Category: Experiment

Introduction

In our society presently, immunoassay techniques used in data analyses have assumed a place of high significance, particularly as it is applicable to pure/applied researches; where the techniques are adopted for such developments as ultrasensitive enzymatic immunoassays in antigenic and antibody analyses. Ultrasensitive/rapid enzyme immunoassays, have presented more current, flexible, and indeed expressive information that is considerably more applicable to scientific studies; particularly in pharmaceutics and related applied-research (Huston, et al., 1991; Wilczynski and Lukasik, 1994). In this regards, top quality antibodies/immunoassays constitute very vital basics for research-works conducted in the bio-medicals; in discovering new drugs, and in carrying out clinical diagnoses.

Monoclonal/polyclonal antibodies have been used in the development of ELISAs as well as for the development of antibody-suspension-array-based multiplicities using sets of biomarkers that are found to be highly connected to obesity, diabetic and cardiovascular disorders.

Equally, molecules of immunoglobulin, particularly IgG known to occur as intravascular/extra-vascular serum concentrations in adults, are of great significance in aiding the response of secondary antibodies (immunologic-memory) that are known to subserve a lot of impact towards host-defense against infections. Pertmer (1996), in a study concluded that reagents for immunology constitute the necessary support that keeps immunoassay systems up. The study further noted that:

Immunoassays can be utilized to quantitatively and qualitatively measure minute quantities of analyses in complex biological systems (Pertmer, et. al., 1996, pp.107).

Even though, the fundamental ideas that back a developing immunoassay could appear to be uncomplicated, developing an assay which provides unrealistic information is more obvious in selecting immunoreagents. An immunoassay uses several sorts of supports as well as detecting systems. But at the peak of immunoassays are antibodies which determine the level of sensitivity/specificity. Antibodies therefore constitute very vital components that make up the human immune system, and as well aid responses to infections (Pertmer, et. al., 1996; Bouts, et al., 2000).

This experiment will determine immunoglobulin g in human saliva and serum through the use of immunoassays (ELISA, in particular). The interest of the experiment, like several that are carried out on antibodies, will be in the detection and identification of specified antigens; including viruses and allergens. Studies have identified that based on the little quantity of targeted antibodies in a generalized sample a dilution performance could vary significantly depending on the measured target of the experiment (Huston, et al., 1991). The experiment will be based on measurement of the concentration of IgG in the following:

1. Saliva;
2. Serum antibody in test versus control samples; and
3. Serum samples collected over a period of time.

The samples would be analyzed through the use of standards for producing curves by which calculation of concentration of IgG in the several samples would be based. Parametric controls will be used in confirming the presence of non-specified reactions (negatively on one end) and for conferment of the correct workability of the assay (on the other hand). Each sample is duplicate-screened.

Aim of the Experiment

The experiment is aimed at acquainting the student with knowledge of:

1. Performance of an enzyme immunoassay;
2. Data analyses through the use of a spreadsheet and linear regression; and
3. Calculation of concentration of IgG in an unknown sample (where the student would appreciate changes in concentration as a result of viral infection).

Procedure

This experiment employs the usage of enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) as a tool for detecting and quantifying specified antigen-elicited molecules. Even though the tool is most applicable to conducting research or studies on clinical processes such as ones involving cancerous or autoimmune disorders, it is very effective in analyzing biologically based samples like plasma, urine, cell-extracts, or serum (Siber, et al., 1990; Roilides et. al., 1991; Ashman et al., 1992; Plebani et al., 1993; Drossou et al., 1995). The recognition of the antigen-antibodies is based on resultant antibodies that are unified with enzymes that catalyze reacting mixtures which are capable of causing a yield in the specified color of the sample. Through measurement of the colors optical densities, the determination of specified molecules is achieved; this is because the colors density is equivalent to the advanced reaction for the experimented result.

From studies conducted by Huston (1991), circulating IC-level was assessed through c1q ELISA approaches. It is noted that:

ELISA plates were coated with 10 µg/ml human C1q (Sigma) in 0.1 M carbonate buffer (pH 9.6), incubated for 48 h at 4°C, blocked for 2 h at RT with 1% BSA in PBS, and washed with PBS. EDTA-treated sera samples were added in serial dilutions starting at a 1/50 dilution and plates were incubated for 1 h at RT and overnight at 4°C (Huston, et al., 1991, pp.173).

The approach adopted by Huston above generated fruitful results, hence this is considered useful in our present experiment.

Results

Figure 1 presents a plot of the absorbance (saliva data log antibody concentration) against dilution (on the x axis) using logarithmic scales; this has produced a slight sigmoid-curve. The graph identifies the behaviour of the assay which is under investigation through immunoassay.

It is figured that the possible error for the analyzed result is placed at -0.75% which reflects a standard deviational percentage error at 8.58%. To actualize accurate results, there was a testing of the assay through assaying the concentration with serum and an addition of diluted anti-human igG antibody. However, there were no noticeable inferences from the antibio 50ml of 2m.

In a similar experiment, Bouts, et al., noted that:

There are a number of methods for assaying aminoglycosides in serum (Bouts, et al., 2000, p.47).

For this particular experiment, its effectiveness is against the fact that:

Radioimmunoassays are expensive to perform and require expensive counting equipment, and the reagents have limited shelf lives. A new immunoassay, the homogenous reactant-labeled fluorescent immunoassay appears to overcome some of disadvantages (Vorechovsky et al., 1995, p.98).

An alternative to this approach could be the acetyltransferase which produces quite satisfactory results with the exception that it has to do with a scintillation counter.

Table of raw values

Discussion

Antibodies constitute very vital components that make the human immune system as well as aid responses to infections. It is thus very important to determine immunoglobulin g in human saliva and serum through the use of immunoassays (ELISA, in particular). The experiment is carried out on antibodies with the target of detecting/identifying specified antigens; including viruses and allergens. The result from the experiment identifies that based on the little quantity of targeted antibodies in a generalized sample; a dilution performance could vary significantly depending on the measured target of the experiment.

Statistical analysis

Statistical tests were conducted on the outcome of the samples to determine concentrations of IgG and sIgA with an ECC (p<0.05), and the following values were tabled

From the tests, there existed an insignificant inverse-correlation of salivary sIgA and incubation buffer concentrative levels (where the Pearson correlation was found to be -0.287), however, this is not quite significantly statistical (here p=0.056). The statistical analysis could not determine correlations linking salivary IgG and incubation buffer (as Pearson correlation was known to be +0.046)  more analysis is presented from a spreadsheet below:

Conclusion

The experiment presents a clear picture that in the saliva sample, the added material acted in the capacity of an amplifier; this is equally true at an instance where there are molecular bounds with antibodies and the added substance which would result to production of several signal molecules. As far as thought can permit, the added substance could continue to generate color without stopping; however, the greater the availability of primary antibodies in donor serums, the greater the chance for a binding of secondary antibodies and enzymes, hence the quicker the development of the color. An immunoassay uses several sorts of supports as well as detecting systems. But at the peak of immunoassays are antibodies which determine the level of sensitivity/specificity. The experiment hence identifies that assays constitute very vital components that make up the human immune system, and as well aid responses to infections. The recognition of the antigen-antibodies is based on resultant antibodies that are unified with enzymes that catalyze reacting mixtures which are capable of causing a yield in the specified color of the sample. Through measurement of the colors optical densities, the determination of specified molecules is achieved; this is because the colors density is equivalent to the advanced reaction for the experimented result.

One demerit of the indirect ELISA remains the non-specification of the antigen immobilization; especially at instances whereby there is the usage of serum as an antigen testing source; where the several protein substances constituting the sample could get stocked to the well of the microtiter plate. As a matter of fact, a little concentration of an analyze sample in a given serum would have to be in competition with a number of other serums to bring about appropriate well-surface bindings. Using a sandwich/direct ELISA makes available solutions to our examined sample, particularly through capturing antibodies that are specified for testing the antigens as well as for pulling off the molecular mixed serum.

The running of ELISA could be achieved through either of quantitative or qualitative formats. However, a qualitative result would possibly make available a simplified negative or positive outcome (in the form of a yes/no) for a given sample. The determination of the off-yield that arises from the analysis is achieved statistically. When the quantitative ELISA is considered, the optical-density (OD) available in the sample is rested against the standard curve, which basically constitutes serial dilutions with known concentrations of a targeted module. As an illustration, in an instance where the test constitutes a 1.01 OD, a standard curve resulting to OD=1.01would have to belong to the sameanalyte concentrations.

Reference List

Ashman, R. F., et al., 1992. Genetic and immunologic analysis of a family containing five patients with common-variable immune deficiency or selective IgA deficiency. J Clin Immunol, 12 (4), pp.406-14.

Bouts, A.H., et al., 2000. Immunoglobulins in chronic renal failure of childhood: effects of dialysis modalities. Kidney Int, 58(2), pp.629-37.

Drossou, V., et al., 1995. Concentrations of main serum opsonins in early infancy. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed, 72(1), pp.172-F5.

Huston, D.P, et al., 1991. Immunoglobulin deficiency syndromes and therapy. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 87(24), pp.1-17.

Pertmer, T.M., Roberts, T.R., and Haynes, J.R., 1996. Influenza virus nucleoprotein- specific immunoglobulin G subclass and cytokine responses elicited by DNA vaccination are dependent on the route of vector DNA delivery. J Virol, 70(23), pp.6119-25.

Plebani, A. et al., 1993. Extensive deletion of immunoglobulin heavy chain constant region genes in the absence of recurrent infections: when is IgG subclass deficiency clinically relevant? Clin Immunol Immunopathol, 68(3), pp. 46-51.

Roilides, E., et. al., 1991. Serum immunoglobulin G subclasses in children infected with human immunodeficiency virus type I. Pediatr Infect Dis, 10(12), pp.134-9.

Siber, G.R., et al., 1990. Impaired antibody response to Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide and low IgG2 and IgG4 concentrations in Apache children. N Engl J Med, 323(1), pp.1387-92.

Vorechovsky, I., et al., 1995. The PAX5 gene: a linkage and mutation analysis in candidate human primary immunodeficiencies. Immunogenetics, 42(9), pp.149- 52.

Wilczynski, J., and Lukasik, B., 1994. Transplacental transfer of antibodies to some respiratory viruses. Acta Microbiol Pol, 43(9), pp.347-58.

Introduction

Background of the study

The cardiovascular system is a part of the human transport system. It consists of the heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries. It performs various functions especially when an individual is exercising (Turner, 2000, p. 309). Some of its functions include transporting oxygenated blood to the active muscles, transporting blood to the heart for oxygenation, transferring heat from other parts of the body to the skin to facilitate heat loss. The system also transports nutrients to the muscles and various tissues in addition to transporting hormones to target organs (Turner, 2000, p. 315).

During exercises, the demand for nutrients and oxygenated blood increases. In addition, an increase in the rate of metabolism contributes to high levels of waste products that should be transported to the excretory systems. The active muscles generate metabolic heat which should also be transported to the skin. To meet the elevated cardio-respiratory and metabolic demands, the cardiovascular system responds by altering the heart rate, stroke volume, blood flow, blood pressure, and cardiac output (Turner, 2000, p. 320).

There are various points where the pulse rate can be measured. Some of them include the temple, neck, top of the foot, back of the knees, and groin. In addition, the heart rate can also be measured directly from the heart by tying a pulse machine across the chest. Research studies conducted indicate that the normal pulse rate is about 60-120 beats per minute (BPM) for infants and children and 60-100 BPM for adults (Clausen, 2009, p. 779).

Aim

The report presents an account of the pulse rate experiment before and after a five-minute exercise on a running machine.

Scope

The report entails an account of the pulse rate experiment. It entails the methodology and the instruments/requirements used in conducting the study. In addition, the results of the experiment are outlined. The report provides an account of the effect of exercise on cardiac output, blood pressure, and blood distribution. It also reviews the role of the sensory receptors, the automatic nervous system, and hormones. Finally, an analysis of the changes observed during and after the exercise is conducted.

Requirements/Instruments

To measure the pulse rate before and after the exercise, the researcher should have a pulse meter. In addition, a running machine is required to enable the researcher to conduct the five-minute exercise.

Methodology

The experiment started by measuring the pulse rate at rest using the pulse meter tied across the chest to take direct measurements from the heart. This was followed by a five-minute exercise on the running machine after which the pulse rates were measured and recorded after every minute until the pulse rate returned to normal.

Presentation of Results

The data generated from the experiment was recorded in a table and the results are represented graphically as illustrated below.

A Table of Results

Analysis of Results

The results above indicate that the pulse rate increases gradually during the first few minutes of exercising. Later, the pulse rate increases steadily within the 2nd  5th minute followed by a dramatic decrease from the 6th minute after the exercise until the normal rate is attained.

Discussions

The Effect of the Exercise on the Pulse Rate

Research studies conducted indicate that the heart rate can increase before the exercise begins mainly due to the anticipatory feedback which is a result of hormonal secretion. The anticipatory response is then followed by an elevated pulse rate which is equivalent to the intensity of the exercise (Clausen, 2009, p. 790). This state is maintained until the pulse rate reaches the maximum point which is approximately 145-160 BPM in normal individuals. However, if the intensity of the exercise remains constant, the pulse rate will eventually level off thereby reaching a steady-state (Clausen, 2009, p. 795).

During hot weather, the rate increases despite the activity rate remaining constant. This is a condition referred to as a cardiac drift that occurs as a result of elevated blood temperature. In the course of the exercise, delivery of oxygenated blood to the active muscles decreases, energy requirements increases while anaerobic respiration replaces aerobic respiration. This leads to the production of high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and lactic acid. The heart rate increases in response to the high levels of CO2 which need to be expelled from the body. After the exercise, the pulse rate begins to decrease gradually until it returns to its normal state. This is because the body begins to pay back the oxygen debt at rest thus decreasing the levels of CO2 and lactic acid (Clausen, 2009, p. 781).

The Effect of the Exercise on the Cardiac Output

Research studies indicate that during fortitude training, the cardiac output remains constant or decreases slightly. However, under strenuous exercise, the cardiac output increases steadily (Coyle et al., 2004, p. 95). This arises from the fact that stroke volume increases as a result of the maximal pulse rate experienced during the exercise. The same studies indicate that for a normal person at rest, the output is approximately 14-20 liters per minute while during training, the output increases to about 25-35 liters per minute. The maximum cardiac output can be as high as 40 liters per minute (Coyle et al., 2004, p. 95).

The Effect of Exercising on the Blood Pressure

In studies conducted on hypertensive individuals, both systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreases by a margin of 10 mmHg as a result of sub-maximal exercising. On the other hand, maximal exercising results in a significant fall in systolic pressure relative to resting individuals (Coyle et al., 2004, p. 97).

The Effect of Exercising on Blood Distribution

During exercises, there is an increment in the number of blood capillaries to compensate for the increased stroke volume. In addition, the blood capillaries become enlarged to increase efficiency in blood re-distribution and to attain an elevated blood flow. All these changes serve to increase the blood flow to the skin and the periphery (Coyle et al., 2004, p. 99).

The role of sensory receptors, autonomic nervous system, and hormones on bringing about the changes during and after the exercise

Results of the studies conducted indicate that the pulse rate increases before the commencement of the exercise due to the anticipatory response which is generated upon the release of the neurotransmitters, epinephrine, and norepinephrine (Turner, 2000, p. 336). Subsequent changes during exercising are attributed to the existence of a two-level control mechanism also known as the neurohormonal system.

The first phase involves three control mechanisms namely the feedforward coupling, the feedforward command, and the feedback reflex associated with the muscular mechanoreceptors (Turner 2000, p. 338). The three mechanisms help the body to maintain suitable respiratory and cardiovascular reactions towards the effects of the exercise. The second phase is dependent on the hormones which relay chemical errors to the brain through a standard response reflex system (Turner, 2000, p. 339).

The hormones can act either directly or indirectly on the target organs. Through their actions on the chemoreceptors, the hormones manage to bring about the appropriate ventilatory feedback during the exercise. In addition, hormonal responses help in coordinating cardio-respiratory changes with the increase in metabolic requirements, imbalances in fluid homeostasis, nutrient transportation, and thermoregulatory requirements (Turner, 2000, p. 340).

Conclusion

This report provides an analysis of the pulse rate experiment aimed at determining the pulse rates before and after a five-minute exercise conducted by the researcher. The report also covers the methodology and provides the results of the experiment. Subsequent discussions provide the effects of the exercise on the cardio-respiratory changes such as cardiac output, pulse rate, blood pressure, and blood distribution which are observable during the exercise. As noted from the discussions, the pulse rate increases to the same degree as the intensity of the exercise during training until a maximum is reached. At the end of the exercise, the pulse rate begins to decrease gradually until it returns to its normal rate.

Reference list

Clausen, J.P. 2009. Effects of physical training on cardiovascular adjustments to exercise in man. Physiological Reviews. Vol. 57, issue no.1, pp. 779-816.

Coyle, E., Hemmert, M. & Coggan, A. 2004. Effects of detraining on cardiovascular responses to exercise: role of blood volume.Journal of Applied Physiology. Vol. 60, Issue no.1, pp. 95-99.

Turner, D.L. 2000. Cardiovascular and respiratory control mechanisms during exercise: an integrated view. J. exp. Biol. Vol. 160, issue no.1, pp. 309-340.

In comparison to Super Size Me, the experiment of John Cisna immediately stands out with a positive attitude towards fast food. It is fascinating how John Cisna addressed the question of choice in his experiment, and his enthusiasm to demonstrate the impact of the right choice was energizing. On the other hand, the documentary Super Size Me starts with discussing a lawsuit turned against McDonalds and two girls that filed it due to having obesity caused by eating at the McDonalds restaurants. The two approaches are different and convey different imagery of reality.

Interestingly, Morgan Spurlock, the main protagonist of Super Size Me, was not correctly discussing the nutritional value of his meals. The conversation with the dietologist at the beginning only addresses a general number of calories and fat that need to be digested. Cisna initiated his project with a prior investigation of necessary resources that a human body needs to consume. This aspect of both experiments reflects the general approach on want kind of message they try to convey. Spurlock attempts to restrict the consumption of fast food and consume the audience with horrors without properly addressing his behavior. Simultaneously, Cisna guides people to take responsibility for their actions.

The video of John Cisna can also be distinguished as a more reasonable approach towards eating at a fast-food restaurant. The words of Cisna (13:10-13:25) and his experiment verify the fact that obesity is a result of choice. In contrast, Morgan Spurlock approached the fast-food diet without considering what needed to be eaten to balance the nutritional value. Thus, he seemed to consume the food purely based on the taste without addressing the risks of an inadequate and unreasonable diet. The discussion of reason in the diet choice demonstrates my perception of fast food before watching John Cisnas video. It is necessary to eat fast food while knowing what would happen to the body. In my case, the body would not feel the negative effect because I rarely eat food with a high amount of fats. I also compensate for what I have eaten with light and healthy cuisine.

Work Cited

Cisna, John. John Cisna. YouTube, uploaded by Keller Grayson, 2015, Web.

When I was younger, I was very active and loved to play sports and with that the most important thing was to drink water. As I grew older, I had to stop playing volleyball due to a hand injury and my healthy lifestyle fell into last priority. To stay hydrated and fed I would mostly drink protein shakes or energy drinks to keep my energy levels high but as I mature the more, I realize how I’m not taking care of my body as well as I should be and need to drink water to stay hydrated and not rely on other drinks. Water is very significant in anyone’s life it’s an essential way of keeping your whole body healthy and give you energy throughout your days. Water regulates your body temperature and lubricates your joints. If you’re not hydrated, then your body won’t ever be its healthiest self no matter how hard you try. Through operant conditioning, which is the technique of changing a voluntary behavior, I am going to drink more water everyday until I am at the optimum level I can be.

My main goal for this experiment is to drink more water keeping the operant conditioning behavioral focused. My method I plan on using for this experiment is very simple, it is always to focus on keeping my water bottle full, so that I don’t go back to my old ways of relying on some sugary drink. When I have downtime, I’ll have the bottle with me and take small sips at a time. I must finish my water bottle before pouring a new glass so that I can keep track of how much is being consumed. For this experiment I will be the human subject in focus. I will be using positive reinforcement to keep myself motivated to finish as much water as I can per day. Positive reinforcement increases behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, a positive reinforcer is any stimulus that strengthens after a response. I will be using a 12oz coke as my positive reinforcement. I will be treating myself with the coke at the half way point of the study. This schedule for reinforcement is on a variable-interval schedule where the response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed and produces a slow and steady rate of response to reduce risk of extinction. I will also be using a fixed-ratio schedule. This is where a response is reinforced after a specific number of responses. At the beginning of this experiment I told my family not to buy any soda for me to not tempt myself in this situation. During the experiment my family had been an amazing help so not to tempt me with any unhealthy drinks in the house.

The shaping process I chose to use to condition myself into drinking more water everyday occurred to be like a roller coaster throughout the test. Shaping is a term used in operant conditioning that refers to gradually molding and training the subject to elicit a specific behavior by reinforcing responses that are like the desired response. At the start of the week I found that I had a small desire to drink the water, I had little cravings to drink my water bottle. Having an additional schedule of variable-interval to maintain endurance after the experiment where I can reward myself at unpredictable times to continue my goal passed the experiment.

My conclusions from the experiment were that this experiment was successful, and I achieved my goal of drinking more. There were some challenges involved with the experiment, I found it difficult to crave the water all the time and not getting bored of the bland taste of water. When I first started the experiment, it was easy to stay motivated to be successful and the water taste didn’t bother me at that point. To stay motivated, I kept telling myself that the coke would taste so much better if I waited and it would feel amazing to accomplish the goal, and with that I kept focused. The operant conditioning project my positive reinforcement of coke was what had increased my success and the behaviors to achieve my goal. My reinforcement of the coke and my mental help to succeed made the reinforces a continuous schedule more than a fixed schedule. Continuous reinforcement is reinforcement of a behavior every time the behavior happens. I would continuously have the water bottle full so to trick my brain into thinking I hadn’t drunk anything yet today. After the half way point it made it easier to continue and more motivated to be another step closer towards a healthy lifestyle

Abstract

Procrastination is a universal issue among scholars that hinders their academic performance. Many have wondered if it is possible to completely avoid procrastination. It is virtually not possible because everyone procrastinates at some point in time. However, you can reduce how much of it is done. By rewarding yourself or receiving rewards and clarifying your goals, it can be reduced significantly. We are conducting an experiment of three groups of college students from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to see if it can be done to anyone. One group will begin the intervention that specializes in goal clarification at the start of the second stage. The other group will begin it towards the middle, while the third group does not receive any treatment. The participants will be rewarded based on how much effort they are applying and at what time it is applied. I expect to find the participants that receive treatment from the very beginning will experience long-term reduction in procrastination. I expect the participants that receive treatment towards the middle of the study will experience short-term reduction, while the last group will not experience any reduction at all. This study is important because procrastination is an international pandemic that will only hinder our best possible performance in life.

Can Procrastination Be Reduced to Avoid Negative Effects?

The ability to procrastinate lies within every human. According to Ainslie (2008), procrastination has been defined as postponing something unpleasant or difficult to do, and to end up doing it in a way that involves greater effort. Procrastination is done more frequently in academic settings. Steel (2007) reported that 80% of North American college students procrastinate of which 50% do so in a chronic manner. Ferrari, O’Callahan, and Newbegin (2005) reported that 61% of the population display some form of procrastination, of which 20% do so in a chronic manner. This study serves to attempt to reduce procrastination amongst college students using positive reinforcements and goal clarification to lessen the negative consequences that are associated with procrastinating.

Students who procrastinate on their academic tasks often exhibit more problems related to physical symptoms of disease and stress, and this generates the need to visit health units more often (Glick, Millstein, & Orsillo, 2014; Tice & Bauneister, 1997). Beutel et al. (2016) have highlighted associations between procrastination and higher levels of stress, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and reduced life satisfaction. According to Pintrich & Shunck (1993), students who demonstrate more skill in following their own instructions tend to be more academically motivated. A study carried out by Ariely and Wertenbroch (2002) with college students conducted an intervention on academic procrastination. The intervention consisted of a verification of the effect of prior commitments in meeting deadlines of task completion. The authors of the study found that participants with a tendency to postponing the deadline for their tasks procrastinated less. Only when they defined the completion date themselves, in advance, within ample time.

“This study aimed to test the effects of two treatment conditions – SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Related) academic goals clarification and instructions to abandon procrastination – and one control condition (waiting list) on measures of impulsiveness in academic procrastination, namely Hyperbolic Discounting (HD) and Total Academic Procrastination (TAP) score of the PASS (Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students) questionnaire. The results indicate that (a) the participants who received the academic goal clarification intervention had significant changes on HD posttest measures than did participants who received instructions to abandon procrastination; and (b) the participants who received the goal clarification treatment presented a significant reduction in academic procrastination when compared to subjects who were in the control condition (i.e., waiting list). These outcomes support the main hypothesis of the study: the group of students exposed to the SMART type of academic goal clarification had a substantial decrease in their tendency to academic procrastination and impulsiveness when faced with hyperbolic-discounting decisions” (Hurtado-Parrado & Munoz-Olano, 2016).

“We examined associations between procrastination and two proposed contributors to procrastination: psychological inflexibility and discounting of delayed rewards. We found a moderate negative correlation between psychological flexibility and academic procrastination: Students who reported lower psychological flexibility tended to report higher levels of procrastination. No other significant correlations were found, and delay discounting did not moderate the relationship between psychological flexibility and procrastination. We found that discounting of hypothetical money was not significantly correlated with discounting of experienced video clips. This replicates previous findings with a novel reinforcer type (Jimura et al., 2011; Horan et al., 2017), and, given the current sample size, suggests that these two measures are at most weakly correlated, and index different discounting domains. This underscores the importance of developing separate understandings of two crucially different types of decisions about delayed rewards: decisions about postponed outcomes as made in typical hypothetical money tasks, and decisions about waiting as made in experiential discounting tasks (see Paglieri, 2013)” (Hunt, Macaskill, Sedley, & Sutcliffe, 2019).

“In summary, academic procrastination is prevalent and harmful, and interventions to reduce its impact are needed. We examined two potential drivers of procrastination: psychological inflexibility and delayed academic rewards. In agreement with previous literature, we found evidence of a relationship between psychological flexibility and academic procrastination, suggesting that interventions to increase psychological flexibility are worth pursuing. We did not find evidence for a relationship between procrastination and delay discounting in experiential and hypothetical paradigms. This suggests that interventions focused on reward delay may not be the most fertile avenue of investigation for procrastination reduction. Rather, it would be most useful for therapists to develop interventions that aim to increase students’ psychological flexibility to reduce procrastination and enhance academic success” (Hunt et al., 2019).

“The aim was to explicate the motivational personality traits which may underpin this behavior. In our student sample, as predicted, all three forms of procrastination were significantly and negatively associated with GDP (Goal Drive Persistence), and positively with impulsivity. This suggests that students who are goal-driven are the least likely to procrastinate, whereas those who are impulsive are most likely, and this applies in terms of both their academic studies and procrastination more widely” (Bacon & Bennett, 2019).

As has been detailed above, previous research has shown that goal clarification and positive reinforcement treatments are effective for reducing academic procrastination. The current proposal was designed to examine these researches a bit further. The experiment will consist of a multiple-comparison baseline design using three randomly assigned groups. We hope to view a reduction in procrastination and its negative effects on academic performance amongst college students using positive reinforcers. An examination of the effect of goal clarification treatment and positive reinforcement treatment on procrastination is proposed. It is hypothesized that positive reinforcement treatment will be just as effective as goal clarification treatment. This is because, as discussed above, findings from the articles indicate that rewards are particularly effective method for controlling behavior. It is likely that the effectiveness of this treatment would generalize to the student population that is of interest here. Can procrastination and its effects be reduced amongst college students using goal clarification and positive reinforcements?

Method

Participants

90 undergraduate students from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (45 male and 45 female) aged between the ages of 18-21 will be selected randomly from the most academically demanding colleges at the university (i.e., engineering, liberal arts, nursing, sciences, and business). The participants will be split into groups of three with 30 participants each. The participants will enter a room and be asked to sign a document that gives their consent to participate in the study. If the experiment causes a negative impact on the participants, they will be given free counseling sessions and a week of excused absences to work through the issues that may have arisen.

Materials

This experiment requires a computer room large enough for 31 people. There will be online questionnaires to complete. The participants will also be given the option to have the words read to them through the computer screen via headphones.

Procedure

The researchers will be using a multiple-comparison baseline experiment. The participants will have two steps in the experiment. The first step is to take various tests, assessing their individual procrastination levels. The tests include: Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students (Solomon & Rothblum, 1984), Hyperbolic Discounting (Odum, 2011), and the Tuckman Procrastination Scale (Tuckman, 1991). Each test is designed to view any possible connections procrastination may have with delay discounting, conscientiousness, psychological flexibility, and impulsiveness.

The second step is to participate in interventions for five weeks that would focus on reinforcing goal clarification and receiving rewards (pizza parties, bonus points opportunities, outdoor class) for working on their academic assignments well before the due date. They will receive double the reward (no class along with bonus points actually being rewarded) if the assignment is completed before the deadline.

The interventions for Group A will begin the first week following the results from the tests. The interventions for Group B will begin towards the third week following, resulting in only two weeks of goal clarification. Group C will have no intervention and will be the control group.

Predicted Results

If the study were to be recreated or to be completed, the results would show that there will be a positive correlation with procrastination and psychological inflexibility, as well as a positive correlation between procrastination and poor mental and physical health. The results would also show a direct negative correlation between procrastination and psychological flexibility and procrastination and great mental health. It is unclear which statistical test I will be using in the study.

Discussion

This study is to reinforce the idea that procrastination, no matter how chronic, can be reduced. College students procrastinate approximately 30% more than non-academic adults. If procrastination can be reduced using methods like goal clarification and positive reinforcements, then this study will serve as the brace that supports the information from previous research studies. There are no risks available at this time. The benefits would include things like getting to not have to go to class, getting bonus points, experiencing less anxiety and stress, and making better grades. There is a potential issue that is of concern is that the rewards given might be too rewarding and they won’t actually reduce their procrastination for good. It is concerning that it might only be for the duration of the study. There is also the potential issue of having the results influenced by some third factor that is unknown to the researchers. There could be some influence at home or with friends that could’ve reduced their procrastination.

References

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4. Beutel, M. E., Klein, E. M., Aufenanger, S., Brähler, E., Dreier, M., Müller, K. W., . . . Wölfling, K. (2016). Procrastination, distress and life satisfaction across the age range: A German representative community study. PLoS One, 11, e0148054. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0148054
5. Ferrari, J. R., O’Callahan, J., & Newbegin, I. (2005). Prevalence in procrastination in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia: Arousal and avoidance delays among adults. North American Journal of Psychology, 7(1), 1-6.
6. Glick, D. M., Millstein, D. J., & Orsillo, S. M. (2014). A preliminary investigation of the role of psychological inflexibility in academic procrastination. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 3(2), 81-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2014.04.002
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9. Muñoz-Olano, J. F., & Hurtado-Parrado, C. (2017). Effects of goal clarification on impulsivity and academic procrastination of college students / Efectos de la clarificación de metas sobre la impulsividad y la procrastinación académica de los estudiantes universitarios. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, 49(3), 173–181. https://ezproxyprod.ucs.louisiana.edu:4128/10.1016/j.rlp.2017.03.001
10. Odum, A. L. (2011). Delay discounting: I’m a K you are a K. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 3(46), 427-439. http://dx.doi.org/10.1901/jeab.2011.96-423
11. Paglieri, F. (2013). The costs of delay: Waiting versus postponing in intertemporal choice. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 99, 362– 377. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jeab.18
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13. Solomon, L., & Rothblum, E. (1984). Academic procrastination: Frequency and cognitive-behavioral correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31, 503–509. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.31 .4.503
14. Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 65–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909 .133.1.65
15. Sutcliffe, K. R., Sedley, B., Hunt, M. J., & Macaskill, A. C. (2019). Relationships among academic procrastination, psychological flexibility, and delay discounting. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 19(4), 315–326. https://ezproxyprod.ucs.louisiana.edu:4128/10.1037/bar0000145
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17. Tuckman, B. W. (1991). The development and concurrent validity of the procrastination scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 51, 473– 480. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00131644 91512022

The Apples in the Barrel

Humans are intricate and complex creatures, capable of great things like landing on the moon with advancing technology but also capable of disastrous and horrible things such as committing genocide against a minority group. There’s a thin line between the great things humanity can achieve to the very horrifying tragedies that we can inflict on others. To study human behavior we use social psychology which is an interesting subject especially when experiments defy expectations and reveal shocking things about humans as we know them. At the very core of humanity is either the need of being good or the desire to do evil. But this brings the age-long question: are people born predisposed to being bad or good? The topic of sociopaths and psychopaths is of a different discussion, the main matter here at hand is seeing if otherwise normal people are capable of evil and horrifying deeds. Using the thought process of Philip Zimbardo, a psychologist, and professor at Stanford University, and the conclusions from several experiments such as the Stanford Prison Experiment and Milgram Experiment we can see how in history and in literature certain characters and relatively average people can do evil actions consciously.

Zimbardo revolutionized the way psychology is perceived. Although his Stanford Prison Experiment turned unethical in its practice, it provided insight into how otherwise good people can do bad things. The experiment entailed finding college students who were normal in every sense. They were randomly assigned either to be a guard or a prisoner and they were stuck in a makeshift prison at Stanford University. The guards who were the authority figure, took advantage of their power and started degrading, humiliating, and tormenting the prisoners to no end—well, that is until the experiment prematurely ended. However, it gave Zimbardo the information he needed to draw conclusions about human characterization and social dynamics. Power, conformity, obedience, deindividuation, and dehumanization were all words Zimbardo used to identify the conditions which lead to particularly evil behavior (The Lucifer Effect). Moreover, a person’s aggression can “increase when they feel anonymous” and a great example of this is when “they wear a uniform, hood or mask” (Dittman). Like how in the Stanford Prison Experiment the guards were given sunglasses and a uniform which strengthened and unifies them together. This anonymity goes both ways though, the prisoners from the beginning were dehumanized and instead became numbers who lost all sense of themselves. They were objected to being stripped naked, deloused with a spray, and then forced to wear a smock with no undergarments underneath. On the actual website for this experiment, they are keen to point out that “real male prisoners don’t wear dresses, but real male prisoners do feel humiliated and do feel emasculated,” which is what Zimbardo wanted the prisoners to feel (Stanford Prison Experiment). This experiment ended up scarring some of the prisoners and in interviews after the fact they admit how they became a shell of who they were obeying the guard members. The sense of anonymity gives power to authorities and simultaneously strips the identity of the people who are being abused.

Zimbardo was not the only social psychologist dabbling with this intricate study of human behavior. There was Stanley Milgram and his widely-known Milgram Experiment. His aim was to see how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person. In some historical context, this was just after Adolf Eichmann’s trial so it was trying to see if accomplices of the Holocaust were simply following orders from their superiors or had malicious intent throughout. Of course, this was not to excuse the actions of the Nazi party in any way. His experiment was to see if a person would electrocute another person on the basis of them getting an incorrect answer. Different variations of this experiment were conducted coming out with very perspicacious conclusions. At the root of this experiment, the participant was given the role of the teacher, who had to see if the “learner” (an actor) was memorizing words correctly. And for each wrong answer, the volts of electrocution would increase and halfway through the actor would voice discomfort and plead to be let out. Though this offset many people, the results were somewhat outstanding. Psychiatrists predicted only 1 percent of people would go all the way to 450 volts, however, 65 percent of the participants went all the way up. Shocking right? Many discerning outcomes came of this, even with the variations which included changing the authority figure, changing the location, adding another teacher, etc… For example, in the original study, the experimenter wore a gray lab coat and was unexpectedly taken away but was replaced with an “ordinary member of the public” in everyday clothes rather than the lab coat, and “the obedience level dropped to 20%” (McLeod). This goes on the prove Zimbardo’s earlier point of authority and anonymity. Another important lesson that was learned was the abdication of responsibility. This is seen when the authority figure made sure to point out that the participant would not be held responsible and that the authority figure would be held liable. People inherently feel less moral responsibility when following orders. The Milgram Experiment along with the Stanford Prison Experiment helped provide the different conditions as to why some people would lean into doing some awful deeds and intentionally harm others.

The lack of supervision and having a sense of anonymity is one of the factors as to why people take the power they have and start to abuse it. One clear example of this is the horrors that took place in Abu Ghraib. Abu Ghraib was the prison that introduced the world to the violent reality of torture in the war on terror. In 2004, when photos came out revealing how “prisoners [were] on leashes” and the “bodies [were] piled atop each other in pyramid structure” along with “prisoners standing in crucifixion-like postures” it was a wake-up call to the brutality they suffered (Hilal). The entire world was shocked at how vicious and how severely the prisoners were tormented. To go into further details, the military on-site at Abu Ghraib wore masks which indicated a sense of relinquishing responsibility—one of the aforementioned pictures included a prison guard with a clown painted on his face. Another picture showed how the prisoners were dehumanized by being herded together and stripped down. Sound familiar? Zimbardo delves deep into this incident and tries to break down what made the soldiers treat the prisoners the way they did. There’s no denying there are bad apples, in this case, the soldiers who took their abuse to the extreme. In particular U.S. Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick is now “serving eight years in prison” for charges of abuse “including dereliction of duty, assault, and committing an indecent act” (Mbugua). Though he was a “bad apple” Zimbardo argues the “power is in the system” and that unless “systemic forces […] like those that existed in Abu Ghraib are recognized and changed, imprisonment alone will never eliminate the problem of evil behavior and there will always be a bad apple at the bottom of the barrel” (“The Psychology of Evil”; Mbugua). There is also no ignoring how the external factors made it so that everyone was turning an eye to this atrocity; however, the supervision and unchecked power in the system that “create[d] the situation that corrupt[ed] the individuals” (“The Psychology of Evil”). Another, less horrific example of this condition can be seen in the dark-romantic novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Mr. Prynne creates an identity for himself that is not only respectable but also gives him the power of staying anonymous. He wants to stay anonymous and goes around introducing himself as Roger Chillingworth who has no introduction other than “the learning and intelligence” that he “possessed more than a common measure” and he continues on to become a trusted doctor of the town (Hawthorne 106). Not only that, but he also ends up living with the troubled minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, who secretly spies and keeps tabs on him. And since no one knows of his true being (apart from Hester) there is the power of anonymity and knowing the fact that his reputation as Mr. Prynne is still intact. His lust for vengeance and finding the truth of Dimmesdale and Hester’s affair put him in conditions where he psychologically torments and awaits his physical demise. His goal was that “all th[e] guilty sorrow” that Dimmesdale had was “to be revealed to him,” not to mention the fact he reveled in being the “one trusted friend” of his as this allowed him to violate Dimmesdale’s innermost dark thoughts (Hawthorne 125). In both cases, the power of staying anonymous, being “just an undifferentiated other” and having the opportunity for the “diffusion of responsibility […] for negative outcomes” are reasons why seemingly normal people can be put in conditions where they act horrifically (Lucifer Effect 301, 274).

Authority plays a key role in why people behave the way they do. When there is an authoritative presence, it dictates the circumstances and conditions of the situation. In American history, the 50s and 60s were extraordinary times. Especially with how advanced we were becoming but also how we continued to stay the same in some respects. The McCarthy era, a popular name for the decade had people in hysteria and accusing others of being communists. It all began when Senator Joseph McCarthy made baseless claims that more than two hundred members of the Communist party had crept into the US government. “He had no proof” and yet this led to many claims that “ruined lives and led to increased hostility” (Lorcher). High-level Hollywood actors, directors, and filmmakers were being deported out of the country due to the simple mention of their supposed connection to the Communist party. “The word socialism was all but taboo,” Arthur Miller states; Miller was a prominent playwright who was called out before the House Un-American Activities Committee and was then ostracized (Are You Now Or Were You Ever). He says that the “anti-communist rage” eventually “threatened to reach hysterical proportion” which was a concerning observation to make at a time when the world should have been advancing (Are You Now Or Were You Ever). In short, Communism was a poison that infected the country and spread like wildfire thanks to people who did not stand up to McCarthy and believed the baseless claims. Likewise, in Miller’s play The Crucible a mendacious group of girls pointed accusatory fingers at many important figures in their puritan society. The girls lead many to imprisonment and eventual hangings on the unsubstantiated claim that some were practicing witchcraft. The court inherently allowed the power to get to the girls since they in a sense had power over everyone else. The presiding judge, Judge Danforth, comes into a dilemma; he could either continue to believe the girls or on the off chance that they’re lying, admit that these trials were based on a personal vendetta. It is hard for Danforth to come to the latter conclusion seeing as he says “I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes” (The Crucible 129). This proves insight into how the court had to be strict on any accusation made since witchcraft was a major sin in their strict Puritan beliefs. Similarly, the US government was very harsh on the people with any relation with the Soviet and any link to communism. This draws back to the Milgram Experiment and what Milgram had to say about obedience and authority. He said that “ordinary people are likely to follow authority even to the extent of killing an innocent human being” (McLeod). And as we saw in the Stanford Experiment, people are likely to take things to the next level in the right conditions.

Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are literary pieces of historical fiction that have polarizing characters, some of which cross a line and become evil of some sort. The social science research of Zimbardo and Milgram can help explain why these seemingly normal characters do such terrible deeds. Moreover, apart from literature, we can see these patterns in history itself. The Abu Ghraib horrors paralleled with Zimbardo’s prison experiment in which the power lay with the authority who took it too far with their prisoners. Sergeant Ivan Frederick paralleled with Chillingworth in their similar way of using anonymity to abuse others. The McCarthy era paralleled with the Salem Witch Trials where a community in hysteria is willing to sentence others to death on baseless claims. Polarizing characters such as Judge Danforth with his proceedings can also be understood through the conditions set forth by the various experiments. Milgram and Zimbardo have done immense work and have helped shed light on this complex matter of humanity. If people are capable of evil actions, they also have it in them to do extremely good, selfless, and pure-intentioned actions.

Works Cited

1. Dittmann, Melissa. “What Makes Good People Do Bad Things?” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, Oct. 2004, www.apa.org/monitor/oct04/goodbad.
2. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Everbind Books, 1989.
3. Hilal, Maha. “Abu Ghraib: The Legacy of Torture in the War on Terror.” Abuse | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 1 Oct. 2017, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/abu-ghraib-legacy-torture
4. Lorcher, Trent. “Similarities Between McCarthyism and The Crucible & More Symbolism in The Crucible.” Bright Hub Education, 18 Oct. 2009, www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/52748-mccarthyism-and-the-crucible/.
5. Mcleod, Saul. “The Milgram Experiment.” Milgram Experiment | Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, 5 Feb. 2017, www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html.
6. Miller, Arthur. Are You Now Or Were You Ever? The Guardian/The Observer. 16 June 2000. —. The Crucible. New York, NY, Penguin Books, 1996. PDF File.
7. Mbugua, Martin. “Zimbardo Blames Military Brass for Abu Ghraib Torture.” Zimbardo Blames Military Brass for Abu Ghraib Torture, University of Delaware, 2005, www1.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2006/dec/zimbardo120705.html.
8. “Stanford Prison Experiment.” Stanford Prison Experiment, www.prisonexp.org/.
9. Zimbardo, Philip G. The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. New York: Random House, 2007. PDF File. —. “The Psychology of Evil” YouTube, uploaded by TED, 23 Sep. 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsFEV35tWsg. Accessed 16 Mar. 2019

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein portrays Victor Frankenstein’s responsibility towards his creation of life and the penalties that come with it. The curiosity to ask and answer questions is what motivates scientists to keep going forward in their research. The consequences of Victor’s actions in Frankenstein can be learning lessons for many scientists in the modern world. These lessons include the importance of judging how the discovery will be used in a modern world, justifying the ethical questions that arise with the discovery that disrupts the course of nature, and assessing the necessity of a certain discovery despite the sacrifices associated

It is up to the scientist to assess the outcomes of discovery and how it will be used in the modern world. The consequences of one’s work can be one that propels the world forward or on the contrary, can cause negative outcomes. Whichever way, the scientist must take ownership of what his/her discovery has brought to the modern world. Throughout the years there have been many unorthodox experiments conducted by scientists. One of which was conducted by John Watson in 1920 at the John Hopkins University. The Little Albert experiment was conducted on a nine-month-old boy to further test behaviorism. Every time Albert saw a rat, Watson made a “loud noise by hitting a metal pipe with a hammer” (Cherry, 2019). This created fear whenever he came across a rat and other similar furry objects. Although this experiment helped Watson study and develop the theory of methodological behaviorism but at what cost? He did not take Albert’s interests and the effects this experiment would have on him into consideration. Instead of taking ownership of Albert and making sure, he was fit to go back into society, he was “unable to attempt to eliminate the boy’s conditioned fear” (Cherry, 2019). Just like Watson, Frankenstein was thrilled and fascinated by natural philosophy and pursued to create the Monster. Once Frankenstein creates the Monster, his curiosity was fulfilled. However, he left the Monster out in the open to live for himself. He says “I … was bound towards him, to assure, as far as was in my power, his happiness and well-being” (Shelley et al. 181). This quote shows how Victor feels responsible for his creation, his wellbeing, and his integration into society. If Frankenstein had done his part, the Monster would have never committed the crimes.

In certain discoveries, the results may cause a discussion based on ethics. This is especially true when a certain finding can alter the natural course of nature. In Frankenstein, Victor tries to play God by disrupting the natural creative process. Frankenstein says “a new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe they’re being to me” (Shelley et al. 37). This quote shows how Victor is aware of what he is doing. He knows he will be disrupting the natural course of nature by creating a new species, but he lets his immaturity? Get to him? Was it right for Victor to want to play God or should he have not meddled with nature? There are certain experiments that raise similar ethical questions. This can be compared to the genetically modified organisms’ debate. Dolly the sheep was the “first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell” (The Roslin Institute, 2014). The experiment was successful and Dolly lived until she was 6 years old. Since Dolly, other animals such as “cats, rabbits, horses, donkeys, pigs, goats and cattle” (The Roslin Institute, 2014) have been cloned as well. However, scientists still do not have the rights to experiment with humans. The advances of cloning technology are used to improve DNA structures, many people do not consider this to be natural. Some believe that playing with genes will make the cloned humans lose their individuality (Manninen). There are concerns that “they would be treated in undignified ways by their creators, or that they would be damaged by society’s expectations that they should be more like those from whom they were cloned” (Manninen). These concerns were confirmed in Frankenstein when he says “I had desired it with an ardor that far exceeded moderation … I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep” (Shelley et al. 42). Frankenstein did not want any connection back to his creation, he was mortified by what he created and wanted to destroy the Monster. Due to this, human cloning is banned in many countries.

Before starting any experiment, the scientist must assess the steps involved in an experiment to see if it is worth the cost, time, and effort. The scientist must determine the costs, and see if the end result is worth the expense. The scientist must consider the time it will take and if it is a reasonable time to be working on a project. Finally, it takes the scientist’s effort and also the people around him. Frankenstein’s experiment comes as an inconvenience to many people around him. He only thought about himself and his curiosity which ultimately led to the destruction of his family. If Frankenstein analyzed the purpose of his experiment and asked questions such as ‘how would this creation integrate into the society? Would he be accepted and fit in? And is there a threat to the people around him?’, then maybe Frankenstein would not have gone ahead with his curiosity. From 1970 to 1994, Russia invested in the Kola Superdeep Borehole experiment, to see “what was going on in the Earth’s crust” (Andrei, 2018). Despite the scientists’ curiosity, the experiment was closed due to the lack of funding. Imagine, what would have happened if they kept digging, how would have this affected the surrounding area and population?

Scientists today are better at evaluating the moral and ethical concerns that are involved within an experiment. Science experiments are essential to moving forward in invention and discovery. However, scientists should always evaluate the risks of the results and the risks towards their society. Without the proper regulations in place, there would be replicas of Frankenstein’s creations walking amongst us. Frankenstein created the Monster out of his desire for natural philosophy, however, he does not take ownership of the creature. It is the scientists’ duty to ensure the experiments they conduct are ethical and serve a purpose.

Works Cited:

1. Andrei, Mihai. “Kola Superdeep Borehole – Deepest Hole in the World.” ZME Science, 24 July 2018, 12:07, www.zmescience.com/science/geology/worlds-deepest-hole-lies- beneath-rusty-metal-cap-kola-superdeep-borehole/.
2. Cherry, Kendra. “What Was the Little Albert Experiment?” Verywell Mind, Verywellmind, 14 Mar. 2019, www.verywellmind.com/the-little-albert-experiment-2794994.
3. Manninen, Bertha Alvarez. “Cloning.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/cloning/.
4. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, et al. Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds. The MIT Press, 2017.
5. The Roslin Institute. “Cloning Dolly the Sheep.” Animal Research, 3 Nov. 2014, 17:27, www.animalresearch.info/en/medical-advances/timeline/cloning-dolly-the-sheep/.

Electronics became a part of many lives since the 1980s, the goal was to create a new companionship. That new connection was human and machines, computers created by Apple during the 1980s, and improvements to browse the internet. Improvements were made and progressions aimed to bring machines closer to humans. The problem was how to fit this smart device into our daily lives, and that question by many computer engineers forever changed humans. That breakthrough led to a new world, one with options and abilities to keep anyone busy throughout the day. Which lead me to this experiment to test the boundaries of the human and machine companionship. I have a special connection with smart devices. Computers, cell phones, other consoles became part of my life, like many others that have the ability to use them. My life involves a smart device by my side throughout the day and ending my day with it. The world is currently being built on the foundation of learning the different capabilities of improving smart devices to the next level. I will say before I set four nights for this experiment, I had to find a special time frame that fits into our current lifestyle. I decided to do this experiment during spring break, because it offered me the best chance to do a continuous six or so hours of detoxation. To test my connection to the smart devices. How will I see time differently, and things to do when the internet is out of the picture.

Moving to March 2nd, I decided to start on Saturday and felt it was a good time to start this experiment after the midterms. A time to clear my head and spend some time away from the rest of the world. I started the experiment at 5 PM each day and ended at midnight. This time frame is usually when the outside world starts to slow down and reset for the next day. The remainder of the day would be a huge test, because the other world that was once part of my lifestyle is now on hold. The biggest obstacle was time, how can I make it to my bedtime without touching any smart devices. Time became an afterthought with smart devices, because the connection to the internet allowed distractions. One distraction lead to another shaving off time, and by the time one is done, hours passed by. To combat time, I had some goals set for spring break. I wanted to get back into lifting, an interest I had but slowly faded. This experiment allowed me to push myself back into lifting weights. I had dumbbells and weights laying around for months. Since I started this experiment at 5 PM, I was able to get back into a dedicated schedule for lifting. I would get ready at 5 PM, do my stretches and proceed to lifting. Another discovery I made during this time was where I observed time. I barely use clocks these days that hang on walls, and those tools became one of my close friends during this experiment. I would spend close to 3 hours working out at home. Time went by but I felt there was a different sensation of time, the day felt longer. There was an appreciation for time, because I was able to value the time lost spent browsing the internet. Another thing I wanted to try during this experiment was mediating and spending some time to think about life. I spent the rest of the day relaxing on the couch. Some thoughts included how much human and machine companionship changed the world. How smart devices created new lifestyles, and systems built around it. How simple functions allow us to view life in a different way. How smart devices pretty much stay connected to us, waking up and going to sleep with it being next to us. Although these smart devices changed many lives, but it allowed better communications from one land to another. Ability to solve hard problems with the ease of typing some words on a machine that fits in a pocket. I went to sleep earlier that night around 11 PM. There was a study on blue lights emitted from smart devices like computers and cellphones. Those blue lights travel differently and send different wave signals to human brains, suppressing the message to fall asleep at a set time. I was able to see different side effects from using smart devices.

From March 3rd to 5th I followed the same routine, but there was a different feeling starting on the 3rd of March. Normally I start this experiment at 5 PM, so before that time I would use the smart devices to do some work that required them. What I experienced the next day when I woke up at 7 AM, was the catch up syndrome. That was the first time I touched my phone in about 14 hours. I had to catch up and check through all the notifications sent to me during the daily 7 hour breaks from smart devices. There was a sense of joy that I can use my smart devices before my set time for the experiment. I was able to see two different sides, one where I was trying to pass time but time goes by in a different way when I would use smart devices. I did not dread for the clock to hit the next hour. I was able to appreciate the ability to use smart devices. I was able to see why people had problems letting go of their computers or cell phones. The problem was that the current generation are being taught to use these smart devices and depend on them. This causes a problem and it is not easy to sever that relationship. Companies spent large sums of money to show that people need these devices. These devices are becoming part of school lifestyles. Before I graduated high school, the school was slowly phasing it iPads to all the classes. My graduating class missed out on the personal iPad that year, but systems are being installed in classrooms. Older methods of educating students are changing, personal devices are being loaned to students in certain schools and smart boards are slowly becoming the norm. Steve Jobs created the iPhone in 2007, his goal was to introduce the best convenient human tool. From the time I would spend on my devices, and then the remainder of the day without them. I can see why people see the human and machine relationship as a problem. People are growing up with these smart devices. The machines slowly attaches to our different lifestyles, becoming part of us. At this current time many lives revolve around the use the use of the different smart devices. The feeling of being overly attached to objects can be a problem to people who can’t balance certain lifestyles.

Reflecting back on this experiment, I would agree smart devices impact human identities. Those smart devices bring out the different sides of humans. Sometimes it can make a person happy and other times angry. I felt lost at times during the experiment, because my cell phone became a part of me. A part of my lifestyle over many years building that human and machine relationship. That special relationship is hard to sever, because societies are spending years to introduce people to those technology. My life depends on those smart devices, similarly the devices depend on me to use them. Humans learned to co-exist with the smart devices. There might be some negatives in that relationship between humans and machines, but technology created unmatched opportunities. Many abilities that were once a dream became a reality. The amount of power from the smart devices left an impactful imprint. I don’t believe there is an addiction problem. The goal of this type of technology was to open a new unique lifestyle for humans. I would say this is a special current technological culture, that only a selective amount of people can understand.

Part 1 :Introduction

Problem statement:

Students will be able to investigate the effects of distilled water and different concentrations of sugar solutions on the length of potato chips.

Hypothesis:

If the solution that the potato chip will be in has a high concentration of water, then the potato chip will increase in size/length. If the solution that the potato will be in has a low concentration of water, then the potato chip will decrease in size/length.

Explaining the hypothesis:

The process of osmosis states that molecules move from a higher concentration to a lower concentration. Because of this, when the solution has a high concentration of water, the molecules in the solution will move to the potato chip, which has a low concentration of water, increasing its size. However, when the solution has a low concentration of water, the molecules in the potato chip move to the solution, which has the lowest concentration of water, decreasing its size.

Dependent Variable:

Change in length of the potato chips.

Independent Variable:

The solution the potato chips are placed in.

Controlled variables:

1. The length of the potato chips used.
2. The amount of solution the potato chips were placed in.
3. The temperature of the room.
4. The test tubes where the solutions were poured.

Equipment:

1. Cork Borer.
2. Potato.
3. Dropper.
4. Three test tubes.
5. Whiteboard marker.
6. Knife or other sharp objects.
7. Tweezers or toothpicks.

Procedure:

1. Use the cork borer to cut three pieces of the potato.
2. Cut each piece of the potato chip using a knife to the same size.
3. Record the length of the potato chips in the table in your lab report.
4. Fill the three test tubes with: Distilled water, weak sugar solution, and strong sugar solution.
5. Prepare a timer for 15 minutes on your Chromebook or watch.
6. Drop each potato chip into a different test tube at the same time.
7. Start the timer as soon as the potato chips are dropped into the test tubes.
8. Wait 15 minutes.
9. Take the potato chips out of the test tubes using tweezers or toothpicks and place them on a clean surface.
10. Measure the length of each potato chip and record it in your table in your lab report.
11. Dispose of the potato chips and the solutions in a clean and orderly manner.

Part 2 : Data Collection and Data Processing

Data Collection:

• Test tube
• Liquid in test tube
• Original length of potato chip (cm)
• Final length of potato chip (cm)
• Change in length of potato chip (- or + cm)

A

Distilled water (10mL)

• 3.5cm
• 3.7cm
• +0.2cm

B

Weak sugar solution (10mL)

• 3.5cm
• 3.5cm
• 0cm

C

Strong sugar solution (10mL)

• 3.5cm
• 3.1cm
• -0.4cm

Draw column graph showing type liquid in the test tube on the x-axis via the change in length of potato chip (cm ) on the y-axis.

Part 3 : Conclusion and Evaluation

Q1: Which chip has increased in size? Explain what has happened.

A1: The potato chip that was placed in distilled water has increased in size. Using the process of osmosis, we can explain why this happens. In simple terms, according to the GCSE 5th edition biology book, “Osmosis is the movement of water molecules from an area of high water concentration to an area of low water concentration across a partially permeable membrane”. In this experiment, when the chip was placed in distilled water, the solution had a higher water concentration than the chip, which caused osmosis to take place. Water molecules from the solution passed through the partially permeable membrane of the potato into the chip, causing the chip to increase in size. The greater the number of molecules in an object, the larger its size will be. It’s important to note that the process of osmosis is known as a special kind of diffusion, which is why both these processes are quite similar.

Q2: Which chip has decreased in size? Explain what has happened.

A2: The potato chip that was placed in a strong sugar solution has increased in size. Using the process of osmosis, we can explain why this happens. In this experiment, when the chip was placed in a strong sugar solution, the solution had a lower water concentration than the chip, which caused osmosis to take place. Water molecules from the potato chip passed through the partially permeable membrane and into the strong sugar solution, causing the chip to decrease in size. The fewer the number of molecules in an object, the smaller its size will be. Osmosis is extremely similar to diffusion as it is known as a special kind of diffusion.

Q3: Feel the chip from test-tube A. Why does it feel firm?

A3: When the chip was placed in distilled water for 15 minutes, it felt firm, compared to the other chips, and this is due to osmosis. As water molecules exited the solution and entered the potato chip, the chip increased in size, due to it having more molecules. The chip felt turgid and firm because there wasn’t much space between the molecules due to the high amount of them entering the chip, which caused the chip to be cramped and restricted.

Q4: Feel the chip from test-tube C. Does it feel limp?

A4: When the chip was placed in a strong sugar solution for 15 minutes, it felt limp, compared to the other chips, and this is due to osmosis. As water molecules exited the potato chip and exited the strong sugar solution, the chip decreased in size, due to it having less molecules. The chip felt flaccid and limp because there was a lot of space between the molecules due to the high amount of them exiting the chip, which caused the chip to be unrestricted and roomy.

Q5: If a chip has not changed in length, what does this tell you about the liquid in the test-tube and the liquid in the potato cells?

A5: The chip that was placed in a weak sugar solution did not change in length. Using the process of osmosis, we can explain why this happens. If a chip does not change in length, it means that the potato chip and the weak sugar solution have, more or less, the same water concentration, causing them to not go through the process of osmosis. When the solution and the chip have the same water concentration, no water molecules travel from one place to another, as there is no specific high or low concentration in this experiment. This is why the chip did not feel any different than when we began the experiment and when we ended the experiment, and why the chip didn’t decrease or increase in size.

Q6: Conclusion and evaluation.

A6: In conclusion, when a potato chip is placed in a solution with high water concentration, it will increase in size. When a potato chip is placed in a solution with low water concentration, it will decrease in size. After completing the experiment and evaluating my results, my hypothesis turned out to be correct, as I mentioned the effects of solutions with different water concentrations on the length and size of the potato chips. As I mentioned previously, the potato chip increases or decreases in length all because of the process of osmosis, a special type of diffusion.

Q7: What are the weaknesses and the sources of error in this experiment? Discuss.

A7: After completing the experiment, I believe that there are some weaknesses and errors that took place. Firstly, my group used a ruler to measure the length of the potato chip, which is not a precise way of measuring due to human error. In addition, my group used a dropper to measure the amount of solution, which is also not an exact way of measuring due to human error. Lastly, because our class only had one period in the lab, we were not able to do the experiment more than once to confirm our results.

Q8: Suggest improvements to this experiment.

A8: After completing the experiment, I believe that there are some weaknesses that my group could improve with time and the correct tools. Firstly, my group could have used a more precise way of measuring the length of the potato chip, as well as measuring the amount of solution, as a ruler and a dropper is not the most accurate way of measurement, due to human error. My group could also improve this experiment if we had more time to repeat the experiment and have more trials, to confirm our results and evaluate our experience correctly.

Q9: Discuss the validity of this method.

A9: After completing the experiment, as well as reflecting on it in my lab report, I believe that the method that my group and I used was valid. The potato chip method has been used in many schools all around the world as it is a very simple experiment where students can clearly see the effects of osmosis. Overall, this experiment is very clear and direct, which is why it is valid and why our school used it.

Introduction

Homeostasis relies on the capability of the human body to discover and resist all changes. Homeostasis is the ability to maintain a relatively stable internal state that persists despite changes in the world outside (Lanese.N, 2019). All living things from seeds to animals to human, must adjust to their inside condition to handle energy and eventually exist. If your body temperature or blood pressure descends, for example, your organ systems may fight to do their work and finally breaks down. In further explanation, Lanese (2019) says that humans confided on homeostasis to hold their core temperature float around 98.6 degrees, which means human bodies can maintain correct action. When superheat, thermos sensor inside the skin and brain noise an alert begins linkage response that instructs the body to sweat and blush. In case, when people exercise, your flesh raise heat production, approach body temperature higher. Likewise, when people have a bowl of dessert, the blood dextrose climb. Your respiratory rate during exercise increases to make sure you are getting enough oxygen as your muscles, lungs, and heart all work together to move your body (Bjerke.V.A). Physical training assists maintain people health by build-up people flesh and heart beat quicker. Bjerke (2019) explained that this task in relation with a raised heart rate to draw out the blood and the liberate of the motivating hormone. During exercise, your heart rate increases to maintain a state of balance, known as homeostasis (Lights.V 2019). When heart rate is raised, oxygen is supplied quicker inside body. While heart rate increases, blood is adopting away from tissues and oxygen supply to the lungs. According to Lights (2019), your cardiovascular system retain homeostasis between the supply of oxygen and nutrients and the resection of cellular consumption by raising your heart rate. However, it is hypothesized that the heart rate and breathing rate will be increased by exercise, and the experiment has been performed to discover the results.

Method

Materials

1. Timer
2. Excel result sheet

Sequence

Participants were split into team involve one person in each group. Each participant statistics their breathing rate and heart rate per minute while resting. This result was mentioned for a second time after an interaction of three minutes and the inventions were noted in an Excel result sheet. Furthermore, each participant exercised for two minutes then breathing rate and heart rate were count soon after the exercise. Afterwards a break stage of eight to ten minutes permits them to normalize the breathing rate and heart rate, all participants starts the second round of exercise for two minutes. As early as the participator completed the exercise, the measurements of breathing rate and heart rate were assumed once again. All these results were going into the Excel results sheet and the mean of each participator’s breathing rate and heart rate were counted to show the mean whole resting and after exercise.

Results

Graph 1: Breathing Rate

Kelly had a higher breathing rate after exercise than the breathing rate while resting.

Graph 2: Heart Rate

After exercise, Kelly had a higher heart rate than the heart rate while resting.

Discussion

Kelly had 11 resting breaths per minute which was considered abnormal. From this bit is evident that the normal respiration rate for an adult while resting is 12 to 20 breaths per minute. On the other hand, Kelly had 71.5 beats per minute in heart rate while resting which is considered normal. From this part is found that a normal resting heart rate for an adult is between 60 to 100 beats per minute. Compared to people breathing rate and heart rate after two minutes of exercise, everyone would increase breathing rate and heart rate to make sure that more oxygen is absorbed into the blood, and more carbon dioxide is removed from it. Kelly increased 7.5 beats in heart rate and 18 breaths in breathing rate which is considered normal.

From the experiment, students would affect some mistakes while counting their breathing rate and heart rate. For example, after two minutes of exercise students could not count both of breathing rate and heart rate in the same time which means students might not get the correct results at last.

References

1. Lanese.N, 2019, What is homeostasis, LiveScience, retrieved Apr 10 2020, < https://www.livescience.com/65938-homeostasis.html>
2. Bjerke. V.A, 2019, Why Does Your Breathing Rate Increase During Exercise, LIVESTRONG.COM, retrieved Apr 10 2020, < https://www.livestrong.com/article/480961-the-effect-of-exercise-on-homeostasis/>
3. Lights. V, 2019, Increased Heart Rate During Exercise & Maintaining Homeostasis, LIVESTRONG.COM, retrieved Apr 10 2020, < https://www.livestrong.com/article/286312-increased-heart-rate-during-exercise-maintaining-homeostasis/>