Quantitative Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Quantitative Research Paper Essay Quantitative research includes classification of certain features, calculations and construction of statistical models that can describe these features. In contrast, qualitative research is more focused on description of features excluding statistical descriptions. In quantitative research, data are summarized in the form of verbal descriptions or graphical representations. On the contrary, in qualitative research they appear in statistical tables, graphs, or charts. The researcher is more likely to use qualitative research in the earlier phases of the research project when one is looking for ideas to be later explored in depth within a quantitative framework. The processing of data in quantitative research is more likely to include a subjective component than in the other type. As a result, the results of quantitative research can often mix the context of the study but provide enough material to evaluate a certain hypothesis. A literature review should be compiled in order to answer a specific question or gather data to evaluate a hypothesis. The researcher should define the type of literature one wants to use as well as the scope of information to be used in the research. The sources used should be appropriate for the topic. Depending on the type of research, the sources should be predominantly or only peer-reviewed academic publications relevant to the explored question or field of study. The publications used in literature review should be critically evaluated by the reviewer. It is also important to organize the literature review in a coherent manner so that it is divided into understandable units. An explanation of how this or that topic fits into the research framework should be provided. The synthesis of material should provide adequate background for the topic under research. Conceptualization and operationalization form two pillars of science as these two methods allow researchers to use concepts that are the foundation of human exploration of the universe. By grouping objects into categories called concepts and developing practical ways of measuring these concepts through operationalization, researchers can explore a variety of objects, phenomena and situations. Theories need to be formulated with the help of specific concepts. Here conceptualization plays a crucial role, permitting scholars to define classes that will be described by this or that concept.   Conceptualization creates a concept that can be defined in all complexity of relationships and serve as common ground for exploration of an object or phenomenon by different researchers. Operationalization allows practical application of concepts, permitting their measurement through concrete observations. Each science seeks to define its conceptual apparatus through specific observations. As a result of this quest, â€Å"to operationally define basic concepts has now become central to all sciences† (Wikipedia, 2006). The article â€Å"Money, money, money: an exploratory study on the financial literacy of Black college students† by Angela J. Murphy that appeared in the September 2005 issue of College Student Journal investigates â€Å"the influence of race, gender, age, major and parental educational level on the financial knowledge of undergraduate students attending a predominantly Black institution†. The researcher has identified a strikingly low level of financial literacy among such students. Age and major were found to have less influence, while parental education and major had more impact. One research question can be formulated as â€Å"Does age have an influence on financial literacy of Black college students?†. Another one is â€Å"Does major have an influence on financial literacy of Black college students?†. Independent variables included race, gender, parental education, and age. The dependent variable was the financial literacy in certain areas including â€Å"the topics of income taxes, credit consigning, short term savings, investing for retirement, social security, future college costs and home ownership† (Murphy, 2005). The research used surveys. The method is justified because it permitted researchers to have structured, generalizable results that could be analysed with statistical methods. The survey also allowed people to ask a broad range of students attending various institutions. Mail survey and personal interview are similar in the first place because they test personal attitudes of people toward a subject or phenomenon. Both involve respondents with their individual differences, cultural background, demographic situation that influence the research. The difference lies first of all in the procedure: personal interview involves face-to-face contact whereas a mail survey envisages written communication. Consequently, an interview is more personal, while a mail survey presupposes less personal interaction between the researcher and the respondent. In organizational behavior investigation, a personal interview is more subjective because the participant will be influenced by personal perception of the researcher, possible positive or negative associations, etc. A mail survey, on the contrary, will be free from these limitations. The downside, however, is the frequently low rate of response that is often accountable for bias in answers. A more personal interaction can create more opportunities for the researcher to probe the topic with open-ended questions and find out the opinion of the interviewee with more detail. In addition, if the interviewee finds certain questions ambiguous, he or she can clarify details with the scientist, while this opportunity is absent in the case of a mail survey. To investigate the question of trust, a personal interview is preferable. First, it is considered â€Å"the most reliable method of data collection, especially when attitudinal behavior is of concern† (Pennsylvania Department of Health, 2001). Especially when executives are targeted, the time consumed in filling out a mail survey may become a factor that will discourage most of the targeted public from answering. The choice can be constrained by the budget, as personal interviews are traditionally considered the most expensive research method. In an experiment, the researcher is trying to answer a question performing certain actions that will test the validity of a hypothesis. In a focus group, the researcher is typically trying to explore a broad range of issues. As such, a focus group is called upon to conduct a discussion using prepared question rather than answer a specific question. Besides, the results from a focus group will be less rigidly defined and will require more scholarly interpretation whereas the experiment should deliver a more specific answer to the question. The advantage of focus groups is the open-ended nature of the research that opens possibilities for participants to air their views on many important subjects and share opinions. Besides, it is more personal and allows for greater consideration of individual differences, as â€Å"interaction also enables participants to ask questions of each other, as well as to re-evaluate and reconsider their own understandings of their specific experiences† (Gibbs, 1997). However, a focus group can be practically difficult to organize, involves participants coming from different cultures that can contribute to bias. Besides, these groups offer less predictable results as â€Å"researcher, or moderator, for example, has less control over the data produced† than in other methods (Gibbs, 1997). An experiment, on the other hand, provides for a greater degree of control, especially in controlled experiments, which makes the data more adapted to generalization. However, there is a possibility that participants will behave in controlled environments differently than they would under typically circumstances. An example of research question that can be tested through a focus group is â€Å"What qualities of â€Å"Dove† soap brand make it appealing to consumers?† A focus group would allow participants to share views on the subject with a relatively large degree of freedom so that new, unexpected answers can come up. A question to be tested with an experiment can be â€Å"Do people buy Mercedes cars for quality or prestige?† This question can be answered in an experiment since here one can identify dependent and independent variables and develop a statistical apparatus to answer the question. References Gibbs, A. (1997, Winter). Focus Groups. Social Research Update. Retrieved July 2, 2006, from http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/SRU19.html Murphy. A.J. (2005, September). Money, money, money: an exploratory study on the financial literacy of Black college students. College Student Journal. Retrieved July 2, 2006, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCR/is_3_39/ai_n15384395 Pennsylvania Department of Health. (2001). Health Statistics Technical Assistance Tools of the Trade. Retrieved July 2, 2006, from http://www.health.state.pa.us/hpa/stats/techassist/surveytypes.htm Wikipedia. (2006). Operationalization. Retrieved July 2, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operationalization

Sr Research Experiment Builder

Sr Research Experiment Builder The SR Research Experiment Builder SREB is a visual experiment creation tool for use by Psychologists and Neuroscientists. The SREB is designed to be easy to use while maintaining a high degree of flexibility. This unique design combination allows for a wide range of experimental paradigms to be created by someone with little or no programming or scripting expertise. When used in combination with the SR Research EyeLink ® eye tracking system, the SREB provides seamless integration into the EyeLink hardware and software platform. Experiments are created in the Experiment Builder by dragging and dropping experiment components into a workspace and configuring the properties of the added components. There are two main classes of experiment components in the Experiment Builder: Actions and Triggers. Actions tell the computer to do something, like displaying a set of graphics on the screen or playing a sound. Triggers define the conditions that must be met before an action can be performed. The flow of the experiment is achieved by connecting sequentially related components in the workspace in a flow diagram like fashion. One of the important concepts in SR Research Experiment Builder is hierarchical organization of events in an experiment. A typical experiment can be dissected into several levels along a hierarchy of Experiment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Blocks à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Trials à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Trial Runtime / Recording. All of the events within each level of this hierarchy can be conveniently wrapped in a loop (called sequence or sub-graph in Experiment Builder). This allows the whole sequence to be connected to other objects as a unit and be repeated several times in a row. Creating EyeLink Experiments To create an Experiment with SR Research Experiment Builder, the user needs to take the following the following steps: Experiment Design Building and Test-running Experiment Deploying Experiment Participant Data Set Randomization Data Collection Data Analysis Following these, a set of files are generated so that the experiment can be run for data collection without relying on the Experiment Builder application. To illustrate the use of Experiment Builder, a very simple eye-tracking experiment can be shown which runs three blocks of four trials. In each trial, a single word is displayed in the centre of the screen. Creating a New Experiment Session Click on the Experiment Builder to start a new session. When the application starts: Click on File à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ New on the application menu bar. In the following New Project dialog box, enter Simple in the Project Name edit box. Click on the button on the right end of the Project Location to browse to the directory where the experiment project should be saved. If you are manually entering the Project Location field, please make sure that the intended directory already exists. Make sure that EyeLink Experiment box is checked for an EyeLink experiment. Note: The user shouldnt manually add or remove files in the experiment directory. Configuring Experiment Preference Settings After a new experiment session is created, the user needs to check whether the default display and screen preference settings are fine for the experiment to be created. Select Edit à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Preferences from the application menu bar or press the F4 key. Click on Preferences à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Experiment à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Devices à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Display to check display settings. Make sure that the settings (Width, Height, Bits per Pixel, and Refresh Rate) used are supported by your video card and monitor. Click on Preferences à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Screen to check Screen Builder settings. Set the Location Type as Center Position. If any of the above settings have been changed and if you want to keep the new settings as defaults for all of your future experiments, click on the button save properties as default. Creating Experiment Block Sequence The first step is to add a block sequence for repeating blocks: Click on the Experiment Tab in the Project Explorer Window to start. Click on the Action Tab of component toolbox. Select the Sequence node, hold down the left mouse button and drag it into the work area. Place the mouse cursor on top of the START node; hold down the left mouse button while moving the mouse cursor on top of the SEQUENCE node. This makes the connection from the START node to SEQUENCE node. (Note: dont make a single or double click on the START node as this will select the node instead. If you have done so, place the mouse cursor on a blank area in the work space and make a single click there. Redo the current step again.) Click on any blank area in the work window. Click the right mouse button and select Arrange Layout in the popup menu. This will re-arrange the nodes in a hierarchical fashion. Click on the SEQUENCE node in the structure list to continue. Editing Block Sequence Next, one will need to edit the properties of the Block Sequence. This involves changing the Label of the sequence to make it more meaningful and changing the iteration count (total number of times a sequence must be executed) to the actual number of blocks to be tested. Click on the value field of the Label property of the Sequence created. Write BLOCK in the text editor and press the ENTER key to finish. Click on the Iteration Count value field and enter 3 as the total number of sequence loops. In the experiment Work Space, double click on the Sequence object to continue. In each block, one has to first give an instruction, perform a camera setup, calibration, and then run the trials (an example has been given below) Click on the Action Tab of the component toolbox, select the Display screen action, hold down the left mouse button and drag the action into the work area. Click on the Trigger Tab of the component toolbox, select the Keyboard trigger, hold down the left mouse button and drag the action into the work area. Add an EyeLink © Button trigger to the work space. Add a Timer trigger to the work space. Click on the Timer trigger and set the duration to 20000 msec. Click on the Action Tab of the component toolbox and add a Camera Setup action to the work space. Click on the action and set the Background Color to white (255, 255, 255). Click on the Action Tab of toolbox and add a Sequence node to the work space. This will be our trial sequence. Place the mouse cursor on top of the START node. Hold down the left mouse button while moving the mouse on top of the DISPLAY_SCREEN node. This makes the connection from the start node to the DISPLAY_SCREEN node. Similarly, connect from DISPLAY_SCREEN to KEYBOARD, EL_BUTTON, TIMER triggers. Note that a number is added to these connections, indicating the evaluation order among the three trigger types. Make the connection from the latter three triggers to the EL_CAMERA_SETUP node and from EL_CAMERA_SETUP to the SEQUENCE node. Click at any blank area in the work window. Click the right mouse button and select Arrange Layout in the popup menu. This will re-arrange the nodes in an orderly fashion. Double click on the DISPLAY_SCREEN object in the work space (not from the structure list) until the Screen Builder interfaces displayed in the Graph Editor Window. Creating Instruction Screen The user may want to provide instruction to the participants at the beginning of the experiment. This can be done by creating an image file containing the experiment instructions and then using DISPLAY_SCREEN action to show the image. The instruction text can also be created with the multiline text resource. In the current example, multiline text resource text source is used. Click on the multiline text resource button on the screen builder toolbar to select the type of resource to be added. Click anywhere on the screen. In the following Multiline Text Resource Editor: Enter the instruction text. Press CTRL + A to select all text entered. Click the Margins button box to set the text margins. Enter 100 (or desired value) in all fields. Click the OK button on the dialog box. Make sure that the text is still selected. Now click the buttons on the toolbar to set the desired text appearance (font name, font size, font style, alignment style, line spacing, and text colour). Click on the Close button at the top right corner of the dialog to finish. To work with images instead of texts: The image resource is flexible enough to accommodate various modes of displaying (e.g., original image size vs. stretched, top-left aligned or centred). The following discusses the option of displaying images in original size or stretching it to a specific dimension. To display the image in original size, after the image is added to the display, the user should have Use Original Size field of the image checked. Please note that, enabling that field will also make several attributes read-only (Width, Height, Clipping Location, Clipping Width, Clipping Height, and Clipping Area is Gaze Contingent). To stretch all images to a fixed width and height (1024 ÃÆ'- 768 for example), after the image is added to the display, the user should first make sure that the Use Original Size field is unchecked. Check the values of Width and Height fields of sample image added and adjust them if necessary. In addition, the user may need to check the values of Clipping Location, Clipping Width and Clipping Height attributes, which are used to control the part of the image to be shown. By default, the clipping width and height are the same as the image width and height. Please note that the clipping location is always top-left based and the location is relative to the top-left corner of the image. If images are stretched to different dimensions, the user should add two columns in the experiment data source to specify the desired image width and height. After the sample image is added to the display, the user should refer the width, height, clip width, and clip height of the image to the two columns created in the data source. Editing Trial Sequence: Data Source Next, one will have to work on the sequence, which will contain all necessary triggers and actions in each trial. One would also have to create a data source to be used for setting parameters in individual trials. Click on the last SEQUENCE node on the structure list to start. In the property table, click on the value field of LABEL. Set it to TRIAL. Click on the Data Source property to bring up Data Source Editor. Click on the Add Column button. In the following dialog box, type Trial (without quotation marks) in the Column Name editor box and set Column type as Number. Click OK button to finish. Click on the Add Column button again. Set the Column Name as Word and Column type as String. Click OK button to finish. Click on the Add Row button. Enter the desired number (here 12) in the Number of Rows edit box to generate the number of rows of empty cells (here 12). Click on the empty cells of the table just generated. For this example, the values of the Trial column are set as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. For the word column, the following strings have been used: One, Two, Three, Four, till Twelve. Click on the Split by value field. Enter a value (here [4]. This makes sure that only 4 trials are run in each block.) Double click on the TRIAL sequence node in the structure list. Click on Start node under it to continue. Editing Trial Sequence: Preparing Sequence and Drift Correction Each recording trial should begin with a prepare sequence action, followed by a drift correction action, and then by the actual trial recording. The prepare sequence action allows the user to preload the image files or audio clips for real-time image drawing or sound playing, to draw feedback graphics on the Host PC to evaluate participants performance, and to reinitialize trigger settings. The user should typically call this action before performing a drift correction. Click on the Action Tab of the component toolbox, select the Prepare Sequence action, hold down the left mouse button and drag the action into the work space. Click on the added PREPARE SEQUENCE action and review the settings in the property table. Make sure to check Draw To EyeLink Host field is set to IMAGE or PRIMITIVE. This will draw image or simple graphics on the host screen for the purpose of evaluating gaze accuracy. Add a Drift Correction action from the action tab of the component toolbox. Click on the Action Tab of toolbox, select the Sequence node, hold down the left mouse button and drag it into the work space. Make a connection from the START node to PREPARE_SEQUENCE, from PREPARE_SEQUENCE to DRIFT_CORRECTION, and from DRIFT_CORRECT to the SEQUENCE node. Click on any blank area in the Work Space. Click the right mouse button and select Arrange Layout in the popup menu to re-arrange the nodes in an orderly fashion. Double click on the newly created sequence to fill in the actual events in the recording. Editing Recording Sequence In a simple recording sequence, one has to display a screen and then wait for a button press response from the participant. The trial times out automatically if no response is made within a user specified time interval in seconds. The display screen is then cleared. Select the newly added Sequence node. Rename the label as RECORDING. Make sure that the Record and Is Real time checkboxes are checked. Double click on the RECORDING node in the structure list until seeing a START node under it. As we double click on the START node, the content of the work area window is also updated. Click on the Action Tab of the component toolbox, select the display screen action, hold down the left mouse button and drag the action into the work area. Click on the Triggers Tab of toolbox, select the TIMER node, hold down the left mouse button and drag the trigger into the work space. Double click on the Timer object. Enter Time out (without quote) in the Message value field and 10000 (time in ms) in the duration field. Add an EyeLink © Button trigger. Add another display screen action. Double click on the action and modify its label as DISPLAY_BLANK. Also uncheck the Send EyeLink DV Message box. Make a connection from the START node to DISPLAY_SCREEN, from DISPLAY_SCREEN to TIMER, from DISPLAY_SCREEN to EL_BUTTON, from TIMER to DISPLAY_BLANK and from EL_BUTTON to DISPLAY_BLANK. Click at any blank area in the work space, then click the right mouse button and select Layout à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in the popup menu. Click ok in the following dialog box. This will re-arrange the nodes in an orderly fashion. Modifying Properties of Display Screen One must first need to check the property settings of the display screen actions. For better Data Viewer integration and for reaction time calculation, a message should be written to the EDF file to indicate the time when the stimulus was visible to the participants. In addition, one may need to draw simple graphics onto the host screen so that the participants gaze accuracy during recording can be evaluated. Click on the DISPLAY_SCREEN node. In the property window of the action, double click on the value field of Message property. Type in SYNCTIME and then press ENTER key to register the change. Make sure that the Send EyeLink © DV Messages and Use for Host Display properties are checked. Select the DISPLAY_BLANK action. Double click on the value field of Message property. Type in blank_screen and then press ENTER key to register the change. Make sure that both Send EyeLink © DV Messages and Use for Host Display checkboxes for the DISPLAY_BLANK action is unchecked. Creating Display Screen In here, one has to add a text resource to the display screen and modify the properties of the text resource, such as font name, size, text to be displayed, and alignment style. One also must have to create an interest area for the text. To do this, first double click on the DISPLAY_SCREEN object in the work space, until the screen builder interface is displayed in the Graph Editor Window. Click on the Insert Text Resource button on the Screen Builder tool bar, and click at any position in the work area. Double click on the current value of Font Name (New Times Roman). This will bring up a dropdown list. Set the new font name as Arial (or any other). Double click on the current value of Font Size (20). Enter the desired text size (40) in the text editor. Double click on the far right end of the value field of the Text property. This will bring up an attribute editor dialog. Click on DataSource node under TRIAL sequence on the node selection list. Double click on the word node in the node attributes window. This will update the contents of Attribute editor dialog as @[emailprotected]. Click on the OK button to finish. Check the Use Runtime Word Segment box. This will create interest area automatically for the text used. Select the newly added text resource, click on both Horizontal Center Alignment and Vertical Center Alignment buttons to place the text in the center of the screen. Select the text resource on the work area, click the right mouse button, and select the Lock Selection option so that the resource will not be moved accidentally. Writing Trial ID to EDF file A TRIALID message should be written to the EDF file so that the actual experiment condition under which the trial was conducted can be identified during analysis. Click on the Experiment (the topmost) node in the structure list to start. In the property table, click on the value field of the EyeLink © DV Variables property. In the following dialog box, for each of the variables to be added to the trial ID message, select the variable and click the ADD button. The order of the selected variables can be modified with the Move up and Move down buttons. Click on OK to finish. Showing Experiment Progress Message on Tracker Screen During trial recording, a text message can be displayed at the bottom of the tracker screen so that the experimenter can be informed of the experiment progress. For example, in this experiment, a text message like Trial 1/12 One on the tracker screen was shown. Click on the Recording sequence node in the structure list to start. In the property panel, click on the far right end of the value field of the EyeLink © Record Status Message property. In the attribute editor, enter an equation as: =Trial + str(@[emailprotected]) + /12 +str(@[emailprotected]) Click on the OK button to finish. Building the Experiment Click on Experiment à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Build menu to build the experiment. The Editor Selection Tab in the Graph Editor Window will be set to the Output tab and build information will be displayed. Watch out for error (displayed in red) and warning (in brown) messages during building. The following is a list of common errors during experiment building: Image file not found No positions are added to the custom pattern Use of runtime value with pre-build to image option on No value is set at row for the column The node could not be used in the sequence Reference to not found in the graph. No link from node. Infinite loop found Invalid Reference. No recording sequence found in an EyeLink © experiment. The following is a list of common warnings during experiment building: The keyboard trigger and mouse trigger is used in a real-time sequence. If this is the case, check whether these two triggers are indispensable for the experiment design. If so, uncheck the Is Real-time box in the recording sequence. Default value use in attribute The user may also test the experiment by clicking on Experiment à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Run from the application menu-bar. This will try to connect to the tracker PC and execute the experiment code. It should be noted that this should only be used for the purpose of testing and debugging experiment code. To collect experiment data, the user should use the deployed version of the experiment as it does not have to rely on the Experiment Builder application and can be run on a different computer. Deploying the Experiment After the experiment is built, the user must deploy the experiment to a new. This will generate a set of files so that the experiment can be run on a different computer without relying on the Experiment Builder application. If a data source is used, this will create a datasets subdirectory with a copy of data set file in it. The user can create several copies of data set files with the randomizer application Running the Experiment To run the experiment, open the directory where the experiment is deployed to and click on .exe. If the EyeLink © host application is already running on the Host PC and the Ethernet connection and settings between the host and Display PCs are ok, the experiment should now start. This will first popup a dialog box asking for the data source file. Go to the datasets directory and select the target data source file. Following this, enter the desired EDF file name (must be in DOS 8.3 format) and click on the OK button to continue. Following the initial welcome message, the participant will be shown the camera setup and calibration screen and the recording can be started following calibration, validation, and drift correction. After the experiment has ended; an EDF file will be transferred to the Display PC. It may take some time to complete the file transfer. Possible Errors Error in Initializing Graphics: When you start the experiment and see an Error Initializing Graphics error, please check whether the display settings (screen resolution, colour bits, and refresh rate) specified for the experiment are supported by your video card. If not, please change the Preferences à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Experiment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Devices à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Display settings. Error in Tracker Version: SR Research Experiment Builder works well with both EyeLink and EyeLink II eye trackers. The default tracker version is set to EyeLink II (see Preferences à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Experiment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Devices à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ EyeLink). Therefore, EyeLink I users may see such an error message with the default tracker setting. If this is the case, please set the tracker-version in the device settings to EyeLink I. Participant Data Set Randomization In most experiments, the user will need to randomize trial order so that the experiment materials are not presented in the same sequence across participants. Randomization of data source can be done with either an internal randomizer or an external randomizer. These two randomization methods are almost identical and therefore the user may use the internal randomizer to perform randomization unless counterbalancing or Latin-square designs are needed. The configuration of the internal randomization settings should be done before deploying the experiment project whereas the external randomization can be done after deploying the experiment project. Data Collection Data can now be collected from the deployed version of the experiment. Double click on the executable file in the deployed experiment directory or type in the .exe file name from the command-line prompt. If the experiment uses a data source, a dialog will be displayed, allowing the user to choose the appropriate data source file. In an EyeLink © Experiment, the user will also be asked to enter the experiment session name. At the End of experiment, an EDF file will be generated for EyeLink © recording session and saved in the experiment directory. Optional result file(s) will be created if the user has specified them in EyeLink © and non-EyeLink © experiments. Data Analysis EyeLink © recording file can be conveniently analyzed with EyeLink © Data Viewer as the experiments created with Experiment Builder are fully integrated with this analysis tool. Experiment Builder sends messages to the data file so that images or simple drawing can be added as overlay background. The user can also specify trial variables, create interest areas, and send messages for the ease of data analysis. The result file(s) from a non-EyeLink © recording session contains columnar outputs for selected variables in the experiment. This file can be easily loaded by common statistics packages. Lists of Application Menu Bar and Toolbar File Menu and Tool Buttons Edit Menu and Tool Buttons Experiment Menu and Tool Buttons Help Menu Lists of Actions, Triggers and Other Node Types Actions Triggers Other Node Types

The Smbolisms of the Name, Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire :: Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire

In the first few scenes of "A Streetcar Named Desire", Tennessee Williams shows us a complex woman, named Blanche Dubois. This paper will explore the symbolisms of her name. The name Blanche is French and means white or fair. Her last name DuBois is of French origin as well and translates as â€Å"made of wood†. The name suggests that Blanche is a very innocent and pure person. When she appears in scene one, â€Å"she is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and a hat†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sc.1 p. 2073). White is also the color of light and represents perfection and virginity but throughout the play it becomes obvious that Blanche cannot call any of the traits of her name her own. She is a seductive and promiscuous woman. Only the illusory image, which she tries to create for herself, suggests these traits, but her true nature is not like that at all. She constantly tries to hide her embarrassing past from her new acquaintances, because she fears that they might not accept her anymore. In order to maintain her apparent social status among her new neighbors and friends, she builds an intertwined net of lies, which creates a false image of her. She believes in this imaginary world, and as soon as there is the slightest sign of destruction, she seems to be lost, and her nervous condition worsens. Therefore all she cares about is to keep that image alive. Her first name is therefore quite ironic since it means the exact opposite of Blanche’s true nature and character. Her last name, however, stands in contrast to her first name. Made of wood suggests something solid and hard, which is the exact opposite of her fragile nature and nervous condition. Wood can also be associated with forest or jungle, and regarding her past, the connection becomes clear. Blanche indulges in a rather excessive lifestyle. She has sex with random strangers and is known throughout her hometown of Laurel for that. Her former life is more like a jungle or a forest, because it is hard to see through all this and detect the real Blanche. As in a jungle, Blanche cannot find a way out of this on her own. The term jungle appears in the play as well. In scene ten, when Stanley is about to rape Blanche, â€Å"the inhuman jungle voices rise up† (Sc.10 p. 2130). The jungle can be associated with wildness, brutality and inhuman behavior. As mentioned about, wood represents something hard, or hard working. The Du in front of that however, suggests something

Essay --

Introduction Cost accounting can be defined as evaluating data relating to cost in order for management to regulate actions and strategize for the future (Vanderbeck, E., 2013). Financial information is crucial in order for an organization to manage its expenses and for budgeting reasons. There are a few types of cost accounting that an organization can use in order to analyze financial information. Each method is unique and considers different variables when analyzing monetary data. It is dependent on the leaders of the organization to determine what cost accounting system would be best suited for their financial operations. Although there are numerous of methods for costing, this paper will particularly concentrate on activity based costing within the healthcare field. Activity based costing within a healthcare system As mentioned earlier, costing systems vary and use different variables when determining or analyzing monetary information. Activity based costing (also known as ABC) as defined by Gapenski (2012) identifies the different steps necessary to produce a good or service, approximates and totals the costs of those steps. It is an upstream approach and recognizes all cost drivers (steps, procedures) within the organization into creating that product or service (Gapenski, L.C., 2012). One might ask, well how can this system be significant to a healthcare facility? There are actually numerous activities that go on when a person decides to visit his/her physician or during emergency health situations. Let’s take an emergency situation for example. A football player receives a helmet to helmet hit, loses consciousness and has to be carted off the field. He is then taken by the ambulance to the nearest hospital w... ...is data can be signified as if the organization were to consider saving more money by reducing staff numbers, they would be able to do so without compromising quality. Conclusion As mentioned earlier, costing systems vary and consider different factors when evaluating financial information. It is vital for supervising personnel and leaders to consider which costing system would best suit the organization’s needs. The activity based method is an effective tool when used properly. But of course, all tools have their highs and lows. The ABC method can project a more accurate tale of the organization’s financial strengths and weaknesses. But keep in mind, it requires a significant amount of time and each cost driver is to be carefully considered. Regardless of the costing system used, proper analysis of financial data is crucial to the future of the organization.

Human Cloning: Science or Madness? Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive T

Human Cloning: Science or Madness?      Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite evidence that nearly all cloned animals are plagued by significant genetic abnormalities, two scientist groups have announced their plans to impregnate women with cloned embryos, each proposing to create the world's first cloned human being.    Clones are created by injecting genetic material from a single cell of one person is into an egg cell that has had its genes removed. The cell is then stimulated to act like a fertilized egg and divide, becoming an embryo. Once the embryo reaches an appropriate stage it is then implanted into a woman's womb, and the resulting baby would be like an identical twin to the donor.    Since the cloning of the sheep named Dolly in 1997, scientists have been working hard to create cloned human embryos for research and reproduction. During a hearing on human cloning, Panayiotis Zavos, a Kentucky based reproductive expert, told scientists, "The research must go on." Zavos is working with Italian fertility specialist Severino Antinori, who gained headline news in 1994 when he enabled a 62-year old woman to have a baby. Along with the Zavos and Antinori team are the scientists with Clonaid, an extraterrestrial Raelian movement based in Canada who claims cloning our bodies is the next step towards everlasting life.       Dr. Bridgette Boisselier is a Raelian Bishop and director of the human cloning project at Clonaid. The Raelian movement claims humanity was created by "space scientists," and "once we can clone exact replicas of ourselves, the next step will be to transfer our memory and personality into our newly cloned brains, which will allow us to truly live forever. Since we will be able to remember all our past, we wil... ...t proponents of human cloning claim this technology will help couples with infertility problems. Bragdon v. Abbot, 118 S.Ct. 2196 (1998), is cited as evidence that infertility is a disability and reproduction is a major life activity that is a fundamental human right. Human cloning advocates argue the development of a technology that can give an infertile and childless couple the right to reproduce, have a healthy biological child of their own, completing their biological "life cycle," is a constitutional right that should not be outlawed.    Works Cited: National Institutes of Health, NIH Update on Existing Human Embryonic Stem Cells, August 2001 The Associated Press, Votes Kill Efforts to Use Embryos for Research, August 2001 The White House: Office of the the Press Secretary, White House Fact Sheet Embryonic Stem Cell Research, August 2001   

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The following are all examples of descriptive research EXCEPT: (Points : case studies. Correlation research design. Naturalistic observations. Surveys. Question 2. 2. A scientist studied whether climate affected growth in rats. All rats were the same age and from the same parent rats. For the study, they were raised in three distinct climates: tropical, arctic, and multinationals. In this study, the climates are categorical variables . (Points : 1) dependent variables independent variables extraneous variables Question 3. . Changes based on biological and psychological forces are functions of roommate age-graded influences cultural and age-graded Influences normative and cultural influences biological and cultural influences Question 4. 4. Professor stone follows patterns as they relate to human habitats, development, and behaviors. She is an evolutionist an ideologist a behavioral a cognitive Question 5. 5. In a hypothetical study, researchers found that 5. 7 out of 10 people prefer red dogs to cats.These data results are statistically significant statistically insignificant statistically relevant statistically Indeterminable Question 6. 6. Surveys: (Points : 1) are self-reporting and always reliable. FIFO reporting and may result in dishonest or unreliable results. Returns with reliable results. Question 7. 7. The Law of Effect is the foundation for psychodrama theory psychosocial theory behavioral theory ecological systems theory provide nearly 100% Question 8. 8. You have observed and noted the behaviors of one learner in your classroom, who you believe to have a learning disability.You take detailed notes over a designated period of time, with time and date stamps identifying significant reference markers, improvements, or other changes in learning achievement and behaviors. By following this protocol you have conducted empirical study a case study a phenomenological study a comparison study Question 9. 9. Thomas is a teacher who guides his students gradual ly and only as they require. His students' learning grows on the foundational building blocks in a scaffolding fashion within a zone of proximal development. Thomas adheres to the reciprocal process as theorized by Freud Bandeau Woos KY Erikson Question 10. 0. Many people believe that vaccines cause autism. This is an example of a proven theory an inaccurate theory a folk theory a research theory Question 1 1. 11 . Gender is a social construct referencing cultural behavioral expectations for men and women. (Points : 1) True False Question 12. 12. Is a theorist who believed in a psychosocial model in (Points : 1) Frontbencher Question 13. 13. When evaluating sources, the following is true: (Points : 1) Begin with wick sources as the first step. You can always rely on governmental or educational sources. Blobs and news sources are rarely sufficient for academic study.Skepticism is not always accessory. Question 14. 14. Psychosocial development considers personality, social, and emotio nal factors temperament, cognitive, and physical factors emotional, temperament, and cognitive factors temperament, social, and cognitive factors Question 15. 15. Puberty is a function of development physical development maturation emotional development psychosocial Question 16. 16. Jenny is a single mother of three, whose children range between the ages of 6 and 16. She has decided to return to school at the age of 45. Her circumstances are examples of graded influences normative influences roommate maturation Question 17. 7. Cognition refers to the way about other people normative history- . (Points : 1) people think people process language, thought, and problem solving people believe in intelligence people use mnemonic devices for memory Question 18. 18. In a hypothetical study on the effects of aging in older adults, 100 a representative sample an aggregate sample an age-appropriate sample a random sample Question 19. 19. A researcher studied children and noticed that most advan ced in a fixed set of maturational or developmental stages, and that they were predictable by hierological age rather than in a relative or variable sequence.The researcher's hypothesis reflects the theory of Pigged Question 20. 20. By the statement, â€Å"Stages of adult development are social constructs,† the text means that consistent across cultures life stages are development is linked to chronological age each culture or society identifies markers, which may or may not be consistent with chronological age, for maturation or adult development maturation markers are consistent with chronological age across all cultures, regarding maturation or adult development

Market Research †Case Study Spaghetti Fettuccini Essay

1. Establish the goals of research that should be developed. There are several goals of research that should be developed for Fettuccini S.A.. First of all, they need to properly analyze their current situation and know especially the Spanish consumer’s behaviour and expectations in order to adapt their product to the market’s demands. Also, they need to consider their potential new costumers. They also need to analyze their competition, get to know what products and at what price they are selling and what are the competitor’s weaknesses so that they can get strategic advantage out of their position. The company has some experiences with selling whole grain pasta, but they need to test their new products, especially the new pasta product line since it is a fresh product. Fettuccini S.A. also needs to find out if they should open their own points of sales or if they should rather focus on distribution to existing shops. Finally, they need to establish a marketing strategy in order to know what kind of advertisement is the most suitable and effective for their business, and the way in which they want to transmit their messages. As the company had problems with punctual delivery and their service in general before, it would definitely be necessary to investigate also about these two points. They are not acceptable and must be improved once the reasons for both of these weaknesses are figured out. Another problem which should be resolved by investigating within the company is the company’s structure itself; it is not efficient since the different departments are located in different areas of Spain. Such a decentralized management is not agile enough for a company of Fettuccini’s size and produces too high costs. 2. Through the Internet, conduct a research to determine the secondary market for fresh pasta and define the main competitors of our company. The Fettuccini Company has already investigated on the secondary distribution of some new products such as freshly prepared pasta in order to diversify their offer, which was marketed in the fast-food restaurants of an accredited company in Madrid. Since the primary market for Fettuccini S.A. is the public administration, I would consider the following possible secondary private markets. An estimation of the world pasta production gives us an idea of the positioning of the Spanish pasta market. The estimated world pasta production in 2012 has been around 13.5 million tonnes, distributed as follows[1]: Spain has produced 252,208 tons and is ranked on the 13th position of the global pasta producers while number one, Italy, has produced 3,316,728 tons. As far as the pasta consumption is concerned, Italy dominates with 26.0 kg/ capita, while Spain only consumes 5.0 kg/ capita[2]. Although the pasta market in Spain is not as huge as in Italy, there is still enough potential for successful production and distribution of pasta products. The main competitors of Fettuccini S.A. come mainly from Italy and are companies like Buitoni with 22% of the market share, El Pavo, Rana or Gallo with a 10% of the total market share[3]. Other smaller competitors could possibly be Gusti d’Italia S.R.L., EGO Internationl S.R.L. or Tomasicchio Giuseppe[4]. The secondary market for fresh pasta products in Spain is â€Å"on counter†, which would be through chains serving fresh products such as Nostrum, Fresco etc., and also the traditional restaurants serving fresh pasta. Another big secondary market for fresh pasta are supermarkets[5]. Furthermore, specialized small shops selling food to take away for example should also be taken into account as potential customers. Delicatessen shops and restaurants can also be interesting partners for Fettuccini S.A. since both are offering high quality and exclusive fresh products. Another big secondary market are companies who offer catering or lunch service for their employees, and who might be interested in receiving daily fresh pasta dishes. The big opportunity for Fettuccini S.A. in this secondary market is that they produce in Spain, which means they should be able to deliver a lot faster and at a more competitive price. 3. Define the qualitative technique that you will use and introduce a dash of qualitative questions. In order to obtain data and useful information about what Fettuccini S.A. can expect from their potential market, get to know the preferences of their costumers and establish themselves in the market, they could use several qualitative techniques such as focus groups, triads, dyads, in-depth interviews, uninterrupted observation, bulletin boards, and ethnographic participation/observation. But due to the problem that many of these techniques are not only expensive, but especially time-consuming and the responses might be difficult to interpret, Fettuccini S.A. should in my opinion work with focus groups and combine the results with the results obtained from observation in points of sales, for example. Both for the focus groups and for the observations in points of sales, this could be combined with letting people taste the fresh pasta products and afterwards asking them specific questions.