Jean Piaget Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jean Piaget - Essay Example The main role in the process of cognition belongs to mental abilities of person: infants are born with certain schemes operating at birth (reflexes), but while in animals these schemes control behavior throughout life human beings use them to adapt to the environment and develop their cognitive abilities. Piaget identifies four periods of cognitive development: sensory-motor, pre-operational, concrete-operational, and formal-operational. Each of these periods is associated with mastering certain skills and abilities such as use of symbols, abstract thinking, etc: Pre-operational stage (toddler and early childhood): intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, improvements in the use of language, development of memory and imagination. However, thinking remains illogical and nonreversible; egocentric thinking dominates during this stage; Concrete operational stage (elementary and early adolescence): intelligence is demonstrated through logical and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects. Operational thinking develops (mental actions that are reversible) while egocentric thinking diminishes. Formal operational stage (adolescence and adulthood): intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts.

Structural design for serviceability Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Structural design for serviceability - Thesis Example As standards advance toward probability-based limit state design methods, serviceability issues are expected to become an integral part of design consideration. Whether a structure has passed a limit state is really a matter of perception. As far as the ultimate limit state is concerned, the perception is technical, and there are sets of rules and regulations which are established by building codes. However, in the case of serviceability limit the perception is often non-technical, as they involve the judgments and anticipations of occupants. As a consequence, serviceability limits in general have not been codified since desirable limits frequently alter from application to application. Hence, they remain a matter of contractual agreement between the owner and designer, and thus are not specified in the building codes. The purpose of the current project will be to explore and gather the history of serviceability criteria used for various types of structures. Design deflection and vibration criteria will be relaxed by increasing the floor span and reducing the member size, and the likely effects will be perceived. The paper will later look into possible techniques used for improving structural stiffness without incurring additional cost and materials. The objectives of this study are: to gain better understanding of structural serviceability performance needs of each country, to exchange data on structural serviceability and to develop performance-based design procedures for structural serviceability. The object of serviceability design is acceptable performance during expected service conditions for the design life. The objective maybe is to prevent damage to ceiling plaster or wall glazing elements to maintain a pleasing appearance or to prevent uncomfortable movement. Deflection is typically limited to some proportion of the span. Building construction may be such that there is a wall located near the