The independent variable Essay Example for Free

The independent variable Essay Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior or in behavioral potentiality that results from experience and cannot be attributed to temporary body states such as those induced by illness, fatigue, or drugs. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005, pg 8) Learning can occur from experience, classical conditioning or operant conditioning. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) Aristotle theorized through his laws of association that information can be recalled through contiguity, similarity or contrast. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) Using the frontal lobes of our brain the information can be manipulated to form ideas or thoughts both directly or abstractly from the knowledge that is stored in longterm memory. Learning is studied by the potential change or observable change in behavior. Studying the change in behavior provides researchers with an observable, measureable subject matter that is necessary in behavioral science. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) The behavior is studied by identifying the variables. The relationship between the stimuli and the responses is the theoretical process called the intervening variable. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) The dependent variable is the behavior. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) The independent variable is what causes the change in behavior. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) The complexity of human thought behavior makes it difficult to study learning. Because of this most learning studies are performed on animals. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) One exception would be Ebbinghaus who studied the relationship between learning irrelevant information like nonsense syllables and relevant information like Byrons Don Juan. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) Ebbinghaus studied himself and methodically recorded the amount of times it took to master nonsense syllables and syllables that were familiar to theorize the associative process in learning. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) Psychologists like Skinner and Pavlov used animals to study the learning process. Pavlov studied learning in dogs through classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is where a conditioned response is used to cause a change in behavior. Pavlov documented a dogs unconditioned response to food which is an unconditioned stimulus. Dogs have a predisposition naturally to start salivating when food is introduced. This condition is innate and similar to  a persons reflex of pulling his or her hand away from a hot stove. Pavlov also showed that a condition stimulus like the sound of a bell alone will not cause a dog to salivate. Pavlov added a conditioned stimulus, the sound of a bell, to the unconditioned stimulus of introducing food. After repeating the conditioned stimulus several times the dogs learned that when the bell sounded that food was going to follow so the dogs would start salivating as soon as they heard the sound of the bell even if no food was presented. (Willingham, 2007)Skinner studied learning through operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is different than classical conditioning because a choice is involved. The dogs did not have a choice but to salivate to the sound of the bell, but in operant conditioning a person would make a choice such as not eat fish if it has made them sick on a prior experience. Skinner used a skinner box made of Plexiglas with a grid floor that can be electrified and a lever that can be pressed that will deliver food to the animal, usually a rat, inside the box. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) The box was used to test escape conditioning or avoidance conditioning. Escape conditioning occurs when the animal inside the Skinner box is given a negative stimulus, an electoral shock from the floor of the box, and the animal has to perform a behavior such as climbing onto a small shelf to turn off the shock stimulus. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) Avoidance conditioning is a signal is activated just before the electric shock to get the animal to jump onto the shelf to avoid being shocked. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) In both of these scenarios the animal makes a choice as a result of the conditioned stimulus. Learning is the process in which knowledge is stored in memory. Aristotle first formulated the law of association to show a correlation between retrieval of nonfunctional knowledge. The law of similarity is the recalling of similar experiences or objects. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) The law of similarity would be when a person learns something during training and later comes across a similar event or interaction. He or she would reinvent what was learned and apply it to the task or interaction based on his or her similar knowledge. (Fenwick, 2000). The law of contrast is recalling the opposite of something. (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) The law of contiguity is recalling something that was experienced at the same time as something else.  (Hergenhahn Olson, 2005) These laws of association give a basis of cognition. A person goes to a fine dining restaurant and orders a tray of signature cheese spreads for the fresh baked bread. When the waiter brings the spreads the person hears the waiter express the imported quality, sees the display of the variety of spreads and the texture, smells the aroma, and taste the spread to be all that the waiter described. A year later the same person sees the cheese spread on the menu and recalls the contiguity of memories being stored about the smell, taste, texture and quality of the cheese and uses the knowledge to make a decision if he or she wants to order it again or not. References Fenwick, T. (2000). Expanding Conceptions of Experiential Learning: A Review of the Five Contemporary Perspectives on Cognition. Retrieved from http://aeq.sagepub.com at Apollo Group Inc. Hergenhahn, B., Olson, M. (2005). An Introduction to Theories of Learning (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice HallWillingham, D. T. (2007). Cognition: The thinking animal (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Allyn4 Bacon.

Automatic Fire Sprinkler System Essay -- Sprinklers History Technology

The automatic fire sprinkler system was one of the earliest sprinkler systems placed into effect. The origin of the modern day automatic sprinkler system dates back to the early 1800’s. The first automatic sprinkler system was created in England in the 1806 by John Carey. It consisted of a pipe with valves held closed by counterweights attached by string. When flames burned through the string the counterweight dropped to the floor, which opened the valve that released the water and extinguished the fire. As the 1800’s progressed, the basic pipe system for sprinklers was becoming more prevalent across England. It began to pop up in textile mills all through out the country. In 1864, as sprinkler system use grew, Major Stewart Harrison of the 1st Engineer (London) Volunteers invented the first automatic sprinkler head. A few years later two gentlemen by the names of Henry Parmelee of Newhaven, Connecticut, and Frederick Grinnell of Providence, Rhode Island, added to the s prinkler head to give it a more practical application. Parmelee took the automatic sprinkler head and added to it a fusible link that broke at about 160oF. This allowed the system to control which heads broke so the whole system wouldn’t drown the whole structure in water, it would only release where there was sufficient heat to break a head. Grinnell invented a head that could withstand higher water pressures without break as well as distribute water more evenly. Each of these inventions increased the efficiency of the systems greatly. Now in today’s modern fire protection era, automatic sprinkler systems are used to protect everyday buildings around the world. It is most commonly in commercial use buildings. This includes but is not limited to schools, hospitals, ... ...dards and codes such as the NFPA or OSHA’s codes and standards. The automatic sprinkler system is the oldest and most widely utilized system in effect today. Through simple application of water onto a fire before it can grow it has saved countless lives and saved countless amounts of money in property and business. As its use grows in the commercial setting, it has also begun to grow in the residential setting. There are few areas that require automatic sprinkler systems in residential homes, but as they are proven to be safe, affordable, and effective, this will rapidly change. It will not be long before there is an automatic sprinkler system in every business as well as home. Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_sprinkler_system http://ezproxy.sunyocc.edu:2170/codesonline/ http://www.apifiregroup.com/firesprinkler/sprinkler-history.html

Machende

c)Is there evidence for market failures or government failures in the provision of public services, merit goods and control of demerit goods in Sub-Saharan Africa? Discuss (30 marks) Market failure is a circumstance in which private markets do not bring about the allocation of resources that best satisfies society’s wants. Government failures are inefficiencies of the public sector. Public goods are goods that would not be provided in the free market system, because firms would not be adequately charge for them.Merit goods are goods that are deemed as necessary for consumption by the state and if left to the private sector only, such goods would be under-consumed . Demerit goods are goods and services whose consumption is considered unhealthy, degrading or otherwise socially undesirable due to the perceived negative effects on the consumers. Such goods are deemed as unnecessary for consumption by the state. Most of the countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa like Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa are operating under a mixed economy. A free-market on its own can’t best allocate resources in a best way that satisfies the society.Market failures would arise as the invisible hand on its own can’t provide adequately for the society. S d1 Qp a c d2 Costs and benefits Output External benefit Welfare loss because merit goods tend to be under consumed by the free market b Qs 0 Merit goods provide externalities but if left wholly to the private sector, it is likely that merit goods will be under consumed. In most Sub-Saharan African countries such as Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia, the private sector provides education at high costs which results in the under-consumption of the good.Most Governments often provide merit goods for free but when considering Sub-Saharan African countries, this has not been in practice, for instance, public schools in Burkina Faso have since been experiencing high charges of fees. This often results in welfare loss as illustrat ed by the diagram below: Welfare loss caused by under-consumption of merit goods As shown by the diagram above, under-consumption of merit goods in Sub-Sahara Africa results in the loss of welfare of ABC. Moreover, merit goods are often provided by the state, thus, to increase consumption of merit goods, the state has to increase spending on such goods.This has been practically impossible for most Sub-Saharan African countries as they have no incentive for spending on merit goods. For instance, countries such as Somalia, Burundi and Uganda. In most Sub-Saharan African countries the invisible hand and the state have since failed to control the consumption of demerit goods. The consumption of demerit goodscan lead to negative externalities which causes a fall in social welfare. The free-market often fails to control the consumption of demerit goods as it may fail to take into account the negative externalities of consumption (social cost exceeds private cost).This may be due to imperf ect information as information is a commodity that costs to obtain. For example, methods of conveying information to customers is rather poor in Africa than in European countries. Furthermore, Governments may fail to control consumption of demerit goods due to a number of reasons. For example, the government may decide to intervene in the market for the regulation of demerit goods and impose taxes on producers or consumers. This often raises prices and may produce detrimental effects to the economy like inflation in the long-run.This may restrict government from taking such decisions . In South Africa, there has been a proposal for the ban of advertisement of alcohol but it has been a failure since many alcohol producing companies have been responsible for sponsoring most sporting activities. Costs and benefits Social cost External costs {negative externalities} Private costs Limited information full information D2 D1 0 Failure to regulate consumption of demerit goods results in wel fare loss. This is illustrated below: Output Q1 Q2 Q3 Welfare loss due to unregulated consumption of demeritsAs shown above, the social optimal level of consumption would be q3, an output that takes into account the information failure of consumers and also negative externalities. There are also some government failures in Sub-Saharan Africa. Governments are awarding subsidies to firms but this may protect inefficient firms from competition and create barriers to entry for new firms because prices are kept artificially low. Subsidies and other forms of assistance by the governments cause moral hazard. Most Sub-Saharan African countries are subsidizing firms that produce fertilizer as a way of achieving long term food securities.This causes barriers to new firms which might want to produce fertilizers, as they can’t withstand the competition due to low production costs enjoyed by the existing firms. More so, there is evidence of government failure caused by rent seeking. Most Governments in the Sub-Saharan countries are in charge of controlling natural resources. This causes barriers to entry in industries that require the use of natural resources like minerals. The government will now be a monopoly in that industry and it may fail to allocate resources in the most socially desirable manner.Most Sub-Saharan countries are still developing they are bureaucratic which is very slow in decision making. This causes most governments to be inefficient as it takes time for firms and institutions to be given the permission to produce goods and services. Such goods and services might be merit or public goods and services. For example, the decision to allow Econet in Zimbabwe was slow meaning that it would rather take long for Zimbabwean citizens to enjoy the telecommunication services to be offered by Econet.In Zimbabwe there is unfair distribution of some merit goods like education, for instance, universities or tertiary education institutions. In Manicaland there are no state universities as compared to other regions such as Mashonaland, Masvingo, Midlands and Matebeleland. Examples of such universities in the favoured regions include University of Zimbabwe, Midlands States University and others. When it comes to the government provision of public services in countries like Zimbabwe, there is an unequal distribution of such services.For instance, politicians may use funds which should be assigned to produce public services to campaign. Therefore they may increase spending on public goods and services in some regions at the expense of other regions in a bid to gain political millage in such regions. However, the governments of Sub-Saharan African countries have not completely failed to provide public services, merit goods and control of demerit but have intervened in correcting market failures. Some Sub-Saharan African countries have been successful in banning the consumption and importation of cocaine which is a harmful drug.They are also c ontrolling the consumption of other drugs like marijuana . Some governments have also been improving on the provision of public services such as road networks. For instance, roads in South Africa are better off. South Africa and Nigeria have also been subsidizing the production of merit goods like education. To solve failures such as under-consumption of merit goods such as education, the Governments of Sub-Saharan African countries can increase expenditure or spending on such services. For example, the construction of more educational institutions.In Zimbabwe, there is a current project that is running the construction of a university in Manicaland (to be named Manicaland State University). The same can also to public service expenditure by the Governments of these countries. Zimbabwe is currently undergoing the construction of a dual carriage way from Mutare to Harare. This reflects an increase in expenditure on public services. Therefore, in conclusion, there is evidence of marke t failure as reflected by Government intervention. However, the governments of Sub-Saharan African countries may also fail as discussed above.

Take the Paired Conjunction Quiz

Paired conjunctions are often used in both spoken and written English to make a point, give an explanation, or discuss alternatives. The most common paired conjunctions include: both ... andneither ... noreither ... ornot only ... but also When using these forms with verb conjugation make sure to follow these rules: Both ... and is used with two  subjects and always conjugates using the plural form of the verb.Both Tom and Peter live in Los Angeles.Neither ... nor is used with two  subjects. The second subject decides whether the verb is conjugated in the plural or singular form.Neither Tim nor his sisters enjoy watching TV. OR Neither his sister nor Tim enjoys watching TV.  Either ... nor is used with two  subjects.  The second subject decides whether the verb is conjugated in the plural or singular form.Either the children or Peter has made a mess in the living room. OR Either Peter or the children have made a mess in the living room.Not only ... but also inverts the verb after not only, but use standard conjugation after but also.Not only does he like tennis, but he also enjoys golf. Paired conjunctions can also be used with adjectives and nous. In this case, make sure to use a parallel structure when using paired conjunctions. Parallel structure refers to using the same form for each item. Pair Conjunction Quiz 1 Match the sentence halves to make a complete sentence. Both PeterNot only do we want to goEither Jack will have to work more hoursThat story wasStudents who do well not only study hardIn the end, he had to chooseSometimes it isI would love to take but we also have enough money.neither true nor realistic.not only wise to listen to your parents but also interesting.and I are coming next week.either his career or his hobby.both my laptop and my cell phone on holiday.but also use their instincts if they do not know the answer.or we will have to hire somebody new. Pair Conjunction Quiz 2 Combine the following sentences into one sentence using paired conjunctions: both ... and; not only ... but also; either ... or; neither ... nor We could fly. We could go by train.She will have to study hard. She will have to concentrate to do well on the exam.Jack is not here. Tom is in another city.The speaker will not confirm the story. The speaker will not deny the story.Pneumonia is a dangerous disease. Smallpox is a dangerous illness.Fred loves traveling. Jane wants to go around the world.It might rain tomorrow. It might snow tomorrow.Smoking isnt good for your heart. Drinking isnt good for your health. Answers 1 Both Peter and I are coming this week.Not only do we want to go, but we also have enough money.Either Jack will have to work more hours or we will have to hire somebody new.That story was neither true nor realistic.Students who do well not only study hard but also use their instincts if they do not know the answers.  In the end, he had to choose either his career or his hobby.Sometimes it is not only wise to listen to your parents but also interesting.  I would love to take both my laptop and my cell phone on holiday. Answers 2 Either we could fly or we could go by train.  Not only will she have to study hard, but she will also have to concentrate to do well on the exam.Neither Jack nor Tom is here.The speaker will neither confirm nor deny the study.Both Pneumonia and Small Pox are dangerous illnesses (diseases).Both Fred and Jane love traveling.It might both rain and snow tomorrow.Neither smoking nor drinking is good for your health.   If you had difficulties understanding this quiz, brush up on your knowledge. Teachers can use this paired conjunction lesson plan to help students learn and practice these forms.