the number of seats booked and the total amount due is recorded as well as the paid status (if the tickets have been paid for). Create a logical level diagram using Crow’s foot notations to represent the Last Curtain Theatre Company's data requirements described above using LucidChart. Clearly state any assumptions you make when creating the model. Please note the following points: ● Be sure to include all relations, attributes and relationships (unnecessary relationships must not be included) ● Identify clearly the Primary Keys (P) and Foreign Keys (F), as part of your design ● Surrogate keys must not be added ● In building your model you must conform. to this units modelling requirements ● The following are NOT required on your diagram ● verbs/names on relationship lines ● indicators (*) to show if an attribute is required or not ● data types for the attributes Submission Requirement: A single page PDF file called task2-play.pdf of your model exported from LucidChart. Task 3: Normalisation (15 marks) Below is an example of booking details for a particular Last Curtain Theatre Company’s show. Last Curtain Theatre Company Show Booking Details Show Date/Time: 6 July 2024, 7:00 PM Play Number: MR101 Play Name: Mouline Rouge Play Writer: Luhrmann and Craig Pearce Total number of patrons: 265 Theatre ID: 901 Theatre Street: 42 Rich Street Theatre Town: Lakemba Booking: Booking Number Number of seats Total amount due Paid (Y/N) Client Number Client Name 1001 4 200 Y 1 Michael Corsina 1002 2 100 N 1 Michael Corsina 1003 10 800 Y 2 Michelle Kinako … (only some bookings shown) Represent this form in UNF. In creating your representation you should consider the Last Curtain Theatre Company case study in Task 2. You must keep each person's name as a simple attribute. Continue the normalisation to third normal form. (3NF). Clearly write the relations in each step from the unnormalised form. (UNF) to the third normal form (3NF). Clearly indicate primary keys on all relations from 1NF onwards by underlining the primary key attribute/s, and show the dependencies (partial dependency at 1NF, transitive dependency at 2NF, and full dependency at 3NF) via dependency diagrams, e.g. a_id → a_name, a_desc. Also include all candidate keys at the 1NF stage. Do not add new attributes during the normalisation. Submission Requirement: A single PDF file called task3-show.pdf containing your full normalisation. Task 4: SQL (30 marks) You can only code a single select statement for each question below. For each question sample output showing the form. of what you are required to produce is provided. Note this is the form. of the output ONLY i.e. the appearance and the data you return will be different. Using the case study and data model listed in Appendix A to write SQL to answer the following queries. Note the required tables are available in the Oracle database under the account es i.e. you need to use, for example: select * from es.animal; i. Code the SQL SELECT statement to list the animal id, animal sex (displayed as Male or Female), date added to the system, the genus and species and the popular name for all animals who were born in the centre as a result of a breeding event and have a species popular name which include the word RHINOCEROS or HIPPOPOTAMUS and who were added to the system before the year 2020. The genus and species name should be output in a single column called scientific_name, for example for the animal with the popular name Mountain Zebra this column's contents would be Equus zebra. Order the output by their popular name, then by animal sex, and for animals of the same popular name and sex by animal id descending. [4 mks] ii. List the genus name, and the ratio of the animals born in the wild to the total animals for that genus in the database. Show the ratio as a percentage. For example, if the system has 100 animals from the Equus genus and 75 were born in the wild, the ratio (percentage born in the wild) will be 75/100 ie. 75.00. Display the percentage to two decimal points. Order the list according to the genus name. Your output should have the general form. (sample rows only shown): [5 mks] iii. Code the SQL SELECT statement to list all animals indicating if the animal has been exchanged or not - the list should show animal id, centre name, popular name, and an exchange status message, indicating if the animal has been exchanged or not. The list should be in animal id order within popular name order. Your output should have the general form. (sample rows only shown): [5 mks] iv. Code the SQL SELECT statement to list which is the most popular centre/s for exchange to or from? Your output should list the centre name and the number of times the centre has been used for an exchange_from or an exchange_to. The exchange_from and the exchange_to will be calculated as a single figure. For example, if a centre is involved in an exchange as a recipient (exchange_to) and in another exchange as a provider (exchange_from) then this centre will be counted to have 2 exchange events. The list should be displayed in the order of the centre name. Your output should have the general form. (sample rows only shown): [6 mks] v. Code the SQL SELECT statement to list, for all centres, the centre id, centre name, number of animals currently held at the centre, total value of grants made to the centre and the percentage of the total grant amount made paid to the centre. The number of animals must be in a column labelled "NUMBER OF ANIMALS", the total grants made to the centre must be in a column labelled "TOTAL GRANTS" and the percentage of the value of all grants made to the centre must be in a column labelled "GRANTS %". The total grants must be shown in the form. $1,234,567.00 (see below). Order the output with the centre with the highest number of animals first. Where two centres have the same number of animals, order the output by centre id. Your output should have the general form. (sample rows only shown): [10 mks] Submission Requirement: The supplied SQL script. task4-es.sql completed with your SQL commands to provide the required reports. Task 5: NoSQL (20 marks) Below is a JSON-formatted data sample for the 'Endangered Species' list of centres and animals belonging to each centre (note that the sample only includes partial data). The _id is the centre_id. The animal's ID, popular name, sex, date added to the system, whether it was bred in a centre (Centre Bred) or added from the wild (From Wild), and the total number of exchanges the animal has been involved in are recorded (an exchange to a centre and back at a later stage is regarded as two exchanges). { "_id": "AUS10", "centre_details": { "centre_name": "Australia Zoo", "centre_address": "1638 Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah QLD 4519, Australia", "center_type": "Zoo" }, "total_number_animals": 6, "animals": [ { "animal_id": 4, "popular_name": "Black Rhinoceros", "sex": "F", "date_added": "12-Jun-2018", "wild_or_bred": "From Wild", "no_of_exchanges": 2 }, { "animal_id": 3, "popular_name": "Quokka", "sex": "F", "date_added": "09-Jun-2018", "wild_or_bred": "Centre Bred", "no_of_exchanges": 0 }, ... (only some animals are shown) ] }, { "_id": "AUS20", "centre_details": { "centre_name": "Werribee Open Range Zoo", "centre_address": "K Road, Werribee VIC 3030, Australia", "center_type": "Zoo" }, "total_number_animals": 4, "animals": [ { "animal_id": 29, "popular_name": "Common Hippopotamus", "sex": "F", "date_added": "13-Sep-2021", "wild_or_bred": "Centre Bred", "no_of_exchanges": 1 }, ... (only some animals are shown) ] } ... (only some centres are shown) Remember, in arriving at your solutions for Task 5 you are ONLY permitted to use the SQL and MongoDB structures, syntax and functions covered within this unit. Syntax and commands outside the covered work will NOT be accepted or marked. Views and/or PL/SQL must not be used. i. Write an SQL statement that generates the above JSON formatted data from the tables owned by the user ES in the Oracle database. [8 marks]. ii. Create a new collection and insert all documents generated in (i) above into MongoDB. Provide a drop collection statement right above the create collection statement. You may pick any collection name. After the documents have been inserted, use an appropriate db.find command to list all the documents you added [ 2 marks]. iii. Display the full centre details (name, address and type) and the number of animals held for all centres with at least six animals [2 marks]. iv. Display the centre name and address for all centres that have at least one animal with the popular name Cheetah [2 marks] v. It has been decided to move the Quokka with an animal_id of 3 from the Australia Zoo (id = AUS10) to the Werribee Open Range Zoo (id = AUS20) a. show the full details for the Australia Zoo (id = AUS10) and the Werribee Open Range Zoo (id = AUS20) before this move [1 mark]. b. move the Quokka with an animal_id of 3 as listed above (this move should be treated as a permanent transfer for this animal) [4 marks]. c. show the full details for the Australia Zoo (id = AUS10) and the Werribee Open Range Zoo (id = AUS20) after the move has been recorded [1 mark]. Submission Requirement: ● The supplied SQL script. task5-json.sql completed with your SQL statement to generate the required JSON-formatted data for Task 5 (i). ● The supplied MongoDB script. task5-mongo.mongodb.js completed with your MongoDB commands to provide the required commands for Task 5 (ii) - Task 5 (v).
MSc/MEng Data Mining and Machine Learning (2024) Lab 4 – Neural Networks Problem The challenge is to implement the Error Back-Propagation (EBP) training algorithm for a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) 4-2-4 encoder [1] using Matlab (or Python if you wish). Intuitively the structure of the encoder is as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: MLP structure for 4-2-4 encoder The MLP has an input layer with 4 units, a single hidden layer with 2 hidden units, and an output layer with 4 units. Each unit has a sigmoid activation function. The task of the encoder is to map the following inputs onto outputs: Table 1: Input-output pairs for the 4-2-4 encoder The problem is that this has to be achieved through the 2-unit “bottle-neck” hidden layer. Rumelhart, Hinton and Williams demonstrate that to achieve this, the MLP learns binary encoding in the hidden layer. Input (and target) pattern There are 4 input patterns, and the targets are equal to the inputs (Table 1). Recall that the output oj of the jth unit in the network is given by: where netj is the input to the jth unit. The values of oj converge towards 0 and 1 as the magnitude of netj becomes large, but the values 0 and 1 are never realised. Hence for practical purposes it is better to replace, for example, 1, 0, 0, 0 in Table 1 with a `softer’ version 0.9, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1. Since there are only these 4 input/output pairs, the training set consists of just 4 input/output pairs. Structure of the program The program needs to run the EBP weight updating process multiple times. So you will need a variable N for the number of iterations and an outer loop (for n=1:1:N). You could terminate the process when the change in error drops below a threshold but this is simpler for the moment. In addition you will need a second inner loop (for d=1:1:4) to cycle through the 4 input patterns in each iteration. But before you do this you need to set up some basic structures: • You will need two arrays W1 and W2 to store the weights between the input and hidden, and hidden and output layers, respectively. I suggest that you make W1of size 4x2 and W2of size 2x4. You will need to initialize these arrays (randomly?). Given an output x from the input layer, the input y to the hidden layer is given by: y = W1’*x; Note the transpose! • The output from the hidden layer is obtained by applying the sigmoid function to y, so you will need to write a function to implement this function. • Once you have propagated the input to the output layer you can calculate the error. In fact the only use you have for the error is to plot it to help confirm that your code is working. • Now you need to back-propagate to calculate δj for every unit j in the output and hidden layers. First you need to calculate δj for every output unit (see Eq. (12) in the slides). Then you need to apply back-propagation to calculate δj for every hidden unit (again see Eq. (12) in the slides). To back-propagate the vector of δjs from the output layer to the hidden layer you just need to multiply by W2 (no transpose this time): deltaH = W2*deltaO; where deltaO and deltaH are the deltas in the output and hidden layers, respectively. Note that the above equation is only a part of the equation needed (just to indicate the use of the matrices for doing this calculation) – the full equation is Eq. (12) in the slides. Once you have calculated the δjs for the output and hidden layers you can calculate ∆wij = −θδjoi (see slide 19 from the lecture). • Finally, you can update the weights: wij → wij + ∆wij I suggest you do all this about 2,000 times (for n=1:1:N, N=2000) and plot the error as a function of n. Practical considerations If you implement all of this properly you will see that the error decreases as a function of n. You should explore the learning rate, different initialisations of the weight matrices, different numbers of iterations, `softening’ the input/output patterns, etc. However, you will find that whatever you do you cannot get the error to reduce to zero. To do this I think you need to add bias units to the input and hidden layers. Lab-Report Submission Submit your lab report and source code. Your lab report should include thorough comments on experimental evaluations and results obtained. Include the listing of your source code in appendix of the lab report. References [1] D. E. Rumelhart, G. E. Hinton, and R. J. Williams (1986), “Learning Internal Representations by Error Propagation”, In: Rumelhart, D.E., McClelland, J.L. and the PDP Research Group, Eds., Parallel Distributed Processing: Explorations in the Microstructure of Cognition, Vol. 1: Foundations, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 318-362.
Problem Set 4 Due: Friday, December 6, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Submission Instructions: Upload a Single PDF File to Canvas, under “Assignments” Applied Econ 440.602: Macroeconomic Theory Fall, 2024 1. Trade Barriers and Exchange Rates. This question is meant to illustrate how tariffs and trade costs can influence exchange rates. Suppose there is a single good that’s traded in both the United States and Europe. Let Pt denote the price, in dollars, of the good in the United States; let Pt* denote the price, in euros, of the good in Europe. Let Et denote the exchange rate, in euros per dollar. American consumers can purchase goods from either a foreign supplier or a domestic supplier. There are two wrinkles, one related to policy, and one related to technology. The U.S. government levies a tax on goods imported from Europe at rate τ . More precisely, if you paid your European supplier X euros in Rotterdam, then the U.S. government taxes you τ × X euros, or the dollar equivalent of τ × X euros. This arrangement is like U.S. Customs looking at your receipt and charging the tax based on the amount you paid, taking into account the value of the currency that you used to make the purchase. Assume that American consumers do not have to pay taxes on goods purchased from American suppliers. In class, we assumed that trade was totally frictionless. Now, we’ll consider the cost of moving goods across borders. Assume that an American importer loses a fraction ι of goods in transit. That is, if you load X units of goodsonto your boat in Rotterdam, then ι × X units falloff the boat, leaving you with (1 − ι) × X units of goods by the time the boat arrives in New York. (That’sastylized story about transit costs, but it’s equivalent to assuming that the cost of shipping is proportional to the quantity of goods being shipped.) (a) How much does it cost, in euros, for an American to buy one unit of goods from a European supplier? This is the total cost, including taxes and transport costs, so your answer should include τ and ι . (b) How much does it cost,in dollars, for an American to acquire the euros necessary to purchase one unit of goods from a European supplier? (c) What does the principle of no arbitrage imply about the relationship between the cost of goods from European suppliers and the cost of goods from American suppliers? Provide a brief (one sentence) answer in words, and provide an equation. (d) Does the dollar appreciate or depreciate if the U.S. government increases the tariff τ? Provide a brief (one or two sentence) explanation. (e) Does the dollar appreciate or depreciate if an improvement in shipping technology causes ι to fall? Provide a brief (one or two sentence) explanation. 2. Monetary Policy with Pegged Exchange Rates. When we studied closed economies, we combined an IS curve with an LM curve that treated the domestic interest as an autonomous choice of the central bank. This question will have you analyze how monetary policy changes with a pegged exchange rate, and the relationship between macroeconomic outcomes across countries. In the following, the “domestic country” will be the one with a fixed exchange rate; the “foreign country” will be the one that issues the anchor currency. In the domestic country, assume that the IS curve takes the form. The notation above is the same as what we used in our discussion of the IS curve in the closed economy. Implicitly, equation (1) assumes that the domestic country’s net exports are zero. That’s arather strong assumption, but it will highlight the role of financial linkages between countries, even when there isn’t necessarily trade of goods and services between countries. Assume that interest rate parity applies: where Et is the exchange rate (in units of foreign currency per unit of domestic currency), Et(e)+1 is the expected future exchange rate, and i* is the foreign nominal interest rate. Assume that, in the domestic country, the price of goods is perfectly sticky, so the real interest rate equals the nominal interest rate: r = i. Assume that, in the foreign country, the expected inflation rate is equal to the current inflation rate, so Fisher equation becomes i* = r* + π * , where r* is the foreign real rate, and π *e is the expected inflation rate in the foreign country. (a) Assume that the foreign central bank sets interest rates according to the following rule: where Y* is foreign output, and λπ and λy are parameters that describe how the foreign central bank responds to macroeconomic conditions, and i0(*) is an intercept term. Do you think it’s more reasonable to assume that λπ is positive or negative? What about λy? Provide a brief economic explanation of your reasoning. (b) Derive an expression for r in terms of π * , Y* , and %∆Et(e)+1 . (c) Combine your answer to part (b) with the IS curve to obtain an equation tells us what domestic output will be, taking exchange rates and the state of the foreign economy as given. (d) Suppose that the domestic country maintains an exchange rate peg, and this entails setting Et equal to E , which is chosen by the domestic central bank. If the peg is stable, then currency traders expect the the exchange rate to be equal to the par rate tomorrow, i.e., Et(e)+1 = Et = E. i. If inflation goes up in the foreign country, holding all else fixed, then what’s going to happen to domestic output? Explain how you know mathematically, and provide a brief economic explanation in words. ii. If output goes up in the foreign country, holding all else fixed, then what’s going to happen to domestic output? Explain how you know mathematically, and provide a brief economic explanation in words. (e) Now, consider what happens when there’sa speculative attack in which currency traders expect the currency to depreciate,i.e., Et(e)+1 < Et = E. What will this do to domestic output, holding all else fixed? Explain how you know mathematically, and provide a brief economic explanation in words. (f) Suppose that, at date t, central bankers in the home country reach a consensus to devalue their currency, but there’sa debate within the central bank about how to do so. All the central bankers in the home country agree that the par rate should be dropped from E to E′ , and everyone expects the foreign central bank to keep the foreign interest rate at i* for the foreseeable future. Proposal A is to announce at date t that the new par rate will be going into effect immediately: Et = E′ < E = Et−1 . Proposal B is to give some advance notice by announcing at date t that the par rate will be reduced one period in the future: Et+1 = E′ < E = Et. Based on the model, do you think that one proposal is better than the other, and if so, which one? Explain your reasoning.
Microeconomics 1. The above figure represents the average total cost curves of a wheat farmer. a) Which average total cost curve has the lowest average total cost of producing 30,000 bushels of wheat? b) Over what range of output is the farmer experiencing economies of scale? c) Over what range of output is the farmer experiencing diseconomies of scale? d) Which average total cost curve has the lowest possible average cost of production? e) Which average total cost curve represents the largest plant? 2. Use the graph below of a perfectly competitive firm's cost functions to answer this set of questions. a) In the short run, calculate the fixed cost for this firm. b) Suppose this firm produces 30 units of output. Calculate the variable cost of producing this level of output? c) Find the break-even price and the shutdown price. What would happen if the market price was equal to $1 per unit? d) Suppose the market price of the good in the short-run is $8 per unit. i. Does the firm maximize its profit by producing 10 units? If no, which quantity maximizes the firm's profit. Explain your answer fully. ii. Do you think that the firm is earning a positive or a negative profit when the market price is $8? iii. On the graph indicate the area that represents profits (losses). e) What do you predict will happen in the long-run in this market? Describe the whole process in detail. 3. On the accompanying graph, identify each of the following market outcomes: a) Short-run equilibrium output (QA) and price (PA) in perfect competition. b) Long-run equilibrium output (QB), price (PB), and the capacity output level (Q*) in perfect competition. c) Long-run equilibrium output (QC) and price (PC) in monopoly. d) Long-run equilibrium output (QE) and price (PE) in monopolistic competition. e) What is your conclusion about the profit and efficiency of production by comparing the three different market structure. 4. a) Using the following table, find this monopolist’s MR, MC and ATC by using midpoint approach. P ($) Q TR ($) MR ($) TC ($) MC ($) ATC ($) 12 0 10 11 1 17 10 2 18 9 3 21 8 4 30 7 5 48 b) Plot the demand curve (D), marginal revenue curve (MR), marginal cost curve (MC), and average total cost curve (ATC) in one diagram. c) What is the profit-maximizing level of output. How much profit per unit and in total does the monopolist make? d) What is the markup? Please show the deadweight loss on the same diagram of (b). 5. Figure 13.7 illustrates the situation facing the publisher of the only newspaper containing local news in an isolated community. a) On the graph, draw the MR, mark the profit-maximizing quantity, price, mark up and the publisher’s total revenue per day. b) At the price charged, is the demand for this newspaper elastic or inelastic? Why? c) Show the consumer surplus, producer surplus, and the deadweight loss created by this newspaper publisher. d) If the newspaper market is regulated by government to be efficient, what would be the quantity, price, consumer surplus, and producer surplus? Mark each on the graph. Bonus Assignment (optional) 2 bonus point will be added to the total score of course work if full mark is obtained 1. A product is produced and sold by a monopolistic competitive firm. The graph below shows the demand curve (D), ATC and the marginal cost curve (MC) in the short-run. A. Draw the MR. What are the profit-maximization output level, price, consumer surplus, producer surplus and deadweight loss? B. What would be the market price, market output, consumer surplus, producer surplus and deadweight loss if the firm is regulated by government to produce at break-even point? 2. Soapy Inc. and Suddies Inc., the only soap-powder producers, collude and agree to share the market equally. If neither firm cheats, each makes $1 million profit. If one firm cheats, it makes $1.5 million, while the complier incurs a loss of $0.5 million. If both cheat, they break even (profit = 0). Neither firm can monitor the other’s actions. A. Construct the payoff matrix for this game. B. Does either firm have a dominant strategy? Explain why. C. What is/are the Nash equilibrium(a) for this game? Explain.
Econ 301 PROBLEM SET 5: Monopoly and Price Discrimination QUESTION 1: Let’s say the cost function and the demand function of a monopolistic firm areas follows C=10+Q2 P=20-Q (a)What is the price and output this monopolistic firm will produce? (b)What will be the price and quantity if the government mandated that this monopolist behaves as a perfect competitor (charges price of a perfect competitor and sells quantity of a perfect competitor)? (c) What is the PS, CS, and total welfare when in perfect competition? Compute the numerical value of PS, CS and TW. (d)What is the PS, CS, and Total welfare is monopoly? Compute numerical values. (e)Compute the deadweight loss when you move from perfect competition to monopoly? (f)If the government sets a price of p=10, what is the new price and quantity? QUESTION 2: TWO PART TARIFF Consider the market for a product with two types of potential users: group a and group b. Let’s assume that the population is normalize to 1 and there are 0.5 individuals of group a and 0.5 individuals of group b. Their corresponding demand curves areas follows. Pa = 5 − 0.5 ∗ Qa Pb = 10 − Qb Let this monopolist face a constant MC of MC=2 (a)What is the optimal (profit-maximizing) two-part tariff that induces both types of consumers to buy? (b)What is the optimal two part tariff when only high demand consumers purchase the good? (c) Which of the pricing schemes yields a higher total profit? (d) Re-do a-b-c and determine which pricing scheme yields to a higher total profit is there are 0.75 individuals of group a and 0.25 individuals of group b. QUESTION 3: FIRST DEGREE PRICE DISTRIMINATION A monopolist has the following demand curve and total cost functions P=30-Q C = Q2 + 100 (a)Find the Quantity that the monopolist sells under first degree price discrimination (b)What is the price that this monopolist would charge for the last unitsold? (c)What is the CS and the PS? QUESTION 4:THIRD DEGREE PRICE DISCRIMINATION There are two types of consumers and the monopolist can tell them apart. Q1 represents the demand function for the entire group 1 and Q2 represents the demand function for the entire group 2 Q1 = 300 − 10P1 Q2 = 100 − 5P2 The total cost function is TC = 1000 + 10Q (a) What price does this firm charge to each group? (b) If the government forces this firm to charge the same price to all customers, what would that price be? QUESTION 5: TWO PART TARIFF Consider the market for a product with two types of potential users: group a and group b. Let’s assume now that the following represent the demand for every individual in group a and b, respectively. There are 10 individuals of type a and 5 individuals of type b Pa = 5 − 0.5 ∗ Qa Pb = 10 − Qb Let this monopolist face a constant MC of MC=2 (a)What is the optimal (profit-maximizing) two-part tariff that induces both types of consumers to buy? (b)What is the optimal two part tariff when only high demand consumers purchase the good? (c) Which of the pricing schemes yields a higher total profit?
CS3331: Foundations of Computer Science – Fall 2020 – Final Exam – 1. (20pt) Remember to solve only your version Vi ; calculate correctly your i = student number mod 4. Construct a deterministic Turing machine M that performs the action indicated at your Vi below. M starts with the initial configuration (s, w) and halts with the configuration (h, w). Describe M using the macro language (the one that looks like this: R ,a −→ aRbL¬ ). V0 : Σ = {a, b}; M replaces any occurrence of aba in the input with aca. V1 : Σ = {0, 1}; M adds 2 to its input, seen as a binary number. V2 : Σ = {a, b}; M moves the leftmost a (if any) to the end of the input, then closes the hole where a was. V3 : Σ = {a, b, c}; M replaces the input with the number of a’s in the input, written in unary (using 1’s). 2. (20pt) Describe in clear English a Turing machine that semidecides the language L given below: V0 : L = { | M rejects at least two strings} V1 : L = { | M accepts at least one string starting with a} V2 : L = { | M accepts the empty string and at least one string of odd length} V3 : L = { | M accepts at least two strings of different lengths} 3. (20pt) Prove your answers to the questions below ((a) – 6pt, (b) – 5pt, (c) – 9pt: 3pt for each (i)-(iii)): V0 : (a) Is it possible that L ∈ D and L ∩ ¬L 6∈ SD − D? (b) If we modify an FSM to allow infinitely many states, then we can easily accept any language, e.g., we can build a path to accept every string in the language. That means, we can accept also non-SD languages. Does this contradict Church’s thesis? (c) Can the union L1 ∪ L2, for L1 ∈ SD, L2 ∈ ¬SD be in: (i) D, (ii) SD − D, (iii) ¬SD? V1 : (a) Is it possible that L is regular and ¬(L ∩ ¬L) 6∈ SD − D? (b) Is it possible to design a new mechanism (that would have a finite description) such that the languages it accepts are precisely the non-SD languages, thus contradicting Church’s thesis? (c) Can the intersection L1 ∩ L2, for L1 ∈ SD, L2 ∈ ¬SD be in: (i) D, (ii) SD − D, (iii) ¬SD? V2 : (a) Is it possible that L is context-free and L − ¬¬L 6∈ SD − D? (b) Is it possible to define a new mechanism that uses a Turing Machine but accepts exactly when the TM does not; such a mechanism would then accept languages such as ¬H, which is not in SD, thus contradicting Church’s thesis? (c) Can the difference L1 − L2, for L1 ∈ SD, L2 ∈ ¬SD be in: (i) D, (ii) SD − D, (iii) ¬SD? V3 : (a) Is it possible that L 6∈ SD and L ∪ ¬L ∈ D? (b) Let’s define a new class of languages, which is obtained as the closure of SD under complement. This new class would strictly include SD, as it would include, for instance, ¬H. Does this contradict Church’s thesis? (c) Can the intersection L1 ∩ L2, for L1 ∈ ¬SD, L2 ∈ SD be in: (i) D, (ii) SD − D, (iii) ¬SD? 4. (30pt) Consider an alphabet Σ such that all languages below are over Σ. (i) (18pt) For each of the languages below, prove, without using Rice’s theorem, whether it is in D, SD − D, or ¬SD. Explain first intuitively why you think it is in D, SD − D, or ¬SD, then prove your assertion rigorously. (ii) (12pt) Explain whether Rice’s Theorem applies or not to each of these languages. V0 : (a) L1 = { | M1 accepts at least two strings and M2 rejects at least one string} (b) L2 = { | M accepts only the string aba} (c) L3 = a ∗ V1 : (a) L1 = { | M1 accepts at least one string in a ∗ and M2 rejects at least one string in b ∗} (b) L2 = { | |L(M)| ≤ 10} (c) L3 = {ε} V2 : (a) L1 = { | M1 accepts a and L(M2) is not empty} (b) L2 = { | M accepts finitely many even-length strings} (c) L3 = ∅ V3 : (a) L1 = { | M1 accepts at least one string and M2 rejects at least one string} (b) L2 = { | M accepts two palindromes and nothing else} (c) L3 = {ab} 5. (10pt) Answer your version of the PCP question below: V0 : PCP over one letter (that is, all strings are from 1∗ ) is decidable, because we work with numbers instead of strings. If PCP over one letter is decidable, and we can always encode any number of letters into a single letter (e.g., a = 1, b = 11, c = 111, d = 1111, etc.), explain how is it possible that PCP over an arbitrary alphabet is undecidable? V1 : Explain what is wrong with the following proof that PCP is decidable. Denote the top and bottom strings by (x1, x2, . . . , xn) and (y1, y2, . . . , yn), resp. Considering all possible subsets of all possible per-mutations of these blocks, we obtain 2n! possibilities. If we denote the maximum length of a string by m = maxi=1..n(max(|xi |, |yi |)), this means the shortest solution, if any, must be of length at most m2 n! . The PCP is then decided by checking all potential solutions up to this length. V2 : Show that the following restricted version of PCP is decidable: PCPr = {((x1, x2, . . . , xn),(y1, y2, . . . , yn)) | n ≥ 1, xi , yi ∈ {a, b} +, max(|xi |, |yi |) ≤ 4, for all 1 ≤ i ≤ n}. V3 : Given a positive number n, construct a PCP problem over {a, b} whose shortest solution has n blocks. Explain why your answer is correct. CS3331: Foundations of Computer Science – Fall 2021 – Final Exam – 1. (20pt) Consider the context-free language of balanced parentheses of three kinds: L = {w 2 {(, ), [, ], {, }}* | all parentheses in w are properly balanced} . Place ¬L correctly in the correct area of the map. Prove your answer. 2. (20pt) Answer the following questions with True or False; prove your answers: (a) (2pt) Any regular language is context-free. (b) (2pt) Some context-free languages are regular. (c) (8pt) Any regular language can be generated by an unambiguous context-free grammar. (d) (6pt) Any context-free grammar generating a regular language is unambiguous. (e) (2pt) For any non-semidecidable language L, we have that " 2 L*. 3. (20pt) Consider the following language: L = {| G1, G2 context-free grammars such that L(G1) L(G2) = {"}} . Here is an algorithm that decides L: 1. if " 62 L(G1), then reject 2. if " 62 L(G2), then reject 3. k1 the k-constant in pumping theorem for G1 4. k2 the k-constant in pumping theorem for G2 5. k max(k1, k2) 6. for all w 2 L(G1) − {"} with |w| k do 7. if w 2 L(G2) then reject 8. for all w 2 L(G2) − {"} with |w| k do 9. if w 2 L(G1) then reject 10. accept The main idea of the algorithm is that we can check membership for finitely many strings. Therefore, the difficulty arises in the case when both languages are infinite. We know from pumping theorem that, if a language has strings longer than k, then it has also strings shorter than k (we “pump out” to reduce the length, while staying in the language). The algorithm uses this idea with k the larger of the two individual k’s of each language, to ensure the strings longer than k are long enough for both languages. Is the above algorithm corect? Explain your answer. 4. (20pt) Consider an alphabet ⌃ such that all languages below are over ⌃. For each of the languages below, prove, without using Rice’s theorem, whether it is in D, SD − D, or ¬SD. (a) L1 = {| M Turing machine, the complement of L(M) is semidecidable}. (b) L2 = {| M nondeterministic finite automaton such that, for any nondeterministic finite automaton M' with L(M0 ) = L(M), M has the same number of states as M0 or fewer}. (For L2, any finite automaton M can be encoded as using any of the methods we studied, for instance, the one for Turing Machines. The way the encoding is done is irrelevant for the question.) (c) L3 = {| M Turing machine, both L(M) and ¬L(M) are infinite}. (d) L4 = {| on input w, M begins by moving right one square onto w, then it never moves outside w, i.e., outside the |w| tape cells occupied by w at the beginning}. (All Turing machines are single-tape deterministic.) 5. (20pt) Recall that TILES = {| any finite surface on the plane can be tiled with the tile set T}? (Recall that tiles cannot be rotated or flipped and adjacent sides of joined tiles must have the same colour.) (a) (6pt) Is the set of tiles below in TILES? Explain your answer. (b) (6pt) If your answer above is negative, then is it possible to add a single tile that makes the new set (of four tiles) in TILES? Explain your answer. (c) (2pt) Which of TILES and ¬TILES is harder? No proof is required. For this question, “harder” means (strictly) higher in the hierarchy: D < SD − D < ¬SD, that is, ¬SD is harder than SD − D, which is harder than D; also, no class is harder than itself. (d) (6pt) Given a language L such that ¬L is harder than L, is it possible that L is in: (i) D, (ii) SD − D, (iii) ¬SD? Explain your answer. You can use examples studied in class without proof. CS3331: Foundations of Computer Science – Fall 2023 – Final Exam – 1. (20pt) Consider the language of imbalanced strings of parentheses: imBal = {w 2 {(, )}⇤ | not all parentheses in w are properly matched} . Here are some examples of strings in imBal: ), )(, ()(()(). (a) (4pt) Is (()(()()(()(()))(()))(()(()))()(()))(()()(()))(()()) in imBal? (b) (8pt) Is #imBal$ context-free? (c) (8pt) Is imBal regular? For (b) and (c), negative answers require proof, positive answers require only correct construction. That means, you don’t have to formally prove that your grammar or automaton works correctly. 2. (20pt) A grammar is ambiguous if it generates a string with two di↵erent parse trees. (a) (8pt) Give an example of an ambiguous context-free grammar. Prove your answer. (b) (12pt) We say that a context-free grammar is increasing if the right-hand side of each production rule has length at least 2. Consider the following language: Lambig = {| G is an increasing context-free grammar and G is ambiguous} . The following algorithm attempts to decide Lambig: 1. Input: context-free grammar (encoded as a string) 2. if G is not increasing then reject 3. k the k-constant in pumping theorem for G 4. for all strings w 2 ⌃⇤ of length k or less do 5. if w 2 L(G) then 6. compute all parse trees in G for w 7. if more than one tree is found then accept 8. reject The reject in step 8 is based on the fact that, for strings in L(G) that are longer than k, we can use the pumping theorem to pump out a pair of substrings in order to obtain a shorter string that is still in L(G), thus eventually reducing the problem to the previous case, of strings shorter than k, which we already checked in steps 4-7 and found no ambiguity involving them. Is the above algorithm correctly deciding Lambig? Explain your answer briefly but very clearly. 3. (20pt) Given a regular language R and a context-free language C: (a) (10pt) Can you construct a mapping reduction from R to C? (b) (10pt) Can you construct a mapping reduction from C to R? Prove your answers. 4. (20pt) For each of the following languages, prove, without using Rice’s theorem, whether it is (i) in D, (ii) in SD but not in D, (iii) not in SD: (1) (4pt) L1 = {| {a, b} ✓ L(M)}. (2) (4pt) L2 = {| L(M) ✓ {a, b}}. (3) (4pt) L3 = {| L(M) − {a, b} is infinite}. (4) (4pt) L4 = {| L(M) {a, b} is finite}. (5) (4pt) L5 = {a, b}. 5. (20pt) Consider a generalization of the Post Correspondence Problem, where blocks contain strings from given SD languages. An instance of this problem is: PCP(Ltop, Lbot) = {u v | u 2 Ltop, v 2 Lbot}, for some Ltop, Lbot 2 SD. A solution is defined as usual, as a finite concatenation of blocks such that the strings on the top and on the bottom are the same. (a) (8pt) Consider L1 = {w 2 {a, b}⇤ | w = ", |w| even }, L2 = {w 2 {a, b}⇤ | |w| odd}. Some examples of blocks from PCP(L1, L2) are: ab a, aabb bab, aa bbbbb. Does PCP(L1, L2) have a solution? (b) (12pt) Consider the language corresponding to the generalized PCP: PCPSD = {| Mtop,Mbot are Turing machines and PCP(L(Mtop), L(Mbot)) has a solution} . Is PCPSD semidecidable? Prove your answer.
MATH 127: Sample Final Exam B 1. Consider the following proposition. ∀n ∈ N, ∃p ∈ N, ((p > n)∧ ∀k ∈ N, (k | p → (k = 1 ∨ k = p))). (a) Determine whether this statement is true or false. Justify your answer with a sentence or two. (A full proof is not necessary.) [4 pts] (b) Regardless of the truth value, write the logical negation of this statement in maximally negated form. [5 pts] 2. Define a sequence ⟨an | n ∈ N⟩ recursively as follows: Prove that for all n ∈ N, an and an+1 are coprime. [10 pts] 3. Let n ∈ Z with n ≥ 2. Prove that using a “counting in two ways” argument. [12 pts] • Use the exact form of the equation as given; do not simplify it algebraically. • If your argument involves constructing partitions, justify that your construction defines a valid partition. 4. For the following problems, provide an appropriate counting argument to justify your answer. You may leave answers as products, sums of integers, factorials, or binomial coefficients. Let S be the set of strings (arrangements with repetition) of length 8 formed from the 26 letters of the English alphabet, and let T ≤ S be the subset consisting of strings with all distinct letters. (a) Determine the cardinalities of S and T. [3 pts] (b) How many elements of S contain the letters A, B, and C? [6 pts] (c) How many elements of T contain the letters G and J such that G appears somewhere to the left of J in the string? [6 pts] 5. (a) Let m ∈ Z+ and Fm = {f : N → N | ∀n ≥ m,f(n) = 0}. Define a bijection between Fm and Nm and prove that it is a bijection. [10 pts] (b) Prove that F = {f : N → N | f(n) ≠ 0 for only finitely many values of n} is countably infinite. [6 pts] 6. Let A and B be non-empty sets, and let f : A → B be an arbitrary function. Prove that f is injective if and only if ∀X ∈ P(A), Imf(X) ⊆ Imf(X). Note: X denotes the complement of X in A, and Imf(X) denotes the complement of Imf(X) in B. [12 pts] 7. A relation R on a non-empty set S is called Euclidean if and only if R satisfies the following property: ∀a, b, c ∈ S, (((a, b) ∈ R ∧ (a, c) ∈ R) → (b, c) ∈ R). Prove that a relation R is an equivalence relation on S if and only if R is both Euclidean and reflexive. [10 pts] 8. For any x ∈ R, define the function frac(x) = x - lx」. Let α ∈ R and n ∈ Z+ be arbitrary and fixed. Prove that there exist i,j ∈ {0} U [n], with i ≠ j, such that [8 pts] |frac(iα) - frac(jα)| < n/1 . 9. Determine, with proof, the set of all integers that leave a remainder of 4 when divided by 5 and a remainder of 6 when divided by 13. [8 pts]
Assignment Remit Programme Title Business Management Suite of Programmes Module Title Management Education and Learning A Module Code 07 33981 Assignment Title Coursework 2: Literature Review Level LC Weighting 80% Hand Out Date Enter date here xx/xx/xx Deadline Date & Time 16/12/24 12pm Feedback Post Date 24/01/25 Assignment Format Essay Assignment Length 1500 words including references Submission Format Online Individual Module Learning Outcomes: This assignment is designed to assess the following module learning outcomes. Your submission will be marked using the Grading Criteria given in the section below. LO 1. Demonstrate engagement with own personal, academic and professional development activities and planning within the context of Management Education and Learning; LO 2. Understand what reflective practice is and apply it to own personal, academic and professional development; LO 3. Define critical thinking and critique academic work of others and selves; LO 4. Undertake independent academic study and writing to produce a basic literature review on a Management issue. Assignment: Coursework 2 - An essay/literature review on Management Learning and Education The objective of this coursework is for you to engage with the current debate on the purpose of Management Education and Learning and reflect on how it can/should support your development as a Management student and future practitioner. To do so, we ask you to undertake a very short literature review on the topic to critically assess the argument of a key text: Grey, C. (2002) What are business schools for? On silence and voice in management education. Journal of Management Education, 26(5): 496-511 For this assignment, you need to undertake the following tasks: 1. Read the indicated article, and briefly summarise it; 2. Choose one other academic journal paper [from the module or from your wider readings] that discusses the notion of Management Education and Learning, what it is or should be, its purpose and/or its criticisms. Critically compare and contrast its ideas with those of Grey (2002); 3. Finish your review with a short critical reflection of what you have learnt from doing this review exercise & what your recommendation would be with regards to the purpose of Management Education and Learning and how it can/should support your development as a Management student and future practitioner, and/or the wider business school context. To help you critically analyse the Grey paper and the other paper that you choose in-depth within the word count for this assignment, the minimum of references that you need for this assignment is 2 including the indicated text/article. However, we would recommend that you use a couple of other references to substantiate some of your analysis and your critical thinking. You must use theHarvard referencing stylewhen referring to sources in your work. The word count for this assignment is 1,500 words maximum including your reference list. Grading Criteria / Marking Rubric Your submission will be graded according to the following criteria: 1. Understanding 2. Structure 3. Supporting Evidence 4. Reflection 5. Style. See the marking rubric at the end of the remit for more information on how your work will be marked and graded. Ethical Use of Generative AI (GenAI) You are permitted to use GenAI to support your submission for this assessment. You may use it for the following activities: • Researching and refining your ideas • Information retrieval or background research • Drafting an outline to organise or summarise your thoughts • Refining the structure of your assignment • Checking spelling and grammar
CHEN E4010 Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering Syllabus and Lectures Schedule – Fall 2024 Welcome! CHEN E4010 Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering is a rigorous course that is an important component of the foundations of your graduate education in chemical engineering. I love math's inherent beauty and awesome power to solve practical problems in almost any field. In this course, you will be able to appreciate this in the context of chemical engineering problems. 1. CHEN E4010 Math Methods in Chemical Engineering - 3.0 pts Prerequisites: CHEN E3120 and E4230, or equivalent, or instructor's permission. Mathematical description of chemical engineering problems and the application of selected methods for their solution. General modeling principles, including model hierarchies. Linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equations and their systems, including those with variable coefficients. Partial differential equations in Cartesian and curvilinear coordinates for the solution of chemical engineering problems. (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/bulletin/uwb/) 4. Textbook and Materials (required and supplemental): a. Textbook (Required): Rice, Richard G. and Duong D. Do Applied Mathematics and Modeling for Chemical Engineers 2nd Edition, New York, Wiley 2012. ISBN-13: 978- 1118024720 | ISBN-10: 1118024729 (Suggested): Francis B. Hildebrand, Advanced Calculus for Applications, 2nd Edition, Prentice-Hall (1976). ISBN-13: 978-0130111890 | ISBN-10: 0130111899 b. Materials(required): 1. CHEN E4010 CourseWork's web site https://courseworks2.columbia.edu/welcome/ c. Materials (supplemental) 1. Reference books and internet sites Abramowitz, Milton and Irene A. Stegun, Handbook of Mathematical Functions with th Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables, New York: Dover, 1965 9 printing. Billo, E. Joseph, Excel for Scientists and Engineers, Numerical Methods, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2007 Fogler, H. Scott, Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering 4th Edition (3rd Printing), New York: Prentice Hall, 2006 Fong, C.F. Chan Man, D. De Kee and P.N. Kaloni, Advanced Mathematics for Applied and Pure Sciences, Canada: Gordon Breach Science Publishers, 1997. (http://cuit.columbia.edu/mathematica-students accessed Jan 5, 2017) (http://www.mathworksheetsgo.com/trigonometry-calculators/inverse-cosine- calculator.php accessed Jan 5, 2017) (http:// http://integrals.wolfram.com/index.jsp accessed Jan 5, 2017) Aris, Rutherford, Vectors, Tensors, and the Basic Equations of Fluid Mechanics. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 1962. Stewart, James, Calculus Concepts and Contexts, New York: Brooks/Cole Publishing. 1998, P402 -408, Section 5.6 Integration by parts Strang, Gilbert, Introduction to Linear Algebra, Wellesley-Cambridge Press and SIAM, Fifth Edition (2016). An excellent introduction to the subject. Zill, Dennis G. and Warren S. Wright, Advanced Engineering Mathematics, Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning LLC, 2014. Engineering mathematics textbook. 2. Other supplemental material, notes, and problems will be posted on the CourseWorks web page and updated throughout the course. 5. Course Objectives: a) Be able to mathematically describe chemical engineering problems and the application of selected methods for their solution. b) Apply general modeling principles, including model hierarchies. c) Solve linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equations and their systems, including those with variable coefficients. d) Solve partial differential equations in Cartesian and curvilinear coordinates to solve chemical engineering problems. e) Hopefully, to learn to love and admire mathematics for its inherent beauty and almost magical power in solving practical problems. 6. Classroom Procedures: a) What you should bring to class: A calculator, writing implement, a notebook, textbook, and computer laptop as desired. b) What not to bring to class: Anything that could disturb others around you. Anything that would distract you or others from the guest speaker, such as but not limited to a plate of food, computer games, any device that makes sounds, coursework from another class, social media connecting devices, etc. c) Be on time for class and actively participate. Being on time for class means you are seated, ready to take notes, solve problems, listen to lectures, and take other classroom instructions before the start time. You are also expected not to chat and be distracted. This standard is adopted to provide the best class experience possible. Class participation is part of your grade. You must be in class and seated, ready to go at the start time. If you are found to be a distraction, you may be asked to leave. d) Web Site. The website for this class contains important administrative and scheduling information and is located at the Columbia Course Works website: https://courseworks.columbia.edu/welcome/; I will update the site with lecture slides and links to articles and resources as appropriate. 7. Course Grade: The final grade in this course will be based on points awarded according to the following system: a. Final grade: 50 % midterms (two midterms, 25% each) + 50 % Final exam b. Rules for Exams: All exams are closed books and closed notes. You are not allowed to use any books or notes of any sort during the exams, except for a “crib sheet” (one page, 8.5 x 11 inches, for midterms, and two pages for the final exam) as a concise set of notes used for quick reference. You are not allowed to use cell phones, calculators, computers, or any device that allows for data storage during the exams. c. Final Exam: This is like the midterms, except it will be two hours long and covers all aspects of the course. 8. Homework: Homework problems will be assigned, and completion dates suggested. However, homework will not be collected or graded. You are ultimately responsible for knowing all aspects of the problems. To help you learn, homework solutions will be made available through the TA one week after the homework has been posted. Copying solutions will not help you learn the material and is against Columbia University's Policy. (http://bulletin.engineering.columbia.edu/policy-conduct-and-discipline). The re-distribution of the homework solutions in CHEN E4010 is not authorized. The TA has office hours should you need assistance or clarification with the homework or exams. While the homework in the math methods course is not graded, the homework is still an assignment for a student in the course and is assigned to help your learning. In all exams, at least one question from the homework will be asked. This can be seen as an incentive to do the homework regularly and diligently.
COM6014 Fundamental Security Properties and Mechanisms Assignment I (Cryptographic Analysis Task) Deadline for submission via MOLE: Wednesday 11th December 2024 at 15:00 Total Marks Available 100 Submission format details are given at the end of this question. Question: Linear Cryptanalysis (100 Marks) A simple 3-round substitution permutation network (SPN) cipher (inspired by the Heys’ Tutorial SPN cipher) is shown in Figure 1. The cipher operates on 8-bit blocks. Key mixing is simple bitwise XOR. The 8-bit plaintext block P is XOR-ed bitwise with the 8-bit key K1 before the resulting 8-bit block enters the two first-round S-boxes. The remaining key mixing operations for K2, K3, and K4 are handled similarly. (They are all bitwise XOR operations over 8 bits.) A substitution box (S-box) is shown in Figure 2. This S-box is used throughout the cipher shown in Figure 1, i.e., the six S-boxes are identical. The S-box is identical to that given in the Heys’ Tutorial SPN Cipher. The permutation part of the first two rounds is as shown in Figure 1. The final (third) round does not implement any permutation; the outputs from the final round S-boxes are simply XOR-ed bitwise with the key K4 to produce ciphertext C. The permutation is obviously different to that given in the Heys’ Tutorial SPN cipher since the cipher in this assessment operates over 8-bit blocks and that of the Heys’ Tutorial SPN cipher operates over 16-bit blocks. A file “Encryptions256-2024-25.txt” has been provided containing the 256 possible plaintext-ciphertext (PC) pairs derived using a specific set of four keys. In each line of the file the plaintext P and corresponding ciphertext C appear as the natural decimal integer interpretations (from 0 to 255) of 8-bit values. For example, the value 129 is the interpretation of the 8 bits 10000001. You are required to develop a 2-round linear approximation (i.e., suitably approximating the first two rounds) and use it to recover the final key K4, documenting your efforts in a report. Then you are required similarly to recover the key K3. You are then required to reflect on what you have done and consider an analogous key recovery strategy. Answer all question parts below in your report. a) Develop a suitable 2-round linear approximation for the cipher. You should: i. state clearly what the 2-round linear approximation is, i.e. give its expression as an equation. The approximation should involve bits of P and bits of U3. Your single approximation must target ALL 8 bits of K4. [5 Marks] ii. indicate the active S-boxes used in your 2-round approximation and indicate the linear approximation used in each active S-box. Give the associated biases of each such active S-box approximation and indicate how/from where they were obtained. [8 Marks] iii. calculate the bias of your 2-round linear approximation and show your calculations. [5 Marks] iv. present an annotated copy of Figure 1, summarizing the work above. [2 Marks] v. justify the choices you have made in constructing your 2-round approximation. [5 Marks] Note: you should not overcomplicate your answers. You are NOT expected to do any step-by-step algebraic manipulations given in the lecture on linear cryptanalysis or in the Heys’ tutorial (which serve to show why linear cryptanalysis works). b) Implement linear cryptanalysis to recover K4. Your implementation (code) should contain: i. functionality to read in the 256 PC pairs from the provided file. [5 Marks] ii. a function reverseCK(C, K) that returns a value of U3, given ciphertext C and a key value K as inputs. It should also contain code to verify that this reversal code is correctly implemented. [10 Marks] iii. functionality to determine, when evaluated using the 256 P-C pairs, how many times your given approximation holds for each possible key guess for K4. [10 Marks] iv. functionality to rank and display appropriately the counts derived in (iii). [5 Marks] v. appropriate comments in-line to help the reader understand code. [5 Marks] c) You should: i. run your code and present the results appropriately in your report. [5 Marks] ii. indicate, based on your results, what is the most likely value for K4 [5 Marks] d) Assuming the K4 value your approach above has identified is correct, proceed in an analogous fashion to recover K3. You should: i. indicate the approximation to be used to recover K3, and what its bias is etc. [3 Marks] ii. implement code to identify a candidate for K3. [12 Marks] iii. run your code and present results in an analogous fashion, indicating the most likely candidate for K3 [5 Marks] You should be able to reuse much of your previously developed code. You might anticipate the requirements of this question part when you develop your code in part b) above (but you are not obliged to do so). e) Above the first key to be recovered was K4. Explain how you could instead have recovered K1 (or part of it) in an analogous manner. (You are not expected to implement this.) [10 Marks] Submission Details. Your report should be in pdf format and submission is online via the COM6014 Blackboard website. Your report should include your code. Figure 1. Simple Very Small SPN Cipher Figure 2. Specification of the Common S-Box
GEOSCIENCE 001 SPRING 2022 LAB 5: GEOLOGIC TIME This lab is modified from “Geology from Experience” byE. kirsten peters and Larry E. Davis,from “Investigating Earth” by C. Gil Wiswall and Charles H. Fletcher, and by the geologic history lab developed by Michael Harris of the Department of Geology at James Madison University. Introduction Large sequences of layered sedimentary rocks can represent millions of years of elapsed time. Each distinct layer or bedin a sequence is called STRATUM, and multiple layers are collectively called STRATA. The study of sequences of strata is called STRATIGRAPHY. A sequence of strata may also be referred to as a STRATIGRAPHIC SECTION. Extrusive igneous rocks such as lava flows and ash falls may also form as beds and can occur as discrete layers in a sequence of sedimentary rocks or they may cut across pre-existing layers of rock. All sequences of rock world-wide are sometimes collectively referred to as the ROCK RECORD. Each rock type and geologic structure in a sequence represents a different geologic event. As geologists we want to understand the history of the Earth and the rate of geologic processes. To do this, we must be able to date stratigraphic sections and the rock record. This lab provides exercises to investigate the two types of dating that geologists use, RELATIVE and NUMERICAL or ABSOLUTE DATING. Relative Dating RELATIVE DATING refers to the placing of events in the order in which they occurred without any understanding of the actual time or absolute time during which any one event occurred. In other words, we can discuss that a certain event happened first, or previous to the next event, or another event couldn,t have occurred until other events had. A set of very simple principles in conjunction with careful observation allows the determination of the relative order of geologic events represented by the rocks in an exposed stratigraphic section. Principles of Geology An understanding of stratigraphy begins by recognizing certain principles. Natural processes such as erosion, deposition, and plate tectonics, and the natural laws of gravity and isostasy that have produced the current features of the Earth, are thought to have operated in the same way in the distant past as they do now. This idea is known as the PRINCIPLE OF UNIFORMITARIANISM and was first stated by James Hutton in the 18th century. Given an understanding of uniformitarianism, the relative timing of geologic events can be determined by applying other simple ideas, collectively known as the PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY which include: 1) THE PRINCIPLE OF ORIGINAL HORIZONTALITY — sediments that are deposited or precipitated on the Earth,s surface are done so in mostly horizontal layers. Thus, if the rocks are noted to be tilted, folded, or metamorphosed, then these events must have followed deposition and lithification; 2) THE PRINCIPLE OF SUPERPOSITION — in a series of layered rocks that have accumulated on the Earth,S Surface, the oldeSt rockS are at the bottom of the Sequence and the youngeSt are at the top; 3) THE PRINCIPLE OF CROSS-CUTTING RELATIONSHIPS — any geologic feature that is crosscut or modified by another feature must be the older unit, i.e., the crosscutting feature is the younger feature, it needed something to already be there for it to cut across. THINGS TO REMEMBER — each of the rock types, sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic, represent a unique geologic event, which is referred to using the appropriate terminology that reflects the process(es) that formed it, i.e.; o Sedimentary rocks are deposited, so we refer to the DEPOSITION of a sedimentary rock (e.g., deposition of shale or sandstone) o Plutonic rocks are intruded, so we refer to the INTRUSION of a plutonic rock (e.g., intrusion of granite or mafic dike) o Volcanic rockS are erupted onto the Earth,S Surface, So we refer to the ERUPTION of a volcanic rock (e.g., eruption of basalt or rhyolite) o Metamorphic rocks form through the METAMORPHISM of a protolith. The protolith, not the metamorphic rock, was deposited, intruded, or extruded. We report the event that formed the protolith, AND THEN the metamorphic event. The metamorphism itself is considered a separate event. Deformation and erosion of rocks are also geologic events. Some but not all of the rock units may be folded or faulted, and the discussion of the relative ages of these deformation events follows the same as if talking about the rock units. Erosion events are also discussed as events relative to other events. Unconformities Unconformities are (usually) irregular contacts between strata in a stratigraphic sequence produced during periods of erosion or non-deposition. These contacts, thin boundaries between layers of rock, represent episodes of missing information, where there are no recorded rock units. Unconformities are labeled according to the nature of the strata above and below the unconformity. There are three types: 1) DISCONFORMITY — a boundary between parallel, undeformed layers of rock, usually formed due to erosion or non-deposition; 2) NONCONFORMITY — a boundary between layers of sedimentary rock overlying igneous or metamorphic rocks. This relationship usually indicates that the underlying igneous or metamorphic rocks were exposed before being buried and deposited upon; 3) ANGULAR UNCONFORMITY — a boundary between layers of sedimentary rock overlying tilted or folded beds. This relationship suggests that the older rocks were deformed, exposed, and then deposited upon.
125.810 Case Studies in Corporate Finance and Risk Management Case study 1: Anwal Gas Traders Due: 5.00 pm December 10th, 2024 Submission instruction: To submit: goto Stream → Assessment → Case Study 1 Submission. This is an individual assignment. No collaboration is allowed. You will need to submit two Excel files for this assignment. No Word file is required. For discussion questions, please use the text box provided in the Excel files. Assignment instruction: 1. The assignment will be graded based on the Excel formulas used to calculate the results, rather than the results themselves. Please ensure that you display your calculations in the formulas. Copying and pasting the results without showing the formulas will result in a score of 0.. 2. When using Excel formulas for your calculations, you should reference the input values using reference cells, rather than typing the values directly into the formula. This is very IMPORTANT— failing to do so may lead to errors in your analysis. For example, in the "Static model" sheet of the "MonteCarloSimulation" spreadsheet, the NPV in cell C21 can be calculated as:=C18+NPV(C3,D18:M18) Or =C18+NPV(12%,D18:M18) In the formula highlighted in yellow, the input (discount rate) is referenced from cell C3, while in the formula highlighted in green, the input (discount rate) is typed as 12%. The yellow-highlighted formula is the preferred approach. 3. Provide your answers for each question in the corresponding sheet provided. For example, the answer to Question 1.1 should be placed in the sheet named "Question 1.1." 4. For questions that require you to comment, explain, interpret, etc., please type your answer in the text box provided. You can resize the text box if there is not enough space to type your answer. Anwal Gas Traders Anwal Gas Traders was a small, private-owned LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) distribution company in Pakistan that was founded in 1998. In 2003, the company acquired a licence from the country’s largest distributor, and in 2020 it had distribution licences for 19 companies, including majors brands. The company dealt with four major LPG products: cylinders, stoves, cylinder regulators, and gas pipes. It also provided the primary service of delivering LPG-filled cylinders. In 2020, Pakistan had a total LPG consumption of 1.8 million metric tons (t), of which 61 per cent was consumed in Punjab, where Anwal Gas Traders was located. The company was one of the top LPG cylinder distributors in the local area. The company has a solid customer base and its financial performance was encouraging. In 2020, the company had a net profit margin of 12 percent, a slight decrease of 0.7 percent from the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The operating profit margin was 15 percent in 2020, adecrease of 0.8 percent from the previous year (see Exhibit 1). The company made sales of Rs 94.6 million, with an Rs 11.4 million net profit (See Exhibit 2). The expansion project: The company is considering an expansion project to solve its low storage issue and any issues arising from supplier dependence. At the time, Anwal Gas Trader was both an LPG distributor and sub- distributor. By implementing this project, it would integrate backward to become an LPG marketing and distribution company. It would receive LPG directly to its storage tanks from the production site and no longer be a pure intermediary for the supplier (See Exhibit 3). The company had accumulated a sizable amount of cash, and its bank was willing to extend a loan for 10 years at an interest rate of 16 percent, which would provide strong financial support for the expansion project. Since there was no existing storage facility, the company needed to purchase and install a new plant which required a storage container, a pump, filling dispensers, LPG bottles, a supporting structure, and firefighting equipment. The cylinders, supporting structure, and firefighting equipment would be purchased from local companies (see Exhibit 4). Anwal Gas Trader planned to build a storage capacity of 480 t, therefore it would need four 100-t tanks and one 80-t storage tank. The overall life of the plant would be 20 years but Anwal would use this plant for 10 years and then sell it to the market at the end of the project’s life. The manager of Anwal estimated that the company would need a Rs 95.1 million investment for the project. This amount included the cost of machinery and equipment, land and buildings, vehicles, factory and office furniture, and working capital. The company wanted to run this project for only 10 years. As the company wanted to maintain a 50-50 debt-to-equity capital structure, the WACC of the project was 14 percent. The company's overall WACC was 12.5 percent. Since there was no existing storage facility, the company needed to purchase and install a new plant. The cylinders, firefighting equipment, and supporting structure would be purchase from local companies (see Exhibit 4). Anwal Gas Trader planned to build a storage capacity of 480t, therefore, it would need four 100-t tanks and one 80-t storage tanks. The overall life of the plant would be 20 years, but Anwal Gas Traders would use this plan for 10 years and then sell it to the market at the end of the project’s life. Of the land that Anwal wanted to use for the project, 20% would be used for offices and the remaining would be used for the storage plant. The LPG distribution required a cargo pickup truck, and the office staff required a car and moytorcycles. The annual depreciation expenses would be Rs 3.63 million for all depreciable assets under the proposed project. Depreciation treatment for all items was on a straight- line basis. The expected salvage value of Fixed assets was Rs 35.15 million at the end of the project life. With the storage facility, the estimated annual sales of the company would be 212,160 cylinders in the first year of the project. For one cylinder, the expected price and material costs in year 1 were Rs 1,307 and Rs 983, respectively. The expected increase in sales volume and material costs for one cylinder would be 2 percent annually. The price of the LPG cylinder was expected to increase by 1 percent annually. The human resources department expected to hire administrative and site staff to run the storage plant. It would also hire experienced technical staff who could deal with highly flammable gas. A total of 21 employees would be hired and compensated at the market rate (see Exhibit 5). Electricity and fuel were significant utility expenses for the business. Utilities for the first year would cost Rs 2,136,000 annually. The estimated selling and distribution expenses are 3% of annual sales. The estimated miscellaneous expenses would be Rs 180,000. Salaries, utility expenses, and miscellaneous expenses would increase by 5 percent annually. The firm’stax rate is 29%. *Note: Case Exhibits can be found in Dataset1.xlsx and Dataset2.xlsx. Part I: Use the Excel Spreadsheet Dataset1.xlsx for Part I Question 1.1 What is the central issue facing Anwal Gas Trader? Question 1.2 Perform the capital budgeting for the project and calculate the NPV, IRR, payback period, and profitability index. *Hint: A sample format to estimate Free Cash Flow can be found in the Sheet “Question 1.1”. However, where necessary, you may need to add separate sheets/spaces to work on the values for some items that require several calculation steps. For example, you can add an additional sheet named “Salaries” to calculate expenses related to employees’ salaries and then use these results as input in the FCF calculation in Question 1.2. Please do NOT bury your answer in complicated Excel formulas. Clearly showing each working step is very important. If you make any assumptions in your analysis, pleaseadd a text box and clearly state your assumptions along with the rationale behind them Question 1.3 Based on your answer to Question 1.2, would you accept or reject the project? Please explain. Do you think the expansion project will help the company address the issues you identified in Question 1.1? Do you think the estimates made by Anwal's managers are reasonable? If not, how would you adjust the estimates Question 1.4 The Finance Department predicted that local bank interest rates would change and the new interest rates for long-term loans would range from 10% to 20%. Assume that other factors remain unchanged, perform. the sensitivity analysis on how NPV would change corresponding to the change in the interest rates and interpret the results. Question 1.5 The Marketing Department further advised that current estimations of sales and unit prices would change depending on market scenarios. Under a good scenario, first-year sale is estimated to be 280,000 cylinders and the unit price in the first year is Rs 1250. Under a bad scenario, first-year sale is estimated to be 180,000 cylinders and the unit price is Rs 1350. Material cost is harder to predict as it depends on several macroeconomics factors so the Production Department expected that it can randomly be in the range from Rs 800 to Rs 1200 per unit in the first year. Build a scenario model (similar to the one in the spreadsheet NewProductLaunch_ScenarioAnalysis that we discussed in class) to show how NPV would change under different scenarios. Assume that the probability of good scenario is 60% and bad scenario is 40% and other factors remain unchanged. Interpret the results of the scenario analysis. Part II: Use the Excel Spreadsheet Dataset2.xlsx for Part II The CFO at Anwal finds that assuming the estimated costs and revenues as static numbers (as in Part I) is not ideal. Therefore, here-estimates the costs and revenue as follows: • The initial investment needed to start the project will follow a triangular distribution. The minimum estimated value of the initial investment is Rs 73 million, the maximum estimated value is Rs 125 million, and the most likely estimated value is Rs 98 million. • Only s% of the expected sale in the first year will be realized, and s is a uniform random number between 75% to 125%. • For one cylinder, the expected price in the first year would follow a triangular distribution, with a minimum value of Rs 1,180, a maximum value of Rs 1,500, and the most likely value of Rs 1,300 • Material costs for one cylinder in the first year would follow a triangular distribution, with a minimum value of Rs 915,a maximum value of Rs 1,260, and the most likely value of Rs 1,000 • The expected increase in sales volume and material costs for one cylinder from year 2 onwards would bex percent annually, in which x follows a normal distribution with a mean of 2.1% and a standard deviation of 0.3%. • The price of the LPG cylinder was expected to increase by y percent annually, in which x follows a normal distribution with a mean of 0.9% and a standard deviation of 0.15% • The utilities in year 1 are estimated to follow a triangular distribution, with a minimum value of Rs 1,850,000, a maximum value of Rs 2,500,000, and the most likely value of Rs 2,000,000. Salaries, utility expenses, and miscellaneous expenses would increase by z percent annually, in which z follows a normal distribution with a mean of 3.2% and a standard deviation of 0.5%. • Except for the factors above, all other information remains the same as in Part I. Question 2.1 Perform the capital budgeting for the project and calculate the NPV, IRR, payback period, and profitability index under the new estimation of the CFO. *Note: Although the calculations will be very similar to those in PartI, you should NOT copy-paste the formulas in PartIto use in Part II as it may lead to calculation errors. Question 2.2: a) Run a Monte Carlo simulation with 2800 replications of the NPVs. Calculate the Average Profit of the Sample and the Standard Error. b) Draw the cumulative NPV distribution (similar to the one in the Sheet Model with defined input of the spreadsheet MonteCarloSimulation that we discussed in class). c) What is the probability of a negative NPV if we invest in the project? What is 10% VaR? What does that number (10% VaR) mean? d) Based on the results from the simulation, are you going to accept or reject the project? Explain your investment decision. Discuss other factors that can affect your investment decision. e) Is your investment decision different from the one that you made based on the static model in Question 1.1 Part I? Explain why/ why not. If the investment decisions are different, which one do you think is more accurate? Explain. f) Do you think the assumptions on the distributions of uncertain inputs in Part II are reasonable? Explain? If the assumptions are not reasonable, how would you want to change them?
Module Title Corporate Finance and Planning Assignment Mode Individual Assignment Word Count Limit N.A. Citation Format APA if applicable Marks 100 marks Word Count 2,000 (+/- 10%) Assignment Brief The assignment is done individually. You are to select a listed company (any country) for your discussion. Introduction and Objective: Upon completion of this assignment, you will be able to determine the four main areas of finance and explain the purpose of Corporate Finance. Required: (a) Provide an introduction to the company, including a brief profile that covers its business activities, financial objectives, size, growth rate, and a discussion of the company’s role to its industry and/or its impact on the economy as a whole. Use graphs where appropriate to illustrate key points [suggested word count: 800 words]. (b) Discuss the three core questions of corporate finance and explain how they relate to specific areas of the company’s balance sheet [suggested word count: 900 words]. (c) Determine the operating cycle of this listed company. You may assume there are 365 days in a year [suggested word count: 300 words].
