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March 29, 2024, 12:26:36 am

Author Topic: La Trobe University Subject Reviews and Ratings  (Read 44326 times)  Share 

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Aaron

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Re: La Trobe University Subject Reviews and Ratings
« Reply #15 on: July 12, 2014, 06:38:41 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: STA2ABS - Applied Biostatistics 

Workload:
2 x 1 hour lectures
1 x 1 hour computer lab
1 x 1 hour practice class

Assessment:

4 x Assignments (20%)
Each assignment is approximately 4-5 pages in length and each contribute 5% to this mark. Assignments examine a 3-4 week block of content. Really not much to say about this.

1 x R Programming Test (15%)
Is held in the Week 10 Computer Lab. You are given a booklet of questions which you must provide written solutions to them using the statistical package R.

1 x R Computer Project (10%)
This is quite similar to the Programming Test, however it's only worth 10% and you are given this about a month before it's due.

1 x 2.5 hour exam (55%)
Consists of short response questions - they are essentially questions taken from lectures/practice classes/assignments with numbers/words changed around. If you know your content then you should be fine.

Lecture Recording Enabled:  Yes

Past exams available:  Not *really* - there were practice questions though.

Textbook Recommendation:  Not essential - I never used it, however it's the written published text that the uni provides. You can purchase this from the bookshop.

Lecturer(s): Dr Agus Salim

Year & Semester of completion: 2014 Semester 1
 
Rating:  3.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 77 (B)

Comments:

I found that this subject was essentially a repetition of STA1LS/STA1SS (see my review in this thread) with a few extra topics involved, and the topics covered from STA1LS/STA1SS were progressed to an intermediate level.

The four assignments and other assessment were spread out very nicely - you had about 2-3 weeks to do each assignment, which was a nice change from a new one every week (last semester). There's a very high emphasis on knowing 'R' (a statistical computing package) and how to write code in it - you could say that there's a bit of CS in it.

The exam as I said in the assessments section were basically questions from assignments/lecture examples/practice classes with numbers/words changed. You are also allowed 2 pages of A4 notes (double sided) into the exam as well - which is always a bonus as the content you learn is very broad and there's a lot of it.

My tips if you do this subject:
* Know R. It's essential and contributes at least 25% of your assessment (plus some assignment questions are based on R as well).
* Try and do the practice questions, plus review all the examples from the lectures and practice classes.

Usually when I was in my lab class/practice class they'd give the solutions within the first 15 minutes. Perfect opportunity to slack off right? Nope! Since you have time, i'd suggest going through the solutions and try doing them yourself in your own time at least.. That way you know what you're doing.

There is definitely benefits to doing this subject if you have some sort of programming knowledge/do a CS-related degree.
Experience in teaching at both secondary and tertiary levels.

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MJRomeo81

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Re: La Trobe University Subject Reviews and Ratings
« Reply #16 on: July 13, 2014, 06:18:26 pm »
+4
Subject Code/Name: CSE3DMS - Database Management Systems 

Workload:

1 X 2hr lecture per week
1 X 2hr lab per week

Assessment:

Group assignment - database query performance analysis - 30%

This group assignment (groups of 2 or you can do it alone) is all about query optimisation. Given a database schema and business questions (e.g. some of the queries that the system will be expected to answer), you need to design indexes (primary index, secondary index, bitmap, clustering, hash index, etc.) in order to improve query performance. First, you must populate the tables using the ORACLE tool SQL*LOADER. Then, you will write a bunch of SQL statements to answer the business questions. For each business question you have to write the query in different ways.

e.g. In one query, use subqueries and then rewrite the same query but this time don't use subqueries. So you perform lots of experiments on the same business questions.

You need to compare which queries run faster (using EXPLAIN PLAN) and why. This a great assignment because analysing execution plans is fun for database nerds. It's really interesting to use Oracle Hints to try and manipulate the query (e.g. change the join algorithm, join order, etc.).

Note: Oracle 11G is used in the subject

One 3-hour examination - 70%

The three-hour examination requires you to provide written answers to questions designed to assess your understanding of the concepts covered. These questions cover all of the learning outcomes with the exception of Oracle programming which is not assessed on the examination.

Very similar to the past exams. Refer to past exams early and often.

Lecture Recording Enabled:  Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available:  Yes, many are available in the La Trobe library. You will receive solutions for the previous year.

Textbook Recommendation:  Not essential, but the recommended text is listed below:

Fundamentals of Database Systems, Elmasri,  6th Edition.

Lecturer(s): Dr Jinli Cao

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2014

Rating:  5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 98 (A)

Comments:

CSE3DMS is a subject you either love or hate. Put simply, only take this class if you have a passion for databases. If you have taken the core subject CSE2DBF (Database Fundamentals), do not expect DMS to be similar. DBF is all about logical design with absolutely no emphasis on performance and optimisation. DMS is concerned about database performance. The nuts and bolts of database management systems.

The subject is broken into 4 major topics:

1. Indexing: You will learn all about various database indexes including B+Trees, Bitmap, static and dynamic hashing indexes.

2. Query optimisation: Selection algorithms, join algorithms (nested-loop join, single-loop join, sort and merge join, hash join), query trees, denormalisation, etc.

3. Transaction management: Serializability, recoverability, etc.

4. Concurrency control: Two-phase locking, timestamp protocols, deadlocks, etc.

If you don't know SQL then do yourself a favour and don't do this subject. However, if you're a fast learner you can quickly pick the language up. PL-SQL is not covered since the majority of the content is theoretical rather than practical.

The labs are really tough but I recommend trying to complete them. Solutions are posted weekly on LMS. Jinli is a fantastic lecturer who is always willing to answer your questions.

If you want to work with databases in the future, this subject is a must.

Topics:

* Introduction to database management systems

* B+ Tree Index, Bitmap, clustering, primary/secondary indexes, hash index

* Hashing techniques including static/extendible hashing

* Algorithms for query processing and optimisation - Selection algorithms and Join algorithms

* Translating SQL to relational algebra

* Query Trees

* Database tuning (i.e. denormalisation)

* ACID transactions

* Concurrency control techniques - 2PL and timestamp protocols

* Oracle Cost Based Optimizer (CBO)

* Database Recovery Techniques
Currently working in the IT Industry as an Oracle DBA (State Government)

Murphy was an optimist

Bachelor of Information Technology @ La Trobe (Melbourne) - Completed 2014
WAM: 91.96
The key, the whole key, and nothing but the key, so help me Codd.

Subjects I tutored during my time at LTU:
CSE2DBF (Database Fundamentals)
CSE1IS (Information Systems)
CSE2DES (System Design Engineering)

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“If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes defining the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
― Albert Einstein

kaii

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Re: La Trobe University Subject Reviews and Ratings
« Reply #17 on: January 16, 2018, 06:39:22 pm »
0
I am aware that the LaTrobe Biomedicine course at Melbourne is a new one. However, since I didn't get to attend the Open Day I have no idea what to expect! Does anyone know if Biomed at LaTrobe is/will be decent? Also, what is it like on-campus? Is it fun, engaging and many activities going on? What are the buildings like?
Thanks very much :)
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