BTEC Higher National Diploma in Computing

Assignment 1: - Unit 13 Computing Research Project

Assignment - Computing Research Project

Learning Outcome 1: Examine appropriate research methodologies and approaches as part of the research process
Learning Outcome 2: Conduct and analyse research relevant for a computing research project
Learning Outcome 3: Communicate the outcomes of a research project to identified stakeholders
Learning Outcome 4: Reflect on the application of research methodologies and concepts

ASSIGNMENT

Aim & Objective

This coursework is designed to demonstrate the broad understanding and knowledge of the module, assessing and evaluating the student`s strength and level of analysis; divided into four learning outcomes. The coursework should be submitted as one document in a report format in final submission.
Assignment Scenario:

The Pearson-set theme for Computing Research Project is.

The environmental impact of digital transformation

The amount of data created and stored globally is expected to reach 175 Zettabytes by 2025, a six- fold increase from 2018. This will demand additional hardware and power consumption, which; in turn, will increase the environmental impact of the digital sector and there is already increasing attention on the environmental footprint of ICT equipment and services as they become more widespread in all aspects of human life.

It is the responsibility of everyone to take action in addressing the challenges of climate change, as professionals we must also seek ways that the digital sector can play its part. While digital technologies are one of the sectors that has achieved greater efficiency; achieving about 100 times more computation power from the same amount of energy per decade, it remains unsustainable. The sector must continue to seek ways in which it can continue to support and drive innovation, while addressing the global climate emergency for a greener and fairer future.

Students are to choose their own research topic for this unit. Strong research projects are those with clear, well focused and defined objectives. A central skill in selecting a research objective is the ability to select a suitable and focused research objective.

The range of topics discussed could cover the following:

• The use of modern methods to reduce carbon emissions in IT network systems.
• The impact of cloud data centres on the environment.
• The environmental implications of e-waste and ways to reduce it.

The research objective should allow students to broaden their understanding and widen their perspective of being able to explore, argue, prove, and/or disprove a particular objective. The research objective should be feasible, novel, ethical, relevant and ultimately of interest to the student.

Students are to submit as evidence for the unit in addition to their project findings, the research proposal and ethics form. The research proposal sets out the plan for how the students will achieve the intended research objective(s) and shows whether the objective will be feasible, ethical and achievable in the time scale. It sets out how secondary research supports the research objective, how the research will be conducted, how the research will be evaluated. Students will need to gain ethical approval before commencing their research, this will be discussed with the tutor during the research proposal.

Part 1:
Consider the development of a methodical, ethical, reliable and valid research proposal as the foundation for the project. The proposal should be agreed with your tutor prior to undertaking any research. Proposal and ethical forms should also be agreed and completed. An ethics form must be submitted prior to completion of research as part of the research proposal.

The project topic should reflect personal interest in a specialism and should allow for a sufficient degree of research through the existence of adequate background materials.

The framework of your proposal should address a specific research problem or question. This can be stated as a research question, objectives or hypothesis.

As guidance, a good project proposal and project title should have an existing body of literature or source material that can be reviewed. In addition, it should extend the current line of learning, lending itself to further rigorous exploration. You should decide on appropriate research methods and select an appropriate sample. Finally, provide a literature review that identifies the background and conceptualisation of your proposed area of study. This would provide existing knowledge and benchmarks by which your data can be judged.

Part 2:
You should conduct your research as outlined in your proposal and keep track of your findings as you progress.

The research methodology and research process, should be considered and clearly defined, demonstrating an understanding of the pitfalls and limitations of the methods chosen and ethical issues that could be encountered.

Conduct your research, analyse your findings and draw conclusions. Research methods should be applied to evaluate the data collected from primary research sources. Your research and analysis of your findings should be specific to your original research question, from which conclusions can be drawn.

Reflect on the success of your research project and your performance at the end of the project with the inclusion of a project evaluation and recommendations. In addition, based on the results of your study, what alternative research methodologies would you use in future to improve the results?

Reflect on your experience of formative draft submission and the feedback given by your lecturer. (e.g., how to improve your coursework). Whether you were able to discuss your choice of sources, your writing

style, the accuracy of your referencing

Appendices
Note: You should attach all the supporting documents as a separate file in the appendix section of your assignment. Without appropriate evidence(s) your assignment will not be marked.
• Proposal
• Ethic form
• Completed questioner (if it is used)
• Collected data
• Any other document(s) requested by tutor

Assignment 2:- Unit 14 Business Intelligence - BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computing

Assignment - Business Intelligence

Learning Outcome 1: Discuss business processes and the mechanisms used to support business decision-making
Learning Outcome 2: Compare the tools and technologies associated with business intelligence functionality
Learning Outcome 3: Demonstrate the use of business intelligence tools and technologies
Learning Outcome 4: Discuss the impact of business intelligence tools and technologies for effective decision-making purposes and the legal/regulatory context in which they are used

Aim & Objective

This coursework is designed to demonstrate the broad understanding and knowledge of the unit, assessing and evaluating the student`s strength and level of analysis; divided into four learning outcomes. The coursework should be submitted as one document in a report format in final submission.
Assignment Scenario:

Business processes are core elements of any intelligent system. Design and development of intelligent systems largely depend on understanding the activities of business processes, their sequences, all relevant decisions around them, and the possible inputs and outputs of them. Business processes exist in any business. The scenarios below are two examples of them.

Case Scenario 1: Charity Fund Request Process
Action Response is a London-based charity dedicated to providing fast responses to critical situations throughout the world. It was founded by Susan N`tini, its Chief Executive, to provide relatively short-term aid for small projects until they could obtain funding from larger donors. The charity receives requests (applications) for cash aid, usually from an intermediary charity, and looks to process the request quickly, providing funds where and when they are needed. The processing of applications is a lengthy procedure requiring careful examination by applications assessors who are trained to make well-founded assessments in line with the charity`s guidelines and values.

Incoming applications are opened by one of the four ‘receipt` clerks who check that all the necessary forms have been included in the application. These are then sent in batches to the coding staff, twice a day. The five coding clerks allocate a unique identifier to each application and key the information on the application into the system. Files are then sent to the senior applications assessors` secretary`s desk. As assessors become available, the secretary provides the next job in the line to the assessor. About one hundred of the cases seen by the assessors each week are put aside because the information is ambiguous so further information is needed. The assessor returns these files to the secretaries, who write to the applicant (usually via the intermediate charity) requesting additional information, and return the file to the ‘receipt` clerks who ‘store` the file until the further information eventually arrives. When it does arrive, the file enters the process and progresses through the same stages again. Of the applications that require no further information, around half are accepted and half declined.

All the applications, whether approved or declined, are stored prior to ratification. Every Thursday the Committee of Trustees meets to formally approve the applications assessors` decisions. The committee`s role is to sample the decisions to ensure that the guidelines of the charity are upheld.

In addition, they will review any particularly unusual cases highlighted by the applications assessors. Once approved by the committee the files are then taken to the completion officers. There are ‘decline` officers whose main responsibility is to compile a suitable response to the applicant pointing out why the application failed and offering, if possible, helpful advice. Successful files are passed to the four ‘payment` officers where again the file is completed, letters (mainly standard letters) are created and payment instructions are given to the bank. Finally, the paperwork itself is sent, with the rest of the file, to two ‘dispatch` clerks who complete the documents and mail them to the applicant.

* This case scenario was adapted from Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A. & Johnston, R. (2015). Operations management. Pearson education (p. 121).

Case Scenario 2: Event Management

You have been asked to organise a small concert for a charitable group, to raise money for a good cause and also attract more members for the charitable group.
Tickets for the event will be sold in advance (online or by phone) and ‘on the door`. It has been decided to set three price levels for the tickets:
- £5 for concessions (pensioners/ unwaged) and for existing members of the charitable group,
- £7 for students not existing members; and
- £10 for others.
- Anyone who joins the charitable group (annual subscription £5) will get a £2 discount on the event.

At the time of the event you will know how many tickets have been pre-sold.
You should note that ‘at the door` activities can involve signing-up new members on the spot in addition to simply checking tickets purchased in advance and selling tickets not already pre-sold.
The two main responsibilities of door personnel are; to
(a) ensure the right entrance fees are being charged; and
(b) accurately record ticket sales and membership applications.
There are two complications. Your venue has a capacity limit (300) and you must not exceed that capacity (or the function may be stopped on health and safety grounds).
Alcohol will be on sale at the venue, which is thus restricted to those aged 18 or over. Control is critically important and therefore you must also include processes which ensure that the venue`s capacity is not breached, and that under-age visitors are not sold alcohol.

Choose ONE of the above scenarios. You are required to produce a report, which should address the following tasks:

Task 1
Develop a process map or flow chart for the selected case, and examine its core steps and supporting processes. Then, identify its key input and output data and classify and differentiate them in terms of unstructured and semi-structured data.
Recommend an application software that can be employed to process the business activities of the case scenario above, and evaluate its benefits and drawbacks for business processing.

Task 2
Identify the key decisions to be made in the business process above, and compare the support(s) needed to be available for making those decisions. Then, explore the opportunities for intelligent systems to contribute to the decision-making processes and justify their required features. Accordingly, compare and contrast some information systems/ technologies that can be used to

support organising the selected business process, as described in the case scenario, at strategic, tactical, and operational levels.

Task 3
Specify one or two applications of business intelligence for the business process that you chose earlier, and determine its particular tools and techniques. Elaborate your answer by using specific examples in the context of the case scenario.
Based on the application(s) you specified above, design a business intelligence tool (or application or interface) that can support a specific task (e.g. decision making, problem solving, prioritising, and customer relationship management) of the process, mapped earlier for your LO1.

Try to customise different features of your business intelligence tool to enhance its user-friendliness or functional interface.
Critically review your design in terms of how it meets specific user or business requirements and its customisation capabilities.

Task 4
Review the key decisions being made in the above case scenario, and discuss how business intelligence tools can enhance their effectiveness.

Given that legal issues are very critical in your selected case scenario, explore their involvement in the exploitation of business intelligence tools recommended earlier for the case scenario above.

Through wider research on other organisations or sectors, identify two examples of business intelligence tools, which are employed to improve their operations.

Discuss how business intelligence can help organisations to enhance their competitiveness and expand their markets. In particular, evaluate the role of security legislations in business intelligence`s above achievements.

Assignment 3: - Unit 19 Data Structures and Algorithms

You are strongly advised to read "Preparation guidelines of the Coursework Document" before answering your assignment.

Learning Outcome 1: Examine abstract data types, concrete data structures, and algorithms
Learning Outcome 2: Specify abstract data types and algorithms in a formal notation
Learning Outcome 3: Implement complex data structures and algorithms
Learning Outcome 4: Assess the effectiveness of data structures and algorithms

ASSIGNMENT

Aim & Objective

This coursework is designed to demonstrate the broad understanding and knowledge of the module, assessing, and evaluating the student`s strength and level of analysis; divided into 4 Section. The coursework should be submitted as one document in a report format in final submission.

Assignment Scenario
Data structures provide a means to manage large amounts of data efficiently for uses such as large databases and internet indexing services. Usually, efficient data structures are key to designing efficient algorithms. Some formal design methods and programming languages emphasize data structures, rather than algorithms, as the key organizing factor in software design. Data structures can be used to organize the storage and retrieval of information stored in both main memory and secondary memory. Primitive data structures like int, float, char, etc. are simple ways for programming languages to represent basic values but to store multiple values in a single variable, there is a need for nonprimitive data structures which include arrays, lists, stacks, trees, and so forth. The use of these data structures can also be employed using object-oriented programming languages like C# or Java, a class is a data structure that organizes attributes and functions in such a way that they can be easily replicated. In each case, the way the data is "structured" makes it easy to retrieve or manipulate.

You have been asked to write a report covering the points stated below in relation to ADTs and their management. You must also present your programming skills related to abstract data types using C#.

LO1

The implementation of a data structure usually requires writing a set of procedures that create and manipulate instances of that structure. The different form of data structure and its operations gives rise to the different application like Arrays, Stack, Queue, Linked Lists, graph data structure, Tree, Hash tables, etc. Understanding the above nature of data structure, you are required to produce a design specification for any three data structures explaining the valid operations that can be carried out on the structures. To implement and make use of Stack, you need to define its common operations and how it is used to implement function calls in a computer. To further test the use of Queue, you need to illustrate with an example of a concrete data structure for "First in First out" (FIFO) Queue and its common operations.

Sorting is a common operation in many applications, but efficient algorithms are selected and made used to develop the programs, therefore you are required to compare the performance of any two types of Sorting.

Visualizations are a powerful way to simplify and interpret the underlying patterns in data. The use of graphs is one such visualization technique. It is incredibly useful and helps businesses make better data-driven decisions. To present your understanding of the concepts of graphs, you need to present your findings on "Graph theory", by analysing any two networks` shortest path algorithms from Bellman Ford`s Algorithm, Dijkstra`s Algorithm & Floyd-Warshall`s Algorithm.

LO2

In many modern days applications, Stacks are used for the undo buttons. The recent most changes are pushed into the stack. Even the back button on the browser works with the help of the stack where all the recently visited web pages are pushed into the stack. Making a note of the above concepts on the stack, you need to Identify an abstract data type for a First in Last out (FILO) - stack and its different associated functions and support with some programming examples. Based on the application of OOPS in data structures, you need to examine the advantages of encapsulation and information hiding when using an ADT. Present your views along with justification on why imperative ADTs is considered a basis for object orientation.

LO3

A college has asked you to produce a console-based application to store Student`s information and the course in which they are working. The application should have the following functionalities:
a) Add new student (student id, first name, last name, and mobile number, email, course name, and course start date.)
b) Add 3 departments (e.g., Business, Health Care and Computing, etc). You should have options to add other departments.
c) Remove student`s record based on ID or Phone number

d) Search student record based on phone number, ID, or course name.

e) Display all student`s ID, first name, last name based on the course enrolled in.

f) Update any student`s details.

Create your own data structure for the above problem and using Array, List, or Linked list as a base data storage, create and develop the application in C#. Your built application could implement encapsulation, Inheritance, and polymorphism.

In your built application, you should implement error-handling measures in your programming code and demonstrate its use in your assignment. To further support your findings, you should demonstrate your implementation of the data structure and the methods for solving the above problem by providing screenshots and test cases of each output. Once you have implemented the above program, you need to critically evaluate the complexity of your implemented ADT/algorithm.

LO4

To evaluate your built application, you need to first discuss how Asymptotic analysis can be used in understanding the complexity of algorithms with an example. To measure the efficiency of your developed application, determine two ways in which you can measure its efficiency, illustrating your answer with an example. While writing code on any problem, sometimes we need to sacrifice time over space or vice versa, you need to Interpret "what is trade-off" with one example to support your answer (you can take any part/ section of your programming code in your built application to justify your arguments). In addition, you could also evaluate three benefits of using and implementing independent data structures in your built applications to present your overall understanding of ADT.