While studying the impact of ginkgo biloba on memory, a researcher has one group of rats on a normal diet while the other rat group is given measured doses of ginkgo biloba with their meals. while observing the rats run a complicated maze, the researcher notes that the ginkgo biloba-enhanced rats’ maze is more brightly lit than the normal diet rats’ maze. the difference in lighting in this study is a(n)
a. confound.
b. dependent variable.
c. hypothesis.
d. independent variable.

What are the functions of wal-mart? are they the same or different from the functions of wal-mart in our individual lives? how do the two type of functions connect? does wal-mart have both manifest and latent functions? what are they? are there any dysfunctions of wal-mart for society? if so, what are they? how might these dysfunctions serve as incentives or catalysts for social change? conflict questions: does wal-mart affect every group in society in the same way? if not, what are the differences? how does wal-mart perpetuate the inequalities (of gender, race, class, religion, age, sexual orientation, etc.) in our society? how does wal-mart contribute to conflict between unequal groups in our society? how might wal-mart contribute to social change or the amelioration of inequalities in society? interactionist questions: what kind of symbolic world are you likely to encounter inside a wal-mart store, and how does that affect the shopper’s experience? how does wal-mart influence our interpersonal interactions? how do interpersonal interactions shape the wal-mart experience for shoppers? for workers? how does wal-mart contribute to our socially constructed reality?