March 22, 2022

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN DATA COMMUNICATIONS MDC 6105 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES DATE: AUGUST, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE: 20 MARKS (COMPULSORY) a) Describe the following terms in the context of emerging technologies and trends 4 Marks i. Emerging technologies ii. Wearable computer iii. Internet of things iv. Pervasive computing b) Discuss four characteristics of emerging technologies 4 Marks c) Describe Moore’s law highlighting it significance in technological developments 4 Marks d) Define the term digital divide and show how it continues to exist or increase in the African context in the face of emerging technologies. 4 Marks e) Social media has changed how communication has changed drastically in the past decade. Describe face book as a social medium of communication detailing the positive and negative impacts it has had in the society. 4 Marks QUESTION TWO: 15 MARKS a) Describe cloud computing as an emergent technology highlighting its advantages as well as challenges 5 Marks b) 5 th Generation (5G) communication technology is expected to change the nature of wireless communication. Describe the activities happening in the development of 5G as well as its anticipated benefits 5 Marks c) Discuss the tele-working technology detailing its benefits and challenges to the worker and the organization as well 5 Marks QUESTION THREE: 15 MARKS a) Explain the second life emerging technology showing how it is changing life 3 Marks b) Discuss the following technologies showing two positive and two negative for each on the contemporary way of life 12 Marks i. E-commerce ii. E-learning iii. E-banking iv. E-learning QUESTION FOUR: 15 MARKS a) Emergent technologies sometimes lead to technological obsolescence thus causing huge investments to organization; hence the need to study emerging technological trends. Required:- i. Discuss five such trends that organizations should study to protect themselves from technological obsolescence 5 Marks ii. identify five ways that the results of the studies done in part i) above would help the organization to be better prepared to face the problems of emerging technologies 5 Marks b) Discuss any five emerging technologies in the health sector and describe how it has changed the life of its users 5 Marks

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN DATA COMMUNICATIONS MDC 6101 COMPUTER NETWORKS DATE: AUGUST, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE [20 MARKS] a) More and more companies are finding it beneficial to have teleworkers. With advances in broadband and wireless technologies, working away from the office no longer presents the challenges it did in the past. (i) Describe the benefits of the teleworker solution. 2Marks (ii) Teleworkers typically use diverse applications (for example, e-mail, web-based applications, mission-critical applications, real-time collaboration, voice, video, and videoconferencing) that require a high-bandwidth connection. Describe any three infrastructure services options that are available. 3 Marks b) (i) On a corporate network, hosts on the same VLAN can communicate with each other, but they are unable to communicate with hosts on different VLANs. What is needed to allow communication between the VLANs? Explain. 2 Marks (ii) While troubleshooting a connectivity issue from a PC you obtain the following information: Local PC IP address: 10.0.0.35/24 Default Gateway: 10.0.0.1 Remote Sever: 10.5.75.250/24 You then conduct the following tests from the local PC: Ping 127.0.0.1 – Successful Ping 10.0.0.35 – Successful Ping 10.0.0.1 – Unsuccessful Ping 10.5.75.250 – Unsuccessful What is the underlying cause of this problem? 2 Marks c) State four major differences between WLANs and wired Ethernet. 4 Marks d) Describe (i) four limitations of layer 1 of the OSI reference model. 2 Marks (ii) how layer 2 addresses each of the above limitations 2 Marks e) (i) A receiving host has failed to receive all of the segments that it should acknowledge. What can the host do to improve the reliability of this communication session? 1 Mark (ii) What kind of cable should be used to establish a trunked line between two Catalyst switches? 1 Mark (iii) Assuming you build networks to exact specifications, what is the recommended maximum length a 10BaseT cable can be before it has to be segmented or repeated? 1 Mark QUESTION TWO [15 MARKS] a) (i) Two buildings on the Ruaraka campus of KCA University must be connected to use Ethernet with a bandwidth of at least 100 Mbps. Our main concern is about possible problems from voltage potential differences between the two buildings. Explain which media type should be used for the connection 2 Marks (ii) You are installing IP phones in a new office. The phones and office computers connect to the same device. To ensure maximum throughout for the phone data sessions, the company needs to make sure that the phone traffic is on a different network from that of the office computer data traffic. What is the best network device to which to directly connect the phones and computers and what technology should be implemented on this device? 2 Marks b) What factors would you take into account when choosing between a layer 3 switch and a router? 3 Marks c) Describe any four major benefits associated with hierarchical network designs. 4 Marks d) Discuss the following in relation to hierarchical network designs: (i) Performance 1 Mark (ii) Security 1 Mark (iii) Network Diameter 1 Mark (iv) Bandwidth aggregation 1 Mark QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS] a) The transition from IPv4 does not require upgrades on all nodes at the same time. Many transition mechanisms enable smooth integration of IPv4 and IPv6. Other mechanisms that allow IPv4 nodes to communicate with IPv6 nodes are available. Different situations demand different strategies. Discuss the dual stacking and tunneling techniques to transition from IPv4 to IPv6. 4 Marks b) Explain the following switch operations: (i) Learning 1 Marks (ii) Flooding 1 Marks (iii) Selective forwarding 1 Mark (iv) Filtering 1 Mark c) Explain the three major characteristics of WANs. 3 Marks d) Explain any four factors to consider when selecting a Network Operating System (NOS). 4 Marks QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS] a) Your company has a class C network address of 200.10.57.0. You want to subdivide your physical network into 5 subnets (A, B, C, D and E). You will need at least 20 hosts per subnet. Based on the given information, fill in the table below. 10 Marks Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using Network Address Translation (NAT). 5 Marks

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN DATA ANALYTICS/INFORMATION SYSTEMS MDA5401 MISM 5401 ADVANCED RESEARCH METHODS ORDINARY EXAMINATIONS DATE: JULY, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE (20 MARKS) (a) Briefly describe the following concepts as used in quantitative test of hypothesis. i. Significance level (2 Marks) ii. Effect size (2 Marks) iii. Statistical power (2 Marks) iv. Type II Error (2 Marks) (b) Explain how qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method research differ in terms of i. Process of data collection (2 Marks) ii. Nature and type of data collected (2 Marks) (c) Compare and contrast ethnographic and case studies research designs. (3 Marks) (d) Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a common data analytic technique used in quantitative research. Briefly describe a research problem where the use of ANOVA model could be appropriate to analyze the data. Be sure to identify the variables in the study and their scale of measurement. (5 Marks) QUESTION TWO (15 MARKS) Describe conditions under which each of the following statistical models can be appropriate for data analysis: a) Analysis of variance (3 Marks) b) Linear regression (3 Marks) c) Factor analysis (3 Marks) d) T-test (3 Marks) e) Logistic regression analysis (3 Marks) QUESTION THREE (15 MARKS) a) What is the usefulness of literature review in research? (5 Marks) b) Triangulation is a useful approach that enhances the credibility of a qualitative research. Define triangulation. Briefly describe how you could use triangulation in a study. (5 Marks) c) Explain the difference between “True – experiment” and “Quasi-experiment” and indicate the potential challenge each will present in a research project. (5 Marks) QUESTION FOUR (15 MARKS) Briefly explain the meaning of any FIVE of the following terms as used in research: a) Action research (3 Marks) b) Simple random sampling (3 Marks) c) Validity (3 Marks) d) Standard error (3 Marks) e) Random assignment (3 Marks) f) Type I error (3 Marks) g) Pearson correlation coefficient (3 Marks)

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN DATA ANALYTICS MDA5204 CURRENT ADVANCES IN DATABASES ORDINARY EXAMINATIONS DATE: JULY, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE [20 MARKS] a) Describe the following types of spatial queries: i) Nearness query ii) Nearest neighbor query iii) Region query iv) Spatial join (4 Marks) b) Computer Aided Design (CAD) and geographic databases use geometric constructs to store information about how objects are constructed, e.g.: designs of buildings, roads, layouts of integrated-circuits, etc. Explain THREE of these constructs and illustrate graphically how they are represented (6 Marks) c) Multimedia databases are characterized by high data volumes and real-time informationdelivery requirements. Explain FOUR requirements of multimedia databases (4 Marks) d) Identify three database levels of abstractions and use relevant examples to explain these. (6 Marks) QUESTION TWO [15 MARKS] a) While most databases tend to model reality at a point in time (at the “current” time), temporal databases model the states of the real world across time. Using appropriate illustration, describe the following techniques to implement time mapping: i) Temporal relation ii) Snapshot iii) Temporal projection (6 Marks) b) Binary relationships among entities can be mapped using different cardinality constraints. Discuss and illustrate any THREE of these cardinality constraints (6 Marks) c) Database programmers can manipulate persistent data directly. Describe the following degrees of permanence of object identity i) Intraprocedure permanence ii) Intraprocedure permanence iii) Persistent permanence (3 Marks) QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS] a) Consider the schedule below involving a set of transactions: T1, T2, …, T5. i) Is this schedule serializable? Show the workings to justify your answer (6 Marks) ii) Describe a situation involving the above transactions that would cause an inconsistent database state (2 Marks)   Structured types can be used to create tables with composite attributes. Illustrate the creation of structured data types using SQL, illustrating whether subtypes can be created (4 Marks) c) Explain the nesting and unnesting of relations and cite the functions involved (3 Marks) QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS] a) Distinguish between the following complex database attributes: i) Composite attributes and derived attributes (2 Marks) ii) Single-valued attributes and multivalued attributes (2 Marks) b) To preserve the integrity of data the database system must ensure atomicity, consistency, isolation and durability. Explain each of these requirements and use a case of executing transactions to illustrate (8 Marks) c) Explain the “shadow database” scheme with respect to recovery management. (3 Marks

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN DATA ANALYTICS/INFORMATION SYSTEMS MDA5105 MISM5105: PRINCIPLES OF DATA SCIENCE ORDINARY EXAMINATIONS DATE: AUGUST, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE [20 MARKS] a) Explain the term Visualization and discuss its use in data analytics 3 Marks b) Describe the value of using the data analytics life cycle 3 Marks c) Differentiate between the following terms as used in big data analytics: i) ELT and ETL 4 Marks ii) classification and clustering 4 Marks iii) Semi structured and quasi structured data 3 Marks iv) Data exploration and data presentation 3 Marks QUESTION TWO [15 MARKS] Scenerio A medium size retail bank in kenya wants to improve its net present value and its retention rate of customers.They want to establish an effective market campaign targeting customers to reduce the churn rate by at least 5%. They also want to determine whether those customers are worth retaining. In addition they want to analyze reasons for customer attrition and what they can do to keep them. They want to build a data-ware house to support marketing and other customer related care groups. Required: Perform an analytic plan for the bank above case study above 15 Marks QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS] a) Discuss the benefits of doing a pilot program before a full scale roll out of a new analytical methodology 6 Marks b)Misusing charts tends to confuse the audience. Discuss this statement in the light of the different type of charts and when best to use them. 9 Marks QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS] a) Discuss four Competencies of a data scientist 4 Marks b) Everyone and everything is leaving a digital footprint today. Discuss the main sources of data used for data analytics today. 5 Marks c) For each gigabyte of new data you create, a petabyte of data is created about that data. Explain this statement using a recommender system example. 6 Marks.

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREES OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN DATA COMMUNICATIONS/ DATA ANALYTICS/ INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT MDA5102 MDC5103 MISM 5102 DATA STORAGE AND CLOUD SERVICES ORDINARY EXAMINATIONS DATE: AUGUST, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE [20 MARKS] a) Discuss the configuration and characteristics of a Level 3 RAID. Also use a diagram to illustrate this (5 Marks) b) Comparatively discuss and explain the relative benefits and limitations of the following virtualization methods: i) In-band virtualization (4 Marks) ii) Out-of-band virtualization (4 Marks) c) Describe the term ILM and explain how ILM can be applied to improve information storage efficiency. Also draw a diagram to illustrate this. (7 Marks) QUESTION TWO [15 MARKS] a) Magnetic disks constitute a significant portion of all storage media. Identify and describe FOUR characteristics of magnetic disks (4 Marks) b) Discuss how optical storage technologiesdiffer from the magnetic disks above. (3 Marks) c) Discuss FOUR cloud computing technologies (8 Marks) QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS] Provide a comprehensive discussion of the B-Tree algorithm with reference to the following concepts: a) The key properties of the algorithm b) A graphical illustration of the algorithm c) New key insertion (15 Marks) QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS] a) Using an appropriate case study, describe FIVE core technology elements of a data center infrastructure (6 Marks) b) Explain the data restoration process starting from the time when a restore request is received. Make use of a diagram as you explain this process (9 Marks)

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN DATA ANALYICS MDA 5402 VISUAL ANALYTICS SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE DATE: AUGUST 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE a) Discuss the factor that makes a data mining method to be useful in visual analytics (6Marks) b) Explain the following terms. (6Marks) i) Data warehouse ii) OLAP iii) Data mining c) Using a well labeled diagram, elaborate the different stages and their transitions in the visual analytics process. (8 Marks) QUESTION TWO a) Discuss five categories of Grand Challenges in Visual Analytics. (5Marks) b) Discuss some of successful application areas in which the visual analytics approach has been used together with KDD methods. (10 Marks) QUESTION THREE a) Discuss the building blocks of Visual Analytics Research (7 Marks) b) Discuss challenges that that data management and visual analytics have to deal with to better exploit the opportunity of the Information Age (8 Marks) QUESTION FOUR a) Discuss some of important challenges of visualization (8 Marks) b) Discuss the various categories of interaction for information visualisation (7Marks)

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN DATA ANALYTICS MDA 5302 HUMAN PERCEPTION & INFORMATION VISUALIZATION ORDINARY EXAMINATIONS DATE: AUGUST, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE (20 MARKS) a) Explain the role(s) of human perception and cognition in the discipline of information Visualization. (7 Marks) b) Is there any difference between the disciplines of Information Visualization and Visual Analytics? Explain. (6 Marks) c) Review and classify recent development in visual analytics into a set of application categories. (7 Marks) QUESTION TWO (15 MARKS) Intelligence analysts must explore and evaluate volumes of data, from narrative recordings of field agents to open source news articles. Insights from visual analytics projects and a hypothetical scenario show the potential of visual analytics to aid these investigations. Discuss how this is possible. (15 Marks) QUESTION THREE (15 MARKS) a) Highlight major design consideration in information visualization (10 Marks) b) Describe the major considerations in evaluating information visualization applications? (5 Marks) QUESTION FOUR (15 MARKS) Discuss how the Technology Acceptance Model and the Diffusion of Innovations theory can be deployed to develop a framework for evaluating information visualization adoption. (15 Marks)

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN DATA ANALYTICS MDA5204 DATA ANALYTICS AND KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING ORDINARY EXAMINATIONS DATE: AUGUST, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE [20 MARKS] (a) Briefly describe the meaning of the following terms: (i) Data Analytics (1 Mark) (ii) Big Data (1 Mark) (ii) Knowledge engineering (1 Mark) (b) List characteristics of Knowledge-based Systems in the context of Data analytics and knowledge engineering. (2 Marks) (c) State and explain four applications of factor analysis. (2 Marks) (d) Consider the following data set: Given the above data set, interpret the mean and standard deviation of “good value for the money” and “Product Reliability” ratings. (4 Marks) (e) Big data is increasingly important in modern organizations. Discuss any four uses of big data in modern organizations (4 Marks) (f) Briefly discuss the interplay between the terms ‘Big Data’, ‘Data analytics’ and ‘Knowledge engineering’ (3 Marks) (g) State and explain two motivations of Data analytics (2 Marks) QUESTION TWO [15 MARKS] (a) State and explain four types of Data analytics and illustrate how they are related. Describe one application for each (4 Marks) (b) Briefly explain how ‘Measures of dispersion” are used in data analytics. Use one example to illustrate your answer (2 Marks) (c) Consider the following figure showing IQs of 13 students enrolled in class A. Calculate variance of the above data set (3 Marks) (ii) Calculate standard deviation of the above data and interpret the results (2 Marks) (d) Briefly explain the difference between the following concepts as used in data analytics and knowledge engineering (i) Roll up and drill down (2 Marks) (ii) Dashboard and performance score card (2 Marks) QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS] (a) Briefly explain the following terms in the context of data analytics and knowledge engineering. Give one example for each case (3 Marks) (i) Factor loading (ii) Communality (iii)Observed variables (b) Describe the difference between confirmation factor analysis and exploration factor analysis (2 Marks) (c) Consider the following data set. Use the above to calculate correlation between Temperature and sales. Interpret the results (4 Marks) (c) The following data shows factor loading for four observable variables Calculate use the above data set to calculate the following values (i) Eigen values for each factor (2 Marks) (ii) Communality value for each variable (2 Marks) (d) Briefly explain two types of factor rotation in the context of factor analysis (2 Marks) QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS] (a) Discuss five knowledge engineering activities. Give one practical example to illustrate each activity (5 Marks) (b) State and explain four participants of developing knowledge base system (4 Marks) (c) Describe any three components of a knowledge base system (3 Marks) (d) Consider the following knowledge base furniture(sink, kitchen,1). furniture(chair,lounge,4). furniture(bed,bedroom,1). furniture(cooker,kitchen,1). furniture(chair,kitchen,4). furniture(sofa,lounge,1). Use the above knowledge base to answer the following questions i. What query would we use to find the number of chairs in each room? (1 Mark) ii.What query would we use to get the room with four chairs and one cooker? . (1 Mark) iii. List all the rooms without stating items or the numbers (1 Mark

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 ORDINARY EXAMINATION FOR THE MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT /DATA ANALYTICS MDA5404 MISM5405 DATA ANALYTICS AND KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING (SPECIAL/SUPPLEMENTARY) DATE: DECEMBER, 2016 TIME: 2 Hours INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One and Any Other Two Questions QUESTION ONE: (20 MARKS) a) Briefly describe what a knowledge-based system is (1 Mark) b) List three ways in which a knowledge-based system differ from conventional software. (3 Marks) c) All expert systems are knowledge-based systems, but not vice versa. Explain how expert systems differ knowledge-based systems. (2 Marks) d) With an aid of a document, describe the end-user’s perspective of a knowledge based system. (6 Marks) e) Differentiate the terms “Backward Chaining” and “Forward Chaining” as Knowledge Management rule based reasoning (4 Marks) f) List four disadvantages associated with the use of Knowledge-based Systems. (4 Marks) QUESTION TWO 🙁 15 MARKS) a) Today’s decision maker faces the pressure to make better and faster decisions. Briefly describe the forces driving KM in today’s dynamic business environment. (4 Marks) b) KM systems are classified based on observations on the KM systems implementations. Briefly describe the four KM systems implementations. (4 Marks) c) Differentiate the following forms of Knowledge (3 Marks) i. Tacit Knowledge ii. Explicit Knowledge iii. Procedural Knowledge d) Explain the four characteristics of knowledge as used in knowledge management. (4 Marks) QUESTION THREE: (15 MARKS) a) Knowledge Management Impacts Organizations in several ways. Briefly describe two ways in which knowledge management impact organization’s products? (4 Marks) b) Knowledge Management Impacts Organizations in several ways. Briefly describe three ways in which knowledge management impact organization’s employees? (5 Marks) c) Knowledge Management Impacts Organizations in several ways. Briefly describe three ways in which knowledge management impact organization’s processes? (6 Marks) QUESTION FOUR 🙁 15 MARKS) a) Define a repertory grid as used in knowledge management. (2 Marks) b) Several weaknesses of rule-based systems inspired the rise of case-based reasoning in knowledgebased systems. Why do the rule-based systems have difficulties in eliciting, representing, and validating knowledge from the expert? (3 Marks) c) Explain the main processes of a case-based reasoning knowledge management system application in solving a new problem. (5 Marks) d) Explain how role reversal technique is used in Knowledge Elicitation while developing a case based reasoning knowledge management system (2 Marks) e) Inefficient searches due to poor organization can result in unacceptable performance of a case based reasoning knowledge management system. In which three ways can the knowledge engineer increase the search efficiency of a case library? (3 Marks)

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN DATA ANALYTICS MDA 5203 MACHINE LEARNING PART TIME/WEEKEND DATE: DECEMBER, 2016 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE: [20 MARKS] a) Explain the following concepts as used in neural networks: i. Supervised learning ii. Unsupervised learning iii. Reinforcement learning (3 Marks) b) Evolutionary computation methods are based on Darwinian concept of “survival for the fittest”. Using a suitable illustration diagram and example discuss a typical evolutionary algorithm. (7 Marks) c) By first outlining the procedure for KNN decide the class for the new instance given in the table below: Use K = 3 Explain the concept of K-Means and consequently determine the resulting clusters from the dummy data given below: Use K=2 and let A and B be the initial point chosen. Use Euclidean distance as the metric in this case. QUESTION TWO: [15 MARKS] Consider a two-class decision problem represented by the input-target pairs below. Train a perceptron network to solve this problem using the perceptron learning rule. Let the initial weight and bias be: W = [0,0] and b = 0. Use the Hardlim function as your activation function, defined as: QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS] a) Decision trees are one of the main methods that use induction as a learning algorithm. Explain the main concept behind induction. (3 Marks) b) Consider the following data set for a binary class problem. Calculate the information gain (based on entropy) when splitting on A and B. Which attribute would the decision tree induction algorithm choose? (6 Marks) ii. Calculate the gain in the Gini index when splitting on A and B. Which attribute would the decision tree induction algorithm choose? (6 Marks) QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS] Using Naive Bayes determine the class for a new instance X = {A=T and B = F} based on the table given in Qn 3(b). (15 Marks

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017 EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN DATA ANALTICS/MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT MISM5301 MDA5303: SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODELLING DATE: DECEMBER, 2016 TIME: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions. QUESTION ONE (20 MARKS) – COMPULSORY Discuss the following BOT graphs In your discussion for the figure above, explain the behaviors of inventory, factory orders as well as average orders (8 Marks) b) Assume that agriculture and tourism are the main local industries in the target region A making efficient use of its rich natural environment. The graph below presents the BOT of region A vitality, rich natural environment as well as tourist attractiveness. Explain the Graph. (4 Marks) ) Consider the relationship among “Rich Natural Environment”, “Tourist Attractiveness” and “Region Vitality” using SD. Include “Sightseeing Load”, which represents the increase in the environmental load by increase in visiting tourists, and “Resort Development” for attracting tourists in the model. The increase of “Region Vitality” stimulates the efforts of preservation of the natural environment. The increase in “Tourist Attractiveness” results in the increase in “Region Vitality” results. The increase in “Rich Natural Environment” result in the increase in “Tourist Attractiveness”. Develop a CLD for the above scenario (8 Marks) QUESTION TWO (15 MARKS) a) What is SDM? What makes it popular? (5 Marks) b) The practice of system dynamics and its alternatives is deeply affected by three views that have emerged as answers. Discuss these views in your own words (10 Marks) QUESTION THREE (15 MARKS) a) Systems thinking is concerned with ‘connectedness’ as well as ‘wholeness’ in problem analysis and solving. Explain the terms in single quotes (4 Marks) b) Compare and contrast Soft and Hard paradigms of Systems Thinking (4 Marks) c) Using the following diagram, i. Explain the difference between reinforcing and balancing loops (3 Marks) ii. Convert the diagram to stock and flow diagram (4 Marks) QUESTION FOUR (15 MARKS) a) When discussing the process of model conceptualisation, it is absolutely necessary to distinguish between a social system and a social Process or in system dynamics terminology, between structure and behaviour. In view of the above statement, explain the purpose of reference modes (3 Marks) b) In your own view, discuss THREE reasons why models are useful in each of the following case i. Military ii. Business (12 Marks)