1.

1Discussion: Data Analysis

Provide an example describing a situation when you needed to use data and data
analysis to drive a decision in your line of work. Describe the problem. Identify
the data that was utilized and the analysis method(s).

The use of data analysis in the music industry can make or break an artists career.
It is commonly used to identify trends in music along with its impact across different
groups. The biggest question that is answered through data analysis is music sales.
Looking at the most popular medium that consumers use to experience music can
give up and coming artists with limited budgets the ability to make their music
available to the largest possible audience while keeping costs low. Looking at trends
for bands with a similar following can also help new artists target the consumers
who are most likely to purchase their music. Analyzing regional music preferences
can help mangers get their artists in front of audiences that will have a greater
appreciation for the style of music being represented. For example, Smooth Jazz is
far more popular in Asia, than it is in the United States, so many smooth jazz artist
often become hits in Asia long before they are popular in the United States. Data
that is most important in the music industry falls into two categories: consumer
demographics and sales information. Knowing the age, social economic status,
region, family situation, lifestyle, and education level of the consumer will help
artists identify the consumer who will relate the most to their music and will allow
them to form a target audience. Knowing how consumers (and considering their
demographics) prefer to experience music (streaming, downloading, live
performances, etc...) allows artist to focus their production and distribution efforts
on the medium that will make the most sales. The music industry also uses
demographics to consider what additional merchandise to produce such as tee
shirts, bumper stickers, and posters. For example an artist whose target audience is
teenage girls they may choose to produce tee shirts and posters to sell at concerts
and online because of the low price point and ease of mass production; where as a
Jazz guitarist whose target audience is middle to upper class adults may choose
to focus on a signature guitar line offering custom guitars in addition to offering tee
shirts because their target audience is more likely to want and be able to afford an
exclusive collectors item.

2-1 Discussion: Data in Everyday Life

Search the internet for an example of how data is used in product design.
As a hint, type data in design into the search engine. Carefully review
the search results. Post your results with a summary of your findings.
In response to your classmates, identify what you believe to be the most
effective use of data in product design
Nike is evaluating products sustainability using data. Data analysis has allowed
Nike develop products that reduce manufacturing waste, water-free dying
processes, and look at alternatives to cotton (a water intensive crop). Nike has

developed a Materials Sustainability Index that has helped set the standard for the
footwear and apparel industry in determining the environmental and social impacts
of certain materials and manufacturing and distribution processes (Post, 2014).
With the growth in consumers' concern for environmentally sustainable business
practices, coming up evaluating the environmental impact of producing and
distributing products is a growing priority for many businesses.
Reference
Post, R. (2014, February 18). Ford and Nike use big data to make smarter
sustainable design | Guardian Sustainable Business | The Guardian. Retrieved
from http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/ford-nike-big-data-smartsustainable-design
3-1 Discussion: Challenges in Data Analysis

Using your own experience, what problems have you encountered when
you were asked to solve a problem that required gathering and analyzing
data? Describe the scenario. What challenges did you face and how did
you address the challenges?
The situation that I will uses comes from my time in the Army as a Battalion
Communications Officer for a support battalion that was apart of a brigade that was
being changed from an armor unit to a striker unit following a deployment to Iraq.
After returning from Iraq all of the unit's equipment was put into reset to be updated
and maintained. While this was going on I had to look at the communications
equipment that the unit already had based on it's previous configuration and what
equipment the unit was authorized based on its new configuration and figure out
what equipment needed to be ordered (because it was authorized but not on hand)
and what equipment needed to be returned (because it was on hand but no longer
authorized). The first set of data that I had to analyze was the units previous and
current table of organization ( (TOE) explains the personnel and equipment
authorized for a unit) and decide what communications equipment was on both,
then what was on the previous and not on the current, then what was on the
current but not on the previous. From that I created a list of the equipment the unit
is authorized based on its current configuration. I then had to look the units
property book ( shows specific equipment the unit actually has on hand with model
number and serial number) and maintenance reports from reset to determine what
equipment was authorized, on hand, and serviceable/ up to date. Once I found out
what equipment was on hand (actually in reset but owned by the unit) but not
needed I sent that information through Army supply chains so that equipment could
be taken off of the unit's books. Then I put the items that were authorized but not
owned by the unit on order. After that I had to decide how to install all of the
equipment and train the Soldiers on how to use it. While this process may seem
very straight forward the fact that the unit's size almost doubled made the task very
daunting. The support unit originally consisted of 5 companies that handled the
medical and logistical needs of the brigade. After the change the unit gained an
additional 4 companies that included the brigade communications company that
had over 25 million dollars worth of equipment. There were also about 50 different
types of equipment. After the transition the battalion grew from approximately 600

Soldiers to over 1300 and each Soldier was authorized at least one pieces of
communications equipment as an individual (i.e. computer or radio) with many
needing 5 or more in order to do their jobs. The largest challenge was getting the
information on the actual equipment that was owned by the unit. Since they
returning from a deployment there was equipment that needed maintenance and
that was lost or beyond repair. To remedy this I had to have the units go through
each and every piece of communications equipment and update their records so
that I had accurate data to work with.
4-1 Discussion: Displaying and Describing Categorical Data

Search the internet for examples of how categorical data is used in the
workplace. As a hint, type categorical data" followed by a topic of
interest to you into the search engine. Carefully review the search results.
Post a one- to two-paragraph summary of your results.
In the essay the exaggerated relations between diet, body weight, and mortality:
the case for a categorical data approach the authors argue that using categorical
data may be more accurate when looking at how different health factors such as
diet and weight affect mortality. The authors look at the Mediterranean diet and
analyze its affects on mortality using reported data and categorical data. Looking at
the effects of the diet using reported data the authors conclude that "a higher
degree of adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduction in
total mortality" (Welch, Schwartz, & Woloshin, 2005). When looking at the
Mediterranean diet using the categorical data the authors were able to gather more
specific information about the levels of adherence to the diet and their affect on
mortality. With categorical data the authors noticed that the categorical data
showed a substantial decline between less adherence and moderate adherence, but
there was not a substantial decline between moderate and greater adherence. The
data also showed that in men, there was a slight increase between moderate and
greater adherence (Welch, Schwartz, & Woloshin, 2005). This more accurate
information can be used in the medical field when doctors and dietitians are
recommending diets and meal plans to their patients because they can use the
patients demographical situation in addition to things like height and weight.
Reference
Welch, H. G., Schwartz, L. M., & Woloshin, S. (2005, March 29). The exaggerated
relations between diet, body weight and mortality: the case for a
categorical data approach. Retrieved from http://www.cmaj.ca/content/172/7/891

5-1 Discussion: Final Project Challenges

Considering your chosen final course project, what challenges are you
facing? How have you addressed the challenges? When posting, describe

your topic, the challenges, and how you addressed the issue. If you have
challenges that have not been addressed, identify those challenges.
The question that my project will discuss is whether the rate of Grammy award
winning artists with music on Spotify is so much greater than 50% that it cannot be
explained as just chance variation. Because the increase in streaming music instead
of buying it and the controversy it has created in the music industry I wanted to see
if it had an affect on the success of an artist that isn't associated with album sales.
For this project I am collecting data from the recording academy on Grammy
winners in each category from 2010 to 2015. I will also find out if the artist has
made their music available on Spotify. The largest challenge that I am facing when
looking at the data is that there were slight changes in the categories from year to
year. For example in 2013 there was a Best Music Video category however in 2012
there was no Best Music Video Category but there was a Best long music video and
Best short music video category. Another challenge is that some years, some
categories have more than one winner and that some songs have more than one
artist. I think the best way to address the first challenge is compare the categories
that differed slightly to each other. So the Best music video category would compare
to the Best long and best short to each other. I am not sure what to do about the
categories that have more than one song win or more than one artist win.

6-1 Discussion: Probability

Search the internet for real-life examples of probability. As a hint, type

probability" followed by a topic of interest to you into the search engine.
Carefully review the search results. Post a summary of your findings.
In response to your classmates, identify which real-life example of
probability is the most surprising to you.
he topic that I searched was probability and music. From that search I found an
article about a book called Music and Probability. In the book the author discusses
probability and how it relates and can be applied to Music. The author uses a
Bayesian approach that allows him to model the perception of tonality and meter. It
also discusses perceptional processes such as expectation, error detection, and
pitch identification. The technique used also provides insight into subtle issues such
as tension and musical ambiguity which lead to his predictions about how music will
be composed and the differences in different styles of music. While this information
may not be helpful to the average musician; it is an interesting topic to know. It
could possibly help with executives who are responsible for developing talent for

large record labels as it would help them predict how popular styles are changing
and being perceived by the public.
References
NiSearch. (n.d.). Music and Probability - David Temperley. Retrieved from
http://nisearch.com/book/music-probability_87787.html
7-1 Discussion: Normal Distribution

Search the internet for workplace applications of normal distribution. As a

hint, type normal distribution" followed by a field of interest to you into
the search engine. Which field did you select? Why is normal distribution
important in this specific field? Share the information with your
classmates.
In response to your classmates, identify which application of normal
distribution applies in your career or life.
The topic that I searched was "Normal Distribution and Business". One of the search
results was a very short article that named three business uses for normal
distribution. The first was operations management. Normal distribution would be
helpful to an operations manager because many successful processes fall along the
normal distribution curve. The second use was human resources. This was the most
surprising because I believe that people are generally unpredictable; however, when
it comes to work efficient human performance falls along the normal distribution
curve. The last use was in portfolio selection. A well diversified portfolio will have
returns that fall along the normal distribution curve. All three of these uses may not
be the first thing that one thinks of when thinking about uses for normal distribution
but upon further consideration these uses make absolute sense. I think what it boils
down to, is that people are more comfortable when things fall along the normal
distribution curve so we set standards based on that in our everyday lives.
Reference
Excel STATISTICAL Master. (n.d.). Normal Distribution - A Few Business Uses - for
MBAs and Business Managers in Excel. Retrieved from
http://excelmasterseries.com/Excel_Statistical_Master/Excel-Normal-DistributionBusiness-Uses.php
8-1 Discussion: Confidence Intervals

Post your thoughts on the ways in which the use of confidence intervals is
important in statistics. As a hint, type confidence intervals in statistics
followed by a topic of interest to you into the search engine.

In response to your classmates, identify what you believe to be the best

use of confidence intervals in statistics.
In investing confidence intervals are used to specify the range of return for a
specific stock. This is important because it helps investors determine the risk of the
stocks and ultimately whether or not they will invest in that stock (Investopedia,
n.d.). From my research I have also learned that understanding confidence intervals
is important to CFA, which means to me that it is a very important topic in finance
overall and not just in determining the risk of an investment.
Reference
Investopedia. (n.d.). Confidence Intervals - CFA Level 1 | Investopedia. Retrieved
from http://www.investopedia.com/exam-guide/cfa-level-1/quantitativemethods/confidence-intervals.asp
9-1 Discussion: Hypotheses

Search the internet for real-world applications of hypotheses. As a hint,

type hypotheses" followed by a topic of interest to you into the search
engine. Carefully review the search results. Also explain how hypotheses
can be used in your field to help obtain rational solutions.
In response to your classmates, identify which practical application of
hypotheses you believe had the most significance in your classmates
respective fields.

In investing confidence intervals are used to specify the range of return for a
specific stock. This is important because it helps investors determine the risk of the
stocks and ultimately whether or not they will invest in that stock (Investopedia,
n.d.). From my research I have also learned that understanding confidence intervals
is important to CFA, which means to me that it is a very important topic in finance
overall and not just in determining the risk of an investment.
Reference
Investopedia. (n.d.). Confidence Intervals - CFA Level 1 | Investopedia. Retrieved
from http://www.investopedia.com/exam-guide/cfa-level-1/quantitativemethods/confidence-intervals.asp

10-1 Discussion: Comparing Groups

Search the internet for real-world applications of comparing groups. As a

hint, type comparing groups followed by a topic of interest to you into

the search engine. Carefully review the search results.

In response to your classmates, identify what you believe to be the most
relevant real-world application.
The article that I read compared Male online shopping habits to Female online
shopping habits. Though females tend to shop more than males overall, when it
comes to online shopping Males do more of it and have been shopping online for
longer. This was partly because Males tend to shop for a specific item and finish and
shopping online has always allowed one to do that. Females on the other hand
prefer to browse and look at a lot of items before purchasing in addition to
socializing and sharing thier purchases with others. Since the use of social media
with online stores has increased the amount of shopping done online by women has
increased. This is partly because it allows women to be social while shopping and
also serves as a method of finding coupons or sales. I thought that this was
interesting because when I look at my own family my husband and I are the
opposite of what the study showed. He prefers to shop in store because he can see
the item before he buys it, and I prefer to shop online because I can compare prices
and find the best deal.
References
Kaplan, M. (2011, December 9). Behavioral Differences Between Men and Women
Influence Shopping | Practical Ecommerce. Retrieved from
http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3222-Behavioral-Differences-BetweenMen-and-Women-Influence-Shopping