last updated December 8, 1999 O'Hara ©

Michael J. O'Hara Office Hours: by appointment,

CBA 502 UNO Omaha NE 68182 Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday

(402) 554-2823 (with voice mail) before class, 5:30 - 6:00 PM

mohara@unomaha.edu and after class, 8:40 - 9:30 PM (218 on T&R)

fax (402) 554-2680 (after class office hours often are in the classroom)

http://cba.unomaha.edu/faculty/mohara/web/ohara.htm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

ECON 4910; ECON 8916; and BSAD 8916 (1-3 credit hours; may be repeated up to 6). A series of special courses each designed to focus on current major topics and developments in a specific area of economics or business, scheduled as a workshop or seminar according to purpose. Prereq: Graduate student or advanced undergraduate student and as indicated for specific workshop or seminar.

NOTE: For this course, the students will have widely varying skill levels in statistics. The textbook will provide the theory and the math of forecasting, as well as many applications. Additionally, there will be many guest speakers.

NOTE: MBA students are limited to six hours of 8xx6 courses.

GRADED EVENTS:

A course letter grade of "A" is earned with a total course percentage of 90.0% or more; a "B+" is earned with 85.0% or more; a "B" is earned with 80.0% or more; etc.

45% EXAMS all exam questions will come from the textbook

20% Midterm Exam chapters 1 through 6

25% Comprehensive Final Exam chapters 1 through 12

45% RESEARCH PROJECT

5% IFQ: Initial Framing of the Question, one page

5% FQ&IBDS: Framed Question & Initial Bibliography & Data Set, three pages

10% first draft of Introduction and Conclusion (no more than three pages each)

25% final draft of paper, 10 page minimum, 20 page maximum

10% CLASS PARTICIPATION

questions on Concepts for Review at the end of that day's assigned chapter

EXTRA CREDIT

up to +5% complete all of the end of a chapter tasks for a chapter

TEXT:

1. Diebold, Francis X. Elements of Forecasting. South-Western College Pub.: Cincinnati, Ohio, 1998.

 

EXAMS:

There are two exams, a Midterm Exam and a Comprehensive Final Exam, worth 45% of the course grade. All exam questions will come from the textbook's end of chapter tasks.

The Midterm Exam is worth 20% of the course grade, will cover chapters 1 through 6, and is on March 1. The Comprehensive Final Exam is worth 25% of the course grade, will cover chapters 1 through 12, and is at the Regent's scheduled final exam time of May 3.

RESEARCH PROJECT:

Each student, in consultation with the instructor, shall design and implement a Research Project. The Research Project is worth a total of 45% of the course grade, and it has four parts. The four parts of the Research Project are:

1 IFQ (Initial Framing of the Question),

2 FQ&IBDS (Framed Question and Initial Bibliography and Data Set),

3 FDIC (First Draft of the Introduction and the Conclusion), and

4 Final Draft.

All parts must satisfy the TYPING REQUIREMENTS. SEE SECTION BELOW ENTITLED "GRADUATE STUDENTS VERSUS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS".

IFQ: Initial Framing of the Question. The IFQ is due January 26 and is worth 5% of the course grade. This is a double-spaced, one page maximum, assignment. The IFQ's first paragraph will be a single sentence paragraph that identifies the question the student's Research Project will attempt to answer. The IFQ's second paragraph will identify the major variables related to answering the student's question and this paragraph will end with the functional form the student expects to use. The IFQ's third and subsequent paragraphs will explain the choice of variables, both for inclusion and exclusion.

FQ&IBDS: Framed Question and Initial Bibliography and Data Set. The FQ&IBDS is due February 16 and is worth 5% of the course grade. This is a double-spaced, three-page assignment. The first page will deal solely with the student's revised and "final" Framed Question. The second page will contain the initial bibliography of published research relevant to the student's question. This second page must have at least 4 citations. These bibliographic citations will be typed up in conformance with the University of Chicago Press' standards as reflected in a recent version of the Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, which is available in the UNO Bookstore's Reference Area, near the front door. The sixth edition is 1996. The third page will contain a list of and a description of the data sets the student expects to use. The list of the data sets must contain enough citation information for the instructor to easily find the data set. This data set list must state if there are any known difficulties with the data (e.g., missing years).

Frequently, research projects evolve during the project. It is quite normal to begin research expecting to go in one direction, and then conclude that it would be better to go in another direction. Accordingly, the student is free to change the question the student examines in the Research Project at any time prior to the submitting the Final Draft. The student does not need the instructor's prior approval to do so. However, changing horses in mid-stream can be very dangerous. Therefore, the student would be wise to consult closely with the instructor prior to changing the question in the Research Project's IFQ and the FQ&IBDS. This is a judgement call for the student. The student's failure to consult with the instructor prior to changing the Research Project's question in no way binds the instructor to evaluate the question as a "good" question for this type of Research Project.

FDIC: First Draft of the Introduction and Conclusion. The FDIC is due
no later than April 5 and is worth 10% of the course grade. Students, especially graduate students, are encouraged to turn in their FDIC prior to April 5. This is a double-spaced assignment. The Introduction may not be longer than three pages. The Conclusion may not be longer than three pages.

There are several purposes for the FDIC. One, is to allow the student to further refine the statement of the question and to begin to make a first attempt at stating the answer. Second, is to allow the student to see how the instructor will grade writing. Third, is to force the student to complete substantial portions of the Research Project earlier in the semester.

Final Draft: The Final Draft is due April 19 and is worth 25% of the course grade. The Final Draft double-spaced assignment with a 10-page minimum and a 20-page maximum, including all tables, graphs, and bibliography. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar definitely affect your Final Draft grade. Each uncorrected error in spelling, punctuation, and grammar will earn an automatic technical reduction of 1% from the Final Draft's quality grade.

Tables and graphs must be on separate pages and individually numbered, rather than be imbedded in the text. To identify the appropriate placement of tables and graphs use a single paragraph consisting of all capital letters that states: "INSERT TABLE ## HERE." You may have more than one table and/or graph on a single page. Within tables and graphs you may use a smaller font size than 12, but not smaller than 8. The source for each table and each graph must be cited in an endnote. Each unlabeled item within a table or a graph will earn an automatic technical reduction of 1% from the Final Draft's quality grade.

Use endnotes rather than footnotes. The endnotes shall start at the top of a page.

The bibliography shall start at the top of a separate page. The bibliography only contains those items that are mentioned in the endnotes. The bibliography is a list of references cited, not merely consulted. There must be at least 6 bibliographic entries.

GRADUATE STUDENTS VERSUS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS:

Students earning graduate credit are expected to do significantly more than students earning undergraduate credit do. For this course, that difference will show up in the Research Project.

The minimum length of a graduate student's Research Project Final Draft is 20 pages and the maximum length is 40 pages, rather than the undergraduate student 10 page minimum and 20 page maximum. Graduate students shall have a minimum of 6 tables and/or graphs, rather than the undergraduate student minimum of 0. Graduate students shall have a minimum of 15 bibliographic citations, rather than the undergraduate minimum of 6.

Graduate students should seriously consider designing their Research Project with an eye towards seeking publication in a practitioner's journal. Graduate students shall expand their FQ&IBDS to add a fourth page. This fourth page will identify two publication outlets that might be interested in the results of the graduate student's Research Project, including submission address, dates, page limits, etc.

TRUNCATED SCALE:

Several graded events, totaling 20% of the course grade and the Extra Credit, will be graded on a truncated scale. The IFQ, the FQ&IBDS, Class Participation, and Extra Credit all will be graded on the truncated scale of:

clearly excellent = 100%

expected quality = 80%

suspect quality = 60%

fail = 0%.

When graded on the truncated scale nearly all students will earn an 80%. For these graded events the principle purpose of the graded event is to assure that students are continually involved with the material. A grade of 100% clearly is feasible, but is not probable.

TYPING REQUIREMENTS:

The page length is specified in the assignment. All assignments are double-spaced. All typed assignments shall be in a #12 font typeface, shall use one-inch margins on all four sides of a page, and shall be typed on 8 1/2" x 11" white paper. DO NOT USE A COVER SHEET. Look at the top of this page (if you are viewing the classroom handout). It has a "header" at about one-half inch from the top of the page. Instead of a cover sheet use a single line header on each page identifying, from left to right: (1) the student author; (2) the assignment; (3) the date submitted [e.g., BillyJoe DonBob Baleu; IFQ; January 26, 2000].

UNO has charged you a $5 per credit hour technology fee for the ENRON Computer Lab in CBA 403 and the campus computing rooms in CBA 007, EAB 009, and DSC 104 all of which have word processing software and provide computer support for you. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling do influence your grade. For page limits and other assignment specific typing requirements, see the specific assignment. EACH FAILURE to comply with the typing requirements (e.g., incorrect header or no staple) will cause an AUTOMATIC LOSS OF 5% from your earned assignment grade.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

There is NO MAKE-UP WORK for Class Participation. However, each student's lowest grade will be excluded from the calculation of the student's Class Participation grade.

Your Class Participation grade is earned based on your ability to answer questions about the Concepts for Review found at the end of every chapter. Questions will be based on that day's assigned chapter. As the semester progresses the quality of the answers is expected to increase because the knowledge base will be increasing. That is, student's answers later in the semester are expected to include relevant material from prior chapters.

Depending on whether and when there is a guest speaker, Class Participation will be conducted at the beginning of the class. Students who are late for the start of Class Participation will earn a failing grade on that day's Class Participation. During Class Participation students will be called on randomly and will be called on in groups of four, but will be graded individually. Over the course of the semester, you personally will be randomly called upon at least three times. In a small class you may be called upon up to ten times. Each Class Participation will be graded using the TRUNCATED SCALE described above.

EXTRA CREDIT:

Recall that all of the exam questions will come from the textbook's end of chapter tasks. For 5% Extra Credit a student may prepare 100% correct answers for all of the end of chapter tasks from a single chapter. Essay tasks must satisfy the TYPING REQUIREMENTS. Math tasks must be very neat, legible, and well organized. Math tasks must show all significant steps in the reaching the solution. Math tasks must be done in ink. If a task is a combination of math tasks and essay tasks, then any substantial essay tasks must be typed. Extra Credit is graded on the Truncated Scale.

Extra Credit assignments are due by the start of the class meeting prior to the class where that chapter is assigned. (Except for Chapter 1, which is due the day it is covered, January 19.) Students would be very wise to coordinate their efforts so that you do not end up with ten copies of Chapter 6 and none for the other chapters.

MAKE-UP WORK:

Make-up work is strongly discouraged. There is no make-up work for Class Participation. There are two prerequisites for make-up work.

1. 24 hour prior notice of your intended absence, unless for sufficient reason (e.g., death of an immediate family member); AND

2. timely, written verification by an impartial third party
(e.g., from mortician on letterhead).

If you must miss a class when a Research Project part is due or when an Extra Credit assignment is due, then you may fax (402) 554-2680 or email to mohara@unomaha.edu your assignment prior to the start of class. It will not be an adequate excuse that my fax machine was busy when you attempted transmission, nor will it be an adequate excuse that the UNOMail server was non-responsive. Additionally, with respect to Extra Credit assignments, an original must be in the instructor's possession no later than 1:00 PM the day the chapter is covered in class.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:

Any form of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism) will be grounds for a course grade of "F."