1. Choose one of the following 3 sets and provide adequate answers that are well-supported (You can’t mix the items between sets… once you choose a set, you get committed to the problems included in that set).

Set A

1. If LAU plans on changing its Banner system and getting a new system for admissions, registration, and curriculum management, advising, and assessment, what should be implemented: SDLC or Prototyping? Please support your answer with valid arguments and examples. (Sufficiently)
2. The Human Resources Office is planning to get a Payroll Application. What do you recommend they do: Implement SDLC or Prototyping? Why?

Set B

1. Ammo El Dekkanji Supermarket is a small family business in Beirut. It intends to automate its operations to be more efficient and effective. Its owner approached you for advice: “we want to develop a system that keeps good record of our inventory, receivables, costs, operations, and sales”. What would you recommend they use: the SDLC or the Prototyping approach? What’s your logic behind it
2. Latte Art wants a system that would help management keep record of inventory and customers’ preferences for coffee, sandwiches, croissants, cookies, and other items. Which systems development model should be applied here? SDLC or prototyping? Why?

Set C

1. The Central Bank of Lebanon has made a decision to install a system all over the bank, and it needs it to enhance transparency all over the bank, the audits, and records, and ensure smooth operations. What systems development approach should be followed in this case? SDLC or Prototyping? Why? Please be systematic and support your argument.
2. The Middle East Airlines intends to develop a system that overcomes all kinds of delays, reservation errors, and allows for better self-service by passengers before reaching and while they are at the airport. What approach should be followed in this case? SDLC or Prototyping? Why? Please be systematic and support your argument.

**Review the following passages for sentence fragments, comma splices, and run on sentences.

**Correct all errors where necessary, and bold each correction.

• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of the noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

• “I believe that today more than ever a book should be sought after even if it has only one great page in it. We must search for fragments, splinters, toenails, anything that has ore in it, anything that is capable of resuscitating the body and the soul.”

• “I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”

• “We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

• “For in a swift radiance of illumination he saw a glimpse of human struggle and of valor. Of the endless fluid passage of humanity through endless time. And of those who labor and of those who--one word--love. His soul expanded. But for a moment only.”

• “The lamp on the rocks on the side of the hill was little more than a mote of light and after a while they walked back. Everything too wet to make a fire.”

• “Then, slowly, the shining dwindled until it, too, was gone, and there was nothing but stars and starlight. No shadows. No fear. Only the stars and the clear darkness of space, quite different from the fearful darkness of the Thing.”

Introduction:

Social contract theorists say that morality consists of a set of rules governing how people should treat one another that rational beings will agree to accept for their mutual benefit, on the condition that others agree to follow these rules as well.

Hobbes runs the logic like this in the form of a logical syllogism:

1. We are all self-interested.
2. Each of us needs to have a peaceful and cooperative social order to pursue our interests.
3. We need moral rules in order to establish and maintain a cooperative social order.
4. Therefore, self-interest motivates us to establish moral rules.

Hobbes looked to the past to observe a primitive “State of Nature” in which there is no such thing as morality, and that this self-interested human nature was "nasty, brutish, and short" – a kind of perpetual state of warfare.

Locke disagreed, and set forth the view that the state exists to preserve the natural rights of its citizens. When governments fail in that task, citizens have the right – and sometimes the duty – to withdraw their support and even to rebel. Locke addressed Hobbes's claim that the state of nature was the state of war, though he attribute this claim to "some men" not to Hobbes. He refuted it by pointing to existing and real historical examples of people in a state of nature. For this purpose he regarded any people who are not subject to a common judge to resolve disputes, people who may legitimately take action themselves to punish wrong doers, as in a state of nature.

Question:

1. Which philosophy do you espouse?

2. How much authority should be granted to governments (e.g., the right to kill (death penalty/capital punishment/use of deadly force)? How much would you give up in return for safety?

3. If you side with Hobbes, do you support at any point recourse if the government violates its own contract (if so, you probably have a bit of Locke in your thinking)?

For each of these classes, there are four types of controls:

Preventive (Deterrent)

Detective

Corrective (Recovery)

Compensating

Please assign the correct Class of Security Control and Type of Control that match with the Security Control Listed below. It might be possible that multiple control classes or Control types could be an answer. It could also be None.

2.     Match he correct COBIT domains (

         A - Planning and Organization,

        B - Acquisition and Implementation,

        C - Delivery and Support, and

        D - Monitoring and Evaluation.

To the following to the following Control Objectives.

3) Write the correct NIST Security Control Class (Technical, Operational, or Management) for the given Security Control families and Identifiers

A psychologist would like to determine whether there is any consistent relationship between intelligence and creativity.  The psychologist obtains a random sample of n = 18 people and administers a standardized IQ test and a creativity test to each individual.  Using these data, the psychologist obtains a Pearson correlation of r = +.20 between IQ and creativity.

a.  Do the sample data provide sufficient evidence to conclude that a real (non-zero)

     correlation exists in the population?  Test at the .05 level of significance.

b.  If the same correlation of r = +.20 was obtained for a sample of n = 102 people, what

     decision would you make about the population correlation?

Researchers who measure reaction time for human subjects often observe a relationship between the reaction time scores and the number of errors that the subjects commit.  This relationship is known as the “speed-accuracy trade-off.”  The following are data from a reaction time study where the researcher recorded the average reaction time (milliseconds) and the total number of errors for each individual in a sample of n =8 subjects.

Subject          Reaction Time         Errors  

    A                       184                      10
    B                       213                        6
    C                       234                        2
    D                       197                        7
    E                       189                       13
    F                       221                       10
    G                      237                         4
    H                      192                         9

a.  Compute the Pearson correlation for the data.

b.  In words, describe the speed-accuracy trade-off.

Many researchers have found a negative relationship between children’s IQ and the size of the family in which the children live.  The following hypothetical data represent 8 families.

Number of Children (X)              Children’s Average IQ (Y)

               4                                                     104

               2                                                     111

               2                                                     101

               1                                                     131

               3                                                     103

               5                                                       96

               1                                                     123

               2                                                     115

a.  Compute the Pearson correlation between family size and average IQ.

b.  Find the regression equation for using the number of children to predict the average

     IQ.

c.  What would the regression equation predict the average IQ score would be for a

     family with 10 kids?

The Treadway Commission was concerned about the fraudulent financial reporting that was occurring in the United States. Yet, numerous significant instances of fraudulent financial reporting occurred after publication of the COSO report.

Question: In the context of the five components of internal control cited by the COSO report, discuss what appears to have gone wrong in own words.

a) Think about the five components of control - control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information & communication, and monitoring.

Limitations on Internal Control

Monitoring the effectiveness of an internal control system should be a continuous process on the

part of both management and performance auditors. This regular scrutiny acknowledges that

an internal control system is not fail safe. Too many factors can impinge on the adequacy of the

controls. For example:

● Controls can quickly become outdated because of changing organizational conditions.

● Control activities may be strong, but the control environment or work setting may become

weak.

● Inappropriate controls may be in place. For example, an entity may be using detection

controls, designed to identify - after the fact - that errors or irregularities have occurred,

where it would have been better to adopt a prevention control designed to deter the

possibility of errors or irregularities occurring.

● Too many or too few controls may affect the ability of an agency to effectively fulfill its

mission.

● Intentional or unintentional staff deviation from prescribed controls can render a system

useless. Human factors such as boredom, personal problems, or other distractions can

result in errors.

● Inadequately trained or incompetent employees can reduce the effectiveness of controls.

● Collusion among employees or managers may nullify the internal control system.

● No internal control system can provide an absolute guarantee that errors or irregularities

will not occur. It can only provide reasonable assurance that management objectives will

be achieved. This assurance can be maintained if (a) management continuously monitors

the effectiveness of the controls in place, taking into consideration the costs and benefits

associated with those controls and (b) auditors provide independent assessments that the

control system is working.

Empirical studies in Economics and Education have proven without a doubt that a college education is worth it, from a cost-benefit analysis. While obviously not all colleges and college degrees are created equal, earning a college degree significantly boosts annual wages, on average. The question is however, what are the exact channels through which college education improves earnings? I will offer you 3 "theories" and I will ask you to tell me which of the 3 you think are valid explanations (can be more than 1) and also which do you think is the most important one? There is no correct or wrong answer here. I simply want you to think about it and properly reason your answers.

1. The human capital theory - by getting a college education, students acquire and develop skills that increase their productivity in the work force, which results in higher wages.

2. The college selection theory - people who go to college are overall smarter/harder working/more productive/etc. to begin with. These people would have gotten higher wages even if they hadn't gone to college. College attendance just happened to be there. This is essentially a story of a spurious correlation. This theory claims there is no causality between attending college and earnings, but simply that college attendance correlates well with certain innate abilities which are rewarded on the job market.

3. The signaling theory - people who earn college degrees are overall smarter/harder working/more productive/etc., but the reason they earn higher wages is that they earned a degree and that degree signals to employers that these students are overall better workers. This is an incomplete information story - employers do not know how productive you are but they can infer that from you having a degree. Unlike theory 2 states, these students would not have earned higher waged had they not gone to college simply because there wouldn't be anything to certify to employers that these students are truly more productive.

A 48-year-old man is referred for management of elevated cholesterol. He has history of obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. He had a non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction one year ago with drug-eluting stent placement in his right coronary artery. His current medications include aspirin 81 mg daily, lisinopril 20 mg daily, and metoprolol XL 50 mg daily. His physical exam is notable for a body mass index (BMI) of 32 kg/m2 but is otherwise unremarkable. His blood pressure is 135/85 mm Hg.

A recent lipid panel shows the following:
• Total Cholesterol: 226 mg/dL
• Triglycerides: 154 mg/dL
• High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C): 39 mg/dL
• Friedewald-Estimated Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C): 156 mg/dL
• He has a normal creatinine and normal liver enzymes.
• His TSH and vitamin D levels are within normal limits.

He was advised to lose weight and referred to a weight loss counselor. He also started rosuvastatin 20 mg daily but developed severe aching in his thighs and calves’ muscles. He discontinued the medication with resolution of his aches. Then, he started atorvastatin 20 mg daily but again developed aching in his thighs. Similar aches occurred on a red yeast rice/CoQ10 combination and intermittent dosing of simvastatin 20 mg weekly and rosuvastatin 5 mg weekly. His creatine kinase levels were never elevated during his episodes of muscle aches. He is not willing to try any more statin therapy.

Questions:
1. What food will be highly recommended to the patient? Explain by citing its implications to the human body.

2. What other antihyperlipidemic drug would you recommend to the patient who refuses to take statin as his medication drug? Why?

How is Covid-19 and work from home orders impacting productivity?

In this chapter of The New Geography of Jobs one question kept coming to my mind is what will become of these brain hub cities if the majority of the workers will now be doing their jobs from their homes. One aspect that makes places like the Bay Area so attractive is the ability for employees to collaborate with each other and work in person. A Harvard study even mentioned that the quality of research improved when the authors were less than one kilometer apart, and even better if they used the same elevator. Having good quality research is something these authors strive for, and they would not want it to decrease. The quality is not based off how close the co-authors are to each other, but according to this study it did have an impact. Another typical reason for these startups to move out west is to be close to their investors. Many venture capitalists are less likely to do deals if the office is more than a 20-minute drive away according to our reading.

This is where the question comes in, how will these cities handle this global pandemic of Covid-19 that has forced everyone to stay home? Now venture capitalists shouldn’t be turning down companies that aren't on the West Coast, because it's not likely they will meet in person anyway. The cost of employing people in these hub cities is very high compared to other places in the world and now companies may not think the price is worth it if their employees are not benefiting from human interaction. It also makes me wonder if we as people will become less productive the more we stay home. Working with other intelligent people spark the ideas to create products that help to improve the world. In our readings it stated that people are more creative and productive when surrounded by others so what will happen to the United States productivity rates as companies move to work from home for extended periods of time.

Which insect repellents protect best against mosquitoes? Consumer reports (June 2000) tested 14 products that all claim to be an effective mosquito repellent. Each product was classified as either lotion/cream or aerosol/spray. The cost of the product (in dollars ) was divided by the amount of the repellent needed to cover exposed areas of the skin *about 1/3 ounce) to obtain a cost-oer0use value. Effectiveness was measured as the maximum number of hours of protection (in half-hour increments) provided when human testers exposed their arms to 200 mosquitoes. The data from the report:

Insect Repellent                              Type   Cost/Use Maximum Protection
Away HourGuard 12            Lotion/Cream       $2.08      13.5 hours
Avon Skin-So-Soft       Aerosol/Spray      0.67                   0.5
Avon BugGuard Plus            Lotion/Cream       1.00                   2.0
Ben's Backyard Formula Lotion/Cream 0.75                  7.0
Bite Blocker                       Lotion/Cream         0.46                  3.0
BugOut                      Aerosol/Spray         0.11       6.0
Cutter Skinsations               Aerosol/Spray        0.22    3.0
Cutter UNscented    Aerosol/Spray     0.19               5.5
Musko1l Ultra6Hours            Aerosol/Spray     0.24                  6.5
Natrapel                         Aerosol/Spray      0.27                 1.0
Off! Deep Woods       Aerosol/Spray       1.77                  14.0
Off! Skintastic     Lotion/Cream    0.67              3.0
Sawyer Deet Formula          Lotion/Cream 0.36    7.0
Repel Permanone               Aerosol/Spray      2.75    24.0

a. Suppose you want to use repellent type to model the cost per use (y). Create the appropriate number of dummy variables for repellent type, and write the model.
b. Fit the model you wrote in part a to the data.
c. Give the null hypothesis for testing whether repellent type is a useful predictor of cost per use (y).
d. Conduct the test suggested in part c and give the appropriate conclusion. Use alpha=.10.
e. Repeat parts a-d if the dependent variable is maximum number of hours of protection (y).