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Unit 4: Discussion  introduction to fiction
 
Instructions
Participation in the discussion thread is worth 20 points per unit. The assignment consists of two things—posting your first response to the prompts, and participating in the conversation by responding to at least two of your peers’ postings.
NOTE: Do not simply copy and paste from your reading journal into the discussion. You can use some of the ideas from your journal to frame your discussion post/responses, but the discussion posts must be substantially different from the reading journal.
Discussion Prompt Initial Response
The full ten points will be given to a discussion response posting that

• Responds to every aspect of the discussion prompt with originality (do not just repeat what other students say – what is different that you can add to the conversation?)
• Displays a familiarity with the texts and topics being discussed, using specific details or examples from the text(s)
• Exceeds 250 words

At the discretion of the instructor, points will be taken off any response that does not fulfill all of these goals. Late points will be deducted according to the standard late submission policy.
Response to Peers
The full ten points will be given if you provide at least two response postings that

• Interact with a classmate’s post with originality and thoroughness
• Add something new to the conversation
• Exceed 50 word each

At the discretion of the instructor, points will be taken off any response that does not fulfill all of these goals. Late points will be deducted according to the standard late submission policy.
You are very much encouraged to post more than twice to the postings of your peers; the two longest postings are just the ones that will be evaluated.
Unit 4 Discussion Prompt
Choose one of the following to answer:

1. How does the second story you chose to read compare with Kafka’s Metamorphosis? They both fall into the genre of magical realism, but what similarities or differences do you see?
2. If you were to reimagine one of the readings from Unit 1, 2, of 3 into a magical realism story, how would you go about changing or adding to the story? Would it drastically alter the meaning of the story? Why or why not?

Spring 2021
ECO 578 Journal Article
Sample Data for Supermarket Profits
Supermarket
Number
Food Sales (tens
of thousands of
dollars)
𝑿𝟏
Nonfood Sales
(tens of thousands
of dollars)
𝑿𝟐
Store Size
(thousands of
square feet)
𝑿𝟑
Profit (thousands
of dollars)
Y
1 305 35 35 20
2 129 98 20 15
3 189 83 27 17
4 175 76 16 9
5 101 93 28 16
6 269 77 46 27
7 425 44 58 35
8 195 47 12 7
9 282 31 40 22
10 203 92 32 23
You have to indicate the purpose of the study and discuss (not listing) data characteristics
before answering questions and interpreting the results of the regression analysis.
1. Run a multiple regression using the above data. (with profit as the dependent variable).
2. Compare the result of question (1) with another regression equation obtained without the food
sales variable.
3. Which of the models do you prefer? Why?
4. Interpret your results for (1) and (2).
5. In writing your paper, you should start by indicating the purpose of the study. Also, discuss the
methodology and conclusions.
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** You can use EXCEL or any other software. ** You need to include your printout in your
submissions.
The layout and format of the paper should include the following sections:
Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion.
a) Abstract is a very concise summary of the paper.
b) The Introduction tells the reader about the topic. Specifically, it should start with the
purpose of this paper is to examine…. What the issue is, what is known about it, and the specific
focus? Put a business context to it — write the value added by your work or what businesses can
gain from the knowledge of the determinants of market profits.
c) Empirical Results you should start with a brief discussion of the descriptive statistics for
each variable.
d) Method you should be able to explain what method you are using for your work. For
example, you can start with telling the reader that the ordinary least squares method (OLS) was
used to obtain estimated coefficients… (Then write more). You should be able to write the equation
from the Excel result. We expect to see you… 1. Using the excel result to generate the equation.
2. Find the standard error of each variable.
3. Find the t-stat of each variable.
4. Find the p-value of each variable.
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EXAMPLE:
Ŷ = 1.24 + 1.71×1 – 0.83×2 – 2.12×3
𝐒𝐛𝟏 (6.79) (1.43) (0.22) (0.85)
T-stat [0.18] [1.20] [3.78] [2.48]
P-value 0.857 0.247 0.002 0.025
e) The results section should tell what was found from the computed data. Using Chapter 10
and 11 for helping you interpret your result. For instance, you should interpret the Coefficient of
Determination (R!
), F-test, t-test, p-value and etc. In addition, your result should use the hypothesis
equation.
Remember that in the results section there should include hypothesis testing for a t-test about
each slope coefficient and a F-test for the overall regression model.
EXAMPLE:
For the t-test, it is written like this:
H”:
H$: β# ≠ 0
Note:
You have to decide whether to use one-tail or two-tail test
You need to follow chapter 9 materials and declare your alternative hypothesis in each
case very well
F-test:
H”:
H$: , or all three are ≠ 0
(Note that: remember to mention what α is used in your hypothesis testing).
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f) The Discussion describes what your findings mean in the light of the information presented
in the introduction. It is the interpretive segment of the paper and loops back to answer the issues
raised in the introduction. Remember to answer questions 2 and 3.