Quantitative Critique Assignment

Grading Rubric (100):

Use this document as a fill-in template for your answers. Do not change or alter this form; leave it in its entirety. Avoid typos, misspellings, contractions, inappropriate match of nouns and pronouns or subject and verbs, incomplete sentences, idiomatic language. Use sentence structure that reflects graduate level writing (10). Fill in your well-crafted answers below each subheading, use 12 font. The quantitative study to critique is in the supplemental reader; work individually and independently. Use the critique power point (quantitative slides) to guide your critical thinking.

Background/Significance for the Clinical Problem (5)

• Explain why this study is important to nursing knowledge validation. Use the 6 step knowledge generation/validation process (C & K) to support your answer.

Literature Review (5)

• Explain how the literature review demonstrates the rationale for conducting the study, identifying the gaps in the current knowledge, and the quality indicators for the literature reviewed.

Purpose Statement (5)         

• State the purpose and explain how the purpose is related to the significance of the clinical problem and the gap.

Research Question (5)

• State the express or implied question and explain how it addresses the purpose, and if answered, will fill the gap in knowledge, and provide clinically important practice implications and research recommendations.

Theoretical/Operational Framework and Diagram (10)

• Create a computer generated diagram of the theoretical/operational framework as you understand it that explains the horizontal and vertical linkages between concepts, variables (EI) under study, and values, and linkages to the elements of the metaparadigm.

 Project 2: Part 1

NOTE:  Discussion is allowed but each person is expected to write their own, using resources and information from class, the library etc.

Question 1: (18 points)

There are 10 students in a classroom. The following table shows students’ names, their final scores, and two items of the final test (Items 1 and 2). Use this dataset to summarize students’ performance and to conduct an item analysis.

Regarding summarizing test scores:

1. Given the dataset above, compute the following statistics: Range, Mean, Mode, Median, Variance, and Standard Deviation? (6 points)

2. Decide whether the shape of the distribution is symmetrical, positively skewed, or negatively skewed (explain how your decision is made and provide statistical evidence, such as mean, median, and mode) and use the shape of distribution to describe how students perform on their final exam. (2 points)

Regarding conducting item analysis:

3. Given the dataset above, compute the difficulty (p) and discrimination index (D) for Items 1 and 2 (Construct a table for high and low performing groups and show all your computational processes in details). (6 points)

4. Provide a short explanation about what these results are telling you regarding items 1 and 2 (i.e., use these statistical item properties, such as item difficulty and discrimination, to explain the quality of Items 1 and 2). (4 points)

To answer the next set of questions in #2, you will need to carefully study the Power Point on the Normal Curve and Standardized Scores. Be sure to view the notes that go with each slide in the Power Point presentation as the notes provide information that is essential to understanding the slides. Your text also has very helpful information in Chapter 14. Here are a few resources I have compiled to help jog your memory.

Z-score formula:

Z = (X –M)/SD

For example, a student score on the GRE quantitative exam (X) minus the mean on the GRE quantitative (M). Divide that difference by the standard deviation (SD)

(see pages 273-276 in your book, 11^th edition)

T-score formula:

T = 10z + 50

Multiply the z-score (z) by 10 and add 50 to this value to obtain the equivalent T-score (T).

(see page 277 in your book, 11^th edition)

Question 2: (26 points)

The National Center for Educational Statistics report that in the year ending 2009 400,000 students took the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). For this set of examinees, the observed mean Verbal score was 560 with a standard deviation (SD) of 90, and the observed mean Quantitative score was 490 with a standard deviation (SD) of 100.

Assuming that the distribution of scores on the 2009 GRE was normal, answer the following questions regarding both tests (Verbal and Quantitative): (Show all your computations and use statistical evidence to interpret your answer). Number your responses and circle your final answers.

(1 point for each item from 1-4)

Note: please notice that one of these questions ask for a percent and the others ask for the number of students. Respond appropriately.

1. What percent of student scores were below the mean?
2. How many student scores were above the mean?
3. How many student scores fall between 1 SD below the mean (-1SD) and 1 SD above the mean (+1SD).
4. How many students scores were higher than 2 SD above the mean.

(2 point for each item from 5-14)

5. Ann has a score of 380 on the Verbal exam. What is her z-score?
6. What is Ann’s percentile rank?
7. How was Ann performing relative to her peers?
8. What is the z-score of Sam who scores 760 on the Quantitative exam?
9. What is Sam’s percentile rank?
10. How was Sam performing relative to his peers?
11. Betty’s score on the Verbal exam is 1 SD above the mean. What is her score?
12. John scores 500 on the Verbal exam. What is his z-score?
13. Convert John’s score above to a T-score.
14. If Nicole had a Quantitative score of +1.5 SD’s what was her raw (numerical) score?
15. If a student had to score at or above the 84^th percentile for both tests to be considered for a full scholarship at USF, what would be the minimum score needed on Verbal and Quantitative exams?

Question 3: (6 points)

You have a student, Tej, entering your school from India. You need to know which math class you should place him in. The scores you normally use are SAT scores (mean=500 and standard deviation=100). The rules you use for placement are:

700-800 Calculus
500-699 Trigonometry
300-499 Geometry
100-299 Algebra

However, this student did not take the SAT, but instead took the AAT (Academic Aptitude and Achievement Test). Scores for the AAT are reported with a mean of 80 and a standard deviation of 4. Tej received a raw score of 92 on the math portion of the AAT. Convert his scores to a metric so that they are comparable to SAT scores, then decide in which math class Tej should be placed. (Hint: you could begin by converting his AAT to a z-score).

Your answer should include at least 2 paragraphs:

1. Explain (using words and numbers) which course Tej should be placed in, and why. Make sure to include a thorough explanation. (5 points)
2. Find and provide some background information on the AAT and include an explanation of why this might be an appropriate score to use for this purpose. Include the reference you used for information on the AAT. (1 point)

The operating system (OS) of an information system contains the software that executes the critical functions of the information system. The OS manages the computer’s memory, processes, and all of its software and hardware. It allows different programs to run simultaneously and access the computer’s memory, central processing unit, and storage. The OS coordinates all these activities and ensures that sufficient resources are applied. These are the fundamental processes of the information system and if they are violated by a security breach or exploited vulnerability it has the potential to have the biggest impact on your organization.

Security for operating systems consists of protecting the OS components from attacks that could cause deletion, modification, or destruction of the operating system. Threats to an OS could consist of a breach of confidential information, unauthorized modification of data, or unauthorized destruction of data. It is the job of the cybersecurity engineer to understand the operations and vulnerabilities of the OS (whether it is a Microsoft, Linux, or another type of OS), and to provide mitigation, remediation, and defense against threats that would expose those vulnerabilities or attack the OS.

There are six steps that will help you create your final deliverables. The deliverables for this project are as follows:

Security Assessment Report (SAR): This report should be a 7-8 page double-spaced Word document with citations in APA format. The page count does not include figures, diagrams, tables, or citations.

Nontechnical presentation: This is a set of 8-10 PowerPoint slides for upper management that summarizes your thoughts regarding the findings in your SAR.

In a Word document, share your lab experience and provide screen prints to demonstrate that you performed the lab.

When you submit your project, your work will be evaluated using the competencies listed below. You can use the list below to self-check your work before submission.

1.1: Organize document or presentation clearly in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment.

2.3: Evaluate the information in a logical and organized manner to determine its value and relevance to the problem.

5.4: Identify potential threats to operating systems and the security features necessary to guard against them.

Step 1: Defining the OS

The audience for your security assessment report (SAR) is the leadership of your organization, which is made up of technical and nontechnical staff. Some of your audience will be unfamiliar with operating systems (OS). As such, you will begin your report with a brief explanation of operating systems fundamentals and the types of information systems.

Click on and read the following resources that provide essential information you need to know before creating a thorough and accurate OS explanation:

operating systems fundamentals

the applications of the OS

The Embedded OS

information system architecture

cloud computing

web architecture

After reviewing the resources, begin drafting the OS overview to incorporate the following:

Explain the user’s role in an OS.

Explain the differences between kernel applications of the OS and the applications installed by an organization or user.

Describe the embedded OS.

Describe how the systems fit in the overall information system architecture, of which cloud computing is an emerging, distributed computing network architecture..

Include a brief definition of operating systems and information systems in your SAR.

Step 2: OS Vulnerabilities

You just summarized operating systems and information systems for leadership. In your mind, you can already hear leadership saying “So what?” The organization’s leaders are not well versed in operating systems and the threats and vulnerabilities in operating systems, so in your SAR, you decide to include an explanation of advantages and disadvantages of the different operating systems and their known vulnerabilities.

Prepare by first reviewing the different types of vulnerabilities and intrusions explained in these resources:

Windows vulnerabilities

Linux vulnerabilities

Mac OS vulnerabilities

SQL PL/SQL, XML and other injections

Based on what you gathered from the resources, compose the OS vulnerability section of the SAR.  Be sure to:

Explain Windows vulnerabilities and Linux vulnerabilities.

Explain the Mac OS vulnerabilities, and vulnerabilities of mobile devices.

Explain the motives and methods for intrusion of the MS and Linux operating systems;

Explain the types of security awareness technologies such as intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems.

Describe how and why different corporate and government systems are targets.

Describe different types of intrusions such as SQL PL/SQL, XML, and other injections

You will provide leadership with a brief overview of vulnerabilities in your SAR.

Step 3: Preparing for the Vulnerability Scan

You have just finished defining the vulnerabilities an OS can have. Soon you will perform vulnerability scanning and vulnerability assessments on the security posture of the organization’s operating systems. But first, consider your plan of action. Read these two resources to be sure you fully grasp the purpose, goals, objectives, and execution of vulnerability assessments and security updates:

Vulnerability assessments

Patches

Then provide the leadership with the following:

Include a description of the methodology you proposed to assess the vulnerabilities of the operating systems. Provide an explanation and reasoning of how the methodology you propose, will determine the existence of those vulnerabilities in the organization’s OS.

Include a description of the applicable tools to be used, and the limitations of the tools and analyses, if any. Provide an explanation and reasoning of how the applicable tools to be used, you propose, will determine the existence of those vulnerabilities in the organization’s OS.

Include the projected findings from using these vulnerability assessment tools.

In your report, discuss the strength of passwords, any Internet Information Services’ administrative vulnerabilities, SQL server administrative vulnerabilities, and other security updates and management of patches, as they relate to OS vulnerabilities.

tep 4: Vulnerability Assessment Tools for OS and Applications

Note: You will use the tools in Workspace for this step. If you need help outside the classroom, register for the CLAB 699 Cyber Computing Lab Assistance (go to the Discussions List for registration information). Primary lab assistance is available from a team of lab assistants. Lab assistants are professionals and are trained to help you.

Click here to access the instructions for Navigating the Workspace and the Lab Setup.

Enter Workspace and complete the lab activities related to operating system vulnerabilities.

Click here to access the Project 2 Workspace Exercise Instructions. Explore the tutorials and user guides to learn more about the tools you will use.

You’ve prepared for your assessment; now it’s time to perform.

Security and vulnerability assessment analysis tools, such as Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) for Windows OS and OpenVAS for Linux OS, are stand-alone tools designed to provide a streamlined method for identifying common security misconfigurations and missing security updates for the operating systems and applications. These tools work on layers 5-7 of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model.

Your leadership will want to understand the differences and commonalities in the capabilities of both tools and will want this included in the SAR.

Use the tools’ built-in checks to complete the following for Windows OS (e.g., using Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer, MBSA):

Determine if Windows administrative vulnerabilities are present.

Determine if weak passwords are being used on Windows accounts.

Report which security updates are required on each individual system.

You noticed that the tool you used for Windows OS (i.e., MBSA) provides dynamic assessment of missing security updates. MBSA provides dynamic assessment of missing security updates. Scan one or more computers by domain, IP address range, or other grouping.

Once complete, provide a detailed report and recommendations on how to make your system a more secure working environment. In this case, a tool such as MBSA will create and store individual XML security reports for each computer scanned and will display the reports in the graphical user interface in HTML.

You will also complete a similar exercise for Linux OS (e.g., using the OpenVAS tool). Select the following links to learn more about OpenVAS and computer networks:

OpenVAS

Computer Networks

Utilize the OpenVAS tool to complete the following:

Determine if Linux vulnerabilities are present.

Determine if weak passwords are being used on Linux systems.

Determine which security updates are required for the Linux systems.

You noticed that the tool you used for Linux OS (i.e., OpenVAS) provides dynamic assessment of missing security updates. MBSA provides dynamic assessment of missing security updates. Scan one or more computers by domain, IP address range, or other grouping.

Once complete, provide a detailed report and recommendations on how to make your system a more secure working environment

Knowledge acquired from this Workspace exercise and capability of this tool will help your company’s client organizations secure the computer networks’ resources and protect corporate data from being stolen.

Validate and record the benefits of using these types of tools. You will include this in the SAR.

Step 5: The Security Assessment Report

By utilizing security vulnerability assessment tools, such as MBSA and OpenVAS, you now have a better understanding of your system’s security status. Based on the results provided by these tools, as well as your learning from the previous steps, you will create the Security Assessment Report (SAR).

In your report to the leadership, emphasize the benefits of using a free security tool such as MBSA. Then make a recommendation for using these types of tools (i.e., MBSA and OpenVAS), including the results you found for both.

Remember to include these analyses and conclusions in the SAR deliverable:

After you provide a description of the methodology you used to make your security assessment, you will provide the actual data from the tools, the status of security and patch updates, security recommendations, and offer specific remediation guidance, to your senior leadership.

You will include any risk assessments associated with the security recommendations, and propose ways to address the risk either by accepting the risk, transferring the risk, mitigating the risk, or eliminating the risk.

Include your SAR in your final deliverable to leadership.

Step 6: The Presentation

Based on what you have learned in the previous steps and your SAR, you will also develop a presentation for your company’s leadership.

Your upper-level management team is not interested in the technical report you generated from your Workspace exercise. They are more interested in the bottom line. You must help these non­technical leaders understand the very technical vulnerabilities you have discovered. They need to clearly see what actions they must either take or approve. The following are a few questions to consider when creating your non­technical presentation:

How do you present your technical findings succinctly to a non­technical audience? Your Workspace exercise report will span many pages, but you will probably not have more than 30 minutes for your presentation and follow-up discussion.

How do you describe the most serious risks factually but without sounding too temperamental? No one likes to hear that their entire network has been hacked, data has been stolen, and the attackers have won. You will need to describe the seriousness of your findings while also assuring upper-level management that these are not uncommon occurrences today.

How do your Workspace exercise results affect business operations? Make sure you are presenting these very technical results in business terms that upper-level management will understand.

Be very clear on what you propose or recommend. Upper-level management will want to not only understand what you discovered; they will want to know what you propose as a solution. They will want to know what decisions they need to make based on your findings.

Your goal for the presentation is to convince the leadership that adopting a security vulnerability assessment tool (such as MBSA) and providing an extra security layer is a must for the company.

The deliverables for this project are as follows:

Security Assessment Report (SAR): This report should be a 7-8 page double-spaced Word document with citations in APA format. The page count does not include figures, diagrams, tables, or citations.

Nontechnical presentation: This is a set of 8-10 PowerPoint slides for upper management that summarizes your thoughts regarding the findings in your SAR.

In a Word document, share your lab experience and provide screen prints to demonstrate that you performed the lab.

Submit your deliverables to the assignment folder.

Price Quotes and Pricing Decisions Applied Problems

Please complete the following two applied problems:

Problem 1:

Jessica Alba, a famous actress, starts the baby and family products business, The Honest Company, with Christopher Gavigan. Alba and Gavigan set up their site so families can choose what kinds of non-toxic, all-natural products they’d like to use and get them in a bundle. Families can choose all kinds of products from food to hygiene necessities and cleaning supplies. Suppose they are thinking of expanding their business into five domestic markets: Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Atlanta. Assume their primary goal of business is to maximize economic profits, although they want to do business honestly.

Show all your calculations and process. Describe your answer for each question in three- to five-complete sentences.

1. You are a business adviser for Alba and Gavigan. Describe a skimming price and a penetration price, and advise them whether they should charge a skimming price or a penetration price, with supportive reasoning for and against each pricing alternative.
2. Are they likely to make economic profits initially? Can they continue to make economic profits in the long term? Why or why not? Discuss.
3. What advice would you give to Alba and Gavigan to help them make more profit in the long term?

Problem 2:

You operate your own small building company and have decided to bid on a government contract to build a pedestrian walkway in a national park during the coming winter. The walkway is to be of standard government design and should involve no unexpected costs. Your present capacity utilization rate is moderate and allows sufficient scope to understand this contract, if you win it. You calculate your incremental costs to be $268,000 and your fully allocated costs to be $440,000. Your usual practice is to add between 60% and 80% to your incremental costs, depending on capacity utilization rate and other factors. You expect three other firms to also bid on this contract, and you have assembled the following competitor intelligence about those companies.

Show all of your calculations and processes. Describe your answers in three- to five-complete sentences.

1. What price would you bid if you must win the project?
2. What price would you bid if you want to maximize the expected value of the contribution from this contract?
3. Defend your answers with discussion, making any assumptions you feel are reasonable and/or are supported by the information provided.

Policy Research Proposal PowerPoint Instructions

This assignment is a culmination of your Discussion Board Forums. You will create a PowerPoint presentation that proposes a research project on a policy topic. Your presentation must have slides that cover all of the following information:

• Purpose Statement
• Research Questions/Hypotheses/Null Hypothesis
• Research Design
• Significance of the Study
• Problem Statement
• Sample
• Setting/Site
• Data Collection Methods
• Data Analysis Methods
• Trustworthiness/Reliability/Validity
• Ethical Considerations

In this presentation, you must elaborate on what you wrote in your Discussion Board Forums regarding the items above. Presentations may make use of bullet points, but you must include explanatory paragraphs in the notes section of PowerPoint. What must be included in the notes section is what you would say if you were presenting this research proposal to a boss, educator, or the interested public sponsoring the research. The goal of this presentation is to communicate your policy research proposal to an audience. It must be long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep the attention of the audience. Please take into account any and all constructive criticisms offered by your classmates and instructor throughout the Discussion Board Forums.

Frances has lived in an apartment for ten years when she decides to buy a house. Her one-year lease will end on May 1.  On April 15, she orally contracts to buy Frank’s house for $100,000, with the closing (transfer of the deed) to take place on June1.  Frank’s lawyer, who is out of town on vacation, is to draft a written contract of sale on his return to his office on May 15. Because Frances’s lease is terminating, Frank agrees to let her take possession of the house on May 1 if Frances gives him a down payment on the house of $5,000.  Frances agrees and gives Frank the $5,000.  She moves into the house on May 2, and the following weekend plants trees in the back yard.  On May 10, Frank receives a written offer from Green to buy Frank’s house for $120,000. Frank accepts Green’s offer, asks Frances to move out of the house, and tries to return the $5,000 to Frances.  Frances claims that she has an enforceable contract to buy the house. Frank claims that any such contract must be in writing to be en­forceable under the Statute of Frauds.

Analyze using IRAC

Question 2

Breach 100 pts

Use IRAC

Stacey contracts to buy six cases of vintage Stomp Valley wine from Twisted Winery for $1,200. The contract states that delivery is to be made at Stacey’s residence “on or before May 1, to be used for daughter’s wedding reception on May 2.” On May 1, Twisted’s delivery van is involved in an accident, and no wine is delivered that day. A message was left for Stacy telling her of the accident.   On the morning of May 2, Stacey buys the wine from Happy Hill Winery for $1,800, and her staff prepares for the reception. That afternoon, just before the reception, Twisted tenders delivery of the wine at Stacey’s residence. She refuses tender. Twisted sues Stacey for breach of contract, Stacy files a counter claim.

Use IRAC to analyze Stacey’s position.

Assignment 2: Phase A of Concept Analysis Paper (25 points/5% of final grade)

1. Identify a concept of one or two words that conveys meaning, understanding or feelings between or among individuals within the profession of nursing.
2. Choose a concept that represents an area/problem of interest to you in your clinical practice
3. Some concepts relevant to nursing and advanced practice nursing include: health, nursing, managed care, coping, parenting, hardiness, attachment, separation, stress, crisis, pain, grief, hope, self-efficacy, wellness, integrity, growth, adaptation, caring, mentorship, chronicity, family, self-care, fatigue, caregiving, anxiety, collaboration, continuity of care, etc.
4. Write a short introductory paragraph expressing what the concept is and why it is significant to you and to nursing.
5. Write down all the words you can think of that relate to or express the concept.
6. Ask colleagues to share their understandings of your concept. Summarize their responses.
7. Look up the concept in a collegiate dictionary and list the definitions you believe most closely describe your feelings or thoughts on the concept. The collegiate dictionary is on reserve in the computer lab and is also found in public libraries
8. Be sure to obtain the proper citation
9. Internet-based dictionaries are NOT acceptable for this paper

3. List synonyms and antonyms of the concept. You may use a thesaurus (on reserve in the computer lab) as well as a dictionary to identify these.
4. Submit the 2-3 page paper (not counting cover page and reference list) in APA format by the deadline.

Read about global warming at sites on the Internet. Write a 500-800 word (~2 pages, double spaced) paper that answers the following questions: • How much have global temperatures increased over the last century? • Why do scientists suspect man-made carbon dioxide is responsible? • Do scientists agree that global warming is an inevitable consequence of carbon dioxide production? • What efforts, if any, are currently underway to address the problem? These efforts could be governmental (US government, state governments, international/UN based, etc.) or run by other organizations such as Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, or even by businesses? You only need to address two or three efforts at a maximum. • Which of these efforts, if any, do you think are likely to succeed?   Alternatively, you may choose ONE result of global warming to write about in detail, with accompanying charts and discussion.  Suggestions include  • Sea level rise • Land and sea ice loss • The changing climate of Ohio • The migration of diseases and pests • The real and potential impact on human conflict and migration.

Include at least one well-explained, up to date graph of data.   Papers should be typed, double spaced, and submitted in .docx or .pdf format through the Blackboard SafeAssign portal for this assignment. Check your papers for correct grammar and spelling before submission.  Material not your own must be cited within the text to a bibliography entry at the end. References should be cited using a common citation style— APA, MLA, or Chicago.  See examples on the next page.  Use only original scientific material- do NOT cite Internet blogs or media (reputable media cite material with references; these sources may be used).  Your paper should include at least three sources.   Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Here are some places to start: NOAA  National Geographic  Science Daily  American Institute of Physics

Topic 1: Centralized and Decentralized Models
By comparing and contrasting the centralized and decentralized models of policing, critically discuss with your classmates the nature and purpose of each. Which model fits the two countries (Canada and Saudi Arabia) you selected and why?

Persuasive essay on sexual assault in the military and why the higher ranking person who commits the crime only gets a slap on the wrist for committing the crime. I don’t agree with it and I think that something needs to be done to the perpetrator