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DISC 3331
Statistical Methods for Business

COMPUTER ASSIGNMENT 1
(Fall 2000)
(Due Tuesday, September 19)

NOTE: It is important that you follow the instructions of Parts 1 and 2 precisely. Special programs and filters will be used to automate the grading, and this requires a precise format for messages. You will lose points if you do not follow the instructions. In particular, pay particular attention to the format required for the Topic or Subject lines. Also, make sure you know the way your name appears on the class roll, and write your name that same way on the Topic line of the WebBoard message of Part 2.

Part 1: Check the Class Roll

Check the class roll in
http://www.cba.uh.edu/~peixoto/DISC3331/RollF00.PDF
(You need Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free program, to read PDF files.)

  • If you are on the class roll, do nothing. However, please note the way your name appears on the class roll. What you see in the class roll is your official name for this course, and what you should use -- in the format LastName, FirstName (include a middle initial in FirstName if this middle initial appears on the class roll)-- for Part 2 of this assignment, and for all correspondence regarding this course.
  • If you are not on the class roll, send an e-mail message to
    DISC3331@yahoo.com
    The Subject of your e-mail message should be
    CLASS ROLL
    (Please make sure that the subject is exactly as indicated. I will use a filter that organizes messages with this exact subject). Include the following information in the body of the message:
    • LAST NAME, FIRST NAME
    • Social Security Number
    • Classification (e.g., Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Post-baccalaureate, Graduate, Doctoral, ...)
    • Major
    • Phone
    • E-mail address

This e-mail should be sent by Tuesday, September 19 -- only if you are not on the class roll. (You will be penalized if you send the e-mail and you are on the class roll, or if you are not on the roll and do no send the e-mail by the due date.)

Part 2: Post a Message on the WebBoard

Go to the WebBoard at
http://webboard.cba.uh.edu/~peixoto
and select the
"DISC 3331, CA1, Fall 2000"
conference. (This is a special conference, created just for this assignment. Do not post regular class questions here.) Click "POST". The message should have the topic (subject)

LastName, FirstName, CA1

where LastName and FirstName are your last and first names exactly as they appear on the class roll of Part 1. Include the middle initial in FirstName if it appears on the class roll. For example, in my case, the topic would be

Peixoto, Julio L, CA1

(Please make sure that the subject is exactly as indicated. I will use a filter that organizes messages with this exact subject. Please note that there should be a space after each comma, and that CA1 is a single word, with no space between "CA" and "1".)

The body of the message should include the following first line:

MY NAME IS LastName, FirstName

where LastName and FirstName should be as explained above.

You may write whatever you want below this first line, in any format. (However, do not give your Social Security Number or any other information you want to keep private. This conference is public and any person may read your message.)

Some suggestions on what to write below the first line:
where you are from; where you were raised;
where you went to school;
where you work or have worked, if applicable;
likes and dislikes; hobbies;
your web page, if you have any;
anything else you want to share with your classmates ...

Optionally, you may upload a photograph of yours-- if you have a scanned image (preferably in a small .JPG file, not larger than 100KB.). To do this, check "Attach File" on the initial screen and follow the instructions. I realize not everyone has a digital image to upload and hence this is optional. However, I would encourage you to upload a picture because

  • it may help me (and the other students) to know you better;
  • it's fun;
  • it's a good practice for the "Attach File" feature.

This message should be posted by Tuesday, September 19.

NOTE: If for some reason you want to re-post a message on this conference -- say to make corrections, to add more information, or to upload a picture that you hadn't uploaded on the original message -- delete the original message before posting the new one. (To delete a message you have previously posted, select that message, and click "Delete" on the top of the right-hand-side frame. Only the person who posted it is allowed to delete a message.) The topic (subject) of this second message should be
LastName, FirstName, CA1, VERSION 2
If you post a third message, the topic should be
LastName, FirstName, CA1, VERSION 3
And so forth.

Part 3: Download Data Sets
(OPTIONAL, will not be graded)

Click on Download Data Sets and follow the instructions. The downloaded files include POPLAR1.MTW, a MINITAB worksheet needed for Part 4 of this assignment.
(NOTE: Part 3 will not be graded. However, I recommend you download the data sets because some of them will be used in future assignments.)

Part 4: Work on the MINITAB Tutorial
"Session One: MINITAB Basics"
(OPTIONAL, will not be graded)

Click here to learn how to obtain the MINITAB Tutorials
Click here if you are using Release 11 of MINITAB
(NOTE: The RICS lab uses Release 11. The student versions sold in the bookstore and in the Cougar Byte store are Release 12.)

  • Work on Steps 1-13 of the MINITAB Tutorial, Session One: MINITAB Basics. (If you are using Release 11, skip Steps 5 and 13, and all references to "Save Project".)
  • On Step 10, type the four comment lines indicated on item 5, and -- in addition -- type the following lines at the very top of the Session Window:
    NAME: (type in your name)
    SSN: (type in your Social Security Number)
    DISC 3331
    CA1, PART 4
  • Part 5 will not be graded. Please do not turn in or e-mail. However, working on Part 5 may be a useful practice for future assignments.

NOTE: HOW TO OBTAIN THE MINITAB TUTORIAL

This tutorial requires the POPLAR1.MTW worksheet, which is usually found on MINITAB's default directory. If you cannot find it there, you can nevertheless find it among the files you downloaded in Part 4.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE USING RELEASE 11

The tutorials on the MINITAB web site are designed for Release 12. However, I have tested the first tutorial on Release 11 (the one installed on the RICS network) and it works as described except for one feature: "Save Project". Projects do not exist on Release 11. You can save the Session Window, the Worksheet, the Data Window, Graph Windows on Release 11, but you cannot save the Project. Hence, if you are using Release 11, skip all references to "Save Project". You can still work on the rest of the tutorial, but you cannot interrupt it to continue it at a later time. This is not a serious restriction because the tutorial is estimated to take only about 20 minutes.

Running Minitab