Astronmy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Astronmy - Essay Example (PEI) 25) Erosional activity is closely related to planetary size and distance from the Sun. Accordingly, â€Å"larger worlds also have more erosion because their gravity retains an atmosphere.† (PEI 30) In addition, the closer a planet is to the sun, the hotter it is disabling rain, snow and ice to occur and effect erosional activity. So, planets close to the Sun have less erosion. In addition, other factors such as planets having liquid water sustain more erosion; and the rotation of the planets contribute to erosion. The faster the rotation of planets, the more susceptible for erosion due to more weather and a stronger magnetic field (PEI 32). Therefore, Mercury, Venus and the Moon share the following characteristics: (1) they are closer to the Sun; (2) they are smaller in size (compared to the Earth) cooling easier and hardening earlier therefore they do not retain an atmosphere; (3) Mercury and the Moon do not have geological activities; (4) it is more difficult for hot planets to retain an atmosphere. In these regard, these planets and the moon do not have significant erosion as compared to the

Concepts and Theories of Classical Conditioning

Concepts and Theories of Classical Conditioning Aimee Duncalfe Rena Borovilos Classical Conditioning and My Behaviour Behavioural psychology is a theory of learning that is founded upon the idea that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning, which occurs through environmental interaction (Cherry, What is Behaviorism?, 2014). Conditioning is a specific type of learning that has been explored by several different physiologists and psychologists throughout history, and can be broken down into two specific types of learning; classical conditioning and operant conditioning. This paper will discuss classical conditioning while exploring several different examples, including a personal behaviour that can also be identified as classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a learning process that occurs through associating two stimuli that are repeatedly paired together, resulting in a conditioned response. (Cherry, What Is Classical Conditioning?, 2005). The process of classical conditioning consist of placing a conditioned stimulus before an unconditioned stimulus that naturally results in an unconditioned response. When paired repeatedly, the conditioned stimulus eventually causes a conditioned response, even in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus. An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is one that naturally or automatically causes a response (Cherry, Classical Conditioning, 2005). For example, when you hear a balloon pop, you may immediately jump in shock. The sound of the balloon popping is the unconditioned stimulus. An unconditioned response (UCR) is the automatic response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus (Cherry, Classical Conditioning, 2005). Using the same example, jumping in response to the sound of the balloon popping is the unconditioned response. The conditioned stimulus (CS) is previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually causes a conditioned response (Cherry, Classical Conditioning, 2005). Suppose that immediately before you heard the balloon pop, you saw a flashing red light. The flashing red light is unrelated to the sound of the balloon popping, though if the flashing red light was paired multiple times with the balloon popping, seeing the flashing red light would eventually cause the conditioned response. In this case, the conditioned stimulus is seeing the flashing red light. The conditioned response (CR) is the learned response to a previously neutral stimulus (Cherry, Classical Conditioning, 2005). In the same example, the conditioned response would be jumping to the sight of the flashing red light. This process, often used in behavioural training, was introduced by a Russian physiologist by the name of Ivan Pavlov, who won the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his work on the physiology of digestion (Nobel Media AB, 2014). Pavlovs experiment explored dogs salivating in response to the presentation of food. In his experiment, the UCS was the presentation of food, and the UCR was salivating in response to the food. Pavlov also introduced a CS, the sound of a bell, immediately before presenting the food to the dogs. By combining the sound of the bell with the presentation of food, the sound of the bell alone would eventually produce the conditioned response of salivation. (Cherry, What Is Classical Conditioning?, 2005). There are several occurrences that take place in relation to classical conditioning. The first stages of learning when a response is established is what is known as acquisition. This refers to the period of time when the conditioned response is first established and gradually strengthened (Cherry, Principles of Classical Conditioning, 2005). Going back to the first example of the popping balloon, the conditioned response has been acquired once a person begins to jump at the sight of the flashing red light. In Pavlov’s experiment, the conditioned response has been acquired as soon as the dog begins to salivate in response to the sound of the bell. Once the response has been acquired, the response can be progressively strengthened to ensure the behaviour is well learned. Factors that can influence how quickly acquisition occurs include how noticeable the CS is, as well as the timing of the CS in relation to the UCS. If the CS is too subtle, or if there is too much of a delay bet ween the CS and the UCS, the learner may not notice the CS enough to form an association between the two. The most effective method is to introduce the CS and then quickly present the UCS so that there is an overlap between the two. The more noticeable the CS, and the shorter delay between the UCS and the CS, the quicker acquisition will take (Cherry, What is Acquisition?, 2005). Another occurrence in relation to classical conditioning is extinction. Extinction happens when the frequency of a CR decreases or disappears when a CS is no longer paired with an UCS (Cherry, Principles of Classical Conditioning, 2005). Returning to the previously used example, if the popping of the balloon were no longer paired with the flashing red light, eventually the conditioned response of jumping to the flashing red light would disappear. In Pavlov’s experiment, if he no longer paired the bell with the presentation of the food, eventually the conditioned response of salivating to the sound of the bell would disappear. During his research, Pavlov discovered that when extinction occurs, it does not mean that the subject returns to their unconditioned state. Allowing several hours or even days to elapse after a response has been extinguished can result in spontaneous recovery of the CR (Cherry, What is Extinction?, 2005). Spontaneous recovery refers to the sudden reappearance of the CR after extinction or period of reduced response. If the CS and UCS are no longer associated, extinction will occur very quickly after a spontaneous recovery. Pavlov noted during his experiment that no longer pairing the sound of the bell with the presentation of food led to extinction of the salivation response. However, after a two hour rest period, the salivation response suddenly reappeared when the bell was presented (Cherry, Spontaneous Recovery, 2005). This phenomena shows that extinction is not the same as unlearning. While the CR may disappear, it may not have been forgotten or completely eliminated. Stimulus generalization, the tendency for the CS to prompt similar responses after the CR has been conditioned, is another occurrence of classical conditioning (Cherry, What Is Stimulus Generalization?, 2005). In the first example, our subject has been conditioned to jump at the sight of our CR, a flashing red light. After the subject has been conditioned, he might respond to not only a flashing red light, but all flashing lights. This response to all flashing lights exemplifies stimulus generalization. Closely related to stimulus generalization, stimulus discrimination is the ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that have not been paired with a UCS (Cherry, Principles of Classical Conditioning, 2005). In Pavlov’s experiment where the sound of a bell is the CS, discrimination involves being able to tell the difference between the sound of the bell and other similar sounds, and would then only express the CR at the sound of the bell. Another form of classical conditioning is higher order conditioning. This is where a new CS is created, by pairing a second CS with a previously created CS. The second CS acts as a UCS for the first CS. If Pavlov had begun flashing a red light before he sounded the bell, the flashing red light would become the new CS, and would eventually evoke the same CR as the sound of the bell does. My own behaviour indicates that I have also been classically conditioned. Two years ago, I was involved in a car accident. I was driving on the highway in the fast lane, the lane closest to the centre guardrail, when I lost control of my car and slammed into the guardrail, spinning across all three lanes. My car came to a final rest after hitting the guardrail closest to the on and off ramps. Before my car accident, I was a very confident driver and never experienced anxiety while driving, in general or while driving in the fast lane. Since my car accident, I am unable to drive in the fast lane without becoming very anxious. Experiencing anxiety is generally a natural response when getting into a car accident, so getting into a car accident in this example is the UCS, and experiencing anxiety is the UCR. Immediately preceding the car accident, I was driving in the fast lane, which is the CS in this situation. As a result of my traumatic experience, driving in the fast lane now produces the same anxious feeling as getting into a car accident because I have associated this factor with my car accident. And so, anxiety is the CR in this example. I have included a diagram in Appendix 1 to demonstrate my behaviour and how it associates with the basic classical conditioning model. A CR was achieved very quickly during acquisition of my behaviour. Because the situation was so traumatic, the CR was immediate, and I began to experience anxiety as quickly as the next time I drove on the highway. My behaviour is a good example of generalization because I do not only become anxious while driving in the fast lane on the same highway or in the same area where I hit the guardrail, but also while driving in the fast lane on all highways. There is another possible explanation for my behaviour. By avoiding driving in the fast lane, I am decreasing the likelihood of experiencing anxiety. My personal behaviour is a great example of negative punishment, which involves removing something good or desirable away in order to reduce the probability of a specific behaviour reoccurring. While driving in the fast lane can be beneficial and often desired, by not driving in that lane, I am eliminating the CR of experiencing anxiety when driving in that lane. Be it salivating at the smell of our favourite food cooking, avoiding a specific restaurant because of a bad experience, or putting on our seatbelt to stop the car from making the obnoxious dinging sound, our everyday lives are filled with behaviours that are a result of classical or operant conditioning, whether we realize it or not. Some of these conditioning experiences may be positive ones, others may have more negative effects on our lives, and some may go unnoticed forever. While conditioning is not as prominent today as it was throughout the middle of the twentieth century, it still remains an influential force in psychology. References Cherry, K. (2005). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/classcond.htm Cherry, K. (2005). Principles of Classical Conditioning. Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/classcondbasics.htm Cherry, K. (2005). Spontaneous Recovery. Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/spontrec.htm Cherry, K. (2005). What is Acquisition? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/glossaryfromatoz/g/Acquisition.htm Cherry, K. (2005). What Is Classical Conditioning? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/cindex/g/classcond.htm Cherry, K. (2005). What is Extinction? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/eindex/g/extinction.htm Cherry, K. (2005). What Is Stimulus Generalization? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/stimgen.htm Cherry, K. (2014). What is Behaviorism? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/f/behaviorism.htm Nobel Media AB. (2014). The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904. Retrieved from Nobelprize.org: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1904/ Weiten, W., McCann, D. (2015). Custom Pub: Psych 1000 Introduction to Psychology and Study Guide. Toronto, ON: Nelson Education Ltd. Appendix 1

China and Japan Essay -- Chinese Philosophy, Ming

Throughout the dynasties in China and Japan, religion, economy and politics have been affected by each other in various ways. In the book â€Å"Religion and Making of Modern East Asia†, Thomas Dubois brings to light the impact religion made on both politics and economy in China and Japan throughout the historical period up till date. In his words, he describes â€Å"religion as an extremely political force† (Dubois, 2011, pp. 7-16). As various religions were introduced, it shaped the politics of leaders as most of them saw it as an avenue to impose their religion on the citizens. In all, religion invented political and economic stabilities and instabilities in various dynasties throughout Japan and China Ming China also known as â€Å"Great Ming† Reigned in China for many years and saw through many religions. However, most Chinese attest to three major religions; Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. In the early centuries, Shang dynasty, known as the â€Å"origin of Chinese civilization† was very powerful and dominated the Ming China for over five centuries. In this period, the rulers imposed their religion on the citizens and made it compulsory as the state religion. Later on, Zhou over-threw the Shang dynasty bringing in another perspective of religion known as Confucianism, this particular religion, believed that â€Å"authority was not by chance but given a greater power which was higher than man† (Dubois, 2011, p. 17). Most of the citizens embraced this new religion as it brought about peace and good virtue. â€Å"Confucianism reigned through the Han dynasty, until it was finally over-thrown by the Sung Dynasty. Were the whole imperial system final ly fell† (Dubois, 2011, p. 23). Although Confucianism came to the people as a religion, ... ... of China and Japan denied the citizens that right. Some religions were still being outlawed in Japan, contrary to restrictions which allow every citizen a right to worship.† (Dubois, p. 202). With the help of the Americans, the political hierarchy was adjusted thereby allowing citizens the right to free religion. In concluding, juxtaposing China and Japan’s history, both have similarities. Inevitably, religion continuously, affects politics and economics, most times producing ethno-political identities. Even in Nigeria today, religion affects the economic and political sects. The domineering religious group is often politicized and tends to favor its own religion either through finances or privileges. It is therefore evident that religion, economy and politics are inter-twined and will continue to affect the changes around us just like China and Japan.

“3 idiots” Reaction Paper Essay

Phunsuk Wangdu. This was a main character played by Aamir Khan in the movie 3 idiots, a famous Indian movie directed by Rajkumar Hirani. The story was basically about three engineering students who faced everyday life challenges together for their whole stay in college. They stayed in one room causing them to treat each other like a real family. Unfortunately, their institution was ruled by a heartless genius man who always believed in the thought that life is a race, one must compete to survive and also, he never cared about his students dying out of pressure through committing suicide. This ruler was a total perfectionist and had very high standards on everything, he wants everything to be under his control. While everyone was terrified following his authority, Phunsuk Wangdu dared to be different, well, he stayed as who he really was. His perspective in life was completely different from that of their institution’s director. He was a very simple student and a total definite genius who applied the things he studied in the real world. And as the years went by, he showed that undeniably impossible things could possibly happen. His character had enlightened me so much and watching the whole movie for more than 2 hours gave me goosebumps. Putting your whole trust in God, sharing,helping and inspiring others, doing your best at all times and bringing positivity to everything – things we need to survive and enjoy life. He once said that putting your trust to God won’t be the solution to your problem but it will give you enough courage to face it. These are very simple lessons to keep in mind yet the most important ones to keep our life meaningful. Now i want myself to be like him in my own simple ways and prove people that happiness is the key to success. To sum it up, we’ll have everything we need and want if we have God. And as he commonly said, ALL IS WELL. 3 Idiots Reaction Paper Essay INTRODUCTION The movie â€Å"3 Idiots† is an Indian film about the life of three engineering students who went to study at one of the best colleges in India, the Imperial College of Engineering. Coming from different walks of life, the three â€Å"idiots†, Farhan Qureshi, Raju Rastogi , and Rancchoddas â€Å"Rancho† Shyamaldas Chanchad, will become best of friends. But the movie will circle on how the wisdom and ideals of Rancho will influence the life of his two friends and other characters in the story. At first, Rancho’s giftedness seemed entertaining to his friends and classmates. But his free spirit and wit will irritate his lecturers including the college director, Professor Viru Sahastrabudhhe (ViruS). Standing by their new beliefs as inspired by Rancho, the three friends will face obstacles that will test their loyalty and determination. Valuable lessons can be learned from the characters portrayed in this film, even from the antagonists. The movie all throughout illustrated how the elder people of India (in the story) make themselves prisoner to the expectations and high regard of others. They pass on this burden to their children who had to sacrifice their passions, happiness, and future. The movie also seemed to point out how important open and honest communication is within the family. Communication is so important that failing to be understood or to understand may lead to serious heartbreaks and depression among family members. I have also observed that verbal wit is entertaining. But in the long run, our actions are what will win the respect and the hearts of people. BODY Farhan Qureshi is studying engineering to pursue his father’s wishes. But his one real passion though is wildlife photography. As said by his father to Rancho during a confrontation, they have invested all their money in Farhan’s studies. They didn’t buy a car or an extra air conditioner (only Farhan’s room had AC) because they prioritized Farhan’s study needs. Coming from a struggling middle class family, Farhan is pressured to finish engineering to compensate the sacrifice of his family. But in the course of the story, Farhan adopts the outlook of Rancho to pursue one’s true passion. He gathers the courage to take a stand and convinces his father to believe in his dream of becoming a photographer. Farhan demonstrates the lesson of courage to believe in your passion and follow your happiness, and not just to live for the approval of others, as seen in the words of his father when they argued over his career change, â€Å"The world will laugh. They will say that you reached the final year and quit.† But in the end of their quarrel, the final response of Farhan’s father demonstrated and taught us humility, open-mindedness, the willingness to understand, and the untiring love of a parent. Raju Rastogi comes from a poor family. Raju’s father is a retired post master who had become a paralytic. His mother is a retired school teacher. Most of their income went to his father’s medication. The scene in Raju’s house depicted a poverty stricken family with a paralytic father who â€Å"lay on a small bed†, a coughing mother, a sofa with springs coming out, a dripping roof, and â€Å"a sister waiting to get married† (because they had no dowry to give for her marriage). Raju was always afraid and so relied on lucky charms for a less scary future. Later, Raju will face a possible expulsion from college which can only be revoked if he witnessed for Mr. ViruS, the college director, for the expulsion of his friend, Rancho. Not wanting to betray his friend nor face his parents’ heartbreak with his getting expelled, Raju attempts suicide and ends up in a comma. But with the constant care and support of his mother and friends, Raju recovers and gains new-found confidence as influenced in him by Rancho. With this, he will impress corporate agents in one job interview and get hired. In the story, Raju gets a chance to cheat to pass a difficult exam but re fuses to, and chooses to make it with â€Å"his own ability†. Raju’s character demonstrated valuing genuine friendships, courageous honesty, and earning your way fairly. And there was Rancchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad, or Rancho, who came to ICE for the pure passion of learning. He was introduced as a gifted student with a practical mind, a noble character, and an outlook that didn’t agree with the school system and the family traditions in the story. Rancho didn’t bother to compete for grades or adopt to the college’s dog-eat-dog system. Professor ViruS despised Rancho and how Rancho outwitted him in most of their arguments. Professor ViruS thought that grades and the favor of his teachers didn’t bother Rancho because he was a rich man’s son. If he doesn’t graduate on time, he could afford to come back the following year. Rancho, Raju and Farhan will become best of friends. In the movie, we see how the attitudes and outlook of Raju and Farhan are reformed by Rancho’s friendship and by the excellence he exhibited in his studies andprojects. Rancho would also later win the respect of Professor ViruS. This is after the professor experiences for himself Rancho’s nobility and witness Rancho’s gift with machines when his daughter would give birth in a table-tennis room. This incident will change the way the director perceived Rancho. Despite the hurdles Rancho faced at ICE, he earns the engineering degree and graduates as the top student. He then vanishes, to be sought after by his friends 10 years later. As they searched for Rancho, they are surprised to discover Rancho’s true identity. Rancho is really the son, not of a rich man, but of a rich man’s gardener. Since childhood, Rancho already displayed so much desire to learn. Because his father’s boss wanted a good reputation for his son—the real Rancchoddas Chanchad—the rich man proposed to send Rancho to school to earn an engineering degree using his son’s name. Finally finding Rancho, his friends learn his real name, Phunsukh Wangdu, now a renowned scientist who is sought all over the world. We learn a lot from Rancho’s free spirit. He refused to imprison himself in competition and expectation. He was excellent but his purpose is not for recognition or just to impress others. He lived the desires of his heart, which are machines and great friendships. His mantra, â€Å"All is well. All is well†, reminds us that we cannot control situations, but we can control our attitude and perspective. Rancho also talks a lot. He does a lot of explaining and convincing to his friends. But he backed up his words with weightier deeds of love, kindness, and sacrifice. And I think that is what the writer intended to convey—that his deeds more than his words are what really won the people around him. In real life, I believe that the qualities of Rancho—nobility and excellence without conceit—are attainable through passion combined with faith in God. Going back to Professor Viru Sahastrabudhhe (ViruS), director of ICE, he is the â€Å"adversary† of Rancho and the one who sets the â€Å"compete or die† system at ICE. By excellence he meant being ahead of everyone else. He despised Rancho who opposed these beliefs, However, Rancho alwa ys outsmarted him. In the story, Professor ViruS is the figurative â€Å"murderer†. His extreme conviction to always push oneself to the limit provoked three suicide incidents in the story—that of Raju, of another student named Joy, and of his own son (as a backstory). At first, Mr. ViruS thought his son’s death was just an accident. Later, he will learn that his son committed suicide because he wanted to quit engineering and become a writer instead. After learning this, and after Rancho performs the emergency birth delivery of Prof. ViruS’ daughter (as mentioned earlier), Prof. ViruS outlook changes as well as his perception of Rancho. Here, we learn that the best way to a man’s heart is through â€Å"junior† (or daughter). Also, we are reminded again of the importance of communication. Prof. ViruS didn’t know that his son detested engineering so much that he preferred to commit suicide. One character who shared and followed after Prof. ViruS’ morals is Chatur Ramalingam, who was known in ICE as â€Å"Silencer†. He was called as such because he drank pills that would make him pass gas. He would take these pills nearing the exams so when he passes gas, the unpleasant odor would distract his roommates from studying well. He thought this would give him a better chance of topping the exams. Chatur was also excellent. In fact, he was second in score rank to Rancho. But Chatur was always miserable, because like Prof. ViruS, getting ahead of everyone was his ultimate goal. Chatur reminds me of the story of a frog who wanted to be the highest â€Å"jumper† in his pack so he cut the hind legs of the other frogs. From Chatur’s bad example, we are reminded of a good lesson that says, the only person you need to be better than is the person you were yesterday. Towards the end of the story, Chatur, along with Raju and Farhan, finds Rancho 10 years later. Thinking that Rancho became a primary school teacher, Chatur mocks Rancho’s work and salary. Another good lesson here is to not be quick to speak, judge, or boast as Chatur did who belittled Rancho just before finding out who Rancho had actually become. Rancho, who is actually the renowned scientist, Phunsukh Wangdu, and who had 400 patents to his name, is the same man he’s looking for to woo and get to sign a multi-million dollar deal with his company. CONCLUSION Overall, 3idiots is a truly engaging film. The story is brilliant and the lessons to be learned are immense. We see the importance of extending a little understanding and consideration and the danger of holding it back. A little understanding could mean a lifetime of happiness; and depriving it could lead to serious depressions, miseries, and even death. I believe that the life stories of the characters in this movie are very relatable—peer pressure, poverty, and family’s expectations. But the story is also very liberating— don’t be a prisoner of expectations and competitions. Be free to live your dream!

Eco Engines Essay

â€Å"Eco Engines†, an article by Steve Miller provides excellent information about the correlation between automobile industry and ecosystem. The article is both an opinion and informative. His primary audience is general public. This article summarizes the paradoxical nature of automobiles industry involved in producing eco-friendly vehicles. He says that â€Å"going green† is slogan that is easy to propagate but difficult to follow. Automobile industry is an adherent f this idealism of â€Å"going green â€Å"but in reality their sales are affected by this idealism. So there is paradox in what they say and what they do. He further highlights that consumers’ attitude too is paradoxical as they pay lip service to eco-friendly notions but by gasoline cars instead of hybrid one. 2 B: Response In the present age consciousness about the protection of environment is rising among masses. It is becoming a fashion in the modern world to be seen as eco-friendly. Media agencies are playing supreme role in this game. This drive of eco-friendliness has made the oil and auto industries face many problems. In reality a race has started among the players in these fields of industry to allure the buyers by making them convince that they are more eco-friendly than the others. However, the new arrivals in these two fields of industry find it a little bit less difficult to the changing situation as compared to the old players of the game. The established and old auto industries like Toyota and Prius are trying to answer the question by giving a kind of ‘hybrid vehicles’ to the world but they are finding it somewhat difficult to sell the new machine in large numbers for including the other reasons they are comparatively costly. Their sale brings low profit margins. It is, however, apparent that in spite of the idealism about eco-friendliness the big chunk of consumers is asking for gasoline-driven vehicles and to maximize their profit the producers like Accord and Ford and others are spending more on producing these vehicles than the ‘hybrid’ ones. Reality reigns supreme in this world and not the idealism. 3: APA Citation: Quotation: Miller (2003) states; â€Å"And yet hybrids, with their golf cart hum and often-jerky acceleration, have become a focus of nearly every automaker, a dramatic change from just five years ago. The unpleasant (perhaps â€Å"inconvenient†? ) truth that lurks behind all the feel-good green talk is that the models sell poorly and, when they do sell, profits for the makers are minimal. In fact, hybrids currently make up only 1. 5% of total auto sales, per Boston-based consultancy Global Insight. † Paraphrase: Hybrid automobiles have captivated the attention of every auto production company for the last five years despite its various drawbacks. But reality is that despite the notions of greener world, these hybrid automobiles do not sell well and thus deceases the profit margin for the companies. According to a Boston-based consultancy Global Insight Presently, hybrids only constitute a small percentage (1. 5%) of the entire auto trade. (Miller, 2003) Work Cited Miller, S. (2003, April 23). Eco Engines. Brandweek