This assignment will help prepare you to write your research paper, which is  due later in the course. The topic you select should be one that is of interest to you, discussed in the course, and one that you would like to research and write about.

For the annotated bibliography assignment you will decide on a topic, formulate a research question and select a case  from the resources available in the UMUC library databases. Once you have selected your case, you will also conduct a literature review identifying 5-6 additional scholarly sources that relate to your topic, one of which is the case study selected by you.

 (For example, if you have an interest in Diversity, you would formulate a research question related to diversity, locate a case study in the library related to diversity,( typically a company case that has a diversity initiative, problem, etc.)  and then search for scholarly articles related to your topic and research question). The UMUC librarians can also assist you with this assignment.

Once you have identified your topic, case study, scholarly sources and formatted your question, you will write your annotations. You must have at least 5-6 annotations (4-5 articles and 1 case study).

Each annotation includes four parts: 

1. summary of the article or summary of the case study selected from the UMUC library databases

2. the credentials of the author(s)

3. credibility of the source (peer-reviewed, non-peer-reviewed)

4. how you will use the information in your paper.

Each part must be discussed in each annotation, therefore each annotation is at least several paragraphs. 

****PLEASE NO PLAGIARISM

**** PLEASE DO NOT CITE A WHOLE BUNCH OF SOURCES AND CALL IT A PAPER

*** PLEASE FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS

Assignment 2: Project Paper
Due Week 8 and worth 200 points

The Project Paper focuses on a suggested topic related to art, architecture, history, music, or literature. The project will reflect your views and interpretation of the topic. This project is designed to help you stretch your mind and your abilities to be the creative, innovative, and critical thinker you already are!

Choose one (1) of the topics from the list of topic choices below. Read the topic carefully. Write a three to four (3-4) page paper (750-1,000 words) that responds to each of the items described in the topic.

For the topic you choose:

• Support your ideas with specific, illustrative examples. If there are questions or points associated with your chosen topic, be sure to answer all of the listed questions and address all of the items in that topic. If your topic asks you to do several things related to the topic, be sure to do each of the things listed.
• While some of the topics tend to lend themselves toward particular writing genres, you are not restricted to the specific format suggested for the individual topic. For example, you may do an “interview,” a “proposal,” a “letter,” a “short story,” a “blog,” an “essay,” an “article,” or any other written genre for almost any of the topics. The project is intended to be fun as well as informative, so feel free to be creative with the delivery of your information.
• Use at least three (3) good quality academic sources, with one (1) source being the class text.
  Note: Wikipedia and other similar Websites do not qualify as academic resources. You are highly encouraged to use the Resource Center tab at the top of your Blackboard page.

Note: Your instructor may require you to submit your topic choice for approval before the end of Week 5.

Topic choices (pick 1):

• Office Art Memo. Memorandum. Your boss, who knows you have been taking a humanities class since he pays for your tuition reimbursement, has tasked you with managing the art budget for your company, expecting you to choose various pieces of art for the new corporate offices. (Note: Replicas of the works are acceptable since they are more cost-efficient and you are working on a budget.) Include the following:
  • Identify three (3) examples of 19th century Impressionist painting or sculpture and three (3) Post-Impressionist works. Explain how the six (6) pieces of art fall into these two (2) styles.
  • In a memo, describe the appearance of your six (6) choices to your CEO so he or she will know what the art looks like and where it would be placed in the corporate offices.
  • Explain why each piece is considered to be historically significant.
  • Explain how each piece “fits” your company’s overall (or desired) corporate image. Keep in mind that a piece of art is supposed to “say” something about the owner, so describe what would these pieces of art say about your company.

• New Composition. Speech. Your uncle’s birthday is in two (2) months, and everyone knows that he loves almost all kinds of music. As a birthday gift for him, you want to have a special piece of music composed in his honor which will be played at a family birthday celebration. Write a speech that you will make to the composer’s agent. Include the following:

• Harlem Renaissance Poets.Essay & Poem. Choose two (2) poems by different authors from the Harlem Renaissance. Write an essay that:

• Women’s Roles Then & Now.Script. Script a conversation between two (2) notable women from the 18th and / or 19th century on the roles women should play in society. Within the dialogue, include:

• Other topic choice recommended and approved by the professor and supported by the grading rubric.

The Project Paper will be graded on:

• The level to which the instructions were followed.

• The extent to which all four (4) parts in the topic were addressed.

• The adequacy of information, examples, and details which support the general claim or main idea.

• The clarity and relevance of the explanations and descriptions.

• Adherence to standard rules of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

• The inclusion of three (3) required references (two [2] additional sources besides your textbook) documented using APA style.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA Style format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions specific to the selected topic. (Note: Students can find APA style materials located in the Additional Resources section of their Student Center within their course shell for reference)

• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Explain how key social, cultural, and artistic contributions contribute to historical changes.

• Explain the importance of situating a society’s cultural and artistic expressions within a historical context.

• Examine the influences of intellectual, religious, political, and socio-economic forces on social, cultural, and artistic expressions.

• Identify major historical developments in world cultures from the Renaissance to the contemporary period.

• Use technology and information resources to research issues in the study of world cultures.

• Write clearly and concisely about world cultures using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric found here.

I have already written my paper. I need help putting the paper together and corrections such as grammar, spelling, and formatting. I need the paper to be corrected if there are errors. I have attached the guidelines for the for the paper. 

The final project for this course is the creation of a research paper. Every day, millions of economic choices are made by people—from what brand of soap to buy to how many employees to hire for a factory. Microeconomics provides us with the tools, models, and concepts to better understand individual choices in the marketplace and how resource allocation is determined at the micro level. The decisions made by individuals and households impact the market and influence decisions made by firms. Firms use these tools as a way to determine pricing, output, and profit maximization. As a student of economics, you can use the microeconomic principles to gain an understanding of how firms and individuals make decisions and also to make your own conclusions about actions we can take to improve those decisions.   Now, imagine that you are a consultant to the firm of your choice. The firm has hired you to advise it on how it can ensure its future success as a company in its current market. To do this, you will write a 7–9-page research paper analyzing market and business data to explain how the core microeconomic principles impact the sustainability of the firm and what actions it can take to ensure success.  

The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, and Five. The final submission will occur in Module Seven.  

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:  

 Apply microeconomic models to real-world situations for informing effective business decisions  Analyze business and market data using microeconomic tools for their impact on business sustainability  Evaluate the structure of various markets for informing effective decision-making strategies  Assess the behavior and decisions of individuals and firms for their relation to the microeconomic framework  

Prompt  You will work with your instructor to choose a firm for which you can find reliable data and information, both at the firm level and the industry level. The firm you select must be a publicly traded company, must operate in the U.S. market, and must currently be in business. You will need instructor approval before continuing on with your research paper in order to ensure you have met the necessary requirements. Publicly traded companies file reports with a great deal of data that you will find useful for your analysis. Once you have selected a firm for your case study, you will gather information and data relevant to the firm and its industry and use the core microeconomic principles you have learned in class to analyze the information and make a recommendation for your firm. You will compose a 7–9-page research paper in which you will analyze the market and business data to explain how the core microeconomic principles impact the sustainability of the firm, and your recommendation will suggest the actions the firm can take to ensure success.  

Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:  

I. Introduction Work with your instructor to choose a firm that matches the following criteria: a publicly traded company operating in the U.S. market that is currently in business. a) Outline the purpose of this paper and how it will inform your conclusion. b) Summarize the history of the firm, and provide an overview for what the firm does and what goods/services it sells. II. Explore the supply and demand conditions for your firm’s product. a) Evaluate trends in demand over time, and explain their impact on the industry and the firm. You should consider including annual sales figures for the product your firm sells. b) Analyze information and data related to the demand and supply for your firm’s product(s) to support your recommendation for the firm’s actions. Remember to include a graphical representation of the data and information used in your analysis. III. Examine the price elasticity of demand for the product(s) your firm sells. a) Analyze the available data and information, such as pricing and the availability of substitutes, and justify how you determine the price elasticity of demand for your firm’s product. b) Explain the factors that affect consumer responsiveness to price changes for this product, using the concept of price elasticity of demand as your guide. c) Assess how the price elasticity of demand impacts the firm’s pricing decisions and revenue growth. IV. Examine the costs of production for your firm. a) Analyze the various costs a firm faces, their trends over time, and how they have impacted your firm’s profitability. b) Apply the concepts of variable and fixed costs to your firm for informing its output decisions. For instance, analyze how different kinds of costs (labor, research and development, raw materials) affect the firm’s level of output. V. Explore the overall market for your firm. a) Discuss the market share of the firm and its top competitors by providing details on current percentages for each firm and describing the trend over time. You might consider presenting the data graphically. b) Analyze the barriers to entry in this market to illustrate the potential for new competition and its impact on your firm’s future in the market. c) Describe the market structure for this firm, and analyze how this affects the firm’s ability to influence the market. VI. Recommendation a) Develop a recommendation for how the firm can manage its future production by synthesizing the data presented. b) Suggest how the firm’s position within the market and among its competitors will allow it to take your recommended action. c) Describe how the firm can sustain its success going forward by evaluating the findings from demand trends and price elasticity.    

Milestones 

Milestone One: Introduction In Module Two, you will submit a draft of the introduction (Section I) of your research paper, including all critical elements of Section I as listed above. In one to two pages, you will detail the purpose of the paper, summarize the history of the firm, and provide an overview of the firm. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.    Milestone Two: Supply and Demand Conditions and Price Elasticity of Demand In Module Four, you will submit a draft of the supply and demand conditions (Section II) and price elasticity of demand (Section III) of your research paper, including all critical elements as listed above for each of those sections. Each of these sections should be one to two pages in length and should incorporate relevant data and supporting evidence. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.  

Milestone Three: Costs of Production, Overall Market, and Recommendation In Module Five, you will submit a draft of the costs of production (Section IV), overall market (Section V), and recommendation (Section VI) of your research paper, including all critical elements as listed above for each of those sections. Each of these sections should be one to two pages in length and should incorporate relevant data and supporting evidence. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.  

Final Submission: Research Paper In Module Seven, you will submit your research paper. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final project. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.  

Deliverables 

Milestone Deliverables Module Due Grading  1 Introduction  Two Graded separately; Milestone One Rubric 2 Supply and Demand Conditions and Price Elasticity of Demand Four Graded separately; Milestone Two Rubric 3 Costs of Production, Overall Market, and Recommendation Five Graded separately; Milestone Three Rubric  Final Submission: Research Paper Seven Graded separately; Final Project Rubric  

The data set you need to do the assignment can be found on Blackboard in the folder “Assignments and due dates” and in the spreadsheet “Data for Assignment 2”.You will need to complete the following tasks in SPSS and then submit the following files online under “Assignment 2 final submission”. You will also need to print them out and submit them as well as a hard copy: Activity 01: Enter all data from the spreadsheet “Data for Assignment 2”into SPSS. You will need to set up the variable view with the following 11 variables and then enter the data in data view: a) Student_ID, b) Year_Enrolled, c) HI001_Final_Exam, d) HI001_Assignment_01, e) HI001_Assignment_02, f) HI002_Final_Exam, g) HI002_Assignment_01, h) HI002_Assignment_02, i) HI003_Final_Exam, j) HI003_Assignment_01, k) HI003_Assignment_02. Activity 02: a) Do a frequency table, histogram, normal Q – Q and the de-trended normal Q–Q for each one of the 11 variables. b) Do descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum) for each one of the 11 variables. Activity 03: a) Do at least 10 different correlations between the any pairs of variables: For example: o HI001_Final_Exam and HI002_Final_Exam o HI001_Assignment_01 and HI001_Assignment_02 b) For each correlation discuss the results: o Are they are positive/negatively correlated? o Are they weak or strong correlations? o What is the significance value? o What does the significance value reveal about the data we have used? Activity 04: a) Do a Cronbach’s alpha reliability test on the following 9 variables: HI001_Final_Exam, HI001_Assignment_01, HI001_Assignment_02, HI002_Final_Exam, HI002_Assignment_01, HI002_Assignment_02, HI003_Final_Exam, HI003_Assignment_01, HI003_Assignment_02. b) Discuss the results. a. What item/s can be deleted to improve reliability? b. What items should never be deleted to maintain reliability of data? c. How many items need to be deleted to achieve maximum reliability? Activity 05: a) Copy –paste the data view and the variable view from your SPSS file to a Word document. b) Copy-paste ALL the output from all the activities requested in Activity 01 to 04 in SPSS and put the answers in the same Word document. c) Answer all discussion questions requested in Activity 01 to 04 and put the answers in the same Word document. d) Submit a hard copy of Assignment 02 Word document to Holmes. e) Submit a soft copy of the SPSS files used in SPSS and the Assignment 02 Word document online under Assignment 02 final submission.