(Note: any changes to syllabus will be indicated by red font)
AGEC 4213 COURSE SYLLABUS (Fall 2013)
Advanced Quantitative Methods in Agricultural Economics
Tuesday & Thursday, 3:30-4:45
266 AGH
Instructor
Dr. Bailey Norwood, associate professor
426 Ag Hall
http://www.fbaileynorwood.com (mobile version automatically loads into smartphones)
bailey.norwood@okstate.edu
405-334-0010 (texting is allowed but I prefer email and check it more often)
Office Hours: I'm almost always around during normal business hours. Feel free to drop by anytime.
Or, if you wish to make an appointment please follow these steps.
- Consult my calendar at https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=bailey.norwood%40gmail.com&ctz=America/Chicago.
- Find a date and time convenient for both of us.
- Email me with the date and time you select and I will reply with a confirmation.
- You can always make an appointment with me after class also.
Class Objectives
Humans have always sought to understand the world by observation—sometimes for business, sometimes for government, sometimes for pleasure. This has always required the recording of observations and abstract thought (logic, imagination, intuition) to infer the workings of the world based on those observations. It is a mixing of the abstract and the real.
What makes the modern age different is our heightened ability to record observations through data, and our use of computers for infering what the data say. The importance of abstract thought has not changed, however. This class is about...
- How to use modern technologies for analyzing data,
- Developing a disciplined capacity for abstract thought in interpreting the data analysis,
- Giving the appearance of (in addition to actually possessing) professional competence.
Prerequisites
AGEC 3213, college algebra, and an introductory statistics course.
Class Materials
The class website is located at http://seedsppp.blogspot.com/2013/04/agec-4213-homepage.html. An easy way to remember how to get there is to simply go to the address http://www.fbaileynorwood.com (or, you can just do a Google search for "bailey norwood" and a link to this webpage will appear) and click the For Students link. . This provides a link to a website called Seeds, which contains a free, online textbook, a link to class announcements, the syllabus, and other things. Note that the webpage containing the announements allows you to signup for an RSS feed.
Class Content
The class is comprised of three articles about how to think about number-crunching and three articles on how to actually crunch numbers in Excel. All articles are located at the AGEC 4213 homepage. These six articles serve as the class textbook, and you will be tested on the article contents in three examinations. Everything you need for the class is on these websites. There is no book or workbook to purchase. Some additional material may be added as the class progresses, but not much.
There will be in-class worksheets and homeworks on the articles, both of which serve as study guides for tests. Some of the worksheets, homeworks, and/or tests may require you to compose brief but well-written emails.
I do take attendance but do not automatically penalize you for an absence. The class content is cumulative. Missing class puts you behind, and since we work on computers every class, building upon what we did last class, missing a few classes can get you dangerously behind. Attendance is not directly penalized because I know it will show up on homework and exam scores. If you are missing class and show no motivation to catch up with your classmates that would be evidence of low professional competence also.
Gmail address is required of each student
One technology we will learn is Google Docs, which contains text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and other tools we can share. In time these might replace Microsoft Office, but even if they don't they are already being used throughout the world. Each student is required to have a gmail address with Google, which is free. If you don't have one just see mail.google.com. You will be asked to provide this address in the Student Information Sheet described in the announcements.
How every class begins
- One student stands before the classroom and speaks about why we study quantitative methods. They should describe a use for math, number-crunching, graphing, Excel, or the like, and give some examples.
- Students may select from the content in the chapter (TAN.2) Why we crunch numbers, testimonials from former students, or find their own information.
- If students use chapter (TAN.2) they should choose the first example in the chapter which hasn't been covered thus far. Meaning, the first person discusses (TAN.2.A) the second person chooses (TAN.2.B), and so on. If the content is a video you should show the video but must summarize its relevance to number-crunching before or after it is shown.
- This is one area where you are judged on your professional competence. Students who are willing to volunteer and show evidence of having carefully prepared remarks will exude diligence, therefore causing me to have more confidence in your quantitative work.
- Do not dress special for your talk. Professional competence never depends on how you dress.
- After the student is finishined I will then ask for volunteers to begin next class.
How every class ends
We do not begin packing books until I dismiss class—that is rude and makes you seem professionally incompetent. At the very end of class I will ask for volunteers to begin next class.
Creative Project: Ideas for Using Big Data
Project must be uploaded to YouTube.com by 3:30 PM on November 5.
The main purpose of this project is to expose you to the newest trend in number-crunching: big data. A second purpose is for you to learn how to design, implement, and upload a PowerPoint presentation to YouTube.
Your assignment is upload a 10-20 minute video presentation on YouTube.com describing how big data could be used by the food industry. There are multiple ways of doing this; one is to use the free software EZVID to record a video of a PowerPoint presentation (using a microphone for the audio). Then simply upload the video to YouTube.com. I won't help you much with this because I know you can figure out how to do it on your own, and I want you to gain confidence in your ability to learn new technologies on your own.
Pretend that you work for Norwood Consulting, and that I am the CEO. One of your bosses asks you to look into ways "big data" can be used to control and/or respond to food poisoning outbreaks. As a consultant, you are seeking statistical tools that you can sell to clients that are food processors. For example, you might sell a service to Cargill Beef where you seek to locate outbreaks of food poisoning from Cargill ground beef products. If the product helps Cargill stop outbreaks before they get too big, and allows them to voluntarily recall meat products before the USDA orders them to, it would enhance Cargill's reputation. Your job, then, is to find ways to use big data to produce services that Cargill is willing to pay for.
The presentation is to me, your boss, not a client. What you are trying to do is give me, your CEO, good ideas about new products involving big data in the food sector. Assume the CEO, someone you have never met and may never meet, will view your presentation on his computer. Do not feel obligated to focus solely on food safety. If, along the way in your research, you come up with other services using big data that Norwood Consulting might be able to sell to clients, please share it. Even if it has nothing to do with agriculture or food. The CEO of Norwood Consulting only cares about making more money, and cares little about how the money is made (so long as it is legal and ethical). Creativity is awarded of course, so long as it is implemented well. You can make an A in the presentation using only my food safety idea, though, so long as you do a superb job.
I will hand out a large packet of articles on big data to get you started.
That is all I will tell you. It is important that you learn how to complete vague assignments (however much you may dislike it!). A business hires a college graduate because they believe graduates should be able to work without strict supervision, and should be able to figure out most of what they need to do without being told. A business expects you to use your knowledge, talents, and passions in autonomous settings. You must learn to impress people without being asked, or told how to impress.
How will I grade you? I will simply view your presentation and grade you based on how well you understand the concept of big data, how it can be used, the ideas you generate, and the presentation. Obviously, if the CEO will view your presentation on YouTube it should be polished, interesting, indicative of hard work and intellect, and free of any grammatical or technological errors. Just one misspelled word in your presentation will cast doubt over you and your ideas.
Grading
Homeworks (10% total)—Some homeworks will be given online using Google forms, some will require the creation of graphs and Excel work, and some will require writing. Some homeworks will be weighted more than others, depending on the amount of work they require. Late homeworks are penalized 15 percentage points for each day they are late (excluding Saturdays and Sundays). Although you may collaborate with other students, any questions asking for a narrative must exhibit distinct writing from other students.
Three Exams (20% each; 60% total)—One exam includes the final, which is not deliberately cumulative but requires you to build upon tools you learn earlier in class. All exams are open-book, meaning you may use anything except communication with other students. This includes your past homeworks, the online textbooks, worksheets, notes, or anything on the internet.
Big Data Project (20%)—See above. The online presentation will be penalized 10 percentage points for each day it is late (including weekends).
Appearance of professional competence (10% total)—This is based on my impression of your dedication to the class, manners, rhetoric, emails, and the like. This is purely subjective, so you must learn to expect how other people judge you in interactions.
Why do I do this "professional competence" thing? Because after graduation you will work for organizations who cannot directly oberve your skills, and they must infer your contributions based on a number of signals. Employers do not give tests! In addition to seeing good work, they will have greater confidence in your competence if you appear to be a calm, attentive, thoughtful, considerate,hard-working, and rational person. You will be judged based on people's perceptions of you, and thus should get used to predicting what impresses other people and altering your manners accordingly. You have probably heard of the Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors, dating back to ancient Greece, but few knew that Hippocrates also said, "When you enter a sick man's room, bear in mind your manner of sitting, reserve, arrangement of dress, decisive utterance, brevity of speech, composure, bedside manners...self-control, rebuke of disturbance, readiness to do what has to be done." Greek doctors were praised or rebuked based on their reputation, so they paid careful head to their manners. Some medical schools still teach this, partly because the mannerisms of doctors influence whether they are sued (nice doctors are less likely to be sued). Because your reputation is your most valuable asset, you must learn how to establish a good reputation. Do know that how you dress does not impact this category. I am more interested in your manners and interactions with me and other students.
Letter Grades
Letter grades will be assigned as follows.
- A: if final numerical grade is 90 or higher
- B: 80-89
- C: 70-79
- D: 60-69
- F: < 60
There is no curve, and grades are assigned on an absolute basis, meaning if everyone makes a 90 or above, everyone will get an A. This class is not easy, so I do not foresee more than 30% earning an A, but anyone putting forth moderate effort should be able to pass.
OSU Syllabus Attachment
This syllabus attachment applies to all OSU courses in the fall of 2013.
