2.7: R and Data
How to enter the data from within R
We now need to know how to enter data into R . Basic command is c() (shortcut of the word concatenate ):
Code \(\PageIndex{1}\) (R):
However, in that way your numbers will be forgotten because R does not remember anything which is not saved into object :
Code \(\PageIndex{2}\) (R):
(Here we created an object aa , assigned to it vector of numbers from one to five, and then printed object with typing its name.)
If you want to create and print object simultaneously, use external parentheses:
Code \(\PageIndex{3}\) (R):
(By the way, here we created aa object again , and R silently re-wrote it. R never gives a warning if object already exists!)
In addition to c() , we can use commands rep() , seq() , and also the colon ( : ) operator :
Code \(\PageIndex{4}\) (R):
How to name your objects
R has no strict rules on the naming your objects, but it is better to follow some guidelines:
- Keep in mind that R is case-sensitive , and, for example, X and x are different names.
- For objects, use only English letters, numbers, dot and (possibly) underscore. Do not put numbers and dots in the beginning of the name. One of recommended approaches is double-letter (or triple-letter) when you name objects like aa , jjj , xx and so on.
- In data frames, we recommend to name your columns (characters) with uppercase letters and dots . The examples are throughout of this book.
- Do not reassign names already given to popular functions (like c() ), reserved words (especially T , F , NA , NaN , Inf and NULL ) and predefined objects like pi \(^{[1]}\) , LETTERS and letters . If you accidentally did it, there is conflict() function to help in these situations. To see all reserved words, type ?Reserved .
How to load the text data
In essence, data which need to be processed could be of two kinds: text and binary . To avoid unnecessary details, we will accept here that text data is something which you can read and edit in the simple text editor like Geany\(^{[2]}\). But if you want to edit the binary data , you typically need a program which outputted this file in the past. Without the specific software, the binary data is not easy to read.
Text data for the statistical processing is usually text tables where every row corresponds with the table row, and columns are separated with delimiters , either invisible, like spaces or tab symbols, or visible, like commas or semicolons. If you want R to “ingest” this kind of data, is is necessary to make sure first that the data file is located within the same directory which R regards as a working directory :
Code \(\PageIndex{5}\) (R):
If this is not the directory you want, you can change it with the command:
Code \(\PageIndex{6}\) (R):
Note how R works with backslashes under Windows . Instead of one backslash, you need to enter two . Only in that case R under Windows will understand it. It is also possible to use slashes under Windows , similar to Linux and macOS :
Code \(\PageIndex{7}\) (R):
Please always start each of your R session from changing working directory . Actually, it is not absolutely necessary to remember long paths. You can copy it from your file manager into R . Then, graphical R under Windows and macOS have rudimentary menu system, and it is sometimes easier to change working directory though the menu . Finally, collection asmisc.r contains function Files() which is the textual file browser , so it is possible to run setwd(Files()) and then follow screen instructions\(^{[3]}\).
The next step after you got sure that the working directory is correct, is to check if your data file is in place, with dir() command:
Code \(\PageIndex{8}\) (R):
It is really handy to separate data from all other stuff. Therefore, we assumed above that you have subdirectory data in you working directory, and your data files (including mydata.txt ) are in that subdirectory. Please create it (and of course, create the working directory ) if you do not have it yet. You can create these with your file manager, or even with R itself:
Code \(\PageIndex{9}\) (R):
Now you can load your data with read.table() command. But wait a minute! You need to understand the structure of your file first.
Command read.table() is sophisticated but it is not smart enough to determine the data structure on the fly\(^{[4]}\). This is why you need to check data. You can open it in any available simple text editor, in your Web browser, or even from inside R with file.show() or url.show() command. It outputs the data “as is”. This is what you will see:
Code \(\PageIndex{10}\) (R):
(By the way, if you type file.show("data/my and press Tab , completion will show you if your file is here—if it is really here. This will save both typing file name and checking the presence with dir() .)
How did the file mydata.txt appear in your data subdirectory? We assume that you already downloaded it from the repository mentioned in the foreword. If you did not do it, please do it now . It is possible to perform with any browser and even with R :
Code \(\PageIndex{11}\) (R):
(Within parentheses, left part is for URL whereas right tells R how to place and name the downloaded file.)
Alternatively, you can check your file directly from the URL with url.show() and then use read.table() from the same URL.
Now time finally came to load data into R . We know that all columns have names, and therefore use head=TRUE , and also know that the delimiter is the semicolon, this is why we use sep=";" :
Code \(\PageIndex{12}\) (R):
Immediately after we loaded the data, we must check the new object. There are three ways:
Code \(\PageIndex{13}\) (R):
Third way is to simply type mydata but this is not optimal since when data is large, your computer screen will be messed with content. Commands head() and str() are much more efficient.
To summarize, local data file should be loaded into R in three steps :
- Make sure that you data is in place , with dir() command, Tab completion or through Web browser;
- Take a look on data with file.show() or url.show() command and determine its structure;
- Load it with read.table() command using appropriate options (see below).
How to load data from Internet
Loading remote data takes same three steps from above. However, as the data is not on disk but somewhere else, to check its presence, the best way is to open it in the Internet browser using URL which should be given to you; this also makes the second step because you will see its structure in the browser window. It is also possible to check the structure with the command:
Code \(\PageIndex{14}\) (R):
Then you can run read.table() but with URL instead of the file name:
Code \(\PageIndex{15}\) (R):
(Here and below we will sometimes skip creation of new object step. However, remember that you must create new object if you want to use the data in R later. Otherwise, the content will be shown and immediately forgotten.)
How to use read.table()
Sometimes, you want R to “ingest” not only column names but also row names:
Code \(\PageIndex{16}\) (R):
(File mydata1.txt \(^{[5]}\) is constructed in the unusual way: its first row has three items whereas all other rows each have four items delimited with the tab symbol —“big invisible space”. Please do not forget to check that beforehand, for example using file.show() or url.show() command.)
Sometimes, there are both spaces (inside cells) and tabs (between cells):
Code \(\PageIndex{17}\) (R):
If we run read.table() without sep="\t" option (which is “separator is a tab”), R will give an error. Try it . But why did it work for mydata1.txt ? This is because the default separator is both space and/or tab. If one of them used as the part of data, the other must be stated as separator explicitly.
Note also that since row names contain quote, quoting must be disabled, otherwise data will silently read in a wrong way.
How to know what separator is here, tab or space? This is usually simple as most editors, browsers and file.show() / url.show() commands visualize tab as a space which is much broader than single letter. However, do not forget to use monospaced font in your software, other fonts might be deceiving.
Sometimes, numbers have comma as a decimal separator (this is another worldwide standard). To input this kind of data, use dec option:
Code \(\PageIndex{18}\) (R):
(Please note the shortcuts. Shortcuts save typing but could be dangerous if they match several possible names. There are only one read.table() argument which starts with se , but several of them start with s (e.g., skip ); therefore it is impossible to reduce se further, into s . Note also that TRUE and FALSE are possible to shrink into T and F , respectively (but this is the only possible way); we will avoid this in the book though.)
When read.table() sees character columns, it converts them into factors (see below). To avoid this behavior, use as.is=TRUE option.
Command scan() is similar to read.table() but reads all data into only one “column” (one vector). It has, however, one unique feature:
Code \(\PageIndex{19}\) (R):
(What did happen here? First, we entered scan() with empty first argument , and R changed its prompt to numbers allowing to type numerical data in, element after element. To finish, enter empty row \(^{[6]}. One can paste here even numbers from the clipboard!)
How to load binary data
Functions from the foreign package (it is installed by default) can read data in MiniTab, S , SAS, SPSS, Stata, Systat, and FoxPro DBF binary formats. To find out more, you may want to call it first with command library(foreign) and then call help about all its commands help(package=foreign) .
R can upload images. There are multiple packages for this, one of the most developed is pixmap . R can also upload GIS maps of different formats including ArcInfo (packages maps , maptools and others).
R has its own binary format . It is very fast to write and to load\(^{[7]}\) (useful for big data) but impossible to use with any program other than R :
Code \(\PageIndex{20}\) (R):
(Here we used several new commands. To save and to load binary files, one needs save() and load() commands, respectively; to remove the object, there is rm() command. To show you that the object was deleted, we used exists() command.)
Note also that everything which is written after “ # ” symbol on the same text string is a comment . R skips all comments without reading.
There are many interfaces which connect R to databases including MySQL, PostgresSQL and sqlite (it is possible to call the last one directly from inside R see the documentation for RSQLite and sqldf packages).
But what most users actually need is to load the spreadsheet data made with MS Excel or similar programs (like Gnumeric or LibreOffice Calc). There are three ways.
First way we recommend to all users of this book: convert Excel file into the text , and then proceed with read.table() command explained above\(^{[8]}\). On macOS , the best way is likely to save data from spreadsheet as tab-delimited text file. On Windows and Linux , if you copy any piece of spreadsheet into clipboard and then paste it into text editor (including R script editor), it becomes the tab-delimited text. The same is possible in macOS but you will need to use some terminal editor (like nano ).
Another way is to use external packages which convert binary spreadsheets “on the fly”. One is readxl package with main command read_excel() , another is xlsx package with main command read.xlsx() . Please note that these packages are not available by default so you need to download and install them (see below for the explanations).
How to load data from clipboard
Third way is to use clipboard. It is easy enough: on Linux or Windows you will need to select data in the open spreadsheet, copy it to clipboard, and then in R window type command like:
Code \(\PageIndex{21}\) (R):
On macOS , this is slightly different:
Code \(\PageIndex{22}\) (R):
(Ignore warnings about “incomplete lines” or “closed connection”. Package clipr unifies the work with clipboard on main OSes.)
“Clipboard way” is especially good when your data come out of non-typical software. Note also that entering scan() and then pasting from clipboard (see above) work the same way on all systems.
Summarizing the above, recommended data workflow in R might look like:
- Enter data into the spreadsheet;
- Save it as a text file with known delimiters (tab and semicolon are preferable), headers and row names (if needed);
- Load it into R with read.table() ;
- If you must change the data in R , write it afterwards to the external file using write.table() command (see below);
- Open it in the spreadsheet program again and proceed to the next round.
One of its big pluses of this workflow is the separation between data editing and data processing .
How to edit data in R
If there is a need to change existing objects, you could edit them through R . We do not recommend this though, spreadsheets and text editors are much more advanced then R internal tools.
Nevertheless, there is a spreadsheet sub-program embedded into R which is set to edit table-like objects (matrices or data frames). To start it on bb matrix (see above), enter command fix(bb) and edit “in place”. Everything which you enter will immediately change your object. This is somewhat contradictory with R principles so there is the similar function edit() which does not change the object but outputs the result to the R window.
For other types of objects (not table-like), commands fix() / edit() call internal (on Windows or macOS ) or external (on Linux ) text editor. To use external editor, you might need to supply an additional argument, edit(..., editor="name") where name could be any text editor which is available in the system.
R on Linux has vi editor as a default but it is too advanced for the beginner\(^{[9]}\); we recommend to use nano instead\(^{[10]}\). Also, there is a pico() command which is usually equal to edit(..., editor="nano") . nano editor is usually available also through the macOS terminal.
How to save the results
Beginners in R simply copy results of the work (like outputs from statistical tests) from the R console into some text file. This is enough if you are the beginner. Earlier or later, however, it becomes necessary to save larger objects (like data frames):
Code \(\PageIndex{23}\) (R):
(File trees.txt , which is made from the internal trees data frame, will be written into the working directory.)
Please be really careful with write.table() as R is perfectly silent if the file with the same name trees.txt is already here. Instead of giving you any warning, it simply overwrites it!
By the way, “internal data” means that it is accessible from inside R directly, without preliminary loading. You may want to check which internal data is available with command data() .
While a scan() is a single-vector variant of read.table() , write() command is the single-vector variant of write.table() .
It is now a good time to speak about file name conventions in this book. We highly recommend to follow these simply rules:
- Use only lowercase English letters, numbers and underscore for the file and directory names (and also dot, but only to separate file extension).
- Do not use uppercase letters, spaces and other symbols!
- Make your names short, preferably shorter than 15–20 symbols.
- For R command (script) files, use extension *.r
By the way, for the comfortable work in R , it is strongly recommended to change those options of your operating system which allow it to hide file extensions . On macOS , go to Finder preferences, choose Advanced tab and select the appropriate box. On Windows , click View tab in File Explorer , choose Options , then View again, unselect appropriate box and apply this to all folders. Linux , as a rule, does not hide file extensions.
But what if we need to write into the external file our results (like the output from statistical test)? There is the sink() command:
Code \(\PageIndex{24}\) (R):
(Here the string “ [1] 4 ” will be written to the external file.),
We specified split=TRUE argument because we wanted to see the result on the screen. Specify also append=TRUE if you want to add output to the existing file. To stop sinking, use sink() without arguments. Be sure that you always close sink() !
There are many tools and external packages which enhance R to behave like full-featured report system which is not only calculates something for you but also helps you to write the results. One of the simplest is Rresults shell script ( http://ashipunov.info/shipunov/r ) which works on macOS and Linux . The appendix of the book explains Sweave system. There are also knitr and much more.
History and scripts
To see what you typed during the current R session, run history() \(^{[11]}\) :
Code \(\PageIndex{25}\) (R):
If you want to save your history of commands , use savehistory() with the appropriate file name (in quotes) as argument\(^{[12]}).
While you work with this book, it is a good idea to use savehistory() and save all commands from each R session in the file named, saying, by the date (like 20170116.r ) and store this file in your working folder.
To do that on macOS , use menu R -> Preferences -> Startup -> History , uncheck Read history file on startup and and enter the name of today’s history file. When you close R , file will appear in your working directory.
To save all objects in the binary file, type save.image() . You may want to use it if, for example, you are experimenting with R .
R allows to create scripts which might be run later to reproduce your work. Actually, R scripts could be written in any text editor\(^{[13]}\).
In the appendix, there is much more about R scripts, but the following will help you to create your own first one:
- Open the text editor, or just type file.edit("hello.r") \(^{[14]}\)
- Write there the string print("Hello, world!")
- Save the file under hello.r name in your working directory
- Call it from R using the command source("hello.r")
- ... and you will see [1] "Hello, world!" in R console as if you typed it.
(In fact, you can even type in the script "Hello world!" without print() , R will understand what to do.)
Then, every time you add any R command to the hello.r , you will see more and more output. Try it.
To see input (commands) and output (results) together, type source("hello.r", echo=TRUE) .
Scripting is the “killer feature” of R . If all your data files are in place, and the R script is made, you may easily return to your calculations years later! Moreover, others can do exactly the same with your data and therefore your research becomes fully reproducible. Even more, if you find that your data must be changed, you run the same script and it will output results which take all changes into account.
Command source() allows to load commands not only from local file but also from Internet. You only need to replace file name with URL.
References
1. By the way, if you want the Euler number, e , type exp(1).
2. And also like editor which is embedded into R for Windows or into R macOS GUI, or the editor from rite R package, but not office software like MS Word or Excel!
3. Yet another possibility is to set working directory in preferences (this is quite different between op- erating systems) but this is not the best solution because you might (and likely will) want different working directories for different tasks.
4. There is rio package which can determine the structure of data.
5. Again, download it from Internet to data subdirectory first. Alternatively, replace subdirectory with URL and load it into R directly—of course, after you check the structure.
6. On macOS, type Enter twice.
7. With commands dput() and dget(), R also saves and loads textual representations of objects.
8. This is a bit similar to the joke about mathematician who, in order to boil the kettle full with water, would empty it first and therefore reduce the problem to one which was already solved !
9. If, by chance, it started and you have no idea how to quit, press uppercase ZQ.
10. Within nano, use Ctrl+O to save your edits and Ctrl+X to exit.
11. Does not work on graphical macOS.
12. Under graphical macOS, this command is not accessible, and you need to use application menu.
13. You can also use savehistory() command to make a “starter” script.
14. On Windows and macOS, this will open internal editor; on Linux, it is better to set editor option manually,e.g.,file.edit("hello.r", editor="geany").


Questions to consider:
-
What resources are available to help me understand my degree program requirements?
-
Who can assist me in making a plan?
-
What tools are available to help me develop and track the progress of my plan?
-
Is there anything else I can do now to plan for after I graduate?
As previously noted, most associate’s degrees require a minimum of 60 credit hours for completion, and bachelor’s degrees minimally require a total of 120 credits. Some individuals refer to these degrees as “two-year” and “four-year” degrees, respectively. To complete a 60-credit associate’s degree in two years, you would need to take 15 credits (about five classes) in the fall and spring semesters during both years of your attendance. To complete a 120-credit bachelor’s degree in four years, you would need to take 15 credits in the fall and spring semesters each of your four years. It is therefore entirely possible to complete these degrees in two and four years, particularly if you use the three primary resources that colleges provide to help you with your planning: curriculum maps, academic advisors, and interactive planning technology.
Curriculum Maps
Many colleges and universities will provide
curriculum maps
, or course checklists to illustrate the sequence of courses necessary to follow this timeline. These timelines often assume that you are ready to take college-level math and English courses and that you will be attending college as a full-time student. If placement tests demonstrate a need for prerequisite math and English coursework to get you up to speed, your timeline will likely be longer.
Many students attend college part-time, often because of family or work responsibilities. This will obviously have an impact on your completion timeline as well. Programs that have special requirements may also require that you plan for additional time. For example, it may be the case that you cannot take other courses while completing clinicals or student teaching, so you will need to plan accordingly. Alternatively, you may be able to speed up, or
accelerate
, your timeline to degree by taking courses during summer or winter terms. Or if you take fewer than 15 credits per semester, you can take courses during the summer terms to “make up” those credits and stay on track toward those two- or four-year graduation goals.
4
Academic Advisors
All colleges and universities provide resources such as a curriculum map to assist you with your academic planning. Academic advisors may also be called success coaches, mentors, preceptors, or counselors. They may be staff members, or faculty may provide advisement as an additional role to their teaching responsibilities. Regardless of what your college calls this role, academic advisors are individuals who are able to assist you in navigating the puzzle of your academic plan and piecing your courses and requirements together with your other life obligations to help you meet your goals.
An advisor is an expert on college and major requirements and policies, while you are the expert on your life circumstances and your ability to manage your study time and workload. It is also an advisor’s responsibility to understand the details of your degree requirements. This person can teach you how to best utilize college resources to make decisions about your academic and career path. An advisor can help you connect with other college staff and faculty who might be integral to supporting your success. Together with your advisor, you can create a semester-by-semester plan for the courses you will take and the special requirements you will meet. Refer to the end of this section for a detailed planning template that you could use in this process. Even if your college does not require advising, it is wise to meet with your advisor every semester to both check your progress and learn about new opportunities that might lend you competitive advantage in entering your career.
Common Functions of Academic Advisors
Academic advisors can help you:
-
Set educational and career goals
-
Select a major and/or minor
-
Understand the requirements of your degree
-
Navigate the online tools that track the progress of your degree
-
Calculate your GPA and understand how certain choices may impact your GPA
-
Discuss your academic progress from semester to semester
-
Assist with time management strategies
-
Connect with other support and resources at the college such as counseling, tutoring, and career services
-
Navigate institutional policies such as grade appeals, admission to special programs, and other concerns
-
Strategize how to make important contacts with faculty or other college administrators and staff as necessary (such as discussing how to construct professional emails)
-
Discuss transfer options, if applicable
-
Prepare for graduate school applications
Interactive Planning Technology
In addition to a curriculum map and an advisor, colleges and universities usually have technological tools that can assist you in your academic planning. Degree audit reporting systems, for example, are programmed to align with degree requirements and can track individual student progress toward completion. They function like an interactive checklist of courses and special requirements. Student planning systems often allow students to plan multiple semesters online, to register for planned courses, and to track the progress of their plan. Though friends and family are well-intentioned in providing students with planning advice and can provide important points for students to consider, sometimes new students make the mistake of following advice without consulting their college’s planning resources. It’s important to bring all of these resources together as you craft your individual plan.
Despite all of the resources and planning assistance that is available to you, creating an individual plan can still be a daunting task. Making decisions about which major to pursue, when to take certain courses, and whether to work while attending school may all have an impact on your success, and it is tough to anticipate what to expect when you’re new to college. Taking the time to create a plan and to revise it when necessary is essential to making well-informed, mindful decisions. Spur-of-the-moment decisions that are not well-informed can have lasting consequences to your progress.
The key to making a mindful decision is to first be as informed as possible about your options. Make certain that you have read the relevant resources and discussed the possibilities with experts at your college. Then you’ll want to weigh your options against your values and goals. You might ask: Which option best fits my values and priorities? What path will help me meet my goals in the timeframe I desire? What will be the impact of my decision on myself or on others? Being well-informed, having a clear sense of purpose, and taking the necessary time to make a thoughtful decision will help to remove the anxiety associated with making the “right” decision, and help you make the best decision for you.
APPLICATION
Academic Planning Readiness Checklist:
Review the checklist below and mark each item if you agree. For those you cannot yet answer, consult your instructor, academic advisor, or college website to locate these important details.
-
I know the total number of credits required to graduate from my program.
-
I know the difference between general education, major, and elective classes.
-
I know whether I am required to take preparatory or developmental courses in math and English, and whether these courses will count among my total credits toward my degree.
-
I am aware of the special requirements of my major (if any) and the prerequisites I must complete.
-
I am aware of the minimum entry requirements for my desired career field and know whether I should be preparing to plan for a graduate degree as well.
ACTIVITY
Draft an Academic Plan
With the assistance of your instructor or academic advisor, find the curriculum map for your major or for an example major that you might be considering if you’re still exploring. Use the information in the curriculum map to draft an academic plan for your undergraduate degree. This plan should include both a semester-by-semester sequence of courses and a list of related activities to help you progress toward your career or graduate school goals. Keep in mind any personal circumstances that may impact your plan (such as whether you’ll need to attend part-time or full-time). You may use the grid provided or utilize your college’s student planning software if available. For your reference, you will find the start of an example grid from a dedicated environmental science student below.
Note: If your college offers courses using the quarter system rather than semesters, you may need to draft your own grid. You can find example planning grids for quarter systems online. This Draft an Academic Plan activity provides you an opportunity to consider and plan experiences alongside your coursework that could help you better prepare to meet your career goals.
Figure 5.10: This sample of an academic plan was completed with the help of a college advisor. Below you’ll find a blank template that you can use (or adapt) for your own plan.
Figure 5.11: This two-year version of the planning document may need to be adopted for colleges operating on a quarter, trimester, or other schedule. (Downloadable versions are available at OpenStax.org.)
Planning for After Graduation
Students usually pursue a college degree with some additional end goal in mind, whether that goal is further study as a graduate student or entry into a desired career. As you develop a plan for your undergraduate studies, you can also plan pursuits outside of the classroom to prepare for these future goals. To begin planning for life after graduation, consider the experiences that would best complement your coursework. If you are not required to participate in fieldwork or internships, perhaps you could plan a summer internship to help you gain workplace experience and learn more about what you do and do not want to do. It is also valuable to gain leadership experience through participation in student clubs and organizations. Plan to find a club that matches your interests. Set a goal to attend regularly your first year and then run for a club leadership role in your second or third year.
Figure 5.12: Graduation is a significant milestone, both for students and often for their families, friends, and support networks. A good academic plan will help you reach this important step, and then go far beyond it. (Credit: COD Newsroom / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))
Even before you begin an internship or career search in earnest, sites like
Internships.com
can be helpful simply to explore the possibilities and get ideas. Often, a dedicated career-oriented website will provide more filtered and specific information than a general search engine.
Consult with services or offices at your college that can assist with you with making your future plans and incorporating experiences into your academic plan that will prepare you to enter your career. These services are often accessible both to current students as well as to graduates, providing assistance with résumé writing and job searches. Chapter 12: Planning for Your Future provides further insight into career planning and college career services.
Alumni associations help graduates connect with other former students of all ages so that they can begin to build and strengthen their professional networks, leading to further job opportunities. And don’t discount the role of your professors in helping you build your network as well! In addition to providing valuable letters of recommendation for both graduate school and job applications, professors often have well-established professional networks and may be willing to help connect dedicated students with additional opportunities. You can plan these experiences to be distributed across your academic semesters and during the summer.
Table 5.3 Prepare for Your Career While in College
|
Exploring Options
|
-
Locate and visit your career services office on campus to discover what services are available.
-
Take a career assessment that matches your values, interests, and skills to career options.
-
Join a student organization.
-
Seek volunteer opportunities to gain additional skills.
-
Research trends and salary expectations for careers of interest.
|
|
Gain Experience
|
-
Develop relationships with faculty by visiting during office hours and speaking to them after class.
-
Network with employers by attending career fairs.
-
Pursue an internship or part-time employment that is relevant to your field of interest.
-
Take a leadership role on campus or in a student organization.
-
Practice for interviews with friends or career counselors.
|
|
Document Experiences
|
-
Begin your resume and continuously update it to include new experiences.
-
Create a LinkedIn profile.
-
Review and monitor your social media accounts through the lens of a potential employer.
-
Solidify relationships with faculty and ask about letters of recommendation.
-
Draft additional job application materials, such as cover letters.
-
Seek assistance from career counselors on campus in reviewing your resumes/cover letters/portfolios.
|
Footnotes
-
4
Brookdale Community College Office of Career and Leadership Development. (2016).
Your Career Checklist
. Retrieved from:
Brookdale Community College
[www.brookdalecc.edu]


15.8: Glossary
Amblyopia (am-blē-Ō-pē-ă): Often called “lazy eye,” a vision development disorder where an eye fails to achieve normal visual acuity. (Chapter 15.5)
Anosmia (a-NŌZ-mē-ă): Loss or impairment of the sense of smell, which can be temporary or permanent. (Chapter 15.5)
Astigmatism (ă-STIG-mă-tizm): A vision condition that causes blurred vision due to the irregular curvature of the cornea or lens. (Chapter 15.5)
Audiogram (AW-dē-ō-gram): A graphic record of the results of a hearing test, typically showing hearing sensitivity at different frequencies. (Chapter 15.6)
Audiologists (aw-dē-OL-ŏ-jĭsts): Health care professionals specializing in diagnosing, managing, and treating hearing or balance problems. (Chapter 15.6)
Audiology (aw-dē-OL-ŏ-jē): The study of hearing. (Chapter 15.6)
Audiometer (aw-dē-OM-ĕt-ĕr): An electronic device used in audiometry to generate pure tones of controlled intensity for hearing testing. (Chapter 15.6)
Audiometry (aw-dē-OM-ĕ-trē): The testing of a person’s hearing ability, usually by producing sounds of different frequencies and intensities. (Chapter 15.6)
Auricle (AW-rĭ-kl): The large fleshy structure on the lateral aspect of the head, directing sound waves into the ear canal. (Chapter 15.4)
Cataract (KAT-ă-rakt): A progressive disease of the lens causing cloudiness and lack of transparency, leading to vision impairment. (Chapter 15.5)
Cerumen impaction (sĕ-ROO-mĕn Im-PĂK-shŭn): The buildup of earwax (cerumen) in the ear canal, which can lead to symptoms such as hearing loss, tinnitus, or discomfort. (Chapter 15.5)
Cochlea (KŎK-lē-ă): A part of the inner ear involved in hearing; it converts sound waves into neural signals. (Chapter 15.4)
Conductive hearing loss (kŏn-DUC-tĭv HĒR-ing LŎS): Hearing loss caused by problems with the ear canal, eardrum, or middle ear and its little bones (the malleus, incus, and stapes). (Chapter 15.5)
Conjunctiva (kŏn-jŭnk-TI-va): The inner surface of each lid, a thin membrane that extends over the white areas of the eye called the sclera, connecting the eyelids to the eyeball. (Chapter 15.4)
Conjunctivitis (kŏn-jŭnk-tĭ-VĪT-ĭs): An infection or inflammation of the conjunctiva, causing redness, swelling, and often discharge in the eye. (Chapter 15.5)
Cornea (KOR-nē-ă): The transparent front part of the eye covering the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber, playing a key role in focusing vision. (Chapter 15.4)
Diabetic retinopathy (ret-ĭn-OP-ă-thē): A complication of diabetes mellitus causing fluid leakage from blood vessels in the retina, leading to vision impairment. (Chapter 15.5)
Eustachian tube (yōō-STĀ-shən tūb): A tube connecting the middle ear to the pharynx, helping equalize air pressure across the tympanic membrane. (Chapter 15.4)
Glaucoma (glăw-KŌ-mă): A group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, often caused by abnormally high pressure in the eye. (Chapter 15.5)
Hyperopia (hī-pĕr-Ō-pē-ă): Also known as farsightedness, a condition where distant objects can be seen more clearly than close ones. (Chapter 15.5)
Incus (ĬN-kŭs): A small anvil-shaped bone in the middle ear, connecting the malleus to the stapes. (Chapter 15.4)
Inner ear (IN-er ĒR): The part of the ear that includes the cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals, responsible for processing sound and maintaining balance. (Chapter 15.4)
Iris (IR-ĭs): The colored part of the eye, a smooth muscle that controls the diameter and size of the pupil. (Chapter 15.4)
Lacrimal gland (LAK-rĭ-măl glănd): A gland located beneath the lateral edges of the nose that produces tears. (Chapter 15.4)
Legal blindness (LĒ-găl BLĪND-nĕss): A defined level of visual impairment that has been established as a threshold for eligibility for governmental disability benefits; typically, visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the best-corrected eye. (Chapter 15.5)
Low vision (LŌ VIZH-ŭn): A condition where an individual has significant visual impairment that cannot be fully corrected with standard glasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery, and which interferes with daily activities. (Chapter 15.5)
Macular degeneration (MĂK-yŭ-lăr Dĕ-gĕn-ĕ-RĀ-shŭn): A common eye condition among older adults that leads to loss of vision in the center of the visual field (the macula) due to damage to the retina. (Chapter 15.5)
Malleus (MĂL-ē-ŭs): A small bone in the middle ear attached to the tympanic membrane, resembling a hammer. (Chapter 15.4)
Myopia (mī-Ō-pē-ă): Also known as nearsightedness, a common vision condition where distant objects appear blurry. (Chapter 15.5)
Myringotomy (mĭr-ĭn-GŎT-ō-mē): A surgical procedure where a small incision is made in the eardrum to relieve pressure or drain fluid. (Chapter 15.5)
Nyctalopia (nik-ta-LŌ-pē-ă): Poor vision at night or in dimly lit environments, commonly known as night blindness. (Chapter 15.5)
Nystagmus (nĭs-TĂG-mŭs): Involuntary rhythmic movement of the eyes, which can impair vision and affect balance. (Chapter 15.5)
Ophthalmologist (ŏp-thăl-MŎL-ō-jĭst): A physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating eye disorders and performing eye surgery. (Chapter 15.6)
Ophthalmoscope (op-THAL-mŏ-skōp): An instrument used to examine the interior structures of the eye. (Chapter 15.6)
Ophthalmoscopy (op-thal-MOS-kŏ-pē): The examination of the interior of the eye, particularly the retina, using an ophthalmoscope. (Chapter 15.6)
Optic nerve (OP-tik nerv): The nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. (Chapter 15.4)
Opticians (ŏp-TĬSH-ăns): Technicians who design, verify, and fit eyeglass lenses and frames, contact lenses, and other devices to correct eyesight. (Chapter 15.6)
Optometrist (ŏp-TŎM-ĕ-trĭst): A health care professional who examines eyes for vision and health problems and prescribes corrective lenses. (Chapter 15.6)
Otitis externa (ō-TĪ-tĭs eks-TUR-nă): Inflammation or infection of the outer ear canal, often referred to as “swimmer’s ear.” (Chapter 15.5)
Otitis media (ō-TĪ-tĭs MĒ-dē-ă): Inflammation or infection of the middle ear, common in children and often associated with upper respiratory infections. (Chapter 15.5)
Otolaryngologist (ō-tō-lăr-ĭn-GŎL-ō-jĭst): A physician who specializing in ear, nose, and throat disorders, also known as an ENT doctor. (Chapter 15.6)
Otology (ō-TŎL-ō-jē): The study of the ear and its diseases. (Chapter 15.6)
Otosclerosis (ō-tō-sklĕ-RŌ-sĭs): A hearing loss condition caused by abnormal bone growth in the middle ear. (Chapter 15.5)
Otoscope (Ō-tō-skōp): An instrument used for visual examination of the ear canal and tympanic membrane. (Chapter 15.5, Chapter 15.6)
Otoscopy (ō-TŎS-kō-pē): The examination of the ear canal and eardrum with an otoscope. (Chapter 15.6)
Pinna (PĬN-ă): Another term for the auricle, the visible part of the ear that resides outside of the head. (Chapter 15.4)
Presbycusis (prez-bĭ-KŪ-sĭs): Age-related hearing loss, often due to gradual nerve degeneration and other changes in the inner ear. (Chapter 15.5)
Presbyopia (prez-bī-Ō-pē-ă): An age-related condition in which the ability to focus on close objects decreases over time. (Chapter 15.5)
Pupil (PŪ-pĭl): The hole at the center of the eye that allows light to enter, its size is controlled by the iris. (Chapter 15.4)
Retina (RĔT-ĭ-nă): The innermost layer of the eye, containing photoreceptors and nerve cells for initial processing of visual stimuli. (Chapter 15.4)
Sclera (sklĕr-ă): The white, outer layer of the eyeball that extends from the cornea to the optic nerve at the back of the eye. (Chapter 15.4)
Sensorineural hearing loss (sĕn-sō-rē-NOOR-ăl HĒR-ing LŎS): A type of hearing loss resulting from damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain. (Chapter 15.5)
Stapedectomy (stā-pĕ-DEK-tŏ-mē): A surgical procedure to remove part or all of the stapes bone and replace it with a prosthesis to improve hearing. (Chapter 15.5)
Stapes (STĀ-pēz): A stirrup-shaped bone in the middle ear, attached to the inner ear where sound waves are converted into neural signals. (Chapter 15.4)
Strabismus (stră-BĬZ-mŭs): A condition where the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. (Chapter 15.5)
Stye (STĪ): An infection of an oil gland in the eyelid, leading to a painful, red swelling on the eyelid. (Chapter 15.5)
Tinnitus (tĭ-NĪ-tŭs): A condition characterized by hearing ringing, buzzing, or other noises in the ear in the absence of external sound. (Chapter 15.5)
Total blindness (TŌ-tăl BLĪND-nĕss): The complete absence of visual perception, characterized by the inability to perceive light or discern any visual images. (Chapter 15.5)
Tympanic membrane (tĭm-PĂN-ik MEM-brān): Also known as the eardrum, it vibrates in response to sound waves. (Chapter 15.4)
Vertigo (VUR-tĭ-gō): A sensation of spinning or dizziness, often caused by issues with the inner ear or vestibular system. (Chapter 15.4, Chapter 15.5)
Vestibule (ves-tĭ-būl): A part of the inner ear that contributes to balance and spatial orientation. (Chapter 15.4)
Vestibulocochlear nerve (vĕs-tĭ-būl-ō-KŌ-klē-ăr nerv): The nerve that carries auditory and balance information from the inner ear to the brain. (Chapter 15.4)
Visual acuity (VIZH-u-ăl ă-KŪ-ĭt-ē): The sharpness or clearness of vision, typically measured with a Snellen chart. (Chapter 15.5, Chapter 15.6)
Visual impairment (VIZH-ŭ-al Im-PĀR-mĕnt): A decrease in the ability to see to a significant degree, which may cause problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses or medication. (Chapter 15.5)


16.10: References
Alfirevic, Z., Gyte, G. M. L., Cuthbert, A., & Devane, D. (2017). Continuous cardiotocography (CTG) as a form of electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) for fetal assessment during labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2, 1465–1858. doi.org//10.1002/14651858.CD006066.pub3
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2009). ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 106: Intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring: Nomenclature, interpretation, and general management principles. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 114 (1), 192–202. doi.org//10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181aef106
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2022). Practice advisory: Oxygen supplementation in the setting of category II or III fetal heart tracings . https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinic...heart-tracings
Andrews, W. W. & Tita, A. T. N. (2020). Clinical conundrums: Fetal heart rate monitoring: Still a mystery more than half a century later. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 135 (2), 469–471. doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000003674
Arnold, J., & Gawrys, B. (2020). Intrapartum fetal monitoring. American Family Physician, 102 (3), 158–167. https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues...0801/p158.html
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. (2018). Fetal heart monitoring. Nursing for Women’s Health, 22 (6), 506–509. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1751-4851(18)30227-7
Aubin, S. L., & El-Chaâr, D. (2022). Fetal health surveillance in labor. In G. D. Posner, A. Y. Black, G. Jones & D. El-Chaâr (Eds.). Oxorn-Foote human labor & birth (7th ed.). McGraw Hill.
Evans, M. I., Britt, D. W., Evans, S. M., & Devoe, L. D. (2022). Changing perspectives of electronic fetal monitoring. Reproductive Sciences, 29 (6), 1874–1894. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-021-00749-2
Khanna, P., Jain, S., Thariani, K., Sharma, S., & Singh, A. K. (2020). Epidural fever: Hiding in the shadows. Turkish Journal of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, 48 (5), 350–355. https://doi.org/10.5152/TJAR.2020.50
Kissler, K., Lowe, N. K., & Hernandez, T. L. (2020). An integrated review of uterine activity monitoring for evaluating labor dystocia. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 65 (3), 323–334. doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13119
Lyndon, A., & Wisner, K. (2021). Fetal heart rate monitoring principles and practice (6th ed.). AWHONN.
Mai, C. T., Isenburg, J. L., Canfield, M. A., Meyer, R. E., Correa, A., Alverson, C. J., Lupo, P. J., Riehle-Colarusso, T., Cho, S. J., Aggarwal, D., Kirby, R. S., & National Birth Defects Prevention Network. (2019). National population‐based estimates for major birth defects, 2010–2014. Birth Defects Research, 11 (18), 1420–1435. doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.1589
Miller, D. A., & Miller, L. A. (2012). Electronic fetal heart rate monitoring: Applying principles of patient safety. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 206 (4), 278–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2011.08.016
National Certification Corporation. (2023). Electronic fetal monitoring. Certification in electronic fetal monitoring (C-EFM) . https://www.nccwebsite.org/certifica...tal-monitoring
Polnaszek, B. P., Lopez, J. D., Clark, R., Raghuraman, N., Macones, G. A., & Cahill, A. G. (2020). Marked variability in intrapartum electronic fetal heart rate patterns: Association with neonatal morbidity and abnormal arterial cord gas. Journal of Perinatology, 40 (1), 56–62. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-019-0520-9 .
Simkin, P., Hanson, L., & Ancheta, R. (2017) The labor progress handbook: Early interventions to prevent and treat dystocia (4th ed.) Wiley-Blackwell.
Simpson, K. R. (2014). Perinatal patient safety and professional liability issues. In K. R. Simpson & P. A. Creehan (Eds.). Perinatal nursing (4th ed., pp. 1–40). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Trisomy 18 Foundation. (2023). Healthcare professionals: Helping parents make a decision . Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://trisomy18.org/healthcare-professionals/
Valencia, C. M., Escobar, M. F., Barona, J. S., Poblete, J. A., & Kusanovic, J. P. (2022). Intrauterine fetal resuscitation. In C. M. Valencia (Ed.), The continuous textbook of women’s medicine series: Obstetric emergencies (Vol. 13). Global Library of Women’s Medicine. https://www.glowm.com/article/headin...ion/id/415083#
Vallerand, A. H., & Sanoski, C. A. (Eds.). (2022). Davis’s drug guide for nurses (18th ed.). F. A. Davis Publishing.


6.1: Representing Valence Electrons with Dots
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Learning Objective
- Draw a Lewis electron dot diagram for an atom or a monatomic ion.
In almost all cases, chemical bonds are formed by interactions of valence electrons in atoms. To facilitate our understanding of how valence electrons interact, a simple way of representing those valence electrons would be useful.
A Lewis electron dot diagram (or electron dot diagram, or a Lewis diagram, or a Lewis structure) is a representation of the valence electrons of an atom that uses dots around the symbol of the element. The number of dots equals the number of valence electrons in the atom. These dots are arranged to the right and left and above and below the symbol, with no more than two dots on a side. (The order in which the positions are used does not matter.) For example, the Lewis electron dot diagram for hydrogen is simply
\[\mathbf{H}\mathbf{\cdot} \nonumber \]
Because the side is not important, the Lewis electron dot diagram could also be drawn as follows:
\[\mathbf{\dot{H}}\; \; or\; \mathbf{\cdot}\mathbf{H}\; \; \; or\; \; \; \mathbf{\underset{.}H} \nonumber \]
The electron dot diagram for helium, with two valence electrons, is as follows:
\[\mathbf{He}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
By putting the two electrons together on the same side, we emphasize the fact that these two electrons are both in the 1 s subshell; this is the common convention we will adopt, although there will be exceptions later. The next atom, lithium, has an electron configuration of 1 s 2 2 s 1 , so it has only one electron in its valence shell. Its electron dot diagram resembles that of hydrogen, except the symbol for lithium is used:
\[\mathbf{Li}\mathbf{\cdot} \nonumber \]
Beryllium has two valence electrons in its 2 s shell, so its electron dot diagram is like that of helium:
\[\mathbf{Be}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
The next atom is boron. Its valence electron shell is 2 s 2 2 p 1 , so it has three valence electrons. The third electron will go on another side of the symbol:
\[\mathbf{\dot{B}}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
Again, it does not matter on which sides of the symbol the electron dots are positioned.
For carbon, there are four valence electrons, two in the 2 s subshell and two in the 2 p subshell. As usual, we will draw two dots together on one side, to represent the 2 s electrons. However, conventionally, we draw the dots for the two p electrons on different sides. As such, the electron dot diagram for carbon is as follows:
\[\mathbf{\cdot \dot{C}}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
With N, which has three p electrons, we put a single dot on each of the three remaining sides:
\[\mathbf{\cdot}\mathbf{\dot{\underset{.}N}}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
For oxygen, which has four p electrons, we now have to start doubling up on the dots on one other side of the symbol. When doubling up electrons, make sure that each side has no more than two electrons.
\[\mathbf{\cdot}\mathbf{\ddot{\underset{.}O}}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
Fluorine and neon have seven and eight dots, respectively:
\[\mathbf{:}\mathbf{\ddot{\underset{.}F}}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
\[\mathbf{:}\mathbf{\ddot{\underset{.\: .}Ne}}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
With the next element, sodium, the process starts over with a single electron because sodium has a single electron in its highest-numbered shell, the n = 3 shell. By going through the periodic table, we see that the Lewis electron dot diagrams of atoms will never have more than eight dots around the atomic symbol.
Example \(\PageIndex{1}\): Lewis Dot Diagrams
What is the Lewis electron dot diagram for each element?
- aluminum
- selenium
Solution
- The valence electron configuration for aluminum is 3 s 2 3 p 1 . So it would have three dots around the symbol for aluminum, two of them paired to represent the 3 s electrons:
\[\dot{Al:} \nonumber \]
- The valence electron configuration for selenium is 4 s 2 4 p 4 . In the highest-numbered shell, the n = 4 shell, there are six electrons. Its electron dot diagram is as follows:
\[\mathbf{\cdot }\mathbf{\dot{\underset{.\: .}Se}}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)
What is the Lewis electron dot diagram for each element?
- phosphorus
- argon
- Answer a
-
\[\mathbf{\cdot }\mathbf{\dot{\underset{.}P}}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
- Answer b
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\[\mathbf{:}\mathbf{\ddot{\underset{.\, .}Ar}}\mathbf{:} \nonumber \]
Summary
- Lewis electron dot diagrams use dots to represent valence electrons around an atomic symbol.
- Lewis electron dot diagrams for ions have less (for cations) or more (for anions) dots than the corresponding atom.


8.5: The Eigenvalue Problem- Examples
We take a look back at our previous examples in light of the results of two previous sections The Spectral Representation and The Partial Fraction Expansion of the Transfer Function. With respect to the rotation matrix
\[B = \begin{pmatrix} {0}&{1}\\ {-1}&{0} \end{pmatrix} \nonumber\]
we recall, see Cauchy's Theorem, that
\[R(s) = \frac{1}{s^2+1} \begin{pmatrix} {s}&{-1}\\ {1}&{s} \end{pmatrix} \nonumber\]
\[R(s) = \frac{1}{s-i} \begin{pmatrix} {1/2}&{-i/2}\\ {i/2}&{1/2} \end{pmatrix}+\frac{1}{s+i} \begin{pmatrix} {1/2}&{i/2}\\ {-i/2}&{1/2} \end{pmatrix} \nonumber\]
\[R(s) = \frac{1}{s-\lambda_{1}} P_{1}+\frac{1}{s-\lambda_{2}} P_{2} \nonumber\]
and so
\[B = \lambda_{1}P_{1}+\lambda_{2}P_{2} = i \begin{pmatrix} {1/2}&{-i/2}\\ {i/2}&{1/2} \end{pmatrix}-i \begin{pmatrix} {1/2}&{i/2}\\ {-i/2}&{1/2} \end{pmatrix} \nonumber\]
From \(m_{1} = m_{2} = 1\) it follows that \(\mathscr{R}(P_{1})\) and \(\mathscr{R}(P_{2})\) are actual (as opposed to generalized) eigenspaces. These column spaces are easily determined. In particular, \(\mathscr{R}(P_{1})\) is the span of
\[e_{1} = \begin{pmatrix} {1}\\ {i} \end{pmatrix} \nonumber\]
while \(\mathscr{R}(P_{2})\) is the span of
\[e_{2} = \begin{pmatrix} {1}\\ {-i} \end{pmatrix} \nonumber\]
To recapitulate, from partial fraction expansion one can read off the projections from which one can read off the eigenvectors. The reverse direction, producing projections from eigenvectors, is equally worthwhile. We laid the groundwork for this step in the discussion of Least Squares. In particular, this Least Squares projection equation stipulates that
\[\begin{array}{ccc} {P_{1} = e_{1}(e_{1}^{T}e_{1})^{-1}e_{1}^{T}}&{and}&{P_{2} = e_{2}(e_{2}^{T}e_{2})^{-1}e_{2}^{T}} \end{array} \nonumber\]
As \(e_{1}^{T}e_{1} = e_{1}^{T}e_{1} = 0\) these formulas can not possibly be correct. Returning to the Least Squares discussion we realize that it was, perhaps implicitly, assumed that all quantities were real. At root is the notion of the length of a complex vector. It is not the square root of the sum of squares of its components but rather the square root of the sum of squares of the magnitudes of its components. That is, recalling that the magnitude of a complex quantity \(z\) is \(\sqrt{z\overline{z}}\)
\[\begin{array}{ccc} {(||e_{1}||)^2 \ne e_{1}^{T}e_{1}}&{rather}&{(||e_{1}||)^2 \ne \overline{e_{1}}^{T}e_{1}} \end{array} \nonumber\]
Yes, we have had this discussion before, recall complex numbers, vectors, and matrices. The upshot of all of this is that, when dealing with complex vectors and matrices, one should conjugate before every transpose. Matlab (of course) does this automatically, i.e., the ' symbol conjugates and transposes simultaneously. We use \(x^H\) to denote 'conjugate transpose', i.e.,
\[x^H \equiv \overline{x}^{T} \nonumber\]
All this suggests that the desired projections are more likely
\[\begin{array}{ccc} {P_{1} = e_{1}(e_{1}^{H}e_{1})^{-1}e_{1}^{H}}&{and}&{P_{2} = e_{2}(e_{2}^{H}e_{2})^{-1}e_{2}^{H}} \end{array} \nonumber\]


13.5: Maintaining Emotional Health
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Emotional regulation is the ability to successfully control our emotions, which takes effort, but the ability to do so can have important positive health outcomes. Emotional responses such as the stress reaction are useful in warning us about potential danger and in mobilizing our response to it, so it is a good thing that we have them. However, we also need to learn how to control and regulate our emotions, to prevent them from letting our behavior get out of control. 54
Stress may not be a disorder, but if it continues and becomes more intense and debilitating, it may lead to a disorder. We experience stress in our everyday lives, including daily hassles. People who experience strong negative emotions as a result of these hassles, exhibit negative stress responses. Stress can be managed by using coping strategies and by becoming better at emotional regulation. The best antidote for stress is to think positively, have fun, and enjoy the company of others. People who express optimism, self-efficacy, and grit tend to cope better with stress and experience better health overall. 55
54. Beginning Psychology - Stress: The Unseen Killer by Charles Stangor is licensed under
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55. Beginning Psychology - Chapter Summary by Charles Stangor is licensed under
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8.1: A Brief History of The Philosophies of Punishment
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- Alison S. Burke, David Carter, Brian Fedorek, Tiffany Morey, Lore Rutz-Burri, & Shanell Sanchez
- Southern Oregon University via OpenOregon
A Brief History of Punishment
Feeling safe and secure in person and home is arguably one of the most discussed feelings in our nation today. The “fear of crime” influences how we think and act day to day. This has caused great fluctuation in the United States in regards to how we punish people who are convicted of violating the law. In part, punishment comes from the will of the people, which is then carried out through the legislative process, and converted into sentencing practices. People have differing views on why people should be punished, and how much punishment they should receive. These correctional ideologies, or philosophical underpinnings of punishment, have been prevalent throughout history, and are not brand new in the United States. This section details basic concepts of some of the more frequently held punishment ideologies, which include: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation.
In the News: One of the more frequently used statistics in the news about crime is homicides in the United States. Often, you will hear something about a homicide rate or the number of homicides in a state, or a city for a particular year. An interesting clarifier about this number is that it typically does not include a number of deaths in prison. Deaths in prison occur every year, yet these are not normally counted in any statistic. In 2014, there were approximately 3,927 deaths that occurred in prisons in the United States. There are a variety of reasons for these deaths, to include homicide. For more information on this, look up – Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI). This is also formerly known as Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP). The Bureau of Justice Statistics houses and publishes data on this phenomenon. Additionally, this is a voluntary reporting structure, which may actually not capture all deaths that occur in prison. https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=243
Philosophies of Punishment Example
Two stories come on during the crime section of the 6 o’clock news. In the first story, a man is described as a convicted sex offender. He is living at an address that you know is in your city.  The video shows how angry the neighborhood is, and you can visibly see their frustration and angst on the people’s faces in the news clip.
The second story is of a woman who was detained (shown in the back of a squad car) for stealing food from a local grocery store, apparently to feed her children. The store manager is then on the screen describing that he is offering to donate the food to her so that she does not have to spend time in jail or get into any more trouble.
How do these two stories make you feel? Is it the same feeling for each story? Does one of these stories make you feel more afraid of crime? More angry or upset? Which one? Who deserves to get punished more? How much punishment should they get? The answers to questions like these instantly flood our thoughts as we are watching news blurbs like this, and in general, when we hear about a crime. This is all normal. And, this process is what generates our own personal punishment ideology.
Now, which one of these two individuals has actually committed a crime? A second point to this story is that our perceptions of punishment can be influenced by the narrative (what is presented to us).
Although the change in our overall perception or use of the rehabilitation ideology is slow, it is necessary. As we will see in the next sections, our reliance on the “Brick and Mortar” approach to punishment comes at a great cost, and the results are less than desirable.


5.5: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Chances are that if you asked random students on campus to name a classical composer, Mozart would be one of the best-known names. A child-prodigy whose life and career were cut short by illness, he stands as one of the truly great talents of music history. He created masterworks in all the major genres, though he is perhaps best known for his operas. This sets him apart from Haydn and Beethoven, who composed relatively little for the operatic stage.
Introduction
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756–5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era.
Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.
He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, and his influence on subsequent Western art music is profound; Ludwig van Beethoven composed his own early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote that “posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years.”
Biography
Family and childhood
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart (1719–1787) and Anna Maria, née Pertl (1720–1778), at 9 Getreidegassein Salzburg. This was the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, an ecclesiastic principality in what is now Austria, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy. His elder sister was Maria Anna (1751–1829), nicknamed “Nannerl.” Mozart was baptized the day after his birth at St. Rupert’s Cathedral. The baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart . He generally called himself “Wolfgang Amadè Mozart” as an adult, but his name had many variants.
Leopold Mozart, a native of Augsburg, was a minor composer and an experienced teacher. In 1743, he was appointed as fourth violinist in the musical establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian, the ruling Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. Four years later, he married Anna Maria in Salzburg. Leopold became the orchestra’s deputy Kapellmeister in 1763. During the year of his son’s birth, Leopold published a violin textbook, Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule , which achieved success.
When Nannerl was seven, she began keyboard lessons with her father while her three-year-old brother looked on. Years later, after her brother’s death, she reminisced:
He often spent much time at the clavier, picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good. . . . In the fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier. . . . He could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time. . . . At the age of five, he was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down.
These early pieces, K. 1–5, were recorded in the Nannerl Notenbuch .
There is some scholarly debate of whether Mozart was four or five years old when he created his first musical compositions, though there is little doubt that Mozart composed his first three pieces of music within a few weeks of each other: KVs 1a, 1b , and 1c .
Solomon notes that, while Leopold was a devoted teacher to his children, there is evidence that Mozart was keen to progress beyond what he was taught. His first ink-spattered composition and his precocious efforts with the violin were of his own initiative and came as a surprise to his father. Leopold eventually gave up composing when his son’s musical talents became evident. In his early years, Mozart’s father was his only teacher. Along with music, he taught his children languages and academic subjects.
1762–73: Travel
During Mozart’s youth, his family made several European journeys in which he and Nannerl performed as child prodigies. These began with an exhibition, in 1762, at the court of the Prince-elector Maximilian III of Bavaria in Munich, and at the Imperial Court in Vienna and Prague. A long concert tour spanning three and a half years followed, taking the family to the courts of Munich, Mannheim, Paris, London, The Hague, again to Paris, and back home via Zurich, Donaueschingen, and Munich.
Mozart wrote his first symphony when he was eight years old. It is probable that his father transcribed most of it for him.
During this trip, Mozart met a number of musicians and acquainted himself with the works of other composers. A particularly important influence was Johann Christian Bach, whom Mozart visited in London in 1764 and 1765. The family again went to Vienna in late 1767 and remained there until December 1768.
These trips were often difficult and travel conditions were primitive. The family had to wait for invitations and reimbursement from the nobility and they endured long, near-fatal illnesses far from home: first Leopold (London, summer 1764) then both children (The Hague, autumn 1765).
After one year in Salzburg, Leopold and Mozart set off for Italy, leaving Mozart’s mother and sister at home. This travel lasted from December 1769 to March 1771. As with earlier journeys, Leopold wanted to display his son’s abilities as a performer and a rapidly maturing composer. Mozart met Josef Mysliveček and Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna and was accepted as a member of the famous Accademia Filarmonica . In Rome, he heardGregorio Allegri’s Miserere twice in performance in the Sistine Chapel and wrote it out from memory, thus producing the first unauthorized copy of this closely guarded property of the Vatican.
In Milan, Mozart wrote the opera Mitridate, re di Ponto (1770), which was performed with success. This led to further opera commissions. He returned with his father later twice to Milan (August–December 1771; October 1772 – March 1773) for the composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772). Leopold hoped these visits would result in a professional appointment for his son in Italy, but these hopes were never realized.
Toward the end of the final Italian journey, Mozart wrote the first of his works to be still widely performed today, the solo motet Exsultate, jubilate , K. 165.
1773–77: Employment at the Salzburg court
After finally returning with his father from Italy on 13 March 1773, Mozart was employed as a court musician by the ruler of Salzburg, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. The composer had a great number of friends and admirers in Salzburg and had the opportunity to work in many genres, including symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, masses, serenades, and a few minor operas. Between April and December 1775, Mozart developed an enthusiasm for violin concertos, producing a series of five (the only ones he ever wrote), which steadily increased in their musical sophistication. The last three—K. 216, K. 218, K. 219—are now staples of the repertoire. In 1776 he turned his efforts to piano concertos, culminating in the E-flat concerto K. 271 of early 1777, considered by critics to be a breakthrough work.
Despite these artistic successes, Mozart grew increasingly discontented with Salzburg and redoubled his efforts to find a position elsewhere. One reason was his low salary, 150 florins a year; Mozart longed to compose operas, and Salzburg provided only rare occasions for these. The situation worsened in 1775 when the court theater was closed, especially since the other theater in Salzburg was largely reserved for visiting troupes.
Two long expeditions in search of work interrupted this long Salzburg stay: Mozart and his father visited Vienna from 14 July to 26 September 1773, and Munich from 6 December 1774 to March 1775. Neither visit was successful, though the Munich journey resulted in a popular success with the premiere of Mozart’s opera La finta giardiniera .
1777–78: Journey to Paris
In August 1777, Mozart resigned his position at Salzburg and on 23 September ventured out once more in search of employment, with visits to Augsburg, Mannheim, Paris, and Munich.
Mozart became acquainted with members of the famous orchestra in Mannheim, the best in Europe at the time. He also fell in love with Aloysia Weber, one of four daughters of a musical family. There were prospects of employment in Mannheim, but they came to nothing, and Mozart left for Paris on 14 March 1778 to continue his search. One of his letters from Paris hints at a possible post as an organist at Versailles, but Mozart was not interested in such an appointment. He fell into debt and took to pawning valuables. The nadir of the visit occurred when Mozart’s mother was taken ill and died on 3 July 1778. There had been delays in calling a doctor—probably, according to Halliwell, because of a lack of funds. Mozart stayed with Melchior Grimm, who, as personal secretary of the Duke d’Orléans, lived in his mansion.
While Mozart was in Paris his father was pursuing opportunities of employment for him in Salzburg. With the support of the local nobility, Mozart was offered a post as court organist and concertmaster. The annual salary was 450 florins, but he was reluctant to accept. By that time relations between Grimm and Mozart had cooled, and Mozart moved out. After leaving Paris in September 1778 for Strasbourg, he lingered in Mannheim and Munich, still hoping to obtain an appointment outside Salzburg. In Munich he again encountered Aloysia, now a very successful singer, but she was no longer interested in him. Mozart finally returned to Salzburg on 15 January 1779 and took up his new appointment, but his discontent with Salzburg remained undiminished.
Among the better known works which Mozart wrote on the Paris journey are the A minor piano sonata, K. 310/300d and the “Paris” Symphony (No. 31), which were performed in Paris on 12 and 18 June 1778.
Vienna
1781: Departure
In January 1781, Mozart’s opera Idomeneo premiered with “considerable success” in Munich. The following March, Mozart was summoned to Vienna, where his employer, Archbishop Colloredo, was attending the celebrations for the accession of Joseph II to the Austrian throne. Fresh from the adulation he had earned in Munich, Mozart was offended when Colloredo treated him as a mere servant and particularly when the archbishop forbade him to perform before the Emperor at Countess Thun’s for a fee equal to half of his yearly Salzburg salary. The resulting quarrel came to a head in May: Mozart attempted to resign and was refused. The following month, permission was granted but in a grossly insulting way: the composer was dismissed literally “with a kick in the arse”, administered by the archbishop’s steward, Count Arco. Mozart decided to settle in Vienna as a freelance performer and composer.
The quarrel with the archbishop went harder for Mozart because his father sided against him. Hoping fervently that he would obediently follow Colloredo back to Salzburg, Mozart’s father exchanged intense letters with his son, urging him to be reconciled with their employer. Mozart passionately defended his intention to pursue an independent career in Vienna. The debate ended when Mozart was dismissed by the archbishop, freeing himself both of his employer and his father’s demands to return. Solomon characterizes Mozart’s resignation as a “revolutionary step”, and it greatly altered the course of his life.
Early Years
Mozart’s new career in Vienna began well. He performed often as a pianist, notably in a competition before the Emperor with Muzio Clementi on 24 December 1781, and he soon “had established himself as the finest keyboard player in Vienna.” He also prospered as a composer, and in 1782 completed the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (“The Abduction from the Seraglio”), which premiered on 16 July 1782 and achieved a huge success. The work was soon being performed “throughout German-speaking Europe,” and fully established Mozart’s reputation as a composer.
Near the height of his quarrels with Colloredo, Mozart moved in with the Weber family, who had moved to Vienna from Mannheim. The father, Fridolin, had died, and the Webers were now taking in lodgers to make ends meet. Aloysia, who had earlier rejected Mozart’s suit, was now married to the actor and artist Joseph Lange. Mozart’s interest shifted to the third Weber daughter, Constanze. The courtship did not go entirely smoothly; surviving correspondence indicates that Mozart and Constanze briefly separated in April 1782. Mozart faced a very difficult task in getting his father’s permission for the marriage. The couple were finally married on 4 August 1782 in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the day before his father’s consent arrived in the mail.
The couple had six children, of whom only two survived infancy:
- Raimund Leopold (17 June–19 August 1783)
- Karl Thomas Mozart (21 September 1784–31 October 1858)
- Johann Thomas Leopold (18 October–15 November 1786)
- Theresia Constanzia Adelheid Friedericke Maria Anna (27 December 1787–29 June 1788)
- Anna Maria (died soon after birth, 16 November 1789)
- Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (26 July 1791–29 July 1844)
In the course of 1782 and 1783, Mozart became intimately acquainted with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel as a result of the influence of Gottfried van Swieten, who owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters. Mozart’s study of these scores inspired compositions in Baroque style, and later influenced his personal musical language, for example in fugal passages in Die Zauberflöte (“The Magic Flute”) and the finale of Symphony No. 41.
In 1783, Mozart and his wife visited his family in Salzburg. His father and sister were cordially polite to Constanze, but the visit prompted the composition of one of Mozart’s great liturgical pieces, the Mass in C minor. Though not completed, it was premiered in Salzburg, with Constanze singing a solo part.
Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna around 1784, and the two composers became friends. When Haydn visited Vienna, they sometimes played together in an impromptu string quartet. Mozart’s six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from the period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn’s Opus 33 set from 1781. Haydn in 1785 told Mozart’s father: “I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition.”
From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season. Since space in the theaters was scarce, he booked unconventional venues: a large room in the Trattnerhof (an apartment building), and the ballroom of the Mehlgrube (a restaurant). The concerts were very popular, and the concertos he premiered at them are still firm fixtures in the repertoire. Solomon writes that during this period Mozart created “a harmonious connection between an eager composer-performer and a delighted audience, which was given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre.”
With substantial returns from his concerts and elsewhere, Mozart and his wife adopted a rather plush lifestyle. They moved to an expensive apartment, with a yearly rent of 460 florins. Mozart bought a fine fortepiano from Anton Walter for about 900 florins, and a billiard table for about 300. The Mozarts sent their son Karl Thomas to an expensive boarding school, and kept servants. Saving was therefore impossible, and the short period of financial success did nothing to soften the hardship the Mozarts were later to experience.
On 14 December 1784, Mozart became a Freemason, admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit (“Beneficence”). Freemasonry played an important role in the remainder of Mozart’s life: he attended meetings, a number of his friends were Masons, and on various occasions he composed Masonic music, e. g. the Maurerische Trauermusik.
1786–87: Return to opera
Despite the great success of Die Entführung aus dem Serail , Mozart did little operatic writing for the next four years, producing only two unfinished works and the one-act Der Schauspieldirektor . He focused instead on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos. Around the end of 1785, Mozart moved away from keyboard writing and began his famous operatic collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. 1786 saw the successful premiere of The Marriage of Figaro in Vienna. Its reception in Prague later in the year was even warmer, and this led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte: the opera Don Giovanni , which premiered in October 1787 to acclaim in Prague, but less success in Vienna in 1788. The two are among Mozart’s most important works and are mainstays of the operatic repertoire today, though at their premieres their musical complexity caused difficulty for both listeners and performers. These developments were not witnessed by Mozart’s father, who had died on 28 May 1787.
In December 1787, Mozart finally obtained a steady post under aristocratic patronage. Emperor Joseph II appointed him as his “chamber composer”, a post that had fallen vacant the previous month on the death of Gluck. It was a part-time appointment, paying just 800 florins per year, and required Mozart only to compose dances for the annual balls in the Redoutensaal. This modest income became important to Mozart when hard times arrived. Court records show that Joseph’s aim was to keep the esteemed composer from leaving Vienna in pursuit of better prospects.
In 1787 the young Ludwig van Beethoven spent several weeks in Vienna, hoping to study with Mozart. No reliable records survive to indicate whether the two composers ever met.
Later years and death
1788–90
Toward the end of the decade, Mozart’s circumstances worsened. Around 1786 he had ceased to appear frequently in public concerts, and his income shrank. This was a difficult time for musicians in Vienna because of the Austro-Turkish War, and both the general level of prosperity and the ability of the aristocracy to support music had declined.
By mid-1788, Mozart and his family had moved from central Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund. Although it has been thought that Mozart reduced his rental expenses, research shows that by moving to the suburb, Mozart had not reduced his expenses (as claimed in his letter to Puchberg), but merely increased the housing space at his disposal. Mozart began to borrow money, most often from his friend and fellow Mason Michael Puchberg; “a pitiful sequence of letters pleading for loans” survives. Maynard Solomon and others have suggested that Mozart was suffering from depression, and it seems that his output slowed. Major works of the period include the last three symphonies (Nos. 39, 40, and 41, all from 1788), and the last of the three Da Ponte operas, Così fan tutte , premiered in 1790.
Around this time, Mozart made long journeys hoping to improve his fortunes: to Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin in the spring of 1789, and to Frankfurt, Mannheim, and other German cities in 1790. The trips produced only isolated success and did not relieve the family’s financial distress.
1791
Mozart’s last year was, until his final illness struck, a time of great productivity—and by some accounts, one of personal recovery. He composed a great deal, including some of his most admired works: the opera The Magic Flute ; the final piano concerto (K. 595 in B-flat); the Clarinet Concerto K. 622; the last in his great series of string quintets (K. 614 in E-flat); the motet Ave verum corpus K. 618; and the unfinished Requiem K. 626.
Mozart’s financial situation, a source of extreme anxiety in 1790, finally began to improve. Although the evidence is inconclusive, it appears that wealthy patrons in Hungary and Amsterdam pledged annuities to Mozart in return for the occasional composition. He is thought to have benefited from the sale of dance music written in his role as Imperial chamber composer. Mozart no longer borrowed large sums from Puchberg, and made a start on paying off his debts.
He experienced great satisfaction in the public success of some of his works, notably The Magic Flute (which was performed several times in the short period between its premiere and Mozart’s death) and the Little Masonic Cantata K. 623, premiered on 15 November 1791.
Final Illness and Death
Mozart fell ill while in Prague for the 6 September 1791 premiere of his opera La clemenza di Tito , written in that same year on commission for the Emperor’s coronation festivities. He continued his professional functions for some time, and conducted the premiere of The Magic Flute on 30 September. His health deteriorated on 20 November, at which point he became bedridden, suffering from swelling, pain, and vomiting.
Mozart was nursed in his final illness by his wife and her youngest sister, and was attended by the family doctor, Thomas Franz Closset. He was mentally occupied with the task of finishing his Requiem, but the evidence that he actually dictated passages to his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr is minimal.
Mozart died in his home on 5 December 1791 (aged 35) at 1:00 am. The New Grove describes his funeral:
Mozart was interred in a common grave, in accordance with contemporary Viennese custom, at the St. Marx Cemetery outside the city on 7 December. If, as later reports say, no mourners attended, that too is consistent with Viennese burial customs at the time; later Jahn (1856) wrote that Salieri, Süssmayr, van Swieten and two other musicians were present. The tale of a storm and snow is false; the day was calm and mild.
The expression “common grave” refers to neither a communal grave nor a pauper’s grave, but to an individual grave for a member of the common people (i.e., not the aristocracy). Common graves were subject to excavation after ten years; the graves of aristocrats were not.
The cause of Mozart’s death cannot be known with certainty. The official record has it as “hitziges Frieselfieber” (“severe miliary fever”, referring to a rash that looks like millet seeds), more a description of the symptoms than a diagnosis. Researchers have posited at least 118 causes of death, including acute rheumatic fever, streptococcal infection, trichinosis, influenza, mercury poisoning, and a rare kidney ailment.
Mozart’s modest funeral did not reflect his standing with the public as a composer: memorial services and concerts in Vienna and Prague were well-attended. Indeed, in the period immediately after his death, his reputation rose substantially: Solomon describes an “unprecedented wave of enthusiasm” for his work; biographies were written (first bySchlichtegroll, Niemetschek, and Nissen); and publishers vied to produce complete editions of his works.
Appearance and Character
Mozart’s physical appearance was described by tenor Michael Kelly, in his Reminiscences : “a remarkably small man, very thin and pale, with a profusion of fine, fair hair of which he was rather vain”. As his early biographer Niemetschek wrote, “there was nothing special about [his] physique. […] He was small and his countenance, except for his large intense eyes, gave no signs of his genius.” His facial complexion was pitted, a reminder of his childhood case of smallpox. There is a photofit of Mozart, created from four contemporary portraits. He loved elegant clothing. Kelly remembered him at a rehearsal: “[He] was on the stage with his crimson pelisse and gold-laced cocked hat, giving the time of the music to the orchestra.” Of his voice his wife later wrote that it “was a tenor, rather soft in speaking and delicate in singing, but when anything excited him, or it became necessary to exert it, it was both powerful and energetic.”
Mozart usually worked long and hard, finishing compositions at a tremendous pace as deadlines approached. He often made sketches and drafts; unlike Beethoven’s these are mostly not preserved, as his wife sought to destroy them after his death.
He was raised a Catholic and remained a loyal member of the Church throughout his life.
Mozart lived at the center of the Viennese musical world, and knew a great number and variety of people: fellow musicians, theatrical performers, fellow Salzburgers, and aristocrats, including some acquaintance with the Emperor Joseph II. Solomon considers his three closest friends to have been Gottfried von Jacquin, Count August Hatzfeld, and Sigmund Barisani; others included his older colleague Joseph Haydn, singers Franz Xaver Gerl and Benedikt Schack, and the horn player Joseph Leutgeb. Leutgeb and Mozart carried on a curious kind of friendly mockery, often with Leutgeb as the butt of Mozart’s practical jokes.
He enjoyed billiards and dancing, and kept pets: a canary, a starling, a dog, and a horse for recreational riding. He had a startling fondness for scatological humor, which is preserved in his surviving letters, notably those written to his cousin Maria Anna Thekla Mozart around 1777–1778, and in his correspondence with his sister and parents. Mozart also wrote scatological music, a series of canons that he sang with his friends.
Works, musical style, and innovations
Style
Listen: Mozart
Please listen to the following audio file to hear Symphonie Nr. 40 g-moll, K. 550. Movement: 1. Molto allegro.
An audio element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can listen to it online here: http://pb.libretexts.org/map/?p=244
Please listen to the following audio file to hear Overture to Don Giovanni
An audio element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can listen to it online here: http://pb.libretexts.org/map/?p=244
Mozart’s music, like Haydn’s, stands as an archetype of the Classical style. At the time he began composing, European music was dominated by the style galant , a reaction against the highly evolved intricacy of the Baroque. Progressively, and in large part at the hands of Mozart himself, the contrapuntal complexities of the late Baroque emerged once more, moderated and disciplined by new forms, and adapted to a new aesthetic and social milieu. Mozart was a versatile composer, and wrote in every major genre, including symphony, opera, the solo concerto, chamber music including string quartet and string quintet, and the piano sonata. These forms were not new, but Mozart advanced their technical sophistication and emotional reach. He almost single-handedly developed and popularized the Classical piano concerto. He wrote a great deal of religious music, including large-scale masses, as well as dances, divertimenti, serenades, and other forms of light entertainment.
The central traits of the Classical style are all present in Mozart’s music. Clarity, balance, and transparency are the hallmarks of his work, but simplistic notions of its delicacy mask the exceptional power of his finest masterpieces, such as the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491; the Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550; and the opera Don Giovanni . Charles Rosen makes the point forcefully:
It is only through recognizing the violence and sensuality at the center of Mozart’s work that we can make a start towards a comprehension of his structures and an insight into his magnificence. In a paradoxical way, Schumann’s superficial characterization of the G minor Symphony can help us to see Mozart’s daemon more steadily. In all of Mozart’s supreme expressions of suffering and terror, there is something shockingly voluptuous.
Especially during his last decade, Mozart exploited chromatic harmony to a degree rare at the time, with remarkable assurance and to great artistic effect.
Mozart always had a gift for absorbing and adapting valuable features of others’ music. His travels helped in the forging of a unique compositional language. In London as a child, he met J. C. Bach and heard his music. In Paris, Mannheim, and Vienna he met with other compositional influences, as well as the avant-garde capabilities of the Mannheim orchestra. In Italy he encountered the Italian overture and opera buffa, both of which deeply affected the evolution of his own practice. In London and Italy, the galant style was in the ascendent: simple, light music with a mania for cadencing; an emphasis on tonic, dominant, and subdominant to the exclusion of other harmonies; symmetrical phrases; and clearly articulated partitions in the overall form of movements. Some of Mozart’s early symphonies are Italian overtures, with three movements running into each other; many are homotonal (all three movements having the same key signature, with the slow middle movement being in the relative minor). Others mimic the works of J. C. Bach, and others show the simple rounded binary forms turned out by Viennese composers.
As Mozart matured, he progressively incorporated more features adapted from the Baroque. For example, the Symphony No. 29 in A major K. 201 has a contrapuntal main theme in its first movement, and experimentation with irregular phrase lengths. Some of his quartets from 1773 have fugal finales, probably influenced by Haydn, who had included three such finales in his recently published Opus 20 set. The influence of the Sturm und Drang (“Storm and Stress”) period in music, with its brief foreshadowing of the Romantic era, is evident in the music of both composers at that time. Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 in G minor K. 183 is another excellent example.
Mozart would sometimes switch his focus between operas and instrumental music. He produced operas in each of the prevailing styles: opera buffa, such as The Marriage of Figaro , Don Giovanni , and Così fan tutte ; opera seria, such as Idomeneo ; and Singspiel, of which Die Zauberflöte is the most famous example by any composer. In his later operas he employed subtle changes in instrumentation, orchestral texture, and tone color, for emotional depth and to mark dramatic shifts. Here his advances in opera and instrumental composing interacted: his increasingly sophisticated use of the orchestra in the symphonies and concertos influenced his operatic orchestration, and his developing subtlety in using the orchestra to psychological effect in his operas was in turn reflected in his later non-operatic compositions.
Influence
Mozart’s most famous pupil, whom the Mozarts took into their Vienna home for two years as a child, was probably Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a transitional figure between Classical and Romantic eras. More important is the influence Mozart had on composers of later generations. Ever since the surge in his reputation after his death, studying his scores has been a standard part of the training of classical musicians.
Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart’s junior by fifteen years, was deeply influenced by his work, with which he was acquainted as a teenager. He is thought to have performed Mozart’s operas while playing in the court orchestra at Bonn, and he traveled to Vienna in 1787 hoping to study with the older composer. Some of Beethoven’s works have direct models in comparable works by Mozart, and he wrote cadenzas (WoO 58) to Mozart’s D minor piano concerto K. 466. For further details see Mozart and Beethoven.
A number of composers have paid homage to Mozart by writing sets of variations on his themes. Beethoven wrote four such sets (Op. 66, WoO 28, WoO 40, WoO 46). Others includeFernando Sor’s Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart (1821), Mikhail Glinka’s Variations on a Theme from Mozart’s Opera Die Zauberflöte (1822), Frédéric Chopin’sVariations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Don Giovanni (1827), and Max Reger’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart (1914), based on the variation theme in the piano sonata K. 331.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his Orchestral Suite No. 4 in G, “Mozartiana” (1887), as a tribute to Mozart.
Köchel catalogue
For unambiguous identification of works by Mozart, a Köchel catalogue number is used. This is a unique number assigned, in regular chronological order, to every one of his known works. A work is referenced by the abbreviation “K.” or “KV” followed by this number. The first edition of the catalogue was completed in 1862 by Ludwig von Köchel. It has since been repeatedly updated, as scholarly research improves knowledge of the dates and authenticity of individual works.
Contributors and Attributions
- Authored by : Elliott Jones. Provided by : Santa Ana College. Located at : http://www.sac.edu . License : CC BY: Attribution
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike


1.1: The Scientific Method
1
Harper College Chemistry Department
The Scientific Method
Chemistry is a science based on observation and experimentation. Doing chemistry involves attempting to answer questions and explain observations in terms of the laws and theories of chemistry, using procedures that are accepted by the scientific community. There is no single route to answering a question or explaining an observation, but there is an aspect common to every approach: Each uses knowledge based on experiments that can be reproduced to verify the results. Some routes involve a hypothesis, a tentative explanation of observations that acts as a guide for gathering and checking information. We test a hypothesis by experimentation, calculation, and/or comparison with the experiments of others and then refine it as needed.
Some hypotheses are attempts to explain the behavior that is summarized in laws. The laws of science summarize a vast number of experimental observations and describe or predict some facet of the natural world. If such a hypothesis turns out to be capable of explaining a large body of experimental data, it can reach the status of a theory. Scientific theories are well-substantiated, comprehensive, testable explanations of particular aspects of nature. Theories are accepted because they provide satisfactory explanations, but they can be modified if new data become available. The path of discovery that leads from question and observation to hypothesis or law to theory, combined with experimental verification of the hypothesis and any necessary modification of the theory, is called the scientific method ( Figure 1 ).