FST -1

13th Part

Q.  What is meant by ergonomics? Mention any four of its applications.     

A.      With the advances in science and technology, humans have to constantly interact with machines and engineering systems like never before for exm. the driver of an automobile, farmers using farm equipments or people working with computers. In order to get maximum work out, it is important that the machines and manner of their operation should be suited to human abilities. The study of the efficiency of a person in his working environment is called human factor engineering or ergonomics. The people who are trained in this branch of applied psychology are known as human factor specialists. 

       1. It is applied in the redesigning of aircraft cockpits to ensure that the machine systems will suit human requirements and abilities. The shapes of the controls for landing gear and wings were so designed, that the difference between them was obvious and chances of mistakes were eliminated. Similarly, the markings on the fuel gauge were changed to indicate fuel quantity as FULL; HALF FULL; EMPTY instead of in actual gallons. Understanding human psychology and designing the cockpits greatly enhanced the compatibility and efficiency of pilots.

       2. In factories by improving the work environment such as better ventilation, less noise, and better illumination. This leads to improvement in the design of the workplace, to make it more comfortable, safe, and conducive to performance. Machine systems are designed with the user in mind so that they can be run with maximum efficiency and minimum error.

       3. It is applied in the designing of the telephone set, by properly measuring the head sizes of people(male, female &kids), to make it convenient to talk.

       4. It was also applied in redesigning chairs. It was redesigned to support the spine, abdomen and back muscles. Its height was also made alterable, so as not to disturb the circulation of blood in the thigh blood vessels.

Q.  Describe the role of communication in promoting education.      

Q.  Discuss with the help of suitable examples the role of communication technology in imparting education through distance mode.       

A. Transmission of knowledge and information is the first step in imparting education which is possible through communication. Through communication, people from different backgrounds belonging to different age groups who have access to radio, tv or communication center can attain knowledge on a large variety of topics. 

Media and Distance Education

The role of media in distance education is significant and needs a specific mention. It is implied that teaching is done from a distance. It is also understood that education is imparted through correspondence, audio-visual aids, radio, television, and telephone, besides personal contacts. As against a university, which enrols students of a similar age, has definite time schedule, and is confined to a geographical area or campus, an 'open university' can cater to all kinds of students--of various ages, living in different and even far places, who wish to combine education with employment or work at home. It can provide a great variety of courses. Even the pace of learning would be different for students enrolled in the same course. Through distance education program the primary objectives is to provide education to those who have been denied the opportunity for higher education, either because they live in remote and rural areas or because of any other handicap, including financial constraints and family obligations. 
        The 'study centers' with audio-visual and library facilities are an important part of the University. Here, students can meet their academic counselor and discuss their difficulties. Support from radio and television is also important in distance learning.

Broadcast of Lessons by AIR and Doordarshan

The electronic media, AIR, and Doordarshan have played a supplementary role in education by supporting or providing classroom teaching to students. Doordarshan also organized enrichment programmes, primarily for college students, with a view to supplement classroom teaching and thus, widen the horizons of learning for the students. Apart from college students, the general public can also benefit from such broadcasts. Similarly, All India Radio also broadcasts educational programmes for students. The TV medium is more effective than radio, in education, at all levels. The communicator, in this case, the teacher, can be seen by the students. Also, students can have a visual presentation of experiments, photographs, and models which makes it easier to understand. Thus communication helps in imparting education in distance learning where students can learn just by sitting in homes. 

             One of the primary examples of providing education to masses is ‘The Indira Gandhi National Open University’ which is envisaged as an institution for the entire country for distance learning.

Q.  Discuss the role of communication in creating awareness about social issues.             

A.  In a democracy like ours with people belonging to different ethnicities, cultural differences, background, religion, etc the role of communication is significant. It persuades people to accept certain ideas and programmes to bring about a social change. Social role of communication is to build bridges of understanding among these groups whose interests are the same thus helping in national integration. In the social context communication is also expected to serve the immediate interests and needs of individual citizens. People have to be provided information about their rights, which under the law of the land, they are expected to enjoy. There are several benefits to which people as citizens are entitled to and they should be made aware of. Lack of information can deprive the citizens of social benefits. 
             Certain sections of the community, women, for example, are often more ignorant of their social rights than others. The communication system also gives priority to political education in order to strengthen the institutions on which our democratic system is based.

Q.  What did Ivan Pavlov conclude from his experiments with the dog?    

A.  The Russian Nobel Prize winner, Ivan Pavlov in the early 1900s carried out experiments on dogs to study stimulus and response. For this, he inserted a tube in the cheek of the dog and placed a bowl of meat in front of it and the dog began to salivate. He begins to salivate when he gets his food. But a strange thing happened. The dog began to salivate at the sight of the apparatus or the experiment even before the food was placed in front of it. Pavlov knew that salivation at the sight of food was a natural reflex action. It happens in every dog since birth, but the other reaction was something new, it was called a learned reflex. Now he decided to investigate if the dog could be made to associate food with other stimuli. In a typical experiment, a bell was sounded just before the meat was given to the dog. This was repeated several times. Pavlov noticed that the dog now began to salivate as soon as the bell was rung even if the food was not given. The animal associated the two stimuli, food and bell, therefore, one could be substituted for the other.

Q.  By citing an example, explain the various aspects of cognitive learning.    

A.  When we study “cognitive learning” we are studying the process the brain takes to learn. We are trying to figure out how the brain perceives its environment, develops skills to solve the problem, and stores these memories for the future . These processes can happen both subconsciously and consciously. By understanding the process of working of the brain, it will help us improve our learning on the conscious side of things. So, for instance, some students learn better by watching, others by listening, others by writing, and others by doing different things. By knowing this, and identifying the strength of each student, a good teacher will take these approaches into account and devise a strategy accordingly to more efficiently transmit knowledge to the students. 

      Cognitive Learning Theory (CLT) covers two specific theories: Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT). SCT focuses on the behavioral, environmental (extrinsic) and personal (intrinsic) factors. CBT focuses on the individual’s perception of three things: the self, the environment, and the future. SCT will help the teacher to create an environment that is conducive to learning for students. CBT is more in the realm of the counselor who helps the client to focus on ideas about themselves and their situation so that they can function well regardless of their environment.

           If we go to a new place and have to remember our way back home, we use cognitive learning to do so. In this process, we try to make a mental map of the way and try to remember the road signs or landmarks, etc., during the route and then recall all of it when we come back along that way.

Q.  Discuss three ways in which learning takes place. Can you give one example to illustrate each kind?                                       

A.  a) Stimulus-Response

Commercial advertising uses the model of stimulus-response. They pair their products with attractive places or people. Repeated viewing of such advertisements causes favorable response from the customers and when they see the products they start associating products with famous and attractive places or people.

b) Reward and Punishment

Recruits in the armed forces learn to maintain discipline through the principle of reward and punishment.

c) Cognitive Learning

If you go to a new place and have to remember your way back, you use cognitive learning to do so because you will make a mental map of the way, remember the road signs or landmarks, etc., and then recall all of it when you come back along that way. You can, of course, think of many more such examples to illustrate the

three forms of learning.

Q.  Give some examples from your experience where you think human factor engineering has benefited the user and has improved work output.

A.  i) The typewriter's keyboards have been designed so that the letters that are most often used are easier to reach.

ii) Brooms with long handles do not strain the back as much as short handles.

Q.  Write a short note on any five communication techniques that are likely to be widely used in our country in the near future.           

A. #  Videophones for talking on the phone, where pictures will be carried in addition to the sound. 

#  Home Computers which would help in buying all necessities sitting at home after the assessment of prices and availability in shops, transferring funds, buying and selling shares. knowing all the latest information about weather, transportation, schedules of airlines, trains, etc.; hotel reservations and so on.

#  Teletext which is the enhanced telex services at high speeds. It transfers whole texts using both upper and lower case letters. Teletext is a one-way system used for the transmission of a limited number of pages by television stations, receivable by ordinary television sets, with a suitable plug-in adaptor.

#  Videotext which is the two-way interactive computerized data service. It uses a slightly modified television receiver and telephone line.

#  Telefax is an electronic mail service. It is used to transmit documents from one

system to another via the telephone network.

Q.  Describe the role of various media of mass communication in our country  

A. In the media of mass communication, we have All India Radio, Doordarshan, newspapers and journals and films in various languages and their role is as follows -

All India Radio

With 91 broadcasting stations and 167 transmitters, AIR's broadcasts can reach nearly 95 percent of India's population. Programs for women and the rural listeners are carried by more than 60 stations in all national languages and in many dialects. A large number of stations broadcast programmes for youth, children and other special groups. It has been claimed on behalf of All India Radio, that the number of people listening to radio programmes is over 200 million. (The radio sets are inexpensive and for their operation, they do not have to depend upon power supply, many of them work on dry cells. All these factors make Radio as the most extensive medium of mass communication in the country)

Doordarshan

It started its operation in 1959 with minimum infrastructure which was gradually upgraded in 1975 with satellite transmission and in 1982 Asian games. It is instrumental in creating social awareness, transmit programmes on education, helping national integration, etc. It transmits programmes in all national languages and in many dialects for the benefit of viewers.

Films

Films are an important medium for communication. India is the largest producer of films in the world. The Films Division of the Government of India produces newsreels, news magazines, and documentary films, while commercial films are produced in the private sector. Commercial films claim to have social themes, but, in fact, most of them are entertainment. There is a question mark in the effectiveness of films as a medium of mass communication. It is so because of the limited number of cinema houses in the country. The number is estimated to be only 12,000 for a population of 80 crores.

Newspapers and Journals

Newspapers and journals have an important role in the communication system. The number of newspapers and periodicals in various languages was about 22 thousand in 1984 and their total circulation was about 6 million. However, there are two points to be considered in assessing the effectiveness of newspapers in communication. First, only the literate population can take advantage of the newspapers, even though in certain situations, the literate persons also share information with others. And, secondly, the reach of newspapers in distant and remote areas is restrained by problems of transportation, etc. The circulation of newspapers is still largely confined to metropolitan towns and other urban centers.

Q.  What is adolescence? Write briefly changes that occur during adolescence.                                          

A.       Around the age of 12, a period starts when special hormones are secreted in the body and transition from childhood to adulthood takes place. This is known as adolescence. This is the period of very rapid physical growth, accompanied by a gradual development of reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics such as beard for men and breasts for women. The age limits of adolescence roughly extend from around 12 to about 18 years when physical growth is nearly complete.

        During adolescence, not only the physical growth rapid, but it also changes the social position of the individual. Cognitive development and knowledge base also reaches a point when a person is able to formulate his or her ideas, fairly clearly. The person is able to answer various questions in life. People are able to develop a world outlook or an ideology of their own, and hence personality. In the end, they are no more boys or girls, but they are men and women, generally able to stand on their own. The transition can be clumsy and confusing, too aggressive or too timid for the young person, but it is also a wonderful experience to grow out of childhood and become a grown-up.

Q.  Discuss the role of hormones for the proper functioning of the human body.  

A.  Hormones are the chemical substances that are released by special glands called endocrine glands. These glands have no opening or ducts but release their secretions directly into the bloodstream as it passes through their tissues. Hormones are vital for the proper functioning of the body. They regulate the chemical reactions in the body and consequently play a critical role in maintaining normal physical conditions or homeostasis. If hormones are to serve a regulatory function they must be produced at the proper time and in proper amounts. This is controlled by the brain, which receives information from all parts of the body and giving appropriate signals to the glands. This feedback system is very much like a thermostat that controls the temperature in a machine. Any break in this feedback system leads to severe consequences. For example, the thyroid gland produces thyroxine which controls the metabolic rate in the body. Oversecretion tends to make a person thin, overactive and anxious while under secretion makes him over-weight and sluggish. Thyroxine deficiency, in fact, causes mental as well as physical retardation which can be prevented if the deficiency is discovered sufficiently early and the right amount of the hormone is given.

The hormones work in close coordination with our nervous system. For example, in a situation of danger or fear, the sense organs convey the information to the central nervous system and the autonomic system is activated within seconds. The adrenal glands arc also activated to release a hormone called adrenaline. When adrenaline reaches the canal and the skin their blood vessels contract, diverting the blood supply to the muscles; the pupils of the eyes are dilated and glucose is released in the blood to speed up the rate of breathing. All these changes help a person to become hyper-active, thus making him to run away or fighting.

          Each hormone acts on a certain organ in a specific way. Many of the effects of hormones are long term changes, for example, the changes that take place in the body during growth and sexual maturity. However, some of the changes may be quick like the ones that occur when the heart rate and breathing rate is increased or decreased.

Q.  Neuron                                               

A.  The human brain is composed of more than one hundred billion cells called 'neurons'. Neurons can be categorized into the following kinds according to their functions :

a) Motor neurons: send signals from the nervous system to muscles and glands.

b) Sensory neurons: carry signals from the receptor cells in sense organs in the body to the nervous system. For example, signals generated by touch or smell or hearing, etc.

c) lnter neurons or association neurons: process the sensory information received from other neurons, and convey messages accordingly to the body. For example, when an insect bites, the fingers are given a command to scratch at that point. Most of the brain's neurons fall in this category.

            The neurons are specialized to carry information from one part of the body to another. These messages are referred to as nerve impulses. The nerve impulse occurs in response to some stimulus or event which excites them.

            The portion of the cell with the nucleus is called the cell body. The thread-like extensions of the cell which brings information from other types of cells are called dendrites. The other extension that takes messages from the cell body to other neurons, muscles or glands is called the axon. These extensions may be covered by a fatty layer which helps in the conduction of the messages which are in the form of electro-chemical codes or impulses.  

           The axons of some neurons in a human body are a meter or more in length for ex, the one that goes from the spinal cord to the tip of the toe. Other axons may be less than a millimeter long. The axons are connected to other cells through gap called the synapse. The synapse is a point where information jumps from the axon to another cell or dendrite. A neuron in the brain may be connected to several thousand other neurons through synapses. The diversity of interconnection in the brain is limitless. Messages travel so fast in nerves that the human body takes only a tenth of a second to react to an external event.