Introduction Examples

Introduction:

Problem:

The sea ice in the Arctic plays an important part in regulating the Earth's overall temperature. By reflecting back the energy from the Sun, the ice helps to lower the overall temperature of the Earth. If this ice was to disappear, the Earth would end up reflecting less of the Sun's energy back and hence would warm up the planet. This would in turn cause land ice to melt and would raise the overall sea level.

People who live in low lying areas are concerned about the rise of sea levels as  they are worried about their homes flooding. “Even a modest rise in sea levels could cause flooding problems for low-lying coastal areas.”1

Purpose Statement:

 I am going to forecast the amount of sea ice in the Arctic over the period Jan 2018 - Dec 2019 in the National Snow and Ice Centre Dataset. I will use my forecasts for Arctic sea ice to make an inference about sea levels in the Pacific Ocean and its effects on the flooding of coastal areas in Pacific Islands.

1.  http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/global-warming4.htm

Introduction:

Problem:

A doctor at the local birthing unit has read that there is a current shortage of mid wives in New Zealand1.  She has asked me to look at the number of births expected in the future so that she can work out if she should be employing more staff or not.

 If the predictions for the number of male births increases or stays the same, then it is likely that there will continue to be a shortage of mid wives and my doctor will need to start planning around how this will be fixed.

The number of males and females born are approximately the same.  

Purpose Statement:

I am going to predict the number of live male births in New Zealand for the next two years. I will use these forecasts to predict the total number of births in New Zealand. I am doing this to help plan for the number of midwives required in the future.

1. http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/health/2018/02/struggle-for-midwives-as-demand-booms.html 

Introduction:

The Phillip Island penguin colony is a major tourist attraction1. Money from tourism is used by conservationists to protect the penguins from predators and other threats. Similar approaches to conservation could be useful here in New Zealand.

Problem:

The yellow eyed (hoiho) penguin is an endangered species. It is found only in New Zealand and has four major breeding regions in the South Island2. The New Zealand Department of Conservation would be keen to know if the programmes used in the Phillip Island have been succesful and could be used here.

An increase in Penguin numbers in the Phillip Island colony would indicate that their programmes are succesful. These could then be investigated by the NZ Department of Conservation to see it they could be used here.

Purpose Statement:

I am going to use the the penguin count from the years 2000 to 2006 to study the population of the Phillip Island Penguins and predict their numbers in 2007 and 2008. I am doing this for the purpose of evaluating the success of conservation methods used at the Phillip Island Penguin Colony.

1. https://www.penguins.org.au/

2. https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/penguins/yellow-eyed-penguin-hoiho/

Introduction:

The greatest number of tourists coming to NZ come from Australia. A lot of money is spent in Australia by Tourism NZ (A government department) on advertising on TV, magazines, newspapers, online, etc.

Problem:

It would be beneficial to Tourism NZ to know if the money being spent on advertising is having any effect on the numbers of visitors coming to NZ.

Purpose Statement:

I am going to look at the numbers of Australian visitors to NZ from the years 1998 to 2012 and predict the number of visitors in 2013 and 2014. I am doing this for the purpose of determining if the money spent on advertising in Australia is well spent.

An increase in Australian tourist numbers would indicate the success of Tourism NZs marketing campaign in Australia and could justify the continuation of money spent on advertising over there.

Purpose Statement:

NZ Post believes that many New Zealanders are doing more and more online shopping. NZ Post would like to investigate this trend by looking at the total value of imports coming through airports around the country.

I am going to look at the Total Airports CIF for the years 2000 to 2014 to see if there has been an increase in the value of imports coming in to the country. I will be using this data to predict the value of imports arriving at our airports in 2015 and 2016.

An increase in the Total Airports CIF values could mean that New Zealanders are purchasing more online. NZ Post could use this to increase the number of services to shorten the delivery times of those purchases.

Purpose Statement:

A financial adviser is looking to advise clients to invest in Radiata Pine plantation forests. The adviser wishes to know if the demand for wood has been increasing over the past few years.

I will be using data of volumes of wood removed from plantation forests to see if the amount of harvested wood has been increasing. I will predict the volume of wood from plantations in 2014 and 2015.

An increase in the volume of wood being removed from plantation forests would indicate a growing demand in this resource and suggest that investing in Radiata Pine plantation forest is going to be profitable.