Conditioning and Learning Essay Example for Free

Conditioning and Learning Essay Learning, acquiring knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors. It is common to think of learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, and people continue to learn throughout their lives. (Gregory, 1961) Conditioning is the term used to designate the types of human behavioral learning. Since the 1920s, conditioning has been the primary focus of behavior research in humans as well as animals. There are four main types of conditioning: ? Classical Conditioning ?Operant Conditioning ?Multiple-Response Learning ?Insight Learning. Conditioning and Learning 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning, also called associative learning, is based on stimulus-response relationships. A stimulus is an object or situation that elicits a response by one of our sense organs, like how a bright light makes us blink. Associative learning allows us to associate two or more stimuli and change our response to one or more of them as a result of simultaneous experience. (Moore, 2002) According to classical conditioning, learning occurs when a new stimulus begins to elicit behavior similar to the behavior produced by an old stimulus. Studies into classical condition began in the early 1900s by the Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov. (Klein, 1998) Pavlov trained dogs to salivate in response to two stimuli: noise or light, and food or a sour solution. The dogs salivation is automatically elicited by the food and sour solution, so these were called the unconditional stimulus. However, when the noise or light (conditional stimulus) was repeatedly paired with the food or sour solution over an extended period of time, the dogs would eventually salivate at the noise or light alone. This is a prime example of a conditioned response. Unconditional stimuli, such as the food and sour solution, allow the learning to occur, while also serving to reinforce the learning. Without an unconditional stimulus in his experiment, Pavlov could not have taught the dogs to salivate at the presence of the noise or light. Conditioning and Learning 3 Classical conditioning is particularly important in understanding how people learn emotional behavior. For example, when we develop a new fear, we have learned to fear a particular stimulus, which has been combined with another frightening stimulus. Operant Conditioning. Operant conditioning is goal-directed behavior. We learn to perform a particular response as a result of what we know will happen after we respond. (Blackman, 1975) For example, a child may learn to beg for sweets if the begging is usually successful. There is no single stimulus that elicits the begging behavior, but instead it occurs because the child knows that this action may result in receiving treats. Every time the child receives sweets after begging, the behavior is reinforced and the tendency of the child to beg will increase. During the 1930s, American psychologist and behaviorist Burrhus F.Skinner performed several important experiments into operant conditioning. Using what is now termed a Skinner Box, he trained rats to press levers to receive food. A hungry rat would be placed in a box containing a special lever attached to concealed food. At first the hungry rat would wander around the box, investigating its surroundings. Eventually it would accidentally press the lever thereby releasing a food pellet into the box. At first the rat would not show any signs of associating the two events, but over time its exploring behavior becomes less random as it begins to press the lever more Conditioning and Learning 4Â  often. The food pellet reinforced the rats response of pressing the lever, so eventually the rat would spend most of its time just sitting and pressing the lever. This type of learning is based on the idea that if a behavior is rewarded, the behavior will occur more frequently. There are four main types of operant learning: Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Punishment and Omission Training. Observational Learning When we learn skills, we must first learn a sequence of simple movement-patterns. We combine these movement-patterns to form new, more complicated behavioral patterns with stimuli guiding the process. (Domjan, 1995) For example, efficient typing requires us to put together many finger movements, which are guided by the letters or words that we want to type. We must first learn to type each letter, and then learn to put the movements together to type words and then phrases. To investigate this type of learning, psychologists have observed animals learning to run through mazes. An animal first wanders aimlessly through the maze, periodically coming to a choice-point, where it must turn either left or right. Only one choice is correct, but the correct direction cannot be determined until the animal has reached the end of the maze. By running through the maze numerous times, the animal can learn the correct sequence of turns to reach the end. It has been found that the sequences of turns near the Conditioning and Learning 5 Two ends of the maze are learned more easily than the parts near the middle. Similarly, when we try to learn a list of items, we usually find the beginning and the end easier than the middle. Insight Learning Insight refers to learning to solve a problem by understanding the relationships of various parts of the problem. Often insight occurs suddenly, such as when a person struggles with a problem for a period of time and then suddenly understands its solution. Therefore insight learning is solving problems without experience. Instead of learning by trial-and-error, insight learning involves trials occurring mentally. In the early 1900s, Wolfgang Kohler performed insight experiments on chimpanzees. Kohler showed that the chimpanzees sometimes used insight instead of trial-and-error responses to solve problems. When a banana was placed high out of reach, the animals discovered that they could stack boxes on top of each other to reach it. (Schwartz, 1983) They also realized that they could use sticks to knock the banana down. In another experiment, a chimp balanced a stick on end under a bunch of bananas suspended from the ceiling, then quickly climbed the stick to obtain the entire bunch intact and unbruised (a better technique than the researchers themselves had in mind). Kohlers experiments showed that primates can both see and use the relationships involved to reach their goals. Conditioning and Learning 6 CONCLUSION There are many differences and similarities between each of these learning processes. For example, classical conditioning involves only involuntary or reflex responses where as operant conditioning involves both involuntary and voluntary reflexes. These diverse learning processes can be used independently in many different situations. Where classical conditioning may be extremely effective in one situation it might be ineffective in another. For this reason each of these learning processes, classical and operant conditioning and observational and insight learning are each as important and effective as the other. Conditioning and Learning 7 References. Kimble, Gregory: (1961) Conditioning and Learning, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. John W Moore: (2002) A Neuroscientists Guide to Classical Conditioning. Stephen B. Klein: (1998) Contemporary Learning Theories: Pavlovian Conditioning and the Status of Traditional Learning Theory, Chap. 5 (Perceptual and Associative Learning). Derek E. Blackman: (1975) Operant Conditioning: Experimental Analysis of Behaviour (Manual of Modern Psychology). Michael Domjan: (1995) The Essentials of Conditioning and Learning. Tighe, Schwartz: (1983) Modern Learning Theory, Psychology of Learning and Behavior 2nd edition.

A Remote Desktop Application For Android

A Remote Desktop Application For Android The aim of this project is to develop a simple-to-use remote desktop application which enables users to remote view contents of their desktop and view, create, edit and delete files and folders remotely. The application runs on a portable device (such as a cell-phone or tablet) which fully supports the Android mobile platform and is equipped with features like WiFi, touchscreen, document editor etc. An important goal of this endeavour is to keep the application user-friendly and easy-to-use. The application uses the same protocol as Microsoft Windows for file sharing. Thus, implementing and using the application in a domain environment where each user has access to specific files and folders makes sense. This also enables true mobility and control over the user-account in a university or office setting. In conclusion, the application works perfectly when the target remote machine is in the same network as the mobile device. For accessing a domain share, the device needs to be connected to the domain via VPN (Virtual Private Network). The application is expected to work in the same fashion with a VPN like it does over an actual network. Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation In computing, the term remote desktop refers to software or an operating system characteristic which allows applications, often including graphical applications, to be run remotely on a server while being displayed locally (1). In practise, the term remote desktop has a very broad meaning which could pertain to any of the specific uses of this feature. Also, each implementation of programs that enable remote access is different as the services provided by each of them vary. Applications of remote desktop are numerous and depend on the setting in which it is used. An important use is in the domain environment where a central server machine (or group of servers) controls all the other clients that are connected to it. In such a situation, certain programs which need a lot of resources are run on the server and are accessed by the client computers via remote sharing. This approach eliminates the need for multiple licenses or expensive client machines. Network administrators can also use remote desktop to maintain and when required, troubleshoot a remote client machine. This reduces the need for a large number of technical support staff (2). Remote desktop also serves as a handy utility for the end-user. It allows an employee to work from home by making available the same set of software and settings which are provided at office. A student can access all their important files and documents stored at the university computer without being physically present anywhere near the campus. A novice user can get help with installation of particular software remotely from an expert (3). To use remote desktop, one needs specialised software. Though there are a plethora of remote desktop clients available for the desktop on all major operating systems, the options for mobile platforms are quite scarce. This is majorly due to a variety of operating systems in use and restricted resources available in mobile devices. In addition to it, the few usable solutions are either quite expensive or are no longer supported. This prompted me to take up the challenge of developing a practical, easy-to-use remote desktop application for the ultra-portable platform which needs no technical know-how to setup and run. Chapter 2 Literature Survey 2.1 The Android Platform Today, there exist a number of operating platforms for mobile devices. A majority of them are proprietary and are adopted by a handful of device manufacturers. Thus, developing for such platforms would provide little in way of commercial value to the application. Also, it will be available to only a small section of smartphone users. Porting the app to other mobile platforms is also not an alternative as this would require drastic changes in its code which would require additional man hours. An exception to the above mentioned problem is the Android platform for mobile devices. Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware  [1]  and key applications (4). Android was originated by a group of companies known as the Open Handset Alliance, led by Google. Today, many more companies which involve cellular service providers, OEMs and developers have invested in Android and have adopted it for their products (5). As can be seen from the following figure, the architecture of the platform is no different from traditional PC architectures. Figure 1: The Android Architecture (Source: Wikimedia Commons) The lowest layer of the architecture consists of the Linux kernel which has all the drivers needed to communicate with the hardware. This layer is also called the Hardware abstraction layer. The layer above it has android core libraries written in C/C++. It also has the Dalvik virtual Machine which provides inter-process abstraction. On top of the libraries is the API  [2]  layer which enables component re-use and better application design. The topmost layer has all core applications which ship with the OS. An important attribute of the Android platform is that it is open-source. Thus, its source code is freely available which enables developers to use readily available APIs for developing robust applications quickly. Also, as the system requirements of Android are quite less, it is suitable for mid-range to ultra-high-end devices. As a result, Android can be seen in mobile phones, e-readers, PDAs and even netbooks (6). There is also an active developers community for Android which provides support via e-mail and web forums. Thus, it is not hard to see why Android provides an ideal platform for application development. Figure 2: A typical home-screen for Android devices (Source: developers.android.com) The screenshot above shows a home screen of an android device. This device is a mobile phone and thus has applications such as contacts, phone and messaging on the home screen. A variety of tablet computers, electronic book readers and netbook computers also use android and have icons relevant apps on the home screen. The white bar on the top is the notification bar which works the same way as the notification area in Microsoft windows. It displays battery level, signal strength, time and current network connection. 2.2 Android Application basics Applications for the android platform are written in the JAVA programming language. For deploying an application to a device, the java code is first compiled and then bundled into an android package which is in the .apk format. The latter operation is done by the Android Asset Packaging Tool or aapt. In Android, every application runs in its own Linux process. Android starts the process when any of the applications code needs to be executed, and shuts down the process when its no longer needed and system resources are required by other applications. Each process has its own virtual machine (VM), so application code runs in isolation from the code of all other applications. No other application is aware about the existence of the other. By default, each application is assigned a unique Linux user ID. Permissions are set so that the applications files are visible only to that user and only to the application itself. 2.3 Application components A unique feature of the android platform is that each application can use a feature provided by some other application without having to actually implement it. This encourages code-reuse and saves precious man hours spent in development. Unlike applications on most other systems, Android applications dont have a single entry point for everything in the application (no main() function, for example). Rather, they have essential components that the system can instantiate and run as needed. There are four types of components: 2.3.1 Activities An activity is a visual representation for any task that application intends to fulfil. For example, an activity could be a list of images in a gallery, a menu with settings for the user or a phonebook with contacts. An activity can spawn another activity whenever an event occurs. In the phonebook activity, when a user clicks on a contact, another activity is created which allows the user to either call or send a text message to that contact. Each activity has a view associated with it. This view provides visual elements such as text fields, buttons, checkboxes etc. These elements might have some listeners associated with them which trigger an action when interacted with. 2.3.2 Services A service might not be visible to a user but it runs indefinitely in the background and could be used by an activity. For example, a service might play background music as the user attends to other matters, or it might fetch data over the network or calculate something and provide the result to activities that need it. A prime example is a media player playing songs from a play list. The player application would probably have one or more activities that allow the user to choose songs and start playing them. However, the music playback itself would not be handled by an activity because users will expect the music to keep playing even after they leave the player and begin something different. To keep the music going, the media player activity could start a service to run in the background. The system would then keep the music playback service running even after the activity that started it leaves the screen. Like activities and the other components, services run in the main thread of the application process. So that they wont block other components or the user interface, they often spawn another thread for time-consuming tasks (like music playback). 2.3.4 Broadcast receivers A broadcast receiver is a component that does nothing but receives and reacts to broadcast announcements. These announcements can be anything that are meant to inform user about occurrence of an event such as email arrival, low battery indication, change of track in the music player and so on. Applications can also initiate broadcasts for example, to let other applications know that some data has been downloaded to the device and is available for them to use. An application can have any number of broadcast receivers to respond to any announcements it considers important. Broadcast receivers do not display a user interface. However, they may start an activity in response to the information they receive, or they may use the Notification Manager to alert the user. Notifications can get the users attention in various ways flashing the backlight, vibrating the device, playing a sound, and so on. They typically place a persistent icon in the status bar, which users can open to get the message. 2.3.5 Content providers A content provider makes a specific set of the applications data available to other applications. They basically provide for interprocess communication. The content provider extends the ContentProvider base class to implement a standard set of methods that enable other applications to retrieve and store data of the type it controls. However, applications do not call these methods directly. Rather they use a ContentResolver object and call its methods instead. A ContentResolver can talk to any content provider to manage communication with processes. Whenever theres a request that should be handled by a particular component, Android makes sure that the application process of the component is running, starting it if necessary, and that an appropriate instance of the component is available, creating the instance if it is necessary. 2.4 A typical Android project directory structure Figure 1 shows the directory structure of an android project named filegetter. Here, the first folder src holds the java source files for the project. These files contain actual java code which is written by the developers. In this case, the source files are held in a package named hardik.test.browse. The package helps to keep the source files together allowing easy access to data and variable within the project. Figure 3: Directory structure of an Android project The next folder is gen which consists of auto generated java files. These files are generated when the project is build/compiled. Information about variables, strings and layouts are stored in these files. Android 1.6 is the build of the android platform against which the application is being created. This is important as each build has some special classes which may not be present in an earlier one. Referenced Libraries consists of list of all third party or external libraries used for our project. In our case, it will consist of the JCIFS library (explained later). The assests folder in generally unused and it may hold required files if needed. The res folder has drawable, layout and values subfolders. Drawable consists of icons and other graphical elements of the application and is divided into three subfolders according to resolution of target device. The layout folder holds .xml layout files which decide elements like button, text box, list etc. for the application. The values folder is used for providing id for different components of the application. The AndroidManifest.xml is an important element of an android project. In this file, all the activities and services of the application are described. Other elements such as application permissions for the application are also described. Finally, the default.properties file has an entry for the build of target devices for which the application is being developed. 2.5 Android in the Market According to a May report by market research group NDP, the Android operating system performed quite well in the first quarter (Q1) of 2010, moving past Apple to take the number-two position among smartphone operating systems. NPDs wireless market research reveals that based on unit sales to consumers last quarter the Android operating system moved into second position at 28% behind Research In Motions Blackberry OS (36%) and ahead of Apples OS (21%) (7). These figures indicate a rise in popularity in the android platform. Also a large range of available handsets means that consumers will be able to choose according to their needs and budgets. This increase in market share also means that more developers will be willing to develop for Android making it a competitive, mainstream product. 2.6 Remote Desktop Implementation Currently, there exist a variety of applications for PC which use either proprietary or generic/open-source protocols for remote desktop implementation. All of these applications are based on the server-client model where the server side of the software operates on the target machine and the client application is run on the remote host. Either of the machines may function as client or server provided both of them are equipped with required software. Figure 4: Implementation of a traditional client-server model (Source: acm.org) Various protocols can be used for remote access. Each of these provides a specific set of functionalities that may be common to another protocol or unique to that particular protocol. Listed below are some of the protocols used for remote access and file sharing. These are widely used in several desktop clients in the market today. 2.6.1 RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) It is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft which provides remote display and input capabilities over network connections for windows-based applications running on a server (8). The RDP is encapsulated within the TCP layer and uses separate virtual channels for carrying data, licensing information, encrypted information and so on. All versions of windows after windows XP support Remote Desktop via RDP. But only the professional and ultimate versions come with the Remote Desktop Server program which enables a user to share their screen (9). 2.6.2 RFB (Remote Framebuffer) Protocol RFB is a simple protocol for remote access to graphical user interfaces. Because it works at the framebuffer level it is applicable to all windowing systems and applications, including Linux, Windows and Macintosh. It is primarily used by the VNC (Virtual Network Computing) software and its derivatives. By default, it uses TCP port 5900 for the client and port 5500 for the server (10). 2.6.3 SMB (Server Message Block) The Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol is a network file sharing protocol which allows a client application in a network to read and write files on and request services from the server on the same network. The SMB protocol requires a secure and encrypted authentication method and is thus more secure than other file sharing methods. Microsoft provides an SMB client and server with its Windows operating system. For Linux based systems, a utility called Samba is freely available for using the protocol (11). Chapter 3 Design One of the major hurdles faced in designing a remote access client is to decide upon the protocol to be used. Out of the available ones mentioned before, the RDP and SMB protocols allow screen-capturing of the remote machine onto the client device. This allows the user to interact with the desktop in real-time. Both these protocols have been implemented successfully in a variety of programs for all three popular (Windows, Mac OS and Linux) desktop platforms. Upon deciding the project, the intent was to use one of these protocols for the application. But the following difficulties were experienced during the development phase. 3.1 RDP and RFB Implementation issues 3.1.1 Absence of library classes While implementing either RDP or RFB, one can use the Robot class present in Java which can mimic the mouse, simulate keyboard interactions and capture the screen of a remote host over the network (12). This class is unfortunately absent in android and thus cannot be used. This makes it difficult to perform the above mentioned functions in android as no alternative classes exist. Current RFB and RDP implementations on Android have made use of similar projects on the desktop environment by forking  [3]  the source code from these projects. These existing projects use external libraries without proper documentation and at times are written in a non-java programming language. Thus, comprehending the original code and then forking it would take a lot more time than the projects duration. 3.1.2 Need for server side installation Both the protocols (RFB and RDP) required a server side program running on the target machine. This program is bundled with server editions of most operating systems but require purchase on all other editions. Also, there may be compatibility issues if the server is running a RDP implementation and the device has a client using the RFB protocol. This will result into failed communication between the server and the client. Due to the aforementioned issues, remote access will be implemented by using the SMB protocol. 3.2 Benefits of the SMB protocol An enhanced version of the SMB called CIFS  [4]  (Common Internet File Sharing) has been in place since Windows 2000 and it provides a host of features when compared to other such protocols (13). 3.2.1 Greater accessibility The SMB protocol for resource sharing has been used by Microsoft for their operating systems since Windows 95. In a domain environment, SMB is used to provide access to relevant resources to every user. In Linux too, a free utility called Samba which uses the SMB protocol, comes with most distributions. Thus, out-of-box functionality can be provided to any client requiring remote access. 3.2.2 Added security CIFS provides flexibility to allow anonymous transfers as well as secure, authenticated access to resources. Policies can also be easily managed and changed whenever required 3.2.3 Support for slow connection Access to shared resources and transfer of resources is also supported on slower connections. Thus, using a 3G or EDGE connection from a device will not be an issue while accessing remote files. 3.2.4 Performance and scalability CIFS servers are highly integrated with the operating system. Thus they function as part of the OS and not third party programs. This guarantees maximum system performance at all times (13). 3.3 SMB Authentication Method Authentication over SMB occurs mainly through the NTLM (NT Lan Manager) that works on systems using windows and on Linux/Unix distributions via the Samba server (14). NTLM is a challenge-response authentication protocol which uses three messages to authenticate a client in a connection oriented environment, and a fourth additional message if integrity is desired (15). The following figure shows exchange of messages between the client and server during authentication. Figure 5: Message sequence to authenticate an SMB session As seen in the above figure, the client negotiates protocol-specific options using the SMB_COM_NEGOTIATE request and the server replies with similar response messages as shown by (1) and (2) respectively. The client then sends an SMB_COM_SESSION_SETUP_ANDX request message. In cases where NTLM authentication is negotiated, within this message an NTLMNEGOTIATE_MESSAGE is embedded. The server responds with an SMB_COM_SESSION_SETUP_ANDX response message within which an NTLM CHALLENGE_MESSAGE is embedded. The message includes an 8-byte random number, called a challenge that the server generates and sends in the ServerChallenge field of the message. The client then extracts the ServerChallenge field from the NTLM CHALLENGE_MESSAGE and sends an NTLM AUTHENTICATE_MESSAGE to the server (embedded in an SMB_COM_SESSION_SETUP_ANDX request message). If the challenge and the response prove that the client knows the users password, the authentication succeeds and the clients security context is now established on the server. To acknowledge this, the server sends a success message embedded in an SMB_COM_SESSION_SETUP_ANDX response message. 3.4 SMB Packet Exchange The following lists an example of a packet exchange between a client and a server via the SMB protocol (16). The client and the server establish a NetBIOS  [5]  connection. The client and server negotiate the Microsoft SMB Protocol dialect. The client logs on to the server. The client connects to a share on the server. The client opens a file on the share. The client reads from the file The connection being full-duplex, file transfer can occur from both ends. Chapter 4 Implementation 4.1 Flowchart In any application, the flow diagram is an important figure that helps one visualize the interactions a user might have with the application and the possible outcomes of these interactions. Figure 6: Flowchart 4.2 UML Use Case diagram Use cases are used to identify and partition system functionality. They separate the system into actors and use cases. Actors represent roles that can are played by users of the system. Those users can be humans, other computers, pieces of hardware, or even other software systems. The only criterion is that they must be external to the part of the system being partitioned into use cases. These actors can interact with the system in a variety of ways which create various outputs. The outputs may be for the users or for other components of the system. Figure 7: Use cases The figure above shows a users interaction with the application. The user can access the Remote resources provided they are logged in to the remote share. Similarly, they can download a file to the local resources only if the file is present in the remote share. Chapter 5 Results 5.1 Experimental Setup For evaluating the results, the application was used on an android handset with Android platform version 2.2. The remote server was a laptop running windows 7. Files and folders were shared using the SMB protocol with mandatory authentication to all shared resources. The target machine and the mobile device were both connected to the same wireless network. 5.2 Application Screenshots Figure 8: On Start-up As seen above, the user is presented with a tabbed view with local file system selected. Different icons are used for various datatypes. Figure 9: Local Photo folder Seen above is the photo folder located on the memory card of the device. The two green arrows on the top represent up and back buttons which are used for navigation. Figure 10: Login screen Login screen on clicking the Remote tab. Figure 11: Unsuccessful login (pop-up appears) Figure 12: Remote download Downloading remote file to memory card on click. Figure 13: Operations on remote file Bibliography 1. Remote Desktop Software. Wikipedia. [Online] [Cited: 25 June 2010.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_desktop_software. 2. Remote desktop. TopBits Tech Community. [Online] [Cited: 25 June 2010.] http://www.topbits.com/remote-desktop.html. 3. 5 Best Remote Desktop and administration application. TechieZone. [Online] [Cited: 25 June 2010.] http://techiezone.in/reviews/5-best-remote-desktop-and-administration-application/. 4. About the Android Open Source Project. Android. [Online] [Cited: 26 June 2010.] http://source.android.com/about/index.html. 5. Philosophy and Goals. Android. [Online] [Cited: 26 June 2010.] http://source.android.com/about/philosophy.html. 6. List of Android Devices. Wikipedia. [Online] [Cited: 26 July 2010.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Android_devices. 7. Android shakes up U.S. smartphone market. NDP. [Online] [Cited: 7 July 2010.] http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100510.html. 8. MSDN Remote Desktop Protocol. MSDN. [Online] [Cited: 4 July 2010.] http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa383015.aspx. 9. Understanding the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Microsoft Support. [Online] [Cited: 5 July 2010.] http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q186607. 10. Richardson, Tristan. The RFB Protocol Version 3.8 (2009-11-24). RealVNC. [Online] [Cited: 10 July 2010.] http://www.realvnc.com/docs/rfbproto.pdf. 11. Server Message Block Protocol. Search Networking. [Online] [Cited: 25 July 2010.] http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci214214,00.html. 12. Java Remote Desktop Administration. The Code Project. [Online] [Cited: 21 July 2010.] http://www.codeproject.com/KB/IP/RemoteAdminJava.aspx. 13. CIFS. Protocol Base. [Online] [Cited: 20 July 2010.] http://www.protocolbase.net/protocols/protocol_CIFS.php. 14. Integrating additional services. Samba.org. [Online] [Cited: 2 August 2010.] http://www.samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-Guide/DomApps.html. 15. Microsoft NTLM. MSDN (Microsoft Developers Network). [Online] [Cited: 5 August 2010.] http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa378749(VS.85).aspx. 16. Microsoft SMB protocol packet exchange scenario. Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN). [Online] [Cited: 10 August 2010.] http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365236(v=VS.85).aspx.

Effect of Violent Video Games on Self-Perception

Effect of Violent Video Games on Self-Perception In their 50th  volume, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology published an article named â€Å"Intense acts of violence during video game play make daily life aggression appear innocuous: A new mechanism why violent video games increase aggression† in which scientists examined the effects of violent video game play on perception of aggression regarding both the actions of one’s self as well as the actions of others, and how these altered perceptions of aggression can then lead to increased aggression in the subjects. In the first experiment the subjects played either a neutral or a violent video game and then were asked to answer questions regarding theoretical aggressive actions taken by the subject or another person. These questions gauged how seriously and how aggressive the subjects considered certain actions, such as shouting or shoving, to be when performed by others or themselves. The second experiment aimed to both reaffirm the findings of the first and further prove that decreased sensitivity to aggressive actions can directly result in an increased level of aggression in the subjects who played violent video games. The subjects again played either a violent or neutral video game, but after the video game, they were asked to decide how much chili sauce another participant would have to consume in a separate experiment. The subjects were told that there was a separate experiment and that the scientist could not choose how much chili to give the subjects in order to prevent bias. The subjects of the original experiment were informed that the subjects of the other, â€Å"fake† study did not like spice, and that they would likely not enjoy the chili. Experiment one proved to be a relative success, but also provided more questions than answers when it was shown that violent video games affect self-perception significantly harder than perception of others. As predicted, subjects who played violent video games rated behaviors as less aggressive than the control group, furthermore playing the violent video game also led to more negative mood scores. Interestingly enough, playing the violent video game did not have a statistically significant impact on the perceived aggression of theoretical actions performed by people other than themselves. In other words, playing violent video games caused subjects to perceive less aggression in their own actions but not in the actions of others. In the second experiment, the hypothesis was again supported as those who had previously played the violent video game chose to administer higher quantities of chili to who they thought were study participants that did not like spice. Essentially it was sho wn that playing a violent video game led to decreased scrutiny regarding the aggressiveness of one’s own actions and as a result led to the subjects subconsciously choosing to cause more discomfort to another person than they might have if they hadn’t played a violent video game. All in all the experiments proved to be a success, the first experiment provided sound reason to believe that playing violent video games leads to a decrease in the self-perceived aggression of our own actions, and the second experiment provided proof that a decrease in self-perceived aggression could translate into an unconscious increase in the aggression of our own actions. It seems that violent video games may have an adverse effect after all, as this study stands as evidence that playing violent video games can influence a person to regard their own aggression with less gravity and in turn act with more aggression towards other, whether they are aware of it or not.

Character Names in Joseph Helers Catch-22 Essay -- Joseph Heler Catch

Character Names in Joseph Heler's Catch-22 Many characters in Joseph Heler’s Catch-22 do not have proper names. Like the Texan, the soldier in white, and the soldier who saw everything twice, Nately’s whore’s kid sister does not have a specific birth name. This namelesnes forces the reader to question her identity, her characteristics, and her role in the work in relation to other characters. As Nately’s whore’s kid sister, she is at least two degres of separation away from a real name, a true identity. The reader is forced to consider this character first in relation to Nately and then as the kid sister of a whore who also lacks a proper name. Every formulation of the kid sister’s identity must be filtered through these other characters. This distance from authentic identity makes her more of an abstraction than a recognizable character. She is described as innocent, dependent, and pre-sexual. These qualities put her in direct contrast with the corupt, immoral, and hedonistic ch aracters that populate the pages of this novel. An examination of her name (or lack thereof), her behavior, and her interactions with and influence upon other characters in this novel show Nately’s whore’s kid sister to be an embodiment of human innocence and hopefu longing for a brighter future. Insight may be gained most easily by breaking her name down into its component parts—kid and sister. â€Å"Kid† is a coloquialism for child. Her behavior is repeatedly described in terms that one would asociate with a child. She is easily appeased with a hug and some chocolate ice cream. Her dependency and ned for atention can be seen in the way she tags along wherever Nately and his whore go and in her eforts to imitate her elders. Repeating what her ... ... and the sense of joy he now feels for living. These feelings are inspired by the kid sister and the innocence and hopefulnes that she represents. In Catch-22, Heler presents the human spirit in conflict with a contradictory world. The institutions that form the basis of society—government, commerce, religion—fail to provide the support neded for the mental, physical, and spiritual health of the species. Nately’s whore’s kid sister can be sen as a personification of the wil to survive. In the kid sister, Heler presents an irepresible, eternal hope for the future of humankind. Despite the ravages of war, abuse, neglect, depravity, and unrestrained capitalism the human soul continues to search for inspiration, for the innocent kid sister, for a way to the imposible shores of Sweden. Works Cited: Heler, Joseph. Catch-22. 1955. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

GIS: A Step Above Essay -- Business Essays

GIS: A Step Above Urban growth in the suburbs and maintaining what is already built is one problem facing the United States today. One difficulty in regional planning is the visualization of the area in question. Finding the problem areas, addressing all the issues involved, and discovering the best way to implement changes can create challenges for those in charge. A technology that is growing to accommodate the various areas of study which helps address these issues is Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Geographical Information Systems is the prime tool for spatial research. GIS at work Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used in a wide variety of businesses across the United States. The program can compile various amounts and types of data into the system’s database. The computer can then use the information to aid in spatially analyzing a specific research topic. Information stored in the GIS database is structured to order the information in separate applications. In a study of an urban street, information about the poverty statistics over the last decade would be saved separate from the literacy percentages. This input data could serve to catalog all the information a homeless shelter would record for the different neighborhoods around it. The computer software of the GIS system is what is used to analyze that data. GIS provides â€Å"an accessible, realistic model of what exists in the real world,† (Martà ­n 2) which allows different types of questions to be addressed. â€Å"Spacial means related to the space around us, in which we live and function.† (Clarke 2) The foundation for the use of GIS is to incorporate the many details of life in one location to describe the unit as a whole. ... ...ilities of GIS makes the program software realiable, accurate, and updatable. 6) Martà ­n, David. Geographic Information Systems: socioeconomic applications. Ed. 2. Routledge: London, 1996. - This book defines GIS by its uses, history, and the principles behind the technology. Its purpose is to explain to newcomers how to use the software. It details recent advances in GIS. 7) Vine, Marilyn F., Darrah Degnan, and Carol Hanchette. Geographic information systems: their use in environmental epidemiologic research. Journal of Environmental Health v. 61 no3 (Oct. ‘98) p. 7-16. - This article shows how GIS allows for researchers to show the relationship between human exposure and inset of the disease. The data from previous technology analysis used with the recent data can be used to show the spatial relationsihp of these elements.

Managemen: a case study of wb engineering limited

The flexible nature of management of small and medium scale firm has made the management style in this structure of organization to be difficult. The structure and the size of resources available to small and medium scale organizations these have jointly constituted a factor that makes the management styles in small firms to be at variance with what is obtainable in large-scale organizations. In the view of Slatter (1992:159) cited Collins & Ram, 2003, â€Å"managing fast growth in entrepreneurial firms is one of the most difficult challenges that exists†. Owners often struggle to balance the flexibility required to keep pace with customers demands, with the stability needed to provide employees with a sense of continuity and security. Hence management essentially comprises a careful balancing act between strong leadership and decentralized task-oriented management; and processes involving organizational cohesion and those promoting individual responsibility (Collins & Ram, 2003). As a small and medium scaled firm expands and begin to transform into a large sized organization there is the need for such transformation to be commensurate to changes in management style that hitherto had being practiced; this need be done so that a lacuna would not be created and a lost of touch and proper control of the expanding resources. There is also the need to be awoken to current trend in our everyday dynamic business environment. The non-adherence to these little but significant facts has rendered many well to do but poorly managed organizations to die a premature death. This write up would be looking at those factors that had imposed the difficulty our case study (WB Engineering Limited) is passing through. WB Engineering Limited is a small firm having the aim to develop into a medium scale firm. The coordination of the firm’s human resource portends an impending difficulty to the moving forward of the firm to its next developmental level. Adrian and Grey are both managers of the small firm. Adrian’s relocation to Spain from US where the business located, kept Grey in a tight corner on how to effectively manage the firm’s resources. The immediate cause of the firm’s problem and recommended solutions on how to curtail this problem would be proffered. CONCEPTUALIZATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ORGANIZATION The term ‘small’ is a relative one it is not absolute. The line separating small from large is in a continuum and an issue that is inevitably arbitrary. According to Odaka & Sawai (1999), â€Å"small business is a generic concept. Being the antonym of big business, its social significance becomes clearer when placed in the historical context where the latter first appeared in the world economy†. Bolton 1971, cited in Bannock (2005), he identified three characteristics in its economic definitions of a small firm: A small market share, that is not large enough to influence national price or qualities (even though a village shop may be the only one, its prices cannot get too far out of line from those of major national retailers in the nearest town, even though people will pay something for local convenience) Managed in a personalized way: the owner actively participates in all aspects of the business unlike in a large firm where the shareholders and management are usually almost entirely separate. Independence or the exercise of ultimate management responsibility. A small subsidiary of a large firm, which has a head office to report to, does not share these characteristics. The above characteristics are usually identified with vast majority of business, which are inherently small in size. The study of small firms revolves around it five major features which include {1} Existence {2} Survival. {3} Success {4} Take-off {5} Resource maturity.   And these are regarded as the five stages in small business growth (Churchill & Lewis, 1983). These five stages go a long way to influence and determine the success that trails the small business historical growth. ADDUCED REASONS LEADING TO THE FALL OF WB ENGINNEERING LIMITED Transition from a small or medium size of business organization to a large entity, it requires the need to restructure the organizational structure and also the organizational strategy should be enhanced to be in tune with the new status the organization is attaining. Managing a fast growing entrepreneurial firm as that of WB Engineering is a onerous task that requires adequate managerial dexterity in balancing the flexibility required to keep pace with customer demands, alongside with the stability needed to provide employees with a sense of continuity and security in the transitional organization. One way of doing this is through a strong leadership in the organization that provides a key role in overcoming the confusion that usually accompanies growth and is necessary to build and maintain the cohesiveness of the organization. According to Collins & Ram (2003), â€Å"management essentially comprises a careful balancing act between strong leadership and decentralized task- oriented management; and processes involving organizational cohesion and those promoting individual responsibility†. Looking at the case study, WB Engineering Limited had missed the mark in a cohesive management of its expanding business and the leadership style adopted had being one of a centralized and undemocratic. The WB Engineering organization started well as a small entrepreneurial firm that adequately managed its resources and put in that individual- centralized managerial skill required at this stage of the business. But as the organization expands and transforms into a conglomerate status; integrating on a vertical level and diversification of resources and operations level, it then requires that at this developmental and transitional level in the organization that a cohesive maintenance of the organization is adopted through a strong leadership that exhibit a decentralized and democratic leadership style. The focus here is that WB Engineering Limited failed to give room for experts trained in specific managerial skills to assist in managing the growth of the organization. This became visible when Adrian moved to Spain, Gary felt totally abandoned and helpless. Assuming there is a decentralized structure in place, the absence of Adrain would not have constituted a big effect. His absence would have being adequately covered. It thus invariably signifies that the management has being one that is centralized even in this assuming state of the expansion of the organization. This had helped in the collapse of the organization. The no cohesive management of the organization again is reflected in the disconnected and autonomous management of the specialised units within the company as a group of satellites. The uncoordinated nature of the management of the organization shows the lapses in management style; which is another factor that has contributed to the fall in WB Engineering Limited. The lapses in managerial style adopted by Gary and Adrain is the lack of consultation with specialist before embarking on projects and also the lack of proper forecasting and research before venturing into a new business environment. Though, the WB Engineering Limited spent a whooping sum (2million pounds) in consulting professional and legal fees, this was done after the deal has being signed and as a way of restructuring the organization, after the acquisition of ESR, to be floated as a public organization. Assuming a little part of the sum had being spent in managerial consultancy and proper forecasting and research work, prior to the time the deal of acquiring ESR, this would have enable WB Engineering Limited to foresee the possibility of the acquisition as a dead trap, and an alternative measure would have being taking to avert the impending consequences. It is seen that the management style of the WB Engineering Limited had failed to grow out of its old shell and imbibe current management techniques and adopting strategic planning for the transitional organization. As it is a noticeable fact, management style in small firms have been more on operational plan than strategic plan. While strategic plan is conceived as â€Å"a written long-range plan, which includes both a corporate mission statement and a statement of organizational objectives operating planning on the other hand is defined as the setting of short-term objectives for specific functional areas such as finance, marketing, and personnel† (Shrader, et al 1989). A strategic planning needs adequate forecasting and researching. The embarking on projects without proper forecasting and re searching on consequences and building alternatives plan had being the waterloo of WB Engineering Limited when it acquired ESR. According to Orpen, â€Å"strategic planning benefits small firms by causing them to explore new alternatives for increasing sales and improving their competitive advantages (ibid). The management of WB Engineering Limited failed to recognize the significance of business environment in influencing the outcome of business operation. The preference for racing car in the UK market is different from what is obtainable in the US market. First impression matters a lot. The first introduced model of racing car in ESR by WB Engineering Limited, with a lesser quality in comparison with its other produce had beclouded the mind of prospecting customer, even when a winning model was reengineered by the company best engineering hands; little was done to safeguard the already battered image of the immerging firm (WBE-ESR organization) in US. Another factor that had contributed to the fall of WB Engineering Limited is the lack of concentrating all its resources directly at the operation it is having an upper hand. The organization had no specialized operation area; it is thus becoming Jack of all trade and master of none. Since the organization had cut an ace for itself in technical expertise and project engineering skill to mainstream automotive market, it ought   to have concentrated its resources in consolidating its operation around this   area, rather than dabbling into other areas like   owning a car racing team, and other project that is unrelated to it core area of operation. Concentrating and being specialized in a function makes the organization the master in such operation, hence competitive advantage over its rivals, even in this modern dynamic business world. From the given extract of WB Engineering Limited historical antecedents, it is observed that the organization ha a poor human relationship with its workers. They are not adequately informed and carried along in the organization scheme of operation. This is reflected where senior employees of the organization began to question the strategic direction of the organization. This shows that initially the senior employees were not partakers to the strategic planning. This also goes back to support the centralized and non consultative pattern which the management of the organization operates. The non involvement of workers especially the senior workers in the organization strategy planning, this had given them no sense of belonging in the organization, hence the lack of zeal to pursue the organizations objectives and goals. According to Marlow & Patton (1993), â€Å"the effective management of employees is also emerging as a key variable in the survival of mall firms†. The management of workers and non-consultation attitude of the management had contributed to the poor relationship of human resource in the organization with the management. CHANGES TO BE DONE IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE ORGANIZATION EFFECTIVENESS The WB Engineering Limited need to adopt changes in ways it operates and the organizational structure for it to improve on its effectiveness. The under listed are ways the organization can achieve its effectiveness. First, there is a need that the organization restructures its management structure, which hitherto had been a centralized and undemocratic one. A decentralized organizational structure permits room for participation and workers contributing their innovative ideas in ways that would spur the organization ahead and make it compete vigorously with its rivals and attaining greater customer satisfaction. Thus, there is the need that the management of WB Engineering is decentralized, the strategic planning of the organization should not be left to only Adrain and Gary; workers involvement would go a long way to effect a positive change in the organization. Also, the need to adopt a formal structure in the organization would also aid in bringing an effective management structure where each worker knows who to report to and the responsibility expected of him. There is also the need for the organization to build a more beneficial relationship between the organization’s human resource and the management. Since the WB Engineering Limited is becoming vast in its operations, it should imbibe those strategic operations adopted by large organization; thus there is the need to carry out a strategic human resource management. According to Bacon et al (1996), cited in Wagar (1998), â€Å"small business managers are increasingly aware of new management ideas, and a number of organizations have implemented initiatives traditionally identified with large firm†. Thus the strategic human resource management has to do with the organization using its human resource in jointly drawing out strategies on which the organization would operate on. In modern times† firms were most likely to report sharing business information with employees and rapid change, keeping employees informed is important† (Wagar, 1998). The WB Engineering Limited should do more to incorporate more effective forecasting and consultative research prior to embarking on projects. This would not only   safe the organization from engaging in wrong business and project deals, but also enable it know how to manage its resources in the most rewarding   way. There is also the need for a well coordinated chain of the organization’s satellites businesses. This should be synchronized toward achieving same goal. The different group of satellites and other operational areas of the WB Engineering conglomerate should be coordinated in a fashion to jointly work towards achieving the goal of the organization. As earlier stated, the organization should concentrate its resources in the area of technical expertise and project engineering which over the years had being its major profit maximizing venture. It is also suggested that the acquired ESR in U.S. since this has being the waterloo and the immediate cause of the impediment to the growth of WE Engineering Limited; this should be made to enter into a strategic alliance with other thriving organization in the United States. Instead of a full merger, the organization resources and managerial know-how can form an alliance with other effective organization in strategizing a way of moving the organization through a symbiotic relationship. This will give the organization the ability to take advantage of the environment in which it operates. Lastly, it is suggested that in this ever dynamic contemporary business world, the organization should follow the trend of the time and adapt to modern management techniques; such as strategic human resource management, Total Quality management (TQM), having competitive advantage through product differentiation. When these are adopted it would give the organization an edge over its rival and make the WB Engineering Limited regain its lost glory in the race car construction industry. REFRENCES Bannock, Graham (2005), The Economic and Management of Small Business: An International Perspective. New York: Routledge Publisher. Collins, L. & Ram, M. (2003), â€Å"Managing the Entrepreneurial Firm† Stream 9: Critical realist in Perspectives on Entrepreneurial Organization and Discourses. June http://www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/ejrot/cmsconfrence/2003/proceedings/criticalrealist/collins.pdf (06/03/06) Neil C Churchhill and Lewis, V. L. (1983), the Five Stages of Small business Growth. Harvard Business Review, 61, 2-11 Shrader, C.B. et al (1989), â€Å"Strategic and Operational Planning, Uncertainty and Performance in Small Firms† in Journal of Small Business Management Vol. 27, No. 4 Odaka, K. & Sawai, M. (1999), Small Firms, Large Concerns, The development of Small Business in Comparative Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P1. Wagar, Terry H. 91998), â€Å"Determinants of Human Resource management Practices in Small Firms: Some evidences from Atlantic Canada† in Journal of Small Business Management Vol.36, No.2.            

Lab Report Osmosis

The effect of osmosis on artificial cells with different concentrations of sucrose Alex McRae Biology 120-902 Grand Valley State University 1 Campus Drive Allendale, MI 49401 [email  protected] gvsu. edu Abstract In this study, we tested the validity of osmosis in artificial animal cells. Osmosis is the diffusion of free water across a membrane. The purpose of the study was to calculate the rate of osmosis in artificial cells containing different concentrations of sucrose and water.We studied the rate of osmosis in artificial cells by creating five different dialysis bags with different concentrations of both sucrose and water and calculating the cumulative change in weight ever 10 minutes for 90 minutes. Our results for the artificial cells showed different concentrations moved from high to low concentrations- through hypotonic movement or hypertonic movement. Introduction The main purpose of this paper is to assess the rate of change with osmosis for different concentrations of s ucrose in artificial cells.Since the human body is composed of trillions of cells that contain roughly 85% of water, makes osmosis a very important concept (Carmichael, Grabe and Wenger). The forces that affect osmosis are the concentrations of solutes surrounding the cell or inside of the cell. Water will then move across the cell membrane and create a balance of water between the cell and its environment (Reece et al. 133).In order to calculate the average rate of change for our artificial cells, we must understand tonicity as the ability of a nearby solution to cause a cell to lose or gain water, depending on its concentration of non-penetrating solutes relative to solutes inside the cell (Reece et al. 133). The dialysis bags used in this experiment have membranes which are selectively permeable, which only allows particles specifically small enough to pass through (Carmichael, Grabe and Wenger).In a hypotonic solution, water goes into the cell because the solute is more concentr ated inside the cell, while in a hypertonic solution, water moves out of the sell because the solute is more concentrated outside of the cell. We are testing the effect of osmosis on different concentrations of artificial cells by calculating the cumulative change in weight and the corrected cumulative changes in weight and by determining whether a solution is hypertonic, hypotonic or isotonic. We predicted that a dialysis bag holding tap water in a beaker also containing tap water is in an isotonic solution.While 20% sucrose, 40% sucrose and 60% sucrose in beakers containing tap water is considered hypotonic solutions. Lastly the dialysis bag holding tap water in a beaker containing 40% sucrose is a hypertonic solution. This will result in isotonic solutions remaining at the same weight, hypotonic solutions gaining weight and hypertonic solutions losing weight. We tested this by creating the five different dialysis bags with different concentrations of sucrose in order to measure t he weight change in grams of the bag after nine 10 minute increments. Methods and MaterialsThis experiment took place on Monday, February 6th, 2011. During this time, we tested the effects of different sucrose concentrations on the rate of osmosis in artificial cells we made with dialysis tubing. We studied five different dialysis bags containing 10mL of different concentrations of tap water and sucrose. Two contained tap water while three contained different concentrations of sucrose, varying from 20% to 60%. Each bag was placed in a beaker surrounded by either tap water or 40% sucrose. We began the experiment by soaking the dialysis tubes to prepare them for the sucrose concentrations they would be filled with.Taking each bag, two were filled with 10mL of tap water, one filled with 10mL of 20% sucrose, one with 10mL of 40% sucrose and another with 10mL of 60% sucrose. Each bag was clamped closed. All the bags were weighed before being placed in their corresponding beakers in order to record their initial weight in grams. The bags were put in their corresponding beakers, all of which contained tap water, except beaker #5 (tap water bag #5 was placed in beaker #5 which instead of holding water, was filled with 40% sucrose) concurrently, recording the time.In the same manner in which the bags were placed in the beakers simultaneously, remove the bags every 10 minutes, and record the weight of each bag. This process should be repeated for at least 90 minutes total. This data was analyzed by calculating the cumulative change in weight for each dialysis bag. This was done from subtracting the weight of each bag from the initial weight of the bag. Doing so, allows the weight of each bag to be initially zero. For that, we must calculate the corrected cumulative change in weight.For each time interval of 10 minutes, we subtracted the change in weigh of bag #1 (tap water) from the weight of each bag at the specific time measure- this corrected any oscillations. Result s The corrected cumulative change in weight due to osmosis from different concentrations of sucrose and tap water, are shown in Figure One. This figure shows the weight change in grams for every interval of 10 minutes. Using the corrected cumulative change in weight eliminates bag #1 because its average rate of change will always be zero.Below is a table of the bag weights at 10 minute intervals after being tested for an hour: | |Bag Weights (g) | |Time (min) |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | |Water |20% |40% |60% |water | |0 |21. 81 |20. 30 |23. 3 |21. 30 |19. 22 | |10 |22. 75 |26. 94 |22. 04 |23. 64 |18. 42 | |20 |22. 29 |26. 91 |22. 29 |24. 41 |17. 95 | |30 |23. 27 |29. 33 |23. 45 |26. 41 |16. 60 | |40 |22. 30 |29. 84 |23. 24 |28. 6 |15. 61 | |50 |22. 72 |36. 63 |24. 02 |28. 84 |14. 75 | |60 |23. 29 |31. 20 |24. 51 |30. 17 |14. 05 | The purpose of this experiment was to determine the relationship between concentration gradients and the rates of osmosis. Using the corrected cumulative change, w e can monitor the rate of change for each bag, and correlate the rate of change to the rate of osmosis.For bag #2, the slope, or the rate of osmosis was y = 0. 1193x – 1. 7293, displaying a slow but obvious increase in weight, or a hypotonic solution, when the solute was more concentrated inside the cell and water moved into the cell. Bag #3 continues to show this trend with a quicker rate of y = 1. 295x – 2. 4807, which water enters this bag as a hypotonic solution. Bag #4, which a rate of y = -1. 0586x + 1. 9043, shows a hypertonic solution in which the low concentration solute, causing water inside the dialysis bag, to move out.Although it was expected for for bag #5, which was tap water submersed in 40% sucrose, to be hypertonic, the rate of osmosis was y = 1. 3536x – 0. 1679, which demonstrates a hypotonic solution, or water entering the cell, or moving from a high concentration of the solute to a low concentration. These results prove that the direction of osmosis does directly affect the rate of osmosis. If the slope begins with a negative x value, the solution is indeed a hypertonic solution, that when surrounding a cell will cause the cell to lose water, moving from a high concentration to a lower concentration (Reece et al. 33). The slopes which begin with a positive x value demonstrate a hypotonic solution, which causes a cell to take in water (Reece et al. 133). This shows that the direction of osmosis is directed related to the rate of osmosis, or vice versa. The rate of osmosis ultimately determines the direction of osmosis. Depending on which direction osmosis is going- hypertonic, isotonic or hypotonic, determines the rate of osmosis, or the rate of change for each dialysis bag. Or by the means of our experiment, the direction of osmosis was determined by the rate of change in each bag, or the rate of osmosis.Discussion Throughout the study it was concluded that different concentrations of sucrose are allow different rates and directions of osmosis. The results show that the rate of osmosis is directly related to the direction of osmosis, or vice versa. This proposal does not match with our quantitative prediction. Our results for the artificial cells showed different concentrations moved from high to low concentrations- through hypotonic movement or hypertonic movement; however bag #3 with 40% sucrose was expected to be a hypotonic solution, while it was a hypertonic solution.This falsified hypothesis could be due to the explanation that in an animal cell, when a hypertonic solution, the cell experiences crenation. The dialysis tubing creates a theoretical flaw in our experiment because the tubing has a molecular weight cut off of a maximum of 14 kilodaltons, while the average human cell may have a larger or smaller molecular weight cut off, allowing the cell to experience different tonicities. In order to obtain more accurate results, modifications should be made. More drastic concentrations of sucr ose in the dialysis tubing should be tested in order to find the extremes of the rate of change for osmosis.The study enhances the present scholarship in this area by exposing osmosis along a free energy gradient. However, other experiments could increase our knowledge about the relationship between concentration gradients and rates. An experiment that includes the idea that the selectively permeable membrane moves, might allow for more accurate results (Patlak and Watters). The qualified location mirrors the volume of each side of the membrane, which affects the total number of particles on each side (Patlak and Watters).Our experiment exposes the ideal notion that there is no net movement of a solvent and the water is what diffuses across the membrane. Works Cited Carmichael, Jeff, Mark Grabe and Jonathan Wenger. Biology 150 Laboratory Review. University of North Dakota, n. d. Web. 7 Oct. 2011. Patlak, Joseph and Chris Watters. Diffusion and Osmosis. University of Vermont and Midd lebury College, 1997. Web. 8 Oct. 2011. Reece, Jane B. , et al. Campbell Biology. San Francisco: Pearson Education Inc. , 2005. Print.