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Sunday, October 13, 2019

Behavior Modification Methods in School Essay -- Positive Interdepende

Education in the United States is a continuous source of controversy. How should the generations be taught? This is an extremely important and in depth issue that has many levels. Each level has its own disagreements. One particular level of education that has been researched is whether or not behavioral methods are effective enough to be used in the classroom to improve academic performance. As can be seen in the data included here, there are many forms of positive reinforcement contingencies that can be presented in the classroom. These may include social rewards, like acceptance and encouragement from peers, tangible rewards, like the token economy, or internally motivating rewards, like having a sense of self-efficacy and feeling confident and proud of a particular accomplishment. The studies included here investigate cooperative learning strategies and how behavioral methods relate to academic performance that way, the use of rewards for good or improved performance, and then f inally how the removal of a punishing aspect of the classroom environment, like a teacher’s criticism can possibly improve academic performance. Cooperative learning is one process that includes behavioral methods. A reward structure is included in cooperative learning technology. Rewards can include grades, teacher approval, or physical rewards. In order for a reward structure to be effective, the rewards must be presented to the student quickly after the desired behavior has occurred. What makes this type of reward structure particular to cooperative learning styles is that rewards are given based on how well a group has learned something as a whole. Each person in the group gets rewarded if and only if each individual person has learned the material sufficiently. A second facet of cooperative learning includes positive goal interdependence and positive reward interdependence (Mesch, Johnson, & Johnson, 1987). Positive goal interdependence is when students perceive that they can achieve their goals if and only if the other students with whom they are cooperatively linked achieve their goals. Whereas, positive reward interdependence exists when each member of a cooperative learning group receives the same reward for successfully completing a joint task (Mesch, Johnson, & Johnson, 1987). Mesch, Johnson, and Johnson (1987) state that on the positive goal interdependence ... ...76). Controlling personal rewards: Professional teachers’ differential   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  use of feedback and the effects of feedback on the student’s motivation to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  perform. Journal of Educational Psychology, 69(4), 419-427. Harris, A. M., & Covington, M. V. (1993). The role of cooperative reward   interdependency in success and failure. Journal of Experimental Education, 61(2), 151-168. Leventhal, G. S., & Whiteside, H. D. (1973). Equity and the use of reward to elicit high performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 25(1), 75-83. Lew, M., Mesch, D., Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. (1986). Positive interdependence,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Academic and collaborative-skills group contingencies, and isolated students.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Educational Research Journal, 23(3), 476-488. Mesch, D., Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. (1987). Impact of positive interdependence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and academic group contingencies on achievement. The Journal of Social   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Psychology, 128(3), 345-352. Rickard, H. C., Clements, C. B., & Willis, J. W. (1970). Effects of contingent   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and noncontingent token reinforcement upon classroom performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Psychological Reports, 27(3), 903-908.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

B.f. Skinner Essay examples -- essays research papers

B.F. Skinner Psychologist, born in Susquhanna, Pa. He studied at Harvard, teaching there (1931-6, 1947-74). A leading behaviorist, he is a proponent of operant conditioning, and the inventor of the Skinner box for facilitating experimental observations. B. F. Skinner’s entire system is based on operant conditioning. The organism is in the process of â€Å"operating† on the environment, which in ordinary terms means it is bouncing around the world, doing what it does. During this â€Å"operating,† the organism encounters a special kind of stimulus, called a reinforcing stimulus, or simply a reinforcer. This special stimulus has the effect of increasing the operant - which is the behavior occurring just before the reinforcer. This is operant conditioning: â€Å"the behavior is followed by a consequence, and the nature of the consequence modifies the organisms tendency to repeat the behavior in the future.† Say you have a dog and he’s just playing around with his toys and such and then when you throw a toy at him and he catches it then you give him a treat. Then all of the sudden the dog is starting to catch toys and such as you throw it in the air or at his mouth. The operant is the behavior just prior to the reinforcer, which is the treat. Then what if you decide to stop giving the dog treats, well he’ll stop his little trick which your, the owner were enjoying. This is called extinction of the operant behavior. Now, if you were to start showing the dog treats, then most likely he/she’ll want to start doing the tricks again and a little more quickly than the dog learned at first. This is because the return of the reinforcer takes place in the context of a reinforcement history that goes all the way back to the very first time the dog was reinforced for performing the tricks. Continuous reinforcement is the original scenario: Every time that the dog does the behavior (such as performing a trick), he gets a treat. The fixed ratio schedule was the first one Skinner discovered: If the dog did the trick three times, say, he gets a goodie. Or five times. Or twenty times. Or â€Å"x† times. There is a fixed ratio between behaviors and reinforcers: 3 to 1, 5 to 1, 20 to 1, etc. This is a little like â€Å"piece rate† in the clothing manufacturing industry: You get paid so much for so many shirts. Skinner also looked at variable schedules. Variable ratio means you change the â€Å"x† each ... ...e aversive stimulus of hunger? Skinner (contrary to some stereotypes that have arisen about behaviorists) doesn’t â€Å"approve† of the use of aversive stimuli -- not because of ethics, but because they don’t work well! Notice that I said earlier that Johnny will maybe stop throwing his toys, and that I perhaps will take out the garbage? That’s because whatever was reinforcing the bad behaviors hasn’t been removed, as it would’ve been in the case of extinction. This hidden reinforcer has just been â€Å"covered up† with a conflicting aversive stimulus. So, sure, sometimes the child (or me) will behave -- but it still feels good to throw those toys. All Johnny needs to do is wait till you’re out of the room, or find a way to blame it on his brother, or in some way escape the consequences, and he’s back to his old ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B. F. Skinner made numerous contributions to the science of behavior. He strongly influenced the area of learning that he named operant conditioning. His Skinner box is now a standard apparatus for the experimental study of animal behavior. Much of his work involved the study of how reinforcement schedules influence learning and behavior.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Policy in Theory and Practice

What is the social administrative tradition? Social administration developed when the welfare state was undergoing a period of growth, when there was a high level of optimism about its potential achievements and a high degree of consensus about the fundamentals such as Education, the National Health Services, and public housing. Social administration was concerned with social needs and problems, and with the response to the problems; social policy. It became regarded as the natural provider of welfare, apparently at the expense of others. Social administration is linked to the growth and development of welfare services, which have existed since the turn of the century, but were expanded and consolidated in the 1940s. It adopts a rational approach to solving social problems, which are often thought of as having an objective existence. Social services provided by the state were viewed as the proper method for causing progressive change. Fabianism was a movement designed to promote democratic socialism. The impact of Fabianism, as a coherent set of ideas, held that socialism in Britain was well-matched with the institutions of state and should, therefore, be implemented through a parliamentary system. Supporters of Fabianism wanted to utilise academic knowledge on social problems to create pressure on the state to research and conduct in-depth analysis in order to influence welfare reforms. The ideological and empirical alliances with Fabianism were associated with a concern regarding policy action; specifically what is done by policy action and how it is done, rather than why this is done. Two hugely prominent members of the Fabian Society were Sydney and Beatrice Webb. This couple believed that collective provision for welfare through the state was essential in order to develop a British capitalist society. Social policy in Britain became more concerned with the practical issues of education for experimental research on recognized problems – social administration tradition. During the decades of the 1960’s and 1970’s the view of Social administration as social policy became discredited, and since then a more holistic approach to social policy developed. What is meant by liberal welfarism? Liberalism welfarism is about protection of the individual in terms of freedom, markets and kind limits the state. Welfare in liberal philosophy is not something that is provided but something that is achieved and developed through the free and independent actions of a free will. The welfare of each individual promotes the well-being of the entire society by increasing the sum total of freedom in which its members live. Liberalism promotes equality of opportunities that is rooted in an inequality of outcomes. Freedom is intrinsically linked to responsibility, so as the state takes over in the role of providing welfare for the population a diminished freedom also means diminished individual responsibility. This is damaging to society, and in order to minimise the damage the state must take a less central role. It was thought that the state should refrain from interfering in economic processes such as income policies, laws regarding minimum wage and employment protection legislation, w hich in turn would decrease the role of trade unions in economic and political life. This forms the foundation for a legal background which enables individual freedom along with economic prosperity, and has been of great influence in economic, political and social welfare. The economic policy of laissez-faire was an attitude in which the government refused to interfere. This eventually began to give way to a new collective ideal called new-liberalism, which imagined the state playing a positive in the enhancement of social problems. New liberalism led to a transformation in the nature of and relations between the state and the market. Explain the parliamentary policy-making process. Within the parameters of British state, the central state may be considered to be crucial as it is where many decisions are made. Constitutionally Britain operates a tripartite division of powers between the legislature, the judiciary and the executive. Crucial to this is the role of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, which are pivotal in the making of policy. The job of the legislature is to debate and consider the introduction of new laws. Members of parliament exercise the power through the system of Parliamentary committees, where they are able to question Ministers and senior Civil Servants. New legislation passes through the laborious process of First, Second and Third Readings in the House of Commons, interspersed with detailed discussion of a Bill’s content at the Committee stage. A Bill will then receive consideration from the House of Lords, and during this process the MP’s and Lords from the government and the opposition have the opportunity to question and debate the principles and provisions of new legislation, and to suggest amendments. Finally a Bill receives Royal Assent and passes into law as an Act of Parliament. Detail the New Right critique of the welfare state. During the 1970’s both the Conservative and Labour Party attempted to halt the apparent economic decline, yet neither were successful. Both parties experiences an increase of radical activity in the far wings of the party. The ‘New Right’ formed as a branch of the Conservative Party, campaigning for a break from the previous reliance on Keynesianism as part of economic and social policy.From 1979-1997, Britain was governed by a Conservative Party that was under Thatcher’s leadership and was inspired by the New Right, and was rooted in economic liberalism combined with social conservatism. According to the work of the theorist Friedman Britain began to build up a neo-liberal analysis of state welfare during this time. His main argument was that public expenditure was being driven up by the increase of state intervention within welfare services. This interfered with the operation of the market economy. The New Right arguing that free welfare services only encouraged useless people to become dependent upon benefits and provided no incentive for families to protect themselves and their welfares through savings. The Conservatives tried to shift the costs of welfare through changes in taxation and the benefits system, burdening the poor and disadvantaged, and this served only to increase the amount of citizens who were in need of state support. This was further intensified by policies that sought to achieve wage discipline through mass unemployment. Neo-liberals wanted to roll back the state and reduce the role of the government, with the aim to restoring Britain’s international competitiveness. Welfare benefits were seen as detrimental to labour market flexibility, as they kept up wages. Bibliography Alcock, C, Payne,S, Sullivan, M, 2004, Introducing Social Policy, Essex, Pearson. Baldock, N, et al, 2012, Social Policy, 4edt, Oxford, Oxford University Express. Loney, M, Boswell, D, Clarke,J, 1988, Social Policy & Social Welfare, Milton Keynes, Open University.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Russian History Questions

Name _________________________________ Date __________ Period ___________ Researching Russia Directions: Using the reference materials (including but not limited to the Internet, almanacs, atlases, encyclopedias, and books), research the answers to the following questions. The Internet is a useful source but you should make use of other resources should it not be available! 1. On November 1, 1993, the parliament of the Russian Republic of the USSR granted Russian President ______________________ broad power to begin radical economic reforms. 2. In 1991, the population of Russia was estimated at ________________________. 3. In the ninth century, Scandinavian chieftains established the first Russian state, centering it on ___________________ and Kiev. 4. When did Lenin die? _____________ How did he die? _____________________ 5. The ‘900-day siege’ of Leningrad lasted from June 1941 until January ___________. 6. When did Stalin die? ________ How old was he? _______ 7. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, massive Soviet military aid to __________________ helped assure communist victories throughout Southeast Asia. 8. Russia comprises over ________% of the total area of the former USSR and has ____________________ square miles, making it the largest country in the world. 9. What is the current life expectancy for Russian males? 10. The Russian monetary unit is the _________________. 11. The breed of cat known as the Russian blue is distinguished for its vivid ___________ colored eyes and the _____________ quality of its blue-gray coat. 12. Who is the author of War and Peace? 13. Who is the author of The Brothers Karamazov? 14. Which Russian author was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for Doctor Zhivago but declined the prize? 5. Leningrad’s St. Isaac’s Cathedral on Decembrists’ Square was designed by French architect ______________________ and built between 1819 and 1858. 16. The _______________, or Russian wolfhound, was first imported into the United States in 1889. 17. In 1854, British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson made Balaklava famous in his poem _______________________ ________. 18. On January 22, 1904, George Melitonovich Balanchivadze was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He gained a reputation for the foremost representative of neoclassicism ballet. His professional name was __________________________. 9. Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov is best known for what experiment? ____________________________________________________________ _________ 20. In 1910, Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova made her American debut with Russian dancer ______________________ at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. 21. Which Russian chemist compiled the ‘periodic table of elements? ’ ______________________________________ 22. On what date was the Russian Sputnik I put into orbit? ______________________ 23. On what date was the Russian Sputnik II put into orbit? ______________________ 24. September 17, 1957, was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Russian rocket pioneer Konstantin E. _________________________. 25. On January 2, 1959, unmanned interplanetary flight was proved feasible when the Soviet Union’s Mechta entered into orbit around the sun. 26. The Volga River is ________ miles, or ________ kilometers long. 27. What was the name of the imperial family that ruled Russia from 1613 until 1917? _______________________________ 28. The age of romanticism in Russian literature is from the late _________ until the early 1840s. 29. Who wrote The Twelve (1918)? __________________ 0. During World War II, the Soviet Union and Finland fought each other in two wars. The ‘Winter War’ was from 1939 to __________________. The ‘Continuation War’ was from 1941 until ______________. Who lost both wars? 31. When did the Russo-Japanese War begin? ____________ 32. When did the Russo-Japanese War end? ___________ 33. Catherine the Great (1729-96) ru led Russia for _________ years. 34. In what year did construction of St. Basil’s Cathedral begin? 35. The breed of dog known as the borzoi originated in Russia in the 1600s. Its average weight is __________ to ___________ pounds. 36. When World War I broke out, Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky settled in what country? _______________________ 37. In which direction would you travel if you drove from Tula to Moscow? __________ 38. The island Great Lyakhov is in the _____________ Sea. 39. Who wrote Boris? _____________________________ 40. The ‘900-day siege’ of Leningrad during World War II caused ____________ deaths. 41. Russia is ____________ times the size of the United States but has a population of less than _______% percent of the people in the United States as of 2000. 42. What is the per capita Russian income? _____________________ 43. What is the life expectancy for Russian females? _____________ 44. In 1967, the Soviet government produced a film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace in commemoration of 50th anniversary of the Revolution. The Russian language version of the film ____ hours and _____. 45. ____________________ delivers gifts to Russian children on New Year’ s Eve. 46. In which direction would you travel if you drove from Moscow to St. Petersburg? __________________________ 47. The ________________ Mountains form a dividing line between Asia and Europe. 48. The _____________________ Strait separates Russia and Alaska. 49. Tsar Nicholas II was married to the granddaughter of Queen _____________ of England. 50. Name the son of Tsar Nicholas who suffered from hemophilia. _______________ 51. Twenty-three of the _________________ volcanoes on Kamchatka Peninsula are active. 52. The Caucasus Mountains are composed of limestone and ______________ rocks with some volcanic formations. 53. The Caspian Sea has a surface area of about ________________ square miles. 54. In December, Moscow averages _______________ days with overcast skies. 5. St. Isaac’s Cathedral is located on ______________ Prospect, a famous thoroughfare in Leningrad. 56. In the late 1980s, the population density of the USSR was _______ persons per square mile. 57. In the mid-1980s, the population density of the USSR was _______ persons per square mile. 58. The State _______________ Museum in Leningrad is considered to be one of the world’s great museums. 59. Valent ina V. ___________ was the first woman to orbit the earth. 60. The ___________________ Railroad runs north of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. USS

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Module 5 Case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Module 5 Case - Assignment Example (Drury, 2004) These divisions are obligated to transact amongst themselves, the costs are decided by using a transfer. Even though the transfer prices may not differ much from the market prices, one of the divisions or the company as a whole in such a transaction go at a loss The buying divisions may buy for more than the principal market price or the selling division can sell below the market price, hence affecting their performance. This can either result into a loss or gain in any or all of the divisions. The company can also make a profit or a loss (Tully, 2012) Table1 of Supply Division C Quantity Manufactured Quantity supplied Current supply Price per unit Total Cost Proposed supply Price per unit Total Cost Supplier C part 101 2,000 3,000 $900 $2,700,000 2,000 $900 $1,800,000 Supplier C part 201 500 1,000 $900 $900,000 500 $1,900 $950,000 From the table 1: Division C will experience a loss, since it, supply of Part 101 reduces from a volume of $2,700,000 to $1,800,000. The tra nsfer price is $2,000 while the market price for this part 101 is $900. Even though the total volume of supply of part 201 to Division B indicates a slight drop from the transfer price. The overall transaction for this division is a loss. Table2 for Buying Division A Quantity Bought Current purchase Price per unit Total Cost Proposed Purchases Price per unit Total Cost Supplier C part 101 3,000 $900 $2,700,000 2,000 $900 $1,800,000 External Supplier part 101 1,000 $900 $900,000 2,000 $900 $1,800,000 The buying division A will be in profit, because the price for the part A is $900. This price is less than the transfer price of $1,000. Even though the quantity supplied by Division C has reduced, they have increased their purchase volume from the external supply from 1,000 units to 2,000 units Table three for buying division B Quantity Bought Current Purchases Price per unit Total Cost Proposed Purchase Price per unit Total Cost Supplier C part 201 1,000 $900 $900,000 2,000 $900 $1,800 ,000 External Supplier part 201 1,000 $900 $900,000 1,500 $1,900 $2,850,000 Division B is a buying division will be in profit if the proposal is implemented. This is driven by two factors: they will have to buy more units both from division C and Externally at a price less than the transfer price. The transfer price is put at $2,000 while the market price for part 201 is $1,900. Profit will be $4,650,000-$1,800,000 =$3,250,000 Table 4 External Supplier Current supply Price per unit Total Cost Proposed supply Price per unit Total Cost Supplier part 101 to A 3,000 $900 $2,700,000 2,000 $900 $1,800,000 Supplier part 201 to B 1,000 $900 $900,000 1,500 $1,900 $2,850,000 From the above data, the company will make a loss since the overall increase in the external supply of both parts. The internal supplier namely the division C is disadvantaged in the new proposal. The total supply by this division will be a total 2,500 units, while external supplier will bring in 3,500 units. Division A: Buying division or downstream Part 101 Transfer cost = $1,000 Current Operation Units bought currently = (3,000 units from supplier C + 1,000 units from External supplier) = 4,000 units Unit cost = $ 900 Total cost = $ 900 X 4,000 = $36,000

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Megans law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Megans law - Research Paper Example here are also cases in which it is applied permanently, so that whenever the individual moves, they have to notify local police and law enforcement that they have done so. Failing to register or update in this manner is considered to be a felony under Megan’s Act. This law was put into action after the murder of Megan Kanka, a young child. After this child was murdered by a sexual predator who was living nearby (the parents professed to have no idea), her parents circulated a petition that gained almost 500,000 signatures (Megan’s, 2010). The law was passed, and New Jersey, Kanka’s home state, was the first state to enact Megan’s Law. Overall, Megans Law provides two information services that are made available to the public: notification of sex offender registration, and notification of the community. As noted above, â€Å"The details of what is provided as part of sex offender registration and how community notification is handled vary from state to state, and in some states the required registration information and community notification protocols have changed many times since Megans Law was passed† (Megan’s, 2010). Many people support Megan’s Law because it appears to be a no-nonsense, zero-tolerance, tough-on-crime policy. They also feel more at ease when they know that sexual offenders have to register with local authorities, so that the community can have more information. From the total harm perspective, Megan’s Law can be supported from the position that it decreases the total harm to society by making vital information about child sexual predators available to parents and families. Community notification and involvement is seen as positive in most media and scholarly presentations of the law, and generally, the law-abiding public can be seen to increase in their information access and comfort level, due to the law. However, there are also possible dark sides to Megan’s Law. That some states use the law to notify about not just

Monday, October 7, 2019

Answer question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Answer question - Assignment Example Expected Costs: Sarah handles payroll functions, travelling to both offices once per week,70 miles round-trip to Sedona,190 miles round-trip to Prescott. Her SUV gets 17 mpg, the cost of gas on average is $ 3.40 per gallon. Expected cost per week therefore is: $ 3.40 multiplied by 17 mpg of her SUV= $57.8. Incase Sarah maintains her job, DSS will reduce her approximately 5 hours per payroll period, reducing her daycare cost to $ 200 monthly thus, (200 * 12) = $ 2400 annually to be subtracted from $ 1430044. Therefore TOTAL EXPECTED COST WILL BE $ 1,427,644. It will increase the time needed to run the clinic efficiently and provide a proper database that will enable Collins to keep track of the clinic’s financial transactions. This translates into an increase into the net-worth of his business. 6) That Collins facilitate the implementation of the DSS payroll software immediately. In addition, for him to up-grade his knowledge of working with the software for effective management, and if need be, to retain his wife in her position due to her experience with managing payroll system which will prove useful. Because she is technically savvy, it eliminates the need to have to incur cost in training a new