This assessment of a 4,000 word research paper is designed to demonstrate a student’s completion of the following Learning Outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of concepts underlying social media analytics and be able to apply them appropriately in business settings; Critically evaluate and implement specialist technologies to harvest, analyse and visualise “social data” from individuals to corporate perspectives; Synthesise and apply social analytics and appropriate techniques on social information; Critically evaluate, design, prototype and implement social media applications and visualization for business story telling. EDGE The Cardiff Met EDGE supports students in graduating with the knowledge, skills, and attributes that allow them to contribute positively and effectively to the communities in which they live and work. This module assessment provides opportunities for students to demonstrate development of the following EDGE Competencies: ETHICAL Critical understanding of the importance of ethical, social, cultural and legal agendas in social media analytics. DIGITAL Advanced digital skills for the fourth industrial revolution: social big data harvesting, visualisation and business story telling. GLOBAL International horizon and benchmarking for social media analytics corporate specialist software (Tableau) and Python programming knowledge. The assessment involves creating online Tableau visualisations on Tableau’s cloud system to be shared with the world and as a continued portfolio for students. ENTREPRENEURIAL Use students’ creativity to solve business and/ or public problems and spot social media entrepreneurship opportunities. The in-depth social media skills and Tableau Public visualisations are parts of the assessment to develop entrepreneurial characteristics. Assessment Requirements / Tasks (include all guidance notes) There is ONE assessment components you must complete for this module with a total of 100% weighing: Written Research Paper (WRIT1), supported by a zip file of original evidence to construct the research paper. The chosen subject of the research topic must be around Social Media Analytics of a business of your choice, within the sector of Technology, Education or Hospitality (choose ONLY a business or comparative two businesses in one sector). The subject of the social data scrapping, results visualisations, analysis and discussion are left for the student to choose. For examples (and not limited to): You could scrap for keywords related to some educational corporate social data, e.g. Cardiff Met, MIT or any university of your choice on its corporate website and look for students’ experiences or students’ views analytics. You could scrap for keywords related to some public data on Twitter, e.g. McDonald, KFC, Starbucks or any company of your choice and look for public perceptions, market trends or brand monitoring. You could scrap customers’ reviews for products data from technological compan ...

1. This assessment of a 4,000 word research paper is designed to
demonstrate a student’s completion of the following Learning
Outcomes:
Demonstrate an understanding of concepts underlying social
media analytics and be able to apply them appropriately in
business settings;
Critically evaluate and implement specialist technologies to
harvest, analyse and visualise “social data” from individuals to
corporate perspectives;
Synthesise and apply social analytics and appropriate
techniques on social information;
Critically evaluate, design, prototype and implement social
media applications and visualization for business story telling.
EDGE
The Cardiff Met EDGE supports students in graduating with the
knowledge, skills, and attributes that allow them to contribut e
positively and effectively to the communities in which they live
and work.
This module assessment provides opportunities for students to
demonstrate development of the following EDGE Competencies:
ETHICAL
Critical understanding of the importance of ethical, social,
cultural and legal agendas in social media analytics.
DIGITAL
Advanced digital skills for the fourth industrial revolution:
social big data harvesting, visualisation and business story
telling.
GLOBAL
International horizon and benchmarking for social media
analytics corporate specialist software (Tableau) and Python
programming knowledge. The assessment involves creating
online Tableau visualisations on Tableau’s cloud system to be
shared with the world and as a continued portfolio for students.

2. ENTREPRENEURIAL
Use students’ creativity to solve business and/ or public
problems and spot social media entrepreneurship opportunities.
The in-depth social media skills and Tableau Public
visualisations are parts of the assessment to develop
entrepreneurial characteristics. Assessment Requirements /
Tasks (include all guidance notes)
There is ONE assessment components you must complete for
this module with a total of 100% weighing: Written Research
Paper (WRIT1), supported by a zip file of original evidence to
construct the research paper.
The chosen subject of the research topic must be around Social
Media Analytics of a business of your choice, within the sector
of Technology, Education or Hospitality (choose ONLY a
business or comparative two businesses in one sector).
The subject of the social data scrapping, results visualisations,
analysis and discussion are left for the student to choose. For
examples (and not limited to):
You could scrap for keywords related to some educational
corporate social data, e.g. Cardiff Met, MIT or any university of
your choice on its corporate website and look for students’
experiences or students’ views analytics.
You could scrap for keywords related to some public data on
Twitter, e.g. McDonald, KFC, Starbucks or any company of
your choice and look for public perceptions, market trends or
brand monitoring.
You could scrap customers’ reviews for products data from
technological companies, e.g. IBM, Dell or HP for competitor
analysis or product review comparison.
You could also harvest overall sentiment towards an
international brand or a global company and provide data
analytics and visualisations for a business story telling.
Any social media analytics topic of your own choice (within or

3. beyond technology, education or hospitality sector), i.e. the
company you worked for is recommended to understand the
insights of social data from your work experiences.
Please ensure you discuss your topic with your tutor in the
studio/seminar as early as possible before you begin working on
it.
You are required to write a 4,000 word (with 10% over/under)
research paper based on your practical project for this module.
The paper should contain rigorous evidence and references from
the primary (your own effort of social data harvesting) and/ or
secondary data collection (third-party available dataset or
current literatures) you undertook.
Research Rationale and Motivation
As part of practical research in this module and learnt from the
weekly studios, you will be harvesting a suitable dataset using
the relevant tools, i.e. Tableau, Python, Facebook or Twitter
API or third party Tool(s) and extracting relevant information
from the results.
Therefore, you should start your paper with the motivation or
rationale of your research, especially the business aim of your
project. The design and approach of your project such as the
reasons for the choice of social web harvesting, scope for
strategic or tactical decision making, business values, public
interest, marketing campaign, product reviews, branding and
marketing, customers’ preferences or other etc.
Research Tools and Methods
You need to discuss your research into suitable tools and/ or
APIs and the justification for your choice. Based on this, you
should then document the design of your project and show
clearly how your research project communicates with any third-
party service or API.

4. Results and Visualisations
You should discuss the results with necessary business or social
implications and relate that back to the motivation or rationale
of your social media project. Visualisation is very important, so
the report should also contain suitable visualisations for your
business storytelling out of the social data you collected.
Limitations and Implications
In addition, project limitations and recommendations are
desirable.
Conclusion and Appendices
Finally, draw a conclusion with key results to nicely conclude
your web harvesting research.
You are encouraged to compare various technical tools and
techniques to demonstrate the social media analytics skills you
have learnt.
You can implement your social web harvesting research project
using any suitable language / technology / third-party tools you
see fit. You can hard-code queries or you can provide a suitable
front-end where users can enter search keywords. In addition,
you can show the results in any suitable form, e.g. tables,
various forms of innovative graphs or information overlaid on a
map. The final visualisation needs to be published on Tableau
Public and include the link and evidences in the paper as
Appendixes. Additional Information
Referencing Requirements (Harvard)
The Harvard (or author-date) format should be strictly used for
all references (including images). Further information on
Referencing can be found at Cardiff Met’s Academic Skills
website.Assessment Criteria
WRIT1: Written Research Paper (4,000 words)
100%

5. Title Page: A title of not more than eight words should be
provided and the student’s name and student ID.
Biography: a brief professional biography of not more than 100
words about your role in this research paper.
5%
Abstract (less than 200 words): students must supply a
structured abstract in their submission, set out under 4-7 sub-
headings
Purpose (mandatory)
Design/methodology/approach (mandatory)
Findings (mandatory)
Social or Business implications: the original value of the
research (mandatory)
Research limitations/implications (if applicable)
10%
Introduction: Motivation or Rationale of the project
5%
Design and discussion of data sources / tools/ APIs and
justification of choice: Understanding of the social media
analytics for business design and anticipated implementation,
APIs and techniques used
20%
Key Results, Visualisation and Business Story Telling: “So
What?” aspects for the business value / anticipated research
impact
20%
Conclusions, Project Limitation and Recommendation
10%
References, Research Paper Presentation and Format:
Latest and Relevant references; logical, creative and clear
presentation
15%
Appendixes, e.g. A link to Tableau Public of your visualisation
work; Screen shots of data source file, interfaces or third party
tools you used or Source code. Please zip everything and submit

6. via a separate submission link on Moodle. Feel free to put the
key screen shots in the main report as well.
15%
Total:
100%Submission Details
Please see Moodle for confirmation of the Assessment
submission date.
Any assessments submitted after the deadline will not be
marked and will be recorded as a Non-Attempt.
Submit the assignment online through Moodle, including
a research paper in Word document (include the Tableau public
link, references and appendixes);
a zip folder including final presentation slides and appendixes,
such as the source files, e.g. Excel sheets, interfaces or third
party tools you used or Python source code.
The assessment must be submitted as a (i) MS Word document
and (ii) zip file through the Turnitin submission point in
Moodle
Summative feedback for the assessment will be provided
electronically via Moodle Grademark Feedback Studio, and will
normally be available 4 working weeks after initial submission.
The feedback return date will be confirmed on Moodle.
Feedback will be provided in the form of a Tunitin-GradeMark
rubric and supported with comments on your strengths and the
areas in which you could improve. Guidance on how to access
the feedback is published on Moodle module site.
PHI-305 Topic 4 Overview
TOPIC: Virtue Ethics and Natural Law
Introduction
Virtue or character ethics is concerned not with what one should
do, but with what one ought to be. Virtue may be understood as

7. “the inner and distinctive core of a person from which moral
discernment, decisions, and actions spring. It is an enduring
configuration of the intentions, feeling, dispositions, and
perceptions of any particular self” (Hollinger, 2002, p. 46).
The philosophies of Augustine and Aquinas, two of the most
important figures in the history of Western thought, came to
influence the medieval world in profound ways and continue to
shape much thinking today. While virtue ethics could be said to
be associated with the classical or ancient era, such as Plato and
Aristotle as well as these thinkers, virtue ethics also has
enjoyed renewed interest amongst today's ethicists. This topic
also surveys natural law theory, often associated with Thomas
Aquinas.
Aristotle
Aristotle focuses his ethical thinking on the telos, the end or
purpose of being, with virtues existing as natural human
inclinations. He theorizes that acting in accordance with
complete virtue is happiness: the natural end of life. Repetition
and habit are key, with the virtues being states of character. He
declares in his "Doctrine of the Mean" virtue as a mean between
two vices. For example, Aristotle would say that courage is a
virtue, but rashness is an "excess" of the virtue, while
cowardice is a "defect" of the virtue. Being modest is a virtue,
while bashfulness is an excess of modesty and shamelessness a
defect. The virtue of courage or modesty is found in the middle
of the two extremes, known as “the mean.” Both Plato and
Aristotle also emphasize the importance of moral education,
particularly the training of character. Noted contemporary
proponents of virtue theory include Carol Gilligan, Alasdair
MacIntyre, and Linda Zagzebski. Two other influential thinkers
in history are known particularly for their emphasis on virtue
ethics: Augustine of Hippo and Thomas of Aquin or Aquinas.
Augustine

8. Perhaps the foremost thinker of the early Christian era was St.
Augustine of Hippo (354−430). The famous North African is
noted not only for his theological and philosophical insights in
works such as Confessions and City of God but also for his
dramatic conversion story. The son of a pagan father and
Christian mother, Augustine famously converted to Christianity
after a lengthy search of other philosophies and dealing with his
own "carnal corruptions."
In his works, Augustine highlights several issues of importance
regarding ethics. Most
commentators agree that Augustine remains indebted to a
worldview formed by Platonism. For Augustine, Plato's Forms
do exist, but they are eternal thoughts in the mind of God.
Therefore, attachment to "worldly" things is unwise. Augustine
famously laments his grief over the death of his close friend
(Confessions, Book IV). In his thought, his love for his friend
exceeded his love for God, the only proper object of human
love.
Augustine highlights that human beings, though made in the
image of God, are also sinful beings. Through the fall of
humanity, described in the book of Genesis in the Bible, God's
image has been distorted so that human beings always seek
moral independence from God. Augustine sees this desire for
moral autonomy as the source of our separation from God. As a
result, those things that are typically considered positive
qualities, such as the classical virtues of temperance, courage,
wisdom, and justice, may actually be vices. These virtues must
flow from a desire to love and honor God to truly be "virtuous,"
otherwise Augustine considers them ultimately "self-seeking".
Thomas Aquinas
Another important thinker in the Christian tradition is Thomas
Aquinas. Sometimes simply referred to as "Thomas," Aquinas
lived in the thirteenth-century, over eight-hundred years after
Augustine. Aquinas is often considered the greatest theologian

9. of the Middle Ages. Unlike Augustine's reliance on Platonism,
Aquinas was influenced by the thought of Aristotle. Aristotle's
more "earthy" philosophy is reflected in the way Aquinas
understands human nature and ethics.
Though Aquinas recognizes that ultimate human fulfillment can
only take place through the "beatific vision," a vision of God in
the world to come, a limited fulfillment can nevertheless be
achieved in this life by all people. Aquinas makes a distinction
between the cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance,
and justice, and the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.
The cardinal virtues can be known by the proper use of human
reason; they are natural. The theological virtues, however, are
only known by revelation, typically through Scripture. The
upshot of this is that though humans are fallen and cannot know
or love God without supernatural assistance, people can know
what is "good" simply by using their reason well. This "natural
law" of analyzing human nature to know what is good means
that theoretically all people can agree on certain moral
standards if they are reasoning well.
Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics can be defined as a moral theory "that emphasizes
moral character in contrast to the approach which emphasizes
duties or rules or that which emphasizes the consequences of
actions" (Hursthouse, 2012, para. 1). A virtue is a positive
character trait, something that makes someone "good." One
typically thinks of honesty, kindness, and courage as virtues. As
an ethical theory, virtue ethics is less concerned about one's
actions and more concerned with one's character. Certainly what
one does is often a result of one’s character, but the point of
virtue ethics is that an individual should be concerned with
developing certain kinds of moral traits in order to live a
fulfilling life.
The New Testament notably advocates the development of

10. virtue. In the Gospels, Jesus severely criticizes the religious
leaders of his day for only paying attention to outward actions
and not developing the proper inward dispositions. He famously
describes his adversaries as "whitewashed tombs" (Matt. 23: 27
NIV) for their hypocrisy and lack of inner character.
Though the strengths of virtue ethics are obvious, there are a
number of questions that ought to be asked. Wilkens asks if
virtue ethics ultimately can help one to know what to do in a
given situation (2011, pp. 141-142). One might also ask if a
person with a virtuous character could actually perform an
action that is considered evil based on those virtues. For
example, might a terrorist act out of care for his community and
courage, traits that would otherwise be considered good?
Finally, the question of which character traits are actually
virtuous has been a long-standing problem. Many of the Greeks
considered humility a vice, while many Christians would point
to humility as the most important virtue to be developed in the
believer.
Natural Law
Natural law can be defined as a moral theory in which "the
moral standards that govern human behavior are, in some sense,
objectively derived from the nature of human beings and the
nature of the world" (Himma, 2005, para. 1). In other words,
what comes "naturally" is what is good. The common desires of
human nature are an indication of ethical direction. As Thomas
Aquinas states, "All those things to which man has a natural
inclination, are naturally apprehended by reason as being good"
(Summa Theologica, ii.1). The foundation of natural law is that
good should be done and evil avoided. By natural, Aquinas has
in mind when something functions the way it was designed to
work.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to natural law ethical theory
involves clarity (Wilkens, 2011, pp. 193-194). What is

11. considered natural, and therefore right, to one person or group
might be unnatural, and therefore wrong, to another. Debates
that transpire in American society about euthanasia, birth
control, and same-sex marriage are often debates about what is
"natural." Since there is often significant disagreement on these
questions, one can ask if natural law is an entirely helpful
approach to ethics.
Conclusion
Virtue ethics points to the importance of character for thinking
and living rightly; motives, intentions, and disposition matter.
Natural law seeks governing objective moral laws in nature
and/or human nature for good and proper moral functioning.
While these ethical theories may assist some individuals and/or
communities to grow in virtuous and behavioral ways, lack of
consensus as to what comprise universal virtues and natural
morality has led many to consider alternative ethical theories. It
can be argued that only by means of an authoritative and
trustworthy source and framework can human beings
gain true insight and power for authentic, faithful, and ethical
thinking and living. Thus, by embracing a distinctly Christian
worldview and ethic, which entails receiving the grace and love
of the one good, right, and true God, one is empowered for
upward journey of ethical reflection and virtuous living.
References
Clark, K. J., & Poortenga, A. (2003).The story of ethics:
Fulfilling our human nature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
Himma, K. E. (2005). "Natural Law." Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/natlaw/

12. Hollinger, D. P. (2002). Choosing the good: Christian ethics in
a complex world. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
Hursthouse, R. (2012). "Virtue Ethics." The Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from
http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2012/entries/ethics-virtue
Pojman, L., & Fieser, J. (2012). Ethics: Discovering right and
wrong (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
Wilkens, S. (2011).Beyond bumper sticker ethics: An
introduction to theories of right and wrong(2nded.). Downers
Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. © 2019. Grand Canyon
University. All Rights Reserved.
PHI-305 Ethical Theory Comparison Chart and Summary
Directions: Complete the Ethical Theory Chart. You will be
comparing and contrasting the key ethical ideas of philosophers.
Fill out each column with a detailed response. Include a
summary at the bottom of this page.
Philosopher-Ethicists
Ethical Theory
Virtue Ethics or Virtues Focus
Two or More Components of Virtue Ethics or Virtues Focus
#1: Plato
#2: Aristotle

13. #3: Augustine
#4: Aquinas
Summary: Complete the Ethical Theory Summary. Present your
overall findings in a concise summary of 200-300 words, based
on your research.
© 2019. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.
© 2019. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.