Learning operant conditioning

This process of learning a behaviour by the consequences of that behaviour is called operant conditioning or instrumental learning. It is described fully in relation to problem drinking by Heather and Robertson (1985), and it is quite easy to see the parallels with drug taking. 

The categories of methods used in behavioral toxicology fall into two principal classes, stimulus-oriented behavior, and internally generated behavior. The former includes two types of conditioned behavior operant conditioning, in which animals are trained to perform a task in order to obtain a reward or to avoid a punishment, and classical conditioning, in which an animal learns to associate a conditioning stimulus with a reflex action. Stimulus-oriented behavior also involves unconditioned responses in which the animal s response to a particular stimulus is recorded. 

Finally, and most important, consensus trance is expected to be permanent rather than merely an interesting experience that is strictly time limited. The mental, emotional, and physical habits of a lifetime are laid down while we are especially vulnerable and suggestible as children. Many of these habits are not just learned but conditioned that is, they have that compulsive quality that conditioning has. Because they are automatized habits, they do not need the support of a specially defined situation, such as formal hypnosis usually requires they operate in almost all circumstances. You no longer have to work at maintaining consensus trance it is automatic. 

Charcoal producers undoubtedly learn a lot from experience about how to adapt kiln operating conditions to suit woods with different properties. Nevertheless, a better understanding of how size and shape properties affect wood deconposition processes should help them do this more efficiently. 

Using available flowsheeting software, it is possible to produce a computerized tool that will permit us to learn or even mirror the plant behaviour under different operating conditions or with different raw materials and product specifications. Such as tool is called the steady state plant simulation model. The steady state model, whieh is simpler to build, and has a wide variety of applications in its own right, it can be used directly in revamping and a wide variety of other engineering projeets. 

If, however, the liquid is decolorized sufficiently, this indicates that the contamination is adsorbable and is present in small concentrations in which event a brief further study may suffice to learn optimum operating conditions. 

Industrial applications often seek to accomplish more than one objective for example, the treatment of corn sugars and syrups may aim to remove color, bitter flavor, iron, hydroxymethylfurfural, and foam-formers. Inasmuch as the operating environment favorable for improving one property (e.g., color) may not be best for another (e.g., foaming), an experimental study of a new venture should include a simultaneous examination of all properties to be corrected. To do this, the filtrate obtained from each variation in experimental conditions is examined to learn the effect a particular set of operating conditions may have on each of the properties to be improved. This brings us to a discussion of useful functions of activated carbon in industrial applications. 

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