AF1605 Introduction to Economics

Individual Written Assignment

Second Semester, 2024-25

Instructions for this assignment:

The full mark for this assignment is 20, while it carries 10% of the overall course grade.

The deadline for submission of the written report is at 9pm on 23rd March 2025 (Sunday). A short presentation will beheld in the tutorial before this deadline.

Please submit your answers to your Tutorial Blackboard site for your tutorial class.

Type your answers in a Word document. Include your name, student ID number and your tutorial class information on the frontpage (e.g. TUT001, Tue 11:30am) for identification.

Please type all your words for Turnitin checking, while you can include diagrams to help your explanations.

Do NOT include the questions in your answer file to avoid an artificially high similarity index.

Adhere to the length requirements in answering each part. State the number of words used after your answer for each part.

You are allowed to use Generative AI tools to work on part (a), (b) and (c).

A separate guide on using AI for this assignment is also provided.

Yet, plagiarism will be heavily penalized. Directly copying from existing materials, past students’ answers or posting the questions or adopting answers from online homework-help services or websites are strictly prohibited.

You should include the source of reference for any points not appeared in course materials or from your own thinking. APA style is used in Economics and Business fields. (Reference: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/elc/independent-learning/language-resources/apa/) If your major is not on Business or Social Sciences, you may use the citation format used in your major discipline.

Your submission will be checked by Turnitin against plagiarism. The similarity index should not be above 30%. Note that the similarity index may rise after your submission when Turnitin reruns to check for similarity to your classmates’ work.

Cases with similarity higher than 30% will be examined case-by-case for plagiarism.

AI index will not affect your results.

Please make use of the knowledge learned from this course as the basis of your answers.

Marks will be deducted for late submissions. (2 marks per day)

Please pay attention to your email and Lecture Blackboard site for any urgent amendments to this assignment.

Questions (20 marks)

[Note: You are allowed to use Generative AI tools to work on part (a), (b) and (c) below.]

In recent years, advancement in data science (DS) and artificial intelligence (AI) has helped many companies transform the ways they run their business. From reliable sources on the Internet or paper publications, select one case on the application of data science or artificial intelligence in the business in ONE specific company, where such an application was started or modified significantly within the past 10 years.

(a) Describe how data science or artificial intelligence are applied to the business in this company. Describe in more detail the types of data employed and what kind of information they can learn and  use from the data, and the specific business processes they have transformed. Discuss also the consequences of these changes. (8 marks) Notes: 1. Verify the truth of the content before you finalize your answers.

2. Provide a reference list for the information source you based on. The sources should be in English. (References from academic papers are not needed. You may make use of the information from the company or from business news.)

3. Please answer in 350-400 words (not including the reference list). Show your word count.

4. Avoid highly common examples such as Amazon or Netflix. Suitable, yet less well-known examples will be rewarded a higher mark. You may narrow down the focus to a certain industry or a certain city or country to obtain more specific examples.)

5. Write in paragraphs rather than in point form.

6. Write in an objective tone and avoid writing like a promotion article for the company.

(b) Analyze how the changes described in (a) on the company's cost structure and profitability. Additionally, discuss how these changes may influence competition among firms and the overall market structure within the industry, based on the concepts covered in this course. (5 marks)

Note: Please answer with 200-300 words. Show your word count for this part.

(c) Prepare a 1-minute presentation to be made in your tutorial class. You should share with

your classmates and tutor the key findings in part (a) and (b). (2 marks)

Note: 1. You do not need to include this in your written assignment.

2. You do NOT need to prepare slides for this.

3. Time will be strictly controlled and your presentation will be stopped after 1 minute has passed.

4. You may use Generative AI to help extracting the most important information.

5. The presentation will beheld in the scheduled date marked on the tutorial schedule. Zero mark will be given for absence without a valid reason.

(d) Reflect on your approach to answering parts (a), (b) and (c). If you used Generative AI, specify which engine and platform. you used (e.g., GPT-4o from PolyU GenAI) and describe how you crafted and refined your inputs (prompts) to obtain and enhance your results. How did you verify the content provided by generative AI? How much rewriting did you do? If you did not use AI, explain your decision and describe how you developed your answers without Generative AI. (4 marks)

Note: 1. If you have discovered any good or bad strategies, welcome to share them here.

2. Please answer in at least 100 words. Longer answer is justified if you have some good points to share. Detailed prompt history is not required.

(e) In order to show that you have accessed to the original articles in your answers in part (a) as a verification step to the AI output, provide TWO screenshots on the source articles that provide you the key points you have used to answer (a). (i.e. the articles that provide the information about the case, NOT the AI response.) The screenshot should clearly show some important pieces of information you have used in your answers in readable size. (1 mark)

Note: if you fail to answer part (d) and (e) satisfactorily, the marks on previous parts may be downgraded if we doubt about the authenticity of the submitted work.