Classical conditioning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Classical conditioning - Essay Example This also causes business productivity to go down. In fact, many business owners opt to close down their businesses until the elections are over. The last three general elections witnessed a great transformation with regard to governance, a factor that ensured tight security to mitigate any cases of post election violence. In fact, security agents from different department were dispatched to different parts of the country, as a measure to ensure tight security. In the contrary, people still decided to move their families’ home and in response businesspersons opted to reduce either their stocking or close down on presumption of incurring losses. Subsequent elections showed great changes with regard to people shifting; a factor that saddened many businesspersons who had the thought that things would be the same and thus maintained low stock. Having learnt from this election, the same traders were seen stocking more goods in the last elections without the fear of incurring losses even after watching some people travel to their ancestral

Natural Resources Essay Example for Free

Natural Resources Essay Renewable energy is energy that is derived from natural resources which can be replenished naturally such as tides, sunlight, geothermal heat, rain and wind. Renewable energy accounts for about 10. 1 of the locally produced electricity in the United States. According to Nebel and Wright, hydro power which is generated using water is the prime source of renewable energy apart from solar energy, wind power, geothermal power and biomass and bio-fuel energies (214). The Tazimina project in Alaska is an example of hydropower plant that does not require a dam. Other hydroelectricity dams are found in Tennessee valley and on the Colorado River. Wind power which uses wind to generate electricity is becoming more and more popular and is mostly used in some regions such as in Appalachians, Western United States and Alaska. Though this source of energy does not pollute the environment it poses negative environmental impacts to wildlife. Although solar technologies and geothermal power have minimal destructive environmental impacts biomass power has the prospective of becoming the leading energy source not only in the U. S but the entire world. Biomass can be produced almost everywhere and is derived from wastes and alcohol fuels and can be converted into liquefied fuel to meet transportation energy requirements. It can also be used to produce electricity and as a source of heat. Ethanol and biodiesel are common forms of bio-fuels used in the U. S and are produced from plants. The U. S department should focus on reconnoitring ways of converting cellulose from forest residue, agricultural wastes and other materials to ethanol which is the most environmental friendly source of fuel. Since the U. S government released $30 million shillings towards the funding of Clean Energies Technologies to enhance the transition to a viable energy future, this can greatly assist in building an inclusive state renewable energy scheme that addresses the full range of market issues and technologies. As it is observed by the World Watch Institute (2006), we all need energy that is secure, improves public health, protects the environment, is reliable, offers technological leadership and addresses climate change. Works Cited Nebel, Bernard J. , and Wright, Richard T. Environmental Science: The Way the World Works. Ed. Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1987. World Watch Institute, â€Å"American Energy: The Renewable Path to Energy Security†. September 2006. Retrieved on 20th July, 2010 from: http://www. worldwatch. org/files/pdf/AmericanEnergy. pdf

Paradigm Transitions in Education

Paradigm Transitions in Education Introduction professional context For this piece I will look to investigate the transition to paperless education to coincide with the opening of a new sixth form centre. Alongside the research question I will look into the relevant epistemological, ontological and methodological paradigms and how they influence my professional practice. During this piece I hope the reflexly look into my personal experience, my Habitus (Bourdieu, 1993) and how this has affected the decisions made in the pursuit of this goal to become paperless. I have worked with education for the last 11 years having the predominant section of ,my career being in the secondary education sector. I was recently appointed to the position of Head of Deeside Sixth form centre, which is a brand new  £15 million build the enhance the provision of A levels for North Wales and beyond. The building is a XXX square feet and is part of Coleg Cambria, which is one of the largest Colleges in Wales with some 20,000 students. The new role has not only changed my lens in terms of sector, with a move from secondary to further, but also significantly changed my role within the organistion, by moving from a position of middle management to senior management. This has challenged my epistemology of A level provision, specifically within the field of preparing students for positive progression to employment or university. With the building of this new Sixth form centre, I made the claim that we would have cutting edge IT facilities (Deeside Sixth Website), and this gave me the perfect opportunity to make large investment in ILT (information for learning technologies). The centre had a large budget of IT facilities with some 800 log-ins around the building. Because of the large investment I was able to look at ways of developing pedagogy to best suit 21st century education. This large investment coupled with the overarching drive to become more sustainable as a college, made me look into the options of reducing paper use. In order to allow this reduction in paper use and to prepare current A level students for future employment and education, as a new Sixth form centre I have decided to make a transition from a paper based curriculum to an electronic curriculum, which makes use of Goolge as a learning platform including google classroom as a VLE, thus allowing online work submission, marking and feedback. This should best prepare students for university, where their studies will be largely dependant on this format and an employment world, which is under rapid change and has a growing reliance on technology. As head of a brand new sixth form centre this decision has fell solely with me and during the planning phase there has been no staff engagement or student voice, due to not having a staff team or student body during the planning phase. To allow retrospective planning and ensure smooth future transition this piece will look at staff and student opinion of the transition to paperless and outline stage for further progress to the Holy Grail of paperless education. Paradigms Having come from a natural science background the idea of paradigms is a novel idea, which has made me challenge my own thoughts and feelings about epistemology and how the phenomenology as opposed the the cartesian philosophy may be more applicable to the social world of a school or college. To start with a definition of a paradigm, Oxford Dictionary defines it as a world view underlying the theories and methodology of a particular scientific subject. A more grounded description would be simply a belief system that moulds the way we think and act about all aspects of life. Upon commencement of this unit I was faced with the philosophical viewpoint that There is no such thing as absolute truth and absolute falsehood. (Rowland, H, 1899), which brought about some dissonance in my understanding of the world. Previously, the idea of my research falling into a certain ontological perspective other than positivist seemed absurd, however upon making my way through some of the numerous philosophical opinions and approaches within the area of educational research, my lens has widened and allowed me to embrace some of these theories and their application in the social setting. The term paradigm, which can largely be derived from the work of Kuhn (and his  book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions published in 1962) and can broadly be described as the ways in research be investigated and interpreted. Further work by Patton (1978) in Sparkes (Ed.) (1992, p.11) takes the idea of a paradigm a step further and refers to it as a world view. This world view has shifted throughout the progression of this unit to acknowledge the strengths and applications of the interpretivist paradigm. This paradigm shift, would show strength for the work of Kuhn, Kuhn argues that changes in paradigm is brought about by a series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions, and in those revolutions one conceptual world view is replaced by another. (Kuhn, T 1962). I dont feel I am in a position to fully move away from the positivist paradigm, but I feel my Lens has significantly altered. As previously mentioned, my natural science background has largely ingrained the positivist paradigm with my outlook and this has embedded in my professional practice. Positivism is an epistemological standpoint that looks for experimental testing , where controlling bias and the importance of subjectivity is vital. Ledoux (2002, p. 34) defines natural sciences as disciplines that deal only with natural events (i.e. independent and dependent variables in nature) using scientific methods. According to work Bà ¼chel (1992), the birth of natural science was initated by those who questioned earlier explanations about the world and wanted systematic / scientific methods for research.

Comparing The Withered Arm and An Imaginative Woman :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparing The Withered Arm and An Imaginative Woman I will be examining two novelettes by a single author, Thomas Hardy. "The Withered Arm" and "An Imaginative Woman". I will be highlighting the similarities and differences between them. Additionally I will be analyzing the content of each. The first thing we notice about the two stories is that they are both written in third person narrative. Another thing we notice about the style of writing in both is that it is very old fashioned, which tells us these novelettes must have been written some time in the 19th century. The main characters in both stories are women. In "The Withered Arm" Gertrude is the main character, and in "An Imaginative Woman" Ella is the main character. The main themes in both stories are fate and irony. This makes both stories very tragic, which intrigues the reader. This is why Thomas Hardy has chosen to write in this style. Although the two stories are set around the same time, they are set in different regions. "An Imaginative Woman" is set in an urban environment and "The Withered Arm" is set in a more rural area. This shows us that Thomas Hardy does make variations in his writing. Capital punishment plays a major part in "The Withered Arm", as Gertrude must place her damaged arm on the neck of a hung criminal, to cure it. "The Withered Arm" also shows a lot of differentiation between the social classes. The reason why Farmer Lodge disowned his son is because Lodge was having an affair with Rhoda at the time, so he was bore of her. She is of a lower social class than he is so he doesn't want people to know he was involved with her. There is much gender discrimination in "An Imaginative Woman". People would have not been generally interested in poetry by a women, so Ella uses a male name for the author of her poems. This makes more people read her work. Incompatibility plays an important part in both stories, but more so in "An Imaginative Woman". Thomas Hardy explains: Marchmill considered his wife's likes and fancies, those smallest greatest particulars that no common denominator could be applied.

Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc : Rewarding Our People Essay

1. Threat from buyer – NA 2. Threat from supplier – NA 3. Threat from substitutes – High 4. Threat from competitors – High New Facilities , Imitating Harrah’s strategy through technological advancement, New attractions 5. Threat from new entrants – High Over all : Though the threat from competitors and substitutes was high Harrah was the biggest casino chain company in the market and had set hold on major market share Job roles for casino : 1. Gaming dealer: Dealers’ job duties can include operating games by dispensing the correct numbers of cards or blocks, comparing the house’s hand against players’ hands, and paying off or collecting money or chips from players 2. Surveillance Officer: Using audio and video equipment, they monitor the casino floor from an observation room, looking for cheating or theft and making sure the casino is in compliance with laws and regulations 3. Gaming Supervisors: These floor employees, also referred to as pit bosses, supervise gaming tables and casino staff in an assigned area of the floor. They also specialize in customer service on the floor, hearing and resolving patron complaints, explaining house rules, and possibly planning and organizing activities on the floor. 4. Cage Cashier : Responsible for controlling and accounting the transactions of the main bank, chip bank, check bank, and cage windows. 5. Slot Technicians: Slot technicians are responsible for testing, repairing, and maintaining the machines. 6. Gaming Managers: Dealers’ job duties can include operating games by dispensing the correct numbers of cards or blocks, comparing the house’s hand against  players’ hands, and paying off or collecting money or chips from players Controllability: Incentive bonus depended largely on customer feedback to judge performance improvement there might be errors on rating from customer side and subjectivity issues. Alignment: Since bonus was linked to performance the alignment issue was low Interdependency: Interdependency is low among roles Current Challenge : To replace the institutional priorities of long-term tenure and employee happiness with ideals of excellence and customer satisfaction along with employee satisfaction and retention Issues: Lack of support from higher management High Turnover Remedies: 1. Introducing Standardized test to find the best people for the role and not just fitting the minimum requirement 2.Increased interaction with employees 3. Specialized trainings 4. Gain Sharing for increased customer satisfaction 5. Increasing accountability of managers by implementing multiple pay components Gain Sharing Incentive Plan Objective: To instil competitive spirit in the employees and competing against rival casinos as well as their own past records Harrah introduced Gain Sharing for its employees. ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES Increased employee retention & motivation by bringing them closer to the company through ownership Employees feeling the pressure of stretched goals Company focus was on increased customer satisfaction and service and gain sharing on performance basis ensured high productivity from employees in terms of customer satisfaction Creates an impression that profits through customer satisfaction is sole concern of the company with little importance  to employee Plan was independent of operating income hence reduced interdependency Low profits burdened the company as payouts may still exist A sense of collective achievement Focus on profits may lead to reduced relationship management by managers Gives a sense of job security Not always high performance may meet minimum bonus payout requirements and hardworking employees may be denied of gains by marginal values Since it is on monthly basis it may push teams for better performance if goals not achieved and hence lead to continuous improvement

What Were The Costs And Benefits Of Cultural Interaction And Trade Spurred By The Crusades essays

What Were The Costs And Benefits Of Cultural Interaction And Trade Spurred By The Crusades essays The Crusades had a major impact on the history of Europe. The costs and benefits of the Crusades were many and many things changed because of the Crusades. The balance of power in Europe changed dramatically during the time of the Crusades. In this paper I shall tell you about these changes produced by the costs and benefits of the Crusades. One effect the Crusades had was the change in the balance of power between nobles and monarchs. The nobles united during the time of the Crusades to fight against a common enemy but during that time the monarchs slowly undermined the power of the nobles. The reason was because the Crusades were a series of wars monarchs had the ever-present excuse to tax the nobles heavily and create an army out of the nobles wealth. Another reason is because many nobles died during the Crusades so many lines of nobles ended and the monarchs usually seized a deceased nobles land. As you can see the Crusades cost the nobles dearly and the monarchs greatly benefited from them. The Crusades also had a major economical impact. The peasants and some businessmen suffered greatly due to the crusades while certain areas and people got rich. The peasants suffered because they were taxed heavily to support the armies. Many businesses that depended on loaning went bankrupt because the pope cancelled debts for people who participated in the Crusades. The people and places that got rich were Italy and shipping companies. The shipping companies made fortunes moving troops and supplies while Italy got truckloads of money because it was perfectly situated between Europe and the Middle East and intercepted all the traffic. The Crusades had a major impact on European technology. Europe learned many things from the Islamic people. The Europeans learned about gunpowder, the crossbow, pigeons as messengers, siege tactics, and catapults. The Europeans were strengthened by the Crusades even though ...