For each sentence below, decide whether it is an atomic statement, a molecular statement, or not a statement at all.

1. There is a scary clown behind you.

2. There is a scary clown behind you and he is juggling.

3. Watch out!

Classify each of the sentences below as an atomic statement, a molecular statement, or not a statement at all. If the statement is molecular, say what kind it is (conjuction, disjunction, conditional, biconditional, negation).

1. The sum of the first 10 squares.

2. Go to your room!

3. Everybody can be fooled sometimes.

4. Every even number is divisible by 2

5. Are we human or are we dancers?

Determine whether each molecular statement below is true or false, or whether it is impossible to determine. Assume you do not know what my favorite number is (but you do know which numbers are prime).

1. If 18 is not prime, then 18 is my favorite number.

2. If 18 is my favorite number, then 18 is prime.

3. 18 is my favorite number or 3 is not my favorite number.

4. If 3 is not prime, then 3 is my favorite number.

5. If 18 is prime, then 2⋅182⋅18 is prime

6. 18 is prime or 3 is prime

In my safe is a sheet of paper with two shapes drawn on it in colored crayon. One is a circle, and the other is a square. Each shape is drawn in a single color. Suppose you believe me when I tell you that, if the circle is green, then the square is orange. What do you therefore know about the truth value of the following statements?

1. The circle is not green or the square is orange.

2. The circle and the square are both green.

3. The circle the square are both orange.

4. If the square is orange, then the circle is green.

5. If the square is not orange, then the circle is not green.

Suppose the statement, "if the circle is red, then the square is yellow," is true. Assume also that the converse is false. Classify each statement below as true or false (if possible).

1. The circle is red.

2. The circle is red if and only if the square is not yellow.

3. The circle is red if and only if the square is yellow.

4. The square is yellow.

Consider the statement, "If you will give me magic beans, then I will give you a cow." Decide whether each statement below is the converse, the contrapositive, or neither.

1. You will give me magic beans and I will not give you a cow.

2. If you will give me magic beans, then I will not give you a cow.

3. If I will give you a cow, then you will not give me magic beans.

4. If I will give you a cow, then you will give me magic beans.

5. If you will not give me magic beans, then I will not give you a cow.

6. If I will not give you a cow, then you will not give me magic beans.

CASE STUDY SCENARIO 1

GEOLEN VENTURES

GEOLEN VENTURES, a local administrative authority, provides a range of services to individuals, including the provision of welfare. GEOLEN has a total workforce of 1,900.

In the welfare department, GEOLEN employs 30 staff who visits individuals to assess their welfare needs. This job means visiting individuals, who are normally poorly-paid or facing difficult family circumstances, to find out whether they should receive financial assistance (sometimes termed ‘benefits’) from GEOLEN.  

The area covered by GEOLEN has a very low population density. Staff may have to travel many kilometres between each appointment and may not return to their central office for days at a time.

Rules which determine whether people are entitled to financial assistance are complicated, with over 6,500 separate rules and 170 different forms to complete. These rules change frequently, usually three per week. Consistent application of rules is difficult because of benefit fraud, human error, constant changing of rules and time delays inherent in the system itself. Staff retention is low because of poor morale.

The existing IT system is a minicomputer which consists of a central processor supported by a number of peripherals located at the headquarters of GEOLEN. The minicomputer contains a database and other related software showing which benefits are due to which individuals. A list of the benefits due is printed out weekly; and benefits are paid out according to the information on this list. The database is accessed and updated from ten terminals located in the computer room itself. Staff normally updates the database when they return from their visits to individuals requiring benefits.

GEOLEN has decided to establish a decision support system to assist its staff in the application of benefit rules to the situations of individuals. GEOLEN requires that staff have access to the decision support system at any time during their working day.

QUESTIONS 1 RELATES TO  THE CASE STUDY SCENARIO 1 ABOVE.

QUESTIONS 1

1. Identify and describe the existing system of GEOLEN which is a minicomputer which consists of a central processor supported by a number of peripherals located at the headquarters. [10 marks]

2. Discuss the merits and demerits of such a system. [4 marks]

3 . A consultant of GEOLEN to the company that the organization can be more efficient in terms of information delivery if a Client/Server system is used instead of the current minicomputer. Discuss the suggestions of the consultant.   

  [6 marks]

The consultant is requesting the IT manager of GEOLEN to consider using some current Networking Operating Systems (NOS) for the Client/Server system.

4. Suggest with reasons two (2) current NOS that the IT manager of GEOLEN could deploy to support its operations.

[10 marks]

b. Discuss the main features of such two (2) Network Operating Systems. [10 marks]

5. Suggest with a diagram and reasons the type of topology that will be suitable for Client/Server system for GEOLEN.

[10 marks]

b. Discuss the merits and demerits of such a topology. [10 marks]

Gyges was a shepherd in the service of the king of Lydia; there was a great storm, and an earthquake made an opening in the earth at the place where Gyges was feeding his flock. Amazed at the sight, Gyges descended into the opening, where, among other marvels, he beheld a hollow brazen horse, having doors, at which he, stooping and looking in, saw a dead body of stature, as appeared to him, more than human, and having nothing on but a gold ring. This he took from the finger of the dead and reascended. Now the shepherds met together, according to custom, to send their monthly report about the flocks to the king. Into their assembly Gyges came with the ring on his finger. As he was sitting among them, Gyges chanced to turn the collet of the ring inside his hand, whereupon instantly he became invisible to the rest of the company and they began to speak of him as if he were no longer present. He was astonished at this, and again touching the ring he turned the collet outward and reappeared; he made several trials of the ring, and always with the same result—when he turned the collet inward, he became invisible; when outward, he reappeared. Whereupon he contrived to be chosen as one of the messengers to be sent to the court. As soon as he arrived, he seduced the queen, and, with her help, conspired against the king, slew him, and took the kingdom. Suppose now that there were two such magic rings, and the just put on one of them and the unjust the other; no man can be imagined to be of such an iron nature that he would stand fast in justice. No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market, or go into houses and lie with anyone at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a God among men. Then the actions of the just would be as the actions of the unjust; they would both come at last to the same point. And this we may truly affirm to be a great proof that a man is just, not willingly or because he thinks that justice is any good to him individually, but of necessity, for wherever anyone thinks that he can safely be unjust, there he is unjust. For all men believe in their hearts that injustice is far more profitable to the individual than justice, and those who argue as I have been supposing will say that they are right. If you could imagine anyone obtaining this power of becoming invisible, and never doing any wrong or touching what was another’s, he would be thought by the lookers-on to be a most wretched idiot, although they would praise him to one another’s faces and keep up appearances with one another from a fear that they too might suffer injustice.

•    What would Aristotle, Kant, and Mill each do if they had such a ring?

•    What would you do with such a ring?

Question 1: (This question refers to the MRU video 'The Marginal Product of Labor'.) Firms will continue to hire more employees as long as

Select one:

a. the wage exceeds the marginal cost of production.

b. the product price exceeds the wage.

c. the wage is less than the marginal product of labor.

d. the marginal product of labor is less than the product price.

Question 2 Not yet answered Points out of 1 Not flaggedFlag question Question text (This question refers to the MRU video 'Human Capital and Signaling'.) Which of the following statements, if it were true, would serve as evidence AGAINST the notion that a college degree acts as a signal?

Select one:

a. People with college degrees on average earn about the same income as people who are one credit short of a college degree.

b. People with college degrees on average earn significantly more than people who are one credit short of a college degree.

c. People with college degrees in STEM fields earn about the same as people with degrees in non-STEM fields.

d. People with college degrees on average earn significnatly more than people with no college degree.

Question 3 Not yet answered Points out of 1 Not flaggedFlag question Question text (This question refers to the MRU video 'Do Unions Raise Wages?'.) A comparison of the wages of unionized electricians to the wages of non-unionized electricians reveals that:

Select one:

a. unions can raise wages for some workers.

b. unions are incapable of raising wages for any workers.

c. unions raise wages for all workers.

d. unions do not necessarily raise wages for all workers.

Question 4 Not yet answered Points out of 1 Not flaggedFlag question Question text (This question refers to the MRU video 'Do Unions Raise Wages?'.) Which of the following describes a way in which unions can reduce wages?

Select one:

a. Workers compete with one another for unionized jobs, driving down wages in these jobs.

b. Workers kept out of unionized jobs move to other industries, increasing the labor supply in those industries.

c. Firms expect workers to unionize so they initially offer below-normal wages.

d. Unions reduce the demand for labor in certain industries by making workers too productive.

Question 5 Not yet answered Points out of 1 Not flaggedFlag question Question text (This question refers to the MRU video 'Compensating Differentials'.) What kind of job-related risks are the hardest for the market to deal with?

Select one:

a. Risks that are hidden and that do not occur on the job

b. Risks that are obvious and that occur on the job

c. Risks that are hidden and that occur on the job

d. Risks that are obvious but that do not occur on the job

What is the political social and economic climate under which the current policy was developed?

Consuming or carrying alcoholic beverages. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to consume any alcoholic beverage, wine or malt beverage on any public way or area or way to which the public has right of access, or on any sidewalk appurtenant thereto within the city. (b) It shall be shall unlawful for any person to have alcoholic beverages, wine, or malt beverages in such person's possession in any can, bottle or container which has been opened, or has the seal broken, or the contents of which have been partially removed while on any public way or area or way to which the public has right. of access, or on any sidewalk appurtenant thereto within the city. (c) It shall be unlawful for any person to consume alcoholic beverages, wine or malt beverages in any motor vehicle while such vehicle is upon a public way or area or way to which the public has right of access within the city. (d) It shall be unlawful for any person to have alcoholic beverages, wine or malt beverages in such person's possession in any can, bottle or container which has been opened, or has the seal broken or the contents of which have been partially removed, while in the private motor vehicle upon a public way or any area or way to which the public has right of access within the city. (e) This section shall not apply to designated areas within which an event may be held at which a special liquor license has been issued during the hours of said event. (f) Whoever violates the provisions of this ordinance shall be subject to a fine as provided insection 1-9 of this Code. (g) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) Alcoholic beverage: Any liquid intended for human consumption as a beverage and containing one-half (½) of one percent or more of alcohol by volume at sixty (60) degrees Fahrenheit. (2) Wines: All fermented alcoholic beverages made from fruits, flowers, herbs or vegetables and containing not more than twenty-four (24) percent of alcohol by volume at sixty (60) degrees Fahrenheit, except cider containing not more than three (3) percent, or containing more than six (6) percent, of alcohol by weight at sixty (60) degrees Fahrenheit. (3) Malt beverages: All alcoholic beverages manufactured or produced by the process of brewing or fermentation of malt, with or without cereal grains or fermentable sugars, or of hops, and containing not more than twelve (12) percent of alcohol by weight. (Code 1963, § 14-131; Ords. (2) of 9-28-78, § 1; Ord. of 4-10-80, § 1) Cross reference— Alcoholic beverages licenses, § 15-90 et seq.

MGT324 Public Management

Apply critical thinking to make and defend business decisions (Lo 2.4)

PROBLEM SOLVING & DECISION MAKING CASE STUDY

The following case has been extracted from the South-East Asia

Change is always inevitable. People were hopeful that in the next general elections, the opposition party will get a clear mandate of the people and they will be able to form a popular government. People were hopeful that it will be the rule of the people. The time came and the government changed, new policies were introduced, to the dismay of the people demonetization was implemented first. This resulted in slowing down of the economy. Businesses were affected, people were out of job, and there was hue and cry all over the country. Reforms in tax rates were introduced, which resulted in the higher tax rates. Times were slow for the economy. The economy was trying to revive, then again a new decision was taken by the government that was the implementation of GST (Goods and service tax), that stunned the economy.

The situation

Your company was no exception right now, with the economic slowdown and the rising costs of materials and wages, your profits are going down and is at an all-time low. Because of these unfortunate happenings, you have to let some employees go. The senior management team, of which you are a member, has prepared a list of employees whose employment will be terminated within two weeks from today. It is kept confidential and the people on the list will not know until the day of the termination.

You have called a meeting of your department managers and supervisors. The managers and supervisors are not aware that a termination list has been prepared, so you will need to let them know this at some point in the meeting. Also, they will not be able to see the list until the day of the terminations. Apparently, this is a very confidential topic and must not be shared with anybody outside of this meeting.

Your purpose of today’s meeting is to tell the group and convince them that none of them are on the list. You also want to get their responses & feedback on how the affected general employee will react to the termination in two weeks. Next, you’d like to understand and anticipate any questions that they believe will arise so that appropriate answers can be prepared.

Finally, you would like to prepare an action plan for the day after the event. What you can tell the managers is the number of people they will each be losing. Here is the breakdown:

Marketing and Order Processing department will lose 5 of its 12 people Finance and Human Resources will lose three of its six people Operations & Production will lose eight of its 40 people.

Questions:

Q1: Critically examine the situation in this case and its impact on the company. (Learning Outcome 2.4)

Q2: What can be the issues in initiating and implementing the management decision? (Learning Outcome 2.4)

Q3: What steps should be undertaken by departmental managers for an effective plan? (Learning Outcome 2.4)

Snowball Earth: Mission to Planet Earth in the Distant Past

In this class, we've learned about our planet, the Earth, and about many other planetary bodies in our solar system. We've seen that there are many interesting similarities and differences between them. The Earth resides in the warm inner solar system, near the Sun, but Venus and Mercury are even hotter than the Earth. Most of the solar system is farther from the Sun than the Earth is, so we've learned about things like ice on Mars, on Europa, on Enceladus, etc..., and even about signs of liquid water beneath the surfaces of some of those bodies.

For this question, you're going to imagine you're a space alien living about 650 million years ago, on some other planetary body (like Mars or a moon of an outer planet), and you're studying the Earth.

Let's imagine this alien species has evolved much like humans have, and has senses similar to ours, and a level of intelligence like ours, and has developed science much like we have today.

So there you are - it's about 650 million years ago, and you're a space alien with human-like senses and intelligence, and a level of scientific and technological development like early 21st-century humans have. Just because you're a space alien, it doesn't mean you have super-duper advanced technology. You've got late-20th to early-21st century technology, if we're making a comparison to humans.

Now, here's the thing - 650 million years ago, the Earth was weird! It was going through a strange episode in its history called Snowball Earth. (In fact, there were more than one of these "snowball" episodes. The most recent one was about 650 million years ago. Complex multicellular life evolved on Earth about 540 million years ago.)

Scientists aren't sure if the Earth totally froze, with the oceans and continents completely covered with ice, but let's assume it did. Nothing but white everywhere. Like the ice planet Hoth from "The Empire Strikes Back". Kind of like the illustration in this article about Snowball Earth.

Method 2 - To get ALL of the possible points

Question: But what if... just what if... you just might be so gosh-darn smart, you can solve this problem without a space program! You can solve it with the technology of the late 1700s! Imagine you're sitting there listening to Hamilton - those people could have solved this problem!

How would they have done it? I wonder... hmm...

If you can figure out the low-tech, pre-space-age, could-have-been-done-200-years-ago method, you can write it in a few short paragraphs, like a medium-sized Discussion post

Analyze & Decide: Apply IT Concepts to Business Decisions

Read the information given, and respond in detail, to the questions below.

Spring Street Company (SSC) wanted to reduce the “hidden costs” associated with its paper-intensive processes. Employees jokingly predicted that if the windows were open on a very windy day, total chaos would ensue as thousands of papers started to fly. If a flood, fire, or windy day occurred, the business would literally grind to a halt. The company’s accountant, Sam Spring, decided to calculate the costs of its paper-driven processes to identify their impact on the bottom line. He recognized that several employees spent most of their day filing or retrieving documents. In addition, there were the monthly costs to warehouse old paper records. Sam measured the activities related to the handling of printed reports and paper files. His average estimates were as follows:

- Dealing with a file: It takes an employee 12 minutes to walk to the records room, locate a file, act on it, refile it, and return to his or her desk. Employees do this 4 times per day (five days per week).

- Number of employees: 10 full-time employees perform the functions.

- Lost document replacement: Once per day, a document gets “lost” (destroyed, misplaced, or covered with massive coffee stains) and must be recreated. The total cost of replacing each lost document is $200.

- Warehousing costs: Currently, document storage costs are $75 per month.

Sam would prefer a system that lets employees find and work with business documents without leaving their desks. He’s most concerned about the human resources and accounting departments. These personnel are traditional heavy users of paper files and would greatly benefit from a modern document management system. At the same time, however, Sam is also risk averse. He would rather invest in solutions that would reduce the risk of higher costs in the future. He recognizes that the U.S. PATRIOT Act’s requirements that organizations provide immediate government access to records apply to SSC. He has read that manufacturing and government organizations rely on efficient document management to meet these broader regulatory imperatives. Finally, Sam wants to implement a disaster recovery system.

Prepare a report that provides Sam with the data he needs to evaluate the company’s costly paper-intensive approach to managing documents. You will need to conduct research to provide data to prepare this report. Your report should include the following information:

1. What is the problem and some critical issues?

2. Prepare a SWOT Analysis

3. What is a solution to the problem?

4. What is an implementation plan for the solution in both the short AND long term?

5. How will you monitor and evaluate this plan and solution?

Please refer 2 items as below from Microsoft’s Letter to Shareholders as below. And refer them to Porter’s five forces.

Data and AI

Our customers will increasingly need to build their own AI to extract insights from the ever-increasing amount of data they collect — and we are investing to make Azure the best cloud for their comprehensive data estates. We are democratizing data science and AI with Azure Cognitive Services, Azure Machine Learning and data services such as Azure Cosmos DB — the first globally distributed, multi-model database — to help organizations of all sizes convert their data into insights and experiences for competitive advantage. In less than a year, Azure Cosmos DB has already exceeded $100 million in annualized revenue. Azure Database for MySQL and PostgreSQL makes it even easier to bring open source-powered applications to Azure, expanding our opportunity in this space. And we are seeing rapid customer adoption of Azure Databricks for data preparation, advanced analytics and machine learning scenarios. We are leading in the field of AI research, achieving human parity with object recognition, speech recognition, machine reading and — this year — language translation. But that is not enough. We are committed to translating these breakthroughs into toolsets our customers can use. More than 1 million developers have already used our Cognitive Services to quickly and easily create AI applications. Our Azure Bot Service has nearly 300,000 developers, and we are driving new advances in our underlying cloud infrastructure, building the world’s first AI supercomputer in Azure. Microsoft Translator brings AI-powered translation to developers where their data is, whether in the cloud or on the edge. Our pending acquisition of GitHub recognizes the increasingly vital role developers will play in value creation and growth across every industry, and will enable us to bring our tools and services to new audiences while enabling GitHub to grow and retain its developer-first ethos.

Gaming

We are pursuing an expansive opportunity in gaming — from the way games are created and distributed to how they are played and viewed — surpassing $10 billion in revenue this year for the first time. We are investing aggressively in content, community and cloud services across every endpoint to expand usage and deepen engagement with gamers. Xbox Live now has 57 million monthly active users, and we are investing in new services like Mixer — which blurs the line between watching and playing — and Game Pass, our new unlimited subscription service. The addition of five new gaming studios this year bolsters our first-party content development to support our fast-growing gaming services. And our acquisition of PlayFab accelerates our vision to build a world-class cloud platform for the gaming industry across mobile, PC and console. I’m excited about our opportunity in the fast-growing $100 billion gaming market and what’s to come.